The next morning, Hayate awoke to the sound of birds outside his window. Yawning, the Wind Knight got dressed in his normal day clothes and went downstairs. Unsuprisingly, Sasame was wide awake, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and his laptop, typing something on his computer. Hayate lifted a brow. "Strange. Usually it's Kei on the computer." Sasame sighed. "Just looking something up." Both Knights looked up as Kei and Goh walked through the back door. Goh snagged a cup of coffee and sat down next to Hayate and Sasame. "Where are the brats" he asked carelessly. Sasame finally looked up from the computer screen and took off his glasses, a frown creasing his face. "You mean they didn't go to Leafenia with you? We haven't seen them all night."

Goh nearly choked on his coffee. "What? No, they didn't go with us. We thought they stayed here with you." He turned on Sasame. "You're the one who told them to go get some flowers! Why didn't you take care of them" Sasame lowered a steely gaze on the Fire Knight. "Would you please shut up a minute"

Sasame closed his eyes and used his powers of sound. After a moment, he chuckled. "I know where they are. Follow me." Getting up from the table, he led them out of the dining room, up the stairs and down the hall, stopping before a door about half way down the hallway. "Hey! That's Alara's room." said Hayate indignatly. "Exactly." said Sasame. He placed a cautionary finger to his lips, then silently pushed open the door. Sunshine came pouring into the room, but it didn't wake the occupants in the bed. The golden light fell over four heads, one brown, one blonde, one orange, and one white.

Goh's anger and worry evaporated at the sight, and he chuckled. "Well, that explains it." Sasame smiled. "Look how she's holding them. Like a mother." Kei echoed Hayate's observation from last night. "There's something special about her, isn't there" Hayate snuck a look at the Sound Knight. There was a look on his face that the Wind Knight had rarely seen before. It was...soft. Caring, almost. Goh leaned down to pick up Hajime, but Alara instinctivly pulled her arm tighter around the small knights. They, in turn, snuggled closer. Kei smiled. "We might as well wake them up." Sasame almost didn't want to, but he leaned over and gently shook Alara's shoulder. The movement caused her to turn her head so that her head rested on his cheek, and she smiled in her sleep.

Her hold on the young Knights was strong, but eventually Sasame managed to break her grip on them. One boy had been slightly shaken by this silent tug-of-war, and now awoke. Mannen opened violet eyes, which met Kei's golden ones from where the Knight of Light was standing beside him. The Ice Knight sat straight up, and the jolt awoke Hajime, Shin, and Alara. Alara actually sat up first of the three, stretching and opening her amber eyes slowly. She looked around at the gathered Knights by her bedside. They held their breath for a moment, wondering how she would react to a group of guys standing around her bed. Alara merely smiled softly, and said"Good morning." She pulled Hajime and Shin into her arms and cuddled them awake. "C'mon boys. Time to train." A pair of blue eyes and a pair of green eyes cracked open. Shin yawned. "Let's go, you guys." said Mannen. "It's my turn to pret with Alara." Hajime shot up. "Is not" "Is too" "Is not" "Is too"

Goh reached over and clapped a hand over both of their mouths. "All right, you two. That's enough." He picked one Knight up under each arm and carted them outside. Their fight could be heard echoing up the stairs. The remaining grown Knights looked around in embarrassment. Kei bent down and removed Shin from Alara's arms, then, he, too, left the room. Hayate sighed. "I'll go help them." He left the room, leaving Sasame and Alara alone. Their eyes connected, and Alara's face heated in a small blush, then she looked away.

"Well, I might as well get up." said Alara. Sasame stepped back to allow her room. Alara put her feet on the floor, stood up, took a few steps-and promptly almost fell over. Before she could blink, Sasame slipped his arm around her waist to support her.Her face went, if possible, even redder. "Thank you." she whispered. Sasame didn't reply. "And, I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble last night." she continued. Sasame let that heart melting smile show on his face. "It was no trouble at all. Are you feeling better this morning" Alara smiled shyly. "Yes." When Sasame removed his arm from around her waist, Alara felt her knees tremble. She didn't think it was from being hurt, either.

Sasame smiled again and said" See you downstairs." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Alara sighed, a dreamy look crossing her face. She walked into the adjoining bathroom and brushed her teeth with the toothbrush from her backpack, then used her hairbrush to smooth her hair back. As she redressed in the clothes from the day she arrived in Awayuki City, she grimaced. The first thing to do today - she needed to go shopping.

Mailbag!

animangel-Thank you so much for the two awesome reviews! Let's see...document manager is where you go to download your story. You save it after you type it, then go to browse. you pick your story, then label it, then download it. when it doanloads you can edit and preview it. Keep reviewing!

Archangel Rhapsody-I hope you enjoyed the rest of the story, and please keep watching for more chapters! And don't forget to review!

Soyokaze-Thanks for the compliment. I try to keep the people in character as often as possible. Yours was a good idea, but I think I'm going to pair her up. I - I mean Alara really likes these characters. Hee hee...

Twice987-Thanks for the review. I think I'm going to take your 'preference' (if you get this hint) and pull it into the story somehow. Maybe. I'll have to see how it turns out.

Okay, I hink that's everyone, so ciao, and keep reading and reviewing!