Disclaimer: I, Mistress Arts, citizen of Canada, resident of the planet Earth, hereby acknowledge that Inuyasha does not, in fact, belong to me…Wheee! That was fun! Had to get all that seriousness out. Sorry.

Warnings: AU, shonen-ai, maybe some potty mouths. Can't think of anything else.

Pairings: Wouldn't you like to know! Nope, not telling…okay, it's Inuyasha. And someone else.

Chapter One

The Scroll

Inuyasha sat in his tree, the Tetsusaiga resting lightly against his shoulder. He had been brooding since Kagome had left for her time two days ago. The usual ritual happened: he yelled, telling her that she was needed here, in this time, and her yelling that she had important tests that she had to do, followed by a "Sit!" or two. Now there was nothing to do but wait for her, so they could get back to finding to few remaining shards that were lost after the last battle against Naraku.

He snorted. Even a month after the evil half-demon's death, he still couldn't believe that such a stupid, weak attack would take down someone of Naraku's power. Sure, he was evil, but powerful, and Inuyasha had to give him, begrudgingly, respect for that power. Still, who would have thought, that a surprise attack from Shippou, shouting "Boo!" would give the hanyou a fatal heart attack? What a way to go.

He relaxed further into the tree's branches. Though it had been the place where he had been pinned, practically dead for fifty years, the tree still gave him a sense of peace and comfort that he had rarely felt since the death of his mother. Of course, he would never admit it to anyone, not wanting to been seen as 'soft' or sentimental. And besides, if he told anyone, they might be tempted to try it themselves, and the tree was his! No one else could have it, foul it up with their unworthy presence.

He stayed there for awhile, secure and safe within the god tree's branches. So when a new smell invaded his senses, it took him awhile to drag himself out of his peaceful lethargy. There was a demon nearby, heading towards the village of the old hag's. Growling, he jumped off the tree and made his way to the town, to warn them and confront this unknown demon.

Upon reaching the village, he was surprised to see the monk, Miroku, and the demon slayer Sango without their weapons. Especially since the demon was standing right in front of them. Many of the villagers were crowding about, wary but curious to know what was going on.

He landed beside the monk, silently asking what was going on. Miroku seemed to know what Inuyasha wanted, and answered the dog demon.

"He arrived a few minutes ago, asking for 'Lord Inuyasha,'" Miroku gave him a pointed look, "and refused to tell us why, only that he was here for 'Lord Inuyasha.'"

Inuyasha frowned. "What do you want with me, demon?" The words were harsh, and suspicious.

The demon bowed. "My lord, I was sent here to deliver to you this missive from the Lord of the West, Lord Sesshomaru."

Inuyasha watched the messenger warily. Something from his brother? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good, and he was not pleased with the sudden attention from his brother.

The messenger stopped his rummaging and pulled out a rolled up parchment, with a single gold ribbon holding the scroll together. Inuyasha drew in a sharp breath, paling.

Sango frowned. "Inuyasha? Are you all right?"

He shook his head, stepping back from the outstretched hand, holding his doom. "No, I don't want it. Take it back!"

"My lord, you know as well as I that I cannot." He sounded amused by the hanyou's actions. "It has been sent out, and has been acknowledged by the other party members. You have no option but to take this and accept it."

Inuyasha whimpered, shrinking back without actually moving. "No…"

"Well, I could take it back to Lord Sesshomaru, and tell him that you ignored the message. He will have no choice but to come here and force it upon you, and-"

"No!" he leaped forward, ripping the scroll from the smug demon. He growled at him. "Bastard."

With one last smirk, the demon messenger bowed, and took his leave from the curious crowd and one growling half dog demon.

"Inuyasha, my child, what is this all about?" Kaede asked, coming up behind the growling male.

"Nothin' that concerns you, old hag!" He glared at her for a moment, then returned the glare to the paper in his hand.

"Hey, what's going on?" a young voice from the back could be heard, along with the sounds of pushing and shoving. A small figure broke out from the crowd, and stood bent over, trying to regain his breath. "I saw this crowd and I want to know what's going on, too! You never tell me anything!"

"That's because you're too stupid, brat!" Inuyasha bopped the fox kit on the head.

"Ow! You're a big meanie, Inuyasha!" Shippou finally saw what the dog demon was holding, and cried out in surprise. "Hey! Isn't that-"

"Shhh! Shut up!" In a move quicker than the human eye, Inuyasha slapped a hand over Shippou's mouth. "I'll kill you if you tell! It's just a mistake, that's all. Yeah, he must've ran out of regular ribbon, nothing to panic about…" He trailed off, trying to convince himself more than trying to convince Shippou.

Shippou looked sceptical. "Inuyasha, I don't think that would happen, especially for a marr-"

"Don't say it! It's not true!" He began to look around, a hysterical expression slowly creeping over his face, "This is a nightmare! I'm going to wake up soon, right?"

He grabbed Miroku by the shirt. "This isn't real!" He shook the other man to emphasize his point. "Not happening!"

Letting go as quick as he had grabbed Miroku, Inuyasha gave one last panicked expression, and fled to the safety of his tree.

The crowd watched his leaving, bemused that the normally collected demon, whom prided himself on keeping his cool, was having a panic attack over a scroll.

"Oookaay, that was weird." Sango tossed her head, snorting. "Just what was that all about?"

"Yes, Shippou, you seem do know what the scroll was about." Miroku gave the demon a small nudged for encouragement.

"I can't tell you!" The little one wailed. "He'll kill me!"

Sango knelt by the distressed child. "Hey, remember that I am here to protect you, as is Miroku. And besides, Kagome would give Inuyasha a severe 'sitting' if he were to hurt you."

"Aye, child, do not have fears concerning Inuyasha."

Shippou, fidgeted. "Well, the scroll was…um…from the ribbon, it was, it was…"

"Go on."

He glanced around, nervously, before blurting out "It was a marriage contract!"

Good end for the first chapter, eh?

So, tell me what you think, any comments or helpful critiques. Please tell me if I spelt anything wrong, because I have only read/watched the first few Inuyasha's manga/anime. If you liked it, please let me know, and I'll post the second chapter for you.

Mistress