𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐠 + 𝐁𝐚𝐚𝐥 | 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 + 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐮
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟏𝟓𝟎𝟐
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Before Baal, Ningguang felt as if her life had been boring. Although she was painted as the enemy, the one everyone hated, she too had feelings just as everyone else did. On top of that, she taught a college criminal justice class, so of course her life was meaningless. Dedicating her life to teaching stupid college kids was not something Ningguang had planned on doing with her life. She intended on being a millionaire, spending her days deciding who lived and who died in the money world. She wanted to be the one to count her money every single day to make sure that there wasn’t a single cent missing. While others might call her a gold digger, or selfish, Ningguang was far from greedy though. If she was greedy, she wouldn’t be teaching a class full of cocky brats trying to become lawyers. If she was greedy, then she wouldn’t put up with the absolute bullshit that some of these kids spouted. Potential lawyers always thought they were amazing, hence why Ningguang went extra hard on them in class.
There was one person she couldn’t stand though. One person in this god forsaken place that she felt somewhat understood her. And that person was Baal, although she heard rumors of her students calling her the so-called “Raiden Shogun”, which amused Ningguang to no end. The Raiden Shogun taught Humanities, which was simple enough in theory, but considering who taught it—the class was almost as hard as Ningguang’s herself. The two boasted the reputation as having the hardest classes on campus, and although they shared that in common, they hadn’t met until relatively recently.
It was a cold winter's day when the two had first ran into each other. Ningguang was bundled up in her outerwear, sipping on a warm hot cocoa since she didn’t fancy coffee. She had more of a sweet palate surprisingly, given who she was. Nevertheless, she was walking through the campus, watching the snow fall in clumps off of the trees and hit the ground. Ningguang, in fact, was so distracted by this that she hadn’t been watching where she was going, and bumped into a certain woman who had only heard rumors of.
The Raiden Shogun was a tall woman, almost taller than Ningguang herself. And when she bumped into her, the glare Ningguang received was almost…electric. There was an air of power around Baal, an air of power that nobody dare defy lest they wish to receive punishment. Ningguang found herself almost…admiring that sort of power that Baal gave off. Despite the initial shock of running into her, Ningguang‘s eyelids fell into a glower once she realized the challenging look that Baal was giving her. She wouldn’t back down easily, not even if Baal was a real Shogun.
“Watch where you’re going,” Baal said icily. She was donned in her own warm outerwear, her hair pulled into a thick braid that tumbled down her back in a lovely manner. In all honesty, Ningguang could admit that Baal was beautiful. Even if she was being a bitch right now. “Next time, maybe look in front of you instead of walking aimlessly.”
Ningguang was taken aback. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this, frankly. She had always been treated with the utmost respect before this meeting, and it was a little shocking to be treated like some sort of peasant in the eyes of Baal. “Do you know who you’re talking to miss…shogun.” Her lips quirked up into a faint smile upon watching Baal’s eye twitch vaguely at the nickname. “Or do you act like this with all of your fellow staff members?” She cocked her head to the side slightly, putting a finger on her chin. “I wonder…how long would it take for you to get fired if you treated everyone like this?”
Baal looked annoyed, shifting idly as she glared at Ningguang sharply. “I suppose that’s none of your concern, given that I speak to everyone in the way I wish. Nobody challenges my authority, not even prissy women like you who think they’re the boss.” The shogun took a step forward, a small sneer on her face as she looked down at Ningguang, who merely looked up at her with a somewhat bored expression. She had dealt with far worse than some teacher who thought she was the best thing to have ever existed. Ningguang wasn’t afraid of Baal—not in the way everyone else seemed to cower in her presence.
“Oh, yes, I do suppose you have free reign to speak to people in whatever way you wish,” Ningguang agreed with her, although it was somewhat backhanded. “But that doesn’t account for the fact that you, just like I, have superiors. As much as you wish you were in charge, you’re not.” Ningguang puckered her lips, reveling in the way Baal’s face changed from mildly annoyed to furious.
“You’re going to regret the words you have spoken,” Baal rumbled, taking a few steps away from Ningguang and smoothing out her coat. Snow had accumulated on both of their coats since they had been standing still, and the chill from the outside was beginning to set in. Whether the chill was from the weather or from Baal’s glare, however…that Ningguang was unsure of.
“Is that a threat?” Ningguang challenged in response to her words, taking an idle sip of her drink.
Baal turned away, not bothering to answer. Her heels made crisp clicks against the pavement as she walked away, making imprints in the snow as well.
And as Baal walked away, Ningguang had the satisfied feeling in her chest that she had won, along with a strange emotion she couldn’t even begin to identify.
From then on, every time they had met had been followed by some sort of argument. A power struggle, per se, ensued every time they had met, which seemed to become more and more frequent as the days passed. Ningguang was unsure as to why Baal kept visiting her classroom with her overly defensive TA Sara, but she could safely say that the distraction was a welcome one. Today, however, Baal was visiting unaccompanied.
Ningguang could tell that Baal was about to visit when the air shifted. It was almost crackling with electricity as she entered the classroom, which was now empty. Her class had long since been over, and her next one wasn’t for a while. In fact, Baal had perfect timing. Even when she entered the room, she looked impeccable as ever, dressed to the nines in her professional outfit that made her look powerful in a scary yet sexy way.
“Good evening, your highness,” Ningguang greeted her in a cool, sarcastic manner. Her tone was condescending and somewhat rude, although still airy enough to come off as faux polite. “Is there something you needed?” Despite Ningguang’s hatred for Baal’s attitude, she still enjoyed her presence somewhat. Not that she’d ever admit that to the woman, of course, but the sentiment was still there.
“Nothing that you can offer,” Baal huffed, making her way closer to Ningguang’s desk and folding her arms across her chest. “What have you been up to?” She asked begrudgingly, a small flush high on her cheeks despite her hostile words.
Ningguang raised an eyebrow, sipping on her drink of choice while she stared up at Baal, purposefully not answering to make her squirm. “Why do you care?” She finally asked, cold and precise as always. When she put down her drink and went back to her paperwork, she could see Baal’s annoyed expression in her peripheral vision. “I thought the Shogun didn’t entertain peasants’ activities.”
Baal’s expression scrunched up into something that was somewhat bewildered, although it smoothed out a second later. “You know that’s not what I mean.” She sounded annoyed, her eyebrow twitching for a second before she smoothed off her outfit, brushing off any nonexistent dust. “You know exactly what I mean.”
Ningguang stood up from her desk gracefully, approaching Baal with a neutral expression before she cupped her cheeks in a surprisingly gentle manner. Baal stiffened for a second before she seemed to melt into the touch begrudgingly, still looking bothered despite it all. It was then that Ningguang pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, satisfied by the way that the other woman looked shocked for a moment before her eyes fluttered shut.
“Yes, we’re still on for tonight if that was what you were wondering.” Ningguang said once she had pulled away from the kiss, brushing off her own clothes before she went to sit back down at her desk. The two had planned a date for tonight, but it seemed as if Baal was having a bit of anxiety about it. It was almost endearing.
Ningguang’s lips quirked up into a faint smile as she turned back to the copious amounts of paperwork that she needed to get up, not even bothering to look up at Baal as she uttered her next words:
“You’re dismissed.”