Chapter 3
Hikaru's new year in high school isn't starting off very well. Aside from the fact that she, Umi, and Fuu are all in the same class, Hikaru meets a new classmate named Kuro. But now Hikaru gets a bad vibe from him when he walks by from her, and it wasn't subtle either. She felt faint and has left school due to a wound. Has Hikaru met the person in her dreams?
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It was quiet. The room was dim and cold. The sun didn't hit any part of the room, except for maybe the curtains, which were blocking the brightness of the sun. It hurt her eyes if even the slightest amount would hit them. Every now and then the shadow of birds would come by and become the only form of entertainment Hikaru had, as she lay half-asleep on her futon, but slowly falling asleep. The nurse had told her to try and fall asleep after she had bandaged up her wound. She was still trembling from earlier, and she was told that her trembling might have been triggered from shock, so she wanted her to sleep it off. But how could she sleep?
Sigh.
Hikaru was completely still and stared blankly at her ceiling. Her mind was just like a blank slate, but every few seconds and new question would arise and keep her from falling asleep and escaping from reality to a world where everyone knew that you couldn't possibly be hurt. 'How does he know about Cephiro and me being the Pillar?' were questions that popped into her head. And questions like 'Why did that uneasy feeling take over me when he walked by?' There were many answers and possibilities that Hikaru could think of logically and almost impossible. But things weren't really impossible for Hikaru anymore.
Hikaru closed her eyes for a brief moment and opened them again. From the corners of her eyes, tears began to form. Her vision slowly became blurry and she could feel the trails of her tears falling down the side of her face.
"Why? Why am I crying?"
She placed the palms of her hands over her eyes and let the tears run free. As she wept she flipped to her left and soon cried herself to sleep.
I want to see Lantis. I want to see him again, were her last thoughts before she had fallen asleep.
Umi and Fuu were finishing the rest of their classes before they met one another in front of the school building. They had made plans of visiting Hikaru the day before, to bring gifts from Europe and America, but after what had happened they decided that visiting Hikaru was a first priority. They were going to bring her the gifts of course to make her feel better. They knew how happy Hikaru was when she received a gift from a friend.
The bell for the last class rung and the two girls met in front of the school building.
"Fuu!"
Umi was running to meet Fuu who was waiting under a tree reading a book about the physics of speed and distance. Fuu looked up and saw Umi running with her right hand in the air waving around. When Umi reached her she slouched over panting and trying to catch her breath.
"Do you…always…have to read…such hard books?" she asked, still out of breath.
"It's for my physics class. And it's really not that bad." Fuu answered.
"Yeah…well…I guess for a genius like you…it would be easy."
Fuu giggled and placed her book in her book bag. She left her hand inside the bag and started feeling around for something. After searching she pulled out a small box with baby blue wrapping and an ocean blue bow and handed it to Umi.
"Here, this is for you," Fuu began, "it's a photograph of the fencing champion in all of Europe. I even asked for their autograph. I thought you could use it as a good luck charm in your fencing matches."
"Waah? Thanks Fuu. Oh!"
Umi reached into her bag and brought out a thin package with forest green wrapping and a lime green bow.
"Here," Umi smiled, "this is for you."
Fuu took the package and opened up and found a book of photos of nature. She glanced at a few photos of flowers, oceans, lake, rainstorms, and almost anything else. She smiled at Umi and thanked her.
"When I saw that, the first thing I thought of was you and how you had a garden at your house."
The two girls giggled for a while then got their bags and started walking out the gate. As they walked along the sidewalk, they talked about their first day at school that year, and what it was like for them. Umi talked about her fencing club, and how all the new years were all mainly girls this year than last. Fuu talked about how her classes with the science teacher, and that she corrected him in almost half the questions that he gave.
"Wow Fuu. You really are a genius," Umi giggled.
"Oh, now Miss Umi. That's not true. I just merely know a bit more than he did, that's all."
"Which makes you a genius."
Fuu giggled and turned her head to the road ahead.
"I wonder how Miss Hikaru is doing?"
"Yeah. She was acting really strange this morning. Wonder what's up?"
"Maybe she ate something this morning?"
"I could believe that, but did you see her face when she left the classroom?"
"I did."
(Flashback)
"Hikaru, I want you to go to the nurses office right now and get that bandaged up. Go home and get some rest while you're at it too," said Ms. Shirai.
"Okay."
Hikaru got out of her seat and walked to the door with her hands held together, trying to apply pressure to the wound. She stopped at the door and turned her head to look at Umi and Fuu, who were worried. She gave them a slight smile, to assure them that she was fine. At that time, she caught the eye of Kuro, who was staring at her smirking a bit. Hikaru stiffened and immediately left the classroom, to escape his gaze.
The door shut, and class started up once again.
(Back in reality)
"She did look a bit pale when she left," Fuu said.
"Yeah…and the way that boy looked at her was strange too. Almost like he knew something," Umi replied with her hand under her chin as she recalled what happened.
"I think there is something wrong with that boy. There's something about him that I just don't like. Do you agree Miss Umi?"
"Yeah."
The girls walked and talked about Hikaru and her behavior until they had finally reached her house. They walked through the gate and went straight for the door and knocked twice to see if anyone of Hikaru's brothers were home. No one answered the door, so they thought that the brothers weren't at all inside, and knocked one more time. There was no answer again. Umi grabbed the doorknob and twisted it around until the sound of the latch releasing the lock was heard.
The door opened.
The house was so silent that the sound of the door opening could be heard. The girls stood outside for a while investigating what looked like to be one empty house. They finally decided to go inside and stepped inside, took off their shoes noticing Hikaru's small pair of shoes, and went straight for Hikaru's room.
"It's so quiet," Umi said, breaking the silence inside.
"Yes, quite. I almost reminds me of when we walked into Miss Presea's house when we first went to Cephiro," Fuu said.
"Yeah…only this is more creepy."
"For some strange reason…I agree."
The girls continued to walk to Hikaru's room. They found the door that contained most of Hikaru's belongings and knocked on the door, but softly, trying not to disturb Hikaru if she was sleeping. She didn't answer, so Umi placed her head on the door and quietly said, "Hikaru? You okay?"
Hikaru didn't answer and Umi opened the door. As she slowly opened the door Fuu stepped inside, but quickly stopped in her tracks. At the same time the movement of the door stopped with a book bag falling to the ground, once again breaking the silence.
Fuu's hands slowly came to her face covering her mouth. Umi had fallen to her knees with her right hand on the door to help give her balance. Their eyes wide eyed, tears forming at the edge of their eyes, quivering.
"H…HIKARU!" Umi yelled, her head falling the ground.
"Oh…M-miss Hikaru," Fuu followed, frozen in place.
What was in front of them was not Hikaru's room…but just an empty room. A room with completely nothing inside.
Preview: Hikaru is gone. Her room is bare. Umi and Fuu are about to have a break down. The two girls search frantically for their lost friend, searching for any possible answer as to why Hikaru's gone. Their only suspect as to why is Kuro. Could he have possibly done something to Hikaru? What's more, what are the two friends going to tell Hikaru's brothers?
