Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Nineteen: Promise

Touya glowered at Kikyou from across the crowd.

That vile bitch.

He knew exactly what she'd been trying to do with that declaration. She'd tried to force Kagome to question his loyalty to her and tempt him with the offer of rekindling their previous relationship.

His hands trembled with a violent rage.

He hadn't felt this furious since the time his father had tried to force him to give up on becoming a hero. It was a blinding hot anger rushing through his veins. All he wanted to do was blast through the rounds so he could face Kikyou one-on-one. He had no qualms about using his full strength against her. After all, she was the one who struck Kagome first. Once with her hand and again with this idiotic declaration.

"With that out of the way," Midnight tried to redirect everyone's attention. "Today we're going to put a twist on an old children's game!"

The screen above their heads flickered to life, revealing the image of a traffic light.

"At the center of the stadium is a finish line." The cameras panned across the entire area, showcasing the full course they were supposed to take. "Contestants are to make their way to the finish line. However there's one catch. They can only move while music is playing. Once the music stops, they are to cease moving as well. Failure to stop will result in disqualification!"

"So it's like red light, green light." He heard Kagome mutter under her breath.

Touya nodded along with her in agreement.

Midnight continued, "Naturally the use of quirks is fully encouraged. On top of that, contestants are free to use their powers to force their opponents to move at a stop. Obstacles have also been placed along the course to keep things interesting."

A smile stretched across his lips.

"Perfect."

That meant that he could use those traps to his advantage to knock out his opponents. Taking Kikyou out now would be satisfying, but he also was feeling a little selfish. If she was going to go down, then he wanted it to be in a one-on-one battle. He wanted to inflict every ounce of pain and shame he could upon her, even if it made him look like a villain in the process.

"You will have two minutes to prepare yourselves so, get ready!" Midnight pointed her tasseled whip in their direction, "I want to see a nice and fun game!"

With that the bell signaled for them to assemble at the starting line.

Touya took his partner's hand and quickly lead her to their assigned positions.

"When we start," He began, "I want you to get onto my back."

Kagome shot him an incredulous look, "But wouldn't that just slow you down? I don't want to make things harder for you!" Her brows furrowed with concern, "It's not like I can provide any offensive support."

He shot her confident grin, "Come on, this is me we're talking about here. As if carrying you is going to slow me down at all." His grin turned sharp, "Besides your power is amazing as it is. I'm sure it'll come in handy later anyways."

Especially if he accidentally burned himself again while trying to manage his flames and ice at the same time. He'd gotten better, but learning how to master a new ability in just a few days was still a nearly impossible task. Having Kagome in constant contact with him would lessen some of the burden on his body.

"Oh fine, but just don't say that I didn't warn you." Her lips dipped into a concerned pout, "Also feel free to drop me if you need."

Touya crouched down onto one knee, allowing her the chance to clamor onto his back.

"As if that will ever happen."

He could already hear the crowd's pointed laughter as the cameras zeroed in on them. They certainly did make quite the image together. With Kagome's arms wrapped around his neck and her thighs secured tightly around his waist. She'd buried her face against his shoulder in an attempt to hide her eyes from the prying crowd.

"Think you can hang on with your own strength once we start?" He shifted her further up on his back just in case, "I'll need to use my fire to get us going."

Kagome nodded against his shoulder, hardly able to speak a word.

"It seems as if some of our contestants are coming up with a unique game plan already. How wonderful it is to see such young love!" Midnight's commentary made his own cheeks flame with embarrassment.

Sure they could laugh now, but they wouldn't be once they saw them both in action. Kagome wasn't much of a fighter, but she was just as important as any offensive battler.

Touya leaned forward, steadily releasing his hands from her legs and gathering a large collection of azure flames in his palms. As with before, he focused on using his ice to regulate his body temperature.

A timer appeared on the screen, flashing the numbers from three to two and then finally one. The bell rang once more and music began flowing over the stadium. Touya wasted no time in blasting ahead of all the other contestants. He flew just high enough to clear the tops of their heads without any immediate interference, while also staying low enough that he could land should the music come to a quick stop.

He spotted many others tailing after him.

Some took to the sky, using the wind in order to fly high above and try to get around everyone else. Others yet jumped over the crowd and were trying to keep ahead of the main crush in order to keep from being cut. Then there was Kikyou and Inuyasha. He spotted Kikyou's shards a short distance away. She crafted a thin layer just beneath her feet, skirting along the ground as if she were skating to victory. Meanwhile Inuyasha took a single bound and managed to jump over the main crowd in a single leap.

Touya growled beneath his breath.

There was no way in hell he was ever going to let those two idiots take the top spot away from him and Kagome both.

"Hang on!" He called out to her, amplifying the amount of flames he was already putting out. This time he added some to his feet as well, doubling his speed. In a single second they shot more than halfway across the course. All the obstacles that'd been placed in their way included pit falls, canyons and small land mines that would explode in a small puff of pink smoke. All things that would've affected him had he tried to run the normal way, but flying over the land itself had made things quite a bit easier.

The music suddenly stopped and Touya quickly cut all flames to his quirk, keeping only enough to ensure that he could take off the second the music started up again.

Kagome clung to his back with all of her might.

He knew that it was might harder for her to hang on now that he was moving. So ensuring that she didn't fall during this time would be his greatest concern.

Touya held as still as possible. Names were already being called and swiftly removed from the arena. He could feel Kagome's thighs trembling with the strain of her own weight. Just as her grip began to slip, the music started once more.

He blasted forward with as much power as possible. Kagome clung onto him even harder, burying her face against his shoulder as she placed her complete trust in him. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips.

He had to admit that knowing that she trusted him so completely made him feel more confident than ever.

Touya increased his speed as the finish line came into view. He heard the faint whirring of something searing through the air. On instinct, he crafted a makeshift wall of ice behind them.

It was hard controlling his ice and fire at the same time. The few seconds it took him to make the wall, he found himself losing speed with the lack of power being used for his flames.

Touya barely glanced behind him to spy thick shards penetrating the sheet of ice. By its trajectory, he could tell that Kikyou had been aiming to hit Kagome's back. Had it struck its intended target at the speed it'd been going, there was a good chance it would've hit her spinal cord.

Azure eyes narrowed in fury.

He used one last blast to dart across the finish line.

"And our first winners have been determined!" Midnight cooed over the crowd's roaring cheer. "In first place is Todoroki Touya! On his back and taking second place is Higurashi Kagome!"

Images of themselves flashed across the screen hovering over the arena.

He watched as Kikyou and Inuyasha slid into third and fourth place respectively. He didn't pay much mind to the following contestants afterwards. There was no point.

"Touya," Kagome slid off of his back, wrapping both of her arms around his middle. "Thanks for that."

He curled his own around her shoulders and kissed the crown of her head affectionately. The crowd gave a loud 'aw' at their interaction, many of them cooing over how 'cute' they were.

He closed his eyes as he buried his nose into the crown of his companion's hair. That last attack had been entirely too close. Kikyou wasn't just going for the win, she was looking to maim.

He opened his eyes long enough to glower at the woman from across the field. Her gaze turned cold as she watched them with no small amount of icy rage. This was deeper than just some petty sibling rivalry. This was dangerous. He'd already assumed that Kikyou must've possessed some sort of identity complex given how far she went to steal Kagome's ex from her. However this was on a deeper level, one that indicated a more twisted reason for Kikyou's obsession with 'besting' her twin.

It was possible that Kikyou viewed Kagome as some sort of obstacle. One that she needed to destroy.

Touya pressed his palm against the back of Kagome's head as he held her closer to himself protectively.

He would not let anyone or anything harm her.

"We'll win this." He repeated once more, searing the promise into his very heart.

There was no room for failure.