Raging Hearts

She cleared her mind as she listened to the water lapping at her ears. Closing her eyes, Kyoko relaxed and let the water cradle her.

*****

Kyou had been following his brothers from a distance… often ridding the area surrounding them of the demons that stalked the girl’s every move. He’d come to the conclusion that either his brothers were growing lazy or the enemy was growing stronger. The demons that hunted them were gaining strength.

He could sense a separation within the group and growled disapprovingly. He inhaled deeply and followed the scent that called to him. Moments later he reached his target. Kyou looked down at the crystalline water’s as he hovered high in the air, turning his angelic face to the girl that lay on the water’s glittering surface.

No emotion showed in his expression as he let his gaze caress her body. His silver hair drifted in the slight wind as shimmering strands hung down his back all the way to his thighs. He could smell her sweet scent from the height he was at, where he’d come to a dead stop.

Kyou was addicted to her scent, this girl they were destined to protect. His golden orbs watched her as she laid upon the water like a naked water goddess beckoning him to her. She was the one who’d brought the Guardian Heart Crystal back to their lands, causing nothing but turmoil and danger. The shattering of the crystal had decided her fate quickly. She now belonged to the guardians though he doubted she realized that fact.

His lips parted as he watched the girl he’d tried to kill in the beginning but could never bring himself to do it. In truth, had he really wanted her dead… she would be dead. Instead, he protected her from afar while his brothers stayed closer to her. Such innocence should not be left alone without protection. His gaze narrowed at his brother’s incompetence. Maybe he should be the one protecting her so closely.

Kyou smiled, something that he almost never did. He liked the game of cat and mouse, and the priestess needed to be taught a lesson about being caught alone in such a dangerous land.

He slowly glided down to her seeing that her eyes were closed. Kyou lay stretched out above her without touching her, just hovering there in mid-air, letting his long hair create a curtain around them. The soft fan of her dark lashes across creamy cheeks gave him pause. His gaze slowly lowered to her full lips in wonder. He put his own lips to the shell of her ear and breathed his hot breath into it.

Kyoko's eyes came open in shock and she whipped her head around, causing Kyou’s lips to brush across her cheek in the process… coming to a stop right on her lips. She was looking straight into Kyou’s golden eyes. They were hypnotizing. It was like being kissed by an angel but… This was Kyou. Toya's brother was not an angel. He was the most feared and powerful guardian in the land. He was also one of her protectors, though she hardly ever laid eyes on him.

She lost all floating ability as she panicked. She began to sink into the water, but she didn't care as long as it got her away from his hypnotizing eyes. She stifled a scream when he suddenly reached out, grabbing her around the small of the back and lifted her clear out of the water until she was pressed flush against him.

Kyou could smell her fear of him and decided he didn’t want her fear. Everyone feared him… even his brothers. His golden eyes glowed as he held her tightly, ceasing her struggles. The Guardian Heart Crystal had decided long ago they were fated to be allies and he would not have the one he protected, fearing his protection. Kyou used his mind control abilities to peer into her memories and found that the priestess had never been kissed… until now. His eyes darkened attractively with that knowledge.

Kyoko was so shocked all she could do was stare into the liquid golden pools, waiting for… She didn't know what she was waiting for, but … God, he was beautiful. She thought she saw a slight smile tug at the corner of his lips. She blinked wondering if he’d just read her mind. Now she knew why she’d never been this close to the golden guardian… it was dangerous to the senses.

Feeling a pull beyond his control, Kyou slashed his lips across hers in a powerful kiss as if to seal some unknown bargain. Lasting only mere seconds but feeling like an eternity, he slowly ended the kiss, wondering what spell she’d cast on him to make him feel such alien emotions and cravings. Kyou held her closer… unwilling to release her just yet. He watched her with a strange look… almost in wonder, his golden eyes seeming to shatter from the reflection of the water.

He’d wanted to teach his priestess what could happen if she was caught alone and without protection, but somehow it became more. He should have known better then to touch her. His senses widened and he felt his brother approaching at a swift pace, making him silently growl at the intrusion. Kyou glided across the water to the bank, righting them and gently standing her on her feet.

Seeing she was still under his trance, he gently reached out and traced the pad of his thumb across her soft cheek liking the possessive heat stirring within his guardian blood. Giving into the pull one more time, he tilted her lips back to his for a last searing kiss before vanishing, leaving behind only the fluttering of a translucent golden feather that also vanished as it touched the water’s surface at her feet.

Kyoko stood there for a moment after Kyou had disappeared, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Then she gasped and looked down at herself. She was naked and he’d been touching her, holding her. She couldn't help it, but something started in the pit of her stomach… heat. Something, that up until now… she’d only felt on those very rare moments with Toya.

Finally getting her wits back, she grabbed her clothes and held them against her. “How dare Kyou do that!” She felt her temper start to spark for the high and mighty lord Kyou. “Just who the hell does he think he is?” her face lifted to the sky as her fingers rose to softly touch her still tingling lips.

She tensed up when she heard Toya's voice calling her name. "Great," Kyoko shook her shirt out, quickly tossing it over her head. By the time it slid into place and she was able to see, she was staring straight at Toya, not five feet in front of her. Pulling her shirt down as far as it could go, she blushed ten shades of red.

"Toya, turn around!" She demanded then whined inwardly, ‘Geez, do none of the guardians have any sense of decency?’

When Kyoko had been gone to long, Toya had raced through the forest cursing his own stubbornness for not stalking her to start out with. Following her scent, nothing had prepared him for what he’d found… she was standing there like a goddess. Her breast lifted with her arms as she pulled her shirt down over her naked body. Toya had frozen.

Sure, he heard her say, ‘Turn around,’ but that didn't mean he could do it. All his heated blood had just raced to his midsection and he couldn't move. As his gaze moved up her body very slowly, it finally came to rest on her face. Oh hell, he’d seen that look before. Knowing she was about to use her Taming spell on him, Toya spun around. He could hear her grumbling behind him, something about…Guardians with no manners.

While burning that image to memory, something caught his attention. He could smell Kyoko's scent strongly but there was another scent clinging to it. Silver flecks appeared in Toya’s golden eyes as he slowly turned around making sure she was dressed so he had freedom of movement. He walked toward her hoping he was wrong. The closer he got to Kyoko, the stronger the scent.

Kyoko stood very still, waiting on him to finish. She knew he smelled his brother on her. All the guardians had enhanced senses and after all this time she was still trying to get used to that creepy little fact. She tensed up when Toya grew closer, feeling a slight panic as he placed his cheek almost against hers and inhaled. He then grabbed her chin and turned her face to his, staring at her mouth.

Toya saw her shiver and could smell her lingering fear. "Kyoko, was Kyou here with you?" When she nodded, he gazed down at her mouth again, his eyes narrowing on her lips, "Did you bite him?"

Kyoko was so taken aback when he said that… her knees almost buckled. Then, thinking about the question and mentally seeing herself bite the most feared guardian in the land, she began to laugh.

"No, Toya, I did not bite him! I was taking a bath and floating in the water with my eyes closed. When I opened them, there he was, practically lying on top of me and…" her voice dropped down to almost a whisper as she shrugged, "he kissed me." Kyoko quit laughing when she saw the silver override the gold within Toya’s irises.

Toya grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, needing to know exactly what happened. "Kyoko, did he do anything else? Tell me now!" He could feel the panic building within him at the thought of Kyou kissing Kyoko… what the hell was he thinking.

She was shocked at how mad Toya was all of a sudden. Kyoko shrugged and with a confused look on her face, she nodded. "Yeah, he lifted me out of the water and brought me to the bank, stood me up here, and then… disappeared.” She nervously raised a hand and ran it through her wet hair as she looked away. Secretly, she wondered where Kyou was now and if he was still watching them. Usually Kyou’s presence was felt not seen. “He never even said a word," she added as an afterthought.

"Kyoko, did he mark you anywhere?" Toya asked in a calm voice while hiding the fact that his insides were screaming in denial. He pulled her hair back to look at her neck before she could even answer. He could feel his heartbeat strong and pulsing under his skin as he searched for any hidden marks Kyou may have left behind.

Kyoko tried to smack his hand away but he would have none of that, so she yelled, "No, he didn't! Why?" This was starting to freak her out a little. What did Toya mean, ‘mark her’ anyway? She felt her skin start to crawl as she envisioned a vampire scene from some old black and white movie in her mind. Then the scene twisted into one of the newer movies where the vampire was sexy and… and she quickly deleted the thought.

Toya let go of her hair after not finding any marks but gazed at her very intensely, his heart still hammering hard in his chest. "I don't like this." He watched as she put her arms around herself as if she was cold. Toya growled softly, deep in the back of his throat as he stood in front of her, looking down into her emerald eyes.

"From now on, stay close to me." He watched her lips for a minute, not liking the fact that Kyou had kissed them when he hadn't. It was making him mad and the fact that it was making him mad, was making him madder. He inhaled her scent again; smelling his brother's disturbing presence and that wasn’t making him happy either.

“Kyoko, go take another bath,” Toya said a little harshly, stunning Kyoko and pricking her temper.

"I just took one!" Her emerald eyes shot sparks at him.

Toya smiled on the inside. He loved nothing better than to make her angry because she looked so cute when she was like that. But sniffing again, he informed her, "You stink!"

"Toya!" Kyoko yelled back as her hands fisted at her sides.

Toya felt his body get heavy and down he went. God, he hated it when she used that Taming spell against him. "Kyoko, stop that!" He glared up at her. “Damn it!”

“Well… you are rude! I do not stink!" Kyoko glared down at him wishing he were still standing so she could do it again.

Feeling the effects of the spell wearing off, Toya slowly got back up, hoping she wouldn’t use the Taming spell again. "Kyoko, listen, please, take another bath. You don't smell it, but I can," He tried to explain but she cut him off.

"Toya!" Kyoko hissed as he once again hit the ground. He was lucky she wasn’t kicking him.

He lay there for a minute as Kyoko glared down at him. Slowly, he looked up at her and whispered, "You smell like him." Then he stood up, his molten-silver eyes hidden under his dark bangs, causing the silver highlights to glisten in the sunlight. Didn’t she understand that he couldn’t stand the fact that she was wearing Kyou’s scent and not his own?

Toya turned and walked back into the woods, away from her… leaving her standing there confused. He’d looked so sad when he had said it. Kyoko hung her head, feeling like the biggest jerk in the world, both worlds. She knew out of all of his siblings, the one he couldn’t get along with was Kyou… even if they were both on the same side. They always fought when within seeing distance of each other.

"Oh Toya, I'm sorry." She whispered into the empty air he’d left behind. Turning back to the water, she stripped and went back in to wash Kyou's scent off her.

She smiled thinking… He doesn't like Kyou’s scent. Could it be that he’s jealous? She sighed rethinking it… Or is it just because he doesn't like Kyou? Remembering what happened earlier while she was alone, Kyoko hurried up and washed, not wanting to chance any more unwelcome visitors during her bath. Getting back out quickly, she dressed and started back for camp.

Kyoko stepped into the clearing where she knew Toya would be waiting for her, and he was. She really didn’t want to be alone with him right now after the way things had went at the hot spring. She quickly scanned the area for Kamui but didn’t see him.

"Toya, where’s Kamui?” Kyoko asked nervously.

Toya had been waiting on her to get back, although he’d only made it back a couple of minutes before her because he’d been keeping an eye on her… making sure Kyou did not show back up to finish what he’d started.

He shrugged as if it didn’t matter as he answered her question, "He went to visit Sennin. He’ll be back in the morning so we can head out then.”

He had really sent Kamui to the old man to ask if he’d gotten any more information on where the talismans could be found. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Toya knew it was just an excuse to be alone with Kyoko for a while… but he wouldn’t tell her that.