Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 36

That night, Scarlet opened the book that Angela had suggested to her. She ran her fingers over the words to find the description of how ice powers usually worked within Touya and his followers. Ice, by default, was considered a type of evil, demonic magic, as it froze and slowly sucked the life out of anything it incased. It had its healing opportunities, but it didn't have many positive aspects of it. Turning to another page, Scarlet saw a few illustrations on ways to use the powers to attack any enemies. They almost looked like dance moves to her.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the ice rose that Touya made for her some time ago. No matter what force was ever put on it, the rose never shattered. Scarlet reached over and took it within her hand to admire the texture of it before putting it back in the vase she had it in. Closing the book she was reading, she put it under her pillow before blowing out the three candles on her nightstand that she had lit for the night. Situating herself on the pillow beneath her, Scarlet closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 

Slipping into the spiritual world, Scarlet wandered about the dreamy atmosphere to find herself within some beautiful surrounding. The bushes and trees and each blade of grass was the perfect shade of green and the sky was the perfect blue. Walking out of the woods and into a very, vast plain, Scarlet saw someone standing further in the high grass up ahead. Not able to make out who they were, she hurried towards them. Getting close enough, Scarlet stopped just a few feet away from them. “Touya?” She wondered curiously, recognizing the demon. “What are you doing here?”

 

Hearing Scarlet's voice, Touya turned around with a raise of his brow. “The question is, what are you doing here?” He made his way over towards the young woman through the thick grass before looking about the area around him. “I often come to this part of my mind just to relax. It is an area from my past that I used to often visit just to clear my mind.” He headed further through the empty plains, knowing there was an ocean somewhere to the east.

 

Scarlet followed behind Touya quickly, not wanting to get lost in a world she was unfamiliar with. “Wait, how did I end up in your spiritual mind then?” She pushed the tall grass aside, so she could get to where she was going faster.

 

“You were probably thinking about me and unknowingly called to me,” said Touya, as he looked over his shoulder at Scarlet. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?” The ice demon seemed to pause once he stepped upon the sandy beach, almost feeling unsure about the area. He didn't mention anything about it to Scarlet right away, as he continued onwards towards the ocean.

 

“Well, I was reading about ice powers, because a co-worker at my new job suggested I do so if I was so bummed about not being able to do anything special,” explained Scarlet, as she felt the warm sand beneath her naked feet.

 

“Bummed?” Touya inquired, keeping his focus straight ahead at the roaring waves further down the sand about them. “You're upset that you weren't born with some powers?”

 

“You sound like you're mocking me,” Scarlet pointed out, as she made it beside the ice master, who was almost her same height.

 

“I am not mocking you at all,” said Touya, as he beckoned Scarlet to follow him to a cobblestone path, which would lead closer to the ocean waves without them having to walk through the blistering sand. “The thing is, when humans manage to tap into those powers, it can be nice, yes, but it isn't a big deal. I don't think half of them realize that, by doing so, they are opening themselves up to more demonic attacks, as well as slipping into a more demonic state themselves.”

 

Scarlet paused in her footsteps, dumbfounded by his comment. “What…? I thought using magic was the old basics of way back when for humans.”

 

Making it to the end of the path, Touya sat down to let his feet slip into the cool water. “While waving your hand and casting a harmless spell like lighting candles, or helping yourself or someone fall in love, or wishing for wealth is all well and good, doing the powers that we, the demons do, is slipping into a demonic state.” He watched the water ripple before looking up at Scarlet, nodding for her to sit down with him. “Back in the older years of our ruling, we used to encourage it. Anybody who could do ice magic was well taken care of under myself. I saw them as my sons or daughters. I trained them hard to get them to do their best. But now, it is up to them on whether they want to learn under me or not.”

 

“So what do you say about me? What powers do you think I have?” Scarlet asked, waving her legs back and forth in the water to get herself warm.

 

Touya squinted through the power of the sun, which was all around them, to look her directly in the eyes with a chuckle. He raised his left hand before closing his narrow orbs to take in the energies trapped within the girl before placing his hand back on the stone ground beneath him and looking back into Scarlet's eyes. “You have ice powers, as I thought you would. Your mother had the same thing, expect she was a healer. Being a healer is a lesser evil under my temple, as you use the purest form of ice—water.”

 

“So I have ice powers, you said,” Scarlet said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Does that mean I am a fighter or what does that mean?”

 

“You sound so eager,” Touya laughed lightly, flicking some water playfully at her to make her snap back to her senses. “I think you might want to talk to my high priests and priestesses before you get so happy about me training you.”

 

Scarlet shrieked lightly at the water touching her face, bringing her hands up to block anything else Touya might toss her way. “Why do you say that like it is a bad thing? Don't tell me you're a horrible person to learn under.”

 

Touya shrugged, removing his baggy, white shirt from his chest to toss off to the side before jumping into the water. Coming to the surface, he shook his head about before wiping the water free from his eyes. “Well, I was a trained assassin,” the ice master pointed out. “Do you honestly think I was given easy training most of my life? Jin was trained the same way. We were trained to be killers for many years, so that training we went through is the only one we know.” Touya motioned towards the water he was within. “Come on; the water won't bite you. I know I needed a reason to cool off.”

 

“I don't have anything under this but my bra,” Scarlet explained with a nervous chuckle. She didn't like the thought of having the ice demon see her in her half naked.

 

“You think you're the first person I've seen in your bra let alone naked?” Touya asked with a scoff. “I think you forget about that Cleansing Room every temple has.”

 

Scarlet got to her feet finally with a huff. “Alright, alright,” she grumbled, tossing her white t-shirt to the side before diving into the water after the ice master. She made sure to jump in fast, not wishing to show off her half clothed body to Touya no matter how many people he had seen before her. Coming back up to the surface, she pulled away her blond and black streaked hair from her pallid face. “So you could open up my powers?”

 

Touya began to swim backwards with a chuckle. “If you want me to, I can sure do it. But once we begin this training, if you reach a certain level of training, you're not allowed to stop.”

 

“Why do you make it sound like you're going to be so aggressive?” Scarlet couldn't bring it within herself to believe that either of the ninja demons could be so to train anyone.

 

Looking over at Scarlet with a raise of his brow, he used his ice powers to seal her in place in the ocean. He watched as she squirmed to try and get free while swimming over to the patch of ice he had created.

 

Scarlet could feel herself shaking from the cold racing through her body. Every time she tried to move, the ice cut through her skin and made her bleed. Closing her eyes tightly, she screamed at the pain. She watched as Touya just swam nearby, watching her without pity in his eyes. “What-why are you doing this!” She exclaimed, still struggling to get free.

 

Touya overlapped his arms upon the ice patch, resting his chin on his forearms. “You do realize that if you train under me, you'll be under harsher conditions than this.” He knocked his knuckles on the thick ice. “You'll be in a room that's colder than you being encased in this demon ice. It'll be so cold that if you cry, your tears will freeze to your face. So, are you sure you're wanting to go through this? Because that's not even half of it.”

 

She had a very low tolerance for cold, but Scarlet wanted to learn to do something. Biting her lower lip and huffing through her nostrils, she hesitantly nodded. “I am sure whatever you dish out I can take it!” Scarlet growled, trying to sound tough to the demon. She watched as Touya opened his palm to show off, what looked like, tiny snow balls. “What are you doing…?” She asked nervously.

 

“Think fast!” Touya shouted, looking as though he were blowing her a kiss to send out his ice shards to cut against her skin. He didn't show that he felt mercy at having to cut her body with his own attack, nor did he let her screams bother him. Here, he slammed his palms down on the ice beneath his arms. “And that's me only attacking your soul! Just imagine me attacking both when you try to challenge me!”

 

“I can take it!” Scarlet yelled, panting heavily at the attacks against her. She glared at the ice master through her wet hair. “I am not going to be some weakling that everyone has to take care! I refuse to be that!”

 

“I guess I cannot talk you out of it,” Touya sighed, as he called back his ice to let Scarlet free. “Fine, if you want to learn, come by my temple on Saturday. I should have a moment to spare then early in the morning. You just have to fit me into your schedule.” With that said, he began to swim backwards again though he kept his eyes on Scarlet. “For now, I bid you farewell.”

 

Scarlet watched as the entire world suddenly started going black. Her body twitched a bit while she was sleeping, only to find herself waking up back to the empty, dark room she last was within. She couldn't help but find herself looking back at the ice rose that Touya had given her. As she was about to reach for it, she felt something wet and sticky sliding down her cheek. Her fingers quickly touched an opened wound there to find that the shards did indeed cut through her skin. “Touya, you bastard,” she grumbled, dabbing the cut with the bed sheets.

 

Grumbling, Scarlet fell back down on her pillow to try and finish sleeping after running into the ice demon as she did. She couldn't find the energy to focus on stopping the cuts from bleeding, so Scarlet let them be, figuring they would stop eventually as she slept.

 

 

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The next day at breakfast, Scarlet continued to dwell on what happened to her in her dreams. She had her ice high priestess book open, but she wasn't really reading the words on the page she had opened. She could hear Jin walking around the Dinning Hall and talking to some of the worshippers he could see as well as joining them. Scarlet looked up to see the redhead talking to a group of people. She watched as they all laughed and goofed off with one another. Scarlet sighed, looking back at her book momentarily before looking back at Jin and the others. “Dammit, Jin,” she mumbled to herself. “I hate you for baptizing me as your servant.” Regardless of even the new job, she found herself just feeling worse heartache than before regarding the fact that Jin couldn't be hers.

 

Sighing, she closed her book and left her food where it was. She couldn't find it within herself to finish it. Just as she was about to leave, Scarlet stopped herself when she saw Jin move away to reveal a rather frail looking young pre-teen sitting there beside him. She drowned out the sounds about her to focus on the young, curly blond haired girl. With how thin the girl's arms were, Scarlet knew she was anorexic. Scarlet watched as Jin bent down to kiss the nameless girl on the cheek before heading off elsewhere. She hurried as quickly as possible to the front of the temple, so she could go on a walk for a bit. Scarlet was halfway there when she heard someone calling her name.

 

“Scarlet, where are you going?” Justin asked, as he could tell she was in a hurry. “I thought you had servant training with Jin in an hour?”

 

“Well, that's in an hour. Besides, right now, I think I need some fresh air,” Scarlet insisted, as she was about to open the front doors to let herself out. She had opened it only a little bit to have the high priest shut it back.

 

“I really wish the both of you would stop piddle-fucking around!” Justin hissed angrily, as he leaned against the door. “Both you and Jin are stubborn mules!” He grabbed Scarlet's wrist to pull her back towards Jin's bedroom. “At any rate, you do have servant training come up, and you need to be here!”

 

“Will you stop!” Scarlet exclaimed, pulling her wrist free from Justin's grasp. She rubbed her slightly hurt wrist while eyeing the high priest angrily at his actions. “Why is it anyone's business as to what we do!”

 

“Because we all know Jin is stupid and doesn't know what is good for him!” Justin explained almost angrily, as he pointed at Scarlet. “When he had his servants at his side, he was the happiest he had ever been from what I was told. Even if he never treated them with respect in the olden days, he got better as the years passed, and he fell in love with each one of them. He's gone on long enough heartbroken.”

 

“Well, seeing as it is my emotions on the line, I am going to say this,” Scarlet began rather bitterly, “eventually, more servants will be baptized under him, and I will be competing with other men and women. I am not going to bother with that.” She knew, either way, Justin wasn't going to let her leave the temple till her training was over. Sighing heavily, she walked inside of Jin's bedroom and sat down on his mattress to wait for the wind master. She couldn't help but continue to think about the dream she had dealing with Touya. Scarlet plopped down on her back to gaze up at the ceiling to think back on it before hearing the door open.

 

“You're here rather early,” said Jin, as he made his way to his bed to plop down beside her. The force of his body hitting the mattress almost sent Scarlet flying upwards a bit. “It will be another fifty or so minutes until I train you, unless you wanted to start early.”

 

“It doesn't matter to me,” Scarlet admitted with an exasperated sigh.

 

Jin turned slightly to eye the injury on Scarlet's face. “What happened there?” He eyed the poorly cleaned up blood that had marked her face. “You weren't attacked, were you?”

 

“Yes and no,” Scarlet explained, as she pushed his hand away from her face. “Last night I actually went into the spirit world and came across Touya. Well, long story short, I asked him to train me, because I am tired of not being able to do squat like everyone else can.”

 

“And he showed you what it is like under his training methods, I am to surmise,” said Jin with a bit of worry in his tone. He turned on his side to get a better look at her. “Why are you interested in taking up that training? I don't think you even realize what you're getting into.”

 

Scarlet scoffed at Jin's words. “I think this mark on my face says I do.” She pushed herself up on the bed to sit upright on the covers. “He showed me what all he was going to do to me and put me through, and I told him I wanted to try it.”

 

Jin shook his wild hair with an irritated snort. “You've done a lot of stupid things in the past year or so, but I have to admit, this is the absolute worst!” He wasn't about to care that he was probably offended Scarlet, so Jin continued. “Touya is going to lock you in a single room and throw everything he has at you. You're going to be trapped in there with hardly much clothing on while he freezes the room.”

 

“I am sure if he believes in me, I will be fine,” Scarlet insisted angrily, irritated by Jin's words. “I am tired of seeing everyone do something great around me when all I am good at doing is fetching your food!”

 

“Why do you keep saying things like that?” Jin demanded to know, watching as Scarlet turned her back to him. “I don't see why you're so intent on trying to prove to everyone you're something you're not!” He lowered his voice slightly, trying to figure that out for himself. “Are you that insecure about yourself?”

 

Scarlet spun her head around to gaze angrily down at the wind master. “You're a jerk!” Just as she was about to slap him, she found the demon quick to react by grabbing her wrist. She struggled against his grip only to find that he had the upper hand, per usual.

 

“What is it that you're trying to prove?” Jin inquired once more, making sure he had both of Scarlet's wrists in his hands. “Do you seriously want to go through torment just to be as good as everyone else?” When Scarlet managed to pull her hands back, Jin sighed with a shake of his head once more. “I don't understand you, and I have been working with you for a year now.”

 

“That makes two of us,” Scarlet remarked under her breath, even though she knew the demon's keen ears would pick up her words.

 

Resting on his elbows, Jin rested his head against the bed to view Scarlet upside down. “I know why you're mad at me, but I am sorry. I am sure if you knew what heartbreak was like, you wouldn't risk it yourself.”

 

Scarlet hesitantly turned around to see that the demon's hair was all over the bed from where Jin was looking at her upside down on the opposite side of the bed. “You act like you don't even see your servants. Their spirits are within these walls, aren't they?”

 

Jin's blue eyes shifted off to the side, as he rolled his shoulders slightly with a raise of his hands. “Yes, but what is your point? Just because I can visit them and hear them on occasion doesn't mean touching them will ever be the same.” He rolled over onto his stomach at that moment, as he found himself getting a bit dizzy with all the blood rushing to his head. “Scarlet, you are one of the first I have gotten baptized under me in a long while, so you're going to be a partial favorite of mine. But, if you're going to go train under Touya, you're going to get yourself killed!”

 

“Jin,” Scarlet interrupted with an annoyed sigh.

 

“I don't want you to go through with this!” Jin continued regardless, banging his fist onto the covers. “I know you want to take your mind off of a few things. I am no dummy to that! But there have to be other ways you can do so!”

 

Scarlet turned to face the wind master once more, sitting cross-legged on his bed with her hands in her lap. “There are other ways.”

 

Jin rose his brow, not sure if he wanted to hear what Scarlet had to say. Her tone was a bit uncertain.

 

“I have considered moving into Touya's temple on occasions,” Scarlet said, fidgeting. She knew Jin wasn't going to like her saying such a thing, but it was an option that dawned on her.

 

“You really want to torment me until I say `I love you', don't you?” Jin couldn't help but feel betrayed by her words. He ran his fingers through his hair before bringing them in front of his mouth to try and think. “I am sorry, Scarlet, but I cannot do that right now.” When he saw her get agitated, he continued. “I explained it to you why several times before! How many times do I have to explain it to you!”

 

“Just like Justin said, you're being a stubborn jackass!” Scarlet hissed, getting up from the bed to make her way towards the door only to have the demon appear quickly in front of her, as she couldn't follow his speed. She found herself running into his chest.

 

“I believe he said you were a stubborn jackass too,” Jin added, as he grabbed her by the upper arm to guide her back to the bed. “Though I could have sworn he said `mule' and not the alternative form.” He made sure Scarlet sat down on the bed even though she was giving him the evil eye at that moment. Jin then knelt down, as he held her hands against her will. “If you want to go to Touya's temple and train, then you can do so, but if it becomes too tough, I want you to tell me.”

 

“I refuse to come crawling to you when I am down,” Scarlet admitted with a shake of her head. “I am not your daughter, Jin; I am your servant girl! And if my memory serves me correctly, if we're wounded, that shouldn't be your concern.”

 

“What you read was a very old book from a very old servant of mine,” Jin explained in his defense. “When they got injured, I didn't a care about it back then. The reason was I had so many people being baptized under me, and I was lucky enough to have servants following me to the point I didn't have to move an inch some days. I took them for granted!”

 

“Then why do you take me for granted!” Scarlet raised her voice angrily, eyeing him disapprovingly.

 

Jin was silent, unaware of what to say next, as he lowered his head. “Maybe…you should go to Touya's temple for a year or so.” He found himself biting his lower lip at willing to say such a thing. “It isn't something I really want you to do, but if you think it is best for you, then I won't force you to stay.” Jin patted the empty areas on either side of her with his hands before getting to his feet.

 

“Jin, I am sorry,” Scarlet eventually apologized. She looked away to do so, as she never had it in her to look someone directly in the eyes to apologize. “Humans are complicated creatures, you know that. You've been around them for many years, so you should know. When some humans are in love, we have to let the other person know. I am sure you love dancing around on the notion, but I have to admit I don't.” She knew she couldn't handle being at Touya's for a full year. It would be like uprooting herself and trying to get comfortable again, and Scarlet couldn't handle change well in some ways. “How about just six months? I am sure we could both use a break for the time being to look within ourselves.”

 

“Fair deal then,” spoke Jin quietly, as he kissed her tenderly on the cheek. “However, I do expect you over here for servant training regardless of what you're doing over there.”

 

Scarlet nodded with a sorrowful exhale. “I know.”

 

“So what did you want to do for the thirty minutes you have until I start working with you?” Jin asked, as he spied the time on the clock nearby. “Did you want to start training now or something else?”

 

Lying down on the wind demon's bed, she shook her head. “No, I think I might just lie here for a bit until the training begins.” She felt the bed move slightly under Jin's bodyweight, as the wind master crawled closer to her. Scarlet reluctantly turned around to see the demon there beside her. Closing her eyes, she felt him embrace her lovingly. Scarlet rested her forehead against his chest, hiding her smile.

 

 

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When the day came for Scarlet to try her training under the ice master, she had a majority of her things packed as well. As she was leaving, Jin, Justin, Angela, and Rachel met her at the door. She smiled tenderly at her co-worker, knowing she would see Angela soon enough at work. Rachel, however, was quick to stop her from walking out the door with a tight hug.

 

“I am going to miss you,” said Razz quietly between them. “I just hope you know what you're doing here.”

 

“I sadly need to do this,” Scarlet explained before eyeing Justin, who was near the wind demon. She witnessed as the high priest shook his head disapprovingly with his arms crossed upon his chest. Scarlet knew that the priest didn't want her to `run away' from her problems, but she knew that she and Jin just needed a bit of distance with one another. “Besides, I'll be back in half a year. Don't worry.” Pulling from Rachel, she whacked Justin with one of her bags. “Cheer up. I'll return eventually,” she grumbled to the priest.

 

“You're making a big mistake,” Justin insisted after grunting from the slight pain inflicted upon him. “Why you have to take off like this is beyond me.” He couldn't help but look over at Jin at that moment. “And you're letting her do this!”

 

“Justin,” Jin growled, hinting that he wanted the priest to drop it. After saying the young man's name, he watched as Justin made his way back into the Wind Temple to be alone. He tried to put on a smile for the moment regardless of what was going on. “Don't worry about him. He has a hard time letting go of the thoughts of others.” Jin offered his hand to Scarlet. “Shall we go?”

 

Scarlet accepted Jin's hand, so that the two of them could head onwards to the Ice Temple.

 

The two of them headed there in the middle of the night. Jin didn't want to be seen carrying her in daylight. Managing to find his way through the heavy fog, he was a bit relieved and yet saddened to come upon his friend's home. He smiled at Scarlet momentarily before opening the doors himself to guide the young woman inside. “Touya?” Jin called, as he walked into the cold temple, lit by blue flames. “Touya, are you here?” Walking further inside with some of Scarlet's bags, he made it halfway down the main part of the building to find the ice demon sitting on the throne that was built for him centuries ago.

 

“I didn't expect you both to be here this late,” Touya explained, as he rested his cheek upon his knuckles. His high priestess, Jessica, was right beside him. The ice master nodded towards the woman near his throne. “Take Scarlet Baker to her room, Jess. I'd appreciate it.”

 

“Yes, my Lord,” whispered Jessica, as she headed over towards Scarlet to take some of her bags from the wind demon. “This way, my dear.”

 

Touya waited until the two women were out of sight before turning his focus to Jin. “Are you really sure about this? This is your only servant, and those demons are banging on your temple doors as we speak. You need her energy.”

 

“I can feed off of her energy from a distance should I need to,” explained Jin. “Besides, I have my high priestesses and priests. I should be okay.” He was quiet while rushing through his own feelings for a moment. “Touya, before I leave, can I say something real quick?”

 

“What?” Touya mumbled, aware he wasn't going to like whatever was going to come out of the wind master's mouth.

 

“If you kill her with your training,” Jin began in a rather protective tone, “I might just have to do the same to one of your prized worshippers.”

 

“I tried to talk her out of it,” Touya insisted, not phased by Jin's words.

 

“No, you didn't,” Jin growled angrily, shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“You weren't there when I told her she was making a big mistake,” Touya continued to explain in his defense. “I even attacked her, and I am sure you saw the marks I left on her just by attacking her with my Ice Shards.”

 

Jin's lips quivered slightly to show his fangs. “For even doing that, I should at least get a free punch in with you.”

 

“I didn't hit her vitals!” Touya retaliated, pushing himself up to his feet. “Why are you acting this way!” He exclaimed, only to get no response out of his friend right away. “I know she's your precious servant, but she is also my high priestess! Her mother was someone I treasured, and I treasured her for a long while until she fell out of my grasp. Just because she's something to you doesn't mean you can take her away from her placement here!”

 

“Bloody bastard,” Jin grumbled finally, running his fingers through his hair. “I still mean what I said earlier, Touya. Don't think I didn't.” He managed to stabilize his mood a bit. “Just don't forget her meetings with Donovan and her time with me for her training.”

 

“Jin, will you just get your ass back to your temple? Leaving it unguarded isn't a wise idea,” Touya insisted, as he turned away to head after Scarlet and Jessica only to stop at the archway leading into the hallway on the left side of the building. “I promise I am not going to do anything against your will.” He stared down the redhead until the wind demon headed for the exit.