Disclaimer: Same as before.

Author's Note: Let's see if I can improve on the previous chapter. I realized I kicked off wrongly and while you may all be familiar with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, I didn't expound on their characters within the context of the story, much less the OCs. I'll remedy that in the next chapter, so thank you for bearing with me, and for your reviews. :D

Chapter 1

Trouble

"Oh, I wish she'd just tell them to buzz off and get on with the lesson," Yumiko said irritably, staring at the line that stretched from the professor's desk to out of the classroom. "Teacher's prerogatives should have a time limit." She checked her watch. "It's been a full half hour already! We might as well have skipped class."

"Don't be mean," Leiko reprimanded amusedly. "Remember that we had to do prerog once when the dratted online enlistment failed us, so you know exactly what they're going through. And besides, our slots would have been cancelled, as you keep conveniently forgetting."

She shot Leiko a dirty look but didn't call her out on that remark. "Then I wish she'd just get their IDs and shuffle them before picking out the students she'll accept instead of determining whether she can accommodate all of them. It's damned annoying."

"Yeah, sure it is." Leiko flicked a meaningful glance at the person standing at the head of the line, who seemed to be exerting all manners of coercion into getting Miss O-Tsuya to give him a class card. She almost felt sorry for the prim, spinsterish prof. She was almost half-certain that the boy—whoever he was—could be very...convincing...when he wanted to be. As it was, Miss O-Tsuya didn't seem to stand a chance.

"Oh, jeez—" Yumiko broke off sharply, crossing her arms across her chest and riveting a dark stare on him as the boy gave Miss O-Tsuya a half-smile and sauntered up the aisle, depositing his marvelous self—

Right next to her. While most guys would be smart enough to ignore her—or normal enough to confront her and return her glare—he turned to her with that same half-smile on his face and actually leaned onto her desk.

"Hey," he said smoothly, and startling eyes of burnished gold peered unashamedly into hers. Her mouth went dry even if she kept it tightly shut and she felt her expression soften despite herself. The gold of his eyes deepened into a dark ring right around his pupils and she realized he was smirking at her, knowing that something about his nearness affected her.

"Piss off!" she snapped in a low voice, aware that more than several people were looking at them.

Temper, he observed with approval. Not just feigned temper or annoyance. The real, fiery thing. He continued to stare at her, not budging an inch as he took in her sharp, sweet scent.

And let it go straight down to his groin.

Not good, he thought with a beat of panic as something else past human desire stirred his blood. He bit back a whine of need as his ears filled with the steady beating of her heart and the scent of her blood, above all else, swamped him. Vaguely he realized her expression was changing from anger to surprise and even fear as he leaned closer.

"Easy."

A hand like a vise clamped down on his shoulder and he let out a hiss as he glared up into Sesshomaru's identically flashing eyes. His brother's face was a study of impassivity, but the restraining hand on his shoulder told him a multitude of things about how his brother was feeling right now.

"Mind your own business!" he snarled, half-standing.

"You are my business," Sesshomaru said with a faint trace of irony in his voice, and he sat down right behind Inuyasha. His eyes flicked over to Inuyasha's current prey and then behind her. "And so are these lovely ladies you're bothering."

So much for being an innocent bystander, Leiko thought with mild irritation at being dragged into the conversation. She met the newcomer's cool gaze and lifted her brows inquiringly, as though she had been completely absorbed in her nails for the past two minutes.

For the first time, Inuyasha noticed the person sitting right behind Miss Straight-To-Your-Loins-Heat. A pair of cool grey eyes leveled onto his, and he felt an icy punch in his gut that sent sensation splintering through his body. He swallowed, recognizing the feeling as need just as sharp and sweet as the one he had felt not moments before, and it was spreading as acutely through his system as the first one.

What the—

"Bothering?" her voice was rich and low, but its pitch angled sharply with the tone of her voice. "I hope you don't mean me."

"Yes, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said softly, afraid his voice would break as fierce desire scraped at his insides. "But thank you for calling my attention to it. Until you came along, I wasn't bothering her at all."

"What and you were me?" Yumiko's eyes flashed with affront at the undeniable implication in his words. "As if!"

"Wasn't I?" He turned back to her. She swayed more than wilted beneath the heat of his stare. "I had the impression that I bothered you very much."

"Enough of this," Sesshomaru said firmly, but his eyes were lingering on the blonde as well. "We're in the middle of class."

The voice of reason, at last! Leiko gave him a warm smile but it dimmed as he simply stared it down. More than a little miffed at the snub, she looked away and focused on the back of Yumiko's head. If the two jerks wanted to be completely dislikeable, fine.

This could be bad, Sesshomaru mused with more surprise than worry. He would never have considered it happening at all, much less in the midst of a mundane zoology class while they were surrounded by humans. He disliked humans at the least and despised them at the most, and yet here he was. His gaze found his brother and he stifled a burst of ironic laughter. At least I'm not alone. Which could only mean that this gets worse. He turned from his brother and noticed the blonde angling a sideways glance at him. And interesting.

Miss O-Tsuya was finally wrapping up the prerog. Yumiko felt her already slim lips tighten with displeasure. Sure, she let in two creeps first before she decided that her class was already too full for late enrollees. She kept her gaze focused determinedly ahead, aware of the hanyou next to her boring holes into her profile with his eyes, but she reined in the need to snipe at him by remembering what he could do to her with those eyes of his. A growl sounded low in her throat. Damn those eyes of his. She'd scratch them out if they weren't so pretty.

Behind her, she heard Leiko shift in her seat, the distinct click of Leiko's needle-point heels an indication that she was pulling her legs in from the relaxed, stretched-out position she favored. A faint rustle of canvas and the smart snap of a file case told her she was taking her notes out and was preparing to become the devoted student. She tilted her head slightly to the right when she felt the relentless heat lift from the side of her face and realized that now the hanyou had fixed his gaze on her best friend. And from the looks of it, seeing Leiko in all her class-president-like glory was something he liked very much indeed.

Without thinking, she bared her teeth and growled, "Back off, hanyou."

He turned back to her, giving her a feral smile that made her rub her arms as a shiver rocked her.

"Only because you're moving in on me, darling," he whispered, dropping his voice huskily.

Damn it! Leiko, help me!

She stared at him, trying to find the cutting remark he deserved for even assuming—

"Well, come on now," he said softly, and his lids dropped halfway, making the look on his face slumberous—if not a beat less suggestive. "Keep going. I won't go for her if you keep me busy."

"Like she'd go for you even if I didn't!" she snapped, regaining a bit of her temper at the thought of Leiko and he—well. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered why the thought of Leiko and—well. It only disturbed her because Leiko was her best friend and the son-of-a-bitch right next to her would probably be an awful companion for her.

"Companion." Right, Yumiko, that's the word for it. And since when has Leiko been as thick as a post when it comes to guys? Hell, if I can see right through him, she definitely can.

Inuyasha's brow quirked up at her outburst, but he checked an irrational need to quell her temper when he studied her flushed cheeks. She was probably just telling him—in her own lovesick way—to stick to her and not bother with the other girl—which was fine by him. But still, statements like that regarding his appeal to the opposite sex didn't go unanswered. He turned to look at the other girl, who looked for the life of her to be completely absorbed in whatever Miss Zoology 10 was writing on the board.

"Wouldn't you?" he asked, knowing instinctively that she was listening even though her hand was already moving over the crisp sheet of notepaper.

She took her time in answering. She had been lucky the first time—Yumiko had drawn his fire and she had had several minutes to recover the composure that had been going to pieces when he'd fixed that sexy pair of eyes on her. But he was talking to her directly now, and not replying to him would let him in on the awkwardness she was feeling right now. It pissed her off, the weird feeling she got when she looked at him that made her stomach twist into knots, and it had to be dealt with.

Lifting her eyes slowly, so she could encompass Yumiko's waiting, expectant gaze before she met his, she forced herself to look completely matter-of-fact.

"No."

Yumiko burst out into a triumphant laugh, but it cut of sharply as the amber in the hanyou's eyes turned red and his lips lifted to reveal a completely serious, non-flirtatious set of fangs.

"Bitch!"

The snarl was out of his mouth before he could remind himself he wanted to charm her and then laugh at her as she reversed her opinion, and the shutter that fell over her eyes made the human half of him want to groan at his coarseness. But the youkai side was more furious than daunted by her cool dismissal of him, and before he could stop himself his claw shot out towards her. How dare she sit there and dismiss him as though he were some sniveling, skinny human whelp while he was all but starved for her!

"Stop it!" Yumiko cried in panic, all traces of laughter banished from her voice and face. She reached out almost as quickly, her reflexes sharp from the sports she had never stopped playing despite the ever-increasing weight of schoolwork, but he knocked her hand out of the way.

"What is going on back there!"