CHAPTER 6: Payback's A Bitch
Hayate landed at a dead run, falling to his knees next to Kei, who was holding Himeno still. She wasn't moving. "Oh, God..."
"She's still alive, the wound wasn't fatal," Kei said quickly, turning her just enough for Hayate to see the arrow had just barely found it's mark in her shoulder. "But, this one is poisoned, too."
"And what the hell were you doing when this happened?" Hayate snapped.
Startled, Kei's jaw snapped shut and his golden eyes flashed angrily. "I was picking my ass, what do you THINK I was doing? If I hadn't shoved her down, it would have taken out her throat! Whoever is doing this isn't screwing around with us, Hayate. They mean for Himeno to be dead."
He couldn't touch her. He was afraid to. What if...
Sete landed then, rushing over to them. She took a look at the wound and grimaced. "It's the same poison, just more concentrated. Shit, this is going to be tricky." She sat back on her heels, looking at the wound thoughtfully. Then, clapping her hands together and rubbing them, she said, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. The arrow has to be pushed through. Kei, hold her shoulders, Hayate hold her legs. We can't have her body shifting around too much while I do this. I'm afraid some of the poison is already in her blood stream, and I can't separate it. So, we're going to let it stay and hope to God she fights it off."
"You can't just pull it out? You did it for Kei," Hayate said.
"Again, this is far more concentrated than the arrow Kei took. There's only so much my leafe can do, Hayate. All the poison in the immediate area will be taken care of, but the trace amounts that have started taking effect are beyond me. Oi, Blaise, get the little ones out of here!"
"Right-o. Come on, poppets, let's go," Blaise grabbed Mannen by the back of his shirt and slung Hajime over one shoulder, physically dragging them away. Shin followed behind, eyes wide and teary.
Sete sighed and grabbed the arrow shaft with one hand, bracing her other on Himeno's shoulder. Himeno moaned, wincing a little, but that was the only movement she made. "Here we go," Sete breathed before shoving as hard as she could against Himeno's shoulder.
Himeno screamed, eyes opening a little. "W-What...?" Her head dropped down again.
Kei jumped a little at the sudden blood flow onto his hands and lap. "Damn it, Sete!"
"Oh, sorry, I was trying to tell her not to bleed on you," Sete snarled. "Don't be such a baby, Kei!" She reached around behind, grasping the blood soaked arrow and pulled it the rest of the way through. She set it aside to look at later and then pressed a hand to either side of the open wound. There was a brief flash of green light and when she pulled her hands away, the wound was healed, the only traces it had been there at all being the arrow and the blood. "Okay, let's get her inside and under blankets. I want her kept warm, very warm. We're going to try and sweat the poison out of her faster."
Hayate took Himeno from Kei, lifting her in his arms, even though he wasn't sure he would be able to stand and walk. He couldn't lose her now, not like this! He followed Kei and Sete inside and to Himeno's room, Kei holding the door open for him. Placing her on the bed, he stepped back as Sete looked her over. She checked the pulse, opened here eyes and had Kei flash a little light into them, and felt her forehead and cheeks. Sitting back, she pulled the covers over and said, "She's fine, a little cool feeling, but fine. I still think we should put a medical watch on her, just in case. I can take the first round if you want."
Hayate shook his head. "No, I will. I wasn't there to protect her, I'll stay."
Sete nodded. "Keep her warm, we want her to sweat. I'll send one of the younger boys up later with some food. Try to wake her then and have her eat."
He nodded, taking the chair Kei had pulled up for him. All he could do was stare at Himeno. She was so pale her skin had a greyish tint to it. And she wasn't moving. If she'd only twitch a muscle, some sign she was even there...anything! "Himeno, please wake up," he whispered. There was no response.
Kei rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache. Well, actually, it was three headaches. Feryn, Mannen and, surpisingly, Shin. The first two were understandable but Shin...He was really upset Himeno wasn't waking up yet. It had been three days since the attack, and the only sign they had she was even still responding was when she'd had that fever-induced dream which caused her to thrash about and mumble about saving them. Sete had drugged her and then ducked for cover when Hayate had exploded, sending a chair through one of the windows. It had woken Shin up and he'd come to investigate. And he'd decided that if it was making Hayate so afraid, it wasn't good.
"Do you think Himeno would like another card?" Shin asked from the floor, coloring on a piece of paper.
"For the last time, Shin, Himeno is in a comatose state righ now. Flowers, candy, ice cream, cards...none of it is going to wake her up faster," Kei said through gritted teeth. Blaise and Sete were giving him warning looks. He couldn't help it if he hated kids to begin with. Shin was usually the only exception to that rule.
Shin was silent for a long time. "I think another card will make her okay. She has to wake up and read it."
Blaise grabbed Kei's wrist to keep him from turning and shouting at Shin. Hajime was sitting on the floor next to him, hugging a pillow he'd been carrying around for the last three days.
Feryn huffed, flicking his hair back irritably. "I still do not understand how it is there are four knights and not one of you so much as caught a glimpse of the attacker!"
"We were a little busy protecting Himeno," Kei snapped.
"And a fine job of it you did."
Blaise grabbed Kei again to keep him from bitch slapping the arrogant Frenchman. "Okay, let's focus a bit, shall we mates?" he said, for once adopting a commanding tone. "The fact is, someone wants Himeno dead. We need to find out who and fast."
"I think it's Erelah," Mannen said fiercely. He was glaring at the table top like it was the person mentioned.
"C'est impossible! He was fighting Hayate at the time. He could not have been in two places at once," Feryn said firmly.
"Well, I STILL think it's him!" Mannen put his head on his arms grumpily.
Blaise ruffled his hair. "Sorry, little mate, but I agree with Frenchie here. Erelah didn't do it. BUT-," he glanced at Mannen to get him to be quiet and listen, "I DO think it could be one of his team."
"Feryn, can't you talk to them?" Sete asked. She wasn't going to tell them how worried she really was about Himeno.
Feryn rolled his eyes. "They consider me a turn shirt."
"Eh?" Blaised asked.
"A turn shirt? Ah...what is it...someone who is not trusted?" He was getting very frustrated over his poor grasp of slang.
"A turn coat?" Kei offered dryly.
"Oui! That is it! They will not speak to me because I am a turn coat."
All of them were silent, the only noise coming from Shin humming and coloring some picture or other. No one could tell what it was, but they were guessing the peachy blob that looked sort of like an upside down flower was Himeno. Sete sighed and stood up, "I'm going to go check on both of them now." She set a small vial of a clear liquid on the table next to Kei. "That's a sleeping potion. In five minutes, go down and get some coffee for Hayate. Slip this in. He hasn't slept in three days now and looks like shit."
Kei nodded, slipping the small tube into his back pocket. Once the door was shut, he said, "We need to set a guard at all times on Himeno. At least two at each time, and not the same two together. If the person figures out a pattern to the guards, they'll exploit that."
"You should be with her no matter what," Blaise suggested. "You're the only one who can sense what's going on. Got a list of suspects, too." He pulled a wadded piece of paper from his jeans pocket and cleared his throat. "Okay. Caias and Erelah are ruled out. But what about Usogi, the Knight of Shadows?"
Kei nodded. Usogi was very quiet but very set in his ways. He thought Hayate's way of training was too different. "That's a possibility. Who else?"
"Um...Graes, the Knight of Twilight. Again, working off of you saying the shadows shifted and stuff. Lemme see...Bilal, Knight of Forests. That's coming from the tree angle. And...Mursai, Knight of Dreams."
"Dreams?" Feryn asked.
Blaise shrugged. "Well, Sete said it was more a dream state than a comatose one. Mursai could be responsible for that. Oh, last one, Amitan, Knight of Illusions."
Sighing, Kei took the crumpled note like it had the plague, pinching it between two fingers. "Okay, here's how this works. Mannen, you, Hajime and Shin will be in charge of tailing Bilal and Mursai. Try not to make it obvious. Blaise, can you take Usogi?"
Blaise nodded grimly.
"And, Feryn, that leaves you with Amitan and Graes."
Feryn nodded absently, stroking a piece of his hair. "There is one other," he mused. "Jikan, Knight of Time. As you said, it is like we are losing hours in a day. He could be responsible for that."
"Yeah, but why stick up for her if you're gonna kill her?" Blaise pointed out.
"Touche, but it would be careless not to cover all bases. If you think you cannot handle him-,"
"Kiss my tight white ass, Frenchie! Jikan's under my watch, y'hear?"
Kei cut in before they argued further. "We know what we need to do. Don't let them out of your sight if you can. I'll handle Himeno's security." And this time I won't screw it up, he thought bitterly.
Her head...and her arm...her whole body. It all was so stiff and sore. Like she'd pulled every muscle in her body. HImeno forced her heavy eyes open and looked up into darkness. Wha...oh, her room. She was in her room at the palace. Slowly, the attack came back to her and, gasping, she reached for her shoulder. It was healed...not even a scar! Closing her eyes, she lied back again, head swimming at the sudden movement.
"Himeno?" Kei's soft whisper came from somewhere by the balcony doors.
Himeno looked over at him and smiled weakly. "Hey, Kei." Sne noticed someone slumped down in the chair by her bed and frowned. Hayate..."Was he hurt, too?"
"No, just drugged. He hasn't slept in almost four days. Sete and I slipped him one just to make sure he did sleep."
He was awake for four days? "How long have I been out?"
"About that same time. We were all really worried, you know."
Four days. That was a lot of time to lose. She struggled to try and sit up, fighting the dizziness. Kei was suddenly there, positioning pillows and arranging blankets. "Thanks," she said weakly. God, this sucked! it was like the flu and mono combined.
"There's some food, too. You've got to be hungry."
Her stomach rolled just in time. Both of them laughed softly and he handed her a bowl of cold soup. She sipped it without a spoon. Kei sat at teh foot of her bed. He looked so tired! "So, did we get the guy?"
"No," he answered tightly. "We've got a list of suspects, though. Oh, and I promised Shin I would show you." There was a soft bit of light and Himeno looked at where he was shining it, holding it in his hand.
On the little table that had been pulled next to the bed, there were four homemade cards, all colored and scribbled in with crayons. Shin had made one for each day she'd been out. Smiling, she sniffled, wiping her eyes. "That's so sweet!"
"His reasoning was if he made you one everyday you would have to wake up just to see them," Kei explained. She could tell from the tone that Shin had been very insistant on this fact.
Laughing, she picked one up and opened it, reading the little note. Almost every word was mispelled and it took her a second to decipher, but when she did, she laughed again. "Aww, tell him they worked, okay?"
Kei smiled and nodded. "You should finish that and rest a bit more. You're still fighting off the poison"
Himeno nodded, draining off the rest of the broth. She set the bowl and the card on the table and sighed, closing her eyes. She opened them again when she suddenly remembered, "Oh, Kei, did we win?"
"Huh?" He stopped on his way back to the balcony doors.
"The duel? Who won?"
Snorting, Kei shook his head. "As if you even need to ask that! Of course Hayate won."
Smiling again, Himeno settled herself in again, now content to go back to sleep.
Meanwhile that night, in the dark mountains barely even two hundred miles away, there was a dark castle built into the peaks. It rose above the mountain even, shrouded in mist and rains. A sickly green light came from ever window, throwing eerie shadows into the darkness.
In the throne room of this castle sat a very beautiful woman on a black throne made of cut onyx. She looked out of place in such a gloomy and forboding atmosphere. Her hair was a very pale silvery blonde with pale blue eyes and white skin. She wore all white and a faint glow seemed to come from around her, making her look almost angelic. A naked sword sat across her lap as she stared at the man kneeling before her. Two men dressed in black stood behind her, armed with swords. They looked exactly alike in features, but one had silver hair and eyes and the other had golden hair and eyes. "So, is the White Pretear dead?" she asked, voice soft and lilting. It was a voice for singing in a choir, not for such a horrible question.
The man in front of her glanced up and then down quickly. "No, Queen Shimura. The White Pretear survived the poison you gave me. I can kill her, by my own means-,"
"We discussed this. Your means do not meet with my approval."
He remained silent.
One of the twins behind her, the one with silver hair and eyes, leaned forward and whispered something to her. She laughed, the sound a startlingly clear sound that echoed back. "You have swayed me, Ginshima." Turning back to the man in front of her, she said, "You have my permission to use your own means. But remember that once your cover is blown, you are no longer valuable as my spy and thus I can kill you if you displease me."
"I am aware of this, Queen Shimura. All I want is to see Pretear Himeno dead and Captain Hayate in agony over it," he answered.
"My, my, revenge runs strong in your family, doesn't it? Not that I care much. It serves me very well. I can't have the Topaz Prince preting with the White Pretear. It would really ruin my day." She laughed at her own joke. The two guards behind her smiled but did not make a sound. When she was done, she waved her hand. "Strike when you're ready. And do make sure it's painful. I haven't heard a decent death scream in so many years!"
The man rose, daring to look up at the Queen of Nightmares. "It will be my pleasure. I truly hope she doesn't stop screaming until I slit ehr throat." He winked out to the sound of her bell like laughter.
Himeno woke again when the sun hit her in the face. "Ugh...curtains!"
"Oh, sorry," Sete said. She quickly shut the curtains before coming over to the bed to check on her. "So, how do you feel today?"
"The same as yesterday and the day before that. And even the day before that," Himeno answer irritably. She had woken up that one night and Kei had told Sete. After Sete checked to see if she was healing alright, she had insisted that Himeno remain on bedrest for another week. Himeno wasn't very happy about it.
She looked around the room, saw Feryn standing watch by the balcony. "Where's Kei?" She was so used to seeing him on guard duty.
Sete waved a hand and rolled her eyes. "That one! Most stubborn man I've ever had to deal with. He seems to think like Hayate that sleep is for babies."
Hayate..."Where's-,"
"Hayate was summoned before the Topaz Prince. Don't worry, he'll be back soon. Until then, eat some food and relax."
Himeno scowled at the dreaded "r" word. If she ever heard "relax" again, she was gonna punch whoever said it! Sete left her and instead of eating her food like she was told, she grabbed her diary and opened it up to write some more. There weren't any tvs in Leafenia so writing in her diary was all...She frowned when a crisply folded piece of paper fell from the page she had opened it to. Sitting up further, she picked it up and opened it. And gasped when she recognized the neat handwriting. But how...when. She began to read the letter, her heart in her throat. Sasame...
Hayate remained on one knee before the Topaz Prince, being very silent. The Topaz Prince was pacing back and forth, very agitated.
"I had to hear this from Erelah of all knights," The Topaz Prince railed angrily. "It makes me question your loyalty, Hayate, when you keep things of this importance from me!"
"Sorry, Prince, I meant no disrespect," Hayate answered. He didn't, either. He was just thinking of keeping Himeno.
"Himeno can become the White Pretear, a fact that you have hidden from me for over a year! She should have been brought to me immediately when this was discovered. Her place is not as the Pretear of your team, but as my Princess. It is the way of things. It has ALWAYS been the way of things! The White Pretear prets with only the strongest knights."
And marrying the White Pretear is the only way you can become King," Hayate thought bitterly. He knew that was the real reason Kataru (the Topaz Prince) was interested in Himeno was for political gain. "She wouldn't have been happy," he said softly.
"You never gave her that choice," Kataru snarled. "How can you be so certain of that? Or do you say that because she fancies herself in love with you?"
"Himeno does love me. And I love her." Hayate froze when he realized he'd just said that outloud. Great...
Kataru actually laughed derisively. "She's seventeen. She's young. She doesn't know what love is."
And you do? He very wisely kept that to himself. "I said that because I know Himeno. She's too much of a free spirit for the High Court."
"I could look at this as treason."
His stomach did a backflip. Treason meant instant banishment from Leafenia. And if a knight wasn't allowed back in to rejuvenate, his powers faded and he became human. Swallowing heavily, he managed to say in a level voice, "The Prince is free to take my actions anyway he pleases. But if it truly were treason, I wouldn't have brought her here in the first place."
Kataru sat back down in his throne. "Luckily, I am willing to overlook this slight. I want Himeno safe as much as you, maybe more so. Pick two of my personal guards to watch her. Any two you wish."
Hayate looked up at that, surprised. What...did the Topaz Prince honestly think to change Himeno's mind about him? He answered the Prince immediately. "Hoti, Knight of Snow. And Jikan, Knight of Time. But I want it clear they are to do nothing more than guard Himeno. She is still a part of my team."
"For now. We'll see how angry I am later," Kataru answered. "Get out!"
Hayate rose and left, heading quickly back for Himeno's room. He stopped when Kei walked passed him, arms crossed and looking angry beyond reason. "Kei?"
Kei stopped and turned around. "Don't go in there, Hayate," was all he said.
Hayate turned when he heard the shouting and ignored Kei, running for Himeno's room. What now?
Dear Himeno,
I'm writing this because I feel you need to know the whole truth about what is going on. I couldn't tell you when I was alive because what was done was necessary, but it is hardly fair to keep you in the dark on this. First, I want you to understand I love Takako. I love her more than I can properly express. And it is because I love her so deeply that I cannot live with what I have done to her. You see, Himeno, the reason for our leafe turning on us is that there is a very thin balance between good and evil. Too much of one and the balance will try and even itself out. Takako was the balance to our good leafe. Without her, the leafe was getting out of control. It was decided by Kei, Hayate and, reluctantly, myself that Takako had to become the Princess of Disaster again in order to save all of us. The 'greater good' as Kei put it. I abandoned Takako on our wedding day, knowing it would break her heart. And then I gave myself to trapping her in the Tree of Fenril again because I couldn't live without her and if I was going to die, it might as well be for a cause. Kei and Hayate knew you would try and stop Takako from turning back, and were relying on you becoming the White Pretear again to seal the Tree and save everyone.
I'm not writing this to upset you. I'm writing this so that you understand the sacrifice made for all of you. Kei and Hayate didn't tell you because they didn't want to hurt you. Everything the Knights of Leafe have done has been to protect you and serve you. Whether it be with hiding the ugly truth or laying down their life, you have touched us all so deeply that we would do anything for you. That was the reason of my sacrifice. You saw in Takako the same good that I did. And when I turned on you, you never gave up on both of us. For that, I am eternally grateful. Thank you, Himeno, for everything.
Himeno reread the note again as tears slowly plopped onto the page, smudging the ink. Lies...all of it. They had lied to her, and Sasame had died for it. Sasame...She pushed the blankets off the bed. She had to find Hayate. If this was true...she could feel the rage boiling inside her, ready to explode.
Feryn peeked in when he saw her standing shakily. "Ma cherie? Can I be of some help?"
"Yeah. Find Kei and Hayate," she said, voice shaking.
"But why ask for them when a perfectly-,"
"FIND KEI AND HAYATE!"
Feryn's eyes widened and he hastily left the room. He came back a few minutes later with Kei, who went to her anxiously. "Himeno?"
Himeno tried to count to ten, to breath deep, to do SOMETHING calming! Nothing was working. "Kei, tell me again why Takako turned back into teh Princess of Disaster," she said slowly.
Kei gave her a puzzled look, glancing over at Feryn. "Uh...she turned back and-,"
"No! Tell me WHY she did!"
"I...I don't know what you're asking me!"
"STOP LYING, KEI! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED TO TAKAKO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS! SASAME DIED FOR THIS AND YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT WHY HE DID!"
"Himeno-,"
Himeno, tears burning her cheek, shoved him away when he made to hug her. "Get away from me! Just get out! I can't believe you did this!"
Kei's jaw tightened and he spun around and left, slamming the door.
Feryn took a step toward her and she pinned him with a glare. "I said both Kei AND Hayate! Go find Hayate now!"
Feryn spun to leave when the door opened and Hayate came in, looking worried. "Himeno..." He came over to her and tried to pull her in.
Himeno shoved him back and slapped him across the face. "I know what happened with Takako! And it makes me sick! YOU make me sick! After you swore to me you weren't keeping anything else! I can't even stand looking at you!"
Hayate was very still, fists clenched and not looking at her. Good, she didn't want to look at him either. "It's more complicated than that," he said slowly.
Himeno snatched the letter up. "Then EXPLAIN it! Stop shutting me out all the time! It's like you don't trust me-,"
"That's not it at all!"
"That's exactly it! And if you can't trust me with something this important, I don't think we should be together!"
That made him look up. "You don't mean that," he said softly.
Himeno wiped her eyes. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't! I'm too angry right now to tell. All I know is that I don't want to see you for a very long time! Get away from me!" She fell on the bed, sobbing. He had lied to her. That night...when they had gone into Leafenia...he was trying to distract her until it was too late to save Takako. He had USED her!
The door slamming shut was the only clue she had that he was gone.