Chapter 46: Nura Rihan's Purpose: You and I, Brothers
The mountain path wound onward. For nearly half an hour, the three of them had walked in a strange, unspoken truce.
Yes, three 'people'—not just Kobe Hikaru and Kikyo, but Nura Rihan as well. The flamboyant yokai, who had specifically come to watch the show, had simply never left.
The hills on either side rolled and undulated. They weren't particularly tall, but they fragmented the otherwise flat plain, causing the midday sun to scatter into a mottled mix of broken light and shadow. The silhouettes of the trees swayed like silent, dancing figures.
On the road between them, Hikaru glanced back in the direction they had come.
There were no pursuers. No distant shouts of battle. Not even a trace of dust kicked up on the horizon.
It seemed the samurai in that city had been well and truly terrified.
"Rest assured," Nura Rihan's voice drifted from ahead. "Those wretches wouldn't dare chase you, not even if you gave them ten times the courage."
"You're that sure?"
"I've been knocking around this era for a few years now," Rihan shrugged, his golden hair particularly striking in the sunlight. "I can see through a man's character at a glance. That pack of private soldiers Suda Shigenobu raised might be fine for bullying commoners, but the moment they run into something tough, they scatter faster than rabbits."
He added, "Besides, their master is dead. They're probably too busy looting the storehouse right now—who has the time to chase after you?"
Hikaru didn't respond. He watched the figure swaying casually as he walked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Kikyo also turned her head, her gaze resting on Rihan. Her expression was calm, but Hikaru could sense the wariness coiling within her.
"Come to think of it," Hikaru finally broke the silence, his voice low and even. "You've been following us for a day and a night."
"You were watching when we killed the toad demon. You were watching when we entered the city. And now that we've left, you're still here."
He fixed his gaze on the yokai's back. "Your goal probably isn't as simple as just watching a show, is it? What is it you really want?"
Nura Rihan stopped walking.
He turned, a hint of a smile playing on his youthful face. In the bright sun, his golden, slitted pupils shimmered with an unnerving light.
"So, I've been found out," he said, showing not a shred of embarrassment. He seemed to take the exposure as a matter of course. "And here I thought I'd be able to enjoy the show for a few more days."
"Speak," Hikaru's voice was flat, his hand now resting on the hilt of his sword. His gaze was anything but friendly.
He wouldn't lower his guard just because this man was a character from a story he once knew. As a demon himself, he was keenly aware that neither of them could be considered a 'good sort.'
Seeing Hikaru's reaction, Kikyo, without the slightest hesitation, drew her bowstring. The sharp twang of the string being pulled taut cut through the tranquil mountain air.
The relaxed expression on Nura Rihan's face stiffened. He let out a dry laugh, putting away his playful demeanor with a soft cough.
"Kobe Hikaru, right?" he asked. "I've never heard of an Oni Samurai like you before, but I can feel it. You haven't been a demon for long—a year at most."
"But in just one year, you've already approached the level of a high-ranking demon. And the purity of your Yao Qi… your oni energy… it's ridiculously high."
"So, my goal is actually quite simple." Rihan's eyes glinted with purpose. "I have taken a liking to your potential, Kobe Hikaru! Join my ranks!"
He said it with blunt, startling directness.
"What?" Hikaru was stunned, the abrupt offer catching him completely off guard.
"I said, I want to recruit you," Rihan repeated, puffing out a ring of smoke that dissipated into a blurry circle in the air. "I am officially inviting you to join my ranks. To join my 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.'"
The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. A collective movement of yokai, centered around a single, overwhelmingly powerful leader. Some were spontaneous gatherings, drawn together by the sheer magnetism of a great demon's Yao Qi. Others were organized from the start, a clan bound by loyalty and purpose.
Nura Rihan was, without a doubt, referring to the latter.
But…
Hikaru's eyes flicked from Rihan to the empty space behind him. There was no one there.
"Your Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?" The doubt in Hikaru's tone was obvious.
"Yes," Rihan nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Night… Parade… of… One… Hundred… Demons… Clan," Hikaru confirmed again, slowly.
"Yes," Rihan replied, his expression still one of perfect self-assurance.
Hikaru was silent for two seconds. Then he pointed a thumb at the empty mountain path behind the yokai. "Just you?"
"...For now," Rihan coughed, though he still wasn't the least bit embarrassed. "But there will be many in the future!" he added hastily.
"My goal is to gather all the powerful yokai in the world and build a true Night Parade of One Hundred Demons! By then, all the monsters and spirits will be under my command, and every demon in the land will obey my word! I will be the strongest and greatest Lord of all Pandemonium!"
He spoke with a fiery passion, his golden hair fluttering in the wind.
Hikaru, however, only found it vaguely amusing.
'Lord of Pandemonium?'
He knew, of course, that this charismatic fool would one day become a legendary figure—Nura Rihan, the Second Head of the Nura Clan. But that was still decades away. Right now, the man was little more than a general with no army. He didn't have a single subordinate to his name.
"So, you followed us for a day and a night just to recruit me?" Hikaru asked, cutting through the grandstanding.
"Right!" Rihan nodded emphatically. "Your strength is formidable, your abilities are unique, and most —" His eyes lit up with a fierce light. "You dare to kill."
"A yokai who dares to move against human dignitaries is far too rare in these chaotic times. Most of them either hide in dark corners or only know how to bully defenseless commoners. But someone like you, who dares to openly cut off a lord's head and hang it from the city gate—"
He grinned. "I admire that."
Hikaru watched him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. The guy actually sounded sincere.
"Also," Rihan's gaze shifted to Kikyo, "that miko. If she is willing, she can join us as well."
Kikyo's brow furrowed. "I am a miko," she stated, her voice cool and clear. "Not a yokai."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rihan dismissed her objection with a wave of his hand. "The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. It's a parade of a hundred demons, sure, but it never said it could only be demons. As long as you're strong enough, humans can join too. My goal is to build an invincible army, regardless of whether its members are human or yokai!"
Kikyo was silent.
Hikaru was silent.
This guy's thought process was truly one of a kind.
"Besides," Rihan suddenly stepped forward, throwing a companionable arm around Hikaru's shoulder. "Brother, you and I are both of the Oni clan!"
"What?"
"I am a Nurarihyon, you are an Oni Samurai! See? Both our names have the 'Oni' character in them! This is fate!" Rihan's face was alight with an eager, almost desperate smile. "If you and I, brothers, join forces, why would we ever worry about failing to achieve great things?"
"All the yokai in the world will be within our grasp! All monsters and spirits will bow down and pay homage! What a magnificent undertaking this is!"
He spoke with such fervor, his words tumbling out in a rush of spit and passion. The fanatical energy radiating from him left Hikaru momentarily unsure of how to respond.
'Is this guy... for real?'
Hikaru looked at Rihan's young, handsome face. His golden, slitted pupils were filled with earnest anticipation, like an entrepreneur pitching his grand vision.
A grand vision that currently consisted of a single, unemployed founder.
"Ahem." Hikaru gave a light cough and gently brushed the hand off his shoulder. "All these things you've said…"
"Are very promising, right?" Rihan's eyes brightened even more.
"No." Hikaru shook his head.
"What I want to say is—" He paused, letting the silence hang for a beat.
"I'm not interested."
Rihan's brilliant smile froze on his face. "What?"
"I said, I'm not interested," Hikaru repeated, his tone utterly deadpan. "Your Night Parade of One Hundred Demons… you can play with it yourself."
Rihan's expression soured, as if he had just swallowed a fly. "Why?"
"No reason," Hikaru said bluntly. "I have my own things to do. I don't have time to get involved with your parade."
"And—" He glanced pointedly at the empty road behind Rihan.
"A Night Parade of One Hundred Demons with just you alone sounds very unreliable."
Nura Rihan was speechless.
That was just plain hurtful.
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