Date: 2009-07-03 18:45 Subject: FFVII/IY Fic: Silver Demons (21-22/?) Security: Public Mood: accomplished 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 | 13-14 | 15-16 | 17-18 | 19-20

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 21

It was raining.

While Sesshoumaru didn't mind the rain in itself - he actually found the sound of it on the roof rather soothing - he didn't care for the way that his workload tended to increase due to others' stupidity when it did. For instance, the report he was currently reading. Some of the guards had to be reassigned thanks to two who, not wanting to get wetter than they had to, had decided to run back to the barracks and encountered a patch of mud. The mud apparently won their argument and the two would be off-duty for a few days so that their sprains and broken bones could mend. It was the same thing every time it rained.

Other than rain-specific injuries, the papers and reports he had to deal with were more of the same thing he - and now Sephiroth - had to deal with every day.

Speaking of Sephiroth, where was the man? Usually, he would follow Sesshoumaru back to his study after the morning meal and they would work through everything that had accumulated since the day before. He might not say it outright but he was glad to have such capable assistance, and the fact that Sephiroth was unafraid to give his own thoughts on things - may they be the incidents themselves or Sesshoumaru's handling of them - was something he valued. Not that he would act on all the other man's recommendations - he might be strangely intelligent for a human, but he was still only human and these were demon affairs - but he would listen and consider those thoughts when he made his own decisions.

None of which made it any easier to push aside the memory of what he had done - what they had done - a week before.

All week, he had done something he hadn't done since he was a pup and his great and terrible father had chided him for it: Ignored the problem and hoped it went away.

But even with both he and Sephiroth apparently hoping the same thing, that one simple fact stubbornly refused to undo itself, hanging unspoken between them in glittering, sharp-edged splendor.

The dreams that had haunted him since then, a strange mix of what actually had happened and what could have happened, and could still be happening were they both to accept instead of fighting it, didn't help either.

Where was Sephiroth?

He had to admit that since he had pulled the other man from his downward spiral of depression and unfocused anger, Sephiroth had apparently adjusted surprisingly well to his new circumstances. He wasn't sure that he would be able to say the same should he find himself in what seemed to be completely unknown lands, especially with the differences Sephiroth had tried to explain to him once. While he was more than half certain that some of what he'd been told was exaggerated somewhat - was he to believe that they could actually cook without fire? Really, now - it only served to point out how different there must be from here.

Where was Sephi-

Oh. There he was.

Sesshoumaru looked up at the sudden angry - no, it wasn't angry. It was well beyond angry and into blood-rage - flare in that now-familiar aura. His mokomoko became even puffier as the raging aura scraped at his senses, making his hair stand on end. Something had apparently pushed Sephiroth a bit too far.

The daiyoukai was surprised to feel a flash of almost guilt as he realized that somehow, some way, Sephiroth must have just found out exactly what had happened between them.

The feeling surprised him. Granted, he hadn't planned any of it - and never would have either - but what was done was done and his demon would never have bound him to someone completely unsuitable.

Except that Sephiroth was, wasn't he?

Yes, he had all the qualities that Sesshoumaru would like in a mate: strength, skill, intelligence, honesty, and a hefty dose of political sense, among other things. But there were two points that negated all of that and made him unsuitable. One, he was human. Two, he was male.

The first - his human state - could, possibly, be ignored. His father had done it, after all, and Sephiroth's almost demonic speed and power could almost compensate for it.

The second, however, was as solid and immutable as the mountains themselves, and as likely to change. It wasn't that all-male pairings were frowned on in demonic cultures as they were in the human; while they weren't common, they were accepted when they occurred. But Sesshoumaru wasn't just any demon. He was Lord of the Western Lands and as such, it was his duty to keep those lands safe and to ensure their safety in the future with the creation of an heir. Something that Sephiroth, being male, could not give him.

So why, when he was so clearly not a possibility, had his demon taken the opportunity to mark him as his mate? He'd been trying to figure it out all week with no success. Then again, maybe he had been overthinking it. He had been looking at it from a logical, rational standpoint, but his demon was anything but; a creature of feral power and instinct.

All right, look at it from that perspective. What had happened that day?

They had been fighting - challenged! - and coming up almost equal. That would impress the demon, set Sephiroth apart from the rest. Blood - his own and Sephiroth's odd sour-sweet - had scented the air, sending his demon into a deeper frenzy. Then Sephiroth had pinned him to the ground.

Pinned him, a clear demonstration of aggression and dominance and further challenge.

He'd gotten free and pinned Sephiroth in turn, reasserting his position as lord, as alpha, as dominant. His demon had been happy with that, he'd been happy with that, and while he'd still had the power of battle-born lust running through him, he was too much in control to give in to it, even when Sephiroth had bared first one side of his throat, then the other. He was only human, after all; he couldn't know what he was offering with that gesture.

Then Sephiroth had arched his back and showed more throat than the daiyoukai had ever been offered before in a blatant sign of absolute submission that stunned him enough to let his demon surge back into control and the next thing he knew he was feeling the slow ebb of euphoria from a completed rut and mated.

All right, when he looked at it that way it was almost embarrassing that he hadn't figured it out before.

None of which was helping him now.

Sephiroth had submitted to him and his demon had accepted. Now that he thought about it, it was Sephiroth's action that had spurred his demon into action. If he hadn't bared his throat like that, they wouldn't be mated now. Wasn't that convenient for the man? One moment he had nothing but the clothing he'd arrived in, the next he was mated to the Lord of the Western Lands, his own status and prestige boosted because of it.

Had that been his plan all along?

Had he, Sesshoumaru, been played?

Golden eyes narrowed, reddening slightly at the thought.

He would find out. He would find out if Sephiroth's submission had been real, or if it was part of someone's scheme to take over his lands. The other lords had been offering their daughters in such hopes long enough that it wouldn't surprise him if one decided to offer men instead. Humans didn't take long to raise; was Sephiroth's resemblance to him, had everything about him that first sparked Sesshoumaru's curiosity, had it all been planned? Had the man been raised to fulfil that one task? To seduce the daiyoukai of the West?

He would find out who or what Sephiroth really was, which lord he was working for, and then he would show him a beta's place and where his loyalties should lie.

Decided, Sesshoumaru put aside his paperwork, stood, and went to stand facing the door.

Then he waited for that angry, spiky aura to come to him like a good beta should.

One tiny, logical part of his mind wondered why Sephiroth would be angry at all if it had been part of some plan all along, but it was drowned under the sea of Sesshoumaru's surging anger.

He stood, watched the door, and waited.



-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Chapter 22

The door didn't so much open as explode inward, folding in the middle with a crunch of splintering wood and the dry rip of paper as it flew out of its grooves and into the study, barely missing the angry daiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru dodged the remains of the study door only to find himself flying backwards through the far wall and into the inner courtyard to land with a splash of rain water and the squish of mud, skidding back an impressive distance before coming to a halt, the new pain blossoming in his jaw his only hint that he'd actually been hit by a blow he hadn't even seen coming. Quick as thought he was back on his feet, the torrential rain both hindering his sight and washing the newly-acquired mud down his back in thick glops.

Sephiroth, despite the blinding rain, was not hard to spot as he stalked out of the new hold in the wall, across the narrow covered porch and down into the courtyard after Sesshoumaru; his aura still pulsing with angry bursts one single hit had done nothing to alleviate, the air around him flickering almost red.

It was a familiar enough sight to the demon; he himself had a similar corona just before he unleashed his true form; the visible manifestation of his demonic energy. But why would Sephiroth have one? As a human, he shouldn't have any youki! What else could it-

"How dare you do this to me!" Sephiroth raged, cutting through Sesshoumaru's scrambled thoughts with angry ease. "I am not a thing to be owned! Get this mark off of me!" The man had been too well-raised to actually resort to name-calling, but it was more than clear enough that he wanted to.

Reddened golden eyes narrowed, more red bleeding in as the words sank in. Was the duplicitous, scheming mongrel actually trying to accuse him of being the cause of their little predicament?

"You should have thought of that before you made your play of seduction. To think that this Sesshoumaru sheltered such a harlot in his own home and even almost trusted you! His father would be ashamed! Which of them sent you? Which lord is it that sent you to this Sesshoumaru? Tell him!"

Blue-green eyes narrowed to mere slits, flashing an eerie green, and the red aura around him grew even more obvious, surging almost the color of flame. "Me? You're trying to blame me for this? I. Think. Not. I didn't do anything to provoke this, you-!" It was more than clear that a stream of curses wanted to burst free, but a lifetime's habit of suppressing them was proving to be difficult to overcome no matter how much he wanted to. "You started this, now you will finish it! It's your mark, so take. It. Back!"

Gold disappeared entirely as red claimed the eyes. "I? I? This Sesshoumaru did no such thing! You started it, flirting with him in battle and plying your seductive wiles!"

"I was not flirting, and I certainly wasn't seducing!"

"Do not lie! The challenge for dominance was clear, as was your submission. Well played; this Sesshoumaru only just realized what you had done. Now which lord sent you to him?"

"My submission? What submission? You think I asked for this? You're out of your mind!"

"Hardly. This Sesshoumaru is seeing very clearly now. And yes, your submission. You bared your belly and throat to him. If that wasn't a sign of the utmost submission, what was it?"

It took Sephiroth a moment to dig up the relevant memory. "You can't be-! That wasn't a show of submission!" he raged.

"What would you call it, then?"

"I was trying to find my knives!"

Some of Sesshoumaru's righteous anger seemed to melt away, a bit of gold returning to red eyes. "You went still."

"Of course I did! Someone who had been looking like he wanted to eat me decided to grab my throat in his razor-sharp fangs and I wasn't about to cut my own throat open on them!"

"...Oh."

"That's right. 'Oh'. But even if it was submission - which it wasn't - how dare you do this to me? The sex, I don't really care - though I would have liked my first to be something other than a bout of mindless battle-lust - but where do you get off marking me like this?!" Sephiroth pulled back the collar of his haori to show the lingering wound. In another week it would be healed, but leave behind a scar to show anyone that he was taken. "Take it back! I am not property! Not anymore, and never again!"

Seeing the mark that he had made for the first time since it happened sent a wave of turbulent emotion surging through the daiyoukai, then the other man's words sank in and he frowned slightly. What was he talking about, 'property'? "Didn't... This Sesshoumaru is assuming that you went to see his healer?"

"Yumeko," Sephiroth confirmed, glaring. "Don't change the subject! I am my own man and I want this mark gone!"

"I... cannot do that." It wasn't a series of words that fell often from Sesshoumaru's lips and he found that he didn't care for them.

"What? Why not? You put it there, you take it off!"

"As I said, I cannot," Sesshoumaru repeated. "Didn't she tell you? The mark is permanent."

"Perma-? WHAT?! I am not something to be owned!"

Why did the other man keep coming back to that? Hadn't Yumeko explained what the mark was? Sesshoumaru debated, then decided to tell him. It was becoming clear to him that while Sephiroth knew that he had been marked, he seemed to have no idea that the mark was anything other than a mark of possession.

"The mark..." he said at last, "is not a mark of ownership."

Sephiroth calmed slightly. He slid the rain-soaked silk back into place. "It isn't?" he asked. "But Yumeko said that it was to show everyone that I am yours. That is ownership."

"It is not a mark of ownership," Sesshoumaru repeated. A brief hesitation, then he continued, "but it does mark you as mine."

"What? But you just said-" Sephiroth's aura spiked again.

"It is a mating mark. It marks you as mine, as my beta, just as I am your alpha."

"It does what?!"

Sephiroth forced back the words that wanted to rush out at the other man's words, as their meaning and implication slowly sank in. The fact that anyone who saw the mark would know that he and Sesshoumaru had been intimate didn't sit well with the private man. And what was that 'beta' and 'alpha' bit supposed to mean?

Sesshoumaru could tell that while the other man still wasn't happy about it - and why not? He was an amazing catch, if he said so himself - he had run out of steam for that fight. Later on, after he'd had time to think about it, that anger might return, but for now it was over.

Or would it return? One of the things that he'd admired about the other man was his adaptability, after all. He knew now that the mark was permanent; would he be able to accept it like he had everything else, or would it prove to be that 'one too many'?

He was surprised to find himself actually starting to look forward to their changed relationship once things calmed down. It certainly wouldn't be boring!

It was only then, as their argument fizzled and sputtered, that both men became aware that some time during their little altercation they seemed to have acquired an audience.

Gathered around them at random intervals for safety stood perhaps a dozen of Sesshoumaru's palace guards, all standing with their weapons trained on Sephiroth. They must have seen Sesshoumaru crash through the wall into the courtyard and rushed in to defend their lord as they had sworn to do. Dog demons all, the scent of wet dog hung heavy in the air, but even that couldn't conceal the scent of arousal and that had the two silver-haired men finally taking in their own appearances with growing embarrassment and almost mortification.

They had been arguing in the pouring rain for some time. More than long enough.

Silver-white hair was grey with water and slicked down, clinging to them in chilly strings. The mud Sesshoumaru had landed in had been entirely washed away. His mokomoko was a sad sight, the fur slicked down in places, standing in soggy spikes in others, completely soaked. Those weren't the things that made pale cheeks pink up in embarrassment, though.

What did was the simple fact that fine white silk, when wet, was just about invisible as it clung to equally-wet skin. They might as well have been naked.

They stood there, staring at each other in mortification that was slowly giving way for twisted humor for a long moment before breaking at almost the exact same moment and rushing back inside to find a set of dry clothing and a warm fire, their argument temporarily abandoned with mutual consent.

oOo

A man walked through the remains of a certain temple, crimson eyes taking in the damage. Some of it he recognized as coming from Sesshoumaru's Dragon Strike, some from a yet unnamed attack from someone else. Someone who, the rumor had it, had managed to fight off Sesshoumaru all night with attacks that actually dispersed the lethal Dragon Strike.

Interesting.

And dangerous. Sesshoumaru was enough of a thorn in his side all by himself; he shuddered to think of the consequences should there be two beings of such caliber coming after him.

Yes, it was a good thing that the daiyoukai and the new unknown stranger were apparently enemies.

It rather annoyed him, though, he thought as he left the temple and made his way down the path, then through the village and down the road in the direction they had told him earlier that the stranger had come from, that he hadn't heard even the tiniest rumor of this new silver-haired man's existence before then. It was as if he had just appeared out of nowhere. How had the man been able to avoid his attention before now? He always kept an eye out for strong demons to absorb into himself.

How had he missed this one?

He hadn't been walking long - a few hours perhaps - when he caught the heavy scent of death coming from a little ways into the forest on one side of the path. Having a feeling that this was what he was looking for - though what good a pile of corpses would be he wasn't yet sure - he plunged into the forest and made his way to the battle site.

And it had been a battle; he could see that almost at once. The sheer number of dead demons was astonishing, and a clear warning. Especially when he sensed a jewel shard and tracked its presence to what was left of a lesser daiyoukai.

It was as he crouched to take the jewel shard from the dead demon's forehead that his foot landed on something that definitely did not belong there. He grabbed it, then absently retrieved the shard as he looked over his new find.

It wasn't big, whatever it was, fitting almost perfectly into the palm of his hand, and was made of a shiny black substance he'd never seen before and small sections of silvery metal that seemed nothing more than decoration. There was a seam running down the two long, narrow sides and across one short one, the opposite short side ending in what looked like an odd hinge.

Was it a new kind of box? He found he quite liked the glossy black and silver. Maybe he could store his shards in it?

Naraku slowly opened the odd box, only to find - to his disappointment - that it apparently wasn't a box at all. Or at least not the kind you could put things in. But what was it, then?

One side was covered in shallow scale-like bumps with odd characters apparently painted on them. The other-

The other almost made him drop his new box in surprise when it lit up as soon as the box was opened almost flat. He stared, then an evil grin spread across his face. Was this, perhaps, a smaller version of Kanna's mirror? This unknown man was more interesting that even he'd given him credit for if that was the case!

He watched the small surface intently, but for long moments it only showed him some strange crest so he was forced to acknowledge the fact that there must be some incantation needed to make it work. Now what could- The painted scales!

The crimson-eyed man cautiously pressed one of the symbols, growing more confident when the box beeped and more symbols appeared on the glowing surface. And he could recognize one of them! He looked down at the scales and pushed one with the same symbol, painted in green.

He almost dropped it again as a voice came from the side with the mirror.

"Dialing Hewley, Angeal," said a female voice. There was a series of discordant noises and the voice spoke again. "We're sorry. The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again."

Bolder now, Naraku pressed the symbol next to the first one he had pressed, then the green one again and waited.

"Dialing Rhapsodos, Genesis... We're sorry. The number you have dialed is currently out of range. Please try again later."

Slowly, Naraku made his way through the scales. The little mirror stubbornly refused to show him anything but that odd crest, but he wasn't getting discouraged. Magical devices were complex and he couldn't expect success right away.

Still pressing the scales - only two left, then he would start trying two-scale combinations - he wandered back out of the forest toward the path.

"...try again later."

He pushed the last scale, then the green one.

"Dialing Mad Scientist," the oddly toneless female said, then that now-familiar jangling noise. A click.

"Hello? What is it? Hurry up; I'm busy!"

Naraku stared. It hadn't done that before! To his disappointment, though, the mirror still showed that crest. The voice was new, though.

"Hello? Who is- Sephiroth?! Where are you, boy? Those incompetent Turks! Can't they even manage to drag a reactor pool? Bah! Where are you? I'll send a retrieval team out. Hello? Sephiroth? Are you there?"

Feeling more than a bit silly - and glad that no one was around to see him - Naraku spoke to the box.

"I am Naraku," he said.

--Note on interplanetary cell-phone coverage in Feudal Japan: *giggle* Yeah, the 'WTF cell phone?' thing. A lot of people asked how that works, and why Hojo was reachable when no one else was, so I thought I'd explain what's going on as I see it. First off: Angeal and Genesis. At the point in the timeline when Seph goes nuts in Nibelheim, Angeal has already been dead for a while. With Genesis, after Seph turned him down in his first trip to the reactor in Crisis Core, you don't see him again in Nibelheim so I'm guessing that he went away to come up with another approach. Now with Hojo, he's still in Nibelheim. He's got two brand-new science experiments locked up in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. Naraku, with plain dumb luck, dialed Hojo's number just when he got to the area where Seph first came through (pseudo-bottom of the reactor). Now, think of the bottom of the reactor like a tunnel between Gaia and Japan, and their cell phones being like cans on a string (the string being its calling/receiving range). From that spot, Hojo, down in the Mansion, is in range (probably getting crummy reception, but in range just the same) as long as Naraku stays in that reactor-pool-sized spot. There's a little more on this in the next chappie, so I'm going to stop there, but if you still have questions, feel free to ask! ^-^

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