Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 22

Author's Notes: Sorry for taking awhile on this. I got a Wii for one thing finally, and I have been enjoying every moment of pounding the snot out of people on virtual battlegrounds on World of Warcraft. Also I jammed my toes into my chair at full force, causing me to possibly break one. I don't know yet, and even if one is broken, there is nothing doctors can do and that sucks because it HURTS! X_X

 

Enjoy the chapter.

 

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Scarlet had no problem falling asleep that night after her baptism. Her mind reminisced about the old days when her mother was alive and the two were best friends. She remembered being a little girl and playing in the backyard with her mother by having Cynthia dance around with her in a circle. The dance was slow in Scarlet's mind. It was as if it were all in slow motion. She watched as Cynthia laughed and smiled while the two of them continued to dance around with one another in the multicolored leaves falling from the dying trees of that fall.

 

Her spirit watched from the sidelines as the scene continued. Scarlet remained behind the tree as the two of them hurried back inside of the house as the atmosphere began to change. The wind began to pick up causing the browned leaves to blow about upon the ground. With how vivid the dream was, Scarlet could taste the rain upon the wind currents soon hearing the thunder and seeing the lightening fork across the sky. The weather change bothered her little as she made it into the backyard, which was now empty. She knelt down in front of the small marble bench they had at the old house, overlapping her arms to rest her forehead upon them to release her sadness in seeing such a happy memory. She continued to sob there against her arms, not realizing that the ice demon was soon materializing within her dream underneath her arms.

 

Touya reached down to start stroking her upon the head to cause Scarlet to jerk her head up at the feel of his chilly hand. “I see you haven't forgotten about the old days with your mom. It must be hard,” he whispered sympathetically. He looked over his shoulder at the back door before eyeing the saddened Scarlet. “It is best not to get so upset over such memories. If you do, I can only wonder which ones will truly bring you happiness.”

 

Scarlet was more than surprised to see Touya soon there sitting beneath her arms. She gasped at his sudden appearance before looking over at the backdoor with him. Scarlet wiped her tears away with the palm of her hand, sniffling. “I just-I just really miss these times, is all. They bring me such happiness that I find myself crying.”

 

The sound of the thunder and lightening catching Touya's attention, he gazed upwards at the cloudy skies with a frown. “You must not know how to change the scenery of your dreams.” When Scarlet moved away from his lap, Touya got to his feet and waved his right hand's index and middle finger in an odd fashion before folding them into a fist. His eyes closed in concentration, he reopened them quickly to cause a tear within the dream sequence Scarlet was having. He headed over to the wavering rift he created, beckoning Scarlet to join him. “Come, follow me,” he insisted as he disappeared through it.

 

She had no reason to doubt the ice demon now and where he was taking her, so Scarlet nervously made her way through the cut. A bright light nearly blinding her, she brought her arms up to her face to block it before finding herself falling face first within dew kissed grass. Scarlet slowly opened her eyes and peeked over her arms to find the scenery completely changed. The wind blowing tranquilly, she watched as the evenly cut grass shined as it bowed against the soft might of it. It was mostly open plain with flowers decorating the inside boundaries of the cobblestoned walls covered in vines. It reminded her of a palace's courtyard when she studded it all further.

 

“Do you like this better?” Touya asked off to the left. He was sitting upon the wall with his legs crossed. “Pretty neat, hu?”

 

Scarlet got to her feet, walking over to the nearby fountain made of white marble. “How did you do that?”

 

Touya shrugged. “It is a simple trick.” He jumped down off of the wall, landing behind Scarlet as she continued to eye the fountain, which poured forth crystal clear water. “Anybody can do it to their dreams. If things are not going the way you want, just turn the atmosphere around. These dreams are not spiritual in any form. They are just a creation that your mind has made.”

 

Her fingers gripped onto the structure of the fountain. “How will I be able to tell the difference between a spirit dream and my own? They both seem so realistic to me.”

 

“Your dreams aren't going to be that realistic,” Touya admitted as he motioned for the water in the fountain. “Touch it.” Scarlet looked at him confusingly. “Go ahead; touch it.”

 

Scarlet reached over to touch the water to hardly feel a texture to it. She could only feel a slight chill within it. “What about you? If you can travel into my dreams, what is the chance that anybody else can like a damned demon?”

 

“Scarlet, you are in control of your own dreams,” the ice master reminded her once more. “If anything ventures inside of it, you have the power to remove it. You just need to remember that.” Here he reached over to place his palm upon the young woman's cheek. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

 

She couldn't help but jerk away slightly. “Ooh, you're very cold,” said Scarlet, removing his hand from where it was.

 

Touya raised his brows as he brought his hand back to his side. “Yeah, well, one of the `benefits' of being an ice demon. Everything inside and out is icy cold.”

 

“Everything is?”

 

The ice master nodded. “Everything is. I guess you could say it was my curse when I was damned.” Touya looked at the back of his hands, which he placed there before his sight just below his chest. “Not a lot of people can handle me touching them or even taking them. It makes it rather difficult when it comes to energy feeding.”

 

Scarlet raised her thin brows slightly, fidgeting a bit as she listened to him. “Is it—,” she paused a second, looking down at the ground for a moment feeling too embarrassed to gaze directly at his crotch. “—is it really that cold?”

 

“You'd be surprised. It is colder than a blizzard rushing through your very core. Being an ice demon, I cannot stand obsessive heat. If I am out in it too long, my body temperature drops, and I get sick.” He sat down upon the side of the marble fountain. “This is why I am only really active during the winter months.”

 

“So you could die from overheating?” Scarlet wondered, reaching down to touch his chilly hand once more. “I thought it was impossible for demons to die.”

 

Touya chuckled with a shake of his head. “No, it isn't impossible. We can die at the hands of others. We are just so strong no human being can do it to us. Only other demons can.” He opened his palm, turning his hand over so Scarlet could touch it better. He could see her getting chills from just rolling her fingers across it. He raised the hand to tell her to wait a second before bringing it above the other. The palms meeting with one another, he gathered his icy powers there before steadily pulling his hands apart to show his ice forming together into that of a single rose. Holding it gently by the stem knowing his strength could shatter it, he passed the icy flower over to Scarlet. “Here, take this.”

 

Scarlet reached for the rose feeling the chill against her hands. “Won't it melt?”

 

“As long as I am alive, it won't break or melt,” Touya said softly. “Nobody can break my ice. It is impossible.” He pushed himself off of the fountain, making his way over to one of the moss and vine covered archways made of cobblestone. “It is time for me to leave. I better get going.”

 

She stared at the rose in her hands before turning around quickly. “Touya!” Scarlet called out in attempts to stop him. The ice demon turned around, gazing over his shoulder at Scarlet. She almost seemed to hide behind the icy rose in her possession. “Umm, if I were to have that virginity thing done, you wouldn't be the one to do it to me, would you?”

 

“No,” he answered with a brief smile. “I am afraid even with the pull out method, I would still overwhelm your body.” Touya brought his hands together waving them up and down a bit as he thought on the title of the book he had in mind for her to read. “When you wake up, there will be a book on your nightstand. I want you to read about the ritual before considering it so quickly. I don't want you to have any regrets.” Without another word said, Touya left Scarlet there within the fantasy dream he helped her create.

 

The pleasant sequence continued for awhile until the loud, muffled chime of the town's clock woke her from her slumber. Realizing it was morning already, Scarlet moaned and rolled her palm over her face to try and get rid of the sleep resting about her eyes. She moved her feet from under the covers to the floor. Sitting upon her bedside, she saw something shining out of the corner of her eye causing Scarlet to look over at the nightstand at the head of her bed. Much to her surprise, she found the icy rose sitting in a glass vase as well as the book Touya mentioned in her dream.

 

She picked up the black leather book into her hands to examine the title. “The Rituals of Wind Knoll,” she muttered to herself. She opened the book to the index to find a large verity of rituals she never even knew of given her sixteen years under Touya the ice master. Scarlet saw the title for the virginity ritual causing her to flip onwards to page 151. Sitting down upon the side of her bed, Scarlet put some of her loose strands of hair behind her ear so she could read better.

 

Enveloping Purity into Darkness is an old ritual practiced within Wind Knoll for many years since the town was built. It is used to take the virginity of mainly women though some men have been known to partake within it as well with a female companion appointed to them by the Gods' choosing. While in the past none of the participants could choose their partners, the Gods have now arranged it to where partners can be chosen at the Gods' discretion. The ritual can be performed as soon as a young woman has her first period to the age of 15 for a male.

 

The ritual standards are decided between the two involved. It can be performed in the Procreation Room or in private. It must be performed on the temple grounds under the watchful eye of the Gods and nowhere else. It is advised for the female or male to choose their partner wisely as they will be bound to that partner spiritually. In ancient text, it is said that this was the ritual that married couples would perform for men to keep their wives from harm of Virgin Hunters.

 

Scarlet paused for a second upon reading that part. “They are considered `bound' by this ritual? Then, what does that mean for me?” She quickly skimmed the rest of the text to the part if the God of the temple offered to step up.

 

If the woman participating in this ritual cannot find a partner than the Lords will be the one to perform it with them. After the ritual is performed, they are considered soul bound. The God than becomes the spirit father or husband to the woman the ritual was performed on, making most choices go through him.

 

She stopped in her reading, looking up from the pages slowly. “He will become my spiritual husband? That-that can't be possible!” Scarlet quickly got to her feet with the book tucked under her arm. She hurried out into the hallway in her pajamas not caring who saw her in such attire with it being nine in the morning. Scarlet tore through the corridors and made her way down to Jin's bedchambers. She rammed her fist eagerly upon the door. “Jin, I need to speak with you!”

 

The door opened quickly to have the wind master standing there. “What is wrong!” He demanded to know in a high whisper. “Can you not keep it down? Rachael is sick, and she needs to rest!”

 

Scarlet whacked his chest with the book in her hands. “I need to speak to you about that ritual.”

 

Jin closed his eyes with an irritable sigh through his nostrils. “Fine, what do you want to know?” He closed his bedroom door behind him to make sure his high priestess would get her peace. Jin saw the book in her hands causing him to quickly steal it from her when she wasn't expecting him to. “Where did you get this?”

 

“Touya recommended it to me,” Scarlet explained. “And it is a good thing he did, because I would have been marrying somebody spiritually, I am not that emotionally attached to!”

 

The wind master brought the side of the book just below his nose as if to hide his expression. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say making him hum in thought. “Well, do you have any men in mind that you would like to marry or be soul bound to?” He saw how Scarlet seemed to fidget and fade her angry frown into a saddened one upon realizing there hardly was anybody. “Is there anybody that you trust?” The questions didn't help the feeling inside of the young woman now. Jin witnessed her lowered her head almost in shame. He pulled the book down to his side, resting his hand upon her shoulder to direct her attention. “Scarlet, you know I wouldn't let you down. Just because I annoy you doesn't mean I am going to steer you wrong.”

 

Scarlet shrugged her shoulder backwards to make him release it. “What twisted pleasure are you going to get out of this! I don't-I can't be bound to you in any way!”

 

Jin looked at her with a raise of his brow and shake of his head wondering if she realized how stupid that sounded. “Have ya looked at your palm lately? Honey, you are bound to me right now.”

 

She hid her marked hand against her pajama top. “I don't-I don't want anything to change. But I also don't want the Virgin Hunters to continue stalking me in my dreams…”

 

Looking over Scarlet who appeared torn in her decision, Jin placed his hands upon his knees while bending them a little bit to catch Scarlet's eyes seeing as he towered over her. “Scarlet, there is no guarantee that the Virgin Hunters will leave you alone upon this ceremony being completed. Even so, demons will come out of sexual hunger just to get you. Now, we can go through with it, and I can stand guard against any demon who dare try to, or you can be alone and without a partner and have demons tear through to get to your body.” He handed the book back to her with a brief smile. “It is your decision.”

 

“But you're my…`God'. Aren't you supposed to willingly do that already?”

 

Jin sighed as he stood back upright. “Scarlet, I have several worshippers here and out there to think about.” He gestured to beyond the walls before running his fingers through his hair. “I can't be there as often as you want me to. I am sorry for that.”

 

Scarlet looked up at the wind demon for a second before looking back down at her fingers she was fidgeting with. “…So what will be the difference once this ritual is over?”

 

“The difference is, I will have a better connection with you. I will be able to come into your dreams and protect you from the negative experiences you have been enduring lately. In a way, you're my spirit's wife. While it is written that no worshipper is held higher than the other, think of this as a small loophole in that text.” Jin winked with a smile. “Don't worry. I promise nothing is really going to change.”

 

“But-what about making most choices go through you? I didn't understand that part,” Scarlet explained with a bewildered look.

 

Jin looked upwards as if the answer was written there for him, squinting out of one eye. “It just means that if you're going to get married, I will be the one to decide if I want you to and who with. If you are going to work somewhere, I will be the one to decide when and where. I am the one who decides your curfew and when it is time to get up. Just think of me as your father.” He raised his thin brow at her with a smile. “And that is basically what I am already, right?”

 

“I guess so,” Scarlet mumbled not liking the thought of an overbearing father in her life even if it would slightly be a step-up from the one she had.

 

He titled his head forwards a bit with a raise of his brows once more. “So, do you want to go through with it?”

 

Scarlet rubbed the back of her head before finally caving in. “Alright…fine, I will go through with it.” She looked off to the side while hugging her body. “I cannot afford to have those hunters after me any longer.”

 

“Okay then.” Jin guided his side to the doorway to lean against. “I will get with you later today about the details. Right now I really need to make sure Rachael is okay.”

 

“Is she going to be okay?” Scarlet asked, reaching out to the wind demon only to withdraw her hand.

 

“Don't worry about her,” Jin insisted as he started to close his door. “She will be fine soon enough, I am sure. Just head down to the dinning room and get something to eat. Having only been allowed to drink water for a day must have you very hungry.” With that said, the wind master shut the door before Scarlet, so he could attend to his high priestess who was still suffering from the aftermath of the demon attack.

 

Scarlet did as she was asked seeing as she was quite hungry from not really eating anything a whole day. Making her way through the room's large arched doorway, she walked into the Dinning Hall to have the tantalizing smell of food tease her nostrils. Scarlet kept the book under her arm as she grabbed a tray and a plate to put some pancakes, biscuits, and grits on her plate. She was a picky eater around breakfast time. With everything perfect on her plate, Scarlet headed over to an empty spot at one of the tables. As soon as she sat down another worshipper joined her.

 

“Mind if I sit here?” The short, black haired priestess asked sitting beside her.

 

“Hey, I remember you. Your-umm-your name is Andrea, right?” Scarlet was hoping she was right as she was horrible with names. She remembered the young priestess from the first time she came into the Wind Temple.

 

“I am surprised you remember me. But yes, that is my name. Yours is Scarlet, right?” Andrea asked as she moved her scrambled eggs about on her plate before eating some.

 

“Hey, ladies,” an elder male remarked as he sat down across from them. He was probably in his mid to late thirties from appearance. He had wavy, brown hair that matched his brown eyes as well. Freckles spotted his face a bit. The garb he was wearing, Scarlet could only assume he was a high priest of some kind. It was a white robe with long, flowing sleeves and gold trim. “How are you this morning?”

 

“Scarlet, this is Justin Thompson,” Andrea introduced. “He is one of the high priests around here. He is baptized under two different demons just like you are.”

 

“Really?” Scarlet wondered shifting her focus between the two as she broke apart her biscuit.

 

“Yeah,” Justin answered with his mouth slightly full of his biscuit. “I am baptized under Lord Jin and Hiei. Normally people of any family don't do double baptisms unless the parents worship two different Lords. I was just baptized under Lord Hiei because of this little technique I picked up.” Justin slowly unfolded his hand while staring at it a bit to force his palm to get incredibly red and hot from the heat he was picking up. He reached over and touched Scarlet's hand causing her to jerk her hand back quickly with a yelp at how hot he got his hand.

 

“Damn, that hurt!” Scarlet complained, holding her warmed hand, which was now turning a slight red from the burning sensation Justin gave it. Andrea seemed to look at the high priest with a shake of her head to show her disapproval in the matter though Scarlet was still intrigued on how he managed to create such heat in his palm. “How did you do that?”

 

“Sorry,” he apologized to the both of them. “I don't know to tell you the truth. It has been something I've been able to do since I was nine. I got mad at somebody at school and apparently concentrating on my fists caused them to turn into extreme heat.” He relaxed his hand to the point he could get the color and normal feeling back into it. “I've been told it might be possible for me to actually create flames at some point, but I think I will wait on that moment. I prefer cooking my meals the old fashioned way.”

 

“How is it that almost everybody I know has some sort of special talent or power?” Scarlet asked Andrea and Justin feeling kind of left out in all of it.

 

“Everybody has special talents and powers, Scarlet, but not everybody is in tune with them,” Justin chuckled as he took a sip of the orange juice he had. “We are all essentially born the same. Some of us just aren't lucky to be raised to form the powers we are blessed with.”

 

Scarlet tapped her fingers against the glass of milk she had. “I wonder who I could ask to get my powers out.”

 

“You could ask the wind Lord,” Andrea suggested, finishing her eggs finally to start working on her bacon. She had a nasty habit of picking apart the bacon one piece at a time to put in her mouth. “Or you could as the ice Lord. Either one I am sure would be willing to help you become spiritually in tune with whatever powers you have.”

 

Justin looked at the book Scarlet had with her as the two ladies were conversing. “Mm, I see you are looking into rituals.” He reached over and took the book into his possession, turning it open to the page marked. His eyes widened a moment remembering that ritual. “I see you are thinking of the virgin ritual.” Justin rested his chin upon the back of his hand, eyeing Scarlet. “Who with?”

 

Scarlet blushed slightly faking a brief smile as she brought her hands to her lap. “Umm, with Jin…” Andrea and Justin both seemed to drop their utensils and stare at her with disbelief. “What? Why are you looking at me that way? Is that a bad idea?”

 

“Scarlet,” Andrea began rather breathlessly, “do you have any idea how addictive a demon can become upon them just taking you for the first time?”

 

“Being a virgin will make it worse,” Justin intervened. “It is written that a demon's release is the most addictive thing ever.” The high priest was quiet for a moment as he looked around to make sure nobody was listening in. “Do you remember Silvia from that place you worked at who caused the situation we are in? Lord Shishi was known to do her ritual. At that moment she became obsessed with pleasing him to the point she became so dark in her practices, thinking the Lord of Death would like that, that she could no longer see him.” He could see Scarlet looking worried. “I don't mean to scare you, but Silvia went to great lengths to try and see him again with lustful intentions and caused all of what is going on now!”

 

Scarlet put her utensils down for a moment. “Maybe…I need to talk to Touya about this.” She took the book back from Justin, nodding at the two. “Thanks for the warning. I will see you two around.” Hurrying out of the Dinning Hall, Scarlet made it quickly to her bedroom. She made sure that her door was locked before hurrying over to her bed to kneel before it. She brought her hands together to bring to her forehead. Touya, I need to talk to you right now. Please, please, I need to speak to you…!

 

A chill raking through the wind currents suddenly traveling through her bedroom, she continued to plead to the ice master before his icy hand snapped her out of her praying trance. “You need me for something?” The narrow eyes of the ice demon looked Scarlet over before spying the book in her hand. “Ah, I see you read up on that ritual. Do we have a problem?”

 

“Why didn't somebody tell me that Silvia was driven mad by being taken by her own demon `father'?” Scarlet demanded to know through her clinched teeth as she was tired of going up and down on this ritual rollercoaster.

 

“Because plain and simple, it wasn't anybody else's business,” Touya said as he sat down upon her bed.

 

“Touya!” Scarlet exclaimed angrily. “She caused this huge mess because she wanted to please him and see him again just for sex! She was an insane addict!” She wanted to attack the demon out of anger for just ignoring what caused the situation.

 

Touya twisted his mouth to the side humming in thought. “Are you worried that you're going to become the next Silvia?” He witnessed Scarlet hesitantly nod. “Scarlet,” he began with a sigh, “humans are essentially weak when it comes to temptation. Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you that once you are opened and filled by the wind master that you're not going to be addicted as much as she was; however, I have done this to one of my own worshippers, and she manages to handle her temptations to a degree. I can tell you this much, she does it better than Silvia did.”

 

“Wait, I thought you said nobody could handle your release,” Scarlet said.

 

“Some choose to put up with it and some choose not to,” Touya answered. “Jessica was able to get used to it after awhile of convulsing from the cold soaking into her body. It is a dangerous thing to try unless you're that devoted.”

 

Scarlet moaned in misery as she sat down next to Touya. “What am I going to do? I told Jin I was up to this, and now I am not so sure.”

 

“If you want, Jin can wear the one thing in the world he hates,” the ice master suggested.

 

“What is that?”

 

“A condom. Jin doesn't like to do that, but I am sure I can explain to him why.” Touya pushed himself up off of the side of the bed to make it over to the center of the room to look at the candles there about the pillar. “If you asked him, he would surely say `no' to it, so I will speak to him about it.”

 

“I don't know,” said Scarlet while placing her head in her hands. “I don't want to make him do something he doesn't want to.” She began to bite at her nails nervously. “Are you sure that I will be fine after this ritual?”

 

“I can't promise you anything.” Touya unfolded his hand before the unlit candles to blow his icy breath over them, prompting the wick to quickly light in the icy, blue flame representing his temple. “I will say this though, if you do become addictive, you better be careful when dreaming. Jin will be coming a lot more often to you to energy feed, and your spirit energy is still pretty low for a human's.”

 

“Guh, will people stop telling me that!” Scarlet grumbled, grabbing her hair. “I am well aware of that now!”

 

Touya raised his hands up to defend against her verbal attack. “So do you want to risk it? I can go talk to him right now about it all if you want me to.”

 

Scarlet waved her hands about as if to dismiss the idea entirely. “No, just—I will go through with it without him being forced to wear that if he wants.”

 

“Alright then. If that was all you needed, I will be on my way.” The ice master stood there with his arms crossed, disappearing in a blink of an eye thanks to his speed no human could follow. Touya soon found himself before Jin's bedroom door knowing the wind master was behind there with the energy signature he could sense from the demon. He knocked upon the door. “Jin, I need to talk to you.”

 

Jin looked over at Rachael from where he was sitting at his desk to see the high priestess was still sleeping off the medication going through her body. “Come in, Touya.” The door opened and presented the ice master before Jin. He smiled a moment at him before looking back down at the papers in his possession. As a demon `God', he got a lot of letters that sufficed as prayers or love notes to him that he read whenever he didn't have to be anywhere. It was a way for him to pass time.

 

“So, Scarlet has a concern now about that ritual,” Touya began as he made his way over to Jin.

 

“I already told her everything was going to be fine,” Jin assured the ice master. “You don't have to worry your pretty little head about it, Touya. Everything is going to be alright with that ritual.”

 

Touya squinted his eyes at Jin's remark, resting his palm upon the desk. “My `pretty little head' is just fine, thanks. I was talking about the addiction problem she just found out about somehow.” He saw the concern finally engulf Jin's expression. “Mm hmm, and now she is worried about being the next Silvia.”

 

Jin tapped his fingers upon the papers upon his desk. “Did you talk to her about it any?”

 

“Of course I did, you nut,” said Touya with a shake of his head. “But how am I supposed to calm her down with something we can't really control. And do not tell me you are going to make the most of this situation by stealing her energy when yours gets low. You know she doesn't have that much spirit energy to begin with being a depressed human.”

 

“Well, damn then, you just exhausted all my resources,” Jin said as a joke. “Then we'll just have to get her spirit up to speed of a normal human's then won't we?” He turned his attention back to the papers lining his desk to start reading them some more. “I will have a schedule for her to follow to do so. Don't worry. I can get her back in shape.”