Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Feral
She wasn't here.
The last three times he'd tried going to the shrine but each time Kagome wasn't present.
The first time only her brother had been home.
Had to go into town.
The boy had said. His lips had been pulled into a frown as if he were displeased with where she had gone.
It was a little odd but he didn't think much about it. They family did have to run into town every now and then to obtain things like groceries and supplies.
The second time was two days afterwards.
At that point it was the mother that was home. She was more optimistic than the boy but she also reiterated that Kagome had to 'go into town'. He tried to needle some more details out of her but Higurashi Momo had kept a tight lid on that information.
Whatever was happening, it certainly seemed to eat up a lot of Kagome's time.
The third time was that weekend. He'd gone during the evening. At that point no one was home but a letter had been left behind mentioning that all of them had been summoned.
He knew that something was happening. Something far beyond Kagome's control. What it was exactly he couldn't say. However he did know that it wasn't good.
Scarlet eyes narrowed as he spied the warm light spilling from the family's kitchen onto the tiled courtyard outside.
Good.
It looked like someone was home.
Maybe this time he could get the answers he was seeking.
Shigaraki made his way towards the door. However as soon as he lifted his hand to knock, it flung open, revealing a distressed and furious Kagome.
Her brows were furrowed and her lips pressed into a sharp line. Her cheeks were flushed a bright shade of pink from her frustration.
The young woman blinked once before the anger suddenly shifted into surprise.
"Tomura!" She nearly jumped as she recognized him upon her doorstep. "Sorry I missed you the past few days! Things have been a bit... chaotic."
The resignation in her tone told him more than she did at that point.
He was right.
Something was happening.
He stretched his hand towards hers, "Come on."
He felt her fingers curl around his without hesitation. She was careful about not holding all five of his fingers at once. He only had to tell her a single time but since then she'd paid extra caution.
Kagome fell into step beside him.
Even in the impending darkness he could still spy the slight flushing of her cheeks. In this case it was no longer anger that colored her features so. It was something far more interesting.
Shigaraki pulled her against his side as he led her towards the Goshinboku.
"You want to let me in on what's been happening?" He started bluntly.
It was best to take the band aide approach to things like this.
He wasn't the most skilled in social interactions. In fact, he barely had any practice at all. This was all new to him.
The young woman sighed, "Well the night you had dinner here I got a call from an old teacher of mine. Apparently they needed my help on a case. My license expired so they asked me to renew it so I could help them out."
She folded her arms over her chest, "Normally I would decline but this case is slightly different."
His brow quirked at that, "How so?"
Kagome's lips twitched, "Well for starters I'm not supposed to be mentioning a word of this. So it's all top secret, okay?"
He didn't bother to make a sound or nod at that—he simply allowed her to continue where she'd left off.
"Apparently there's been a rash of quirk erasing drugs flooding the black market. Usually the effects are temporary but the heroes are still concerned about the backlash something like that could have. So they asked me to furnish them with a deterrent." Azure eyes hardened as she pushed forward, "Most people know about my father and his Black Abyss quirk. However few people know about Crystallize. It's something I inherited from my mother and she inherited from her mother before her."
"We don't know all of its applications just yet but we do know that it can boost certain quirks. I'm not sure if it's something that can help everyone or if there's a limit. So for now they want me to make a few of them and hand them out to heroes. Of course that means that in order to do so I have to have my provisional license again and work under a hero's direct supervision." Her shoulder slumped as she leaned against him heavily, "It's not exactly pleasant but it isn't as if we have any choice in the matter."
That was right.
Her father was still in Tartarus. Which meant that the heroes would be watching the family closely to ensure that they weren't going to make any moves against them.
While he had no doubt that they needed her help, he suspected that this was the first move to try to recapture her into their fold. If they could bring Kagome in to their ranks as a low level hero, then they could watch her from a distance.
He couldn't allow that.
Not if he could help it.
If she became a hero, even in the smallest of sense, then that would put them at odds with one another.
He wouldn't take the risk of being forced to face her on the battlefield.
He had his goals but that didn't mean that he was without desires as well. She was the first one to pique his interest. He wasn't willing to allow this to fade away without seeing it through to the end first.
Shigaraki gripped her hand a little more firmly, "You should be careful."
He needed to warn her.
He needed her to know what lied ahead.
"If the heroes are asking for your help now then it won't be long before they lock a collar around your neck," He lifted his free hand to trace the tip of his index finger along the hollow of her throat.
It was a test of her willingness to trust him.
Just far would she allow him to take this before she pushed him away? Just how much would she permit him to touch before she drew back?
He wanted to know.
"They want you under their control. Much like a dog on a leash." He lowered his hand towards her collar bone.
How much further?
Azure eyes flicked towards him for a brief moment. The color in her face was darker than he'd ever seen it before.
"I'm already aware of that," She remained lax within his grip. "So that's why I only agreed to renewing a temporary license. It'll only be valid for six months before it expires. After that if the case isn't complete then I'm done." She stepped closer to him as she braced her open palm against his chest, "I will not make the same mistake that I did before. I've already learned that lesson the hard way."
The young woman cast him a wry smile.
She neither moved closer to him nor shifted away. At this point she was allowing him the chance to decide how to progress things from here.
His lips quirked up into a smirk, "Best not forget it either."