Chapter 14! Read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies. Read previous chapters for who owns who. As usual, I own nothing but Gyna, Satoshi, and Riikuu.

Cursed Blessing

Chapter 14

Satoshi walked slowly up to his house. Gyna was still unconscious on his back. He had healed her, but her blood still remained, and had completely soaked the back of his shirt. His mother came out of the house as he walked up the stairs.

"Satoshi, what happened?" she asked, completely taken aback at the sight before her.

"The Akai Ha tried to poison her," he said tiredly, coming to a stop. He was exhausted and his whole body ached. Even his bones ached.

"What poison did they use?" she asked, walking forward to examine the unconscious Gyna.

Satoshi shrugged. "I don't know. There was a dart into her stomach, and then she collapsed and her blood vessels began to burst, and there was a ball and-" Satoshi broke up with a shudder. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it."

"Caressing Child's Breath," she breathed, picking Gyna's arm up to examine her wrist. No scar remained where Satoshi had healed her.

"That's what the poison is called?"

"The poison is from a plant called The Child. Child's Breath is the poison. When they attack like that, with that poison and the dart and the ball, it's called Caressing Child's Breath. Assassins have a disturbing gift of irony." She looked up at her son. "Where did you get extract of Bleeding Ichor?" He raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "The antidote? Ichor is the blood of the Greek gods. But… Bleeding Ichor is one of the rarest, most hidden plants. Where did you even find one, let alone know the process to extract the antidote?" Satoshi shrugged.

"I don't know. The dog assigned to protect her from the Reikai called a man with red hair, called… Kurama. He brought it."

"Kurama? As in, Yoko Kurama?" Satoshi shook his head.

"That's what I thought as well, but didn't Yoko Kurama have silver hair? And this man had no ears or tail." Several women passed by on the street. They stopped, staring at the blood covered Gyna.

"We should get inside. People are starting to congregate."

"Yes, of course." Riikuu ushered Satoshi inside. "Take her up to the bathroom." Satoshi obeyed.

"Should I put her in the tub?" he asked. His mother nodded.

"I'll wash her off, then we can put her in the guest room." Riikuu rolled up her sleeves.

"You're letting her stay here?"

"Well we can't exactly send her home, can we?" She pointed to the doorway. "Out."

"You'll get your clothes dirty." She glared at him and took off her designer jacket. Underneath was a designer silk shirt. Satoshi raised an eyebrow and she pointed to the doorway again.

"Out."

Half an hour later, Riikuu called Satoshi back in to carry a clean Gyna to the guestroom. She was newly clothed in some of Riikuu's clothes. Riikuu tucked her into the bed, Satoshi watching curiously.

"I thought you didn't like her." Riikuu smoothed the bedcovers.

"My feelings are none of your business." Satoshi grinned. "Good job on the healing by the way. No markings or scars left." Satoshi sat down on the bed and stroked Gyna's silver hair away from her face. Riikuu watched him, and then quietly left the room.

Gyna woke with a scream, back arching. She could feel the crippling pain again… the pain!

It disappeared as soon as it had come. Gyna looked around the unfamiliar room. It was decorated in a Victorian style, with heavy red velvet curtains.

"It's alright. You're in our guestroom." Gyna looked over. Riikuu was sitting in a chair by the bed. Gyna sat up slowly, moving carefully to avoid having the pain come back. She was stiff, but by the time she was fully erect there was still no pain.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"I'm afraid I must apologize for my behavior this morning. I was… angry. I had just finished speaking to my ex-husband, and, well… it did not go well."

"Satoshi's father?" Riikuu nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright. Fine. I'm sorry too." She ran her hand through her hair. "How did I get here?"

"Satoshi carried you."

"Did he fix me too?" Riikuu nodded. Gyna ran a shaking hand through hair. And then she burst into tears. Sobbing, she bowed her head, hands covering her face. She froze as she felt Riikuu's warm arms wrap around her.

"I was poisoned the same way when I was younger."

"Do the nightmares ever go away?" Gyna asked, leaning into Riikuu. She felt the older woman shrug.

"Not completely. Even now sometimes I dream about it."

"I just… dreamed about the pain. It's like it's happening all over again!" Riikuu held her more tightly as she began to sob again. When she had calmed down, she wiped her eyes. "How long have I been out? Where's Satoshi?"

"You've been unconscious for a day and a half. I made Satoshi go to bed a couple of hours ago. He was watching over you the entire time." Gyna blushed, and looked down at herself.

"Whose clothes am I wearing?"

"Mine."

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright." The two sat in silence for several moments. "I… would like to invite you to stay here." Gyna twisted around, breaking Riikuu's hold on her shoulders.

"Are you serious?"

"Quite."

"Satoshi… Satoshi said that you always wanted a daughter." Riikuu flinched.

"When Satoshi was five, I got pregnant again. Those loyal to Satoshi were afraid that if I were to have another son, he would eventually challenge Satoshi for the throne. In retrospect, a daughter might have done that as well, but it's much more likely with a son. So, those loyal to him hired an assassin. One of the Akai Ha. That was when they used Caressing Child's Breath, the attack used on you. I… almost died. Satoshi's father saved me. His father had been killed by that attack, and he had taken to carrying the antidote around with him. My life was saved but… my child had died." She swallowed hard before continuing. "We found out later that it had been a girl."

"I'm… so sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Riikuu shook her head.

"It's… alright. But… Satoshi doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way." Gyna nodded.

"Okay." She glanced around the room. "Can I go see him?" Riikuu hesitated.

"I… suppose." Gyna was out of bed in a flash. Time slowed down. Riikuu could see the tiny movement of dust from the strip of light shining in from between the curtains. She could see each strand of Gyna's hair move individually. And then Gyna sped up. Everything was still slow, but Gyna was moving quickly- faster than normal- towards the door. She stopped and turned to look at Riikuu, and time snapped back to normal.

"Is something wrong?" Gyna asked, seeing the odd expression on Riikuu's face. She shook her head.

"No. Just… something might be explained soon."

"Okay…" Gyna said slowly. Riikuu's expression was still odd.

"You go on ahead. There's something I need to check." Gyna nodded agreeably.

"Okay," she said again, heading into Satoshi's room.

He was asleep, completely exhausted from Gyna's ordeal, healing her, and watching over her. Gyna sat down on his head, and stroked his hair off his forehead.

"Thank you Satoshi. You saved my life." Without even opening his eyes, he grabbed her and rolled over, arms wrapped around her.

"You're welcome," he said, voice heavy with sleep. He nuzzled her neck, and she burst out laughing.

"Satoshi! Hah, let go!"

"No, I don't think so." He stopped nuzzling her neck and merely laid there, messy bed-head hair tickling her throat.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you."

"I'm glad."

"Your mom asked me to stay here."

"Well there's a plot twist for you." Gyna laughed again.

"She's nice. We got over our little spat this morning." Satoshi didn't answer, but Gyna's skin tingled wherever he was touching her, as if an electric current ran through his body into hers. "Satoshi, what are we doing?" He looked up at her, shaking dark hair out of his eyes.

"What?"

"This. Us. What are we doing?" She gestured to the two of them in his bed.

"We're laying here."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I don't know Gyna. What do you want us to be doing?"

"Satoshi, I am trying to have a serious conversation about our actions and our feelings. Whether you like it or not, you are going to stop making suggestive comments and participate in a serious and rational way. Got it?"

"Got it," he said resignedly, releasing her and sitting up. He wasn't wearing a shirt: he never slept with one on. She looked at him, and opened her mouth. Then she closed it and shook her head.

"Put a shirt on. You're distracting me." He rolled his eyes dramatically, and grabbed a button up shirt from off the ground. Throwing it on, her raised his eyebrows at her.

"Better?" He hadn't buttoned it.

"Worse, actually." He rolled his eyes as she jumped up and grabbed a sweatshirt from the closet. She tossed it at him. "Here, try this." He rolled his eyes, but replaced the button up shirt with the sweatshirt. Readjusting the hood he raised his eyebrows at her again.

"Better?"

"Kind of. You're still very distracting. Maybe if I turn around." She tried this, but knowing her was there, and feeling his heat at her back was almost as distracting as him being shirtless in front of her. "Okay, that's worse. This'll have to do." She turned around again and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Well, you're distracting too, so we can distract each other while attempting to have a rational, serious conversation about our feelings. Joy."

"Your sarcasm is noted and not appreciated." She gave him a stern look. "Now, let's begin." He shrugged.

"Fine. You start."

"Why do I have to start?" she complained. He glared at her.

"This was your idea. Now start!"

"Fine," she grumbled. Crossing her arms, she looked at him intensely.

"What are we doing?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I. Neither of us will admit our real feelings, I'm confused by my feelings that I have for several different people, and we are just stuck in this ridiculous little dance around each other!"

"Okay."

"This is the part where you make some deep comment about your feelings that clears up all of my doubts and insecurities. Haven't you never read shojo manga?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You're been reading too much manga."

"Satoshi!"

"Fine." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking deep into her eyes. "What do you want to be doing?" She shrugged, looking away. His eyes were too intense for her liking.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about several people, like I said, but you're the first and foremost one."

"I'm flattered." His voice was dry and flat, but she caught the edge of anger. His eyes were angry as well, and then he looked away.

"What?" She titled her neck, trying to look into his eyes again.

"Nothing." He ran a hand through his hair. She rolled her eyes.

"Tell me."

"How many other people do you have feelings for?" he burst out, outraged, looking into her eyes, bangs falling into his eyes.

Gyna thought for a moment. "One." She felt nothing for Hiei. He was an idiot.

He gave her a look. "You said several."

"I've just decided that that guy is stupid." He snorted.

"So, why am I first and foremost?"

"Seniority."

"If that's really the reason I'm kicking you out right now."

"I don't know! You just are!"

"So… you like me."

"Obviously!" Gyna took a deep breath, and grabbed his pillow, hugging it to her chest. "Do you like me?"

Much to Gyna's surprise and Satoshi's chagrin, he blushed bright red. Looking away, he mumbled, "I do."

Gyna, grinning, leaned closer and cupped her ear with her hand. "What? Sorry, didn't catch that."

"I do," he mumbled slightly louder.

"Sorry? One more time."

"I like you, okay?" he burst out, finally looking at her. She was still grinning.

"Good. Now what do we do with this information?"

"You… wanna go out?" he asked hesitantly. Gyna nodded, still grinning brightly.

"Yes." He grinned.

"Excellent." Satoshi stood and grabbed her hand.

"Wait, right now?" He shrugged.

"Why not?"

"I'm in your mom's clothes!"

"Okay, we'll go get some of your stuff then we'll go out. How does that sound?" Gyna nodded, dropping the pillow and standing as well.

"Okay."

"Great. Um, your shoes are bloody too, so wear some of mine. I'll go tell my mom that we're leaving." Gyna nodded, opening his closet to find shoes as he left the room to find Riikuu.

Riikuu slid open a door in her bedroom. Inside was an ancient library, filled to the brim with books. Soft fluorescent lights lit the room, but the empty torch brackets and the covered walls where a torch flame would burn showed that the room had once been lit by torchlight. Looking hurriedly through the shelves, she found the book she was looking for. Sliding it off the shelf, she headed back into her room. Sitting on her bed, she opened it, quickly flipping through the pages. Finding the pages she was looking for, she stopped, and her eyes widened.

"Mom? We're leaving. We're going to go get some of Gyna's stuff and then go out." Satoshi poked his head into the room. His mother was sitting on her bed, frozen, eyes wide and face deathly pale. "Mom? What's wrong?" Satoshi came all the way into the room. Riikuu dropped the book as if it had burned her. It landed on the bed with a thump. "Mom, what's wrong?" He sat down on the bed, and picked up the book. He froze as well, staring down at the page. "It's… Gyna." The book was old, falling apart at the edges with old parchment pages, and written in demon script.

There was a picture on the right page. It was of Gyna, complete with her wings, ears, and tail. She was holding a katana in both hands, the moon shining behind her. It shone brightly on her waist length silver hair.

"Mom, what is this? It's Gyna! But this book is so old… how is this possible?"

"She's a time-twister." Satoshi laughed, handing the book back.

"Mom, time-twisters aren't real. Time is constant, and only moves forward."

"Except in those odd places in the world where time does not flow correctly."

"Except for those," Satoshi conceded.

"Satoshi, time-twisters are real." Riikuu ran her fingertips over the picture, and then turned the page. On this page there were two pictures of both of a girls arm. On the left arm were Japanese birthmarks that looked like tattoos, on the right, Egyptian. The same exact birthmarks as Gyna.

"Mom, what is this?"

"Satoshi, you know that Gyna has an awesome power, because of her mixed lineage. When I was with her in her room, she got up to go see you. Time slowed down, but she had sped up. She's a time-twister."

Satoshi shook his head. "No, that's impossible. They're not real." He looked down at the book again. "Mom, how is it possible that Gyna is in this book?"

"That's not Gyna." His brow furrowed.

"Then how-"

"There have been very few time-twisters in history. I could count them on one hand. The reason for this is because the different bloodlines that form a time-twister must be combined in exact proportions. The exact proportions that Gyna has." Riikuu took the book from his and ran her finger over a line of demon script. "It says here that all time-twisters look the same. The magic of time changes them, makes them all the same." Riikuu read further. "Their bodies are exactly the same, down to the height and the weight. Even their personalities are similar. They're all strong, very headstrong and stubborn."

Satoshi grinned. "That sounds like Gyna." Then his brow furrowed. "So… does that mean that time-twisters are reincarnations?" Riikuu shook her head.

"No. Reincarnations are the same soul. Time-twisters are different souls, with similar characteristics. All time-twisters lives are difficult, full of challenges and trials. This makes them strong and stubborn."

Satoshi turned a page in the book. "Mom," he said sharply. "How do time-twisters die?" Riikuu swallowed hard.

"They've all been killed by the Akai Ha before they were sixteen." Riikuu, still looking at the book heard a sharp intake of breath from her son. "Only one lived to be older. She lived to be twenty, but her entire life she had been locked up in a small, dark room. She never saw the light of day. I think death was a blessing to that poor girl."

"Why sixteen?"

"That's when the power reaches maturity. Some time-twisters gain the ability to actually control time before they're sixteen, but some aren't able to control it until they turn sixteen. But sixteen's the cutoff. All time-twisters can control time by their sixteenth birthday."

"Why does the Akai Ha want to kill Gyna?" Satoshi asked hoarsely clutching the book in his hands.

"Because she's a time-twister. She can control time." Riikuu sighed, taking the book from Satoshi's hands before his grip could damage the fragile pages. "Time is the most powerful element. With it, you can replay any scene in your life over and over again until you get the desired result. You can stop time and change the course of your or another's life. You can slow down time, or speed it up. You can do anything, because everything lies within the boundaries of time." Riikuu sighed, closing the book. "Should we tell her?" Satoshi shook is head, following his mother into the library a she put the book away.

"No."

"Why don't you want to tell her?" Satoshi sat anxiously on the edge of the bed.

"The more she knows, the more danger she's in."

"She's already in danger, and she already knows quite a bit." Satoshi shook his head.

"No. She doesn't know this. She doesn't know her own powers, and I want to keep it like that as long as possible."

"But, later, won't she be in more danger than ever if she can't use her own powers?" Satoshi shook his head and stood.

"No. She will never be in enough danger for there to be a need for her to use the power of time."

"Satoshi, she's already in enough danger. With the Akai Ha after her-"

"She will be safe with me. I will protect her." He ground his teeth, and added ruefully, "And that dog will protect her as well."

"Dog?" His mother asked, cocking her head.

"He's a demon, working for the Reikai. He's been assigned to protect Gyna. If he fails, he's sent back to spirit prison. For eternity, I'm assuming." Satoshi laughed bitterly. "So you could say he has a personal interest in keeping her alive."

"Well," Riikuu sniffed. "I suppose it's better to have a guardian who has a personal interest in keeping you alive than one who doesn't." Satoshi bared his fangs.

"I don't care. She doesn't need him. She has me. No one will touch her as long as I am there."

"You say that, but even with you there, she almost died." Satoshi winced at the memory. "If I were her, I would be very thankful with any help I could get." Satoshi shook his head violently as he walked out of the room.

"No. We do not need his help."

"Where are you going?"

"To get some of Gyna's stuff, then we're going out."

"Where?"

"I dunno. Just… out."

"Be safe." He glanced at Riikuu.

"I already made one mistake, and it almost cost Gyna her life. There will not be a second one."

Gyna stamped her feet impatiently. She was wearing Satoshi's socks- too big for her- and his shoes- much too big for her. Her first order of business, she decided, after getting her clothes, would be to move at least three pairs of her shoes to his house. She sighed, crossing her arms, and leaned against the door. Satoshi was taking a very long time for just telling Riikuu that they were leaving. She had just stood up straight when Satoshi came down the stairs. He jumped down them, landing silently with barely a bend of his knees. Gyna grinned as he straightened, face pale and worried.

"Now that I know, are you just going to show off all the awesome things you can do?" Satoshi couldn't help it: he grinned.

"Yeah, basically. Ready?" She nodded, and they left the house, Gyna clonking each step of the way because of Satoshi's large shoes.

Well, this was pretty much an explanation chapter. The action and romance pick back up (times two!) next chapter! Reviews loved and appreciated!