One of those "what if" musings I had... What could happen if Hayate did not find Himeno at the beach when he did? Please R & R.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pretear in any way, shape, or form... unfortunately.
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Mawata and Himeno had been sitting on the beach watching the sun go down and talking. Himeno got thirsty and decided to go get a soda.
'Wouldn't it be better if you could live alone? Then you couldn't hurt anyone, and no one could hurt you.' The words Mawata had said still reverberated in her head.
'Maybe Mawata is right,' Himeno thought to herself.
Himeno went over to the snack bar, but it was closed.
"Just my luck!" Himeno said angrily, kicking the snack bar wall in annoyance.
'Well, I guess I better go back to Mawata.'
Himeno walked back to where her and Mawata had been seated on the beach, but Himeno saw no sign of her.
"That's strange," Himeno said aloud, looking up and down the beach and seeing no one around. Then she continued talking aloud, no one was around anyway so what did she care, "I guess even Mawata doesn't want to be near me. Who could blame her though? Right? I'm a reject. I'm useless. I don't fit in at home. I don't fit in at school. Where do I fit in?" Himeno, growing more upset, paused to think of an answer for her question. 'With the Leafe knights?' she thought for a hopeful moment. 'No, not any more,' she answered to herself. "I can't prét anymore, and so I can't even protect the knights. I really AM useless."
Himeno's eyes began to well up with tears. Wanting to go hide, she ran down the beach and sat under a wooden pier. It was then, when she let go and started crying uncontrollably... allowing her negative thoughts to continue to pester her. 'Who would miss me if I were to go away and never come back? No one. Why would the Leafe knights want to keep a reject Pretear around? The knights could find a new prétear. One that could actually protect them."
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
Ever since Hayate had over heard Mayune talking to Natsue about Himeno leaving early in the morning, he had been searching the city for Himeno. He ran throughout the streets and when that didn't work, he took to the skies, desperately trying to find her.
At one point, he had thought he had found Himeno, but it turned out to be another girl who looked like her from the back. Hearing that he was looking for Himeno, the girl told him that she knew her and that she was heading over to the beach. Soon thereafter he arrived at the beach and scanned the area, but didn't see anyone.
'Where could she be?' he thought to himself. 'I hope that she isn't hurt. I don't know what I'd do if...' he trailed off, unwilling to even think of the possibilities, and continued searching.
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
Himeno sat under the pier crying for some time, until she felt that her eyes were so dry that they could not even tear anymore. She finally looked up from the ground and noticed that it had become dark, but she didn't care. 'No one will be worried about me. Maybe I should just stay under here, alone, until the waves come and wash me away. Then I won't be a bother to anyone anymore.' Himeno stared blankly out at the horizon, watching some ominous black clouds coming as the waves drew nearer to her. After a few minutes, it began to rain.
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
Hayate was not the kind of man to give up on anything easily, but even he began to lose hope that he would not find Himeno. He had been searching for her all day, running and flying all over the place to try to find her, barely wasting a minute to rest. Hayate could feel that he was getting tired. His muscles were starting to ache, and he felt as though he was moving more slowly, probably from his fatigue and the fact that he was weighed down by his sopping wet clothing.
Each time that Hayate felt as though he was too exhausted to search anymore, he pushed himself to keep going, 'You HAVE to make sure that Himeno is all right. You HAVE to find her. You are a Leafe knight, and you MUST protect the Pretear.'
Hayate had lost track of how many times he had flown over the city, and decided to head toward the beach again, just in case. He was relieved that it had finally stopped raining, but as he neared the water, Hayate began to get a headache. Within a minute he was starting to feel light headed, and yet the rest of his body felt as though it were turned to stone. Hayate had reached his limit. He could not help but awkwardly and ungracefully descend from the sky. Landing hard on the beach, he fell to his knees and leaned over, breathing heavily. All he could think was, 'Damn, I can't stop now.'
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
Himeno had thought she had heard some kind of thud on the beach, but she was too absorbed in staring at the waves that slowly crept toward her. They were her only solace. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked up and saw the silhouette of a man looking under the pier. For some strange reason she thought it would be Hayate.
As she crawled out from under the pier to see who it was, she found herself to be in front of the man she had seen, and he was accompanied by two other men. It was rather dark on the beach, and she could barely see the men's faces.
"Hey, you're pretty cute," one of the men said in an unfamiliar, very syrupy voice, stepping closer to Himeno.
Himeno, out of instinct, started backing away towards the pier slowly, still dazed from her lethargy.
"She looks like a good time. Don't you think Moto and Haku?" one of the other men said just as syrupy, as he reached out to put his arm around her waist.
"Yeah, Soji," Moto and Haku said grinning widely.
Himeno just stood there in silence, somewhat dumbfounded. Slowly, she became more alert and nervous 'I can't believe this is happening to me. Will this be how it ends? I don't really want it to end this way. Do I?' she said to herself.
Suddenly, Haku and Soji bolted toward her and grabbed her, as Moto was unrolling some duct tape, grinning evilly.
Finally, Himeno found her voice and came more to her senses. "Help!" she yelled loudly. "Help me! Someone! Anyone!" Himeno struggled to get free. "Hayate!" she called out, not knowing why. 'Why did I yell out Hayate's name?'
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
After Hayate landed, he tried to catch his breath, but even after a minute he was still breathing fairly quickly. Realizing he would have to rest at least a little while longer, his thoughts continued to make him feel guilty for every moment he had to waste recovering. It pained him to imagine that anything bad could ever happen to Himeno, especially if it was his fault. He imagined her smiling at him, walking with him, even teasing and hitting him. He could even hear her voice, slightly resonating, in his mind. Or was it in his mind? "Help me! Someone! Anyone!" he heard. Was that Himeno? In trouble? "Hayate!" he heard ring out clear as day coming from the direction of a nearby pier.
As if his name was some kind of magic incantation able to transform his will to find Himeno into actual energy, Hayate jumped up from where he had been kneeling, and ran full speed toward the pier. As he got closer he could see the silhouette of a young girl being grabbed by two men with a third holding some round object in his hand. Anger fueled Hayate's strength. He disappeared and then reappeared right in front of Moto, who was walking towards Himeno with the duct tape. Moto froze for a moment, rather puzzled, and Hayate swung at him and hit him square in the chin, sending him to the ground. Just as Hayate hit him, Soji, the man that tried to put his arm around Himeno's waste, had noticed Hayate's presence. He let go of Himeno's arm and moved toward Hayate. Hayate sensed someone coming from behind, but his body seemed to move in slow motion as he turned. Hayate was sluggish to react and barely missed being punched in the face. As Soji was still moving forward from his missed attack, Hayate counter-attacked, kicking him in the back. He lurched forward from the hit, and then ran over to Moto. Moto got up with the help of Soji and they both ran off, away from the pier, leaving Haku behind.
Haku angrily shoved Himeno to the ground. Hayate went to make the first move, but Haku dodged it. Then Haku tried to hit Hayate, but he managed to block it. As Hayate blocked Haku's punch, he attempted to counter-attack and missed. 'Damn, I'm moving so slow' Hayate thought, his temporary adrenaline high wearing off. When Hayate missed, he was thrown off balance, and Haku landed a kick to his ribs. Hayate growled in pain as he held his side, but he recovered quicker than Haku thought he would, and Hayate landed a punch to his jaw. Haku staggered backward, and Hayate paused, catching his breath. It seemed as though Haku would give up and was going to run off, but instead he suddenly turned and punched Hayate in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Desperate to defeat Haku, Hayate, still partially doubled over from the blow, put his hand out and created a blast of wind, which nearly pushed the man over. Not knowing where the wind came from, Haku got freaked out and said "What the hell was that?!" and ran away.
Hayate watched as the man ran off, and stood hunched over, nearly breathless, one hand clutching his stomach, the other stretched out towards the direction Haku ran off in... ready to create another attack if need be. When Haku had climbed over a dune and was out of sight, Hayate lowered his hand, turned, and looked over at Himeno. "I finally found you," he murmured as he closed his eyes and began to faint from exhaustion; his world fading to black as he felt himself falling, but this time there was no hard landing.
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
What had seemed to happen over the course of an hour for Hayate, seemed to take place in seconds for Himeno. Before she knew it, she was being grabbed by these two creepy guys, and a third was going to restrain her with duct tape. After yelling for help, suddenly another man's silhouette appeared and a fight broke out. It wasn't until she was pushed to the ground when she realized that the fourth silhouette was Hayate. The clouds that had been hiding the moon were now gone, and she could his moonlit face. It was paler than usual, and she could also see that his street clothing was thoroughly wet. She watched as Hayate fought with her attackers, noticing that Hayate was not fighting with his usual speed and grace. Each time Hayate missed or was hit, she would cringe slightly, but was speechless. The shock of being attacked had not worn off until all of her attackers had been scared away by the Knight of the Wind.
As Hayate slowly turned and looked at her, Himeno had a look of concern on her face, but she soon gave a little smile to show that, all things considered, she was all right. As she started walking towards him, she saw the knight of the wind close his eyes and begin to faint. Although she was shocked to find him falling, she quickly ran up to him and caught him in her arms before he hit the ground. She slowly and gently laid Hayate down, placing his head on her thighs. He rested... finally.
After a few moments had passed, the excitement of what had happened started to subside. Himeno looked at the knight before her. He had a pained look on his pale face, and he was breathing heavily. 'I've never seen Hayate so tired after a fight... not even after the first time we préted and he was injured pretty badly,' she thought to herself.
Himeno used her part of her shirt to wipe the sand and sweat from Hayate's brow and she stroked her hand through his hair, trying to comfort him. 'What was it that he had said before he fainted? Wasn't it, "I finally found you,"?' Himeno thought for a second and could hear Hayate's words replay in her mind. 'What did he mean by that? I finally found you.'
Himeno simply gazed down at Hayate for a while, noticing that his breathing was steadying and slowing. The pained expression he had now looked more like someone who was calmly resting, and she could feel his body relaxing from its previously tense state.
'Had he been looking for me?' she asked herself. 'He must have been,' she answered. The phrase "finally found you..." repeated in her mind again. 'He was probably searching for a while I bet. No wonder why he was so tired. He wore himself out, searching for me. Even though I can't prét anymore, and I'm useless, he still came looking for me. For me...'
A flurry of emotions rose up in her. She felt so foolish and angry, letting negative thoughts convince her that nobody cared about her, so much so that she was willing to let everything she had go. People did care about her. She began to feel hopeful again. HE cared about her. She shouldn't have to be alone.
"Oh, Hayate..." Himeno said softly, starting to cry... a combination of tears of joy and tears of sorrow.
Hayate felt himself gradually coming to, but his eyes were still closed. He felt wet drops on his face. 'Was it raining again?' He drowsily opened his eyes, and found Himeno leaning over him crying.
"Himeno..." he said softly. "Why are you crying?"
Himeno heard Hayate's question, but didn't know how to respond. She felt slightly embarrassed, and turned her head away from his azure gaze and continued crying.
Hayate slowly sat up, grimacing at the dull aching he felt in his head and stomach . Noticing how wet and sandy he was, he changed into his knight's uniform. He then maneuvered so that he was kneeling and facing Himeno. He watched her for a moment as she cried, thinking of what he could possibly do to comfort her. Hayate moved toward Himeno and gently pulled her close to him, allowing her to lean her head on his chest and cry.
"Its okay, Himeno," Hayate said embracing her as her tears stained his uniform. "I'm here for you."
Himeno made no effort to back away when Hayate pulled her close to him and embraced her. Instead, she slipped her arms around him. She felt as though nothing could hurt her, while she was being held in Hayate's arms. She didn't need to be alone. Slowly, her tears subsided, and she could speak.
"I'm sorry I can't prét anymore, Hayate."
"I'm not worried about that, Himeno. I'm just glad you're safe."
--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
All of a sudden, a flash could be seen in the sky, and a portal opened. Out came Fenryl with a huge, mushroom looking demon larva.
"Oh... how touching," Fenryl said sarcastically. Hayate scowled at her words.
"So Himeno, how does it feel to be a useless prétear? Why don't you stop wasting the Leafe knights' time and leave them to me?" Fenryl taunted. "I'll take good care of them," she said laughing sarcastically. "Look for yourself."
Out of the portal, Himeno and Hayate saw the other six knights fall to the ground, wrapped up in the tendrils of the demon larva. All of them groaned as they were dropped on the ground and none of them could move much.
"If I suck just a little more Leafe out of them, they're as good as gone," Fenryl said smiling.
"No!" Himeno wailed as she ran towards the other knights as Hayate gasped at the sight of all his injured comrades lying on the ground.
"Now its your turn, Himeno," Fenryl said as tendrils came from the demon larva heading straight for Himeno.
"Himeno watch out!" Hayate called to her as he charged forward and used a wind attack to cut the tendrils just before they could grab Himeno.
Hayate reached Himeno and grabbed her to get her out of the way of the second wave of tendril attacks. Hayate jumped and managed to take Himeno out of the reach of the tendrils, but one of them snagged Hayate by the leg and others came shooting out, wrapping themselves tightly around his neck and arms.
As they constricted, Hayate gasped for air and struggled to get free. Fenryl laughed gleefully and Himeno looked on in horror.
"No! Don't do this!" Himeno yelled at Fenryl.
"You know, you're right, Himeno. I want Hayate to suffer more before I kill him."
The tendrils released Hayate and threw him towards Himeno's direction, causing him to skid along the sand for a few feet.
"Himeno, save yourself and run away," Hayate said hoarsely as he tried to sit up.
"No! I just can't! I want to be able to protect you all again. I want to be able to protect the earth. Let me prét with you, Hayate."
He weakly nodded and put out his hand for Himeno to take. She reluctantly put her hand in his, and Himeno transformed into the Wind Pretear, and a flood of Leafe flowed from her. The other knights were revived and they slowly came back to their senses.
"What?! How could this be?!" Fenryl said growing angry.
Himeno called forth the wind sword. She easily found the core of the demon larva and destroyed it (making all the tendrils disintegrate), but she suddenly saw a huge black ball of energy come at her.
Himeno charged toward the energy ball. She hit it as hard as she could and shattered it into pieces. The impact caused Himeno to be pushed backward onto the ground, but one of the shards pierced Fenryl in the shoulder.
"I'll get you for this, Himeno," she called angrily as she disappeared back into the portal.
Himeno and Hayate unpréted. The other knights slowly rose from the respective spots where they fell. They all wearily came towards Himeno, who had her arm around Hayate, giving him someone to lean on for support.
The knights all congratulated Himeno on being able to overcome her fears enough to become prétear again. "Thank you all for believing in me, and thank you for worrying about me, especially you Hayate," Himeno said staring into his deep blue eyes for a few moments. "Now I feel like I'm ready to take on Fenryl with you all by my side, and I won't be defeated."