"He hasn't been himself lately."
Nurarihyon could only sigh as he put his tea down. There was no need to ask who his wife was referring to. He turned to look below the cliff, at the Barrier. There, a familiar figure stood in front of it, as it had done for the past 30 years. He sighed.
Even when he was dead, his son still manages to worry him and his mother.
"He has never been himself since the day Otome left him."
Not till Wakana came into his life.
Youhime frowned but refrained from saying anything. She had yet to forgive Yamabuki from leaving her son in such a state, refusing to speak to her unless was forced to by her son. However, she knew it was not the time to voice her displeasure.
"Perhaps we could talk to Shogou-san," she suggested. "Negotiate some sort of compromise. He seem much more sympathetic than the others."
But Nurarihyon was already shaking his head. "No. There is nothing he can do." Not when it was Wakana who made that choice; that girl had a stubbornness which could rival his wife at the best of times.
A choice which he would never understand. Why ? Why would she do something like that, knowing how Rihan would take it ? And worst of all...
His eyes carefully trailed after his son. Rihan had taken to gliding his hand over the Barrier, stopping every once in a while to peer beyond it. He remembered the look on his son's face after Wakana had bid him goodbye; denial, anger and pain.
But not surprise.
His son knew of what was to come -possibly before they married- and he still went ahead with it.
Nurarihyon did not bother suppressing the groan, ignoring the questioning look on his wife's face.
What the hell was that idiotic son of mine thinking ?
Something at the corner of his eye caught his attention. A group of young deities were gathered in a spot, talking in rapid but hushed voices, hands flying in multiple directions. One in particular was getting more and more agitated. Then another nodded and all conversation ceased. They turned slightly -just slightly- to his way.
Everything inside him stiffened.
There was a momentary pause as both sides- he was certain- stared each other down.
And in a blink of an eye it ended. The group abruptly walked off in another direction.
The hell?
A foreboding feeling welled up in him. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something was very wrong.
And they did not want him to know.
Damn them then.
"Ayakashi-sama? "
He forced his frozen facial muscle into a reassuring smile. "I will just be for awhile." He let his Fear encloaked him before disappearing from her view.
He slide his fingers over the Barrier for the umpteenth time.
He stopped.
He peered through it.
Then, he took another step.
And the cycle repeats.
He had being that for hours on end. Like everyday else, whenever he could.
She bit her lip. She had asked him once, the words slipping from her mouth before she could stop them.
It was his responsibility, he answered, in true Rihan's fashion. He had saved her before after all. She was under his care and hence it was his duty to be certain at least, of her well being.
She would have taken it at that, never questioned it again, if she had not known better.
And she did know better, at least better than the man in question.
She focused her gaze back at him. Rihan was looking through the Barrier, assessing a group of humans who had just came into view. Not finding what - who - he was looking for, he turned away.
It was brief but she caught it anyway.
Her throat lurched and Yamabuki had to bit back a cry.
It had been hard to realized that what they shared before, though still treasured, was nothing like it used to be.
It was harder still to watch him slowly succumbing to despair.
30 years.
That was how long he had not seen her.
30 years since she had showed up with his father in Hell. 30 years since he had last heard her cheerful greeting, after being dead for so long. 30 years since she had come barging into his life-well, afterlife- with all that sunniness that could even make Hell a happy place to be, surprising even Yamabuki when she had dragged the poor flower demoness away for some, to quote :"girl talk". 30 years since he felt her arms around him one last time, her voice in his ear as she whispered a final goodbye.
30 years since he let her slipped away through his fingers.
Bam !
His fist hit the Barrier with all his frustration, all his bitterness.
30 years he had been looking at the other side, finding any excuse to walk by, naively hoping for even a glimpse of her.
He has yet to see her since that day.
BAM !
30 years the prospect of never seeing her again became more of a reality with each passing day.
BAM !
A trickle of blood flow down the wall of the Barrier, the pain mildly registering in his brain.
He had difficulty walking recently. His footsteps were a lot heavier than before, as though it took a lot of effort to just put one foot in front of another.
She would have said he was getting fat, he thought fondly, sadly.
A cry rang in his ear.
30 years his soul cried in anguished.
"You should probably get that checked out unless you want an infection. Strange, how we can get those even in Hell."
Rihan lifted his eyes. His gaze took in the view of a man with long brown hair in a loose ponytail and a serene smile plastered on his kind face. One of those deities, he thought, noting the white ceremonial robes the man wore and the hat sitting proudly on his head.
"Who are you ?"
The man smiled. "Name's Shougo. I was sent by Youhime-chan to talk to you. She is quite worried about how you keep spending your time down here and thought I could help."
He felt a little guilty at that. He hadn't meant to worry his mother that much. But...
"Sorry." he said coolly, turning his back on the man. "Not interested."
He had not taken more than a few steps when the next few words halt him. Whipping around he demanded, "What did you say ?"
Shougo's smile grew wider, showing off rows of his pearly white teeth.
"I said, what if I could help you see Wakana again ?"
