Through her, he had learned that this flower was his treasure. Through her, he had learned to wait.
At first he only saw her as a foolish human girl who had decided to follow him. He had assumed that she had followed him due to the fact that she had nowhere to return to, being the sole survivor of her village. Yet, village after village was passed and she did not show any interest in the slightest in settling into any. This did not surprise him more than the fact that this suited him just as well.
At first, he had considered how inconvenienced he would be if a human girl were to travel with him. Yet somehow, he could not bring himself to abandon her since it was none but his own action that had caused her to be with him. He did not know why he gave this matter so much of a thought, but there was an even greater question that he still had no answer to, a question he had constantly pushed to the back of his mind-why did he decide to use Tenseiga on a wretched human child?
Quicker than he'd like to admit, he began to see her differently. He saw her, Rin, as a small bud of flower waiting for a day to bloom. She was weak, unable to survive by herself. She could not defend herself even from those of her own weak kind. To his eyes, it was as if she was a single small bud of flower in the middle of a path which, by herself, would inevitably be trampled upon.
And yet she was strong, strong enough to remain with him, a demon who had taken countless of lives regardless of their innocence, a demon more than capable of tearing her apart before she could even blink. Not that he would ever do so and she knew it. She was strong enough to trust him, to never doubt him. Her faith and devotion were unquestionable despite her young age.
Nevertheless, she was still small and fragile. For a reason he could not comprehend, he felt a strong sense of obligation to keep this fragile flower bud from any harm, eager to wait and let it bloom to its fullest.
Despite his initial thought, he never found her to be an inconvenience. Somehow, watching her play at the flower fields or the rivers along with his green servant had become an entertainment of a sort or even comfort, momentarily letting him escape from his thoughts of Naraku and how he had admittedly become stronger each day.
Losing her had become out of the question before he even knew it.
At first, he was her saviour. Despite her vain attempts to save him on the first day she'd seen him, the situation had been reversed. She had quickly noticed that he was a cold demon outwardly and yet, he had saved her which had convinced her to assume that he could not have been the same inwardly.
As she spent more time travelling with him along with the two demons following him, she knew for a fact that her assumption had been right. Although the demon himself may refuse to admit it, she knew that he had a kind heart. To her, he was a person she could rely on; he was dependable and had done more things for her sake than she deserved. He was a person whom she could never repay, not even with her life since he had given her life itself twice.
She had been sad when he left her in the village where his younger brother resided despite his promise of frequent visits. However, she trusted him as well as his decisions and she would always obey him. Thus, with an embrace which, to her, seemed to last not even a second, she uttered her "see you soon" to her lord.
And true to his words, he did frequently visit her, even more than she'd expected. They had even developed their own tradition. Her lord always presented her gifts upon his visits-kimonos, hair ornaments, jewellery, and various other objects that must have cost him a fortune. In return, she gave him flowers. She knew that they were far from equal to the gifts he provided her, yet it was all she had. Not long after living in the village, she had grown to be an excellent cook and meals were the only other thing she could offer, but it was a shame that her lord could not eat human food.
At times of sadness and loneliness, she would sit in the middle of a clearing in the forest, whispering his name to the nothingness since she had no one else to turn to. It would be rude and ungrateful of her not to acknowledge those in the village. They had been kind to her but oftentimes, she needed something else completely. None of them were like her lord Sesshomaru-none of them she could trust completely with her life.
Mere seconds after her whisper, she was always greeted by his sudden appearance by her side. He had never failed to appear before her. Granted, her 'episodes' were not too frequent-once or twice a year, perhaps-but it never ceased to astonish her that seconds were what it took for him to come to her. It was as if he was always close despite her knowing that he wasn't.
For the first two instances, she apologised for the fact that she had not expected his visit and thus could not prepare him any flower. Each time he had said nothing in return to her apology but the girl knew that she was forgiven. After the two apologies, she had come to understand that the demon would always appear when she needed him; thus, she always prepared a flower.
Each of their meetings always ends at the same place by the forest, not too far from Kaede's abode where she had been staying, but far enough to have a time just for themselves. Every time, away from the prying eyes of the villagers, he let her embrace him with a soft smile. She never said good-bye but patiently waited for his return.
As the years passed, he had become aware of the fact that the flower was on the verge of blooming. He had waited while not knowing what the outcome of the blossom would be. What would change, he did not know. He did not know what his purpose for caring for the once small human girl was. For years, his reasoning had clearly shown him that it was pointless and yet his instinct only encouraged him to keep waiting, to keep seeing her.
As the years passed, the duration of their embraces continually extended, both becoming more and more hesitant to part. Though each embrace was longer than the one preceding it, it always felt shorter each time.
As the years passed, he often found himself tied to the place where she resided. Unbeknownst to anyone he would find himself wandering only to places relatively close to the village. Sometimes, even unknowingly, he had stayed at one of those places for days or even weeks before painfully forcing himself to leave. But never for long, which gives an explanation as to how he always managed to come to her side whenever she needed him. There had even been several occasions when he came to her, thinking that she had called him in the middle of the night, only to find that she had been muttering in her sleep. He couldn't help but wonder what she had seen in her dream.
In the many times he was with her, he would sometimes pick up strands of her hair, always marvelling at their delicacy while maintaining his stoic mask. He would find excuses to touch it; brushing her hair aside from her heart-shaped face or placing some of the flowers she had given him between the dark strands. His gestures were well received, with the girl who was becoming a young woman sporting her radiant smile or even sometimes a hint of pink on her cheeks.
And when the time finally came, the time when the flower finally blossomed, the epiphany was sudden yet warmly welcomed by the demon who had been waiting for years.
As a young woman, she could not help but ponder over love. The other young women in the village had received marriage proposals, most of them to wed in a few months' time. She had yet to receive one since her frequent contact with a seemingly hostile demon had warded young men away. Although this did not trouble her in the least, she was still quite curious as to how it would feel like to be 'in love', as the girls dreamily liked to call it.
They were more than happy to describe their beloved young men, the words handsome, strong, and kind were frequently used. They had also told her that they would feel happiness beyond compare while being with their beloveds. They would feel like they were being cared for and loved. When they had asked her if there was a man fitting to their description in her heart, all she could think of was her lord. In fact, she could describe her lord with much more words than those used by the girls. But one thing remained a mystery: she did not know if she was loved.
When she held a red chrysanthemum to him, she could not help but be nervous. As she grew older and wiser, she'd learned that she could give messages to him through flowers. Sometimes she would give irises as a symbol of her loyalty, sunflowers for her undoubted respect towards him, or daisies to symbolise her undying faith. She was unsure if he'd understood the meanings of the flowers; after all, it was part of the human culture. Yet this time, despite having the chance of her lord's obliviousness, her doubts and anxiousness were undeniable. She had even waited until after their embrace to give the red flower to him instead of at the start of their meeting as usual. Quickly waving her 'see you soon', she ran to the village, leaving him with the flower which cried out her love for him.
At least she had thought that she had left him until her wrist was caught by a strong clawed hand, stopping her from her tracks. He said nothing as he stepped in front of her, facing the girl who had bowed her head in fear of rejection. Only when she felt his hand cup her cheek, did she look up and responded by holding his hand as she did at the time when he saw her revive from the dead for the second time. When she saw him lean down, she could feel face warming uncontrollably due to the proximity. His action was curious and she longed to know what was to happen. She had absolutely nothing in mind and she could not have foreseen of what happened next. She could never expect this from her lord. She would not dare to expect this from her lord. Thus, shocked was an understatement of how she was when her lord Sesshomaru kissed her.
And when his proposal came next, she could not contain her smile. Not that she intended to. Her answer was obvious. After all, it would be foolish to deny her lord's wishes.
1926 words
Next is epilogue :)
Also, the flower meanings were based on my admittedly very limited knowledge of Hanakotoba. It's Japanese, so it might be different from the common flower symbolism.
-Airin