Master and Yokai

Um that ending. I understand that he had to rush a conclusion to it but it was a bit dissatisfying. It's better than other endings other there but I felt like it could have been done better. I don't know. Well that brings an end to the series, wished it could have been longer so it'd have a more proper end but oh well.

...

Chapter 17. Friend or Foe?

The little yokai around were being cautious, muttering incoherent whispers to one another. All of them were look up at the gate, on top of which were two figures, one seemingly standing and the other sitting. Rihan came out at one of the creature's beckoning. He looked at the same direction as the others around. It was too late in the night to make out their faces, much less their overall appearance.

"Are you Nura Rikuo?" one of two finally spoke.

After a moment, Rihan replied, "Yes I am." The yokai's jaws dropped and their attention turned to him. Speechless.

"That's not what your allies seem to be saying..."

"Why don't you reveal yourselves first?" Rihan smirked. The two silhouettes seemed to face each other for a moment then jumped down. Both of them were in traditional kimonos, each held a fan, had dog like ears and tails. The one on the left had long silver hair, sharp yellow eyes, and a serious expression. The one on the right had short and scruffy brown hair, orange eyes, and a big smirk.

"Now who are you really?" the smirking one asked.

"Nura Rihan. What business do you have with my son?" He reached into his kimono then his eyes widen. He patted himself seeming to be searching for something. His accomplice whacked him on the head with the fan. The silver haired one held up a letter.

"Nura Rikuo was the one who sought us out first. Why don't you call him out?" The second one answered.

"Tell me your names so I can pass on the news."

"He did not meet with us exactly. He met with our leader who then sent us with the final message."

"Then... Give me the letter so I can give it to him?"

"I refuse. I shall complete my mission in person."

"Man you're difficult!" Rihan stomped his foot.

"Actually... You kind of made it harder..." the brown haired one corrected. One of the other yokai already went to fetch Rikuo at the bottom of the pit/arena. The young master exited the building.

"Hey old man, what's going on?" Rikuo asked, standing behind his father.

"Ah! Rikuo when did you-" Rihan jumped and turned his head to face him a bit.

"Just now."

"So you're Nura Rikuo," the stranger said, approaching him. Watchers took a battle stance should anything happen.

"Yes, and you are...?" Without replying, he only handed him the letter. Rikuo opened it and read it. "I see... That's great. But serious-"

"Fukui Kazuki, assistant head of the Shadow Clan," the rude silver head finally answered.

"Wakahisa Shou, a measely member of the clan," continued the other.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Rihan blurted. "You got the Shadow Clan to cooperate? That's some fleet. I'm proud of you!"

"They agreed because of the common threat," Rikuo explained.

"Indeed, normally we'd stay out of any conflict," Kazuki added. The Shadow Clan is very powerful yokai clan of wolves. Recently the fox yokai under their care with strict rules they must follow.

"Only two?"

"Well another should be here already... But even with just us two, we should suffice," Shou replied.

"Remember, we don't have to follow your orders. We will act as we please and only obey our master," warned Kazuki harshly. He had already earned himself a bad reputation among the Nura Clan, not that they can do much about it.

"Uh, another thing. Kazuki's my superior so he's a lot stronger. I won't be able to restrain him if he explodes and rampages- Ow!" Shou was whacked again. He rubbed the back of his head where he was hit.

"Got it. Come on in." Rikuo invited. "Oh, join us in the meeting right now."

"Very well," replied the older wolf and the two followed Rikuo inside. Rihan just stared in their direction for a moment before quietly entering. Down the hall, Rikuo slid open the door on the right and a loud volume of noise blasted them. The leaders were shouting around, not in an angry matter.

"Lively aren't you lot? Let's get started." Rikuo took a seat at the Supreme Commander's spot. Rihan took the seat to his son's right and Nurarihyon, who has yet to appear, will take the left. Seeing as the room was pretty full, the two wolves just stood by the entrance.

"Should you really be going to school when we all have to worry about Seimei?" Hitotsume complained.

"Worrying won't do anything. I'm still training so it's not like I'm doing nothing. Why don't you do something instead of whining?"

"Wh-"

"Rikuo, why don't you introduce those two bystanders? Surely they're here for a reason," Gyuuki cut the one eye demon off.

"Fine," he gestured for the two to come closer who responded with a delay. "These two are Fukui Kazuki and Wakahisa Shou of the Shadow Clan." The older yokai and a few of the younger ones held a surprised expression and almost gasping but Rikuo continued before any of them could say anything. "A while back I went and requested help of the Shadow Clan explaining the situation. I didn't really expect them to accept my request though. There's suppose to be one more, their leader, but apparently he or she isn't here yet. However they won't follow my order, only their leader's."

"Why didn't you come with your leader?" Yuki-onna asked, confused by their split up.

"He said he'll meet us here. He actually doesn't know what we're here for though," Shou explained. The whole clan just stared at them now, even more confused.

"Wait, wasn't he the one that agreed to help?" Kurotabou asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh no, our leader, his mother, decided that."

"It matters not. We will just wait here for him to arrive," Kazuki concluded that discussion.

"Alright, we'll let you know if we see any other wolves. I hope everyone, Hitotsume, has been training hard. We can't afford to laze around with some a handful of months left," Rikuo declared. "We also must ally ourselves with other clans. So that's another task. Finally we'll need to find out where their headquarter will be and what types of yokai we'll be facing before him."

"Also long as those onmyouji don't betray us..." muttered a bitter old member.

"They won't take the risk if there's a bigger threat. They didn't kill us when we fought the Hanagome Gitsune."

"Ah, the meeting started already?" the retired Supreme Commander commented by the entrance. "I agree with what you say, Rikuo, but I also agree with Hitotsume. If you don't go to school then you'll have more time to train."

"School is my way to find out information. It's also my rest time from training. If I did nothing but fight, I would be sore and drained. And if we should be under attack then, we'd be quite the pickle."

"Pickle? Why are you thinking about food at a time like this?!" A yokai behind the times bursted.

"... It's an expression saying that we'll be in trouble..." There was some silence among a few murmurs that died down quickly. "Moving on... What's the current situation, Karasu?" The crow looked at his scroll and cleared his throat.

"Kyoto hasn't reported anything but Nenekirimaru is still in the process of being fixed. The remnants of the Hundred Tales Clan have been laying low lately but I'm sure they're plotting something for revenge."

"Some of these yokai look like a pain in the neck," Shou commented quietly into his fan which he held close to his mouth. A quick hard whack slapped his head causing him to let out a whimper, thus drawing some attention. "Ow! Kazuki, don't hit me with your fan."

"Be silent," his superior demanded.

"... Kazuki-chan is so mean..." he whined as he got another whip.

"You two okay...?" Rikuo dared to ask, wearily.

"Yes, carry on."

"That's about it. Just keep a look out for suspicious activity and keep training," the third stated as he pushed himself up. The room became noisy with murmurs as all the occupants stirred to leave. He turned to his new guests and maybe allies. "What will you do if your leader doesn't arrive?"

"Simple question. We'll search for him ourselves."

"Right, you can use that room over there. It should be free."

"Thank you." The two gave Rikuo a slight nod and began heading towards where they were directed to.

"Now... Who does all my homework...? They can't complete themselves..." Rikuo began trying to solve a mystery at the most inappropriate time.

...

I was iffy about including this but I already started so why not. I'll expand on this Shadow Clan as the story progresses, if I decide to finish anyways. You can probably guess some things just by the name of it. Yes it's short just like another chapter I just finished. I'm not really in the mood to finish this sadly. Everything can be determined by your imagination. It takes a good while for me to be back into a phase.

R&R please.