Author's note: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters

Chapter 1:

A New Era of War

Combing his fingers through his long strands of black, silky hair, an irritated Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to sigh. Usually, the affairs of the Court of the Western Provinces were not worthy of his attention, but recently, things had taken a drastic turn away from its constant monotony. As the days kept going, rumors of war were spreading like wildfire, something that he was quite looking forward, but at the same time irritated over the reasons behind said rumors of war.

Standing in the balcony of his private study room, he began observing a group of soldiers that were currently training in the center courtyard of the Shiro. Closing his hazel eyes, he raised his hand to the bridge of his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose, choosing to ignore the headache was soon to come and preferring to meditate in the issue that was currently beginning to irritate him.

It was nothing new; in fact, Sesshoumaru was quite looking forward to a confrontation between the lands. As a teenager, he had been known for his cunning tactics of war, and because he has mastered great skills with several weapons, in fact, his Father had given him the position of Captain of two of his troops at the tender age of thirteen and then had promoted him to the position of Commandant when he was sixteen years old because of his abilities both in the battlefield and in the strategies room. But on the years before his death, his father had made sure that peace had settled throughout his lands before passing them to his heir and only son.

Ever since then, life became boring to Sesshoumaru. Everyday was the same monotonous day: he would wake up before dawn and be catered to his many needs by his servants, and then he would tend to the affairs of the Court for most of the day, before retiring himself to one of the many training dojos inside the shiro for the rest of the day. But now that a new confrontation was looming upon the West, Sesshoumaru could barely hide his silent excitement over the thought of a new war.

Sure, having peace was a welcoming feeling, but Sesshoumaru wanted some action in his life. He wanted to return to the days when he would stay hour in front of a map, strategizing on how to place his soldiers for an efficient attack on his enemy. He longed for the feeling of his sword penetrating through the skin and bones of his enemy.

Remembering stories from his childhood, stories about times when his ancestors battled ferociously against demons centuries ago, of times when battles were the main event of everyday, humans and demons in a thunderous clash against each other for dominance over each other, he felt that, even though those glorious days of swords and blood were far long gone, a war between humans would be the most recent event that would give testimony of the glory and power of the West, and would reestablish the West as the most powerful province in all the land.

The glorious wars of the past between demons and humans had ended centuries ago, and at the end of it all, his ancestors had surfaced victorious and crowned with the glory amongst the human provinces because of their bravery and because they had battled against demons and survived. They had ended because as the years progressed, the demons realized that petting themselves against the humans had no end, because, even though they surpassed humans in strength, the humans always surpassed the demons in numbers because of their ability to reproduce quickly and because the humans considered that because of the small density of the demon population and their lack of social organizations, demons were only disgusting barbarians that would fade with time. Since then humans and demons had been in a silent truce; as long as demons don't meddle in the human's affairs and the humans don't meddle in the demon's affairs, everything would be at peace.

A knock on the frame of the shoji screen brought him out of his reverie. Without turning around or even bothering to open his eyes, Sesshoumaru commanded the servant to enter.

As the shoji screen opened, a short old green demon entered. One of the few demon servants in the main palace of the Western Provinces, Jacken came inside, carrying in his small wrinkly hands a scroll. Once he was at the doors leading to the balcony, Jacken bowed low, his forehead touching the floor, before addressing his lord.

"My lord", the toad demon replied, "A message from the Lord of the South has arrived."

"And?" Sesshoumaru replied with an emotionless voice, still without turning to acknowledge his bowing retainer.

"He says that if the West does not relinquish its hold on the southwestern forest, the South will take it by force."

This time, Sesshoumaru didn't bother to hide his irritation. Turning around abruptly, sending his long black tresses floating in the air around him and walking until he was in front of Jacken, Sesshoumaru finally settled his piercing cold stare on his retainer.

The South had been trying to negotiate ownership over the southwestern forest since his grandfather's time. The vast forest was known for its fertile soil and great abundance of vegetation and wildlife. Not only because of its many natural resources but also because it was the only way to reach the fishing and merchant ports of the west, a great source of commerce, income and trade that had been under the Western Lands for centuries. It was indeed a "gold mine" that was in part responsible for a great amount of the wealth of the West, and the South wanted to make it its own.

Lifting the corners of his mouth into a sadistic smirk, Sesshoumaru replied, "Very well, prepare the battalions. If the South wants to engage on war games, the West will not disappoint."