Shinbe felt guilty for betraying Toya’s trust. The silver guardian was more than a brother to him. It was Toya and Kyoko’s feelings for one another that had kept Shinbe silent for so long. When he was gone, ‘which was likely to be soon,’ he wanted Toya to take care of Kyoko… to be with her and love her as only Toya could do.
Pain, sorrow, betrayal and confusion…. The colored emotions swam through Toya’s mind as Hyakuhei’s words were confirmed on the wind. Kyoko’s scent was now irrefutably mingled with Shinbe’s and drifting across the clearing. Each emotion pulsed within him, tearing his world apart. The clearing shrank. Red haze raced across his vision. The scent of the newly mated couple filled his nose.
A flash of Kyoko’s face had soothed the anger, until her calming presence was rippe
