~Introduction: Present Time~
It was a quiet day in the snowy Ancient City. Oni were running their market stalls, drinking in the warm glow of the fiery lanterns and spending time with their neighbours and family, with the silhouette of the Palace of the Earth Spirits ever present on the horizon. The city, inhabited by many subterranean Youkai and Oni, was always busy at the best of times. Today, however, it was mellow. On one of the main yet deserted streets was a traditional Japanese house, with a small wooden plaque hanging with Hoshiguma scrawled on it in rather large, haphazard script.
Yuugi Hoshiguma sat up from an unscheduled nap as she heard a sharp and recognizable knock at her front door. Yawning, she gulped down a mouthful or two of sake from her red dish and ambled over to the tatami door. The shackles around the blonde Oni's wrists scraped against the old material as she pried the stubborn construct open to greet her visitor.
"Yuugi, were you asleep? That's nothing new." a rather irritated voice asked before the door had even fully opened. Chuckling, Yuugi stepped aside from the door and fully slid it open, wearing the confident wide grin that Oni were very keen to use should the situation arise.
"Parsee, come on in. Can I get you some tea, or sake, or whatever?" the Oni laughed. With a perturbed sigh, Parsee, shaking her head politely, headed inside and perched on a lone wooden chair that sat in the dusty corner of the room, her shoes making a quiet and dull shuffle against the venerable floor. Yuugi strolled over rather laboriously, dragging another chair and taking a seat opposite her green-eyed visitor.
"Yuugi, you know when you told me about your past? And then you said one day I'd probably have to return the favour..?" Parsee asked in a casual yet quite reluctant manner, her viridian eyes following the Oni's every move.
"Uh-huh. You've decided to come and tell ol' Yuugi about your life history, eh?"
"Mm... it's a long story, so I hope you have enough patience to hear it all..."
"Oh, come on, do you know who you're talking to? I'm an Oni, silly, we have as much patience as sake here!"
"Gr..." Parsee hissed under her breath in envy, before taking a deep intake of break and sighing again, "Yuugi, I'm serious... I haven't told anyone else before. It took me ages to get up the courage to tell you this, so don't be kidding around!"
The Oni raised her hands in surrender with a quiet laugh, taking another sip of her alcohol whilst she did so, "It's okay, it's okay. You know what I'm like, Parsee. No, I promise I'll be serious, go on, go on. Don't forget, you can stop if you want. I know your past must have been, eh, a bit rough, so don't feel pressure from me to keep goin'."
With a little hesitation that drew out the silence for what seemed to be an eternity, Parsee finally leaned forward and began to relay the tale of her past, recalling each moment with unrivalled clarity as if the events had just occurred the previous day.
A/N: This is the first chapter of the first installment to my Touhou Histories series, a look back at the past lives of some of Gensokyo's denizens. This is only a small introduction now, just to give you all a heads-up about the Touhou Histories series. I don't know which backstory I shall write after Parsee's so make a suggestion or two in your review.
~Soleirolia.