Author's Notes: Hey everyone! This is the revised version of A Field of Roses. For our purposes, let's just say that the Tenseiga can only revive a person once. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I will never own Inuyasha… much to my regret.
Title: A Field of Roses
There was a time when all the roses in all the lands had only one simple color – white. It symbolized purity, innocence, and all that which is good. But why do we have all these other colors now? Some say that the roses were stained and lost their purity. Others say that mankind has grown evil, and the war between men and youkai made the roses realize just how cruel the world was. Thus, they changed their color to mirror the colors the world reflected. No one knows the true story behind the sudden change in the color of the roses… except for two people, for they were the cause behind the change.
A man and a woman alone know of the true story. Well… more specifically, an inu-taiyoukai and a human woman. The inu-taiyoukai was feared by all – youkai and humans alike. The youkai feared the Lord's power and strength, while the humans feared for their lives and the Lord's infamous hatred towards them. Thus, it came as a shock when the youkai lord saved a little girl from death itself. Some say that the Lord wanted to test out the worthless sword his father had left him – the Tenseiga. Their sources were reliable… or so they claimed. They heard the story from the Lord's faithful toad-like servant, Jaken. He was there when it all happened and said that his lord had spoken such words. However, people began to wonder over the Lord's true motives as time began to pass. The young girl, that was with him so many years ago, was no longer a girl. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, whom was said to have put a spell over all who looked at her. The men would be shot by cupid's arrow and come to the castle bearing gifts for the goddess. Others would admire her from afar, simply basking in the joy of her presence. The women would either dolt her with compliments or seethe with jealous scorn over the attention she received with effortless ease. The envy she obtained from the women equaled that of the favors from the men. Men, both youkai and human, desire her beauty, and the rewards they could receive if they win her favors. In matrimony, they would also gain the favors of the Lord who has taken her in as his own. There wasn't a day that passed by without having suitors line up at the castle for just a glance at her, but the line was equally as long for the Lord of the castle. Women, mostly youkai, would come to the Lord, usually in heat, hoping to bear his pups and become his mate. He had many attributes that most youkai women would fight a war for – strong, independent, handsome, deadly, powerful, indescribably rich, and the list goes on. However, both their suitors would always come out of the castle disappointed. The beautiful human woman would sincerely ask for their forgiveness and decline their offers, while the youkai lord would turn his suitors away with indifference. There were rumors, of course, explaining why this is so, which led to the doubts concerning the Lord's rescue of the human. The youkai lord was in love… in love with the human he had saved so long ago… and it was not unrequited.
And our tale begins… but what would a fairy tale be like without beginning it with "once upon a time…"?
Once upon a time in a far away place, a grand castle loomed over the Western lands in Edo, Japan. A dangerous youkai prince stands, waiting with suppressed impatience for an old woman to speak…
Sesshoumaru stared at the old woman with a deadly look. With narrowed eyes, he asked, "How?"
Behind her dark, hooded cloak, the old woman crackled, "The human child, who you have in your care, will be your downfall, my Lord. She will strip you of your pride and dignity, leaving you weak and powerless. She will destroy everything you proud yourself in."
Before the woman could even blink, Sesshoumaru had her by the neck, slamming her body into the wall. Eyes red, Sesshoumaru asked again his voice laced with venom, "How?"
"I do not know, my Lord," said the old woman, surprisingly calm. "I simply read the future and that is what the future has in store for you. I have defined what I have seen in the words you yourself would have used."
Sesshoumaru threw the woman across the floor, and she fell unconscious as she hit her head on a table. "Get her out of my sight," Sesshoumaru growled at the guards, as he left the room.
His sensitive nose picked up Rin's scent immediately, and he followed it to the gardens. He found her standing under the star filled sky. Out of all the flowers that she had given him, roses were her favorite. Naturally, Sesshoumaru had ordered the entire garden to be filled with them, so that she may bask in them daily. The sky was a clear, black color, contrasting greatly to the beautiful, shinning stars. However, no star shone brighter than the woman standing under them. Rin was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown in the late night breeze. As the winds softly blew by her hair making it sway lightly, she looked like the goddess that those in the villages claim her to be. Slowly, Sesshoumaru walked to her.
Sensing him more than hearing him, Rin shifted her gaze from the beautiful night sky to the even more beautiful man coming towards her. She smiled like she always did when he was near – full of trust and magnificence, although this time a bit sad. Sesshoumaru noticed this.
"What's wrong, Rin?" asked Sesshoumaru as he reached her.
"Nothing, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin said as she sat down and motioned for him to join her. After he sat down, she put her head on his shoulder. Sesshoumaru was a bit surprised but made no move to stop her. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what happens when someone dies?"
"I don't know, Rin," Sesshoumaru said softly. "But some say that when we die, we will pass on to a better place."
"I don't think that's true… at least it won't be for me," Rin said equally as soft. Then, she started coughing, and blood came out. It landed on a white rose nearby, and it also seeped into the soil of the earth.
"Rin, what's wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked, his left arm holding her shoulders. "What happened to you?"
"I'm going to die, Sesshoumaru," Rin said. This was the first time that she left out his title. "When I heard what the old woman said… I couldn't bear the thought of destroying you, so I…"
"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked, when Rin didn't continue. She didn't need to. He already knew.
With a sad smile, Rin looked at her lord. All these years, she secretly wished that those rumors about her and Sesshoumaru were true. She wished that Sesshoumaru did love her, but when he sought her out, she knew better. "You were planning to kill me tonight, weren't you?" When he didn't answer her, Rin continued, "I would die for you, Sesshoumaru. I would give my life to you without a second thought. All you had to do was ask."
"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked again, calm as always.
Not daring to look into his eyes, Rin softly breathed, "Because I love you."
Sesshoumaru stayed quiet, as he held the dying girl.
"I have nothing to look forward to, except the day when perhaps I will see you again. I promise I'll wait for you," Rin said, looking at his golden eyes again.
Sesshoumaru saw something in those eyes that made his heart ache, but he couldn't put a name to it. "I won't be going where you're going, Rin."
"It doesn't matter. I'll go with you. You said that when people die, they go on to a better place. Well, the only place I feel good at is by your side, Sesshoumaru. I'll always follow you, because I am happy with you," Rin said, blinking back tears from her eyes.
As Sesshoumaru leaned in, he heard Rin gasp in surprise. He kissed the tears away. "Then, wait for me. I shouldn't be long."
"Hai…" Rin whispered, breathing against his face. Rin closed her eyes one last time and began to wait for him at that special place.
Sesshoumaru still had his face against Rin's peaceful one, long after she died. Even in death, she still looks beautiful… Sesshoumaru thought. He didn't even move when he heard someone come up behind him. He didn't care.
"My Lord," the old woman said.
"What exactly did you see? You said that the words you used to describe the scene you saw would be my words, but what about yours?" Sesshoumaru asked, his bangs covering his eyes.
"I saw a sunny garden with beautiful flowers in full bloom. Two pups are playing by their parents – one a boy, the other a girl. Their okaasan is in a rocking chair, holding her swollen belly. She will be expecting another pup soon. She turns and smiles at her husband… and I see you smiling back… at Lady Rin. You asked me how she would destroy you. I truly didn't know how something so beautiful could do that."
Sesshoumaru was quiet for a long time. When she started to leave, he said, "You're wrong, you know." It wasn't a question. "Or I'm wrong since those were my words. Rin didn't destroy me. I destroyed her."
A single tear slid down his face. His bangs still covered his eyes, but one need not see them to know the emotions hidden in their depths. It was the only, single emotion he expressed for the girl.
The old woman left without saying anything, leaving the prince to his thoughts.
Later that night, it started to rain. Soaked with water, he started clawing at the ground. His lover's body lay beside him. His hand was dirty with mud and blood, but he continued to dig relentlessly at the ground. Soon, he made a hole, and the rain had stopped, leaving a clear sky in its wake. It was almost morning. The youkai prince, who had killed hundreds without a thought, buried the mortal girl with a heavy heart. Picking up the rose that had her blood on it, he laid it on top of her grave and went back to his castle… never once looking back.
Once again, he was the cold-hearted Lord of the Western Lands, despised by all… perhaps now even himself. He waits until that day to come when he will finally join her and be at peace. To begin something that could not be in their former lives.
But had the Lord looked back, he would have seen the morning light shine upon the garden. The colors of the roses have changed. The roses furthest away from the grave were still a pure white. Getting closer, one would see the white roses changing to yellow, symbolizing the times when the maiden was younger. The little girl then had offered her Lord friendship, which is what a yellow rose stands for. Going closer, one would see a field of pink roses. It symbolized the times in her teenage years, when she would gaze shyly at her Lord and wonder what this feeling inside her heart is. A pink rose symbolized a growing fondness. Then as one reached the grave itself, they would see the single rose the Lord left on it. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful of the roses. There was only one in the entire field and that only made it all the more precious. It was a red rose. Its beautiful scarlet color came from the blood of the human girl, unlike the other roses that sprung from the girl's blood that seeped into the ground. Its magnificent color symbolized love. The young woman loved her Lord fully and unconditionally, thinking only about his own welfare instead of her own. The beautiful human maiden was buried in a field of roses.
THE END
The sequel for A Field of Roses iscalled Kiss froma Rose. Again, it's a one-shot, but it is also a song-fic.