Izumi's Mistake

by Celonhael

Sesshomaru and InuYasha meet someone who can show them Izumi's past.

1. Chapter 1

It is here in my stories that InuYasha discovered that somehow, Naraku has returned. There is also a new Kageri wandering about. I've looked and looked, but cannot find that story. I apologise. If I can find it, I will post it.

It was a drizzly, overcast day. The rain came fitfully in fits and spurts, soaking everything to the bone, and then stopping long enough for everyone to think it was over, and then it would rain again. It was surprisingly chilly this day, too, which was actually a relief to the locals. The heat wave seemed to have passed, and now the crops would be watered, and the people could relax in the cool air.
InuYasha was off by himself, munching on an apple, but he wasn't very hungry.
His mind was in turmoil.
Naraku.
Alive.
Back.
His stomach growled in complaint as he swallowed wrong, the food sliding down slowly and aching. How could Naraku be back? They had killed him. He had been gone for months! Everything had been over....they had won!
And now....back.
The only satisfaction he got out of any of it was that Naraku no longer seemed to be in control. He was obviously second to Neith, and probably second to all the Shadelings as well. That one look of pure rage on his face was almost worth it to have him back.
Almost.
Damnit, it wasn't fair! Naraku had made their lives utter hell while he had been alive, and they had finally overcome him, had finally defeated him. And now he was back?
Won't the bastard ever die?
And now this new Kageri. BloodStar. That was just what they needed, another Kageri around. Someone else to make him feel utterly useless.
At least DarkWind seemed able to deal with him....
But that meant having to actually rely on DarkWind, which made InuYasha's teeth ache.
An image suddenly flashed through his head, of her face.
Izumi.
She had reacted stronger than he had expected her to, when he yelled at her. He had thought she'd get angry at him, the way Kagome did. He had been upset, furious that Naraku was back, and he retreated into his old ways of wanting to deal with it by fighting. Let off some steam by yelling at someone, having them yell back, until he felt drained and oddly better. Only Izumi hadn't gotten angry with him at all. She had taken what he said, and apologised....and left.
Pale, and quiet, and shaken.
He still remembered the fury with which Mikado had faced him, almost nose-to-nose, warning him to never speak to Izumi in that way again....and she had said something weird. Something strange.
..."You have no idea what she has suffered over you!"
What did she mean by that? Over me? How could she have suffered over me? She only met me a short while ago.
He sighed, glancing over his shoulder.
The others were all sitting together under the tarp Miroku had spread out, sitting around a pathethic little fire, talking lowly amongst themselves. He had left them to be alone, to try and understand what had happened.
They were all upset at Naraku's return as well.
Especially Miroku.
InuYasha knew that although the monk didn't say anything, he was worried about the cursed hole in his hand. Now that Naraku had returned, would the WindTunnel begin to grow again? Would it devour him now, as it had always threatened to do in the past?
InuYasha wished Izumi were there to ask....and then felt that strange twist in his guts again when he thought of how she looked.
He sighed.
I need to get up and walk, he thought, go for a run. It'll clear my head.
He stood up.
Besides....it's about that time anyway. I have to go....

He ran through the forest, feeling the wet grass soak his hakama, the cuffs clinging to his ankles.
Sometimes when he was upset, he just ran, letting physical movement burn off whatever stress was inside him. The feel of the wind against his hair, on his ears, against his face, would be like a tonic that would work deep inside him.
He let his heart lead him, knowing where he was going, but not in that much of a hurry to get there. It wouldn't leave, after all, the place he was going. And sometimes staying at that place wasn't exactly something that made him happy either. But it was a duty he felt inside.
She had given so much for him. The very least he could do was visit regularly.
Just about the time his legs were starting to ache, after a good hour's run, and his chest was heaving, and there was a light sheen of sweat on his body, he stepped from the forest into the little clearing.
And stopped.
The grass here had been cleared away. The weeds pulled up. The dust and dirt that naturally accumulated here had been brushed away.
Someone had been here.
He walked cautiously towards his mother's gravemarker, and looked it over. There was no damage done here, at least. Everything seemed to be in perfect order. But InuYasha himself was usually the one who tended his mother's grave.
No one else would.
He cast around, but could find no scent. Whoever had been here had been gone long enough to leave little scent, and the rain had probably washed away what little was left.
There were no marks in the wet grass either, other than his own, so no one had been here since the rain that morning.
InuYasha took off his haori and spread it on the ground beside his mother's grave, and sat on it, looking at the gravemarker.
Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it with his fingertips.
"Mother. Who was here?"
Only a bird sang in the trees.
He sighed.
As always, he remembered the night she had died. How she had sent him away for safety, into the woods to hide, and when he had come back, she had been gone. There was no sign of her body, but there was her bloody gown, and even as a child he had known what had happened.
They had killed her.
The villagers.
InuYasha often thought that if he had been an adult at that time, he very well might have gone in and slaughtered all the villagers. They had always hated him, and had looked at her like some monster for giving birth to him.
Worse, for loving him.
The grief he had felt as a child, the confusion, and the sense of great loss, started to come back to him, but he cleared his throat and pushed it away.
He had hidden in the forest that night, afraid to go back. Knowing if they killed his mother, they would certainly kill him. But he had cried all night, longing for her arms, for her voice, her smile, her scent. But even then, he knew that death was forever. For a long time he lay there, hoping he would die too. Because then he would be with her again.
But his body had been a traitor, and eventually he had become hungry, and against his emotions he had gone out and stolen some food. He had cried while he ate it, ashamed he didn't have the strength to starve to be with her....but as time passed, he knew she would want him to go on. To survive, by whatever means necessary, and so he had.
It had been about a week later that he had found her grave. Someone had buried her, with a lovely gravemarker, under a beautiful tree. He never knew who had done it, and he ached to know, because someone had cared enough to do that much at least. But he had never known.
Three times a year he came back here to tend her grave.
Only this time someone had beat him to it.
For a split second he feared it was Sesshomaru, come here for some unknown, foul reason....but he quickly dismissed that idea. Sesshomaru would not have tidied her grave.
Hours passed. He wasn't sure what to say, because most of his time here was usually taken up with cleaning up the site. He talked to her, as he usually did, telling her what was going on in his life. Wondering what she would have made of it all.
He was just getting ready to leave, when a shadow fell over him, and he looked up, startled.
It was that same strange creature that had spoken to him just before Naraku had shown up; the sexless creature with no hair and sharp pointy teeth.
InuYasha stood up, furious that this thing had come here to his mother's grave.
He put his hand on the hilt of his blade, "What are you doing here?"
"I thought to check up on you. See how you were doing." He looked over InuYasha's shoulder, "Your mother's grave?"
InuYasha tightened his grip, "You're not welcome here. Get lost."
"Not welcome?" Kegasu seemed surprised, "Surely you know I cannot harm your mother. She is beyond my reach."
"You helped Neith and Naraku take me by surprise."
Kegasu grimaced, "For which I apologise. I did not mean for that to happen."
"I didn't see you falling over yourself to help."
"I cannot get so quickly involved," Kegasu said.
"You sound like Izumi," InuYasha grumbled.
"Izumi," Kegasu smiled, "You flatter me. Isn't she interesting? Such mysteries. Wouldn't you like to know more about her?"
InuYasha frowned, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I told you," Kegasu said, "I can show you things. Show you the past. The present. Surely there are things about the great Izumi you would love to know?"
InuYasha gazed at Kegasu cautiously. It seemed tricky, for some reason. And it felt wrong, somehow, to spy on someone like that. But....what had Mikado meant?
"And what do you want in return?"
Kegasu smiled, "Your blood."
"My...blood?"
"Yes. Just a taste, nothing more. I need your blood, to read your past."
"I'm not following," InuYasha tightened his grip on his sword again.
"Each of us carries our ancestor's memories within us, you see. Though we cannot access them. But I can. I can read the lives of your ancestors, and then show you what you need to see."
"And you need to drink blood," the hanyou confirmed.
"Yes."
InuYasha sighed. Why was it always blood.
"Mikado said something about Izumi suffering for me. I want to know what the hell she meant by that."
"No no no! You should not do this!" came a small, piping voice.
Startled, InuYasha looked up to see a small figure in a tree just above his head. It was tiny, apparently a woman, and dressed in what looked like leaves. As he stared, the tiny figure jumped down from the tree, and walked to InuYasha. She barely came up to his knee.
"You should not trust Kegasu!" the tiny voice piped.
"What the hell are you?!" InuYasha asked.
"Forest Spirit," the tiny woman said, and she looked sternly at him, "Kegasu is not to be trusted!"
InuYasha glanced at Kegasu, but spoke to the little woman, "What, he lies?"
"No. He tells the truth. But that is how he often hurts. Kegasu only does this to try and cause pain. Some things are better if you do not know!"
Kegasu smiled innocently at InuYasha.
InuYasha looked down at the little woman, "What's your name?"
"Sakura."
"Sakura. Is Kegasu likely to trick me or something?"
"Noooo..."
"Then I'll do it," he said, turning to Kegasu, "I suppose you have to....suck my blood directly or something?"
"Yes."
InuYasha snorted, "Figured. Fine. Get on with it. But I warn you....I'll have my blade to your guts if you think on attacking me."
Kegasu smiled again, "I would not do such a thing."
The creature stepped forward, reaching for the hanyou.

InuYasha shuddered as the creature stepped back. Kegasu had taken the blood directly from his neck, and he felt oddly soiled, like there had been a huge leech on him. All the while the thing had taken his blood, InuYasha had kept his bladetip to the creature's stomach, so that one false move would run Kegasu through. The little spirit, Sakura, with her bright green hair and eyes, had run around them both, worriedly wringing her hands, until Kegasu had stepped back, InuYasha's red blood on his lips.
Kegasu licked his lips, smiling, "Delicious."
Inuyasha tried not to shudder a second time, seeing his blood smearing Kegasu's lips. He put a hand to his neck to stop the bleeding, and spoke firmly.
"Now, show me what the hell Mikado was talking about."
Kegasu smiled, "Yes. You want to see Izumi's mistake."
InuYasha frowned, "Izumi's mistake?"
Kegasu smiled.
It was at that moment, that another figure stepped from the forest, tall and silver and firm.
InuYasha blinked at him, startled to see Sesshomaru there. He tightened his grip on his sword, "You have no business here, Sesshomaru!" he snarled.
Kegasu looked at Sesshomaru, confused.
Myoga hopped from Sesshomaru's shoulder to InuYasha's "My Lord, what are you doing here?"
"What's he doing here?"
"That is none of your concern, InuYasha," Sesshomaru said coldly. He looked at Kegasu, "I have come to accept your offer."
Kegasu looked confused for a second, then smiled, "Excellent!"
"Hold on," InuYasha said, "I was here first, Kegasu!"
"No matter," Kegasu smiled, "For you have both come for the same thing. To see Izumi's mistake."
Sesshomaru frowned slightly, "Mistake?"
Myoga hopped up and down on InuYasha's shoulder, "Master! You haven't given Kegasu some of your blood, have you?"
"Yes," InuYasha snarled, "And what are you doing with him?"
"I....was kidnapped..."
"What?"
Kegasu spoke, "Are you willing to pay the bloodprice, Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru nodded. Kegasu started forward, but Sesshomaru put up a hand to stop him, his golden gaze cold.
"You must pay," Kegasu whined.
Sesshomaru reached into his shirt, and pulled out a small vial, filled with a dark red liquid.
"Do you honestly think?" he asked cooly, "That I would allow such as you to touch me?"
He tossed the vial to Kegasu, who caught it.
"This isn't how it's usually done," Kegasu said sulkily.
"Then give it back," Sesshomaru said, "And I will take your head, and be done with all this."
Almost pouting, Kegasu unstoppered the vial, and tipped it to his mouth. Sesshomaru looked at InuYasha, saw the hanyou's hand clapped to his neck to stop the bleeding, and looked away, disgusted.
Kegasu licked his lips again, sighing.
"Demon blood is so rich, so thick..."
The Forest Spirit sighed sadly. Myoga and Sesshomaru ignored her.
"Now then," Kegasu said, "I shall show you what you both wish to see. You both seek to know the Handmaiden Izumi. To understand her. I will take you to her past, so that you may see how her fate is tied into both of yours. Izumi is a great powerful woman, but she made a terrible mistake, and now that mistake gnaws at her insides."
Myoga spoke, suddenly angry, "You have no call to say those things!"
Kegasu grinned, "Do you deny her grief, flea?"
Myoga fell silent.
Kegasu raised his hands, and the area around them all began to ripple.
"You will be able to see, to hear. You will be able to step into her past, but you will not be able to interact with any of them. They will not hear you, nor see you. So do not even try."
"Get on with it," Sesshomaru said levelly.
Kegasu smiled, and seemed to stap back.
Now they were in a heavily forested area, the ground covered with thick leaf litter. It was very silent, except for a few birds calling in the distance.
Then there was a sudden scream of fury, and a huge monster went running through the forest. It tore up trees as it went, ripping them clear out of the ground, hissing and yowling.
A lone figure appeared out of the thickness, chasing the monster.
It was Izumi.
She was younger than she appeared now, though not by a lot. Here she looked to be about 20, instead of roughly 25 or 26. Her long hair was braided into a single braid. Half of it was coiled about her head like a helmet while the remaining was allowed to hang. She wore a white shirt and hakama with black trim. She wore her pendant out, and it flashed in the sun as she chased the monster. She wore no earrings. In her hand was a single curved blade, and she ran like the wind.
There was a strange wildness about her, a grin on her face as she chased her prey, that was unlike Izumi's demeanor of today. She reminded InuYasha very much of Mikado.
"How long ago is this?" InuYasha asked. When Kegasu remained silent, Myoga spoke.
"Several thousand years ago, InuYasha."
Izumi leapt into the air, lunging at the monster, swinging her blade.
She managed a cut, wounding the leg of the monster. It turned and swung at her, but she blocked it, laughing, and took off again.
Now the monster was chasing her. Izumi led it on a merry chase through the forest, InuYasha and Sesshomaru actually running through the forest as well to keep up.
Izumi seemed to be toying with it, not really trying to kill it.
The monster regarded her in silence for a second, and turned, about to run in the opposite direction.
"Wind Scar!"
A massive energy burst blinded them all, InuYasha reaching for his sword in confusion, as there was a massive explosion that almost knocked them to their knees.
When the light faded, InuYasha peered through the light to see...
His father, walking out of the forest, the Tetsusaiga in his hand. There was nothing left of the monster, only a few scraps of flesh.
Izumi was looking somewhat haggard as well. The explosion knocked her hair askew and her white clothing was covered on dirt and leaves.
InuYasha and Sesshomaru were silent, shocked.
InuYasha hadn't seen his father alive. He died the night he was born, and had only seen his ghost once, when both he and Sesshomaru were fighting for possession of a third sword. Now here he was again, alive. The resemblance to Sesshomaru was eerie for him.
For his part, Sesshomaru was startled as well, to suddenly see his father again.
Izumi turned to him, angry, "That was unnecessary, InuTaisho! I was trying to herd the damn thing out of the forest, not kill it outright!"
InuTashio laughed, sliding his blade back into the scabbard, "I thought I'd give you a hand, Little Lotus."
Izumi sighed in exasperation as the Dog General walked to her. He laughed fondly as he reached out and tugged her braids back into place, "I apparently caught you off guard."
"Of course you did!" Izumi exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you here."
Then her face softened, and she smiled, "Though it is very good to see you again."
InuTashio smiled in return, "I have missed you, Little Lotus."
They embraced.

Sesshomaru stared in shock to see him.
Izumi...
And his father?
InuYasha gave voice first, "What the hell..?"
Myoga spoke softly as he watched the two.
"Izumi loved your father, InuYasha, very much. They loved each other. Though not as lovers. They were like brother and sister, though even closer. Like two sides of the same coin. There was no romantic love there, but a family love. You see....." Myoga sighed, "Izumi was a Goddess's Handmaiden. She met few people who were not gods. Izumi was not a Goddess, therefore she never fit in with them. There were no other Senmin at this time, and Izumi knew very few "mortals". The few she did know, she rarely got to see them, for compared to her, they aged quickly and died quickly. So Izumi had few friends. When she met your father, she found a kindred spirit in a way. If she was busy and could not visit for years, she could return and find him the same as when she left. And your father, Sesshomaru, did not treat Izumi as anything special. Even when he found out who she was, he did not bow, did not bend his knee to her. And Izumi liked that. So they became friends. Izumi could be herself with him. And your father felt the same. They were like sister and brother."
As they watched, the two seperated, and InuTaisho spoke.
"I have been in the Southlands these past few years. It is...interesting down there."
Izumi smiled, "I can imagine. I've been there a few times myself."
"I have a gift for you."
Izumi blinked, "What?"
InuTaisho reached into his shirt, and brought out something in his hand. He lowered his hand to her, and opened it.
Nestled in his palm were two red earrings, gleaming in the sun.
"InuTaisho..." Izumi said softly, "You didn't have to..."
"Ah, but a woman as lovely as you should have more jewelry than that," he said, pointing to her pendant, "Here."
Quietly, she took them, and almost shyly put them on.
"Lovely, Little Lotus," he smiled.
Izumi laughed.
They turned, and started walking in the forest, side by side. Sesshomaru was quietly stunned to watch the image before him. They seemed almost...godly in their own right, creatures of color and power, strolling casually in the forest.
"And where have you been lately?" he heard his father ask.
"Oh, here and there. You know how my life is. Here and there."
InuTaisho smiled.
"And how have you been, InuTaisho?"
The smile faded from the Dog General's face.
"Things are not so well."
"Oh?"
"They are challenging me for my lands."
Izumi frowned, "After the last beating we gave them? They aren't very bright, are they?"
"No, they're not."
Izumi studied him in silence for a second, and then spoke, "Why do you look so troubled? Surely you do not worry they will win this time?"
"Not with the two of us fighting side by side again, no. They could not defeat us last time, and they will not this time. I have other worries, worries I would not bother you with."
"InuTaisho," Izumi gently scolded, "You know you do not bother me."
"It is my son."
Izumi studied his face, "Sesshomaru."
"Yes. He is becoming more willful and wild, even at his age. He has inherited both my and his mother's powers and skills, and even at this age he shows talent."
"Then why are you worried?"
"Because he shows his mother's lack of concern for his actions."
Izumi looked back to the path as they walked.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. He was not happy to hear himself being discussed in so cavlier a fashion, especially by his father.
Izumi spoke again, "And what were you like at his age, InuTaisho?"
The Dog General fell silent.
Izumi looked at him, and laughed, "What a face! That is my answer. And if you turned out ok, I am sure he will too. Where is he, by the way? I have never had a chance to meet him, you know."
"He is out in the forest, wandering. He has my wanderlust."
Izumi nodded, and patted the Dog General's arm, "Things will work out - you will see."
The image fuzzed out.
InuYasha glanced at Sesshomaru, seeing the discomfited look on the demon lord's face. He would have loved to have said something to him, to piss him off, to annoy the living hell out of him.....but the odd thing was he couldn't think of a damn thing to say.
The image faded in again, again at night. Here it was the forest, and beneath a tree, sleeping, lay Sesshomaru.
He looked about 13 years, if a human. He was stretched out on the ground, fast asleep. He looked oddly peaceful.
InuYasha stared at the sleeping Sesshomaru. It was strange to see Sesshomaru looking younger than he was.
He's about as old as Kohaku.
The scene didn't change for a while, and the Demon Lord was just starting to question what the point of it all was, when the bushes next to him rustled, and Izumi stepped out.
She was wearing a somewhat night-fitting gown, though nothing crudely shaped, all in black. With her midnight hair, only her face seemed visible until the eye found the rest of her form.
She stepped out into the clearing, looking around silently. She seemed very alert, as if she was searching for something. Her eyes fell on the silver form beneath a tree, but she did not cross to him, not yet.
She walked to the farthest point of the little clearing, and turned so that she faced the sleeping figure. She raised her hands, closing her eyes, and murmured under her breath.
A faint glow appeared all around the sleeping form, in a wide oval, taking in the entire clearing. After a second, the glow faded, but every so many feet, a faint sparkle lit up the ground, as if diamonds were scattered around in a large circle.
Izumi studied her work, and nodded to herself. Then she paused, and approached the sleeping form.
Izumi knelt down beside the sleeping Sesshomaru, studying his face. She watched in silence for a second, then smiled, "How alike you look," she whispered.
Carefully reaching out, she used the very tips of her fingers to brush back his bangs, to see the crescent moon symbol on his forehead. Izumi smiled again, then stood up, and walked back into the forest.
Sesshomaru was silent as he watched this, but his mind was racing. When had this happened? He had no memory of that night. No idea she had ever been there. He should have woken up with a stranger so close to him! No one creapt up on Sesshomaru.
The image fuzzed out, and then back in.
Now the image was of the inside of a house. Sesshomaru recognised it at once as the household of his father, the place he had grown up. At the age of ten, Sesshomaru had started leaving home for days at a time, already powerful enough to take care of himself against just about any demon he was likely to meet in the forest.
InuTaisho was standing at a window, looking out into the darkness beyond. A single candle flickered in the center of the room, more for appearance than a need for light to see. It was very quiet.
The door behind him opened, and Izumi walked in, dressed the same as in the previous scene.
InuTaisho turned to her as she entered.
"I have taken care of it," her voice was soft, "He is protected. The Shadelings may walk the forest tonight, but they will not even sense he is there."
"Thank you, Izumi. When I learned they had returned...Sesshomaru is powerful...but not yet powerful enough to handle a Shadeling. Not that he would realize that until it was too late.."
Izumi nodded, crossing to him, then smiled, "He looks so like you, it is almost unbelievable. He will be powerful, that one..." her smile faded, "Although I cannot see much of him. I do not understand why..."
The other said nothing.
Izumi shrugged, then spoke, "He will not walk in the Light, InuTaisho."
"I know," InuTaisho said, turning back to the window, "And I am not surprised. It is inconceivable that any child of his mother and I would be anything but dark."
Izumi put a hand on InuTaisho's shoulder gently, "Parentage does not make a person, InuTaisho, although many believe this is so. Sesshomaru, I think, will be grey. Neither Light nor Dark. And that is not a bad thing."
InuTaisho sighed deeply.
Izumi frowned, "What is wrong, my dearest friend? I have not seen you so depressed before."
"Tonight I feel my age, Izumi."
Izumi watched him, then smiled brightly, "If I can feel young and spritely at my age, General, you dare not complain. Now come. Let us spar. That always improves your mood."
InuTaisho turned to him, a faint smile on his face, "You always win."
"So?"
The Dog General laughed.

Another fuzzing out and in.
Now they were both standing in a forest, during the day. Izumi's hair had grown, and was pulled back in another tight braid. They appeared to just be meeting each other.
"It has been long, Izumi. Where have you been all this time?"
"Oh, here and there," Izumi said casually, "There has been little action, so the past few years I've been spending time alone. Lately I've taken to listening to my flutist play."
InuTaisho looked to her, his long ponytail swaying, "You have a flutist?"
Izumi laughed, "Well...that's what I call her. A human woman who plays. I hide in the tree above her and listen. She plays wonderfully."
InuTaisho laughed, "Does she know you're there at all?"
"No. I make certain no one sees me, though she comes with enough guards. I think she's a princess or something."
InuTaisho shrugged, uninterested, and spoke, "Tell me of the war."
Izumi spoke, "We have sent Keimetsu's forces back, and sealed the tear they made. Amaterasu thinks this time they might actually stay where they are, but she's not "holding her breath", as they say. Keimetsu is determined."
InuTaisho nodded.
The image fuzzed out, and Kegasu spoke, "They were very close, those two."
"That's enough!" Myoga yelled at Kegasu, "You are trying to suggest something that was not true! I was there! I saw how they were together, and I tell you they loved like siblings!"
A new image fuzzed in, of a huge tree standing out in an empty field. The tree was massive, it's branches thick and strong.
There was the sound of a flute being played out there, soft and gentle. As InuYasha and Sesshomaru walked towards the tree, they could both make out a large group of people sitting on a blanket, talking, laughing, eating. They were about 40 feet from the tree, and there was a lone person just under the tree, in the shadow.
Sesshomaru studied the people on the blanket.
InuYasha squinted his eyes at the tree, and the person underneath. If he could just see who...
Blinking, heart pounding, he left Kegasu, Sesshomaru and the little Forest Spirit behind, running towards the tree.
It wasn't......
He came to a stop, looking down at her.
It was his mother.
She was sitting with her back against the tree, eyes closed, playing the flute. The tune was lovely, but somehow sad as well.
InuYasha knelt beside her, staring.
She looked to be about Sango's age, much younger than he could ever remember her. Her long hair was held back by two combs, and she wore a golden robe.
"Mother?"
The song ended, and she opened her eyes, glancing towards the group of people on the blanket, and sighed.
InuYasha could recognise that sigh so easily. She was tired of having people around her all the time. Tired of never being allowed to be alone. She was a princess, and so had to be protected. Everywhere she went, were guards and servants and people to watch over her.
He never knew she could play the flute.
A bird sang in the tree above her, and suddenly, one of the women sitting on the blanket cried out.
Izayoi looked up to see a large number of men riding towards them, carrying a tall red banner with black symbols on it.
One of the ladies ran towards the princess, "Hurry! Come with us! Those are raiders!"
Izayoi stood and walked towards the woman, and they were both instantly surrounded by the princesses guard, with sword and halberds out. It was apparent, however, that there were far more men mounted, riding towards them. And none of the Princesses' guards were mounted.
One of the guards stepped forward bravely, and spoke, when the mounted men came to a stop.
"What is your business here?"
The lead man on a tall black horse, looked the head guard over, and grinned.
"Our business is none of your concern." He looked over and saw Izayoi standing in the midst of the circle, and grinned, "Who is that?"
"That is none of your business," the head guard snapped, "We will ask you to keep moving."
"Or what?" the mounted man laughed, "You'll poke at me with those little swords? That's a very beautiful woman there. I'd like to get to know her better."
"You will not touch her!" exclaimed the head guard, and the woman with Izayoi hugged the Princess tightly.
InuYasha stood, smothering a desire to pull his sword and attack the mounted man, but he reminded himself that this wasn't now, it was in the past.
Still....if that man had raped his mother....
"Enough of this," came a voice, and everyone turned.
Izumi leapt down from the tree.
Today she wore a bright blue haori and hakama with black birds at the shoulders. Her hair was down and free, though a little shorter than InuYasha was used to seeing it.
"Another beautiful woman!" the mounted man grinned, "The trees are filled with them! This is my lucky day!"
Izumi walked towards the mounted man, while some of Izayoi's men waved their swords at her. They did not know who she was, or why she had been hiding in the tree, and they did not trust her.
Izumi spoke, "Do you think I will allow you to harm my flutist?"
"Flutist?" the man asked, "Who the hell are you, then?"
"My name," Izumi said, "Is absolutely none of your concern." And she smiled.
"You dare speak so to me?!" the man yelled, "Leader of the Red Tribe of Nippon?! I will have your head, once I taste your pleasures! You and that woman both!"
"I warn you," Izumi said, still smiling that strange smile, "I will give you one chance to ride away from here with your head still on your shoulders. One chance."
Sesshomaru stirred. This was a side of Izumi he had not seen before. Wild and carefree.
Interesting.
The leader on the horse cursed, and waved his men forward.
Izumi casually waved her hand, and everyone stopped.
There was a second of silence, and when the Red leader looked around, he discovered everyone of his men had been turned into stone.
"What....what have you done?!"
"I took care of things," Izumi said casually, "Because you are a wicked man. And every one of these men are wicked as well. This one, and this one, and this one..."
With each "this one", the stone statue of a man suddenly cracked, and split asunder, and the pieces toppled from the horse to shatter upon the ground.
There was a shocked silence.
The horses, suddenly relived of their burdens, spun, and took off, galloping down over the fields, heading back towards the last watering hole they had been to.
The Red leader began to back up.
Izumi looked at him.
"Did I say you were free to go?"
He froze.
Izumi walked towards him, the Princesses' guards and entourage parting to allow her passage, staring at her in shock.
"I know you," Izumi said to the man, "You are cruel and heartless. You have killed innocent women and children, tortured people and animals for pleasure. You enjoy nothing more than killing and grief and evil. Do you think I will let you go?"
With a frightened curse, the man spun his horse around, and started galloping away.
Izumi raised her hand, and made a quick slashing gesture.
From several feet away, something seemed to move in the light, and the man's head was suddenly severed from the body, a great gout of blood splashing up. The horse reared at the scent of the blood, screaming, and the man's body toppled from it's back.
Izayoi gasped.
The horse turned, regarding Izumi, shivering and shuddering in fright. Izumi walked to it, reaching out a hand. Trembling, the horse walked to her, and she gently rubbed it's nose, making "sssh"-ing noises to it to calm it.
After the horse was quiet, Izumi turned, and regarded Izayoi.
Her captain of the guard raised his sword, but he was shivering visibly, determined to protect his Princess to the end, even against such power.
Izumi smiled, and now it was a warm, gentle smile.
"Put that down, good sir. I mean none of you, nor your Princess, any harm."
They watched her, shivering, unsure.
After a second of silence, Izayoi pushed her way forward. Her servant tried to pull her back into the safety of the circle, but InuYasha saw his mother brush the hand loose, and she walked to Izumi.
"You....who are you?" she asked, in a shy and awed voice.
"My name is Izumi." Izumi said.
"My lady," her servant spoke, "You resemble each other! Even in your names!"
"You called me your flutist," Izayoi said.
Izumi laughed, and actually blushed slightly, "That, I suppose, was unkind of me. But I come here, you see, when you would play, and listen. You play wonderfully. Your music takes me away."
"I...I am honoured that you enjoy it, Izumi," InuYasha's mother said shyly, dipping her head, "And I am honoured that someone as great as you would consider me her flutist."
Izumi smiled, "That's very kind of you, dear."
"Would you...like me to play some more for you?"
The Captain of the Guard spoke, "My Lady, you should not be playing for just anyone, who-"
Izayoi turned, anger suddenly on her face, "You call this lady "just anyone", who saved all our lives?"
"Forgive me, my Lady," he bowed.
Izumi smiled, "I would love to hear you play, my dear."
The two women walked back to the tree - the servants and guards staying a healthy distance from the strange woman - and Izumi listened as Izayoi played. They talked, and chatted.
Myoga spoke, "They became very good friends, Master. Like sisters. Izumi was taken with your mother's kindness and gentle heart, so rare in a woman of her rank. And in Izumi, Izayoi found...."
There was a pause, and the flea spoke again.
"In Izumi Izayoi found a friend. Someone to ease the lonliness. A person who would stop to see her at any time, to visit. And your mother was taken with Izumi's life. Her freedom, in particular. Izumi would tell your mother of the things she had seen, the lands she had visited. She would often bring Izayoi a flower from some distant land, or a seashell from the other side of the world. She brought Izayoi beautiful gowns and combs to wear in her hair."
The scene fuzzed out, and fuzzed in again. Now it showed Izumi walking towards a palace. It wasn't huge, but it was obviously a rich place. She carried several boxes in her hands, and was humming happily under her breath. When she came to the door, she pulled the bell cord, and a bell sounded inside.
After a minute, the door opened, and a harsh-looking man stood there. His face was stern and severe-looking. He blinked when he saw Izumi, then composed himself, "Yes?"
"I am here to visit Lady Izayoi," Izumi said with a smile.
"I am sorry, but she is indisposed." The man started to close the door.
"Indisposed?" Izumi said, looking worried, "Is she ill?"
"That is none of your concern, Lady, but I will tell her you dropped by."
Frowning, Izumi put down her boxes, and thrust out a hand to stop the gate from being closed, "Who are you? Where is Saniyo, the Captain of the Guard?"
The man frowned sternly, "He is dead. Sickness. I have been hired to replace him."
"And you are?"
The man frowned again, but spoke, "I am Takemaru."
Izumi spoke sternly, "Well, Takemaru, I wish to see Lady Izayoi, and I suggest you let me in."
"That is not possible, Lady. Good day."
Again, Izumi stopped him from closing the gate, "I will tell you what is possible, Takemaru. You have a choice. Let me in through the front gate, or I will take out this wall and walk in on my own."
"You dare threaten me?"
"I threaten anyone I feel like when my friends may be in trouble."
Cursing, Takemaru threw open the gate, and stepped aside. Izumi gathered up her boxes, and swept in, without a second glance at the man.
Izumi found Izayoi sitting on a bench under a cherry tree, doing some needlework. When she looked up and saw Izumi, her whole face lit up.
"Izumi!"
Izumi put the boxes down on the ground, and embraced the Princess, "Are you ill, or hurt?"
Izayoi looked puzzled, "Ill? Hurt? No, why?"
Izumi looked hard at Takemaru, "I was told I could not see you, that you were indisposed."
"Takemaru!" Izayoi said, her soft voice growing harder, "I have told you, Izumi is always welcome here!"
"You should not be spending time with her, Princess!" Takemaru said firmly, "It is not good for you! You become wild and impetious when she is here."
"Perhaps," Izumi said angrilly, "She merely wishes to live her own life for a while?"
Takemaru glared.
"That's enough, Takemaru," Izayoi said quietly, "Leave us now."
"Princess," Takemaru bowed, and left.
Izumi watched Takemaru leave, and spoke softly, "I do not like that man. He will cause trouble down the road somehow. I can feel it."
"Takemaru is very strict, but very dependable," Izayoi said quietly, "He only wants what is best for me. I am sure once he sees how trustworthy you are, he will come to love you too."
But Izumi only frowned, and watched as Takemaru walked away.
"Please, Izumi, come and sit."
Izumi let herself be persuaded, and she forgot about Takemaru.

The scene shifted again. Here it was night, and the lanterns and candles were lit. Izayoi was seen speaking through her doorway to someone, "No, I will be fine once I get some sleep. Please, I want no one to disturb me. No one."
She closed the door, and slid the lock over, and then sighed. She ran to the window, and looked out, up at the moon. It was a beautiful full moon, bright and pure white, casting a brilliant light to everything.
Izayoi turned from the window, wringing her hands, pacing back and forth in front of the door. Every few minutes she would run to the window and look out, only to walk back to the door, and resume her pacing.
A shadow fell over the window, and Izumi appeared. Izayoi ran to her, whispering, "I was afraid you wouldn't make it!"
"Sorry," Izumi whispered back, as she crawled over the windowsill, unladylike, "I was detained. Are you ready?"
Izayoi nodded, "They all think I'm sick. I told them to leave me be."
"Perfect. Now, hold still."
"Izumi?"
"Hold still for a minute!"
Izayoi went motionless, holding her breath. Izumi looked her over closely, and then turned to Izayoi's futon. After a second, an image of a sleeping Izayoi appeared, covered to her nose in her blankets.
Izayoi gasped.
"Well," Izumi smiled, "We don't want anyone peeking in and seeing you're not here, do we?"
Izayoi shook her head quickly.
"You'll have to change your clothing. Put these on." Izumi held out a faded pair of hakama.
Izayoi blinked, shocked, "I can't wear those! It's not seemly!"
"You'll trip if you try moving quickly in those gowns, Izayoi."
"But if anyone sees me!"
Izumi rolled her eyes, "The whole purpose of this is that no one will see you, you goose! I'm going to disguise us, so put these on!"
Izayoi shyly removed several of her kimonos, and slipped on the hakama. Izumi tucked in the shortest of Izayoi's shirts, and gave her some proper boots to wear.
"Ready?"
"I...I'm sort of frightened, Izumi. But I want to do this, so badly! I've never just walked in the forest at night before!"
Izumi smiled, "You know I won't let anything happen to you. You're safer with me than with your entire army."
Izayoi nodded, "I know."
"Then let's go!"
Izumi crawled back out the window, having to help Izayoi to do so. Izayoi was graceful in all proper manner of dance and motion, but not when it came to crawling out a window. Once outside, Izumi took Izayoi's hand, and with a grin, they were off, racing over the field like two hares.
InuYasha watched, spellbound. To watch his mother and Izumi running and laughing....he had never seen his mother looking so happy. Even when it was just the two of them, and she would smile and laugh and be happy....she had never looked so completely alive as she did now. He was struck by how like Kagome and Sango they looked, when they got into one of their silly fits, giggling over something he didn't understand. They ran with their long hair rippling in the wind, the bright moonlight shining off their faces, laughing, like two river spirits out for a night.
They came to a village, and they must have been well disguised, for no one questioned them. They seemed to appear to others like men, for other women stepped out of their way as they passed, and some men would openly nod a greeting to them - something not done to a woman. Izumi bought them some warm bread with honey, and Izayoi was taken with the simple fare. She drank a great deal of water from the common well, and seemed to be taking it all in, as if hoping to store enough inside her heart and mind to last a lifetime.
They passed a smaller shack, and Izumi, looking around, grabbed a box and dragged it over to the high window. She got up, and peered in through the window. She quickly waved for Izayoi to do the same. When the shorter woman - Izayoi only came to Izumi's shoulder - got up and peered in, she turned bright red. With a squeak she hopped down, looking at Izumi, who was laughing as she got down as well.
"That's a men's bathing house!" Izayoi whispered, her face the color of a beet.
"Yes, it was," Izumi said with a straight face, "See anything you like?"
InuYasha blinked, shocked, as his mother burst into shocked laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth, as Izumi started to giggle too.
It was so unreal, to see his mother, and Izumi, acting like simple maids.
His mother....
She seemed so happy.
They spent the rest of the night running around, taking in the sights and the food, until poor Izayoi was almost dropping. Izumi lead her back home, and it was there, in the middle of the field on the outskirts of Izayoi's lands, that InuTaisho met them.
"InuTaisho!" Izumi said, walking towards him, "What are you doing here?"
"There is an invasion of demons from the mainland heading this way."
"Oh dear. I should get Izayoi home, then. I will guard her lands."
InuTaisho peered around Izumi's shoulder, "A human?"
Izumi smiled, and walked back to Izayoi, "My flutist."
"Ah."
"This is Izayoi, InuTaisho. A princess from those lands just over there."
Izayoi was staring at the demon lord speechless, her eyes on his silver hair, gold eyes, and of course those pointed ears.
"He's a demon!" she managed to squeak.
InuTaisho arched a brow.
"Yes, dear, but he won't hurt you."
The other brow went up.
"I wouldn't let him," Izumi smiled charmingly at the demon lord, then back to Izayoi, "But we need to get you back. There's no need for you to see any of this."
"Will you be careful, Izumi? Please?"
"You should be more worried about yourself, human," InuTaisho said.
"I'm going to worry about her, thank you very much!" Izayoi said hotly, startling everyone there, "She's like a sister to me!"
The demon lord looked at the shortish human woman with new interest, "Is she now?"
"Come along, Izayoi. If there are demons about, most likely that....Takemaru will be in to check on you. We'll get you back."
The scene before them fuzzed out.
Myoga spoke softly, "That was how your parents met, InuYasha. Through Izumi. Over time, my Master found that Izumi was spending more and more time with your mother....and they came to know each other....and to love."
Sesshomaru said nothing.