Higher Education by SunsetMiko

Chapter 21

The prompts in this chapter are labeled with what challenge they go with.

Prompt: Purple Lilac (First emotion of love) (The Language of Flowers Challenge)

Kagome awoke to the pleasurable sensation of warm lips on her neck and she released a low moan. "Sesshoumaru?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"Is there some other male that you might find in your bed?" he asked teasingly.

"No, just you. I have to say, that's a much better way to wake up than my alarm clock." She reached onto her nightstand and grabbed the digital clock, turning off the alarm before it started blaring. Then she snuggled back against the taiyoukai with a pleased sigh. "I could stay here all day."

"But you have your presentation this afternoon," Sesshoumaru reminded her.

"And you'll be there?" she asked. For some reason she thought that she would do a better job with him in the audience, that maybe she would be able to keep from blushing and stammering over the more embarrassing parts.

"With my brother in tow, I assume."

"How fun for you," she muttered. "I'd rather stand up in front of the entire student body and talk about sex than deal with him a moment longer. You're a saint for not kicking his ass."

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "I could not hurt him. He has beaten me up more times than I can count."

"But you're bigger and stronger, Sesshoumaru. He's only been able to hurt you because you let him, because you think you deserve it. I'm certain you could teach him a lesson or two."

"I have no idea how to fight."

"But you're youkai. It should be instinctual."

The taiyoukai sighed softly and pulled away from Kagome. "I have no instincts," he whispered, humiliated to have to admit that to her. "I might as well be human."

"What makes you think you don't have instincts?"

"Because I do not. I have no connection to my youkai self. I cannot communicate with my beast, if I even have one."

Kagome smiled, rolling over to rest her head on his chest. "But I've seen you do it, start to lose yourself to your beast. You did it when Hojo insulted me at the toga party. And you've been scent marking me from the beginning. That's definitely an instinct."

"I have?" he asked in confusion, thinking over his past behavior. "I have. That is odd. I didn't even notice. You're bringing out the demon in me, Kagome," he murmured, pressing his lips to the crown of her head.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she inquired, curious about how he saw the change in himself.

"I don't know yet," Sesshoumaru confessed. He had no idea what it meant, that his instincts were suddenly rising up inside of him. He remembered the feeling of dominance he'd had the night before, kneeling over her hips, the rush it gave him and he wanted to experience it again. The taiyoukai rolled her beneath him, straddling her upper thighs, resting on his knees as he looked her over.

Prompt: Bamboo (Luck) (The Language of Flowers Challenge)

"You are mine," he whispered before dropping to his hands and pressing his lips to hers. "Only mine." He ran his nose along her cheek, finally realizing that whenever he did so, he was marking her with his scent to keep the other males away, so that they would know she was spoken for. He'd never done anything like that before, but then he'd never had the opportunity before either. He was lucky that Kagome knew as much as she did about demon behavior or he might have never known what he was doing.

Kagome stared up into his eyes, seeing the confusion warring with desire and she decided to take his mind off his instincts. She ran her hands over his bare chest, tracing the lines of definition, smirking as the muscles twitched and bunched under her touch. Finally, her questing fingers found her favorite part of his body, so close to his throbbing cock, and she knew she had his full attention.

"Only yours," she said softly, knowing that he needed reassurance. He was still so shy, lacking the confidence he needed to stand up to his brother. If only she knew how to give it to him. He had absolutely no self esteem, didn't believe he could challenge the hanyou, let alone win, even though Kagome was certain of it.

He kissed her passionately, reveling in her calling herself his, confirming his claim. He allowed one hand to wander her body lazily, brushing across hard nipples teasingly. He loved it when she moaned and arched her back for him. She was so responsive, he barely had to touch her to excite her and the scent of that excitement, of her arousal, drove him on. He didn't dare try to venture under her shirt just yet. No, he was sticking to all the preapproved areas, only where he'd already touched her. He caught one hard peak between his teeth and tugged it playfully, causing Kagome to bury her fingers in his hair, holding his mouth to her breast.

"I wish this could go on forever," she said softly, feeling as Sesshoumaru's shoulders sank in disappointment. He knew what was coming next, and she was right. They needed to get up and make it to the cafeteria for breakfast. She needed a real meal before such an important presentation and he wanted to make sure her day was started right. "We really need to get up. You'll have to go get Inuyasha and he'll be a jerk about it." She sighed heavily. "This week needs to move more quickly."

"We will take him to the fraternity tonight and hopefully he will decide to stay there."

"Aww, do you want your bed back? Was sleeping with me so terrible?"

Hearing the playfulness in her tone, he smirked and touched his nose to hers. "I would give up my room in a moment if it meant always sleeping with you."

Kagome smiled brightly. "That's it right there. The confidence you need. You have it when it's just the two of us."

"Being near him is different. There are so many bad memories. As soon as I hear his voice, I feel like curling up and hiding away where he can't hurt me."

"You have to hold on to that confidence, take it with you. You've earned it. Maybe tonight, if you don't let him walk all over you all day, you can use that confidence to explore a little further."

At first he wasn't sure what she meant, until he saw her playing with the bottom hem of her shirt. "You mean it?" Maybe he could be more assertive with Inuyasha if seeing and touching more of the miko was his reward.

"I promise," she whispered. She knew it probably wasn't right, rewarding good behavior with the offer of nudity, of allowing him to touch more of her body, but she had to do something. He had to find a way to keep his confidence up around the rude hanyou if he was ever going to get over his fears.

Prompt: Incipient: Becoming apparent or beginning to come into existence. (The Obscure Word Challenge)

"Why are we sitting through this boring shit?" Inuyasha practically whined his boredom.

"Because you did not wish to wander campus alone and I was coming here," Sesshoumaru replied calmly, though he was anything but calm inside. None of the other presentations given so far were anything like Kagome's and he was worried for her. "Now, be quiet," he hissed, lifting his hand in apology as they were shushed by other students.

Normally, Inuyasha would have torn Sesshoumaru a new asshole for even thinking about giving him orders, but the hanyou was still remembering the changes in his older brother. If he was changing, if his instincts and his beast were rising, then he could be in for a world of hurt. Inuyasha had always assumed that Sesshoumaru would be stuck the way he was for life, but for some reason he was changing, developing at an unknown rate. He was hesitant to antagonize the demon inside of his brother.

Finally it was Kagome's turn at the podium and she quickly pulled up her presentation, holding the clicker tightly in her hand. This was it. She'd done this to herself, had to teach the professor a lesson, and now there she was, just about to begin explaining fetishes to her entire class, including Sesshoumaru who she could see in the back. Inuyasha was present, though he looked bored, and Kagome smirked. He wouldn't be bored for long. That much was certain.

When she announced her topic, a ripple of giggles washed through the crowd and Sesshoumaru tensed. Inuyasha sat up straight in his seat, staring at the large screen for the first time. "Fetishes? Your girl did a presentation on fetishes?"

"She did," Sesshoumaru replied softly.

The hanyou never took his eyes off the screen as Kagome got started, describing the psychology behind fetishes before introducing the first of her examples. The giggles came back and the miko beamed proudly, not a hint of a blush on her face. She locked eyes with Sesshoumaru as she spoke, pretending he was the only one there, which allowed her to keep a straight face despite the laughter.

Even Inuyasha chuckled as the large photograph of a man's face being squished beneath a woman's foot appeared on screen. He glanced at his brother, seeing the connection between the two, and he growled under his breath. The girl was obviously a freak! How did Sesshoumaru manage to snag her? He was a loser!

"Damn, bro. You got yourself a wild one, don't ya? Think she'd be up for a threesome?"

Sesshoumaru turned wide eyes to his brother. "I would never share her with anyone, especially not you."

"Worried that she'd enjoy herself too much and leave you for me?" Inuyasha asked arrogantly.

The taiyoukai quickly turned his attention back to the miko, soaking in every filthy thing the hanyou was saying about Kagome while maintaining eye contact with her, knowing it was helping her remain steady. Inuyasha would pay for his crude suggestions. He didn't know how yet, but he would make him pay.

"She's a freak!" Inuyasha said a little louder than necessary, drawing the attention of everyone within three rows. The ruckus drew Kagome's focus off of Sesshoumaru as the word freak rippled through the crowd, finally reaching her ears. Still, she refused to blush. She was almost finished and the final one was her favorite, plushies.

The picture of fully costumed adults, a Dalmatian and a teddy bear, rubbing up against each other caused laughter to erupt from the crowd and Kagome's smile grew. "Now, I don't know how these people tell whether their touching a male or a female at their plushie parties, considering they're fully covered. Maybe it doesn't matter, so long as they like the costume. They go through a lot of trouble to stay in character too. This one makes me a little worried about Halloween."

When she clicked to the final page, her bibliography, the class erupted in applause. Even the professor was clapping for her and it felt wonderful. She'd gotten through it without so much as a dusting of pink showing on her cheeks, even when everyone was calling her a freak. She should have expected such a thing when she chose such a racy topic. The miko set down the clicker on the podium and skipped off stage, heading directly to Sesshoumaru, who she kissed enthusiastically when he pulled her into his arms. The clapping resumed during their kiss and finally, the miko blushed as she sat down beside her boyfriend.

"Thank you for that very unique presentation, Ms. Higurashi," the professor said before calling up the next presenter.

"So how did I do?" she whispered to the taiyoukai.

"Excellent. You stayed confident, even when my brother couldn't keep his big mouth shut."

"It's not my fault your girlfriend is a freak. Into the freaky , freaky, huh babe? Well, I'm always up for new things. I'm not all uptight and frigid like this one," he said while gesturing towards Sesshoumaru.

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. "How many times do I have to say that I have no interest in you, Inuyasha?"

"Until I believe you mean it," he replied, arrogance dripping from each word. "I know you want me. You just don't want to hurt the nerd. I get it. You'll get over that eventually and come find out what it's like to be with a real inu."

"You're a hanyou," Kagome reminded him, speaking softly so as to not interrupt the current presentation. "Sesshoumaru is more inu than you."

"Maybe if he had a fucking beast, but he might as well be human."

"That's not what I've seen," she said, her words leaving an air of mystery. Inuyasha remembered his brother's behavior the night before and wondered if, perhaps, he was wrong and Sesshoumaru did have a beast that was coming to the surface. If it gained control, he would be royally fucked.