Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine, sadly. Wish it were, but since it's not, this is the next best thing. :D

Author's Note: There's a plot in my head, but this chapter is an introduction of starting characters, so I can't unravel it yet. Haha, I'm thinking of making a few more OCs, so if anyone wants a character thrown in, let me know:D The final outcome will be your decision, seriously, but right now, let's just talk about the characters. :D

Prologue

"Rei, Yumiko. Is there a Rei Yumiko in this class?"

Sighing, Taji Leiko slid low into her seat and extended her foot, nudging the girl in front of her. She was certain Yumiko was going to rage at her for placing an imprint on her pristine white jeans, but honestly, this was Zoology 10. Since she had crashed and burned Zoology 1 last semester, she was going to have to stay awake long enough to pass the class if she intended on continuing her Biology course.

"Rei, Yumiko!" The smartly-dressed professor was starting to look impatient.

Leiko dug her heel a bit deeper into Yumiko's side, wondering how much risk she was taking in damaging Yumiko's right kidney. The heels were sharp, no matter how well she'd broken them in. But there was a policy in the university that gave the teachers the prerogative to cancel the slot of any student who didn't show up during class-card giving day—usually the first day. Throw in the fact that this was a huge class and a lot of late enrollees were popping up...

The drooping blond head before her jerked, and a moment later it snapped around to reveal a pair of incensed light brown eyes and slim lips pulled into a snarl.

"You—Leiko!" she said furiously, shooting Leiko's offending foot a murderous look. "My jeans!"

"You'd better start worrying about your slot," Leiko said coolly, lowering her foot. "I expect Miss O-Tsuya's about to cancel it any minute now."

Horror flashed in Yumiko's eyes and she shot her hand up in the air, narrowly missing her seatmate's ear.

"Present! Miss O-Tsuya, I'm here!"

Miss O-Tsuya caught sight of her and shook her head, but she flicked her pen over her list and extended a class card. Jumping to her feet, suddenly unconscious of the black mark right above her butt, Yumiko bounded energetically to the front of the class.

Shit, Inuyasha thought irritably. If that damn girl hadn't been present, he'd probably have gotten her slot. He gave her a deep glare, pouring all his frustration with enrollment in it, and baring a fang to let her know that he wasn't just pissed.

"Stop it," Sesshomaru said quietly, kicking Inuyasha not too gently. "It's not her fault."

"Fault, fault—I don't care whose fucking fault it is!" Inuyasha hissed back. "She has my slot!"

"Correction: she has her slot, which you wanted to take."

Shaking his head, he gave Sesshomaru a withering glance. "I really do hate you sometimes."

"I can't see why. I'm letting you go ahead in the line, giving you a better shot at getting this class than me. Considering the fact that I'm the graduating student with incomplete GEs, I need this class more than you do if I want to graduate on time. If that isn't love, brother dear, I don't know what is."

Inuyasha snorted derisively, but made no comment aloud. Sesshomaru was just working him up into a worse temper than before, and there could be all sorts of reasons why. Maybe if Inuyasha snapped and showed the teacher just how explosive his temper could be, she'd hand the open slot to Sesshomaru instead. Or maybe if Inuyasha got frustrated enough, he'd quit and go to some other class to enlist. The only reason he was ahead was because he'd gotten there a second earlier, and that was it.

Love, yeah right!

Sesshomaru made the word sound like an hour spent in an Iron Maiden.

He realized he was still scowling ferociously at the girl, and she was actually glaring straight back. It was dumb, considering who he was and who she was (read: nobody of importance as it was, but another sniff and he discerned that she was an ordinary mortal of no importance) and it made him growl at her. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back.

You've got a brain after all, hmmm?

Yumiko felt a shiver of fear skitter up her spine, but she made herself stop. She knew that whoever he was, he wouldn't do anything in a place as crowded as this, especially with a professor around. She had heard that this university had even more hanyou in the student population than others, but the rules were always clear on how much display of their unusual traits was allowed. Besides, he was being really rude looking at her that way, and for no apparent reason!

Casting Miss O-Tsuya an assessing glance—she was calling out some other person's name—she turned back to the guy and stuck her tongue out.

Distracted, his eyes froze on the glistening pink of her tongue as it flicked out in a mocking gesture. For a full second everyone else faded into the background and he felt a kick down in his "down-there"s—honestly, Sesshomaru's kid was going to be the end of his tough-guy language—that indicated that despite the haggard enrollment days, his hormones were still active. Before he could stop himself, his own tongue darted out to wet his lips, and he lifted his smoldering, more than suggestive eyes to hers.

Talk about indecent proposal, Leiko thought with mild amusement as she saw Yumiko's eyes widen with shock. Color flooded her cheeks and she glared at the guy before turning away and stalking back to her seat.

Inuyasha watched her turn smugly, noticing a little smudge right above her ass. A nice ass, he concluded, but not one he was interested in right now. There were more important things to conquer first...

"Did you see that guy?" Yumiko whispered furiously under her breath, turning to Leiko the instant she had settled.

"He's hard to miss," Leiko replied simply, giving in to temptation and putting on her glasses to get a better look at him, despite the fact she was determined not to wear them unless absolutely necessary. "His hair is a really weird color."

"He's hanyou—I'm sure of it," her best friend said darkly, casting him a censorious glance. "The way he was snarling at me..."

"Probably for your slot," Leiko laughed, unaware of how right she was. "But from where I've been sitting, he didn't just snarl at you."

Yumiko colored again. "The point is, I don't like him," she said sharply.

Leiko opened her mouth then closed it again, biting back a smile as she saw Yumiko's hanyou turn his head towards them slightly and level a speculative, half-opened gaze on the girl.

I'm not sure he doesn't like you though.