Disclaimer: I don't own Nura. I never will. My only solace is my fanfiction- it makes me feel like I do own it. There, I've let out my innermost feelings. Let's begin! PS I know I haven't written for a while but I'm BAAAACK!
Chihiro blinked at the harsh sunlight glinting off the glass pot. Even though she'd been accepted by the Clan, she was still on kitchen duty. She had teamed up with Tsurara, with Chihiro handling any jobs that involved heat. Tsurara, in turn, helped her with her more mundane duties, like peeling potatoes. Lady Wakana would duck in every so often, shouting encouragements to everyone and brightening the mood. Chihiro could see how Rikuo was related to her. They both had the same incredible charisma, the same ability to change the atmospere with a single word. She liked Lady Wakana. She managed to make kitchen chores a little more enjoyable.
"Hey, Chihiro…" Oikawa questioned hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"There's something that I've been wondering about. Master has a technique called "Matoi", which means that he can harness the powers of his subordinates and combine them with his own powers. Apparently, it only works because he's part human, so…"
"You're wondering if I could do it?"
Oikawa smiled apologetically. Chihiro rubbed her chin, thinking dramatically. Would it be possible?
Suddenly, the little crow poked his head in the doorway.
"That is incorrect, Yuki-Onna. Master is able to use Matoi because he is part human, yes, but also because he is the leader of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. A normal half-yokai," he looked pointedly at Chihiro, who twitched irritably, "would be unable to perform Matoi. She may have other powers unique to her status, however." He nodded, then left. Chihiro rolled her eyes.
"Is he always like that?"
"Usually."
They laughed together, much to Kejoro's annoyance.
"GET BACK TO WORK ALREADY!" The two girls were smacked with Kejoro's hair, along with a panicked Karasu-Tengu.
"Kejoro! Stop-It-Right-NOW-Grfllrf!" The old crow had been flung into a pot of water, and the lid had fallen back on. Seizing their chance, the girls darted out the window, muffling their giggles in their hands.
"Having fun, girls?" They froze. In front of them stood Nurarihyon, smirking at them with a pipe stuck between his lips. He smiled wider, showing his teeth, and casually turned his back and walked away.
"Thank you, Mr. Old Man!" Chihiro called out. The ancient yokai cackled, and waved without looking.
"We're free!" Chihiro was so glad to be out of the stuffy kitchen that she didn't notice a pale hand reach down from the cherry blossom tree until it had a hold of her yukata.
"Yeek! What-"
"I did say I'd be training you. Time to start."
Chihiro panted, trying to catch her breath in the few seconds she had before the next round.
"You don't appear to have mastered control of those… What did you call them?" Nura paused, giving her time to gather enough air to answer.
"Puffs," she spat, feeling pissed that he was so calm and cool while she was sweating like Yuki-Onna in a bathhouse. The training was going slowly, but she had made a little progress.
Round one had consisted of seeing how many Puffs she could summon. Her limit, which she had tested before, had gone up to twelve. These Puffs were very small compared to her preferred size, but it was progress. The Puffs were adorably small, about the size of a tennis ball. Each one purred like a cat, and had shiny golden eyes. She was proud of her ability, until they moved on to round two.
Round two took the problem of the previous stage and made it a challenge. This time, instead of volume, she was stretching the limits of the Puffs' size. This, combined with the strain of the previous activity, meant that she could make only two puffs grow noticeably bigger. Finally, realizing her mistake, she fused all the Puffs together to make one enormous ball, as tall as the Nura Clan house. After the effort of fusing and maintaining the Puffs, Chihiro felt very close to passing out, but was determined to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Round three was the greatest challenge yet. Chihiro was told to fight an opponent using only her Puffs, not her claws or any other physical ability. She had scoffed, making an example of how easily she had penetrated the Nura Clan's defenses. That's when Rikuo scared her.
Smiling at her, he stepped forward and drew his sword.
Holy crap he's not really going to-
THWAK!
"Kyaaaaa!"
Splash!
Pulling herself out of the pond with a helpful shove from Kappa, Chihiro bared her fangs at Rikuo and tensed, preparing to spring.
Nura wagged his finger as if talking to a child. "Uhn uh, Chihiro. No powers. Stick to the Puffs." She saw red, but released her puffs. They looked like little black cotton bolls, floating peacefully about. But when Chihiro flicked her finger down towards Rikuo, they moved with the speen of a striking cobra.
She was sure that Nura would be outmatched by the ten puffs that swarmed him, but without doing anything, without even moving, the puffs were suddenly behind him, still flying towards where they thought the adversary was. With a surprised squeak, they whirled around, charging again. Once more, they went through without leaving a mark.
"Chihiro," Nura said peaceably, as if they were just sitting down for tea, "do you know what happens when your Puffs are destroyed?"
"N-no?"
Nura smiled and closed his eyes. "We'll have to try and see, won't we?" With one flick of his hand, his sword was drawn, and there was one less Puffon the field.
Chihiro gasped. The sensation she felt was strange and unpleasant. It wasn't necessarily painful, but it was similar to getting the wind knocked out of you. It was just too much, and she fell to one knee. The Puffs shuddered, feeling their master fall.
"Puffs, return," she commanded, but there was very little power behind her words. The Puffs, sensing this, went crazy, shuddering and flying off in different directions. She couldn't let them cause any destruction, not because of her weakness. Steadying herself, she tried again to call the Puffs.
"Puffs! Return to your master!" Finally they obeyed, integrating back into her arms. She gasped, feeling disoriented and weak.
"You don't appear to have mastered control of those… What did you call them?" Nura's voice was watery, but she retorted anyways.
"Puffs," she sneered, knowing that he remembered the names just fine. The yard was still for that moment, everyone waiting to see what would happen next.
Everyone saw what happened, except for Chihiro. Because as quickly at it had frozen, the yard whirled around, a haze of blurry colours and sounds. Then, black, silence, emptiness. No more pain or soreness. Just the nice blackness. It was cool, dark, so comfortable…
"Yuki-Onna! Get Zen!" Rikuo gritted his teeth, berating himself for pushing her so far. This was not just a fainting spell. This was far worse, something that Rikuo had experienced once before, after a fight with the Old Man. He had recovered, but only after a great number of days. His fatigue had also not been as great as hers.
Maybe he had overestimated her yokai power. Perhaps tiger yokai didn't heal as quickly as other yokai. There were so many horrible possibilities, and it was his fault.
Just like Yura.