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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Seventy-Seven: A Twin's Plea

Kagome stared at the woman in front of her icily.

Touya had told her about his run in with Kikyou the other night. He'd told her that he didn't want to make any decisions regarding her biological family for her. So he'd directed Kikyou to reach out to her instead. Her husband assured her that he'd support whatever decision she'd make regarding her relationship with her twin.

Honestly when she saw Kikyou's number flashing across her phone's display screen, she'd nearly had a heart attack. She never could've imagined the day her sibling would want to earnestly reconnect with her. She had no idea if Kikyou truly wanted to have a relationship with her now or if she was just trying to assuage her own sense of guilt for her past actions. Regardless of her motivation, Kagome knew that she wouldn't be able to forgive her twin that easily.

"I ran into Momo the other day." Kagome started off calmly. "She said that you were eight weeks pregnant. She seemed to be under the impression that you followed in her footsteps and were looking to carry on the Higurashi bloodline."

Kikyou shifted in her seat, "It's not like that. I just found someone that I care about."

Kagome folded her arms over her chest, "I don't really care either way. I was more upset by the fact that she tried to call my sons a disappointment."

Katsuo and Tatsuo were growing exceptionally fast. By the time they made it through one box of diapers for the boys, they were already having to buy the next size up.

A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

Their hair and eye color had remained the same since the day they were born, which was somewhat surprising to her. She'd half expected Tatsuo's tuft of red hair to start developing white yet it never did. Instead the boys had fully discovered their quirk and were constantly setting things on fire. They were still toddlers and only able to mutter incoherent sounds at the moment, but they were the most perfect depictions of chaos she'd ever encountered.

On more than one occasion Touya, Rei or Shouto would have to use their ice to stop the boys from accidentally burning the house down. Just last night Shouto had given the twins a new toy. When Katsuo managed to wrap his hands around the plastic rattler, his quirk activated and it'd instantly melted. She, Touya and Shouto immediately rushed to make sure he was okay but Katsuo cried for the rest of the night over his melted toy. He only settled down when she'd picked him up and sang him to sleep. Which then got Tatsuo crying as he wanted to be held too.

Her boys were a handful but she loved them both dearly. Hearing her mother call them disappointments had elicited a visceral reaction from her. Had Rei not been present, she likely would've found a way to murder the woman and stuff her worthless body in the air vents of the department store.

"Why don't you tell me the real reason we're all here right now. I don't think Momo being in the same town as us is a random accident." Kagome crossed her leg over her knee as she glowered at her twin, "I don't like the idea of that wench being so close to my children."

Kikyou lowered her head, "I didn't want her to come."

Kagome quirked a brow at that, "So you told her about your pregnancy? That was a reckless move."

"You don't understand!" Kikyou's voice raised several notches. "I didn't have a choice!"

Her expression hardened, "There is always a choice. The question is what did you think was worse than letting that vile snake come here?"

She couldn't blame Kikyou for not knowing that she and Touya had made the city of Fukuoka their home. They'd purposefully kept as quiet as possible about their private lives. The very last thing they'd needed was the public or the media hounding them at the place they called home. For her children's sakes, she didn't want them exposed to the limelight. Kikyou couldn't have predicted that she and Momo would cross paths in this town. Still, it didn't make her feel any more forgiving towards her twin.

Kikyou lifted her head a little, "It's Inuyasha." She continued, "He's been trying to force the engagement our mother originally wanted for us because he's on the verge of losing his hero license."

Kagome rested her cheek against the back of her curled first.

Now this was news to her. Inuyasha had gotten into legal trouble? She'd expected that his father would've bailed him out of it by now. It's what he'd always done before.

Her twin continued, "I took a job here several months ago and finally found someone that I cherish." Kikyou lowered her hands towards her stomach, "I want to marry him but Inuyasha has been chasing me all over Japan. He thinks that because I still have my hero license, I can open my agency to him and he'd be able to keep working if we're married."

Kagome brows furrowed, "Is the Safety Commission trying to strip him of his license?"

If so then even if Kikyou did marry Inuyasha, he'd be shit out of luck. He wouldn't be able to carry out his hero duties if the Safety Commission stripped him of his license.

"That's the thing," Her twin twisted in her seat uncomfortably. "He's hoping that our family's resources will protect him from his legal troubles. He wants mom to use her connections to get the Safety Commission to drop the case against him." Kikyou pressed on, "Apparently his father had been hit with a multitude of sexual harassment lawsuits. So his license has been stripped and his assets frozen."

"Because heroes are paid with taxpayers money, they can seize all of his assets." Kagome finished for her.

Which meant that Inuyasha was broke and desperate.

"So you're saying that Inuyasha has been doing the exact same thing as his father and is now about to face the legal consequences of his actions." Kagome cupped her chin thoughtfully.

It'd make sense that he'd run to Kikyou the first chance he got. He was probably still hoping that he could use her and Momo as legal meat shields to protect himself.

Her twin nodded again, "I called mom here and told her about my pregnancy because I didn't want her trying to help him." Kikyou's bottom lip quivered as she pressed on, "I'd hoped that she'd change and start acting like a mother but when she saw that my partner was a heteromorph last night, she started screaming and demanding that I get an abortion. She called my unborn child 'creature filth'."

Kagome closed her eyes as she sucked a breath through her nose.

She could imagine that.

Their mother had never been the warm and welcoming type.

"I'm sorry," Kikyou bowed her head, "I know that I'm being so selfish right now but I didn't know who to talk to. When everything happened, I just kept thinking that you'd be the only person who could help me get away from that man." Tears streamed down her twins cheeks, "I've made so many mistakes but I don't want to make another by letting Inuyasha have his way. I want to be free of him. Please, I know this is incredibly selfish of me to ask, but can you help me?"

Kagome swept her palm over her face.

This situation was a lot more complicated than she wanted to deal with.

"I'll talk to Touya and Sesshoumaru about your legal options." Kagome eventually sighed, "But don't take this to mean that I've forgiven you or that I'll be forgetting what you've done." She folded her arms over her chest, "I just don't like the idea of walking away from someone who's dealing with a dangerous stalker. So I'll lend you what help I can however you are not to contact me, my husband or any of my family once this is resolved. Have I made myself clear?"

Kikyou rose to her feet and offered her a low bow of appreciation, "I understand and thank you so much!"

Kagome sighed.

She took one last look at her sibling and turned her head away.

"You know," The woman began. "When I was carrying my boys in my first trimester, I had a really tough time with morning sickness. My mother-in-law was the one who told me that it could be serious so I ended up going to the ER. Turns out I needed to stay at the hospital for a few days and have an IV done on me." She glanced at her twin, "I noticed that you're looking pretty thin and that your complexion is pretty pale. We're twins so if I had a rough time with my boys then it's possible you could need an IV too. Don't wait too long on it either."

Kikyou's chin wobbled as more tears streamed down her face, "Thank you."

Kagome closed her eyes, "I'm not doing it for you."

She rose to her feet and offered her twin a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Call the non-emergency line if you feel like you're being followed. Police would prefer to escort you home and have it all be nothing than deal with a murder investigation." Kagome tipped her head over her shoulder, "That's according to Touya, by the way." It was the advice he'd given her while he'd been going through his Academy days. He warned her that people, particularly women, had powerful instincts for a reason and to listen to them. Calling for an escort when she felt uncomfortable would be the best choice she could make if she ever feared that she was being followed.

Kagome turned in her heel and left the little coffee shop that they'd used as their meeting place.

She had no desire to get involved in this mess but she'd already made a promise. Besides, regardless of their past there was one thing that united the entirety of their gender and that was the dangers of stalkers.

Kagome pulled out her phone and swiftly dialed out to her guardian.

For now she needed to take precautionary measures.