Pika318: So I've been researching on Kubinashi in the Nurarihyon no Mago wikia and it turns out that he was actually part of a trio of chivalrous thieves together with two guys, Seisuke and Kichijiro.
After failing to rescue Shiragiku (the oiran) from one of their former targets, they were attacked by youkai released onto them by said former target. Kichijiro died from having his head crushed by an enormous youkai while Seisuke died from being pierced in the chest by a youkai's tail. Given this new info, I can still somehow make this story work while keeping true to the known facts so far (I hope). There's no info on about Kejorou died , or how she got to that place, so I shall decide on my own with that.
Disclaimer: Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.
Chapter 8: Closure (part 2)
"We have bad news. The crows have seen those spider youkai. And this time… they're attacking humans." Karasu Tengu reported, looking grim.
Kubinashi and Kejorou widened their eyes when they heard the news.
"Damn!" Rihan swore, frustration evident on his face. The thing which he did not want to happen the most had just occurred.
If only we acted earlier… but that's currently impossible, not with this pathetic amount of information.
Then he realised it.
If it is information we need, aren't the best sources of information right here?
He turned to Kubinashi and Kejorou.
"I know it'll be painful, but I need both of you to tell me what happened in the past, when both of you were attacked."
Both of them froze at Rihan's proposal, before Kejorou finally spoke.
"I'm not sure… if that would be of any help, Rihan-sama. Not when… both of us eventually died."
Karasu Tengu turned towards Rihan upon hearing his proposal, confusion on his face.
"What are you talking about? Do both of them have something to do with the spider youkai we're dealing with now?" Karasu Tengu asked.
"Quiet, Karasu Tengu, I'm trying to think here." Rihan ordered rather firmly. Karasu Tengu decided against probing the situation any more. Then he continued,
"Even if both of you died in the end, something useful must be hidden somewhere in your experiences. In short, we won't know until we have heard your story."
"But… we're…" Kubinashi started to say before his voice faded away, unable to admit his weakness.
We're not ready yet.
Their hesitation was to be expected, but Rihan was desperate. He needed information, information that could prevent further incidents from happening and right in front of him were the biggest clues to the perpetrator. He couldn't give up now.
"I know telling your story will only bring back painful memories. But the youkai are attacking humans now, innocent lives are already being lost and here we are, unable to do anything because of the lack of information. I don't want to see anyone else die and… I think neither of you want to see that either. So… can you help?"
Rihan knew he was taking a big risk. If he said something wrong now and offended them somehow, he could lose the both of them. However, if he played this right, he would be getting a huge asset.
There was a long pause as Kubinashi and Kejorou considered their options. Karasu Tengu did not fully understand what was going on, but the tension in the air was enough to make him nervous. He did not make a sound, but simply observed the trio.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kejorou finally said, "I'll help."
It was soft and her voice was shaking. But it was an agreement, nevertheless.
Rihan let out a breath that he did not know he had been holding. Then he looked at Kubinashi. The blond youkai locked eyes with Rihan for a moment before he finally said, "I'll talk, I… don't want to see anyone else die because of them."
Rihan nodded, then he said gently, "I don't want to give you the trouble of repeating your experience twice. So… is it okay if you talk during the meeting later instead? I'll give both of you an hour to sort out your feelings."
Kejorou looked nervous, then turned to Kubinashi to hear his decision. Kubinashi saw Kejorou watching him and took a deep breath.
There's no turning back now.
"We'll see you in the main hall in an hour."
"Karasu Tengu, inform everyone that there will be a meeting in an hour."
"Yes, Rihan-sama." Karasu Tengu said before flying off to spread the information.
"Then, I'll leave the both of you alone." Rihan said.
Turning around, Rihan walked away quickly, and when he finally reached his room and closed the door behind him…
"Damn it!" Rihan swore as he punched the nearby wall.
It sucked. He had never wanted to put any of his family members into such a difficult situation. No matter how many times he told himself that it was the only way he could obtain more information to prevent more people from dying and that he had no choice, in the end, he still trampled on other people's feelings to reach his own goals.
It was disgusting.
Yamabuki Otome, who had been in the room, jumped when Rihan suddenly punched the wall and swore. She turned towards him, concerned. A question was at the edge of her lips, but she swallowed it down. After all, it was not a wife's job to pry. Instead, she stood up, walked towards him and pulled him into a hug.
Rihan leaned into her embrace as she stroked his back, as if to tell him that everything would be fine.
"Damn it." He swore again.
Why am I so useless…
5 minutes before the meeting
"You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I was the one who experienced everything after all." Kubinashi offered when he saw that Kejorou was still nervous, even as they made their way to the main hall.
"No, I won't do that. I want to help you, even just a little bit." Kejorou insisted, forcefully pushing away her fears.
Kubinashi smiled, before he patted her on the head for her bravery. It was an old habit from the days when they were both human. It was more awkward, given that Kejorou was taller now, but his feelings behind the action were the same.
"Hey! I'm not a little girl anymore!" Kejorou protested verbally at the gesture, but didn't move away.
Kubinashi chuckled at her conflicting antics, and moved his hand away after patting her. Then he asked, a serious tone in his voice, "Are you ready?"
"Honestly, not really. But I feel that telling our story would be the first step in moving on from our painful history, and that's what I'm determined to do."
They were reaching the building where the main hall was. And already, scenes of the past were flashing through his mind.
As if Kejorou knew what he was thinking, Kejorou said, "It'll be fine, we'll face this together, Kubinashi."
She reached out and held his hand, which he just noticed had been shaking slightly.
"Yeah." He answered, and both of them made their way to the main hall.
Upon opening the door, Kubinashi realised that everyone was already there. All of them had serious looks on their face. It seemed like they have already heard about the newest attacks.
"Kubinashi, Kejorou."
Kubinashi looked into the direction of the voice, towards the end of the room a short distance away, Rihan was already sitting there. Rihan tilted his head towards an area near them and as Kubinashi looked down, he noticed the two empty spaces nearest to Rihan. And closest to the door.
He wanted to give us an escape route if things got too difficult huh?
Smiling to himself, Kubinashi gestured for Kejorou to sit, before taking his own place next to her. As soon as he sat down, Rihan started to speak.
"Now that everyone's here, I will now start the meeting. I'm sure everyone has heard about the newest attacks on the humans."
"How dare they…"
"Infringing on the Nura Gumi territory like this…"
As the youkai voiced their displeasure at the attacks, Rihan spoke again, raising his volume just a little.
"In reaction to this, I have something to say."
All of youkai quieted down at this. And Rihan continued,
"So far, we have not been able to make any move because of the lack of information. But after some…investigation, we have a potential good lead, and we will hear this information from them now."
By this time, most of the youkai looked confused as they have not seen any unfamiliar youkai in the room. However, Aotabou suspected what was going to happen next.
Don't tell me…
Just as Aotabou shot a look at Kubinashi, Rihan said,
"Kubinashi, Kejorou, whenever either of you are ready to talk…"
If anyone had been looking at Rihan now, they would have noticed the slight sadness in his eyes. But currently, all of them were focused on Kubinashi and Kejorou. Sensing the current atmosphere, none of the youkai dared to ask any questions, and waited for either one of them to speak.
Kubinashi observed the scene before him, and opened his mouth to speak, but his voice seemed to have failed him. He knew it was going to be difficult, but he never expected that it would be to this extent.
Kejorou saw that Kubinashi was having trouble and whispered into his ear,
"I can start if you'll like. I was there too."
"No, I can handle this." Kubinashi answered. Determined, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and started to tell their tragic story.
"Hahahaha! I wanted to use this woman here to find out about your whereabouts, but you actually came to meet your death! I actually thought that I would be in a bit of a pinch when the stupid woman killed herself, but it turns out she was useful after all, hahaha!" The noble laughed as he saw the three men in front of him.
"Why you…" 'Kubinashi' said through gritted teeth and he cradled the body of the woman he once loved.
"Why are you so angry? I would say all of you deserved it, inconveniencing us so for your so called 'justice'."
Passing Shiragaku's corpse to Seisuke, who placed her gently against the nearby wall, 'Kubinashi' pulled out his dagger, determined to put an end to the man in front of him. Seisuke and Kichijiro followed suit. They knew with their current skills, there was no way the bodyguards the noble had with him would be a match for them.
"Oh, don't be so hasty. I did expect all of you to come to some extent. So I prepared a treat for all of you."
Just as he said that, the three men felt the ground shaking and they could all feel an eerie atmosphere.
"Come out."
As soon as the noble said that, a hand burst through the ground.
The rest of the nearby floor broke away, forcing both Kichijiro, Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' to jump back to avoid falling to their deaths. As they stared in shock, an enormous Oni appeared from the floor.
"Youkai?" Seisuke almost whispered, not believing the sight before him.
"Now how much would all of you entertain me?" The Oni asked with a roar as it rose up from the floor, towering over the three men. It swung its arm towards them and the three of them jumped back to avoid being crushed.
Thus began the game of cat and mouse.
For the next few minutes, they couldn't do anything except to avoid the Oni's swings. Each consecutive strike came so quickly that it took all their concentration just to avoid the attack. They couldn't think about attacking at all.
That was when 'Kubinashi' realised it.
The Oni had never been aiming directly at them, just in their general direction, close enough for them to want to jump back, yet far enough such that they were never really in mortal danger.
It was toying with them.
But even if he realised that, what other choice did he have? What other choice did Seisuke and Kichijiro have? If they stayed still, they'll definitely die.
It wasn't long before the three of them, standing close to one another, faced the Oni, breathing heavily. All of them were almost reaching their physical limit.
"Let's see if you can avoid this!" The Oni shouted as he swung at them again. Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' jumped aside. Kichijiro ,however, faltered due to exhaustion. He stumbled a few steps and tried to steady himself but the large fist swiftly flew towards him.
"Kichijiro!" Seisuke shouted in alarm, but it was too late. The fist came into contact with the poor man and sent him towards the wall. The other two heard a bone crushing crunch and pieces of blood covered flesh and bone splattered across the wooden surfaces. What remained, a headless body, slowly slid down the wall to the floor, twitching. Mere seconds later, the body was still.
"Opps… I accidentally killed one." The Oni taunted.
"That was wonderful!" the noble cheered. "No better way to get rid of a bug. Now the rest of you, if you will."
'Kubinshi' felt bile rising up his throat at the sight.
"You bastard!" He shouted. Both he and Seisuke were about the rush at the gleeful noble when both of them heard another voice behind them.
"Seriously, you're always so rough, can't you be more precise, like me?"
Both of them turned around and jumped back as what appears to be a scorpian's tail nearly struck both of them.
"You say that, but you still missed, bwa hahaha." The Oni laughed.
"Oh shut up, I won't miss next time." The scorpion youkai replied and charged towards the both of them.
Both Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' jumped to the side, to different sides of the room. As 'Kubinashi' landed, he saw that he had been totally ignored. The scorpion youkai had gone after Seisuke instead.
"Damn!" 'Kubinsahi' shouted and was about to go help Seisuke when he felt another aura behind him.
It was only by pure miracle did he manage to dodge the attack. As he rolled across the floor, he saw his attacker. It was a human spider fusion. It was currently watching him.
"You're the first human in a while to dodge my initial attack. Interesting. The both of you, that guy is mine, you can have your fun with the rest of them."
"Anything you want then, if you focus on one prey, you're just missing out on the fun." The Oni said before it turned on the noble and his bodyguards.
"Wait… wait. Didn't we have a deal?" The noble sputtered out, shocked at the change of events.
"Well, yes. You promised us prey. Right now, you are prey." The Oni smirked before it rushed towards them.
"Noooooo!"
Amongst the shouts, 'Kubinashi' ran, trying to increase the distance between him and the spider youkai. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Seisuke doing the same. But his friend was slowing down, the prolonged chase was too much.
"Oh you won't get away." The spider youkai taunted.
Then suddenly, web had coiled itself around his ankle. He fell over, rolling across the floor from the momentum. As he stopped, he heard screaming.
It was Seisuke.
Jerking upwards, he looked up just to see the scorpion youkai standing over his friend.
"So how does my poison feel, painful right? But don't worry, I'll end it for you now." And there will a gurgled scream as the scorpion youkai pierced through Seisuke's heart. Then he lay still, never to wake again.
'Kubinashi' froze as he saw Seisuke die. Kichijiro, Seisuke and him, the three of them. They had only wanted to help the common people. That was all.
Kichijiro… Seisuke…
"How does it feel, seeing your friends die in front of you? Painful right?"
'Kubinashi' jerked back into attention upon hearing the spider youkai's voice.
"I would end your life here, but it'll be no fun."
Then suddenly, the spider youkai turned away from him, like she had just noticed something.
"Now what are the rest of you doing?"
A short distance away, the nobles and what's left of his bodyguards had already broken a window and were attempting to jump out from it.
"Oh no, you don't." The spider youkai said and shot her web towards the window, sealing it shut. The noble scrambled towards the now sealed window, clawing at the webs, but it was no use. They were shut in once again.
"Now both of you owe me a favour." The spider youkai said sweetly as the Oni and scorpion youkai advanced onto the noble and his bodyguards.
Then there was more screaming.
The spider youkai turned back to 'Kubinashi'.
"Now where were we before we were interrupted? Oh yes." And without warning, she raised one of her many spider legs and stabbed it into 'Kubinashi's' left leg.
"Arghh!" 'Kubinashi' screamed and grabbed his wounded leg.
"I thought a bit of pain would bring you back to reality. Now… be a good sport and scream a bit for me, would you?"
With the pain in his leg, 'Kubinashi' barely processed what the spider youkai said to him. Rather than fear, currently, he felt himself overcome with rage.
Kichijiro and Seisuke had never done anything in their life to justify their gruesome deaths. Glaring upwards at the spider youkai, he said, eyes filled with rage.
"Like hell… I would listen to you."
Tightening the grip on his dagger, he lifted up his arm and slashed upwards at the only place he could reach, the spider youkai's abdomen.
The spider youkai noticed the attack in time and jumped backwards. 'Kubinashi' winced as he felt a flaring pain from his leg.
"Now that was a bit dangerous." The spider youkai said as she examined the shallow wound on her abdomen. It wasn't enough to kill her of course, but now she felt this overwhelming urge to end this stubborn human's life. No human had been able to injure her that way before.
'Kubinashi' stood up shakily, resting his weight on his uninjured right leg. Then before his eyes, the spider youkai disappeared. He couldn't even react when the spider youkai appeared behind him and swung at him, hitting him in the ribs, sending him flying into the nearby pillar.
"Ugh!" 'Kubinashi' groaned as he hit the solid structure. A sharp pain in his side told him that he had broken something. His left leg gave way, causing him to slump onto the ground.
"I would want to play with you a little longer, but seeing how dangerous you can be, I think I'll just kill you now." The spider youkai said casually, as if human lives meant nothing to her.
"But first…" She raised another leg and stabbed it into his right wrist, pinning him onto he ground and causing him to drop his dagger. It clattered onto the ground, useless.
"Now die." She raised her hand, sharpening her human hands into claws, ready to pierce through his heart.
"Thief-san!"
A small figure ran out from behind the pillar, putting itself between the spider youkai's hand and himself.
'Kubinashi's' eyes widened in shock when he saw who it was.
"Kino…"
Then he was covered with her blood as the spider youkai's hand penetrated her small body. As the spider youkai withdrew her hand, the girl dropped across his lap.
"Kino!" 'Kubinashi' shouted, but she had stopped breathing, having been pierced through the chest.
"Oh, now that was unexpected, where did that little girl come from?" The spider youkai said in mild surprise. Then she raised her hand again.
"Ah well, it doesn't matter. She was simply delaying the inevitable. It's not like you can do anything to save yourself… Now die."
What happened next occurred in a manner of seconds, as the spider youkai moved to stab 'Kubinashi' through the heart, his left hand moved on instinct, grabbing the dagger on the other side of his body. Then he swung it upwards.
Then there was an inhuman screech as the spider youkai jumped back, one leg missing. Blood spurted out from the wound, but now, the spider youkai was too filled with rage to care about that. A youkai like her won't die from such a wound. She simply wanted to kill the human who dared to injure her so.
"Why you… human!" she screeched as she instantly wrapped both her hands around 'Kubinashi's' neck. With his strength thoroughly spent from the last attack, he couldn't avoid it at all.
Then everything went black.
The main hall was filled with silence once Kubinashi finished his story, like they were trying to digest what they had just heard. After a long while, Kubinashi spoke up again.
"I guess… it wasn't much help after all, was it?" He asked, a sad smile on his face.
"No, that's not it. We just need time to digest it all. Thank you for telling us, Kubinashi." Rihan said as he gave his attendant a reassuring smile.
Then one of the youkai spoke up.
"Kejorou was watching the whole thing till you died right? Did you notice anything that Kubinashi might have missed?"
Kejorou flinched as she was suddenly addressed and Kubinashi all but glared at the particular youkai who asked the question in such an insensitive manner. Kejorou placed a hand on his arm, indicating that she was okay and would answer the question.
"I'm not sure if this would help, but what I noticed about that spider youkai was that… she likes to torture her victims. And is very focused about it."
"But that's only for that one spider youkai, right? I thought we were dealing with a group." Another youkai said, and suddenly the room was filled with the sounds of youkai voicing their opinions and theories.
"In the end, it's not very helpful after all."
"And I thought we had a lead too."
"Well, we can assume that all spider youkai act that way?"
"That's too careless, idiot."
Then a voice was heard above the noise.
"You know, if we can't find the whereabouts of the spider youkai group, we can always draw them out."
The one who spoke was Hitotsume.
"Draw them out?" Rihan heard himself asking.
"Yeah, it's simple really. Even you could have thought of it. It won't be strange if that spider youkai still remembers Kubinashi here, considering how she lost her leg due to him."
Draw them out…remembering Kubinashi…
In his head, Rihan was beginning to put two and two together, yet he couldn't accept the idea.
"What are you saying, Hitotsume?" Rihan asked.
"Simple, if that spider youkai still bears hatred for Kubinashi, she'll surely come running, with her group even, if she heard that he was still alive."
"You want to use him as bait." Kejorou concluded, her hands shaking with anger.
"That's right."
"You can't do something…!" Kejorou started to shout, but was interrupted by Hitotsume's next question.
"Then what do you suggest we do then? There're attacking humans already, we have no time to do a slow investigation."
Kejorou quietened down, unable to answer the question.
"I think that's the best way, isn't that right, Rihan?" Hitotsume addressed Rihan directly now. The other youkai watched in silence, tense, as they waited to hear their leader's opinion.
Damn that HItotsume.
Rihan knew that Hitotsume was a youkai who had helped his dad a lot during the old days, but when he's being such a jerk like this, Rihan really wanted to punch him.
But he had to admit, Hitotsume was right.
It was a simple plan, use Kubinashi as bait, lure the youkai out and proceed to get rid of the invaders. It couldn't get any more straightforward. Except that it involved intentionally risking the life of one of his precious family.
But he couldn't think of any other alternatives that wouldn't involve the sacrificing of more innocent lives.
Finally he spoke up.
"I'll… think about it. Everyone's dismissed."
All the youkai stared at their leader who ended the meeting so abruptly. Hitotsume spoke again.
"You know we can't afford to delay this anymore." He reminded. Rihan swore he could hear the sneer in his voice.
"Everyone's dismissed." Rihan repeated, with a more forceful tone this time.
No one dared to protest. Then under his glare, the youkai started to leave the room in small groups, until finally, there was no one else in the room except for Rihan, Aotabou, Kubinashi and Kejorou. Rihan had asked them to stay.
It was Aotabou spoke up first.
"Damn that Hitotsume, proposing such a screwed up plan like that."
Kejorou nodded, angry.
Then Kubinashi turned to Rihan, asking, a serious look on his face, "What do you want to do?"
There was a pause, then Rihan answered, "Honestly, I don't know. There has to be another way, yet I can't think of any other plan that won't risk any more innocent lives."
Kubinashi sighed. It was just like Rihan to try to protect everyone. He didn't want to risk losing anyone, whether it's his family or innocent people.
Such naivety. But then… I guess that's what I like about you.
"You know, I wouldn't mind at all." As the rest stared at him in shock, he continued, "Being bait, that is."
"Do you understand what you're saying?" Kejorou shouted in horror.
"Yes, I do." Kubinashi said, his face determined. Kejorou quietened down, knowing that nothing would change his mind now. Then Kubinashi said to Rihan.
"I know it's dangerous and you don't want to risk it. But I'm not the weak human I was before, and like you said, we're not alone."
Rihan looked at Kubinashi's determined expression, and his eyes which told Rihan that Kubinashi trusted him.
Then he sighed in defeat.
"Are you really sure about this?"
"Yes."
There was a pause, then Rihan said, "Fine, we'll go through with that plan."
"Hey did you hear? 'The String Assassin' is back again."
"Huh? You still remember him? He's disappeared for ages."
"Yeah, but recently, there's been sightings of evil doing youkai winding up dead, wrapped up with strings."
"Oh, scary, I better lay low for a while then."
"You know, I've heard he died because he was toyed around and killed by youkai, and now he's killing youkai to take revenge."
"Oh really? From what I heard, he was able to cut off the leg of the youkai who attacked him, even when he was human."
"Hmm, where did you hear that?"
"From the Bakenekoya."
"Oh…"
"I heard it was a spider youkai too. From the Bakenekoya."
"I see…"
The shadow in the alley narrowed her eyes when she heard the gossiping youkai. It was the third time in the last few days which she had heard such a rumour.
A spider youkai who's missing a leg…
Fading back into the shadows, she returned to the base to report back to their leader.
"Leader, I have returned." The spider youkai reported as she entered their base.
It was an abandoned building, where no humans would enter anymore since it was almost entirely covered in web.
"Oh, it's you, Shiki. Why have you returned without any prey?" The leader asked, irritation in her voice.
"My apologies, leader. It's just that I have been hearing a very… disturbing rumour." The spider youkai named Shiki answered.
"Hmm… what's so disturbing about this rumour such that it scared even you?" The leader asked, curious now.
"I have been hearing frequent rumours about this certain 'String Assassin'. They say that he has been killed by youkai and has now turned into a youkai who kills other youkai."
"And what does that have to do with us? One youkai can't possibly harm our group."
"No, the thing is, I have also heard that… when that youkai was human… he was able to injure the youkai who attacked him. And that…" Shiki paused now, unsure of how to break the news.
"And what, Shiki? It's not like you to hesitate so."
"It's just that… that human at the time was able to… cut off the leg of the youkai who attacked him, and they said it was a spider…" Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a chill go down her spine. Looking up warily, she saw her leader's face contorted with rage, her youki being released without restraint.
"So he's still alive after all…" the leader said through gritted teeth. Then to Shiki's surprise, their leader laughed, it started softly and raised in volume and pitch such that it became a screech, leaving Shiki with no choice but to cover her ears.
"Interesting. I've killed him once, and he refuses to die. Then I'll simply do it again, as payback for what he did to me." The leader said dangerously. Then she turned to Shiki.
"Tell the rest to hunt for this 'String Assassin'. When you find him, don't kill him, but bring him to me. I will finish him off myself."
Pika318: I was planning a two part series, but this chapter was getting so long, it's now a three part series -.- Kubinashi decided to become bait, and the rumours started by Bakenekoya have reached the ears of the gang of spider youkai. What will happen next? Look forward to part 3!
