It's one thing to protect yokai, who were more of the night type, and another to protect humans, who preferred to live by the light of the sun. The two are so different, they're inclined to destroy each other, either for power or for safety. Protecting them from one another is no easy task when both want nothing more than to destroy the other. Protecting both is a task only for the insane. Lucky for both humans and yokai, Rikuo was just crazy enough to give it a shot.
Nura, Rikuo, the son of the Second Commander and grandson of Nurarihyon, took upon himself the daunting task of protecting yokai and humans because he loved them both but as he was, torn between his human side and his yokai side, he could never manage it. At least, not alone. With a Night Parade of a Hundred Demons he could do it without question but getting one together wasn't easy and with only the night to accomplish a great deal of things he was, more or less, screwed.
Or that's what he'd thought. His yokai counterpart that peered down from the gigantic, blossoming tree disagreed his human self. "Whether or not it's you or it's me," he said, gazing up at the full moon and sipping at the sake in the abnormally large cup, "If they think we're strong enough, they'll follow us. Got that?"
"I just don't see how to make them think I'm strong," his human side argued. "You have an easy time of it. You're yokai. You can fight them. I'm just a human."
"You're also me. Don't forget that." He tilted his head slightly to the side and gazed over the other. "You have all of my strength." The human knew what he meant. As much as the Night Parade followed one persona, they also followed the other. They were the same person after all, even if their blood was fundamentally different.
He stared up at the yokai for a moment, admiring the proud look he wore and way the moon silhouetted him. His red eyes seemed to glow as much as his white hair and pale skin did. The human was amazed at how different blood could make people but also how similar they were. He began to really appreciate the nature versus nurture argument.
"I'd still like to see the world from up there, you know."
"Heh." The yokai gazed at him with an amused smile. The glint in his eye that would have seemed dangerous before was only playful to his other. "I still don't think you're ready."
