Woo! I really like this chapter. might be kind of gory so bare with me. Probably not that gory, but I always get nervous that someone will be like "ew gross, I'm not reading this." Oh, well. Enjoy!
The trees were all unfamiliar. The earth didn't respond to my touch. I was weaker than I had ever been before. I had to keep walking. Tremors ran through my legs, trying to bring me to my knees, but I fought it.
'No resting until I find water…' I willed myself forward, one step at a time. The bottom of my feet felt like they were pressed against hot coals with every step. Finally, I smelled the stagnant aroma of a small pond. Pieces of stained cloth fell from my hands and face-first I fell, taking in as much of the murky water as I could. As I drew mouthful after mouthful, reviling in the cold water taking off coats of dried blood, memories flashed before my closed lids.
They came again. This time with knives. I saw excitement glinting in my twin's eyes, and sick pleasure glazing over my fathers.
"Oh, ho ho… Finally, my sweet Najwa, I'll take revenge for your untimely death." My father whispered, speaking to no one in the humid earth prison. I whimpered, while he cut Hiei's filthy jacket from me, throwing it out of the way. When his knife carved into my left arm, I let out a choking scream. Blood bubbled from my mouth, wept from my throat, and seeped from under his curved blade. I could feel my face grow cold. He seemed to be careful not to hit arteries, and he moved in a rhythmical pattern. When I had no energy left to scream, my wide eyes simply took in the ground, body straining against its own shoulders. Doran stepped forward and mimicked his father's actions. My body shook, heart beat throbbing uncomfortably. Soon that was all that I felt. The throbbing worsened before spreading to my chest, then my head. I saw nothing but red.
A snarl ripped through my teeth before I knew what was happening. I felt my arms straining and popping, then I was loose. My face whipped around to the man who tossed me into the river so many years ago and I swung. He flew across the dome and went through the wall. I snatched up the knife he dropped and cut the binds on my ankles. Darting after him, I met his eyes as he moaned and writhed against the tree he slammed into and smiled wickedly. I could tell his spine was snapped and a crack ran along the back of his skull.
"Suteki." It was rough and bloody, but I spit my name at his feet before I ran the knife into his throat, keeping him stuck to the tall oak he rested against. Everyone should know the name of their child. A silent laugh shook from me at the thought, and I turned to my twin. He was holding out his hand, bringing up large boulders and hurling them towards me. I heard as the last bloody breath sighed from the opening in my father's lungs. The smile on my face widened, and I spread my arms, as if about to greet an old friend.
The limbs of Father's tree crackled to life, swatting the boulders away like flies. Then they reached forward, pinning Doran to the ground so hard it forced a crater in the earth. I lowered my arms and casually walked forward. When I reached the edge of the large hole, I cocked my head to the side mockingly. I flicked my wrist as if skipping a stone across a glassy lake, and watched as dirt fell and packed around him. I closed my eyes and smiled at his muffled screams, becoming quieter and quieter until his body caved in under the pressure.
I stood there for a moment, reviling in the adrenaline that pumped though my every cell. I heard villagers, extremely low class demons from the wavelengths I sensed, come running up, but one look had them running and screaming. Only when I was truly alone did I realize how parched I was. An electric shock ran from my skull through my feet, crackling and sizzling as it went, burning a hole through the cloth that covered the soles of my feet. Once it was gone I felt like collapsing, but I knew that if I did I wouldn't get back up. I staggered forward, picking up the pieces of tattered jacket as I started my search for anything moist that wasn't the blood seeping into the ground or dripping from my fingertips.
I floated on my back in the icy water, wondering what had overcome me. I had felt no control over my body or mind during the whole event, and that sent a shiver of fear up my back. Clambering out of the pond and collapsing while water still lapped at my waist, I looked over my arms. The bleeding had stopped, in fact it seemed they had already scarred over. They were pale and tribal-like, swirling from my wrist to my shoulder blades. Hurriedly I pulled the tattered cloth that covered my arms and legs off, throwing the sticky red things as far as I could. In my weakened state, it wasn't that far. Curiously I unraveled my bandages and felt at my throat. It was tender, much like my arms, but only a jagged scar remained. I hacked a bit and spit on the ground. A little pink, but no puss, no scabs. If fact, the only injuries that seemed to be left were the burns on the bottom of my feet.
'What in the name of Enma happened to me?' I thought as I pushed myself up weakly, cupping water in my hands and scrubbing as much of the dried blood off of my arms and legs as I could. It didn't do much other than swirl the red around, but the layer that covered my skin was thinner. Guilt filled me when I saw the pieces of Hiei's jacket that I managed to grab. Then reality came crashing down around me. I held the largest piece I could find, a sleeve, to my chest and sobbed.
Now that I was healed, there was no reason for me to go back. They wouldn't want me back. For the first time, I knew what it felt like to be utterly and truly alone. I curled into a ball and let my cries rock me to sleep.
"It-it was the devil! Eyes that glowed with hate and blood lust! It'll be after us next!" The large green-skinned male howled and pointed towards the forest before slamming his door on Yusuke's nose.
"Damn it…" He cursed, rubbing his now sore face. They had went to every hut in the village, and either they didn't even answer the door, or they got screamed at. "This place is fucking nuts."
"We might as well check out where he was pointing. None of the men so far have had any resemblance to Suteki so far." Kurama started walking towards the tree line. "This might be a dead-end, but we still need to figure out what's going on."
The group followed him, and almost ran him over when he abruptly stopped.
"W-what is it, Kurama?" Kuwabara was thoroughly shaken up from the villager's cries. His friend's shocked look did nothing to rest his fear.
Suddenly, Hiei blurred forward. The rest ran after him, Kuwabara keeping a strategic place in the rear. When they came to a halt, the scene in front of them was a horrid one. An earthen dome that surrounded the base of a tree was crumbling down, piece by piece, and blood was everywhere.
"Holy shit…" Yusuke mumbled, stepping forward carefully. He watched as Kurama walked over to another tree and he gagged when he saw the broken man attached to it. Flies were just starting to hover around him. He was fresh. The branches of the tree were warped forward, shoved into the ground only feet from the odd dome. The earth around the branches was perfectly circular, and a deep brown with no grass peeking through. It was rock hard as Hiei tapped his blade against it.
"Someone is buried here." The short fire demon stated before looking at the blood that practically covered a patch of ground at the edge of the bare soil. In the middle of the patch it looked as if lightning struck.
"What happened here?" Kuwabara finally stepped forward, though tentatively.
"Suteki's blood is everywhere…" Kurama sniffed, turning towards Hiei with a worried look. "Yusuke, shoot that patch of ground and break it up." Hiei stepped back and Yusuke did as told. He was slowly piecing together what was bothering the fox. Together they pushed away the boulder-like clumps of soil, even Kuwabara helped.
The orange-haired psychic let out a girlish scream and jumped out of the hole. He had uncovered a crushed and mangled face.
"Thank Enma… It's not her. Aside from the damage, though, he looks just like her. Too young to be her father. A brother, perhaps? Good job, Kuwabara." Kurama pulled himself from the crater with the rest and looked around while mumbling. "There's a faint trail of blood leading that way." He motioned for everyone to follow him as he followed the drops of red deeper into the forest.
A twig snapping woke me from my much needed sleep. I jolted away from the sound and I stiffened. Everything ached and protested as I tried to pull myself from the water's edge and behind a tree. I couldn't even stand to run away in my current state. The bleeding might have stopped, but I still lost a great amount of blood. My muscles strained and joints creaked. I only prayed that it was a squirrel that had woken me. I closed my eyes, clutched the ruined piece of fabric closer to my chest, and tried to quiet my breathing.
I felt a small breeze try and flutter through my matted hair. I curled tighter in on myself, feeling the presence hovering over me. It was only a matter of time before I was some other demon's lunch.
"Stupid girl." The voice was rough and soft at the same time and it sounded like it came directly from heaven. I opened my eyes and looked up at the irritated Hiei. His crimson eyes met mine and I couldn't hold back a smile. What a sight I must have been: covered in scars and blood and dirt, all while grinning like I idiot. I held up the sleeve of his jacket like it was an offering. My smile turned into a scowl as I noticed how filthy it was. He simply batted it from my shaky hold. Then he put an arm under my knees and his other behind my back, lifting me as easily as he would pick up a feather. I relaxed immediately, my head falling against his shoulder and a broken moan escaping my lips without my consent. I felt too heavy to move. He was so warm. I hadn't even realized that I was cold until my body uncoiled at his touch.
"Hiei! You- Oh, crap… Is she alive?" I heard Yusuke's voice and a group of footsteps jogging toward us. A short vibration from Hiei's chest rumbled through me, motivating me to try and assure them I was okay. I tried to wave, but my hand just fell from where it rested on my stomach to hang in midair. So instead I slid my hazy eyes over to them. Kurama was already holding my arm, taking my pulse. Yusuke and Kuwabara stood back with worried looks on their faces.
"Her pulse is weak, but she should be alright." He knitted his eyebrows together and he rubbed the dried coat of blood off of a spot on my arm. "This is all her blood, but she isn't bleeding. There are scars everywhere, though… Even her neck is scarred over. We need to get her to Koenma."
"On it." Yusuke opened some sort of device and started talking into it, but I was too tired. I tried so hard to stay awake, I really did, but the temptation was too great. As I drifted off, I felt Hiei shift to bring my arm back to rest on my stomach before seeming to let off more heat to speed up my warming.
It was so nice to not feel so alone anymore.