Marisay-chan reporting for duty! Haha. My whole body is kind of hurting everywhere now…*sigh* Guess that's what I get for not exercising regularly T_T
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of course, only the story. ^_^
Please note: Once again, a lot of shifting around! ^_^
In italics are thoughts
In bold are flashbacks
In bold and italics are thoughts in the flashback.
~Story Starts~
As the sword swung down, Tsurara shut her eyes, waiting for the pain.
CLANK
THUD
Sounds of metals clashing and something hitting the ground reached Tsurara's ears, as her eyes remained close, being too weak to open them. Then, she felt arms around her shoulder and under her legs, carrying her up and moving away from the spot she was at, before she was placed down on the ground again.
Slowly, she fought for her eyes to open, looking up, trying to see her savior. The image of the person blurred a bit before it focused.
"…Young…Master…?" she whispered in disbelief.
Standing there, was Rikuo, his left hand still gripping onto Tsurara's shoulder to support her and his right arm bend slightly in front of them. Tracing her eyes from Rikuo's right arm to his hand, she widened her eyes when she saw what he was holding.
Ne-Nenekirimaru! Why did Young Master have it with him? Didn't Second Heir passed it down to Third Heir?
The sword glinted as Rikuo tightened his grip on the sword, making Tsurara direct her gaze at him. Narrowing his eyes at Gozumaru, who had his back facing them, Rikuo asked,
"What are you doing?"
Never dismiss an advice
Gozumaru stood still for a while. One moment, he was about to strike the Yuki-Onna with his sword, and the next moment, his sword was flung away from his hands, striking the ground behind him, and the Yuki-Onna had disappeared from his sight.
"What are you doing?"
Gozumaru blinked, turning around in surprise. Seeing the Young Master standing there with the Yuki-Onna, he frowned at the sword that Rikuo was holding.
That must the infamous sword passed down in the Nura clan, Nenekirimaru…I thought the Young Master does not know how to fight? Holding it for show, perhaps?
Gozumaru walked towards his sword, which was wedged upright onto the ground between him and Rikuo. Once he reached his sword, he gripped onto the hilt and pulled his sword out of the ground, before wielding it towards Rikuo.
…But he did knocked my sword away from me, and I did not even see him move earlier…this is completely straying from the original plan, but I guess I have no choice, besides, Gyuki-sama did say to be prepared for any changes…
"This woman is a member of the Nura clan. If you did this knowingly…" Rikuo slowly let go of Tsurara, standing in front of her, holding the sword with both hands. "I will have no mercy on you."
Gozumaru narrowed his eyes at that, before he smirked.
This should be interesting.
Never dismiss an advice
"I was wondering about something…"
Wakana tilted her head to the side, blinking confusingly at Yamabuki.
"What is it, Yamabuki-chan? You looked really worried," Wakana placed a hand on Yamabuki's arm, trying to comfort her.
Yamabuki bit her lips, looking down at the ground, before she looked up at Wakana, eyes shining with worry.
"Wakana-chan, have you heard of the rumor that was spreading around lately?" Yamabuki asked her.
Wakana blinked, "Rumor?" She tapped a finger on her cheek, thinking about it. "Not that I know of. But, I did noticed that, Otou-sama has been acting quite strangely."
"Eh? Nurarihyon-sama?" Yamabuki blinked at the information.
"Un," Wakana nodded. "For the past three days, he kept on asking me to accompany him, saying that he wanted to spend more time with me."
Yamabuki tilted her head to the side, confused.
Why would Nurarihyon-sama do that?
"Anyways, what is the rumor about?" Wakana smiled at her, getting back to the original topic.
"Ah…" Yamabuki looked worried again. "…The rumor actually concerns Rikuo-kun…"
"Rikuo-kun?"
"Un…" Yamabuki looked towards the side, before she suddenly reached forward, grabbing Wakana by the arms, startling her.
"Wakana-chan! I-I…" Tears started welling in Yamabuki's eyes. "…I think that Rikuo-kun is really in grave danger!"
"…Eh?" Wakana stared at Yamabuki, surprised by what she said.
Never dismiss an advice
"Damn it! Damn it! Why is a person able to use shikigamis here? I never heard of this!" Mezumaru muttered to himself, as he dodged the attacks coming his way, landing at the top of the inn. "I was just supposed to distract them! Not get into a full blown fig-Whoa!"
"Explode!" Yura shouted after throwing an ofuda at Mezumaru, who managed to dodge it by jumping away, as the paper to explode upon contact with the building.
Mezumaru gritted his teeth at the close call, "Urgh! This is endless!" He then turned his attention to the other two girls cowering at a corner. "…I got it! Oi! Attack those two over there!" He shouted to the group of yokais, pointing at Natsumi and Saori, who screamed.
Yura jerked hearing that, quickly directing her attention to the girls just as the yokais went to follow Mezumaru's order. Knowing that she would not personally make it there, Yura quickly threw a shikigami paper in front of the two girls. "Bukyoku!"
Upon reaching there, an ochimusha emerged from the paper, swinging the spear that it was holding, before stabbing one of the yokais with it. "On Yura-sama's orders, I shall protect you!"
"Damn! Another one? Just how many shikigamis does she have?" Mezumaru complained. "Ahhh! Whatever! I will just attack you then!" Mezumaru then went flying at Yura, seeing she was distracted.
Seeing that, Yura quickly got inside the hot spring to get more room, and was about to cast another ofuda, when she noticed something in the sky. Mezumaru, halfway through reaching Yura, sensed the presence as well. Just as he looked up, three figures swoop down at him and the other yokais, splashing the water up, causing Mezumaru to crash into the hot spring and the yokais to back down.
Yura brought her hands up to block the wave of water that came rushing at her. She then turned to her shikigamis, which had turned back into papers at the water impact. Yura narrowed her eyes, thinking that there was another enemy, took out another ofuda, getting ready to attack.
"Uwah!" Mezumaru came up to the surface of the hot spring, gasping for air. "That was dangerous! Who did that?" He shouted to no one particularly.
"Do you not even know who you are talking to, brat?"
"Eh?" Mezumaru turned towards the voice, seeing three yokais standing there, two males and one female. All the three yokais have crow faces. "S-Sanba Garasu!" Mezumaru's mouth opened wide.
This is bad! Why are the Overseer's children here?
"Attacking a women's bath, huh? How despicable," The female of the three crows commented.
"Huh…?" Mezumaru gave a blank expression, before he realized what she was talking about. "Ah! No! You got it all wrong!"
"But it looks like Young Master is not here," The crow with a blond Mohawk said while looking around. "What should we do, Aniki?"
"…Let's get more information before we proceed further," The crow with a dark tan gem-like item on its forehead said. He then turned the group of girls, whom were standing at the corner. "Apologies for our allied clan causing trouble."
Yura and the other two girls blinked at the apology, stunned at the fact that a yokai actually apologized to them.
The crow then turned back to Mezumaru, prodding the end of his staff on Mezumaru's horse skull. "I have some things I want to ask you, kid." Looking at the other male crow yokai, he commanded, "Tosakamaru."
"Yes, Kuroumaru-Aniki." Tosakamaru took out a rope from his sleeves. "Help me out, Sasami."
"Here." The female crow flew beside Mezumaru, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and tossing him at Tosakamaru.
"W-Whoa! Hey! Let go! Wait! Ahhhhhh!"
The girls watched as Tosakamaru bind Mezumaru's legs together, before taking the rest of the rope and flew up, making Mezumaru hung upside down.
"We are going to make you tell us about Young Master's location as well as your motives," Sasami narrowed her eyes at Mezumaru.
"All ready, Aniki." Tosakamaru told Kuroumaru, adjusting the rope on his shoulder.
Kuroumaru nodded, before glancing at the other yokais. The yokais all flinched at the gaze that Kuroumaru descended on them. Spreading his Fear, Kuroumaru uttered,
"Be gone."
All of them squealed, running towards the forest, afraid of facing the Sanba Garasu's leader's wrath.
"Ah…!" Mezumaru outstretched his hand at the direction of the disappearing yokais. Sweatdropping, Mezumaru glanced at Kuroumaru, who was watching the yokais running away, before letting his hand hung around in the air.
Ugh…I'm so dead…
"Let's go." Kuroumaru flew away, trying to find a place where they would be able to interrogate Mezumaru without any interruption. Tosakamaru and Sasami followed him, with Mezumaru hanging at the back.
"…Ah, wait!" Yura shouted at them. However, it seems that they did not heard her or was just ignoring her, as their figures got smaller the further they flew.
"W-What was that all about?" Natsumi questioned, still slightly bewildered by the earlier occurrence.
"I-I have no idea…but anyways, we are saved, aren't we?" Saori looked at Natsumi uncertainly.
"I think so…"
As Natsumi and Saori continued to look confused with the whole situation, Yura was still looking at the sky, where the yokais had disappeared.
They mentioned Young Master…is there someone like that here?…Or does that mean that…
An image of the white-black hair yokai with crimson eyes came into her mind.
…He is here…?
Yura narrowed her eyes.
Never dismiss an advice
CLANG
CLINK
Gozumaru slammed his sword down at Rikuo, only to be blocked by Nenekirimaru. Rikuo then strike back, pushing Gozumaru's sword away, before attacking at Gozumaru's unprotected side. However, Gozumaru seemed to expect this, and quickly brought his sword to his side, stopping Rikuo's attack. He then pushed, backing Rikuo onto a tree. Rikuo gritted his teeth, trying to push back by placing a hand on the blade of his sword.
"Haha! Did you just learn how to fight, Young Master? If so, you should just give up. Your sword is practically crying at your inexperience," Gozumaru smirked, raising his sword in the air. "Let see if you can dodge this!" He then swung his sword down at an incredible speed. However, Rikuo managed to avoid it by rolling onto the ground, making Gozumaru cut down the tree behind him instead.
"What?" Gozumaru watched as Rikuo rolled behind him, before he stood up, creating a distance between him and Gozumaru.
He really dodged it!
Gozumaru narrowed his eyes, holding his sword in front of him, getting ready to attack Rikuo again.
Tsurara could only watch in disbelief at the scene in front of her.
When did Young Master learn to fight? He even managed to avoid such a fast attack as well…
She glanced at Rikuo, who was panting heavily.
Rikuo panted as he kept his gaze at Gozumaru, never leaving his gaze off Gozumaru as he thought of what Rikun had taught him.
"Listen, Rikuo," Rikun told him as they got to a backyard, where there are less yokais around, holding two swords in his hand. "Fighting is not as simple as you think it is. It requires a lot of concentration, experience and willpower," He then walked to the left. "Making a mistake could be fatal if you are fighting against an enemy. So, at all times, you are to maintain all these three aspects." He stood at a distance, apart from Rikuo, before turning around to face Rikuo.
"…What's with that look?" Rikun asked Rikuo, who was standing opposite of him with a stunned look.
Rikuo gaped at him for a while, before he chuckled.
A bead of sweat formed at Rikun's cheek, "Oi…did I say something funny?" Rikun frowned slightly, as he tried to recall the words he said.
"N-No," Rikuo chuckled a bit more, before smiling at Rikun. "It's just that, you look so serious all of the sudden telling me all that, and the way you talk actually reminds me of Jii-chan and Otou-san."
"…Should I feel insulted? Being compared to them…" Rikun gave a blank expression at Rikuo.
"Ah…" Rikuo sweatdropped at that. "That's not what I mean!" Rikuo waved his hands in front of him. "What I meant is that, you look really cool just now, Rikun," Rikuo smiled, blushing slightly at the admittance.
Rikun stared at Rikuo, before he quickly turned his head to the side, coughing slightly into his hand as his hair hid his eyes. Rikuo widened his eyes when he saw that.
Is he…actually blushing?
"Ahem…here," Rikun tossed one of the swords he was holding to Rikuo.
Rikuo reached forward to catch the sword in midair. He then looked at the sword in shock. "Eh? R-Rikun? Isn't this Nenekirimaru? Why are you giving it to me?"
"You will be acquaintance with it for the next few days," Rikun smirked at him. "Better get used to it."
"Eh? Shouldn't you be wielding it instead of me, Rikun?" Rikuo asked, confused.
"No way I am holding Nenekirimaru against you, Rikuo." Rikun frowned. "Nenekirimaru only harms yokais, and it will cause a lot of damage to us, and, while you are able to heal me completely, I am not sure if I will be able to heal you if the damage gets too big." Rikun then unsheathed the sword he held, dropping the sheath on the ground. "Are you ready, Rikuo? I will be teaching you some rules regarding about fighting."
"Un," Rikuo looked down at Nenekirimaru. "But I am still confused as to why you want to keep this from Jii-chan and Otou-san…" Rikuo then looked up, only to find that Rikun had disappeared. "Eh? Rik-"
"Rule one, Rikuo," Rikun's voice came from behind him, cutting him off, holding his sword against Rikuo's neck while standing close to him. "Never look away from your enemy."
That's right. Rule one, 'Never look away from your enemy'. Doing so means that I will miss the movement of my enemy, giving them a chance to strike.
Rikuo tightened his hands on Nenekirimaru as Gozumaru came charging at him with his sword ready to strike. Going towards the side, Rikuo quickly blocked the attack and swung Nenekirimaru at Gozumaru's side. Gozumaru parried that strike, before attacking at Rikuo again.
This continued for a while, before Gozumaru suddenly took a step back, jumping into the air before heading down at Rikuo. Using the speed of the fall, Gozumaru thrust his sword towards Rikuo, reminding him of the second rule that Rikun taught him.
"That's quite unfair, Rikun," Rikuo muttered, immobilized as the sword was too close to his neck and any sudden movement will cause it to slide against his neck.
Rikun chuckled, removing the sword away. "All is fair in love and wars, Rikuo." He then kissed Rikuo's cheek, causing Rikuo to blush.
"R-Rikun!" Rikuo shouted, holding his cheek, embarrassed by the sudden action.
Rikun chuckled again, taking his position opposite of Rikuo again, raising his sword. "Let's proceed to Rule two, shall we?"
Rikuo unsheathed Nenekirimaru, holding the sword in front of him, his arms straight. "U-Un."
Noticing that, Rikun smiled. "We will work on your posture later. Ready?" With that said, Rikun charged forward, going at Rikuo with incredible speed. Seeing that, Rikuo instinctively closed his eyes, holding Nenekirimaru in a horizontal way in an attempt to protect himself.
There was silence for a while, and then, instead of a sharp pain Rikuo thought he would have felt, he felt a flat surface bumping lightly against his forehead.
"…Eh?" Rikuo opened his eyes, looking up to see Rikun looking at him in amusement, his sword's pommel facing Rikuo.
"You just broke the first rule, Rikuo."
"Urgh…" Rikuo rubbed his forehead. "I am not used to this…"
"Don't worry, you will have lots of time to get used to it," Rikun grinned at him. "Back to the rules…Rikuo, you were actually thinking of deflecting the attack with your sword, right?"
"Hm? Un…I guess so?" Rikuo tilted his head to the side, as he was quite unsure what he was doing earlier due to him acting on instinct.
Rikun nodded, "Don't do that, Rikuo."
"Eh?" Rikuo blinked at the comment. "You mean, don't block with my sword? How am I suppose to protect myself if I don't block the attack with my sword?" Rikuo had a really confused expression on his face.
"Not all the time. On some circumstances, you must use your sword to deflect an attack. On others, it is best not to. That is Rule two," Rikun raised two of his fingers, closing one of his eyes. "Avoid if you can."
Rikuo quickly moved to the side to avoid the attack, causing Gozumaru's sword to hit the ground, some dirt flying upwards at the impact. Rikuo watched as Gozumaru tried to take his sword off the ground as it got stuck for a bit.
Rule two, 'Avoid if you can'. Since I have only started to learn how to fight, I will not be able to handle such a force coming at me. Even if I could, it would probably take a lot of strength just to push it back, which will put me at a disadvantage.
Taking advantage at the distracted yokai, Rikuo rushed towards Gozumaru, intending to knock him out. Just as Rikuo was about to hit him, Gozumaru managed to get his sword out just in time, stopping the attack.
"Keh!" Gozumaru gritted his teeth. "No way I will lose to someone who just learned how to fight!" Suddenly, something moved at Gozumaru's back, before it spread out, shredding the back of his clothes.
Rikuo widened his eyes at the four huge claws that came from Gozumaru's back. Tsurara gasped seeing that, she stood up wobbly, rushing towards Rikuo. "Young Master!"
"Die!" Gozumaru raised his claws, about to bring them down when Tsurara used her body to push Gozumaru away from Rikuo, making him lose his balance slightly. Regaining his balance quickly, Gozumaru cast an annoyed glance at Tsurara, before flinging her away with one of his claws, causing her to hit a tree and lose her consciousness.
"Tsurara!" Rikuo shouted, quickly rushing towards her, forgetting Gozumaru for a second.
Gozumaru smirked at that, going behind Rikuo and slash his claws at Rikuo's back.
Rikuo gasped at the pain, hitting the ground at the force of the claws.
…Ah…I broke Rule three…
"And now, I will talk about the third rule, and the most important one." Rikun told him.
"Eh? There are only three rules?" Rikuo asked.
"There are lots more, but these three are the most important ones, that decides whether you win or lose. The third rule is actually quite similar to the first rule, but it is still important nevertheless." Rikun then glanced behind Rikuo. "Ah. Oyaji."
"Eh?" Rikuo turned his whole body around in shock.
Didn't he say he did not want Otou-san to know about this?
However, when he turned around, he saw no one standing behind him. Realizing that he had been tricked, Rikuo tried to quickly turn around, but it was too late as Rikun hugged him from the behind, bringing Rikuo's back to his chest tightly while holding his waist.
"R-Rikun! Y-You-" Rikuo blushed in embarrassment, both at the action as well as being tricked.
Rikun chuckled, "You are too easily tricked sometimes." He licked Rikuo's earlobe, causing Rikuo to shiver.
"Nnh…" Rikuo shut his eyes at the sensation.
Nipping at the earlobe, Rikun whispered to him, "And that is the third rule, Rikuo." Rikun lifted Rikuo's chin, making Rikuo opened his eyes. "Don't ever expose your back to your enemy." He then leaned down, placing his lips over Rikuo's.
I…had totally forgotten about that.
Rikuo turned onto his back, ignoring his wound for now, bringing Nenekirimaru up to protect himself. However, it was flung away from his hands by Gozumaru's claws, causing Nenekirimaru to land at a distance behind them. At the same time the claws also managed to slash through Rikuo's right side of his head, making his glasses flew to the side, and his right shoulder, causing blood to flow down.
Rikuo gripped his right shoulder in pain, trying to stop the flow of blood. Looking upwards, he saw Gozumaru standing above him, his four claws posing threateningly at Rikuo.
Rikuo bit his lips.
Never dismiss an advice
"…Rikuo-kun…is…in danger?" Wakana slowly repeated what Yamabuki had said.
Yamabuki nodded, eyes teary, "There was a rumor spreading around, saying that Gyuki-san wanted to eliminate Rikuo-kun away, seeing that he was too close with Rikun-kun...and because of that, it might cause Rikun-kun to be distracted from leading the Nura clan."
Wakana stayed silent for a while, processing the information as Yamabuki sobbed quietly.
"…Did Rikun-kun know about this?" Wakana asked softly.
"Hm...? Un. Just the day before Rikuo-kun and Yuki-Onna-chan left, I told him about it," Yamabuki wiped her tears away.
"What did he say?"
"…He told me not to worry about it, that everything will be fine, and to tell this to you as well," Yamabuki looked at Wakana, who had her eyes covered by her hair. "…Wakana-chan?" Yamabuki slowly reached a hand forward, thinking that Wakana was really upset by this. Just as her hand was about to reach Wakana, Wakana suddenly lifted her head up, smiling brightly at her. Startled, Yamabuki retracted her hand back.
"Then everything will be just fine!" Wakana told Yamabuki with a smile, before going back to the chopping board, humming as she took the knife and started chopping.
"E-Eh? Wakana…-chan?" Yamabuki blinked, slightly confused with the way she was acting.
Never dismiss an advice
Gozumaru smirked down at the defenseless Young Master.
"Apologies for doing this, but I am just following an order," He took out two more claws from his back, getting ready to strike Rikuo.
Never dismiss an advice
Wakana turned and smiled at Yamabuki.
"Rikun-kun is not the Third Heir for nothing!" She said happily.
Never dismiss an advice
A figure rushed towards the direction where Gozumaru and Rikuo were.
Along the way, the figure picked Nenekirimaru up from the ground, focusing on Gozumaru and Rikuo, who had not noticed another presence yet.
Never dismiss an advice
"If he said not to worry, it means that he will take care of things," Wakana nodded. "Of that, I am very sure."
Never dismiss an advice
Rikuo glanced to his right, suddenly sensing something there. He then widened his eyes when he saw who was running towards them.
"Where are you looking at, Young Master? You should be focusing your attention here!" Gozumaru brought down his claws fast. Looking back at Gozumaru, Rikuo could only stare as those claws came down at him.
Blood splattered around as contact was made.
Never dismiss an advice
"After all, he never made empty promises," Wakana winked at Yamabuki. "So, everything will be just fine, Yamabuki-chan! Stop worrying!"
Yamabuki looked at Wakana's smiling face, her words confidently spoken without a single hint of worry.
"…Don't worry Okaa-san. Everything will be all right. Tell that to Wakana-Okaa-san as well," Rikun told her, before sliding the door open, walking out and sliding the door closed behind him.
…I remember thinking back then that, when he said those words with his back facing me, I thought it was Rihan instead, since he always do that to me whenever he was about to go out at night with his Night Parade of a Hundred Demons…
Yamabuki then smiled back at Wakana.
"Un. Everything will be just fine."
Never dismiss an advice
Rikuo watched as Gozumaru widened his eyes, his mouth opened wide as the claws on his back were completely cut off from his back. Gozumaru slowly turned to the back, where the person, who had cut his claws away, stood.
"Th-Third…Heir…" Gozumaru muttered in disbelief, before he fell to the ground, landing beside Rikuo.
Rikuo slowly sat up, glancing at Gozumaru, who had fainted, before looking at Rikun, who stood with his back facing Rikuo.
"…Rikun? Why are you he-Ah!" Rikuo gasped, the pain shooting through him as he slowly stood up.
Rikun was beside him in an instant, supporting him, "Not important now. Let me heal you first."
"W-Wait! Check on Tsurara first. Then you can heal me." Rikuo looked towards Tsurara, who was still unconscious, wincing slightly when he moved his head.
Rikun glanced at Tsurara, before lifting Rikuo up, carrying him bridal style and placing him down gently, sitting next to Tsurara. He then went to check on Tsurara, checking her breathing and her wounds.
As Rikuo watched on, the image of Rikun and Tsurara started to blur slightly, and his head was starting to pound, making him dizzy.
Ahhh…the wound on my head is worse than I thought…
"She's just unconscious, the wound on her leg is already healing. So once she woke up, she will be al-Rikuo?" Rikun paused, seeing Rikuo was swaying slightly.
Rikuo looked at Rikun's concerned face, before he swayed down to his right, the dizziness getting to him.
"Rikuo!" Rikun quickly rushed to Rikuo's side, letting him fall on his chest.
"S-Sorry…I suddenly got…really dizzy…" Rikuo blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blurriness away.
Rikun pulled Rikuo onto his lap, settling him comfortably. He then bit on his lips hard, making it bleed and hover his lips over Rikuo's. "Rikuo."
"Ah…" Rikuo shyly licked at Rikun's cut lips, sucking slightly on Rikun's bottom lip to remove the blood away, blushing heavily as he did this.
Rikun looked at Rikuo with half-lidded eyes, as Rikuo continued to lick the blood away from his lips. During their teaching period, they found out that, the more contact they have while healing each other, the better it works.
After a while, Rikuo stopped once he felt the dizziness subsided and his wounds healed completely, giving one last lick to prevent the blood from flowing, before backing away to look up at Rikun.
"Better?" Rikun asked, dragging his tongue over his own lips to lick Rikuo's saliva off.
Rikuo, who saw that, turned completely red, nodding timidly, averting his eyes in embarrassment.
Rikun smiled, kissing Rikuo's forehead, "Take a rest here, Rikuo, while I bring Yuki-Onna to your human friends."
"Eh?" Rikuo blinked as Rikun moved him to lean against a tree bark, before he went to carry Tsurara, grabbing Rikuo's glasses as well. "You are going to meet them?"
"If possible, no...well, I will see what I can do," Rikun smiled. "And don't worry about him," Rikun gestured at Gozumaru. "He will be out for a while."
"Un…" Rikuo watched as Rikun started walking away. "…Ah! Rikun! There are still two of my friends back there!"
"I have already sent Hebi Nyuro to get them back to the inn," Rikun told him.
Never dismiss an advice
"Erm…isn't this Kiyojuji-kun and Shima-kun?" Yura asked Natsumi and Saori as they walked past the entrance to go to their room.
Lying at the entrance were Kiyotsugu and Jiro, still sleeping peacefully.
"…Yokais…"
"…Oikawa-san…"
The girls sweatdropped as the boys continued to talk in their sleep.
"…Well, let's get them back to the room, shall we?" Saori asked.
Natsumi and Yura nodded.
Never dismiss an advice
"Ah…Thank you, Rikun," Rikuo smiled.
Rikun nodded, "Rest, Rikuo. I will come back for you later." He then walked off, leaving Rikuo alone with the still unconscious Gozumaru.
As Rikun's figure faded into the forest, Rikuo's eyes started to feel heavy.
…Must be exhausted from the fight…I will just…sleep it off then…
With that, Rikuo closed his eyes, sleeping against the tree.
Never dismiss an advice
Kana panted as she continued to climb on the steps.
"Haaa…haaa…just how many step are there? I have walked for so long, and, yet, not meet anyone," Kana sighed, glancing at the night sky. "They probably went back to the inn already…"
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, startling Kana, causing her to drop her flashlight that went toppling down.
"Ah! No!" Kana quickly rushed down, following the flashlight. The flashlight then came to a stop after rolling down many steps. Kana then bend down, examining the flashlight.
"Ahhh…" Kana sighed. The flashlight was completely useless now after taking so many hits, small dents forming on it. "What am I going to tell Kiyojuji-kun…?"
Kana sighed again, hitting her head lightly with her hand, "…What exactly am I doing?" An image of Rikuo smiling at her came to mind. "…Why does it bother me so much?"
Kana stared at the ground, trying to figure out why, when dark blue mist started flowing past her.
"Eh?" Kana looked around in shock. "Wh-What's this?" She then looked to where the mist was coming from, towards the top. She jerked when she saw two will-o-the-wisps appearing, lighting a path for the figure, who was in between the will-o-the-wisp and walking towards her.
Kana widened her eyes as she saw the face of the figure, as they got closer.
"Y-You are-!" Kana's legs started shaking.
Kana got slightly nervous at seeing those crimson eyes staring at her.
"From that time…!"
Rikun stopped a few steps away from her, looking at her for a while. Blinking once slowly, Rikun then took a step down and another step. Kana, seeing that, panicked.
"N-No!" She took a step back, forgetting that she was on steps and not on flat ground. "A-Ahhhhh!" Kana screamed as she started falling. However, Rikun quickly reached forward, using his hand under Tsurara's knees to catch her hand, before pulling her back up.
Kana blinked in shock, staring at Rikun.
"Be careful. You will really hurt yourself if you fall at such a height," Rikun told her, still holding on to her hand, making sure that she was standing properly.
As Kana continued to look at Rikun, Tsurara, who had revert back to her human form, started to slip from Rikun's grasp.
"Whoa!" Rikun quickly let go of Kana's hand to prevent Tsurara from slipping off his arms.
Kana then turned her attention to Rikun's arms, just noticing that he was holding something. "Ah…Oikawa-san! Why…?" She looked at Rikun for answers.
Instead of answering her, Rikun simply pass Tsurara to her, helping her to hold Tsurara.
"E-Eh?" Kana looked at between Rikun and Tsurara, confused with the whole situation.
"There's some place I need to go. Take her, would you?" Rikun stepped back once Tsurara was secured in Kana's arms. While he was stepping back, he accidently dropped Rikuo's glasses, which landed beside Kana.
"…Hm? This is Rikuo-kun's…Ah! Where is he?" Kana looked at him in panic.
Rikun had a bead of sweat on his cheek.
I should have given it back to Rikuo first…well, what's done is done.
"No need to worry about that. Anyways, you should head back," Rikun brought his left hand up, summoning the will-o-the-wisp to his hand, before blowing at them, making them flew past Kana.
Kana followed their direction, seeing the will-o-the-wisp slowly lighting the steps for her.
"Hurry back," Rikun said, bringing back her attention. "A storm is rolling in." He then turned around and started walking back to where he came from earlier.
"Ah! W-Wait!" Kana stretched a hand towards Rikun, but was stopped short as Tsurara slipped down her arms. Kana quickly reached down to support her, before looking back at Rikun, who continued to walk ahead, the mist slowly fading his figure away.
Never dismiss an advice
Rikuo slowly woke up, feeling his whole body moving up and down. Blinking to clear his sleepiness, Rikuo looked around, noticing that he was being carried.
"Sleep well?" A voice above him asked.
Looking up, he saw Rikun smiling down at him as he continued to walk up the steps.
"U-Un," Rikuo blushed at being carried. "Y-You can let go of me now."
Rikun chuckled, stepping up onto the last step, before doing as Rikuo asked. The moment Rikuo was let down, Rikun grabbed his waist, pulling Rikuo close and kissed him passionately.
"Mnnn!" Rikuo could only clench his hands on Rikun's shoulder, swept away by the kiss.
Rikun continued to kiss him, not giving him a chance to breathe. Rikuo wanted to break the kiss to get some air, but Rikun would not let him, and instead held a hand behind Rikuo's head, kissing him harder.
"Nnh!" Rikuo then tightened his grip on Rikun's shoulder, trying to tell him that he needed air.
Feeling that, Rikun broke the kiss, licking his lips as he watched Rikuo panted, trying to get his needed air, his lips slightly swollen.
"Wh-What was…that for…?" Rikuo panted out, face turning red at the kiss that he had just received.
Rikun smirked, placing another short kiss on Rikuo's lips, making him blush further, "A good luck charm."
"E-Eh? Good luck charm?" Rikuo blinked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
Rikun nodded, looking forward with a serious expression. Rikuo followed his direction, seeing a mansion at the front.
"For when we face Gyuki-Jiji," Rikun narrowed his eyes at the mansion. Lightning struck the sky, lighting up the mansion.
~To Be Continued~
Another chapter done! Whew! The fight scene was really hard write. I sure hope it turns up well!
I was really grinning like an idiot when I wrote this chapter, especially on the part on Rikun and Rikuo's training session. *Grin* and Wakana! You sure rock in this chapter! Oh, Kuroumaru! You too! Haha!
So the rumor spreading around is that Gyuki wanted to eradicate Rikuo away? Do Nurarihyon and Rihan know about this? Speaking of which, why was Nurarihyon acting weirdly?
Things to note:
Ofuda = A type of household amulet or talisman, normally hung in a house for protection. In animes and mangas, they can be used to attack, such as exploding.
Ochimusha = A defeated samurai
Sanba Garasu = Literally means three crows
Aniki = Big brother
That's all Folks! Do review to find out what will happen next!
Edited on 14th December 2014