Reveal

Disclaimer: I don't own Nurarihyon no mago or any of its characters

Itaku hastily made his way down the many brightly lit halls of the temple, making many turns in all directions. He had passed by a large number of rooms and fellow yokai. Of course none of which waved or even spared the kamaitachi a glance as they passed him by. That was simply how it was in Toono. Most of the yokai in that village worked as mercenaries and not a whole lot of them were your typical friendly type to say hello. Of course it was because of that fact that Yusuke was such a "strange" addition to the village. She was very innocent and shy, not to mention weak hearted and gentle. Though most would classify Reira and Yukari as having similar personalities even they had no problem killing a threatening yokai. Yusuke on the other hand would probably never want to bring harm to a single living thing. The question of why Yusuke was even aloud to live in the first place still sat, scratching at the back of his mind.

It took Itaku a few moments to realize that his pace had slowed down considerably while he had let his thoughts take over for a little while. He immediately sped back to his previous pace and continued down the hall, disregarding his past thoughts for the time being. Itaku continued his trek down the long hallway, ignoring the passing yokai. As he ventured on the halls became less populated and a slight whiff of smoke drifted along through the foyer like some sort of cloud. Itaku managed to trace the source of all of the smoke to a gloomy, aged door at the far end of the hall he was walking in. The gray mist seeped through the cracks of the old door and left behind a wretched ashy smell as it polluted the area surrounding the entrance. Itaku hated visiting this woman and tried very hard to avoid any contact with her but unfortunately the matter required her assistance. Most yokai disliked her (while some quite enjoy her) for her constant flirtation and seductive habits (despite having the body of a 30 year-old). Itaku disliked everything about her but the one thing that always got on his nerves was her tendency to talk very slowly and constantly pause mid-sentence in order to smoke her pipe.

Itaku slowly brought his hand to the handle and pulled the door open with a little bit too much forced than what he had intended. The sliding wood door flew open, hitting the stopper in the process. The impact caused an incredible amount of smoke to fly through the doorway and demolish any fresh, smoke-free air that had existed. He let out a few desperate coughs for air while covering his mouth with his fist and using his free hand to wave away as much smoke as he could. Once Itaku could partially breathe again, he turned his attention to the now open doorway. The room was masked by the thick layers of smoke that surrounded and destroyed any remaining air that had managed to find its way inside. The smoke had been so thick that only a slender silhouette could be seen on the other side. Itaku did not want to proceed into the smoke-filled room; instead he simply crossed his arms over his chest and casually leaned his back on the doorway, keeping his eyes glued to the woman sitting of on the other side as he did so. Before Itaku got the chance to speak, a lazy, drowsy-sounding voice came from the direction of the misty silhouette.

"It's so good to see you...Itaku. It's been so long...I was beginning to think...that you had forgotten about lil' old Jem." She spoke. With a faint and lazy wave of her hand, the thick smoke that clouded the room disintegrated into thin air.

Jem's sitting form had finally come into view for Itaku once all the smoke disappeared. She was lounging on the floor like always, resting one arm on a purple, velvet-covered armrest while she proceeded to smoke her pipe with the other. Her long white hair stretched all the way to the ground, surrounding her body while her long, thin bangs covered some parts of her tanned face. As always, Jem had as much skin showing as she possibly could, wearing a very thin, silk dress that only just came high enough to cover a very small portion of her chest. Her long, slender legs were on full display from the long slit that ran up her dress and ended at her midriff. Her grey-ish lips curled into a wolfish grin once her cyan eyes caught sight of the kamaitachi standing at her door.

"Oh, I'm so happy to have you as a visitor...lovely. What can I...do for you...hmm?" she questioned while she continued puffing more smoke into the air. Itaku wasted no time replying to Jem, as he so desperately wanted to leave.

"Do you know Yusuke? The new half breed?" Jem paused to inhale from her pipe and exhale in a very relaxed way, as if smoking soothed her.

"I...might...why do you ask...lovely?"

"Tell me what sort of yokai she is." Itaku demanded.

"My, my...aren't we the snappy one...well, that's alright...feisty men are so...interesting." Jem let out a dry cackle before continuing on. "I suppose I could...tell you...hmm...one moment." Jem peeled herself off of the floor and dragged herself over to a shelf that held merely one item, a mirror. She picked up the mirror and made her way back towards her previous spot on the floor, almost throwing herself back in her signature lounging position. There was a moment of pure silence as Jem peered into the dusty mirror in her hands. Itaku waited patiently as she examined the glass object. After a few moments, Jem let out a small giggle, catching Itaku's attention.

"Oh my...what a little cutie...she's quite the funny one..." Jem aloud another giggle to escape her mouth before silencing herself in order to continue staring through the mirror. "Hrm...so her fear is fire..." Jem muttered to herself, quietly. Itaku's patience was already beginning to run thin with this woman.

"Well, is she a fire tengu?" Itaku pressed while Jem carelessly tossed the mirror behind her with a look of disinterest, similar to that of a child who had lost interest in a toy.

"...no, she is not...a tengu." Jem replied simply before continuing where she had left off with smoking.

"Then what is she?" Itaku questioned the tan-skinned yokai who in turn, exhaled a cloud of smoke through her nose before answering.

"It is a...very common stereotype that any yokai with a fear of the element fire...that they are some sort of fire tengu...but...she, on the other hand...is quite different. I'll admit that I haven't seen a yokai like her for centuries...it's very rare..." Jem paused for a moment to inhale from her pipe, exhaling just as she began to speak again. "This Yusuke girl...if she is trained...properly than she can become...very powerful...I suggest that you push the idea of this girl having no use out of your mind..."

"Get to the point, if she isn't a tengu than what is she?" Itaku asked, clearly irritated by Jem's digressing.

"Well...Yusuke is a kasha." Jem finally stated. Itaku gave the woman a strange look. He had only heard of the name but he had no idea how strong they were or what they even looked like. "Don't look at me like that, lovely, I'm not finished." Jem spoke with her pipe being held in her mouth. "Kasha are an extremely rare cat yokai. They are usually white in colour and...have a very large...flaming tail...normally the flames...differ from their personality. Judging by her silver streaks...I have a feeling that her flames...would most likely be...silver or white...in other words, pure. I must say...it's a very good thing that she wasn't killed the day she came here...she will make a great addition...don't you think? Plus she's just so cute and amusing and so young too...she will have a long life ahead of her, you should bring her to visit me sometime, little weasel." Jem digressed yet again but her rambles fell on deaf ears.

Itaku had fallen into a deep cycle of thought as Jem continued to mindlessly speak of Yusuke. If Yusuke was actually some rare yokai then maybe it wouldn't be a waste of time to train her. But now that Itaku had discovered what yokai she is, he was slightly anxious to see what her yokai form looked like. That knowledge would not be too hard to find, after all, most yokai that take on a human appearance usually transform into their true form when fighting at full strength. Itaku was torn from his thoughts when Jem had finally spoken something of interest.

"You know, the legend of kasha is that they bring the souls of sinners to hell...of course, that is merely the human legend...I doubt that our little Yusuke could manage that. Actually, kasha are also known as "Corpse-eating cat demons"...it is also said that they appear on stormy nights...hmm, I wonder if that would mean that she likes the rain..." Jem mutturded the last part to herself as she inhaled more smoke from her pipe.

Itaku pushed himself off of the doorway and proceeded to exit, having no further need to stay in that smoky room. Just as Itaku had stepped through the exit, Jem called out to him.

"Hold it, lovely...now...about my payment for my services..." Jem paused in order to smoke from her pipe and tap it on the armrest, causing the ashes to fall into the ash pile beside her.

"How about you and I hit it o-" before Jem could even finish what she was saying, the sliding door slammed shut so hard that the impact had caused the descorative vases that cluttered her other shelves to fall to the ground and shatter. Jem had no care for the bloody things, anyways, as she merely smirked in amusement.

"Foolish weasel...I was only joking...besides, I don't date younger men." Jem spoke, quite certain that the kamaitachi would not hear her.

Itaku made his way down the hall at a fast pace. He was overjoyed to be out of that stuffy room with that stupid woman. Since he had discovered what he had intended, Itaku had no reason to sit there any longer and listen to her rambling and muttering while reluctantly inhaling the smoke that she produced. Once Itaku had exited the temple, he began jumping from branch to branch on the tall trees, heading straight towards the training arena that he and his friends used most often. As he drew near, the forest was unusually silent. The sound of clashing weapons did not echo off of the tall trees like normal. Instead the tress remained still and the air hung thick with silence. It was very strange, especially at that time of day. Itaku proceeded until he finally reached the arena. He leapt off of the last branch onto the ground next to Yukari. He raised a brow at the events that were presently unfolding.

Awashima was running in circles, flailing his right arm around in a panic from his flaming arm. Yusuke ran at a pathetic speed behind the blonde in an anxious attempt to catch up to him. Amezo stood next to Dohiko up on a high, thick branch, watching in amusement while Reira bared a nervous smile as she stood next to Yukari.

"Put it out! Put it out! Put it out! Put it out!" Awashima screeched as he continued his idiotic running.

"I-I'm trying!" Yusuke replied between desperate breaths for air as she followed behind the panicked yokai.

"What happened?" Itaku questioned, not directing the question to anyone in particular.

"Well, Yusuke and Awashima were sparing and then Yusuke set Awashima's arm on fire by accident." Yukari answered before lightly coughing in her hand.

"Is that so..." Itaku said to no-one in particular as he joined the others in watching the event unfold.

Yusuke had finally managed to catch up to Awashima, grabbing hold of his red cloak and tearing it off. The half breed proceeded to stomp wildly on the cloak even long after the flames had demolished. She had finally stopped after the poor fabric was almost stomped into the ground. Yusuke took a moment to catch her breath before turning towards Awashima who had fallen to his butt, panting as well.

"I'm so sorry, Awashima! I didn't mean to!" Yusuke apologized, a frown forming on her face. Once he had caught his breath, Awashima stood up, brushing any clinging dirt from his cloths.

"Ah, it's fine, don't worry about it." He spoke in a nonchalant tone. Before Yusuke could reply, Awashima's golden eyes caught sight of the silent kamaitachi that stood next to Yukari.

"Oh, hey, Itaku! Where've you been?" Awashima spoke, drawing attention to both him and Itaku. "You should have seen Yusuke fight! She's actually a pretty decent fighter on her own!' the blonde yokai boasted, excitedly as he draped his arm over Yusuke's shoulders, pulling the half breed into a playful headlock.

"Yes, apparently she was taught basic fighting by her uncle from the temple she used to live at." Reira chimed in.

"Yeah, she made fighting Awashima look easy!" Amezo added, much to Awashima's annoyance.

"Hey! I was winning, I just wanted to go easy on her for the first round!" the blonde angrily defended.

Itaku looked towards Awashima with a slight look of surprise. He was honestly not expecting to hear that Yusuke was a strong fighter on her own, even if she was a kasha demon. Itaku's chocolate brown eyes drifted towards Yusuke who smiled as she watched Awashima ramble to Amezo about their sparring match. Yusuke glanced towards Itaku and for a brief moment, their eyes met before they both looked away, quickly. A small blush crept onto her pale cheeks as her grey-silver orbs remained glued to the ground. She hated when she made eye contact with someone in that awkward way, it always made her feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know, Awashima. I bet Yusuke could probably beat you in a fight if she were battling at her full strength." Amezo teased, sending Awashima into another rage. Suddenly, an idea found its way into Itaku's mind after overhearing the kappa's teasing.

"Well, if Yusuke is as strong as you say she is..." Itaku intervened, grabbing the attention of everyone around him. "I'll be her next opponent." His words sent a bolt of surprise to everyone as they stared at him slightly wide-eyed before he continued; now turning towards Yusuke.

"If you can defeat me in a sparring match then I'll acknowledge you as a yokai deserving to live in Toono village. I'll also consider training you as a bonus."

Yusuke swallowed a premature lump that had attempted to form in her throat. She was so weak, there was no way she would be able to defeat Itaku. Before Yusuke could get a chance to respond, Itaku had already pulled out his two of his sickles and jumped atop the arena. The half demon's grip on the hilt of her blade, tightened as every muscle in her body disobeyed her protesting thoughts by following Itaku onto the training arena

Author's note: Well damn, that took a while o_o but anyways, here you go, another chapter complete! So! Were you guys expecting her to be a kasha demon? Hm? Hm? And just before you ask any questions about it, yes a kasha is a real Japanese yokai and it is a cat with a flaming tail, trust me because I spent a hell of a lot of time researching this and trying to find an appropriate yokai for Yusuke. But I digress, reviews make my day

~FlammingAxel