Prêt with me! Chapter 3
Author's note: So here it is, the long awaited last chapter! So I left you with a cliffhanger last time! You know, I wasn't actually going to do that, but Himeno's last words conveniently fit onto the last page, so I decided to leave it as a cliffhanger, so you could suffer and sweat out your wait until I posted this chapter! No, really I just wanted more time to write this.
Well, I know you're dying to find out if Sasame is revived or not, so I'll leave you to the (hopefully!) last chapter!
"A new power? But…" Goh's mouth dropped open about a foot, while Kei paced the room, his eyes closed and his forehead creased in thought, and Mannin stood close near Himeno, who was still waiting for Kei's reaction. Finally he turned to her.
"A new power? A new Leafe?" he asked.
"Yes." Himeno replied.
"But new Leafe can only be created when the Pretear and a Leafe Knight merge and become one!" Mannin said, his face twisted with confusion.
"I know…which is why I'm here."
"Do you feel the power? Do you know it's inside?" Goh asked.
"Yes, there is a power inside for sure. But…I don't know what it is, or who it's from…"
"We should go outside and test it." Kei said.
"Why?" Mannin asked.
"So she can use it-whatever it is-and we can see what it can do."
(Himeno.)
"Sasame?" Himeno looked up, expecting to see her friend.
"Sasame?" Goh looked puzzled, and for good reason.
(No, don't use the power. It is only for an emergency.)
"What kind of emergency?" Himeno asked.
(When you really, truly need it. You were right, there is a power inside of you, but it will only activate when your heart needs it to.)
"What is my power?"
(You will see…)
"Himeno!" she heard Hajime's voiced call. "Himeno, are you alright?"
"Huh? Hajime, where's Sasame?" Himeno asked the orange haired boy. The room came into focus, and she saw the depressingly sad faces of Shin, Hajime, Kei, Goh, and Mannin. Shin had tears streaking down his face, his emerald eyes gleaming.
"Sasame…Himeno, you don't…" Kei cut his voice off at the end, his face confused.
"…Remember?" Mannin finished. They stared at Himeno expectantly.
"Remember what?" she shrugged helplessly.
"Sasame is dead." Kei told her.
"No, he can't be! I was just talking with him about my new power; I'm certain he was the one who gave it to me!"
"Why don't you show it to us, then?" Goh asked.
"No!"
"Why?" Hajime asked.
"Sasame said I should only use it in the case of an emergency!"
"We should just leave her alone. She needs some rest." Goh told Kei and Mannin. They nodded and left, with Hajime following. Shin stayed for a second, his watery eyes on Himeno's face. As he looked into Himeno's eyes, she began to remember what had happened. She saw Sasame's face as he died, saw the blood pouring out from beneath his body. She saw his beautiful amethyst eyes gazing at her, lifeless and dull. What light was shining in them left slowly, draining his life as well.
"Sasame!" she called to him, but his eyes were unhearing and his eyes unseeing. She watched his stomach slow, and eventually stop, the head rolling over to the side, dead.
He was gone.
"Oh!" she cried out, seeing the empty room. "Shin?" There was no reply from the little boy. There was no reply from anyone at all.
She was alone.
Several hours later, Kei and Goh ran in with the news. Hajime and Mannin had found Hayate's body, lifeless. Apparently he had died shortly after Himeno had 'talked' to the deceased Sasame. By now, she was extremely saddened with Sasame's recent parting on her mind, and now Hayate's bore on her conscience as well.
"Sasame…I want the power now…"
She waited for a reply, but her mind displayed no response.
"Sasame?"
Later that night, Himeno sat in her room, thinking.
"Mom…I'm so lost…help me. I…I miss Sasame…I miss Hayate…I miss you."
(Himeno…)
"S-Sasame?!" she gazed around the room, looking for her lost friend. But she knew in her mind that he was in her heart only, nothing more.
(Your power is ready, Himeno. Are you ready to use it?)
"What does it do? How does it work? What do I lose?" Himeno shuddered. The last four words had not been on her list of things to say. So why did it come out? It felt like…someone else had said them for her…
(Your depression over my…departing, and Hayate's afterward, brought on a new power, called the Resurrection Powers. How it works…you must think of whom you want to resurrect, and transfer that name to your soul. There, they will be brought back. But the price for it all is…your life. Now, whether you choose to use the powers or not is up to you, but think it well through.)
"Sasame…I want to bring you back. And I want Hayate too. But…I can't choose two, can I?"
(No.)
Himeno felt tears seep into her eyes, and she let them roll down her face. The heat of the tiny but meaningful drops of water brought back memories of Sasame…and of…
"I want you back, Sasame. I want you here." She sat up and said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
(Obviously you need more time. Think it through well, Himeno.)
She felt the power being drawn away, seeping out of her. No…not quite that…but it was lessening. She sank onto her bed, the tears beginning to come back. This time, no attempt was made to push them aside.
"Mom…please help me. I really need you…"
The next day, she was at the extremity of pain. All through the night she'd had thoughts of Sasame and Hayate jumbled together, telling her to resurrect one or the other, ripping her poor, already tortured body into smaller chunks, widening the gap between her sanity and her mind. She felt trapped and depressed, lonely and afraid. And so she went to three people who were the ones she could trust.
Shin, Hajime, and Mannin. Perhaps they could help. Or perhaps she would hand them a burden that their minds couldn't take at the moment.
They already were overly burdened at the moment, as Himeno kind of figured. But, by the pleading look in Shin's watery emerald eyes, she knew she had to use her powers soon, and make the right choice.
"So, who should I choose?" she asked the three boys, having already explained the story to them.
"Sasame!" Mannin said, his eyes becoming foggy.
"Hayate." Hajime rubbed the tears away from his own steamy eyes.
Shin gazed at Himeno quizzically, apparently seeing something she did not.
"Pick someone who is important to you. Don't pick for us…pick for yourself." He whispered. "Or don't pick at all."
(Himeno.) Sasame's voice arose from within her. (He is right. Tell me when you've decided-and don't make a decision so quickly. Ponder it, give it some thought. We have all the time in the world.)
'Yes.' Himeno thought. 'But I don't want Kei, Goh, Mannin, Hajime, or Shin to suffer anymore…'
She thanked the small children and began to leave. At her last glance back, she caught the sad and astonished look on Shin's face. He knew her plans. And…he was smiling.
Down the road, she walked slower and slower, feeling weaker with every step.
(Himeno!)
A Demon Larvae leaped out from behind her and lashed at her back. It made a long thin line of blood rush down through her clothes, the warm red liquid making her aware of the stinging pain.
Then, her fear grew as she realized that the Leafe Knights wouldn't be able to make it here in time, that she was probably going to die.
Two more lines of blood became active as the monster stuck her again. Her strength sapped slowly as the long tentacle of the Larvae became a blur, snapping at every uninjured part of her body. Tiny squirts of blood ran down her arm, her leg, her…her neck. The pain was fiercely intense now, and she felt ready to give up…ready to die.
"Mom…" she cried as the life seeped out of her…
When she woke up, it was all white. She didn't even bother to glance around, but she instinctively looked down. She somehow expected to see Sasame down on the now-empty street, where the Demon Larvae had once been, but instead it was…
"Am I…dead?" She asked, meaning it for herself. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned around, looking directly into amethyst eyes. Sasame…
Hayate stood behind Himeno's friend, his blue eyes glinting. Not in fury, but in…happiness.
"You are dead, Himeno, But look upon who you've brought back into the world." Sasame pointed to the tiny hole in the clouds. She looked down, and she saw her mother standing in front of Himeno's dead body, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mom…I resurrected her?" Himeno smiled.
"When I was in your consciousness, I heard your heart aching for your mother. You wanted her back most. That's why I stalled you." Sasame smiled, tiny drops forming in the corners of his eyes. "You didn't want me, or Hayate. You wanted your mother."
"But what about the other Leafe Knights? Won't they be…"
"Don't worry. They'll be fine."
And so Himeno, Sasame, and Hayate lie down near the hole and watched Himeno's mother, sent her small signs of happiness.
Author's Notes: So…did you like? I tried my hardest to make this a good story, and I hope you all liked it. Reviews will most defininately be appreciated! And now, don't forget to check out the sequel, Umarewakaru (born again)!