Kyokoâs lips parted when she didnât see his lips move and his voice echoed inside her head. She suddenly felt warm all over like his voice was supposed to be there or ⦠something. Her expression relaxed and her eyes softened as she gazed at him.
Shinbe tried to hide his curious frown⦠when he had linked minds with her just then⦠it had taken all his concentration just to close the connection. It was as if his power wanted to stay with her. Trying to shake the feeling, he continued. âI can also cast spells and I come from a long line of monks." He stopped when Kyoko burst out laughing.
Suki slid back in beside Kyoko not missing a beat, "I know itâs hard to believe, but he does come from a line of monks." She grinned then her look turned sober again, "And I have seen him throw things without touching them, and he is great at all kinds of martial arts."
âPerhaps we should inform the lovely Kyoko of all my talents,â Shinbe said suggestively.
Suki turned and glared at Shinbe, âNo, I will not tell her youâre good at THAT!â She popped him on the top of the head for good measure.
"But still, he acts like he is only human," A sarcastic voice came out of nowhere and Shinbe straightened up, scooting over to give room to the voice.
Kyoko glanced up and her eyes locked with deep golden ones. The owner of the voice was good looking beyond anything sheâd ever seen. Long black hair with silver highlights fell from his head in long layers. His sun-kissed skin seemed to glow with a healthy shine and his body was to die for. His eyes however, seemed to hold her captive even though he wasnât looking directly at her.
Suki huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, giving the newcomer a pissed off look. "Great, youâre all it will take to scare her away."
Shinbe grinned at Suki then glanced at Kyoko to give introductions, "This is Toya. Toya meet Kyoko. Today is her first day here."
Toya turned to look at Kyoko, and for some reason the way he was looking at her, as if sizing her up, annoyed her. Kyoko narrowed her eyes at him, her first impression of him shot out of the sky.
"So, youâre the priestess?" Toya huffed and turned his head as if dismissing her as he sat down.
Kyokoâs eyes rounded on him and she gasped. No one here knew she was a priestess. As a matter of fact, only her closest family members knew that.
"How the hell do you know that?" she yelled at him, all of a sudden furious.
Toya flinched feeling his blood spike. "Damn, donât yell like a freaking maniac. I can hear you fine," he growled at her.
Suki and Shinbe both winced, and kind of shrank in their chairs as Kyoko and Toya glared daggers at each other.
Toya's senses started to pick up a ripple of power that came with Kyoko's anger and he tensed up, thinking maybe she did have a little power in that small cute body, though he'd be damned if he told her that.
Silently, he appraised her appearance. Her auburn hair shimmered in the light around a beautiful heart shaped face. She had vibrant green eyes that were now looking at him in anger, which heated his blood slightly. He liked a woman with spunk and she was obviously full of it, but for some reason it set him on edge. What he didnât like was the way she was glaring at him⦠heâd fix that real quick.
He glared at her harder, trying to intimidate her. "You got a scholarship didnât you⦠and HE said you are a PRIESTESS!" Toya growled in her face, coming closer with every word till they were almost nose-to-nose. He folded his arms inside his loose sleeves and huffed at her. "Bet you donât even know what a demon is," He grumbled, suddenly realizing she was getting cuter by the second and that annoyed him.
Kyoko flinched, her temper spiking. She knew what demons were. Sheâd studied them all her life and if her family was right, she had even met some⦠but she couldnât remember. Still, she didnât like Toyaâs high and mighty attitude so she just cocked an eyebrow as if silently asking him if he wanted to bet on that.
Suki seemed to want to come to Kyoko's defense, "Toya, can't you be civil for one damn minute? Sheâs only been here a couple hours, and before you run her off, Iâd like to convince her to stay." She looked almost sad at the thought of losing Kyoko so quickly.
Toya raised an annoyed eyebrow, glancing over at Suki, "Well, she didnât even answer my question. Do you think she can handle it?" he turned the glare back to Kyoko.
"I can handle anything you can think to throw at me, asshole," Kyoko informed him, her words beginning to ice.
Suki and Shinbe glanced at each other. Theyâd never heard anyone but themselves and the owner of the university stand up to Toya like that, except maybe Kotaro. Then they both smirked, knowing they were definitely going to like this girl named Kyoko.
A waiter showed up at the table with a tray of food, and Kyoko turned her attention from Toya to him. The guy stared at Kyoko a little too long, and her senses started to tingle, telling her something was up. She looked up into dark eyes that didnât seem to fit the boyish face belonging to the young man.
Something about him drew Kyoko in⦠though she didnât know if she really liked the feeling. Sure, he was cute to look at but something about him made her slightly uneasy. She blinked trying to rid herself of the spell the young man seemed to emit without even trying. The mood was ultimately broken when she heard a low growl come from beside her.
Toya felt coldness crawl across his skin and growled at the guy, seeming to shake him out of his daze. As the boyâs eyes refocused on Toya's, they seemed to shimmer from jet-black to a silver-blue as he turned and fled the table.
Kyoko gave Suki a confused look, but Suki only shrugged it off, taking a bite of her own food. Beside her, Shinbe coughed into his hand trying to hide his weird sense of humor as he watched the guy race across the room. Kyoko was getting some very weird vibes from this guy âToyaâ and wasnât going to rest until she found out what his problem was. She leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment.
His long hair was the strangest color of midnight with thick silver highlights running wildly through it, and his eyes were beautiful⦠HE was beautiful. 'Mental note to self, smack yourself later for thinking that.' His eyes were flaming gold dust, no doubt about it. He would have been cute if it wasn't for the look he was now giving her.
Suki sighed. She needed to have a talk with Kyoko about making Toya too mad. He did have his line and it wasnât good to cross it. And it wasnât fair that Kyoko had no idea she was pissing off a guardian.
âI have found that if you play with fire⦠you often get burned,â Shinbe informed the silence at the table and was rewarded with a heated glare from everyone before they all decided to ignore him.
Toya stole another glance at Kyoko. So, this is who he was supposed to be watching? Kyou had to be kidding. Kyou had just told him about her coming this morning, with a level warning that he was to watch out for her and make sure she was safe at all times.
He narrowed his eyes now wondering about the boy who had just stood by their table. The way he had been staring at Kyoko had angered him. Was the priestess really in danger? Why would Kyou take such an interest in keeping a mere human safe? Kyou never treated anyone with respect, so what made this wisp of a girl any different?
Sometimes Toya hated the fact that Kyou was his appointed guardian, but he did have to admit he owed him a lot for taking him in. He also knew when Kyou did something that there was always a good reason for it and that alone made him wonder about this girl named Kyoko.
Shinbe, who noted the tension at the table could be cut with a knife, glanced at Suki with the biggest puppy dog eyes. Knowing he could make Kyoko smile again with his antics, he began to lay it on thick.
"So Suki, are you still going to the club with me tonight? It is Saturday night and I would hate to miss out on dancing with you by dancing with a dozen complete strangers.â Shinbe went into a dazed look as if dreaming of dancing with a throng of other women just to prove his point.
Suki gave him a level look wondering if she should slap the stupid look off his face, then turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko, I need a chaperone," she grinned. "You'll go with me wonât you? Itâs too dangerous to go alone with just⦠him," she gave Kyoko a pleading look.
The corners of Kyokoâs lips twitched seeing Shinbe come out of the dazed look and wink at her again. "Suki, I would love to go with you guys. That way we can tag team Shinbe if he gets out of control."
They both gave Shinbe a pointed look and Shinbe groaned. Kyoko couldnât help it as she busted out laughing again. She really liked these two.
Toya watched Kyoko out of the corner of his eyes. Damn, she was pretty when she laughed like that. He groaned inwardly. Where the hell had that come from? He slumped down in his seat annoyed with his train of thought. 'Damn it!' Now heâd have to go to the club tonight just to watch out for her. She was still smiling at Shinbe and Suki when she turned back.
As she glanced at him, his pulse skipped a beat and the temperature within his blood went up several degrees. Toya realized she had more power coming from her now that she was happy then sheâd had a moment ago when heâd pissed her off. He felt uneasy for the first time in a long time.
When Kyoko's laughter died down, she turned to Suki, "Hey, Iâm not even sure what classes Iâll be in Monday or where to go for that matter. Do you know where I can find out?"
Before Suki could answer, Toya answered the question watching her closely. "All scholarship students are taught the same. So, you, Suki, and Shinbe, along with the others, will be in the same classes. The only separate class will be when you are with the owner." His voice was lazy as he leaned back in his chair.
Kyoko frowned, "What class does the owner teach?"
Shinbe supplied the answer this time, his amethyst eyes lighting up with intrigue, "For all of us itâs different. Thatâs why he teaches us separately. He helps us with our special skills.â He leaned back thoughtful, then added with a smirk, âYou, I guess, would be strengthening your priestess powers."
Kyoko's anger spiked again, wondering how the hell the owner had known she was a priestess. The scholarship had said nothing about it. She had gone for the last couple years trying to bury the same powers for which the owner had given her a scholarship for. She wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.
Looking down at her plate, Kyoko said in a strained voice, "Maybe this is a mistake. Is there any way I can talk to the owner of the academy now?â
Toya narrowed his eyes. Kyou had told him she might ask to see him, and although Kyou never wanted to see anybody outside of class, he had told Toya to bring her directly to him if she had any questions.
"Whatâs wrong, are you scared?" he taunted her and was rewarded when her stormy eyes shot straight to his in annoyed anger. So, this girl thought she could handle him. Well, it might be fun to watch her try that look on Kyou. He had seen the fear that Kyou could instantly instill in someone without having to say a word.
"Fine, Iâll take you to see him as soon as youâre ready," Toya challenged wondering if she would take the bait.
Kyoko lost some of her anger on hearing this. Shoving her plate out of the way, she nodded, happy to call his bluff, "Ready when you are." She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Whatâs the rush?" Toya stood up with a smirk. "Might want to put a lid on that temper of yours because he will sense it," he snickered at her, thinking she had no clue what she was getting herself into.
Kyoko narrowed her eyes at him then stood up, glancing back at Suki and Shinbe. "Iâll talk to you after Iâm done, if you will come get me. Iâll be in my room waiting and we can make plans for tonight." She winked at Suki then looked back at Toya and added in a deadpan voice. "That is, if I decide to stay."
He turned away from her with a huff and she watched his retreating back, then waved at the others over her shoulder as she followed him. She quickly noticed how other students would get out of Toyaâs way hastily and wondered at it. âWhat was he? The school bully?â
Kyoko was not going to give him the satisfaction of running to catch up with him, so she took her time walking, purposely falling behind. Still slightly angry with him she nearly blushed when her eyes strayed to Toyaâs rear end. Watching his hair brush over the seat of his pants, giving her a glimpse of the firm roundness that lay beneath it only irritated her more. Infuriating and cute was just a horrible combination.
Mentally shaking her head, she continued to follow him, cursing her roving eyes. âIt would take a complete idiot to think someone you canât stand⦠is cute,â she mumbled under her breath. âAnnoyingâ¦. Hostile⦠and Arrogant maybe⦠but never cute,â she grinned, already feeling better.
Some strange awareness crept up her spine and her eyes shot above her and locked with dark eyes that were piercing into hers. The guy was leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs watching her. He had ebony waves of hair flowing down his back and over his shoulder, and his midnight eyes were intense. He was very attractive but she felt⦠threatened.
She looked away from him. 'Kyoko get a hold of yourself. Stop analyzing everybody you see,' she told herself sternly even as she attempted to raise her emerald eyes back up at him.
"Thereâs the prettiest girl on campus."
Kyoko felt a strong arm go around her shoulders and turned to look, remembering the voice of the guy that had showed her where her room was earlier that morning. She felt the ends of her hair again tickle her face as a breeze from nowhere seemed to caress her cheeks.
She gave him a warm smile but at the same time, dipped and shrugged out from his attached arm. "Kotaro, itâs nice to see you again. Thanks for your help this morning,â Kyoko said in a nervous voice, wishing he wouldnât act so familiar with her. She thought he was nice and all, but she never said he could put his arm around her.
Kotaro was unaffected as he took her hand in his, "Is there somewhere else I can escort you to, Kyoko?" He looked deep into her emerald eyes knowing he had seen them before⦠somewhere. And he had a vague feeling he had once happily drowned in them.
Kyoko glanced up the stairs to see Toya had stopped and turned around, looking angry again. She could have sworn sheâd just heard him growl at her or Kotaro, she wasnât sure which.
Toya didnât know what Kotaro was up to, but he didnât like the fact he was acting so friendly with Kyoko. A deep growl came from his chest as he issued a warning, "I can handle it Kotaro, unless you would like to take her to go see Kyou." He gave Kotaro a hard stare, knowing Kotaro didnât go around Kyou unless it was for class or he was summoned.
Kotaro let go of Kyokoâs hand, "I hope everything is alright, Kyoko." He shot Toya a dirty look then turned back to her, "Make sure you watch out for freezer burn here. If he gets out of hand, Iâll take care of him for you.â Kotaro gave Toya a smug look then nodded his head to Kyoko and turned, going back down the stairs.