A/N: Since the first chapter had such a good response, I've decided that I will continue this story. Now to address a few things.

First off, in regards to the suggestion So'unga should have more abilities; I completely agree and have a few ideas lined up for that, but you won't be seeing any of that for a little while.

As for the person who stated Naruto was too friendly for a demon king, he will be kind to those close to him and the majority of the people in his territory. To others he will be mostly apathetic and somewhat condescending at times, but make no mistake; he will NOT be merciful.

And lastly, to the question about Naruto and Sesshomaru's appearances; Yes, Naruto looks similar to canon Sesshomaru aside from minor changes to his wardrobe and the obvious differences such as his tails and hair. As for Sesshomaru, she will indeed be very similar to her mother in appearance; which you shall see very soon.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 2: The Fated Meeting

"What did you just say?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes as he stopped in his tracks to turn to the elderly man who had called out to him. It had been several weeks since his awakening and he had spent that time letting the people of his lands know that their king had returned. He had been rather irritated to return to his home to find that, in his absence, swarms of demons had invaded his lands and had the audacity to lay claim to his territory. HIS! But he couldn't possibly have heard what the old man just said correctly, right? There's no way any demon could be THAT stupid.

"I'm sorry my lord, but we just received reports about a tribe of bat demons who have taken residence along the coastline and claimed it as their own. They've even set up a barrier around their nest and continue to prey upon the humans living in the nearby village." Naruto's eyebrow twitched in irritation at this news. He knew that the information would be reliable considering who had delivered it. The man may have been human, but his family had served him for generations and the man's great grandfather had been one of Naruto's favorite vassals; the young boy had been very energetic and had treated Naruto as a sort of father-figure.

While Naruto didn't particularly care about humans as a whole, the ones on his lands were under his protection and to attack them without his consent was tantamount to stealing from Naruto himself; clearly these bats had a death-wish.

"Thank you, Taichi. You may retire for the evening," Naruto said dismissively as he made his way through the village that surrounded his castle. He had intended to take care of some internal affairs today, but it would seem he had a rodent problem to take care of.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto called out once he reached the gates of his castle. Moments later, a pale, snake-like man appeared kneeling before him.

"Yes, my lord?" Naruto motioned for the man to stand. The pale man may not have been the most social of people and many were afraid of him, but he was powerful and, above all else, unquestionably loyal.

"I need you to handle things around here for a while so that I can take care of a few things; I should be back within the month." Naruto explained. Orochimaru made no protest and merely bowed his head with a calm "as you wish, my lord."


"Are you sure it was wise to leave Orochimaru in charge, Lord Naruto?" Kurama asked as he accompanied the blond demon to the western coastline where the demon bats were supposed to be.

"Relax, furball. The snake may be weird, but he can handle things well enough."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, fang-face." Kurama growled out. Naruto kept his eyes closed and continued to walk as Kurama and So'unga continued their usual bickering. 'Maybe I should have stayed asleep' Naruto internally mused.

"If you two are done bickering, we have a job to do," Naruto interrupted as he could see the coastline on the horizon. With Kurama and So'unga no longer arguing, the group continued on in silence until they reached the outskirts of the village along the coastline. Kurama growled when he noticed the state the village was in; several homes were on fire, children were crying, and the scent of blood was thick in the air.

"They're all gonna die," Naruto said through gritted teeth as he looked toward a cave on a small island just off the coastline. Feeling a tug on his hakama, Naruto looked down to see a little girl looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Letting his glare soften, Naruto knelt down and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What's the matter, young one?" Naruto asked as he wiped away the tear that had found its way down the girl's cheek. The girl sniffled and rubbed at her eyes.

"T-they took my daddy," the girl whimpered as the dam seemed to break and the tears began to flow from the young girl's eyes. Naruto ran his fingers through her hair and shushed her softly as he brought a tail forward to wrap around the girl comfortingly. After a few minutes, the girl seemed to calm down as she snuggled into the warmth of the soft tail wrapped around her.

Don't worry; I'm gonna get your daddy back, okay?" Naruto assured her as he picked the girl up and set her on Kurama's back. Kurama shot Naruto a withering look, but made no move to protest. The girl wiped her eyes again and nodded with a small smile as she wrapped her arms around Kurama's neck and they made their way into the village.

"Miho!" a middle-aged woman called out as she rushed over and took the girl from the large fox demon's back. Turning to Naruto, she bowed deeply. "Thank you, lord Naruto; I've been looking for her everywhere." Naruto merely waved the woman off and made his way toward the path leading to the cave where his prey was.

"Ready to clean house, So'unga?" Naruto asked as he unsheathed his sword. So'unga hummed his approval as a dark energy began to swirl about his blade. Raising the sword above his head, Naruto brought it down with a cry of "Dragon Twister!" as a veritable tornado of dark energy spiraled toward the nearby island. Once it reached the midway point, it made contact with a red barrier before shattering it like glass. With nothing else impeding it, the vortex of destruction continued its path until it tore into the large land mass and ripped a large fissure in the side of it before continuing out to sea.

The villagers all stared in awe at the destructive power of the seemingly effortless attack. Naruto merely waited for the inevitable as one-by-one, bat demons made their way out of the cave. After several dozen bats had made their way into the open, the one Naruto was waiting for finally made his appearance.

"How dare you break our barrier!" a larger bat demon shouted angrily as he glared at Naruto. Kurama growled in outrage that this trespasser would dare to speak to his lord in such a way. Naruto himself was having a hard time holding back a snarl as he clenched his fists tightly.

"You trash…" he said just loud enough to be heard. "You come into MY land, attack MY people and you DARE to speak to me as if you were my equal?!" Naruto growled out as youki was leaking off of him in waves. Kurama backed away slowly and urged the civilians to do the same. An angry Naruto was one thing; but a livid Naruto was a nightmare you did NOT want to get close to.

"I'm not going to kill you," Naruto growled out as he stabbed So'unga into the ground and draped his cuirass and kimono over him as he stepped away. Kurama shivered when he saw the tribal markings begin to spread across his exposed torso and the usually thin markings on his cheeks thickened.

"I'm going to destroy you!" With that said, Naruto vanished. Before anyone could wonder where he went, a blood-curdling scream tore through the air as Naruto ripped the wings from one of the bat demons before, much to everyone's horror, he began to systematically rip the man to shreds. The others could do nothing but watch in morbid fascination as what was once their comrade was rendered into little more than a blood-drenched pile of shredded flesh. The brutality didn't end there as Naruto reared his head back before roaring and unleashing a wave of demonic energy from his mouth that reduced the pile to nothing; any sign that the man had ever even existed was wiped away in an instant.

"W-what is that?" one of the villagers asked as he tried and failed to stop the insistent shaking of his legs.

"THAT is what happens when Lord Naruto gets pissed off," Kurama said as he continued to watch while Naruto used his tails and claws to rip the horde of bat demons to shreds. Several tried to retreat, but never got very far before finding themselves skewered on a golden tail. What felt like hours of gore to those watching, was really only a handful of minutes as Naruto continued to mutilate the trespassing demons until only 2 remained. Their leader, Taigokumaru, and a little girl that he was holding like a shield while firing sonic blasts from his mouth.

"Hiding behind a child; you're pathetic," Naruto spat as he knocked the incoming attacks aside as if he were swatting flies. "At least now you show yourself to be the pathetic, insignificant worm that you are." Taigokumaru growled as he commanded the girl in his arms to put up a barrier or he would kill her mother. Obeying the order, the girl cried as she surrounded them in a red barrier. Taigokumaru let out a triumphant laugh.

"Good girl, Shiori. What will you do now, oh great demon king," the large bat demon asked sarcastically as he continued to laugh. "You left your weapon behind and now you have no way of attacking m-" the man's rant was ended prematurely when one of Naruto's tails tore through the barrier like butter and severed his right arm and wing, causing them to plummet to the ground below.

"You honestly believed that a barrier would save you?" Naruto asked rhetorically as he approached the downed demon who was screaming in pain. "You were already dead the moment you crossed me." Taigokumaru could do nothing but shout his agony to the world as Naruto began to rip away his flesh, piece by piece. Naruto smirked sadistically when the bat demon actually begged him for death; it was like music to his ears. Nevertheless, death would not find anyone that slighted him so easily and he would make sure that, even in death, this scum would suffer for his transgressions.

Just as Taigokumaru felt his eyes drifting shut and thought the nightmare was ending, his eyes snapped open when he felt a searing pain in his chest. Looking up with a horrified expression, he saw that Naruto had ripped his heart out and, in his final moments, watched as he crushed it in his hand.


"Lord Naruto!" Kurama called out after the blond fox demon finished washing himself off. By the time he had finished with Taigokumaru, he had been completely drenched in blood and desperately needed to clean himself off. The villagers had thanked him repeatedly and asked if there was anything they could do, but he just waved them off and told them he needed a bath.

"Relax, Kurama; I'm fine," he said calmly as he pulled on his kimono and cuirass before sheathing So'unga once again. Kurama nodded as he fell into step next to Naruto and they made their way to their next destination.

"Why did you get to have all the fun while I just sat in the damn sand? All I got to do was break a stupid barrier," So'unga groaned in disappointment. Kurama just rolled his eyes and held back the urge to argue with the sentient sword again.

"Don't worry, So'unga; you'll get to have some entertainment soon I'm sure."

"Speaking of which, where are we off to now, my lord?" Kurama asked as they continued to make their way north.

"We're going to the western plains; we received reports several days ago that the panther tribe had been sending scouts into the area, so we're going to check on things and I'd like to finally meet my old friend's daughter.

"So basically it's a booty call," So'unga chimed in. Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked down at his sword with a flat glare.

"Maybe I should have just left you in that damn well," Naruto stated dryly.

"I couldn't agree more," Kurama snickered earning a growl from So'unga.

"You can be a real bastard sometimes you know that? It was just a joke." Naruto just shrugged as he continued his way north.

"I maintain my previous statement." Naruto responded with a smirk causing So'unga to grumble about "asshole foxes".


[Several hours later]

"So how do you plan on finding the general's daughter, my lord?" Kurama asked. Naruto stopped to ponder this for a moment as he took in his surroundings. They had crossed the border between territories roughly an hour ago and the sun was beginning its decent beyond the horizon as he stood high above the plains at the edge of a cliff.

"Like this," Naruto responded as he reared his head back and let loose a deafening roar similar to when he had first awoken.

"…real subtle" So'unga commented dryly. Naruto ignored the comment as he awaited the inevitable and, sure enough, he could feel several presences approaching him.

"Who goes there?!" a gravelly voice demanded from the base of the cliff.

"I'm looking for Sesshomaru; where can I find her?" Naruto called down to what looked like some breed of dog demon as a few smaller demons gathered at his sides.

"Why should I tell some trespasser where lord Sesshomaru is?" the dog demon scoffed. Naruto's eyebrow twitched in irritation; he really hated having his demands ignored by such lesser demons. Stepping over the ledge, Naruto began to plummet to the ground below. Some of the demons below saw his swift approach as a threat and drew their weapons in an effort to defend themselves.

Kurama sighed as he leapt after his lord. "I'm not cleaning up the mess if he kills them."

Naruto's swift descent was halted several inches above the ground by a gust of wind that forced the gathered demons to shield their eyes from the kicked-up dirt. Stepping from the air as if he were walking down an invisible flight of stairs, Naruto slowly approached the ones who had the information he needed.

"Get him!" a decidedly lizard-like demon called out as he rushed Naruto with his sword, followed closely by the others. The only one who remained where he stood was the dog demon who had first responded; his eyes were wide as he noticed the flowing golden tails and piercing, crimson eyes.

"Stop you fools!" he called out, but it was too late; as soon as the group got close, they were immediately torn to shreds by an unseen force. Naruto calmly brushed the dirt from his kimono before walking over the corpses as if they were never there to begin with. Seeing the powerful demon advancing on him once more, the dog demon immediately dropped to his knees and pressed his head to the ground.

"Forgive me lord Naruto; I did not know it was you." The nine-tailed demon lord's eyes narrowed as he stopped in front of the demon groveling at his feet. After a moment, Naruto raised his foot before bringing it down on the back of the demon's head and pressing his face further into the ground.

"I won't ask again; Where. Is. Sesshomaru?" Naruto demanded as he punctuated each word by applying more pressure to the demon's head. Hearing him mumble into the dirt, Naruto moved his foot and flipped the man onto his back.

"To the east! She's moving east!" he immediately answered as he coughed up some dirt. Without another word, Naruto began walking with the setting sun beaming down upon his back. Ignoring the sputtering dog demon, Kurama rushed to his lord's side.

"So I'm guessing she's on her way to take care of the panther demons?" Kurama wondered aloud. Naruto nodded his agreement as they continued their journey intent on finding Sesshomaru.

"More than likely; perhaps we will get to have some fun with the panther demon tribe." Naruto said as he could only hope that there was someone among the old enemies of his friend to provide him a bit of a challenge.

"You better not hog them all to yourself this time; I want some action, too."

"Yeah yeah, you'll get your turn," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. It's not like there would be much for them to do; the panther king was long dead.


"…"

"…"

"…Kurama, I thought you said the panther king was dead," Naruto said in a tone laced with confusion. The confusion was understandable however as they were currently staring at a 50-foot-tall panther demon in black armor that was supposed to be dead.

"He was dead, but apparently he didn't stay dead," Kurama responded with his own confusion; how the hell did the leader of the panther tribe come back to life? Naruto was about to comment, but his attention was drawn elsewhere when there was a loud crash and he looked over to see Inuyasha confronting the panther king with a very familiar sword in his hands.

'Looks like the pup finally inherited his father's sword, but where is Sesshomaru?' Setting his thoughts aside for now, Naruto leapt into the air and made his way to the battlefield.


Inuyasha groaned as he held back a giant paw with his sword; he was still pissed off that this bastard had sacrificed his own people just so he could come back to life and now he has to fight this guy who was supposed to be on the level of his father? He was NOT having a good day. His eyes widened as he saw the claws of the beast's other hand fast-approaching and his sword was still occupied. Just as he was about to try and jump back, a gale of dark energy suddenly collided with the panther demon's shoulder and severed the arm before it could reach him.

"Having some trouble, pup?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he appeared next to Inuyasha with So'unga held over his shoulder.

"Ugh, what the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked with a groan as he glared at the golden-haired demon.

"I just happened to be going for a walk when I saw this adorable little puppy getting bullied by a filthy alley-cat and decided to help him out." Naruto easily side-stepped the enraged swing Inuyasha took at him as he tried to keep himself from laughing; this kid was just way too easy to rile up.

"Get the hell out of here! I can handle this guy on my own," Inuyasha declared defiantly. Naruto just raised an amused eyebrow as he stared at the silver-haired half-demon.

"Oh? So I guess you're totally prepared for that?" Naruto asked, much to Inuyasha's confusion. Before he could ask what Naruto was talking about, Inuyasha was knocked away by a bolt of lightning that impacted the ground in front of him. Grabbing the dazed half-demon by his collar, Naruto tossed him to the strangely-dresses girl he remembered seeing with him before who looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Get him out of here; he'll just get in the way," Naruto said as he turned back to face the panther demon. Inuyasha wanted to protest, but a glare from Kagome made him think otherwise as the two made their way toward where their friends were currently battling other members of the panther demon tribe.

"Time to go wild, So'unga."

"Finally!" the sentient sword called out joyfully as his blade was surrounded by a vortex of purple energy. Naruto's grip tightened in anticipation as the panther king stood once more and his arm seemed to have grown back somehow.

"Well if it isn't the so-called 'demon king'," the panther tribe leader spat sarcastically. "Do you honestly think you can beat me when I have the power of the sacred jewel flowing through me?"

"Wow, you're actually dumber than you look; that's impressive in its own way I suppose considering how dumb you look in the first place," Naruto mocked.

"I'll show you who the real king is you bastard!" the oversized cat growled as he lashed out with his claws in an effort to impale the nine-tailed demon who insulted him. With a flick of his wrist, Naruto severed the approaching fingers with a bored expression. Watching with mild interest, Naruto saw as the severed fingers regrew in a matter of seconds.

"Interesting," Naruto mused aloud as he held So'unga in front of him with an excited grin. "Let's see what else you can grow back, shall we?"


Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the woman across from her; Toran's ice was really starting to get annoying.

"Graaaahhhhhh"

Sesshomaru turned toward the castle at the sound of the pained cry; did her foolish little brother actually manage to stop the leader of the panther tribe?

"Master!" Toran shouted as she rushed past Sesshomaru to make her way to her apparently-wounded leader. Sesshomaru stared after her with narrowed eyes for a moment before she too began to make her way toward the source of the pained cry.


"I have to admit, that regeneration is impressive, but it doesn't make much of a difference if you don't have the strength to back it up," Naruto commented as he slowly approached the bisected panther demon with So'unga held at his side. The battlefield was a veritable ocean of blood and flesh in a gory testament to the amount of times the giant cat had been cut down. For a while it had been amusing to continuously lop off the oversized cat's limbs and listen to his pained grunts and moans, but it was beginning to lose its enjoyment so Naruto had separated the panther king at the waist to see what would happen.

"I guess that regeneration has its limits as well; you can't fix that much damage can you?" Naruto asked rhetorically. The panther king refused to admit his defeat as lightning gathered in his open maw for what seemed like a last-ditch effort to take Naruto down in one blow. Naruto closed his eyes as energy once again gathered into So'unga's blade. Naruto just continued to stand there with his eyes closed without the slightest hint of worry as he felt the energy continue to pool into the impending attack.

"Master!" the voice of Toran cried out just before the mass of lightning was unleashed upon its motionless victim. Snapping his eyes open, a red pigment shadowed Naruto's eyes as energy seemingly exploded out of So'unga in a violent whirlwind.

Watching the lightning approach with a disinterested look, Naruto moved his arm forward as So'unga unleashed an enormous dragon twister. The lightning was immediately swallowed up by the ripping winds as it continued forward undeterred and unleashed its wrath upon the landscape; chunks of earth were torn from the ground and the surrounding castle was torn to shreds by the violent winds. Toran, who had been standing off to the side with a look of horror on her face, was thrown away like a ragdoll in a tornado while Sesshomaru, who had shown up in time to see the attack, tore a trench in the ground as she attempted to hold her ground with her sword.

When the metaphorical smoke finally cleared, there was nothing left of the panther tribe leader; just a canyon-sized trench in the ground that looked like it stretched on for miles, which it very well might have. Without turning, Naruto held So'unga over his shoulder to block the incoming swing as blade met blade.

Turning to regard his attacker, Naruto's eyes widened as crimson met gold; everything else faded away as he stared into pools of liquid gold that were so familiar, and yet he had never met this woman before. Letting his eyes take in more, they saw familiar skin of a creamy white, the oh-so-familiar crescent moon marking her forehead, and the elegant facial features of a woman born to rule. Unlike the face he remembers however, her cheeks were not adorned by a single marking of a gentle purple hue.

Instead, each cheek was marked by 2 stripes of a sharp magenta with a single line of the same shade shadowing her eyes. Flowing silver hair framed her face in a mesmerizing way that made it difficult for him not to reach out.

Sesshomaru was in a similar state of captivation as she took in the lightly-bronzed skin, whisker-like markings and sharp, angular facial features framed by the most amazing shade of golden hair she had ever seen. But those eyes; pools of crimson that washed over her like crashing waves of dominance and power, yet retained a soft edge to them as they seemed to see through to her very essence. It was both unnerving and thrilling at the same time.

It was as if someone had pressed play to restart time as they both lowered their swords with a bizarre synchronicity.

"Who are you?"


A/N: I was gonna go a bit longer, but felt like this was a pretty good spot to stop; otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten this out until next weekend when I got some more time to write. Anyways, let me know what you think. Also, I wouldn't advise jumping to conclusions about how this first meeting is going to turn out; it probably won't go how you're thinking it will.