Higher Education by SunsetMiko

Chapter 29

All prompts in this chapter are from the Obscure Word Challenge

Prompt: Exordium: the beginning of anything (Obscure Word Challenge)

Sucking up his strength, Sesshoumaru flicked through his short list of contacts, locating his father's number. He hesitated but eventually he hit the little green phone icon to call the old dog. He winced when it began to ring. There was no turning back now. If he hung up, his father would still know that he had called. Fighting down the desire to curl into himself where it was safe, he held the phone to his ear. He could make it through this conversation. He had to, for Kagome and for himself.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru," a deep voice finally answered the line. "What has your brother done now?"

"Plenty," the taiyoukai responded quickly, "but that is not why I am calling."

"Oh? Carry on then."

Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and attempted to follow the short script he'd worked out in his head. "I have never asked for much, father. Last year, my dorm room was perfectly suitable but this year I was thinking that, perhaps, I could upgrade. They offer small apartments on campus for a reasonable monthly fee. The added privacy would be greatly appreciated, as I would no longer have to share a bathroom with fifty other people. There would be less noise, fewer distractions from my studies."

InuTaisho allowed his eldest son to speak, rolling his eyes during his little speech, before coughing purposely to keep him from continuing. "Have you finished?" he asked.

"If I am to be able to obtain one of these apartments, I will have to apply quickly," Sesshoumaru added, thrilled that his father hadn't hung up or laughed at him yet. Maybe this plan had a chance after all.

The old dog smirked. "Does this have something to do with your little girlfriend?" he asked in a condescending tone.

"You have spoken to Inuyasha, I see. No, I merely desire more space and privacy to..."

"Don't lie to me, boy. You're terrible at it. Now, why didn't you call me when the changes first started happening? Didn't you think that I deserved to know?"

Sesshoumaru fought down the desire to sigh heavily. "The changes are so gradual, I do not even see them myself until they are pointed out to me. Calling you did not cross my mind."

"Didn't you think I would be proud of you, my boy, for catching such a prize? I hear she is rather attractive. I believe your brother referred to her as a goddess."

"Proud?" he repeated the foreign word as if he'd never heard it before.

"When did the changes first start? Before or after Inuyasha arrived?" his father demanded, ignoring his son's questioning.

The taiyoukai was silent for a long moment before replying. "Before. We were at a party and..."

"A party? You went to a party?" he asked in shock.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling as if asking for help from the gods. "Yes, father, I attended a party. I have actually attended several. But as I was saying, we were at a party and we were approached by Kagome's ex. He was incredibly rude and disrespectful. That was the first time I felt the anger rise up inside of me, when I began to feel different. He was frightened of me, father."

Prompt: Guess: To form an opinion from little or no facts (Obscure Word Challenge)

"Ah, someone to protect. I should have known, though I never imagined it would be something so simple. I hear that your instincts are making themselves known as well, that you are scent marking the girl."

"Among other things," the taiyoukai replied, allowing a smirk to show on his face.

Almost as if he could see the smug expression on his son's face, the old dog chuckled. "So then you are following your instincts as they become apparent?"

"Yes, father, I am." It was slightly embarrassing, his father knowing what his instincts were, assuming what he and Kagome had done, but he answered anyway. There was no point in trying to maintain his privacy during a conversation with the old dog.

"And your aura has grown as well?"

"It has," Sesshoumaru replied. This was the longest conversation he had ever had with his father where he wasn't insulted or told he was an embarrassment. He still couldn't move past the word 'proud'. That was something he had never expected his father to be, proud, especially not because he found a girlfriend. "Now, about the apartment," he said, trying to steer the conversation back to its initial purpose.

"Tell me why you really want it and I will consider it, Sesshoumaru."

The taiyoukai finally released an audible sigh. "Because I cannot live without her. Sharing a bed with her these past few nights, they have been the best nights of my life."

"Well, of course they have. Sex can do that to a boy, especially your first couple times around the block."

"We have not had sex, Father," Sesshoumaru snapped back. "It has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with finally connecting with someone. Holding her in my arms as we sleep is... I cannot go back to sleeping alone, to being alone. Eventually we will be caught and told that I cannot stay with her any longer, but if I were to have an apartment, she could stay with me whenever she desired to without breaking any rules."

"You haven't mentioned this to her at all, have you? At first I assumed you were doing this because she wanted you to, because she wanted the apartment and knew you could afford it."

"She is not after my money, Father. I can guarantee that. She gets upset with me when I spend money on her. She insists on paying for herself. I gave her a gift and for a moment I thought she was going to tell me to return it. She has no interest in my money. None."

"How much?" InuTaisho asked flatly.

"The rent varies from three to five hundred dollars per month depending on the apartment. Utilities are included and the units are furnished," Sesshoumaru explained. "They also require a security deposit equal to one month's rent."

"You had better make sure your lease won't prevent you from moving your girl in when the time is right, that it is for two occupants, not one."

"Are you saying...?"

"Go for the best apartment available, Sesshoumaru. We might as well court this girl properly." The old dog knew that Kagome was the source of all the positive changes in his son and the last thing he wanted was for his son to screw things up with her, at least not until he was completely fixed, and he had no idea how long that would take. If keeping them together cost him a few hundred dollars more a month, it was more than worth it, because his reward for doing so was a normal son he could be proud of.

"Thank you, Father," Sesshoumaru said quickly, his shock obvious in his voice. Never in a million years had he expected this conversation to go so well, let alone end in his favor.

"Anything to keep this girl in your life. Have them fax the lease to my office and my lawyers will look it over before we sign. Meanwhile, you need to come up with a way to ask her to move in without frightening her away by moving too quickly. Either that or a good story as to why you're suddenly moving into an apartment. Let me know when you need the money." With that said, the line went dead and Sesshoumaru pulled his phone back to stare at it in shock. His father had actually said yes. He spoke to him as if he were an actual living being deserving of respect and kindness. That had never happened before and while he knew it was because his father was pleased by the changes Kagome was making in him, he still reveled in the new feeling of acceptance, slight though it was.

Prompt: Respite: a period of delay. (Obscure Word Challenge)

The sound of keys jingling outside the door snapped him out of his stunned state and he quickly tucked his phone away in his pocket. He needed to call and start the process as soon as possible, but Kagome couldn't know what he was doing. He was going to have to make an excuse, to lie to her, to get things underway. He didn't like the thought of it, but the end result was worth the small feeling of guilt.

The door opened and Kagome dropped her bag just inside with a heavy sigh. "I am never taking a class that early in the morning again, especially not math. That was just stupid."

"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing at the clock. She was nearly half an hour later than he'd expected her to be and he would have been worried if he hadn't been so preoccupied.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late," she said with a grin, digging a paper bag out of her backpack. "Had to walk a ways off campus to get my hands on this." She pulled off the bag, revealing a bottle of liquor. Then she retrieved another, different bag, plastic this time. Digging through it, she tossed a lime in Sesshoumaru's direction. He barely caught it and gave her a confused look. "I told you about this. Don't you remember?"

The taiyoukai's brain was moving at high speed, trying to determine what the miko was talking about. Suddenly, it struck him. "Body shots."

"Exactly! After your class tonight, I want to do a few with you so you can get the hang of it. It'll be less embarrassing that way, when you spill tequila down the front of my shirt because you dropped the shot glass."

Sesshoumaru smirked, closing the distance between them to kiss her lips. "So, I will be licking salt from your sweet skin?" Kagome nodded and the taiyoukai's smirk widened. "That will not be all I will be licking." When her cheeks flared bright red, he chuckled. "You have no class in the morning, so I can keep you up late into the night."

"I love the confidence in your voice," she whispered, pressing her lips to his once again. "It's so sexy, hearing you say what you want to do to me. So much better than when Inuyasha does it." A growl rumbled in Sesshoumaru's throat at the mention of his brother and she smiled. "So possessive, too. It's going to be so hard to concentrate while you're at class, waiting for you to come back."

"Likewise. I have been picturing you in your underwear all day. It is quite distracting." The sound of her stomach rumbling had Sesshoumaru chuckling again. "I think it is time to feed the Kagome."

The miko giggled while blushing prettily. "Lunch does sound good."

"Inuyasha texted a while ago, demanding that I collect him from the frat house and take him to get something to eat."

"And what did you tell him?"

Sesshoumaru smirked. "I told him to fend for himself, that I was no longer catering to him."

"I'm so proud of you," Kagome said with a brilliant smile and the word proud echoed in his mind in his father's voice. Could his father be proud of him once his problem was fixed, once he was a real inu? Did he want him to be? After everything the old dog put him through, did he still crave acceptance and approval from his father? He didn't know the answer to that question, but he did know that it pleased him a great deal to have made Kagome proud.

"Lunch then?" Sesshoumaru asked. "I think we should go to the deli again. It's not too far and their food is a great deal better than the cafeteria."

The miko smiled. "Wherever you want to go, big guy. You've earned it."

Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome opened the small front pocket of her backpack, removing a few things before grabbing a purse off of her dresser. She filled it with the essentials, looking in the mirror as she applied lip gloss, before blowing him a kiss. She fussed with her hair, fixing the fly aways, before declaring herself ready.

"I am paying," he told her firmly.

"But, Sesshoumaru," Kagome started, only to be cut off.

"I am paying," he repeated, his tone telling her he would not surrender easily.

The miko shrugged and smiled. "Fine, you pay."

"I intend on it."