Chapter 10 “Lies of Truth”
Kyoko’s smile instantly faded into a look of worry. She skirted around Shinbe and went to Toya, kneeling in front of him. Trying to see his face clearly she asked, “Are you all right?” Her eyes softened knowing none of this had been his fault.
Shinbe stood his ground, waiting to see what would happen. He was the only witness when Toya reached out for Kyoko and wrapped his arms around her like a band of steal. He could feel darkened shadows begin to slide across his features as he watched the tight embrace.
Kyoko sighed into the hug, feeling like everything would be all right now. She pulled back so she could again look into his eyes, glad that the red tint had completely left him. This was the Toya she knew and trusted.
“What happened on the other side of the shrine, Toya? Why did you come back? You were supposed to give us twenty minutes, and then we would follow you. Remember?” she moved to get off the lap he’d hauled her into.
Toya frowned for a moment and then he glared at her. Pushing forward, so he was only a couple inches from her face, he yelled, “When I got to the other side, you and the damn guardian were…” His eyes narrowed as he slammed his lips shut. Refusing to repeat what he’d seen. He stood up, watching as Kyoko followed his movements.
Kyoko’s hand shot out to grip is arm before he could turn away. “What are you talking about, Toya? Shinbe and I have been here the whole time,” Kyoko tried to keep the guilt from seeping into her voice. She slid a fleeting glance in Shinbe’s direction, only to find his head tilted at an angle so that his hair hid his features.
Shinbe had been listening though, and with unnatural calmness for this kind of situation, he looked up into Kyoko’s eyes. But his words were meant for Toya. “Hyakuhei’s spell seems to be working.” His amethyst gaze took on a darker purple hue as they bore into Kyoko’s, “We have to be very careful or he will win.”
Toya snarled, “Fine. But this time, we all go through the portal together.” Without waiting for their approval, he grabbed Kyoko’s arm and drug her with him to stand beside Shinbe. “Well, grab on. Unless you’d rather stay here.”
Shinbe reached out for Kyoko just as Toya jumped, wrapping his arms around her waist. He was flush against the back of her, and Toya was flush against the front of her. Shinbe’s face was buried in the side of Kyoko’s neck. He inhaled her scent then lifted his gaze, only to come face to face with Toya’s. If Shinbe didn't know better, he could have sworn he saw real flames within the silver guardian’s eyes.
Shinbe swallowed the lump in his throat, wondering what Toya had seen on the other side. If Toya knew the truth … ‘Shinbe shuddered.’ He doubted he would have been able to go back at all because Toya would have gladly flayed him alive.
Toya watched the guardian with keen eyes while going through the portal, wondering just what was going through his perverted mind. Again, he could sense the guardian’s guilt. Shinbe had done something that he didn’t want anyone else to know about. While the amethyst guardian had amnesia, Toya hadn’t sensed this, but now that his brother claimed to remember, the scent of guilt was back. His eyes narrowed in distrust.
Right before their feet touched down on the other side, Toya pushed Shinbe off Kyoko, stepping back himself as if forbidding either of them to touch her.
Kyoko wasn’t stupid, although with both of them holding her like that through the portal… she did feel a little rattled. “I think it’s best if we stick together this time,” she barely had time to say it before all three of them were standing on the grass beside the shrine. She noted that Toya was now looking around the clearing as if expecting to see something.
Shinbe tried to stay calm but took note of the direction Toya was looking in and blanched. He was staring right at the spot where he’d made love to Kyoko that night. Shinbe looked away quickly only to see an image of Toya and Kyoko in a heated kiss. Looking quickly back to Kyoko, he wondered what was going on.
Kyoko noticed neither one of them had moved an inch, so she took a step forward. “You guys, I don’t feel anything, so I think it’s safe now.” Without waiting to see if they would follow her, she took off walking to the other side like nothing in the world was wrong.
Toya closed his eyes and quickly joined Kyoko on the outskirts of the clearing. He hadn’t seen anything this time, but he didn't like the feeling he was getting and wanted away from the shrine as quickly as possible. He stood beside Kyoko and watched as Shinbe walked slowly through the grass. He didn’t say anything. By the time his brother made it to them, there was a fine sheen of sweat seeable across his brow. His breathing was labored as if he’d just fought an unseen battle.
Shinbe stopped several feet in front of Kyoko and Toya. Looking down at the ground, he couldn’t bring his gaze up to meet them. The scene he just witnessed in the clearing played through his mind again. Had Toya really kissed Kyoko like that? The thought burned in his head. When he’d seen Toya kiss Kyoko outside her bedroom window, he had yelled and the kiss went no further. But the scene he just saw in the clearing… Toya was groping her!
Shinbe gave a choked laugh at the thought of Toya groping anyone, after all the times he’d commented on him doing it. Only he was allowed to grope anyone. And with good reason, his life was going to be short lived if they didn’t find Hyakuhei and kill him soon. With that thought in mind, he looked up at the pair. His vision blurred and he tried to regain his senses. He once again had a vision of them kissing.
Clenching his fists at his side, he found his voice and spoke slowly, “Toya, stand away from Kyoko.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’ll stand wherever the hell I like,” Toya retaliated, taking a step toward Shinbe.
Kyoko reached out and touched his arm, “Toya, wait. Shinbe, what is it? What’s wrong?”
***** Hyakuhei stared into Yuuhi’s mirror of souls. “Yes, that’s it. Show your hate, your jealousy. Destroy each other.” He laughed maliciously as he watched the scene before him. This is what he wanted to happen. His enemies would rip each other apart, without him having to lift a finger in battle.
His attention turned to the young priestess in the mirror. This girl was not the original priestess… yet with every breath he would have to remind himself of that fact. She was the one whom had the ability to destroy him, and she didn't even know it.
Amni cringed, tearing his cobalt-blue eyes away from the scene of Yuuhi holding the window-like mirror for his master. He wished there were something he could do to prevent Hyakuhei’s plan. But the plan to destroy the group’s stability was already put into motion.
His blonde hair swung as he turned back around, catching a glimmer of hope as he watched the girl called Kyoko calm the two men within the seeing glass. He knew Hyakuhei wanted to destroy the group. But he held a secret faith in the priestess to keep this from happening. Maybe, just maybe this girl, Kyoko would be the one who could help him escape Hyakuhei’s clutches.
Amni flinched at Hyakuhei’s cry of rage and quickly left, not wanting to stick around for the abuse, now that his master was angry.
***** “I said, get away from Kyoko!” Shinbe started to lunge at Toya but Kyoko quickly stepped in between them, causing him to halt the attack on his brother.
“Shinbe, wait. Toya hasn’t done anything,” she put her hands on Shinbe’s upper arms to gain his attention. “It’s the spell, Shinbe. Remember the spell? It made Toya attack you, now it’s causing you to do the same thing.”
Shinbe backed off, realizing that what Kyoko was saying was true. He had to keep in mind that nothing was what it seemed. It was all a ploy of Hyakuhei’s to make them turn against each other. Hyakuhei… that bastard had caused him trouble his whole life. ‘I won’t allow him to get away with this,’ Shinbe mentally snarled.
Taking a step back, Shinbe bowed slightly to Kyoko, then almost mockingly to Toya. “You are right. My apologies. I forgot about the spell. It’s causing me to have visions I don’t want to see,” his amethyst eyes rose to clash with Toya’s before he straitened.
“Yeah right, nothing could be worse than what I’ve seen,” Toya stuck his hands in his sleeves and turned away, finding it difficult to even look at Shinbe. If this spell kept this up, Shinbe would be lucky to make it through the night.
“Toya,” Kyoko touched his shoulder, “What have you seen?”
Toya cringed. There was no way he was going to tell her what he saw. It was just wrong. He knew Kyoko would never be with that despicable guardian, but the vision was very clear in his mind’s eye. His jealousy peaked. He loved Kyoko. And no one would ever take her away from him. He’d kill that person first.
“It doesn’t matter. We have to find out if Hyakuhei is really behind this,” Toya started walking away towards Sennin’s village. “Come on, don’t lag behind. We’ve got to get to the hut.”
Kyoko turned, glancing at Shinbe, who was staring daggers at Toya’s departing form. She touched his hand, bringing him back to attention. “Come on, he’s right, we shouldn’t linger here. I don’t want anything else happening.”
***** “Kyoko,” Kamui jumped up and ran to her from the tree he’d been sitting against just outside Sennin’s hut. Hugging her tightly, he nuzzled his face into her hair, “I’ve missed you, Kyoko.” Giving her one of his famous grins, he leaned her back so he could see her face.
Before Kyoko had a chance to respond, Kamui spotted Shinbe over her shoulder, “Shinbe! Are you all right now?” he heard Toya growl low in his throat and noticed his brothers eyes were on the arms he now had wrapped around her. “Kyoko, you should use the Taming spell on Toya for what he did to Shinbe.” With that, he glared at Toya.
Toya reached for Kamui, but stopped in mid-stride as Suki burst from the hut. He sighed when she ran straight to Shinbe, hugging him.
“I was so worried about you. How are you feeling?” She looked quizzically down at his hands. He held them tightly at his sides. Neither hand twitched, nor made any move towards her.
She raised her gaze to his. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. This was not Shinbe. She’d noticed this before… but at least before, his fingers would twitch with the restraint he showed. But not now. He showed no longing to grope her at all. She furrowed her brow at him when he refused to meet her gaze, “Are you all right? You don’t seem to be yourself.”
Shinbe calmly nodded, “Yes, I’m fine. A little sore, but I’m fine.” With that, he glanced at Kyoko before prying Suki from him, then turned to enter Sennin’s hut.
Suki looked to Kyoko questioningly… then pushed the thought aside. Walking into Sennin’s hut, she noticed Shinbe slumped against the wall with his eyes closed. The others came in behind her and sat down. Suki looked at the group suspiciously.
“Okay, I know something’s up, so talk,” she sat down opposite Kyoko and waited, as Kyoko looked from Toya to Shinbe.
“Well, we think Hyakuhei has put some kind of spell on us,” Kyoko began to tell Suki, Kamui, and Sennin what they thought was going on, but left out some minor details that they really didn’t need to know. As she finished, everyone seemed to be quiet, as if lost in their thoughts.
Sennin stood up and walked to the hut entrance. Opening the door and stepping outside, he motioned for Kyoko to follow him.
Kyoko breathed a sigh as she stood up. She had a feeling the old man had seen the very things she’d left out of the story. At first, neither said a word as they walked. Kyoko nervously placed her crossbow on her back, wondering why she’d even brought it.
“Ye didn’t tell the whole story, did ye, child?” Sennin slowly walked toward the herb garden, and bent down pulling out some plants. “There is more to this story that ye don’t want us to know. Such as, why would Toya and Shinbe be acting like little boys fighting over a toy?” he quirked an eyebrow at Kyoko and watched as the young girl blushed.
Sennin nodded his head, knowing that his thoughts were correct. “Just keep in mind, if the spell is strong, then you should not believe everything you think you know as truth…” he stood back up, looking out in the direction of the shrine, “…even if your allies claim it is true. You should follow your own heart.”
Kyoko suddenly had a flash back of opening a fortune cookie, and smiled gently at the old man who’d become their close friend. “Now if I can just get the others to follow that same advice.”
Before they could continue their conversation, Kamui came from the hut with Kaen close on his heels. Walking up to Kyoko, he stood in front of her, searching her eyes. “Kyoko, a farmer saw a man in black silk, near here, earlier today,” he informed her, knowing it lent proof to what she’d previously said.
Toya, Shinbe, and Suki emerged from the hut just as Kamui, Kyoko and Sennin came back, still talking about Hyakuhei. Kamui had already informed the others of the sighting before leaving to tell Kyoko.
“You ready?” Toya questioned Shinbe.
“Yes, I am. Shall we go?” Shinbe asked the question, but was already turning to retrieve his staff from inside Sennin’s hut. Coming back out, he locked eyes with Toya, “Let’s go.”
“Wait for us!” They heard Kyoko shout as they set off in the direction of the shrine. They didn’t wait. They both had a score to settle, and were eager to do so. Amethyst and silver wings could only be seen for the time it takes to blink. The guardians disappeared, leaving the girls to their own devices.
Kyoko bit her bottom lip not liking the fact that they had taken off… together, especially since they’d been getting along so well lately. “Dummies,” she huffed then smiled when Kaen transformed into his dragon form.
“Damn it!” yelled Suki as they reached the clearing of the shrine gardens. “Where the hell did those two go?” The clearing was dark, as if an ominous cloud hung low with no intentions of leaving its resting place.
They were mid-way through the clearing when Suki heard a whimper and turned in its direction. Her jaw dropped. What the hell was Kyoko doing with Shinbe? She slowly turned to see Kyoko still walking ahead of her. She then returned her gaze to the blanket where Shinbe was taking Kyoko’s clothes off.
Suki shook her head and blinked, trying to clear the image, but it wouldn’t go away. The image flickered in front of her, a ghost vision. What did it mean? This must be what Toya and Shinbe were talking about when they said they were having visions. She felt herself becoming enraged as she watched Kyoko kiss Shinbe. Though she knew it was the spell, she couldn’t help the jealousy that crept into her mind.
“Kyoko, can you stop for a moment?” Suki spoke, never taking her eyes from the vision before her.
“What is it Suki?” Kyoko turned, following Suki’s gaze, but didn’t see anything. Coming up next to her, she touched her arm. Suki flinched, pulling away from her.
Suki continued to watch the vision, “Kyoko. Do you love Shinbe?”
Kyoko felt herself turning pale. What the hell was Suki talking about? Why would she ask such a question?
“Suki, I don’t understand. What are you seeing?” Kyoko reached out again to Suki.
Suki raised her voice, swatting away Kyoko’s hand, “What am I seeing? I asked you a question, Kyoko. Why don’t you answer me?” She didn’t know what she was most angry about, the fact that Kyoko hadn’t told her, or the fact that it was Shinbe. She didn’t want to lose either of them, but she couldn’t help but feel betrayed.
Kyoko took a step backward… fearing that whatever Toya and Shinbe were seeing had now infected Suki. “Suki, whatever it is you’re seeing, it’s just the spell. Please, Suki. Look at me,” Kyoko wasn’t sure what to do. She’d seen how Toya and Shinbe acted when they were in the clearing, and frankly, she was a little worried.
“Kyoko! Suki! Get out of the clearing!” Shinbe was on the other side of the clearing, yelling to them. “Hurry up! Just get away from there!”
Kyoko glanced over to where Shinbe was standing. She noticed Toya sitting up in a tree with his hands in his sleeves watching them. “Come on, Suki. The guys are waiting for us over there,” she grabbed Suki’s arm and pointed as she gently pulled Suki in their direction.
“Yes. I see. Let us go to your lover, Kyoko,” Suki stated flatly, as she jerked away from Kyoko to walk ahead of her.
Kyoko froze, wondering where that had come from. She chose to ignore what Suki said. As she reached the end of the clearing, she glanced over her shoulder to look at Suki, who’d fallen behind, walking slowly, and turning around every so often to glance back towards the shrine.
“She’s seen it, too.” Toya pointed out as he jumped down from the tree to stand next to Shinbe.
“Toya,” Shinbe whispered quietly. “Please. Let’s not discuss what you’ve seen in front of Kyoko.” The brothers had already leveled with each other about the visions, knowing forewarned, was for armed.
“Yeah, well we are seeing something. If what you keep seeing actually happened, then I’m not so sure that what I saw didn’t happen?” Toya glared toward the image he was referring to.
It was Shinbe’s turn to sigh, “Toya. I assure you that what you are seeing never happened. Do Kyoko and I look like we’re that close?” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again, thinking that Toya wasn’t so stupid after all.
“Whatever. Just don’t let me see you touching her again,” Toya walked away toward Kyoko.
“Hey, Suki! Hurry up?” Toya yelled to her from beside Kyoko.
“Toya, do you know what’s going on?” Kyoko looked over at him feeling left out. She watched as he cringed at her question, and wondered what it was that he was seeing. Neither him, nor Shinbe, would tell her what they were seeing that was making them so angry. Now Suki was being affected by it, too.
Why had Suki asked her if she loved Shinbe? And why did she call him her lover? Maybe Suki would talk to her later and explain what she was seeing.
As Suki approached the forest, she turned back once more to look towards the shrine. With a hiss, she walked past Kyoko and straight to Shinbe, finally deciding the one she would take her frustration out on.
“What did you do to Kyoko?” Suki yelled as she balled her fists at her sides.
Shinbe stared wide-eyed at her and began to speak, when Suki hauled off and punched him square in the jaw. Kyoko screamed as Shinbe slumped to his knees on the forest floor.
“Suki, what are you doing?” Kyoko asked as she slid to a stop beside the kneeling guardian. Why was he just sitting there with his head bowed? Why didn’t he say something to defend himself?
