Yuugi stomped up the hill, whistling a tune under her breath, and balancing her sake dish on one palm, the collection of fairy tales she planned to give Parsee on the other, and finally pictures of the layout of Hell tucked under her arm.
Procuring reading material in Hell wasn't easy: most oni were literate only to a limited extent, and the sinners had more pressing things to worry about than catching up on the latest stories. However, there was a massive library in the Palace of Earth Spirits, and loath though Yuugi was to visit the satori when she didn't have to, she had to admit Satori Komeiji was extremely fair when it came to loaning out her scrolls.
The joys of reading quietly alone weren't something Yuugi understood: to her, stories were the best when told aloud around a campfire, preceded and followed by copious drinking. But then, she had long since learned that Parsee thought more like a satori than an oni. That was why she had helped her get the job as a bridge overseer while she herself continued to roam with her gang. It was better for everyone, especially after the other oni could no longer hold back their contempt following the episode in the sparring ring.
Yuugi sighed. She disliked duplicity as much as the next oni, but she also knew Parsee had meant no harm with her actions: all she had done was try to fit in. Yuugi could see that, even if the others couldn't.
She heard a sharp intake of breath, and turned to see a puny human flat against the wall of the tunnel, staring at her with glassy horror. Some honourable sap who had successfully made the crossing without being swallowed by the yawning abyss due to her sins, and was now terrified at the mere sight of an oni.
Yuugi smiled at the human and inclined her head. It wasn't her job to keep those who willingly ventured in out, so she might as well be pleasant.
The human squeaked something incomprehensible and scurried past her, throwing darting glances at every direction till she exited the tunnel and entered the top of the hill leading to the city. Yuugi watched it all, amused, then continued towards the entrance.
As she did so, for the first time in years she paid attention to the walls of the tunnel. The stone behind the human had been the exact spot where she had seen Parsee, with her tongue firmly held between her teeth, carve a line into the bedrock on her first day of work. Since then, Yuugi had briefly glanced at the growing collection of lines whenever she passed by until they had simply become a part of the scenery.
Now, she looked at them again. The lines stretched on as far as her eyes could see, reaching from the ceiling to the eye level of ants, starting out as neat, identical clusters of five and growing messier and less discrete the closer she came to the bridge.
She didn't even try to count them. Has it really been so long?
She stepped out of the tunnel and into the surface-bound cavern. Parsee stood where she expected her to be, by the mouth of the bridge with her back turned towards the tunnel. The coloured lantern by the bridge on which some wiseass had long ago written "Welcome to Hell" tinted her honey-coloured hair a sickly green-yellow hue.
Yuugi smiled. Both her hands occupied, she made up for her inability to wave with the boisterousness of her voice. "Hey, Parsee!"
Parsee's shoulders shot towards her ears, and she whirled around, flustered.
Perhaps it was simply the dim lighting, or Yuugi had drunk quite a bit more in the party prior to coming over than she thought she had, but for a fleeting moment, it had looked like Parsee's eyes were glowing. She definitely wasn't imagining the air of melancholy, however.
She approached, undaunted but puzzled. "How are things?"
Parsee seemed smaller than usual, almost shrunken. When she smiled, it was a feeble effort that didn't reach her eyes. "I've been worse."
Yuugi held up the scroll. Better get her mind off whatever was bothering her. "Got you some new stuff."
"Oh!" It was like watching a fire come back alive from embers. Parsee all but snatched the scroll. "Thank you! Is it fairy tales?"
"Yeah. Are you sick of them?"
Parsee embraced the scroll. "No. I doubt I'll ever be." She made to unfurl her treasure before her eyes flitted to the other scroll under Yuugi's arm. "I take that's something else?"
"Yeah." Yuugi sat down cross-legged and folded the drawing on the cavern floor, smoothing it out against the uneven surface without undue caution. Parsee sat down opposite her in perfect seiza how she had learned it when none of the oni ever bothered with it, Yuugi would never know setting the fairy tales aside. "Some administrative stuff. Thought I could use your advice."
Parsee nodded, her eyes fixed on the map.
"So, the big bosses want us to patch up some walls in the flower block," Yuugi jabbed at the offending block on the map, "but we have our hands full with the wind and snow blocks as is. Gonna have a full-scale riot on our hands if we don't have enough guards over there at all times, but the walls are in really bad condition and are gonna be a problem very soon if we don't do something about it." She spread her hands. "We just don't have enough oni."
Parsee frowned at the map. After a moment, Yuugi realised it was because the kanji on it were for the official names of the eighteen Hells rather than the cutesy titles most Ministry workers used for convenience's sake. She pointed at the correct sections till Parsee's confusion vanished.
"How many workers do you need?" she asked.
"A hundred, at least. We could draft some sinners, but that always makes the big bosses mad." Yuugi had never understood why. So what if someone was conscripted into hard labour instead of being ground into a pulp? Punishment was punishment. "They're much weaker than us, too, and we need a whole bunch of us overseeing them."
Parsee pondered in silence for a while. "Then how about..." She raised her head. "Do they still keep animals in The Palace of Earth Spirits?"
Still? Surely it had been less than a month since Parsee had last been there. "Sure. Birds, cats, the works."
"More than a hundred?"
"Definitely. Haven't ever counted them all since they move around so much, but I'm sure of that much."
"Then why don't you ask them for help? They all must have powers if they live here, and if you make a game of it, I'm sure they'll have the wall fixed before you have time to blink."
"Oh." Exaggeration aside, it was a good plan. "They are stronger than the sinners, that's true. And I'm sure the Palace will be happy to have them out of the house for a bit." She wasn't looking forward to subjecting herself to the all-seeing third eyes of the satori twice on the very same day, but she could bear it. She had nothing to hide.
"There you have it, then. You'll probably still want to make sure you have a couple of your lieutenants to make sure they actually keep building a wall instead of fashioning some sort of a playground from the stones, but..."
Yuugi grinned. "Definitely." She rolled up the map. "Thanks, Parsee."
Parsee smiled, but her eyes were cold. Even as Yuugi looked on, she couldn't keep it up, soon she fell into the same melancholy sulk Yuugi had seen when she had entered the cavern.
She tossed the map aside. "Okay, that does it." She ignored Parsee's startled blinking and leaned forward. "What's wrong? Is someone from my crew giving you grief? I'll pulp them for you, no problem."
"It's nothing like that," Parsee protested, but offered her a quick smile nevertheless.
"So it's something. Come on, spill the beans. Just not literally."
Parsee's smile grew momentarily brighter. Still, she visibly hesitated, and when she spoke up, it was in a vague, tremulous voice.
"It's nothing big, I swear," she began. "They treat me fine when I visit the city. Mostly they just ignore me."
Yuugi frowned. She would've preferred the oni had instead understood Parsee instead of dismissing her as a weakling, but she couldn't stop them from being dunderheads. "Who is it, then?"
"No-one." Parsee took a deep breath. "It's just, standing here day after day, seeing all these who cross the bridge, and how happy they are... well, it makes me feel like how I felt when I travelled with you and witnessed how much stronger you and all your friends are."
"Eh?" Yuugi racked her brain for what she would have felt in Parsee's shoes. "Respect?" she ventured.
Parsee said nothing. Then, she pushed herself up to her knees. "Forget it."
"No." Yuugi grabbed Parsee's arm and made her sit back down. "We're gonna talk about this. How does it make you feel?"
To her surprise, Parsee laughed, in a low chuckle. "Are you really asking me about my feelings? This isn't the Yuugi I know."
"Don't be stupid. Of course it is." Just because oni preferred to solve their problems with their fists didn't mean they weren't capable of sitting down and talking. "Now, tell me what's up, or I'll have to dunk your head in some water till you start talking sense."
Parsee laughed again, even quieter this time. Then, she sobered up, and with a long sigh, began anew. "Well.. it's just when I see all the people who make the crossing, I can't help but see how strong they are, or how wise they are, or simply how happy they are. They all have places they belong to, and someone they care about enough to travel to Hell for. And here I am, watching the bridge, every day the same, with nowhere to go. When I left my home, I swore to myself I'd make a better life for myself, but I'm just not strong enough..."
Yuugi stared. This was the first time Parsee had brought up her past, even in passing, but what really drew her attention was the snivelling weakness of it all.
"Stop that," she said sharply. "Self-pity is for the weak and pathetic. You are neither."
"Except that I am." Parsee was smiling again, this time full of bitterness. "I could never be as strong as you, or as knowledgeable as a satori. I have hardly any powers, and I have no future. Unlike all those others..."
This time, Yuugi was certain it wasn't her imagination: a dull green glow kindled in Parsee's eyes, stronger by the word.
Wordlessly, she placed her sake dish down, then leaned forward and grabbed Parsee by the shoulders. "Stop that right now."
"I can't. I tried to think about other things, I really did, but it's the truth. I will never—"
"I said stop it!" She punctuated her words with a shake.
"But..."
"I said—"
"You're hurting me!"
At length, Yuugi realised her fingers were digging into Parsee's shoulders, and withdrew her hands. At least Parsee didn't wince; instead, she glared at Yuugi. The glow in her eyes had vanished.
For a moment, Yuugi wasn't sure what to do. She sat back down as Parsee gathered her breath and wiped her eyes, then picked up her dish and took a long sip from it.
"Here's the thing," she said after lowering the sake from her lips, "Not everyone's gonna be as strong as the strongest. That's just how it goes. That doesn't mean you can give up like that."
Parsee said nothing in response.
"Now, listen. You're strong. A different kinda strong, but still strong, and just because Urara and the others don't understand it doesn't make it any worse. You just have to stand firm and cultivate it. Show the world exactly what you're made of."
Parsee still glared at her, but her expression softened. "You really think I'm strong?"
Yuugi nodded. "We're in Hell, remember? There's no choice but to be strong when you live here. With all the hatred and fear and magic in the air, if you don't hold your own, it starts talking through you."
"...That can happen?"
"It can." It was common knowledge among most youkai, but then Parsee hadn't always been one. "You're no longer a human. You have to protect your spirit." She found a smile rising. "You won't have any problem doing that, though. I know it."
"Well, I learned something." Parsee's tone was still obviously bitter, but Yuugi let it slide. She had already said everything she could possibly say.
"I'll talk to the others and make them see what you have," she suggested.
Parsee shook her head. "If they won't accept me, they won't. I can live with that."
"But they should accept you." She had liked having Parsee around. "I'd call you my sister if I thought it'd help."
Parsee made a sound halfway between a chuckle and a sob. "I don't want to be your sister."
Before Yuugi had time to be insulted, Parsee leaned forward and planted her lips on Yuugi's.
The entire word came to a standstill. It wasn't until Parsee retreated back to where she had sat, a blush creeping on her face, that Yuugi finally realised what a beautiful place the cavern was.
"I see what you mean." She stood up and in a single movement, picked Parsee up by the waist and hoisted her towards the stalactites, grinning up at her. "Better not say sister."
Flushed, Parsee placed her hands on Yuugi's shoulders for support. Her eyes shone again, but this time with hope. "It's fine, then?"
"No." And with that, Yuugi lowered Parsee back down to embrace. "It's better than fine."
Letting out a soft sigh, Parsee leaned her head against her shoulder and hugged her back.
Things would work out, Yuugi knew as she pressed Parsee closer against her chest. After all, they were both strong.
Making a big deal about their relationship wouldn't make a difference, and so they didn't. Parsee continued to walk the streets on the rare occasions she came down to the city with her head held high. Parsee was strong.
Parsee was strong.
Parsee was strong.