The Heart Of Time

Again she had the feeling of being watched and it sent shivers down her spine, but she kept walking, not daring to turn around and look.

‘She can feel me,’ Kyou thought to himself. Maybe her powers weren’t buried as deep as he‘d feared. He had known the second she left her room and he inhaled the lingering scent... savoring it.

The memory of her scent seemed to refresh other memories. "Soon priestess, we will uncover your powers again. You may choose to hide them… but not for long." He leaned against the wall in the hallway, his golden eyes following her until she was out of sight.

*****

Kyoko could breathe a little easier once she found herself back on the bottom floor. She noticed that now it was hopping with people her age. Sighing and shaking off the last of the strangeness from upstairs, Kyoko stood there lost in thought for an extra moment.

She couldn’t stand it when her senses kicked in like that. Sometimes, she wished she couldn’t sense the things at all. She pushed it to the far reaches of her mind as she gazed around the large ground floor of the building. “I need an on and off switch for this thing,” she mumbled, still thinking about the strange vibes she’d gotten only a moment before.

She glanced over at the library, and then quickly looked back to the other side, deciding she wanted to know more about that area first. Working out had been a habit of hers for as long as she could remember, and she wanted it to stay that way. For the last two years, she’d taken up martial arts of any kind, and she loved the freedom of motion it gave her limber body.

Crossing to the rec rooms, she noticed there were many different workout areas in it. In one of the larger gyms, she could see through the glass. She couldn’t resist stopping and watching them for a moment. Two people looked like they were sword fighting. Hearing the clank of metal against metal, she raised an eyebrow. Heading closer to the door of the room, she peered in listening.

"You are not paying attention Suki." The one dressed in black spoke in a taunting male voice as he parried and tapped the other one on the bottom laughing.

Kyoko couldn’t see either one's face because they were wearing protective gear.

"Shinbe!" came a very angry but feminine voice. Then without warning, the person shot forward and tapped him on the head, well more like smacked him on the head with the fencing sword, then jerked her head shield off.

Kyoko was surprised to see long brown hair spill out and down the girl’s back as she marched up to the other and poked him in the chest hard with her finger, one eyebrow twitching. "It’s hard to fight seriously when you are such a letch.”

Shinbe pulled his headgear off grinning. In a sense of surrender he threw both his hands in the air, backing up. "I’m sorry Suki, but there it was… and you weren’t protecting it." Feeling a tingling sensation move in waves across his skin he frowned then slowly turned his amethyst gaze to the girl standing in the doorway, "Ahem, it would seem we have a visitor."

Kyoko watched as the girl named Suki actually blushed still glaring at her opponent then turn away from him walking up to her with a wide smile.

"Men," she rolled her eyes before sticking her hand out in a friendly manner, "Hi, I’m Suki, and this poor excuse for a guy is Shinbe,” she threw her thumb toward the guy who was walking up behind her, still grinning.

“Suki,” the young man named Shinbe exclaimed. “You wound me to the quick.” He emphasized his statement by placing both hands over his heart.

Suki frowned at him, “Shinbe… if I could wound you, your brain would have leaked out of your ears by now from all the hits you’ve forced me to give you.”

Shinbe wiggled his eyebrows, “You know I love the tough love you grace me with.”

“I’ll show you tough love here in a minute but I don’t want to scare off the new girl,” Suki shot back.

Kyoko already liked her, and taking her hand in a firm shake, she smiled. "Hi, I’m Kyoko Hogo, but please just Kyoko."

She glanced at the guy standing behind Suki. “It’s very nice to meet you both.” There was something about his eyes that drew Kyoko’s attention. They were amazingly amethyst color and very breathtaking. His hair was a little longer than shoulder length and very dark with blue highlights. He kind of reminded her of a singer from one of those 80’s rock bands.

Suki smiled from ear to ear. "Hey, I heard about you. Yeah, I knew you were coming today. I was going to come looking for you in a little while and show you around." She all of a sudden got a strained look on her face and turned her head to the side, pinning Shinbe with a hard stare, "I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

Kyoko tilted her head for a look. Sure enough… the guy’s hand had stopped in midair, almost touching Suki's bottom, and he was grinning with a starry eyed look.

Shinbe sighed and dropped his hand, "One day, I’m gonna figure out how you know, even when you’re not looking."

Suki just groaned, "I just do, that’s all!" Giving Kyoko a friendly smile she said, "Come with me and I’ll change real quick." She grabbed Kyoko by the hand and pulled her out the door.

Kyoko gave a glance back at Shinbe to see him waving. 'These two are going to be loads of fun,' she thought to herself as she was pulled into the women’s locker room.

Suki could already tell she liked Kyoko, and for some reason, she felt like she had known her without ever meeting her. "Kyoko, tell me a little about yourself while I change," She said stepping behind the dividing wall.

Kyoko sat down on a bench feeling completely comfortable around Suki. "Well, I come from a small town on the other side of the city. And for some reason, out of the blue, I received a letter saying I had a scholarship here." Kyoko could hear Suki’s “yep”, so she continued. "I really don’t know how I received a scholarship I didn’t even apply for."

Suki could hear the question in that statement and smiled, sticking her head out around the corner. "Don’t worry about that. You came here the same way I did." She disappeared behind the divider again as she added, “I never applied here either.”

Kyoko frowned, "But why? There has to be a reason. Do you know?"

Suki came back around, now fully changed. She sat down to put her tennis shoes on. “Yeah, I’ve figured it out. Well, some of it anyway. The guy that owns this school searches out people with...” Suki paused, tilting her head a little, “…unique abilities.” She shrugged adding, "You might have a lot to get used to when you start meeting the others that live here." She grinned, knowing she was right.

Suddenly, Suki stood up and threw a shoe at the locker room door, smirking in triumph when she heard soft cursing from the other side. Retrieving the shoe, she sat back down to pull it on. "So now, what unique ability do you have?"

Kyoko's breath seemed to stop as her mind went into overdrive. There was no way that anyone here could know about her being a priestess. She frowned at Suki guiltily and then quickly looked away as she answered, "None that I know of."

Suki lifted an eyebrow but shrugged knowing she'd find out sooner or later. "Come on, let’s go. Shinbe is probably waiting on us anyway." She opened the door and sure enough, Shinbe was standing there close enough to the door to have been listening to them. He smiled at them innocently, all the while backing up.

Suki closed the door behind them and pointed at the sign on the door. "Shinbe, can't you read? That says Women’s Locker Room." She gave him a pointed look.

Shinbe shrugged, "Yes, that’s why I was standing near it." He quickly jumped out of the way when she swung her hand at him. “Suki… I’m a male… I need affection. What better way to acquire it than to learn how the female mind works?”

“You can do your research in the library,” Suki said through gritted teeth.

Shinbe grinned. “Dearest Suki, every book on the female mind in that library… is blank.”

Suki smiled back, “That’s because all those books in the library were authored by men.”

Cocking an eyebrow at her, Shinbe leaned closer, “Exactly. I plan to be the first to write one that makes sense to those of us that possess testosterone.”

Suki flashed Kyoko a defeated look then glanced down at her watch. "Hey, are you hungry? Let’s go to the student restaurant and eat first."

Kyoko nodded. She had been too nervous to eat this morning, but with them she felt right at home and was now starving.

Shinbe waved a hand in front of him, "Ladies first." He yelped when Suki gave him another whack upside the head.

"I wasn’t too slow that time was I… now lead the way,” Suki gave him an accusing look. Once Shinbe was safely walking in front of them, she leaned close to Kyoko with a knowing smirk, "Just remember to keep him in front of you at all times, unless you want to be felt up."

Kyoko couldn’t help it. She started laughing and didn’t quit until they entered the built-in lunchroom, which to her looked more like a diner. Her eyes widened as she stepped closer to Suki. "You know, every time I turn around in this place, I feel like I’m in the wrong place."

Shinbe led them to a table near the back of the room. Suki and Kyoko slid into a bench while Shinbe took the other side, looking like he was the most innocent guy in the world. "You know, this place does take a lot of getting used to." He smiled at Kyoko making his amethyst eyes light up. "I’ve been here a year and still haven’t figured it out."

Suki nudged Kyoko's shoulder, "He arrived the same way you and I did. An open invitation." She shrugged as if to tell Kyoko to just accept it and enjoy.

Kyoko leaned forward with a confused look, "I don’t get it. Why would someone do that?"

Shinbe nodded knowing someone needed to tell her the truth. "I have certain abilities and so does Suki." He shrugged winking at her. "Everyone here with a scholarship does." He paused looking for the right word, "We are gifted in one way or another." He raised an eyebrow at Suki, "Have you told her yet?"

Suki gave a quick negative shake of her head then turned to Kyoko suddenly wanting to change the subject, "Hey, do you want a hamburger and fries?"