GARO Fanfic - Signals

Fic placed right after Chapter 7th


“Where is she?”

Anxiety in Kouga’s voice surprised and worried Gonza, who helped him to get up from the floor.

“She is sleeping, sir”

“Good”.

Leaving the thoughtful butler, Kouga difficultly began to climb upstairs. He dropped on his bed, undressed and lied down. He focused on his body to diagnose his injuries as Makai Knights did. Many blows in the most of his body, lesser woulds, a lot of pain, but little or no serious disorders. He began to notice a burning sensation in his blood indicating that his pituitary gland had started to work by releasing the substance to accelerate the absorption of hematomas and the process of repairing damaged tissue, internal and external injuries. Flows of blood were stopped almost immediately. Tomorrow, when he wake up, any discomfort will be gone. It is unlikely he needed the emergency tonics kept by Gonza, nor necessary to call a Makai priest to use his or her expert knowledges about healing.

But there was something else hurting him, and he did not know how to take care of it. He did not know why that Rei Suzumura, a Makai Knight which even does not appear in the records, had attracted him into a serious fight. He never got into anything or anyone: why that apparent hatred? Because he had not allowed him to kill Kaoru? Ridiculous. That idiot believes that, because he has not executed her yet, he was in love with her: Kouga would have punched him right in his face for saying such an absurdity, but he was not worth of an answer. He had to insult his father’s memory to reach-

His thoughts were interrupted as reminding his first meeting with Rei. Sure he realized that something had trembled within him, when he threatened Kaoru; such a reaction caught him by surprise. Maybe has he started to watch her as a woman without realizing it? Then, he recalled that since she was living in his house such a thing had happened twice, but thanks to his strong self-discipline, he even became capable of prevent this sort of thoughts. Soon, he was able to accept her presence without feeling disturbed, beyond the nuisance of having her hovering over the house, annoying him with her verbiage, and getting into his bussiness. In fact, her presence told she was safe from the horrors and from some crazy people as Rei Suzumura. He felt restless when she went to work, and spent his days fearing that Zaruba to tell him that a horror looms around her.

Next day Kouga woke up in the belief that he took his role as protector to Kaoru too to heart. Someone being used as a bait has no right to cause him so much discomfort. If, as it was quite possible, he can not find any Barancas fruit, he should be able to proceed to execute her with determination, efficiency and the due compassion, but nothing else.

He sat in the dining room, without knowing whether blaming destiny of himself. In any case, the process of detachment had to intensify to get rid of any influence that could weaken his strength and resolution.

His eyes nailed to the door of the dining room, convinced that Kaoru had just come for breakfast. Nobody opened it. As rebuked himself for such a vivid imagination to perceive her even in her absence, the door opened and Kaoru appeared in the doorway.

Kouga did not hear her sharp "good morning" nor saw her upset face, despite to follow her with his eyes until her chair.

“What?” she dropped it, visibly cranky, perhaps because she remained locked in her room last night. It was for her sake.

“Nothing at all” he said, leaving his fascination. He returned his eyes to the dish. In his report had come some memories, because it was not the first time this happened.

His developed perception as a Makai Knight had felt Kaoru’s presence in a room, even without being into it or before doing so. He knew, he felt, whether she was at home or not. Such a presence soothed him, put things at place and left him free to proceed as needed. If he did not feel her, indeed, he was hung by what might happen. Somehow, he had accepted it as a natural thing, but it was not, as it did not happen with Gonza.

Bad thing. His energy mixed with hers without he knowing it. If he was not very careful this link would be extended to several levels. If this happened, better not to think about the consequences. Worse: there was no way to dilute this link in the short term, some people call it karma, others fate, and its control was not easily affordable.

Kouga began to eat with reluctance, feeling caught whithin something like a cosmic conspiracy. He feared it was a punishment for daring to spare Kaoru’s life, or for pretending to believe he could save her. Even he suspected that the intention was to make him to feel loss in all its rawness, as a trial to make him stronger: such possibilities made him sick. Speculations. Useless speculations. But he was unable to eat anything else.

Silently, he rose up and went to train. Hard exercise cleared his mind of unwanted shadows and had the virtue of bring hunger back. At the end, in a state of lucidity, he took his decision.

He admitted that he had attracted that link as leaving Kaoru alive. Now, they were attached to each other: she needed him to survive, and he could not escape his duty to protect her, as a consequence of his decission. Good. What was wrong in him to extend, even only a little, Kaoru’s young life? Each human being is entitled to his life until the very last second: did not he struggl to secure this right?

But he would not allow any collateral development to protect his soul’s integrity when she died, he would cut it immediately and, let’s the fate manage things as it could.

He felt she had gone to work and the mild concern invaded him again. He recalled that it was rare that horrors acted in the light of day, and if the night came and she had problems, Zaruba would tell and he would go hunting. He had not to worry, everything was fine.