I'll Love You Forever - Chapter 2 Purin-chan: Oh about the inauzuma shourai thingie...I figured it out ^_^, or I hope I did. I originally thought it was that, but when I stumbled across Lantis shrines that said "Storaike" I got confuzzied. I'll just stick to my instincts then ~.^. You know I had the WEIRDEST dream last night. I somehow dreamt that Hikaru and Zazu had gotten together in the end of MKR2 instead of Hikaru and Lantis e_e;;;. Though yes I am a fan of that couple as well ^_^, I just thought it was weird when the two of them kissed and stuff X_X;;;. *Major sweatdropping comes from the MKR cast*. This is what I get for reading too many Zazu x Hikaru fics u.u;;;. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey Fuu, you think Hikaru's safe in there with him?" Umi whispered to her. "We have no choice but to trust Eagle-san," Fuu replied. "I guess you're right..." Umi sighed. "Please don't cry," Eagle said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I hate to see you cry." Hikaru nodded silently and leaned into him. Eagle got up, helping Hikaru up at the same time. "Come on, you need some fresh air after all this time you've been couped up in here," he said, leading her to the door. "Arigatou...Eagle." "You don't need to thank me. All I did was come in and check on you," Eagle said, putting his hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Well let's go. Your friends are waiting for you," he said as he opened the door. Meanwhile... Clef, Ferio, and Lafarga were standing beside Lantis's body, which was now on a table. "I wonder how Hikaru is taking this..." Ferio wondered. Clef waved his staff over Lantis's body, causing a forcefield to cover him. Ferio and Lafarga looked at him questioningly. "Only those he loved may penetrate the shield," Clef answered. They both nodded in understanding. Umi ran up and hugged Hikaru the minute she set foot out the door. "Hikaru, I'm so sorry we couldn't help," Umi said sadly. "It was our fault. If we were stronger, maybe we could've saved him," Fuu continued. Hikaru bit her lip. The thought of Lantis made her want to cry so badly. Eagle stepped up. "It wasn't your fault, it was mine." They all looked at him. "Lantis asked me to attack her mashin. I refused," Eagle said guiltily. Hikaru turned around and cried into his shirt again. Eagle hugged her gently. Umi and Fuu watched, surprised at Hikaru's sudden actions. "Let's get her something to eat," Eagle said finally. Umi and Fuu nodded, and led them towards the kitchen. When they almost reached the door, Hikaru stopped walking. "I'm not hungry," she said. "Hikaru..." Umi trailed off. "You haven't eaten for an entire day now," Fuu finished. "I'm still not hungry." Eagle kneeled down in front of her. "Then what would you like to do?" he asked her. Hikaru paused before answering. "Can we go to the garden?" she asked. "That's fine," he said. "Um, Eagle-san?" "Hai?" "Umi-san and I are going to Clef-san's room. Could you take Hikaru-san to the garden yourself?" Fuu asked. Eagle nodded. "Arigatou gozaimasu." Fuu and Umi left. "Well, let's go," Eagle said, taking Hikaru's hand into his. Fuu and Umi entered Clef's room. "Where's Hikaru?" he asked them. "Hikaru went with Eagle to the garden," Umi replied. Clef's eyes narrowed. Umi noticed. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'd be able to penetrate this shield easily." Umi knocked on the shield around Lantis to make sure it was fool-proof. Fuu nodded in agreement. Hikaru immediately walked over to the fountain in the middle of the garden. She sat down so that her legs were dangling just over the water. Memories of the place flooded back to her. Her tears mixed with the fountain's. Hikaru looked up in surprise when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. "I really wish you wouldn't cry like that," he whispered into her ear. Hikaru smiled slightly. A bird flew over and landed on her shoulder. She recognized it almost immediately. "That's the one that..." Her tears welled up from thinking about Lantis again. Another bird flew over, it landed on Eagle's shoulder though. "Eagle?" "Hmm?" "Arigatou." Eagle sighed. "Don't make me repeat myself. I already said you didn't need to thank me. It was my fault in the first place anyway." Hikaru shook her head slowly. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, I'm sure you're in as much pain as I am. You're just stronger than me..." her voice trailed off as a tear ran down her cheek. Eagle hugged her tighter. "I'm not stronger, I just have a problem with sharing my emotions..." He buried his face in her hair. "Eagle..." Hikaru's tears flowed out. Eagle wiped her tears from her eyes. "I was hoping you would stop crying, but all you seem to be doing is crying harder. Should I leave you alone?" he asked her. "No!" Hikaru turned around and hugged him tightly. "I don't ever want to be alone," she whispered through her tears. "Hikaru..." Hikaru leaned against him. "You must be tired. I'll carry you to your room," Eagle said, picking her up at the same time. Hikaru murmured a weak "Arigatou" before falling asleep. Eagle smiled at her before heading down the hallway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purin-chan: ^___________^ I just love this would-have-been-if-only couple. It took me too long to write this chapter since I didn't get any ideas X_x;.