Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Throwing Stones
Chapter Six: Tiny Step Forward
There were many things about this town she was grateful for. However one of them were the bicycle taxis that still hung around. With buses to the city so few and far between and the nearest train station being over half an hour away, most of the elderly citizens got around by bicycle taxis.
Today, she would be no exception to that rule.
The cart jolted and bumped with every steep pothole they'd passed over. Her chest gave a faint twinge, a far cry of the pain that she'd been in the previous day.
Hawks had made her promise to take it easy that morning so she hadn't been able to make breakfast for everyone. Instead he'd called into town and had food delivered from one of the few local restaurants still in operation. He'd told her that everyone had been quiet at the table but that they seemed to be adjusting well otherwise.
As much as Hawks tried to convince her to stay in bed today, she knew that she needed to be present. She'd started this program with the intention of being with the participants from the start to its very end. Heart Failure or not, she was going to be there for them one way or another.
The bicycle taxi stopped in front of the Saito couple's house. Everything already looked several times better.
The yard was now perfectly manicured and the rest of the group were helping each other out between pulling vines from the house and power washing its walls.
Kagome glanced over at Touya.
He'd separated himself from the rest of the group. He was crouched at the crumbled section of the garden wall and carefully laying one brick after the other and checking to ensure that each one was lined up evenly.
A small smile pulled across her lips.
It was wonderful that they were all trying so hard. Even if they only saw it as a break from the prison, seeing the others laughing and having fun while they worked meant the world to her. For just this moment, the tragedies of their past were not haunting them.
"Do I need to carry you home, myself?" Hawks grouched at her.
He descended from the sky, tucking his wings over his back as he landed.
"You know as well as I do that someone had to stay to watch the problem children. So you're stuck with me." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
That was another reason why she took the bicycle taxi to get her. Hawks wouldn't be able to send her home. So she'd managed to get her way this time.
"It looks like they'll finish early tomorrow." Kagome folded her arms over her chest, taking in all the work they'd managed to accomplish so far.
Hawks flexed his wings, "Yeah. That's good news for us. The Commission is already asking for a status update on their progress."
She felt her brow twitch in irritation at that.
Of course they would.
They wanted any excuse they could get to suspend her program. Unfortunately for the Safety Commission, she'd managed to pull some strings at U.A. to have some of their pros come in to act as temporary supervisors. That was how she'd managed to get Aizawa here a few times. Although tomorrow Present Mic would be filling that role and according to the principal, he'd be spending all day with them.
Having a professional DJ and radio personality commentate on everyone's progress could either be incredibly fun or incredibly tiring depending on how things went. She wouldn't deny feeling a tiny bit nervous.
"How's your pain?" Hawks kept his voice low as he spoke.
Kagome flashed him a wide grin, "I'm at a two, so no need to fear."
The pain scale was the most frequent measurement of a person's pain that the medical industry used. It numbered from one to ten with one being not painful at all to ten being the sort of pain where one felt like they'd need an ambulance immediately. It was a subjective way of measuring pain as everyone's tolerance varied. For her though, her one were just mild twinges and aches while her ten was the soul crushing weight of the world being pressed down upon her chest. It was the feeling of being unable to breathe properly and her heart seizing in her chest.
Today, she could only feel sporadic twinges. Just a vague reminder that her heart was slowly dying.
"Kagome!" Himiko latched onto her arm, "Touya said he was going to make me bald!"
She blinked confusion.
He did what now?
Hawks stifled his laughter and gestured towards the odd pock marks of dirt and torn up grass in the yard.
"He was upset that she was pulling up the grass. So he threatened to make her bald too before he sent her to work on the vines." His wings flexed again as scarlet feathers drifted into the cool spring breeze. "He was pretty moody today."
Her brows furrowed as she glanced at Touya still hard at work on the wall.
He'd been… moody?
Now that was strange.
"Kagome!" Himiko tugged on her hand, "You coming to dinner tonight? Show me how to make your curry!"
Her smile softened at the girl, "I'll show you this weekend. You're supposed to be on kitchen duty Saturday night, so we'll go through the whole process then."
"Yay!" The blonde threw her hands up into the air as she raced back towards Jin.
Out of all the prisoners sent to her, Himiko had been the one to open up to her first. The girl was unpredictable and wild, but she was also cheerful too. Her profile mentioned that she'd had an obscene obsession with blood, so they would have to find a way to help her with her urges without breaking her sense of identity.
"I'll help with lunch." She informed Hawks, "Also don't worry so much. I'll be fine." She gave his arm a reassuring pat before she'd made her way inside the couple's home.
It didn't take long for them to finish with the tempura and bring it out to be served.
Kagome watched as Touya gradually approached her. His eyes were glazed over and his head turned down, as if he were lost deep in thought.
"Here you go!" She beamed, offering him an empty dish so that she could fill it.
Touya jumped.
His gaze widened with shock, as if he hadn't realized that she'd arrived at all.
"You were working hard out there!" She smiled up at him brightly as she filled his dish. She could see the large swaths of sweat that clung to him like a second layer of skin. The area of the wall that he was working out was in direct sunlight. So he must've been out in the heat without any shade. Her smile softened at him, "Make sure you get plenty of water and stay hydrated. This region was surprisingly humid."
The last thing she wanted was for anyone to push themselves too hard while they did their community service.
Touya peered down at her as if he were inspecting her for any sort of defect.
"You good?" The man's voice was low, as if to keep anyone from overhearing their conversation.
Kagome cocked her head to the side curiously.
What did he mean by that?
Her mind suddenly went back to yesterday afternoon where she'd nearly collapsed on top of him. She felt her face flush in embarrassment.
She'd never mean to nearly topple the man over, but she was grateful he'd been there to stop her fall.
"Oh!" She snapped to attention, "Oh yes, I'm fine! I'm sorry you had to see that the other day. It just happens sometimes."
She flashed him a wide smile as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. She'd hoped that he wouldn't pressure her for more details. The less they knew about her condition, the better.
Touya shot her an unconvinced look.
His gaze shifted to something behind her before a wide smirk spread across his lips.
She could hear the faint sound of Hawks' wings beginning to flap in irritation.
"I never had a woman fall for me so literally before. As fun as it was, I'd rather you be able to stay on your feet." His smirk only widened as Hawks' wings flapped even more vigorously in his fury.
She knew what Touya was doing right now.
It was pretty obvious in the way he kept glancing behind her at her adoptive brother. Hawks' response only seemed to be goading him on as well.
It was rather cute how much Touya seemed to enjoy teasing others. Unfortunately her adoptive sibling seemed to be on his current radar of people to taunt.
The man then lowered his gaze to shoot her a confident smirk, "Unless of course you want to fall into a bed somewhere together. That could be fun too."
Touya's bold words combined with Hawks' growl of indignation broke her.
She pressed a palm to her mouth as she tried to stifle her laughter to no avail.
Touya peered at her in shock, as if he hadn't anticipated on receiving any sort of positive reaction from her at all.
"That's a nice line, I'll admit." She wiped a stray tear from her eyes as she finally began to gain control of herself. "But I'm afraid that I'll have to decline."
The man's look of shock quickly melted away into a smirk.
"It was worth a shot." He threw one last look over her shoulder before he strolled away with his food in hand.
She had to admit that it was somewhat nice to be flirted with. It was obvious that Touya had only said something to her to get a rise out of Hawks. Still, she'd spent so much time in and out of hospitals and feeling like absolute death that she'd never even had the time to think about romance.
She felt Hawks come to stand beside her as he flared his wings in a blatant attempt at hiding her from Touya's view.
Unfortunately for her and Touya, there were a few reasons why sex was completely off the table. First and foremost was the fact that he was her charge. So long as he was part of the Second Chance Rehabilitation Program, she wouldn't even begin to think about having a relationship with him. He was her responsibility and she would not permit herself to cross the line between professional and personal with the people who were putting their futures into her hands.
Secondly, even if he hadn't been her charge, her body quite literally would not hold up. Sure dying like that might sound like a good way to go for some, but she didn't want to traumatize her potential partner before leaving this earth. So sex was forbidden and for good reason.
Kagome finally stopped laughing as she pressed her palm against the small of Hawks' back.
"I'm fine, he was just trying to mess with you." Her smile softened at the offended look he threw her way. "Try not to give him the reaction he wants. Otherwise he'll just keep doing it."
Touya was fairly easy to read in that regard.
He was a bit of a jerk to the people around him but he also had something of a playful mean streak in him. Driving people nuts seemed to be a favorite pastime of his. In order to effectively deal with someone like that, they would have to not give him the reactions he wanted. Granted, she hadn't been able to keep herself from laughing earlier so she'd have to work on that herself.
Kagome stayed near Hawks as the day eventually came to a close. The bus pulled up to the house but before the group clamored on, both Hajime and Chizuru emerged from their house. In their age withered hands were treats of mochi and hanabi dango piled so high that she knew there'd be enough for everyone to have plenty.
"Thank you," The elderly couple smiled at the group. "You youngsters have been so helpful."
Hajime pressed the treats into Jin's hands.
The older man glanced around, as if thoroughly confused about what to say or even do.
Kagome stepped forward and offered the couple a polite bow, "And we're grateful you're allowing us to be here. I'll be sure that they have the chance to enjoy your gifts."
The group stared at the couple in a mixture of confusion, incredulousness and, in Jin's case, tearful happiness.
Kagome ushered the group back onto the bus and offered the couple one last parting wave before they left.
It was just one small step, but it was a sign that this program was making a difference.
She clenched her fist over the cloth above her chest.
This was exactly what she'd wanted to see.
