I don't own Nura no Mago
A loud yawn escaped past Rikuo's lips as the young Nura walked down a deserted hallway. He was fully dressed and ready to go to school, which he was greatly dreading due to a certain brunette and the events of the night before. He hated how broken hearted his childhood friend looked and the fact that he put or there only made it worse. Rikuo would have to properly talk to Kana but he wanted to wait until some time had passed.
A cold wind blew past the quarter yokai, followed by a shout from somewhere ahead of him. He turned his head and noticed someone standing by the gates to the Nura mansion waving at him. As he got closer, Rikuo realized the long, black and blue hair he saw fluttering in the strong wind belonged to Tsurara. The yuki-onna was calling out to him as she stood on the cobblestone path with a large smile in place.
"Rikuo-sama! Hurry up or we will be late!" Tsurara shouted to her master.
Rikuo returned the bright smile she sported with a small one of his own. He got closer to the ice maiden and bid her a good morning. Tsurara greeted her master with something similar and the two were on their way to school. The atmosphere around them was slightly awkward after their talk from last night, so the two decided to stay silent during their walk. It didn't take them long to reach their destination and the two immediately headed towards their respective lockers. As Rikuo met back up with Tsurara, a loud voice broke through the quiet air.
"Hello Nura-kun and Tsurara-kun! How are you on this fine day?" The two teenagers who were addressed turned to see an ecstatic Kiyotsugu walking towards them.
Behind the happy boy was a blushing Shima who was stealing quick glances at the yuki-onna. Maki and Torii were rolling their eyes at the boy who was practically skipping through the groups of kids walking by them. Next to those two girls stood a pair talking amongst themselves. Kana avoided all eye contact with Rikuo as she focused entirely on what the black haired girl next to her was saying.
Rikuo chose to turn his attention away from the brunette and Yura, and instead focus on the boy in front of him. "Good morning, Kiyotsugu-kun. Why are you so happy?"
They boy was buzzing with energy as he continued to smile widely at the young Nura. Before he could answer him a small chime rung through the school to signal everyone to get to class. "I'll tell all of you later." Kiyotsugu called out to Rikuo as he followed everyone and headed towards his class.
Class flew by quickly and soon enough it was lunch time. Rikuo walked up the stairs leading to the rooftop slowly because he wasn't really in a rush to eat anything. In fact, as his steps lead him closer and closer to his group of friends, he started losing his appetite. He didn't want to see the hurt on his childhood friends face as she tried desperately to ignore him. He reached the landing and stared at the old door in front of him, willing himself to open it. The young Nura laid his hand on the cool metal and took his time turning it, light seeping in through the cracks as he pushed the door open ever so slightly. It was suddenly flung open to reveal Kiyotsugu who stood with the same excitement from that morning.
"Finally! We have been waiting for you Nura-kun." The boy exclaimed as he walked back to the group sitting in the center of the rooftop.
Rikuo made his way to his friends and took a seat next to Tsurara, who slid a small bento over to him. He gave the yuki-onna a grateful smile and began eating his lunch while listening to the conversation happening around him. Maki, who was sitting opposite Rikuo in the circle of friends, gave a curious look to Kiyotsugu as she spoke to him.
"So why are you so excited?"
A large smile showing off rows of pearly white teeth took over the human boys face. "Well, now that there are no more big baddies to fight and everything has calmed down, I thought we should continue our hunt for yokai. There is a haunted house said to hold something mysterious that messes with your mind and makes you go crazy. We will be going there tonight so-".
Before Kiyotsugu could finish his sentence, a concerned voice interrupted him. "Don't you think that's dangerous?"
Everyone turned their head to look at the one who spoke. Rikuo's face showed apprehension from his friend's idea, and it was justified considering the all of the alarming situations they were put in before. Someone could have died on multiple occasions and the young Nura wasn't going to condone going to a house that seemed more deadly than their usual adventures. It was unknown and Rikuo was currently feeling dread at the thought of exploring a haunted house.
Kiyotsugu shook his head at the boy who interrupted him. "Not with you there, it won't be. You, Tsurara, and Yura can protect us from any form of danger we encounter."
"But still..." Rikuo knew his friend was right; that he and the yuki-onna, along with an onmyōji, could protect them, but what if this time was different?
Kiyotsugu looked at the quarter yokai with determination in his eyes. "With the three of you there, we will be perfectly fine. I scoped out the place and it doesn't seem all that bad. It's just an old house so we will most likely only see harmless yokai who will try to scare us."
And there was another valid point the boy had that Rikuo couldn't find himself to argue with. He could see how much Kiyotsugu wanted to go this place and he was right, the worst thing that could be at the house was a few yokai who was looking to play a prank on unsuspecting humans. The good thing was that Rikuo's friends would be expecting that to happen so they would be more cautious.
The quarter yokai let out a small sigh as he nodded his head. "Alright, we can go if you really want to."
Kiyotsugu let out a small cheer and went to explain where they were meeting and what time. Yura looked over to the brown haired boy with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't particularly excited about this event either, but there was most likely no way of stopping the yokai enthusiast standing before them. The two shook their heads and tuned back into what the boy was saying and watching as his hands made a jumble of twists and turns to go along with his words.
A chilling wind whipped past two figures walking down an empty road filled with eery silence. They were almost to their destination where all of their friends were currently waiting for them, and they were definitely not looking forward to what they were about to do. Out of the two, the one who was less worried than the other was the girl who was filled with buzzing energy. Listening to Kiyotsugu talk about the place they were visiting had her slightly excited but judging from past experiences she knew anything could happen tonight.
The boy walking beside her was trying his best to seem composed when in actuality he was feeling dread wrap itself around him and get a firm grip. He knew something was going to go down tonight but he didn't know if it was good or bad. He was worried something would happen to his friends who were only human and couldn't protect themselves against most yokai. That is why he had asked Kurotabo and Aotabo to keep a look out for them in case something really does happen.
A calming voice called out to him, easing only some of his nerves. "Are you alright Rikuo-sama?"
Rikuo looked to his right and saw concern in the amber pools belonging to the yuki-onna. "I just have a feeling that somethings going to happen."
Before Tsurara could further question her master, a loud voice interrupted the two. They turned their heads to see their group of friends standing by a rusty, dirt covered fence. "There you two are!"
Kiyotsugu was clutching the gate leading to a long winding driveway, buzzing with excitement. His whole being was practically vibrating as a huge smile took over most of his face, the bright white of his teeth matching the white showing from his widened eyes. Everyone else had a mixture of different emotions on their faces like apprehension, annoyance, and boredom. They clearly wanted to be anywhere but here.
Kiyotsugu looked at each and every one of his friends with that same smile still plastered on his face. He looked like a little kid in a candy filled store where everything was all you can eat. "Well, shall we go?"
He lifted the latch on the metal gate and the group followed him down the darkened driveway, not knowing what they were getting themselves into.
The house was what everyone expected; creepy looking. Wooden boards were hanging off and there were holes decorating the house. Green vines had crawled up every side of the building and the grass clearly hadn't been cut at anytime in the last ten years. The windows were either broken or covered with wooden boards to prevent access from snooping teenagers like themselves. They waded through the waist high grass and slowly walked up the porch steps, afraid they might break and everything would com crashing down. Shima reached out a tentative hand and tried turning the doorknob with no luck.
Maki let out a small huff of annoyance as she looked at Kiyotsugu. "And how exactly are we going to get in if the door is locked?"
The human boy let out a sly smile as he reached into his pant pocket and produced a bronze colored key. "With this."
He inserted the metallic object while Torii raised her eyebrow at the boy. "I don't even want to know how you got that."
Kiyotsugu retracted his hand and everyone watched as the door opened slowly, its rusted hinges letting out a high pitched protest. Everyone looked at each other with wary expressions but didn't say anything as they followed Kiyotsugu into the rotting house. Shima kept close to the boy's back while Maki and Torii went in next, their heads turning in all directions to get a good look at the inside of the place. Yura took cautious steps into the house with Kana behind her, Rikuo and Tsurara bringing up the rear. The young Nura glanced over his shoulder and out into the dark night. There were no lanterns and he doubted there was any form of electricity in this run down death trap. The only form of light they had to go by was the full moon shining high above in the sky.
Rikuo's attention was brought back to the group of friends as Kiyotsugu's voice filled the dank atmosphere. "Alright everyone! Here's what's going to happen. We are going to split up to cover more ground. Shima-kun, Yura-kun, and I are going to go up the the second floor. Saori-kun, Natsumi-kun, and Oikawa-kun are going to stay here on the main floor while Nura-kun and Ienaga-kun explore the third floor."
Maki scoffed at this and pointedly looked at Kiyotsugu. "How are we supposed to get around this dangerous place when we can barely see?"
The boy smiled at the question and brought a bag around to the front of his body. "I brought a few flashlights so we can only take one per group."
While Kiyotsugu handed Rikuo and Tsurara a flashlight, Yura took in her surroundings and grimaced at what she saw. "I don't think it's a good idea that we split up."
Kiyotsugu shook his head at her as he took the last flashlight for himself and replied with, "Nonsense. This house has stood tall for hundreds of years and has yet to come crashing down. No one will get hurt...too bad."
It was a small joke to ease the tension filling the foyer they stood in but it did not reap any rewards. No one was going to admit it but they were all terrified of what was most definitely going to happen, all except the yokai fanatic who was bouncing on his heels. This house was different than the usual places they go to, and it held a strange atmosphere. The second everyone laid there eyes on the decaying structure they were filled with alarm and something else that sent chills up their spines.
Tsurara took a step closer to her master as her eyes traveled to the space around them. "I agree with Yura. I don't think this place is-".
Before the ice maiden could continue voicing her concerns, a strong wind blew through the old house in the direction of the kids. It zipped past Rikuo and went outside, effectively slamming the wooden door and engulfing everyone in darkness. Murmurs traveled through the group as fear caused them to freeze on the spot. They didn't know what was happening and couldn't properly get a hold of the situation as their anxiety started to spike. No one could see clearly and their limited vision was starting to darken. A manic laugh swept through the old building, causing everyone to stop and hold their breaths as their minds drew a blank and they succumbed to the pitch black of their unconsciousness.
The last thing Rikuo could see was dust picking up as figure clad in all black walked towards the teenagers, bright white teeth showing through an evil smile.
I'm so happy that I got plenty of positive reviews on the first chapter of Fleeting Thoughts. It was originally supposed to be a one-shot but because so many people liked it, I decided to continue on. I honestly have no idea where this story will go as I just wrote whatever came to mind. As for updating for this story, it wont be frequent because I have another story I must focus on right now, but after that's done I will pay full attention to this. Well, that's all I have to say for now besides I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
R&R