Silver Demons
by SkyFire
Hugs and virtual cookies go out to: Katreal, Saphira1204, KitsuneToy, UnknownFlux, Basia Orci, Sakuya Nightroad, alchino, PleiadesWolfe, hittocerebattosai, and Yeleen! Thank you so much for your reviews! You guys are awesome! \^_^/
Katreal: Oh, believe you me, Sephy's going to make quite the first impression! *smirk* And Sesshy is going to need lots of therapy after this chappie; look at his blood-pressure go! ;-P
KitsuneToy: Why thank you! It's about time someone recognized my shining evilness! ~_^
UnknownFlux: Thank you, what a nice thing to say! *blushes* I'm glad you're enjoying it! ^_^
PleiadesWolfe: Your wish is my command! ...Sort of. ~_^
hittocerebattosai: *slips Katreal some chocolate* People are talking about my story? Awesome! Welcome aboard, and I'm glad you're liking the ride so far! \^_^/
Yeleen: Why thank you! There certainly are meetings in this chappie. I won't spoil it for you here, though... ~_^
Note: Whoo! Longest chapter to date! ...Which is why it showed up in the middle of the afternoon. *headdesk* Writing with cold fingers… you would not believe how many times I typed 'Sesshoumary'… *sigh*
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.
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Chapter 10
It took Sesshoumaru only a few hours to reach the little village; nowhere near long enough for his irritation at his half-brother's ignoble capture to cool. If he was honest with himself, he would admit that he didn't know who angered him more; the monks for even daring to attempt what they had, or Inuyasha for being unable to prevent it.
He did admit - to himself if to no one else - that his half-brother's capture surprised him. Though he had originally held the common belief that any hanyou could never hope to obtain even a tenth of the strength of a full demon, years of observation and conflict between them had forced him to revise that opinion. Granted, the loss of his own left arm could be put down to overconfidence on his part and sheer dumb luck on Inuyasha's, but the results of every fight since then were not so easily brushed aside. Even more notable, the hanyou had managed to emerge victorious time and time again against foes that should have been able to grind him into the dust in mere moments.
How had the monks managed to drag him down, then? It could never have happened in an honorable battle, of that he was - however grudgingly - certain.
Knowing his own weakness only too well - much as he would like to deny that he had any - Sesshoumaru had Rin stay with Jaken and Ah-Un and wait for his return out of sight of the village. Thus assured that they were as safe as he could make them short of sending them back to the palace, he made his way to the village.
As he neared it, he was reminded once again - as if he could ever forget! - of why he usually avoided entering human settlements. It wasn't just the way that that many ningen in one place made his nose itch; what self-respecting daiyoukai wouldn't be thus affected when confronted with the scent of that much human? It wasn't even the way that any demon who entered would be charged more than double the normal cost of any item in what passed for a market. He avoided them also because of another, much less sensible reason.
He was Sesshoumaru, daiyoukai of the Western Lands. He was a being who had taken up his honorable father's rule upon his demise and powerful in his own right. It was also said that he had inherited his mother's beauty, and much as it annoyed him to be compared to a female - even one as powerful as his mother - he had to admit that there was more than a passing resemblance between them. He was, if not well-liked, then at least widely-respected, sought after by high-ranking females, and lusted over by those who knew they could never have him. He knew it beyond all doubt; an inuyoukai's nose never lied.
To walk into a village only to be greeted by hatred and fear was something he hadn't enjoyed since he'd left behind his adolescent years. What had once amused him as lesser beings showing their jealousy in the face of his perfection was now simply another source of irritation.
The fact that the villagers fled in terror when he approached also made it rather difficult to ask for directions to the temple he knew was nearby.
No matter. If they wouldn't come near enough to ask, he would just have to do it another way.
Bracing himself, Sesshoumaru breathed deep - manfully holding back a shudder of distaste as the scent of human village invaded his senses - and delicately picked through the scents in search of anything that would provide clues as to what had happened there and where to go next.
Beneath the normal village smells, the strongest was one he identified as an incense popular in temples and shrines. The strength of it told him that there had been more than one bearing that same scent. The next strongest scent after that was one that made his nose sting and his eyes water, even after the time that had passed since it was new, and it was one that he recognized as being one of the many tricks demon-slayers used against demons with a sensitive sense of smell - like inuyoukai. Made to incapacitate them, it did its job with a ruthless efficiency that he couldn't help but admire even as he hated the implications.
He could not smell Inuyasha, nor the old-fire-and-lightning scent of Tetsusaiga's attacks. There was one scent he was almost certain he'd never encountered before - almost sweet, but with an unmistakable sour edge - but it could be that his nose was confused by the residual effects of the slayers' smoke.
No matter; he had found what he was looking for. The incense trail was still strong enough to follow and he set off once again, leaving the relieved village behind.
oOo
It wasn't the largest temple he'd ever seen, but neither was it the smallest. Away from the interfering scents from the village, it had been ridiculously easy to follow the scent-trail to the nearby temple; even Jaken could have managed in his own inimitable way.
Still, he couldn't detect Inuyasha's scent, and the odd sour-sweet one was clearer than ever. Had he, Sesshoumaru, actually been mistaken? Not that it would make any difference as far as the monks were concerned. They had dared to attack and capture on they believed to be Sesshoumaru, then compounded their affront by sending that ridiculous offer attempting to barter his life in exchange for control of the Western Lands.
He would teach them what became of those who dared challenge him.
A single blast of Toukijin's Dragon Strike was all it took to bring down the temple gates and a good portion of the surrounding wall, in the process also managing to destroy enough of the warding charms to bring down their anti-demonic barrier. Not that their weak barrier would have stopped the daiyoukai who had walked the slopes of the holy Mt. Hakurei.
A few of the temple's guards shot at him as he walked into the temple grounds following Toukijin's path of destruction, but they were mere pests and easily dealt with with a graceful flick of his hand and flash of his acid whip. Why would he dirty his blade with such miserable vermin?
Besides, using his own innate abilities was so much more satisfying.
By the time he reached the bottom of the temple steps, a group of monks had gathered at the top. Some were trying to raise a barrier but their lack of focus was obvious in the face of the blood and bodies littering the once-pristine courtyard, the agonized screams that filled the air.
"You! Demon!" one of the monks said. "What do you want?"
With satisfaction, Sesshoumaru matched the man's scent to one of those he'd followed from the village. How generous of the man to save him the effort of hunting him down. Now he could get some answers.
"You are one who sent the letter to the West?" he said.
"Are you their messenger? Have you come to-"
"This Sesshoumaru is no messenger," he said, irritation flaring anew. "You will release the hanyou immediately."
"Of course Sesshoumaru's not the messenger; he's locked up in a room in the temple, and the barrier keeping him there will stay in place until we get what we asked for."
"Foolish mortal! The filthy hanyou in your possession is not to be confused with this Sesshoumaru! You will release him immediately, and die."
"Don't you mean 'release him or die'?" another of the monks asked timidly.
Cold golden eyes simply stared at them, slowly crushing all hope, before the answer graced pale lips. "No," he said. "All who dare challenge this Sesshoumaru will fall to him."
"So if that's the case, why are you here?"
Showing uncharacteristic restraint, Sesshoumaru didn't immediately shred the monk. And these were supposed to be among the best-educated of human kind? No wonder he could see them as nothing but lesser beings. Now, if only he could figure out why he was showing such restraint....
The answer was not long in coming, his nose assaulted almost simultaneously by the scent of Inuyasha, rapidly nearing the temple from the direction of the village, and the sudden scent of human blood from inside the temple, that sour-sweet smell coming closer.
Sesshoumaru all but ignored the monks before him in favor of watching his half-brother's arrival, though he did keep alert for any movement that might indicate that they had more of the slayers' smoke and were about to use it. He saw the hanyou slow as he came in sight of the blasted gates, then cautiously enter the courtyard, their father's fang at the ready and his pack at his back.
"So you got free already?" Inuyasha said once he saw Sesshoumaru standing at the bottom of the temple stairs. "Of all things, I would never have figured you for the type to get kidnapped!"
"'Kidnapped'? Inuyasha, this Sesshoumaru is not a sleeping goat!"
"That's not- never mind. You know, we came all this way to rescue you; the least you could do is say 'thank you'."
"As you can see, this Sesshoumaru is in need of no such aid, half-breed, nor would he ever allow himself to be in such a position."
"Funny, that's not what I remember."
"A pity that our great and terrible father's blood could not prevent you from going senile at such a young age."
"Uh..." one of the monks said.
"Who are you calling senile? If I'm senile, then you must be just plain decrepit, 'cause you're way older than me!"
"Hardly. This Sesshoumaru is pure-blooded youkai and thus in perfect health."
"Ah..." another monk said, frowning at the squabbling between the two demonic siblings.
"Ha!" Inuyasha scoffed. He sheathed his sword, then turned back to his group. "Let's go," he told them, already walking away. "I told you the bastard wouldn't appreciate our help."
"Inuyasha..." the indecently-dressed Miko said sympathetically.
"Keh! It's fine. Let's just go."
Inuyasha and his group left the temple grounds. Before following the others, the monk Miroku spoke.
"Lord Sesshoumaru," he said respectfully, "Inuyasha might talk tough, but he really was worried about you when we heard that you had been taken. He pushed us all hard just to get here in time to rescue you." A wry grin. "Once he stopped laughing, anyway. You two should really work on this whole sibling rivalry of yours."
Before Sesshoumaru could come up with a suitable reply - or have Toukijin reply for him - the monk was gone.
Another monk. Why were they being inflicted on him that day? Ah, well. His brother's monk might be beyond his reach just then, but the same could not be said for the rest.
He cracked his knuckles then allowed the tiniest smirk as he called on his poison claws, his hand glowing a faint green even in the fading light of late afternoon.
"You have dared challenge this Sesshoumaru," he told the monks once again, his tone the firm and unchangeable one of a Lord passing down judgment. "Die!"
Sesshoumaru surged up the stairs, claws ready to tear, to shred, to poison and ultimately dissolve those who had angered him, but before he could reach them they seemed to almost fall apart in a spray of blood and gore as a sword unlike any he'd ever seen sliced through them with the ease of a knife through butter.
The pieces that had been monks fell to the wooden floor even as their blood started to creep down the stairs in a bright red cascade and Sesshoumaru found himself facing the source of that odd scent.
Long silver hair, down to the knee like his own, swayed with every gentle breeze. Dressed positively indecently in what seemed to be black leather, he stared at Sesshoumaru through glowing blue-green eyes.
He was like no ningen Sesshoumaru could recall, but the complete lack of a demonic aura told him that it must be so, though he was easily the tallest ningen he'd ever seen.
All of which was beside the point.
At that moment only one thing mattered to him, leaving him once again cracking his knuckles in preparation for tearing someone apart. "You stole my lawful prey."
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TBC...
...Aaaaaaand Sesshy and Sephy finally meet face-to-face! Too bad they don't seem to see eye-to-eye! *headdesk* See those sparks flying? They're love-sparks. Really. *Ahem* I'll be over there now. *runs*
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