Chapter 4

Plain and simple…Hikaru's gone. Umi and Fuu are on the ground crying. Now what?

The room of Hikaru was bare and empty. The door creaked as Umi lay on the floor trembling, tears streaming down her face. Fuu, standing on her feet, covered her mouth trying to hold in her scream. Her legs trembled harshly forcing her to fall to her knees as well. She then broke down into tears, no longer able to hold it back. Umi faced the ground with her tears falling to the ground. She clenched her hands.

"HIKARU!"

"Hello?"

Umi and Fuu jerked their heads back and looked behind them. Someone entered the house. It must have been one of Hikaru's brothers. The girls calmed down a bit but then when into a sudden panic realizing that Hikaru was gone, so what were her brothers going to say to a missing Hikaru.

"Hikaru's brothers!" Umi gasped.

"What are we going to tell them?" Fuu wondered.

The two girls looked at one another confused at their current situation. They couldn't think of any possible explanation to what was going on. The silence in the room was cut short as one of the brothers entered the room. The girls gasped as they turned their head again and saw Kakeru at the door.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"K-kakeru-san!" said Fuu.

"We…we can explain!" Umi cried.

Kakeru looked at the two girls, with a look of confusion.

"Explain what? Why you're in the guest bedroom?"

The girls stared at the remark that Kakeru made. They were confused. Was this not Hikaru's room?

"What are you talking about? This is Hikaru's room!" Umi yelled as she turned to look at the room. She soon turned silent as she saw that what was not there appeared. It was a guest room after all. A sigh of relief hovered over the girls' shoulders as the got off their knees to meet with Kakeru. As the girls got up they turned to Kakeru, who's face at the time looked confused.

"Who's this Hikaru you're talking about? Is she a friend of yours?" Kakeru asked.

The girls froze once again stunned from the remark that just came out of Kakeru's mouth. Umi ran up to him and grabbed his arms tight.

"Hikaru! You're little sister! Don't you remember her?"

"Whoo! What is wrong with you Umi?" Kakeru wondered as her put his hand on Umi's forehead. "We don't have a younger sister."

Umi gasped. Didn't have a younger sister? How could that be? Umi and Fuu were lost. What was going on in this house? Umi pulled back and into Fuu's hands.

"Are you sure you two are okay? Do you have a fever or something?"

The two girls ran out of the room, down the stairs, and to the door. They rushed to get their shoes on and noticed that the Hikaru's pair was missing. What was happening to them? Did Hikaru no longer exist? They didn't want to think about, nor did they want to believe it, but how could they explain it? The slammed the door behind them and went right past the two other brothers without even noticing that they were there. As they ran around the corner Kakeru came out of the house. The three brothers walked to each other, all confused.

"What was that about?" One asked.

"No idea…they talked about us having a younger sister…named Hikaru or something." Kakeru answered.

"A younger sister?" They other added.

"Yeah. They were in the guest room and said that it belonged to Hikaru. But we don't even have a younger sister."

"Hmmm." The eldest brother turned around to the corner at which the girls had turned.

"Something wrong?" The youngest brother asked.

"Well…to tell the truth, it does feel like something's missing. I've had this sinking feeling that something was taken."

"Yeah. I had that feeling earlier, but I thought that was just me. What about you Kakeru?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, I had the same thing happen to me. It was right when I got into the house."

The brothers stared at one another, wondering about what they felt earlier and what Umi and Fuu told Kakeru. They knew something was wrong, but they didn't take it any farther than that.

Umi and Fuu came running into a park out of breath, ready to sit down and talk about what had just happened. They looked at each other then around the park to find a bench to sit on. Just a few feet away they spotted one by a lamppost. They walked over and sat. Again, they looked at one another, Umi with a serious expression and Fuu, almost ready to cry.

"Something is definitely wrong here" Umi started.

"Yes. First Hikaru strange behavior, and then she disappears."

"And now it's like she no longer exists."

The girls looked down at the ground, silent. They still didn't want to believe that Hikaru was actually gone. It wasn't possible. But then again, they didn't think anything was impossible, not after Cephiro.

"Maybe this is what it was like when we were taken to Cephiro." Umi said.

"No, I don't think so. When we came back it was like we were never gone. But now it's…different."

Umi nodded. "Yeah, that's true." She then had a sudden thought. "Do you think everyone's forgotten Hikaru?"

"…I don't know. Maybe. Judging by the reaction that her brothers had, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes for everyone else as well."

"Hmmm."

The girls sat and talked for an hour, not realizing how late it was becoming. They sat talking about possibilities of how Hikaru could have disappeared, and ways why her brothers don't remember her. But they also made assumptions as to who or what took her. The idea of Cephiro kept coming up in their minds, but they knew that only the pillar of Chephiro could summon people from another world. Hikaru was in the fight for the position, but later on was shared by all three of the girls. If one went, then the other two would surely follow. Nothing made sense anymore. They sat, frustrated and confused. How could they solve this mystery? For some reason, the image of their new classmate reappeared in their minds over and over. Could it be? Maybe it was Kuro who took Hikaru. But where was the proof?

"Fuu, I've been thinking. What if it was that new kid?"

"What do you mean Miss Umi?"

"I mean, what if Hikaru disappearing is connected to that Kuro guy?"

"I see what you mean. It does seem suspicious."

"Him arriving, her reaction, and her being gone. It doesn't seem like some mere coincidence." Umi said as she counted with her fingers.

"We're going to have to have a talk with Kuro. I'm not sure if it really is his fault, but you do have a point about it not being just a simple coincidence. It can't be that simple."

"So, we're in agreement then. Tomorrow, we'll have a talk with this Kuro Shadow."

"And we'll bring Miss Hikaru back." Fuu said smiling.

Umi turned and nodded along with her. They were determined to bring back their missing friend. Hikaru had done so much for the both of them, so now they were going to pay her back. The two friends stood up and clasped their hands together. Hand in hand, they would save their friend.

Preview: Second day of school, and the girls are about to get into a fight! How will they deal with such a huge amount of weight on their shoulders?

(Sorry if there's too much talking, it's just I like to write cliffhangers a lot. Just a bad habit I guess, but that makes it more fun!)