Hi everybody! I finally updated this thing! Sorry it took awhile. The chapter title and plot of this chapter kept changing and stuff. Anyways…uh…I forgot what I was going to say…again. Lol. Yeah, I have short-term selective memory loss.

Responses:

Because of FanFiction's totally awesome new review reply feature, this is going to be the last time I am going to respond to signed reviews in my story. So please, whenever you can, submit a signed review! And for everyone else, I will be giving short responses because I really don't want to get in trouble and have my story taken off. So yeah.

Sarah: Glad you like my story/gives cookie/ There's your cookie! Lol.

Inuyumi: Glad you liked the last chapter. If you want me to change how you act or something, tell me, ok?

Disclaimer/sniff/ Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have my wish come true tonight. I WISH I OWNED PRETEAR/looks around/ awww…I don't own it/cries/

Chapter 9

Akane woke the next morning to the sun shining in her eyes and wrapped up in a cocoon in her silk, blue covers. She rolled over, coming face to back with Yumi, who was crunched up in a little ball. Akane silently giggled and gave her sister some of the covers. Yumi immediately relaxed and turned over in her sleep.

Akane rose from her bed, careful not to disturb Sakana, who slept on the floor that night. When her feet came in contact with the soft carpet, she looked down. It was bare and void of any life.

"Sakana?" she muttered to the air. She received no answer. Akane grew worried and shook her sister. "Yumi? Yumi, get up! Sakana's missing!"

Yumi groaned and rolled over. "Just five more minutes…," Akane growled and gave up trying to wake her sister. She slowly trudged out her bedroom door and shut it behind her. Her sister couldn't have gone far. She knew Sakana didn't sleepwalk…at least not recently. She decided to check the bathrooms. She tiptoed over to her bathroom and slowly opened the door. The dark room and silence inside confirmed her suspicions and she returned to the hall. Where else could Sakana be?

If Akane knew Hayate (which she did), he would probably have his room locked, along with Kei. That left only Goh, Sasame, and the boys' rooms. She decided to check the room closest to her, which happened to be Sakana/Goh's room.

Slowly, she tiptoed across the marble flooring and placed her ear on the door. She could hear loud snoring on the other side and knew Goh was still asleep. She turned the knob ever so carefully, thankful that the maids took such good care of the house, and stuck her head inside the small opening.

Even in the dark room she could make out two forms. Goh was sprawled across the bed. The bed covers were strewn about the room, along with some pillows. His head was titled towards the door, so Akane could see his mouth wide open. She giggled softly before turning her attention to the second form.

Someone or something was curled in a little ball on the floor covered by blankets. The mass slowly rose and fell, as if sleeping. Akane trudged cautiously over to it and kneeled down beside it. Staring, she poked its side and was startled when a hand merged from the covers and tried to slap her hand away. She smiled and chuckled softly and poked it again, receiving the same reaction.

The figure rolled over, revealing Sakana's sleeping form. Grinning evilly, Akane stood next to Goh.

"Goh," she cooed softly. "Wake up." She poked his side and Goh groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"It's almost time for breakfast. You should get up," Akane said and left the room, "accidentally" forgetting to tell him about his little surprise on the floor.

She crept out of the room. Feeling triumphant, she started downstairs to make breakfast. That is, if a certain tall, dark, and handsome Leafe Knight hadn't been in the way.

Akane almost crashed into Hayate, who was waiting outside the room, a skeptical look in his eyes.

"And just what were you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking for something," Akane gave him her innocent expression. She wasn't exactly lying, but she wasn't about to fess up her evil plan.

Hayate cocked an eyebrow and Akane laughed sheepishly.

"AHHHH!" A scream from inside the room startled them.

"What the hell was that?" Hayate asked, ready to take action.

Akane smiled. "Oh, don't worry. Goh just found his little surprise."

"Surprise?"

"Yeah. That's what I was looking for," Akane explained.

"SAKANA! What the hell are you doing in here?" Goh yelled.

"What?" Sakana's groggy and confused voice answered. A short pause. "What am I doing in my room?"

"I don't know, you tell me!" Goh yelled, frustrated.

"I guess I sleepwalk if I'm not in my room. My floor is very comfy, you know. You should try laying down on it," Sakana said.

"No thanks. I'd rather sleep on something soft."

"But my floor is soft. And comfy! Look!" A soft thud was heard and Akane knew Sakana was on the floor again. A satisfying sigh was heard and the two eavesdropping sweat dropped.

"Your sister is weird," Hayate stated.

"Yep. And I'm related to her," Akane shook her head disapprovingly.

"Hey, I never said you weren't weird. In fact, I think you're even weirder than your sister!" Hayate teased.

"What! I am not weird in any way, shape, or form as stated in the Constitution of the United States of America!"

"…What?"

Akane blinked. "What?"

Hayate sighed. "Nevermind."

"Sakana, get up!" Goh shouted.

"But I'm comfy!" she whined.

"Come on, get up!" Goh commanded.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!" Goh was becoming extremely frustrated.

"No!" Sakana shouted back with just as much force.

"Fine, then I'll force you up!"

"Ah, someone help! I'm being sexually harassed!"

Akane and Hayate exchanged glances and barged into the room. Goh had Sakana's arm in a tight grip and was attempting to pull her up off the ground. Just as she suspected, Sakana was only crying wolf and was perfectly safe.

"You!" Goh pointed an accusing finger at Akane. "That's what you were doing in here!"

"What! I found her in here like this!" Akane defended.

"Then how did I get in here, then? Hm?" Sakana accused.

"You sleepwalk. You said so yourself," Akane said simply.

"What? I said no such thing!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!

"Yes, you did."

"Prove it!" Sakana challenged.

"I have two witnesses," Akane pointed to the two Knights.

"Oh… Well, you still have to prove it!"

Akane sighed. "Fine. Hayate, did Sakana say she sleepwalks?"

Hayate glanced from Akane, to Goh, to Sakana, and back to Akane. "Yes."

"Ha! See, you did say you sleepwalk!" Akane cackled.

"Well, what about Goh?" Sakana looked up to Goh. "did I say that I sleepwalk?"

Goh looked around for an excuse not to answer. Finding none, he gulped and muttered, "Yes."

"HA! Even Goh admits you said it!" Akane laughed.

"What! How come you didn't defend me?" Fake tears welled up in her eyes. "You hate me! Wahhh!" Sakana burst out of the room and ran down the hallway.

"Now see what you made me do? She hates me now!" Goh scolded.

"No she doesn't. By the time you get downstairs she'll have forgotten all about this," Akane laughed.

"I hope you're right," Goh sighed and ushered everyone out of the room.

"You know what? I have no doubt in my mind now that you guys are the weirdest Pretears I have ever met," Hayate said.

"Ah, so you admit that we are Pretears now, huh?" Akane smiled.

"What? N-no, I didn't mean that!" Hayate stuttered. "That's probably he closest thing that describes you two."

"Sure…" Akane taunted. "Well, see you downstairs!" Akane waved and skipped down to the kitchen.

Sakana was sitting at the long table waiting for some breakfast. Sasame sat across from her, drinking some coffee.

"Hey, Akane!" Sakana greeted cheerfully. Akane resisted the urge to laugh at her sister's short attention span.

"Hey, Sakana. Good morning, Sasame," Akane walked over to the pantry and brought out a box of cereal. From the cabinet next to her she took out ten bowls. As she began pouring cereal into each of the bowls, she was thankful that her parents always kept a huge supply of food for them.

"Hey, what do you guys want to drink?" she asked.

"Orange juice!" Sakana called out.

"I'll have some milk, if you don't mind," Sasame said calmly.

Akane prepared their bowls of cereal and their drinks and set them down in front of them.

"Do you guys know what the others like to drink?" she asked.

"The boys will probably want some milk. Kei will have his tea, Hayate and Goh will have anything," Sasame told her as she prepared each drink.

"Ok, that takes care of the Leafe Knights, now…what does Yumi like?"

"Chocolate milk, please," Yumi's voice called from the hallway.

"Oh, hey Yumi!" Sakana said cheerfully.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" she asked and sat in her seat next to Sasame.

"You were sleeping like a baby, that's why," Akane joked. Sasame chuckled softly and Yumi blushed.

Ah, so I've got another task as matchmaker! Akane thought.

Hayate and Kei appeared in the kitchen all dressed and ready to go.

"Where's the party?" Akane giggled.

"We are not going to a party. We are going to work," Kei explained.

"Hey, guys. What's for breakfast?" Goh appeared at the table so suddenly, making everyone jump in surprise.

"Where did you come from?" Sakana asked, suspicious.

"Uh, I came from upstairs," Goh stared at her strangely.

Sakana shrugged. "Ok," and she returned to eating her cereal.

"So, why are you guys going to work?" Yumi asked.

"We do have to earn a living, you know. We don't just get everything for free," Kei said as he and Hayate sat down to eat their breakfast.

"Where do you guys work?" Akane asked.

"Goh works at a restaurant, Sasame at a radio station, and me as a video game designer," Kei explained.

"What does Hayate do?" Akane asked.

"I don't focus on one job. I get hired to do different jobs for people," Hayate said.

"A volunteer, then?" Akane inferred.

"Yes, sort of like that," Sasame answered.

"Hey, since we have nothing better to do…do you think we could…go to work with you guys?" Sakana asked.

"Go…with us?" Goh repeated.

"Yeah!" the three girls jeered in unison.

"Why should we bring you with us to work?" Hayate asked.

"Because…because if there was a demon larva attack, you wouldn't have to come all the way back here to get us!" Akane smiled triumphantly at he excuse.

"Yeah, and we won't bother you guys all day. We'll switch on and off between guys," Sakana added.

"What about Mannen and the others?" Yumi questioned.

"They can take care of themselves. We could always let them patrol the city. They would have something to do and be proud to take on a "difficult" job!" Akane's grin widened. She was on a roll with solutions today.

"That's an excellent idea, Akane," Sasame complimented.

"Thank you, thank you!" Akane bowed to Sasame.

"So, can we go with you guys?" Sakana asked, eyes hopeful.

"I don't see why not. What do you think, Hayate?" Sasame inquired of the Wind Knight.

"I don't care what they do. Just don't get in our way when we're working," Hayate said.

"Yay, we get to go to work with the Leafe Knights!" Akane squealed with delight and hastily cleared the table, leaving the dirty dishes in the sink.

"So, who are we gonna go with?" Yumi asked as everyone stood. "I think we should each go with one Knight, since the three of us would be way too much trouble."

Akane blinked. "Wow, you are actually giving some helpful advice today, Yumi. Congratulations!" Akane shook her hand violently.

"I wanna go with Goh!" Sakana hopped onto Goh's back. Startled, he quickly hooked his arms around her legs to keep her from falling. "Onward, steed! To the restaurant!"

"So, you aren't mad at me?" Goh asked.

"Mad at you?" Sakana cocked her head. "For what?"

Goh sighed in relief. "Nevermind."

"I wanna go with Sasame!" Yumi claimed.

"And I…uh…" Akane paused. She couldn't decide who she wanted to go with. It was like choosing a date for the prom. You got one guy who you really like and another guy who's got something good; and in this case, Kei works with video games, one of her favorite toys.

"What? You can't choose between a girly guy and a cute guy?" Sakana joked, receiving a glare from Hayate and Kei, making her shudder. "What? I gave you a friggin' compliment!" She said more to Hayate.

"Ah, the genius Akane can't make a decision! Write this down in history books, people!" Yumi gave a fake gasp and laughed.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," Akane mocked.

"Well, I have a meeting to go to, so I can't take you with me to work," Kei lied.

"Ok, so that means you're stuck with me for a few hours!" Akane skipped over to Hayate, who groaned and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, let's go," Hayate stalked out the door, followed by an ecstatic Akane. Sakana and Yumi blinked, laughed, then followed after her with a confused Goh, an amused Sasame, and an annoyed Kei.

A sudden thought came to Akane's mind. "Hey, what about Mannen and the others?"

"They'll be fine," Hayate reassured her. Akane nodded and continued skipping on ahead.

A/N: Ok! This chapter is done! Yay! Again, sorry it took a while. Strange as it is, I was writing the last chapter of my Peacemaker Kurogane story. Strange because I haven't even written all the other chapters. Lol. And no, Natalie, you can't read it. /sticks tongue out/ Anyways…I still don't remember what I was gonna say/thinks/ Oh, I remember now! I know you guys are probably thinking "If they are American, then why did they get Japanese names?" Well, don't worry. That question will be answered soon! And also, there is a new feature for authors where instead of wasting space in your summaries for putting "In Progress" or "Completed", fanfiction put that new feature in. To change it, just go to your story thingy like you do to update it and change the summary and stuff.

Now please review peoples! Reviews are my fuel for writing! My inspiration! My reason to live/grabs knife/ If I don't get any, I might just do it! (lol…j/k I am definitely not suicidal. I'm just being dramatic…lol)