Title: Eternal Salvation

Summary: "Suicide is not the answer. No... really it's not. I've already tried that method more times than I can count." Shouta Aizawa didn't know what to make of her. The woman who stood across from him on the roof, with shattered blue eyes laden in anguish and defeat.

Pairing: Kagome/Shouta

Anime: My Hero Academia/InuYasha

Rated: M

-PRESENT-DAY-

Kagome Higurashi was among one of history's greatest heroes. She had stopped a vile demon from ridding the world of humans and had united two warring races...though the world may never know her name, she'd done her service. Over five hundred years ago, she'd brought hope and promised a bright future for Japan and its people. So what happened? How did things turn out so wrong?

Pulling her hand back from the child, the gentle pink glow faded from her fingertips. "How are you feeling, Tomura?"

"Better."

She nodded and gave him one more glance over before standing to leave. She had no other reason to be there than to heal, and if Tomura was good now, she would leave. Clutching the corner of her shirt with three fingers, Tomura didn't look at her. "..." he was always like this. A little kid seeking affection and approval. Approval that he received from All For One and what little affection Kagome found herself able to give. It was difficult to be cold and closed off to a child who didn't know any better. A tyrannical villain was conditioning him. Tyrannical was Kagome's favorite adjective to use to describe Takeshi Shigaraki. The cruel evil that he was. Tyrannical just sounded...right.

Kagome raised her arms and wrapped them around Tomura's shoulders. His head dropped to her chest, where he closed his eyes to the world around him. He closed his eyes to the feelings inside of him. She knew his heart, and she could hear the little pieces inside of him cracking over prolonged exposure to Takeshi. Wishing she could do something to save him, anything, and yet...there was nothing that she could do. He was hurting so much; a fractured heart was buried in his chest, and so much self-loathing and distrust had clung painfully to him. Distrust of society and what they could do to him if he were ever caught. Self-loathing for the cruel acts and painful mistakes he'd made that had led him to this particular path of Villainy. "Let's get you to bed, Tomura." Looking to the Warp Villain behind the counter, he moved to make a warm glass of milk for the young villain-in-training.

-100 YEARS AGO-

"Kagome, you look pale."

"You're not getting any better."

"...no, I'm not."

Kagome turned to look at the man beside her. A chess game was in-between them, but her heart wasn't in the game. How long she'd been trying to heal this man, yet nothing she seemed to try made him any better. "Yoichi, what should I do?"

"Escape,"

"Not even an option!" Her eyes became a fierce blue storm of emotions that clashed aggressively with his compassionate forest green, looking irritably at him. She held her glare for as long as possible, but she broke under his concerned gaze. He was entirely too worried about her. Despite his situation, he kept thinking about her. "Takeshi would never let me leave anyways. You and I are in the same boat, Yoichi."

"We shouldn't be, though. At the least, you should be able to escape. You should be allowed to survive!"

"Haha, why are you being so loud, Yoichi?"

The two turned in their prison, staring at the deeply shadowed man standing at the door. "Brother!"

"No need to yell, dear baby brother," Closing the door with a muted click that somehow resonated around the empty room. He stepped out of the shadows and into the only source of light. "I only came to check on your health, Yoichi." Turning to Kagome, he waited for her diagnosis.

"You know perfectly well that there is no change. Whatever ails him, it's out of my hands."

"...that's not a good answer."

"Brother, please...she's been doing everything that she can. I'm not sure that I can be healed, even by Kagome's enhanced healing properties."

Takeshi laughed, bringing a hand to her face, "if she's so useless, I guess we've no use for her. I'll just take that precious quirk and-"

"NO!" Grabbing onto his older brother's wrist, Yoichi desperately held on as he tried to pull the larger hand from the woman he'd grown to cherish and love.

Disgusting energy began curling dangerously along her body, somehow prodding her yet unable to touch her. Her eyes were widely staring at the hand that now gripped her face, mouth slightly ajar in an unheard scream. Had she stopped breathing? Kagome couldn't tell. Tears were prickling at her eyes, and she ever so desperately wished she could be anywhere else. Only, she couldn't. She could never bring herself to abandon the man beside her. Yoichi, he meant so much to her, and here, she would probably die in front of him now. 'No. No, I don't want to die!'

"What the hell is going on!? Give me your quirk!" His grip tightened along her face; Kagome could feel her own energy start to respond to the negative energy he was trying to force on her.

"Brother! Brother, please!" Yoichi cried out, tears tearing along his chick when Takeshi tossed Kagome aside. A sickening crack echoed in the room, and Takeshi caught Yoichi before he could move to Kagome's side. Growling out his irritation at not being able to steal Kagome's quirk, he gave an unsettling chuckle, "well, it's fine, I suppose. Listen," Takeshi leaned forward so that his brother was forced to meet his eyes. "I actually came here with a gift. You're so frail, and without a quirk, you're also pretty useless, my precious baby brother. If you're going to rule this degrading world by my side, I'll need you to get better. For now, how about I give you a most precious gift, a quirk."

"N-no, I don't want it!"

"Heh, I wasn't...ASKING!"

It was painful. Kagome brought her hand to her head, her fingertips touching lightly at the wetness on the back of her skull. 'Bleeding?' Of course, she was. What else could it be? "Yoichi?"

The chessboard lay across the room with the pieces scattered on the floor around her. She called out to Yoichi again, looking around the room as she began healing the injury she'd sustained. She saw him lying on the bed and moved over to his side. "Yoichi?" There were scratch marks along his face from where Takeshi had gripped him. Moving her hand to the small incisions, she began healing them.

"Kagome,"

"Yes?"

"...I...feel it..."

"What?"

"I can feel it, a quirk I've never felt before now." Holding his hand out in front of him, "the need to pass it on as my life comes to an end."

Shaking her head, Kagome moved onto his bed and curled up beside him. His arms wrapped carefully around her as she cried. Kagome had one of the strongest Healing Abilities that they'd ever seen, and yet, she couldn't...she couldn't heal him. For whatever reason, his body refused her ability. Only able to cure the most basic cosmetic injuries, whatever ailed him internally made him so weak was immune to her quirk. From her understanding, he had an Immunodeficiency that negated her quirk's healing of infection and disease. "What do we do?"

"What can we do?"

There was no hope for them. Kagome understood that; she just wished that wasn't the case. 'No, someone will come. Someone will save us. It can't end like this...'

-PRESENT-DAY-

'Over a hundred years have passed since the end of my travels down the well.'

Looking into the mirror, Kagome hardly appeared a day over twenty-one. She could hardly call that normal, but that's how it was. What horrible crime did she commit in her previous life that she was forced to live while everyone around her grew old and died?

She spent most of her time reading whatever happened to fall into her hands in her room. Today it was a biography on the Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl. Not her normal preference, but that's not to say it wasn't good. She was called the Youthful Heroine because she stopped aging. Some things were exaggerated. A knock came from her door, and she looked over as it opened, "Kurogiri,"

"I brought you dinner."

She watched him set the plate down and leave, then turned back to her book. Comfortably snuggled into her furry grey pillow that hugged her body and warm throw that fell lightly over her bare legs. The bed she was curled up on was a plain twin-sized bed that she'd only recently gotten when they moved base to this dinky bar in Yokohama City. The crummy street slum part of the Kamino Ward.

"Before I go, Master is requesting your presence."

"...right. Tell him I'll stop by when I finish my book." She had no intention of seeing him, and he knew that. Of course, stalling would only serve to piss him off further, but what could he do? Oh, that's right, break into her room and force her attention. She had to give it to him, he'd never done anything more than threatening to hurt her, and if she refused, he still wouldn't. No, instead, he'd hurt civilians. He'd hurt them right in front of her. As far as she could push him, she really couldn't push him all that far.

"I-" Kurogiri considered his words, "will pass that along."

"Good man, Kurogiri." As soon as he left, she jumped up onto her feet and made to leave. Dressed in a plain white tank top and a pair of black shorts, Kagome pulled on a pair of white slip-on shoes and a white cardigan. Moving to her window, she glanced back at the door before escaping into the night.

Smoke was in the air, nothing like a fire, more like cigarette smoke. It was gross but still better than Kamino Ward. There was also the fact that her smelling cigarettes meant she wasn't stuck in her room anymore. Her room smelled like lavender and vanilla from all the candles she continued to buy and barricade herself with. Her safe haze. Somehow, it had become poison, and this acrid smoke was like an antidote.

Spinning around on the roof, Kagome felt the rough texture of the stone under her feet and enjoyed the cool of the stone's temperature. It felt good against her bare feet, soothing, relaxing, and something else. Ah, free. Breathless, she stopped spinning and stepped up onto the roof's ledge. This wasn't the first time she'd peered down from such a daunting height. Listening to a faraway owl that was undoubtedly out on the hunt and the sound of traffic from a distant accident. Sirens could be heard, laughing from below and across the street at the mini-mart. A few teenagers on skateboards were down the street in the opposite direction.

It was always so active when the sun went down. Staring up at the moon that was hung up above, she swayed a bit on the balls of her feet. Her eyes turned back to the dirty and disgusting alley below. Forward, back, forward, back...leaning just a bit more would have her toppling over the roof and falling to her death. Well...she'd get hurt, at least.

"It's a lovely night tonight, don't you think?"

A guest, she hadn't even noticed someone sneaking up on her. "Indeed," whispering on the wind her one-word reply. Kagome wondered if that should have scared her? It had been years since anyone besides All For One had been able to sneak up behind her. Probably? It didn't, though. Pretty difficult to scare a girl who's been caged and shackled by the biggest underground villain in the world since...ever. Takeshi wasn't really the friendly type, and he had a bad habit of sneaking up on her too, so whoever her visitor was, he didn't scare her. Surprise, maybe a little, but nothing too severe.

"I'm sure the sky looks better than the ground."

"Depends on one's point of view," Kagome stepped back and turned to face her company. He was taller than she was and appeared around her physical age, twenty, maybe twenty-one. She knew he was still a hundred years younger, but who was really counting. Black hair was pulled by the wind, similarly to her own. She couldn't see his eyes, though; that had always bothered her. The eyes were a doorway to one's soul, and not being able to see them... Stepping forward, she moved within arm's reach and continued her investigation.

Kagome didn't hesitate to reach up and pull his goggles from his eyes, taking him by surprise by her abruptness. Kagome met his gaze, dark gray, almost black, but kind... curious... genuine. He didn't seem bothered by her closeness, albeit cautious of her motives. She handed him his goggles and turned away from him; moving back to the ledge, Kagome started up at the sky.

"I don't suppose I need to tell you this, but suicide is not the answer." He pulled his goggles back on and grumbled under his breath, the audacity she had, stealing his eye gear.

"You're right. Suicide is not the answer. No... really it's not. I've already tried that method more times than I can count." Kagome turned and grinned, "I'll have to do something that'll completely devastate my body." Sitting down on the ledge, she held her hand out, and he walked thoughtfully up to her, reaching out slowly and taking her hand in his. "Since nothing I do will kill me, how about you just devour me?"

He probably didn't realize how screwed up she was or that she was seriously contemplating letting someone eat her at the thought of freedom from this eternity of nothingness. She wasn't a fool. This man had no idea what she meant. When he pulled her into his arms and brought her lips to meet his, well... she supposed it was fine. Maybe she wouldn't die today or ever, but at least she could feel something new.

"Suicide is not the answer. No... really it's not. I've already tried that method more times than I can count." Shouta Aizawa didn't know what to make of her. The woman who stood across from him on the roof, with shattered blue eyes laden in anguish and defeat.

He'd never before seen her, yet she seemed all too familiar with the rooftops. When she faced him and took a seat on the ledge in front of him, he couldn't pull his eyes away from her legs, the milky skin reveling in the moonlight. How she crossed them, then held out her hand for him to take. His mind had shut down during that single moment, but what the hell did he care.

Not sure when he started to walk forward, he reached his hand out to take hers. He could only confirm the subtle feeling of uncertainty hidden beneath all of his wanton desire.

"Since nothing I do will kill me, how about you just devour me?"

That concerned him. She talked quite a bit about trying to take her life... oh, but she asked for him to devour her. Now that didn't sound like such a bad idea. Pulling her into his arms, he brought his free hand beneath her chin and guided her. Leaning down to meet her lips, a delightful tremor ran down her back as he tasted her against his lips.

For a brief moment, Shouta wondered if this was a ploy, some nefarious plot to distract him tonight. Oh, how brief that thought was. Gone as she shivered from his touch in his arms.

When had he lifted her?

When did she wrap her arms around his neck?

Where were her shoes?

All questions he might ponder later tonight or early tomorrow morning, but right now, he made his way to the warm and safe confines of his apartment. After all, he'd been finishing up his patrol when he'd spotted her on the way home. No rules were saying that Pro Heroes couldn't have a personal life.

"Ah!"

His eyes coveted each silken curve and every lined muscle, however subtle and slight. The way her back arched as his fingers discovered uncharted territory. Trailing paths along her abdomen, dipping and delving into her secret folds. She was like a doll, so preciously did he take his time committing her body to memory.

Her hair fanned out wildly on his bed as she let out a passionate moan. Hands buried in his soft black hair, tongue flicked the ball of nerves he'd come across, and he groaned as her grip on him tightened. Bringing his hands to her thighs to hold her down as she bucked her hips, he chuckled into his deliciously juicy meal. Her cheeks burned with frustration and desire as Shouta teased and devoured her.

Shouta woke with a mess of black hair cascading across his bare chest. He could hardly tell if it was his or if it belonged to the girl curled into his side. Her soft legs were a tangled mess of sheets and entangled limbs. Resisting the urge to stretch, he glanced down at the girl in his arms. Her breathing came out in easy breaths. One of her hands lay resting against his chest, rising and falling with each of his inhales and exhales. He could see she was his age, or close to; he hoped.

Letting his head fall back against the pillow, his hand moved up along the woman's fair skin, resting on her shoulder before tracing his finger from one pale freckle to another. Repeating the process of drawing abstract shapes on her sleeping figure, he found himself drifting off back to sleep before he knew it.

The next time he woke up, hours had passed, and the tickle of his hair brushing against his cheek had pulled him from his peaceful sleep. Sitting up, Shouta found that he was alone in his bed. "..." Turning to look around his room, there were no clothes scattered clumsily on the floor where he knew they'd been discarded the night before. Rather, it looked as if no one had been there. The only tell-tale sign that he'd had a guest was the open window with the shifting breeze pulling at a black curtain. "Didn't even get her name."

Kicking the sheets off of him, he watched them slip from the bed to the floor before pulling himself out of bed. Stretching his arms up and over his head, he made to stand up when something on his nightstand caught his eye. On his journal, lying open on a new page, was a name.

Kagome

There was no last name. Hell, it may not even be her first name. It wasn't unheard of for people to just give a codename or a handle. Whatever the case, Shouta found he didn't feel quite so annoyed anymore. Rather, he took a moment to inhale the lingering scent of vanilla and something floral...and familiar. He wasn't a botanist or anything, but he knew the most basic of flowers, and lavender was easily recognizable.

Closing the journal, he crossed his room to the bathroom. A shower was all he could think of, and then, of course, a cup of coffee.

Sitting on the apartment roof, Kagome stared out at the city. It was lovely from this view. Any view that wasn't the dingy rat holes she was forced to live in. Well, one was less dingy than the other, but not enough to start bragging.

She could smell coffee coming from the apartment below her. The window she'd silently climbed through was still open, her...hm, what was he? A quickie? She laughed; no, that wasn't right. One-night-stand? Yes, she supposed he was. However, she didn't like the sound of it. Oh, a tryst. Tryst... tryst. She liked tryst. It sounded...inviting. She supposed that left it open though, and she wasn't so sure she'd ever see the man again. No, she would just have to settle on a one-night-stand.

Her one-night-stand hadn't closed the window yet, though Kagome was sure he'd noticed it. Who knew, maybe he'd leave it open now. Maybe... probably not, though,

Stepping up to the ledge, she leaped off the edge and landed on another roof. Running all the way back home. Passing a variety of civilians from above, she watched as they continued their oblivious lives below. Unawares and uninterested in anything that didn't directly affect them. It was disappointing. Because of heroes, civilians had no idea how to defend themselves, or if they were able, they just chose not to. After all, why put yourself in danger and harms way if there were heroes to do that for you. Not that she disliked heroes! She didn't! She certainly could use more of them in her own life, but beggars can't be choosers.

Using a hundred years' worth of reflexes and parkour, Kagome slipped down a pipe and pushed off to land in front of the front door. Pushing the door open, Kagome stepped inside and immediately stepped around what appeared to be new recruits. "..." Her eyes traveled over a tall man wrapped up like a zombie, bandages covering his arms, neck, and face. She couldn't make out his eyes, but he seemed to turn his head to face her. Then next to him, a smaller individual with long arms and knuckles that seemed to drag across the ground kept his eyes on Tomura.

"For you," Kurogiri slid a folded piece of paper across the countertop. Pausing in her step towards the door to the back, she peered curiously at the paper before moving beside Tomura. Taking the note in hand, she opened it and read the two words:

Come Tonight.

-AFO

"...I'm sorry, who is this from?"

"Master,"

"Who?"

"..."

"If he wants to see me, he can get off his ass and come here." Her eyes settled on the screen against the wall before she crumpled up the paper in her hand and tossed it at Tomura, who instinctively reached out and caught the balled-up paper. Grinning when it dissolved into dust, Kagome left the room and made her way to Tomura's. No doubt, Takeshi would come for her or send someone to pick her up. Most probably, the latter one. The tyrannical bastard that he was tended to be a rather lazy dictator.

Kagome moved to the desk where the twelve-year-old's mock schoolwork lay untouched. Takeshi had him take classes from Kurogiri in an attempt to mimic normalcy. Kagome laid down on the bed, and despite having only woken up, she felt herself start to slip off. Curling in on herself, she let the previous night wash over her, and then she buried it where Takeshi would never find it.

"Kagome?"

'I didn't even hear the door open.' Sitting up, she watched as Tomura looked curiously at her. He was so small. So frail. Patting the spot beside her, he ran to the bed and climbed up next to her. Instinctively, he curled his fists into her cardigan, though his thumb never touched it.

Resting his head against her shoulder as she held him. Trying to protect him from reality was impossible, and one day, she was sure of it; he would most likely kill her. That was okay, though. She wouldn't hold it against him if he did. He was, after all, exactly what Takeshi wanted in a puppet. 'Poor broken soul... how can I pull you from the abyss when you so blindly follow the hell flame that burns to lure you further and further from all that is bright and beautiful. How can I protect you, Tomura? How do I save you from yourself?'

Kagome rubbed soothing circles against his back. After a few moments, she and her little hellspawn that she'd grown attached to accidentally had finally fallen into a peaceful slumber.

-100 YEARS AGO-

I woke up from a dream.

Unaware of hell, I walked a rose-tinted path and came across love.

When that love died...

When that love was so painfully taken from me, I realized the sad truth.

I had never woken up.

My dream had just turned into a nightmare that was indistinguishable from reality.

Now I am truly awake.

I see clearly past the rose tint.

I recognize the blood which paves the way to an opaque future.

I am not blind to the crimson stains before my own path.

It's been a year...

That's hardly a staple for eternity. Yet it feels like much more time has passed since that day. One For All was passed on from Yoichi to Dosei just before Yoichi died. Forced to watch the light fade from his beautiful green eyes, Kagome had been ready to die with him, thinking Takeshi would quickly end her too. When she was brought back to the Shigaraki estate as a prisoner, she no longer knew what to think.

"My brother had wonderful taste, and I admit, I'm a little jealous that you chose him over me. I've taken the liberty to have anything that may prove dangerous to you removed from your room."

What a jokester, calling it her room. It was a prison, and he knew that... they both did. Despite his thoroughness about taking away anything dangerous to her, Kagome hadn't considered suicide as an answer to her problems yet. Yet. A year, come and gone, of watching the leaves go from a lush green to yellow, then orange to a vibrant... burning... bloody red. When they finally fell from the tree... he called for her.

At this very moment, she was walking towards his bedroom. She was afraid of him, but he'd left her alone for a year, so hope was still burning inside her, despite just how bleak its glowing ember was.

The follower in front of her slowed down and glanced back at her; he seemed curious about something but didn't ask any questions. Moving out of her way, Kagome passed him and pushed aside the slide screen to Takeshi's room.

Cautiously, Kagome stepped inside and glanced around the darkness. She could hardly see her hand in front of her, much less an immoral and corrupt villain. Oh, but she didn't have to look for much longer. Feeling a pair of hands grip her wrists from behind, panic set in. The door was wide open still, but the man who'd guided her would hardly be a candidate for heroism.

"Relax, Kagome." Bringing his face to the curve of her neck, he inhaled deeply along her exposed flesh. "As tempting as your beauty might be, I'm a villain, not a monster."

She considered commenting on the glaring similarities, but she chose to keep her opinion to herself when he released her.

"I wanted to see how you were holding up. Check that your health hasn't depleted. My brother truly cared a lot for you. Since I couldn't protect my brother from his naïve ideologies, I'll turn my attention to you, little bird."

She desperately wished he would forget she existed. Sadly, the likelihood of that happening was near impossible. "Yoichi... would want my freedom..." she tried to appear to his brotherly... love.

"A shame my brother is no longer here to voice his desires."

'Right, why did I think that would work?' His hand trailed along her arm; she felt gross as his fingers worked up to her shoulder and then trailed back down to her fingers.

"Soft, like silk."

"Please... please s-stop." Was her voice trembling!? This pissed her off, but she was afraid. This man had killed Yoichi. His brother! What was she in comparison to family? What stopped him from snapping her neck at the first sign of a struggle? She was mildly surprised when he stopped.

Stepping out from behind Kagome, Takeshi waved the man in the hall forward, "Return her to her room. Seeing her healthy is enough for me today."

Somehow, that statement didn't make her feel very reassured.

A few months came and went. Snow fell, blanketing the garden outside her room, and a tragic thought slipped past that flickering flame she'd called hope.

Kagome stepped over to a beautiful porcelain vase with a barely thriving blossom branch on her desk. Tipping the vase over, she watched in fascination as the porcelain shattered with a loud noise. Sure that it drew attention, she picked up a piece of the crude, jagged porcelain.

Wondering if something like this would be enough, she pushed her sliding door aside. The wind showed her no mercy, violently attacking the thin fabric she wore before taking her first step into the snow. The white kimono she wore was pulled and whipped aside rudely as Kagome ran through the blizzard. Her only hope was that the snowstorm would be enough to camouflage her from her captive.

Running. Falling. Ducking branches and hiding. Her throat burned from the harsh cold air, and his feet and fingers were in pain despite the onset of numbing she'd begun to feel. Slipping down against a tree, she noticed that her grip on the porcelain shard had been so tight that she'd accidentally dug it into her hands. Feeling a warm red liquid seep from her grip, she peered back behind her. There was a visible trail of blood droplets that could barely be seen through the barrage of snow.

Heart racing, thumping, pounding in her ears. So deafening, she could hardly register the howling wind or the sound of Takeshi yelling from her empty room. A search. He'd called for his followers to fan out. No! She'd come this far...

Shaking, her fingers trembled as she better gripped the sharp porcelain and placed the razor-sharp edge on her wrist. 'I- It's like this, right?' She'd never before entertained the idea of killing herself before being caged. Now, she wasn't just considering it; she looked forward to it.

'Yoichi is going to be there on the otherwise, right? Waiting for me? Oh... when did I?' It was darker than she'd thought it'd be. Blood was just red... so why did this seem darker than red? Ah... there's the red. It shows up better in the snow. Unsure of how long she'd say there, she watched her life spill from the messily carved line along her wrist. "Did I really cut it so deep?" She hadn't even felt it. The numbness from the cold was no doubt negating the burning sensation caused by her self-mutilation.

When her vision began to blur, Kagome found herself wanting to lie down. Resting her head in the snow. Is it considered resting if you fall over? Darkness found her not too long after, or was that a shadow? No, it didn't matter. He was too late! He just... he just had to be. Wearily, Kagome could vaguely make out glowing green irises in the blurring flurry. 'Yoichi...'

-PRESENT-DAY-

Kagome woke up to a familiar feeling. It was one she was regrettably intimate with. "I hate it when you just sit there staring at me."

"Then maybe you should come when told, and I wouldn't have to pay you a house visit."

"What was so important that you wanted me to come and see you? Normally you leave me to my own devices." She ran her fingers along Tomura's back as he slept; she watched his chest rise and fall steadily. One of the few things that calmed her nerves was watching this child sleep peacefully.

Takeshi stood up and placed something down on the desk beside Tomura's bed. "Do you recognize this?"

She watched his hand lift away from what it had moments ago obscured from her vision. A small jewel rolled around a little before settling in one spot. "A pink marble?"

"Is that what it is?"

"That's certainly what it looks like."

"I see," he placed his finger on the jewel and watched her carefully before picking the jewel back up and pocketing it. "When you first came to the estate all those years ago to look after Yoichi, you wore a similar jewel around your neck. It was important to you. One could easily tell this just by how you never took it off. After giving Yoichi One For All, that pestering Dosei and his useless sidekick broke in and stole you both away. Some time afterward, when I next saw you, the jewel was gone. I wonder why you took that necklace off."

"Because it clashed with my eyes." She sat up and carefully untangled herself from the blanket. She was doing her best not to wake Tomura up as she climbed over him and off the bed. "You want to know why I stopped wearing that jewel?"

"I think I'm entitled to a reason after a hundred years of knowing you."

"..." She stared at him for a few moments; her brain cells scurried out of her ear and climbed safely from the pounding wreckage that was currently her mental state. 'Entitled...?'

"Well?"

"Ah, right. I stopped wearing it because it was a reminder of my failures. That necklace was given to me as a gift for protecting people, and I failed to protect the most important people to me, so..." she held her hand up; he could fill in the blanks. "Now, it's just a marble."

"With no sentimental value whatsoever?"

"...none."

He smiled, "I see,"

She was clenching her fists at her side when he leaned forward, and his dark red eyes peered dangerously into her blue ones. A twisted grin found his lips, and his white hair fell in front of his eyes as he tilted his head a bit. He didn't believe her, but that was fine. He didn't need to know anything about that jewel. It was better off destroyed, honestly. "Was there anything else you needed?"

Reaching forward, he placed a hand on her shoulder, running it up along the fine lines of her neck and tangling his fingers into her wild black hair. He tightened his fist into a grip and watched her face twist into pain. Bringing her in close to him, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. He knew her scent so well, the delicate, sweet smell that is floral, herbal, and evergreen woodsy all at the same time, with deliciously warm and sweet notes of vanilla that he could practically taste in the air around her. For so long, this scent had intoxicated him and grounded him in a way that Kagome would probably never understand. However, tonight, her sweet lavender and vanilla redolence had an added note of something caramelized and almost nutty. He recognized it as coffee and pulled away from her. "You don't drink coffee." He said it like he was pointing out the weather, and Kagome peered at him from beneath her half-lidded eyelashes.

"No, I don't," she grumbled, wanting to pull away from the man but thinking better of it. That normally ended poorly for her, and while she wouldn't die from anything he threw at her, she still scarred.

"Then why do you smell like coffee?"

"I do drink tea, Takeshi. Contrary to popular belief, I also like spending my time in quiet places, such as cafes." She watched his eyes. She always watched his eyes. Never could she tell what was going on in his mind, but at least she could monitor his temper and mood enough by watching the emotions flicker across his eyes.

"Ah," letting her go, he stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, then adjusted his suit. Turning his attention to the boy who lay still asleep on his bed, he grunted, "continue your watchful care over Tomura. I'm so pleased to see just how paternal you've become to a child that isn't yours. Is that just instinct, Kagome?"

"..."

"Nothing?"

"Get out, I'm tired, and I don't want you waking him up with your consistent prattling." Turning her back on the man, she moved back onto the bed and curled up beside the small child. Her arm fell protectively over him, and she listened to the fading steps of her tormentor. Numbly wondering if she could just take this boy and run away. '...he's been under Takeshi's thumb for so long, would he even let me take him?' Kagome pulled the blanket up and over them, brushing the chill off as she pulled warmth from the cotton. It was strange, Takeshi chose to take this child in, and it was so strange to her. He'd always prayed on the weak and power-hungry, but a child had never been a part of his plans. Tomura was special, Kagome knew that, but she wondered why. Her mind wandered back to the pink jewel that Takeshi had shown her; not worried at all about it, she knew it wasn't the real one. No, she'd placed the real one back where it had come from all those many years ago when she'd been fifteen and pulled down her family's well by a centipede demon and had a chunk of flesh bitten out of her. Takeshi would never get his hands on that jewel. Not when it still held the power to grant a wish.

Me: Here is chapter one. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, I know it's longer than most of my chapters, but I just had this idea and kept running with it. You guys know it's dangerous to run with a plunny!