The Nura Clan Doesn't Need a Wicked Lady

[Version 1]

Rikuo first met Sakura on the night the Gyuki incident broke out.

The summer cicadas screeched so loudly that his ears hurt. From the dark forest came the faint sound of a deep, shadowy wind. After leaving Gyuki's mansion that night, Rikuo didn't immediately return to his human form to check on his companions. The natural talent inherited by all Nura Clan leaders let him go wherever he pleased as if no one were there. Instead, as if guided by some unseen force, he gazed into the depths of the mountain.

A few scattered petals, carrying a faint fragrance, rode an uncanny breeze from the direction he was watching. They danced in the air, drawing a slight narrowing of the young yokai leader's eyes. As if bewitched, he leaped lightly onto a branch. With a few taps of his toes, the surrounding scenery flowed away behind him like water.

"They say that besides Gyuki, another great yokai dwells on this mountain..."

The Crow Tengu's words echoed in his ears.

"If I recall, he's renowned throughout the yokai world as the most beautiful person under heaven, a title he's held for centuries." The crow in his memory flapped its wings and gave a slight nod. "He's a cherry blossom yokai who lived in the same era as the Supreme Commander and Gyuki. I believe his name was..."

"Sakura."

At the end of the tree shadows, moonlight spilled down without warning, illuminating an astonishing sight...

A giant cherry tree stood there, vast enough to blot out the sky. It rose alone on a cliff at the mountain's summit, its bark gleaming with a fragile, almost silvery sheen beneath the moon. Its broad, flourishing branches spread far and wide, while swirling petals glowed an unreal, bewitching pink, seeming to carry an irresistible and dangerous allure.

Someone stood beneath the tree.

The person had his back to Rikuo. His white robe blended almost completely with the moonlight and falling blossoms. Long golden hair flowed down like a waterfall, its ends immersed in the streaming moonlight, as if it too were glowing. He tilted his head slightly toward the lone moon in the sky. His profile was so exquisite it seemed unreal, and his violet eyes reflected the cool radiance, empty as if filled with the silence of the entire night.

The young Nurarihyon's eyes widened. A violent, indescribable stirring rose within him.

At the time, he couldn't yet put the thought into words. But much later, when Rikuo recalled the primitive desire that had surged through him, as if his yokai blood itself were stirring...

He knew for certain.

He would have him.

[Version 2]

He schemed his way to the throne.

He vanished, and drove him mad.

Sakura was the perfect trap, luring the third-generation head of the Nura Clan with his peerless beauty.

Rikuo offered him his heart, but Sakura turned away and trampled the glory of the Hyakki Yako beneath his feet, using it as a step on his way to the crown.

On the day he took the throne, he waited for the one who would come for revenge.

But Rikuo merely gave him a calm look, then vanished from the world forever.

The Nura Clan was rebuilt, more magnificent than ever.

And his splendid throne became a prison that held him captive.

So, on the night of the Nura Clan's new celebration, the wicked beauty who had once stirred up the world walked expressionlessly toward the flames he'd prepared to consume himself...

"This time, I'm giving myself back to you."

As the flames soared into the sky, he finally saw the figure tearing through the night, eyes wide with rage and desperation.

◆Reader's Guide◆

[A scheming, ruthless beauty bottom x a powerful, growing top. Rikuo (top) x Sakura (original character, bottom)]

[Angst early on, then the top chases the bottom in a dramatic reconciliation. One-on-one, happy ending.]

[My take on a Nurarihyon no Mago fanfic. OOC warning, with a mountain of original settings.]

Content warnings:

1. The bottom, Sakura, has been in danger because of his beauty, including an attempted coercion that didn't succeed. This warped his personality, turning him into an ambitious schemer and actor with little sense of morality.

2. The top, Rikuo, will grow from someone ruled by his emotions into a mature, ruthless third-generation leader, then learn how to navigate their complicated relationship.

3. The top chases the bottom in a dramatic reconciliation (you read that right: the top chases the bottom, not the other way around). The bottom suffers heavily, both physically and emotionally. Both characters have their own ambitions, and their relationship is a contest between equally matched rivals, like mirror images. It features complex emotional entanglements and a struggle for control of the relationship, with plenty of tension. The bottom will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and has seriously betrayed and hurt the Nura Clan.

The story leans toward melodramatic, painful romance and involves revenge, despair, and redemption.

This is a Nurarihyon no Mago fanfic with many original settings and OOC characterization, and a heavily altered timeline.

Theme: The world loves me, and I love the world