Chapter Two

The Ancient City

Many Years Ago

Today was market day. Of course there was no true day or night in the ground below but the fires that rose up from that part of Hell that was once closest to the Ancient City would filter into numerous natural rock formations and give the impression of light. As a result the bazaar was filled with a gentle orange-yellow glow that was "enhanced" by the more creative youkai artisans with flecks of green, blue, purple and whatever other colours one could imagine. This "fairy fire", as some called it, was popular among the stalls selling more expensive goods and at the more raucous parties in the rare event that an oni did not show up (usually because they were at another party, not that this deterred certain individuals...).

Koishi loved to dance among the lights and Satori, though slightly more reserved in temper, would often join her. In this part of the market district many of the shopkeepers knew of the two youkai orphans and would often give them small errands to run to earn what food they could. There were as many evil-hearted youkai as good in the Ancient City and some would try to tempt them with more "lucrative" offers but these were always warded off by the cold stare of Satori's three pink eyes. As the two of them walked through the lively bustle of the market, a noticeable spring entered their step at the sight of so many vibrant hearts. The lives in the market were neither happy nor sad but these places were always buzzing with activity and it was here that the sisters felt most at home.

Satori skipped along while Koishi was practically leaping, flowing through the crowd of earthbound youkai before spinning in an impromptu pirouette. She threw her head back and looked up to the cavern's ceiling where other underground dwellers of all descriptions flew on errands for themselves or their masters. Somewhere off to the right, the footsteps and shouts of the crowds were interrupted by flapping wings as a flock of hell ravens took off, congregating around one of the brighter rock formations before disappearing into the blazing fires below.

"Hey! Be careful, don't leave me behind!" Satori laughed as she chased after her sister. Koishi was always good at hiding.

The two of them carved a path through the crowds like a fish through water, slowing down only when they neared the end of the marketplace. The gates that marked the end of the market district loomed before them, threatening to swallow all that passed beyond. Then an explosion tore through the ground near where they stood, hurling the two Komeijis off their feet once again. Although it caught them off guard, they were not sleeping as they were before and managed to hit the pavement rolling and get to their feet almost immediately.

"The spirit again?" Koishi asked.

"There's no way, they would never attack anything in the middle of the city!" Satori's eyes widened in fear.

The two satori scanned the cloud of dust that had been kicked up in the chaos. Instantly a small black silhouette appeared in the distance, growing larger at an alarming rate as it dashed straight down the obscured road. Slowly they could hear the sounds of curses and laughter growing, and the ground began to tremble under the weight of the footsteps. As they looked up, Satori and Koishi realised in unison that whatever it was, it was heading straight for them.

Instantly they hurled themselves to either side of the road, recovering their wits just in time to witness an orange and purple blur hurtling past them followed by a crowd of lesser youkai in hot pursuit.

"Stop, thief!" yelled a woman with another face on the back of her head.

"Come back here you damn oni!" demanded another with catlike features.

The only response they received was "nyahahahaha"

Before they realised what was happening, the sisters had leaped off their feet and were in pursuit, being jostled forward by the mob. Caught up in the chaos of the marketplace, they could do little but move along and hope that they would have an opportunity to get out of the crowd but the prospects were not looking good. In the middle of so many living beings even their third eyes would have trouble seeing anything. Amidst the deafening noise of the crowd the sisters were able to pick up a single voice shouting, the only thing coherent amidst the madness, and slowly made their way towards it. Finally as they neared the edge they could just about make out what the voice was saying.

"Hey! Hey! I'm up here! Catch me why dontcha?!"

But the crowd paid no heed. Lost in the confusion and anger of their goods being stolen they failed to see that the little oni had doubled back and was mocking them from the rooftops. Satori scrambled up the building followed by Koishi, the two sisters effortlessly communicating their thoughts, and spread out nimbly, creeping onto the rooftop behind the horned creature. Running forward they made a grab for her, only to find their hands passing through air as they overbalanced and fell from the rooftops into the now empty streets below...

"Nyahahaha don't do that, you'll hurt yourselves!" came a cheerful voice from behind them.

Satori felt a small hand gripping her arm with a strength she never thought possible, then a rush of air as she was hoisted up onto the rooftop once more. Slowly she turned around to look at their rescuer, a child who looked about their age with orange hair. The oni swayed about drunkenly, causing the chains manacled to her wrists and clothing to dance and tingle, almost like the joyful sound of bells on festival day.

"Heh...you could fall if you go around playing rough like thish", she continued, "still you found me! Not bad." Then she threw back her head and laughed, clearly enjoying the spectacle of the two bewildered satori staring at her...perhaps a bit too much.

"I like you, you're loads of fun. I know! Why dontcha come to the feast tonight? I heard there's one near the old palace grounds. Well, no one ever tells us oni but we know. We always know", she tapped her head with a finger as if to emphasise the point.

"Hey! There she is! Give back my apples you little thief!"

"What these?" the oni replied with a laugh as she produced two shiny apples, seemingly out of nowhere and tossed them to Satori and Koishi. They both gasped in unison – getting such goods from the surface was hard enough; many youkai in the underground hadn't seen an apple before! The oni grinned and waved to them as she turned back and leaped straight into the crowd of angry shopkeepers, fists flailing as she threw herself fully into the fight. The sisters realised their cue to leave and began to run, scrambling down the side of the building as fast as they had climbed it. As the sounds of the melee faded from hearing, still one sound remained.

"Nyahahaha"