Chapter 10: The Guardian's Secret

Rini sat on the back porch, staring at the stars as Serena and Darien sat on the bench against the house, talking about what had happened. Turning to face them, the little girl hopped up on Darien's lap, causing Serena to glare at her.
"Where is Uncle Koaru?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. Serena and Darien exchanged uneasy looks before the young man took a shot at an answer.
"He's...out trying to figure some things out."
"You mean like how he always pisses Amy off?" Rini asked, and Serena smiled at the girl's answer.
"Yeah, that and other things."

Koaru leaned against the balcony railing at Lita's apartment, slowly inhaling the last cigarette of the pack he had. Looking up at the stars, he exhaled and watched the smoke rise into the air until it dissipated. Sighing, he rubbed the butt out on the rail and dropped it, turning and heading back inside. Dropping down on the couch, he looked at his left arm and glared at the bandages he had wrapped around it, reaching from the wrist up to the side of his neck. He sank back in the couch, listening as Lita worked in the kitchen, cooking what smelled like fried rice and chicken.
"Koaru!" came Lita's voice, snapping his attention to her. "Can you come help in here?"
Grunting, the Guardian heaved himself off of the couch and walked into the kitchen, smiling as he saw the young girl bent over the stove, frying rice in a pan.
"What do you need me to do?" Koaru asked as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck, causing her to flinch and smile.
"I need you," she said, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow playfully, "to get some dishes down so we can eat."
"Alright," he said, letting go of her and walking over to the cupboards and opening the one containing plates, grabbing what he needed and shutting it again, unaware that Lita was watching him from the stove.
"What's wrong with your arm?" she asked, noticing the bandages he had on.
"Nothing serious," he said quickly, setting the dishes on the table. "It's just a couple of wounds from that fight."
Lita pulled the rice off the burner, thinking.
"Koaru," she said slowly, turning off the stove and turning to face him, "Tenshi didn't wound your left arm."
"Lita," Koaru said strongly, "it's nothing."
"Alright," she said, feeling a little hurt, "sorry."

Artemis sat on Mina's bed beside Luna, the female cat fast asleep as the male listened to Mina coming out of the shower. Watching the girl enter the room with a towel wrapped around her body, her hair hanging in her face like golden vines.
"Artemis, turn now." she said as she yanked the towel off and started drying her hair, the white cat long ago turned to face the wall. "So," she said as she rubbed her hair dry, "what do you think of Tenshi?"
"Explain," Artemis said, confused.
"What do you think he is really here for?"
"I can't honestly say," Artemis said, trying to think. "His power is on a level of its own, his knowledge is very impressive, yet nothing he has done has made me think that he is against us."
"You mean aside from him trying to kill Koaru," Mina said coldly, tossing the towel on the floor and kneeing in front of her dresser, pulling out her night clothes.
"That was something we asked him to do, actually."
"What?"
"Well," the cat said, irritated, "remember when we asked him to test Koaru?"
"Yeah, test him, not send him into his grave." Mina said, still unsatisfied.
"I know," Artemis said, frowning. "I guess I should talk to him about that tomorrow."
"Good kitty." Mina said, smiling.

Koaru pulled his hands out of the hot water in the kitchen sink, the last dish washed and set on the drain board to dry. Shaking his hands over the sink before turning to the stove and grabbing a hand towel, he grinned as he felt Lita's arms wrap around him as he wiped his hands dry. Turning around in her grip, he hugged her and pulled her close, kissing her softly as she bit his lip gently.
"You going to tell me what happened to your arm?" she asked, and Koaru grinned, shaking his head.
"I already did." he said, gently rubbing her back, causing her to flinch again, gasping.
"That's not fair," she said, grabbing her shirt and pulling him back towards the living room, smiling devilishly as she pushed her lips back against his.

Amy sat in her bedroom, her reading light shining down on the pages of the open textbook on her lap as she leafed through the contents, searching for the material she was needing. Her heart jumped slightly as her phone suddenly rang, and she grunted as she pulled herself off of her bed and snatched the phone from the wall.
"Hello?"
"Amy," came Raye's voice, "have you heard from Tenshi at all today?"
"No," she replied, confused, "why do you ask?"
"No real reason, it's just..." Raye paused, and Amy could hear her breathing slowly; a sure sign that she was thinking hard. "Well, I'm worried about what happened last night."
"He won't hunt down Koaru!" Amy shouted before hanging up the phone, though even as she said the words a pang of uncertainty pulled at her mind as she remembered the look Tenshi had when he had fought Koaru. His eyes had been heartless, almost inhuman. Leaning into the wall and sliding down to the floor, she hugged her knees, trying to shake the feeling.
"He won't actually kill him, will he?" she asked out loud to no one.

Lita lay beside Koaru on her couch, wearing only her underwear, gently running her hand across Koaru's bare chest. All the young man wore was his pants, and his breath currently came in slow, deep in and exhales, indicating that he was fast asleep. Her eyes once again locked onto his left arm, wrapped in bandages for what she believed to be no real reason. Looking to check that Koaru was still asleep, she slowly leaned over him and gingerly unwrapped his arm, her heart beat increasing as she unveiled the Guardian's arm. The black markings of the Shadow Scar were still covering the better half of his arm; reaching down to his wrist and up past his shoulder.
"What on earth?" she asked, causing Koaru to stir and open his eyes. Two seconds passed before he realized that she had unwrapped his arm, and he snapped, jumping to his feet and glaring at Lita, his face mixed in fear and rage.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted, causing Lita to flinch. Her eyes crossed his arm again, and he turned, trying to hide it from view.
"Why isn't the Scar receding?" she asked, and Koaru closed his eyes and sighed.
"I don't know," he said meekly, staring at the floor. "It's been like this for a while now, ever since I fought King Soul. The mark kept spreading and quit receding, and I have no idea why."
Lita get to her feet and slowly walked up to Koaru, setting her hands on his waist and leaning against him, she rested her head against his marked shoulder.
"You didn't have to hide it from me, Koaru," she said, and Koaru could hear the pain in her voice. "You can trust me," she looked up into his eyes, tears brimming their sparkling depths. "I want you to know that."
"I'm sorry," he said, kissing her forehead before turning and walking to the couch and grabbing his shirt. "I'm going out for a walk, I'll be back in a while." Turning to face Lita as he picked his jacket up off a chair, he meekly smiled. "I promise."

"How did I get here?" Koaru said aloud as he puffed out the smoke of the first cigarette form a new pack he had just purchased, wandering through the harbor where he and Tenshi had battled the previous evening. "Why did I agree to fight him last night?" he asked aloud, dropping the cigarette and stepping on it.
"I wonder why myself."
Koaru spun around as Tenshi walked into sight from the shadows of an old warehouse.
"Why did you agree to fight me without question?" he asked, and Koaru lowered his eyes.
"I wish I knew."
Tenshi smiled and chuckled, walking up to Koaru and pausing beside him.
"This is what I meant, Guardian," he said, giving Koaru a side-long glance. "Until you learn why you fight, you will never be a true warrior; you will never defeat me."
Koaru weakly smiled, understanding what the Knight was saying.
"However," Tenshi said, tapping his foot before walking past Koaru, heading towards the gates of the harbor. "I mean what I am about to say; Next time we meet, I won't hold back, no matter what anyone says."
Koaru listened to the man walk away and snatched a fresh cigarette out and lit it. Exhaling, he looked up at the sky, letting the words sink in.
"Fair enough." he said, turning and heading back to Lita's apartment.