Defy Not The Heart

“Kyoko! Get down!” Shinbe came running out of the opposite bushes with a big stick raised in his hand like a spear. He threw it at the demon. The red eyed scorpion saw it coming and swung one leg around, blocking the pointed weapon, and sent it sailing through the air. It landed at Kyoko’s feet, just as she bent down to pick up her crossbow. Her brow twitched as she realized just how close that had come to hitting her.

Shinbe ran towards her, bending down to pick up the stick. With a quirk of an eyebrow, he looked at Kyoko and grinned crookedly. “Why Kyoko, I do believe you are just a little under dressed for killing a demon.” His grin grew wider at the look on her face. Then her look turned to pure horror.

Feeling a foreboding chill race up his back, Shinbe turned around, swinging his makeshift staff wildly as the scorpion demon lunged at them. He was able to hit one hairy leg, but the other struck him in the side, throwing him away from Kyoko. Shinbe’s blood froze as the deadly scorpion stalked closer to the priestess.

He knew the demon possessed creature could sense the power within her. Knowing he had to do something fast, he used his telekinetic powers to lift a good sized rock, and flung it as hard as he could, smirking as it struck the scorpion on the head.

The demon screeched and swung its head around to pin a glare at the wounded guardian. Shinbe lay on the ground struggling to get back up as the demon came after him again. He rolled just in time to point the sharp end of the stick up as the demon came crashing down on him. Shinbe’s amethyst eyes glowed as he whispered a spell to soften the monsters hard flesh.

Kyoko screamed Shinbe’s name in panic as she watched the demon descend on him. Everything happened so quickly that she didn’t have time to even blink. One moment the demon was jumping on him, and the next, the end of that same stick was sticking out its back as black blood oozed to the ground. She watched as the possessed scorpion twitched before becoming limp and falling heavily on top of Shinbe.

“Shinbe!” Kyoko screamed in panic. She ran to him seeing the blood pooling on the dirt around them at an alarmingly fast pace. She gave a mental cringe hoping none of that blood was coming from her guardian but it was hard to tell with the oversize spawn covering everything except one side of Shinbe’s face. His eyes were closed and for a moment her heart stopped as fear washed across her.

Shinbe could sense it, Kyoko was still terrified and whatever it was making her feel that way, he had to destroy. With a shudder to fight the pain, he opened his eyes to find her staring down at him, pale as a ghost. His heart thudded hard as he realized she was frightened for him. He could feel warmth in his veins as her fear eased from seeing that he was alive.

Shinbe spoke in a raspy voice, “Kyoko, please. Help me… get it off.” He strained to shove the dead beast off, but his arms were trapped between it and his body. Even possessed, the mindless demon should not weigh as much as it did, and should not have put up such a fight. His eyes narrowed sensing a shattered piece of the crystal so close to him, “Kyoko, it’s riding the power of a talisman… find it.”

Kyoko quit pushing at the gigantic creature for a moment, trying to focus her power to scan its body. When the guardian heart crystal had shattered and rained down across the demon realm, it had sent demons of all sizes into a frenzy to find the powerful shards. This must have been a small scorpion at one time… until it was lucky enough to be possessed by a demon then come across one of the missing pieces and get one hell of a power boost.

“There!” she gasped as she noticed a small electric blue glow coming from its neck. Stifling the urge to retch, Kyoko looked into its still open mouth. Making a face, she reached in and grabbed the crystal, watching as the scorpions size automatically began to shrink. Quickly, she pushed and it slid to the side enough that Shinbe was able to push it the rest of the way off before it shriveled up smaller than the size of her hand.

Kyoko looked down at him, his long midnight blue hair obscuring his face, but from its movement she could see he was trying to catch his breath. Her gaze traveled his body looking for wounds. His side was bleeding profusely where the demon had hit him hard with its pointed leg. She looked around blindly for something to stop the bleeding. Then she ran to her towel, knowing it would be good to press against the wound.

Shinbe sat up giving a disgusted glare at the dead little bug. With his hand over the slice in his side, he turned his attention back to Kyoko and silently watched her run to get the towel she’d discarded in her haste. His gaze roamed her body, completely forgetting about the pain he was in.

'She has forgotten she is still unclothed,' he thought, 'Well, I’m not going to remind her.' He tried to keep his expression calm as she came back with the towel.

Kyoko sat down beside Shinbe, tugging on his trench coat, trying to see the wound. "Shinbe, do you think you can remove this," she fingered the cloth. "I need to see where all of this blood is coming from."

Her voice was still breathless and soft to his ears, almost seductive sounding. He was so mystified about how much she really cared that he forgot to fantasize about her asking him to take off his clothes.

Shinbe removed his robe-like coat, and undid the icy-blue shirt underneath. It fell off his shoulders and slid down his arms to lie in a pool around him, baring his chest and taunt stomach muscles to her, along with the gash on his hip. He reached down and pushed that side of the lose pants down a couple inches, so she could better see, but left his arm across his lap to hide the evidence of his erection.

Kyoko swallowed as she tried to stay focused on the wound, instead of what surrounded it. Placing a hand across his exposed skin to steady herself, she pressed firmly with the white cloth, watching it turn crimson. She felt his muscles jerk under her palm and it sent heat shooting up her arm. Her startled emerald eyes went quickly to his, locking with his amethyst gaze.

He noticed the blush spread across her cheeks as their eyes met and wondered at it, feeling his own flesh heat where her soft hand was touching him. "Kyoko, are you all right?" He watched her nod weakly as she looked back down at the towel, removing it gently to see if the bleeding had stopped. Seeing it had, she went to wet the rag so she could clean the rest of the blood off him.

Shinbe looked down, thinking to himself, 'No wonder it quit bleeding, all the blood has rushed to another destination.’ He sighed, quickly clearing the thought away as she came back and kneeled over him, giving him another view of her bra-clad breast. His darkening amethyst gaze darted back to her face. He knew she had to put some clothes on if he was to keep his dignity.

Kyoko was slowly wiping the blood from his skin, making sure to be very, very gentle when she heard him say her name in a husky strained voice. She stopped her movements and lifted her face towards his. But the way she was leaning, she found herself only mere inches from his face. His eyes almost glowed and he seemed so much larger than life at that moment. Her focus slowly lowered to his lips as neither of them said a word.

Shinbe watched her lips part, and his body moved with a will of its own as he closed the distance between them. He brushed his lips across hers in a feather-light kiss that was only the calm before the storm… his breath heated across her cheek. Then a roaring blur of red and black slammed into him as pain shot through his wound that his guardian powers had just started healing.

Shinbe was hauled backward and slammed into the ground by a very enraged Toya, who now stood above him, pointing one of his twin daggers directly at his throat.

"What the hell do you think you are doing kissing Kyoko, you bastard?" Toya screamed, shaking with rage. The sight of Shinbe kissing Kyoko was forever burned into his retinas. "I left her in your care and you decide to molest her?" he yelled, infuriated.

Shinbe's amethyst eyes darkened to a deep purple.

Kyoko shoved her way between them, her back to Shinbe as if protecting him. Glaring at Toya, she demanded, "Don’t you dare!" She threw out her hands in a shielding gesture. "It’s not what you think, Toya."

Toya lowered his dagger with a snarl, "Oh yeah, then why the hell are you naked?" His silver eyes lowered on her bare skin to make his point.

Kyoko's world came crashing down on her, and she just knew the gods were laughing about it as she froze in place. All of a sudden, she felt the breeze across her bare skin, and could feel Toya's eyes heating her skin just as fast. Dropping her arms back to her sides, her gaze sought out her clothing, seeing they were now dry and laying on the rock not far away.

Snapping her eyes back to Toya’s, she hissed, "I was attacked and Shinbe saved my life. I was helping him because he was wounded protecting me, and so what? I kissed him, big deal. It was a thank you!" She tried to ease her way out from between them and toward her clothes, but changed her mind when Toya again pointed the dagger at Shinbe's throat.

"You asked her for a kiss as a reward for saving her? You damned pervert!” Toya growled out, now even more furious with the guardian. Then with one quick jerk, he grabbed Kyoko's arm, pulling her behind him and out of his brother’s sight.

Shinbe's eyes flashed with anger at Toya's treatment of Kyoko. “Put the blade away, Toya," Shinbe's words began to ice as he stood up brushing his pants off, his chest still bare. He towered over Toya menacingly, being the taller of the two, getting ready to fly into him. After all… no one had ever called him a coward.

Kyoko hurried back around and slipped between the brothers once again. Her breast accidentally brushed Toya's chest at the same time that her back grazed Shinbe's hot skin because they were in the middle of taking a threatening step closer to each other. Her eyebrow began to twitch.

"I kissed him. He didn’t ask for it. Now, both of you go away so I can get dressed." She looked up, searching Toya's silver gaze and softened her voice almost pleadingly, "This is bad enough without making it worse."

She felt Shinbe back away and without turning to look, she knew he was getting dressed. She could hear the rustle of the material as he slid it on with jerking motions. Knowing better then to turn and look, she kept her eyes glued to Toya waiting to see if he had any more tendencies to injure Shinbe. She almost sighed in relief as she heard Shinbe’s retreating footsteps as he left the side of the spring.

Toya didn’t pay attention to Shinbe’s departure. At the moment, he was still staring into Kyoko’s eyes in confusion. ‘She kissed Shinbe? Why?’ She reached out to touch his arm, but he quickly turned around and took one step away, keeping his back to her.

"Get dressed, but I’m not leaving you alone again. I’ll stay until you’re ready to leave," the tone in his voice still held anger.

Kyoko huffed and quickly went to her clothes, hurrying into them. Once finally dressed, she turned back around seeing his stiff back and walked past him, ready to return to the hut when he reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him.

Toya just wanted to know why. Why would she kiss Shinbe like that? His dark bangs fell forward, shielding his golden eyes from her. "Why did you kiss him?" he whispered. His hair swayed in the steady breeze, causing the silver highlights to shimmer attractively.

Kyoko frowned not knowing how to respond. In truth, maybe she’d just simply wanted to, but she couldn’t say that to him.

She sighed, "I didn’t think, so… I really don’t know why." She lowered her eyes. That was the truth anyway.

Toya felt fear creep into his heart with her answer. He snapped his head back up and looked directly at her, drawing her gaze to his. "Kyoko, you have never tried to kiss me… like that," he growled without thinking.

Kyoko's eyes blazed up at him for putting her on the spot, and she yelled back at him, "You never act like you want me to! Besides, I don’t have a boyfriend so I’m free to kiss anyone I want too, right?" She jerked her arm from his hold, ignoring his growl at her answer and she stalked past him wondering why all of a sudden he even cared.

Kyoko glared at the ground as she made her way towards the hut. Toya infuriated her. How dare he get angry with her or Shinbe for kissing? What was it to him anyway? He didn’t care about her. He loved no one, so what did it matter who she kissed? She threw open the door to the hut and plopped down on her sleeping bag, deep in thought.

Toya stomped in after her. “I better never see you kiss Shinbe again!” he growled as he sat down across the room from her and leaned back against the wall.

Kyoko glared at him as her mind took in exactly what he’d just said, or more like ordered. ‘How dare him,’ her emerald eyes began shooting sparks.

“I will kiss, Whomever I please, Whenever I please!” with that, Kyoko angrily stood up, rolled up her sleeping bag, picked up her backpack, and headed for the door.

Toya jumped up to follow her with a stricken look. “Where do you think you’re going, damn it?” He hadn’t meant to make her angry enough to leave. He just didn’t like the fact that Shinbe had so much as touched her.

Kyoko stopped with her hand on the doorframe, her back to him. “Toya,” she turned slightly, held her hand up toward him, and then with an angry smirk, she used the Taming spell on him, knowing how much he hated it. “Shut up!”

Toya hit the ground with a string of curses. Kyoko stomped out the door, past Shinbe and walked off towards the maiden shrine with every intention of going back home.

Shinbe stood with his back to the hut, a slight grin upon his face. He heard what Kyoko had said, and his grin widened as he heard Toya hit the floor. Kyoko hadn’t seen him standing there when she came out, so he followed after her as she walked into the forest.

Chapter 4 "Don't Go"

Coming to the heart of time gardens, Kyoko slowly sat down in the grass in front of the maiden statue, looking up into the maiden’s face. She focused on the face that she knew mirrored her own looks. That image belonged to her ancestor that the statue was made in memory of. If living at the same time, they could have been twins.

Kyoko shook the thought away, remembering why she was now sitting in the grass in the first place. Her thoughts began to battle amongst themselves as if she wasn’t even there to listen.

‘Toya is such a jerk!’ She had just come back and ‘all he could do was yell’ at her. Sometimes she just… ‘Hated him…. OK, maybe that was a lie.’ Kyoko sighed, 'I can't lie to myself. I do love Toya and when no one is around to witness it… he often proves that he loves me back.' Kyoko narrowed her eyes in thought. “But then he has to go and blow it.”

She was going home and maybe she’d never come back. She jumped up with every intention of laying her hands in the maiden’s hands, knowing it would take her home.

‘But then you’d never see Shinbe again.’ Her eyes widened and her mind screamed, ‘You have feelings for him!’… ‘This is ridiculous,’ she argued with herself, ‘I only have lingering feelings because I dreamt about him, that doesn’t mean anything.’ She backed away from the statue, lowering her hand hesitantly and sat back down, leaning against a cool stone.

‘But what if he has feelings for you too? Had the kiss gone further, then would he have kissed you back?’ ’Who was it that did the kissing again?’ ‘But he’s a player… he’d kiss any woman.’ ‘And he stuck up for you with Toya.’ ‘Only because he felt threatened and besides, that’s just the way Shinbe is.’ A deep voice brought her from her scrambled thoughts.

“Kyoko,” Shinbe’s husky voice called out to her. Kyoko’s head shot up and she blushed, feeling as if he had heard her thoughts.

“Um, hi,” she looked away from him, in hopes he didn’t see the blush she knew was there.

“Are you going home?” he took a couple slow steps as he talked, “I can’t really blame you, after the way Toya acted.” Shinbe kneeled in front of her with his hand out stretched to help her up. She took the offered hand and stood up, patting the dust off her skirt.

“I just can’t stand to be around him sometimes, Shinbe... I… I’m really sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused you,” she took a step toward the shrine.

Shinbe didn’t want Kyoko to leave, but he knew there would be no stopping her once she had her mind made up. He was well aware of how much she hated it when Toya demanded she not leave, and he didn’t want her to resent him for the same reasons. But in truth, he felt the same as Toya… he didn’t want her to go.

Withholding his true feelings, he tried to cheer her up. “It’s okay, Kyoko. You can cause me trouble anytime,” he grinned at her pretending to slowly reach for her.

Kyoko didn’t miss his hand as it inched its way towards her. She giggled, flashing him a smile. Then she was gone.

Shinbe stood there staring at the statue as his smile faltered. He wanted to tell her not to go. He’d no compulsion to grope her… well, maybe a little. He made the action so she would feel at ease about leaving and know nothing had changed between them. He could tell she was upset and all he wanted was to see her smile, or show some other emotions besides sadness and anger. His plan worked better than he thought when she had laughed at him.

Shinbe’s haunted amethyst gaze jerked away from the maiden shrine. He hated the time portal’s ability to take her away from him and wished he could follow her into her world… just once. His eyes darkened attractively, then narrowed with the jealous thought of Toya being able to follow her through the heart of time. Why had the time portal picked the silver guardian and only him? It just wasn’t fair. Toya wasn’t her only guardian.

*****

When Kyoko found herself on the other side of the maiden shrine, she laid down inside the privacy of the shrine house, resting her head against her backpack and closing her eyes. She didn’t want to have to face anyone right now.

Thoughts of Shinbe making love to her kept sneaking their way back into her mind. Why did she have to dream about him like that? It just made her wish... ‘What am I thinking?’ she asked herself. She had to stop thinking about it.

Shinbe and Suki obviously liked each other, even if they wouldn’t admit it. Plus, he hits on all women. It’s just the way Shinbe was.

Kyoko slowly stood up and walked out of the shrine house that protected the maiden statue. ‘I’ll just go to my room and study. Yeah, then I’ll go to school tomorrow, and everything will be fine. I’ll maybe even call my friends and go hang out with them for a little while.’ Kyoko stopped in her tracks and nearly crossed her eyes thinking aloud, “New rule, no eating fruit around her friends.”

*****

Toya was still fighting his jealous mood as he slowly walked to the shrine. He had every intention of following Kyoko and straightening this out. He couldn’t stand thinking she was mad at him.

His senses spiked, telling him he wasn’t alone. He glanced up to find Shinbe leaning back against one of the surrounding boulders left over from some forgotten castle that used to stand here. His hands were neatly tucked into his trench coat with his staff lying across his lap. He was leaning his head back with his eyes closed, as if sleeping.

“Wake up, you stupid letch!” Toya yelled at him, now more annoyed than ever.

Shinbe cracked open one sleepy eye, then closed it again, “What do you want, Toya?”

Toya fumed, “What do I want? I want to know what the hell you’re doing sitting here.”

Shinbe opened his eyes and quirked an eyebrow at his sibling, “Am I not allowed to rest?”

Toya narrowed his gaze at him, “Since when do you come to the heart of time to rest?”

Shinbe slowly stood up, readying himself, just in case. He knew Toya was a hell of a lot stronger. But he also knew he wasn’t as weak as Toya thought him to be. Their powers were just different.

“I came to say goodbye to Kyoko. After the way you treated her, we’ll be lucky if she ever comes back. Just what is going on in that pea brain of yours anyway?” Shinbe's calm voice held a hint of the agitation he’d been hiding.

Toya gave a soft growl, knowing what Shinbe said was true. Maybe, just maybe he did overreact, but still, he saw them kiss. Kyoko kissed that lecherous guardian. The scene played in Toya’s mind again and his soul screamed, ‘No, it was Shinbe kissing Kyoko, not the other way around.’

He turned his back to Shinbe, “I don’t know what you’re up to guardian, but if you ever lay a hand on Kyoko again… I’ll kill you.” With that, Toya took off into the air, leaving only a single silver feather fluttering in the breeze.

Shinbe sighed and sat back down, leaning against the stone when he heard Kamui’s playful laughter in the distance. A few moments later, Sennin, Kamui, and Suki came into the clearing, holding baskets of herbs and vegetables the old man had been foraging for.

‘They must have met him on the way back to the hut,’ Shinbe reasoned.

Sennin was the old man whom owned the hut they stayed in when they were near the shrine. Sennin had raised Suki and her brother all by himself when his wife, their mother, had been killed by demons during an attack on the village. Suki was too little to remember the mother she favored but she’d been the best human demon slayer within the realm.

To the village, Sennin was a medicine man, but the guardians knew the truth. He was a master at casting spells, and knew way more than most humans within their realm. Shinbe smiled sadly as he watched the old man come closer.

“Why do ye look so glum, Shinbe?” Sennin asked as he approached. He squinted at him with his ageing sight. The amethyst guardian had been acting a bit odd lately… and that was saying a lot because in his opinion, all the guardians were naturally a bit odd.

Shinbe stood up just as they approached, as if he’d been waiting on them, instead of almost getting into a fight with Toya.

Suki looked behind him at the maiden shrine, “Did Kyoko go back home already?”

Shinbe stared blankly at her before responding, “Yes, yes she did.”

Kamui stopped searching through the basket for something to eat and looked intently at Shinbe, his smile disappearing and turning to worry. “Why’d she leave?” Then as if the thought just dawned on him, his eyes narrowed, “What did Toya do this time?”

Shinbe reached his hand out and put it on Kamui’s shoulder to calm him down. He knew Kamui hated it when Kyoko went back to her time, just as much as he did. “It’s okay Kamui. She’ll be back soon,” or at least he hoped so. He inwardly groaned.

Suki looked troubled. Kyoko had come back sometime during the night. She hadn’t even had a chance to talk to her except for a few moments this morning. “So, did she have to Tame him?”

Shinbe glanced over at the girl and smirked, “I’m afraid so. Toya is not in a very good mood.”

“I imagine he is not. Do ye know what they disagreed upon this time?” Sennin squinted at him as he shifted his basket and began to walk towards the hut. Suki followed behind with Kamui, who was once again dipping into the basket for food to snack on. Shinbe followed behind trying to think of how to respond to the question.

“Does Toya think he needs a reason to yell at her?” Shinbe shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn’t have a clue, all the while hoping no one could sense his guilt.

Toya sat in a tree next to Sennin’s hut and listened to their banter as they approached. He heard Shinbe’s comment and wanted to beat him to a pulp. But after he thought about it, it was best not to tell them what he’d seen. His eyes glowed with silver sparks as he thought about the kiss. Deciding to hold it in for now, Toya leaned back in the tree and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

“Are ye awake, Toya?” Sennin called up to him.

Toya continued to ignore the old man. It wasn’t like he owed him anything.

Sennin paused wanting to make his point anyway, “Ye sure did it this time. Ye couldn’t wait until she was back for a while longer?”

Toya leaned forward and glared at Sennin, “Shut up, you old man. You don’t even know what you’re talking about.” He jumped down and headed towards the forest.

Shinbe sighed with relief. He was worried that Toya would tell them about the innocent kiss, and he’d have to explain. ‘Did I think innocent?’ he thought to himself feeling something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach. If it was so innocent, why did he keep thinking about how soft her lips were when they pressed against his? At that thought, he groaned and went into the hut.

Kaen, an ally to the guardians, better described as a fire sprite, appeared before Kamui with a grin. He often helped train Kamui and was very protective of him during battle. It helped that Kaen could change from human form into a dragon… it made the training that much more intense. They practiced sparring outside the hut as Sennin and Suki glanced at each other.

Suki shrugged her shoulders and they entered the hut. Shinbe was lying on a mat, propped up on his elbow with his back to them. They watched him, but neither said anything about his depressed mood. Suki started the cooking fire, while Sennin prepared the food for dinner, both glancing over at him as he sighed.

*****

Toya stayed away from the hut all day, until the sun began to sink low in the sky. He approached silently as he heard Sennin and Suki talking quietly. His enhanced guardian hearing picked up every word whispered from their lips.

“Do you think he’s sick, Sennin?” Suki asked worriedly as she stared at Shinbe, who was still lying on his blanket, sound asleep.

“Ai, he ate not a bite,” the old man answered as he cleaned the dinner bowls.

“I sure hope he’s not coming down with something. Without Kyoko’s help, we’re really going to need him tomorrow when we go looking for the missing talisman,” Suki shrugged as she unrolled her sleeping mat.

“Ai, I will make him some herbal tea when he awakens.” Sennin didn’t think the guardian was sick because they had such high immunity to human illnesses. Truth was… he had never known one to become ill. It had to be something much deeper than that.

His old brown eyes sharpened as he thought of the missing talisman. Since the guardian heart crystal had been shattered, the small slivers talisman had been popping up everywhere, and usually in the wrong hands. Any weak demon that held a talisman became strong and very dangerous. Hyakuhei’s evil army seemed to be growing every day. Lately, he had felt the evil getting closer.

Toya stood outside the hut debating whether or not to go in, when he heard his name mentioned.

“I wonder what Toya was so upset about that it made Kyoko want to go home,” Suki stifled a yawn.

Sennin nodded, “Ye would think he’d have learned his lessons by now. We need her just as much as we need the guardians.”

Suki sat down on her mat, brushing aside some imaginary dirt, “Well it didn’t take him long to make her angry. I bet he said something about her smelling like alcohol.” She turned to glare at Kamui when she heard muffled laughter coming from him. Picking up a comb Kyoko had given her, she threw it at him, hitting him on the head, “I thought you were asleep!”

Sennin laughed at the two as he walked to the door, “Goodnight Suki… Kamui.”

Toya stood outside the hut. He’d forgotten about Kyoko smelling like alcohol. So, he didn’t have to tell them what really happened, although it would be nice to get Shinbe in trouble with Suki. He grinned. She’d be so angry with him she’d beat him into the next century.

Jumping into the tree, Toya let out a laugh at the thought of Suki smacking Shinbe, knowing his brother would never lift a finger to stop her.

Chapter 5 "Dangerous Jealousy"

Kyoko was miserable. All she could think about was Shinbe and Toya and that stupid kiss. She lay under the soft covers wide-awake, pondering how she could possibly want to be kissed by either of them. One was Shinbe, the lecherous guardian that flirted with every woman he came in contact with. He’d probably had more women than she could count on her hands, yet just the thought of his kiss sent her swooning.

The other was Toya, who yelled at her for little things and tried to always be the boss of every move she made. Still, sometimes he could be so sweet. They both could. She thumped her head back against the pillow and sighed. It was strange how she used to think of only Toya before she went to sleep, but for a while now, the thoughts had been slowly changing to Shinbe. Shinbe… She drifted off to sleep dreaming about him yet again.

*****

Shinbe awoke in the middle of the night covered in sweat, another dream. He whimpered as he stood up. Why did he have to keep thinking about her? She was driving him over the edge. He looked around making sure Suki and Kamui still slept. Slipping through the room like a ghost, he exited the hut, and took a deep breath looking up at the sky. That’s when he noticed Toya staring down at him from the lower branches of the tree right in front of the hut.