Inuyasha 1. Default Chapter

Standard Disclaimers Apply  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Sesshoumaru flicked a disinterested glance around the room, managing to look expressionless in spite of the infinite boredom he was feeling at the moment. Their professor was late, again. If only the man wasn't the one of the best instructors of the business world, he would have walked out of the room long ago. Sighing inwardly, he thought, isn't there a law somewhere about being late?  
  
A boisterously laughing male drew his attention for a fraction of a second and he found himself suddenly flooded with memories. He hated memories; they seemed to pop up and choke him whenever they were needed the least.  
  
Still though, the memories weren't all too unpleasant. Sesshoumaru almost laughed. Back then, if anyone told him that he would be thinking of his younger half-brother and not being pissed off in the process, he would have killed the idiot without so much as another thought. But he had to admit, it was refreshing to be able to look back on memories with few regrets and almost no hate.  
  
After the Shikon-seeking group led by his half-brother succeeded in obtaining the last shard not in Naraku's possession, there had been no other choice but to head off for the inevitable battle with Naraku. He remembered it vividly, for in truth, it had been something that no one would easily forget. Bloody and devastating, that last war had cost each side many lives.  
  
He had been acting against his better judgement when he accepted the offer made by the other lords and ladies of the Northern, Southern, and Eastern lands. After all, he had no business with Naraku, would kill the half-demon if he dared to set foot in his territory, but beyond that, what Naraku did was of no concern to him. But his curiosity, 'Bloody curiosity!' he thought, had forced him to go and aid the ones fighting against Naraku. He had wanted to see what had become of his brother and was planning on getting the Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha after the war.  
  
But the battle had turned out even worse than any of them ever suspected. Naraku had gathered not only his own minions; By some way unimaginable to all of them, he had managed to resurrect all the demons that had plagued their lands and assumed full-control of their powers. Lives had been lost, lands wasted and even he had sustained countless injuries in the fight.  
  
'But it was all worth it, though'. Unknowingly, his eyes had softened at that last thought, the remark that Kagome Higurashi, the untrained miko who traveled by Inuyasha's side, had made.  
  
In the early confrontations between him and Inuyasha, he had merely acknowledged her presence with no more than a sweeping glance. She had intrigued him when she had managed to pull the Tetsusaiga from his father's grave, and she had earned a miniscule bit of his respect when she refused to back down from him in spite of the almost overpowering fear he had smelt in her scent when they faced off. Still though, she was nothing more than a traveling companion of his younger half-brother, an ally, and he had paid her no more attention than what he had given to his toad-ish retainer after that.  
  
In the final battle, though. he would never tell anyone, would rather face another Naraku than have anybody find out that in that almost legendary confrontation, he felt not only respect, but something akin to awe at the fighting spirit that the Inuyasha and his group had shown.  
  
Miroku, the monk who had been proven lecherous; Sango, the demon exterminator who was one of the most skilled fighters he had ever seen; Shippou, the kitsune cub who despite his age was brave youkai. But certainly, none deserved more praise than Inuyasha and Kagome, two characters who he had long ago deemed weak but had proven themselves to be far stronger than anything he had ever imagined. When he had been sure that all their efforts had failed, they had proved themselves to have more power in them that he cared to admit.  
  
Even Kikyou, if he could call the walking and talking clay imitation of the once powerful priestess that, had finally accepted things as they were and had aided them in the fight.  
  
But they had won. Yes, it had been a victory that did not come without its own share of suffering and death, but it was a victory nonetheless and both his demon blood and his humanity was proud to have played a major role in its success.  
  
The demon exterminator had gotten her brother back and the monk's life had been spared. He had witnessed the monk's proposal and while he did not believe in love, he knew that the houshi had meant it when he had asked for the taijiya's hand in marriage. The young exterminator had graciously accepted and they had been married immediately.  
  
After much deliberation, he had left Rin with Shippou in Kaede's care. He had realized in the fight that she deserved a happy, normal life just like any other child and it was something he wouldn't be able to give her, so he had let go. He knew that she would always be safe and that was enough for him.  
  
Kikyou, the priestess who had protected the Shikon no Tama to her death, had finally let go of all her anger and hatred after Naraku's defeat. In her own words, she had said that she forgave all and everything, and asked in return that she be forgiven as well. Perhaps Naraku's downfall had been all she was waiting for to go to her rightful place, but whatever the reason, she finally allowed her soul to merge again with Kagome's soul.  
  
He knew his younger brother had thought about it after a long time and careful deliberation and it was not a decision he opposed: Inuyasha had chosen his humanity. The Tetsusaiga had broken after the final killing blow to Naraku, so there was nothing standing in the way of peace between the two brothers, and their alliance had been sealed in blood.  
  
Of the young reincarnated miko, he knew nothing more, just that she had left after Inuyasha had chosen. It seemed that she and his brother had talked before she left, for Inuyasha didn't go in search of her like he would have done in the past. In truth, he didn't care much about her departure; she had been a valued ally, but beyond that, nothing more.  
  
Movement to his left made him take another sweeping glance around the crowded room. It was filled with humans, some hanyous, and few full blooded- demons. He was not regretful about the decrease in his race's number; it was just as well that few remained to cause trouble for him. To the mortals in the room, he felt nothing more except mild distaste: living through several changes in culture had made him understand that it was better to try to get along with the humans and learn to tolerate them, no matter how annoying they were.  
  
A couple of sophomore girls were trying to attract his attention and he studiously avoided even looking at them. They were merely flirting, perhaps attracted by his looks and his aloofness or regal appearance. Had he been a man of shallow mind, he would have been proud of the understated elegance of everything he wore, from the casual slacks and shirt to the watch on his wrist. The Western Lands which he ruled was gone, turned into a formidable business empire of his own which several executives, most of them youkai, ran for him. Truthfully, he would have preferred running the company on his own, but his advisors had cautioned him that he was at an age where most humans were still at school, so here he was finishing his last year in college. It was no question that he was well off, what was unusual was that he didn't flaunt it like most of his peers.  
  
He ran a hand through his considerably shorter hair. It fell back perfectly arranged after the motion through it, as if nothing had happened. With an inward grimace, he couldn't help slightly fingering the trimmed edges of his hair. It had been with heartfelt misery when he finally allowed his personal hairdresser to cut his long silvery fine hair into a fashionable shorter cut that suited him more. Dyeing it had not been an option, however, and his hairdresser had not argued. The man had been well aware of the considerable number of females interested in his client, their interest further added upon by the curiously unusual color of Sesshoumaru's hair. It was unlike anything they had ever seen and contrary to thinking he was weird, they just seemed to think it made him more desirable.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and Sesshoumaru almost let out a sigh of relief. A neko youkai with an excellent concealment charm on her that made her look just like any ordinary female had been making her way to one of the two vacant seats beside him. She had been forced to go back to her own seat with a pout when the professor had entered, however, and he was thankful for the teacher's entrance.  
  
He leaned forward slightly and looked downwards towards the front of the half-circle of seats occupied by the students. The teacher was standing in front of his desk, clasping his hands together as he waited for them to quiet down. The man, although quite old, had a voice that could beat a megaphone any day so Sesshoumaru had no trouble hearing the professor's words.  
  
"People, I apologize for being late. I know that we are well into the second month of this school year but the school board has recently informed us that two new students will be joining us starting today." The old man's eyes were twinkling when he continued, "I wish to warn all the aspiring honor students in this room that you will now be having serious competition to remain at the top of the class. I have just been told that both of the transferees have managed to perfect the entrance exams to this university. As you all well may know, that it is a considerable feat."  
  
'Perfect the exams!' Sesshoumaru thought with mild shock. He himself had made one mistake in the entrance tests and had reluctantly admitted later on that they were far more difficult than what he expected. And now the professor was saying that not only one, but two people had managed to do what he could not?  
  
The door opened again slowly and Sesshoumaru slightly turned towards the entrance, his curiosity piqued like the rest of the students. 'Who were they?'  
  
Author's Note: That was a pretty long chapter, wasn't it? Please, everyone, if you think my fic is actually worthy of reading, REVIEW!!! I need inspiration! So c'mon and press the button down below that allows you to submit your review, k?! I accept flames, comments, suggestions and violent reactions. Again, minna-san, please, REVIEW!!!  
  
~Marie-Claire~ 


	2. Chapter One

In Your Eyes, I See  
  
Author's Note: To all those wonderful, lovely people who reviewed, thank you so, so very much! I love you all! Enjoy this chapter, minna!  
  
Standard Disclaimers Apply  
  
Chapter Two:  
  
Sesshoumaru was surprised.  
  
Okay, okay. To be completely honest, he was shocked.  
  
Who wouldn't have been, if you suddenly found yourself in a room with a young miko whom he had met hundreds of years in the past and hadn't seen ever since? He had gone to one of the most prestigious private schools in America expecting to have left everything connected to the Feudal Era in Japan and now here was one of the people he had associated closely with in Sengoku Jidai!  
  
He was sure that if any other person was in his place right now, they would have fainted, or croaked, or dropped dead, or whatever it was that most people did when something totally, totally unexpected happens to them.  
  
But get real. He was Sesshoumaru, former Lord of the Western Lands and present owner of a business empire that stretched its connections to halfway around the world.  
  
In any case, Sesshoumaru's eyes just widened, and that was that.  
  
The professor consulted a sheaf of papers he held in his hand, adjusting his reading glasses on the bridge of a slightly curved nose, then looked up at the two new arrivals. "You are Kagome Higurashi?"  
  
The female nodded in answer, a tiny half smile on her face. The old teacher inclined his head towards her companion, who had remained silent. "And you are Ren Francis Fariah, of course."  
  
The young man smiled a slow smile, showing two straight lines of perfect white teeth. "Of course," he echoed.  
  
The professor smiled as well, as if he and Ren were sharing an inner joke and turned back to face the class. "Your new classmates, Miss Kagome Higurashi and Mr. Ren Francis Fariah. Their original birthplace is Japan, but both are currently residing here, am I right?"  
  
Kagome nodded, a small dipping of the head that was almost nonexistent. She gave a very short bow to the room, and then skimmed her eyes around the room.  
  
Sesshoumaru froze when her eyes swept past him, but he saw nothing in them. No recognition, no fear, no joy, nothing. It was as if she hadn't even seen him, and he felt a little miffed at that.  
  
Kagome nodded again, and then gave another half-smile to everyone, opening her delicate mouth to speak. "I am Kagome Higurashi and it's my pleasure to be here."  
  
"No, it's ours!" A boy from the middle row shouted out, and his outburst was immediately followed by several cat calls and whistles from the other males in the room. They seemed to be quite enamoured with the young miko, Sesshoumaru mused.  
  
Kagome smiled again, and Sesshoumaru was struck by how different she was from the insecure and almost scrawny teenager he had encountered in the past. Her hair was much, much longer than what he remembered, though still in its layered style. The slightly wavy tips of thick, luscious raven black hair with streaks of midnight blue reached almost halfway her legs. She had filled out and her feminine curves were noticeable at one glance. She looked healthy and well, completely different from when she was forced to roam the countryside of Japan in search of Shikon shards day and night.  
  
Even the way she talked and moved had changed. 'And it has certainly been a change for the better', he acknowledged silently. The loudmouthed, clumsy female he remembered was in complete contrast with the young lady standing before his class today. She spoke quite softly, though every syllable was distinct. Every move she made was infused with innate grace and her every gesture was made with precision and expressiveness.  
  
Sesshoumaru shifted his gaze to the second arrival and his senses were suddenly bombarded by a full load of information. 'Youkai!' Every instinct shouted at him. He controlled himself, knowing it was the usual reaction of seeing another youkai whom he did not know.  
  
"Ren Francis Fariah," he murmured to himself. 'A panther youkai,' he was sure. Wearing an all black attire consisting of a snug-fitting tank top and baggy cargo pants, he was also wearing a silver necklace, the pendant that of the Chinese kanji for 'infinity'. His face was impassive as he too looked around the room just as Kagome had done.  
  
Sesshoumaru's ears were pricked through the concealment charm and the steady murmurings of most of the female body about how 'gorgeous' Ren looked was not hidden to him. He could see that even some of the youkai females were assessing the young man with half-curious, half-seductive eyes.  
  
He studied the youkai again, understanding what attracted the women to Ren. Sesshoumaru was a man, there was no doubt about that, but he also had an eye for beauty and had excellent taste of his own. Dark hair, like Kagome's except without the bluish streaks was arranged in a carelessly windblown style that was nevertheless very nice to look at. Slate gray eyes with a slightly cat like shape flicked around the room, perhaps studying his surroundings as well. The panther youkai was not muscular, but he moved with quiet confidence and a grace that was only in those with considerable knowledge of martial arts.  
  
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a minute and he listened as the professor told the two to go find seats. He noticed that the room had quieted down considerably, as if waiting with bated breath to see where the two new students would sit.  
  
'They are highly excited', Sesshoumaru thought contemptuously, 'with something as simple as that?'  
  
After a few moments, he opened his eyes again and looked boredly down the aisles. An involuntary shiver ran through his spine when he met with a pair of startlingly vivid deep blue and gray orbs. Kagome and Ren had found seats near the middle, but she was still standing up, looking up at him with her face slightly raised, revealing the smooth line of her creamy ivory neck.  
  
He was more than startled by her eyes. They were telling him something, he knew, as he stared at the myriad of passing emotions that flickered in her eyes. But then she turned and sat down, and the moment was broken.  
  
Blinking, Sesshoumaru leaned into his seat. Lightly massaging his forehead, he tried to process what had happened as the professor droned on and on in the front of the room. What had happened back there? When he had met her eyes, it had seemed as if everything around him had faded into insignificance and they were suddenly alone in the room.  
  
He did not like this.  
  
He was going to have a talk with the young miko soon, he decided. He was going to find out what that look had meant.  
  
Author's Note: What I have to say is short, concise, teensy-weensy, a bit, definitely not lengthy, and heartfelt.  
  
You want to know what I have to say?  
  
Okay.  
  
People.  
  
REVIEW!!!  
  
Thank you, --,)  
  
~Marie-Claire~ 


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