'Rikuo! I'm so glad you're okay!' Ienaga Kana exclaimed without thinking as Rikuo entered the room used for the Kiyo Cross squad.
After the battle Rikuo had dissapeared from her sight as the yokai he was. The angry cries from the villagers had resounded in her ears, crying for his blood. He, the guy who was supposed to be the cause for all the trouble as predicted by the Kudan. Those who had lost their loved ones to the all-devouring yokai screamed even harder, now the direct receiver of their anger had dissappeared. Even those unaware of the prophecy linked him to the aweful creature they saw minutes ago. Nothing had been reported on the news of course, the many tragic deaths remained mostly unexplained but for some kind of mass-terrorist attack. The few alive who had witnessed the whole thing closeby didn't believe that, but they were said to suffer from hallucinations, and never appeared in public. The ones standing far enough went with the public explanation, and strenghtened their hatred to anything foreign.
Rikuo had remained missing for a few days, but it was as if no one knew what to think, so they just didn't. Kiyotsugi received many e-mails from people who saw things and some who knew of the prediction, but they were shared with no one outside the squad. Yura was back too, but she said not to speak until Rikuo decided whether to show himself again. The meeting before they had already decided to capture the yokai known as Nurarihyon's grandson, to extract answers and then...probably let him meet his end. Yokai are a grave danger and there is no reason to trust them. The fact that he had deceived them was proof enough for them.
'Aren't you scared?' Rikuo answered with some sort of half-assed, cheeky smile. As he set another step forward, he stepped on the boundary made by the other members of the squad under Yura's supervision. Along with strong ropes a seal was placed right on his chest.
The attack had come and ended so quickly that Kana had had hardly time to blink. Rikuo, however, stood there just the same as before, only for a second the edges of his smile had wavered before returning to a somewhat gentle smile. In the attack Torii and Maki had come out first, second were Kiyotsugi and Shima and last was Yura, to place the seal. Kana was stupified, she had not been part of the plan, she only knew that Rikuo was going to be "interrogated", but, being a friend still, how could anyone expect something like this? The door was locked behind him and he was fully restrained now and surrounded. Each of the squad (except Kana) carried a weapon though only to be used if neccesary.
'So...Exorcism..' 'Shut up yokai!' Maki yelled. 'We all heard the Kudan's prediction, and Ienaga saw you transform!' Rikuo's eyes flickered to Kana for a moment and then left for the next person speaking, ahem, yelling at him. Kiyotsugu was the next to join in.
'You were trying to trick us all along, weren't you? So you intend to destroy all of us? Just try it!' Ready to do whatever it took to stop Rikuo, who wasn't moving yet. The only thing that changed was that his smile had grown colder, but still present. Being smiled on while treatening Kiyotsugu lifted up his weapon, a bat wih seals wrapped around it. Even Kana got a weapon pushed into her hands by Shima. Seeing that, Rikuo felt his blood boil.
Without hestitaion he broke free of the ropes and ripped the seal of in doing so. The bat was flung in his direction as he was breaking free and just as the seal ripped, the bat struck him in the chest.
Falling backwards he evaded the next strikes from both Shima and Maki, mistaking his anger for anger at them and fearing death the whole time. For them, their former friend had become the embodiment of fear.
'Stop this' Rikuo said. The seemingly young boy emitted an air of the supreme commander he descended from. He now stood right before them, his hands held out to show them he was unarmed. Even so, a sickle on a chain was flung at him from behind the others. The face of the person who trew it was streaked with tears 'All you did was just pretend to be our friend wasn't it! You are just a fake! What did you and to gain by deceiving us!' Kana screamed, her voice faltering. The sickle went right trough him, dissolving the illusion.
'This is what our friendship has become, hasn't it?' A familiar voice spoke from nowhere 'It really is a sad realisation to find out what this world has come down too, surely knowing it is all being blamed on me...' Rikuo appeared out of nowhere, his hair had grown longer and he looked more like his nightform though the sun had not set yet. 'Kana-chan, Maki-chan, Torii-chan, Yura-chan, Kiyotsugu-kun and Shima-kun' he looked each of them in the eye as he spoke 'I did not come here to silence you, nor do I want to harm you in any way. I have never intended to use our friendship for something...' The cold smile dissappeared and his tone changed to something befitting his age 'I am a human and wanted to live as one for now...' His voice quivered slightly 'I thought.. ah well, I'm not sure why I even came here today..didn't think, maybe hope, that you would actually attack me.. You really went out of your way, eh? You even trew a Kusarigama at me, Kana? So I scared you didn't I?' He turned to leave 'I wouldn't say anything if I were you..if you don't want to end up at an asylum'