Chapter 7 “Awakening”

Chapter 7 “Awakening”

It was closing in on one o’clock in the morning and Kyoko felt like her brain had been fried. They were now in the living room, spread out on the sectional and recliners. Toya was still beside her, letting her lean against him as they all talked. She had asked so many questions that she’d started repeating them. The guardians now knew everything about her life, but it was still a trip to realize they knew more about her than she did.

“If I’m the priestess of this time portal, then where are my powers?” Kyoko frowned knowing she hadn’t asked this one yet. She glanced at Kamui who had shown her some of his gentler powers. He’d called them parlor tricks but she was still amazed. “It would’ve been nice if I could have used them to save my family.”

“You were only three years old. If your grandfather hadn’t hidden you away…” Kamui refused to voice it out loud. “Your powers would have been dormant without us here.”

“What do you mean without you here?” Kyoko asked confused.

Kyou nodded at Shinbe, “Even in our realm, there are legends and scrolls to help guide us. Shinbe is our master at deciphering those scrolls, so we will leave it for him to answer.”

Shinbe gave it a moment’s thought before he started. Some secrets were meant to be kept. “There were phrases in the scrolls to help us understand your powers. You would not need your powers without a reason… so they would’ve stayed dormant your entire life if The Heart of Time had not been breached.”

He was still amazed they’d answered most of her questions truthfully and never once mentioned Hyakuhei… or Tadamichi for that matter. “If a guardian or a demon comes through the portal into your world… then your powers are born, but not yet awakened. The way the scrolls read, it takes more than a breach between worlds… it takes contact with demons or guardians to awaken them. The more contact you have with either side, the stronger your powers grow.”

“So, if the demons would have taken me… I could’ve defeated them?” Kyoko asked suddenly intrigued.

“No. It doesn’t exactly work like that,” Kotaro shook his head. He hated the fact that he felt like they were telling her the truth and lying like hell at the same time. They were really talking about Hyakuhei and only substituting the word demon. “If the demons had gotten their hands on you, then your power would have awakened in their favor. They would have surrounded you… overpowering your own will and used you to reopen the portal.”

“And let the rest of the demons into my world,” Kyoko sighed. “Okay, I got that. But all five of you are here with me now and I don’t feel like I have any supernatural powers.”

Shinbe bit his tongue to keep himself from answering that question with the simple truth. Claiming the priestess had nothing to do with simply sitting in the same room with her. “We have only just met… your powers will come.”

“I’m glad I haven’t run across a demon yet,” Kyoko stifled a yawn.

“You did,” Toya tucked her closer to him knowing she was sleepy but still fighting it. “You felt it in the auditorium today.”

“Why didn’t it attack me?” Kyoko wondered if she would ever be able to sleep again as she felt an adrenalin rush for the umpteenth time in the last twenty-four hours.

“I placed a barrier on you in the middle of the night, last night. I wasn’t sure it would help, but the demon was weak so I don’t think it could have sensed you through the barrier. It did smell your scent on Toya though,” Shinbe smirked. “All five of us were there to fight it but it was only interested in attacking Toya.”

“You were in my room last night?” Kyoko leveled him with a hard look.

“I think you're missing the point love.” Shinbe sighed. “We all took turns watching over you last night, which leads us back to what started this baring of souls in the first place. Are you coming home with us tonight… or are we staying here?”

“I have school tomorrow,” Kyoko sat up, untangling herself from Toya and avoiding the question completely.

“We all do,” Kyou confirmed. “Kyoko, do me a favor,” he requested then waited until she gave a reluctant nod, “Take a walk with me.”

Toya’s arm tightened around her, taking back the distance she’d just fought for. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I do,” Kamui agreed and Shinbe and Kotaro nodded.

“We do not have to go far Toya.” Kyou’s voice softened, “I will keep her safe.”

Kyoko slid out of Toya’s arms, glancing over her shoulder at him. His eyes were so huge and gold that she felt like she could drown in them. She started to tell Kyou no, but when Toya lowered his eyes she turned and followed Kyou from the room. Once they were out in the night air, she shivered. Kyou placed his arm around her the same way Toya had done earlier. “Why do I feel warm when I touch you or Toya?”

Kyou guided her past the pool and out into the open field behind the house. “That is how the priestess responds to her guardians. Our powers are touching and it is warming your blood.”

They walked for about ten minutes in complete silence before Kyou pulled her to a stop. “Now comes the favor I asked of you.” He let her go, knowing the chill would crawl across her skin now that they were no longer touching. “Close your eyes and listen to the night. Tell me what you hear and feel.”

“It’s quiet and cold.” Kyoko wrapped her arms around herself wanting the warmth back.

“Past the chill… close your eyes if it helps,” Kyou instructed, “Open up to what’s further out around you within the night.”

Kyoko closed her eyes and slowed her breathing to almost nothing. The silence was deafening. “There’s nothing out there… not even animals,” she whispered.

“That is you without the touch of a guardian. Keep your eyes closed and try again.” Kyou reached for her.

Kyoko gasped as warmth rushed across her and through her. She could feel Kyou’s strength all around her… in the arms holding her so closely.

“Reach out again into the night,” Kyou whispered in the shell of her ear. “Feel your way across the distance.”

Kyoko could feel her senses stretching out in a sphere across the ground, growing in size. She could taste the frightened animals on the tip of her tongue… they were hiding.

“They hide from the demons,” Kyou leaned down to caress her cheek with his.

“You can hear my thoughts?” Kyoko asked in a daze. At the moment she couldn’t decide if she was still with him or out at the rim of her senses.

“Yes, but we are testing your powers now… not mine.” Kyou felt the temperature of his own blood spike as he flattened the palm of his hands against soft skin underneath the back of her short shirt. He leaned down so he could trace the arc of her neck with his lips. “Keep trying to reach further out.”

“It’s hard to concentrate when you’re doing that,” Kyoko murmured feeling her knees weaken as his hot breath fell against her skin.

“The closer we are…” His lips followed the path to hers as his groin swelled and tightened. He suddenly wanted to be so far inside her that there would never be room for another. “…The more power you will have.”

Kyoko understood as his lips slashed across hers. It was like a wave of awareness crashing across the valleys and hills into the distance. The further out it went, the stronger it became. She could hear whisperings on the wind… thoughts that were out of focus… phantoms. Within those voices, she felt something reaching for her and she heard her name.

‘I need to see them,’ she thought with growing panic.

Kyou ran his hand up in under her hair, cupping the back of her head in a firm grip. He wasn’t sure what she needed to see, but he knew exactly how to unlock her power. Sliding his other hand across her hip, he urgently pushed her legs apart. She gasped as his hand slid between her legs, cupping the center of her.

When she opened her lips to cry out, Kyou deepened the kiss… inflaming her powers with her passion.

Hyakuhei called out her name in his dreams only to jerk awake as he felt the priestess’s passion revived. He could feel it like a shock wave… the guardians where already trying to seduce her and tap into her powers.

“Come to me my love… find me,” he whispered as his breathing became labored.

Kyoko gripped Kyou’s shoulders as the voices lost their confusion and she heard him. ‘Where are you?’ As if answering her request, the inky darkness began to fade. Shadows moved along walls made of stone and earth and she followed them as they spilled out into a huge underground cavern.

Kyoko could feel Kyou pressing his fingers against her most secret place in a rhythm that was making her feverish. She wanted this new sensation that threatened to consume her as she clutched at him. All the sensations were making it hard to listen to the voice and follow the path.

Kyou released a sound that was partially a groan and a growl as he ran his finger between her nether lips on his way up then dipped his hand down into her panties. His finger sought the same path as he gripped her in his hand… letting the tip of his finger invade her. Kyoko cried out but his lips stole the sound.

Hyakuhei could feel Kyoko’s passion heighten and it ignited his own rage… how dare Kyou move so fast when she was but an innocent. He reached out and tugged on her powers, bringing it past the demons and toward her brother. ‘This is what you want my dearest.’

Tama had been having his own dreams of Kyoko when Hyakuhei’s voice awakened him. ‘Your sister is searching for you,’ Hyakuhei whispered harshly within Tama’s mind. ‘But she can’t know who we are just yet… not if we want to keep her. Even now she is within the arms of a guardian.’

‘Kyoko… is that you?’ Tama gathered his own powers and focused them directly on her as he opened his eyes and looked up at her from where he lay. She looked like she was behind a wall of shimmering blue crystal in the glowing darkness. He glanced around noticing Hyakuhei was hiding his own aura from her and it saddened him.

Kyoko’s vision sharpened as she looked down at someone on blankets of ebony fur. It was the guy she’d seen at the school… the one who always stood alone. She tried to get closer to him even as she moved against Kyou’s hand wanting more… wanting closer… becoming frustrated and confused.

‘Who are you?’ Kyoko whispered as her gaze traced his body. He was nude except for the edge of the fur that crossed his hip. His body was lined with lithe muscle tone but his hair was shadowing his eyes from her. She wanted so badly to see the color of his eyes.

‘We have been waiting on you. But you must be careful love.’ Tama and Hyakuhei whispered together in a voice made for seduction. ‘Beware of the guardian’s trickery and possessiveness. They have something that belongs to you, but you don’t belong to them and you shouldn’t trust any of them.’

‘Don’t trust them?’ Kyoko’s voice was breathless with the things Kyou was doing but still she wanted to reach for the stranger. He had said ‘we’ but she couldn’t see anyone there with him. He was cast in the glow of a blue light that sparkled like fractural pyramids within a sphere. As she gazed around she could see sapphires and rubies embedded in the walls.

Kyoko’s eyes widened when she thought she saw the shadow of a man with angel wings cast on the shimmering rock wall beside him. Her heartbeat slowed as she turned from Tama toward the black shadowed angel. This was what she was looking for… had waited eternity for… not the boy.

‘Why are you hiding?’ Slowly, she reached outward, her fingers swimming in the tetrahedrons of ice-blue crystals as she tried to come to him.

Hyakuhei growled as he fought his own need to grab her by the wrist and pull her through the crystal’s power. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact that she was in Kyou’s arms but reaching for him. Her heart remembered where it belonged. If he pulled her through, then Kyou would follow. His eyes darkened along with his thoughts… maybe it was worth the risk.

Tama panicked when the tip of her fingers came through the crystals and he heard Hyakuhei’s sharp intake of breath. Jerking his gaze to Hyakuhei, he watched as the shadow hand reached out and started to take form becoming flesh. If Hyakuhei brought her into the room, then he would bring the wrath of all five guardians down on them too soon. They would need Hyakuhei at full power before fighting that battle.

‘Kyoko! They are using you,’ Tama yelled with his mind. She stopped and looked back at him when he cried out her name, reclaiming her attention. ‘The guardians want to possess you and The Heart of Time… they do not love you. They are just as dangerous as the demons,’ his inner voice echoed through the link.

He could feel Hyakuhei’s fury burning inside him and he searched frantically for the cause of such a rage. Tama’s emerald eyes widened when the reason came to him and he looked up so Kyoko could see his eyes. ‘Kyoko… don’t… don’t let that guardian claim you in front of him.’

Kyoko felt like she was looking into a mirror when she saw the color of her own eyes. ‘Tama?’ Her voice grew hysterical as hope soared through her.

‘Shhh… my love,’ Hyakuhei quieted her, sending calmness through her mind even as his own thoughts remained furious. Raising the hand that was still corporeal, he summoned several demons from within his soul, sending them to attack the guardians and free the priestess from Kyou’s heated embrace. ‘This one will never have you.’

Not wanting Hyakuhei to lose his temper this early in the game, Tama’s voice became insistent as he pushed himself up on one arm. ‘Run Kyoko. You’re in more danger than you realize. Let the guardians fight the demons that are coming, but don’t tell them you have been here with us. They will refuse to return your power if they know about us.’

Hyakuhei thrust her spirit away from the cavern. Tama had done well by planting the seeds of mistrust within her heart for the guardians. His growl rang through the cavern like a storm as he released the anger he barely held back knowing someone else was touching what was his. He could feel claws’ digging at his heart before realizing it was his own hand doing the damage.

Kyoko felt herself slamming back toward her body as both voices caressed her one last time. ‘Keep our secret… we will be with you soon.’

As she pulled her powers back across the land, she felt the evil he was talking about coming at her at an alarmingly fast rate. As she pushed away from it, she also pushed against Kyou so hard that she fell to the ground. Frightened of what had just happened, she froze, staring up at him.

Kyou’s eyes shown down at her with unnatural light and his breathing was ragged. He had let it go too far and his guardian blood demanded him claim her before one of his brothers did… he would not share! He started to reach for her again but stopped in mid-motion, turning to look out toward the woods. Fury showed on his face at the interruption and a growl started deep within his chest even as his senses returned to steady him.

“Something is coming,” Kyoko confirmed as she pushed herself off the ground and took off running for the house. She could see the other guardians sprinting across the yard. She tried to run past them but it was Shinbe who reached out and grabbed her up in his arms. She glanced toward Toya as he passed, seeing his irises were once again silver and rage showed clearly in his expression.

With his arms like a cage around her, clutching her tightly, Shinbe said something she didn’t understand. A blue light flashed around her, creating a dome of see-through swirling blue illumination just as something crashed into it. Kyoko turned in his arms to see the blood red eyes of a demon narrowed on Shinbe. More flashing blue lights that reminded Kyoko of lightning struck the demon and repelled it.

Toya growled as he charged to tackle the demon but something hit him from the side and sent him flying through the air. He collided with a stump and groaned at the pain that exploded down his back. The demon started to advance, but not fast enough as Kyou seemed to come out of nowhere, landing directly behind it with a long sharp blade held tightly in his fist.

Kyoko felt spellbound as she watched them fight. Some of their movements were too fast for her to follow. Kotaro gave a low, sinister laugh as he sized up the demon stalking him. The light in his ice blue eyes told her how much he looked forward to the fight. His gaze actually goaded the creature into attacking first. She wanted to close her eyes to the spray of blood that quickly followed but morbid fascination held her captivated.

Searching for Kamui within the fray, her lips parted when, in one fluid motion, he picked up a demon twice his size and slammed it against a tree. Holding it against the rough bark with one hand, Kamui used the other to glide a silver blade across its throat. Within seconds the slaughter was absolute.

Toya glared at the creature in front of him when it turned a wicked look on Kyoko with lust in its red eyes. The demon could feel the link between worlds hidden deep within her. Rage like never before bubbled up in Toya, ready to explode. Moving with a speed he’d forgotten he had, he rushed forward with a dagger in each hand.

“You cannot have her!” He caught the demon mere feet from Shinbe’s protection barrier.

Kyoko pressed herself back against Shinbe as Toya literally ripped the demon apart with his hands and blades. She wondered if he realized the feral intensity that came into his eyes every time his power surfaced. She inhaled sharply when he finished the demon and turned those glowing eyes on her.

“She is mine,” Toya hissed as he stood up and came toward her.

Kyoko started to panic but Shinbe whispered harshly in her ear. “Go to him Kyoko… you’re the only one who can calm him back down.”

She didn’t have a choice when Toya reached straight through the barrier shield and jerked her forward. She didn’t struggle as he crushed her against him. Kyoko looked out in the distance, past the guardians, wondering if that was really Tama and if he wasn’t right. Was there any difference between the demons and the guardians that killed them?

Kyoko bit her bottom lip as she noticed a man standing in the distance. She had seen him before… at the mall… and maybe when she was dreaming. He was just standing there watching her… his hair blowing wildly in the night breeze as he stood just as regal as any god. Thick fog came across the grass from behind him and he vanished within it.

Kyou heard the hammering of Kyoko’s heartbeat and turned to look. Jealousy instantly rode him as he noted the look of possession in Toya's eyes while his brother held her. Swallowing the emotion, Kyou stepped into her line of vision and watched her reaction closely. Fear of what they’d done made her quickly hide her face against Toya’s chest.