Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 12

Author's Notes: Sorry for being silent on this story. I was working on my private, personal one-shot and got carried away by the time. Updates may be a bit sluggish, so please do forgive me. Classes have started, and I am thinking of taking artwork commissions. :-) If you want to be a paying costumer, it is best to check out my DA journal links—the link to my DA page is in my FF profile.

 

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Her feet pounding against the pavement beneath her soon enough, Scarlet made her way quickly towards the store she was an employee at. On her way there, however, she could hear the disgruntle moans and hisses of the damned souls, which roamed the streets of Wind Knoll unnoticed by most. She couldn't help but continue to look over her shoulder at every foreign growl before her hands finally graced the handle of the Black Magic Store.

 

The bell ringing to indicate Scarlet's presence, Silvia looked up from the magazine she was reading at the counter to catch the young woman. “So what do you want this time, Scarlet?” Silvia asked, blowing a bubble with the gum she was obviously smacking on rudely.

 

“Where is Blossom? Is she here?” Scarlet didn't hesitate to ask as she made it to the counter, away from the muffled sounds beyond the glass windows and door.

 

Silvia pointed over towards the backroom with her thumb as she turned the page of her magazine.

 

Scarlet hurried over towards the red curtains, halting when she saw Blossom surface from behind the hanging fabric. “Blossom, you are here—look, I need to talk to you…!”

 

“Scarlet, I am working,” Blossom pointed out with a soft laugh as she balanced some boxes filled with inventory in her arms. “Can't this wait for later?”

 

“It has to deal with your—situation around your demon,” Scarlet whispered to Blossom in hopes of making her realize how important it was.

 

The name of the demon coming clearly to her mind, Blossom stood there paralyzed thinking on what to do. She sighed softly, turning towards Scarlet to whisper back to her. “Look…my break is coming up within the hour. Go back to the temple and wait for me there…I promise I will be there,” Blossom assured Scarlet, though sounding a bit leery about the whole idea.

 

“Do you promise me you will?” Scarlet asked, not trusting Blossom's words.

 

Blossom sighed as she gazed over at Silvia, who was keeping an eye on the two here and there from the magazine the woman was reading at the counter. “I have to get to work,” she said almost pleadingly, pulling from Scarlet to head to the rows lined with merchandise. She didn't wish to continue speaking about the balance her life currently was held within.

 

Scarlet knew there was not much else to say as she herself released a sigh of frustration before heading back towards the door. She spared a goodbye wave to Silvia before departing and heading back to the Earth Temple she was to wait at. Her feet beating against the pavement beneath her before it turned into the dirt road in the woodlands of Wind Knoll, she made it to the thorn, vine covered doors of the temple belonging to the silver fox once again.

 

The doors opening to allow the sunlight within the dim, green candlelit temple belonging to Kurama, the demon looked over his shoulder at the woman at the doors who stood alone. “So, you did not obtain her,” he said with a simple sigh, sitting down near the foot of his statue.

 

“She said she would meet us both here later,” Scarlet replied as she made her way towards the redheaded demon. “But…she sounded unsure.”

 

“I guess all I can go by is her word right now,” said Kurama with a shrug of his shoulders. He looked at the grandfather clock in the temple to catch the time. “She said she would be here when?”

 

“She told me that her break would be within the hour.”

 

“Then I guess I will wait for the coming hour,” the fox demon muttered mostly to himself as he waited there beneath the curves of the statue, erected in his honor. When Kurama noticed that Scarlet was remaining within the temple, he couldn't help but ask, “What is it? Do you still need something?”

 

“No, I promised Blossom I would be here when she arrived,” Scarlet answered, kneeling down on one of the pillows lining the main room. “Besides, I just want to make sure that she will be okay…”

 

Kurama folded his hands in his lap with a brief smile to the worried human woman. “Scarlet, I assure you that your friend will be just fine,” he expressed to her with a nod towards the double doors. “Why don't you go home now?” He placed his index finger against the side of his head before pulling it away from his messy strands. “Besides—I foresee something bad brewing at your house the longer you sit here. I think it is best you head home.”

 

“Something—bad?” She wondered, gradually rising from where she was upon the temple floor. “Oh no, my dad…!” Scarlet quickly turned around to head for the doors she had been through previously. Her palms pushing against the marble doors, she made her way back outside onto the dirt road.

 

She ran quickly down the sidewalks, pushing her way through some people in her way in attempts to make it back to Lavender Lane where her house resided. Once it came into view, she stopped at the driveway to place her hands upon her thighs to catch her breath. Her heart pounding rapidly against her chest, she looked up at her cracked window she could see from the driveway feeling as well that something was wrong with the emotion surrounding the house.

 

Scarlet rubbed her fingers against her palm—something she always did whenever she was nervous or scared about something. “I wonder what is wrong with him…,” she whispered to herself before heading for the front door.

 

The off-white door creaking open, she made her way to the main area of the house where the side of the staircase could be seen as well as the archway leading to the kitchen and the living room on the left and right sides of the front door. “Dad?” She called inquisitively before closing the door behind her. “Dad, are you here?” She was confused as to what the fox demon could have possibly felt coming, but Scarlet didn't ignore the senses of the creature as she made her way up the darkened staircase slowly. “Dad, are you up here?”

 

Once she made it to the upstairs, she could hear her step-father's radio running in his bedroom behind the cracked door, which appeared to be calling to her yet demanding she stay away at the same time. Scarlet headed for the door regardless. Her hand was about the touch the door when her name was called sternly from the other side.

 

“Scarlet, get your ass in here,” Chris demanded from beyond his bedroom door.

 

The tone he used not pleasing, she did as he asked. Pushing the door open to allow herself inside, Scarlet caught her father sitting there at the foot of the bed looking quite angered. “What is it…? What is wrong?” She boldly asked from a safe distance.

 

“So I found out lately that you haven't been attending college classes, which I pay for you to attend out of the small money we have,” Chris pointed out as he lit a cigarette, which was in his possession. “I was wondering what could possibly have kept your attention aside from the job I know you are miraculously holding,” he said bitterly, reaching behind him to pull out the book she had gotten at the store—the book belonging to the `Wind God' of Wind Knoll. “—and I found this.”

 

Scarlet inhaled sharply, covering her mouth in dismay that her step-father had found the one thing she had hoped to keep from him. “Where…where did you find that?” She inquired nervously.

 

Christ pushed himself up from the bed he was sitting on to slam the book down on his hand as he spoke angrily at her. “What do you mean where did I find it!” He exclaimed angrily. “The point is I found it in your damn room!”

 

Every slap upon the leather cover made Scarlet cringe as she turned away from him slightly, fearful he would slap her with it.

 

He grabbed onto her neck to make her listen to him as he kept the book close by, almost threatening to hit her with it as she feared. “What the hell do you think you are doing with this book in your room! Are you worshipping the demon monsters like everyone else in this town!”

 

His words were intimating to her and frightened her. He was yelling every phrase directly in her face, making her want to run to her bedroom to hide. “I—I wanted to learn what happened to my mother, and that was all!” She said in her defense, raising her hands up with her eyes closed tight.

 

“Your mother died!” Chris yelled once more, releasing her neck finally. “What in God's name to you need to know! She worshipped the damn devil and now she is lying with him!” Taking the book in his hands, he slapped her in the face harshly with it to release his anger, which he felt towards the situation.

 

The book stung Scarlet's cheek. She placing her hands upon the red mark now upon her face, she tried her best not to cry. “They…they are not all evil…,” Scarlet said bravely with her face turned from him.

 

Her father grabbed onto her hair tightly, pulling Scarlet over towards him. Chris ignored her cries of pain and the demands to let go. “I don't give a rat's ass if they are all holy angels to you,” he growled, pulling her out of the room by her hair still.

 

Scarlet was forced down the stairs, nearly falling from her step-father's brash movements towards the living room. She kept her head down, not attempting to budge in worry that he would jerk her hair and hurt her neck further. Once she was standing in front of the fireplace with her dad, she knew what was coming next as she stood there to watch—her body trembling uncontrollably from the abuse given to her thus far.

 

Lighting a match, Chris threw it onto the dry logs to make them steadily catch on fire. He waved the book in her face once more before tossing it in the fire to make it burn. He watched in satisfaction as the book slowly burned in the cracking flames. Chris turned back towards the shaken Scarlet to grab tightly onto the nook of her neck. “If you bring another item such as that in here, I will throw you in the fire myself—am I clear!”

 

Scarlet merely nodded her head before turning around to run quickly back up the stairs. She didn't want to show her tears creeping down her cheeks. She dared not give her father that enjoyment in seeing her pain as she made it to her bedroom to shut the door behind her before locking it.

 

The door closed behind her, she rested against it while releasing her sobs of pain. Her body shaking from her tearful release, Scarlet slowly fell down to the floor in front of bedroom door. Even if her inner pain was slowly releasing there within her crystalline tears, Scarlet still felt her body begging and crying out for that knife she kept hidden within her bedroom—something her father obviously didn't find or didn't care to say anything about. Getting to her feet, she hurried over to her bed to pull out the box where she kept her knife hidden. Holding the item in her hand, she watched as the blade shined off of the dim sunlight making its way through her windows, Scarlet recalled the warning, which Touya gave to her about cutting.

 

The fear of his warning was quickly forgotten and overwhelmed by the pain she endured earlier. Sitting on the bed, Scarlet kicked off her shoes and then removed her jeans to leave her there within her shirt and panties. Taking the tip of the knife, she glided the blade across her legs watch and feeling as the skin broke apart to allow blood to escape quickly to the surface.

 

It felt relieving as she sat there to cut both legs with parallel, bleeding marks. As she was about to add a final cut onto her leg, Jin grabbed her arm—he squeezing it tightly to make her drop it there on the floor; the blade covered in the young woman's blood.

 

“I thought Touya and I told you to stop this!” Jin grumbled as he watched the blooded knife fall to the floor.

 

Scarlet fought with Jin's powerful grasp only to fail and falter at his strength. “What the hell are you doing here!” She exclaimed through her sobbing, not having the energy or the courage to look at him.

 

“I came here to check on you,” Jin answered as he picked up the knife to place back in the box it came from regardless of it being unclean. “Good thing I did or else you would have gone and done something stupid again.” He didn't seem to care that he was treading on thin ice with Scarlet's emotions as he picked her up in his arms regardless of her squirming and whining to be put back down. “So what is wrong?” Jin finally asked once he made it to the bathroom, placing Scarlet down on the toilet seat so he could tend to her bloody legs.

 

“My dad…,” she answered with a sorrowful sigh. “He found the book filled with spells or prayers as you call them, and he burned it after beating on me.”

 

Jin pulled apart his white straps of clothing, which crisscrossed over his chest and back. As he did so, he noticed the red mark clearly on Scarlet's face. “Phew, I'll say—what happened there?” He asked, grabbing onto her chin to turn her reddened cheek towards him.

 

“He slapped me with the book before burning it,” she answered softly, daring not to touch it due to it stinging. “I wish I could make him pay for all of the crap he gives me with a spell of some kind from one of those books at the store I work at…”

 

The wind demon waved his finger in Scarlet's face as he wrapped up her legs with his torn attire. “It is best not to wish for such things. What goes around comes around ten fold; especially when wished for.”

 

“Well that sure seems pointless,” Scarlet grumbled, sniffling back her sadness, which had turned into anger.

 

“Just be careful next time, Scarlet,” Jin advised as he finished wrapping her legs. “He doesn't like the thought of you worshipping us, right? Next time just don't bring anything inside of the house that will enrage him.”

 

“Well I already found out what happened to my mom and how she is doing,” Scarlet sighed, closing her eyes as she had felt drained from current run of emotions. “I guess this was a one time only thing…”

 

Pressing his index finger to the corner of his mouth, Jin hummed in thought. “Are you sure about that?” Seeing her about to get up on her own, he stood up quickly to try and help her back out of the bathroom and towards her messy bedcovers. “You know if the thought was still in your mind you could always come to my temple to worship and study.”

 

“What would I benefit from that aside from living in hell with my mother?” Scarlet asked with a whence as she made it to her bedcovers to lie down upon. She overlapped her arms upon her stomach to gaze up at the whirling fan, which spun slowly above her bed.

 

Jin sat at the foot of the bed thinking on what could possibly capture her interest. He snapped his fingers once an idea came to him. “Well, you can live there in peace away from your father.”

 

Scarlet turned to look at Jin with a raise of her brow, uncertain of what to think of such a proposition. “And what would keep him from dragging me back here to beat me until every bone in my body is broken?”

 

“Well, let's think about that one,” Jin began sarcastically, “ME!”

 

She gazed at the demon still confused. “I thought you were never allowed to touch any human, which could not see you.” Scarlet tried to sit upright on her bed though her body wished to remain down upon the covers given the exhaustion it still felt. “I mean you've never really bothered to stop my dad before or allow him to walk in your path when you've been around him.”

 

“That is because outside of my temple, I am not allowed to do such a thing,” Jin explained raising his finger on the one condition. “However, if he comes barging into my temple to cause problems, I have more than enough power to let him have it and fear to return.”

 

Scarlet looked down at her lap to think on the proposal. “That does sound nice, but…what about my home?” She asked, fidgeting slightly.

 

“You'll have to give it up,” Jin said simply, placing his hand on her shoulder. “It's either give up the home you have grown up in or remain within it to be abused by that bastard who calls himself a man.” The redheaded demon moved from the bed he was sitting upon to head for the window, which was still cracked. “If you want to move, just pack up your things and head for my temple. You know where it is located, right?” Jin grabbed onto the window to force it open a bit more so that he could slip back out the way he preferred.

 

Scarlet was silent. She was unsure of what to say as so many emotions and thoughts ran through her.

 

“Just think about it,” Jin suggested. He was about to fly out the window but stopped to add one more comment. “Think about it—without the knife, please.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Scarlet grabbed the nearest pillow to throw it at the demon. “Get out of here, so I can think in peace!”

 

The pillow hitting Jin on the side, he let it fall to the floor with a chuckle in the back of his throat. “Alright, see you later, Scarlet,” Jin said as he pushed himself out of the window to head back into the town.

 

Left alone within her bedroom once more, Scarlet looked about the wrecked room with a soft sigh. “What should I do?” She asked herself, making her way over towards her writing desk near the cracked window. Sitting down on the wooden chair, she picked up the picture of her mother she kept close to her always. “What should I do, mom?”

 

 

 

 

Minutes soon passed into hours as Scarlet remained locked in her bedroom thinking on what to say to the wind demon's suggestion at living in his temple. She had written a list of things both good and bad on an empty space of her writing journal. The want to stay at her home couldn't outweigh the subtle desire to stay at the Wind Temple. She tapped the end of her pencil upon the desk thinking a bit more on it before opening her palm to gaze at the ice demon's baptism mark.

 

She clutched her hand tightly, holding it close to her chest with a sigh of worry. “Touya, please help me…,” she begged softly to herself. Crossing her arms over her diary, she lowered her head down upon them.

 

Remaining there with her forehead upon her overlapped arms on her writing desk top, she felt a cold breeze blow about her bedroom, making her body shake from the eerie chill. Lifting her head up off of her arms, she looked about her bedroom, recognizing the cold currents emitting from the outside. Scarlet walked over towards her bedroom door to look outside in her front yard to see through the thick fog and darkness that someone was standing in her family's driveway. It was hard to tell who it was, but she had a hunch as she silently slipped from her room, down the stairs, and to the front door to make it outside. The fog parting slightly for her, Scarlet saw the ice demon standing there near her mailbox.

 

“Is something bothering you?” He asked quietly from where he stood, barely visible in the dark night and heavy mist. His outline could only be made out as well as piercing blue eyes.

 

Scarlet embraced her cold body with a subtle nod to the inquisitive demon. “Jin the Wind God—er—demon—whatever he is, asked if I wanted to stay at his temple given the abuse I received earlier from my step-dad for having his book in my room…”

 

“I see he whacked you good,” Touya pointed out, noticing the red slap on her face turning a slight purple to indicate a bruise. “Your mother was always worried over his anger going overboard when she died.” He leaned against the brick mailbox nearby, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh. “She was worried what he may do to you if she were to ever leave.”

 

“What does my mom want me to do?” Scarlet came right out to ask.

 

“Scarlet,” the ice demon began with a laugh, “you're a grown woman. Stop looking to your deceased mother for advice. Let her rest in peace.” He placed his chilly hand upon the nook of her neck gently yet firmly to express his seriously. “But, if you want to help her rest in peace further, try thinking of a solution you think she would be happy with. Try being a mature adult, Scarlet, and don't cower at any new experiences life gives you.”

 

“Thanks,” Scarlet said nearly inaudibly. She looked back at the house she loved but also despised before gazing back at the ice demon, who was kind enough to stop by to check on her. “Even if my mother isn't here, I know she would want me to talk about this with my dad regardless of how angry he would get….”

 

Touya pulled in his lips in attempts to stifle a smile with a nod at her suggestion. “I can call Jin back here to protect you during your decision. The last thing I want is for your father to beat you till your insides bleed.”

 

“I'll talk to him about it tomorrow,” Scarlet said with a nod to the ice demon as she pulled from him to head back inside. “Tell Jin to be here bright and early, because I have to go to work tomorrow before coming home to pack to head to his temple.”

 

Touya pushed himself off of the mailbox behind him, so he could head back to his stroll throughout the town. “I will relay the message to him. Be careful, Scarlet, and if you use the knife again, I am going to make you pay for it.” He pointed to her legs, which he could tell where bleeding from the smell tickling his senses. “Goodnight and sleep well.”

 

Scarlet watched as the ice demon seemed to disappear within the fog after a few steps away from her driveway. The night air getting colder, she embraced herself and hurried for the doorway to escape the cold air caressing her fair, scarred skin and the questions darting through her mind.