AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am soooo sorry this took so long to post! I've been having a very, very, VERY insane week! GRRRR! Anyway, here it is and as an added bonus...IT'S LONG! WEEE!
CHAPTER 6: Is This Real?
Himeno was awake when the door opened softly and Hayate slipped back in. She watched him move quietly to the bathroom, shutting the door before turning the light on. The shower ran and she sighed, rolling over to stare at the ceiling. All she wanted was to sleep...and not have those awful nightmares. After the fight with that hellhound, they'd all decided to make it an early night. Hayate had stayed up with Mawata,Hajime to clean up downstairs while Kei, Blaise and Sete boarded up the window. Mannen and Himeno took Shin upstairs to grab his pajamas and teddy bear before tucking him in to Mannen's bed with the Knight of Ice. Shin had insisted on sleeping in Mannen's room for the night, and once Hajime heard that, he moved in as well. It had shaken the younger two very much to see a nightmare practically come to life.
It had definately been enough to keep Himeno awake. Her nightmares were bad enough in her head. She didn't need them coming to life to torment her. But...her eyes were beginning to really hurt from the lack of sleep and she was having headaches, too. What was going on?
The door to the bathroom opened, the light turned off and the smell Hayate's shampoo filled the air. It smelled so good...Himeno took a deep breath and held it, smiling a little.
"You're still awake?" he asked softly, getting into bed next to her.
"Yeah," she answered, rolling over onto her side so she could see him. He was facing her, too, his hair still wet from the shower. She ran her fingertips along his cheek, over his lips. "Hayate, you know I love you, right?"
Hayate smiled, closing his eyes. "Sure, Tulip-head."
"Just making sure." Just in case she falls asleep and that nightmare, the one where she's strangling him, comes true.
His eyes opened, the smile fading. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Really, it's nothing." Bad dreams, she told herself. They were only bad dreams. Her eyes closed when he moved closer to her, lips brushing hers. The feel of him was enough to calm her down, her arm slipping around his waist. "Hayate..."
Hayate drew back a little, looking deep into her eyes. Even in the darkness, she could pick out the paler blue flecks. "Himeno...I'm sorry."
Blinking at the startling comment, she asked, "For what?"
"This...all of this. If I hadn't found you...if you hadn't..."
Himeno kissed him into silence. The very idea! If he hadn't found her, if she hadn't become the Pretear, she would never have found him. "You're so stupid sometimes." She drew back, biting her lower lip when she tasted salt. "Did you go into the ocean?"
He smiled again, looking sheepish. "Yeah...It was all Blaise's idea, though."
She smiled back and kissed him again. "I bet it was cold." She slipped a hand up the back of his shirt along his spine.
"Mmm...pretty cold." She shivered when he kissed just below her ear, arm tightening around him and pulling him in closer. She didn't want to let him go. If she did... Himeno opened her eyes when he stopped, lying back on the pillow. "It's almost three in the morning. Let's try and get a little sleep tonight, okay?" He kissed her again very gently before settling back. It wasn't long before his breathing leveled out and he was asleep.
Himeno tried and tried to stay awake, but her eyes were heavy...so heavy...
The Tree of Fenril. How did she get here? That figure...Takako was strung to the Tree with glowing vines, unmoving. Was she...she couldn't be... Takako lifted her head slowly, tears glowing violet streaming down her cheeks. "Himeno...why?"
"Why what? I don't understand," Himeno answered.
"Why did you do this to me, an innocent person? Why? WHY? WHY!"
Himeno felt her throat close in a sob. She didn't do it! She didn't do it! "But...you changed...you...I didn't..."
"You locked me in this hell, this unending cycle of pain and torment! Neither alive or dead, I exist in this prison. How can you possibly live knowing you did this? It isn't fair. It isn't RIGHT!"
Falling to her knees, thr crunching of dead leaves making a sharp crackle sound in the air, Himeno cried, covering her ears. This wasn't real! This wasn't...this wasn't... She screamed when she felt a cold hand close over her shoulder. She knew that pale hand very well... "No, not you, too, Sasame!"
Himeno, what's wrong? She must be hearing things. Hayate wasn't here.
Sasame smiled sadly down at her, hair blowing in a breeze that seemed to only flow around him. "I was so certain you could have saved us, Himeno. I thought you were stronger than this."
"No...Sasame, it wasn't like that! Please, believe me," Himeno cried, shrinking away from his hand, curling up on herself. She hugged herself tightly, closing her eyes. She would count to three and wake up. One...
"Himeno, you can't deny any longer what you did to us. To all of us. Or did you forget about Goh as well?"
Two...
"Yeah, Himeno," Goh's voice joined in. No, not Goh... "It's all nice and convenient, isn't it, to forget I DIED for you? Must be great not losin' sleep over it!"
Damn it, why won't you wake up?
Himeno opened her eyes. H-Hayate? She looked around desperately for her knight. She was certain this time she heard him. "Hayate? Where are you? Hayate!"
"He's here, Himeno," Takako said from her prison.
Himeno turned, eyes glazed over in horror. No...no..."NOOOO!"
Takako had her arms around Hayate's neck, holding him to her and smiling cruelly. The silver knife in her hand gleamed in the dull light. Slowly, it raised up over her head...
"NOOO! Don't do it, Takako, PLEASE!" Himeno screamed and screamed. She couldn't stop screaming, her nails digging hard into her arms, leaving deep scratches that drew a little blood. And when she heard the startled gasp, the faint rattle of breath leaving a body, she stopped screaming, staring in horror at the blood, the blood on the ground...his blood...Hayate's blood. It pooled around her knees, still warm, and she touched it, fingers coming away coated in a deep crimson.
HIMENO!
Wait...why could she still hear him...? She stood slowly, turning around. Someone was reaching for her from the shadows, grabbing her right hand. The familiar feeling of preting with Hayate swept over her, the cool touch of his mind with hers. How...why...
DAMN IT! Himeno, you have to wake up now!
She could feel his desperation like her own, his utter fear that...that she... "I can't...I can't, Hayate!"
You have to! Himeno, just follow my voice.
"But...but where ARE you!" How was she supposed to follow his voice when he preted with her. And how did he pret with her if he was lying on the ground, blue eyes dull and dead, glazed over and staring at her?
It's not real! I'm here, come to me. Himeno, don't focus on the corpse, focus on my voice! God, Himeno, you HAVE to wake up!
Taking deep, gulping breaths through the sobs, she closed her eyes on the macabre scene and forced herself to focus. Hayate...it was then that she realized he hadn't preted with her, not fully anyway. It was just a link, barely there, but it was enough for him to communicate with her, to let her use it as a lifeline out of this place. And it was weakening him badly to maintain it. Slowly, she opened her eyes...
And broke into tears again when she saw him kneeling on the bed, holding her in his arms. He was...he looked like he'd been about to cry himself! And he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her life right then! Himeno flung herself on him, hugging him with arms around his neck, legs around his waist, bowling him over onto the bed and just crying for all she was worth into his shoulder.
"H-H-Hayate! I-I thought...I s-saw you...Hayate!"
"Shh...I know, I saw it. I saw what was happening. Damn it, Himeno, why didn't you TELL me?" He was angry, she knew he was angry, but he kept holding her, rubbing her back and kissing her cheek, kissing the tears that couldn't seem to stop.
"It...was s-s-so AWFUL! I saw Takako and...and she..." Himeno still couldn't bring herself to say it outloud.
Hayate held her until she was exhausted from crying. She could tell he was almost completely wiped out from maintaining their link and felt all the worse for it. She would have cried more, but she simply didn't have enough tears to shed. Her eyes hurt so badly from the salty tears that she could barely open them. She sat back, letting him up but not letting him go.
He sighed, hands resting on her shoulders. "Look at me."
Himeno did as he asked, staring into the eyes that were dead not even moments before. He was angry, scared and hurt, but most of all he was relieved.
"Your pupils are a little wide. You're in shock. Come on, let's go downstairs and get you a drink." He stood up, holding his hand out to help her up. She took it, falling into his chest when her shaking legs wouldn't carry her weight. His arms were around her again, holding her up. "I've got you. Just take it easy."
She stood up on her own slowly, pushing away from his chest. Outside, a storm was blowing in, deep thunder rolling, lighting splitting open the sky and flashing through the windows, but it was still far out over the ocean. She could do this...Hayate was here, and she was stronger than this. She gave him a very weak smile, looking out the window as another bolt of lightning lit the little room up...
And saw two very familiar faces staring at her. Himeno screamed, backing up right into Hayate's chest before she fell forward...just falling and falling...with both Sasame's and Goh's faces swimming through the blackness that was eating at her.
Hayate caught Himeno before she hit the ground, scooping her up easily. His heart couldn't seem to stop pounding as he looked out the window that had terrified her into fainting...and saw nothing. Shimura...What the hell was she trying to do? He shook his head, trying to clear it, blinking a little. Damn it, he'd strained himself too badly to sense if there was a Dark Knight out there.
The door was flung open, Kei, Blaise and Sete running in, ready for another fight. They all three froze at the door when they saw Himeno passed out in Hayate's arms. "Sweet Jaysus, what happened to her?" Blaise exclaimed. The other two were quick to follow him in, Sete coming to look Himeno over.
"She fainted. Shimura's up to something, messing with her head. Blaise, go check outside and see if you find anything. Sete, did you find anything?"
Sete was frowning, hands hovering over Himeno with a soft green light. "Nope, nothing I can fix anyway. Hayate, what's going on?"
Hayate sighed, shifting Himeno's dead-weight in his arms. "Tomorrow at noon, we're having a meeting. Sete, can you get word to all the team captains and Pretears?"
"You want ALL of them on this?" Blaise asked, shocked.
"We NEED all of them. Shimura is getting ready for something, something big. Our team alone can't fight off her, the Dark Knights and the rest of her army. It would be a masacre."
"She doesn't have a damn army. I killed them all, remember?" Kei said tightly, arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't so much that Kei was angry. More that this was starting to make him nervous.
"You killed part of her army," Hayate corrected. "Recent reports say she has a lot more where they came from. And, as much as you'd like to think otherwise, Kei, we need the other teams on this." The weakness came over him then and his knees buckled, almost causing him to drop Himeno. It was always so much harder to partially pret than fully. It took a great deal of effort to stay physically in this world and mentally with the Pretear. A split preting (as it was called) was not something that was encouraged, even for those strong enough to do it. Now he understood why.
"Lordy, what have you done now?" Sete growled, catching one arm. Blaise grabbed the other and together they kept him from falling with Himeno. He quickly put Himeno back on the bed before sitting on the edge next to her, leaning forward a little to try and stop the room from spinning. He didn't regret in the least what he'd done, even if it meant Sete yelling at him. If he hadn't, Himeno would have been trapped in that nightmare until Shimura saw fit to release her. He'd have to talk with Himeno about this when she came to. She should have told him what had happened still bothered her. It bothered him that she didn't. He knew it was because she didn't want him to worry, but how could he not after what he'd just seen? Shimura wasn't playing around with this!
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just used a little too much leafe, that's all."
Kei arched a golden brow questioningly. "You? You used too much leafe? Never thought that would ever happen."
Hayate scowled at Kei, in absolutely no mood to deal the the Knight of Light's tongue. "Just do what I asked already."
Kei was startled by the curt tone, but Hayate refused to apologize for it. Things were moving quickly now...quicker than anyone had expected. He still didn't fully understand what Shimura could possibly want with Himeno, and right about now he didn't care. All he knew was the Queen of Nightmares had singled out Himeno...and that he would do anything and everything to keep her safe.
"I'm gonna go check the perimeter now," Blaise mumbled before backing out, leaving Sete to fuss over Hayate.
Blaise pulled on his sweatshirt, zipping it up over his t-shirt and pajama pants. He didn't bother with shoes. Sand felt good on bare feet anyway. And the storm was still a bit away so it wouldn't be too gross out. He shut the door to his room, being careful not to wake the little ones up. Yayoi and Feryn ran to them when Himeno first screamed to keep them calm and not have them interupt. They didn't really need Mannen shouting and getting angry, or Hajime running around worried, or Shin crying. It wouldn't be good for moral if they saw their Pretear, who they idolized, had fainted over some dream. He'd guessed that Shimura would try something like this. She was one sick bitch who loved to play with people's heads. Still, no matter how many different names he called her, no matter how many times he joked about it, it didn't change the fact that he was a little nervous now. Hayate had done something very risky tonight...Hayate...
What in the bloody hell had he been THINKING? Not only was he running the risk of fading by using too much leafe, but he also opened a gateway for Shimura into his head. All it took was a Pretear being attacked by the Queen of Nightmares to bring down a whole team. Shimura's power worked like a disease; get one and you've got them all. Shin was young and very innocent, so he was easier to tap. And Jikan had done a right fine job of busting a gaping hole right into Himeno's pysche when he'd forced her to pret. All Shimura needed was a little crack and she could wreak some serious havoc. Blaise could only imagine what total access to Himeno's fears would do. And, out of all the knights on their team, save possibly Hayate because he just glimpsed what Himeno dreamed about, he understood exactly the type of torment Shimura was inflicting. He'd seen her 'collection' first hand. Hell, he'd almost become part of it! he shivered, tucking his hands into his pockets further. Nasty, evil, crazy-assed...
"Blaise?"
He looked up when Mawata came in from the kitchen, taking her headphones off. She was still dressed in her jogging clothes, hair pulled back. And she looked so bloody cute! He managed his usual grin, glancing up the stairs as Sete and Kei emerged from Hayate's room, Kei muttering angrily and Sete trying to calm him down. Jaysus, how much drama could they have in one bloody night? "Hello, love! Nice jog?" At least she hadn't been in the house during the incident. The thought of Shimura getting her slimy fingers on Mawata made him wanna puke. Or kill something. Or maybe both at the same time. The image made he smile wider and snicker.
Mawata frowned, confused about why he was laughing. She touched her sweat damped hair a little, flushing. "I probably look like a wreck. I just saw you were stepping out and...and, well...uh..."
Damn, a girl blushing was just too sweet. And Mawata did it quite a bit. "I was gonna go walkin' for a bit. Wanna come?" Company would be nice. He could do business and get a little flirting in at the same time. And if Shimura DID try something on Mawata, he'd be there to lay the royal smack-down on her ass!
"Oh, sure! I mean, if you don't mind?"
He made a face, scoffing at the very idea. "I asked, so I don't mind at all. You can be my protection from all the crazy people tryin' tio get in me knickers!"
Mawata laughed and blushed, not looking at him. Blaise opened the door and held it for her as stepped back out into the very pink sky. Sunrises and sunsets always looked better over water, he thought. Like cotton candy, or sherbet. "Hey, the sky looks like ice cream," he said outloud.
She laughed again, shielding her eyes with one hand. Her skin, which was usually pale, was now a bright gold color. If it weren't for the fact Himeno would kill him deader than dead, he would have kissed her by now. Oh, well. He shouldn't be anyway. "Blaise, can I ask you something?"
"Sure! Who am I to refuse a beautiful gal?"
Mawata glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Blaise checked the little triumphant smile from surfacing. He was very good at hiding what he was thinking from showing. That look said it all. Mawata at least liked him. Hmm...maybe a certain red-haired viper's temper would be worth it after all. "Well, it's something I've been thinking about for a while now. Am I...am I putting everyone at risk?"
The question was totally and completely NOT the question he was expecting! Blaise frowned, heart slamming to a sudden hault. How much did Mawata know about all this? "Umm...ya got me. What're you sayin', love?"
"I don't know fully what's going on," she explained quickly. "But, I do know enough about what happened before...with the Princess of Disaster...to understand that if the darkness used me once, it can do it again. So, all I'm asking is am I putting Himeno in danger?"
She...she was bloody clever! And it was touching how truly concerned she was. Blaise managed a smile, took a risk and looped an arm around her shoulders to give her a little hug. "Naw, no more so than we're already in! Just...you have a bad dream, lemme know, okay?"
Mawata laughed and moved a little closer. Not much, but it was enough. "You don't need to go THAT overboard," she mumbled.
"No joke, darlin'! This pyscho Queen we're fightin', she loooooves to play around with yer nightmares, make 'em come to life, see? And then...ARRRRRGH!" He jumped at her.
She screamed, falling into the sand. Blaise cracked up, doubled over in laughter. Mawata, lips set in a firm line, eyes narrowed, shoved him over the rest of the way. "You...you're awful! Do you know how badly my heart's pounding?"
"Sorry...bloody funny...ahahahaha...can't...breath," Blaise was on his side, tears in his eyes and holding his aching stomach. The look on her face was one he'd remember for a long time!
"Well, I'm not giving you CPR if you pass out," she replied, the tartness melting away as she began to laugh softly. She stood up, brushing the sand from her pants. "My heart is STILL pounding!"
"Mine, too." But for a different reason, he added silently. He stood as well, shaking himself like a wet dog to get the sand off. "Right, back to business."
"Oh, I'm sorry! If you're busy, I can-," She turned like she was about to go back into the house.
"Don't even think about it! Yer me body guard, remember?"
Smiling shyly, Mawata took up walking next to him again.
They didn't say another word until they came to the window looking into Himeno and Hayate's room. Blaise frowned, crouching over the sand. What the... "Hey, darlin', how close to the house were you joggin'?"
Mawata looked over his shoulder and shook her head. "I jog closer to water. I thought..."
"You thought, what?" he asked, looking at her. She had a very puzzled expression on her face.
Biting her lower lip, Mawata continued saying, "I thought it was you and Mannen standing here. I thought you two were guarding or something."
Blaise's stomach did a couple backflips, a somersault and then twisted itself into a knot. Knights outside the window? "You thought it was me and Mannen?"
She nodded. "There was one with very pale hair, and the other looked like it might have some red. They weren't facing me, though."
Forcing himself to breath, he pressed his hand into the footprints and used a little leafe. If they were Dark Knights, he'd be able to tell...He drew his hand back with a hiss, standing up so quickly he almost gave Mawata a black eye.
"Blaise? What's wrong?"
He didn't answer her. He COULDN'T answer her! Hell, he was having a hard time believing it himself. Two Leafe Knights. One with the leafe of Sound. The other with the leafe of Fire. But, he knew they were dead! He'd heard what had happened and there was no way a knight could survive in either circumstance! This wasn't real. This couldn't be real...but the evidence was right before his very eyes. Had Shimura ACTUALLY created living nightmares? That hellhound had used the nightmare as a way to cross over, but this...this was completely different! "What the hell is goin' on around here?" he muttered. This was getting uglier by the minute.