InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demons in Disguise ❯ Painful Memories and Strange Changes ( Chapter 3 )

"Is this seat taken?"

An incredibly familiar voice rang in Lin's eats. Incredibly, yet so comforting. She lifted her head from her sweater and looked at his face. Her eyes, pink and puffy from her crying, stretched.

Above Lin stood someone she intensely recognized . It had to be him! Her Ivory Prince! Lin's eyes sparkled for a moment but the sparkle faded. It couldn't be him. His eyes were almost gold but not quite. And he wore simple clothing; nothing like what her Prince wore. He did have an uncanny resemblance to her Prince, but he was not him. Despite that, Lin did feel a connection with him the moment she heard his calm voice. A voice Lin heard again when he repeated the question she failed to answer.

"Oh, umm, sorry. No, there's no one sitting there," Lin answered quietly looking down into her lap. The tears stopped flowing, but the trails they left were still there. The lovely man sat down quietly and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hi, miss. I didn't mean to bother you. I just saw you crying and wondered what was wrong," Sesshou remarked softly. Lin peeked up at him through the corner of her eye. Although his smile was small it filled her heart with warmth even on a day as cold as this one.

"Thanks. I… I'm just having a bad day," Lin wiped the crystal tear trails off of her face with her sleeve. Suddenly, his hand held a tissue in front of her face. Lin looked over the man then back at the tissue.

"Here," his voice was serene and reassuring. "I always keep a pack with me when the weather gets chilly. Don't worry it hasn't been used or anything."

A small but genuine chuckle escaped Lin's lips. She took the tissue from his hand slowly. A chill went up her spine when her peach skin brushed against his lightly. And the cold temperature had nothing to with it. She wiped the tissue against her cheeks but stopped it underneath her nose for a moment to smell the sweet milky smell of his skin.

"Th-thanks again," Lin stuttered as she crumpled the tissue and let it fall into her purse.

"It's the least I could do," he said. "My name's Mitsuharu Sesshou. Mind telling me yours?"

"No, not at all," Lin sniffed. "My name's Lin. Just Lin. I don't have an actual family. Nice to meet you, Mitsuharu Sesshou."

"Please, just call me Sesshou," he told her. "I understand about not having actual families. Is that why you're so unhappy, Rin?"

Both of them paused, their smiles disappeared. Sesshou told himself it was just a slip of his speech. That he didn't actually mean to misplace the 'L' with an 'R'. But he had to admit to himself that he actually meant to call her 'Rin'. Why though? Why would he call this girl Rin?

Lin's mind had swirled. Was 'Rin' it? Was that the name she had meant to tell the doctors so many years ago when they asked her name? Who was this Sesshou? Even his name seemed familiar. Her brain strained and she could feel a migraine coming on. Her head felt like this every time she was about to have a memory lapse. This particular memory lapse seemed much worse. It came.

* * *

Sesshou snapped out of the shock of calling this girl 'Rin' when her eyelids began to flutter and she let out a weary groan. She wobbled and fell sideways. Sesshou caught Lin in his arms with wide eyes and a confused expression on his face. The warmth from her body began to radiate onto his skin. He shook Lin gently watching her face intently.

"Lin. Lin, are you alright?" Sesshou asked quickly in a slight panic. He had no idea what was going on or what the connection was he felt to Lin, in his soul. Whatever was happening Sesshou wasn't going to leave this girl unconscious in a bus, totally helpless. It was then he noticed that he had missed his stop.

"Damnit," Sesshou cursed under his breath and pulled the cord to stop the bus as quickly as he could. The bus driver didn't even twitch. Sesshou realized that ever if he stopped here, the walk back would be much long. Sesshou pulled the cord again, but the driver still didn't stop the bus. Sesshou became increasingly irritated. He stood and slowly laid Lin's head onto his bag. After making sure she wouldn't fall off the seat, Sesshou made his way to the front of the bus. There were only a few homeless peddlers left on the bus. Most of which were fast asleep, snoring loudly.

* * *

The driver paid no mind to Sesshou even as he approached him. The overweight driver, according to the nametag on the bus his name was "Hello, my name is Fred", turned his head back momentarily to meet the eyes of a disgruntled passenger with white hair.

"What'da you want?" Fred asked with a snort.

"Listen, my friend back there fainted and she might be really hurt. I really need you to stop the bus," Sesshou requested with worry in his voice. Fred wiped his nose with his arm and let out a hoarse scoff.

"Yea' right. Listen, buddy, I don't have to waste my time on a punk like you," Fred barked. "Now, go sit down."

"How hard is it to stop a bus?" Sesshou interrogated the middle-school drop out. "Are you that incompetent? Just stop the bus!"

"Listen up, punk," Fred demanded. "That little girl o'er there has been ridin' this bus all day, without a peep 'o nuttin'. If she was sick, she shoulda said something. So as far as I care, both she an' you can wait until the next stop. End of story."

"Okay, I've listened. Now you listen to me!" Sesshou's voice was rising. "There's a girl back there who might be seriously hurt. And you dare question my integrity!?"

Fred had had enough of the valiant Shakespearean act this guy was putting on. He rolled his eyes and parked the bus in a wide abandoned alley with no intention of letting Sesshou off. Fred grunted as he pushed himself up and faced the persistent youth. He gasped in surprise at what he say.

The kid's appearance had shifted. Sesshou's amber eyes had become as golden as the sunrise, along his cheek faint magenta markings were appearing, and a blue crescent moon had appeared in the middle of his brow. Also, his teeth had become sharper and longer; peeking slightly out of the top of his mouth, his white hair seemed to take on a silver sheen, and his ears were now practically flat against his head with a point at the end and no earlobe to speak of.

Fred could hear a guttural growl escaping the boy's mouth. He moved backward, mouth agape, trying to find words. Fred reached behind him until he found the handle to open the door. He pulled it quickly so that the door sprung open.

"Listen, man, I-I-I didn't mean any t-trouble," Fred stammered, his eyes wide. Sesshou didn't remove his gaze from the driver. "Y-you can leave. Please, just leave. S-sorry."

Sesshou's hand moved with unimaginable speed. So fast, Fred could hardly see it until that hand slammed into his neck and grasped tightly. He noticed the boy had claws too. He knew this because they had pricked his neck causing drops of blood to fall.