Sureiyazu

Episode 20: The Wanderer

Aya was drinking her tea when the knock came at the castle door.

Picking up her bo staff in case the visitor needed help slaying a demon, she sat down her tea, slightly annoyed at the interruption. 

She was surprised to see that it was a teenage girl at the door. Her clothes were ripped and torn, and her short black hair looked filthy. She wasn't even wearing shoes. "What do you need?" 

"Oh," the girl said, relief flooding her voice, "thank goodness - I've been traveling for days and -"

"Fun!!" said Yuri, popping out of nowhere and poking her head out of the door. "I love traveling endlessly without food or water!"

"Where did you come from?" asked the girl at the door.

"I came from -" Yuri started, but was interrupted by Aya's seriousness.

"So, what do you need?" she asked again, anxious to get back to her tea.

"I - need - something to eat -" said the girl as she wobbled on the spot.

Yuri ran to the kitchen.

"Come in," offered Aya, realizing that since Yuri had already made up her mind she didn't stand much of a chance saying no. "But, just - try not to make too much noise."

"Thank you, thank you so much," the girl said as she made her way to the table.

"You're welcome," Aya said, relieved to be back to her tea.

~~~

"Who's this?" Kasai asked. She had come from the sparring arena to get something to eat.

"This is Mizuki," Aya replied. "And she needs food and rest, so don't go challenging her to any matches."

"And she's going to stay forever and ever!" cheered Yuri.

"What's happening?" asked Akuma, who had just walked in to see Mizuki at the table and hear Yuri cheering. "Who's that?"

Aya sighed. "This is Mizuki. And, contrary to what Yuri thinks, she's only staying a few days."

"Awwwwwwww," moped Yuri. "She's the only one who supports shrimp marriage. When I asked her if shrimp could get married, she said sure."

Kasai rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like "stupid" before walking out again.

"Don't worry," Akuma told Mizuki. "This is a good mood, for Kasai."

"A BAD mood is when she hurts somebody. I know from experience," said Yuri.

"Oh." Strangely, Mizuki didn't seem to be fazed by this at all. Akuma figured she was probably just weak and needed some sleep.

"Well, bye!" Akuma called to her teammates as she headed outside to train. 

~~~

Yuri was on the front steps, later that day, enjoying the sunset that was streaking through the sky in her favorite color - pink. It faded slowly into a deep purple, and stars began to appear. She stared into the sky, transfixed by the twinkling lights that seemed so close but so far away. She was so caught up in the grandness of the sky that she barely noticed someone approaching her.

"You're never looking when I show up, are you?" asked Heishi's voice.

Yuri looked down suddenly. "Oh, sorry. The stars are so pretty."

"I know," he replied, gazing up at them dreamily. "You mind if I sit with you?"

Yuri moved over so that Heishi would have room. "How did it go?" Heishi had left the previous day to smooth things over with the queen in Hana Firudo.

"Well," he began, "it went alright, I guess. They finally agreed that you could stay here as a demonslayer as long as no one else finds out about who you really are. Oh, and the public is going to think you're dead." He added the last part hastily, hoping Yuri wouldn't notice or care.

"It always was the kingdom," Yuri muttered, a bad taste entering her mouth. "Always. But it's better than dying, I guess."

"Yeah . . ." Heishi looked back to the sky. He turned back to her after a moment. "You don't mind if I spend a while at the Sureiyazu castle?"

Yuri was taken aback. She narrowed her eyes. "Heishi?"

"I . . ." Heishi trailed off. "I lost my position as head guard."

"Why?" Yuri demanded.

"Letting intruders in the castle, defending someone who was supposed to be executed . . . that kind of thing."

"Oh." Yuri wasn't quite sure what to say to that. He had been defending her, after all. But though she was grateful for his help, his family wouldn't have any income now. 

"I know." Heishi smiled a little. "But my brother recently started as an apprentice making katanas. He gets some pay from that." He paused. "I almost wish I could go back and learn a trade instead of having to get a job quick like that."

"What happened?" Yuri asked.

"It was about six years ago," he explained. "My dad left. I don't know why. Just up and went." Heishi drew a breath to steady himself like the memory still bothered him. "Of course, he was the only one working in the house when he was there, so I had to get to work fast before the money we had ran out. The queen's always looking for more guards, so that's what I decided to do."

"What about your mom? You can't have been the only one in your family who was able to work!"

"She, um . . . she took my dad leaving really hard. She started being really distant, and . . . well, she can't really work like that, can she? At the time, my little brother was really young, so he couldn't work, obviously. So it was just me."

"I'm sorry," Yuri said. It seemed like the worst thing to say at that moment, but it was all she could think of.

"Well, it'll be okay. Somehow. The world always works itself out, doesn't it?" He went back to staring into the starlit sky. 

The two sat there for hours, captured in the celestial magic of the night sky.

~~~

That night, Heishi slept in one of the spare rooms of the castle. 

But as five people slept, one girl lay awake, thoughts running through her mind. 

Mizuki.