FicWad

Disclaimer: No, I do not own the canon characters, or any connection to the feudal era. All of that jazz belongs to Takahashi Rumiko. However, the plot and any other content belong to me alone.

/Chapter Two/

She merely stared at the door into the building for several long moments, contemplating on whether she really wanted to do it the justice of stepping inside. As much as she hated this job, "it was a great learning experience," as she had been told oh-so-many times by various people who thought they knew better than she did. To hell with that, she thought acidly. Kagura gathered her falling bags before walking inside, absently running a slender hand through choppy hair. She noticed a few students had already arrived, and there he sat on his throne of terror. He was probably the most talked about - and the most disturbing - professor she had this semester.

Then why do I work for him? The answer: he pays the most. Why else? A few months back when she came in for the interview, he seemed impressed with her potential. A few months ago she'd been happy about this. Now she was trapped, a feeling that she was accustomed to but detested all the same.

Kagura watched as Naraku - Mr. Onigumo - took his half-moon glasses off and smirked gallingly while she stood in front of his desk. She felt like sticking her finger in her mouth to accentuate just how much she was disgusted by him. But, alas, that would've landed her in a very compromising position.

"I see you decided to show up," he sneered. She pursed her lips as she gave the finished papers to her professor. "I need for you to log these grades tonight, if you will." He suddenly handed her yet another packet of papers, his shining ebony eyes not leaving her crimson ones.

"Sure," she said, grabbing them out of his bony hand and sauntering to the front desk on the preferred left. In the corner of her eye, she faintly noticed two girls whispering rapidly, glancing around the room every now and then until both their greedy little eyes landed on her. The sorceress was fairly unsurprised to hear her name mentioned amongst their conversation once she sat down at the desk. Ever since she had started working for Naraku, people, girls, mostly, had started talking a bit. It was obviously due to the fact that he was, quite unfortunately, wickedly handsome in the eyes of any woman who hadn't been labeled officially blind. His agreeable physique along with his sinister amethyst eyes seemed to attract a lot of conversation among the standard population. That's just about all he has going for him too, she thought to herself.

Of course, suspicions had arisen after she had acquired this position she was in now. Her stanch demeanor seemed to keep the hoards of inquiring girls at bay most of the time, and seemed to frighten most of the boys away. Not that she minded-none of them remotely caught her fancy. Most of her female classmates were so spoiled by their glamorous lives that they didn't even see past their own noses most of the time. There only seemed to be a scarce few who actually held a brain that was functional to some extent or another. Sadly, the only thing those people did was study. Shaking her head Kagura pulled out her notebooks, watching as Naraku stood at the dry-erase board, rubbing his nose before uncapping the marker. He began to write the main points for whatever he was planning on doing today. She outwardly grimaced, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"Here are your term paper prompts," he said as he handed them out, making a full circle back to the podium. "Questions?" No one spoke or regarded him at all as they looked over the sheet of paper. She noticed the requirements and cursed silently. Taking the hint, he turned to the dry-erase board. He paused mid-turn due to someone's raised hand. "Yes?"

"I was wondering...could we come to you for help if we needed it?" an evocative voice inquired. Kagura raised her eyebrows, crimson eyes downcast as she looked at nothing in particular. She couldn't believe the way some of these girls acted around him; it was quite horrible. What truly sickened her was the way he seemed to enjoy every moment of it.

Naraku regarded the girl for a moment before answering. "Of course," he smiled with the words. "Anytime, either my aid or I would be happy to help you with your work."

Said aid felt the burning eyes on her and looked up nonchalantly, despite the redness tinting her cheeks. She witnessed the porcelain face falter for a split second, which then grinned erroneously before turning to the sorceress with a full-blown glare just as he turned back around. Kagura glared back fiercely. She then made a hissing sound, shaking her head once more as the girl smartly turned back around.

Kagura didn't even listen when he started to lecture. Her mind wandered during that time, resurrecting thoughts that had been flattened when she walked into the classroom. Lazily, she started taking notes about mid-session. He normally referred to the useful facts during this time, after he clued everyone in on the introduction to this particular point in history. When he glanced in Kagura's general direction several times during the course of the note-taking, she frowned. She didn't exactly know why, but every time she made eye contact with the man a shudder ricocheted down her spine. It wasn't at all pleasant, nor did it resemble the excited tremble she got when stepping outside for the first snow every winter. How he acted towards her always kept her on her toes, with that everlasting feeling of dread. She couldn't stand it.

Trying to stray away from Naraku, Kagura wallowed in the wide empty expanse known as her mind. She thought about how she ended up in Medical school in the first place, and just how unfulfilled she felt after getting accepted. Even after her foster parents' good graces and hospitality, she still felt emptier with them than she had at the orphanage when she was younger. At least there the wind sorceress was surrounded with people like herself, people who understood her or at least tried to in their own twisted ways. For years after the youkai couple had adopted her-then conceiving a younger girl, Kanna-they sent the young woman to psychologists, to shrinks, to everyone that at even vaguely resembled help only to see the sorceress sent home with suggestions like putting her into such mediocre things such as sports. They had said that she was bored. She fought down a snarl at the thought. Not one of them understood her, which was for certain. What a waste of time.

The one thing all of them seemed to think was that she had been blaming everyone else for her own ignorance about her long-lost parents. A common mistake. Most orphans did care about their parents, but Kagura...she concluded that if they had wanted to know about their own daughter, they would've come back for her before she reached the age of 18. From what she had gathered about them, they weren't ready for a child when they gave her away to the authorities.

Sure, when she was in high school she had friends who went to the local mall, the movies, and all of those other things you saw today's teenagers doing-when she wasn't banished to the game room upstairs. However, it wasn't like she had the time of her life either. She remembered all those years of feeling so trapped, the agony of wanting to be outside and free. Kanna was free as the wind. It should've been Kagura who was the wind, because it was her element.

At least Kagura had those kinds of friends that didn't necessarily care if she was there or not. Well, at least she took pleasure in playing ding-dong-ditch with the older boys down the road, who always loved it when she used her control over the wind for her own devices. (When The Law was passed, that soon ended.) She certainly had more fun with them than with the "posse" of girls at that wretched preparatory school. The majority of the kids thought that they-or we, as she would sometimes like to think-were the bee's knees.

Of course, she was labeled the mischievous one out of that group. The one who used her coiling wind to make things happen without getting blamed for it. But-she promised-that was only once. She had been bored, and slightly ticked at the time. Wasn't that a good enough reason? The teacher's face at the time still made her cackle. Some had actually inquired as to whether or not the young sorceress even had a conscience when she was in Junior High and a freshman in High School. Kagura never paid attention to things such as that, until she reached the memorable 10th grade. What a cruel awakening that was. She consciously shook her head, ridding herself of such unpleasant memories. The only sensible thing that she did was graduate during that part of her life, or so she thought. One could only guess what happened to her after that. She grew up, or at least tried to for that matter.

Just finishing up the third page of notes, she threw the purple pen in her black bag as the bell finally rang. She watched as the students filed out of the classroom, eager to escape the cage. Not that she could blame them. She wanted just as much.

"Kagura," he predictably called her name, but not so loud as to embarrass her. Several of the remaining students looked in her direction as Kagura walked until she was a few yards away from his desk. She waited for his request, readjusting the bag on her shoulder in a nervous manner. Soon she was tapping her foot against the tile floor while he stood next to his desk.

"What if the beginning of the lecture actually held some importance?" he inquired slickly, his brow lifting slightly along with the side of his mouth as he looked down at her. "I saw you day-dreaming."

'Well if you had caught my interest I would've paid attention.' "So you did," she replied curtly, her defense mechanism suddenly taking hold. He simply shook his head. After a few moments, she grew slightly curious as to why she was still there-in the classroom, alone with him. She felt a pang of something in her gut, and it oddly resembled dread. "So what do you want?" Her tone was acid. He looked up, studying her closely until his eyes traveled elsewhere. She instinctively folded her arms across her chest.

"There is...a seminar this coming Friday I must attend," he smirked again, his eyes narrowing as they slowly made their way back to hers. "I might need some assistance. An entourage if you may. I'm sure you'll be of some use if you choose to accompany me."

"I see," she remarked. Did she honestly want to go with him anywhere, especially in a place where she knew no one? "What do I get out of it?" The question was expected, of course. There was no way she was going unless he planned to pay her extra. Thankfully when she asked, he agreed, grinning slightly all the while. Damn! 'I wish I hadn't done that. But I need to pay for my electric bill.' Such was the fate of one living in the modern world. She sighed with relief as he went to his desk, his eyes moving with him.

"Very well. Just be here on Friday with those papers as well," he added as she turned to leave. She looked back at him, scowling before walking out the door. She wasn't sure why, but when she reached the end of the hall she began to run. Her car loomed on the black pavement and she got inside, switching on the radio and speeding out of the lot to her usual place of relaxation.

When she arrived at the coffee house she inhaled a deep, steadying breath, leaning on the door as she closed it upon entering. I've made it. She thought that at least she didn't have to deal with that blonde chick that had made her hatred for the sorceress so pleasantly clear. She almost laughed at the mere thought of it. Jealousy...how idiotic. It's not like she's missing anything. After waiting in line for some time, Kagura finally requested her usual order of black coffee, then scuttled in between the numerous rickety circular tables scattered throughout the oval room. A table in front of the glass panes seemed fit, so she dropped her backpack and sat down, taking a sip of the hot steamy liquid, blinking as it burned all the way down her throat. She instantly pulled out a poem book she bought ages ago, scanning through until finally settling on something short enough for her tastes. Her mind needed to be distracted.

The splendid white tombs,
Behind the lurking willows.
Masculine illusions begin to loom,
In his midst of power and ice.
Silver swords and eerie shores,
He stands in all his might.

Rereading it a few times, she frowned and shrugged. Something about it made her wary, as if it were describing someone she once knew. The demoness preferred the short poems because she could analyze them quicker, yet they always left her thinking if written fairly well. This one she still didn't know about because it was written by some random Joe/Jane labeled studiously 'Anonymous.' She sighed, resting her head on her slender arm, gazing out the window with her vision lopsided.

Irrationally her crimson eyes were drawn to the other side of the street, as if she had heard a siren or something. She thought she saw a flash of silver, but it was gone before she could blink twice. Not again... Perhaps she needed to go to her optometrist. The last time she went, the man had suggested that she buy contacts so her eyes wouldn't stand out. Such idiots, she thought to herself. What would she want to hide her true identity for?

She threw out her finished coffee cup in the bin and on the way out she accidentally bumped into someone. She didn't even glance up or apologize, but thought she imagined the same silver hair again before she set off down the sidewalk to her diminutive apartment. She had known someone with hair like that... Kagura resisted the urge to look back as she walked along the sidewalk and got back into her car. Surely sleep would cure most of these illusions she was having.

.-.-.-.



Author's Nonsense: Any critiques appreciated.