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Chapter Nine

Bellaluna

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretear. This fic is mine however so please don’t steal or copy it.

Author’s Notes: Ello. I only got a few reviews last chapter. Where’d everyone disappear to? I miss you guys! Seriously, hearing your reviews really perks me up and keeps me going, so please keep them coming!

Also, I wanted to note, for those of you who didn’t know, the scene where Himeno became the White Pretear in the last chapter actually did happen in the manga, so it’s not like I pulled it out of the blue. I liked that aspect of the manga, so decided to keep it in.

Well, anyways, here comes the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

The next morning Himeno woke up much earlier than she normally would have. She squinted as the early morning sunlight poured in through her uncovered window. With a groan Himeno turned over on to her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. As she laid there she racked her brain, trying to remember what had happened yesterday. The last thing that she could recall was the panic that she had felt as she and Hayate were trapped by the demon larva, but there was also a faint trace of relief that she had felt before blanking out. It must have all worked out, at least that’s what she hoped.

Unfortunately his dreams had once again been haunted by her sister and the darkness. Takako had never moved, but she always seemed to be falling further and further into the darkness that was surrounding her. No matter how many times she called to her, and no matter how much she ran, Himeno was never able to reach her sister.

Sighing, Himeno rolled back and sat up. “No,” she whispered. ‘I’m going to find her and bring her home. I promised,” she thought as she once again was filled up with determination. With a confident smile Himeno got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. After getting a quick meal of eggs and toast she left outside. There was about an hour before school started, so she made her way to the woods in hope of training for a bit.

She smiled and hummed a little diddy as she walked to the woods. Despite the worries of leafe and Takako, Himeno was in an oddly good mood. She could do it. No matter what Hayate said, she’d become strong and save them all. She had to!

While distracted by her good mood and positive thinking Himeno became lost in thought and failed to notice the odd pile of leaves ahead of her on the path. So instead of walking around it as she normally might have she stepped right into it. Before she knew it a net flew up from under the leaves and caught her, holding her up in the air.

“Ugh…” Himeno groaned as she clung to the netting that know held her captive. She starred out so as to see just who was behind this, though she already had a good guess. Not far off she could see Mayune slinking away back to the house.

“That…little brat!” Himeno seethed. Angrily she began to rock the net back and for in and attempt to free herself, but found this to be impossible. “I don’t need this right!” she cried out and slumped down, her arms crossed against her chest. Silently she sat and brooded.

“What are you doing?”

Himeno cringed and looked over her shoulder. The all too familiar form of Hayate was standing behind her. He starred at her like she was some kind of alien or monster. He wasn’t in his school uniform, but he wasn’t in any casual clothes either. Instead he was wearing an aqua colored jumpsuit. Himeno was not only shocked by his appearance, but even more so by the fact that he was there at all. “What…what are you doing here?” Himeno gasped.

“I work here,” Hayate replied blandly. “Now what are you doing here? He asked. “And in a net?”

Himeno flushed in embarrassment as Hayate reminded her of her current predicament. “I…Mayune trapped me,” she muttered under her breath.

“Mayune?” Hayate asked. “You mean that idiot of a girl that lives here?” Hayate wondered.

“That’s the one,” Himeno sighed as she rocked the net back and forth, once again trying to break free.

“What the heck are you doing here anyways?” Hayate asked rudely. “Trying to break in and beg for scraps or something?” he smirked.

“For your information, I live here,” Himeno responded.

“What?” Hayate shouted. “This is the place Kei set you up with?”

“Yeah, so?” Himeno shrugged.

Before either of them could say anything more they could hear someone calling from off in the distance. “Hayate!” they cried. Hayate and Himeno looked down the dirt path just in time to see Kaoru round the corner of the path and bounded over to them.

“Mr. Awayuki?” they both asked, seemingly surprised by his presence.

“Oh Himeno! I didn’t see you there!” Kaoru blinked as he spotted his new ward caught up in the net. “What are you doing in there?”

This was it; her chance to rat out that brat Mayune. This certainly wasn’t Mayune’s first trespass against her. However it was the first one that had been successful. Himeno was usually able to dodge her traps.

“May…” she started, her teeth grinding together angrily. But suddenly she stopped. As she thought about it she realized it wouldn’t do her any good to rat out Mayune. She was a guest here and they may not even believe her over their own daughter. Reluctantly she clamped her mouth shut and starred down at the ground below. “It was an accident,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, that’s probably one of Tanaka’s traps for the animals,” Hayate’s voice suggested. Himeno gasped lightly and looked up at Hayate. Was he trying to help her?

“Oh goodness,” Kaoru gasped and quickly untied the net, of course not thinking about how, without the net gravity would take over. With the net’s support gone Himeno began to fall, but thankfully Hayate reached out and caught her. “Oh sorry!” Kaoru apologized embarrassedly and bowed to Himeno a few times.

“It’s all right,” Himeno murmured with pink cheeks.

Hastily Hayate let go of Himeno and she fell to her feet. He then turned to Kaoru. “I finished bringing up the plaster sir. I’ll be going to school now, so I’ll be back later to help,” he said blandly.

“All right, thank you so much Hayate,” Kaoru nodded. “Himeno, you better get going too,” he suggested. “You’ll miss the limo.”

Himeno distractedly watched as Hayate began to walk away. “Um…no thanks,” he said with a slight smile. “I think I’ll walk.” With that said she ran off after Hayate. She called out his name in order to get him to stop.

Hayate of course didn’t hesitate for a second and kept on walking towards the main gate. “What?” he asked.

“Um…well how are you feeling?” Himeno asked. “I mean you were holding up that shield for a long time.”

“I’m fine,” Hayate said plainly and continued to walk.

“Do you know what happened after Goh and the others showed up? I kind of…blanked out I guess.”

“Nothing special,” Hayate shrugged. “Kei and Sasame managed to get the demon larva to run away is all.”

“Ah, well that’s good,” Himeno laughed, releasing her worry. “We’ll get it next time then.”

“Yeah,” Hayate replied.

“Great!” Himeno smiled brightly. “Wait…what?” she stopped and starred at Hayate as he still continued to walk away.

“What?” he asked.

“You agreed! You said you’d help!”

“So what if I did?”

Without saying anything more on the subject Himeno smiled more then she ever had since she had arrived to Earth, and caught up with Hayate so that she was once again walking at his side. After much of Himeno’s small talk and Hayate’s short answers the two of then reached the school together, and for the first time Himeno was on time. For a few brief shining moments Himeno was happy, and somewhat content. The whispering was rather spoiling that happy mood. Himeno looked cautiously around her to see a good portion of the students in the schoolyard were starring at her, whispering and giggling. Nervously Himeno peered up at Hayate. Apparently he had taken notice as well.

“Hayate…what is…” she started, but was interrupted by someone shouting her name.

“HI-ME-NO!”

Himeno looked dead ahead of her only to see Yayoi running straight at her. With a final leap Yayoi landed right in front of Himeno, a scary, threatening look on her face. “Himeno! Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, panting for air.

“Tell you what?” Himeno asked, still quite shocked from Yayoi’s sudden appearance.

Yayoi stumbled back a few steps and threw herself into an overly dramatic pose. “About your tragic, forbidden love of course!” she cried.

“MY WHAT?” Himeno cried. That was certainly not anywhere near anything she had imagines Yayoi was going to say. If she hadn’t been confused before, then she was now.

In an instant Yayoi pulled a newspaper; the school newspaper, seemingly out of nowhere and thrusted it into Himeno’s face. There, in big bold letters was printed: “New Student’s Hot, Steamy Love Affair” and just below was a full color photo of Kei kissing her.

“Oh, how tragic! Himeno, lost and alone in a new place with no one to turn to! But wait! A kind, warm-hearted teacher lends a hand!” Yayoi exclaimed. “Come with me my dear, and I shall show you they way!” she said, lowering her voice to sound like a man. “Oh I have always depended on the kindness of strangers!”

“WHAT?” both Hayate and Himeno shouted. Without another word the two of them both dashed away into the school, leaving Yayoi in their dust.

“Oh please Miss. Yuki!” Yayoi said, continuing with her impressions. “No, no, we can’t! Our reputations would be ruined!” “I don’t care about that my darling! I love you. “Oh Mr. Hikari, I love you too!”

In record time Himeno and Hayate arrived at the school’s main office where they found Kei at his desk, his head resting in one hand, a crumpled copy of the newspaper in the other. He raised his gaze up to Hayate and Himeno and groaned.

“Kei!” Himeno seethed. “What is this?” she cried shoving her own copy of the paper down on to his desk. “You…you…” she started.

“I didn’t kiss you,” Kei said before Himeno could even finish. “It’s some stupid camera angle!” he explained. “This was when I carried you some yesterday. It from when we landed in the yard outside the mansion.”

“Then who would do something stupid like this?” Hayate said, not sure whether he believed Kei or not. At Hayate’s statement, Himeno froze in her spot. She angrily began to shake, her eyes directed at the two crumpled newspapers on Kei’s desk.

“May…yune…” Himeno said in a low growl. Mayune was the only one who had the capability and the motive to do something like this. She’d had it out for Himeno ever since she’d moved into the house.

“Mayune?” Kei asked, slightly confused.

Without any explanation, Himeno ran out of the office. She was determined now. She’d find Mayune and get to the bottom of this. There was now way she’d let Mayune get away with something so foul. Getting caught in a net was one thing, but having a fake scandal written about herself was a completely different story. Unfortunately by the time she found Mayune the bell for class had sounded. This pattern repeated itself all day. She’d search out Mayune, ignoring all the whispering and giggling from the other students, and somehow Mayune would always manage to slink away before Himeno could get to her. With every miss, Himeno’s anger only grew. She wasn’t giving up, not yet. She’d get her at home, and then, oh, then she’d pay.

At lunch Himeno trudged upstairs on to the roof of the school to meet with Hayate, Sasame and Goh. However, on the way she bumped into a girl on the stairs. The girl sneered at her, her arms crossed in front of her.

“Oh I feel bad for those boys,” she said in a low voice. “You string them along for your own enjoyment. Just who do you think you are?”

Himeno gasped, taking a step backwards. She knew; she knew that all the students were saying, whispering around her as she stared at her with such malicious eyes, but hearing it; hearing the words come out of someone’s mouth, directed right at her…it stung. “I…” she tried to protest, but only managed to take another step backwards.

Not a good idea.

As soon as she took that step Himeno lost her balance on the stairs and fell backwards, her arms flailing about as if that would save her from falling. Meanwhile the girl just glared at her with her evil, menacing eyes, a smug grin on her face. It was obvious she wasn’t going to do anything to help her. Accepting her inevitable, and most likely painful fate, Himeno let out a cry as she fell closer to her doom.

However, instead of falling on to the hard, cold, school floor, Himeno fell into the rough, though warm, not to mention safe embrace of someone’s arms. Blinking out of her state of sudden fear, Himeno looked up to see who her savior was. It was none other than Hayate. Further investigation showed that Sasame and Goh were standing behind them. All three of them has unpleasant expressions on their faces as she stared, not at her, but the girl further up on the stairs.

“Ah…ah…Hayate, Sasame, Goh…” the girl stuttered as she stared back in horror. She knew she had been caught, and had nowhere to run.

“Just so you know,” Hayate said, not even flinching. “We are not being strung along by anyone. Each of us are capable of our own thoughts and we have our own free will. Himeno has not tricked us into anything, and is not just getting entertainment out of us as you so pleasantly put it.”

“Especially not by you Hayate,” Goh smirked, but then grew all too serious. “And if anything,” he said to the girl. “You and all you’re friends are the one’s being strung along by Mayune’s lies!”

“I…I…” was all the girl could manage. Realizing there was nothing she could say or do, the girl mad a dash down the stares, via the space just barely there between Sasame and the wall.

“Miss,” Sasame said in a quiet, almost eerie voice. “I think you’d be a lot better off if you didn’t judge others and think about how they girl froze for a moment as she heard Sasame’s words and gasped in a breath. Without another words she left, tearing down the stairs, getting as far away as she could.

“T-thanks guys,” Himeno said with pink cheeks as Hayate was still holding her.

“Ah, right,” Hayate said and gave Himeno a little push so that she could stand on her own two feet. With a gruff clearing of his throat Hayate moved to the side and walked past Himeno, up to the door to the roof. Himeno shrugged and followed, with Goh and Sasame right behind her. They settled in on the roof, pulling out their lunches to eat.

“Really guys,” Himeno said, opening her bento case. “Thanks for helping me out there. I thought I was going to die from a broken neck before Fenrir could even get a whack at me,” she said laughing.

“It was nothing Himeno, we were glad to help,” Sasame said politely.

“Besides, your reputation isn’t the only one on the line,” Hayate pointed out all too candidly.

“Well all that really doesn’t matter,” Goh said, his mouth full with a sandwich. “High school is dumb. All that matters, is that we know what’s really going on, and don’t let those idiots get to us.”

“That’s right, and besides, we have more important matters anyways!” Himeno said, cheering up thanks to Goh’s words. “Training starts today after school. Is that all right with everyone?”

“You bet.”

“Of course.”

“Whatever.”