Corona
By: The Hatter Theory
Chapter 2 : Lost in Vagueness
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha and co, I'm just taking them from one plotline and throwing them into my own for our mutual enjoyment.
Inu Yasha saw Kouga's signature ponytail moving ahead of him in the hall, the rest of him obscured by a gaggle of females. Rudely pushing through the crush of students, he began calling out the bartender's name, hoping to catch his attention.
"Kouga! Damnit, Kouga, I'm talking to ya!" Inu Yasha called out angrily. When he received no response, he began hurrying, not even paying attention to the people he pushed to the side.
"Oi, he'll talk to you later," Inu Yasha growled when he finally made it to the group of fangirls surrounding the school bad boy. The girls began moving away, casting dubious glances at the pair. Kouga flashed one of his grins and they all smiled adoringly as they gave the two men space.
"What?" Kouga snapped hotly as he began walking away at a fast clip. Blue eyes stayed focused straight ahead, not even looking at him.
"I need to know who uses fans in your group," Inu Yasha blurted, surprised the wolf hadn't told him to piss off like he normally did.
"No," Kouga bit out, not even looking at him.
"Come on," Inu Yasha cajoled. "Look, I know that you're still mad about what happened with Ayame, but-"
"Piss off," Kouga snapped, veering away from his former friend down the hall. Inu Yasha was fairly certain it didn't lead to his next class.
"Come on! Stop being such a little bitch about it!" Inu Yasha snarled angrily, cursing under his breath when Kouga didn't even look back. "Asshole."
He turned, intent on getting to his next class when he bumped into someone, sending papers flying. Added on to his string of expletives, he bent down to help the girl gather her papers. Before he could offer much help, or even utter an apology, she had gathered the books and papers and was off, practically flying away.
"Hey, don't be so fucking clumsy next time!" He shouted down the hall, waving his fist to emphasize his point. She didn't even look back.
In the four months since he'd lost his arm, he'd learned to manage perfectly well. Dressing had been awkward at first, especially zippers, but he'd managed. Packing took a little longer than it had, although he'd trained himself not to reach with a hand that was no longer there. Typing, likewise no longer proved a difficulty, his ability still garnering envy from other students in his class. Even swordplay had been easy enough to adapt to.
And it had one unexpected but welcome side effect. Once the females of his school, from freshmen to the professors, had hit on him, hounded him, and generally been a nuisance he had dreamed of sending to the moon. Now that the arm was gone and he made no effort to hide it, in fact, he wore short sleeves so the stump could show almost proudly, the women avoided him.
Shouldering his bookbag, he moved into the hall, mind occupied with the test coming up. His teacher was an american, a class of people he considered crass at best. Her latest lesson had been comparing the mythology of his people to the reason they had a 'do or die' attitude about life. That she had been foolish enough to mention it being directly linked to their defeat in world war two had made it one of the most offensive lectures he'd attended to date. The whole of his sociology class had been offended, and he had a sneaking suspicion that once the dean got wind of it, she'd be out of a job.
Pushing his long hair away from his face impatiently and readjusting the strap of his bookbag, he narrowly avoided the one woman whirlwind heading straight for him. As it was, she brushed against him and let out an indignant cry as two of her books spilled off of the pile.
"I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" She gasped as she bent to pick up her books, dark hair spilling over her face and obscuring it from his vision. Normally he would not move to help anyone, but offended by her profuse apology, no doubt spurred by his supposed disability, he bent down to pick one of the books up. If nothing else he would demonstrate he was not so disabled as she thought.
Instead, he paused midway, his nose inches from her hair. The smell of kerosine and smoke clung to it, a scent he had no trouble recognizing.
"Look, I'm really sorry," She apologized. "I'm just a mess today, please forgive me," She mumbled as she gathered the books and stood. He straightened, and was surprised to see the girl from the video. Blue eyes widened as they moved over his person, zeroing in on his stump. His eyes narrowed, and she seemed to feel the sudden drop in temperature. Blushing hotly, she turned her gaze away and murmured an apology.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just didn't-"
"Your burn last night was impressive," He interrupted, already despising where she was going. Indifference, even curious silence he could handle. Profuse apologies only served to prick his temper. But now that he saw her in person, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit impressed by her performance. She certainly didn't look like someone that could accept fire without flinching.
Instead of thanks, or even blushing, she paled considerably.
"I've got to go," She muttered, practically fleeing his presence. He watched her hurrying down the hall, taking note that she was entering the classroom he had just left. The door slammed behind her, echoing in the hallway.
"Strange girl," He murmured, readjusting his bag and walking away.
Kagome was intent on getting to the library when she felt someone grab her arm, stopping her abruptly and sending her books falling to the ground for the third time that day.
"For the love of all that's holy, why can't I hold onto anything today?" She demanded, eyes locked on the sky. Turning to see Kujaku's worried expression she shrugged helplessly before bending down to gather her things.
"Is everything alright?" Her friend asked, bending down to help Kagome gather her things. Exhaling gustily, Kagome accepted the help and stood once everything was in her arms.
"It's just the third time I've dropped my stuff today," She admitted, already feeling guilty that she was even talking to the other woman. Her mother's disapproving gaze seemed to bear down on her back, making her skin crawl and her cheeks flush guiltily.
"Still shaky from last night?" The older female joked, running a hand through her unbound hair.
"Mom was in my room when I got home," She mumbled in return, blue eyes zeroing in on a spot on the tiled floor. Not surprised when her friend slung an arm over her shoulder, she allowed the contact and the comfort it offered.
"I'm sorry. Did you tell her?"
"No. I think she'd kill me if she found out I actually did anything with fire," Kagome sighed as they began walking down the hall. "She's just really disappointed."
"But isn't it your life? You've been killing yourself with studying and prep school your whole life just to make her secure. Isn't it time you do something for yourself? It's college after all, if you don't rebel a little now, you never will," Kujaku smiled, her arm squeezing Kagome's shoulder's gently.
"I don't know," Kagome hedged. "She's got a point. I don't want to be stuck living with her if something happens-"
"Who says you can't study and play? Life's all about balance."
"But it takes so much time-"
"Like other hobbies don't?"
Neither woman was willing to own up to the simple fact that the pack, as the troupe called themselves, were simply not the sort of crowd Nodoka wanted her daughter around. Even though Kagome tried to reason it out in her head and defend her friends, only three went to school with her, and only five besides her were in college at all. And all of them were different from everyone else, and didn't mind making it known. When Kujaku had shown up in ripped jeans and a shirt safetypinned together, it certainly hadn't sat well with the older Higurashi woman.
"We'll figure it out," Kujaku told her, squeezing her again when Kagome said nothing. "By the way, Ginta uploaded a video of your burn to the forum last night. Lots of compliments," She announced proudly, almost as if she had been the one to burn.
"Oh, so that's how he saw it," Kagome mused, remembering the tall stranger she'd bumped into earlier that day. Her sociology teacher had completely wiped any thought of him from her mind with her rather controversial lecture.
"He?" Kujaku asked, forehead creasing.
"Some guy on my way to class, one of the ones I bumped into. He said my burn was impressive," Kagome shrugged. "I felt like such an idiot, I was staring at his arm like a jerk and then he complimented me."
"His arm?"
"It was gone."
"You must mean Sesshoumaru. He's not like us," Kujaku fairly growled. "He thinks fire is just a cheap gimmick."
"Then why was he watching-"
"He has a troupe. Just because he looks down his nose at pyros doesn't mean he's not willing to use them. They do performances for pay," The older woman muttered. "Stay away from him. He'll just suck the joy out of it for you."
Sensing any further conversation about the stranger -Sesshoumaru, she corrected- would only make her friend more surly, she smiled brightly and nudged the woman in her side with her elbow.
"I told mom I had a study group tonight. I do need to grab a couple of books from the library, but I don't have to be home until later," She offered.
"Really?" Kujaku asked, visibly brightening. "Hey, we should grab Kouga and go get that beer! And you can watch the video."
"I'd like that," Kagome murmured, wondering what she looked like as she danced. She'd never seen video of her dancing at all, not even the traditional fan dances her mother had taught her, only pictures. In all of them she was smiling, but the lack of movement had made them boring and dull to her.
"You go get the books you need from the library, and I'll get Kouga. My car is parked on the second deck."
"I'll meet you there," Kagome assured her, already separating from her friend. Kujaku was waving and smiling brightly, and the younger student considered her friend's words.
A hobby was one thing. But dancing didn't feel like a hobby. If anything when she wasn't practicing, she was thinking about it. Or thinking about what her mother would say. In the last several months it had become an awful mobius strip, one inevitably following the other. Even though she gave her all in school, it wasn't the same. From the moment she'd seen the pack spinning and playing, she couldn't stop.
For awhile her mother had allowed it, thinking it was a novelty Kagome would get bored with. But she hadn't, and Nodoka had put her foot down when Kujaku had mentioned Kagome learning fire staff. To be fair, the older woman also disliked Kujaku, although why Kagome still couldn't completely understand. Despite all outward appearances, Kujaku was a student, and having to pay her own way meant she was very serious about her studies. Despite arguing in her friend's defense, Kagome hadn't been able to change her mother's opinion, something that still rankled.
Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, she navigated the walkways of the campus, fairly ignoring everyone else as she made a beeline for the library. Once she reached it, she was surprised to see not only Sesshoumaru, but the other man she'd bumped into that day. The younger resembled Sesshoumaru enough that she guessed them to be related, cousins maybe. He was also muttering angrily, his finger stabbing the air as if trying to prove multiple points.
And they were blocking the doors.
Counting, she waited exactly two minutes before clearing her throat. The elder of the two looked at her as if he had known of her presence the whole time, and was only just now deigning to acknowledge her existence, which she felt she may have deserved for her earlier behavior. The younger of the two however, turned to snap at her angrily before his jaw went slack and the finger that had been thrusting at the air seconds before swung to her.
"You're her," He managed, pale hazel eyes widening comically.
"Umm, I guess?" She ventured, uncomfortable under such intense regard. "I need to get into the library, please," She finished, trying not to make eye contact with the man she now knew to be Sesshoumaru. Despite her best efforts, she looked up at his face and saw him staring down at her intently. Blushing, she was trying to formulate an apology for her earlier behavior when the rude stranger from earlier stopped her.
"You were the girl from the video! I've been trying to figure out who you were, and here you are! Awesome!" Inu Yasha smirked. "Must be fate-"
"You ran into me earlier," She retorted, something about the other man setting her one edge. "So you must not have been looking very hard."
"That was you?" He exclaimed, shock shifting into bewilderment. "And you ran into me," He added, seconds too late to sound anything but petulant.
"Look, I need to get into the library. Could you guys please move?" She asked plaintively, looking pointedly at the doors.
"No way, the books can wait. You totally have to come to practice-" Inu Yasha started, but stopped when Sesshoumaru moved to the side, his face an impassive mask.
"Thanks," Kagome sighed gratefully. "And, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to stare, it just took me off guard," She blurted before darting past him and jerking open the door to the library. Relief washed over her when neither of them moved to follow., although she could hear the rude one shouting at Sesshoumaru.
Resolving to ignore them and forget their existence, especially after Kujaku's warning, she made for the stairs and began climbing, determined to get the books she needed. But once she had found the mythology section, the book she had been searching for proved impossible to find.
"Oh come on!" She muttered. "I can't possibly have this much bad luck."
"You are looking for the Percival Lowell book?" A voice interrupted, and she looked to the ceiling, wondering what she had done to anger the gods lately. Maybe it was lying to her mother, after all, one was supposed to respect their parents above all else. Perhaps she should just-
"I checked out the last copy," Sesshoumaru informed her, tone curiously blank. She turned and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"How did you know?" She demanded.
"You have the same class as I. The professor based her lecture on the volume. It is easiest to argue something when you have the source."
"And you're telling me because-?"
"I will consider sharing it-"
"Sharing?" Kagome sputtered angrily, glaring up at him, only to find she was further annoyed by how far back she had to crane her neck.
"Yes, sharing it. As in, we can study together. If you consent to one practice session with me."
"Practice se- Oh you PERVERT!" She shouted, pushing past him angrily, not even caring how rude she seemed to him anymore or how much noise she made in the quiet library. The disgusted noise he made gave her pause, and she wasn't sure if she should feel insulted or stupid.
"You do not know how to use the fan. I can show you."
She settled for insulted.
Spinning on her heel, a smile on her face, she prayed she wouldn't chip a tooth from her jaws clenching so tightly.
"I know how to dance with fans just fine."
"Not like you want," He goaded, brow raised and a smirk tugging the corner of his mouth.
"And I suppose you can read my mind and tell me just what I want to dance like," She bit out, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.
"You don't want to move like some timid little geisha," He countered, his smirk growing and pale hazel eyes flashing victoriously when she shrugged sullenly. "I've trained with the tessen. I can show you how warriors use one."
"It's just a hobby," She muttered, moving to turn away again. When she suddenly felt something tugging on her pants, her hand flew to her pocket, two seconds too late to stop him. Her phone was in his hand and he flipped it open expertly.
"What is wrong with you?" She hissed.
"I'm giving you my number, in case you reconsider," He informed her tonelessly as he typed a number in and shut the phone, tossing it back to her. She caught, fumbling for a second while he walked past.
"I can get the stupid book somewhere else," The raven haired girl flung at his retreating back, stamping her foot for effect. When he merely disappeared from view, she threw her hands in the air and released an exasperated snarl before stalking form the bookshelf, not even caring about her paper or the other book she had wanted to search for.
So angry was she that she barely even took note of the two men standing outside of the library, one smirking smugly and the other watching with a slightly horrified expression. Her pace was a fast, clipped walk and got her to the parking deck in almost no time at all.
"Hey!" Kujaku called, her arm waving Kagome over. Kouga was staring with wide eyes as Kagome made her way over to them.
"What happened to you?" He asked, watching her throw her bag into the front floorboard angrily.
"Just some jerk at the library," She grunted as she plopped into the seat, staring resolutely forward. The two rather bewildered friends still standing outside of the car shrugged helplessly at one another before getting in, not pressing the irate onna for details.
"You did what?" Inu Yasha demanded angrily. "Are you out of your mind? She'll never do it now. Especially not to share some stupid book she could get somewhere else!"
Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His half brother had the strategic abilities of a stone, perhaps even less. The book itself wasn't even relevant, merely a way to open conversation. He had guessed -correctly- that appealing to her abilities would be the best way to get to her. No matter how much she denied his guess, he knew it to be true. He supposed she had been taught the graceful steps that good little girls were taught, perhaps even some of the advanced dances. But none of them could come close to the performance she had attempted. The styles were so obviously different it was laughable to compare them.
But tessenjutsu could get her closer to her goal. A warrior's style was much more suited to her attempts. He had planted a seed and would give it time to grow. It wouldn't take long, she seemed impulsive to a fault. It would work for him now, although he made note to watch for it working against him in the future. He had no use for an impulsive airhead, as most self proclaimed pyros tended to be.
"I thought you didn't want her," Inu Yasha prompted.
He hadn't but then he'd met her, and he had trouble linking the girl in the video to the girl he had seen in real life. Training her would give him something to do besides study and brood and work the troupe. And an extra training would only strengthen him after his accident, despite the fact that she was a weak female. Even if she never made it to a public performance, she would be a welcome distraction.
"She will call. Leave her alone until she does," Sesshoumaru rumbled, moving away from the family bastard.
"You heading home?" Inu Yasha demanded.
"I have a paper to finish."
"Can you drop me off at Miroku's? I need to talk to him about this."
"Take a bus."
It was a small vindictive pleasure, but he smirked when his sibling began cursing behind him, heaping one epithet after another on his head. None of them bothered him, and soon he was out of range of the younger Taisho's howling. Thankfully the sidewalks on the campus were wonderfully empty, and it felt like the skies would open up any second and pour rain down on the world.
Not wanting to get his things wet, he started jogging, surprised when he saw a dilapidated, ugly purple vehicle pulling out, the little onna he had been speaking to only minutes earlier in the front seat, glaring at the dashboard as if it had done something to mortally offend her.
Thunder echoed, and he darted into the parking deck, noticing the first drops of rain beginning to hit the ground, their pattering bringing with the the strange peace he always felt when he heard it. The pattering soon turned to the machine gun fire, and he smiled when he thought of his sibling running to the bus stop and waiting.
Pulling his keys from his pocket, he looked at the ramshackle little car that was not much better than the one the onna had been riding in. He was amazed that it had cost so much for the heap it was, although it worked soundly, and thus far hadn't given him any problems.
Throwing his bag into the vehicle, he got in, slamming the door shut. The engine turned over on the first try, something he still thought of as a miracle, and he began to navigate his way into the rain and towards his apartment.
Six months. He considered how much his life had changed in such a short period of time and wondered what his father thought of it, or if he was even aware. Surely the great CEO of Taisho Corporations would be aware of his son's movements, as laughable as they were.
Cursing his younger brother again, he paused for a red light and considered the bastard. They'd never gotten along, probably never would. But coexisting had become a requirement of inheriting, and when that hadn't proven enough to calm intense hatred into something cooler, more civil, the supposedly wise, generous, caring father had done the unthinkable.
In the span of a week, Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha had been stripped of everything. Their bank accounts had been frozen, having been provided by their father to begin with. Their cars had been taken away. And they'd been kicked out of their family seat and given enough money to 'get a start' as the old man had told them. And a list of rules.
The light turned green, and he puttered along in traffic, mind half on the road and the other half allowing himself to remember the hellish experience that had led him to his current impasse.
One was they had to live together for a year. Where didn't matter, and the Taisho patriarch hadn't seemed to care about it. And they had to work together for one year. If they couldn't do both of those things, they would remain cut off from their family, wealth, and the company. It had been the single most humiliating moment of Sesshoumaru's life, and he had spent the first three days in his girlfriend's apartment. Until she had come to the revelation that he no longer had money, and so was useless to her.
Inu Yasha had been staying with a friend from school, and it had taken him a week to set aside his pride and approach the foul mouthed idiot with a proposition. They had enough for an apartment. Certainly not enough for a good apartment, not if they took living expenses into account, but enough for something with two bedrooms.
Inu Yasha had agreed, already missing the luxuries he had indulged in since birth. The next step had been much harder, and their father, in all of his wisdom and foresight, had not made it any easier. Nor had the reputation the siblings had built over the years. Because of their intense loathing for one another, they had attended different dojo over the years, and the single match they had fought had gotten them both banned from future competitions. No dojo would hire them, despite their abilities and training. Not together anyway.
Both refused to lower themselves to working something menial, like waiting tables or fast food, but they didn't have the skills to do anything besides temp themselves out for clerical work, and they couldn't find a place that would hire the both of them.
Sesshoumaru knew what his father had been planning, and had wanted to avoid it desperately, but there had been no other alternatives. He told Inu Yasha they would have to start their own business, which had presented a thousand new obstacles. They had no start up capital, no building, nothing. Trying to use their name for a loan had only gotten dry chuckles, their father's disfavor being a matter of public record.
And then Inu Yasha's 'brilliant' idea. Sesshoumaru had -for once- agreed with his brother on something. If they tried, even for awhile, their father would probably give in and bring them back into the fold. Especially if his sons were doing something they had considered beneath them. Even though the proposal had made him almost physically ill, Sesshoumaru had agreed.
His father would be shamed if he knew his sons had sunk so low. They ranked a league below actors, or even geisha and kabuki players. Instead, he was on par with someone from a circus, and he had only managed to follow through with it by keeping in mind that his sire would see his efforts and end the 'lesson' early.
He had been wrong. So incredibly wrong that it still made him hot with shame. Listening to Inu Yasha's friend had been the catalyst for the only real mistakes he had ever made. Miroku had proven to have a good idea of how one gathered a group and his ability to find them work was nothing short of miraculous. Before the money from their father had run out, they had been making it back.
But he had tarnished his love of history and war by turning it into a cheap theatrical thrill for people who knew nothing about it's realities. In a word, he had bastardized something he loved for profit. It was with a sense of bitterness that he knew his own view of the sword was altered, colored by his experiences.
The troupe he had allowed to form under Miroku's suggestion had been amazing. Most had some form of actual training with weapons, which had made for a good team. But reenactments hadn't been enough to pay for food, so they'd branched out, learning new gimmicks that were easy and appealed to the audience.
It was only when they had recruited Naraku that things had gone downhill. Miroku had used his own contacts in the scene to find people willing to devote the time to their 'hobby' and make money from it. The answers had been few and far between. Few wanted to work for Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha given the latter's temper and the former's icy reserve, and of those few, not many were good enough to actually get paid for what they were offering. When Naraku had shown up, Miroku had admitted he had reservations, but that they needed the people. Naraku was a natural showman, and despite the group's misgivings, they had been able to eat well and even save enough for a car in those first two months.
He would never know if the accident had been intentional or not, although there had been problems in the week prior to the disaster. None of them had seemed important enough to justify what had happened, although the results were hard to deny.
A week in a hospital, hoping for deliverance from the hell his life had become. Nothing had come of that hope. Signing himself out, much to the doctor's displeasure, he had dutifully followed through with dressing his wound and acclimating to life. A prosthetic had been out of the question. Not only did the sight of one disturb him more than no limb at all, but he couldn't afford it, and his father had proven to be more of an ass than Sesshoumaru had considered. The only acknowledgment his injury had gotten was that the school had been receiving their tuition and all debt to the hospital had vanished overnight.
He pulled into the parking deck for his apartment complex and grabbed his bag, slamming the car door shut with his hip. The rain was still beating down on the earth angrily, and he savored the scent that always accompanied it. Rarely did the city smell clean, especially the part he lived in. His thoughts continued as he climbed up eight flights of stairs, forgoing the sometimes operable elevator completely.
Within two months his wound was fully healed and he was able to do almost everything he had before. Even swordplay had not proven to be a huge problem, given his determination. Only small things eluded him, like key cards and drying his hair.
Sex and dating were completely out of the question. Even before the accident he hadn't been able to find time to date, keeping his encounters casual and attachment free. Without his arm, those were denied him. No one wanted a one night stand with someone they considered disabled or flawed.
Once word had spread that their troupe sported a one armed swordsman, like something out of a movie, their popularity had only increased. Which he supposed was just as well. Other troupes were following his own's example and setting themselves up as more than just 'circus performers' although Sesshoumaru knew none had the extensive training he and his own troupe did.
His front door seemed to be laughing at him as he fumbled with his key.
Six humbling, angry months. Only six more to go.
Kagome looked at the book in front of her, then back at her phone. The public library had a copy of both books she had been looking for, solving that problem neatly. It was the number in her phone that had become the problem. She knew she should just delete it and get rid of the temptation. She was already treading on really thin ice with her mother, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep lying. Adding any sort of training would only compound the lie, not to mention take more time in her schedule that she should be devoting to school.
For the hundredth time since Kujaku had dropped her off, she opened the phone and scrolled through the numbers. 'Sesshoumaru Kukishin' glowed back at her. She hit different buttons and the delete option came up.
"I should just forget about him. He's a jerk anyway," She growled, remembering Kujaku's warning. She had warned Kagome away from accepting a job though, not lessons. And Kagome wasn't sure anyone could take the joy out of dancing, no matter how convinced the older woman had seemed.
Her finger hovered over the button.
She stared.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," She sighed, backing out of the delete option and hitting the call button. The phone rang three times before someone answered.
"Hello?" She ventured when the other end was silent.
"Kukishin speaking."
"This is Kagome, the girl from the library," She offered tentatively, wondering if he'd already forgotten.
"Have you reconsidered?"
Why did his voice sound so much better over the phone? Maybe because it wasn't accompanied by that smug smirk or sneer. Trying not to think about that smirk, she inhaled deeply.
"I don't need the book anymore."
"Then-"
"But I would like a study partner," She blurted, feeling like an idiot even as she said it.
The phone was silent for a full minute, and Kagome wondered if she had lost signal. Just as she was readying to hang up, she heard a smooth chuckle over the line and had to repress a shiver.
"I agree to your terms. I don't have class until Friday, and I prefer staying off campus when I can. Where would you like to study? My apartment is available."
"My house," She squeaked determinedly, then palmed her forehead when she realized how absurd she sounded. Taking a deep breath she continued, hoping she didn't sound too much like a hopeless idiot. "I'm off tomorrow as well. If you don't mind my mom fawning over you a bit, we can study here over lunch."
"That sounds acceptable. Where do you live?"
Kagome rattled off the address, hearing a satisfied hum over the line.
"It's a shrine, but the house is next to it. Call if you get lost, or I can meet you at the train station," She offered.
"I have a car, and I can find my way," He assured her, and she rolled her eyes at his tone. "What time?"
"Eleven or noon should be fine."
"I'll see you tomorrow at eleven."
The line went dead, and she pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it, wondering if she had really just gone through with it.
Her mother was going to be...less than pleased when she set eyes on her choice of study partner. But hopefully, his missing arm would curtail any suspicion that he was involved with the performers in any way, which would be the biggest plus. As long as he didn't mention anything around her mother, she should be fine. Not to mention they'd be studying downstairs, her mother wouldn't allow for anything else.
Steeling herself, she closed her phone and left her room, making for the kitchen where her mother was putting away dishes.
"Hello dear," Nodoka greeted, not even looking at her daughter as she put dishes away.
"Hey mom. I have a study partner coming tomorrow for lunch. Is there any way I could persuade you into making something. I would, but well, you know me in the kitchen," She chuckled desperately, hoping her mother wouldn't ask the normal things. Like who she'd be studying with.
"Oh, that's good. Who is it? Anyone I know?"
"No, just another student I met at the library."
"What's her name?"
A pregnant pause seemed to ehco in the kitchen, and Nodoka turned from the cabinets and stared Kagome down.
"Name?"
"Sesshoumaru," Kagome offered weakly, knowing what was coming.
"Kagome, you know I don't approve of male-"
"We'll study at the dining room table," She interrupted. "Mom, it's not a problem. I don't like him and he doesn't like me. It's just a tedious paper. We're not even in the same class, he just checked the book I needed out before me and offered before I got a copy and I figured since we both had to do it, might as well have a different perspective."
The words were rushed and slightly forced, and Kagome prayed to every kami that had ever even looked at the shrine to grant her a reprieve from her currently rotten luck.
"Alright, but you have to stay downstairs."
Prayer answered. She tried to keep from releasing her breath and settled for nodding and thanking her mom quietly before heading back to her room. One problem had been solved, at least for the moment. Despite wanting to relax, she felt that another loomed and it pressed down on her as she walked up the stairs and into her room, closing the door behind her softly.
Falling onto her bed, she buried her face into her pillow and screamed.
Sesshoumaru looked at his laptop and the halfway completed paper waiting in his word processor. Saving it, he decided to close the computer and set it on his nightstand. Already his mind was going through the forms he had been taught as a teenager. Content that he had forgotten nothing he stretched lazily and smiled.
The woman had responded more quickly than even he had anticipated. He wondered if perhaps he had misjudged her. Either she was more driven than he thought, or more impulsive. Hoping for the former, but expecting the latter, he stood and left his room, hearing his younger brother in the kitchen rummaging around for food.
"What do you want?" The younger of the brothers growled, not even looking behind him, instead continuing to poke around the fridge, shuffling takeout containers around.
"She called me back."
Sesshoumaru tried not to feel insulted when Inu Yasha jerked so violently he hit his head on the roof of the refrigerator. He turned, rubbing the sore spot sullenly, glaring at his older brother.
"For real?"
Sesshoumaru nodded, unable to completely hide the smirk that insisted on making itself known.
"And?"
"She doesn't need the book, but she does want a study partner."
It was so difficult to keep from gloating in the face of the other man's shock.
"And?"
"It is enough for now. I will assess her abilities tomorrow."
With that, he spun on his heel and went back to his room, allowing himself to indulge the rare treat of anticipation.
A/N: Every year for con I tell myself I'm not going to drink with the Browncoats again, and every year I end up a liar (so worth it though, Browncoats are the best at Queen karaoke and conga lines). Sorry this is late. D*Con takes up a special part of my year. And soul. Probably braincells too. I finally suckered Mana into promising me we'd do Sess/Kag costumes next year for the lulz.
I'm such an awful person.
PS-This chapter's title is supplied by the song 'Lost in Vagueness' by Maxi Valvona. Last week's chapter was 'Shadows the Sun' by Julian Vincent ft Jessie Morgan, both are the original mixes. Both are beautiful trance songs. Due to my inordinate love of the beepbeepbeep music and the fact that it is my favorite to spin to, all chapter titles will be titled with trance songs, because I just feel like it.