000 ❂ History
While not much information is given about Hikaru's life before she was suddenly whisked away on an amazing, heartbreaking adventure in the magical world of Cephiro, there are a few things one can glean from her interactions with her friends and brief scenes of her home life. Hikaru is the youngest child of her family and has three older brothers who love her and dote on her rather shamelessly. She lives in a large, tranquil dojo, where her family teaches kendo; she apparently never played video games, but spent time learning how to wield a blade, since she's extremely proficient at swordplay. Her husky Hikari is one of her best friends, and they were raised together from a very early age. She attends an all-girls' middle school.
It was on a school field trip where she met her two new best friends and embarked on a life-altering journey. When her time ran out on a set of pay-binoculars at the Tokyo Tower, Hikaru was given more change by a student from another school. Hikaru dashed off to find the young girl when she walked away before she could thank her. Another group of students got in the way and Hikaru was unable to make her way through them, but at that moment, the entire lobby was flooded with light. Hikaru heard a voice calling out to her, pleading for help. "Please save our world, legendary Magic Knights!" The floor gave way, and three girls were suddenly plummeting through the sky toward an ocean that hadn't been there moments before.
Fortunately, their fall was broken by something other than the ground: a giant flying fish named Fyula. The girls were spirited safely to land, where they took a few moments to collect themselves and make introductions. The two other girls were Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu, both eighth-graders from other schools. Naturally, they were perplexed by their situation, but quickly concluded that they weren't in Kansas anymore, so to speak. The flying fish disappeared in a flash, and the girls were approached by a strange, short man called Guru Clef. He explained that they were now in a world called Cephiro, and had been summoned by its princess, Emeraude, to help save the land from disaster by reviving the dormant Mashin (powerful spirit animals) and becoming the Magic Knights of legend. The princess was imprisoned by a priest named Zagato, and they were to rescue her so stability could be restored to the land. He also told them that they wouldn't be able to return to Tokyo until they accomplished the task for which they had been summoned, and then imbued the girls with magical powers and gave them armor, claiming that they would need these things to achieve their quest.
Their time with Clef was cut short when the group was attacked by one of Zagato's minions, Alcyone. Guru Clef summoned a giant griffon and told the girls to escape, instructing them to flee to the Forest of Silence and seek out Presea and Mokona while he stayed behind to fend off their attacker, who was, in fact, one of his former pupils. Clef was unable to detain her for long, though, and the girls were left to deal with Alcyone on their own. Hikaru was able to repel Alcyone's ice attacks with her fire magic, and the trio made it safely to the Forest. There, they found the home of Presea, the master weapon smith, and met Mokona (a strange and oddly happy-looking rabbit creature) as well. Presea loaned them weapons and sent them off into the monster-filled woods to locate the Spring of Eterna, where they would find a special ore called "Escudo," which in turn could be made into their own magical swords.
Along with Mokona, the girls embarked on the first leg of their quest, making their way through the forest. They encountered and befriended a wandering swordsman named Ferio, and after cutting their way through swaths of monsters and battling Alcyone a second time, they finally made it to the Spring. Diving into the waters, each girl had to face a challenge before receiving their Escudo. Hikaru was pitted against a vicious doppelganger of her dog, Hikari. Realizing that Hikari would never hurt her, Hikaru was able to attack and defeat it.
Once the girls emerged from the spring, Presea was able to use the ore they’d obtained to create their unique swords, each of which could only be used by its specific wielder. Armed with evolved armor and a new set of spells, the trio was ready to set out on the next leg of their adventure.
Over the course of their journey, they faced more of Zagato's lackeys: Ascot, a beast summoner and Caldina, a dancer and illusionist. Each enemy they faced taught them valuable lessons about the strength of their own hearts, helping them to evolve the armor and weapons given them and bringing them closer to their goal as they awakened the Mashin and proved their worth to become Magic Knights. In the Water Shrine beneath the ocean, Umi revived the Mashin Celes, a dragon. In the Wind Shrine located in the floating crystal mountain, Fuu revived Windam, a phoenix. After a battle with the master swordsman Lafarga in the volcano that housed the Fire Shrine, Hikaru was able to revive Rayearth, a fire wolf. They discovered that the Mashin weren't only beasts, but could become giant robots as well.
With all three Mashin finally awake, the girls sought out Zagato to finish their quest and rescue Princess Emeraude. By combining their powers, they managed to kill Zagato, but the princess went mad with grief and - in a Mashin created by her own heart - attacked the Knights that had come to save her. They had been misled from the beginning! Emeraude had not summoned them to rescue her, but to end her life because she had fallen in love with Zagato and couldn't focus only on the needs of Cephiro.
The girls didn't want to fight her, but Emeraude attacked them mercilessly. When they had nearly lost hope, they heard the voice of what was left of the princess' sane mind speaking to them, pleading for them to fulfil her wish and liberate her from her sad existence without the man she loved. She begged them to end it quickly, before she prayed for the total annihilation of Cephiro. Grief-stricken, the Magic Knights could only comply. They joined their Mashin together into one powerful spirit and struck Emeraude down.
Now that the task for which they were summoned was completed, the girls were returned to the lobby of the Tokyo Tower, deposited directly where their journey had begun.
In the weeks and months that followed, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu remained close friends. Only the three of them shared the memory of their time in Cephiro and the bonds they created there. Each of them learned to cope with the trauma in her own way. The experience definitely affected them, even mellowing Hikaru's indomitable cheer. She didn't share her feelings with her friends and family, wanting to spare them the concern it would cause, but they could all tell that she wasn't as bright or tenacious as she had been before her trip to the Tokyo Tower.
Umi and Fuu alone understood the reason for her melancholy. When they met up at the Tokyo Tower once again to visit and talk, they were drawn a second time into Cephiro, falling and being caught by Fyula the flying fish once again. This time, there wasn't a beautiful ocean or green scenery. Cephiro was a wasteland in chaos, falling apart at the seams, with only a single castle as an oasis amidst the darkness. At the castle, the girls were reunited with all the friends they made before, including Presea, Caldina, Lafarga, and Ascot, who had quite literally grown up, becoming even taller than Umi.
Clef informed the Knights that he did not know who summoned them, since only the Pillar knew the spell to bring people from other worlds. They learned that without a Pillar to uphold it, Cephiro was slowly but surely crumbling away, and that it would soon vanish entirely. The situation looked even more dire when it was revealed that three other countries - Autozam’s commander Eagle Vision; Chizeta’s princesses, Tatra and Tarta; and Fahren’s princess, Aska - had decided to invade Cephiro in its moment of weakness in order to take possession of the country and its Pillar system. Not wanting them to risk their lives a second time for a country to which they did not belong, Clef told the girls that they didn't have to take up arms again in Cephiro's defense. They countered his statement by arguing that they wanted to fight. This time, however, they would fight for themselves and for their own hearts, so they could live without regrets.
Clef acquiesced and Presea gave them their swords, as well as new magic armor. They were then abruptly pulled into an alternate dimension where they were reunited with their Mashin, then teleported above the castle. Autozam’s Eagle Vision decided to introduce himself to the Knights with a battle in his mech, the FTO, but the fight was interrupted by a mysterious man riding a horse. Eagle broke off the attack and retreated to his ship, but they were unable to pursue him onto the ‘road’ of light he’d created from his country.
Upon their return to the castle, the girls met a newcomer: Lantis. They were told that not only was he the only magic swordsman in Cephiro, but he was also the younger brother of Zagato! He left Cephiro some time before the Knights arrived, and returned only after Emeraude's death. He had apparently been staying in Autozam until the time of his return, causing several people to call his loyalty into question.
Hikaru, on the other hand, felt that she had to make amends with him. When she happened to meet Lantis alone, she offered herself up to receive punishment in place of her friends, saying that she was sure Lantis was angry that they killed his brother, but that he should only hurt her for it and not Umi or Fuu. Lantis refused to lift a hand against her; he was sure that having to kill Zagato made her cry, too. Hikaru was obviously shocked by his response.
After an earthquake shook the remaining land, the knights donned their Mashin and headed out of the castle, desiring to meet with the leaders of the invading armies to find out why they wanted Cephiro’s pillar system. They faced the leaders of Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren, duking it out with mechas, macho genie spirits, and strange illusions. Fortunately, the ships of the invading countries had to retreat because their leaders had expended too much energy fighting each other, and the girls were able to return to the castle unharmed. They arrived in time to watch Lantis depart once more; little did they know, he was searching for the ‘Road’ which would lead potential candidates to be tested to become the next Pillar of Cephiro. However, it was Lantis’ goal to abolish the Pillar system so the story of Emeraude and Zagato’s deaths would not be repeated.
After the princesses from Fahren and Chizeta recovered their strength, they extended their roads again and launched another attack on Cephiro’s castle. Though Fahren’s princess Aska had some success in using her illusions against the knights, the attacks were cut short by Eagle using his mental energy to extend the road from Autozam, piercing both Fahren and Chizeta’s roads and forcing them to retreat once more. He wanted no competition for the Pillar seat, though the move nearly cost hims life because he expended too much energy.
In a move that shocked Umi, Fuu, and the Autozamian invaders, Hikaru managed to force her way into their road. She and Eagle had a brief meeting of minds before she and Rayearth were expelled and carted back to the castle by the other Knights. Fuu tried to use a healing spell to revive her fainted friend, but Lantis appeared and explained that the spell wouldn’t work, since Hikaru had used too much of her heart energy but wasn’t actually wounded. He then carried her to a room where she could rest, and she later awoke without further incident. In the meantime, Eagle contacted the other princesses and delivered an ultimatum: abandon their attacks on Cephiro, or face Autozam in battle. He gave them three hours to decide.
After she woke up, Hikaru decided to leave the castle to search for the Road to the Pillar. Umi and Fuu refused to let her go on her own, and the three of them were also accompanied by Ascot, Ferio, and Mokona. While the six of them searched for the Road on gliders made by Mokona, the invading princesses decided to continue with their plans, though their resolve had been weakened. During the ensuing skirmish with Autozam, Hikaru was knocked from her glider and might have met a premature (and very messy) death if Lantis hadn’t caught her in the nick of time, shielding her from harm when Eagle attacked in his FTO. When asked why she would willingly fight for Cephiro, Hikaru told him what they’d told Clef earlier; for their own sakes, to never again shed tears of regret.
In the midst of this attack, Clef sensed an immense power and realized that the Road to the Pillar had finally opened, though those on the battlefield were none the wiser. In a turn of events that shocked everyone involved, it was revealed that the Creator of Cephiro, all the adjacent countries, and even Earth was actually Mokona! After he summarily disqualified the princesses Tatra, Tarta, and Aska, as well as Lantis, he opened his mouth and created a huge vortex, drawing in Eagle and Hikaru.
The pair find themselves in time-frozen Tokyo, which is the testing ground for the new Pillar. Though they engaged in combat, Hikaru wanted to better understand Eagle’s motivation for becoming Pillar when he was fully aware of how much suffering that system had caused. Mokona announced that Eagle was terminally ill, which he confirmed, further explaining that he was like a machine with a drained battery. As Pillar, he would relocate all of Cephiro’s people while he and the country fell into eternal slumber. In this way, he would end Cephiro’s history, along with the legend of the Pillar and the Magic Knights, all in order to prevent Lantis from giving up his life to accomplish that very feat.
Hikaru was incensed: Eagle was choosing to sacrifice himself to protect his loved one just like Princess Emeraude, which was exactly the opposite of what Lantis would have wanted. She didn’t want their story to end in tragedy, too. Her resolve to protect Eagle and her desire to fight so she wouldn’t regret her actions were overwhelming; Mokona declared that she was the new Pillar.
When a new Road opened that would lead Hikaru alone back to Cephiro, she refused to go without Eagle, though Mokona said he would disappear because he’d failed to pass the test. Even as her body was being torn apart, she appealed to Mokona for compassion, recalling all the fun times they’d had together and how much she liked spending time with him. Her voice was joined by those of Umi, Fuu, and Lantis, and Mokona finally conceded. Umi and Fuu were able to pull their friend through. Joining their Mashin together into their combined, ultimate form, they fished Eagle out of the void as well.
Now free from danger, Hikaru’s first and final act as Pillar was to eradicate the system entirely, creating a new Cephiro in which everyone could use the strength of their will to form the land into a beautiful and peaceful place.
After that, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu gained the ability to teleport themselves to Cephiro and and visited frequently. Hikaru especially enjoyed visiting Eagle (who was slowly recovering from the illness he was sure would take his life) and Lantis, though when Lantis tried to confess his feelings of affection for her she innocently missed the point. Around them, the process of reconstructing the world was well under way. Cephiro was in talks with their neighbors, hoping to find ways assist Autozam with the pollution problem there while simultaneously improving their land with the counsel of delegates from Fahren, Chizeta, and Autozam. Thanks to the efforts of the girls from another world, Cephiro had become a place where every citizen could share in the task of building a brighter future.