InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon an Inuyoukai ❯ When Mountains Scream ( Chapter 21 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Empatheia 
One word.... BOOOOOOM.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Hentai / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.31.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 270 | Status: Work In Progress
One word.... BOOOOOOM.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Hentai / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.31.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 270 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: Hello all! Sorry for the delay, I pestered my poor beta and made her look at this chapter twice. Thank you, ALF! It is only thanks to her that this chapter does not suck spectacularily. From now on, you guys can probably expect updates at around that schedule (at least until summertime, and maybe even then) because I'm a busy, busy person. But rest assured... though the update schedule may be slow, the actual chapters will be better for it. That is all! On with the show!
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Chapter XXI: When Mountains Scream
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Inutaisho was confused.
Izayoi had been captured during the night. It should have taken two days of travel by air to reach Ryuunomei's castle. It was now the evening of the third day and he knew by the landscape that he was only just now drawing near. Mount Fuji gleamed imposingly on the horizon, a tall marker of the castle's location. It now looked as though the anticipated two-day trip was evolving into four.
He suspected the involvement of magic, but could sense nothing. For absolutely no reason that he could discern, it was taking him twice as long to reach his destination as it should have. He was very, very tired.
To make his unease even worse, the land had been bothering him all day. It was making sounds of discomfort, a sort of sub-tonal rumbling and moaning just beyond the detection of any living ear. The bass vibration on his skin made him itchy. Something was coming, and his instincts wanted him to run away from whatever it was as fast as he could.
Of course, that was not something he could do. She was waiting for him to save her. There was no one else who could, or would if they even had the opportunity. Somewhere just ahead, she was helpless in his greatest enemy's grasp and it was his responsibility as her leader to rescue her. As her ally. As her friend.
His obliging mind offered him images of what she might very possibly be going through at that exact moment, and he felt sick to his stomach. He had known and hated Ryuunomei for thousands of years, and knew exactly what level of atrocity the man was capable of. The thought of the woman he'd come to be quite fond of undergoing his tender ministrations made his eyes cloud over in a film of hot blood.
Inutaisho was still not clear on what he felt for Izayoi. He was extremely reluctant to call it love, because of the implications of loving a human woman. She was attractive. She was enjoyable to spend time with. She was courageous almost to a fault, and loyal to him despite the fact that she really had no reason to be. So... he was very fond of her. She was a good friend, and he had no intention of letting anyone hurt her while he had the power to stop it.
So, for that reason, he pushed his aching, weary body a little harder and continued to fly onwards, enormous paws devouring the sky. Soon, he would be too exhausted to maintain this large form and would collapse back into his smaller humanoid one. Until then, he wished to cover as much land as possible.
The sun began to set.
VvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvV
Iza yoi sat in the garden next to her lord and watched the sun set. Behind her the shoji were on fire again, and would be until the last sliver of light disappeared. She never tired of the visual effect of its glowing when the red sunsets shone through it.
"Why does it do that?" she asked.
"Do what?"
"Look like it's on fire like that. Most shoji don't. I've only ever seen it here."
"It's because of the quality of rice paper we use for them. It's special and expensive, and there's something mixed into the paper that gives it that effect when the sunset shines through it. Lovely, isn't it?"
"I'd always wondered."
"Curious child."
There was a short almost-silence, filled with the echoes of memories.
"How are Akira and the others doing?" she asked, just to block out the silence. She did not care overmuch.
"They are fine. I have sent them out on various missions, so they are not home right now. Akira is in the north delivering a message to Kuroga for me. Do you miss them?"
"Yes," Izayoi lied.
"Stay with me a while and you will definitely see them again."
I don't care. They have moved beyond my heart. Perhaps I still feel something for Akira, but the others... I hardly remember their names. "That would be nice."
"You must have been so lonely out there by yourself, Iza-chan. Was it very bad?"
Your fault! her mind blazed. It was you that left me alone out there! "Yes, it was. It was very bad indeed."
"I'm sorry."
"No, you're not."
He laughed. "You're right, I'm not really. It just seemed like the polite thing to say."
"Don't bother. I couldn't care less if you're polite or not."
"That's why I like you, Iza-chan," he crooned.
She said nothing for a little while. There were questions that needed to be asked, but she wasn't sure she had the courage. They were painful questions. Questions that probably had no good, happy answers. Questions that would only make her even more miserable.
However, they needed to be asked.
"Ryuunomei-sama," she said, empty soulless eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Yes, my flower?" he replied, lounging on the warm wooden deck next to her.
He did not look so threatening when he was lying down, and so she found the courage to continue. "What do you intend to do with me?" There was no point being anything but blunt with a question like that. If she skirted around it, he would only get annoyed.
"Do with you?" He looked genuinely puzzled, as though he honestly hadn't thought that far ahead.
She didn't believe a moment of it. He was a serpent, and scheming was his forte. Everything he did was always planned out several steps in advance. Her being here had a purpose, and she doubted very much that it had anything to do with him wanting her company, true as that may be. If she had been outside the castle, she might have been able to think clearly enough to figure out what it was. However, something in the air of the house fogged her brain and she continually drifted in a haze of half-awareness.
"The truth, if you will. There isn't much I can do to prevent anything you have planned anyway. I'm just curious as to why I'm really here."
She watched his eyes narrow to slits and a delighted smile spread. "You are here to be rescued," he said gleefully, and at first she did not understand.
Rescue? Who would rescue me? Who would have the strength? Oh, Inutaisho probably could, if he set his mind to it, but why would he? I'm just a human woman. It wouldn't be worth it for him to risk himself for my sake, not if he wants to save his kingdom. I believe he is intelligent enough to realize that. Or at least, I hope he is. None of the others are strong enough, even if they were together. And the army is not ready yet.
The smile on Ryuunomei's face grew and grew until she could see his vicious, needle-sharp fangs. She had scars all over her neck from those. The expression on his eyes was one of such twisted delight and anticipation that she couldn't help but shudder.
"Rescue?" she echoed herself. "By whom? It's not as if anyone cares enough to come after me."
He tilted his head to look at her. "It gives me great pleasure to say that you're wrong, Iza-chan. Someone does indeed care enough to follow, and it's exactly who I hoped it would be."
Her heart sank. He wouldn't... would he? Why?
"...And what's even better, he came alone. Foolish puppy. He should have known better."
Her heart stopped sinking, opting instead to squeeze itself out of existence. Her chest compressed painfully. Well, that answers that. He would.
She tore her mind away with a great effort so that she could take a breath. Think about other things. There is nothing I can do about this. If he comes, he will die, and I am helpless to stop him. Why? Why, Inutaisho?
"Now then, let's talk about something more cheerful, shall we? Say, perhaps... your father."
She knew, with helpless agony, that he enjoyed every line of the expression on her face. Her father had always been her weak point, the one she would do anything to protect or make happy. His pride in her was the one thing she could not bear to hurt. He was the reason she'd kept quiet during the years of abuse from Ryuunomei, the reason she had never made a move of protest at anything that was done to her.
Her father, Kasurami Tokoge, was a great man. A talented diplomat, a strong warrior, and loving father, he'd been everything she'd looked up to. While she loved her mother very much, it was her father that made her willing to endure anything for his sake. The thought of him being ashamed of her hurt far, far more than anything the dragon king could inflict with his claws. The thought of him hurting or dead nearly stopped her heart whenever she thought about it.
Ryuunomei knew this. It was why he'd brought it up. She hated him fiercely for that. She could not help loving him, she'd been raised to... but she chose to hate him. He was a horrifically twisted, truly evil person and she knew the world would be better off without him. That fact did not change the one that she loved him. Somehow, she'd managed to make the conflicting sides of her coexist in uneasy peace.
Right now, however, the hatred was winning. Mentioning her father was a deliberately cruel thing to do and it made her angry.
"What about my father?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice flat. By his smirk, she knew that she'd failed to completely suppress the keening note of hope.
"I imagine you miss him. How long has it been since you've seen him?"
The hope burgeoned wildly and she clutched her chest at the pain of the sudden expansion after the clenching of before. "Where is he? May I see him?"
He looked at her, eyes warm and smiling now. "Of course, my dear. I wouldn't dream of keeping family apart."
Alive! Alive! Oh, Father!
Dazed, she stumbled after him when he took her hand and led her down a path. It was a clear night, and cold, but there was an air of foreboding hanging over the castle that spoke of fire and death rather than clearness and snow. The earth had been quivering and murmuring to itself all day. It was unsettling, and she did not know what it meant.
"This way, this way, Iza-chan. It isn't far."
He's alive. I can't believe it. It's been so long... will he be happy to see me? Or will he be angry because I abandoned him? He must have been so ashamed, believing that I ran away with a lover, abandoning my duties. It hurts! It hurts so much! Please, Father, please understand!
His face swam across her mind, strong-boned and noble, but kind-eyed. She could vividly see the little scar twisting his upper lip that he'd gotten in battle. She'd always loved tracing that scar with a pudgy finger when he carried her.
For the past year, she hadn't allowed herself to think of him at all. Carefully, meticulously, she'd shut him out and protected herself from the pain that thinking of him always brought. She'd missed him with a deep longing that no amount of consolation from friendly villagers or alcohol could bring. Friends were few, far between, and invariably shallow. Alcohol did nothing more than make her think of him even more.
It was only in the last few months, since she'd met Inutaisho and Naruka and the others, that she'd come to an uneasy peace with her heart over that matter. And now the makeshift bandage was torn right off and the wound was exposed to the air, raw and gaping.
Father...
"Here we are, Iza-chan," Ryuunomei chirped.
Her vision was blurred with tears, and her ears were roaring. So it was that she missed the strange, crawling tone in his voice and the anticipation in his eyes.
"...Where?" she asked rawly. "Father?"
No answer. There was wind, and scent of snow and approaching winter, but no warm voice came through the darkness to save her.
"Right here," Ryuunomei said, and led her hand to a wooden shrine at the base of a tree.
For a moment, she stood stock still, shaking hand digging into the wood that housed her father's spirit. Dead. Dead and gone. Ryuunomei had finally made good on his threat. The earth trembled and groaned beneath her feet.
She choked, and for a wild moment thought of attempting to harm the smirking violet-haired demon. However, she knew that she would never land a single blow on him, and that even she did it would hardly hurt more than an outraged kitten batting at his ankles. Instead, she snaked her arms around herself and curled into the tiniest ball she could make.
Perhaps if she was smaller, there would be less of her to hurt.
For a moment, she held everything in perfect stasis, not a muscle moving in the slightest except to crunch herself tighter.
"Hah," Ryuunomei chuckled behind her, softly and mockingly.
Izayoi snapped like frayed rope. Throwing herself over the little wooden building, she began to choke out short, wracking sobs that strained her ribs and tore her throat. Her tears were hot and salty on her cheeks, seeping into the corners of her mouth and dripping off her chin. Her muscles clenched so hard she thought her bones might break.
It should be raining, a small part of her mind whispered. When people in the fairytales weep, it always rains. It should be raining.
Izayoi could feel Ryuunomei's eyes on her heaving back and shook with the need to cause him pain. Her father's ashes were unmoving beneath her fingers. They would never move again, never be a whole, vibrant, loving man again.
You were supposed to live! she thought, because her voice would not work. That's why I endured everything that he did to me, to keep you alive! Why are you dead? Why have you gone where I cannot follow?
She felt... betrayed. The amount of suffering she'd gone through to protect him from the dragon king's attentions was truly horrific. Years and years and years she'd spent under his hands, enduring all manner of suffering, both physical and psychological to protect the man that was now only ashes in a shrine. He was barely a handful now, and totally comfortless.
Why did I suffer all of that if you were going to die anyways? It isn't fair!
It was unbearable, too much to keep within herself anymore. She tilted her head back and howled her rage and agony to the silent, dead sky. She could taste blood as her throat ripped and tore with the force of her scream. Her blood spattered in the dust, a rain of blood.
Not far away, the mountain heard her pain. Its own was unbearable.
Scream with me, the woman seemed to say on the wind. Join me in my pain.
The mountain saw no reason not to. Now was as good a time as any. Surrendering at last, it let its own deep roar join her and released.
Mount Fuji exploded with earth-shattering force, driving pieces of its molten innards into the black, star-ridden night. Miniatures comets of molten stone strove to reach the aloof vault of the night sky, and failing, fell back to hammer blazing into the ground. A long moment after the impact, the rolling, thunderous sound of it hit the dragon's palace and the walls groaned under the force of the shockwave.
Izayoi screamed again, echoing the mountain and completely unafraid. Fire and death was what she wanted right then. The mountain was doing what she wished she could, and so she was thankful to it. Distantly, she wondered if it was her own seer's power that had set off the mountain's fury. The timing was far too perfect for mere chance. Am I that powerful?
The mountain shrieked as it vomited rivers of boiling stone and hissing ash, solid sides heaving with the sheer massive power of its purging. The earth itself bucked and quivered. Rivers overflowed their banks. Trees moaned and tore ravaged roots from the heaving mud. The very air was thrumming with power.
She thanked all the gods that they were far enough away from the mountain's throes of agony to be out of danger.
There were very few times in the history of the world that Ryuunomei had been afraid. This was one of them. The woman stood there with her shoulders thrown back and eyes crackling with purple energy, completely unfazed, while behind her the world tore itself to burning shreds. It was a terrifying demonstration of the power of nature, and the woman's expression was more than a little bemusing.
He took a step back, away from her and the shrine. The slight change in angle nearly killed him as it caused Inutaisho miss his mark and nearly tear him in half, rather than merely incapacitate him.
With all the natural calamity going on around him, it had been easy to miss Inutaisho's youki as he approached. Ryuunomei cursed his lack of vigilance as he fought to regain his breath. A good portion of his side was now missing and he could feel the hot wind on his innards. He would survive. However, recovery would take a long, long time. He raged helplessly, but could not move.
Izayoi lowered her head at Inutaisho's approach. "Why have you come?" she asked eerily, power still surging through her eyes in violet light.
"Ask me later," he replied, and held out his hand. "We must hurry before his guards or his brother arrive. We are not yet prepared to deal with the consequences of his death and his brother's subsequent revenge attempts. We must bide our time, and that means we must leave now."
"He killed my father," she choked, stroking the shrine.
He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "I am sorry. Please come with me."
She shook her head and clenched her fists. "I'm going to kill him," she snarled, and looked wildly around for a weapon.
"We need to leave!"
She found a branch on the ground and inspected it. It was not suitable, and she threw it down to continue her hunt. "Weapon... weapon..."
He sighed and narrowed his eyes. It was time for desperate measures. "Izayoi!"
Izayoi! Izayoi! Izayoi!
The name echoed through the vault of storm clouds and she froze disbelievingly. "You..."
Satisfied that he had her attention, he held out his hand again. "Please?"
"Inutaisho..." she whispered, the light fading from her eyes. She suddenly looked very small and bedraggled, standing in the rain, vulnerable and heart-wrenchingly sad.
He smiled at her, a real, genuine smile. "They are all waiting for you, Izayoi."
There it was again... her name, on his tongue. She thought she understood, now, why he'd never said it before-- on his lips, it sounded like a caress. It sounded intimate and gentle and passionate and she thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.
She looked over her shoulder at the personification of her horrific past, gasping in the bloody dirt around him. She loved him. She always would. There was really nothing she could do to change that, and so she gave up trying. Instead, she let Inutaisho's voice give her the courage to look forwards rather than back for the first time in her life.
"Take me home," she said softly, and walked into his arms.
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A /N: Finally. Finally. ::does happy dance:: He said her name, he said her name!
Quick note for ERM: can you get an FFNet account or leave an email? I like being able to reply to reviews. Please please please?
See you all next time!
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Chapter XXI: When Mountains Scream
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Inutaisho was confused.
Izayoi had been captured during the night. It should have taken two days of travel by air to reach Ryuunomei's castle. It was now the evening of the third day and he knew by the landscape that he was only just now drawing near. Mount Fuji gleamed imposingly on the horizon, a tall marker of the castle's location. It now looked as though the anticipated two-day trip was evolving into four.
He suspected the involvement of magic, but could sense nothing. For absolutely no reason that he could discern, it was taking him twice as long to reach his destination as it should have. He was very, very tired.
To make his unease even worse, the land had been bothering him all day. It was making sounds of discomfort, a sort of sub-tonal rumbling and moaning just beyond the detection of any living ear. The bass vibration on his skin made him itchy. Something was coming, and his instincts wanted him to run away from whatever it was as fast as he could.
Of course, that was not something he could do. She was waiting for him to save her. There was no one else who could, or would if they even had the opportunity. Somewhere just ahead, she was helpless in his greatest enemy's grasp and it was his responsibility as her leader to rescue her. As her ally. As her friend.
His obliging mind offered him images of what she might very possibly be going through at that exact moment, and he felt sick to his stomach. He had known and hated Ryuunomei for thousands of years, and knew exactly what level of atrocity the man was capable of. The thought of the woman he'd come to be quite fond of undergoing his tender ministrations made his eyes cloud over in a film of hot blood.
Inutaisho was still not clear on what he felt for Izayoi. He was extremely reluctant to call it love, because of the implications of loving a human woman. She was attractive. She was enjoyable to spend time with. She was courageous almost to a fault, and loyal to him despite the fact that she really had no reason to be. So... he was very fond of her. She was a good friend, and he had no intention of letting anyone hurt her while he had the power to stop it.
So, for that reason, he pushed his aching, weary body a little harder and continued to fly onwards, enormous paws devouring the sky. Soon, he would be too exhausted to maintain this large form and would collapse back into his smaller humanoid one. Until then, he wished to cover as much land as possible.
The sun began to set.
VvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvV
Iza yoi sat in the garden next to her lord and watched the sun set. Behind her the shoji were on fire again, and would be until the last sliver of light disappeared. She never tired of the visual effect of its glowing when the red sunsets shone through it.
"Why does it do that?" she asked.
"Do what?"
"Look like it's on fire like that. Most shoji don't. I've only ever seen it here."
"It's because of the quality of rice paper we use for them. It's special and expensive, and there's something mixed into the paper that gives it that effect when the sunset shines through it. Lovely, isn't it?"
"I'd always wondered."
"Curious child."
There was a short almost-silence, filled with the echoes of memories.
"How are Akira and the others doing?" she asked, just to block out the silence. She did not care overmuch.
"They are fine. I have sent them out on various missions, so they are not home right now. Akira is in the north delivering a message to Kuroga for me. Do you miss them?"
"Yes," Izayoi lied.
"Stay with me a while and you will definitely see them again."
I don't care. They have moved beyond my heart. Perhaps I still feel something for Akira, but the others... I hardly remember their names. "That would be nice."
"You must have been so lonely out there by yourself, Iza-chan. Was it very bad?"
Your fault! her mind blazed. It was you that left me alone out there! "Yes, it was. It was very bad indeed."
"I'm sorry."
"No, you're not."
He laughed. "You're right, I'm not really. It just seemed like the polite thing to say."
"Don't bother. I couldn't care less if you're polite or not."
"That's why I like you, Iza-chan," he crooned.
She said nothing for a little while. There were questions that needed to be asked, but she wasn't sure she had the courage. They were painful questions. Questions that probably had no good, happy answers. Questions that would only make her even more miserable.
However, they needed to be asked.
"Ryuunomei-sama," she said, empty soulless eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Yes, my flower?" he replied, lounging on the warm wooden deck next to her.
He did not look so threatening when he was lying down, and so she found the courage to continue. "What do you intend to do with me?" There was no point being anything but blunt with a question like that. If she skirted around it, he would only get annoyed.
"Do with you?" He looked genuinely puzzled, as though he honestly hadn't thought that far ahead.
She didn't believe a moment of it. He was a serpent, and scheming was his forte. Everything he did was always planned out several steps in advance. Her being here had a purpose, and she doubted very much that it had anything to do with him wanting her company, true as that may be. If she had been outside the castle, she might have been able to think clearly enough to figure out what it was. However, something in the air of the house fogged her brain and she continually drifted in a haze of half-awareness.
"The truth, if you will. There isn't much I can do to prevent anything you have planned anyway. I'm just curious as to why I'm really here."
She watched his eyes narrow to slits and a delighted smile spread. "You are here to be rescued," he said gleefully, and at first she did not understand.
Rescue? Who would rescue me? Who would have the strength? Oh, Inutaisho probably could, if he set his mind to it, but why would he? I'm just a human woman. It wouldn't be worth it for him to risk himself for my sake, not if he wants to save his kingdom. I believe he is intelligent enough to realize that. Or at least, I hope he is. None of the others are strong enough, even if they were together. And the army is not ready yet.
The smile on Ryuunomei's face grew and grew until she could see his vicious, needle-sharp fangs. She had scars all over her neck from those. The expression on his eyes was one of such twisted delight and anticipation that she couldn't help but shudder.
"Rescue?" she echoed herself. "By whom? It's not as if anyone cares enough to come after me."
He tilted his head to look at her. "It gives me great pleasure to say that you're wrong, Iza-chan. Someone does indeed care enough to follow, and it's exactly who I hoped it would be."
Her heart sank. He wouldn't... would he? Why?
"...And what's even better, he came alone. Foolish puppy. He should have known better."
Her heart stopped sinking, opting instead to squeeze itself out of existence. Her chest compressed painfully. Well, that answers that. He would.
She tore her mind away with a great effort so that she could take a breath. Think about other things. There is nothing I can do about this. If he comes, he will die, and I am helpless to stop him. Why? Why, Inutaisho?
"Now then, let's talk about something more cheerful, shall we? Say, perhaps... your father."
She knew, with helpless agony, that he enjoyed every line of the expression on her face. Her father had always been her weak point, the one she would do anything to protect or make happy. His pride in her was the one thing she could not bear to hurt. He was the reason she'd kept quiet during the years of abuse from Ryuunomei, the reason she had never made a move of protest at anything that was done to her.
Her father, Kasurami Tokoge, was a great man. A talented diplomat, a strong warrior, and loving father, he'd been everything she'd looked up to. While she loved her mother very much, it was her father that made her willing to endure anything for his sake. The thought of him being ashamed of her hurt far, far more than anything the dragon king could inflict with his claws. The thought of him hurting or dead nearly stopped her heart whenever she thought about it.
Ryuunomei knew this. It was why he'd brought it up. She hated him fiercely for that. She could not help loving him, she'd been raised to... but she chose to hate him. He was a horrifically twisted, truly evil person and she knew the world would be better off without him. That fact did not change the one that she loved him. Somehow, she'd managed to make the conflicting sides of her coexist in uneasy peace.
Right now, however, the hatred was winning. Mentioning her father was a deliberately cruel thing to do and it made her angry.
"What about my father?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice flat. By his smirk, she knew that she'd failed to completely suppress the keening note of hope.
"I imagine you miss him. How long has it been since you've seen him?"
The hope burgeoned wildly and she clutched her chest at the pain of the sudden expansion after the clenching of before. "Where is he? May I see him?"
He looked at her, eyes warm and smiling now. "Of course, my dear. I wouldn't dream of keeping family apart."
Alive! Alive! Oh, Father!
Dazed, she stumbled after him when he took her hand and led her down a path. It was a clear night, and cold, but there was an air of foreboding hanging over the castle that spoke of fire and death rather than clearness and snow. The earth had been quivering and murmuring to itself all day. It was unsettling, and she did not know what it meant.
"This way, this way, Iza-chan. It isn't far."
He's alive. I can't believe it. It's been so long... will he be happy to see me? Or will he be angry because I abandoned him? He must have been so ashamed, believing that I ran away with a lover, abandoning my duties. It hurts! It hurts so much! Please, Father, please understand!
His face swam across her mind, strong-boned and noble, but kind-eyed. She could vividly see the little scar twisting his upper lip that he'd gotten in battle. She'd always loved tracing that scar with a pudgy finger when he carried her.
For the past year, she hadn't allowed herself to think of him at all. Carefully, meticulously, she'd shut him out and protected herself from the pain that thinking of him always brought. She'd missed him with a deep longing that no amount of consolation from friendly villagers or alcohol could bring. Friends were few, far between, and invariably shallow. Alcohol did nothing more than make her think of him even more.
It was only in the last few months, since she'd met Inutaisho and Naruka and the others, that she'd come to an uneasy peace with her heart over that matter. And now the makeshift bandage was torn right off and the wound was exposed to the air, raw and gaping.
Father...
"Here we are, Iza-chan," Ryuunomei chirped.
Her vision was blurred with tears, and her ears were roaring. So it was that she missed the strange, crawling tone in his voice and the anticipation in his eyes.
"...Where?" she asked rawly. "Father?"
No answer. There was wind, and scent of snow and approaching winter, but no warm voice came through the darkness to save her.
"Right here," Ryuunomei said, and led her hand to a wooden shrine at the base of a tree.
For a moment, she stood stock still, shaking hand digging into the wood that housed her father's spirit. Dead. Dead and gone. Ryuunomei had finally made good on his threat. The earth trembled and groaned beneath her feet.
She choked, and for a wild moment thought of attempting to harm the smirking violet-haired demon. However, she knew that she would never land a single blow on him, and that even she did it would hardly hurt more than an outraged kitten batting at his ankles. Instead, she snaked her arms around herself and curled into the tiniest ball she could make.
Perhaps if she was smaller, there would be less of her to hurt.
For a moment, she held everything in perfect stasis, not a muscle moving in the slightest except to crunch herself tighter.
"Hah," Ryuunomei chuckled behind her, softly and mockingly.
Izayoi snapped like frayed rope. Throwing herself over the little wooden building, she began to choke out short, wracking sobs that strained her ribs and tore her throat. Her tears were hot and salty on her cheeks, seeping into the corners of her mouth and dripping off her chin. Her muscles clenched so hard she thought her bones might break.
It should be raining, a small part of her mind whispered. When people in the fairytales weep, it always rains. It should be raining.
Izayoi could feel Ryuunomei's eyes on her heaving back and shook with the need to cause him pain. Her father's ashes were unmoving beneath her fingers. They would never move again, never be a whole, vibrant, loving man again.
You were supposed to live! she thought, because her voice would not work. That's why I endured everything that he did to me, to keep you alive! Why are you dead? Why have you gone where I cannot follow?
She felt... betrayed. The amount of suffering she'd gone through to protect him from the dragon king's attentions was truly horrific. Years and years and years she'd spent under his hands, enduring all manner of suffering, both physical and psychological to protect the man that was now only ashes in a shrine. He was barely a handful now, and totally comfortless.
Why did I suffer all of that if you were going to die anyways? It isn't fair!
It was unbearable, too much to keep within herself anymore. She tilted her head back and howled her rage and agony to the silent, dead sky. She could taste blood as her throat ripped and tore with the force of her scream. Her blood spattered in the dust, a rain of blood.
Not far away, the mountain heard her pain. Its own was unbearable.
Scream with me, the woman seemed to say on the wind. Join me in my pain.
The mountain saw no reason not to. Now was as good a time as any. Surrendering at last, it let its own deep roar join her and released.
Mount Fuji exploded with earth-shattering force, driving pieces of its molten innards into the black, star-ridden night. Miniatures comets of molten stone strove to reach the aloof vault of the night sky, and failing, fell back to hammer blazing into the ground. A long moment after the impact, the rolling, thunderous sound of it hit the dragon's palace and the walls groaned under the force of the shockwave.
Izayoi screamed again, echoing the mountain and completely unafraid. Fire and death was what she wanted right then. The mountain was doing what she wished she could, and so she was thankful to it. Distantly, she wondered if it was her own seer's power that had set off the mountain's fury. The timing was far too perfect for mere chance. Am I that powerful?
The mountain shrieked as it vomited rivers of boiling stone and hissing ash, solid sides heaving with the sheer massive power of its purging. The earth itself bucked and quivered. Rivers overflowed their banks. Trees moaned and tore ravaged roots from the heaving mud. The very air was thrumming with power.
She thanked all the gods that they were far enough away from the mountain's throes of agony to be out of danger.
There were very few times in the history of the world that Ryuunomei had been afraid. This was one of them. The woman stood there with her shoulders thrown back and eyes crackling with purple energy, completely unfazed, while behind her the world tore itself to burning shreds. It was a terrifying demonstration of the power of nature, and the woman's expression was more than a little bemusing.
He took a step back, away from her and the shrine. The slight change in angle nearly killed him as it caused Inutaisho miss his mark and nearly tear him in half, rather than merely incapacitate him.
With all the natural calamity going on around him, it had been easy to miss Inutaisho's youki as he approached. Ryuunomei cursed his lack of vigilance as he fought to regain his breath. A good portion of his side was now missing and he could feel the hot wind on his innards. He would survive. However, recovery would take a long, long time. He raged helplessly, but could not move.
Izayoi lowered her head at Inutaisho's approach. "Why have you come?" she asked eerily, power still surging through her eyes in violet light.
"Ask me later," he replied, and held out his hand. "We must hurry before his guards or his brother arrive. We are not yet prepared to deal with the consequences of his death and his brother's subsequent revenge attempts. We must bide our time, and that means we must leave now."
"He killed my father," she choked, stroking the shrine.
He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "I am sorry. Please come with me."
She shook her head and clenched her fists. "I'm going to kill him," she snarled, and looked wildly around for a weapon.
"We need to leave!"
She found a branch on the ground and inspected it. It was not suitable, and she threw it down to continue her hunt. "Weapon... weapon..."
He sighed and narrowed his eyes. It was time for desperate measures. "Izayoi!"
Izayoi! Izayoi! Izayoi!
The name echoed through the vault of storm clouds and she froze disbelievingly. "You..."
Satisfied that he had her attention, he held out his hand again. "Please?"
"Inutaisho..." she whispered, the light fading from her eyes. She suddenly looked very small and bedraggled, standing in the rain, vulnerable and heart-wrenchingly sad.
He smiled at her, a real, genuine smile. "They are all waiting for you, Izayoi."
There it was again... her name, on his tongue. She thought she understood, now, why he'd never said it before-- on his lips, it sounded like a caress. It sounded intimate and gentle and passionate and she thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.
She looked over her shoulder at the personification of her horrific past, gasping in the bloody dirt around him. She loved him. She always would. There was really nothing she could do to change that, and so she gave up trying. Instead, she let Inutaisho's voice give her the courage to look forwards rather than back for the first time in her life.
"Take me home," she said softly, and walked into his arms.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
A /N: Finally. Finally. ::does happy dance:: He said her name, he said her name!
Quick note for ERM: can you get an FFNet account or leave an email? I like being able to reply to reviews. Please please please?
See you all next time!