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Perfect Reflection	By : AngelaBlythe Category: InuYasha > General Views: 1401 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
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CHAPTER 3:

Izayoi woke that morning with a feeling of infinite
happiness.� She had not felt this way at
any time in her life that she remembered.�
Her people were safe, her lands were safe, and Inu no Taishou was an
honored guest of her house.� She washed
her face and dressed quickly in her nicest clothes and long, pink, flowered
kimono jacket.� She brushed out her hair
laboriously, and it shone like ebony when she was done.

However, when Izayoi opened the sliding door to her father�s
rooms, Inu no Taishou was no longer there.�
She hung her head in shame.� Of
course, he would no longer be there.� It
must be a great inconvenience for him to have to be housed by humans.� Izayoi felt tears of shame burn in her
eyes.� He would not even stay for
her.� She had misread his kindness � it
was just kindness.� The best she could
hope for would be a traveling monk who could help her chronicle Inu no
Taishou�s brief visit to her house, and how he saved the land from Oyakata.� She silently closed the door and turned out towards
the garden.

Inu no Taishou stood bathed in the purity of morning light,
his silvery hair gleaming brightly.�
Izayoi scolded herself.� Inu no
Taishou was a noble demon; he would not leave without at least saying
farewell.� He turned suddenly and stared
up at her.� His golden eyes flashed.� Izayoi nodded and she came down the wooden
stairs to where Inu no Taishou stood at the mouth of the garden.

�My lord,� she said smoothly, bowing.� �I am so glad to see you healed.�� He had once again donned his metal armor and
mantle, and he looked every inch a lord, a warrior, and a general.�

He grunted without comment and took off down the path to the
garden.� Izayoi stayed behind him a step
and to his right.� If there was one thing
her castle could take pride in it was the gardens.� Her father had been a botanist in his spare
time, and grew many different orchids.�
The gardens were always kept in perfect shape, even after his death and
with the limited resources the castle had.�
Izayoi was proud to have the Great Dog Demon in her gardens, for she
knew that there must only be grander in the heavens.

�Izayoi,� the Great Dog Demon said suddenly, pivoting to
face her gracefully.

Izayoi bowed in a surprised manner.� �My lord,� she replied softly.

�I must leave, Izayoi,� he said simply.� �But your kindness and hospitality will not
go unrewarded.� Meet me where you first
saw me at the next full moon.�

Izayoi swallowed hard.�
�My lord, I do not expect any kind of reward.� Your honored presence is all I could have hoped
for.�

At this, the Dog General cupped her cheek in his large,
clawed hand and tipped her face to him.�
To her pleasure, she saw that he smiled.�
�Nonetheless�� he said in a low voice.�
�The next full moon.�

Izayoi was beyond words as she watched him take off, white
fur floating grandly behind him.

For days Izayoi was listless.� Every waking moment she had her thoughts on
the Great Dog Demon, and she moved through her duties languidly.� It didn�t really matter, though, because many
people were still too scared to venture out of the mountains.� Izayoi received a lone message from her
fianc� saying that he was trying to end the war as soon as possible, and might
be home by the New Year � almost five months away.� Izayoi tried to occupy herself, but the most
she could do was clean or tend the garden, neither of which she minded.

As the moon began to wax Izayoi became impatient, and
villagers began to creep cautiously from the mountains about the castle.� She realized that it might be difficult to
reach the peak she met Inu no Taishou in secret.� Nevertheless, when the moon reached its
fullness, Izayoi was reasonably sure that no one suspected her true reason for
visiting the village below the castle.

Izayoi was on the peak right as the full moon began to rise,
but she still had several hours to wait.�
She knelt in the shadow of a nearby, low-hanging tree until the moon was
at its zenith.� With her hands folded
patiently in her lap, Izayoi concentrated on staying calm.� She refused to make a fool of herself before
Inu no Taishou yet again.� As she stared
at her hands a chill breeze filled her hair.�
Looking up she saw the Dog General.

�Inu no Taishou,� she whispered, pushing her hands out in
front of her and bowing her head to meet them.

�Please, stand, Izayoi,� he said to her, his voice low and
almost sad sounding.

When she rose she saw that his brows were knitted
together.� He beaconed to her.� �Come,� he requested.

She nodded and stood at his side.� He towered above her, gleaming in his armor
and silvery hair.� Silently, he placed a
hand on her shoulder and a cloud formed at their feet.� Where is he taking
me, she asked herself.� The moment she
looked up at him questioningly the cloud began to move, and though it was quite
solid beneath her feet, Izayoi fought the strongest urge to cling to the Great
Dog Demon franticly.� With her eyes
closed and her hands clenched together in prayer, Izayoi shook with fear, but
did not touch Inu no Taishou.� She did
not see the odd flash of emotion that passed over the Dog General�s face before
he drew her close to him, holding her firmly to his side.

Izayoi�s shuddering was calmed, and she inhaled deeply into
Inu no Taishou�s robes.� He smelled of
the summer wind and ancient power.�
Izayoi noticed the air becoming thin, and the temperature dropping
rapidly.� Soon she was shivering because
of the cold, not because of fear.� It was
then that the Great Dog Demon draped the white fur of his mantle around her
shoulders, and � for the first time in Izayoi�s life � she felt completely
safe.

Sooner than she would have liked, Inu no Taishou removed his
hand from her back, and she stepped away.�
Izayoi gasped at what she saw.� A
thin mist rose about her feet, and she saw that she was atop a seemingly
endless mountain.� They were at the top
of a set of limestone stairs that disappeared into the mist down the
mountainside.� But the sight that would
never leave her was the austere perfection and absolute beauty of the Great Dog
Demon�s home.� The castle was pure white,
and rose several stories into the atmosphere.� Huge pines grew at the edges of the castle,
and the grand entrance was guarded by two, humongous demon dog statues.�

�Allow me to repay your kindness, Izayoi,� he entreated her.

Walking through the castle, one might wonder at the empty
severity of it.� But to Izayoi it was the
ultimate testament to his nobility.� Inu
no Taishou�s castle was built with white wood and stone, and everything gleamed
with its own light.� As he led her
through the halls, Izayoi did her best to keep her eyes low, but she couldn�t
help but marvel at the craftsmanship of the pillars or the richness of the
floors.

Izayoi knelt before a low, long table with only a small box
on it.� Inu no Taishou knelt on the other
side, his eyes trained on her.� �I
brought you here to give you this in appreciation for your kindness,
Izayoi.� Open it.�

Izayoi knew better than to refuse a gift from a demon.� She did not wish to insult him,
especially after all he had done for her and her people.� So she took the finely crafted and decorated
box in her hand and undid the metal clasp.�
Inside was the most beautiful hairpin she had ever laid eyes on.� She caressed the golden prongs and the pink
and green lotus flower jade, her eyes filled with stars.

�Your gift,� she began softly, her voice heavy with emotion,
�honors me more than you can know, my lord.��
She bowed her head and closed the box, pressing it to hers stomach.

�Hn,� he grunted lightly.�
If she wasn�t completely mistaken, the Great Dog Demon sounded pleased.� Then he rose and motioned for Izayoi to
follow.� She placed the box carefully
into one of the massive pockets of her kimono and moved quickly to follow her
host.

He turned out into a hallway, then into the open air of a
garden.� Izayoi nearly gasped at its
beauty.� Every rock and bush and flower
was perfect in its construction and location.�
The water seemed flicked with silver as the moon reflected into it.� Inu no Taishou led her slowly to a covered
overlook of the water and pointed out the fish swimming below.� �They�re called moon koi,� he explained when
she looked wide-eyed at the glowing, silvery white fish.� �On the full moon they radiate the same light
as the moon.� Each one was, at one time,
a princess of the moon.� When they died
they come to the holy water that flows in this mountain, and rest in the pool
in my garden.�

Izayoi gazed at the koi and then at the Great Dog
Demon.� He was looking at her, piercing
into her soul with his golden-amber eyes.�
Suddenly, Izayoi felt her eyes sting with tears, and she turned away
from Inu no Taishou.� She gripped the
wood railing of the overlook and felt a tear slide down her cheek and into the
water below.� The koi danced around it
and shone brilliantly the light of the moon back at her.

�You�are not pleased,� the Great Dog Demon said in a low,
slightly perplexed voice.

She turned to him as another tear escaped from the corner of
her eye.� �My lord,� she said tearfully,
�I am very pleased.�

Inu no Taishou frowned in confusion.� �Are you well, Izayoi?�

Izayoi could only shake her head.� �No, my lord,� she said quietly, hanging her
head with shame.� �I am unwell because,�
she paused and bit her lip, looking again into his eyes.� �I am unwell because I fear I will never see
you again after tonight�and that�that is the worst thing I can imagine!�

She tore away from his gaze and looked again at the swimming
princesses with their elegant dances.�
After a moment of silence, Izayoi felt the Great Dog Demon�s clawed hand
on hers.� He held it so gently that
Izayoi forced herself to look into his eyes.�
They were warm and open, and spoke of tenderness and compassion.� �Is that all?� he asked simply.

So slow it seemed to happen, as through water, the Great Dog
Demon held her hand against his chest and drew her body to his with his other
hand.� He leaned over her, his eyes
pinning her still.� Izayoi closed her
eyes in anticipation, and the Great Dog Demon kissed her tenderly, bringing her
closer into his arms.� Izayoi felt like
crying and singing at the same time.� A vibration
and hum of energy seemed to radiate off her skin, and she felt herself spinning
inside her own body.

When he released her it took Izayoi a moment to find sure
footing.� He held her to him gently, his
hand running through her hair.� �I must
return you to your home, now, Izayoi.�
But I will ask you to meet me once more where you did tonight upon the
next full moon.�

Izayoi nodded wordlessly, then
murmured, �My lord,� lightly into the Great Dog Demon�s chest.� She felt his chest rumble with approval, and
then watched as the white cloud formed at their feet once again.

Inu no Taishou wrapped his fur mantle around Izayoi as he
did before, her hand still pressed against his chest.� Once in the air he moved her closer to him,
his hand on the small of her back.� The
journey was made in silence, but Izayoi was no longer afraid of the height or
the chill.� She was safe and warm inside
the embrace of the Great Dog Demon, and she had never been so happy in all her
life.

It seemed all too soon, but her feet met solid ground again
on the top of the staircase leading to the gardens in her own castle.� Izayoi tilted her head up to face Inu no
Taishou, and to her he appeared almost sad.�
�You will join me next full moon.��
It was almost a question, but not quite.

�Nothing would honor me more, my lord,� she replied evenly.

He looked at her for a moment, and Izayoi couldn�t quite
understand what was going on behind his eyes.�
�Sugimi.�
You are to call me Sugimi.�

Izayoi looked sharply at him.� Of course his name would not be Inu no
Taishou or the Great Dog Demon, but she had not thought of what it could be.� She smiled sweetly, warmly, and nodded her
head.� �Sugimi.�

Sugimi drew her into him once again, and Izayoi felt as if
she was bathed in magic as he kissed her, curling his fingers into her
hair.� He kissed her forehead and held
her for a long moment � one Izayoi hoped would never end.� She felt suddenly freezing when he stepped
away, though it was the middle of summer.�
He did not look back as he took into the air.
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Perfect Reflection