Disclaimer: I don't own Pretear.

Summary: Post series, one shot. "And if you ever do something to Hayate again, I'll get you and your little ingénue," she said. "And I'll make it look like an accident." Fanfic purpose: revenge. The victim: Sasame. A dark fic…

The reason why I wrote this fanfiction is because, after what Sasame did, I figure he got off a little too easily.

Speculation + obsessed fangirl equals:

Gathering Shadows

The world is in a balance. For there to be light, there must be darkness; for there to be sound, there must be silence. And for there to be Pretear, there must be Fenrir…

They were having a barbeque.

It was yet another beautiful night in Leafenia, about a week after Fenrir was defeated. Goh was at the range, Mannen (to Goh's annoyance) was running around him in circles, being chased by the little ones, Kei and Hayate were in a deep discussion about how best to cook the meat, and Sasame had his arm around his beloved.

"Here's some more for the range, Goh," Himeno said in her bubbly fashion, coming out of the house. Sasame noted that her petite, bespectacled friend followed her. Mawata had turned down the invitation.

"Thanks, Himeno," Goh said somewhat distractedly, juggling cooked meat and keeping an eye on the kids at the same time. "Stop that Mannen! You're gonna get hurt!"

Sasame felt one of the first true smiles. Even after what he did, they still accepted him back…

He wasn't wrong. Takako's smiles told him that. Nothing bad came out of it.

"We'll be ready in fifteen minutes!" Goh yelled out to the entire lawn.

"Ah, finally!" sighed Himeno. She reclined on the bench next to Sasame. Takako was already asleep in his arms.

A pause held between them. But not for long.

"Sasame, take a walk with me," Himeno said quietly, staring at the flames in the range. "I'd like to have a talk with you."

"Now, Himeno?" Sasame asked, amused. "I'd like to, but Takako's kinda on me right now."

Himeno looked at him. Something passed in her eyes, but it was gone before Sasame could identify it.

"Then get her off," Himeno said, still smiling. She got up and walked into the woods. Sasame frowned. Himeno was acting strangely…

Carefully laying out Takako on the bench, he kissed her softly on the forehead. Then he followed Himeno into the gathering shadows.

Himeno's hands were linked behind her arms. She hummed a strange tune as she looked at Leafenia's two full moons. It was an uncanny tune, and it seemed to drive off all the warmth in the air.

And Sasame found it odd that, even though he was nearly running and Himeno was just strolling, she still seemed to be moving quickly.

Finally, he caught up to her. He grabbed one of her arms.

"Himeno? What is it? Is something wrong? You don't look well, and you're not acting like yourself."

"And what do you know of acting like oneself?" she asked, not turning around.

"Himeno—"

"Traitor," she hissed. Now the hatred was evident in her tone.

"Himeno? Are you alright?" Sasame said concernedly.

"Oh, now you're concerned now. Weren't you just trying to kill me a few days ago?" her voice hardened. There seemed to be a strange echo surrounding it. The air around her grew heavy.

"Himeno…I'm sorry. I did it for Takako," his voice was soft, begging for her to understand. She didn't. She turned around slowly, and Sasame flinched at her gaze. So hard, so glass-like, as though there were no soul surrounding it. Around him, he could feel the tipis, startled awake by the intruders, cower in fear over the Pretear's transformation.

"Here me now, Sasame, Knight of Sound," she spat, emphasizing the last words with sarcasm. "You hurt a lot of people whom you professed to love." The arm that Sasame restrained clenched in a fist. "Mawata. Hayate. Me." Her other arm came up and caught Sasame's in a vice-like grip.

"Himeno…please, I'm sorry." He didn't even try to loosen her hold.

"Just to say, if you ever pull something like that again, I will get you," her voice was soft, and dark. The same look passed behind her glass-eyes, and this time, Sasame found a word for it.

"Fenrir?" he asked, his eyes widened. Himeno laughed lightly.

"Yes. Light is nothing without darkness, as you know so well," she said, laughing. "Fenrir cannot be stopped. Sure, we stopped this incarnation, but there would have been more. Just like how there will always be a princess of darkness, just like how there will always be the knights of leafe."

"You absorbed Fenrir…"

"Yes. As long as Fenrir is alive, another incarnation will not rise. At least this way, I can keep Fenrir from ever hurting anyone…"

The shadows gathered behind her eyes, and her grip tightened painfully. "Well, almost anyone," she amended. "I can't keep it under control all the time," she whispered, in a mock secretive manner.

"And if you ever hurt Hayate, Mawata, or anyone I care about ever again, I'm going to set it loose. I'm going to get you, and your little ingénue. And I'll make it look like an accident." The shadows kept moving behind her glass eyes, and she grinned. Her teeth were sharper than Sasame remembered.

"The Knights will stop you," Sasame said.

"If they believe you," the Fenrir in Himeno told him. "They'll never trust you again. Not after what you pulled." And as if on cue, Himeno's name was being called out.

"Himeno!"

"Himeno!"

And Sasame's sensitive hearing heard something else: "You don't think Sasame tried to hurt her again, do you?"

"I'm over here, you guys! Me and Sasame were just having a chat!" Himeno said. Her eyes were normal now, and would stay that way, as long as Sasame toed the line. And the shadow was right. He would never be trusted again.

Hayate was the first to reach them. Himeno disengaged herself from Sasame and ran to him. Then the both of them walked back toward the clearing, but not before Himeno looked back, and gave Sasame a strange, strange smile.

The shadows gathered around him…

How was that? Review please!