Chapter: Fifteen
Sesshomaru's question shocked me to my bones. "What?"
"When you lived in Yamanashi did you happen to hear about a murder of an elderly demon that was killed?" How does he know about the murder?
"I think I may have. Why do you ask?" I have to play it cool. I cannot let him know what I know.
"When I went on my trip and took a walk that first day, I overheard some high school students talking about a murder. They talked about a friend of theirs that went out to take photos one day, possibly came across a crime taking place, took a photo of the murder in process, and moved away after it happened." I have to play along. Sesshomaru cannot know why I actually moved away.
"I've heard about it, but my family and I had moved before it happened, like a day or two before." I hope he buys my lie. "Why suddenly bring this up?" There has to be a reason.
"It crossed my mind when you stepped away for a moment. I… I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't you who saw that unfortunate day." I have to keep myself calm. "But then I remembered that this person these two girls spoke about had a different name than yours." Did he run into my two best friends?
"Two girls? Did you catch their names by chance?" If he says their names, then I'll lie and say that I heard about them but rarely associated with them.
"If I remember correctly, they said their names were, Sōten and Satsuki." I kept calm as he said my two best friends' names. "Have you met someone with those names before at your last high school?" Lie!
"I think I may have, but I rarely talked with anyone there, especially at school. I was more of an outcast than others. I mostly spent my time hanging my brother Tashi." Now I had a question for him. "Did those girls mention who their friend's name was?"
His eyes remained calm, "they said her name was Tomiko." My birth given name mom and dad chose for me. A name I lived with for sixteen years until I had to change it to keep my identity safe. "I'm sorry. It was rude of me to ask such a question knowing that it wouldn't be you. I guess I was trying to find a way to talk about my trip to your hometown."
"It's okay. I've been meaning to ask you about your trip too." Anything to steer away from the murder talk. I scooted myself back onto my bed after I removed my shoes and patted the seat next to me for him to join for now until we went to bed, again. "How was it though?" I'll be able to picture myself there from his story. I'll remember the good old times before my life changed drastically.
He came up beside me, wrapped an arm around my shoulders, bringing me closer to him. "It was peaceful for the most part. I went on walks every chance that I got. Saw some wildlife too, but no bears." He had a bit of humor in that last part. "I would have enjoyed that."
"That's good," I rested my head along his shoulder, feeling fatigue, but was not ready to fall asleep. He brought the blanket I was using earlier and covered us both up. "What else did you do besides going on walks?" I allowed my eyes to close as I listened to him talk.
"Visited the temples, the city, and museums. That's pretty much it." Seems the typical thing to do. "Rin?"
"Hhm?"
"What was the real reason you moved?" I have to think of another lie.
"Bullying," I know it's not the greatest choice, but I thought of it on the spot.
"Oh!" I have a feeling he doesn't buy it.
"Yeah. My parents were afraid I would self harm myself if they didn't get me away sooner." Something I would never do.
"Kids these days are jerks."
"Yeah, all because I'm adopted." The kids back home knew I was adopted and find it amazing that I have two loving parents to raise me as their own after what actually happened the day I was born. I had to write a project about myself that no one knew about me and I decided to write about that. Kids were asking me all sorts of questions.
"If they only knew how special you are and the remarkable things you can do." I'm not ready for anyone to see that side of me.
I lifted my arm to see the stone cast still visible along my arms. "In time, just not now." I can't believe I said that.
Sesshomaru gently placed his hand to my wrist, "in time."
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What felt like a few minutes of silence sitting beside each other, I felt myself turn on the bed that I don't remember laying back down on, and going to sleep. Did I fall asleep after we talked last night? I opened up my eyes to find myself facing the wall, with a hint of sunlight hitting too. Very close to the wall. Strange? I usually don't do that unless Tashi joins me in bed on stormy nights. I sat up anyway, rubbing my eyes awake, and feeling the pain that I had to pee badly. Turning in the direction where my shoes were on the floor, I found Sesshomaru sleeping beside me… oh! my! God! We slept beside each other again! My heart pounded in my chest. Did we both not realize it when we went to bed last night?
Calm panic set in, and I quietly got out of bed, slipped my shoes on, and left for the bathroom. I walked past other people that were on board too. Some of their eyes I could feel on my backside and I didn't understand why. Once in the bathroom, I flipped the lightswitch on, looked within the mirror before I peed, and got the shock of my life. I was still in my half-demon form. "I… I don't understand." By morning I should be back in my human form, but this morning I am not!
"I walked past many passengers coming here!" I told myself no one else would see me in this form till I was ready. I was still not ready. I don't even have my phone to message Sesshomaru to bring me my jacket and sunglasses.
As I stood there before the mirror, I could hear the passengers that I walked by a moment ago talking about me, "did you see that girl a minute ago?" A female girl spoke. They must have found me hideous.
"Yes! Isn't she beautiful?" Another girl answered. Beautiful? I am not beautiful in this form. "She actually looks exactly like that famous model from Tokyo! What's her name again… oh! Abi Nakamura." Who?
"Oh! Yes, she does? I wonder if they are related by chance?" There's a famous model with the same type of demon form as me?
"There's one way to find out! But I think she's in the bathroom at the moment." Shit!
"We'll wait. Do you think she's a model herself?" Me a model? Never.
"She could be, but I don't recall ever seeing her on billboards or magazines. Though she does look like our age, then again, teens do model all the time, and do commercial wear mostly." I would never. I'm to ugly to model. How can two human girls find me beautiful in this type of form?
I peed fast and took my time washing my hands. I didn't want to face these girls when I found the time to run back to the cabin. I looked up within the mirror again seeing nothing remotely beautiful from what they saw. All I saw was money, money, money for a person's next paycheck. A paycheck they didn't deserve.
I grabbed the sink, coming up with my next plan, "Rin?" Sesshomaru's voice and a hard knock sent relief within me. "Are you in there? Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Oh! Thank goodness.
"Yes… can you bring me my sunglasses and jacket please!" I hope he understands why. I will not leave until I have them in my possession.
He was quiet for a moment, "I'll be right back," and I heard him walk off.
As I waited for him to come back, I splashed my face with cold water and threw my hair into a high ponytail that needed a brush to be run through.
"Rin," Sesshomaru was back within seconds.
I unlocked the door, slightly ajared it, stuck my hand out, and felt him place my belongings into my hand, "thank you." I closed the door for just a minute to make sure I was fully covered. "Just a few more hours till we get to our destination."
I finally walked out to see Sesshomaru leaning against the far wall, with a bit of concern in his eyes, "are you okay?" I didn't want to talk here. I didn't want others to hear us speak. I just pointed towards our cabin down the hall. "No need to say anymore."
He took my hand in his to lead us back towards the cabin as I heard the same girls coming up the hall, "umm… excuse me? Can I ask you a question real quick?" We both stopped when I didn't want to. "Are you by chance related to Abi Nakamura?"
Before I could shake my head no, "who do you speak of?" I heard Sesshomaru answer? He let go of my hand and I heard him turn around to face the two girls behind us.
"Abi Nakamura is a famous model in Tokyo, but she is also a model agent who is always looking for new upcoming petite models. My friend and I thought this beautiful girl that's beside you was her daughter or somehow related to Abi because she too is a phoenix daiyoukai."
"Yes! Her eyes, hair color, and style. She's the spinning image of Abi. Here, I'll show you!" Do I dare to look?
I turned around leisurely, keeping my eyes hidden behind my dark sunglasses. The girl to my left had a magazine and on the cover was a woman who indeed was a phoenix daiyoukai. Her facial features were remarkably close to mine. Eyes in the same red tone… skin tone almost to the tea to mine, and the same stone like her arms.
"Do you mind if I take a picture of the cover?" I heard Sesshomaru ask the teen girl. I don't think there's a point to taking a photo. There is no way she is my birth mother.
"Of course!" She smiled at him and then turned to me. "You shouldn't hide behind those sunglasses, dear. You are remarkably beautiful in every shape and form."
I refused to answer. "My girlfriend is a bit shy." It's not that I am shy, I'm just not comfortable in the situation that I am in. "Can you tell anything more about this model Abi?" He pointed at the magazine.
"It's okay. I totally understand. I'm too a half-demon and I'm actually in my human form right now because every twenty something days I go through what every other half-demon goes through." I'm not like all half-demons. "Umm… rumor has it she had a baby out of wedlock sixteen years ago and gave the baby up for adoption when she was a teenager. At that time she was in a relationship with a male model who is no longer modeling and dropped off the face of the earth. I think his name was Suikotsu Yōhei. Humans and demons believe that he was a shibito."
That word raised my eyebrow. "A shibito?" Left Sesshomaru's lips. "Did I hear that correctly?"
"Yeah. They said Abi had a thing for bad boys of the walking dead and always wore this old tattered harajuku jacket everywhere they went. She even wore it during the summer." No, it can't be possible. I won't believe it. "They said she wore it to hide her pregnancy."
I hope Sesshomaru doesn't believe that this demon is my birth mother! Because I know that I don't. Me being the daughter of two models? That's impossible. Yes, there are similarities, with looks, and the story of the jacket, but I know lots of people had to have the same jacket.
"Are there any clues on the jacket that pinpoint it to the gang?"
"I think it has a halberd crescent on the back of the jacket." … No! It can't be possible.
I was done hearing about this, turned back around, and went to the cabin. Me being the daughter of a famous model and a dead man is the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life. Yes, the jacket I was wrapped in had the same crescent on the back, but my birth parents probably got it from a cheap thrift store for all we know.
When I got back into the cabin, I removed the protection I was sweating in, and rolled back into bed after I kicked my shoes off. This was not how I wanted to start my day. "Why did those girls have to approach me?"
Sesshomaru was back a few minutes after me. "Rin?" He sat beside me, "can we talk?"
I refused to look his way, "there is nothing to talk about. That demon can't be my birth mother, Sesshomaru." I won't believe it. "Can we talk about something else, please?" I don't want to argue over something this stupid.
"Rin, I sent my father the photo, and he's going to look into it." There's no reason to. "What do you wish to talk about?"
"Just anything." I just want to forget that this ordeal took place.
"Should we discuss our meals for the week? That way we can make a list and be ready when we get to the store." That sounds better.
"Okay."
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It took us that amount of time to plan out our meals for the time that we would be here when we arrived at our destination. I still was in my demon form and had to hide away, hating the feeling of being hot in my jacket.
"Sesshomaru, how long will it take us to get to the house?" I hope not long. I don't know how much longer I can handle being this hot. I feel as if I need to throw my back into the snow to cool down.
"About fifteen minutes," I know that's not long, but it feels like it. "We can walk there if you want?"
"If we were to walk, would we be away from others?" If Sesshomaru says yes, then I'll remove my jacket so fast once we're in the clear.
"If you can handle a ten minute walk till we get away from town, then yes. But I'm driving us up to the house, Rin."
That sounds better. Anything to get me out of this jacket faster.
Late that evening, Rin turned in for the night, still in her half-demon form, and I remained wide awake in bed. I couldn't get that conversation out of my mind of what those two girls spoke about on the train. Is it possible Rin is the daughter of not just a famous model but… the daughter of a dead man with the same last name of two killers of the same family. "Can it be possible?"
I sat up fully in bed, pulled out my laptop, started to do my own research, and typed in Suikotsu Yōhei in the search engine. Articles popped up about the man and I read each one about him. It explained in one that he was a gang member of a notorious gang called the Helberd's. The jacket held a logo on the backside of a longsword. It's just like the one Rin was found in as a newborn.
Then I read the next article that he was a model at one point as a teenager, dated Abi Nakamura for two years, possibly fathered an unknown child with her, though there wasn't enough evidence to find that theory true, and vanished off the face of the earth not long after their breakup because he had something called dissociative identity disorder.
When I looked at some of not just photos of him, but Abi too from their modeling days, there was resemblance of both of them in Rin: eyes, skin tone, hair color, and more. "Did I find out who her birth parents were before getting the test results back?"
I pulled out my phone, knowing my father was awake at this time, "yes son?"
"Did you do any research on the photo I sent you this morning?" He possibly did since it's my father's job at finding people.
"I did, and I can see the resemblance, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself because the test results can come back negative. We still don't know who Rin's father could be…" I stopped him there.
"Search Suikotsu Yōhei," my father would recognize the last name.
"Sesshomaru, did you just say Yōhei?" He knew what I said
"Yes." I listened to him typing away at his own computer.
"I see what you mean… the resemblance is there. If this is Rin's birth father… this explains why her half-demon form is not like others." … What does he mean?
"Father, what do you mean by not like others?"
"Sesshomaru, I think it's time you know the truth of the family that caused the death of Tsukuyomaru and many others," what truth? "The Yōhei family are not like other families that we see on a daily basis, my son. The Yōhei's were all known as what we call shibito."
"What?" Mukotsu, and the guy I never mentioned to my father yet, who was responsible for the death of an elderly demon back in Rin's hometown, were part of the walking dead?
"They're already dead, Sesshomaru. They are walking zombies that walk among the living." How is that possible? How were they brought back to life? "If this man, Suikotsu, is Rin's father, this explains why Rin only changes every so often. She is basically half-zombie and half-demon. I have never in my twenty-five years in this career have ever seen such a case like this."
Rin is not all human? "But her heart beats just like a normal human."
"I know. But DNA works in mysterious ways, Sesshomaru. So, my theory is Rin carries more of her birth mother's genetics than her birth father's." Now I understand.
"I see what you mean, father." In the other room, where Rin was, I heard her gasp for air. Is she okay? I could hear her leave the bedroom and walk towards the kitchen. "Father, I'm going to call it a night now."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, the fatigue of being awake for almost twenty-four hours is catching up to me," I lied through my teeth. "Good night, father."
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow sometime and goodnight." When the line went silent, I walked out to the kitchen to find Rin in the process of filling the teapot up with water. "Rin?"
Rin jumped at my voice, "oh! I'm sorry." She placed the pot onto the stove. She has no need to apologize. "Did I wake you?"
"No, are you okay? I heard you gasp just a bit ago?" From the sound of her gasp, did she have another nightmare?
Her gaze was on me, then to the stove that wasn't on yet, "it was just a bad dream." She held her arms against herself. "I dreamt of those idiots throwing me from the cliff." I have that feeling you dreamt of something else. "You weren't there this time and I felt myself inhaling water within my dream."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, it was just a dream, Sesshomaru." I wish you would open up more.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" I know it's late, but maybe she'll want to get some fresh air.
"They're out there, you know?" I know what she speaks of. "They'll come to us… to me."
"Are they any threat?"
"No, just curious." …. "We can go for a walk." During this walk, I'll show Rin my true form. In a meadow, deep within the woods.
Rin kept her arms wrapped around herself, not saying a word, and her gaze to the snowy ground. Whatever she had dreamt about, that wasn't what she said it was, is recurring again like that day prior.
Above our heads, the cries of the demon birds followed us. Rin didn't flinch at their sound. "They're curious about who you are, Sesshomaru."
"Do they see me as a threat?" Is she telling them telepathically?
"No. They want to know why you're bringing me out into a place like this."
"Did you tell them why?"
"Yes, they just wanted to be sure you won't make a meal out of me," she chuckled for once.
"It's good to see you find that funny, Rin." Now is the time to ask her, "will they find me a threat if I show you my true form this evening?"
Rin suddenly stopped and looked at me shocked, "I thought you only changed when someone threatens someone you need to protect if they found themselves in harm's way?"
"I can work around how I can control my powers. I just need you to stay as far back as possible and I'll let you know when you can approach. I just need to be sure that the demons above us won't provoke and attack me." Then I'll be dealing with a battle that cannot happen.
"As long as I stay safe, they won't attack you." Good. The field was empty, besides us two, and the demons who fly above us.
"I need you to stand here and wait. You may approach when I lay myself down."
"Okay," Rin took a seat along a fallen tree and the demons came down and sat beside her. One youngling even sat in her lap. It nestled its head along her shoulder. "She likes that I am warm."
With a nod that I gave her, I went to the exact spot I said I would show her my true form. When I faced her fully, I closed my eyes, put my mind at ease, and slowly my body began to shift before Rin's eyes.
I froze in place watching what Sesshomaru calls his true form shift before me. Wind whipped around, sending his hair into a flurry, eyes blood red like mine, pale skin turned into long white fur, mouth and nose expanded out, and no longer did he stand on two legs, as he was now standing on four legs, and his height more than I could count. This was Sesshomaru's true form: a giant white dog.
The demon birds were squealing, but not in a threatening manner. Though they wanted to protect me from him. But they knew that I was safe. I showed no fear of what I saw before me. I was just dazed.
Once the air before Sesshomaru cleared, he laid down like he said he would, and I knew now that I could move forward towards him. The bird that sat in my lap, allowed me to get up, and moved to the tree above me. I told her in my mind that I was going to approach him cautiously. Deep inside, that they couldn't hear or feel, I was scared, but I knew that he wouldn't harm me. He has vowed to protect me from harm if anything or anyone he found a threat. I extended my arm out his way. Can he talk in this form? He never stated if he could.
Sesshomaru whimpered when my hand met his muzzle and petted him slowly. His eyes closed when my hand moved up and down the side of his soft fur. It seems he enjoys what I am doing. I couldn't reach his ears… Going against what I hate doing, I allowed myself to levitate off the snowy earth, and allowed my hands to rub behind his ears. I know some dogs enjoy that. Will he?
I watched his red eyes close and soft sounds left his mouth. It brought the smile I know he enjoys seeing. "Does that feel good?" Did I really just ask him that?
A soft sound left his mouth again.
"I'm going to take that as a yes." There's so much I want to tell you about myself, but I can't, Sesshomaru. If I were to tell you about my true self and the real reason I had to move, then I would have to leave again forever, and we wouldn't be able to see or speak to each other ever again. I wish that I didn't have to deal with this threat that I'm dealing with. I wished we could have met in a normal way like others do.
I rested my forehead against his forehead, with my eyes closed. "Sesshomaru," I love you deeply and I can't get the words out to tell you that.
As I remained floating, I could feel him go on all fours again. When I opened up my eyes, I found his red eyes looking my way. They showed calmness within them. "I wish I could hear your voice within this form. I know it must be hard to not be able to speak."
He whimpered again. I have a feeling what he was saying.
"It's okay, Sesshomaru. I'm not scared at all and I find your form truly amazing." I really did. "I wished you would have shown me this last month after… after you found out about my true form too."
He licked my cheek with just the tip of his tongue, barked my way, lightly, and then slowly his form before me went back to his human form. "Rin," he too levitated in front of me, "did you mean what you said? Were you really not scared?"
I know what he means, "yes. I meant what I said. I was not scared of your full demon form. It shows great courage for you to do what you just did. If anything were to happen and I found myself in great danger, I know what I would look out for to know it's you." That's why I love you and I can't even say those three words to you.
Sesshomaru pulled me closer by the waist, and held the side of my face with his other hand. "It's the same when I see you in this form, Rin. I know that you still don't care for it, but to me, both your forms are pretty amazing. You are the first one I've ever shown my true form to, besides my father, and you didn't show one ounce of fear. You are the most amazing individual I have met in my life. Yes, if anything were to happen if you found yourself in a troubling situation, I would come to you in my true form, to protect and save you." His lips found my forehead, "I love you."
Leaving you on a little cliffhanger, hehe.
Shibito-Dead Man