Summary: Kagome, younger twin to Shoto, was regarded as a failure by their father. With her Quirk never showing during her youth, her father regarded her as a blight on his legacy. He gave her away. After sealing the well up, she's accepted into U.A. Her very presence serves to shake things up in the best ways!

Pairing: Kagome/Hawks

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter Thirty-Three

"... This whole time, she was so close, and we never even knew…-"

Shoto glanced over his shoulder, his gaze landing on Natsuo as he looked around across the shrine. His older brother's hand was tight as his side, a glare melting onto his face after a few seconds.

"It's not fair."

All the time with her had been taken away, and it was all because of their father's selfishness. He wasn't fond of their father in any aspect, but this… it felt like a brand new low.

"Look at the bright side," Fuyumi said, patting his shoulder with a bright smile on her face. "Now we know, and we can spend all the time we want with her now!" Her words were a cover-up, masking the hurt she felt deep down. It didn't show on her face, instead choosing to let the positives of it permeate her mind. They had missed out on so much, but they wouldn't miss out on anything else. Not anymore, at least. She looked around the shrine, her smile softening. "It feels so much warmer here than it ever did at home."

Shoto nodded in agreement. It was something that he'd noticed the first time he was there, too.

Upon reaching the door, he knocked. It wasn't long before the door opened, a familiar face appearing.

"You made it!" Kun-Loon exclaimed, a bright smile reflected on her face. They stepped back a second later, waving for them to come in. In the background, voices could be heard talking back and forth, though it wasn't loud enough to catch individual words. "It's nice to meet-"

"Enya! Don't you dare- ah!"

"Woah! She caught it!"

The outburst from the room down the hall interrupted the older woman, and she glanced over her shoulder with a faint sigh. "Well… looks like she got the bird that flew in through the window…" she trailed off with a shake of her head. The look on her face revealed just how little she was fazed by the situation. She glanced back at the three at the door, looking from Shoto and to the other two standing behind him. "This is the first time we've met. I'm Kun-Loon, your aunt."

There was a brief pause of silence as both Natsuo and Fuyumi stared at the smiling woman. It made her smile soften some, her heart aching to see them struggle in a similar way as Shoto had the first time they met.

"You're completely different from him," Fuyumi broke the silence first, her hand coming up to rest against her mouth. Her eyes were wide, stunned by the approachable warmth that seemed to emanate from her.

"You sure you're actually his sister?" Natsuo asked in a blunt tone. "You weren't adopted, were you?"

"Natsuo," Fuyumi nudged his arm with her elbow in a method to chide him. He looked at her and shrugged.

"What?" he asked, his tone still as blunt. "Seems like a valid question to me…" He muttered as he folded his arms over his chest. It was impossible to see the similarities between the woman in front of them and their father.

Kun-Loon laughed, the three of them looking at her upon hearing the light sound. After a minute, shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm actually his sister," she responded. "But believe me, I've had my own doubts over the years." She shook her head again and waved for them to follow her as she turned. "Come on, the others are in the dining room."

As they entered the dining room, they were met by four other people. One of which was Kagome, and in front of her was a large, two-tailed cat. She held Enya by the head, desperately trying to pry her large maw open. Beside her was Souta. In his hands were a few bird feathers, yet no bird.

Further back were Shippo and Sesshomaru, observing the scene as Kagome wrestled to open the cat's mouth.

"Open…. Up!" Kagome wrapped her legs around Enya's torso, the cat rumbling in blatant disobedience as she refused to budge. Under the sound of the struggle, a faint chirping from an unidentified place could be heard. It soon became relatively clear where that sound was coming from, however… "Spit it out! Enya, drop it!"

"Ah… Sesshomaru-sama, maybe you should stop her before-" Kun-Loon said, looking towards the silver-haired figure merely observing. He looked somewhat fascinated by the struggle.

"Let her learn on her own," came his response.

"She got her pinned on her own," Shippo chirped from where he stood. Kun-Loon sighed, bowing her head.

"Aha!" Kagome cried when she finally pried the cat's mouth open. A second later, the bird flew out. Its feathers were wet, but aside from that, it was perfectly fine.

"I got it!" Souta exclaimed, moving to pick the bird up with both hands. "Good job, Nee-chan!"

Kagome sighed and released her grip on Enya. She flopped back to lay on her back on the floor, her eyes closed as sweat beaded on her brow. In turn, the cat stood up and huffed, a puff of smoke coming from her nose. A second later, Enya fell on top of her, crushing her under her large body. After a few more long seconds, she reverted back to her smaller form. Kagome grabbed her and lugged her up so she was held over her face, glaring at her.

"Menace," she muttered, sitting up a second later. She set Enya down and pushed herself back up onto her feet, dusting her hands off on the back of her pants. Kun-Loon walked over to her and patted her shoulder supportively.

When she looked up, her attention landed on the three who had entered the room with her mother. Behind Shoto stood two people who both felt and seemed so familiar to her. Idly, her grip tightened on Enya, her heart beating a bit faster.

She'd known they would be coming over today, yet… She still felt surprised that they had actually come. A moment later, a smile formed on her face. "Fuyumi, Natsuo… I'm so happy to see you again," she finally said.

Even as she said those words, her heart felt so heavy. It felt bad, so she didn't say it out loud, but the one she'd been hoping to see the most had been Toya. It hurt not to see that he'd come with the others, and deep down it reinforced those fears she had.

Had he grown to regard her in the same way their father did? After all, he knew where she'd been all this time, but it'd been years since his last visit. She couldn't think of any other reason, and it burned painfully in the pit of her chest.

Fuyumi was the first to move, coming towards her and promptly throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Look at you!" she wailed, nudging her face against her own. "We saw you in the sports festival…- You've grown so much!"

The contact took her by surprise, but it soon wore off. Kagome wrapped her arms around her, a faint laugh spilling from her. "Honestly, I was a little surprised I got as far as I did," she admitted with a laugh.

"How about we sit down and have some tea?" Kun-Loon suggested, already heading towards the kitchen. As she went, she paused beside Sesshomaru and Shippo. "Do you two plan on staying around?"

"No," Sesshomaru responded before Shippo could jump on the chance. In return, Shippo looked at him with a pout on his face. "There are other matters that I must attend to."

"Well, if you're sure," she responded. "You're welcome anytime, but you know that."

As Sesshomaru went to leave, he motioned for Shippo to follow. After a brief pause, Shippo sighed and relented, crossing his arms over his chest as he started to follow after Sesshomaru.

"C'mon, it's not like I'm gonna cause any trouble if you leave me here," he muttered under his breath. All he wanted was the chance to observe the two new siblings of Kagome.

Sesshomaru arched a brow as he looked at Shippo. "That's exactly what you'll do," he remarked in a deadpan tone. "Now, come along."

Kagome looked at Shippo with a smile and nodded for him to go. "You'll see me plenty in class tomorrow, anyway," she stated. He pouted, but he relented when it came from her.

"Fiiine," he whined, but he followed the path Sesshomaru was going. After they'd left, Shoto glanced at her.

"He really tries to stick around you," he remarked. Kagome sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. It wasn't like she could disagree with that assessment.

"Fox demons," she eventually said, as if it'd explain it all. In a way, it did. "They're clingy and protective of their family."

"Is he that way with others?" Shoto asked. At his question, she looked at him. She seemed to think about it at first. The next possible close example would be Inuyasha, and that was mostly constant bickering. A second later, she glanced away, idly toying with a lock of her hair as she sighed.

"No, not even close."

000

An hour had passed as they sat around the table. Any prior awkwardness and new familiarity had all but melted away, a comforting warmth replacing it.

"Wait, so you also like soba?" Natsuo asked, leaning forward over the table as he posed that question to Kagome. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! It's my favorite in the summer."

Fuyumi smiled and grabbed onto her arm. "Geeze, you and Shoto are so much alike. It's almost like you two were always together." It was a bittersweet thought, knowing that, despite the gap, they'd grown to like the same things. It was a sign, if any, of how deep their connection truly was. "Oh, that's right! Toya also really liked soba, too."

The smile on Kagome's face softened upon hearing that. She knew it was far from intentional, but the mention of him made her heart sink a bit lower.

"You know, we should all have dinner one night," Fuyumi suggested. "I'll cook a whole bunch, and we-"

"As fun as that'd be, I'm not sure if I'm… ready to go back there," Kagome said, cutting her off before she got too far into her offer. She picked her words carefully. Deep down, she just wanted to avoid the possibility of running into their father. If she limited her contact with him, then that would be for the best. Fuyumi's expression fell, but there was a look of understanding in her eyes.

"I get how you feel," Natsuo stated. "I don't really like being home, either."

"Well, how about we do dinner here one night?" Kun-Loon suggested. She used the warmth from her palm to reheat her tea. "The door's always open for you all."

Fuyumi's eyes lit up, and she nodded. "Oh, let's plan it!"

000

For as happy as she felt, deep below that happiness was a heaviness. It pulled her heart down.

It was nearing midnight. Kagome had planned to go to sleep an hour ago, at least, yet sleep refused to claim her. Instead, she had moved over to her desk. Spread open on the surface in front of her was one of her photo albums.

Somehow, earlier, it'd become a focal point. It'd been mentioned, and suddenly it had been brought downstairs as they all ended up going through it.

She knew that Kun-Loon had taken the ones from after she had gone to live with her, but…

"Now that I think about it, I never really considered how I even had all these in the first place…-" Kagome murmured softly, looking over the earlier ones. Her heart felt heavier now that she was going over them on her own. A part of her wanted to ask, but deep down, another part of her argued that it didn't really matter.

For as long as she could remember, it'd been there ever since she came to stay at the shrine. Now that she was older, she was stumped in trying to figure out how it came to be in her care.

She turned the page in it, pausing when she saw one of the images on it. It was probably the only one that had her father's face in it. Her hand moved to rest on the page. A second later, she reached to pull the photo from its spot.

It didn't matter if it was in person or if it was a photograph. There was a speck of guarded caution that formed at the mere sight of mention of him. Idly, she glanced towards the trash can beneath her desk. For a moment, she contemplated just tossing it into the trash and calling it a day. After all, what reason was she holding onto it still? He had no place there, right?

Despite that, she found her instead opening the bottom drawer on her desk. Wordlessly, she dropped the photo into it before pushing it shut again.

Even if she wanted nothing to do with him, she couldn't bring herself to get rid of the only piece of him she'd ever had to remember him by. Even then, she couldn't wrap her head around her own troubled feelings on the matter.

Soon enough, she flipped the album closed and dropped her head into her hands, leaning over her desk as she sighed.

One day, she knew she'd find the words to say, but for now, silence seemed to do much better.

The following day, instead of spending lunch in the cafeteria, she ended up in Sesshomaru's office with him.

"So, did he give you any notes on me?" Kagome asked after a good fifteen minutes had passed. Sesshomaru glanced at her, noting the tone she'd used. After a moment, he nodded.

"Surprisingly, no," Sesshomaru remarked. Kagome got the feeling there was more to it than he let on. "He said very little to me once he realized the difference in our strength."

Kagome arched a brow. "Don't tell me you threatened him," she stated in a flat tone. It was mostly a joke, but she realized a second later that she should've known better than to joke about something like that. She caught the shift in his aura, and she sighed. "You threatened him, didn't you?" she asked in a deadpan tone.

"... only a little," Sesshomaru confessed. Kagome glared at him, knowing that was a drastic understatement. He knew she'd seen through it, and he shrugged. "Or maybe a lot. Really, I can't be bothered to recall everything I say."

"You are a demon of very few words," Kagome responded. "I find it hard to believe you don't remember them all."

"When those whom I speak to lack importance to me, I seldom care to see the worthwhile benefit," Sesshomaru stated as he rose from his seat. His comment made her roll her eyes.

"You're just extra sassy because he sassed you first," she responded.

Sesshomaru glared at her for her remark, but he made no move to deny it. That, in itself, was proof enough.

"Have you prepared yourself for the upcoming exams?" he asked, waiting for her to stand up. She soon came to join him, lifting a hand to run at the back of her neck. The recollection of the approaching exams made her sigh.

"... don't remind me," she muttered. She always hated tests. "I'm gonna go find the others in the cafeteria," she said, heading for the door.

She wasn't so worried about the practical exam, but the written ones. Either way, at least she wasn't at the very bottom of the class test scores…

"Y'know, I feel like I studied better when my life was in danger," Kagome muttered.

"I can make that arrangement?" Sesshomaru offered before she got too far away. Kagome promptly turned to glare at him.

"Don't even think about it," she hissed.

Auroua-chan: Gonna end this chapter here. I contemplated adding a bit more too it, but then it would've gotten too long.

We're nearing their final exams. I haven't fully decided who Kagome will be partnered with, or which teacher they'll have their practical against. It likely won't be Sesshomaru, though. (Unless maybe…-?) Suggestions are welcome, of course.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review, Favorite, and Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~