CHAPTER 11: Secrets Revealed.
Kei clenched his fists, trying to shrug Sete's urgent hands away. "I'm fine, Sete!"
"The hell you are," she snarled. The green glow of her leafe came into view as she quickly tried to fix his chest.
The Dark Knight who first attacked laughed cruelly. "This is going to be easier than we thought! Only one mature Leafe Knight to deal with, boys! The other one's scraped his knee!" There was some muted laughter from outside as the rest of the Dark Knights began to fan out.
Kei yanked his sore arm away, stepping up front with Feryn. He looked down in surprise as Mannen joined them, silvery eyes snapping. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
"I'm helpin'," the Knight of Ice said firmly. "And don't gimme that crap about havin' to watch the others. I'm not stupid!"
He couldn't help smiling at the angry little knight. "Okay, fine. There's eight of them... Feryn, you take three, I'll take three and Mannen takes two."
Feryn nodded grimly, the scar running across his face pulling tight. "I want la tete de la merde who dared to use lightening against me."
Kei's eyebrows rose at the other man. He knew enough French to know he'd called the Dark Knight a 'shit-head'. "That's the first time I've ever heard you cuss like that!"
The Knight of Storms quirked a smile, eyes glinting. "Then you have not seen many training sessions with myself and Himeno. It is positively foul!"
Smiling back, Kei nodded. "Okay, then let's do this. Be quick, we still need to go after Hayate." All three ran out the door, Hajime taking Manne's old job and staying in the house with Shin. Sete stood back, frustrated no end once again that her leafe wasn't an offensive one. She wanted to be out there fighting... but without any form of attacking, all she'd be doing was worrying Kei. And he was already distracted enough with his injuries. Sighing, she put a hand on Shin's and Hajime's shoulders. "Let's go out the back and see if we can signal the other teams in," she offered. It was at least something to do! She looked over to Yayoi, arching a brow. "Are you coming or staying?"
Yayoi blinked out of her frightened trance and stood up. "I'm coming."
"Hurry up, guys! We gotta make it really big!" Hajime and Shin went running ahead of the two women to the back sliding doors leading to the beach. Just as they made it out, shadows peeled away from the larger ones of the night and came forward. At least six more Dark Knights. Yayoi's scream echoed out into the empty black air as she back peddled right into Sete, forcing her further into the house and away from the other two knights..
Shin screamed as one grabbed his wrist and immediately vines sprang up, wrapping around the man's neck to drag him to the ground. "Sete!"
Sete shoved Yayoi to the side and sprinted over to the younger knight just as the guy was peeling the vines off irritably and getting up. She threw Shin to the ground, waited until the guy was crouched, then brought her knee up into his face, feeling the blood dripping from his shattered nose onto her sandaled feet. "Aw, damn it! NOT MY MINOLO'S!" For added measure (and also for ruing her four hundred dollar shoes) she kicked him in the groin and then let Shin come in and beat on him while he was down groaning in pain. There was a sharp crack and a startled yelp as Yayoi slapped the knight coming for her across the face, nails raking in and digging bloody furrows down his cheek and nose. Hajime finished the rest by wrapping a water whip around the man's throat, yanking him forward and into his foot, knocking him out cold. And Shin... Shin was...
"That's for killing all my plants! And that's for being mean to Kei! And that's for taking Himeno! And that's for..." The list of complaints from the little knight kept going on and on, punctuated with well placed kicks to the stomach and groin. The Dark Knight was still trying to get his bearings (and his balls) back in place.
Sete ducked the black mass flung at her, saw it splatter against the house, hissing as it slid to the ground. The knight who'd done it was running at her, calling up more of that crap. "Oh, no you don't!" She ran full force at him, jumping midair to land a kick to his jaw. She screamed instead when a silvery arrow pierced her side, burning her flesh. It exploded in the air like moonlight and she fell, gasping. Shit... Kei was going to be pissed about this! The knight who shot her was already loading another arrow for her. SHIT!
"Sete!" Shin stopped kicking the unconscious knight to run for her. Hajime finished whipping another one down to the ground and unmoving before he made a beeline for Shin, not Sete.
She saw why and tried to warn the young knight "Shin, no!"
The warning came too late as another knight, pretending to be dead, grabbed Shin's ankle, grinning as the boy screamed and fell, struggling to get away. The man crawled up and over the much smaller boy, yanking him to his feet and easily pinning him against his front, being careful to keep anything that could hit his groin away or checked. "I've got him! Let's get out of here before that crazy one gets back!"
"Too late, dumb arse!" The Dark Knight screamed as a thick spear of earth was slammed up his back and out the front, right above Shin's head. Shin screamed louder as blood fell on him, instantly running the minute those hands fell away for Sete, who hugged him, eyes wide.
Once the man fell, Blaise offered a sheepish grin. "Hello, duckies!"
"You're late, you mother-," Sete growled, eyes narrowing angrily.
"Uh-uh! Young'uns present. Late, but soooo worth the wait, right? Ravijot, Kondhae, Ajiaso and Otoshi's teams are out front, taking care of the other Dumb Nuts." He twirled the spear expertly back and over his hands, falling into a defensive pose as the other Dark Knights began to circle him. "Hajime, I think that smarmy lookin' bastard over there'll be easy enough for ya!"
The 'smarmy lookin' bastard' in question didn't take kindly to the insult (or the thought of someone as young as Hajime being able to defeat him) and lunged forward. It was obvious after Blaise's spear exploded through the other side of his stomach that the Knight of Flowers had planned on making him angry enough to act without thinking.
Hajime instead attacked a much bigger knight, handling two whips at once with the ease of many practice sessions and much shouting from Hayate. Sete couldn't help thinking that if their captain was present, he'd be very proud of how everyone was handling things. She stood up with Shin still clinging to her and could do nothing more but watch as Hajime got one more and Blaise finished the rest. Since when had Blaise been so incredibly fast? Or so skilled with a spear? He was good, she knew that rfom his reputation but this... THIS was beyond anything she'd ever seen from any other knight. Well, except for Hayate and Caias, the captain of the Red Guard. "Holy shit," she muttered.
A cheer came from the front of the house, and immediately Blaise whirled toward the door, Hajime pressed to his back just as he'd been trained. Yayoi gasped and ran, thinking the worst until Feryn came slamming around the corner right into her, bowling her to the ground. "Ow..."
"Ma fleur! Je suis desole!" The French continued in a long string as he helped her to her feet, pressing little kisses to her cheeks and lips.
"Then that wasn't... oh, Feryn! I was so worried!" Yayoi threw herself into his arms, sobbing in relief and kissing him back repeatedly.
Kei came around them, making a face at all the unnecessary emotional displays and smiled as he came up to Sete, who was getting to her feet. Blood dripped from a shallow cut acros his forehead into his eyes and his shoulder was hanging even odder than it had been before. "Hey, sexy- OUCH! DAMN IT!"
Sete hit him again for good measure, jade eyes blazing with anger. "You IDIOT! You stupid, stupid idiot! I've told you before about charging into certain death without me! Don't you ever- mmph!"
Kei pulled her in and kissed her hard to get her to shut up. Hmm... Hayate might be up to something with this approach. He drew back, smiling at the flush on her cheeks... until she slapped him. "You... you crazy... WOMAN! I was TRYING to be affectionate!"
"And I wasn't done yelling at you! Do you know how awful it is as a healer to watch your patient go and try to kill himself again?"
"Ha! Some healer, you practically beat me to a pulp!"
The arguing continued, Sete shoving Kei and Kei shoving her back. The other teams were watching, some shocked and others mildly amused. Shin, who had seen Pasha was present, went running up to the Indian girl and was now eating the candy she always carried with her, humming happily as she wrapped her arms loosely around him.
A shrill whistle broke the fight up and directed attention to Blaise. "Oi! Take the lover's quarrel elsewhere! We've ourselves a situation, people. The White Pretear was taken by Shimura, Queen of Nightmares."
A startled gasp echoed through the people assembled. Several knights were angered by this, and a few Pretears as well, most notably Tasia. The girl snorted, blonde hair pulled back in the usual braided ponytail. "So, that bitch thinks she can just walk in and take OUR White Pretear? Bitch gonna be thinkin' different when I get to her!"
"As much as I hate to say this, we can't go after her," Blaise continued firmly. Shocked eyes turned to him, too stunned for words.
It was Tasia who once again spoke up, eyes snapping angrily. "Lick my sweaty ass, Blaise! You don't tell me what to do! If I wanna go kick this scrawny bitch's ass, I will!"
"Tasia-," Otoshi warned, grabbing her arm. The girl was too far gone in her anger and jerked her arm away. Otoshi's cheeks flamed up and his eyes darted from his incenced Pretear to Blaise and back again, getting redder the more she carried on.
"Back off, Otoshi! This arrogant, good-for-nothin', second-rate-,"
"Tasia, PLEASE-,"
"-Low-life, perverted, goddamned sonufabitch thinks he owns me? The HELL you do! Just who the hell you think you are, Blaise, tellin' me what's what?"
Instead of the expected cuss ladened response everyone was expecting, Blaise grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm the bloody Topaz Prince, so watch the sauce, would ya?"
The utter stillness that filled all the teams was remarkable. Kei shook his head, wondering if maybe he had a concussion. "Um... what? Sete, did he just..." Sete's wide eyes were answer enough. Kei felt his eyes threaten to pop out of his head. "WHAT? You're... w-what? That's impossible!"
Blaise shrugged, very clearly enjoying the shock. "Ya think so, do ya?"
Tasia blinked out of her shocked stupor and scowled. "Ha, funny! The Topaz Prince is-,"
"-Me. Me personal guard, Saeko, has been the one behind the mask. I had to go into hidin' after the last battle cuz the Queen of Crazies was after me arse hard core. So, Saeko pretended to die and took me place while I pretended to be a new knight. Otoshi and Hayate have kept it secret fer almost sixteen years. Wish you could see yer face, love! It's bloody hysterical!"
Otoshi stepped away from his Pretear, eyes narrowed and watching as she turned slowly to look at him. "Tasia, yell at me later. We need to go stop the shadow army from entering Leafenia."
"We already DID that! I killed them the last time!" she railed, stamping her foot hard on teh ground. Blaise covered his smile with his hand, eyebrows rising nearly to his hairline.
Kei scowled darkly but refrained from correcting the arrogant girl that he, in fact, had been the one to kill off the shadow demons. What could one expect from the American team?
"No, that was only a portion of her army," another voice said, stepping out of the shadows behind Blaise. A very tall man with long pale gold hair pulled back loosely in a braid, amber eyes and bronze skin. He wore all neutral browns with a white cape and was escorting a wide-eyed Mawata from the shadows. Sete gasped when she recognized those eyes as the ones normally behind the mask of the Topaz Prince.
"And just who the HELL are you?" Tasia shouted.
"I am Saeko, Prince Kataru's personal guard."
Kei shook his head again, pressing his temples hard. Kataru, the Topaz Prince, was Blaise... "So, Blaise, or Kataru... or whatever you name is-,"
Blaise grinned. "Aw... did I bother that pretty head o' yours, Kei? Kataru's me real name."
"Kataru? Is the acent fake as well?" he asked dryly, resorting to sarcasm in his confusion.
Blaise groaned, smacking his head. "What does it bloody matter right now? Look, we've got Shimura's army marchin' across Leafenia. We'll discuss the accent an' what to call me, includin' some o' Tasia's lovely suggestions, after we kill the gits."
"Has anyone been able to talk to Erelah?" Kondhae interupted quickly before Kei could respond, his black eyes glancing around worriedly.
"Erelah has joined forces with Shimura," Saeko answered without any trace of emotion. He still stood very close to Mawata, as if he'd been ordered to guard her. There wasn't even a gasp of sound from anyone at that startling announcement. This time not even Tasia had words for such a betrayal. Kei felt Sete's nails press in harder on his arm and he squeezed his arm around her waist reassuringly.
"This is bad! This is very bad," a knight from the back called out.
"Yeah, it's bad," Blaise/Kataru answered, his voice rising easily over the whispers that sprang up at the other knight's words. "But it's not hopeless. We've done it before, and we're gonna do it again. Kondhae, your team will settle up Erelah's. I don't ruddy care what happens to the prat, but capture his team and Pretear as unharmed as possible. Ajiaso, Ravijot, and Otoshi your teams'll keep them Dark Knights and night mages in hand. Kei, since your team worked so brilliantly against the shadow demons, you cover them. Saeko, is the Red Guard ready?"
"Yes, sir."
Blaise/Kataru clapped his hands together, rubbing them with an excited grin on his face. "You have yer orders. Be at the the Palace in a half hour and be ready to kick some serious arse!" Still mumbling in surprise, all the teams began to disband and prepare for the upcoming battle. Most were still unsure if Blaise was telling the truth, but went along with it simply because his plan was the best they had right then.
"Hold on, wait a second," Sete shouted over the noise, stepping away from Kei's arms. Everyone stopped and turned back to look at her impatiently. "What about Shimura? As I recall from the story, the Topaz Prince... you, I mean... were barely able to defeat her last time. You managed to shove her back into her own land, but that's not going to work this time. How are we going to destroy her once and for all?"
The little smile Blaise/Kataru gave was nothing like the Knight of Flowers they knew. It was very bitter and a touch sad and very serious. Not a trace of the usual humor at all in that face. "We can't kill her," he answered, so quietly it was almost missed. "What happened to Hayate's team proves we need evil in this world, otherwise, what good's a good guy if there's nothin' to fight? This time, we need to seal her away well an' proper. I can't do that. There's only one person that can do that; the White Pretear."
"Then... then we're all dead," Ameina, the Pretear for Kondhae's team, exclaimed. "The White Pretear's been taken! Why are we bothering to fight at all when we're all going to die? We're doomed!"
"No, we're not," Kei interupted, giving the crying girl a scathing glare. Honestly, some people and their dramatics! "Hayate went after her."
"And? He's only one lone knight against God knows what," she continued, closing very nearly on being hysterical. Judging from the shared glances, some were being swayed by her argument.
"He's got the added bonus of being a pissed off boyfriend. Trust me, the people who took Himeno are going to be in more pain than they can imagine when he gets his hands on them."
"And when he is through with them, we will have our turn," Pasha added darkly, backing Kei with a quick little smile. Kei wasn't the only one to blink in surprise at the newest Pretear's sudden blood lust. Not even a month ago, the girl had almost been too scared to pret!
Ravijot smiled proudly at her, his almost-lime green eyes sparkling. "She is, after all our White Pretear, the first in almost one hundred years. This is an insult we cannot let slide."
"Damn straight we're not," Tasia muttered.
Grinning more broadly, Blaise?Kataru nodded once, and opened a gateway into Leafenia. "A half an hour and tickin', people. We've got an army to destroy, a land to save and a Pretear that needs avengin'!"
Himeno let out a little 'oof' as she was flung away from the creepy dead-looking guys and into a pool of icy cold water. Shivering, she struggled to her feet, her wet jeans weighing her down. She pushed her hair out of her eyes irritably, fists clenching by her sides. The three figures stood before her and the door. She could take them easy. They looked more than half dead anyway! She ran through the water, fist cocked back to land one right on the jaw...
And stopped at the last minute when her mother's face appeared. "W-What?" Himeno fell back, shaking her head and pressing her hands over her ears. Not real, not real, not real... She kept repeating that over and over again, closing her eyes tightly. She couldn't be afraid to hit it, even if it did look so much like her mom. Himeno took a deep breath, sucking it in and letting it out slowly. So, this was why Hayate forced her to do meditation... The deep breathing was working to calm her down, she realized, surprised. Huh, so he'd been right about that! She wasn't going to tell him, not in a million and one years.
"Aww... what's the matter, too much like your mother?" a familiar voice taunted. The voice seemed to drift through the still darkness of the room, wrapping itself around her like being covered in poisoned chocolate. Himeno's eyes flew open, shocked to hear that melodious voice again. She scanned the darkness, but didn't have to look far.
Jikan stepped into the frigid water, pale silvery hair floating freely in his wake. Himeno squinted to see him better. What the... the entire right side of his face was a ruined mess! It looked like someone had painted a masterpiece and then taken the brush and blurred half of it together into a mix of color. His forehead blended with his hair line, mixing the paleness of his skin with the silvery color of his hair. His deep green eyes was unmoving and unseeing, completely wide open and lidless except for the spot where his eyebrow had melted to it. There were no lips on that side, no noticeable ear. She couldn't help backing away as he trudged closer. Did she... she couldn't have... how did this happen?
Grinning, the ruined half of his mouth pulling tight and showing his gums all the way around, Jikan trailed his fingers from the nonexistant hair line down to his neck, pulling the fabric of his white tunic so hard that it ripped to show the damage ran down his neck and shoulder, trickling off just as it reached his chest and abs. "Like what you did? Isn't it just magnificent?"
"You had it coming," she defended herself. She wasn't at all happy about what had happened to him. No one deserved to end up like that, not even him! But she wasn't sure how it happened, and at the time she didn't really much care so long as he wasn't inside her any longer. Was this what happened when a knight and the White Pretear preted? Was this why she could become the White Pretear on her own? She hoped not!
Jikan laughed shrilly, his one good eye glinting wildly. "I... had it coming? I HAD IT COMING? After what you did to my mother, you think I deserved this?" He was screaming at her now, his whole body shaking with rage.
"You were trying to kill me and Hayate," Himeno shouted back, standing her place with clenched fists. She wasn't going to run from him anymore! If he wanted a fight, she was plenty pissed off to give him one.
Lips twisting into a snarl, he let out a worldless, gutteral scream, hands clenching at his hair. As he spoke, his words became more frantic and high pitched. "Yes, yes! I was going to kill you! I AM going to kill you! You took my life from me, and now I get to take yours! A fair trade, yes? Yes, a very fair trade. But where to start, where to start? How about... an eye for an eye?" He began to circle her slowly, shoulders and arm relaxed to make an attack easier.
Himeno raised her fists, eyes narrowed and tracking his movements. The ring on her finger caught the little light reflected back from the water's rippled surface and she tightened her fist around it even more. She had to win this one! I have to stay alive. I've gotta stay alive for Hayate. Jikan stopped circling, watching her from a safe distance. She knew how very fast the knights could be, and how Jikan could freeze time enough for him to make a quick attack or escape. She knew that someone angry was a lot crazier than someone fighting sane.
She knew all this and still couldn't block the punch to her jaw that sent her sprawling into the water. Himeno struggled to push away as her waist was straddled by two white clothed knees, hands gripping her throat and shoving her to the bottom of the pool. She only had a moment to realize that he was trying to drown her before her arms flailed around, desperately trying to get him off her.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: To those of you who figured out Blaise's secret: Sorry I was so predictable. I'm sorry I've lost my edge... (finds a dark corner and curls up in the fetal position to cry for at least four hours)
To thos of you who were pleasantly surprised: Hehe... GOTCHA!
Anyway, sorry for the chapter being so short and so long to get out! The next one won't be long at all, I promise! Long to get out, that is. It'll be a pretty lengthy chapter in general. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS READ THIS, WHETHER YOU REVIEWED OR NOT! I'm glad this is being so well received. And now I need to find some more tissues BADLY!