Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ My Naga Knight ❯ Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Just a reminder to ignore any future chapter updates—I am just going back and fixing typos and what not that are bugging me every time I get bored and decided to double check myself. (lol)

 

We have the lovely `woman' discussion in this one. Should prove to be fun. XP

 

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The night hours were slowly creeping by as Neda's fingers twitched from the slumber she was within close to seven in the morning. Her body rousing from the deep sleep, she opened her eyes to peer over at the window, where she could just now see the darkened sky starting to light up a bit with the sun about to take over. Rolling over onto her side, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes to check and see that Blythe was still in bed. Neda pulled the covers off of her body to make it to her feet, walking over towards the bedroom door to open it slowly and peek outside.

 

Neda found Lily to not be within the house, so she made her way down the stairs and to the kitchen area. She was feeling quite thirsty. Making it to the cabinets above the sink, Neda grabbed a clean glass before hunting for the milk bottles to pour herself a little bit. She drank a bit of the cow's milk while heading into the living room that was connected to the kitchen to still find no trace of Lily. “Guess the woman went home.”

 

She sat down upon the cushions of the sofa, lying back to enjoy her beverage for the time being. Neda was still feeling tired, but she was very thirsty for the moment. She decided to enjoy the quiet with her drink though her stomach was starting to really bother her. “Why won't it stop hurting?” She whined to herself, lying down to try and settle it. Upon doing so, she could hear a bit of talking outside of the door. She recognized one of the voices as Lily's but not the other.

 

Lily was helped up the stairs by Jin. “Do you swear to me you'll keep yourself in check, Jin? You know I could really use you here when Thane is working the night shifts at Kalrune.”

 

“I promise, Lily,” Jin swore with a sigh. “If I die now, I doubt Pearl will give me a moment's peace in the afterlife.”

 

The door soon opened, allowing Neda out onto the porch upon hearing her mother's name and somebody who knew her. She stared at Jin who was quick to duck back under the cover of the quilt and blankets he was wearing feeling extremely nervous now as Neda was looking at him wide-eyed. “You-you knew my mother? Who are you?” She asked, walking a bit closer to the disguised demon.

 

Lily couldn't help but panic herself hearing that Neda was up much earlier than usual. When she heard the young farm girl coming closer to Jin, she was quick to raise her hand to stop Neda. “Neda, this is a friend of your mother's. He was asked to watch you and your sister on her behalf.”

 

“Why is he wearing my mom's quilt and our blankets?” Neda felt need to ask as she found it odd.

 

“He is injured, Neda,” Lily explained quickly. “He also needed them to-umm-keep his temperature regulated.” Finding that to be a good enough excuse for a small kid, Lily went with it. “Your mom's friend has a bad temperature issue.”

 

Neda wasn't sure what to say to that as she could only really concentrate on the fact her stomach was bothering her. “So, what's your name?”

 

“My name is not important,” Jin felt need to say as he watched Neda carefully, noticing she was rubbing her stomach a lot. “Lily,” he whispered to the blind woman next to him. “I can smell dried blood on her, and she is rubbing her stomach. I think she's injured.”

 

Hearing that much information, Lily knew what it could possibly be, smiling softly to herself as she made her way over to Neda. “Neda,” she whispered, tilting her head to the side, “did your mother ever talk to you about possibly having something called a period?”

 

Neda was confused by the term as she looked back and forth nervously wondering if she was injured or sick. “N-No, she never did. Why, is something wrong with me?”

 

“Of course not,” said Lily with a tender smile, placing her hand upon Neda's shoulder even if the farm girl was perfectly fine to not be touched by the blind woman. “You are on your period. Every girl gets it when they have turned into a young woman.” She directed Neda towards the house with her blank eyes looking at the door she knew had to be there somewhere. “Why don't you go on inside and wait for me? I will help you with that in just a moment.”

 

The young farm girl kept her eyes on the covered serpent demon wondering why he continued to hide his face from her. Not having the energy to really pry any further, Neda opened the front door to allow herself inside, so she could go lie down.

 

Lily made sure that Neda was away from the door and windows before turning to Jin. “You have to go now!” She urged quickly, reaching her hand out to take the quilt and blankets back. “That was close, and we don't need Neda finding you out right now!”

 

Jin removed the items from his body to hand them over to Lily before lowering down to the ground to back up out of sight. “I will see you later then, Lily. I will be back later tonight if I can make it.” Diving forwards, Jin hurried out of sight towards Kalrune Village in hopes of not being spotted.

 

The blind woman felt the wind blow slightly about her, prompting some of her curly hair to be tossed about her face. She listened to Jin scurry quickly out of sight with a worry filled sigh. “Just be careful, Jin. With that injury, you really need to take care of yourself.” Folding the blankets back up in her arms, she turned towards the front door to let herself inside where she asked Neda to wait for her.

 

With the door opening and closing quietly, Neda looked over at the entering Lily. She brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms about them. “So what is this `period' I am going through? It is really making me sick.”

 

Lily brought the blankets and quilt over to the empty chair to remind herself to wash them later. Her hands folded before her dress, she gazed blankly down at Neda. “It has that affect on people, sweetheart.” Lily felt her way to the sofa where she could hear Neda was sitting upon the young farm girl speaking to Lily earlier. “When your period starts, it means you're finally a young woman.” She raked the palms of her hands against her dress upon sitting down to try and get the wrinkles out of it she could feel. “Every few weeks or so, you'll feel rather different, and you'll start bleeding.”

 

“I'll feel this gross every time it happens?” Neda wondered with a groan.

 

“Sadly, that is how it goes,” Lily said sympathetically. “You'll feel lethargic, a little sick in the stomach area, and rather thirsty considering the blood you'll be loosing.” She reached over and touched Neda's hand once Lily was able to find it. “But do not worry, dear. I have a few things to help with that.”

 

Neda still felt uncomfortable around the blind woman who held demons who killed her parents in high regard. She managed to slide her hand out of Lily's with a subtle sigh. “What about my bleeding? It will ruin my clothes.”

 

Lily raised her finger slightly, pushing herself up off of the sofa. “I have something for that, but I will have to go back into the market to find the things I need to make it for you.” Even if the night was long, Lily knew she had to at least make breakfast for the young girls before taking a nap. “I just got back from there with your mom's friend, but I am sure I can find the energy to do it again,” said Lily as she searched for the pans and eggs she would need to make breakfast.

 

The young girl thought back on the faceless man who was at her doorstep earlier. “What was wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?”

 

“He'll be just fine, Neda,” Lily answered, kneeling down to light the logs in the center of the clay oven. “He was injured when trying to take care of a loved one, but a friend of my father's checked him out. The poor man just had a bruised rib is all.” The fire soon starting, Lily pulled back out of harm's way of the soon burning embers. “Will you do me a favor and go wake your sister for me? I need to make breakfast so I can lie down for a moment.”

 

Neda rolled her eyes and got up from the sofa to make it up the creaky staircase and to the bedroom she shared with her sister. She made her way to Blythe's bedside to wake her sleeping sister. “Blythe, wake up. It is past 7:30.”

 

Blythe groaned slightly before finally opening her eyes to have them focus on her sister who was up before her for once. “Neda, what are you doing up so early?” She paused a bit finding that to sound weird as the girls were usually up around six or so in the morning when their parents were alive. “When I say that, I mean `early' for you lately.”

 

“I couldn't sleep suddenly,” Neda explained, sitting down as she could suddenly feel her energy leaving her once more. “I still feel very tired though.” She rubbed her weary eyes with a soft yawn to express her exhaustion.

 

Sighing softly through her nostrils, Blythe nodded towards Neda's bed. “Why don't you sleep until breakfast? If I allow you to do that will you promise me you'll at least eat something?” The elder Cormac sister had been having a hard time fighting with Neda in attempts to regulate her sleeping pattern as well as her eating habits. She felt a bit of bribery was the next best bet at getting her sister to eat. “At eight, Thane will be here. I better go ahead and get ready for the day.”

 

Neda watched as Blythe was quick to throw the covers off of her and head for the bathroom they shared. “You were never this eager to get ready for mornings before. Ever since that knight has been here, you've been weirdly lady like.”

 

Blythe halted at the bathroom door upon hearing Neda's comments towards her. “Neda, what are you talking about?” She couldn't help but try to hide the bright blush, which crept its way across her face at what she knew Neda was insinuating. “It is just when company is over I should at least look a little bit decent. Mamma always told us to do that growing up.”

 

Sliding off of the side of the bed belonging to her sister, Neda made her way over towards her own messy bedcovers to lie upon them with a somber sigh. “Well, mom isn't here anymore. Besides, I know your true intentions with him, and once it happens, I will be left alone.”

 

Blythe shook her head sadly at Neda's reaction towards the feelings the elder sibling had towards the Eytherian knight. “Neda, nothing is written in stone right now. Besides, even if anything does happen with me and Thane, I plan on it being years from now.” She made her way over to Neda's bedside to place her hand upon the young girl's shoulder. “What kind of sister would I be to just up and leave my only family member behind?”

 

“Thanks,” Neda mumbled slightly as she wanted to just sleep at that moment more than ever at the thought of her sister leaving her at all.

 

Not knowing what else to say, Blythe got back up and headed to the bathroom once more. She stopped within the doorway to look back over at Neda still worried for her sister. Things will get better with her soon. They just have to, Blythe practically pleaded in her mind before closing the bathroom door behind her.

 

Every slithering motion Jin took hastily back towards the graveyard behind Kalrune Village pained the serpent demon's body. With the sun threatening to rise to bring wake to the humans, Jin tried with all his might to make it back to Silver knowing she would get upset if she woke up alone once more. The dead trees soon coming within sight, the redhead hurried to the old shack he was asked to stay in to keep the young Silver safe until she was ready to give birth. His hand grabbing onto the doorknob, he turned it to allow himself inside once more to find Silver still asleep.

 

Silver however heard the door shut, causing her serpent body to steadily move about from the twisted formation it was entangled within. Turning over slightly, she saw Jin there at the door looking rather winded to say the least. “Jin, what is the matter? Don't tell me you were outside for the night.” When she saw Jin about to say `yes' to that, she gasped with worry. “You shouldn't do that! You are injured!”

 

Jin stayed against the door prompting Silver to make her way over towards the large serpent demon. He gazed down at her with a tender smile. “And you shouldn't worry so much,” he said, reaching down to rub her belly, which was starting to swell a bit from the eggs forming inside of her. “You're pregnant and need to be careful yourself.”

 

His hand there on her stomach, Silver reached down and touched the back of his hand. Looking up through her stringy white hair at the wind serpent, she nodded at him. “I know. Don't worry; they're not coming anytime soon. Anyways, what about you? How are you feeling?”

 

“Well,” Jin paused, thinking about the doctor visit he had in the human's city. “I was told that I bruised my rib bone, so I have to be careful from here onwards, or I could really hurt myself further.”

 

“So what does that mean for you?” Silver inquired with a raise of her thin, white brow.

 

Jin rolled his hands over Silver's shoulders to bring her closer to his body gently, minding his injuries as he did so. “It just means I have to be careful for the coming days, love. I will be alright. Don't worry about me.”

 

Silver kissed the broad chest of the wind demon she had. Tasting of his skin, she was able to remind herself that he was alive and there with her. Resting her cheek upon his torso regardless, she pressed her palms against his back gently to feel of him there with her eyes closed. “I am just glad you're alright,” she whispered against his body.

 

Before anything else could be said and done, a loud banging came from the door behind the wind demon, startling them both. “Jin, I need to speak with you!” Beldon called eagerly. He sounded angry as well.

 

Spinning around quickly, regardless of how much it hurt to do so, Jin opened the door to see the alpha of the wind nest there. “Beldon, what is the matter?”

 

“Your-current alpha leader is here with some friends of his!” Beldon hissed angrily at having a foreign alpha male come into his territory and become demanding. “I want you to get him out of here!” He pointed back towards the forested area leading to the nesting site.

 

Jin could tell he was adamant about the subject. He saw Silver was looking rather worried about it as well fearing what fights may break out. “Wait here, Silver,” Jin demanded softly. Silver's hands were quick to grab onto his wrist, not wishing him to leave. He witnessed as she shook her head several times, wanting to deny him from leaving her in the condition Jin was in. “Silver, please, I have to go!”

 

Tears started to well up and cascade down her fair complexion as Jin finally forced his wrist from her hands. Silver leaned against the doorway as she watched Jin slither quickly to Dustin and the others, who he had been separated from for too long. She could only show her frustrations and anger at her father through her eyes. Silver knew if she said anything to her father she would be punished for it given her place.

 

Tearing through the forest, Jin could hear the disgruntled hisses of the serpent demons about the wind nesting site. Dustin was towering over another serpent fiend of the nest who found fit to try and intimidate the alpha by snapping and spitting at the intruding beast. Seeing the dark haired and skin toned serpent leader, Jin reached out for him quickly. “Dustin, stop it!” He begged while managing to grab onto Dustin's upper arm.

 

Dustin bared his teeth at Jin even if he knew who the redhead was. His fingers grasped Jin tightly about the neck to force the injured demon to the ground beneath them. “What the hell do you think you're doing here!” Dustin demanded to know irritably through his teeth as the wind serpent struggled underneath the alpha. “I took you two bastards under my care and this is how you repay me!”

 

Jin hissed in dismay as his body was raked with pain from his encounter with the knights. Grabbing onto Dustin's wrists, Jin tried to pry his hands off of him as his body thrashed about in agony. “D-Dustin …stop!” He pleaded through his gasping for air.

 

Beldon came upon the scene soon enough to find most of his nest in an uproar over the fight, feeling that Jin was apart of their nest now and the intruder had no right to attack him in such a manner. “Stop this at once!” He demanded angrily as his nest threatened to attack Dustin, Finlay, and Aland if they didn't leave the territory at once. “Let the young boy go! He is with my daughter!”

 

Dustin finally released Jin's neck allowing the young serpent demon to breathe for the moment. Touya was quick to pull from behind Finlay and Aland to check on his friend. His chilly hand resting upon Jin's upper shoulder tenderly, he furrowed his brow in worry as Touya gazed down at his ally. Snorting out his irritation, Dustin turned towards Beldon. “That `young boy' happens to be part of my clan! Only his foolishness brought him to your nest!”

 

“I don't care how he came to be here,” Beldon retorted angrily, hissing at Dustin with a snap of his fangs at the other alpha's neck. “The important thing is he is here to help my daughter and my nest!”

 

Backing up away from Beldon's snapping jaws, Dustin shot forward in retaliation with a hiss and a bite as well threatening to clamp his jaws down upon the wind alpha's neck. “Regardless of what you say, he's still my responsibility!” Dustin was not going to allow this other male win in this fight. Jin was like his son, and he wasn't about to lose another member of his family.

 

Having to hear the two fighting for him, Jin managed to turn over with Touya's help. “Dustin…Beldon, please, stop it!” Ignoring the pain for a moment, the wind serpent managed to heft himself upright to look between the two alphas. “Beldon, please, can I speak with Dustin for a moment?”

 

Beldon didn't like the thought of an unsupervised conversation going on with an outsider when it came to Jin even if that outsider was the wind beast's last leader. Shaking his head angrily, he spat at Dustin with his pointed ears twisted slightly back. “Fine, but you better not make off with him, or I will track you down myself!” Beldon threatened to Dustin.

 

Jin didn't have a moment to say anything as Dustin was quick to grab the wind master by the wrist and pull him off to the side away from the angry wind nest so they could speak to one another. When it was soon just the two of them, Dustin spun Jin around so they were face to face. He narrowed his eyes with an angry hiss. “How could you do this to me after everything I said to you! How dare you, Jin!”

 

“Dustin, please,” Jin pleaded, his elfin ears faltering into sadness. “I know you wanted to continue to expand your nest, but this one is already expanded. It is probably the only other large serpent nest out there.” He witnessed as Dustin refused to listen by crossing his arms over his ivory chest and turning to look the other way, but Jin was determined to get his leader to understand as he crawled steadily into Dustin's view. “Dustin, we cannot continue to travel around the way we are. We are bound to get killed. Besides, with no females in our nest, we will all die out…”

 

The brunette serpent leader didn't want to admit that Jin was actually making sense for once as he tried to continue to pretend he was ignoring the young demon. He had wanted to grow his nest steadily into something worth cherishing, and while he cared and cherished those already within it, they sadly had no ways of making their numbers any bigger with most of the female serpents being killed off whenever they were caught nesting alone. “Jin,” Dustin began with a sigh, “I would love to make my nest bigger, but you're asking me to turn down my title as alpha to some nobody. And I refuse to do that!”

 

Jin brought his finger up to the corner of his mouth to think of a solution. “I'll-umm-I'll talk to Beldon about it. There has to be a way you can have your own nesting site in their giant clan. I am sure he wouldn't mind it.”

 

Shaking his head with a slightly present smile, Dustin uncrossed his arms before forcibly guiding Jin towards them. “You are impossible,” he muttered against the redhead's wild hair, holding onto the young demon like he would his son.

 

Jin felt like he was a child again making him groan and wiggle against Dustin's embrace regardless of how much it hurt to do so. “Dustiiiiiiiiiiin!” He whined, pushing against the alpha to try and get free. Once free, Jin noticed his wild hair was messier than before prompting him to fix it by rubbing his hands back and forth against his scalp. “I'll go talk to Beldon about you and the others staying.”

 

Dustin pointed at the bandages about Jin's chest and arm finally as he wanted to know what had happened. “Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to get caught by humans feeding that woman you have shacked up somewhere.”

 

With a roll of his eyes and another irritable groan, Jin nodded. “Yes. I went to Kalrune to get some chickens for her, and they caught me. I was told that I bruised my rib bone, so be gentle if you're going to teach me a lesson again,” he warned, bringing his arms up to block Dustin from grabbing him again as the alpha crept forwards.

 

“You-bruised your rib bone?” Dustin found the terminology odd and not like something a serpent demon would say. He narrowed his crimson eyes to study Jin closely. “Jin, who told you that?”

 

Jin looked about feeling rather cornered knowing he couldn't explain to Dustin that a human of all creatures treated him. “Eh-What? One of the serpents here told me that.”

 

“They couldn't have,” the alpha interrupted the stuttering Jin quickly. “We know when something is bruised only on the skin and how to tend to it. A bone being bruised of all things…only human medical treatments would know that.” Dustin inhaled sharply at realizing what probably occurred. “Jin! You didn't!”

 

His ears faltered in fear, Jin slunk downwards and back away from his leader who despised humans with his ever being. “I didn't!” He exclaimed quickly in his defense. “I didn't, Dustin; I promise!” Jin hated to lie to anybody, but he was too badly injured to put up with the consequences Dustin would still unleash upon him considering his hatred for the human world.

 

Dustin was quick to grab Jin by the ear, pulling him upright so that the serpent demon would be forced to look him in the eyes. “At least look at me when you're miserably lying to me!” He growled angrily though most of him was consumed in worry at the possibility of Jin dying at their hands. “How could you do that even for the sake of health! Those humans could have killed you!”

 

“A friend of mine took me, Dustin,” Jin howled over his pain as his sensitive ear was still being pinched. “Her father studied our kind, and she finds us interesting. She wouldn't lead me to harm!”

 

“You let a human woman direct you! I don't care who her father was; she is still a human!” Dustin growled angrily. “For this alone, I should cast you out of my care and leave you with Beldon!”

 

“Dustin, please!” Jin begged, reaching for the alpha's torso. His fingers touching the sides of the serpent leader, Jin managed to bring himself close to Dustin's chest. With his ear soon released, he rested the side of his head upon the ivory chest of his alpha. “Please don't do this to me…!” It looked as though the wind serpent were hugging Dustin tightly. Jin held onto Dustin's upper arms tightly. “Please, please, please, I didn't mean to anger you…”

 

Dustin remained there stiffly with his arms close to his sides and his eyes staring beyond Jin as if the demon groveling for forgiveness upon his chest was not there. He wanted to stand there thinking of what to do while drowning out the pleading coming from Jin. It wasn't until the younger serpent demon begged Dustin not to leave him that something snapped within his mind. His eyes widened a moment as he thought back to the very first time he met Jin and Touya.

 

He had found them together, curled up under a Paluu Tree branch on a stormy night. They had been left there by Jin's elder brother, Suzaku, shivering in the cold and starving. Dustin remembered finding them when searching for food for an injured Finlay while Aland watched over him back at their nest. They were so tiny to him and were even fearful of their own kind.

 

“You poor things,” Dustin whispered as the storm raged onwards. He reached for the one that was awake. The redhead looked up at the towering, intimidating serpent demon wondering what Dustin wanted from him. Dustin recalled how Jin coiled backwards out of his reach, afraid to be touched by anybody. “Shhh, shhh, it is alright.”

 

Jin was like a frightened housecat. His baby blue eyes were wide with fear as he watched the incoming hand closely making it difficult for Dustin to even bother petting Jin reassuringly on the head. “Don't hurt me,” he begged with a pathetic whimpering sound.

 

Being that there were so few serpent demons left lately, that was the furthest thing from Dustin's mind as he slipped his fingers under Jin's chin to rub him there. “I am not going to hurt you,” he promised softly. Dustin looked around the dark atmosphere, sniffing the air with a flare of his nostrils and slip of his forked tongue. “You two are alone? Where is your nest?”

 

“My brother is here,” Jin answered, resting his chin down upon Touya's metallic looking scales.

 

“Is that your brother?” Dustin wondered pointing down to the slumbering Touya.

 

Jin gazed down at the ice serpent, shaking his head. “No, my brother isn't here now…he left us to take care of ourselves while he went to get himself something to eat.”

 

Dustin hooked his index finger before bringing it before his mouth to think. “Your brother just left you here unattended? You both are so young; he shouldn't have done that.” Sighing softly, Dustin knew it wouldn't be right to just take them without notifying the brother. “Have you both eaten at all? You look rather sickly.”

 

The redhead merely shook his head. He didn't feel like saying anything that could anger his elder brother as he was the only home that the two had.

 

Biting his lower lip, Dustin reached down to help Jin stand upon his scaly body. “I'll get you something to eat for the night. Then I need to go back to my own nest.”

 

“No, don't leave us!” Jin begged, grabbing tightly onto Dustin's upper arm weakly. “Please, I don't want to remain with my brother anymore! He is going to make my friend and me sick…we cannot stay here any longer.”

 

Dustin didn't very well know Jin's older brother at that time, but he figured any serpent demon who left his younger brother alone in a raging storm with no protection or any food wasn't all that caring. Smiling down at Jin, he held onto the wind serpent reassuringly. “Alright, alright,” he whispered once more over the thunder claps. “I will take you to my nest.” He ran his fingers through Jin's dampened hair to try and settle the young demon. “But first, I have to get you both something to eat.” With that said, Dustin pried from Jin to slither towards the smell of deer he had caught earlier. “Wake your friend and come with me.”

 

The hunt that night went well. Dustin recalled being able to bring down a rather large buck for the night before taking it back to his nest at the Cormac Farm. For that one night, he allowed the first bite to the two strangers even though the alpha usually had the first bite after a kill for the nest. That night they were all wrapped up together, keeping warm from the storm, which continued to rage onwards. It was possibly the one time anybody felt complete.

 

Finally coming back to the present time, Dustin looked down at the still sobbing wind master. His fingers resting upon his forehead, Dustin shook his head before finally prying Jin off of his body. “Fine, I forgive you. Just-go talk to this Beldon demon.” His scales rubbed against one another as he turned to leave Jin alone for the time being.

 

“Thank you, Dustin,” Jin breathed with relief.