Disclaimer: Rikuo, Yoru and everyone in Nuramago are Shiibashi Hiroshi-sensei's children. Luna only plays with them ^_^.

Warning: AU, Yoru being Yoru *lol*, shounen ai (obviously), language, slight oOCness, etc…

Beta: mittens 220 (LJ) or pika318 (FF net), thank you very much for beta this despite your busy schedule! Happy Chinese New Year for you and everyone that celebrate!

A/N: Sorry for having to make you wait for so long. I was doing challenge fics and got too absorbed in making them that I just have time to put this down together now. Oh, and I was honestly shocked when I saw the reviews. Never did I think that this story will get so many reviews in the first chapter. I'm so HAPPY! Thank you very much! I LOVE you guys! XDDD


Chapter 2: Sense and Sensibility


Many times after struggling I would arrive

Before the same door and start to knock on it*


~Yoru x Rikuo~


Rikuo stared at his youkai who was still sleeping on his futon, still in shock, with widened eyes, as if he had seen an alien from outer space.

This is impossible! Why is Yoru outside my body?—Rikuo's panic didn't end there because another wave of big trouble followed soon after, together with the sound of running steps from the entire house and no, he wasn't exaggerating, because he heard the voices of some… or actually, a lot of people asking each other like:

"What's going on?"

"I heard someone shouting!"

"Are we under attack?"

"It's from this way!"

"That's where Nura-kun's room is!"

…and many more, so no, Rikuo wasn't exaggerating at all.

"Crap—!" Rikuo didn't know what to do now. Soon enough, all the Keikains would barge in his room and they would find him and Yoru… separated! This was insane! What the hell should he do?

"Nura-kun!" It was Yura's voice, and she was very close to the door of Rikuo's room.

"Rikuo-kun, are you okay?" This time, it was Kana, also in close proximity, apparently.

"Rikuo-kun! What happened?" Now, it was Tsurara, and she sounded very worried.

Aaaah! What should I do?—Rikuo was tempted to crawl back inside the futon and hide himself and Yoru there, but then they would still enter the room and would definitely notice Yoru's presence since Yoru's build wouldn't be covered entirely by the blanket. Thus, upon seeing Yoru inside Rikuo's futon, they would definitely freak out and all hell would break loose after that.

In the midst of Rikuo's dread, a crazy idea struck him like lightning. He took a deep breath and yelled "DON'T COME IN!" very loudly.

The noises outside his room died down for a moment before someone stubbornly tried to enter the room by attempting to open the sliding door.

"GYAAA! Stop! I'm NAKED here! Don't come in!" Rikuo lied, still yelling while holding the door from the inside so no one could open it.

There was another pause in the hallway before "N-naked…?" Yura's voice whispered and Rikuo could almost see her blushing from where he stood behind the door.

"Kyaaa! Rikuo-kun, you pervert!" Kana shouted from the outside, and she must have been blushing as well judging from the tone she was using.

"Rikuo-sama… naked…!" There was a thudding sound after the astounded whisper, so he guessed Tsurara must have fainted.

"Why the hell are you naked?" Now Kiyotsugu's indignant and embarrassed voice demanded answers as well from the outside.

Damn! Why NAKED of all things?—Rikuo wanted to kick himself for being so idiotic, making such a lame excuse, but it was a spontaneous reaction! He couldn't think of anything else!

"I'm sorry! It was too hot last night, so I shed all my clothes!" Rikuo yelled again.

"Quit yelling! We can hear you just fine!" Now Ryuuji's very annoyed voice was heard, yelling back. Rikuo also heard his heavy stomping steps towards his room. "Sheesh, you brat…! Why the hell were you screaming in the first place then?" he asked then, sounding pissed.

"Ah, it… it was a nightmare… that's all. I'm sorry for disturbing you guys so early in the morning. I won't do it again, so please go back to your respective rooms. I'll be fine…" Rikuo tried to explain, and he tried to sound convincing, but even he knew that the excuse just now was ridiculous. Who would wake up screaming from a nightmare these days?

Moreover, it was Rikuo of all people. Really? Please… he was a quarter youkai and both Ryuuji and Yura knew about that!

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need help?" Yura asked again, still sounding concerned.

"No, I'm fine, really…. I just want to go back to sleep for a few hours…" Rikuo said again, hoping to all deities that they would buy it.

There were whispers here and there and then Rikuo heard Ryuuji's voice dismissing the other Keikain's members.

"Okay, Nura-kun. Breakfast will be ready in two hours. If you're up to it, you can join us in the breakfast table later, or if you're still too weak to walk around, I'll just tell someone to bring the food to your room," Yura said again, sounding calm enough now.

Rikuo sighed deeply in relief before loosening his hold on the door. "Okay… I think I'll join you later," he replied slowly.

Then Rikuo heard Yura agree before she urged everyone to get back to their room. "Ah, don't forget to bring Oikawa-san back to her room!"

Rikuo heard her last order to some of the Keikain members and then he heard the fading sound of footsteps as everyone left.

When Rikuo couldn't hear any more footsteps… "T-that was so close…!" he collapsed in sitting position on the floor, his forehead touching the wooden part of the door while he was closing his eyes, a bead of sweat still rolling down his cheek. Then, he glanced behind where Yoru was still asleep on the futon in a supine position.

"Ugh… what do I do with him…? No, what the hell happened to us…? Why is Yoru… outside my body at all?" Rikuo thumped his forehead on the wood before he stood once more. He turned around and then cautiously walked towards the sleeping youkai.

As always, his youkai was gorgeous with his dual colored hair, as silver as moonlight on the top and as dark as night at the bottom. His face looked serene and he seemed to not hear any disturbance despite his earlier scream that woke up the entire house and his constant yells telling them not to enter the room.

"How can he still sleep so peacefully…?" Upon looking closer, Rikuo realized his mistake. His other half wasn't sleeping! He was…!

"Impossible!" Rikuo hurriedly touched Yoru's face. It was as cold as ice. "Oh my god! No way! Yoru!"

Thinking the worst, Rikuo quickly turned Yoru's body around to look for signs of breathing. As he had expected, he couldn't find any. "Crap! Yoru! Yoru, wake up!" He slapped Yoru's cheeks twice, thrice, but it was no use.

Yoru is… dead?—Rikuo's face paled at the horrible thought. NO! Calm down! This can't be happening! Yoru is outside my body… and he isn't breathing! No way! Think, Rikuo! THINK!

Rikuo berated himself because he was panicking and then started to hyperventilate as well. He slapped himself hard on the both of his own cheeks. Then he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Come on, Rikuo…! You're better than this!"

Rikuo shook his head to clear his mind and then remembered about the lesson in survival training he had gotten back then in school. The first he had to do if he found a person who didn't breathe was… right, checking the pulse!

Rikuo did just that, and THANK GOD he found it. It was very weak, but there was pulse on Yoru's neck. "Okay… then… then what?" He raked his brain, trying to remember what to do. "Oh! Right… open his mouth by pushing his jaw… and then… make sure his breathing passage is free from any obstruction… including the tongue…"

Rikuo situated himself on Yoru's left side and tried to open his mouth. With his fingers, he made sure that Yoru's tongue wasn't on the way. "Then… then…!" Rikuo's face flushed a deep shed of red at the memory.

Aaaah! I have to put my mouth on his? Dear god! I have to kiss Yoru?—Rikuo panicked again, but he didn't exactly have a choice. He didn't know since when Yoru didn't breathe. He heard that if brain didn't get oxygen for more than four minutes, the brain cells could die!

"Eeei! It's not a time to get confused or hesitant! I have to save Yoru!" Rikuo hardened his resolution and then closed up Yoru's nose, tilted his jaw keeping the mouth open, and put his own mouth on Yoru's to push his breath into him.

Rikuo didn't have any time to feel Yoru's lips, but the coldness almost made Rikuo himself shiver in anxiety.

One… two…—then Rikuo counted to five before he repeated the maneuver. He breathed into Yoru until two or three cycles (he didn't exactly count) and at the half of the fourth or fifth cycle, Yoru's body suddenly jerked to life. He gasped and sucked the air violently from his nose and mouth, forcing Rikuo to release the youkai as he sat up so suddenly.

"Yor—!" Rikuo almost shouted in surprise and joy, but he quickly slapped his mouth shut before he could scream and create another ruckus.

Yoru coughed hard and gasped again seeming to try to breathe heavily while still coughing. "W-wha—?" he looked confused and bewildered, clutching his chest as well, and then he widened his eyes as he saw Rikuo in front of him.

"Yoru? Yoru, are you okay?" Rikuo asked, reaching his hand on Yoru's back to stroke it soothingly.

"Ri—Rikuo…?" Yoru's voice was croaky and raspy and he looked like hell with those cold sweats on his face. Rikuo knew that a youkai's skin was supposed to be cold, but this coldness was more like a product of a sickness. "Did you just… kiss me?"

Rikuo fell down at Yoru's sudden ridiculous question before he recovered from his comical gesture and yelled "Is that really the first question you wanted to ask in this bizarre situation?" with sweaty blushing face. He couldn't believe it! Was Yoru this idiotic?

"Right… sorry…" Yoru shook his head and once again, looked around. "How…? What…?" he touched himself and then touched Rikuo, looking very puzzled. "What… the hell…?" Now he looked like in total disbelief.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too earlier when I saw your face after I woke up from my sleep," Rikuo nodded, tapping Yoru's back lightly, completely understanding his shock.

Yoru was still pacing his short shallow breath when set his astounded expression. "This… why am I…?" he couldn't even finish his question because it seemed it was still hard for him to breathe. He coughed again for a few moments before he took a deep breath and released it slowly. He repeated it for a few times until he seemed able to breathe normally again.

"Honestly, I don't know," Rikuo answered just after Yoru seemed okay to talk again. He still had his hand on Yoru's back too.

It was very weird, feeling Yoru so solid right at that moment. Of course Rikuo could feel Yoru's touch when they were in his inner world, but every touch and skin contact in that world was more fluidic. It was there, but it wasn't as well. It was very hard to describe.

"Okay… but you kissed me?" Yoru repeated his earlier question, seeming to be very curious of why Rikuo did what he did.

Rikuo blushed hard at that. "You're still talking about that? I didn't kiss you! You know what? I woke up, you were there and you weren't breathing! So NO, it's not a kiss! I gave you a CPR!" he protested in annoyance and proceeded to explain what he did before Yoru regained consciousness.

"Oh… okay…" Yoru nodded, seeming to understand before he looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke again. "So… I'm in the human world… without using your body…."

Yoru just stated the obvious, and then looked at Rikuo drowsily. He noticeably looked exhausted. Well, if he just woke up from a literal breathless sleep, then maybe it couldn't be helped. But Yoru was a youkai, right? Was it normal for him to look… so sick? He asked strange questions too. What was wrong with Yoru?

"Don't say it in that manner. It's very misleading," Rikuo's sweat dropped. "But… what should we do about it? You certainly can't show yourself here. We're in an Onmyoujis' mansion, for God's sake," he continued, scratching the back of his head. He then put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"Okay, I'll call someone from our family, like Jiichan (1). Who knows? He may know something about this…" Rikuo then stood up slowly, releasing his hand from Yoru and turned around to walk towards the door.

However, the seemingly innocent act appeared to have an instant bad effect for Yoru, because the moment Rikuo got to the door, Yoru suddenly gasped and grasped his neck in obviously pained, suffering expression.

"Ugh…!" Yoru moaned quite painfully and Rikuo halted his movement on the doorstep, just when he was about to open the sliding door.

The chocolate haired boy turned to his youkai once more, alarmed. "Yoru?"

Yoru coughed and tried to breathe, but there was a wheezing sound from him and he looked really… pale. "C-can't… breathe…!" He gasped again and collapsed on the floor in distress.

"Yoru!" Rikuo hurriedly approached Yoru and knelt beside him, trying to help or at least soothe his pain. "Yoru? Yoru! Hey, hey…!"

And then, the moment Rikuo's hand touched Yoru's back again, it was like an instant release of anti histamine for allergy reaction. The imaginary rope that sized the youkai's lungs was loosened or the obstruction in his throat was gone. He gasped again and this time the air could actually get into his lungs and he seemed to be able to breathe again.

Yoru coughed several times, trying to suck the air and release it erratically. "Hah… hah… What's… going on…? Why… can't I breathe… just now…?" The youkai looked puzzled and was probably slightly in panic because he had never experienced this kind of thing before.

Rikuo was silent, looking at Yoru very concernedly. He was still stroking Yoru's back while his brain was raking for the answer of this calamity. Evidently, this was a disaster. Then Rikuo remembered about Yoru's fight with Seimei the day before.

"This is… no way…!" Rikuo mumbled disbelievingly.

"What…?" Yoru looked up slightly at the smaller boy with unfocused eyes.

"No, but… this is… maybe… your real body isn't used to the human world…?" Rikuo tilted his head aside, rather confused and stern.

"Huh…?" Yoru seemed confused as well.

"I meant; all this time, Yoru was using my body to appear in this world, right? Maybe your own body can't stand being in this world too much… you know, like what happened with Seimei," Rikuo explained.

At that, Yoru's face seemed to pale. "Am I… going to… melt away…?" He looked slightly mortified. It was slightly hilarious because Yoru never showed that kind of face in Rikuo's inner world before…

Or, maybe Yoru did. It was just… everything in the inner world was 'image' conjured by Rikuo and Yoru's consciousness, so there might be bias on Rikuo's part because he always pictured Yoru as a cool perfect being. The dark-honey eyed boy blushed slightly as he thought about it.

Rikuo quickly shook his head. "Maybe the effect is different. You know… if Seimei's body melts because his body isn't strong enough to get exposed to human world, then maybe you're unable to breath because of the same reason," he explained again.

"Huh…? But, I can… breathe right now…" Yoru blinked once at Rikuo with slightly dazed ruby eyes, looking bemused before shaking his head, seeming to try to chase away the dizziness he felt because of the lack of oxygen earlier.

"Eh?" Now Rikuo was dumbfounded. "Then… that's not the reason?" he retracted his hand and put it on his chin again to think.

A few moments passed, but all Rikuo got was frustration because he didn't find another reason. "Aah! I don't know! Anyway, I'll find Jiichan and return here as fast as I can!" He then stood and was about to dash away when it started all over again.

Yoru groaned and seized his own neck again because he couldn't breathe. "W-wait…! Rikuo…! I can't…!"

Rikuo, upon noticing this, couldn't walk away and had to come back to help Yoru's predicament once more to make him feel better. Then just like several moments before, Yoru could breathe again the moment Rikuo touched him. This time, it was on Yoru's shoulder.

Then, a realization seemed to dawn on Yoru's face because after he could breathe normally again under Rikuo's soothing ministration, he took Rikuo's hand and pulled the boy into a crushing hug.

"Eh?" Rikuo widened his eyes in shock and his heart started to beat really fast because… this was the exact same position he and Yoru had last night… when they were still inside his inner world.

Well, maybe it wasn't the exact position because Yoru's hand was on Rikuo's soft dual colored hair, and the other was on Rikuo's wrist, holding him gently, but strongly, which was weird because Yoru was supposed to feel weak right then because he couldn't breathe properly, but that wasn't the point. Yoru was holding him, that's what it was!

"Y-Yoru…?" Rikuo couldn't help stuttering then, feeling slightly nervous, and maybe a little embarrassed for suddenly being hugged and getting so close to Yoru… too close for his comfort.

"I understand now…" Yoru sighed, seeming to be able to breathe more easily and nicely now. "I can't breathe… if you're away from me…" he whispered softly on Rikuo's ear, tickling Rikuo and making him shiver all over again.

"Oh…!" Rikuo flushed a deep shed of red upon hearing and digesting Yoru's words and he couldn't help getting panicked. "W-w-w-w-what are you saying? P-please don't say something so… so embarrassing like that!"

Rikuo struggled, trying to push Yoru away, suddenly feeling very-very bothered and confused and damn! His face felt really hot, so it must have been very red right then. My GOD what is Yoru doing?—his mind screamed in alarm as well. This was very weird… like alien weird!

"No, Rikuo… please don't struggle…. I'm serious…" Yoru said again, with low breathy voice that sounded very… very seductive in Rikuo's disturbed mind.

"No! What are you thinking? Please let go!" Rikuo was shouting at this point, completely forgetting that he was in Keikain mansion, still struggling of course.

However, Yoru was famous for his stubborn personality, so he seemed to still try to tighten his hug on Rikuo's body, establishing a vice grip on Rikuo's wrist as well.

"No, I can't…! Please, calm down…. I really can't breathe if you're away… I meant; I'm unable to perform respiration literally if you reach a certain distance from my body!" Yoru explained then, with technical term that Rikuo recognized from biology lesson.

Then the shorter boy blinked at that, immediately stopping his struggle upon digesting the explanation.

A brief silence fell inside the room for five to ten seconds before....

"Eeeh…?" Rikuo turned another deep shed of crimson, feeling very dumb and totally embarrassed right now for thinking about strange things, yet his heart hadn't returned to its normal beating pace because his body was still too close to Yoru's. He almost cried for the non-existent personal space now.

"Do you understand now…?" Yoru asked then, loosening his grip slightly when Rikuo stopped struggling. "You're helping me breathe if you're close to me…" he whispered again and Rikuo squeaked at that, feeling tickled by Yoru's hot breathe near his ear again.

Frankly, it aroused some unfamiliar odd feelings inside Rikuo's heart and he couldn't calm down because of it. He felt giddy and restless.

"I-I-I understand but… can't you at least release the hug? It's… it's very embarrassing…" Rikuo stuttered again, not really sure how to take it. After all, why would Yoru be unable to breathe if he wasn't near him? This was so odd!

"No… I don't want to," Yoru said, once again tightening his hug.

"EH? But why?" Rikuo protested.

"Well… it's because I feel the most relaxed with you so close to me like this…" Yoru sighed again, sounding very relieved.

Rikuo went into spontaneous combustion if it was possible, just from hearing those sweet enticing words from Yoru. His body shuddered slightly and he felt very… hot so suddenly.

Rikuo didn't know what to say and to react at Yoru's words. Even though he was supposed to be thinking and finding away to solve this oddity (read: Yoru being outside his body) and the emergency (read: Yoru unable to breathe on his own without Rikuo around him), his mind went blank and his head got dizzy for being embraced and seduced (no matter what anyone said, Yoru sounded like seducing him!) by the silver-black haired youkai.

"W-… what… do you mean…?" Rikuo then asked timidly, curious as to why Yoru suddenly acted this way towards him. He thought they already established a friendship… or brotherhood for that matter. This was not a friend or a brother usually did. The underlying feeling and innuendo were too great to ignore, damn it!

"It meant what I said…" Yoru then slowly loosened his hug and then pulled back a little to look at Rikuo's dark-honey colored eyes with his crimson orbs. "I feel most at ease… when I hold you…" he whispered again. His hand moved to caress Rikuo's cheek and Rikuo's heart thumped harder at that gesture.

"Y-Yoru…?" Rikuo couldn't help whimpering, puzzled. Yoru was looking at him with that look again in his eyes… that strange look… what was it?

Then Yoru was leaning more closely to Rikuo's face and at that point, Rikuo was dumb if he didn't realize what Yoru was after. He tensed and was about to push Yoru away when his room sliding door suddenly opened.

"Nura-kun, are you awake? I have something to talk to you before break—!"

And the familiar voice that followed soon after was cut so suddenly as the owner of that high cute voice, which belonged to none other than Keikain Yura, lifted her face, unintentionally witnessing what was about to happen in the room.

Upon noticing or more like…being caught off guard by Yura's sudden, unexpected entrance, a fleeting thought crossed Rikuo's mind. It's over… my life…!—and he paled severely seeing the shocked expression in Yura's face.


~Yoru x Rikuo~


Ryuuji was walking down the corridor to Akifusa's room when…

KABOOOM!

"Ack—!" the dark haired Onmyouji yelped widening his eyes in shock, being thrown down by surprise as the explosion occurred, just a couple of rooms before the one where he was walking in front. "What the fu—!"

Ryuuji couldn't help cursing, trying to protect his broken arm from the impact of falling down using his healthy arm and shoulder. He then looked at the room where the explosion had come from. He instantly noticed whose rooms that was since he had just been there this morning.

Ryuuji stood up before he ran to the room that was occupied by none other than Nura Rikuo, the quarter youkai, the despicable descendant of the hated Nurarihyon. What the fuck was the kid doing anyway?

"Oi!" Ryuuji kicked down the door that miraculously still intact, despite the hole on the wall across of it and he found his little sister, Yura, activating her ridiculous 'Yura Max' Shikigami.

"How dare you—!" She growled and boy she looked pissed.

Ryuuji couldn't help watching the spectacle as his eyes were brought to focus on the source of Yura's maximum bad mood. He was outside… wait. They were outside, just landing to the ground with debris and the remnant of the explosion wafting around them.

"Hiiiih!"

The smaller with short dark chocolate-black hair yelped and looked dreadful seeing the destruction of the wall, and the taller with long gravity-defying silver-black one just stood quietly, a little behind the smaller boy with his arm around his neck and waist (which was supposed to be impossible by the way, since Ryuuji knew that both the smaller and the taller were supposed to be one person).

This is…!—Ryuuji went into alert as well as he suspected what apparently what his sister was suspecting as well. But unlike him, Yura tended to shoot first before asking. It was her sensibility alright, but she lacked sense as always.

But that's what made Yura so interesting and fun to tease all the time.

"You impostor!" Yura shouted heatedly at the silver-black haired, crimson eyed youkai, loading energy to her shiki 'pistol' again. "How dare you touch my friend with your filthy hands…! You're going down!" She aimed another shot to the youkai, but the smaller one was faster and moved in front of the youkai with his arms spread, seeming to try to cover for him.

"Stop it! Wait a second, Keikain-san!" and Rikuo shouted loudly, surprising both Yura and Ryuuji who already brought out one of his Shikigami, Gengen.

"What are you doing, Nura-kun! Step away from him!" Yura shouted in worried look.

"No way! I can't let you hurt Yoru!" Rikuo shouted back.

"What are you saying? That youkai tried to eat you and then pose as you! I won't get fooled with that look! It's impossible! You are THERE! This guy is an impostor!" Yura yelled again, getting ready to shoot another wave of exorcising energy.

"You're wrong! He's real! He's Yoru! My other half!" Rikuo explained once more in a shout.

"What—?" Yura widened his eyes and Ryuuji was ready to attack as well.

"That's impossible. You're too easy to fool as always," Ryuuji snorted.

"Oniichan (2)!" Yura turned and widened her eyes more in surprise, seeming to just noticing Ryuuji's presence there.

"Devour… Garou!" then Ryuuji gave an order to his shikigami to attack Yoru.

"STOP IT!" Rikuo paled and shouted in horror at that.

However, before Garou could reach Yoru, something like big mantle of water sprayed the Shikigami away and before anyone even realized, a short boy with black hair and a plate on top of his head, which was obviously a Kappa, was already standing before Rikuo and the impostor.

"Kappa!" the chocolate haired boy cried in relief at the youkai's sudden appearance.

"Are you okay, Sandaime?" that Kappa asked, turning his head aside slightly and then he widened his eyes as he saw Rikuo and the taller youkai behind him. "There are two… Sandaime?" he looked very-very confused right then.

"What was that?"

"What's the ruckus?"

"Was there an explosion just now?"

And before anyone at the scene reacted, a lot of voices from the house residence were heard again.

"What's going on?"

"It's coming from here!"

And it seemed, the nightmare for Rikuo appeared at that moment, because the last two voices were Rikuo's school friends' and someone… actually five curious middle school kids ran out of the house to see what was happening.

"CRAP!" Rikuo seemed to panic instantly and Ryuuji remembered that Rikuo hid his identity as a quarter youkai and hid the fact that his family was youkai family from his human friends.

"Whoa… crap, indeed…" Ryuuji commented disinterestedly.

What are you going to do now… Nura Rikuo?

End of Chapter 2

Tbc…


Additional Notes:

*Taken from the English translation of Japanese song 'Shiawase ne Narou' by Utada Hikaru.

1)Jiichan: grandpa

2)Oniichan: big brother

A/N: Ah… this chapter turns to be a little too hilarious for me; especially Yoru and Rikuo's conversation after Yoru woke up. Oh god… I hope Yoru isn't too oOC! XD *lol* Anyway, what do you think? I want to add the humor (because it is a humor), but Rikuo has had enough predicament at this point *lol* Do you find his trouble amusing enough? I hope so, because I did find it very funny to trouble our cute Rikuo-kun *rotfl*. Okay, I'm waiting for your comment now! XDDD