Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 28

Scarlet, for once, slept peacefully in the demon's bedchambers. No abnormal and harmful events befell her during her slumber. She was woken in the middle of the night by subtle voices just outside of Jin's bedroom. Opening her gray-green eyes, she saw in the dimly candlelit room that Jin wasn't there any longer making her curious at first where he went until the conversation outside caught her attention. Removing the covers from her body, her feet hit the cold, tile flooring. As she put pressure into her lower legs, she sat back down to relax after the pain raked through her body from having to go through intercourse with the wind demon.

 

“How is the portal?” Rachael's voice asked from behind the door.

 

“So far the demons guarding it haven't said anything about anymore demons coming through the area,” Kurama said in return. “I was to tell Jin this, but seeing as he's not here…”

 

“He is probably out about the town,” said the high priestess softly. “He left me here to make sure Scarlet is okay. If you want, I can deliver your message to him for you.”

 

“Thank you. I would like that, Rachael.” The fox demon was quiet for a moment before speaking up again. “Just be alert. There are demons still free in this town. A good many of them poured into this world when that portal opened, so don't let your guard down yet.”

 

“I won't. Thank you, Kurama.” With the conversation finished, the high priestess opened the door to Jin's bedroom to allow herself inside. Seeing that Scarlet was awake, she smiled at her. “Oh, hello, Scarlet. I see you finally woke.” Rachael made her way over to the bedside with a tray of food she had taken from the Dining Hall. “I was asked to give this to get you to eat at least before you go to bed for the night.”

 

Scarlet managed a nod as she moved some of her streaked hair behind her right ear. “Where is Jin, Razz?”

 

“Oh, he's out and about,” Rachael answered vaguely as she stirred up some of the hot foods to help cool them down a bit. “He said he needed time to sit and think for a bit. He has those moments.”

 

Scarlet brought her knees to her chest with the covers wrapped about her body a bit. She was apparently given one of Jin's larger t-shirts as a nightgown for the moment to cover her body up. “Is-is he okay?”

 

Rachael looked up at Scarlet to see the worried look on her face. “Oh, yes, of course! He is just fine. I am sure he's just keeping himself in check is all.” Moving the tray over to Scarlet, she handed the fork over to her as well. “There you go.”

 

Taking the fork into her hand, she poked at the rice and new potatoes on the tray with cream spinach. “I guess this is all I get?” Scarlet thought as she was feeling hungrier than usual after having some of her energy drained and eaten from.

 

The high priestess shrugged a bit with a tilt of her head as she made sure Scarlet was going to eat. “Well, actually, Jin has it in mind to have you gain a bit more weight, so he'll be increasing your food intake the more your stomach gets used to eating heavy portions.”

 

“Gain weight?” Scarlet was a bit surprised by that as she ate some of the white rice on her plate. “Exactly how much weight did he want me to gain?”

 

Rachael giggled a bit as she witnessed Scarlet's shock. “Well, I would say he has in mind for you to be at leas 150? Believe it or not, when it came to his servants in the past, a good many had a decent amount of meat on their body. Some were tiny, but he always worried he would hurt them.”

 

“Wonderful,” Scarlet grumbled as she continued to eat. “But what if I don't want to gain that much weight?”

 

“Well, then, knowing him, he'll force-feed it to you,” said Rachael with an innocent shrug. “It is always best not to go against his rules. He can be forceful if he has to.”

 

Scarlet merely sighed as she worked on her potatoes next, continuing to think of Jin being alone. “With him being by himself—it isn't something I did, is it?”

 

`Razz' shrugged slightly as she lied down on Jin's bed as well halfway. “Well, partially. He has never taken a human woman before in the physical plain, and it was quite overwhelming for him. He went out to control himself and not drain you of more energy.” She waved her hand slightly. “Don't worry about him. He'll be okay.”

 

The silver fork Scarlet had continued to poke around at the food a bit as she was never used to eating as soon as she woke up. It took her stomach awhile to open up to food. “So the portal is closed for good?”

 

“That is what Kurama said,” Razz remarked as she looked over her shoulder at the door from whence she came from earlier. “The girls who opened the portal to begin with were used to close it with the demons there to guide and protect them.” The high priestess turned her focus to her manicured finger nails to pick at some of the nail polish. “But there are still demons on the loose. We need to be careful.” Rolling over, Rachael made it back to her feet with a slight stretch to the ceiling. “I think it is about time for me to turn in. When you're done with your food, just put the tray on the floor or something. I'll come by and pick it up early in the morning.”

 

“Okay,” Scarlet practically whispered as she watched the high priestess head for the door. When Razz waved goodbye, she did the same in return with a weak smile before turning back to the food in her lap. With nobody there to obligate her into eating, she pushed the tray to the floor anyways to look about the area around her.

 

The candlelight danced about the dark room, cascading obscure figures on the opposite walls. It put Scarlet slightly on edge as some of the figures almost seemed to take shapes to those of disfigured humans. Holding tightly onto the covers, she brought them closer to her chest in a bit of fear, hoping the shadows were just that and nothing more. Every little creak of the floorboards and groaning of the walls made goose bumps cover Scarlet's arms.

 

“Maybe I should just read until Jin gets back or something,” Scarlet thought as she reached for one of the books she was assigned from Razz. Just as she had brought one of them into her lap, she paused for a moment as the door to Jin's bedroom began to steadily slide open with a long and eerie high-pitched creek. “J-Jin…?” She called from where she remained in the bed.

 

Nothing came from the darkened hallway at first until moments later, a low-deep growling sound emitted from the doorway. A harsh wind blowing within the bedroom caused all of the candles to go out and leave the room in total darkness.

 

Upon hearing the disgruntled, beastly sound, Scarlet dropped the book and froze within the wind master's bed. The tapping of what appeared to be claws could be heard against the tile flooring. The sound got closer and closer only to stop for a moment—probably inches from the bedside—to have another deep and angry growl emit from the darkness. Biting her lower lip and closing her eyes tightly, all she could do was sit there with fear overwhelming her. It is another of those demon dogs. I just know it…! Scarlet thought with panic.

 

The growling from the dog turned into a rather nasty barking. The beast sounded furious—as though it would leap on Scarlet any minute and tear her limb from limb. Blood dripping from the guardian of Makai's gates tapped upon the floor as he stood there waiting to leap up and take action upon the frightened human. His pointed ears catching the sound of Scarlet's displeasure in him being nearby, the hell dog put all its power into his legs and leap up towards the bed with another loud bark, prompting Scarlet to scream as she raised her arm to block the beast from biting into her neck or anything else.

 

His teeth biting into her flesh caused her to scream louder in agony as she could feel the hound meant no remorse for what he was doing to her. In fact, he bit down several times upon her skinny, scarred arm as if she were just a chew toy to him. “Get off of me!” Scarlet screamed in tears trying to shake the demonic beast from her. “HELP!”

 

Suddenly the dog let out a rather pitiful yelp in pain, causing it to release Scarlet's arm. “Get off of her, you damn beast!” Jin's voiced demanded in the darkness of the bedroom. “I mean it!” The wind demon repeated in the shadows as he rose his right arm again, threatening to smack the dog once more. “Get out of here before I kill you!”

 

The demon dog whimpered several times, as if it had been scolded by its master. The decayed head of the dog lowering, he tucked its rotted, boney tail in between his legs before makes his way back into the pits of Makai.

 

Jin could be heard sighing in the darkness. His outline coming out a bit better to Scarlet as her eyes were adjusting to the lightless room, she witnessed him shaking his head. “Are you okay?” Jin asked as he headed to one of the blown out candles to relight it with a match.

 

Scarlet held onto her blooded arm, flinching from the pain that it would bring her if she allowed the wind to grace her wounds. When the candlelight was shown on her injury, she couldn't look at it herself without wanting to get sick in her stomach. Blood had seeped through her fingers to the point it got all over her right hand and a good bit onto the covers beneath her. “God, this hurts…!” She hissed in pain, closing her eyes tightly and hitching in breath at the agonizing hurt striking her body.

 

The wind master quickly put down the candle on the nightstand before sitting down on the bedside. Ripping part of the white shirt he had on, he began to wrap up her blooded arm with a sigh through his nostrils. “You may have to get one of the nurses to look that over for you. It looks like he bit you rather deeply and with meaning.”

 

“What are those things?” Scarlet asked sorrowfully through her tears of pain.

 

“They are dogs of Makai. They guard the entryway into the Demon World and to the world of Hell,” Jin explained as he tried to help put a bit of pressure on the wound to help slow the bleeding. “When you overdosed that one time, the dog was coming to guide your spirit to hell as well as help end your suffering by eating your physical body alive to get to your spirit. I am sorry that they have been attacking you lately, but the reason they are is because your energy is so weak. They assume you're waiting to die.”

 

“Did they ever come to Teresa like this?” Scarlet asked as she tried to accept the pain.

 

“Several times,” Jin answered with a sigh at remembering them trying to sneak into Teresa's home. “But, I ended up putting a barrier around her home, so they wouldn't make it inside to her. Same for the undead you saw creeping about her house.” He placed his hand tenderly on Scarlet's head for a moment. “Looks like I may have to do that with your room and mine when you are here. Now, wait here while I go fetch one of the nurses. You need to be tended to. You just might need stitches.” The wind master raised his hand for a moment as he parted from Scarlet's side. “I'll be right back. Just wait right there.”

 

“Hurry,” the young woman whimpered as she kept the fabric about her bleeding arm.

 

A little while later, Jin was able to return with one of the nurses who worked under him. The hooded woman used her healing abilities to sooth the pain a bit as she looked over the injured arm. “Well, the hellhound sure did get her good,” the woman sighed. A bit of her curly, blond hair bounced from the hood, which covered most of her face and features. “I will have to stitch her up before she goes to bed.”

 

Scarlet shook her head several times at the thought of being stitched up. “No, no, no…! I don't take well to such things as that!”

 

Jin sighed at Scarlet resisting the idea. “You have no other choice. Here, let me help you.” Placing his palm a few inches from her forehead, he sent a burst of power into the woman's body. The power overwhelming her, Scarlet fell limp against Jin's arm, which was resting behind her. “There,” he whispered to the nurse as he helped the passed-out Scarlet down to his silken pillow. “Now you can stitch her up. She'll be out for awhile.”

 

“Yes, my Lord,” the nurses whispered as she reached for her medical kit, which had what she needed.

 

The wind demon let the woman tend to Scarlet's open wounds as he lied down beside his servant girl. A sigh passed through his nostrils, which he flared slightly, gazing at the injured woman's peaceful expression. He tapped his index finger upon her nose gently as a smile spread across his face. “You will be fine,” he whispered to Scarlet tenderly. Supporting his head on the back of his left hand, he moved the other over the sleeping human's stomach. “I promise.”

 

In time, everything was a bit better. With my arm stitched up, I wasn't able to go back to much of my schedule as Jin had hoped. He did make me study my duties as a servant girl, however, under him. He also prompted me to attend to my appointments I had with Donovan at the clinic whenever I was scheduled.

 

When my arm eventually got better, I was able to start my physical training once more. I wasn't that into it just like before. It took me a good many months to get used to getting up and running a mile almost every morning with Jin there beside me. Sometimes the airhead would even fly ahead of me leaving me behind for a moment only to come back and glide beside me. He would sometimes even fly on his back, as if he were resting on top of pool water with his arms behind his head. I always felt like he was such a showoff, but a part of me couldn't help but feel quite close to him.

 

Snow had covered the ground by several inches in the winter of Wind Knoll. Scarlet couldn't help but gaze out the window of the Lakeside Hospital to watch it fall that Friday afternoon with a smile. It would soon be December, her favorite month, and she couldn't wait for the Christmas decorations to come out to decorate the demon infested town. It was the one time of the year she often forgot about the tainted soil Wind Knoll was built upon.

 

“Scarlet,” Donovan called for the second time to get her attention.

 

“Y-Yes? Sorry,” She apologized, blushing a bit with embarrassment at being caught daydreaming again.

 

Donovan Ross couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he shifted his weight to the back of his chair, pressing the pen he had in his possession to the corner of his mouth. “You seem quite distracted lately.” He nodded slightly at the window she was gazing out, his straight, brown hair moving slightly from the position he had it behind his ear when he did so. “I have never seen you so intent on gazing out at the snow.”

 

“Well,” Scarlet began as she looked back out the window once more with a bit of a smile, “I know Touya makes it snow in his own hidden attempts to have fun and manipulate the winter weather, but it is almost Christmas time too.”

 

“Ah, so you're a Christmas person. You like getting gifts, I would guess, or is it another reason why you like it?” Dr. Ross grunted as he shifted his weight about the chair he was sitting within, listening to what Scarlet had to tell him just out of a slight breather for her discussing her personal problems.

 

Scarlet shrugged slightly at the thought of gifts. “Well, gifts are nice, but back when I used to live with my dad, I hardly got anything from him. He saw Christmas as a waste of time, and when my mom was ill, we didn't have the money to do much about them either, so I haven't had a real Christmas in some time. But, regardless, I came to really like just the decorations and the holiday cheer.” When she could see Donovan hinting the snow as well, she laughed a bit and nodded. “Yeah, and the snow that Touya brings.”

 

“You know, the funny thing about Lord Touya, is he has a tendency to make ice sculptures during this time of year.” Donovan pointed his pen tip at Scarlet with a raise of his brow. “He litters them about the town; especially around the Philner Orphanage and Garner's Children's Hospital. He usually creates doves, Christmas trees, and reindeer for them.”

 

“Oh, I didn't know that,” Scarlet admitted, placing her finger to her mouth. “But then again, both of those places are clear across town. I never venture to that part of Wind Knoll.”

 

Donovan moved a few of the pieces of paper he had on his clipboard to jot a few more things down. “Well then, it should be something for you to see next time you're looking to take a nice jog with Father Jin.” Looking up from the paper to Scarlet, he smiled at her. “I have to say, you've come quite a long way since we first met. Your appetite sure did pick back up and your energy is better as well thanks to the Wind Lord helping you exercise and get on a daily schedule.”

 

Scarlet looked off to the side with a slight smile and a shrug. “Well, let's hope it stays that way. It is nice not to be tired all of the time.”

 

“And the fish oil tablets are helping you, are they?” There were fish oil tablets, a natural way for Scarlet to be rid of depression, that Kurama had suggested to be prescribed when Jin ran into the other redhead three months ago. He suggested the medication to Donovan, leaving Donovan to suggest it to Scarlet to have her try it. “You're not as easily angered or depressed or anything, are you?”

 

“No, everything is fine,” she answered honestly as she swung a bit back and forth in the chair she was within. The leather beneath her squeaked a bit as she did so.

 

Donovan finished jotting a few more things down before ripping a slip of paper off to hand to Scarlet as he excused himself from his chair to help her to her feet. “Give that to Jin. Also, I guess I'll pencil you in for next Monday—same time and same place?”

 

Taking the slip of paper she was given, Scarlet waved over her shoulder as she made it to the door. “Of course! Sounds good to me. I'll see you next week, Dr. Ross.”

 

“Take care of yourself, Scarlet,” said Donovan as he turned back to a few papers on his desk to attend to them before his next appointment.

 

The front doors to the Lakeside Hospital sliding open automatically, Scarlet wrapped herself up in the furry coat she was given by Justin as a gift for her twenty-fifth birthday that year. Making her way back to the Wind Temple, she couldn't help but stop for a moment to stare towards the direction of the Ice Temple. “It has been some time since I last saw Touya. I've been so busy with Jin lately, I never got to check up on him after the incident with the demons attacking his temple several months ago.”

 

Opening the doors to the Ice Temple, Scarlet nervously made her way through the rather busy shrine. Many of his worshippers and people who praised him were about the hallways talking back and forth about the great winter. A good majority of them didn't seem that bothered by the winter weather, and seemed to wear only thin pieces of long-sleeved clothing. It is just as Jin told me, Scarlet thought as she made it past the curtained doorway entrance to the left of the temple's foyer. Most of Touya's worshippers can stand the cold just like he can.

 

One of the high priests of the Ice Temple couldn't help but have a feeling Scarlet was searching for something as he caught a glimpse of her in the hallways littering the place of worship. “Can I help you, miss?” The elder gentleman asked.

 

Scarlet stopped in her footsteps when she realized he was speaking to her. “Oh, hello,” she greeted him with a slight nod. She looked up at the slightly balding man with brown hair, which was threatening to turn silver, it appeared. “I was wondering if the Ice Lord, Touya, was here today.”

 

The high priest checked the time on his wrist watch before pointing down the left hallway further up the corridor they were within. “Yes, he is probably out back in the ice garden. If you take a left and go down that hallway and take a right and then another right, you'll come to a door almost covered in frost on the outer edges. That will lead you to the garden outside he himself watches over.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Scarlet said hastily, wanting to see this garden for herself. Picking up pace, she made it quickly down the corridors he instructed her to take. The door he described soon coming into view, Scarlet touched the cold handle to open it and allow herself out into the winter garden. Her jaw dropped as she saw the many flowers and trees sparkling in different hues of blue ice all about her. As she continued her way through the backyard, she couldn't help but stop and gawk at a very large, glistening Weeping Willow that was sculpted perfectly in place. Getting closer to it, she touched it with her fingers to find it was indeed made completely out of ice and was rather sturdy. “Wow…,” she whispered to herself as she stared at the tree from top to bottom.

 

Scarlet's attention was soon pulled from the tree to a fast paced melody filling the air suddenly. Moving from the willow down the path before her covered in snow, she kept her fur coat tightly about her as Scarlet soon made it to a small clearing to find Touya there playing the violin. She watched from a few feet away as the ice master concentrated on the notes he was to play. His narrow eyes closed to do so and ignore everything around him for a moment, she watched Touya sway slightly from side to side and wiggle his left finger tips upon the strings to have the melody go up and down slowly and suddenly only to pick back up pace once more into a hasty, hypnotic trance.

 

Touya continued his violin performance until hearing the snow crunch beneath Scarlet's feet, causing the strings to screech an awful tone as he came to a halt. The narrow eyes of the ice master landed upon Scarlet as he pulled the bow from the violin's strings. “Did you need me, Scarlet?”

 

“I am sorry. I didn't meant to disrupt you,” Scarlet insisted as she made her way closer to the ice master. “What was that song you were playing?”

 

“Beethoven's Fur Eilse,” Touya answered simply as he placed the bow back upon the strings to start playing a few more bars of the song.

 

Scarlet wasn't into the classic music scene. She couldn't help but find the name to be all too foreign to her even if the name probably popped up a few times at her local high school and middle school classes, but she held little significance in him and his music. “Eh-who?”

 

Touya rolled his eyes as he continued to play and listen to Scarlet at the same time. “I swear, you humans have little interest in the fine arts.” He closed his eyes once more to feel the melody he was playing. “So did you need me for something?” Touya wondered once more.

 

“Well, I was just in the neighborhood, and I thought I would stop by,” Scarlet answered honestly as she looked about the garden, still in awe over it. “Did you make all of this yourself or are they real trees and things frozen over?”

 

Pausing once more in his attempts to continue his song, Touya put the violin down to outstretch his hand, curling his fingers slightly to cause the snow and ice to mix together and create an ice sculpture of, what looked to be, a small Cherry Blossom tree. “Does that answer your question?” He asked as he hopped down from the slight hill he was playing upon to stand beside Scarlet. “No living thing can live in my ice. Once a tree or living organism of any kind is trapped within it, it starts to slowly decay and die.” The ice demon made his way over to one of the many dark blue roses in the garden to touch it and cup the flower as if it were real. “With my garden, I can create imitations of life and not have to worry about coming out to tend to it in the horrible heat. I wouldn't want to get sick tending to my own garden.”

 

“But wouldn't it melt in the spring and summer months?”

 

Touya shook his finger at Scarlet with a slight wink. “Remember that ice rose I gave you and what I said? This is demonic ice—it cannot melt or shatter unless I die.”

 

Scarlet knelt down a bit to get a closer look at some of the different flower mutations he had managed to imitate with his demon ice. “Wow, that is insane,” she whispered between the two of them as she touched the icy pedals on one. “I guess you can even create just about anything you wanted with your ice then, eh?”

 

Twisting his mouth to the side and looking upwards with a hum at her attempt to challenge him, he raised his right hand again, curling his fingers slightly to invoke the energy he needed to create a new imitation for her to see. The ice bending and hardening into two figures, Scarlet witnessed as the ice moved as though it were alive to make a lifelike sized doe and fawn. He watched as Scarlet was enamored by the realistic looking wildlife. “Neat, hu?” He pocked his right hand into his pants pocket as he looked down at the amazed Scarlet. “During this time, I get to create all the creations I want and more. I also get to add things to my garden.”

 

“I never would have imagined that demons would enjoy using their powers for such things as this,” Scarlet admitted aloud as she pocked her hands as well to keep them warmer from the cold.

 

“Well, with the demonic attacks lessening, I don't really have much else to do lately,” said Touya as he headed for the temple. “Come, you must be freezing.” On their way back to the comfort of his shrine, the ice master spoke of the other demons. “Even Kurama has his own rose garden at the Earth Temple. He uses his demonic energy to keep them growing and help them flourish no matter what.” Making it to the temple door, Touya held it open for Scarlet, allowing her to enter first before coming in behind her.

 

“It sounds like you two have a lot in common,” she stuttered as she made it inside of the temple, relieved to feel less of the cold from outside. Scarlet continued to hold onto herself tightly to try and keep herself warm.

 

“In a way we do,” said Touya as he waved down the connected hallway. “This way.” With Scarlet following behind him back to his room, he continued. “Kurama is a bit more intellectual and easier to talk to than most of the other demons around here. Jin can be easy to approach, but he is not so intelligent—well, not unless he wants to be.” Touya stifled a slight chuckle against the back of his hand at just comparing the two. “Kurama is into gardening and playing the piano, and sometimes I get together with him to play my violin. Jin can play the flute, but he doesn't necessarily like to carry a tune with two other people.” His bedroom door soon within sight, he opened the door to allow Scarlet on inside before following behind her once more.

 

“Well, Jin is just different, I guess you would say,” Scarlet said as she thought about him. Looking up at the ceiling for a moment, she didn't realize that she was smiling a bit at just mentioning his very name.

 

Touya, however, caught it as he was placing his violin back down in the corner of his bedroom. Tilting his head slightly to the side to catch her out of the corner of his eyes, he grinned mischievously. “I see—I guess that ceremony went rather well when it came to making you a woman.”

 

Hearing him say that caused Scarlet to snap to attention, and she couldn't help but blush a very dark red. “You're so rude! You know that he was going to do that, and he did it several months ago!”

 

Placing the side of his hand just under his nose, Touya attempted to prevent himself from even sharing a smile in the matter, but he couldn't help it even though Scarlet was getting mad at him. “Forgive me, but I couldn't help but notice something in your tone that suggests you took quite a bit out of it than what he gave you.” He watched as Scarlet only continued to get redder as she turned to look away from the ice master. “Don't be so embarrassed. Many people in your position get that way towards their demon guardians.” Raising his index finger, he smiled brightly as if in attempts to lighten her mood. “You should see some of the servant girls under Kurama. So many of them fawn over him and cannot get enough of his attention—that poor man can hardly find a moment's peace. The same can even be said for some of the men in his temple. A lot of his worshippers treat him like a Greek God.”

 

Scarlet turned her attention back to Touya, though still looking slightly irritable as she had her arms across her chest. “And what about your worshippers?”

 

Touya shrugged with a bit of a smile. “Well, there are some that are quite fond of me, but like I said, being an ice master isn't all that it is cracked up to be.” To demonstrate his point, he made his way over to Scarlet to place his hand upon her cheek, causing the woman to draw back quickly at the cold touch that almost seemed to burn her skin. He showed his palm to her at that moment. “My touch is quite deadly, and while I know there are some willing to put up with it a great deal to keep me going, I don't want to risk their lives for me to feel satisfied.” Turning from the startled woman, he made his way over to his desk to look through a few sheets of papers. “So, did you really just want to drop by and see me or is there something else on your mind?”

 

Continuing to rub the area he just touched, Scarlet looked off to the side a moment before gazing at the back of the ice demon as he took great interest in whatever was in front of him. “Touya, I was curious about my position in your temple as a priestess.”

 

“What about it?” He asked simply as he began writing responses to the prayer letters before him.

 

Scarlet bit at her chapped, lower lip slightly, shifting her attention down to the floor to almost appear nervous in asking what she was about to. “Would it be possible for me to take on that task and the one Jin has entrusted me with?”

 

Touya paused in his writing for a moment to look off to the side a moment to focus completely on what she had to say to him. “It is possible. It would just be a new responsibility for you.” He was quiet for a moment as was Scarlet. “But let me ask you something.” Here he turned around in the chair he was sitting within to face her. “Are you doing this because you want to serve me or are you doing this for some other selfish purpose?”

 

Even if it had been nearly seven months since she last spoke of her mother around Jin or the others, it didn't mean Scarlet had given up on her desire to see her and talk to her once more. Taking in a deep breath, she shook her head while pressing her fingers to her chest. “I want to do this not just for you, but I want to do it to make my mother proud. I know before she died, she was working her hardest to get me ready for my priestess role, but I failed her.” Scarlet opened her hands slightly, motioning as she continued to speak to the ice master. “I didn't mean to chastise you for her death. I am sorry for that. But, if I am dragged to hell with her, I want to be there with her and let her be proud of me.”

 

The cold, icy orbs of the demon shifted from Scarlet for a moment before making their way back to where she stood. Pushing the chair back, Touya got to his feet and made it over to Scarlet to hold onto her gloved hands. “I will make you a deal,” he whispered between the two of them. “First, I want you to make sure that this is okay with Jin as you have a whole new connection with him now. If it is okay with him, I will allow you to start your training here.” He raised his finger to Scarlet as if to begin scolding her. “If you manage to keep up with your training here, I will show you something that you may be interested in.”

 

“What…?” Scarlet was curious to know as she furrowed her brow in bewilderment.

 

“There is a memory I keep hidden away that deals with your mother's birthing you here as well as her death at your house.” Seeing the young woman was confused still, he explained. “There is a special room within this one that holds a few memories of mine. Each one is encased and kept safe there. Each memory I can project upon a special mirror Suzuka made for each of us with some help of the date and such that the memory occurred. It helps each of us to keep track of very important goings on in our temple and keeps records of our worshippers from the past. Very handy trinket.”

 

“You can show me all of that?” Scarlet wondered almost breathlessly as she felt as though she had been gut punched with excitement.

 

“Yes. The mirror reflects every bit of memory within us on everyone we encounter. Even if we think we've forgotten something or someone, that mirror can still pick it up.” Touya released Scarlet for the moment and stepped back. “But this is only if you want to do this and are willing to put up with this new challenge.” He turned on his heels and made it back to his desk to sit back down to continue writing. “It is wise you find out all the facts and whatnot before considering jumping into it, however. Truthfully, I would like to have you back as I lost many of my worshippers in that massacre. So just let me know what you wish to do.”

 

Scarlet couldn't find her voice for a moment as she looked about the room quickly before inhaling sharply with several quick nods. “Y-Yes. I will do that!” With that said, she was able to find her feet again as she hurried out of the ice demon's bedroom to make it back to the Wind Temple.