Inuyasha swam slowly next to the magnificent ship as he looked for its name.

*The Souunga, huh? That's a nice name.* Inuyasha thought to himself. Suddenly his ears perked up as they caught the sounds of music coming from the deck. Inuyasha dug his claws into the side of the ship and started to haul himself up for a better vantage point.

On the deck there were sailors dancing everywhere and playing music Inuyasha had never heard before. All at once they went quite as their attention was drawn to the captain's quarters. A small pale man stepped out and as Inuyasha blinked he disappeared and was replaced by an even smaller imp.

*He's in disguise.* Inuyasha realized. This was a demon passing as a human. Inuyasha remembered reading something about species segregation in a book he had found and he pitied the creature.

*It must be horrible pretending to be weak.* he thought.

Inuyasha's mind was suddenly brought back by the imp's imperious voice.

"Gentlemen." He announced. "I would like to introduce our birthday boy! Our prince!"

A great cheer went up from the assembled sailors as a black-haired human stepped out. Inuyasha blinked again and promptly forgot how to breathe.

*He's amazing……*

Standing in the middle of the deck was the most beautiful demon Inuyasha had ever laid eyes on.

He held himself with casual elegance and he moved with the grace of a seasoned warrior. He was dressed in plain black pants, boots, and a v-necked, white shirt, but he wore them as if they were the most expensive silks and satins. At his waist there were two swords, held in place by a red sash. One gave off a friendly aura, while the other pulsed with malcontent. One of his long-fingered hands rested on his hip and the other rested on one of the heads of a two-headed dragon. His body was perfect, but his face was amazing.

His face was schooled into a carefully blank expression but that couldn't hide his obvious beauty. His high cheekbones were accented by magenta stripes, and a blue moon rested on his forehead. Inuyasha briefly caught a glimpse of cold, golden eyes before some of his butt-length, silver hair escaped from behind one of his pointed ears and obscured them. Inuyasha sat stunned as the demon reached up and pushed his hair back.

"Hiya, Inuyasha!"

"Aah!" Inuyasha yelped as Miroku landed beside him.

"Whoa, you were out of it. What were you looking' at pup?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha grabbed his beak to shut him up and pointed across the deck.

"I've never seen a demon this close before. One with legs I mean. He's very handsome isn't he?" Inuyasha asked as a dreamy look settled on his face. Miroku raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha before replying.

"I don't know, he looks kinda scaly, and creepy to me."

Inuyasha looked at Miroku like he was crazy before he realized the problem.

"Not that one stupid!" he exclaimed, hitting Miroku over the head. "The one with the silver hair."

"Inuyasha, there aren't any with silver hair."

Inuyasha looked up and realized that Miroku couldn't see through the demon's disguise! The dragon wasn't wearing one but the silver demon was hidden from all non-demon eyes.

"Well take my word for it, he's handsome." With that Inuyasha went back to staring at the dreamy prince.


Up on deck Sesshomaru stood and watched the festivities. His faithful dragon, Ah-Un, stood beside him and nuzzled him with its left head. Suddenly Jaken clapped his hands and the music stopped. The small imp started gesturing to a covered "something" and talking.

"And now I would like to present our esteemed prince with a very large, very expensive, birthday gift."

Sesshomaru smirked slightly. There was a drum roll and the curtain was removed to reveal…a statue of Sesshomaru in his human form smiling, with his arms wide open as if to hug the world, surrounded by children. Sesshomaru snickered inwardly as he inspected the statue.

"It's really something Jaken." he said.

"Thank you milord. You know I had hoped it would be a wedding present." Jaken insinuated. Sesshomaru's face was marred by a sudden scowl.

"Jaken, don't start that again." He warned, turning to look out over the water, totally unaware of the creature that sat just a few yards below him.

"But milord." Jaken whined. "The entire kingdom wants to see you settled down with the right girl."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. He did not want any of the weak, human, princesses that had been paraded before him. His father knew that he wanted a demon bride and deliberately sent him humans. It was infuriating. Sesshomaru scowled down at the water before answering Jaken's unspoken question.

"I'll find someone, Jaken. I just haven't met the right one yet. But don't worry I'll find someone eventually."

His answer seemed to placate the imp for the moment.

"Alright, Lord Sesshomaru, I trust you."

Beneath the railing Inuyasha twitched.

*His name is Sesshomaru! * It suited the pale demon perfectly.

"Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha whispered


Sesshomaru was about to turn back to the party when a flash of silver caught his eye.

"Lightning!" he yelled, "There's a hurricane coming! All hands on deck!"

Sesshomaru ran to the rigging and started helping the sailors to lower the sails. Normally he wouldn't have bothered, but this was no regular storm, and his men were slightly drunk. Human or not, they were his responsibility and he would not have their blood on his hands. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the main mast and sparked a fire. The sailors quickly forgot about the ship in favor of running to the lifeboats.

Sesshomaru followed, and it wasn't until after he was in the boat that he realized that Ah-Un had gotten tangled up in a pile of rope and was unable to move. Making a split-second decision, Sesshomaru jumped back onto the boat. He ran to Ah-Un and slashed through the ropes that pinned him. The dragon surged up, but his struggling had worn him out and he couldn't fly. Sesshomaru saw this and pushed the dragon over the side where he was dragged into a lifeboat. Sesshomaru was poised to follow, but before he could jump, a large piece of railing broke off and knocked him unconscious.

Jaken saw his prince fall and prepared to jump into the water and rescue him, but before he could, the fire reached the hold where the fireworks were stored, and The Souunga exploded in a burst of color, while her crew watched, horror stricken.