Tapestry Ch2: Deal with a Demon
Alt text: in which we meet two of my new favorite characters and I don't know how to write accents
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"YOU MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON?!"
The voice shrieked.
"And not metaphorically you, you LITERALLY MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON!" The occupant of the voice was the only one that could address the head of the Hayashi family in such a demeaning and childish way—his wife.
"I had no choice! By his simple appearance, my hands were tied, I couldn't—"
"Oh! OH! So a demon comes a callen' and you jus' give him the grand ol' tour! Shake hands, make friends and get in' bed with em'?"
"Dear, your dialect, it's slipping back—"
The woman's voice was exasperated, but real fear was behind her rant, "Our name is shamed! The Hayashi's final blow, we will have our throats slit in our sleep! I'm sure the entire village is rebelling now, coming to burn down the estate!"
The suffering husband looked more the part of a child as he sat in front of the raving woman as she paced back and forth.
Izayoi sighed, shifting numb legs that had been folded under her far too long.
"Quit squirming." Complained the second witness of the dispute—unjustified grumbling as he sat legs sprawled with a disregard and freedom she would never be allowed.
Her brother Ichirou was blessed both with being older and being male, two things Izayoi had yet to achieve herself. With their aptly named first son already taken care of, Izayoi was left as a political asset and spoiled noble lady—flourishing at the latter, as her mother always took care to remind her, but making less front on the former. At nearly eighteen and a maid, her chances at marriage were slimming fast, owing in a good part to her stubbornness.
"Shove it, Ichirou, like you're one to talk. You try to maintain a seiza for as long as mother can fume and not be anything but pins and needles by the end."
"Speaking of the end," her brother shifted his position, leaning closer to continue their hushed conversation. "When will this be over?" he voiced Izayoi's thought.
She sighed.
"I don't know." Izayoi said, exasperated, pausing before indignation crept into her voice as she continued "What's it to you? As if you have something productive to do after, besides going off to some brothel to heap more shame upon poor Nayo-chan."
Her brother quirked a half smile, reveling the missing tooth next to his left canine.
"What can I say? Is it not the duty of the noble class to breathe life into the economy through spending? Blessed curse that all the whores in the province are clamoring for my attention, I say."
"Ah, the noble's duty—as if our falling house could be called such. What little power the Hayashi clan has and Nayoko married into is ruined by the shame you heap upon her with your…your harlotry."
"Harlotry?" Ichirou gave an angry smirk, his little sister's cheek finally beginning to rub him the wrong way. "And look at you, trying to sound all smart about the family's state of affairs when all you do all day is sashinko and bemoan the silver spoon you suck on for its spot of tarnish."
Izayoi's cheek bloomed red. Her mouth opened to retort but her brother continued, more vinegar seeping into his voice.
"You accuse me of shamming a wife that I took out of charity and obedience to father to begin with. I have no need of a bride to be useful to our family, and don't pretend that Nayoko isn't ornamental, as frail as her countenance is. Perhaps you should fix that wretched character of yours and find yourself a husband before accusing me of not doing my part—that's all you're good for after all, isn't it?"
Izayoi's brown eyes stung, distracting her from sharpening her tongue for retort. Before she got the chance though, before even the spiteful words had fully left her big brother's mouth, a fist—deceptively small—indented the top of his head.
Ichirou hissed in pain, shielding his head and curling away from the blow.
"Watch your tongue," A voice rasped, "Is this the boy I raised?"
Ichirou rubbed fretful hands over his crown a few more times before obediently apologizing.
"Tha's what I thought."
She next turned to her daughter, sparing nothing in her glare.
"And don't give me those crocodile tears. Are you not at fault, antagonizing your elder brother? Not that what she speaks isn't truth." She turned back to Ichirou.
The young man scoffed. Lady Hayashi shook her head.
"And such behavior at twenty-four. Shame on you."
Ichirou's hands dropped from his head as he turned away from his mother. She sighed.
"And shame on me." She reached out to lay an affectionate hand on her son's head. It only lay there a moment before he batted it away, standing in a huff to leave.
"Don't you leave the estate before stopping to see your father. Try and make yourself useful to this family, eh?" The older man had apparently snuck out when his wife had distracted herself with their misbehaving offspring. Ichirou grunted an affirmative and gave a lazy wave as he disappeared out the door.
"You think you're done at raising em'. Get em' grown, get em' wed, but then no grandchildren to speak of and if it isn't your legacy to worry about it's another…" the elder woman muttered to herself as she straightened her appearance, tucking a strand here and tightening a bow there.
Lady Hayashi was a vibrant woman that hailed from a far kingdom, for which she owed her informal dialect too. Along in years now her beauty was faded, her demeanor both brash and caring. She had a bad habit of letting her accent slip when in the intimate circle of her immediate clan and was fiercely protective of them. She was almost always active, even in her advancing years, and had a flare for the dramatic. She was sincere though, in a brash and heated sort of way.
Izayoi blink away the remnants of the storm that had been threatening in her eyes.
"I hate him." She supplied quietly.
Her mother turned to her, stern at her words.
"It's okay because he hates me too." She continued.
Her mother attempted to capture her gaze but she refused to match it.
"…child."
"…"
Lady Hayashi knelt before her youngest, curling an arm around her shoulders.
"Do you remember when you were three and the Shi family from the Provence over came to visit? Back then you did nothing but stare at the last koi in our pond and the Shi boys that had been playing with your brother all day decided to scoop it out just to get a rise out of you. And your brother gave both of those boys, a year and two years older than himself, such shiners you could damn near see your reflection in them. He's still missing that tooth."
Izayoi's eyes stung again but she kept her indignant pout.
"Your brother loves you. So stop pouting or your face will stick that way."
Her mother stood and so did she. The elder woman gave a great sigh, one of many she seemed to heave that day.
"I worry about you."
Izayoi turned to meet her mother's gaze.
"And your father and your brother. The appearance of this Inugami makes my bones ache. I had thought these demons and their troubles had died long ago in the past of the Hayashi clan."
Lady Hayashi turned to leave.
"Why has the demon come? Why to us?"
The elder woman turned back at her daughter's question.
"I won't speak of those dark times to you or anyone. I fear breathing life back into something that should stay long dead."
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Sup, friendos
So this is the last chapter I have chronologically written. I want to write one more in this chronology but then we are flying by the seat of our pants ladies and gentlemen. It may start getting chippy reeeal soon.
As always, please REVEIW! It's honestly the most encouraging thing ever and I'd really like to interact more with the Inuyasha fan community!