"Tanuma-kun, I have a question for you," Matoba says with his smooth, cultured voice. There is little doubt in Kaname's mind that he has to answer, whether he wants to or not. "Why do you think I run a pleasure house?" The man twirls the stem of a flower, freshly picked, and his gaze is on that lone flower as he speaks.

To Kaname, it sounds like a rhetorical question, but he isn't going to fall into that trap. He says, "For money?" Wealth, fame, power - a sly man can acquire all of it and still want more. Kaname uses it for an answer anyway, while wondering if Matoba is like that as well and desperately wants something he can't. It doesn't seem that way. The man has everything. He has money, he has popularity, and he has Natsume. Surely, there is nothing else to want when the base desires are fulfilled.

"You're not wrong," Matoba replies and sets his flower down on the table. There is a small, truthful smile on his lips, and its sincerity surprises Kaname who hadn't known the man capable of it. Then Natsume is pouring them tea, bringing their conversation to a halt, and taking his place beside Matoba. He folds his hands over his lap and keeps his head bowed. Kaname doesn't like this side of Natsume, the part that accepts everything - all the hurt, all the pain, all the depravity of one man - but it's how Natsume survives and he doesn't have the heart to criticize it.

Matoba catches him staring and the smile slips away. "But if I wanted money, and just money, there are many other ways to go about it." The man picks up his tea, but he doesn't bring it to his lips. Instead, he holds it out to Natsume and tells him, "Blow."

Natsume does as he's told, closing his eyes and blowing on the hot tea. Kaname averts his gaze, and it feels like his face is on fire. He's thinking too much of what could be, what should be, but there is nothing to assure him that it will happen. That Natsume will look at him with anything other than that guarded, friendly façade.

"Thank you," Matoba says, dismissing Natsume. He takes a sip of his tea, savors the taste, and makes a little noise that can be misconstrued as a laugh. "Please, enjoy yours as well, Tanuma-kun."

Kaname leaves it untouched, because he doesn't want to get burned. "I'd rather hear what it is you're after, running an establishment like this. Besides money, what else is there to gain?"

Matoba pretends to think about it as he takes another long sip of his tea. "It's like honey, you could say. When you want to catch a fly, don't you use honey?"

"Then what is it you intend to catch, Matoba-san?" wonders Kaname, and within seconds, his nails are digging into his hakama. Because Natsume is leaning against Matoba, whispering in his ear, and Kaname hears the word anything.

"Maybe I've already caught it," Matoba suggests, and his eyes are on Natsume, full of darkness and want. "You really are naïve, Tanuma-kun." Setting his tea aside, Matoba returns his attention to Kaname. "Do you know why I hired you?"

Natsume lifts his head when Kaname says, "No. I do not." There is curiosity in his friend's gaze, but he doesn't think Natsume will like the answer.

"Oh, that's a surprise. I thought for sure you would have worked it out by now." Matoba plays with Natsume's hair and he's smirking, because he knows what this is doing to his guest. He knows, but that doesn't mean Matoba is going to do anything about it. He doesn't share. "I hired you to protect what's mine."

Something in Kaname breaks and it hurts, but he doesn't know what needs fixing, let alone if it can be fixed. "What am I protecting him from?" Kaname manages to say without his voice cracking, and it's that small victory that gives him the audacity to ask, "And what will I get for a job well done, besides money?"

"Oh my," Matoba feigns shock, as if he hadn't thought of any of that, "I haven't told you anything, have I?" At this rate, Kaname is starting to doubt if he'll ever know, but Matoba defies his expectations and continues, "I chose you because I needed someone I could trust. I needed someone that could sense youkai - and the rumors say you're just the man for the job."

Matoba's tea is accidentally knocked over as Natsume stands and excuses himself. For a long time, there is silence. Kaname isn't sure what to say or do or if he should do anything at all. Half of him wants to go after Natsume and ask what's wrong, but the other half, the half that keeps him seated, wants to hear the rest of Matoba's explanation. An explanation he should have had from the start.

Lacing his fingers together, Matoba rests his chin on his hands and grins. "Hmm, this is interesting. I thought for sure you would have went after Takashi-kun. It's hard to leave him alone, especially when you just know he's crying." The tea drips onto the floor with a steady tip, tap, tip.

Kaname doesn't move from his spot. He isn't going to be tricked with false words and miss the important ones anymore. Instead, he asks, "Should we clean up before or after you finish what you have to say?"

"After," Matoba decides, and the man leans back, his hands falling to his sides and supporting him. "Do you understand now? There are things in this world that you can't see, no matter how hard you try, and that won't change. But even blind, you can fight."

"I will admit … there are times when I feel as if something that shouldn't be there is near me, but how can I fight something invisible? Is there really any meaning to that at all?"

Matoba tsks, disappointed. "I told you there is a way, so listen well and learn it. I will show you how to protect what I want protected."

"Why are you telling me this now? Why not before?"

It must have been the end of their conversation, because Matoba begins to clean the spilt tea from the floor and avoids answering. Then he straightens his empty tea cup, picks up his drenched flower, and says, "Perhaps I wanted to give you some incentive to protect what's mine. But never forget: what's mine will always be mine." Matoba presses the flower against his lips and blows. The heavy petals fall from their once-home and collapse, wrinkled and used, onto the table. "Be careful, Tanuma-kun, or you might fall into a trap too."

Kaname wonders if that's meant to be a challenge.