Prettyinpinkgal: Thanks for your feedback, everyone! I'm glad you guys are liking it! Well, the drama and action is definitely starting to kick in. Please enjoy the continuing saga of "Pretear: The Second Snowfall"!
Disclaimer: R&K: Prettyinpinkgal doesn't own Pretear…
Prettyinpinkgal: (nods happily at the two characters' cooperation)
R&K: (smirk) …because if she did, the anime and manga would stink…(get kicked in the head by prettyinpinkgal)
Prettyinpinkgal: Idiots (anger mark on head) (turns happy) Please review, everyone :)
PRETEAR: THE SECOND SNOWFALL
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE TRIALS OF LOVE
Hayate finally broke free of his shock and pushed Natsuki away from him. "What do you think you're doing?" he shouted, a small blush on his face.
Natsuki pouted. "I can't help it that I love you…"
"LOVE SOMEONE ELSE! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THAT I-DO-NOT-LOVE-YOU!" the Wind Knight yelled. Panting, he resumed his normal, cool self. "Sorry, but I'm never going to love you back, Natsuki. You'll have to give up on me," he said, quieter and more gentle.
"Do you…sense something strange?" Natsuki asked, changing the subject. Hayate stopped and closed his eyes, focusing.
His eyes shot open. "An evil force is forming! Go tell the other Knights!" Hayate told Natsuki. She nodded and vanished. Hayate began running.
"Oh, hey, Hayate! I've been looking for you!" Kaoru cried, noticing the blue-haired Knight.
"Get your family and stay inside!" Hayate called without stopping. "I'm going to try and find Himeno!"
Understanding there was probably going to be another Pretear and Knights vs. Bad Guy fight, Himeno's father nodded and took off to warn his family to stay inside.
"Hayate!" Yet another voice distracted Hayate from his search for the evil presence. It was the Knights. "What's going on?" Sasame asked.
"Not sure. But an evil force is definitely around here, and I have a feeling it's stronger than Feral."
"Where's Himeno?" Kei asked.
"Probably still in Leafenia, right?" Goh asked.
Mannen piped up. "Actually, she's back on Earth," he stated proudly, happy to know something Goh didn't.
Hayate turned. "Really? I haven't seen her."
"She said she wanted to have some 'alone time'," Hajime said matter-of-factly.
"Himeno seemed kind of sad," Shin mentioned worriedly.
Sasame looked at his blue-haired friend. "You don't think…?" As much as I doubt it and don't want to believe it, we have to keep it as an option, the Knight of Sound thought.
"Of course not!" Hayate snapped. "Himeno isn't weak enough to do something like that! She'd never become another Princess of Disaster!" The other Knights stopped talking about the possibility.
"Let's just find Himeno. We'll need the Pretear to defeat whatever's forming," Kei said.
"Right," the others said. They decided to split up. Natsuki, Kei, Shin, and Mannen would go search for Himeno. Goh, Hajime, Hayate, and Sasame looked for the evil being.
Little did they know who the evil being was.
MEANWHILE…
Himeno's short red hair grew long, becoming black and having streaks of red in it. Her eyes turned from their normal light red hue to the color of blood. Her school uniform transformed to look a bit like what Takako wore as Fenryl. Just like what she had as the White Pretear, Himeno had wings; however, they were black and looked torn, as if representing her heart.
A malicious smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Himeno, for finally seeing the darkness. Now I can use this body to help you get revenge and for my own purposes!"
Meanwhile, Hayate, traveling faster than the others because of the wind, arrived at the scene where the new villain was being created. Landing, he wasted no time in firing a wind attack at the woman before him, who had her back towards him.
Without even moving, she put up a shield to block the attack. "I'm sure you never thought this day would come," she sneered, slowly turning to show part of her face.
"Who are you?" he shouted. "What are you talking about?" He glared as she turned around, revealing her whole self.
"Hayate!" The other four Knights appeared. "Is that the new bad guy?" Hajime asked.
"Unfortunately for you, I am, Hajime," the woman said. "And to answer your question, Hayate, I am Fenra, the new Princess of Disaster. I guess you made the same mistake you made sixteen-years-ago."
If looks could kill, Hayate would have killed Fenra.
"How do you know about us? Who are you, you witch!" Goh yelled.
Fenra chuckled. "Don't you recognize me, Goh?" Turning to Hayate, she snickered and said, "So you don't recognize me either, Hayate? I can't believe you don't recognize me, your tulip-headed Pretear!"
Hayate's eyes widened, and he felt his blood run cold. His worst fear had come true. "Himeno?"
"Not quite. I'm a dark creation of her Pretear powers. But Himeno is the one who let me come into being. She's letting me get even with you. But I'm still partly connected to her, so I can say what she thinks." Fenra smirked. "Well, I guess I'm done torturing you for today. Ta ta!" A moment later, she vanished.
"…No way." Hayate clenched his fist so much, a little bit of blood began appearing. "This CANNOT be happening!" Memories of Himeno—happy, cheerful, and loving—came into his mind. Himeno…why?
IN LEAFENIA
Takako and the Knights of Leafe discussed this "unfortunate" (to say the least) turn in events.
"Poor Himeno…" Takako murmured, her eyes filling with tears. Sasame wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Suddenly, Takako's eyes widened. "That explains it!" she shouted suddenly.
Sitting up straight, she told the Knights of what happened during her discussion with Himeno.
"So Himeno could feel herself slipping into evil's grip," Kei said with a frown.
"How come Takako never had an evil creation of her powers?" Mannen asked. "She turned completely evil." Goh whacked him, and, with a glare at Goh, told Takako, "Sorry about reminding you about it," he said sheepishly.
Takako shook her head. "It's okay. You have a point, Mannen."
"I think I heard about something like this once," Hayate said as his blue hair covered his eyes. His statement surprised the others. The blue Knight had been quiet ever since finding out Himeno was the newest Princess of Disaster.
He continued. "I remember hearing about a Pretear long ago. Darkness was sent by the evil force of her time to constantly try seeping into her soul, to transform her into a Princess of Disaster. Eventually she succumbed to the darkness and was transformed into an evil being. However, she wasn't completely evil. The evil forces had changed her, but it was mostly her powers that had transformed. They seemed to have a will of their own.
"Basically, it's like what happened to Himeno. Feral has probably been sending darkness to try and transform her. I think some part of her is still resisting," he concluded.
"Why didn't she tell us about it before, though?" Hajime wondered out loud.
Sasame replied. "She must have felt that she didn't want to worry us. Himeno probably wanted to deal with things on her own."
Natsuki listened to the other Knights and smirked mentally. Everything was going according to plan. Feral would get Himeno, and Natsuki would get Hayate.
Perfect.
Prettyinpinkgal: Sorry that this chapter wasn't longer. But on the bright side, I updated! Oh, and October 11 was my birthday! I'm fourteen now:) Yay! Please review!
