Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Winter Murders ❯ Insufferable Pain ( Chapter 23 )

Winter Murders

She was beautiful, yes, but she was not one to be trifled with. Her long black and red hair hung loosely down her back to about her hip. Her pallid face, long nails, and black eyes made her intimidating and yet soft at the same time. He marveled at her beauty and yet some part of him told him to beware. Her red lips contrasted with her white face and her black attire. She wore the same thing she had worn the first time he had seen her, a heavy black cloak with a black peasant top and pants beneath. Her boots went to her knees; her pants were rolled to reveal them. Hiei sighed; she could take anyone's breath away.

"We do not know how you came to the forest, to Wald der Sorge, but we know that you are here now. It matters not who you are," she said. Yusuke raised his hand before anyone else could speak. She looked at him quizzically. "Yes?"

"Can we skip the speeches? We know where we are and we've come here on a mission from Koenma," he said. The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Alright then," she said. Her three companions came to stand beside her: Romial, Jane and Subaru (for descriptions see previous chap). "These are Romial, Jane and Subaru."

"Hi. Nice to meet you all. You must be Dolore then," Yusuke said.

"Yes. I am Dolore Insufferable," she said. Yusuke frowned slightly at her full name.

"'Insufferable?'" he asked.

"Yes. Insufferable means insufferable, obviously. My first name means pain. My name is Insufferable Pain," she explained.

"How'd you get that name?" Kuwa asked.

"It used to be Wretched Mongrel, but I didn't like that name," Dolore explained.

"I can see why," Kuwa muttered.

"Pretty much," she said. Subaru nudged her. "Right. You have to hear one of our stories even though you're here on business, which will be discussed afterwards. Have any of you been here before?"

Kurama raised his hand.

"I don't seem to recall you," Dolore said smiling slightly. Kurama smiled back.

"I looked like this," he said as he became Youko. Dolore took a deep breath. Subaru, Romial and Jane patted Dolore on the back and left.

"The kitsune. Well then, it's decided then, you shall hear my story," she said. She took a deep breath and sat on the ground. "This could take a while."

"I'm sorry?" Kurama said. Dolore shook her head.

"It was inevitable. I've never told my story before now, so you'll have to bear with me here," she said. "I think the easiest way will be to show you."

~*~*

Ten.

Hypatia held the limp and nearly lifeless seeming body of Alexi.

"Alexi!!!" Hypatia cried out. Alexi cracked open an eye. She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"Don't worry, this is normal…." She said as she passed out.

"Alexi…" Hypatia mumbled.

~*~*

A blue light surrounded Dolore. She held out her hands, waved them about in a circle and the light disappeared. The group looked around and found themselves somewhere else. Dolore sighed.

The group was now in a small village. Little thatched roofed huts lined the muddy streets. The sky was blue and the demons that meandered on the streets looked human enough. They had blonde hair and pallid skin.

"This is the town in which I was born," Dolore began.

Many years ago I lived in this town. The name is unimportant since it is not in existence any more. These are the people who surrounded me in my early life.

A group of demons walked down the center of the street. There was a woman hanging upon a mans arm, a young man with a baby and a smiling girl at his side, another young man laughing with a small girl, and a lonely figure in the back.

That's me there, in the back. I was the fourth child of the most powerful family in this town of water demons. Those are my parents in front, then my eldest brother, and lastly my younger brother and sister. All my siblings were older than me. My parents only wanted three children, but ended up having four. I was the bastard child, I was unwanted.

The family moved towards the center of town where a pavilion was. Most of the townspeople were already standing around the pavilion.

I lead a miserable life here. My family hated me, and since my family hated me the townspeople hated me. That's how it worked here. I was beaten near to death at least six times a day. After each beating the family healer would heal me for the next beatings, because it wasn't enough to just let me be beaten once a day. I had to be beaten and shown death, but never allowed to pass to death. It was a miserable way to live; knowing no one cared and that no matter what you did you would get beaten for it in the end.

The mother, father and the four children passed through the crowd and went up onto the pavilion. There was no top to the pavilion; it was just a raised area with a fence.

This little ceremony would happen twice a year. Our family would show their power to the townspeople by doing parlor tricks. Every year it was the same. My eldest brother would stand furthest to the left, then my other brother, then my sister and then me. My mother would stand in front and to the side of us, she was the master of ceremonies. My father would stand near the back of us.

The family is standing as she says. Eldest to youngest, from left to right. The mother begins the ceremony.

"My fellow townspeople, this is the first day of the second autumn month. It is once again time to show you all what my family is capable of," the mother shouted. The townspeople cheered. In the back the father whispered something to the youngest daughter, Dolore.

My father is telling me not to fuck things up like I did last time. This is one of the earlier ceremonies… I'm going to fast forward to when I was sixteen.

The images fade and all is black for a moment. The images reappear and look exactly the same, except everyone is older.

The same thing, every time….

"Today we will demonstrate to you, the people, the power that my family possesses. We will start with something simple," the mother called out to the people. "The first thing my children will perform is the making of rain. My first born will start," the mother turned to the eldest son and spoke quietly to him. "Whenever you are ready Shiria."

The son name Shiria raised his hands above his head and held his palms up to the sky. A light sprinkle came down upon the crowd. The crowd clapped.

"And now my second son, Gregor," the mother announced. Gregor repeated his brothers movements and an off and on sprinkle came down upon the crowd. The crowd clapped.

"My daughter Shelly," the mother said. Shelly repeated her brother's movements and a cold rain came down from the sky. The crowd cheered for her.

"And Dolore," the mother said with contempt in her voice. Dolore swallowed hard and held her shaking arms up to the sky. She turned her hands skyward and then closed her eyes. A warm downpour fell from the heavens onto the chilled crowd. No one clapped. Dolore winced as she heard her father approach her.

"You have embarrassed us and your mother," he whispered harshly. Dolore winced again. Her father took a knife from his back pocket and pushed it slowly into Dolore's side. Dolore didn't scream, or move; she just bit her lip and remained silent as her father twisted the knife in her side.

"I am so sorry," the mother apologized to the crowd. She turned to glare at Dolore. Dolore met her eyes without a flinch. "I shall rate the children on how well they did. In first comes my eldest Shiria, then my daughter Shelly, then Gregor, and lastly the wretch Dolore. I apologize for her once again."

The father ripped the knife out of Dolore's back and Dolore took in a gasp of air.

"And now for our second demonstration!" the mother shouted. The crowd shouted and clapped their response. "My children and Dolore will no make waterfalls in the air. Shiria, you start us off."

Shiria held his hands in the air, summoning water with which to work his craft with. He had it rise up from the river twenty yards in back of the crowd and fall right in front of him and then flow back to the river. Gregor pulled the water from the river straight up and let it fall onto a few boulders near the edge. Shelly took the water and had it fall onto a nearby tree, hitting the leaves very prettily and then had it flow back to the river. Dolore took a deep breath. She tried to lift both her arms, but couldn't. She set her teeth and then lifted them. She took the water from the river and had it rise. The crowd watched as it flowed over to an old, dried waterfall and fell from the top. It was as beautiful as the most beautiful waterfall anyone has ever seen in their lives. Dolore's mother growled as Dolore had the water return to its river. Dolore's mother struck her hard across the face. Dolore swallowed, but ignored the pain. Her mother grew angrier and took the knife from Dolore's father. She thrust it into the top of Dolore's right arm. Dolore flinched and took in a gasp of air, but didn't cry out. Her mother pulled the knife down Dolore's arm, while still buried in her flesh. Dolore's arm was cut open to her wrist and bleeding, but no one rushed to her aid. No one even seemed to notice.

The mother turned to the crowd, her own daughter's blood on her hands. "I am sorry you had to witness that. Dolore … has no manners or class. I am very sorry for her behavior. In first will come my daughter Shelly, in second my son Gregor, third my son Shiria, and last Dolore."

The father whispered in Dolore's ear. "If you fuck up one more time I will beat you within an inch of your life and then have you brought back in the most painful way."

Dolore cringed, but did not say a word. She held onto her useless arm. No tears did she shed, nor a word did she utter. She just held onto her bleeding, nearly split in two arm.

"The last thing these three and Dolore will perform is a simple thing. They will make some sort of shape out of the water that will be held off the ground by their power. Shiria," the mother announced.

Shiria took his allotted water and carefully shaped it into the shape of a dolphin. The crowd laughed and clapped as Shiria had the dolphin jump back into its water bucket. Gregor shaped his water into that of an ornate chair. The crowd clapped and Gregor had his water go back from whence it came. Shelly made a frog. Then it was Dolore's turn. Dolore took a deep breath and using only the power of her mind lifted her water and shaped it into a large oak tree. It looked just like a real oak tree, except for the color. A soft southern wind blew and the water oak's leaves moved in the breeze. Both of Dolore's parents turned to her. Her eyes widened a bit, but she concentrated on the tree, she knew what was coming next. Her mother pummeled her upper body with her fists and the knife. Dolore felt every punch and every stab. Blood flowed from every wound and yet she maintained her tree, the leaves wilted and fell, but the tree was still there. Then her father kicked her head as she was lying on the ground. Everything went black.

In case you're wondering, this was very normal for these little "demonstrations" Actually, this particular year was the least violent of them all. You can't tell by looking at it, but it was.

It was dark when Dolore came too, and there was pain and the cold of the night air. No one had thought to call for a healer, nor had anyone thought to carry Dolore in doors. She was exactly where she had fallen unconscious. It was midnight, or close to it from what she could discern. She also knew that they hadn't stopped beating her when she had gone under, they had just kept going. There was blood everywhere and she could barely move, but she knew she had to drag herself to her house on the other side of town so that she could get healed. She groaned and tried to pull herself forward with her one arm that almost worked, except for the fact that it was broken. She knew her arms were broken, one leg and a bunch of ribs. She also knew that she had stab wounds all over the place, along with bruises from punches and kicks. One eye wasn't working, so it was exceptionally hard for her to find her way back. When she got there they beat her for being slow, having waited up for her just so they could beat her. The healer took her time, and did her healing as slowly and painfully as she could. Dolore didn't cry, she didn't shed a tear.

In the morning, I decided enough was enough. I pulled the sword, scythe, scimitar, and double bladed axe I had hidden under my bed out. I equipped myself and went out for a day in town. I slaughtered all of them.

The town was now red from all the blood spilt. The walls of each house, the people and the streets. A scream rang out as a woman tried to run from Dolore with one leg sliced open. She limped, but ran as fast as she could. Dolore, covered in red blood from head to toe, had no trouble catching up to the woman and neatly severing her head with her axe.

After finishing the town off I headed back to my family. The first one I ran into was Gregor. I put my axe in his gut. He screamed louder than anyone previously had. I enjoyed hearing his screams as his lover came running from the barn they had previously occupied. His lover wasn't the smartest boy, but he was young and beautiful and that's what Gregor liked about him, though Gregor had seemed particularly fond of this young boy. I buried my katana in his left leg. He cried out and fell. My brother tried in vain to reach out for the boy and try to protect him somehow, but I ripped my katana out of the boy's leg and put it through my brother's hand, pinning him. He screamed.

"Do you like to hear my brother cry out?" I asked the boy. The boy looked at me like a rabbit who knows it cannot out run the wolf. I smiled at him. "I can make him cry out sweeter music then you ever could, because I am the one who is hurting him, instead of pleasing him."

The boy cringed. He knew I meant what I said. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. I took my axe from my brother's gut and looked at the boy again. I smiled sadistically as I pushed him to the ground. I sliced open both his arms, and then took off his right foot. I turned to my brother, who was pleading me to stop.

"Stop?" I asked innocently. "Of course I'll stop for you brother. I just have one more thing to do."

I looked at the boy, who was on his last leg of life and then brought my axe down. I think that scream will be the best noise I've ever heard come from a mans throat. It was so pure, and anguished. I turned to my brother with what he had desired the most from that boy in my hand.

"This will be your last meal," I told him as I shoved it down his throat. He gagged, but before he could choke it up I put my katana through his heart.

The next to go was my sister. She ran outside after hearing that most beautiful of sounds. I cut her head off with my scythe. I then headed towards the house. My father saw me and rushed out to "teach me a lesson". I put my scimitar through his stomach, but I did not kill him just yet. My other brother rushed out to stop me. I cut off his legs, then went inside and dragged his wife and newborn child out. I killed the wife and then cut open her stomach, and suffocated my brother in her belly where a new child had been developing. My mother came next. I strung her from the only tree in our yard by her ankles. I then slit her wrists. I went back to my father and brought his still alive body over to her.

"This is your husband woman," I told her. I put down the weapons I had been holding and laid my father on his back. "You will eat his heart."

I pulled back his shirt and forced my hand through his skin and shoved his ribs apart. I pulled out his still beating heart. It was still beating as it was forced down her throat.

"This is your kingdom, milady. You rule over the dead. Soon you will join their ranks," I said. I noticed the newborn child. He was the only innocent of them all. I took him in my blood stained arms and walked away from that place.

*~*~*

Hypatia clung to Alexi's prone body as the wind began to blow. She heard laughing from up above her and looked to see who originated the sound. In the air was a beautiful man. He had long blonde hair and flowing blue garments. Hypatia was breathless.

"Poor Alexi, she must be tired from all that fighting with what's-his-face," the man taunted. "OH well. It'll just make her easier to kill since she's knocked out. Then I'll be able to claim her girl as mine."

Hypatia blushed.

*~*~*

I raised my nephew all by myself. We were bounty killers. Everyone wanted our services because we had no loyalties. We had no qualms about killing anyone at anytime. We were well known at the time it happened. I was going around the left flank of an army and my nephew was going around the right when I bumped into him. He was a guard. I looked at him and decided to take him out, but he blocked my attack. He was the only one outside of my nephew who could do that. I was surprised to say the least.

"Who are you?" the man asked. His long black hair fell into his eyes as he pinned an older Dolore to the forest floor.

"I'm a shadow," Dolore spit out. She kicked him in the groin and dashed for the camp.

"WAIT!" the man shouted.

Dolore ran headfirst into the battle that was already raging against her nephew. She could sense the stranger's eyes on her, but ignored them as she and her nephew wiped out their target.

He joined up with us after that fight. My nephew didn't like him. I fell in love with him. I'm not ashamed to say that for once I found happiness and love in that man. But it would not last long. He never knew I loved him. I never knew he loved me until he was dying.

We all worked together for a year or two. Then my nephew went nuts. We were hired to take out a witch in Mukuro's territory that was terrorizing demons all over the place. So off we went. Someone had given her a heads up about us. She hit my nephew with a spell before I could lop off her head. Neither I, nor the man could figure out what the spell was. When my nephew awoke he looked at me, and then he looked at the man and he picked up his weapons and charged at the man. The man had his back turned to him and didn't notice. I tried to run after him, but time moved as slow as molasses. I couldn't catch him and he got to the man. He skewered him and then tore his body apart as I lay prone on the ground. He called out my name as my nephew tore his body apart and he screamed "Ai Shiteru". It only enraged my nephew further. He killed him before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do. My nephew then cooked his flesh &started to eat. I was sick, but not physically. My nephew looked at me and smiled ferally. I tried to scoot away, but he moved lightning quick. He took me and ripped at my body. He violated me in every sense of the word. When he was done he tied me up to a tree and let me hang there, inviting anyone who passed by to have me… and they did have me. By the time I had regained enough strength to fight back it was at least a month later. I tore my bonds off and strangled him with the chains that had held me hostage. I then went into a coma.

I stayed there for a long time, within the safety of my mind. I heard the screams and laughter of others. I felt their pain and I suffered along with most of them. But then I had had enough suffering. I had suffered enough, they had suffered enough. So I decided to do something about it. Thus Wald Der Sorge was born. I made a place where those who had suffered could tell others that hadn't what it was like and I could say I did something to try and improve the worlds. Five hundred years later, my precious creation is in trouble and I have had to resort to Koenma to save it, for I can no longer leave this place.

The sirens want this land for themselves. They don't want people to not suffer. They are the ones behind my nephew. Their witch was the one who cursed him. And they were the ones who sent those people to him to take advantage of me. The sirens want me dead. Everyone wants me dead. I just want my contribution to survive. I want to say that I tried to make a better place for us to live in. I want it to succeed. The sirens want people to suffer. They get power from their suffering and from the songs that come from people's pain.

I want to preserve Wald Der Sorge. That is where you all come in.