Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 082

"It isn't Christmas here," she proclaimed while looking for the spirit. Christmas Past sat on a nearby rack for drying fish. Its features were blurry at first, and then they morphed into Emily's likeness.

"It is Christmas day," the spirit corrected her. "I do not require celebration to reach through the past, only that the requirements be met. Today is the 25th day of December, it counts."

She was about to argue, but a small figure slipped past her, clutching a bundle against their chest. Thick blankets parted to reveal a fox tail streaked with dirt and snow.

"Stop her!" An older man in a thick coat charged around the corner with a knife in his hand. He was panting hard with exertion, each breath billowing out from him in giant plumes of fog. Down the road, a figure in thick furs stepped around the corner and kicked the fleeing fox demon.

She grunted when she hit the ground, her hood popping off her head to reveal pointed ears. It was a much younger Yuki, her features lean and her eyes desperate. When she scrambled to her feet, another villager stepped out of their home and smacked her in the head with an oar.

With a grunt, she hit the ground and dropped her bundle. Dried fish and a loaf of bread fell onto the cold, hard ground.

"Thief!" The man with the knife caught up, then froze when he saw younger Yuki's ears.

"This was when I was young." Yuki's eyes were wide with awe as she contemplated the scene. This wasn't something she had thought about in centuries, and only through seeing it once more could she recall the details. "I was hungry and had been stealing food from these people for days."

The men of the village circled the young kitsune and held her down. More villagers emerged from their homes, curious about the noise. A small council rapidly formed to discuss what to do with the kitsune now that her identity was known.

"And despite your transgressions, they welcomed you in." Christmas Past was smug as the villagers helped former Yuki to her feet and offered her the food she had taken. "Over the next couple of months, they would clothe and feed you under the assumption that you would provide divine protection."

Yuki's cheeks grew hot and she whirled around to face the spirit. "That's not fair!" she exclaimed. "You can see the memory just as well as I can, if not better! They just handed things over, and I was starving! What, you think I should have turned them away and wandered into the woods to freeze?"

"Their food was limited already." Christmas Past looked over their shoulder as a massive blizzard moved in and the villagers dispersed, taking the younger Yuki with them. "While their own people died, they would continue feeding you in the hopes that an early spring would come. Instead, they slowly starved, one by one."

Yuki growled. "I remember. They came for me, and started making demands. Slow the storms, bring food. Don't think I forgot about the cage they built for me. They locked me in and refused to give me food or water until I granted their wishes."

The storm raged, but went suddenly silent.

"And what happened then?" Christmas Past lifted their chin, revealing a face lit from below by an unearthly light.

"I burned the village down," Yuki whispered. "The flames from my foxfire spread to the other buildings, and I ran into the forest."

"This was their last Christmas." The spirit shook their head. "It seems like this would become a trend."

"Eat candy, mother hugger." She found a decent rock by her feet and picked it up to throw. The stone passed harmlessly through Christmas Past, then fizzled out and reappeared where she had found it.

The ghost chuckled.

"Come. There is more to see." When it reached for her, their arm extended several feet so that it could grab her by the shoulder. She tried to plant her feet and resist, but was yanked through the air and into a dark place where she was surrounded by distant lights. There was nothing beneath her now as she dangled by one arm while the spirit pulled her along.

"That was only the start," the spirit said. "Of a lifetime of taking."

"What? No!" Yuki tried to claw the spirit's wrist, but her free hand passed harmlessly through their arm. Clearly it could only be touched if it wanted to be. "How could you even say such a thing?"

Christmas Past hurled her into a nearby ball of light. The world expanded around her until she saw that she was in a different village. A group of men surrounding a hut were bowing profusely while setting bags of rice and fresh produce on the ground. One man wandered up with a deer, which he set by the doorway.

"That will do." The Yuki that emerged from the hut smirked at the men below her. "Know that you have pleased your god."

The group chattered at each other in Chinese, then wandered away from the hut. A couple stayed behind to help Yuki move the food into a side building where smoked meats had been stacked in the corner.

"You can't judge me for this," Yuki hissed while rising. "When I arrived here from Japan, it was to escape people who wanted to use me to gain power over others. I was all alone and had nobody. Well, guess what? People here thought I could grant wishes. People are the same everywhere. Was I just supposed to starve? And yes, I lied to them, but I used my magic to help where I could."

"If so, then why does it seem that these people are doing all the work for you?" Christmas Past walked over to the dead deer on the ground. "What did you do with all this extra food?"

Yuki scowled, her fists balling up. "For your information, I made sure that there was plenty of food stored for the lean times. On the surface, it looks like I'm hoarding it for myself, but I knew that a brutal winter was coming. The signs were there."

The spirit nodded. "You could have accomplished these things without posing as a deity of the woods."

She opened her mouth to argue, but the sounds of pounding hooves had reached her ears. When she turned around, she saw that her younger self was already watching a group of men on horseback approach. Armed with swords and daggers, they dismounted and surrounded the small hut.

A few villagers approached the riders with weapons of their own, but were quickly dispatched by arrow or blade. Younger Yuki stood tall and proud, but Yuki knew the grim truth. She had been absolutely terrified of these men and what they represented. Constantly on the run, Japan had begun to feel terribly small. Everywhere she went, she drew either those who feared her or desired her power. China was so much bigger than Japan, but it only meant she would have to run that much farther.

"Give us the witch," they demanded. "Or we kill everyone."

The scene paused while Christmas Past moved among the frozen people as if inspecting them for flaws. It arched one eyebrow, and then faced Yuki. "Do you remember what happened on this day?"

Yuki swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please don't make me watch," she begged.

Christmas Past smiled, and snapped their fingers. The past played out, and younger Yuki fled into her hut. When the newcomers moved toward the hut, the villagers came to Yuki's defense, only to die quickly, calling for aid as they were killed. By the time the riders reached the hut, Yuki had long fled through a secret tunnel beneath the building.

"You turned into a fox and left them to their fate." Christmas Past shook their head. "Because you take. You're a taker."

"No, that's not true, I..." She was pulled away from the scene by rough hands, the wailing of dying villagers stuck in her head as Christmas Past carried her off like a bird of prey. They moved through her memories as the spirit recounted every terrible thing she had done within a couple days of Christmas. Her arguments never held any water, and she knew it was because the moments had been cherry picked.

Still, it wore at her. Even the lightest rain will level a mountain given enough time, and time was in abundance here. She lost track of the days, trapped in a temporal hell where she was always the villain. Her only respite was knowing that the spirit would inevitably run out of days it could subject her to.

However, then what? Had the spirit simply been sent here to trap her? Or was there a more nefarious endgame? It definitely seemed like they were trying to run down the clock, but for who?

And where was Mike in all this? Was he hurt? Had the spirit already gotten rid of him? Yuki chewed at her nails, then winced when she bit one too deep.

"You're distracted." Christmas Past scowled at her, the spirit currently sitting on a stump. They were somewhere in China in the early 1900s, but Yuki didn't know the year. Her past self had two tails now, and was sleeping beneath a carriage outside of a large manor. "We're here regarding your welfare, and you've stopped paying attention."

"I get it. I'm a terrible person." Yuki gestured toward the carriage. "But you're grasping at straws, now. What am I doing here that was so wrong? Are you going to chastise me for not thanking the owner of the carriage? Tell me I'm a piece of poop for not doing some kindness here?"

"I..." Christmas Past shuddered, their features distorting. Though rare, there had been some memories with no wrong-doing where the spirit had tried to justify it by recounting her past deeds, or stretching truths to fit the narrative. Arguing those points sometimes caused the ghost to panic and freak out, and this was no exception.

The ghost snatched her up by the ankles and soared into the sky. Yuki didn't even bother fighting, she couldn't touch the spirit if they didn't want her to.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable," they declared as the clouds in the sky warped into a circular opening. When they soared through the aperture, Yuki's blood chilled as she saw a familiar tower down below.

"No, no, no, anywhere but there!" She tried to fight, but was tossed unceremoniously into the courtyard. Though she had fallen from a great height, the landing only knocked the wind from her lungs. Wheezing, she got to her feet and tried to walk toward the gate.

"How can you be expected to improve without understanding your past?" Christmas Past grabbed her by the foot and dragged her toward the tower. "You spent so many years in this place, surely there is much to learn."

"Why are you doing this?" She grabbed at the edge of a planter and was able to hold on for a few seconds before being pulled free. "I wasn't here because I was bad, but because I was trapped!"

The spirit said nothing as it dragged her into the tower proper. The bottom floor was trashed with broken furniture everywhere. Stairs had been laid into the exterior wall, and Yuki was dragged up all of them until they reached her old bedroom. On the bed, a past version of herself lay, sobbing hysterically.

"This was your first Christmas here," the spirit noted. "You didn't use to care about the holiday, but Emily had taught you to love it. It was a special day to her, and therefore, to you. You even decorated the tree in the hopes that she would return and save you, but that didn't happen, did it? There was this fantasy that she would be waiting, sitting beneath its branches with sad eyes and an apology, but it wasn't meant to be."

The tree in question was lying in the corner, its branches broken. Small, handcrafted ornaments lay shattered all over the floor, surrounded by pine needles. A sheet of paper with a hand-drawn calendar lay nearby, the days crossed off with Xs that got progressively larger until they reached the 25th of December.

"I really thought she was coming for me," Yuki whispered. Back then, when Emily had disappeared, she hadn't known what to think. For the next several Christmases, this process would repeat, growing grander in scale until the entire tower was decorated. When the morning came, and Emily was still absent, Yuki would trash the tower and fall in a heap on her bed for days.

The spirit hovered above, their lips curled into a bloodless smile. Their features shifted and melted until they wore Emily's face. "You were being punished."

"No." Yuki glared at Christmas Past. "I was being protected. I know the truth now. Emily was possessed and did what she could to hide me from the evil that possessed her. Nothing you tell me will change the truth."

"Perhaps. But think on all the things I have already shown you. How many people did you hurt over the centuries? The villagers you stole from, the ones you fooled? Some gave their lives to protect you, others died in pursuit of you. You were a menace, and you deserved this." Christmas Past was smug as dark lines crept along their face like worms. "This is karma."

"Fudge you," she whispered.

"And now, we watch." The spirit focused their attention on the figure in the bed. "Grief and despair shall metamorphosize into loneliness and rage."

Yuki stared with wide eyes as the past unfolded. Hours went by, and the huddled mass of her former self barely moved. When she finally did stir, it was to cry out in agony. Her past self let out a scream, and then threw a handful of foxfire at the tree. It ignited, sending black tendrils of smoke up the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because I'm here to teach you the true meaning of Christmas!" The spirit seized her by the throat and lifted her above the scene. Gone was any child-like innocence in the ghost's face as they choked her. "That cruelty must be punished!"

"Cruelty...isn't...Christmas!" she gasped. "It's about...giving, and..."

"Wrong." The spirit's eyes flashed, and the room below filled with multiple versions of Yuki, each one from a different year. They passed through each other as they each tore the bedroom apart and howled in grief. "It isn't about goodwill and gifts. The world is a broken place, and somebody must hold it accountable. Giving children gifts for good behavior hasn't taught them to be kind as adults, and parents can't be trusted to punish their children appropriately for their misdeeds."

A cold wind blasted through the bedroom window, and the whole tower shook. Christmas Past's voice grew louder and filled with static as their body twisted and distorted violently, then snapped back into place. For just a moment, it looked like they had two heads.

"It's time for accountability," they shrieked, their light-filled eyes opened wide. "To bring back the true meaning of Christmas! As light needs darkness to exist, so too must there be a balance!" They slammed Yuki into the wall, causing the wall to crack. She felt the bones in her back pop as Christmas Past smashed her into the hard surface again and again.

"Stop it, stop it!" She summoned a handful of fire, but it passed right through the spirit and vanished in mid-air.

"You can't hurt me," the spirit snarled, then threw her to the ground. "I am a manifestation of days that have passed, and you cannot change them! I am immutable, unbending, unshakeable. Your mistakes, your victories, they all belong to me, and I see all, I know all, and you deserve to be punished!"

"You don't get to judge me." Yuki winced, then stood. "You're just a broken spirit, I see that now. You can see the past, but it doesn't mean you know what it's like to go hungry, or to be afraid, or to have your heart so utterly broken that you wish the universe would burn itself down around you."

The spirit descended, the light in their eyes flickering out to reveal a pair of gaping holes. Their distended limbs made them stand a foot taller than she did, and they curled a pale finger around her chin.

"Fine then," they whispered. "If I can't judge you, then maybe she can."

A cold blast of ice sent Yuki across the room where she crashed into a bookshelf and collapsed on the floor. Groaning, she twisted around to see that the damage to the tower was gone. The room had been redecorated, and a dark figure stood silhouetted in the balcony, her tails swishing behind her.

"Did Emily send you?" When this version of Yuki stepped forward, the sun's light glistened off of the snow white fur of her tails. She wore a leather eye patch and held several tarot cards fanned out in her left hand. "Are you here to finish what she started?"

"No, I--" Yuki summoned a wall of ice to deflect the icy barrage that barreled toward her. She peered around the corner and then ducked back when a sword blew past her head and clanged off the floor. The shuffling of cards could be heard.

"She will not take anything more from me," the past declared as it summoned a storm of ice indoors. Yuki's head pounded, her mind filling with memories of the time an intruder, another kitsune, had come to her tower. The details poured into her head in real time, splitting her consciousness in two as she experienced the fight from two points of view.

How could this be? Was she actually in the past? Gasping in pain, she clutched at her head and dove out of the way as a massive icicle shattered the table and exploded against the far wall. Somehow, the spirit had linked the past and present together, and Yuki wasn't sure that she would survive it.

Now sitting on the bed, Christmas Past cackled with glee, dark lines squirming all along their porcelain features.. "These are the shadows of things that have been," they explained. "There can only be one outcome, for to harm your past is to destroy the present. And we both know that your precious Caretaker would not have survived without you. This is your last and final test, Yuki Otome. Will you pass it?"

"I..."

She threw herself sideways as ice erupted at her feet and spiraled into the sky. Summoning a shield of her own, she narrowly avoided a barrage of blades that pierced the ice and exploded outward in a cloud of frost and metal. The benefit of having her mind split was that she remembered what her past self was going to do the moment before she did it. It was the thinnest of edges, but it would have to be enough. The temperature in the room was dropping fast and the floors were becoming slippery with frost.

How could she hope to beat her past self without dooming her own future? She managed to dodge a pair of swords, then got knocked over when a ball of fire slammed into her from above. The pressure in her head was building, and it felt like she was going to black out. She stumbled and fell, rolling over in time to see past Yuki approaching. One finger was tucked beneath the eye patch, so Yuki closed her eyes to keep from getting turned to stone.

"Please, don't," she cried, holding her hands up. "You have to let me explain!"

"I don't have to--"

The world went silent, save for the sound of electrical streamers. Yuki turned toward the noise and opened her eyes to see Mike standing behind Christmas Past. He had grabbed the spirit's head from behind, and purple sparks crawled all along his arm and into Christmas Past's forehead. The spirit was frozen in place, its eyes wide as the darkness receded.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted, sweat glistening off his forehead. Yuki looked around the room to see that the past had frozen in place. Whatever he was doing, it had stopped the past in its tracks. "Had to take the long way in."

"You okay?" she asked, her voice too loud in her own head. At least her memories weren't filling in any more.

"Mostly. But, uh, things might get real weird for a minute." He looked at Christmas Past, whose features now rippled like turning pages. "Like, weirder than normal. I just pumped Casper here with a bunch of magic, and, well, you know..."

Nodding, Yuki laid down on the floor and clutched her head while trying not to puke. She didn't care what he did, as long as he could make the pain stop.

Mike used his free hand to pull Christmas Past toward him by their hair, his magic swarming over the spirit's body. After a brutal free-hand climb across a sheer rock face, he had dropped onto a section of the exterior wall that had required him to run all the way down to the courtyard before entering the tower proper. He was grateful that no version of the Jabberwock was hanging around in this timeline, but had been disturbed to see the sun shift places dramatically above him. It wasn't just disorienting, but he worried that Yuki might be moved to a different memory outside of the tower. If she and the spirit left without him, would he become stuck, or just fall into the void?