Sureiyazu

Episode 2: The Demonslayers

The team didn't reply. They stared at Hikari, wondering whether to trust her or not.

"We can't speak here. Come with us," instructed the girl with the staff on her back. The Sureiyazu left the bar, with Hikari following in bewilderment.

~~~

In the alley, it was dark and quiet. The only sounds were made by the four girls speaking in whispers in the very back of the dead end.

The girl who stood too strait introduced the team of girls for them. She was Aya, the girl who wore the red dress was Kasai, and the perky blond girl was Yuri.

"What's your name?" asked the perky girl - Yuri.

Hikari debated whether she should tell them or not. If the demon was slain and somehow things did return to normal, she would have a lot of explaining to do. But she might not earn their trust if she didn't give them a name.

"Hikari."

"Hikari?" Yuri repeated. "That's a nice name." Hikari's eyes watered and she felt a lump in her throat. But she swallowed the feeling.

"Now, tell us what you know of the demon Tsugu," Aya said. Hikari once again flinched.

"It's . . . a long story," Hikari tried, desperately not wanting to have to tell them. The Sueiyazu of all people. "And personal." Personal? Where had that come from? "Personal" didn't even begin to describe what had happened to her.

"It would be best if -" Aya began, but she was cut off by the girl with the katana, Kasai.

"If she doesn't want to tell, fine," she said. "We all have things we don't want to share out on command." Aya opened her mouth again, but closed it and nodded.

"I can still help slay the demon thought, right?" Hikari asked. She wasn't quite sure why she was asking; the most powerful demoslayers were already on the job. They didn't need any help. And she had long given up on returning her life to normal. So why did she care?

"So," Aya said for the whole team, "the master was right." The other team members nodded, but she didn't explain what that meant to Hikari. This might have annoyed her any other time, but she was still in shock that the Sureiyazu needed her.

"Is that a yes or no?" Hikari asked.

"A yes," Aya answered, "for now. We still don't know for sure who you are." For a split second, Hikari thought Aya knew the truth about her. But she continued, "We'll take you along on this mission, but we're used to a little local help once in a while. Don't think you're anything special. Do you carry a weapon?"

Hikari nodded. "A kyoketsu shoge." It was a sword-like weapon with two blades, one curving out from the other, attached to a rope. She liked it because it could be used for many things, unlike most weapons. She could use it for grappling, tying, tripping . . . it required more creativity to wield.

"Well, then it's settled," Aya announced, and started walking out of the alley. "You're on our team. At least for today. I hope you're rested, because we were about to leave for the mountains right after stopping by to get our drinks." Hikari confirmed that she was.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kasai shouted enthusiastically. "Let's go kill us a demon!"

"Yay!" Yuri cheered. "Can I have its head?"

~~~

The mountain didn't quite seem like a place a demon would want to be. It was sunny and the grass was green and peppered with flowers. Hikari tried telling the Sureiyazu this, but they assured her Tsugu was here. She hoped so. Although, at the same time, she hoped they were wrong.

When the four teenagers finally reached the top of the peak, Hikari saw what the Sureiyazu had been leading her to. A small hole about the diameter of the width of Kasai's katana was in the top of the mountain. When she knelt for a closer look, she saw that the hole went deeper and deeper into the ground until it seemed it wasn't possible that anything could go down that far. It also seemed quite roomy inside the hole, almost as if someone had hollowed out the mountain. No, the walls of the inside of the . . . whatever it was . . . went beyond how far the mountain went. It wasn't physically possible.

Aya poked the hole with her staff that she had taken out of its sling. "I'll have to open it with the spell," she said.

But no spell was required. The hole suddenly opened wider, as if it wanted to devour the team of four girls that stood there. They fell . . . and fell . . . and kept falling . . .

A shriek of delight that could only have been Yuri echoed through the cavern.

The ground smacked Hikari in the face. It was jagged and rocky and hurt more than anything she had ever felt. But, she decided, it was better than dying. In fact, the more she thought about it, she should have died hitting a surface that hard with that much force. Somehow, she had survived.

Hikari looked up and saw that the team of demonslayers were already standing and were unscathed. Was it possible they had all landed on their feet? Hikari picked herself up off the ground.

"You're okay?" Kasai asked. Hikari nodded, but then realized Kasai wasn't looking at her. She was gazing around at the world they had landed in.

The cavern seemed to stretch on and on forever, and a dark haze fell over everything, making it look more evil and mysterious. The ground the four were standing on suddenly ended in a cliff that fell far below.

A low laugh ehcoed through the caves.

"So," a voice booming voice that matched the laugh said, "We meet again, Hikari. Or should I say, Akuma."