LITMIR.BIZ

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I hope Toya looks as bad as I feel.”

      Kyoko uncovered her face and stared at him, “I wouldn’t know.” She turned from him and walked over to the desk, picking up a pitcher of water and pouring some into a glass. All of a sudden, she felt mad at both of them. They were supposed to be hunting the talisman together, not fighting each other.

      â€œYou don’t know?” Shinbe tried to quirk his brow, but realized there was nothing on his body that didn’t hurt. He decided right then, that the next time he fought Toya, he would do more than just defend himself… next time he would fight back.

      Kyoko came across the room and helped him sip the water. She smiled down at him, a glint in her eyes, “I haven’t seen Toya since I put the taming spell on him near the shrine house.” Somehow, she knew that would cheer Shinbe up.

      He attempted to laugh, but wound up coughing. “Taming spell?” Putting his hand to his bandaged chest, he groaned, “Please don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

      Kyoko got a pained look on her face, “I’m so sorry, Shinbe. We couldn’t take you to a human doctor without… well, you know. Grandfather tried to patch you up as best as he could and most of the seeable wounds have healed.”

      Shinbe blinked at her, rather than try to nod his head, “I understand. Thank you for caring for me.” Curiosity got the better of him, “But you haven’t gone to see Toya?”

      Kyoko stood up, turning her back to him. “No, I’ve been here with you, waiting for you to wake up,” she walked to the desk, picking up the bottle of aspirin but set it back down knowing it wouldn’t help a guardian. “What were you two fighting about?” she whispered, not wanting to hear the answer. She picked the bottle back up figuring it couldn’t hurt.

      â€œJust how long have I been asleep?” Shinbe whispered, trying to keep the pain to a minimum. He had heard her question but… that was best left between him and Toya.

      She turned, walking back to him, “Several hours.” Kyoko put the aspirin to his lips and picked the glass of water back up, “Here, take these.”

      He did as she said, thinking, ‘She’s been by my side all night?’ He closed his eyes, contemplating this. Then he felt her cool hand on his forehead and opened his eyes back to her.

      Kyoko smiled, “I can’t believe you’re here… on my side of the heart of time.” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but it did. “Well, now that I know you’re going to be okay, I guess I should go back and tell the others that we won’t be back for a while. You rest and I’ll be here when you wake up.”

      Shinbe stared at her, dumbfounded. His gaze flew around the room realizing just what he’d been missing. He was in her world! He must have really hit his head pretty hard for that to have just slipped past him.

      Wait. He trained his amethyst eyes back on her. What was she talking about, ‘him not going back with her?’ What if Toya didn’t let her come back? What if something happened to her? He was supposed to go look for the talisman with them. He was supposed to be there to protect her from Hyakuhei.

      Shinbe tried to sit up to tell her, but the pain seared through his brain and he fell back against the bed with a groan.

      Kyoko stopped in mid-stride, turning back to give him a pleading look. “Please, Shinbe. Don’t try to get up. There is no telling if your healed on the inside yet and I wouldn’t want you to bleed to death while I’m gone,” she said it almost jokingly, but he was still in pain and that meant he could do some damage if he didn’t stay still.

      â€œKyoko, I can’t stay here. I don’t even know where here is,” he was beginning to panic at the thought of her leaving him. She must have sensed his fear because she spoke quietly as she opened the door to leave.

      â€œDon’t worry, Shinbe. I’ll send grandfather to keep you company,” she closed the door before he had a chance to protest.

      Chapter 6 "Misunderstandings"

      After finding grandfather and telling him that Shinbe was awake, Kyoko got her backpack and loaded it down with all the things she knew her friends would like. She packed beef jerky for Toya, chocolate bars for Kamui, and of course everyone’s favorite, chewing gum.

      As an afterthought, she put in some bottles of soda and chocolate covered almonds for Suki and Sennin. Kyoko grinned, feeling better now that she knew Shinbe would be well again soon. Still… she would have to have a heart to heart with Toya about fighting and the fact he could have killed his own brother. She silently wondered how Shinbe could have come through the heart of time. The shrine would not have let him pass without a reason.

      â€œProbably so I could break up the fight,” Kyoko mumbled under her breath.

      She also added the typical supplies she would bring them, like bandages and aspirin. Looking around the kitchen, she wondered if she should check on Shinbe one last time but decided not to. It was hard enough already to leave him. She could still see the pleading look in his amethyst eyes, as if he was begging her not to leave, but she’d only be gone for a few hours. He’d be fine with grandfather and Tama. Zipping up her backpack, she headed for the shrine house.

      *****

      The small group had spent the last couple hours trying to find Shinbe. They couldn’t even pick up his trail so they had no idea where to begin looking for him. They could only assume the worst, even though they couldn’t find evidence of any wrong doing. It was literally driving them crazy with worry. To make matters worse, Toya had never returned to the hut that evening and it left them thinking that maybe he was behind the disappearance.

      When he hadn’t returned after several hours, Suki was positive it was the latter. With Kyoko still gone, it made it all seem that much worse. “I swear if Toya ever comes back, I will kill him myself,” Suki sobbed into her hands as Sennin comforted her.

      Kamui sat beside her silent as thoughts of Shinbe lying dead coursed through his mind. But he would know if Shinbe had died… wouldn’t he? He and Kaen had known something was untold as soon as they had stepped foot in the clearing… something about the vibes in the area reeked of anger and something else he couldn’t quite put a name to.

      Another piece of evidence was the fact that some of the boulders around the maiden statue had been unearthed. ‘And where was Kyoko?’ This thought caused Kamui to wonder just what exactly had happened… was Kyoko hurt too? She hadn’t come back yet, and he was starting to worry. He sighed knowing Kaen was still out looking.

      â€œHello, anybody home?” Kyoko said in a cheery voice as she opened the door to the hut. She immediately saw how distressed Suki was. Shedding her backpack at the door, she ran to Suki. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” she dropped to the floor next to her friend because Suki never cried… she was to tuff for that girly stuff.

      Suki sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. Her lips parted and she tried to speak, “Oh, Kyoko.” She turned away from her and sobbed again, unable to tell her friend her fears.

      Sennin put his hand on Kyoko’s shoulder, looking at his daughter, then spoke in a quiet voice, “Kyoko, can I talk to ye outside.”

      Kyoko looked from Sennin, back to Suki, then stood up slowly. ‘Something must be seriously wrong,’ Kyoko mused worriedly. ‘Had something bad happened to Toya, or did they hear some news about the disappearance of Suki’s brother Hikaru?’ she had a very, very bad feeling creeping across her spine.

      She followed Sennin outside. “What is it Sennin? What’s happened?” Kyoko never thought for a second that they were concerned about Shinbe. She thought Toya would have told

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