Silver Demons
by SkyFire

Note: If you can take the time to fave/alert this fic, can you please also take a minute to review? I admit I love them, and they are the reason I post stuff here...

Hugs and virtual cookies go out to: Saphira1204, Demetra666, Yeleen (you have a note next paragraph), Basia Orci, alchino, Katreal, KitsuneToy, UnknownFlux, PleiadesWolfe, and CNome! Wow! Thank you so much for your reviews! I love you guys! \^_^/

About 'Daiyoukai': As I mentioned last chappie, the word in question is written "大妖怪", and accordingly wrote it 'daiyoukai' in the story. And, being helpful, Yeleen corrected me. But, being stubborn and knowing it was not 'taiyoukai', I dug up a copy of InuYasha in the original Japanese. And there, written beside "大妖怪" in neat furigana (think of it like a pronunciation guide), was "だいようかい". Which transliterates to 'daiyoukai'. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself. The page in question is page 44 of volume 54 (4th page of chapter 531), bottom left-hand panel [I can post a scan if anyone needs it]. So, yes, I will be using 'Daiyoukai' in this fic. Yeleen, please don't take this personally; I really do appreciate your efforts and while I agree with some of the points you raised, I can't agree with this one (btw., 'dai'-reading isn't a rare thing in first position when it means 'big' or 'great'). I hope you will keep on reading regardless! ^_^

Warnings: Eventual Sess/Seph (shonen-ai or yaoi, I haven't decided. We'll see when we get there. ^_^)
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII or InuYasha and no money is being made.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter 8

It was a typical enough day in the Western Lands. The sun was shining, the air filled with the smell of warm greenery, a gentle breeze blowing just enough to take away the worst of the heat while not being strong enough to chill.

The two-headed dragon Ah-Un grazed contentedly on one side of a clearing in one of the Lands' many forests, one head lifting every now and then to cast a watchful look around.

The human girl Rin moved through the clearing, skipping from one patch of wild flowers to the next apparently at random, her bouquet of picked flowers growing only slowly; she picked only the best, most perfect blossoms to present to her Lord upon his return. She sang as she worked; as always it was a song about how patiently she waited for his return.

Jaken spent his time squawking at Rin to sit still, to be quiet, and 'stop picking all those silly flowers!' and staring off into the woods where Lord Sesshoumaru had disappeared, once again leaving them behind.

The imp watched and waited loyally - he wasn't moping! - for his master's return, for any glimpse of white among the trees that would tell him that their waiting was at an end. What was taking him so long; shouldn't he have been back by now? Had something happened to him? Bah! What could possibly happen? He was the great Lord Sesshoumaru, the most powerful daiyoukai in the land - no, in the world! - and undefeatable! Except for that once when the filthy hanyou Inuyasha cut off his left arm. Oh, and when that vile Naraku almost absorbed him and he'd been rescued by his half-brother. How dare the half-breed breathe the same air as his Lord! His aid had not been needed! Lord Sesshoumaru was just waiting until that filth Naraku let down his guard before destroying him and Inuyasha blundered in and messed up his Lord's perfect plan! Right? And even if his Lord had needed aid, it would be him, his most loyal retainer Jaken, who would provide it! Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru, where are you?

Jaken was so caught up in his mental drama that he failed to notice Ah-Un's huff of welcome and Rin's quiet greetings, only noticing that someone had entered the clearing from the direction they had arrived when he turned and almost ran beak-first into a pair of shin-guards.

"Jaken," came the voice from above.

Jaken jumped back with a surprised squawk, staff moving into position to torch whoever had crept up behind him, conveniently ignoring the fact that they had done no such thing. Then he recognized the demon before him as Mori, one of the higher-ranking of Sesshoumaru's personal guards. Not that their lord was incapable of defending himself in his own home, far from it, but tradition was tradition. As far as he knew, though, they never left the palace. Moved with the others in the seasonal migration between the summer and winter palaces, yes, but wander out into the wilds? Unheard of!

In his shock at the fact that the inuyoukai had left his post in the palace to find them, Jaken responded with his typical polite, cool, calm, and unshakable diplomacy. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Where is Lord Sesshoumaru?" came the question in reply, the demon scenting the air in search of his missing Lord.

"Don't answer a question with a question, you insolent dog! Now why are you here?"

The guardsman all but ignored him. "Where is Lord Sesshoumaru?" he asked again.

"He left a little while ago," Rin said simply, coming up to them. "He will come back soon."

The guard's relief was almost tangible. "I knew it couldn't be true," he said.

"Knew that what what couldn't be true?" Jaken demanded.

In response, the guardsman reached into a pouch and pulled out a letter. It was written on fine enough paper by human standards, though it was nothing compared to true youkai craftsmanship, and addressed simply enough 'To the Demons of the Western Lands'. There was a faint bloody smudge on one corner and the seal was broken.

"This letter was delivered early this morning," the guardsman said, a trace of anger adding bite to his words. "It was attached to an arrow and shot into one of the palace doors, nicking the arm of one of the guards. My superior, the head of Lord Sesshoumaru's personal guard, opened the letter then sent me out here to find him."

"In My Lord's absence, I handle the affairs of his lands," Jaken said, snatching the letter from the other demon's clawed hand. He opened it then started to read, even as his mouth kept right on going. "He knows that I will take very good care of everything until he retur-WHAT?"

Buggy eyes wide, Jaken read the letter again, the Staff of Two Heads falling unnoticed to the grassy ground. "This is impossible!" he shrieked, flailing. "How could My Lord have been captured, and by mere humans! Oh, My Lord, how could this have happened? I'll bet it was the fault of that Inuyasha again! Oh, why couldn't your illustrious father have settled for your utter perfection instead of going out and siring that disgraceful mongrel? Now you've been captured by monks and it's up to me to save you!" He ignored the way Rin's eyes grew big at the news of Sesshoumaru's apparent capture, as well as the way she started theatrically screaming in dismay, hands at her cheeks. "Don't worry, Lord Sesshoumaru! I, your most loyal servant Jaken, will save y-urk!"

Even as Jaken faceplanted in the grass, a rock thudding down beside him, the others turned to see Lord Sesshoumaru walk out of the forest, as cool, calm, and immaculate as always.

"Rin, stop it," he said simply.

She stopped screaming instantly. "Yes, My Lord!" she said with a smile, then went back to picking flowers, reassured that her Lord was in no danger.

Sesshoumaru walked over to Jaken and Mori, then took the hastily-retrieved letter when the guardsman offered it.

Ignoring the way Jaken was now blubbering all over his boots, Sesshoumaru read the monks' letter. One snowy brow rose slightly in intrigue and curiosity as he read about his capture by them in one of his own border towns, miles away from their current position, and their ultimatum.

Ridiculous.

As if he would give the Western Lands, the lands that his family had ruled for generation upon generation, over to the governance of a pack of mud-crawling ningen. Neither would any demon worth the title give up that land to save their ruler. If it came to that, it would only prove that the current leader was too weak to rule, and another would then rise up to take his place.

No human would ever rule the Western Lands. Not while even a single demon remained alive to claim them.

It was odd, though; these monks seemed certain that they had managed to capture him, the great Lord Sesshoumaru. Obviously, they had not. So who-

Those who knew him best would notice the slight narrowing of golden eyes, the minute tightening of his lips that was all that revealed his irritation at the fact that he would once again have to go and save his family's reputation from the uncouth blotch on the family tree that was his half-brother Inuyasha.

How dare the miserable mongrel allow himself to be captured by humans!

oOo

Miles away, a certain hanyou sneezed.

Rubbing his nose in irritation, he looked up as Miroku walked up to him. Their group had stopped in a village to resupply and see if there were any rumors about any jewel shards in the area. He hated wasting perfect traveling weather, but aimless wandering hadn't done them much good so far....

"Inuyasha," the monk said simply. "I heard a rumor you might find interesting. It's about a temple in a nearby village and your brother Sesshoumaru."

-

TBC...

...Aaaaand Sesshoumaru finally wanders into the picture! Yay!

Argh, Jaken! I tried to keep him as in-character as I could; he seems to like going off on a tangent about how great Sesshoumaru is all the time, so I tried. I mean, in the anime/manga, he could be talking about how stinky pond scum is and the next thing you know he's going on and on about how wonderful Sesshy is... He's Sesshy's little fan-toad! X_x

Please Review! What do you think? I'd love to hear from you! ^_^