LITMIR.BIZ

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outside wall of the shrine house. It felt like she could feel the impact the same as him except it left a huge dent in her heart. She caught movement coming from the side and flashed her emerald eyes toward it. It was Toya, and he was about to charge Shinbe again.

      Tossing down her bow, she threw up her hand to cast the Taming spell that only worked on the silver guardian.

      â€œToya! No!” Kyoko screamed.

      Toya had been in mid-flight when he suddenly plummeted to the ground like a ton of bricks, burying his face into the hard earth.

      Kyoko ran to Shinbe, skidding across the grass in her rush. Falling to her knees beside him, her lips parted knowing he was in bad shape. “Shinbe, are you all right?”

      Shinbe cracked one eye open and peered over at Toya. “That’s gotta hurt,” he tried to smirk, but passed out before he could manage it.

      Toya looked up at Kyoko from his prone position and growled at the way her lip trembled. How dare she take the letch’s side, after what Shinbe had said?

      Kyoko turned on him, tears welling in her eyes. “What have you done?”

      He had no chance to reply as her brother and grandfather came running out into the courtyard. Grandfather with his demon scrolls in his hand, ready to flatten anything that dared hurt his granddaughter.

      Kyoko began to sob, not knowing what to do, “Help me get Shinbe into the house.”

      Tama and grandfather didn’t ask any questions as they picked Shinbe up to carry him into the house. Grandpa simply narrowed his eyes toward Toya while Tama refused to look at him at all. They walked off leaving Toya still lying on the ground.

      Toya didn’t bother to move. He knew Kyoko was so angry with him that she would probably use the damn spell on him over and over again if he dared go into the house. It wasn’t fair. Didn’t she understand he was only protecting her?

      The light of the moon reflected off the silver highlights within his dark hair as he turned over with a heavy heart. Pushing off the ground he went back through the heart of time.

      *****

      When the sun rose above the maiden shrine Toya was still pacing back and forth in the clearing, trying to figure out what the hell happened. How was Shinbe able to pass through the heart of time? It simply wasn’t allowed. The question rolled over and over in his mind driving him crazy.

      Suki came into the clearing with Kamui and Kaen, looking for Toya and Shinbe. She spotted Toya and waved to him.

      â€˜Damn, this is all I need,’ Toya cursed inwardly as he watched Suki approach. She stopped and stared at him for a long moment before she spoke and the worried look in her eyes caught him off guard.

      â€œToya, are you okay? What happened?” She reached a hand out to touch his face, and he flinched. She stared at the healing wounds that adorned his face, and the dry blood on his clothing and hands. She looked at his hands again. Toya never let blood dry on his fingers like that. What was going on?

      â€œToya, whose blood is that?” When he didn’t answer, but turned his face away from her, she glanced around looking for Shinbe knowing he’d tell her what was going on. When she didn’t see him, panic filtered into her voice as her eyes widened, “Where’s Shinbe?”

      Kamui had been standing at the edge of the clearing with Kaen when he sensed Toya’s agitation and closed the distance between them. He’d heard the question and he prayed he was wrong about the answer. Hoping to calm them both down, he tried to make a joke by asking, “Toya, don’t tell me you killed Shinbe?”

      Toya gritted his teeth, “I didn’t kill anybody, you little runt, so shut up!” He turned away from them glancing down at his bloody fingernails… he hadn’t even noticed them.

      â€˜Did I?’ Toya thought to himself. That last hit to Shinbe had to of caused some serious damage. He remembered his claws digging into the flesh of Shinbe’s side as he flung him into the tree. Toya knew his claws could be deadly when they grew longer during battle… to not just demons but all immortals, including guardians.

      He should not have fought his brother but he’d been in such a rage that he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Why had he lost his temper like that knowing his demon blood would be in danger of surfacing? He usually had more control then that. Damn it. Had Kyoko not come out when she did, he didn’t know what he would’ve done to him. He’d never fought with Shinbe before… what the hell was going on here?

      That panicked feeling came over him again when he felt the stares of Suki and Kamui on his back. Shinbe was his brother… a guardian. What had he done? Not looking at them, Toya balled his hands into fist and suddenly yelled, “I didn’t do anything!” Needing an escape, he darted off across the clearing, towards the woods.

      Kaen and Kamui looked at each other sharing the same ominous feeling.

      *****

      Kyoko sat at her desk, needle and thread in hand. She decided to sew Shinbe’s trench coat since it was shredded in some spots. She had to keep herself busy, because with Toya gone and Shinbe passed out… she couldn’t even ask anyone what the hell had happened. She had a feeling it was her fault they were fighting.

      â€œIt was just a stupid kiss,” she mumbled guiltily.

      After her grandfather had stripped Shinbe of his garments, she’d taken them and washed the blood out of them while Tama helped grandfather treat the wounds that were already healing. If it wasn’t for the fact that Shinbe was a guardian and had the extra advantage of quick healing, he would have bled to death within minutes. As she looked at one of the rips in the fabric, she envisioned Toya’s claws there and shivered.

      He was pretty beat up, but the bump on his head was the worst of it. Her grandfather said he’d probably be out for a while from that. He had also informed her that when two guardians fight each other, it’s a little more dangerous than when two humans go at it. Grandpa and his legends… she didn’t need a legend to tell her this was bad. She just hoped Shinbe didn’t have brain damage. For him to be unconscious for so long was not a good sign. She prayed he’d wake up soon and tell her everything was okay.

      Kyoko had sat by his side since her grandfather had bandaged and tucked him neatly into her bed. She hadn’t slept since it happened in fear that he’d wake up without her knowing.

      Shinbe slowly opened his eyes to the dim light of the room. Where was he? He stared up at the white ceiling in confusion. His head, boy did it hurt. He tried to look around the room, but that hurt too. There was pink everywhere. Where was he?

      â€œOuch!” Kyoko pricked herself with the needle and put her finger in her mouth, sucking on it. She had turned slightly in the chair and Shinbe saw her, the light from the desk lamp shining on her face.

      â€œI must be in heaven,” Shinbe whispered through his dry lips. He watched as Kyoko’s eyes went wide, and she slowly turned to look at him. He tried to smile but his head hurt too much so he closed his eyes again.

      Kyoko nearly toppled the chair over trying to get to his side so quickly. “Shinbe no, please don’t go back to sleep yet,” she pleaded with a tremble in her voice. She was rapidly on her way to tears. Shinbe opened his eyes smelling the salt in the air. Was she crying? He tried to sit up, only to have a searing pain course through his temple.

      Kyoko put her hand on his shoulder, “Don’t try to sit up. You were hurt really bad.” She wiped the back of her hand across her wet cheek and smiled when he opened his eyes again.

      â€œYou think so?” He tried to smile, but his head just didn’t feel right. He raised his hand to the back of his head cradling it in his palm. ‘Hmm, big lump,’ he looked at Kyoko questioningly.

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