Chapter 12 - Enemy at the Gates

"Wake up, Rikuo-sama! Your house is burning down!"

A foot caught Rikuo in the ribs, and he immediately seized his sword. Nenekimaru was exactly where he expected it to be. Before he opened his eyes, he knew that something had changed. He could feel the fire of his yokai blood coursing through his veins. Except for the time he'd spent in Toono, Rikuo was not accustomed to waking up as his yokai self. Still, after the nightmare he'd just had, the presence of his Fear was reassuring.

He leapt to his feet and drew his blade in one swift motion, sweeping around his attacker and materializing behind him. Tamazuki felt the steel pressed to his back and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Hey, hey! I'm your friend!" He protested.

Rikuo sheathed his sword. "I was just making sure," he replied with a smirk.

"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Lord of Pandemonium," the tanuki gave a wicked little half-smile and bowed dramatically. He pulled his kabuki mask down over his face. He was wearing a hapi coat with the insignia of the Nura Clan on the back.

Rikuo stared at Tamazuki for longer than he probably should have. The hapi coat convinced him that he still wasn't in the world he thought of as real. He'd experienced what it would like to be human, and it seemed that now he would catch a glimpse of his life as a pure-blooded yokai. Lord Emma-O obviously wanted to make sure that he knew exactly what he was getting into before he surrendered one of his souls.

Still, Rikuo was curious. What was different in this world? Why had Tamazuki abandoned his position as heir to the Shikoku Hyakki Yagyo? Considering how awkward their relationship usually was, Rikuo wasn't sure he wanted to know why Tamazuki had sworn loyalty to him. Still, he was a powerful ally, and he had never been completely evil.

"So why is my house burning down?" Rikuo demanded.

"The onmyoji are trying to smoke us out," Tamazuki replied. "They're succeeding," he added.

Rikuo grimaced. He didn't like fighting humans if he could avoid it, but he'd never forgotten his first encounter with Yura's brothers. Not all exorcists were interested in working cooperatively with yokai. The alliance between the Keikain family and the Nura Clan was always a tenuous thing, but Rikuo appreciated the value of the arrangement that his grandfather had originally established with Yura's ancestors.

Rikuo's mind was still on the day he'd spent in the world where he had always been human. Although the peace and quiet there was nice, and although his mother seemed happy, he could not shake how Tsurara had stared at him without speaking a word. The Nura Clan had been completely destroyed, and it was somehow his fault. Jiro didn't even know who Kana was. His closest friends were all strangers to one another, and worst of all, he was a stranger to himself. As he watched Tamazuki run off with his sword drawn, Rikuo fought the sinking feeling that the world he'd awoken in would be just as wrong in a completely different way. At very least, in this world it seemed that he would get the chance to defend his family.

Rikuo caught up to the tanuki in the audience hall where the various retainers of the Nura Clan usually met. The room was full of smoke, but it looked like someone had successfully put out most of the fire.

Rikuo opened the door which led to the courtyard. The sky was full of stars and the moon glowed white like a perfect summer melon. Although his home was under attack, Rikuo still felt the pull of the hot-blooded night, the smell of mischief in the air.

How could I give this up? He thought to himself. If the decision would save his grandfather's life, he knew he would do it... but it would not be easy.

A dozen small yokai scurried out the doors right between his legs, running off with whatever they could carry, which seemed to be a few bottles of sake and one of Kejoro's kimonos.

Not far away, Rikuo could hear the sound of sirens. The police were coming. Although yokai were invisible unless they chose to be seen, the onmyoji they were fighting were human. Obviously, someone had seen them gathering around the Nura Clan's mansion and had reported the suspicious activity.

Rikuo wiped sweat from his face with his sleeve. In front of him was the cherry tree. It wasn't a lifeless husk, but it looked sorrier than he'd ever seen it. Half of the blossoms had fallen from its branches and were floating on the top of Kappa's pond, which looked even greener than usual.

A tremendous crash drew his attention to the front gate. Several Toono mercenaries, and two Kanto apes were trying to hold the doors closed while the onmyoji on the outside was trying to batter them down.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rikuo saw an onmyoji slide down over the wall. He was dressed like a ninja in all black, but not even the best camouflage would protect him from Rikuo's sharp eye. Nurarihyon was a yokai born of illusions, as elusive as the reflection of the moon in still water. Anything humans did to conceal their presence was glaringly obvious to him.

"I've got him," Tamazuki said.

"He's mine," Rikuo retorted, swiftly overtaking his old enemy.

"Damnit, you never let me kill anyone!" Tamazuki protested.

The onmyoji jumped back as Rikuo swiftly appeared in front of him. He held a summoning charm in his right hand and almost called for his shikigami, but Rikuo knocked him soundly across the back of the head with Nenekimaru's scabbard. He crumpled to the floor and fell down the stairs. A few other onmyoji scurried forward to drag him to safety. They stared in horror as they saw Rikuo. He couldn't actually see himself, but he was the Lord of Pandemonium. Most sensible people were afraid of him.

"Why didn't you run him through?" Tamazuki asked, eying the unconscious onmyoji suspiciously.

"I didn't want to," Rikuo replied.

Tamazuki was standing right behind him, and as he glanced at the tanuki, he saw Gyuki on the roof of the mansion. Gyuki leapt down into the courtyard, accompanied by his usual subordinates, Gozumaru and Mezumaru. Shoei cracked his knuckles, emerging from the shadows to stand at Rikuo's left. He seemed to be getting bigger as he stepped forward, and Rikuo knew that wasn't a good sign.

"These humans are burning down your house," Tamazuki reminded him.

"So? We can stop this. It must be a misunderstanding," he protested.

"There's no misunderstanding!" Tamazuki argued. "They're onmyoji, we're yokai! They kill us, we kill them!"

Rikuo hesitated. He'd sensed that there was something wrong from the time he woke up, and now that he saw who was coming to support him, he knew what it. It should have been Aotabo and Kurotabo to his left, and Tsurara to his right.

Although both Shoei and Tamazuki were close to his own age, at least by yokai standards, they were both too violent and hotheaded to be his closest companions. Rikuo had fought both of them in the past, and almost killed Tamazuki twice. Although Gyuki was in many ways his mentor, Rikuo also knew that he was one of the most formidable warriors of the Nura Clan. Gyuki would not have been opposed to a war with the onmyoji if it seemed necessary. He'd actually betrayed Rikuo once before, just to force him to prove his worthiness to become the Nura Clan's Third Heir.

Determined to change the outcome of the battle he'd fallen into, Rikuo leapt up the roof of the mansion himself. "Hey, onmyoji! I want to talk to your leader!" He shouted.

The pounding on the gate stopped. For a moment, everything was quiet.

"Are you going to surrender, Lord of Pandemonium?" A familiar voice demanded from outside of the wall.

"Yura?" Rikuo blinked in surprise.

There was another moment of silence. With no more sound than a mouse, an enormous white shikigami wolf landed on the rooftop across from Rikuo. Riding on its back was an onmyoji wearing a white cloak with a long, ugly scar running down her left arm. Yura lowered her hood and eyed Rikuo coldly. The right side of her face was also scarred. Although she was the same age that he was, Yura looked old. Rikuo knew that she carried a burden as heavy as his own, the responsibility for the Keikain family... and her life had never been an easy one.

"How do you know my name, yokai?" Yura demanded.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Rikuo replied. "But I don't want to fight you."

"The Nura Clan doesn't want to fight?" Yura gave a sharp, barking laugh. "Now I've heard everything!"

"I'm serious," Rikuo sighed.

"Why? Are you afraid you'll lose?" Yura smirked, producing a piece of crisp white paper.

Rikuo did not hear the invocation she uttered. In a heartbeat, he had two shikigami to contend with, an elk and Tanro the wolf, snarling and lunging at him. He could dodge both easily enough, but he also knew that Yura wasn't at the limit of her powers. She could summon up to four shikigami at once, and even if he could fight them all, he wasn't sure that the roof of his burning home could hold the weight of an elephant.

Rikuo sheathed Nenekimaru and caught Tanro's jaws with his sword. The elk shikigami charged him, and he narrowly evaded being caught by its antlers.

"Need some help, Rikuo-sama?" Tamazuki teased.

"Stay out of this!" Rikuo warned.

"Very well. One on one it is," Yura smiled slightly. She drew a sword from her hip and slipped into a fighting stance. Although the Yura that Rikuo knew had never had much interest in kendo, instead relying on her formidable magic, the version of his friend that he was fighting had lived a different life. Quite possibly, Hagamore Gitsune had still tried to destroy Kyoto. If the Keikain family and the Nura Clan were not allies in this alternate world, then somehow Yura had succeeded in stopping the kitsune without his help. The cost of winning that battle, if it had been won at all, must have been very high.

The sound of a helicopter drew his attention up, and Yura cursed.

"Put your weapons down," the police ordered.

Yura leapt onto Tanro's back and disappeared. Squinting, Rikuo realized that a police officer in the helicopter was pointing a gun at him.

Rikuo took a deep breath and disappeared himself.

Two hours later, the fire was extinguished. The police and the firefighters combed the grounds looking for any signs of what had started the blaze. Rikuo perched in the branches of the sakura tree where he could watch their investigation but remain unseen. He heard a man say that the last human resident had moved out five years ago, although the neighbors did believe that the old house was haunted.

Eventually the officers departed. They chained the gate closed as they left. Rikuo stared at the burned-out mansion and the withering cherry tree. It was the same ruin he'd seen before, when he'd been completely human. Apparently, regardless of which of his souls he sacrificed, the result was the same. The Nura Clan was going to be destroyed.

The yokai slowly emerged from hiding. There were not as many as Rikuo had expected, certainly not a full Night Parade, and there was no sign of his grandfather or his mother. Tsurara was also notably missing, although Aotabo and Kurotabo did return shortly before dawn, both very drunk. Kurotabo moaned about missing the fight and behaving shamefully. Aotabo passed out.

"It's almost morning. We can't stay here," Tamazuki paused, nudging the snoring Aotabo with his foot.

"I suppose we could go to Bakeneko's," Rikuo suggested.

Tamazuki whistled. "You must be desperate," he remarked.

"Do you have a problem?" Rikuo demanded.

"Tsurara is still working there," Tamazuki replied.

"I know," Rikuo said, although that was something he hadn't anticipated.

"It doesn't matter to me," Tamazuki shrugged. "If you want to harass your ex-girlfriend, we'll go harass your ex-girlfriend. Although I've got five-thousand yen that says she's going to freeze you again."

"Girlfriend?" Rikuo echoed. "Tsurara is my girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Tamazuki corrected.

Rikuo paused. The thought troubled him. Tsurara had always been his bodyguard. He'd never considered what she might do if he didn't need her. But if he had never been human, then he'd never needed a bodyguard. Tsurara wasn't weak, but she couldn't match him at night. Depending on her during the day when he couldn't use his powers had given him the opportunity to appreciate how strong she actually was.

It didn't seem right to ask Tamazuki what had happened. Although Rikuo knew that the world he was in was very different from the one he still believed was real, he could not think of anything but Tsurara.

Tsurara always called him "Rikuo-sama", and never overstepped her bounds as his subordinate. Still, when he was sick or injured, she always rolled him up in a dozen blankets and piled ice all over him. She snuck into his school and brought him lunch when he forgot it. She spent half of the night sitting in a chair in his motel room to protect him from the Baku. Rikuo thought back to the conversation he'd had with Tsurara on the train, as they were heading to Shikoku.

She'd promised to stand by his side no matter what, and now he had seen just what that promise could mean for her. Tsurara protected him when he couldn't even see her, and she'd stayed close to him even when he chased her away. She always had, and she always would. Regardless of whether he was helpless or strong... she loved him.

"I am an idiot!" Rikuo groaned.

"Well, yes. I've always thought so," Tamazuki shrugged. "Is this something you just now noticed?"

Rikuo sighed and leapt up onto the wall surrounding the mansion. Although the sun was rising, he still bounded effortlessly across the rooftops in the direction of Bakeneko's restaurant. There was something distinctly different about being yokai during the day. Although Rikuo knew that no one could see him unless he chose to show himself, he kept expecting that someone would look in his direction. In a way, he suspected... all yokai became more real at night.

Since all of its patrons were yokai, Bakeneko's restaurant never really closed, but it did see most of its business after dark. A few of the waiters were playing mah-jong on a cold hibachi grill when Rikuo and Tamazuki walked in. Tamazuki made himself comfortable in a corner booth and immediately called for sake. Rikuo stood in the doorway. He felt the cold of Tsurara's presence before he saw her. Her sleeves were rolled up to the elbow and her hair was pulled back with a familiar yellow scarf. She looked tired, but so did all of the staff. Restaurant work was hard, and the hours were long.

"What are you doing here, Rikuo?" Tsurara asked.

She didn't call him Rikuo-sama as she normally did, but if Tamazuki could be believed, they had been dating. Her casual tone sounded strange to Rikuo, but that was because she was usually so formal with him. But in this alternate world, she was not his protector.

"My house burned down," he admitted.

"It was bound to happen. You kept pushing those onmyoji. Sooner or later, they were going to push you back," Tsurara sighed. "But I am sorry. I still have a lot of good memories of that place," she smiled slightly.

"So do I," Rikuo nodded. "Listen, Tsurara... I'm sorry. For everything I did, or didn't do. I took you for granted. You were always there. I thought you always would be."

"That's not enough. You've made a mess of things since your grandfather disappeared. I think somewhere along the line you must have forgotten what we were... what the Nura Clan was," Tsurara sighed.

"I did forget," Rikuo nodded. "Will you help me save our family?"

Tsurara hesitated. "Some of them are not going to be happy to see you," she warned.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Rikuo admitted.

"All right. Let me think about it," Tsurara replied. She eyed Tamazuki warily and went back into the kitchen.

Rikuo sighed heavily and sat down across from Tamazuki. He poured himself a cup of sake and drank it down. With a snort, Tamazuki shoved several crumpled paper bills in his direction.

"This is only 3000 yen," Rikuo informed him. "I thought the bet was 5000."

"She said she had to think about it," Tamazuki replied. "As I see it, she still might freeze you."

"You know what? Keep your money," Rikuo sighed, shoving the bills back in Tamazuki's direction. "If Tsurara thinks I'm here trying to win a bet, she will freeze me! And I would deserve it, too."

He poured himself a second cup of sake and drank it down. The booth was very comfortable, and considering how his sleep had been interrupted earlier, it was all too easy for Rikuo to close his eyes.

For a moment, he struggled against sleep, fearing where he might wake up... but then he heard familiar voices whispering all around him, like a dream sweeping up around his reality.

Rikuo gasped and almost collapsed to his knees. Although his mind still felt as though it were miles away from his body, he was back in the courtroom as though he'd never left at all.

"A verdict has been reached," Lord Emma-O announced.