Hikaru looked at her calendar and jumped. It was the day, the anniversary of the day that they were summoned to Cephiro. Usually she looked forward to this day but, she didn't even know if it was appropriate this year. Umi was betraying Clef. She was pledging her life to another man. It didn't matter if it was Hikaru's own brother or not. It didn't matter that Umi and Clef had never actually told each other of their love for one another. Their love was understood by Hikaru and Fuu and every one else in Cephiro.

Hikaru had remained loyal. After she and Lantis had declared their love to one another she had been constant. And because she had never said to Lantis, "I'm probably not going to be coming back another time, so maybe for the sake of sanity we should call this true love quits," she had never touched another man. Celibate for seven years. Twenty-one and still a virgin. And Hikaru knew that she would be steadfast until she could be in Lantis' arms again or he could tell her that he loved her no longer. It was the day, and Hikaru knew that she had to talk to Umi.

She came to the door on the upper level as Kakeru was leaving. "Hikaru!" he said startled.

"Kakeru. Hi. Umm, I need to talk to Umi. Is she home?"

"Uh, yeah, she's in the kitchen. I'm just going to the supermarket. I'll probably be back in fifteen minutes. I . . . I hope you guys work this out."

She smiled and patted his shoulder appreciatively, "I hope so too, Kakeru." And she went inside. Umi was in the kitchen where Kakeru had said she would be. She obviously thought that Hikaru was Kakeru because after she looked up the smile she was wearing faded.

"Today's the day," Hikaru stated simply.

"I didn't forget," she said defensively.

"I didn't think you did!"

"Hikaru, what are you doing here?"

Hikaru studied the tile floor for a while then looked up and studied Umi. There were dark circles under her eyes and she just seemed tired. "Hey, Umi, you don't look too good."

Umi sighed then smiled in resignation,"Ah, Hikaru. I haven't been sleeping to well lately."

Hikaru looked down again and asked quietly, "Worried about the wedding?"

"No, no. I've been having some weird dreams."

"Dreams?" she asked sharply.

Umi's eyes widened as she put together what Hikaru just had.

"They're about Cephiro aren't they?" she accused. Umi stood up quickly and walked into the dining room. "Umi!" Hikaru nearly shouted.

"Yes! Yes, Hikaru, they're about Cephiro."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time one of us had dreams about Cephiro?"

"Oh, God, Hikaru! Get it through your head we're not going back!"

"Why not? Why couldn't we go back?"

"Hikaru," Umi said more gently, "We fixed the problem. You fixed it. The people of Cephiro don't need a pillar anymore. And that means they don't need us."

Hikaru didn't have a response to that, it made perfect sense, but she still couldn't admit it, or believe it. "So, I guess you don't want to go to Tokyo Tower today, huh."

"Who said that?" Umi said as she reached for the phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"Fuu."

"Why?"

"So that we can go to Tokyo Tower and meet her," Umi answered. "Hi, Fuu? Hi, today's the day. Yeah. No, I want to go. Hikaru's here, we'll meet you there. Okay, bye."

Hikaru was bewildered, "You want to go to Tokyo Tower?"

Just then Kakeru came in, with a brown paper bag filled with groceries in his arms. "Who's going to Tokyo Tower?" he asked.

"We are," Umi replied.

"Oh, let me get my jacket. Got kind of chilly out."

Umi smiled, "You know what I meant, Hikaru and me."

"Yeah, but can I come?"

"I don't see why not. You aren't really getting your jacket are you? It's April," Umi responded before Hikaru could even open her mouth.

"No, I'm not," he said as he set the groceries down in the kitchen and offered Umi his arm. "What's wrong with your face, Hikaru?"

"Just a little confused is all," she replied. Then after a few moments of thought, "Hey! What do you mean what's wrong with my face!" And she ran to catch up with them.

As they entered the observation deck of Tokyo Tower, Hikaru noticed a group of school girls that looked to be in junior high. She sighed at the memories of a time when she and Umi and Fuu were that same age. In the lead was a young man of about Kakeru's age. "Hey! Isn't that Yasuo?" remembering who he was.

"Oh yeah," Kakeru recalled, "He said something about a field trip today."

"They always went to the same places, over and over," Hikaru observed.

"That is so cute, you know," Umi gushed. "The fact that he's a junior high school teacher, it's just so sweet."

Kakeru pretended jealousy, "Well, why don't you go and marry him if he's so sweet."

"Kakeru, you know I don't like sweet things!" she joked as she jabbed him in the stomach

Hikaru waited impatiently for them to quit flirting when she spotted Fuu. She walked over to the window railing and touched Fuu lightly on the shoulder. "Miss Hikaru!" Fuu exclaimed, startled despite Hikaru's efforts. Hikaru smiled and they stood silently. After a short while Umi joined them. They stood together for what seemed to them like ages, remembering all of the people and places they had met and seen. Clef, Presea, Ascot, Caldina, Lafarga, Lantis, Eagle, Ferio, Emeraude and Zagato, Aska, Tarta and Tatra. The Forest of Silence, The spring of Eterna, the shrines of the rune gods, Clef's palace, Cephiro. They remembered all of these people and things and much, much more. Hikaru couldn't contain it any longer. "I want to go back!" she exploded, quietly. Fuu sighed as if in agreement. But Umi looked pained.

"The reason," she said tremulously, "The reason I don't want to go back is because I've found a life here, in our own world. I'm happy. I don't want to go back because I'm afraid of hurting those I left behind. And I don't want to lose what I have here." She looked to her friends for understanding.

Fuu smiled compassionately. And Hikaru kept her eyes down as she said hesitantly, "I think I understand, Umi. No, I know I do," she looked at Umi with tears in her eyes. "I know you love my brother, and I'm so sorry if I've hurt you or him because I refused to understand before." They fell into each other and hugged fiercely.

A few moments later Kakeru and Yasuo walked up to them. Yasuo's girls had distributed themselves around the deck and he was free to roam himself. "I'm glad you three have worked things out," Kakeru said sincerely. They all smiled just as another young man walked up and stood next to their group, his eyes gazed at the view of the city but darted back to their group every few moments. He was of fairly average height, had dark, dirty blonde hair, and was wearing a dark blue shirt, jeans and a brown leather jacket.

Suddenly, he grabbed Fuu, clamped his hand over her mouth and put a switchblade to her throat. He kept his back to the crowd of site seers and spoke softly, "I want this quiet and I want this quick. Hand over all your money, credit cards, and jewelry."

Hikaru reacted immediately by advancing on the man, but Kakeru pulled her back and kept a firm hand on her shoulder so that the thief wouldn't dig his knife deeper into Fuu's neck. Yasuo swiftly put himself in front of Umi and had his hand on her wrist, keeping her behind him.

Kakeru reached for his wallet. "Kakeru!" Hikaru protested, "We can't just. . ." She stopped in the middle of her sentence because as she spoke Fuu savagely bit the man's wrist, actually drawing blood. He cried out and dropped the knife. Yasuo ran forward to intercept Fuu as she fell out of the man's hold. And Umi dashed to catch the blade as it fell, throw herself on the thief, and put the point of his own blade to his throat.

As everyone but Umi let out a big sigh of relief and all attention fell on the group of six people, barely adults, a bright light flashed from a distance and enveloped the entire observation deck of Tokyo Tower. There was no disembodied voice pleading for them to save its world. But each girl knew exactly what was happening. And their emotions were surprisingly similar. Each had feelings of dread, joy, and confusion. Why now? What would their beloved land of Cephiro call them to do this time? The pillar system had been abolished. The incessant crumbling had been stopped. What would the people of Cephiro need them for?

And a split second later all six of them were in the blue sky of Cephiro, plummeting toward the blue ocean below.