Chapter 8: Growing Temptation

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore," Inutaisho muttered to himself in frustration, covering his forehead and eyes with one hand.

After his encounter with Izayoi, Inutaisho had returned to the forest once more. As soon as he was sure that he was completely out of her sight, he had begun to run aimlessly through the woods, almost as though he were trying to outrun his own thoughts. Eventually, for no particular reason, Inutaisho stopped running and noticed one of many tall trees standing before him. With that, he leaped up into the tallest branches and proceeded to sit down, leaning his back against the trunk of the tree. Here, he had remained for the last couple of hours, contemplating what had happened and feeling more and more agitated and confused.

"Why must you persist on making things more difficult for yourself?" his voice of reason chided him. "You should have simply walked away and left that woman to her fate."

This caused Inutaisho to utter a low, fierce growl, grinding his teeth together very roughly. Quickly, however, he began to compose himself, deliberately taking slow, relaxed breaths. "Don't you dare lose control," he urged himself determinedly, desperately. He was all too aware just how dangerous his anger could become; he could not risk losing control, even for a moment. But as he sat there soothing himself, he knew that there was no denying the truth of the matter. He could have, should have, stayed away from Izayoi, yet had chosen not to. As a matter of fact, he had been in the forest today for the sole purpose of avoiding her entirely. He knew that his fascination and curiosity with Izayoi was still present; therefore, he had decided to avoid going to Kasumi Town for a couple of days. He had assured himself that this would be just enough time for him to "break the spell," as he had put it.

But it seemed that fate had thought otherwise. He realized that the moment he first caught the faint scent of Izayoi mixed in with the smells of the forest. Initially, he had wondered what she was doing there in the forest all by herself. But then, he had tried his best to ignore her presence and continue on his way, which he might very well have succeeded in doing so. But the moment he became aware that her scent was growing fainter and heading off into an unknown part of the forest, Inutaisho could no longer ignore the situation. He knew she was there somewhere; he also knew how easy it was for a human to lose there way in these woods. Swiftly, he had begun to follow the trail of her scent and within a short amount of time, had caught up with her. But he had not made his presence known to her immediately. Instead, he had quietly followed her from a distance, watching her as she wandered about the forest. She had seemed so at ease there all by herself, hardly what he had expected to see. She had even wandered so far away from the path, and yet had not seemed the least bit concerned. Instead, she looked very content and peaceful, admiring her surroundings in silent awe. Despite this, however, Inutaisho simply could not bring himself to walk away and leave Izayoi alone, though his mind urged him to do just that. He had to be sure that she was in no danger whatsoever before he could even think to leave her alone. Eventually, as he had watched her carefully, Inutaisho had noticed Izayoi becoming worried as well as frightened. He had watched as she had unsuccessfully attempted to retrace her steps, her face becoming more and more panicked as she began to fully comprehend her situation. It was then that her fear and anxiety became so intense that he, himself, had been able to smell it all over her. Without even thinking about it, he had made his way towards her, abandoning his prior stealthy manner and at last making himself known to her.

Even as he looked back on everything, Inutaisho still could hardly make sense out of it. Although he had tried his hardest to remain as distant as possible, it had not deterred Izayoi in her attempts to converse with him later on, and there was no question as to why. He had noticed the innocent curiosity and interest that filled her dark eyes, especially when she had asked for his name and about where he had come from. "She wants to know about me," he thought with concern. "She's curious about me and probably won't rest until she learns all that she wants to know." It was this realization that had been plaguing Inutaisho for these last couple of hours. He worried that it would now be more difficult than ever to maintain a low profile from here on out. Yet, Inutaisho could not deny that after meeting Izayoi, he felt as though something was beginning to change within him; he now felt more tempted than ever before to break his vow about not getting close to humans. Also, despite his concerns, Inutaisho could not bring himself to regret his actions. He knew that he could never have lived with himself if he had knowingly, willingly, walked away and left a helpless woman lost and alone in the forest. He knew the forest well enough to know the dangers that it could hold for a fragile, young human like Izayoi. "I may be a monster," he thought to himself, a decisive look forming on his face, "but I am certainly not lacking in mercy, rationality, and manners."

Manners. As he thought of this word, Inutaisho suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him, and it did not take him very long to figure out why. He soon began to recall his encounter with Izayoi once more; except this time, he was recalling his behavior towards her as they had walked back to Kasumi. Specific images began to play themselves out in his mind; his cold, aloof manner as they had walked in lengthy silence; his reluctance to answer her seemingly harmless questions; and finally, his last words to her as they had parted ways. Inutaisho had not failed to notice the tinge of eagerness in Izayoi's voice as she had casually said that they might meet again. Still determined to maintain some distance between them, he had responded in a way that he felt would have ensured that she would become irritated with him, thus causing her to lose any interest in him. But now, as he looked back on it, he felt more than just a little ashamed of himself. She had seemed to be trying so hard to please him and she had even seemed to be struggling just to speak with him. And then, when she had innocently said that she considered him to be fortunate, he had briefly allowed his emotions to betray him by becoming upset; he remembered how concerned and sympathetic she had looked when he had eventually glanced back at her. Even now, it stunned him to think that at that moment, she had seemed to be empathizing with his inner turmoil; even when she knew absolutely nothing about him or about who, what, he truly was. "She possesses a kind and gentle heart to pity a stranger that way," he mused as the image of her sympathetic face entered his mind. "And I did little to return the kindness," he thought bitterly. In fact, the more he thought about these things, the more he found himself worrying that he might have given Izayoi the wrong impression. "She seems to be a very sensitive young woman," he reasoned. "She'll most likely think that she displeased me somehow. That she was somehow to blame for my own rudeness."

At this, Inutaisho let out a deep sigh, now feeling bewildered by the various thoughts and emotions that he was experiencing. But most of all, he was also beginning to question if wanting to know Izayoi was truly so wrong of him. Eventually, he lifted his head up towards the sky and suddenly, a thought struck him. "Is all of this happening for a reason?" he questioned himself. "Am I being challenged to break my vow after all of these years?" Maybe he was. Maybe everything that had transpired thus far was an act of fate. And if it was, then he knew that it was a futile effort to try and stop it. But what if it was not? What if it was merely his own selfish desires trying to lead him astray? Even worse, what if his foolish actions once more led to something terrible happening? All of these questions filled Inutaisho's mind, causing him to become even more distressed. "I must get away from here," he said determinedly. "I'll go crazy if I sit here another moment." As he said this, Inutaisho knew exactly where he wanted to go. He would go to the one place that he knew could put his mind at ease; the one place where he always managed to find his answers. With that, he took off with blinding speed to the place he had visited many times in the past. It had always been the perfect place to do some much needed soul searching. "Hmm, soul searching," he scoffed lightly at himself, a wry smile forming on his lips. "What fitting choice of words," he said with a sarcastic tone. He continued to run determinedly, vowing that he would not stop until he got there.

AN: Hello again readers! Sorry for taking so long again. Hope you guys like the story thus far. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews and please continue reading!