Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks again for the reviews on the last chapter!

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Chapter 14- Parties, Festivals, and Asura Duels

The days continue to pass, and Takachin and I continue to get stronger and stronger, both physically and mentally as we master new techniques and weapons. Before we even realize, our days of training are slowly coming to an end. Today marks the last day of our training, and we have already done a duel against our teachers. I fought against Arjun, while Takachin fought against Grandpa. Right now, as a reward for our hard work and perseverance, we've been given permission to go to the nearby village where a festival is happening right now.

I change into a sleeveless orange salwar kameez with fancy beadwork, and put some jasmine flowers in my braided hair. As I apply a red bindi and some kohl under my eyes, I see Takachin wearing a pair of jeans and a long green men's kurta, standing in the doorway. I smile at him. "How's the kurta fitting you?" I ask.

He smiles. "It's nice," he says. "You look beautiful, Ayaka. Did I ever tell you that?"

I blush slightly. We may have confessed our feelings, but he never fails to make me blush and act shy. "Thanks…" I say. "Let's go now."

We walk down to the village, holding hands. "So, what's this festival about?" Takachin asks me.

I shrug. "I don't know," I say. "If anything, though, it's going to have a lot of dancing, music, food, and celebration."

He sighs. "I'm starting to wish that I brought a camera along," he says. "If I had known that we'd be going to a festival, then I would've brought my camera."

I smile. "I brought mine," I say, holding up my small beaded handbag. "It's in here."

We arrive at the village and we're greeted with the sounds of joy and celebration, as well as the smell of freshly cooked food, and the sound of folk music playing. We look around in amazement.

"Wow…" Takachin says. "This looks like a lot of fun."

"Come on!" I say, taking his hand. "Let's go look around!"

We start walking through the streets, admiring the different things that's being sold in the bazaar. Small idols of different deities, clothing, bags, beauty items, classical Indian instruments, CDs, and even candles and incense sticks as well as other puja related items. "Good thing I have some money," I say.

"Me too," he agrees. Right then, an idea comes to him. "You know, I think we should get something for the others."

"I don't think we have enough money for that kind of purchase, though," I say. "We can buy some food for them."

"Good idea," Takachin says. "I'm going to look in that place." He points to a stall where idols are being sold.

"Okay, I'm going over there," I say, pointing to a sweets stall. I've decided to buy some sweets for the group.

Once I finish buying some sweets, I also remember something. Takachin's birthday is tomorrow, and I need to buy him something! I look around, trying to see if there's anything that catches my eye when I see a stall with small Hindu artifacts. After letting him know that I'm going over there, I make my way to the stall and look around. That's when I see it.

A small bronze trishul, or trident, pendant hanging from a black string. It's simple and will look pretty badass on him. I decide to get him that as one of the gifts. Once I finish paying for that, I look around a bit more, trying to find anything that Takachin might like. Right then, an idea comes to me. I'll give him some homemade massage oils.

"You done?" he asks. I nod.

"Yeah, I was just looking around," I say. "I got some sweets for everyone else. What about you?"

He chuckles slightly. "I got a small idol of the goddess Durga," he says. "I also got some food for the others as well. I bought a few bags of banana chips." He turns to me. "What kind of sweets did you get?"

"It's called jalebi," I say. "It's an orange deep-fried sweet made by deep-frying wheat flour batter into a pretzel or swirl shape, and it is then soaked in sugar syrup."

"Come on, let's look around some more," Takachin says, taking my hand.

(Hilda)

Today, we have finished our training, with great results. We have all perfected our special attacks, and finally become stronger. "Good work, everyone," I congratulate everyone at the end of training. "We did great."

Himekawa smirks slightly. "You know, I think that this calls for a celebration tonight," he says. "Everyone, come to the outdoor pool in my apartment building for the party tonight."

At the mention of this, practically everyone becomes excited and they all start talking amongst themselves excitedly. I can't help but smile at this. In a way, this training has been a good thing. Because of this, we've all become closer and we've all made new friends. I've opened up more, become friendlier with the girls, and even managed to sort out my differences with Kunieda. Now, I can't wait for the party tonight.

The night comes by pretty fast. For once, rather than wearing my usual maidservant uniform, I decide to wear a nicer dress for tonight. The dress I have chosen is a sleeveless emerald-green qipao dress that falls a few inches above my knees and is decorated with tiny purple flowers. Also, since it is a pool party, I bring my swimsuit as well. "Oi, Hilda," Tatsumi calls, wearing his black swim trunks and a T-shirt over top. "You ready?"

I nod. "Let's go."

We arrive at Himekawa's apartment building and make our way to the outdoor pool where everyone else is. I see Nene and Miki playing a game of water polo against Tojo and Shizuka, Kunieda showing off her new pink and white striped bikini to a blushing Izuma, Himekawa lounging in the pool on a dark blue float while sipping a drink, Yuka chatting enthusiastically to a rather amused Kanzaki, and Chiaki, Natsume, and Shiroyama playing video games.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Tatsumi asks, removing his shirt and throwing it to the side. I nod my head.

"Sure," I tell him, and I remove my dress.

Tatsumi dives into the pool while I simply slide in. I move over to Tatsumi and rest my back against his chest, and he wraps his arms around me. For a while, we simply watch over the Young Master who is floating happily with his little inflatable ring. Oddly enough, even though the weather is becoming slightly chilly, the pool area is warmer, but not too warm. I lean against his chest, feeling content and happy.

"Tatsumi?" I say.

"Yeah?"

I smile into his chest. "This whole training thing was a good thing," I tell him. "Because of this, I got to know everyone even better, and I got to know you even more."

I can almost sense his smile. "I agree," he says. "Not only did I become stronger, I got to see you smile at me."

After a while, Tatsumi calls everyone over to where we are. "So, I have a suggestion, everyone," he says. "I want everyone to talk about their favourite part of the training. To start off, I'd have to say that my favourite part of training was when Hilda finally smiled at me." He then turns to Tojo. "What's your favourite part?"

Tojo thinks for a moment. "I enjoyed getting stronger," he says. "I also liked how I finally managed to tell Shizuka how I feel."

"I liked how much closer to everyone I became," Miki says, smiling at Nene, who blushes in return.

We continue talking about our favourite parts of training, some people becoming oddly sentimental. Izuma lowers his head. "I… I have to say that my favourite part was confessing to Kunieda," he admits.

"Speaking of that," I begin. "How did you two get together?"

Kunieda blushes. "It happened when I was walking home one night and I was suddenly surrounded by some lecherous thugs who tried to assault me. He suddenly came and punched the ringleader into a trash bin and fought the rest of them off. He then walked me home and made sure I was safe," she replies. "Then, before he left, I just randomly blurted out my feelings."

"How cute," Chiaki comments.

"You know, I wonder how Furuichi-kun's doing right now," Natsume says. "And Mizushima-chan as well."

"Right, the two of them have probably finished training by now," Miki says.

"What I'm wondering is what happened between those two," Kanzaki adds. "I'll be real impressed if the two of them have gotten together or something like that."

(Furuichi)

"That was a lot of fun!" I say, laughing as we walk back to the kalari.

"I know, right? I got so many pictures as well!" Ayaka laughs.

At some point during the village festival, some catchy song had been playing and Ayaka had gone to dance among the people, and dragged me along as well. We had done our best to try and mimic the movements but they weren't as good as the local people's movements. However, we had fun, and that's all that matters. I've bought a small idol of Radhakrishna for Ayaka as a gift. I look at her and smile. She's absolutely beautiful, especially in Indian clothes. I'm so lucky to have a girl like her, one who's so beautiful and sweet and kind.

Suddenly, she stops. I'm about to ask what's wrong when I sense it too. The ominous aura. We assume our defensive stances, ready to fight whatever's coming at us. Right then, to our shock, a wild elephant and a wild boar step out from the shadows, glaring at us.

"What the…?" I trail off. Suddenly, a purple mist surrounds the animals, and they start to transform. To our horror, standing in the place of the animals, are two vicious Asuras. One of them holds a sword made of ivory and has the malicious eyes of an elephant, and the other has the eyes of a boar and he holds a sickle.

I turn to Ayaka, who's staring at them in horror. "Gajasura, the elephant demon…" she whispers in shock. "And Mukasura, the boar demon…"

Gajasura smirks. "Well, well, what have we here? Mizushima Ayaka, and her comrade-turned-lover," he sneers.

Mukasura glances at me and snorts disdainfully. "This is her lover?" he scoffs. "He looks weak. A guy like him can barely even fight a man of the same age."

I frown slightly. They shouldn't just judge a guy by his outward appearance. I'm stronger than I look.

"What are you doing here?" Ayaka asks, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Isn't it obvious, girlie?" Mukasura taunts. "We're here to kill you, since the others failed."

"I'll take the girl," Gajasura says. "You take care of her lover."

I get into a fighting stance. He has a sickle, and I am unarmed. So, I'll just have to find a way to make him drop that sickle. I think to myself. Right then, Mukasura lunges at me and I roll out of the way before delivering a well-timed kick to his hand, causing the sickle to fly out of his hand.

I smirk slightly. Nice, Furuichi! I then lunge at him, aiming a blow to his jaw, which he barely misses. The fight goes on, back and forth until eventually, I decide to end the fight. I once again get into a battle stance and close my eyes. This time, I'm using the Pillar Leader version of my new move.

"Danchou Naiseikanshou…" I start, feeling the energy rushing through me as I run towards Mukasura, raising my fingers. "Jabberwock Shibire Heigaku!" I roar, jabbing him in the core, paralyzing him.

Mukasura stares at me in shock. "What, but how…?" The shock quickly fades into anger as Jabberwock materializes next to me. "Jabberwock…" he snarls. "The leader of the 34 Pillar Division."

Jabberwock glares at him. "Mukasura," he growls. "What the hell are you doing here in the Human World? You Asuras have always hated humans, yet you've vowed to stay away from them. Why this sudden change of mind?"

I stare in shock. "Wait, what?"

(Ayaka)

Gajasura glares at us. "You two will pay for what you have done," he growls as him and Mukasura disappear right in front of us.

Takachin turns to Jabberwock right then. "Jabberwock, what do you mean they've vowed to stay away from humans?" he asks.

Jabberwock shakes his head. "The Asuras, as fierce and territorial as they are, are actually very hermit-like," he begins. "They've never liked humans, but they respect them and let them live. It's quite strange that they've suddenly decided to invade humanity, don't you think?"

I stare at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. "This is very unusual," he says. "However, if I find anything strange, I'll let the both of you know." Right then, he disappears.

Takachin looks at me in confusion. "That's pretty strange now," he says.

I nod, an uneasy feeling growing in me. If what Jabberwock said is true, then we're up against something even bigger. However, I try and ignore it for now as we walk back to the kalari. I let out a yawn. "Tomorrow, we have a long day ahead of us," I say. "We're going back to Japan."

Takachin sighs. "I'm gonna miss this place," he says. "I kind of don't want to leave."

I chuckle. "You've grown so attached to this place, huh?"

"I'm gonna miss the peace and quiet, and the friendliness of everyone," he tells me.

I smile. "Well, look on the bright side," I say. "You'll be going back to your bed, and having hot showers, and eating croquettes."

He laughs. "I didn't say that I wasn't looking forward to that," he teases, gently tapping my nose. "Anyways, let's go to bed now."

"Good night, Takachin," I say, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Good night, Ayaka," he says, giving a kiss on my forehead.