Chapter Two

Tell Me

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of the dripping water was swift yet steady. Hikaru was curled up in a little corner in the dark room. Asleep.

"Hikaru... Hikaru... Hikaru... wake up... Hikaru..."

Slowly she opened her eyes. A woman with long golden hair was standing over her, touching her shoulder with her warm hands. She could not see her face, not even recognize her voice. But somewhere in her heart, she knew. She knew who this person was. She just hasn't figured out who it was exactly...

"Hikaru... Come with me. I want to show you something." She held out her hand for Hikaru.

"Okay..." Hikaru suddenly turned into a little child, looking up at her mother; a mother with no face.

She took little Hikaru to a small door.

"Open it..." she said. Hikaru did as she was told and opened the door.

Inside was a garden with several women gathered around something or someone. She could not tell. And as she took three steps forward, they all broke out and started to move around.

"What are they doing?" little Hikaru asked.

"They're dancing..." the woman with no face answered.

The women cleared the way and there, she saw, was a man.

"Oh, so that's what they were gathered there for..." she said softly.

The women suddenly started to dance around her and in the process, were dropping some petals along the ground around her. Little Hikaru suddenly became the teenager she truly was once again, and having her own mind again, she started to back off from all the women. She slowly walked and stumbled over something.

"Uhnn..." she groaned. She looked up and she saw...

Knives of different shapes and sizes were all scattered around the place. And the man whom all the girls were gathered around a while ago, was now lying on his side, unconscious. And behind him was a huge tree. She stood up and took another three steps when suddenly, the knives flew up in the air and shot at her. One of them managed to wound her on her arm, although she tried to the extent of her evasion skills.

She clutched her arm tightly as she took a quick look once again of her surroundings. Blood. There was blood everywhere. She quickly ran to the man lying a few steps before her. And she did, without any of the knives shooting at her. She carefully tended to the man. She pushed him gently so that he was lying on his back and saw that his face was filled with blood. Lantis. She heard laughter. A gruesome laughter. Someone seems to be amused with the turn-outs of the events.

"No... Lantis... NO... LANTIS!!" she gasped, stuttered and started to move backward. Merely two steps she took and a knife stabbed her from behind. She couldn't breathe. She was falling... down... down... down... But wait! There is a light! And through the light, there was someone standing. Lantis.

"Hey! Come on. Just let me pay you back. I mean, I should pay you double for letting her stay here. This is one of the finest suites!"

"Oh, no no no no! You don't have to do that, really."

"Be quiet you two! Can't you see she's asleep?"

Hikaru started to cough violently and this caused her to wake up.

"Cough Cough I gotta' cough go to the bathroom!" she said, and ran to the bathroom she did.

She stayed in there for quite a long time. Blood was all over the sink. Why was this happening? Wasn't that just a dream? Hikaru decided that she was in the bathroom for a time too long and steeped out. The sink was covered with blood. She looked at herself in the mirror and her face was covered with blood. She wiped it off before opening the door. The three boys were outside with their own poses. She forced a smile.

"Hehehe... Hey, guys." She sounded like a drunk girl and she definitely walked like one. She started to fall. Junichiro was quick to catch her but Lantis already did. She felt warm in this man's arms. It felt really safe and secure to be around him.

"Hey, hey! Wait a second." Junichiro started.

"Oh, well. I'm just gonna' go and get a towel from the bathroom." Zagato started.

"okay, Zagato. You do that and I'll go get some ice. Don't be getting any ideas Lantis. I'm watching you." Eagle said. Seriously.

'Zagato? And... Lantis...? Did I just hear those names? Impossible! I'm imagining it again. Wait a minute... Oh, snap! I forgot to clean out the sink! It's still covered with blood!' Hikaru quickly pulled loose from the man who was holding her and literally ran into the bathroom. She was too late. Zagato was already standing by the sink. He looked at her and his eyes pierced through her heart.

"Z... Zagato?" she said.

"Oh, yeah. Would you mind explaining." He said gently, pointing to the sink.

"Oh, I just..." she started.

"Had a bad dream?" he continued.

"Yeah... How did you know...?" Hikaru said, standing straight now.

"Hikaru. I know these things. So why was blood involved this time, I wonder? Is it maybe because your death was involved in this dream?" Zagato said as he pulled off a towel from the rack by the shower.

"I... Oh... Yes..." Hikaru said, bowing down her head.

"You're lucky to be alive. Most people, when they dream about their own deaths, it usually means that their souls are dead. If you got no soul, you got no life. That's the way it is." He guided her out the bathroom. "You're really lucky if you ask me."

"I... Dunno what to say... Please... don't tell anyone about this. Most especially Junichiro." Hikaru whispered.

Zagato smiled and whispered to her ear, "So, was my brother involved in this dream?"

"WHAT?!" Hikaru shouted. Lantis and Junichiro looked at her. She blushed. Zagato laughed out loud.

"Hey, quit it!" Junichiro said, trying to cover Lantis' eyes, "Man, you are some tough competition!" He really hated it when other men gives her girl a second look.

"You stop it, Eagle." Lantis said. Loud enough for Hikaru to hear.

"Eagle?" she repeated.

"Oh, what he meant is that he... never actually saw a real eagle... so I should stop it and accompany him to see one... yeah! That's it! I mean, come on! They're almost extinct, right?" Junichiro covered.

"Please, tell me. Are you really him? Are you really Eagle? And you." She turned to Lantis, "Is that really you... Lantis?" she reached to touch his face but pulled back instead. "I... Please tell me... What's going on..."

"Nothing. Nothing's going on..." Junichiro started. Taking a few steps nearer Hikaru.

"Eagle... It is you... I knew it from the moment I first saw you. I just..." Hikaru said.

"I..." Junichiro murmured. "I'm sorry I lied, Hikaru... I just wanted to start over as Junichiro Koizumi, not Eagle Vision..." he said sadly and hugged her. Lantis turned around to block the sight from his mind and Zagato laughed out loud.

"Eagle will always be Eagle to me. Zagato will be Zagato and... Lantis will still be... Lantis." She said, her voice quavering. She reached into her pocket where she always carried the gift Lantis gave her and held it tightly. "Please..." she said, with tears in her eyes, "Tell me..."

Author's Notes: So? How do you like it? A cliffhanger once again, huh? Thanks for taking your time to read this! :-)

Next Chapter Sneak Preview: Well... read the next chapter.