Yeah, I'm so on a roll! I don't own MKR.

Chapter 17

Hikaru woke up, expecting to see sunlight. Instead, she saw darkness. Confused, she sat up. "Is it still night?" she asked the girls. But when she turned, there was no one there!

"Girls?" she called out, about to get up, but a cold blast of air made her huddle closely. She began to shiver as she began to walk.

There were cozy little houses with people were most likely sleeping, wishing for one more good day at work. Hikaru walked down the road, realizing she was the only one awake. Her hair flew behind her as the wind passed by.

Some hours later, she stopped near a forest. "I need to eat." she mumbled, realizing she had to stop & rest for a while. After a good hunt for some fruit, she prepared a fire & sat by it, trying to get warm, eating her fruit. The forest was silent & the animals were afraid of this strange creature invading their home.

"Don't be afraid. I will soon leave this place and everything will be back to normal." she smiled, but nothing happened.

Finishing her fruit, she began to walk again. A couple hours later, she stood in front of a thin red barrier. "It's just like the green one. Maybe my stone & jewel are here!" she shouted, getting excited.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes & stepped forward. Suddenly, everything became dizzy and blackness surrounded her entire body.

She felt her body burning, with merciless flames consuming her flesh and soul. "I'm going to die before I complete the task." she worried, but shook her head. "No, I cannot let this happen!" she shouted.

With this objective in mind, she started to fight against this strange heat burning her. She had to win, she had to. The flames became hotter and the heat was unbearable. She could not stand it further. Her skin was screaming in pain and she could do nothing to lessen the pain.

She calmed her heart and prepared herself for the death. A single tear escaped from her right eye and ran down her cheek. Oddly, the tear did not leave her face. It continued running down her cheek, then her chin, then her neck, then her chest...It traced her whole body. Oddly enough, everywhere the tear passed, the flames disappeared and her skin was brand new. Some time later, her body was already healed and fine and then she opened her eyes.

She found herself in the middle of a path, leading to the top of a volcano. The trees nearby were all burned to a crisp and there was no sign of life. There was no city nor civilization. She had no idea of what to do, but said out loud. "Walking on this path would be the best choice. If I got lost, all I have to do is turn back and walk on the path on the opposite direction and soon, I'll be back in the beginning." Having this in mind, she started to walk.

The soil was soft and not difficult to walk on. She had no problem with it. The only problem was the length of the path. It was very long, and there was a part where she would need to climb the volcano, and it would be tough, especially since she was already tired. Her legs were aching and hurting a lot.

Some hours later, after climbing the volcano and reaching its top, she found out that she did not feel the extreme heat of it. Her skin was somehow protected and suddenly, she remembered the flames covering her body and burning her skin. It was at that moment that she found out why she had suffered by that painful experience: to have her skin cold when she were near of strong heat, like of an active volcano. She thanked the gods for that and observed her surroundings. There was no sign of life, when she spotted a something small near the lava. She approached the place where she saw that creature. She opened her eyes in complete shock.

"Who are you? Get away of here or you will get burned." She told the girl standing near her. She was a pretty young girl with dark black hair and beautiful blue eyes. She wore a black dress with blue protections on the shoulders and had some jewels on her clothes. She had a beautiful dark blue & black sapphire on her left glove and she was smiling.

"I belong to this place. You are the one that should not be here. What is your name and what are you doing here?" asked the girl.

"I am Hikaru, the Magic Knight of fire. I am looking for the realm guardian. Can you tell me where she or he is?"

"Yes, I do. At this exact moment, she is standing in front of you. My name's Aiko." she said, smiling.

"What?" she gasped in surprise.

She could not believe it! She expected someone like Kameko or someone huge, not a young child. She shook her head, as a way to clear her thoughts. She was confused and did not know what to think about the whole situation.

"So, you wanted to see me?"

"Y...Yes. I would like to retrieve the jewel of this mountain."

"Well, fine. But, by the way, you will have to defeat me if you want me to listen to your request. I am sorry, but it is all this protocol."

"Protocol?" Hikaru was confused.

"Yeah, I cannot talk to anyone unless you defeat me with a sword." Aiko began. "Are we ready?"

Hikaru nodded, still a little confused. "Sure."

"Good." Aiko smiled & suddenly jumped on her. A sword came out of the sapphire she had on her left glove. Hikaru quickly pulled out her own sword and protected herself from the attack. When the swords touched each other, a strong ball of energy was made, creating a huge crater on the floor. They soon got far from each other, breathing hard.

'Wow, I have never fought with someone so good! It is going to be a tough fight.' Hikaru thought, grinning.

But she did not have time to enjoy it, because a second later, Aiko was attacking again.

She aimed at her chest, but she stepped behind and dodged the attack. She used her sword and within a small movement, she created a hollow in the air, that would cut anything.

Aiko jumped into the air and easily escaped from the mortal attack. This was a new attack, but it wouldn't kill anyone. Hikaru liked this technique because with it, her blade would not be bathed with the enemy's blood. She never liked to see blood, even if it was the enemy's. She breathed deeper and tried again. Aiko was a skillful swordswoman, Hikaru had to admit. But, she would not lose, she promised to herself.

The fight continued like this. Hikaru did not let Aiko attack, attacking all the time. But, unfortunately, Aiko was very quick and easily jumped away from the attacks. Hikaru was losing strength and she knew that. She had to think on something, or she would lose.

Hikaru saw all the rocks in their surroundings. Aiko had used them as a place to land after the attack. She had an idea.

She continued attacking, but this time, she was aiming her attacks at the rocks. Soon, Aiko did not have any more rocks to land at. She had to jump in the air and land on the ground, making her stay in the air for a longer time. Hikaru, continuing with her plan, quickly sent another attack, but this time, she sent it while Aiko was still in the air, so she would not be able to escape from it.

Her plan worked and Aiko received the whole blast of the attack. She had skillfully moved her body so she would not get very hurt, but nevertheless, she injured her right arm, exactly the arm she uses her hand to grab her sword. The fight was over, and the winner was Hikaru.

Hikaru ran over to help the girl. "Are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt your arm." She helped her up.

Aiko smiled. "You won fair & square & yet you still help me. That is a true warrior." She paused as she leaned on Hikaru. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

" The task you had to pass by so you could see me was, in reality, that fire that you felt surrounding your body when you passed through the barrier, not this fight."

"What?" Hikaru gasped out, feeling tricked.

"Yeah, that's the truth. It is called pure fire. A special fire surrounds your body and soul, that is why it hurts even more than a normal fire. Only the people with the strongest and purest hearts are able to pass through it. And you passed. The fight we had was only a disguise, you know. Even if I had won the fight, you had already passed through the task and I would listen to you. It was only a game, really." She told her with a huge smile on her face.

Hikaru laughed. "I see. Well, may I have the stone?" Hikaru quickly recovered. "Not trying to be mean, but I need to find my friends & a little girl."

Aiko nodded, pushing off. "Don't worry." She created a light & a small red jewel appeared. "This is the jewel of the fire realm."

Hikaru reached out & took the jewel. She watched as it disappeared into her armor. She changed into another version of her armor, just like what happened to Fuu.

She wore a crimson tunic edged with gold over a rose sleeveless dress. Both dress and tunic were longer at the back, with the front ending at mid-thigh. A wide leather belt cinched her waist and her white leather boots reached almost to her knees. She wore gold armbands, each sporting a smooth red crystal at the center. The velvet crimson cloak had a hood with two carved gold clips holding it in place about her shoulders.

Hikaru slowly glowed brighter & the jewel landed in Hikaru's hand as the stone stayed in her armor.

Hikaru opened her eyes & spoke. But her voice was a mix of hers, Rayearth's & Ka's. "Thank you, Aiko, guardian of the fire realm. You are thanked by all of Cephiro." Hikaru bowed down.

Aiko bowed as well. "It is nothing. You deserve it."

Hikaru opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say didn't come out, because she stopped glowing & fell to the ground.

Luckily, Aiko used her powers to catch her. As she held her, bruises & cuts appeared. "You'll be fine." she murmured as she placed her down softly. "You must rest here for now, Magic Knight of Fire." Aiko picked Hikaru up & brought her into her home.

So people don't get confused, the next couple of chapters are happening at the same time, just in different places. Thank you & please RR