Chapter Three

"Come again?" Go asked. All of the Knights were surrounding Kao, looking at him as if he was some sort of crazy animal in a zoo.

"How many times do I have to tell you people? My name is Kao, I'm the eighth knight and my powers are over darkness. Does it make sense to you now?" Kao demanded. Folding his arms over his chest in frustration. Himeno figured he would probably cross his arms when ever he was irritated, angry, upset, sad, actually, pretty much all of the time.

"Make sense? How can you expect this to make sense. You just show up out of the blue and expect us to believe that you're a Leafe Knight? Come on, get real." Mannen argued, shaking his head from side to side in disbelief.

"Is there really an eighth knight Hayate?" Shin asked innocently, looking up and hugging Tipi to his chest. The little pink bird squeaked quietly and wiggled to create more room for itself.

"I doubt it." Hayate grumbled.

"If there were an eighth knight, I would have heard about it." Sasame spoke up. Hajime started cracking up and Sasame looked at him confused.

"You don't realize what you just said?" Hajime asked between laughing. "You said you would have 'heard' about it. Get it? 'Heard'and your the Knight of Sound?" He started laughing, clutching his sides. Sasame shook his head in amusement, smiling.

"Would you loosers start talking like I'm actually here? I'm not some sort of exhibit who can't understand what you people are saying you know." Kao all but shouted to everyone.

"Yeah right, you could have fooled me." Hayate muttered, looking away bored. Kao glared at him, biting his tongue and holding back the insults he so wanted to shove down Hayate's throat. Instead, he tossed his shoulder length white hair over his shoulder to keep his hands busy and away from Hayate's face, but Hayate noticed.

"Just try it Dark Boy." Hayate insulted, glaring at Kao from out of the corners of his eyes. Kao's fists clenched at his sides.

"Don't push your luck air head. I've just about had it with you." Kao hissed.

"Kei?" Go asked out of the corners of his mouth, making sure Hayate and Kao were still busy. "Was this, that disaster you were referring to yesterday in Leafenia?" Kei shrugged.

"It's not exactly what I had in mind, but it'll fit the description I suppose."

"What description?" Mannen demanded, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. Go hit him in the back of the head. "Oww! What you do that for you jerk?" Mannen mumbled, rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"This is none of your business you little punk. Leave this to us older knights." Go replied, hands crossed stubbornly over his chest.

"Us older knights this, us older knights that! Would you stop using this older knight crap. This effects us all you know. There is no 'me' in teamwork. Remember? We're a team!" Mannen shot back. Hajime and Shin nodded behind him. They had come up a little while ago, to give support to their friend.

"Who do you think taught you the meaning of 'teamwork' you brat." Go growled.

"I don't know, but I do know who 'didn't' teach me." Mannen answered, casting Go a meaningful stare.

"Why you little monster. You need to respect you elders." Go snapped, balling his fist.

"And when I find one, I'll be more then happy to." Mannen replied angrily.

"Would you two take a breather or something? You're acting worse then Kao and Hayate over there!" Himeno snapped, motioning to the arguing pair. "And you two should knock it off as well!" She called to the others. They both stopped mid word and glanced at her. They both gave each other an icy glare before facing the other way so they were back to back. Kao's hand crossed over his chest and Hayate's in his coat pockets.

"What ever." Kao hissed.

"Sure. If you say so." Hayate sighed.

"That's better. Now, let's clear this up in more of an adult matter shall we?" Himeno asked happily, giving everyone a look, waiting for them to nod. Kao whirled around gaping at them like they were lunatics.

"How many times do I need to explain myself to you people!" He exclaimed. "This has to be the what? The fifth time?"

"Actually, it's the fourth time." Mannen corrected.

"And we've heard about the 'eighth knight' stuff." Hajime continued.

"We just want to know what you are doing here." Shin finished. "Right?" He asked, looking at everyone. Himeno smiled down at him.

"That's right!" Himeno praised. She turned her gaze towards Kao. "What are you doing here? I thought there was only seven knights. Where did you come from?" She asked. Kao sighed, exasperated.

"If we got into all of that, we'd be here until next Saturday!" He cried, throwing his arms into the air.

"Next Saturday is tomorrow." Mannen said. Kao glared at him.

"Would you stop doing that? You are really beginning to bug me you little pest! Besides, 'next Saturday is tomorrow,' doesn't even make any sense." Mannen shrugged.

"Doesn't have to. Irritating people is my hobby. Call it a gift." He boasted.

"Or a curse." Go mumbled under his breath. No one paid him any attention.

"Anyways..." Himeno interrupted, "This doesn't explain what you are doing here." She said, unnaturally cheerful given the circumstances they were in.

"Not to mention, I still don't believe a word you have said so far." Hayate put in. Kao ignored him and answered Himeno.

"Like I said it would take to long to...MOVE!" He shouted, leaping forward and grabbing Himeno around the waist and shoving Hayate, pushing them out of harm's way. The demon larvae from earlier had shot out a tentacle from behind the bushes and hit where all three had been just seconds before. Everyone got into defending positions, transforming into knights and leaping out of the way as the tentacle did a double take and attacked them all. To everyone's surprise, more tentacles shot out of nowhere and entangled them all except for Himeno. Hayate had dived in front of her and got captured in her place.

"No!" Himeno shouted before a tentacle wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Dammit! Himeno!" Hayate shouted, struggling to get free

"Himeno!" Everyone else called in unison. Kao however, did not call out, and instead, attacked the larvae with a beam of black light and it dropped him. He flew towards Himeno and cut her loose, catching her before she fell.

"Do you like getting into trouble or something? This is the second time I've had to 'carry' you out of danger." Kao complained. Himeno blushed in embarrassment. "Himeno? Will you pre't with me?" Kao asked seriously.

"Huh? You want me to what?" Himeno demanded.

"Not because I want to. Because I have to and maybe it will convince you all of who I really am." Kao snapped. Himeno nodded, unsure. Kao held out his hand and she placed hers in his.

The familiar light appeared and seconds later, she was the Pretear of the Darkness. Her outfit was a sleeveless turtleneck with gloves that went up to the middle of her upper arms. In the front her shirt was short, ending at her waist, but in the back, it was like a long overcoat and reached the middle of her calves. On her chest where wings with a star in the middle and her skirt was layered with two skirts. Her boots ended below her knees and on her head was a tiara made of stars. The one in the center was the largest and the kept getting smaller and smaller. She glanced down at her outfit.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "This is kinda cool."

"This is the power of Darkness. The power of the night is yours to command. Summon the bow and arrows so we can get this over with." She heard Kao say mentally.

"But how. I've never experienced your power before." She asked.

"I'll walk you through it."

"Okay."

"Close your eyes and picture the cresent moon. It's arched, like a bow." She nodded and moments later, she held a bow made of black light. "Now" Kao continued, "Picture a shooting star. It's fast and straight, just like arrows." She pictured a star and an arrow, also made of black light, appeared. Without any further direction from Kao, she knocked it, aimed at the tentacles that held the other knights, and fired.

"Picture where you want the arrow to go. If you see it cutting them all free, it will." Kao instructed and Himeno nodded without a word. The arrow made a circle around the larvae and cut them all free. "Now Himeno, imagine the arrow returning to you safely." She did and caught it with ease. She knocked it again and started searching for the core while the other seven knights covered her. She soon spotted it in the forehead of the demon and she fired. It hit without any trouble and the demon larvae turned into the form of a seed and vanished in a dark, purple light.

"Himeno you okay?" Sasame asked, flying up to her.

"I should be asking you the same question!" She replied with a smile.

"Nah, I think we're all okay. By the way, nice outfit." He smiled and she started to laugh nervously.

"Himeno! Are you hurt! Did that bastard hurt you?" Hayate asked her. Before Himeno could answer him, a light surrounded her and Kao appeared next to her.

"You're not quiet you air head!" He shouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well I did say it out loud didn't I Dark Boy?" Hayate yelled back. Everyone looked on before turning around and heading for the Mansion.

"Come on Himeno, let's leave these two to their fight and besides, it's almost dinner time!." Go called out.

"Um...Okay!" She cried out before running to catch up with them all. Hayate and Kao didn't even notice they were left alone.

written by: galaxy guardian co-written by: ilovekyo (editor)