Hi, hi! I got this idea from a writing prompt I saw on Tumblr and I had to at least write the rough draft real quick. I wanted to see how you guys would like it especially considering how different this is for me. I can't say for sure when updates will be since I'm still working on other stories (like the Couple of Forevers sequel!) but just know I will more than likely update this by the end of the year. Let me know what you guys think, regardless :)

Sesshomaru watched the new arrivals, the fear on their faces, the excruciating pain that caused them to scream out as they were hurled into the lake of fire and smirked. According to the scouts that surveyed human behavior and activities, there was yet another war raging, which would explain the influx of the newly dead. Sesshomaru thought to ask the scouts what was the war over this time but figured it'd be best if he wasn't aware of man's stupidity. After they raged war over some oil just to fuel their cars and pollute the earth, he swore then he didn't want to know the reason for their pointless fighting anymore.

"Yo!"

The demon glanced over at his younger brother approaching, the young man's lips lifted to show off a lopsided, malicious grin.

"I can feel someone about to summon me. You need anything while I'm up there?"

Sesshomaru shook his head once. "No, Inuyasha. Do whatever it is you need to do and then come back. You need to be here for when the angels are ready for battle"

Inuyasha snorted, crossing his burly arms and watching as the bodies of the new arrivals tumbled in the fiery lake. "Whaddya need me there for? You got access to Father's whole army"

"While we are getting dead people, so is heaven. Their numbers may very well tip the scales in their favor"

Inuyasha mumbled something under his breath but before Sesshomaru could ask him to repeat himself, Inuyasha's summoning charm blossomed in front of them into a mirror that showed a group of teenaged boys and girls with their eyes closed, chanting in Latin. Inuyasha turned to Sesshomaru with a cocky smile. "Don't wait up"

The demon sighed inaudibly as his younger brother stepped through the portal to screams [though whether they were screams of fright, shock or excitement, he'd never know]. Sesshomaru turned briskly and stared out across the barren wasteland of his home. Why didn't he ever get summoned anymore? He used to be so popular back in the day, as he was coming back to Hell, another portal would open for him. He was never here for longer than a few hours. Oh, the idiots that called to him always ask for the stupidest things in exchange for their soul: riches, fame, love, to bring back a loved one. Every time, Sesshomaru would find some loophole that allowed him to get the soul while the human didn't get to enjoy whatever they asked for. It was glorious, dragging their screeching soul back to Hell and watching their loved ones watch helplessly. It made goosebumps flair up and down his arms in excitement. And then there were the ones who thought he was a succubus…those were his least favorite.

"Prob'ly cause you're such a pretty boy. They think you're comin' to seduce 'em" Inuyasha has said on several occasions to which Sesshomaru only responded by rolling his eyes.

Two high ranking officers in the demon army, Takemaru and Shishinki, stepped through their summoning portals at the same time with a soul in tow for each of them. The souls looked about wildly before their eyes widened in horror, taking in the surrounding demons, the barren landscape, the lake of fire that was throwing off heat even from all these miles away and the tortured screams of the souls still currently being tossed in like crawfish for a boil.

"No, no, no! Please, no!" one of the souls begged.

"Your pleading is devine…" Takemaru purred in his quiet voice, adjusting his hold to the soul's hair and dragging them to the lake, "I shall thoroughly enjoy your screaming"

"Makes you wonder why he didn't apply to be a succubus, huh?" Shishinki murmured to Sesshomaru before following, the soul he was dragging along silent and still with fear.

Internally, Sesshomaru sighed. There had to be more to his existence than just being the general of his father's army. Granted, that army was comprised of demons that were personally cast into hell by God himself so that in and of itself made training the soldiers so much more interesting. But…he longed for…something. He couldn't put his finger on what it was but he needed to start figuring out exactly what that something is before he drove himself crazy.

Yura, a succubus who'd was quite a high rank, flipped her hair and she sent him a mischievous smirk as she walked by. "I'm going to the Above World for some fun. What do you like, boys? Girls?"

"I do not enjoy children" Sesshomaru responded.

"Or anyone, for that matter" she grumbled, "If you see Kagura, tell her to meet me in the club where we had that orgy. She'll know what you're talking about"

The inuyoukai chose not to respond as she disappeared into her summoning charm, her back arched unnecessarily hard to flaunt her ample bottom. Ugh, succubuses…

"Everyone seems to be getting summoned but you"

Sesshomaru glanced over as his father, Toga (aka Satan), ambled towards him, his eyes practically glowing. "It would seem so"

"You have not lost your touch, have you? You used to bring me more souls than even I" Toga rumbled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The young general's jaw clenched but he didn't respond. He didn't want to appear as if he was whining, especially not in front of his father, but…this just wasn't fair! He wanted to be summoned too! He enjoyed snatching up souls just as much as everyone else here in Hell!

"Everyone has their season. Perhaps, you are simply losing the following you once had. Twas long ago; I doubt those who would remember your name are alive now" Toga mused.

"God is losing believers as well, even as we speak" Sesshomaru pointed out.

"Ah, but so are you and you are not as powerful as God. Have you considered…reintroducing yourself to the world?"

"I will not become a succubus!"

Toga threw his head back and laughed, clawed hand on his belly. "I perished the thought of you becoming one of…those long ago. No, I was simply implying that maybe you need to employ a new way of making yourself known to the world, or at least make yourself appealing to the younger generation. You know how much they love to play with those wedgie boards-"

"Ouija"

"Whatever. You've done more than enough around here. Take a vacation, go torture some souls and then bring them back"

Sesshomaru thought about that for a moment while he absentmindedly watched the bodies of the new arrivals continue to be hurled into the lake of fire. Did he even feel like reintroducing himself to the world? That sounded like a lot of work just for a few day's getaway…but it was tempting. "Perhaps. I shall look into it"

"Well then" Toga said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "I have some business to finish. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you bring me my souls. It's time you get back to work"

The inuyoukai watched his father take to the smoky skies, his wings throwing intimidating shadows over the landscape. Maybe Toga was right: maybe the world needed to know his name again.

"Spirits…if you are listening, show us. Show us your power"

Sesshomaru sighed. Another ouija message was coming through like an announcement over the PA system.

A soldier [Sesshomaru couldn't be bothered to remember his name] slid up beside him. "Shall I answer, my liege?"

"No, it's fine. I will handle it" the young general said with a smirk and lifted his hand to spell out, "What?" with the planchette. As it glided across the board, the teens using it gasped in shock.

"Did you do that?" one of them whispered to her peer but there wasn't an audible response.

"Spirit, we ask that you manifest yourself and tell us your name" the original speaker said.

Sesshomaru considering being cheeky and responding with, "No" but then the hair on his right arm raised and he paused, frowning a moment. Even though it'd been a long time, he still remembered what it felt like to be summoned to the Above World. Was it these kids or someone else? And if it was someone else, who the hell was it?

Inuyasha's face flashed before his mind's eye and Sesshomaru grit his fangs. That would be something that brat would do. He was going to wring that idiot's neck.

"Entertain them then kill them all" the young general ordered the minion and turned on his heel to make his way over to his summoning portal. He didn't hesitate to reconsider who it might be before he stepped through and after a brief period of bright colors and a loud woosh! Sesshomaru found himself in a cramped, old living room. From the smell of things, it was quite an old house, possibly even abandoned. It had the distinct smell of old humans with bad knees and favorite old chairs and dusty books that hadn't been opened in years. Little trinklets like dolls and figurines and old keepsakes were stuffed in every corner; boy, this person certainly was a packrat.

Speaking of person, where were they? Sesshomaru surveyed his surroundings and saw a knitted version of his summoning portal opening on a floral couch. Who in the world even knew what his summoning portal looked like and why the hell did they knit it? On the floor, in between the coffee table and couch was a few drops of blood and some broken glass. Hmm, so somehow this clutz had cut themselves, gotten their blood on his summoning portal and accidently called for him. How unbelievably typical of huma-

"Oh! Why, hello, Ryuk! You gave me quite a fright; how did you get in? Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter. I'm just simply beside myself! My Ryuk has come to visit me! Oh, come give your granny Kaede a hug!"

Sesshomaru stiffened in discomfort as an old woman emerged out of the kitchen, dish towel wrapped around her index finger, and came forward to hug him tightly. What the hell was wrong with this woman?! She must be blind or an idiot if she thought he was her grandson!

This Kaede woman finally let go and patted his arm affectionately. "Oh, it's so good to see you, dearie. You've gotten so tall! I figured you would be, as tall as your father is, but goodness, I think you might have surpassed him! Would you like some tea, dearie? I also have some sour cream pound cake if you would like a slice"

She walked back towards what Sesshomaru assumed was the kitchen and filled the coffee pot with water before pouring it in the heating chamber then she took out two mugs. Sesshomaru wasn't sure how to conduct himself at the moment. He was a fearsome general of an army of demons, he didn't have coffee and cake with old women! He hesitantly took a step forward just as she cut a generous slice of cake and put it on its side on a small plate.

"Please, please, sit down!" Kaede said, waving at a chair shoved into a corner of the kitchen, "Boys your age do tend to be hungry, don't they? I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to see you, Ryuk! Your mother called me a few weeks ago and reminded me of your birthday approaching. I thought to just give you money but she said you were in a goth phase so I borrowed a book of witchcraft and summoning spells from the library and knitted you something! Actually, that's what I'd been working on until I accidently knocked over my glass of tea then pricked my finger trying to clean the mess up! I've gotten so clumsy as of late but oh well. I guess it comes with age"

Sesshomaru watched as Kaede seemed to clean her kitchen absentmindedly: wiping down the counter and cabinets, washing the few dishes that were in the sink and sweeping the floor. He stayed by the entrance, trying to decide what to do when she stopped in the middle of pouring some coffee and began looking around.

"Ryuk, dear, have you seen my glasses by any chance? I just realized the reason you look like a blur is because I didn't have them on!"

The inuyoukai glanced over his shoulder into the living room and saw them on the table beside the couch. He could very well leave them there or better yet, just snatch her soul up. She was an old woman; she probably had a good ten more years or less left on this earth, right? But…somehow, he found himself reaching for the glasses and then handing them to her. Now that she was going to be able to see clearly, what would she do when she realized he wasn't Ryuk?

Kaede adjusted her glasses until they were comfortable then blinked up at him a few times…then smiled. "My, aren't you handsome as ever! I expected your hair to be black, considering this goth phase your mother claimed you were in but I guess you march to the beat of your own drum. I always did like that about you, dearie, you never did follow the crowd, even if doing your own thing was more inconvenient. Sit, sit. Don't want your cake getting all stale"

Sesshomaru glanced at the seat she motioned towards and found himself going through all the things he could possibly do right now. It would be so easy and no dust on his shoulder if he simply killed her or even left but his feet moved to the chair, regardless, and eased him down into it. His hand picked up the fork next to his slice of cake, cut off a piece and brought it up to his mouth where he slowly ate it. This was so out of character for him…but who would know? He tried to come up with an excuse for why he was doing this and why didn't he get back in character but what would be the point? He didn't have to explain himself to anyone.

Kaede finally sat after setting down two mugs of coffee and smiled at him fondly. "Ah, you haven't changed a bit. Well, except you're a lot taller but boys will be boys with their crazy growth spurts. How long are you staying? I want to be sure I make a nice, hefty dinner for you. I took out some hamburger meat so I can make lasagna if that's ok with you"

"That's fine. Thank you" Sesshomaru murmured. His voice sounded much too deep, much too loud for the small space and he internally cringed, thinking that would be the thing that would let Kaede know he was not her grandson.

She simply laughed. "Your voice has gotten so much deeper! I bet you've got that booming, authoritative voice from your father because your mother certainly has no bass in her voice. The poor thing sounds like a trumpet"

An uncharacteristic laugh threatened to burst from Sesshomaru's mouth, almost making him choke on his piece of cake. Any other time, he would not have taken kindly to someone talking about his mother, regardless of whether they knew her or not, but she was absolutely right: his mother's voice had absolutely no bass in it.

Kaede sighed happily. "It's so good to see you. I don't know why your mother didn't give me a head's up you were coming but it doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here"

The young general wanted to smile at her as she put a gentle hand on his to reassure her, to show her he was appreciative but he'd been out of character enough today. Smiling just didn't feel right.

They sat in silence for some time, staring out the window or just absently at the floor. It was peaceful and such a difference from the hectic, chaotic, noisy scene back home in Hell. As the sun set, Kaede began straightening up the living room as she prepared for bed.

"You're welcomed to sleep in the guest room. It's quite cool but your mother says your hot natured so you might prefer that. Towels and washcloths are in the hallways closet, soap is in the drawer to the right of the sink. If you need anything, do let me know, ok?"

Sesshomaru nodded as she motioned in the direction of the guest room.

Kaede sighed as she examined the summoning charm she'd been knitting. "I guess I could try to get this blood out with some peroxide. I'd hate to start all over, especially since you're already here. Oh well, that's a problem for tomorrow. I'll just soak it in cold water. Have a good night, dearie"

The demon stilled as she walked by him and patted his arm affectionately then went to the guest room and sat on the queen sized bed to survey his surroundings. He could tell the room was seldom used with the smell of old moth balls and outdated cologne permeating the air but it was still comfortable for human standards. He shook his head to himself as he rested on his back, knowing he wasn't going to sleep. Summoned on accident by an old lady...what are the odds?