Chapter Twelve: Mysterious Tapestry

Sin is not harmful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is harmful.

-Benjamin Franklin

So it was more than luck that Kagome had a lot of homework the week the school happened to be shut down for renovations. Her family won a free trip to a hotel down in Kyoto but she'd chosen to stay at home and 'catch up'. Apparently it'd all been arranged by the group of not quite humans that were getting to know her home much more intimately than she'd like. They'd set up a sort of base there and were researching the portal that the demon lord guy had said was on the other side. She wanted to be more skeptical, but with the things she'd seen in the past few weeks she wasn't certain it was realistic to disbelieve what she'd been told.

She was the target of a spell that was warping time?

Well, that would be nice if he'd bothered to stay long enough to mention anything else to them, apparently he'd actually been the last creature to activate it. The day they'd spoken at the school.

That had been monday and in only four days they'd arranged for her family to not be there that weekend and for the school to be closed an entire week just so they could look into things with her home.

Unfortunately that had also involved bunking out her family's rooms and the living room furniture. Ed and Winry were in the living room on couch and love seat respectively, though Ed had seemed very angry when she'd said he was the only one that could comfortably sleep on the love seat. Something about calling him a tiny flea that was so miniscule no one would ever find it?

Professor Curtiss had insisted that Professor Ghaelon stay to watch things but was at least going to his own home after they'd finished for the day. She'd put Ghaelon up in her mother's room and Lezard in her grandfather's room. The last place in her brother's room she'd left open in the case Curtiss was too tired to stay one night, Ed hadn't caught on yet that another room was open but she was afraid to offer him a kid's room after the yelling over the love seat.

Thankfully none of the rest seemed to specialize enough in magic to be of much use, sadly all the school events during the week they were organizing this whole debacle were canceled so Albel was apparently busy being annoyed about the lack of a meet for the kendo team. Though she wasn't sure she should trust Lezard's comments.

It'd only been two days of the research, tomorrow would only be Monday, but she felt exhausted. She'd been rushing around playing host, albeit with much appreciated help from Winry, both days. There were constant pressure changes in the air that she was growing to recognize as the others using magic of some kind, she'd even started to be able to pick apart which magic came from whom.

It was difficult at first to tell them apart except for Ed, whose magic even felt extremely showy. Curtiss' always had a sort of perfectly organized even ambience. Lezard and Ghaelon's were the most similiar, there was a bit of a mysteriousness within them, though Lezard's was always much more sinister than Ghaelon's.

So much all at once had added a headache on top of the other stresses, Lezard didn't appear to like Professor Ghaelon at all and often made veiled comments as to such feelings. Ghaelon generally ignored it but sometimes sent him off on small errands that were probably some sort of quiet punishment...it was all tension between the pair, that only seemed to worsen whenever she was in the room. Ed was usually pretty okay as long as you avoided ever using any sort of synonym for the word 'small', in fact she doubted it would have been even as tolerable as it was if he hadn't often made silly jokes or played around with Winry.

Curtiss at least left at night but during the day he was the boss, which was a bit of a eye opener for she had originally believed that he and Ghaelon were on even ground in this little organization of theirs. Though it was a good thing, when he wasn't doing his own personal research he kept the rest strictly on topic, it was militaristic the manner in which he started giving orders when things were serious.

She hadn't personally done much but listen to various theory's they'd mentioned on portals between different worlds. It wasn't as rare as she would have liked and the more she heard the more she'd began to spend hours preparing meals in the kitchen instead. Ignorance was bliss and while knowledge was power it was also nerve-racking the amount of horribly dangerous things out there that could just pop over to the normal world.

At least at night the house settled more so she could actually try to relax at least a little bit, but sleep was still something she couldn't get just by laying and hoping for it. Even though she was very tired her mind was too busy with everything happening to shut it down.

There was a portal to another world basically just in her back yard and someone had made her forget about it as a part of this spell if she was to believe the self-proclaimed demon that had told her about it. So was it why she'd been sick for years? Could the spell have something to do with why she wasn't as sick now? So many questions but the rest of them seemed unsure as to just how they could activate the thing.

She sighed and pushed herself up off the mattress, sheets sliding down to pool around her waist. Pushing those back she threw her feet over and moved to her desk chair to look outside for a while. The leaves were gone from the trees now with winter quickly approaching...that last weekend was probably the last time it would have been warm enough for a gathering. Despite the attack on her person by the monster, she was still glad she went...so much kept happening.

The blush that would have crept up by remembering what went on that night with Lezard was distracted as she noticed that Ghaelon was still outside, apparently still trying to figure out some sort of spell and reading a book with a flashlight. She shook her head at the fact that he'd left his coat inside again, he had a tendency of doing that recently and she couldn't just leave him to freeze. She would have to sneak downstairs and take it out to him, Ed and Winry slept like rocks so it wasn't as if she'd disturb anyone there.

All these men all at once after years of just sort of liking one that didn't go to her school anymore...so bizarre. She felt awful not knowing how she really felt, but she didn't have time to dwell on it lately, this was the first moment she'd really gotten all day as she'd been with Winry running all sorts of strange errands for item requests for their spell-casting.

She got her jacket on and zipped it up, her pajama's weren't the warmest but they'd do. He picked up his long lined coat and put it over a arm before slipping on shoes and heading out to hand him the piece of linen he'd kept leaving in the house.

"Don't you get cold?" She asked with a smile as she got closer, a bit of a impish grin when he snapped up his gaze. She rarely got to sneak up on any of these people so it was a bit of a personal victory. "Here, you forgot your coat yet again."

"Thank you Kagome." He accepted it from her and slipped his arms through the sleeves. "You should be resting however, the idea of being here was to disturb you less."

"It's not you guys." She answered with a wave of her hand. Then corrected at the skeptical glance she received. "Not all you guys, I'm still a little freaked over the whole having a portal in my backyard and being the subject of some spell."

"I understand the trepidation that would accompany learning such things." He nodded slowly, though he still seemed to be thinking about something else. "If you are still awake I'd like to consider the threads of any spells connecting to you if you don't mind."

"Threads?" Kagome just stared, she was still trying to come to terms with all this being real at all.

"Invisible ones if you would." He remarked without pause. "They are the things that allow us to cast magic, augmenting the fabric of reality. Though the best casters can keep others from noticing magic my burying them deeper than an average spell. If there is some magic on you however, then I'd imagine there must be some proof, even if it's difficult to see. Magic can be used to spot other magic even if it's normally something people can't comprehend."

"Oh." She nodded slowly, trying to remember what he said so she wouldn't seem as clueless later. "Well, I'm awake now, why wouldn't you guys have asked to look before?"

"Professor Curtiss was hesitant unless the need arose, it can be awkward having someone stare at you for the time required." He answered. "If you'd prefer to not then we can continue here...I think I'm starting to figure out how we might reopen the portal."

"Oh, that's good." She smiled at that news, one step closer. She was hoping her cheeks were already red from the chill when he mentioned staring at her for a long time. "I would like to do whatever I can to help though...just tell me what I need to do."

"Well, no point in being cold while we attempt. Come inside here." He nodded to the shack that held the well, it wasn't as if it was much warmer, but it could give some shelter against the winds, which were often the coolest part of this time of year.

She nodded and went inside, feeling a bit creepy, the place had always sort of bothered her ever sense she was a kid she avoided going inside. Though now it was more muted, it was difficult to be nervous with people that could toss magic around nearby.

"Sit on the steps and try to be comfortable, this can take some time depending on how buried the caster made the spell." His instructions were easy enough to follow, the manner he spoke reminded her that he was her teacher. "Don't talk until I say to, try to move as little as possible."

And...that she shouldn't have been thinking about the time they'd made out in her living room. It was already taboo enough that it'd happened once and the fact that nothing had been mentioned by him about it was a good clue she probably shouldn't bring it up either.

She could hear him whispering, he wasn't watching her eyes but looking over her as he paced a half circle around her.

"Mysterious tapestry let loosen your strands.

Let the fogs of obscurity lessen and my vision clear.

Swirl and dance as my resolution commands.

Let the threads allow my trespass. Translucent revere."

Kagome listened while being a bit mesmerized herself, the easy manner in which he activated the magic set off her senses that it was in fact him casting the magic. Somehow more recognizable now that she'd watched him do it right in front of her, felt the slow build of pressure to something much more substantial. It was just obvious that the person looking her over for whatever it was haunting her was amazingly powerful.

If he couldn't find something, she doubted the others would be able to either. At first she expected some sort of faster results, but she was starting to get a bit self-conscious as he continued to stare past the first minute or so. She wanted to fidget but remembered that he'd told her to move as little as possible.

"Why is it people always wanna move more when other people tell them not too?" She thought in annoyance, worried her body would betray her and she'd want to sneeze or cough. Though the lack of any tickles in her nose or throat were appreciated it may have had something to do with being half-captured in the cardinal gaze of her Professor. She was pretty sure with the lack of cold or wind in here she couldn't continue to blame the blushing on the chill breezes of the outdoors.

"There." It was just a whisper but it made her start just a bit, she gave an apologetic glance but otherwise tried to remain still. His face though was surprised, even if it was only a little, she could tell. Her ability to read people was always one of her best skills, she was certain whatever he found he hadn't expected to find. "Amazing...I wonder just what you aren't remembering."

She felt the blush start to move down to her neck when he reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"What is it?" Her voice didn't break but she'd expected it to, she still found she was whispering back.

"The spell augmenting your memory, you already knew that, but the caster is immensely gifted, there are all manner of other effects within, barely decipherable. I can't say right now what else is involved but it's perhaps one of the most perfect casts I've ever seen." The way his voice was made her shiver, not from the cold. It was quietly passionate, as if he was paying some sort of docile homage. The fact that he was staring at her at the same time made her stomach and chest do jumping jacks and flips in a manner she'd never quite experienced before herself.

She couldn't quite manage to talk, her mouth was dry and she wanted to wet her lips but she didn't want to break the moment with any sort of movement.

"It's quite impressive." He eventually commented, as he'd been staring still at the threads of magic he said were often invisible. "It would take greater divination magic than I could cast here to determine more."

"But why would someone target me?" She used the moment of speaking to wet her lips and swallow so she could get the moisture.

"That's something else we still need to find out." Ghaelon replied with a smile as he finally looked at her eyes again, she could feel the intangible pressure fade and knew he'd dropped whatever magic he'd been using. "Though do not finish that thought process with considering yourself unimportant. Such spell casters do not concern themselves with your average school girl."

She nodded a little, wondering idly if he couldn't read her mind as that was where she'd been going. "I am just a average school girl aren't I?"

Though the closeness of her professor and the emotions that inspired made her not believe her own question. If he was helping her and insisting she was special, that had to be something, she doubted being wrong was something that happened to him often. She couldn't help but remember the passionate embrace they'd had the week before...it seemed so far away but wasn't really.

"Kagome..." He spoke her name more softly than usual, without the authority he held in his classroom, or even when he'd whispered the spell minutes ago. She knew then that it wasn't just some mistake the first time, he'd thought about when they'd kissed as well. "You should return to the house, get some rest."

Not the statement she'd really wanted...though she accepted his hand as he helped her to her feet.

"Ghaelon..." She hesitated, not wanting to be the first to broach the subject, it was so controversial. Not the part of having a crush on her teacher, girls did that a lot, but acting on it was something forbidden in a moral world.

He seemed to be waiting for her to speak. Having a step up from him made her closer to his height, it would have been easy to lean forward and press herself against him again. There was a depraved electricity that accompanied the nefarious moments of pleasure she'd discovered in those ashen lips.

Yet he longer she stood, the more she found her personal determination to do the right thing washing away beneath the thirst her attraction for the older man inspired. He didn't actually look that much older...certainly at least in his twenties, but it was becoming more difficult to find a reason to walk away.

It could have had something to do with being tired beneath the lust, but she finally gave in, leaning in and just barely up to touch her lips to his gently. She wasn't sure if she'd ever had a chance but to give in as arms curled around her back, the embrace returned with such fervor she felt dizzy, drunk on the consuming ache he provoked within her body.

Hesitation vanished with first contact and her own hands were wandering freely along his chest and back, fingers searching to become intimately familiar with every line and curve of the man echoing her attention. The mirror of him being as enchanted by her only compounded the lure and any thoughts of his being her teacher had been smothered under the erotic force of two bodies pressed together.

End Chapter

Ha! So yeah, love spells are fun eh? I hadn't worked on this in too long and I needed to put a little time into it. In awesomeness this takes the fiction over 40000 words so maybe I'll get more hits! Hope I get some review love for my effort!

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Serenity - Well there was some pervy stuff this time. Though I try to keep things tasteful as possible.

Veil - Yeah, I'm leaning between a couple people for a final, but Ghaelon is on that list.

Angela - Well Sesshy isn't really a subject of the spell so probably not. There is always that stick you mentioned too.