Hi all! This is my first attempt at a fan fiction. I haven't seen this idea done before, but with how many Inuyasha stories there are out there, it probably has been done. Hopefully I'll be able to make the story unique enough not to step on anyone's toes.

My very first disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters therein!

Ooo...I feel so special now!

On to the story!

o

o

o

o

Chapter 1: Betrothed

o

o

"Inuyasha!"

Five-year-old Inuyasha carefully held his ears steady as he ignored his father's call. He continued playing with the ant he'd found, letting it wander a little before strategically placing his finger in its path, forcing it in a new direction. It was hard to concentrate on both the ant and his ear, though, and the ant was getting away. Inuyasha let it go, choosing to concentrate on the more important matter of his ear. If his ears held steady, his father wouldn't know that he'd heard.

"Inuyasha, I know you can hear me. Come, it's time to go!"

Inuyasha sighed and straightened up from his squatting position. "But I don't wanna go!" he pouted, looking over his shoulder to where his father stood waiting.

"Come!" his father barked at him, and Inuyasha sullenly started moving. He scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and putting his hands into his sleeves in his best adult-pose imitation. "I don't want to be engaged to any yucky girl," he muttered to his feet. Ahead of him, Inutaisho paused and shot a sharp glance in the direction of his lagging son. Catching the glance, Inuyasha hurried his steps a little more, still scowling but not daring to complain any further.

The crossed the courtyard and soon arrived at the gate, where Inuyasha's adult brother Sesshoumaru stood holding the reins of two demon mounts. The hard line of Sesshoumaru's mouth only just betrayed his impatience, but Inuyasha took note of it and stopped well short of his brother. His father swung himself up on the back of his two-headed steed and looked down at his son. "Inuyasha, you will ride with Sesshoumaru today. We must observe all the customs today and impress the parents of your bride-to-be. I expect you to be on your best behavior!" A hard look in Sesshoumaru's direction emphasized that the instructions weren't meant for Inuyasha only. Sesshoumaru swallowed the argument he was going to make and helped his clumsy younger brother settle on Ah-Un's back before swinging up himself.

As soon as the two brothers were on Ah-Un, they sprang into the sky, clouds forming around their feet as soon as they left the ground. They rose to a suitable height and then turned towards the Eastern Lands.

Inuyasha's father was Lord of the Western Lands, a fact that Inuyasha was wonderfully proud of. He'd made it his life's mission to brag about it to anyone who would listen. The Eastern Lands were ruled by a human couple, something that Inuyasha couldn't comprehend. Demons were so much stronger than humans, how had a pair of them come to rule? Inuyasha twisted around to look at his brother. "Sesshoumaru, how come demons don't rule the Eastern Lands?"

Sesshoumaru sneered down at him for a moment before deciding to answer. "Humans are populous in the eastern regions, and the demons who live there are weak, so the humans have gained the upper hand for the time being. Perhaps they hope to preserve that upper hand by marrying off the King's daughter to you, but I don't see what benefit they'll gain from tainted half-demon blood."

Inuyasha had been surprised that his older brother actually gave him an answer, so he decided to ignore the insult that unavoidably came with Sesshoumaru speaking to him. Since Sesshoumaru was actually speaking to him rather than ignoring him, Inuyasha decided to hazard another question. "What do the human King and Queen look like?"

"Like humans, of course. They all look the same," Sesshoumaru sneered. Inuyasha opened his mouth to ask another question, but Sesshoumaru cut him off. "You talk too much. Be quiet."

Inuyasha snapped his mouth shut and stared sullenly at Ah-Un's back beneath him. He could feel his ears lying themselves flat against his head, but he didn't care if he looked like he was pouting. He was. Why did Sesshoumaru always have to be so mean to him? He just wanted to know!

Feeling spiteful, Inuyasha started looking for another way to annoy Sesshoumaru. It didn't take him long to settle on his target—Sesshoumaru's long fluffy shoulder fur was right there in front of him, practically slapping him in the face with each gust of wind. When the next breeze brought it close to him, he quickly grabbed hold of it. He didn't dare yank on it; that would really upset Sesshoumaru. Instead, he stealthily began making tiny little braids out of the long hairs. He didn't have anything to tie the ends with, so he knew they would undo themselves fairly quickly. It was enough, though, to placate Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru was very possesive of his shoulder fur and hated for it to be touched. Was he ever going to be mad when he saw what Inuyasha had done to it! He was sure to spend weeks attempted to straighten out invisible kinks in the long soft hairs. Inuyasha stifled a laugh at the thought, not wanting to alert Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru concentrated on sitting straight and guiding Ah-Un. He almost smiled a little when he realized that his cold words had been enough to shut up Inuyasha. Perhaps the little brat was starting to learn his place! Sesshoumaru marveled.

ooooooooooooo

After several hours of flying, the Inutaisho and his two sons finally reached their destination. The Eastern palace was a sprawling building with several different wings. It completely covered the large hilltop it was placed on. A thick stone wall ran around the perimeter of the building, and set into it a huge front gate hung with heavy wooden doors. Even more impressive, the glowing blue of a priestess-formed barrier protected the palace at all times. It was said that the royal family kept upwards of five priestesses on hand at all times solely for this task. As the three demons approached the palace, the sound of a large brass gong rang out. The barrier shimmered and lowered, allowing the demons to pass. As soon as they were inside, it sprang back into place over their heads.

As soon as Ah-Un's feet touched the ground, Inuyasha vaulted off and scampered over to hide behind his father's legs. Sesshoumaru watched him with considerable surprise. That is, until he caught sight of the tail end of his shoulder fur, covered in tiny braids up as high as Inuyasha could reach. His eyes widened in shock, staying that way for a comically long time. Then they narrowed in anger. He wheeled back towards Inuyasha, his eyes going ever-so-slightly red.

Inuyasha laughed from behind his father, and bared his baby fangs at his brother. Sesshoumaru would never dare do anything here! It would embarrass Father, and that's one thing Sesshoumaru knew not to do. With a silent snarl Sesshoumaru turned away, and began the task of unbraiding his fur. Inuyasha nearly fell over laughing.

He really did fall over when someone suddenly addressed him.

"And you must be Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha hurriedly scrambled to his feet, ignoring the smirk Sesshoumaru was sending his way. "Clumsy half-breed," he heard his brother say under his breath. Inutaisho heard it too, and shot a warning glance at his older son.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was trying to escape the strange human lady. She'd gotten halfway through her apology for scaring him when she'd caught sight of his ears. She was now latched onto them, rubbing enthusiastically and cooing things like "Aren't you so cute! Aren't your ears just adorable!"

At first, Inuyasha had frozen in horror. Now he was just trying to get away without getting his ears ripped off. He was rescued by another human. "My dear, I'm sure he's just as cute as you say, but I don't think he appreciates the violation of personal space," the man said.

"Oh, my, yes," the crazy lady said, and finally let go of Inuyasha's ears. "I'm sorry, Prince Inuyasha, I apologize." The woman made a small bow to him, and next to him Inutaisho gave a small start and returned the bow.

It dawned on Inuyasha that he was being addressed by the Queen. Suddenly anxious, he studied her thoroughly. She hadn't made a good first impression with him, but as he scrutinized her, he realized that she had a kind face. It was almost enough to make him trust her, if he hadn't already learned better. Anyway, she probably wasn't crazy like he first thought.

Inuyasha turned his attention to the man who had saved him. He had spoken so casually to the Queen, Inuyasha was certain he must be her husband. The King's face was not as soft as his wife's, but his eyes sparkled with good humor. He wasn't nearly as sophisticated or as awesome as his father, or even Sesshoumaru, but Inuyasha decided he was okay for a human.

Inutaisho was talking to the King and Queen, something about "happiest of days," and "blessed event," and "union of great advantage to all." Inuyasha didn't really understand it all, so he simply wiggled his toes and waited for his father to finish. After awhile the Queen invited them to come inside and rest before the celebration began. She motioned for a servant to lead them to their rooms, and then she turned away.

It occurred to Inuyasha that he hadn't yet seen the baby. Shouldn't the Queen have had the baby with her? Inuyasha turned to watch the Queen leave. She walked to a nearby door leading into the castle. The door opened, and Inuyasha saw that a servant had been waiting just inside. The servant handed the Queen something wrapped in a large pink blanket. Filled with curiosity, Inuyasha left his father's side and trotted over to the Queen. He reached the Queen's side and, reaching up, tugged on one sleeve. "Is that your baby?" he asked, staring up at her with wide round eyes.

The Queen looked down at the adorable little puppy-eared boy, and smiled. "Yes, this is my baby." She leaned down and tipped the bundle slightly, giving Inuyasha a view of a tiny face surrounded by pink. "Inuyasha, meet Kikyo."

o

o

o

o

o

And there you have it! My first chapter. Please feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you liked it! Suggestions for things I can do better will also be appreciated!