Chapter 2: Stranger

Faced with a Saturday, Rin slept in, which was only around eight or nine. Checking the clock, closing in around nine, she shifted out of bed, dashing to the shower. There wasn't a need to rush, but in her mind, there was all the need. A single figure was caught in her head, a man she couldn't believe she had forgotten until now. Last night, she dreamed of him and the memory came back in the last few hours…

When she was eight, she and her mother flew back to Japan for a vacation. The third night there, her mother was asked to attend some sort of social gathering. Both she and her mother had groaned at the idea. Parties and social gatherings were evil and boring, unless with the family, but as it wasn't the family, they were prepared for torture. However, they then found out it was an adults-only occasion. Trying to restrain her laughter, Rin apologized to her gloomy mother who kept saying, "I'm wearing black because I'm going to mourn for my soul…Rin, you'll wear black too. It would take too long to call my family and tell them to pity me."

Rin quickly protested. Her mother gave up easily. Instead, her mother handed her a worn red kimono with short sleeves, no use wearing nice clothes if the girl was going to get dirty anyway. She thanked her mother, especially after feeling how comfortable it was. When she was by the door, she decided no shoes for tonight. Then taking out a hair tye, she gathered some strands of her hair, putting them up in a single side ponytail. It was her favorite style back then and still was, but she couldn't do so as often though.

Rin went out, exploring the streets, sneaking by like a shadow on the sidewalk. No one noticed her. With ease, she walked by stands and snatched forgotten fruit. She knew it was wrong to steal, but she was hungry and there was nothing left over in the hotel fridge. Not to mention, her new mother was too stingy to give money to eat somewhere. The woman had explicitly said, "I'm not giving you money. Just steal some from the stands. Trust me, you'll find stuff more interesting that way and if you find you don't like something, sneak it into someone's bag."

"That's wrong," Rin pouted.

Her mother shrugged, "I do it all the time."

"But you have plenty of money," Rin pointed out.

Again, her mother shrugged carelessly. "So?"

Rin ended up doing it anyway, despite how wrong she believed it to be. There was little guilt and of what little she felt, it pestered her until she felt annoyed by its presence. Getting over the small tinge of guilt, she picked from stands, tasting by cutting out slivers with a pocket knife she had taken from her mother's suitcase. If she liked it, she finished. If she didn't, she either tossed it into a nearby trashcan or sneaked it into some woman's purse.

At the seventh stand, she was caught. A young man about seventeen stared at her, stopping her from leaving. He was dressed in black sweats and a red with black lines sweater. A red cap with a dog emblem covered his head, yet couldn't hide his long silver hair. From beneath the hood of the cap, his bright amber eyes gazed down at her. She was hidden, but he was not and was greeted by the stand owner. As he forced out a low greeting, considered rude in some respects but teasing, she set back the fruit on the stand. However, he glanced over her then and asked, "Are you hungry, runt?"

By his tone, she figured it was a sort of endearment for the strange man. She shook her head sullenly. She lowered her head. Suddenly, she heard the young man say, "Hey old man, I'll buy this!"

She stared at him in shock. He smirked. "Only one," asked the stand owner.

Facing the stand owner, the young man replied, "It's just for my little sister," and right then, he reached out and picked her up. Rin was about to struggle, but she had a feeling she was safe with him. Meeting the stand owner face-to-face, she was greeted with a warm and cheery smile. Her mood lifted through the roof and she smiled back, laughed even.

"Aw, what a cute girl," came a voice from the back. Just then, a young woman, a worker it seemed, rushed out from the back and proceeded to fawn over Rin. The sudden overwhelming attention distressed Rin. Before she could look at the young man for help, the bit of fruit was handed back to her and they walked away, both saying goodbye.

After a block or so, the young man set her down. Rin thanked him, bowing in gratitude. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he straightened and turned his gaze down a nearby alley. The alley headed into the backstreets and was mostly dark, little light to penetrate the night's shadows. Rin then noticed that he was sniffing the air, but was subtle about it. Only she saw this action. She backed a step, hearing him growl under his breath. He seemed to have uttered a name, but as she registered it, he disappeared down the alley. He was gone.

Rin gazed down at the yellow fruit in her hands. She shrugged and walked on…

Nearing midnight, Rin decided it was time to return to the hotel. There was no trouble getting back. But as she passed a nearby alley, not even a block away, she heard movement in the darkness and light that led off into a small delivery space. Something scraped the walls before a weight dropped with a soft thud. Curiosity overtook her. With caution, she moved down the alley, a hand gliding along a building's wall, barely touching the cold surface. Step by step through the shadows, walking slowly towards the distant dimming light.

Something cracked on the sidewalk behind her. When she wasn't looking, she walked right into the corner. A deep vicious growl sounded throughout the alley as she flinched back, caught off guard and slightly frightened.

Right then, she laid eyes on a young man about nineteen, wearing an expensive white suit with black and yellow patterns emphasizing red and blue lines, lying against the boarding dock with extraordinarily long white fur encircling him. His eyes were pure red, no white or iris. Long silver hair exactly like the moon, even having the celestial glow fluttered around his form like strands of the finest silk. There was a moon on his forehead, streaks on his cheeks, and his teeth elongated in his threatening guttural snarl. But he was injured and weak. He was acting like a wounded animal. The thought was sudden, yet quick and calmed Rin instantly. She held back her fear and approached the young man.

When she did, the red faded and irises formed. At first, she recalled the young man who had caught her and bought her the fruit, but it wasn't the same. This one was older, had a more refined manner, and most of all, his molting amber gaze was just that, intense like the flames of hell burning through one's skull. No emotion in the stone-like face, only the intensity and instantaneous hatred directed at her. As she drew closer, something came over Rin's mind. She was thinking of the man like stone and a tree. Still and apathetic as stone, strong and magnificent as a tree, she could see already, this man resembled that image…

That wasn't the end of it. Rin ran to the hotel, leaving the young man alone without explanation or word. She simply ran and when she reached the front desk, she asked for help. A man to help her and a luggage cart, but the adults wanted an answer. Reluctantly, she told them a man was stuck in an alley; she wanted to bring him here, so that her mother, a doctor, could look at him. The man at the front desk instantly obliged. Riding the luggage cart as the assisting man pushed it, they hurried to the man with silver hair's rescue.

When they reached him, the young man was out cold. With ease, they managed to get him on the luggage cart and walk him back to the hotel. Many people stared on the sidewalk, in the hotel lobby, and in the elevator. Only the assisting man was embarrassed. Rin didn't notice, sitting beside the injured young man and humming softly as she waited to see her hotel room.

In the room, Rin had the assisting man set the injured young man on her bed. Since her mother was home, she asked if the woman could give the assisting man a generous tip, which he received gratefully. He was excused. For the rest of the vacation, Rin took care of the young man, bringing him food and offerings. With an indifferent expression, he refused, saying things like "It is human sustenance" or "I am a demon, I have no need of such." Still, Rin persisted.

Her mother found amusement in her endearing care for the stranger. The woman had even commented that Rin didn't know his name or he hers. Even with her mother's words in her head, Rin never uttered a word to the stranger. She would sit down in the room and read or practice her writing. Sometimes, she would hum or practice pronunciation with accents. Her mother never came to correct her when she was with the stranger. The stranger would watch her silently, ignored as she would become enthralled in her newest activity. She always knew the stranger was listening, even in his sleep. It wasn't real sleep, but she considered it sleep. Then after all of her small activities, she would simply stand and leave the stranger to himself.

On the day Rin was to leave with her mother, a group of kids had picked on her while her mother was out. Rin came back to the room with scratches and bruises all over. They had played with her relentlessly with no choice, threatening her with danger towards the stranger or torture for her mother, so she had endured. Not caring to her current state, she prepared the usual offering and gave it to the stranger. He didn't look at her. She set the offering on the nightstand with some sadness. Right out of the silence then, his deep voice entranced her with the simple statement, "What happened to your face?" He tilted his head, but still not looking at her. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

Surprised, Rin couldn't help smiling at the stranger, stifling a giggle at the realization that it was his show of concern and his first words to her at that. She knew he gazed at her, a question in his eyes on his indifferent face, but she didn't answer.

Rin and her mother left for the airport, leaving the stranger, saying he could stay for another couple days if he so decided. As they left, Rin uttered her first word to the stranger. How sad that the first word she spoke to him happened to be "Goodbye." She stopped to wave and then turned, running off without looking back at him. She took hold of her mother's hand, thinking of the stranger, but not attached enough to feel heartbroken or sad. At least, she shouldn't have, yet she did and glanced back one last time as they stepped through the door…

On the way to the airport, the car was stopped, caught in a traffic jam. Rin and her mother got out, deciding they could walk. They didn't have much luggage and the airport was maybe a mile away. Despite being eight, Rin could easily walk the distance without tiring, a pack on her shoulders. Her mother practically prepared her for it. However, they encountered some trouble as some men snatched them off the road, knocking them out.

The two woke up to beatings. Their bags were being ransacked as men hit them repeatedly, laughing and cracking jokes at them. Her mother embraced her, taking the brunt of the hits. Rin remained quiet, crying into her mother's shirt. She prayed someone, anyone to help them, and in her mind flashed the image of the stranger. They were growing weaker. Rin didn't want her mother to die, beaten to death…

All of a sudden, Rin caught sight of a blur of white. Some kind of glowing whip lashed out and sliced through the men. There were cries of fear, but as soon as they were heard, they disappeared. Blood splattered everywhere as the bodies fell to pieces. Her mother had fainted and Rin was on the verge of unconsciousness. But before she was out, she swore she saw cold molting amber orbs gaze down at her and she smiled as best she could for him before the darkness overtook her…

Plugging in her iPod and slipping into her shoes, Rin smiled to herself. She swung her backpack, heading out quietly. No goodbye.

Thinking of the molting golden irises, her heart was bursting with excitement and more so, happiness, pure unbridled bliss. She had to stop and clutch her hands to her heart. Under her breath so no one could hear, she murmured, "I can't believe I had forgotten you…but don't worry. Now, you'll be eternal."