It All Comes Together, a prétear fanfic

DISCLAIMER: The anime & manga series Pretear, the singer Usher, and his song "Superstar" do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. I am making absolutely no profit from this or any fanfiction.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fanfiction takes place three years after the end of the Pretear anime series, so Himeno would be 18 years old.

It All Comes Together

All he wanted was some quiet.

Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

How on earth could a guy like himself get something like that when he was surrounded by Himeno - the Pretear no less - along with her annoying family as well as six other Leafe Knights, three of which were little kids? Despite these distractions however, there was something more important on his mind.

"Are you listening to me at all?!" Goh cried.

Immediately, he snapped out of it. As a quick gesture, he glanced down at his food & took a small bite of the roast duck into his mouth.

"I knew it Hayate! You weren't listening to a word I said!" Goh replied in an angry tone. Hayate didn't reply until he finally swallowed.

"Hooray. Give the boy a prize," Hayate answered in a dull voice, which made Goh even angrier. Sasame seemed to be the only one truly paying attention to his actions. It was obvious that there was something weighing on his mind, so he tried to make a distraction.

"Hayate, I'm working on something for my radio show and I'd like to get your opinion of it, if I could," Sasame said with an always gentle smile. Hayate just looked at him, completely confused.

"Wait a sec. Why would I - "

Sasame said nothing as he gave Hayate a look which spoke more than words. Finally understanding the message, Hayate stood up & pushed his chair towards the table.

"Of course," Hayate replied. "I'd be more than happy to. Please excuse us." With that, the two left & headed out into the Awayuki's enormous garden.

The rest of the Leafe Knights, as well as the Awayuki family, just stared.

"I just know those two are planning something," Mayune said as she tapped her fork in thought.

"Man - who know's what they're thinking?" Mannen answered as he shoved a huge piece of roast duck into his mouth. Almost instantly, the conversation gave way to laughter and for the moment, the pair's actions were forgotten.

Meanwhile, in the family garden, Sasame had sat next to Hayate on the long marble bench; the sky was a stunning crystal blue while the sunlight glistened on the dark red rose bushes. Hayate had his arms crossed and remained silent for what seemed like ages. Finally...

"...help..." Hayate mumbled.

Sasame's ears perked up at the words. "Help with what?" he asked.

Hayate let out a long sigh then rummaged his left hand through a pants pocket to pull out a red velvet ring box. He handed it to Sasame, who gasped in shock after he opened it. Inside of the box was a silver ring with three diamonds.

"Is - Is this what I think it is?" Sasame asked in surprise.

"Yeah, yeah. It's an engagement ring for Himeno," Hayate replied. "I bought it nearly two months ago & I've been trying to figure out how to ask her, but I can't figure out anything with all of that damn noise going on at the house!"

Sasame smiled as he handed the ring back to Hayate: "If that was the problem, you should have come to one of us and - "

"I tried!" Hayate yelled as he put the ring away. "Nobody had a good suggestion; Goh even thought I should lay naked on the bed with the ring & ask her." Sasame quickly felt nauseous at the idea.

"I guess I just wanted it to be special. But what can I do?" Hayate angrily kicked at the ground with his right foot.

"There, there. We can all help & I think I have an idea," Sasame answered. With that, he leaned in & whispered the plot to Hayate. When he was finished, Hayate grinned.

"Perfect," he said. "Let's start on it right away! But no dorky outfits - got it?"

A week later, everything was set. Now all that was needed was the bait.

Himeno was happily asleep when a loud noise suddenly woke her up. As if someone had read her mind, Mawata & Mayune quickly rushed into the room.

"Himeno! Something weird's going on outside!" Mawata cried.

"Please go & check it out," said Mayune. "I'd do it myself but I'm scared too."

Himeno shook her head. "C'mon you guys. I'm sure it can't be - "

BANG!!

The girls screamed loudly in shock. This quickly brought Himeno's dad into the room.

"Dad!" Himeno cried. "Did you hear - "

"Yeah I did," he answered. "Mawata, Mayune, stay here. Himeno, come with me so we can find out what's going on." Something felt odd to her, but she relucantly agreed and left with him.

They went outside to follow the source of the sound; Himeno carefully went towards the increasing noise, never noticing that her dad slipped away from her & had gone back into the house. After only a few minutes, Himeno found the source of the sound. It wasn't an intruder: it was a radio with the volume set extremely high.

"W - What the heck's going on?" Himeno wondered aloud as she turned the radio off. "Dad, everything's - "

As she turned around, she quickly realized that her dad was gone. Now she was starting to get worried. What do I do now? Himeno thought. Suddenly, an intense spotlight shone in the middle of the garden; standing in the spotlight was Hayate with a white suit and a microphone of all things.

"Hayate?" Himeno said. "Just what's going on here?"

As if to answer her question, a slow but steady song began to play. Hayate slowly put the microphone up to his lips and said only one sentence:

"Himeno Awayuki, all of this is for you."

With a gentle smile, he took in a breath of air and began to sing.

Spotlights
Big stage
Fifty thousand fans screaming it away
Bodyguards and limosines
This is the way I see you in my dreams
Paparazi flash
A hundred pictures, all of you, hanging on my bedroom wall
I'm a kid again, I feel like thirteen
But I knew since we fell in love that I'd be...

I'll be your groupie baby 'cause you are my superstar
I'm your number one fan
Give me your autograph: sign it right here on my heart
I'll be your groupie baby 'cause you are my superstar
And as your number one fan, I'll do all that I can to show you how super you are

Himeno had no idea that Hayate had such talent. Hayate didn't know it either: if it wasn't for Sasame and the others, this song - let alone the entire plan - would have never turned out as well as it did. Getting his mind back on the matter at hand, he continued to sing.

Front row, there I am
Jumpin' and hollerin' wavin' both hands
Would you notice me? Little me?
12 hours girl just to see your pretty face one more time
Bought my ticket - I was first in line
This is a metaphor to show how I adore (I adore you)
Baby I do

I'll be your groupie baby 'cause you are my superstar
Give me your autograph: sign it right here on my heart
I'll be your groupie baby 'cause you are my superstar
And as your number one fan, I'll do all that I can to show you how super you are

Now you know how I feel
You're truly special, your love is legendary to me
Without you my life stands still
I'll never leave ya, wanna treat you like a diva
Girl you're one of a kind
'Cause they don't make 'em like you anymore
So I'll be your fan for life
I dedicate this to my superstar for all time

When the song finally ended, Himeno clapped and cheered at the Leafe Knight; Hayate bowed politely in return.

"That was absolutely beautiful," Himeno said as she tried with all her might not to bawl like a child. Every word of the song was tender and touched her heart like nothing else ever had.

"Thanks Tulip Head," Hayate replied with a smirk, which made Himeno give him an irritated look. "There is one more thing I have to do though."

Before another word was spoken, Hayate got down on his right knee, carefully pulled out the red velvet ring box, and opened it before the now speechless Pretear.

Okay. Don't screw this up! Hayate thought, scolding himself, then cleared his throat:

"Himeno, I know that we've been through a lot together, and over these past three years I've always had these feelings for you. I shed many tears over what I thought was your final resting place. I realize now that there is or may never be a tomorrow. So before I lose this chance, I have to ask you: Himeno Awayuki, will you please marry me?"

Himeno could have sworn that half a second ago her heart had stopped; she couldn't breathe and now the tears she had fought so hard to hide were revealing themselves.

"H - Hayate... I..."

Not being able to finish her sentence - let alone start one - she slowly nodded.

Hayate immediately put the ring on Himeno's index finger and tenderly kissed her. Their joy was so overwhelming that they failed to notice Himeno's family and the Leafe Knights come out of hiding, cheering and crying tears of joy. It seemed as if fate had smiled upon them at last.