After the metaphorical dust had settled between the two boys, Takashi offered to escort Kaname home.
"I'm not a girl, Takashi. You should go back home and I'll find my way back."
"What's wrong with being a girl?" Takashi challenged.
Kaname raised his hands defensively. "Nothing. I'm just saying. A man can make his way back home on his own. Girls usually have an escort." He didn't want to offend Takashi. Not only was the child in front of him his first friend, but Kaname thought that Takashi was very pretty.
"If you don't know the way, it just makes sense to have a guide. Besides, what if you crossed paths with another spirit. You can't do anything." Takashi replied derisively. Hinoe was a girl, and Takashi loved and respected her too much to let some human child talk bad about girls.
Kaname held up his hands again, this time in defeat. "Fine. You win, Takashi." His father was right, pretty girls are never allowed to be wrong. He bowed humbly and asked, "Please guide me home?"
Takashi blushed in embarrassment. "Stand up and let's go. I need to be home soon or Madara and Hinoe will worry."
Takashi led Kaname to the edge of the forest and followed the tree line until he saw the large shrine grounds in the distance. "Here you are. Be more careful from now on. Humans can get hurt too easily for you to be wandering in these woods alone."
"But, Takashi-", When Kaname turned around he found himself alone.
Takashi hurried back home, his head full of all the things he'd learned today. He hoped that he could keep the human as his friend and teach him all about the spirits and that he didn't need to exorcise them.
With a smile, he entered into the shrine grounds where he lived. It wasn't nearly as large and grand as Kaname's. There was a single building, where Takashi slept, and a few crumbling statues. Nothing like the awe-inspiring beasts that seemed to guard Kaname's shrine.
Madara's head perked up as he sniffed the air. He'd smelled something odd earlier but Takashi hadn't called out for help, so he let it be. His head was pounding from all of the alcohol he'd had earlier and he was still dizzy as he assessed Takashi's appearance. There was that trace human smell that no matter how Hinoe and he had tried, just wouldn't fade. But there was something underneath it. He couldn't quite place it. He'd smelled it before…all this thinking made his head hurt.
"Hello, Madara." Takashi greeted. Hinoe was out, probably seducing unsuspecting women. The nerve of her, leaving the two of them when she had a child to take care of. Madara thought.
Madara grunted in reply. Takashi approached him slowly and was stopped momentarily by the pungent stench that was alcohol. With a huff, Takashi came closer and rubbed Madara's massive forehead as he rested on the ground.
"Do you want me to get you a cloth soaked with water?" he asked quietly. Mindful of the headache the spirit was suffering from.
After a pause, Madara nodded slightly with a whine. Sighing with exasperation, Takashi went inside to grab one of the many cloths he had. He made his way to the river and back in record time and carefully draped the cloth over Madara's eyes.
He sat beside the spirit and pet the fur of his neck. The rhythmic breathing and the softness of the fur lulled Takashi to sleep within a few minutes.
"Kaname!" Kaname flinched as his dad yelled with a mix of relief and frustration. He closed the door he'd opened as slowly as he could before he turned to face his father.
"Hey dad." He answered guiltily.
His dad raised a single eyebrow as he waited for an explanation. "Okay. So…I know I didn't make it back before the sunset, but it wasn't my fault. I got lost. If it wasn't for that nice girl I met I'd probably be-"
"Girl?" Kaname's dad interrupted.
"Yeah. She's really pretty! Her name is Takashi, and she's really strong. But not as strong as you though, dad. She's my age too. And the best part?" Finally, Kaname paused to take a breath. "We exchanged our first names." Kaname looked up dreamily as he remembered Takashi's face.
Kaname wasn't like most boys his age. While others of his age scrambled around picking on girls they wanted to notice them, he was off studying or cleaning at the shrine. His father was equal parts thankful and fearful for child's demeanor. On the one hand, it meant Kaname would likely grow up successful and wouldn't leave him to run off and get married. But on the other hand, Kaname might end up alone, plus there wouldn't be any grandchildren to carry on the line since Kaname was an only child.
Exchanging first names was the first step in any significant relationship. It was believed that giving someone your first name gave them power over you, and it only worked if the person intended for you to know. This is why it is only polite to exchange first names so that neither party has total control.
"Kaname," his father began, "I'm glad you made it back safely and I'm glad you made friends with a girl your age." He took a moment to choose his words carefully. "Where did you say this girl lives?"
Kaname wasn't didn't think he'd told his dad where she lived but answered at any rate. "She also lives in a shrine near the forest."
Kaname's father paused in thought. He couldn't recall any other shrines nearby. How far had his son traveled?
"Well, it wasn't near the forest so much as it was in the forest." Kaname mused aloud.
"Kaname…there aren't any shrines in the forest. The only one I can think of is an old abandoned shrine that belonged to the Natsume Clan. But even they didn't maintain it when they owned it. Rumors claimed that there was a beast sealed there long ago but they released it to guard their home. Well, a woman named Natsume Reiko did."
Kaname looked down in thought. He didn't think Takashi was lying to him about where she lived. He supposed he would just have to ask her when he saw her again.
"At any rate," Kaname's father loomed threateningly over his son, "Don't think you've distracted me from the fact that you were out way later than you should have been. And don't think that your adventures excuse your punishment. I want you to sweep the paths of the shrine grounds all the way from the entrance to the storage shed we have out back."
Kaname opened his mouth to complain but when he saw the look on his father's face his jaw snapped shut. He gave a respectful nod before he was excused to go wash up so he could eat dinner with his father, who had been too anxious to eat as his son's return became later and later.
Kaname knew, that was an awkward dinner he wished he could avoid.
The next day, Madara was able to remember the scent he'd detected yesterday. Incense. The only place Takashi would have come into contact with that stuff was if he'd had contact with humans. He watched as Hinoe played with Takashi's hair as he sat impatiently waiting for her to finish. He didn't seem too worse for wear, but who knew the inner workings of that child's mind?
As he debated bringing it up, Hinoe finished styling Takashi's hair. The child smiled and thanked Hinoe sincerely for always taking care of him. Madara could have sworn that Hinoe swooned for a moment.
"Hinoe." Takashi paused. "Would you mind if I called you, mom?"
Who is teaching my Takashi these filthy human terms? "Why do you ask?" Hinoe inquired stiffly.
"Well. I met a human yesterday and he told me about moms and dads…and stuff. I just thought the idea of parents was nice. You are the closest I have to them. When I think of putting the words dad and Hinoe together it doesn't sound right. But, I figured mom didn't feel too weird." Takashi rambled before he stopped himself and noticed Hinoe's stiff posture. "If you don't like it, that's fine. It's just a stupid human thing anyway. I know how much you hate them. Sorry."
Hinoe bit her lip and shared a quick look with Madara.
"Takashi. There's something we've been meaning to tell you. For a while now."
"Yes?" the boy looked up at her innocently.
"You see…you're not-" Hinoe paused before she confessed, "You're a human, Takashi."
Takashi thought he might have misheard her or maybe they were playing a cruel trick on him. This was, by far, the meanest one yet. "No. I'm a spirit. Like you guys. Right?"
Hinoe's eyes began to water and Madara looked down in shame. "Takashi-" she began.
"NO!" Takashi denied angrily. "No. I can't be a human. You said they were bad. You said they killed spirits. You said that I wasn't human!"
"Takashi." Madara started, when he got the child's attention he continued. "Takashi. You are a human. I saved you from what the humans called a witch hunt. They killed your entire family right in front of me. I saved you at the request of your grandmother, Reiko. When you were here," Takashi began to shake his head as he covered his ears, but the words could still be heard, "a spirit ate your memories. Do you remember?" Takashi did remember. "We used it as an opportunity to give you a fresh start. We didn't want you to be sad anymore."
"So you lied?" Takashi finished brokenly.
Madara and Hinoe watched as Takashi sunk to the ground in defeat. He was quiet as he absorbed all of the information and connected dots he hadn't thought to before.
Takashi, his face stained with tears, peered up at the two of them. His young face full of hurt and love and betrayal. He asked, "Do you hate me now?"
If they had needed to breathe, Madara and Hinoe's breath would have been stolen by the blow they felt in their chests. Hinoe gathered Takashi in her arms and Madara curled protectively around them, "We could never hate you, Takashi."