Amy Blankenship - Defy Not The Heart

“Damn it… Geez, now I sound just like Toya,” she said to herself with a giggle.

Shinbe followed quietly, peeking out from behind trees ever so often. He had to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape him when he heard the comment about her sounding like Toya. It was great to find out he wasn’t the only one in the group that held complete conversations with their self. If he was crazy, then they made a great couple. He stayed back long enough to let her gain some distance between them.

Finally getting to the secluded hot spring, Kyoko rummaged through her bag. Finding what she needed, she arranged her bathing supplies by the side of the water. She quickly undressed, easing her aching body into the steaming water. “Umm, this feels so good.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her legs, trying to ease the tightness that were slow in leaving. Finally satisfied, she lay back in the water and completely relaxed.

Shinbe leaned against a tree as he watched in fascination of her daily ritual. She was graceful and pure… he suddenly felt guilty again for his actions. He turned his back to the scene and placed a hand over his heart where the pain seemed to tighten.

He shouldn’t be here… he was not a good man. She was going to hate him when she realized what he’d done to her. He frowned as the weight on his chest became that much heavier. But still, he couldn’t resist the urge to turn around and stare longingly. He sighed longingly as he watched her sink into the water.

“This is so much better than the small bathtub at home in the modern world,” Kyoko broke the silence as she glanced around. It was more like a hidden swimming pool really. This spot was so peaceful and secluded. Trees and small shrubs surrounded the hot spring, giving her absolute privacy. ‘The stone ledge on one side would be nice for sunbathing.’ she thought randomly with a smile. She hummed in contentment as she floated on top of the water.

After floating in the water for a moment, she decided she’d better get on with the cleansing part. She lathered her hair then ducked under the water to rinse, coming up with a splash, only to put more stuff on her hair and do it again. Then before getting out, she took time to scrub her clothes clean, hoping the sun would dry them quickly.

Sneaking closer, Shinbe watched intently from the security of a bush about ten feet away. He took in the curves of her body. Gods, she was beautiful… like a goddess emerging from the spring. She tied a cloth around her upper torso before wrapping one around her hair then ever so slowly she dried her body.

He’d watched her bathe in secret many times before, but never been able to stick around long enough to enjoy this part. Usually someone came looking for him before she had time to finish. He sighed as she slowly ran the cloth down her long legs. Pain found him causing him to grit his teeth as she put on those small pieces of clothing that covered her most precious places. It was all he could do not to take the few steps that would put her within reaching distance.

A crunching sound suddenly came from the opposite side of the hot springs. Shinbe heard it, and so had Kyoko because she stood frozen in place. They both listened intently for more sounds. Another twig snapped but this time it came from a bush closer to Kyoko. He watched in horror as Kyoko walked straight up to a large shrub, holding her towel in front of her like a shield, and called out.

“Okay, Shinbe! I know it’s you! Come out… so I can slap you!” Kyoko waited, eyeing the shrub wearily. Shinbe was a known peeping tom. She cocked an eyebrow in annoyance, and he was the only one around so…. The bush shook gently. “I know you’re there, and when Toya finds out your spying on me, he’s probably gonna kill you. Not to mention, I’m sure Suki won’t mind beating on you either.”

The shrub shook again and a long black pointy leg came out from behind the tangled limbs.

“What the…!” Kyoko turned to run just as a very large demonic scorpion climbed out from behind the vegetation. She ran towards her clothes where she had left her crossbow inside the pack.

“Kyoko! Get down!” Shinbe came running out of the opposite bushes with a big stick raised in his hand like a spear. He threw it at the demon. The red eyed scorpion saw it coming and swung one leg around, blocking the pointed weapon, and sent it sailing through the air. It landed at Kyoko’s feet, just as she bent down to pick up her crossbow. Her brow twitched as she realized just how close that had come to hitting her.

Shinbe ran towards her, bending down to pick up the stick. With a quirk of an eyebrow, he looked at Kyoko and grinned crookedly. “Why Kyoko, I do believe you are just a little under dressed for killing a demon.” His grin grew wider at the look on her face. Then her look turned to pure horror.

Feeling a foreboding chill race up his back, Shinbe turned around, swinging his makeshift staff wildly as the scorpion demon lunged at them. He was able to hit one hairy leg, but the other struck him in the side, throwing him away from Kyoko. Shinbe’s blood froze as the deadly scorpion stalked closer to the priestess.

He knew the demon possessed creature could sense the power within her. Knowing he had to do something fast, he used his telekinetic powers to lift a good sized rock, and flung it as hard as he could, smirking as it struck the scorpion on the head.

The demon screeched and swung its head around to pin a glare at the wounded guardian. Shinbe lay on the ground struggling to get back up as the demon came after him again. He rolled just in time to point the sharp end of the stick up as the demon came crashing down on him. Shinbe’s amethyst eyes glowed as he whispered a spell to soften the monsters hard flesh.

Kyoko screamed Shinbe’s name in panic as she watched the demon descend on him. Everything happened so quickly that she didn’t have time to even blink. One moment the demon was jumping on him, and the next, the end of that same stick was sticking out its back as black blood oozed to the ground. She watched as the possessed scorpion twitched before becoming limp and falling heavily on top of Shinbe.

“Shinbe!” Kyoko screamed in panic. She ran to him seeing the blood pooling on the dirt around them at an alarmingly fast pace. She gave a mental cringe hoping none of that blood was coming from her guardian but it was hard to tell with the oversize spawn covering everything except one side of Shinbe’s face. His eyes were closed and for a moment her heart stopped as fear washed across her.

Shinbe could sense it, Kyoko was still terrified and whatever it was making her feel that way, he had to destroy. With a shudder to fight the pain, he opened his eyes to find her staring down at him, pale as a ghost. His heart thudded hard as he realized she was frightened for him. He could feel warmth in his veins as her fear eased from seeing that he was alive.

Shinbe spoke in a raspy voice, “Kyoko, please. Help me… get it off.” He strained to shove the dead beast off, but his arms were trapped between it and his body. Even possessed, the mindless demon should not weigh as much as it did, and should not have put up such a fight. His eyes narrowed sensing a shattered piece of the crystal so close to him, “Kyoko, it’s riding the power of a talisman… find it.”

Kyoko quit pushing at the gigantic creature for a moment, trying to focus her power to scan its body. When the guardian heart crystal had shattered and rained down across the demon realm, it had sent demons of all sizes into a frenzy to find the powerful shards. This must have been a small scorpion at one time… until it was lucky enough to be possessed by a demon then come across one of the missing pieces and get one hell of a power boost.