Act III. Final Act.

of new beginnings and the drive of ambition

Kana took in the destruction of the castle grounds with fearful awe.

It was not the first time that she was confronted with the destruction Rikuo-kun and his Clan could bring when they fought someone (that honour went to the bus accident when they were eight), but this definitely the biggest example.

Half the castle was torn away. There were grooves like giant claws or just a lot of force ripped into the ground.

Kiyotsugu-kun was overjoyed.

No sooner had the Keikain family pronounced it save for them to leave their home had Kiyotugu already made a list of yokai spots that had seen record breaking activity lately (as in this week and last night).

Maki-san, Torii-san and Shima-kun were more in line with Kana's feelings.

She didn't want to be here.

She hadn't heard from Rikuo-kun for two days now. A part of her that she kept desperately small was terrified that something had happened to him.

Yura too they hadn't seen in days, though at least they had her brother's assurance that she was fine, just catching up on the sleep she missed, the moron.

Kana expected something to jump out at them from every shadow, regardless of the dozen onmyoji around fixing seals and muttering spells and cleaning up.

It was daytime, but that had meant so little lately.

"Look here!" Kiyotsugu pronounced. "See these grooves? And the small feelers on the edge? That is proof they can only have been made by a Gyuki demon! We have seen the same on Mount Nejireme if you recall."

"I don't," Maki-san groaned. "I don't want to either. Can't all of this just be because of an earthquake or something?"

"What are you saying, Maki-kun!" Kiyotsugu jumped. "Look at all this! Not even the greatest critics will be able to deny yokai after having seen all this evidence. Not even the most stubborn critics I tell you!"

Of whom you were once one, Kana thought uncharacteristically uncharitable. But she couldn't help it, being tired and tense and scared. She knew that people denied yokai existed when they were right in front of their eyes and yet feared the idea of them enough to give those very same yokai power.

She just wanted home.

Kiyotsugu exchanged lecturing them for pestering a passing onmyoji for answers on what had happened here.

Said onmyoji's expression said that he had better things to do than spend his time with a yokai maniac, but he still had enough derisive words to say about the spirit creatures and their sinful existence to have the words get stuck in his throat when he paled abruptly.

Kana followed his suddenly terrified gaze.

A stone fell from her heart.

Rikuo-kun, wearing his usual traditional yukata, seemed unhurt and fine.

Kana was so relieved that it took her a long moment to notice the yokai guards in disguise trailing him at a distance (more than twice than usual), and even longer to recognize that the pretty girl in a traditional, light colored kimono was not Oikawa-san at all.

The girl was taller, her hair darker and she wore an expression of delicate interest as she listened to Rikuo-kun talk and gesture at the temple.

The twist in her heart at the sight Kana pushed away with practice and the happiness to see him. "Rikuo-kun!" She waved, startling her friends.

Rikuo-kun's head turned in their direction. He smiled as they came closer, but he was careful, as he was crowded with questions and welcome, to place himself between them and the girl. The dark, incredibly pretty girl who looked at them all with a strange mix of hesitance and abstract curiosity, as though they were a sight she had never seen before.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rikuo-kun asked. "I thought you were still with the Keikains."

"We have come to admire the evidence of yokai, Nura-kun! It is marvelous. I have no doubt that a Gyuki demon was here!" Kiyotsugu-kun exclaimed waving wildly with an arm at the torn ground, a small viral with dirt in his hand. "Once I have analyzed and archived this matter I –"

"Yeah, I don't see why," Maki-san spoke over him loudly, rolling her eyes. "I thought you said Gyuki yokai lived on Mount Nejireme. Why would they be destroying a temple here? That's, like, halfway across the country."

"That is obvious, Maki-kun!" Kiyotsugu-kun proclaimed, before his voice lowered with awe. "It must have been him. Them. The Supreme Commander of all yokai."

Kana really couldn't help the reflexive glance at Rikuo-kun. His eyes were lit by silent amusement, a smirk threatening to break out. Behind his shoulder, her hair held together by an actual flower, the girl's eyebrows rose in surprise. She looked at them all with a bit more interest, something that might have been humor gracing her features.

"Uh-huh," Maki-san commented. "Right. You do know that if we wanted to know what happened all we had to do was to wait for Yura-chan to wake up and ask her, right?"

Kiyotsugu-kun froze. He put a hand to his chin and appeared to think hard about the suggestion. "That is true…I suppose. Very well." He beamed that overenthusiastic smile and clapped Maki-san on the shoulder. "A wise idea! We shall do so immediately after we gathered every yokai hair that we can find in this place!"

Maki-san and Torii-san groaned, long suffering. Shima-kun was not even paying attention.

"Nura, who is that friend of yours? …Are you here on a date?"

The others froze and jumped to attention like only new gossip can induce.

Kana's stomach dropped a bit. She ignored it.

Rikuo-kun went through a series of micro- expressions, from surprise to humor to disgust before settling on a smile that was, at least to Kana, an odd cross between deception and sincerity.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, no. Not a date." He took a step aside so that he no longer physically separated the girl from them (or them from the girl). "This is Nura Riko. She's my sister from my father's previous marriage."He smiled hundred percent convincing and just as fake. "She has been living abroad, which is why I haven't mentioned her before."

Kana knew when he made the expressions that were the most 'human-normal' that more often than not, the truth was twisted. It made sense considering that not even Kana had ever heard anything about a sister.

Sister.

Rikuo-kun had a sister.

Rikuo-kun's sister inclined her head, movements graceful and fluid in the pale kimono. Her smile was small and humble and worthy of being painted. "Any friend of Rikuo's is a pleasure to meet. My apologies for disturbing your peaceful excursion."

They scrambled for their manners to return the greeting and when Kana straightened out of her awkward, hasty bow she saw black eyes glitter with the faintest shade of impish humor and their flustered attempts.

Sister. Right.

She felt stupid for never considering it before, but then again it wasn't really her place to wonder why she wasn't told. After all, Rihan-san wasn't exactly young.

"Your sister is really pretty," Kana heard Shima-kun whisper in a low tone to Rikuo-kun, pulling him aside, unable to take his eyes away from her. "You're so lucky."

Rikuo-kun's cheek twitched, but of course he never let Shima-kun see anything other than what any other boy in his position would be, rolling his eyes before he engaged him in a conversation that probably had absolutely nothing to do with his family and still everything to do with yokai.

Knowing that if she wanted the truth, here she would get only lies were she to ask here, Kana awkwardly turned her attention towards the girl even as Maki-san and Torii-san oh-ed and ah-ed over her.

"Riko-chan is it? Nice to meet'cha." Maki-san said. "Riko and Rikuo – that's fitting. You can basically tell you're siblings just from that. That's good since I mean you don't exactly look alike," she stated bluntly but not rudely.

"How do you spell it?" Torii-san wondered, blinking in thought. "With Katakana like Nura-kun?"

Riko-san's cheeks dusted pink, a light coming to her eyes even as she humbly averted her sight. "Father thinks that flowers suit me well, so it is written with 'white jasmine'." She looked at Rikuo-kun, who was getting needled by Shima-kun while they were both talked over by Kiyotsugu-kun.

"That's very cute," Torii-san complimented admiringly. "Flowers are definitely better for girls than Katakana. Like that hair clip. It looks like a real flower. Where did you buy it?"

Riko-san's pale fingers brushed over her tied hair. "It is a real flower," she told them serenely, her voice a smile. She shifted on her feet. "…One of Father's…attendants braided it in my hair for me."

"Attendants? So he really is loaded," Maki-san muttered, side glancing at Rikuo-kun.

Kana bit her lip. "Will you be moving to Ukioye Town, Riko-san?" She tried hesitantly, glancing between Riko-san and Rikuo-kun, aware of the dozens of stares tracking their every move – from yokai guards with attention and from onmyoji with great wariness and loathing, which surprisingly was more focused on Riko-san than Rikuo.

Riko-san looked at her, meeting Kana's eyes with her black ones. The other girl smiled as pretty as a model. "Yes, Kana-san. I believe I so. We will be seeing each other quite often, possibly." Her eyes flickered to Rikuo-kun again, like a habit she couldn't control. "Rikuo mentioned he would like to inquire if you were to introduce me to the human parts of the town."

Kana returned the smile, glad it was so easy. "I can do that, yes. There're a lot of places that Rikuo-kun isn't very familiar with – you should see them."

"Definitely." Maki-san agreed enthusiastically. Were it not for Riko-san's fine clothes and delicate hairstyle, she would have probably already swung an arm around Riko-san's shoulders. "Like the mall! Don't let the boys even hear the word or they'll be gone before you can blink." She sniffed. "If there is some supposed yokai haunting it, then sure, everything is fine and dandy. But just for hanging out – Boys."

Riko-san blinked. "Are there yokai in a, er, mall?" A hair fine furrow formed between her eyes. "I was under the impression that humans and yokai did not interact much?"

Ah.

Maki-san and Torii-san looked at Riko-san oddly.

"Of course they don't interact much, because yokai are urban legends." Kana cut in with an easy smile. And wasn't it weird that her all awkwardness left because she was back to managing between normal humans and not normal humans? It was familiar ground, but still… "Did Rikuo-kun tell you yet that he is one of our Club members? We go searching for yokai. We don't find any that often, but it's fun. Kiyotsugu-kun is very determined to find and meet the Supreme Commander of all yokai, has been for a long time."

Riko-san blinked rapidly, glancing from Kana to Kiyotsugu-kun and back again, quite possibly questioning if she was serious. Kana was very serious and kept smiling.

"Oh," Riko-san said, hiding her lips with a hand that disappeared in the sleeves of her kimono. Eyes danced. "I see. Your Kiyotsugu-kun must be quite brave to attempt such a frightening thing."

Maki-san snorted.

"Which reminds me...," Riko-san said politely, moving away from them to approach the boys. She tapped her brother on the shoulder (with movements to elegant Kana just had to believe she had had decades to practice). As Rikuo-kun's face turned away from his friends, Riko-san said something that had him smirk wickedly for an instant before he put Kiyotsugu-kun and Riko-san in direct conversation.

Watching that, Kana felt her stomach drop and a shudder run down her spine.

…hopefully Riko-san at least wouldn't go to the same school as them. Or else Kana feared for her blood pressure.

Rihan returned home to a smoothly and efficiently run household, which apparently in absence of Wakana had been taken over by his daughter, and a Clan that hardly seemed to have noticed his absence.

It was pretty odd though that he had to especially seek out the origin of the well-run affairs. He found his son in the process of packing a suitcase wearing clothes for human interaction. He barely paused when Rihan slid his doors open.

"Oh, hey Dad. You're back. How was vacation with Mom?"

"It was nice. I see you did a good job while I was gone."

Rikuo didn't even look up, just kept packing. "I wrote up a report so you can take the Clan back starting right now."

Rihan leaned against the door. "You know, your mother and I were thinking that since you did such a good job, and since I want to get to know Riko that you might as well take the Clan more often. But I seem to be missing something here. Why do you look like you're fleeing?"

Rikuo gave him a short, distracted glare. "Don't be stupid. I'm not running. Just - postponing."

Rihan stared."…what?"

"Well, yousee, it occurred to me while you were gone and while I was handling Clan matters and cleaning up after the stupid Hundred Tales uprising, that, technically, I'll be doing that a lot in the future."

"….That is what it means to be Clan Head."

"Sure. I just noticed I'm not ready for that yet," Rihan's son said as though it wasn't the opposite of what he had claimed since he was old enough to speak.

"…what?"

"I mean," Rikuo clarified, getting up to dig around in his closets, still with that distracted cagey air, "I've got time. Hundreds of years."

Rihan stared. Rikuo dumped more casual modern clothes in his suitcase, slapped it shut and had to sit on it to get the zippers closed.

"I've decided," Rikuo informed him as he and his suitcase passed Rihan on their way of leaving Rikuo's room, "that you can keep the Clan. For now. I don't want to be holed up at the Main House all day."

"…" Rihan felt distinctly like someone had flipped the world upside down while he wasn't looking. "…what?"

"Kiyotsugu dug up some interesting tales of yokai in Europe so the club is going. The school offers a voluntary language-development trip to Britain. Kiyotsugu did all the organizing, Gramps signed all the papers and I invited the guys from Toono along. The plane leaves at six. Riko is coming along as well, by the way," Rikuo explained matter-of-factly, very eager to leave. He had a wild, burning look in his eyes.

"I'm going to be Third Head, and all the world will know it. Because I'm going to conquer it," he said. "I am going to stand at the very top of all spirits."

This is the end of the fic. Sorry and at the same time very much not sorry.

I have plans, of course I have plans, but I have neither the energy, the focus nor the time to continue it. (I really, really want to write a Hyaku Monogatari Arc, though - maybe one day.)

Still, I decided to upload it because Nurarihyon no Mago is really awesome and deserves more attention than it's got - sure, there are a number of points that don't reach their full potential in the manga, but that's just makes me wonder all the more why there aren't more fics about it to elaborate on said points. Even popular themes like Time Travel, so-and-so-didn't-die, this-and-that key information was discovered earlier are not at all explored.

I'd have thought, at least, that there would be a fic dealing with Rikuo not going the all-human way after the manga's first chapter, but there is nothing - literally nothing! I'd write one myself, but, well, you know, the usual stuff.

Thank you very much for following this story to the end and special thanks if you left a review. I hope you have enjoyed it. :)

~freefan1412