A/N: just to clear things up, anything typed in italics are thoughts of the characters; hope you enjoy the new chapter!


"In the cherry blossom's shade

there is no such thing

as a stranger."


As the morning light replaced the night's darkness, the Nura mansion was purged of the usual eerie atmosphere it possessed during the hours of the moon. Along with the departing of the night, Rikuo's cheerful human friends from the Kiyojuji Paranormal Investigation Squad also took their leave from the house early in the morning after their last-minute slumber party, disregarding the fact that their new member, Anna Tepes, had stayed back; that was something Rikuo was grateful he didn't have to cough out an excuse for. While the rest of the squad bid their goodbyes to Rikuo and his human mother, Anna lingered in the guest room as she once again became a victim to the thoughts in her head.

Was it really okay to make such an impulsive decision to join the Nura clan?

But then again, she didn't have anywhere else to go or anything left to lose.

She might even find a new family if she believed what Rikuo had said the night before.

Suddenly, the wooden door slid open roughly and pulled her from her thoughts as a familiar young girl poked her head into the guest room. Anna recognized her as Tsurara, one of her classmates. Judging from the fact that she was comfortably wearing her home clothes in the Nura mansion and that she was unusually protective of Rikuo, Anna came to the quick conclusion that Tsurara must be a yokai as well.

The yuki onna let out a small sound of surprise at the sight of the blonde girl who was still in the room. In return, Anna countered the reaction with a blank stare and attempted a tiny smile.

"A-Anna-san! You're still here?" Tsurara chuckled nervously, obviously not having expected the girl to be there.

"Yes," Anna smiled. She opened her mouth to try and think of a plausible excuse, but closed it when she decided that was Rikuo's responsibility instead.

"Tsurara?"

Just on time. The familiar higher voice of Rikuo's human form interposed the awkward interaction between the two girls and his distinct head of brown hair appeared in the doorway as he looked back and forth from Anna to Tsurara through his trademark glasses.

"Wa- I mean, Rikuo-kun! I didn't realize Anna-san was still here," Tsurara greeted the boy.

"It's alright, Tsurara," Rikuo offered a reassuring smile, "She knows."

"Huh?" the yuki onna blinked as she took in his words, "Eh?! W-Wait, but why?"

Instead of an explanation, Tsurara received a vague answer from Rikuo.

"I'll explain later. Could you please gather everyone in the dining room and I'll tell everyone about the news – Jiji included."

Tsurara gulped, what possible news could her young master be talking about? And why would it involve this foreign girl they had only met a few days ago? What in the world is going on?

With a thousand questions brimming in her head, Tsurara weakly replied, "Hai, Waka."

As the snow maiden walked away, Rikuo stepped into the room where Anna had been observing the exchange between the two silently.

"What a surprise," Anna noted, "I didn't know Tsurara was a yokai as well."

"Yeah, she's actually one of my personal attendants. She's been very close to me ever since I was a baby."

Anna looked up and down at the small stature that the human Rikuo possessed as she spoke. Despite Rikuo still being taller than her in this form, it was hard to imagine that this small human was the same man that had made her blush only a few hours ago, "That's sweet."

"Well, I said I was going to introduce you to the clan as a new member, wasn't I? Let's head to breakfast and I'll tell everyone there."

As the young dhampir paused, Rikuo noticed her hesitation.

"Are you regretting your decision now?"

"No," she frowned to herself, "I was just thinking about some things."

Rikuo gave her a small grin in reply and Anna somehow found that soothing.


The dining room was overflowing with chatter from all the curious, mischievous yokai of the Nura clan as they pondered to themselves what the Third Head must need to tell them about so early in the morning. Kubinashi was thinking the same thing as he stood by one of the walls in the room while absentmindedly watching Kejoro serve breakfast to the smaller yokai. Over the years, he had developed a swelling pride in his chest for little Rikuo, who he had practically raised, and the young master never failed to surprise him, so it was not unexpected for him to be thinking through the possible things Rikuo might unveil to the clan. In the middle of the room, in a more prominent position, Nurarihyon sat lethargically and sipped his tea, waiting for his grandson.

When the doors to the dining room slid open, all the noise halted and the yokais' attention was instead centered on Rikuo as he entered the room.

"Morning, everyone!" he greeted cheerfully.

The Nura clan yokai were accustomed to seeing their master enter the room, but it was only when they spotted how Rikuo's other hand was holding the pale, feminine wrist of a girl that their eyes started to widen. It was even more surprising when the young master pulled in a beautiful foreign girl with delicate features along with him upon his entrance.

Rikuo, now aware of how the rest of his clan had fixated their gazes on Anna, went straight to the point, "I have news for you all."

Upon hearing that short phrase and inspecting the pretty girl Rikuo brought along with him, the Nura clan instantaneously misunderstood what Rikuo had meant. You could practically see it in their eyes as the gears clicked in their head. While Nurarihyon listened to Rikuo's words, he was brought back to a memory of Rihan bringing home a beautiful flower ayakashi out of nowhere, not unlike the situation right now, and proclaiming his marriage to her. At this memory, the sound of his teacup dropping to the floor echoed throughout the room and suddenly, everyone was screaming.

"Wakaaaa! I knew you had it in you!" Aotabo exclaimed excitedly from the back of the room.

"She sure is pretty!"

"Alright, you guys! The Nura clan's future is secure!"

"Way to go, Third Head!"

Karasu Tengu was seen starting to tear up with pride, "W-Waka! You finally decided to take my advice."

Anna and Rikuo slowly blinked. What exactly is going on…?

"W-What do you mean?" Rikuo spluttered, but his confused voice was lost in the sea of shouts that erupted from the clan members.

"Nooo, this can't be!" a certain yuki onna cried from somewhere in the room, "Waka is too young!"

"Aw, c'mon Tsurara," Kejoro retorted, "Age is just a number for us yokai!"

The Sanba Garasu landed in front of Anna and Rikuo as Kuromaru bowed respectfully, "We shall make preparations immediately, Waka."

"Wha-" and suddenly, Rikuo realized what his clan members were talking about. Talk of preparations, Karasu Tengu's advice and the Nura clan's future abruptly made sense to him. Of course, you could always count on these guys to misunderstand things for that. An embarrassed blush burst on his tan cheeks and he suddenly found his voice again.

"GUYS!" at the sound of Rikuo's loud shout, the room fell silent again, "I. AM. NOT. GETTING. MARRIED!"

"Ohh," With Rikuo's words, Anna also came to realize why the Nura clan yokai were behaving so strangely, but she had a much calmer reaction in comparison to Rikuo's as she thought to herself, "so that's why they were acting like that… My, what a terribly awkward situation this has become."

Tsurara was the first to break the silence, her voice shaking with anxiety and slight relief, "Y-You're not?"

Rikuo huffed, "No. You guys have gotten it all wrong!"

Composing themselves once again, the Nura clan yokai sat back down, patiently waiting for their Third Head to clear things up – all while taking nervous glances at the unfamiliar girl. Several yokai coughed awkwardly in embarrassment of their very public mix-up.

"This is Anna Tepes," Rikuo gestured to the blonde girl, who gave a small wave, "And I have recruited her as a new member of our clan."

The yokai were quiet as they processed this new information. From the back of the room, one of the smaller yokai spoke up, "Hey, isn't that one of Rikuo-sama's human friends?"

People started to nod at the yokai's words in consideration and frowns were shared across the room.

"Yes, she is one of my classmates," Rikuo cleared up, "But she's a half-human. Anna is a dhampir – a half human and half vampire. I'm sure you all have heard of that Western yokai species, right?"

Nurarihyon perked up at the word of a dhampir and glanced at the young girl. Never in his years would he expect that his grandson would be able to pick up one of those powerful things. Impressive.

With all this talk of her, Anna decided it was time to speak up for herself. Slowly, she stepped forward and allowed her eyes to morph into the usual red color that vampires were known for and a friendly grin emerged on her face – well, as friendly as you could get with sharp fangs flashing through her lips.

Guiding her eyes around the room and memorizing the new faces, she introduced herself, "Hi, everyone. As Rikuo has said, I'm Anna Tepes. It's nice to meet you all and I hope we all can get along."

Some of the yokai nodded reluctantly at her introduction and Rikuo took that as his cue to continue his explanation.

"I asked her to join the clan because we all know how arduous this upcoming battle with Nue is going to be as well as all the other challenges our clan might face in the future," at the mention of this, most of the yokai in the room turned solemn, "Anna's kind is known to be powerful, and we can use all the strength we can get, so why don't you guys say hello to our new member."

Nurarihyon let out a small chuckle and stood up to face the yokai in the room.

"Well, if she's not joining us as Rikuo's wife, she might as well join us as a clan member."

"Jiji!"

The room exploded into laughter.

"Yeah, the Nura clan is definitely a unique bunch…"


A/N: reviews are greatly appreciated! :)