Two
Kiyotsugu entered the courtyard of the old Hayakawa mansion. The last rays of sunlight had long since faded from the sky, but the stars refused to come out. A strange mist obscured the steps that led into the main house. The still night air smelled strangely of azuki beans, plum blossoms, and fresh snow.
There were yokai close by.
Kiyotsugu turned his tactical flashlight to its lowest setting and surveyed his crew. Though many people were always asking for the opportunity to work on his show, Kiyotsugu preferred to film most episodes with only the help he absolutely needed. That meant two cameras, his co-host, and his ever-present production manager, Itoh Atsushi, who insisted upon having his hands in everything.
Hibiki and Daisuke Inokai, the two "Paranormal Experts" camera men clutched their equipment and tried valiantly not to appear terrified. The twin brothers had been working on the show for six full months, which was much longer than any of the previous film crew had lasted. They'd learned to sense when they were close to serious yokai activity. Though they were dedicated to their work, a very powerful swirl of mischievous and malevolent energies always made them nervous.
"Do you this place is really haunted?" Atsushi whispered.
Kiyotsugu laughed. Even if he had not just spoken with his old friend Rikuo, he would have expected to find more than a few yokai hiding in the Hayakawa mansion. The history of the place was absolutely fascinating, and his message boards had been swamped with accounts of sightings near there. "Of course it's haunted! It would be a waste of our time if it wasn't!"
Chiaki Okamoto, Kiyotsugu's co-host, motioned for the Inokai brothers to pick up their gear and follow after her. She checked the batteries in her lapel microphone and also turned down her flashlight.
Over the years that Kiyotsugu had spent studying yokai, he'd learned that anything which produced too much illumination scared off more timid spirits. Some of the experts swore by night vision or infrared goggles, but those were only good for catching certain kinds of yokai. A faint blue LED light kept Kiyotsugu from tripping over his own feet and allowed his cameras to record without disturbing the dark miasma which made "Paranormal Experts" such an exciting show to watch.
More importantly, Kiyotsugu knew that he was currently hunting Rikuo-sama, which meant that he needed to pay attention to the shadows. It was never easy to catch the young "Lord of Pandemonium" on film, but Kiyotsugu was determined to accept the challenge that had been offered to him. His ratings would surely jump sky-high if he forced his old friend to use some of his formidable magic to chase him out of the house.
"Three, two, one, action!" Chiaki counted aloud and the brothers both turned their cameras on Kiyotsugu.
"Welcome, Paranormal Experts fans, to another exciting night of yokai-hunting!" Kiyotsugu proclaimed. "Tonight we are at the Hayakawa mansion in Asakusa. This house was built in 1864 when the Asakusa District was still outside of Tokyo. No one has lived in this house since 1928. The last resident was Hayakawa Ichiro, the famous kabuki actor."
Chiaki stepped forward, taking her place at Kiyotsugu's side. "As some of you may know, Hayakawa Ichiro had a younger brother, Ao, who was also a kabuki actor. The legend claims that Aoi was so jealous of his elder brother's ability that he secretly poisoned him and buried his body under one of the plum trees in this courtyard. No body was ever found, but everyone who has tried to purchase this house could not stand to spend the night here. There have been more than one hundred sightings of yokai here! Oh, Kiyotsugu-san, I'm so scared!"
"Don't worry, Chiaki-chan. You'll be safe with me! I'm a paranormal expert!" Kiyotsugu reassured her. It was all an act, of course. Chiaki had been an avid yokai-hunter herself even before joining Paranormal Experts and she was no more afraid of spirits than Kiyotsugu was himself. The audience liked it, however, when she pretended to be afraid and so she had learned to shriek on cue quite convincingly. Atsushi gave them both a "thumbs up". The opening of the show had gone perfectly – there was no need to re-shoot it.
Taking Chiaki's arm and winking to Daisuke's camera, Kiyotsugu led the way into the haunted house.
Nura Rikuo stood in the hallway of the Hayakawa mansion, invisible in the shadows. Kiyotsugu and his crew walked directly past him, not noticing his presence at all.
That did not surprise him. Rikuo had inherited from his grandfather Nurarihyon one of the most coveted of all yokai powers, a particular kind of Fear that caused even other yokai to become incapable of seeing or touching him. When Kiyotsugu glanced back in his direction, Rikuo cleared his mind and thought of how the reflection of the moon appeared in water. By touching that reflection, he could cause it to blur and shift. Using his power was very similar. He became like a reflection himself, solid one moment and then inexplicably gone, leaving no sign of his passage but a rippling current of air. He'd been right in front of his old friend's face but Kiyotsugu had never seen him at all.
Rikuo smiled slightly. Though he'd once struggled to master the most basic aspects of his yokai nature, all of the battles of his Junior High and High School years had honed his skills considerably. Now he could use his Fear with the ease and artistry of a professional calligrapher. If his grandfather had been present to witness his subtle vanishing act, Rikuo knew that old man would be very proud of him.
Nurarihyon was infamous throughout Japan for using the particular talent of his bloodline to let himself into the homes of strangers where he commonly helped himself to their food and drank all of their tea. When Rikuo had been very young, Nurarihyon had taught him how to "dine and dash" as if it were a trick every bit as impressive as conjuring blue arcane fire from sake and cherry blossoms. Such petty, mischievous behavior had caused many to underestimate the old man, forgetting how he'd acquired the title "Lord of Pandemonium" and become leader of all of Tokyo's yokai.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Rikuo was now "Lord of Pandemonium" himself. The title was no small one, and in order to keep it, Rikuo found that it was necessary for him to constantly think strategically. Most yokai had extremely short attention spans and often needed to be reminded that their master was powerful and that his plans were fun and interesting. Rikuo hoped his current "contest" to scare Kiyotsugu would help dissuade some of the usual grumblers, who complained about being bored whenever they weren't fighting for their lives against onmyoji or other yokai.
Rikuo felt slightly guilty about using Tsurara as the "prize" in his contest, especially since the thought of having to kiss the winner had made her blush so terribly. Then again, there was always a chance that someone like Kejoro or Awashima would win. Neither of them would want a kiss from Tsurara, and it was very likely that Kiyotsugu would be more afraid of the seductive and shameless Kejoro than a physically strong yokai like Aotabo or Kurotabo.
Though Kiyotsugu's co-host Chiaki seemed to like him well enough, Kiyotsugu was notoriously bad with women. Rikuo grimaced as he recalled the yokai doll that Kiyotsugu had made for their friend Kana so many years ago. Kiyotsugu really didn't understand girls. Normal girls, anyway. Chiaki was far from normal.
From a few feet down the hall, Rikuo heard Chiaki shriek and laughed slightly as he noticed two little yokai running away from her dancing flashlight. Such tiny spirits were often more afraid of humans than humans were of them.
A familiar presence behind him caused Rikuo to slowly turn around. One of the his grandfather's oldest and most loyal subordinates, Gyuki stood with his arms crossed, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Are you interrupting my fun?" Rikuo demanded, raising an eyebrow at Gyuki. It was no secret to him that most of the founding members of the Nura Clan were not as interested in petty games as the much younger yokai who made up his Hyakki Yagyo.
"There is a very violent yokai in this house that you should know about." Gyuki admitted. "His name is Baku and he was sealed by an onmyoji here more than fifty years ago. If those friends of yours find him, they may let him loose on accident."
"All the more reason to scare them out of here right away." Rikuo grimaced. How was it that he hadn't sensed the presence of any yokai in the house? Was the onmyoji's seal so powerful that it blocked any traces of radiating Fear?
From up ahead, Rikuo heart two more screams, the first from Chiaki and a second from one of Kiyosugu's camera men. Kiyotsugu had opened the door to the bath and Kappa was drenching the Paranormal Experts with large amounts of water. Kiyotsugu and his production manager struggled to shut the door so that Kappa's spray wouldn't damage their equipment, but the water was too powerful.
A big pair of hands reached in and shut the door, closing Kappa inside of the bath. Kiyotsugu sighed in relief, wringing out his shirt.
"Thanks for the help! I thought I'd never get that door closed! You must be very strong... oh." Kiyotsugu trailed off into silence. His camera men stared up in horror.
"Boo." Aotabo grinned. All of the Paranormal Experts froze, but none of them fled.
"What, don't you fear me?" Aotabo demanded. "I'm the Iron Blue Monk!" He proclaimed, pointing to his rosary of skulls. "A Strike Team Commander in the Nura Clan's Hyakki Yagyo!"
"Going to school with the young master has been no good for you, Aotabo! You've been hanging around humans too much!" Kappa chimed in, peering out of the bath. "I don't think they're afraid of you at all!"
"Oh, they'd better be afraid of me! Maybe I should teach them a lesson! You know what happens when I take off this rosary?" Aotabo growled. Of course, he did not intend to do any such thing. Rikuo noticed from his hiding place that Aotabo barely touched the skull beads. The power that he truly possessed was too potent to be used in any petty contest, but Kiyotsugu was well-aware of Aotabo's origins and did look a little pale as he considered facing the unchecked strength of one of the Nura Clan's most powerful warriors.
Both of the camera men took a nervous step back and Chiaki glanced at Kiyotsugu with a worried expression on her face. The production manager was pale as a sheet and shaking uncontrollably. He'd seen yokai before while working on the show, but never so close.
"Nice bluff. Is that the best you can do?" Kurotabo replied sarcastically, appearing suddenly beside his friend. The assassin monk looked particularly ominous in the darkness, only his eyes visible under the brim of his straw hat. With a wicked grin, he released one of his many weapons from his voluminous sleeves, nearly impaling the production manager.
The production manager screamed and ran, slamming the door behind him as he fled.
"There goes Atsushi." Chiaki observed flatly. She, Kiyotsugu and the camera men held their ground.
"Well, why aren't the rest of you running? You're not afraid that we'll kill you?" Kurotabo demanded.
"You won't kill us." Kiyotsugu replied. "You won't even hurt us!"
"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure?" Aotabo put his hands on his hips. Chiaki fearlessly stepped forward and poked the emblem of "Fear" on the blue hapi coat that the yokai wore.
"You're Nura Clan!" She smirked. "Your master won't let you."
"Let's not waste our time with these small fry!" Kiyotsugu announced. "There's something good in this house – I'm sure of it!"
"You go first, Kiyotsugu-san!" Chiaki agreed. "We're with you all the way!" Feeling bolder after seeing Chiaki react so calmly, the two camera men began to follow her and Kiyotsugu down the hall. They glanced over their shoulders at Aotabo and Kurotabo a few times but said nothing.
"Small fry?" Aotabo groaned.
"I've never been so humiliated." Kurotabo sighed heavily.
The two Strike Team Commanders glared indignantly the direction of Kappa who only shrugged. Rikuo laughed silently to himself as he slipped unseen past his subordinates, following the Paranormal Experts deeper into the labyrinthine halls of Hayakawa mansion. Gyuki's warning was not one to be ignored, but he saw no reason not to let some of the others have their chance at scaring Kiyotsugu before he called off his little contest.
To the disappointment of Kubinashi, the Paranormal Experts were not at all afraid of his floating head. Kiyotsugu recognized him as a Nura Clan member and one of Rikuo's bodyguards before he even had the opportunity to pull out his infamous red string.
Jami's sudden and unexpected appearance did get a good, genuine scream out of Chiaki and Zen's malicious smirk caused Kiyotsugu to stagger back a few paces himself. He relaxed as he realized that he hadn't actually encountered Rikuo - yet.
The yokai who were not wearing their Nura Clan hapi coats seemed to be faring the best in the contest and word was clearly spreading that the honorable emblem of "Fear" did not intimidate Kiyotsugu or the other Paranormal Experts. Rikuo continued to observe his followers and his friends unseen. Everyone who'd failed to spook Kiyotsugu would surely be inspired to start training harder when they returned to the Nura Clan mansion.
That was a good thing, Rikuo reasoned. It had been quiet in Tokyo for too long and he couldn't afford for his subordinates to become soft. A new danger could emerge at any time and the Nura Clan would need to be ready for it.
Kejoro sighed heavily, picking up several discarded hapi coats. Rikuo smiled slightly and phased into visibility just long enough to toss her one that he'd found himself.
"Your subordinates should be punished for being so careless with their laundry." Kejoro remarked.
"Wash all their coats with itching powder." Rikuo recommended.
Kejoro smirked. "I may do that."
"You're not trying to scare Kiyotsugu?" Rikuo observed.
"Why should I?" Kejoro rolled her eyes. "A kiss from Tsurara? You know, you shouldn't play with a womens' hearts the way you do!"
"It wasn't my idea!" Rikuo protested.
"Maybe not, but you didn't object – and you could have!" Kejoro scolded. "And have you even considered the possibility that Kiyotsugu won't run out of this house until you make him leave yourself?"
"I will need to get him out of here if no one else does." Rikuo admitted. "Gyuki says there's something in this house that ought to be left alone. But I don't see what that has to do with anything. It's my contest, isn't it? I can win it if I want to."
"And the prize you promised?" Kejoro demanded.
"Well, I don't need any prize. Everyone already knowns that I'm the best! Anyone who beats me should get a reward!" Rikuo smirked.
"You really have no idea, do you?" Kejoro rolled her eyes.
A scream from up ahead caught Rikuo's attention. He'd only been distracted for a few minutes and already he'd lost sight of the Paranormal Experts! Without a word of explanation, he raced down the hall, leaving Kejoro behind in a flurry of discarded laundry.
"Rikuo-sama, I'm not done talking to you!" Kejoro scolded. Rikuo didn't seem to hear her. She sighed heavily and began picking up all of the hapi coats she had gathered. The idea of adding some itching powder to the wash was beginning to sound very good to her. And if Rikuo-sama managed to win his stupid contest and didn't do what she hoped he would, Kejoro considered putting his underwear into the same load of laundry.
Rikuo hid himself behind a suit of armor in the corner of the room that the Paranormal Experts were exploring. The scream he'd heard had come from Chiaki when Awashima had caught hold of one of the camera men and put his/her blades to his throat.
The Tonno yokai threatened the poor camera man so convincingly that Rikuo almost felt compelled to intervene and remind him/her that no one was supposed to get hurt – but then second camera man, fearlessly raced forward with a dramatic war cry. He bludgeoned Awashima over the head with his camera and he/she lost his/her footing. Rubbing his/her head, Awashima glared at Rikuo in his hiding place and stalked off, muttering about how unfair it was that he/she was not permitted to "teach those stupid humans a lesson". The two camera men picked up their equipment and awaited Kiyotsugu's command. The expressions on their faces made their feelings perfectly clear. They were no longer afraid, and willing to continue filming.
With Kiyotsugu in the lead, the Paranormal Experts made their way down a long, narrow flight of stairs which led into a natural cavern below the mansion. A gust of cold wind carrying a flurry of snowflakes caused Chiaki to shudder and button up her sweater.
Rikuo smiled slightly. Though he guessed that the four yokai hunters were probably approaching the seal that Gyuki had warned him about, it would be terribly unfair to end his contest without giving Tsurara a chance to win in her own right. That would settle the whole awkward kissing question without making it look like he favored any of his subordinates over the others.
But he did favor some of them, he realized, hesitating at the top of the stairs as he watched Kiyotsugu and the others descending. Though he did not want to see any member of his Hyakki Yagyo harmed, it only irritated him when he saw Awashima or Kappa taking a beating. When Kurotabo, Kejoro, or Kubinashi was in trouble – it felt much more personal. And if it was Tsurara who needed his protection, that made his blood boil.
What had Kejoro been suggesting? What did it matter if he won? He wasn't his grandfather, after all! He wouldn't take a kiss from someone who wasn't willing to give one!
The ground under his feet rumbled and an all-too familiar scream caused Rikuo's heart to skip a beat.
Tsurara!
He swiftly drew his sword.
The two snowflakes that Tsurara's Fear had left permanently tattooed on Rikuo's back felt like lead weights, tugging him down to where he knew she was. It had been a long while since Rikuo had needed to borrow the power of any of his subordinates – his last fight with Abe no Seimei had been several years ago.
Still, he was especially sensitive around his blood brother Zen and especially Tsurara. It was no small thing for one yokai to willingly surrender his Fear to another, and though he'd used his Matoi technique with others over the years, he could not forget what it had felt like to share that bond with Tsurara - who had trusted him more than any of his other followers ever had or ever would.
Tsurara believed in him.
Though Rikuo always kept his yakuza tattoos covered up in public, he didn't view them as the markings of a lawless gangster. No one who wasn't a member of the Nura Clan truly understood that Nurarihyon's Hyakki Yagyo was a family.
The Paranormal Experts were in his way. Not bothering to conceal his presence, Rikuo effortlessly leapt over the heads of Kiyotsugu and Chiaki who stared up at him in awe.
"Was that..." Chiaki began.
"The Lord of Pandemonium himself!" Kiyotsugu exclaimed. "Yes! Follow him!"
The camera men hesitated. "Didn't you hear that scream? Maybe we shouldn't go down there?"
"Hibiki, give me your camera!" Chiaki ordered, seizing the equipment from the bewildered camera man. She awkwardly heaved the camera onto her shoulder, putting her thumb directly on the lens. Like Kiyotsugu, she was a zealous yokai hunter when she wasn't pretending to be terrified. She'd been the president of a "paranormal patrol" in Kansai before transferring to a better school in Tokyo. Chiaki had only heard stories of the leader of the yokai before and was obviously not willing to miss the opportunity to see him in action. "Ready, Kiyotsugu-san?" She asked, turning the camera on him.
"This is going to be our best episode ever!" He agreed.
The two yokai hunters ran after Rikuo without a moment's hesitation.
"If Chiaki-chan breaks another piece of equipment, Atsushi-san is going to fire all of us." Daisuke sighed heavily.
His brother nodded. "We'd better go after them." Hibiki added. "Our equipment must be protected!" He vowed, doing his very best impression of a valiant hero.
They followed down the stairs.
The stairs led down into the central chamber of an enormous natural cavern, the kind of secret place that could only be concealed by a veil of powerful Fear. Rikuo had encountered just such a veil during his training in Tonno years ago, so he knew exactly how to pass through it. Even still, the radiant energy that surrounded the place that he'd come to left him feeling weak, something he was not accustomed to – especially not when he was in his yokai form.
This is bad. Rikuo thought to himself, searching the cavern for any sign of Tsurara.
When he did catch sight of her, standing in the shadow of an enormous broken seal, he sighed in relief. Though Rikuo knew that such a seal could only have been put into place by a powerful onmyoji, like the Keikans who had sealed Tsuchigomo and the other allies of Hagemoro Gitsune, Tsurara was still on her feet, which meant that she could still help him fight whatever it was that Gyuki had feared might be released. With her favored weapon in hand, a halbred made of ice, Tsurara stood staring up at a yokai unlike anything Rikuo had ever seen before.
It was impressively large, a full twenty feet tall with an elephant's trunk and tusks, horns like a gazelle, an ox-like body and the paws and claws of a tiger. What had Gyuki called the beast?
Baku, Rikuo remembered. He sensed vaguely that he'd heard mention of such a yokai before.
"Tsurara!" He shouted out, drawing the Baku's attention.
"Rikuo-sama, stay back!" Tsurara ordered.
"Damnit, Tsurara! You don't have to protect me!" Rikuo protested.
A strong, cold wind forced him to stagger back. Tsurara's eyes met his own and Rikuo hesitated. She'd used her breath to keep him from getting any closer. Tsurara had often jumped to his defense but she had never physically attacked him before! "Yes, I do!" She protested. "It's the Baku! That idiot human set it free and it's starving! It will eat you if you come any closer!"
Rikuo blinked in surprise as he noticed Atsushi, the television production manager, hiding in the shadow of the enormous seal.
"Atsushi-san!" Chiaki exclaimed, reaching the bottom of the stairs with Kiyotsugu close behind her. Then the two caught sight of the Baku.
"Get out of here now, Kiyotsugu!" Rikuo ordered. "Now!"
The two camera men ran to help the production manager to his feet. Chiaki did not stop filming. She stared up at the Baku in absolute horror, frozen in place as if she'd been caught by Tsurara's breath.
Rikuo turned again to look at the horrific visage of the Baku. He considered Tsurara's warning and tightened his grip on the hilt of Nenekimaru. There were few yokai capable of standing against the exorcist blade. Even the smallest cut could prove fatal. At very least, he needed to give the Paranormal Experts time to escape. Even if it had been Atsushi's fault that the Baku was freed, ordinary humans did not stand a chance against such a powerful, old yokai. If he didn't hold back himself, Rikuo did not doubt that he might injure or kill his own friends on accident.
He had to take out the Baku, and he had to do it quickly.
Rikuo he charged forward to strike at the monster despite Tsurara's warning. The Baku easily parried his blade and caught him with its long trunk, wrapping around him like a constrictor snake.
"At last!" It exclaimed gleefully. "At last I have you!"
Rikuo lost his grip on Nenekimaru and the sword clattered to the floor. He suddenly felt as though all of his strength was flowing out of him.
It was as if he'd taken a cut from Nenekimaru himself. His Fear faltered and faded as it did when the sun came up, and without consciously trying to do so, he returned to his human form.
The Baku seemed surprised. It dropped Rikuo on the ground and made a very strange noise.
"You... you're not Nurarihyon?" It gasped.
Only then did Rikuo realize where he'd heard the name Baku before. His blood ran cold.
Baku, the dream-eater. Baku, the destroyer of illusions.
Baku, the yokai that tried to devour Nurarihyon!
Tsurara stepped in front of Rikuo. "How dare you attack Rikuo-sama! Don't you know that he's the Commander of the Nura Clan? All of his subordinates are in this house right now, upstairs! They will be here any minute!" She proclaimed, sounding unsure of her own words. "You don't want us for your enemies!" She warned. "You may be big, but you can't face a real Hyakki Yagyo!
"Now, now. That's quite enough, little Yuki Onna. I'm not going to kill your master. I've already taken everything I need from him." The Baku laughed.
It grinned wickedly. The air around the Baku rippled and flickered, and its monstrous form condensed into a smaller shape.
Somehow, the Baku had taken all of Rikuo's Fear and was wielding his power as if it were its own!
Rikuo stared in horror at his yokai self. The Baku, wearing Rikuo's face, picked up Nenekimaru and sheathed the exorcist sword. Tsurara struck at the Baku with her weapon and it shifted out of visibility moments before she would have made contact with it, just as Rikuo would have done himself.
Chiaki gasped in shock and dropped her camera. Kiyotsugu lost no time. Grabbing his co-host by the collar of her sweater, Kiyotsugu forced Chiaki, the bewildered camera men, and their terrified production manager to start running up the stairs.
They didn't get far. A flood of yokai poured into the cavern, led by Gyuki and his subordinates. The Hyakki Yagyo stared in confusion at the two Rikuos, one human and the other yokai.
"That's not Master Rikuo, that's the Baku!" Tsurara pointed. Gyuki's eyes widened.
"The Baku has been freed?" Gyuki gasped. "Attack it now! It must not be allowed to leave this place! It wants to kill The Supreme Commander!"
The yokai all charged, but before any of them got close enough to attack the Baku – it vanished.
The Hyakki Yagyo searched the cavern, Gyuki still shouting orders. Out of the corner of his eye, Rikuo saw the Baku suddenly reappear behind Kiyotsugu on the stairs, still wearing his face. He didn't dare reveal where it had gone, too afraid that the monster would try to kill the oblivious Paranormal Experts who were so shocked by the dramatic appearance of the Night Parade that they weren't even bothering with their cameras. The Baku vanished.
Rikuo slowly stood. Though his instincts told him that it was still dark outside, and he knew that his powers should have been at their peak, he could not feel the hot burn of his yokai blood.
Whatever the Baku had done to him, it was serious indeed. Worse still, the monster was apparently set on devouring his grandfather. Someone needed to warn Nurarihyon that his sworn enemy had taken Nenekimaru and was currently wearing a very familiar face.
"Karasu Tengu followed my grandfather when he left the mansion earlier tonight." Rikuo announced, turning to his bewildered followers. "Everyone, look for him. Find him and tell him what happened!"
"You can count on us!" Aotabu agreed. Kubinashi, Kejoro, and the Tengu siblings also went running. Kurotabo came to join Gyuki and Tsurara at Rikuo's side.
"Are you all right?" Kurotabo wondered.
"I'm not injured, if that's what you mean." Rikuo paused. "But something strange has happened here."
"The Baku is a yokai which feeds on illusions." Gyuki explained. "I would have warned you earlier if I had known that anyone would get so close to it!" He shook his head heavily. "This is all my fault!"
"No, it's not." Rikuo shook his head. "It was my stupid contest that freed the Baku."
"Not true, Rikuo-sama! Even if you hadn't persuaded us all to come into this house, your friends still would have been here filming their television show. They might have freed it on their own and we wouldn't even have known that it was loose until it was too late!" Kurotabo interrupted.
"Yes, exactly!" Tsurara agreed.
"I suppose it doesn't matter whose fault it is that the Baku is free. Listen, everyone – because I may not have a chance to explain this again. The Baku is a yokai which devours Fear. It can do great damage to any of you if it manages to hold you for longer than a few moments, but it won't consume anyone it doesn't have to. It prefers to eat dreams and nightmares, which is why it is so focused on devouring Nurarihyon, who is as close to a living dream as anything in this world. Rikuo, because you are part human, the Baku could not devour all of you. But if it gets close enough to drink up Nurarihyon's Fear the way it consumed yours, The Supreme Commander will die." Gyuki .
"Is that what happened?" Rikuo paused. "The Baku consumed all of my Fear? When do I get it back?"
"You don't. The part of you that is yokai draws its strength from illusion, which the Baku collects and stores inside itself. It can use the Fear it eats as if it were its own. And until you slay it, you will not be able to take back what it has stolen from you." Gyuki finished.
Rikuo gritted his teeth. Without saying a word, he walked up to Awashima and seized one of his/her swords.
"Hey!" He/she protested. "Where do you think you're going with that?"
Rikuo did not respond. He headed in the direction of the stairs and Tsurara followed him.
"Wait a minute! Rikuo-sama! Who won the contest?" A little yokai demanded, tugging on the hem of Rikuo's hakama.
"The Baku did!" Another small yokai supplied. "Those humans ran away from the Baku!"
"But the Baku attacked Rikuo-sama!" Natto Kozo protested. "No one gets hurt! That's in the rules!"
A murmur of disapproval raced through the gathered Hyakki Yagyo.
"Does Yuki Onna has to kiss the Baku now?" The first little yokai demanded.
"I am not kissing that monster!" Tsurara scowled, taking a deep breath.
"Well, it doesn't look like a monster right now, it looks like Rikuo-sa..." The little yokai did not have the opportunity to finish what it was about to say. It was frozen mid-sentence into a large block of ice.
"You're coming with me?" Rikuo glanced at Tsurara, who nodded.
"You'd better not say no, Rikuo-sama. Right now you need a bodyguard!"
Rikuo hesitated. From everything that Gyuki had said, it was obvious that the Baku was terribly dangerous. And without his powers, he'd have to rely on Tsurara far more than he felt comfortable with. She could be in very real danger, and unlike the time that she'd been taken by Tsuchigomo, it was very possible that he would not have the strength to protect her from what they would come up against. "But the Baku..." He began.
"I am not kissing him and that's final!" Tsurara vowed. "Not even if he does look like you!"
"Excuse me?" Rikuo raised an eyebrow in Tsurara's direction. What had she just said?
"It's nothing, Rikuo-sama." Tsurara replied, avoiding his gaze. "Let's just go find that baka!"
"Baku." Rikuo corrected.
"Call it what you want." Tsurara retorted. "I know what it is!"