Series: Inuyasha
Universe: Modern Highschool AU
Pairing: Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu
Rating: PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.
Author's notes: The one where Sesshoumaru is kind of a jealous jerk. Also, little cameo (of sorts)! Can you spot it?
REVIEWS Q&A: Thank you so so much for all of the people who have left reviews! I read each and every one of them, and take into consideration all of the critiques given, positive and negative! It really helps me understand how readers outside of myself are experiencing the story, and if I'm getting it across properly, so thank you!
That been said, I noticed some comments and questions that I would like to address here for general knowledge!
- Calling Kagome "the raven" doesn't really make sense. A raven is a bird. Why not just use "Kagome", like you do for Sesshoumaru?
Good Question! With a fairly simple answer. The reason I am partial to using "raven" as an epithet is because I have seen in it used in published literature interchangeably to describe someone of dark hair, the same way "brunette" is used to describe someone of brown hair, or "ginger" someone of red hair. Falling back on Kagome or Sesshoumaru all the time feels repetitive and I like to keep my stories rhythmic, so often you'll see me refer to them as girl, woman, student, teacher, man, brother, and yes, even raven.
- When will Kikyo show up and what will her role be in all of this? Will she be a supportive kind sister or a villain?
I get asked this one a lot. Originally, Kikyo was merely a character who was only to be named but not be "active". This story started out as a one-shot drabble in my "Teacher (With Benefits)" collection fic, but later took a life of its own. That been said, I had no particular plans for her character. So we shall see what sort of shape her personality and intentions will take as the story progresses. I'm just as much a spectator as you guys at this point. She won't be a full-out villain (I hate how the poor girl is always vilified in fics) but she will certainly be an obstacle of sorts in Kagome's and Sesshoumaru's relationship.
- Will the set of Higurashi twins hook up with the set of Taisho brothers?
Getting mixed reviews on this, some thinking it's hot, others thinking it'd be weird af (laughs). I guess you'll have to find out ;)
- I love the sexual tension! But...where's the smut?!
(laughs) Yes, for a story that has the word 'Hentai' in it, this is really lacking in the lemon department. But I'm the type of reader who enjoys seeing relationships build up naturally, and so it's reflected in my writing too. I worry constantly that perhaps I drag it on too long and annoy my readers :( But I want to make it seem as genuine and believable as possible. Relationships take time, even when there is chemistry. And if I can make the reader exist within that moment with the characters, live those feelings with them, then that makes me feel more accomplished than going straight to smut. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I work really hard for it and I'm glad its appreciated ;-;
The other reason there is no smut yet is the answer to the next comment.
- I don't agree with the student-pairing in this fic. Such a relationship between a minor and an adult is unethical, illegal and psychologically harmful to a minor.
This is a tricky critique. I am always very mindful of how I treat my teenage characters when approaching adult-situations. But there are some considerations to be taken. Kagome is 17 years old in this fic, and Sesshoumaru is 22. The age difference of merely 5 years is not so marked as to be deemed inappropriate in some cultures (I know in my country in Latinamerica, relationships between teachers and their senior high-school students are, not the norm of course, but certainly not surprising. I had several classmates dating teachers and teacher assistants actually. And everyone in the school was aware of it, both student and staff.) Unethical then is very subjective to each person's personal experience.
Their relationship is not illegal either, by any stretch. In Japan, the age of consent is actually 13, the lowest in any developed country. So while many might deem Sesshoumaru's behaviour towards his student as inappropriate, it is still within the law.
As for the last accusation, I do agree. There are many instances where figures of authority do take advantage of people they are responsible for, and I do not condone that sort of behaviour at all. Which is why at all times I show Kagome as the one who is in control of her own body and reactions. Sesshoumaru as well is attracted to his pupil, but never blatantly makes an advance towards her in a way that is predatory or harmful. Sometimes attraction blooms in the most unlikely places, and while the age gap may seem large because of their roles, once Kagome graduates (which is pretty soon in this fic), it won't be as consequential.
What I'm trying to say here, yes there will be smut...but among consenting adults. And that's all I'm saying on the subject. If you are not comfortable though with the situations I am putting the main characters in, then you are more than welcome to stop reading and I thank you kindly for giving my fic a chance.
That been said, please enjoy!
Hentai High VI
888
The car was warm, and she was close, too close.
Sesshoumaru's charcoal Hyundai sped across the town, both student and teacher sitting in absolute silence, the monotony broken only by the thunder outside and the car radio. Despite the lowered volume, Sesshoumaru heard the familiar lyrics of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me", and he wondered if the gods were mocking him.
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry-
With unrivaled quickness, Sesshoumaru changed the station wordlessly, striving off the wave of guilt that washed over him. He dared to glance at his passenger, but she didn't seem to notice. Good.
Ironically, Sesshoumaru felt more uncomfortable with her beside him than he did with her on the back of his motorcycle. At least with her behind him he didn't have to see her; those glossy black locks that curled just so, the gentle rise and fall of her modest chest as she sighed, the long toned legs that lead up to a minuscule skirt-
He wondered, for the hundredth time, if this was a wise idea.
Sesshoumaru was overthinking this. He was only taking her out to eat something, after all. Nothing sinister or suspicious; and not a date, surely. Yes, Sesshoumaru argued to himself over the tantalizing lyrics of Warrant's "Cherry Pie", he was just performing his role as a teacher and taking care of his student. Besides, he had known her since she was a child, had played with her tea time and cared for her in his own home, so what was the harm? No one would object to their completely platonic relationship.
Except, Kagome was no longer a child, his mind reminded him slyly. She was almost a woman...
Sesshoumaru swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry.
He did not know when these thoughts had begun to develop, or when he had become acutely aware of her growth. Sesshoumaru had always been aware of her around his household of course, since she and her sister were always there with Inuyasha on an almost daily occurrence. He had thought her a sweet child, but nothing past that. The age gap had been enough to place her firmly into the position of "Little Brother's Friend", and for the most part he paid her no mind. Natural of course, since she was five years younger and their worlds were very different back then. His included comic books and girls and playing music with his band; hers included dolls and hide-and-seek and Inuyasha.
And when his parents passed away, leaving him to shoulder the heavy mantle of house patriarch, the distance grew even more. Nose stuck in his books as he struggled to pass high school, and then college, to be able to find a steady teaching job that would support both of them, he would pay even less attention to the young girl. The elegant youth would sometimes hear her voice through the plaster walls of his four-poster bedroom, laughing and singing and filling his house with the same feminine aura that had reigned during his life when his own mother had lived there. And he would secretly thank her for taking care of his brother when he was too busy having several part-time jobs to do it himself. It was safe to say that while mostly ambivalent to her presence, Sesshoumaru liked her, in the abstract way one does to people one sees in passing but doesn't really know in depth.
Those were the hardest years of Sesshoumaru's life, but it had all been well-worth it when he managed to pass his teacher's exam with flying colors, and even manage to land a job in the very same school his brother would attent. Perhaps, this way, he could get a chance to reconnect with the brother he had somehow lost along the way. And it was this way that Sesshoumaru was once more acquainted with the Higurashi twins. Namely, with Kagome, and he had been surprised to see her growth.
Ever since the pretty raven had entered his senior high-school class, he had been watching her, though not for the reasons one might assume. Mostly, at first, because he was embarrassingly aware of the feelings the girl harbored for his younger brother. You would have to be a fool not to distinguish the pining, and there was no greater fool than Inuyasha. This was proven by the fact that his idiot brother had yet to notice the girl's attentions. The fool had been too focused on Kagome's indifferent sister Kikyo to even fathom that one twin actually harbored genuine feelings for him. Perhaps it had been sympathy at Kagome's unwise attempts to woo his brother that had first planted softer thoughts into Sesshoumaru's mind whenever the girl was concerned.
Like a witness to a brutal crime, he watched as Kagome valiantly yet futilely tried time and again to earn Inuyasha's favor. It had brought the school teacher amusement to watch the interactions, then pity at her failures, and then…something else. Later, he would find himself observing her, even when Inuyasha was not there. He came to learn of her compassion for other misfits, and her sweetness and patience, of the way she rolled her eyes before she laughed, or cracked her spine by pulling the hair at the nape of her neck, how she loved awful puns, and the million little things that made up one Kagome Higurashi.
Before he knew it, she was all that occupied his thoughts.
That been said, Sesshoumaru had not planned for her detention to be with him. Most would have urged him to take pleasure in such an advantageous situation, yet he had fought for the job to be handed out to another teacher. However fond Sesshoumaru was of Kagome (and it was only fondness, really), he did not wish to court temptation with one of his students and the best friend (and secret admirer) of his younger brother. But as luck would have it, the principal had thought it best that, as Kagome's homeroom teacher and someone of her confidence, Sesshoumaru should be the one to supervise her detention hours.
That been said, the young teacher had put some generous effort into maintaining a respectable distance between the two. Sesshoumaru had tried, in vain, to stay away on those first Fridays. He would dump his work on her desk then swiftly flee to his office where he would sleep or read or try to think about anything but her sitting just a few rooms away, until it was time to leave.
Sesshoumaru refused to believe that he was running away from a little girl, but in essence, he was. Or at the very least, running away from himself. Slowly, though, temptation grew too strong and he found himself checking up on her often, until finally settling in and 'reading books', barely speaking or prompting conversation but enjoying her presence all the same. It had all been going rather well, actually, or as well as can be expected from suppressing one's feelings.
And then he had let her ride his bike.
Worse yet, he had tried to teach her how to ride it.
Foolish, he thought as he took a turn down a busy street, remembering the "lesson". It had been most imprudent to think that he could maintain all pretense of innocence while practically straddling her from behind under the perverse pretense of a tutorial. For nights, all that Sesshoumaru could think of were those delectable fingers discovering his chest, his back, the top of his thighs, and the memory of her shampoo - sweet and clean like summer rain - curled around his head many a sleepless hour until the sun broke the horizon, and he had realized he had fallen too far.
Sesshoumaru sighed. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, he recited in his head as he parked on a curb next to a sushi bar. For now, he could keep this on a platonic level. He was a professional and an adult who was in charge of his desires and needs, and that did not include wanting a 17-year-old girl. Especially one that was besotted with his little brother. The one need he could satisfy at this moment was hunger (of the food kind), so he focused all of his energies on it as he pushed all other thoughts of pretty students away.
Sesshoumaru would often come to this sushi restaurant after work, it being his favorite place to eat out. It was cheap, fast, and relatively healthy, plus Sesshoumaru knew the owner. Sesshoumaru was a not a snob about food, but he was very picky with his sushi and the owner could do the best in town.
Kagome looked up at the flashing green neon sign that read "Kitsune Leaf", eyes scanning the giant images of sushi and maki roll options plastered on the glass, with cute little foxes drawn in and pointing at the great prices. It didn't look expensive, so Kagome didn't feel too bad freeloading from her teacher.
She didn't ask how Sesshoumaru knew she liked sushi.
They both got out and made their way to the door, hurrying as the first drops of rain began to fall. Once inside the establishment, a perky waitress with bright green eyes and dark hair tied back with a blue bow nodded at them. She was wearing a teal, leaf patterned shirt, with blue capris and a brown vest where she kept a notepad and pen. Kagome thought the petite waitress was way too young to be working. But darn if she didn't look adorable, she thought with a smile as the girl grinned toothily at them.
"Hello Sesshoumaru-san! Nice to see you again!" the preteen waitress greeted bubbly. If she had a tail, it would be wagging.
Sesshoumaru nodded amiably at the preteen, getting the pleasantries out of the way as quickly as possible. "Same to you, Midori-chan. Where are your parents?" he asked, eyes scanning the small restaurant for the redhead owner and his wife.
The girl rolled her eyes theatrically, blowing her bangs out from her eyes. "Dad's sick at home if you can believe it!" she exclaimed. "The old man works himself to death, so serves him right! Mom's taking care of him, so it's just Uncle Hiten and me tonight." She leaned in conspiratorially, a wicked glint in her mischievous green eyes. "Although it's a perfect excuse for him to stay home painting. Driving mom up the wall with all those giant canvases lying around the house."
Sesshoumaru grinned, knowing full well his friend's affinity for art. "Shippo could make a pretty penny selling a couple of those off."
"And part with his babies? Never! He would rather hoard them in our house like some sort of fox god with his treasures." Midori huffed, annoyed at her father's quirks. Then she brightened again. "So a seat at the bar as usual-?"
"Actually, Midori-chan, a table this time would suffice."
The girl's green eyes widened, and then slid between Kagome and him, taking in the raven's uniform. If she thought something of it, she didn't say so though, her customer-service training kicking in. "Of course!" the preteen said. "One of the tables near the back opened up, so just follow me." She pirouetted on her heel, and walked down the rows of tables, the little baby ponytail bopping behind her. After a beat, Sesshoumaru walked after her and Kagome followed wordlessly.
She sat them at a corner table, with as much privacy as could be offered in such a small place. Midori gave Kagome a menu, then turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Same as always?"
Sesshoumaru nodded and turned to Kagome, who was done perusing the menu. Kagome recited her order to the perky girl: a bowl of miso soup, one plate of salmon sushi and one roll of shrimp maki.
"If you could bring some appetizers while we wait, please." He called after Midori, who signaled him a thumbs up as she rushed to the bar with the order.
Almost immediately, Midori was back with some dumplings and eggrolls, with edamame and seaweed on the side. Kagome's stomach growled loudly, and she looked up at Sesshoumaru, embarrassed. The man smiled again, charmed by her uncharacteristic shyness.
"Dig in." Sesshoumaru commanded lightly, gesturing towards the plates.
Kagome did so, meekly reaching for one of the dumplings. She took a tentative bite, and nearly moaned out loud. It was the softest, most savory dumpling she had ever eaten in her life. Light and fluffy and stuffed with mushrooms and meat and a little bit of soy curry, it was perfection in the palm of her hand. Kagome quickly grabbed a plate and put an eggroll and some edamame on it, biting into another piece of her dumpling. Sesshoumaru watched her enthusiasm, amused.
"If I remember correctly, you used to be quite the ravenous eater back when we were younger. " he said, recalling how many times he would have to serve second helping to her and Inuyasha whenever they came over to eat from school. "By the looks of it, that hasn't changed at all."
Realizing she had been gulping down her food rather unlady-like, Kagome coughed bashfully. "I didn't have lunch today." She explained, putting her plate down and attempting to eat at a slower pace.
"How come?" Sesshoumaru asked. The raven locked eyes with him; his eyes were regularly so bright and yellow and intense, but in the dimness of the restaurant, they were tinted darker. So like Inuyasha's…
"He's still a dude, Kagome! No dude does anything for a girl to be 'nice'."
Kagome blushed and looked down at her plate of food. "I wasn't too hungry today, that's all." Sesshoumaru stared at her, seeming to size her up. Kagome wriggled in her seat. She hated when he did that; it always felt like he was scanning her, reading her as effortlessly as one would read a book, maneuvering through the uncomplicated maze that was her mind and discovering her secrets with ease. Some secrets she didn't want discovered though. And especially not by him, she thought, her blush intensifying at all the impure thoughts he would find if he could really read minds.
Unknown to the young student as she fretted to herself, something dark and selfish curled around Sesshoumaru's chest. He was overcome by a sudden possessiveness, and even though Kagome hadn't come out and said it, he knew that her sour mood today had something to do with Inuyasha. Even now, as she averted her eyes, blush dusting her cheeks prettily, he would bet it was because of that mangy mutt.
It was always about Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to laugh or growl.
If Sesshoumaru had ever been told he would be competing with his little brother for the attention of a girl, he would have mocked the person mercilessly for their idiocy. Except Sesshoumaru felt no humor now, not an ounce of it as he was taken over by a foreign emotion that was making him see red. Sesshoumaru didn't know what moved him to steer the conversation in the following direction, but later in the night when he lay in his own bed recalling that evening's events, he would come to regret his decision. At the moment, his jealousy dominated his entire being and he let it influence him.
"You didn't give your lunch to Inuyasha again, did you?" he questioned her, and he was bewildered by the roughness in his own voice.
Kagome flinched at the name, and shook her head in negative. "No, I didn't. I just..." Then his words processed in her brain, and something seemed off. He had said 'again'…
Kagome looked up inquisitively. "How do you know I sometimes give my lunch to Inuyasha?"
The older man shrugged, an elegant lift and fall of his shoulders, belying the tension in his body. He was trying to seem relaxed, but Kagome noticed there was an edge in his eyes that wasn't there before. "Shot in the dark. I guessed you were the type of misguided person who would feed my useless brother her own food just to keep him happy."
Kagome didn't like what he was implying. "Well, if you gave him money for lunch from time to time, I wouldn't have to." Kagome retorted, and even to her ears, it sounded like an unfair accusation. She knew Sesshoumaru took good care of his brother, as much as could be done. It was incredible to her that, despite her and Inuyasha currently having a spat, Kagome still defended the boy with a sword and shield.
Sesshoumaru didn't seem fazed by her tone. "Inuyasha always has lunch money." He replied blandly, and then, knowing he shouldn't, threw a verbal dagger. "If he spends it buying food for others though, and pretending to have zero money for the benefit of kind but naïve little girls, then there is nothing I can do about that."
Kagome was about to argue and ask what the heck he was going on about, when she recalled something. Memories and moments flashed to the front of her memory at his words, clicked into place like a puzzle that she always had the pieces for but had refused to put together. Kikyo, sitting down with a sweet bun and ice-cream sandwich for lunch and Kagome asking her where she had gotten the money for it. Her twin smiling secretively. And Inuyasha, asking and pleading Kagome to share her food with him because he was out of cash.
For. Fuck's. Sake.
Kagome looked down, gritting her teeth. She mumbled something into her plate.
"What was that?" Sesshoumaru asked, watching her closely, dissecting her reactions as he saw reality dawning on her.
"I said, it's his money and he can spend it however he wants. I'm still his friend, so I'll still feed him."
There was a silence. And then Kagome heard Sesshoumaru snort. She looked up, and Sesshoumaru had a familiar sardonic smile on his face, the perfect clone to Inuyasha's mocking grin during their fight, and Kagome knew immediately where Inuyasha had learned it from.
"What's so funny?" the feisty raven demanded, inexplicably annoyed. Her hand reached for her water, drinking it to try and calm herself. Kagome appreciated the free meal and Sesshoumaru's concern. But with the way the conversation was going, she wanted to eat and leave soon before she did something she would regret.
Stupidly unaware of the fury bubbling inside the girl, Sesshoumaru smiled, except it looked nothing like a real smile. Kagome vaguely recalled something she had read once, about how chimps would bare their teeth when they were threatened or upset, and the action was often confused with a smile by humans. "I'm just impressed, is all." He said, shaking his head with that godawful grin.
"By what?" Kagome ground out, her hand grasping the glass of water tighter.
Sesshoumaru looked her dead in the eye then, and threw the final verbal jab.
"By the lengths you would go to be my brother's doormat."
SPLASH.
Sesshoumaru blinked, perplexed as he suddenly found himself dripping wet. Before him, Kagome had stood up from her chair, empty water glass in hand, chest heaving up and down.
"Screw you, Sesshoumaru." She whispered venomously, and through the veil of water running through his lashes, Sesshoumaru thought he saw a lone tear fall down her flushed cheeks. "I'm done. With both of you."
She got up, setting the glass down on the table with a hard thump. Kagome apologized to a flustered Midori, who had come as soon as she heard the commotion. Without another word to her teacher, the raven stalked out of the restaurant into the rain.
Sesshoumaru slammed his fist on the table and cursed.
AN: Tsk Tsk, Sesshoumaru. Keep your cool, old dog.
I'll be leaving for a trip so I decided to give you guys this chapter in advance, since I will not be uploading this weekend. As a result, this chapter is 3,000 words long, so that should keep you guys entertained for a while. Worry not though! The next chapter will make up for this sadder one, promise ;-;
