Higher Education by SunsetMiko

Chapter 30

All prompts in this chapter go with the Obscure Word Challenge.

Prompt: Importune: to urge or bed with troublesome persistence. (Obscure Word Challenge)

Kagome had decided to walk Sesshoumaru to his early evening class and when they arrived, she was glad she did and the taiyoukai was thankful as well. There was a crowd of people waiting outside of the locked lecture hall, waiting for the professor to arrive and let them in. As they approached, the eyes of several women fell on Sesshoumaru, their attraction obvious.

The miko tugged at him through their entwined hands and he stopped, turning to face her. She lifted up on her toes and he immediately leaned down to close the distance between them. The kiss was heated as Kagome buried her fingers in Sesshoumaru's long hair and his hands slid along her curves. When their lips parted, he smirked at her.

"I am not the only one feeling possessive," he murmured.

"Would you rather I had just turned around and walked away, leaving you to deal with them on your own?" His smirk fell instantly and Kagome laughed. "That's what I thought. Now at least some of them will leave you be."

"Just some of them?" he asked in surprise. They'd just made it obvious that they were in a relationship. What woman would still approach him knowing that?

"Remember the girl in the shower?" the miko reminded him. "She didn't care that you have a girlfriend. Not all girls will respect an established relationship. They're the home wreckers who don't have the slightest issue with being the other woman."

"And what do I do if they approach me?" Sesshoumaru asked nervously.

"Whatever you want," Kagome said cryptically.

"What does that mean?" he asked in aggravation.

"Tell them what you want to. Tell them you're taken, that you're not interested, that they're not your type, whatever. You can handle it."

Though he didn't look confident, Sesshoumaru nodded. He needed Kagome to leave before his class started so that he would have time to make a quick phone call. He didn't know how to get her to do so, however. He couldn't just say 'you can go now'. That would be rude! After a moment or two of frantic thought, the taiyoukai made a decision.

"You do not have to wait with me, Kagome. Why don't you go back to the dorms? You said you wanted to take a shower."

"You sure?" the miko asked, surprised that he didn't want her to remain to protect him from the amorous females.

"I have to learn to handle this myself at some point."

Kagome nodded and stretched up on her toes for one final kiss before turning and walking away. As soon as she was out of earshot, Sesshoumaru pulled out his phone and called the number for the On Campus Housing Office. After a short conversation, he made arrangements to walk through the available apartments the next day, the call ending just in time as the professor arrived and unlocked the lecture hall. He didn't know how he was going to get away from Kagome long enough to check out his options, but he would think of something.

Prompt: Duress: Forcible restraint or restriction. (Obscure Word Challenge)

Kagome hummed to herself as she walked back to the dorms, the happy sound dying in her throat as she spotted Inuyasha standing outside near the bottom of the main steps. He looked irritated and she didn't want to have to deal with him. Too bad he noticed her. The miko tried to walk past without acknowledging the hanyou, but he caught her arm, turning her around forcefully.

"Where the fuck is Sesshoumaru?" he asked, his fingers digging into her upper arms where he held her tightly.

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" she snapped back.

"The bastard's got all my shit, so where the fuck is he?"

Kagome struggled to free herself, but his grip only tightened and he shook her roughly. "Inuyasha, you're hurting me," she yelled, drawing the attention of the security guard stationed near the entrance to the dorm lobby. "He's at a class, all right? Now let me go!"

"I'd suggest you let go of the young lady," the guard, armed with both a taser and pepper spray, said threateningly.

Inuyasha released the miko, raising his hands in surrender. He didn't want to tangle with campus police. He'd done that enough times on his own campus, and it never ended well for him. Youkai were especially vulnerable to pepper spray and effects lasted a long time.

"Fine, I'll just wait for him in your room," the hanyou said, attempting to follow Kagome as she turned to walk away.

"Like hell you will!" She turned to the security guard with wide eyes. "He doesn't belong in this dorm. He doesn't even go to this school!"

"Can I see your campus ID?" the guard said, stepping between Inuyasha and Kagome. "I'll take care of this, Miss."

"Thank you," the miko said sweetly, heading inside without ever looking back, ignoring it as Inuyasha cursed angrily behind her. Kagome headed upstairs to her room, a wide smile plastered to her face. That had been a very gratifying experience. She rubbed her upper arms and winced. She was going to have bruises, she was sure of it. Her smile turned wicked at her realization. Sesshoumaru would be absolutely livid that Inuyasha had touched her. How angry would he be when he saw bruises on her?

Prompt: Rubicon: a bounding or limiting line; especially one that changes a person irrevocably once crossed. (Obscure Word Challenge)

Sesshoumaru noticed Inuyasha immediately as he approached the dorm some two hours later, sitting on a bench a short distance away from the bottom of the steps. A few seconds later, he noticed the guard standing a short distance from the hanyou, focused fully on him with a displeased expression on his face.

"There you are!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Tell this guy I'm your brother."

"What do you want, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked flatly, utterly disinterested in his sibling's issues.

"You have all my shit in your room and I wanna sleep here tonight. The couch at the frat house messed up my back."

"He will not be allowed in the building without a valid student ID," the guard said, seeming to enjoy ruining the hanyou's plans.

Sesshoumaru turned to his brother with a smirk. "What did you do that you're being guarded?"

"He accosted a young lady earlier," the guard offered. "I only allowed him to remain because he said that you have all of his belongings in your room. Is that true?"

"Not for long," the taiyoukai replied. "I'll be back down in a few minutes with your things."

"What about me? You just gonna leave me out here?"

"You can stay at the frat house or sleep outside for all I care. You have enough money to get a motel room. Call a cab."

"You're an asshole," Inuyasha yelled after his brother, snarling as the taiyoukai disappeared inside the building.

Sesshoumaru couldn't keep the smirk off his face. His brother had managed to get himself banned from the dorms. Now he didn't have to allow the hanyou to stay in his room any longer. He couldn't even if he wanted to. He headed up to his room quickly, rolling his eyes as he took in the sight of his living space. Inuyasha's things were everywhere! The taiyoukai moved at top speed, collecting items and stuffing them in the hanyou's duffel bag.

He was halfway down the stairs again, on his way outside, when he stopped short. Inuyasha had accosted a female outside of the building. It had to have been Kagome. He instantly changed directions, heading to the miko's room instead. He had to make sure she was all right.

Kagome rushed to the door to answer the urgent knocking, surprised to see Sesshoumaru on the other side.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern, looking her over as if searching for injuries.

"I'm fine," the miko said with a laugh. "What's gotten into you?"

"Inuyasha. What did he do to you?"

"He grabbed me and shook me, demanding to know where you were," she told him. "I'm okay, really." She tried to hide the smirk as she pulled her sleeves higher on her arms, revealing purple, finger-shaped marks. "Except for the bruises."

Sesshoumaru instantly had her right arm in his hand, carefully examining the dark marks marring her beautiful skin. If his brother had held her any tighter, he would have broken the skin with his claws. A growl rumbled up the taiyoukai's throat and his eyes darkened dangerously.

"I'm going to kill him," he snarled.

"Okay!" the miko chimed. Inuyasha more than deserved whatever Sesshoumaru had to dish out. "But security is out there, so when they try to pull you apart, I suggest you back off. You don't want to get in trouble for fighting."

The taiyoukai took a deep breath. He was going to have to remain in control of himself if he didn't want to end up expelled. He couldn't allow the anger to consume him the way it did when his beast took full control before. Could he do this on his own? Could he hurt his brother, who had hurt him so many times in his life, who had hurt Kagome? A vicious snarl sent a shiver down Kagome's spine and she quickly grabbed her keys, following the pissed off taiyoukai down the stairs.

He still held his brother's duffel bag, and the first thing Sesshoumaru did when he made it down the stairs was to throw it at Inuyasha full force. The hanyou caught it with a growl, ready to teach his wuss of a brother a lesson for tossing his stuff around, but when he looked into the taiyoukai's eyes, he knew he was in trouble. Red warred with gold as his markings turned jagged.

Without a word, Sesshoumaru closed in on the hanyou who quickly dropped his bag, ready to defend himself. The taiyoukai moved faster than he could see and Inuyasha was shocked as a fist collided with his face, a loud cracking noise alerting everyone in the area that he'd just been on the receiving end of a fractured jaw. The hanyou dropped to his knees, his head spinning from the force of the impact, and he growled angrily. How had Sesshoumaru managed to get a hit in on him? He'd never even tried to fight back before, so how did he manage to throw a punch so effectively with no fighting experience whatsoever?

Sesshoumaru grabbed a fistful of Inuyasha's silver hair, smirking darkly as the hanyou yipped in pain as he yanked on an ear, and punched him again, this time aiming higher. He hit him one final time, reveling in the crack of the hanyou's nose breaking, before backing away, hands in the air. The security guard had finally made it to their side, even though he'd begun running as soon as he saw the fight starting. The taiyoukai had simply moved too fast for him to be able to stop him.

Inuyasha wavered on his knees and looked up at his older brother as his left eye swelled shut. He took in the taiyoukai's bloody knuckles, realizing that it had actually happened. Sesshoumaru had kicked his ass, and it all took place in a matter of seconds. He hadn't even had a chance to block the hits, let alone defend himself, and he knew that he would never talk down to the taiyoukai again. He wouldn't get away with it. He would never hurt him again. He wouldn't be able to. His time as the dominant brother was finished.

The security guard looked from Sesshoumaru to Inuyasha and back several times, unsure of just what to do and more than a little scared of the taiyoukai. He took in the woman talking softly to him, her body pressed close to his, and immediately recognized her as the one the hanyou had attacked earlier. Realizing that Inuyasha deserved everything he got, he fought down the desire to smile as he asked the hanyou if he needed medical attention.

"I'm fucking fine," Inuyasha muttered, sounding as if his mouth was full, as he struggled to get to his feet. Finally he was standing upright, though he swayed like a drunk. "Just leave me the fuck alone!" The hanyou made his way back to the bench he'd claimed earlier, grabbing his bag as he went. He turned and spit blood into the grass, feeling with his tongue to learn that Sesshoumaru had knocked out a fang and his front teeth. He pulled out his phone, squinting with his one good eye as he searched for the number of a local cab company. He was done. He was going home, no matter what his father said.

The security guard returned his attention to Sesshoumaru, who finally appeared calmer. When he looked up at the taiyoukai, Sesshoumaru nodded towards his brother. "He left bruises," he said.

"Oh, I know he deserved it," the guard said with a smile. "But I still have to give you a verbal warning. Fighting is not tolerated on campus and can be grounds for expulsion. Don't let it happen again."