REASSURANCE
A Rihan and Wakana One Shot
Disclaimer: Nurarihyon no Mago characters are not mine.
Please read and review, keeps me motivated to write. Thank you!
Author's note: Just took a break from the other story. Need more time.
It has been a while since she joined the Nura household. There were certainly a lot of adjustments to be made especially on her side. Being able to stay with the clan, with demons being noisy from morning to the next morning, with parties all over the place meaning cooking from morning to morning, sometimes it just gets a little tiring.
Born with a smile, she has always smiled her way through everything. Sometimes, even when she feels tired, she just smiles and then takes a rest. Some think she has it great since she always sees the positive side of everything. But, is there even such a person who can always, 100% be positive?
Nope. There's none.
Even the most optimistic person in the world can be negative at times.
Promising to Rihan back then when they were still just "going out", in demon terms, that she would always be happy, she definitely tried her best. Whenever he goes out to his nightly patrol, she would wave at him with a smile, bidding him to take care of himself. Of course, having a boyfriend who is free-spirited, she cannot make herself act selfishly.
But honestly, there are times wherein she worries so much that all she wants is to have him stay by her side, able to see him always, able to hold his hand, to be in his embrace, but that's not possible. It's not something she should or could wish for. Aside from the fact that she was just a girlfriend, who knows how many he had, she didn't have the right to put a leash.
Wakana sat there in the porch, waiting as she always has, for her partner to arrive after his night patrol. She sipped her tea waiting for him to arrive. Nurarihyon bid her good night as he proceeded to his room. She politely bid him a pleasant night and a good rest before he disappeared. Her smile slowly vanished from her face, replaced by forlorn expression, one that she always tried to hide in front of everyone.
She heard some noise coming from the front door and proceeded to greet them as they came back from their patrol. From a far, she could make out the voice of Kubinashi, though she could not make out anything from the words, she could not help it but walk faster to see them. She didn't know why but she really felt nervous.
A few steps till the front door, she suddenly stopped.
"I told you to be careful. How can you be so reckless?!" Kubinashi continued to reprimand the second. "You should have just stayed behind."
"Oh come on, I can take care of myself." Rihan retorted, one eye closed and back turned from Kubinashi and Kejoro.
"Rihan-sama, we're your protectors, partners, comrades. Trust us that we can protect you." Kejoro added, her eyes full of worry.
"Haha," Rihan laughed a little, "It's fine, just a little wound. I was caught off guard."
Wakana felt her heart beat faster than usual. She took a deep breath, swallowed the forming lump on her throat, and closed her eyes.
Smile…
Smile…
Smile…
It was like a mantra. She recited it quietly in her mind. She stepped out of the shadows with a smile, wherein the rest of the demon parade looked at her. She could clearly see the shock in the face of Kubinashi and Kejoro. They looked away while Rihan smiled towards her direction.
"Yo! I'm back." Rihan raised his hand, his bloody hand.
From where Wakana stood, all she could see was Rihan and the torn sleeve on his right hand. The sleeve was still attached to his yukata except that it was a little bloody. The wound not yet healed. Rihan always told her that he was able to heal himself so there's no need to worry whenever he was wounded. As instructed by none other than herself, she just smiled.
"Welcome back, Rihan-sama, everyone." She greeted. Kejoro and Kubinashi gave her a polite bow to acknowledge her. Rihan looked back and felt proud.
His demon parade accepted this woman as his. They were no longer resistant with his choice as his current partner, his to be wife. For him, Wakana filled in that empty spot. Her warm smile brightened his soul, his sadness dissipated. She accepted him despite his past, his previous wife, his burden, his curse, everything about him, Wakana accepted without fail.
She was perfect.
Even his father felt that.
He was very proud of it.
"Wakana-sama…" Kubinashi whispered. He looked at their new mistress as usual she was smiling. But somewhere deep inside Kubinashi, he knew how she felt. How courageously she hid her feelings of pain and worry. That's why he took extra effort to take care of the Second ever since Wakana entered the Nura Family. He took it upon himself that he would not let her worry, for the Second's sake as well.
Wakana smiled towards Rihan and looked at his wound. He had his hand resting inside his yukata, the other one slowly wrapped around her shoulder.
"I missed you." Rihan whispered coyly, she simply smiled in reply.
"Let's wrap this up, Rihan-sama." She refused to look at him despite his musings. Acting playfully, she pushed his back and then waved at the rest of the demons in the hall, "Food's waiting for you in the common room."
A loud cheer could be heard from them. Demons rushed towards the common room for the much-awaited food. This added to Wakana-sama's points as the new mistress. The couple, on the other hand, disappeared towards their bedroom. Rihan walked in front of Wakana who was probably a few steps away. In her hand, she held a few bandages and some medicine.
Rihan slid the door open and sat near their futon. Though not married, they were living together, sleeping together, also for safety reasons. There are a lot of demons after him, and knowing that he had someone means he had a weakness. So he made sure she was near him.
On the other hand, marriage was something that the Nura Family was not used to doing. The First did just "kidnap" his mom. But with all intent and purpose, Rihan really wanted to marry her. Wakana knelt down beside him, as if understanding what she would do, he slid down his hakama exposing half of his shoulder.
Rihan felt that for tonight, the silence was a little uncomfortable. Usually, when he comes home from the patrol, she would greet them warmly, offer him a cup of tea or sake (depending on his mood), and then lay down the futon (two of course), for them to sleep. But this time, he came home wounded, which of course was not his intention. He was just a little lost in his thoughts a while ago and was caught off guard by that stupid tengu. He just got a scratch that's all. But to break the silence, he should say something, right?
"The tengu that scratched me is already six-feet down." He reported, laughing slightly. He was looking outside while saying those words. He looked towards his wound and raised his hand. A yellow glow covered it and the wound closed up. "See, no more wound."
Wakana nodded silently. She knew that he could do that, but she still bought those medicine and bandages. She slowly gripped the bandages tightly. Somehow someway, she didn't understand herself today.
Why was she feeling that way?
She was still smiling while she stared at the yellow glow that slowly dissipated as the wound closed up. Rihan looked at the wound, checking on it and approved of it when it closed up. Wakana was still looking at it intently.
She felt herself tense up. The lump on her throat that she thought she swallowed already was returning. She gripped the bandages tighter this time to try to hold herself. But somehow, it was not working. Her chest was getting tighter her sight was getting blurry, until she felt something warm flowing from her eyes, trickling down to her cheeks, falling onto her hands. Her smile still on her face, she noticed that she was crying while smiling.
Rihan was still looking at his wound and said, "I can heal myself, incredible right, Waka…."
He looked up to her and was surprised with what he saw. She was sitting there quietly. Her small frame was trembling, her hands gripping the bandages tightly, her shoulders quivering, tears falling from her eyes, and still smiling.
"Y-you're so s-strong, Ri-rihan-sama…" She whimpered trying her best to say it straight. "I-I'm happy…"
She whimpered. Tears flowed faster. She placed a hand on her cheeks, "Oh…uhm…so-sorry…I don't know why this is happening… .ha…I'm just probably a little tired…today…"
Rihan couldn't speak. It was a first time for him. All this time, Wakana was always smiling. There were no sad moments. There was no crying. She was always showing a strong façade with a delicate smile. But today, here she was, still smiling but crying.
Wakana tried her best to wipe the tears. "Sorry, Rihan-sama. You're wounded and all, here I am being emotional. This is not right…sorry…sorry…" Tears still kept flowing down her cheeks, her body couldn't stop trembling, her unsteady hands reached out to her arms, wiping it from the hardened blood from the wound.
"Wakana…" Rihan whispered watching her intently, wanting to pull her into his embrace, but stopped himself so she could talk.
"I'm such a weak woman…" Wakana smiled, wiping his arm gently. "I don't have anything in me that's special. I'm normal. All I can do is cook for everyone, for you. All I can do is smile when you come back. All I can do is mere household chores that perhaps any other woman can do for you."
Wakana felt her throat tighten, but she still continued. "But here I am, being worthless again. This wound, I can't even heal it. I'm not beautiful, perhaps not even to be compared to your first wife. If she were here, you would have been in a better position, you would have accomplished your dream of having an heir to be the Lord of the Pandemonium."
Her hands fell down from wiping his arm. She leaned on the ground feeling dejected. She knew that Rihan was just intently watching her and listening to every word that she said. She took a deep breath and smiled towards him.
"Rihan-sama, perhaps you can…"She looked up to him then down to the ground, with tears welling up in her eyes, she felt so vulnerable, so weak, so useless, she continued, "…find someone better… I'm unworthy of being…"
She was unable to finish her statement when Rihan took her into a tight embrace. She almost choked at how tight it was. His head was leaning on her left shoulder, his arms laced tightly around her tiny waist she was almost kneeling in between his legs. She almost felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Rihan-sama, your wound…" She tried to struggle but he only tightened his embrace. "Rihan-sama?"
Rihan whispered softly. "I'm afraid that if I let you go, you'll leave me…"
Wakana's eyes widened. Rihan buried his head on her shoulder, near the crook of her neck. His embrace tightened even more. His head buried deeply and his body trembling slightly. Wakana listened to him.
"When Yamabuki left, I thought the world ended, until I met you." Rihan confessed, still burying his head on her neck. "At this point in time, it's not about finding a better person than my previous wife, its…"
Rihan slowly looked up, placing his hands on Wakana's upper arms, positioning himself wherein she was kneeling in front of him. He looked at her intently, his eyes shining brightly he felt for the first time that his eye sight was getting blurry. His touch tightened slightly, Wakana was still intently looking at him as if in a trance.
Rihan gulped, he felt nervous, more nervous than when he was in battle. "Wakana, this time, its about finding a person, who can make me happy, and…"
He placed his hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears from her eyes using his thumb.
"And…" Rihan felt a tear slide down from his right eye. "And make that someone as happy if not happier than me…"
He knew that it was his mistake then. When he was with Yamabuki, he was happy, but he failed to notice that she was not. When he saw Wakana like this, it scared him. For the first time in his life, he was happy, happier than ever. But when he saw her crying, when she said that maybe he could look for someone else, he felt like he was thrown in the past, in the dark, in that lonely abyss yet again. He suddenly felt a sense of panic, he didn't want to lose her…
Lose Wakana…
Lose Wakana…
No…
No…
NO!
He didn't know how it happened, even before when Yamabuki left he didn't cry. This time, tears were falling from his face. He bent his head down in almost a sign of defeat, an expression of vulnerability, an admission of defeat from fear until small arms slowly pulled him to an embrace. His head rested on Wakana's chest, she planted a soft kiss on his head and embraced him tightly. His arms lay helplessly on his side.
"I love you very much Rihan-sama." Wakana whispered. Rihan's eyes widened. It was the first time she said it. They've had their moments, they went out, kissed, embraced each other, held each other's hands, but these words were never spoken, at least not yet.
"I guess…" Wakana placed her hands on his face, slowly raising it so that she could look at it intently. "…that's why I felt really bad that I can't help you in anyway. As someone who wishes that I can live longer than you, I am also afraid of losing you. It hurts here…"
Wakana placed a hand on her chest as if to show him where it hurt. Rihan nodded, understanding everything she was saying. His hand moved to where her hand is and held on it tightly. Wakana held this hand and raised it ever so slowly towards her lips. She kissed the back of his hand.
"This hand, I wished for a long time that it would no longer lift that sword. I prayed for a long time that it would no longer need to go to battle and kill." Wakana's tears started to fall again. "Rihan-sama…"
Rihan suddenly pulled her into his embrace, this time more comfortable, more at ease. Wakana rested her head on his broad shoulder. Rihan slowly loosened the embrace so he could look at her.
"Wakana, I…" Rihan started, looking at her intently. "I may be imperfect, arrogant, selfish, but…I love you more than anything in this world. I may have these duties that I have to take care of, but...at the end of it, my only wish is to return to your side. I'm sorry for making you worry, for making you feel this way, for being insensitive…"
Wakana smiled, this time sincerely. She closed the gap between them and kissed him lightly. Her lips touching his, her hands warmly resting on his cheeks…
"I will love you forever, thank you Rihan-sama for letting me do so…"
Rihan's eyes softened, his hand slowly gliding towards her waist pulling her closer to him. This time, a warm smile escaped her lips, which was a pleasant surprise to Wakana.
"I love you and will love you longer than forever. I will always be with you in sickness, in death, even beyond death…" He pulled her into a deeper kiss, passionate and desperate to express his emotions.
Kubinashi pulled the string, which he attached to the door, slowly sliding it close. He smiled to himself. Indeed, the Second found his new treasure, not better than the first, but equally valuable.
Epilogue:
"Rikuo?" Rihan called from the hallway. He opened and closed the door, searching every crook of the house for his son. He promised to take him out today, which was perfect because he was supposed to buy some medicine for Wakana's fever.
He sighed in annoyance. He can be a handful, their son that is. He teased Tsurara. He hid the head of Kubinashi in a place that was too far from his body. Kejoro's hair got cut by a kitchen knife. The guardians, least to say were pissed beyond belief. He sighed. The last room that he hasn't checked was their room, Wakana's and his.
When he opened it, a pleasant surprise was what greeted him. Rikuo sat beside his mom, quietly touching her hair as if caressing her protectively. Wakana was taking an early rest today because she was not feeling very well. Rihan sat near his mother and child. Rikuo looked up to his dad.
"What are you doing? Mom's resting." Rihan softly reprimanded. Rikuo looked to his mom.
"I'm watching over her, making sure she doesn't leave." Rikuo replied. "I had a dream that she was going away…"
Rikuo was unable to continue when Wakana held his hand and looked at him softly with a warm motherly smile.
"I'll always be here, Rikuo…" She reassured him, sitting up from her position.
Rikuo launched himself to his mothers embrace. Although feeling feverish, she embraced her son who was softly crying in her arms. Rihan moved closer, pulling his wife to his embrace. Rikuo sat there in his mother's lap and Rihan placed Wakana in his lap.
This is my family…
Rihan thought.
My one and only treasure.
The End.
Please read and review.
Thank you very much!