Sureiyazu

Episode 9: The Reaper

Akuma watched as Kasai slashed away with her katana.

The two were alone in the training room, and Kasai was "demonstating" - which was actually closer to showing off - her skills as a demonslayer.

Kasai sliced through air with startling accuracy, and placed her feet so that she always had a balanced position to hold the blade. It almost looked like a dance, Akuma noticed.

Finally Kasai stopped and stepped off the mat, bowing her her nonexistent partner. When she came over to Akuma, she was grinning and breathing heavily.

"Not too bad, huh?" Kasai said for Akuma, who nodded.

"Do you think I could challenge the master?" she asked. This earned a slight eye roll from the blue haired girl.

"Probably not," said Akuma. "I'm not sure any of us could."

Kasai sighed. "I guess you're right."

The two were silent for a minute until Akuma remembered something she'd been meaning to ask.

"What technique does the master use anyway?"

"Aha!" said Kasai, grinning. "I knew that one was coming." She was so proud of herself she forgot to answer the question.

"Uh . . . his technique?" reminded Akuma.

"Right, right." Kasai pretended to have remembered. "I knew that. He uses a style called the Reaper Technique. It's really old."

"The Reaper?"

"Yeah, the Reaper Technique. Once he slays a demon, he can use the souls to become more powerful. They say people who know how to use the technique right can live forever. Well, if they keep slaying demons. Actually, Master Shi's in his one hundred twenties."

"One hundred twenty years old?!" exclaimed Akuma. "And he only looks twenty five! That's possible?"

"Mm-hm. He was one of the first Sureiyazu, so he reaped a lot of demon souls." Kasai pointed her thumb at her chest. "We're only the second group of Sureiyazu there's been."

"I knew that," said Akuma. "If you're just a common person, all you hear about is the Sureiyazu. You - I mean we, now, I guess - are heroes."

"Heroines, more like."

Akuma smiled. "Heroines it is." She stayed frozen, smiling, for a few moments. It was a touching gesture, considering Akuma hardly smiled. But Kasai wasn't the biggest fan of touching moments.

"Woah, woah, woah," said Kasai. "Cut the mushy stuff."

"What's wrong with mushy stuff?" asked Akuma, unfreezing from her pose.

"Well, it usually comes at the end of a section in the chapter," explained Kasai. "I don't feel like having to switch scenes yet."

Akuma looked at Kasai strangely. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Kasai. "That was called breaking the fourth wall. You don't understand because you're more of a rule-following character. If you were, you know, slightly more insane, you might get it. Maybe you'll start to understand as the story goes on."

"You have lost your mind."

"Sorry, I should try to keep my fourth-wall breaking to a minimum, huh?" Kasai turned her head at an odd angle and winked at someone Akuma couldn't see. 

"What's going on here?" Aya's voice said.

"Nothing," lied Kasai, leaning on the wall casually.

"Kasai was breaking a wall, or something," Akuma accused.