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Crossing Stars

Chapter Twenty-Four: Top Spot

It'd been several weeks since her mother's outburst in the agency's lobby. She'd managed to get into contact with Souta shortly afterwards and discovered that he'd temporarily moved in with a friend when their mother had run to the Houjo's family estate.

Unsurprisingly, they'd turned her away at the gate. Having gotten what they'd wanted from her, they'd discarded her just as easily. Since then she'd been couch surfing at different neighbors homes and falling into a pit of despair.

She felt terrible for her mother but the one time she'd tried to call her, she'd spent the entire time hissing at her and calling her a 'traitor'. So now here she was, spending her days doing every menial task around the office to keep her mind busy.

Kagome turned the channel to Say Yes to the Dress. She watched people select their perfect dress for their special day while she organized folders and archived paperwork. Ohagi would bat at the television screen, attempting to swat the flowing trains of the gowns.

It'd been several months since she'd first moved into the dorm at Touya's agency. Although they'd only had the conversation recently about dating each other seriously, her mind began to wander and dream of what a future being married to him would be like.

Her eyes zeroed in on a bride adorned in an A-line dress with a tulle skirt and ruched bodice. Honestly she'd want something simple yet elegant if she ever got married. A ball gown was beautiful to look at but they were heavy and could cause a lot of discomfort. She'd want something easy to move around in. She had no desire to have a huge wedding either. Neither she nor Touya had too many friends and she'd never once seen him speak to his family. So it was safe to assume that he'd cut contact with them some time ago.

"So that's the style you like, huh?" His voice suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

Kagome jumped, "When did you get here?"

She hadn't even heard the elevator chime go off. Had she really been that engrossed?

Touya's lips curled into a smirk, "A little while ago." He then moved to sit in the seat next to her, "Do you have a particular type of wedding that you want?"

Kagome flushed in response, "I'm not sure."

Was this his way of testing her feelings about being married to him?

She felt his arm rest upon the back of her chair as he reeled her against him.

"Then I'll guess we'll just have to take some inspiration." Touya smirk widened as he pressed his lips against the side of her head.

If she didn't know any better, she'd say that he was making it sound like a guarantee.

Kagome shifted in her seat, "How's the investigation going?"

He'd been particularly quiet on the details surrounding the case he and Hawks had opened against Houjo. All he'd tell her was that they had circumstantial evidence and were working on getting more hard proof in order to seal the investigation against the whole Houjo family.

She wasn't exactly sure what kind of evidence they'd found, but she didn't mind waiting longer if it meant a higher chance of Houjo being put away for life.

"When you were sick," Touya began. "Did anyone bring you anything like food or products to use?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side curiously, "Honestly, just about everyone did. I always had a lot of food, flowers and get well gifts sent to my hospital room." She tapped her index finger on her chin thoughtfully, "Houjo was there the most often and was the most pushy about me eating meals."

It was a little weird how pushy Houjo had gotten about it.

They were only classmates at the time but eventually after her relationship with Inuyasha ended, her friends pushed her to start dating Houjo. His visits had doubled after that and she'd gradually grown weaker until she'd been released for hospice care. Only after going home did Houjo's visits lessen as did his need to make her eat.

Kagome blinked.

Hold on…

"Are you saying…?!" She rounded on her partner.

Had Houjo caused her illness on purpose?

"We've got no proof but it's our suspicion." Touya glanced down at her, "Did Houjo ever approach you before you started dating Inuyasha?"

Kagome tried to think.

Had he attempted to? She couldn't remember. He'd just been the son of her mother's friend until that point.

"If he did then it went over my head completely." She admitted.

She could recall Houjo hovering around her when their mothers were visiting each other. He'd always been particularly clingy and prone to bouts of jealousy. So it'd never crossed her mind that his actions had been romantic in nature.

She shuddered at the thought.

Touya breathed a sigh through his nose, "We're trying to get an idea about how long this has been going on. So if you can think of anything, please let me know."

She nodded in return.

Honestly her mind was drawing a blank at the moment. The only thing she wanted to think about at the moment was a future without Houjo in it.

Kagome leaned against Touya's chest as her eyes started to close.

"You tired, kitten?" She felt the soft rumble in his chest as he laughed.

Kagome nestled herself against him, "I've been tired."

She just wanted this nightmare to end. She didn't want to have to think about Houjo, his family or the fact that her mother now hated her. All she wanted was to just take solace in her partner's presence.

Touya pulled her onto his lap as he braced his arms around her.

"The shrine is safe for now," He assured her. "Sesshoumaru managed to halt any demolition and construction on the basis of the shrine being a historical landmark. So they can't touch the property yet. He's got their hands completely tied behind their backs."

She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"Thank you," Kagome pressed her ear over the space above his heart. "For protecting it."

The warmth of his palm splayed across her cheek.

"I'm a hero," Touya rested his cheek upon the crown of her head. "It's my job."

A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

"You know," She closed her eyes as sleep began to take her. "I think you'll get it. The number one spot."

He shifted beneath her, "Not number two?"

Kagome shook her head, "All Might has to retire eventually and you're close to surpassing Endeavor. So I think, the next chart you'll be number one."

His chest rumbled as he gave a hearty laugh, "You're always full of surprises."

Kagome slowly drifted off to sleep.

He might have thought she was just trying to boost his ego but she meant every word. Soon, Touya would claim the top spot and the world would know how truly amazing he really was.

If anything, she wanted to be his wife when he finally took that top position.