Sureiyazu

Episode 28: The Demonslayer Who Crashed the Party

Dinner was taking place, as usual, in the castle. Kasai was eating too much, Akuma laughing at all of her jokes, while Aya was trying not even to smile at them; Heishi was awkwardly trying to enter the conversation, but failed multiple times; Mizuki was trying to avoid the gazes of everyone else. And Yuri was silent.

"An'nen I 'eat 'her 'or timsh inna roh!" Kasai exclaimed, mouth full of food. Aya leaned back away from her as if she would catch a disease.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Kasai," she said.

"'Ou shush don' wan' meta 'ell them'bout 'e 'innin'."

"You can tell them about how you beat me in a sparring match four times after you swallow."

Kasai shrugged and swallowed. "Is that better?"

"Much," Aya replied, pleased.

"So I beat Aya in a sparring match four times," Kasai said as if she didn't quite care anymore. "You kinda stole my thunder there."

"That's what I do best," Aya said lightly. "Though it's really not that hard."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh," said Akuma, Heishi, and Mizuki.

Aya waved her hand. "But onto more important matters. So, we were invited to a ball."

"Why do we keep getting free invites to things?" Heishi asked as he took another bite of fish.

"Because we're awesome," Kasai said as if it were obvious (which, to her, it was).

"Where is it?" Yuri asked quietly.

Aya raised her eyebrows. "Funny you should ask. It's in Sanmyaku, which a lot of people call the sister kingdom to Hana Firudo."

Yuri refrained from saying, I know. I almost got married off to a guy from there.

"I don't want to go there," she said instead.

"I know, but it'll be fine," Aya assured her. "No one will know it's you. And besides, even if they did, there's nothing wrong with going there."

"I stepped on the king's foot like five times," Yuri grumbled. "He'll remember."

Aya smiled (though unconvincingly) for lack of something to say back. "Um . . . so, anyway, I was pretty sure none of us had anything decent to wear - oh, no offense to anyone - so I took the liberty of buying us some things. I hope you don't mind . . ."

"As long as you didn't make them yourself," Kasai snickered.

"Hey!" protested Aya. "I'll have you know, I made the clothes I always go demonslaying in!"

"Yeah, but the point is that it's ugly," Kasai replied airily.

"It's not ugly, it's -" But Aya didn't seem to have another word for her demonslaying clothes.

"Yeah, yeah, what'd you get us?" Kasai asked.

"I'll show you after dinner and you can try everything on to make sure it fits."

~~~

Akuma turned to look at herself better in the mirror.

Her dress, a long teal garment that Aya had handed her a few minutes ago, had turned out to fit her well. She loved the way it shimmered lightly - not exactly a head-turner, but definitely something that people would notice.

But it hadn't taken her long to realize that the dress basically had no back. And she wasn't sure yet if she liked that or hated it.

Akuma stepped out of the "changing room", which was actually more of a large closet with a mirror, and into the room where everyone else waited.