On the Notepad:
1. Write this story down. Hope it's a little different than most.
2. Sasame will be like the manga character, as I like that one better. Kei's looks will be like those of the manga.
3. Sasame and the Princess of Disaster went their own separate ways. In other words, he's back to the way he was with Himeno.
4. Not sure of the pairing yet, but it might be GohxOC, KeixOC or MannenxOC.
5. Also, this will take place in an American city to make things easier.
6. My posting will vary by the times I feel most inspired.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pretear or anything else except Alyssa. I am not doing this for any profit, or any other reason except I had an idea I wanted to write down.
The Emerald Princess
CHAPTER ONE
Leafe Knights, once they are in full control of their powers, don't age much.
Perhaps that's how Hayate came to be standing in front of Himeno's grave, looking much the same as he had 60 years before.
You see, after the threat from the Princess of Disaster had faded, Hayate and Himeno had grown up, and life had continued in its same path. Himeno's life had been fine, with no other major threats for her and the Knights to take out. Hayate finally got up the courage to confess his love for her and they had married when Himeno graduated from college. No children appeared from their union, though both were happy as could be; raising Mannen, Hajime, and Shin had been enough for them.
Unfortunately, there was no way to stop the effects of time. It had been hard, watching Himeno age, when Hayate still retained his youthfulness. But, Hayate had changed. He let his feelings and love guide him, knowing that even though Himeno would die, one day he would get to be with her in the Unknown. Then, he knew that nothing would separate them.
A smile and a tear graced his face, as a winter breeze pushed his blue-black hair away from his neck. He closed his sapphire eyes. It would be difficult with her gone, he knew. But, they had to find a new Pretear, for the evil things of the world would not give up. What if a new threat appeared soon? They had to find the new Pretear, and fast. He brushed a soft kiss against the stone marker of his love, and left Leafenia.
The Knights heard Hayate's call. They met at a large park, in a clearing where the fountain in the center had been shut off for the winter. All seven instantly changed into street clothes. It was Hayate, the unspoken leader, who broke the silence first.
"It's going to be challenging, but we all have our duty as Knights. We must protect the Leafe of the world, and to do so means finding a new Pretear. Split up and search for her. If any of you find her, call us."
The Knights remained silent, but did as they were told, leaving Hayate to start his own grim search in the cold, north wind.
Sasame had been voted to search out a school. He noticed that things had changed a lot since Himeno was gone. The Knights had gone to a new city, and they had found their occupations again. The city had an all-girls academy, and the Knights had started to search in that area.
Unfortunately, school had already let out and most of the girls had left for their homes by now. Sasame looked around and noticed a few girls on the campus. He wondered how he could get to hold their hands. He sighed and leaned against a tree, out of view from the girls. He knew that Hayate found Himeno by knocking her down, and he guessed that he would just have to do the same. However, this meant taking each girl one by one, and that could take several days. Time was not on their side.
Suddenly, the Knight heard the slam of a door opening. A young girl flew out, her shoulder-length chestnut hair flying about her. She looked disheveled, and in quite a bit of a hurry. She raced straight towards Sasame's hiding spot, her backpack bouncing on her shoulders.
'Perfect,' thought Sasame, 'At least I'll be able to test one girl today.'
The minute the girl came past his tree; Sasame stepped out, "accidentally" bumping the girl and causing her to fly backwards and land, butt first on the sidewalk.
"I am so sorry!" he apologized sincerely, wishing there was a better way to test the girls.
Green eyes, filled with anger and impatience, peered up at him through her mess of hair. He looked close enough to notice that her hair was in choppy layers and supposed to be parted to the side.
She let out a deep breath, and pushed her hair out of her face. "No, it's entirely my fault," she said. "I should have watched where I was going."
Sasame smiled. "At least let me help you up." He offered a hand.
She took it. Sasame waited, and then their appeared a sudden spark. The girl pulled her hand sharply away.
It was clear from her reaction that the girl hadn't seen the light that accompanied the spark, but she certainly felt it.
"Ow!" she exclaimed. She pushed herself to her feet, and shouldered her backpack.
Turning to Sasame she said, "I'm sorry for shocking you. Thanks for you're help, but I'm in a really big hurry, right now."
"It's really my fault," Sasame stated, "But, if you have a minute, I would like to talk to you about something, Miss…."
"The name's Alyssa," she nodded. "I'm sorry, but I'm already making my carpool late, and I really must go. Why do you need to talk to me anyway?"
"I'm Sasame," The Knight of Sound replied. He thought fast. "I'm a radio personality who's new in town, and I wanted needed to interview a few people for my show."
"Wow!" Alyssa seemed excited. "I get to be interviewed for the radio! That's so cool!" A car horn sounded, and her face fell. "I'm sorry Sasame. I really have to go, my carpool's waiting." She started to walk away.
"Wait!" Sasame called. Time was definitely not on their side. "What about later?"
"I guess that could work," she answered. "I'll meet you in the park, okay? About 4:15pm?"
Sasame nodded. Alyssa took off again. He waited until he was sure she could not see him, and touched his ear-band.
"I found her," he murmured, "She's coming to the park. I will meet you all back there." The Knight of Sound abruptly disappeared.
Alyssa hurried towards the center of the park, once again struggling not to be late. She was excited and just a bit nervous to be interviewed for the radio. She shivered inside her coat and hoped that Sasame would be quick with his interview. It was getting cold.
She saw no people at the park. Most didn't come there during the winter months. Looking around, she tried to spot Sasame. The thought crossed her mind, that he could be a killer or a rapist, but she quickly dismissed it. The park was pretty open, and surrounded by homes. Plus, he looked like he could be a junior at one of the area high schools. Besides, she lived in a good neighborhood. Nothing like that would happen.
Alyssa finally saw Sasame, sitting on a bench near the fountain. She grinned and went over to him.
"Hi again, Sasame," she sat on the lip of the fountain. Sasame smiled and stood. It was then she realized that he had no notebook or tape-recorder.
"Umm….Sasame? Aren't we supposed to be doing an interview?" She spoke nervously.
"Actually," Sasame replied, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
She stood, her guard up instantly. Before she could move, seven other males, of various ages, surrounded her. She was shocked, and very scared. As she searched the faces of them, Alyssa saw that the smaller boys looked to be between the ages of her 7th grade sister, and herself.
"Wh-who are you?" Her voice shook.
"We're Leafe Knights!" a boy about her age proudly stated. He had, she was horrified to find, snow-white hair, dark blue eyes, and he was wearing shorts!
"You see, Alyssa, we are the protectors of your world," Sasame continued. "Leafe is the life force that is found in everything, and without it your world would cease to exist. Though our powers are great, we cannot defeat the evil that continually threatens us without help."
"That's where you come in," said another. This one looked to be about a junior. Alyssa absently wondered how much gel he had to use to get his brown hair to stay spiked. "You're the Pretear, and when your power combines with ours, we can defeat the sinister forces that threaten this world!"
There was a stony silence, and then to the seven Knights' astonishment, Alyssa began to laugh.
"Very funny everyone." She straightened. "But the joke's over, and I'm going home." She began to walk away.
"You can't do that," another Knight spoke, this one about a senior, with hair so black; it looked blue when the fading sunlight hit it.
His sapphire eyes sharpened when he shouted. "We need you, come to you and ask for your help, and all you can do is laugh?! Then, go on! Go home like a cowardly dog! We don't need a girl who can't even summon the courage to become the Pretear!!"
"I don't believe this!" Alyssa yelled back.
"That's right! You don't!" he shouted, "So go home!"
Alyssa stood there for a minute, and the Knights held their breath. Then, she raised her green eyes to the sky and let out a breath.
"God help me if I'm falling for the World's Biggest Prank™," she sighed. "But, reverse psychology doesn't work on me, Raven-head."
At this, the dark-haired Knight fumed. But, before he could open his mouth, Alyssa spoke again.
"If this isn't all some kind of set up, then I guess I'll become Pretear or whatever it is you guys want me to do."
All around the circle, except for the black haired Knight, eyes lit up. One Knight with a bandana around his head high-fived a younger boy with blonde hair and green eyes.
"I'm glad," Sasame smiled. While the raven-haired Knight gave a huff and folded his arms.
"Okay, that's good, then I guess I know this isn't a joke, but you still didn't answer my question. Who are you?"
"Oh, we forgot introductions!" the brown-haired Knight spoke. "I'm Goh, the Leafe Knight of Fire."
The smallest Knight, he looked to be about 10, with blonde hair and dark green eyes smiled.
"I'm Shin, the Knight of Plants."
The bandana boy turned to her. He had two long strange of orange hair that hung out from his bandana in front of his ears. On one of the strands was a small bead, which looked strangely like Sasame's ear-band. He had teal-blue eyes.
"I'm Hajime, Knight of Water," he told her. He looked about 12.
The white-haired boy, about her age spoke. "I'm Mannen, the Knight of Freezing." His dark blue eyes glinted mischievously.
Another Knight, this one looking like he could be a senior as well, had dark blonde, wavy hair that came just below his chin. His eyes were such a light brown, that they looked almost gold.
"Kei," he stated, "the Knight of Light."
"And you know Sasame, the Knight of Sound," Goh interrupted. "The last one of us is Hayate over there, the Knight of Wind."
The new Pretear nodded politely to them all, except Hayate, whom she just glared at.
"I'm Alyssa, pleased to meet you all."
The silence was clear for a moment, until Alyssa spoke what everyone else had been thinking.
"Well, now what do we do?"
