Disclaimer and Warnings: See chapter 1, oh also, Haruka and Kantarou are from Tactics, not mine either.

Beta: mittens_220 (LJ) or pika318 (ff net), as always, you're a life-saver, my lovely beta! Thank you very much!

A/N: I guess… I have let the story be long enough. Time for an update! I hope this chapter will surprise you, lovely readers… and also create more complications of course! Thanks for the reviews, faves and alerts in the previous chapter! Now please… ENJOY!

Chapter 10: Reborn

"Book of friends… a form of agreement that makes the holder of the book able to command the youkai whose names are written inside it to do whatever the holder wants them to do…"Rikuo repeated what Natsume had told him. "Are they some kind of shiki? (1)" he asked further.

Natsume was a little bit surprised at how well Rikuo seemed to accept it. "No… it's a little bit different…" he said slowly.

"Then… how does it work?" the chocolate haired boy asked again, looking slightly interested.

"Eh… when my grandmother challenged youkai to a fight, she made them promise to give her their names if she won. She then beat them up and made them write their name down on a piece of paper. Then, she collected those papers into a book, the Yuujinchou, officially making them her underlings…" Natsume replied slightly uncomfortable with the eagerness in Rikuo's expression a moment later.

Rikuo was silent, though, looking at the book thoughtfully for some moments before mumbling "Then… it's some kind of forced contract by 'taking' their names by force…."

Tanuma who stood beside Rikuo looked stunned and Nyanko sighed, looking rather annoyed.

"And again, you carelessly give their names back without thinking! You'll make the book thinner and thinner, Natsume!" Nyanko protested at Natsume while running to him and then jumping at him huffily, surprising Natsume who immediately caught him. "Don't forget that the book will become MINE someday!" the tabby attempted to bite him, but of course Natsume had held him back readily.

"Jeez, Sensei, don't be like that…!" Natsume then fell down because he felt rather tired after giving Haruka's name back. Moreover, Nyanko was heavy.

"Ah, are you okay, Natsume-sama?" Haruka, who was still there beside the light brown haired boy asked, bending his body slightly to check on Natsume, looking rather concerned.

"Ah… thank you, Haruka. I'm fine," Natsume smiled friendlily at the tengu and Haruka blinked slightly in surprise. He was silent, staring at Natsume rather weirdly. "What?" the boy asked, confused of why the youkai looked at him that way.

"Ah, no, it's just… it's the first time someone… a human smiled at me like that besides my previous master," Haruka said, slightly dumbfounded.

"Oh, you belonged to someone?" Natsume asked, surprised.

"Yes… a long time ago," Haruka's expression turned slightly melancholic after that.

"Ah, I'm sorry…" Natsume felt bad that he had reminded Haruka to something sad. If it was a long time ago, then his previous master must have passed away.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago, so it doesn't really hurt anymore," Haruka smiled slightly at that.

"Um… but, Haruka is a Tengu, right? I was surprised that you were defeated by Reiko-san…" Natsume then asked, wondering. After all, a tengu was a kind of strong youkai which could be in par with a deity. Natsume Reiko must have been very strong if she could defeat a tengu.

"No, well…" Haruka looked slightly embarrassed. "I don't really fight women…" he said, looking another way.

"Oh… you lost on purpose?" Natsume asked again, raising his eyebrows.

"It's not exactly on purpose, you know… I didn't exactly want to fight her, but she was so persistent… In the end, I gave in, but… she was surprisingly very devious…" now the handsome tengu looked depressed.

"Ahahaha…" Natsume couldn't help laughing sheepishly.

Really, Reiko-san was very…. She must have set a trap or something that the tengu lost to her in a fight...-Natsume didn't even know how to react hearing about his grandmother's escapade.

"But… she wasn't that bad. She actually made my days a little brighter than the stagnancy I had felt since my previous master passed away," Haruka said, giving Natsume a small smile before he reached out to touch Natsume's cheek. "You have her energy and her looks, Natsume-sama," he continued softly and Natsume couldn't help blushing slightly at his rather intimate gesture.

"T-thank you…. Actually, a lot of youkai mentioned the same thing…" Natsume laughed sheepishly at Haruka.

Nyanko huffed while muttering something like 'Seriously, boys…' or something on that line.

Rikuo was silently watching the interaction between Haruka and Natsume with an unreadable expression. It was as if he was brainstorming about something inside, and he probably was conversing with Yoru if the youkai was up.

Tanuma was still speechless. He seemed very surprised because he didn't release his eyes from Haruka. The tengu actually noticed that he was being stared at blatantly because he looked up to the dark haired teen from his conversation with Natsume.

Tanuma blinked in surprise as Natsume also looked upward to him. "What's wrong, Tanu—I meant, Kaname-kun?" Natsume asked.

"Ah… no, I'm just… surprised, that I can actually see a tengu…" Tanuma said, still looking completely astounded.

Haruka looked at the teen with calm expression and Natsume sighed deeply. "I guess… we need a place to talk, huh?" he then suggested and everyone just nodded in agreement. "Haruka, do you want to stick around or to go somewhere else?" he then turned again to face the Onikui Tengu.

"Hmm… actually, I'm kind of free right now. And since Natsume-sama has kindly returned my name, I'd like to help you if you need any help," Haruka spoke slowly. "Will it be a bother if I stay around you for awhile?" he asked then, while looking at Natsume with those enticing amethyst eyes.

"No… but, would you please stop looking at me like that?" Natsume said, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. "It makes me nervous."

"Ah, my bad… It's a habit, so…" Haruka looked sheepish while the others' sweats dropped seeing their interaction.

~Natsume x Nuramago~

In the end, Natsume (with Nyanko directing) brought all of them to a place where they could find Misuzu's lair.

Rikuo kept his silence on the way while they were moving to a more secluded area to talk again. Itaku didn't say anything either as he followed dutifully behind the chocolate-black haired boy. Tanuma seemed to want to ask about something to either Natsume or Rikuo, but he held it back because he didn't find a right time to ask it.

"We're here," Nyanko said, looking at the dark forest in front of them.

"This place looks very ominous…" Tanuma shivered slightly. He was very sensitive of supernatural being, and now his body caught a vibe of youki coming from the forest.

"You sure you want to come, Kaname-kun? This place can be quite a burden for your body," Natsume looked at his best friend with concerned look.

"Yeah… I'm fine. I want to help you, Natsu—I meant… Takashi," Tanuma said, nodding curtly, pretty sure of his decision while he held Natsume's hand.

Natsume looked surprised at his gesture, but then he softened his expression as he saw Tanuma and their joined hands. "Thank you, Kaname-kun," he whispered lightly with a low tone, but Tanuma could still hear him, so he smiled back.

Really, Natsume should be more selfish once in awhile….

"Humans are really… peculiar creatures," Itaku said slowly, shaking his head.

"You think so? I think they are quite interesting," Haruka replied, not taking his eyes off of Natsume.

Itaku then glanced at Haruka. "I'd ever heard about you once, Onikui. I thought you'd been sealed away by some Onmyouji…" he said.

"More than two hundred years ago, yes… but fifty years later, I was freed and given a name by my previous master," Haruka said, not even looking back at Itaku.

"Huh…? Then your memory as an Onikui was…" Itaku raised his hidden eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, my memory as an Onikui Tengu was wiped out or sealed, whichever worked, but it doesn't matter to me anymore. My master gave me a name, a new life… and I was happy living with him," he continued slowly.

"I see… what a cruel person, that master of yours," Itaku said evenly and Haruka tensed visibly.

"Don't bad-mouth Kantarou, you youkai…!" Haruka turned to Itaku and hissed angrily, his amethyst eyes lit, turning slightly crimson and his teeth sharpening a little bit. There was electricity clashing around his body as well and Itaku was ready to pick up his Kama lest the Tengu started to attack, but Rikuo seemed to be able to read the situation and stepped between the two youkai.

"So… your previous master's name was Kantarou?" Rikuo asked, smiling cutely and harmlessly at Haruka who gradually decreasing his hostile youki. "What kind of person was he?" he asked again.

"Kantarou… was a very kind person," Haruka said, lowering his gaze as his expression turned nostalgic. "He was the kind of person who would sacrifice himself to save other people… and he always thought about his loved ones' happiness above his own. A wonderful, wonderful person… who liked writing about youkai and making them his friends…" the gorgeous dark haired tengu then showed a small happy smile as he was talking about his previous master.

Tanuma, Natsume and Nyanko also heard their conversation before Natsume seemed to decide to join in the conversation. "Haruka must have liked this master very much then," he said with a small understanding smile on his face.

Haruka looked up slightly at him, looking slightly surprised. "Yes," he said surely. "Though… I wished I could have been this honest when he was still alive," he continued, looking rueful again.

"I knew it. As expected, he was a cruel person," Itaku said again, looking annoyed.

"Wait, Itaku-san…!" Tanuma looked at Itaku concernedly. He didn't really understand the situation, but he did know that whoever this Kantarou person was; was very important for the tengu. Itaku was kind of insensitive for talking bad about him in front of Haruka.

"You… are you trying to piss me off?" Haruka glared daggers at Itaku, looking visibly angry.

"Well, he was indeed really cruel, you know. He was a human… but he led you on until you fell in love with him. Moreover, if he loved you back, he should have released you from the contract. But, the fact that you're still using the name he gave you proved that he didn't do it, even after he died, leaving you alone in this world to suffer because you can't die and go to the same place as him, right?" Itaku said again, looking suspiciously annoyed.

Natsume and Tanuma were visibly shocked at that and Haruka widened his eyes as well. "You—!"

"That's why, I hate humans…! They are such selfish, self-centered—!"

"Will you stop it, Itaku," Rikuo, or actually Yoru, said with an annoyed tone while narrowing his eyes warningly at the Kamai. "Quit it. Why are you getting angry by something that isn't your problem?" he asked the dark haired man who glared back at him in annoyance as well, while the others widened their eyes in impossible size.

Nyanko was watching them silently on the sidelines, seeming to know that something very interesting was about to unravel in front of him.

"Riku—ah, I meant, Yoru-san! You changed…?" Tanuma was confused.

"It's not dusk yet…" Natsume also looked visibly perplexed looking at the silver-black haired youkai who was still in Tanuma's school uniform.

"This place is dark enough and the sunlight doesn't go through, so I can come out," Yoru explained slightly while the others made an 'Ooh' look.

Haruka looked amazed and astounded as he saw Yoru's features. His eyes were still wide and his mouth was open slightly. "Kan…tarou?"

"Huh?" Yoru turned to Haruka with a slight frown, looking puzzled at the name.

"Those crimson eyes…, that platinum blond hair…! You're… Kantarou, right?" Haruka then moved closer to the Nurarihyon with hopeful expression.

"Are you an idiot? You're mistaken. My name is Nura Yoru Rikuo. I'm not Kantarou or whoever it is you're thinking of," Yoru said pretty harshly.

"No… I won't be mistaken in recognizing my master, Kantarou," Haruka said, looking totally convinced.

"Just because we have the same red eyes and platinum blond hair, it doesn't mean I'm your master," Yoru huffed.

"It's not just that… your energy is similar with Kantarou's as well," Haruka said, smiling slightly. "Partial youki… partial pure energy… You must be his reincarnation. Kantarou is reborn as you," the tengu continued. He looked pretty sure with it and he believed it to the core that Yoru could only stare at him speechlessly.

"Unbelievable…" Itaku rolled his eyes. "He's so desperate that he mistook someone else as his loved one," he huffed.

"It's not necessarily untrue, you know," Nyanko said suddenly, surprising the others, including Natsume and Tanuma.

"Nyanko-sensei!" Natsume called his tabby cat with a mystified expression.

"What do you mean…?" Tanuma also asked, totally bewildered.

"Reincarnation does happen, that's why. Maybe Yoru Rikuo really is a reincarnation of Kantarou," Nyanko shrugged before he licked at his paw.

"Hah, ridiculous! Who can prove that Rikuo is that Kantraou guy's reincarnation?" Itaku scoffed.

"Who can prove that Rikuo isn't Kantarou's reincarnation?" Nyanko raised his eyebrow at Itaku challengingly and the Kamai narrowed his eyes at him in irritation.

"So… reincarnation is real…?" Natsume asked, looking very surprised.

"In Buddhist belief, it's called Samsara. I'd never seen one myself, but for youkai that live hundred to thousand years… they must have seen a lot of them, right? Reincarnation, I meant…" Tanuma mumbled lowly, thinking that maybe it was really true after all.

"Even so, after getting reincarnated, all the memories of the past lives are wiped clean to start a new life. Even if the soul is the same as Kanatrou's, he isn't Kantarou anymore," Itaku said, looking at Haruka who was still staring at Yoru affectionately.

"It doesn't matter if you don't remember me, Kantarou. I'm just glad that finally… finally I found you again," Haruka said gently, moving and reaching out his hands to take a hold of Yoru's shoulder before he hugged the youkai slowly. "I miss you, Kantarou…" he whispered softly while gradually closing his eyes.

Tanuma and Natsume blushed slightly seeing the scene, which looked a lot like a love-scene between two guys.

A vein popped up on Yoru's head at that. He closed his eyes before he punched Haruka's side.

"OW!" Haruka yelped in surprise before he crouched on the ground, nursing his abused side. "W-wha…! What was that for?" he protested at Yoru with a shocked disbelieving look.

"I thought I already said it to you. My name is Yoru. Don't call anyone else's name when you mean it's me," Yoru huffed, looking at the tengu in annoyance.

That's the problem?—Tanuma thought, which was possibly mirrored by Natsume, beads of sweat rolling down their cheeks.

"Kan—" Haruka shivered when Yoru's glare intensified. "I meant… Yoru…"

"Yup. It's Yoru now. I don't care if my soul is the same as Kantarou's, but I'm Yoru now. Don't forget that, Haruka," Yoru said, smirking slightly at the spell-bound look on Haruka's face.

It seemed, the name rang very powerfully in Haruka's mind. Even though the voice was totally different, it held the same power as when it was his master who said it. It appeared that there was no mistake in what Haruka had thought.

Ichinomiya Kantarou, Haruka's previous master, was really reborn as a Nurarihyon, Nura Yoru Rikuo.

"Yes," Haruka said, smiling confidently. "Then…" he was standing now. "Is it okay if I stay beside you, Yoru?" he asked, looking at Yoru's crimson eyes with his soft amethyst ones.

"Huh, do whatever you want. You'll still follow me around even if I said no, right?" Yoru looked at another way, hiding his slightly flushed face.

"He's happy…" Itaku couldn't help noticing as he saw Yoru's look.

"Shut up!" Yoru shouted at Itaku, blushing visibly, either from anger or from embarrassment, or maybe from both.

Tanuma chuckled seeing how cute Yoru looked right then. Natsume also smiled, looking amused. Nyanko had already laughed heartily and Haruka smiled in a happy look as well.

"So… when are we going to find Misuzu?" Yoru asked, seeming to try to distract the others from the subject relating to himself.

"He's just right there inside the forest," Nyanko said, already slightly calming down from his mad laughter. He then turned to Natsume before he ran and jumped at the teen's shoulder again.

"Oh, what is it, Sensei?" Natsume asked, looking slightly surprised.

"Try to call him, Natsume. I believe he will respond to your voice immediately. After all, his name is in the book," Nyanko said surely.

"Eeh? But… I don't want to use the Yuujinchou like that…" Natsume protested slightly, looking peeved.

"Misuzu likes you, so it will be okay. He said it himself that you should call him if you needed him, right?" Nyanko said, smirking slightly while pawing Natsume's cheek.

Natsume looked thoughtful, contemplating it before he sighed deeply. "Okay then…" He agreed, his expression turning slightly serious as he closed his eyes, visibly relaxing his body before concentrating his power. Tanuma could almost see the glimmering powerful pure energy that surrounded Natsume's body before he could hear his voice, "Come to me… Misuzu!"

Immediately there was a strong blow of wind coming out from the forest and Tanuma had to close his eyes slightly and covered his face with his arm to protect them from debris and dirt. He didn't 'see' what happened, but he felt the heavy feeling that there was another 'creature' joining their party.

Tanuma uncovered his face and eyes, but he couldn't see anything. No, he saw something… it was just a kind of distortion in the air, in front of Natsume. It seemed another youkai had appeared before them, and this time, Tanuma couldn't exactly see it.

#

"Ooh! Natsume-dono! It's been awhile since we crossed paths. What is it that you need me with?" Misuzu bowed down slightly so he could be in the same eye-level as Natsume's.

Natsume smiled kindly at the horse youkai as well."Yeah, it's been awhile, Misuzu," he said, greeting back with a small smile.

Misuzu then glanced up as a familiar face of Nyanko on Natsume's shoulder greeted him with a smug smirk. "Madara as well," he greeted the cat then.

"Yo, Misuzu, Natsume and I bring someone you want to see," Nyanko said, pointing at behind him where Itaku was standing in front of a young youkai with silver-black long hair that somehow defied the gravity.

"So… you are Misuzu," the silver-black haired youkai said, stepping up in front of Itaku.

"Who might you be?" Misuzu asked.

"Name is Nura Yoru Rikuo, the Sandaime of Nura Clan, the grandson of Nurarihyon," Yoru said, introducing himself formally and dutifully as if he were greeting another clan's had.

Well, he did address another clan head. Misuzu was a boss in this area after all.

"Ooh! You are really a Nurarihyon! The Sandaime of Nura Clan that leads the Hyakki Yako in Central Japan! It's an honor to see you in person, Rikuo-dono," Misuzu said, getting elated that he was really approached by such an important figure from youkai world.

"You're welcome and please call me Yoru. There's another Rikuo, so I prefer to be called Yoru to avoid confusion," Riku—Yoru said. Misuzu didn't understand what he meant by the other Rikuo, but he wouldn't object his request. After all, Misuzu adored Nurarihyon.

"And… I just want to thank you in person that you have taken care of my comrade from Toono, Itaku the Kamaitachi here, in my absence. I appreciate and owe you your kindness and understanding, Misuzu," Yoru said, smiling slightly in a grateful look and Misuzu felt he was the luckiest youkai in the world for being able to see that expression.

"No problem. I've heard the partial story of what is happening in Tokyo… and the other cities. It's about the purification that's being done by some crazy-monster-like Onmyouji… and the head of those monsters is a youkai… a mix-breed which is actually a reincarnation of the most dangerous person in Japan a thousand years ago…" Misuzu immediately went in business mode as he revealed what he knew about this matter.

Misuzu had gone ahead and investigated some matters after Itaku mentioned Nue when he was staying with him awhile ago. Of course, what he found wasn't pretty. The entire Kyushu youkai and a lot of humans were wiped out and this purification thing was moving with unbelievable speed.

"I heard Yoru-dono with his Nura Clan, together with the leader of Hyakki Yako from Shikoku and some others went to stop this, but… there were a lot of casualties…" Misuzu spoke carefully, feeling concerned.

"They were being devious, fighting without honor," Itaku hissed angrily behind Rikuo. "Those guys took a lot of human hostages… and even Rikuo's mother has been taken by them to make sure that Rikuo's hands are tied down," the Kamaitachi turned slightly murderous as he seemed to remember something very maddening.

Yoru flinched visibly at that and the others gasped in shock.

"Rikuo-kun's… mother…?" Natsume widened his eyes in shock at that.

"Eh, what? Rikuo-kun's mother has been taken…?" Tanuma, despite unable to see and to hear Misuzu, seemed to hear Itaku's words and widened his eyes in shock at that.

Yoru could only close his eyes, seeming to try to endure the pain.

"She is alive, that's what's important…. I'm more curious about all of my comrades' whereabouts and safety… and Itaku said that the Onmyouji Clan that's helping our clan fight is sheltering them somehow… but with the intensity of the purging, I'm afraid I cannot go for too long. I only seek refuge in this village for a time being, just until I give birth to the hope and the faith that was placed inside this body… the final and the last chance to defeat Nue…. That's why, I need your cooperation, Misuzu," Yoru then looked at Misuzu's eyes sharply, looking almost desperate.

"I don't care what you do; just… don't let this village get invaded by Nue's underlings. I don't want to see this village destroyed. I have had enough of seeing people and youkai die. You are the boss in this area, right? I'll let you use Itaku as you please (Itaku: "Hey!") to help, I'll even go around this village to seek help from the deities that still have powers to create a barrier so this village can stay under the radar!"

"I understand, I understand so please calm down," Misuzu tried to calm the erratic youkai in front of him. Yoru looked so… cornered, desperate. It pained Misuzu who saw such strong youkai suffer such great loss. Even though Yoru kept it well to himself, Misuzu could feel how agonized this young youkai's heart was.

"You will help me?" Yoru asked again hopefully at the horse youkai.

"I will, Yoru-dono. Don't worry about it. I'll use all my strength, sources and connections to protect this village," Misuzu nodded in agreement. Even without Yoru begging him this way, he wouldn't let those scumbags who didn't know about honor enter the village where he was staying and living.

That village was Misuzu's home after all.

"Thank you very much… Misuzu," Yoru smiled at him gratefully again and really, must all Nurarihyon have had such gorgeous enticing feature and alluring scent? Misuzu almost blushed seeing him like that.

"Did it go through?" Tanuma asked Natsume who had witnessed and heard the whole thing.

"Yes," Natsume smiled. "Misuzu will help Yoru-san and Rikuo-kun," he looked happy as he said that.

"Oh, that's such a relief...!" Tanuma sighed slightly, looking relieved.

Nyanko then jumped down on the ground and turned into his Madara form, surprising the other except Tanuma who was unable to see Madara's true form now. "I'll also help, just because I like this village, and watching it getting destroyed will suck," he said coolly.

Natsume chuckled slightly, seeming to know how dishonest his bodyguard was. Yoru also smiled gratefully at the big wolf-like youkai while Itaku only blinked in surprise since it was the first time he saw Madara's true form.

"It's a deal then," Misuzu smirked confidently as he got such a strong ally to help Yoru.

"I'll be indebted to you guys for life," Yoru smirked as well, seeming to get slightly more positive.

Now, they had just to wait for the Onmyouji gathering and the reunion with Keikain Family to set another strategy to defeat Nue…

End of Chapter 10

Tbc…

Additional Notes:

1)Shiki: or shikigami. Youkai or creatures that make contract with human to serve them or to protect them depending on the contract.

A/N: Okay, so I decide to move the plot faster. As for the fan service, I'll put them in next chapter since Matoba will come out XD Kyaa! I love Matoba Seiji, especially when he's being mean and getting all close to Natsume! Maybe making Yoru and Rikuo a little bit jealous will be interesting too, heheh.

Also, you probably thought that Haruka is oOC. Well, he is. It's intentional since it's been a very long time since Kantarou died. I presumed there's 100 years gap between Tactics setting and this fic's *lol*. So, what do you think? Some reviews, please?

Edit: Sorry for some mistakes I made here. Misuzu's name is still in Yuujinchou. I just assumed after some times, Natsume already returned it, but apparently, he hasn't even until now, and Misuzu is a horse youkai not cow (I just mistyped that since in previous chapter, I already mention that Misuzu is a horse *lol*). Thanks for Snow Leopard Pasha for notifying me! ^_^