AN: Rikuo's an asshole. Enough said =[ (Please keep reading. It gets better. I promise D: )

Thank you guys so much for reviewing. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Nurarihyon no Mago :D

Trigger Warning: sexual assault.

…..

Bad Decisions. Deadly Affection

…..

~ 3 days earlier ~

"Koneko, are you listening to me?"

She folded the last piece of the paper down, angling the corner to meet the other corner, then folded in half, then folded each side down, and then, raise it like so, flick –

The paper plane soared listlessly to the ground, landing short of its target. Namely, Rikuos hair. She whined and drooped to the table, her tails flicking with annoyance, a dark sigh on her tongue. "Yes, I'm listening."

Brown coloured eyes brows raised curiously at her. "Oh?" Rikuo crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a pulse in his temple throb. He had been talking for a good hour now, stuck alone in a room with the kitsune, trying to drum the spy reports into her head. The spy reports she had just turned into a pathetic attempt of origami and threw at his feet. It gave him a headache how unreliable she was. "What was it I was saying?"

Koneko shrugged, a bored look on her face, staring out the window absently. "Why are you asking me if I'm paying attention if you can't even remember what you were rambling on about?"

"Koneko! This is serious!" He yelled furiously, slamming his copy of the paper on the table in front of her. "Do you know how bad this is?"

The kitsune turned her head slightly to regard him, before dragging herself upright, taking the paper in hand. "I thought killing these guys were all the rage." She said absently.

The Young Master groaned at her comment, frustrated. He slumped heavily into the chair opposite to her. "If this is correct, your mothers enemy is the crown prince of Japan."

Kasai shrugged carelessly, her gold eyes steady on his. "I told you, Susanoo chose a noble house to put his seed."

"A noble?!" Rikuo spat angrily. "It's the fucking emperors' son. Not some businessmen family."

"So?"

"So what do you expect me to do?" He begged her, his hands stretched out, palms up to the ceiling.

Kasai frowned at him. "Here I thought you were some sort of Prince of Darkness. Do they not call you the Lord of Pandemonium, Master of all Spirits."

Rikuo Nura looked over to her for the longest moment, understanding slowly dawning on him. The kitsune just grinned, her fangs glimmering evilly in the fading light. He grinned back at her knowingly, leaning back in his chair. The daughter of the sun. There was a darkness to her that he found intoxicating.

Yes. He held the Throne of Darkness. The Chrysanthemum Prince will wilt before him.

….

It was so cold.

Kasai had her hand and was running. The pace was so fast; it was all Tsurara could do to keep from stumbling. Tears of ice kept blinding her, but the kitsune set such a punishing speed that if she stumbled, Koneko would just drag her forward, refusing to leave her behind. The festival fell away behind them, until lights from lanterns turned to street lights, crowds of families turned to crowds of drunks. It was Saturday night, after all. Kasai had lead her straight into the Bakaneko district, famous for its casinos, nightclubs and gambling houses.

What had happened? Tsurara struggled with herself, running purely because Kasai would not leave her. She felt numb, no more than that, she felt cold, like there was no warmth left inside of her. In her mind, she could still see her master pulling that human in close, their lips touching. There had been a feeling of the world around her falling away, shattering like broken glass. She remembered the kitsune calling to her, her body going numb. It wasn't like her stomach twisting, or her heart stopping, it was simply like someone had turned a cold shower on, and washed away her feelings.

Those times where she spent hours curled up with her master in his sakura tree. The secreted glances, the warmth of his smile, his touch. Her dedication, her trust.

Her love.

None of it mattered. No, instead something more basic took over her. The ice, the snow, the cold.

It was Koneko that dragged her up. She kept yelling, they had to go, they had to get away. Tsurara was hurting. Or was she hurting Kasai? There was so much snow.

They were slowing down. Suddenly, Kasai pulled her into the darkness of a stores doorway, panting heavily, pushing her lightly into the darkest crevices. Tsurara didn't struggle, watching as the kitsune peered suspiciously around the corner.

"Fuck. I don't think he's following." She panted heavily, sounding more disappointed than relieved. For a moment, her body shimmered a soft gold, and she returned to her human form, her eyes watching the crowds around them curiously. Turning to Tsurara, the kitsune sighed. Her friend just stood there, looking lost, her hands pressed against her lips, long sleeves hiding the majority of her face. "You should have let them fall. Making you cry like that."

Blue eyes looked up to meet brown. "Eh? Oh. I… uh.." Why did she do that? It fe lt like a natural reaction. Koneko had been so violent in her anger. When the cart fell, something inside of Tsurara called to her, knowing that her Master, in all of his traitorous glory, was in there. "I guess it was instinct? I…couldn't just let them fall like that. "

Koneko snorted darkly. "Instinct, my furry ass. I don't understand you guys." She said, glancing back around the corner just in case the source of her friends' distress was nearby. "Worst than Momma, he is."

There was a soft, wet giggle escaped Tsurara's lips despite the situation. Kasai glanced back to her and smiled softly, playfully. "How about we go spend all his money?"

Tsurara frowned curiously, not understanding. "Eh?"

The kitsune gave her a wide grin, reaching into the chest of her kimono to pull out a large pouch, the symbol of Fear etched into its leather. Tsurara recognised it straight away and gaped at Koneko in surprise. Kasai giggled; a dark look in her eyes - she seemed to enjoy causing grief for Nura. "I took it earlier when he wouldn't give me any mochi."

"…You almost vomited on him from eating too much." Tsurara said flatly, but she could feel her amusement bubbling.

Koneko shrugged lightly, "I was making room. He was in the way." She laughed at the disgusdted noise that the Yuki-On'na made, reaching out to grab her hand. "Come on. He wouldn't let me drink the sake either. I wanna try it."

Tsurara hesitated, eyeing the kitsunes playful smile. What happened tonight… they surely would be punished for it later. But, if Tsurara was honest with herself, she would be happier if she never saw him again. Her mother had warned her about this once, about dedicating herself to the Nurarihyons grandson. Setsura had told her that he would hurt her, but Tsurara had been adamant. Things were different, she loved him. She wanted to dedicate herself to his cause. And when the day came that he started to pull her to him, hold her, Tsurara thought she had proved her mother wrong. She thought she had won.

Gods, she was so wrong. Master Rikuo was just using her. Before, when she had been younger, she had been content with the idea of being a second thought. Now..

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind furiously and nodded. Tonight was one for forgetting. "Yeah. Let's go have a bit of fun."

….

The carnival was a mess. The snow kept coming, even though the Yuki-On'na was long go. Thankfully, the ice had began to start melting, and despite the strange circumstance, most of the reporters on the scene were broadcasting about a freak snowstorm. Most of the humans had been evacuated, leaving only empty stores and broken rides. Power had long ago been shut off.

"No I have to go find them." Rikuo was said for the umpteenth time, pulling his arm gently away from Kana, refusing to meet her begging gaze. "They are my responsibility."

Kiyotsugu shook his head furiously. "You can't leave, Nura." He said firmly, leading the group away from the disaster zone towards the main road. "I promised my father that I would bring you guys to the meeting."

The young master gave him a foul look. "I don't know why it is so fucking important that you need us there." He grumbled, tucking his hands into haori, looking off into the distance, trying to sense for fear of the Yuki-On'na, but she was long gone for his awareness.

His older friend shot a glare over his shoulder. "Everyone thinks this was some kind of freak snow storm." He shot back, coming to a stop in front of a black limousine. "I don't know what made go crazy like that, but right now my father is probably having a fit. If this after party doesn't go perfectly I don't know what he will do. What better then to have the leader of the Yakuza-"

"What the fuck, Kiyotsugu?!" Nura snapped, ignoring the looks from the girls as they piled into the limo. "What have you been telling him about me?!"

"Oh please!" The brunette man turned to him, just as angry. "I said Yakuza, not Yokai. Its been rumoured that the Nura clan has been Yakuza for the longest time. Do you think I've just been hunting Yokai all my life? No! I'm the son of a business man, just like you."

"Now get your ass in the car, Nura." Kiyotsugu stood aside, sweeping his arm towards the car door to emphasis his words. "If we're lucky, we can salvage this situation and make a profit between us."

Nura glared at him, so angry that his blood was boiling, the darkness of his Fear dripping from his very being. What frustrated him the most was that he couldn't do anything about this situation. With Aotaba sick – thanks to Konekos attempt at cooking, and his other Hyakki-Yako members were either on their own personal business, or stuck on a patrol that he had assigned. He relied usually on Tsurara for communicating with his followers. He let out a furious sigh, shifting in his place, reaching for his pocket in the inner haori for his-

Rikuo swore viciously. His money pouch was gone. His phone had been in it. Now he had no money, no phone, no Tsurara.

Well fuck.

"Rikuo-kun," A female voice caught his attention. He looked up, meeting the large brown eyes of Kana, who stared hopefully at him. She brought back him back to the kiss, so warm, wanting, yet he found that just looking at her, her felt so…. So… "Oikawa-san can look after herself. Give her some time."

"Okay. I got it. Fine." Rikuo threw up his hands angrily, getting into the limo, settling into the seat next to Torii and Maki, refusing to look at Kana. "Let's just get this over and done with."

….

Cocktails. Sake. Rum and Vodka.

Mint. Olives. Lemon and Ice.

The world was spinning around her in a hazy blur. There was laughter around her, masculine hands on her hips, gripping her tightly as she danced effortlessly to the music. Somewhere, there were roars of laughter, a crowd bustling around the gambling tables cheering on the winning roll. Someone was pushing a drink into Tsurara's numb hands, and she gulped it down before she realised what she was doing.

There were Yokai everywhere. Bakaneko clan girls were everywhere, running to serve whoever beckoned them. No one was hiding. Beastial faces gleamed in every corner, tails and horns, snarls and laughter. It felt like the Nura household throughout the height of their celebrations after the Nue. Every now and again some idiot would be flung across the room, beaten by some other intoxicated ayakashi.

Someone grabbed a hold of her and suddenly pulled her across the room, and Tsurara found herself stumbling into the arms of the ever protective- or possibly possessive, arms of Kasai no Koneko, who pulled her away from Yokai who had had a hold of her, her tails flicking in annoyance as she pulled the Yuki-On'na against her chest.

"Mine!" Koneko hissed viciously over Tsurara's giggles, stumbling a little herself. The Furi put his hands up, backing away slowly. The kitsune smirked, swaying where she stood with Tsurara leaning against her, before bursting into a fit of laughter

"Haaaaaaahhh." She giggled, staggering with the Yuki-On'na through the crowd. "I just completely….. dooobled our munnyz" Her hands tugged at Tsurara hand, looking back over her shoulder to her. Her soft gold and white hair was a mess, gone from straight and silky, to frazzled with curls going crazy. At some point through the night, someone had pulled too hard at her kimono, and the shoulder hung just off her just a little. "We neeed to goooooo. So many. So many hands."

Tsurara wasn't in any better shape than the kitsune was. Someone had taken the big midnight blue bow off the back of her kimono, and now it was missing completely. Kasai had tied her hair up earlier with the garter she had been wearing, but strands of snow white hair was falling over her face chaotically. How Kasai had gotten the garter was another thing altogether. The entire minute of flailing and screaming was something Tsurara would rather forget. Luckily, it also meant that there were a lot more drinks for some reason.

They staggered out of the doorway. It was so late at night that neither of them hid their Yokai appearance. Though, in their current condition, neither of them could manage their Fear properly even if it was necessary.

"Ah!" Tsurara sighed happily, stretching out her arms and spinning about as they walked. "I love the cold!"

Koneko giggled, sashaying her way down the avenue, watching the Yuki-On'na with a crooked smile. "It's always cold near you!"

Amber eyes danced as Tsurara looked back at the kitsune. "It should always snow!" She sung, and as if on command, a small flurry exploded over their head and began it snow. Koneko groaned at it, stumbling as she did so. The ice maiden ignored her. "'Ave you e'er seen Kantoo through winner?"

"'Course not." Kasai swiped away the building drift, "Hoo didya think I am? A yu….yugi….Yug-" She screwed up her face in concentration, stopping where she was so she wouldn't have to concentrate on two things at once. "Yuki… Ah fuck. Y'know wha-"

She looked up, ready to harass the source of her confusion when something made her stop. They had walked… somewhere dark, and quiet. She hadn't even noticed where they had been heading, just followed Tsurara blindly as she had danced through the streets. The stillness made her hackles raise. For someone who had been alone her entire life, being here just felt… wrong. Dangerous.

"Tsurara-san!" She called, suddenly picking up her pace til she was side by side with the ice Yokai. "I dun like it 'ere! Let's go back. Please!"

"Eh?" Tsurara stopped, turning to her, taking the kitsunes hand lightly, a confused smile on her face. "But it's just started snowing!"

"Tsurara-san, pl-"

The footsteps echoed all around them, making Kasai squeak softly, staggering into Tsurara, her vision blurred by alcohol and the darkness. She felt the ice maiden stiffen, holding her hand tightly. There was laughter; it vibrated through their very being. Tsurara shivered, her amber eyes squinting into the darkness, her flurry snow cloud suddenly evaporating from the air.

"These the girls?" one voice asked from the darkness, guttural, rough, sounding like gravel moving through a quake. "They're certainly pretty. For Nura clan slaves."

"Yeeaaah that them, alright." Another voice growled, to the left, deep and foreboding. "I can't believe a bloody kitsune ripped us off so much."

There was a sharp, barking laugh. This one, behind them. "You were too busy staring at her tits to watch your cards, Kosho. Useless."

Kasai twisted about to the sound of the mens laughter, tossing a ball of fire in the direction of the sound. It flew into the distance, so off target that its light didn't even catch on the shadows of those that had cornered them. There was more laugher, everywhere they turned.

"Obviously they aren't the pick of the clan!" Another said, sounding young, amused, the slur of the drink on his voice. "C'mon, let's get that cash back."

Kasai squeaked at the words, fire starting at her feet and surrounded them in a hot furry. Tsurara steadied herself, a long staff of ice growing into her hands. But the weapon was sloppily made, water dripping down its length from the heat of Kasais fire. The fire burned dimly, and the kitsune sweated, trying to keep her concentration up.

They had drunk so much.

The attack came from the front. A gust of wind, strong and as sharp as knives. The first wave hit Koneko like a scythe, sending her flying backwards. Tsurara caught the second wave, a huge wall of ice erupting from her feet with a wave of her hand. It was the second assault from the left that she couldn't defend against, a huge weight suddenly slamming into her, knocking the breath from her body.

Laughing, the beast Yokai slammed the Yuki-On'na into the road, ignoring the blasting cold coming from her scream as if was a mere winters breeze, smashing her head as hard as he could into the ground. In one large hand, he gripped at her small arms, pushing them above her head and into the gravel of the road. The other hand moved to cover her mouth. "Shut up, you little ice bitch!"

A golden ball of fire that was Koneko knocked Tsuraras attacker to the ground. Dazed from when her head was hit, Tsurara struggled to her feet, using the staff to steady her. Three Yokai started to merge from the darkness around her. She could hear a man screaming somewhere to her left and dizzily, she could see Kasai tumbling on the ground, a blaze of gold fire, a ape like beast pushing her into the ground, fighting back the wild cat, and the wild wielder.

Bile was coming up in her throat. The urge to vomit came fast and hard, and she found all the food that she had eaten earlier suddenly burst forward. There was a round of laughter around her.

"Whoa, whoa!" One roared in laughter, a oni- a demon orge, his blue skin camouflaging in the night. "Little girly here can't hack her grog."

The ape demon slammed the kitsune back into the ground. "Oi, oi, little help here? This bitch hurts."

Tsurara struggled, straightening her body up to see the fires of Koneko start to die out. A scream came to her unbidden, and she flung her hand out, whispering a prayer to her anscestors fervently under her breath, calling on those that had controlled the storms of ice long before her to give her strength. Shards of ice like a flurry of crystal spears soaring at the assailant-

Wind. It was so easy. The youngest one sniggered softly, large bird like wings coming from his back, looking like that of an owls. "A Yuki-On'na. I 'eard that they are all sorts of loyal to that prissy lord."

"Wonder what they're doing, eh?" The oni sniggered softly, "All gussied up, nowhere to go."

Huge arms suddenly wrapped around Tsuraras waist, making her issue out a blood curdling scream, but it was cut off by a hand like rock curling around her mouth. Biting down on the hand was like biting on stone. It almost broke her teeth.

"TSURARA!" She could hear the kitsune crying for her, a dog begging for its owner. "Don't you fucking touch Tsurara. Don't you fucking touch her!"

"Hah!" The Yuki-On'na could feel a muzzle pressing into her neck, a long, wet tongue brushing up the length of her neck, her stomach pitting sickly as he tasted her. "Nowhere to go, huh? I think they were out looking for a good time."

The ape looked down at the captured Koneko, his eyes wavering on her cleavage, grinning widely, looking very much like a predator examining his meal. "Maybe we can show them the real party."

The youngest assailant wondered up to the Yuki-On'na, raising his hand and running his palm down her slender neck to her breast, cupping it through the kimono. The ice maidened screamed though the rock hand, ice forming over the ayakashi's hand. The beast swore softly, tightening his grip.

"Oh yes." The owl Yokai sneered. "I certainly think we can show these pretties a good time. Send them back to the Nura clan with our compliments."

They wanted the Yuki-On'na. The rumours of the ice yokai's unmatched beauty had not been wrong, Koneko stared up at her captor pitifully, a low whine in the back of her throat. The beast lifted her hands above her head, bringing them together so he could grip them in one hand. "I think you should watch." He growled at her in that gravelled voice, palming her cheek like a lover would. Koneko hissed viciously, moving to bite into the hand, but it hit her hard, drawing blood. The ayakashi swore, gripping at her ear, wrenching her head to the left, forcing her eyes to focus on her companion. "You fucking watch, bitch."

She watched. Tsurara's amber eyes were on hers, unfocused, empty. It was the young one, his hand ripped at the beautifully made kimono, tugging it down away from the Yuki-On'na shoulders, exposing her bra for the men to ogle. She turned her head slowly away from the kitsune to look at the young bird Yokai, staring at him.

They just wanted her for her body. Wasn't that always the case? The feeling of that muzzle on her neck, the hands on her breasts. The way they were pulling up her skirts, staring at her legs.

It was all so familiar. It happened before.

Rikuo did this. He just…wanted her for nothing. Just to use her.

Something inside of her twisted. It started in the pit of her stomach, an endless chill slowly spreading through her body, making its way through her body, numbing her toes, her fingers, and before finally, she felt her heart be encased in this intense freeze, this everlasting anger. An urge came to life within her. An urge she had never felt before.

The hand pulled away from her mouth, and Tsurara let out a soft breath, her eyes never leaving the bird Yokai as he excitedly pressed his body against her own, a unfamiliar hardness pressing against her most private of areas, unwanted. Koneko's strangled screams seemed muffled now, lost to her. They didn't matter.

He forced his lips on her.

Hate. It was pure hate. It coursed through her, taking the cold up through her body like a rushing breath. Her lips parted, welcoming his seeking tongue with a strangled moan. The cold came out like a scream, spreading from her lips onto his. Her hatred. His betrayal.

The bird Yokai let out one last heated moan, before the ice began taking over. It shot through his mouth, spreading down his throat, feeling like burning water, spilling into his stomach and then spreading into his veins, running through every inch of his body within seconds. Blood vessels exploded, as if dry ice had injected into his very life blood til finally, the freeze hit his heart. It stopped, frozen in its spot, then, within moments of his lips touching his victim, it imploded.

His body fell backwards, crystals of ice encasing every inch of his skin. When the body hit the ground, it shattered.

Koneko gasped.

Then something moved; a shadow that Kasai hadn't seen before. It came from nowhere, moved with so much speed that she could barely keep up. One moment, it was standing, towering over her, pulsating. Then, without warning, her captor literally exploded, blood and entrails pouring over her, making her scream. The shadow moved again, charging the rock monster that had Tsurara. They were both knocked back, the Yuki-On'na being flung listlessly to the ground as the rock Yokai was forced back.

Koneko scrambled to her hands and feet, crawling over til she reached Tsurara, pulling her unconscious form protectively to her. She looked over to the fighting, terrified. The rock Yokai was huge, quiet simply looking like a man, his skin looking like a lizards. On top of him was the shadow. Fear surrounded it, flickering in the air like black flames. Wings, tattered and huge, reminded her of a bat, stretched out from its shoulder blades. It smelt like old copper.

It smelt like blood.

There was movement from their saviours right, and Koneko watched helplessly as the smallest Yokai, yet another ape like creature, snuck towards the battle, sword raised. She screamed out a warning, and the demon flung out its arm. Fear spread out, flicking like thick acid at wild angles. A chunk of it smashed into the sneaking attackers face. He screamed.

Then exploded.

Finally, the rock Yokai seemed to stop struggling underneath the demons onslaught, lying dead in the a pool of blood. Groaning, the demon straightened up, unstraddling his pray slowly. The kitsune whined in the back of her throat, and it turned to the snarl, red eyes glowing in the darkness. She watched as slowly, the wings retracted into its form, the Fear disappearing from around it. Her world swayed suddenly, her energy spent.

Kasai no Koneko collapsed.

A tall, handsome dark headed man stood before her. He frowned at the girls. "Hey!" He called, trotting over to them. The last thing the kitsune saw was bright blue eyes.

…..

Men talked nonstop and all Rikuo wanted to do was leave.

Ever since his grandfather married a human, the Nura had been meddling into the affairs of human business. It was only minor things, taking over stores, protection money and minor black goods. Now, through Rikuo's ever reaching grasp, the business had grown. Gambling, woman, narcotics, (although, that was something of a need to know basis for the Lord of Pandemonium), weapons, alcohol and a black market that would put his grandfathers to shame. It was a constant source for money, and, more importantly, Fear.

The best thing was, being Yokai that ran it, it was impossible for the authorities to track.

He flatly denied all involvement, ofcourse. No matter what Kiyotsugu said, he wanted no business with these men. They laughed though, happily clapping him on his shoulder, a wink as if to say, Oh, yeah, same here, buddy.

It made him a little annoyed. It was like dealing with his Grandfathers Hyakki-Yako advisors again. Old men that were out of tune with the world around them, doing bad business, and somehow getting rich off of it.

It was about two in the morning that he had enough. His head was aching,

All he would think of was the festival, what could make Tsurara turn like that. Guilt plagued him, it was an unfamiliar feeling, uncomfortable the way it turned in his stomach like a sickness. He had never felt…'bad' for his ways before now. At home, Tsurara always, although reluctantly, gave into to his advances, but never initiated them. And when it came to Kana, there had long been a tension between them, ever since that night of her thirteenth birthday. Part of him had wanted her, but even now, as she clung to him, all he wanted to do was get away. Humans.

He was three quarters human. Once, he had rejected his human self and thought that getting closer to the beautiful brunette would make him feel like a normal human. But as he got older, he found himself becoming more and more distant from what made him human. The responsibility of keeping his family ontop has made him more of a ayakashi each day.

So why did he kiss her?

Admittedly, it was simply because it was fun. He knew that Kana wanted to love him, but it was the danger of loving a monster that kept her at his side.

"You refused me one. Do you hate me?"

He had asked his Yuki-On'na that once. She rejected him, when no one else would, turned away his need for her. She never dared to do it again, but was it out of admiration? Guilt? She had supposedly his personal protector and she turned her back on him when he needed her. And even now, when he was older and the Yuki-On'na was his closest advisor, she never reject edhis advances.

Yet she never seemed to give him everything. Something was hidden away from him. Locked up. Even through Matoi, she held back her Fear. Held back a part of her that she didn't want him to see.

"N-n-n-No!."

Why? Rikuo frowned softly. Wasn't it just Tsurara's oath that kept her by his side? Her families' sworn loyalty?

"I lovava- Youdon'tunderstand!"

"Fuck." He swore viciously, turning on his heel, pushing his way through crowd. That was enough. He would not sit idle while his personal aid was out there, alone with that crazy fire kitsune. They needed to talk. He needed to know. Whether she liked it or not, he wanted her to give him everything.

The door was in sight. The problem was, Kana stood in the way. Standing toe to toe, he towered over her, staring down at the brunette in annoyance. "Kana. Move."

She shook her head firmly, ever stubborn. "Stay with me." She begged, reaching out to take his hands.

Without thinking, the Young Master tore his hands from her, making her squeak. "No, Kana. I've had enough. I need to find Tsurara." He said firmly, moving to push her gently aside.

She didn't budge, pushing his arm downwards, her eyes steely as they narrowed on him. "Oikawa?" Kana growled darkly. "She abandoned you. Why is she so important, hmm?" He fell silent, refusing to give her an answer that he barely knew himself. "Did that kiss mean nothing to you?!"

That he could answer. A small, malicious smirk came to his lips. "Not particularly."

He watched her face fell, and he knew he had crushed her hope. Something inside him, his human self, felt a pang of sadness. But everything else, indifferent. There was a Yuki-On'na out there. He wanted her strange warmth beside him once more. Not this… human and her fickle ways.

"H-how could you…?" Kana whispered, anger edging on her voice.

"My, my!" A loud booming voice came from behind him, surprising him. "Who would have thought the mighty head of the Nura family was such a heartbreaker!"

Rikuo frowned, looking over his shoulder to see a large man, muscles that could rival that of Aotabas's, standing behind him, grinning broadly, stormy blue eyes glimmering with amusement. "Now that's something I can appreciate!"

"Excuse me?" Rikuo questioned, turning his attention from the crying Kana, completely disregarding her with a dismissive wave. "Do I know you?"

"Of course not, my man!" The mountain of man chuckled, his voice booming in a deep bass. "I am Katsuro Mikoto! I've been looking for you!"

…..