Raging Hearts. Amy Blankenship

against his.

      â€˜So that’s what heaven is like,’ he silently mused and rubbed his eyes with one hand for no other reason than to hide his reaction from her.

      Kyoko turned her face away from him as she slowly stood up. She knew he hadn’t meant to kiss her and was probably now regretting it. She located the other blade and handed both the daggers back to him.

      Toya also stood up, not saying a word. The silence around them was deafening.

      Chapter 2 "Flame of Jealousy"

      Kyoko gritted her teeth, the tension between them was almost tangible and it was really starting to unnerve her. Toya sat on a branch in the tree near the fire and Kyoko sat at the fire by herself. They still hadn’t said a single word to each other and now he wouldn’t even look at her.

      She frowned feeling slightly insulted. Was kissing her really so bad?

      Toya sat in the tree sulking. He’d seen her frown. Had him kissing her been so bad? She hadn’t said a word to him about what he had done. He’d rather her yell at him or something but he didn’t know what to think about her not saying anything. Was she that mad at him? Should he apologize?

      His lips thinned in denial. He wouldn’t apologize for something he hadn’t meant to do. Should he just ignore it and act like it didn’t happen? At this point, he just wished everything would go back to the way it was, although he himself would not forget the kiss. Toya glanced back down at her wondering what she was thinking.

      Kyoko watched the sky as it started to get dark. She wished Kamui was here but knew he wouldn’t be back until morning. The company would’ve been welcome. Right now, she would even settle for Shinbe and Suki starting a fight between themselves. She grinned... now that was always amusing.

      She played with the idea of going home, but it was already late and it would take hours to get back to the Heart of Time, unless Toya took her. Remembering the way he acted every time she wanted to go home kept her from asking him to take her. He seemed to think it was a sin to leave this world even for one day. The last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with him right now.

      She reached into her duffle bag and pulled out her thin cover, not knowing what else to do. Maybe if she hurried and went to sleep, when she woke up, someone would be there… someone besides him. He acted like he’d already forgotten about kissing her and that annoyed her. He didn’t say he liked it. And he didn’t say sorry. He just didn’t say anything, like it never happened.

      Kyoko tossed the sleeping blanket and stretched out on it, deciding to just stare up at the stars that were slowly starting to appear. She couldn’t help it, but she’d been kissed twice in the last twenty-four hours, and after never being kissed before, that was all she could think about. She began to compare the two kisses.

      Kyou’s kiss was powerful and exciting, although it kind of scared her because of who he was. Still, his lips were warm, where she thought they’d be cold. His hands on her body were hot, instead of the chilling touch she’d assumed he would have. She groaned as the memory sent a wave of heat through her body.

      Toya twitched as he heard a faint groan come from Kyoko. Looking down at her, he noticed she seemed lost in thought. His eyes darkened to a molten gold. Her scent was changing and it was drawing him to her. He inhaled the sweet smell. Was she thinking about him?

      His thoughts flashed back to when he’d gotten his senses back, after changing from his cursed form. Her lips were soft and she wasn’t fighting him. He could still taste her. Nothing had ever affected him like that. Kyoko was a different story. When she wasn’t yelling at him, she was one of the happiest people he’d ever known. Not that he’d known many humans but still, she was like his light in the darkness.

      He secretly loved protecting her and keeping her close. It almost made shattering the Guardian Heart Crystal worth it… almost. Now he had to protect her from Hyakuhei and every demon around. He glanced back down at her sensing she’d fallen asleep. He knew if they didn’t stay focused on gathering the talisman, than things could become very deadly… too deadly for her to be in the middle of it all. That’s why he constantly pushed the group to keep searching.

      Toya lightly jumped from the tree and landed quietly near her. He stalked within reaching distance of her and sat down. He often did this after she went to sleep so he could be near her if anything happened, that and the fact that he just simply liked being close to her. He relaxed into a light doze. The slightest sound would wake him and he would be ready.

      Kyoko tossed in her sleep… dreaming. Toya had just killed Hyakuhei and was smiling as he walked up to her, crushing her to him. He looked larger than life. Gazing deep into her eyes, his lips came closer to hers as his eyes softened. She could see the love shining in them. She hesitated, suddenly unsure of what was happening.

      "What about the time portal… don’t I need to take the Guardian Heart Crystal back to my world?" she whispered worriedly.

      Toya just smiled at her and shook his head. "Don’t you know that I love you and would never let you leave?" He lowered his lips to hers and the kiss took her breath away. It was deep and passionate. It felt so real. She closed her eyes and the kiss changed.

      The kiss was hungry and sensual, all at the same time. Realizing the difference, she opened her eyes and gazed into the golden eyes of Kyou. She could feel his hands on her body, slowly moving and tempting her to respond. She gave in to the feel and closed her eyes once more.

      That’s when it all changed and Kyoko felt a chill crawl up her spine. The warm lips turned scalding and she sensed evil radiating from them. The hands caressing her body were like fire and the claws drew thin streaks of blood everywhere they touched. Her eyes flew open to look into eyes of midnight… Hyakuhei.

      She heard him whisper in a soft, seductive voice tainted with evil, "no one can save you."

      Kyoko started to struggle and could hear herself screaming but he was too strong. He was holding her down with a death grip. She screamed again, trying to fight him off. The hands holding her down disappeared and she felt herself being raised up and pressed against something solid.

      "Kyoko, wake up… Kyoko.” Wait… that wasn’t Hyakuhei… her struggles slowed. She felt a hand sliding through her hair, cradling her and making her feel safe.

      Slowly, she opened her eyes and could see the dark hair with silver highlights. She was pressed against Toya’s chest and he was holding her… slowly rocking her back and forth. Thinking she was still dreaming, Kyoko snuggled into him and closed her eyes again not wanting the dream to end.

      As long as Toya was holding her then Hyakuhei wouldn’t come back to her dreams to haunt her. She was almost in his lap and she could hear him. "It’s alright, Kyoko. I’ve got you. It’s all right now. Shhh…” She could feel her body still shaking from the dream but she calmed at Toya's soft voice. The sound of his heartbeat lulled her safely into a dreamless sleep.

      Toya could feel that she was slowly calming down. She’d nearly scared him to death, thrashing and screaming in her sleep like that. Whatever it was had scared the hell out of her and she had scared the hell out of him. He pulled on her until she was all the way in his lap. He held her tight as her trembling slowly subsided. Her cheek was pressed against his chest and he was cradling her body in his arms. She was light as a feather to him and Toya loved the feel of her cradled again him.

      "Shhh… I’ve got you. Nothing is gonna hurt you. I won’t let it. Now go back to sleep, Kyoko." He gently rocked her as his fingertips brushed her hair from her face. She was flushed from the dream and had her eyes closed… but he could sense that she knew he was the one who held her. His heart skipped a beat thinking Kyoko knew he was holding her and still she didn’t object.

      She was already falling back to sleep as he lightly touched her cheek, tracing the outline, feeling her silky