8: Natsume

"Natsume," Madara rumbled, as his charge rested against the soft side of his true form. Tsubaki waited nearby for him to signal her with a slight flick of his tail. "You're old enough now for this to be returned to you."

The young spirit held out the slim, rectangular book to him. Natsume took it with a confused expression, flipping through. "A book of doodles..?" Even as he said that however, he felt a sense of familiarity that he couldn't place.

For some reason the human youth didn't understand, the white ayakashi chuckled. "No. Those are the names of Yokai. And this," he lowered his great head so that his breath rustled the pages and Natsume's golden-brown hair, "is the Book of Friends." His eyes stared into the youth's. "It belongs to you."

"To me…" Natsume lightly ran his fingers over one of the drawings.

"It belonged before to a relative of yours named Reiko. A troublesome woman, she went around fighting yokai and making them give her their names."

"When a spirit gives up their name," Hinoe, in the tree above them, took a long draw on her pipe, "the person who holds it can control them. With that book you could become a master of spirits and demons, or you can return their names to them."

They waited to see what his answer would be.

Natsume silently turned a few more pages. He could see places where pages had been torn out, many of them in fact. It was clear that the book had once been much thicker than it was now. "I… don't need to control spirits," he said softly.

Hinoe and Tsubaki smiled. Madara simply gave a low hum, resting his head on his paws. "Well then, I suppose we'll have to show you how to return a name then, won't we?" he chuckled.

()()()

"Reichi. Sir!"

He groaned, pausing so that the assistant that the clan advisors had forced on him as soon as he got home could catch up; a thin, weasley man, he hated him.

He panted a bit and then straightened. "Sir, there's a meeting of clan heads to take place soon. I hear that even the Natori head is going to be there. You must attend for sure this time-"

Reichi snorted. "Hmph, that old geezer? He should have retired ages ago. He's not worthy of being ahead, can't even dispell his own possession."

"S-sir I'm not sure you should be talking that way about other leaders…" The assistant scrambled after him as he continued on his way.

"I'll talk as I like. Nothing I said was false anyhow." He paused briefly as he passed the room his father had died in, brow creasing slightly.

You must succeed, Reichi. You will remove the stain upon our honor that he made by his very existence.

He inclined his head slightly, then continued on.

My father spoke of 'him' often. I didn't listen most of the time, I thought he was ranting. He lightly touched the seal on his right eye, the assistant's babbling a faint murmur in the background. Natsume… what kind of person was he I wonder. He was the same age as my father, he might be dead by now.

He shook his head slightly with a sigh. He hadn't exactly gotten along with his father, who was obsessed with being the strongest exorcist and spent more time fighting yokai then with his son from a marriage arranged by the clan.

And then, even more time searching for Natsume, the one who used forbidden magic, and had managed to slip away and stay hidden from him until the day he died. He had never forgiven him, never forgotten. Obsession was a mild word to use. Then he had tried to foster that obsession onto Reichi, who was less than receptive.

Still… if it was a matter of his family honor, he would have to do something about it eventually if given the chance, he supposed.

A small smirk touched his lips. Even if he's still alive, he's an old man by now. Hardly something I should be worried about.

And that was the last he gave it thought for some time.