Pretear Fan Fiction ❯ One and Only ❯ Chapter 5

Chapter 6

 

Author's note: I'll say it right now: in this story, Mawata goes with the knights to America. I'll just say she is fluent in English, since she doesn't technically have the power the knights have, and I'm too lazy to go back and put that fact in the story somewhere. There. Oh, and this anime isn't mine.

 

 

 

“So… where are these people supposed to be, anyway?” Go asked as the Leafe Knights, Himeno, Takako, and Mawata all got off the plane.

“I'm not sure,” Sesame said, staring off into the distance with a strange look on his face, “but I think that might be them.” Everyone looked in the direction he was looking, and their eyes landed on the same thing. They all stared, stunned.

In the middle of the waiting area was a large group of eight people, seven of them girls, and one of them a guy. Four girls looked to be about 16 or 17, and the others like little kids. They were all staring back at the Leafe Knights with the same expression. Silence passed between the two groups and no one moved.

“This is… kind of freaky,” Hayate murmured to Himeno. She nodded dumbly without taking her eyes off the group. Finally, she shook her head, gaining back her senses, and stepped forward. She was kind of the leader of this bunch, after all. As if taking her cue, the guy in the group stepped forward as well.

“Ms. Himeno Awayuki, I presume?” the tall, young man asked, holding out his hand.

“Y-yes,” she stammered, taking it. “Though, I'm sorry. I don't know your name.” She stared back into his deep brown eyes, and found herself captivated. She knew American guys could be hot, but…

“I'm sorry,” he said, removing his hand from hers and running it through his short brown hair. “My name is Brian McCarson. Pleased to meet you.”

“Uh… yeah,” she said awkwardly. He looked back at his crew and motioned them to come forward. Himeno followed in suit with her own group. Both teams lined up, staring at the other group. Brian and Himeno were the only ones who seemed relatively in control.

Himeno cleared her throat and said, “Maybe we should wait for introductions `til we find a quieter, more private area, wouldn't you say?”

Brian nodded and announced, “We'll lead you to our place. It's about half an hour from here. We can make the introductions on the way.” He turned around and led the group of 18 towards the gate. Stopping only to grab their bags, the Leafe Knights, American and Japanese, were soon on their way to the first step of this long journey.

 

“Wow! You guys really came prepared, didn't you?” Himeno asked, staring at a large, yellow bus they were to be loading on.

“We knew there'd be a lot of us coming, so we thought this was appropriate,” Brian answered as the American Leafe Knights loaded the luggage onto the bus. “It's not the most luxurious mode of transportation, but it works, right?”

All 18 people loaded up on the bus, and Brian got behind the wheel. He closed the door, let everyone take their seats, and started up the bus. He stood up and addressed the entire crew. All 6'2” of him stood straight and tall and smiled a welcoming smile.

“Thank you, Leafe Knights from Japan, for coming to our aid,” he announced. His smile faltered a little. “I wish the circumstances were different, but we'll do the best we can, right? In the meantime, let's get acquainted and try to get along as best as we can. Not only are we going to be fighting side-by-side, but we're also going to be living side-by-side.

“Now, let's start off the introductions. As you may already know, my name is Brian McCarson. I am 18 years old, my birthday is October 5h, and I am a Sagittarius. Himeno, why don't you come up here and introduce yourself to my crew?”

Himeno stood up from her seat next to Hayate and looked at the 16 people in front of her. She smiled and began the introduction, shyness wearing off. “Alright. My name is Himeno Awayuki. I am 16 years old, my birthday is July 9th, and I am a Cancer. It's my pleasure to come here and fight alongside my new comrades!” She ended with a thumb's up and a wink, then looked at Brian and smiled. He smiled back.

“Great. I'll get us on our way and let the rest of you introduce yourselves.”

He got behind the wheel and backed the bus up. Soon, the group was on their way.

Once they were on the road, Sesame stood up, stabling himself by grabbing two seats across the isle. “Good evening, everyone. My name is Sesame, and I am the Knight of Sound. I am 17 years old, my birthday is December 30th, and I am a Capricorn. It's my great honor to offer my services to our American comrades.” He held out his hand to Takako, who took it and stood up along with him.

“This is my wife, Takako.” He looked at her and smiled, but it disappeared when he saw her looking down with an uncomfortable look on her face. He tilted his head, knowing already what was wrong. He looked back at the group and briefly bowed, then sat down next to his wife.

“Takako,” he whispered, taking her hands in his. “Are you alright, dear?”

She looked up into his purple eyes and said, “Oh, Sesame. I never thought it would be this hard. I mean… how can I tell them that I was the previous Princess of Disaster?”

He kissed her on her forehead and whispered, “Don't worry. They won't care what you were, but what and who you are now. Trust me on this.”

While Sesame was offering his support to his wife, a girl across the isle stood up. She looked to be about 5 and a half feet tall, with short blonde hair and green eyes. She had a soft smile and a kind presence about her. She wore jeans and a white blouse, and was holding a CD player in her right hand.

“My name is Bethany,” she said softly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear. “I am the American Knight of Sound. I am 16 years old, my birthday is February 2nd, and I am an Aquarius. Pleased to meet you all.”

Next to Himeno, Hayate stood up, but didn't get into the isle. He spoke from where he was. “My name is Hayate and I am the Knight of Wind. My birthday is April 27th, and I am a Taurus. I'll do all I can to help on this mission.”

After he sat down, a girl in the back stood up. She put her hands in her pockets, which belonged to baggy black pants. She wore a dark blue shirt and black gloves with their fingers cut off. Her brown eyes scanned the group, and she tucked a stray brown hair behind her ear. She was tall and had a slight tan.

“My name is Mary,” she announced. “I am 17 years old. My birthday is October 21st, and I am a Libra. I am the American Knight of Wind. I say let's kick some Dark Prince ass.”

She flashed a peace sign, and then sat down. From across the isle, Go stood up and introduced himself. “If you guys need cooking to be done, I'm your man.” He winked and sat back down.

Then another girl stood up. She had a hat pulled down low over her eyes, a long trench coat, a red tank top, and black pants. Beneath her hat was short blonde hair. “My name is Ashlee, and I'm the Knight of Fire. My birthday is July 20th, and I'm a cancer. Let's get this thing started.” She was about to sit down, but the girl next to her stood up in the seat with a mischievous grin.

“Aww, Ashlee!” she laughed, putting her hand on the older girl's head. “You don't need to hide behind that hat here! We're all family now!”

Without warning, the girl snatched the hat from Ashlee's head, revealing something everyone gasped at.

On top of her head stood two large kitty ears.

Ashlee's face went red, her wide eyes revealed blue orbs, and she snapped a glare at the little girl next to her, who was holding the hat with a playful look on her face. She hissed, snatched the hat back, and put it on her head, hiding the ears again. She then grabbed the little girl, whipped her around as she struggled, and put her in a headlock.

“First thing you do is cause trouble!” she yelled at the struggling kid with white hair. “Is that any way to behave?”

“What's so wrong with kitty ears?” came a voice. Ashlee stopped holding the girl with white hair to look at where the voice came from with surprised eyes. All eyes landed on Mawata, who was looking at her with a smile.

“Can I see them again?” came Shin's cute voice from next to Mawata. “I think they're pretty.”

Ashlee stared at the little boy, then blushed, smiled, and nodded. She took off her hat and let her brown kitty ears with speckles stand out. Shin stood up on the seat and reached out towards them.

“Can I touch them?” he asked.

“Yes, but be careful,” she said gently, leaning over. “They're very sensitive.”

He tenderly grabbed one and began petting it. “It's so soft!”

Ashlee began giggling, trying to hold it back, but then started laughing louder. Shin pulled away, staring at Ashlee in confusion. Ashlee looked at him with soft eyes and a smile after calming down.

“Sorry,” she said. “I'm a little ticklish.”

Shin giggled gently. “Ashlee?”

“Yes?”

“Can I sit in your lap?”

Ashlee smiled wider and sat down, nodding. Shin scrambled over to her and crawled into her lap. “I'm Shin!”

“Well, nice to meet you, Shin.”

As time progressed, the rest of the introductions were made. Everyone got acquainted with Elora - the Knight of Light, Kimberly - the Knight of Ice, Hanna - the Knight of Water, and Shannon - the Knight of Nature.

By the time all the introductions were made, they were at a very large house, which was where they were told they were all going to stay at. They all got off the bus and began unloading the luggage. Brian stood in front of everyone and began organizing everything.

“All right, everyone,” he said once the suitcases were in the hands of their owners. “This is actually my house, but it's going to be where we're all going to live over the period of however many months this takes. We will split you up accordingly. We have 18 guests here in total. We know that Takako and Sesame will have a room to themselves, so that leaves five more rooms for 16 people. We can have Himeno and Mawata join Shannon in one bedroom. Then we can have Ashlee, Elora, and Mary bunk up in another room, with Bethany, Hannah, and Kim in the smallest room.

“Then for the guys, Hayate, Kei, and I can bunk up in my room, while Go, Shin, Hajime, and Mannen stay in the last room.”

“Why am I always with the brats???” Go objected.

“Because we're your favorites, now shut up,” Mannen said, glaring at him.

Brian ignored the interruption and continued. “We'll show you your rooms, and we'll meet down in the dining room in five to discuss the plan.”

“Got it,” everyone replied.

And thus began the journey between the American and the Japanese Leafe Knights.