Chapter 4: Denial
"Lord Inutaisho, is everything all right?" asked Myoga with concern.
Since they had left the town and returned to the mansion, Inutaisho had not spoken a word. As soon as they were inside the mansion, Inutaisho had gone into the library and sat at his table reading. Now, Inutaisho looked up from the book he had been reading, his expression and tone slightly irritated as he responded, "Everything is fine, Myoga. Now if you don't mind, I wish to be left alone." He then proceeded to look down at his book once more.
Myoga did as he was told and silently left the room. But as he left to go roam about outside, he continued to feel greatly concerned, as well as curious about his master's recent behavior. Myoga was sure it had to do with the young woman from this afternoon; the woman that Inutaisho had referred to as "exquisite." He was also sure that his master definitely needed some time alone to gather his thoughts. With that, he went outside, deciding to do some exploring of the forest, allowing his master some much needed privacy.
Meanwhile, Inutaisho tried to distract himself with the book he was reading. But it was becoming very clear to himself that his mind was not on the book. As hard as he tried, he could not get the image of Izayoi out of his mind. "If only she hadn't looked at me," he thought to himself in frustration. "Why did she have to look at me like that? Why did I just stand there? Why didn't I just look away, or at least walk away? Why can't I forget her scent? Why is her face burned in my memory?" All of these questions raced through his mind repeatedly, eventually causing him to toss the book aside angrily. As he sat in his chair, trying to calm himself, he found himself recalling that moment when he and Izayoi had looked at each other. He remembered her expression; she had looked so entranced and so enthralled by the sight of him. He also remembered that strange feeling he had felt as soon as their eyes had met. It was as if they had always known each other.
As he thought this over, Inutaisho brought one hand up to his face, covering his eyes and forehead, and shook his head in exasperation. He could not believe that this was happening to him. In all of his many demon years, no human female had ever left such a lasting impression on him. He could not figure out why, after all this time, was he suddenly desiring to know one particular human; desiring to break his own promise about never getting involved with humans.
"That can't happen, you fool," his voice of reason told him coldly. "You know damn well what the consequences of that could be. They hate you, you know. The humans fear and hate all demons; you're all but monsters to them; savage beasts and vicious killers. You remember what happened all those years ago do you not? You would not want to make another careless mistake, now would you?"
"That won't happen again," Inutaisho told himself sternly, forcing his voice of reason into silence. He was not about to lose control by recalling those terrible memories. They were in the past, where they belonged and he had certainly learned from his foolishness. He removed his hand from his forehead and stood up from his chair, a determined look on his face. "I will carry on as I always have. Nothing has changed and it never will. Besides, she's just a woman." Just a woman. Inutaisho could not help but grimace at his last statement. Even as he said it, that phrase hardly sounded sincere and honest. It was a flat out lie and he knew it. Then, he turned his head towards the window and realized that it was now dark outside. He could not believe that he had been shut inside his library for that long, completely losing track of the time. Then, Inutaisho stood up from his chair, still looking towards the window, out at the evening sky. He smiled a hungry, predatory smile as he said, "A perfect night for hunting. Besides, I could use a good distraction." He then stretched out his fingers and clenched them slightly, causing his knuckles to crack loudly. With that, he took off with his usual lightning speed out of the mansion and into the deepest and farthest reaches of the woods. As he did so, his claws suddenly became fully bared, while his eyes turned blood red, glowing like burning fire in the darkness. As he sniffed the air deeply, he suddenly smiled a broad, hungry smile, his many sharp teeth and fangs becoming bared, his voice now deep and hoarse as he growled out, "Easy prey!"