Chapter 12

"Put me down, Kyōto! You'll get all wet!" Kimiko complained, struggling to get out of her boyfriend's arms.

Kyōto didn't even budge, but instead held her closer to him. He ignored completely the water seeping through his clothes and along his body. "It's my fault you fell, and it's my duty that you get home without you catching a cold."

She smiled slightly at his protectiveness, "Yeah, but what about you? I won't be going anywhere with a boyfriend who has the flu."

The Japanese teen smiled down at her, "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Suddenly, Kimiko could feel heat beneath her, and was soon surrounded in harm mists of steam. She grinned knowingly that Kyōto was heating his body from the core, evaporating all moisture that came in contact. He was also simultaneously, slowly drying her waterlogged body.

"How's that?" he asked smiling that charming smile she always loved.

"Well, not the best steam bath I've ever had, but…" She leaned up and whispered in his ear, "…it'll do for now."

She took his face in her gentle hands and kissed his lips. He responded in kind, caught up in the magical moment. The two stood there in the moonlight for a time, sharing the intimate second in time.

The lady Dragon of Fire released her hold, and relaxed back into his warm arms, admiring her world-class view of Kyōto's chiseled features.

He slowly opened his eyes, revealing his enchanting emerald eyes. His smile lit fireworks inside her heart! "Sorry, Darling. But I'm still not going to let you go."

She nuzzled against his warm chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. Not even a runaway bullet train could tear me from your side. But she wouldn't let him know that!

"Couldn't fool you, huh?" she answered tiredly yawning.

He pulled her even closer as he walked up the path to the school grounds, and shifted her slightly to place his hand in the hollow of an oak tree on the outskirts of the garden. A tiny blue light blinked on, and the hidden scanner probed his hand, recognizing him. There was a sudden click and the light went from the blue to green. This signaled that the invisible electromagnetic shield around the school was down for a total of ten seconds, plenty of time for him to enter the shield perimeter.

"The old 'handprint scanner in the tree' trick? That's one of Daddy's old models. You should see the 'eye scanner in a drop of rainwater' one." she whispered sleepily.

He put his finger to her lips, "Relax and go to sleep. You've had a long day, just rest now."

Kimiko resigned to take his advice, feeling the heaviness of sleep weigh on her eyelids. She had had a long day, but it was wonderful…

It had been two weeks since her violent breakup with Raimundo, and they were two of the most wonderful weeks in her life. She and Kyōto had had the time of their lives in Tokyo. They had spent the weekend on the town, and had gone to see her father. Daddy had enjoyed the Kusinagi teen, and had even winked at her knowingly during dinner. Kyōto of course, was the perfect gentleman, and made sure she had a good time. He knew she had been hurting when they left, and was very delicate and didn't rush anything. He tried to help her forget the pain of being rejected, with a loving, gentle helping hand. And in so, succeeded triumphantly!

After their return from their trip, he would always find her and practice with her. They helped each other out in their studies and techniques, and would eat lunch together or with her friends in the garden. Then after that, he would take her out night after night to whatever was nearby, even if it was just dinner and a movie. This weekend, they had gone to an amusement park and had lived life to the fullest.

Kyōto had taken her on roller coasters, arcade games, bumper cars, the Ferris wheel, and finally to finish, a boat trip across a moonlit lake. They had had such a lovely time and were about to kiss, when another boat full of drunk jerks, rammed into them, causing Kimiko to be knocked out into the water!

Completely angered by the kids' idea of a joke, Kyōto fire-blasted their boat, capsizing it in one fiery lightshow! He then helped her back in, and took her to the shore. He apologized, saying that it was his fault she had gotten wet. That he should have been looking out for the jokers.

Though she had tried to quell his qualms, it was of no use. He promptly picked her up in his arms and walked her all the way back to the school.

She was now so exhausted; it was hard to even keep her eyes from fazing out. Before she knew it, Kyōto had already entered the school and was taking her up the stairs to their dorm floor. He walked around to her room and knock on the door. She shook her head, "No, I don't think Vicki's back yet. She and Clay were going to be at her family's place for some big barbeque and wouldn't be back till early tomorrow."

He smiled at her, "Well, then could you stay awake for just a second to open the door. Then I command you to sleep, my lady."

She smiled at his mention of the formal name he sometimes still graced her with. She reached out blindly with her hand and felt for the doorknob. Kyōto took her hand into his own and placed it into position. She turned it with a feeling of breathlessness at his sudden warm touch against her flesh.

The door to her room opened and he walked in slowly, laying her lightly on her bed. She wasn't surprised to feel that her clothes had completely dried.

Turning his back to her, Kyōto slipped his small gift on her dresser. It was nothing big or anything, but it was his habit to always leave something with her. It was the least he could do for a Kimiko, and the new feelings she had somehow awakened within him. A slight mist came to his eye, which was instantly evaporated into sizzling steam. You would like her, Kenshin. I just wish you could see how much I love her, my brother…

A dark shadow moved from behind him, and hid in the darkness near the doorway, unnoticed by either the boyfriend or his sleeping lady…

Kyōto opened the blinds slightly, letting in the moonlight. "Now get some sleep, my fire goddess. I'll see you in the morning."

Going by her bedside, he kissed her lightly on the cheek. She murmured goodnight, not afraid to slip off into her dreams, knowing he would show himself out and leave her without interruption.

That was one assurance she had with Kyōto that she hadn't had with Raimundo. She could appear weak to him, and he would be okay. She didn't have to be strong for the both of them—he wanted to be strong for her. She knew she could be defenseless and put her guard down, and know that he would never take advantage of her. For instance, it would be so easy for him to force himself on her right then. (Heck! She'd have probably welcomed it too!) But he wasn't that kind of person; he'd never force her into anything she wasn't ready for. She beamed inside, falling slowly into her dreams…

Kyōto watched over her silently while his love slowly fell asleep. Then, with quick, ultra-quiet footsteps, he left the room, the door closing behind him with a hiss.

Little did he notice, the dark shadow streak out the door behind him, and follow his movements to the next hall. Then with the silence of the still night, it diverted down the opposite corridor…

Making his way down to the next hall, Kyōto went to his own room and quietly opened the door. Finding the room in total darkness, he silently slipped in and made his way over to his side of the room. Removing his jacket and t-shirt, he was about to crash down tiredly on his bed, when a sudden wind slammed the door loudly behind him!

Spinning around, he instantly went into a defensive stance, ready for an attack from his seemingly unseen enemy.

"Did you have a nice time?" a cold voice spoke from out of the darkness.

Though Kyōto knew exactly who the voice belonged to, he conjured up a small fire sphere in his hand, lighting up the room in a rosy glow.

There, in the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his bare, scarred chest, stood Raimundo…

The eighteen year-old looked as if he hadn't slept in days, which as far as Kyōto could make out, he hadn't!

He had been wondering when he'd have to face the Brazilian, but the guy was never around to talk to! He'd never come to their room, and was scarcely seen at lunch or in training practices.

Seeing him now, it was obvious that he had somehow found out about him and Kimiko's relationship. It was not like they had tried to hide it or anything, but they had wanted to take things gradually. With his face unshaven, his hair shaggy and uncut, dark shadows tracing his face, and a strange, dangerous glint in his jade eyes, Raimundo slowly approached him.

Kyōto kept to his stance, not sure what to expect from his roommate. "Yes, I did. You didn't have to wait up for me, though. Long time, no see…"

Rai stopped and closed his eyes; an amused but cold smile came to his lips. "You know what? Let's both stop with the crap before we even get started…you know what I came to talk to you about."

Kyōto began to feel out his ground warily, "If this is about Kimiko and I, then yes, I know what you're talking about."

Suddenly, a sharp force hit the side of his face, causing him to put his hand to his cheek. He was surprised to find blood dripping from a hairline, crescent-shaped cut that had appeared there!

Raimundo looked at him with mild, but knowing amusement. "That's a little warning to you to watch your step, Kusinagi. Kimiko is my woman, and I'll be damned if I let you take her from me."

All bets off, Kyōto wiped the blood from his face and stood to his full height. Facing his roommate turned rival, the flames in his hand became bigger and brighter. "First of all, if you want to get physical, I can more than oblige. Second, if you ever talk about Kimiko like that again, you'll wind up with more that just a knife in the heart. She is more than an object to be passed around. She is human being, and a very special one at that. As I understand it, you threw her away."

Raimundo was surprised, how did he know about Wuya stabbing me in the heart? No one else is supposed to know that here…no one but—

Suddenly, he realized what must have happened. His heart began to pound, and a feeling of dark fury began to fill his soul. Anger and a hate that built in a crescendo that seemed to fill his whole being.

Rage flared over Rai's features, and sudden strong winds began to whip around the room, like its own personal windstorm! Objects began to fly, and it took a lot of Kyōto's strength just to anchor himself. The flame in his hand flickered around and would have surely gone out if not for his own body fueling it.

"You don't know anything about me, okay samurai boy? Don't assume you know my motives! It's obvious Kimiko betrayed my confidence, for how else would you know about the heart incident! That woman makes me sick! Maybe it's about time I showed her what betrayal really means…"

Knowing the meaning behind the teen's words, Kyōto felt anger come up within him as well. Yet, this anger was for a different reason.

Suddenly both of his hands were alight, and huge, bright flames began to spiral from them fed by the oxygen from Rai's wind. With one sharp blast, Kyōto aimed straight for the center of the Wind Dragon's attack. The amazing combustible reaction, not only consumed all of Rai's wind, but used it as fuel to blast the air-bender backward and onto the ground. Before Rai even realized how much he had underestimated his rival, he could feel the young man's shoe on his chest. Not hard enough to crush his ribcage mind you, but solid enough to pin him down.

Kyōto held his lit fist like a torch next to Raimundo's face—just to make sure he got the message…

"I was willing to talk to you civilly, but you drew first blood. Next time, I won't back down, Vega. I don't care how you live your life. Ruin it for all I care! But if you ever, ever think to lay a hand on Kimiko…again…you'll find there will be no power on earth that will save you from me…not even the Four Dragons' Soul."

Rai looked up at his foe, trying to breath and calm himself down. He had not only miscalculated and lost to his opponent, making a fool of himself, but his anger had also caused him to entertain violent thoughts toward Kimiko! And murderous ones toward his roommate! He needed to get out of here…clear his head, before he did something he would regret.

"Get off me…this fight is finished, for now."

Kyōto shook his head, "No, it's finished—period."

He removed his foot and stepped away, coolly sliding back onto his bed. Settling down, he looked over to Rai as the Brazilian picked himself up from the ground. "You can stay if you want. This is your room as much as mine. Kama-sensei has welcomed you here, and I will not mention this encounter, but…I am not leaving, and if you have a problem with it, deal with it in your own way."

Rai didn't even feel like arguing with the annoyingly collected and nonchalant Asian. He simply opened the door and walked out, but not before saying, "This is not over, Kusinagi…"

As the door hissed to a close, Kyōto relaxed him body fully, exhaling a sigh of reprieve.

The black shadow, which had followed Kyōto out of Kimiko's room, had gone down the opposite hallway, stopping at Room 18. Opening the door, the shadow slipped inside.

Observing Omi, sound asleep on his head, Shin-ji laid down on his stiff mat, his eyes glittering like tawny diamonds. He was quite satisfied with what he had seen…