Author's Note - Wow, it has been awhile... an entire year, actually. After writing the last chapter, I lost where the story was heading and then life happened, got a full-time job, and responsibilities. (Being an adult is sometimes no fun!) Last week, I just randomly decided to re-read the entire story, and I could hardly believe that this is something I actually wrote! (It is not a bad thing for an author to be proud of their work, is it?) I was so inspired that ideas began rushing through my mind like a raging waterfall. So, after a very long hiatus, I give you Chapter 17 of From Deep Within. You may want to go back and re-read Chapter 16 if it has been awhile for you.

My apologies for the wait. I do hope you enjoy this next installment. :)

Chapter 17: A Captivating Garden

"Sesshomaru-sama... Sesshomaru-sama... Where are you, Sesshomaru-sama?"

The pleading cries moved slowly through the dense woods. Suddenly, Jaken poked his head out from between two bushes, glancing sharply to the right and then the left. A pathetic expression of dejection appeared on his face as he gave a low, pitiful moan.

"Oh, why did you abandon me once again, Sesshomaru-sama? Is Jaken not your most trusted servant?"

Dragging the Staff of Two Heads by one hand, the small green yōkai pressed onwards through the thick underbrush, groaning and whining to himself as he fought the branches that were attempting to hold him back.

A stone's throw away, Ah-Un stately followed a well-worn path with Rin on his back. She was humming to herself as she weaved the stems of wildflowers together. She paused slightly as Jaken stumbled, bruised and scratched, on to the path ahead of them.

"Silly Master Jaken," Rin muttered with amusement. Then, with the unwavering confidence that only a young child could possess, she said, "Sesshomaru-sama and Tora-san will return soon."

Ah's neck straightened as the dragon yōkai gazed about their surroundings, and Un also became alert. Rin leaned forward, her flowers instantly forgotten, and touched their necks with her small hands.

"What is it, Ah-Un? Do you hear something?"

The little girl cocked her head to one side and strained to discover whatever it was that had caught the two-headed yōkai's attention, but other than Master Jaken's sighs and murmurings, she heard nothing. She frowned and looked nervously around at the tall trees. Autumn had touched the land, and the leaves were already changing colors. Between two identical trees, she thought she saw a vibrant, almost Spring-like, patch of green.

"Master Jaken," Rin whispered. "Master Jaken!"

"Hmm? What is it, Rin?" the little yōkai demanded.

"I think I saw something. There," she pointed as she spoke.

"Don't be silly, girl. There is nothing there—"

"It's a garden!" Rin exclaimed cheerfully. Her eyes were aglow as she stared, enthralled, at the slender window of brilliant colors. Her ears tingled, and she heard, very faintly, the melodious sounds of a shakuhachi... a bamboo flute.

"In the middle of the for— EH?! Rin, where are you going? Rin!"

The little girl had slipped from Ah-Un's back and darted through the twin trees. The small yōkai gasped and hurried after her. He hit something with such force that he was knocked backwards. Clutching his aching beak with his free hand, he blinked slowly to regain his bearings. Swallowing hard, he peered into the mysterious garden beyond, but he could not see Rin at all.

"Oh, no. Oh, no. Rin? Where did that girl go? Oh, Sesshomaru-sama will not be happy."

He reached forward hesitantly, and his palm pressed against an invisible wall between the two trees. A barrier, a very powerful yōkai barrier, and no matter how hard he pushed, he could not get through. Ah-Un approached and leaned his full weight against it, but even the dragon yōkai was no match for the power of the barrier. As a last resort, Jaken held the two-headed staff before him and tried to blast a hole to climb through, but the flames merely sizzled and hissed for only a few seconds when they touched the barrier before fizzling out.

"Not good!" Jaken was beginning to panic. "Not good. Not good. I must tell Sesshomaru-sama!"

He scrambled on to the back of Ah-Un and urged the dragon yōkai through the thick forest canopy and into the sky.

Rin had vanished.

The moment Rin stepped into the garden, all thoughts of Sesshomaru, Tora, Jaken, and even Ah-Un vanished from her mind. She was enraptured by the beauty surrounding her, and the ethereal music that gently tickled her ears. The girl gasped in delight as a colorful butterfly fluttered passed her, nearly touching her nose, before landing on a nearby flower. Leaning close to it, the insect opened and closed its wings a few times before taking off again. Then the whole air was filled with butterflies, and Rin giggled as their tiny wings seemed to sparkle in the golden light.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

Rin spun around to find she was not alone. A handsome young man was kneeling between two rows of blossoming bushes, a small silver knife in one hand. She watched as he flicked his wrist and skillfully remove dead leaves from the stalk of a large red flower. Then she glanced up into his face. His long golden hair was pulled back, flowing down his back like a sunbeam. A warm smile and sparkling sapphire eyes made her instantly feel at ease.

"What is your name, little one?" the stranger asked gently.

"R-rin."

"Welcome to my humble home, Rin of the forest."

As he spoke, he gestured to their surroundings with his empty hand, and Rin's eyes followed, taking in the majesty of the small parcel of tamed wilderness. Behind the stranger was even a small cottage. With every surface but the windows covered with flowers, vines, and leaves, it did not look like a house at all but a natural part of the landscape.

"You live here?" Rin asked in amazement.

"I do."

Rin's eyes widened as she darted between to bushes and pointed at gorgeous yellow flowers.

"These are the biggest wildflowers I have ever seen!" she exclaimed. Another plant caught her eye. "Oh! Tora-san told me about this one. She said it can help make people better when they are sick. And that one there makes a good tea."

"True." The young man laughed softly. "I do not have many visitors, would you like a tour of my garden, Rin?"

"Oh, yes!" the girl said happily, but then she hesitated. "Um..."

"You may call me Katsutoshi."

"Thank you, Katsutoshi-san!"

The young man set the pruning knife down on the ground and stood. He was almost as tall as Sesshomaru, and his silk garments were embroided with exquisite blossoms so that he seemed to be a part of his own garden. Even the embroidered butterflies seemed to flutter as the fabric shifted around him.

With a friendly smile, he held out his hand to the little girl, and Rin did not hesitate to grasp it.

"Where shall we start?"

"Oh, let's start over there! Tora-san said she would explain to me what that plant is, but she had to go off with Sesshomaru-sama."

The stranger called Katsutoshi smiled, eyes more narrow than before but the little girl was oblivious as she bounced giddily around.

"This... Tora-san ...sounds quite knowledgeable of nature."

"She is! She is!"

Katsutoshi looked down at the young child innocently holding his hand as she leaned over to smell a blossom. "Please, Rin of the forest, tell me more of your Sesshomaru-sama and Tora-san."