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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Ten: Impulse

Kagome felt her face flush as Touya's hand gripped her own.

They'd made a habit of meeting up at the front gates of the school. Yet this morning she found him waiting for her at the bottom of the shrine's steps. He told her that he'd like to start walking to school together. He mentioned that it was on his way anyways so he didn't mind. He'd then offered her his hand and that was how they'd arrived.

Eyes had followed them with no small amount of disgust and contempt, but the warmth of Touya's palm had been enough to keep her distracted.

They'd been fortunate, really. Typically she and Kikyou would leave at the same time. Today though, her sister had opted to sleep in as she wasn't required to attend school that day. So they were left to enjoy their conversation in peace.

People still gave them a wide berth when they walked through the halls. Few yet gestured towards them in a mocking manner. Touya would shoot them a scathing glance and they would scuttle off just as quickly. She had to admit that Touya certainly had an intense vibe about him. It had nothing to do with his scars either. Rather he carried himself in such a way that he always seemed so sure that he could defeat anyone that challenged him. His confidence was matched only by his aggressiveness.

It was certainly effective against small time bullies to say the least.

"We'll stop by the library later, although I can't stay as long as yesterday." Touya began, intertwining their fingers together as they entered their homeroom. "I promised my little brother that we would do some training tonight."

Kagome smiled at him as she took her seat, "That's perfectly fine! How about we just spend an hour or so there tonight so you'll have more time with your brother?"

She didn't know enough about Touya's home life to judge his relationship with his siblings. All she knew was that if Touya mentioned that it was important to him, then she wanted to ensure that he had all the time he needed to fulfill that promise.

"Sure, I'll probably be splitting my time for a little while but we'll hang out more later next week." Touya sank into his seat behind her.

"Oh so you're trying to prepare for the Sports Festival too?" She questioned. It wasn't all that much of a surprise to her. Everyone who was anyone was interested in trying to stand out in the upcoming Festival. While normally geared towards the Hero Course students, it also helped those in the Support Course as well by showing off what they're capable of inventing.

Touya didn't appear to have much interest in crafting support items, so maybe he was looking to test his own strength?

"There's something I need to do," His tone was sharp, as if he were determined to meet some sort of goal she knew nothing about. "So I'm going to give it my all."

Kagome's lips curled up into a smile, "You know, why don't we make a bet?"

"What sort of bet?" He sounded cautious, as if concerned that he was about to be backed into a corner. Given how terribly he lost to her the other night, she couldn't say that she blamed him.

"If you make it to the third round then you get to ask me for one thing." Her expression turned teasing, "Although it can't be anything weird or gross."

His face turned a stark shade of red, "As if I'd do that!" He scowled at her then turned towards her once more. "So I can ask anything of you if I make to the third round?"

She nodded once, "That's right."

His expression turned contemplative, "Fine but let's make this even. If I win the tournament then I'll take you up on that bet, but if you make it to the third round then you get to ask me anything. That sound fair?"

Kagome blinked.

If that's the case then that would put Touya at a severe disadvantage. He wouldn't be able to use his fire quirk without harming himself. Not to mention how many hero course students he'd be up against.

Touya held up his curled fist, "I'll win. So you can count on that."

His determined expression and fierce promise was enough to make her believe that maybe, just maybe, he could pull it off.

Kagome pressed her own curled fist against his, "I'll hold you to it."

Class had been impossibly boring afterwards. Her mind kept drifting off to Touya's promise and a part of her couldn't shake the feeling of concern. Powerful or not, would his body hold up in such a fierce battle? Kikyou was a threat on her own but if Inuyasha teamed up with her then he could be in some very real trouble.

She bit down on her bottom lip nervously.

There was no use in fretting over what she couldn't predict. All she could do now was focus on her grades and provide Touya with the emotional support he'd need going into the Festival.

The bell for lunch rang. She stood from her seat and began moving towards the door as if on auto-pilot. A callused hand grabbed onto her own.

"Hey," Touya's voice broke through her thoughts. "Let's head up to the roof again."

Her smile softened at the feeling of his fingers intertwining with her own. There was something so reassuring about his touch that it always managed to make her heart settle. Well, at least sometimes. Other times it made her even more flustered. Like now, she could hardly feel herself breathing.

Kagome tipped her head towards his, "Sounds good to me."

It took her less than a second to register just how close Touya actually was. When she'd shifted, it'd placed her only a few mere inches away from him. Even now she could feel the heat of his breath upon her lips.

Her face flamed, yet she couldn't bring herself to turn away.

Touya seemed just as transfixed. His gaze had widened before his grip had tightened over her hand, as if to anchor her in place and keep her from fleeing from him.

A year ago she'd been in this exact position. Inuyasha had proclaimed that she was the only one he'd been interested in. Yet she already knew the truth. She'd known it from the moment Inuyasha began pursuing her. To him, she would always be the second best. She'd always be the option he had to settle for as Kikyou never once gave him a chance. So when the moment came, she'd hesitated then turned away. Inuyasha never truly forgave her for not trusting him.

She saw Touya angle towards her ever so slightly.

In this moment, Touya was not Inuyasha. He hadn't falsely proclaimed himself to be madly in love with her. He hadn't harassed her for months on end, demanding she reciprocate his affections. Touya was and will always be different. He was thoughtful if a bit brash. He had body image issues due to his injuries but he never allowed that to affect the way he interacted with her.

To her, Touya was just Touya and that was how she always wanted it to be.

Kagome closed her eyes. She felt him shift, edging ever closer.

A harsh snort suddenly broke the mood.

"Oh wow were they actually about to kiss?" A female classmate sneered at them. Kagome instantly recognized her as Ijiwaru's most dedicated groupie. Wherever he went, she followed in his footsteps. Far be it from her to judge another girl's crush but insulting them was a bridge too far. The girl continued, "Can you imagine kissing a guy like that? What if you leaned in and those staples holding his chin together just split."

Kagome's first thought was to just rush over to the other girl and start clawing at her hair. However another thought crossed her mind. It would be enough to shut those girls up and make an effective point.

She turned fully within Touya's grasp. Releasing his hand, Kagome curled both of her arms around his neck. She leaned forward, pressing her mouth against the shell of his ear.

"I won't do anything without permission, but there's one way we can shut them up for good. It's up to you if you want to do it though." She lowered down, shifting her weight and pressing her lips near the corner of his mouth, just barely missing it. From this position it would be easy for the girls to misconstrue what they were doing as a normal kiss. While she was close, it was more accurate to call the area his cheek.

Kagome blinked when Touya turned his head and pressed his mouth against hers fully. Instinctively her eyes closed as the sound of feminine gasps and male jeering filled the classroom.

He pulled away after several seconds, his arms circling around her waist in a way that she could only describe as possessive.

"Damn Touya, teach me some of your skills next time!" A boy she couldn't recall the name to laughed good-naturedly.

"Oh my god, they actually did it!" Another girl squealed, half in excitement and half in disbelief.

Kagome kept her arms locked around his neck, "Do we still have that bet or do you want to change your request?"

Touya said nothing.

He simply lowered his head once more as the sound of the classroom's jeers filled their ears.

Somehow, she had a feeling that things would be chaotic for a while.