Thanks for the reviews, faves, and alerts, guys. :) Hope you don't mind; I'm going to start answering some of the questions I get about this story. Don't want my readers to be confused, lol. Some are questions from me.
Jhoi Marie Boli: Yes, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are not brothers in this story. XD
Dashllee: Ohh, a prank? What did you have in mind? :)
Inumimi1: Thank you for your lovely reviews! Um, the reason why Inuyasha's disguising himself will be revealed soon, haha. It's a bit of a childish reason, but to Inuyasha, it's enough to make him decide this particular path of secrecy.
SLYSWN: Sesshomaru's a pretty sneaky bastard, nothing new lol! Let's just say his continuous winning streak is about to end very soon, because he's no longer the only smart guy on the block anymore. :) AND JUST WAIT FOR IT. Kagome bashing in the near future lol!
Syron: Hi! Thank you very much for your compliment, I'm glad you enjoy my story! :) Inuyasha's eyes are really shimmering golden, like they should be, but he wears blue contacts as another feature of his disguise. This is explained in chapter 3. As for the shade of blue, I'm imagining something like this: i. imgur. com H5aTl. p ng (remove spaces and put a forward slash after the dot com) (more like the butterfly I added in lol) Ignore the messy sketch, I was focusing on the eyes. OTL
jewel131415: Oops, you caught me lol! It can be interpreted that way, haha.
CHAPTER 4: JUST WONDERING… IS THERE A NICER WAY TO SAY 'BACK THE FUCK OFF, YOU ARROGANT PRICK'?
Absently grabbing a tissue from the box next to his bed, he blew into it. Damnit, why does that sound like elephant sex every time? Ugh. Inuyasha hadn't been this sick in ages. Can't sing either. Fucking hell. It just HAD to start raining shortly after he left the school yesterday and the bus just HAD to get a flat tire before he reached home. Note to self, always bring an umbrella next time. And kick the ass of every superior being up there whenever he gets there.
Forget about coming home completely drenched, he didn't even get any sleep last night because of what happened. Hours and hours… spent on coming up with excuses and reasons for his, what he would imagine, surprising, behaviour. And he still had nothing that didn't sound ridiculous or would make others believe he belonged in a mental asylum. Sighing, Inuyasha again began his daily ritual for the start of the day. With a few coughs and sneezes reluctantly included. He honestly didn't want to go to school. But there was a test today, the last one before second semester and that couldn't be missed.
A few more hours later, he was back on school property. In full disguise AND an umbrella. Oh yeah.
He ran past the gates, hoping he wouldn't be late. He didn't want to deal with his classmates, so he thought it'd be a good idea to arrive a minute before class began, but it didn't go quite as he had planned. His perfect attendance was hanging loosely on the line now, hopefully clinging to life. So Inuyasha ran, ran like a crazy dog with his tail between in legs, completely unaware of the amused eyes that were on him from way above. Fortunately, he made it to homeroom with a few seconds to spare. However, the glares and tsk's he received from the scorning occupants were way more intense than he had imagined. And it was at this very moment that he realized…
That he was no longer that quiet, invisible nerd in the farthest corner of the classroom. He was never going to be seen that way ever again.
Because he had messed with the queen. And in front of her king, no less.
Now he knew. Knew foolish he had been.
And this was going to be a big problem.
The disclosure was much too severe for his mind and suddenly, Inuyasha was thankful for the test today. For it meant he could avoid trouble for at least a few more hours. He spent a complete hour thinking his thoughts through and calming down his wrecked nerves. The feeling was so strange, so foreign. This awkward but understandably shy feeling of fear, creeping up on him as if pulling a desolate, contemptuous prank. But it was certainly no humorous joke. It was an emotion that, Inuyasha bitterly acknowledged, demanded inclusive capitulation.
The last 15 minutes were used to skim through the questions in the 6-paged-doublesided English test and scribbling down all the correct answers in flawless cursive. The second it was over, Inuyasha got up from his seat and tried to sneak out with the already parting teacher. It was now or never, after all.
But of course, things were never that easy.
One of girls, who Inuyasha recognized as a devote follower of the queen, leeched onto his arm and successfully stole away his freedom. So close, yet so far away. All these depressing feelings today were seriously mentally wearing him out. Shit.
But despite everything, there was no way he would ever hit a girl. He had his morals and it didn't matter what kind of dangerous situations he faced, he would always keep to them. He did, however, have a very compelling feeling that the girl was going to make it VERY difficult.
"You! Where do you think you're going?" Sango yelled fiercely, forcing him to take a few steps back.
"Uhm. Please let me go, there… there's something I must attend to." Inuyasha debated, pulling out a very credible expression to neutralize his lousy lie.
"Hell no, you scum! You better beg Kagome for forgiveness, for what you did yesterday." Oh right. She was the one with the attitude and spunk in the queen's clique. Inuyasha brows furrowed, already knowing what that would entail.
He tried to pull her hand away, but was instead, given a punch to the side by Sango's apparent boyfriend. He grunted as his ribs crashed with the metal edge of the blackboard, leaving behind a chalky mark on his dark uniform. He immediately grabbed for the spot, coughing and wincing. There'd surely be a bruise there tomorrow. Through the one opened eye, he glared at his attacker. But he was obviously completely unfazed.
Ah… the glasses were still there. Right.
"Don't touch her with your dirty hands." The man frowned and pulled the girl towards his chest.
"Move over, Miroku, I need a piece of this shit!" Kouga growled with his fist in his palm, fully prepared to brawl. Of course he needed to vent. From what Inuyasha had heard, he had a major crush on Kagome and was a stubborn ass to boot. The latter detail had made him consider their potential friendship, but the former killed any and all drops of the fading promise. There was no way he could get along with anyone who followed rich snobs.
He grabbed Inuyasha by the collar and shoved him in the queen's direction. And Inuyasha let him. He was seriously in no condition to fight right now. As he slammed into a few desks and was brought to his knees, his slightly cracked glasses, which could take no more turbulence, fell to the all-too-familiar ground again. Like Romeo and Juliet, the two inanimate items seemed to be star-crossed.
To the singer's dismay, Kouga's feet got to the treasured spectacles faster than he did. Inuyasha looked down at the leftovers in shock and felt his anger surface again. They had no idea how much it cost for a pair of glasses. Fake or not. Especially so since the lens were fucking thick.
Just. Fuck.
But you know what's worse? There was no way he could act on his emotions right now. Not like yesterday. No, he couldn't make it worse than it is now. Biting the inside of his lower lip, Inuyasha silently grabbed for the shards of glass, ignoring the cheers, threats, and scoffs all around and above him. He could do nothing but hang his head low, letting his bangs do most of the work the remains underneath his hands would never have the chance to do ever again.
"Apologize, shithead. Right now. I ain' t joking around." Kouga repeated, as he grinded the hard soles of his shoes against Inuyasha's hands. The singer instantly cried out in pain, his reflexes determining that he was unable to retract his delicate fingers from under the full weight of the cruel man.
As the sharp debris dug and cut his skin, Inuyasha thought of the piano. The piano that always inspired him to sing, that had been the only thing that never betrayed him.
Without his voice, he had wanted to at least be able to play the instrument. Music was an absolute must in his life. Especially at times of great stress like now. But with his limited resources, the only things he could develop were his larynx and flexible fingers. He needed his hands. The ones that were currently bleeding and being crushed under substantial weight.
"Stop it!" Inuyasha hissed, trying his best not to sound like he was about to kill. It didn't work very well, as the rough pull of his hair proved. He closed his eyes in quick response; his features convoluted. And as he felt the hateful words against his cheek, he knew he had to keep them closed.
"Do it. Or do you want me to break a few of your bones first? Hm?"
Fucking asshole.
"I-I get it. I'm sorry. I was wrong." Though his hands were finally spared from any more abuse, Inuyasha couldn't really say the same for his hair as the strands were pulled towards Kagome's feet. Although his view was limitedly allowed only the expensive pair of high-heels fit for the most elaborate celebrities, he was somehow sure that the queen had been all smiles throughout this whole ordeal.
Bitch.
"How dare a nothing like you, embarrass me in front of Sesshomaru-sama! Unbelievable." She huffed and spat out with pure disgust.
"I didn't mean to, Higurashi-sama. So please, let's just forget it." Inuyasha pleaded hoarsely, with his hands in fists. His head was already spinning and as stars began to creep their way in from around the corners of his eyes, he felt the drops of sweat form on his temple. This isn't good. He needed rest. He needed medicine.
He needed to leave.
"Kouga, make him regret he ever defied me!" Kagome commanded, angry that despite the position he was in, Inuyasha was still evidently in control of the conversation. Just who was this kid? The loser needed to be taught who the boss is, she thought.
"Sure thing." Kouga responded with a wicked laugh as he pulled at Inuyasha's uniform from the back, forcing him away from the queen and into the nearby desks behind. The impact allowed one desk to fall onto the victim's leg and Inuyasha hissed at the sudden ache from his lower extremities.
Kouga bent to lift it away, only to throw an accelerated punch to the head of the boy underneath. Then several ruthless kicks, as he urged the others to join. They complied without hesitation, as Inuyasha felt what seemed like a thousand limbs, strike him in every direction possible.
In his incoherent state of mind, Inuyasha could only protect his throbbing head while grunting and coughing with all his respiratory system had to offer. The dust traveling into his drying pharynx only worsened his reaction.
"S-stop…" He tried desperately, already feeling feint. Shit. Of all days, why did he have to be sick? Another groan emitted from his lips when the sharp tip of someone's shoe contacted the joint of his head and neck. But even through the dizziness, the dirt in his mouth, and the traitorous hair on his tongue, he could hear the exhilarated laughs from Kagome's poisonous lips. And so it continued, until the queen signaled the start of the next class.
The beating lasted a mere 10 minutes, but Inuyasha had never felt so much physical pain in all his life. Probably because it was also the first time he couldn't defend or protect himself properly. Though he considered regretting taking the queen on yesterday, he knew she deserved so much more. If only.
But man, she really was a very unlikable person! …Just like everybody in this fucking school.
Shit, ugh.
Should he happy that they at least they had the decency to… literally throw him out of the room before the teacher arrived? ...Yeah right.
Inuyasha leaned as closely as he could to the walls as he waded through the hallway, as if trudging in the most unforgiving waters. He hoped to all the Gods he could make it to the infirmary before he passed out and before anyone spotted him.
But then again, he rarely ever got what he wanted.
"What are you doing?"
Damnit. The only time he actually wanted to be proven wrong!
As the overbearing foot steps neared behind him, Inuyasha tensed.
"Nothing," he insisted, attempting to hide his panic, "I'm just feeling a little under the weather. More importantly, you should get back to class." He had to remind himself that his glasses were currently out of commission and more than anything, he was sick and tired of appearing before the president without a complete disguise. It was not something he was used to, nor was it something he could forgive himself for allowing. No way in hell was he going to let the streak continue.
Oh but his adversary, Sesshomaru, was no pushover; not at all. He was a very dangerous man, on so many levels that it wasn't even funny anymore. Every brain cell in Inuyasha's head right now was alerting him to stay away from this person, because if any suspicions arose right now, Inuyasha knew he wouldn't be able to get away with it without at least a little bit of trouble. No, he could not deal with the king when he couldn't even think… or walk properly for that matter.
Why must the annoying bastard always catch him in his most vulnerable moments?
The timing was ridiculously horrible!
"What about you? You sound sick." Said bastard inquired. If he was worried, he sure didn't sound like it, Inuyasha mentally sneered.
"I'm…" A shake of his head to get rid of the dizziness before continuing, "I'm going to the infirmary." When there was no further response, Inuyasha assumed Sesshomaru had gone and so continued to walk. Or at least tried to. What really happened was he tripped like a loser and fell—into the arms of the nosy person who wasn't supposed to be there anymore.
What the shit. But dear god, Sesshomaru smelled incredible. Spicy and alluring, manly but comforting—the scent of reinvigorating sicilian lemon and coffee absolute, of delicious ceylon cardamom tea and natural china cedar coupled with a hint of amber. A single waft left Inuyasha sighing and relaxing into the older man's touch like an ultimately tamed kitten, but his circumstances did not allow him to grasp this grave mistake. A mistake that would make its way into Sesshomaru's heart and live in there indefinitely and perpetually.
"Ah, so… good." Inuyasha mumbled into the strong chest with overwhelming fatigue. The older man felt the warm, tingly breathe dancing across his skin, through his thin shirt, and believed the sensual stir to be better than the comfort from the richest silk and cashmere.
"What is?" Sesshomaru asked teasingly, holding the boy closer.
"You."
A smile crept onto his lips at the simple but unwavering reply. It was not often that he allowed anyone to get so close to him, but looking at the situation, it was he who could do more damage to the boy in arms and not the other way around. Moments later, after Inuyasha performed another involuntary inhale of pure, delicious masculinity, Sesshomaru noticed the boy had amazingly fallen asleep. Well, that was unexpected.
He'd forgive the boy today, since he was, after all, sick.
As the second year mumbled adorable nothings in his arms, Sesshomaru examined his physical condition. The rare upward curl of his lips was short-lived. He had not overlooked the scratches and traces of blood on the hand that had, moments ago, clung to the walls like a lifeline. He hadn't liked the boy's irregular posture earlier either. And his back. The one he saw today looked nothing like the formidable back he had seen that night at the karaoke room.
And it was annoying, to say to the least.
When break began, Sesshomaru had wanted to seek the boy out to learn his name,… but really more for the prospect of entertaining himself. Who would have thought there was such an interesting character in this school?
Now, you must understand… he paid very little attention to the second years, even though he was expected otherwise. Sure, that kind of attitude is normal for most kids, but the thing is… his family owned the entire institute. In every aspect, including the property and as such, he was expected to know about it more than anyone else. However, the second years were the only group of kids he had not wanted to keep tabs on.
Why? Because of an aggravating little girl that the entire student population has apparently dubbed the 'queen' for God knows what reason. And Sesshomaru needed no 'queen'. It was rather incommodious, for he could not outright ignore her because of her status as daughter of one of his father's closest, wealthiest friends. Had she been anyone else, he would have made her willingly and happily commit suicide. He had quite a way with people, after all.
And right now, he was positive the girl was the one to blame for the boy's wounds. During the brief journey to the infirmary, sleeping beauty had moaned distress in his arms several times; even at the tiniest shift. Every tender whine peaked Sesshomaru's anger and soon, he found himself surprisingly worried for the kid. So strange.
Surely it was a worry similar to one that would be directed at one's favourite toy when it faced potential damage?
When he finished wrapping the blanket around and over the boy's cold, shivering body, Sesshomaru headed towards the boy's classroom to pick up his belongings. The other reason for this course of action was to… hm, politely interrogate the boy's classmates. Yes.
His intentions would have stayed as intentions, however, if he had arrived any later than he had. There, on a desk by the window, stood a boy with a triumphant face and his arm clutched a familiar black tote bag. Sesshomaru interrupted before he could throw it down a height of 3 stories.
"Hand me that bag." He breathed out imperially. At the commanding tone, every person turned his way partially in silence and partially in awe. Yes, that includes even the teacher, who he nodded to to keep silent. The first to talk just had to be the annoying brat.
"Oh my! Sesshomaru-sama! I-I was just telling Kouga to stop this ridiculous behaviour!" Masking her surprise with counterfeit innocence, she instructed of her classmate, "Stop it, Kouga! That's not a nice thing to do." And then she finished the deed with a bright smile towards her would-be boyfriend. A perfect act. Anyone else would have gotten played by her game, but Sesshomaru was not just anyone.
As his eyes narrowed in repugnance at the perpetrators, the room grew disturbingly cold. Only a few nervous shuffles here and there and the song of nature's flyers beyond the glass were heard. Sesshomaru found those gulping down their visible anxiety to be particularity miserable.
"I said hand me the bag." He repeated.
"O-oh, of course!" Kagome gestured for Kouga to do as he was told, which he did, of course. It didn't matter how much he hated Sesshomaru for stealing his woman, he was THE fucking Sesshomaru. Completely self-explanatory.
"Sesshomaru-sama…"
"Yes?" He dared the girl to continue.
"I… Why are you so interested in the bag? If you want a bag, I could always buy you a nicer one, I mean, that one's just so dirty…" She tried for a date. But seriously, at a time like this? What was she thinking?
Ignoring her advances, Sesshomaru asked, "Who does this bag belong to?"
Kagome hastily replied, "It doesn't belong to anyone important. Anyway, how about this Saturday…"
"Who," he articulated with more emphasis, "does this belong to?"
Kagome blinked away in confusion and Sesshomaru thought her to be the slowest person in the entire school. Luckily, her friends weren't all that stupid.
"His name is Inuyasha, the four-eyes that molested Kagome yesterday." Kouga tried to explain without his usual rebellious tone.
"I see." Sesshomaru replied rather apathetically and nodded towards the instructor, "Excuse me for the sudden interruption." As the professor flaunted his modesty fretfully, the student council president made his way back to the infirmary. Kagome's dying whines went in one ear and out the over because honestly, he couldn't care less.
An hour later, Inuyasha groggily woke up to someone pinching his nose, effectively blocking his air passage. Which is like, you know, a pretty important thing to a guy.
Springing from the bed while thinking what the fuck, he coughed and pawed at his abruptly itchy nose.
"What are you doing!" He carelessly yelled at the person who was quite possibly trying to suffocate him.
"Hm. You lasted much longer than I predicted." Sesshomaru smirked in conclusion to his experiment as he crossed his arms and rested a leg over the other. But it was the way he laid ever so calmly and superiorly back in his lousy ass chair that pissed the second year more than anything.
"The hell… Are you trying to kill me?" Inuyasha threw his pillow at the obnoxious president, who easily dodged, caught, and retaliated without a moment's hesitation. But alas, the singer's reflexes were no where close to the level to that of his president's.
"I was simply decreasing the risk of harm to your retina." Sesshomaru stated as Inuyasha met with a mouthful of fluff with a cute 'umph'. It was times like these that gravity was one's best friend as the item fell to the boy's lap without any applied effort.
"My reti… Oh shit." Then the memories of the events that occurred only a while ago came rushing back to him, but much too quickly for his taste. "My glasses..." He gasped. Let's see, the last time he visited the bank... "…ugh, I can't believe this. Now what?" He lamented in an absurdly lonely manner while covering his face with his palms in exasperated grief. Setting aside the pitiful matter of his forever dwindling savings, he realized there was another problem at hand now. "Wait…" Inuyasha gasped and shot his head to his left to stare wide-eyes at the appearing-way-too-fucking-many-times-lately-and-can't-seem-to-mind-his-own-business, super nosy third year once again.
"Is there a problem?"
"Y-You… Arghhhh!" Thoroughly disappointed in himself for always letting down his guard around the annoying elder, Inuyasha brought his temple hard against the mattress over and over again in utter frustration. Why him? Why was it only and always him? Of all people…!
"Must you do that?" Sesshomaru sighed. "You're really not an easy person to understand."
At this, Inuyasha shot him with the deadliest glare he could muster. Fuck being a model student. The asshole should have figured out his secret now, so no point in hiding. But his inferiority was rather apparent when even the full capacity of his resentment he managed to muster in his glower did nothing to scare Sesshomaru off. He didn't even twitch. Seriously, what is this?
"Freakin' statue." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath with his face away from said statue.
Something told him he was fighting a losing battle.
"That's. My. Fucking. Line." He finally huffed out at the senior, his glare back on. "Is there something you need from me or do you have another explanation as to why you keep popping up wherever I go?"
"…"
"Stop staring at me and just spit it out already!"
"You're that singer." Three simple words, yet they were the cause of the sudden paleness of Inuyasha's face, his slightly bulging sclera, the slow clenching of his fist, and the rueful trembling of his lower lip.
Fearing his traitorous eyes would give him away, he looked away. Sesshomaru knew one of his secrets. He could handle that. He wasn't supposed to know more.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He pleaded inconspicuously.
"I'm listening." Sesshomaru declared nonchalantly, referring to the song Inuyasha had sung that day. He watched, amused, as the second year in vain denial grew increasingly tense with every word coming out of his own mouth.
What an interesting boy.
"And I'm saying…!" Inuyasha was pierced with a golden gaze that seemed to see through every lying fiber of his body. See. This man was dangerous. He was right from the very start. "That I don't know anything! Just leave me alone!"
Sesshomaru took a moment to switch his crossed legs, a generous amount of time for Inuyasha to hopefully regain enough calm and coherence to consider the mighty king's next few words.
"I'll keep your secrets. On the condition that you continue to entertain me and obey my every request. Under my name, I can even guarantee you protection and a freedom limited only to me."
Ah, the scowl on Inuyasha's face was really something.
"You may decline, of course… in which case, I hope you'll be fully prepared to face the consequences."