Wow, this fic still has a pulse. Who knew?

I tend to overlook obvious errors when editing, I'd appreciate anyone willing to point them out to me, for later fixing. Enjoy!

This time: Night Rikuo gets bitch-slapped by an umbrella.

.

.

Rikuo leaped over the wall surrounding the Nura mansion with a sigh, letting the lightly falling rain gently mist his face. There was a storm approaching from the north. He'd have to move fast if he didn't want to get caught in the downpour. He let his mind wander as he jumped lightly down from the top of an electricity pole and headed farther into the city.

He loved his rough patched group of friends and family, but frankly, he was glad to escape from the commotion this time. The events of the evening's trip to Tomoe Shrine had long since been relayed by the time he arrived home, thanks to the ever gossipy Tengu siblings.

"Master! Did the Paranormal Squad really find out who you are?" Tsurara asked, covering the lower half of her face with her sleeves. Just behind her Aotabo snorted.

"About time. What that Kiyo kid really needs is a good kick in the ass!" He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head in disappointment. "How long has it been? That idiot dedicated all of his free time to finding you, and never suspected a thing! What a moron."

Rikuo stood before them proudly, strong and silent as he considered Ao's opinion. The mist from his recent transformation curled about his feet.

"Hm... Maybe." He felt himself agreeing with Aotabo, just a little. Or was he really that good at blending in? Kurotabo crossed silently behind him and moved to add his two cents to the discussion.

"The point is, what does Sandaime-sama want us to do now? Will the Paranormal Squad talk? If so, the entire school will probably find out. It could get dangerous for the students if you return, especially if they become afraid and start acting irrationally." His two squad leaders stood together, communicating their worry silently for a moment before they reluctantly turned back to face him.

"We all know how dumb a group of scared humans can be. It would be more dangerous for them, then for you." Kurotabo murmured to him gently.

"Don't be stupid." Kubinashi whispered darkly from the shadows. He held up his ball of twine and slowly unraveled a length of red string. He glanced over at Rikuo from beneath his bangs with an evil grin. "I could... silence them before it ever came to that. You would be able to stay in school if you wished."

Okay, things had gone far enough.

Rikuo unsheathed his sword slowly, glancing at Kubinashi's reflection in the blade. Their eyes met for a moment before Rikuo rested the blade over his shoulder in a vaguely threatening but nonchalant pose. He gave his assembled clan a carefree grin.

"Huh, well... that's not going to be happening." He slid his eyes closed and tilted his face into the cool evening air.

"They're still my friends. Even if I have to leave my classes in the end, nobody is going to be killing anyone." He glanced up to study the stars for a moment before covertly sliding his gaze over to his crafty grandfather.

The old man sat quietly on his pillow at the edge of their veranda, sipping a cup of sake while observing the squabbling in his yard with fond amusement. Nurarihyon slid his eyes to meet his grandson's glance evenly for an instant but stayed silent, raising one eyebrow in challenge. At the gesture, Rikuo felt his resolve harden. If his father and his slightly crazy grandpa had both somehow managed to keep a human as a friend and even get them to fall in love, it couldn't be that complicated.

"It's not the whole squad. Just Kiyotsugu figured it out." He added dismissively, then paused as he was interrupted by two tiny yokai. Natto Kozo and Tofu Kozo darted between his legs in a game of tag, followed closely by Sannokuchi.

The three mischief makers had absolutely no feel for the tension in the yard, and loudly cut through the sudden silence with their giggles and shouts. But Sannokuchi wasn't watching where he was going closely enough, and ran his little moon face right into the back of Rikuo's leg. The tiny guy gave a squeak and tumbled backwards, clutching his head painfully. Silence fell once more as Rikuo raised one eyebrow in amusement and stared down at the small yokai. The gravity of the situation seemed to descend upon Sanno all at once, and he looked up timidly at the Third while simultaneously seeming to try and sink right into the ground and disappear.

Rikuo grinned at his little clan member and reached down to scoop him up in one hand. He deposited Sannokuchi on his shoulder for the best vantage point and sheathed his sword with his other hand, tucking it away in his white yukata. He turned back to the rest of his night parade, decision made.

"Kiyotsugu and I are going to have a talk... then I'll decide what action – if any, that we need to take." He spared a cocky grin for his grandpa. Who gave him a sly smile and a knowing look in return, saluting him with his sake cup as Rikuo leaped away over the fence and started darting over the rooftops in the direction of his friend's home.

.

.

Kiyotsugu scanned his eyes down the screen, reading at a furious pace. The family history was astounding. The boy darted a look over his shoulder, assuring himself he was still alone in his room and turned back to his computer. He parent's were currently away on business. As soon as he had managed to gain a few moments of free time, he had headed here to scan the old library newspaper archives.

What he had before him were several relevant historical articles regarding the history of his friend's family, collectively known as the Nura Clan. Apparently, the family name was rather infamous. Especially around the time of the Meiji restoration era, tracing evidence that was essentially the rise of a massive yakuza family. What he had found was nothing short of amazing, and Kiyo took a moment of time to chide himself for not thinking of looking into this sooner.

He had, of course, done some shallow research into Nura-kun's house itself. Which was famous on its own as a haunted yokai mansion. As if that hadn't raised any alarm bells, Kiyo rolled his eyes. But what he found regarding Rikuo's actual family was quite a bit more impressive. He uncovered many stories, and even some recent police reports regarding several incidents and establishments in the area that had suspected ties to the Nura "crime family." If the police were right about their suspicions, the Nura clan had ties to operations and businesses all over Tokyo, and a quite few even beyond that, it seemed. For kami's sake, they were practically a yakuza dynasty.

Then he stumbled onto a report that made his heart freeze in his chest. It was an obituary... for Rikuo's father. Kiyo paused to look at the date, it had been almost nine years ago when his death had unexpectedly occurred. Kiyo steeled himself with a nervous gulp and continued to read, his eyes becoming wider and wider the more he learned. It was a murder. Nura Rihan had been stabbed, right through the chest and left to die in his garden, only for his body to be discovered by his own family. Furthermore, the police had no suspects and never made any arrests. Kiyo leaned back in shock, letting his gaze wander blindly away as he tried to absorb the facts, then pondered various possibilities as they occurred to him.

Was Rihan killed by another yokai?

Had it been an assassination?

Did Rikuo know who was responsible?

Before he could research any of his questions, a sudden chill from the balcony doors made him shudder. He looked over to see if he'd left them unlatched...

A pair of bloody red eyes burned from the darkness.

The unexpected shock of seeing something threatening so close made him jolt in his chair and tumble painfully to the floor. Adrenalin burned up his spine and choked off his throat, forcing out a puff of air that ended up coming out as a pathetic sounding whimper.

Lightning flashed somewhere nearby, illuminating the whole scene agonizingly brightly before the entire house plunged into darkness. Kiyotsugu screamed in terror. In that one moment the lightening had flashed, he had seen a monster. He had to get out of here. The monster was coming for him... He had to RUN!

Now blinded and stunned from the bright light and sudden darkness, Kiyo frantically scooted on his butt in the direction of his door, before managing to regain enough of his senses to turn over and crawl. He scrambled out of his room and maneuvered down the stairs, regaining his feet on the landing and flying down the hallway, all rational thought absent from his mind. All he could comprehend was the animalistic need to flee.

"Kiyo wait! Don't run!"

Oh god. The monster was right behind him. That dark voice sounded like a prelude to all sorts of violent horrors. He had to get out, he had to escape, he couldn't die here. Kiyo sprinted for the door. Something grabbed his shirt from behind. He went down on his knees, wrenching himself out of the grasp and lurched towards the front entryway, flailing his arms in panic.

"Stop! Moron, you have to listen! STOP!"

There, next to the door! He grabbed an umbrella out of the holder and whirled around. Sitting on the cold stone tile of his home's entry hall, knees drawn up defensively and his back to the door, Kiyo grabbed all his remaining courage and brandished his weapon at the monster.

"Stay back! Don't hurt me you demon!"

Silence followed his proclamation. A stillness fell over the scene. The only thing Kiyo could hear over the pounding in his ears was the rain, continuing it's relentless torrent outside. Though his house had lost all power, two floor to ceiling windows present on either side of the door let in some light from the street. It was enough to illuminate part of the entryway, but not the shadows in the stairs beyond. Kiyo's eyes were drawn to movement below. Pale mist gently eddied across the floor, swirling mysteriously, accentuated in the moonlight. The dark voice called out to him once more.

"You're safe. Kiyo? You're gonna be okay."

A dark form shuffled towards him. Kiyo whipped around his improvised umbrella weapon in alarm. The end connected with something in a solid thwap. There was a startled sound accompanied by cursing as the dark form seemed to give up and moved away from him again.

"I know you're there." He hissed out, trying to sound intimidating. "I'm warning you. I know an onmyoji defensive dance!" Dark laughter drifted to him from the corner. He glared into the darkness, but could make out nothing of the monster's form.

"Heh, I never thought... It's Rikuo! Kiyotsugu-kun, It's just me, your friend since kindergarten, Nura Rikuo." He heard an aggravated groan issue from the darkness. "There's no need to put up such a fuss." Kiyotsugu blinked several times in incomprehension.

"I... I... What?"

"Huh, all I hear is yokai this and yokai that for seven years straight, and now when you finally get to meet one you're suddenly speechless?" Kiyo remained stubbornly silent as he continued to squint suspiciously into the gloom.

"During the day, I'm human. I go to school and I know you very well." There was a pause, before the dark voice continued, the sound like black velvet over silver. "During the night I am yokai. My grandfather is Nurarihyon, Lord of Pandemonium, and I have inherited his demonic blood. When the moon comes out, I look like this."

Something stepped out slowly into the moonlight. Kiyo felt his breath catch. What he stared at... was not human. The figure was willowy and tall. He wore a long white yukata, with a dark navy haori laying loose and open over his shoulders. Though what drew in Kiyo first was his face. Pale skin framed a pair of striking red eyes, the same gaze that had burned into him just moments earlier. The arresting gaze was partially obscured by long bangs and an odd hair style that arced up high over his head and trailed off behind him. The top half was milky white as if all the color had been leeched out, and the bottom portion a deep inky black. The two tones blended together in odd patterns along the side of his head. Kiyotsugu swallowed and slowly dropped his umbrella. He remembered that face... how could he ever forget it?

"It's... It's... really you."

Across from him, a pair of demon eyes met his own, and he smiled. The monster smiled back. It was a terrifying sight, but Kiyotsugu was no longer frightened. Bowing his head, he felt gratitude fill his heart, and dampness form on the edge of his eyelashes.

"I'm so glad... that I got to meet you."

.

.

Sorry it's so short. There will eventually be more.

Next Time: Kiyo elaborates on the mixed advantages of social media and having your own domain name.