Decided to update this first because I suddenly got hit with Nuramago nostalgia.

This chapter is basically a time skip until the Nijo Castle part; I've already written the next chapter out (which is significantly longer than this; by like, 5x i think) but I'll probably wait a couple days to edit and then upload that.

Please enjoy this after my 4 year hiatus! (lol my writing has improved so much...I'm considering whether or not I should rewrite the entire thing when I'm done. If I ever get done with this.)

Rikun finally understood why his father and grandfather warned him against coming to Kyoto. They had been doing so well; Awashima was able to defeat the youkai of the temple, helping the onmyouji seal away Nijuunanamen Senju Mukade back into the ground. The pillar of Fear dissipated into nothing and the sun peeked through the clouds, a welcome sight after seeing what Kyoto had become. Rikun was finally able to find Yura (and her annoying brothers) and made sure that she was safe. Her shikigami, Hidemoto, gave a simple explanation of the situation and they had formed a temporary alliance with each other in which the Nura Gumi would fight the youkai occupying the temples, and the Keikain clan would then reseal them to bring light back to Kyoto.

Or, at least, that was the plan.

Rikun looked at the destruction around him. The temple grounds were a mess; wood splinters, rubble, and other debris littered the ground. He took a quick glance at the last place he saw Yura. Thankfully, it seems that annoying brother of hers does indeed have a heart, as he had shielded Yura from most of the large slab of rock that they were currently hiding (pinned?) under. However, even at this distance Rikun could tell that Ryuuji's arm was bent at a wrong angle; Ryuuji's face was pale as he grit his teeth through the pain and stayed quiet to not alert Tsuchigumo of their location.

Rikun looked up as the stone slabs pressing down on him were lifted away by his clan members. Aotabou and Kurotabo looked down at him, determination burning in their eyes. Rikun stood up.

"Hmph! Looks like there are some strong ones after all!" Tsuchigumo bellowed as he laughed heartily. "Well? I'm hungry! Show me how strong you are!" He roared.

Rikun's eyes flashed.

They'd lost. Terribly. Tsuchigumo tore through the hyakki like paper. There were so many bodies...all because Rikun was too weak. The top it off Tsuchigumo had taken Tsurara hostage. Why he would do that Rikun didn't know. Perhaps it was fate's morbid way of telling him to get stronger. Rikun staggered from his wounds and blood loss as he watched Tsuchigumo walk farther and farther away, a member of his hyakki thrown over his shoulder like a potato sack.

Shit.. damnnit I can't… Rikun's world spins and finally turns black.

The next time Rikun awakes, he's somewhere he doesn't recognize. Panic fills him first before he spots Zen next to him. Then he hears Gyuki of all people (wasn't he supposed to be at the main house, sitting and drinking tea with the old heads?) and he spews out something about how he hasn't learned to accept himself, and that his father was so much stronger than him (really, did he need to hear this again?) and then proceeds to say something about training so that Rikun can master some super-secret move his father created.

Rikun doesn't really get it, but training just means hitting things over and over, right?

Apparently not. Whatever it was Gyuki wanted him to learn, he wasn't going to learn it by hitting his enemies over and over. And why do they have to be so tough? He barely has any time to heal, and Zen has voiced as much. And then of course they had to be attacked while he was eating. Rikun knew he couldn't win; he couldn't even win against them in training. But it didn't matter. He could at least make sure Zen made it out alive.

Zen doesn't listen to him and doesn't flee. The block-headed idiot of a sworn brother. Rikun still loves him for it though, because he finally learns what it is that Gyuki wanted him to learn. Matoi, a move that allows Rikun to "wear" the fear of his most trusted, and in turn amplify both of their fears to the maximum. It was exciting, exhilarating - it was exhausting. Seriously, why is Matoi so useful but so tiring? At least it was enough to beat Tsuchigumo. Rikun hoped.

It was. Rikun had to use Matoi two consecutive times in a row -once with Tsurara (who ran off at the second chance for some reason or other) and once with Itaku- which was tiring as hell, but it was enough. Tsuchigumo had been split cleanly in half, and his blood rained down from where Rikun's and Itaku's scythe cut through him. Finally, one of the biggest threats in Kyoto was down. Except he also...wasn't? Tsuchigumo was still able to move and talk despite being cut in half. Luckily, he seemed to have no desire to fight them anymore, instead giving the Nura Gumi much more needed information about their current enemy.

The Nue. Abe no Seimei. Apparently the dude was an onmyouji from the Heian era who was also a hanyou who wanted to destroy all ayakashi that wasn't "pure" enough for him. He'd died back then, but was on the verge of reviving himself. His spirit needed to possess a host, which needed to be replaced every time it died, but his body was currently being reconstructed at Nijo Castle, in the lake below it. There wasn't much time before that happened and Rikun needed to hurry. If Abe no Seimei rejoins his body and spirit, who knows what'll happen to both humans and youkai alike. Rikun had another reason to hurry though. If his hunches were right, this Nue -Seimei- was the person behind his father's attempted murder nine years ago.

It had taken months for his father to recover from the fatal blow, and his father and grandfather had become so overprotective that technically by name, Rikun wasn't even the Third heir yet. Rikun was widely accepted as the Third heir, and most referred to him as such but there had never been any formal announcement of the sort, which irked Rikun somewhat even if he did know the reasoning behind it. Whoever this Seimei is, he had something over the Nura Gumi, something important enough that was able to get Rihan to lower his guard so much that he didn't notice he was going to be impaled until the sword point stuck out of his chest. Rihan refused to talk about the incident except with his father, Nurarihyon, which left Rikun grasping for anything that might be a clue. His father was hiding something from him and Rikun was going to get to the bottom of it no matter what.

Rikun took a deep breath and focused on the sight of the castle in front of him. His hyakki filled the streets to the brim. From this distance he could hear the alarms being raised in the castle.

Abe no Seimei...who are you?

Rikun started towards the castle.