InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Flower Girl ❯ I Will Always Be True ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

---oOo---

Kagome woke that morning to a surprise. Normally a light sleeper, whoever had come to her in the night had not woken her - nor had that person set off any alarm within the confines of the camp.

Meaning that whoever had left the flowers on her pillow, was someone in their group.

Blue violets, for watchfulness, for faithfulness... I'll always be true.

Which one was meant, here?

Although, she mused as she stared absently at the blooms sitting so innocently on her pillow, I guess it doesn't matter all that much, really - they all are interconnected meanings.

She shifted her gaze around the camp weighingly, looking at the various members of the group, trying to determine who was behind it.

Rin? No... that makes no sense, and neither would Shippo by the same token. Miroku...? I don't think so, I could see it... but he'd give something like that to Sango, not me.

She sighed, brow furrowed.

Sango? Again... that doesn't make any sense. And certainly not Jaken - I don't think he pays any attention to flowers at all, let alone giving some to a silly human wench. She giggled a bit, the thought of Jaken giving anyone flowers actually amusing.

So that leaves... Sesshoumaru - or... Inuyasha. Her smile faded at that. I bet it was Inuyasha. That makes perfect sense. He's feeling guilty, and not going to give up on getting me to take him back as my protector.

Her expression turned melancholy as she watched the sun rise, and listened to the camp beginning to stir. Standing up, she quietly made her way out of the circle of sleeping people, and walked a little distance away to a nice spot in the sunshine, letting it warm her as she sat down.

Pulling her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her knees, still lost in her thoughts.

She wasn't sure how she should feel about that idea - that Inuyasha was still trying to get back in her good graces. Apparently he was going to put a great deal of effort into it, too, if he was looking up the meaning of the various flowers, and then tracking down the ones he wanted specifically.

Too bad he wasn't interested in putting that effort in when Kikyou was alive - I might still be warm inside if he had. Instead, there's this little bit of chill in my heart that just won't seem to go away.

I hate that I've been marked in such a way - it's as if a little of that coldness that was a part of Kikyou is now stuck inside me. I wonder if I'll ever be able to warm it again...

"What thought causes you such unhappiness, miko?"

Kagome blinked, then looked over her shoulder blankly at the large Inu Lord standing behind her.

"Oh... good morning, Sesshoumaru-sama. Sorry, I wasn't trying to ignore you - I was just thinking."

He moved forward and sat near her, staring out over the dewy meadow calmly.

"You did not answer my question. Are you deliberately avoiding it?"

He actually sounded interested there for a moment, she thought.

She chuckled lightly, casting a sideways glance at him. "No... hey," she said, a frown creasing her brow, "did you see who put the flowers on my pillow last night?"

He was silent for several minutes, still staring out at the sky, then he nodded once, sharply. "Hai."

Kagome sighed. "It was Inuyasha, wasn't it?"

"It was." He flicked a quick look at her from the corner of his eye. "Does that fact upset you, miko?"

"Honestly?" Her eyes flickered, some unknown emotion slipping through them. "Yes. 'I'll always be true'..." she mused, eyes lost on some far distant horizon. "Only if I was Kikyou - but I'm not. And he can't be true to me, Kagome, can he?"

It was again silent for a time, as both just watched the day beginning, and enjoyed the simple silence - it was comfortable. Finally, when she'd almost forgotten her last question, he answered her.

"No. The hanyou cannot be faithful to you, because to him, you are the other - not Kagome, but who you were in a past life. It will always be that way to some extent for him."

A sad smile flickered across her lips, gone almost as soon as it was born, and she sighed deeply once again.

"I know. And I will not change my mind - you are my protector now." She looked at him, studying him in the burgeoning light of the new day. He's really so very beautiful... it's odd - I always knew that, and yet... it never really clicked in my mind - until now.

I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.

She came back to herself when he reached into his sleeve, and pulled out one small flower, and handed it to her. With her eyes pinned to it with astonishment, she missed him stand... but she heard every word he said in that moment.

"This blue violet... as you said, it means 'I will always be true', and 'faithfulness'. Inuyasha may not be able to offer you those vows with honesty, miko... but I can."

He walked away, then, and it wasn't until he was actually gone that she took in the rest of what he'd said as he'd moved away.

"And I have."

Stunned, she could do little but sit there and stare at the pretty blue bloom as it sat innocently in her hand.

He promises to always be true?

True... to what?

---oOo---

A/N: oOoOo... so what's he really promising her here, hmmm? I wonder... I don't think he even knows for sure yet - but he's getting there!

Amber