Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

Suggested Listening: Iron by Woodkid

Contradiction

Fear.

That was the only thing people expressed around him. It was always that sharp sense of terror that spurred on his fury. Again and again he'd seen it. Fingers pointed in his direction. Screams echoing in his ears. Pain and more searing pain tearing apart his flesh.

He hated them.

He hated what they'd done to him.

He hated what they represented.

They were the remnants of a bygone era of quirks and labels. They were a society incapable of accepting him due to his birth.

"-Ah!"

His eyes swiveled towards the young woman standing before him. Bright azure eyes landed on his wounded form. Any minute now she'd scream. She would run and spurn his existence like everyone else.

He was a beast.

He was a monster who'd taken the life of the one who'd born him in this world.

He was a curse.

"Oh dear, you're hurt!" She sank onto her knees next to him. Delicate brows furrowed with concern as a soft palm pressed to his forehead. "You're running a terrible fever too. Come, we can't leave you like this."

She tried to brace his arm around her shoulders.

His body sagged as another wave of heat and pain shot through him.

The woman balanced him against her side, "Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up."

He managed to lift his head, "Who… are you?" The real question he wanted to ask refused to form on the tip of his tongue.

Why was she helping him?

Why did she care what happened to him?

Why wasn't she fleeing from him?

She flashed him a warm smile, "I'm Higurashi Momo, but you can just call me Momo." She began to walk, carrying his limp form with each step. "While we're at it, what should I call you?"

She was trying to keep him calm, or at least semi conscious. It was fairly obvious but the gesture caused him to soften towards her if only a little.

"Seiichi." He answered simply.

Momo grinned widely, "Well Seiichi you've come to the right place. I've got just the thing to fix you up." She led him away from the overgrown tree he'd laid beneath just moments before. "Think you can keep awake until then?"

His lips curved upwards.

"We'll see."

Todoroki glanced at his phone.

Kagome wasn't answering. Every single call since early this afternoon was received with a simple 'disconnected number' message. Even if she'd shut her phone off, it would've simply gone to voicemail. So she'd either disconnected it, or it'd gotten damaged somehow.

Midoriya had also been oddly silent since around that time. His friend hadn't answered him the first couple of times he'd called. His last text had been read but the other teen never responded.

That wasn't like him.

That wasn't like either of them.

A nervous feeling coiled in his gut.

This couldn't be good.

To make matters worse, his father had rushed out earlier in the evening after talking to Aizawa and All Might. They'd seemed agitated and furious at each other and something else that he couldn't quite comprehend.

Todoroki scratched at his neck.

Midoriya was silent.

Kagome's phone was out of service.

His father, Aizawa and All Might rushing off at the same time.

He thought it over carefully.

Nothing made sense. The only thing his mind could picture was the possibility of a secondary attempted kidnapping by the League of Villains. Kagome was alone at the shrine most days. Occasionally she'd have a few friends over like Bakugou, Kirishima or Midoriya but that wouldn't have been the case today. She'd have been by herself.

His brows furrowed at that thought.

"The reports haven't said anything about a fight," His eyes slid towards the television. He'd muted it after the fifth headline that'd included her name. All of which surrounded the controversy of her kidnapping and return to U.A. but there was nothing to explain what might've happened.

"I don't like this." Todoroki voiced his opinion out loud.

She was his friend. At least to some degree.

He and Kagome had interacted on a daily basis but there was always a certain stiffness in the way they spoke to one another. She had always been welcoming in her own way but the more his father had tried to push her towards him, the more put off he'd been by the whole thing. It wasn't necessarily Kagome's fault but he hadn't wanted to give his father an inch.

He bit into his cheek at that thought.

A few months ago he'd overheard one of their conversations.

That choice will be Shouto's to make.

He hadn't understood her at that time, but later that week his father confronted him with the notion of an arranged marriage… with Kagome.

She'd made it clear that she wouldn't force him into a decision; that his future would only be his to decide. He had to admit that he respected that about her.

Kagome was fearless when it came to her convictions. She always strived to help others succeed. His desire to carve out his own path in life far removed from his father's influence was something she'd always encouraged.

It was in that moment that he truly accepted her as a friend.

That didn't mean that they didn't have their fair share of awkward moments. There was always an odd tension between them—as if they were toeing a line that was never meant to be crossed.

He pressed his thumb against the corner of his lips.

Bakugou's possessiveness towards her was an entirely different issue in their friendship. He'd always had a habit of usurping Kagome's attention whenever he was around. So much so that she tended to forget about anyone else. Those two always seemed to be in a world of their own. It sometimes surprised him how well they got along considering their opposing personalities, but perhaps it was Kagome's softer nature that sparked Bakugou's protective instincts.

He glanced at his phone.

He'd been jealous.

At least in the way they got along with each other. Their friendship had seemed so seamless—a near perfect image of what a bond should look like between peers.

At times he felt broken. As if the way his father had brought him up had left him ill prepared to interact with others appropriately. He tried his best to be calm, rational and at least civil towards others. Yet there was always an edge in the corner of his mind. A whisper of doubt that warned him that he'd never truly find the companionship he'd wanted.

His fingers curled around the device even tighter.

Kagome was the first to pick up on it. She'd give him space when he needed it but there were other times, times where the world felt like it'd cave in on him, that'd she'd simply sit beside him and let him talk. Maybe that'd been his mistake. His father could've witnessed one of those moments and tried to use it to convince her to marry into the family. Just like he'd done to his mother's family…

Todoroki shook his head roughly.

He couldn't think about that right now. He needed to figure out what had happened.

Even if his father was pushing him towards her, he knew that he couldn't completely turn his back on Kagome. He owed her more than that.

Todoroki waited as the dial tone hit his ear.

There was only one person who'd know.

Chisaki glanced over the charts. Eri's power was growing exponentially. Soon she would lose any semblance of control if they didn't do something.

"Do you really think Higurashi can teach the girl to control her quirk?" Kurono came to his side.

He didn't spare him a glance, "She's the only one capable of showing her how to control it. Both of their quirks can have catastrophic effects if left untrained. So pairing her with Eri will be the start."

Kurono continued his line of questioning, "But you know as well as I that she will not condone the experiments. It'll be difficult getting her to agree under these conditions."

"Which is why she won't know about them." Chisaki countered. "Kagome cannot be exposed to them. If this plan is going to succeed then she'll need to be a willing participant."

He'd set the seed in place. All that was left was for the root to sprout. Giving her time on her own was necessary. He couldn't suffocate her with his presence. If anything, she was going to be researching ways to help Eri escape. A woman like her would prioritize the child above herself.

He was counting on that maternal nature. There was no way she'd turn down the opportunity to help the girl. The key would lie in his ability to twist Kagome's perspective of the situation. It would take time, patience and a great deal of effort but he was determined to see it through.

"Kurono," He glanced at the man. "Let me see Kagome's charts again. There's something I want to look into."

His colleague passed a clipboard into his hands.

"What are you thinking?"

Chisaki scanned the numbers carefully, "The drawback to her quirk is rather odd." The results weren't too concerning but he was still curious. "Her power possesses healing properties, yet its overuse triggers an immune response in her body. Almost as if she's fighting an infection or virus."

The other male paused, "You think there's something else happening?"

Chisaki flipped through the pages, "I suspect that her quirk is fighting something. Holding it at bay until she exhausts that power."

Kurono froze, "You mean Black Abyss. Shinigami's miasmic quirk."

He made a small noise of affirmation from the back of his throat.

"We know that Black Abyss wreaked havoc on Shinigami's body in his youth. It's entirely possible that Kagome inherited both quirks but Crystallize's healing properties keep it from surfacing." This was all merely his speculation but he'd admit that he was curious. "I'll need to get more blood samples from her to compare the results. It'll be easier to test it if we can get her to wear down her quirk from time to time. Talk to Houjo about setting her up with some additional training."

He didn't wait for his underling's response.

"The more we help her learn to control her own power, the easier it'll be for her to trust us." He set the clipboard down and straightened his tie. "If she does possess the Black Abyss quirk then we can even develop an antidote to Shinigami's power." His eyes narrowed at the image of her face reflected on the top left hand corner of the report. "We've stumbled on quite the find."

He turned on the ball of his heel.

"I'll leave the preparations to you. There's something else I need to take care of." With that he left Kurono on his own.

Crystallize.

Black Abyss.

They were two contradictory quirks that shouldn't exist in the same body. He slid his hand into his pocket, withdrawing the shard he'd taken earlier that day.

He raised it towards the fluorescent lighting above his head. The flat grey shell reflected against it, gradually losing even the dull hum of power it'd had.

Kagome was full of surprises.

Aizawa's weight sagged as he leaned back in his chair.

Kagome's disappearance was concerning on many different levels.

There was an unending list of people who would want to use her power for terrible things. At this point they had no clue as to who had her or if she'd gone with them willingly.

An odd feeling twisted in his gut.

Something was off about this entire situation.

He could admit that there were things regarding the girl that he regretted. His caution had prevented him from training her appropriately. All Might and Endeavor had already pointed out that much.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

Had he been too harsh with her? If she'd been persuaded to join a villain group, would that fault partially lie with him due to his negligence?

He froze as someone gripped his neck before pressing a palm to his mouth.

"I want answers, Eraser." A masculine voice he didn't recognize came from behind him. How had he missed their presence? "My daughter wasn't at the shrine. She wasn't anywhere I could find her either. So tell me, where is she?"

Daughter?

This had to be Shinigami.

He kept calm. Panicking would only agitate the situation.

"We don't know." He chose to answer truthfully. Lying wouldn't help. The man probably already had a good clue as to what'd happened. "We believe that she left of her own accord."

"It'd be easier to think that way, wouldn't it?" The scorn in the male's voice caused an involuntary shiver to run down his spine. When people talked about true evil, this was it. "It'd be much more convenient for you if she simply left." Fingers tightened around his neck much like a vice. "I may not be involved directly anymore but that doesn't mean that I won't protect my child. When it comes down to it, she's the only family I have left. I won't allow someone like you to cast her into the same role as I was."

He froze at that.

Role?

Aizawa kept silent. Was he talking about being a villain? Had he been worried that they would push her towards becoming one?

"The League isn't involved in this one. So you best tell me what you know." A coil of black mist began to emanate from his palm. Aizawa felt his body go numb.

Black Abyss.

He couldn't get a good look at Shinigami either. Which meant that he couldn't erase his quirk.

Bastard had him cornered.

"The only thing we know is that she had someone over. That's it." He chose to answer honestly. Shinigami would already have pieced together that much. Lying about it would only spur on his fury. "If you're here then can I assume that you don't know who she's with either?"

Shinigami snorted through his nose, "Sure you can, but that doesn't mean that I'll answer you." Fingers curled all the tighter around his neck. "I'd hoped that as a hero and a teacher you would've taken this seriously. Yet here you are, at home, enjoying yourself while my daughter has been taken captive. I'm not sure if you're cruel or just plain stupid."

He pushed him forward, "Do yourself a favor, Eraser. Stay out of my sight. The next time we meet I might not be feeling so lenient."

Shinigami stepped away, "If you have any sense left in you then you'd be on the street searching for her. Not here."

Aizawa turned. His eyes flashed as he tried to catch a glimpse of the man. However by the time he'd turned, Shinigami was gone.

Search for her, huh?

That wasn't a bad idea.

All Might sat up. The sun was already out and he knew that the day was already going to be a long one. They had a lot of searching ahead of them.

Kagome and the kidnapper couldn't have gotten too far. Even if she were to be subdued, there'd be a limit to how long it'd effect her. Once that ran out they would have a fight on their hands to keep her. It would take precision and accurate timing to be able to pull that off.

"This can't be good." He tried to wrack his brain for the answer.

The man paused as his phone went off. Reaching over, he slid his finger across the glass screen and quickly answered it.

"Sorry for calling so early All Might, but I figured you'd want an update on this investigation." Tsukauchi's voice came through the other end of the line.

He sat up straighter, "No it's fine. What'd you find out?"

The detective continued, "Not a whole lot. Last night Endeavor had found a blood sample from the house and reported it. We ran a few tests but nothing's hit back in the data base."

His brows furrowed, "So it was someone who hasn't been arrested before."

Tsukauchi gave a noise of affirmation, "That's correct. Now that doesn't mean much since it could possibly belong to Kagome or her visitor. You already know that we have several people on our watch list but until we can arrest them, there won't be any DNA samples to compare to."

He palmed his face in frustration.

He knew that.

"I tried digging into the girl's past connections. Turns out she's pretty closed off socially."

All Might quirked his brow, "What do you mean?"

Tsukauchi pushed forward, "Usually people have a close group of friends and connections. She has a small handful of them from U.A. but outside that she's been cut off. Visitors stopped coming to the shrine after Higurashi Seiichi's identity was revealed three years ago. Plus her grandfather Norio was somewhat eccentric and didn't have too many close ties outside of his family."

All Might sighed, "So you're saying that besides the students and teachers from the school she had no support system."

His friend replied, "That is correct. On a brief investigation we found out that she's very trusting of strangers. Combined with the blood sample it'd be safe to assume that she probably tried healing someone who'd been injured."

"Then that person managed to take her." There was one thing that was bothering him though. "Is it possible that they purposely injured themselves to gain her trust?"

Tsukauchi's voice sharpened, "That's something that we're considering. Currently we've taken your advice and put a gag order on this case. No information is to be leaked to the public. However we did talk to principal Nezu regarding this situation."

A sickening feeling coiled in his stomach. He didn't like this.

"For Higurashi's safety as well as the rest of the students, they'll announce that she's currently not planning to attend U.A. this semester." The male gave a heavy sigh. "I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but we couldn't risk the public questioning her absence."

He wanted to argue that point but found himself cut off before he could speak.

"Also, the department isn't keen on this case. Most of them only took it because you were involved. I'll be investigating it from here on with my team but officially she'll be listed as a runaway."

"Runaway?!" He jumped to his feet. "Tsukauchi you know as well as I do that something happened to that girl. If she's marked as a runaway then she won't be prioritized."

He knew that this wasn't going to work. If someone saw her then they'd simply turn a blind eye. She was in danger.

"I know that," His friend countered. "Which is why we're continuing the investigation with my team. The fewer people on it, the better. We can keep leaks to a minimum like this." His voice hardened, "I know this is hard for you All Might. I know how badly you want to save her but we have to do this a bit differently this time around." He pushed forward, "We won't stop until she's home. You know you can trust us with that, don't you?"

All Might sank back onto his mattress, "I know Tsukauchi. Thank you for everything you've done. It's just…" His voice stopped.

The other male finished his sentence for him, "Frustrating."

There was a brief pause.

"For what it's worth we don't believe that the League was involved with this one. There's some CCTV of a convenience store she usually frequents that we have to pull. If we're lucky, we'll find something on that." Tsukauchi stopped. "Just hang in there a bit longer. We'll find her."

All Might ended the call.

He hoped so.

Silence.

That was the only thing she could hear.

Kagome rolled to her side. She tucked her legs in towards her chest as she sank into the paper thin mattress she'd been provided.

It was cold.

The sheets didn't hold any warmth and the silence bore down on her consciousness. Was it even morning yet? It certainly felt like it.

Azure eyes slid towards the shogi board across the room. She'd stayed up late trying to piece together Chisaki's strategy. She'd gotten better at understanding the basics of the game that it was starting to make sense.

He'd laid a trap.

He had focused his attacks at the end, simply allowing her to believe that she'd had the upper hand in the first half of the game.

He was smart.

Too smart if she were honest with herself. She would need something that could surprise him. Something that would lower his guard and give her the chance to set Eri free.

She sat up on the bed.

"He wants me to train her, right?" She bit into the nail of her thumb. That would be her starting point. She would have to earn his trust before she could do anything. That would take time, patience and most of all, a convincing attitude.

Her face flushed at the thought.

The young woman jumped as footsteps echoed down the hall. Someone was coming.

Her heart lurched into her throat. She couldn't hide and fighting wasn't an option either.

Kagome slid her feet onto the floor. A shiver ran through her spine. The concrete was freezing! It was probably because they were in some kind of underground labyrinth. Keeping the temperature cold would aid in slowing down any potential intruders. A person's body would become sluggish if they were left in a cold climate for too long.

She breathed on the tips of her fingers.

The footsteps stopped in front of her door.

It didn't sound like Chisaki.

He carried himself in a way that made his footsteps sound heavy—full of purpose. She'd only known him for a short time, but she'd committed the sound to memory. It was necessary. If he was going to keep her here then she needed to be able to recognize him when he approached. Her mind went back to their interaction the previous night. He'd held her close to him yet his body had felt more like stone than an actual person. There was a form of intimidation stitched into the very fiber of his being.

Her train of thought stopped as the door to her room opened. A man with oddly shaped hair stepped inside.

She blinked, "May I help you?"

That probably wasn't the most intelligent remark she'd come up with, but it was enough to garner the stranger's attention.

"Kai sent me here to check on you and bring your meal."

Kai? Oh! He meant Chisaki!

She took to her feet, "So he'll be busy for today, correct?" The way he spoke last night made it sound like he would be gone for a few days. She wouldn't be able to gain his trust if they were constantly separated. So for now she would express interest and refrain from escape measures.

This would be the start of her strategy.

The male nodded once, "You are correct. He has other matters to attend to, however we will be testing the limits of your quirk today." Dark eyes pinned her with a cool glance. "We must see what you're capable of before we allow you to take over Eri's training."

Somehow she figured he'd do something like this. Her fevers were likely a cause of concern to Chisaki. If she couldn't handle her own power then she had no business teaching another.

She clenched her fists.

"Alright, I'll do what I can!"

Chisaki observed their interaction carefully through a monitor. Unbeknownst to Kagome, he'd placed her in a room that was under both video and audio surveillance. As much as he needed her right now, he still couldn't trust her.

He watched as she spoke to his colleague in an oddly cheerful tone. There was a certain kind of warmth to her personality—the likes of which that often drew people in. It was an amendable quality to have but it was also dangerous as well. A warmth like that could burn them all.

He'd have to be careful.

The young woman followed Kurono out of the space they'd given her. He watched as she trailed after him. Her head twisted from left then right as she reached the threshold. Then within the space of a breath, she stepped past the door and into the corridor.

She was cautious.

That was a good sign at least.

He couldn't have her following anyone who'd simply approached her. He wouldn't run the risk of someone else snatching her from out of his control.

"How do you think she'll do?" Nemoto questioned from beside him.

Chisaki leaned back, "Her performance isn't all that important. What matters will be the results of the blood tests once she's finished. We need to verify what's causing her fevers and if there's a way to circumvent them."

Nemoto paused, "Do you intend on over using her quirk?"

"To a degree. Namely we need to boost the overall strength of our members. Just giving shards to the eight bullets along with myself might be all that she can handle at the moment." He took to his feet. "However I want to be able to expand that for our entire force. The stronger our men become the more power we can exert."

Nemoto fell into step behind him.

"Eri's Rewind will establish a market that we'll have sole control over. Kagome's quirk will ensure that we maintain that control." They both were the crux of his plan. To bring the Shie Hassaikai to the top, he would make use of anyone and anything. Including himself.

"What of Shinigami? If he discovers that we have her then he'll launch an assault on our compound." Nemoto questioned cautiously.

Chisaki strode through the twisted corridors and labyrinth-like maze of their underground facility.

"Depending on how these tests go we might just be able to gain an advantage over him as well." He pulled at the latex gloves over his hands until they completely snapped into place. "He'll eventually figure out where we're keeping her. Until then our goal will be to make her feel like this is the only place she can call home." His eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Shinigami won't be as inclined to take her if she decides to stay."

Nemoto stopped, "Is that why you've been bonding with her?"

"Did you think I had other motives?" His query was met with a short silence. Chisaki continued, "If even you thought that my interest in her was different then that means that it shouldn't take long to break down her defenses." He curled just fingers inward towards his palm, "She's inexperienced which will only help in that regard."

That was right.

He had his goals.

Nothing and no one would ever change that.

Not even her.

Kagome winced at the slight pinching sensation in her arm.

"Sorry but can you explain why we're doing this?" She clenched her fist, hoping to help speed up the process if only by a little bit.

Kurono, he'd informed her of his name before he led her here, met her gaze with a calculative glance.

"We need to find the source of your fevers. By testing before, during and after training we'll have a better handle of what's going on with your quirk." His tone was placid. It was calming in a way. Where Chisaki's presence was cold like a statue, this man reminded her of a doctor. He had the kind of cool comfort that a healer would provide his patients.

She nodded, "Ah I get it. That was Chisaki's idea, right?" She shouldn't be surprised that he'd want to analyze what was really going on. For a man so intelligent, he really didn't leave any stone unturned.

"Chisaki?" Kurono raises his brow. "I hadn't realized that he allowed you to call him by his name."

The young woman paused, "Wait he doesn't let anyone call him that?"

Kurono's eyes hardened, "Never. He considers it a name that he's left behind. Most of us simply call him Overhaul."

Her mind went back to their conversation the other day.

He had encouraged her to call him Overhaul as well but she'd been more keen on using his given name. She hadn't known that it'd held any negative connotation to it.

Kurono withdrew the needle. He skillfully wrapped her arm in a bandage before helping her to her feet.

"We'll wait twenty minutes since you've just had your blood drawn. Feel free to use this time to prepare." He stepped away from her. The man grabbed the vials of blood he'd drawn from her. "I'll be taking these for research. Your sparring partner will arrive in a few minutes." He cast her a sharp look over his shoulder, "Try not to do anything rash. You're still under heavy surveillance."

The door slammed shut behind him.

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"Surveillance, huh?" Kagome rubbed her palms over her arms. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Was it possible that Chisaki was watching her every move right now—trying to determine if she was a flight risk?

She shook her head.

Of course he was. He wasn't an idiot. A man like him would be keeping watch from afar. He'd dangle the chance of freedom in her face before yanking it back.

This was a test.

Her lips curved upwards into a smirk.

He was getting easier and easier to read. Playing a bit of shogi had helped her after all.

"Let's do this!"

Bakugou glared up at his ceiling.

Nothing.

They'd found absolutely nothing.

He hadn't slept at all the previous night. His mind kept racing; running through every single possibility of what might've happened and what could currently be happening.

The dull hum of his television echoed in his room.

"We received word this morning that Higurashi Kagome has chosen to not attend U.A. this semester. Thus far she's still enrolled however parents of the remaining students are rejoicing at this turn of events." The reporter tucked her hand into her hair, "It's not clear what made Higurashi change her mind however there've been reports that she was concerned over the increase in villain attacks on Class 1-A. We reached out to her for comment but she hasn't responded to our requests."

He sat up.

He shouldn't be surprised. The teachers were going to fight like hell to keep her disappearance under wraps. Even All Might hadn't wanted the news to go public. He was sure that Midoriya's phone would be going the hook by now.

His gaze swiveled towards his own phone.

Any second now.

Three.

Two.

One.

The device began to vibrate.

Bakugou sighed through his nose. Bastard never gave up, did he?

The name 'Icy-hot' flashed across his screen. He slid his finger over the glass, answering it as he did.

"I know what you want to ask," Bakugou began before the other male could speak.

"Then you know that the police listed Higurashi as a runaway?" Todoroki responded coolly.

His breath left him.

They did what?

"What the hell are you saying?" He bit out in a low growl. "There's no way in hell…"

Todoroki continued, "I overheard my old man this morning. He was raking the police department over the coals since they listed her as a runaway. They said that since there was no evidence of a crime and the fact that she was high risk, they could only mark her like that."

He gnashed his teeth together, "Kagome is missing. She didn't runaway!"

Anger burned beneath his flesh. Sparks cackled in his palms as his rage began to build.

So even the police were giving up on her?! What kind of hope did she have if no one wanted to help her?

"Calm down Bakugou. I called you because there was something I wanted to know." Todoroki didn't give him the chance to argue. "I've caught bits and pieces from my father but he won't give me a straight answer." The teen's voice sharpened. "I want to know what happened. I know that she's close to you, so you have to have some idea."

His hands began to shake.

Todoroki wanted to know?

Bastard always pissed him off. He always acted like he was better than anyone else. He came from a place of power and couldn't even bring himself to challenge him with all of his strength. He hated him. He hated him almost as much as Midoriya. Yet there was one thing he couldn't deny.

Todoroki cared about Kagome.

At least to some degree.

He took to his feet, "Meet me at the Higure Shrine. I'll show you everything."

The line went dead.

Bakugou listened as the tone beeped at him.

She'd rushed him off the phone when he'd called her.

Yet when Midoriya talked to her she had subtly asked him for help.

Something had happened to her between that time. Something to make her feel as if she were in danger.

His fingers curled into white-knuckles fists.

It didn't matter who took her or why. All that mattered was getting her back. Then he'd kick the bastard's ass for taking her in the first place.

It'd been his job to protect her.

Not just because she was his friend, but because he knew that they bond they shared was something more.

She hadn't looked at him as anything other than a peer.

To Kagome, he was someone she saw potential in. However to him, she was something much more.

His eyes hardened.

He had to get her back, no matter the cost.

He wouldn't accept anything else.