With a snarl, Madara's hackles rose and he faced the direction Takashi was in. When the spirit focused he found Takashi. He was still clearly shaken as he asked, "What happened, Takashi?"

Takashi calmly approached the agitated spirit with his hands extended in front of him placatingly. "It's okay, Madara. I'm fine, just a little spooked."

Madara took another whiff of the air and realized that the smell was slightly faded. He managed to calm himself down. With his eyes closed, he felt Takashi's hand brush over the fur on his face.

"It's okay, Madara." The young man soothed.

The spirit let slip a sigh of satisfaction, before he shook his massive head and dislodged Takashi's hand.

"Where's Hinoe?"

"I believe she left to seduce a spirit we met at a drinking party."

"Drinking party?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah. When you left, we began to go crazy just sitting here waiting for you. A few days passed before we realized that we were finally free to come and go as we pleased." Takashi laughed at Madara's admission. He was glad that his leaving hadn't affected them too harshly.

The spirit's face became solemn as he asked again, more calmly, about what had happened.

"There was a strange man who came by today. He had these creatures with him. They were made of, something that I can only describe as black ooze." Takashi paused, "Kaname's dad seems to think that he was an exorcist."

"Well, whoever he is, stay away from him." Madara advised. "I don't like the smell of that man."

"Takashi?"

Takashi turned towards the voice and found Hinoe walking towards him. When she got a little closer, she too became wary at the lingering presence the boy had on him. Takashi explained what had occurred to her as well.

After Hinoe's fawning over him because "evil human men were touching her sweet child", things settled down and they began to discuss Takashi's plans.

"I think, with your spiritual power, a single punch should get rid of that guy's servants."

"But I couldn't even try to hit them." Takashi admitted self-consciously.

"Why not?" Madara asked as he remembered all of the training he had put Takashi through during his stay with them. "Have your skills faded without use over time, Takashi?"

The young man blushed as he averted his eyes. "I…I tried to fight like you taught me. He-" Takashi hid his face behind his hands as he recalled the memory and became horrified all over again. "He made fun of me."

Madara and Hinoe exchanged a look. While their child was exceptionally strong, in their eyes, obviously it didn't have the same impact on a human.

"Is there any other method that I can use?" Takashi asked.

"Well, if punching and scratching doesn't work…all I can think of is manipulation." Madara suggested.

"How would I do that?"

"Use his desires to your advantage." Madara answered simply.

"The only thing he wants is for me to help him." Takashi looked into Madara's eyes. "But whatever's after him is incredibly powerful. I don't want to get anyone hurt."

"See if you can get this guy's name. I'll look into it for you." Hinoe offered. Takashi gave her a nod of thanks.

After that, the conversation turned to more pleasant things. They visited for a few hours and Takashi discovered that Hinoe had been able to endure the presence of a human man for an entire hour before she had to return to the forest and find a pretty woman to comfort her.

The next morning, Takashi found both of the Tanumas talking amongst themselves at the entrance of Yatsuhara. Apparently, they were both incredibly anxious about this meeting and had barely slept. They'd been surprised to discover that Takashi had not been anywhere on the property that morning.

They were in the middle of a heated debate on whether or not to look for him when he'd arrived. "Takashi!" they'd greeted. Kaname stepped in front of his father. "Where were you?"

"I went to go meet up with my family." Takashi had learned early on that if he called Madara and Hinoe his family that there were fewer questions he had to answer.

"See, I told you." Kaname's father chided his son. "There was no reason to panic." Though, he too had been worried if Takashi was all right and had planned to search for him if he hadn't arrived at sunrise.

The three men ensured they were ready for their trek before they departed.

It took them two hours to get there. They'd circled around the town since Takashi was still wary of crowds of humans. They'd probably saved time without the constant harassment and gratitude that would have befallen Takashi if they had entered the town.

The Matoba estate, for there was no other way it could be described, was sectioned off by a stone wall. There was an impressive wooden archway at the entrance and a solid dirt path leading to thick, ornate wooden doors.

The oldest of them reached out and knocked solidly on the door. They waited a few minutes before Kaname raised his hand to knock as well. Just before he made contact, the door slid open.

The older woman that had opened the door watched unimpressed as Kaname quickly pulled his hand back and scratched at his opposite arm. She reached up and adjusted her glasses before she tucked a strand of her grey hair behind her ear.

"May I help you?" she asked pointedly. The glare from her glasses made it impossible to see what her eyes looked like.

Takashi took a deep breath to steady himself, "There was a man who came to my house yesterday. He said he needed help with a spirit that was after his eye?" He'd smudged the details a bit to protect his identity.

The woman's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Did you catch the name of this man?" Takashi shook his head. "Very well, follow me." She turned on her heel and without checking to see if they were following she made her way deeper into the house.

The three scrambled to catch up.

They walked down several winding hallways until they forgot which way led back outside. The woman stopped in front of one of the many rooms along the hallway and slid open the door. Inside was a large mat spread over old wooden floors. There was a low table in the middle of the room with four cushions for seats.

"Wait here while I let the Head of the Matobas know you are here." She stood to the side and watched the three men file in as they took in their surroundings. When the last one made it past the doorway, she slid the door closed.

The three men remarked on how confusing the house was and chuckled nervously when none of them could recall how to return to the outside world.

The woman appeared again shortly and instructed Takashi to follow her. When the Tanumas motioned to stand up she reported that the Head wanted to limit the amount of people in his room at one time. The Tanumas shared an anxious look with their friend before Takashi assured them that he would be fine.

When he was out of the room he turned to watch the Tanumas as the woman exited behind him. The woman closed the door and cut off their connection before she turned and walked, if possible, further into the house.

Takashi tried to make light conversation as they walked, but the woman remained silent.

Their journey lasted so long that Takashi was sure that, if he called out for help, his friends wouldn't be able to hear him. As soon as he had that thought, the woman stopped in front of a different door.

She gave a quick knock and waited until the person inside granted her permission to enter. At the sound of the voice, Takashi felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck. There was no way.

The woman opened the door and motioned for Takashi to enter. He stepped in with trepidation and after he crossed the entryway, the door snapped shut behind him. The other person in the room was sitting behind a desk with his hands steepled in front of his face, so that only a single black eye was visible.

The stranger from before was the head of the Matoba Clan.