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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Forward

Touya watched as the next match came to its conclusion.

Despite her best efforts, Kanna had not been able to prevent the barrage of attacks Kikyou sent her way. Unlike her fight with Kagome, the shards were more controlled this time and aimed in such a way to avoid dealing any critical damage to her opponent. He doubted that it had anything to do with the teachers, but rather her own emotions becoming twisted and entangled after her sister's attempt at connecting with her.

Touya watched as Kanna was pushed out of the ring's perimeter.

"With that we now have our finalists for this year!" Midnight's voice did not waver as she continued her commentary, "Higurashi Kikyou!"

The crowd fell silent. Refusing to make a sound at the woman's name.

It was clear that the audience had yet to forgive Kikyou for her attack on Kagome. Festival or not, there was none willing to call her name.

"Versus Todoroki Touya!" Midnight announced his name that time.

Wordlessly he took to the platform.

There was an empty applause but no excited cheers. With the attack on Kagome, the jovial atmosphere she'd created with the crowd had become tense and stifled. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. Watching him. Waiting to see what he would do.

Just below the platform, Erasure was already observing him with a keen eye. His hand was on his capture weapon, as if simply waiting for him to make the first move.

Touya leveled his glare at Kikyou.

"What was that you said at the start? That you would dedicate your victory to me?" His tone was scathing, "Well look where we are now. I guess you never expected me to make it this far, but what's new about that? You never thought much of me in the first place."

He was furious.

All that time he'd spent following her around, heeding her beck and call then remaining hidden in the shadows for the sake of her fragile ego. No matter how Kikyou cut it, there was absolutely no excuse for her behavior back then. She'd led him on, hurt him, then left him the first chance she had. Kagome at least made it clear that she didn't agree with Kikyou's decisions, as for Kikyou herself well that had yet to be seen.

"I find it hard to believe that you possess feelings at all. You can't honestly come on this stage and tell me that you still like me. Especially after everything you've done." He fought to keep his temper in check.

The match had yet to officially begin. They were still awaiting the familiar bell that would signal the start of their fight.

Kikyou's gaze lowered to the ground, "I meant what I said earlier."

He felt himself bristle at her response.

"Every action you've taken, every choice you've made until now has led all of us to this very moment." His tone grew sharper, piercing through the tension in the silence between them. "For the first time in my life I'm happy. I've met someone who isn't afraid to stand beside me. She's not afraid to tell the world that we're dating." Touya squared his shoulders, "Just take a look around! She wasn't afraid to face all these people and tell them that yeah, we're together and in a relationship. She doesn't see me as some charity case or broken soul in need of fixing."

Touya clutched the front of his shirt as his voice grew louder, "So why the hell would I ever go back to living in the shadows? Why should I be ashamed of myself and hide away from society? Yeah my body is burned and broken, but that doesn't mean that I am!" He took a calming breath through his nose, "I could forget about what you did to me. As far as I'm concerned, that's not even an issue anymore. What I can't forgive is the fact that you hurt the only person who's ever truly accepted me."

A thin layer of ice covered his chest as his flames began to swell around him.

Touya lifted his chin as he met her gaze directly, "It is for that reason that I will defeat you."

He needed to keep his composure. He was going to teach Kikyou a lesson, not roast her alive. He wouldn't make the same mistake that he did with Inuyasha.

Kagome warned him before that his ice would be more effective against her sister's quirk. Under normal circumstances that would be the case. Right now though, he couldn't sense any will to fight from Kikyou. It was as if her match with Kagome had taken the desire to fight right out of her.

Touya sank into position as Midnight raised her arm.

"Ready? Begin!" Her shout was echoed with the ringing of the bell.

Touya shot forward. He threw a wave of azure flames at Kikyou, forcing her to encase herself in her shards to protect herself from the blast.

"So you've got a shitty mom, guess what? So does every other person in the world!" He attacked relentlessly, not giving her a chance to collect herself. "I hate my old man's guts. I took it out on my brother once but you know what happened after that?" He forced her back with another powerful wave of his fire, "I realized that it wasn't his fault that our old man is a scumbag. I'm his older brother, which means that it's my responsibility to make sure he doesn't get hurt."

Touya slammed his fist against the wall of shards she'd erected. Just as Kagome said, they'd shattered beneath the weight of his strike. They seemed to be even more brittle now than they were during the first round. It was clear that her emotions were the determining factor to the strength of her quirk. The more he hit on her insecurities, the more brittle her shards would become.

Kikyou crumbled to the ground while he held still, his fire still blazing around them both.

"So what about you? Are you just going to keep making the same bullshit excuses for yourself?" Touya snapped, launching himself forward at her.

Kikyou struggled to her feet. Her eyes blazed as she threw a wave of her shards at him.

Touya quickly erected a sheet of ice between them. The shards shattered as they made impact, creating a shower of coral-colored crystals.

"Why is it always her?" The woman growled, "Why is it always Kagome!"

Kikyou hunched forward, her shoulders trembling with the rage she felt.

"Every time I've found something, anything that makes me happy, it always ends up becoming hers!" Shards sprouted from the ground near her feet, creating what would've been a formidable barrier. That is at least if her shards weren't so damn fragile. They were now little more than thin sheets of glass.

"You were the only one I cared about. I was afraid to be honest because I knew what mother would say." Kikyou's voice grew into a shrill screech, "But Kagome has never had that problem! She could be who she wanted, she could do what she wanted! She had no expectations placed onto her! So why?"

Kikyou lifted her head and met his gaze. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she began to yell.

"Why is it always her?!"

Touya curled his fingers into white-knuckled fists at his side.

So that was it.

She was jealous.

Not just of their relationship but of Kagome's perceived freedom. She felt like Kagome had no shackles on her like herself. She was envious of the fact that Kagome was 'free' to pursue any future she wished. It wasn't like he couldn't understand, but looking at Kikyou now, he felt absolutely nothing. Just a fiery anger that refused to let up.

He wrapped himself in his flames once more.

"Because she was the only one who accepted me without any shame. It was your own fear and sense of insecurity that's led all of us here." He shot forward, swiftly closing the distance. "You were the one that decided to cheat and steal her boyfriend from her. You were the one that decided to attack her when she was attempting to understand you. You are the one that keeps choosing to make her your enemy."

Touya slammed his fist against the wall of shards, shattering it in a single attack. Fragments scattered along the ground as Kikyou sank to her knees.

"I hate her," She confessed. Her hands balled into fists, beating at the ground with all of her might. "She was never supposed to have been born!"

Touya's teeth clenched, "Who the hell cares?! She's your sister! So start fucking acting like one to her!"

He could remember how he felt the day Shouto had been born. It'd been as if his entire world had crumbled beneath his feet. His father had finally gotten the masterpiece he'd wanted, which meant that his own importance in his father's life had been greatly reduced. He was the failed first son. The one that had never been able to succeed.

It was only after he'd awoken from his coma and saw Shouto hovering at his bedside, piling get well cards onto his stomach that his view of the child changed. Shouto never asked to be Endeavor's successor. He never asked to be born into their family. Nor did he ask to become a masterpiece. He was just Shouto. His little egg-headed baby brother that followed his every footstep at home. He was quiet, well mannered and clearly adored him. Although he couldn't figure out why for the life of him.

Shouto was his brother.

That was a fact that he'd come to accept. Regardless of how their relationship with their dad was now, he'd decided to be a better brother to the child that loved him dearly.

Kikyou let out a piercing screech as shards protruded from the ground—spiking outward, nearly impaling him as it had Kagome.

He encased himself in his flames, shattering the shards before they could make contact.

He'd need to end this in a single shot, before she had the chance to pull herself together.

Touya rushed forward. He reached his hand out and placed his palm over her face. Before she could even blink, he slammed her head back towards the ground, hitting her with one final blast of his flames.

He'd tried to control the amount he'd put out, but at the last second the fires swelled and he knew that he'd screwed up.

Kikyou screamed as flames burned at one side of her face. The familiar stench of burning flesh stung his nose. Instinctively he switched to his ice and quickly put out the fire.

She covered herself with both of her hands and curled in upon herself.

"Kikyou is KO'd!" Midnight's announcement was rushed as she proclaimed him the victor of this Festival.

Touya took a step back.

He watched as staff swiftly rushed her off the platform and to Recovery Girl.

He felt no pride in this victory nor any sense of elation. All he could feel was a certain numbness and the resounding thought that Kagome wasn't there.

"Todoroki," Erasure called his name. "A word."

Touya straightened his back.

He gave a faint nod as he followed after the man.

Not that winning the Sports Festival mattered at this point.

Whether he was expelled or allowed to continue his studies here at U.A., the one thing he knew for certain was that he felt no pleasure in this win.

Touya followed Erasure to one of the private counseling rooms near the stadium. It was meant to be used for teacher-student meetings such as these.

"I was watching that final match. Your control was fine up until the last second." Dark eyes pierced him with a pointed look, "So what happened?"

Touya glanced down at his hands, "I kept thinking about what sort of look Kagome would give me when she wakes up. I wasn't planning on going all out, but then I had that image of the shard sticking out of her side flash in my head."

His clenched his hands together in tight fists, "My control slipped and I panicked."

Erasure watched him for just as moment, as if he were attempting to determine what to do with him. Eventually the man gave a heavy sigh.

"You're not a student in my class so I have no jurisdiction of what happens to you. However," The man gave him a pointed look, "If you were to gain control of your power and that temper, then you could have a place in the Hero Course."

Touya froze.

The hero course?

"Naturally I'm not impressed with how you handled things today. I'd say that even with a quirk as powerful as yours, you still have a very long way to go before you'll be able to prove yourself as capable of being hero material." The older man paused, "Although for what it's worth, you did make the right decision in using your ice to put out the fire. That may have prevented even worse damage."

Touya looked away that time, "I just didn't want to make Kagome worry again."

He didn't feel the need to elaborate further on the subject.

Erasure sighed, "Regardless of what course you'll be in, I suggest you take additional quirk training lessons. The amount of power you have can be dangerous to yourself as well as others. I want you to stop by Class A after school three days a week. We'll work on helping you gain control."

Touya blinked, "So I'm not being expelled?"

Erasure shot him a baleful look, "Not yet."

He felt his lips curl up into a smile. Even if the staff decided to kick him out later, for right now he could still stand by her side.

"Mind if I head to the nurse's office now? I want to check on Kagome."

Erasure merely sighed at him in response.

It didn't matter if he became a hero or something else. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was see his girlfriend; to make sure that she was okay.

Touya made his way through the halls. He would tell her everything when she woke up.

His smile softened as he rounded the final corner.

For some strange reason, he had the urge to hug his brother. Perhaps Kagome could come with him when he went home tonight. Maybe give him an excuse to do it.

He pushed the door to the nurse's office open and stepped inside.

All he knew for certain is that he wanted to keep moving forward.