Kurikara RyoOh stared at the town before him. It was fairly large, and made up of shikigami. But, none were as strong as himself.
He looked below him after remembering something an old friend had taught him, 'Look before you leap!'
The dragon looked again and leapt into the center of the town.
A string of gasps and screams were heard from his appearance. "Oh my god! Isn't that the dragon lord?! What's he doing here?!?" came a shriek from a female neko spirit.
Kurikara snorted at him, he didn't answer any one of them, but just looked around the fairly large town he was in.
"Stop where you are!" came a call from behind him, it wasn't loud enough to be a shout, so he just glared at the blue-haired boy. "Why have you come here?"
"I was sent my Konoe." he half-growled once he recognized who the boy looked like. So, he walked closer to him and took a closer look. "Who might you be, bouya? You look like that bastard, SohRyu." he growled. "Are you related to 'it', or what?"
"He's my papa!" came a giggle from behind the boy. "My name's Tenkou! What's yours??" she asked eagerly extending her small hand.
He had bent down to stare the girl in the eye. Before sighing and shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Kurikara RyoOh." he said, ending it with another sigh. "I take it that this bouya right there's your brother?"
She nodded with a laugh. "Yup!"
He hung his head. "Damn."
"What's wrong, Kuri-chan?" She asked with a smile, bending down lower to see his face. "Are you ill??" she asked with a worried tone.
He looked at her. "No, Tenkou-chan."
"Then what's wrong??"
"Nothing you need to worry about."
"Why?"
"Are you always this annoying, cute thing?"
She nodded her head and giggled, "Yup!"
The blue haired boy sighed and said, "I'm Kijin, if you must know." he picked up his sister and balanced her on his hip. "Now, what are you doing in this town, besides scaring away everyone?"
"Ummmm, sent here by Konoe."
"I got that already." Kijin muttered.
"To further you training as shikigami's." he said with a sigh, "To help you protect your masters."
Kijin seemed to accept his reason with a nod. "Well, don't be cruel to any body. My father will be home in a while. So, make yourself comfortable here. I'm sure you'll be staying for a long while." he said with a sigh. "But," Kijin paused, "You might want to make yourself acquainted with Rikugou. Or else he'll hound you forever."
Kurikara nodded slowly, unsure of what to do. "Where is this... Rikugou?"
"Oh, he's the house closest to the lake!" Tenkou said happily, and if it was possible. Her smile seemed to grow bigger..
Kurikara nodded his head and looked over to Kijin, "And where would the lake be?" his temper was starting to seep into his voice. He was growing impatient of talking to two children.
Kijin pointed a pale hand towards the forest, "In there."
Kurikara nodded his head. "Fine. I'll be back later." he muttered.
"Come over for dinner, Kuri-chan!!" Tenkou chirped happily. "I'm making brownies!"
Kurikara RyoOh found that he couldn't resist that child. So, he nodded his head and said softly, "I'll try to make it, Munchkin."
"I'm not a mun.... munchkin!!"
"Whatever you say, brat." he said, turning around with a wave and heading towards the forest. He paused and shouted over his shoulder, "Don't tell your father that I'm here!"
The two children laughed and shouted back, "We promise!"
---
Kurikara gazed at his surroundings, he had been walking for at least thirty minutes. Kurikara muttered to himself, "The forest didn't look that far from the village, maybe the sun was affecting my eyes?"
"No, no dearie." came a voice from seemingly no where. "This is no mirage."
Kurikara stopped dead in his tracks and began to pull out Futsunomitama. But, the voice interupted him, again. "No! None of that in here!"
"Show yourself!" Kurikara called out into the darkness of the forest.
"I am Rikugou." a man said, stepping out of the shadows. "It's been a long while since I've had someone to play with."
Kurikara nodded and put Futsunomitama back in it's sheath and faced the other shikigami. "Kijin and Tenkou said that I should meet you."
"Yes, I know." Rikugou said with a smile and gestured for Kurikara to follow him, so he did. "I had hoped that you'd have figured out my plan earlier than this..." he said with a disappointed sigh.
Kurikara had a steady and even pace that matched Rikugou's long one. He nodded his head, saying. "I had though something was up after I passed the same tree five times."
Rikugou laughed and took a left, "You didn't go this way!"
Kurikara shook his head, "No, I didn't."
The long haired shikigami laughed again and pushed open the door to his house. "Well! Home sweet, dusty, home!"
He pulled the sheets off of his books and chairs. "There, it's semi-livable again!"
Kurikara couldn't help but laugh at the other man. He was exactly like Watari Yukata, except he had heard that the shikigami had six eyes, four on his face and one in either of his hands. "Ah-"
Before he could finish his sentance Rikugou held up a long, gloved finger. "Wait! I know what you're going to ask me!" he laughed. Rikugou pulled off the bandana he was wearing along with his gloves, revealing four eyes that he had been covering. "See! Six eyes!"
Rikugou flashed his hands out to Kurikara.
Who couldn't help himself.
He reached out and poked the eye in the left hand with his index finger. Both shikigami jolted back, one in pain the other in revulsion. "Gah!" Kurikara shouted, "It's real!"
"Of course it's real!" Rikugou yelled, cradling his hand with the other one. "Why wouldn't it be!!"
Kurikara wiped his hands on his kimono and shrugged. "I dunno. Just didn't seem real."
The young dragon held out a hand and smiled, "My name's Kurikara RyoOh." he said with a laugh, "Shall we start over?"
Rikugou looked at him warily before holding out his non-injured hand. Kurikara clamped his hand on it and shook quickly.
The impact of Kurikara's hand sent waves of pain up Rikugou's arm causing him to jerk back and scream. "Damn you! Now they're both hurting!!" he shouted, jumping up and down while waving his hands around.
"Heh heh... Sorry, Rikugou... I didn't mean too." Kurikara apologized, putting one of his hands behind his head.
"It's okay, they don't hurt that much anymore." Rikugou said with a laugh, "Well, what are you doing here, RyoOh-san?"
"Just Kurikara." the other man said with a smile. With another breath of air he began his speach, "I was sent here by Konoe, to train the other shikigami's so they can protect their master's better!"
Rikugou nodded his head and walked to the door, "Well, we better get going."
"Where are we going?" He asked with the curiousity of a kitten.
"To go get dinner!" Rikugou said with a laugh, he had put his gloves back on along with his head band and pulled Kurikara along.
---
"What are you talking about, Tenkou? What do you mean by a guest of honor?" SohRyu asked his daughter, while his son, Kijin stood next to him practically dying of laughter.
"I can't tell you, papa." Tenkou said, staring up at her father cutely. "I promised that I wouldn't."
"Well, who did you promise?" SohRyu asked with a smirk.
"I can't tell you!"
One thought ran through SohRyu's mind, 'Since when did children become so smart??'
"Oh! Here he comes now!" Kijin said, with a laugh.
SohRyu's gaze rose up to see Rikugou walking with someone. It only took his mind a few seconds to recognize the dragon lord. Kurikara RyoOh.
The same boy-like man that had befriended his children.
The same boy he had loved for years.
