Chapter 14: Raging Heart

Repeating images flow through his head, his heart lingering on a string just waiting to fall and break. Hayate never seemed so displeased with life, because all his emotions up until now seemed harder to hold back and harder to repress. He couldn't smile without a reason to. He use to feel that all we live for is to die in the end, so why smile? But Himeno was his reason to live and to smile. She taught him that life isn't what it seemed to be; you don't live just to die, but to live is to exist, to exist for those around you, exist for the plants that grow, the air that flows, and the ground you walk on.

Existing was the meaning of life to her and it became a new meaning to him.

'Live your life to the fullest while you still exist,' is what Himeno use to tell him. He lived on with that quote, letting it run through his brain, opening the barriers to his mind, and to letting her words in to his heart. Letting her whole existence be every cell that his heart beats in to his veins.

Now without her next to him, everything seemed too dull to exist. He found no reason to smile if she wasn't by his side smiling along with him.

"Hayate, I'm sorry that we have to use you right now, but we have no other choice," Sasame explained. Just looking at his older brother lost within his own despair reminded him what happened in the past.

"Let's just get on with it," Hayate grunted out with an impatient tone.

The plan was that since Hayate was drowning in his own depression, it was best to use him as bait to draw out Fenrir. It was the only way, because she can feel sadness and despair, which was one thing that she feeds on other than leafe.

The day grew dark as the sunlight drowned in to night. The stars in the sky only seemed to fade as the sky got darker and darker. Hayate was left alone on the Awayuki bridge in his normal work clothes, nothing on him at the moment to defend himself with.

Hayate dug himself deeper in to his madness, driving himself insane while trying to grab hold of something that wasn't even there.

He was getting more impatient by the minute wondering if Himeno would ever come back to him alive and to try accept his love after all of this is done and over with. He clenched his fists tight, drawing blood from his palm with stinging pain that he ignored. What was happening to him? Did things really have to happen this way?

"COME OUT FENRIR AND SHOW YOURSELF!"

Hayate shouted in to the air at the top of his lungs, trying to yell out all of his frustration all at once. "COME ON OUT!"

Hayate shot to the ground and punched the concrete base, only making his hand bloodier. 'Hayate! Don't lose it,' Kei shouted to Hayate's mind.

He ignored his brothers' requests to calm down. Hayate was only drawing out more pain to himself so he can draw out the woman who took away the love of his life.

"Come on out Fenrir, I know you're here," Hayate shouted to the air in front of him.

Clouds drove forward with rumbles of thunder and clashes of lighting piercing the night sky. The eerie feeling of evil and darkness filled the atmosphere and laughing sheered through Hayate's ears.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A lost dog looking for his owner? Hehehehe,"

"Shut your mouth! I'm tired of your existence, I want you dead and gone!"

"Well I..,"Fenrir started but Hayate gave no time for her to speak. Hayate zapped in to his Knight uniform and came at her with a wind dragon. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground only to give Hayate a smile of satisfaction.

"I told you to shut up!" Hayate stood in battle ready mode. He really wanted her dead, deader than dead. He wanted Himeno back at all costs.

"Feisty aren't you?" Fenrir stood up with blood draining out of her mouth from the wind attack. "But is that all you got?" Fenrir raised a hand up in front of her with purple lighting zipping from her hand. She let the power build up and shot it through the air, letting the thunder crackle with each attack she made.

Hayate jumped each time she attacked, dodging every lighting strike. He was determined to kill her even if it cost his own life. Fenrir shot the lightning straight in his way, but he blocked it with the wind-sword and sent it spiraling back towards her. The attack shocked Fenrir and it lunged her back with electricity zapping through her hair.

She smiled as the static died down and she was able to get back up. From a flash of purple light, it blinded Hayate and sent him flying backwards hitting the ground really hard. 'Hayate,' Sasame yelled to Hayate's mind. Hayate's attacks weren't working, only the Pretear could defeat Fenrir.

As the light ceased, Fenrir changed herself to a human form. Snow white hair curled down to her sides and she had striking yellow eyes that can burn holes in to your head. She wore a black long dress with torn edges at the hem that acted like flames dancing around her. She wore black gloves that covered her hands up to her shoulders and on her back, her dressed ended down like a V and it showed the spider like scar engraved to her back. Her lips were painted in the color of blood and her skin was pale as her hair. She was the mistress of all that was known evil. She was pure evil.

"Instead of calling me Fenrir, call me Michiko."

Hayate pulled himself up from the asphalt base and gave the goddess of darkness a questioning angry look. "Michiko? Why the hell should I call you Michiko!?"

"Hayate, you musn't push yourself to fight," Goh pressed the idea to Hayate's mind.

"Then come out here and help me," Hayate said back with no patience at all. "We can only come out when it's the right time, right now she is too aware of her surroundings. We have to wait for her to drop her guard before we fight."

Hayate growled with impatience. His brother's weren't of any help and he could only tire out Michiko enough for her to drop her guard.

"Why are you just standing like a fool? Don't you wish to kill me? Like how I killed Himeno, your precious princess you would risk your life to protect?"

"Shut up!" Hayate lunged forward with the wind sword in hand and he slashed towards the figure, before she completely dodged the attack and appeared behind grazed her hand over Hayate's neck, whispering in to his ear. "Himeno never loved you, so why try fighting for her?"

Hayate jerked himself from her grasp and tried to elbow Michiko before she dodged the blow again. She appeared sitting on the edged of the high-wire where the bridge was being held up by two pillars. "She rejected you, stabbed you in the heart, and all that you have done for her, you don't get her love in return."

"I told you to shut up!" Hayate shot up in the air and threw a giant wind dragon with the wind sword. "Nah ah ah,"Michiko wagged her finger. She raised both of her hands and engulfed the wind leafe and sent it back towards Hayate, smashing him in to the ground.

Hayate groaned in pain, he had used up a lot of energy and a lot of leafe. He needed to rest but he couldn't rest now, but then again he couldn't even move a limb. His mind raced with doubts, crushed dreams, crush feelings, with a broken mind. He slowly got up, forcing every muscle to move.

Sasame appeared next to Hayate's worn out form and held his older brother up before he started to stumble over. "You wore yourself out... But... was this all true Hayate? Did Himeno really reject you?"

Hayate looked down to the side, not responding to his brother's question. It still pained his heart to remember how she let him down, how cruel she rejected him.

"It's all true Sasame, she coldly dropped him. She rejected him without a second glance. Played with his heart, toying with him and leading him on thinking that she might feel the same. But no, she ripped his heart out and let it bleed,"Michiko chuckled evilly.

"Hayate... don't listen to her. She's only trying to get under your skin," Sasame spoke with concern.

"How can you not let it bother you? Any woman in the world would love to have you, but the one you want turned you down in to the dust with no mercy or will to turn back and apologize for all the pain she caused in those last few moments. Suffer, let it sink in to the depths of your soul and let it conquer your mind and heart. Let the darkness you once called love seep to every last lingering piece of sanity you have left to hold."

Hayate's fists began to shake uncontrollably. His hands were already covered in blood, but there were the addition to the scrapes and bruises embedded to his face and body. Hayate never looked more miserable in his life. He looked like he could just fall over and go in to a coma from how much blood he had left flowing through his veins.

Hayate clenched his teeth together enough to almost make his jaw pop out of socket. "I thought I told you to shut your mouth."

"I heard you the first time, but I'm still speaking aren't I?"

Hayate's eyes never looked so furious with anger, his eyes seemed to have become darker blue. "Hayate," Sasame put a hand on the wind knight's shoulder. "You can't keep up with this, you already have so many wounds to begin with. If you keep this up, your leafe will be sucked dry."

"Why would I care," Hayate whispered. "Dying isn't the main factor here. It's all about tearing that evil hell goddess apart limb from limb."

"You wouldn't be able to kill me if you tried. A leafe knight is useless without his pretear,"Michiko chuckled.

"Besides, you are too weak to battle me. One more slash and I can kill you in an instant."

"She's right Hayate, those wounds are serious and we can't risk losing you. You're emotional pain is what is making you weaker... I know it's hard to say this but... You have to ignore those feelings of pain in order to win a fight."

"Do you really think that is possible for him Sasame? Remember all the pain you went through when your love became your worst enemy? All the scarring emotions ripping your heart right out of your chest? Don't deny it Hayate, you can't get through this. You should just become one of my minions since your own heart has been stomped on."

"Never mind that," Hayate spoke out. "She may have rejected me.. but.."

"But? But what?"

"But... even though she doesn't feel the same, that doesn't stop me from wanting to protect her with my life..."

"You fool, emotions are one's greatest weakness."

"But they can be one's greatest strength," Kei said as he appeared behind Michiko sending a blast of sunlight knocking her down off the high-wire. Michiko shrieked in pain.

"You!? How can you attack me so carelessly!?"

"Because you were too focused on Hayate," Kei smiled mischievously, proud of his accomplishment. "You'll pay for injuring me..."The open gash that was left in her back suddenly healed with a flash of purple light.

Hayate's eyes snapped all the way open when he recognized the purple light that exactly looked like the one from Himeno's wound. "Who..," Hayate whispered under his breath. "Who the hell are you!?"

Michiko looked Hayate's way and smiled evilly, removing her attention from Kei. "You just now noticed?"

Changing her form, her appearance came all too clear. The familiar face, the familiar hair, that unforgettable look. It made her look more like Himeno.

"I'm Himeno's dark conscious."

Wow, I honestly don't remember how long its been since I've started writing this story or how long ago I've updated. I feel so bad for not updating as much as I should. I guess it's almost about time for me to wrap this up in the next chapter. Hope you guys like it so far! Next chapter is this story's finale chapter! :)

-CherryBlossom210