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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Stern Warning

Touya sat bedside Kagome in the infirmary. His eyes remained fixed on the burn scar etched into her side.

He'd panicked when he'd seen her go down. The teachers weren't able to hold him back and he'd managed to catch her before her head hit the ground. The first thing he'd noticed was the amount of blood pouring from her wound.

His father hadn't taught him much before his accident, but he did emphasize the importance of cauterizing wounds in emergency situations. So he'd lowered his palm to her side and used his quirk to seal the injury before she could bleed out. Afterwards he helped rush her to Recovery Girl's station.

"That child made her injury many times worse by pulling out the shard." The elderly woman complained, "Looking cool isn't nearly as important as surviving."

Touya shot her a pointed look, "Instead of whining about it, why don't you get to healing her?"

He was not in the mood to listen to anyone's bitching at the moment. He'd damn near lost the only person in this world that wasn't horrified by his disfigurement. The fact that Kikyou missed Kagome's vital organs was their only saving grace.

His lips dipped at the thought.

Whether Kikyou missed on purpose or because she was too enraged to aim properly was still a mystery. Not that he cared either way. He was going to return the favor a hundred-fold so that anyone who looked upon her would know exactly what she'd done.

Recovery Girl gave an irritable sigh, "I've already done what I can. The wound will leave a permanent scar but she should gain consciousness soon." The elderly woman threw a pitying glance at her, "Poor child. To think that her attempt at mending the divide with her sister would lead to this." Her brows furrowed with concern, "All of you are taking this too far. I don't like it one bit."

Touya ignored her comment.

Right or not, it didn't matter to him. The only thing he wanted to do right now was drown Kikyou in a sea of his fire. She deserved nothing less than to become a mirror image of himself. If she was truly so ashamed of bringing someone like him home to her mother, then he'll make her match with fresh new scars of her own.

He hardly blinked when the nurse's office door opened to reveal a large gathering of staff including the mouse-like principal. What was his name again? Nezumi? Nezu? He couldn't quite remember.

Touya tuned out most of the conversation as Recovery Girl recounted Kagome's condition.

"I say that Kikyou should be pulled out of the Festival and expelled." A rugged looking man growled low in his throat. He was dressed in all black and had some sort of strange binding cloth wrapped around his neck. He'd seen him a few times before with the hero course students. Could he perhaps be Kikyou's homeroom teacher?

"I do agree that things have gone too far but can we really stop the Festival midway?" Midnight chimed in with concern, "This is an unprecedented occurrence for our school."

"She's already proven to be ill-tempered and not suited to the hero course." The other man shot back vehemently, "Even if you let her continue on with the Festival I'm personally expelling her from these school grounds. We have no need for a student that can't control themselves."

Another man dressed all in red intervened, "It sounds like this is a difficult home situation. It might be best to have both girls take independent counseling sessions with Hound Dog to get to the root of the issue before we come to a final decision."

The principal gave a thoughtful hum as he weighed his choices.

"Let her fight." Touya interrupted their conversation, "You can do whatever you want with her afterwards, just let her stay in the ring for now."

He fought to keep his tone even. It was difficult to keep his fury in check, especially with all of the faculty arguing about what to do. He could see that they were stuck in a conundrum. Realistically the smartest thing to do would be to disqualify Kikyou from the fight. Yet it could also be argued that this Festival is about bringing their all to the table and the fight between those two sisters was a bad match up. He knew that people would argue that it wasn't fair to the hero course students who would then be forced to hold back against weaker opponents or risk being disqualified.

Then again, allowing Kikyou to continue on also set the precedent that stabbing an opponent was perfectly acceptable behavior in this Festival. Having so much media attention on the school right now was their greatest disadvantage.

Touya met the principal's gaze, "Let her fight."

The scruffy man from before threw him a cautious look, "For what purpose? Besides you're in no position to make any demands."

Touya leaned forward in his seat. He rested his forearms over his knees as his voice grew stern.

"I'm telling you that you can either let her continue with her fight and have the option of intervening, or I'll just find her later outside of school grounds. This fight is happening one way or another. The only thing you're choosing is whether or not you'll be able to intervene." He pinned the man with a fierce glare, "So let her fight."

"Eraser," The tiny principal cut through the tension. "I'll allow Kikyou to continue for now. However I would like for you to help Midnight in overseeing the battles."

Eraser, he now knew the other man's hero name, gave a low sigh of frustration.

"Fine, but I'll be using my quirk if it starts to get too dangerous." The teacher's eyes narrowed at him sharply, "I'll erase your quirk and end the match. So don't even think about exacting some sort of revenge in that arena."

Touya kept silent.

There was no point in continuing this argument. He got what he wanted and so he would bide his time. Regardless of Erasure's wishes, he would get his revenge.

"In terms of what will happen after, I believe that we should go with Vlad's suggestion and have both girls attend separate counseling sessions with Hound Dog. Understanding their current home situation and their relationship with each other will help us make a better informed decision for both of their futures." The principal turned towards Kagome's unconscious form, "I'd have liked to apologize to her for allowing this to escalate, but I shall wait until she wakes up to have that conversation."

Touya slouched in his seat, observing as the teachers slowly filed out of the nurse's office.

It seemed as if Kikyou's expulsion was currently on hold. He didn't care much for what happened to her. Honestly, it filled him with a sense of satisfaction in knowing that she was going to get some kind of official punishment for her behavior.

The real issue was what would happen to him after their match?

His gaze drifted towards Kagome's sleeping form.

A bandaid had been put over the cut across her cheek, but he could still spy the thin trail of blood through the bandage. It must've bled quite a bit.

He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

The act came as natural to him as breathing. He used to be frightened of touching people with his disgusting body. Yet when it came to Kagome he held no such reservations. Everything with her felt right.

His finger twitched before he allowed his hand to fall to his lap.

Last time Kagome stopped him before he'd gone too far. This time she wouldn't be here to help. It could be minutes or even hours before she'd wake up. He doubted she'd even be conscious during the awards ceremony.

His lips dipped at the thought.

If he got expelled then what would happen to her?

It was a stray thought, but one that caused a slight chill to run through his body. Kikyou's expulsion was already being discussed. If he went too far then would he also be kicked out along with her?

Touya's brows furrowed.

He never much cared for school. Honestly there were only two reasons as to why he was here. First was simply because he had to be. Second and more importantly, it was because she was here. Going to class, spending time together during lunch and even visiting the library after school. Those were all the reasons why he kept coming back day after day.

If he was expelled then he'd have to wait until the end of the day to see her. Even then, she could become disappointed in his choice. Kikyou was still her sister as Kagome had proved in her battle against the woman. So she had to love her on some level. Could Kagome ever look at him the same if he disfigured her twin?

Then what of Inuyasha? It was evident that his relationship with Kikyou was over and he was now going to try his hand at Kagome. Could he really leave her behind in a school where such a cretin was wandering the same halls as her?

His mind was a mess and his heart even more so.

"Child," Recovery Girl pulled him from his reverie. "I understand how much you two care about each other but right now you need to decide what's best for your future. Don't keep making the same mistake."

He knew that she was referencing his fight with Inuyasha.

"A mistake would be doing nothing at all." Touya pressed his palm over Kagome's forehead. Her skin was cool to the touch but she'd at least regained some of her warmth since he'd carried her here.

He turned to meet the older woman's eyes directly, "I'm going to put an end to this."

Regardless of what shape that ending may take, he was going to ensure that no one else dared to harm her again.

Touya blinked as he heard the cheering of the crowd as the Festival continued.

He silently pulled his gym's coat from his shoulders and threw it over Kagome's sleeping form.

Before he could get to Kikyou, he'd first have to face down Sango.

He made his way to the elevated platform where the crowd's cheers had grown tense—as if they feared what was to come next.

He paid little heed to the introductions. He simply waited until he heard the shrill sound of the bell signaling the start of their match.

Kagome liked Sango from what he could tell. The woman wasn't someone he minded either. So he wanted to end this fight as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Touya took a breath through his lips. He focused all of his effort on lowering his temperature. As Sango raised her boomer age, he released his breath and swung his arm in an upward arc. A wave of ice the size of the stands shot forward, encasing his opponent before she could even strike.

"Ladies and gentleman we have a winner! Todoroki Touya is the victor!" Midnight's voice trembled with the cold.

Touya pressed his palm against the thick sheet he'd created.

It was a lot larger than he thought it'd be. It looked like he'd need to practice more control with Shouto later.

He calmed his breathing as he used his flames to gently melt Sango from the ice prison he'd sealed her in.

Neither of them said anything but they both understood what was to come next. Unless Kikyou purposefully lost her fight to Kanna, this Sports Festival would end in violence.

His eyes drifted towards the entrance he and Kagome had taken refuge in. Kikyou was now standing in the same spot, her gaze set upon him with an unreadable expression.

Touya straightened his back.

The final fight couldn't come fast enough.