Date: 2009-05-20 13:50 Subject: FFVII/IY fic: Silver Demons (13-14/?) Security: Public Tags: fandom: crossovers, fandom: ffvii, fandom: inuyasha, fic, sephiroth, sesshoumaru, sesshoumaru/sephiroth, title: silver demons

Silver Demons
by SkyFire (rabid_plotbunny)

Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3-4 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 9-10 | 11-12

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 13

They hadn't been walking for very long - they were barely half-way back down the path to the village - when a sudden surge of demonic aura from back the way they had come stopped Inuyasha in his tracks.

The hair on the back of his neck standing on end in warning, he turned abruptly to look towards the temple they had just left just in time to see the familiar flare of crackling blue light followed by lightning from the clear sky - Sesshoumaru's Dragon Strike. Inuyasha winced at the sight, questions coming instantly to mind. How had the monks managed to piss off his brother enough for him to bother using his Toukijin at all, let alone the Dragon Strike? He only used that attack when he was seriously angry, or the fight was serious... or if his opponent was Inuyasha.

Since it clearly wasn't the last option, it had to be one of the first two. But what could those monks have done? Most attempts to purify the daiyoukai would only irritate him, and nowhere near enough for that cold, unfeeling mask of his to crack.

Then he could only stare as arcs of blue light cut right through Sesshoumaru's attack, turning the lethal Dragon Strike into just so many harmless sparks and turning one of the temple outbuildings into so much rubble.

What the-?!

A few blasts of Toukijin's demonic energy was answered by yet more of those blue arcs, cutting through them like nothing. Now that he was watching, he could see two forms floating in the air above where the temple courtyard would be - one light, one dark - both soaring and zipping around to attack and defend with demonic speed.

The pale one had to be Sesshoumaru, but who was the dark one? Those blue arcs were clearly a powerful demonic attack, but he hadn't sensed any demon other than his brother when he'd been there. Had he just shown up and used the monks' distraction to attack the pale lord? Such a cowardly attack would have pissed Sesshoumaru off enough to Dragon Strike.

Or maybe it was a human with a demonic blade? If it was he felt almost sorry for them; to break up Toukijin's attacks, that sword would have to be just as powerful, and the odds of a demonic sword that strong leaving a human bearer unpossessed were not good.

But he still couldn't forget that there had been no unknown demonic aura as there would have been if that was the case; even Toukijin had one. So what did that leave?

Some strong spiritual attacks might look demonic from a distance, he supposed. Between Sesshoumaru's own daunting aura and Toukijin's, it was impossible to tell from that distance if those blue arcs were demonic or not.

Another Dragons Strike, another series of arcs that turned it into nothing more than static and light.

Was Sesshoumaru actually having a hard time? From what he could see, they were almost matched for speed. Would it actually come down to dumb luck? Could his brother actually be defeated?

No. Way.

If asked, Inuyasha would deny that his next move had anything to do with any lingering sense of family loyalty. He didn't do it for Sesshoumaru. He didn't. He did it for himself because, just as Sesshoumaru had claimed his right to chose the time of Inuyasha's death, Inuyasha had long since claimed his right to Sesshoumaru's.

No one was going to kill his brother but him!

Abandoning his friends in favor of greater speed, Inuyasha took off back up the trail toward the temple.

Kagome's surprised "Where are you going? Inuyasha!" was answered only by a gruff "Sesshoumaru's in trouble," from the quickly-disappearing hanyou.

oOo

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to think. He saw Sesshoumaru's eyes turn red, heard what could only be called a growl as the man reached for one of the swords at his side. The hair on the back of his neck rose in warning and every instinct he had was screaming danger!

Then Sesshoumaru vanished.

It was hard-earned instinct alone that saved him from being cut down with the first blow, that let him bring the Masamune up in time to block Sesshoumaru's descending swing. Blue-green eyes widened slightly in surprise; not only had the other man moved with a speed rivaling a Hasted First, his swing had been strong enough to send Sephiroth skidding back several feet.

Playtime was clearly over. It was time to get serious.

Was it something he'd said?

More sword-strikes, blocked more by instinct than anything else, pushing him back across the courtyard.

Enough!

Sephiroth blocked, then began launching his own attacks, sending a rain of lightning-fast blows at the other man, the masamune naught but a flashing silver blur.

Blocked.

Both men backed away as they realized almost simultaneously the futility of that course of attack. They circled each other for a long moment, making and discarding plans of attack. Clearly, their speed and reflexes were too evenly matched for any head-on attack to succeed.

Sephiroth missed his Materia. A good Fire would have come in useful. Or maybe Stop, so he could hold the so-called 'demon' still long enough to find out what had happened, why his eyes had changed and the fight escalated all of a sudden.

He lifted his sword into a guard position when Sesshoumaru suddenly held his sword out in front of him and had the sinking feeling that he was going to regret not having a good MBarrier or Wall.

Red eyes met blue-green and Sesshoumaru spoke two words.

"Dragon Strike."

oOo

Sesshoumaru watched in satisfaction as Toukijin's attack blasted the courtyard to rubble. It was almost a shame to kill such an unusual human - he was still stunned that the man had been able to hold him off as long as he had, even almost match his speed - but the insult to his heritage had sealed the man's fate. Nothing could survive the full force of the Dragon Str--

Wide arcs of blue light scattered his own attack into so many sparks and laid waste to Sesshoumaru's side of the courtyard, the daiyoukai having to move fast to avoid getting sliced in half.

What the-?!

The sparks fizzled out to show the human down on one knee, a little singed around the edges, eyes blazing, but still very much alive.

And fighting, more of those blue arcs speeding at the daiyoukai with every swing of that ridiculously long sword.

Sesshoumaru dodged again, red eyes narrowed in irritation, and sent another Dragon Strike hurtling on its way.

oOo

Arriving once more at the temple's destroyed gates, Inuyasha stared. Whatever he'd been half-expecting, this wasn't it.

On one side of the conflict was Sesshoumaru. He was clearly enraged; his eyes red, his aura surging in an almost tangible haze around him, his markings no longer perfectly smooth but jagged link his own demonic markings. He zipped around the courtyard in a blur, launching attack after attack with little effect.

On the other side was... well, he still couldn't figure that one out. He looked human enough with his round ears and lack of obvious markings, but no human he knew of could fly, nor were any anywhere near that tall, and there was something about his eyes.... He had no demonic aura that Inuyasha could sense, nor did his ridiculously long sword, but he was the one tossing out those blue arcs. His clothing - what there was of it - was like nothing He'd ever seen - he was not blushing. He wasn't. Oh, hell, he was - and combined with that long silver hair he couldn't quite catch the words before they escaped.

"Oi, Sesshoumaru! I know they say that everyone's got a perverted side, but don't you think you're taking it a little bit too far?"

The glare Sesshoumaru sent him should have killed him on the spot. "Stay out of this, half-breed," he hissed.

"Keh! Whatever!" Inuyasha said, then settled in to watch. He'd let them wear each other out for now, but he was going to keep an eye on them and step in if he had to.

oOo

He had clearly underestimated just how stubborn his full-youkai brother could be, and clearly his indecently-dressed opponent also posessed that quality in abundance.

His companions arrived at the gates just as the sun was setting, lighting the sky with brilliant orange and pink. They set up camp aoutside the temple walls, which seemed to serve as an unofficial boundary for the two fighters as neither they nor their attacks went beyond it. Into it, yes, but not past it. They gathered firewood, started a fire, then set about making the evening meal. They made enough for both themselves and the two fighters, figuring that as full night fell they would call it quits for the night and start again in the morning.

No such luck.

Both kept right on fighting, the night lit only softly by the thin crescent of the growing moon and the brief flashes as swords clashed and attacks launched.

They were still at it the next morning when the group rose from an unrestful night's sleep, though the rhythm of blows was slower now as they - finally - began to tire.

After breakfast, the group headed back up to the gates' remains to watch.

Both men had clearly been fighting for a long time, clothing littered with dozens of tiny slices, the occasional spot of blood from a minor cut or scrape the only obvious injuries. Both heads of knee-length silver hair were hopelessly tousled and tangled enough to draw a wince from both women; it would take hours to get all the knots out! Both men were still attacking. Slower, yes, but still trying to kill each other with minimal success.

Or were they?

Golden eyes narrowed as Inuyasha watched the fight.

A burst of demonic energy followed quickly by another Dragon Strike sped across the courtyard at the black-clad man. It was by all appearances a serious attack except for one thing. Sesshoumaru's eyes were no longer red, his markings back to their usual crisp, clean lines, and he seemed almost... amused.

The dog-eared boy wasn't sure just how he came to that conclusion - Sesshoumaru's face was as blank as ever - but he was certain of it nonetheless. Sesshoumaru, one of - if not the - most-feared daiyoukai in all of Japan, was actually having fun.

A few lighting-fast flicks of the sword sent blue arcs out, cutting effortlessly through Toukijin's attacks and slamming into the heap of rubble that was all that was left of the temple, narrowly missing the daiyoukai as he dodged gracefully out of the way. It was by all appearances a real effort to cut the demon lord in half except for one thing. A tiny, barely visible grin and the light in blue-green eyes. He, too, was having fun.

Inuyasha had the sudden urge to bang his head against a wall. The only problem with that was that between the two of them, the fighters had reduced all the walls to heaps of rubble and there were none left standing.

oOo

At last, late in the morning - almost noon, really - the fighting slowed, then stopped. The sudden absence of noise had more than one head turning towards the temple, waiting to see which - if any - being would come out, since Inuyasha hadn't bothered to share his brain-breaking revelation with them.

A few interminable minutes later, the slightly-ragged form of Lord Sesshoumaru picked his way across the gate-rubble, followed by an equally-ragged figure in indecent black clothing made even more so thanks to various sword-slashes. A brief hesitation, then they made their way down to Inuyasha's camp even as Kagome and Sango had to deal with sudden nosebleeds.

Water was offered and accepted; imperiously by the daiyoukai, with a nod of thanks from... whoever he was. A similar offer of noodles was ignored by Sesshoumaru, accepted politely by the unknown man, and pounced on by Inuyasha.

Once that was done, Inuyasha decided that he'd been patient long enough; he had questions that wanted answers.

"So," he said to the stranger. "Who are you and how come you can keep up with Sesshoumaru?"

For a long moment, the stranger just stared, blank-faced. "You can talk," he said at last.

Inuyasha bristled, glaring. "Of course I can talk!"

"Ah. Most of the monsters I've met just growl if they make any noise at all, except for that one a few days ago...."

"Look. I got no idea what you're talking about, but you're in for a fight if you call me that again! I'm not a monster, I'm a half-demon!"

"Is there a difference?" Sesshoumaru said drily.

"You, stay out of this!"

"Half... demon?" the stranger repeated. He looked to the rest of the group. "And you... believe this?"

Miroku spoke up. "Yes, because he is a half-demon. See the ears, the claws and fangs? His mother was a human and his father was a full demon, just like Lord Sesshoumaru over there."

"Daiyoukai," said demon corrected.

"Ah, yes. My apologies. Full demon lords."

Doubt was still obvious in glowing blue-green eyes, but was clearly set aside for later. "As for your earlier question," he said, turning back to the half-demon, "I am Sephiroth, General of SOLDIER."

He said it as if it ought to mean something to them.

"So how come you can keep up with Sesshouamru?"

Sephiroth frowned. "I told you, I am head of SOLDIER."

"Is that supposed to mean something? Keh, forget it. Not like it matters. So why were you two fighting, anyway?"

Sephiroth looked to Sesshoumaru, who looked to Inuyasha. "That is none of your concern, half-breed," he said. Standing, he looked to Sephiroth even as one clawed hand ran through his hair, the knots seeming to vanish all on their own. "Though there was no clear winner, I will hold to my end of the bargain. I will find the location of this 'Wutai', 'phone', and 'Shinra'. Follow or not, as you choose."

"None of my-? Keh! I bet you don't even remember. That's it, isn't it? Ha!" Inuyasha called after Sesshoumaru's retreating back. "You don't remember! Who's senile now? Ha!"

"It was... interesting meeting you all," Sephiroth said, "thank you for the meal." Then he turned and followed the daiyoukai, the tangles in his own hair falling away under a careless swipe of one hand.

The two men had barely disappeared around a bend in the trail when Kagome spoke. "Did Sesshoumaru just say 'phone'?"

 
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Chapter 14

Rin moved around the field, singing about her gread Lord Sesshoumaru as she gathered a small bouquet of only the most perfect flowers. Her lord deserved only the best!

Some time had passed since he had left them to go visit the monks that had sent that letter, but she wasn't worried. Not even when they saw the unnatural lightning that was the calling card of his fierce Dragon Strike attack did she doubt for one moment that her great and shining Lord Sesshoumaru would come back to them.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't exactly be said for Jaken. He let out a squawk of dismay at the first Dragon Strike, then his panicking got steadily worse with each new one, especially when they finally noticed those opposing blue flashes that turned the mighty Dragon Strike into nothing but pretty sparks. Eventually it got so bad that Rin had to have Ah-Un sit on him to keep Jaken from running off to try and 'save' their lord, leaving Rin alone with Ah-Un in the process.

Silly Jaken! Didn't he know that nothing could possibly defeat their Lord Sesshoumaru? And besides, he'd once promised her that he would always return, and she knew that he never lied.

Night fell.

The shattered Dragon Strike was even prettier now that it was easier to see, even if the brightest flashes did leave her seeing spots for a little while. She fell asleep watching them.

When she woke up they were still there, if harder to see against the glare of the rising sun.

The flowers she had gathered for her Lord Sesshoumaru the day before had wilted overnight so she fed them to Ah-Un (they ate them all except for the little blue ones) and skipped out into the quickly-drying dewy grasses to gather fresh ones.

Jaken, freed when Ah-Un got up to graze, sat by himself and worried. He did it so well that Rin could almost see the cloud of depression that surrounded him.

More time passed, and then the booming crackle of the Dragon Strike stopped.

Rin smiled and made sure that her bouquet of wildflowers was still perfect then went back to scratching the itchy spots Ah-Un couldn't reach themselves. Jaken stared in the direction the Strikes had been in then, when no more came, began wailing over the indignity of their lord's ignoble demise.

Silly Jaken.

oOo

Rin was the first to see him, his silver hair shining almost pure white in the sun. Abandoning Ah-Un's itches, she ran up to him, smiling, then bowed as she had been taught and presented the flowers. "Lord Sesshoumaru! You're back, my lord!" she greeted warmly. "Jaken was so worried, and most distressed!"

The imp in question wiped his flooding eyes on his sleeve then spoke. "I was not!" he refuted. "I always knew you wouldn't allow a group of mere human monks defeat you, Lord Sesshoumaru! It was that girl Rin!"

Around then, Rin noticed that her beloved lord hadn't come back alone. She leaned over to look around one white-clad leg, only to have his mokomoko-sama move to block her view, then herd her to where she couldn't see. She looked up at her lord in curiosity; he had never brought anyone back with him before! "Who is that, my lord?" she asked. "Is it a demon?"

Alerted to the new arrival by her query, Jaken looked. His beak dropped open in shock at the sight. How dare such a person follow his lord! From his clothing - what there was of it - it was clear just what kind of person he was.

"That is no demon, Rin," he squawked. He took aim with his staff. "Please, milord, allow me to dispose of this mortal harlot that dares inflict himself on your illustrious presence!"

"Jaken."

"Don't worry, milord! I, your most loyal and dependable servant Jaken, will take care of this so you don't have to get your own impeccable hands dirty!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru, what does 'harlot' mean?"

"Jaken!"

"Yes, milord?"

"Fetch fresh clothing for this Sesshoumaru and his guest."

"For this...? Are you certain, milord? What am I saying, of course you're sure, you're Lord Sesshoumaru! However, if this most humble Jaken might point out that even for one of your illustrious lineage, associating with a mere human such as this one might not be--"

"Jaken!"

"Yes, milord! Right away, milord!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked again.

"Rin. You are to forget that you ever heard that word."

"Yes, my lord!" she said cheerfully. "Jaken sure does talk funny, doesn't he?"

oOo

It was only after the two men had dressed in some of Sesshoumaru's spare clothing - retrieved from Ah-Un's saddlebags by a despondent Jaken - that Rin got her first good look at the man her lord had called 'guest'.

"You look almost like Lord Sesshoumaru!" she exclaimed.

It was true. Now that he was decently dressed - and in the daiyoukai's own clothes and colors no less - the similarities between them were all the more obvious. Their hair was almost exactly the same length and the same shade of silver that seemed white in the sun. Their builds were almost identical and the stranger - only recently introduced as 'Sephiroth' - could not be more than an inch taller than her lord. Then again, it might just be his hair that made him seem so. Even their basic facial structure was similar enough to fool any who didn't know them very well if it wasn't for Sephiroth's lack of facial markings.

"Don't be foolish, Rin!" Jaken argued. "They look nothing alike! Lord Sesshoumaru is a great and terrible daiyoukai, and this Sephiroth" - he sniffed in disdain - "is nothing but a--"

"Jaken."

"Yes, milord?"

"Sephiroth is a guest of this Sesshoumaru. Do not dishonor him by insulting his guest."

"Yes, milord! I mean no, milord! I mean-"

"Jaken."

"Shutting up, milord!"

oOo

Sephiroth studied the land around them as they walked, adding on to his slowly-growing mental map of the area and tried not to chafe at the slow pace.

He didn't see why they didn't use a transport to move faster. Surely a lord like Sesshoumaru claimed to be could afford it! Granted, so far he hadn't seen any sign that anyone had anything larger than a push-cart, but that just couldn't be right.

So why all the walking?

He could admit to himself that at least part of his unvoiced complaint was entirely the fault of his new footwear. Since his own thigh-high boots would have gone as well with the billowing white pants as a Crescent Unit troop at the President's birthday party, he'd been persuaded to put them aside in favor of a spare pair of Sesshoumaru's. He supposed they fit well enough, though the way they could be adjusted at every point was completely new to him, but he just couldn't seem to get used to them. Though he might be a bit hasty on that judgment, since he'd worn them only a few hours so far compared to the years he'd worn his own boots.

Speaking of clothing, that was also going to take some getting used to. Not only was it a brilliant white with patches of blue patterns, but its billowy looseness allowed him a range of mobility he had never even realized he was lacking. He looked forward to trying a few basic drills when they stopped to see how that new freedom might affect his bladework. He could only hope that his new clothing would stay on when he did.

Not being Wutainese, he had no real knowledge of how to wear any of the clothing that he had been given. He had only managed this time thanks to covert peeks at Sesshoumaru as the daiyoukai dressed and half-remembered memories of the one time he'd been obliged to dress in formal Wutainese warlord gear to finalize the terms of Wutai's surrender to Shinra in a meeting with Lord Godo. Luckily, none of it had worked loose or fallen off so far, but he knew it was as much by dumb luck as by design.

And still they walked.

Ah, well. By the time they got wherever it was that they were slowly ambling towards, he should have a pretty good idea of the people - creatures? - and situation he now found himself stuck with.

There was the two-headed lizard... thing called Ah-Un. Some sort of 'demon', he supposed, since it was clearly not human. He hadn't yet heard it speak and most of the time it wore some kind of decorated muzzle so for now he would equate it as the lizard version of a Chocobo.

Jaken was a short green... something, dressed in brown robes and carrying a staff with a pair of heads on it that was apparently some kind of weapon if the way he'd been threatened with it upon his arrival had been any indication. What it did, he didn't know, but he would keep an eye out. The little being seemed to be some sort of servant to Sesshoumaru, though his enthusiasm seemed to outweigh his intelligence at times. Another so-called 'demon'? Possibly.

Then there was Rin. She seemed to be a normal enough human girl, but considering the company she kept, he had to admit it wasn't likely. She didn't seem to do much, her main task seeming to be gathering flowers for Sesshoumaru and scratching the lizard. 'Demon'? Sigh. Probably.

And still they walked.

oOo

When Sesshoumaru returned to the camp that night after one of his periodic perimeter checks, he didn't know whether to be amused or offended. After some thought he settled on impressed, and perhaps a little curious as to how exactly Rin had managed to not only get near the sleeping Sephiroth without waking him - even he would hesitate to try sneak up on such a capably-trained warrior - but also accomplish her task and get away unscathed.

He should have known something was up when she saved some of the berries she had found 'for later' instead of gobbling them up like she usually did, should have put two and two together when the shades of the berries was so familiar.

But he hadn't, Rin had struck, and Sephiroth had paid the price.

He had to admit, though, that her hand was remarkably steady for such a young child, and her memory impeccable.

There, stained with berry juice on the pale skin of Sephiroth's face and wrists, were an exact replica of his own demonic markings. In an effort to make the illusion even more complete, Rin had even dug the snowy white pelt he'd acquired for her after she expressed a desire for her own mokomoko out of the saddlebags and draped it over Sephiroth's right shoulder. The only thing missing was the armor.

The resemblance between them now was uncanny, the only discrepancies being in the color of their eyes and Sephiroth's lack of claws, pointed ears, and demonic aura. Combine that superficial resemblance with their almost evenly-matched skill in battle.... It wouldn't fool anyone who got too close, or anyone who dealt with him regularly, but for any others....

Sesshoumaru moved over to the tree he'd chosen to bed down against, his agile mind full of very intriguing possibilities before he shrugged them away in favor of more practical thoughts. They would be arriving at the palace the next day and as promised he would query his information networks for Sephiroth, but what was he going to do with the man while they waited for the information to come back? Somehow he doubted that the other man would be content to laze about and wait like so many others would, and since as host it was his duty to see to the welfare of his guests, that left him with the question of just what to do with him.

Again, he pushed the thoughts aside. There was no point in dwelling on it until the time arrived, and by then he would have a better idea of who and what this Sephiroth was.

 

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