Hey guys! I am sorry this chapter took so long to come out! But I have a REALLY good excuse, my 8 month old son was in and out of the hospital because of reoccurring health problems, but he is now on antibiotics and is starting to feel better. ANYWAYS, I hope you all had a wonderful New Years, despite the restrictions thanks to the pandemic (depending where you live). And I have this idea firmly planted in my brain. I want to write a fluffy one shot for a holiday! So send me a quick message of which character pairings you would like to see (out of Inuyasha, Naruto, Ouran high school host club, Vampire knight, BNA, or even a yu yu hakusho x kagome pairing, or any studio ghibli characters.) those are basically the only anime I have ever followed to any degree (I've never really watched much Yu yu hakusho. I have a list and I'm getting through it slowly) So send me whichever pairing and holiday you would like to see and I will get one out and dedicate it to you! Cuz you guys are all so awesome and so patient with me as I work on this. And no matter what life throws my way I am not going to abandon my writing! I am so grateful to all of you who have loved this story so far!
Reviewers Responses:
llLittle Sll: Thank you! Thank you! Such high praise! I am weak to such things! LOL Actually I HAVE been fleshing out a high school Kagome x Sesshoumaru idea that WILL include magic, but I have so many stories started that included magic that I REALLY wanted to do one without any first because it was different from my usual inspirations! I am so glad that you like this story! Thank you!
Lauramichca: Yeah I agree about Kyouya and Kagome... (unless Kyouya was secretly a demon of some kind and she a miko! ;P ) But oooh... Kaoru and Haruhi. It makes sense. Kaoru is much more in tune with his feelings and other peoples feelings, and more gentle than Hikaru who is so brusque. lol As for Tamaki and Haruhi, I don't mind them together in the anime (or even the manga) but when it comes to fanfiction I love pairings that DON'T actually happen as the original author wrote them out to be. I LOVE writing and reading alternative pairings. So while Tamaki and Haruhi have been behaving as normal in my fic SO FAR as they do in the anime, they WON'T be together in this fic. I do have a plan for Haruhi, which actually will be taking place in the sequel series for this fic! YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! I am going to write a sequel to this one! I only have a vague idea for it so far, I'm focussing on getting this one done for you guys first. But Haruhi and her romantic interest will be more of a presence in the sequel! OH A Nekozawa and Kagome fic! That gives me idea's! I will maybe write a oneshot and dedicate it to you! That is such a unique idea! YOU are a wealth of inspiration to my writing muses! ;) And your second comment about Mitsukuni protecting Kagome... MAY have inspired the last part of this chapter! ;)
IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you who only ever followed Ouran High School Host Club in anime form (of which I was one until recently) Mori actually has a little brother, Satoshi! So Satoshi, Mori's dad: Akira, and his uncle: Yorihisa, are their actual names and I describe them better here in this chapter based on their manga appearance. So I didn't just make up names for them willy nilly. Though neither of Mitsukuni's or Takashi's mothers are mentioned so far as I have been able to find. So I don't know what the story is there. If you know send me a message! I am trying to make this as in canon as possible. Carry on!
The next day found Kagome at the host club room prepping the days snacks and desserts before anyone else arrived. She was setting a pot of tea on the warmer when Hani bound up to her, latching onto her arm and spinning her. She stumbled backwards and Mori caught her by the arm. She looked up and smiled in appreciation.
"Guess what Kago-chan?" Hani asked with boundless enthusiasm. As everyone else ventured into the room. "What?" She asked him.
"My father and Takashi's father want you to come for dinner today!" Kagome blinked in surprise.
"What? Why?" She was bewildered looking between the cousins. Mori, as usual, gave nothing away, as Hani just shrugged.
"I think they heard about Takashi wanting to join the tournament, so uncle Akira wanted to meet you." With that said he turned to Tamaki, "Which means we need to be excused today, Tama-chan! Bye bye!" And he proceeded to drag Kagome out the door, followed by Mori.
"Ah, wait! Sorry, Kyouya! All the desserts are ready in the fridge!" She managed to get out before the door closed on a frantically sputtering Tamaki.
A short drive later found Kagome outside the Morinozuka household. It was a traditional mansion much like the Taisho home. Though the house itself was smaller, but the grounds were certainly more vast, and very beautifully kept. They even had a training grounds that looked like it had been untouched by time, something straight out of an old Samurai mansion. She took everything in stride, not having been to Mori's home before. She was slightly nervous about meeting his father and honestly wasn't sure what to do in this situation. She had feelings for Takashi but couldn't act on them, even though Takashi was doing his best to try and persuade her to try and bend the rules. But despite that, she was torn as to whether or not there was any point in trying to win over his father. So should she just play the part of heiress to the Taisho name instead? Steeling her resolve to play it by ear, she followed the cousins through the estate.
Hani was no stranger to the Morinozuka estate and walked along with Mori with purpose, making sure that Kagome walked in between them, though Hani stole her attention to point out the things that he knew Mori would not normally articulate, taking the lead for him.
"And here is the sitting room!" Hani said with a flourish, sliding the shogi door open with a smooth and soft clack. Two middle aged men looked up, two younger sons sitting near each other not far away from them. It was not hard to pinpoint who was who.
Mitsukuni's father had greying dirty blonde hair that looked a little wild It was just long enough to flow into a natural spiky wave surrounding his head, and he had a scruffy and thick but short beard that also added to his overly wild look. It made her do a double take to look at Mitsukni's carefully smoothed hair that also naturally tried to spike. Mitsukuni and Yasuchika both were clearly his blood. And Kagome's eyes drifted then to a younger looking version of Takashi, though he had a few strands of hair that hung down as bangs on his forehead.
"Hey there! Are you the girl that Taka-kun slighted?" The younger boy asked with a deceptive grin.
"Eh?" Kagome blinked. "Taka-kun?" The younger boy nodded and pointed to Takashi.
"Yeah, my big brother, Takashi, or as I like to call him "Taka-kun". He grinned and she turned bewildered blue eyes up to Takashi who she was surprised to find had a slight blush on his face as he purposefully didn't look at her but instead at his younger brother, a sharp glare of reprimand in his gaze.
"Satoshi. That is hardly a polite way to greet our guest." The dark haired, speckled with grey, middle aged man reprimanded his youngest son. Kagome's gaze turned on him and though the dark hair and grey eyes were unmistakable in his relation to Takashi and his younger brother, unlike him his hair was smoothly parted in a much tamer hairstyle compared to his sons and cousin. He also had a short and neatly trimmed goatee. He looked much more reserved than his Haninozuka counterpart or his sons. But Kagome couldn't ignore the unmistakable air of the strong silent type similar to Takashi.
"Tch. I don't see why I have to be here for this sit down." Chika looked off to the side, out into the courtyard with a bored expression. Without warning a kendo shinai came down on Yasuchika's head with a hollow crack of bamboo.
"OW!" Chika yelled glaring up at Satoshi who stood over his cousin.
"That was rude Chika!" Satoshi yelled at him in reprimand. "How many times do I have to tell you to be nicer to girls!?" Kagome blinked at the sight, hardly believing that both of these boys were related to the pair of cousins she had come to know.
"You're one to talk." Mori reprimanded his little brother, stepping into the room to sit down on a cushion opposite his father at the low table where the two heads of house had been playing shogi. Satoshi scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh in response to his brother.
Kagome couldn't help the giggles that escaped her then and the room went silent as they watched the infamous Sesshoumaru Taisho's daughter laughing at the scene before her. She tried to tamp down on the giggles that filled the space between her and a room full of mostly silent, or in Chika's case, stern men. She shared a look with Mitsukuni who was smiling at her with a knowing look in his big honey-brown eyes. Mitsukuni then reached out and grabbing her hand as her giggles died down and led her in to sit on a cushion between Takashi and himself. It wasn't lost on Kagome that apart from the two younger boys who were quietly yelling at each other, Kagome was effectively sitting in the middle of the two families. Like some strange segregated presentation.
"Welcome Miss Taisho." The Morinozuka head of the house greeted her, dipping his head politely. "My name is Akira Morinozuka, I am pleased that you accepted our invitation to dine with us this evening. I spoke with your father and he assured me that this evening was not considered a broach of the rules he has placed on you in regards to the tournament. This is my cousin Yorihisa Haninozuka, the clan head of the Haninozuka family."
"Oh, I have met Haninozuka-san before actually." Kagome replied sheepishly. Akira, Satoshi and Yasuchika all looked at her in shock.
"You have?" Akira lifted a fist to cup his chin, looking over at his cousin who merely gave him a sly smile, then looked down at the shogi board to contemplate his next move.
"Yes, when I first met Takashi and Mitsukuni they invited me over to the Haninozuka estate for cake." Kagome smiled serenely, remembering that day in the Japanese garden and the pressed cherry blossom in her journal at home. Her eyes slid to Chika, not certain as to why he looked suddenly stricken as he gave her a bewildered and shocked look. She quirked a brow at him, he blushed and swivveled his head away, then she turned back to Mori's father.
"I was surprised to hear that you wanted to meet with me, but I do appreciate the invitation. I assume since you know the rules my father placed on me regarding the tournament, that means that you spoke with him?" She tilted her head.
"Yes, well when I found out that you asked Takashi to participate in the tournament, I was most curious to know what type of female had managed to turn his head from his instincts to protect and serve Mitsukuni. The need to serve the Haninozuka's runs deep in our blood, you see."
This man certainly didn't beat around the bush. She smiled reassuringly. "I apologize if I overstepped?" She hedged, it was difficult to read the stoic man, though she got the sense he was a gentle soul like his eldest son.
"There is no need to apologize. His sense of loyalty and duty have always run deep so I was surprised is all. But not unpleasantly so."
"It's not like Takashi did so without asking me first." Mitsukuni cheerfully supplied. This was news to Kagome, though given what his father had just said she wasn't wholly surprised.
"Ah that sounds more like Takashi." The Haninozuka family head spoke, moving a piece on the shogi board after a long deliberation. Akira's eyes slanted towards the move with a quietly critical eye.
Kagome felt disquieted. She wasn't aware that Takashi would have had to ask permission in order to protect her, but if his father hadn't first expressed their families silent and serious loyalty she probably would have reacted different. Kagome felt a tug on her yellow school uniform skirt and looked over at Mitsukuni.
"Takashi once told me to be who I was, so I was happy to return the favor. You can love more than one person at a time, especially if that love is different for each person." He spoke softly as the two family heads suddenly began arguing, which made everyone in the room look at them. Raising his voice seemed something more that Yorihisa would do, he and his family certainly were more animated, save for Satoshi, than the Morinozuka's.
"All I'm saying is that it could be a very beneficial match. Perhaps I should make Mitsukuni enter the tournament as well." Yorihisa hid his hands in his kimono sleeves.
"Eh?!" Kagome and Mitsukuni blurted at the same time. Takashi's face fell into a state of wide eyed, open mouthed shock.
Akira shot a glare at Yorihisa. "Don't try pulling that, Yorihisa. If they had a connection instead don't you think she would have asked Mitsukuni instead of Takashi?" He set a shogi piece down on the board with a little more force than necessary and crossed his arms.
Yorihisa merely raised his eyebrows and retaliated both with a shogi move and words. Kagome was getting the distinct impression that shogi and words were how they conducted most of their 'battles'. "Yes well, which of us did she meet first?" Yorihisa challenged.
Chika began physically trembling as irritation rolled off of him in waves, Satoshi jumping up and hauling him out into the courtyard. "We're gonna train. Come get us when supper is ready!" Satoshi all but shouted as he started to drag his cousin towards the open shoji screens that overlooked the garden.
"Ah! How about that! Why don't we have the boys fight for her hand?" Yorihisa looked smug, Kagome frowned at the look.
"You are only saying that because Mitsukuni is considered Japan's secret weapon of mass destruction." Kagome balked and looked down at the wide eyes of Mitsukuni.
"Seriously?" He nodded in reply. She glanced at Takashi, he was still frozen in shock.
"Well it doesn't look like Takashi will be in a state to fight anyways. Perhaps we could have Miss Taisho fight Mitsukuni instead? How about it? A presentation of your skills as the Taisho heir?" Kagome heard a very faint squeaking sound that sounded suspiciously like Takashi's soul leaving his body. Her eyes slanted his way briefly and she was alarmed to see that he looked pale.
"I am not certain that would be wise, Yorihisa-san. I haven't been training for even a year yet. And Mitsukuni has been training his whole life and is older than me. I am concerned that I would hardly be a challenge to the so called secret weapon of Japan." She replied, thinking on her feet as though her own words were a part of their seeming verbal battle.
"Ah, this girl could be a diplomat one day." Akira smiled at Kagome, while placing another shogi piece. Yorihisa shot the board an irritated glance at the move, a clear sign that he was beginning to lose the shogi match.
"Well if that is the case, then why not have a spar with Yasuchika?" The two younger boys froze in their escape to try and sneak away. Kagome glanced at the younger male, realizing quite quickly that she had been pinned into a corner.
"Oh, well I..." She looked down at her school uniform, and Yorihisa waved away her unspoken concern. "We can provide you with a training kimono. Shall we?" Yorihisa stood. Akira shook his head with a sigh.
As the older men left, Satoshi and Chika shared a glance, Satoshi shrugging as he led the irritated Chika away. Kagome looked over at Mitsukuni and noticed that he was looking after his father with a sharp gaze, then he turned to Takashi, who was staring at her with some alarm. She frowned in response. Did Takashi not have any faith in her skills?
"Follow me, Miss Taisho." Akira stood to follow the two younger sons, and Yorihisa towards the dojo. The three teenagers stood to follow and Kagome looked down at Mitsukuni with a distracting smile. "Secret weapon of Japan, huh? I sense there is an amusing story of some sort?"
Mitsukuni gave her a brilliant flowering grin. "Yep!" His energy was contagious though he didn't elaborate. She sighed and followed after Takashi's father.
When Kagome emerged from the dojo, having been directed to change inside the privacy of its walls, She was wearing dark blue hakama, and a white kimono top. She came out tucking her hair behind her ear when Takashi approached her. He handed her a neatly tied together piece of turquoise blue woven tie. She looked up at him from his hand into his eyes with silent question.
"For your hair." He offered with a gentle smile. She couldn't stop the slow tug of her lips into a responding smile, his eyes warming in response.
"Thank you." Her fingers gently grazed along his palm as she picked up the traditional hair tie. Her touch sending shivers down Takashi's spine.
Kagome deftly ran her fingers through her hair pulling it up into preparation for a ponytail, only to look down at the still tied together hair string, suddenly not sure what to do. She had never used one before and didn't know how she was supposed to secure the thing into her hair.
"Allow me." Takashi's deep voice made Kagome's heart flutter as she looked up at him, he grabbed the hair tie from her hand, unravelling it, his fingers gently brushing hers as he wound the tie tightly around the hair she had sectioned up. She slowly let go as she felt he had it under control, barely suppressing a shiver of his knuckles grazing her head and his fingers running through her hair. She bit her lip.
"Is it too tight?" He asked her as he secured the tie into a bow.
"It's alright. Thank you." He stepped away from her and she turned to look at him with a grateful smile before turning away towards the outdoor training grounds.
"Takashi!" Mitsukuni jumped up onto his shoulders with a brilliant smile. "You're so sneaky." He smiled in approval, well aware of his cousins plan to subtly and discreetly still spend time with Kagome despite her situation with the tournament. Takashi gave him a knowing smile back.
"Oh my." Akira placed a thoughtful fist over his mouth. "There certainly is a pretty obvious chemistry between them. I can see why her father placed those rules on her." He said having witnessed the moment between Kagome and his son from a distance.
"Indeed. It is easy to see who she favors." Yorihisa replied, arms crossed over his chest. "It makes sense he would place such strict rules on her. In the event that Takashi doesn't win, she can't be seen as having a favorite."
"Hn. Are you doubting my Takashi's skills?" Akria replied with a sharp glance to his cousin, silencing his next comment as Kagome came within hearing range, Takashi and Mitsukuni following behind her. Kagome stood in the middle of the training grounds, facing off against Yasuchika, who frankly looked both irritated and bored to be there.
Once everyone was in place Yorihisa stepped forwards. "Normally matches in our families are until the other is no longer able to fight. However I fear being so close to the tournament Taisho-san may not appreciate if we hospitalize his daughter. So this will be a 3 point match. You may begin." He spoke gruffly, not giving Kagome any time to protest his obvious expectation of her losing this match against his youngest son.
"Never look away from your enemy." Yasuchika's boyishly deep voice huffed as he moved, and Kagome dodged to the side, mostly from instinct as he lunged for her. She turned to face him, her face carefully blank and Takashi frowned at the sight. It was unnerving seeing the normally so expressive Kagome look carefully blank.
Like her father.
Chika glared at her, then lunged forwards once more. Again at the last possible second Kagome dodged, painfully slowly, and this time Chika did not give her room to react before whipping out some throwing stars and hurling them towards her. Kagome's eyes widened at the telling sound of metal singing through the air and looking at him sharply she dove towards him, somersaulting into a crouch and whipping a wooden bokken out of her hakama, having tucked it into the training pants along the length of her leg, she used it in an unorthodox way, batting it at his legs to knock him off his feet. He hit the ground with a grunt and she stood over him, holding the tip of the wooden sword to his jugular.
"She must have borrowed the bokken from the dojo." Akira murmured.
"I couldn't even tell she had that on her!" Mitsukuni said in awe. Also a master of hiding weapons on himself. Takashi gave him a thoughtful look, before he heard Kagome grunt in pain and his eyes snapped back to the match.
With a glare Chika had pulled a expanding metal staff out from his back, and had thrust the end of it sharply into her abdomen, winding her and making her stumble backwards, holding her abdomen as her face was fixed in a grimace.
"You haven't won until I am unable to fight. Waiting for a submission is a sentimentality that will make you lose." Chika replied dispassionately, her eye narrowed on the boy wondering at how he could be so apathetic. It made her want to end the match here and now, knowing she could easily take him, yet she had a plan for the tournament and that plan started with this match. She could not reveal her true potential if she hoped to win the tournament at all.
Chika stood and holding the pole he began a flurry of attacks that she made to dodge, though in purposefully slowing down her reaction time he managed to jab her in the shoulder, a sharp pain shooting through her, making her believe for a second that he had possibly dislocated her shoulder. She noticed the pole swinging up from below in a wide arc and bringing the bokken up to deflect the attack she misjudged his strength and with a loud crack her bokken was knocked out of her hands, spinning in fast circles as it flew past Takashi, who didn't even bat an eye as it flew past his face.
"Chika seems to be channeling his normal animosity into this match." Takashi intoned.
"Yeah..." Mitsukuni sighed sadly, a worried look on his face as he gazed at his brothers rough and unrelenting treatment of Kagome.
While Chika smirked at Kagome with her loss of weapon, her gaze was sharp as she grabbed hold of his staff and yanked on it. He refused to release the weapon, which made him jerk forwards from the motion. His eyes widened as he noticed too late her fist coming down on him, and she punched him across the jaw, his head snapping to the side as he stumbled to the ground.
She held the staff out in front of her defensively. They now both had two points. The next point would win the match. She was breathing a little unevenly from all the dodging she had done. He was breathing heavily from exerting all the energy of doing all the offensive attacking. His glare was telling. He hated to lose.
Shooting to his feet he initiated another flurry of attacks, managing to get close enough to grab a hold of the metal staff, rip it out of her hands and swing it at her head, she spun out of the way of the attack and again heard the tell-tale singing of metal flying in the air, looking back sharply to see a kunai rushing at her, she jerked her head to the side, and jerked her hand up to slide a finger through the circle at the end of the handle of the kunai, spinning it in her fingers, she deftly spun it in a circle and whipped the kunai back at Chika. He gawked at how she managed to redirect the kunai and numbly turned his head out of the way, but not enough. The kunai sliced past his cheek, before landing in a wooden post behind him with a heavy thunk. At first everything was still and then a slow trickle of blood bloomed in the wake of the shallow cut on his cheek. He lifted a hand to wipe away the blood and then looked at her dubiously. Incredulous that he had lost when she had seemed to struggle the entire match. She straightened stepping towards him, holding out a hand.
"Thanks. That was a good spar." She offered politely. He glared at her outstretched hand and then looked away.
"Tch. Whatever." He turned and walked away. Clearly peeved that he had lost. Kagome bit her lip as she felt the others step up beside her.
"Don't worry about Chika-chan. He just worries about being strong enough." Mitsukuni told her gently. Kagome wisely didn't ask about what Chika was worried being strong enough for. She turned towards the two clan heads.
"Well that was an interesting match. I wasn't sure who was going to win." Akira nodded to her with a warm smile.
Kagome tilted her head towards her shoulder as she shrugged. "Thanks."
"You did well considering your lack of background with training. It did seem like you were holding back." Yorihisa raised an eyebrow at her. She merely shrugged again. Wondering if he had figured her out because of his son who was the apparent master at deceptive appearances.
Akira handed her the bokken. "I hope to one day witness you fight again, especially as you grow stronger in your family technique." He told her. "Go ahead and change, supper will be ready shortly, we will meet you in the dining room." She nodded, accepting the bokken and turning back towards the dojo.
After changing and returning the bokken to the wall, she stepped out of the dojo to find Takashi standing there waiting for her. She blinked as he turned towards her.
"Oh, the hair tie, you probably want it back..." She lifted both hands to undo the string until Takashi's larger hand reached out to stop her.
"Keep it. It suits you." He smiled warmly, and she couldn't stop her responding blush as she smiled back. Takashi was no longer in his school uniform, but rather an evening kimono. It seemed like he and his family greatly appreciated the traditional ways. He pulled his hand away from hers and stepped to the side so she could walk beside him. It was quiet as they strolled through the garden. They turned to look at each other at the same time and Kagome was surprised at the heated look in his face.
"So I didn't know you had a little brother." Kagome blurted the first thought that came to her mouth to distract him from whatever 'bending the rules' moment he was about to initiate. She didn't mind his advances, and both she and her father knew it. And her father would undoubtedly ask for a detailed report of how the evening went considering whose company he knew she was in.
He blinked in surprise. "Hn." He dipped his head in confirmation. They continued in silence for a while. Before Takashi broke the silence. "You held back on Yasuchika." He pointed out, looking down at her. Bright blue eyes looked up at him with some surprise that quickly morphed into mischief.
"Did I?" Her eyes twinkled merrily at him and he couldn't help the smile in return. They walked the rest of the way in silence. Takashi wondering about why she would hold back. He had seen on a couple occasions how fast her reaction times were, so to see her purposefully win by a narrow margin made him wonder what her tactic was. She was the daughter of an infamous tactician so there must have been a motive behind the actions. With such thoughts swimming in his head they stepped into the dining room together.
Dinner was mostly uneventful and filled with polite conversation. Kagome noticed the obvious lack of female presence within either household. She was confused, but didn't question it. She was no stranger to loss and didn't want to dredge up any potential sour feelings with the entire family sitting there. She hoped that it wasn't like that, and that the women were just out, but better to be safe than sorry. Still, she did feel a little out of place surrounded by 6 males.
"So I understand from your father that there is some bad history between you and one of the tournaments contestants? Imagawa Naraku?" Yorihisa piped up.
Akira shot him an irritated look. "That is hardly something appropriate to discuss at the dinner table Yorihisa."
The man in question pointedly ignored his cousin. "And after seeing you fight I have called your father." He admitted. Takashi, Mitsukuni and Kagome all snapped their heads in his direction.
"What? Why?" Kagome asked in alarm. In fact why did Sesshoumaru tell them anything about Naraku in the first place. Her mind was reeling the only thing that she could assume to be the reason he had told them was that she was entering the competition. She was doing so because Naraku would be competing after all and they both had issues with him. But then Sesshoumaru had also told them not to tell Takashi or anyone else she was entering the competition. So why had he?
"To put it bluntly, neither of my children will be entering the tournament. Yasuchika is too young, and you already managed to beat him, and in Mitsukuni's case, the secretary of defense asked him to never publicly spar at his full capability ever again."
"What?! Did that really happen?!" She asked in alarm, looking down at the short blonde beside her.
"Uh-huh!" He chirped happily, flowers seeming to bloom around his bright cute smile.
"So I spoke with your father, and from now until the end of the tournament, Mitsukuni will be your official bodyguard." Yorihisa announced, startling everyone at the table.
"Yay! That means I get to spend time with Kago-chan all day every day!" He bounced in his seat in excitement.
"And what of Takashi? He could also protect her." Akira seemed contemplative, recalling how Sesshoumaru said he had asked the boy to do as much.
"He won't be able to spend all day every day with her, will he? Won't he be needing to train in preparation for the competition?" Yorihisa countered. Akira sighed and beckoned to the maid standing in the corner.
"Bring out the anmitsu for dessert please." He announced with a sigh. Yorihisa smiled knowing that was his cousin's way of conceding. They always settled their differences over food.
Kagome's head was reeling as she absently dug into her dessert of frozen fruit and jelly. She looked at Mitsukuni who was smiling reassuringly at her.
"Don't worry Kago-chan! I'll protect you while Takashi prepares for the competition!" He chirped happily. Then shared a look with Takashi over her head. His cousin implored him with his eyes, and Mitsukuni nodded with a serious expression in return. He wouldn't let anything happen to his cousin's most precious person.
And there you have it! Another chapter done AND THE TOURNAMENT IS COMING IMINENTLY! I am SO excited to write the competition chapters! A huge thank you to everyone who suggested different characters to compete! I am open to more suggestions! I ideally need four more suggestions, but if I don't get any I could also always just make it shorter than originally planned too.
I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you thought! I am weak and easily inspired to write more through praise (or constructive criticism as well. Both encourage me to do better writing)!