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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Eighteen: Declaration of War

Kagome sucked a nervous breath through her teeth.

This was it.

The Sports Festival.

She had no delusions of making it to the third round or anything of that nature. Honestly she had no real interest in the event in general. Still, just knowing that it was going to be on live television made her stomach curl itself into knots.

She felt Touya's hand wrap around her own, anchoring her into place.

"You can breathe now." He teased her, "If you hold your breath any longer you might just start turning blue."

Kagome released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

Touya's hand gripped hers more firmly, "There's no need to be nervous." His smile grew warm as he turned to face her, "I'll be with you so we're in this together."

She felt her own lips curl up into a smile, "I doubt I'll get very far but thank you. I do feel better knowing that you'll be here with me."

It was the truth as well.

The entire grade had been called to the stadium and were now separated by each individual class. Every face in the crowd was either a mixture of fear, excitement or both. Having Touya with her made her nerves settle down and her heart steady.

Regardless of how she would perform today, she was just glad that she wasn't alone in this.

The two of them stood side by side with their hands linked together. A few sporadic glances were thrown their way but it was nothing like how it was on the first day of school. They appeared more as a 'fixed set' to the rest of their peers now. Where one of them went, the other was sure to follow. That was just how things were between them.

Kagome felt her shoulders stiffen as she watched Kikyou make her way to the podium. She could remember when they both had received their acceptance letters from U.A.

Kikyou had naturally applied to the hero course. She did not receive a recommendation from their previous school as her control over her quirk had been subpar at the time. During their entrance exam though, she'd heard that Kikyou had earned the highest score of all the prospective students that year. Thus she was placed into Class A. Inuyasha scored just behind her.

She'd only applied to the General Studies course as a means of ensuring that she had better opportunities in the future. U.A. was a well recognized school and regardless of which course she got into, she'd known that it would help her in her long term goals. So she'd studied long and hard until she'd earned her acceptance into the school. She had not gotten the top score out of the General Studies students, but she had placed herself in the first course in Class C.

Kikyou's smile remained haughty, her sibling's eyes narrowing upon their interlinked hands.

She began to speak, "It is with great honor that I am here today to welcome all of you to the Sports Festival." Her sister's eyes never left their interlaced hands. A violent chill ran down Kagome's spine.

She was planning something.

Touya's fingers gripped her even harder. She felt him tug on their connection, bringing her flush against his side. It was then that she realized that he could sense Kikyou's intent too.

She had purposefully kept her boyfriend and sister from meeting. A part of her had always been concerned that she could be placing him in an uncomfortable position if she'd allowed them to meet. Even if Touya held no romantic interest in Kikyou, she was certain that her twin would be virtually desperate to do anything to make her question his loyalty. This Festival would be the first time those two would have any sort of interaction together as far as she knew. So hopefully she wouldn't be too egregious in her behavior.

Her twin continued, "We all are striving to become the top in our respective fields. So with that said, I wish you all the best." Midnight moved to take the microphone from her however she jerked away at the last second, turning fully to face the two of them. "Just before we start there is one last thing I'd like to say."

Kagome gnashed her teeth in frustration as a violent tremble wracked her body against her will. She knew what was coming. She knew exactly what was about to happen.

That time Touya wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders and yanked her back against his chest. He rubbed his palms down the length of her arms and lowered his mouth next to her ear.

"Don't bother with her." Touya whispered in a soothing tone, "Just ignore her. You already have no plans in staying in touch with her after graduation. Consider this your practice run for the real thing."

She closed her eyes, focusing on the sound of his breath and soothing tenor of his voice.

He was right.

She couldn't let Kikyou get under her skin. Not here. Not now. Not ever.

Her sibling pressed on, "There's a special someone in this crowd today. We used to date some time ago but things didn't turn out as planned." Azure eyes thinned at them, her smile growing sharp.

"Todoroki Touya!" Kikyou called out, "I want you to know that I still care. If I win the Sports Festival today then I want to dedicate this victory to you!"

There it was.

Touya's arms held her closer.

Kagome bit into her bottom lip.

She'd known that Touya had at least been in a relationship before. He'd told her as much and that his girlfriend had just used their relationship as bait to lure the guy she really wanted. He'd been used up and the emotional scars she'd left behind had made it incredibly difficult for him to trust anyone. His desperation for acceptance had caused him to overlook all the red flags of his past relationship.

It was true that his situation had sounded incredibly similar to hers, but now she knew that there was confirmation that Kikyou was indeed Touya's ex.

To his credit, a furious look had overtaken all of his features. Azure flames were beginning to billow from his mouth. He almost looked like a dragon that'd been awakened from its slumber and was raring to kill whoever disturbed its sleep.

"I don't need your damn dedication!" Touya roared with all of his might, "Because I'm going to win this on my own power! I don't need you!"

Kagome closed her eyes, leaning further back in his embrace.

He had made his decision when they'd entered into a relationship together. Kikyou was his ex for a reason, just as Inuyusha was her ex. Even if she couldn't make it to the finals, she would at least give Kikyou her own declaration of war.

"We can win this without you!" Kagome added for good measure, "So don't you dare look down on either of us!"

Midnight swiftly snatched the microphone from Kikyou and sent her back down the stairs to the rest of Class A. She'd hardly stepped into line when Inuyasha rounded on her. She couldn't hear what the man was saying, but from his red-faced expression and guttural growls, she could tell that he was not thrilled about being his girlfriend's declaration.

"Touya," Kagome kept her tone low as she tipped her head towards his, "We'll get through this."

He smiled back at her, "Yeah."

Even if she couldn't follow him to victory, she would at least ensure that he would not lose. They each had their pride staked on this battle.

Her gaze turned towards Inuyasha and Kikyou who were now arguing amongst themselves.

They would not lose to either of them.