A/N: Originally posted to IYissekiwa for their prompt Wash and Wear. Won first position.
The camellia kept bending in the incessant rain.
Water has a strange quality – it can wash away all impurities, wear down even the mightiest of rocks. So maybe the rain would someday fill the void in his soul.
It had certainly cleansed her wounds. Even a few minutes ago new blood would gush out to replace the drops that were being wiped away by the gentle rain-hands. But now all was quiet. The last trace of crimson had oozed into the soil.
It was the rain that, like a loving nanny, had washed the amniotic fluid off the tiny infant who never cried. His small, furry ears hung limp before they had a chance to twitch. Both mother and son slept peacefully now, no longer the victims of a horrific youkai attack.
A long yowl of pain escaped from the throat of the adult hanyou. The attacker lay in pieces, like his hopes for a brighter future. Even the satisfaction of revenge was gone now. What remained was the howling, echoing emptiness, mocking the stupid half-breed for thinking that the world could be a beautiful, meaningful place. Drop by drop, everything that was good and pure in his life had been washed away.
Unconcerned, the camellia kept bending in the incessant rain.