InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Perfect Reflection ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

CHAPTER 5:

 

He could smell her before he saw her. Though Sugimi worried when he arrived before Izayoi, he was patient. She crested the hill with sure footing, and he saw a sheen of sweat on her forehead before she padded it off with a handkerchief. She looked terribly worried, but also very beautiful with her rosy cheeks and glittering coal eyes. The hairpin he had given to her was holding back a long, dark lock of hair.

 

She approached him with short breath. “My lord,” she said softly with a small bow.

 

Sugimi didn't see how he could have missed it earlier. He grabbed her hand more harshly than he intended and pressed it against his nose, inhaling deeply. “Who is he?” he growled urgently, his voice low and severe.

 

Izayoi winced in pain and turned away from him. “I was…engaged to be married to the man…Setsuna no Takemura.” She shook her head and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. “Please let me explain, my lord!”

 

Releasing her hand, Sugimi half turned from her and clenched his fists. “Yes,” he growled out.

 

He waited patiently, but Izayoi didn't speak. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw she was looking at the moon with empty eyes, as if playing memories behind her eyes.

 

“As a child,” she began in a hallow voice, “I was engaged to Setsuna no Takemaru. My father wanted to…ensure his line. They went away to war…they left me… He returned just today with the woman he is to marry.” She chuckled just a little bit, dryly. “You see, he surrendered my castle, my home, to Lord Kazehimi. Takemaru will be the new lord, and Lord Kazehimi's daughter will be his wife. Takemaru…saved my life by taking from me that which I loved - my people, my land, my home. I can never marry, nor produce an heir to threaten Lord Kazehimi's line. As of today…I'm a…spoil of war…” She chuckled again.

 

Izayoi was no longer facing him. Her skin had cooled to pure white, and the moon shone brightly on her face. Tears glittered in the corner of her eyes. “I was going to tell him tomorrow,” she said slowly, turning to face Sugimi with a sad smile, “that I could never marry him. That I…loved another.” Bowing her head, she said in a clear voice, “Forgive me, Sugimi.”

 

Perhaps…he had been too hasty. It was not in his nature to be understanding. As a Dog Demon - and a very possessive, very powerful one at that - Sugimi expected complete obedience and lordship over Izayoi. This, he knew, was not the way that humans were, and to hold her up against demon expectations was…unreasonable. She simply didn't understand that she could no longer have contact with any males. If he were to go into a rage…there was no accounting who he might be forced to kill…

 

Sugimi frowned deeply, and looked into Izayoi's dark eyes. She looked at him with complete trust. And complete faith. “You…can never have contact with him. You can never have contact with any males.” His eyes narrowed seriously. “You are mine now and I will not have the scent of other males on you.”

 

Izayoi's eyebrows shot up in surprise then she lowered her eyes again and bowed. “My lord.”

 

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly and he nodded. “Very well.” He held his hand out to her and she hesitated before giving him her other hand. Sugimi could still smell the man Takemaru on her hand, and it left him slightly nauseated. He grabbed the offensive hand - more delicately this time - and rubbed it against his neck, his scent. This effectively removed the repulsive human male's smell, but Sugimi was beginning to see another problem. Since her castle was going to again be inhabited by more than just women, children, and the elderly, she would be in contact with males daily. There was a way to solve this, but it would take time.

 

He thought of his options as they traveled to his castle home in the misty realm. Izayoi was fragile, and humans were not meant to or able to live in the realm of demons for very long. She would become sick in a few days, which was why he never kept her for very long. As the mist rose around them he threw the fur of his mantle over her. She quit shivering. Humans were terribly fragile - susceptible to extreme heat and cold, disease, and old age. It was hard to believe they survived anything ever.

 

As they approached his home, Sugimi realized what must happen. He would have to build her a castle of her own.

 

When they arrived in his home he led her down the garden path into a secluded, private area. He meant to show her something special tonight, something that hadn't happened in exactly one hundred years. Sugimi always found it odd that the plant never grew. It didn't die either, but it only bloomed once every hundred years, on the anniversary of the night his parents met.

 

“This,” he explained as Izayoi turned to him questioningly, “is all that is left of my parents - the First Great Dog Demon and the First Princess of the Moon. They met on this mountain when the first gods came to Japan. Mizuki Hime was of the moon, a very old race of gods. She was the first of her people to come to this world - though, as you have seen in the pool, she was not the last…

 

“Inu Daiyokai, my father - the first and oldest of dog demons - took her as his mate. After I was born they left into the Realm of the Gods, leaving me the castle my father built for my mother. They couldn't remain here, but I was not a god, so I remained.

 

“This garden is my mother's. When she came from her home she brought only a flower, which she planted here. It will be blooming very soon…for the first time in a hundred years…”

 

He watched Izayoi gaze at the plant in the perfect moonlight. Silver streaks began to form around the tips of the flower buds, splitting off and dividing into petals. Slowly, waiting for the exact phase of the moon, the petals released and folded out until they had bloomed fully into almost twenty blossoms, the most Sugimi had ever seen it produce. Each petal was a shining, milky white, tipped with a shimmering, silver teardrop. A cool wind blew Izayoi's long hair across her face, and Sugimi watched the reflection of the flowers in her eyes.

 

Though the blossoms lasted for several hours before they closed again, Izayoi and Sugimi spent the time in relative silence. When the blossoms closed, Izayoi turned to him. “Your mother must have been very sad…and very beautiful. Her soul is in those flowers, I believe.”

 

Sugimi nodded. For a human, Izayoi had the most amazing perception. And understanding, for that matter. No one had ever affected him thusly. He had never…had someone to care about. No one had ever cared about him. And now that he had this - had her - he would not permit harm to come to her. He would make her happy.

 

“Izayoi,” he said softly. “You cannot live here with me. This place is harmful to humans.”

 

She smiled at this. “I am happy to only visit if that is all I can do, Sugimi.”

 

“I am building us a home in the realm of humans,” he said.

 

Her eyes were full of protest, but she seemed to think better of it. Instead, she bowed gracefully, gratefully, and swept a lock of hair from her face. For a moment, Sugimi considered the woman he would take for his mate. She was exceptional beauty, even by demon standards. She might not have been as strong or powerful as his previous, one-time lover, but Izayoi was kind and full of love - such foreign things to Sugimi that seemed to draw him to the woman despite the fact that she was human.

 

For a long time before her, Sugimi had been considering taking the long walk into the lands of his ancestors. His son, Sesshomaru could succeed him. But Izayoi gave him a reason to stay. Perhaps he could raise their child better than he had raised Sesshomaru. He could find a way to extend her life…and they could be together when they chose the long, dark path of death.

 

The urge to kiss the radiant woman grew inside of him, and Sugimi found no reason to deny it. Carefully, so as not to scratch her flawless skin, he ran his fingers down her soft cheek and pale neck, resting on her pulse point. Her lips were parted as her large eyes eminated love. She would never - could never - betray him. She would always be faithful and loyal, and she would never fear him. That, more than anything, drew him to her.

 

Izayoi made a pretty sighing noise as he captured her lips. It was a struggle to restrain himself from letting his demon instincts take over. He settled with pressing her slender form against his, bringing her into a deep, sensual kiss. Sugimi continued to be careful, as his teeth were sharp as razors, and could easily cut her lips. He laved attention on her full, lower lip before slipping his tongue out to meet hers. She seemed hesitent - Sugimi knew she had never even kissed another man, so this was understandable.

 

His restraint fell for a moment, and one of his razor canines lightly grazed Izayoi's bottom lip. Instead of gasping in pain, Sugimi felt her small body shudder with anticipation. Sugimi's desire rose, and he fought off the instincts of his demonic body - the instincts to take her right now. He was able to stop himself there, but unable to resist licking the small, thin trail of blood from her chin to the soft curve of her lower lip. With more discipline than he knew he had, he kissed her slowly, then hugged her to his chest.

 

It was easy to smell her desire, it radiated stronger than the scent of blood even. Combined with his aching body and the taste of her sweet, pure, untouched blood… Sugimi prepared to bring her back to her home in the human realm, forming the cloud at their feet. Her hands were flat his his chest, and when he looked down he could see the crest of her nose and her beautiful, reddened lips. The healing properties of his saliva - like any dog's - would heal her quickly. It wasn't a serious injury, but he was disappointed in himself over losing any amount of control. If he didn't retain his control, it was quite likely Izayoi could be seriously hurt.

 

Sugimi was serious and solemn as he kissed her farewell, watching her walk gracefully and slowly into her room. Her endurance and understanding amazed him once more. Any other human in her position would probably be scared senseless…but not Izayoi.

 

When Sugimi sat in meditation - alone in his seccluded castle - his thoughts drifted to Izayoi again and again. He sighed, looking up at the setting moon. “Izayoi,” he whispered.