I do not own any characters in this fic: they are the property of Marvel Comics and Rumiko Takahashi
Sesshomaru and the Big Apple
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Sesshomaru smelled the stench and heard the commotion of large city before they came upon it, even over the roar of the flying device. His sensitive ears were unaccustomed to the clamor of this new realm.
Sesshomaru tensed, the amount of human energies and auras he sensed staggered him. He could not feel any youki at all. Were all of the here Demons in hiding? Were they all decimated? Did the Demon exterminators, monks and priestesses wipe out all the Demons in this region?
He felt his throat go dry. Did all humans have the capabilities that this handful did?
Sesshomaru didn't voice any questions ricocheting in his mind. He noted as well that Thor said nothing, maybe he didn't know. Maybe he wanted to wait to tell him what happened to his kind.
Maybe there was nothing to tell.
Sesshomaru monitored Jaken, he knew all too well that the Kappa was rattled, uneasy and frightened. Sesshomaru had to keep his resolve intact to preserve his retainer's morale.
Though Sesshomaru rarely acknowledged it, Jaken's unwavering loyalty, although at times grating, aided him through dark times. He would ensure that he would not fall victim to any undue mistreatment from these humans.
"Just wait till you see the big apple! It's one of the best metropolises in world! It's the city that never sleeps!" Sesshomaru spared a glance to their leader, Bedclothes, who flashed a grin. Obviously trying to win Sesshomaru over with conversation.
"Hmmm." Sesshomaru replied not feeling particularly articulate, mind elsewhere.
"You humans named a city after a fruit? I will never understand your kind." Jaken's grip on the staff of two heads tightened in irritation.
"No Toady, it's called New York. Best city on the planet!" Barton the archer responded.
"You know Fury is unhappy. I bought us the night but by tomorrow is gonna try to kick down your door Tony." Natasha informed. Sesshomaru wondered how fearsome their commander was to inspire such a reaction out of his subordinates. He realized that whoever this was, he was admirable indeed.
'Their inherent need to prevent him from knowing my existence is both amusing and perplexing. Surely they believe not that their commander could harm me, the inverse must be true.' Sesshomaru continued to probe out with his youki, searching for any response.
"Watch him try. He can huff and he puff but he won't blow my house down. He'll get his after we get ours." Tony blurted out carelessly. Bruce's eyebrows shot up in what could have been easily interpreted as an implied threat but didn't say anything when he observed the silver haired demon Lord didn't even flinch.
Tenseiga pulsed softly
Bruce deducted something must be distracting him, or he figured out ignoring sixty percent of what Tony said was a sound strategy.
"We will have time to plan for Fury's debrief tonight. It's almost sunset anyway." Romanoff explained, sounding a touch weary.
"Hey dad can my friends sleep over?!" Barton the archer chimed in with a cheeky grin. Sesshomaru noted, yet again, these humans were utilizing terms and idioms he had no familiarity with. Or was Stark truly Barton's father? He doubted it as much.
It was becoming tiresome, but Sesshomaru had other larger issues, such as why Thor and even the armored man Stark could detect Loki's magic on him when he could not.
The scent of the magic gate had long since left him, and as he recalled in the past the magic gate was not Loki's magic. All Sesshomaru wanted was peace but he was clustered thick in a metal flying bird with a band of useless humans and an oblivious Storm God.
"Only if you promise not to queue up every rom com and Robert Downey Jr movie on my TiVo. I swear I don't look like him, and never hit heroin." Stark grumbled.
"Hey this is coming from the guy who made me sit through Hansel and Gretel Vampire Hunter because you thought I looked like Jeremy Renner." Barton shot back.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Rin wants to see Ah-Un and go flying, and maybe visit Inuyasha." Rin pouted. Rin never pouted. Sesshomaru frowned, so she too harbored a dislike for their new found surroundings.
"Fear not Rin. Ah-Un will be reunited with you." Sesshomaru comforted, voice distant. He too wished to see his valued steed again.
"I didn't even get to give Ah-Un the fish I caught for him." Rin scrunched her face and kicked her legs back and forth. Sesshomaru knew Rin needed sustenance, hopefully in this realm they provide nourishment that is better than that horrid red potion.
"Tell me of this Ah-Un Lady Rin!" Thor leaned forward ready for story time.
As Rin went on to describe the two headed dragon to Thor, and perhaps to an eavesdropping Romanoff, Sesshomaru attempted to a tactic to distract Thor and his band of humans so he could convene privately with Loki later, first he would have to scout the surrounding area that this fortress occupied.
"So, who is up for watching a movie when we get back? My vote is Lost in Translation." Natasha, uncharacteristically proposed.
"I've never seen it but it sounds like something I could relate to." Steve grinned self-deprecatingly.
"It's good. It has Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in it. It's them going through an adjustment period in Tokyo. It sounds kind of appropriate, plus there is a lot of Japanese in it so Rin can watch it." Romanoff expounded.
"You want Rin's first movie to be Lost In Translation? Shouldn't it be something more kid oriented?" The Berserker countered.
"She is pretty mature for a kid her age. When her big bad Demon Lord daddy decided to get into a five on one fight she pumped her fist and said go get em. She is no stranger fights." Romanoff discerned.
"Rin may do as she pleases." Sesshomaru settled the argument. He had not realized that the huntress had been listening to Rin so carefully, he doubted it was due to some maternal instinct.
"Alright kiddies, please put your tray tables in the upright and locked position and remain seated because we have arrived. You don't mind us setting this down on the tower do you Stark?" Barton announced in a fake voice, Sesshomaru, again ignored him.
"Nah any damages I'll just charge to Agent." Stark grinned and saw Roger roll his eyes.
Sesshomaru reflexively lengthened his claws. The sounds that reverberated in his skull were maddening in conjunction with the plane engines. He couldn't even tell what they were. Chatter, other devices, screeches and banging. He set his jaw as they landed.
As they disembarked, Jaken and Rin's eyes bugged out of their heads and Sesshomaru's blanked out. They had never seen anything like it. Sesshoumaru's ears twitched.
Cold white, yellow, red and blue lights flared both harsh and soft across horizon. Monoliths and towers stabbed straight, blunt and true from the earth. They thrusted to the sky as if to punch it for its existence.
The twilight hour made the scene look like something from the underworld, both awe inspiring and devastating at the same time. The dying sunlight refracted off the structures making them gleam as if afire.
The air smelt of tar, smoke, metal and humans. It scratched the insides of his nose and he nearly sneezed. He could hardly smell any trees, grasses, animals or fresh soil. Even the water smelled tainted. He knew his sense of smell would be nearly useless in this place, so he closed off the sense with his youki temporarily.
Where was Spring?
"Lord Sesshomaru what dreadful place is this?! We are doomed!" Jaken nearly dropped the staff of two heads. Rin stood silent, fists clenched.
'Is this why the Demons were gone? The humans had surely succeeded in corrupting and destroying this realm.' Sesshomaru maintained a face of neutrality for Rin's, Jaken's and his pride's sake, but his ears flattened.
"This is the big apple, Jaken." Sesshomaru meant for it to mock the humans, naming a city a fruit when it was clearly so unnatural, but his voice barely came out as a whisper.
"See Sailor Moon, us humans, we got our kicks. This is what the industrial revolution gets you. Clearly you guys got some catching up to do, but I can give you some manuals. Welcome to the pinnacle of five hundred years' technology and progress! And you're about to see the best part! Stark Tower!" Stark spread his arms out wide as if he owned the whole city.
Sesshomaru frowned slightly, he did not comprehend why the human needed to seem so smug.
"Lord Sesshomaru can we please go home? I promise I won't disobey Jaken anymore." Rin's eyes softened and she buried her face in Sesshomaru's pelt.
Sesshomaru, in an uncommon display of affection, placed a clawed hand gently on her head, massaging her tangled hair gently. Sesshomaru meant the words he said, but he felt his stomach knot.
"No harm will befall you in this metropolis, Rin." Sesshomaru spat out the word metropolis as a curse and his golden eyes narrowed to shards and his pupils to slits at Stark.
Stark's shoulders fell. He didn't know what Rin said but he could hedge a good bet.
"Wow Tony way to scare a little girl into tears. Is this your effect on all women or just the ones you're trying to impress?" Bedclothes admonished. Sesshomaru then realized all the muscles in his body were bow-string taught and released them one muscle group section by one.
"At least this one didn't see him shirtless!" Barton, the archer, jabbed. Thor nodded.
"C'mon guys let's show you around. It takes some getting used to but it's not that scary." Romanoff said the third sentence in Japanese and motioned to a rooftop access door.
Sesshomaru followed, not wanting to subject his senses, especially his ears, to more assault. The rest followed suit, leaving Stark on the rooftop.
"Why am I the bad guy and not the Demon Lord?!" Was all he said as he reluctantly followed, being the last person to enter his own house.
Sesshomaru relaxed somewhat as they entered the fortress, at least until he heard a voice.
"Welcome back Miss Romanoff, Mr. Barton, Thor, Mr. Rogers and Dr. Banner. I detect three previously unidentified persons, neither listed as hostile nor friendly." Jarvis sounded and Sesshomaru immediately straightened and went to the balls of his feet.
He spread both of his arms in a protective stance for Rin and Jaken. His hands glowed a fearsome, deadly green from his toxin and his talons were long and sharp while his face remained stony. His blue youki surged like a wave and his ears lowered.
'They lured us into a trap! I sense no life presence for this voice!' Sesshomaru's instincts reflected back to battles with Naraku, wondering if he should draw Tenseiga.
"Whoa, whoa, relax. Jarvis is not going to eat you. Jarvis, classify these guys as friendlies." Stark entered the main living room and kitchen of Stark tower.
"Welcome back Sir, what should I call your companions?" Jarvis asked.
Sesshomaru had had enough of being talked about as if he was not present.
"I am Sesshomaru Lord of the Western Lands and in my consort is my retainer Jaken and my ward Rin." Sesshomaru's voice reported steadily and with cemented authority.
"Very well, welcome Lord Sesshomaru, Retainer Jaken and Lady Rin." Jarvis replied mechanically and Sesshomaru looked around, trying to identify the source of the voice.
"Do not let the Voice of Jarvis vex you Son of Taisho! He has no corporeal form!" Thor informed and Sesshomaru retracted his claws and the toxin dissipated instantly.
"I see. He is a bodiless incarnation." Sesshomaru murmured, seemingly to himself, thinking of a certain Wind Demon.
"Yeah, OK. Let's order some pizza, please for the love of God?!" Barton called out from what appeared to be a long, plush seat.
"No onions on at least one." Bedclothes emphatically shouted.
"I want Mediterranean." The huntress, Romanoff commanded.
"I'm good for whatever." The Berserker relented.
"I request two pies with the ground boar meat!" Storm God bellowed.
'If Loki doesn't show himself this nightfall I may just fight Thor in front of all his humans until he does.' Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles and lowered his ears.
"Sure, call the usual pizza places. Oh Sailor Moon, you probably don't know pizza but you're going to love it." Tony flashed a smile, in a weak peace keeping attempt.
"I do not consume human fare. Rin, you may only eat whatever Storm God eats." Sesshomaru reassured and she nodded resolutely. Rogers looked like he gave up in being trusted.
"Yes Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin all but saluted. Sesshomaru turned to leave.
"Jaken, Storm God, I leave Rin in your care. Do not disappoint this Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru's voice held a dark, veiled warning as he glanced over the luxurious accommodations.
"Wait. Where you going? We were just about to start the party!" Stark inquired and Sesshomaru turned to the group of humans who watched him carefully.
'This test will determine if they are genuine in their regard to welcome me as an equal, or try to contain me a foe.' Sesshomaru swished back, his hair fanning out slightly in the climate controlled apartment.
"I will be return within a human hour." Sesshomaru's voice fell like a curtain and in a rush he was out the way he came.
Sesshomaru needed space and to scout. Regardless if it meant torturing his taxed eardrums to more cacophonous noise. His long, lean legs led him out to the roof where the metal bird, believed to be named Quinjet, rested.
He ignored it and with a graceful leap he front-flipped into the air, his silver hair swirled all around him.
Though he couldn't make out specific sounds very well, he could hear the overall din of humans exercising all sorts of liberties in the cooling air. There were so many, he had never thought humans would build on top of each other like insects would.
He rebounded swiftly off the side of one structure, noting that the side was made of the same transparent crystal the front of the plane was.
He ran. The wind whipped by him like a current of rapids.
'Kagura, does your spirit still live? Do you still linger here after so many Demons have left?' Sesshomaru closed his eyes as he ran perpendicular to the side of the building, leaping again into the air, almost as a cartwheel to a neighboring skyscraper.
He would appear as nothing but perhaps a white and silver blur to the human eye, using around seventy percent of his top speed. He followed the scant scent of trees, eyes closed.
He rebounded off the side of the nameless structure he sprinted down and again back-flipped onto the top of an abnormally tall skyscraper.
'At least these buildings make an easy way to bound about, better than trees.' Sesshomaru attempted to find a silver lining in the despoiled realm he found himself in
Sesshomaru gazed out, examining the rancid river and the salty ocean. He saw a green statue of someone of great acclaim and wondered absently if his father's grave still held true. Most likely not if humans had turned his lands into something similar to his.
He sprung again, enticing the wind to billow the sleeves of his yukata and fan his hair. He gazed at the dead earth far down below him and wondered if the cost was worth it. He knew Rin would miss the flowers, the grasses and the green. He did as well; the grey was disappointing.
Recoiling again onto another tall monolith this time using the full strength of his legs he rocketed into the air.
'Humans and their itch for conquest. Their insatiable thirst for more. They are not so unlike the Demons they scorn.' Sesshomaru in a vain, artistic show of power in mid backflip, back arched towards the heavens, unleashed an unabashedly wide shock wave of shimmering blue youki far above the city.
It washed most of Manhattan, including Stark Tower, for the briefest of moments, in an ice blue glory in the throes of sunset. His youki settled down through the air like glimmering flurries. Sesshomaru allowed himself a brief smile as he set his trap.
"I shall not be intimidated by your industrial revolution." Sesshomaru finished his flip and planted firmly on another high structure's pole, this one scalloped in its edges and design.
He stood for countless moments, Tenseiga humming. Waiting for a challenge on his claim. Perhaps a territorial Demon would emerge, or another metal bird. Sesshomaru scowled slightly in disappointment when no one appeared.
'This...putrid metropolis appears to be an economic not militaristic stronghold.' Sesshomaru leapt again, continuing to scout the area for threats and found none.
He finally, he decided to unleash his sense of smell again and circled back to the trees and pounced down from his perch like a javelin, Sesshomaru, out of all the unfamiliar smells, caught whiff of a familiar prey. Deer. Sesshomaru had a plan.
Within seconds the game was his, and with his fur pelt coiled tightly around the carcass, he slashed down an armful of branches, still mostly inert from winter. He returned to the odd tower, sailing with an elegance that had been missing from this realm for a long time.
Placing the deer on the roof, near the Quinjet, he arranged the branches, cleaned the kindling from them, and with a spark of youki lit a roaring fire.
As he waited for the fire to die down, he knelt down and expertly cleaned the deer with his elongated talons, sharpening one femur to a deadly point. Rin would need to feel safe in this realm, he would provide her that.
"Lord Sesshomaru! What fine venison you have prepared. I have our spices!" Jaken waddled up, the most excited he had been all day. Sesshomaru felt at ease, despite his ears thrumming. It was good fortune their food spices were on Jaken's person when the magic gate appeared.
He gave Jaken a femur bone and instructed him to wash it with the staff of two heads. He then licked it, sealing it like resin, hardening it.
He wasn't the only one who followed suit up to the roof. Sesshomaru's eyebrows raised, his plan going into motion.
"You went hunting without me Fancy Pants?! That's treasonous. If I get plates do I get some?" Sesshomaru's eyes went wide as Barton the archer approached. He had not expected the archer to consider him in such a familiar light.
Perhaps the archer liked venison.
"I shall share in my bounty if you provide those." Sesshomaru nodded once, there was more than enough to share between three people, of that Sesshomru made sure.
"Sweet. Haven't had fresh venison in ages, nice cleaning job by the way." Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow as Barton loped down the stairs of the roof access.
'Loki has peculiar tastes in lovers indeed.' Hummed Sesshomaru as he watched Jaken spice and prepare the steaks and skewer them. Sesshomaru preferred his mostly raw, and Jaken preferred his rare.
"Ok, you can't just light fires on the top of my house. There are things called the fire department, and like, manners." Stark bounded up the stairs followed by Rin, Romanoff, Bedclothes and the Berserker.
"Fire is only dangerous in the hands of the weak and inexperienced." Sesshomaru instructed, ignoring the humans as turned back towards the steaks.
"Tell that to smokey the bear." Bedclothes joked good naturedly. Sesshomaru knew of no bears who would care about fire. 'I sensed no bear Demons in this region, perhaps he is a Demon of some renown.' Sesshomaru mused as he picked up the bone.
"Come Rin I have prepared for you a present." Rin skipped forward and gave her the washed and sealed femur. Rin gleefully swung the bone which was about as tall as she was.
"I'll train with Jaken every day! Thank you Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin smiled, picking it up and stroking it through the air.
"And I thought modern parenting was a tad bizarre." Roger's eyebrows went to his forehead. The others looked a bit amused.
"I may not have slain enough flesh for you all. The archer Barton has already staked a claim by procuring plates." Sesshomaru's face and especially his eyes looked feral and glorious in the firelight. Sesshomaru knew the statement was misleading, it was important to promote scarcity in his prize.
"I guess I'll get drinks and cups." The Berserker, shockingly, was first on the bandwagon as Barton jumped back into view with a few plates.
"Gah you buzzards! You already had your choice of pizza!" Barton, indignant, marched over to Sesshomaru, set down the plates, and picked up a smaller steak as the Berserker slipped back down to the penthouse.
"What is this?! West Virginia?! Are we all going to start singing Wagonwheel? Steve you have a guitar right? Where did you even get a deer? And what was with the light show over Manhattan?! You've turned my tower upside down and you haven't even been here two hours!" Stark gestured exasperatingly and huffed. Jaken rose.
"How dare you question my Lord Sesshomaru so?! He has done nothing but agree to your moronic terms! That blue youki was a proximity barrier! If any powerful foe enters its radius we will know!" Jaken sputtered with anger as he speared his own steak and began to cook it.
Pause.
"Yeah. Well. We have Jarvis for that. And I doubt he did it for our benefit." Stark bit back, Sesshomaru noted he didn't appreciate Jaken.
"Nifty backflip there Pretty Boy." Romanoff walked over to Rin, helping her with her form on the large bone. Odd woman human, but she is adept at fighting, Rin would do well to take notes from her.
"Hey, so instead of beer, Thor decided to grab a bunch of liquor. I managed to convince him to get some chaser at least." the Berserker shrugged, holding gin, scotch, and tequila, while Thor held bourbon, run, vodka and the shot glasses. Sesshomaru caught the sharp snapping smell of human spirits.
Sesshomaru nearly, nearly, flashed his fangs in his victory. It was all too easy to lure these humans to imbibe, especially with Thor to goad them on. He allowed the Berserker a steak from his game, but insured he sat between him and Rin.
"Hey, this is actually pretty good, what spices are these...oh man, you know what I'm probably better off not knowing if they're like Demon spices. Forget I asked." The Berserker backpeddled and Barton next to him pat him on the back.
"Ignorance is bliss my friend, maybe you should aim for less knowledge." Barton jabbed, Bruce soured at the joke.
"Thanks, Clint. noted." Bruce gave a thumbs up.
Sesshomaru watched as the humans settled around him, drinking, smiling, laughing and making merry. He sent Rin to bed, along with Jaken, both of them exhausted. He partook in the drink called gin, but due to the natural detoxing abilities of his blood, could not get drunk.
"Gin?! Really?! Ugh you would it's such like an aristocratic villain drink. You'd probably also drive a Jaguar, with that British commercial and everything." Stark's words were a bit slurred. Sesshoumaru darted his gaze his way, Stark amused him somewhat, he seemed perhaps to be the most intelligent, if not most confusing of the humans he had met thus far. He was the only human he saw so far capable of flight, which had to mean something.
"Aye, Son of Taisho is indeed an aristocrat! His lands are located in what the mortals refer now as Japan." Thor explained, which suited him because Sesshomaru loathed explaining himself to others, especially any humans.
'Japan, I will have to remember that name. I am curious to learn of what has become of my lands in this time, and how to prevent this metropolis from happening to them when I return to my time. Perhaps that incarnation Jarvis may know of where to find the information I seek.' Sesshomaru's mind cycled through thought after thought. He also had to find out what Stark meant by 'manual' when he showed him his tower upon arriving. He had a feeling these manuals would be imperative to study the new realm he found himself in currently.
"The kimono and Japanese girl from Japan? Really now?" Barton smirked.
"Son of Taisho! Regale us with a story! I have heard many from my fellow Avengers but not many from you! One of you and Loki would be most delighful!" Thor smiled genuinely and Sesshomaru was caught off guard. Thor knew, Sesshomaru was most certain, that he was not a bard, and did not spin stories. He would sit and listen to Thor's and Loki's, they were much more talented than he and liked it better.
'Loki did abduct me and bring me to this terrible place. Perhaps I can retaliate some with some unflattering knowledge about his person. It may even provoke him to come more swiftly.' Sesshomaru paused, and his eyes lit up devilishly, but his face remained stoic.
"Once while treasure questing, Loki was turned into a purple stag by a Vanir." Sesshomaru's even, placid voice carried over the crackling fire and his ears lifted slightly.
That got laughs around the fire. Sesshomaru stayed silent, not sure what to do next, was he supposed to continue? Sesshomaru was not one for occasions such as these.
"The Vanir's objective was to coerce me to into obtaining the treasure for him so I would barter with him to return Loki." Sesshomaru noticed Thor's eyes never left him, he never received such attention from the Storm God in the past. It confused Sesshomaru. Thor usually regarded him minimally, unless in combat or pressed by Loki. Perhaps some form of nostalgia? It had been over five hundred years for the Storm God, but only about fifty-three for him.
"But Loki is a shape-shifter, couldn't he just turn back?" Bedclothes asked, enraptured in the story.
"A sorcerer cannot change out of something he did not change into." Thor explained, a warm, nostalgic smile on his face.
"You know, that so explains the horns. Stags have antlers, he just is throwing back to a previous look is all. Vintage Bambi works!" Stark prompted, dark eyes lit warmly by the tequila he drank and the fire he sat next to. Sesshomaru could tell because Stark sat next to him.
"So, I assume you bartered right?" The Berserker prompted, his words also slurring slightly from the bourbon. He showed no signs of agitation which proved well.
"This Sesshomaru does no dirty work. I informed some fae of the treasure and of its intended plunderer. They sought out the Vanir, who persuaded him to return Loki." Sesshomaru explained, voice cool and crisp.
"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that their methods of persuasion weren't asking nicely." Romanoff laughed, cheeks flushed from vodka
Sesshomaru merely opened his mouth to show his lengthened fangs and took another sip of gin, he noticed all the eyes were still curiously on him.
"Well, deer hunter, did you and your deer get the treasure?" Barton all the sudden spoke up loudly.
"We emerged victorious. I neglected to inform the fae them of the treasure's exact location. While the fae searched nearby, we collected the treasure and continued on." Sesshomaru's eyes glowed. It would be one of this favorite stories to tell, if he told stories ever again. Something told Sesshomaru if he continued to be in the presence of these humans, they would attempt another bout out of him.
"It is good to hear of stories of such humorous stories about my brother from another time Son of Taisho. You and he seemed to always have such peculiar adventures. They differed greatly than the ones we did together." Thor, despite the alcohol, sounded melancholy noted Sesshomaru.
'Something odd has certainly transpired between the brothers and caused a great rift. Perhaps there is good reason yet Loki has summoned me to this realm.' The fireside fell silent for a moment then Stark yapped about something else, but Sesshomaru remained deep in thought.
The humans and Storm God hours later, inebriated and happy, all filtered down to their respected rooms. He scouted the tower, finding a suitable quarters and with Rin and Jaken safely tucked away in the quarters in his pelt, he waited for Loki to spring his Youki trap.
And at 3:49 am. He did.