Disclaimer: I don't own anything publicly recognized. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter One- Arisu's POV
I clutch my suitcase nervously as I step out of the taxi. The house is massive, and I know I'll spend my first few weeks here getting lost. I thank the driver and pay my fare before beginning to walk slowly towards the house. This can't be the right place: I'm sure I would have known if I had relatives rich enough to live somewhere like this. I see a relatively pretty lady who appears to be in her mid forties standing by the door. She spots me and walks over.
"Hello," she says, "You must be Arisu." I nod.
"Yes." I say quietly, and she smiles.
"I'm Wakana, your mother's sister. Come in: I'll introduce you to everyone." I smile slightly at her, and follow as she leads me into the house.
My first thought when I enter is that the house is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. A boy around my age runs over to me.
"Hi, Arisu! It's great to meet you!" he says with a friendly smile.
"Arisu, this is my son, Rikuo. He's the same age as you." Wakana says. "You'll be starting at his school in a couple of weeks, once you've settled in a bit."
"Hi." I say, not wanting to talk but also not wanting to be rude. If I let them think I'm shy, they'll hopefully leave me alone for some of the time.
"Do you want me to show you around, Arisu?" Rikuo asks. "Or do you want to relax for a while first?" I think about it for a moment. If I get a tour now, I'll have more time to read later. If I get a tour later, then I can rest a bit now. The train ride took two hours, and I hate moving vehicles. I could do with some time to just block everything out.
"I think I'll rest now, thank you." I say, and Rikuo nods.
"You'll be sharing my room. I'll show you there now." he says, and, seeing my surprise at us sharing a room, adds "The house is a lot smaller than it looks." I nod, and Rikuo begins to walk off. He beckons for me to follow him, and I do so.
After a couple of minutes, we reach a room and Rikuo opens the door. We walk inside, and I see that the room is quite plain and simple. There are two beds, one with crisp white sheets and the other with soft pink.
"We didn't know what sort of colours you like, so we guessed you'd be okay with pink for now..." Rikuo says, looking at me to see what I think of it.
"It's fine." I say, smiling gratefully at him, hoping he doesn't pick up on the fact that I hate the colour pink.
"I can take you shopping, if you want, so that you can choose something you like more." he says, and I shake my head.
"I'm already imposing on you. More of my clothes are being brought over, anyway. My sheets are with them."
"I didn't think your suitcase looked big enough," he says, "You can put your stuff down now, if you want. I'll help you put it away later." He smiles at me, and I smile back. I walk across the room and put my suitcase by my bed, before sitting down.
"Thank you." I say.
"It's fine. If you need anything, just ask." Rikuo says, and exits the room, leaving me alone. I kick off my shoes with a sigh and bring my knees up under my chin. I lean back, folding my arms across my chest and staring at the wall. There isn't much noise, just the rumble of passing cars and the far-off sound of Rikuo and Wakana talking. I block it out, as well as everything I can see, and empty my mind. I feel as though I'm floating as I completely shut down all of my senses and stop thinking about how everything has gone wrong, how it's all my fault, how I don't deserve to live with such nice people.
After what feels like a second but is actually two hours, a panicked voice brings me back to reality. I blink a couple of times, and Rikuo sighs next to me. I feel a weight on my shoulder and look at it to see Rikuo pulling his hand away. I look back at his face, which is filled with a mixture of relief and concern.
"Are you okay, Arisu?" he asks, and I nod. "Good. You scared me." I wince.
"Sorry, I just block everything out sometimes. It's just my way of coping with stress or massive changes," I say, and Rikuo nods. "I need to every now and then, or I get over-stimulated and completely freak out."
"That's fine. You don't need to apologise. Different people deal with things differently," he says. "Come downstairs: dinner's ready." At the mention of food, my stomach growls loudly. I blush, and Rikuo laughs lightly. He stands and walks to the door, and I follow. We walk downstairs in silence, which I'm glad of: I'm not really a people person.
When we enter the dining room, the smell of miso ramen hits me, and it takes all of my self-control not to break down and cry. The soft, beautiful fragrance reminds me of my parents. I kneel where Rikuo tells me to, and we wait for Wakana to come back through with the cutlery.
When she does, she brings with her a withered-looking elderly man with an abnormally long head. Rikuo greets him as 'grandpa', and then introduces me to him. Rikuo's grandfather tells me to call him grandpa, so I do so.
We eat in silence, and I spend the whole meal thinking about my mother's ramen, how we used to tease her when she messed it up, and how she used to get my father to cook instead. The ramen is the best I've ever tasted, and I can't help but wonder how Wakana can be such a good cook when her sister, my mother, burnt everything, even water.
I'm the first to finish eating, and Grandpa tells me that I may leave the table. I mutter a quick thank you to Wakana, and get up, leaving the room and running up to the bedroom I now share with my cousin. I throw myself onto my bed, pull the covers over my head, and cry myself to sleep.
A/N: This is my first Nurarihyon no Mago fanfiction, and I've only watched the anime once, so some characters might be slightly OOC. Sorry for that. Also, if you spot any spelling or grammar mistakes, please point them out in a review. Until next time, bye!