InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond Friendship: Be Who You Are ❯ Arrogance ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 2: Arrogance

Over the next few days Inuyasha grew quite close to Miroku and the gang- close for him, that is. Inuyasha knew the value of good friends - he had lived too many years without them to not appreciate it when he found it. Everyone in the group was caring, although a bit odd and downright crazy at times. But the thing Inuyasha found most liberating was that they did not pry.

When he had come to a new school- the only hanyou among humans and youkai, he had dreaded being asked uncomfortable questions - there were things in his past that he just didn't want to talk about; he was not being evasive or anything, he just didn't want people to know. And he found that Kagome, Kikyou, Sango and Miroku respected that. They didn't push him when he hinted that there were some things that he didn't want to go into.

As for his crush, to his delight, he had discovered that he shared astronomy, mathematics and literature classes with Sesshoumaru along with the physical ed class that everyone in the same year took together and a weapons training class that Inuyasha had signed up for along with Sango.

So far, Inuyasha had been somewhat disappointed. Sesshoumaru was pretty quiet and unobtrusive in classes and outside. There had been no fights, no incidents of bullying, nothing. Inuyasha had pretty much expected Sesshoumaru to try and lord over everybody since he was royalty and stuff but that wasn't the case. During lectures, professors more or less ignored him and he minded his own business. He had yet to have the physical education class with him.

Right now, Inuyasha was waiting for the weapon's training class to begin.

There were a number of weapons that the students could choose to learn after the first basics were dealt with. Secretly, Inuyasha looked forward to this chance to show those pansy-ass youkai just what he was made of. In his hometown he had trained in the art of swordsmanship for a year. Admittedly, he wasn't very good with fine techniques and he had never had much patience with painstakingly paying attention to details. His sensei had tried very hard to make him understand the importance of these but Inuyasha had not paid heed because even with his 'unrefined' techniques, he had still been able to kick the asses of students several years his senior.

But more importantly, he wanted a chance to show off in front of Sesshoumaru, maybe even to fight him if possible. But the almost feminine looking youkai would probably get very badly hurt in the process, despite the fact that Inuyasha would definitely pull his punches. I wonder why he even decided to join such a class, thought Inuyasha, eyes roaming the expanse of the dojo, looking through the crowd of traditionally dressed youkai and humans for the silver haired demon. The guy'll definitely get whipped by the others, he thought as he looked around the dojo at the other demons who had decided to take the class. He definitely felt sorry for the guy. All of them were big, muscular and menacing- some of them may even be a challenge to Inuyasha. He's a damn prince or something. Doesn't he care his reputation'll be in shreds if he gets his ass kicked by these kids?

There were very few humans around - besides Sango, there were five shady looking characters. Inuyasha squinted. They all seemed to be male but there was one…Inuyasha could not be sure just what that one was. He turned to Sango.

"Who're they?"

Sango followed his gaze and then replied. "They're the Shi'tchinintai."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows. "The Band of Seven? But there are only five of them."

Sango shook her head. "No there are two more - one of them's training as a monk with Miroku and the other one…the other one's in your class, I guess he's just not here today. You'll see them around school."

The class began. After the first introductions and lecture in basics, the class was divided according to the weapons each student would be training with. Inuyasha had seen Sesshoumaru's name on the list of those training with a sword so he looked around hopefully once again to see if the demon had arrived late but there was still no sign of him. Inuyasha went through the basic stances and moves impatiently- he already knew this shit. He didn't need some stuck up youkai telling his how to handle his sword- he knew it better than most and would show them once they got to the good part - sparring.

Takeda sensei expressed his disapproval at Inuyasha's technique but Inuyasha just rolled his eyes.

Finally, all the students from the different classes came together. Real life fights may occur with an enemy with a weapon different from yours, so the sparring session took place with students with different weapons being pitted against each other. Unlike with the humans, sparring among youkai took place with real weapons- it was quite senseless to attempt to fight with a shinai or a bokken since most demons could snap them with their fingers.

Sango and the other humans also followed this rule since they were training to be on par with youkai, not merely among their own kind. Inuyasha was curious to watch Sango fight. Miroku and the others had hinted at her prowess in battle but Sango herself had never bragged about her own fighting abilities.

The sensei read out the names of the pairs who would be sparring. Inuyasha and Sango were both up against one of the huge youkai. Inuyasha frowned.

"What kind of shitty pairs are these? A human against a youkai? That's not an even match!"

Sango smiled mysteriously. "No, it's not,"

Sango and Kikyou had both remained a bit aloof from the hanyou right from the beginning, both for different reasons. Sango did not much appreciate his arrogant, loudmouth attitude.

"What about you?" Inuyasha persisted. "You'll get yourself killed with that guy!"

"Do not make judgments about me only on the basis of my humanity," Sango said quietly. "There is more to people than merely their race."

Inuyasha held his tongue because Sango seemed pissed but privately, he was not convinced. Anyway, if that guy really tried to do something to her, he would no doubt step in, no matter if he got kicked out of the class for his efforts. It was not in his values to see a woman get beat up.

Sango carried a weapon like a huge boomerang. In the beginning of the fight, Inuyasha doubted she would even be able to lift that. Indeed, for some time, all she seemed to be doing was evading the youkai's wild attacks. Soon, the youkai got angry, his efforts growing more and more frenzied at his inability to hit the human. Then Inuyasha's eyes widened as Sango threw the weapon expertly, as though it weighed no more than a tissue. The youkai evaded the attack and headed for the kill. Sango stood her ground calmly. Inuyasha wanted to shout at her to move out of the way, but it was unnecessary. The boomerang returned with redoubled force and hit the youkai at the base of his skull. He screamed and Sango caught her weapon with two fingers. She turned and smiled at Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked back and inclined his head slightly in apology. Humans here apparently were not to be trifled with.

Sango returned to stand beside him. "Damn cool," he admitted. "I gotta say…did not see that comin'."

Sango smiled without conceit. "There are many here who are trained fighters, Inuyasha. For your sake, do not judge them by their appearance."

"Where's Sesshoumaru?" he asked. "Doesn't he take this class?"

"Everyone has to compulsorily take this class," Sango told him. "Kagome and Kikyou are in the archery section and Miroku is undergoing a special training since he wants to become a monk. Sesshoumaru has officially signed up for sword-fighting lessons but he rarely ever participates. He mostly just watches the others."

Inuyasha frowned. "That's not fair. Special treatment for him coz he's a price, eh? Keh, the brat probably doesn't wanna get his hands dirty. Whimpy princes are always scared of a little bruisin'."

Takeda Sensei overheard this and smiled to himself.

Then it was Inuyasha's turn. Sensei ordered them to bow. Inuyasha bowed slightly, nothing more than a slight jerk of his rigid back and his opponent did the same. The youkai was looking at him with ill concealed scorn and Inuyasha smirked. The fight began.

By the end of it Inuyasha was still smirking, though breathing a bit hard and his opponent was groaning on the floor. Inuyasha shot a glance at Takeda sensei and smirked.

"Is that the best you got?"

Takeda sensei frowned at his insolence. Such overconfidence…something would have to be done.

"It seems you think quite highly of your abilities, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha smirked. "Keh, I ain't arrogant, old man; I'm just that good."

He glanced at the end of the class and his heart skipped a beat as he saw Sesshoumaru in hakama and haori quietly watching the fight. His heart began to beat faster. He'd seen! Sesshoumaru had seen him kick that demon's ass! He forgot what he'd been saying as he stared at the youkai prince. Everyone else in the class looked slightly odd in their fighting gi but Sesshoumaru looked resplendent in the plain white outfit, completely at ease, as if he belonged in this. Inuyasha got an idea. He raised his voice so that it carried to all the corners of the dojo.

"I guess some of us are just too scared to take a little beating, eh?" he raised an eyebrow, looking straight into Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Many of the watching students gasped. Takeda sensei scowled. "Do not disrespect Sesshoumaru-sama that way, boy!"

Inuyasha smirked at him. "Ain't you supposed to make sure all of your students learn at least something? Or are you too scared of his highness to force him to do anything he don't want to?"

Takeda sensei turned red with anger. "Why you little brat-!"

"Enough, Takeda."

Takeda sensei closed his mouth immediately and Inuyasha looked up in shock at the deep, quiet voice. He felt a shiver down his spine. Oh this guy's voice alone was enough to give him a hard on! It was too bad he was a wimp but looks, brains, riches, position - one person couldn't have everything. It was too good to be true.

Sesshoumaru came slowly to the front of the class and the throng of students gathered around Inuyasha and Takeda sensei parted to allow him to pass. His booted feet made no sound on the dojo floor. That was odd. Footwear was not allowed in the dojo and it was downright impossible to walk on the wooden floor without making a lot of noise. It was as if Sesshoumaru was walking on air.

"Is there something you wish to say to me?" he asked Inuyasha after he came to a stop in the front of the class. Inuyasha's throat went dry on feeling his crush's hypnotic eyes upon him, but he forced himself to open his mouth.

"Yeah, I wanna challenge you to a match…unless you're too chicken, that is."

A murmur went through the students. Was this boy out of his mind? Challenging Sesshoumaru-sama to a fight? Was he suicidal?

Takeda sensei had recovered his composure. "That's not up to you to decide, boy! Sesshoumaru-sama does not fight just anyone!"

Inuyasha snorted and turned away, hiding his disappointment. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Figures, he thought. My dream guy's a pussy.

"I accept."

Inuyasha stiffened. The entire dojo went quiet. Takeda sensei turned pleadingly to Sesshoumaru.

"B-but, Sesshoumaru-sama…he-"

Sesshoumaru ignored him. Very deliberately, he removed the elaborate sword from his waist, sheath and all, and handed it to Jaken who took it reverentially. Then he selected a common sword from the ones to be used in class. He unsheathed the blade and faced Inuyasha. "Come, Inuyasha. It is your move."

Inuyasha took his stance and Takeda sensei backed off, clearing the fighting arena.. Sesshoumaru stood facing the hanyou, entirely relaxed. Inuyasha stared at him. Didn't he know the first thing about combat? One must remain alert and ready at all times. Ah well, it was his fault for accepting but he would not be too hard on the poor prince, just teach him a lesson.

He charged.

Sesshoumaru parried his blow easily pushing him back with seemingly no force at all. Inuyasha growled and attacked again, putting all his strength behind the blow. Once again, the blow was ineffective. Inuyasha tried again. And again…and again…

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. This was beginning to seem more like a choreographed dance than a fight. Sesshoumaru's were movements were elegant, almost balletic but he never attacked; for the entire duration of the fight, Sesshoumaru had not once been on the offensive. So, thought Inuyasha, the guy doesn't really have it in him to get down and dirty.

It was then that Inuyasha decided to pull all the stops. There was something about 'graceful' and 'beautiful' fighting that really rubbed him the wrong way, whether it was coming from his kenjutsu instructor or some high born, girly demon prince. Fighting was not about being beautiful or looking good; fighting was about surviving and about protecting those you cared for any way you could. The half-demon had spent years doing just that - fighting and surviving; a blueblooded prince born with a silver spoon in his mouth could never even begin to match the kind of ruthlessness it took to come out on top.

So far, his moves had been for sparring, for practice; now he fought. He attacked viciously, kicking, punching, and thrusting his blade in whenever he got the opening without an ounce of mercy. So what if he had a crush on the guy? So what if Lord Sesshoumaru had never gotten hurt in his life? This was about more than lust; this was about pride.

But Sesshoumaru's movements never changed. He dodged, blocked, evaded and parried each blow with the same effortless grace and perfect form. Inuyasha aimed kicks at his liver, groin, head but Sesshoumaru never once used his legs in the fight. He just seemed to flow out of the path of his attacks.

"Stop fuckin' around, asshole!" Inuyasha yelled, aiming for provocation. He did not appreciate being played with. It was time to see if this guy could handle a little bloodshed, because at least one of them would walk away from this battle bloodied.

He tried insults and abuses but his taunts seemed to have absolutely no effect on Sesshoumaru's composure and patience. The fight continued and although Inuyasha tried every single trick he knew, he could not get the youkai to break form or make a wrong move.

Finally, he leapt high up in the air and brought his sword down in a fast downward stroke - his final move. It had never failed to at least injure his opponent and right now, he really needed to see the bastard bleed.

But his sword hit thin air.

He stopped, perplexed. Sesshoumaru was standing a few inches to his left. Had he miscalculated the distance? How was that possible? But the guy had certainly not moved.

He tried again, this time a slashing motion. Once again he hit thin air. He got pissed. He attacked with a quick series of stabs, kicks and slashes but they just seemed to go right through the demon Lord. The funny thing was that if it hadn't been the one attacking, Inuyasha would have sworn that his opponent had not even moved.

"That's all you can do? Run away?" he muttered, charging ahead once again, when his sword caught something. He smirked grimly and looked up to see what he had hit. Then he stared. And stared.

Sesshoumaru had caught the blade of his sword one handed between his fingers. Inuyasha yanked and pushed and pulled but it may as well have been stuck in a rock. Inuyasha stared at him, wide eyed. Then with a deft move that he never quite caught, Sesshoumaru twisted the blade out of his hands.

Inuyasha blinked and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, Sesshoumaru's booted foot on his throat. Sesshoumaru was looking down at him impassively, golden eyes exuding such power that Inuyasha's ears instinctively lay flat on his head even as he glared defiantly at the demon prince. Although defiant on the outside, his dick was half-hard at this position. He had never been aroused in the middle of a fight before but he would revisit this moment when he jerked off later.

"If you move, I snap your neck," Sesshoumaru told him and looking into his eyes, Inuyasha believed him. Sesshoumaru held him in place for a few moments, forcing him to acknowledge defeat and then he removed his foot and walked away. The crowd cheered and Takeda sensei bowed to Sesshoumaru. "Arigatou gozaimasu," he whispered so only the prince could hear. He was very grateful that the youkai prince had shown mercy and spared the life of the hot blooded youth; it would not bode well for him or his job to have a dead student on his hands. It would Sesshoumaru only glanced at him once, then returned to his place.

Inuyasha lay there on the dojo floor, feeling more humiliated than he had ever been in his life. Youkai and humans sneered and laughed at him. After a few minutes, Sango came to him and silently offered him a hand. Dejectedly, he took it. Sango pulled him to his feet. They both remained quiet throughout the rest of the class.

"Why doesn't he ever fight?" he finally asked her, voice flat.

"As heir to the position of the Western Lord, Sesshoumaru has trained intensively for years with his father. In both skill and sheer power, there is none who can rival him, except Lord Inu no Taisho himself. As a result, no one at this dojo was even remotely near his level of skill, not even Takeda sensei. If he sparred seriously with anyone, they would not survive."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked almost accusingly.

"You didn't ask," Sango told him a tad icily. Inuyasha knew she was right. He had been too intent on showing off to even stop and consider why he had chosen not to fight; he had just assumed that a prince who looked like a girl would surely not be any good as a fighter.

Inuyasha lowered his head and allowed his bangs to cover his eyes. So his perfect god was a master warrior as well. Fate was cruel. Inuyasha wanted him more than ever now and he had never been more out of reach. He had thought him merely a prince in name but he was a true warrior like the Lords of ancient times. He was everything Inuyasha had ever fantasized about and now that he met him in person, he knew there was no way the demon would even look at him, a hanyou who had made a fool of himself in front of everyone, who he could crush under his boot like an insect.

He had wanted to show off in front of the youkai, maybe spar with him as an equal and have the youkai acknowledge his skill but now that was all blown to bits. All that he had left was the memory of his seductive, deep voice, movements like a dancer's and the image of him looking down at him with his foot on his throat.

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When they met up with the others, Sango told the others everything. Kikyou smirked, Miroku was sympathetic and Kagome was concerned. Was he alright? Did Sesshoumaru hurt him?

After he assured her that he was actually fine, Inuyasha headed home.

The day had ended very badly indeed and he wanted some solitude after the fiasco. He headed for the school gate. Before the front gate of the high school was the school basketball court. Evening had fallen and there were only a few students playing there. The soft light cast by the setting sun cast the entire scene in beautiful colours. Inuyasha stopped and just stood there, taking in he pleasant evening. He glanced at the beautiful orange and yellow sky, allowing the cool breeze to gently play with his hair.

All those years…all those years of being strong and trying to be the best in at least this, if nothing else, and he was defeated unconditionally by this demon Lord…the object of his fantasy. How ironic that he could not even hate the one who had inflicted such a crushing defeat upon him. As a hanyou, he had earned his place among other demons by being stronger than most of them, earned their respect. That was the one thing that had reassured him when he had come alone to this strange place - that he would soon be respected at least, though not liked, because no one would dare mess with him. But now he was the laughing stock of his peers.

Inuyasha felt miserable. He was still sure he was stronger than the majority of those demons there but what did that matter? Sesshoumaru had bested him like it was nothing, without even drawing blood, without breaking a sweat. Even when he had been defeated a few times in his hometown, he had put up a good fight and managed to at least injure his opponent quite a bit but he had not even been able to touch the youkai Lord. In fact, Sesshoumaru had defeated him without laying a hand on him.

Inuyasha raised his head to the sky. The sun was just setting behind the roof of the highschool building.

He let his gaze wander onto the roof to the roof and froze.

There.

He frowned and stared harder. There seemed to be someone standing on the roof. With long white sleeves swaying in the breeze along with beautiful silver hair, the person looked almost like a specter, a wraith. With a jolt, Inuyasha recognized it as Sesshoumaru.

No sooner had he thought this, than the figure turned and disappeared.

Inuyasha continued to stare after him and if he didn't know better, he could have sworn that Sesshoumaru was staring at him as well.

Face determined, he turned and took off after him.

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Sesshoumaru was standing on a big balcony off on one side of the building. Students were forbidden from coming onto this. Inuyasha opened the door and stood uncertainly in the doorway. The demon Lord did not seem to have noticed his presence. What should he say? Should he call him? Should he address him with his title?

"Sesshoumaru," he said.

The demon Lord did not turn around.

Inuyasha hesitated, feeling stupid. Just what the hell had he been planning to say anyway?

"Er…hi I'm Inuyasha." He immediately turned red. Idiot. He already knew his name. He had used it in the dojo, hadn't he?

"Um…you fight damn well,"

Sesshoumaru turned to look at him. There was no expression on his face. If anything, he looked annoyed at the compliment.

"What do you want?" he asked and Inuyasha swallowed nervously. Damn, that voice!

He stepped forward a little.

"I…uh…came to say that…"

The youkai's stare was getting rather unnerving but Inuyasha steeled himself. He had come all this way, he had to say it! He took a deep breath and frowned at him determinedly.

"I ain't never seen no one fight like you do," he told the youkai Lord bluntly. "So I came to ask you…teach me."

Sesshoumaru raised one elegant eyebrow and Inuyasha turned red again but pressed on.

"Teach me how to fight…" he took a deep breath and bowed low. "…please."

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A/N: What will Sesshoumaru say? ^_^

Please review and tell me what you thought. Ja ne!