AN:It's a bit AU - Rikuo can transform when he wants and because of emotions. And Kana is flower ayakashi like Yamabuki.
Enjoy!
Walking at a rapid pace in his night form along the path strewn with sakura petals, Rikuo cursed the elders of the clan and his grandfather, with all curses he knew.
Old farts!
After he defeated Nue and his followers at Aoi castle, Nurarihyon and the elders repeated the same thing again and again, as if they had conspired: 'Find a bride, find a bride!' Annoying! And this happened, almost at every meeting, and Rikuo began to lose patience. He is only sixteen, despite the fact that he was considered an adult in the world of yokai. It's too early for him to think about getting married! At least not until he is eighteen, and he doesn't find the one who loves him, simply because he is Rikuo, and not the Lord of Pandemonium.
Suddenly he heard a scream and he stops. Where this scream came from?
The scream is repeated, and Rikuo runs there, pulling Nuekirimaru on the run. When he arrived at the place, he saw a girl in a floral kimono clinging to the trunk of the sakura, looking with fear at the hebi, who bared fangs and was about to attack her.
"It's not good to attack girls. Especially in my territory, " Rikuo said. The girl and hebi drew attention to him.
"Oh! Sandaime of Nura Clan himself came to me! Today I'll have a hearty dinner, " hebi hissed. Rikuo rolled his eyes. Are all hebi, except for Shirohebi idiots, or just some stupid because of their excessive self-confidence? First, Hebidayu thought that he could kill him, now this one thinks that he can eat Rikuo for lunch.
Moron.
"You are too arrogant," Rikuo said. Snake rushed forward to attack. Rikuo with one sword motion cut hebi in two. The blood and the viscera flew in different directions, marking grass and Sakura's petals, and hebi's body fell to the ground, dead.
Wiping Nuekirimaru, and returning it to sheath, he approached the girl. Approaching her closer, Rikuo realized that she was a flower ayakashi. And very beautiful one: brown hair to the shoulders and brown eyes.
Beautiful.
"Don't worry, I will not hurt you," Rikuo said, seeing that she was still shaking from fear. He sat down in front of her. "What is your name?"
"I-ienaga Kana, Rikuo-sama," slightly stuttering from embarrassment, answered flower ayakashi.
"Nice to meet you, Kana," Rikuo said. "And please do not call me Rikuo-sama, I've already heard it from my clan, and everyone I met," for some reason he didn't want her calling him that way. He changed the subject. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"A leg," Kana pointed to her left leg. It was embarrassing, because Lord of Pandemonium himself was helping her, a simple flower ayakashi. "I stumbled, when I ran away from the hebi."
Rikuo snorts, examining a slightly swollen leg. He should take her to Zen. What if it's something serious.
Kana exclaims in surprise, when teen takes her in his arms, bridal style, and flushed, feeling how fast her heart beat. To be so close to the leader of all yokai...
"Don't be afraid, I will not drop you," Rikuo said with a grin. "You need to see a doctor to examine your leg."
Before Kana could object, Rikuo ran, heading for the Main House.
In the clan, with Rikuo's return a stir arose. Third came back not alone, but with a beautiful ayakashi.
Kana blushed even more from such intense attention and stares. Rikuo himself, not paying attention to the whispers of his subordinates, entered the house, looking for his sworn brother.
He was in his room.
"Zen, take a look at her leg," teen said as he walked into the room, and lowered the girl on the futon.
"On it," Zen said immediately, seeing that girl's leg was swollen. Kana shuddered and squeezed, moving away from poi
"I'm just gonna bandage your leg so it will heal faster." Don't shake," Zen snorted and rolled his eyes. Kana relaxed and allowed Zen to heal her leg.
Rikuo turned around and opened the shoji. The whole clan crowded there.
"Kejoro, prepare room for our guest," Rikuo ordered.
"Yes, Rikuo-sama," the long-haired yokai bows and proceeds to carry out the order. Tsurara follows her to help. Yuki-onna is gloomy, but Rikuo is not up to the reasons why Snow Maiden's mood is spoiled.
Zen finished, and Kana, who heard the order, looked at Rikuo with surprise.
"I cannot stay," Kana said. "You've already helped me enough."
"Well, where will you go?" It's late and, although the night is our time, you are injured and someone can attack you again. So you'll stay."
Kana has nothing to object to this and she agrees.
When Kana goes to bed in prepared room for her, Rikuo goes out into the courtyard and looks thoughtfully at the sakura.
"She is cute, huh?" teen turns around and sees his grandfather.
"Yes," Rikuo agrees with him. Nurarihyon grins.
"Finally you brought the girl. I thought you wouldn't do it. " his grandson's face flashes and Nurarihyon's grin grows wider.
"She's not my girlfriend," Rikuo muttered, feeling his face burn. "Don't talk nonsense, old man. I just saved her from a snake who wanted to devour her."
The Supreme Commander snorted.
There was a silence between them.
"I'm going to bed," Rikuo says, interrupting the silence and not waiting for an answer, went into the house.
Nurarihyon chuckled, looking at the moon. Rikuo can talk and think anything he wanted, but you can't fool Nurarihyon. He saw the way his grandson looked at this ayakashi. He looked at her with interest.
It will be interesting to see, what all this will lead to.
Kana stayed with Nura Gumi. At first she protested, saying that she didn't want to abuse their hospitality, but Rikuo and his mother managed to persuade the flower ayakashi to stay with them.
Everyone in the clan accepted Kana.
All, except Yuki-onna.
"I don't understand," Tsurara grumbled as they hung up laundry together with Kejoro. Today, as soon as Kana completed her chores around the house, Rikuo called her for a walk. Recently Rikuo and Kana have spent more time together, which the snow maiden didn't like. "Why does waka spends so much time with this ayakashi?"
"Maybe he likes her," Kejoro shrugged. Everyone in the clan could see how Third and Kana looked at each other, and waited, when they would confess to each other, making bets on this matter.
Tsurara frowned. She didn't like Kana from the very beginning. What did Master saw in her? She didn't understand this and didn't want to accept, that maybe Rikuo-sama has feelings for Kana. Because Tsurara loved him.
But no matter how much Yuki-onna didn't want to admit this, she doesn't have a chance, especially now that Master and Kana spend so much time alone.
It's painful to know that your feelings are not mutual, but there's nothing Tsurara could do about it. Even her confession will not change anything, because Rikuo-sama is in love with flower ayakashi, Tsurara saw it.
She can only hide her feelings deep inside.
Meanwhile, Rikuo, who was in his day form, and Kana walked in Kerria garden. Teen hasn't been here, since the resurrected Yamabuki Otome, killed his father before his eyes. Rikuo thought that Kana would like this place and wasn't wrong. Kana looked fascinated as Kerria's yellow petals flew away into the distance, picked up by the wind.
"How beautiful," Kahna whispered. Rikuo smiled, admiring the girl.
Since the flower ayakashi began to live with them, after some time, he realized that he had fallen in love with Kana. She was not like everyone else. With her, he felt free, for a time, forgetting about the problems.
But there was a question that bothered him, like anyone else who was in love.
Were his feelings mutual?
Rikuo shook his head. If Grandfather saw him now, he would instantly give a slap and a kick in addition, with the words: 'Yokai especially Nurarihyons don't hesitate and take what they want. Go and confess!'
And would be right. Partly. Kana is not a thing to take by force. But he is Nurarihyon though only a one-quarter and he must confess. That, and he didn't want to keep feelings in secret anymore.
"Kana," called to her. She looked at him curiously.
"Yes, Rikuo-kun?" She asked. Although with some difficulty, but flower ayakashi as he asked, didn't call him 'Rikuo-sama.' Instead, like his classmates, she called him 'Rikuo-kun.
Rikuo came closer to her, looking straight in her eyes. She flushed, but didn't move a couple of steps back as usual, if he came close.
"I ..." Rkuo didn't know how to confess, so he wouldn't scare Kana. Heck!"I like you!" He exclaimed, blushing.
Kahn froze in shock from what she had heard. He, Nura Rikuo, Lord of Pandemonium, loved her simple flower ayakashi? It must be some kind of joke. But no, he said it seriously and now embarrassed, waits for her to respond.
"I like you, too, Rikuo-kun," and it was true. She fell in love with him, from the very moment when he rescued her from hebi, and every day these feelings grew, but Kana was afraid to tell him. After all, there are girls who are much more beautiful than she.
But no. He is in love with her. And from the fact that her love is mutual the butterflies fly in her stomach, and Kana feels as if she is flying - she is so happy.
Rikuo, hearing her answer, beamed, feeling being on cloud nine from happiness.
He leaned close to Kana's face, and kissed, turning into his night form, although it was a day. Recently, he discovered that when he experiences strong emotions – doesn't matter, positive or negative – he turns into a yokai. He could also turn at will, and it was to his advantage. Now you didn't need to wait for the sunset to transform into his night form, if the clan or his friends were in danger. Although, he still needed to train how to transform at will.
And now, having experienced the joy of finding out what his feelings are mutual, Rikuo became a yokai.
Such sudden change scared Kana a little, but to hanyo's relief, she didn't pull away. Only awkwardly began to respond to the kiss.
Everything around disappeared. There was only him, Kana and a sense of happiness.
The couple returned from a walk only closer to dinner. After the kiss, they just sat on the bench in silence, enjoying each other's company, until the sun went down and Rikuo decided that it was time to go home.
They entered the house holding hands. Kurotabo, who met a couple at the threshold, noticed their intertwined fingers, and grinned.
"Hey, Ao, It seems I have won! Two hundred yen are mine. I said that Master confesses today!
Rikuo and Kana blink, confused, and when the realization of meaning of what the monk says comes, Kana blushes and looks away, and Rikuo's eyebrow twitches.
"You were betting on us?" He asked with hidden indignation, but he didn't need to ask: the answer was clear from Kuro's remark. Yes, they betted on them, and when Rikuo finds the one who started it, he will punish him.
Nurarihyon invisible to the clan, who raised the gall and decided to have a party in honor of the formation of Rikuo and Kana as a couple, despite the protests of said couple, laughed. Right now, his grandson and his girlfriend reminded him of Rihan and Otome. Then, the clan also rolled a party in honor of the engagement, and his son and future daughter-in-law also had been embarrassed. But Yamabuki had been embarrassed more than his son. Rihan on another hand, though embarrassed, was shining with happiness, hugging Otome by the shoulders and looking at her with a look full of tenderness and love.
Now the situation was the same.
And Rikuo is really his son's father. He, like Rihan fell in love with the flower ayakashi. This caused Supreme Commander feel a déjà vu.
The expression: 'like father like son' is ideally suited to this situation.
Nurarihyon only hoped that Rikuo and Kana's story wouldn't end tragically as Rihan and Otome's story, since the curse is broken.
And they will live happily ever after.