Sorry for the long (very long) wait... I really am sorry for the delay, but I was in a slump, then I got busy with school...
But now I finally was able to finish chapter 4, though it's not as long as I hoped it would be...
Well, enjoy this chapter and it might happen that I'll need some time before I upload new chapters to this story...
Please, bear with me *bows deeply and hits head on the ground*

Now on with the story...

4. New Member of the Investigation Squad

'How did it end like this?', Rikuo asked himself mentaly while watching Kiyotsugu and Seika talk about their newest project.

He thought back to the happenings a few minutes ago.

- Flashback -

Kiyotsugu was talking about some random yokai again and about how their newest project wasn't progressing well. Like always, nobody really listened to him. That's when the door to the room, in which they usually held their meetings, opened. Surprised by their unusual disturbtion, they all turned towards the door to see who the source was.

Rikuo's eyes widened at the sight. In the doorframe stood their senpai, Moji Seika.

She quickly scanned the room and when her eyes fell on Rikuo, she directly walked to his side.

"About the thing you said the other day... that you and your friends research on paranormal activities... I'd like to join that club.", Seika said without hesitation clear in her eyes.

Almost everyone present in the room stared at her in disbelief. Their mouth were hanging wide open and their eyes were in danger of falling out of their sockets. But of course, Kiyotsugu was delightened by her decision to join them, even though he doesn't know why so sudden. But as long as he can awaken her love for yokai further on, he doesn't care. Lucky him.

But Rikuo wasn't that laid back. After all, he knew that she was targetted by some yokai and that her joining the Investigation Squad, the possibility to encounter a yokai during their hunt rises, although it already is high with Rikuo tagging along.

"Of course you can join our club, Moji-senpai. The more people we are, the higher are the chances to meet yokai.", Kiyotsugu exclaimed after he literally jumped to her side.

Seika and the others sweatdropped at his enthusiasm but didn't say anything.

Kiyotsugu then started to tell her about their newest project and Rikuo was left to his thoughts.

- Flashback End -

'If Kiyotsugu-kun knew that his newest project was a success... The yokai-fighting girl really joined our club.' He sighed. 'This is going to be a pain.'

-Nura Mansion, same time-

A certain yokai waited. He waited for a certain boy. Certain boy was supposed to stay at home but left after all. He left to go to school, in order to observe that girl. But he didn't knew that that girl was making the observation easier but their lives much more difficult.

An impatient Itaku was sitting in the sakura tree beside the mansion of the Nura Gumi. Normally, he wouldn't be as impatient as he was now, but with the approaching fight with Nue in less than a year and the newly appeared incident with that girl, he just couldn't get over the feeling of being pissed. And this feeling fueld his state of being impatient.

'How long does Rikuo intend to stay away from his home?', he asked himself almost snapping when he still couldn't see said persons figure.

'When he gets back, he's going to experience how true agony feels like!' Itaku, being impatient and pissed as he was today, couldn't help himself but to take it out on the person/yokai he was supposed to train. But it couldn't hurt, could it?

The sun was already setting and Itaku still waited for a certain boy to return home. He had passed the state of being pissed a long time ago and was now at the stage of being prepared to kill the source of his damn long day, namely Rikuo.

He still sat in the tree and strained his eyes to see the figure of said boy but wasn't able to do so, since, well, it just didn't appear. His eyes began to twitch and he swore to himself that he would drag Rikuo to hell and back just to teach him that letting him wait for too long wasn't a good idea.

After several more minutes that felt like hours to Itaku, finally, he could make out a figure in the streets that had the same features as his company to hell.

He sat up and observed the approaching figure and soon he could identify it as Rikuo. He was just about to jump out of the tree and run towards him before dragging him by his collar into the dojo beneath the Nura Gumi mansion, when he noticed other figures following him.

His eyebrow began to twitch again at what he saw. Following Rikuo, there were his human friends. For what purpose they came, he didn't know, but he knew that with them inside the mansion, he could forget about training.

He jumped out of the tree and landed smoothly on the ground. He was standing in the shadows and watched Rikuo and his friends enter the mansion. He scanned each of them and his eyes widened when he recognized one, not as Rikuo's friend he probably met earlier, but as the person who fought against that weird yokai last night. He saw the girl of whom he thought was as ordinary as the change between day and night. And truthfully, he didn't thought that he would meet her this soon again and certainly not under these circumstances.

He followed her movements with his eyes and when her head turned his way and her gaze met his, he thought that he saw some kind of recognition in them but pushed it into the back of his mind when she just turned her head back forward.

He still watched them when they entered the house and were lead to the usual room where they were staying.

When everything settled down, Itaku approached Rikuo and asked him about what this, the sudden visit of his friends, means.
"Itaku-san, I'm sorry. Kiyotsugu-kun didn't give up on coming here, so I...", Rikuo, still in his day form explained.

"You've got to be kidding me! You know that we don't have time for this.", he told the smaller boy in front of him.

"I know. I'm sorry.", Rikuo apologized.

Still enraged, Itaku tried to calm himself down so that he wouldn't do something stupid, like really drag his 'student' to hell. When his head was able to process things rationally again, he remembered that he had another thing he wanted to know from Rikuo.

"Hey, Rikuo, that girl we met the other day, why is she here?", he asked.

Rikuo who finally turned into his night form, looked him in the eyes and a serious expression was placed on his face.

"Today she came into the club room and asked if she might join. Of course, Kiyotsugu agreed. He thought that the more we are, the higher are the chances to encounter a yokai.", Rikuo told him.

"I see. He couldn't be that wrong about that. At least when we consider how many encounters she already had with yokais.", Itaku stated.

"Yeah. I've got a bad feeling about this.", Rikuo said before turning away ready to walk off. But he was stopped by Itsku's hand on his shoulder. He turned around and faced him again with a questioning look on his face.

"You didn't forget about today's training, did you.", was all Itaku said.

Rikuo, seeing the hidden anger in Itaku's eyes, gulped and smiled nervously.

"Of course not. I was just about to go to the dojo.", he said.

Itaku smirked.

"I see." With these words, the two of them made their way to the torturing training Itaku had in for Rikuo.