Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

Nurarihyon no Mago © Shiibashi Hiroshi - The characters don't belong to me, I'm only using them to write this fanfic.

It had been a little over a week since Rikuo successfully defeated Tamazuki and his Hachijuhakki Yakou. The surviving Shikoku youkai had all left peacefully and things were starting to settle down. Rikuo had managed to win over most of the minor youkai in the Nura clan with the excellent way he handled the invasion. The higher-ranking yokai had also gained respect for Rikuo, although a few of them still seemed skeptical about his ability to govern the clan.

The humans, for the most part were still unaware of the existence of youkai, preferring to put off the events of that night as freak accidents or hallucinations. Unfortunately quite a few people submitted reports to Kiyotsugu's website, making him very excitable all week. He had insisted that no one miss the Kiyo Cross Squad meetings since he would go over all the new information he'd received about a supposed battle between two youkai clans. Today, everyone was present with the exception of Yura.

xxxxxx

Kiyotsugu frowned.

"Where's Yura?" he demanded, annoyed that someone had managed to miss the meeting despite his insistent reminders to come.

He was met with indifferent shrugs from Maki and Shima. Kana, however, looked thoughtful.

"She hasn't been at school for a while," she said.

Rikuo nodded, agreeing with her. Kana blushed lightly but then quickly shook her head and started thinking of him instead.

Tsurara glared at Kana, who tried to ignore her. "She probably went back to Kyoto," Rikuo said, oblivious.

Kiyotsugu's frown deepened. He soon decided to let it go, though, and enthusiastically began to tell them about yet another youkai sighting.

"Did I mention I've received some really great news?" he began excitedly. "I received another report-"

Maki rolled her eyes and interrupted, "Oh, great. How did I guess-"

Kiyotsugu ignored her and plowed on with his explanation. "The informant said they saw a long haired youkai dressed in a yukata while they were hiking up a deserted mountain. This youkai then came up to them and asked for directions to Ukiyoe before disappearing! I bet it's the one I'm looking for, the master of all youkai!" Kiyotsugu looked eagerly around at everyone, waiting for their reactions. "Cmon, isn't that great?"

Rikuo exchanged looks with Tsurara, who looked equally as confused, and confirmed that she was thinking the same thing as him. The description did sound like his night form… but he hadn't gone to a deserted mountain since Mt. Nejireme where he had fought Gyuuki, and finally accepted his youkai blood.

'Perhaps we should go home…' Rikuo thought. 'There's always the chance that Grandpa has decided to play tricks on humans again…'

"So, we're going on an expedition to the mountain next week!" Kiyotsugu continued animatedly. "If anyone sees Yura, tell her to come!". For once no one objected – everyone was eager to go, even Maki and Torii - they had heard that there was a hot spring near the area…

xxxxxx

When Rikuo and Tsurara got back to the Nura house, no one was there to greet them. The front hall was oddly empty and silent.

"Did something happen?" Rikuo asked Tsurara.

"I don't know, waka. We didn't have anything planned for today…" she answered, confused.

"That's strange…" Rikuo wondered out loud. 'Maybe it's related to that youkai sighting Kiyotsugu talked about…'

"Let's go look for grandpa, Tsurara, he'll know what's going on."

"Yes, waka!" Tsurara replied happily, only too glad to follow Rikuo, who had set off deeper into the mansion.

The two of them began walking around the deserted hallways, looking in every room. As they neared the garden they began to hear a distant commotion.

Beginning to get worried, Tsurara and Rikuo hurried towards the garden. The noise got louder until, after they rounded a corner, they spotted its source. What looked like every youkai in the Nura Clan was packed into a huge crowd, all shoving and exclaiming.

"What's going on?" Rikuo asked. The youkai looked at him, whispered to each other, and eventually began shuffling aside so Rikuo and Tsurara could pass. Rikuo squeezed his way through the mass of youkai and eventually managed to get to the center of the crowd to see what was causing all the fuss.

What he saw made his heart stop.

In the center of the garden, his back pressed up against the old sakura tree, stood Nura Rihan, looking distinctly uncomfortable and confused by the pointing, gaping horde that surrounded him.

Rikuo distantly heard Tsurara gasp as she pushed through the crowd to stand beside him, but his mind was reeling and he took no notice. How could this be happening? He'd seen his father die right in front of his eyes, yet here he was…

Rikuo let out a half-strangled gasp, "Dad-" and began to walk towards Rihan, but before he could get closer a hand closed around his wrist. "Rikuo, stop," Nurarihyon ordered, pulling him a few paces backwards. Rikuo opened his mouth to protest but his grandfather cut him off. "Yes, I know it may look like Rihan, but appearances can be deceiving. This could be a shape-shifting youkai attempting to trick us." The crowd of youkai growled and muttered at the though of somebody having the audacity to try and trick them like this.

Nurarihyon stepped past Rikuo and faced Rihan. "Who are you?" he asked brusquely. Rihan narrowed his eyes. "I'm Nura Rihan," he began suspiciously. "Who are you?"

'If he's trying to impersonate Rihan, he's doing a terrible job of it…' Nurarihyon thought, as he replied, "I am Nurarihyon." Rihan stared at him for a moment, then let out a short bark of laughter.

"Who are you trying to fool, old man? My father doesn't look anything like you!"

The watching youkai rumbled in confusion. What was he talking about? Rihan continued: "For one thing, he's about a meter taller than you, and he has hair as well…" Rihan gestured vaguely at Nurarihyon. "Not to mention he's way younger."

A possibility suddenly came into Nurarihyon's mind: What if this was actually Rihan? His speech and rudeness certainly sounded authentic... but he dismissed the thought immediately. Nurarihyon had already looked old long before Rihan had died, and anyway what would Rihan gain by pretending to die? No, his son was long dead. The man before him was nothing but an impostor, one who had dared to impersonate his son and one who he would stop at nothing to expose.

"If you're Nura Rihan," Nurarihyon said coldly, "you should be able to recite the words of the poem your wife wrote before she died."

The man claiming to be Rihan had been tapping the roots of the sakura tree impatiently with his foot. He stopped abruptly and stared at Nurarihyon in disbelief. 'There's no way anyone but the real Rihan could answer that,' Nurarihyon thought. 'I've caught him out.'

The man dropped his gaze, a pained look on his face. There was a pregnant pause… the silence was deafening. Slowly a hiss rose from the crowd of youkai as they became convinced that this person was a fake.

"Well, if you can't answer that… you must be an impostor," Nurarihyon stated smugly. In response, the man slowly looked up at Nurarihyon. His eyes were blank and completely devoid of emotion. Feeling unnerved and strangely guilty, Nurarihyon met the gaze until the man lowered his eyes again and took a deep, shaky breath. Quietly, he began to recite the words:

"Flowers bloom sevenfold and eightfold, but the Kerria laments, for not a single fruit does it bear." The poem ended there but Rihan continued, "Even if I can make flowers bloom brilliantly… to bear so much as a fruit….is beyond my ability."

Nurarihyon stared at him disbelievingly. 'He knows the poem?' he thought in amazement. An uneasy murmur rang through the garden as the onlooking throng processed this information. The man stayed where he was and sadly studied his feet.

Rikuo had been watching the exchange silently but as his father finished his sorrowful recital he could no longer stand still. He stepped forward towards Rihan, intending to comfort him. "Rikuo!" Nurarihyon said sharply. Rikuo stopped in his tracks and looked back at his grandfather. Nurarihyon had noticed that Rihan had looked at him without a trace of recognition. He muttered to himself and then addressed Rihan, "Do you know him..?"

Rihan looked towards him then turned back to Rikuo, who was looking back eagerly. There was a tense pause in which he scrutinized Rikuo.

Rihan frowned slightly. " ... No."

Rikuo gaped at him. "You…don't know me..?" he asked in disbelief.

Rihan shrugged nonchalantly, " Am I supposed to?"

Rikuo stared at him for a few moments, his mind whirling. His father didn't know him.

Notes:

This is the first fic I've written, so it would be great if you reviewed it :) This fic is a collab between me and my friends from deviantART, Allenwalker14 and sophia0615. Sophia came up with the initial idea for the fic and Allen helped write it. Please let me know if you like it!

We've also made a website for this fic, which you can find on my profile page, check it out for more information! :D