A Young Freesia Bud

Fleeting Embraces, Falling Feelings ~ Naraku X Reader

I'm a young girl, 10 to be exact. I'm living in the Sengoku era in Japan. Apparently, there are demons and monsters roaming around everywhere in this era. I don't know if the world is suppose to be like this or not, but it's something that I don't understand and it's something that my parents don't understand really either. In fact, no one that I know knows much about demons and monsters. Since it's something that is said to be out of our world or realm, it fascinates me, I guess it's because of my age and imagination. Back to my introduction I suppose, I'm a single child, our family is a middle class family that holds the titles of lords and ladies. We have maids and groundsgreepers so I suppose I'm living in an alright society, my maids are the ones that usually take care of me since my parents are always going out for important meetings and such out of town. Somedays, I don't even see them. Although I don't interact with them as much as I would like, I know they aren't uncaring. Being young, I like to go out and explore the outside world, but my maids and caretakers always tell me to be careful because of demon attacks. Not to leave out any details, there is a jewel out there, it's called a Shikon Jewel or something. At this moment I heard that it is shattered and the shards are all over the land. This shard has the power to enhance a supernatural being, I don't know how it works but it's intriguing. I just wish someone can tell me more about these demons. Are some of them like us humans? Do they have human qualities, do they look like us humans or do they have horns and such? With all these questions I really want to meet one. I've heard of demons attacks in other villages but then there are these group of people who would then save them from those demons, news travel across the land. I wonder if I'll ever meet these "heroes" that the villagers call them. But being young, I'm told that I should focus on growing up healthy and strong, have fun as much as I can, marry off into a good family and learn new things as I'm part of a noble family. Growing up, I love flowers, especially the cherry blossoms. I want to learn about flowers and I suppose I do a little bit thanks to my caretakers and maids. One day, I'm in my room taking care of a Freesia flower that was given to me by my mother and father a few years back. They gave me the Freesia flower because it symbolizes me: innocence and thoughtfulness. Although young, I was raises to be thoughtful and caring to others and learn to understand others. My youth on the other hand shows my innocence.

"Another year and I'm about to be 11 years old, I'm surprised I still managed to keep the Freesia flower alive for 3 years." I say to my maid, Sazanami.

Sazanami is 4 years older than me, she is my personal maid but I see her more like an older sister than a maid. She has been with me since I was 6. Sazanami helps me water the Freesia's back side that I couldn't reach on the table.

"It's because of your persistence and thoughtfulness of its existence that it's still alive. The Freesia suit you nicely indeed_________." Sazanami says with a warm smile.

"Do you think I'm going to get a new flower when I become an adult?" I ask her again.

"I'm sure you will, I'll buy you one if you really want one, a flower that will symbolize your blooming beauty." Sazanami says fixing my hair.

I smile at her words and nod. A knock is heard at my door and my mother slides open the door. Sazanami and I both stand up and Sazanami bows to my mother. She gently gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze and leaves the room. My mother walks up to me and takes my hand, she sits the two of us down on my futon and smooths out my wrinkled kimono.

"___________, mommy and daddy needs to go on a 2 day trip to meet up with another lord and discuss about important matters between the two towns. We won't be back in a few days so you'll have to be alone with Sazanami again till we get back." My mother tells me.

I let out a frown, and let out a loud exhale.

"I want to go with you and daddy on this trip,  I want to see the outside world a bit more. Please please?" I say to her putting my hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Sweety, it's dangerous out there especially when there are demon attacks going around. We're afraid that if we take you with us you'll be in danger. It's safer to stay home." She replies with a sad expression.

"No, I want to go, I promise I'll be careful. Please please please. I'll follow you on a horse on my own this time if I can't go." I say to her with a pout.

My mother lets out a sigh, and it looks like she gave up arguing with me. I feel kind of bad but I want to go with them, I'm old enough.

"Alright, I'll tell your father that, knowing you you're quite stubborn. I'll tell Sazanami and have her accompany you to keep you safe. Alright, rest early dear, Sazanami will help you dress up in the morning. We're leaving after you're finished getting ready. Ok?" My mother says.

"Yes! Thanks mommy!" I say hugging her.

My mother hugs me back and kisses me on the cheek. She then tucks me into my futon.

"I know we haven't spent a lot of time together so I suppose this could be a good opportunity for some bonding time. Goodnight." She says to me with a smile.

"Goodnight." I reply back to her.

She blows out the candle in my room and walks out of my room, the door slides close and the quietness fills the room. My heart is full of anticipation for tomorrow's trip that I can't close my eyes. My eyes roam around my room and eventually lands on the yellow Freesia that is being illuminated by the moonlight.

"Goodnight Freesia." I say to it as if it can hear me.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, with my heart slowly calming down I finally fall into a peaceful slumber. I open my eyes to hear the door to my room slowly sliding open, I prop myself up and I yawn. I hear a slight laughter, I can hear the window opening and the warm sunlight coming in. I'm still drowsy and I just sit in my futon. I feel someone kneeling down beside me and smoothing out my hair.

"It's time to get ready so we can go with your parents on this trip. Your hair is a mess, you must have moved a lot in your sleep last night." I can hear Sazanami's voice beside me.

"Hmmm.... morning Saza..." I say yawning still."

Sazanami giggles beside me and pull me up, she grabs a kimono and guides me to the washroom to get ready and dressed. I eat breakfast with my parents and then my parents went to gather a few guards to accompany us on the travel. Horses are prepared for us by our groundskeeper, we brought some food and necessities for the 2 day travel to the designated town.

"Who do you want to ride with__________?" My father asks me as he kneels down in front of me.

"Can I ride with Sazanami? I want to talk with her." I ask him.

"Sure thing, Sazanami, please keep _________ safe on the trip and make sure she doesn't fall off." He says to Sazanami.

"Yes of course my lord." Sazanami replies with a bow.

My father lifts me up and place me on the horse, Sazanami then climbs up behind me, a guard takes the reign of our horse. My parents get onto their rides and we set off  into the horizon. It's so exciting. We passed mountains and streams, it's so eye opening.

"Wow look at the green grass! It's so green." I say to Sazanami.

"It is, the open plains are covered with them, you'll see them soon." She says.

Flowers line the side of the road in yellow, red, and white. They are so different and each of them full of different meanings. The morning sun soon turned the blue sky fiery orange, and then violet and brown. Morning eventually turned into afternoon and the evening moon soon has its chance to luminate the world. Our group eventually finds an open field close to the edge of a forest, we travelled a long way and a long day. Sazanami helps me off the horse, the guards help set up some tents and fire. Our family may be of noble status, but we're not afraid to sleep outside. We all eat dinner together with the warmth of the fire accompanying us. In our household, we treat everyone as part of the family. Although there are servants and maids, but my parents never saw them as such. We respect each other and I think that's what keeps this household strong. The navy sky is filled with scattered stars, the single crescent moon hung bright and shines down on the world.

"Sweety, you want to sleep with us tonight in our tent?" My mother asks me.

"I want to stay with Saza, I want to talk with her." I say taking Sazanami's hand.

"Alright, but be careful not to go outside by yourself, if you have to go to relieve yourself at any point, make sure to wake up Sazanami and have her accompany you, or ask one of the guards, or call mommy or daddy. Good night." My mother says to me.

"Don't worry, goodnight!" I shout.

My mother nods and bids everyone goodnight, I do the same, then everyone turns into their tent to get some rest. My parents in a tent, Sazanami and I in one tent, and our 4 guards in one tent, we're all very close to one another so if something were to happen we can all hear the commotions. In our tent, Sazanami helps braid my hair to keep them tidy and not become messy in the morning. She helps tuck me into bed and climbs in beside me.

"What a long day, we have another long day of traveling tomorrow." I groan.

"Indeed, but then again, you wanted to come along. We just have to hold out for another day. Get some rest___________." Sazanami says with a yawn.

"Ya, goodnight." I reply with a yawn of my own to end things off.

I close my eyes and no sooner I fall asleep, the silence of the field and the faint chirping of crickets soon wakes me up. I open my eyes and I realize that I have to go to the washroom, I slowly sit up and rub my eyes. I'm still a bit hazy from my sleep, I turn to Sazanami and I see her sleeping peacefully. I think back to my parent's warning of not going out by myself if I were to go to the washroom, but seeing Sazanami sleeping I don't want to wake her up. I decide to let her be and all of them be, I won't go out too far. I quietly crawl out of the tent and look around the open field, it's quiet with a gentle faint breeze. It's calming and refreshing, how can it be dangerous. I step out of the tent and run towards the forest nearby to go relieve myself, I enter not too far into the forest. I find a tree and I lift up my kimono and went, the cool breeze hitting my bare legs giving me a gentle shiver, the breeze actually wakes me up at bit and brings back my senses. I hear a stream running nearby, I follow the sound just a bit deeper into the forest. I need to wash my hands after relieving my bladder. No sooner I come upon a small stream in a clearing, the moon is bright enough to light up the world around me. The calming sound of the flowing water makes everything seem so serene, I kneel down and I wash my hands. As I stand up from washing my hands in the cool water my eyes catches something in the corner of my right vision, I turn my eyes to see what it is. It's a small floating greenish yellow light, it's a bug.

"A firefly?" I ask myself.

I've heard of them but never seen one before, I watch it float about in the air for a little bit, almost as if it's coaxing me to follow it. It then flies into the forest again, at this point my mind is totally on the firefly, I'm probably lost at this moment. Without a second thought, I begin to run after the bright light. After about a minute of following this natural light and beauty, I come upon a small clearing with trees lining the edge. I look around the area and my eyes land at the center of the clearing, standing grand and tall is a beautiful cherry blossom tree. Dozens of fireflies are floating around the tree, it almost looks unreal to be honest, like the tree is magical. It looks like it has just bloomed, it's in the beginning of Spring so it's expected. I run up to this grand tree and I walk around it's thick trunk. Again, I have heard of cherry blossoms, but never seen one. My eyes goes wide at the beauty of this pink tree, the moonlight making it more majestic than it already is. The tree is pretty tall, and for some reason, I want to climb the tree. Just as I'm thinking of it, a firefly flies by a branch not far above me and it illuminates that area, I see a flower bud that has just started to open up. All of a sudden like an urge, I wanted to get it. I'm determined, I pull up my pale pink kimono up and I grab onto the tree trunk with grooves lacing its bark. It's deep enough for my small feet to hook onto and pull myself up, I grab onto the bark and I begin to climb. I don't know what has gotten into me, I know it isn't right to do this but I guess I just wanted to take a cherry blossom home so I can put it beside my Freesia flower. I finally manage to get onto the branch, I'm pretty far up from the ground, I slide my way across the branch, I'm surrounded by cherry blossom flowers, they were so plentiful that I couldn't even see the ground almost. The branch that I'm on is quite bare so I'm glad that I won't be breaking off any bloomed buds. As I inch my way closer to the blooming bud, I noticed the branch has thinned out at the tip.

"I don't think it can hold my weight, I'll just have to reach it from here." I say to myself.

I stayed where I am, and I begin to stretch my arm and upper body towards the bud, my legs are wrapped around the branch and my other arm is holding onto the branch as well.

"Just a bit more." I say as my arms is slowly coming closer to the bud.

Suddenly I feel the branch slightly bending down and a faint snap is heard from the back, the sudden jerk of the branch made me panic, my weight shifted. The arm that I tried to reach the bud with instinctively retreated and tried to grab onto the branch, unfortunately, my hand didn't grab hold of the branch and slipped. My hand slid passed the branch and the sudden weight of my body followed my slipped arm and the next thing I know, I completely tipped over the branch. My sudden weight shift is too much for my arms and legs to handle and my other hand slipped as well. I feel weightless all of a sudden as I realized that I'm falling towards the ground, my eyes go wide as my mind blanks out. I'm beginning to regret my decision of not calling Sazanami or my parents.

"Ah!" I start to let out.

I shut my eyes as I wait for the hard impact of the natural earth below me. My arms reach for nothingness as I fall, not soon after I feel my body coming to a sudden stop and I feel two strong, I assume arms caught me.

"Oof." I instinctively let out at the sudden stop.

I slightly bounced in the slight soft impact, this isn't the ground is it? My head tilted back at the sudden jerk of the stop. My arms right away wrapped around the first thing that it can find, and it did. I slowly lift my head up and I come to my senses, I'm not on the ground, and I'm not hurt. My eyes begin to frantically figure out what has happened, as I looked I realized that I'm in the arms of someone. My eyes then finds the face of the person, I see white pupils surrounded by crimson red irises. It's a man. Under the bright moonlight, he looks like he's in his mid 20's or early 30's. He has fair skin and is quite handsome looking. I may be young but I can say that he isn't bad looking at all, I don't know the standard for handsome is but for me, he looks pretty handsome. He has black bangs splitting from the center of his forehead and stopping just over his eyes, they are slightly curly and messy looking, he has back length black hair which is also curly looking, it's half tied up. He's wearing a dark blue kimono I assume with a purple vest. Although handsome, but his expression seem so expressionless as he looks at me. My heart begin to beat faster as I looked into his eyes. A part of me tells me I'm in danger, but the other half is telling me that maybe he's not a bad person. He doesn't look like one from the way he's dressed, is he of noble status as well? My brown eyes continue to look into his crimson red ones without faltering, no words exchanged. A few cherry blossom petals drifted down onto us from my fall, and the fireflies fly around us in silence and doing what they do best, lighting up my vision along with the moon and allowing me to see this young man in front of me.

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itachiXryu
#1
Chapter 27: i can't wait for more!!~
itachiXryu
#2
Chapter 26: oh god, why Naraku?? T-T
itachiXryu
#3
Chapter 24: this is so amazing!!~ everyone is finally getting along! XD
itachiXryu
#4
Chapter 23: oof!~~
itachiXryu
#5
Chapter 21: i'm loving this!!!~~
itachiXryu
#6
Chapter 19: even tho i was kinda hoping for something between the reader and Sesshomaru, i'm glad she's going after Naraku and only sees Sesshomaru as an older brother figure! but maybe there will be some kind of drama in the future, who knows?? I just can't wait for the next chapter!!^^ ~~
itachiXryu
#7
Chapter 18: i am loving this story so far!!~~ it's so amazing!! u are very amazing, author-nim!
CrayiaS #8
Chapter 17: Looking forward to next update ^^
joyabut2 #9
Chapter 17: update update update.. i'm following.. ;)
itachiXryu
#10
Chapter 17: this gets more interesting my friend!!~