The sandstorm was violent, like a hungry beast raving and raging to devour all in sight. This made traversing the desert a challenge on its own, for sights were blurred by the constant grayness of sand and nowhere could a sign of life be found, be it plant or beast. There was not even the vaguest hint of a nearby water source, only countless dunes in the horizon. Nekohana pushed forward through the inhospitable environment, as she usually did in the past. But it did not matter how many times she ventured there, for the chaotic nature of that bleak place and the lack of any vegetation whatsoever always rendered the experience a terrible one at the end of the day. It was during those times that her mind went back to the time of her mother's death and how she regrettably found her demise in the desert. At the very least youkai bodies dissolved upon dying, that way there would be no remains buried beneath the sand.
A sudden shadow in the distance. The vague but distinct shape of trees. At last, a ray of hope had shown itself. Mustering her strength, she dashed headfirst for what seemed like forever. All of a sudden, she was surrounded by rich vegetation, almost as if the desert had been nothing but a nightmare from which she awoke. With a weakened smile and a sigh of relief, the tired youkai collapsed on the grass as if it were the most comfortable bed in existence, and after that exhausting journey, it might as well have been. It was during that short rest that she could commune with all the plants in the palace gardens. Although fully reestablishing their connection would have taken some time, she still understood that she had been missed, that there had been mistreatment and neglect, and that the queen viewed them more as a luxury to show off to her followers.
"I'm so sorry..." Nekohana spoke in her sleep. "How can I help?"
The feeling of something soft landing on her face snapped her awake. It was but a leaf, green and healthy. Looking around, she saw that the two trees near her were purposefully shedding their leaves into a small pile.
"Use our gift," the choir of plants echoed in her mind. "Go on your path, achieve your goals. And when you are finished, we expect you to help us. Give us a better life as you once did all those years ago, daughter of Mesuhana."
"Thank you." She bowed down to express her gratitude. "I will come back to repay you when the time comes. As you give, so shall you receive."
Using the fallen leaves and strings of grass, she sowed herself a hooded cloak. The daylight coming from the clouded sky indicated the time of early afternoon. She made haste and traversed the vast jungles that were the palace gardens up until she reached an enormous palace that pierced the very skies, its size comparable to that of a city. Scanning the surroundings, she noticed a group of traveling merchants crowding in line at the entrance. It was perfect.
Two bored humanoid youkai acted as sentinels, and although they emanated an aura of importance while donning their silvery armors, the expressions on their scaly faces showed nothing but blunt apathy. Each traveler had to merely present their luggage, and after a short inspection, passage was allowed.
"What are you carrying?" asked one of the soldiers, raising his eyebrow in suspicion upon noticing that the hooded merchant lacked bags and wheelbarrows.
"Merely flowers from the far reaches of the kingdom," Nekohana answered with her head bowed down, her voice purposefully low and raspy to give off the appearance of an old and frail female. "They are rare and of an unspeakable beauty." She immediately wrapped some flowers from her mane into a fake bouquet and pulled them out of her cloak. "Do you wish to buy some, dear?"
"She's harmless," the other soldier dismissively stated and gestured for her to proceed. "Next!"
The lioness suppressed a giggle as she stepped inside the capital palace. Security had grown too comfortable over the past thousand years.
She found the first floor as a large corridor, crowded with markets where countless sneaky merchants were attempting to sell random objects to an ever-busy public, no doubt at high prices too. But something was different from when she had last set foot in that place. The first floor had always been the home to the lowest of youkai, those that represented the weak and poor majority, but never in her lifetime had she seen them being that busy, almost akin to humans rushing to their day jobs in a large metropolis.
As she made her way ahead, trying to recall the path she took every time she returned home from her garden duties, little devils, imps and goblins accosted her, skin tones ranging from brownish red to grayish green, worthless items in their hands which they desperately tried to sell to unsuspecting newcomers.
"Hey lady, I got a brilliant gold necklace that might look great on you!" called a goblin.
"Dragon scales, freshly hunted, make a tasty soup out of them today!" an imp yelled as loud as its tiny lungs allowed in a vain attempt to catch her attention.
"You there, I got some nice blades to keep you safe. You never know how dangerous these corridors are," giggled a devil as he gestured to a table filled with rusted knives and swords that were obviously worn from centuries of warfare. "They would be helpful for a stranger such as yourself."
"Thank you for the offer, but it's not necessary," Nekohana politely declined and hastened her steps.
Escaping the markets had been a difficult task, but ultimately attainable. Freed of the suffocating atmosphere of shuffling crowds and loud vendors, she looked ahead at the brick corridor which seemed to stretch endlessly, apartment doors at both left and right sides - the homes of the poor. Taking a deep breath, her nostrils were immediately assaulted by the oddly familiar stench of sewer water and rat droppings. Home, sweet home...
She resumed her straightforward journey for what seemed to be like hours. The further she advanced, there were lesser signs of life. Every once in a while, a small group of travelers would pass by, or she would notice the occasional beggar sitting in a corner, trying and almost always failing to any gain pity aid. Truly the Twilight Kingdom's society was not that different from man's, in spite of their demonic pride. As she reached a crossroad, she recalled the trio of youkai who verbally bullied her whenever she returned home from gardening. That place used to be their hangout location, now it was deserted.
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that there was in fact someone there - a demon whose lower body resembled that of a goat's, long legs covered by black fur and ending in hooves, while the upper body was humanoid, crimson skin covered in dust, square face with subtle Grecian features, a pair of small horns sticking out of his dark brown curly hair.
"Please, spare some coins for a poor fallen angel..." he pathetically begged upon seeing the newcomer.
Like all other travelers on that day, she ignored him and went along her way. But upon taking a better look, he took notice of her curvy body and frail appearance, as well as the lack of any witnesses. Making haste, he got up, knocking the begging bowl, then he spoke with a much more confident tone:
"Oh my, why aren't you a sight to behold in these places!" The stranger kept ignoring him as she hastened her steps, prompting him to follow. "Woah there, sweet cheeks, what's with the hurry? You trying to make your ass look even nicer by running?" Again no answer, this only served to further entice him, and he ran even faster, catching up to the lonely female, his greedy hands reaching for her bottom. In the matter of seconds, she spun back, her hood falling off to reveal the head of a purple lioness, flowers coming out of her scalp and stretching down into her cloak. Her sharp claws sliced the demon's palms open, the pursuer shrieking in pain as he backed down. "Fucking wench, just who do you think you are?!" He clenched his fists in an attempt to stop the bleeding and subdue the pain. "I only wanted to show you a good time, but after what you did, I'll have to rob you blind and teach you a lesson in respect, fucking cunt!"
"I haven't come here seeking trouble. So mind your own business if you don't want me to do worse things to you," Nekohana coldly threatened, causing the male to burst into mirthful laughter.
"I've smelled your blood, it's as mixed as Rot Salad. We may both be low class youkai, but my blood is pure while you're a mutt. That means nothing can stop me from doing to you whatever I want!"
"Care to prove these claims then?"
The beggar dashed at blinding speed and punched her in the face, sending the flower youkai flying straight into a wall, her leaf cloak falling off in the process. As she tried to regain her composure, the muscular fiend appeared right in front of her and landed another heavy punch in her face, almost knocking a fang out, causing blood to spring from her gums. He pinned her against the wall, licking his greedy lips, and declared, "The worst is yet to come, sweet cheeks!"
Nekohana desperately looked around. Unfortunately for her, there were no plants for her magic to take effect. The hits she took managed to break her concentration and thus she could not think of a way to physically overpower and escape the brute. Left with no other choice, she broke the vow she had made to herself upon returning to the Twilight Kingdom and silently uttered a prayer.
"What are you doing? Asking the big guys upstairs for help? Haha, as if they would even lift a finger to help someone like-" He was then interrupted by a strange force which shoved him back, freeing the would-be victim from his grip. "Impossible, you're just a youkai like the rest of us!"
Nekohana reached into her mane where she had hidden her travel bag and pulled out a handful of sacred salt. Although it burnt her palms in excruciating ways, she grit her fangs and endured as she hurled it right in his face, shouting her prayers even louder than before:
"Spirits of the Sky and Land, take all evil, disasters and sins and purify them all!"
The lowly demon recoiled in pain and uttered with shock, "Y-you're not asking for help, you're actually trying to exorcise me!" A youkai exorcising another was something unheard of in the Twilight Kingdom, let alone the entire afterlife, for none of them had spiritual powers due to their non-divine nature. Through his pained screams, he mustered the strength to ask, "What kind of abomination are you?! You should never do this to your own kin!"
"Nor should you try raping your own kin," she shot back and ceased tossing the salt, her judging stare fixating the assaulter akin to a pitiless judge who was ready to sentence someone. "Now leave me alone before I complete the exorcism."
Without another word, the beggar turned tail and disappeared in the corridors. Nekohana sighed with relief, then she picked up the leaf cloak and resumed her path, trying to ignore the stinging feeling in her palms.
It did not take long for her to reach the door of what was once her family's apartment, which had been left broken and hanging, as it was on the night when Shishima and the guards had busted in to rescue her from Yottakari's abuse and have him arrested. The inside was trashed. Looters may have often dropped by, as plenty of her family's possessions were missing, such as her father's swords and her mother's jewelry. Upon stepping in, a small group of rats emerged from beneath the trash piles and ran outside in a frenzy. Although the living room and kitchen had obviously fallen prey to the greed of robbers, she was relieved to find that her room had largely been left untouched. Childhood toys, music instruments, writings and gardening tools had all been left to collect dust on tables and shelves. She could not suppress the smile which grew on her face, it was almost as if she had been reunited with a long lost friend. Fukurokuju was right, indeed there were still remnants of the past waiting for her back home. Not wasting any time, she pulled out of her mane the travel bag on a stick which had the property to magically fit in any object, to the point where entire piles of hoard could be carried inside and they would all be light as a feather.
While salvaging what she could, her mind immediately went to a distant memory. Mesuhana was holding baby Nekohana in her arms, gently cradling her as she waved Yottakari goodbye. Even at that early age she could recognize the coldness, harsh discipline and strict devotion to the army that her father displayed. She recalled the look of sadness and longing on her mother face, the look of a female who knew deep inside that her dreams of having a happy family would never come true. In hindsight, there was no surprise that after her mother's death, her father treated her like a slave and was all too eager to sell her out to his general in an arranged marriage. Those emotional scars served only to further fuel Nekohana's ambition of regaining Shishima's love. If she could at least live the happy life that Mesuhana could not obtain, her mother's memory would be honored in the end.
Noises from outside immediately caught her attention. After wrapping the travel bag, she tiptoed to the apartment's exit and peeked into the corridor. A green oni holding a loot bag had been apprehended by six youkai of different races, all dressed in knee-length trousers and military tunics with stiff linen collars, red phoenixes and blue serpents embroidered on their sleeves in a manner that was both extravagant and outrageous. They shouted in unison and a glowing circle appeared on the floor around the oni, magical symbols drawn inside. He found himself unable to move and desperately grunted as the group's leader slowly approached him - a salamander youkai of a rather tall stature, who wore a flamboyant uniform of a plum purple color, tufty around the collars and sleeves.
"Excellent job, men!" the reptile exclaimed while examining the prisoner. "You worthless ruffian dared to steal important artifacts belonging to the queen's treasure vault and actually believed you would not be punished for such an act of treachery? Aha-ahahaha! Worry not, for I, the daiyoukai Sazansho, leader of the Twilight Kingdom's Sealing Corps and esteemed minister of Cultural Arts will personally ensure that you will face justice for your petty crimes. Men, take him to the upmost level so that he can be judged by the queen! We all know what his sentence will be."
Little did they know that the thief was stronger than he looked. Mustering his sheer force, he managed to slightly overpower the circle's binding magic just enough to set off an explosion. The soldiers had been knocked out, but Sazansho remained on his legs and immediately blew the smoke off to see that the oni was breathing heavily from achieving such a feat.
"Impressive!" He gave a short applause. "For a filthy commoner, your resilience is to be admired."
"This 'filthy commoner' will bash your skull into a brick wall if you still dare stand in my way..." the exhausted thief threatened through his gasps for air.
"Tell you what, how about a duel? I am giving you a last chance to escape the queen's wrath. Defeat me and you will regain your freedom!" the daiyoukai mockingly suggested as he took out his deck. "Well, what do you say?"
The oni's response was to take out a deck from his tiger pelt and cause two dueling tables to rise from the floor between them. Both set their cards and caused five blue rectangular shields to materialize above themselves, thus marking the beginning of their match.
"I cast Brain Storm," Sazansho said, drawing three cards and putting two on the top of his deck.
"I cast Faerie Miracle and ramp two cards since I have all civilizations in my mana zone," the oni said.
"Very well, then my turn begins anew. Vividdraw!"
"Vividdraw...?"
"Yes, before attacking, if I draw a card with Vividdraw, I may reveal it and play it for its Vividdraw cost! So I summon Skeptic, Fake Supporting Actor for 3 mana instead of 5, isn't that amazing?" A white and blue bird donning blue robes appeared by the salamander's side, allowing him to draw three more cards, after which he placed one at the top of his deck. "Due to Skeptic's effect, I end my turn here."
"That small blocker is no match for me! I cast Mystery Cube!" the oni said and shuffled his deck, after which he revealed the top card. "I put Sr Spellcyclica, Dragment Symbol in the battle zone and recast Mystery Cube, after which I take it back into my hand!" A blue dragon made of sharp crystals appeared, its owner once more shuffling his deck and revealing the top card. "I also put Codeking Mozart in the battle zone and destroy all your non-Dragons!" A black dragon with glowing blue wings and a multitude of spears coming out of its body appeared and gave a mighty roar, releasing one of its weapons to impale the small bird. "Then with Mozart's other effect, all your Dragons can't attack me."
"Oh my, oh my, whatever shall I do?" Sazansho feigned worry as he drew his next card. "How about this? Vividdraw - I cast Celebrate! The final curtain of this story! With its effect I draw a card and bring out Meteorshower Auroratheater!"
A Phoenix modeled after a carnival mask with giant purple feathers for wings, a red and a blue snake for limbs which held fans in their mouths and a wild red and blue flame surrounding its body appeared in the battle zone, causing the opponent to back down in awe.
"Feast your eyes on the leader of the Bikkuri Kingdom! With his graceful power, this match will be turned in my favor! Meteorshower lets me draw three cards when he enters the battle zone and he is also a speed attacker that can't be blocked. Go, triple break his shields!" Heeding his master's order, the Phoenix stuck out his snake-like tongue and lashed it at the opponent, hacking away three shields.
"Shield trigger, I summon Aegis Boost, Matchless Dragon Saint and-"
"No you don't!" Sazansho interrupted. "While Meteorshower is attacking, you cannot put a creature that costs the same as or less than the number of cards in my hand! I have 8 cards and Aegis Boost costs 6."
"What kind of bullshit is this?!"
"Aha-ahahaha, due to Celebrate's effect, Meteorshower goes to the top of my deck at the end of my turn."
"I'm not wasting any more time with you, I cast Mystery Cube!" The oni shuffled his deck and once more revealed the top card. "I put Balga Do Raiba, Matchless Dragon Phantom in the battle zone." A hybrid between an Armored Dragon and Earth Dragon donning a golden and silver armor, wielding two katanas, three guns attached to each forearm, a pair of flaming wings on its back, appeared and rushed straight at the opposing shields. "I attack with Balga Do Raiba and reveal the top card of my deck. If it's a Dragon, it goes into the battle zone. Perfect, I bring out Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon; now Balga Do Raiba, triple break his shields!"
Sazansho watched with amusement how the creature slashed away his three shields. Then with a discreet giggle, he carefully picked the cards and revealed one of them while saying, "Shield trigger, I expand Cyberdice Vegas, Gambling Expert of D." Their surroundings morphed into those of a casino with slot machines, roulette tables, a circle of playing cards and a blue dice floating in the center of the room.
"Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon, burn his final shields!"
"Not so fast - Denjara Switch! I cast Celebrate! The final curtain of this story! I draw a card and bring out Skeptic, Fake Supporting Actor." The small blue and white bird reappeared, allowing its owner to once more draw three cards and put one on the top of his deck. "Then Skeptic ends your turn right here!"
"This can't be..."
"Oh, but it is! You lowly scrub simply cannot appreciate the brilliance of Vividdraw's power. Speaking of which - Vividdraw, I summon Meteorshower Auroratheater and draw three cards again. Go, Meteorshower, break his final shields!"
"Shield trigger, I cast Hogan Blaster!" The oni hastily shuffled his deck and revealed the top card. "I put Codeking Wilhelm in the battle zone, which destroys Skeptic and-"
"Did you already forget so easily?" Sazansho chastised him and showed the number of cards in his hand. "That creature of yours costs 9 mana and I have 13 cards in my hand, Meteorshower will not let you put it in the battle zone!" In response, the poor youkai punched his table in frustration. "You are but a disgrace to all tasteful duelists. Skeptic, todomeda!"
The small Fire Bird flew headfirst into the oni's face, knocking him out and marking its owner's victory. Their surroundings then reverted to those of the brick corridor. Just as the thief lay on the floor, Sazansho unleashed a torrent of red flames upon him, relishing in his screams of agony.
"You are not even worth the queen's justice, I will personally dispose of you like the pile of trash that you are."
With those parting words said, he picked up the loot bag and went to awaken the members of his Sealing Corps. When they left the scene, all that remained of the poor oni was a small pile of hot ash out of which smoke still rose.
Nekohana had witnessed everything and could not help but tremble with fear. Although when she first laid eyes on Sazansho she had found him familiar, as soon as she got used to his mannerisms and speech patterns, she began to recall more about the enigmatic daiyoukai. He was among the ones who conspired against Akushishi on the night of Purgatory's fall. She faintly remembered stumbling upon their secret meeting in a hidden corridor while returning to Shishima's room. The discussion that they had was not meant for any other ears, and yet fate had put her in that dangerous position. She had tried to run and warn Shishima, but they had discovered her and given her a beating that should have been lethal. And yet their physical abuse did not compare to her lover's merciless act of slashing away her arm in his fit of insanity.
The lioness blinked and snapped out of her thoughts, finding herself rubbing her left shoulder, the very one that had once been pierced by his claws. Despite time healing those wounds, somehow she still felt the vaguest hint of pain lingering there. After confirming that the coast was clear, she sneaked out of the apartment and started looking for stairs that would lead her to the upper levels, where hopefully she would find more answers.