To begin with, I apologize for taking so long to post this chapter. I have been besieged with homework lately, lab report after lab report, I have one due next Monday and another due Wednesday. Also, exams are almost upon me and I must study for those, especially my Chemistry exam. My teacher Dr. McCord has said that it is a standardized test and it is designed to make us fail (very comforting) and part of the exam is a Lab Practical. I probably will be unable to write the next chapter for a while. Once again I apologize.
"We're supposed to try and be real
And I feel alone, and we're not together. And that is real"
"Imagine one selected day struck out of life, and imagine for a moment how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would have never bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."
Charles Dickens - Great Expectations
Chapter Four
Sesshoumaru's eyes scanned the classroom, glancing at the occasional chart that listed the principles and elements of art as well as some charts that were titled "Careers in Art." So the ningen's name was Rin, and now she was seated directly across from him, simply because Kawamori-sensei did not approve of him sitting by himself. Sesshoumaru knew that arguing with the ningen would be futile so he acted the part of a docile student and situated himself in the only available empty seat. Docile student, what an oxymoron, no student was truly docile except in the presence of a teacher, and most students weren't even docile in a teachers presence. So far, they were only one and one half hour into the class and he could already tell that the teacher was inept for teaching this particular subject, almost every instruction she gave for a specific technique contradicted a previous instruction. Sesshoumaru glanced at Rin, he had noticed that she was ignoring Kawamori-sensei and had been busily drawing something on a blank sheet of paper. She moved her hand slightly and Sesshoumaru was given a clear view of the subject of the drawing, it was a mermaid, the scales had been drawn, and given texture, the hair had highlights in the appropriate places. What surprised him however was the fact that she had drawn the hair as it would appear if under water, many drawings, paintings, or sculptures of mermaids that he had seen portrayed the hair as it would look outside of the water and dry not damp. It was obvious to Sesshoumaru that the nin- Rin, he corrected himself- that Rin had taken art classes before. He wondered what other pieces of art she had compiled; her talent intrigued him. It pained him to acknowledge that most youkai did not have much artistic capability, for youkai were warriors by nature, their skills were battle and such skills were considered petty and weak by many. There had always been the occasional few that possessed such talent, those who had been talented in weaving, dying, painting, sewing, architecture, ceramics, and carpentry. They had been the ones who had kept many wealthy youkai furnished with clothing, furniture, and homes, as well as decorations. Now, however, times had changed and youkai had learned to find such worldly pleasures the way ningens found them, from stores all because of the Industrial Revolution.
Sesshoumaru was becoming increasingly bored with the farce that the teacher was vainly attempting to conceal any imbecile - even the lowliest and ignorant of youkai, could tell that while this teacher may have artistic talent she was an abyssal teacher. It was despicable, demeaning, and an utter waste of his valuable time, to be coerced to listen to Kawamori-sensei's incessant rambling. Education was going to the dogs- no pun intended, he thought, if such inept teachers were being employed in one of the most prestigious colleges in Japan. Sesshoumaru heard Rin gently set per pencil down, the noise would have been in audible if not for his exceptional inu youkai hearing. He looked at her and noticed that instead of copying down lecture notes, as the rest of the class was doing- with the exception of him- she was pulling out a book and began to read. He read the cover, The Once and Future King by T.H White. The book's title sounded vaguely familiar to Sesshoumaru, however, he could not recall exactly where he had heard of it before, perhaps it had been in his Literature class. He then noticed something odd with the way Rin was reading, she had been reading the same paragraph over and over, why did she not continue, was it that she could not understand the paragraph he wondered. His questions were answered when she picked up her pencil and began to sketch something, it became apparent that she had been reading a description and she had reread it to make sure that she drew her subject accurately. Rin then looked up at him, as though she had noticed his gaze, and smiled nervously. She pulled out a sheet of notebook paper out, began writing, and proceeded to discreetly fold the paper and pass it to him. Sesshoumaru was slightly surprised by her actions, nevertheless he accepted the note, unfolded it, read her message that was written, and vaguely noticed that she had small handwriting.
Boring class isn't it? Poor Kawamori-sensei, she should have stuck with teaching kindergartners, at least then she would have a slightly attentive class. Anyway, I wanted to apologize properly for running into you in the hall; I should have paid more attention to what was in front of me. What I'm trying to say is gomen nasai for bumping into you….I don't believe I caught your name.
Sesshoumaru pulled out a pen and decided to write a response to Rin's message, there was nothing else to do he reasoned.
Do not trouble yourself Rin, if I recall it was you who ended up on the floor, you should be more careful in your actions. The reason that you never caught my name was that I never gave it to you, however, it is Amaya Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru then place the note on her desk, using his demonic speed so that Kawamori-sensei would not notice what he had done. Rin looked surprised to find the note on her desk so easily, and he was surprised that he had actually responded to her note, and for his unusually amiable response. Perhaps his behavior could be attributed to his complete and utter boredom; perhaps it was because she reminded him so much of Inuyasha as a pup. Perhaps it was because she was so benevolent-such a sanguine- that he could not help but succumb to her antics. Whatever the reasons, Sesshoumaru found himself conversing with Rin by passing notes back and forth, however, he wondered why she opted to write to him rather than her friends.
Sesshoumaru, the killing perfection ,for some reason it suites you. Sesshoumaru-san, why are you in this class anyway if you don't mind me asking, you seem kind of, oh I don't know, irritated to be here. It's kind of obvious, if you catch my meaning, though I don't think anyone else saw through your superficial façade.
This comment galled Sesshoumaru, how dare she think that he could be so easily read, even if her observations were accurate it still did not give her the right to make such assertions. He had spent centuries perfecting his expressionless façade and in less than one hour one simple ningen saw through it. Sesshoumaru debated on how to respond to her accurate assertions, should he permit her to know how well she had judged him or should he tell her not to make unfounded accusations? Either way he was not sure if he could save what little bit of pride she had left him on the subject of his "mask" and lying to Rin was not something he truly wanted to do. To utter a lie was as despicable as forcing a female into submission and it had been taught to him from an early age that lying without a legitimate reason was unacceptable for an inu taiyoukai. So deeply engraved was this honor code that he could not feel compelled enough to break it, Inuyasha regularly broke this honor code, however unintentionally, and Sesshoumaru refused to be like Inuyasha. He decided to compromise between the two, he would tell Rin that he was a bit irritated by the teacher's ineptitude but he was most assuredly not irritated to be in the class itself. There was no reason for him to anger an artist in an art class by telling them that said subject was boring. Another lesson taught to him by his father: never insult artisans for one day you may find yourself commissioning one of them to create something.
Kawamori is an inept teacher and I despise being in her presence, the class however seems to have much potential.
Sesshoumaru flicked the note across the table to Rin, and he inwardly winced at her reaction to his answer- with one dark eyebrow arched gave him a look that said that she clearly did not believe that his answer was the complete truth. If he had been either Inuyasha or Kouga or willing to deign himself to using profanity in the presence of others, he would have began to curse Rin for her acute sensibilities when it came to reading others. He saw Rin quickly pen a response, fold the note back up and smirk mischievously at him, glance at Kawamori-sensei and passed it to him.
Really now, is that so? If you say it, it must be so. However, I beg to differ. You see as much as this class may have potential if the teacher is inept then the class becomes completely and utterly worthless. Might I also add that Kawamori-sensei is no, I repeat, is not certified in the fine arts. Let me put it this way: Kawamori-sensei majored in Economics. She does not even have a background in art. She is just here to get paid and lecture, most college professors are. Whoops, I think I said far too much.
Sesshoumaru calmly folded the note and looked up at Rin, he quickly suppressed a growl, she still had that damnable grin plastered on her face. To say that that grin infuriated him was an understatement, he was well aware of the fact that many professors were not qualified to teach the courses they taught. That was the whole purpose of college- to make the alumni fail so that they would be coerced to take the course over and then the college would make more money. He recalled the words he had first heard his freshman year, "Look at the person to your right and now look at the person to your left, in a couple of weeks they won't be there." He also recalled a conversation he had overheard when he had been wandering the campus, a professor was told that he was giving out too many A's and if he did not stop doing that and fail more alumni he would lose his job. Sesshoumaru decided that the topic needed to be changed, as interesting as it was to discuss how poorly education was being treated in this day and age. . Sesshoumaru decided that the topic needed to be changed, as interesting as it was to discuss how poorly education was being treated in this day and age. Rin he wrote, still slightly uncomfortable with addressing her as such.
Rin, why do you consistently write to me instead of your friends, would it not be more entertaining to converse with someone who you share interests with rather than someone who you barely know?
He quickly sent the note across to her, when she read it her brow puckered slightly when her eyes narrowed and the corners of her lips drooped, she picked up her pen and wrote her reply pausing often to consider her words. Her display of melancholy unbalanced Sesshoumaru, normally he did not care how a ningen felt, but to see her lose that look of happiness was something that he never wanted to bear testament of again. Her reply was sullen, and he was shocked to realize that it pained him slightly to know he was the cause of her unhappiness, he decided then that he would never intentionally cause her to lose her smile.
I'm sorry, do I bother you with my incoherent statements? Please forgive my impudence in addressing you so familiarly when in reality I have no right to do so, I shall leave you alone now, if that is what you so desire. I am very sorry that I ever troubled you, a youkai such as yourself should probably be extremely vexed my lack of courtesy.
Sesshoumaru scolded mentally scolded himself for caring over the emotional health of a ningen, a ningen that was obviously not of social standing, and it irked him that he had become soft. However, he could not rid himself of the feelings of guilt and thus decided to appease her fears and humor her for as long as she desired, Sesshoumaru mentally scoffed at his thoughts, perhaps he was truly his father's son.
You misunderstood my statement Rin; I merely found it strange that you would ignore your friends simply to write correspondences to someone you barely knew, however, it does not bother me if you choose to converse with me. This Sesshoumaru feels no inclination to deter you from writing to whomever you choose, conversely, I suggest that you should not write to just anyone for some people can be rather callous and have heinous thoughts and beliefs.
Her response to his statement was immediate, warm relief spread across her face though he could not explain why it pleased her so much that he approved of her attempts at establishing a friendship. The rest of their time was spent much in the same manner, she would write to him and he would answer, the process remained unbroken until the students were dismissed for lunch. At that point she waved at him and stated cheerfully that she would talk to him after lunch and then she ran off to catch up with her friends discussing how boring the class had been.
Sesshoumaru was sure that Rin was asleep once more, her even breathing and the rapid movement of her eyes denoted that she was in the REM stage of sleep, he wondered what she was dreaming of and if it involved him in any way. At this Sesshoumaru shook his head, it was utterly redundant of him to care about what his ningen mate dreamed of, she would most likely not remember in the morning and he refused to deign himself to ask her. It was a matter that was worth neither his concern nor his time, petty dreams held little value, and although both humans and youkai alike dreamed, ningen dreams were often adulterated by their greed or thoughts of carnal pleasure. However, this was not true of Rin, her thoughts held non of the putrid emotional scents that he loathed with every fiber of his being, and that was what intrigued him for he had never before been so close to a sleeping ningen. When had he become so caring, what had caused him to lose much of his callous nature, was it Rin who caused this transformation or had he always been this way and had finally began to shed the constricting façade that he had always worn? Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to the clock on his nightstand, the time read three and forty-five minutes were had the time gone, it appeared that time seemed to pass much quicker when one decided to relive the past.
"I have been bent and broken, but I hope into a better shape."
Charles Dickens – Great Expectations