Sesshomaru leaned his cheek against the cool glass of the car window, watching the blurred figures of trees - or what was left of them, in the harshness of the cold, mere branches left to fend for themselves - pass by them. It gave off the illusion that he was the one running, his surroundings ignored in favour of his prey. It was somewhat strange - perhaps even disgusting to know, that a mere piece of metal (a car, they called it) could bring about such a stunning illusion.
The start of the cold, chilling winter brought about yet another change for two young boys. They were to be transferred to a brand new school, to start afresh from certain.. unfortunate circumstances.
"But I don't wanna go!" the once tranquil silence was now shattered by the annoying whines of Sesshomaru's younger brother, Inuyasha. He earned a glare from none other than his older brother, but retorted by sticking out his tongue childishly.
Wearing a pained smile on his face, Inu Taisho gripped the steering wheel a tiny bit harder, having suffered the wrath of two spoiled children for so long. Just a bit more, just a bit longer, until puberty hits them, he reminded himself. Then you'll know the true meaning of anger management.
"Inuyasha, be like your brother," at this, Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and shrunk further away into a corner of the car, "he doesn't want to go but he's holding it in."
The rest of the car ride to school involved much sulking from Inuyasha's end, Sesshomaru helping to hold up the awkward, suffocating silence in the small, enclosed space, save for the sound of three people breathing, blending in with each other.
A small, cosy-looking building came into view and the car slowed to a stop in front of it. "This is your new school, boys," Inu Taisho said, smiling fondly at the welcoming air it had. "I'll come pick you up after school. Bye for now, love you."
Inuyasha's spirits were slightly lifted with that statement, and he repeated, albeit hesitant, "I love you too."
Upon noticing his older brother already retreating into the school, Inuyasha followed after quickly, not appreciative of the fact that he'd been left behind. Their father, after casting an unsatisfied glance at Sesshomaru, had driven off to work. It was a painful thing, living with the knowledge that a spur of the moment emotion could have broken something so close and wonderful, that someone who once treasured you dearly now looked at you with no emotion in his shielded eyes, having been broken at such a tender age.
Inu Taisho swallowed, and then yet again, and again, but the lump in his throat was a familiar one, something he knew he couldn't get rid of for a long while yet. He had lived with guilt for the latter part of his life, and only time and the sweet bliss of forgetting that came easily to those who had aged could take toll on the persistent emotion.
He was running away from his problems, so unlike the brave, courageous image that Sesshomaru had once thought him to be. He was a coward. Disgusting.
The hallways in the school, to two young, tiny boys, were part of a large and complicated labyrinth. A very bright and colourful, large and complicated labyrinth, mind you. The walls had been painted a bright yellow, the doors all painted velvet red, in an attempt to appeal to the minds of (oh, the irony) mindless, young children.
Sesshomaru held a hand over his eyes. Bah, too cheerful.
Their idiot of a father had conveniently forgotten to mention which door was the one that led to their classroom. It didn't quite help that he couldn't comprehend how the doors were numbered, either. 'K-02' was followed by 'K-03', but then what had happened to the rest of the alphabets? Where was 'A', or 'F'? Perhaps the principal of the school was a cruel witch that had eaten them, leaving only 'K' to fend for itself?
The door beside them suddenly swung open, and Inuyasha let out half a gasp in surprise. A woman in her mid-40's or so stood at the doorway, wearing a look of similar surprise, her hand resting on the doorknob. "Might you both be those called Inuyasha and Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru nodded at the same time Inuyasha shouted, "Yeah, what's it to you, lady?"
The woman merely smiled kindly. "I was just about to go off searching for you lads. Come in, make yourselves welcome while I introduce you to the class."
In comparison to Sesshomaru's hesitant, tentative steps into the (surprise, surprise) even more bright and blinding classroom, Inuyasha was a bulldozer, running in and instantly challenging a nearby boy - a demon, from the looks of his pointed ears - to some sort of duel. It didn't matter what kind, all Sesshomaru knew was that they were both loud and not worth his time.
Then there was a girl in the corner, with large, doe eyes fixated on none other than him. It wasn't surprising, perhaps it was his appearance? He was quite a perculiar, but fearsome demon, afterall.
"Inuyasha, why don't you tell the class more about yourself?" the woman asked, the kind smile still on her lips.
The said boy paused in his game of wrestling (against none other than Koga, the woman noted), his ears twitching in decision. "I'm Inuyasha, I'm four, and I'm stronger than wolf boy over here!" he shouted across the room, Koga pinning him to the ground in retaliation. With a mighty shout (as mighty as two four year olds could manage, anyway), they twisted and tumbled across the alphabet-print carpet.
His younger brother's introduction to the class over, Sesshomaru immediately felt several pairs of eyes on him. He shivered. He could never cope well with so much attention, no matter how much he had expected this, no matter how insignificant the reason for the attention was.
"Sesshomaru, what about you?" the woman turned to him, closing her eyes in a smile.
Keeping up his steely facade, Sesshomaru merely nodded. The silence that followed was astounding, for in that mere action alone, he had managed to capture the interest of everyone. Who was this boy, they wondered. He's so strange.
"I am Sesshomaru, five years of human age, and I'll assume fair warning has been given to the class against me. Those who break my rules would have to suffer under my consequences," Sesshomaru recited, before turning his eyes toward a very interesting wall. And he would reenforce the fact that it was indeed veryinteresting, and anyone who questioned it would be punished severely.
The stunned silence continued on, most of the kids, the human ones in particular, deeply frightened. A smirk tugged at Sesshomaru's lips, despite thinking to pay them no heed. The reaction he'd received was favourable, and that was enough to satisfy his thirst for power.
For now.
Kaede was the first to break the tense air, her smile staying on throughout Sesshomaru's statement, failing to waver in the slightest. "Thank you, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Class, take care of them and make them feel welcome, alright?" She got a low murmur of agreement from each of the students, most of them either wanting to be polite or only felt like being nice to Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was clearly unliked.
The brothers were given permission to sit down wherever they wanted, Kaede taking the time to explain that classes for the year were over and it would do no good to further push the kids' education when they were so fixated on wonderful things, like snow and winter and all the fun that came with it.
Personally, Sesshomaru regarded winter as just another season of no particular significance. He'd seen it every year of his life and he'd see it again in the future. However, he made no sound and simply sat in an empty corner of the classroom, while the other students were gathered around the middle, captivated by this or that. A quick glance told him that Inuyasha was the source of their captivation, and honestly, did they not have better things to do than fawn over the hideous ears that signified the lowness of a half-breed?
The contempt he felt for his brother was fueled by a sort of bitter jealousy. When people saw Sesshomaru, oh, they'd scoff at the furry thing he had wrapped over his shoulder, his tail. 'How fashionable,' they'd sneer, 'is that a boa? How fitting for a little girl.' His heritage would be made fun of, and that was unforgivable. Were he to make such rude comments to humans, his father would be not at all pleased, and that was unfair, terribly so, because he was a full-blooded demon-
A tug on his pelt.
Irritated, Sesshomaru turned and came face-to-face with the doe-eyed girl from before, smiling shyly up at him, hand still fisted in his tail. "You're very pretty, Sesshomau," she said, her voice bubbly.
The irritation had turned into curiosity, and he might or might not have been irked at how she defaced his name because of her inability to comprehend such a fine title, or perhaps instead at how she'd interrupted his thoughts, but that was overlooked in favour of newfound feelings of.. happiness? "This Sesshomaru expresses his.. thanks?"
"You're welcome! I'm Rin, would you like to be my friend?"
Sesshomaru looked Rin up and down, taking in her small form that seemed even smaller with the thick sweater and several layers of pants she wore, threatening to engulf her. Part of her hair was tied up into a small pigtail at the side of her head, presenting to him an innocent young girl.
The first human who had approached him.
The first human who wanted to be friends.
With him.
"As you prefer," he replied.
And that was how two best friends met on the very first day of school.
A/N: And that was the very first chapter of PreSchoolerz, rewritten in all its glory. Hoozah! I promise more plot this time around, and better description offered as well. I've truly gone far in terms of experience since I wrote the original story for this two years ago, when I was eleven and oh my god what was I thinking back then?!
Updates won't come steadily, mind you, but for now I'll work on it the best I can. There'll be a few plot changes, though, fair warning in advance. Until next time~