Disclaimer : Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. But I own Keichi and Hatoshi, whoever they are.

A stroll through the forest

"The Southern Lord has a pr-proposal for you, m-my lord." The messenger bowed before the mighty being that stood before him, as his amber orbs bored into his measly form.
"What might that be, demon?" came the short reply.
The hardened gaze of the taiyoukai left the poor owl youkai shaking in his boots, as he feared for what was going to follow.
"L-Lord Sesshomaru, the Southern Lord wishes to strengthen the bond between the two kingdoms by offering his daughter's hand to you for marriage." The owl demon hurled out the words in a single breath. The demon did not need to wait long for his reply one as a green whip quickly lashed out and neatly sliced his body in half.
Unfortunately for him, the Lord believed in the phrase 'actions speak louder than words'.
"I, Sesshomaru, have no need for such" he huffed.
"It was a bit rash ne, Sessh-kun?" A figure approached the now growling Lord.
"Drop it Keichi."
Keichi chuckled as his eyes scanned his childhood friend's irate eyes. He knew better than to search for any expressions in his stoic face.
Being a full blooded inu youkai, Keichi possessed supreme power though they were no match to that of the Lord. Under the reign of the former Lord, he was bestowed upon the responsibility of training the royal army and under his supervision, the western army was deemed to be unbeatable. With time, Keichi turned out to be the kingdom's one of the most trusted men and became Sesshomaru's only consultant. Only he was brave enough to voice his true opinion before his intimidating gaze without stuttering and shivering.
He had a strongly built physique that could swoon any female and looks that could rival that of Sesshomaru, with a single purple crescent, that bore the mark of the Western Lands, adorning his forehead. His ivory hair was worn into a pigtail that reached past his knees. An armour similar to the Lord was securely fixed over his clothing which could block any fatal blow while his sword was carefully stashed at his waist. His violet eyes twinkled with amusement at his friend's current predicament.
"You have to take a mate at some point of time Sessh-kun. Western Lands need an heir soon after all. Plus as rumours would have it, princess Sabrina is quite a looker." Keichi commented.
"This Sesshomaru needs no mate to have an heir. I had to undertake years of turmoil to bring Western Lands to its current state after the fall of its worthless former ruler." his eyes hardened as he reminisced those hard years.
"You are talking about your deceased father Sessh-kun, the Great Inu no Taisho. Pay some respect." Keichi stated as he crossed his hands over his chest.
"Father lost all my respect the day he let his weakness for women cause his downfall." Sesshomaru said as he clenched his jaw.
Keichi's gaze softened as he laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
'There was a time when the lad idolised his father.' he silently mused. 'As they say, wounds given from your loved ones run deep.' Keichi sighed.
To slice the thick mist of tension that grew, he cheekily added "So say Lordie, what to do with the owl? The flea are having a feast down there."
Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose in disgust as he stared at the bloodied mess.
"Call in the maids and get this cleaned. I am going out to hunt." He stated smoothly before his shadow enlarged and stood before Keichi the true form of the demon Lord. With ease, he flew out from the balcony where they were standing while Keichi watched the silhouette of the taiyoukai blend with the darkness of the forest that surrounded the castle.

...

"Why do I have to tag along?" Inuyasha continued to grumble as he jumped over another tree.

"Quit whining Inuyasha." Kagome scolded. "We have to deliver this medicine to the nearest village, remember. You surely wouldn't want Kaede to run this errand with her high temperature now, would you? And as to why you get to tag along is still a mystery to me. First you volunteer and now you complain. I didn't come begging on my knees ,you know."
Inuyasha almost lost his footing on the next branch as he remembered this.

"Kagome, child, can ye please look after the hut while I go deliver this medicine to the village nearby?" Kaede requested with a hoarse voice.

"Sure thing, Kaede." Kagome's face became worried as she took in her pale form. "Are you feeling alright? You don't seem quite well." she finished with concern etched in her voice.

"Nay. Im fine. This is important. Hatoshi should be waiting for my arrival." Kaede ventured to get up as her weak knees gave out and she readied herself to meet the floor when two strong arms saved her from the painful fall. She looked up to meet the worried gaze of Inuyasha
"KAEDE!" Kagome darted forward as Inuyasha carefully laid her on the cot.
"Oh God Kaede! You are burning. Why didn't you tell us you were feeling unwell?" Kagome panicked as she touched her forehead.
Inuyasha's expression was less of worry but more of anger."When will you learn old hag!? " he screamed. His eyes softened as he saw Kaede flinch."You should start taking care of yourself if you don't want your old bones to wither away." Deep down he got scared everytime anything happened to Kaede for she was all he had in his life... he refused to lose her but he would be damned before he allowed anyone notice his fear.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded.

"Keh." he crossed his hands over his chest.

Kaede smiled but quickly broke out into a coughing fit.

This made Inuyasha drop his childish pose as he rushed to her side.
"Do not worry. I will live but Hatoshi's wife may not. She is in urgent need of this medicine." she rasped out.
"I will do it." Kagome piped in.
"Wh-what!?" Inuyasha croaked.
"But you will need to travel to the nearby village, child." Kaede informed.
"Don't worry Kaede. I will not allow your patient to suffer and your medicine will be delivered successfully." Kagome promised.
"You are not leaving this hut Kagome. I forbid it!" Inuyasha rose his voice, in a feeble attempt to make himself noticeable.
Flicking the noisy hanyou away with ease, Kagome continued, "So where is this village again Kaede?"
"Cross the forest and the first village you end up in is your destination."
"Okay, I'll be tomorrow at dusk." Kagome decided.
"FINE! Have it your way but I get to come along as well and I'm not taking no for an answer." Inuyasha had enough of being ignored. After getting no objections regarding this, he quickly ended the discussion with a ...
"Keh!"

'Stupid wench, as if I am going to allow you to endanger your life.' He blushed at his own thought as he coughed to get rid of the red hue that stained his cheeks.
He was brought out of his thoughts as Kagome exclaimed out an "Ouch!".
"Kagome!" he rushed to her side. "What happened? Are you bleeding? Cant you at least see where you are going!?"
"Calm down Inuyasha! I just tripped over a root." Kagome assured with a softened voice.
But this wasn't enough to put the troubled hanyou at ease. He shot up as he took a fighting stance while facing towards a bush.
He bared his fangs as he flexed his claws. "Who is there?" he growled. "Come out!"
"Inuyasha -" Kagome began only to be roughly pushed behind his back.
"Stay back Kagome!" he firmly ordered.
"B-but there is nobod-"
Kagome couldn't finish before she gasped as a humongous creature jumped out of the bushes and charged directly at her.
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha's voice echoed through the forest.
...

A/N: Cliffhangers are awesome when I am the one writing them. :P Anyways, sorry for the short chapter but I promise I"ll post a longer chapter next time if you guys review.