MY SWEET FLOWER
By: RinSesshy
*This story takes place 10 years after the defeat of Naraku as Rin is taking a break from her responsibilities as Lady of the Western Lands by taking part in an interesting, relaxing and familiar technique involving flowers*
*Japanese Glossary*
Sama – It is used mainly to refer to people much higher in rank than oneself.
Chan – It is informal, almost affectionate equivalents to -san.
Senbei – A type of Japanese rice crackers.
Sukiyaki – Is a common Japanese dish.
Mirin – A sweet Japanese cooking wine.
Oishī – Japanese word meaning, 'Delicious'.
Ikebana – The Japanese art of flower arranging.
~ In this particular fanfiction Kagome is still able to travel to and from the Feudal Era through the Bone Eater's Well. It has always been in my own, personal impression that Kagome may not have been travelling to the past of her own world but actually to the past of an alternate world. If you are interested in this theory you can find it by clicking on this link: On the InuYasha wikia page it's been stated that Rin has a better sense of smell than average humans, including Sango and Miroku. It's never really been known when noodles came to Japan but in my fanfiction and in my universe they exist but only the people of high status can eat them as well as Sukiyaki, I don't know when Sukiyaki was invented but in my fanfiction and universe, Sukiyaki was invented back during the feudal era and only the highest nobilities could eat such a delicious meal. ~
Enjoy and comment please!
"In the mountain,
In the forest,
In the wind,
In the dream,
Where are you my lord Sesshoumaru?
Rin will wait until you come,
Lord Sesshoumaru, Please return to Rin."
The lyrics were being sweetly sung from the lips of a beautiful raven-haired woman who was in her 18th season of life. The song she was singing was one that she made up herself many years ago when she just a child and even all these years later, she never got tired of it.
She was sitting comfortably on the floor of a private room while the sun was shining brightly in through the windows giving the indication to another beautiful summer day.
Her singing eventually turned into soft humming as she reached over to her left side and picked up a pair of shears. Examining them for a moment she than picked up a flowering plum blossoming branch and gently snipped off the unwanted tips. She set those aside for a moment and picked up a pink Japanese tulip and brought it up to her nose and sniffed its lovely scent.
A smile had donned her face. This had become one of her most favorite pass times over the last 3 months, especially since it all centered around one of her other most favorite childhood activities; picking flowers. Even after she had grown into fine, beautiful mature woman she still maintained certain attributes from her childhood that preserved her innocence.
"Rin-sama?" came a gentle voice from across the room.
Hearing her name she turned her head almost elegantly into the direction of the door and saw that it was none other than her very loyal friend and lady-in-waiting, Nadeshiko holding a tray.
"Nadi-chan," Rin answered as she gestured her into the room. She set the flower down and began to clear some other items out of the way.
"Pardon my intrusion Rin-sama," Kazumi said as she walked over and set the tray down in the clear spot that Rin made next to her.
"Nadi, you don't have to call me 'lady' when you are just with me. Only call me 'Rin-sama' when our Lord or other servants are in our company."
"Thank you Rin-sa…I mean Rin."
Rin simply smiled and nodded her head in return.
She looked down at the contents on the tray and saw that it consisted of her favorite cherry blossom tea set, the main plate consisted of some thinly sliced meat, cubes of tofu, a variety of vegetables and some konnyaku noodles, with it all being simmered in some soy sauce and mirin; it was her favorite dish, sukiyaki. There was also a bowl of rice and some after snacks made up of some senbeis and various dangos that Rin had recently required a special taste for.
She than saw a small Japanese bowl that contained what looked and smelled like chopped liver. She looked up at Kazumi and smiled.
"Kirara." Rin called out as she took the small bowl from the tray and placed it next to her on her right side.
The little two-tailed nekomata demon was sleeping soundly a few feet away on a big silky plumped pillow. At the sound of her name being said, she twitched her ears, opened her eyes and began to yawn when her little nose caught whiff of a delicious aroma.
She took a couple more sniffs and letting out one of her cute chirps, she scurried over to the bowl laid out for her and began to eagerly eat it fillings.
"Thank you Nadi-chan," Rin said while gently petting Kirara on the back. "I thought you might have forgotten again."
"I almost did." Nadeshiko told her and the two women giggled about it. But then, Nadeshiko got serious.
"Rin, I hope you are not involved in something that is stressing you out too much." She said with some concern as she looked at the small clutter of items forming around her lady.
Rin just looked at her for a moment before she giggled under the sleeve of her kimono like a proper lady should.
"Nadi-chan, I have to at least be able to do something that is fun and relaxes me. If I can't, than I will eventually become stressed out from boredom."
For the time being, Rin was relieved of attending to her responsibilities as Lady of the Western Lands as she was given special instructions a while back that prohibited her from doing any type of duties that might stress her out. Therefore, her beloved husband and mate had relieved her of her duties and temporarily turned them over to Nadeshiko. Rin was not worried in the least and knew that Nadeshiko could handle things for a while and she didn't put up much of an argument about it either.
Nadi-chan looked at her for a moment before she let out a small chuckle, knowing she couldn't argue with her there.
Aside from taking over Rin's duties for the next few months, Lord Sesshomaru also assigned her to keep an eye on his mate and to make sure she wasn't doing anything to stress out her body.
She wouldn't fail him, she made sure to check in on her regularly throughout the day and that she got all the proper nutrition's that she needed in her new special diet. If Rin had to go anywhere in the castle; even out onto the castle grounds to stroll through the gardens she always had two bodyguards with her. She wasn't worried as they were some of the toughest warriors in Sesshomaru's army and were quite fond of the Western Lady as she was.
She knew that these actions were beginning to bother her Lady but she couldn't ignore her Lord's wishes either, knowing very well what the consequences would be if she went against it or failed.
"Nadi-chan, you are doing a wonderful job taking care of my duties and to make sure that I am staying in perfect health too. But I do need to enjoy some of this free time that I have left while I still can and at least do some type of activity to keep me entertained. Also, if I need you for anything I will summon for you. Please, don't worry so much than you need to and also leave my husband to me." Rin gave her a wink.
The young pink-haired yokai was quite touched by her lady's kind words and never ceased to amaze her either. She gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Thank you , my lady." Nadeshiko said and Rin simply smiled and nodded back to her.
"I will be back later to get the tray." That being said she got up and bowed to her and left Rin and Kirara alone to let them eat their lunches in peace.
Rin took a whiff of the meat and from its scent she could tell that it was a mixture of elk and boar it also seemed from the looks of it that the meat was really fresh and tender, meaning quite possibly it was killed yesterday.
{Sesshomaru…} Rin thought as she began to blush, knowing that he probably went out himself to get this just for her.
She picked up the chopsticks and began to eat; {Oishī} Rin thought eating her highly protein lunch. She took her time to enjoy it as the meat was caught and prepared specifically for her and she didn't want the cook's hard work to go to waste.
A couple of times she snuck a few small pieces to Kirara to let her have a taste as she could see she was becoming distracted from her own dish to the other delicious meat aroma coming from Rin's tray.
An hour has passed and the tray was now occupied with the couple of empty dishes and plates. Kazumi came back to retrieve it while Rin continued to munch on her after-lunch dessert.
Rin slowly sipped her herbal green tea and munched on the rice cakes and dangos snacks as she quietly read a book given to her by Kagome.
Even under the current circumstances, she was at least glad to be getting this little break. Aside from spending intimate evenings with her mate, her regular duties truly did take up most of her time throughout the morning and afternoon that she couldn't indulge herself with some of her favorite past-times to relieve her stress.
But her little vacation time right now had entitled her to at least do the one thing she had come to enjoy very much over the last couple of months, Ikebana.
She looked at the other different floral designs that she made earlier in the day, from the way it was going her current one would be another shatai slanting style as the plum branches were slanting over to the left side of the dish.
Remembering from her studies that shatai was a sub-style of Moribana, one of the simplest styles of all the Ikebana styles, and most suitable for beginners like her. She even remembered reading about how a lot of horizontal branches, stems and flowers look best sideways rather than upright.
For this design, she decided on the plum blossoming branch because it represented 'hope and resistance to injury' and the pink tulip was associated with 'happiness, confidence and affection'. When she was done with this she wanted to put this in her mate's studies then maybe make some more for every room in the castle, each one with a different meaning.
She than looked over at the several baskets containing many different types of blooming branches and flowers that she picked from the gardens early this morning. Alongside the baskets were a few more Ikebana vases; some flat pod vases, a couple of rectangular vases, some tall bamboo vases and each one had a kenzan of its own. There were also two more pairs of shears and some tsubaki oil to maintenance them properly along with a book, Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement.
It was all from Kagome, a farewell present that she gave to her when she made the decision to leave the village 2 years ago to rejoin Sesshomaru. Kagome admitted to have kept it hidden for a while in her hut because she knew that Rin's choice was pretty obvious.
She looked up from her book and began to think back to her time living in the village over those last few years. Almost 7 months after Kagome had returned to the feudal era to live there indefinitely with Inuyasha, they both became her new guardians after Kaede's unexpected death. Kagome, Inuyasha and their friends have become like a new family to her; almost replacing the one that she unfairly lost many years ago.
Kagome, Inuyasha and their friends truly did accept her and the 'relationship' she had with Sesshomaru. But the same could not be said for the other villagers; she remembered how they would all glare at her as she walked past them and sometimes she could even hear them talk about her behind her back; whispering to each other.
The worst out of all of them were the women; she knew that they secretly hated her and were jealous of all the kimonos and other accessories she got from Sesshomaru over the years when he paid her visits. There were those who would be pregnant and didn't even want her there assisting in the delivery; fearing she would curse the child or get it possessed because of her 'involvement' with a demon.
It seemed that in her attempts to regain her humanity with others of her own kind didn't bowl over well as even in a different village people were still judgmental of her and treated her as an outcast. Rin didn't need to live among humans to regain it; her humanity was regained when Sesshomaru resurrected her for the first time.
She remembered when she looked into those amber eyes of his; those beautiful eyes of his that might have appeared cold and dark-hearted to others but to her they were filled with such a compassionate and caring nature. That's why she wanted to be with him forever, because he was far more humane than any other mortal person she had ever met.
Over the years she has learned so much from InuYasha and the others. She had learned a lot about medicinal herbs from Kagome and Kaede before her passing, Sango along with Inuyasha and Miroku had taught her several forms of self-defense. She was definitely going to need it if she was going to rejoin Sesshomaru again someday.
On her last day in the village, she revealed to Kagome that she had every intention to rejoin Sesshomaru when the time came as the only reason she even agreed to stay and live among humans was at his request and she has never disobeyed him once when he asked her to do something.
Before he left her in Kaede's care he told her that when the time came she could make the decision to come back with him or stay in the village. Her face lit up with happiness and relief to the fact that he would still give her a choice and that her lord didn't view her as a burden.
Setting the book, tea and snacks aside she picked up the plum branch from earlier and continued on with her project. She picked up the tulip flower and placed it along with the branch into a small shallow dish full of clean water and cut the ends to preserve their freshness longer. She than positioned them in the kenzan of her ceramic dish to her liking; being careful not to prick herself.
"What do you think Kirara?" Rin asked looking at her as she ate half of a senbei and some dangos that Rin had given to her. Kirara looked up at her most recent display for a moment and gave a small happy chirp before she resumed snacking.
Rin let out a small giggle and gently petted her head. It took everyone by major surprise when Kirara became a faithful companion to Sesshomaru not shortly after Kohaku's death seeing as how Ah-Un left after finding a mate. Kirara made the choice of her new master very clear, even when she swatted at Sango after trying to take her away from him.
She gave the little cat demon another pat on the head as she reached for a bamboo vase to start a fresh new flower display. "Okay, let's try an upright style this time." Kirara chirped in agreement.
It was now late in the afternoon and Rin had now finished her 7th flower project for that day. She looked at the newest ones she did, only this time they were styled into upright positions and these being her first ones of this style they didn't look that bad.
She looked over at the window and saw that the sunlight was beginning to dim slowly from room. {I wonder if the meeting ran late} Rin thought to herself as she set aside the new flower display to start on another one. Little did she know was that at that moment she was being watched.
Sesshomaru was standing in the entrance and ever so quietly without her hearing him; he leaned up against the door to watch his mate working on her flower arrangement projects. He arrived back at the palace a few moments ago and instead of heading off into his studies he immediately began to look for Rin.
It didn't take him long to know where she was or what she was doing as his keen senses picked up on the different fragrances of flowers that enveloped the halls and followed it until it lead him to his destination.
She wasn't wearing any of her traditional royal kimonos that she was usually instructed to wear; instead she was wearing the traditional robes of a miko. From the back she almost looked like Kagome, the sister-in-law that he seriously had to tolerate
At first he insisted that she wear more formal kimonos when walking around the palace as he wanted her to be regarded in the highest status as the Lady; but Rin was able to win him over that the red & white robe attire was way more comfortable for her to move around in as she was nearly on the verge of tears after arguing her point across.
Sesshomaru knew that he couldn't win the argument when she put on the water works as he was warned that during this stage women intended to become very emotional. But even so, just from her backside she was still so beautiful.
He leaned off the door and made his way into the room, Kirara saw him coming and he immediately put a finger to his mouth to keep her from chirping and giving him away.
Rin reached for another flower when a clawed hand placed itself gently on top of hers. Letting out a small gasp, she turned around and saw her beloved husband crouching down next to her.
A bright smile appeared on her face "Lord Sesshomaru, I didn't hear you-." In one swift move of his demon speed he pulled her gently into his lap without hurting her and was now sitting crossed legged on the floor holding her close to him.
"I have told you before Rin," Sesshomaru told her as he stroked her hair. "You are not at privilege to call me 'Lord' anymore." When they became mates, he has made it very clear that she could no longer call him 'Lord' as she now held a higher status than she ever did from when she was just a small kid.
"Some old habits are hard to get rid of I guess." She said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
He kissed her gently and rested his head on top of hers as he continued to hold her in his arms. He was so glad the meeting ended early today as for the entire day he was distracted with thoughts of his mate.
"You didn't wander too far from the castle did you Rin?" He asked out of concern as his arms wrapped around her a bit more.
Rin smiled as a sigh escaped her lips. "No, my love, I didn't. I just went out to the garden to get more flowers and branches for my projects."
"Rin, you know that I don't want you to wander too far from the castle if anything happened to you I -"
"SESSHOMARU STOP!" Rin unexpectedly screamed out, loud enough to cause Kirara to jump to her feet and cower a bit. It definitely caught Sesshomaru off guard as he never expected to be yelled at by his mate, ever.
Not showing any emotion as he normally does, and finally realizing that he was going too far he simply lowered his head knowing that he had made her angry and was probably the one stressing her out with his over protectiveness.
Rin's facial features immediately softened up when she looked into his amber eyes and saw just a slight sign of hurt in them.
Her heart began to sink when she saw that she had actually hurt her beloved husband. All he was trying to do was look after her during this time and wanted to protect her from any type of harm.
Not that she wasn't grateful, in fact; she was very happy that he was showing to be very protective, but it comes to a point where being protective and becoming too overly-protective to where he tried to confide her into the castle all day was too much.
Rin brought her hands up to gently cup his face to have him look at her and began to stroke his two cheek stripes with one of her thumbs.
"My love, I'm sorry." She told him as she kissed him on his lips to reassure him. "I know you are worried about me while I am in this condition but to not be able to go outside is exaggerating it a bit."
"But…" Sesshomaru began to counter back when she placed an index finger gently on his lips.
"I know that I have to reserve my strength because of…"
Rin couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence as she quickly averted her attention down to her lower abdomen.
Sesshomaru's eyes followed hers and his face quickly grew with concern.
"Rin? What's wrong?" He asked in a bit a panic.
Rin didn't answer him and only looked up at him with a bright smile that fueled his curiosity. Her cheeks took on a tinted pink color; she grabbed his hand and brought it down to place it over her protruding belly.
This was why she was temporarily relieved from her lady duties, why she had to have bodyguards with her at all times. His Rin was pregnant and he wanted the best protection around for his mate and his guards knew that if they failed him it would lead to the most ultimate and painful death ever imaginable.
He suddenly felt a slight movement underneath his hand that was soon followed by a kick that made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Did you feel that kick?" Rin asked.
He looked down at his wife to see her look up at him with a smile. She really did have that motherly glow which just made her all the more beautiful and him even more prouder.
"He is going to be very powerful just like his father." Rin said with much pride in her own voice, causing Sesshomaru to form a smile on his lips.
"And the other child," Sesshomaru asked as he moved his hand over to the other side of her stomach. That's right, she was not only pregnant with one; but two pups.
Almost on cue, he felt another slight kick under his hand as if his other pup was letting its sire know it was there.
"She will have a gentle and loving heart..."
"…Like her mother…," Sesshomaru said cutting her off and kissing the top of her head.
Rin giggled and snuggled closer to him
"…and the calm nature of her father to handle any situation."
Sesshomaru couldn't stop the small chuckle that escaped his lips.
"How do you know that we will have a son and a daughter? They might be identical twins."
"Because I'm their mother, and I just know."
This must be the 'maternal instinct' that InuYasha had told him about.
"Rin, I'm sorry." She looked up at him and his eyes met hers. "For being an overly obsessive protective idiot."
Rin smiled and chuckled before she brought her hands up to run them through his hair.
"You are not an idiot, and I am sorry for being fat and overly emotional." She countered back.
"You are not fat or overly emotional; you are carrying two strong pups that will one day become powerful in their own ways."
Rin couldn't help but smile at that comment as she was so happy that he was already proud of his children even when though they weren't here yet. She couldn't wait for them to be born.
But it wouldn't stop there with just these set of twins. No, Sesshomaru planned on blessing Rin with more children over the many years and centuries to come as he had no worries about her growing old due to a human life span as she now shared the same life span as him.
He continued to hold her in his arms as he enjoyed her warmth; just like he did every night. However, his ears picked up the slightest sound of a yawn and looked down to see her covering her mouth and snuggle into his mokomoko more.
"Are you tired my love?" He asked her, rubbing her back gently.
"Maybe just a little bit," She told him as she let out another and now seemed to be struggling to stay awake. It was so hard for her to do so as his mokomoko was just so warm and comfortable.
"Then I would like for you to take a short nap." He told her.
"But Sesshomaru…" She began to protest.
"No 'buts' this time Rin," He stated, performing another swift move he was now standing up while holding her in a bridal position. "You won't argue with your husband and lord this time as it will do you and the babies some good."
Rin knew better than to try and fight him when he talked like this and also knew that this time he was right. On cue, Kirara scampered up Sesshomaru's left side and sat down on his shoulder as he exited the room carrying her to their bed quarters.
He bumped into Nadeshiko as he was going down the hall. It didn't take her long to know what was going on. "I will make sure that no one disturbs your rest milord." She said with a bow.
"Thank you." Sesshomaru simply said and gave her a small nod before continuing on his way.
He reached a pair of fine wooden carved doors that lead to their room, he glanced down and saw that his sweet Rin had already fallen asleep. He walked into their bed chamber and sat her down on the bed; stripping the miko robes off of her being careful not to wake her until she was just in her kosode he laid her back down on the soft mattress.
Walking over to the other side, he took off his mokomoko and laid it on floor by the bed. Kirara jumped off his shoulder and immediately curled up onto it, falling asleep; even she couldn't resist its softness.
He glanced at the little cat demon as he reached down to pet her as he had also become fond of her over the last couple of years as well. After losing Ah-Un when he took a mate, Kirara did indeed become very faithful companion and in ways was more faithful than Ah-Un even was.
He began to stripe out of his own clothes until he turned around and stopped when he saw the most intriguing display on his window seal. A twisted, knotted grape driftwood was arched over a cast iron pot. {It must be one of her flower projects} he thought to himself as he walked over for a closer look.
The pot was decorated with red & white Chrysanthemum flowers and aligned them with Leucadendron "Inca Gold" stems. She must have picked the Chrysanthemum flowers because he knew it symbolizes longevity and was a symbol of the sun.
It was even considered by the orderly unfolding of the petals to represent perfection. He was not one to compliment on things but this simple display was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen (aside from his mate) and seemed to have a natural talent for this sort of art.
He didn't get the chance to look at all of the flower displays that she made back in the private room as his attentions were more averted onto her than anything else. He would make sure to tell her that he loved her flower display and would like to see the others after her nap.
He walked back over to the bed and finished taking off his kimono top and kosode underneath until he was left wearing only his hakama pants. He untied his grey and red sash and put his two swords next to the bed, within reach of him to grab.
Just in case, he was ready to kill anyone who would try to harm his mate and unborn children. He has already proven this a few weeks ago when he killed at least two female castle workers for making death threats against Rin and one of them in front of his entire staff when he got them all into one room.
He laid the two fabrics on the chair next to him and climbed into bed to lay next with his mate. Feeling the pressure of the mattress, Rin rolled over to her other side and rested her head on his naked chest while snuggling close to him.
He had the rest of his afternoon and evening free and he would spend it all with Rin as she took her nap. He probably wouldn't take a nap himself as he didn't acquire it but he didn't care, he would just lie next to her and hold her protectively in his arms as she slept and dreamed of them and their unborn children.
Wrapping one arm around her he brought the other down and placed it gently onto her belly and caressed it gently. Letting his unborn pups know that he was there; at which time he felt two slight kicks again. It didn't stop as another proud smile formed on his face.
He still couldn't believe it, in just a few more months, he was going to be a father. The feared Lord of the Western Lands was going to be the proud father of twins.
"I love you, Sesshomaru." Rin whispered in her sleep.
With that and many other precious thoughts in mind he pulled Rin closer and kissed her gently on her forehead.
"And I love you, my sweet flower."
~ fin
I hope you all liked my new fanfiction and found it to be interesting. I always thought that Ikebana would really be up Rin's ally as it would be the perfect pass time for her.