Picture found: https://www.deviantart.com/izayoi-x-inunotaisho
The healer kept Izayoi for several hours, repeatedly placing, rinsing, and replacing poultice after poultice.
At first she had asked the yokai man questions, but she soon realized he was not very friendly towards humans.
So, she stayed quiet, waiting for her healing session to end.
About an hour into it Toga stopped by to check on her and let her know that they would be staying for a few days.
Before he left, he kissed her temple and promised to be back later.
Izayoi flushed all the way to the roots of her hair. Why had he done that?
Two more hours passed, with the healer now giving her the stink eye.
Eventually he looked at the wound and nodded. "You are healed, human. Goodbye."
She was pushed out of the door, and before she could turn to thank him, the door was slammed--and from the sound of it locked.
"Thank you?" she whispered to the door.
Turning, she startled to see glowing eyes glaring at her from the shadows.
Sesshomaru was waiting, leaning against a pillar and watching her.
"Going to threaten to eat me again?" she challenged.
His face remained impassive. "You like yokai men. Maybe I should worry about you attacking me."
She looked away, "I do not like yokai men."
"You like my father."
She turned pale, "What--no!"
His eyes cut into her, "Don't lie. I can hear your heartbeat change when you lie, and I can smell your fear."
"But I--"
"Besides, I heard my parents talking."
"Oh."
Great, she was going to die.
Sesshomaru was suddenly in front of her. He spun her around and shoved her against the wall.
She winced, "Ouch."
Well, that was unexpected. She had assumed Lady Inukimi would be killing her not Toga's son.
"What does he see in you?" Sesshomaru demanded, his impassive face slipping into a frustrated scowl.
"I--what? What do you mean, what does he see in me? I'm the idiot that fell in love with him."
Sesshomaru blinked in surprise for a moment before murmuring, "You didn't know."
"I didn't know what?" she asked, now also frustrated. She tried to push past him, but he slammed her against the wall again. Was she imagining it or had he been more gentle that time?
"No, you have to know. You've done something to him with your weird human blood. You've weakened him."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, Lord Sesshomaru," she said meekly.
His eyes caught hers, "I'm talking about him seeking my mother's permission to wed you."
He said 'you' like it was a slur.
She found herself laughing at him.
His eyes flashed red for an instant, and his hand pinned her shoulder, "What's so funny, woman?"
"You must have heard wrong. Yes, I will admit that I'm in love with Toga, but I know that he and I can never be together. I told him I understood. I am not here to break up your family--as if I even could."
His eyes locked on hers for a moment as if trying to figure out whether or not she was lying. Then, with a blank look, he took her hand and placed it on his chest. "Have me instead."
She laughed, "What?"
"Take me instead of him."
"You don't mean that."
"I do if it will keep my parents together. My life is just starting. Staying with you will barely be like a day to me. So, be with me instead."
He bent his head toward her, but she pushed him away, "As flattered as I am, you are not your father."
"I look like him, though I am younger. To humans I would appear to be near your age. I have wealth. I am more than powerful enough to protect you, being second only to my father even at my age. I have been told that I am attractive."
She was trying desperately not to laugh at the young man, "Yes, you are very attractive, and someday I'm sure there will be somebody that falls deeply in love with you, somebody that would follow you to the underworld and back without hesitation, but Lord Sesshomaru, that girl can't be me. My heart already belongs to your father."
"I am told that love can manifest over time--"
"Not for me. My heart will only ever belong to Toga."
"But I am his son. I will be just like him. Maybe better some day."
Izayoi couldn't hold back her chuckle this time, "You poor dear. I've hurt your pride now, haven't I? I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. You must understand that you are your own person. You lack your father's charm, his spirit. He is uniquely Toga, and that is what I love about him."
Sesshomaru looked at her intently for a moment before backing away, "It was worth a try. Fine. I suppose I should let you know that Father changed his plans. He wants you to meet him at the small cave on the mountain beneath this castle."
Izayoi stared at him, speechless.
"You can follow that path," he pointed, then shrugged. "Or not. It no longer matters to me. I find that I tire of your presence. He left an hour ago. Do as you will."
She bowed briefly then turned and ran down the path and down the mountain.
"Sesshomaru!" came an icy growl.
He nodded, "Mother."
His eyes widened when he saw hers flashing red with anger, "I suppose you heard at least some of that, then?"
She whopped him with her mokomoko, grabbed him by his ear, and dragged him to the other side of the castle where Toga was pacing, waiting for Izayoi to be cleared by the healer.
And trying to think about what to say to his son.
Speaking of--why was Kimi dragging him by his ear?
"And now, you are going to tell your father what you've done! Toga, your son has something to tell you."
Begrudgingly, Sesshomaru told his father about sending Izayoi down the path to the mountain below the castle.
"Son, how could you? It's winter and dangerous, especially for humans!" Toga demanded.
Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red, "As long as you are with that human I have no father!"
Sesshomaru turned into a ball of light and streaked away.
"Sesshomaru! Don't you orb away from me!" Toga thundered.
Inukimi stopped him with a gentle hand. "Go find her, Toga. Sesshomaru will come around. Eventually."
Thunder below the castle caused them both to tense.
A storm on the mountain in winter.
"A blizzard!" Inukimi gasped. "Toga, go!"
He wasted no more time, jumping into the sky and transforming midair.
Toga rushed to the cave only to find the opening already filled with snow. He tried to dig it out by paw but found his paws to be too large for the small cave.
With a growl of frustration he changed back into his humanlike form and busted through the snowy wall.
"T-Toga-sama!" Izayoi cried with relief, running over to him. She smelled of salty tears and cold fear.
"Izayoi!"
His voice echoed, and a moment later the mountain rumbled.
"No!" He grabbed her and leapt inside as tons of snow swept down the mountain, mowing down everything in its path.
The cave echoed the roar of the snow as if it was the mountain's own mouth.
Then, all was quiet.
Toga looked down, still able to see her tear-streaked face in the darkness of the cave.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yes. Thank you for saving me."
She buried her face against his chest, "I thought you had left me."
"Sesshomaru lied to you. I came to get you as soon as I found out."
"Toga-sama, I am so sorry for all the trouble I've caused."
He saw a tear trace its way down her cheek and gently brushed it off with the back of his hand. "You are worth any trouble. My first marriage was never one of love."
"First marriage?"
"But I hope my second marriage will be."
"I--I don't understand."
He breathed deeply and then explained, "Yokai live for a long, long time Izayoi. Our marriages are almost always for political purposes. I told you once before that a yokai marriage was considered a success if they bore a child and didn't kill each other. Part of our laws state that for every child we conceive we are granted a contracted separation of 100 years after which we agree to try for another heir. During that 100 years we are free to do what we like and not bound to our marriage. It is not uncommon for some yokai couples to only see each other long enough to conceive every 100 years."
She was listening carefully.
"Inukimi and I never used our separation after conceiving Sesshomaru. We have also not tried for another heir since him."
"But he's hundreds of years old, isn't he?"
Toga nodded, "But since we never used the contracted separation it is still available. Inukimi has granted my request to take it now."
She studied his face for a minute, "Why are you telling me this?"
"For the next 100 years I am considered to be an unmarried man. I can even choose to take another wife, provided the marriage doesn't last longer than my separation."
Izayoi found it difficult to breathe, "Toga... what are you saying?"
He pulled her to him and in her ear stated plainly, "Izayoi, I love you. I have been in love with you for some time, but I didn't think you felt the same. I was not free to pursue you while my marriage was as it has been. Now I am. Izayoi, keeper of this Inu no Taisho's heart, will you marry this Toga?"
Her lack of response made him nervous. Stepping back so he could see her face, he found himself fighting a barrage of emotions while he waited for her to finally answer.
"Toga?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "If I become your bride... would I be able to touch my yokai?"
The cave suddenly seemed much warmer. He pulled her into a tight hug and laughed, "Only if that yokai is me!"
He sat her down and became somber once more, "Before you accept my proposal, I need to let you know that during this separation I do not have claim to any of the wealth I gained from my first marriage. This castle and everything in it belongs to Inukimi. All I have to offer is me.. just Toga."
He waited, his heart hammering. He knew what he was asking. Izayoi was a princess, a woman used to wealth and luxury.
Her cold, hesitant hand felt its way up his shoulder to cup his cheek. She waited until his glowing eyes shifted to hers to say, "You have never been just Toga to me. Toga, you have always been my everything."
At a loss of what else to say, he found himself teasing her, "Touching your yokai before marriage?"
A pretty blush flushed across her face and she dropped her hand, "My apologies. I forget myself around you sometimes and will do better in the fu-"
She sucked in a breath when he grabbed her hand and laid it on his bare chest, over his thundering heart.
"I was only teasing you. I belong to you now, in heart and body. Even if there is no contract yet, you are my bride. I vow to you now that I will always protect you, no matter the cost. I will stay with you until your soul leaves this world, and then I will find my way to you in the next."
She couldn't help her smile, "That's more than I could ever ask. Although, we may have trouble finding someone willing to officiate a contract for us."
Toga pulled her in for another hug and said against her hair, "Then I'll just have to convince them that it would be in their best interest not to upset my bride."
She giggled, "You might scare them to death, Toga. No one deserves that."
"Already chastising me I see."
"Oh, I'm--"
"Just like a good yokai wife."
She smiled, pleased, and drifted her hand up his bare back, underneath his mokomoko.
Toga's breath hitched, his body coming alive at her touch.
"Is this acceptable?" she asked shyly.
"Anything," he told her honestly, "anything you want to do with me is acceptable."
"Even...kissing you?"
The last was said so quietly a human wouldn't have heard. Luckily, he wasn't a human.
"Especially that," he agreed, gazing down into her blushing face. His mouth drifted down, inches from hers. He could feel her breath mingle with his.
And--
A loud sound echoed through the cave, causing Izayoi to jump and look around worriedly.
Toga grabbed her hand and pulled her back into a tight hug, "Don't worry. That's just our rescue party."
A few seconds later, there was a large hole in the snow, and Inukimi was glaring at her. "Get a room!"
Izayoi squeaked and tried to pull away, but Toga held her in place and addressed the yokai woman, "You still want us to stay a while then?"
"Yes, like I said, get a room--yours or hers since I doubt you'll need both now, but you can't keep a human out in these conditions, Toga. The girl needs to warm up in the castle, preferably near a fire."
Her nosed wrinkled as she thought about something. "On second thought, make sure you take her room. It's farther from mine. Supper is in 20 minutes. Toga, you've got to feed humans often or I hear they die faster. And get you both some clothes. I don't want our human getting...what was it the healer said humans were prone to getting when too cold? Frostbite? Sounds dreadful."
With that, she turned and transformed, flying back to the castle. Soon after they followed.