Disclaimer: I don't own any anime that appears in this story.
A/N: Okay. So. This was originally an interactive "choose your own adventure" type story with choices at the end and everything, but this site doesn't allow it, so I get to come up with my own ideas. My life is kind-of-really-busy at the moment though, so I don't know if I'll update this often, if at all. It's pretty much last-priority for me. But I thought since I had it and wasn't doing anything with it, I might as well post it and see if people like it. Right now, this is a crossover (you can probably see by now I love crossovers) of Inuyasha, FMA, and Naruto, possibly Bleach later. But I was also thinking of adding Yu-gi-oh to the crossover. Tell me in your reviews if you think that's a good idea or not. Mwahaha, excuse the phail title. I had no idea what else to put.
The young lord turned in his sleep slightly, vaguely becoming aware of something poking him. It was at first passed off as a plant or something brushing against him in the wind, but then the unmistakable scent of human wafted into his nose. It took another few seconds for that scent to register in the demon's still-sleeping brain before the pale eyelids fluttered open.
The sight of a figure kneeling beside him triggered an automatic reaction in the demon and he hissed and growled at the man, eyes a bright red with the irises a royal blue. The man flinched, and took a step back, but did not run. A few moments later, as the demon's vision cleared, the realization that the figure was a mere, harmless human struck him, and the growling ceased as his eyes faded back to their normal white with amber irises.
"Well, I guess that means you're alive!" the man remarked brightly.
The demon looked the strange human over in faint amusement; it wasn't very often that a human had the gall to approach Lord Sesshomaru, at least, a human with even the vaguest sense of self-preservation. The man didn't look like any human he'd seen before--he was clad in nearly all blue decorated with a bunch of shiny buttons and other colorful badges. He had short black hair and some stubble on his chin. But the strangest thing about him, to the demon, at least, was the strange glass attached to metal rods that covered his eyes. Weird creatures, humans were...
"What do you want, human?"
The man laughed slightly. "You say that like you're not human!"
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly, and a small sigh escaped, but he didn't bother answering; let this fool think he was human--he'd learn soon enough just how mistaken he was when the lord decided his claws needed sharpening.
"What do you want?" he repeated.
"Uhhh...I guess I just wanted to know if you were alive, heheh..."
"Well, if you're satisfied, human, then leave." He spat the word human as if he had swallowed something distasteful and was aiming to remove it. He started to sit up, feeling a slight pain in his side and mid-back. That was certainly odd...he almost never felt physical pain... It was such a rare occurrence for Sesshomaru to be injured that he had probably even forgotten what pain felt like... Hmph. It was probably his imagination, anyway...
The human seemed a little taken aback by the sharp response. "But...it isn't nice to leave someone alone in the forest! Actually, during basic military training, I'm pretty sure they told us never to travel in an unknown area without a buddy to watch your back, so--"
The lord's eyes narrowed a little more, but his expression remained stoic. "You are a fool. And I am not and will never be your 'buddy', human."
The man seemed put out by the other's coldness and pouted a bit. "Geeeeze, lighten up. I think someone needs a hug, eh?"
For a second, Sesshomaru's expression twisted into a dark scowl as he rapidly got up, but then it faded into it's old stoic position again. There was that slight pain again...how odd. Inuyasha must have been rubbing off on him.
"Lay one hand on me, human, and I assure you you will not live to regret it."
The remark caused yet another flinch from the man. He'd probably do it, too! This guy was a psycho...
"Still," he insisted, pouting a bit more, "We should go through this forest together; it's better that way, don't you think?"
In the back of his mind, the demon lord wondered why he hadn't killed this irritating human yet--perhaps he reminded him of Rin, what with his nerve in approaching him and that same exuberant friendliness...and besides! Why waste his pure claws on this pathetic human? They were meant to be used on powerful demons...and disgraces such as Inuyasha.
Wait. Now that he thought about it, where was Rin?! He couldn't catch her scent, even distantly! That Jaken better be protecting her, otherwise he'd find himself sans a head when the lord found him.
"Fine. Just stay out of my way, human. If you value your worthless life, that is."
"Hey, hey, HEY! What makes you say my life is worthless?!" the man asked indignantly.
"Don't take it so personally. I find all humans worthless." Wait. Was that true? What about Rin...? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
The other sighed, wondering what made that guy so damn grumpy. "Well, anyway, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. Nice to meet you, uhhh...what's your name?" He grinned and offered his hand to shake, but Sesshomaru simply stared at him for a moment. Just as the lieutenant colonel was starting to fidget slightly, the demon spoke.
"...You have an odd name, human. And if you enjoy the use of that hand, I would suggest you replace it at your side." He turned and started to walk away, and then stopped for a moment. "Sesshomaru." With that, he continued walking ahead, though he honestly had no idea where he was going--there were no familiar scents nor demonic auras he recognized...he might even have to stoop to asking a human where he was. The demon lord's nose crinkled at the thought.
"Your name isn't exactly common either," the man noted. He followed the demon for a few minutes and then an idea struck him. What better way to lighten this man up than with the adorable face of his daughter, Elysia! Rather pleased with himself, he dug through his pockets for his wallet and took out one of the pictures, and pushed it in front of Sesshomaru's face. "My daughter Elysia! Isn't she so cuuuuuute!"
The demon lord's eyes narrowed yet further and resisted the strong urge to douse the picture, and the man, with a dose of his poison. He glared at the picture of the human girl and then took a deep breath. In as much of a calm voice as he could muster under his irritation, he answered. "Unless you would like that object shredded into innumerable pieces, you will remove that from my sight immediately."
The lieutenant colonel recoiled and hastily put the picture back in his pocket. Sure, he had dozens, possibly hundreds like it, but each picture was unique! Losing one would be like losing a part of her, and he couldn't have that.
"You're cold," he informed the demon.
"And you're annoying."
They continued walking in this way, periods of silence interrupted by short exchanges of banter, until they reached a place with a large, wooden arch with the words "Konohakagure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves" written in Japanese on a red banner above it. A human village...the demon lord balked at the thought, but before he had any time to make a decision, a young man with gray hair wearing a mask, with his left eye covered by a headband appeared before the pair.
"Identify yourselves. Where are you from? What do you want in the Village Hidden in the Leaves?" came the harsh demand. The young man's hand traveled to his weapons pouch, pulling out a kunai knife in case the pair were enemies. Normally he would've been friendlier, but after the incident with Orochimaru and the Third Hokage at the Chunin Exams, and Sasuke leaving the village...one could never be too careful.