Monster Rancher Fan Fiction ❯ The Secret of the Guardians (previously Hare's Secret) ❯ True Awakenings ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: I do not own MR. The guardians belong to me. Yaoi Tiger x Hare.

True Awakenings

Hare sat up quickly, turning his head to stare directly at the monster beside him. Tiger didn't even look at him, despite how silly the hare must have looked with his mouth open wide in astonishment. Without realizing it, Hare shifted slightly and let out a yelp of shock as he... fell into the water.

Of course, that noise woke nearly everyone up, save for the sleeping dragon guardian. Tiger himself growled in annoyance and glared down at the hare who was dragging himself sputtering onto the bank. Brown fur was matted down with water, ears dangling and dripping down the sides of his face as Hare gazed up at Tiger of the Wind. A strange uncertain expression came to the monster bunny's face as he shifted to his knees, now staring directly into the golden eyes of the tiger. As if oblivious to the stares of their teammates, Hare reached out one single paw to settle gently on the tiger's cheek, his other hand bracing himself of the ground. For long moments they just stared at each other, searching for something... anything.

Genki blinked as he watched the hare paw melt into a human-like hand, as the Hare Guardian revealed himself in full form once more. Hare leaned forwards, still staring deep into Tiger's golden orbs. 'Is it possible?' his voice was barely above a whisper, heard only by Tiger of the Wind himself. 'Baka, what are y...' Tiger's angry words were cut off as gentle lips pressed against his muzzle. It was not a passionate kiss like between lovers, but more of a sweet greeting between old friends.

Golden eyes widened as images flashed through the tiger's mind. Memories of another time, another life... Tiger found himself swirling through a lifetime of memories, memories of Eternity Mountain, of the Hare Guardian, of himself... He was... the Tiger Guardian.

Hare did not pull away even as the golden eyes swept closed, blue light shimmering around Tiger of the Wind's form. The lips against his own changed until they too were human-like, soft and gentle against his own. Finally, he let himself draw back, getting to his feet and reaching out his arms to steady Tiger even as the other guardian's form appeared, the light dying down around them. The glade was silent, even as golden eyes opened to stare into his own.

~*~

Genki blinked in amazement at the sight. Hare... well, the Hare Guardian, kissed Tiger. Now if that wasn't a sign then... wait, blue light? Ok, weird. Hey, Tiger's changing! The blue light surrounding him drew upwards, then shimmered away to reveal... wow! Everyone's eyes widened at the sight.

Blue hair streaked with white lightning tumbled down over strong shoulders, two horns curling up from the young man's head. Eyes closed as if in sleep even as the blue shimmers of light became a long white robe nearly identical to that of the Hare Guardian except for the blue short sleeves and the fact that it only flowed down to his knees, not his ankles. Silver jewelry magically appeared around his neck and on his arms, but made no sound at all. Instead of shoes, the boy wore strange blue sandals, and had a long blue belt wrapped around his waist. From where the group stood, they could see a split up the back of the new boy's robe, just high enough to let a long blue tail escape from waist level.

Golden eyes blinked open, regarding the other guardian silently. 'Tiger,' the hare boy whispered, amazed with his fortune. Imagine... Tiger of the Wind was his Tiger Guardian.

The moment was shattered by a loud SPLASH! Golden eyes watched emotionlessly as the hare guardian floundered in the water for the second time that day, before turning around and striding quickly towards the fire. 'Idiot,' the halfling grumbled under his breath as he passed Genki who was rushing to help his water soaked friend.

~*~

'Tiger!' Genki called out, as he helped the floundering hare guardian out of the water. A hand on his arm stopped him from pursuing the tiger guardian who disappeared into the trees. 'Leave him, Genki. He needs time to remember, to understand. Just as I did,' Hare whispered, staring at the spot Tiger had disappeared.

~*~

~Dark eyes, the gentle smile upon his face.~ Tiger growled to himself, trying to stop his mind from noticing everything about the Hare Guardian. ~Long bunny ears, very cute pert bunny tail~ Tiger growled louder, before grunting and stomping elegantly through the trees. ~Baka Hare. Falling off the cliff like that, we should have been helping the others with the barrier. It failed because of us. If we had only been there... If I hadn't gone back for Him then maybe... maybe this wouldn't have happened.~

The Tiger Guardian, formally Tiger of the Wind, tried to convince himself that everything was Hare's fault, not his... but he knew better. Even with all the guardians creating a barrier, it still could have fallen before Moo and then they all would have been trapped. The mere idea of His bunny eared friend.. if he could call him that, being caught by Moo, sent shivers down his spine and anger raging through his blood. No one hurt His Hare, no one!

~*~

Hare sighed and leaned back against the tree, his gaze sweeping down to the mortals circling the campsite nearby. He was in a tree, sitting firmly on one of the larger branches, careful not to fall. Hare needed time to think, he needed to be alone. No one could disturb him here. No one...

His eyes drifted closed, even as he briefly wondered if Tiger was alright. Then he snorted at the idea. Of course Tiger was alright. He was Tiger of the Wind and the Tiger Guardian. In fact, it was possible that Tiger was probably blaming him for everything that had happened thusfar. It wasn't ALL his fault, not everything. It was just a coincidence... right?

~*~

All Tiger's stalking finally led him full circle, back to the campsite. The newly remembered guardian peered silently at the sleeping mortal figures, briefly touching upon the form of the Dragon Guardian, before turning upwards. Just as he had suspected. The bunny boy was perched on a limb overlooking the campsite, yet he appeared so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed Tiger's return. Baka.

With a leap, the half tiger monster landed silently on another branch where he could watch the hare who was still unaware of his presence. The picture of the bunny eared youth in a tree was enough to bring a faint memory to the surface of his mind... not to mention a blush. Yes, the Tiger Guardian was well aware of his fellow Guardian's attraction towards him, even if the hare believed he was being subtle about it. Tiger shook his head, the idiot bunny didn't know how to keep a secret. It wasn't part of his overall cheery nature.

Sitting down finally, the blue haired youth propped up his chin in his palm and watched the hare think. Of course, that lead to his own mind dwelling on the past... when he was the Tiger Guardian. But now, now he was Tiger of the Wind as well. Two creatures in one body, just as Hare was. It was startling to realize how much they truly had in common. Of all the guardians, only they had ever become mortal, even if it was only for a brief time.

A movement brought Tiger out of his thoughts, only to find that he was being stared at by the other halfling youth who had finally noticed him. The dark eyed boy nodded silently, one of his rabbit ears trailing over the side of his smooth skinned face. Those startlingly beautiful... Tiger nearly shook his head at the thought, but merely nodded back and looked away, unable to meet the hare's gaze any longer. Shit, since when had he ever backed down to the bunny?

~*~

Hare blinked, only to find that Tiger had returned... and was sitting near him in the tree. The youth's long blue tail was curled in his lap, his own golden eyes filled with memories. Unable to help himself, Hare allowed his gaze to travel over the other halfling, lingering on his slim but well built young form. With a sigh, the bunny eared guardian felt his eyes being drawn back to those familiar golden orbs that suddenly blinked back at him. Holding his breath for a moment, Hare could only nod at his fellow guardian who gazed silently back at him. With a twist of his head, Tiger both nodded and looked away, choosing to stare down at the campsite. Hare tried not to let the hurt show on his face, grateful for his long ears that could easily hide his eyes as he too turned away, slipping off the branch and landing with barely a sound near Genki who was too deep in sleep to notice him.

~*~

Tiger's eyes trailed after the hare guardian, watching him settle down next to the sleeping dragon guardian. With a sigh, Tiger leaned back against the tree, letting his long legs balance him on the branch as he drifted off to sleep. It had been a long day.

~*~

Hare awoke to the feeling of a hand touching his face. Opening his eyes, ready to give the person a piece of his mind for waking him up so early, the bunny boy found himself staring deep into dark red slitted eyes. 'D-Dragon,' he whispered, staring at the eldest of the Guardians. The teenage formed halfing smiled back gently at him, kneeling there silently as the mortals woke around them.

'He's Awake!' Genki yelled, successfully waking everyone. Tiger himself took a moment to open his eyes and glare down into the campsite, only to give a tiny growl when he saw the dragon and the hare. His golden eyes froze on the hand touching His hare on the cheek, before he shook himself out of what he refused to think as a jealousy stage. In a flash, he leapt from the tree, landing near Holly who jumped at his sudden appearance.

Even Hare looked at him, watching the silent Tiger Guardian stalk closer to stand behind the Dragon Guardian. Red eyes smiled back at Hare as the Dragon boy stood, extending a hand to help his bunny eared companion to his feet. Tiger merely glared at them both, his presence forbidding.

'Hello Tiger. It seems you've both managed to return back here on your own,' the Dragon youth stated, his voice a gentle mature whisper on the air. Tiger grunted and Hare chuckled at the memory of their journey to the mountain. The elder Guardian turned to face the morals, staring intently at Genki who just fidgeted under his gaze.

'The child of legend,' the winged boy whispered, his red eyes focused on the young human boy. 'Child of Legend?' Holly asked, catching the dragon boy's attention. 'Yes,' he whispered, staring at her just an intently with a frown on his face. Then he shook his head and smiled. 'I will explain everything, but perhaps we should have breakfast. I have been sleeping for a very long time. Tiger, Hare,' the Dragon Guardian stated, gesturing to the woods.

'Oh yeah. Guess we can't let them go wandering around in the forest, especially with Moo and his forces out there,' Hare chuckled, leading the way. Tiger followed silently, arms crossed over his chest as they disappeared into the trees.

Dragon chuckled quietly as he watched them leave, wondering if they had finally figured out what it meant to be in love. No, it didn't seem like it. Neither was very good at admitting their feelings, especially not Tiger. Such a pity, they complemented each other so well.

'Why were you sleeping under the waterfall?' Genki suddenly asked, dragging the dragon boy's attention back to the mortals. With a slight grin, Dragon sat and began to tell them about the time when Moo had attacked Eternity Mountain.

~tbc~

Author's Note: I'm sorry, I know I haven't updated in a while. Thank you everyone who reviewed, I'll try to get rest put up soon. I have a few other Monster Rancher fic ideas that I'm working on, yes they all have the Tiger x Hare pairing in them. I really want to finish this one soon. Let me know what you think is going to happen next in their adventure now that the dragon guardian is awake!

Oh, and I now have a personal site set up for all of my fics. Visit Twilight Garden at

http://wingedtora.tripod.com