Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
The Bonsai Tree
Grandpa Higurashi always found pleasure and solace in tending his bonsai plants. He also hadn't forgotten a certain incident. When he heard Inuyasha's greeting behind him, he stiffened, pulling his hands well away from his precious plants.
"What do you want?" Truculently asked.
Inuyasha moved up alongside. "I didn't really understand what I'd destroyed, five hundred years ago."
Higurashi looked up. The regretfully-voiced hanyo's expression was undecipherable, but his red eyes were focused on the central bowl of the row, where only a ragged stump remained. "My victim?" asked Inuyasha, pointing.
"Yes." Higurashi glared, remembering.
Red eyes looked at him. "How old?"
A question unexpected. "I obtained it twenty-two years, five months, and three days before it was destroyed."
Inuyasha nodded. "I apologize for my younger self. My brother ... took up the craft some centuries ago. When I lived with him, he tried to teach me..."
Intrigued, Higurashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Tried?"
A clawed hand reached towards the nearest tree, arched as if to cup it, though it stayed a good finger-length clear. "They may be beautiful; displays of patience and exactitude. But, for me ... to be what they are, their being, their very souls, must be misshapen. Trees were born to be tall and wild and strong. I ... I came so close to stunting myself, to ripping out half of what I was ... to force such change on another, even just a tree..."
Grandpa was silent, surprised and wondering.
Author's Note: This was written for the prompt "Misshapened", for the Inuyasha FanFic Contest community on LiveJournal. It was originally posted on July 17th, 2012. It won the contest.
(1/18/2013)