Love Affairs

Chapter two:

Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) (MCU)

9:43 AM, Japan, Kagome's Office - Sunday

"A new case you want me to take on?" Kagome frowned, looking up from her clipboard to the former Lieutenant General. "Ross, I have a lot of cases."

"Girly, I can promise you none as are high profile as this." He replied, dumping a thick file with the words 'top secret' stamped across it with red ink onto her desk.

Kagome looked at the closed file curiously, slowly picking it up. "Who is it?"

"The Winter Solider." He answered with a simple nod of his head. "Surely by now you've heard we successfully took that bastard, along with Captain Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, the Falcon, into custody earlier this week in Bucharest."

"I have." She said, opening the file to the first page, which simply featured a picture of James Barnes taken a few years ago, alongside a copy of his birth certificate.

"Then you'll know we wouldn't put just anyone on this." Ross sighed. "Higurashi, you're the best at what you do. The Japanese government has said it and Fury has said it. Because of those powers of yours," He spat, "The subjects just can't help but to open themselves up to you, and by extension, us. We need to find out the true extent of his crimes, how much he knows about Hydra's operations and exactly what kind of threat he poses to us. It is integral to the safety of not just American citizens, but to people worldwide."

That really caught Kagome's attention, despite her annoyance of Ross' inaccurate summarisation of her abilities. One man, with as far as she knew no powers, was such a high threat to the world's safety that Ross would show up on the doorstep of her office and practically beg, by his standards, for her to take the case? That was interesting. The mention of public safety being in jeopardy pulled at her heart. Although it had been a long time since she was actively involved in missions, or even anything to do with defending any nation, she couldn't help but feel bound to protect the earth - it had been her job for an awfully long time. She frowned, before quickly coming to a conclusion.

"I'll do it."

"Atta girl," Ross gave her a grin. "The United Nations need you to evaluate him- do whatever, I don't care. But get as much information out of him as you can, Higurashi."

Kagome merely blinked at him.

"I'll have a jet pick you up in two days, with any luck you'll only be evaluating Barnes for a few weeks before the UN put him on trial." Ross informed her with a shrug. "I do appreciate you doing this, Higurashi. I've got to admit, I never truly saw the appeal of your 'soothing' and 'healing' powers until now." He gave her a respectful nod. "Goodbye, Doctor Higurashi." And with that, he was out of her office.

As Kagome read through his file she found herself growing more concerned. The guy had been brainwashed by a bunch of Nazis and used by Hydra since world war two- that was more than enough to permanently screw up somebody's mental state. There really was no telling just how unstable he could possibly be. And she had just willingly agreed to be the one to evaluate him.

"Oh, man." Kagome groaned. "Let's hope Ross was being honest and this really will save lives, or at least improve his. Geez, he's spent so much of his life under the influence of Hydra I'd be surprised if he can even think properly."

01:55 PM, Vienna - Tuesday

A meagre two days later and Kagome arrived in Vienna. The gentleman that flew the jet all the way from Japan to Vienna was fortunately kind enough to give Kagome directions to the centre that her newest subject was located.

For a few years now she had worked with criminals. Initially after her travels to the Feudal Era ended and her high school career was over she was thrilled to be approached by an organisation called 'S.H.I.E.L.D'. She travelled all over the world, taking part in missions for them simply because she believed it would benefit the world, which really was all that she wanted to do. But after a while, the sights and sounds of battle became overwhelming. It was far too similar to the last day she spent in the Feudal Era, surrounded by dying comrades as they desperately tried to defeat Naraku. Kagome found that she had watched a few too many people die.

So, she turned her attentions elsewhere. Her energy was soothing, and with some training, she became able to utilise it in a calming type of therapy that she used to assist her in making evaluations of criminals. She always had considered herself a fairly good judge of character. She had honed her craft over time, calling forth those abilities hidden deep within her was the most challenging of all. The years had been kind to her, while she had watched her friends begin to age, she remained young, forever bound to the cursed jewel seated between her collarbones.

Kagome shook her head. The present was no time for reminiscing about the past. She looked ahead of her, the streets and people all seemed to look the same, and despite the directions from the pilot she still couldn't shake the feeling she was lost.

A rhythmic chanting disturbed her as she tried to look for a signpost- not that they would likely have 'Joint Counter Terrorist Centre' signposted. As she kept walking, the chanting slowly turned to shouting and screaming.

She turned a corner, making her way onto a new street. She had been taking left turns for quite some time, the pilot had said 'keep left', so surely one of her left turns was bound to lead her to her desired destination, right? This street was far different to the others she had been down previously.

There was a looming building ahead, with large grey watchtowers with glass bridges connecting them. One side of the facility looked to be offices, with large open windows, while the other side almost looked to be like a fortress.

The reason for the chanting and screeching she had heard earlier soon became apparent. A massive mob of enraged people were blocking the entrance to the building, some holding signs that clearly indicated what they wanted, as if their angry screams weren't enough.

"Kill him!"

"Execute the bastard!"

"Murderer!"

Were among the cries. As Kagome's eyes darted from sign to sign she quite quickly connected the dots.

"Bingo," Kagome whispered to herself. She had found not only her building, but also realised how deeply the public must hate this man for a crowd of this size to be gathered around the place he was detained. She fought her way through the crowd, fending off whacks from arms and elbows to make it to the gate, where a security guard gave her an annoyed look.

"Look, telling us you want that Soldier guy dead ain't gonna change anything. I want him dead just as much as yous." The guard sighed.

"I'm here for the evaluation," Kagome told him. "Kagome Higurashi." Her hands fumbled in her pockets for a second before she revealed an identification card, which he quickly scanned.

"All clear, ma'am." He nodded, letting her through the gate.

A surge of people ran after her, also intent on making it into the facility, although they were swiftly stopped by the security guard.

02:05 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Tuesday

"Higurashi."

The first person to greet her was, unsurprisingly, former Lieutenant General Ross.

"Ross," Kagome smiled. "Vienna's quite beautiful, I wish I could've been before."

"Unfortunately, you're not here for sightseeing." He grumbled. "As I'm sure you already know, this case is important to a lot of people. Your evaluation must be extremely accurate. It's not just my reputation that's on the line if you screw up, it's the reputation of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Japanese government for recommending you."

"I get it." Kagome nodded, looking behind Ross to inspect the room they were in. Cars and shipments were coming and going from the room- it seemed to be a hub of action. The room was huge, completely grey with few windows.

"Just make sure he's in a good condition to stand trial, use those weird powers of yours on him a few times and I'm sure he'll be ready for the UN in only a few weeks."

"Sure." She nodded again.

"Right this way," Ross turned on his heel and began striding out of the room, Kagome trailing closely behind him. "They keep him in the most secure place possible." They stormed through what seemed like identical hallways, before arriving outside a closed door. That hallway was lined with similar doors, however, only the one to their left was guarded.

"Isn't he in the one with the guards?" Kagome frowned. If the man were truly that dangerous, he should be guarded at all times. Ross quickly scanned his card to unlock the door, before turning back to Kagome.

"He is. Room fifteen has the highest security in the entire building. But I want you to observe him first, so you know what you're dealing with." He told her with a nod, opening the door for her.

The room was as all the others were. Meaning it was completely grey and devoid of any liveliness. Not that you would expect anything less from a facility like this. It was simply a completely empty cuboid with one wall to her right comprising of one-way glass.

"That's him." Ross nodded towards the glass. Kagome spun around, peering into the room next door that they were viewing through the glass. That room was equally as grey as the others, but far less empty than the one she was currently in. In the centre of the room was what looked like a sophisticated cage. It had glass walls, with reinforced steel holding them together. In the centre of that pod was none other than her case.

James Barnes, the Winter Soldier. His head was hung, his long hair hiding his face from view. He was dressed casually, in a maroon t-shirt with a black shirt underneath. He was also completely restrained at the wrists, shoulders and legs, with there being one extra restraint on his metal arm. Never in her life had Kagome come into contact with a prisoner so highly restrained.

"Surely the cage would have been enough," Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"With him, there's no such thing as too safe." Ross told her. "If we didn't restrain him, there would be two punches to that glass and he would be out. While he may not necessarily have any so-called superpowers, he is exceptionally strong. We can't underestimate him. He did, after all, kill twelve people in Vienna with that damn bomb."

Kagome's eyes widened. "He did that?"

Thaddeus stuffed his hands in his pockets. "He is dangerous, Higurashi. Remember that."

"I will." She replied.

"You start as soon as you're ready." Ross gestured to the room through the glass. "The guards know who you are. Oh, here's your security card, it gives you high level clearance. That ID card was only enough to get you through the entrance of the building, this'll give you complete access to Barnes' online files and most of what we have on Hydra, as well as letting you into the offices." Ross handed her a white card, similar to the one he used to unlock the door to the observation room. "I trust that your accommodation is sorted."

"It is." Kagome sighed, thinking of the small apartment she had decided to take up in Vienna- completely barren of any furniture except the bed and oven, both of which were far from being in prime condition.

"Since you're sorted, I'll leave you to it." Ross made for the door, pausing as he opened it. "Higurashi, I trust you more than the other candidates, and I hope to God you don't screw this up." With that final remark, he left, leaving Kagome alone in the observation room.

She huffed, tossing her head back indignantly despite the fact Ross wasn't there to watch it. "The guy has the nerve to beg me to take his case then demand I don't screw it up! Then again, Ross always has been a bit of a jerk." She muttered to herself, turning her attention to the clipboard in her hands, on top of which was Barnes' file.

She looked from it to the form of the man in the pod. "Brainwashed by Hydra, huh? Who knows how much of that stuff is still in your head." Kagome whispered empathetically. "You should be free now, and if you were in hiding why kill those UN people? Why draw that attention on to yourself if you're trying to hide?" She narrowed her eyes as she read through the file, each report only leaving her with more questions.

"I guess I'll start right away," Kagome shrugged, exiting through the same door that Thaddeus Ross had only minutes before, and ending up in the hallway outside. She looked to the doorway to her left, a sealed steel door guarded by two men wearing a black uniform with khaki green kevlar vests and body armour over the top of it, along with green helmets.

"Doctor Higurashi?" One of the men stated her name, although it seemed more like a question.

Kagome nodded, her eyes dropping briefly down to their heavy weaponry before meeting his gaze. "Nice to meet you, and really, it's just Kagome."

"Well then, just Kagome, you're all clear to enter. Just scream and we'll be there- or better yet, pull the alarm if anything happens. That'll let you out the room and alert every officer that something's gone wrong." He told her, as the doors slowly opened.

"Thanks," She smiled, slowly walking into the room, barely registering the doors closing behind her, leaving her alone with her newest case.

His head snapped up instantly.

Kagome walked forwards confidently. "Mr. Barnes, I'm Doctor Higurashi, but you can just call me Kagome."

He didn't respond, just continuing to gaze at her from within the 'restraint cube' as Kagome had mentally dubbed it. She groaned inwardly.

"I'm evaluating you on behalf of the UN," She told him. "Thaddeus Ross asked me to." That she spat out, failing to keep a glare off her face. That man wasn't even in the military anymore and still gave orders like he was the Lieutenant General and everybody else were the unfortunate soldiers that had to follow his orders.

"Anyway..." She trailed off, returning her attention to Barnes. "I'm guessing you're not much of a talker, hmm?"

"I don't even know where to start," Kagome admitted. "You don't remember much of your past?"

Once more, he didn't give her a response.

Kagome paused in her train of thought, flicking through his file to the very back page- the most recent development in his life. "The bombing of the Vienna International Centre."

His eyes seemed to harden. "I didn't do it."

Kagome frowned, taken aback. It hadn't really made sense to her either- but everybody seemed to certain that it had to be him. Surely there must have been some evidence- she'd had criminals claim they were innocent in the past when the complete opposite turned out to be true, but there was just something about that look in his eyes that resonated with her. This man had been through hell and back, that much she was sure of just by reading his file.

She didn't ask him any more questions, preferring just to sit in silence and read through the file so that he could at least get used to her presence.

She gathered her belongings in her arms, closing his file and holding it to her chest.

"Goodbye, Mr. Barnes, I'll see you soon." Kagome gave him a cheery smile before politely knocking on the metal door, which opened for her and closed a split second after, leaving her in the hallway.

04:37 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Tuesday

She found herself wandering the halls for quite some time, they all looked identical to her and in all honesty she had no clue how to get out, not that she was really trying. Instead, she was engrossed in her thoughts, the idea of an innocent person being wrongly convicted always resonated deeply with her.

Suddenly, a man's body slammed into hers, sending them both to the floor.

Kagome groaned. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She winced before opening her eyes, finding a man in a white lab coat with brown hair and thick rimmed spectacles pulling himself off the ground.

He looked at her for a few moments, as if he were carefully considering his words. "I'm looking for room fifteen. The patient I'm evaluating is in there."

She frowned. "I, uh, think you may have the wrong room. I've got the patient in room fifteen."

"Ah, there must have been a mistake then." The man said slowly.

Before Kagome could even get another word in, he sped off down the hallway.

"Weird..." Kagome trailed off, looking at the form of the man she had been talking to seconds earlier turn a corner. "I wonder if it was something I said?"

She shook the incident off, her mind quickly pulling her back into a vertex of thoughts- centred around Barnes' possible innocence. She resigned herself to going back to her cramped apartment, quickly showing a security guard her identification so that she could leave the building.

The mob waiting outside the Joint Counter Terrorist centre had not lessened in either their anger nor their numbers. The instant that she emerged from the door, a hoard of enraged people surged forwards but were quickly stopped by security guards. Kagome pushed through the crowd, managing to stop herself from lashing out at the people that yelled at her.

She stormed down the cobblestone streets, more than glad to be out of the fray. She wished she could properly take in the beauty of the city, but her mind was far too distracted for that. What if he was innocent? She rushed into her apartment, barreling towards her bed where her laptop was resting upon the sheets. She sat cross-legged on the bed, the laptop sat on her legs as she typed furiously.

Kagome had practically read every single article there was to read about the bombing of the Vienna International Centre. Twelve people dead, more then seventy injured. The supposed culprit? James Barnes. Not one news source even entertained the idea of any other possible perpetrator. The entire world had just unanimously accepted that he did it, with very little proof. The only real evidence that they had was some grainy security footage supposedly depicting Barnes near the bomb site. No DNA evidence, fingerprints or footage of him actually committing the crime itself.

Curious blue eyes scanned once more through the file, checking one last time that the only evidence was a picture. She was right. This man had been brainwashed, made to almost entirely forget his previous life, was used as a weapon by a terrorist organisation, had undoubtedly been traumatised by the entire thing, and did not garner a shred of sympathy from neither the UN nor the media. Instead, he was blamed for an attack with virtually no evidence.

Whoever the real culprit was had to be exceptionally intelligent. They managed to frame a man that everybody hated- a person that nobody would even question would do these things. The real culprit had managed to frame James Barnes, a man the public deemed a ruthless assassin, who would never be looked upon as innocent.

Kagome didn't sleep at all that night. The thought that he was probably innocent plagued her. This man had been in hiding for god's sake, he hadn't committed any crimes during that period of time, so why would he bomb the Vienna International Centre?

As she recalled the haunted look in his eyes her heart began to pound.

It was then that Kagome made up her mind. She have been ordered to evaluate him, sedate him with her powers and present him like a trophy to the UN. But so help her god, she would prove his innocence.

11:45 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Wednesday

She nodded politely to the guards stationed outside room fifteen, the metal doors sliding open seconds later. Kagome walked into the room, surveying the grey walls with displeasure. Far too bland for her liking. The entire place needed some life in her opinion.

When her eyes finally landed on Barnes, she found he was already looking at her.

"You're innocent," She declared. "If you'll let me, I'd be honoured to help you prove it."

He looked at her, his brows furrowed as Kagome moved closer to his containment chamber.

"I've still got a job to do, though." Kagome sighed. "Even if you didn't do the bombing you still need to be evaluated. I've got some friends that'd probably be willing to represent you in court if you want them to, but that's for you to decide." She looked to her notes attached to her trusty clipboard, finding that Ross had given her a list of evaluative techniques for her to utilise on her patient.

Kagome frowned, snatching the list off the clipboard. "He acts as if I don't know how to do my job." She muttered. "Mr. Barnes?"

"Just Bucky." He replied simply.

"Ross wants me to start using energy therapy on you- the arrogant jerk'll have my head if I don't." As the words left her mouth she could see something akin to panic flash in his eyes. "It's completely painless, all it's meant to do is calm you down, but I understand if you don't want me to, you really have no reason to trust me, after all." Kagome gave him a small smile.

He nodded his head slowly. "It's fine."

"That's a relief," Kagome sighed. "It may feel a bit weird at first but I promise it'll help you relax."

Kagome pressed her hands to the cool glass, closing her blue eyes and focusing her mind. Although she couldn't see it, pink rays of light shone from her palms, enveloping her forearms and spreading outwards towards Bucky.

He would have resisted if it didn't feel so welcoming. In fact, his survival instincts were going into overdrive, begging him to move. Yet, he remained perfectly still, transfixed by the woman on the other side of the glass and the light she was giving off. Gradually, the wisps of energy travelled towards him, through the glass, dancing over his body. He couldn't find it within himself to resist; all flight or fight instincts were gone. In their place was a calm he hadn't felt in years.

"Hey," Kagome's soft voice roused him from his thoughts as he opened his eyes- silently thinking that he didn't remember shutting them at all.

"Do you feel better?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Bucky nodded.

"That's good," She smiled brightly. "Now that's over and done with, I'm guessing I can just tell you what I know about your case." She looked to the list that Ross had given her. "All that he asked me to do today was 'pink mumbo-jumbo', and he thought it'd take me the whole day. But what does he know?"

Kagome spread open Bucky's file, flicking quickly to the back page- all known information on the bombing of the Vienna International Centre. "They've got one picture of you- it's mega blurry and it doesn't prove anything." A deep anger flared to life within her. "What happened to innocent until proven guilty? This isn't right."

She yawned, sitting on the table and pulling the file into her lap. "Ross basically wants me to keep you calm for trial, I guess he hopes that you'll confess. That jerk can't see things logically, all 'evidence' that they have proves absolutely nothing at all. But the UN won't believe that, they're just looking for someone to blame." Kagome scowled. She was going to storm into that courtroom and present his case herself if she had to. Innocent people didn't deserve to be behind bars. This man had been forced into doing very violent things, and was being used as a scapegoat by some diabolical criminal. How had nobody seen it? Kagome supposed that they were just too blinded by his past to see the truth. But she had seen that haunted look in his eyes, the deep regret of committing crimes he was brainwashed into doing.

"God, this must be awful for you." Kagome whispered.

11:42 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Thursday

Kagome strode down the hall, her mass of files cradled to her chest. She could barely see over the mountain of both evidence and suggestions from Ross for the evaluation she was supposed to be carrying out.

Down the hall, by room fifteen, she could see the guards, whose names she had come to learn were Rick and Quinn, arguing heatedly with a man in a lab coat.

"What's wrong?" Kagome sighed, walking closer to the guards. As she turned to face the man they were engaged in a disagreement with, she narrowed her eyes. That same pale face, with slicked back hair and spectacles sitting on the bridge of the nose was one that she recognised.

"Hey! You were the guy that bumped into me the other day, right?" She exclaimed.

He didn't acknowledge her, instead he looked her up and down with a sceptical gaze.

"He is also not authorised to enter room fifteen." The older of the guards, Rick, supplied.

Kagome nodded. "You're confused again, pal. You've got the wrong room, remember?"

He nodded slowly, walking away with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Kagome turned to face the guards, easily identifying the rising unease she felt. "Promise me you'll never let him in?"

"We do our jobs." The guard grunted. "Don't you have a prisoner to be interviewing?"

"I guess I do," Kagome shrugged, sighing as the doors opened. "Hey, Bucky." She greeted warmly, setting the files down on the table.

Bucky nodded in greeting, eyeing the small mountain of files she had brought along with her.

Her eyes scanned the agenda that Ross had pinned to her clipboard. "Let's see, oh right. Today Ross wants me to go over what you remember- probably to try and prove if you're criminally responsible for any past crimes, which I'm already certain you're not." She furrowed her eyebrows. "The damn man has even given me a checklist! Hmph. I've been doing this for years and suddenly he thinks I need his help?"

She pulled out a pen, and once again sat on the table instead of the chair provided for her. "What do you remember?"

"Steve." Bucky replied simply.

"Ah, Captain America." Kagome nodded. "I've met some of the other avengers, but not him. I hear he's staying here to help with your case."

Bucky nodded.

"So, is it just Steve you remember?" She flicked through the files. "What about him do you remember the most? Old memories, before the war? During the war? Or is it only recent ones?"

"Before," He answered. "Some during but not much. The clearest ones are the recent ones."

"That's to be expected, I guess." Kagome sighed. "What do you remember about before the war?"

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "He used to wear newspapers in his shoes. He had to lie on his enlistment forms. He got his papers denied so many times he'd have enough of them to cover the walls of this place."

Kagome laughed. "That's a good start. Is it just blank after that?"

He nodded.

She paused for a moment, considering her words. "Do you remember anything of Hydra?"

"Some of it."

"If you don't want to talk about it that's fine," Kagome said gently. "We can always do energy therapy instead."

"Anything but Hydra," He closed his eyes tightly, as if that would dispel the memories.

Kagome pushed herself off the desk, pressing both her palms flat against the cool glass of his containment unit. "You know, Ross said you could probably get out of here."

"I don't want to."

"I see," Kagome sighed. "I'll start now."

She closed her eyes, focusing her mind on the task at hand and banishing all other thoughts from her mind. With a deep breath, she centred herself on that power within, drawing limited amounts of it out and into reality. Pink tendrils of energy wrapped themselves around her hands, before shifting away and spreading out, travelling through the glass and gently caressing Bucky's shoulders, arms and neck before fading out of existence.

"There we go." Kagome smiled, looking around to find that the room was swaying. "Oh man, I must be tired, doing that two days in a row." She yawned, moving backwards to rest on the desk.

The sound of the door opening made her turn around rather quickly.

"Huh?" She frowned, looking with suspicion at the figure in the doorway. It was the strange man from before, a twisted half-smirk settled on his face. "Rick? Quinn?" She called out, pushing herself off the desk. This man was most definitely not supposed to be there- something was awfully off about him. Kagome knew something was wrong when she received no response from the guards.

"It's about time I got to meet you, my soldier." The man whispered with a light eastern European accent.

"Hey!" Kagome shouted. "You shouldn't be in here, I've already told you that!"

He didn't spare a glance at Kagome. He was staring intensely at Bucky, a predatory glint in his eyes.

"I have something to discuss with you, Mr. Barnes."

"You can't just barge in here!" Kagome exclaimed, standing in front of the man, but she was swiftly pushed aside.

The man pressed a hand to the glass of Bucky's pod, the other one delving into his lab coat to retrieve a small red book. "Zhelaniye."

Bucky tensed up, glaring at the man. "Stop." He practically growled.

"Rzhavyy." The foreign word slipped off the man's tongue naturally.

Bucky twitched, throwing his head back as if in pain. "No."

Kagome pulled herself up, roughly pushing the man backwards. "Stop it, get out!"

The man looked at her for what seemed like the first time, a rather displeased look etched onto his face. "You're quite intent on getting in my way, aren't you?" The man pushed her down roughly, sending her already spinning head slamming onto the floor.

Kagome groaned, her head pounding and darkness beginning to tug at the edges of her vision. Something was terribly wrong- a man had broken into room fifteen, the guards were nowhere in sight, and said man was causing Bucky pain, and had proceeded to attack her. With the fiery determination she always possessed, Kagome crawled up to the wall, and managed to pull herself up enough to slam her hand onto the red alarm button.

She collapsed in a heap onto the floor. Sirens immediately began to go off, the loud noises doing nothing to soothe her pounding headache. From what she could see, red flashing lights were also going off, but the black spots were invading her vision far too frequently for her to truly be able to see what was going on. A brutal hand grabbed her by the waist, ripping her from the ground and forcing her to stand on shaky legs.

She was being pulled in every direction, her surroundings still swaying unnaturally around her. The only thing she could really focus on was the accented whispers of the man dragging her around.

She tried to push back, but found that her limbs were far too heavy and the ever increasing pain in her head was prohibiting her from even thinking straight. His arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her out of the hallway that she knew room fifteen was located in, and down a narrow grey corridor she had never been through before. There was the ever constant screeching of the alarm disturbing her, worsening her headache.

"Far too much trouble for your own good, Doctor Higurashi." The man muttered, pushing her up against a grey wall in the corridor and turning his attention to just left of her. "Perhaps if you turned down this job, I wouldn't have to do this."

"Bucky," She whispered, panicked. "What are you doing to him? He's been through too much!"

"He will be taken care of," The man replied quickly. It was then that Kagome realised what he was doing- pulling open a window. She tried to move away, her legs nearly giving out beneath her.

"A shame, really." He shook his head. "If you hadn't set the alarm off, maybe I'd have let you live. It's a tragedy that a great mind such as yours has to go for this to work- but my plan is far more important. Goodbye, Doctor Higurashi." A hand pulled her up by her lab coat, forcing her body to slam into the window ledge.

She struggled, wildly hitting his chest, earning a hiss from him, before she was roughly shoved. The window ledge was now much further away than it had been a few seconds ago. In fact, the whole facility was much further away than it had been seconds ago. Her body plummeted towards the ground, hurtling through the cold air of Vienna. She flailed hopelessly, in mere seconds her body collided with the pavement. The last thing she saw was the external grey walls of the facility looming above her crumpled form, before darkness pulled her from the pain flaring through her body.

12:01 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist facility, Vienna - Thursday

Steve was there in an instant. As much as Ross had tried to prevent him from visiting Bucky- there was no time for anyone to stop him, with the flurry of soldiers all preparing to storm into room fifteen.

He rushed through the hallways, barely taking notice of anything before he arrived outside the open doors of room fifteen. The first thing that struck him was that there were no guards, or their bodies, in sight. And the second thing was that the doors were open.

"Buck?" Steve frowned, looking with concerned eyes at the convulsing body of his best friend- still, rather unexpectedly, trapped in the containment pod.

A harsh metallic screech alerted him to the fact that the restraints across his metal arm were slowly breaking. Bucky pushed himself forwards, the metal bands snapping cleanly off his body. Without warning, his metal hand, tightened into a fist, smashed through the glass pod, completely shattering the front of it and sending shards of glass flying all over the floor.

"He took her." Bucky whispered, "I have to find her."

"Who, Buck?" Steve put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, Captain America." A lightly accented voice drawled from the doorway. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, my subject is rather disturbed. I'm going to proceed with my evaluation."

Steve narrowed his eyes at the man in the entrance- wearing a crumpled lab coat with dots of blood along its front, and cradling a red book as if it were a baby.

"Mr. Barnes, I'm going to have to ask you to stay still so you can be restrained and we can proceed with our evaluation." The man stated evenly.

"Where is she?" Bucky strode towards him, grabbing the man roughly by his collar. "What did you do with her?"

He hissed, opening the book, and reading from it. "Semnadtsat."

Bucky dropped the man, sending him and the book to the floor with a thud, and staggered backwards. "God, no!"

Captain America stared down at the man, and then glanced back at Bucky. "What's wrong?"

"Imposter," Bucky groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Trying to control me." He bit out.

That, apparently, was enough for Steve, who proceeded to grab the man by his collar and look him dead in the eye. Steve kicked the book away from the man, sending it into the centre of the room with the piles of broken glass.

"Where is she?" Bucky moved forwards to stand behind Steve, looking like he wanted nothing more than to punch the man in the face. It was all too confusing- one moment he was feeling so damn calm thanks to Kagome- a bliss that he hadn't felt in years, and then in a matter of minutes she was ripped from the room by some man that spoke the very words he was so afraid of hearing.

"She is gone, soldier." He said emotionlessly. "But that is of no concern to us."

"What the hell have you done?" Bucky hissed, his anger so focused on the man Steve was restraining that he barely noticed the armed men flooding into the room, barking at them to stand down.

Steve dropped the man in the lab coat, raising his hands in surrender. "It'll all be okay, Buck."

Bucky just shook his head, also raising his hands in surrender and allowing the armed men to restrain him roughly.

11:45 AM, Vienna, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility - Friday

"You've really screwed this one up," Sam sighed from his position on the chair opposite Steve.

Ross nodded, entering the room with a file in hand. "I couldn't agree more, Wilson."

"General." Steve nodded respectfully. "Am I allowed to see him?"

"God, Rogers!" Ross scoffed. "The guy just broke out of his containment unit like it was nothing, I really wouldn't want you to inspire him to do something like that again."

"What about that guy that was in there with them, where's he at now?" Sam asked, moving forward on his chair.

Ross huffed. "We've composed a file- he was one of my top choices for the evaluator, but he didn't get the job. I have no idea how he even got in the facility in the first place- security is supposed to be state of the art, yet this man manages to slip through the cracks and get to our most dangerous prisoner. We've got him in lock up, he shouldn't be getting out any time soon."

"And the real doctor? From the security footage, that guy was the only one in the room-" Sam was abruptly cut off.

"Doctor Higurashi is in one of the offices trying to recover- got thrown out of a damn window." Ross supplied. "I can't imagine that neither Fury or the Japanese Government will be very happy that their favourite agent got injured on my watch."

"Damn," Sam winced. "That must've hurt."

"What's going to happen to Bucky?" Steve sighed.

Ross shook his head. "Until Doctor Higurashi recovers fully, Barnes'll be staying in room thirty, on sub-level five. Rogers, if you're going to break into it and see him, which I have zero doubts you will, keep his anger to a damn minimum- if you're the cause of another incident like that I will not hesitate to ban you from the facility."

"Understood." Steve nodded.

12:04 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Friday

The doors slid open quickly, revealing Bucky in the centre of the room in a containment unit nearly identical to the last one- save for the fact that the glass had been reinforced with more steel, criss-crossing over the cube in an 'X' shape.

"Hey, Buck." Steve sighed. "They arrested the guy- Ross still has no clue how he got in there, though."

"How is she?" Bucky pulled forwards against the metal restraints, of which there were much more than there were a day prior.

Steve shook his head. "How is who?"

"Kagome."

"I don't know who that is, buddy." Steve moved closer to the containment unit, running a hand through his hair. "Who's Kagome?"

Bucky hung his head. "Doctor Higurashi. That guy took her- God, I heard her scream, Steve. Please," He went hoarse, "Find out if she's okay."

"I've heard she's in one of the offices, recovering."

Bucky's lips twitched upwards. "She doesn't seem like the type that would go to the hospital even if she was dying- she's that stubborn."

Steve nodded, smiling at his friend's fondness of the doctor. "I'm sure General Ross would have had her taken to a hospital if it was that bad, Buck. You're fond of her, huh?"

"She was helping me, Steve." Bucky whispered. "Swore that she would prove I was innocent, even if she had to present my case herself."

"She sounds great," Steve responded- the doctor was clearly a good woman if Bucky liked her. "I'll try to find out if she's alright."

Bucky nodded in thanks as Steve turned and walked out of the door, which closed immediately behind him.

Steve wandered the halls for a while, eventually coming to the white bridge that separated the offices from the containment centre of the facility. He crossed it quickly, and came into the office sector. For some reason, most of the office walls were made of reinforced glass, possibly to compensate for the severe lack of windows in the containment sector. In one, he could see Sam staring pointedly at T'Challa, the man that had attacked them in Bucharest, who was engrossed in conversation with two other agents. In another, were people clicking quickly through a slide show of pictures of Bucky, most likely analysing the timeline of the bombing of the Vienna International Centre.

Steve sighed. The whole world seemed to believe his friend was guilty- but Steve knew that Bucky couldn't have done it. Without Hydra's influence he would never hurt innocent people again, that much he was sure of. He surveyed the glass offices slowly, the flurry of people in each one made it hard to discern what was happening, and he still had no idea what this 'Doctor Higurashi' lady looked like.

His blue eyes came to a stop at one particular office- there was only one woman in the room, lying motionlessly on a desk in the centre of it. He moved towards the office, his hands meeting with the glass door as he pushed it open gently.

"Doctor Higurashi?" He asked, entering the office.

She didn't even stir- remaining completely still save for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her inky black hair was fanned around her, spilling over the edges of the finely crafted desk, a few wisps of hair falling over her serene visage. Her hands rested on her chest, clasped together, save for her index fingers which joined at the fingertip in a triangular shape over a glistening purple orb. Steve moved towards her, practically standing over her to read the name tag attached to the front pocket of her lab coat.

'Doctor Kagome Higurashi.' The small white ID card read.

Steve then noticed small dots of red staining the white lab coat, and then realised that they matched the ones of that man's lab coat- the blood was probably hers. The man had thrown her out of a window- quite the fall from containment room fifteen, and yet she survived seemingly unscathed. He couldn't even see a wound that the blood would have come from, and couldn't see any bruises on her body.

"Resorted to stalking my employees, now?"

Steve spun around, finding Ross chuckling from the doorway.

"Bucky asked me to check on her," Steve explained. "You said she was thrown out of a window from by room fifteen? How is she not in the hospital?"

Ross waved him off. "She's too independent for her own good- if she can heal herself then she sees no reason to waste 'valuable resources' in a hospital. She'll probably be fine, she has to be- she's got a job to complete."

"She fell from a fifth story window and you've decided not to take her to a hospital?" He frowned, looking from Ross to Kagome's still form.

"She's not a normal human, Captain. And that's exactly why I chose her for the job, she'll survive pretty much anything that's thrown at her, or at least Fury and the Japanese Government think so." Ross answered.

"Fury knows her?" Steve asked, recalling that Ross had previously mentioned Fury and the Doctor in the same sentence, although he hadn't been paying full attention at the time.

"He recruited her. She spent a while in the field and then got tired to fighting wars that she didn't believe in. And now she's reduced herself to helping criminals." Ross shook his head. "I'm glad I got her for the job, though. At least I don't have to worry about hiring someone new. She does her job well, even if she doesn't listen to orders. Anyway, she'll be waking up soon, I'm sure of it."

The body on the table shifted, earning a glance from both Steve and Ross. She then groaned, one hand wrapping itself tightly around the jewel and the other moving to hold her head as her legs shifted to dangle over the table and she pulled herself up.

"My head," She muttered, opening her eyes and then blinking. "Uh, hi?"

"I see that you've finally woken up, Higurashi. Feeling a little down after your fall?" Ross raised an eyebrow at her.

"And how am I supposed to feel? Over the moon? You're such a jerk sometimes." She retorted, narrowing her blue eyes at him before turning her attention to Steve. "I don't think we've met, I'm Kagome."

"Steve Rogers," He introduced himself with a half-smile.

She smiled back at him brightly, observing him quickly, before her cheery expression faltered. "Wait a minute- what happened after I, you know, got thrown out of the window? Oh god, how's Bucky? And where's that creepy guy with the red book?"

"Your patient is fine, Higurashi." Ross informed her. "He's been transferred to room thirty on sub-level five, since he broke out of his containment unit right after you were dragged off. The 'creepy guy' is in custody and being thoroughly investigated- nobody seems to know how such a security breach could have even happened, and we can't rule out the possibility that he was working with Barnes."

"Are you crazy?" Kagome gasped. "When he started reading out of that book Bucky looked like he was being tortured!"

Ross sighed. "It's likely the man- his name is Helmut Zemo, is working with Hydra. The words he was reading out were supposed 'triggers' to reset Hydra's best assassin- The Winter Soldier."

"Never heard of the guy," Kagome tapped her chin. "Have you even thought of the possibility that Hydra was behind the bombing, not Bucky?"

"You think he's innocent, I get it, Higurashi." He stared at her intensely. "But we've seen the security footage."

The petite woman scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That security footage proves nothing!"

"Framing Bucky for the bombing does one thing- gets him captured and taken here." Steve said calmly. "Where Zemo could reset him. The bomb could have just been a way to get Bucky back with Hydra."

"Exactly!" Kagome exclaimed, rising from the table and jabbing a finger into Ross' chest repeatedly. "You're blaming an innocent guy, Ross. We both know that his reputation is the only real reason everyone thinks he did it!"

Ross furrowed his eyebrows. "As great a theory as that is, the UN believes he did it, and there's a great deal of pressure on me to get answers out of Barnes. Do your job first, evaluate him and then prove his innocence. Higurashi, I want you back on the job as soon as possible."

"Fine." Kagome rolled her eyes. "But don't expect me to stop trying-"

"To convince me, I know." Ross shook his head. "I just came to check if you'd woken up yet and remind you that you have a job to do- you have too many responsibilities to let one fall from a fifth floor window take you out."

"As if I'd let a man like that kill me," She scoffed, throwing her head backwards with a slight smile.

Ross opened the door for himself, before turning back and looking at Kagome. "Be careful, Higurashi."

"I will." She replied, her gaze softening as she watched Ross leave.

Steve chuckled. "You had quite a fall- five stories, I've heard."

"And boy did I feel it," Kagome groaned, pressing a palm to her head.

"And you're alright?"

She shrugged it off. "Pretty much. Anyway, what can I do for you? I'm sure you didn't come into the office for no reason. Unless you just came to watch me sleep." She teased.

A light blush dusted his cheeks. "Ma'am- I, no, uh-"

"I'm only teasing, Captain. My name isn't ma'am, it's Kagome." Kagome smiled brightly, her eyes trailing over his body as she took him in- she'd heard about him from Fury, and on the news. 'A man out of time' Fury had called him, a name which painfully reminded Kagome of her own past and the feeling that she didn't belong in the present that plagued her.

"Just Steve," He corrected her. "Bucky asked me to make sure you're alright."

"I should really go and see him," She said rather quickly. "Room thirty, sub-level five, wasn't it?"

He nodded, prompting Kagome to grab his hand and drag him out of the office with him. Steve's eyes wandered to the small hand wrapped tightly around his- dragging him in a determined fashion towards sub-level five. It wasn't hard for him to understand why Bucky took a shine to her- the way she spoke with conviction while defending his innocence and put others before herself was something to be admired. He thought, with crimson cheeks, that she looked rather alluring while jabbing her finger into Ross' chest angrily.

12:27 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Friday

Kagome quickly flashed a security card to the four guards stationed outside room thirty- noticing that the security had doubled before brushing it off, and pulled Steve into the room with her.

Directly across from her was Bucky- imprisoned in a stronger containment unit, his head snapped up, staring at her with wide eyes, his hair falling over his face as he let out a relieved sigh.

"Bucky!" Kagome dropped Steve's hand, rushing towards the containment unit and softly pressing a hand to the glass. Steve looked down at his empty hand for a second before he gazed back up at Kagome, who was stood opposite Bucky.

"You're alright?" He said slowly and somewhat unsurely as he looked her over and eyed the spots of blood decorating the collar of her lab coat.

"I'm fine, really." Kagome nodded, "What about you?"

"Fine." Bucky answered.

Kagome sighed, looking quickly back at Steve before returning her gaze to Bucky. "I'm going to try to get the evaluation position for Zemo- if I get any information out of him it'd really help your case, and Ross knows that I'm the best at what I do, he'd probably allow it."

"He's dangerous." Bucky said, his eyebrows furrowed at the thought of Kagome once again alone with the man that threw her out of the window- her screams tormented him. The feeling of being helpless while she was attacked didn't sit well with him, it left a rising amount of dread building up within him.

"He'll be restrained-"

"That didn't stop me from getting out." He retorted.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you're stronger than him. But I can always take guards with me, I'm sure they won't mind."

Bucky nodded, silently conceding that her plan was acceptable.

"Ross wants me back on your evaluation as soon as possible- I think that the UN is pressuring him into rushing a full report, on top of the public outrage, and the demands of Wakanda. Do you mind?" She asked slowly, her eyes travelling quickly down to her palms, one pressed against the cool glass and one hanging freely at her side.

Bucky shook his head.

"They still think he did it?" Steve interjected, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall.

"Some of them do," The hand at Kagome's side curled into a fist. "They're all trying to rush it- to just get a conviction and think later. Though with Zemo in the picture, they're going to have to consider the possibility that he was behind the bombing!"

"And since nobody else will- I'm going to do something about it." Kagome whispered under her breath- a sentiment that didn't reach the ears of anyone else in the room. "Are you ready?" She said softly, her eyes meeting Bucky's.

"Yes."

She closed her eyes, the complete darkness she was seeing was in total contrast to the vibrant display of power she was giving to the other two occupants of the room. Wisps of pink energy rolled off her palms in gentle waves, dancing around her fingers and floating through the glass, sweeping over Bucky's shoulders and chest before fading from existence.

Steve watched in a mixture of awe and confusion- power practically radiated off her petite body, but it wasn't aggressive or dominating in the slightest, it was a gentle breeze, ghosting over Bucky's upper body before vanishing as if it had never been there at all. Bucky visibly relaxed as the wisps reached his body- he became less tense, his eyes drooped shut and he seemed to relax in the undoubtedly uncomfortable containment unit.

"Better?" Kagome opened her eyes, a smile breaking out across her face.

"Thank you," He murmured.

Her hand dropped from the glass, finding its place at her side as she spun around to face Steve. A groan left her throat- tiny black dots invading her vision.

"Kagome?" Steve frowned- watching as the doctor swayed slightly.

She stumbled backwards, her body slamming into the containment unit. "Too tired- used up too much energy." She bit out, struggling to push herself back onto her feet. Darkness crept into the corners of her vision, marching forwards until it claimed her completely. Her body went limp, falling towards the floor.

Bucky tensed, moving forwards as if to grab her but being held back by the reinforced restraints.

Steve's arms wrapped around her waist, catching her before her body had the chance to make contact with the floor.

"She shouldn't have used her energy on me." Bucky said in a whisper.

"Ross should have taken her to a hospital." Steve sighed, pulling her to his chest. "Even if she's not a regular human a fall from five stories must have been awful."

Bucky's eyes went wide. "Five stories?"

"Zemo threw her out of a window." Steve supplied, looking down at the woman cradled to his chest.

"Ross didn't even take her to a hospital?" Bucky frowned, his eyes roaming her body, looking for any sign that she was injured.

He nodded. "Ross thinks she'll survive anything that is thrown at her- he said she wouldn't let herself get taken to a hospital, either."

"Too stubborn." Bucky muttered.

"I'll take her to a hospital," Steve said. "What did she do to you?"

Bucky tried to shift- stopped by the numerous restraints pressing into his arms and chest. "It makes me feel better. The nightmares stop. It feels like Hydra never happened." He said softly.

Steve looked down at the woman in his arms- a true enigma. Bucky found himself captivated by her, and Steve found that he was becoming enchanted, too. Undoubtedly, Kagome Higurashi had a heart of gold. She fought for a man who ultimately she owed nothing to, and gave her energy to him at the expense of herself.

"I'll be back," Steve nodded, turning and walking out of the doors, Kagome tucked safely against his chest.

1:13 PM, St. Victoire's Hospital for the Ill, Vienna - Friday

"Sir?" A short, middle-aged nurse reached up and hesitantly tapped Steve's shoulder.

He turned around swiftly, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes, ma'am?"

"C-Captain America!" She squealed, her hands flying to her chest, a crimson blush staining her cheeks.

"Yes, ma'am?" He repeated softly, no amusement in his eyes as he turned his gaze to the room Kagome was currently staying in, fast asleep in the hospital bed.

"I, uh, well- she's stable for now, we're pretty certain it's just exhaustion." The nurse relayed, fiddling with the end of her shirt. "Normally I wouldn't let anyone in unless they're family, but," She paused. "I- I can make an exception." She opened the door for him slowly, glancing up shyly at his face.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said with a nod, quickly moving past her and standing at Kagome's side. The woman on the bed, her dark locks splayed around her head like some kind of halo really was an oddity, no other woman he had ever met acted like her. No woman he had ever met seemed capable of doing what she did, of making Bucky's torture end. It was a feat that Steve both appreciated and wished he could experience.

11:37 AM, St. Victoire's Hospital for the Ill, Vienna - Saturday

Kagome stirred, her body shifting from underneath the thin and scratchy hospital bedsheets. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in her new surroundings, the pristine white walls, the steady beeping coming from nearby, the rampaging smell of disinfectant.

"Where am I?" She whispered.

"Hospital," A deep voice answered. Said deep voice suddenly got a face and a name, as Steve stood over her bed, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Why?" She sat up suddenly, before groaning. "Used too much energy."

Steve nodded. "The nurse said it was exhaustion."

"Did you have to bring me to a hospital?" Kagome's eyes turned to the door. "Can we please just leave?" She added pleadingly.

"Not until a doctor-"

"I'm going." She announced, cutting him off and kicking the bedsheets off her body. "Uh, where are my clothes?"

Steve didn't respond, just looking at her in confusion as she scanned the room, her blue eyes quickly landing on a pile of clothes by her bedside.

"Found 'em!" Kagome exclaimed happily. "Turn around."

"I-" Steve began.

Kagome's eyes narrowed in mock sternness. "Unless you want to see me naked?"

A blush rose on his face and he turned around without protest, his arms folded over his chest. She quickly changed from her hospital gown into the clothes she had been wearing the previous day, minus the white lab coat, which she slung over her arm.

"You can turn around now." Kagome shrugged, headed for the door.

Steve stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. She spun around to face him, their blue eyes meeting as she looked up at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" He asked sincerely. She had been thrown out of a window not long ago, and collapsed of exhaustion only a day prior.

She smiled, "I'm fine, I guess healing myself after the fall took more out of me than expected."

"As long as you're okay." Steve conceded, his hand slipping from her shoulder to resume its position at his side.

Kagome just nodded, pulling the door open and waving for him to follow her. They walked through the hospital in relative silence, Kagome feeling far more restored than she had a day prior, the limits of her power weren't things that she explored often, but from how drained she was it was obvious the healing process after being pushed out of the window had used a vast amount of her energy. She resisted a shudder at the thought of what could have happened if she didn't have her powers.

They made their way out onto the street, and although very few people were outside, she could tell they were being stared at, something that was probably a constant struggle for Steve.

"How do I get back to the JCT facility from here?" Kagome asked, looking for a sign.

"You're going back already?" Steve frowned, looking at her as if he expected her to collapse at any moment.

"I've still got work to do." She groaned, thinking of the piles of paperwork she would inevitably have to do- and then of her plan, which made all of her resentment towards her job stop immediately. Kagome had a job to do, and she was going to prove Bucky innocent, there really wasn't time to rest when she had to nab the position of becoming Zemo's evaluator before someone else did.

"You really are stubborn."

Kagome whipped around to face him. "Hey!"

Steve smiled at her indignant expression. "It's true. Bucky told me and every second I've been around you since then, you've just proved him right."

"Whatever," She just waved him off.

"I'll walk you back to the facility," He nodded.

Kagome looked up at him, her head tilted, "You don't have to."

"But then you'd have nobody to catch you if you fainted again," Steve chided with a smile.

Kagome sighed, silently agreeing and falling into a steady pace at his side, as they made their way through paved streets, past shops and business centres, towards an area that Kagome was beginning to recognise.

"How long have you known Ross?"

"A while," Kagome answered. "This is the first time he's asked me to do something like this, normally he's just trying to persuade me to rejoin Fury's programs."

Steve nodded. "I've been told that Fury's fond of you."

"Fond isn't the right word." Kagome smiled, "I think it's more a need. Since the New York invasion everyone's been on edge, waiting for something else to go wrong. And Fury needs me to be there when it does- the same way he needs the Avengers to be there, too."

"That's seeming a little bit hard right now." He sighed.

"They're forcing you to make difficult choices for control, that's the way the government has always been. It's important to stand up for what you believe in, even if the consequences are tough to deal with." She said wisely. "Thank god the crowd has gone down." She nodded towards the entrance of the Joint Counter Terrorist facility, which had amassed a crowd of between fifteen and twenty today, all yelling angrily at the tired security guards.

Steve placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her through the crowd and towards the guard, who studied Kagome's identification for a few moments and then allowed them inside.

"Wanna come track down Ross with me?" Kagome asked, eyes scanning the bustling agents for the very man that caused her to be there.

He shook his head, "I'm going to go catch up with Bucky."

"Let him know I'm alright?" She looked up at him with pleading blue eyes.

"I don't think he'll believe it until you see him yourself."

"I'll come down after I've seen Ross," Kagome promised. "Bye, Steve."

With a wave and a smile, she strode through the facility, searching for Thaddeus.

12:43 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Saturday

Just as she had assured Bucky, Kagome brought a handful of armed guards with her when she went to see Zemo. The task of convincing Ross to allow her to evaluate him wasn't challenging in the slightest, he agreed almost instantaneously, and told her to try not to get thrown out of any more windows, saying that she was the best person for the job, so they couldn't afford to have her injured.

The doors slid open, Kagome stepping into the dull grey room first, with the guards marching after her, their heavy duty weapons clutched to their chests. Zemo was restrained in a different way to Bucky- with his arms bound to the wall behind the chair he was sat on, and his ankles shackled to the floor, encased in layers of reinforced metal that would surely stop him from escaping. Most notable, though, was the lack of glass containing him. The only form of separation between Kagome to Zemo was the physical ties holding him back. The temptation to hit him was overwhelming. He deserved a painful strike of vengeance after both distressing Bucky and throwing her out of a fifth story window.

"The doctor?" He looked up at her in shock, moving uncomfortably in the chair.

Kagome nodded at him with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to be evaluating you, in preparation for trial for impersonating a federal officer, attempted murder and because the UN thinks that you were really behind the bombing."

"You survived." He ignored what she had said, staring at her in confusion. There wasn't even a scratch on her. She looked immaculate, wearing a tight white shirt with straps that criss-crossed over her shoulder blades, a black skirt that hugged her legs, and her lab coat that she had been wearing the day he pushed her out of the window folded over her arm.

"It would take more than that to kill me." She retorted, tossing her lab coat onto the table to her left, where the files on Zemo had been placed for her to refer to.

"I can see why they chose you," He whispered to himself.

Kagome strode closer to him, her blue eyes blazing with ferocity. "What did you want with him?"

"The soldier? I wanted for him to tear the Avengers apart."

"And you framed him for the bombing." Kagome could feel the anger welling up within her- thoughts of an innocent man that had been through so many harrowing events in his life swirling through her mind.

"It was necessary."

Her hands clenched into fists, her nails biting into her palms. "You killed innocent people and had an innocent man locked up."

"The Avengers are a far bigger problem to the planet than me causing the demise of a few people to facilitate their destruction." Zemo spoke softly, as if he wasn't really talking to her at all.

She could hardly stop herself- the anger and the passion she felt gave way to the energy returning to her, flowing into her palms. Pink light spilled out of her closed palms, and she approached him, placing two fingers to his temple softly, no matter how much she wanted to be brutal with him.

"Confess."

With that one word, pink energy travelled along her fingers, disappearing when it made contact with his skin. The light died down, and Kagome withdrew her hand, looking at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Then the words started tumbling out of his mouth.

"I set up the bomb at the Vienna International Centre." He began, slouching as much as he could given the fact he was heavily restrained. "I killed Karpov for the book, to reactivate the soldier. The soldier was going to divide them, rip them in two, and although is is not complete, he has served his purpose."

Her knuckles went white as her fury only increased. "You're a monster! You gave up innocent people, killed them brutally, and made Bucky's life worse! You won't get away with this."

"They took everything from me." Zemo continued, hissing. "My wife and my child. They were innocent. They were killed brutally. And yet the Avengers are called heroes instead of monsters."

Kagome frowned, watching his head roll back and his body go limp as he fell unconscious.

"We have a confession. I'll notify the correct authorities." One of the guards stated monotonously.

"I've gotta go find Ross," Kagome clutched a hand to her chest.

11:17 AM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Sunday

A different set of grey doors slid open for Kagome, although they looked identical. In fact, everything about the containment rooms were identical, save for the occupants and the manner of which they were restrained.

"I thought you said you'd visit yesterday." His deep voice greeted her.

"Bucky!" Kagome called out to him, rushing over to his containment unit and pressing her hands to the cool glass excitedly.

He looked her up and down, with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

She shrugged him off. "It was just exhaustion, I'm fine. I've got good news!"

"What is it?"

Her hands shook as she smiled brightly. "I got Zemo to confess! The UN are taking him to trial and you're cleared!"

"W-what?" He stuttered in disbelief.

"They're going to let you go!" She nodded enthusiastically, missing the conflicted look passing over his face. "It'll probably be later today, they're thinking of having someone assigned to you, to keep an eye on you, but at least it'll be better than here!"

He studied her carefully, a sense of both confusion and conflict rising within him. Freedom- that was what he wanted, wasn't it? But with it brought the inevitable return of the nightmares, and the distinct lack of the petite, cheerful, blue-eyed woman that had become so invested in his case.

She took in a deep breath, her eyes darting briefly to her hands before she looked back to him. "If you'd let me...I could be the one keeping an eye on you?"

"I'd like that." A smile tugged at his lips.

The subtle sound of shifting metal and footsteps prompted Kagome to spin around, her hands parting from the glass and moving to cross over her chest. Making his way into the room was Steve.

"Kagome, Buck." He greeted them with a wave.

The petite woman, with her back now to Bucky, smiled brightly at Steve. "Zemo confessed- they're gonna let Bucky go."

Steve's eyes widened in shock. He'd hoped it would happen with all of his heart, but never once expected it to happen so soon, or at least without another escape.

"She did it." Bucky couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his face. "Will you come with us when I'm out?"

"Of course." Steve nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Where do you want to go?"

Bucky shrugged slightly. "Anywhere away from here."

"How about Japan?" Kagome suggested. "We can stay at my house."

Bucky nodded in agreement.

"They're going to let you out once they've got all the signatures they need, so you've probably got another few hours before then." She tapped her chin as she thought. "I'll go look at flights- I'm guessing you wanna be out of here ASAP, huh?"

"Yeah." Bucky relaxed into the restraints, content with the knowledge that they would soon be off, and after that he would be free to leave with the man who occupied his memories, and the woman who occupied his present.

"Oh, man. I should probably let Ross know, and then try to call Mom and Gramps, they'll probably want to clean the shrine, book flights, pack up my apartment..." She rambled on, stopping abruptly with a smile. "I'll be back soon!" She waved, half-skipping out of the room, the doors opening and closing for her quickly.

Steve shook his head. "She really is something, isn't she?"

"She is."

1:23 PM, Joint Counter Terrorist Facility, Vienna - Sunday

Kagome stood beside Steve, the two of them wearing matching smiles as two guards unlocked the containment pod and began the painstaking task of removing all the restraints from Bucky's body, having to use crowbars to tear the metal off, although it was a slow process.

"Well done, Higurashi." Ross rolled his eyes from his position in the doorway, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his grey suit. "You did exactly the damn opposite of what I asked you to do."

She frowned slightly, "Well, I got you the real culprit and a full confession from him. You're just not ready to admit you were wrong about him."

"Perhaps not." Ross agreed with a nod. "But you got what you wanted."

"I did warn you I'd prove his innocence even if I had to do it myself, didn't I?"

"That you did, Higurashi." Thaddeus sighed, "There'll always be a position for you here if you get bored."

She giggled, the sound of her laughter was like a beautifully composed melody, floating through the air and blessing the ears of whoever was around. "Somehow I don't think I will."

An ugly cry came from the metal, peeling back and snapping, landing with a clatter against the floor. Bucky moved his newly freed fleshy arm, using it to run a hand through his hair as the guards moved onto his metal arm, trying to force the restraints to release the arm. The crowbar pushed the restraints away from his metal arm, the sound of the crowbar scraping against both the arm and the restraint was almost ungodly- it sounded more like a howl of pain than anything else.

With a few minutes of scraping, and a lot of effort from the two guards, the metal arm came free, and with it, Bucky.

He stood up shakily, moving his shoulders properly for the first time in a little over three weeks and stepping fully out of the containment pod.

Kagome and Steve both moved forwards, the latter placing a reassuring hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"I knew it'd turn out okay." Steve said.

"Thank you," Bucky murmured, wrapping one arm around Kagome's waist and placing the other on Steve's back.

Kagome leaned into his touch, pressing her body into his chest. "The jet's on the roof whenever you want to leave."

"Do you know how to fly?" Steve asked.

"I thought I could just figure it out as I went along." Kagome shrugged with a smile.

"Good thing I know how to fly, then."

Kagome just laughed. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed Steve and Bucky by their hands and pulled them along with her, headed out of room. She paused in the doorway, smiling at the man that was the reason she came to Vienna in the first place.

"Bye, Ross!"

"Remember, weekly reports, Higurashi." He reminded her, watching her leave with the Winter Soldier and Captain America's hands wrapped in hers. "Be careful." He told her, and she just tossed her head back and winked at him, proceeding on her journey with the men.

2:32 AM, Airspace above Eurasia - Monday

Kagome yawned, reclining into the seat at the back of the jet. It was more like a bench really, without any seatbelts, but with a long leather cushion to prevent her back from coming into contact with the walls of the sleek black jet.

"Tired?" Steve asked, walking towards her from where he had been standing at the front of the jet, quickly switching the jet onto autopilot with the flick of a switch.

"Just a bit." Kagome replied, glancing over at Bucky, who was sat next to her and deep in thought, and then back to Steve. "Are you not tired?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't need to sleep as much as I used to."

"We should be landing in an hour." Kagome nudged Bucky gently. "We're staying on my family's shrine."

"And your family's alright with this?" The blonde asked.

Kagome nodded. "They know we're coming. They're on holiday anyway, Gramps is just happy he won't have to pay for anyone to look after the shrine."

Steve sat down next to Kagome, leaving her between himself and Bucky. He looked at them- the beautiful, passionate woman that had slipped into his life, and his best friend, the man he would fight for above all else.

Bucky sighed, leaning his head on Kagome's shoulder. She embraced the touch whole-heartedly, internally wondering what had brought it on.

"What if they find me again?" Bucky murmured.

"I guess we'll just have to stop them then, won't we?" She smiled.

"I won't let that happen, Buck." Steve reassured him.

Bucky just shook his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes. "What if they hurt you again?" This time he was speaking solely to Kagome. Steve may be able to survive almost anything thrown at time- he was Captain America after all, genetically enhanced supersoldier with a knack for living through whatever trouble he got himself into, but Kagome was not.

"I'm not going to let myself get hurt anytime soon." Kagome said soothingly, watching some of the tension lift from his shoulders.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

Steve leaned back, putting one arm over Kagome's shoulder and stroking Bucky's hair with his hand. "She'll have us to protect her."

"It never seems to end." Bucky whispered into Kagome's shoulder, relishing in both the feeling of her against him and Steve's fingers toying with his hair gently.

"It will." Kagome promised.

"Can you make it go away?" Bucky said, almost pleadingly.

She nodded, not bothering to disentangle herself from Bucky and Steve, her eyelids fluttering closed as she willed her energy to surface. Soft palms lit up pink, the energy dancing through the air, some of it remaining on Kagome's hands, brushing gently over her knuckles but never daring to travel any further up her arm. It journeyed over Bucky's chest, caressing his shoulders, wandering up his neck to visit his jaw, and the tops of his arms, before fading from existence.

"Better?" She asked.

He murmured a 'yes' into her shoulder, feeling the most peace he had in years. "It's like Hydra was all just a bad dream. It barely feels real- God, I can remember Steve better now."

"What was that, Buck?" Steve smiled.

"You were such a punk back then, before the war." Bucky shook his head. "Always getting into fights and I had to save you."

Steve shrugged. "It wasn't like I had much choice, those guys deserved it."

"You're still the same," Bucky mused.

Kagome yawned, nestled between Bucky and Steve rather contently. It felt right, just to be sitting between them, listening to them talk. It felt good, warm, the type of fuzzy feelings you rarely got, the feelings that you would desperately cling to when you needed to remember the good times. She closed her eyes, letting the darkness consume her without the slightest bit of protest, and slipping into the land of sleep. Her head relaxed onto Steve's arm, resting there comfortably.

"You'd always take those guys on, even though you didn't stand a chance."

"Someone had to." Steve looked down absentmindedly at Kagome, her inky black hair spilling over his arm and down her chest. "Is she asleep?"

Bucky nodded, his head still leaning on her shoulder. "She's a lot like you. I don't think anyone else would do that for me."

"She sure is different." Steve agreed. And really, she was. There weren't many people willing to do what she had done, to stick her neck out for Bucky, continually help him, and prove his innocence. Different was a word he would associate with Kagome Higurashi, the headstrong doctor that fought tirelessly for Bucky, and brought a warmth to Steve's heart every time she spoke to him.

"She makes it better." Bucky said simply. "Do- do you ever think about the war?"

"I think about losing you." He admitted. "The day you fell into that ravine was the worst day of my life. But, I've found you again, and this time I'm making sure I don't lose you again."

Bucky nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. If you start thinking about it too much, she can make it go away."

"She makes it easier just by being here."

"I know what you mean."

3:22 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

"We can land here." Kagome was leaning on the chair that Steve was sat in, guiding the jet slowly to land at the very back of the shrine, where the remnants of the forest of Inuyasha would hide it from view. The jet met with the ground almost silently, the air picking up leaves from the ground and swirling them in the air before depositing them elsewhere on the shrine grounds, amongst the dust that had also risen from the ground due to the wind produced by the landing.

The ramp lowered slowly, Kagome merrily skipping down it and calling out to the men behind her. "Come on!"

With a smile and a shake of his head, Steve followed after her, Bucky not far behind him.

"This is my house," Kagome led them to a white building, in front of the area where they landed, but behind an array of smaller buildings. It was white, with sliding glass doors that led into the house, although the interior was hidden by some opaque blue curtains, the windows accented by green shutters, and the occasional potted plant sitting on the windowsill.

She pulled a small silver key out from her pocket, turning it in the lock and sliding the door open. "Mom? Grandpa? Souta?" She called out, blinking at the lack of response. "I guess they really did go on holiday." She turned around to look at the two men standing outside her house. "Well, don't just stand there, come in."

She flicked the light switch, surveying the living room nostalgically. "Make yourselves at home."

10:13 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

Kagome tied her hair up, and cracked her knuckles before lifting cardboard box after cardboard box over and over, putting them into piles atop one another inside the storage room on the shrine. With a sigh, she dusted the wooden shelves the boxes had been resting on, presumably for the last few years, eyeing the cobwebs and grime that had accumulated over the years with disgust.

"Oh my god!" She wailed, jumping and crashing into the boxes, sending the 'relics' contained within them flying all over the floor.

In an instant, Steve was at the door, the broom he had been using to sweep the shrine grounds with was forgotten, lying abandoned on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Spider!" Kagome shuddered, staggering out of the storage room and into the doorway, where Steve simply patted her on the arm.

"Do you want me to get it?"

"Please!" She begged, yelping when Steve proceeded to the spot she had been standing in only seconds earlier, picking up the rather large spider from the back of the shelf and throwing it outside.

"Thank you so much," She sighed in relief, wiping her forehead. "They give me the creeps."

Steve just chuckled, stepping back out onto the shrine grounds and picking up the broom he had discarded, resuming the task that Kagome had given him. Kagome also returned to her task, although she was more vigilant this time, her eyes surveying the room for any more spiders, relief washing through her when she couldn't see any. She moved to pick up the 'relics' on the floor, moving them back into their boxes. She eyed several of them in disgust, Kagome could never understand why Gramps was so keen on keeping mummified pieces of demons.

She continued with her sorting, placing all of the mummified remains in one box and vowing to burn them all before Gramps got back and was able to resist. She moved to pick up the next relic, freezing in the act. There, on the floor, lay a purple orb, glistening in the limited light in the room. Slowly, Kagome picked it up and gazed at it. It truly did look identical to the real one sat at the base of her neck. She placed the replica into the box with the remains. If she couldn't incinerate the real thing then she could burn something that closely resembled it, at least.

One hand moved to the jewel, caressing it lightly and feeling the familiar waves of turbulent energies within in that were not present in the replica, their eternal battle raging on. Shaking her head, she dropped her hand to her side and exited the storage room.

Rays of sunlight shone down on the Higurashi shrine, providing a comfortable warmth. At the centre of the shrine ground was Steve, absentmindedly sweeping the dust away. Beneath one of the sakura trees bordering the remnants of Inuyasha's forest was Bucky, leaning against the trunk of the tree, the light wind prompting some of the flowers to float down, landing around him and dancing in the air, travelling all over the shrine grounds.

Kagome watched it with a smile. It felt peaceful, simply being here and doing menial tasks without the pressure of the UN constantly on her.

She waved to Bucky who lazily returned the gesture. "I'm gonna go shopping, since we don't really have any food. You guys wanna come with me?"

"Sure." Steve replied, placing the broom against the external wall of the storage room.

"Bucky?" Kagome asked hopefully, prancing over to him.

He sighed. "People could recognise me."

Kagome tapped her chin for a few moments. "I'm sure we could disguise you." She beamed.

Slowly, Bucky nodded his head in silent agreement.

"Great!" Kagome made her way to the entrance of her house, sliding the glass door open, pushing past the blue curtain, and bouncing inside, kicking her shoes off quickly. Minutes later, she emerged from the house in a short white sundress, with a dark snapback that she assumed belonged to Souta in her hand. She had released her hair from the ponytail it had been in, allowing it to cascade down her back, contrasting with the white dress, which came to her mid-thigh.

"Here you go," She smiled, standing on the tips of her toes, reaching up and placing the hat on Bucky's head, hiding most of his face from view. "I was thinking we could go into the city? Maybe just the stores here will do, I'm not really sure since it's been a while since I've been back at the shrine." Kagome looped her arm around Bucky's, pulling him along with her.

"Come on, Steve!" She yelled over her shoulder, giggling. He jogged over to them, walking at a comfortable pace at Kagome's other side. She happily looped her other arm with his, pulling both men down the shrine stairs that loomed above the street.

Kagome led them down the steps, glancing quickly back up at the shrine, gazing at the red torii gate that guarded the entrance above the steps, before turning her attention back to the street. It was fairly wide, with cute brightly-painted houses and tall buildings, some of which were shops, placed on the side opposite the shrine, the occasional car parked along the pavement.

"I'm pretty sure the shops are still down here." Kagome said, walking down the street in pleasant silence until they reached a turn, at which Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "The store's right here."

She led them into a store, the front of which was painted an olive green, with large windows, and writing above the doorway in Japanese. Kagome pushed open the clear door, the bell jingling as she made her way in, releasing both men from the hold she had on them. Aisles upon aisles of food were laid out before them, spanning from the floor to nearly a foot away from the ceiling.

Absentmindedly, Kagome picked up a basket, and proceeded into the first aisle, her eyes scanning for anything she could make use of. What were you meant to feed two supersoldiers? With a hum, she decided that she would have to make Japanese food, given that her knowledge of western dishes was rather limited. Firstly, she picked up a packet of rice, and then added another into the basket. She made her way out of the first aisle, steadily moving through them until she had been through the whole store.

At that point, she had gathered rice, seaweed and fish, to make sushi, along with miso soup, octopus sausages, pickled vegetables and ramen. She glanced down at the ramen packet with a nostalgic smile on her face. She missed Inuyasha dearly, and the ramen only served to remind her of him, she no longer thought of him with pain in her heart, but instead she thought of him with acceptance that he was gone and the past fondness she had for him.

"You guys want anything?" Kagome put her hand on Steve's shoulder, having found both Steve and Bucky in the western section of the grocery store, looking at the American products they offered. Above the section was an American flag, showing the country the products had originated from.

Steve shook his head, "Honestly, I don't even know what half of the stuff in here is."

"I feel the same way about American stores." She laughed, glancing down the aisle to beyond where the western section ended, catching a glimpse of something she just had to buy. Kagome half-dashed down the aisle, earning her two vaguely concerned looks. She pulled the packet off the shelf, cradling it to her chest, and then placing it gently into the basket.

"What?" She shrugged. "I love pocky." Kagome said simply, as if that explained it. The men followed after Kagome as she made her way to the check out, letting the cashier scan every item and then paying for it. She was about to pick up the grocery bags when Bucky got them for her.

"Thanks," Kagome smiled. "Is there anywhere else you guys wanna go?"

After getting two negative responses, Kagome decided that they would go back to the shrine. The walk back was quiet, the only noise being the sound of cars passing. That was until they reached just a few feet before the steps leading up to the shrine. Behind her, Kagome could hear a deep panting.

"Kagome!" A voice called.

She turned around, her male companions having already done the same thing to look at the man wildly running towards them, breathing heavily and stopping right in front of them. Kagome looked at him quizzically, just as clueless as Bucky and Steve, who were observing the man and seemingly trying to determine what he wanted. The man stood up straight, having previously bent over with his hands on his knees from exertion, and running a hand through his short mousy brown hair, which had began to invade his familiar chocolate eyes.

"It's great to see you again." He gave her a charming grin. "Oh man, you really haven't changed at all since high school."

She blinked, the voice taking a second to register with her. "Hojo?"

He nodded, beaming.

He certainly did look different- he wasn't the same boy he was back then, although he still had the same demeanour. Hojo was older, lines beginning to grace his perpetually boyish face, and she could have sworn she saw a grey hair there, too.

"Wow, I haven't seen you in years." She remarked. Since she finished high school and moved out of Tokyo to work for S.H.I.E.L.D, and then eventually she lived elsewhere in Japan, she hadn't been expecting to ever see him again. He, like the rest of her classmates, had aged slightly, while she was left looking in her late teens to early twenties, a result of the jewel sat at the base of her neck.

"How are you? Are you better now?" Hojo asked excitedly.

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, I am. How've you been?"

"Great! I've taken over my family's medical shop. You know, we've all been missing you since you left. I always did hope you'd come back." He nodded enthusiastically, the smile on his face remained unchanged despite the years that had passed. "Hey, if you're free this weekend, we should go get coffee together, like we used to when we went on dates!"

Kagome paled slightly, resisting the urge to groan. "I-uh, actually, Hojo, I'd love to, but I don't quite have the time this weekend."

"That's okay," He looked slightly downcast before beaming. "There's always next weekend!"

"We'll see," She plastered a smile on her face, "See you around, Hojo."

Kagome quickly looped her arms through Steve and Bucky's, and pulled them up the stone stairs to the shrine with her rather hastily, both men casting skeptical looks at Hojo over their shoulders.

"Who was that guy?" Steve questioned with a raised eyebrow, looking down at the woman tucked between himself and Bucky.

Now, she really did groan. "A guy I went to high school with, he's really nice, don't get me wrong, but a bit, uh, enthusiastic about me."

Bucky instinctively moved closer to her, "He's a creep?"

She shook her head vigorously, her inky black hair cascading down her back. "He's a nice boy and he's definitely not a creep, but he really would have been better off with one of my friends instead of trying to get me to date him."

"Why's that?" Steve asked, half-amused, and half-flooded with an emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"They all liked him, for a start. And, I wasn't exactly very consistent in my teenage years - he really is nice, but he's kinda boring." Kagome shrugged, the three of them finally reaching the top of the stairs. "I'm going to make dinner, are you guys up for oden?" She chirped.

"No idea what that is," Steve said simply, earning a nod from Bucky.

"You'll love it!" Kagome smiled broadly, quickly taking her groceries from Bucky's hands and skipping back to her house, disappearing beyond the sliding door and into the kitchen.

"She really is something, isn't she?" Steve smiled, watching her merrily bounce into the house.

Bucky nodded in agreement. "Not many people would do what she does."

"And that's what makes her incredible. The world seems at peace whenever she's around."

"She makes everything seem so much better, I can forget about Hydra if she's there, I can forget everything that I've done."

Steve put a reassuring hand on Bucky's shoulder. "The things they made you do weren't your fault, Buck."

"I still did them though, didn't I? I don't know what I did right to deserve her helping me." Bucky whispered, a hand curling into a fist at his side.

"She thinks you're a good man, we both do." Steve gently guided Bucky towards the house, walking under the sakura trees that bordered the remnants of Inuyasha's forest. "You just need to see it too, we'll help you get there."

"You already do more than enough, both of you." He mumbled, brushing a fallen pink petal off his shoulder.

Steve shook his head, "We're all in this together, pal."

"Till the end of the line." Bucky's lips twitched upwards.

"Till the end of the line." Steve repeated, giving Bucky's shoulder a squeeze. "You've got me and Kagome now, you're not alone."

Quietly, the two men entered the house, finding Kagome wearing a blue apron over her short white sundress, with a wooden spoon in hand, surrounded by a selection of pots.

"Where's Mama put the sieve?" She hummed to herself, shrieking when she turned around and saw the two men's imposing figures. "Yikes, you frightened me." She sighed heavily, soon going back to searching the kitchen for the missing utensil. After plundering numerous cupboards, she found it.

"You guys can go watch TV if you want," She shrugged towards the living room, "Or you could come help me strain the dashi soup, whichever you prefer."

Steve looked at Bucky in amusement and shrugged, moving to stand next to Kagome. "What would you like me to do?"

"Hold this," She explained, pushing a bowl of ingredients into his arms. "You helping, too?" She smiled at Bucky's affirmative nod. "So, what you need to do is chop the daikon-"

"The what?" Steve asked.

Kagome looked bewildered for a moment. "Oh, right, it's a winter radish." She bustled around the kitchen, selecting a chopping board, placing it on the kitchen counter, and putting a few of the white radishes on it. With a gentle hand, she guided Bucky over to the chopping board, slowly pulling a knife from the drawer and carefully placing the knife in his hand, the blade pointed towards herself. "The slices don't have to be thin, about an inch thick is best."

"Okay," He murmured, chopping the radish just as he had been instructed.

11:37 PM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Monday

Kagome yawned, glancing from the sofa where she was seated between Bucky and Steve, to the clock on the wall. "It's late," She said simply. Her day had been productive, but mostly spent cooking oden and waiting for the delicious dish to be ready. Glancing between the two men, both seemed to be rather tired, too.

"Do you guys want to go to bed?" Kagome asked, standing up and stretching slightly, immediately missing the warmth that she had while sandwiched between her two companions.

"Sure," Steve agreed easily, looking to Bucky, who also agreed with a nod.

Kagome tapped her chin thoughtfully, "My house is kinda small- Bucky, you can have my room, Steve, you can go in the guest room, and I'll take the sofa."

"Kagome-" Steve protested, but was swiftly shut down with a wave of her hand.

"I'll take the sofa," Bucky decided for her, ignoring her indignant cries about him being the guest. "You've already done enough."

She conceded with a scowl, internally vowing to up her 'host skills' to make up for it. With a sigh, she meandered up the stairs, and into her room.

After several moments, Steve turned back to Bucky, shaking his head. "She's different, isn't she?"

"She really is." Bucky replied. "I've never met a woman like her."

"Kagome's incredible." The blonde confirmed, smiling semi-giddily, leaning back on the sofa and looking at Bucky with a raised eyebrow. "You care about her?"

He nodded slowly, "She's done a lot for me, I really don't want to see her get hurt, Steve. When I heard her scream at the facility, god-" He put his head in his hands, "I didn't know what to do, I don't think I've been that panicked in years."

Steve put a hand on Bucky's leg reassuringly, "She's fine, Buck. No matter what happens, we'll protect her - she could be ours. Buck, she could be ours forever."

"You too?" Bucky whispered, looking up at Steve - blue meeting blue searchingly.

Steve just nodded slowly, a soft smile gracing his face. "It's impossible not to, isn't it? Together we could-"

"She'd have to agree first, punk." Bucky argued with a quiet huff.

"She's have to agree to what?" The soft voice of none other than the woman in question interrupted them as she sauntered into the living room, the short white sundress replaced by equally tiny shorts and a tight tank top, the purple orb still resting between her collarbones.

His eyes darted to Steve's before he ultimately decided to change the subject. "Can you-" Bucky began gently.

"Of course," Kagome cut him off with a smile, already sensing his slight unease and realising what he would ask of her. She resumed her position between Steve and Bucky, facing the brunette. She scooted closer, the deliciously cold metal arm pulling her into his lap. She blushed at the contact, although she didn't avoid his intense gaze. With one hand on his firm chest, the other lay on the sofa, until it was enveloped in Steves'.

Kagome's breathing hitched, she didn't quite know what to think. Focusing on the task she was asked to do was seemingly the only thing stopping her from melting. Her eyes fluttered shut, her mind doing its' best to ignore her thundering heartbeat. Despite her flustered condition, it didn't take long for her to relax into the contact and give Steve's hand a squeeze. Only then, at the height of her tranquility did she manage to fully get her grasp on her powers.

Pink wisps of energy slowly materialised over her hands, dancing over both the palm that was flat against Bucky's chest and the hand joined with Steve's. They swayed as if to an otherworldly wind, caressing the bodies of the two men she was between as well as meandering up her arms with feather-light touches that almost made her shiver.

They remained in that position for some time, the energy sweeping through their bodies, bringing serenity with it, before it gradually dissipated.

Kagome freed herself from Steve's grip and moved to climb off Bucky's lap, but was prevented from doing so by Steve's hand darting out and capturing her arm.

"Stay?" He asked, the most pleadingly that she had ever seen him.

She looked over to Bucky, finding the exact same longing look in his eyes. It took her less than a moment to make up her mind. Spurred on by their pining looks, she shuffled between them, welcomed by Steve's arm around her shoulder and Bucky leaning his head into the crook of her neck.

A torrent of thoughts swept through her, each one more incomprehensible than the last. She may not have understood exactly what was happening, but it felt right, it felt like she belonged between them, limbs tangled together in complete contentedness. She hummed, it was a strange sensation, being sandwiched between two men, in a way that she felt ran deeper than the feelings she had for most people, but it was a welcome one.

She had been hired to find out Bucky's deepest, darkest secrets and expose them for all the world to see - to ensure that he could stand trial and uncover as much damning evidence as she could while she was at it. What she found was a man haunted by his past but still very much capable of making her heart skip a beat. She had the distinct feeling that the only two remaining people that truly cared about him were there, lying with him.

Meeting Steve had been purely because of Bucky. He had a genuine concern for everyone and everything around him, and a strong sense of justice that rivalled her own. She could tell that he cared for Bucky just as deeply as she did, and she adored him all the more for it.

With that thought, she drifted off into the best sleep she had experienced in years.

08:29 AM, Higurashi Shrine, Japan - Tuesday

Kagome awoke, comfortable and content but with a profound confusion. She cared for both men deeply, and they obviously had that strong bond between them forged years ago - while being there, entangled in their arms felt unequivocally right, she didn't know where she fit in.

Bucky stirred from his position slumped into her side, herself having fallen at some point in the night and she was now positioned against Steve's chest, with Bucky's head cradled against her. He moved some more, his eyes fluttering open, a puzzled look crossing his face for an instant, before he looked up to Kagome and Steve and gave her one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen from him, rather than simply an upwards twitch of the lips, he was smiling.

Kagome couldn't help but beam back, gently stroking his hair and leaning further into Steve's tight hold on her. It wasn't until she felt Steve grinning into her neck that she realised he, too, was awake.

"Morning," She yawned, stretching her limbs slightly although she had rather limited movement.

"I think that's the most I've slept in ages," Bucky admitted quietly.

"Me too," Kagome continued her light touches comfortingly.

"Thank you," Bucky whispered.

Kagome frowned. "What for?"

"Everything." The brunette responded simply.

When Kagome remained confused, Steve pulled her closer to him. "What he's trying to say is that you've made our lives so much better, Kagome. You gave him a chance, you saw me as more than just Captain America. You're amazing-"

"Steve-"

"Let me finish," He smiled, silencing her by turning her in such a way that she could see himself and Bucky. "You're exceptional, you know that, right? I understand if you say no, and we'll respect that, but- please, be ours?"

"Ours?" She echoed.

"Ours." Bucky confirmed, scanning her face for any hint of what her answer could be.

A smile broke out across her face, "There's nothing I'd like more."

"Good," Steve grinned, his fingers ghosting over her jawline before he pulled her in for a searing kiss, his other hand gently squeezing Bucky's, before he released their girl and positioned her between them, the brunette softly kissing the side of her neck closest to him.

For Kagome, it was an easy rhythm to fall into. Her heart was so pure, her compassion so deep, that she could love any number of people forever. But in that moment, she chose to devote herself to just two, regardless of how others may view their relationship, particularly the UN who had initially requested her to prepare Bucky for trial. In that moment, all she needed was the two men beside her, and their love.

"You're ours, till the end of the line." Steve teased, refusing to let her leave his arms.

"Till the end of the line." Bucky repeated, Kagome's heart skipping a beat as he unveiled another one of his rare genuine smiles.

She giggled, relaxing into the dual embrace. "Why stop there?"

Author's Note: 18,107 words. The most I have EVER written for a chapter. This was suggested by Thedarklight on march 26th, sorry I haven't gotten around to it until now, it just took so long to write! I'm sure I've made a mistake somewhere, but I don't have a beta :( It feels so good to finally reach the end of this, even if the ending did take me weeks to write! I hope future updates will be quicker lol! As always, requests are OPEN! If you're going to suggest a pairing, it would be preferable if you left a plot suggestion too, but if not then that's okay! I hope you all enjoyed it! The next one won't be MCU, but I'll definitely do more MCU ones in the future! Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed it, PLEASE REVIEW AND FEEL FREE TO REQUEST PAIRINGS, ALTHOUGH IT MAY TAKE A WHILE TO WRITE!