InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Returning to the Path of Sesshoumaru's Eyes ❯ The Secret Garden ( Chapter 4 )

 

 

An hour later, Rin was trimming the rose bushes in the garden when she felt his presence. She nonchalantly continued cutting the weeds away from the precious flowers that she had grown to love over the past week. Indeed, Rin had taken it upon herself to come to this secluded garden every morning to cut all of the flowers while they were still closed, and sort them into arrangements that she placed all over the castle. She enjoyed watching them open up throughout the day with the sunlight. She also tended to an assortment of herbs, spices, and cherry blossom trees within the garden. Rin first encountered this area when walking past a solid stone wall and what was a rotted away door coated in weeds and ivy. Her instinct told her there was a hollow behind this wall- she had pried the door open and pushed aside the foliage. Now, an ivy planter had draped over a centuries-old arch and created a curtain of leaves, moss, and wild flowers sheltering Rin from the rest of the world. No one could see in, and no one could see out.

 

Rin felt Lord Sesshoumaru walk past, and wondered if he was possibly unaware of the garden's presence. He was such a solitary character, never speaking there than necessary, and always showing a sheer lack of emotions except in some of their most intimate conversations. He never seemed to see her during the day except as the sun was rising, unlike during the times of their travels. Only when the sun was faint in the sky was she ever within his audience anymore. She heard his walking come to a halt, yet he made no move to enter or call out her name.

 

 

Rin's thoughts momentarily trailed off to their nightly talks. What did they mean to Lord Sesshoumaru? More importantly, she thought about their most intense conversation to date- last night after her demonstration of her alchemy skills. With all that he had done to nurture and protect her, she longed to return the favor. She couldn't believe she sat within his audience, side by side every night this week. She was more than his vassal now. Even though the Lord had a long ways before admitting it, they were now companions. They often talked about politics, but a few times, Rin dared to ask the lord about simple questions. She had found out that the great lord's father was the dog demon in the tapestries, for instance. Lord Sesshoumaru even told her a bit about his father.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru, why do you hate humans?”

 

The quiet lord exhaled sharply. Breathing in deeply he stood up from his mat on the floor, and padded to the balcony. He looked out towards the full moon he tried to collect his thoughts before starting.

 

“It starts with the story of my mother. She was a beautiful, strong demoness, and very, very wise. She came from a family of great honor and to her, honor was her highest goal. When she married my father, she fell in love with him. However, he did not return the sentiment. In fact, what he did to her was unforgivable. He single-handedly destroyed my mother.

 

I was often told that while I look a great deal like my father, it is my mother I resemble the most. Honor and strength are my highest goals. She never showed any emotion, and appeared cold to all. She even hid her love from my father because she knew he was too unstable.

 

The great InuNoTaishou fell in love with a ningen hime, and they secretly married and mated. Thus InuYasha was born. My mother was sick with heartbreak and went mad. She had fallen in love with my father, and rather than be disgraced by a marriage marred with ningen adultery, she threw herself out the balcony of her window to her death.”

 

Rin felt this explained his hatred towards humans, but she didn't understand why he would tell her this. Of all people, Rin was struck speechless. He had never spoken so much to her all at once. His face was as emotionless as ever, yet his hand was balled into a shaking, violent fist and he drew back from the balcony sharply. “Rin, I do not need your services any longer tonight. Forgive me, but I must retire.”

 

Rin looked at him with a mixture of shock and pity. She had never seen such a display from Sesshoumaru, and understood. He had never confided in this to anyone. He had not displayed his emotions, and remained cold as ice to the rest of the world because his lost his mother to them. The weight was becoming unbearable after such a long time with no one to confide in, no one to trust, and no one to live for. Yet underneath all of this, Rin still felt as if she was missing something. Something else was bothering her Lord.

 

She got up and bowed reverently, “Yes Sesshoumaru-sama. Rin understands.”

 

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