Hello there, Hydra here.
This fic is solely based on in their night forms, a short one-shot.
Hope you enjoy it!

It Just Happened

I don't really know when it happened, but somewhere along the way it just did.

Was it the first time we met each other on that illusionary bridge?

Was it first time I introduced him to fighting with fear?

Was it the first time he shown me his fear?

Was it the time spent training together?

Was it the time when I saved his butt from the Kyoto youkai and he showed me what fear, true fear, was like?

Was it the time when I decided to follow him, even though sakazuki was never exchanged between us?

Was it the time when we set off to Kyoto, on that ship, high above ground?

Was it the time when I had my breath crushed out of me while watching Tsuchigumo pound him to a pulp?

Was it the first time we performed matoi, when I entrusted myself wholly to him?

Was it the time when we defeated that sly old fox only for another dangerous opponent to appear?

Or was it the time when we had to part?

When I had to part with a heavy feeling in my chest, a slick and oily feeling. A fear that I may not see him again.

Whatever or whenever it happened, it did happen. And I can truly say that I have developed feelings for him. For the third heir of the Nura clan who at first, could not even use fear properly. For Nura Rikuo.

… Even the mere thought of his name makes me sort of fidgety...

You may call me crazy, and I admit I must be. I should get my head checked, maybe I trained too hard and hit it a few times too many. But I know it's not that, it's not an illness which can be easily cured. It's a disease which spreads throughout your whole body unknowingly, like the surprise present you never wanted.

It's horrible.

Yet it is also happening. Right now. Right here.

~.~.~.~

I don't really know when it happened, but somewhere along the way it just did.

There's something about him, something which makes the back of my neck heat up, the blush forming in my cheeks unwillingly. My heart pounds faster as if I'm in battle and a warm feeling pools in my stomach as my heart seems to expand.

There's something about him which makes me feel this way. This way, which I have not felt for anyone else.

He is special. A stubborn young trainer who acts like a tsundere most of the time but has a heart of gold, especially to his comrades. Dash it in with a big ego and a sense of self-righteousness, voila! You have Itaku, the Kamaitachi.

I must be going crazy. Imagine, me the third heir lusting over not only a guy, but my trainer. It's absolutely unacceptable! I'm supposed to be producing heirs, not becoming sterile with age!

Gah, I must have hit my head a few times too many while training with him, that damn kamaitachi.

Though, ... his name does sound nice...

Oh good lord, what am I thinking?

I need to snap out of it before he finds out, or else I'm going to have my neck sliced into mince meat.

~.~.~.~

No one knows exactly when it happened, it just did.

Like any other of the good things in this world, it usually comes unexpectedly, sneaking up behind you for a surprise attack.

That's why one should accept it, not play the denial game all the time.

The two males sat on the floor of the ruined underground dojo, panting heavily to catch their breath. The dojo itself was littered with bruises of countless battles, from scratches to the floorboards to giant holes being blown up in its walls. Poor dojo.

Itaku was wiping the sweat off his chin with a tattered sleeve, sickle in each of his hands. The young master Rikuo was already in his night form, both hands braced behind his back as he sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. Both looked exhausted after training for so long, the heavy physical exercise taking quite a toll on their bodies.

"Heh... Looks like you're getting better, Rikuo." smiled the kamaitachi. And he indeed was getting better. Rikuo was improving leaps and bounds over these past few weeks after the Hagoromo-Gitsune case, so much so that Itaku couldn't help but wonder if he trained by himself when not doing so with him.

Opposite him, Rikuo gave him a smug smirk. "Of course I'm getting better. I have a great teacher after all." He straightened his yukata and crossed his arms in front of him.

For some reason, Itaku seemed embarrassed and slightly pleased at the bold statement. "Che, flattery doesn't work on me Rikuo. You should know that by now."

"Oh well," a sly smile. "can't hurt to try."

Itaku lifted himself off the floor and promptly turned around. Those ruby orbs were unnerving, to the point where it made his heart jump in his throat. "You get a ten minute break Rikuo. Don't waste it trying to think about nonsensical matters."

A head of white was cocked to the side, sharp eyes watching the kamaitachi's every move. He wondered for a brief moment what it would be like, to wrap his arms around that slightly petite frame, to sink his face into the mass of black locks and to drag a deep breath. Would probably smell like sweat but he would probably love it anyway.

And now he sounded like an utter old pervert. He needed to get his head out of the gutter, fast. Stretching his arms above his head once, twice, Rikuo fell back down onto the floor, facing the ceiling. Lying down was the best way to rest, as experience had taught him.

Itaku watched out of the corner of his eye as Rikuo stretched, showing off his long lean limbs and deep collarbone. He slumped to lay back on the floor as rest and Itaku couldn't help but wonder briefly what it would be like to lay his head on that chest, to run his hands through those queer locks, to cup those cheeks and lean in for a kiss.

Only briefly though. It's not as if he had never had such thoughts in his mind before, nor had he never had dirtier thoughts. He was an honest youkai, he could be proud of at least that much.

He would also ponder on whether the young leader actually fancied him back or not. Once or twice, Itaku caught him unabashedly, with what could only be described as, checking him out. Crude, but that's how it is. Several times, he saw Rikuo eyeing him up and down when they were resting during their training sessions. Or when he was battling a foe in front of the hyakki yakou, always he could feel eyes on him. Or more pronounced, when they were in the hot springs together.

Despite his attitude, Itaku doesn't really mind actually. He knows desire when he sees it, he recognises lust in himself. Usually he would get it over with quickly so that both parties are satisfied and will not hinder each other.

But with Rikuo, it is different. At least he hopes it will be. What goes on between them, that spark of electricity that comes in bursts whenever they are near, it is different. There's desire and lust yes, but there's also something deeper. Something which Itaku unwillingly hopes against all hope that it may be love.

He wishes it to be so. He wants to be loved too.

"Oi, Itaku. What are you thinking about?" Lost in his own myriad of thoughts, the kamaitachi didn't even notice the young master getting up to stand right behind him. Rikuo's hand was on his shoulder, a concerned look evident in his furrowed brow.

Itaku had a sort of blankness to his gaze, a faraway look Rikuo did not like. Something was wrong with his trainer, he was usually alert to a fault and bitingly cold. Now, now he looked drugged or had just come out of a deep sleep. Rikuo spun him around slightly, bracing a hand on each shoulder smaller than his. "Oi, Itaku. Don't mess with me."

Somehow, that face Rikuo makes when worried seems annoyingly cute to him. He doesn't truly know anymore, everything is confusing at this point. What more, having his hands on his shoulders, their proximity so close to each other he could feel the other's breathing tickle his face.

What could he do?

a) Shove him off and demand they get back to training at once

b) Shake his head and mumble an explanation while excusing himself to take a breather

c) Pull him in immediately to finally taste him and screw everything else that may happen after because you only get to live once (unless you're that fox)

The correct answer is a) but Itaku wasn't the highest scorer when it came to multiple choice questions. So he chose c).

You know that falling sensation you get sometimes? Completely unexpected, surprising and lightheaded? That was how Rikuo felt like as Itaku suddenly slammed their lips together, hand bunched up in the fabric of his yukata. Swiftly, his world was filled with nothing but Itaku, Itaku, Itaku. He bounced back from his shock and began moving his hands from the small set of shoulders. They trailed down the other's arms slowly as he closed his eyes to savour the feeling.

This. This was what he had craved for a long time now. His lips were slightly chapped, not quite full but he loved it. It was like coming home, the pure match their lips made. Itaku felt hands moving down his arms and coming to wrap around his waist, his body pushed in even closer to Rikuo's. He let go of his strangled hold on the yukata and linked both hands behind the taller youkai's neck, trying to taste more, more, more. More of Rikuo.

Snogging intensely however, takes up a lot of precious oxygen in the span of a short time. Eventually the two had to part, chests heaving in gulps of cold air, breathing each other's scent. Their eyes met, ruby and amber, like sparks in a fire. Warmth coloured both their cheeks in a pinkish hue as they continued to hold onto each other.

Any outsider would think they had just completed a complex dance routine.

Rikuo willed his voice not to shake. "I-Itaku..." Failed. Big time. God, he was acting like a child.

Itaku bowed his head, a hint of embarrassment made him seem docile. What is Rikuo thinking? Is he disgusted? Is he appalled? Does he think it was a mistake? He raised amber eyes and scanned the face before him. He definitely does. He should never have assumed too much, he knows that. As a resident of Toono, he was raised to be tough and strong, always on top of other youkai. Here though, in his arms, he feels weak and humiliated. Rikuo never really wanted him. That was all his own assumption. He should have chose a). Or b). That would have been better than this, the silence eating him.

Itaku brought his hands back to his sides and gave Rikuo a light shove on his chest. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It won't happen again. were the words running through his brain. He would apologise and that would be it. Continue training.

But the other male didn't budge. Instead, he tightened his grip. Itaku glared at him in mock fury, trying to bring himself to hate this situation even more. "What are you doing Rikuo? Get your hands off me now." He tried to put an edge to his voice.

The young master shook his head, a determined look on his face which sent an involuntary shiver down the kamaitachi's spine. "Itaku," he began. "what did you think you were doing?" His voice wasn't warm at all.

Amber eyes shifted away from the intense gaze, trying to wriggle out of the other's grip. "Che. Nothing." He could feel Rikuo's eyebrow arch. "I was just being stupid okay? I'm tired, that's why I did it." Frustration laced his words, angry but not potent.

Rikuo could see through his bluff and blush. Ah, what an insecure one I've got myself. Troublesome. A smile threatened to overflow, lifting the corners of his lips slightly.

"Oi, Rikuo! Let go off me!" Itaku was feeling extremely self-concious, even more so when he spotted the beginnings of a smile form on the lips he had just kissed. "Oi! What are you laughing at, huh?"

A swift peck was administered to Itaku's lips, rendering him speechless for a few seconds. "You are so cute you know, Itaku." Red soon filled the shorter male's cheeks, heat radiating off them as the third heir grinned broadly. Sputtering incessantly, Itaku tried to form a decent sentence as best as he could in his shocked state. "You.. you... wha-.. don't you know that's..." It wasn't working quite as planned.

"Hmm? I, what Itaku?" teased Rikuo with that same smug smirk on his lips. That smirk which said I have you where I want you. By all means, Itaku could sputter all he wanted to, it was entertaining to watch.

A vein throbbed in his forehead as Itaku reached behind his back to grab a sickle. "You bastard... What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He gave an amused smile. "Me, I'm just saying it in my own way." replied Rikuo.

"Saying it...? Say what?" demanded the impatient Itaku.

Rikuo leaned in to bump their foreheads together, staring straight into amber orbs which he had admired for so long. "To say I'm sorry I didn't take the first step." He shifted his hold on Itaku. "And to say that if, if you would have me, I'd be happy to have you too."

There was something about Rikuo and cool lines. You could never separate the two. So it was completely natural for Itaku to start a new round of blushing and spluttering. It was also normal to see Rikuo laughing at his antics and being hit on the head with the butt of a sickle after, to a mumbled "Idiot. Of course I would."

At the end of the day, when they both are willing to accept the unexpected, a warm feeling was left in both their hearts.

~.~.~.~

"K-Kino... don't you think we should be going?" whispered Kubinashi to the other ayakashi who was kneeling beside the sliding door.

"Shhh... be quiet Kubinashi." she hushed. "You don't want to ruin their moment do you? The young master looks so happy!"

"But we didn't come here to spy on them Kino! We came here to deliver food!"

That's a wrap.
Kubinashi and Kejoro are such doting subordinates aren't they? They also make a good couple. :3
I've just rewatched the series and felt like RikuoXItaku needed some love, they both make quite an amusing pair to read. Not to mention that their relationship is very interesting. Hope to see more RikuoXItaku fics though.
Anyway, would anyone like to continue this story?

Thanks for reading! Feel free to favourite or review, they are much appreciated!