Hey guys. This is the last chapter of 'Asura Fighter'. I feel a bit sad myself, because I really had a lot of fun writing this story and doing all the research, because I got to learn so much more about my heritage through this story. I hope you enjoy the epilogue of 'Asura Fighter'.
PS: The chapter title is the name of a song by the group The Civil Wars.
Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me. I also don't own the song 'Cling Cling' by Perfume.
Chapter 21- Dust to Dust
The party's already in full swing when we arrive at Oga's house. It's New Year's Eve, and Takachin and I have been invited to a New Year's Eve party that's being hosted by both Oga and Hilda-san. Practically everyone is at the party: the Tohoshinki, the Red Tails, Lamia, and the Six Holy Knights. As I ring the doorbell, I see Takachin rubbing his hands together, shaking slightly. "You cold?" I ask.
He nods. "Sort of," he replies. "I wonder how this party's gonna go. I honestly hope there's no alcohol at this party, since I really don't want to see what everyone's like when they're drunk."
I giggle at the comment. Right then, the door opens.
"Hey guys!" Misaki greets us when she opens the door. "Happy new year, come on in!"
It's been about two months since we defeated the Asuras, or rather, Taraka. Since then, my relationship with Takachin has grown stronger and my friendships with everyone else has developed as well. Takachin and I have apparently become the 'second-most cutest couple' in St. Ishiyama, the first one being Oga and Hilda-san. Our families have taken a liking to one another, especially Takachin's family. His younger sister has even started calling me 'Onee-chan'.
"You look beautiful, you know?" Takachin murmurs in my ear. Tonight, I'm wearing a red wool dress with white snowflake patterns. I smile at him.
"It's just a simple wool dress," I say, toeing off my shoes.
"Yo, Furuichi!" Oga calls, grinning at him. "Happy new year, man!"
"Adabuh dah!" Berubo squeals.
Hilda-san smiles at us. "Come in," she says. "The party's already started."
We walk into the main room, and see various levels of activities happening. It seems like there's a karaoke fest happening right now. We see Izuma and Kunieda singing a duet version of the song 'Baby U', while Nene and Miki cheer them on. Chiaki and Natsume are in the kitchen, both playing some multiplayer game on their PSPs and Tojo and Shizuka are busy snuggling together on the couch. Yuka, Lamia, Kanzaki, and Himekawa are all playing Twister, and they look like they're about to collapse into one big heap. Even Yolda is at the party, playing Twister as well.
"Wow, this is pretty crowded," I say.
"I know," Takachin agrees. "I hope there's no alcohol being served." Right then, a question comes to him. "Hold on, do demons even drink alcohol?"
"Of course we do." Much to our surprise, we see Hecadoth and Agiel standing behind us.
"Ehhh?! What are you two doing here?!" Takachin asks, bewildered.
"We wanted to celebrate the new year in the human world, just to see what kind of celebrations you have," Agiel replies.
"Things look rather… interesting so far," Hecadoth comments.
Hilda-san turns to us. "To answer your question, yes, we drink alcohol," she says. "However, the alcohol we have is made from the fermented blood of the nine-headed King Hydra. It has a pleasant taste to demons, but for humans, it makes them do the most reckless things that normal alcohol can never do, and they end up forgetting with a very terrible hangover."
A bead of sweat runs down my forehead. "Yeah, that's also what human world alcohol does to you," I say.
Agiel looks around the room. "This place looks cosy," she says. "No wonder the Youngest loves it here."
"H-Hecadoth?! Agiel?!" Yolda exclaims in shock from her uncomfortable-looking position on the Twister mat. Unfortunately, her exclamation causes Kanzaki, Yuka, Lamia, and Himekawa to collapse into one jumbled pile of limbs.
"Yolda!" Lamia chides. "You just ruined our positions! And why am I the one at the very bottom, huh?!"
"Oi, Himekawa!" Kanzaki growls. "Because of you, I think I just pulled something!"
"Then get off me before I break something of yours!" Himekawa snarls.
"Don't worry, Lami-tan! I got you!" Yuka says, pulling her out from under the pile.
Takachin and I try and stifle our laughter at the sight. Right then, Kunieda and Izuma finish their duet, earning applause from Nene and Miki. "Alright everyone!" Kunieda calls. "Who's going next?"
No one answers, but she looks at Oga and Hilda-san. We see a sly smirk cross her lips. "Okay then, Oga and Hilda are going to be doing a duet together!" she announces cheerfully.
A shocked silence fills the room. Hilda-san looks mortified, and Oga looks like he's about to murder someone. "Hell no!" they snap back at the same time.
"I don't sing!" Oga retorts, looking annoyed.
"Neither do I!" Hilda snaps.
"Da buh!" Berubo squeals, his eyes sparkling.
Izuma smirks slightly. "Well, your kid clearly agrees to it," he says. "You two wouldn't want him to be sad, right?"
Right then, they immediately agree to do it. Agiel looks confused. "What's karaoke?" she asks.
"What the Great Demon Lord does half the time," Hecadoth replies, rolling his eyes.
"I have just the perfect song for the both of them," Kunieda says, smirking. "'Last Kiss' by Masaki Yuka and KG."
Both Oga and Hilda-san look stunned at her song choice, but they're still forced to comply. The music starts to play, and they start singing the chorus together. Surprisingly, they both have amazing voices, and they both sound amazing together. At first, they sound forced, but as the song continues, they start sounding more relaxed and even start moving along to the beat. Towards the end of the song, they're both having fun and smiling more.
Soon, the song ends and we all applaud them. "You don't sing, huh?" Takachin asks in a teasing voice.
Oga glares at him. "You'd better not tell anyone about this, or else!"
"Who's next?" Misaki asks. "Ayaka-chan, you should sing! Come on!"
I try to resist, but I'm eventually pushed up to the mic. I select the song 'Cling Cling' by Perfume. The music starts and I start to sing the lyrics of the song. "Cling Cling o tete tsunai deru, kimi to atashi no run run run, cling cling shi chai kono kodomo, ai no shindou kawaranai," I start singing. I also try and do a bit of dance movements in time to the music. As I continue to sing the song, I can see Takachin watching me in admiration and smiling at me.
The song eventually ends and I do a little pose to finish. Right then, Oga steps in. "Okay guys, we're stopping karaoke for now, so whoever wants to play video games can come here!" he says, much to the delight of Tojo, Miki, Kanzaki, Chiaki, Natsume, and Himekawa.
"That was a good performance," Takachin praises. "You looked like you were having a lot of fun up there."
"Thanks," I say. I turn to Hecadoth and Agiel. "So, how's the human world new year's party for you?" I ask.
Agiel shrugs. "It's okay," she says. "I just wish there was something that impresses us. I'm not too interested in Twister, and I don't know how to play video games."
Right then, a small smile forms on Takachin's face. "I'll be right back!" he says before running upstairs. A few moments later, he comes back down, holding a laptop.
"You're borrowing Oga's laptop?" I ask.
"This is Misaki's," he tells me. "However, I know something that they might just like." He opens up the laptop, much to the confusion of both Hecadoth and Agiel, who watch him type something into the browser. He then clicks on the first link that comes up, and I smile, knowing just what he's doing.
"Here it is! Attack on Titan!" he says, showing the website to them. He explains how to use the laptop and which key does what and all that. He then presses the play button on the video attachment, allowing them to watch the very first episode of Attack on Titan.
Hecadoth and Agiel immediately become interested in the show, especially with all the fight scenes and the scenes when humans are eaten by Titans. Meanwhile, Takachin and I watch the others play Call of Duty on the Xbox, chuckling in amusement whenever one of them lost and started cursing the other.
"Even though you humans can be very annoying, I'll have to give credit for your intelligence in creating such an entertaining anime," Hecadoth muses.
"I have to agree," Agiel adds. "This is pretty interesting."
Eventually, after a while, it's time for the countdown to the new year. By then, Hecadoth and Agiel have watched eight episodes of Attack on Titan in total. With the exception of the two pillar generals, we all partake in counting down the seconds. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" we all cheer and some of the couples share their New Year's Kiss. I soon start to find it too hot inside the house so I excuse myself to step outside for a bit.
I step out into the backyard, putting on my coat, scarf, and mittens. In all honesty, the chilly night breeze feels rather nice on my overheated self. I breathe in the air, sighing softly to myself. "Happy new year." I turn and see Takachin standing in the doorway, wearing his jacket, scarf, and mittens.
"Happy new year, Takachin," I say. "What're you doing here?"
"It was getting too hot and loud in there," he says.
I nod. "Yeah," I agree. "Also, the PDA in there was becoming too much and too heavy," I add.
Takachin chuckles. "Even Hecadoth said that displays of affection in the human world are just too… public," he says. I giggle at that as he walks up to me. I lean against his chest and he wraps his arms around my waist as we stare up at the starry night sky.
"It's very nice out, don't you think?" I comment.
"It is," he agrees.
"What's on your mind?" I ask.
He sighs. "I'm just thinking about how much I've changed," he tells me. I turn to look up at him as he continues talking. "Ayaka, how were you able to see through my mask? Was it my eyes, was it my words, was it my laughter? What gave me away?"
"You were just lonely," I tell him. "You've been lonely for so long, Takachin. Even though you smiled and laughed, I could tell you were acting, and that your lines were just practiced over and over. I wanted you to let me in the walls that you had built around yourself. I wanted to help burn down those walls, and hold your hand as we danced around the flames. I wanted to show you that someone does care about you."
He looks down at me and I smile at him. "You've done so much, Takachin," I continue. "You've really done a lot to prove yourself and change your image in their eyes. Even when things got hard, you held your head up and continued fighting. You fought for the ones you love and care about, and you bear the scars from those battles. Two months ago, you were lonely, vulnerable, and broken. Now, you're strong, happy, and you've matured quite a bit. Not to mention, everyone respects you and trusts you, and you're pretty popular in your own way. And I'm real proud of you."
Takachin smiles at me. "I'm forever in your debt, Ayaka," he says. "Before you came, I was just an outcast, and I had a strained friendship with Oga, because he had become more popular and had become friends with all the top delinquents, whereas my reputation was tarnished and my image was scorned because of simple misunderstandings and bad timings. When you had invited me to come and train with you, I had gone because initially I wanted to impress everyone, become as popular as Oga was, and get a girlfriend. However, the more I got to know you, the less I cared about impressing everyone. It soon became all about overcoming my emotional turmoil and inner conflicts so I could become stronger, emotionally, physically, and mentally." He hugs me gently, turning me around so my face is buried in his chest. "You helped me get rid of the stress and emotional conflicts I was going through. You saved me, Ayaka."
I smile softly. "I guess we're both even now," I say. "I saved you from the verge of breaking down, and you saved me from the brink of death."
He brushes my hair away from my face before pressing his lips against mine in a sincere, loving kiss. As I kiss him back, I think about him for a moment. Furuichi Takayuki truly is a diamond in the rough. From all the training that he has done, all his best qualities have finally been noticed by everyone, as well as appreciated. He has become stronger, and a real man. He nearly gave his life up to save not only me, but our friends as well, and that's what makes him an amazing person.
Furuichi Takayuki is the diamond in the rough in my future. And I, Mizushima Ayaka, am the soul mate in his future. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Furuichi Takayuki: my classmate, best friend, crush, lover, current boyfriend, and my future partner.
Even though only Frayner and Devlin Dracul have regularly reviewed this story, thanks so much for your kind words and suggestions, they really helped motivate me to write this story. Thanks again everyone!