Chapter 4

There was no progress. He was tired of the pointless home life, the pointless dinners, the pointless waiting. There was a void, and the absence was clawing at his being like an itched that lay just below the neck, right where he couldn't scratch.

The searches were fruitless. None, not even a shred of clothing or a strand of hair. It was as though he had vanished off Japan, and Madara was not sure what he thought of that.

It had been a week. He was at his wit's end. He practically started a nervous habit of clawing at Natsume's furniture to relieve some stress. The only thing holding him back from doing that was the fact that human nails were not ideal for gouging grooves in wood. With a deep breath, he picked himself up and stepped out of the room.

"Oh, Takashi-kun! Are you feeling better?"

Adopting a somewhat meek manner was easy around the Fujiwara couple. Perhaps that was why they hadn't questioned him much. Sure, Madara could sense their occasional doubt, but for people who didn't believe in the supernatural, the "your son isn't really your son" conclusion was a bit far-fetched. Either way, it was no wonder that fool Natsume acted like he did – although he was just as much of a wimp out elsewhere too. "Yes, much better."

It always felt weird to him, hearing the brat's voice come from his lips. Even if it were a borrowed form, and even if he had used Reiko's form in the past, it was still an odd sensation. It was like hearing someone talk over everything you said at precisely the right moment, perfectly synced.

He reached for a rice bowl and the scoop. "Here, let me help you with that."

"That's a dear. Hm," Natsume's foster mother paused, "have you still not found NyanNyan yet?"

Madara didn't even flinch at the absurd nickname, so accustomed was he to it. "No, I've tried the entire city. I still can't find him."

"Is that so…" Despite the vague answer, he could practically smell the worry rolling off her in waves.

"Don't worry, he's tough. I'm sure he'll be back in a few weeks." Or whenever your wayward son decides to show up again on the face of the earth.

"I hope so…"

Dinner was much the usual, and though the food was as delicious as always, his mind was elsewhere. The Fujiwara's seemed to sense this and didn't press conversation onto him, for which he was grateful. He thanked them for the meal and left for Natsume's room.

It was already night; the sun had already gone into hiding. Madara practically stalked over to the window, but was immediately stopped … by a large equine face right outside the house.

"Misuzu," growled the white spirit.

"Madara," the horse demon replied. Courtesies exchanged, Misuzu continued. "You are as careless as ever."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you not think that the others would not take note of your constant coming and leaving? You are practically flaunting the fact that something is wrong, and when something is wrong with you, something is wrong with Natsume-dono." The long snout shifted to make room for a large milky white eye. It shifted from left to right, scanning the corners of the room. "I should have known, having seen you in that form. What happened to Natsume-dono?"

"As you can see, he's not here. Now if you don't mind, please move your big head so I can go look for him." Madara's hackles were raised, and Natsume's teeth were just a bit pointier than they should've been.

"And the Yuujinchou?"

Madara froze. The Yuujinchou. In all honestly, he'd forgotten. It was still missing, and he hadn't even thought to search for it. But the pause was only for a split second, and Madara narrowed his eyes in reply. "The Yuujinchou is in my hands until Natsume-dono returns. That was our promise."

Misuzu regarded Madara for a moment longer with one eye before snorting, backing away from the house. "Very well. I will do my best to search for Natsume-dono as well, for despite the fact that he is unworthy of my name, he is far worthier than you are."

The dog spirit snorted. "I don't even want your useless name. The moment the book truly belongs to me, your name will be crushed beneath my claws."

"Before that happens, you will have been smashed by my hoof." Misuzu bowed his head, in thought. "How far have you looked?"

"I've looked everywhere, practically this entire side of Japan. There's no trace of him." Madara glared. "Leave the search to me. You'll only be crowding the space with your uselessness."

"Hah! Yet you are still searching!" Misuzu started drifting backwards into the air. "I have strengths that you do not, Madara. Strength comes in numbers, even for the strong." With those words, he disappeared into the shadows.

Talking with the large spirit always put Madara in a bad mood; part of it was that the cow-face was probably correct. He had a better information network amongst the spirits in the area. He could probably find out more, and faster.

That didn't mean Madara could stop, though. With the hindrance finally out of the way, he leapt from the window and transformed into the great beast his true form was and galloped into the moon-full sky.

However, his search would be to no avail that night either.