The Heart Of Time. Amy Blankenship

after noticing the bartender kept watching her while he made her drink. He caught the guy’s gaze and growled, warning him to back off. Toya could feel more eyes on Kyoko other than the bartender’s, and he didn’t like it.

      Kyoko turned around when her drink was ready and tried to smile at the bartender again as she thanked him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. 'Well, that’s strange,' she thought, but hearing someone say her name, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Kamui coming. She smiled at him, then took a swallow of her drink, and almost choked on the strong burning flavor.

      Kamui watched her set the drink back on the bar almost spilling it. He grinned as she caught her breath, gasping. "You have to watch out Kyoko, the drinks here are strong." He frowned at the bartender disapprovingly, and then smiled when she seemed to be able to breathe again.

      "No kidding,” Kyoko wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye. "That drink is mainlining to kill, geez," she groaned, blinking.

      Toya nodded to Kamui as if giving him permission to talk to Kyoko. His gaze wandered the room noticing guardian and human weren’t the only inhabitants within the flickering lights of the club. His lips thinned feeling demons hidden within the shadows.

      Kamui watched Kyoko smile at Shinbe and Suki as she watched them dance. When the lights flickered from red to green then blue… the electric blue tint seemed to surround her for an instant, causing Kamui’s vision to tunnel and another image surfaced.

      Within his mind's eye, he could see Kyoko running from a huge demon. As his sight skimmed the area, he could tell the field she was in dropped off at a massive cliff. He screamed her name in warning but as she turned to look for him… she never saw the dangerous edge of the cliff as she took the next lethal step.

      Kamui could feel the adrenalin rush through him as his wings sprang from his back with a shower of colorful sparkles. As he flew over the demon, he shot an angry life force blast that disintegrated the demon on impact. Pulling his wings inward, he let his body dive off the cliff in a headlong rush to reach her.

      Just as the ground was coming up at an alarming rate of speed, he grabbed Kyoko, releasing his wings and floating safely to the ground. When her emerald eyes connected with his Kamui asked, “You just wanted me to save you… didn’t you?”

      Coming out of the light trance, he knew that couldn’t have been just a daydream… somehow, somewhere, it had really happened. His eyes focused on her and he wanted to once again feel her in his arms just like he had in the strange memory.

      Kamui reached out and grabbed her hand, "Come on Kyoko. Dance with me." The moment his hand touched hers, he felt his heart swell with some unknown feeling. Glittering dust of every color leapt into his bright eyes.

      She nodded, loving the song that was playing and already feeling the beat of it making her want to move. They headed straight for Suki and Shinbe out on the crowded dance floor.

      Toya turned back just in time to see Kamui pull Kyoko toward the dance floor and frowned. Running his fingers through his wayward bangs he leaned back against the bar, fighting the feeling he had to simply take Kyoko and hide her from the world.

      â€œAt least it’s not a slow song.” he grumbled under his breath then gritted his teeth not believing those words had slipped out.

      Suki and Shinbe were having a great time when Kamui and Kyoko joined them. The guys were facing the girls in a fast dance. Kyoko hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Three songs later, she and Suki were ready for a break. As they headed off the dance floor, a slow song started.

      Someone grabbed Kyoko from behind, whispering in her ear, "My turn," and swung her around into his arms, away from the others, and back onto the dance floor.

      Kyoko came face to face with Kotaro and smiled as she felt the light rush of cool air sweep across her heated face. She knew for some reason he was the cause of the breeze.