The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

The Diary of Izayoi

Izayoi never thought she would be so fearful of her life. Born into a wealthy family of nobles, she was a young woman brought up with everything she could desire. Growing up, she was graced with beauty and a gentle nature, like a flower in everlasting bloom. Perhaps this was why people sometimes thought that she was too naïve and fragile to understand the world around her. However, today she did understand, all too clearly.

It all began when she had entered the tenth year from when she was born. She had sensed that all was not right with her home. Little by little, the properties and lands surrounding their castle gradually dwindled in size, taken over by lords of neighbouring lands. There was strain on the nobles' faces as they silently conversed with each other, behind her back, although all she had to do was to listen to the servants as they gossiped away while cleaning the food trays. And finally, her parents, loving as they were, had begun to talk of marriage. An idea Izayoi did not quite believe in, until she noticed the first foreign prince presented before her in the large throne room, richly dressed in fine silks, and in the company of his servants and vast amounts of gifts.

If only he could see her expression from behind the screen, and she was glad he could not as she herself was only slowly beginning to realise what was happening, when one of the ladies-in-waiting handed the young hime a note filled with words of love.

At first, Izayoi greeted every subsequent prince who was presented before her with timidness, every time thankful that the screen before her protected her true emotions. The ladies-in-waiting giggled and blushed at every dark-haired man – young princes and lords – retelling her how handsome they were, how wealthy, and how much power they held within the country. Every time, she conversed with the man in question with her gentle voice, listening intently as she could as he prattled on about how much he was enchanted by her charms, her grace, and how long he toiled in attempt to write a poem to describe her very nature in such a few lines. Every time the same thing would occur, each time a polite rejection was given to every single man, and by the time of the seventh lunar cycle, the hime grew slightly weary of them, much to the surprise and often disappointment of her parents.

They too, grew weary of her continued outburst of stubborn behaviour, so out of character for such a gentle and proper girl such as Izayoi. So many suitable noblemen were offered by them for their daughter, but instead of submitting and selecting the most suitable and wealthy noble as a husband, she had decided to refuse, without any sort of explanation for such a vulgar attitude.

"Why?" her father finally asked one night after yet another failed courtship meeting.

Izayoi kept her eyes facing to the ground, wanting to protest her innocence. How could she bring herself to be interested in someone when there was no interest to begin with? Though she remained silent, her shaking hands betrayed her, which did not please her parents at all. Didn't she realise that she was being selfish? Their house of nobles was declining in wealth and power, and yet their daughter was refusing to fulfil her important duty of a prosperous marriage.

"I will not tolerate your defiance. You will be married, Izayoi, whether you like it or not."

For the first time, the young hime had never felt so scared for her life. Her parents had stated quite plainly that she would be sold off to the one who would be willing to pay, and if not, Izayoi would be publicly humiliated by the fact that it was she who allowed their status to decline.

Left alone in her bed chambers, Izayoi wept in a fit of despair, unable to contain her calm any longer. What was she going to do; she had no one to confide in, no one to talk to.

She was all alone, only awaiting her time to be married off to some lord. Oh how she despised the idea.

The sounds of her sorrow echoed around the room, floating into the still night until it reached into the canine ears of a youkai. A no ordinary youkai, for he was the size of a mountain with a fierce face and eyes the colour of amber. The noise had alerted him as he flew over the human palace, and so he swooped down to investigate, his presence noticed by the hime when she saw the monstrous silhouette pass across the shoji door before disappearing just as quickly.

Fearful, and a little bit curious, she found herself sliding the door open as far as she dared, looking into the garden to see what the creature could possibly be. Except when she found nothing out of the ordinary, Izayoi sighed in disappointment. That was until she heard a voice apparently coming from behind a tree, a voice that caused her to blush.

It was a man. It was a man, alone with her, with no one else to see. What would her parents say when they found out she was with someone without their knowledge? She was already in deep trouble as it was.

"Why were you crying?" he asked, curious.

"I-I was not…" she stammered in reply.

"Of course you were. I could smell your tears."

This statement somewhat startled the hime. How was it possible for this man to smell her tears? For a mere man, it was impossible.

"But I'm not a man. Well, not exactly. I'm a youkai."

At this, Izayoi gasped, running hurriedly back into her room, and slamming the door behind her before the youkai had the chance to react.

The following day, the young hime did not dare tell anyone of her encounter with the mysterious youkai. Not that she could, everyone was too concerned with their own problems. So, Izayoi decided to spend time in the garden, the same garden where she had heard the voice from the previous night. It was silly she knew, however there was a sense of eagerness in hearing his voice again, or was it anxiety? She couldn't really tell. Who and what could this creature be? Did he have a certain appearance, or perhaps he was merely a spirit wanting to talk with her. So many possibilities and Izayoi had no clear idea. All she could do was to wait and find out when she had the chance.

Night had fallen, yet the hime was still wide awake, her attentions focussed solely on the door. The whole day had seemed to take forever, but she was glad when the wait was over when she saw what she was looking for: the same fearsome shadow flying across the door before disappearing again into nothing. Peeking through the gap of the door, Izayoi cautiously padded onto the porch and into the moonlit garden.

"Why did you run away from me?" the same voice asked, this time, sounding a little upset. "That wasn't very nice."

"W-well," she tried to say, without sounding offended. "How am I supposed to react when a strange man out of nowhere, starts talking to me, and then saying he is a youkai."

"So you think I am strange?"

Izayoi was bewildered for a proper answer, so it was her silence that answered in her place. And as the silence continued to linger, the atmosphere around them grew increasingly uncomfortable.

"A-are you still there?" she said, not wanting him to leave because of her hesitation. Walking towards the direction where she thought she heard the sound, she tried to look for him amongst the flower bushes and behind the tree, saying, "Where do you come from?"

To her relief, the man answered.

"I come from far way. My home is in the mountains."

Izayoi couldn't help but smile. The man sounded pleasant enough, though she knew very well of stories of youkai who would make themselves appear more charming and kind. A romantic creature, who would spy on the young maiden for a few days before asking the maiden's hand in marriage, or try to steal them away in their sleep, or worse. It was a story her mother was always fond of telling. Besides, she thought to herself, if this youkai did live in such a faraway place, high up in the mountains, why would he bother to come to see her?

"Actually, it was your gardens," he admitted, sheepishly, "I… well… I was surveying my lands when I chanced upon your lovely greenery. It smelt divine… Uh, very fresh…"

"Oh," the hime's smile grew bigger. "Do you like it? I tend to them myself sometimes, although my parents do disapprove. They'd rather see me arranging flowers than digging up dirt.

"Gardens are very comforting. They are so vibrant, the flowers, the leaves… every season there is something different. Gardens are always there, even when people would rather turn you away."

"Then, you are lonely?"

"I… I don't know…" she blushed, feeling uneasy about his question. Izayoi had not really thought about being lonely. Was she lonely? The palace was always filled with people, from the highest nobles, to the servants. Always surrounded by people, and yet… not since her father's announcement…

Tears began to fill her eyes, as a sudden overwhelming grief caused her to run into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"You know, you really shouldn't do that," he said the following night, once more, sounding a little upset. "Or else I'm going to start thinking that my presence actually offends you."

The young girl had never felt so embarrassed, with her cheeks feeling very hot indeed. It seemed no matter how many times she bowed and apologised for her actions, she could feel that he was only making fun of her at her expense. She didn't mean to burst out into tears. But then, he didn't have the right to say such things to her, because it was he who had reminded her of the terrible fate she was about to endure.

"Where are you anyway? I cannot keep talking to the air. And, who are you, really? So that I might know what kind of person you are." With this, Izayoi held her breath, more out of fear than anything else. How was she supposed to know if it was safe, if this youkai did not really want to eat her, and wasn't simply toying with her to make her feel a false sense of security?

However, when he finally stepped out from behind the tree, the young hime's breath was taken away by his ethereal beauty.

Like a fairy tale.

The moonlight highlighted the silver locks of his long hair, and made his eyes glow eerily, a true creature of the unknown.

"I am, my dear lady," he began, "known as the Inu Youkai, the Inu no Tashio. Lord of the mountains, and the lands below."

Izayoi's face paled at this, and hastily lowered her head to the ground so that her eyes would not meet his. He was a lord, a youkai lord of military bearing, no less, here to ask her hand in marriage. Here, on the pretence of being friendly, someone to talk to when she had no one else. Even though those exact words did not come from his mouth, he had played the part well, and now Izayoi was trapped by a custom which dictated that any man and woman, who met together for three consecutive days, would be in effect, 'together'.

"I assure you," he insisted. "It's nothing like that, your garden—"

"My garden…? You… you…," she fumed, "how dare you! And I…, I thought… Well, I am not going to marry you, no matter how much money you can dangle in front of my parents."

The only thing the youkai could do was to watch the hime storm back into her bed chambers, but not before she managed to throw a fist full of dirt in his direction. Blinking as he brushed the dirt off his armour, he began to wonder what he had said to deserve such a reaction.

"What a strange girl…" he then mused, floating up into the air using his moko-moko, feeling a little perplexed, and rather hurt. Still, something like this was not going to stop him. The tears of the girl had piqued his interest, and the way she had looked, with her sad, dark eyes, told him that he should help her. That, and her habit of running away from him before they had the chance to properly talk, infuriated him.

After all, what kind of youkai would he be to let a lady cry?

Rusty writing...