Chapter 1

"Natsume-kun!"

Natori caught the younger man – the boy – as he fell backward, cursing under his breath as the Youkai that had harmed him (had meant to harm Natori) continued lunging toward them with her long, sharp claws. "Hiiragi!" he yelled for his Shiki, who promptly situated herself in front of the Jourougumo [1].

"That bean-sprout-" Madara growled, the sound high pitched as it was uttered in his vessel's form, but soon enough he was bathed in a bright light, transforming from a not-cat to an enormous white beast. He bit the spindly dark-haired female Youkai and drove her away from the humans' vicinity.

The spider slipped out of Madara's muzzle and, after a customary glance at her opponents, quickly crawled away with her many legs, occasionally swinging from trees to trees with her web.

Madara crouched on his haunches, ready to give chase, but Natori stopped him. "Bodyguard!" the professional exorcist tried to keep the panic out of his voice, even when Natsume's face had turned white as paper, his lips dry and bluish. "What about your charge?"

The beast cursed and returned to his smaller, more portable form as he settled on Natsume's side. "This is bad," the not-cat's eyes narrowed to slits. "Jourougumo's poison is extremely deadly." His paw slid across the teenage boy's skin and wiped the sweat that was drenching his temple. "Natsume is lucky if he can survive the night."

"Sou na…[2]" Natori held the trembling figure in his arms tighter. "Is there any way to save Natsume-kun?"

"Beats me," the maneki-neko shrugged. "Even if I know, why should I tell you? After his death, I will finally obtain his Book of Friends!" his ensuing laughter, though, sounded empty.

Natori inhaled sharply. "How could you-"

"Natsume-sama!" suddenly, a female Youkai in purple kimono appeared from the edge of the forest. Her face turned really pale as she laid her eyes on the flaxen-haired boy lying on the ground with his torso pillowed on the exorcist's chest.

"Hi…noe…" said boy spoke as he saw her, his voice frail and brittle.

"Natsume-sama!" Hinoe sidled next to Madara and squeezed Natsume's hand. "What happened?"

Madara was resolutely not answering, his gaze locked on Natsume's rapidly worsening countenance. Natori wasn't much better.

"You're Natsume-sama's friend?" it was Hiiragi who responded to her question. "Natsume-sama was stung by a Jourougumo."

"That's terrible…" Hinoe looked stricken, until she noticed Natori. "You're an exorcist, right?"

The older man nodded.

"You can save him," she looked determined as she stared at him, "it's difficult, and some may say risky, but you can save him."

Natori's heart rose to his throat. Before this, he didn't let himself believe that Natsume would live. Dealing with Ayakashi is a dangerous business; this wasn't the first near-death experiences he'd encountered. Hope began to fill him again. "Tell me how to save him." Hinoe didn't even need to ask if he was willing.

She nodded approvingly. "Since Jourougumo's patron deity is Yatagarasu-sama [3], the only way you can cleanse Natsume-sama's blood off her poison is through a transaction with Yatagarasu-sama," she explained, "and it will be a slow process. It may take up to three days."

Nothing good can come off making promises to a God; Matoba Clan had been paying the prize for generations [4].

But Natori didn't hesitate.

"Let's do this."

Natsume came to with a groan.

Everything hurt. The light that seeped through the gaps between his eyelids pierced him with its intensity. Breathing caused his ribs to ache, and his limbs felt sore and heavy as lead. The veins in his temple were throbbing.

In short, Natsume felt like he'd been hit by a truck. Over and over.

"Natsume?" someone called him, his voice sounding louder and louder as whoever its owner was approached him. "Are you awake?" a cool hand was pressed to his forehead.

Natsume squinted, and saw a familiar face hanging over him. "…Ta…numa?" he was surprised to see the priest's son and an unfamiliar ceiling. Natsume craned his neck to look around, but pain exploded behind his eyes. "Ugh!" he gritted his teeth.

"Don't move!" Nyanko-sensei appeared from the back of Tanuma's shoulder and fretted over him. "You'll get worse!"

"Ponta!" the teenager exclaimed in shock, nearly dropping the glass of water in his hands.

"…th…anks..." Natsume croaked hoarsely, his throat horribly parched. He reached out for the glass, only to find that his right arm was held captive.

Natsume looked down, and his eyes widened at the sight before him: his older friend and exorcist slumped over the foot of his bed, his fingers curled around Natsume's own slenderer hand in a tight grip, dead to the world despite how uncomfortable his position looked. The loose skin under his eyes stood out darkly against the rest of his pale face.

"…when he brought you here, my heart nearly stopped," Tanuma spoke quietly as Natsume stared at Natori, dumbstruck. The dark-haired teenage boy continued as he stacked a couple of pillows behind his friend's back and helped him sit without jostling the resting man. "We're lucky my dad is away on business for two weeks…."

"I remember that," Nyanko-sensei huffed, "otherwise I wouldn't have told that exorcist brat to bring Natsume here."

Natsume chuckled, or attempted to, before he was wrought by a bout of coughing.

"Ssshh," Tanuma rubbed his friend's back soothingly before he pressed the rim of the glass against his lips. The water disappeared in the blink of an eye. Natsume didn't realize just how thirsty he was.

"Seconds," Tanuma turned his back to Natsume and crossed the room, to where the thermos was. Before that, Nyanko-sensei had hopped over to the bed and settled next to his charge.

"Thanks," Natsume said again, rather absently this time. "…how long was I out?"

Tanuma must have sensed the shorter boy's dread. He approached Natsume carefully. "Over three days," his tone was gentle. At his friend's stricken expression, he quickly added, "I had given Tohko-san a phone call three days ago…and told her you wish to extend your trip with Natori-san. It had been quite a challenge, that conversation," Tanuma tried to bring up the mood by making a joke. "Natori-san didn't tell me anything before he was…occupied."

Natsume inhaled sharply. Suddenly, he was afraid to breathe; the air felt too heavy. "…And how long had Natori-san…been occupied?"

Tanuma looked like he didn't want to reply, but at the quiet determination in Natsume's eyes, he gave in. "Also over three days. He only just finished this morning."

Over three days of casting spells. No sleeping, no eating, no drinking. Natsume clenched his fists.

"Don't worry about the suspicious guy," Nyanko-sensei grumbled as he burrowed himself in Natsume's blanket. Now that Natsume was facing him, he realized the Youkai was exhausted; the not-cat's frame was loose like that of a puppet whose strings had been cut, devoid of any tension which must had been inhabiting his muscles before. "You saved his life. He owes you this."

Natsume frowned. "But sensei-"

He was interrupted by a loud roar originating from his stomach.

Tanuma blinked. Natsume blushed in mortification, while Nyanko-sensei sniggered. There was a pocket of silence, before the three of them laughed.

Natori didn't even budge.

"Well, you haven't eaten for three days," Tanuma smiled, "I'll get you something, then Ponta and I will move Natori-san to a bed."

Nyanko-sensei harrumphed. "Why should I help the suspicious guy!?"

"I won't cook you anything otherwise," Tanuma countered. It seemed he was quite well-versed with how to coax the Youkai, too.

Predictable, the not-cat followed the dark-haired teenager out.

Peace returned to the room again.

What will you sacrifice to me?

The three-legged raven was majestic, his sleek feathers glowing with his spiritual flowers, the colour shifting from pitch black to vermilion and gold in milliseconds one could be lost in fascination just staring at the God. He watched Natori calmly with his beady eyes.

Natori wasn't stupid enough to offer his hair, or an eye. Natsume's life was worth more than that. A shard of my soul.

The bird cocked his head derisively. A handful of years skimmed off the end of your life, compared to the boy's future? [5]

Natori owed it to his years of acting (and exorcising) that he showed none of his fears or frustrations; there were only respect and a polite smile visible on his face. Then what will you demand of me?

The great bird had nothing resembling human lips on his body, but the image of a grin was superimposed on his beak.

Something dearer than this dear boy of yours.

TBC

Notes:

1. Jourougumo: in kanji, literally a 'binding bride' or 'whore spider'. A youkai spider who can take on the appearance of a seductive woman.

2. There is no good way to say this in English. It's an expression of disbelief…like 'it's impossible', or 'that can't be true', but not that long.

3. Yatagarasu: a three-legged raven or crow ( wiki/Three-legged_bird). In Japanese mythology the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.

4. This fanon is based on foxinthestars' story, 'Mirror's Depth': AO3 /works/600767

5. The whole idea of 'Natsume is poisoned and Natori sacrificed something to save him' was inspired by Puimoo's story, 'Bonds': AO3 /works/299295. In Puimoo's story, Natori did really sacrifice a shard of his soul.