Cursed Hearts. Amy Blankenship

glared at the other guardians, once again not liking the answers. “You’ve over thought this, haven’t you?”

      â€œWhat do you expect? We’ve had fifteen years to turn that question inside out.” Kamui gave Toya an apologetic smile.

      â€œShinbe, I think you should go check the demon wards surrounding the house.” Kyou nodded to Shinbe and suddenly there were only four of them in the room.

      â€œDamn, he left so fast I felt a breeze.” Kotaro rubbed his arms as if the draft had chilled him.

      Kamui's fingers flew across the keyboard as he talked, “I’ve always had it set up as if we’ve all been home schooled by our adoptive dad and we are all in the 12th grade. As of tomorrow, we’re switching to public school so we can graduate like normal teenagers.”

      â€œOh, that won’t send up a red flag at all,” Kotaro said sarcastically. “Five brothers starting in the same grade, at the same time. Even if the teachers understand what’s going on, we’ll still be the talk of the school by the students. It’s not as if we have a chance in hell of fitting in with real teenagers.”

      â€œTry,” Kamui gave him a level look. “Anyway, give me some credit. I’ll stagger our schedule so that one of us will be in Kyoko’s class at all times. I’ve had our school records updated every year since kindergarten, so our age would match hers if she had ever come back.”

      â€œJust curious,” Kotaro smirked, “But what if the priestess had come back at the age of ten?”

      â€œLeave me alone,” Kamui gave him a glare. “Or I’ll make it so your grades suck.”

      Completely changing the subject, Kyou remarked, “If I’m right, the demons could not locate her because of the boarding school being on hallowed ground… for the same reason we could not find her. Up until now, the demons have spread out causing havoc only here and there. But now, they will catch her scent and one by one come back.”

      His voice became so cold that it sucked the heat right out of the room, “And just because we have found no sign of Hyakuhei in this world does not mean he isn’t here.”

      â€œWe know he’s here,” Toya growled feeling his hatred flare then instantly calmed. “We came to this world so we could be with her and protect her. She shouldn’t be over there by herself even for a minute.”

      â€œWe all agree with you Toya… but you have to remember she is an innocent. That’s why we are going to become her new best friends,” Kyou informed him.

      â€œJust how are we supposed to do that?” Toya snapped.

      â€œDidn’t your mommy ever teach you to make friends?” Kamui smirked, but his eyes widened when Toya quickly stood up.

      Toya noticed Kamui flinch and raised a dark brow. “I’m just going to see what’s taking Shinbe so long.”

      *****

      Shinbe confirmed his demon wards hadn’t been disturbed, though he worried about the fact that demons weren’t their only problem. The fact that Hyakuhei had broken through the barrier around The Heart of Time spoke volumes of the danger the priestess was really in. Sure, the wards would help hide her and keep the weakest demons from crossing the lines, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Hyakuhei should he come out of hiding.

      One thing he knew about Hyakuhei was that the demon lord was patient… patient enough to pretend to be dead for the last fifteen years. What demons the guardians had caught sniffing around, they’d destroyed. But now that the priestess was here… there was no telling what was going to crawl out of the woodwork. She would need better protection.

      When he noticed one of the upstairs lights come on, Shinbe quickly scaled the outer walls unable to help himself. It felt as if his very soul was drawn toward her. His amethyst eyes glowed as he looked in the window seeing her standing within the huge bathroom. Toya had been right… he would have known her on sight.

      He watched her graceful movements as she reached into the shower to test the temperature of the water. He tried to turn away, but when she started unbuttoning her shirt it had been his undoing… he was frozen to the spot.

      â€œSo that’s what the maiden statue would look like without clothes,” Shinbe breathed then started to climb higher so that he could see more of her than just from the waist up. He suddenly lost his grip on the wall when an arm went around his neck and jerked him backwards.

      Toya grunted when he hit the ground flat on his back, but that wasn’t as bad as Shinbe landing on top of him. “Get the hell off me!” Toya growled.

      â€œLet go of my neck and I will,” Shinbe hissed as he stuck his elbow in Toya’s ribs.

      Toya pushed Shinbe off and quickly rolled to his feet. “You’re supposed to be checking the demon wards, not…” He gestured toward the window, “… you’re a pervert, you know that?”

      â€œI just wanted to see her.” Shinbe started to glance back up at the window but Toya’s dangerous growl stopped him.

      â€œI think you’ve seen enough.” Toya’s golden eyes swirled with quicksilver.

      Shinbe debated reminding Toya there was so much more to see but he knew when not to press his luck. “Fine, there’s always the girls locker room at school tomorrow.” That gained him an agitated slap upside the head but he just chuckled.

      â€œCome on, we have a meeting to attend.” Toya started back toward their house pushing Shinbe in front of him the whole way.

      All humor left Shinbe’s face as he told the group his fears about the barrier’s weakness. “I know we have killed a lot of the demons that haunt the area waiting on her, but sometimes I wonder if we have forgotten the real problem.”

      â€œWe will take shifts watching over her tonight.” Kyou’s order started the age-old argument about who would go first, but Kyou won.

      In his shade form, Hyakuhei leaned against the far wall of the same room where they were having their secret meeting. He was barely paying his nephews any attention as his mind drifted across the road to where the girl in question lay sleeping. He thought it was sad that they still avoided saying his name and wondered if it was guilt that kept them from doing so.

      Chapter 3 “Hormones Are Us High School”

      Kyoko had been frustrated all morning trying to figure out what to wear. It wasn’t like she had much of a selection since she had worn the same thing every day at the boarding school. Luckily she found a slice of color to go with her boring outfit.

      One of the girls had given her a shirt last year for Christmas. It was emerald green, short, and frilly. She had always loved it but had never had a chance to wear it. Now that she had it on with one of her black school skirts, she felt almost excited about the prospect of going shopping after school and replacing her wardrobe.

      Mr. Sennin had given her the bankcard along with her account information yesterday on the plane. Kyoko had almost screamed out loud when he’d told her the balance in the account. She was glad she didn’t when he’d added the fact that the card was only from the recreational account. Her true holdings were in a completely different account.

      Now she was faced with her first dilemma… how to get to school. They didn’t allow the girls to get their driver’s license at the boarding school and she had no idea if the bus even came down this street… not that the bus driver would know to pick her up anyway. She was startled from her thinking when a horn blew outside.

      Opening the front door, Kyoko smiled and waved at the taxi. “Thank