Title: The Encounter
Author: InusDemoness
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha anime, manga, or characters. All rights and property belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.
Summary: How Izayoi first met InuTaishou.
(Inner thoughts)
Dawn came in a heartbeat. It was hard to believe she had been asleep for hours before Akane woke her. She wasn't tired, she was anxious and perhaps her body was too unsettled and would not be calmed by sleep. She nibbled delicately at her breakfast, barely tasting anything. Her mind was a million miles away replaying last night's conversation in her head. She had no doubt that this great lord of demons cared for her, but she could not sort out her confusion toward him.
She couldn't feel anything beyond the impatient desire to return home. If she tried to examine the situation, then she had to admit she was intrigued by him. He was handsome, and his servants were devoted and loyal. Had he not taken her by force, there would be no black mark against him. But the truth was that she had already forgiven him for that since he promised to get her home. Akane informed her that the master of the house was gone but would be back soon. Izayoi was confident their plan would work, but she was also nervous for it to be over. Thinking about it sent a sickening jolt to her stomach and she lowered her tea cup.
"I think I've had quite enough. Thank you, Akane."
She smiled at the youkai as her tray was removed. Aoi came in immediately as her sister left. She must have been waiting outside the door. She was carrying a familiar bundle of silk and bowed with it in her arms.
"Izayoi-sama, we were instructed to dress you in your old kimono. Our master felt your father's men would grow suspicious if your clothes were not the same."
"Oh! Of course," she said in surprise. She had never given anything thought to what questions would come from her reappearing in an unfamiliar kimono. This one was still dirty, which she supposed was probably a good thing if she were to pretend she had been held captive in the forest. Aoi helped her disrobe and redress in the old night robes. She missed the new clothes as soon as they left her skin. It was vain and she knew it, but she could not deny that she had never worn finer silk.
"We will accompany you and Inu no Taisho-sama in order to help with this ruse," said Aoi.
"I only hope it works. It may be the only way to salvage my situation."
"I'm sure it will, Izayoi-sama. I have faith in my lord I know he will do everything in his power to help you."
"Thank you for that reassurance, Aoi. You and your sister have changed my view of youkai. I know now that youkai and spirits are like humans, they can be evil or good."
"Oh, but I disagree, my lady. All beings in this world are capable of good and evil, it's the one we identify with most that defines our character. But I hope my lord has helped change your view also?" Aoi smiled at her and began to tie her obi. Izayoi could feel the blush on her face.
"Yes, he has," she said. "Like you, I owe him my life. And I wish I could repay him, but the one thing he asks of me is the one thing I cannot give."
"My sister would accuse me of being brazen again, and perhaps I am, but I think that my lord would also be happy to know if he had your good wishes. Even if you cannot be his mate, it may comfort him to know that there is at least friendship between the two of you."
"Of course there is," she replied fondly. Akane opened the door and bowed very low.
"Izayoi-sama, our master has returned. It is time to depart the castle."
At least flying does not cause me motion sickness.
Lord Imagawa arranged eight search parties, each one containing forty men led by a samurai. Gensai was chosen to lead the third and they were charged with searching the northwest region of the Imagawa territory. First, he sent his men to round up the villagers planting rice in the fields and then gather everyone around him with the village elder standing by his side. It was a courtesy and it did help keep peasants calm if they saw their elder cooperating. Imagawa-sama was not one to purposefully mistreat the people in his land and this was something Gensai respected him for, so he tried to conduct the searches as painlessly as possible.
"As you know your gracious Daimyo, Imagawa-sama, is doing all he can to prevent enemy warriors from infiltrating our lands. In order to do this he has commanded a search of every village to ensure there are no deceitful individuals among us; people who may be vagrants. We can no longer suffer thieves, ronin, and miscreants to roam as they please and terrorize honest people." As Gensai spoke, one man stepped forward out of the crowd.
"This is unnecessary! There are no such villains living in this village! We have all lived here all our lives!" Some of his men moved forward with their hands on their swords, but he held up his hand to stop them. The village elder moved forward.
"Quiet Eiji! It is not your place to question the Daimyo's orders!" The young man took a step back, bowed and did not speak again.
"Men, search the huts, but cause as little damage as possible." He left his second-in-command in charge of the hut after giving the order and retired to the elder's hut where the old man's granddaughter was busy preparing tea.
"We do not hear much news here and there is little to no communication with the other villagers, great samurai. Tell me, has crime increased so much?" Gensai accepted the tea from the young woman and took a sip for courtesy's sake. Outside he could hear the villagers mumbling complaints at the violation of their homes. He could not pretend that all of his men had the type of honor he would like and if the villagers voiced any insults there was a chance that blood would be spilt.
"There have been an alarming number of reports this past year. In his great wisdom, the Daimyo hopes this display of intolerance for such mischief in his lands will either lead to the capture of these rogues or frighten them into leaving." The old man nodded, apparently satisfied with the lie.
Word of Izayoi-sama's disappearance could not be allowed to reach her father's enemies.
Most of the lord's vassals agreed that it was unlikely that whoever took Izayoi-sama would be able to make good time. She had only been missing two days now and that was not enough time to enter the castle and leave this territory. But the pace of the search parties was slow. They had to stop to search every village they passed and scout every forest.
"Gensai-dono." His lieutenant entered the hut and bowed.
"Well?"
"Gensai-dono, the search is complete and nothing out of the ordinary has been found."
"Then we will move on." He waved the lieutenant away and turned back to the elder.
"I trust you will keep a sharp eye for any persons of malicious intent?"
"We will indeed and wish you great success in your mission." The old man bowed and kept his head down as they departed. Gensai mounted his horse and led his men out onto the road and on to the next village. If he was being honest with himself, he knew the odds were not in their favor for finding Izayoi-sama alive.
She was put in a crude cage shaped like a three-sided pyramid made from bamboo and rope. The cage she could have lived with, but not the oni that towered behind it. A monstrous thing, she judged it to be taller than her father's castle. How it hid itself among the trees was a mystery. Its skin was dingy, dark red and she could see two horns and a mop of gray, shaggy hair on its head. The eyes were large, round, and glowing bright crimson. It wore only a loin cloth and seemed very dim witted. She stood positioned just so she could keep it in sight because while she doubted its intelligence she did not doubt its teeth.
When Inu no Taisho showed up at the castle, riding on the shoulder of the beast, she had a moment of fear that she was about to be devoured. If you had rejected a great demon lord and he suddenly appeared commanding a gargantuan oni, what else is there to think? But here they were in the woods, about a day's ride from her father's castle. Akane and Aoi were busy smearing her face and clothes with dirt and messing up her hair. If she had to play the part of a demon's captive, then she could not walk away clean.
"I think you should rip the fabric of my kimono."
"Are you sure, Izayoi-sama?" Asked Aoi.
"Yes, we need to be thorough." Aoi choose a portion of her skirts and began ripping it. Izayoi glance over to her right where the trees were a little closer together. She could still see him. She could see the white of his kimono and the silver of his hair. He was standing perfectly still, like the night she first saw him. She wanted to speak with him, to tell him that he did have her friendship, but she couldn't. She wasn't certain what was stopping her. Perhaps it was that they were not alone, maybe she couldn't find the words, or was too afraid to voice them.
"The men from your father's castle are near," he said as he walked back to the cage.
"Are you sure?" Her stomach was in knots.
"I smell a large group not far off, and two more are in this very forest and coming closer. Akane, Aoi it's time to hide yourselves." The two sisters bowed in unison and flew into the trees.
"We will be watching as a precaution, but do not fear, he knows what will happen if he does anything other than what was ordered." He gave the oni a cold look and she saw this behemoth of monsters recoil in fear. He turned back to her and his gaze softened.
"I am not accustomed to losing. It is particularly hard now because I do not believe I have ever desired anything as much." He slipped a hand through the bars of her makeshift cage and cupped her dirty cheek. She didn't pull away as propriety dictated she should. In that moment she wasn't afraid of anything other than her own desire to stay with him.
She imagined how easy it would be. One word from her and he would rip the cage apart and they could fly back to the castle. She could spend the rest of her life looking into those eyes. And then she saw her father's face, and her mother's. Guilt rushed back like a tide of cold water.
"The future of my clan, I cannot." Before she could finish or pull away, he slipped his other hand inside the cage and cupped both of her cheeks.
"And what if I promised to destroy these enemies that plague your clan? I could wipe them out in a day and erase their threat. Could I have your love then, my lady?" She gave him a sad smile.
"Is it that simple, my lord? Would not another enemy spring up eventually? And even if not, I still have certain expectations to live up to. A promise was made and if I were to break it, then my word and my father's word would be worthless. I cannot."
"Then this is where we part." He ran his thumb across her cheek and pulled his hands away. As he walked away into the trees he glanced at the oni and said, "begin". The red youkai raised its head a let out a thunderous roar. She stumbled to one side of the cage and clapped her hands over her ears. On the second roar, she felt her teeth vibrate. She knelt down, with her hands still over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
It was not long after midday when Gensai's search party met up with the search party led by Watanabe Rukuro. The two samurai decided to rest together and compare news and then go their separate ways to continue the search. The samurai and their lieutenants move away from the group to keep their conversation out of earshot. They found a fallen tree and sat side-by-side while their lieutenants remained standing. Gensai removed his helmet and passed it to his lieutenant.
"There has been neither sign of her, nor anyone of a suspicious nature in our search so far," said Gensai.
"We have come up just as empty in ours," said Watanabe as he removed his helmet. "I sent two scouts to probe a forest not far from here. Have you encountered trouble searching the villages?"
"None other than grumbling complaints. I do worry that this ruse of looking for rogues will cause a panic among them."
"There is a chance of that but this story was agreed upon by all before departing the castle. We cannot let the news of this spread too far. I have caught wind of the rumor circulating among my men. They have heard tales from the servants of the castle."
"Yes, I'm sure my men suspect as well. We need only keep them quiet until Izayoi-sama is recovered. The rumor will turn to old news and have little potency if she is no longer missing by the time it becomes public knowledge."
"Unless she is harmed in some way," corrected Watanabe.
"We can only pray that whoever took her knew that harming her would damage their position for negotiation. But I grow concerned that there were no demands made for her safe return." A distant noise sounded in the air. Suddenly the camp was quiet and all the men were looking around in confusion. The noise rang out again and sent a chill down Gensai's spine. It was a sound like an avalanche but there was something primal and grotesque about it.
There is nothing human about that.
Shouts from the camp drew their attention. Two men on horseback were riding in their direction. "My scouts return," said Watanabe.
The scouts made for them at a frantic pace and only managed to jerk their horses to a stop in time so they would not mow their commanders down.
"Watanabe-dono," began the first scout. The man was breathless and there was a wild look in his eye.
"A youkai!" The second scout was just as panicked. "A gigantic oni in the forest! And…it has someone in a cage! We couldn't risk getting close, but I'm sure!" Gensai stood up, marched over to the second scout, dragged him from his horse, and snarled in his face.
"What did you say?"
"An oni in the forest with a hostage in a cage, great samurai!" Gensai shook the scout so hard the man's helmet fell off.
"Was it a woman? Answer me!"
"The person was cowering in the cage, great samurai," said the other scout. "We could not see, but I believe they were wearing a woman's kimono." Gensai dropped the other scout and turned to Watanabe.
"Could it be youkai who took her, just as they tried to ambush your group before?" Asked Watanabe.
"We have to go. If it is Izayoi-sama, we must rescue her now." Both samurai turned to their lieutenants.
"Go," barked Watanabe. "Rally the men and fetch our horses!"
"You two," said Gensai, turning back to the petrified scouts. "You will lead us to this youkai!"