GAAHHHH! I FINALLY TYPED THIS OUT!

to a random person: I used fanfiction's "Copy and Paste" option when I was uploading stuff. It's kinda like Word where you can write on it and stuff, but if often doesn't save when I want it to, which leads to me losing 2000 words. D:

Anyway, I made this chapter 3027 words long! There might still be a couple grammatical and spelling errors here and there, but I'm happy with the chapter. ^w^

Nurarihyon and the others at the main house were getting impatient. They had watched the castle disintegrate, but the others still weren't back yet. Although Nurarihyon showed no signs of worry, he was freaking out in his mind. He'd already lost his son; he didn't want to lose his grandson, either. Nurarihyon had never actually worried about Rikuo until that day, since Rikuo is technically capable of protecting himself. But after battling Seimei's descendents and nearly dying….

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front gate slamming open. He snapped his head up along with everyone else and rushed to the gates. The morning fog made it hard to see anything, but Nurarihyon could just make out a faint figure walking towards them, along with his hyakki. The shadow came closer and closer, and Nurarihyon caught a glimpse of the leader.

...? Wait, Rikuo didn't wear green. And he certainly didn't wear his kimono as loose as this guy's. Nurarihyon did know someone who did, and he was positive it wasn't him. After all, his son's been dead for years.

"It can't be him, right?" Nurarihyon whispered, trying to convince himself as the approaching figure seemed to turn more and more like his deceased son. It seems like the other youkai had started to notice the slight differences between this leader, and their Third.

"Hey, did Rikuo-sama ever dress like that?"

"No. And why is he in his youkai form? Isn't it morning?"

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd. The youkai looked at one another, the older members talking amongst themselves, and the new ones trying to get a hold of the situation.

"Silence!" Nurarihyon yelled. The voices quickly died down.

Nurarihyon squinted to try and see through the morning fog. As the man in question walked closer and closer, Nurarihyon's suspicions were confirmed.

"...Hey. It's been a while, hasn't it, Oyaji?"

"Rihan…" Nurarihyon looked at his "dead" son, as did everybody else. There was a moment of shocked silence until…

"Ow! What the heck did you punch me for?!" Rihan yelled, as he held his jaw, which was starting to swell.

"'What the heck?' Of course I gotta punch you for leaving the main house for so long without telling me you were alive!" Nurarihyon yelled

"Seriously! You've been gone for 8 years without even telling us that you were alive, and you expect me not to punch you? Still as blockheaded as I remember."

"Hey!" Rihan protested, to which Nurarihyon laughed loudly at.

"Ahahaha! You haven't changed a bit, Rihan! You're still easily provoked." Nurarihyon smirked, much to his son's annoyance.

"Anyway," Nurarihyon slapped Rihan on the back. "Glad to see you're alive! So what was Rikuo's reaction to you?" Upon that statement, Rihan's eyes turned dark, which didn't miss Nurarihyon's eyes.

"Hey, where is Rikuo-sama anyway?" One of the youkai piped up. Soon, the murmurs had started again, with Rikuo as the topic. Nurarihyon looked at Rihan expectantly. Rihan simply moved his gaze behind him, where a couple of youkai were carrying a stretcher, with a white cloth covering a body. Small parts of the body poked out from underneath the cloth.

"That…. Don't tell me-" Nurarihyon stared at the stretcher. Tsurara, who was standing next to it, had icy tears in her eyes, which had turned red from crying.

"Rihan." Nurarihyon turned to his son for an answer. Rihan sighed a he closed his eyes, and shook his head.

"...I'm sorry." His words made everyone in the courtyard gasp, and Rihan could feel the cold stares aimed towards him. He didn't bother trying to avoid the stares; it was his fault Rikuo died.

"Hey now, don't blame everything on Rihan~" A playful voice called out. Rihan looked up to see Kishi defending him.

"...Who are hell are you, woman?" Hitotsume sneered. Kishi smiled brightly at him.

"Oh, me? I'm Kishi." She introduced. "I'm also the one who healed Nurarihyon~" Nurarihyon shifted uncomfortably. He didn't need to be reminded of his near-death incident earlier.

"...In that case, I suppose the Nura Gumi is in your debt." Nurarihyon looked at Kishi. She reminded him of someone… Someone he'd rather forget for the rest of his life. Nurarihyon shuddered at the thought of meeting that "someone'. Their first meeting had been their last, and Nurarihyon intended to keep it that way. Once was more than enough. He was shaken out of his thoughts as Kishi replied to his earlier statement.

"Well, of course you're in our debt! You have been since ages ago!" Kishi happily announced."That is, if you count 200-300 years ago as 'ages ago'. I know for certain that I think-"

"Wait. OUR debt?" Nurarihyon cut off Kishi before she could ramble on. "Who's this 'our?'"

"Me, you dolt." A stern voice came from behind him. Nurarihyon whipped around, sword drawn, but the owner of the voice was prepared.

Shizue shot out both of her arms, and caught Nurarihyon's blade while twisting it out of his hands. Nurarihyon stared in shock, as did everyone else in the front yard. Even masters needed time to figure out where and when to catch a blade. And catching a blade didn't necessarily mean you could disarm the person. However, Shizue did it within a blink of an eye, without any hesitation.

"...Seriously, do you do that to every guest that comes into your house?" Shizue asked, as if nothing had happened. Setsura was the first to snap out of her shock. She quickly stepped in front of Nurarihyon, and pressed an icy blade against the intruder's neck.

"Whoever you are, I won't allow you to take another step!" Setsura challenged. The other youkai started drawing their weapons, and Shizue felt more blades pressed against her body. Despite all of that, her expression remained stoic.

"I will admit, you are a worthy foe, but what is your purpose here in the Nura Gumi?" Gyuuki inquired. "If you intend to attack the commander, then you would leave me no choice."

"Hey now, your 'commander' here attacked me first. I was merely acting out of self-defense." Shizue challenged. "What, so was I supposed to stand there like an idiot and get my head chopped off? Hey, Nurarihyon! Mind getting your subordinates off of my back?" She asked while looking over Setsura's shoulder. "Otherwise…."

"...Enough, guys. Lower your weapons." Nurarihyon commanded. The youkai grudgingly did as they were ordered.

"Commander, are you sure that is wise? This woman here-" Gyuuki was cut off at the sight of Nurarihyon's face. He was paler than usual, with his body racked in cold sweat. His breaths were short and shaky, and his whole body seemed to be clamped up at the sight of Shizue. It was something Nurarihyon had never shown before: pure terror. He was terrified of the woman standing before him, which none of the youkai missed.

Nurarihyon gulped. "Why are you here?" He asked, his voice shaking. Shizue didn't seem to mind his nervousness and pointed behind him. Nurarihyon turned around, following Shizue's finger, and looked at Rihan. Immediately, he grabbed Rihan by the collar and pulled him to a far corner of the yard.

"Rihan, what is the meaning of this?!" Nurarihyon whispered, some of his former bravado coming back. "Do you even know who, what, she is?!" Rihan held his hands up in defense.

"Yes, I know Oyaji. And I don't like this either, but she's our only chance of getting Rikuo back into this world."

"Well, okay, but her?!" Nurarihyon gestured wildly at Shizue, who didn't miss it. She huffed irritatedly.

"I can see you, you know?" Shizue retorted which earned her a glare from Nurarihyon.

"Anyhow, she's not one to be trusted, Rihan. She will backstab us. If I didn't know any better I'd say she'll betray us the moment Rikuo is back."

"Just how terrible a person do you think I am?" Shizue asked, making Nurarihyon jump. She'd just suddenly appeared behind him, without any sort of presence(and Nurarihyon knew that better than anyone; he was the master at disappearing).

"Jeez, I know I didn't exactly come off as heroic or noble to you, but your reaction is a little off the chart, don't you think?"

"Off the chart? After what you did to-to-" Nurarihyon gulped, refusing to meet Shizue's gaze. He broke into a cold sweat, and his whole body started shaking. That memory… No. He couldn't let Shizue get on his nerves. Nurarihyon steeled himself and looked at Shizue straight in the eyes. His glare would've normally strike fear in every youkai; it even worked on Hagoromo Gitsune before. Yet Shizue stood there, returning the glare. Finally, she smirked.

"Heh. Seems like someone's grown up. Though for better or for worse, it's hard to tell…"

"Hey!" Nurarihyon protested like a little kid, before biting his lips. Gods, this woman had her way around words. Nurarihyon was falling for her every bluff, giving her the reaction she was looking for. Shizue seemed amused by this, which in return, caused Nurarihyon and the rest of the Nura Gumi to dislike her even more. Somewhere behind Nurarihyon, Rihan cleared his throat.

"Yeah, nice reunion and all, but can we get on to the main reason why you're here, Sensei?" Shizue rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. It's all set up in the dojo in the back. Oh, and by the way, you were two seconds late to the main house." Rihan gulped, and muttered something like, "Oh gods, what's the punishment this time?" If Shizue had heard him, she didn't show it, and proceeded to walk towards the dojo, where she supposedly set up everything for Rikuo's revival. None of the people knew what to expect, but they followed Shizue obediently.

When they reached the main doors of the dojo (which took forever in everyone's opinion), the youkai hardly recognized the inside of it.

Ancient words, in all different languages, lined the walls, almost touching the ceiling. More words were drawn in the center of the room, forming rings that seemed to circle each other endlessly. The rings expanded as they went towards the walls, and the Tsurara could've sworn she saw the letters move.

In the middle of all the rings, was a bare circle, just big enough for one person to lay down in without smudging the characters. Shizue pointed at the spot. "Put Rikuo's body there. Without the cloth covering him." She added, when the youkai started wrapping the white cloth around Rikuo's body as they were transporting him.

"Why not?" One of the youkai asked.

"The cloth isn't just there to cover up the face of a dead person, you know. It sorta acts like a barrier to other souls. If you guys didn't have the cloth on him while you guys left the Aoi Spiral Castle, Rikuo would've been possessed by one of the fallen youkais' spirit by now." Shizue scrunched up her eyebrows. "It's especially annoying for partial youkai, like Rihan and Rikuo here since both human and youkai spirits can possess them. Quite a pain, actually, when you're trying to revive someone. Anyway," She said as she flipped the white cloth open, and slapped something like an ofuda on Rikuo's arm. "That seal will keep any other spirits from possessing him, so you don't have to worry about that. Oh, but there is something else I need for the ritual…" She said, as she took out a small knife. At first, Tsurara thought it was just a ceremonial knife, until Shizue nicked a tiny part of Rikuo's now-exposed arm.

"What-What do you think you're doing?!" She cried as she froze the spot where Shizue was originally standing. Shizue jumped a few feet away.

"Relax. I'm not going to do anything else to him. I just need a tiny bit of his blood. This rune isnt finished yet; I still have a couple more rings to do, which requires the person's who's being revived, aka Rikuo's, blood." Tsurara looked straight into Shizue's eyes. Tsurara could tell from them that Shizue didn't care whether or not her master came back to life, but at the same time, is willing to do such an action because of Rihan-sama's contract. This questioned Shizue's loyalty.

Is she really going to revive Rikuo? Or was she planning on doing something else? From what Tsurara had heard about youkai who make contracts, they tend to betray their contractees when they're offered a better reward. Her mind spinned as she thought about all the possibilities Shizue could do to Rikuo. After all, she was his protector; it was her job to ensure that Rikuo's safety came first. Tsurara had every reason possible to not trust Shizue. Yet at the same time, she was their only hope of getting Rikuo back…..

"I see the Yuki Onna doesn't trust me." Shizue broke Tsurara's train of thought. Was she reading my mind?

"Not reading your mind. Just your face. And eyes. Your eyes are a dead giveaway." Shizue replied, making Tsurara wonder if she was telling the truth, or was indeed actually reading what she was thinking.

"But I will give it to you, you're smart. You should never openly trust a contract youkai with just anything. But as of now, I'm your only hope of getting your Third back here. So the question is, will you let me take Rikuo's blood and hope your Third comes back? Or would you rather have me not collect his blood and leave him dead as he is right now?" Tsurara bit her lips. Honestly, she thought that both options were bad, considering Shizue never bothered to keep Rikuo from dying in the first place. She thought about what her master would've done if the roles were reversed. If she had been the one to die….. Certainly, Rikuo would've done anything to bring back a fallen comrade. He definitely would've trusted this woman, no matter how dangerous she might be.

"...All right." Tsurara said as she stepped out of Shizue's way. She observed intently as Shizue collected Rikuo's precious blood. If you even try something, I'll kill you. She thought to herself.

When Shizue finished collecting the red liquid that kept flowing from Rikuo's arm, she waved her hand over the wound, and it closed by itself, much like how Kishi did with the other youkai's injuries. She then walked up to the circle, and produced an inkpot from her sleeves. She poured the blood into the ink, and dipped two fingers in. Instead of kneeling down and writing the words on the floor, she drew her fingers out of the pot, and starting to write in midair. The ink seemed to have a mind of its own, staying in midair as Shizue wrote, and flying to its position once it was finished. Shizue wrote with surprising speed, and within a couple minutes, the circle was finished. Shizue nodded towards the youkai, signaling them to put Rikuo down in the middle of the rings. The youkai obeyed.

After Rikuo was laid down gently on the wooden floor, Shizue kneeled down and pressed her hands near the edge of the circle. Slowly, she started to chant. And she chanted, the rings started glowing an eerie purple, and turned by themselves. The youkai standing in the sidelines instinctively backed away. As Shizue chanted longer and faster, the words glowed more and spun faster. Finally, they glowed so bright and turned so fast, it just looked like a glowing circle on the ground and walls. The youkai of the main house watched with both amazement and fear.

Shizue's chanting became gradually slower, and when she ended it, every youkai had understood what she had said, despite the fact that she was reciting an ancient language. (that sounded nothing like Japanese, btw)

Open, the gates of hell

And return to me

The rightful soul of this container

As if on cue, a huge amount of souls burst from the glowing circle, filling the room with various moans and wails of the underworld. The souls fought each other as they tried to enter Rikuo's body.

So this was the possession she was talking about…. Many of the youkai thought. However, as the souls touched Rikuo's body, they seemed to be repelled by a mysterious force. Of course! The ofuda! Tsurara thought. Maybe Shizue is worth trusting, after all. Speaking of Shizue, what was she doing? Tsurara mentally scolded herself for keeping a closer eye on a potential enemy. However, some people had already beat her to it. Rihan and Nurarihyon both stared at Shizue intently, either not noticing the swarm of souls near Rikuo, or not caring. Tsurara guessed it must've been the former. Anyway, back to Shizue. Tsurara thought as she moved her line of sight to the woman.

Shizue had started chanting again, maybe to keep the doors open seeing how the circle wasn't spinning as fast anymore. The longer she chanted, the slower the circle seemed to spin. Tsurara watched as Shizue groaned a bit, before putting more power and more speed into her chanting. The souls had taken up over half of the room, making it harder to see. After what seemed like an eternity, one soul flew out of the circle that caught Tsurara's eye. It looked a lot like the other souls; a white blob of energy that just flew around, leaving wisps of smoke in their trail.

However, this particular soul carried a bluish glow to it, and it glowed brighter than the rest. Tsurara watched as it slowly made its way to Rikuo's body. The spirit hovered over it for a second, before flying into the body. Rikuo's entire body shuddered, and he made groaning sounds as his fingers started moving a tiny bit. Seeing this as a sign, Shizue slowed down her chanting, and slowly, the words stopped spinning, and the glow subsided. When she stopped chanting, she drew in a deep breath, as if to breathe in all the air she lost when she was chanting. After a minute or two of panting, Shizue opened her eyes and nodded. She'd done it. Rikuo was alive.

To be honest, I didn't want to end the chapter here, but I've kept you guys waiting for a year, so...

Please tell me what you think by reviewing! ^w^b