Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ My Naga Knight ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Jin threw his head back as he cried out suddenly in horrible pain. Clutching his fists firmly upon the ground with his eyes shut tightly, the snake demon bared his teeth to let out a horrible hiss as his friend worked on the burns he received the night before, “Dammit! That really hurts!”

 

“Well, this is what you get for interfering like you did with those humans,” Dustin replied sounding unsympathetic. The snake demon's large multi-brown and black colored python length body was curled about in a towering circle where Dustin overlapped his arms upon the top of his coiled snake body so he could he soak in the morning sun in attempts to relax at their loss.

 

“I couldn't—,” stopping a moment once Touya hit a very sensitive spot on his lower scales, Jin swallowed hard to try and retain his pain. “—I couldn't let them die.”

 

“And look what good it did you,” Finlay felt need to point out, he slithering a bit closer to his injured comrade. “You might as well just let that fire spread about the area and had it kill them all with leaving their children behind in the dust with no parents now to help them.”

 

Having to be reminded of his failure caused the redhead to falter slowly in appearance as his face began to convey his sadness as he rested his head back down upon Touya's multi-blue colored scaly body that was close by. Jin felt really bad for what he had done and now he had to pay for it by taking care of two kids that not only feared him, but he himself would be cut in two by a warrior if caught with them.

 

Touya wrapping up his friends injured fire red scales couldn't help but stop a moment to look at Finlay with a bit of a glare before eyeing his damaged friend in empathy. His hand meeting with the wild hair of his partner, Touya sighed a bit as Finlay continued.

 

“And not to mention, thanks to you, our only food source nearby has gone scarce. Now we are going to have to search miles from our home just to feed ourselves!” Finlay seemed to scold like a father to his son.

 

Dustin listened to the words being shared from where he remained in relaxation before he finally felt pity for Jin as well, “Knock it off, Finlay.” The scales on Dustin slowly rubbed against one another as he began to uncoil his snake half from where it had twisted up in several circles in front of him. The dark russet, braided hair demon stretched for the sky once his snake form had finally sprawled out behind him as he looked to the others. “There is no sense in blaming one such as Jin for what happened. It was an accident and it is expected for one as young as he at heart.”

 

Aland snorted silently to himself as he watched Dustin once again put up with Jin's behavior, “Always the excuse for him.”

 

Dustin heard Aland's remark but said nothing towards as he let his glaring expression said all before shifting his attention towards the in pain Jin, “Look, there is nothing that could have been done to prevent what could have happened and what did happen. We might as well forget about it and relocate elsewhere. We've been here for too long anyways and should find a new home out there in Eytheria.”

 

Jin couldn't help but suddenly inhale in shock upon Dustin's suggestion, supporting himself up on his palms from where he was resting. “But, we cannot!” His tone seemed to convey panic at the thought of moving out of the area knowing if he were to go too far from the Cormac Farm, he wouldn't be able to keep his word to the dead Pearl. “We've been here for so long, why should we move just because food is low within the area?”

 

Dustin couldn't help but raise his brow at the suddenly fearful Jin, “Do you even listen to yourself when you speak, Jin? What sense does it make to stay here if there is nothing nearby to eat? We might as well move on to another farm area if this one is going to be maintained by two little girls. There are at least a few out there though far from one another so we might as well get searching.”

 

“But—!” Jin began hesitantly.

 

“Jin,” Dustin interrupted, “you can stay here with Touya since you are badly burned. Aland and Finlay, you two come with me so we can find a new place to call home.” The leader of the small pack of snake demons quickly slithered off into the thick forest that would lead to the south Eytheria dirt road with the others following after him without delay.

 

Touya watched the others leave the area, waiting for the smell to dissipate from his senses before looking down at the weary, injured Jin. “Why are you so against moving to another area? We will starve if we stay here.”

 

“They don't understand,” Jin insisted with a grunt as he forced himself to attempt to stand on his reptilian half. “I made a promise to that woman that died at the farm. I promised her that I would take care of her daughters for her since I caused the fire.”

 

Touya jerked his head back at the response handed to him, unable to breathe after a moment as his mind went blank on what to say. “You promised her, what?!” Touya's tone was filled with a bit of sarcastic laughter knowing Jin could hardly take care of himself let alone two little girls. “Jin, what do you mean you promised her you would do such a thing? They are human girls! You are a snake demon! It's not hard to put the two together and see how difficult this is going to be!”

 

The fire scaled snake demon covered his face with his right hand a moment while the other rested upon his hip. “I know, I know, what I promised was stupid and I cannot keep it.” Sighing at his own stupidity, Jin's baby blue eyes darted off to the side a moment to gaze at the wind caressing the blades of grass nearby as he lost himself in thought. “But I've got to try,” he seemed to whisper sadly, gazing back in the narrow eyes of Touya. “It was an accident what I did and I want to make up for my big mistake.”

 

“Do you plan on telling Dustin this?” Touya wondered as he slithered closer to Jin.

 

Jin huffed almost with a shake of his head, his mouth twisted to the side, “No, are you kidding? I know he would tear me a new one if I told him what I was doing.”

 

The sky blue scales of the ice empowered snake demon rolled across the ground still as he made it to his teammate's side, “So what do you plan on doing now, Jin?”

 

Jin went silent a moment as his sight shifted from the lower left and then to the right in serious thought on what his next move would be now that he ruined everything.

 

 

 

 

Blythe hurried after the horses and cows that got lose from the fire and that were still in the vicinity all by herself since Neda refused to surface just yet from their bedroom. Since the eldest Cormac sister was pretty much on her own and she didn't have the right gear or the know how to build another placement for the creatures, she herded them best she could within the corral they kept the horses in knowing it would be large enough for both the cows and horses that survived the fire. Scaring the creatures within the enclosed area, Blythe shut the only entrance within it before wiping her brow with the back of her hand since it nearly took all day just to get them where she wanted them.

 

“Well, I think that is just about all of them,” Blythe replied to herself resting her hands upon her thighs that were covered up with an ankle length pink dress with brown trim and designs.

 

A rather loud and frightened sounding whiney was heard not too far off catching the young Blythe's attention from where she stood in front of the corral entrance. Looking through her messy reddish brown locks, Blythe saw that the commotion was coming from the survived Stella who was watching over her very young daughter. The horse's muzzle was lowered to the ground near the remains of the farm area as her nostrils expanded and contracted to take in the scent about the charred remains of the barn in hopes of finding her mate only to buck and snort sadly when she couldn't pick up his scent.

 

“Oh, Stella,” Blythe sighed in condolences over the loss of her mate. Quickly heading towards the distraught mare and her newborn, Blythe came to a slow none threatening walk as she could tell that the mare was beyond upset over what happened not too long ago.

 

Stella saw Blythe out of the corner of her dark colored eyes causing the horse to jump back on her hinds before supporting herself on them, threatening to rear up and kick out her front legs.

 

“Easy, girl,” the young girl begged softly listening to the disgruntle snorting of Stella.

 

But the mare wouldn't hear of it as she bolted quickly away from the young teen and off towards the nearby thicket.

 

Blythe watched in horror as the mother had just upped and left her newborn behind as she kept her arms gently around the young colt's neck to prevent her from following after her mother. “This is just terrific,” she seemed to hiss, guiding the unnamed foal to the corral so she could go hunt back down Stella.

 

Locking up the corral good, she hurried over to the side of the house that held hers and Neda's bedroom window hoping her sister would listen to her, “Neda! I am going to run off after Stella. She got loose and headed into the woods. I will be right back, okay?”

 

Nobody appeared at the window, the curtains blowing about the wind that caught them as Neda remained withdrawn within herself, hiding from all that had happened dealing with her parents.

 

Shaking her head sadly and a bit irritably at Neda not answering her, Blythe hurried off towards the direction she last saw Stella head for.

 

The youngest Cormac sister eventually peeked out from beyond the flowing curtains that blew about the gentle breeze that was howling that afternoon. Overlapping her arms over the windowsill, Neda sighed sorrowfully whilst tears crept down her tanned complexion. It was hard to get her mind around the thought that her parents were no longer going to be there for her when she woke up every day and in while it pained her, it also frightened her. She knew that her older sister knew nothing about cooking for the both of them and neither did Neda though they did know how to care for the animals if anything. But if they didn't find a way to find for themselves they would die of starvation.

 

Wiping her eyes free of the tears that welled up within them, Neda rested her chin back on her overlapped arms only to catch something out of the corner of her eye. Looking down near the bushes which ran out about the woods that was thinned just to the north where the road and Eytheria plane was located, she saw two large snake demons slithering about the ground, rattling the bushes and crunching the leaves that rested upon the earth. Neda began to realize that the snake demons that had returned were the ones that were there last night after the fire went out thanks to the downpour. She couldn't forget the wild redheaded demon that came right up to her face in attempts to eat her.

 

Her sadness being overwhelmed by anger, Neda frowned furiously down at the two before pushing herself up off of the windowsill with a huff, “Those bastards!”

 

Touya worked on staying close to Jin as he skid after his hurrying partner, “Jin, slow down for a minute. What exactly do you think you are doing? You are just asking for trouble by coming back here!”

 

The injured snake demon stopping for a moment, his eyes made their way over to the destroyed barn and then over to the giant oak tree that rested into the distance beyond the remains of the shattered shed where he buried the two humans. “I came back to check on the two,” he answered somberly. “Just because we are to move soon doesn't mean I cannot check to see how they are fairing, does it?”

 

Touya opened his mouth to say something to that with a raise of his hand only to halt once a pebble came flying at him right beyond Jin's shoulder. The narrow eyes of the snake demon widened as he moved out of the way of the oncoming object with an irritable groan to see it was one of the daughters of the Cormac Farm. “Does that answer your question?” Touya asked pointing over at the upset child.

 

“Get out of here, the both of you!” Neda demanded as she threw more at them, her eyes brimming with tears of anger and sorrow at having to remember that night her mother died in the red scaled snake demon's arms. “Go on! Get!”

 

Jin raised his arm to block the only ammo the young girl held with a slight groan since he was in enough pain as it was. “Ugh, come on!” Jin insisted with a growl as he slid off towards the forest which was situated past the corral.

 

Touya quickly followed after him trying to avoid the tiny gravel as well that were thrown at him, the animals close by bucking and scattering a bit when they smelt the creatures nearby knowing it was their worse predator.

 

Slipping into the copse not too far off, they merely hid behind the shrubbery hoping the youngest daughter would stop her attack since they were not there to harm her though she was unaware of this. Their demonic eyes gazed out from beyond the bushes and trees that sheltered them now, they both watching from a distance at what Neda may do next.

 

Neda chased the two demons off into the Emerald Forest that surrounded their farm, she praying at that moment that they were gone before dropping to her knees in her long white gown she wore last night and didn't bother changing out of since she was too overwhelmed with grief to care to. Placing her hands down in front of her on the muddy ground, her gown getting soaked a bit from where she had knelt, Neda shook her long messy beige hair. “Why…? Why did they have to die? Mom…dad…I loved you so much…” Neda's hands clutched upon the dampened grass beneath her as her sadness overtook her, “I am sorry for ever being bad…I won't be bad again if you come back…”

 

The redheaded snake demon's pointed ears seemed to move slightly as if to listen to her conversation better that she was having with herself. His indigo eyes darted about the scene slightly refusing to remain still at the sight before him, “Poor child.”

 

“Do you see now how difficult it will be to care for children who don't trust you?” Touya asked aloud seeming to have a bit of anger in his voice as he spoke at his companion. “There is nothing we can do, Jin—we did everything we could that night the fire broke out. You did everything you could and it was all that woman could ask for, I am sure.”

 

Jin appeared to not be listening as he looked off to the left and then right with either ear wiggling and jetting up as if to search for a sound of some kind. “Didn't she have a sister?” Jin seemed to ask absentmindedly.

 

Sighing with a shake of his head, Touya placed his hand over his face for a moment before eyeing Jin with a bit of impatience, “Have you been listening to me?”

 

The nostrils of Jin flared a bit as the demon began to sniff about the surrounding area like a hound dog. His palms meeting with the dampened earth a moment, he began to trail about the ground for a moment with his enhanced senses before lifting his head slightly. “I can tell she went off this way with one of the horses,” Jin retorted pointing dead ahead before heading quickly in that direction.

 

“Jin, wait! God, dammit!” Touya snarled gliding after him as quickly as possible on his serpent body.

 

Blythe was trying her hardest to settle the wild and disoriented Stella who had stopped just outside of the Emerald Forest and was now resting within the dirt road known as Stone Passage where the Emerald Forest ended and seemed to converge with the Maka Wood. The place was quite the distance from Cormac Farm and Blythe knew if anything Stella had gone quite a distance for a mother mare who just gave birth not too long ago and it worried her since it was abnormal behavior for one such as Stella.

 

“Easy, girl,” Blythe begged softly, raising her hands up little by little so as not to spook the horse. “I am not going to hurt you. I am just going to take you back to your baby, alright?”

 

Stella snorted continuously as her head bobbed up and down whilst her eyes conveyed fear of some kind. The beautiful Paint stood still for a moment, her pelt shaking from insects of sorts bugging her almost seeming to have calmed down though continuing to neigh our her sadness it seemed as she was very close to her mate.

 

Raising a thin blond brow at the creature, Blythe reached her hand out to touch the mare's muzzle only to have her fingertips grace the pink surrounding of the horse's nose before Stella reared up, her ears flattening against her skull. “Oh God, Stella!” Blythe cried out in fear trying to avoid the hooves of the rearing mare that were just above her head.

 

Stella grazed the arm of the fearful Cormac sister with her hoof before taking off towards the Maka Wood with a wild and anger filled whiney.

 

Blythe fell upon her rear once the horse darted off into the dark wood, she flinching slightly from the pain in her right arm that was grazed by the upset steed. “Dammit, Stella,” she swore in pain. Biting her lower lip, she held onto her arm a moment as her eyes clutched shut in hopes of stopping the tears and sadness that finally reached her. “This is already so hard, Stella…why do you have to make it harder?” Blythe could only wonder to herself.

 

The eldest daughter helped herself stand up though she could only use her left arm at the time since the right one began to ache a bit from nearly being trampled by the wild Stella. Resting her injured limb against her stomach, Blythe walked slowly towards the Maka Wood where Stella had darted off into. She knew she couldn't go back to the farm empty handed when it came to Stella since the young colt needed her mother to survive. Though the forest on the other side of the Stone Passage was new to Blythe seeing as she never traveled that far from the farm, at least not alone. Gathering up what courage she had to venture into foreign territory, Blythe walked into the woods to hunt down the unsettled Stella.

 

Pushing away the wild foliage so she could try and hunt down her father's horse, Blythe couldn't help but notice that the mist, which was swirling about her feet, was starting to escalate and get thicker. This made the young girl get rather frightened as she stopped dead in her footsteps a moment, “S—Stella…?” She called out in building fear at the towering coppice around her. The mysterious woods about her began to really spook Blythe as awkward sounds emitted from all angles of the misty forest. Her feet staggering a bit backwards towards whence she came, Blythe stopped for a moment to listen to the hissing sounds emanating from somewhere close by only to feel a horrible pain attacking her ankle.

 

A poisonous black snake with a gray underbelly had embedded its fangs within the intruder's flesh with a horrible threatening hiss before releasing it to slither off elsewhere quickly. The snake was protecting his home from where he had hidden within the greenery nearby and wasn't above letting a young woman intrude upon it though he was unaware that was never her intention.

 

Blythe cried out sharply in pain from the venom entering her ankle, flinching from the horrible throbbing before collapsing on her side to cry out best she could, “Help! Can somebody please help me?” Digging her fingers into the moistened earth beneath her, Blythe breathed heavily as she tried to drag herself back towards the farm though she knew it was pointless. When it finally registered that it would be so, all she could do was stop to cry as heavily as she was able fearing she was going to die and leave her sister behind, “No…Neda..! I am sorry!”

 

Her eyelids grew heavy suddenly as the forest about her began to spin. Fighting to stay awake, Blythe rested her head upon the ground beneath her as her panting became labored from the poison she was administered.

 

Jin's nostrils continued to flare as he got to the area known as Stone Passage to the humans before snorting at the sudden inhale of fear pheromones he could indicate was none too far off. “Something happened,” the half snake demon retorted when Touya finally made his way to his side. “I can smell her fear.”

 

Touya rested upon his reptilian half for only a moment to watch as Jin darted off into the wood on the other side of the dirt road quickly. He knew asking the demon to stop was pointless so he said nothing as he quickly followed behind his partner.

 

The mist parted for the two snake demons as they made their way quickly into the territory they had been within on occasion to eventually find the in trouble Blythe Cormac lying face down underneath the canopy of the misty wood. Jin panicked for a moment seeing the young daughter lying there without movement as he made his way to her side to check her out and see what had happened.

 

Jin's hands slipped under Blythe's torso to help her over to her back so he could inspect what was wrong with her. “She's out like a light,” Jin's soft voice replied in worry as he pressed his elfin ear against her chest to listen to her heart. “It's weak—something happened to her.”

 

Touya looked up and down Blythe's body before noticing a bite within her right ankle. “Here's the problem,” he replied. “She was bit by a poisonous snake. A Black Head maybe since they run rampant here.”

 

“Move, move,” Jin insisted as he quickly exchanged places with Touya. Grabbing onto the leg that had been infected, the demon began to suck on the wound where the poison had entered. His baby blue eyes looking over at Touya, Jin pulled back from the cut a moment, “Check her right arm. It looks like it may bruise and I am unsure what happened there.”

 

The icy blue scales of Touya rubbed against the ground and surrounding mist as he eyed the injured arm before feeling of it. Hearing the pain filled groan released by Blythe made the narrow eyes of Touya slip over to the out cold human, glazing at the arm once more. “It might be a crack in her bone or just bruised,” his noble tone responded seriously. “It's hard to tell.”

 

“Wrap it up regardless,” Jin ordered continuing to suckle on the two small punctures within Blythe's ankle. “I don't want to take any chances. If this one dies, the other daughter will die shortly after.”

 

“Should we take her to Suzuka?” Touya wondered before heading off to grab a few things nearby that could help with the injured arm.

 

“No, I can handle this for now,” Jin assured, tearing a bit of Blythe's dress so he would have something to wrap up her ankle with. “I got the poison out.”

 

“What are we going to do with her when we get back to the farm?” Touya asked situating her arm just right before her breast so he could make the sling for her. “That other girl is not going to like us coming back with her unconscious sister. Conclusions will be drawn if we do so.”

 

“We have no choice,” the redhead responded. “We cannot very well take her back with us. Finish up with the sling so we can take her back to the farm. I am going to hunt down that mare she was chasing. I can smell her not too far away from here.”

 

The ice colored snake demon watched as the fiery redhead disappeared into the thick fog before turning his focus back on the moaning Blythe. He could see that she was stirring and witnessed her eyes fluttering open to take a look at what was going on around her. Fearful that she would wake up and freak out, Touya used his index nail to puncture the waking child's neck gently.

 

Feeling the pinch to her neck caused the young girl to open her mouth in attempts to scream it appeared only to suck in the air about her as if she were being strangled. Blythe's eyes fluttered still as they attempted to stay open and take in what was going on around her. The blurry vision before her would only go in and out of focus as she felt her body beginning to go numb.

 

“It's okay,” Touya's slurry sounding voice responded to Blythe. “It's merely venom that will stun you momentarily. And when you wake, you will be back at home safe and sound.”

 

Blythe fought to stay awake but lost the battle with the strong toxin the snake demon possessed as she fell back asleep.

 

Touya watched as the young human fell under the venom his nails contained that would stun his victims before consuming them. Seeing that she was sweating a little bit, the ice snake rested his cold hand upon her forehead to try and sooth her temperature. “You'll be okay. We promise.”

 

 

------------------------------------------

 

 

The full moon had risen that night when Touya and Jin worked on getting Blythe back to the farm. She was still asleep after all she went through and trying to recover from the attack of the wild mare and the snake bite. Jin herded the hurting Stella towards the corral best he could, eventually getting her inside with her baby and the other creatures that had been herded within there. Touya kept a hold of the sleeping Blythe as he slithered towards the quiet and dark house, seeing no candlelight within the windowsills.

 

“Jin,” Touya called quietly as he edged closer to the steps, “I think the youngest one is sleeping.”

 

“Great,” Jin praised as he hurried towards his partner, opening his arms to Touya so he could accept the sleeping teen. “Let's get her inside real fast so she can wake up without problems. Just be quiet so the other won't wake.”

 

The demons opened the wooden door slowly to peek inside of the farm house to see that the living room and kitchen were just clear. Their heavy serpent bodies slinking upon the wooden floor, causing the boards to moan, they continued to look about the human house with a bit of nervousness. It reeked of humans and that made both of them nervous even if they knew the ten year old daughter had no weapon that could do damage to them.

 

Jin made his way to the stairs that headed up to the top floor, his ears moving slightly, “I guess her bedroom is up there. I will be right back.”

 

Touya nodded as the snake demon eyed the furniture and silverware with interest since he had never seen such things up close before. He had never been in a human house and the items they used were all new to him and it intrigued him.

 

The door to Neda and Blythe's room slowly creaked open as Jin pushed open the door with the tip of his tail. His demonic eyes glistened off of the intruding moonlight as he looked about the area with interest and a bit of fear for a moment before crawling silently over to Blythe's bed so he could put her to sleep. Grabbing onto the covers of the unmade bed, Jin pulled them back so he could place down the young girl's body and then cover her back up. “There you go,” Jin whispered making sure she was okay for the time being.

 

Blythe merely moaned as she was positioned upon her comfortable bedding. She knew now, though still sleeping, that she was someplace familiar and it soothed her into a deeper sleep.

 

The chattering teeth of Neda in the next bed and the vibrations sent through the mattress from her shaking caused Jin to shift his focus upon the uncovered ten year old who went to sleep in her muddy gown. His scales silently slinking over the rickety sounding boards of the house, he made his way over to the freezing child who obviously had no common sense if she was going to sleep in a muddy nightgown. “And you,” Jin began quietly, his knuckles resting on his cheek to look as if he were thinking. “What am I going to do with you? You don't even know when to take off your nightgown if it's so dirty and wet.”

 

Neda kept her arms about her torso as she continued to shake within her sleep, freezing from the night air caressing her with the added chill from her still dampened gown.

 

Jin's glistening eyes darted about the room a moment, spying the drawers a little ways away from the foot of Neda's bed. Grabbing onto the wooden knobs, the snake demon eyed the verity of clothing she had in each until stumbling finally upon her nightgown drawer. Grabbing the frilly white gown his eyes came upon, Jin moved back to Neda's bedside so he could hopefully change her without problems.

 

The gown meeting with the bedcovers a moment, Jin tenderly and carefully worked on placing Neda within his arms so he could support her and get the dirty and soaked attire off of her. “Here we go,” Jin replied quietly to himself as he steadily flipped the nightgown off of Neda before working on putting the warmer one on her body.

 

Neda's fingers and closed eyes flinched slightly to show she was stirring in her sleep. A soft moan passing through her lips, Neda turned her head towards the bare snake demon's chest to recognize subconsciously that he was a male. Listening to the abnormal heartbeat of the demon, she said not but one word in a bit of happiness it appeared, “Daddy…”

 

Hearing the name he was given by accident, Jin paused for a moment as he got the gown to at least reach down to Neda's ankles. The demon's face seemed to convey thought more so than anything else at the time, taking in the title of the man he had to watch die. His eyes lidded as he looked down at the sleeping Neda, cupping the back of her head so he could kiss her on top of her beige hair. “It'll be okay, child. I'll try and be here for you.”