Cursed Hearts

Chapter 2 “A Voice from the Past”   15 years later… Kyoko paused in front of the office door not wanting to go in. She’d been at the all girls’ boarding school as far back as she could remember and being called to Mrs. Crap’s office had never been a good thing. It gave the words ‘Oh Crap’ a new meaning. “Come in Hogo.” Even muted from the other room, the female voice seemed harsh and unyielding, the kind that basically grated on people’s nerves. Kyoko flinched wondering how the hell the old lady even knew she was standing there. She took a second to glance around her, looking for the secret spy camera she had never found then shrugged and opened the door. Seeing that the head mistress was not alone in the office, Kyoko shifted from one foot to the other wondering what she’d done to get in trouble this time. Since the school was in the middle of nowhere and there were no males allowed on the premises, she’d never been in the same room with the opposite sex and instantl

Chapter 4 “Bad Boys and Romeo”   Lunch was next and when Tasuki got in the cafeteria line, Kyoko glanced out the large glass windows and started toward the outside eating area. Seeing tables scattered everywhere on the concrete, she looked past them and notice a of couple picnic tables under beautiful shade trees. Needing a few minutes of solace to calm down from all the morning's excitement, she picked the biggest tree and sat down at the base of it, facing away from the school. Hyakuhei leaned against the tree beside Kyoko, though he knew it was a moot point to do so. His eyes were dark, without any emotion at all and his lips held no hint of his mood. He was already tired of being invisible to her but he knew he had to bide his time. How could he comfort someone that didn’t even know he was there? Reaching into the backpack, Kyoko pulled out the small soft cooler that she’d stuffed full of grapes and relaxed against the smooth bark of the tree. Hearing a motorcycle cl

Chapter 6 “What Demons Fear”   Kyoko had just finished putting away her new clothes when the doorbell echoed making her jump. Rushing downstairs, she looked through the peephole and saw a delivery guy holding five large boxes of pizza. Opening the door, she frowned knowing it was a mistake. Before she could say anything, the guy held a hand up to stop her. “I know you didn’t order the pizza because the family across the street ordered it for you. It’s a welcome to the neighborhood gift.” He smiled and handed her the boxes. “And they already paid for the pizzas and left me a huge tip.” He nodded and headed back for his car. Kyoko smiled nervously then looked across the street. Seeing long silver hair flashing in the porch light she knew that could only be Kyou. All the guys from school were out on the porch looking across the street at her. Kyoko’s lips curved into a real smile. She waved at them then motioned for them to come over. “And we have our invite,” Shinbe nearly

Chapter 8 “Enigma”   It was after two in the morning and Kyoko finally stood in the heat of the shower. She was glad she’d talked the guardians into letting her stay in her own house even though she figured she lost the battle to stay alone. She’d left the brothers downstairs with a mountain of blankets. After seeing the demons that attacked, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be completely alone anyway. Demons… real demons… things like that weren’t supposed to be true. She had no choice but to believe everything that they’d told her now. So many secrets she would have to keep, but really… who would believe her anyway? Her mind drifted from one guardian to the other. Kamui had seemed the most normal out of the five brothers. But after seeing him in battle, it was obvious he was just as dangerous as the others. Toya… he was the biggest enigma because she was drawn to him, even when the others were in the same room. He also seemed the most dangerous and possessive… but something t

Chapter 10 “Dangerous Jealousy”   The guardians met back in front of the office after having disintegrated every trace of the demons from the building. Clicks echoed as all doors were unlocked and the real panic began. The students were soaking wet, a lot of them going straight to their vehicles and leaving. Some went to the buses, waiting to see if the drivers would show up to take them home. Sirens could be heard in the distance. “Kamui! You only have a minute.” Kyou opened the office door with a jerk of his head, “The info on Tasuki. Quickly!” Just as the firemen started ordering the last of the stragglers to clear the building Kamui came back out the office door. “Got it,” He paused and gripped the doorframe… all color draining from his face. It felt as if he were suddenly punched in the gut, but somehow from the inside. Glancing up, he noted the other guardians had the same expression. “What… was that?” he groaned trying to move. “I’ll kill him,” Toya hissed as he s