Chapter 5 _Dangerous Jealousy_

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.

“What?” Shinbe didn’t want another confrontation right now, but the way Toya was glaring at him was just irritating.

Toya sniffed the air and growled, sensing Shinbe’s arousal, “What are you doing, guardian?”

Shinbe bowed his head and placed his fingers against his temple as if he were getting a headache, though that was impossible for an immortal. “I am going for a midnight stroll, not that it is any concern of yours.”

Toya growled again, jumping down from his perch above Sennin’s hut. He walked around Shinbe as if stalking his prey. “I’m sure you are,” Toya continued circling him.

Shinbe watched him out of the corner of his eye, a bored expression on his face, but mentally ready for Toya to strike. “I don’t know what you are implying, Toya. But if you don’t mind, I really don’t need you to hold my hand.”

Toya stopped his intimidating circling, and appeared directly in front of Shinbe so fast it caused a breeze. “Stay away from Kyoko, you hear me? If I think for one minute, you touched her… ” He jerked his arm down by his side and let one of the twin daggers form in his palm as he narrowed his gaze on the other guardian, “I won’t think twice about killing you, brother or not.”

Shinbe couldn’t stand Toya’s heavy-handedness, “Yes, I understand. Now, if you don’t mind.”

Toya moved to the side, letting Shinbe pass. ‘I don’t trust that guardian,’ Toya thought to himself.

Shinbe walked into the forest. He didn’t care where he was going. He just wanted to get as far away as possible from Toya’s knowing eyes. Yes, he knew Toya would kill him when he found out what he did, but at least he’d die a happy man. He sighed looking up into the star filled night, “Aw, Kyoko. Why did you have to leave? Damn Toya.” He swung his staff out in front of him and growled. “Damn you.”

Shinbe kept on walking with no intention of going near the shrine, but that’s where he wound up anyway. He stood at the edge of the clearing, knowing he shouldn’t be there. Toya was probably following. He glanced around self-consciously for any signs of his hot-tempered brother. When he didn’t sense him anywhere, he slowly made his way towards the maiden statue.

He stood in front of the statue, looking at the image of Kyoko from the past, daydreaming, and never hearing the footsteps that came up behind him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here, guardian?” Toya called in a low tone from behind. He startled Shinbe so much that he lost his balance and almost fell into the arms of the maiden, had Toya not grabbed him by the arm.

“Toya, you really have to stop sneaking up on people like this,” Shinbe said with a growl as he shook off Toya’s hand.

“I told you to stay away from Kyoko. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but if I have to knock some sense into you, I will,” Toya’s eyes sparked madly in anger at the thought of his brother, harboring feelings for Kyoko. Not in this lifetime, not if he had anything to do about it.

Shinbe had had enough of Toya’s threats. He just snapped. “What the hell!” he swung his staff at Toya, who jumped back out of the way. “You’ve had a million chances with Kyoko, but you always chose to close your eyes to it. Now you want to tell her whom she can be with? Whom she can kiss?” he laughed but it sounded angry. “It isn’t going to happen, Toya. You lose.” Shinbe shook his head and steadied his staff, ready for the oncoming rampage. He knew just what Toya was capable of but he was tired of backing down.

Toya stared at Shinbe in shock. He couldn’t move. He knew he couldn’t use the twin daggers… if he did, he would kill his brother. His eyes began to bleed molten silver as they narrowed on his sibling, “What did you just say? Are you telling me ‘you’ want Kyoko?” Toya growled as he added, “You are nothing but a lecherous guardian. Kyoko would never have you!” He lunged at Shinbe.

Shinbe dodged Toya’s swing and stood his ground, “Do you think she’d still want you, when all you do is try to control her and act like you don’t give a damn about her feelings?” He dodged another of Toya’s blows and laughed. “Getting slow…” his voice darkened, “or did I touch a nerve?”

Toya stood staring at Shinbe. Why he didn’t call the twin daggers out, he didn’t know. But he wanted to spill Shinbe’s blood, desperately. He didn’t need blades to do that. “You have no right to talk about what I do,” Toya’s tone was deadly as he lowered his head, his bangs shadowing the red tint that was creeping in with the silver that had already taken over his irises.

Shinbe quirked an eyebrow at Toya. “Ha, so I did hit a nerve. How interesting. The silver guardian does have feelings… he feels for his priestess. But you have no right to tell Kyoko whom she can kiss. After all, like she said, she doesn’t have a boyfriend. So, the way I see it, she’s fair game.” Shinbe shrugged, turning around and glancing at the shrine.

Toya took that moment to lunge at Shinbe, “Damn you, don’t turn your back on me!” He hit Shinbe hard, sending him tumbling, his staff sailing across the clearing.

Shinbe was quick on his feet and rolled, standing up to face Toya. His long, midnight blue hair swayed in the breeze as his amethyst eyes glowed dangerously. Both guardians were silent for a moment as they faced each other in anger. The grass around them and the maiden statue shimmered with an unnoticed aura left over by the enemy.

Weaponless and at a disadvantage Shinbe placed his hand in front of him, palm up as he called on his guardian powers. The boulders around them started to break loose from the ground they had been trapped in for so long. He knew he didn’t have time to complete the spell when Toya charged at him again. He tried to move out of the way, but felt his legs buckle as he hit the side of the maiden statue.

The heavy rocks plummeted back to the ground as Toya crashed into him, grabbing him by the throat. Shinbe grabbed the front of Toya’s shirt as they both tumbled into a sea of warm blue mist.

Instead of landing with a thud as Shinbe expected, he felt himself wrapped in a soft blue light. His first thought was that he must have been dying, since Toya had been strangling him just before they fell. Coming out of the slow motion, the mysterious mist disappeared and they did land… hard. Toya’s hands were still around his neck.

As his senses came back to him in a rush, Shinbe reached his hands up between Toya’s arms and was able to pry the guardian’s hands off him.

Toya landed on his back as Shinbe pushed him away. That’s when he realized where they were. “What the..?” Toya stared up into the darkness, seeing the roof above his head. They had slipped into Kyoko’s time? Shinbe was in Kyoko’s fucking time? “No!” Toya growled as he pushed himself off the wooden floor and glared at Shinbe. None of the guardians had ever made it through the heart of time, except him. He was the only guardian allowed here. Jealousy sizzled in Toya’s blood.

“Now I’m really gonna kill you!” Toya charged Shinbe again, getting a blow in to the side of his head.

Shinbe wasn’t as weak as he looked though. He shook his head as he reached a leg out, quickly fell and kicked Toya in the side, and sent him tumbling.

Toya growled as he landed sideways against the shrine wall.

Shinbe leaned against the wooden wall panting hard, trying to catch his breath. His coat was torn in places, and his head was throbbing from Toya’s blow. He glanced over at Toya, who looked none the worse for wear… his only expression was mad as hell.

Toya crouched down and yelled, “You are not allowed here!” He shot toward Shinbe again, but hit the wall with a thump when Shinbe moved out of the way at the last second.

Toya may have been stronger, but Shinbe was faster. As he dodged, Shinbe turned and fired a life force blast that would have hurt a god.

Toya slammed backwards but his anger kept him from feeling a thing. He wiped the blood from his lip as he glared at Shinbe with mercury eyes. He needed to calm down, but even as the thought entered his mind, rage pushed it back out. What he wanted was to hurt Shinbe, real bad. He watched as Shinbe leaned, with his palms on his legs panting and took that opportunity to grab him by his coat, tossing Shinbe out the shrine house door.

Guardians couldn’t be killed… least that was the theory… it was a lie. Hyakuhei had killed their father and no one was immortal. Shinbe slid across the gravel before rolling to a stop then stood up, wiping blood and grime out of his eyes.

***** Kyoko lay in her bed wondering what had startled her awake. She could hear thumps and muffled growls so she just assumed grandpa was up late watching TV. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Tama burst into her room.

“Kyoko!” Tama pointed towards the window. “Som…. somebody’s fighting in… the… the courtyard,” he barely stuttered the words out as Kyoko ran to the window to look out. She couldn’t really see anything because they had obviously taken out the light post that stood near the edge of the yard.

Tama stood next to her, staring out into the courtyard, just as a flash of red and black appeared closer to the house where the light was coming from the porch.

He pointed, “Its, its…”

“Toya!” Kyoko yelled as she felt panic grip her. What was he fighting… a demon… in her world? She watched as he was suddenly lifted up in the air and thrown backwards into the huge tree she used to climb as a child. Problem was… she didn’t see anything throw him unless he was fighting a ghost.

“Tama, go wake grandfather. I have to help Toya.” She quickly grabbed her spirit bow and took off out the door as Tama stood there in shock.

She ran barefoot into the courtyard, a spirit dart already notched in the bow. Trying to see her target before she released the spirit dart, she was shocked to find not one guardian, but two. That stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Shinbe,” Kyoko whispered as she watched him crumble against the 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.

“Toya! 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.

‘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.

“Toya, 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?

“Toya, 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.

‘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.

“It 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?

“Ouch!” 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.

“I 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.

“You 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.

Kyoko couldn’t stop herself, “You big jerk, you could have gotten yourself killed.” She burst into tears, bringing her hands to her face, she sobbed.

Shinbe reached his hand out and ran the back of his finger down her cheek, “I’m sorry Kyoko, 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.

“You 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.

“Just 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.

“Kyoko, 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.

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