Sureiyazu

Episode 23: The Three Painters

"Exactly!" Kasai agreed. "It's encouraging kids to steal stuff, make it look like it's theirs, and tell the whole world what a good job they did. Hm - I still feel like that wasn't what my dad always said about that story, though . . . Oh, it's been so long . . ."

"Whatever he said," Heishi told Kasai, "he was probably right. It's kind of fishy, the way the story is, isn't it? How does no one in the whole world not realize -"

"World!" Kasai exclaimed suddenly. "That's what he used to say!"

"Stop being mean to my favorite story!" Aya scolded them. "It's a fine story! I don't care what your dad used to say about it -"

"What he always said," Kasai explained eagerly, talking over Aya, "was that it was a story about taking over the world!"

"That's ridiculous!" Aya scoffed. "Taking over the world!"

"No - listen!" Kasai leaned in closer to Aya and Heishi. "The paintings they found represents the world, unchanged by people. But the Painters are all trying to take it for themselves. The first tries to destroy the world and rebuild it in his image, but that doesn't work. The second tries to proclaim himself the leader of the world, but no one wants to follow him. But the third . . . he takes the world, and changes it so slightly that that the world has been made into his image, and in reality he barely had to do any work. People go on with their everyday lives thinking what a great leader he is, but don't realize what he did - he brainwashed an entire world full of people without them realizing it."

"EEK!" Aya screeched.

"Oh, come on, Aya, I thought you'd see what I'm talking about -"

"No - it's -!" She held up a note written in messy handwriting, spattered with something red.

Kasai squinted at the note. "Where'd you find that?"

"S-stuck to . . . the last page of the story," Aya said shakily.

"What's it say?" Heishi asked.

"Here, let me see it," said Kasai, snatching the note out of Aya's hand. "Learn from this story, and learn well. Have you discovered our purpose yet? We serve the more powerful creatures of the world: those meant to rule. Soon we will paint them into our world, and all shall see their true power."

No one said anything for a moment as they sat in frozen silence.

Then, acting as one, the trio rushed out to find Akuma, Yuri, and Mizuki.

~~~

Akuma woke that morning feeling ill rested. She had been awake most of the night, thinking about what the hooded stranger had told her. She still hadn't told any of her teammates - it was odd, but after he had told her that anyone could be a member . . . It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but . . .

She stretched, yawning. It seemed like ages ago that the team had arrived in the village. Could it have only been yesterday?

Mizuki poked her head in through the door of her room in the inn. 

"Hey, Mizuki. Sleep okay?"

"Fine, fine," said Mizuki. "I was just coming to see if you were awake."

"Well, I am," Akuma stated obviously. "I was most of the night, actually."

"How come?" Mizuki asked. "Did you find anything out about the disappearances?"

". . . Not much," Akuma lied.

"Me neither," Mizuki said sadly. "It's a shame. You think the others found anything?"