Gradual Seduction by Kourin
Chapter One : Recall
Gradual Seduction
By Kourin
Chapter One : One Little Victory
A/N: Hmkay. I've decided to begin a new story. No, I haven't forgotten about Atonement, and a new chapter should be up on that one within 12 hours or so. Do not fret, my readers. For once, this one is told in first person, Kagome's POV. I don't see many first person stories, so I figured, 'why not?'It's entirely AU, but I promise to keep in the original spirit of the characters and personalities. Enjoy, and as always, comments, questions, concerns and constructive criticisms are much appreciated!
---------------------------------------------------------
Whoever said that no man is an island, very clearly had never met Sesshoumaru Taisho.
Not only was he an island, but one akin to nothing less than Alcatraz. He was overbearing, impersonal, cold, and alone. There weren't even any smaller islands in the frigid and choppy waters surrounding.
Every year, there are a handful of nutters who go, in the middle of fall no less, and try to swim from the pier out to Alcatraz. Some don't make it, and the ferry has to go rescue them. Those who do will call their triumph to the world, and then find themselves left with the 'oh-shit-I'm-stuck-on-an-island' feeling, while they shiver in the wind, dressed in nothing but their suits and bathing caps. Right before the ferry comes and picks them up, of course. Some even try to swim back and end up being picked up by the ferry also. Year after year, they all try to reach Alcatraz, or escape from it. And year after year, they all end up looking foolish in one way or the next. Alcatraz will have no survivors in any race for domination or glory.
My father taught me to distrust three things: Power, American women, and money. Mostly, they go hand in hand. Power corrupts far too easily to be trusted. American women always want one, or both, of the two others. Money, well, money is only a tool, a means to an end, but a deadly one at that. My father's suspicions, however paranoid, have served me well to this day in every instance of my life.
Except for one.
By the time I was a girl, a fledgling woman at seventeen, I felt forty. I lived away from 'home', went to college, had a rather raucous but endearing roommate, and held a steady job at a Chinese restaurant. I sighed and began to tune the professor out. I had no care to what he was talking about, anyways. I'd probably seen more of it than he had, truth be told. I'd been in court far too many times for a girl my age, more times than some lawyers see in their careers.
Childhood seems to get shorter and shorter with each passing generation.
Mine ended when I was seven.
"Kagome, there's no education required to be a weatherman here. All you have to do is predict 'overcast with sun breaks and a chance of rain'." The little girl giggled from the back seat.
"What about a pet doctor, Papa? I could take care of aminals, just like I take care of Kimmie, daddy. Just like Kimmie."
"Yes, Kagome-chan. Just like Kimmie." The man said to appease the child. He smirked to himself. He alone knew that Kimmie the Hamster wasn't really Kimmie the Hamster. Kimmie was actually Kimmie the Hamster the Third. He'd been replacing the little white hamster for two years now, but he couldn't tell that to his daughter. It would break her heart if her beloved pet truly 'died'. She'd seen far too much hurt in her life already.
He watched through his rear view mirror while she swung one tiny foot slightly and coloured with purple markers all over his newest file at the same time. He rolled his eyes, now remembering why he should have made a copy of it. She piped up very suddenly, cheerful as she usually was. She gave him her adorable gap-toothed smile, and held up his now ruined file.
"I drawed something for you!" And she had. A large purple butterfly (complete with smiley face) stared back at him. He opened his mouth to laugh as he turned back to the road, and his daughter reached down to pick up the orange marker she'd dropped at some unknown earlier hour.
Two masked men stepped out from behind a blue van.
"Kagome, stay down, and stay quiet."
One, two, three, four shots rang out in the dusk, a block away from their small apartment. Glass shattered and showered everything in their old Ford.
Her beloved father was motionless, and she did exactly what he'd told her to.
A hand collided with the back of my head, and I was brought back to attention. I didn't have to look to know who was behind me, and a feeling of cold dread flooded me.
A man I'd then known for twelve years had smacked me in the back of the head, as I'd seen him do countless other times to other students.
I regretted having laughed at them as the tall and lean man I'd come to recognize as my friend's older sibling, and more recently, an assistant university professor rotated to my side to question me. To call him an assistant professor was ludicrous, though. Our 'real' professor had, according to the university, 'taken an extended leave of absence due to health issues'. Yeah, right. Mental health issues, more like. I was one of the few who'd witnessed the mental decline of the elderly man the previous semester. First, he started forgetting things. Then, he stopped bathing all-together, which was admittedly disgusting. And last, but certainly not least, there was a small scrap of paper in the man's hair. Every single day, the same piece of paper. The few students who'd been in the class at the time watched daily with horrified fascination as the piece of paper traveled around our elderly teacher's head of thin and patchy hair. Sometimes, it merely stuck to a bald spot.
My attention was wandering, still. Unbelievable. A second time, I was caught in the act in the span of 26 seconds.
"What was I just saying, Miss Higurashi?" Damn him. He knew I wasn't paying attention.
"Restrictions of the fifth amendment in criminal court?" I said, voice shaky. His normally impassive face turned to a scowl.
"A fortunate guess. Next time, pay attention. You might as easily leave my class if you are unwilling to listen to what is being taught." A couple of students somewhere behind me sniggered and elbowed each other in the sides.
"SILENCE." Professor Taisho barked at the group of boys in the back.
I chuckled silently to myself, content in having the last laugh, and celebrated one small victory.
Higurashi, one. Public, zero.