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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Seventy-Six: Awkward Conversation

Touya fought against the yawn that threatened to spill out.

He'd finally finished his probationary period and was a full-fledged officer. Since he'd finished his probation, he'd finally been able to take the day shifts again. Working nights was fine but it'd been difficult on his body, especially with the twins having such an odd sleeping schedule for the first few months.

Kagome had taken the children out of the house today with his mother. So he was hoping to be able to get a chance to rest when he got off in a little under an hour.

"Hey," A familiar voice called out to him. "You're that officer that'd helped me out a while ago."

Touya turned on his heel.

Staring back at him was the heteromorph he'd aided during his probation period.

A small smirk pulled at the corners of his lips.

"I take it that your eyes are doing just fine?" Touya gestured towards his own to emphasize his point.

Higuchi relaxed his stance, "Yeah, no lasting damage since you guys jumped in. Thanks for that."

The conversation became strained and awkward right afterwards. He wasn't exactly sure what to say after this point. He was just doing his job? Yeah, even that sounded like a weak platitude.

"You still having problems with those kids?" Touya asked curiously.

He didn't mind the idea of altering part of his patrol route if it meant stopping those brats from acting like complete fools again. Plus without his senior officer to stop him, he could throw them into a holding cell to scare them this time around.

"Nah, they've been on the straight and narrow after you terrified them." Higuchi gave a placating wave of his hand. "I've actually managed to pull myself together too."

The two of them paused when a woman stepped up beside him.

"Who're you talking to?" She questioned curiously, her brows furrowing with concern.

Touya blinked as he took in the half-mask that covered the woman's face.

Was that Kikyou?

A cold feeling washed over him as her gaze met his and a flash of realization flickered through her expression.

It seemed as if she recognized him despite no longer bearing the scars of his youth.

"Todoroki?" Kikyou breathed in shock.

Touya folded his arms over his chest, "I go by Tensei now. So tell me, what brings you here?"

He fought to keep his voice under control. He had no desire to pick a fight. Kagome and Kikyou had rightfully cut ties with one another after Kagome had been kicked out of the shrine. Neither sister bothered to reconnect with each other and he personally preferred it that way.

"Ah," She glanced at Higuchi beside her.

The man intervened, "We met several months ago. I was just spinning my wheels and not sure of what to do with myself. Kikyou here had been in town to help out another hero when we ran into each other." Higuchi placed his palm over the back of her hand in an affectionate manner, "She invited me to join her for dinner and everything after that had been history."

Kikyou leaned into Higuchi's side, her eyes looking at anything besides him. Not that he could blame her. This was about as awkward as it could get.

"She's eight weeks pregnant right now." Higuchi gave him a wide grin, "So we're working on getting ready for that. Her mother is supposed to be in town. It'll be my first time meeting her. I'm still pretty nervous but I'm also looking forward to it as well."

Kikyou shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

Now that was going to be an even more awkward conversation. He almost pitied the man but it wasn't his place to butt into their relationship.

His only concern was the possibility of that old wench crossing paths with Kagome. Although this pregnancy had been far easier on her than the last one, he wasn't in the mood to take any risks.

"Well good luck with meeting the in-laws." Touya offered him a wry smile, "My wife's mother was so terrible she cut her out completely. Although her guardian was a tough nut to crack."

Even now he still had Sesshoumaru and Jaken both giving him the third degree whenever they thought Kagome wasn't looking. Knowing that he was about to have daughters of his own, he couldn't bring himself to blame them either. There were just some things that would never change.

"How is she?" Kikyou finally spoke up after a moment. "Kagome that is."

Touya watched as the woman fidgeted uncomfortably. She no longer carried a haughty demeanor about her. More importantly, she did sound genuinely curious over her sister's wellbeing. His first instinct was to tell Kikyou to pound sand but he opted for the more cordial route.

"She's happy," He answered after a long moment. "But if you really want to know for sure you can always call her. She's still got the same number from high school."

Touya gave the couple a dismissive wave of his hand, "I can't say that she'll answer or be willing to talk, but you can try right?" He turned on his heel, "Sorry but I've got to finish up my patrol. I promised the wife that I'd be home before she finished shopping with my mom today. So I've got to get out of here."

He cast them both a glance over his shoulder, "Good luck."

They were going to need as much luck as they could get.

He then offered the man one last piece of advice, "For what it's worth, earning the in-law's approval doesn't matter. If you plan on being together then just focus on your relationship with that person. No need to bed over backwards for people that will never be happy." He then gave a short laugh, "That's just from my experience though."

This world really was full of strange coincidences.

Who'd have imagined that the man he saved several months ago would now likely become his brother-in-law? Not only that but now both sisters were expecting and only a few weeks apart in their pregnancies. It was a strange situation and he didn't feel like thinking about it any more than he needed to.

Touya made his way around the block as he finished his rounds.

More than anything, he just wanted to get home to see his wife and kids. That was the only thing he needed to be happy.

A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

He supposed that there was nothing wrong with buying a simple bouquet of flowers before he got home.

Kagome had been quite furious with him for getting her pregnant so soon after the twins' birth. So maybe a few flowers might soothe some of her anger. If only so she'd stop threatening him with a vasectomy.

Touya laughed at the image she'd made the last time she'd used that threat against him. He was glad that she was his wife. Regardless of the strange twists and turns their lives had taken to get to this point, he knew that he'd found the best future possible for himself.

He bought a small bouquet of blue hydrangeas before he started to make the long trip back home.

He was looking forward to seeing his family.