Sureiyazu

Episode 15: The Girl in the Paint

"This is the guard of Hana Firudo!" a deep voice sounded outside. "Open up!"

A weary-looking Aya answered the door. "We aren't slaying demons for anyone at this time. If you need help, there are a number of guilds around -"

"We don't need help slaying a demon!" one of the group of five interrupted. "Hana Firudo's warriors are the strongest in the land."

"My apologies," the guard in front, who wore a shiny purple badge on his armor, said. "We're looking for someone. We know she became a demonslayer, and we've checked nearly everywhere else -"

"I promise you, whoever you're looking for isn't here," Aya sighed. "This is the castle of the Sureiyazu. There are only four of us here, none of which are currently on the run from any guardsmen, thank you very much."

The man in front looked disappointed. "Well, alright." He took a hastily painted picture out of his pocket and handed it to Aya. "She looks like this. If you see her, send a letter to anyone in the kingdom of Hana Firudo." He started to lead the men away, and then added, "Oh, my name is Heishi. If you ever visit, I'll give you a tour if you want. We don't get a lot of famous people coming through."

The group walked off, back down the road. Aya closed the door, and looked at the picture in her hands. It was only black and white, and some of the proportions were off. Still, no matter what state it was in, Aya would have recognized the face of the girl in the paint. 

It was Yuri.

~~~

Aya needed to think this over, to figure out what was going on. The only problem was, she had already been thinking for several hours and hadn't come up with anything. Who exactly did the guards of Hana Firudo think Yuri was? The only truly important people they might have to search for were the members of the royal family, and they were all still living in the kingdom. Well, the king had gone off on business matters and the princess was away at boarding school, but those didn't count. Unanswered questions still hung over her head, taunting her.

There was only one option left, and that was to ask Yuri. Aya was left with no other alternative. If she wanted to find out what was going on, she would have to.

She found herself, a few minutes later, in front of the pink door of Yuri's room. She had been spending too much time in there in Aya's opinion. She could have been outside training or something . . . anything would have been better. It worried her to think that Yuri of all people was shutting herself inside the castle.

"Yuri?" Aya said quietly, poking her head in through the door. 

Yuri jumped. "Oh, it's you." She looked instantly relaxed and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Hello," Aya replied a little louder, coming into the room. For once, Aya's smile was bigger than Yuri's, even if it was forced. "I should explain."

"Yeah," Yuri agreed. "That might be good."

Aya was feeling a little uncertain now that she was in front of Yuri, but she forced her feelings into the back of her mind, in the small compartment she had constructed exactly for this purpose. She could only focus on the task at hand now, without letting emotions get in the way.

"Some guards stopped by today. They were from a kingdom you've probably heard of - Hana Firudo." Aya could have sworn Yuri's eyes flashed with fear for a split second. "They were looking for someone, but they seem to think you're the person they need to find." She took the painting from her pocket. "They gave me this."

Yuri took the picture, her hands shaking ever so slightly. It reminded Aya sickeningly of the day Master Shi had become possessed.

"Hana Firudo, you said?" Yuri asked. Aya nodded. "I'm not going back there."