Chapter 10: The Seven Samurai

"Sango... please, I need to go to class." Kagome begged as she blew her nose.

Sango, who was pouring some broth in their little portable burner, said gently but firmly, "Kagome, you're sick, and there's no way you're going to class. If you did, you'd probably get everyone else sick."

Kagome, who was lying on her elevated futon (now in a couch form), huffed. "But History of the Warring Period, that's a hard class. If I'm not there, I'll fall behind!"

Sango, now ladling out some broth, once again answered, "You'd probably not understand anything because your head is so foggy."

"It's pathetic." Kagome sighed to herself, "To be in college for three weeks and catch the flu."

Sango giggled and added, "You could make it a record."

She handed her the broth and a cup of peppermint tea. Kagome sighed to herself, decided that Sango was right, and drank the broth.

"I have to go to my classes 'cause Monday is my busy day. I don't get a break until about six -- do you think you'll be able to manage being alone... and not be bored out of your mind?" Sango questioned as she munched on her half-burnt piece of toast.

"Un... I can read ahead in my chapters and stuff, or I can watch some of the movies you have. Where did you get all these Samurai movies from the Forties?" Kagome questioned, her eyes roaming over the titles.

"Hmm, places." Sango pondered as she walked towards the door. "I'm leaving now!"

Kagome called out softly, "Be careful."

The door closed, and Kagome was alone.

She drained the broth and tea quickly and settled herself down to sleep; she was unusually tired.

"And that concludes today's lesson. Now, if you please, remember I expect a seven-page paper on what I covered today in class by next Monday. Double spaced." Professor Satake said as he shuffled away his notes.

The class silently groaned as they too stuffed away their papers and binders.

"Now, now, it's not so bad. A page a day." He cooed as he grinned mischievously.

The class scuffled out slowly through the door. Groans could be heard echoing down the hall.

Inu Yasha, as he put his books away, looked up at the upper right hand corner of the room where his brother sat.

There he was, gazing out the window, a look of calmness and superiority resting on his face.

Inu Yasha grimaced. His brother was the same as he always had been. He knew that Sesshoumaru hated him, despised him -- or maybe it wasn't even that, maybe it was the fact that Sesshoumaru questioned his choices. Sesshoumaru had always been right. Sesshoumaru had always won.

Inu Yasha sighed, shook his head, and walked out of the classroom. As he shuffled past a few desks, a thought crossed his mind --

Kagome is not here...

Silently he wondered where she was. Somehow, today did not feel right. He felt as if he were living in a dream that he had not yet awakened from. The world was somehow wrong when she was not sitting beside him.

He brushed off this feeling that had been frequently tugging at his head. Kagome was of no concern. The only woman that concerned him was Kikyou.

Sesshoumaru, whose tradition (usually) was to leave after all the mindless mass had left. Then he would silently lift himself up from the chair in the back of the room; walk past the desks and down the steps to the bottom.

Only Professor Satake remained. In his hands was a bundle of papers, and he was now staring at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru avoided his gaze. Obviously the professor was going to ask him something, and at the moment he did not want to be bothered.

The door was within reach, and he had extended his hand when...

"Sesshoumaru." The professor called after him.

He turned around, painting his usual expressionless gaze. He did not say anything.

"I usually don't do this for freshmen... but Ms. Higurashi rivals you in grades at the moment. She's absent today, and I've learned from her roommate that she has caught a flu that'll keep her out of my class this week."

"How unfortunate." Sesshoumaru sighed sarcastically.

Professor Satake seemed not to notice.

"In any case, I was wondering if you could possibly give this to her. It's the assignment for this week and also the notes that a diligent student copied for her." He passed the papers to Sesshoumaru.

Needless to say, Sesshoumaru did not accept.

"Sir, as you know, being a senior I have many responsibilities. As such, I cannot afford wandering all over campus looking for some... mere freshman." Sesshoumaru explained, choosing his words carefully so he would not have to speak later.

"I wouldn't have asked you this if I didn't think you capable." The professor insisted as he added to the pile a slip of paper with her dorm number.

Sesshoumaru gazed at Professor Satake. To strike an instructor would ruin him, so silently he prayed for his revenge.

He took the papers and quickly walked out of the classroom.

Damn...

Inu Yasha paused momentarily at her doorway, his hand resting gently on the wood.

Exactly why was he here?

He sighed. This girl meant nothing to him. She was an inconvenience.

Yet why was he here?

She was annoying and nosy; why he even bothered putting up with her amazed him.

So why was he here?

Inu Yasha grumbled, lightly leaning against the doorway, grimacing.

His hands tightened around his notes as he walked down the hall, his long hair billowing behind him.

This girl meant nothing to him, and he had classes to go to. Damn her.

He straightened up and walked down the hallway, grumbling to himself while he tried to figure out the reason why he had gone to her dorm.

Finally, as he rode the elevator down the floors, he brushed the thought out of his mind.

Kagome was of no importance.

Sesshoumaru walked up the stairs composedly. He revolted at the paint job and the mere unkempt quality of the building. He realized indeed how fortunate he was to be living in an apartment.

He consulted the piece of paper, looked to the left, and promptly walked to the right.

Angrily he shuffled the papers in his hand. Being the head of the class did have its drawbacks.

This was one of them.

This Kagome girl was of no importance to him and could be easily overlooked. However, why did it seem that fate kept throwing them together -- or maybe it wasn't even fate, maybe it was the fact that his senses had dulled from his move into the city.

He stopped in his tracks -- could this be the reason?

It would explain why he constantly mistook Kagome for Kikyou.

But even if that were the case, it would not explain their always running into each other. The restaurant, the Archery Club, the library, the shrine.

However, as Sesshoumaru examined the facts more carefully, he realized that only one of these instances was purely accidental. At the ramen restaurant it was he who had pursued her by his lack of judgment, and in his momentary stupidity he mistook her for Kikyou.

And yet, at the shrine he had once again mistaken her for Kikyou.

He had no relationship with Kikyou at all. In fact, the two times that he thought he saw her, he had followed her for the sake of his brother. His stupid and ignorant brother, Inu Yasha, was not yet aware of the world's realities, and he carried on his life as if it were a soap-opera-esque perfect-ending play.

It was for his brother's sake that one of these days he would have to confront Kikyou -- but the opportunity had not yet arisen, for she was still in a coma.

Sesshoumaru leaned against the wall as he felt his forehead. All these realizations were putting him a little on edge, but he quickly recovered his cool as he once again dove under and tried to sort out this mysterious girl named Kagome.

Kagome seemingly wore the mask of normality. She bestowed a typical figure of a Japanese girl, with typical looks (however, there was a whiff of something ancient about them, he had to admit this), but overall, Kagome was no different from the average girls that walked all over Japan.

And yet... at times she seemed to be pristine and noble, so unlike the society that he shunned.

The Archery Club was when he had first noticed this in the girl --- no --- he thought further back --- no, in fact it was the first time he saw her that he noticed something in her.

It was the way she handled herself around Inu Yasha: she would lose the battle and yet miraculously win the war.

Sesshoumaru reasoned, Kagome was indeed something... not brilliant, but something which held a dull glow.

The fact that she could handle his nearly wild brother was commendable indeed, but the thought of this Kagome with his brother Inu Yasha disgusted him. Inu Yasha had nothing that could satisfy this girl's needs (or so he supposed). His brother had no charm, no grace, or even brains; the most essential thing of all.

It amazed Sesshoumaru that Inu Yasha had managed to capture Kikyou in some strange and indecent way.

Sesshoumaru shook his head slowly. Right now was NOT the time to be thinking about such things. He should wait until he was at home, privately drinking a cup of very fine green tea while watching the smoke curl from his Kyoto cherry blossom incense.

Having momentarily forgotten her room number, he glanced down at the scrap of paper. He looked up at the door and found that he had been standing outside her room for at least five minutes.

What was happening to him?

He gently knocked on the door, but with the lightest touch it opened.

He walked in quietly and wrinkled his nose at the sight.

It was not messy at all; in fact, it was strangely neat. But he was appalled at how small the room was. One person could not decently live in this room, let alone two.

One of the beds had an unfolded blanket on it, and a cup of steaming tea was on the table nearby.

He walked in a little more -- perhaps she was behind this "so-called" entryway.

And yet, even as he looked around the corner, she was nowhere to be seen. He eyed the room, surveying it carefully.

Two beds were in the futon style rested against each of the walls. Closer to him in front of each bed were two desks, identical in shape and size. He reasoned this was something the school had so generously bestowed upon the students.

He scoffed. How ludicrous.

Behind the headboard farther away from him was a small refrigerator and a small table, on which was a portable burner and microwave. Two windows framed the scene, letting in the hazy light of the autumn day.

Bookshelves lined the wall, with a variety of books, keepsakes, and on one of them, a TV.

He sighed. How typical, just as he had imagined it.

Yes, this girl and her roommate were indeed like the rest of the masses. He was surprised that his expectations of her had risen so high.

He turned around when the door gently opened.

Kagome, who had not yet seen him, stepped inside the room.

He studied her, his face expressionless.

She looked up, "What the hell are you doing in my room?" she yelled, although the effect was not as she had intended since her voice was hoarse.

Sesshoumaru motioned to the papers, "I was instructed by Satake-sensei to give this to you."

Kagome marched up and snatched the paper from his hand, "Thank you -- and please get out now."

"You realize that your door was open." Sesshoumaru pointed out.

"Of course I did." Kagome sighed as she sipped her tea.

Sesshoumaru regarded her carefully. She really did not look well. The color was drained from her skin, and she looked as if she might faint at any moment.

Kagome let out a long breath, "I'm sorry, whenever you're around I just... seem to yell at you."

Sesshoumaru did not disagree.

Kagome motioned with her hands, "Please sit down."

Slowly, Sesshoumaru sat down on the other person's bed. (If he had shown expressions, he would be grimacing right now)

"Do you want some tea?" She asked, her voice much softer now.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, so Kagome took that as a "yes."

He was handed an old handmade cup filled with hot water and a tea bag floating in it.

"I'm sorry about the tea bag, but my roommate Sango said that peppermint tea is good when you have the flu." Kagome explained, suddenly nervous. "They don't sell peppermint tea, without the tea bags at least."

Sesshoumaru said quietly, "Sit down, if you're sick, you should sit."

Kagome slowly slid down onto the futon -- wondering why Sesshoumaru was being so "nice" to her.

The seconds ticked by.

"I take it that these notes are for History of the Warring Period of Japan..." Kagome mumbled as she looked through the sheets.

Idly, she fingered through the notes someone had wrote.

"Eh??" Kagome burst out.

Sesshoumaru looked alarmed, "What?"

Kagome flushed, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I was just a little shocked to see that Inu Yasha took such careful notes."

Sesshoumaru said coolly, "That is surprising."

Kagome looked up at him, a bit of her hair falling against her face. "Why don't you get along with your brother?"

Sesshoumaru stared at Kagome a bit. It would take him at least a day to go into all the specifics, so he merely said, "He has given me rain when I wanted fine weather."

Kagome raised her eyebrows, "I see."

Sesshoumaru did not go into more detail.

Kagome drank her tea and noticed that Sesshoumaru had not touched his.

Suddenly, she felt faint, and dimly she grabbed her forehead. Sesshoumaru leaned forward, watching her.

Finally, after her pain seemed to have subsided, he said, "You should be in bed."

"I'm okay, really." Kagome grinned, although this was obviously not true.

Sesshoumaru persisted, "You can get up when I leave. I don't want to have to come next week to give you more notes -- so get well now."

Kagome sighed as she lay down on the couch and put the blankets over herself.

"Are you happy now?" She grumbled.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, "Happy is not the word."

Kagome looked up at him and smiled. She could have sworn for an instant his lips curled up ever so slightly, but maybe it was the flu taking hold of her.

Sesshoumaru reached down and gently touched her forehead, and was surprised at how hot it was...

"I expect to see you at Archery Club next week." Sesshoumaru said firmly, his face vacant of all emotion.

Kagome nodded silently, still enjoying the sensation of his cool hand against her brow.

He walked out of the room and closed the door.

Kagome leaned back in her pillow, determined to follow Sesshoumaru's advice. Once again, sleep overpowered her.

Later that day, about two and a half hours later...

Kagome plopped in a videotape into the VCR and pressed play.

She sank back into the futon and reached for a tissue.

Inu Yasha once again glared at her door. Why was he here?

He was here to see why she had not been in class.

Yes, that was the reason.

He knocked, but when his hand touched the door it opened slowly.

He stared at the slowly-opening door, a look of confusion on his face. Perhaps he had gotten the wrong room. No, he looked down on the paper; no, this was the right room.

He stepped inside the room and walked into the main area.

Kagome, who was watching the opening credits roll by, looked up.

Silently she thought to herself...

'What IS it with this family?'

"Why are you in my room?" Her reaction was much kinder than it had been to Sesshoumaru, probably because she was a bit more used to it by now.

"Why weren't you in class today?" Inu Yasha raised his eyebrows and ignored her question.

Kagome motioned to the tissue, but Inu Yasha did not notice.

"And you call ME a slacker!" Inu Yasha huffed, crossing his arms.

"I never called you a slacker." Kagome said, glaring at him.

"You probably thought it though. Everyone does. No one expects me to go anywhere." Inu Yasha grumbled as he strode across the room and looked out her window, an angry scowl on his face.

"I don't think that. And I never called you a slacker." Kagome persisted.

Inu Yasha angrily waved this away with his hands.

"So you're sick, eh?" He questioned, looking around the room at empty teacups, cough medicine, and tissues.

"Bull's-eye." Kagome muttered, slightly annoyed that she was missing her favorite samurai movie -- "The Seven Samurai."

Inu Yasha, who was holding a bag, extracted something in a Tupperware container. He tossed it to her, and Kagome caught it, although barely.

"What is this?" Kagome asked as she turned it around in her hands. A white, thick, almost pudding-like substance was in the container.

"My grandmother sent it from Okinawa. I had a cold last week and she sent it for me, but by the time I got it, the cold was gone." Inu Yasha explained, eyeing the TV.

"So you brought it for me?" Kagome asked sweetly.

Inu Yasha flushed suddenly, "OI! If you don't want it, I'll just take it back! Feh -- some gratitude from you..." He had turned away from her as though he were interested in the movie. But in reality, he did not want her to see him blush, though it was too late for that.

"No no no!" Kagome chuckled, "I want it, that is if you'll tell me what it is... it looks, rather..."

She decided to stop there. Some things were best left unsaid.

"It's rice that was cooked in coconut milk with coconut shavings and some sort of funky spice, probably ginger. It sort of burns your throat or something." He explained, now facing her. "But it helps clear up your senses."

Kagome, looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you, Inu Yasha."

"Feh." He grumbled.

"Are you going to stay or leave?" Kagome questioned suddenly.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I don't mind... if you're going to leave, do so, but if you want to watch the movie, stay." Kagome explained, and Inu Yasha noticed for the first time that he was blocking the movie.

He turned around and looked at the TV for a few seconds, and then mumbled, "Feh. It doesn't look so bad, I guess I'll stay. Don't have any more classes anyways."

Kagome smiled as she moved over on the couch and let him sit next to her.

"So, Kagome, what movie is this?" Inu Yasha questioned.

Kagome glanced at him, "It's called the Seven Samurai, very famous."

"Oh. I see." Inu Yasha said as he settled down into the couch.

"Are you cold?" Inu Yasha questioned after a while.

Kagome answered, "No I'm fine. I have the blanket." She said, pointing to the blanket that covered her torso and down.

"Are you cold?" Kagome asked.

Inu Yasha shook his head, but instead felt Kagome placing the blanket on him.

"T-thanks.." Inu Yasha stuttered, suddenly becoming extremely interested in the movie.

About halfway through the second part of the Seven Samurai, Kagome had fallen asleep, her head resting gently on his shoulder.

Inu Yasha, when he first noticed, was going to yell at her. However, as he studied her more, he realized how pretty she was when she was sleeping. He smiled gently and touched her hair softly.

She shivered a bit, and Inu Yasha wondered if he should go find another blanket. Instead he slowly wrapped his arm around her. She moved a bit, then sighed and snuggled closer.

Inu Yasha flushed, but smiled. Perhaps this girl was not so bad.

Something about this girl... inspired him...

Sango unlocked the door and stepped in quietly. The room was dark except for the TV, now a swirling ant farm. She peeked inside the room and nearly screamed. However, upon closer inspection, it turned out that the two had fallen asleep. But WHO was the other person? Sango wondered.

Inu Yasha was gently leaning against Kagome, after falling asleep watching soaps.

Kagome, who had not yet awakened, was resting her head on Inu Yasha's shoulder.

But what caught Sango's attention the most was that this guy's arm was wrapped around her shoulder.

She grinned and reminded herself to question the guy in the morning.

Sango smiled as she crawled into bed.