Deception in Honesty

Crack!

Yura spun on her heel toward the sound, a paper talisman practically materializing in her previously empty hand. The unparalleled speed of her reaction was of the sort that can only result from a combination of good instincts, natural talent, and extreme effort. Not quite as swiftly, she realized her instinct, talent, and effort were put to waste this time. It was merely as false alarm.

Yura hurried to put away the talisman and help clean up the shattered plate. She didn't really need to insult anyone by revealing that, even after everything, she remained combat ready while in the Nura household. It wasn't really a conscious decision, though. The thick yoki permeating the air simply put her on edge.

The woman that dropped the dish, Nura Wakana, appeared not to notice the talisman. She simply thanked Yura for the help cleaning dishes and kept humming.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Wakana's tune showed no sign of an end. On the contrary, it kept getting more complex. At first, the lack of conversation made Yura feel awkward. The more the tune developed, however, the more she relaxed.

Yura felt a tug on her leg. "Excuse me, miss," a short oni said.

Dully, she allowed the bald creature access to the cupboard behind her. As he left, his presence hit her with the force of a slap, causing her numb arms and legs to convulse slightly. With blind panic, she stumbled back into the cupboard, panting, unsure what happened.

Wakana stopped humming and asked, "Everything alright, dear?"

The moment the tune stopped, Yura's senses returned to normal. Spinning on her heel once more, she deliberately pointed a talisman at Wakana this time, wielding the fragile paper like a sharp dagger.

Wakana beamed, "Oh, are you going to show me the onmyoujutsu my son was telling me about?"

"Nura-san!" Yura yelled, her eyes blazing. "Why were you trying to deceive me?" Her voice caught slightly. She had never even detected the slightest yoki from this woman, even though Wakana had clearly just used some kind of technique. Yura had seen through many very powerful yokai attempting to disguise themselves, so this blunder was unnerving. Wakana must be even more powerful than those powerful yokai. In hindsight, this should've been predictable, even obvious, to Yura, as Wakana was the wife of the second great Nura Clan leader.

Wakana held her hands up, showing she wasn't holding any weapons. She giggled. "Really, really, it was an accident. My family always says I break things on purpose, it happens so frequently. But I'm just clumsy!"

"Eh?" Wakana's laugh was so similar Rikuo's, so innocent, Yura couldn't help but lower the talisman. "Break things?"

"I'm sure I've gone through dozens of antiques and nice dishes like that one, but what can a woman do?" Wakana turned back toward her dishes, starting her tune once more.

Yura clamped her forearms over her ears, attempting to throw the talisman in the awkward position. Surprisingly, she came close, hitting the pile of dishes beside Wakana.

Wakana tutted, "Hey, now. That was definitely deliberate!"

Yura heard her clearly, despite having her ears covered. Abandoning the futile attempt at blocking sound, she prepped more onmyou talismans.

Wakana grabbed a nearby broom to sweep up the dishes. Her continued nonchalance confused Yura even more.

"What was that song?!" Yura demanded.

"Oh, just a tune an adorable, little biwa-bokuboku taught me. It helps you relax, no? You seem really tense, Yura-chan! If it bothers you, please let me know, dear. I won't be insulted. Too much."

Yura was taken aback by the sincere concern in the woman's eyes. "A… a little too relaxed, Nura-san." Convinced, she quietly retrieved a trash bag for the dish shards. Attempting to make amends, she offered it and complemented Wakana for good measure. "Ma'am, you're a really amazing yokai. I never even detected the spell."

For the first time, Wakana's charming, carefree expression cracked slightly. "Do I look like a yokai to you?"

"Not at all! That's what I mean. I can't sense your presence at all."

Wakana frowned, handing the bag of glass to Yura. "Of course not, silly. Didn't Rikuo ever tell you? I'm human."

"Eh?"

"I don't even have any magic abilities, like my okaasan on Rihan's side. I never met her, though."

"Eh?!"

"Poor chichi is lonely without her, even with so much family here. He knew what he was getting into, wedding a mortal woman, but they were in love."

"Eh?!" Yura held up one of her hands, palm up, counting and recounting on her fingers. "But, that makes Rikuo three-quarters human. Three-quarters. Is that right?"

Wakana smiled. "Exactly!"

Yura scowled, "But… But that's practically human! I know onmyouji whom are a quarter yokai!"

Wakana's brow furrowed, her innocent expression peeling away once more. "Perhaps."

"Rikuo! Where is he? He tricked me!" Yura stormed from the kitchen, the back of glass shards still in hand.

This time, Wakana didn't know how to react. "Eh?"

Rikuo was truly unfortunate. Yura found him him standing beside the shallow pond in his lawn, in broad daylight, with his back to her, distracted. Using the weapon on hand, Yura slugged him with the bag of broken dishes, simultaneously knocking him into the pond, soaking him, causing him to scrape himself on the bottom of said pond, and lodging a couple pieces of glass in his back.

Rikuo flailed rather helplessly in the pond, momentarily forgetting to stand. Several yokai ran forward, crying out for their master. Chaos ensued for the next several minutes as yokai bumped into each other, tried to help their master, and tried to assault the onmyouji. A shikigami or six beat them right back.

Finally, a state of silence was reached when the young Nura managed to force himself between his family and his friend, arms stretched wide. "Calm down, everyone!" His voice cracked slightly, as a result of adolescence.

Yura saw the gashes in the back of Rikuo's cloak, and it dawned on her that she may have badly injured her friend. Her rage flickered out as quickly as it ignited, and she released her shikigami. Seeing this as a sign of truce, several yokai left, though others jeered at her as she escorted Rikuo inside.

Yura remained silent the entire time Rikuo was being treated, though the young Nura leader insisted she remain in the room. After injuring him like that, there was a serious threat of his clan members killing her. Indeed, before the process was complete, at least a dozen yokai tried to force entry into the room and repay her thrice over for her cowardly attack from behind with disembowelment, skinning, or stewing. Usually, Yura would've taken this as a sure sign that yokai were evil. Currently, however, each successive word of Rikuo's in her defense only made her feel more guilty.

Finally cleaned up and bandaged, Rikuo dismissed his various attendants. Yura stared resolutely at a particular, knotted floorboard. The silence stretched out, heavier than the auras of the two clan heirs.

"Yura, look at me."

Without comment, Yura obliged. She was so surprised by what she saw, she gasped. Rikuo's brown eyes were overflowing with concern. Anyone, yokai or human, would've naturally been infuriated or offended by such an abrasive, unwarranted attack. Yet, this boy continued to disregard any standard.

Gently, Rikuo asked, "Yura, has something happened between the Keikain House and the Nura Clan? You haven't been so angry with me since my visit to Kyoto last fall."

Yura felt even more guilty than she did a moment ago. While her anger was still reasonable to her, it wasn't over such a public incident like that. Well, now that she'd attacked Rikuo in front of his entire clan, it was as much a public incident. Yura tapped her fingers together and said, "Well, that was foolish. But no, its nothing like that."

They shared a silent moment, remembering that eventful visit. Rikuo had been a little overexposed to alcohol. Taking to his yokai form, he infiltrated the home of one of the branch families where Yura was staying. As was the specialty of Nurarihyon, he bewitched Yura's idiot distant cousins to think he was the master of the house, and made them serve him and Yura dinner. Without warning, he passed out, and the spell broke. A few onmyouji nearly killed him, and Yura was hard pressed to talk their way out of that one.

Yura rubbed the back of her head, her guilt also dissipating a little. "This situation really is similar to that one, huh?"

Noticing her change in mood, Rikuo smiled awkwardly. "We may be even now. So, what's up?"

"You deceived me," Yura accused.

"Pardon?"

"Even after all this time, you never told me you are three-quarters human. That essentially is human, but I thought this form of yours was just a clever disguise."

Rikuo frowned, suddenly looking ten years older. "I know. I was trying to be honest with you, Yura. Even though I'm still me, my emotions change with my body. I didn't want to mislead you; that I am anything but a yokai when we fight together and I'm like that."

Yura pondered this. Eventually, she concluded, "Good."

Rikuo looked offended, his face taking the vulnerable expression he only showed his closest friends and comrades. "You would prefer… I'm not human?"

"No, no," Yura objected, "See, it's something I decided a few years ago. Yokai are yokai, the embodiment of evil. That's what I was taught, but then a yokai saved my life. I felt disgraced to be indebted like that, until I found out it was you. Rikuo likes to help everyone, so it made sense that you saved me."

Rikuo nodded. That much he already knew. Yura's next words surprised him though.

"I couldn't live the way I was raised anymore. You became my model for what a yokai may be. If you aren't a yokai, then my decision to go against what I learned was for nothing. The time I've spent teaching others my views was wasted. I'd simply be making excuses for yokai that look or act human, because Rikuo isn't the same as them." Yura rubbed her head. "You deceived me by letting me think you are a yokai."

Rikuo's gaze dropped to that knotted floorboard. "...but... I'm just one person. What about all the other yokai you know?"

Yura shook her head. "None of them are like you, yokai and human both. Rikuo is good."

"Thank you, Yura."

The moment was interrupted by a pudgy green creature that burst through the door, wielding a kitchen knife. Yura sidestepped it and opened the adjacent door in one fluid movement. Unprepared, it ran straight into the hallway and was closed out again. Yura efficiently sealed the door.

Rikuo laughed nervously. "Now if only our families would stop trying to kill each other."

Quietly, Yura said, "Perhaps with a little honesty and a little deception…"