Originally to be titled "After Hours."
Unpleasantries
Today had been an incredibly long, confusing, and just all around frustrating day for Sesshomaru. He shouldered his bag and replaced his violin in its case, placing it in the music room's closet before moving to exit the classroom. Kagome walked past him and looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. "I'll see you after drama, okay?"
He nodded and they parted ways. Walking through the crowds, he silently made his way to the dormitory. He wasn't a hurry; all his homework was finished already and he had no real plans for the night, save for finishing his book and maybe, possibly updating-
"Hey, Sesshomaru! Wait a minute!" Just outside the dormitory's front doors, Sesshomaru stopped and turned halfway to see Inuyasha running up to him, a scowl marring his face. Inuyasha came to a halt before him and glared. "Why the hell do I smell your blood?" Sesshomaru frowned but otherwise didn't respond. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
As though suspecting that Sesshomaru was wondering how Inuyasha knew he was hurt, Inuyasha huffed in annoyance and said, "The only reason I even walked by the music room was to go to the classroom next to it to deliver some paper for another teacher. I smelled blood in your scent, so I followed it back to some hallway. What were you doing there?"
"Walking to class."
"What the hell happened to the wall? You punch it?"
Sesshomaru's expression darkened a bit. "Yes."
Inuyasha's frown deepened. "Why?"
"It doesn't matter." This whole thing was awkward and uncomfortable. As if today hadn't already been weird enough, now Inuyasha, the brother he hardly knew, was talking to him? It didn't make any sense. They'd barely ever spoken before. So why start now?
"I'm worried about you."
That one sentence made him tense. Inuyasha was worried? Somehow he doubted that. They barely knew each other, and Inuyasha just wasn't generally a person who worried. Besides, what reason would Inuyasha have to worry? Their familial relationship meant little to nothing. They were related, nothing more. That was as far as it went. It wasn't as if they'd grown up together. Hell, Sesshomaru hadn't even known Inuyasha existed until a few years ago. He wasn't certain if the situation was the same for Inuyasha, but it didn't matter. There was no way Inuyasha was worried about him. It just couldn't be true. It was then, of course, that he remembered what Kagome had said to him just last period.
"You just need to stop doubting yourself. People care about you more than you realize."
"Sesshomaru, seriously," Inuyasha said. "I'm worried about you. And it ain't just at school, you know? A lot of kids get taken home by their parents on the weekends, and know you're one of 'em. And you and I both know your mother's a bitch."
Sesshomaru felt his walls go up in response to that and he became closed off. "I'm fine," he repeated simply before and going inside the dormitory, leaving Inuyasha alone outside. He walked up the stairs quickly, eager not to be stopped by anyone in the halls. Inuyasha wasn't following, a fact he was grateful for, and he soon found himself facing his door. Pulling his key from his pocket, he inserted it into the lock and walked inside. Not long after walking into the dorm and locking it again he walked into his room and closed the door. He kicked his shoes off, dropped his backpack by the door, and laid down on his bed. He looked around slowly, taking comfort in the familiar scenery. This was the same dorm he'd been using since his freshman year at this school. It was common for students to receive the same dorm every year and, as such, many students, himself included, had left some belongings from past years in the rooms they had used. He had accumulated a great deal of books since his first day in this room, almost too many for his shelves to hold. His desk, too, was covered in books as well as papers, various writing and drawing utensils, and even a few DVD's. His laptop rested in the midst of it all, clean and closed and lightly grey, on the wood. His perusal of his belongings was interrupted by an incessant buzzing in his pocket. Sighing, he dug around in his right pants pocket for his small black flip phone and pulled the vibrating device out into the open. Looking at the caller ID, he sighed again, this time more heavily. Flipping it open with a single flick of his wrist, he brought it up to his ear. "Hello, mother."
"Sesshomaru," she greeted coolly.
"Why did you call me?" She wasn't normally one to use her phone, not that that had stopped her from purchasing the most expensive model on the market.
"A little bird has informed me that you were involved in a bit of a row today. Twice, in fact."
"And if I was?"
"You forget what is expected of you."
"Then by all means, remind me." The bored quality to his voice seemed to make her angry, though she kept her voice coolly polite, if somewhat tense.
"You are to marry that girl, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru scowled at the ceiling. I will not. He refused to marry Kikyo. He couldn't stand spending a single moment with her, let alone the rest of his life. "She is human," he reminded her, as though that would change her mind, though he knew it was set. Still, he also knew that his mother's hatred for humans was great. The fact that she was pushing for an inter-species relationship was shocking to say the least. He himself had no quarrels with humans, but she had always been quite the speciest.
"It matters not. She is a miko, and a highly trained one at that. The children you will sire with her will be powerful and worthy of inheriting our blood. Any child you have with some lowly demoness will be a disgrace."
"And if I choose not to marry her?"
"Then you will suffer the consequences. There is always a consequence, Sesshomaru."
He stifled another sigh. "I am aware, Mother."
"Then you will do as I say."
"Goodbye, Mother."
"Don't you dare-" she started to yell before her voice was cut off by a small beep as he hung up the phone. Sesshomaru flipped the phone shut and tossed it onto the end of the bed. He cast a long glance over to his laptop, debating, before finally just rolling over and closing his eyes. Maybe some other time.
Posted 04-15-15.
