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
Kurogiri looked up when the door to the bar opened. "How very brave of you." His drawl perhaps carried too much of a tone because the look in her eyes told him he was edging nearer to death. Knowing that the woman wouldn't grace him with a response, he continued. "You didn't come home last night or this morning. The day is almost over, Kagome... aren't you the least bit—"
"Shut up, Kurogiri."
The abrasive tone of her voice had the warp villain stilling, "..."
"Don't confuse your role as Tomura's caregiver with anything other than a glorified babysitter; I don't need to explain myself to you."
Kurogiri took in the bruises and bite marks that marred her mostly flawless skin, filing the information away as unimportant; he bowed under her cold gaze. "Apologies, I overstepped."
She stared at him for a moment before nodding. Her eyes darted to the screen, which was currently turned off. "I'll be moving my things today. I have an apartment that I need to clean up and utilize every so often. Try not to worry too much, Kurogiri." Even as her tone softened, there was a subtle threat underlining her words.
"An apartment?" Kurogiri watched her sit down. He placed a glass of ice in front of her before filling it with water.
"Yeah, in Saitama. Takeshi knows of it. When I feel like I'm becoming restless, I tend to skip town and return home, if you will. Honestly, I'm tired of always being on the run, hiding away from civilization. Living in a bar isn't healthy, you know? I need to get out of this place, or I'll lose my mind." Taking a drink of the water, she set the glass down and dipped a finger into the cool water. Her nail brushing against a cube of ice as she swirled it around the glass. "...if Tomura needs me, you've got permission to come for me. Still, I'll stay in my apartment for a few months."
"Would you prefer a call?" He wasn't sure what she was doing, but deniability could help him in the long run. Not knowing what she was getting involved in, not having to lie to his Master, not turning her into an enemy, yeah...he was fine not knowing. So long as it didn't spell out trouble for Tomura, he didn't care what she did.
"Ah, that should work." Turning her attention to the screen that was still turned off, "where is he today?"
"Master is with Tomura. He's checking on Tomura's health and mental stability." Even as he said this, he knew firsthand how those checkups usually ended for Tomura.
Packing her bags up, Kagome called on Kurogiri when she was sure she had everything she needed. Watching him appear in her room, Kagome held her bags up. He opened a portal, and Kagome stepped through. Her apartment was one of the few in Kawaguchi that signed long-term contracts. Specifically, hers was signed back when it was built almost twenty-five years ago and thus far, renewed twice. Ten-year contracts were hard to come by. What made this one so much more lucrative was the fully furnished and paid upfront options. Was it her money that paid for the apartment? No. Takeshi got it for her after a villain attack demolished her old one; the villain was not affiliated with Takeshi, but he was up and rising. It was a bad day altogether, and many had been hurt, killed even.
Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts from her head and did a quick glance around her place. It had been almost three months since she'd been to the apartment. The place was covered in dust, nothing she was unfamiliar with. "Thank you," she watched Kurogiri leave before pulling her phone out. She dialed a saved contact that had been often used throughout the years.
"Gust's Deep Cleaning Duct and Dust, how can we make your day a dust-free day?"
She smiled. The introduction had changed since the last time she'd called them. "A full service,"
"Yes, ma'am! Can I go ahead and get some information from you?"
90 YEARS AGO
"Who is it?"
Kagome looked up from where she sat down in what was Takeshi's most recent hideout. "Who is who?"
"Who is the new holder of One for All?"
Raising a brow, she wondered what made him think she'd tell him. It had been two years since One for All was passed from Dosei to Liu. Liu had taken over the AFO resistance and was leading it after the death of Dosei. That said, the resistance had to relocate after the majority of it was brought down by Takeshi, leaving behind blood and death. Nothing good came from that fight.
Kagome was the one to witness the passing of Dosei and the succession of One for All. Though Liu would deny the quirk being passed to him, she wasn't stupid. Not that she'd say anything otherwise. He had Yoichi's quirk, and Kagome just knew that would be the quirk that brought down All for One. She wasn't sure how long it would take or how many hands it would pass through, but sooner or later...sooner or later, it would all have to end.
"Have your men not come up with any favorable answers?"
"Those soldiers are too weakminded, nothing up here," he pointed to his head, moving from his desk to gaze out the window beside Kagome. "They don't think about their next step, only follow my instructions blindly and without true resolve. I need more intelligent soldiers."
"You run the risk of free will in your men, Takeshi. You up for the challenge?"
"Such inspiring and unusually insightful words, Kagome. Are you perhaps worried?"
"..." She looked at him as if telling him to think about what he'd just asked. A laugh trickled past his lips, disgusting.
"Apologies, I meant it as a joke. Of course, I know you would see me dead at the first opportunity." Stepping idly around her chair, he brought his hands to her shoulders.
Kagome instinctively tensed at his touch, recognizing the danger there. His fingers found her neck, and he leaned in close, inhaling her scent as he always did. Such was his disturbing ritual, but he never went further, never touched her longer. This didn't change the fact that her skin crawled, and she felt the need to shower and scrub her flesh raw, but it was reassuring to know that even he had standards. He would never force himself on her. That was her only solace in this never-ending nightmare. "Have you considered that maybe One for All died with Dosei?"
He chuckled into her hair, "please, give me some credit, Kagome. I know you know who the third holder is, but be assured, I will figure it out on my own. You have nothing to worry about, my little bird." Pulling away, he let her hair slip between his fingers before returning to his desk.
Standing, Kagome walked briskly from the room, unable to stomach his presence any longer. Her record with him was three hours before she began to panic. She didn't want to call it a panic attack, but she would throw herself in the darkest room wherever she was, curl in on herself and focus on her breathing. The memories over the last ten years were painful, and she couldn't help but hate herself. The role she'd played... she really was useless.
After her first attempt at killing herself, Kagome learned that Takeshi had forced a quirk on her the same way he had his brother. Omni-Healing, that's what he'd called it. The power to heal anything, everything, with a rather frustrating regenerative healing factor that kept her body in its prime. So long as she had this quirk, her body instinctively recreated lost or damaged tissues, organs, and limbs, slowing her aging to what appeared to be nonexistent. She hadn't had the quirk for longer than ten years, so she couldn't yet be sure what the capabilities of her restorative abilities were. The thought of living forever was petrifying.
The advantage to this quirk, she was in a constant state of optimal health, so flu season was no longer a worry. She had nigh-inexhaustible stamina and vitality, but since she wasn't a fighter, that was useless. As far as her healing abilities? She was still discovering those, but from what little she'd learned, it wasn't limited to just herself and other people. No, there was so much more to it, like...reconstruction of something to its previous peak condition. Not that she had much practice with that particular level of "healing" yet. No, no, just an upgraded version of her own healing ability and self-regeneration that kicked in at the first sign that her body was in distress.
Eyes focusing on a shadow in the room she'd hijacked, Kagome allowed herself to sink into the room's cool. Easing into a safe place in her mind. Her hand reached a place where a pink jewel had once lingered. No longer was it there to comfort her. Long since had she hidden it from greedy eyes and greedy hands. Returning it to where it came from. Still, her hand tightly clutched her kimono front in a vice grip she refused to relinquish her hold on.
PRESENT-DAY
Kagome put the last of her clothes away as she finished the last load of laundry. Brushing her damp bangs from her forehead, she brought her hands to her ponytail; she split the tail and gave a tug to tighten it. Stepping out of her closet and looked around her bedroom. "...normalcy, just a little bit." A wall separated her bedroom from the living room. There was a tv on either side of the wall. Walking through the arch to the living room, Kagome trailed a finger over the pleather plush brown recliner that matched the couch across from it. A coffee table with composite stone atop it was centered in front of the couch, and traditional lamps were set up around the corners of the apartment with more bookcases than anything else one might own. Each bookcase was filled with knowledge Kagome had collected throughout the years. All of them read more than once.
Moving from the living room and into the kitchen, this was the last thing on her to-do list. Her fridge was empty, so she'd need to go grocery shopping at some point today. She'd had people going in and out of her place all yesterday and again this morning. The cleaning was done, and thank the gods for Gust and his deep cleaning services. She would have hated to do that alone. Grabbing her purse from the kitchen counter, she reached inside and frowned. Feeling around, her eyes widened. Peering inside, she shook her head. "Where~?! Oh..." That would make sense. Kagome tossed her bag back on the counter, a small pout on her lips. "I'm not going back just for my book. That would be stupid."
Walking back to her room, she stopped in front of her mirror and eyes the marks on her body. The camisole top she wore did little to hide those marks that claimed her soft skin. "Nope, it's too soon anyways." They were clear as day still. She'd only told him she would return before the last mark on her body faded, and she'd be damned if she showed up in his place even a day before then. Tapping her foot in frustration, she heaved a sigh and then pulled on her socks and shoes. "This is fine; I'll do some much-needed shopping and pick up a few more books to read."
Tomura looked at his Sensei, who was glaring at the screen in front of him.
"Kurogiri,"
"Yes, master?"
"Where is Kagome?"
From where Tomura sat watching his caregiver, he could see the villain's hand slow while drying a glass. "I believe she's at her apartment in Kawaguchi."
'She left?'
Sensei leaned back in his seat, "did she mention how long she'd be gone for?"
"No, she didn't, only that she would be utilizing the place more frequently. She did maintain a strong dislike for the storage room in the bar that was used as her bedroom." Shelving the glasses, Kurogiri turned his attention to the screen.
"She does this every twenty or so years...I'm not even surprised." Sensei turned from the screen and looked down at Tomura, who looked back at him. "Tomura?"
"Y-yes, Sensei?"
"Shall we continue with your training?"
Tomura didn't know what that would mean for him, especially not having Kagome around. Kagome... was his healer. His OP cleric after a particularly hard level. "Yes, Sensei!" It was fine. He would be fine. Right?
"...the end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never the end is—"
Kagome barely glanced at the man sitting curled in on himself in an alleyway. His unhinged mumbling was still echoing in her head.
"—s never the end is never the end is never—"
'The end is never the end... that's because it's always the beginning of something.' Stepping inside the Saitama Supermarket, Kagome eyed the aisles and grabbed a cart. She could easily make quick work of her shopping, "should I buy for this week and do more substantial shopping later on? I don't have a car, nor do I want one, so...I can't carry much more than two or three bags."
She drifted off to the supermarket's right, starting with the vegetables. She would make her way around the store. Hopefully, by the time she was done, she'd have come up with a plan for dinner tonight.
"Hey! Damn it, you fucking rat!"
'A problem?' Oh, she had no intention of getting involved, but... when a little boy rounded a counter of fruit, she couldn't help but reconsider her opinion of staying out of the drama. "Excuse me?" She called as a man moved to grab the boy. "Is there a problem?"
The boy seemed to recognize a safe place, running to hide behind her. She looked down at the hands gripping her maxi skirt. Small fingers tightly gripped the green cotton and linen blend; the boy with soft shaggy lavender hair looked at the man. Afraid, very afraid.
"This little rat is tryin' to steal my produce! Fuckin' hand em' over, and I'll toss his ass on the streets!"
She glared at the man as he took a few steps towards her, "come near this child, and I'll cut your fingers off one by one."
"..."
The audience that had stopped to watch what was happening became quiet in their whispers. The air seemed to drop a few degrees as Kagome's threat was made clear and concise. "Whatever he wants, I'll buy it. So leave him be."
"The fuck!?"
"That's the problem, right? Not getting paid for your produce? So long as it's paid for, you've no reason to complain. Unless you have another reason for not wanting to sell to this boy."
"...just do you're shoppin' and get the hell out of my store," he growled out before stomping off to where he was stocking vegetables and fruits of all varieties.
Crouching down in front of the boy, she didn't notice the phones that quickly were put away as the drama seemed to die on a relatively lackluster note. "Are you okay?" He nodded, letting go of her clothes as he started wringing his fingers nervously, eyes darting around at the people still watching them. One after another, they left with better things to do. Kagome smiled, placing a gentle hand on his head, "are you hungry?" He nodded, still not saying a word as he moved closer to her. She noticed how he had some scuffed marks on his knees and bruises on his arms. A long mark trailed on either side of his face, something you might get if you wore a mask. Otherwise, he was skinnier than Tomura was and looked devastatingly tired. "Let's get you something to eat." Standing, she held her hand out and was happy when he gently took her hand with both of his. Such a sweet boy, and yet... why was he so scared.
By this point, Kagome figured the boy was mute. She'd asked him a series of questions, none of which went answered past more than a shake of his head or a small nod. She couldn't determine his age, but he was small, so she guessed he was around six years old, give or take a year.
Watching him down his second bowl of ramen, she was concerned about the boy. Whether he was, in fact, okay or not was a mystery to her. No name, no affirmation of his age, no idea of his home life or where those bruises on his arms came from. "What time do you have to be home?" She asked, knowing she shouldn't be tossing him questions that needed more than a yes or no; Kagome felt she needed more information.
"..." he looked at the analog clock over the counter at the ramen shop, and his eyes widened in horror. Suddenly, he climbed down from his seat and ran out the door. "Ah...wait!" Looking at the owner, she called out to him, "money's on the counter. I'll be right back for the bags!" Gone, she ran out of the small restaurant and chased after the head of messy lavender. Her eyes followed him as he weaved threw the crowd, to and from, trying to ignore how the sky had darkened and the streets had become more congested. "Damn it!" She'd lost him.
She grabbed her bags before apologizing to the owner when she returned to the Ramen shop. He laughed it off, but she felt guilty for causing a scene. The other customers had watched her curiously enough, but no one said anything as she left. Making her way home, Kagome put away her groceries and made dinner. A bit left over for tomorrow, and she could finally relax. No, she couldn't. Her mind kept going back to the boy. He was small and looked malnourished, if she were being totally honest.
"You'll never beat me, vile villain!"
"What was that? Look around, Doctor Comprehensive! You've already been beaten! In just a few more minutes, all of Australia's inhabitants will be completely under my control! What then? What then?! MWAHAHAAHA!"
"You forget, Ingenious! I did not come here alone!"
"What's that?"
Kagome smiled at the look of flustered fear on the villain's face. The movie was called Dr. Comprehensive vs. Ingenious: Against the Odds of Time— a pretty lame movie considering how Villain and Heroes are these days. But it was good for a laugh. The sidekick was named Reckless Thought. She liked him. He was more or less the comedic relief but also the underdog. The movie was about him trying to help people, failing miserably each time his assists continued to line up with Doctor Comprehensives plans. However, Doctor Comprehensive had grown so used to Reckless Thought always being there when he wasn't needed or wanted; now, he expects him to be there in his time of need. Of course, he is. He even saves the day, and the world is introduced to the underdog Reckless Thought as a True Hero. Cliche? Absolutely. Wholesome? Somewhere in this overdone script, sure.
Looking at the bottom of the screen, there was an announcement. "Present Mic will be on TV doing a live interview with Cementoss and Ectoplasm. From Heroes to Teachers...the real Heroes of today's society. I bet Hizashi would make a good teacher. He seems likable." Sitting up and stretching her arms, she smiled at the soft pop she heard and felt. It was almost two in the afternoon. Three days since she'd seen the boy, four since she'd seen Shouta. Not that she was counting.
Turning the tv off, she put on her sneakers and grabbed her keys. She would walk around for a few hours while looking for the lavender-haired boy. Something about him had her looking for him. She kept her eyes and ears open since she'd run into the boy. Not that he was her only problem. The night she moved in, she received a text from Kurogiri. Tomura had been trained into a nearly unconscious state of mind. There had been so much blood on him when she arrived, and he'd been delirious, unable to recognize her. Kept calling her mom. The whole situation broke her heart, and she still left him there. Fuck! She left him there! She kept...leaving him behind.
"I...could get another place...I have money put away, but that's not going to keep us safe for long." Shaking her head, she stepped around a woman who knelt over, tying her child's shoes. 'I need to get him out of there. I need to do more than just talking about doing something, and actually, just do it.'
Pausing, she thought about her choices. She would need to feel safe, and she would need to know that Tomura was safe. Where was there a safe place? Messaging Kurogiri, she wondered if she could shake the hold on him. From her understanding, he was just another Nomu, but...he was special. He followed Tomura's instructions above all others. More than that, his instructions from Takeshi were to protect and serve Tomura. Did that mean he'd protect the buy even from Takeshi? How far could she push him?
She received a quick response, swyping her reply before sending it back. She'd need to play her cards carefully. This wasn't her type of game. Kagome knew best that this type of game was too dangerous to fuck around in, and if she made even one wrong move, it wouldn't end well for her. Tomura was Takeshi's prized possession, only second to Kagome, who held her place as Takeshi's pet bird. Trained always to come back, even when she ran away. What a shit lifestyle she lived. "This will be fine,"
A few more days come and gone. A few more calls to heal the broken, bleeding boy. One night, Kagome took him home with her; not caring for whatever backlash she'd receive, she refused to leave him there again. Her heart was crying out for the boy. She needed to save him. The path that lay before him would only end poorly for the boy.
"Why are we here?"
"Because here is safe," Kagome said, carding her fingers through the boy's hair as he lay with his head in her lap. His eyes were closed, and he was completely at ease, but still...he was thinking of Takeshi. The hold that man had on him was insane.
"What about Sensei."
"Takeshi...is a bad man, Tomura. He's not a good person."
That got a rise out of the boy. She watched him sit up and look at her with something akin to betrayal. "He takes care of us, though!"
"...I don't need or want him to take care of me. I want him to let me go, but he won't let me. He holds so much over me that I can't leave."
"Like what?! What's he using to keep you there?!"
Somehow, she was surprised by just how upset Tomura sounded at the idea that Takeshi was keeping her imprisoned, too, even though he didn't see himself as trapped. He seemed upset that Kagome couldn't escape him, especially if she wanted to. "You want to know?"
"Y-yes! I'll help you, i-if you want to be free. I can get whatever he's holding onto to keep you there and help you get out."
Pulling him into a hug, she refused to let go of him as he returned the hug. "You, Tomura. Before you, it was the lives of children who were taken for the mad Doctor's experiments. Then before that...anyone I got close to was used to keep me in my "place." I'm a trapped bird whose wings were clipped long ago. I want to leave...but I know better."
"What does that mean?"
She kissed his forehead, burying her head against his shoulder; Kagome couldn't help but cry as he held her back. "Tomura, you should never gamble anything you can't afford to lose. I have very little left in the way of life. When Takeshi brought you in, I tried so hard not to get close to you, but you were so small, and I wanted to take care of you. Your hands would tremble when they reached out to me, and I couldn't bear the look of fear and abandonment in your eyes. No, I became invested, and he knows. I can't leave you there."
"M-me? I'm what's holding you there?"
"Are you so surprised?"
"...If we left, where would we go?"
"Would you leave if I had a safe place for us?"
"..." he looked down at his hands, wearing gloves that covered his middle finger only; he liked them. Kagome had bought a few in different sizes and wore them when he wasn't training with Takeshi. "I would go if you wanted to go. You said Sensei is bad, and while Sensei found me that day, he g-gave me my name...his name...and then..." he looked so fragile in her arms. Kagome rubbed his back, and he leaned into the warms. "I won't let him hurt you, though. I- you said I could be a hero... right?"
"Yeah, if you wanted to, you could be an amazing rescue hero. I think you'd easily climb to the top of the charts."
"Really?" His eyes were wide hearing that. "Sensei says it's impossible because my quirk is what society would define as villainous."
"Yes, I know what Takeshi tells you. Not everything he says is with your best interest in mind. He says what he needs to say to get you to rely and depend on him."
"Then, if I can be a hero...I can save you too!" Suddenly he was excited. She'd never seen him like this. Something lit up inside of her, and Kagome wondered if maybe the so-called heroes she'd met could help her after all. "What do you think about school?"
"Is the school safe?"
"It can be. I'll make it safe."
"The idea of being a hero, what can I do that's heroic?"
"Well, if something has fallen and is slowly crushing someone, what do you think you should do?"
"...I can turn it to dust!"
She laughed, "that's right. You can easily save people, clear out what's causing damage, and disintegrate weapons with ease. I think you'd be an amazing hero." She glanced at the clock and patted the boy on the shoulder, "go take a shower and head to bed. I'm going out for a walk, but I won't be gone for long."
"Will you be here when I wake up?"
"Yes, I will," she watched him leave, grabbing his nightclothes before heading to the showers. Kagome reached for her phone and called Kurogiri to come to pick her up.
"What about Tomura?"
"He's going to bed, so don't worry about him. For the next few days, no matter what, you don't know where Tomura is." To Kagome's great shock, Kurogiri had been content to let her take Tomura under the pretext that she heal him, help him and keep him safe. Takeshi hadn't asked about him, only said the boy was in his room still recovering, but that wouldn't work for much longer. "If Takeshi becomes too suspicious, I suggest disappearing until it's safe for you to come out." Pausing, she thought for a moment, "you could stay with me if you need to. So long as you don't lead Takeshi to us, it's fine."
Kurogiri seemed more surprised by her offer than she was by his help.
"I will stay where Master can see me, but I encourage you to relocate if you plan to continue hiding Tomura from him." From their spot on the bar's roof, he watched Kagome as she nodded. "Do you have a plan, Kagome?"
"...sort of."
The most exhausting sigh she'd ever heard leave the man came with her admittance of having no solid plan. "My job is to protect Tomura. I won't be going against my orders as long as you keep him safe. I will take Tomura back if I feel he'll be safer with Master."
"...he'll never be safer with Takeshi. He won't live through whatever he's got planned for Tomura. Takeshi knows that, and so do I. You should try hard to learn what he plans to use Tomura for. I'm sure you'll realize that the best way to protect Tomura is to keep him far away from Takeshi."
"..."
"I'll be back in a few hours. I'll call you when I'm here."
"Understood," he gave a small bow, and Kagome was gone.
Leaping from building to building, Shouta was chasing a villain running below him in the alley. The villain hadn't seen him yet, but Shouta had his eyes trained on him. This is perhaps why he didn't notice the figure who took up his flank. When he jumped into the shadows, his capture weapon tightened around the man as he erased the villain's quirk to shift stone and move through walls.
"I'd hoped you wouldn't be too busy."
Tying the man with the captured tape he had in his uniform, Shouta didn't bother to look up at the familiar voice. He knew who it was, so he focused on the knot that tied the man's hands behind his back, and only once he was sure the man wasn't going anywhere did he turn his attention away from him. Not that he had a choice. Kagome placed her shoe firmly to the man's back and had Shouta's eyes following the length of her leg until he came to her long t-shirt. Said shirt was always deceiving. From this angle, he could see the jean shorts she wore beneath it, but that didn't change the fact that at eye-level, it looked like she was bare ass under that shirt. "What a treat." Standing, he didn't waste a moment pulling her into his arms and kissing her.
A grunt came from beneath her as she stood completely on top of the villain. Kagome pulled away to give the villain an uncertain look before smiling and looking back at Shouta, who was no longer a head taller than her. "I came here to ask for help."
"Help?" His eyes were already traveling along her neck to the nearly completely faded mark. "What kind of help?"
"...I...need help hiding. I know that I will need to be completely honest to receive any help, and I'm prepared for that kind of talk. Despite how long it'll be...and trust me, it's a long story...but I need to think about Tomura now too."
Shouta was confused, "who is Tomura? Who are you hiding from?"
"Again, it's an insanely long story. Tomura is...my charge? He's—" she looked down and frowned, sending a sharp kick to the villain; she watched his eyes roll back and nodded, "I don't need ears listening to this."
Checking the villain, Shouta was satisfied at the feel of a familiar pulse. "Let's not kill my catch before the police have come to get him." Reaching out for her hand, he walked her off the villain. The two made their way out of the alley, where Shouta tossed the villain for the cops to grab. Sending out his location as he did. "It's too early for me to go home; you know my shift doesn't end until four."
It made Kagome smile at just how domestic this conversation sounded to her. "I know. I came here to give you my address. Right now, it's not safe for me to bring Tomura out. I need him to be safe...and I thought, the safest place in the world right now is U.A...and more than anything, he needs the help of Heroes. Can you do anything for him?"
"A villain?"
"...a child. He still dreams of being a hero, but Takeshi is trying very hard to morph that desire into something else."
Shouta wasn't sure what he could do if anything at all. However, if it was U.A... then perhaps... "I think I know someone who can help. I'll come to see you, but do you want me to bring him along too?"
"I...who is it?"
"The principal of U.A right now is a force to be reckoned with."
Kagome felt lightheaded. Her eyes lit up at the thought. "He's intimidated by Nezu. That's who you're talking about. Nezu?"
Shouta nodded. A look of thoughtfulness settled in Kagome's eyes. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. Someone she cared for needed help, and she was throwing out ropes in every direction, hoping someone would catch one and pull them in. She needed a Hero. He would be her Hero. Ah, he couldn't believe how completely cheesy that sounded. He dug his phone out and unlocked the screen. Holding it out for Kagome, he watched her eyes stare at it before she took it in hand and dialed a number. Her pwn phone rang as she pulled it out and silenced it.
"I can't stay out late tonight. I left Tomura at home...so..." she lingered for a moment, leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips.
Unlike the passion-filled kisses he'd grown used to, this one carried a thank you and a promise to see him again soon, which she would. He had every intention of dragging the stout from his office if need be and to her place. One final kiss, and Kagome parted with Shouta. She started down the sidewalk and disappeared up a wall and out of his sight. "Shit..."
Me: Here is chapter three of Eternal Salvation.