Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Wind Knoll's Curse ❯ Chapter 42

It was hard to forget about my stepfather. For many years, I considered him my father, and I even thought he was my dad by birth until my mother told me what became of the man who helped conceive me (though she neglected to tell me he was a sacrifice).

 

Even when I returned back to the Wind Temple, I couldn't stop thinking about the run in with Chris. It was hard to accept he didn't want to be a part of my life—ever.

 

Jin finished the warm tea before heading over to where Scarlet was resting on his bed to give her the cup he poured her share within. “It'll help settle your nerves.” He waved the porcelain cup in front of her slightly to try and entice her to take it from him.

 

Scarlet accepted the warm cup without saying a word at first. The scene of Chris charging at her continued to replay in her mind, as well as the words he spared her. Looking down at the tea, she sighed heavily. “So what exactly did my dad tell you that night that you took me from my house?” Jin didn't answer her right away, as he was sipping on his drink as well. “Did he threaten to kill me should I return?”

 

“Yeah, he did,” Jin answered, as he wiped the dampness from his mouth with the back of his hand. “He, uh, he told me that you weren't going to be welcome back to that house as long as he lived.” He saw the sorrow engulfing Scarlet's expression. “Scarlet, you don't need that man. I don't know why you feel you do.”

 

“I guess I just felt, since I am having a baby, he'd be happy to see his grandchild,” Scarlet admitted between them. She felt Jin's palm resting upon her back, prompting her to look at the wind master with a brief smile to show her thanks in his ways of comfort. “I like to believe people can change. Don't you?”

 

Jin placed down the tea he was drinking so that he could embrace Scarlet tightly. “I don't want you near that man again, do you hear me?” He wasn't thinking too much on Scarlet's desire to be reconnected with her father—only the baby she now had. “I am sorry if you want that lad back in your life, but he just wants to hurt you something fierce. He didn't approve of you worshipping me, and he certainly won't approve of you being married to me.” He turned his attention straight ahead at nothing in particular with a roll of his eyes at the situation. “I fear to think what he'd do if he found out the baby you're carrying is mine.”

 

“I promise I won't go near him,” Scarlet whispered against his embrace. “It is obvious he doesn't want me around. I guess I have no choice by to stand clear of him.”

 

Placing a kiss upon her forehead, Jin lied down on the bed with Scarlet. “And if he so much as comes near you or breathes your air, let me know,” Jin insisted, as he held the young woman close to his body. “I threatened him once before, and I am not afraid to do it again.” Hearing Scarlet hum her response, the wind demon nuzzled against her exposed neck. “You should rest now. When you wake, I will have food ready for you.”

 

I kept my distances from my old house, even if I would occasionally walk by the building during the first week of every month when I was at the Ice Temple. My father was never home whenever I happened by, so I was relieved. I knew if he ever came out, he would no doubt attack me.

 

Maybe the pregnancy was just making me overemotional, but I just wanted him there when I gave birth to my first child.

 

As the months passed, it was hard to conceal the fact that Scarlet was pregnant as her stomach grew. She knew it was becoming pointless to let people think it was just some awkward weight gain. Those that were there to witness the union between her and Jin knew the truth, but they didn't say a thing about it to those around them. Working with the pregnancy was a challenge for Scarlet, but she made do to the best of her ability.

 

“I don't know why you're so concerned over what that bastard thinks,” Angela pointed out that day at work, as she was behind the counter with Scarlet. “From the sound of things, your stepdad wasn't a very charming fellow. And I will say this—.” She paused in her words, looking around to make sure nobody was nearby. “—If he knows that you're pregnant with a demon's child, he will probably not hesitate to kill the both of you.”

 

“Well, Jin wouldn't let that happen,” Scarlet whispered in return, as she situated the many one dollar bills in her drawer so that they were neat. “Besides, Jin wouldn't be the only pissed one if this baby is lost.”

 

“So the Ice Lord knows?” Angela inquired, as she situated a few things behind the counter to where they were neat and in place.

 

“He told me that he had a feeling that was what was wrong with me,” Scarlet said, closing her drawer once all her ones were together in stacks of twenty. “So as I got bigger, he knew it was a baby. He is excited because it will be born in December sometime when he expects a lot of births.” She sat down upon the stool she was allowed. “I also think because it is made of me and Jin, he is excited over it.”

 

Angela twisted her mouth to the side, confused as to what Scarlet meant by that. “So his best friend's DNA, and why is he so particular about yours?”

 

“He was in love with my mother when she was alive, and he still is,” Scarlet answered simply. Amidst their talking, she noticed Derrick was heading in their direction, looking quite perturbed. “Derrick, what is the matter?”

 

“Some disgruntled man was looking for you, Scarlet,” the manager of the store explained. “He was drunk from what I could gather. He claimed to be your father, and he said he was told you were working here.”

 

Scarlet felt her heart nearly stop and her hands becoming clammy. “Why-Why would he come looking for me?” She was hoping the times that she walked by the house to look at it went unnoticed by the man.

 

“He said he wanted to talk to you about your pregnancy,” Derrick went onwards to explain from the opposite side of the counter. “I don't know what about it, but apparently, he wasn't too happy concerning whatever it is. He must not want a grandkid.”

 

Unsure of what to respond with, she knew that Chris somehow found out about the child being part demon. She looked over at Angela, who was carrying an equally horrified look over the situation. The fellow co-worker's eyes met with Scarlet's, as they exchanged worrisome glances.

 

“I am going to contact the Wind Lord,” Angela offered with a raise of her hand to excuse herself from the picture momentarily. Bringing out her cell, she began to call one of the priestesses she worked closely with, who she knew had a better connection to Jin then she did.

 

“What do you want me to do about this?” Derrick asked with a sigh of worry over the situation. “Obviously his intent is to hurt you. I cannot allow you to be without an escort, or he will find you and possibly kill you.”

 

“My dad was many things, but he was never a murderer,” Scarlet insisted in Chris' defense. “But I know if I am ever caught near that man, Jin will scold me and probably injure my stepfather.” She sighed, slapping her hands down at her sides in defeat of Derrick's curious stare. “Okay, okay, just make sure he stays out of the store, and I will go to the Wind Temple on the days I work with Angela or Ginny.” Ginny was just a worshipper there at the temple. The redheaded woman often found her home there in the temple, so she never bought a home of her own.

 

“I'll make sure you work with either one of them then,” Derrick said, as he pushed himself away from the countertop. “Just be careful from here on out, alright?”

 

Scarlet nodded, opening up a book she had with her to read a bit of it until a customer were to come into her line.

 

 

 

 

When Angela and Scarlet's shift was over, the two of them walked out of the bookstore together around three o'clock that afternoon. Scarlet waited for Angela to walk out of the store once she went back in to grab her purse she almost forgot. She couldn't help but feel nervous about standing outside alone. Hearing the doors to the store open, she was relieved to see Angela make her appearance.

 

“Sorry about that,” she apologized, situating her black, leather purse over her right shoulder appropriately. “I guess I just don't know where my head is lately.” Angela motioned for Scarlet to follow beside her, as she scurried down the sidewalk.

 

“So what did Jin have to say about all of this?” Scarlet asked, curious to know what the wind master possibly relayed to Angela.

 

“He was furious,” Angela said matter-of-factly, as she made sure everything was in her purse as it should be. “I've got to tell you, I really hope that Chris guy doesn't have the balls to come near you. I really do fear what may happen to everyone should he succeed in harming you.”

 

Scarlet raised her brow at Angela's choice of words. “What do you mean `everyone'?”

 

“Jin has already been broken hearted before no thanks to demons attacking the town,” Angela explained, as they continued on their way to the Wind Temple together. “After many years of heartache, he is just now starting to heal. If his happiness is taken away from him…” Her voice trailed off thinking about the consequences. “Look, do you remember the pact that was made many years ago? I am sure you probably heard of it around town.”

 

“What pact?” Scarlet was unsure of what Angela was trying to express to her, forgetting about what was told her four or so years ago.

 

“There was a pact that the demons made amongst themselves,” Angela explained. “They agreed that the humans in this village were becoming too destructive, and if it continued, they wouldn't fear to destroy this town and curse it for all eternity. So far the pact lies in a tie, but if just one more agrees to destroy this town, we are all going to be doomed.”

 

“Oh God, that pact!” Scarlet exclaimed between them, as they made it to the woods where the Wind Temple was buried. “I remember him telling me about it when I went to see Teresa years ago. I didn't think that was still going on!”

 

Angela minded her steps, as she walked the dirt road, which led to their safe haven towards the mountains. She had to admit to herself that the woods looked nice when the bright sun shined through the tree leaves. “Every year they meet to decide the fate of the humans here in Wind Knoll. So far it has been the same. It has always been a tie, but I fear what may cause the scales to tip.”

 

“Don't talk like that…!” Scarlet begged, grasping her shirt where her heart rapidly beat. “I don't ever want to consider such a fate for the people of Wind Knoll!”

 

“It is the truth, Scarlet!” Angela growled, spinning around to prevent the woman from walking any further down the path they were both upon. She shook her head slowly at Scarlet with a sigh through her nostrils. “It is the truth,” she repeated quietly this time, “and whether you like it or not, every little thing everyone says or does balances those scales.” Angela reached out to place her hand upon the servant girl's shoulder. “Just promise me you'll be safe. We don't need your death to be talked about.”

 

I didn't know what to say about the notion. Merely nodding, I followed Angela back inside of the Wind Temple to continue my servant work under Jin as I always did. The pact that Angela reminded me of couldn't help but haunt me even when I was fixing to get ready to go to bed that night…

 

Scarlet worked on unbraiding her hair as Jin got himself ready for sleep as well. She listened to Jin go on and on about his day and what all was going on with his worshippers though her mind traveled outside of his words (she almost tuning him out completely at one point). “Jin?” Scarlet interrupted from where she was resting on their bed. “Remember long ago when Teresa was still alive?” She witnessed as the redhead stopped in his speaking and motions to put on his shirt when she brought up such an old time. “Well, I remember you telling me that the demons all made a pact that night, and if the vote ever tipped, Wind Knoll would be cursed forever.”

 

Jin almost appeared to be looking around the room for a way to escape that conversation. Finding no way around it, he exhaled quietly with a close of his eyes before finding the courage to look at Scarlet once more. “Aye, we still meet to determine the fate of those in this village.” He put the sleeveless shirt on his body before making his way over to his wife in the dimly lit room. “It is still dead set on a tie, so nothing is changing.”

 

“What demons would possibly want to destroy this town?” Scarlet was baffled as all the demons seemed to really care about someone in particular that was human.

 

“I think the ones that want to curse the town are looking out for those that live here,” Jin tried to explain in their defense. “With the town cursed and everyone gone, they would be dragged to hell and there would be no more bloodshed. All of the torment would be over.” The wind master paused, as he scratched an annoying itch within his hair. “It might be a morbid way of looking at it, but it is how they see it. They are tired of all the pointless sacrifices they receive to this day still. It is like watching one of your own children lie before an altar and have their blood spilled right in front of you, and you are powerless to stop them, because the worshippers are so light blinded that they cannot feel, see, or hear you.”

 

Scarlet sighed heavily while she rubbed her hands together nervously. “I just really hope you won't ever let something like this happen to Wind Knoll,” she pleaded between them. “It would devastate me.”

 

“All I can do is try my best, love,” Jin whispered between them, as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. He guided Scarlet down to the mattress of the bed, resting the palm of his hand upon her round belly. Rubbing it tenderly, he smiled widely to himself when he felt the growing baby kick against his hand, which the child felt about his space. “But don't fret about that now,” he insisted in his Irish accent. “Just get some rest, and dream of better things.”

 

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Scarlet yawned, feeling the exhaustion coming upon her. “I love you.” Closing her eyes, she heard Jin's returned `I love yous' before drifting off to sleep.

 

 

 

 

Scarlet slept well throughout the night until she could hear something or someone seeming to call her name. Moving in the bed, she opened her eyes wearily to find nothing about the dark room at first until she happened upon the door. There was a misty figure, which Scarlet couldn't quite make out right away. Slowly she got to her bare feet to tiptoe towards the door. She stopped near the bed to look down at Jin, who was snoring away contently that night. Offering a smile to him, she quietly hurried after the figure that happened upon the room.

 

The misty figure seemed to dart about the hallways by evaporating before forming once more in a different area. All the while, the spirit was calling out to her. She followed it to the main room within the temple, and then, out the double doors of the building.

 

Her naked feet touching upon the dewy grass, Scarlet looked up at the spirit confusingly. “Who are you?” She asked, watching it drift up into the sky out of her reach. Before she could hope to reach for it, someone came from behind Scarlet to grab her about the mouth and hold her tightly in place. She tried her best to scream, but the screams were muffled by the palm confining her words.

 

“Don't say a word, Scarlet,” Chris' liquor stained breath demanded against her ear. “If you bring that demon here, I won't hesitate to kill you and the abomination you have in your stomach!”

 

Scarlet tried to deter her thoughts from triggering a help signal to the wind master. Managing to remove the hand from about her lips, she looked over her shoulder at her stepfather. “What do you want with me!” She exclaimed, trying to fight against the man.

 

Chris began walking with Scarlet through the woods to head back to their house on Lavender Lane. “I don't care what that bloody beast has to say about you! You're my damn daughter, and I will make sure you're taken away from all of this!”

 

I fought against that man all the way back to our old house. Just being pushed through the front door again made me sick to my stomach. My dad herded me back up the stairs and back into my old bedroom—a place I thought I would never see again in all my years of living.

 

Scarlet's body hit her old, dusty bedcovers harshly. “You can't do this!” She insisted, trying to situate herself on the bed to get comfortable. “Even if you manage to keep me here for the night, Jin will still make his way here to help me!”

 

“I will deal with him on my own time!” Chris barked, waving his finger at Scarlet. “Now shut up, and sit down!” Running his fingers through his hair, he growled angrily while wondering where to start. “So you're married to that damned bastard, eh?” He didn't hear a response out of Scarlet, making him turn around to glare at her. “And that baby is part demon, isn't it!”

 

She placed her hand upon her stomach, furrowing her brow in worrisome sadness. It looked absolute painful for her to open her mouth to speak. “Y-Yes…it is.” Scarlet was met with a harsh slap of Chris' hand, causing her head to jerk to the left with a brief cry escaping from her lips. She placed her hand upon her sore cheek before turning to look at her stepfather. “Dad, I love him!” She was teary-eyed just expressing her feelings.

 

Chris grabbed onto Scarlet's upper arms to shake her violently. “He is a demon! How can you possibly love a DEMON! He's going to drag you to hell with him and where your mother is currently rotting!”

 

“I would drag myself to the depths of hell just to be with him!” Scarlet retaliated, hating to hear her father talk about such a thing in a distasteful way.

 

Hearing her say such a thing caused Chris to stare at her in disgust. He wasn't afraid to slap her once more for her disobedient behavior. “If I have to beat this lesson into you, so be it!”

 

Scarlet's screams could be heard echoing throughout the house, as her father did his best to strike the truth into her. Throughout the moments he was trying to make her take back the words she had to say to him, Scarlet tried her best to beckon to Jin within her mind. She wanted to be saved from her stepfather, who might very well try to kill her against her better judgment.

 

The thoughts of his wife reaching him during his sleep, Jin's eyes shot open before he pushed himself up in bed quickly. “Scarlet?” He called, hoping he was just imagining things while dreaming. “Scarlet?” Jin threw the covers back to find her side of the bed empty. A horrified shock raked over his body as he jumped out of his bed and threw open the door, calling for her still.

 

Justin, Yolanda, and Rachael were amongst the many woken up by the wind master's cries for Scarlet. The three gazed at one another in their nightwear before hurrying after the frantic demon.

 

“My Lord, what is wrong?” Razz asked curiously, as she followed him outside of the temple walls.

 

“Scarlet is missing!” Jin responded with worry clinging to his every word. “I woke up, and she was gone! I heard her screaming for me in my dreams, so I know she is in trouble!”

 

Justin crossed his arms over his broad chest to look about the scene outside of the temple to find two sets of footprints embedded within the soil about them. “Look at this,” he encouraged, kneeling down to touch the tracks belonging to Scarlet with his index and middle finger. “Two people were here recently. I can tell from the energy signature one was Scarlet, but I don't know who the other is. Whoever it was, they dragged Scarlet away.”

 

Inhaling the scent on the wind, Jin snorted irritably with his tongue stuck out briefly to show his distaste in the smell. “It was her stepfather, and I told that man I would kill him!” He yelled angrily, taking to the wind without another word on the matter.

 

“Jin, wait!” Rachael yelled over the roaring wind currents the demon caused. “We have to do something, Justin! He is going to kill a man, and that is the last thing we need!”

 

Justin pointed at Yolanda. “Go to the Earth Temple and get Kurama quickly! Rachael, go to the Ice Temple and get Touya if he hasn't already been alerted by Scarlet! I'll hurry as fast as I can after the Wind Lord. Go—now!” The high priest hurried back inside to grab the keys to his SUV he kept parked about the woods, so he could try and race Jin to Lavender Lane.

 

Jin hurried as fast as he could to where Scarlet was calling him. Making it to her window, the demon struggled to open it at first with it nailed shut. Not wanting to waste another moment, he punched through the glass and found the latch to unlock it to let himself in. Ignoring the sting from the holy objects he was inflicted, Jin hurried inside of the bedroom he hadn't been in for awhile. “Scarlet!” He called out, looking for the young woman. Realizing that the door to her bedroom wasn't secure, Jin rushed over to lock the door after shutting it.

 

“Jin…?” A weary voice called from the floor near the nightstand in the bedroom.

 

Turning around quickly, as he recognized it was Scarlet, Jin found the woman lying on the carpeted ground bleeding from her mouth. A few bruises were starting to form on her neck and face from where Chris hit her hard enough. “Scarlet!” Kneeling down beside her, Jin tried to move her from where she was lying only to have the frail woman scream at the pain, which shot through her chest. “God dammit…what has he done! Why didn't you contact me!” He was furious, thinking he was too late in the matter to help her.

 

“He would have killed me…” Scarlet responded, lying her head back down on the ground beneath her, closing her eyes continuing to slowly breath. “And I was so scared…”

 

“Can you move any?” Jin asked, wishing he could help her back to her feet again.

 

“No, not without it hurting badly,” Scarlet said, coughing harshly only to find immense pain rake through her body once more just by those actions alone.

 

Justin managed to make it through the fog to get to the house he remembered Scarlet saying she once lived on. Parking his car, he slammed the door while hurrying to the window he saw broken from the top floor. “Jin! Jin, are you there!” He called up from outside. When nobody answered, he made it to the wild vines covering a part of the house to climb his way up to the window. “Jin!” He exclaimed from the window, once he managed to make it. “We have to get out of here. We don't need that man coming back to hurt her more!”

 

“She cannot be moved, and I don't remember asking you to follow me!” Jin scolded, pointing at the high priest.

 

Regardless of the threatening growls the demon gave him, Justin pulled himself inside of the room. He stopped for a moment when he heard the warped cry of Kurama in his silver fox form. “And the others are coming too,” he added in. “Kurama is on his way, and so is Touya with Rachael and Yolanda.”

 

“I am not going to get used to this!” Rachael insisted, as she buried her face within Touya's hair. She was on his back with her arms crossed over his chest to keep herself from falling off of the speedy ice master. “How you all can run so quickly is beyond me!”

 

Touya merely looked over his shoulder at the priestess, continuing on his way to find Kurama there as well. “Kurama, you're here too?” He asked, stopping right at the Bakers' mailbox.

 

Yolanda got off of the large fox creature she was riding upon, so that Kurama could transform back into his redheaded form. “I am worried what this may drive Jin to do, admittedly.” He reached for Yolanda to bring her close to him. “Let's go.” Making it inside of the room, Kurama put the priestess down to safety before hurrying over to where Jin was to find Scarlet lying there looking to be in bad shape. “Christ,” Kurama mumbled, as he removed his top shirt to wipe the blood off of her mouth. “What happened here!” He exclaimed quietly amongst everyone.

 

“Her stepda is a downright bastard,” Jin commented angrily, as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I tried to move her, but there is pain coming from her chest area, she says.”

 

“Because he probably broke her ribs,” Kurama insinuated right away. He rested his hand gently upon Scarlet's damaged rib area to concentrate what healing energy he could into her body. “This should help for the time being. I would be too worried to move her if her ribs were broken, as they could puncture something.” Looking over at Jin, he nodded to the wind master. “You're going to help me move her. We have to at least get her on the bed. I'll get her legs, and you get under her arms.” Kurama was trying his best to keep Jin occupied, knowing that if the wind master had the opportunity, he would probably run off to kill Chris.

 

Scarlet was still in pain over being moved. She made it obvious with the loud screams she forced out of her mouth. “Stop…! Please, just stop…!” She begged through her tears.

 

“Just hold on, Scarlet,” Kurama insisted, as he situated the pillows about her before helping the injured female under the covers. “There you go. You should be okay.”

 

A banging at the door broke everyone's attention. “Scarlet, what's going on in there!” Chris' voice yelled from the opposite side of the door. “Open this damn door!”

 

Jin watched as the door shook against Chris' weight smashing into it. Growling angrily, he pushed away from the bed. He ignored everyone trying to stop him, as he threw open the door and made his appearance known in front of the man he had opened up to him four years ago. He shut the door behind him to make sure nobody could come and stop him right away. “You dared touch her after I told you that I wouldn't feel bad about killing you should you do so!” Jin threatened angrily, as he grabbed onto Chris' right wrist to squeeze it rightly to the point he was about to break it.

 

“Jin, stop it!” Kurama demanded, as he grabbed onto the wind master's free hand. He wasn't expecting Jin to fight back on him, so he wasn't prepared for the force the wind demon put into throwing Kurama off to the side. The gale force Jin output against him caused the fox demon to crash through Cynthia's old bedroom door.

 

“Kurama!” Justin panicked, as he jumped over the destroyed entryway to check and make sure he was okay.

 

“Jin, stop this!” Rachael begged. She ran over to her Wind Lord to grab onto his upper arm to prevent him from trying to throw her if he dared try. “Would you dare hurt me!” She exclaimed through her tears in having to see Jin so mentally wounded. “Would you hurt one of your very daughters!” She buried her cheek against the very arm she was holding. “Don't do it, Jin. Please don't kill him!”

 

Jin's fury began to steadily die down at seeing Rachael so upset. Releasing his tight grip upon the man, he pointed down the staircase. “Get out of here,” he growled lowly, backing Chris down the stairs. “I want you out of this house!” Jin wasn't going to hear another word out of Scarlet's stepfather, as he chased the man out of the building. “Don't come back until she's healed, or I will make sure that nobody is here to restrain me next time!” With that said, Jin slammed the front door in Chris' face with the force of the wind doing so. With the door shut, he turned around to find Rachael running towards him to embrace the demon tightly. He wrapped his arms around the high priestess with a sigh through his nostrils. “I am sorry, Razz. It's going to be okay.”

 

Touya remained in the bedroom with Scarlet when everyone resurfaced moments later after the confrontation. He was a bit worried to ask how everything went, so he kept the question to himself while continuing to stroke Scarlet's head tenderly.

 

“How is she?” Jin asked, sitting down upon the bedside.

 

“She is fine,” Touya sighed in response. “Through all of that, she just went to sleep.” The ice master appeared hesitant to speak up about something else that was on his mind. “I have…some other news to give to you, Jin.” Touya bit his lower lip nervously though appearing sorrowful all the same. “I was checking her over while you all were messing around with her father. Given how badly she was beaten, I was worried about the baby, so I checked the energy I could usually feel when the baby was growing inside of her.” Touya shook his head, as he looked up at the wind master. “He killed it. I don't sense the energy in her anymore.”

 

Jin clutched his fingers angrily, unable to find the words on what to say about it. Not able to think clearly at that moment, he rushed towards the window to let himself out to be alone.

 

“Jin!” Justin yelled, as he stuck his head out of the broken window.

 

“Let him go,” Kurama insisted, watching Jin leave as well. “There is obviously nothing we can say or do to make him be any less hurt than what he is.” With a heavy exhale, the fox demon headed for the bedroom door himself. “I have to go and get one of my worshippers, who work at the local hospital to have them operate on her and get the child out. It is pointless for it to be in her any longer at this rate.”

 

I was out cold throughout it all. I don't remember a thing except the yelling that Jin was doing at my stepfather. It was all a nightmare that I wanted to wake up from. I didn't want any of it to be real…any of it.

 

Scarlet woke up to find herself in a bit more pain than usual. Rolling her head to the side, she found Touya sleeping on the bed right beside her. “Touya…?” She questioned wearily, only able to find herself moaning from the agony shortly after.

 

Hearing his name, the ice master opened his eyes with a brief smile to Scarlet. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

 

“In pain,” Scarlet mumbled quietly between them. “What happened…? The last thing I remembered was Jin was yelling at my dad.”

 

Touya swallowed hard, as he reached over to stroke Scarlet on top of the head. “Jin didn't kill him. Rachael managed to stop him from doing so. Chris is just out of the house right now. Jin wanted him to be, so you could heal,” he whispered. He was reluctant about speaking about the surgery she underwent to have the baby removed from her.

 

Scarlet looked around the room to find it void of anybody but the two of them. “Where is Jin now…? I would expect he would be here.”

 

“He left to think,” Touya answered, resting his cheek against the pillow closest to Scarlet. “Jin had a lot on his mind, so he needed to be alone.”

 

She noticed the way Touya was acting was rather odd and unlike him. He was acting sad—something she rarely saw him do. “What is wrong? You look really upset.”

 

Touya pressed a smile on his face best he could. “It is nothing, Scarlet. I am just relieved you're okay.” Leaning forwards, he placed a chilled kiss upon her forehead.

 

The door opened to reveal Kurama standing there in the doorway. “Touya, I need to speak with you for a moment.” The ice master giving him a confused look, he went onwards to explain. “We found Jin, and he wants to discuss a few things with us.”

 

Touya knew what that meant. His heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces, as he closed his eyes tightly looking as though he were hit in the stomach.

 

Scarlet caught his reaction to Kurama's words, making her confused. “Touya, what is going on? What's going to happen…?” She asked, reaching over to hold onto the top of his hand.

 

The ice master insisted that Kurama leave the room with a simple wave of his hand before turning around to put a fake smile on once more. “It's going to be okay,” he assured her quietly, continuing to stroke her head tenderly. “You're going to go to sleep, and when you wake up, you're going to be with your mother again and your birth father. It might be a bit of a nightmare at first, but I promise, it will get better.” When he knew there was no delaying it, Touya parted from the bedside to make it to his feet. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise. I will make sure of it myself.”

 

She wasn't sure what he meant, so Scarlet closed her eyes to go about sleeping. The last thing she saw that night was Touya leaving the bedroom with Kurama.

 

Jin was waiting just outside of the town with the other demons gathered about him. When Kurama and Touya made their appearance as well, he eagerly spoke up. “I want to change my vote,” he insisted seriously. “I want to be done with this town.”

 

“Jin, you cannot be serious,” Touya insisted, hoping to have the redhead reconsider. “You're going to burn this entire town down and curse it all because of what one man did!”

 

Kurama could tell Touya was about to have a physical confrontation with his friend, prompting the fox demon to step in and stop him from getting any closer to Jin.

 

“I've suffered enough!” Jin yelled angrily and in pain in his defense. “I just want it to be over with!”

 

Everyone was quiet at that moment; Kurama wasn't sure what to say to deter Jin otherwise. “Then it is settled,” the fox demon said, releasing Touya. “We will be rid of our duties here and head back to the depths of Makai. We won't come back here, and we won't bother the citizens any further.” Stepping away from everyone, Kurama closed his eyes and transformed into his Youko Kurama form. “Let's go.”

 

Fire, ice, earth, and wind destroyed the buildings within the town. It caused severe panic within everyone that could see the demons walking side by side through the streets to demolish anything that held a clear reference to what they were to anybody. The screams affected them very little, or they tried their best to hide it being so.

 

“You all who worshipped us shall now go under,” Shishi remarked coldly, bringing his fist close to his face to work on damning those that had his mark while the others did the same. “You all shall be our protectors of this secret. You will kill any who are not of your kind.”

 

Scarlet remained asleep as the destruction of Wind Knoll was going on outside of her very house. She could smell the fire, but she couldn't find it within herself to move. The symbols on her palms began to glow before causing a contamination of her skin color. The black streaks in her hair seemed to spread randomly about her hair to cover up the blond she once had.

 

Chris ran back to his house to hide from the destruction going on outside about the town. He knew that the wind demon and the others were gone from his house, knowing he had nothing to fear as he made it inside. “Scarlet!” He yelled, locking the door behind him before running down the hallway to look up the stairs. “Scarlet, where the hell are you!” Running up the stairs, he saw her door was cracked a bit. “Blasted woman, we had to get out of here…!” He caught his words when he saw Scarlet wasn't within the bed where he figured she would be. His eyes catching something within the far corner of the room, Chris caught his breath to find someone standing there with their hair a pitch black color—the hair almost seemed to meld within the dark shadows about it. “Scarlet…?” He wondered breathlessly.

 

Turning around slowly, Scarlet's blotchy, zombie like complexion could be seen within the poor lighting of the room. Her long, black hair nearly covered the sides of her face. Opening her eyes, they were a dull white color. It was almost as if she were blind. Stepping forwards, her hair peeled from the walls about her while the rest acted alive. The black tresses slithered about the room within the shadows to make it to where Chris was currently standing. The hair wrapped about his ankles and wrists to prevent him from moving. All Scarlet knew was that she had to go about what she was asked. She had to kill those that weren't tainted by the demonic worshipping.

 

Getting inches from his face, her cold, dead breath expelled upon her father's face as she breathed. Opening her mouth, she bit into his neck with a shrieking cry causing blood to spill everywhere upon her dresser and the nearest wall. She allowed Chris to convulse a bit before he fell to the ground. Scarlet remained on her feet with blood dripping from her mouth and teeth. Looking down at the man, she giggled eerily, as the darkness that was her hair and part of her robe engulfed the only light that the man could see.

 

“You're…a monster…!” Were Chris' last words to her before he was eaten into by the demonically transformed Scarlet.

 

I knew what I was. I still know what I am regardless of walking this very house in confusion of what to do next. I was given orders from the very demons I loved to kill anybody who dared walk upon this cursed town. Deep down inside, I knew I was waiting for someone, and I still am…I am waiting for him. His face might be becoming a distant memory, but I can still vaguely recall him. I am hoping someday he will return for me. I can live like this…but I cannot live without his love.

 

But I warn you now…

 

Stay out of Wind Knoll, and stay out of my house…because if you come near me, I am hungry, and I am angry, and I cannot promise that I won't kill you for trespassing upon my town.