Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 9

Scarlet wasted no time at all running out of the house, there in the dark, foggy woodland area where Teresa's house was. Running away from the home, she pulled her weak body to the nearest tree. She leaning against the cold bark of the tree, Scarlet inhaled a shaky breath before releasing it upon the cold wind. “Oh my God, oh my God,” she murmured to herself silently. “I hate to say it, but my step-dad was right. We're merely worshipping our way to hell!”

 

His hand gracing the other side of the tree Scarlet was against, Jin peeked over at the frightened woman with a raise of his brow at her reaction. “You seem so startled.”

 

Jin's voice gracing her ears, she jumped slightly, not expecting the wind demon to be so close since, last she saw him, he was in Teresa's room. Her hand gracing her rapidly beating heart, she wanted to scream in his face. “Of course I am! Why in the hell does that surprise you!” She exclaimed.

 

He pushed himself off of the tree, walking closer to the frightened human woman. “When you were baptized as a child, you should have been open to such sights,” Jin explained, grabbing onto Scarlet's wrist to show her the baptism symbol of Touya once he removed the lengthy glove she had on. “Your mother baptized you under him when you were born, right?”

 

Scarlet jerked back her hand, hiding it from the demon with her other hand over the Celtic symbol. “She baptized me as soon as I was born in the temple.”

 

Raising his brow, he looked at her through his wild red bangs, “So, you were born in the Ice Temple?”

 

Scarlet dug her fingers into the sides of her head with a growl rippling in her throat. “YES—what does it matter!” She shouted, releasing her hands from where they were.

 

Flinching slightly at her response, he brought the side of his index finger up to his lips with a hum in thought. “Tell me, did your mother say anything about your birth there? Because, normally, when babies are born in the temples, the priest or priestess will take the umbilical cord and place it in a safe place within the temple's walls.”

 

Scarlet wasn't sure of such a practice as she showed her distaste for the adding information. “You mean the umbilical cord of my mother is in the temple walls? What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“A child is always connected to a mother with that cord,” Jin explained. “I am sure you knew this. It has said that sometimes what the mother experiences, the child will in return with such a bond and vise versa. With your mother seeing what she does, I am sure she sends some of it unknowingly to you as well and has all of her life and even in the afterlife. And as I said before, some people are special in that, after they are baptized, their eyes open further and they get to see the atmosphere that they share with those in the afterlife.”

 

Her fist clutched tightly at her side, she kept a stern look upon the redheaded demon before her with a hesitant shake of her head. “I don't remember seeing such things in all of my life…not until now.” Her tone hissed with a building rage as she spoke. Touching the bare chest of the wind demon, she glared up at him. “And how dare you—I wanted to come here to merely help Teresa and instead, you have the nerve to make her tell me that my mother is now rotting in hell!”

 

Jin raised his hands with a shake of his head. “Hey, I didn't tell her to say anything. I just told her to speak with you about why she wanted to remain in Wind Knoll.”

 

“Then why didn't you tell me she was psycho!” Scarlet hissed as she pushed her way past Jin.

 

“Just because you don't understand her, doesn't mean she is crazy,” Jin said from behind Scarlet before using his speed to dash in front of her, frightening her once more from him suddenly reappearing. “Right now, I am the only thing that can watch over her and protect her soul when she dies. As you saw, those monsters outside of her window want to beat her soul and even rape her. The only way I can make sure she passes safely over is to be with her; especially with her soul calling out so loudly lately.”

 

“If she wasn't worshipping creatures like you, she wouldn't have to worry about such a thing,” Scarlet pointed out as she pushed Jin aside once more to make it for the town she could just barely see in the distance.

 

“Do you honestly think some `God' would be willing to help ease your pain and be there for you to help you safely to the gates of heaven or hell?” Jin asked bluntly, halting Scarlet in her stride. Furrowing his brow in slight aggravation, he bared his teeth for a moment as he continued. “The heaven, you humans have thought of, escalated into its own fantasy world over the years, just as we, the demons, have in appearance!” He pointed at her, regardless of the fact she refused to turn around. “Wrap your human mind around this, Scarlet Baker—souls leave the body as soon as it can no longer function, and it disperses to where it sees fit within this world, only in the spiritual realm separate from the living so that the living and the dead cannot mingle and sprout more demons of hate. You do not go to this `heavenly' world high within the clouds. There is no such place!”

 

Turning around on her heels, she shook her head in disbelief. “Then why is there a hell of all places?”

 

“Because the living creates such souls and even recycles them into those being created within the womb of a mother,” Jin explained. “The damned walk the afterlife as well as walk this plain. You of all people should know this, for your stepfather is one of those demonic souls.”

 

Widening her eyes, Scarlet hitched in breath at the remembrance of her stepfather.

 

“He beats and abuses you with his words just as any demonic soul would in the afterlife if they dared get a hold of you,” Jin continued. “His soul has been recycled from the hellish plain that this town was built upon. He doesn't want to admit to it, but he is no better than those monsters you see and hear every time you sleep.”

 

She gazed down at the ground covered in fog, refusing to believe she was on hell's ground though all of the signs were awfully clear. “What about you?” She finally asked, looking up through her messy, bi-colored hair, which clung to her face. “Why have you not been able to be reborn as another or at least be forgiven of your sins and be freed from hell?”

 

“You make it sound so simple,” Jin expressed with a somberly sigh, scratching the back of his head. “I may have come to terms with my `sins', but I have no reason to rebirth my soul.”

 

Scarlet felt uncomfortable within the situation as she embraced her chilled form. “Can you just guide me home…I don't want to be here anymore…,” she pleaded in quiet words that only demon ears could hear.

 

Jin swallowed whatever words he wanted to give to her, heading past her with a subtle wave to the right. “Come on. I have to get you home regardless, for it is late.”

 

The night air feeling colder than usual, Scarlet kept her body embraced within her own arms as she walked behind the wind demon somberly. Sniffling back the sadness, which enveloped her, she dragged her feet against the stiff ground. Her stomach churned at the thoughts of the disfigured demons she had witnessed and would share the afterlife with due to her fate in Wind Knoll. Cupping her mouth, Scarlet turned to the side to purge the fear that had crippled her body.

 

 

 

 

The curtains covering Scarlet's cracked window, Jin flew up towards the windowsill as the young girl, he was watching, snuck through the house to get to her bedroom without disturbing her father. Her slender fingers gripping the doorknob, she twisted it silently to close the door to her bedroom.

 

Jin watched from the windowsill, where he was squatting, noticing her sad frown that was clearly upon her face. “I am sorry that what Teresa said dampened your spirit,” he expressed. He slipped through the window with his feet landing upon her carped floor. “You just need to stop listening to the fantasies that your human kind fill your head with.”

 

Scarlet scoffed at him with a shake of her head as she headed for the bathroom. “Thanks for being sensitive.” Closing the door behind her, she rested her palms upon the sides of the sink, lowering her head in despair. She gripped onto the handles of the faucet to turn the water on so that it could warm up. Scarlet gazed at her reflection within the mirror on her cabinet before opening it to hunt through her makeup and pills to pull out one that she hadn't bothered with in years—her antidepressants. Her hands shaking from the images still plaguing her mind, she unscrewed the cap quickly to look at how many she had left.

 

Counting at least twenty-five or so, she screwed the top back on before placing it back into the cabinet though with slight hesitation. She closed the cabinet with a sigh, cupping her hands beneath the warmed water to splash it upon her face to try and relax. As the warm water seeped about her skin, she felt it turn a bit warmer once it made contact with her pallid flesh. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked at her hands to the crimson blood, which was not her own.

 

Her hands trembling from the blood apparently dripping from her fingers, she gazed at the faucet water to watch as the sticky fluid continued to pour from the silver valve and cling to the marble sink. Shaking her head at the sight, she tried to make herself believe it wasn't real though the feel of the substance touching her fingers told her otherwise. She turned on her heels, once she could feel her feet again, with her hands still slightly outstretched before her.

 

Jin was sitting upon Scarlet's bedcovers with his pinky nail rubbing against his lower incisor. He spying the frightened girl out of the corner of his eye, he turned to her to see the blood on her hands. Quickly he pushed himself off of the bed he was upon to rush over to her. “Oh jeez,” he hissed in shock, grabbing onto Scarlet's tensed wrist to guide her over to the bed.

 

Scarlet sat upon her bed, still gazing at her hands as they shook from the sight of someone else's blood on them. The feel of a towel soon touching her blooded fingers snapped her out of her trance. “What the hell is this? You can see this too?” She asked quietly.

 

“Anyone can that is connected and open to seeing the hell that this town was built upon,” Jin answered, working meticulously to clean her fingers and palms.

 

“Why is this happening to me…?” Scarlet asked quietly. “Why is this happening to me!” She practically screamed with tears nearly.

 

Jin stared at her wide-eyed with her outburst, wanting to warn her to be quiet, but he was too late to do so. Scarlet's stepfather's fist met with the other side of the door, startling him as he looked over at the door. “Dammit,” he hissed, moving from beside the frightened human girl to the other side of the bed so he couldn't be in the way.

 

The door flew open as Chris stepped through the doorway to witness Scarlet sitting there on her bed with her arms slightly bend before her. “What the hell is your problem!” He demanded to know from where he was standing.

 

Scarlet looked at her stepfather, showing her hands, which were still covered slightly in blood stains, to him. “Do…do you not see…!”

 

Chris shook his head as he spat at her weird attitude. “All I see is your fat ass sitting there on the bed! Now shut up already so that I can go to sleep!” Storming back towards the door, he pointed back at his stepdaughter. “Open your mouth like that one more time and you'll regret it!” The door slammed behind him, leaving Scarlet and Jin alone once more.

 

Jin sighed as he moved back over towards Scarlet. “You know your stepfather is dense,” he murmured, placing his hand on her shoulder. “He cannot see what you do.”

 

“Just please leave,” Scarlet begged, lowering her hands back down to her thighs. “I need to be alone…”

 

He sucked in his lower lip in thought at Scarlet's tone, sighing through his nostrils. “Alright…alright, I will leave you alone. Just promise me you won't do something stupid,” he begged as he headed for the window.

 

Scarlet gazed at the wall opposite to her with an empty expression. “I don't have to promise you anything…”

 

Jin lowered his foot from the windowsill he was about to slip through, turning around with his arms across his chest. “Then I don't have to promise to leave.”

 

She was tired. Scarlet didn't have the energy to fight with the demon at that moment as she searched for her remote control, so she could turn the television on. “Then stay if you want to. I don't care what you do right now,” she mumbled, resting her head against the pillow resting on her bed's wooden frame.

 

The television's picture coming on clearly, the volume was on low. Jin looked at what she had on before gazing at her on the bedcovers. “Well, if you don't care, I guess I will,” he replied, shocked by her dull response on the matter.

 

He sat down upon the chair before her writing desk, eyeing the picture of her mother. The frame shining off of the light of the lamp he turned on, he attempted to make Scarlet forget about what she had endured. “So this is your mother?”

 

Scarlet looked over at Jin unenthusiastically to eye the picture before looking back at the television she had turned on. “Yes,” she answered simply.

 

Jin gazed at the young woman in the picture frame. His fingers touching the glass, which protected the image, he placed it back down where he found it. With a grunt, Jin got off of the chair he was on to head over to the bed Scarlet was upon to make himself comfortable. Once he did so, he was handed the remote. “Why are you giving this to me?” He asked with a slight chortle of curiosity.

 

“You can watch what you want,” she mumbled once more, turning to her side to bring the pillow close to her face. “I am too tired to care to watch television right now.”

 

“Then why not turn it off?” Jin asked, doing so without an answer. “And if you're going to sleep, why not change clothes?” He reached for her steadily. “Or you could at least—.”

 

Scarlet quickly raised her hand to Jin's touch and words. “Do not touch me,” she ordered in a slight irritable tone. “Just leave me alone by being quiet.”

 

Jin retracted his hands with a shrug. “Okay, fine, if that is what you want.” Lying back on the covers of the bed, the wind demon turned to his side so he could face Scarlet's back to keep a close eye on her considering how depressed she appeared.

 

 

 

 

The hours clicking by on her alarm clock next to her, Scarlet could hear the deep, throaty snorting that Jin was doing behind her. Through the darkness of her room, she gazed over her shoulder at the sleeping demon, surprised to see him still there. Slightly aggravated, she pushed herself from being aside the slightly loud demon.

 

Once on her feet, she couldn't help but look once more back at Jin to make sure he was sleeping. She could clearly see he was drooling from where she stood in the densely lit space. From where she was, she also took care in glancing at the picture frame, which held the picture of her mother. The tears of despair welling up within her eyes, she shook her head and turned quickly for the bathroom.

 

She quietly closed the door behind her so as not to wake the slumbering demon. Her palms touched the cold marble of the sink once more. The bi-colored strands of her hair slipped from the hair tie she had try to keep them back within in. Reaching for her cabinet, she opened it to pull out her antidepressants without hesitation this round. The medicine she held was given to her when her mother had passed away, but Scarlet refused to take it until the darkness overtaking her became too much for her to handle. She felt it did little good after awhile of still feeling misery over her mother's passing, and thus, she stopped taking it.

 

Emptying five of them onto her palm, she grabbed one of the cups nearby to fill it with water. Throwing back the ones on her palm within her mouth, she aided them down her throat with the water she took. She covered her mouth to cough within it at feeling five pills being forced down her throat. Her fingers gripping onto the side of the sink, she looked over her shoulder to make sure that the demon was where she hoped he might be before continuing.

 

Jin remained upon the bed snoring away with his hands sprawled out near his head. His elfin ear twitched slightly at the sound of a soul singing softly at first before escalating into a sweet, eerie soprano melody. His eyes blinking open quickly, he wiped the drool from his mouth before sitting upright upon the bed wondering where the melody was coming from seeing as it was so deafening. Scratching the back of his head, he looked over next to him where Scarlet was last he remembered. He seeing she wasn't there made him slightly panic. “Scarlet…? Scarlet…!” He called as he hopped off of the bed. His eyes coming upon the closed bathroom door, which was outlined in the lights on the other side, he opened it quickly to make his way to Scarlet.

 

The sight of the bathroom looked awfully distorted. Blood lined the cracks within the rusted walls and the broken marble. A disgruntled moan of a damn soul could be heard from somewhere within the room as others appeared to howl angrily outside of the house. Scarlet was resting wearily upon the toilet seat from taking the rest of the antidepressants she had neglected. The chill of the toilet seat was somewhat comforting to her as her body began to shake slightly from minor convulsions.

 

“Dammit,” he hissed, kneeling down behind her. His arms wrapped about her stomach gently, he pulled her off of the toilet seat to lift it up out of her way. “Alright, you troublesome woman, cough it up!” Knowing she was too weak to fight with him, he grabbed onto her mouth, so he could make her throw up to be rid of whatever had yet to dissolve inside of her stomach.

 

Scarlet's throat flexed when it felt the demon's finger pressing in her throat. She pulled from his hands, throwing up what she had consumed recently with an added cough afterwards. Some of the medicine she had taken still inside of her, she shook with a shaky inhale and exhale of her labored breathing.

 

Jin sighed as he picked up Scarlet from the tile floor to take her back to the bed. He could hear and smell, thanks to her fear pheromones, how scared she was as he worked on undressing her a little bit, so she could be more comfortable under the bedcovers. “Shhh, you'll be okay,” he assured her with a whisper.

 

“What…what is that sound…?” Scarlet asked through her labored breathing, her ears catching the sound of the dead outside wishing to come to take her soul, which was still singing to them.

 

“Your soul is singing to them,” Jin said, as he removed her shirt. “It is attracting them to you.” He helped Scarlet under the bedcovers once he pulled them back. “Where are your pajamas or nightgown—whatever it is you sleep in?”

 

Scarlet wearily pointed off to the side of her television where her dresser was. “Please…don't let them in here…,” she begged from where she struggled to stay awake.

 

Jin pulled out a white, nightshirt and a baggy pair of black pants before heading over to Scarlet. “Well, then you don't make much sense,” he said bluntly as he tried to help her get ready for sleep at least. “Why would you try to kill yourself if you don't want to be overtaken by the damned?”

 

She let the demon help put her shirt over her head and her arms through the armholes as she was too tired to do it herself. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall opposite to her with a subtle shake of her head. “I wanted to know I was awake…”

 

“Next time you want to know if you're awake, tell me, and I will gladly slap you,” Jin said seriously though slightly joking. The door to the hallway began to creek steadily open as Jin continued to try and help her get ready for bed. The moan of the hinges caught the redhead's attention; he looked over his shoulder at the slowly opening door to spy a beast of hell standing there at the doorway.

 

The dog of hell stood there gazing up at the two on the bed with a snarl of his jagged teeth. His eyes were as red as blood and his skin was all there was to see as the creature was furless expect for his face were his bones were clearly shown on the right side of his face where his skin was missing. The creature's legs were bandaged, obviously to keep his body together as it appeared to be threatening to break apart. When he lifted his head up from the ground, another mouth was present upon his chest—snarling just the same though bleeding constantly.

 

Scarlet threatened to scream at the sight of the beast only to have Jin cover her mouth quickly to prevent her from doing so.

 

“Be quiet!” He demanded in a soft though serious tone. “If you scream, your father will beat you. Let me take care of this. Just promise me you won't scream.”

 

She nodded her head quickly, wanting Jin to hurry and be rid of the beast.

 

Jin excused himself from the bed once more, heading over to the dog, which guarded the gates of hell. “She is not ready for you,” he said sternly, waving his hands at the beast like he would for a normal dog. “Shoo—get!”

 

The dog didn't listen as he snarled at Jin, releasing a horrifying, warped screeching cry from the depths of his throat. Keeping his teeth apparent, he snapped at the demon with a few furious barks.

 

Standing upright before the creature, Jin extended his arm to the hell guardian.

 

Continuing to snarl, the dog broke Jin's tough demonic skin with his bite making his blood bubble forth from the cracked surface.

 

Scarlet hitched in breath, covering her mouth at the sight of the dog actually doing such a thing to the demon, and the demon apparently allowing him to do so. “What are you doing!” She asked in a high whisper.

 

Jin didn't move. He glared at the devil dog with a serious expression, showing the beast he was much stronger than him. The very sight of such a stare would make a lesser person's blood run cold in terror.

 

The dead dog continued to growl at Jin until noticing the demon wasn't flinching under his bite. Releasing his teeth from the wound be created, he bowed his head obediently and backed away on his bleeding paws. Tucking his bony tail in between his legs, he turned around and headed back towards the entrance of the house.

 

“Is he gone…?” Scarlet asked, as she shivered under the covers of the bed she was practically hiding under.

 

Jin crawled onto the bedcovers, making his way over to the frightened girl with a nod. “Yes, he is gone. Even in the afterlife they are obedient though they can be bastards.” Placing his hand over her chest, he felt of her spirit to see it was threatening to pull from her body. “Whatever you took, it sure did a number on you. Seeing as your body and soul is little struggling to stay together right now, I guess I better stay up and make sure it doesn't slip. I barely caught it when it was singing to me.”

 

“What about your arm?” She asked, lying down to attempt to relax.

 

He looked at the wound she was referring too, scrunching his nose up at the wound. “It's not important. Don't worry about it.” Sighing, he looked back at the cracked door and then the window. “I will have to close those. Critters from hell can easily slip through them.”

 

Scarlet moved her head over towards Jin's nearest thigh, placing her arm over his lap. “You seriously watch others die?” She asked almost in a trance.

 

Jin, slightly surprised by her movement, he offered her a shrug. “Sometimes,” he answered. “Most times I try to stop them from dying, because I know this is the last place they want to be.” He paused, listening to the sounds emitting throughout Wind Knoll. “I know Teresa wants to die already, and she tells me she is ready for it, but a part of me knows she is lying. She is scared to walk hell alone or even with me.”

 

“But I thought she would always be with you,” she murmured.

 

“I would have to keep her soul stored up in my temple where she would be safe,” Jin explained. “I cannot be with her or the others all the time. I have those who are dying and still alive walking this plain, and I need to protect them.”

 

“Why doesn't your kind just curse us all now for the hell we have caused?”

 

He was silent at her question. Placing his hand upon her shoulder, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Because you and everyone else shouldn't have to suffer for the wrongs of others.” Rubbing her shoulder, he released it knowing that Scarlet didn't want to be touched. “Go to sleep. Don't worry about the monsters you hear. I will keep them away.”

 

Scarlet looked at the television set at the foot of her bed for awhile in thought. Her hand gripping onto Jin's left thigh, she closed her eyes in attempts to sleep. The sound of the dead souls continued to howl and groan in high and low tones just outside her house, making her nervous. Eventually her fingers did feel those of the demon beside her as they intertwined with one another.