Inutaishou & Izayoi


[timeline: 48 years before Otherworld]






Izayoi was only ten when she first saw him. Her older sister, Itali, had led her up a narrow trail and then onto a high ledge. Spread out before the two girls was Demon World. They lived in a village located in the foothills of the Western Mountains, right on the border with the Western Lands of Demon World. But their village was safe from demon attacks because of one man -- or more correctly put, one demon. High on the ledge, Itali lay prone on the ground and Izayoi followed suit. Then they waited. "How do you know he will come by today?" "Because he always walks by on the day of every third full moon. That's how long it takes him to make his voyage around the Western Lands. Our grandmother used to lie in this very spot and wait for him to walk by just as we are doing." Itali explained. "Then he is very old." "Demons don't age like we do. He is probably hundreds, maybe even a thousand years old." "And you've seen him?" "Yes, this will be my third time." Itali said proudly. The girl was only a couple of years older than Izayoi, but considered herself much more mature and no longer a child. For a couple of hours they waited, with Izayoi growing more and more bored and restless. She began to play on the rocks near the ledge. Suddenly Itali shouted, "Look, there he is!" Izayoi jumped at her sister's shout and lost her footing, toppling over the ledge. She screamed the entire way down, expecting sharp jagged rocks to tear her small body into pieces at any moment. She never reached the bottom. Strong arms caught her two-thirds of the way down and then she was lifted back to the ledge. She looked up at her rescuer.

		He was tall with long white hair caught in a long, long ponytail. He was wearing a strange mixture of fur, silk and armor, and had three swords, two at his left hip and one strapped to his back. The fog that lay on the mountain shrouded him, making him seem magical. Izayoi let out a little gasp.

"Are you hurt?" He knelt down to examine her closer. His face was only an inch or two away from her own, and long fingers that looked delicate but felt strong as iron prodded her legs and arms to make sure that nothing was broken. He looked into her eyes and Izayoi felt the earth tremble. His eyes were molten gold. A blue crescent moon was on his forehead and twin slashes of blue were on his cheeks. He was the most beautiful man Izayoi had ever seen. "She is fine! Just a silly child not paying attention to where she was standing. Nothing for you to bother with, my Lord." Itali said, embarrassed by the clumsiness of her little sister. "It is no bother, child." The Dog Lord said, and then turned back to his charge. "What is your name?" "Izayoi, sir." "Can you stand, Izayoi?" The girl nodded and he helped her to her feet, but she could not put any weight on her right foot. "I think you turned your ankle. You need to keep off your feet for a few days. I will carry you home." The Dog Lord picked her up and carried her back down the trail and to the village. Itali walked behind him, furious that her younger sister was getting all of his attention. The elders of the Village came out to greet the Dog Lord, offering to take his burden, but he insisted on carrying her home. There Izayoi was placed in bed and her ankle attended to by the village healer, Goshi. The thankful parents thanked the Dog Lord over and over until he took his leave, with one final farewell to Izayoi. "Take care where you walk, Izayoi." "I will, my Lord." And with those words, he left. And that's how a simple little human girl named Izayoi first met Inutaishou, the Dog Demon Ruler of the Western Lands.

Izayoi waited on the ledge on the day of the third full moon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Dog Lord. She never talked about him, especially to Itali, who had never forgiven her for getting all of his attention. "He didn't even ask me my name!" she said angrily and vowed never to go to that ledge again. But Izayoi never forgot him. And so Izayoi went to the ledge alone, not telling her parents where she was going because they probably wouldn't let her go and certainly not telling her jealous sister. She sat on the ledge patiently waiting for her savior. And when the sun was high overhead, he walked into view -- walking slowly and calmly, as if he had not a trouble in the world. She sat up and wondered if he could see her -- if he would even look her way. And just as she was thinking these thoughts, he turned and seemed to be look directly at her. She waved.

		And he moved like lightning, bounding up the cliff as if it were flat ground. In seconds, he stood next to her. "Hello, Izayoi. I didn't think you would be allowed back here." He sat down next to her, folding his legs underneath his lean body with perfect grace. "They don't know I'm here. But I wanted to see you." She said with a child's guile.

"I'm glad you came; I wanted to see how you were doing." He stayed with her for a couple of hours, just talking about nothing in particular, passing the time. If anyone had seen them, it would have seemed very odd. A tall, proud Demon Lord talking to a young girl, but the fates had plans for them, and so a connection was made, the beginning of a friendship between two people who did not have many friends.

		Inutaishou walked along the border of the Western Lands while his oldest son, Sesshomaru, walked the inner perimeter . Occasionally their paths would cross and they would spend a few days in each other's company, but rarely more than that. Sesshomaru looked up to his father, the most powerful Dog Demon to ever exist, but there was little in the way of affection; it is rare the demon who does not have a cold nature, and Sesshomaru was colder than most. He emulated his father, but he had no idea how to love him.

So Inutaishou began an innocent friendship with a human child. He began to look forward to that part of his journey. And she would always be waiting for him, high on the ledge, waiting for her Dog Demon.


		Five years passed and Izayoi grew from a child into a young woman. A very pretty young woman with long coal black hair and large dark eyes. She was almost a perfect opposite to the Dog Lord whom she called a friend. Izayoi could have had her pick of the young men of the village; yet none took her fancy.

She knew that she would never be anything more than a child-friend to Inutaishou but still she compared the village men to him and found them wanting. Three months after her fifteen birthday, Izayoi made her way to the ledge and to her surprise, Inutaishou was already there, leaning against the rock wall. As she came closer, she could see dark red blood dripping from his arm onto the rocks below. He was hurt!

		"My Lord!" she cried and rushed to his side. He was paler than usual, having lost a lot of blood. A demon can heal almost any wound, but blood loss is the hardest for them to replace and many a demon has bled to death from wounds that were not in themselves fatal. She pulled him down so that he was sitting and opened his silks as best she could. There were deep claws marks on his shoulder. "What happened?" She asked as she tore off a piece of her skirt to use to bind the wound. It was bleeding freely. Instead of binding it, she used the cloth as a compress, trying to stop the bleeding.

"A lesser dragon took up residence at the northern edge of the Western Mountains. I drove him away but he tore my shoulder open during our battle." "You have lost a lot of blood. Perhaps you should come down to the village with me and see the healer." "There is little that a human healer can do for me. Perhaps a healer mage, but your village does not have one. I just need rest and I will heal on my own. I am a demon, you know." Inutaishou said with a smile, which quickly turned into a wince when he moved his arm. "Then at least let me take you off this mountain and into a cave that is close by. It is only about a half hour's journey. You can rest there. Please…" Inutaishou nodded and struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on the girl. Together they slowly made their way to the cave; the trip took nearly an hour and Inutaishou was exhausted when he reached the cave. And his wound was bleeding again. He took off the furs that he wore as a kind of cape and Izayoi spread it out for him to lie on. This time his movements were far from graceful, and he let himself drop heavily onto the furs. "Can you take off the armor so I can see your wound better?" Inutaishou struggled to pull off the armor braces he wore across his chest and over both shoulders, and finally got them off, throwing them aside with a heavy clank. Then he took off the three swords and put them with the armor. Izayoi pulled open his shirt and saw that the wound was even worse that she had realized. The claws marks went across his left shoulder and down his arm to his bicep, tearing through skin and muscle until bone was showing at the shoulder joint. She needed a healer for this! This was more than she could do by herself. "Rest, my Lord. I will go to the village and come back very shortly. I need to get bandages and herbs." "I will be here." Inutaishou said weakly and closed his eyes. Izayoi ran all the way to the village, going to Goshi and telling her that she had found the Dog Lord on the trail and had taken him to a cave. Goshi immediately gathered supplies and followed the girl to the cave. Inutaishou was in a deep healing sleep and stayed that way while the healer cleaned out the wounds and stitched them up, and then packed herbs over them and bandaged everything tightly. She showed Izayoi how to change the bandages and gave her more herbs. "You should come home with me. It will be dark soon and your parents will be worried about you." "I don't want to leave him alone in his condition. Tell my parents that I am watching over him. And not to worry. I am safe." She took hold of one of the swords, holding it tightly to her breast. "I have his sword to protect me." "I will tell them. And I will return tomorrow to see how the Dog Lord is doing." Izayoi watched Goshi leave and soon after, darkness fell. The girl pulled the blade free and gasped when she saw it. It was a notched, rusted blade that wouldn't cut butter! Why in the world would the Dog Lord be carrying this? Yet, somehow the blade made her feel safe, so she held it tightly.

		Morning's light filtered into the cave and Inutaishou slowly opened his eyes and took stock of his body. His shoulder was stiff and sore, but the bleeding had stopped and the wound was beginning to heal.

Propped up against the wall, sat Izayoi sound asleep, her arms wrapped around the Tetsusaiga. For a long time, Inutaishou lay there watching the girl. The years had been kind to her and she had grown from a pretty child into a beautiful young woman. Her suitors must be many! Someday soon she would mate with one of them and he would never see her again. And she would leave a huge void in his life. And he knew exactly how much that void would hurt -- the indescribable pain that he had felt after the loss of his mate. Over the last few years, Izayoi had become the most important person in his life and he did not want to lose her. Even when he was apart from her, he thought about her. Perhaps he could mate with her himself? He shook the thought away; even if she was interested in him, her world would never accept him as her mate and she could not live in his world. There were no matings between humans and demons, except for the Princesses -- those five young women who had suddenly appeared in the five worlds with the power to bind demons to themselves. Every demon was terrified of them. The oldest, Arina, had already bound a dozen demons to herself; powerful mages, one of the most powerful fire demons alive, and several others. No demon was safe. And the youngest, the one who protected Otherworld, had bound the wily Fox Demon, Youko Kurama. No one had ever gotten close to trapping him before, but she had not only captured him, she had enslaved him to her. No, he would lose Izayoi to a human one day soon. That was just the way it was. Izayoi heard his sigh and opened her eyes. She put aside the sword and hurried to his side. "How are you feeling, my Lord?" "Stiff and sore, but stronger. So you have been guarding me all night?" He nodded towards the sword. "Little good I would have done -- and little good would that sword have been! It is rusty and dull. I don't understand why you carry it." "When I am stronger I will show you Tetsusaiga's true appearance. And its power." Inutaishou said. "May I ask why you chose that sword of the three?" "I don't know. I was drawn to it." "Then it shall always be your protector." Inutaishou promised. She gave him fresh water from a nearby stream and changed his bandages like Goshi had shown her. Inutaishou watched her, never taking his eyes off of her, making her nervous. Why was he watching her like that? "Goshi said she would return later today to check on you." "Aren't your parents going to be worried?" Inutaishou asked. "She told them where I was." They remained silent for a while, each wrapped in their thoughts, and then Inutaishou broke the silence. "You have grown up. Are you fifteen yet?" "I turned fifteen three months ago, my Lord." "You are now of mating age." He said, trying to keep his voice light. "Have you chosen your mate yet?" "No, none of them are…" she stopped. What was she going to say? That none of them measured up to him? "None of them are what?" "Nothing, my Lord. It is not important." Izayoi blushed deep red. "Your color says the opposite. Please tell me why they are not right."

		Izayoi looked at the ground, her cheeks now hot with her flush. In a small, faint voice she said, "None of them can compare to you." Inutaishou looked at her in surprise and then smiled. "Come to me, Izayoi."

She looked up at him. He was struggling to sit up. "No! You'll tear your wound open!" She rushed to his side and he pushed himself into her lap, looking up at her. "My sweet Izayoi! I hope you never take a human mate. My heart would be very empty if you did." "My Lord?" She questioned, not believing her ears. He put his hand around her neck and pulled her down to him, until their lips met, and then he kissed her deeply. When they parted, she was left breathless. "My Lord." "Please call me by my name, not my title." "This … This is a dream! I am dreaming! This cannot be real!" Izayoi exclaimed. He kissed her again. "If this is a dream, it is one we share." "Inutaishou…" she whispered. "Finally you said my name!" he exclaimed. "Izayoi!!" came a call from outside. What timing! Gisho had arrived with more herbs and bandages, and food and blankets. She checked Inutaishou's wound and found that it was healing well. "You should be healed in a couple of days." Then she turned to Izayoi. "Your parents said that you should bring the Dog Lord to the village where he will be safe." "I am safe here." Inutaishou said. "And tell Izayoi's parents that I will keep her safe and she will care for me until I am fully healed." "I will do so, my Lord." Gisho bowed and then left. Izayoi prepared a small dinner for them, and by the time she had finished cleaning up after the meal, dusk was falling. How fast the day had gone by! But in the mountains, the sun set early and rose late, hiding behind the peaks. She covered Inutaishou with one of the blankets. "You need to keep warm, my L…. Inutaishou." "And so do you. Will you share my bed? Only to sleep against me for warmth. Nothing else. I promise." Izayoi nodded and curled up against his warm body, her head on his good shoulder. She could feel his heart beating beneath his chest. He bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Will you sleep against me when I am healed? Will you be my mate?" She looked into his golden eyes. "I was your mate from the moment I first saw you. I will never love another!"

Two nights later, Inutaishou and Izayoi consummated their union. He was gentle and loving, and she gave herself to him completely. And so the lonely Dog Lord found solace in the arms of a human; and Izayoi's seemingly impossible dreams came true. The next morning, he took his leave, needing to return to his lands in Demon World. "Izayoi, I do not want to leave you, but it has been many days since I watched over my lands." "I understand. I will be waiting for you when you return." "Are you going to tell your parents?" "We will tell them together when you return." Izayoi said with a smile, and then ran up to him. He kissed her deeply and then walked her to the edge of her village, then went back to Demon World, where he sought out his son. "Where have you been, Father? I always meet up with you before this." Sesshomaru asked. "I was wounded by Ryuukoysusei, a lesser dragon that took up residence in the Western Mountains." "Wounded? Did you heal by yourself? You should have sent for me." Sesshomaru said, his brow furrowing. "Izayoi took care of me. And the village healer helped with my wounds." "Izayoi? Is that the human child you visit in the Western Mountains?" "She is no longer a child." Inutaishou put an arm around his son's shoulders. "I have fallen in love with her, Sesshomaru. And I have taken her to mate."

		"What?!? A human? You cannot be serious! You are the Lord of the Western Lands -- a human is beneath you!!" "I love her, Sesshomaru. My heart does not care if she is human or demon. I would like you to come with me and meet her."

"I have no interest in meeting her." Sesshomaru said coldly. "And my mother is your mate." "Your mother is gone! She abandoned me -- she abandoned you! Son, I have a chance for happiness with Izayoi.... Please understand." "I will never accept her! And you are a fool to even consider mating with a human!" "And you had better watch your tongue! Fool or not, I am your father and your lord. Never forget that!" Inutaishou growled. "And never forget that I am your eldest son and your heir! I will have nothing to do with your human wench!" Inutaishou gave up. He couldn't force his son to accept this mating; that would only make things worse. In time, he was sure that Sesshomaru would learn to like Izayoi. How could he not? She had such a sweet and loving nature.

		Three months later, Inutaishou returned to the ledge but Izayoi was not there. He went to the cave and found her there sobbing. "Izayoi!" He knelt and took her in his arms. "What is the matter?" He looked around the cave -- it looked at though she had been living here! "My parents turned me out of their home. And villagers shun me."

"Because of me? How did they find out?" "Because I carry your child…" "My child? You are pregnant?" He hugged her tightly. "This is a time for joy! Not tears!" "The villagers already call our child 'Hanyou' -- half-breed! They look at me with hatred! Please take me with you!" "My love, you cannot live in Demon World. And I do not live in one place, but wander my lands. But I will go to the village and talk to the elders." And Inutaishou did exactly that. He reminded them that their village's safety depended on him. If he were to stop patrolling their borders, hundreds of demons would find their way across the border and the village would soon become their feeding ground. The elders agreed to build Izayoi a house at the edge of the village and to take care of her, supply her with food and all her other needs. But they could not promise that the villagers would look kindly upon her or her unborn child. "Remember that the child is mine. And I will not look kindly on any who harm him." Inutaishou said angrily. Foolish villagers! "Do you expect your Princess to protect you? She has only one demon slave!" "She has two now. A fire demon is bound to her and two mages have pledged their loyalty to Otherworld. And the Wolf Demon Lord and all his wolves have pledged to protect the lands." "So where are these protector wolves? Or the mages? I do not see them." The head Elder flushed. The Dog Lord was right; there were few of Otherworld's protectors in the Western Mountains. The village still depended on the Lord of the Western Lands. "As you wish it. We will build a home and we will feed and clothe your woman, and we will not harm your son, but we have no power over the thoughts of men. There is nothing else we can do." Inutaishou left the elders and returned to Izayoi, telling her of the house and the elders' promise to care for her. "And I promise to build us a home where we can live in peace. Just give me a little time. I must make arrangements with my son to divide our patrol differently so that he walks the eastern half of my lands while I walk the western half. That way I will not be parted from you for such a long time." So Izayoi lived alone in her little house, her belly growing larger each day with her son. Her Hanyou son. Her family disowned her and would have nothing to do with her. The villagers brought her food and clothing, but said nothing to her. Her life soon revolved around the times when Inutaishou was with her.

		She gave birth alone.

Finally her screams were heard and Gisho was called to the house. The baby was born but still attached to her through his umbilical cord and she was lying in her own blood. Gisho called for someone to help her and finally a young man offered his help. Together they cleaned up Izayoi, made up her bed with fresh linens, and then left her alone with her newborn son. Two days later, Inutaishou arrived, appalled at how she had been treated and upset that he had not been present for his son's birth. "Please take us away from here." Izayoi begged. "I cannot raise our son here."

		"I will find us another place to live. Perhaps another village will be kinder. That I promise." Then he lifted his son into his arms. "He is beautiful!" The baby had tiny dog ears and golden eyes, and snow white hair. But he did not have the crescent moon of his father -- that marking belonged to Sesshomaru -- and he did not have demon markings. "His name will be InuYasha." He told Izayoi. "InuYasha, my beautiful son!"

And for months, the Dog Lord searched one village after another and could find none that would accept a woman mated to a demon. In the future, attitudes would change and Otherworld would be filled with cross-matings, but in the time of Inutaishou and Izayoi, such a mating was thought of as unnatural and Hanyou children were shunned. And every time Inutaishou came to his mate and their son, he promised her anew that he would find a place for them to live in peace. But the happy life that Inutaishou promised never came to pass. When InuYasha not quite a year old, Ryuukoysusei returned to the Western Mountains and this time gave Inutaishou a fatal wound. The Dog Lord summoned all his remaining strength and sealed the dragon with his own claw, but the wound was fatal and Inutaishou died soon after. He never saw his beloved Izayoi or his son again. Before he died, he sent the Tetsusaiga to Izayoi for his son and because of this gift, Sesshomaru hated his half-brother for many years, until the Princess of Otherworld bound them both to her and opened their hearts. Izayoi never recovered from the grief of losing her mate, and although she lingered in the world for five more years, she was but a shell of herself. She almost welcomed death.

Fifty Years Later

It was the night of the full moon and two girls, just a few months shy of mating age, were traveling up a well worn trail that led to a small ledge overlooking Demon World. They stopped before they reached the ledge and settled down, waiting. "Are you sure they are going to come?" Jena said. "Every full moon." Skye replied. "Have you ever seen them before?" "No, but my mother did. She said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen." The night grew chilled and the girls pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around their shoulders. The moon was now high in the sky, shining down on the small ledge. "Look!" Jena pointed to the ledge.

		And there are the ledge stood a man and a woman. The man was tall with long white hair and the woman his opposite. They were looking over Demon World, standing arm in arm, with the moonlight shining through them. "Inutaishou and Izayoi." Skye sighed, looking at the ghosts of the star-crossed lovers who had died many years ago. And two girls hugged each other, for it was said that a sighting of the ghosts foretold a joyful and loving mating.

And long after the girls left and returned to their village, the spirits of Inutaishou and Izayoi stood on the ledge. "Izayoi..." his voice was a whisper on the wind. "I am here, my Love." Came an answering sigh. "I will always be here."



Song: "Theme from Harry's Game" by Clannad