Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Keeping Up Appearances	By : TheKaytla Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 3546 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Inuyasha, nor its characters.They are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter Two

The next day, as Inuyasha strolled out of the building during their lunch break, Sesshomaru was ready. He caught the hanyou's arm and, ignoring protests, dragged him around to a little-used and shadowed side of the building. He glanced behind them and nodded to himself, satisfied; it seemed no one had seen them.

He allowed Inuyasha to shake off his arm and straighten his clothes, though Sesshomaru didn't see why he bothered. The hanyou was scruffy at best; there was a grass stain on one of his knees, his shirt had the two top buttons undone, and his tie was nowhere to be seen, apparently suffering the same fate as his jacket. Not for the first time, he wondered why Inuyasha was in their school when he couldn't even follow the dress code, let alone keep up with the curriculum.

He refrained from asking, however, when he noticed Inuyasha was already glaring at him. He needed this conversation to be at least civil if he hoped to get his answers.

Straight to business, then. When Inuyasha opened his mouth, Sesshomaru overrode him.

"I want to know how you're cheating on the tests," he said without preamble

He had to admire the hanyou's composure. Inuyasha's expression didn't so much as flicker. But being a gifted liar didn't impress Sesshomaru much.

Slowly, Inuyasha's eyebows rose. "And who says I am?"

"I have no intention of turning you in," Sesshomaru said, impatience building within him. He had no time to play these games. "I simply need to know how you're doing it."

Inuyasha held up a hand. "Hold on a minute. You want to know how to cheat at tests?" he asked incredulously. "The big brainiac? Mr. Perfect Score?"

Sesshomaru bit the inside of his mouth and counted to three. "Yes." Somehow, he managed to sound fairly calm. "So tell me. Then this can be over and we can both walk away pretending it didn't happen."

The hanyou put his hands in his pockets and leaned a shoulder against the wall. He looked at Sesshomaru for a long while, and then a smile started to curve his lips. Sesshomaru immediately hated it; he had a bad feeling about it.

"What's it worth to you?"

Sesshomaru gritted his teeth. Yet again, his instincts were correct. But there was little he could do if Inuyasha decided to go down this road. "What do you want?" he asked icily, voice tight.

Inuyasha's smile only widened. "I dunno yet," he replied reasonably. "Dunno what I could get for it, do I?"

Damn the miserable half-breed, he had no time or patience for this! Resisting the urge to grind his teeth, he settled for glaring daggers at his classmate instead.

"Then how about you tell me and we leave it as an outstanding debt?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips, mock considering. Mock, Sesshomaru was certain, because the hanyou's amber eyes were practically shining with mischief. For whatever reason, Inuyasha was enjoying this.

"We could..." the hanyou said. "But how do I know you'll pay?" Then his eyes sharpened a bit. "And how do I know this isn't some kind of set-up by the teacher's pet? If it is, it's a stupid one. Did you think I'd just spill my guts like that? Get real, man."

Now Sesshomaru did gnash his teeth. Leave it to Inuyasha to show an inkling of intelligence when it was least welcome. He was forever frustrating and contrary.

"You don't know it isn't," Sesshomaru snapped. "You'll just have to trust me."

Inuyasha made a 'hmm' noise, then shook his head. "Nope, 'fraid that doesn't really work for me. I've been less than dirt to you from the moment we met. Why the hell would I trust you?"

Damn it all, but Inuyasha had a point. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn't trust the hanyou, either. But his future was riding on this. He supposed that meant... he had to take the first step.

"Fine," he said, giving in. "Fine. If I tell you the reason I need this information, which will never be repeated again, will you tell me?"

Inuyasha must have seen something in his expression or heard it in his voice, because his eyebrows drew together and he nodded slowly. "All right, I'll hear you out. And if the reason's good enough... I'll tell you."

Sesshomaru looked around again, checking to see if anyone might be eavesdropping; he couldn't help it. Satisfied they were alone, he turned back to Inuyasha, ignoring the hanyou's raised eyebrow.

"I'm having difficulty keeping up," he said, as quickly and as flatly as possible. "I'm dealing with personal problems that are extremely distracting and take up much of my time, leaving me with precious little time to study. I simply need to keep my grades up until things even out, that is all. I don't want to fall behind and risk not being able to catch up."

Inuyasha watched him for a long moment, as though trying to decide whether to believe him or not. In spite of himself, Sesshomaru felt himself growing tense; he needed the hanyou's cooperation here...

"Really?" the hanyou finally said. "You're falling behind? I figured you kinda just... knew all the answers. You always get perfect scores on everything."

"No. I simply allocate adequate time to study at home and make sure to pay attenton during class." Or he had, at least, before all his time had been funnelled into earning money and he'd been too tired to study or even pay proper attention at school anymore.

"Well... learn something new every day, right?" Inuyasha fell into another of the silent stares Sesshomaru was starting to recognise as a normal occurrence when the hanyou thought things through. He searched deep for the patience to wait it out.

"All right," Inuyasha finally said. "I'll let you in on my secret. I know you said had personal shit going on, but when can you make free time after school?"

Tomorrow, he was working a later shift. He'd hoped to get in a bit of study before he went in, but getting this information would be a better use of his time. "I can meet you at around three-thirty tomorrow. But why can't you just tell me now and be done with it?"

"Can't very well talk about that kind of thing at school, can I?"

"Very well," Sesshomaru sighed. "Where should I meet you?"

"I'll give you the address, hold on..." The hanyou began patting random pockets about his person until he finally came up with a thoroughly chewed pen and a scrap of paper that looked like it might have been a homework assignment at one point.

Inuyasha pressed said scrap against the wall, then shook the pen violently and hastily scribbled the address before gravity affected the inkflow. He handed it to Sesshomaru, who took it dubiously.

"So I'll see you there tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yes," Sesshomaru confirmed. "Tomorrow."

That arranged, he turned on his heel and strode swiftly in the direction of the library. Much of his at school study time had been lost, but if he acted quickly, he could still make some headway. That thought in mind, he quickened his pace, disappearing into the school building without even a backwards glance.

---

At precisely three-twenty-seven the following day, Sesshomaru got off the bus a block away from the address Inuyasha had provided. Said address led him to an apartment building.

He looked up at it, wondering. Was this where Inuyasha and his family lived? He'd been under the impression they were significantly more wealthy; how else, then, would they afford to send Inuyasha to such an expensive private school?

He supposed all their spare funds were being put into giving their son the best education they could buy. It might even be a better explanation of why Inuyasha resorted to cheating to get good grades. If he knew his parents were putting everything into this, the pressure to succeed must be immense.

Sesshomaru shook off the thought before he started feeling sympathetic. He wanted to keep this business as simple as possible.

He stepped up to the door and pressed the buzzer labelled "I. Takahashi". A brief pause, then there was a quiet click.

"Yeah?" came Inuyasha's voice through the intercom.

"It's Sesshomaru," he replied, frowning slightly at the hanyou's lack of manners.

"Right, yeah. Come on up." Another click, then a prolonged buzz. Sesshomaru tugged the door open and went inside, looking around. The lobby was neat and well-ordered, neither rich nor shabby.

Sesshomaru crossed the carpeted floor to the elevator. The note Inuyasha had scribbled for him earlier had indicated the fifth floor, and he rode up in silence and without any unplanned stops, for which he was glad; he wanted to spend as little time here as possible.

When he reached his level, Inuyasha was leaning against his door. He wore a tight black T-shirt with what Sesshomaru assumed was a faded band logo across his chest and battered blue jeans with a hole over one knee. Once again, Sesshomaru was utterly mystified as to how Inuyasha got in to a prestigious school such as theirs; though money was a powerful tool, there was only so much leniency and discretion it could buy.

The hanyou checked the watch on his wrist. "Punctual, as always. I suppose I should expect nothing less from the star student."

Sesshomaru refused to rise to the bait... much. "Allowing oneself to be tardy is inexcusable. I made a commitment to be here at three-thirty when we agreed to that time."

Inuyasha let out a long, gusty sigh. "Geez, you're wound tight. I'm surprised you can sit down with that huge stick up your ass. Well, whatever. Come in, I guess."

Inuyasha stepped back into his apartment and held the door open for Sesshomaru to follow, which he did. From the first glance, he could tell it was of a decent size, rather neat and tidy. With the stark white walls and the gadgetry he could see around, it looked more like a single man's apartment than a family home, though. While Sesshomaru privately admitted to a small bit of curiosity, he suppressed it.

"You have a nice home," he said instead, falling back on habit.

The look Inuyasha gave him told him the hanyou was more than aware it was meaningless pleasantries, but he shrugged and went along with it. "Thanks. It's nothing special, but it's comfortable enough."

"Are your parents not home?" This would be easier and quicker if he didn't have to introduce himself and make pleasantries with anyone else. Besides, he didn't really want to see a happy family dangled in front of his face right now when his own had derailed so abruptly.

"What? Oh. Right. I live here on my own. I convinced my dad to let me have my own place about six months ago... privacy and all, you know? He agreed quickly enough, though... I think he was fine with the idea of getting me out of his hair."

Sesshomaru glanced around again. He bachelor pad feel made a lot more sense now, as did the stark white walls. He couldn't really picture Inuyasha taking the time to decorate his own home. The only thing out of place was the tidiness. Inuyasha struck him more as the type to let things land where he left them once he was done with them.

"You want something to drink? I got some soft drinks, I think maybe there's some coffee leftover if that's more your thing."

The coffee sounded good, but he resisted. He'd already loaded up on caffeine to keep him awake at work. Any more would be pushing it. He didn't particularly want anything else, either, but politeness dictated he accept regardless.

Inuyasha tossed him a can of coke on his way back into the living room, then lowered himself into an armchair in a comfortable sprawl. Sesshomaru lowered himself onto the leather sofa and took polite sips of his drink. For long moments of silence, they sat like that, until Sesshomaru could no longer stand it. He didn't have the luxury of wasting time.

"Are we waiting for someone?" he finally asked.

Inuyasha looked up from his can. "No."

Sesshomaru frowned. "I have somewhere to be, so in that case, let's cut to the chase. Do you have some method of obtaining the answers to tests beforehand?"

"No..."

"Then what is it? I don't have time to play around here. I'm risking running late already."

Inuyasha drummed his claws on the outside of his can, almost hesitating. Sesshomaru's frown deepened.

"Well... the thing is... I don't actually cheat. That was the scret."

All Sesshomaru could think to say was... "What?"

"I don't cheat," Inuyasha repeated, oddly defensive. "Never have."

"That's impossible. How else are you passing these exams?"

"Same as you do," the hanyou said, his tone getting testy as he glared at Sesshomaru. "I read the books and then I know the answers."

"But you never pay attention in class," the youkai insisted, entirely unable to believe this for even a second. It made absolutely no sense. The person sitting before him was a moron; he'd proven that time and time again. "You never study."

Inuyasha shrugged, though he was still clearly on the defensive. "Not until right before. If we have a test, I go over everything the night before, like a refresher. I've never needed to do more than that."

For several moments, Sesshomaru just stared at the hanyou with his mouth slightly agape. Inuyasha really expected him to believe this? Everyone knew he cheated, so why was he being so obstinate about admitting it? Didn't Inuyasha realise how much it hurt his pride to have to sink this low? Or had he invited him here just for his own entertainment and had never planned on telling him the truth in the first place?

Sesshomaru balled his free hand into a fist. "So you're not going to be honest with me? You're expecting me to believe this instead?"

Inuyasha snorted at him. "Look, if you don't wanna believe it, no skin off my back. You asked a question, I gave you the answer. If you don't like that answer, it's not my problem."

Sesshomaru put down the drink he'd barely touched and stood up. "This has been a complete waste of my time."

"It was no picnic for me, either," Inuyasha muttered into his can.

Sesshomaru bit his tongue on the verbal lashing he wanted to give and instead said stiffly: "I'll show myself out."

He barely heard Inuyasha's grunt of acknowledgement, covering the floor to the front door in ground-eating strides. He almost slammed the door behind him and hit the stars at a dead run, too impatient to wait for the lift, he was so angry.

How dare Inuyasha do something so vindictive. Especially after he'd confessed he needed help when he'd not planned to tell anyone. He knew their relationship had never been friendly, but did Inuyasha really hate him that much? He'd had no idea.

It made him worry about what Inuyasha might do from this point. Would he spread it around the school that he was struggling? He didn't need any speculation circling him right now...

Well, if that happened, he'd just have to deny it. A few well-aimed glares would quell the most curious and any rumours would die down quickly enough. There was nothing he could do about it right now, so he focused instead on hurrying to work.

---

Poor Sesshomaru, things just aren't going his way right now... :/ Hopefully it'll get better!

Hope everyone's had a good Easter :)
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Keeping Up Appearances