Golden eyes bored into his own as Jaken stood in the empty sandwich store. Behind the wooden counter, a man's hair was tied back at the nape, flowing down his back like a silver waterfall. He was thin, but by no means lanky. He had impressive muscular buildup that looked quite tight at the shoulder sleeves of his robes. As to how the man could wear short robes in the middle of the Winter time Jaken didn't know, but he tightened his own robes around his layers of clothing, a cold chill rushing down his spine. Everything was odd about this man, even if he was a toad demon himself. In this mystical realm, it's not uncommon to find a sheep or a pig demon on the streets, but a toad demon, now that was uncommon. Jaken looked down at the selection before him, many vegetables residing inside craters within the wood, some cheese, and several types of meat before him.
"Quite an oddity to see a dog demon such as yourself working." Jaken proposed, and, by the looks of it, touching a nerve. Jaken suppressed a smile, looking over the man's head at the menu selections carved in wood, as well as yen prices. "Especially so the heir to our lands."
Jaken met the man's gaze once more, freeing his green, thin lips to do as they please, tipping up at the corners. "Sesshomaru, my lord. Glorious son of the legendary Inu no Taishō, yes?"
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the King of the Toad Demons. "Do not flatter me. My father is alive and well. My ruling is not required at this time. And if I am not mistaken, you are here to buy a sandwich, not to conduct meaningless small talk with this Sesshomaru."
Jaken couldn't contain the laugh that escaped his throat. Although he had met Sesshomaru's mother, but was not around the woman much, he assumes that the man received his attitude genes from her. Inu no Taishō was certainly not snappy, though he could be temperamental. He glanced around the old layout of the restaurant, empty seating tables and floor seats the only things greeting his eyes.
"Why the rush? You don't seem to be overwhelmed with business at the moment, don't you have time for a chat?"
Sesshomaru said nothing, but it did not matter, as Jaken didn't require one. A cold wind bit his cheeks. Perhaps the one regrettable thing about this world is the unbearable winter. The store itself was warm, but the tightly wound straw of the door kept opening and closing, letting cold air flow in and out.
"Would you contemplate fixing that door? It's rather unnerving." Jaken requested, watching as Sesshomaru's hands clenched.
"I prefer the cold." It amazed Jaken how flat the man's voice was. Emotionless, dare he say.
"Very well." Jaken waved his hand dismissively. The silence that ensued was awfully deafening, the demons switching from glaring to staring, or even looking down. Jaken glanced over the food selections once more, not finding anything very impressive to choose from, but neither adding words to their situation.
Sesshomaru was the first to break the silence.
"If you wished to speak, you should do so." Sesshomaru's eyes seemed to have never-ending pools of hate dwelling within them, and he seems to despise Jaken nearly as much as everything else. Perhaps even more.
But his pupils did not look back at Jaken's, instead they looked out the glass windows to the other stores, gleaming with bright lights and laughing. He had read the sign outside earlier, the store closes at sunset.
"Oh, calm down, I was getting there. So impatient." Jaken replied, averting his gaze back to Sesshomaru. "I was just going to say that I used to work for your father, once upon a time. I was a small toad then, very naive. Your father was very kind to me, and I do wish you would pass on my thanks. It was such a long time ago that I've seen you last."
Only then did Sesshomaru look up. "We have never crossed paths before."
Jaken chuckled. "I wouldn't expect you to remember. I was somewhat of a maid, or maybe more of a nanny, to you then. You were such a small pup, then. Your care was often in my hands, as your mother rarely needed - or wanted - your presence. And of course your father was very busy."
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the mention of his mother.
"And so, most of the time you were passed on to myself. I would immerse myself in any new game that pleased you. Of course, more times than not, I would get hurt. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, though. You would grant my cheek a soft kiss afterwards. Sometimes I made it a point to get hurt on purpose, so every time we played, from the time you were birthed to your one hundredth year, I would get an apology kiss." Jaken smiled at the memory.
"But then, one day as we were playing, I received word that my father, the King of the Toads, had passed in a fire that wiped out half of village's population, and I was promptly needed. Surely you remember." Jaken accused, staring into Sesshomaru's eyes, who did not meet his.
"I have no recollection." Sesshomaru replied, his amber eyes at last holding some type of emotion that Jaken could not place.
He paid no mind to the dog demon's denial, instead continuing with his story.
"I packed my belongings to take my leave, and oh the tears you cried. But before I left, you gave me one last kiss, this time on the mouth. I still remember the horror in your mother's eyes afterward." Jaken laughed once more, he'd said enough for tonight. Besides, it was sunset.
"I suppose I shall leave now." He began to walk away. "I require no food. Thank you for speaking with me, may we cross paths again someday."
Right as he were about to walk out the door, it slammed closed in front of him. He began to turn around, shocked to find Sesshomaru standing in front of him, face inches - no, centimeters - from his. Their lips crashed together, a rather odd combination one might say, dog and toad, but only briefly before Jaken left.
A/N: Ah, what a break from 'Every Time a Bell Rings, a Toad Demon gets Kissed', my other Jasshomaru story! I went to Subway to eat last night, so I had to write a Feudal Era Subway version.
Please review, this took quite a while to write!