Chapter Text
“Hey, do you want to get something to eat on the way home? I saw this new ice cream place when I was on my way to school. We could even get some for Nyanko-Sensei, I’m sure they have something he’d like.” Tanuma smiled brightly at him and Natsume gave a nod of his head, it would be good for a change to do something so normal. “Great! It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve gotten to hang out Natsume, and I know you’ve probably been busy. I just—“ He stops by their classroom door and looks at him. “I worry about you. It feels like you’ve gotten yourself into something again.”
“It’s not like that Tanuma.” Not exactly, anyway. “I have been busy though and I know I should have given you a call. But I also know after that case those couple weeks ago you got really sick…”
Tanuma caught his wrist before he opened the door and Natsume looked up to him. “Are you still blaming yourself for that? I know my limits, I knew what I was getting into when I helped you. That’s not your fault.” He let Natume go and grabbed the door, pulling it open as he spoke. “I want to help you and if that makes me bedridden for a few weeks then… that is…”
Great. Natsume sighed as he stared into the Mononokean, Abeno sitting on the floor and drinking tea. Their gazes met, a silent argument over time and places before Abeno looked at Tanuma with an arched eyebrow. Tanuma himself still seemed frozen but could clearly see Abeno sitting there with his tea. “Natsume, there’s a boy—floating in darkness.” At that Abeno’s eyebrows seem to climb higher into his hair.
Natsume reached his hand out, placed it over Tanuma’s and slowly slid the classroom door shut. “It’s not empty, it’s a yokai. One that can go wherever it wants to. The boy in there was human, it’s why you could see him.” So, even the Mononokean appeared as a shadow to Tanuma. His skin complexion had seemed to lose several shades, hopefully he didn’t throw up on Natsume. “Hey, I think you should drink some water. I’m—going to deal with that. Let’s get ice cream tomorrow, alright? My treat.”
“What? But we just talked about—“
Natsume shook his head and pat Tanuma’s shoulder. “I’ll try to explain what I can later, get some rest. The Mononokean is a powerful yokai, alright?” He stepped back, grasped the door and slid it open. Slipping inside he shut the door quickly. Hopefully Tanuma wasn’t upset, he really hated making him sad.
“A friend?”
Natsume turned and looked to Abeno on the floor, still sipping his tea and dressed in his school uniform. Was that where he had come from or had he skipped? Considering Ashiya wasn’t here and he had a hard time believing that Abeno was just in class himself, he assumed the boy skipped. As he made his way over Natsume nodded his head in reply. Tanuma was a good friend to him, someone who could see right through all of Natsume’s shields. He knew him, his expressions and when he was hiding something. It used to unsettle him how close Tanuma had gotten, but his friendship was important to Natsume. It’s why he tried so hard to protect him from all of this.
Taking a seat on the tatami mat Natsume rested his hands on his lap. “Is there a reason you stalked me to my school?” Abeno was lucky he was done for the day, though bag with the Book of Friends was never let far from his sight he did leave it in his desk during certain times. Like gym class, where he definitely couldn't take it. He didn’t have Nyanko-Sensei though, considering the cat couldn’t exactly attend school with him. Though usually he was never far from the building.
“Right, we have a case. A yokai came to the Mononokean for help, and as soon as I collect Ashiya from school I’ll explain the situation.”
Natsume tugged his bag closer to him and frowned slightly. “Does it involve the Book of Friends?” He asked, because that was the entire reason he was trapped in all of this, wasn’t it? He had agreed to the Legislator’s request because it involved the Book of Friends. It was a way for him to return the names, help the Mononokean and the yokai who came there, to make things easier.
Abeno shrugged and Natsume resisted letting out a sigh. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Alright, I need to go home first.” Abeno dropped him off with a time limit and Natsume made his way to the kitchen where Touko was starting the rice cooker for dinner. He excused himself for the day, saying Ashiya invited him over for dinner and then made his way upstairs to his bedroom. He collected Nyanko-Sensei, the cat grumbling at them being used already and quickly made his way back downstairs to the Mononokean.
He let the yokai loose inside the room and sat down on the floor once more, tucking the Book of Friends behind him. Abeno moved the Mononokean to his school and opened the door, nodding to Natsume before stepping out. It didn’t take him long to collect Ashiya, the moment he was gone he was back again dragging the other teen behind him into the room. He shut the door and let Ashiya go, returning to his seat on the floor.
“It’s so much work to collect us when there’s more.” He seemed annoyed, which actually made Natsume feel bad for living so far away. Not that it was his fault but it still made him feel like he was a burden.
“Natsume, hey! Good afternoon!” Ashiya took a seat next to him and smiled widely. Moja crawled across his lap and got comfortable, face pressing into Natsume’s stomach. There was a very unamused look from Nyanko-Sensei but the yokai was to busy with the Mononokean’s scroll to truly object. They seemed to be having a conversation but Natsume was struggling to follow the topic of it.
I THOUGHT IT WAS COOL. IT’S NICE THAT YOU’RE HELPING SOMEONE TOO. MAYBE THEY’LL EVENTUALLY LET YOU BACK IN. (o_ _)ﾉ彡☆
“That implies I want to go back.”
DON’T YOU MISS IT ALL, MADARA? I THOUGHT YOU WOULD AT LEAST MISS THEM. (ಥ﹏ಥ)
“The only person I miss, it doesn’t matter if I do or not.”
IT ALWAYS MATTERS.
Ashiya leaned over and Natsume tilted his ear toward him as he whispered. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
“I can’t tell. I only gathered from everything so far that Nyanko-Sensei is very intimately familiar with the Mononokean and perhaps even the Legislator. I suppose that makes sense given he said he was friends with the Justice. Or—as much as one can be friends with Nyanko-Sensei.” His hand slipped through Moja’s fur and the fuzz ball wiggled closer to him, a small nose tickling Natsume’s stomach. Tilting back he bumped his head against the wall of the Mononokean and listened to the bell of the tea room ring again.
There was a lot he didn’t know about Nyanko-Sensei, questions he wanted to ask but didn’t think he should. He wondered if Nyanko-Sensei would get better at any point and be able to hold his real form for longer. It was such a large one though, surely he didn’t just walk around like that all the time? The Justice was a large leopard, but could take a human form. Could Nyanko-Sensei do that?
Then, there was the entire way he reacted to hearing Aoi’s name. He wanted to think they were friends, but the definition of friendship with Nyanko-Sensei seemed so difficult to label. He wasn’t sure what he considered a friend, if Natsume fit in that label or where it even began.
Nyanko-Sensei often considered him a burden, but not in a negative way. Not in the way he spoke of and looked at Natori and Matoba. No, when he called Natsume a burden it always seemed joking and self-deprecating at the same time. Like he blamed himself for not being there in time, even if the fault rested with Natsume.
Hinoe called him a terrible bodyguard, and sometimes he truly was, but there were so many times that Natsume would have died without him that he couldn’t completely agree with her. Nyanko-Sensei tried and when he failed he got upset with himself. There were a few times Natsume thought all of that contributed to his drinking.
Then there was Reiko. Sometimes, he thought Nyanko-Sensei blamed himself for her death but Natsume knew she died of old age, the turns of time not in her favor. She got old, lived what of a life she could, had a kid who died themself and left Natsume where he was now.
The Mononokean’s bell rang again and Natsume tilted his head back down to look at the scroll. The tea room was scolding Nyanko-Sensei for his language now which drew a small chuckle from him.
“Alright, let’s discuss the case now. Cat, if you’re helping get over here.” Abeno gazed back and Nyanko-Sensei hissed at him, hackles raising.
“I’m not a cat!”
“Mhm. The case we were given is from a yokai named Yonami.” It wasn’t a name that Natsume recognized and when he glanced at Nyanko-Sensei he watched the yokai shake their head. So, not one he recognized either then. It was quite possible this had nothing to do with the Book of Friends. “They said they lost something, but can’t remember what it is. They just know that they need it back.”
“Wait, how are we supposed to look for something if we don’t know what it is?” Ashiya frowned and rubbed the back of his head. “That’s like looking for an invisible needle in a haystack.”
“They know where they lost it and it’s personal in nature, so it’ll carry a bit of their energy with it. Yonami said we’d know what it was when we found it.” That was not helpful in the least. Were these the types of cases that the Mononokean took on normally? Lost items? Was this seriously what he had gotten himself into? He shakes his head and let’s his eyes fall closed, head resting back against the wall again.
Well, at least this shouldn’t be too hard. Finding something precious to a yokai imbued with their energy, so long as it was a decent amount of energy, wasn’t difficult for him. Sitting up again he rubbed his face and looked to Abeno. “We could try using a paper doll.” He’s used it with Natori to find a yokai once, surely they could use it to find something that belonged to a yokai too.
“I’d rather not use exorcist tricks until we run out of options. If we can’t find it just by looking we’ll give it a try.” Abeno stood and moved to another door, vanishing behind it and dismissing the topic. Well, he was just trying to save them time. It wasn’t like Natsume was an exorcist, he’s only done it once and if it works, it works.
“Can I ask what a paper doll is?”
Natsume nudged Moja off of his lap and stood, pulling the bag with the Book of Friends back onto his shoulder. “It’s a trick that exorcists use to do small things, like finding yokai. They’re little paper dolls, like the name implies, with a binding seal written on them that connects them to the user. Then, feeding off of our spiritual energy, they do the bidding requested of them.” Like finding things. “Natori said they require a lot of concentration and an understanding of how spiritual energy works. You can’t use too much or too little. If you can’t control the flow of energy you’ll quickly run yourself dry.”
“Really? That sounds useful!” Ashiya leaned forward and smiled, patting Moja on the head as the small yokai wandered closer to him for attention. “I wonder why Abeno is against it.”
“If I had to guess,” Nyanko-Sensei sat down in front of Natsume and scratched his head. “It’s more with the principle of it. The Mononokean is a service to yokai, exorcists and their tricks are hunters. The idea of the Mononokean using tricks that are typically used to cause us harm wouldn’t set well with the Underworld.” That was perhaps the first time Nyanko-Sensei had agreed with something Abeno did or said. Maybe there was a point to his reluctance after all.
There might be a learning curve to figuring out how to do this after all. Natsume had worked with exorcists, he’s never worked with people who instead dedicated themselves to helping yokai. He didn’t quite count Tanuma since his friend helped Natsume rather than the other way around.
Abeno returned dressed as the Master of the Mononokean and then opened the doors to where they were apparently conducting their hunt. They exited the tea room into what appeared to be an old abandoned temple, the large red arch of the place very familiar to Natsume. Though the spiritual energy here was either minuscule or nonexistent, there was something he could feel the moment he stepped onto the land. He looked around a bit and then turned to face Abeno when he spoke.
“This place has been abandoned for a while, the Priestess that used to live here died and when others tried to take over years down the road they suddenly became incredibly ill and didn’t return.” Abeno looked away toward the buildings and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not expecting you to be helpful Ashiya, just look around for strange things.”
“Hey! I’ve gotten better!” From the way Abeno frowned at the word ‘better’ he wondered how bad Ashiya actually was.
“Right, I’m going to check the storage house over that way. Nyanko-Sensei?” They wandered off, splitting up and Ashiya storming away from Abeno angrily. The place was definitely old, if he had to guess it had been abandoned for a decade if not several. The items he was picking up in the storage room looked like something out of the Taisho period.
He stopped in front of the Priestess clothes, hung up to be displayed yet covered in dust, and ran his gaze over them. They looked normal, the usual red and white, fans hanging beside it and open. They were pretty, drawing his attention away from the clothing. The designs on them reflected the area nearby, trees and hills painted over the fabric. They looked hand done. Natsume leaned a bit closer, squinting at the figure painted on them. It wasn’t a human.
He reached out, fingers itching to touch them, and froze when a yell echoed through the shrine. Turning back away he hurried out the doors followed closely by Nyanko-Sensei.
Ashiya sat on the ground, Moja sprawled across his lap and sweat coating his forehead. Raising his gaze above them he clocked the position of the sun, where it was compared to when they arrived and realized something strange. Natsume had apparently been inside the storage room for nearly an hour, which shouldn't actually have been possible since he felt like he had just stepped inside. Which meant, there was something about that room. What exactly though he could only guess. Was it the Priestess clothes, the Hakama and Kosode, or the fans? Something else entirely? He’d go back but Ashiya seemed distraught.
“I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong! Abeno says to ‘sense’ what we’re looking for but how do you sense anything?” He tumbled backwards and fell onto the ground, hands gripping his hair.
Nyanko-Sensei scowled and turned away, walking back toward the storage room. So, he realized it too then. “You’re going about it the wrong way.” Ashiya opened his eyes again which were bloodshot with tears and from rubbing them. He sat on the ground properly and seemed to be asking for more information. Abeno had made his way back by now but was just watching them, gaze focused on Ashiya and his increasing plight.
“What do you mean?” Genuine bright blue eyes focused up into Natsume’s own green ones. So honest, he really wanted to learn how to do this. How odd. Natsume often wondered if his life would be easier if he couldn’t do this. If he was showed boundless amounts of love, if he would have had a better childhood, if he couldn't see yokai. It was a thought that often plagued him, especailly when growing up. Yokai were a burden, so not being able to see them should have been a blessing. Yet, here this boy was, thrown into this world with a chance to escape but eating it up instead. He wanted this where as before Natsume would have given anything to just be normal.
Now though he wouldn’t stop doing what he was, not when it brought Nyanko-Sensei and Tanuma to him. Not when… he got to meet these two because of it. But when he was younger he might have. He didn’t think Ashiya would ever consider the same.
“You’re trying too hard. It’s not something you can force, not something you should force. Feeling yokai, their energy, the changes in the atmosphere, it's something that comes naturally.” Setting himself down in front of Ashiya he looked into the boy's eyes. “Do you force yourself to breath? To hear? To think? To feel? Doing what we do is just like one of our senses. It’s natural.”
Ashiya frowned and looked down at his hands, curling his fingers into his palms. He shook his head and looked back to Natsume’s eyes. “I’ve tried that, it doesn’t work and I just give myself a headache.”
“Because you’re forcing it. You can’t make it happen. Here, give me your hands.” Holding his own out Ashiya slipped them into his and Natsume curled his fingers around the other's. He held them loosely and lowered them between the both of them. “Close your eyes and just focus on the area around you. Don’t think about what you’re doing and looking for, just hear the sounds, feel the air and relax. Turn your head off.”
He did as instructed, closing his eyes and letting his body relax a bit. Natsume watched him a few moments and then let his own fall shut. He gave in to the area around them, the feeling of the wind against his skin and the slight chill of the weather. There was still that feeling in the back of his head, where the storage room was.
His eyes opened again and looked at Ashiya's face. He spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the boy too much. “What do you feel?”
His brows pinched together and he breathed deeply. “Tired. Cold. My head still hurts.” A smile twitched on Natsume’s lips and the hands that he held squeezed his slightly. “But, I feel something weird.”
“Weird? Where? Go with that feeling.”
Ashiya released his hands and opened his blue eyes, standing to his feet and brushing his clothes off. When he started walking Natsume stood and followed behind him, the both of them making their way toward the storage building where Nyanko-Sensei had vanished to. They stepped inside, Abeno finally having joined them, and Ashiya headed back toward where the Priestess clothes and fans hung on the wall.
“Hey, these fans are pretty.”
“They are. I also think they were painted by a yokai.” Ashiya froze and slowly looked back at Natsume, his eyes wide. Giving a nod of his head Natsume walked up to the other boy’s side and reached his hands out, pulling the fan carefully off of the wall and turning back to face the both of them. “You did good, there was something about this room. I lost an hour in here without even realizing it. But, more importantly, look at this fan and tell me what you see.”
Ashiya leaned over his shoulder and looked at the painting, head tilting slightly as he took in each of the pictures depicted on it. “It’s the temple… but what is that?”
“They’re yokai.” Natsume pointed to a few of the smaller figures with a smile. “I’ve seen those ones, they’re like spiders but cute. Little creatures with really long legs that carry leaves.”
“That’s incredible! Do you think this is what we were looking for?”
Natsume nodded and held the fan out to Abeno who took it. Ashiya got the other one down off of the wall and Natsume turned to look at the Priestess clothes. “I wonder if the Priestess who used to live here… could see yokai.”
“That would be interesting and make sense.” Ashiya held the other fan up, looking at the painted picture of the Priestess and another figure. It was human shaped, but had horns and a pair of pitch black eyes with white circle in the middle. A yokai, then, and it held the hands of the painted Priestess.
“That’s Yonami.” Abeno took the fan that Ashiya held and looked to the picture on it. “So, this is definitely what we were looking for then. We should return it to them as quickly as possible.” He looked to Ashiya and nodded his head. “Good work, Ashiya.” Tucking the fans into his arms he headed to the door of the storage room and called for the Mononokean. He headed inside and left them to follow him.
Yonami was a tall yokai, he barely fit inside the Mononokean when he came to collect his items. A table was sat between them, tea set up on it. Abeno sat at one end, Yonami at the other. Ashiya sat slightly behind and to the right of Abeno but Natsume took a seat directly at the end of the table, not caring if he was supposed to or not.
Nyanko-Sensei certainly made himself comfortable, sitting directly on top of the table and looking at Yonami. He blinked as the yokai picked the fans up and then set them down directly in front of him. “You lost your memory.” It wasn’t an accusation but a direct fact. “Did you have a run in with an exorcist or something?”
Yonami blinked, his black eyes rather unsettling to look at. When he looked to Nyanko-Sensei he seemed to realize the yokai was there for the first time. “I’m unsure. It seems to come back in feelings rather than pictures. I felt I lost something, I feel this is that item and yet there is still that emptiness. I had hoped this was the answer I was looking for.”
“Those were painted quite a while ago.” Nyanko-Sensei stood and walked forward, placing a paw on the top of one of the fans. “If your memories are taking this long to return it’s more likely you were cursed. And, as time wanes on, the curse lessons and fragments of your memory are returned. Exorcist can curse, but—“ his gaze fell to the picture on the fan. “So can Priestesses when binding yokai.”
“You don’t think—“ Ashiya leaned forward and was stopped from approaching by a hand on his shoulder from Abeno.
He was nudged back and Abeno looked at Nyanko-Sensei. “What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. Do you want me to just say it?” He lifted his gaze and looked Abeno in the eyes. “He was cursed by the woman on this fan. By the Priestess.”
The room lapsed into silence, even Yonami didn’t have a comment for that. The five of them sat there, staring at the fans on the table and clearly rolling Nyanko-Sensei’s words through their head. Natsume wasn’t sure what to make of that. The fans seemed to paint a very gentle, calm, and even happy image. But the reality that Nyanko-Sensei painted seems cruel. To paint that type of image to them over memories that seemed important to this yokai, from someone who seemed important to them—it was hard for Natsume to swallow.
“You can’t know that.” Abeno frowned at Nyanko-Sensei, his own eyes still focused on the fan. “That picture looks like something completely different.”
“I know Nyanko-Sensei can be rather—hard to understand and get along with. But he’s quite intelligent when it comes to these sorts of things, Abeno.” Natsume tried to defend Nyanko-Sensei, mostly because he tended to be right but because he was his friend. And if he was right, they would have to find a way to help this yokai.
Abeno shook his head and turned his gaze again to the fan. “We have no proof, we can’t just start messing with things because a cat thinks it might help. We could do more damage than good.”
There was a chime from the Mononokean’s scroll and they all turned to look at it in the corner. Words formed in such rapid succession that even Natsume struggled to keep up with what it was saying.
ITSUKI, YOU SHOULD TRUST MADARA. HE ISN’T JUST A YOKAI. HE WAS SOMEONE THAT WE HAVE RELIED ON IN THE PAST. HE’S QUITE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THESE THINGS. IF HE HAS AN IDEA, YOU SHOULD GIVE IT A CHANCE.
“And the Mononokean speaks.” Nyanko-Sensei blinked at the scroll and turned his gaze back to Natsume. “I do have an idea, I can’t say for certain if you’ll enjoy it or not though, Natsume.”
Great.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea.” They were back in the temple, this time with Yonami along for the ride. He held his fans close to him, tall and intimidating form slouched over. Even like that he was still looming over them, Natsume might have reached his chest in height at most.
In front of them was the Priestess clothes that had previously been hanging in the storage building. The idea that Nyanko-Sensei presented to them was definitely one he wasn’t looking forward to. The idea here was for Natsume to put the clothes on, take the fans and try to tap into Yonami’s memories. Doing it wasn’t the problem, he’s seen yokai’s memories before. It always happened when he returned a name and involuntarily when he slept. If yokai let him in he could see them.
The problem was he’s never done it like this. By force, with a curse, and with a yokai that couldn’t remember anything. The idea of going in blind was actually terrifying and if something went wrong the effect this could cause, to either Yonami or himself, was rather unsettling.
Reaching down he picked the Hakama up, the smooth fabric of the top pleasant to the touch and clearly holding some form of power. Although he thought Nyanko-Sensei was right he also thought the situation wasn’t as negative as they believed. Maybe he was optimistic but the picture painted a different type of emotion.
“If something happens, Natsume, I’ll pull you out of it.” While he wanted to believe Nyanko-Sensei could do that, it was also something they hadn’t tried before. Forcefully severing the connection might just be as bad.
He did want to help though.
“Alright. I’ll give it my best, Nyanko-Sensei.” He nodded his head and picked up the rest of the clothes before heading into the shed. The clothes were supposed to be a trigger for Yonami, the fans were to be the link and Natsume was to be the connection. By Nyanko-Sensei’s thoughts all the items combined with his spiritual energy should break the remains of the curse and trigger the memories. By being the anchor he would be dragged into the memories and Yonami would be freed from his curse.
The clothes were a bit confusing to put on. There were quite a few layers involved and they didn’t exactly fit him that well, but he did manage at the very least to figure it out. He dressed in the red and white traditional clothes, sandals included, and then returned back out into the room where the others were waiting. He looked at his bag that held the Book of Friends and made his way over to Ashiya. Holding the bag out by the strap he nodded to the boy determined.
“I’m counting on you.” To keep it safe, to protect it. Something he’d never done with anyone else before.
Maybe he was starting to consider them better friends.
The shock that spread across Ashiya’s face was almost enough to make him reconsider. However Ashiya quickly took the bag with a smile wide enough to crack his face and that shattered any and all of those thoughts. “I’ll keep it safe.” It was strange to watch someone else put the bag on and to seem so happy about it. Natsume has the strangest feeling that Ashiya was more surprised that he trusted him over Abeno with it than the fact Natsume handed it over. It wasn't a hard choice to make, Natsume did trust Ashiya more.
Turning away from them he made his way back over to Yonami and looked up at him. "To do this, you know you have to trust me completely, right?" A single minuscule nod but one regardless. "You know you have to let me in?" Another one and Natsume breathed deeply. "Whatever you feel then when you try to remember, let yourself feel that. If it's anger, frustration, sadness, it doesn't matter you need to feel every inch of those emotions. I'll be relying on those feelings to guide me." Holding his hands out Natsume took the fans and tucked both of them into the waistline of the Kosode. He then took the yokai's stone white hands and held them in his grip.
Natsume let his mind wander to Yonami, grasped onto the anger and pain he felt, and used that as a guide for his spiritual energy. It latched onto the yokai, fueled by something else that Natsume realized that the spiritual energy left on the Priestess' clothes. It all seemed to be reacting to the curse and it pulled him in like a dying fish desperate for water.
Quickly Natsume was swallowed by the darkness.
The world around him was shades of grey, the only colors present were the Red of the Priestess's clothes and the gold of Yonami's horns. They lit the place up like a beacon, drawing his attention over to them. He stood in the middle of it all like an out of place traveler, his body feeling strangely completely numb. This wasn't how this normally worked. Natsume tended to relieve the memories of either Reiko or the yokai, he never stood like a third party. He couldn't even feel the world around him, touching his hands together resulted in him wondering if he was even doing it.
He pressed his lips together and tried to distract himself by following after the yokai and the Priestess who had already taken off. The room they wandered into was a small shrine, a circular table in the middle that held an assortment of tools he'd frequently seen at other shrines. The woman knelt on one end and picked up the sakaki tree branch, holding it in her hands. When she raised her gaze to the yokai he was stunned to be met with nothing.
Grey eyes blinked but remained unseeing in Yonami's direction.
She was blind.
"Yonami, how long do you intend to follow me around? I'm fine, you know." The yokai hummed in response and took a seat beside her. When he brushed her shoulders she didn't flinch, much like Natsume expected, but rather leaned closer into the inviting space.
The smile she has is full of life, kind in every meaning of the word. She held no hatred, disgust or resentment—and she had to know what he was. Even unseeing a Priestess as strong as she was, one capable of leaving an impression on the clothes Natsume borrowed, had to feel a yokai's presence. To think otherwise would be naive on his part. Natsume didn't stay alive this long by not knowing to trust his instincts.
"My only wish is to help." The reply from Yonami pulled him from his turbulent thoughts back to the scene. "Chihiro, my only wish is for your happiness and safety."
"So you've said. Hey, Yonami, will you paint what you see for me? By feeling the texture of the paint I'll be able to 'see' your world."
They moved outside and Yonami gathered painting supplies from the shed. While he was busy with that Chihiro took her fans from the table and brought them back out. She moved like she could see, expertly and without a single bit of hesitation. She knew her surroundings well and trusted herself. He wondered if she even did it consciously or if this was just something that came from years of living in the same place.
She was a beautiful woman and though Yonami was a fantastic artist, enough so that Natsume could identify the yokai he drew with barely an effort, she was still somehow more gorgeous in life.
They sat beside each other and Yonami started to paint, looking outward to where Natsume stood without ever seeing him. The pictures he had seen dried and preserved with magic through the decades slowly took life in front of his eyes. The first one was finished and Yonami sat it aside, taking the next and turning to look at Chihiro. This time when he painted his gaze rarely left her figure, the adoration and dedication easy to see reflected in his gaze. He almost seemed reluctant to stop but the sun began to set and Chihiro was clearly getting tired.
He wondered if an illness plagued her with the way her energy just seemed to drain from her. Perhaps something that was cured easily now in the modern age. Back then even getting the flu would take someone within days.
Yonami picked up the painting that had dried while he was resting and reached out to take Chihiro's hand. She let him guide her and settled the tips of her fingers on the rough paint. As he moved them about the various strokes and lines he explained to her what each thing was. From a tree to the small little bug like yokai Natsume had thought were adorable.
"Your world is so fascinating, Yonami, I wish I could see it but your art is just as wonderful as if I could."
It seemed like such a wonderful relationship, whatever it was. And yet, Yonami was still robbed of these memories. He took a few steps forward, wanting to hear what Chihiro whispered, but suddenly the entire world spun and dropped him somewhere else. Disoriented and briefly feeling a pull of exhaustion, Natsume gripped his head with both his hands and tried to blink the motion blur from his vision. His ears rang, like he suddenly shot up in an airplane and when the world started to settle the numbness returned.
He opened his eyes again and glanced around, finding himself this time standing in a bedroom. The Priestess Chihiro sat on a futon, a doll that hadn't been there before laying on her lap. The painted fans weren't far away, resting alongside her body and within reach. There was another person this time, a man, dressed in a Yukata with a basket beside him. A doctor, then. Or as close to one as they got back then.
"I'm afraid you might not live till morning, Priestess Chihiro. Us, the entire village, will pray for you of course. Please, try to get some rest. I'll send someone to check on you every chance we get." The older man stood, offered her a bow and then left the building. The shoji door slid shut behind him and Natsume turned to look back at her. Yonami appeared, taking place beside her where the doctor had once sat.
"Yonami, don't be sad. You've sulked and hardly left my side these last few days." Her smile is still there, but when Natsume looked closer he saw the tremble in the corner of her mouth. "I fear what will become of you when I leave this world. Human lives are so fragile, aren't they? Not like the yokai." She laughed, a broken sound that caused tears to fall down her face.
"Chihiro…" she shook her hand and the smile returned, giving him it even through her tears.
"Yonami, do you remember what you always wanted for me?" He nods, even if she can't see it, she's clearly not expecting a real answer. "I want that for you, as well. So, I'm going to be selfish and I hope that one day you will forgive me."
Clearly not following her words Yonami frowned and looked at the Priestess over searching for the answer. She didn't give another response, simply reached her arms out and beckoned him closer. He didn't hesitate in moving closer, his arms wrapping around her shoulders to hold her close.
Natsume watched helplessly as she stuck a Talisman on his back and slammed her palm over it. "I'm sorry, Yonami. Please forget me." The power that activated it was something he felt even as a bodiless overseer, his arms reaching up to shield his face. The reality he stood in cracked, shattering like a piece of glass and tossed Natsume from the world that had been created around him.
He was strongly aware of the feeling of pain, a hot burning feeling that seemed to consume every inch of him. A scream tangled in the back of his throat, trapped between his teeth and lips. He thinks he moves his arms, digs his nails into his neck and tries to rip the fire from his body. Hands settle on his wrists, yanks them away and his hearing seems to kick in.
"Why isn't he waking up?!" Abeno, he thinks it's Abeno, but he's not the one holding Natsume down.
"I don't know, does someone care to explain what happened?" That is the person holding him down and he suddenly becomes uncomfortable with the idea of who it is.
"He helped Yonami get his memories back, it worked what he did. Yonami said he remembered the Priestess, that she didn't mean to hurt him." Ashiya, he's somewhere close. "He said that he was fine, but Natsume didn't wake up."
"He broke a curse on a yokai? Who thought that was a bright idea?" A silence follows and no one offers up a name, but the Legislator gets an answer. "Why am I not surprised it was you, Madara? Do you realize he could have shattered his entire mind? There are reasons there are steps to investigating and breaking a curse. Rules exist because of situations like this." Somehow he gets the feeling the Legislator isn't smiling, which he's realized is odd for him. Nyanko-Sensei always seems to draw negative reactions from this yokai. A yokai who hides his emotions so well.
"The plan worked, Natsume is strong. I know he'll wake up."
"Not if he bleeds himself to death first. Itsuki, go back to the Mundane world and get your human medicine."
He can hear the scowl in Abeno's voice. "It’s not magic, it won't wake him up."
"No, but it might lower his fever. He's burning up, probably why he tried to claw his throat open."
A hand settles along his forehead and Abeno lets out an unpleasant string of curses. "I'm going."
"Takashi, if you can hear me, try not to rip your throat open when I let go." He does hear him and he thinks he tries to nod, he's not sure he makes any sort of movement. Not that it matters, the yokai let's go and a cold cloth settles along his throat and head as he feels himself drift away again.
This time when he comes to he feels his eyes open, the unfamiliar ceiling of the room he was in instantly kick-started his heart. He sits up, feels his head spin and something wet tumbles onto his lap. A cloth, two of them and a soft blanket was settled over his body. He reached down, blindly feeling for the Book of Friends and instead felt his hand sink into something silky.
When he looks down he finds Ashiya's black hair. He was resting against the couch, Natsume's bag still over his shoulder and Abeno's head on his lap. When he turns away from them he finds Nyanko-Sensei passed out at the foot of the couch, laying on his side and snoring loudly. Moja was curled up against his back, nose tucked into Nyanko-Sensei's neck.
"You're awake." There, back behind his desk, was the Legislator and in a chair in front of it was none other than the Justice. The purple haired yokai still wore the same bored and tired expression he'd always seen on his face. "I'm glad you lived, for a while there we were worried. Your Mundane medicine is rather ineffective. How you people survive is beyond me." He's not sure if he should be insulted or not.
"Stop harassing the ill human." The Justice sipped whatever he was holding and lowered the cup back down. "I came to deal with Madara, would you mind waking him?"
Turning away quickly Natsume reached out and shook Nyanko-Sensei. The golden cat eyes slowly opened and he mumbled something before rolling onto his stomach. "Natsume, you're alive. I'm glad." His voice woke the other three nearby, Abeno rolling over to bury his face into Ashiya's stomach and Ashiya instantly sitting upward.
His electric blue gaze snapped up and a bright smile bloomed across his face. "Natsume! I'm so glad you're okay. How are you feeling?"
"Sore." He answered honestly and turned his gaze to the Justice. "And worried. You can't take Nyanko-Sensei from me, he's important to what I'm doing… and me."
The Justice frowned and looked to the Legislator, a silent conversation following. "Madara is calling himself what?" A quiet mumble and an amused laugh from the Legislator before the Justice turned back to them. "Do I want to ask?" It seemed the words 'what a burden' hung strongly on that sentence.
"Technical difficulties with transforming, I can't hold my original form for long. I'm slowly recovering." That seemed to bother the Justice more than anything but he relented the conversation to the Legislator's laughter. Apparently they found it more funny than anything else. "What did you want anyway?"
"Technically speaking you broke the rules of your banishment." His gaze flickered to Natsume before turning back to Nyanko-Sensei. "But I've been… convinced to alter your sentence after new enlightening information. So long as the human answers my questions honestly." The purple gaze of the yokai settles on Natsume once again. "Madara was banished for crimes against the Executive…" a heavy sigh leaves the Justice, "and stealing Sake from the Legislator. No, he still won't let that go, Madara." A hiss from the yokai in question. "The Executive would have had him killed, however he doesn't proceed over sentencing. I do. Not that banishment from here is any better for a yokai." His gaze settled on Madara for a long moment. "It might be why you're still stuck like that."
Natsume hadn't considered that, but the Underworld was a strong place for the yokai. Could being here actually help Nyanko-Sensei? He didn't get to ask as the Justice turned his gaze back to him. "So, I will ask you a question and you must answer honestly. I will know if you don't." A slow nod from Natsume, his heart beating quickly in his chest. "Does Madara actually help you return the names of the yokai?" Ah, he saw the question for what it was. Did Nyanko-Sensei change, was he helping yokai, was he on their side. If he was repenting the sentence could be changed. Thankfully, the answer was easy for him to find.
"Nya—" he saw the press of the Justice's lips and cleared his throat. "Madara is an invaluable ally to me. He's saved my life many times and without him I wouldn't have been able to do most of the things I've done." He looked at the cat and smiled fully, his hand reaching out to pat his friend's head. "He helps me through your world, understanding the places around me and the yokai I meet. He's carried the injured ones on their back and knocked some sense into the ones that have given up. He's friends with so many of them and don't think he's a bad person." He turns back to the Justice and nods his head. "I've left the Book of Friends in Madara's protection before, and I'd do it again."
A hum from the Legislator and he looks to the purple yokai. "You have your answer, Justice, what will it be?"
"I believe him, but I never thought negatively of Madara in the first place." They were close, Nyanko-Sensei had said. Perhaps they were friends after all. They nod their head and stand from the chair, beckoning Nyanko-Sensei toward them. The yokai jumps down from the bed and pads his way over, the frown on the Justice's face growing more. "You look ridiculous. Madara, are you opposed to a little pain?"
Nyanko-Sensei sits in front of him and rubs his face with his paw. "Depends, your definition of 'little' tends to vary." The response is dry and he looks up to the Justice.
They turn and look at Abeno who at this point had rolled over to watch them but was still laying on Ashiya's lap. He seemed exhausted, honestly, and Natsume wondered if he was alright. "Abeno, I want to see if you can revert Madara to another form."
“Technically speaking I can revert him to his original form, which he appears to be able to hold for a limited amount of time.” Abeno sat up and brushed his hair from his face, looking at Nyanko-Sensei. “I’m not sure how you think that’ll help him.”
“It’s a cautious theory. If it’s the residual effects of the priest that bound him in the shrine then perhaps forcing his form to change will break that. Madara was one of the strongest yokai among us, I believe theoretically he might be able to guide the influence to a different form than that of the beast.” The Justice looked down to Nyanko-Sensei who seemed in deep thought contemplating the others' words. He didn’t immediately object though, which was answer enough for Natsume. Did he think it would work? “Either way, it won’t drastically hurt him or kill him, just be uncomfortable.”
“Again, your definition of ‘pain’ and mine have always greatly differed.” A sigh from the yokai and he looked back to Abeno. “However I don’t have anything to lose and you have seemed to want to hit me.”
“I’m not hitting you.” Abeno pushed himself up to his feet and adjusted his Haori on his shoulders, pulling the collar properly in place as he made his way over. Lowering himself down he knelt in front of Nyanko-Sensei and looked into his eyes. There was a softness in his gaze that was rarely there when he dealt with the yokai. Natsume truly believed that Abeno cared for yokai, far more than he did humans. “I’ll leave how you do this on your end to you, I’ll just push my influence into you. If you need me to stop at any point, tell me.”
“Let’s just do it.”
Abeno nodded and reached his hand out, placing his palm over Nyanko-Sensei’s head. Natsume blinked and rubbed his eyes, swearing he saw a light blue glow seeming to form around Abeno. When he looked again it was just faintly there, like a wisp of air around him. Nyanko-Sensei seemed to flinch at the first bit, curling up a bit into himself, and whimpered. Natsume started to rise from the couch but was caught by Ashiya, his grip on his wrist keeping him in place.
Suddenly Abeno pulled back and stood from the ground, stumbling backwards as Nyanko-Sensei popped with a white cloud. It was the same clouds that usually appeared when he transformed from the beast to the cat, exhausted from trying to hold the form.
When the clouds (smoke?) cleared the form that was left behind was neither a cat or a beast, the ones he had become accustomed to with Nyanko-Sensei. Instead what sat on the ground was a very human looking being with hair so white it almost glowed falling down their back. The markings he had gotten accustomed to on the face of a beast, when Nyanko-Sensei took that form, now covered the human looking one. His eyes were still gold, a very bright color, and were lined with those red markings. “Just so you know,” Nyanko-Sensei looked up to the Justice. “It hurt.”
“It also worked.” A kimono was thrown from the Legislator and caught by the Justice. He shook it out and settled the clothing over Nyanko-Sensei’s back. “I don’t think it’ll hold anywhere outside of here, but the more time you spend here the better you’ll regain your strength.”
“Hmm.” The kimono was pulled properly over his body and Nyanko-Sensei stood, tying it in place around his waist and shaking his long white hair out. It fell around his waist, thick and heavy, and Natsume spotted on top of his head a pair of dog ears. He had the urge to get up and touch them. “You make it sound like I should want to be here. The last time I was here I was banished. By you of all people.”
“You brought that on yourself.” A tired and bored blink from the Justice but Natsume swore he saw the hints of a smile on his face. “Regardless, I am lifting your sentence. You can go as far as here, Newt Lake and the White Sand Prison.”
It was weird being able to see Nyanko-Sensei smile, but that was definitely what was on the yokai’s face. A smile that reflected all the way to his eyes as he watched the Justice. That settled it for Natsume, he found someone that Nyanko-Sensei genuinely cared about. “Admit it, you want me to visit.”
“I’m leaving.” The Justice’s gaze found his watchful eyes and they nodded their head briefly toward him. “I was caught up on your case. I have to admit I’m not pleased that the Legislator took the situation in his own hands but I understand the difficulty of it and that you have been doing the right thing. In this exception I will allow his ruling to stay.” Turning he shot a look over to the Legislator. “Next time, I want to be involved.”
They showed themselves out and the door clicked shut. Natsume fell back onto the couch and breathed out a sigh of relief, dipping his head forward into his hands. He was very tired and could use another nap. “Well, I never thought I’d see your face again. I almost prefer the cat, it was cuter.”
“I can’t believe you’re still mad I drank your sake. You realize it wasn’t even good sake, right?”
“I’ll have you know that bottle was a gift that was specially made for me.” A tap of fingers against the table and Natsume lifted his head from his hands to look at the Legislator. “This is why I would never leave you alone in my office, you have sticky fingers when it comes to alcohol.”
“This from the yokai who usually drinks so much Aoi and now her replacement has to pick them up.”
A startled laugh fell from the Legislator’s lips and he leaned back in the chair, a wide smile on his face. Natsume can’t tell what he’s actually feeling, if that was a genuine laugh or just a forced one. He was so hard to read and though before Natsume swore he just saw disdain for Nyanko-Sensei, this seemed like a friendly banter. It just confused him. “I can return that. You, who so strongly resented humans, is now babysitting one. I have to wonder, Madara, is your name in that little book of his?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m far too intelligent to be tricked like those mongrels.” He had said the very same thing to Natsume and it was something he actually started to believe now. Nyanko-Sensei was smart and he didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of Reiko, just found her entertaining. A way to pass the decades. On some level he does think Nyanko-Sensei cared for her, just in a very complicated way.
Everything seemed complicated with Nyanko-Sensei.
“Well, either way, at least we settled one thing. You’re not stuck like you are, just far too exhausted to keep your form. Whomever trapped you must have been terrifying.” Nyanko-Sensei doesn’t reply but Natsume catches the pinched look on his face, like he’s remembering something desperately unpleasant. “I see. Madara, I am glad you’re alright.”
“Hm. I suppose it’s not a fate I’d even wish on you.” Being trapped in a shrine must have been rather awful, and considering what he’s seen Matoba and Natori do—he too wouldn’t wish that on any yokai. “Do you have sake?”
A click of his tongue and a shake of his head, but the Legislator reached down beside him pulling a bottle up to place on the desk. Nyanko-Sensei reached forward and poured himself a cup of alcohol. Lifting it up he took a long drink of it and sat it back down, filling it again.
“Well, guess we should move on to our next problem.” His gaze rested on Natsume and the Legislator leaned forward to smile at him. “You are a very terrifying person.” Natsume frowned in confusion at that, not having any idea what the yokai actually meant. “How did you break that curse on Yonami? I’ve never seen anything like it. A human who can see the memories of yokai.” There’s a pause here as a smile plays on his lipa. “Are you sure you’re completely human?”
His shoulders tense slightly and he feels Ashiya reach for one of his hands again, taking it to grip in his own. “I am human.” Though his hair color had made many yokai and Natori question otherwise. He was sure Natori meant it as joking, however. “It’s just something I’ve been able to do.” When he was little his dreams were often filled with the memories of the yokai that were following him around. They were haunting nightmares that kept him awake, woke him screaming, and irritated the relatives or foster parents he was staying with.
He didn’t want to think about it.
“We don’t have much information on your Grandmother. From the report we got from Aoi, Natsume Reiko was reported to the Mononokean for stealing names. Aoi went to look into it and found herself confronted with the human.” A book appeared on the desk and the Legislator looked down to it, flipping through the pages of it. “Apparently Natsume offered to fight Aoi, if they lost she’d return the names and if Aoi lost they would have to sign their name in the book. Aoi said that they refused to fight the human.” He closed the book and placed his hand over it, gaze focused on the desk. “Aoi didn’t say why. I can only speculate that they thought it would be unfair and that if they did lose having the Mononokean bound to some human would be worse.”
He’s not actually sure what Reiko would have done if she had the Mononokean on her side. Lifting his gaze to Nyanko-Sensei he found the golden eyes of the yokai gazing back at him. He shook his head and Natsume got the unspoken words. Whatever Reiko would have done with that power, neither of them wanted to speculate. It probably… wouldn’t have been good.
“We don’t have any recording of her powers, but if she was anything like you I have to think that such a woman had under her belt some powerful yokai.”
“Natsume’s stronger than Reiko was.” Nyanko-Sensei picked up the bottle of Sake and took a long drag from it, missing the brief wide eyed look that the Legislator gave him. When the bottle was lowered back down the yokai was already composed, a smile in place. “Do you know the Matoba clan?”
“They're exorcists, of course we know them.” He inclines his head toward Nyanko-Sensei, giving him his attention.
“Natsume’s gone head to head with their leader a few times, stopped them and even has been kidnapped in the hopes of recruiting him. They want him.”
He feels Abeno and Ashiya turn to look at him, Abeno’s own expression hidden behind a blank one that drastically contrasted Ashiya’s open wonderment. He let out a sigh and turned his gaze away from the both of them. “It’s not like that, he’s just crazy.” Which was something Natsume would repeat until his grave. “I’ve asked him to stop kidnapping me.”
“You asked your kidnapper… to stop kidnapping you.” It’s Abeno, the disbelief in his voice making the words sound almost deadpanned.
“He’s not so bad, a pretty good host. When he’s not making Nyanko-Sensei sick with all those barriers the main branch family estate has. I’m mostly frustrated with his beliefs and how he treats his Shikis.” Nyanko-Sensei often said he tried too hard to see the good in people. But he genuinely believed Matoba could be a good person. There was a point where he had hoped they could be friends, until he saw the way he treated yokai.
Murderer was a word he often associated with Matoba’s actions.
Abeno sighs and Natsume looks away, his gaze settling on the Legislator and seeing the contemplative expression he wore. “I’m starting to think you see the world as blindly as Ashiya does.” The smile on the yokai’s face widened at Abeno’s words and Natsume found himself trying to read between the expression, to what he was truly thinking.
“Hey, I’m just an optimistic person.”
“At least you don’t get kidnapped. Is that something we genuinely need to be worried about?” Abeno folded his arms across his chest and Natsume offered a shrug in response.
“He usually returns me a day or two later, makes sure I check in with the Fujiwara’s. Typically it’s been when he’s after a specific yokai and wants to use me.” Natsume tensed suddenly and looked away. “He did that once before and it… didn’t go well.”
“That would be an understatement.” Natsume tensed further and felt Ashiya tug on his hand. “He used you to murder a yokai. Then he thanked you for your help.” It was not a good day, he thought he’d never manage to pick himself up from that. Tanuma helped with making him realize it wasn’t entirely his fault and still even then he thought it was to some degree.
Matoba was just a really good manipulator. The kind of person that hid his true intentions and made you think you were in control.
Until it was too late and it no longer mattered.
Until there was a pool of blood around you.
Until someone died.
“Matoba Seiji, he might be someone we need to keep a closer eye on. I should probably report some of this to the Executive.” The hand that gripped his sudden tightened, almost to a painful degree and he glanced to the side, blinking down at Ashiya and trying to assess what exactly was going on. Something must have happened between him and the Executive, that much he understood, but whatever it was pushed a deep fear into Ashiya. “Worry not, Ashiya. I’ll keep you out of it and our new friend as much as I can. I’ll just give him the basics that he needs to know. A fierce exorcist murdering yokai.” He tilts his head to the side and looks at Nyanko-Sensei. “Madara, if you could write a report about the yokai that you know Matoba killed, that would be helpful. I’ll reward you with more sake.”
“Deal.” The words were out of his mouth instantly. He was so easily bought with alcohol.
“So, while it seems you are quite impressive Takashi. You still nearly got yourself killed earlier. There is a method to removing curses, you know.”
He shakes his head and the Legislator arches an eyebrow at him. “I don’t even know what that was that Abeno did earlier. The only teacher I have is Nyanko-Sensei and he certainly… takes his time educating me.” Said teacher actually snorted at that and finished off the bottle of sake he had.
“Really? So you what? Just… what’s that human term. Winged it?”
Natsume shook his head and let out a sigh. “I already knew how to see the memories of yokai, I just did that. It was Nyanko-Sensei’s idea to wear the clothes and use the painted fans as an anchor. I think it was the residual energy of the Priestess on the clothes that broke the curse.” At least that was what it felt like. It used his own spiritual energy as a boost and according to them very nearly killed him, but it did work. Dangerous and confusing or not, Nyanko-sensei had been right. If there was another way to do what he did, Natsume had no idea what it was. What he didn't learn from his bodyguard, he learned from Matoba and Natori. Which were of course exorcists tricks.
Things Abeno frowned upon, things he probably didn't want him using. Which actually limited the pool of sources and tools Natsume had to rely on.
A hum from the yokai and the Legislator stood from his chair. Walking around the desk he leaned back against the front of it and looked to Natsume. “Come here.” He beckoned with a wave of his hand.
Standing from the couch he shook Ashiya’s hand off gently and walked forward till he stood before the Legislator. This was perhaps the closest he had been to the yokai and that intimidating atmosphere he thought he first felt was definitely there with how close he stood. They were quite nearly the same height. Though he had a few inches on Natsume he was pleased to see that his head at least reached their nose.
The Legislator looked down at him, blue eyes seeming to try and read into his very soul, to see what it was that Natsume hid in there. It was definitely an intense look, one that seemed to suck him in the longer he watched his eyes. There was something inhuman about them, about the way the blue seemed to ripple like water being dropped into a pond. Each time Natsume blinked it seemed like they moved in a different way, never a constant thing, almost like a river. Or, a lake.
How fitting.
“Give me your hands.” He held his own out toward Natsume and after another look into those eyes he turned his gaze down to the outstretched hands. There's a bit of hesitation, a wonder of what he was going to do. But he's already come this far and no one was stopping the yokai. With a breath held he slipped his own into the Legislator’s. His grip was cold, which wasn’t what he was expecting. Nyanko-Sensei practically radiated heat, Misuzu too, and Hinoe just felt normal. This one was like sticking your foot into a pool, the first touch is freezing until your body adjusts to the temperature. The longer his hands rested in that grip the less cold he felt, like he adjusted to them.
His grip was tight but not painful, like he was just holding Natsume in place and then he felt an increasing pressure, intruding and searching. He flinched and the Legislator tightened his hold, keeping him in place. The pressure was uncomfortable, bordering painful, and the headache he had been nursing definitely increased. “Take a breath. Try to relax, don’t fight it.”
“Legislator.” Nyanko-Sensei took a step forward, the sake bottle sat down on the corner of the desk. His golden gaze was narrowed, threatening, but he didn’t interfere yet.
“He’s alright. Takashi, I won’t hurt you.”
Oddly enough, he actually believed that, so he did his best to follow what the yokai said. He closed his eyes, tried to force himself to relax, and that painful edge to whatever he was doing slowly started to vanish. It turned almost relaxing, a soothing sort of feeling that searched through his veins. He leaned toward the Legislator and felt his head brush against their chest, hands still caught in his grip. He could feel them breathe out, the way his breath moved Natsume’s hair, and the intruding feeling finally vanished entirely. Instead it felt like they were just one person, one being, existing in space.
The Legislator let go and Natsume felt his knees buckle, shoulders caught by the yokai as he practically collapsed against him. What was that? It seemed to steal his strength away from him, taking all the energy he had managed to recover back in the last few hours.
“Itsuki, drag the chair over here.” Bodily moved he found himself sat in a chair, slumping into it and eyes far too exhausted to drag themselves open. He let out a rush of air as he leaned back, still held in place by a hand on his shoulder. “I did an assessment of your spiritual level, which was why it felt so intruding at first. You have a good set of defenses. It’s quite impressive.” Natsume nods because it’s all he can manage. “You are quite strong, if I had to guess your family line probably comes from a long list of people in the spiritual field. Be it Shamans, Priests or Exorcists.”
“I’m tired.” The admission is soft, Natsume leaning forward and forcing his eyes open. The hand on his shoulder released him and Natsume felt it press against his forehead instead. That cool feeling returned briefly, taking the edge off of the dull pain.
“You won’t recover well here, I think it’s best we get you home.” That sounded like a good plan, and he nodded his head despite the motion causing him more pain than anything else.
It takes Ashiya and Abeno to get him standing, nearly dragging him over to where Abeno summoned the Mononokean. They get him up into the tea room and Natsume let himself just curl up on the floor, head pillowed by his arms. The other two lifted themselves back into the room and Nyanko-Sensei jumped inside last with Moja. He’d returned to the cat form, energy no longer holding the human one outside of the Underworld like the Justice thought. He padded his way over to Natsume and curled up against the back of his head.
It’s there he falls asleep, the exhaustion finally taking him from his forced conscious state.