Disclaimer: I do not own Nurarihyon No Mago (Dang it! Why dun I own it!)(Smacks head on table!)
Hey! I'm back, muahahaha! Thanks for the awesome reviews and I'll try to update the chapters every Saturday, so you'll have one more thing to look forward to on weekends ;) And so, drumroll pls… CHAPTER 2! (Screams randomly)
He looked at the unconscious yuki-onna lying on the futon and cursed as he felt useless, unable to do anything to ease her pain. She had been sweating heavily and panting in her sleep, emitting chilled waves as she trembled. Rikuo had been watching Tsurara for 2 days and she still hadn't woken up. On the bright side, his friends don't seem to remember anything from the day in the forest and returned home the next day.
"Rikuo, don't worry. I did my best to heal her, she'll be fine."
The words came from a certain poisonous bird yokai who has khaki, scruffy hair that turns black at the neck and deep red eyes with small pupils. His pale skin stood out with his purple kimono and dark blue Haori with red details along the sleeves and collar.
"Zen…."
Hearing that, Rikuo was slightly relieved although there were still hints of worry in his brown eyes.
Tsurara, please wake up soon…. Rikuo silently prayed as night fell.
"No, don't, please… FATHER!"
Tsurara woke with a jolt, breaking out in cold sweat. The dreams she had, felt so real and she shuddered as the images flashed in her mind once again. The sun had descended and the night sky was filled with brilliant stars. The beautiful scenery felt like a slap on Tsurara's face as she remembered that horrible day in the forest. She struggled to get up and found her body wrapped in bandages. As she took shaky steps out of the room, Tsurara found herself heading to a familiar tree.
Unconsciously, she placed her hand gently on the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes.
"Rikuo-sama..."
"I'm glad you're well enough to walk and talk."
The deep voice took Tsurara by surprise as her eyes fluttered open; her cheeks immediately flushed bright pink, showing her embarrassment.
"Ri-Rikuo-sama!"
Then, realizing something, Tsurara got down to her knees; head lowered to the ground and started apologizing.
"I-I'm so sorry Rikuo-sama! It's my fault that Ienaga-san almost got hurt. Please forgive me!"
Her eyes were quickly filling to the brim with tears, turning into ice cubes and threatening to fall any moment.
"Oi, oi….no one's blaming you, you're injured, don't push yourself."
With a thud, someone landed on the ground and approached the wailing yuki-onna.
The man was tall and his red eyes fixed on Tsurara as he walked towards her. His long hair protrudes out the back of his head; the top half white while the bottom half black and to top it off, he was wearing a blue cloak over a black kimono zōri. Rikuo was in his night form, towering above the sobbing yuki-onna.
He helped Tsurara stand up and gently brushed her tears away. Without thinking, he held her in a long embrace and whispered in her ear.
"Baka, don't scare me like that again…."
Comforted by the one she held dearest to her quickly washed away all of her worries as Tsurara allowed herself to be held by Rikuo. Her beloved master had been worried about her and although guilty, she couldn't help but be glad that she was important to him and swore that she would never make Rikuo uneasy again.
Looking from afar, the silver-haired man tried to contain his fury as he looked at the scene before him. His hair had been tied in a simple laid-back pony tail falling around his shoulder and with his armor taken down; he was simply dressed in a blue-green yukata. However, seeing his beloved Tsurara-sama in another's arms made him fight a strong urge to grab his extremely deadly sword and hack the man holding her. The Third Heir had obviously not been thinking of her safety when wanting to save the human girl and Kou loathed him for that. He kept thinking what Tsurara-sama sees in that quarter yokai and cursed under his breath to even think that she might be in love with him.
Kou's thoughts were interrupted by a hand which gently wrapped his favorite blue scarf around his neck.
"You keep forgetting that you have to wear the scarf to keep inside the cold air that comes out from your breath. Do you want this whole house to be covered in ice?"
The person who disrupted his thoughts had long, crimson, wavy hair which casually flowed down her back. She was dressed in a reddish-pink kimono, designed with flames dancing on the sleeves and a purple scarf wrapped around her neck.
"I'll be glad to freeze that annoying Nura Rikuo to death."
Kou replied without even turning to look at the woman, glaring daggers at the Third Heir.
This action caused a vein to pop in the woman's head as she whacked Kou hard on his head.
"Stop staring at them you baka! The First Heir, Supreme Commander of the Nura clan, wishes to speak with us. He needs to know what's going on, so get your butt over to him!"
The woman, Reina, forcefully dragged Kou to the room where Nurarihyon was waiting, glancing back at the yuki-onna, wondering if she was really the one Kou had been searching for.
Unable to do anything, Kou gritted his teeth and grudgingly let the two yokai be alone for the night, swearing that he would bring Tsurara back home the next day.
"Supreme Commander, the guests have arrived to speak with you."
The crow yokai, Karasu Tengu, loyal follower and advisor of Nurarihyon, alerted the said man.
The Supreme Commander nodded his approval and waited for the guests to enter.
Sensing a powerful "Fear", both Reina and Kou wondered who the leader of the great Nura clan was. Their expectations were obviously met with extreme shock and disappointment when they saw the face behind the Nura clan.
An old man greeted them as they entered and gestured for them to take a sit. His head protrudes backwards from his face in the shape of a gourd and he wore a brown robe over a dark green kimono with traditional Japanese sandals. Furthermore, he had a bag of sweets in his hand and seemed to be eating them contentedly.
Recovering from shock, both Kou and Reina quickly bowed, showing their respects.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Supreme Commander. We are from the Ice Clan and are currently attempting to capture an escaped prisoner, Mitsukage Yaho. This man has caused great tragedy to our clan and must be retrieved no matter what. We seek your understanding and co-operation."
Reina spoke clearly and straight to the point.
"One more thing, Supreme Commander. Since fate has brought us to the Nura clan, we will bring back what is most important to us, our long-lost princess. I will bring her back to her true home without fail."
His voice was filled with determination and resolve. Kou was not going to lose his princess again.
"I understand. Setsura told me this day would come; after all, she was only hiding in our place during that incident… However, Tsurara is still a part of our family so I won't stand for it if you forcefully bring her back unless she agrees."
Popping the last sweet into his mouth, the Supreme Commander dismissed the two ice yokai, allowing them to stay for the night at the Nura Residence.
"Now… what would Rikuo do…?"
A smile played on Nurarihyon's lips as he wondered with curiosity.
He smiled as he watched Tsurara sleep in peace. He felt surprised at himself when he thought back at how he unconsciously hugged the yuki-onna earlier in the night. But when he looked at her amber eyes almost filling with tears, or more accurately, ice cubes, he felt that he had to do something to comfort her.
It's just a leader comforting his trusted attendant, that's all.
The Third Heir repeatedly assured himself, trying to suppress the strange feelings emerging.
Rikuo jumped onto the branch of his favorite sakura tree and sat in the silence of the night. He leaned onto the tree and his mind wandered to the events of the day in the forest, an attempt to forget his feelings for a certain yokai no doubt.
"I have a bad feeling about this…."
His tiredness took over him and he fell into deep slumber, oblivious to what he had to face the next day.
Yay, end of chapter 2! Kyaa! I loved the Tsurara x Rikuo scene! Yes, my friends, I am awesome! Haha, ok, enough self-praising for me, just wanted to know if I did ok. Please share your thoughts! :)