It had been a full sixteen years since Himeno had defeated the Princess of Disaster with the help of the seven Leafe Knights. Since then, the seven Knights had, surprisingly, chosen to live lives that were more active outside of Leafania. This was mostly because the elder knights were preparing to retire from their duties. However, for the time being they were still the active Knights, so they had to maintain vigilance.
"Happy birthday, Ryutaro!" a small group chorused. They were in a small, peaceful cottage in the middle of a sparse forest near the Awayuki mansion; this was Himeno Awayuki's current home. The group was composed of the seven Leafe Knights and the Awayuki family.
Ryutaro, a small child with innocent navy blue eyes and brown hair gave a squeal of delight, squirming happily so that he nearly fell from the person holding him.
"Whoa, be careful, dear!" Himeno exclaimed. She was holding Ryutaro, who was her baby, trying desperately to make sure he didn't fall. "I think you better hold him, dear," she added, handing the baby to Hayate. He took his son in his arms, holding him firmly so that there was little chance of him falling.
The joyous party went on throughout the day and into the night; it was near midnight that the rest of the Awayuki family bade farewell and returned home.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Kei said darkly, "happy sixteenth anniversary of defeating the Princess of Disaster!"
"Why do you say that with a bad tone? That's a good thing," Shin said. He and the other boys, who had been mere children when the Princess of Disaster had been defeated by Himeno's becoming the White Pretear, had grown into young adults. Shin's golden brown hair was braided in the back, and his bangs had now grown out, framing his face and making his green eyes shine. Hajime had not changed much in appearance; he was taller and his two long bangs in the front had grown from being shoulder-length to reaching halfway down his chest. Mannen, as he was the eldest of the three, had grown the least height-wise; nevertheless, he had grown at least two feet taller, and his white hair was arranged in a series of spikes that resembled a small garden of icicles.
"Yes, but if you remember, it was a sixteen year gap between the last two Princesses of Disaster," Hayate reminded him, voicing Kei's thoughts.
"Aww, but that doesn't mean it'll happen like that this time!" Go said brightly.
"Yeah, maybe the Princess of Disaster will never show up," Mannen added.
Sasame was quietly listening to the discussion when a painful noise assailed his ears. It was a mix of a woman's shrieking, shattering glass, and a large explosion. The sheer volume of this horrendous noise brought the Knight of Sound to his knees.
"Sasame?!" Himeno exclaimed; she and the other six knights ran to his side.
"You may have jinxed us; then again, it could be a pure coincidence. Either way, it's the same," Sasame panted.
"What are you talking about?" Hajime asked.
"Call me crazy, but I think the seal on the Princess of Disaster broke just now," Sasame rushed. A moment later, his eyes dulled, and he passed out.
"Sasame!" Himeno cried as Sasame lost consciousness, "Sasame, speak to me!"
"Calm down, Himeno, he's only passed out," Go said calmly, though his voice was shaking slightly.
"He said that the seal on the Princess of Disaster broke," Hayate said gravely, "we'd better go check it out."
Himeno put Ryutaro in the care of her stepmother, father, and stepsisters, so that none of them would get hurt during the exploration. Sasame was, at first, determined unable to go, however he insisted on coming along after regaining consciousness.
'It's just like old times,' Himeno thought nostalgically, smiling despite the situation as she and the seven Leafe Knights went to find out if the Princess of Disaster had, in fact, broken free from her sealing place.
- - - - - - -
The eight knew that something was wrong as soon as they entered Leafenia. A strange darkness seemed to consume all that was—the Princess of Disaster was definitely back. She was, in fact, standing right in front of them. They had no time; they had to attack.
Hayate and Himeno grabbed each other's hand, Preting instantly.
"Wind sword!" Himeno cried, calling forth the breezy blade; she charged the Princess of Disaster, who, to her surprise, blocked the blade with ease. She then grabbed Himeno's arm, causing a blue aura to flow out of it.
"Augh!" Hayate grunted.
"She's sucking the Leafe right out of him!" Himeno cried to the other knights.
"Takako, stop it!" Sasame yelled at the Princess of Disaster; his words fell on deaf ears.
"Damn!" Go yelled, sending a flame straight at the Princess of Disaster's arm, only to have it absorbed.
"She's too strong!" Kei gasped.
A vine crept up and wrested the Princess of Disaster's hand from Himeno's arm. Himeno fell to her knees, Hayate collapsing beside her. While Himeno looked after Hayate, water began to feed the vines, making them stronger, as well as causing them to creep up all over the Princess of Disaster's body. The Princess of Disaster roared in anger, and managed to break the vines. Shin and Hajime leaned against Mannen, panting.
The situation was dire. Hayate, Shin, and Hajime were too tired to fight, Sasame was still impeded by the noise of the seal's cracking, Go's power had been mostly absorbed by the Princess of Disaster, leaving Kei and Mannen as the only ones who could fight. Mannen was supporting his comrades, so Kei was left alone.
The Princess of Disaster turned towards Kei, as though she was going to attack him. As she began to take a step towards him, her eyes bulged, and she fell to the ground, hands clutching her chest.
"It is time for me…to leave this world…" she groaned.
Kei blinked at this strange turn of events. Unless he was sorely mistaken, the Princess of Disaster was having a heart attack right in front of him.
"I…shall…be…reborn!" the Princess of Disaster cried. A mass of blackness began accumulating above her suddenly motionless body, gathering frightening power. Instinctively, Kei sent a large ray of light straight through the blackness, shattering it in two.
As they sat there, confused, weak, and triumphant, a strange light appeared where the Princess of Disaster's body was. The light began to shape itself and take the form of an old man.
"Leafe Knights," the man said.
"Commander," the seven managed.
"The darkness has been sealed away once again. What you fought was a weak incarnation of the remaining darkness. However, you did quite poorly against it. While I would normally admonish you for such a pathetic fight, it no longer matters; you seven no longer have to fight."
"Does that mean we are no longer Leafe Knights?" Sasame asked.
"Well, no, but you have all aged; besides the three children, I see that none of you are exactly in fighting condition anymore."
"What if an enemy of Leafe comes?" Hajime asked.
"If a new enemy arises, we shall deal with it accordingly," the old man said, "the Holy Grounds are still fertile, you know."
"Holy Grounds?" Himeno asked.
"The Holy Grounds is where a Leafenian is born; however, because of our duties as guardians and the ways of the Holy Grounds, our race is nearly extinct," Hayate explained.
"Yes, so as some of the last Leafanians, enjoy your lives and prolong them as much as possible!" the old man said, "Until or unless the Holy Grounds bring more to life, you could be the last of your kind!"
"I still have no idea what's going on…" Himeno confessed.
"Our Commander," Sasame gestured to the old man, "has discharged us of the duties of Leafe Knights, because it seems that no enemies of this universe's Leafe exist."
"So…we don't have to fight, ever again?" Himeno asked.
"No, never again. We can live normal lives," Kei smiled.
"All right! Let's celebrate! We do have a birthday party to attend, after all," Himeno grinned.