Happy Holidays everyone! I've been working on and off this chapter for awhile now, and while I'm not done with it yet, please enjoy this first of this short side story which is basically "How Wakana and Rihan met" and what their dynamic was like back in the Edo period in this AU!

Enjoy!

"Youkai-san~~~! You~~~~kai-san!"

"Hm?" Rihan turned his head towards the feminine voice.

"Isn't that...the girl we saved a few weeks ago, Rihan-sama?" Kubinashi asked, squinting his eyes at the vaguely familiar girl calling out to youkai in the crowd. Aotabou scratched the back of his head roughly.

"What's she doing calling out for youkai, though?" Aotabou winced as the woman called out again, loudly. "She's pretty loud for a human girl, gotta admit that."

"Hey!" An angry voice yelled. The girl squeaked and jumped as an angry storekeeper grabbed her arm roughly. The package in her arm jostled from the rough grab. "What do you think you're doing, calling out for damn youkai? Do you want to get us all haunted?" The woman seemed surprised for a second, as if it hadn't even crossed her mind that youkai were supposed to be evil. She smiled.

"Oh, no, mister! I'm not looking for evil youkai, I'm looking for some good youkai-san!" She laughed, completely unconcerned about the shopkeeper's rage. "I'm looking for the good youkai-san that saves people!" The shopkeeper stared at her, dumbfounded. Rihan raised an eyebrow while his two bodyguards exchanged glances.

"Hah? Did you hit your head or something? Youkai are bad business, and I won't have you yelling after youkai in front of my shop!" The shopkeeper stomped his foot, making his point clear. He jabbed a finger into the woman's face. "If you wanna yell about youkai, do it out of town, or better yet, do it somewhere that's not in front of my shop!"

"Okay!" The woman agreed immediately and cheerfully. The shopkeeper looked like he wanted to say something more, but looking at the woman's obliviousness and cheer, he didn't know what else to say. In the end, he spluttered angrily, face completely red, and stomped back into his store. The woman didn't even seem to find anything out of the ordinary, walking away with a light spring in her steps as she hummed cheerfully.

Rihan and his bodyguards watched as the woman walked past several stores down the road, and watched as she immediately started calling out for "youkai-san" once again. The woman attracted many strange stares, but she seemed to be living in her own little bubble, completely unaware and uncaring of other people's whispers and finger-pointing.

"Wow, what an….impossible woman." Kubinashi struggled to come up with the right term for such a...unique woman. Aotabou nodded his head in agreement.

"She's interesting, don't you think?" Rihan interjected. The two bodyguards whipped their heads towards their Second Head. They saw that mischievous look on Rihan's face, and internally braced themselves.

"Rihan, what are you-" Kubinashi reached out just as Rihan disappeared from sight. "Rihan!" He yelled in frustration as Aotabou's hands also grasped air.

"Kya!" Kubinashi and Aotabou turned towards the feminine shriek, which was quickly replaced with a happy exclamation of "Oh, it's you, youkai-san!" They took off towards the sound without a second thought.

"Yo." Rihan greeted the woman, releasing his Fear. He turned his head at the sound of Kubinashi and Aotabou catching up.

"Oh, it's burly youkai-san and neckless-string youkai-san!" Kubinashi and Aotabou glanced at each other. Burly youkai-san and neckless-string youkai-san…? Rihan looked like he was trying not to laugh at their new nicknames. "It's nice to see you again!" The woman greeted cheerfully. Kubinashi gave a short bow.

"I-It's nice to see you too..?" He said hesitantly, off put by the woman's cheer and enthusiasm. Aotabou seemed similarly bewildered.

"So, what were you doing calling out for youkai?" Rihan asked casually. "Don't you know youkai are evil and scary?" The woman blinked at him. She tilted her head in questioning.

"But you guys are good youkai, aren't you?" She asked. "You guys saved me." The three youkai looked at each other. Well...her logic wasn't wrong per se, but youkai were fundamentally scary and evil. That was the source of their Fear.

"Even so, not all youkai are as nice as us." Kubinashi tried to explain. "You should be careful; if you start calling out for youkai like that you might get cursed by an evil spirit again."

"But if there's bad youkai there must be good youkai like you guys too, right?" She asked innocently. Kubinashi didn't know how to answer her, his warnings completely flying over the woman's head. "And I thought youkai only moved at night?"

"Then why were you shouting for us in the middle of town just now? It's barely noon." Rihan pointed out. The woman stopped, and tilted her gaze upwards, thinking.

"...I didn't think that much about it." Rihan laughed loudly at her answer as Kubinashi and Aotabou exchanged awkward glances with each other. What an airhead! The two of them thought. Rihan chuckled.

"So what did you want to find us for?" He asked again. The woman made a small "oh" sound as she remembered what she called out to them for. She brought the package she was holding in front of her.

"I wanted to say thank you for the other night." She smiled. "Here! I made you a bento box to say thanks! It might be a little messed up from all the shaking around though…" Rihan stared at the cloth-wrapped bento box. It seemed harmless enough. Rihan shrugged as he took the bento box from the woman.

"Thanks. You didn't really have t-"

"Ah, wait! I don't have enough for burly youkai-san and neckless-string youkai-san!" The woman suddenly exclaimed. She grabbed Rihan's hand, surprising all three youkai with her boldness. "Why don't you guys come over to my house? I live nearby!" She beamed at Rihan.

"Um, that won't be necessary-"

"Oh, come on, Kubinashi. You're so uptight." Rihan interrupted, already letting himself be tugged by the woman. "And besides, it's free food." He snickered as he dangled his free bento box in front of his subordinates.

"Hell yeah, I love free food!" Aotabou followed without a second thought.

"Wait, Ao! Argh, why am I the only one with decent manners around here?!" Kubinashi yelled as he followed after the three. The woman laughed as she led the three youkai to her house.

She did not live nearby.

After half an hour of walking, the four of them found themselves on the outskirts of Edo, next to a river. There were few shops here and even fewer houses around.

"Um, if it's too much trouble you don't really-" Kubinashi tried to talk the woman out of it again. She turned around and waved a finger at him.

"Nonsense! And look, you can see my house right there!" She pointed at a small, wooden house that Kubinashi had honestly mistaken as a storage house at first.

"O-Oh…" He trailed off as the woman skipped happily towards her humble abode. Rihan followed along at his own leisurely pace, and Aotabou and Kubinashi had no choice but to follow.

At a closer look, the house was slightly bigger than Kubinashi had first imagined. There was a small garden out in front, with what looked to be like daikon and other vegetables growing in it. The front yard was protected with a short bamboo gate which the woman happily swung open to let in her guests. The gate creaked from old age.

The house itself was nothing impressive either; it had a certain musty smell that came with old houses, and while there were no visible holes anywhere, the tatami was worn and the floorboards creaked from their combined weight. (Mostly from Aotabou's weight, but at least the floorboards held. Kubinashi wouldn't know what to do if Aotabou actually fell through the floor. Die of mortification probably while Rihan flees the scene to avoid having to pay.)

"Sit, sit!" The woman encouraged, bringing out a low dining table. She waved for the three to sit down. Rihan sat down quite readily while the other two hesitated at first before sitting down.

"Do you mind if I smoke in here?" Rihan called towards the direction of the small kitchen.

"Not at all!" Was the muffled reply. Rihan shrugged and lit his pipe. Kubinashi promptly smacked it out of his hands.

"What are you doing, this is someone else's house! Where are your manners?" He hissed. Rihan tsk'd.

"Geez, you're like my mom, Kubinashi. She said it was fine, didn't she?"

"Just because someone says it's fine doesn't mean you should inconvenience them! The whole house is gonna smell like smoke."

"Ehhh~~~you make it sound like you're not used to our house smelling like smoke."

"That's different!" Kubinashi huffed and sat back on his heels right as the woman came out with a tray of tea.

"Ara? I thought you were going to smoke, youkai-san?" She asked as she passed out three teacups and set the teapot in the middle of the table. Rihan hmmed.

"I was." He motioned towards Kubinashi. "He doesn't want me to inconvenience you with the smell of smoke, though." The woman laughed lightly.

"It's fine, really! Make yourselves at home, I'll be done with lunch soon." The woman smiled at the three of them and retreated back into the kitchen. The woman wasn't particularly beautiful, Kubinashi thought, but her smiles were genuine and gave a comforting, inviting feeling. If she were less...impossible, Kubinashi could see her marrying into a better life.

Rihan was inspecting the house, turning his head to look at his surroundings. He remembered this house from a couple weeks ago, when he and a couple other Nura members came to exterminate a spirit that was haunting this particular house. He hadn't had the time to really take in what the house looked like at the time, too occupied with youkai extermination. He knew the spirit had been haunting the single resident of the house, although he didn't particularly know why. He hadn't exactly given the spirit time to answer either, so Rihan just pushed it to the back of his mind. The threat was over now, anyway.

It was obvious the woman had tried her best to maintain the house. Rihan could see places where the parts of the wall and flooring were replaced with slightly newer planks of wood, although the quality of the newer planks were no better than the old ones. The shoji doors to what Rihan presumed was a closet was worn and yellow, some places with patches of fabric on it. Doodles surrounded the patches of fabric, giving the doors a more homely feel rather than a dilapidated feel. Rihan could see the edges of the tatami fraying from their age. He looked out the window to the garden. Several weeds grew here and there, and some of the vegetables looked a little too yellow. So the woman probably also had a job in the city, then, if she was too busy to properly maintain the garden.

A large crash came from the kitchen, startling all three youkai.

"Are you alright?" Rihan asked as he and Kubinashi opened the door to the kitchen. Aotabou stayed at the table, as the door to the kitchen was too small for him to pass through.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine! Just dropped some plates is all." The woman scrambled to pick up the wooden plates she dropped earlier. "Can one of you help me get that pot off the stove?"

"This one?" Kubinashi pointed at a nearby boiling pot. He lifted it off the stove when the woman nodded.

"I'll go wash these real quick and then I'll serve lunch soon. I hope you guys like it!" She gave a short, cheerful wave, and ran out the back door to wash her plates before Rihan could say anything else. He and Kubinashi watched as she stumbled over a rock on her way to get water, nearly dropping the plates a second time.

"I think she needs help." Kubinashi stated flatly. Rihan turned around to his subordinate giving him a flat and expectant stare. Rihan sighed and stepped out the backdoor.

"Yo, you look like you need some help." The woman made a small "eep!" sound before turning around to face Rihan.

"Ah, but you're guests! I can't possibly have you guys do the dishes when you're a guest at my house." Rihan picked up a plate despite the woman's protests.

"Well, things are faster this way, no? And we wouldn't want you to drop these again on your way back now, do we?" He teased, rinsing the plate with the nearby water from a bucket. The woman laughed.

"Ok, true." She admitted. "I don't know why, but plates just don't like me. I don't drop any other type of utensil, but plates always like to slip out of my grasp." She said as the plate she was washing immediately slipped out of her hands. Rihan burst out laughing as the woman picked up the plate sheepishly.

"How about I carry these back in?" Rihan snickered as the woman handed him the plate she just cleaned. The woman nodded sheepishly, quickly rinsing off the rest of the plates. The two walked back into the kitchen, Rihan holding all the plates.

"Please wait at the table, youkai-san. I'll prepare the dishes and then you guys can eat!" The woman reached for the pot Kubinashi had previously taken off of the stove.

"Nura Rihan."

"Hm?" The woman turned to face the Second Commander of the Nura Gumi. Rihan winked.

"Nura Rihan." He repeated. "That's my name. It'd be confusing if you called every youkai you met 'youkai-san' wouldn't it?" He smirked. The woman didn't even seem flustered at not asking for Rihan's name earlier, simply beaming at him.

"Ok, Rihan-san it is then! I'm Wakana, Ogawa Wakana!" Wakana shooed Rihan away with her hands. "Now please sit, Rihan-san! I'll be out with food in just a minute!" She shut the door in front of Rihan's face before he could protest. Rihan shrugged and sat down next to Kubinashi and Aotabou.

Wakana came out minutes later, a large tray full of food in her hands. She set down the dishes on the table: several plates of various pickled vegetables, two plates of small, grilled fish, and three bowls of soup. Wakana gave two bowls of rice to Kubinashi and Aotabou, as Rihan already had his bento box from before.

"Enjoy!" Wakana smiled. "Sorry it's not much; I wasn't expecting visitors recently."

"Nonsense, this is more than enough Miss…?" Kubinashi replied.

"Wakana. Ogawa Wakana."

"Ogawa-san." Kubinashi bowed his head. "I am Kubinashi, and that 'burly youkai-san' with no table manners over there is Aotabou."

"Hey!"

"Nice to meet you!" Wakana beamed. "Thank you for saving me the other day, by the way. I'm really, really grateful to you guys for it." She said as she bowed her head.

"No need for that, Wakana-chan. We're just doing our jobs." Rihan said through a mouthful of rice. "This is really good though. Setsura could learn a few from you."

"I agree with you, Rihan-sama. This is really good." Kubinashi said. Aotabou was busy filling his mouth with food.

"Really? I'm glad you guys like it!" Wakana smiled warmly at the three.

They learned a couple things about Wakana during their meal. One, she lived alone in the house after her parents died from the evil spirit. Two, she worked odd jobs around the city whenever there was an opportunity, but recently she had found a part-time job at a local tea house, where the patrons regularly praised Wakana's cooking as well. And three, Wakana was fond of sweets and making sweets.

"It's a shame I don't have supplies with me now...the owner of the tea shop sometimes gives me some of the extra materials and leftover food at the end of the day but I'm all out currently."

"It's fine, Ogawa-san. Thank you for the meal." Kubinashi set down his bowl, along with Aotabou. Rihan, who finished earlier, was leisurely drinking tea. Rihan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you not going to eat, Wakana-chan?" He had noticed that Wakana herself had no food in front of her throughout the entire meal. Wakana shook her head.

"I ate in the city before I met up with you guys, but thank you for your concern!" Rihan hmmed at her answer. It was most likely a lie; from the state of Wakana's house and her patched clothes, it was likely that Wakana didn't have much money to spare in the first place. But Wakana seemed adamant on playing the role of a good host, and Rihan didn't want to burst her bubble, so he said nothing. He stood up.

"Well, it's about time we left. Right, guys?" Kubinashi and Aotabou also stood up.

"Yeah, thank you for the meal, Ogawa-san!" Aotabou thanked Wakana, who smiled back at the three of them.

"Thank you for the meal, Ogawa-san." Kubinashi said again, ever-so polite.

"No problem! I'm sure you big guys must have very important jobs, right? Jobs like saving humans?" Wakana teased as she walked them to the door. "Well, I won't be taking up your time any longer. Oh, but if you guys ever need a meal feel free to stop by again!" She waved at the three retreating youkai. "Bye~~! Have a safe trip~~~!" The three of them waved back at her as they headed back towards the city. Wakana shut the gate behind her, humming as she went back into her house.

"Ogawa-san is awfully kind, wasn't she?" Kubinashi smiled as the three of them reached the main streets of Edo once again.

"Yeah, I've never been treated to a home-cooked meal by a stranger before, let alone a woman!" Aotabou agreed. Rihan snorted.

"That's because you suck at getting girls."

"H-Hey, not everyone is as popular as you, Second…"

"Hmm. Maybe if you learned some manners instead of yelling like a brute all day you'd have better luck."

"Not you too, Kubinashi!" Aotabou protested. "And what's with you picking on me today? You were picking on me back at Ogawa-san's house, too." He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at the neckless youkai.

"Ahhh~~that's just because Kubinashi gets embarrassed when he seems 'ungentlemanly' in front of any woman." Rihan snickered as Kubinashi aimed a punch at him. Rihan ducked. "Heh, and you call me a philanderer? You're the one that cares about his appearance in front of women the most here." He laughed as he swiftly danced away from his bodyguard.

"Sh-shut up!" Kubinashi yelled, embarrassed now. Aotabou scratched his head in confusion.

"Wait, I thought you already had Kejoro though?"

"Shut up, Ao!"

Rihan laughed as he watched his two bodyguards bicker and throw light-hearted punches and jabs at each other. He quietly used their momentary distracted states to slip away into the crowd.

"Huh, wait, where's the Second?" Aotabou snapped out of the argument first. Kubinashi hurriedly looked around them. No sight of that familiar green striped kimono anywhere.

"RIHANNNN!" Rihan snickered as he heard Kubinashi's furious yell from three streets away. He looked back at the direction of Wakana's house.

Ogawa Wakana….huh…..

Rihan visited Wakana's house several more times over the next few months. (It was free food, and he was a Nurarihyon. What did people expect him to do when offered free meals?) The first two times he dropped by Wakana was in the house at the time. She seemed to be able to sense Rihan's presence, as she always jumped whenever his foot crossed the door threshold, despite Rihan still activating Meikyo Shisui. She's pretty sensitive for a human. Is she one of those "spiritual sensors" Karasu Tengu always talks about?

"Yo, I'm here to visit again." Rihan called out casually. This time, there was no cheerful reply. Rihan entered the small house to find a bento box on the low table, along with a small note.

To Rihan-san:

I don't know if you'll be visiting today, so I made a bento box for you in advance! I have work today so I can't greet you personally, I'm really sorry about that! I hope you like the bento!

-Ogawa Wakana

Rihan shrugged after reading the note, feeling a strange sense of disappointment. Why do I feel disappointed anyway? The food's still here. Rihan shook off the feeling and dug in. After a couple minutes of eating in silence, he shook out a small money pouch from his sleeve and placed it on the table. That should be enough for the food, right? Rihan honestly had no idea how much money groceries cost. He hoped it was enough.

With nothing better to do after he finished his lonely meal, he headed back into the streets of Edo.

"Ah, youkai-I mean, Rihan-san!" Wakana exclaimed as she turned around. Rihan blinked, and released Meikyo Shisui.

"Hoh? How did you sense me?" He asked as the shadows parted and revealed his form. He had barely taken a step into the house when Wakana, who was sitting at the low table, suddenly spun around and called out Rihan's name. She even faced him with eerie accuracy, despite not being able to see him. Wakana scratched her cheek.

"Ehhhh~~~ I guess I just felt Rihan-san's presence? Rihan-san has a certain 'feel' whenever you visit." So Wakana is one of the more sensitive types. I wonder if it attracts youkai to her. Rihan had heard that humans with exceptionally high spiritual sense or special powers like his own mother were often plagued by the supernatural. Maybe that was why Wakana's house was haunted before? Wakana smiled and scooted over to the side, inviting Rihan to sit down next to her.

"Come sit! Did you have lunch already, Rihan-san?" Rihan nodded. It was already 3 in the afternoon, and Rihan found himself visiting Ogawa Wakana's house again. It was one of the few places where no one would expect him to be, and it gave him a break from trying to avoid his bodyguards. Plus, it was always fun talking to Wakana, so Rihan didn't exactly make an effort to avoid coming here in the first place.

"Yeah, I ate already." He held up a lumpy cloth package of his own this time. "Here; Kejoro had me running groceries earlier this morning and the stall owner gave me some extras for free." Wakana took the package gratefully, unwrapping it to reveal several bright red apples.

"Ah, thank you so much, Rihan-san! You didn't have to." Wakana said as she took out two apples and wrapped up the rest. "I'll go chop these up and then make some tea. How does that sound?" Rihan smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He nodded as Wakana hurried to the small kitchen. Sounds of a knife hitting the wooden cutting block filled the small house as a cool autumn breeze blew by.

"Here you go!" Wakana exclaimed happily as she set down the tray on the table. Rihan blinked at the myriad of different shapes on the plate.

Wakana had cut the apples into different cute shapes. Several were shaped like rabbits, others were shaped like flowers and there was even a turtle, complete with hexagonal markings on its "shell."

"Heh~~~they're pretty cute." He remarked, picking up an apple rabbit.

"Heehee, you think so? I'm glad!" Wakana laughed as she also picked up an apple rabbit. "My parents always said 'Don't play with your food!' but I think it's cuter like this, no?" Rihan chuckled.

"It sure is." He agreed. The two of them munched on their apples, the sounds of crunching fruit filling the air.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" Wakana said through a mouthful of apple. She stood up and fished around one of the drawers in a nearby cabinet. She pulled out a small pouch with a triumphant "hah!"

"Here!" She exclaimed as she set something down in front of Rihan. Rihan blinked at the coin pouch he had left on her table the last time he visited. It didn't look any less bulky than the last time he saw it.

"You must have dropped this here last time; I found it on the table when I came back from work the other day. So I'm returning it to you now!" Wakana smiled widely, pushing the pouch towards Rihan. Rihan….honestly didn't know how to respond. He hadn't expected Wakana to not take the pouch, let alone return it back to him when he clearly left it to pay for the food he was eating, since he could tell Wakana didn't have much to spare in the first place. Rihan knew Wakana was an airhead, but… Maybe I should have left a note… he thought as he stared at the pouch and Wakana awkwardly.

"...Keep it." Rihan ended up saying instead. Wakana tilted her head in confusion. "It's for the food. You don't have much to spare in the first place, right?"

"Oh!" Wakana brought her hands up to her mouth as it finally clicked for her. "But I can't possibly make my saviors pay for the food I make. I made that food as payment for saving me!" She protested, pushing the pouch away from her. Rihan grabbed the pouch and Wakana sighed in relief.

"And I'm saying that you should take it." Wakana made an "eep!" sound as Rihan suddenly appeared on her other side, pressing the coin pouch into her hand, his large hand engulfing hers. Wakana blushed at their proximity. Rihan leaned forward, until their faces were mere inches apart. He winked and smirked at her rapidly blushing face.

"Kya!" Rihan's cheek suddenly stung as his worldview suddenly tilted. He blinked, bringing a hand up to his stinging cheek.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Wakana practically screeched as she brought up a hand to touch Rihan's now slightly pink cheek where Wakana had just slapped. "I-It was reflex, I swear! Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for that Rihan-san-" Wakana rambled nervously, reaching into her kimono for a small handkerchief. "H-here! Let me help!" She said hurriedly as she poured a bit of tea onto the white cloth and tried to gently dab it on Rihan's cheek.

Well. Rihan certainly hadn't been expecting that. Most human women turned into a blushing, useless mess whenever Rihan did that. And most human women didn't slap him across the face when he flirted with them. (Youkai women were... a different story.) Then again, Wakana was quite...different from all the other women Rihan knew.

"Are you always this violent?" Rihan asked as Wakana fussed over him.

"I'm not violent!" Wakana protested. "And besides, it's Rihan-san's fault for scaring me like that in the first place!" She pouted. "I usually punch guys who do that, so please don't do that again." Rihan raised an eyebrow.

"I thought most women liked it." He admitted honestly. "Most women I interact with don't slap me for something like that."

"Well, they should." Wakana rolled her eyes.

"Uh." Rihan didn't know how to react to that.

"Why do you guys automatically think all women will accept you guys invading their spaces? If someone oversteps their boundaries then they deserve to get punched in the face for being rude." Wakana crossed her arms and turned away, pouting. "And here I was hoping youkai-san might prove to be more gentlemanly than the other guys…" She sighed dramatically, putting a hand on her cheek for effect.

"O-oh." Rihan finally managed to say. Rihan was stuck. He'd never been challenged like this before. But now that he was really thinking about it….it kinda made sense didn't it? If another guy suddenly entered his personal space without his consent he'd probably punch them in the face too, if he didn't have Nenekirimaru around with him. If he did have Nenekirimaru with him….well, one of them wouldn't be leaving unscathed.

Wakana pouted and turned away with a small annoyed "hmph!" Rihan stared at her.

A few seconds passed by in silence between them, with Wakana still pouting and refusing to look at Rihan, and Rihan at a loss at what to do now. Wakana sneaked a glance at Rihan. It was like...she was waiting for Rihan to do something?

...Oh. Thought Rihan when it finally clicked.

"Um, I'm sorry…?" He tried hesitantly. Wakana turned around to face him, although her arms were still crossed.

"...For?" She prompted.

"Uh...For invading your personal space…?" Wakana looked more satisfied, but not enough. She raised an eyebrow, prompting Rihan to go on. "...Without permission?"

Wakana finally smiled. She swatted Rihan's arm playfully.

"Hmm….Ok, since it is Rihan-san, I'll accept your apology." She laughed lightly. Wakana held up a finger straight into Rihan's face before he could reply. "On one condition."

"...What condition?" Wakana hmmed as she thought, a sly smile starting to form on her face. Rihan didn't know why, but he was starting to become anxious at that smile, at whatever Wakana was planning.

"I'll forgive you, if," She leaned forwards, forcing Rihan to lean backwards. Wakana stared directly into Rihan's amber eyes with her brown ones. "If, you take me on a date."

"A date?" Rihan blinked. That...was not what he had expected honestly. Then again, Rihan never knew what to expect from Ogawa Wakana; she was always at her own pace, and not even Rihan, the master of going at his own pace, could figure out what she was thinking sometimes.

"Yep! A date!" Wakana clapped her hands gleefully. "For the full day!" She added quickly. "It's momijigari* season right now, isn't it? And there's the mid-autumn festival coming up pretty soon too, so we can go then? Aaaah, I've always wanted to see the autumn leaves during the night, but it's dangerous for a single woman to be out alone at night…" Wakana rambled on. She grabbed Rihan's hand and beamed at him. "So! You'll take me, right? Mister strong youkai-san?" She teased as she winked. Rihan raised an eyebrow as he cracked a smile.

"Tall order for just a simple scare, don't you think?" Rihan said lazily. He smirked at Wakana's surprise. "You know, if you wanted to ask me out you could've just said so," Rihan leaned back on his palms. "Instead of finding an excuse like that to ask me out." He teased and winked back at Wakana, who blushed.

"A-anyway, I won't forgive you if you don't take me, so you'll take me, right?!" Wakana asked, flustered now. Rihan laughed at her pink face. Wakana was definitely an interesting woman to say the least.

"Fine, fine." Rihan acquiesced easily. Wakana's bright smile made Rihan grin. "So, next week then? That's when the festival is."

"Yeah! Next….Wednesday I think?" Wakana looked up as she browsed through her mental calendar. Rihan hmmed, taking out his pipe to smoke.

"Don't expect me to come too early in the morning though. I'll still be asleep by then." Wakana swatted Rihan on the arm playfully.

"Duh, I knew that! You're youkai after all, aren't you? I figured you guys would probably sleep in more often than not." She chuckled. "How about you meet me here and we can go get lunch in the city? We can go to the market after that and then we can go see the festival preparations...oh! And then we can go to this tea shop I know that has some really good dango, and then go to the river and eat our dango there…" Wakana rambled off, counting her plans on her fingers. Rihan laughed lightly as he watched Wakana plan out the day, talking to herself while she did."Oh, by the way, Rihan-san." Wakana called out suddenly. Rihan opened an eye to look at her. She had a sly smile on her face, one that was starting to make Rihan slightly anxious.

"...Yes?" Wakana's sly grin grew even wider. ….Rihan wasn't going to like this, was he? Wakana flashed him a brilliant smile, teeth white and showing, and yet somehow...evil?

"You will be paying for everything, right?"

"...Uh."

momijigari: the Japanese tradition of visiting areas where leaves have turned red in the autumn. The name comes from the name for red leaves in Japanese (kouyou/momiji) and "gari" means "to guard against." This is in relation to the legend of Momiji, an evil witch/oni that seduced and killed men in the red mountains of autumn.

That's t for pt 1, and I'll see if I can get pt. 2 out by the end of this year ^^

Thank you for reading! (And pls let me know what you guys think about the chapter and their characterizations ;-;)