Hi all! This is Ghost Flame and a work-still-in-progress story that I have decided to start posting. It focuses on the parents of Inu-yasha, particularly his future mother, Lady Yuki, their relationship with eachother, and how they got to the point of producing everyone's favorite half-demon. This is not a "love at first sight" story, if you want one of those, look elsewhere. This is about their relationship (as I see it) from begining to end. Also, just to make it clear at the very beginning, there will be NO LEMON! I find them...err... tasteless. So you can breathe a sigh of relief (or go of elsewhere and read one of those). This story could probably be PG but it's PG-13 just in case. Okay... enough rabbling. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I wish! Yeah, Inu-Yasha is not mine. I know that you're all shocked now but I'm sure you'll get over it soon.

A Story By Ghost Flame
"The young man knows the rules...
but the old man knows the exceptions"

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

Reflections of the Past...

"What!" The 17-year-olds usually soft and calming voice failed her.

"Please, daughter, calm yourself, tis high time you settled down. You cannot chase the clouds your whole life. Lord Yosun is a respectable man and will provide for you well."

"I have little doubt, but father he's nearly 50 and I care not for how he treats me. I'm not a doll, father, I'm not his play thing or his prize!"

"You will marry him and should have married him two years ago." Feeling defeated the young lady fell back into character.

"Yes, father, I suppose you know what's best."

"Don't forget it again."

She bowed and left. She managed to slip past her overly determined handmaidens and wandered aimlessly through the village. The hot sun beat upon her back, causing her well-formed shoulders to twitch uncomfortably. She sighed as she watched the men, women, and children working hard in the fields. The fields that her father owned.

For the 100th time she heard her father's words echo in her head. "You were born a Lady of wealth and with that comes responsibility." But, of course, she already knew that. She'd know the truth of her position her whole life. Deep down she had always known that she would have to marry Lord Yosun to keep her father's lands full of workers.

Suddenly she felt the flame of rebellion boiling up inside her and this time she didn't try to repress it. "Why should I marry him?" She thought, "He will never treat me as an equal. It's just not the way of things. My Aunt would call me a foolish child if she new I have such thoughts. People always seem to think that I am perfectly angelic and never lose my temper. Ha! To be so I would have to be completely stupid. I suppose that I'm a fairly patient person, but it would seem the longer the hunt the more rewarding the kill...Wait that makes no sense...I guess my Aunt is right I just think far too much."

She paused as she heard movement behind her.

"My sweet."

It was Lord Yosun. He always called her "my sweet" as if he knew not her true name of Lady Yuki.

"Yes," She said sweetly, letting her rebellion subside for a moment.

"Isn't it wonderful, we marry in a week."

She forced her sweetest smile. "If this is going to be my life," Yuki thought, "I might as well make the most of it."

"I must go announce this wonderful news to everyone."

Great.

"Ummm," She decided making neutral noises would please him, but keep her heart from feeling as though she were lying.

With that he hurried off.

Yuki's eyes wavered with a sudden light. She hadn't cried since she was 12 and she wasn't now going to let these tears spill forth from her eyes. As her dignity failed her, she fled. Her feet found their own way up into the hills. There she let herself collapse at the edge of an all too familiar pond, paying no head to her expensive pink kimono. Her breath came heavily as she closed her soulful brown eyes. No tears came.

After a few more breaths, Yuki opened her eyes. She had concurred that weakness of tears once more. Yuki had promised herself she wouldn't cry again after her mother died. She had to be strong for her two younger sisters who were now 13 and 9. This task had been a great deal more challenging than she had dared to hope for. Although her mother's sister, her Aunt Mei-Rei, had stepped in as a kind of second mother, her father had changed drastically since that day five years ago when her mother had pasted on from a strange disease that fills the lungs with blood. Yuki shook her head; she should not dwell on such dismal thoughts.

As the young Lady sat staring at her equally depressed from in the water, she saw the reflection of her youngest sister approaching.

"What's the matter Yuki?" San asked as she sat down, "It's Lord Yosun isn't it."

Yuki couldn't help but smile, for someone of nine, San was quite astute. "Yes, you're quite right San. Perhaps, I'm just being childish but I cannot help but get a strange feeling that there's something more out there. Something wonderful that I will never be able to find..."

"I guess I can't really help you there, Yuki, because I really don't understand what you're talking about," San said apologetically.

Yuki smiled, "Don't worry about it. Perhaps you will understand when you grow older and become a Lady your self."

"Really?"

Yuki caught an unnatural movement out of the corner of her eye. She narrowed them warily. What was that? She felt butterflies explode in the pit of her stomach.

"San, I think we should go back to the village now."

"Alright, may I pick some flowers first?"

"No, we need to leave now." Yuki tried to keep her voice study, her becoming frightened would accomplish nothing except to scare San as well. They would be fine if she kept her head attached to the rest of her.

Yuki quickly turned back towards the village, grabbing San by the hand. She heard a voice speak from behind her. A voice that clearly wasn't human and made shivers run up her spine.

"I don't think you're going anywhere, my pretty one. Beautiful young women with pure souls are hard to find and fetch an equally lovely high price."

A demon.

I know it's short but it's just the intro...the next chapter will be much longer. Please review! Questions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome. Flamers are fed to my pet dragon and used to grill hot dogs. Thank you for reading!