Disclaimer: not all kids have happy pasts you know...
What came before: Ritsura and Rihan are the daughter and son of Nura Rikuo, Supreme Commander of the youkai yakuza of the Nura Clan, and his wife, Tsurara. But while their father is on important quest overseas and while they are enjoying their school days at home with their friends, danger is closing onto the kids in form of an assassin...
Chapter 2
"Oh God, I am more nervous than I thought I'd be…" Kibiki Sakura muttered silently to herself, as she and Yashagoro walked through the school gates. The girl seemed anxious and Yashagoro could make a few guesses as to why she felt so.
"What are you nervous about Kibiki-san?" He asked as he gave her an innocent, composed smile just to make her feel even more nervous. Although he was on an important job, he could not make himself pass a chance to tease girl like her.
"I…I... umm… I am kind of afraid of crowds! Yeah, that's right!" Kibiki made excuses with an expression that made Yashagoro chuckle.
"Hmmm? But a few days ago you said that you disliked lonely and empty places." He put a hand under his chin. "You are contradicting yourself... I wonder what the reason for that would be..."
"I…" Her face started turning red, probably because she started suspecting that he was close to understanding how she felt about him (not knowing that he was already aware of it). "You see, I am a girl who believes in achieving perfect balance!" As it fit her character, she made up another ridiculous excuse. "Yeah, that's right, perfect balance! Like how that Taoist philosophy says!" He opened his mouth to challenge her again, but she raised her finger to silence him. "You see! I… ummm… when I was a kid I watched that one Anime where…" the girl did not want to get embarrassed again so she did not let him catch a chance to say something.
Well, I'll just use my usual tactic: wait for an opportunity and attack. Speaking of that, I could use this opportunity to-…
Suddenly, as he started thinking malicious thoughts, his mind had gone numb. No, that was wrong. Some unnaturally strong Fear forced him to switch his attention elsewhere and no matter how much he tried, he could not resist it. Maybe he could if he released all of his Fear, but there was no way that the Nuras would fail to notice it.
So he tried to fight it with sheer willpower, but the odds did not seem like they were going in his favor. The bustling noises ceased and even faces of everyone around him became blurred in his eyes. There was only that fountain with a stone pillar in the school courtyard, attracting him just like how a lamp attracts wasps. He started to walk towards it. With every step, he was more and more horrified, both by what might happen soon and by the sheer power of the opponent's Fear against which, he was now certain, he could not fight even if he did release all of his Fear.
Ironically, the strongest thought in his head was the one that made him hope that this youkai did not belong to the Nura Clan.
"Yasha-s… wher… oing? Wa…" He could hear Kibiki try to talk to him, but somehow it seemed as if she were dozens of meters away from him. Although he would have wanted to tell her to flee, he was forced to ignore her. There seemed to be no limit to just what this Fear could force him to do.
He was afraid, firstly because of the chance that he may fail at his mission and then for a more natural reason: he started to fear for his own, personal safety. With every step he was more and more afraid. But he had to continue walking until his body stopped moving the moment it reached the fearsome fountain.
He could feel Kibiki asking him some questions… and he answered them, but he did not pay attention, neither to what she said, nor to the words he himself spoke. Then Kibiki left, probably due to whatever this alien Fear made him say.
Soon, he felt the presence of some person standing behind him and he knew that this person was important... so important that he paid her more attention than he did to anyone else at this moment. He was not sure if it was his inborn instincts, or this Fear that made him aware of it.
He himself sat down on the fountain and that person, whoever she was, walked until she stood in front of him. He looked at this person but couldn't make himself pay attention to any of that person's features. He did not know what this person wore, what this person looked like, how old this person was or even what this person's gender was.
"You are the person that has been sneaking around this area for the last few weeks, aren't you?" The voice said, but he could not recognize anything from the tone. Was it male or female, old or young... he did not know. But at least he could hear her, though he was not certain if that made him comfortable or just even more afraid. "You're searching for the New World?"
"For what?" He had no idea what this person said, but felt comfort at the fact that he was being questioned rather than attacked.
"So you aren't one of them… Are you seeking to make a name for yourself and add your tale to the Hundred of Tales?" The person asked another confusing question.
"What are you talking about?" He hoped the person in front of him was a Nura... and he hoped that, if she was a member of the Nura Clan, that this Fear would not force him to spill all of his secrets to them. No, even if this was not a youkai of the Nura Clan, he could never afford to let anyone know about his intentions.
"So you aren't a sleeping agent either. Well then, don't do anything stupid in this school and you'll be safe. I put all my Fear into this tale and I assure you, you are too weak to do anything against it." The unknown person said and left.
And then the alien Fear let him go and the world, once again, seemed normal and his head felt clear. He looked around in order to see who might have talked to him, but there were so many people that it was impossible to find out. Did nobody notice us talking?Although it was theoretically possible that these humans saw him talking to someone, his intuition told him that the alien Fear that entranced him was able to force others to not pay attention to him and the mysterious person. Seeing how powerful the Fear was, that seemed even more likely.
Well, at least I didn't end up saying anything important. In the end, the person seemed to be an enemy to the Nuras or a truly neutral party at worst, thus he was not forced to talk. Still, maybe they could notify them about me... no, if they had any such plans they would at least try to find out something about me. I am safe... for now.
Then he saw Kibiki run towards him, with some bottled of lemonade. "Here, just as you asked." She said and offered him a bottle with a wide smile.
Ha, so I sent her to fetch me some juice."Thank you Kibiki-san." He replied, accepting her offer. "Hopefully it will help me get rid of this nausea."
"Thank goodness. She was relieved... and so was he, as he correctly guessed what motive Koko no Kira forced in him to use in order to send Sakura away, "For a moment I thought the Koko no Kira claimed you…"
"Koko no Kira? What is that?" He thought he heard that name, but was not sure where.
"An Urban legend about this school. Nothing you should-"
"Could you tell me about it?" For some reason he was certain that, whatever this was, it had something to do with that Urban Legend Sakura just mentioned. Although nothing bad happened, the more he knew, the safer he could let himself feel.
However, his sudden reaction seemed to have made Sakura distressed. Yashagoro noticed that some other students were looking at him with scared expressions as they walked past him. Damn, I'm attracting way too much attention.
"I… Come on, there are more pleasant things to talk abo-" Whatever the topic was, the girl in front of him seemed reluctant to talk about it.
Still, he had to learn something. "Please?"
"Well… alright." She sighed and sat next to him.
Now that he thought about it, they were standing in front of what may have been the source of that Fear. If so and if that source wanted to stop Sakura from talking, she would be in danger. I should have taken her somewhere else... no, this seems like common knowledge so it should be safe.
"You know about that incident at a middle school around three years ago?" The girl continued
He nodded in response. After all, everyone in the youkai world knew about it.
Three years ago, an unknown youkai group invaded a middle school in Nakano City and killed countless students in it as well as some civilians in vicinity of the school. Until this day, nobody knew who did it although the Nura Clan and its allies were searching for the culprits without a break.
However, the media were controlled and the story never officially got out, and, mysteriously, the students in the school forgot about it while the victims were made to look like they moved away. Yashagoro guessed some powerful Onmyouji clan was asked to control the situation as the Nura were unlikely to own the means to do such a large cover up.
However, hiding something from the Internet was impossible. This was now practically public knowledge for the humans who were left wondering just what could have killed all those kids.
"They say that the souls of the killed students couldn't rest without getting avenged. Their dark wishes have, as they say, given birth to an Akuma that called itself Koko no Kira, a powerful being that avenged, or is still intending to avenge, the murdered children." There seemed to be a lot of sadness in this girl's eyes as she told him this tale.
"But that was in Nakano City. Why are we talking about them here in Ukiyoe Town?"
"They say that, for some unknown reason, it moved here and is now protecting this school from anyone who wants to harm someone inside the school's grounds."
Ah… and since I wanted to harm the Nuras, who are students here, this Koko no Kira wanted to… no, this is wrong. The person I spoke with seemed to be something else... but what if they were in alliance?Once again, Yashagoro felt frustrated. Although he was aware that Tokyo was filled with many Urban Legends and other youkai that considered Nuras their enemies, it was nearly impossible to find out anything about them. Granted, it may have been because the Urban Legends disliked conversing with older youkai species and Yashagoro was definitely one of the older species. I should spend more effort into finding out just who else calls Tokyo their home... if it is even possible, seeing that someone not belonging to the Nura Clan made himself at home in Ukiyoe's high School, a place where the Nuras sent their heirs with little protection. If Nuras could not find them, I couldn't... but if I do find them and can get them on my side...
"Yashagoro-kun...?" Sakura's words reminded him that he spent too much time thinking.
"What does it do to its victims?" he asked, pretending to be excited in order to hide how scared he actually was. If he looked scared, he would look suspicious as there would be no reason for Koko no Kira to attack an innocent person… But this way, he would simply look like a curious student.
Kibiki's face softened up a little, probably due to being relieved that her crush didn't seem like a villain. "Well…" she pointed a finger at the pillar behind them. He now noticed that some words were written on it... but could not make himself read exactly what was written there. This was, without a doubt, the source of that Fear from before. "They say that the potential villains would be attracted to it and forced to read what is written there. And that would transport them to an alternative, dark version of the school where youkai rule. And the Youkai would… harm them."
"Interesting…"
"Anyway, I want to go inside. Let's go!" she took his hand and forced him to leave with her. Naturally, she would not want to discuss this topic any further.
If nothing else, at least he found out that he could not harm the Nuras while inside this school. But then again, this was not one of the places where he would have wanted to confront them in the first place.
~)(~
Exhausted, Kejorou let herself fall onto a seat. She was in one of the school's classrooms, though she was not alone: a good number of youkai from the Nura Clan was with her, partying like they always do. Even daytime could not stop these youkai from starting a party.
She was the chosen one to take care of the party preparations but organizing parties for the Nura clan was a far more stressful job than most would expect. And this one was especially hard: not only did they need to put up decorations and get enough food and drinks, but they also had to reserve the entire eastern wing of the school, find a way to keep the human students away and, more importantly, take care that none of the drunk youkai leave the eastern wing, especially the ones who couldn't disguise themselves in front of humans.
Suddenly, something hit her from behind, causing her to fall from her seat and hit the wall with her head.
"Who… is…?" Annoyed that she was not allowed to rest properly, she turned around and looked towards what hit her. "Kubinashi?" She said in an inquiring, yet venomous, tone.
The head of her comrade Kubinashi was rolling on the floor behind her. "Oi, sorry Kino-chaaan…" Judging by how red it was and his manner of speech, he was obviously drunk.
"Sorry my…" Her hair got longer and grabbed Kubinashi's poor head, raising it so that they eyes would be on the same latitude.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He started apologizing while she looked around in search for whoever threw his head at her. The youkai, that were partying until now, turned silent the moment they felt the Fear she released in her anger.
It didn't take long for her to notice the one who was trying to hide himself from her gaze. "Listen Kejorou, it was an…" a wolf-like youkai from the Houkou Clan started apologizing the moment her eyes fell onto his.
But Kejorou didn't care about what he had to say. She spun Kubinashi's head around and threw it at the Houkou with all her might, making them both of hit the wall at the other end of the classroom.
"FIIIIIGHT!" Someone yelled and suddenly the whole classroom erupted into friendly, but messy, fights.
"Oh no… what have I done?" Kejorou put a hand on her forehead. In her anger, she forgot that once someone did something violent during a Nura clan's party, the whole thing would escalate into a Battle Royale. "I'll never get this back into ord-"
"Need help Kino?" A girl's voice asked her. There was only one person, besides Kubinashi, who used that nickname.
"Oh, Ritsura-sama." She said as she looked at her young mistress. "No I don't-"
"Yeah, right." Ritsura walked into the classroom and clapped her hands. "Can I have some peace and quiet here please?" Naturally, very few heard her and none obeyed... but the fact that Ritsura didn't even try to raise her own voice in this situation made it clear that Ritsura planned to end this without using diplomacy and that made Kejorou worried. "Alright… then allow me to join the fun. There was something I wanted to try anyway…" She said and took out a fan from her pocket.
Kejorou didn't recognize the technique that Ritsura intended to use but she retreated back a few steps nevertheless. Past had proven that standing near this girl when she got aggressive was not a healthy idea.
Ritsura raised her fan and cold air started collecting around her. The ones close enough to feel the sudden fall in temperature stopped fighting and jumped towards the walls, away from Ritsura's field of vision. The rest also noticed the incoming attack but when they stopped fighting in order to look at the girl, it was already too late.
"Samui Arashi!" She yelled and waved her fan. A small gust of wind stormed through the classroom in front of her, freezing whatever it touched. A moment later everyone was either on the floor or sitting on their knees, freezing. "Please, we can have aBattle Royale later if you want it so much. Right now, however, I don't want to see anyone causing a ruckus in this school and attracting the attention of the humans. Is that clear?"
"Y-Yes Ojou-sama!" Few who could open their mouths spoke.
Ritsura turned back towards Kejorou. "I think I went a little overboard. Well, this is the first time I used this, so…"
"Where did you learn that technique, Ritsura-sama?" Kejorou asked her. She was certain neither Tsurara nor Setsura used anything like this.
"Reira-san brought another Yuki Onna as a guest the last time I visited Toono. She taught me this. Quite useful if you have a weapon in your hand." She said, then started using the fan to cool her face. "And is good for other, more general uses."
"I see…" Kejorou said and sighed. Learning techniques from other Yuki Onna had become a common occurrence for this girl. Of course, that was far from a bad thing: it was always a good thing for an heir to be so enthusiastic about getting stronger.
"By the way Kino…" Ritsura gave her an angry look. "…did you forget about the Koko no Kira?"
"No, of course not!" Koko no Kira, or more exactly not attracting that thing's attention, was on Kejorou's mind all the time as she organized this party. It was annoying that they couldn't find a way to clean this school of it, but as long as it did not harm humans the Nuras did not seem that keen on risking the school's safety by agitating it. "But nobody here would hurt anyone intentionally, so…"
"Not worth the risk, so don't agitate it any further." Ritsura spoke and turned around. "Did you hear me guys? No fights or Koko no Kira will eat you!"
"Yes Ojou-sama!" They said, more afraid of Ritsura's anger than Koko no Kira's potential appetite.
She then gracefully turned back towards Kejorou. "We should find a way to get rid of this. It gives me shivers and I…" She looked at someone behind Kejorou. "Oh Shima, what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?!" Shima Ryu shouted from the doors. He did not dare enter the youkai-filled room. "You said you brought me here to introduce me to some girls and you ended up creating a blizzard!"
"By the way, Ojou-sama where is Waka?" Kejorou asked, wondering why the siblings were not together.
"Hey, let her answer my question fir-"
"Oh, I left him with Mayuri, Araya and some other girls." She answered while cooling herself with her fan. "As his nee-san, I must take care that he doesn't graduate from the school without a girl in his arms." She then closed her fan and pointed it towards Shima, no doubt trying to make herself look cool. "Which is why he is here: I didn't want him to ruin his chances."
You are older, but you are single too... Kejorou thought to herself but left it unsaid. Of course, Ritsura being the future Supreme Commander made the whole thing about whom she might end up with, more complicated.
"You damn vixen! I have had enough, I am going to-" Shima started turning around when…
"There you are, beautiful!" One of the youkai girls from inside the classroom yelled towards him.
Reflexively, Shima Ryu turned around with a huge smile and proclaimed: "You mean me sweethe-" but he stopped when he opened his eyes and saw a female rat youkai run towards him. "AAAAAHH!" he yelled and started running while she continued chasing him. The two of them had that kind of bond for years now.
Kejorou looked at the young Yuki Onna cooling herself with a fan. "You knew she would be here, didn't you?"
"Well, I saw her from the courtyard, spying on our dear little Shima so… yeah." She theatrically closed her fan. "Anyway Kino, let's return to Koko no Kira."
Oh no…"What about it, Ojou-sama?" Kejorou asked with a fake smile.
"What are we doing about it?"
"Oh, there is no need to worry about that, Ojou-sama. We have been looking into this youkai for weeks now and we have the situation fully under control." Kejorou told a lie. Rikuo said he would look into it when he returned but, under his orders, they had to keep the kids out of such business. If she told her that they were waiting for Rikuo's return, Ritsura would want to take the matters into her own hands.
True, she tried to take it as such now so it was not that useful, but orders were orders. "Ohh, tell me about it."
"As I said, no need to worry about it. It is not going fast, but up till now this youkai didn't hurt anyone innocent." Although, it did hurt the fools that wanted to hurt Nura Rikuo's children as well as some less friendly youkai who wanted to mess with the students. In such a way, his presence was actually welcome... but until they knew what the deal with him was, the Nuras had no intention of labeling him as an ally.
"Tz." Ritsura angrily clicked her tongue. "Forget about it." She said and walked out of the classroom without saying anything else.
Kejorou sighed. She hated whenever this happened.
Rikuo's intentions may be understandable, but his daughter and heiress was not taking his overprotection too well. While young Rihan has shown little interest in leadership (or the clan's affairs in general), especially when he grew older, his sister had been growingly excited about it since she was a kid. She always saw herself as Daddy's Little Underboss and was now frustrated due to still not holding that title, even though four years have passed since she celebrated her thirteenth birthday (which was when traditionally the heirs would get accepted as the formal Underbosses of a youkai yakuza clans), she was still an heir with no legal authority... and that, understandably, frustrated this ambitious gal.
Of course, members of Rikuo's Parade understood that he just wanted to keep his children safe and have them enjoy their human lives without worried, but that did not really soothe this girl and even the other members of the clan. But then, after what happened eight years ago... no, forget about that incident!
The girl had both will and ability to make a good leader of the clan, and Kejorou hoped that this all would get resolved soon. On the other hand, she also hoped that the little Nuras get no reason to carry the burden of leadership. The only reason Rikuo did, was because his own father was murdered and the clan needed a strong and reliable heir.
Kejorou sighed again. I fear the day when I myself become a parent… Just standing aside is stressing me to no end.She turned her eyes towards Kubinashi whose head was still rolling around the classroom. But seeing how slow my love life is developing, that won't happen in the foreseeable future I fear...
~)(~
"Damn it, sis…" Rihan thought while he, with a smile, answered various questions to the curious girls around him in one of the less crowded hallways. He felt like a politician talking with excited media.
"Hey Nura-kun, I was wondering…" One of the girls started. "…have you ever traveled somewhere overseas? Someone from a rich family like yours must have used that opportunity at least once!"
"Nah, I've never traveled overseas." He answered, still feigning a good mood. It wasn't that he disliked girls, quite the opposite, but when a girl gets this clingy he, ironically, loses much of his interest in her. "Also, we aren't exactly wealthy…"
"Say that again? You live in a big mansion, I heard!" She replied, probably not realizing that he is from a family of yakuza rather than of some aristocrats of tycoons. "And you have many underlings!"
"Maybe he is comparing himself to Ichinoe-sama?" One commented and looked towards a girl who was leaning against the wall and read a magazine of some sort, seemingly disinterested in their little conversation. For certain reasons, Rihan felt annoyed at her lack of attitude in this situation. "After all, he is often hanging around her and she would make anyone feel humble."
"Speaking about the mansion…" Another girl spoke and changed the topic. "…I heard it is filled with youkai. Is that true?"
"Actually, I heard that both you and your sister might be..." Another one started. In past this would make the hairs on his neck raise, but he already got used to dealing with these rumors.
"Ha ha ha… Well girls, even if we were, we would not admit it, now would we?" He said and laughed it off. Laughter was, as he learned, a good way to negate a rumor.
The girls nodded and laughed with him, more to try and fit with him than because they found it funny.
"Oh yes, Nura-kun… Do you have a girlfriend?" One of the girls then asked and everyone froze. It was a question each one of them wanted to ask, but none dared. After all, if he said yes than it would not be a good news for them.
Oh no…this can't end well… "Well, I still haven't found the Special Someone, but…" ...although I did have girlfriends in past, but I better keep that one a secret.
Some of the girls gave him big smiles while the others suspiciously looked towards growingly distressed Onieda Mayuri and the still disinterested Ichinoe Araya.
Mayuri didn't seem to like this kind of attention so she, in order to fit in with the rest of them, decided to ask a question for herself. "So Rihan-kun, have you ever been in… uhmm…a life-threatening situation?"
"Well you see, I…" He could be honest with her seeing as she was aware of his true nature, but it was impossible to honestly answer her question in front of these girls.
Suddenly, he could hear someone running and, from around the corner, Shima Ryu quickly walked out. For some reason, he was fighting for his breath.
"Oh, look who's here!" Araya suddenly said and turned towards him, but not before winking at Rihan. "The very man who saved Riha-chan's life that day!"
"Huh?" Shima was surprised… as was Rihan.
"I still remember that day so clearly…" Araya put her hands on her chest. "When Riha-chan almost died in that river, but Shima-kun saved him and… so passionately breathed life back into his chest…" She looked towards him. "It was so… touching…"
""What? That never-"" The boys started, but were cut off by the girls.
"KYAAAAAH!" Some girls started screaming. "BL! BL!"
"You bastard…" Others started getting angry. "…Rihan-sama's first kiss… stolen by a..."
"What? No girls, this is a-" Rihan started, but then Araya kicked Shima and he found himself in front of the female army… which slowly started to walk towards him.
"DETAILS!" Some started to yell. "What was the feeling? Did your tongues t-t-t-t…"
"Let me touch those lips that touched Rihan-sama!" Some girls got too excited, no doubt much to Shima's pleasure.
"I shall feast upon your entrails, you bastard!" Others were excited at another idea, much to Shima's displeasure.
Rihan tried to say something to save his friend, but then Araya grabbed his hand. "Let's leave this boring group while we have a chance. Onieda-san, you too!"
I am sorry Shima… I could not save you… Rihan thought to himself and looked back at his friend. May our friendship in the next life… end less tragically.
"HEEEAVEEEEN, COOMEEE!" a happy Shima yelled as the female army descended on him. No doubt, this womanizing masochist intended to enjoy this to its fullest.
~)(~
"I don't get it. Why don't they trust in me?" Ritsura vented out to the the new Headmaster in his office. "Is it because I am fat?" However, her complaints were random, showing that she was more irritated than hurt.
"No… even a blind man wouldn't be able to call you fat." The newly appointed headmaster, Hitotsume, answered while sitting in front of his desk in his new office and smoking an old-fashioned pipe. Actually, this whole celebration that day was being held to honor his promotion.
"Is it because I am ugly then? No way, I am extremely beautiful…"
"How humble of you." Hitotsume said with a sigh.
"Is it because I am weak then? I can get stronger!"
"You are already a weapon of mass destruction Ojou-san." Hitotsume breathed out a big cloud of smoke. "Anyway… why are you in my offiAAAH-OUCH!"
Ritsura breathed out cold air into his eye, so he fell from his seat and then he hit the table with his eye.
"Don't you be puffing smoke clouds onto me." She complained to him. The stinking tobacco was both unpleasant and hard to wash off.
"S… Sorry…" He apologized and raised himself back up. "Your grandmother, your mother and now you too..." He muttered something under his breath as he remembered the old days. For some reason, the Yuki Onna of Nura Clan liked freezing his poor eye. "Anyway… you must show some spirit girl!"
"I am always showing spirit." She answered.
"No, no…" He complained while taking a tissue from his pocket. "…you must TAKE it." He watered the tissue by putting it into a vase and then put it onto his eye. "You gotta show them all who the boss is and if someone complains, kick their ass! Well, that's how First would have done it." In a way, the girl reminded him of Nurarihyon more than Rihan and Rikuo did, possibly one of the reasons why he liked ehr even though sometimes she tended to get difficult to deal with.
"Hm hm…" She nodded and then noticed a box of confiscated Manga. "It is starting to sound quite attractive." seeing how Hitotsume couldn't see anything, she sneaked to the box and started checking the Manga she could steal, like a true Nurarihyon. "But fighting my own clan for such a reason is a tad bit too radical and uncalled for."
"Well, that was just my suggestion." He shrugged with his shoulders.
"So I will kick someone else's ass!" She decided it was too bothersome to pick few so she took the entire box. There was enough Nurarihyon blood in her to be able hide it in plain sight from this guy.
"Something big?" Hitotsume wondered. "Just what could that be?"
"I'll get rid of Koko no Kira." She said while returning to her seat with a box in her arms.
"Oh… you will kill Koko no KIIIIIRAAAA?" Hitotsume yelled, jumped up, took a bad step, fell from his seat and hit the table with his eye again.
"Yes!" She completely ignored his reaction. "I'll kick that dangerous youkai out from this school… or kill it trying!"
"No, no, no, no, no way! NO FREAKING WAY!" He jumped up and pointed his finger at the broom in a corner of the room, his eye probably still hurting too much for him to be able to look. "I may be one of those who accept you as the Underboss, but there is no way I am allowing you to risk my school by offending that thing!"
"You sure do care about your school, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" He answered to the broom. "You all have been complaining about how I do nothing for centuries and I prove you all wrong by taking this comfy seat here!" Due to his sense of direction being confused, he pointed his finger towards a trash bin. "I can't allow myself to lose it in a week and look like a fool!"
"Oh… and there I thought you were worried about the students."
"Of course I am! Lose of one of them will risk my title! The fact that there is a dorm regularly filled with students here already makes me nervous!"
"There is no guarantee that it will immediately attack students… well, there is no guarantee that it won't either but I find it unlikely. Still, if he really is a youkai born from people's thoughts, harming the students is probably something it would never do."
"Please… please I beg you." He knelled and started bowing before a broom. "For all these times I have been your loyal supporter… show me some mercy please!"
"…you are my supporter because I forced you to be."
"Reasons don't matter!" Hitotsume cried. "Oh wait, you are there… I am sorry. Wait, why didn't you tel-"
"Alright, alright… there are enough enemies around. I'll find something dangerous and kill it."
"Thank you, thank you… but are you sure it will-"
Suddenly loud noises ended their conversation. Something is happening outside.
"My chance for glory!"
"MY SCHOOL!"
~)(~
"The prophecised day has finally come, my Hyaki Yakou." He said while walking left and right. "This… is one of those events that just scream for us to arrive and honor it with our presence. IS THAT NOT SO?"
"YES IT IS!"
"INDEED! But… up till now, the defenders of law have managed to find a way to thwart our attempts to seize glory."
"BOOO!"
"But not only them! No, even our own dear ones stood in our way… stopping us from doing what our own hearts tell us to do... what our hearts demand from us to do!"
"YEEAAAAH!"
"BUT NOT TODAY!" he yelled and raised his fist.
"NOT TODAY!"
"NO, for many of you, my Hyaki Yakou, have sacrificed yourselves to keep the meddlesome defenders of law at bay. We will not let their sacrifice go to waste!"
"No, we shall not!"
"RIGHT!" he shouted and jumped onto his bike. "SO, LET'S ROLL!"
"YES, AOTABOU-SAMA!"
The biker gang Hyaki Yakou turned on their bikes and left to make a show in front of the Ukiyoe High. This was their moment of glory and nothing would stand in their way.
Many bikers started circling around the school while the others started doing stunts in front of the school gates, attracting every living soul inside the school.
"All bow before the Night Parade of a Hundred Demon Bikers!" One of them yelled using an aged megaphone. "And it's mighty leader, the great Aotabou-sama!"
"ORYAAAAA!" Aotabou yelled and started riding towards the school, with two bikers joining in and ridding beside him. "I shall now show you all our FEAR!" He shouted, grabbed the two bikes and threw them into the air.
Everyone in school, as well as most of the bikers, turned silent from shock. Obviously, he did not tell everyone what exactly he planned to do.
Yet, the thrown bikers have stayed composed and even made their bikes turn around in the air. Aotabou made a U turn, grabbed them as they drew close to the ground and threw them in front of him, with the bikers continuing to ride for some time before stopping.
A moment of silence, and the school exploded in cheering.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SCHOOL ON MY SPECIAL DAY?!" Hitotsume ran out and started crying.
"Aotabou, what is the meaning of this?" The fourth heir, Ritsura, also ran out. "I told you that y-HEY!"
"Now, now Ojou-sama…" Aoutabou said while holding her ny her collar, just like a kitten. "Let's all have some fun." He then put her in front of him and started preparing to ride of.
Hitotsume was not pleased with Aotaobu's actions. "Hey, let the-HEY!"
"You too Hitotsume!" Aotabou grabbed him and put him behind him. "You better hold me good!" He said and started another series of crazy stunts.
"EEEK!" Hitotsume cried.
"I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS!" Ritsura cried.
~)(~
"Looks like something fun is going on in front of the school gates." Araya commented while the crowds ran toward the school gates, where the source of the commotion seemed to be.
"Should we check it out?" Mayuri asked while looking at Rihan. Both of the girls guessed that this had something to do with the Youkai from the Nura Clan.
For a moment, Rihan planned to agree but then his eyes caught a certain object. "Whatever it is, sis will take care of it. You girls go if you are interested." he said and started walking in the opposite direction.
He did not check if they followed after him or if they went to check the scene as he was too focused on his own destination. It did not take long to reach it now that the crowd dispersed. "Koko no Kira's Pillar…" He spoke as he looked at the stone pillar and the poll around it. There was an air of Fear around it and there was little doubt that this thing was related to a youkai.
"Hmm, you are more interested in something that will be here all the time than what will be over soon?" He heard Araya ask him. He turned around and saw that the girls decided to follow him.
"As I said, whatever it is, sis will take care of it." He shrugged with his shoulders. "Besides, when you live in a youkai mansion, crazy stuff happens all the time."
"I am not sure if I should be feeling lucky that my life is more normal, or jealous." Mayuri commented. It was no secret that Mayuri desired a more interesting life, quite the opposite to a certain person who left the club two years ago.
"Anyway, why are you two not checking the commotion if you are so interested in it?" Rihan asked them. He would have preferred to have been alone here with Koko no Kira's Pillar.
Mayuri seemed to be choosing what to say, but Araya was less courteous so she didn't take as much time as her friend did. "Because we have a bad feeling you may do something stupid. So, what attracts you to this pillar?" Mayuri now looked like she stopped thinking about what to say and instead turned her attention to what he had to say, confirming that Araya said exactly what was on her mind.
He looked at Araya, annoyed at her motive but also surprised that she was asking this, but then he remembered. "Ah yes… we didn't meet until second year of the middle school so you don't know…" It was easy to forget that he knew her for such a short time. Sometimes, he felt like he knew her forever. "Well, it's not as if I like talking about it." He turned back to the stone pillar in middle of a fountain.
"Hmmm?" Araya muttered because Rihan took too much time.
After a few more moments of silence, Mayuri decided to explain it. "You see Ichinoe-san… Rihan-kun was… he was in Nakano the day that happened."
"What? The slaughter?" Araya asked in her usual tone, without even trying to sound considerate.
The fact that she had no common courtesy, and acted like these tragedies were something that happened in a story or the like, was something Rihan came to hate, no matter how good of a friend she usually was.
"I had friends who died in that incident." He said coldly to her.
"My condolences." She replied, again not showing signs of remorse. Rihan sent her a cold look.
"Umm, why don't we go check on those sounds?" Mayuri tried to stop this unpleasant conversation between her two friends. "They aren't stopping after all this ti-"
"Did your parents raise you to be such a spoiled brat or were you just born that way? Huh, miss Tycoon Princess?"
"Tycoon Princess? So, even Rihan-sama is calling me that now?" she commented with a giggle. Seemingly, his insult fell on deaf's ears.
Annoyed, Rihan closed in on her and grabbed her by the collar. "Are you, spoiled bitch, aware of how it feels to be there, see your friends butchered and killed? Are you?"
"You two… please…" Mayuri started muttering but words barely left her mouth.
"Careful now…" Araya said with her usual unpleasant smile. "Else you may wake up Koko-chan~"
For a few moments, he looked at the face that had that trademark unpleasant expression of hers. Somehow, however, he felt there was more to her expression that it meets the eye. Then, he pushed her away and returned to the pillar.
"So… mind telling me what happened with you in Nakano City?" She did not seem to have any intentions of staying silent, no matter how much he badmouthed her. "Or more exactly, how you could possibly be related to it?"
He looked at her again. The smile on her face was still present. He really wanted to tell her to go to hell and never speak to him again.
Yet, for whichever reason, he decided to give her an answer anyway, "During summer holidays when I was just eight years old, father and mother took me and sis on a trip around Kantou, including other parts of Tokyo. Then a youkai feud occurred near Nakano City and father wanted to help keep the situation from escalating. So, we stayed in Nakano until it was resolved… which ended up taking much more time than expected. Anyway, during the time I spent there, I made some friends with the local kids."
"Anyone special?" Araya asked.
"…Kuruguya Midori… Nakashi Minato and Kouri Hinata."
He closed his eyes.
"Kuruguya Midori was the first one I met and the one that kinda irked me because she despised Youkai. Well, there was probably a reason for it but a brat I was, I didn't think of that. Anyway, I wanted to make her change her mind and, with time, I started to think of her as a friend. No, from the very start I marked as a friend, it was her that, I believe, has changed."
After eight years he barely remembered her face but some of her words stayed in his memory. Be they words of hate or not, for some reason they all left an impression.
"Nakashi Minato ended up becoming my best friend there, mainly due to both of us liking to play pranks. Even after I left, I stayed in contact with him until…"
He was actually the only one he stayed in contact with. Today, he wondered why he never bothered to chat with others as well. That might be one of his biggest regrets.
"Kouri Hinata was… well, my first crush."
"Huh?" Mayuri was surprised to hear it.
"Ooh? So you ain't into Shima?" Araya joked.
"Shut up Araya." He replied. "Well, I shouldn't call it a crush or love. It was more like playing couples." He laughed a bit. Still though, he did promise to meet her again… a promise he fulfilled in an uglier way than they both expected. Yet, he found the fact that he played crushes with her regretful now, as he was now grown up and did not like the fact that he started the whole thing just to annoy Midori.
"And they were killed in the incident I presume?" Araya asked in her unpleasant tone.
But for some reason he did not feel angry about it anymore. Actually, he found the cold honesty a refreshing change to the usual sad kindness he tended to get from others.
But he did not immediately answer her question. "A few days before the incident, Minato mentioned that he found out something bad was going on and I didn't hear from him since. What's more, Midori ended up calling me not long after." He stopped for a moment, trying to remember some of the conversation.
"What… did she say?" Mayuri asked. This was her first time hearing the details.
"Nothing. It was just small talk… but it gave me shivers so I persuaded some of my comrades in the Clan to take me to Nakano City the next day."
He raised his head towards the sky. He needed to strengthen himself before he lets the memories flow back in.
"We arrived soon after the slaughter occurred. There…" His vision started to blur due to the trauma he got that day. Still, he was able to get a hold of himself. "…I found Minato's dead, massacred body."
"Oh my, that's…" he could hear Mayuri. "What about…"
"Thankfully, Hinata was alive… wounded, but alive." He looked at the fountain. "However, she disappeared a day after. Well, nothing special there: many people left without wasting any time and not bothering to go through all that papirology… but still, I wish I could have confirmed her safety."
"What about Midori?" Araya asked.
"Hinata saw her still being alive after the worst had ended…" Although the school was not touched anymore, the murders, sadly, did not fully end until a few days later. "But she disappeared as well. Her body was never found, although some claim they saw her in Nakano's streets, days later. Me and the clan never found her though, nor any of her relatives." She literally disappeared in the thin air, as if she had never existed.
He looked towards the pillar.
"I don't know what Minato found out… I don't know where Hinata is… I don't know what happened to Midori… and we don't even know for sure who was responsible for the slaughter in the first place."
He found out his father suspected some group called Shin Sekai, but nobody knew for certain if they had a hand in this or were just some group that controlled the media. And seeing that this looked like a feud between two groups, there was at least one more group responsible for the slaughter.
"But there is someone who probably knows a lot…" Rihan commented.
"Oi oi…" Araya guessed about whom he was talking about. "You intend to ask Koko-chan about what happened in Nakano?"
He did not reply to her, but to the pillar. "Can you hear me, you youkai called Koko no Kira?"
"Riha-chan, that is-" Even the delinquent Araya had gotten worried about him, but he did not care.
"I know you can hear me!" Rihan ignored her. After all, this was not a decision he made just now but something he contemplated for a while now. "If you can feel who enters the school grounds with violent intentions, then you definitely can hear me speak, can't you?"
"Being able to smell doesn't necessarily mean you are able to hear, Riha-chan." Araya commented.
"Like…Like I'll accept that. After three fruitless years of nothing… and then I realize… that this guy here might know… something…" He put his hand on the pillar.
Mayuri put her hands on her chest and even Araya's face took a worried expression.
"Come on, Koko-san… we are on the same side, are we not?" Visions of the time he spent in Nakano appeared. "We both care about them… the victims…" Minato, Midori, and Hinata's silhouettes appeared in front of his eyes. "We both want to make the bastards who hurt them pay, don't we?" Again, he saw the images of those atrocities that the unknown culprits committed. "DON'T WE?" images of Minato and some other of his friends, dead and dismembered, came.
Image of Hinata begging for help and cursing those monstrous youkai passed through his mind. "THEN WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER ME?" He punched the pillar with his hand.
"Rihan-san…" Mayuri wanted to say something to get him away, but she did not know what she could say or do. Some people noticed the commotion and came to see what is going on.
"Rihan, stop that!" Araya was bolder and was worried enough to use his full name.
"Or are you one of them maybe…" Fear started pouring from him "I don't care… just talk, damn you!" He punched the pillar again, so hard that it caused a loud noise and his hand started bleeding. But not even a crack was on the pillar... so he punched it again. "You answer to aggression, don't you?" And again. "Then answer me! Capture me, come out… whatever you usually do! DO IT!"
And he kept on hitting it.
The fact that so many innocent students were brutally murdered enraged him.
The fact that his friend Minato was murdered like that enraged him.
The fact that he did not keep asking Minato what he had found out enraged him.
The fact that Hinata had had to suffer like that and had to spend the rest of her life with such memories enraged him.
The fact that he did not know what happened to Midori enraged him.
The fact that he, who was barely able to make Midori believe that youkai do not deserve to be hated, is unable to apologize after her hatred was justified, enraged him.
The fact that he was late to save anyone enraged him.
The fact that he was unable to make anyone pay for all this enraged him.
The fact that he, after three years, did not even know who was responsible enraged him.
All together, the fact that he was absolutely useless in every way enraged him.
He got tired of hitting the pillar. His hand was bloody, but even with his youkai strength he was unable to make even a crack on the pillar.
But suddenly, his senses started blurring and his attention turned to the text on the pillar. He read what was written on it, but not due to his own will.
A moment later, his senses returned. He raised his head and saw… that sky turned red, trees and flowers have withered and, as if someone turned on a recorder, a creepy tune could be heard.
But he was not afraid... as a matter of fact, he had smiled. "Koko no Kira… finally I am…" But his smile disappeared as his eyes turned at the windows of the school.
He saw living corpses of students, smiling at him and moving their hands towards him, as if they were trying to reach him. Amongst them… he saw Minato, Hinata and some other faces from his memories.
He wanted to scream, but no sound left his mouth.
Then he noticed that he was surrounded and looked around.
As he saw his family, mutilated like the students up there, tears came out from his eyes. "No… this is… this is not what I wanted… ple-"
~)(~
Suddenly, he felt like he woke up from a dream… by being thrown into cold water. He jumped up and saw that he was back... and around himself, he saw humans and worried members of his clan, including Kejorou and Kubinashi.
The fact that they were no longer dismembered living corpses like a moment ago almost made him cry for joy.
"What in the hell do you think you were doing, idiot?" Araya's voice condemned him.
He looked in front of him and saw her standing half a meter away. He understood then, that it was her who made him fall into the water.
"Take another cold bath, you bird brain!" She grabbed him by his hair and pushed him back into the fountain's water.
"Ichinoe-san, please stop!" The hand let go of him and he jumped back up. He saw Kejorou holding Araya's hand with her hair, her eyes jumping between giving Araya an angry look and a worrisome look for Rihan.
"The hell is wrong with you? For revenge or some other shitty reason… you want to cause an Ukiyoe Incident or something?"
Like swords, those words stabbed him. The accusation was legit… though he realized it already inside Koko no Kira's Fear. He understood that his actions may have caused another dirty incident. Contacting Koko no Kira like that without thinking it through... he thought he had thought about it all, but now he understood that he had only deluded himself in believing that he had thought it through.
"What are you looking at?" Shima Ryu shouted. "Please go away! Show some damn consideration!"
First the adults and then the students did as he asked and started walking away, someone occasionally throwing a glance at him.
And then his sister came. Her uniform was dirty, but she had that stern look of the Nura Clan's heiress.
"Sis… I… I am…" against his will tears poured from his eyes.
"I heard it from Mayuri… Even after all these years, is it?" She sighed and turned to Kejorou. "School may be open to everyone today, but the dorms are not. Take my brother there, find him a change of clothes, let him take a shower and give him something to eat." She then walked to him, took his arm and pulled him out of the water.
"Come on, I will help." Shima came and gave him a helping shoulder. "Damn it man, don't make us worry like that…"
"I'll… go see what food I can make for you." Mayuri said with a smile. "Better than eating something bought, right?"
Araya just looked at him, with a stare whose meaning he could interpret.
He felt even more like a fool now… risking lives of such friends without consideration.
From being useless to being dangerous… why must I always fail to do anything right?
I-I-I-I-I
Author Notes:Chapter 1 got split into chapter 1 and 2.
Now, chapter 2 got split into chapter 2 and 3.
I truly hope this trend stops with chapter 3 and we can leave the introductions behind...
Anyway folks, hope you enjoyed this chapter. It had more gags, but also hints on what is to come.
We see problems that the two siblings have to deal with: Ritsura who wants to be recognized as the heiress already and prove she is fit for that role... which also means she will have to deal with certain incoming challenges I think...
And than we have the younger Rihan who we see... well, had bad stuff happen in the past to say it lightly and the issues he has to deal are all connected to that Nakano City Incident, both personal and against the culprits (sometimes I wonder if he would have more luck if his name was different... that name is like a magnet for tragic events it seems).
More details on what happened in both of his visits to Nakano will of course come later, but for now the basics and seeing how much of an effect it had on him should suffice... I hope.
Anyway, again hope you enjoyed reading it. Thanks to my Alpha-Reader Citsimsan and his patience with me as well as to my Beta-reader Suki90 and her mighty grammar mistake destroying powa.
