"Alara! Hey, wake up!" Alara's eyes slowly opened to meet three pairs of eyes. One light purple, one emerald, and one blue. "Hi kids." she said, sitting up and streching. Mannen opened his mouth to object, but Alara cut him off. "I know Mannen, you're not a kid." She grinned as Hajime and Shin laughed. Alara yawned. "What time is it?" "Almost noon." came Shin's adorable little voice. Alara fully awoke. "What!? Is it that late already?" Mannen shrugged. "Sasame said to let you sleep in. You're going to need it; we begin training today."
"There you guys are!" The four turned to see Goh standing in the doorway. "we were...uh...protecting the Pretear!" Mannen said quickly. The other two echoed him like talking shadows. Goh quirked an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Go on, let Alara get dressed." Mannen, Hajime, and Shin mumbled, but agreed, filing out of the door. Goh winked at her, the followed them, closing the door quietly behind himself. Alara smiled a small smile, then went to the dresser across the room, sliding into a pair of blue jeans and a pink T-shirt. After brushing her hair and teeth, she exited Himeno's old bedroom, which had been chosen simultaneously by the knights to serve as her room. As she got to the stairwell, a devilish grin bloomed on her face, and she sat on the banister and pushed, sliding down it like a rocket. To everyone's suprise, she landed on her feet. "That was impressive." said Goh, smiling. Hajime, Mannen, and Shin cheered. Alara thought she saw the ghost of a smile flit across Hayate's lips before he stood up. "Are you ready?" She nodded, and the seven Leafe Knights and the new Pretear headed out onto the enormous Awayuki grounds, well sheltered from everyone.
Hayate turned to face her. "Okay, you'll pret with Goh this training session. We'll be both your oppositions and your allies. This will teach you to determine friend from foe in battle. Alright?" Alara nodded and held out her right hand to Goh. He took it with his own, and his body became a shining red ball of light, which melted into Alara's body. A flash of red light, and Alara had become the Fire Pretear. Alara rose into the air, and heard Goh's voice in her head. 'Okay, now, concentrate on the air around you. You'll be able to sense the Leafe of an attacker before they actually attack, but be careful that you don't hit an ally.' "Right." she said. A faint sensation to her left caught her attention, and she turned to find a wind attack coming from Hayate. She created a fireball using Goh's powers and negated it, then turned to her right, where a sound attack had been fired by Sasame. 'Now, don't stay in one spot.' she heard Goh say. 'Move around. Duck!' Just in time, Alara flew up higher into the air and dodged the attack. 'Behind you!' came Goh's voice again, and she wheeled around, only to come face to face with Hajime. 'Great job on holding the attack.' said Goh inside her head. 'You're doing well. Watch out!' Alara narrowly dodged an attack of ice crystals coming from a clump of bushes, which were quickly followed by Mannen. This training continued for a few hours.
Hayate's voice startled them all. "That's enough for today." Everyone who had been up in the air landed on the ground, and Alara unpreted from Goh. Sasame came up behind her. "That was excellent." he said with a small smile. Alara blushed. "Thanks. And thanks for your help, Goh. Your advice helped me alot." Goh grinned. "No problem."
Alara's attention was next demanded by Mannen, Hajime, and Shin. Each wanted to pret with her during the training session tomorrow, and Hajime and Mannen were glaring daggers at each other, while Shin was almost in tears. Alara bent down on her knees. "Come on now." she said in a soft voice. " Don't fight you two. And Shin, there's no need to cry. Now, how about we go get some ice cream. My treat." The tears and fight were forgotten instantly as the three boys ran off, calling, " Yeah! C'mon, let's go!"
As Alara stood and dusted off her knees, she felt a presence behind her. She turned around to meet Sasame's amythyest eyes, which were sparkling with amusement. "You sure are good with kids." he said with a small laugh. Alara smiled. "What can I say? It's a gift." She looked into his eyes for a moment. "We're going to go get ice cream. Want to come?" Sasame smiled. "Yes. I'd like some ice cream, actually. And I wanted to talk to you, too."
Alara's smile dimmed for a moment, then brightened again. "Fair enough." "Alara! Come on!" They both looked across the yard to see Mannen standing at the front gate, hands on his hips, and impatiant look on his face. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" called Alara, waving back. "Let's go, Sasame, before they break down the gate." The Leafe Knight of Sound looked at her for a moment, then smiled that same sweet smile again. "All right."
From a window above the garden, a pair of deep blue eyes watched from under wind blown navy hair. Hayate sighed. Who was this girl? If anyone could find out, Sasame could.
Hey! So, what did you think? Please review!
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himeno-kagome: thank you for the review. Your question will be answered in a later chapter, but thanks for noticing. I'd hoped someone would. .