A/N: In honor of HotaruNoMai's Birthday (which was technically yesterday), I've decided to do a multi-chapter Kagome/Sesshomaru fic. Hopefully, it won't stretch on into the vast reaches of space. If it gets to be more than 20 chapters, I'll have gone much too far.
Notes:
1) Kaede's speech pattern is different in this story because I felt it would have been a bit too odd for her to keep using something so archaic. Other than that, hopefully I've kept the old gal in character!
2) Any references to the school system that don't quite match up with the true, Japanese system (in other words, if the school references seem Americanized), I humbly apologize. I don't know much except for the system I'm acquainted with. What I do know of the Japanese system I've tried to incorporate in. If the lack of structure disturbs you, again, my apologies, just try to bear with me.
3) I'll be alluding to – or outright mentioning – certain American songs. I don't mean to be untrue to Japanese culture, I just have a set of songs – in English – that I thought would do well in this story (I made a fledgling playlist for this). If, say, one of the characters is singing to an English song, try not to let your left eyelid twitch. Pretend it's all one language! :)
Summary: [AU] When Kagome and Sesshomaru are paired in history class, it causes the expected friction. But when both inadvertently read from an ancient scroll, their souls become bound together. How can they reverse it? More importantly, will they want to? Kag/Sess.
Chapter 1: Unexpected Pairing
Kagome walked into the classroom, feeling horribly scrutinized. She was far from the last to arrive, but all eyes were drawn to her. She chose the closest seat to her – one which would conveniently allow her to keep her focus entirely on the teacher once the class got started. She didn't want to have to see people turning to look at her throughout the lesson.
To avoid feeling even more awkward, she began pulling out the pre-organized notebook, folder, and pen for the class, opening the notebook to the first, fresh page, and dating it in the corner.
In attempting to look busy, she began thinking about why she was in here in the first place.
She did well in all of her classes, but where she truly excelled was history. Kagome was more than a little surprised that she'd been allowed into an honors class above her own grade. Normally, that sort of thing was out of the question unless the student was part- or full-youkai. She was in her second year of high school, and the allowance of being let into the most difficult history class the school had to offer was simultaneously generous and suspicious.
Her mother had told her not to worry, that someone had obviously taken exception to her grades in history, and saw fit to place her where she belonged. And although Kagome hoped that was the case, she still felt some anxiety towards participating in a class where she wouldn't have the usual comfort of knowing her classmates.
And there are a lot more youkai in the class above me than there are in mine, she thought despairingly, her shoulders still stiff against the back of her seat.
The slight chatter coming from the background halted abruptly as the door to the class opened again. Turning her head, Kagome caught a glance of silver hair.
As if compelled, she turned her head fully to lock onto the taiyoukai's face. Doubled magenta stripes on each cheek and a blue crescent on the forehead were the very distinct markings of Sesshomaru Taisho, the Western Lord's son. Although the feudal system had been done away long before Kagome's time, many of the older youkai had been allowed to retain their titles, though without the power behind them.
Lord Taisho was highly distinguished throughout Japan, if not the world. He'd been one of the first to openly adhere to human laws, which eventually changed to allow youkai true citizenship in most places. And with the advent of so much complex technology, the revered Dog had his hands – or paws, as it were – in several burgeoning industries relating to things like green energy, smart phones, and advanced medical technology.
Kagome snapped back into herself when a pair of ocher eyes met her rather non-descript grays. Flushing, she whipped her head back to where she'd had it before, plucking at the edge of the pen cap now held hostage at the back end of her pen.
Only when she felt the Great Dog's son breeze past her right did she allow herself to breathe. She didn't know where he'd seated himself in the row to her right, but she hoped it was further towards the back – it would be worse for him to join the others and stare at her, because at least the others wouldn't make her feel as though she was being stalked the way a hound stalks a hare.
Apt description, considering, she thought to herself, hoping her face had cooled. Unfortunately, thoughts of her first run-in with Sesshomaru the year before, practically on her first day of high school, chose that moment to relive themselves. For a moment, Kagome was tempted to cover her eyes, as much good as that would do.
She thanked the kami when the sensei came trudging in the door.
The class, now completely silent, waited to be addressed by the older woman.
Kagome wasn't sure if the eye-patch was for show, or if the rumors about Kaede-sensei's right eye – or lack thereof – were true. Kagome certainly hoped it was just theatrical. The thought of anyone having their eye clawed out by a youkai was horrible.
"Good morning, class," she finally said, her voice much raspier than Kagome had expected.
"Good morning, Kaede-sensei," the class chanted back.
When the older woman smiled, Kagome smiled back, liking her teacher already.
"Now that pleasantries are out of the way," she told them as she skirted around the desk to unpack her bag, "we can begin the semester with everyone's favorite – a project."
Kagome could feel herself and her other classmates holding back groans. Project assignments on the first day of class meant only one of two things: either this would clear the way later in the semester for other classes that needed to be focused on, or…
…the project would suck the lives out of every student involved.
"You'll each have different periods in Japanese history. And by 'you,' I mean you and your predestined partner."
Kaede-sensei shook the bowl she had pulled from her bag, white slips of paper dancing just inside the rim.
"I have half the names in the class listed on a sheet of paper, and the other half in this bowl. Once names have been drawn, there will be no changing partners." Her visible eye squinted. "Are we clear?"
"Yes, Kaede-sensei," the class responded.
"Good!" She smiled once again. "I'll explain all rules for the project once partners have been chosen."
As names were called, Kagome's dread grew. She didn't know which would be worse: pairing with someone (more than likely youkai) she didn't know, or pairing with the only one she knew of.
On second thought…please not Sesshomaru! she begged whoever was listening. The incident from the year before rushed back at her, Sesshomaru's stoic expression taking on a hint of disgust, the most expressive feature she'd seen ever him wear. And even with that small expression, she could tell that it wasn't just disgust he had felt – it was closer to rage.
Kagome had a feeling that, if they were paired together, he would make her life miserable.
It was an accident! she wanted to scream at him. No one had let her forget it, least of all him. He never outright said anything to her, but sometimes during lunch, he would catch her eye, and the temperature in the room would drop by twenty degrees.
It was bad enough that her friends still brought it up, just to remind her to continue looking over her shoulder.
"Taisho," Kaede-sensei read from the chart. Kagome's heart began to thud rather painfully against her chest. She sincerely hoped that the youkai in the class either couldn't hear it, or chose to ignore it; she didn't need rumors about why her heart rate suddenly spiked at hearing Sesshomaru's name.
That'd be just what I need, she thought, watching as Kaede-sensei slowly swirling the bowl. Kagome waited, impatient as the sensei took her time digging through the slips of paper.
"Ah," she said, speaking at once to Sesshomaru and the entire class, "Taisho, you are paired with Higurashi."
The oddest sensation overwhelmed Kagome. She couldn't exactly pinpoint it – it burned a little the way guilt did, but also squeezed in the way anxiety did.
It took her mind a moment to remember the word; after all, she'd never felt it to quite this degree before.
Dread.
Sango's chopsticks fell from her hand, her mouth open in shock. The other three – Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka – were in equal states of shock.
"Wow," Ayumi finally said. "So, what flowers should I lay on your grave?"
Kagome groaned, allowing her head to fall to the table. Her unopened bento had been pushed at Sango sitting directly across from her, leaving a clear pathway for the occasion.
Ayumi laughed nervously as the others looked at her darkly.
"I didn't mean it Kagome. It's just…"
"My luck," Kagome said, her voice somewhat muffled by the hair that had fallen around her head.
"It could be worse," Eri pointed out, and the others were quick to agree.
"Yeah?" Kagome asked, not really intent on hearing what could be worse about it. She pulled herself back up to sit normally, rubbing at the spot where her head had met with faux wood.
"It could be Naraku," Sango muttered, frowning. Kagome winced. She clearly remembered what had happened when Sango's younger brother Kohaku had decided to shadow his sister for a day several months before. The boy had somehow ended up alone and cornered by the creepy spider-youkai. Only Sango and Kagome's prompt arrival – and Sango's reminder about just who Kohaku's father was – had kept anything from happening. More than once Kagome and Sango had ruminated about why Naraku was even allowed in the school with the reputation he'd garnered for himself.
Kagome sighed, wondering if she really should have offered her food to Sango, now that she was beginning to feel hungry – nervousness from earlier had blocked the hunger pains until now, it seemed.
Someone cleared their throat at Kagome's elbow. Looking, Kagome saw Jaken, the toad-looking youkai (though she had never been clear on whether or not he was actually a toad-youkai, or just looked like one). Hands behind his back, his child-sized clothing stood out. Kagome almost thought he looked cute in the miniature sweater and little baggy pants. But the arrogant way his snout was in the air wiped the idea out of her mind.
"Sesshomaru-sama requests that Higurashi-san meet him at the Taisho family house promptly at four this afternoon."
"Uh…"
Jaken opened one eye to peek at her.
"Don't you know any respect, girl? You should be thanking Sesshomaru-sama for the invitation into his humble home!"
"Thank you," Kagome responded automatically, still confused. "But, where does he live, exactly?"
Both of Jaken's eyes flew open then, and he began to sputter.
"It is the grandest house in all of Tokyo! How can you not know its location?" he nearly shrieked at her.
Kagome blinked at him slowly, aware of the other people now looking at them.
Just because you bask in the glow of the supposed sunshine that comes out of Sesshomaru's ass…
Deciding to humor the little demon, Sango told him, "I think Kagome has been too impressed with its grandeur in the past to take note of its exact address, Jaken-sama."
Quickly throwing Sango an I owe you look, she turned back to Jaken, nodding in agreement with her friend's words.
Jaken's expression cleared, and he bobbed his head in what he thought was understanding.
"In that case, milord lives at 500 Western Lane."
Kagome raised an eyebrow. The name of the street was not lost on her.
Then again, she mused, if Taisho-sama is rich enough to buy up most of the Nikkei stock, I shouldn't be surprised that he named a street over the territory he used to hold. Or it might just be a coincidence.
"Thank you very much, Jaken-sama," Kagome told the toad-looking creature. "I'll be sure to be on time."
If I can ever find my way there…
"You should be thanking Lord Sesshomaru!" he berated her again before scurrying back his table, dubbed rather childishly "The Villain Squad Table" by the four girls. There resided the nastiest pieces of work at the school, and all were demons, though Kagome would never hold that sort of thing against anyone. It was a coincidence that the biggest jackasses happened to be of demonic descent.
Kagome watched for a moment as Jaken tripped over himself to relay his news to the expressionless taiyoukai, golden eyes catching hers watching.
Sango snorted as Kagome faced forward once more. Seeing her friend's expression, Sango pushed Kagome's uneaten bento back to her.
"You're gonna need that," Yuka pointed at the box. "Best not to have your stomach rumbling and remind Sesshomaru of…well, you know."
Kagome took a deep breath to keep from replying, dragging the bento towards her.
Kagome stood, rereading the directions Sango had written down for her after the encounter with Jaken. Glancing up at the mansion, she thought, I guess I should've expected as much, this being the Taisho family.
There wasn't a giant wrought-iron gate like she'd been expecting. Likewise, there were no guards anywhere she could see. With a house that large, Kagome felt that security would probably have been a safe bet to have handy.
Taking a breath for courage, she followed the concrete footpath up to the door, momentarily noticing a tingling sensation along the edges of her skin.
That makes better sense, she thought. A barrier along the property was better in most ways than having guards. She didn't know if was because of her miko abilities – which she was getting a better hold of thanks to her newest instructor – or if Sesshomaru had somehow made her an exception to the barrier, but she was able to pass through without incident.
Ringing the doorbell, she could hear the echo of the sound from inside the house. She waited for several minutes before the door was flung open. An older man in a clean-cut suit stood before her, his eyes bulging from his head.
Her own eyes widening, Kagome managed to sputter, "I'm here for Sesshomaru. Sama! Sesshomaru-sama."
Cheeks burning at her misstep, she followed the man as he gestured for her to come inside. Within moments, she had almost been left behind – she was too distracted looking at the grandeur to notice where the man was leading her.
She couldn't tell if the floors were really marble, or of such good quality fake material that she couldn't tell the difference. And the paintings, decorative screens, vases, and the like along the walls and through the hallways she passed didn't seem the sort of thing that her mother could purchase at Pier-1.
After almost running into the man's back, she decided to keep her eyes forward, and on the half-bald head in front of her.
After a dizzying trip through too many hallways, they came before two large oak doors, an engraved battle playing out over the wood. Kagome thought she recognized a stylized dog swooping into the fray, but she wasn't given much time to study the image.
She allowed the man-servant to open the doors for her. Ushered inside, she caught her third glimpse of silver hair that day. Sesshomaru was in the middle of a vast library, seated at a table so polished that it reflected what she could see of the dog-demon's reflection. A number of ancient-looking scrolls were set out in front of him in piles. He carefully put the scroll he was reading into the second largest pile on the table.
Either he hadn't noticed her yet, or he was ignoring her.
She wanted it to be the latter option.
Kagome's stomach churned. She really hoped that the man who'd lead her here wouldn't just leave the two of them–
She jumped as the door was closed with crisp snap.
From where she stood, she saw him smirk. Without taking his eyes from the document he now held, he gestured for her to take a seat across the table from him. That was just fine with her. She would have preferred if they were working from the longer ends, but at least she didn't have to sit right next to him.
Swallowing uncomfortably, Kagome stepped further into the room, putting her backpack in the chair next to the one she'd chosen for herself. The scowl she saw on Sesshomaru's face suggested that he would have both chairs cleaned vigorously after she left.
Kagome sat down gingerly. Pushing one of the piles of documents at her, he said, "Begin reading through these. Don't damage them."
Instead of being nervous, now she was irritated, though glad for the change in mood. At least it made her feel less like her insides were burning. Despite her new irritation, she still took care with the old papers, and began sorting through what they would need for their project.
Feudal Era, Feudal Era, anything on the Feudal Era…
An hour later, she had her own neat piles of scrolls, one to sort through, one for rejects, and one – the smallest – for use.
Taking up the next one, she chuckled to herself after reading the first few words, forgetting about the youkai's presence for a moment. When said youkai stood up from the table, Kagome almost dropped the scroll in surprise. Trying not to feel alarmed, she told herself that he was probably going to get more scrolls.
But when he came to stand right behind her, his arm brushing hers, she wished she was able to stall her heartbeat.
"It's not what we're looking for," she told him nervously. "It's just something…sweet."
"Hn," was all he said.
Kagome felt silly for even showing the sappy thing to Sesshomaru. But she thought the words were rather beautiful, and she felt prompted to read them aloud – not for Sesshomaru's benefit, but because she felt that that was the only way to do the words on the paper justice.
Ignoring the fluster she felt at having him so near, she began to read.
"I take you as mine, one heart, one soul. Forever entwined, now fixed, now whole."
She didn't see the taiyoukai frown, but she did feel him lean a little closer. Kagome tried to keep herself from feeling even more uncomfortable.
Raising an eyebrow, Sesshomaru muttered the next line, though Kagome couldn't tell if it was for his own amusement or because he thought it so unbelievably ridiculous. She could imagine it was for both.
"I howl to the heavens, the earth, beyond – for you, my mate, this is your song."
Kagome suddenly felt short of breath, but, for the second time that day, she felt compelled to do something that served no purpose: she continued to read aloud. She was unaware that Sesshomaru, too, read aloud with her, his ire growing at the uselessness of it all.
"I have chosen the strongest, the surest, the best,
My mate knows the heart that beats in this chest.
Heart calls to heart, chained yet unbound,
Soul holds to soul with this final sound –
I claim you as mine, one life to share,
Our burdens are one, together we bear."
For one, sickening moment both felt as though their hearts had stopped in their chests, choking the both of them. Each was only aware of their individual discomfort, not noticing the other.
When the feeling passed, Sesshomaru told the girl, "What nonsense."
Scowling, Kagome rolled the scroll back up, putting it away into the pile she wouldn't be using.
Several more hours passed without progress. When Sesshomaru declared in his stoic and icy way that they would continue again tomorrow, Kagome couldn't choose between feeling relieved that this day was over, and feeling apprehension that they would be at it again the next.
Feeling that it was more about his honor than just being a decent…well, being, Kagome followed Sesshomaru as he led her to the nearest bus stop outside his home. Even though still hesitant about working with the Dog, she was glad that all he had done today was more or less ignore her. There was no mention of the incident from the year before, no threats, no commands (beyond being careful with the documents), and no bloodshed. Best of all, she hadn't felt truly threatened in any way, and so hadn't felt that tug at her spiritual powers that would only cause even bigger problems.
The thought of a crispy and infuriated Sesshomaru almost made her want to laugh. But then she'd had enough of seeing him pissed, and her amusement faded. She decided that she was glad they were at least managing civility. Not that she would be the cause of any problems, she was sure. Just so long as he kept his demeaning thoughts to himself.
Reaching the sign for the bus, she awkwardly turned to him. She appreciated the gesture of him walking her out when he really didn't need to.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama," she told him in a more formal tone. "I should be fine on my own."
She offered him a small smile, hoping that maybe now things wouldn't feel quite so awkward, at least on her end.
Maybe we could even be friends? her mind supplied, quiet yet hopeful.
His response, however, killed any feelings of wanting in any way to become comrades.
"I had no intention of staying any longer."
Flushing down to her toes, Kagome turned, hurt, as he left her at the bus stop.
That night, as she tried, and failed, to find sleep, a deep pain began ebbing at her, just near her heart.
And at the Great Dog's mansion miles away, the same pain began to eat at Sesshomaru.
A/N: So…I hope you liked this first chapter! Just to let everyone know, I didn't get the poem from anywhere – I made it up. (Took me a while, too. Poetry isn't my greatest skill.) It might be a tad cheesy, but it gets the point across.
I can't think of much else to say about this right now, except that I might have a second chapter up within the next few days. Or I might decide to dawdle and right a one-shot that has nothing at all to do with this story. Whichever. ;)
I'd love to get feedback, even if it's just to say it's a semi-interesting premise. Or that this is crazy and will never work; I'm not horribly picky!