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Connected

Kagome blinked.

She'd never expected that he'd be her first opponent.

"Damn it, I was hoping to take him on!" Bankotsu growled beneath his breath. "Hey, you better not lose to that idiot!" He stuck his closed fist towards her. "We didn't get this far just to fail now."

Kagome grinned back at him, "Of course not. I'll defeat him and then I'll be after you next."

Inuyasha.

Her first fight in the finals would be against him.

She couldn't say that she was disappointed. Even if Kikyou wasn't her first battle, she could at least say that this one would be fun.

Kagome glanced up at the board, "Looks like I'm starting things off with Inuyasha. Jakotsu and Kouga will be after us."

The feminine male grinned at him, "I think we'll be able to heat things up a bit. You're no Inuyasha but you're handsome enough."

Kouga's brief look of horror was enough to cause her to laugh.

"Better watch it Kouga, I think you've got your work cut out for you." Kagome flashed him a playful wink.

"Hey, don't say it like that!" Dread wrote itself across his expression.

"Yeah, yeah." Bankotsu interrupted them before their banter could go further. "At least you guys will have fun. I'm going up against that baby-faced kid. What was his name? Ko-something?"

"Kohaku," A voice cut into their conversation. "My name is Kohaku."

The group turned towards him sharply.

How long had he been there? She hadn't even sensed his presence! Was that possibly an effect of his quirk?

The young man focused his attention on the screen, "The last fight will be between Kikyou and Kagura. If I had to guess then I'd say Kikyou would have the upper hand in a one on one fight."

Kagome folded her arms over her chest, "So you're saying that she's likely to move on to the next round."

Kohaku nodded, "Yes, but that's not the reason why I'm here."

His features shifted as he leaned forward in the slight inclination of a bow.

"Please," The teen began. "Defeat them both. Inuyasha and Kikyou."

Kagome blinked.

"Say what now?"