Title: Fast Forward to the Stars
Author: modern warfare king
Fandom: Nurarihyon no Mago
Pairing: Yoru (Night!Rikuo) and Rikuo Nura (Day!Rikuo)
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Nurarihyon no Mago. I only own the plot! I hope you guys enjoy the ride anyway!
NOTE (PLEASE READ): This fanfic is AU. No incest or anything. They totally live on separate worlds. And yes, this is SHOUNEN-AI. No flames or anything of the sort. I've already warned you.


CHAPTER 10: HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF WITH A TWIST


"That guy," Yoru said, glaring at nothing since Tamazuki was long gone from sight. He had some sense of familiarity towards the raven haired senpai but couldn't point it out directly. "I have a bad feeling about him…"

Rikuo raised an eyebrow, slightly gaping at the yokai from utter bewilderment. "Huh? Tamazuki-senpai?" He blinked and shook his head, smiling reassuringly. "No way. Tamazuki-senpai's clear of all suspicion. He's like… the nicest guy out there! You're just overthinking things, Yoru."

Yoru's eye twitched. Never a good sign. "So you don't believe me? After all the things I've done for you?" He gritted his teeth and balled his fists. Rikuo was a bit taken aback because he swore he could see the crimson eyed yokai fuming. Fuming from what exactly?

"What're you talking about? That has nothing to do with anything," Rikuo said, cold sweat dropping from his forehead. Somehow, his choice of words were getting worse by the minute. Something must be wrong with his tongue. "He's human, Yoru. A perfectly normal human being. He goes to school and attends to his duties as the vice president of the student council. He's the guy everyone looks up to. Even I look up to him. Responsible, smart, approachable, friendly…"

Rikuo apparently babbled too much it made Yoru snap. The yokai grabbed Rikuo's wrist and held it a little too tight that blood stopped flowing in the chocolate hair's hand. "Why do you talk about him so fondly like that?" Yoru's eyes flared. "You shower him with so much compliments. It's… it's as if you like him!"

Rikuo's eyes widened and his cheeks burned. Why would Yoru assume and blurt out something like that? "E-Eh? Who says I've always liked him? I never said anything!" And words continued slipping out of his mouth carelessly. "Besides, it's not like my whole life revolves around you, Yoru. You don't own me."

"Since when have I ever declared possession on you, huh? I always let you do what you want," Yoru said, his rage building more. "But if I do, you always end up getting in trouble. I just deeply care for you, Rikuo. You're too much of an airhead to see it!"

"Well, you care too much!" Rikuo snapped back. He just had enough of being pampered and taken care of by Yoru. It was time he stood up for himself. He was already seventeen. He could pretty much handle himself. "Oh, and sorry if I'm too much of an airhead for you, Yoru. You know why? Coz I'm not some perfect yokai like you!" He turned around and didn't dare look back at Yoru or he might get sucked in by the other's irresistible charm again. It always worked that way. But not this time. He trotted towards his house then slammed the door shut. He bit his lip and was reluctant to head upstairs but still did so after a few moments.

Wakana blinked when she noticed Rikuo wasn't himself as he went upstairs. She lifted the curtains and peered outside and saw Yoru walking away without his signature smirk after his usual lively conversation with Rikuo. "It takes good friends to have a good fight," she said to herself. She then smiled. "And they're obviously really good friends."

Rikuo entered his room annoyed, confused, angry and guilty all at the same time. He sat on his revolving chair and rested his elbow on the table, his head resting at the palm of his hand. His eyebrows furrowed, sighing heavily to himself. "Stupid Yoru. He can't just tell me who to hang out with. I have plenty of other priorities aside from him." He sighed again. "I know Tamazuki-senpai. He's a really great guy."

He shook his head and had to put his thoughts aside before he went totally ballistic. He walked over to his bed and covered himself in his blanket, closing his eyes shut. "Just thinking about this makes me more agitated. I better sleep now coz if I trouble myself with more of these petty thoughts, I'll seriously flip!"


MEANWHILE


Yoru entered the mansion with such hostile aura no one dared greet him. Nurarihyon, on the other hand, sat on the hallway facing the garden, drinking his favorite sake. He turned his head just as Yoru walked towards then past him, his face showing signs of aggravation. Judging from what he looked like, one lame joke could make him snap. Nurarihyon felt relieved he didn't bother teasing his grandson at that moment. He watched Yoru walk inside his room and slide the door close. The golden eyed yokai noticed the sun already setting. Yoru wouldn't bother visiting his beloved Rikuo? Back in Nurarihyon's time, he wouldn't miss a single night during his visits to YoHime. That was how much he was solely dedicated to her. Well, times do change. Yoru was the newest generation. And of course, he wasn't going to act like his own grandfather. But it wasn't like him to not visit Rikuo. Rikuo's like… the best thing out there… for Yoru.

"Hmm…" Nurarihyon cocked his head. He then smirked to himself. "Something must have happened between him and Riku-chan." He rubbed his chin and chortled in amusement. "So that means he won't be coming over to his place tonight." His eyes sparkled as he clenched his fist. "I'll seize this opportunity!"

Yoru folded his arms, deep in thought. He sighed and decided that just sitting there wouldn't help with anything. He hasn't talked to anyone ever since he stepped foot in the mansion (obviously because of his menacing aura) and his grandfather would be the least intimidated among all of them. It was best to talk to a yokai with real experience toward these things. He stood up and slide opened the door. To his surprise, Nurarihyon already left. "Old man?"


HOURS LATER


Rikuo flinched and fidgeted. "I can't sleep," he thought helplessly to himself. He sat upright and huffed. "Y'know what? To hell with Yoru, I'll just memorize the lines more than I already have." Was there such a thing?

He started blurting out the lines. A forbidden love between yokai and human. The yokai still pursued on winning the fair maiden's heart. She had been in danger and he came just in time to save her life. An awfully familiar sequence in plot. Rikuo groaned to himself. "The play just reminds me of us…" He gazed through the window and at the pitch black horizon. "Maybe history actually is repeating itself…?"

"Bravo!"

Rikuo blinked.

"Those lines…" a silhouette appeared before Rikuo, smirking. "Why're talking like me… Riku-chan?"

Rikuo's cheeks flushed bright red. "N-Nurarihyon-sama!" The chocolate hair felt abashed because the sodaisho actually saw him act as him. How did he get here again?

"I'll give you a pass since you tried real hard," said Nurarihyon, smirking wider as he stepped closer. Rikuo was frozen solid by the sodaisho's entrancing gold eyes. Besides, his mind just wasn't in it… "But you can never be like me." The yokai jumped on Rikuo, to the chocolate hair's surprise. Nurarihyon's face leaned closer, chuckling. "Because you're too cute."

The yokai pinned Rikuo down his bed in triumph. "Your mind seems to be out of place. You could've dodged me easily." Nurarihyon knew because Rikuo was a skilled swordsman as well. "Did something happen between you and Yoru?"

How could Nurarihyon read Rikuo so easily? Rikuo's eyes widened but immediately softened. "…No."

Nurarihyon chuckled, unconvinced. "Do not test my patience, Rikuo Nura." Being on top had its advantages. The golden eyed yokai slipped his hand under Rikuo's shirt. Rikuo jumped, his cheeks becoming even redder. "You don't want to face the consequences."

"Okay, fine! Yoru and me argued a little!"

"A little?"

"A-A-A lot!"

The sodaisho pulled his hand away, licking his lips seductively. He never had this much fun teasing. "Good boy. If you have been naughtier, I could've kissed you."

Rikuo was right on one thing, Nurarihyon was definitely much more blunt and bolder than Yoru. "W-What?!"

"But if I ever did kiss you, it would be like kissing Yoru."

"Eh—"

"I know you guys have kissed a lot already," Nurarihyon said. "So why the fight? Yoru obviously didn't look like himself tonight. And you don't look much better either." He chuckled as he got off the chocolate hair. "Isn't this cute? This is what I like about lovebirds like you two. Knowing you guys, you'll still kiss and make up." Nurarihyon walked towards the window sill, smirking playfully.

Rikuo sat up and thought, "Ah, so Nurarihyon-sama came here to cheer me up?" Just the very thought got his intensity levels back up. "N-Nurarihyon-sama!"

"Hm?"

"Thank you!" said Rikuo as he bowed in gratitude.

Nurarihyon raised an eyebrow. "But I simply came here to tease my little Riku-chan."

Rikuo's eye twitched as he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Thanks either way."

"Now I know why you fell for him hard," thought Nurarihyon. "He's too nice for his own good…" As he waved goodbye to Rikuo, he had another plan up his sleeve. "Hm… What if I could use the same tactic on Yoru? Nah, he'll kill me."

When Nurarihyon stepped on the window pane, his eyes spotted his grandson sitting on the roof, his arms folded against his chest.

"I knew you were here," said Yoru, his crimson eyes narrowed at his suspicious grandfather. He then sighed. "Why do you keep meddling yourself in our affairs, huh?" Yoru found Nurarihyon these days predictable. Where else would he go at a time like this?

Nurarihyon had a good comeback for the other. "Why are you here? Eavesdropping's rude." He could read Yoru like an open book too these days. Like grandfather, like grandson.

Yoru's cheeks reddened. "Don't change the subject! I'm only here to see what you're up to!" he exclaimed, a little too loud for…

"Yoru?"

…Rikuo to hear.

Rikuo popped his head out the window, spotting Yoru sitting on his roof. His cheeks turned bright red, surprised since he never expected the crimson eyed yokai to come. Nurarihyon enjoyed the sight too much. "Oh?"

Yoru gritted his teeth and glared at the golden eyed yokai. "Dammit, old man!" And yet again, Yoru had been lured into one of Nurarihyon's golden schemes. It seemed the grandfather planned this ahead of time. He was once the Lord of Pandemonium so his plans were always sure to work. How could Yoru have not thought of this sooner?

Nurarihyon's lips parted into a sly smile. "You're welcome." He hummed amusedly to himself as he jumped off the roof, vanishing into the darkness yokai style.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, you bastard?!" Yoru yelled after his grandfather as he clenched his fist. "I'll kill you!"

Rikuo just stared at Yoru blankly, his cheeks bright red. Yoru casted a glance at Rikuo but quickly looked away, making the chocolate hair nervous and even more worried.

"I guess Yoru's still mad. I wouldn't blame him. I don't trust him enough," thought Rikuo, mentally sighing to himself. Seeing Yoru ignoring him hurt. He really did came just to see what Nurarihyon was up to. But Rikuo didn't want to stay silent any longer. "Even if he stays mad at me, at least I tried, right?"

He gulped, his heart racing. He knew it was dangerous to let words slip out of his mouth. But it wouldn't hurt to do the right thing. "A-Ah, Yoru… I…" He was so nervous he almost bit his tongue. His eyes then widened when Yoru suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. Being this close to the yokai made Rikuo even more embarrassed than he already was.

"No matter how angry I get with you, my chest always tightens. It's difficult not being able to talk to you…" Yoru admitted. "Hell, I long for the moment we become together forever." Rikuo felt a tsunami wave of relief now that he knew Yoru wasn't mad at him anymore. But he was still nervous as he felt a tense aura between them. Time to break the ice before it melted.

"Y-You're acting strange tonight. What's with the formalness?"

"…I'm sorry."

Rikuo blinked. So that was what he was trying to say all along…

"I've been rather selfish lately because of my childish behavior. I should value your opinion more," Yoru told the chocolate hair with a guilt-ridden expression across his face.

Rikuo blinked again. "Eh? I should be the one apologizing!" he thought to himself.

Yoru beamed warmly at the chocolate hair, patting the other's head. "Forget what I said about Tamazuki."

"Yoru…" He shook his head. He should say it before he falls into the vortex of Yoru's charm. "Um… it's okay. In fact, I should have trusted you more. You've always been right about everything. So… I'm gonna watch myself around Tamazuki-senpai…" He felt more and more self-conscious the more he talked. "I'm really sorry too, Yoru…"

No more sarcasm hinted there, just his cute sincere self. Yoru couldn't help but smile warmly. For once, he didn't want to kill his grandfather due to his filthy schemes. "Hey Rikuo."

"?"

Rikuo's eyes widened when Yoru cupped his chin and leaned in as he pressed his lips against the other's. When Yoru pulled away, Rikuo felt like he was in a daze. Yoru smirked to himself in sweet victory.

"It's about time I get to kiss you," he told the chocolate hair. He chuckled as he turned around and jumped out of Rikuo's window, feeling all high and mighty. Rikuo placed his hand on his lips, his heart rate going faster.

"I'll definitely wait for that forever, Rikuo," Yoru thought to himself in utter delight since he finally initiated the kiss between them. "It's just that worth waiting for."


THE NEXT DAY


Rikuo gulped as he slide opened the door to his classroom. It had been days since he stepped foot in school. And the festival was just days away. He expected rants, complaints and whines from his classmates who worked hard to set up and practice for their play. "Good morning!" he greeted nervously, his eyes closed shut. He didn't want to see the reactions on their faces yet.

When he finally opened his eyes, his classmates immediately surrounded and showered him with worry. "Rikuo-kun!" and "Nura-kun! Where have you been, man?!" was all Rikuo managed to hear from all the voices of his concerned classmates around him. Rikuo was more than a little astonished by all this. "I expected all of them to be angry with me! Not this!"

Saori proudly stepped up and pushed Rikuo to the dresser. "Time for the real deal, Nura-kun. Get dressed already!" She obviously didn't want to waste any time. She was the assistant director, after all. Rehearsal first, reunion later.

"Uh… sure?" Cold sweat dropped from Rikuo's forehead. Where did all this burning motivation in the class come from? "Everyone's so eager and in such high spirits today… Did it have something to do with me?"


AFTER THAT


Rikuo smiled nervously as he wore a black kimono over a blue robe. The class didn't know how to copy Nurarihyon's head so they decided to extend Rikuo's chocolate brown hair. Surprisingly, the fake hair's color matched Rikuo's. "Hmm… the hair's almost like Nurarihyon-sama's," he thought to himself, shooting a glance at his loose long hair. "At least they tried."

"You make such a cute Nurarihyon!" Natsumi commented, clapping her hands in glee.

"Thanks…?" Rikuo's eye twitched. "Don't say that. It reminds me of him… and I don't want to be called cute again." And that was when he decided to really act like the sodaisho. He knew some of his dominant traits after last night's experience.

"Rikuo-kun!"

Rikuo blinked and turned his head to meet eyes with none other than… YoHime?

"Kana-chan?"

Kana laughed as she waved to him. "Kana-chan? More like, Kana-chan!"

The wig Kana wore had striking resemblance to the Kyoto beauty. No wonder Rikuo couldn't help but gaze fondly at her. "You look perfect as YoHime." He smiled widely at the other. Kana smiled back and accepted the compliment happily.

"You look just as perfect as Nurarihyon!"

"Hmm…" Rikuo muttered. "But his hair should be…"

"You said something?" Kana said, tilting her head.

"Ah, don't mind me!" exclaimed Rikuo, chuckling nervously. "That was too close. It almost slipped right out of my mouth." He then sighed to himself. "I can't help it. It's coz I personally know him."

Kiyotsugu smirked as he rolled his script booklet. "Should we get started?!"

"Sure!" Rikuo said ecstatically just as Kana said, "You bet!"

"I assume you've already memorized your script, Nura-kun?" asked the director for confirmation.

"I did," Rikuo said as he nodded. He had nothing to do in the hospital so he memorized the lines of their play.

"I knew it! As expected!" Kiyotsugu said, grinning widely at the chocolate hair. His belief towards him became stronger, seeing Rikuo as a person who one could really rely on.

Rikuo scratched the back of his nead. "It's nothing…"

And after everyone went to their places, Kiyotsugu gave the traditional cue, "Lights, camera, action!"

YoHime sat by the window, a little melancholic and a little of everything. She couldn't hate her father. No. She was raised by him. She owed a lot to him. And if by being his little answer to his financial problems was what she could do for him, she'd be more than happily and sadly obliged to do it. "…"

"You are said to be Kyoto's number one beauty," a voice said from out of nowhere. She looked around and saw a figure standing right before her. "Seeing you in person just confirms it."

YoHime's eyes widened as she backed away from the most likely dangerous stranger who stepped closer to her. Was it another yokai planning to take her away because of her liver that was said to conceive power to yokai? But… when her eyes met the other's, she didn't feel that he was as hostile as the others. "W-Who are you?"

The unknown outsider grabbed her wrist and smirked. "Humans call me… Nurarihyon."

"Humans? You mean you're…"

"The Lord of Pandemonium, at your service."

"And cut!" exclaimed Kiyotsugu.

"I never knew you were such a great actress, Kana-chan," Rikuo said, grinning.

Kana averted her eyes from him, a little awkward from such an intense scene. "Same here," she said as she thought, "I swear he wasn't the Rikuo-kun I knew just now…"

And there was a moment of silence in the whole classroom, startling Rikuo. "Oh no! I sucked!" he panicked in his mind. He then bowed before his classmates. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble I've caused!" He didn't know what he was really saying anymore. "I promise I'll make it up to you guys! I'll do better!"

"What're you talking about?" said Shima, raising an eyebrow. Rikuo blinked.

"You were perfect!" exclaimed one of the classmates. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We'll totally beat the socks out of every other class in the festival!" Kiyotsugu said, oddly determined.

"You're so bloodthirsty, it makes me a little queasy," said Natsumi, smiling nervously at the director.

Kana looked at Rikuo curiously. "Rikuo-kun sure does know a lot about this story… He couldn't have written the script with Kiyotsugu-kun…"

LATER

Rikuo sobbed to himself as he was left all alone in the classroom with cleaning duties. It was his punishment for neglecting the practices of the play, after all. "I was absent for a few days and this is what I get…" he thought sadly to himself, slumping. "I'd better get started… It's no use to just stand around and mope." He slid open the door and exited the classroom to get cleaning materials from the janitor, sighing. He heard footsteps from distance so he lifted his chin and saw Tamazuki walking towards him, waving.

"Tamazuki-senpai," Rikuo greeted, smiling sheepishly.

"Nura-kun," Tamazuki greeted back. "How was practice?"

Rikuo's face brightened. So far, so good. "Oh, it was great."

"That's good. Keep it up."

"Thanks."

"In two days is the festival already. Times flies real fast, huh?"

"It sure does." Rikuo nodded. He expected one more sentence from the senpai and he'd walk away to attend to his student council duties again. But no, the next sentence he said surprised and shocked the chocolate hair.

"Say, Nura-kun… Have you ever had supernatural occurrences in your life?"

Rikuo cleared his throat. "Not that I remember… Why?"

"No reason, just curious," Tamazuki replied as he rubbed his chin. Rikuo had a feeling he should escape from this conversation sooner than expected… "Actually, I'm interested in things related to the supernatural. Ghosts, the occult…

Yokai."

Rikuo's eyes widened. His hunch about the senpai was right.

"I know what you're hiding, Nura-kun…" Tamazuki said as he smirked. Rikuo couldn't talk back. His mouth couldn't move. Such bad timing. "That's why I'm absolutely ecstatic for your class play. I'm looking forward to it, Nura-kun…" He then walked past the chocolate hair saying, "see you then." with a huge coy smile across his face. "Now that I've discovered your dirty little secret, you better bring Yoru-kun then or… the story of Nurarihyon and YoHime just might be relieved again. But this time, there's no happy ending."

"Yoru was right!" Rikuo thought. "Then he… knows about us?!" His heart raced. He wouldn't want anyone to know about him and Yoru. Not now, not ever. Then all of a sudden, the feeling he always had whenever it involved Yoru and yokai showed up from out of the blue again. "Ugh, it's this feeling again…" He snapped his head up, his eyes widened. "S-So… Tamazuki-senpai's… a yokai?!"


THAT EVENING


"Ugh, not another yokai encounter. I've had just enough of it," Rikuo folded his arms as he sat in his revolving chair, looking out through the window for the umpteenth time that day. "Well, since the leader of the Hyakki Yako is… well… together with me…" He felt blood rush up to his head right after that. "Occurrences like these should just be natural to me. But I'm not a yokai. And I hate everyone being in danger all the time." He leaned his head on his arm that rested on the table. "I'll just have to talk to Yoru about it…"

"Nice evening, isn't it, Rikuo?"

Rikuo immediately looked up and met eyes with Yoru whose face was inches from his. He was still outside, the light of moon apparently spotlighting him.

"Oh, hi, Yoru," Rikuo greeted back, smiling nervously. Why couldn't he act normal around the guy? "Oh, by the way. You were right about Tamazuki-senpai…" Yoru blinked.

"H-He knows about us… I think he's a…"

"I knew it."

"Huh?" Rikuo blinked this time.

"I knew his name was familiar…" Yoru folded his arms against his chest and nodded. "Inugamigyobu Tamazuki… Old man used to talk about Tamazuki's father all the time…" Rikuo chuckled nervously as he imagined Nurarihyon boasting to his grandson about all his achievements, including Tamazuki's father.

"So what should we do about it?" said Rikuo. "I don't want else getting involved."

Yoru chuckled. "You've been in danger countless times yet you still care about their safety? You're quite the noble hero. I kinda concur with the guy in that sucky play." He referred to the yokai he annihilated nights ago.

"Shut up!" Rikuo looked away. "It's not like I get a charge out of it, you know."

"But your selflessness is one-in-a-million," added Yoru, smiling. "And it's one of the listless things I love about you." Rikuo felt his heart skip a beat just now. "I'll protect you, don't worry."

Rikuo shook his head and hands in unison. "B-But, I don't want to owe you anything more than I already have!" he insisted. "You've done too much. I don't want to be a burden to you."

Yoru patted Rikuo's head, smiling warmly. "Who says you've been a burden? The more I protect you, the more time I get to spend with you. Besides, you'd love me more than you do now." He winked. "It's a win-win situation."

"Don't be so freakin' blunt! And stop saying things with that smug smirk on your face!"

"I can't. You make me this way." Yoru felt like he was forgetting something but now the idea came back to him. "Actually, I could hand over my Nenekimaru to you for the time being."

Rikuo tilted his head. "Nenekimaru?"

"A blade used to exorcise yokai. It's been passed down from generation to generation," Yoru explained. "Grandmother actually used it against the old man."

"Whoa!" Rikuo said in surprise. He was also surprised Yoru actually respected her. "She's one brave woman!"

Yoru shook his head, narrowing his eyes at Rikuo. "That's not all. Old man never obeys anybody… until she came along. She gave him a hard time but he still loved her."

Rikuo couldn't help but burst out laughter. "I salute YoHime even more now. Now that's the way to put Nurarihyon-sama in his place."

Yoru then yanked Rikuo close to him, smirking. "I hope you don't give me much of a hard time as grandmother did."

"Well, first off, I'm not YoHime."

Yoru chuckled softly, hiding his bashfulness. "So you're already saying 'yes'?"

"Eh?" Rikuo blinked.

Yoru rolled his eyes. "You're slow as ever."

"Hey, I wasn't born to pick up things fast—"

"I just proposed," Yoru blatantly blurted.

Rikuo backed away, shocked. "You're bluffing!" He didn't know if he actually wanted to marry the guy. Maybe everything was just going too fast?

The crimson eyed yokai rolled his eyes again. "I was implying it. But I prefer the pace we're going with right now. We don't need to rush things." Rikuo sighed of relief. So the other was kidding. Again. "But just in case, you're already reserved to marry me." And once again, Yoru's bluntness struck the chocolate hair. "Oh, before I forget." He then handed over his blade to the other. "Here."

"Uh… are you sure? I'm not really good with swords…"

"What're you saying? I've seen you hold one. You're gonna do just fine." Yoru referred to the time they met again that fateful night.

"Now that you mention it…" Rikuo nodded. "You sure do have a photographic memory, Yoru."

"Well, of course," said Yoru. "A yokai never forgets. Not only his memories, but emotions as well. Remember that."

Rikuo smiled mildly at the crimson eyed yokai. He felt their forever just initiated. "I will."


TWO DAYS LATER


"Good luck!" everyone in the class cheered on. Everyone and everything was pretty much ready. All that was left was the announcement and prologue.

Rikuo was already on the stage and peered through the red curtains. "It's a full house," he thought to himself. He gulped and maintained his calmness and composure. He was surprised that with the make-up on, he looked more like the sodaisho now. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

"Rikuo-kun, let's do our best together!" said Kana, clasping her hands together. Rikuo nodded and smiled widely at her.

"Yeah, let's!"

Rikuo balled his fists. This was it. Today was the day. Where are you, Tamazuki-senpai?

The raven haired senpai stood on the balcony alone. Well, he wasn't alone anymore. There was someone who would grant him company. "How nice of you to join me, Yoru-kun," he said as his eyes shifted to the crimson eyed yokai. Rikuo had been a good boy and brought Yoru to him. But actually, Yoru decided to come after Tamazuki himself. He didn't want Rikuo to be in more danger than he already was.

"I'm here. Now what do you want?" Yoru asked, hostile over the other.

"Hmmm… Not much. Except your status as the Lord of Pandemonium," Tamazuki replied straight to the point.

"That's it?" Yoru looked at the other lamely.

"What do you mean 'that's it'? Having that prestigious title means you are the true and most powerful leader of the infamous Hyakki Yako." Tamazuki was bit surprised Yoru treated the title like nothing.

"Uh-huh. Tell me something I don't know," said Yoru, winking. The gesture reminded him of his own father.

Tamazuki didn't want any loop-de-loops with this conversation any longer. "Should we settle this with old-fashioned chivalry?" he suggested.

"You bet," Yoru said as he took out his arsenal.

"Oh?" Tamazuki blinked. "A wooden sword?" Was he belittling him? Bad idea.

"Don't worry. I've used this to cut through 'fear'," Yoru said reassuringly.

Tamazuki couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Let's see if such a crude weapon will work against me…"

And right after that, they launched themselves towards each other. Dodging each other's attacks, blows being hit…

"Is that all you got?" Yoru asked, smirking.

Tamazuki shook his head and smiled menacingly. "Oh no. I have a much powerful arsenal at hand."

Yoru blinked. "Huh?"

"Look to your right."

Yoru did what he was told when he casted his glance to the right. His eyes widened in utter shock as he witnessed Rikuo grabbing some girl's hand. He couldn't see everything clearly because the view from above wasn't as perfect. He only saw Rikuo and that girl's faces. His heart instantly fell. How—"Rikuo?"

Yoru gasped when Tamazuki gave him a good chop on the back of his neck. Distracting him for one second was all the raven haired senpai needed. And his plan worked. "You see, there's a reason why I invited you here, Yoru-kun. It's to see your beloved Rikuo Nura be taken away by another before your very own eyes."

"Rikuo… Why…?" Yoru then fell on the floor, his consciousness fading away.


A/N: Ta-dah! I'm back with my favorite NuraMago story (since it's the only NuraMago story I've written). I never expected lots of people demanding for a new chapter. Sorry if I haven't updated often, it's coz I was distracted from another fic. Sooo yeah. I'm glad I got to update again! And yet again, I leave you all with this lovely cliffhanger and longer chapter!

And usual lovely thanks to: CrescentFlame, MegumiHana, akira45, HikariNoTenshi-San (the one shot you request is on progress so you have to be a little patient, darling), Marisay-chan (I'm honored and happy to read your review! And about Rihan, time will come for that question ohohohoho-), Soul Vrazy, Midnight Kei and 27aquarrow72.

So yeah, be sure to look forward to the next chapter!