Sorry for delaying this chapter (by a day). The masterpiece that is Kara no Kyoukai 7 has been occupying my brain for the past few days, to the exclusion of almost everything else. (As a bit of a spoiler, I think THAT scene killed my legs fetish dead. Oh god that was horrifying.) That, and I somehow found time to
fangirl over Yuki Kajiura, but everyone does that, so. In any case, here goes some more Satori Eye Z!
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?Koishi, what are we doi--?
?Shh! Don't call me that name around here!? Koishi hissed, shushing Utsuho's beak. ?As far as anyone knows, we're just travelers passing through Chireiden!?
?Gah,? Utsuho muttered, ruffling her wings. ?Can I talk at all??
?Best not to,? Koishi replied as she pushed her way through a surge in the crowd. ?Right now, you're just a pet crow-- oh, pardon me-- not a yatagarasu. Don't want to-- excuse me, please-- arouse suspicions.?
?But aren't you talking to me in the marketplace?? Utsuho asked, perched on Koishi's shoulder.
?It's busy here!? Koishi grunted as she shoved past a burly youkai with red skin. ?Get a move on, you guys!? She hollered as well as any other ordinary citizen would, and with her ragged old dark green coat on, she did look just like any other ordinary person.
Finally, she pushed her way through and took refuge next to a food cart, bending over to catch her breath. ?Man... that was hard,? she said, rubbing her temples. ?All those people around me thinking and yelling and everything...?
?I don't get it. Can't you satori help reading other people's minds?? The hellcrow's beak bobbed by Koishi's ear.
?No, we can't. We don't have a choice. Our Third Eyes can't help but pick up on everyone's thoughts.?
?That sounds... inconvenient.?
?Oh, it's hell,? Koishi grinned. ?There's no way to stop it from reading everyone's minds, even if I want it to.?
?Can't you.... close your Third Eye?? Utsuho asked.
She shook her head. ?Not that I know of.?
?I mean, if Third Eyes work like normal eyes, then can't you make them blink, or just close them entirely??
?I guess,? the satori said, reaching beneath her coat to put her hand on her Third Eye. ?But god knows what would happen to a satori if they closed their Third Eye...?
?I'd kinda like a Third Eye,? Utsuho mused. ?But only if I could close it.?
?Hmm,? Koishi murmured as she continued to rub the skin of her Third Eye. Its texture was rubbery, but smooth; she'd seen other satori with veins crisscrossing their Third Eyes, but that only came with age. She was far too young for that.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she felt around herself with her Third Eye, actively seeking out the consciousness of the creatures around her. Her Third Eye spun in its socket, turning on Utsuho's mind, contained within the little crow on her shoulder, then turned outwards, listening in on the minds of passers-by, on the minds of the animals and insects crawling through the ground beneath her hand, to the mind of that person above her who just dropped something heav--
-- Oh dear.?Whoops! Gotcha!?
Koishi opened her eyes to see a half-rotted corpse dangling in front of her, its decomposing eyes staring into her own. It had been brought to an abrupt halt after falling headfirst, so the sudden jerk upwards audibly dislocated the shoulder joint, and chunks of skin off the top of the head fell off, taking clumps of hair with them when they landed on Koishi's yukata.
?AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!? Koishi screamed, backing away as fast as she could and wiping the chunks of flesh off of her clothes.
But the body was only there for a few seconds before it was quickly snatched back up and out of sight. She looked up, wondering where it had come from in the first place, and saw someone standing on the edge of the roof of the building she had been leaning against. Red hair and cat ears. It was a humanoid-form kasha.
The kasha grinned and threw a clumsy salute. ?Sorry about that, shayner maidel!? The voice was distinctly female, but not fully developed like an adult's voice. ?But don't make a tsimmes out of it!? She laughed and pulled over a cart, took hold of both of its handles, and zoomed off over the rooftops.
Koishi could swear that she saw a pale, decomposing arm dangling over the edge of the cart.
?A kasha!? Utsuho squawked, ruffling her wings. ?Don't usually see them around here!?
The satori put her hand over her heart, feeling it slow down from a panicked beat to a more normal rate. She had to remember, just because she could read the minds of conscious creatures, it didn't mean that she could read the minds of inanimate things, like dead bodies.
?A kasha?? Koishi asked.
?Yeah, one of those cat people things,? Utsuho clarified. ?They run around the underground collecting dead bodies to throw into the Hell of Blazing Fires.?
?So... the Hell of Blazing Fires really needs to be fed like that??
Utsuho's head bobbed up and down. ?And more importantly, we need to get rid of the dead bodies in Chireiden. Mostly from the ghetto, where all the kasha live.?
Koishi looked at her, raising an eyebrow. ?How do you know all of this and I don't??
The hellcrow ruffled her wings. ?We use dead bodies' clothes to warm yatagarasu nests. Can't do that if the kasha keep taking the bodies... we just talk about it all day.?
?Hmm... the ghetto?? Koishi asked.
?Yes, the kasha neighborhood. In fact... it should be over there.? Utsuho pointed with her wing, down an alleyway.
Koishi looked. It wasn't very far. ?I've never been there... I never even knew it existed, I thought it was just a rumor in the palace...?
?Wanna check it out?? The hellcrow suggested, her voice betraying her interest.
?Sure, why not?? Koishi got up and dusted off the bottom of her jacket and her dress. ?I wonder... would Satori like one of these for a pet??
Utsuho scoffed. ?Can't you get her something like a tsurube-otoshi? They're cuter.?
?Well, I've got to think of being a good servant too. She doesn't just want a pet, you know,? Koishi responded, the words echoing around her a bit as she walked down the deserted alley. ?Aren't tsurube-otoshi those cute little bucket youkai??
?They are. I'd bet Satori would like that!? Utsuho replied.
?Sure, we'll check them out after we're done here,? Koishi said, nearing the end of the alley. ?Now come on and stay quiet. We're just normal travelers, remember??
Utsuho squawked. ?Yep yep~?
The satori grinned and walked out of the alley, entering the kasha ghetto for the first time ever.
