Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Here I Am ❯ Sleepless Night ( Chapter 14 )

Here I Am

Chapter Fourteen - Sleepless Night

By Crow Skywalker

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Disclaimer - Don't own MKR or its characters. No profit is being made, only borrowing them for my own amusement.

Author's Notes - Started writing this chapter today, and I just couldn't stop. I think it's because I'm really obsessed with MKR again, so it's a lot easier to write ^_~ So yep, here's the next chapter…and I'm liking this one a lot. The ending's kind of a cliff hanger, but hey, I'm evil…gotta expect that stuff, lol. Anyway, I also want to say that I've finally got my MKR RPG going, if anyone's interested. We finally got a Hikaru and Fuu (I'm playing Umi) and we need everyone else. Email me for more details if you're interested…although my email has been going retarded all week. Leave a comment or something, maybe…up to you. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews…R&R, and I'll be seeing you next time! (And if you join my RPG, I'll be seeing you sooner! ^_~)

Warnings/Pairings - Rated PG, though I may up the rating later on. Pairings of Umi/Clef, Fuu/Ferio, and Hikaru/Lantis/Eagle.

Summary - Umi wishes to return to Cephiro, and on a cold lonely night she gets sent back. However, things aren't what they seem, for a new evil is lurking not far away, and it has plans for Umi.

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It was really late when Presea had suggested everyone should go to bed. "To be able to find Umi, we need our sleep," She had said. So everyone reluctantly returned to his or her rooms, all except for Larfarga and Lantis, who decided to step up security, especially around the other Magic Knight's rooms. Although whoever had kidnapped Umi would most likely not return, they still wanted to be sure nothing happened to the remaining Knights.

Hikaru lay in bed in her room, the same familiar room and bed she had slept in the last time she had been in Cephiro. Now, she lay staring up at that same familiar ceiling as well. She shut her eyes, memories of the past day flooding her mind.

She couldn't sleep, especially after today. She had finally gotten her wish, and had gotten sent back to the place she had missed dearly, back into the arms of her old friends. She had been happy to see them all, and their reunion had been great. She had cried with delight after seeing them all, since she had expected to never see them again. Seeing Fuu had been a great relief as well.

But then they had told her the bad news, that Umi was indeed here, but she was hurt. Hikaru had wanted to see her right then and there. She hadn't seen her friend since they had gone off to different colleges, and now was her chance. But they had insisted Umi wasn't going anywhere, and she had reluctantly sat and answered all their questions.

She had been so happy skipping down the hall afterwards, seeing Umi would complete everything. Being in Cephiro just wouldn't be the same without seeing Umi there as well. She had barged into the room, only to find it empty.

At first, she thought maybe Umi had just woken up and disappeared, but by the look of Fuu's face, she had known better. Something was wrong, she could sense it. The others had only confirmed her fears. Umi was gone, kidnapped from her own room.

Opening her eyes, Hikaru pulled the blankets tighter around her and rolled over, staring across the room and out through her balcony window. She had made sure it was locked tightly, of course, and she had no fear of disappearing during the night. The guards were watching over her, and Lantis had promised her he'd be nearby if she needed him.

But who was there for Umi when she needed someone? Hikaru forced tears back, she had cried too many times today. Her eyes stung with the salty liquid. Who was going to talk to Umi when she woke up and had no idea where she was? What if Umi was in some dark and lonely place, hungry and hurt?

Hikaru forced the blankets off of her, sitting up in bed. No, she couldn't sleep knowing Umi was out there somewhere. Pulling a robe over her silky pajamas, she tiptoed to her door and peeked out. The coast was clear.

Opening her door, she walked barefooted out into the main hall. The halls were empty, and there was an unearthly silence as she padded down the hall in the direction of Fuu's room. She was about to knock on the other girl's door when she heard a noise behind her, and with a small cry of fright, she turned.

She had to look up a bit, but even before she saw his face she knew who it was. "Lantis!" She scolded him in a small voice, careful not to wake up the Palace, "You scared me!"

"What are you doing out at this hour?" He asked with a questioning gaze. Hikaru soon realized she was standing there in her pajamas and blushed, folding her arms across her chest and pulling at her robe in attempt to cover herself.

"I couldn't sleep." She answered, unable to meet his gaze.

"You shouldn't be out wandering the halls like this," He replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Hikaru blushed harder, finally looking up at him. "Sorry, I just -"

"Fuu's probably awake as well." He interrupted her, looking to the door behind her, "Don't keep her up too long, you both need your sleep." He said, turning away from her with - what was that - a small smile? Hikaru smiled back at him gratefully.

"Thank you."

He disappeared into the dimly lit halls, leaving Hikaru staring after him. Shaking her head with that same smile, she turned back to the door and knocked. When a voice answered her, she entered. Fuu was sitting on the edge of her bed, a solemn look on her face.

"Hikaru?" She asked, finally looking up.

Hikaru sat next to her on the bed. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" She asked.

Fuu shook her head. "I can't believe she just…disappeared like that, and nobody saw anything." She turned her head to look at her friend sitting beside her, "I didn't think anyone even knew she was here, besides us. I can't believe this happened."

They sat there quietly for a moment, neither feeling the urge to break the silence. Just sitting there together was comfort enough.

"Clef's been pretty busy since he found out," Hikaru finally said, "Think he'll be able to locate her?"

Fuu nodded. "Guru Clef is the most powerful Mage in Cephiro. I know he'll find her, but I can't help but worry, you know?"

Hikaru lay back on the bed, staring up at a ceiling so very much like hers. "Yeah. No matter how many times I tell myself Umi's strong, that she'll be okay…I still worry about her."

Fuu was lying beside her now, staring up at the same white ceiling. "Why do you…" She paused, as if the question was a hard one to asked, "Why do you think she stopped visiting us? After we returned home, the letters stopped, the phone calls stopped…it's like she wanted nothing to do with us."

Hikaru frowned, looking at Fuu from the corner of her eye. "I don't know..I always thought it was us, maybe she didn't want to be friends anymore. But I don't think that was it. Maybe leaving Cephiro for the second time was too upsetting for her, and talking to us only reminded her of what she left behind."

Fuu turned her head too look at her friend, a small smile on her lips. "You've grown very wise, Hikaru."

Hikaru returned the smile. "We've all grown, Fuu. We're not the same girls who dropped out of the sky all those years ago. We used to be so scared, so unsure of ourselves. All of that's changed now."

"We've become stronger." Fuu agreed, "And a whole lot wiser."

Silence fell between them again as they both thought this over. Then, rolling over onto her stomach and laying her chin in the palm of her hand to prop her head up, Hikaru grinned. "So, Fuu…what's going on with you and Ferio?" She asked, trying to forget her troubled thoughts and worries. Fuu blushed a deep shade of red.

"Hikaru!" She sat up, and both girls laughed. It felt good to laugh in a time like this.

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The dripping noise was once again bringing her back to the land of the living. It was a constant annoyance in her troubled sleep, and she clenched her eyes tightly as she found sleep drifting away from her.

No…don't want to wake up! She tried cuddling into the warmth of the blankets she thought were there, but only found the cold floor. The dripping continued.

"Stupid..drip.." She managed to hiss out between her teeth.

"Yes, we really should get that fixed." A voice answered her, and reality came back to Umi in a flash. She remembered now, she was in a dungeon in some castle, and Alcione had been mocking her…but this voice, it seemed different…

"I'll have my Lord look into having it fixed," Said the same voice, and it bitterly added, "Wouldn't want his precious prisoner dying of pneumonia or something, now would we?"

Umi moaned, blinking her eyes open only to be greeted by the wall. She tried to straighten out her legs, but they hurt too much. It hurt all over, and she clenched her teeth at the stiffness of her body. How long have I been lying here? She wondered.

"A little over sixteen hours now." The voice answered her, and she realized she'd spoken out loud. "You were out cold, I didn't think you'd wake up until late tomorrow at the least. But Alcione came and told me you had woken up, and now I have to watch you."

Umi filed this information away in her mind, and knew now this wasn't Alcione who was speaking to her. For one, the voice was more masculine, and a lot nicer than Alcione's. Her curiosity got the better of her, and ignoring the pain, she turned so she could sit up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, you're much too weak." Said the voice, and Umi ignored it.

"Lie back down." The voice ordered more sternly now, but Umi was sitting up now, her arms supporting her from behind.

Finally, when the spots behind her eyes and the pain stopped, she snapped, "And who are you to tell me what to do?"

She turned her head slightly, facing her captive who stood behind the thick metal bars of the cell. She first got a look of his armor, which gleamed in the candlelight. It looked kind of familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it. Moving her gaze up, she looked at the head, which was framed with white hair. A pair of intense golden eyes stared back at her.

Her jaw dropped as memories from the past came back to her. He watched her expression change from confusion to realization as she looked at him, and he raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"This…this can't be…" She managed, a look of disbelief washing across her face. "Eagle??"

To Be Continued…