InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Friday the 9th ❯ JAKEN! ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not own Sesshomaru. As a matter of fact, I do not own any of the characters/plot of the series. I do, however, own my own characters and this fic. Please do not take either.     Clanning and Dealing: Political structures among the youkai

...Among the Japanese youkai, political and social life are often one and the same thing...

...Friendships among youkai are highly structured and largely determined by political connections and who belongs to which clan. In fact, the system is so structured that youkai have a separate grouping for mavericks. The most powerful and the least powerful in the land are included in this group, simply because neither can be controlled by clan associations. The cat sisters and the Lord of the West are some powerful members of group; Myoga the flea-spokesperson is another member. Members of this grouping may have ties to another group or clan and may have some expectations attached to their various positions, but they are almost never relied upon to actually behave by societal norms. The cat sisters and the Lord of the West have shocked demon society in recent decades by taking human lovers, while Lord Myoga continues to drink the blood of whomever he finds himself near...
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Sesshomaru had to check his reflection in the full-length mirror, and felt slightly irritated by that fact. Nearly a century wearing suits, and I still can not tell how I look by how they feel. His long white hair shone against the dark brown walls and his new-fashioned black suit, but that would soon be fixed. A few decades ago, he had made the decision to cut his hair to waist length; any longer than that and the human illusion spell would not work. He still missed being able to hit people five feet away and claim it was an accident. But we need to change with the times. And people simply do not wear their hair that long anymore. Not if they have to be around humans.            &n bsp;  He chuckled to himself as he gave a last glance at the glass and started the illusion that let him appear in human society. Here he was thinking of things as “new-fashioned” that many of the people he would meet tonight had been wearing all their lives. Ah well, he was old and allowed a few quirks. When his white hair had finished turning black and shriveling up his back, he went to find Jaken and get the tickets. As he walked out into the cream-colored hallway, he remembered that he had told Jaken that he wanted this evening’s entertainment to be a surprise. I wonder what possessed me when I said that. Jaken is a wonderful servant, but he gets strange ideas sometimes…          &nbs p;    *                     &nb sp; *            ;           * & nbsp;           &nbs p;        *  Sesshomaru grimaced to himself. It had been a surprise all right. Somewhere, that idiot had managed to find tickets to a jazz concert. When I get home, I will kill Jaken and resurrect him with Tensaiga. But leave him hanging a little, before I actually revive him.              ;  To be fair, the concert hall was very nice; the seats were comfortable, if bright maroon, and the soft maroon carpet muffled extraneous noise very well. The hall’s standard amphitheater floor was mirrored by a roof that soared, lessening confusing echoes. If only it had some better music playing in it. Sesshomaru sighed softly and tried to pay attention to the music from the stage. It was not that the music was bad, just that he had always found jazz a little monotonous. At least half of the pieces had been sad, so far. He was actually starting to get a little depressed. When I get home, I think I really will kill Jaken. If he can believe that he will get away with this, he has obviously forgotten his place.            &nb sp;  He studied the musicians some more, and let his mind wander. I wonder how they got a whole jazz band together, in the middle of Tokyo. Then the answer hit him. In the middle of Tokyo is the reason. No other city in Japan would have a large enough population of weirdos. He dragged his mind back to the present. And let it wander again. Eventually, his attention was caught by a familiar-sounding piece. Where have I heard this before? …Jaken! He plays jazz all the time. Wait… Were there TWO sets of tickets on the counter? Did I simply grab the wrong one? When the intermission came, after what felt like forever and a day, Sesshomaru slipped outside to call Jaken.                  As it turned out, he had indeed grabbed the wrong tickets. Jaken was wavering between highly incensed and utterly terrified when Sesshomaru reached him. He ranted wildly, interspersed with abjectly begging pardon and assuring Lord Sesshomaru that nothing like it would ever happen again. Sesshomaru humored Jaken by listening to the apoplectic apology for eight minutes while staring around the red-themed lobby, then proposed that Jaken skip the rest of the apology and simply bring the other ticket. Jaken started hemming and hawing at this, and finally suggested that Lord Seshomaru might instead come home, because his apparel might not be ...er…appropriate, for the…err…musical event that Jaken had obtained a ticket for. “Jaken, is this your way of telling me that I was scheduled to attend another Alpine yodeling concert?" No, no, of course not. He would never do such a thing again. But several of Lord Sesshomaru’s acquaintances had recommended a certain band, and Lord Sesshomaru had wanted it to be a surprise…  “Jaken, did you get me tickets to a rock concert?” Well, it is not rock, exactly. A combination of rock and some American thing called rap, which several of Lord Sesshomaru’s friends were highly enamored of, and so Jaken had thought that Lord Sesshomaru would at least like to learn some more about his friends’ tastes, and, "JAKEN!”             ;   Sesshomaru had inherited the full measure of his father’s temper, and now it came out in full force. The other people in the lobby looked up in surprise at his outburst. He bowed an apology, and turned back to his conversation with a much quieter voice, “Jaken, you birdbrain, when I get home I will skin you alive.”                No my lord, it will not be a mistake, I promise! You can go without the illusion, that you hate so much! Several demons will be there, my lord, it won’t be a total waste of time… Sesshomaru closed the cellphone in disgust, cutting off Jaken in mid squawk.                He snorted, and looked at his watch. He could go home and read that paper on marketing tactics….Or he could go home, change, and see what the fuss was about this new American band. Licking Bark, he thought it was called. It wasn’t like he really paid attention to this kind of thing. But he was heavily invested in several music companies, so he suspected he should check it out. He opened his phone and hit redial. “Jaken, I’m going to come home and change. And if this…event is half as bad as I think it is going to be, I will be using your ears for target practice at the range tomorrow.” Yes my lord, of course my lord, do you want me to pick a suitable outfit, my lord?             &n bsp; At this point Sesshomaru was sure he heard something in the background, but dismissed it and concentrated on the conversation. “No, I want you to stay out of my way.” Certainly, my lord. If I may ask, when will I get the tickets for the jazz concert? Several of my favorite saxophone players were to be performing tonight... “I will leave them in the living room when I get home.” Very good, my lord. I hope that you will enjoy your evening.              ;  At this point, Sesshomaru finally realized what had been bothering him. There was high-pitched giggling coming over the phone. “Jaken, you weren’t going on a date tonight, were you?” Well, actually, you see, my lord, “Yes or no.” Well, yes, my lord, there was this very attractive young lady at the gathering last week, and I thought... “Good for you, Jaken. Let me know when I should start a college savings plan.”            & nbsp;  Jaken was still spluttering indignantly when Sesshomaru shut the phone, chuckling quietly. Jaken was always too easy to tease. Sesshomaru turned towards the dark glass doors, and caught an intriguing scent. He turned his head more fully to sniff for what had caught his attention. Perfect. It has been far too long since I had a lover. Sesshomaru concentrated on the girl’s scent; a pleasant one that reminded him of the calm, clear water and bright sandy beaches. He resisted the impulse to turn his head completely around and see what she looked like; no one wanted to be stared at, and he could always track her by her scent after the concert ended.      

A/N: Anyone wondering about Friday the 9th thing: in Japanese, the word for 9 also means pain/suffering. Friday the 13th is an American unlucky day. So, Friday the 9th.

Sorry for the short chapter; I think I’m just going to be one of those authors who wind up posting short chapters. -_-*

Anyone wondering why Jaken’s words are not in quotes? I’m trying to present Sesshomaru’s point of view, which is obscenely arrogant, so I omitted the quotes to point out that to Sesshomaru’s mind, he’s kind of the only real person around. If this is a dumb idea, would someone please let me know? I’d really appreciate it.