Hello peoples! This is my first Nurarihyon no Mago fanfic, so please be kind, or well, kinder. This is a little something I've been wondering for a while – what would have happened if Rikuo was on the bus when it was attacked? It might be crappy, but I just wanted to get down the idea before someone else beat me to it. Enough blathering, you guys came here for the story!

Without further ado, I introduce What Happens on the Bus Stays on the Bus.

Yeah I know the name is a pun on the saying about Vegas I'm not exactly creative.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nurarihyon no Mago, that would be the amazing Hiroshi Shiibashi.

"Be careful Kana-chan~! Yokai-kun might attack you!"

"Did you see his house? It's so old and it's falling to pieces…'

"A Yokai mansion! Suits Yokai-kun perfectly!"

"If we get attack by a yokai it's your fault!"

Rikuo huddled deeper into himself with ever comment in his seat next to Kana, trying to focus on the scenery outside the window rather than the cruel comments his classmates made. For once he wished his hearing was that of a normal human's-it would make everything easier to ignore. How Kana was able to drag him onto the bus, effectively ruining his plans to walk home alone and wallow in shame, was a mystery to everyone. The girl in question sat happy by his side with her bag on her lap, chatting excitedly with the girl in the seat next to them and barely paying the boy next to her any attention. Rikuo did his best to tune them out, but his efforts were ruined by the other girl's next sentence.

"… know about Yokai? A bunch of kids have been kidnapped while on the bus! Right…about…HERE!" The girl jumped out at Kana, who couldn't help but flinch at the other's actions. "K-knock it off…"

Rikuo ignored that the girl only meant the story as a joke and let his thoughts wander off about the legend of the kidnapped children. The only yokai that Rikuo knew of that kidnapped children was Gagoze, but surely he was well aware that this bus was the one that Rikuo took home and would avoid kidnapping anyone onboard. The yokai at the main house must have obviously informed him and the other clan leaders about this ages ago. Nodding to himself, Rikuo returned to occupying himself with the sights along the route home; they should be entering the tunnel pretty soon, and then he would have to find something else to distract him from the harsh words of his classmates.

Rikuo had just assured himself of this fact when Kiyotsugu called out to Kana and the girl she had been talking to. "Yokai don't actually exist!" he proudly boasted, "In my research, I-"

The bus suddenly jerked forward as part of the mouth of the tunnel fell and hit the rear. Rikuo gripped his seat as the bus began swerving, chunks of the tunnel raining down on the roof of the bus. Screams filled the air as the rest of the tunnel entrance collapsed around them, enveloping the bus with darkness and closing them off from the outside world.

"…ana-chan! Kana-chan! Can you hear me?" The worried voice pulled Kana from the darkness that threatened to swallow her whole and back into awareness. She felt a hand gently touch her forehead as she struggled to open her eyes and see her savior's face. Her eyelids weighed down on her, refusing to obey her command. "Hey Kiyotsugu-kun! Kana-chan's waking up!" That voice sounded familiar…

Her eyes finally cracked open just a sliver, and staring back at her was none other than the Yokai boy himself. He grinned with relief that his friend had finally woken up… she had taken a nasty fall, tumbling fro her aisle seat while he had merely bumped his head against the window. Sure it still hurt a lot, but right now Kana's health was much more important than his own.

The shuffle of foot steps on rubble indicated that others were approaching them, and Rikuo quickly pulled away from her to give them a chance to see she was alright. Still disoriented, Kana turned to the sound to see Shima and Kiyotsugu making their way over as quickly as possible guided by the flashlight in Shima's hand. The light shone on Rikuo, who was standing off to the side, and in the brief moment she could have sworn she saw an anxious glint in his eyes instead of the familiar mischievous one. In the light she could make out more figures, prompting another glance around her that revealed a dismal scene. She was able to make out that they were no longer on the bus but rather outside somewhere, the space she was lying on cleared of most of the concrete as the others were lying unconscious inside the bus somewhere, The pieces of rubble surrounding them grew larger until she realized they were trapped amongst the endless slabs of concrete. "W-what happened?"

"The tunnel collapsed, probably due to internal structural damage that hadn't been caught during inspections," breathed Kiyotsugu as he bent down to check her for any visible injuries. "Shima! Shine the light over her!I can't see if she's okay in the dark!"

"S-Sorry!" The light was soon flooding her senses and she found herself squinting as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden change. All was silent for a while as Kiyotsugu checked her arms and legs, which appeared to only suffer minimal scratches, before declaring her alright.

"Did you check her head? I'm sure she bruised it when she fell off her seat." The humans all turned to Rikuo, the light redirected at its next victim. The boy quickly shielded his eyes and tried to explain only to realize his mistake.

"Are you saying Kiyotsugu's diagnosis is wrong?

"But-"

"What do you know?"

"I just-"

"This is probably all your fault, Yokai-kun."

Rikuo tensed at the statement before lowering his head and retreating to the sidelines. Kiyotsugu and Shima gave him one final glare and then turned their attention back to Kana, the girl gawking in pure disbelief at the exchange. "Don't worry Ienaga-kun! You're perfectly-"

"Awful."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kana's head was facing the ground, and her arms trembled as she stood up slowly with fists clenched at her sides. "Rikuo-kun is just being concerned about me," she paused, gathering a shaky breath, "yet you're treating him like he's a monster. It's awful!" She lifted her head up, and now they could see the tears filling her eyes, ready to pour down her face. "You guys are the real yokai." She darted forward and snatched Rikuo's hand up, tugging his arm and leading him away from a stunned Kiyotsugu and Shima.

Rikuo was silent for a few steps until Kana tripped over some of the rubble, bringing him out of his stupor as he pulled her hand up and prevented her fall. "Kana-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you do that?"

She didn't even hesitate in her response. "You're weird, but you're my friend. I'm not gonna let anyone say that about my friend." As she and Rikuo continued to distance themselves from the others in their limited space, she could see the flashlight shining over the area around them, illuminating everything with its light.

The beam of light passed over a corner of the rubble, and her heart stopped.

She hadn't even registered the fact that she screamed until she heard Rikuo addressing her, his hand tightening it's grip on hers."

"Kana-chan? Why are you scared?"

Her hand slammed onto her mouth to keep another scream from escaping her lips as she stared at the now dark area where she had seen them. Maybe she was just seeing things because she was still in shock? She couldn't have seen it. There was no way anyone could reach them, or else they would have been rescued by now, right? It was just probably more concrete pieces. Concrete pieces…with faces.

"There's…people lined up over there…"

"People?" Kana nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Kiyotsugu's voice from behind them, the light stream following him alerting them to Shima's presence as well. "There's no possible way. If people could have gotten in so easily don't you think we'd be rescued by now?"

"But I saw them…"

"It was just your imagination! Calm-"

"Hey, Shima-kun. Can you shine the light over there?" Rikuo pointed in the general direction Kana was facing when she screamed, his eyes already able to make out some forms in the darkness with his enhanced vision, but not by much.

"I'm not taking any orders from you, Yokai-kun."

"Shima-kun, just humor them so we can get on with our escape plans."

Shima nodded his head and followed Rikuo's arm with the light until it landed on the 'people.' This time, with the light steady, Kana could see them more clearly, not that it helped in the least bit. There were at least a dozen of them, cloaked in tattered robes and the hoods pulled up over their heads, hiding their faces from her sight. They were just…standing there. Watching them. She couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine.

"D-do they look a little… strange to you?" Shima stammered, eyes wide on the figures.

"Kiyotsugu-kun," she heard herself ask, "what are they…?"

"Uh…b-beats me…"

"Tch…There are so many still alive…the Young Master included."

She felt like someone had dumped ice water over her head at the figure's words. Whatever these things were, they were dangerous…

"Wh-who are you?!" Kiyotsugu cried out, shaking like a leaf, not that Kana was any better herself. The hand that held hers, however, was still, and Kana looked over at Rikuo to find him gaping at the figures with a blank expression, his eyes as wide as an owl's. She gulped-he must have gone into complete shock.

"Looks like the tunnel didn't collapse completely…" another said, stepping forward from the others, identifying himself as the leader.

"Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to… slaughter everyone."

With a start Kana realized they were surrounded by the other figures, and she cursed herself for not paying attention to them. A whimper escaped her mouth as she was finally able to see the face underneath the hood and wish she hadn't. Thick green reptilian skin made up the creature's goblin like face, and sharp teeth protruded from its mouth in a sickening version of a smile. Its eyes were white slits and for a brief second she thought it was blind before its gaze locked on them and pierced her soul. Kiyotsugu, the one who had claimed their nonexistence, was the first to shriek the name at the inhuman beings. "You-Yokai…!"

Faster than she could release her own scream, she felt the hand that had been connecting her to reality let go and a form stepped in front of the three humans with arms spread apart, shielding them from the yokai.

"Wait! Gagoze, it's me!" That voice...

"Don't hurt them! These are my friends from school."

Kana was momentarily distracted from her fear as she heard the words coming from her friend, her stupid friend. Did he really think that the monsters would let them live because they were his friends? And what did he call the leader? Gagoze? "R-Rikuo-kun!" she whispered, her voice involuntarily shaking. "What are doing?!"

The yokai grinned in response to the boy's actions. "You really don't get it, stupid boy. Of course I knew this was the Third's bus!"

Rikuo frowned at the statement, having expected Gagoze and his clan to have attacked the bus unaware he was on it. He had hoped Gagoze would have recognized him as he got closer to the group, but when that failed he had no choice but to address him directly. "Then why did you attack us?" he asked, completely at a loss for the reason behind the attack, yet he remained standing between Gagoze and the others on instinct.

"It was the perfect cover for your death. The Young Master, killed in a bus accident while on the way home from school. No one would suspect a thing."

Rikuo's eyes grew before shifting his stance into a more pronounced protective one. "Then leave them out of it! They've got nothing to do with this!"

Kana simply stared on at her friend, who went on practically unfazed by the admitted assassination attempt for who knows why. The yokai had called him 'Young Master,' but why? Sure, Rikuo had a big house and everything, but why would a yokai address him like that?

"I mean, sure they're really clumsy…But Aotabou is super strong and Yuki Onna's cooking is delicious, even if it's always cold!" The rest of the class stared at Rikuo confusion. Sure the kid was usually weird but, yokai servants, really?

"On the contrary," hissed Gagoze, "didn't you just called them your dear friends?"

Rikuo cursed his own mistake, taking a look back at the trembling Kiyotsugu and Shima and then Kana, who was simply staring at him with her mouth agape. She had stop quivering long ago, as soon as Rikuo had stepped in front of them.

For some reason, she felt safe behind him.

Rikuo gave her a small smile and then turned to face Gagoze with a glare, fists clenched at his sides. "I won't let you hurt them!"

Gagoze chuckled at the notion, "You may be the Supreme Commander's grandson, but you're still a human. You can't even keep up with the smaller yokai!"

"My Grandpa is the Supreme Commander of Yokai!" Rikuo grinned, the smile reaching from one side of his face to the other, as he completed the boys' lap sprint in 6.9 seconds, a new record. How was he so fast?

"How could the Supreme Commander even think of allowing a human to lead the Nura Clan. It's preposterous!" Gagoze sneered.

Rikuo barely had time to register his movement before he was slammed into the ground. The terrified shrieks of his classmates echoed in his ears as he struggled to breath in Gagoze's tight grip. Sharp claws dug into his neck and he couldn't help but yelp as they sunk deeper into his flesh, pinning him to the ground.

"You really think you have any authority over me, Young Master? A pitiful human like you can't even protect themselves from a yokai, let alone your friends." Gagoze easily lifted the small boy into the air and tossed him to the side like a piece of trash. Rikuo crashed in a pile of rubble and lay there unmoving. Satisfied with having silenced the brat for the moment, Gagoze turned to face Kana and the others. While the main purpose of this attack was to strike down the future Third, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself with the death of these children first, especially since they were the Young Master's friends. "But don't worry, you'll get to see your dear friends soon enough once I send you all to hell."

Kana's eye darted towards Rikuo still form; tears began to stream down her face when she saw the blood on his neck. Even after everything the others did to him, even after they treated him like less than dirt, he tried to save them all the way till the end. He took care of her, believed her, and was now willing to die for her. She didn't deserve such a person in her life-even if it was only for a short while.

The older yokai chuckled sinisterly, believing the human girl to be crying out of fear. He reached out to her with bloodstained claws, reveling in this moment, his favorite moment besides the kill, when they realized no one was going to save them. Kana squeezed her eyes shut, praying this was all some crazy dream, before whispering what she thought to be her last words.

"I'm sorry, Rikuo-kun." For everything.

Something yanked down on the sleeve of the yokai, pulling his claws away from the human girl's face. Confused at the pause in the yokai's actions, Kana opened her eyes to an annoyed Gagoze glaring at the figure that clung to his robes like his life depended on it. Though her vision was blurred by tears, she knew that hair coloring anywhere. "R-Rikuo-kun?"

Her friend made no indication that he had heard her, instead gripping onto the robe so tight that his knuckles were white with effort. Gagoze growled before swiping his other arm down and smacking Rikuo backwards nearly 10 feet with the sheer force of the hit. "Honestly, don't you realize you're pathetic attempts won't work? Stupid human boy." He hit the ground harder than before, but was struggling onto his feet within seconds. When he tilted his head up, his eyes shone with a determination that Kana had never seen on his face before, the anger burning in those eyes sending a chill down her spine. He looked almost… threatening.

"You say I'm too weak because I'm a human…" Rikuo took a step forward, and then another, steadily making his way towards Gagoze, his form hazy and unclear, like it was changing…

"If I can't protect them as a human," he said, his hair moving with each step, giving the illusion that it was longer, almost looking white in the dim light of the flashlight, "then if I'm a yokai…there should be no problem protecting them, right?" He seemed to stand taller than before, his face older and more mature, his brown eyes practically glowing red with anger

He stopped right in front of Gagoze, who had dropped his hand once he saw Rikuo's form changing. He normally had a presence similar if not identical to that of any regular human, but right now, his presence was unmistakably that of a yokai. But how? The newly transformed Rikuo glared straight through Gagoze, a jolt of fear going through the older yokai at the amount of hate directed at him.

"If that's the case, then I'll just stop being human."

"This can't be happening! In my research I proved that-"

"Oi, Kiyotsugu. Shut up." Kiyotsugu's vain attempt at pretending the situation in front of him was all some form of a distorted fantasy was cut off sharply with the cruel remark from the boy that used to be Rikuo. The tone was low and cold, so different from the cheerful and mischievous Rikuo that they were fond of. Had they not witnessed the transformation firsthand, they would never have put the two together as being one and the same.

The boy's hair growing out was not an illusion like Kana had first thought, the normally light brown top turned white, almost silver, giving him a ethereal look-not that the fact it was sticking out from one side didn't do the job. The bottom half went from dark brown to black, and he now stood tall enough that Kana's head only reached his shoulder. Even his clothes had changed into a more traditional black kimono(1) with a blue cloak draping over him, his sneakers replaced with sandals. But the physical difference wasn't the most unnerving part. The tone from earlier was what truly concerned her. Rikuo was always a little strange, but he never failed to be polite-unless he was busy with one of his many pranks. While there was no longer any doubt in her mind that Rikuo was a yokai, was this form still the same Rikuo that she had befriended?

The white head shifted to the side, and she could make out a crimson eye staring straight at her from behind the child-eating yokai. With just one sentence, he answered her thoughts.

"Kana-chan, you should close your eyes. This is scary."

"Because otherwise it would be scary!" she yelled, her frustration getting the better of her. Rikuo still didn't understand why talking about yokai in public was wrong and her patience had finally given out. "Yokai…are monsters aren't they?" Just the thought of them sent chills down her spine. How could Rikuo think they were cool?

"Scary?" The boy looked as if he had just been told he was a monster. His wide eyes were locked on her, and the rest of the words fell out of her mouth without a second thought.

"I mean, if you showed them to me then I'd believe you…But I really wouldn't wanna see that kind of stuff at all!"

Apparently her outburst had done the job. Rikuo remained silent for a while, a guilty look in his eyes-probably from all the lying about yokai he's been doing recently-before he looked down at the ground. "Hmm…people really do hate yokai. I shouldn't talk about them ever again."

Kana nodded in agreement, a sigh of relief escaping her now that the matter was resolved. "Now that you got that through your thick skull, hurry up or we'll miss the bus!"

Had she really said that? It seemed like years ago, but the guilt flooded her like blood spilling from a fresh wound. Now she was the one staring wide-eyed at the other. Before she could say anything else, the smaller yokai focused his attention on the threat to the humans' safety.

"You think you're some kind of big-shot, killing children? You wanted to eliminate me… and take the position of the Third for yourself…" a pale hand slid into the folds of the kimono, undetected by the older yokai that was bringing himself out of his sorry shocked state.

"Gagoze, you really are a pitiful little bastard of a yokai."

Kana felt her jaw drop along with Kiyotsugu and Shima. Was this what Rikuo was like as a yokai? Rikuo exuded confidence in this form, his face showing no signs of fear or amusement. The only visible marker that he was feeling any emotion at all was the slight furrow in his brow as he looked upon Gagoze as if he were a mild annoyance, but that was nothing compared to his anger from earlier.

"What was that, asshole?!" growled one of Gagoze's subordinates brought back to his senses in defensive of his master. The yokai charged from the sidelines towards in a fit of fury towards Rikuo, who made no attempt to counter the approaching strike.

Shiiing! Suddenly the yokai fell back shrieking, his hands covering his face now dripping with blood from a large gash. In Rikuo's hands was now a katana, the tip slightly red from the blade's most recent victim. "Tch…who do you think you're callin' asshole?"

The injured yokai retreated behind Gagoze, who watched flabbergasted at the sight of one of his men felled by the young boy. "Why you little-"

And then the ceiling caved in.

Dozens of yokai came streaming in from above, following three figures in particular. The first was a young girl who seemed to be around the same age as Rikuo looked at the moment, her long raven black hair flowed around her, dancing in an invisible breeze, becoming blue and then white as it got closer to the roots. Amber eyes glowed in the darkness, her mouth hidden by a scarf that went over a white furisode(2). The second definitely older and much taller, standing more than two meters tall and clothed in a blue and black kesa(3) with a skull rosary dangling around his neck. His hair was separated into thick white strands, and identical white eyes scanned the area, searching for something or, Kana glanced back at the yokai boy lazing back with an amused grin at the scene in front of him, someone. Last but not least, the third yokai leader stood at a fair height and donned black robes with a green kesa layered over them, his face and long black hair mostly obscured by a straw hat. He carried a shakujo(4) in his right hand and covered what was barely visible of his mouth with a white scarf, his blues eyes the only defining facial feature Kana could make out.

"Those fools from the main house…" Gagoze cursed, only sparing the enormous group a quick glance before turning his attention back to the younger yokai giving him a devious smirk. No, he would not underestimate this boy again.

"Yo, Aotabou! Kurotabou! What took ya so long?" The two male yokai turned at the sound of Rikuo's voice, bewildered by the unfamiliar yokai that somehow knew their identities.

The larger yokai stepped forward, bending down to look at Rikuo head on and squinting at him hard. Something about this yokai struck him as familiar, but Aotabou couldn't tell just what. "Who the hell are you?"

The smaller yokai grinned at the question. "You'd think my attendants would recognize me on the stop. Well, if you're always falling for my pranks I guess that explains it."

White eyes widened and Aotabou gaped at the figure. "R-Rikou-sama?!"

"The one and only. Good job finding me, Aotabou."

Aotabou visibly beamed at the praise. "Thank you, Young Master! Everyone back at the main house was so worried about the accident-it all over the news you see- that we decided to send a search and rescue for you!"

"Really? That must've been quite the shoe…" Kurotabou had just made his way over to them as Rikuo added on, "anyways if your have anymore questions about what happened here you should ask that bastard of a yokai trying to sneak away," Rikuo deadpanned, pointing one finger over his shoulder at Gagoze, who had stepped back from the humans while they were conversing.

"C-Curse you!" Gagoze snarled, turning to his subordinates overcome with fury. "Damn it! Kill him! Kill the Master now! Along with all those pathetic, weak-willed wretches from the main house! Annihilate them!" There was no point in trying to hide his treason thanks to that stupid little brat. He had practically announced his involvement in the accident! He had no choice now –those main house traitors wouldn't just stand by and let the Third die, nor would his betrayal be so easily punished. Two of his followers shot forward, weapons aimed at the Young Master.

The two yokai next to Rikuo moved so fast Kana would have missed it had she blinked. Aotabou slammed down one of the attacking yokai, crushing its skull in with a single blow, while Kurotabou beat the other back with his staff. Kana was sure the scene would have scared her senseless, had it not been for their childish arguing as they destroyed the enemy.

"Just leave it to me, Assault Officer Aotabou!"

"Idiot, you're not the only Assault Officer here!"

Behind them Kana could see the blue hair woman freezing the other attackers with a single breath, her eyes shining dangerously. It was then she realized that all around her the main house yokai were prevailing, whittling the numbers of the Gagoze clan down to only its leader now cowering in his defeat.

"How…This can't be happening…How is my clan being defeated…We've killed more than everyone here-we're the strongest fighting force…"

"Gagoze, you say you want to be the master of the yokai, because you've killed countless numbers of humans…don't you have any pride?" All beings present, both yokai and human, turned their heads to face the Third.

"Give it up," added Aotabou. "This scheme of yours…even cutting your fingers won't atone for this."

The cornered yokai glanced furiously from side to side in an attempt to find a way out of this situation, his gaze landing on the three human children. Kiyotsugu and Shima had reacted similarly to Kana after Rikuo's transformation, that is to say, they stood around with mouths open so wide they had probably caught a fly or two. The predatory look in the child-eating yokai's face was enough to snap them out of their daze with a good dose of fear. Gagoze wheeled around and dashed towards the children, his mask of confidence unable to hide the desperation in his actions.

Gagoze reached out to Kana with a clawed hand, and she shrieked along with Kiyotsugu and Shima who had now realized that they had become easy targets. "Should I rip these ones to shreds?! They're the Master's friends, aren't they?" He laughed nervously, hoping this last attempt would spare his life. Those main house morons wouldn't dare do anything if it could lead to harming these children. "If you don't want me to kill them, then you better start listening to me-"

Pain was the only thing Gagoze could feel, pain that was slicing through his face, the sharp metal of a blade burning through his very existence. Rikuo had acted on pure instinct, his desire to keep Gagoze away from his friends fueling his actions. He had brought the katana down on Gagoze's head, pushed the unsharpened edge of the blade to deepen the inflicted wound. Gagoze screamed and stumbled backwards from the force of the swing dealt by Rikuo that had very nearly split his head into two.

"How…How…How could I be beaten by a little brat like you…Wh…What…do you have…that I don't…?!" More blood spurted from the wound like a geyser. "When among all the yokai…I'm the most feared of all!" he cried.

Rikuo's voice was calm and confident, his expression much too serious for a child of eight years, gaze locked on Gagoze. "A child-devouring yokai…that is truly fearsome…"

"However…one that prays on the weak and kills them…then becomes bloated with self-satisfaction…" His eyes narrowed sharply at the older yokai.

"In this world of darkness, that yokai is…the least fearsome creature of all."

Gagoze blanched at the words. More blood spilled from his wound.

"It's sad…" Rikuo continued, idly swinging his sword around, "that such a foolish creature would be among the ranks of my yokai servants!" He paused in his movements, gripping the hilt of the sword in his hand, pointing it at Gagoze. His eyes narrowed, burning with a fierce resolution.

"Therefore, I will take on the position of the Third! I'll never forgive anyone who is an enemy of humans!" Rikuo took a few steps forward as Gagoze scampered backwards, ignoring the sounds of praise coming from his servants.

"Tell the yokai of the world I'm going to become the lord of all evil spirits!" And with that, he leapt, charging straight at Gagoze, red orbs shining in the darkness. Rikuo slashed the sword downwards on the top of Gagoze's head, slicing through his entire being until he was split into two, "Every single yokai will join the monster procession at my back to prowl the night!"

Kana could feel the breath leaving her lungs as she looked on. Rikuo had his back to her and the other human children, sheathing his katana in silence and refusing to look behind him. Kana felt her feet move forward on their own accord, one hand reaching out towards her friend, because he was still the same boy, the same weird boy that said weird things sometimes with that goofy smile of his.

"Rikuo-kun?" she called out hesitantly. He visibly tensed at her voice, but he still made no movements to turn around. Kana's fingertips were just barely brushing his shoulder when she saw him swaying from side to side. "Rikou-kun!"

Kana lurched forward, grabbing onto his robes as the Young Master lost consciousness.

"Rikou-sama?!"

"Young Master!"

"What's wrong?! Were you injured?"

In an instant Kana found herself being swarmed by yokai, their concern focused on the boy in her arms. The blue haired yokai girl ripped Rikuo from her arms before Kana could voice her protest, her hands fluttering over his forehead in panic. However, they stopped their movement once the yokai caught sight of their Young Master's hair shrinking back to its normal length. It was only then that everyone noticed the early rays of sunlight streaming through the whole in the tunnel ceiling, signaling the beginning of dawn.

Soon the long white and black hair had shrunk back into the brown locks that Kana was so familiar with. Rikuo seemed to have become his normal size once more, and while the robes had stayed they had also adjusted themselves to his size. His eyes were closed, but Kana guessed that they had switched back to the chocolate orbs always full of mirth. "Is he…returning to his human form…?"

"…"

"No way…so because his blood is only one fourth yokai, he can only be a yokai…for a quarter of each day?"

"…"

"Eeeeh?!"

"Huh?! What did you just say?!"

"Th-That means…!"

"What is going on?!"

The yokai went into complete chaos, screeching in the news of the revelation while their Young Master lay limp on the ground, his mouth slightly open as he snored away, oblivious to the panic he had caused. The humans were no better. Kiyotsugu kept on stuttering about how his research was incorrect for the first time ever-that was going to leave an emotional scar on the boy- and Shima had resolved to sit on the floor before his legs gave out on him, his blank stare landing on nothing in particular.

Kana simply stood off to the side, observing the situation with amusement. Her thoughts drifted off to the conversation she had with Rikuo the other day, back when he was just a silly boy making up silly excuses for being late. A slight smile crossed her face, barely holding back the giggle that threatened to escape her.

"Hey, Rikuo-kun, I guess this is why you're always late to the bus, huh?"

The End

(1) kimono: a long, loose robe with wide sleeves and tied with a sash, originally worn as a formal garment in Japan and now also used elsewhere as a robe.

(2) furisode: a style of kimono with long floor length sleeves normally worn by unmarried women

(3) kesa: a robe worn by Buddhist monks and nuns

(4) shakujo: a Buddhist ringed staff used primarily in prayer or as a weapon

Hope you enjoyed this little story. I'd been meaning to write this for a while, but lack of time and procrastination are an evil duo. I'm leaving this as a one-shot, but if enough people ask for it, I'll add another chapter as an epilogue of sorts. Thanks for reading!

~HimuroMiharu102398 (^_^)