Chapter 1: She's Mine

"Jaken."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?"

The great dog demon of the western lands walked through the dense forest with his advisor at his heels. As of now, they were searching for a village. Fifty years had passed since Sesshomaru had last taken a mate, and, as it has been for generations, he was to find one within the next couple of days.

"Run off to the nearest village and tell them that this Sesshomaru shall be there shortly in order to...pick up a woman." he ordered, not paying any attention as the annoying imp tripped over a log.

"H-Hai, Sesshomaru-sama! I believe the nearest village is called Konoha." he replied, picking himself off the ground and dusting himself off. Seeing that his lord was still walking, Jaken made his little legs go double their normal speed so that he might be able to catch up. "I'll send the word right away!" With fiery determination in his eyes, the toad demon took off in front of his lord as fast as he could, hoping to reach the village before the Taiyoukai.

This left Sesshomaru to himself. In all the years that this Sesshomaru has been doing this, not a single woman has produced this Sesshomaru with a pup. If this doesn't change, consequences shall be given to this village. As if to ensure himself that what he thought was the truth, he placed a clawed hand on the hilt of his Tokijin, and felt it pulsate at his touch.

Konoha:

It hadn't taken long for Jaken to make it to the village, but he did have quite the time of getting passed the guards. Eventually, seeing that he was harmless after confiscating his Staff of Two Heads, they let him through in order to have peace from his infernal squawking.

As of now, said toad was now running through the streets of the village, shouting, "The great Sesshomaru-sama is on his way! Ningen! Come out and greet milord as he walks through the town to find his mate!" Eventually, he gained results, not because of his message, oh no. It was his annoying voice that caused people to exit their homes, ready to beat the little guy senseless.

One of the first people to step outside was none other than Tsunade herself, who had snuck away from her office to do a bit of gambling and drinking. She just exited the bar. "What the Hell is the meaning of this!" she roared, making the green demon jump in fear. "Who in Kami's name thinks he is so important that he can disturb the peace of my village?!"

Out of fear of being kicked or something of the sort, Jaken bowed to the ground, spitting out apologies as if it were the only thing keeping him alive.

Another thing that saved him from becoming a part of the Earth's atmosphere, was that two other people came running out on the street, shouting at the Hokage.

"Tsunade-shishou!" shouted the pink-haired girl, holding her master back with her inhuman strength. "What's wrong?"

The other, a black haired boy with silver eyes tended to the demon. "Who are you?" he asked, squatting down to his height.

At this, Jaken immediately stood up, proudly giving his name to the boy. "I am Jaken! I am the advisor of the great Sesshomaru-sama!" In his pride of his position, he thumped his chest with a clenched fist.

Neji stared at him with uninterested eyes. "Never heard of him..."

"Neji-kun! Tsunade-shishou's had too much to drink. We should get her out of here." suggested Sakura, trying to pull her sensei back towards the Hokage Tower.

"Sakura! Sakura! I'm fine!" consoled Tsunade. "I just don't appreciate this little imp coming into my village and disturbing the peace!" The Godaime glared long and hard at poor Jaken, making him cower behind an uncaring Neji.

"So much for a peaceful lunch..." muttered the Hyuga, standing to his full height and dusting the dirt off of his pants. As of five minutes ago, he and Sakura were enjoying a quiet lunch in a cute little restaurant in order to celebrate their one year dating anniversary.

Sakura smiled at her kare. "It's alright, Neji-kun. We'll make it up some other time."

By now, almost every villager was out of their home or occupation in order to see what all the fuss was about. When they saw Jaken, they all turned away to go back to whatever they were doing, but were stopped by a voice. "Jaken. Did you deliver the message?" inquired Sesshomaru, striding through the streets, glancing at every woman he passed.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" replied Jaken, rushing to his lord's side. "I did just as you told me, but I was assaulted by that infernal wench!" he declared, pointing a slender green finger at Tsunade.

"Why you-!" Tsunade struggled to free herself from her student's grip, but in her drunken state, it was pretty much useless.

Sesshomaru glanced at the Hokage uninterestedly, unable to see the figure holding her back. He walked up to Tsunade, calculating everything about her. "Do not harass this Sesshomaru's advisor, on'na. You are in no way fit to be this Sesshomaru's mate. You are too old, and a drinking habit is not fitting for a woman." he told her, ignoring the shouting and ranting of said woman.

Seeing the handsome demon approach the Hokage, Sakura held her grip tight, appreciating when Neji came and helped hold her back.

"Ningen, you may release her. A mere woman cannot harm this Sesshomaru." he confidently stated. Sesshomaru had obviously never dealt with a ninja before...

Sakura and Neji sighed, releasing her, but she didn't move forward. Tsunade only replied, "Why waste my chakra on a guy like you?", before standing next to her apprentice who was holding and shaking her head in disapproval.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly when he laid his eyes on Sakura. In his opinion, she was a young, beautiful ningen, and he would be able to get a lot of years out of her. He looked her up and down, and when he finally approved of what he saw, he walked up to her.

Neji already knew what this guy's intentions were, so he protectively placed himself in front of Sakura, making sure to keep up his eye contact with the stranger. "What do you want with Sakura?" he asked, glaring at the demon, which would've been intimidating to most, but to Sesshomaru, it was nothing.

"This Sesshomaru is in need of a mate, and this...Sakura...she has met this Sesshomaru's standards." he stated plainly.

This time, Sakura put herself in front of Neji. She could feel the power emanating from this guy, and she knew that Neji shouldn't even try to mess with him. "And if I refuse?" she inquired, folding her arms over her torso.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Well, then this village," he gestured to everyone in the town, and then grabbed his Tokijin. "This village will be nothing but rubble. Do you wish to see that happen?" He looked at Sakura's face, which was contorted in fear and anger. That alone was proof enough to tell him that she wouldn't let that happen.

Neji grabbed her shoulder tightly and whispered into her ear. "Sakura, don't do it. We have more than enough force to take him down. We'll be fine." he comforted, trying to calm her down.

Unfortunately, Sesshomaru was able to pick up his consolation with his demonic hearing. "Ningen, to attack me would be most...unwise. This Sesshomaru would kill every person in this village before he even got a scratch." Again, Sesshomaru advanced on Sakura, showing no emotion on his face.

"Someone's awfully cocky now, isn't he?" inquired Tsunade, still intoxicated, but able to understand the conversation quite clearly. "I'm not about to let someone take my surrogate daughter from me. Especially some emphatic bastard such as him. If anyone," she slurred, her intoxication helping her think an argument through. "If anyone, it'll be Hyuga, here." She gestured to Neji, who was red in the face with anger for the newcomer for thinking he could take Sakura away, and embarrassment from Tsunade's comment.

"Yeah! I'm only sixteen! I'm not ready to go off and get... 'mated', as you say!" declared Sakura, glaring at the demon lord with contempt.

Sesshomaru chuckled dryly. "This Sesshomaru is afraid that you have no choice in the matter." Using his demonic speed to get up close before anyone could realize it, Sesshomaru was now only a couple inches away from Sakura. Quickly, he grabbed her arms tightly, so that she wouldn't be able to move, and then he lowered his head to her neck, letting his fangs run along her skin. When he found the spot that he was looking for, he sank his fangs into her flesh, and smirked slightly when he heard her gasp in pain. After tasting a little of her blood, and then inserting some of his being into her, he removed his fangs and wiped anything excess from his mouth.

Seeing what had happened to his Sakura, Neji finally burst in his rage. "That's it!" he roared, pushing his palms against the air. "Hakke Kusho!" The attack hit its mark, but it only moved Sesshomaru a couple of inches, and it clearly wasn't very effective. "No way!" he shouted disbelievingly. Even the toughest opponent would've been through a few feet!

Sesshomaru turned his way, glaring at him. "You are lucky, boy. This Sesshomaru's feeling very lenient today. This Sesshomaru shall not harm you for your impudence, but this girl, this...Sakura... She's mine."

Weak from the sudden attack to her neck, Sakura still spat out, "I belong to no one!". Using some of her chakra to try and heal the wound, and stop the bleeding that resulted from it, Sakura found that there was little she could do. The damn thing wouldn't heal! Suddenly, she found herself becoming tired, and just as she was about to curse out the lord with help from Inner Sakura, she fainted, right into his arms. Without another word, he turned around, and started walking back towards the exit.

Neji still wasn't ready to see his cherry blossom be taken away like that, and so he charged, adding chakra to the soles of his feet to make him go faster. Just as he was about to grab onto Sakura's limp arm, Sesshomaru grabbed his wrist with a free hand and tossed him back towards Tsunade as if he were some light rag doll.

Even in her state, she knew what this meant. Grabbing a little microphone attached to her jacket, Tsunade angrily ordered into it, "I want all ANBU Black Ops squads at the front gates of Konoha. NOW!"

As she issued the order, some random people in trench coats and porcelain masks were already on their way to the designated area. Some had already given chase to the demon, having seen the whole incident take place.

Sesshomaru had heard this, but payed no mind to it. "Come, Jaken." he ordered, not particularly caring if the toad followed him or not. He stopped walking, which surprised everyone who had decided to become a spectator, and didn't bother to wait to see if Jaken was by his side. With Sakura in his arms, and Jaken gripping at the legs of his hakama, he transformed into a violet sphere, and ascended into the sky before rapidly floating off into the western lands.

Seeing that her plan had failed, Tsunade turned to Neji. "Hyuga. Assemble a team and follow them as fast as you can. Make sure you get Kiba and Akamaru to track down his scent." she ordered, looking back at the sky and still seeing the orb in the distance. "Iku ze!"

"Hai!" replied Neji, after finally standing up again. In a flash, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, off to gather up support so that he might chase after this new opponent, and possible threat.