Sorry, my students need to go through an important exam in September and I had to pen off no matter what. Then, some crap happened and the exam was postponed/ nulled and they need to reseat the examination blah blah…I have no idea what's going on in the ministry nowadays and have they any idea how tired we are… I've been working like dogs and still couldn't do anything to improve things… well whatever. It's holidays now and I need to let my brain rest somehow. I was planning to update in late November, but I have gotten ill then – again. Even my foot is throbbing like mad as I'm typing this. So, I'm sorry if the story doesn't make any sense, it's hard for me to think like this. And, I'm too tired to correct my errors now, at this ungodly hours (I'm not an English native speaker, so I'm prone to make a lot of mistakes). Please tell me about the errors and I will correct them later, okay. By the way, I edited a few things in the previous chapter. Feel free to go and read it. So, that's all, happy reading
Chapter 10: The black demon
Hungry… hungry…
It was dark, terribly dark. The forest, the trees, the mountain, the ground, everything, even the sky…
So hungry…
It was too dark, there was no end to it. If one was driven into this darkness….
Probably….
Probably he will go insane, just like how it was, just like how it was.
Oh, what was this feeling…
As fangs drove into raw chewy meat… as blood slobbered down hot sticky tongue… going all the way out of beastly lips….
It was…unbreakable…
Unshakable…
Unstoppable…
Ungracious even…
Hungry… hungry….I'm truly hungry!
Yes, this was hunger.
Nothing else could define it better than that single word.
It just concluded it all, this dark wretched insatiable sensation, giving it, at least a tangible concept, a physical illusion.
Or better yet, maybe starvation?
Appetite?
Desire?
Need?
Longing…?
Nothing could ease it, though…
No matter how it was defined.
Not flesh or bones, not blood, not guts…
Nothing…
Hungry… I'm so hungry…
It will devour….
Just continue to devour…
everything.
Natsume snapped awake just to find himself lying on the dirty forest floor. He thought he heard a scream or a wail, maybe, that jerked him out of sleep. Yet, it seemed it was unbearably quiet that morning and all that he could hear was the ironic chirpings of the birds and his own heaving breath.
Huh?
Seriously, it felt incredibly hurt to breathe as if his chest had just been trampled by bricks, or any large animals since he was lying on the ground. But, in his case, he knew it was just a stupid nightmare all along that had rendered him breathless. It would be better if he had a different kind of dreams though, a steaming nice delicious R-rated dream. After all, it will result in the same outcome anyway. But, a nightmare, of all the things, why can't it just leave him alone once in a while? And the weather, the weather is oddly cold despite the sun… too cold for his liking that he couldn't stop shivering.
Lately, he realized that he had developed some bad habits. As people grow, habits kind of grow along in tune with their personality, be it good or bad, like being sloppy, being careless, being an insulting troll, being secretly cross-dressing, but waking up in the morning at the weirdest location wasn't one he wanted, wasn't what we all wanted.
Just…
Just how on earth he ended up sleeping here?
Natsume rolled to his side. Well, at least tried to. His back felt like an iron rod and just a mere rolling and shifting made broken bones felt like nothing. Well, maybe that was quite an exaggeration, but being realistic after a confusing awakening was pretty hard to achieve, especially when everything felt so muddle and sore in the most bizarre and perplexing way.
Well done, Natsume! You have done it again.
The last time he woke up like this, he found a pig-cat in his dream came to life, and that said pig-cat, which in the end turned out to be some kind of a divine fox, tried to trick him, fought with him and later taught him a stupid jutsu which confirmed that the old book which once belonged to his late grandmother wasn't just an ordinary book after all, by which had settled some kind of trouble involving a youkai which-
Natsume suddenly snapped out with a gasp and he found himself up now, bending on all fours, breath coming out violently from his mouth in desperate and heavy pants. It soon dawned on him then that his body was still too exhausted to endure quick movements of such magnitude, after all the ordeal he had gone through. He stayed like that, inert and in shock just to know this and memories… memories from the previous days came back to him like waves smashing against the helpless shore.
So, it wasn't just a dream… It's one of those cruel insane reality again, smashing and banging onto his skull against his will.
Still, he learnt a lot of things, though, no matter how cruel it may be, like that one-eyed youkai who had been haunting him for days turned out to be Reiko-san's friend who had missed her a lot, and that she was finally at peace once her name finally returned. Whatever happened to her after that, he had no idea. And that returning a name to a contracted ayakashi wasn't as light and as easy as he thought it would be. And that book of friends… emptying one of its pages had in a way revealed a teeny weenie bit of what the previous owner was like.
Sounds promising, doesn't it? So, he didn't have to ask the villagers all along, about Reiko-san, and not risked his ass getting kicked right back into his bowel, if all he could do was to return their names… Well, Nyanko-sensei wasn't pleased by this. A reason he was nowhere to be seen then, along with a certain green book he thought he had clasped so firmly in his sleep.
Natsume let out a deep sigh and a bitter smirk crept up along with it at the corner of his lips like poison.
Damn cat!
He always had to make him curse, even so early in the morning. What a colourful way to start a day.
Natsume eased himself slowly till he was sitting properly on the ground. His body was aching all over and he was dead tired. He had a faint memory of walking and trudging aimlessly through the forest. Yeah, he was trying to find his way back after the name returning, yet he was too tired to think properly that he stumbled and fell to the ground multiple times beyond count. Nyanko-sensei was still with him then, talking and scolding him, but he was too out of it to bother.
When was that really?
It felt like a long time ago… don't tell me…
Don't tell me I had spent days wandering and being lost in the woods?
Natsume finally took a good look at himself. Alas, there were no mirrors or rivers anywhere near him for him to really tell, but the first glance he had on both his hands, the ragged sleeves adorning his pale slim pair of arms, his clothes… with mud and dirt, as well as the eerie brown patches of dark blood crusting on them, all over the place. Natsume stared at it dumbstruck, knowing full well that he hadn't taken a bath for days, and that if he reached home that day, he would need a darn three days long of hot bath in order for him to be well again, to be literally sane.
Yes, he needed to go home.
To collect himself.
Then, a breakfast, have the lunch he had missed, the dinner, whatever.
Only… only when he was himself once more, he will go and find Nyanko-Sensei again.
Yes, that's what he will do.
Natsume silently got up, with difficulty at first, but his will was returning, whirling up again, simply working like it used to, and he moved without much thought or regret, basically auto-piloting. Well, never mind the pain and the exhaustion, the quicker he reached home the better. The fact that he could think and plan that far was good enough. He was fine. Everything will be fine.
He was not more than 5 meters away from where he previously slept, when he moved through the bushes, peered confusedly by a large tree and stopped.
Well, try to describe summer in five most beautiful words. Undoubtedly, we will say that summer is bright.
Simply bright.
The way the golden light penetrated through the lush verdant trees above
Darting silently onto the ground.
.
"Seems like some horrible things had happened in the village. What about it?"
"Some dead cows nothing more."
.
And, it is warm.
Even with the wind blowing so strongly against our skin
It felt incredibly warm
Like someone important,
Someone you love embracing you from behind
.
"Is it a plague?"
"I hope so, but it seems something had been eating them."
.
And, that is why it is cozy.
Something pleasant and welcoming.
Even if a thousand curses had brought down your luck,
Summer is the blanket, the fleece,
That will always keep your smile on.
.
"Is it a wolf ?"
"It must be, but those stupid villagers don't think so and even father doesn't."
.
It isn't a lie if we say that summer is affectionate.
Because sometimes it sounds just like your best friend
The way the clouds moved in the sky
The way the cicadas sing
The soft murmur of the breeze
.
"Have they spotted the wolf?"
"No."
.
And you'll be joyful
Even if you are alone
Even if…
Even if you are alone…
.
"Do you think it is an ayakashi?"
.
Taki's words rang in his head sending shivers down his spine. He never thought that recalling any of his conversation with her would make him feel like this. Would make him had a different view of things, yes including summer.
Indeed, it was still bright like any other summer days. The sun was shining brilliantly and its yellow dazzling light went through the foliage above illuminating the scenery before him like a stage, except that it wasn't a beautiful actress who stood in the middle of it all. Instead, the bright red blood stood out among the grass like neon lights would in the darkness of the night.
And, the corpses scattered on the ground, limbs and ruptured organs alike, lying, splattering everywhere. Natsume recalled what he had found in the woods the other night. He reckoned at least six cows were viciously devoured in that lonely clearing. Well, at least it was at night, he couldn't see things properly. Now that he had the summer's clarity to aid him, six or eight cows, maybe nine if the smashed looking head should be counted. Immediately he felt cold despite the welcoming humidity. It wasn't the same site he had encountered that night. If it was, the corpses would be decayed looking instead of being somewhat fresh. The blood on his clothes had already turned brown, not dark red like the one coating the dewy grass. The stench of corpses, blood and ripped guts loomed all over the place, turning the beautiful forest into a twisted garden of hell.
The birds, however, kept singing joyfully and the clouds were fleeting warmly in the sky as if nothing down there would hinder its gentle course. All the way, Natsume stood alone cherishing the beautiful day as well as drowning in a sardonically hellish one.
Still, he wasn't strong enough to appreciate the irony.
Instantly, Natsume dropped to his knees and the whole content of his stomach – whatever it may be – rushed out of himself more violently than it had before.
"Unfortunately, Natsume-kun, I have received information that something so disturbingly dangerous had slipped into your village."
The exorcist's voice was next to torment him and Natsume could no longer hold himself together. The world began to tilt and spin and fall, crushing on top of him.
It's the demon!
Twice now he had encountered its trail. Judging by its prey, Natsume could clearly tell how large it was, how vicious, how untamed. Were it to find one of the villagers… Were it to find one… A youkai like this would probably… Would most probably…
I have to do something! I have to… I have to warn them!
Before he could get up, however, a hard solid kick landed on his temple like a bullet and he was harshly thrown downwards, cheek scratching raw against the sharp pebbles on the ground. He thought he had rolled a couple of times before his body hit a tree trunk and stopped. Time stood still. At that moment, he had no idea what hit him, had no idea that he had collided onto a tree even if he saw the dark rough surface of the bark clearly before his face. Hell, he had no idea he was hit at all, just to feel a sudden sensation on his head and the next thing he knew he was lying in another location 2 to 3 meters from where he was before.
Thus, he laid there, not moving, not thinking, reality abruptly thorn out of his consciousness as the last defense for his mind.
He was dead. Yes, he was sure of it.
The thing had finally come for him. Damn fate had in the end thrown the cruelest conclusion to his life, closed up the wretched curtains and he would end up the same like all the mess and splatter on the ground without… without any chance to warn them at all.
If only… if only I could…
Taki…
…TAKI!
"Now, get up you demon!" The shout that rang to his ears was harsh and tangible. He was half-expecting it to be wild and wordless, a wail devoid of all thoughts and emotions, murderous, vicious, cruel, with all the finality of death itself.
However…
The hurried footstep came next, echoing and thunderous. Indeed, more pairs of footstep were heard falling nearer and nearer towards where he was. How he had overheard it before was impossible.
"You dare to create another disaster in the village again, demon!" Another violent kick landed on his ribs this time and he could not stop a hapless yelp spurting out his mouth.
"How could you!"
"Shion wasn't wrong to say that it was you!"
Natsume's head was in a spiral. Even when he was kicked and trashed over and over he could not escape his mind playing tricks on him, like it wasn't happening, it wasn't true, it was just a nightmare. No matter what he was thinking, no matter how much he tried to deny it, pain got the better of him and he screamed. He blearily opened his eyes to see his left arm shaking beyond his control and bleeding.
It hurts… it hurts – ACK!
Another kick pounded on his chest and all wind escaped him. He was a broken coughing mess as the people harshly dragged him away to another location. Natsume could hardly register what was really happening and neither could he grasp whatever it was people were saying. Must be more curses and accusations, he assumed. Natsume really needed to warn them about the youkai. But, even if he did now, nothing would really matter anymore. They had already found their culprit.
He had no idea how far they had walked but the man holding him by the collar suddenly punched him on the eye and he was thrown mercilessly to the ground again head first. It was only then that he realized where he was now, one of central guard post near the village, and some villagers were starting to gather now due to the commotion. Natsume tried to get up. At least he didn't want to be stared at when he was so trashed, hurt and bleeding like this. It made a crude impression of an unwanted dog infected by ringworm. At least he wanted to keep that little dignity he was left. But, the men who caught him weren't satisfied enough and continued beating and kicking him.
"Now, say something you son of demon!"
"I-I…" His head was spinning, his body was hurting, the only thing he could do was surrendered and threw up. Natsume lay on the ground then, in the pool of his own mess, breathing painfully while his stomach acid burnt his throat.
This is it.
This is the end.
He could not hold on any longer.
The shadows of the people were too dark
Looming and towering above him
Their whispers too loud
He couldn't…
He couldn't reach any of them.
.
Hahahahaha… look how he squirms! Why isn't he dead yet?
This is awful. It is him all along.
He killed all those cows.
Did he eat the meat too? He's a demon.
Yes, he's a demon!
Mom, I'm scared…
We should kill him.
Somebody, somebody has to kill him!
"Stop! Everyone, please stop!" Natsume's eyes widened in surprise as the voice rang among the crowds. No, it couldn't be! His pale bleary eyes opened with difficulty as he searched for the owner of the voice. It didn't take long for his gaze to fall on the fair face of a petite young girl dressed in a beautiful kimono. Her pale brown hair was neatly combed, tied to the back with an interesting pin to accompany it. Natsume had never seen her dressed like this - she must have just gotten back – and she looked beautiful. Despite that, a horrified look hovered on her face and blood seemed to drain away from it the moment she saw him. "I told you to stop!" she screamed, her voice angry and hysterical.
"Taki Ojousama?!"
"Stop hurting him this instant!" She pulled away from the confused crowd and moved towards him. She knelt down putting a soft hand on top of Natsume's trembling frame. At that moment, their eyes met and Natsume saw the hurt conflicting look in those pale orbs, worry, anger and guilt mingling together like sand. Concealed from the other's view, Natsume slowly moved his battered hand to touch the drapery of her clothes, just a little movement of his fingers, a simple gesture to tell her he was fine. She got the message immediately and smiled at him bitterly.
"Taki Ojousama, you are back?" The leader of the guard post voiced up, though a little confused by what was happening, he wasn't about to question Taki's sudden outburst, just not yet. He turned to another guard and commanded, "Kagerou, go and report this to Taki-sama. He will know what to do."
"That won't be necessary," once again the people were surprised by Taki's respond. Some of them were beginning to whisper among themselves as if Taki had suddenly grown a horn or something. She slowly got to her feet to face them fully. "My father and I arrived this morning. He is still weary from the travel. I do not want any of you to disturb him."
"But, Ojousama! We finally found the culprit, the one who's been killing all the cattles. It's the son of demons all along!"
"Him? But, where is your proof?" Natsume caught the steel in Taki's voice and shuddered. It was his first time seeing her angry and was quite thankful that he had never made her feel like that even once. Even the men who readily tried to kill him before seemed shocked and began to look quite ashamed and uncertain. Still, Natsume was worried of the consequences she might face later with her father.
"Well, we… we found him sleeping not far from the corpses. His clothe is stained with dried blood. A LOT of blood!"
"Did you ask him where he get the blood from? It might not be from the cows. He could have hurt himself previously. The wolf might as well have attacked him the night before. How could you have a heart to treat an injured person such a way."
"But, he is the son of demons. He brings in misfortunes all the time. We need to banish him!"
"My father had already banished him! And where did you find him anyway? Was he sleeping in the village or the forest?!" There was a long pause and nobody dared to answer her anymore, even the leader. Taki sighed, looked back resolutely to each one of them and said in a most quiet and stern voice, "As far as we know, he hadn't done anything against the order. Now, leave him and return to the village. I will speak of this personally to my father."
The crowds slowly dispersed, not without glowers and frowns. Some of the guards looked suspiciously at Natsume who had then gotten up on his knees and later to Taki.
"This is strange. Taki ojousama, you are acting quite strangely," one of them said but did nothing else against her.
"I wonder if you actually have a right to say that to me." And that was all. Down from his position he could see Taki's trembling hand curled up into a fist.
Silence lingered in the cavern like it owned the place and Natsume admitted feeling a bit nauseous himself, a feeling completely alien to him whenever they promised to meet there, their precious secret meeting place. He hoped no one had the stupidest idea to follow them when Taki decided to drag him away from the damned guard post, or else this place will be discovered and they will be entirely screwed. To have Taki discovered with him was the last thing he wanted written on his maybe-screwed-up list. Everything was quiet in the cave save only for the sound of the rushing water in the river flowing miles underground. The place was usually unreachable during the high tide, which was mostly in the afternoon and both of them would secretly meet in the morning or at noon. Since the cave was located quite deep in the woods, no one had ever ventured there, no one ever even dared to discover. Natsume found it by accident years ago after being chased by a youkai and this was later shared with Taki.
No one will come, no one will know.
This is…
Their place.
At some point pass midnight the water will go down again. Natsume had to admit, it was a whole different experience venturing it during that hour. He and Taki had and it was a beautiful story to tell for another day.
As for right now, the sun was shining directly through the hole on top and the river underneath gleamed radiantly like the sky. The stunning reflection of the water lighted up the whole place painting the grey cold walls with interesting animated effects. Natsume watched this with slightly lighter emotions. Well, seriously, he had been through the worst nightmare moments before, no, he had been through hell for a whole week and this special place had easily shooed them all to the back of his mind. Of course he would cherish this, relish this moment even till the day he died.
Still, it had been too quiet, had it not? And in a strange incomprehensible way, it bothered him greatly. He tore his sight away from his surrounding only to meet Taki's silent face. Just like the walls, there were golden rippling patterns on her face and a small worried smile crept onto Natsume's lips.
Usually, when they met like this, Natsume would have some things to show Taki, like a leaf fossil he found by the river or a nymph caught rigid inside an amber and Taki would do the same to him, showing him some paintings she bought along her travels, or a book which clearly came from foreign countries. They didn't even understand in what language it was written, still it was fun, still it was something interesting to share. Just seeing Taki's face beaming up with happiness and laughter was enough to let him smile for weeks, despite everything.
This time, however, Taki had nothing to show him – though in truth he knew that she had, hidden somewhere in her multiple layers of kimono – and he had nothing to show the girl as well, except…
… his battle scars.
And so Taki's smile vanished from her lips, even the moment he saw her standing ferociously among those men, it was anger that burned in her deep protective eyes and he doubted that a smile would ever formed itself anytime soon. Because these battle scars were not something he was keen to show, weren't even the fun things he wished to share with Taki. The fact that he had named those 'battle scars' in his head was proof enough, how exactly shameful he felt to show wounds and bruises to someone so important. And the blood on his clothes, even though not all were his, he hated himself for making her see this.
Taki's hands… Taki's hands shook just a little when she sat cleaning and wrapping his bleeding arm. Natsume couldn't help but notice and he had to double check to make sure Taki wasn't hurt in the confrontation earlier. Of course, she wasn't. Who would be in the right mind to beat her? It was just that Taki was silenced, be it by the sight in front of her or her own conflicting thoughts which clearly hurting her deep within. Natsume had no idea what it was – her face was rigidly set like stone then - but the fact that it robbed her of her words and random prattles had told him everything. Yeah, Taki felt those bruises and wounds as much as Natsume did, that was a fact he knew so well. Taki would bleed if he bled and Natsume wasn't proud of that.
"So, how was the trip to your sister's house?" Natsume asked finally breaking the silence between them. As if broken from her own thoughts, Taki blinked in surprise, her face slightly confused when her real surrounding finally came to her mind. Her smile came next, however, looking somewhat relieved.
"Great! She showed me a lot of things in Nara," she exclaimed and Natsume let out a sigh he didn't know he held. Instead of meeting his eyes though, Taki quickly focused back on the bandage she's working on while her smile continued to hang around her lips. "It's a big city now, that place, perhaps bigger than the Capital. Will they move it, I wonder."
"If it had developed that much, maybe they will." Natsume took a chance to study the other. Taki spoke like she always does and smiled happily as she gently touched his wounds. Taki's smile was so contagious that Natsume began to smile himself. He was glad that she was back to her usual self somewhat.
Still, he knew that something was amiss, something he could not put a finger on. Like in the soft quiver of her eyes, and the little tremors on her fingers which was barely felt but there. Taki was mostly a blunt and a straightforward girl. Knowing her for years had taught him that. Hiding something from him just wasn't her at all.
Well, Natsume had gone through a hellish moment this week, having witnessed something terribly awful, met someone terribly awful, then, being chased, been hiding, being lost, been searching, been doing a kind of jutsu that he couldn't understand himself, been drained, fallen asleep in a place he did not know where, being captured, being beaten…he couldn't believe a week had passed! A whole darn wretched hellish week! At least he wanted to see something precious once in awhile, something that will always stay that way, like Taki's happy sincere smile. Oh, only that, just that… he did not want to see it changed, because he could not imagine if it did, and he would probably wouldn't be able to stay sane himself, to stay alive.
"And she showed me the new book, Kojiki, though I couldn't read them well," she continued dropping her hands to her lap altogether. "…and she took me to the literature performance, where they read waka and all. Then, there was a night bazaar and she showed me how to light…showed me how to light…" Taki couldn't finish that. For the life of her, she couldn't finish that sentence. And no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking either, and the cold tremor spread over her entire body like fire. Taki's eyes blurred. Just like the rippling reflection on the cave walls, she felt the same sensation in her watery eyes and for that very reason she couldn't face him, couldn't let him see her.
Yet, her tear fell down like pearl glistening in the dark.
"Taki, why are you…"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry. I'm sorry." She bowed down and the dam broke. She hastily tried to rub the tears away with her sleeves, yet it continued to fall like a leaking wooden bucket without a sign to stop.
"Taki." She heard Natsume called her, yet it only made her tears rained down, the way his voice sounded; soft and gentle, kind and pure. How can people easily brush him off like he was some kind of an alien? A demon? How can people have the heart to harm him, hurt him, beat him senseless and he was bleeding, hurting, grunting in pain. And she… she was…
"It's just that, the only thing I could do is to talk about the good things that happen to me, and you will smile, though in truth, it doesn't help at all. You are still you, and all those stigmas were latched behind your back, the villagers still talk bad about you, scorn you, hurt you and there's nothing I could do to change it."
"Taki…" Natsume grabbed for her hands resting on her lap, but even that couldn't stop the girl's sobs. Her voice was broken and her hands ice cold.
"You should at least tell me the truth if something troubles you. Tell me how to help you… I would… I would do anything to… lessen your pain. Just please… please don't shun me away, Natsume." With that, Natsume gently reached for the back of her head and slowly pulled her in a tight embrace. Taki felt the sudden warmth around herself, stopping all shakes and shudders her body made instantly. There was an intake of breath as if he was about to say something but struggled to let it out. It was obvious that even Natsume could no longer contain the heavy burden of each other's emotions. Really, watching Taki cry was his real breaking point.
"Taki, by just staying who you are has helped me more than you have imagined," he said softly, his voice desperate but true. "You might not believe me but this is the truth. That's why please don't cry anymore, because when you do, I no longer feel like living." Taki slipped her arms hesitantly around him, pulling him closer and cried in his arms.
Hours later Taki finished patching him up and Natsume though a little banged up looked more presentable than he ever was in weeks. Natsume was glad that he kept a lot of things in the secret place and among those was an old kimono he thought might come in handy during an emergency. There's another bandage wound around his head and his left eye felt like it was bulging out a bit. He's sure as hell that it was black and blue by now. His sprained ankle from a week ago felt fine, though some strange colours still littered on his skin around it and Taki had to threaten him in case he was lying. His chest and stomach however was painful and bruised. He would help himself with a poultice when he got home and there's nothing more Taki could do to help.
The rushing water sounded louder than it was before, a tell-tale that the high tide was coming and both of them packed up their things and got ready to leave when Natsume suddenly remembered what he saw in the woods.
"Taki, I had seen the carcass up close. It wasn't a wolf that kills them." Taki's happy face dropped again and she quickly turned to face the other. She appeared shocked, blood quickly drained away from her face even with the traces of tears still visible at the corners of her eyes. She silently gulped then, responding with yet a quiet voice.
"So, it means it's an ayakashi's doing."
"And it is not something small." Taki studied Natsume's face carefully. It was clear that he was in one of those moods again, thinking about something other people don't. Usually, Natsume seemed settled with the fact that he knew something and would do anything to fix it. Most of the time, Natsume never really told her what it was only when everything else had settled down. She had been worried out of her skull for him all these years even though she knew everything will turn out okay in the end. This time, though, Taki sensed something different from his thinking face, something else latching up with his typical determination, something unusual holding him back like… dread.
It goes without saying that she knew it was serious.
"Then, what should we do, Natsume? We have to do something, right?" Unconsciously, her hand reached out for him, grabbing one of his sleeves, trembling. Natsume quickly relent, thinking too much on something he didn't really know was pointless, anyway. He needed to look into this first before he made any move or decisions. Besides, he didn't want to worry Taki any more than he already did.
Well, the least he could do was…
"Taki, go back to the village. Tell the people to always stay at home because there is something dangerous in the village right now."
"But…"
"If it is you, then they will listen."
"But, what are you going to do? Can you chase it away?" It was dumb to think that he could handle it himself, dumber still to risk his own life to protect those villagers who detested him. If only there was someone who could help him, someone who could kill it or seal it away… wait…
"Well, since you are able to see them well perhaps you could help me. So, Natsume-kun, how about we make a trade?"
The words echoed in his head like a gong and his eyes widened to the sudden revelation. "I…why yes… the monk…" How can I have forgotten about him?
"The monk?" Taki's timid voice brought him back to her and Natsume let out a bitter smile.
"There is a monk who recently came to the village while you are away, Taki. He's actually an exorcist and he's been hunting for it."
"Exorcist? Hunting?" Taki looked confused, the way her eyebrows were pulled together, but can he really blame her? Natsume place a gentle hand on one of her shoulders and tried to calm her as best as he could.
"I know you are confused right now, but I'm sure, if we find him, he will know what to do. I just don't know where he is, right now." For a moment Taki was quiet, but she didn't look so surprised either as she stood pondering on the matter, as if she had heard or seen it somewhere but couldn't quite place.
"Wait? A strange mendicant monk who dressed in a common kimono, is it not? With a large tengai on his head." Natsume's eyes almost bulged out as hope once again kindled on an already grim situation. Natsume caught both Taki's shoulder in his excitement turning the girl to face him, almost hugging her.
"That's him! Taki, That's him! He also has a servant with him."
"A servant?" Tsk… his servant was a youkai, how could he forget that.
"Well, never mind. Where did you see him?"
"He came to my house early this morning asking about the old village."
"That probably where he is right now. Thank you, Taki. It is a big help." Natsume gave Taki's shoulder one last grip before letting her go. He quickly gathered some of his things, took Taki's hand and led her out of the cave.
"But, wait, Natsume, aren't you hurt?! Are you sure you are going alone?" Natsume was already running in the other direction when she called. Like always her gaze was filled with worry, brows slightly knitted together, lips downturned. Natsume hated to worry her like this, after all she had done for him. Yet, that was all the more reasons for him to do it. In truth, Natsume had no idea if it might work or not, but he couldn't help but try.
"I'll be fine!" He smiled and ran off.
So, how was it?
Next Chapter: Temporary Alliance