“My dear Kyoko, I have no desire to kill you. As your guardian I could not… it would go against all I stand for. You are meant to be protected by the guardians and I am a guardian. To let you go would only send you away without a guardian’s protection. That I cannot allow. The punishment stands.” He gripped her head between his hands to keep her still and pressed his lips against the top of her head before turning to leave her to think about her punishment. “Hyakuhei is also a guardian,” Kyoko whispered defiantly knowing he could hear her even if he didn’t acknowledge it. Part of him knew she was right but he wasn’t about to admit that to her. He wanted to fly into a rage at the mere thought of Hyakuhei touching her as he just had, but refrained. He needed to put space between them in or

