Disclaimer: Nurarihyon no Mago is the property of Shiibashi Hiroshi.

Note: "Nurarikurari" indicates something slippery or evasive. It relates to the nature of the youkai Nurarihyon.

This story takes into account all events in the manga up through the end of the Hagoromo Gitsune arc.

Chapter One:

"Take care, Yura. Curb that impulsiveness of yours before the next battle."

"I don't want to hear that from the fool who tried to go up against Seimei when he had a gaping hole in his gut!"

Those were the parting words they had exchanged before Nura Rikuo, with a confident grin on his features, boarded the youkai ship, Takarabune, along with the rest of his clan and disappeared into Kyoto's night sky after the defeat of Hagoromo Gitsune.

Now, three months later, Keikain Yura found herself back in Ukiyoe Town running an errand. More specifically, she was back in the Nura House. Sitting on her heels, she took a deep breath to calm herself as she continued to wait in the supposedly empty room. She knew for a fact that she was surrounded, and it was hard not to be just a bit unnerved by the various youkai that were hiding in the shadows and just out of sight, curious to find out what her purpose was in their home. She supposed it couldn't be helped. She was an onmyouji after all, their natural enemy.

"Are you nervous, Yura-chan?" came a chirpy voice from beside her.

Yura twisted her lips before quietly voicing her complaint to her ancestor-turned-shikigami. "I didn't want to come here. I should be training!"

"You're far too serious, Yura-chan," Hidemoto sighed. "You should try to enjoy life a little. Besides," he added with an almost mischievous smile, "there's more to training than just shooting at targets."

Before Yura could respond, the shoji screen slid open, revealing the red-eyed and long-maned Rikuo of the night. "Yo, Yura. Didn't think I'd see you again so soon," he said as he entered the room, taking a seat on the empty cushion across from her.

"Nura-kun," she greeted with a smile, the groups of youkai slinking around in the peripheral areas now forgotten.

"You're looking well, Rikuo-chan!" Hidemoto put in.

The boy blinked at that statement before recalling how he was still all wrapped up in bandages when they last parted ways. "Ah. It would be a problem if I still haven't healed up by now. So," he said as he looked at his guests in turn, "what can I do for you?"

"I came to deliver this," the onmyouji said as she slid a long object wrapped in a cloth across the tatami mat over to him.

Upon unwrapping the cloth, Rikuo raised his brows. "Is this…the spirit blade?"

"Yes. Crafted by Akifusa nii-chan himself," she said as Rikuo marveled at the katana in his hand. "And…well…Hidemoto can explain the rest," she finished…since the reason why she had to come was because Hidemoto kept pestering her about wanting to personally explain all of its qualities to its intended owner.

"That I will!" the shikigami exclaimed, making his way over to Rikuo's side, excited as a child in a candy store.

Yura simply watched as her ancestor explained away. In the end, it wasn't all that complicated, nor did it take that long. She didn't get why he couldn't just let someone else come and do it in his stead.

"You have my thanks," Rikuo said, genuinely pleased and grateful for the favor as he rose to his feet. "Yura," he called to the girl, a gleam in his eyes. "Come with me for a minute."

"Eh?" She looked to Hidemoto, who merely gave a shrug, then back to Rikuo, who had by now already stepped out. With slight panic, she jumped to her feet to give chase, Hidemoto in tow. "Nura-kun! Wait!"

He led her out into the gardens where he unsheathed his new blade and held it at the ready, pointing it at her. "Let's have a match…you and me."

"What?" She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly.

"I want to test this thing out," he explained.

"Uh…Rikuo-chan," Hidemoto waved a hand. "Might I remind you that it's a spirit blade that doesn't cut humans?"

"Ah," the boy replied, unperturbed, as he gave the weapon a test swing. "That's fine, since I should probably give Yura a handicap."

"A handicap?" Yura switched from her mellow mode to high strung mode in the blink of an eye. That insult coupled with the smug grin on his face really lit her fuse. So, with practiced speed, she called upon all the shikigami she had at her disposal.

Rikuo's eye twitched minutely as he stared at the small army of shikigami that now filled the garden. Sure, he had meant to goad her into fighting…and was proud to think that it worked rather well. However, he had forgotten how scary she could be when she was furious. "Oi, oi… That's overdoing it a bit, isn't it?"

Yura only held up her arm with Rentei aimed directly at him, a serious look in her eyes.

To that, Rikuo responded with a smirk as he tapped his blade against his shoulder. "You just love pointing that squirt gun at me, don't you?"

"It's a water cannon, you jerk!" She fired, and their match began.

"I'll just sit this one out, Yura-chan," Hidemoto announced as he made his way cheerfully back over to the veranda where a group of spectators had already began to gather, including, of course, his favorite ayakashi of all time. "Well? What do you think, Nura-chan? My master's impressive, isn't she?"

Nurarihyon studied the match with a critical eye. "It'll probably take about three months…by early spring at the latest."

Hidemoto smiled with sincerity. "Allow me to thank you in advance."

After their match, where Yura basically chased after Rikuo's elusive form until she ran out of breath, the onmyouji was led to another room where Nurarihyon and Hidemoto dropped an unexpected bomb on her. "Wh…what did you just say?"

"I said…you'll be staying here for a while to train with Nura-chan," Hidemoto repeated.

"Eh?" She shot to her feet and was confused to say the least. "I never heard anything about this… Who decided something like this?"

"We did," the shikigami happily supplied as he pointed to himself and Nurarihyon.

"Wh…when did this happen?" Her brain was slowly going into shock.

"Mmm…about three months ago, before everyone came back from Kyoto."

"Bu…but…" This made absolutely no sense to her. An onmyouji training under a youkai? Wasn't that backwards if not altogether sacrilegious?

"Oh, by the way, everyone at the main house already knows you won't be going back for a while," Hidemoto supplied helpfully.

"Huh? You mean everyone already knows?" How come she didn't know? "What about Ryuuji nii-chan?" There was no way her brother would allow this to happen.

"He said since members of the Nura Clan ate up all of our food while they stayed at our house, you should eat up all of their food while you're here."

"YOU MEAN HE'S FINE WITH THIS?" Did pigs learn to fly? Yura was now beyond shocked. She wasn't sure what to think. So, they tricked her into coming here?

"Yura," the former supreme commander said, finally deciding it was time for him to step in. "Didn't you once tell me that your goal was to defeat Nurarihyon?"

"Ojii-chan…" Yura looked at the old man, uncertain. "But…that was before…"

"Only now," Nurarihyon continued, "instead of it being the crowning achievement you had once imagined, it will merely be the first step…because if you want to stand a chance against Seimei, you better at least be able to surpass this old man."

Her eyes widened as though suddenly enlightened about a point she had never considered. He was right.

Nurarihyon smirked, seeing the look of determination returning to her eyes. "So, until that happens…you will not be leaving this place."

With creased brows, she gave a firm nod. "I understand."

That was how Keikain Yura came to stay with the Nura Clan.

She took a breath of the crisp night air as she walked along the veranda, feeling refreshed after a nice bath at the end of a long day. A week had passed since Yura came to the Nura House, and her training was actually turning out to be more educational than she had originally thought. She was getting insight into the powers of youkai from a youkai's point of view. With Hidemoto giving her pointers here and there, she would try to figure out how to improve her onmyoujutsu in order to defeat Nurarihyon. Having to spar with some of the others as well, it was giving her a better feel for how various higher level youkai made use of their 'fear' in different ways. It was definitely different, and she couldn't help but wonder if any other onmyouji had ever trained in this manner or if she was the only one.

Turning a corner, she spotted Rikuo sitting along the edge of the veranda, watching the moon with a sakazuki in hand and a bottle of sake by his side. "Nura-kun…"

He turned to the sound of his name, acknowledging her presence with a smirk. "Enjoying your stay so far?" He could see bandages wrapped around various parts of her limbs, and she did look a bit exhausted.

She sat down with her legs dangling off the edge of the veranda as she gave that question some thought. "It's…weird. An onmyouji being in a youkai's home…learning from someone who's supposed to be an enemy…" She was still trying to wrap her mind around that concept.

"Are you uncomfortable here?" he inquired, his tone casual as he took another sip of his sake.

"Not really." She was surprised how easily that answer came to her. It was a bit touch and go in the beginning, but the tension in the atmosphere seemed to have dissipated after a few days and most have accepted her presence in this place.

"Heh?" His grin turned mischievous. "Are you sure it's wise to think that? If you let your guard down too much, someone here might eat you."

To that, she simply smiled and called his bluff, "I trust you, Nura-kun." Sure, there were still those in the clan who were wary of her and a few who were against her being here, but she knew Rikuo well enough to know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He was just that kind of person.

The young head of the Nura Clan looked at the girl, contemplative. He could still remember the way she had said she believed him when she had defended his human form against her own brother despite her own doubts. She had displayed that trust again, that very same night, when he had revealed to her the truth about himself. For someone who had been brought up to hate his kind, that trust meant a great deal and carried a lot of weight.

Yura frowned slightly at his stare. "What?"

Instead of answering, he picked up the sake bottle beside him. "Want a drink?"

She didn't make a move, mutely telling him that he was asking something stupid since she was underage.

"No? Something else then?" He reached inside his sleeve and pulled out the senbei Kejourou had given him earlier. Holding it out on his opened palm, he clicked his tongue as though he were trying to coax a squirrel to come. "Here, Yura…come here, Yura."

Said girl puffed out her cheeks as her frown deepened. "I'm not some kind of small animal!" Annoyed, she got up and took her leave.

He watched her stomp off with a smirk on his lips. "Nurari…kurari…"

As he returned to his moon watching, he began to think that teasing her was becoming rather addictive.

Ever since that night, the routine was Yura would train during the day while Rikuo went to school. Evening schedules were less rigid. Sometimes Rikuo would go on patrol, other times there would be clan meetings to attend to. At times Yura would do independent onmyoujutsu studies, other times she would help out with the chores. Every now and then, Rikuo and Yura would have another sparring match. Every now and again, someone would find some reason to call for a celebration simply because they wanted to break out the sake and let loose, turning an entire evening into complete chaos filled with merriment. But regardless of what activities would take place during the day, Rikuo and Yura would always come together at the end of the night just to talk. She would pick a place somewhere, be it on the veranda or in the gardens, and he would always come find her.

Tonight was no different, and he found her sitting by the pond after making his escape from the impromptu celebration held in honor of Kappa's webbed hands. "Had enough?"

Yura glanced up at him with a bit of a resigned smile. "You people sure are lively." She couldn't keep up anymore.

He smirked. "A bit different from what you're used to, huh?"

"But…it's not a bad thing," she noted as she leaned back on her hands, the smile still on her features.

He raised his brows slightly to that. "You seem to be handling your 'gray' existence here pretty well," he said, using her brother's favorite terminology.

That made Yura frown. It was something she tried not to think about. "…it's confusing," she finally managed to utter. "Youkai are absolute evil…" she continued with a far off look in her eyes. "They are black…you are white…" These were things that had been drilled into her head since as far back as she could remember. She had always moved forward with those strong beliefs in mind. However, these days…she found herself unsure.

"Guess you have it harder than I did when I rejected youkai," he commented after a moment of consideration.

"Heh?" But wasn't he a youkai, even if only in part?

"Then again," he continued almost offhandedly as he folded his arms, "I was never fed garbage like humans are white and youkai are black."

"It's not garbage!" she found herself defending automatically. It was hard not to when he was obviously giving her attitude.

"Maybe not, but it's elementary level onmyouji teachings at best." It was far too…simplified.

That mocking tone of his was beginning to dig under her skin, so she got to her feet to give him a piece of her mind. However, before she could even stand up straight, he had taken hold of her upper arm with one hand, whistled really loud with the other, and then leaped up onto something, yanking her along with him. When she finally regained her bearings, she realized they were now sitting on the back of his snake youkai, Hebi Nyoro, and gaining altitude. Fast.

Out of instinct and the need for self preservation, she wrapped her arms around his torso, attaching herself to his back. "Where are you taking me?" she exclaimed, trying to compete with the wind.

"You'll see when we get there," he replied smoothly and unconcerned.

"That's not an answer!"

"Don't worry." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "It'll be fine."

"Welcome to Bakenekoya!"

Standing beside Rikuo at the entrance of the bustling eatery, Yura dropped her jaws, stupefied, as a group of cat youkai greeted them with enthusiasm. So in the end, they had basically walked out of one party just to go straight into another one. What the heck were they doing here?

"Waka!" Ryouta Neko stepped up, beaming at Rikuo. "It's an honor to have you here again!"

Distracted by her surroundings, Yura failed to notice when one of the cat youkai leaned forward, putting his face right in front of hers to examine her features. "I see you brought another friend with you," he stated, noting that she's not the same girl as last time. "What kind of youkai is she?"

Yura gasped when she suddenly realized there was now an unknown cat-eared youkai about an inch away from her face. Startled, she whipped out a human-shaped piece of paper without second thought and held it up, about to summon a shikigami.

That was when Rikuo stepped behind her, catching her wrist with one hand and covering her mouth with the other, preventing the summons. She really was impulsive. "Careful there, Saburou Neko," he warned, grinning at the cat youkai who was now backing away. "This one can be dangerous."

Saburou was no expert, but neither was he an ignorant fool. He knew full well what it was that the girl was holding in her hand. "On…onmyouji…" he stammered, a bit stunned.

"Onmyouji?" Ryota repeated thoughtfully. "Waka…might this be the one who fought with you in Kyoto?"

"Ah," Rikuo affirmed simply as he released his hold on said onmyouji who had by now somewhat regained her composure but was not entirely pleased about being manhandled.

If the two of them didn't already have everyone's attention before, they most certainly had it now as others began to chime in…

"Kyoto? You mean the fight with Hagoromo Gitsune?"

"I heard all about it."

"I was there!"

"So, that little thing's supposed to be that one powerful onmyouji? You're kidding!"

"She can use that Harpoon or whatever."

"It's Hagun, you idiot!"

"How did Rikuo-sama convince an onmyouji to be his ally?"

"He's amazing! But who'd ever thought she'd be so puny?"

Yura tried not to be intimidated or annoyed by all the chatter as they were being led to their table. "Why are we here?" she asked under her breath, unable to keep the agitation from seeping into her voice.

"I thought you could try something different," Rikuo replied as he settled into his seat and made himself comfortable, seemingly unconcerned by her distress. "The house specialty here is good," he added as an afterthought.

She huffed a silent breath. He wasn't going to give her a straight answer, and it didn't look like he was going to leave anytime soon. Reluctantly, she joined him at the table. She felt out of place here, and, truth be told, she'd rather be sleeping since she had to get up early the next day.

Before long, Saburou returned with sake for the young master and a glass of the aforementioned house special for the girl. "Sorry for the wait! Please enjoy!"

Yura stared at the drink before her. "What is it?"

"Catnip Cocktail!" Saburou proudly supplied. "It's our best seller!"

"It won't kill you," Rikuo added, amused by her hesitation.

"That's not the issue!" She was just skeptical. How can a concoction made by a cat using a cat's favorite plant be appetizing? Would it not be like eating cat food? Tentatively, she took a sip. "...it's really good…" she said with disbelief.

Saburou grinned from ear to ear. "Isn't that what I said? Please wait and I'll come back with snacks!"

About three Catnip Cocktails later, Yura finally began to relax. They had a busy night at their table. Between all the waiters who came to serve, the comrades and adoring clan members who stopped by to pay their respects to their young master, the women who were vying for his attention, and the curious who wanted to see her for themselves, the number of people she met that night was countless.

Among them was Shouei. His height alone was intimidating, and he had broad shoulders and multi-colored hair that could pass him off as a menacing street thug. Nonetheless, he was actually rather mild mannered and soft spoken to the point of almost being gentle.

Then there was Jami, a youkai she recalled seeing during the Kyoto incident but had never spoken to until this night. She heard his story, learned of his devotion to his human master from ages long gone, and found out how he had met Rikuo while trying to protect that master's descendant from a corrupted onmyouji.

And, of course, there was Saburou Neko, a waiter who was trying to earn a living working at this eatery…just like any other person.

The evening had left Yura with much to ponder upon.

The ride back home was a lot smoother, and the young onmyouji had by now found her balance atop the snake youkai. Sitting while facing backwards with her back up against Rikuo's for support and her arms wrapped loosely around her knees, she watched the hypnotic swaying of Hebi Nyoro's tail as they glided through the night sky. "I'm tired," she finally admitted after trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

Rikuo looked over his shoulder with a small smirk. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

With eyes still on the mesmerizing snake tail, Yura gave that question some consideration before giving her reply. "No…I'm glad I went." She looked out to the horizon, then turned her contemplative eyes up to the stars. "Hey, Nura-kun."

"Hm?"

"…the world's a pretty big place, isn't it?"

He smiled at her question. "Ah."

"Not bad, Yura." The old ayakashi chuckled as the onmyouji girl released him from her binding spell and the scripture that had been wound tightly around his body began to recede. "Not bad at all."

Yura collapsed to her hands and knees with fatigue. She finally did it. After nearly four months, she had finally defeated Nurarihyon by immobilizing him with a spell she had developed during her time here.

To be able to capture the youkai known to be evasive was no small feat, and Nurarihyon was proud of the child's accomplishment. The fact that the method she had devised to defeat him was one that inflicted the least damage to his body did not escape his notice either. "Well, since it's your win, I guess that means you can go back to Kyoto now."

The girl looked up at him before averting her eyes and giving a small nod.

The former supreme commander raised a brow at that rather deflated reaction. It certainly was a far cry from the enthusiastic victorious leap for joy he was expecting. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Ojii-chan…" Yura began, wondering how best to explain herself. "I…ever since I met Nura-kun…I've started to see things differently." Her views on youkai were changing. "…I'm not really sure what it means."

He considered her for a moment. "Do you regret meeting my idiot grandson?"

Yura shook her head. "No." She could say at least that much with certainty.

"I see. So, this is a good change then, no?"

"…I don't know." Things were so much easier before. More clear cut. Youkai: destroy. Humans: protect. Now, things were beginning to blur, and she couldn't tell where the line was anymore. "It's becoming hard to distinguish who is the enemy." If she can't get it straight in her head, she felt she might make a mistake when the critical time comes.

The old man heaved a quiet sigh. "You're thinking too hard about this, Yura. Have more faith in yourself." She had good judgment and, despite what she thought, he had seen her display the ability to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, many times. He believed her heart understood. Her conscious mind simply needed to catch up.

The girl pondered a moment before asking a question that had been on her mind for quite some time. "Ojii-chan, why did you decide to live among humans?" Hidemoto had mentioned to her before about Nurarihyon and his desire for coexistence. He was probably the best person to speak to about this subject.

"It's more interesting this way," he replied as though that was the easiest question in the world.

She cocked her head slightly to one side, not entirely satisfied by that all too vague answer. "Did you marry a human to prove that it was possible for humans and youkai to be together?"

He laughed at her frank and innocent question, and he thought it deserved an equally frank reply. "No. I did it because I loved her."

"But…isn't it lonely?" He had already outlived her by centuries after all.

To that, he simply responded with a faint wistful smile but offered no words. "When do you intend to leave for Kyoto?" he inquired instead.

Her brows creased slightly as her mind switched gears. "As soon as possible." There was no time to waste. It was already spring. Summer was around the corner, marking the end of the one year grace period Hidemoto had estimated before Seimei would make his return, which meant she could have as little as a few months left to complete her training.

He gave a nod. He had figured as much. "Very well."

"Thank you, Ojii-chan, for taking care of me," Yura said as she bowed her head with respect.

Nurarihyon smiled to himself as he looked upon the human child he had taken under his wing. "Come back whenever you like, Yura. You're always welcome amongst the Nura Clan."

"You're in my spot," Rikuo accused blandly after leaping up into the weeping cherry tree to find his favorite seat taken.

Yura brushed that accusation off with a serene smile. "Now I know why you like sitting here so much," she commented as she leaned back into the inviting tree trunk, not about to move. It was comfortable, and the view was breathtaking. "I'm leaving tonight," she announced after a short pause.

He blinked, taken a bit off guard, before his lips curled up in a smirk. "Hehhh? So, you finally beat the old man, huh?" he said, sounding somewhat impressed while he tried to make himself comfortable on his branch.

"I've already said my goodbyes to everyone else," she continued. He was the last. She scanned her surroundings with her eyes. "It's strange, but…I think I'll miss it here."

He spared her a glance from the corner of his eyes. "You can stay longer if it suits you."

"Don't be crazy," she said, her eyes looking out into the distance, her voice tinged with a certain level of regret. "I'm an onmyouji. It's impossible for me to learn everything I need to know here." Besides, she knew he was going out of his way to help her, taking time out of his schedule to spar with her, and not focusing on his own training as much as he should. She didn't want to hinder him.

"So, Yura."

"Hm?"

"Do you still hate youkai?"

The unexpected question that came so suddenly out of nowhere made her turn to him. Her lips parted, but she faltered. In that moment, she couldn't help but wonder how that once simple question somehow became complicated.

Rikuo held her chin with one hand to prevent her from turning away as he studied her face, eyes sparkling as though he had bested her somehow. "You hesitated," he noted smugly. "That's a good start."

Her face flushed as she puffed out her cheeks with annoyance. Then she extended her leg and kicked him off his perch, dropping him unceremoniously into the pond below.

Seconds later, the boy resurfaced with a death glare already in place. "Oi!" He was not happy.

"That's payback for last time," she explained with an evil grin, referring to the time he had kicked her out of the tree. "So? How do you like it?" He did say he'd be looking forward to it back then.

He smirked as he folded his arms. "It lacks originality."

Before he even finished speaking, Yura followed up with another blast of water from Rentei. "How's that?"

The boy spit water out of his mouth and swiped a hand down his face, looking rather ridiculous standing waist deep in the pond, completely drenched, as he tried to control his temper. Again with the squirt gun…

"Thank you, Nura-kun."

"For what?" he replied automatically while preoccupied with the task of getting back to dry land, sounding agitated.

"…many things," she said softly. There really were many things, and it was difficult for her to put it into words all at once.

Though he hadn't quite made it to shore yet, what she was saying finally sank in and made him look up. She was giving him that utterly gentle and sincere smile of hers, and suddenly he forgot that this girl had just kicked him out of a tree in his own backyard. "Yura…if you ever need anything, let me know. I'll come."

She nodded, knowing that he meant every word. "Mm."

Silence dominated the following moments as he held her eyes with his, trying to think of what he should say next. "Yura—"

"Goodbye, Nura-kun," she said, cutting him off. Then she summoned Tanrou and hopped onto its back, swiping up the bag of meager belongings she had left dangling from one of the branches. At her command, the shikigami jumped out of the tree and they made their swift and quiet exit.

Rikuo ran a contemplative hand across the moon's reflection on the water's surface, a small smirk adorning his features. "…nurari…kurari…"

A/N: I didn't really like the first season of the Nurarihyon no Mago anime much, but the 2nd season compelled me to read the manga, after which I thought, "wow, how did I overlook this series for so long?" Haha. I'm kinda surprised how small the fandom is, and interest in Rikuo/Yura is even smaller…

I would have liked this fic to be a more in-depth multi-chaptered story, but due to my lack of free time, it needs to be a shorter/quick project, otherwise it'll never get done. (As it stands, I already have 2 other multi-chaptered stories I've been trying to piece together for over a year now. Bleh.) I couldn't condense it enough to be a one-shot, though. So, in the end, it's something like a streamlined version multi-chaptered story. Not sure how well it'll work out. Heh…

To be honest, I haven't quite figured out how "nurarikurari" works in a sentence. My Japanese is not that great. I think it's like an adverb. Well, in any case, mixing Japanese into an English sentence doesn't always work anyway. If it's not a noun, it's really odd. But, since I'm rather hung up on using 'nurarikurari', whenever it gets used in this story, it'll always be a standalone expression. Does that make sense?

Mini glossary, just in case:

youkai – demons, monsters, supernatural beings

ayakashi – same as youkai

onmyouji – specialists who use spiritual powers to fight/exorcise youkai

onmyoujutsu – onmyouji techniques

shikigami – a spirit/familiar summoned by an onmyouji

ojii-chan – grandpa

nii-chan – older brother

waka – young master

sakazuki – flat saucer-like cup for drinking sake, used mostly during ceremonies

senbei – rice cracker

Hope you liked the first chapter!

Many thanks for reading! Reviews much appreciated!