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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
- 5
- 6
CHAPTER 6:

Though she had been out most of the night, Izayoi kept her
promise to take morning tea with Setsuna no Takemaru.� Seeing his eyes in the morning sun only made them seem
emptier.� Had war hallowed him so
much?� He had never been one for
emotions or kind words, but war had strung him so thin, robbed him of any hope
of happiness, that now he grasped at Izayoi silently, pleadingly.� She knew his child wife would never make him
happy.� He had gotten used to the idea
of marrying Izayoi, and perhaps he even loved her in his own way.� But she was certainly his last hope of
happiness, of normality � the only thing he had left of his life before the war
had sapped him of his spirit.

Izayoi pitied her oldest friend � one of her only
friends.� He had his duties and his
sorrows, and she had hers.� But at least
Izayoi had found happiness with Sugimi.�
Takemaru�s life would continue, empty and loveless.� Izayoi hoped more than anything they could
still remain friends.

They drank tea in silence under the shade of the deck
overlooking the garden.� He looked very
regal in his blue robes, but he also looked very tired.� As Izayoi poured tea in his porcelain cup �
the nicest tea set in the whole castle � she felt his hard eyes on her, felt
the anger and confusion in them.� After
a few sips of tea in silence, Takemaru shifted on his knees.� �Where were you last night, Izayoi?� Where did you go?�

She sighed, setting down her cup.� �I cannot tell you, Takemaru-san.�

He frowned.� �I
heard,� he began after a pause, �that there were demon attacks on our lands
several moons ago.� Some say the Panther
Demon Tribe, others are less specific, but they all agree that you stopped
them.� No one knows how, but rumor says
that you leave the castle every full moon for the night.�� His voice turned angry.� �If you�re being taken advantage of in any
way, you must tell me so I can mount an attack, or pay your ransom � whatever I
need to do, I will do it!�

Izayoi considered her words carefully.� �It is true that Oyakata of the Panther Demon
Tribe had been troubling the lands.� His
tribe killed a lot of people�� It�s also
true that I was in some way responsible for him stopping.�� She sighed and looked at Takemaru
carefully.� �Our lands are under
protection of a great demon lord, and one night I pled for his help with
Oyakata.� I even sheltered him after the
battle.�

Takemaru�s brows were drawn together in concentration, his
eyes pinned to his cup of tea.� �He is
who you meet on the full moon, then.�

It wasn�t so much a question, but Izayoi nodded in
confirmation anyway.

For a moment a shadow of dark anger colored his face.� Izayoi had never been afraid of Takemaru
before that moment, but a wave of terror washed over her as it happened.� �I have to tell you, Takemaru-san,� Izayoi
said quietly, her voice a shivering whisper.�
�Though it hardly matters now�with your engagement to Lady Ayumi�I have
to tell you that I belong to another.�
I�ll be leaving as soon as my duties here are finished��

Takemaru�s fists clenched on the low table.� �What about the people here who love
you?� What about them?� You�ll just leave us?�

Izayoi turned away from him.� �Who has loved me here, Takemaru-san?� My mother left me, my father never cared at all, and I have no
relatives.�

�I have!� Takemaru growled lowly.� �I have loved you, Izayoi!�

Calmly, Izayoi folded her hands on the table.� �And now you, too, will leave me,
Takemaru-san.� And marry Lady Ayumi.�

�I did that to save you, Izayoi,� he whispered
hopelessly.� �Kazehimi would have killed
you and everyone in the castle had I not��

Izayoi nodded.� �I
know, Takemaru-san,� she said softly, thankfully.

Neither said anything for a long time.� Then, violently, Takemaru stood, bumping the
table.� His face was red with anger as
he glared at her.� �He�s a demon,
Izayoi, a ruthless, slaughtering demon.�
Do you think he can love you like I ��
He stopped short.� �Monsters do
not love,� he murmured.� Then he stomped
away angrily.

Spilt tea dripped onto Takemaru�s pillow in his absence, but
Izayoi closed her eyes to it sadly.�
Takemaru had not taken that well.�
It would have been better if he�d not seen her leave last night.� She sighed to herself and began to clean the
tea from the table, lest is stain.

Izayoi began spending time with Lady Ayumi as the days to the
young girl�s wedding counted down.�
Ayumi was a precocious child, and Izayoi knew that Takemaru�s patience
would be tried with her.� In many ways,
Ayumi was the polar opposite of Izayoi � and by association Takemaru.�

At thirteen, she was already blossoming into a beautiful
lady, but her manners left something to be desired.� She was very pampered, and Izayoi�s home was barren compared to
the girl�s court lifestyle.� Lady Ayumi
didn�t have talent in dancing or singing, nor could she play any instrument,
but she loved to talk and sew with her female companions.� Long hours of sewing were something that
Izayoi tolerated unhappily.� But along
the way, Izayoi was able to teach Ayumi a bit about household finances and
wifely duties around the castle.

Another thing that made it slightly awkward was the fact
that Ayumi was visibly jealous of Izayoi�s relationship with Takemaru.� She knew that they had been engaged for many
years, and fancied herself completely in love with the handsome, older
warrior.� Izayoi declined Ayumi�s slight
prods into the past, but the girl had taken to asking some of the servants �
who wouldn�t dare lie to their future lady.

Izayoi felt less and less useful around the castle, and
longed for the waxing moon.� Two weeks
had passed with no word from Sugimi.� He
hadn�t told her if she was to meet him where they normally met, but if he
didn�t tell her differently by the next full moon she would go anyway.

When the day of the wedding finally came, Izayoi remained
uninvited.� She wandered out into the
gardens in the coolness of the night, kneeling before the water on the soft
grass.� The moon was nearly full.� The next night Izayoi would wait for Sugimi
on the cliff, but tonight she would sit aside from the celebrations and stare
at the stars reflecting in the pool.

She became so lost in her thoughts that she didn�t even
notice the silent observer behind her.�
�The stars are often more beautiful if not seen through a mirror,� the
soft, calm voice of her love said from behind her.

A smile spread across Izayoi�s lips.� �Will you instruct me then, my Lord Sugimi,
on the perfect way to look at the stars?�

She looked up at him, admiring his aristocratic, foreign
beauty, before accepting his hand.� He
pulled her up gracefully, a tick of a smile in the corner of his mouth.� �It is by soaring among them, of course,� he
replied, holding her close and lifting them high in the air.

�You may miss it,� he said, letting them hover above her
long-time home.� �But I do not wish for
you to return.�

Izayoi felt a pang of sadness.� It would have been better if she could have said goodbye to
Takemaru.� He would not understand.� But she would be happy with Sugimi.� She would be loved.� She looked up at her love and put a soft
hand on his cheek.� His skin was like
silk.� �Then I do not wish to return,�
she replied softly.

Everything else forgotten, Izayoi inhaled the musky scent of
Sugimi as they moved swiftly beneath the clouds.� They were going north, and that was as much as Izayoi could
tell.� They were going north into the
high mountains, darting between towering peaks and deserted valleys.� Izayoi could just see a shining beacon of
light in the distance, and she squinted her eyes.

�We are going into the heart of my lands,� Sugimi explained,
pulling his fur mantle over her absently.�
�High in the mountains we will be isolated, but safe.�

The shimmering light in the distance became clear as they
approached.� Izayoi gasped as she saw
what it was.� The castle was very
similar to Sugimi�s in the demon realm.�
It had high, white pillars and broad white, wooden decks.� The gates were huge � fifty people could
easily stand shoulder to shoulder and one on top of another and make it through
with room to spare.� The castle was on
the uppermost ledge, but down a set of winding stairs was a large expanse of
flat land that Izayoi imagined could be made into a grand garden.

When they landed behind the gates, Sugimi led her up the
wooden stairs onto the main deck and opened a second pair of grand doors.� The entrance hall was huge, white, and bare,
and led to a formal dining area and into several places Izayoi couldn�t
see.� There was sparse furniture, but it
was � for the most part � empty.

�Since I made this for you, Izayoi,� Sugimi explained, �it
is yours to do with what you will.�
Anything you ask for shall become yours.�

Izayoi was truly at a loss for words.� This castle was fit for an emperor, not a
former lady of a house � no matter how great it had once been.� She gazed up in amazement at the Great Dog
Demon, unsure of what to say or do.� �My
lord,� she said, her voice full of love, �I have no words to express my
gratitude�or my awe�� She bowed deeply.

With a flickering of a smile, Sugimi led her out a set of
sliding doors to a wooden deck that overlooked the whole valley.� The moon was so close she could almost reach
out and touch it.� She folded her hands
before her and stargazed in silence.� To
her, Sugimi seemed to be withholding something.� She couldn�t think of what this might be.� After several minutes of silence, he looked
down on her.

�My duties as Lord of the Western Lands will take me far
away from here, Izayoi,� he explained in a low voice.� �I will be gone for days at a time�it isn�t by choice, but by
necessity.�� He paused.� �You will have a few servants, and they will
assist you in anything you need.� They
are very capable.� But I fear you will
be lonely for a while.� I hope you
understand what kind of life you will have to live away from your people.�

Izayoi was beginning to.�
She looked out at the stars, trying not to think of all the things that
she might miss.� She would most likely
never see another human as long as she lived.�
This saddened her.� At least she
would have children�� Her face burned at
the realization of what that meant.

�Would you like to see your rooms?� Sugimi asked, his eyes
clouding over in confusion at the look she gave him.� It was almost as if he had read her mind.
- 5
- 6
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Perfect Reflection