Disclaimer:

To be disclaimed is a terrible state. On the other hand, to disclaim is a wondrous freedom. Queries on what precisely is being disclaimed should be directed elsewhere. My mind is on the existential.

Prologue:

Aha! The much afeared author's notes! But never fear, reader mine, I'll keep them short. Much Eagle fluff will soon follow!

Thanks for reviewing. I spare a line or two in question answering. Firstly, 'ja ne' is the equivalent of saying 'see you!'. It's like an informal way to say goodbye, so that you needn't type in 'sayonara' every time you write. Secondly, 'minna' or more correctly, 'minna-san', means 'everyone'. So now, beloved reviewer, you can say a full sentence in japanese without burning your tongue! Ja ne, minna-san!

But in this case, I do not mean to say goodbye! I mean to post! So enjoy, my reviewer, and all you others who are kind enough my little offering.

Now for the actual story…

Lantis strode down the hallway, fury burning through his mind. Someone had hurt Hikaru. His Hikaru. They would pay. And pay dearly.

Mentally, Lantis would have cringed had he ever thought of Hikaru as his. But this time, he forgot it. It was appropriate. His Hikaru. It sounded right. And Lantis had better things on his mind than what he called the Magic Knight of Fire.

Like who had hurt her.

He had a suspicion or three; namely, anyone who had been within three feet of Hikaru that day and several hundreds who hadn't. But his prime suspect was the person she had spent the most time around. The person who was right now confined within the depths of the castle, the person Lantis had thought he could trust.

Eagle.

Eagle of Autozam, his old friend and near-brother. Eagle, who was always ready with that faint smile, even when nothing was right in his world. Eagle, who was right now commanding a ship to take over Cephiro.

Thought of his best friend caused Lantis' rage to cool slightly. Eagle never could have done that. It wasn't in his nature. But then a picture flashed in his mind of Hikaru's battered body lying limply on her bed, her own blood seeping into the soft mattress. And suddenly his anger was rekindled, and he stormed down the steps, bound for Eagle's cell.

Eagle sighed as he leaned back onto the rough bed. One thing's for sure, he thought wryly; they don't spoil their prisoners in Cephiro.

The thought caused a little grin to appear on his face. Though this was unusual for him in a normal day, at least since Lantis left, these last few hours had seen him doing so more and more often. Of course, any fool could have known the reason just looking at him. To Eagle, it was obvious.

Hikaru.

Eagle smiled as he thought about their last encounter. Hikaru had come into his cell, head bowed, fists clenched. Eagle had been resting at the time, but one look at Hikaru's posture and he was on his feet, gently leading her over to the bed. She had moved without protest, completely compliant.

"Hikaru," he had asked gently, "what's wrong?"

Hikaru had looked at him then, and even now the terrible pain on her face caused his heart to clench. That look of despair was never meant for such a lively face. But Hikaru had only looked at him for a time, not speaking.

"Hikaru, please, tell me what is wrong. I want to help." Eagle had realized as he had said the words that he fully meant them. They had also finally made Hikaru move. She collapsed onto his chest, sobbing.

"Eagle…Eagle, I killed them…I killed them…"

Eagle, surprised at first, had carefully put his arms around the red-haired Knight, comforting.

"Shh…shh, it's okay…Hikaru…it's okay…"

Eventually she had stopped sobbing so hard, though her eyes seemed on the verge of tears. Eagle had taken the lull to lean back slightly, look into her face.

"Hikaru, who did you kill?"

Hikaru had stared at him a moment, a few stray tears slipping down her cheeks, then she looked down, despair written in her very movements.

"Zagato and…and Princess Emeraude."

Suddenly Eagle had understood. She was still remembering the fight that had ended with the death of both the High Priest and the former Pillar, both at the hands of the Magic Knights.

"Hikaru," he said quietly, "it's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" She cried, looking back into his eyes. "I could have saved them, and Cephiro, but instead…instead I slaughtered them. Umi and Fuu always compared Cephiro to a game, and I treated Zagato and the Princess like game pieces. Like they had no feelings! Like they didn't matter if they died! And I killed them. With my own hands, I drove the sword through her; with these hands, these bloody, terrible, killing hands!"

Hikaru had clenched her fists too tightly; blood spurted up from where her fingernails had pierced the skin. Eagle, surprised, had quickly grabbed her hands to prevent further damage, ripping off a piece of his sheet to make an impromptu bandage.

"Hikaru," he said gently while wrapping the white sheet around her bloody hands, "you have to stop blaming yourself. Think of the good you did! Think about it. Without you, Cephiro would have been completely destroyed."

Hikaru looked up at him, eyes filled with inexpressible pain.

"Yes, and look at where they are now! Trapped in a crumbling castle while their land shatters around them, and it's all my fault. And I made Umi…and Fuu…I forced them to come here! It's my fault if they get hurt."

Eagle had shaken his head as she talked. "No, Hikaru. They love you. I'm sure they would not have come here if they had not wanted to. And look at all the people! The citizens of Cephiro

Hikaru had looked away while he had been talking, staring at the shining dome, still too hurt and too raw to let his comfort sink in. Eagle had regarded her softly, unreasonably sad at the look on her face and wanting, more than anything, to comfort her. He did the first thing that came to mind.

"Hikaru, if I embraced you now, would your friends yell at me?"

Hikaru looked at him slowly, tears forming in her lovely eyes. And then she had fallen into his arms, and he had held her gently, muttering soothing words. Tears had fallen from her eyes onto his black clothes, but they were tears of healing now, not despair.

After a while, after Hikaru had calmed down and her tears had slowed, Eagle had heard a little chuckle from the bowed head.

"What is it?" He asked, and already he had had a faint smile growing on his face.

"You always seem to know what to say to make me happy again." Her words grew slowly clearer as she had looked up into Eagle's smiling face.

"Really? That makes me feel better. I suppose we both have the same gift."

Hikaru had laughed at his words, and Eagle had laughed right along with her, feeling immeasurably and unreasonably better for seeing her smile again. She sobered slightly, still smiling as she looked at him.

"Thank you."

Eagle had looked at her for a moment, grinning, but then a curious thought crossed his mind.

"Hikaru…" he queried, thinking, "why did you come to me?"

Hikaru glanced at him in surprise, then frowned. "I'm not sure. I think because…despite the fact that we are fighting each other, I can't help but trust you."

Eagle grinned again. "That's funny. I feel the same way."

"I would like to know you better, after all this." She continued.

And then something had clicked inside Eagle's mind, something that had been niggling at him since he had first seen her, something terribly important. He had bitten back a gasp, and forced himself to answer rationally.

"I-…I would like that too."

She smiled up at him.

And in the suddenness of his revelation, Eagle had not been able to prevent himself from staring at her, his eyes gentle. He swallowed suddenly, realizing how close their faces were to each other. His breath came with difficulty.

"Hikaru…" he said, breathing strangely.

She had looked up into his eyes, and he had leaned in a little. But just before they touched, a voice had echoed through the castle, magically amplified, and they leaped apart. For a moment, Eagle had stared at her, but then Umi had called again, bidding Hikaru to come and say goodbye as the blue-haired Magic Knight went to do battle with Tarta and Tatra of Chizeta and Fuu left for the Fahren Dragon ship. Hikaru had jumped up swiftly, and called back a cheerful farewell as she ran out of the room. Now, Eagle could almost hear her happy tones echoing about his lonely chamber. They had been so close…!

Eagle smiled again as he stared at the ceiling from where he lay, head on hands. So close…

Suddenly, his pleasant reverie was interrupted by the slamming of a door somewhere down a hallway. Footsteps, fast and hard, reverberated down the corridor leading to Eagle's cell. Eagle sat up, wondering if it was Hikaru again. The cell door slammed open.

"Lantis!" Eagle gasped, surprised. And then Lantis was through the barrier and had Eagle by the throat, holding him two inches off the ground, eyes brutal, murderous.

"Lan...tis…" Eagle choked out, hardly able to breathe.

"What did you do to her!?!" He shouted, anger in his eyes and voice. He shook Eagle again. "What did you do to her!"

Eagle's hands grasped uselessly at Lantis' death grip, trying to free himself to breathe.

"I…don't…know…what…you're…talking about!" Eagle gasped out a response, trying hard to get some air to his lungs.

"LIAR!" Lantis shouted, flinging the white-haired Autozam commander against the wall of his cell. Eagle slammed into the barrier, falling to the ground painfully, gasping for breath. Lantis stormed over to him.

"You were the last one she spoke to! What did you to her?"

Eagle's eyes widened in sudden realization.

"You mean…Hikaru?"

Lantis grabbed him and tossed him over towards the bed again, rage burning through his veins.

"Yes, Hikaru! The same that is lying the council chamber right now, almost…"

Lantis trailed off, pained in a terrible way by the image of Hikaru's bloody figure.

Eagle's eyes widened.

"Did something happen to her? Is she hurt?"

Lantis slammed a fist into the barrier.

"Yes! Something happened to her! Yes! She is hurt! And I want to know what you did!"

The black-cloaked magic Swordsman whirled around to face the Commander. But Eagle's face had paled to a blanched white, shock written on his features.

"Is she alright?"

Lantis' brows contracted.

"You don't know?"

Eagle shook his head, worry edging on panic.

"No, I had no idea. What happened to her? Is she alright?"

Lantis turned back to the barrier, defeat in his voice.

"No. She is not."

Eagle wondered at this sudden reversion from fury. But another matter still held his attention.

"She isn't…she can't be…"

Once again, the note of pain and weariness penetrated Lantis' words.

"No. She is not dead."

Eagle sighed in relief, but panic still tightened his features.

"Well, can I see her? Can I talk to her? Lantis, understand – "

"I do understand! Do you think I am not worried as well?" Lantis whirled on Eagle.

Eagle was taken aback. Was that…frustration in his voice? For all the years Eagle had known him, Lantis had never been more than mildly irritated. Not only was his anger startling, but his evident rollercoaster of emotion was throwing Eagle off greatly. This was not the Lantis he knew.

Lantis sighed, reigning back his turbulent emotions. It would not do for Eagle to see him this way. It would not do for anyone to see him this way. Nevertheless, his head dropped into his hands in weariness before he spoke.

"Forgive me. I am not myself."

Eagle did not respond, simply staring at his old friend, slightly startled though the panic over Hikaru's health was somewhat subsided. Lantis walked over to only other seat in the room and sat down, dropping his head to rest on his battle-scarred hands. Eagle stood from where Lantis had last thrown him, sitting gently on the bed, wincing as he did so. He would have bruises tomorrow.

"Lantis, please tell me what happened."

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Awww! It's Eagle/Hikaru-ish romance! Is Hikaru in love with Eagle? What about Lantis? And what really happened to Hikaru? Why was Lantis the one to find her?

Read! Review! I shall extend my sincere condolences the next time your rabbit dies, I promise. Just exercise your right to criticize!