A/N: I am writing this with my perspective on how both Lady Izayoi and Taisho had come to meet and fall in love. They have always been such a sweet pair and I would like to try my hand at telling their story even if not completely accurate. Of course the two would be rather young when they met so their personalities may not show as exact from the third movie when they appeared. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, places, or names from Inuyasha nor would I ever claim too.

Claimer: I do however own the story in which I believe the two met 3.

Past Attractions

The Warning

The day was beginning like any other, to Izayoi, time was always something that felt frozen, the walls that wrapped itself around the palace showed no signs of change. Sounds from the other side were muffled and barely audible while her own side was silent and dull away from all other activity. Many would compliment that this particular garden was peaceful, that it carried such a serene and magical presence as if never touched by the darkness of war.

Izayoi, however, knew even without the sounds from the other side that the soldiers were preparing for an oncoming war. It was no secret that the young lady was quite wealthy and owned many of the lands around the small village and palace. From what gossip had told her through the lips and whispers of the servants, a great and powerful lord sought out these lands and would do anything to obtain them even kill her for ownership. She had neither husband nor child to pass along her responsibilities if she were to die by the hands of the great powerful demon.

It was the bravery and stubbornness of a monk that informed her and the others of what would come to pass. He had come to them several moons ago, for she could not remember how long it had been now, wounded terribly from battle. He had lost two limbs and a great amount of blood to the three blades the demon lord possessed and after she had been told he finally succumbed to his own wounds, dying in her arms. It had terrified her greatly to see someone die before her eyes for the first time, she now recalled sadly.

Right afterwards, Lady Izayoi had been ushered to leave and flee from her kingdom - her home. She refused strongly however and had stubbornly held out until they could do or say nothing to change her mind. The woman could not bring herself to leave regardless how fearful she was; she had to remind herself of her people and soldiers that would suffer at the hands of the demon lord. What would they be protecting if she left? Their deaths would be meaningless then, right? She had ordered an evacuation of her town, wanting all who could not fight to flee beforehand; at least most of her people would be safe from the rages that would fight.

Izayoi smiled sadly down at the flower she picked in the garden, trying to ignore her heart racing within her chest, it threatened with each pound against her rib. Her hands felt shaky but they were steady as she held the flower. She hadn't experienced such fear before, she could not have imagined this day or even this exact moment. She shook her head, willing the dark thoughts to subside; she would bring these flowers to the monk's burial today, she decided, and pray for him to find peace in his afterlife.

Clad in a simple green kimono, Izayoi stood allowing the sun's last rays to shine upon her. It would start today, wouldn't it? Something in her just knew that today would be the last sunny day her people saw even if it showed no sign of war. How long would it be before the village and palace were locked in a fiery cold battle? Her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults, she brought a hand up to her mouth, feeling that she may be sick.

"Lady Izayoi!"

The voice was old and soothing, the hime heard her name and straightened her person out, she had been taught well enough to know not to appear distressed to her public. Izayoi turned to the woman with a calming smile, "Osuya," she answered, watching the elder lady come up to her using her cane to support her. "What may I do for you?" Izayoi now asked, looking down at the older woman.

"I have come to escort you to your bath." The old woman replied with a wrinkled smile.

Izayoi brought her gaze to the flowers then back to Osuya. "I thought I might show my respects to the monk's burial this afternoon." She now explained, showing the elder woman what she had picked which the servant merely inspected with vague interest.

"I suppose I may accompany you there first."

The hime frowned; it had been like this for days at least since the monk's arrival, many of the servants escorted her everywhere. They feared for her life she knew but the only independence she had was now gone and she was left with nothing to herself. Izayoi brought her gaze back to Osuya, "No, I will be fine. I appreciate the offer however." She now spoke, trying to will the woman to understand she needed to. Of course it was difficult, the elder woman who might be in her coming years was sometimes hard to persuade but today felt just a tad different.

Osuya eyed her suspiciously as she did with mostly everyone; it was like the woman expected people to be mischievous for some reason. It did not last quite as long as usual and Izayoi was given the freedom and permission to walk to the burial site by herself.

"Thank you." Izayoi smiled, feeling a slight weight remove itself from her shoulder. She gave a respectful bow to Osuya before taking off out of the garden, she could not be any happier she realized to be away from her usual prison. The garden has always been her place of peace growing up and now it acted more like an unwanted cage that would not grant her any form of freedom.

Her father's palace could be considered rather large, it seemed like a maze when she was a child but as she grew and became accustomed to more areas, the more she realized it wasn't. The palace was indeed spacious, even as an adult she felt it to be quite intimidating and strong for a structure made by humans. It impressed her and awed her so many times and yet it never ceased to amaze her just how beautiful it was.

The guards that normally took to the inside had been pulled away; most of the men were outside of the palace or along the top lookouts waiting for the attack. Izayoi didn't mind however, it was actually quite peaceful and comforting not to have eyes on her as she moved about in her own home. The hime smiled as she turned a corner, the burial site was clear across the palace in another garden specifically for those who had died honorably. It was a strange place, a large plot of land merely for burying royalty or honorable men. Of course, as strange as it was it never seemed to upset or bother her in the least, she supposed because it had been something natural to her since childhood.

Soon the burial site came into view, several generations of kings and their wives were placed neatly in a row. Two graves, both much younger than the others, were set off to the side from the rest. They sat next to one another, Izayoi's mother and father; at the young age of four she had lost them both in a terrible fire. She couldn't remember much about them; their faces were a slight blur, their voices never echoed in her memories, and the way they ruled over the land could never be told. She found herself asking if she was even doing her part right. Would her parents do the same thing? Would they be proud of how she was managing it all?

Izayoi took hold of the hem of her kimono as she descended upon the land and walked over to the newest burial across from her parents. The young monk without a name, she so wished she asked before his passing what it was, she felt almost disrespectful looking at the slab of stone with only the word 'monk' engraved upon it. She forced herself to smile an placed the flowers she had picked atop of the dirt. "May you rest peacefully, dear monk." She allowed herself a moment to pray silently.

It was her name that pulled her away from her small ceremony; she did not bother to look behind her when it was spoken. She already knew who it was that called for her. "Yes… Lord Takemaru?" she replied quietly. She had been avoiding him for some time, even after everyone else gave up he continued to pursue her and convince her to run. She had no doubt that he was once again attempting the same futile argument.

"Why?" He asked, as he walked up behind her, "Why are you still here? Why won't you flee?" he cried out to her, "It is dangerous for you to be here, milady. You know this already and yet you still remain! The demon will attack soon and I fear we may not be able to hold it off!" He was pacing back and forth behind her, he would not leave until she spoke, she knew.

Lord Takemaru of Setsuna, she thought, such a kind man – gentle, resourceful, protective, and loyal – he was the great General of all her soldiers. He led them into battle; he stood commanding them with honor and admiration. Never once did she hear him being spoken badly of, most of the soldiers and servants found him to be a great, intelligent man and he was. At one point, he had been her betroth but that was quickly revoked around the time her parents had died.

"Do not concern yourself with me, Lord Takemaru." She now said, standing up to straighten her kimono and remove any dust from it. Of course, she knew this would do nothing more than stir his emotions up and cause him to fight harder but it was not his choice and she refused to allow someone to make or take it for her.

"But milady…-"

"I have made the decision to stay here!" she interrupted, her voice was stern and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead she walked over to a small pond that laid a few feet from the burial site and sighed. "I will stay here with my soldiers, with my country. This was my decision alone, Takemaru, and I have no regrets making it." She would admit though that she was scared of her choice. "I will not flee to watch my parent's kingdom burn to ashes right in front of me." She turned to face him now and smiled kindly at him.

Takemaru said nothing in response, he watched his lady. She was so young, barely fourteen with long flowing raven hair and beautiful brown eyes. Never did she allow herself to be selfish, thinking of her people before her own needs as any hime would do. And yet he did not want her to do it, he would be willing to tarnish her by having her live while the rest of the people died. Was it wrong of him to want her to live? Was it wrong of him to believe she deserved to live? Even at the cost of her people. Perhaps he loved her more than he had originally thought.

Izayoi watched him, he stood there fighting himself at least she believed. She would not question his reasoning, "Thank you, Lord Takemaru." She bowed her head and decided to leave him.

He watched her go in shame and feeling utter disgust for himself.

-x-

He stood upon a large hill, tall and powerful, overlooking the valley below. His golden eyes scanned over the advantages he would have during his attack. The castle, the same castle who had tried to assassinate him many moons ago, he could never forget nor forgive what the assassin yelled at him that night before he was killed. It rang within his ears and his memories, echoing deeply and resonating inside his core.

"Demon scum like you, don't deserve to live! Your kind is tainted, impure, and unwanted!"

He growled at the very remembrance of that spineless man. He placed his hand carefully upon the handle on his sword Tetsusaiga, a sword he had made from one of his many fangs. It could kill 100 demons with one swipe, "Humans…" he tested the word of his lips. He had never particularly hated humans but after their failed attempt to kill the Western Lord, he had a slight distaste for this batch. "You who called yourselves superior are the ones tainted." He spat.

His golden eyes flickered to a brilliant red, "I shall not rest until the ruler who commanded my death has been slaughtered." He muttered. They would find fear in him once more and they will keep their obedience in check afterwards, he was sure. "Let them fight and struggle if they so desire." His body and skin began to transform, clouds began to darken the sky and lightning took to crackling upon its canvas. A swirl of wind began to pickup beneath his figure and his body grew out into the truest form a demon could ever have.

Before day broke tomorrow, he would have killed many.

Their blood would be the vengeance he sought after.

-x-

The sudden darkening in the sky as sunset faded and twilight began, it was the coming of a terrible omen many were sure. The rain droplets began to come in a slowly but it promised a strong wave, the wind from the West grew strong and gave the battlefield some disadvantages. This night would be one that she would never forget even after death, it foretold and story unlike ones she would ever think of.

Izayoi took a deep breath and stared up at the black cloudy canvas, servants ran along the outside yelling to one another about the rain getting worse. It was getting worse, wasn't it? There was lightning out as well, creating ominous figures in the sky. She brought her dark eyes down to her wet hands and turned to go inside. She kept her hand on her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart, once more threatening her ribs which each strong stroke. She was frightened. She did not want to die.

Was it even right for her to be frightened? There were many men out there with families who would die tonight if the great demon lord attacked now. Was it even okay to be scared of dying? Millions of her own soldiers died everyday and even though she paid her respects and gave them proper burials, she was ashamed of her own fears. They must be just as scared as her.

"There you are milady; we have been searching for you all day." Osuya grumbled as she came around the corner, she looked a bit irritated to see the hime damp and wet from being out in the rain. She shook her head and sighed, "You need a bath. You cannot walk around like this." Osuya took her arm and began to drag her to her quarters.

Izayoi made no protest, she couldn't. She probably looked disgraceful with her kimono clinging o her body and her hair done sloppily but could she really be concerned about her appearance at a time like this? "I, I fear I might have done the wrong thing, Osuya." She murmured softly. "I fear I should have told the salves and you to leave here." She could feel herself shaking but whether or not from fear or the cold she did not know.

Osuya gave her a sidelong glance and shook her head, "We would not leave you even if you tried to turn us away, milady." She replied, leading the girl to her quarters. "I have raised you well during these years and so if I die this night I shall have no regrets."

The tears began to spill now; Izayoi hadn't wanted to think about this, she had not protected her servants well or her soldiers. They would all perish together in an attempt to save her family's land. Was that even noble of any of them?

They had stopped moving, Izayoi couldn't remember when it even happened, she was wiping away at her face, trying to seize her childish cries. Osuya looked up at her and merely patted the hand she had been holding onto, "Be calm child." She dropped her hand and headed over to a chest, filled with various clothes, "Tonight might not even be the night." She added now, it was evident though that she herself did not believe what she said.

The fresh outfit was laid out for her and the elder woman left Izayoi in the room. She could hear the rain pick up and thunder start cackling in the sky. Even with just those sounds, it was silent in the palace, no cheerful servants cleaning or polishing. No guards joking outside of her quarters, no laughter, and no life could be heard and that was quite terrifying.

Everything was silent.