Un. Ficbunnies are vicious. I'm too busy for this, damnit! :E *sighs, does their bidding like a good little uke* :X
My first stab at this subgenre, because it wouldn't leave me alone. Wish me luck, and I really hope you all like! And as always, thanks to Rin for some of the technicals, Kat for the names and beta and kthx-ing, and Colin for beta-ing.
Possible future warnings for this fic: reincarnation, yaoi, underage sex, angst, darkness, and fluff. ^^; Oh, and the name is cheap, and I might change it. ^^
--==--
In a quiet classroom, a teacher gathered his things together, sliding them into his bag. Notes, role sheets, extra handouts, homework. He paused, his hand on his edition of the textbook.
It was the first day of classes, and his first year teaching at this particular school. He had a habit of changing schools often, of moving all over Japan. It kept things simple, kept people from asking too many questions. Kept him from being lonely, from really thinking about things.
He picked up the history book, considered it for a second, and he could have sworn that for a second he could feel the physical weight of all the years he had seen. He shook his head slightly as he slid it into his bag with the rest of his things, trying to shake off the feeling of melancholy.
It had all started this morning, when he met his new students. In the sea of strange faces, there had been one hauntingly familiar pair of eyes watching him. He sighed, dropping his face into his hands for a moment. He had been shocked at how hard it was not to say something, to pretend as if everything was normal.
"Hiroshige-sensei?" The name, even though he had used it for years, was still unfamiliar and if it hadn't been spoken by a soft, achingly familiar voice it might not have broken into his scattered thoughts.
His breath caught. He hadn't heard anyone come back into the room. He slowly dropped his hands, stared up into his student's face.
Looking back at him was the monk, Miroku. The same eyes, sparkling with wicked humor, the too-long hair, and even pierced ears, though the earrings had been removed to uphold the school's dress code.
Of course, it wasn't really him. It had been far too many years, and Sesshomaru knew it. But god, it hurt to look at him. Standing in front of him was a perfect reminder of the fact that he had lived too many years, and that everyone he had cared for, hated, or had any sort of attachment to at all was long-dead.
Beyond that, it was a reminder of how very, very stupid he had been so long ago. He had wasted so much time, trying to prove himself as a youkai lord, trying to deny the qualities that his father had seen so clearly when he had given him the Tensaiga. If only he had been a little less stubborn, perhaps things would have been different.
Suddenly, he realized that the boy must have a question for him. He cleared his suddenly tight throat self-consciously. "Can I help you?"
The boy took a breath. "I... ah. I didn't get a copy of the handout." A faint flush appeared on his cheeks.
Sesshomaru let out an unconscious sigh, feeling unexpected disappointment flood over him. He nodded brusquely, pulled out a paper from his bag. "Here. The assignment is due tomorrow."
The boy nodded, taking it. "I remember. Thank you Hiroshige-sensei." He gave Sesshomaru a small smile, then turned to leave.
"What was your name again?"
He turned, smiling a bit more and bowing. "Tanizaki Masahiko. But everyone calls me Masa."
Sesshomaru nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck on the assignment." The words tasted bitter, cold. He watched his student leave, the door closing gently behind him. He stared at the door for a few moments, then growled to himself, standing up and angrily picking up his bag. Of course the boy wouldn't recognize him. There was no reason to expect him to. He was being quite entirely foolish.
And yet - he ached to hear his true name on the boy's lips.
--==--
reviewkthx?
My first stab at this subgenre, because it wouldn't leave me alone. Wish me luck, and I really hope you all like! And as always, thanks to Rin for some of the technicals, Kat for the names and beta and kthx-ing, and Colin for beta-ing.
Possible future warnings for this fic: reincarnation, yaoi, underage sex, angst, darkness, and fluff. ^^; Oh, and the name is cheap, and I might change it. ^^
--==--
In a quiet classroom, a teacher gathered his things together, sliding them into his bag. Notes, role sheets, extra handouts, homework. He paused, his hand on his edition of the textbook.
It was the first day of classes, and his first year teaching at this particular school. He had a habit of changing schools often, of moving all over Japan. It kept things simple, kept people from asking too many questions. Kept him from being lonely, from really thinking about things.
He picked up the history book, considered it for a second, and he could have sworn that for a second he could feel the physical weight of all the years he had seen. He shook his head slightly as he slid it into his bag with the rest of his things, trying to shake off the feeling of melancholy.
It had all started this morning, when he met his new students. In the sea of strange faces, there had been one hauntingly familiar pair of eyes watching him. He sighed, dropping his face into his hands for a moment. He had been shocked at how hard it was not to say something, to pretend as if everything was normal.
"Hiroshige-sensei?" The name, even though he had used it for years, was still unfamiliar and if it hadn't been spoken by a soft, achingly familiar voice it might not have broken into his scattered thoughts.
His breath caught. He hadn't heard anyone come back into the room. He slowly dropped his hands, stared up into his student's face.
Looking back at him was the monk, Miroku. The same eyes, sparkling with wicked humor, the too-long hair, and even pierced ears, though the earrings had been removed to uphold the school's dress code.
Of course, it wasn't really him. It had been far too many years, and Sesshomaru knew it. But god, it hurt to look at him. Standing in front of him was a perfect reminder of the fact that he had lived too many years, and that everyone he had cared for, hated, or had any sort of attachment to at all was long-dead.
Beyond that, it was a reminder of how very, very stupid he had been so long ago. He had wasted so much time, trying to prove himself as a youkai lord, trying to deny the qualities that his father had seen so clearly when he had given him the Tensaiga. If only he had been a little less stubborn, perhaps things would have been different.
Suddenly, he realized that the boy must have a question for him. He cleared his suddenly tight throat self-consciously. "Can I help you?"
The boy took a breath. "I... ah. I didn't get a copy of the handout." A faint flush appeared on his cheeks.
Sesshomaru let out an unconscious sigh, feeling unexpected disappointment flood over him. He nodded brusquely, pulled out a paper from his bag. "Here. The assignment is due tomorrow."
The boy nodded, taking it. "I remember. Thank you Hiroshige-sensei." He gave Sesshomaru a small smile, then turned to leave.
"What was your name again?"
He turned, smiling a bit more and bowing. "Tanizaki Masahiko. But everyone calls me Masa."
Sesshomaru nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck on the assignment." The words tasted bitter, cold. He watched his student leave, the door closing gently behind him. He stared at the door for a few moments, then growled to himself, standing up and angrily picking up his bag. Of course the boy wouldn't recognize him. There was no reason to expect him to. He was being quite entirely foolish.
And yet - he ached to hear his true name on the boy's lips.
--==--
reviewkthx?