I have fallen into a new fandom called modaozushi and i can't get out help.
But i at least finished this chapter, so here you guys go! (be proud of me hahahaha/slapped)
Rikun soon found out that there was another huge advantage to having Rikuo around the house, other than having Rikuo teach him kenjutsu.
Rikuo was hella smart when it came to homework.
And Rikuo was a hella great teacher.
Apparently, when Seimei was still using Rikuo's body, Seimei needed time to gather power, and in that time period also went to school. Rikuo, who was sleeping at the back of his own mind, had somehow picked up everything Seimei had to learn at school. And since Rikuo was physically 18, that meant he knew everything that Rikun was learning right now at age 13.
Never in Rikun's life, did he imagine that he would actually enjoy doing homework, but Rikuo made it fun and engaging enough for his Nurarihyon brain to focus on the problems.
Rikuo was exceptionally good at math and geography. His history was quite good too, although he had a sort-of advantage, being someone who once lived 400 years ago. His worst subject was English, although Rikun wasn't complaining. Rikun's grades started soaring once he started going to Rikuo for help. Even the teachers commented on it.
And, of course, with Rikuo helping him with homework, it meant less time banging his head on the wall over math and science and more time spent on training, both with Rikuo and secretly with Itaku.
Currently, Rikun was practicing his kenjutsu with said brother in the backyard. Sounds of clashing steel rang throughout the yard, already a common occurrence around the house.
"Hah!" Rikun yelled as he thrust his sword towards Rikuo's open left flank. Rikun didn't need to worry about seriously harming Rikuo; Rikuo was still much better than him in swordplay after all. That, and Zen was always close by whenever they practiced.
Sure enough, Rikun's strike was blocked. With a scabbard.
Rikuo blocked Rikun's strike, using his left hand to draw out the scabbard from his belt. He swung his right arm down straight towards Rikun.
Shit! Rikun swore internally as Rikuo's sword came down on him. The blade stopped a few centimeters away from Rikun's head.
Rikuo stepped away and lowered his sword after a brief moment. Rikun groaned in dismay as he stood up properly and sheathed his sword. He'd lost. Again.
"Damnit Rikuo, stop winning!" Rikun whined to his older brother. Rikuo simply laughed at his reaction, like he always did.
"Don't forget, I did train for over 80 years. Learned a bunch of different styles when I was traveling, too. I'd be embarrassed if you could one-up me in swordplay after only two months of training." Rikun pouted.
"But you are learning a lot faster than I expected. Have you been secretly practicing without me?" Rikuo teased. The guess was a little bit too close to the truth, but Rikun knew better than to let that faze him.
"Who knows? I can't keep losing to you forever." Rikun retorted back. He pointed his sheathed sword towards Rikuo. "Just you wait, Rikuo! I'll beat you one of these days!"
"Then I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen anytime soon." Rikuo chuckled, Rikun's threat flying over his head.
"You've got most of the techniques I've taught you down...It's just a matter of experience at this point." Rikuo hmmed thoughtfully. Rikun perked up.
"Seriously? Yes! That means as soon as I gain enough experience I can finally beat that winning streak of yours!" Rikun pumped his fist in the air. "C'mon, c'mon! Let's go again, Rikuo!" Rikun said as he drew his sword and settled into a basic stance. Rikuo snorted.
"Oi, oi, oi. I haven't even taught you half of the things I know yet. Don't get too cocky now, dearest brother." Rikuo teased as he too, settled into a stance. His sword was still sheathed, and Rikuo changed his position so that his right side was facing Rikun, his right arm hovering just above the sword handle on his left waist. An iaido stance.
"Going iaido, are we? Can't say we've seen you do that before." Nurarihyon commented from his place on the porch, where he was watching his two grandsons spar. Rihan hmmed in agreement, his head in Yamabuki's lap as he lay down on the porch next to his father. Yamabuki gently ran her fingers through her husband's hair.
"Alright Rikun, since you're so adamant on defeating me, perhaps I should go a bit harder in you. You know, just for the training." Rikuo told his brother. Rikun wanted to groan. After all this time and Rikuo was still holding back on him? Damn, he had a long way to go still.
"Watch carefully now; I'm gonna show you a new technique." Rikuo continued. That had Rikun's attention immediately. Rikun readied his sword. Rikuo smirked at his brother.
"Natto!" Rikuo called out. A small youkai appeared. Natto raised his hand up in the air. Both brothers readied themselves at Natto's call.
"Ready...Go!" Natto yelled as he brought his hand down.
Rikun rushed forward as soon as Natto Kozo gave the signal. He couldn't afford to give Rikuo any advantages. Rikun was knocked back several feet when Rikuo drew his sword in a perfect arc, deflecting Rikun's sword.
Rikuo returned his sword to his sheath as soon as he ended his iai move. He settled into his previous stance, waiting for Rikun to strike again.
Rikun wasted no time charging at his brother again, this time from a different angle. Once again, Rikuo tried to knock Rikun back with a quick draw. Rikun braced himself and managed to stay upright when Rikuo's sword struck his own. He stepped forward, bringing his sword up, preparing to strike down on Rikuo's open form.
Except Rikuo didn't even flinch. Rikuo spun around on his heel, using the momentum from his first swing to spin himself around and deliver another jarring blow on Rikun's sword. Rikun slid backwards.
Rikun grunted, his sword vibrating from the shock of the hit. Rikuo might look fairly average in muscle, but he hit hard. Rikun readied his sword again. Rikuo bent his knees slightly, seeing Rikun ready himself.
"Oi, oi, Rikuo. I thought you said you were gonna show me something new?" Rikun complained. While it's true that Rikuo had never used iaido during their previous sparring sessions, Rikuo was only using basic iaido moves so far. It was hardly a new technique.
"I'll get to it, I promise." Rikuo replied as he smirked. Rikun mentally grimaced, preparing himself for whatever Rikuo was planning. That smirk never meant anything good for him.
This time, Rikuo was the one who made the first move. He ran towards Rikun, drawing his sword at the same time. Rikun dropped down, ducking under the swing. He spun around and aimed a slash at Rikuo's open neck.
He wasn't too surprised when his sword was blocked again, but it was frustrating to say the least. Rikuo blocked him again. With the hilt of his sword.
Rikun's blade hit right Rikuo's hilt right in between Rikuo's two hands. Irregular guarding was something that was rarely seen in combat, as it was extremely precise and difficult to master. One miscalculation and Rikuo would have had his fingers sliced off.
Rikuo pushed Rikun away and once again, returned to his starting iai position.
Rikun stared at his brother with wary eyes. Was the irregular guard what Rikuo wanted to teach him? No, judging by Rikuo's reaction, he had yet to show whatever technique he was talking about. Rikun narrowed his eyes at his brother. He didn't know what Rikuo was planning, so the best option now is to guar-
Rikun didn't get to finish that thought.
It was pure reflex that saved Rikun. He managed to bring his sword up a split second before Rikuo hit him with his iaido. Unfortunately, Rikun was unable to maintain his footing and he landed on his back, sliding a couple feet away from Rikuo before using the momentum to roll and stand back up again.
What the hell was that? Rikun panted, his heart beating a weird rhythm from the hit. He stared at Rikuo with wide eyes.
Rikuo was calmly sheathing his sword, facing Rikun directly.
Rikun tried to recall what had happened. He was looking at Rikuo, trying to figure out what his brother was planning and then….
Rikuo appeared right in front of his eyes suddenly, when Rikun was absolutely sure that he had just been standing 20 feet away a split second ago.
"Oi, Rikun," Rihan's voice made Rikun snap out of his thoughts. He flinched and turned towards his father.
"Focus, Rikun. You can't afford to doze off against Rikuo in a kenjutsu match." Rihan continued. Nurarihyon nodded in agreement, smoking his pipe.
What…? Rikun was sure he maintained eye contact with Rikuo the entire time. But then Rikuo somehow managed to cross 20 feet without him noticing…Was he dozing off? Was he really this tired?
Rikun shook his head, trying to clear it. He readied his sword and pointed it towards Rikuo, who was patiently waiting for him.
"Again." Rikun told his brother, eyes narrowed in concentration. Rikun was pretty sure he didn't doze off back there, but it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that he focus on Rikuo's next attack and watch his movements carefully. A mistake like that would've cost him his life on the actual battlefield.
Rikuo nodded at Rikun's determination and settled into his stance.
Rikun stared at his brother, not even daring to blink.
Alright, focus! I just need to watch all of Rikuo's movements carefully from now on. I can't let a mistake like that happen agai-
"!" This time, Rikun was too slow to avoid the attack. Rikuo's sword cut through his chest.
And then the image of Rikun disappeared.
Rikuo looked around him, trying to find his brother. He sheathed his sword calmly.
"Hey, we agreed to no use of Fear, didn't we?" He called out into the open air. The air shimmered and flickered near a nearby tree.
"...Says the person who started using Fear first." Rikun scowled as he reappeared. He had changed into his youkai form. Rikun glared at one of the sleeves of his yukata. The bottom half of it had been completely cut off.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rikuo said innocently. "I didn't use Fear at all."
"Don't lie to me! How else are you doing that?" Rikun pointed his sword accusingly at his brother.
Once again, Rikuo seemed just appear halfway across the yard, right under Rikun's nose. And Rikun couldn't see his movements at all. If that's not Fear then what is?
"Rikun, are you ok?" Rikun turned towards the sound of his father's voice. Rihan had sat up, and was giving him a weird look. Nurarihyon and Yamabuki were staring at him weirdly too.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Rihan and Nurarihyon stared at him strangely.
"Well, for starters, Rikuo wasn't lying about the Fear part. He wasn't using Fear at all." Nurarihyon supplied. Rikun's eyes widened.
"Wha-"
"Rikun-sama, do you want to take a break?" Kubinashi interjected. "Maybe you're just tired after sparring against Rikuo-sama." Rikun looked around the yard at the other youkai who were watching the match. They were all staring at him with confusion.
"But-! But I swear I saw him disappear!" Rikun yelled, pointing at Rikuo, who was smiling much too innocently to actually be innocent.
"...Rikun, should we get Zen to take a look at you?" Rihan asked. He didn't even flinch when Rikun glared at him. "Rikuo didn't disappear. If anything, to us, you're the one who's acting strange."
Rikun furrowed his brow in confusion.
"What do you mean by that, old man?" Rihan and Nurarihyon shared a look.
"Well...To us, it looked as if your reaction time suddenly worsened. It was like you didn't even see Rikuo obviously rushing towards you."
Rikun blinked in confusion.
"Wha…?" So everyone else saw Rikuo move? But then why couldn't he see Rikuo's moveme-
Rikun stiffened. He turned slowly, facing his brother, who looked like he was trying not to laugh.
"...Rikuo." Rikun said slowly. "What did you do…?" He asked suspiciously.
Rikuo had the fucking audacity to laugh out loud.
"Ahahahaha! Sorry, but your reactions are just priceless!" Rikuo laughed, clutching his stomach. Everyone in the yard stared at Rikuo.
Rikuo wiped away the tears in his eyes.
"Ahaha...Don't worry about it, Rikun. You're not going crazy, I promise." Rikuo smiled at his brother. Rikun, on the other hand was very, very annoyed.
"Your reaction is normal for a first-timer, don't worry about it." Rikuo continued on, either not noticing Rikun's irked expression or not caring. Rikuo waved his hand in a lazy gesture.
"Actually, none of you guys are wrong technically."
"You know, you're not exactly helping us understand what's going on." Rikun finally retorted.
"Yes, yes, I'll explain everything. You gotta give me a sec to explain." Rikuo replied back. Rikun gave his brother a slight glare, but sheathed his sword and crossed his arms, waiting for Rikuo to explain.
"Okay, so!" Rikuo clapped his hands, gaining everyone's attention. "Grandpa's right in the fact that I didn't use Fear, because I didn't. But!" Rikuo interrupted Rikun when Rikun opened his mouth to protest. "Rikun is also correct in that I disappeared in front of his eyes." Rikuo said with a cheeky smile.
...Well that just made things more confusing. It didn't help that Rikuo seemed to be having fun staring at the confused expression on everyone's faces.
"Explain." Rikun demanded. Rikuo gave him another cheeky grin.
"This is the technique I said I was going to show you." Rikuo replied. Rikun snapped to attention.
"It's an ancient martial arts technique called Nukiashi, which involves footwork and breathing patterns." Rikuo explained.
"As for what it does, well, I think another example would be best." Rikun scowled.
"Oh no, you are not hitting me with that Nukiashi or whatever it is again!" Rikun yelled, putting his arms up in a cross, as if trying to shield himself.
"Oh, relax! I'm not that mean." Rikuo replied, rolling his eyes. Rikun eyed his brother skeptically.
"Anyway, what Rikun saw was something like this." Rikuo said to the rest of the youkai in the yard.
And then he suddenly appeared next to Rikun, who was 10 feet away.
Rikun jumped and aimed a punch at Rikuo reflexively. Rikuo apparently was used to this kind of reaction because he didn't even flinch when he caught Rikun's fist.
"How are you doing that?!" Rikun yelped. Rikuo laughed. The rest of the youkai stared at Rikuo in shock.
"Wait. Rikuo, do that again." Nurarihyon commanded, leaning forward in concentration. Rikuo looked at his grandfather and nodded.
"Sure." He shrugged. And then disappeared within a blink of an eye. Nurarihyon felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.
Nurarihyon jumped slightly, along with Rihan as they turned around and looked at Rikuo, who had appeared behind them.
"Pretty useful, isn't it?" Rikuo laughed as he stepped down from the porch and walked back to the middle of the yard. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.
"...So what exactly is this, Nukiashi or whatever?" Rikun asked. Rikuo put a finger up to his chin, looking thoughtful.
"Hmm, well if I had to describe it, I'd say it's something like the predecessor, I guess, or the human equivalent of Meikyo Shisui." Rikuo said. "Except since it's a martial arts technique, anyone can learn it, not just us Nurarihyons." Rikuo said looking as Rikun.
"Basically it's a technique the hides the user behind their opponent's unconsciousness."
"...Rikuo, I love you, and you're the best brother in the world, but you are making absolutely no sense at all." Rikun said flatly. Rikuo scratched his head, trying to think of how to explain things.
"Well first of all, do you know what the consciousness and unconsciousness are?" Rikun shook his head.
"Ok then. This is basically the same for every living thing, but the basic concept is that our brains can't handle taking in 100% of all sensory information at the same time. Our brains just can't process that much at once. So the brain constantly divides all sensory information into the consciousness and the unconsciousness.
"Your consciousness is basically your conscious thoughts, what your brain focuses on, things like that. The unconscious is everything that the brain deems as unnecessary information. That would be things like, say, the color of a flower on the side of the road, or the branding on an earring of a stranger standing next to you, how many birds are flying at the corner of your eye, etc. Things that you can see and sense, but don't focus on because it's not useful to you. Does that make sense?" Rikun nodded.
"Nukiashi is a technique that basically makes it so that your movements are seen as unnecessary information in your opponent's brain. So while your opponent is certainly looking at you, they can't recognize that they can see your movements. And this continues until the last moment, until their brain recognizes that it's in immediate danger. Got it?" Rikun nodded slowly, his eyes widening as his brain slowly comprehended what Rikuo was telling him.
"It's better for one on one fights, though. You can certainly make it so that you disappear in front of multiple people, but it's much harder, since you have to worry about hiding your presence under everyone's unconscious." Rikuo continued explaining. Rikun nodded in understanding. So it wasn't a flawless technique after all.
"But I think if you can combine it with your Meikyo Shisui then it shouldn't be that much of a problem." Rikun's eyes widened. He tilted his head upwards, looking thoughtful.
"...Huh." Was all he said, a smirk slowly forming on his face.
"And you learned this from your master while you were gone?" Nurarihyon interjected. Rikuo nodded.
"Yeah. Although, according to Sensei, I'm a natural at it?" Rikuo said as he scratched his head.
"I once accidentally gave him a jump scare when I went to go ask him a question, and Sensei was really surprised that I knew how to use Nukiashi. Apparently that's how I seem to just, blend into the crowd and sneak around before. I didn't even know it was a technique that required learning." Rikuo shrugged. "After Sensei found out that I knew how to use Nukiashi unconsciously, he trained me so that it was more refined. Also taught me how to break out of it if it's ever used against me."
"So how does one break out of Nukiashi?" Kurotabou asked. Rikuo grimaced.
"It's really hard; much harder than learning how to use it. Even after close to 60 years of training it still takes me roughly two and a half minutes to break out of it." The entire yard winced. Two minutes was a really long time on the battlefield.
"It's already a lot better than when I first started though; when I first started it took me 10 minutes to break out of it." Rikuo looked sheepish as he admitted that. He cleared his throat.
"Anyway. For breaking out of it, you need to be able to switch between your conscious and unconscious at will. Since the opponent will be using your unconscious against you, all you have to do is switch to using your unconscious instead of your conscious in battle. It's much easier said than done though." Rikuo started explaining.
"How so?" Rikun asked. The concept seemed simple enough. He stiffened when Rikuo suddenly pressed a blade to his neck.
"It's like having an opponent pressing a blade to your neck like this, and instead of focusing on the sword, you focus on what's written on the sake bottle next to Dad." Rikun flicked his eyes to the side, trying to see the bottle Rikuo was talking about. Rikuo pressed his blade further, and Rikun was forced to look at his brother in the eyes.
"Not so easy, is it?" Rikuo said as he put down his sword. Rikun rubbed his neck where Rikuo had pressed his blade against. He gulped.
This Nukiashi was a dangerous technique indeed. It would seem that trying to break out of this technique was much harder than breaking Meikyo Shisui. After all, Meikyo Shisui is fairly easy to break, as long as the opponent had a basic understanding of how Fear worked.
But to be able to control your own body up to the point where you can force it to switch between your own conscious or unconscious?
That's not something everyone can do. In fact, it sounds like something many masters would have trouble grasping.
"I can teach you how to use Nukiashi; that's the easy part. Breaking out of it on the other hand...Well, that's going to take some time." Rikuo finally said. He looked at Rikun.
"Well? Do you want me to teach you?" Rikuo asked his brother. Rikun blinked at him.
"Well, duh! Of course I want to learn!" Rikun switched back to his human form. "C'mon! Let's start now!" He urged. Rikuo laughed at his enthusiasm.
"Sure. But be warned; while I did say that learning it is much easier than learning how to break out of it, this technique is still fairly hard to grasp."
"Hey Rikuo! Mind teaching us too?" Nurarihyon piped up. Rikuo huffed.
"I don't think I need to give you guys any more advantages against poor Kubinashi and Karasu Tengu. They're the ones that have to keep going out and finding you guys whenever you guys disappear." Nurarihyon and Rihan gaped at Rikuo.
"Traitor!" They cried, making Rikuo laugh. Kubinashi and Karasu Tengu both breathed sighs of relief.
"C'mon Rikun. Let's go train inside. I don't exactly want everyone else in the yard to figure out how to use this technique. Can you imagine the chaos that would happen if everyone in the clan knew how to use it?" Rikuo said as he stepped onto the porch, Rikun following close behind. Rikun barked out a laugh.
"That's true. So this'll just be our little secret, huh?" Rikun wiggled his eyebrows. Rikuo smiled.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that."
"Rikuo~! My son, why have you done this to me~" Rihan whined dramatically as he watched Rikuo walk away.
"Hey! Unlike you two, I actually need this Nukiashi. If I'm going to naturally have less Fear than most people, then the only other thing I can focus on is improving my martial arts skills." Rikuo replied, throwing his predecessors a glance. That shut everyone else up.
Okay, maybe Rikuo did have a valid reason for not wanting to teach this to anyone else. Martial arts was the only thing he had an advantage of over the other youkai, as most youkai focus on the development of their Fear first before any other skills like kenjutsu or martial arts.
Rikuo pushed Rikun to move faster.
"Come on, Rikun. Let's hurry up. You still have a group project, right? I'll train you up until dinner then."
"All right, all right! I get it, I'll move faster! Stop reminding me of homework!" Rikun complained as he let his brother push him into the house.
The two brothers disappeared into the house bickering at each other, leaving everyone else in the yard smiling after them fondly.
"Ok, spill. Who's been doing your homework for you?" Rikun looked up at Maki's accusatory stare. He put down the card he was trying to stack on top of his mini card tower.
"What?"
"You're not fooling anyone here, Nura." Maki snorted, Natsumi nodding in agreement behind her. "There's no way your grades would suddenly become so good out of nowhere."
"Uh…"
"How dare you! Accusing Rikun-sama of cheating!" Tsurara piped up, positioning herself defensively in front of Rikun. Rikun held up a hand.
"It's fine, Tsurara. And I told you to stop it with the whole 'Rikun-sama' thing, didn't I?" Rikun said as he went back to concentrating on building his tower.
"As for your question Maki-san, the answer is no one." Rikun replied nonchalantly. He carefully placed the poker card he had in his hand on top of the small tower.
"Don't lie to me!" Maki yelled as she slammed her hand down on Rikun's table, effectively destroying Rikun's card tower.
"Hey!"
"Ok fine, if no one's doing your homework for you, then who's tutoring you and for how much? Because I want in."
"Me too!" Natsumi piped up, Shima joining in moments later.
"Uh…" Rikun looked around the room at his friends. It was currently after school, and they had all met up in their homeroom classroom for their weekly Youkai Search Club meeting.
Well, it wasn't really a meeting, per se. Kiyotsugu was the only one working on youkai related stuff on his laptop (like always) and the rest of them were just lounging around waiting for Kiyotsugu to finish.
"Uh, well…" Rikun's friends stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.
Should Rikun tell them the truth? About his brother? Or should he just make up a lie and tell them to go to a tutoring center and be done with it?
Tsurara and Kurata gave their Young Master a Look™.
Don't you dare say anything out of line.
Rikun smirked. Well, that decision was easy.
"Ok, the truth is," He started, his friends leaning forward with interest. Rikun couldn't really hide the smirk that was forming on his face. "My older brother came back home recently and he's been teaching me. He's super smart so our homework is nothing to him." Rikun shrugged.
There was a moment of silence. And then…
"You have a brother?!" The room exploded. Even Kiyotsugu looked up from his laptop to gape at his childhood friend.
Tsurara and Kurata had matching looks of shock and panic on their faces. RIKUN-SAMA. WHAT ARE YOU DOING. BAD! IDEA! Their faces practically screamed.
Oh, Rikun was going to have so much fun with this.
"Yeah! I never told you guys about him?" Rikun tilted his head to the side innocently. Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground.
"No, you didn't! What the heck, Rikun? We've known each other since elementary school and you just thought of telling us you have a long-lost brother-"
"Hey, for the record, he wasn't lost. He's just been at boarding school for the last decade or so, so that's why you guys have never met him." Rikun said, the lie rolling off of his tongue smoothly.
"But he still comes back for the summer and for breaks, right? How come we've never seen him then?" Kana asked. Rikun mentally cursed.
"That's uh, that's because he...He hangs out with his friends! Yes, he hangs out with his friends all the time." Rikun quickly fibbed. He remembered something.
"Oh, and from what I've heard from Rikuo, his friends like to travel around a lot, so he usually tags along with them during breaks." Hopefully that was close enough to the truth. From what little Rikuo had mentioned about the 80 years out on his own, it seemed he traveled around the entirety of Japan with some sort of master while training. Surely Rikuo can fib his way through this lie like Rikun was doing right now?
"Dude, I don't believe you. I gotta see this proof with my own eyes." Shima said flatly, sitting on one of the chairs, leaning over the back of it.
"Yeah, man. Being the prankster that you are, your words do sound kinda suspicious…." Maki joined in, leaning in, scrutinizing Rikun with narrowed eyes. Natsumi nodded behind her friend. Rikun snorted.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What, do you guys need me to give you a proper escort to my house so you can see my brother?"
"That's a great idea, Nura-kun!" Kiyotsugu suddenly yelled out loud, startling everyone.
"Huh?"
"Yes, let us all go to Rikun's house right now! I'm sure we can find some youkai this time around, and we can also go meet Nura-kun's never-before-heard-of brother!" Tsurara looked like she was melting at this point, if the mist on the desks next to her were any indication. Kurata seemed like he was astral planing somewhere into the universe.
"I thought we already established my house wasn't haunted from the previous times you guys have come around." Rikun frowned, trying to hide the laughter that was threatening to burst out from the situation. "Besides, I can always ask my brother to meet us at like, McDonald's or something. Why do we need to go to my house all the time?" Kiyotsugu wagged a finger at his friend.
"Nura-kun, what's with that kind of downer spirit? Youkai can appear at any time, anywhere! And I'm certain that we'll be able to find something at your house today, I just know it! The universe has given me a sign!"
"What sign now?" Tsurara squeaked out. She somehow managed to get her icy mist under control, but her face was still a bit too sweaty for normal standards.
"Ah, right. I haven't told you guys yet." Kiyotsugu said thoughtfully as he packed up his laptop. "Don't be too shocked or envious when you hear this, but guess who I saw at the Keikain main house?" Rikun really wanted to laugh at his bodyguards' reactions now.
"Who?" Shima asked. Kiyotsugu waved all of them closer, the suspense rising.
"I saw Nurarihyon!" Kiyotsugu exclaimed. "And not just one, but two of them! You saw them too, right, Nura-kun?" Kiyotsugu swiveled around to face Rikun.
Heh, this is more fun than I thought it'd be.
"Nope! I have no. Idea. What you're talking about." Rikun said confidently. He sneaked a glace behind him.
Tsurara had a very blank smile on her very stiff face, and Kurata looked like his spirit flew off somewhere into the solar system, never to return again.
"Huh, I guess the gods just don't like you as much then." Kiyotsugu continued on, oblivious to the situation. "Well guys? Pack your bags and let's go! Onward to Nura-kun's house!" Kiyotsugu yelled, already pushing the desks back to their original position. Everyone else mumbled words of agreement and started packing up and cleaning the room.
Rikun sighed dramatically.
"Alright, fine! Just let me call home first so they know you guys are coming." He relented, whipping out his cell phone and pressing the call button. He put his phone up to his ear, throwing a slightly-but-also-not-really apologetic glance at his bodyguards. The line picked up.
"Rikun?" Rikuo's voice answered. "Is something wrong? Why'd you call my cell-"
"Hey, Rikuo! Long story short, my friends are coming over to see you, my quote in quote, 'long-lost brother,' so uh, I'm gonna need you to tell everyone else that they're coming." Rikun said in one breath.
There was a brief moment of silence on the other end of the line. Rikuo sighed.
"Let me guess; you started this whole thing."
"You are absolutely correct in that deduction." Rikun admitted unashamedly, a wicked smile on his face. His brother sighed again from the other side.
"Ok, fine. I'll tell everyone else. Anything else I need to know? What cover story did you make up for me?"
"That you'd been at boarding school for the past decade and you go traveling with your extremely adventurous friends during breaks so that's why they've never seen you." Rikun whispered, keeping an eye on his friends, making sure none of them were listening. He heard Rikuo give a thoughtful hmm from the other end.
"Alright, I think I can work around that." Rikuo finally replied.
"Thanks, bro. You're the best!" Rikun said gratefully.
"I know." Was Rikuo's flat reply.
"I'll go tell Dad and the others now. I'll see you back home, Rikun."
"Thanks, Rikuo. Bye!" Rikun ended the call.
"So? What'd they say?" Maki asked when she saw Rikun put away his phone.
"We're good. They know you guys are coming. They'll probably do some last minute cleaning while we're on the way." Rikun replied nonchalantly, trying to ignore Tsurara's and Kurata's death glares.
"Alright! Next stop: Nura's house!" They cheered.
Half an hour later, Rikun and his friends found themselves at the front door to the Nura compound.
"I'm home! And my friends are here!" Rikun called out into the empty hallway. He and his friends quickly took off their shoes at the front entrance. Yamabuki poked her head from around the corner, hearing her son's voice.
"Ara, back already? I haven't even made tea yet! Welcome, Rikun's friends." She hurriedly ushered them inside.
"It's fine, Nura-kun's Okaa-san. We're mostly here to see Rikun's brother anyway." Kana piped up. Yamabuki shook her head.
"But you're guests! Why don't you guys wait in the living room? I'll go bring some snacks and call Rikuo-kun over real quick." Yamabuki suggested. After receiving several nods, she turned and went out the door, leaving the room to the teenagers.
"So your brother's name is Rikuo?" Shima asked. Rikun nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't mention it back in the classroom?"
"No! Jeez, Nura-kun, no offense, but what's with your short term memory loss recently?"
"Hey, I take full offense to that statement!" Rikun huffed. He crossed his arms. "Besides, things have been pretty busy at home too. I barely have time to sleep these days." Which wasn't a total lie, technically. Rikun and Itaku usually trained at night, after 11 pm when Rikun should have gone to sleep. Key word, "should" have.
"Oooh, is that why you've been sleeping in class more than usual lately?" Natsumi asked, her cat-like eyes looking at her friend with concern. She frowned. "You should take care of yourself more, Rikun." Rikun waved her concerns off.
"Nah, it's alright. I can handle it." Natsumi frowned at her friend. Maki snorted.
"C'mon, Natsumi. You know Rikun's not gonna listen no matter what. The guy's hopeless."
"Hey!" Rikun protested.
"Hmm, I don't know...I mean, it is pretty true…" Shima piped up from where he was sitting next to Kiyotsugu, who nodded wisely. Rikun gaped at his friends.
"I can't believe you guys! After I escorted you guys to my house to meet my brother too!" Rikun turned to Tsurara and Kurata for support.
"Hmmm, I don't know, Rikun-kun, I think our friends are making a lot of sense." Tsurara said forcefully, a forced smile on her face. The air around her was much, much colder, almost like a refrigerator.
"I'm inclined to agree with Oikawa-san on this one." Kurata said just as forcefully, glaring daggers at Rikun. Rikun sweatdropped.
...Ok maybe he went just a tiiiiny bit too far with this one.
"Wow, what'd you do to piss those two off?" A new voice sounded from the door. Everyone turned their heads towards the new person in the room. Rikun's face lit up at the sight of his brother standing there. Rikuo was wearing a white kimono with a yellow collar, a dark blue haori draped over his shoulders. His hair was still in a low ponytail, but he was wearing his new glasses this time around. He looked around the room at the guests.
"Rikuo! Nice timing! Now save me please." Rikun said as he dragged his brother to where he sat, placing Rikuo between himself and his two bodyguards. Rikuo huffed. He thumped Rikun in the head lightly.
"Why must you make my life more difficult? I've already got Dad and Grandpa to deal with and now I have to deal with you and your shenanigans." Rikuo scolded. Tsurara and Kurata looked mildly pacified.
"Wha- I called you in advance already! What more was I supposed to do?" Rikun protested, rubbing his head on the spot Rikuo thwacked him on. "Besides, this was Kiyotsugu's idea, not mine!" He said, pointing at said friend. Rikuo looked at Rikun's group of friends.
"Oh yeah, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Nura Rikuo, Rikun's older brother. Nice to meet you guys." Rikuo introduced himself. He rested an elbow on Rikun's head. "Thanks for taking care of my little brother here. Also, I apologize on behalf of Rikun here for whatever trouble he's caused so far. I know what he can get like." Rikuo said, digging his elbow into Rikun's head. Rikun squawked, both at Rikuo's words and at the noogie he was receiving.
"Hey, no fair! Says the guy who's a better prankster than me. What is this, 'pick on Rikun day?'" Rikun swatted Rikuo's arm away, who laughed.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Rikuo laughed.
"Nice to meet you too, Rikuo-kun. Hey guys, we should introduce ourselves too." Kana interrupted. Rikun's friends took turns introducing themselves to Rikuo.
"Hey, I know you said you're Rikun's brother, but are you really?" Shima blurted out before realizing that was probably quite rude. "I mean, frankly I still don't quite trust Rikun that much-"
"I'm right here, you idiot."
"But it wouldn't seem out of place for Rikun to find a friend and then pull some elaborate joke about how that friend is actually his brother." Shima quickly finished, looking very, very embarrassed. Everyone else stared at him with varying degrees of disbelief and exasperation except Rikuo, who merely blinked at him.
"Well, we're technically stepbrothers so that's why we don't look too similar. Rikun took more after Dad while I took more after my mom." Rikuo explained. Rikun's friends nodded in understanding. Rikun huffed.
"I told you guys he was my brother."
"So you guys have different moms then?" Maki asked, ignoring Rikun. Rikuo nodded.
"Yeah. My mom died when I was really young, though. After Mom's death Dad remarried and had Rikun." Rikuo finished explaining. Maki gave a small ah, and nodded, the atmosphere tense and awkward.
"We heard you've been at boarding school for the past decade?" Natsumi piped up, switching topics.
"Yeah. I graduated early, and since I'm still deciding on what to do for college, I decided to come back and help out with the family business and all that."
"Cool, where's it at?" She leaned forward, interested.
"Nara." Rikuo replied swiftly. Rikun eyed Rikuo from the side. None of them really knew much about what Rikuo was doing during those 80 years, and Rikuo was hella secretive about his time alone. Maybe he'll finally let slip something now that his human friends are here.
"Oooh, that's nice. You don't speak with a Kansai accent like Yura-chan though." Natsumi commented.
"Well, if ya want me to, I can switch over to a Kansai accent." Rikuo said as he switched over naturally.
"Oh! Hey, Nura-kun's brother-"
"Just call me Rikuo, Kiyotsugu-kun. I don't mind." Rikuo smiled at Kiyotsugu.
"Ah, then Rikuo-kun! Have you perhaps heard of any youkai stories from Nara? This will be a great addition to our database!" Kiyotsugu pumped his fist in the air, everyone else sighing around him.
"What database?" Rikuo asked, confused. Rikun sighed.
"Kiyotsugu's been making a huge wikipedia database for youkai for the club. So he's been asking around for information and sometimes drags us to other places to search for youkai." Rikun explained to his brother, who nodded.
"I see."
"Oh, and Rikun mentioned that you traveled a lot with your friends? Have you heard of any stories from those other areas? Please~!" Kiyotsugu begged. Maki whacked him on the head.
"How embarrassing can you get? We just met the guy and here you are, scaring him off with your weird youkai knowledge." Maki turned to Rikuo. "I'm so sorry for him, Rikuo-san, I promise we're not all weird like he is." Rikuo laughed.
"It's fine, it's fine. Besides, I heard from Rikun that you guys are in a yokai searching club? If that's the case, then yeah, I've heard of some stories here and there." Kiyotsugu perked up like a dog at Rikuo's words. "When you travel with friends a lot you end up sharing a bunch of ghost stories with each other at night."
"Please share them with us, Rikuo-senpai!" Kiyotsugu said enthusiastically, already pulling his laptop out to take notes.
"I'm also curious about youkai from places other than Tokyo." Rikun said as he rested his head against his palm. He loved the Nura Gumi youkai dearly, but sometimes he wished he could go out and see some of the other youkai of Japan. Tsurara and Kurata also looked mildly interested in whatever stories Rikuo had.
Rikuo put a hand up to his chin, racking his brain for any good stories.
"Hmm...I assume you guys have already heard of the more famous ones, so I'm not gonna bother with those...Ah!" Rikuo snapped his fingers as he remembered a story.
"This is a pretty local story, so I doubt you've heard of it, but have you guys heard of the story of the 'Chimamire Suzume?'" Rikun snorted.
"The 'Bloody Sparrow?' Sorry, but that name sounds so cliche," Rikun said before he was shushed by Kiyotsugu.
"Ahaha, yeah, the name is pretty cliche, but the legend is pretty scary." Rikuo continued. That means this youkai must be pretty powerful.
"Anyway, legend has it that back in the Edo period, there was once a prestigious family by the name of Uehara that lived in modern day Toyama." Rikuo began his story, capturing everyone's attention.
"The Uehara family grew and grew, until it had almost everything everyone dreamed of. Money, prestige, women, you name it. Hundreds of servants and guards, people who served them, and a large territory that was fully under their control. They were kind masters too, and the people loved them.
"But after several generations, the greed in their hearts started taking over." Rikuo continued. Rikun frowned to himself. This sounded like a typical ghost story, where a prestigious family falls because of their own greed. What does youkai have to do with this?
"Nothing could please them anymore. They wanted more. Eventually their greed led them to dabble in the dark arts, with youkai.
"They became the leaders of a group of youkai, and sought to expand themselves even more. They wanted everything this world had to offer, and set out trying to conquer both humans and youkai alike." Rikuo paused here, his tone becoming serious. Everyone leaned forward with rapt attention.
"Obviously, there were many who opposed them. Many were not happy with the way they operated, the way they started treating commoners. But that didn't stop them. The expanded and killed, and almost made it to Edo.
"That's when the Chimamire Suzume appeared. Was it an accumulation of karma? Or divine judgement from the gods? Or perhaps the accumulated hatred of those the Uehara family killed? No one knows for sure, but what is known, is that the sparrow only appeared for one night in the Uehara family compound.
"And in that one night, the entire Uehara house was killed." The air froze around them at Rikuo's words. Rikuo's expression turned dark, and his eyes seemed to glow a bit.
"No one was spared, servants, guards, onmyouji hired to serve and guard them, the youkai they had control over, hundreds of people slaughtered in one single night.
"People say that they heard a sparrow's call the night of the murder, and when someone went to check, all that was left was a single sparrow feather, in a sea of blood." Everyone in the room had stiffened up at one point. Some of the girls' breathing became just a bit shallower. Rikun and his bodyguards shared a look. This was a dangerous youkai indeed.
"...And so concludes the story of the Chimamire Suzume. It's said that the sparrow disappeared after the event, and was never heard from again. So who knows? Was it really divine punishment for the Uehara family? Was it actually a siege by vengeful enemies? Were they killed by youkai? No one knows for sure, but it's true that the family no longer exists." Rikuo said as he ended his dark little story. "And the house burned down several years after the event so there really is nothing left of the Uehara family."
"...Wow, I've never heard of anything like this." Shima said after a while.
"Yeah, I mean. An entire family…" Maki agreed solemnly. Kiyotsugu had snapped out of his stupor and started frantically typing things down on his laptop. Rikuo shrugged.
"If you guys want I can try to remember some of the stories that are less scary and bloody."
"Yes, please." Rikun's friends all said at once, except Kiyotsugu.
"Wha- How can you guys say that?! And you call yourselves members of the Kiyojuji Paranormal Squad?" Kiyotsugu pointed a finger at his friends.
"But it's terrifying! Dude, I like my sleep thank you very much." Maki retorted back.
"Alright, alright, settle down guys. I'll try to tone down the gore; you guys are still junior high students after all." Rikuo tried to pacify the situation. He frowned and looked at the door.
"Although, Yamabuki Okaa-san sure is taking a while. I wonder if something happened in the kitchen?" Rikuo commented.
"Now that you mention it…" Rikun said thoughtfully. Normally his mom would have came in almost immediately after Rikuo.
As if summoned, the door opened revealing Yamabuki, carrying a tray full of various sweets, a teapot, and several cups. Rikun blinked, looking at the thing on his mother's shoulder.
"Ah, I'm so sorry for the wait!" Yamabuki hurriedly put down the tray in front of them. "We had a little bit of... trouble in the kitchen you could say." She said as she looked at the bird perched on her shoulder. Everyone stared at the weird sight.
"Um...This little one flew into the kitchen while I was preparing the tea and…" Yamabuki fidgeted, trying to shoo the bird away to no avail. The small blue and brown bird merely squawked and flapped it's wings irritably. Rikuo coughed, as if choking on the air.
"Yes well, this little one seems to have taken a liking to me…He won't leave my side." Yamabuki said awkwardly. The bird seemed to find something offensive in Yamabuki's words because it started flapping it's wings and smacking Yamabuki in the face.
"She." Rikuo coughed out. Everyone turned to stare at him. "That's a she."
"How do you know that, Rikuo?" Rikun stared at his brother surprised. Rikuo gave him a brief glance.
"Uh...My friends and I like to hike a lot, and some of my friends are obsessed with learning about the kinds of plants and animals we see on our hikes." Rikuo gestured to the bird on Yamabuki's shoulder.
"That's a Sankouchou. It's a migratory bird. You can tell it's a female by the length of its tail; males tend to have longer ones." Rikuo quickly explained, standing up and walking over to Yamabuki. He knelt down in front of the bird and held a hand out to it before reaching over to gently stroke it's feathers. The bird warbled and dipped it's head, allowing Rikuo to pet it. Rikuo then gently pet it and guided it so that the bird was now standing on his arm. The bird chirped at him happily.
"Woah, where'd you learn how to do that?" Shima asked, everyone staring in awe at Rikuo's bird handling skills.
"I have a friend that's obsessed with birds. Likes to take us to various bird cafés. Also likes to interact with wild birds when we're out hiking." Rikuo said as he stood up slowly and walked over to the opposite door.
"It's rare to see a Sankouchou out here though; they usually live in the more southern parts of Honshu." Rikuo commented as he opened the door facing the backyard. He gave the bird a pointed and exasperated look. Rikun blinked at his brother's reaction.
"This one's probably someone's pet." Rikuo finally said flatly. The bird squawked angrily as if understanding Rikuo's words and nipped his fingers. Rikuo yelped and jerked his arm, the bird flying out of the room and into the backyard. It landed on the wall, turned around, and seemed to spit at Rikuo before taking off and returning to wherever it came from.
Everyone stared after the bird, not knowing what to say. Finally, after a very awkward pause, Rikuo closed the door, padded over to their little group, and plopped down.
"So anyway, I said I was going to tell you guys more stories right?" That seemed to snap everyone else out of their daze.
"Ah, right!" Kiyotsugu said energetically as the others groaned. Yamabuki gave a small laugh as she quickly finished pouring everyone's tea. She excused herself out the room, once again leaving the teenagers alone.
"Ok, so I just remembered this other story after seeing that bird…" Rikuo started his stories, capturing everyone's attention with his witty descriptions and commentary. The room was quickly filled with laughter and light banter as the teenagers chatted well into the afternoon.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rikuo nii-san!" Kiyotsugu said as the rest of their little group stood at the front entrance, ready to go home. Rikuo told them various stories up until almost dinner time, and Rikun's friends were all preparing to go home.
"Please, if you have the time, you're always welcome to join our club! You won't be an official member of course, but we would love another youkai fan to join us!" Rikuo gave a small laugh.
"Sure. If I have time." He replied. Somewhere, a bird chirped.
"Hey, isn't that the bird from earlier? It hasn't left yet?" Kana looked up at the telephone lines, and indeed, the Sankouchou from before was perched on the line, looking at their little group. Kana giggled.
"I think it likes your family, Rikun." Rikun smiled.
"I think you mean it likes Mom and Rikuo. Who knows?" He shrugged. Rikun gave his friends a small wave.
"Well, it's almost time for dinner for us too. See you guys tomorrow at school!" He waved. His friends waved back and gave their goodbyes before finally heading back to their respective homes. The front gates closed.
Rikuo let out a loud sigh, which had Rikun looking at him with concern.
"Rikuo? What's wrong?" Rikun asked his brother. "Was meeting my friends really that stressful?" Rikuo shook his head.
"No, it's not that. It's just…" Rikuo gave a loud sigh again, his shoulders drooping. This time, the youkai that finally came out of hiding also stared at the Young Master with concern.
Rikuo turned to the bird perched on the telephone line.
"Suzuki." He called out. The bird chirped and flew down, landing on Rikuo's outstretched arm. Rikun's jaw dropped to the ground, as did everyone else's. Rikuo scowled at the bird.
"Really? You had to come now?" Rikuo asked the bird, slightly irritated. "And how'd you find me anyway? I'm pretty sure I didn't contact anyone after my uh, revival."
"You know this bird?!" The bird in question screeched at Rikun, pecking him on the head. Hard.
"Ow!"
"Suzuki, calm down! He doesn't know!" Rikuo yelped as he grabbed the bird that was attacking his brother. Suzuki gave an angry grumble, but calmed down a bit to stand on Rikuo's arm.
"Its name is Suzuki?" Rikun asked, rubbing his head in pain.
You're damn right it is, brat! A voice sounded across the yard. Rikun blinked at the bird.
"Did it-" The bird screeched angrily again.
"Did she," Rikun quickly corrected himself. The bird settled down almost immediately. "Just speak? And you guys know each other?" Rikuo nodded while Suzuki seemed to huff and turn her head the other way.
"Guys, meet Suzuki. She's a friend of Kohaku, who was a traveling companion of mine during those 80 years. They come from the same village actually." Rikuo introduced his bird friend to the rest of the members in the yard.
"She looks like a regular bird right now, but don't underestimate her; she's really strong." Suzuki warked and jumped off Rikuo's arm. Her body glowed and started expanding. When the glow settled down, a bird that was three heads taller than Rikuo stood next to him. Suzuki cooed and butted her head against Rikuo's. She chirruped and started to...was she grooming Rikuo's hair? Rikun frowned.
Rikuo swatted her head away playfully. "I'm fine, Suzuki. And you haven't answered me on how you managed to find me."
That's easy. Kohaku told me. Suzuki replied easily. Rikuo frowned.
"But how did Kohaku know-"
Rikuo. This is Kohaku we're talking about. Suzuki deadpanned. That, and the fact that he's still traveling with that freak of a teacher of yours. Although to be honest, something as big as 'the previous heir to the Nura Gumi was revived' is bound to be spread all across Japan. I'm pretty sure everyone's heard of it by now. Rikuo laughed awkwardly.
"Ahaha... That's true I suppose." Rikuo said sheepishly. Suzuki suddenly looked around as if searching for something.
"Whatcha lookin' for, Suzuki?" Rikuo asked, his Kansai accent slipping in accidentally. Rikuo covered his mouth quickly, embarrassed. Suzuki didn't notice Rikuo's accent slip up and instead asked:
Do you guys have any fish? Rikuo stared at her flatly for a second. He sighed and waved a small youkai over and ordered it to bring some fish from the kitchen. Suzuki chirped happily and started rubbing her head against Rikuo's chest.
Awwww you're still the best, Ara-I mean, Rikuo-kun! She said. Rikun raised an eyebrow at her slip up of Rikuo's name. What did she just call Rikuo? Ara-something? At that moment, the same youkai returned with three fish in its hands. Rihan and Yamabuki came out soon after, curious about what was happening in the front yard. Yamabuki gave a small squeak.
"Was that-Is that the bird that was in the kitchen earlier?" She asked as soon as she saw the giant bird standing next to her stepson. It looked identical to the one that had refused to let go of her shoulder earlier, but much, much bigger. It was taller than her now.
"Yep! Sorry for not introducing you guys earlier, but Rikun's friends were around. This is Suzuki, a friend of mine that I made during those 80 years. Suzuki, my dad and my stepmom." Rikuo introduced them. Suzuki looked up from gobbling the fish down.
Your dad looks unimpressive. She said bluntly. Rihan blinked while Rikun struggled not to laugh. But your stepmom is nice! Gave me a bunch of snacks while I was in the kitchen.
"And you're still a glutton." Rikuo deadpanned, swatting his friend on the head. "You already ate and now you want to drain my family's fish supply."
"I can't believe it, calling the Second 'unimpressive'..." Murmurs started throughout the backyard, the youkai eyeing the bird warily.
Suzuki either didn't notice or didn't care, and finished swallowing the last bits of her last fish. She flapped her wings.
Hey, let's fly, Rikuo! She said playfully as she shrunk down to regular bird size. She jumped up and started flying in circles above their heads. I wanna fly! Come on, let's fly, Rikuo!
"Did she just ask you to fly?" Rihan asked, staring up at the bird that was calling for his first son. "How are you going to do that, Rikuo?" Rikuo gave a small laugh.
"She doesn't mean to ask me to literally fly on my own. She's saying she wants to carry me and fly around around so I can show her the more interesting parts of Tokyo."
Hurry up! Suzuki called down.
"I still have to eat dinner first! Maybe later." Rikuo called up to his friend, who whined at his answer.
But it's so boooooring! Rihan chuckled at the interaction.
"Hmm~ Well I was planning on taking the hyakki out later tonight anyway. If your friend wants to, she can join us tonight I suppose." Rihan said. Suzuki chirped happily and flew down towards Rihan, who held out an arm for her to land on.
That'd be awesome, thanks! Suzuki chirped. Sorry for saying you were unimpressive earlier; you're actually pretty cool too! Rihan laughed at her change in attitude.
"Ah, but you still have to let us eat first before we can head out. Can't lead a hyakki on an empty stomach now can we?"
I wouldn't know. I've never participated in a hyakki. I've heard stories of course, but this'll be my first time flying with a hyakki. And with the Nura Gumi no less! Everyone back home is gonna be so jealous when I tell them. Rihan laughed out loud at that statement. Suzuki jumped off of Rihan's arm and flew to a nearby tree.
I'm gonna take a rest here then. Tell me when you guys are gonna head out! She called down and settled down to take a quick nap. Yamabuki clapped her hands.
"Alright then, who's hungry?" Everyone raised their hands.
"Dinner should be ready by now, so let's all go in. The sooner you guys finish the sooner you guys can leave." That had the entire backyard stampeding to the dining hall. The three Nurarihyons laughed at the way their subordinates trampled over each other to reach their dinner. Rihan nodded and headed towards the house.
"C'mon you two. We should eat too." Both brothers nodded and headed inside, following Rihan and Yamabuki.
"Hey, so why didn't you mention any stories about Suzuki when my friends were here?" Rikun asked through a mouthful of rice. Rikuo looked up from his own bowl of rice.
"I did." He replied. "Remember the story about that secret animal village in Nara I told you guys about?"
"The village under the watch of a Yamainu? The one that's hidden from humans and where the animals live together in harmony and serve the Yamainu?"
"Mhmm. That's the village Suzuki comes from."
"Hmm, you need to tell us about this village later too. I've certainly never heard of this." Rihan said thoughtfully.
"I have heard something like that a couple centuries ago I believe. Never went around to investigating it but it seems that the rumors are true." Nurarihyon said as he slurped his bowl of miso soup.
"What's the village like?" Yamabuki asked.
"It's really beautiful. The village is in the middle of a dense forest, so the outside is always dark and eerie. But the Yamainu put some sort of barrier around the village so while it's all dark and mysterious outside, the inside is bright and full of sunlight. It's especially beautiful in the mornings, when the sunlight shines through the leaves and morning dew. It's like the entire place sparkles and if you're lucky, you might be able to see a rainbow." Rikuo described, remembering the first time he ever saw the village.
"At night the village is lit with lanterns and fireflies. Sometimes there'll be a firefly youkai that puts on a performance." Rikuo shrugged. "But that was close to 300 years ago. I wonder if anything's changed?"
"Regardless, it sounds like a lovely place. I wonder if we can all go sometime?" Yamabuki wondered.
"I don't know. They don't typically allow guests, but I can try asking someday if you guys are interested."
"That sounds nice. How'd you find the village in the first place?" Rikun asked, curious. "You said it was a hidden village and that they don't usually allow guests?"
"Yeah, it is and they usually don't. I got in because Kohaku vouched for me."
"And who's this Kohaku?" This time, it was Nurarihyon who spoke up.
"Kohaku is another Sankouchou like Suzuki and Sensei's traveling partner. When I traveled with Sensei, I also traveled with Kohaku. Kohaku is also from that village. He and Suzuki are childhood best friends." Rikuo answered. He grimaced as he remembered something. "They're kind of too close as friends though. And by that I mean that they like to insult each other and cause trouble for the other, which usually results in a lot of pranks in the middle of the night and a lot of screaming for everyone involved." Rikuo shuddered as he remembered some of those pranks. "It's a good thing Kohaku doesn't visit his home village often or it probably wouldn't even be standing by now."
"You've made some...interesting friends it seems." Rihan commented. Rikuo barked out a laugh.
"I wouldn't know if 'interesting' is the right word to use but yeah, they're pretty weird in their own way."
"Wait, so were all the stories you told us today youkai you've met?" Rikun piped up as he remembered all the other new youkai Rikuo told them about.
"Most of them. Some were stories and rumors I heard on the road. A couple of those ones were proven to be fake but they were pretty interesting so I thought you guys would like to hear about them."
"Really? I'm gonna guess that that Chimamire Suzume one was fake then? I mean, the story is pretty cliche…" Rihan and Nurarihyon tensed up at the youkai's name. Rikun blinked.
"You two old geezers know about that story?" Rihan nodded.
"We'd be pretty stupid not to have heard of it. It was pretty famous back in the Edo period."
"Wait, so have you met him then, Rikuo?" Rikuo snorted.
"If I ever met him I would have died already." He said as he sipped his own soup. "And we'd have a lot more problems to worry about."
"Wait, what?"
"Rikuo's saying that because that's the title of one of the most famous youkai assassins in the Edo period." Rihan explained.
"I assume you already heard what happened to the Uehara family." At Rikun's nod, Rihan continued explaining. "Well the truth is, the Chimamire Suzume was actually an assassin hired by the current leaders of Toyama. They were locked in a violent struggle with the Ueharas, in which the Uehara came out victorious.
"Unable to stand the thought of a human family leading a hyakki, they turned to hiring mercenaries and assassins. Before the Uehara incident, the Chimamire Suzume didn't even exist. Essentially, he used the incident to raise his reputation in the assassin world, and he did it. The entire family was destroyed, and his name was known all across the youkai world in Japan.
"As leaders of a hyakki, there's no way you couldn't have heard of that name. The fact that it single-handedly destroyed a hyakki within a single night is already disturbing, but if you add onto the fact that he's a sellsword… Well, everyone was paranoid of whether or not he would take on another mission and wipe out another hyakki somewhere else for the money." Rikun gulped, his dinner suddenly very cold.
"But," Rihan continued. "The Chimamire Suzume never took on another commission as far as we've heard. It could be that the sparrow also had its own personal agenda against the Ueharas, which would explain why it never showed up again. Gotta admit though, at least his timing was pretty spot on."
"What do you mean by that, old man?"
"The Ueharas were actually pressuring Edo at the time. Wanted to start a war with us, and even claimed that they had a way of overcoming and breaking Matoi."
"We don't know if that's true or not, since the incident happened right as tensions were high between us." Nurarihyon butted in, continuing the story. "If the incident had been late by another two to three nights, we might have actually been at war with them." Rikun gave a low whistle.
"Wow. I didn't know a youkai like that existed."
"I think part of the reason is because the story is so old. Since the sparrow didn't have any other activities, the story died out pretty quickly." Rikuo suggested.
"Speaking of assassin youkai, is the top assassin still-?" Rikuo trailed off at the end, but Nurarihyon and Rihan seemed to understand what he was asking. Nurarihyon nodded.
"I heard from Karasu Tengu that he even has an international title now."
"Really? The world's changed a lot since I've been gone, huh? Back then Japan was all we knew about, and now there's the rest of the world to consider too…"
"...Who?" Rikun finally asked. Rikuo glanced at his brother.
"...The most famous youkai assassin in all of Japan." Rikuo said, his tone unusually serious. "He has many names, but the title he's most famous for is-"
"Izanami's Champion." Rihan cut in, his tone dark. Rikun turned to look at his father.
"...Sometimes just known as Izanami, the guy is the best of the best when it comes to assassinations. A one hundred percent success rate; no one could avoid it once it's set its sight on a target."
"Usually appears during times of extreme conflict, assassinating big shots here and there. His fees are extremely high, but a small price to pay for a 100% guaranteed assassination I guess." Nurarihyon added. "All leaders know about its existence. There was a time when we were all scared that someone would hire him to get rid of an opposing hyakki.
"That is, until the guy showed up and made an announcement."
"What announcement?" Rikun was getting really tired of having to ask questions over and over. Nurarihyon shrugged.
"Said that he doesn't want to be involved in anything too big because it's 'too big of a hassle,' and from then on refused to take any missions that involve any major clans. So he won't come after the Nura Gumi or any of our higher ranking members, but it's possible for him to go after some of the sub clans, or some specific lower ranking youkai."
"...This assassin business sounds really complicated." Rikun commented flatly. He didn't even want to think about the politics behind them. Rikuo shrugged.
"It is pretty complicated, but you'll need some basic knowledge on it if you're going to become the Third. At least know who the most famous ones are." Rihan and Nurarihyon nodded solemnly in agreement.
A clap snapped the four Nurarihyons out of their dark thoughts.
"All right, I think that's enough dark conversation for this dinner. Now let's all focus on finishing dinner and then going out with the hyakki with Rikuo's friend, shall we?" Yamabuki suggested, smiling. The four men stared at her.
Rihan was the first to break out of the dark atmosphere. He huffed and smiled, pulling Yamabuki closer by the waist, making Yamabuki let out a small squeak.
He rested his head on her shoulder.
"I'm gonna agree with your mother here; hurry up and finish so we can leave with the hyakki." Rihan gave Yamabuki a quick peck on the lips, to which Rikun gagged at.
"Dude! Do you have to do that here? Get a room!" He said, looking disgusted. He really didn't need to see any mushy stuff going on between his parents thank you very much.
"Aww, but Rikun~ How do you think you were born-"
"NOPE!" Rikun suddenly yelled, covering his ears and standing up. "That was disgusting old man! I'm finished eating; as if I could have an appetite after hearing that." Rikun shuddered, making Rihan laugh.
"You'll understand someday too, Rikun~"
"Argh! Noooooo!" Rikun yelled as he fled the room. He definitely did not need to hear about the story of his birth. Nope nope nope. Rihan and Nurarihyon laughed heartily as they watched Rikun storm off.
"I might be old enough to listen to this, but it's still gross, Dad." Rikuo deadpanned, looking slightly uncomfortable. He quickly finished the rest of his dinner before he completely lost his appetite.
"Hmm~? Speaking of which, how was your love life while you were away-"
"Nope! We are not talking about my love life. I'm done with dinner. Bye!" Rikuo said in one breath and fled the room like Rikun did earlier. The two predecessors laughed as they watched both of their romantically awkward descendants flee from their family dinner.
"I guess I should get the hyakki ready, huh?"
Some more domestic stuff first! And what exactly has Rikuo been doing during those 80 years? What kind of friend is Suzuki? Who is Kohaku and Rikuo's teacher? You'll find out once I get to writing it down hahahahaha
On a more serious note, here we get to see some of Rikuo's hidden strengths! Rikuo isn't all weak and timid as the rumors make him out to be, and he has friends now thanks of Rikun!
This chapter was a bit more world building rather than continuing on with the main adventure. Everything will make sense later on, I promise.
Thanks for reading and plz r&r so i have the motivation to write _(：3 」∠ )_