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Suggested Listening: Holy Shrine by Big Crick

Throwing Stones

Chapter Twenty: Line Between

Kagome fought down the flush that'd threatened to warm her cheeks. It'd been a few days since she'd stayed the night in Touya's room. The Sports Festival would be going on today and so she had it set to record.

Her gaze drifted towards Touya once more as he lifted a large wooden beam and carried it over to the decimated Town Hall.

Ever since she'd woken up that day, she couldn't get the sight of his shirtless chest out of her head. Even the patchwork appearance of his burned flesh couldn't detract from his attractive physique. Despite the burns on his body, he was all lean tone and muscle. How he managed to work out at all without damaging what skin he had left, she had no idea. However it was clear that he worked hard to maintain his strength. Perhaps his inability to use his flames freely had led to him training his body instead.

Kagome shook the thought from her mind. She needed to focus, and not on Touya's muscles either.

"Spill it." Hawks shot her a piercing look. "You've been acting weird these past few days. What happened?"

His golden eyes thinned at her sharply but Kagome merely shook her head.

"Nothing happened," She spoke quickly.

Hawks hovered in front of her, splaying his wings and blocking her view of the rest of the group.

"Nothing, huh?" He glanced between her and Touya who was smirking in their direction, clearly not believing her.

"Correction," She turned on her heel to walk in the opposite direction, "Nothing important happened."

Sue could feel both Touya and Hawks staring after her.

"Define 'important'." Her adoptive sibling followed after her from the sky. "Because I heard a little rumor that you stayed the night in his room."

Kagome's face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

Trying to deny the accusation would just make her look more guilty, so it would be better to be honest instead. Granted, she wanted to find out who spread that rumor in the first place. As far as she knew, everyone had already gone downstairs by the time she'd left Touya's room. So who could have possibly seen her?

"I fell asleep in the living room. Touya wanted to bring me to my room but he didn't want to go fishing around for my ID card. So he was nice enough to let me stay in his room. He slept on the couch and absolutely nothing happened." Kagome explained, still trying to put more distance between herself and Hawks.

The blond threw her a pointed look, "You know, no one told me that you were in his room. That was just my guess because the two of you have been making eyes at each other and I couldn't find you that night." He flew in front of her once more, forcing her to come to a complete stop. His expression hardened, "Listen, I'm not going to stop you if this is what you want but you need to consider other things too. If anyone else…"

She interrupted him, "I know that!"

Kagome flushed with shame that time as her voice had turned into a piercing shout. She caught sight of the group staring over at them in confusion and concern. Touya dropped the beam he'd been carrying as he folded his arms over his chest, carefully observing their interaction as if trying to determine if he should get involved.

She lowered her voice, "I don't need any reminders about that. I already know that it's useless."

Kagome roughly shoved past her adoptive sibling as she made her way towards the shrine.

She was dying, she didn't need anyone else to remind her of that fact. She couldn't promise anyone a future even if she did want to enter into a relationship with someone. Things were already convoluted enough with the program. Getting involved with Touya would not only hurt him but everyone else too if the Safety Commission ever found out.

She started this program with the intent of helping others but right now, she couldn't even help herself.

Just bringing herself to get out of bed every morning was becoming difficult. So why did Hawks have to remind her of everything she didn't want to think about? She was sure he was just concerned but right now, she only felt overwhelmed and confused. Frustrated too.

She could never have a normal life.

Her vision began to blur as the tears she never wanted to shed threatened to fall.

"Damn it," Kagome cursed beneath her breath. "Not now."

She rubbed the back of her arm against her eyes in a vain attempt to stifle her tears.

By now she'd already managed to make it half way to the shrine steps from the village center. Hawks wouldn't be able to follow her as he'd need to watch over the rest of the group. So for just this moment, she could be on her own.

A callused hand gently clasped her wrist and stopped her in her tracks—completely shattering her belief that she was still alone.

"Hey," Touya's voice called to her. "What's wrong?"

His grip on her was firm yet not painful, as if he were simply trying to keep her from taking off.

Kagome used her free arm to wipe the stray tears still streaming down her face.

Great, just great.

This was the very last thing she'd wanted.

Had he run after her when she'd taken off earlier?

"It's nothing." Kagome tried to evade his question. She kept her head turned away to prevent him from seeing her expression.

She was a mess.

She knew that.

She just didn't want anyone else to see her in such a state. She got pitying stares enough already whenever she was forced to go to the hospital. She didn't want to see that same look on his face too.

"It's not nothing." Touya's voice grew stern. "What'd the bird say to you?"

There was an edge of anger to his tone. She wasn't sure if it was at her for trying to evade his question or Hawks for their disagreement.

Her hands began to shake in spite of herself.

"Why do you even care?!" She snapped, pulling forward in a futile attempt at breaking free from his grasp.

She was just so tired.

She was tired of fighting, struggling and just being in pain every single day.

Her body was creeping ever closer to its limit. Yet now, just once in her life she found something that made her truly happy. Seeing everyone laughing together had filled her with a sense of belonging and envy all at once.

She wanted to live.

She wanted to survive past this year and witness a future with everyone in it. Touya, Tenko, Himiko, Jin, Kenji, Shuichi and Atsuhiro. She wanted these simple yet happy days to continue.

Touya held firm. His hand curled around her wrist a little more tightly while still ensuring that he didn't hurt her.

She didn't want to be seen like this. Not while she was at her lowest, cursing her own power and weakness all at once.

Touya yanked her back towards him in a single motion. Wordlessly, he pulled her towards his chest and wrapped both of his arms around her.

"Don't ask stupid questions," He lowered his voice, nuzzling his cheek against her temple. "You already know that answer."

In the grand scheme of things, they really hadn't known each other that long. Just a few weeks at most. Yet there was something about Touya that made her feel at ease. Perhaps being around someone who's body was just as damaged as her own made her feel a subconscious connection to him—not that he would've known that.

"I don't," She gripped at the cloth of his shirt. "I really don't know that answer."

Kagome buried her face within his chest.

Her heart thundered painfully beneath her breast as her veins pulsed in synch with its rapid pace.

What was she to Touya? What was he to her?

She didn't know any of those answers.

"Stupid," Touya gave a faint snort of laughter. "You're our foundation. You're the only idiot in the world brave enough to take convicted murderers into your home and actively try rehabilitating them. You're the stubborn idiot that won't let anyone stand in your way."

She felt his palm come to rest upon the crown of her head as his voice turned soft.

"You're the only person who's ever given us a chance. So whatever you're going through, we want to help you too. We owe you that much." He held her against him, the steady beating of his heart acting as soothing white noise to the complicated wave of emotions that'd threatened to drown her where she stood.

Kagome bit into her bottom lip, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.

"You said that you wanted new blood in this town, well you've got it." Touya pushed on, "But that goes both ways. We need you here too. So don't try to take on everything by yourself."

She clutched at the cloth of his shirt.

"I can't!" She gave a wailing a sob, "I can't make that promise!"

Kagome pushed back slightly to meet his gaze, "That time limit wasn't one that the Commission put on the program. That was the length of time that the doctor's told me I have left."

She pressed her palm to her chest, "I'm dying, Touya!" All the feelings she'd repressed until then spilled forth.

Anger. Regret. Despair. Longing. Even a small flicker of hope.

She sobbed as Touya froze in front of her, his expression shifting from surprise to horror.

"I was born with an amazing quirk. I could heal anything I touched." Kagome cried as she tried to explain between tearful sobs. "But it was a little over ago that the doctors discovered that each time I used my quirk, I was doing damage to my heart. Most people experience physical exhaustion when they push themselves too far, but for me, it was already too late by the time I found out that my organs were taking damage."

She buried her face into her palms, "I sank everything I had into this because this is the only thing I can do. I can't change society. I can't save dad. The only thing I can do is just make sure that this village won't die with me."

She lowered her hands to meet his gaze. "Promise me, Touya. Promise me that regardless of what happens that this won't be in vain. I just want to do something with the months I still have left."

She wanted her life to mean something. She didn't want to leave behind a dead village and a nameless legacy. She wanted to matter to someone.

Was that selfish of her?

She honestly didn't know anymore.

The man remained silent. She was afraid of the reaction he might give her. She'd half expected his scorn or even his rejection. Yet the mismatched texture of his lips suddenly pressed against her own with no small amount of ferocity.

Touya's arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her further into him.

Kagome went lax against his grip, closing her eyes and leaning into him as she did.

She was irrevocably selfish for allowing this. If she still had any sense left, she'd end this immediately and apologize.

She froze when she felt his tongue pushed past the seam of her lips and her back hit the bark of a nearby tree.

Touya drew back after only a few moments.

His gaze leveled with hers intently, "Ten years ago I lost control of my power. I burned most of my body and can no longer feel anything." He stepped closer, pressing her completely flush against himself. "The doctors gave me ten months to live. Yet I managed to survive until now. For years my hatred for my old man fueled me. It made me into a villain and twisted me up completely." He braced one of his arms over her head, angling his head down as if he were about to kiss her again. "I don't regret what I did then. It's made me into who I am now, but make no mistake, this body is rotting and dying. Every day I'm walking closer to that end."

Touya lowered his free hand to interlace their fingers together, "I'm going to enjoy myself every second I've got left. I can't say that I've ever thought about anything as deep as what sort of legacy I want to leave behind, so I'll just say this. You're not the only one walking that line. So don't think you've got to shoulder that alone. Dying sucks. Believe me, I know. The question I've got for you is just how much of your life are you going to let others dictate for you?"

He lowered his mouth until his lips were a mere breath's away.

"You've only got one, so how do you want to live it?" Touya questioned, brushing his lips against hers in the barest hint of a kiss.

"I want…" Kagome started, curling her arms around his neck. "To see tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that." She dried the last of her tears, "I want to live."

His lips curled into a soft smirk, "So live. Forget what the docs say. Our time will come eventually. Just focus on the here and now. That's all that matters."

Kagome closed her eyes when she felt his lips upon hers once more.

She shouldn't be doing this.

Realistically, she couldn't.

She gave a soft sigh as she melted into the warmth of Touya's embrace.

Even so, she wanted this.

Just this once, she wanted to truly live and experience all the joys life has to offer.

Kagome drew back after a short moment, "We can't let anyone else know and my heart is too weak for anything physical."

For just a second, she thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his expression. The notion made her laugh a little.

"A secret affair this." Touya smirked, capturing her lips in yet another searing kiss.

Kagome sighed against him.

Right or wrong, she no longer cared.

She just wanted to live.