Random: Hello readers. XD Enjoy, though the chapter is a bit longish.
Phantasmagoria
Natsume Yuujinchou
Chapter 11
Exorcism
'So now, just close your eyes, dear human.
And let me control you.'
Those words rang loudly in his ears more than anything, but though he wanted to wake up from the nightmare, he couldn't. The youkai in him had taken control of his body and he can't even think without the youkai's devilish plans and years of hatred resounding in his mind, and through his own eyes he could see trees. They were in the forest, in the dead of night. Homura couldn't believe it. At night it was like a different world, all around there were more youkai than nocturnal creatures he could see, though of course, it might have been because the youkai possessing him could have taken a different route normal humans couldn't pass.
What do you think, boy? Which one shall I devour? Which one? The youkai's voice echoed in his mind, temporarily stopping the chain of unwanted scenes from its black past.
'What do you mean?' Homura thought, frightened. 'You can't possibly be thinking of using my body to… to…'
To devour them, yes. But you shan't worry, I won't make you watch.
Homura saw an equally frightened rabbit-formed youkai cowering right in front of him. He saw his own arms reaching forward; felt his body closing in on the creature.
'N-No…!'
He could feel his lips curling up into a smile.
I promise.
Homura awoke to the sound of somebody ringing his doorbell. At first he thought it was somebody else's and curled up into a ball and tried to ignore the sound, but then he doubted it to be his neighbor's door since it was so loud so got up reluctantly and walked sluggishly to the front door. He pressed on a button of a screen attached to the wall and sure enough, it was a guest for him. There was Natsume, fidgeting outside.
He unlocked the door and cleared the sofa of the CDs and books cluttering it. "Come in~ Let me clear up a bit."
"Good morning, Homura. Looks like you just got out of bed."
"Yeah, you're the one who woke me up."
He could hear Natsume laughing behind him. "Well, sorry to have disturbed your 'sleep', your highness but we have school to go to. So get up and get ready. I have a lunchbox Touko-san prepared for you, too."
"Ehh… Why did she do that? I can prepare my own lunches, no need to waste your family's food for me."
"Yeah, well, she seems to have taken a liking to you, and it's all leftovers anyway, so—" Natsume gasped when he saw Homura's face for the first time when he turned around. Blood smeared his cheek, and streaks of them lined his bedclothes. "Homura!" he cried and grasped his shoulders. "What did it do? !"
Homura blinked, no doubt surprised. "D-Do what?"
Natsume swallowed. He took his hand and brought it up to his face, and rubbed it against his cheek. Homura's eyes widened in terror when he saw the red substance on his fingers. "Whose blood is this…?" Natsume asked cautiously.
"I… I…" He started shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut and flopped down on the sofa, hands on his face. Involuntarily he remembered that rabbit youkai, and how he caught it, and how the youkai inside him seeped out of him and killed it, and back in his body. He remembered flinging its dead body aside as the youkai made him trudge back home, careful not to be seen by anybody. He felt sick all the way through. Even if the one who… ate it was the youkai, but it was back in his body so technically…
He gagged.
He went to school with Natsume—after the latter made him eat at least something—but found that he could not concentrate much. Natsume, too, was worried. It made Nishimura and Kitamoto confused to find them both dazed and unresponsive and in the end, left them alone, not before Natsume apologized, but they'd brushed it off easily.
During lunch break Homura didn't have the appetite to eat; he just stared at the food arranged neatly in front of him by Touko-san—a meal identical to Natsume's, only Natsume ate and he didn't. But he tried to make an effort so Touko-san might not feel offended, and after Natsume's encouraged smile, managed to swallow some of the egg and rice. Natsume noticed—with increasing worry—that Homura avoided looking at the cherry tomatoes, and purposefully deserted the meat.
Last evening, Suzuya had stopped by his home, Hinoe and Benio at either side of him. Neither looked too happy being with each other, so he could only guess that they were forcefully dragged there by Suzuya. And Suzuya might be irritated of having to deal with female youkai. Two of them, too.
They sat in a circle, looking all serious. Hinoe explained that she had caught a glimpse of the youkai before it got to Homura, and said that it was an evil spirit that's been sealed to a tree for a long time. Though it wasn't originally evil, the villagers had put blame on it and sealed it to a tree. Ever since then it had started to hate humans and wanted revenge against those who had wronged it.
Benio then said that it must have possessed Homura because of his high spiritual power, and because of the darkness in him similar to it. She had drawn the conclusion that if what Natsume and Suzuya had told her was true, then the youkai would most probably be attached to him. It also might have influenced Homura to go along with its plans.
In the end Natsume gave up and contacted Natori, since he'd suddenly remembered that Natori was going to seal it too. Might as well contact someone kind he knew instead of having Matoba commanding his shiki to roam the forests and finding out about Homura.
Natsume stared across at the teen; he looked so pale. Of course he would, who wouldn't when you wake up finding traces of blood all over you. Natsume wanted to tell Homura of the plan Natori had told him about late last night, but since he had forbidden him not to, he couldn't. Natori had told him that if they told Homura everything then the youkai might know by peeking into his thoughts, then everything would go down the drain.
He had received a letter from him early in the morning when he woke up, stuck to his window.
When they were in school studying, he and Hiiragi would find a suitable place, draw the circles, and make other necessary preparations with Suzuya behind-the-scenes. A very reluctant Nyanko-sensei would be hidden until things got out of hand.
And if things got out of hand, then they couldn't be sure if Nyanko-sensei would turn into Madara and gobble it up himself.
He also told him to drag Homura along to the forest, where Hiiragi would fetch them and bring them to the area.
His only orders for Homura are that they were going to help him, and he had to control his feelings when they started the ritual. The youkai could be manipulating him into not cooperating, and only if Homura can force it out can they properly seize it. Natori made strict orders for Natsume to limit his words, too.
Natsume smiled at Homura when he looked up at him guiltily; it was obvious he could not gulp down any more of the otherwise delicious food. It had only served to make him remember about the blood coating him in the morning. Natsume pretended not to notice, but when he had gotten Homura into the bathroom he could hear him scrubbing at his face, and when he had walked out in his towel, he had smiled as if it was all back to normal again, although his hands and cheek were a bit red.
Don't worry, Homura. After school, this is all going to be over.
Homura glanced around when they'd reached the school gate, and pondered, slowing down his pace.
"What are you thinking about?" Natsume asked.
The latter cocked his head to the side. "I… have some shopping to do. Wanna follow? I'll treat you to something."
Natsume blinked, throwing a sideward glance his way. As he did he spotted a white paper doll—Natori's, obviously—sticking on a branch where you couldn't miss it if you look towards the forest. It started waving, whether by itself or by the wind blowing, he didn't know. But he knew that it was time to move.
He turned to look behind him; there weren't many people around, though there was a group, but they were too far away to notice them.
"Homura, we gotta go!" He swiftly took Homura's hand and ran, ignoring Homura's surprised cry, guiding them both through the trees, keeping his eyes alert for more of those paper dolls. Those paper dolls could only serve to give them directions, Natsume thought. After all, Natori wouldn't stick to them to any surface just for fun. But he was pretty sure the one who'd pasted them was Hiiragi, since Natori was supposed to be busy drawing circles and all.
They arrived to an area where trees surround the grass like a miniature enclosure. Honestly Natsume wondered why they'd chosen such a dark place for exorcises.
There was a large circle on the ground, very much like the one drawn during their time sealing the large-headed youkai only to be taken by Matoba's group, with a similar pot at a spot where he would probably be. Suzuya nor Nyanko-sensei was nowhere to be seen, most likely hidden.
Homura felt an impending dread. He didn't like anything to do with this, but it was better than having to keep it in his body for any longer. Natsume took his bag and placed it to the side with his, then went near the man Natsume got help from. Somehow he felt there was something oddly familiar about the man, though he couldn't be sure. His face was shrouded by a hat, so he couldn't see his facial features very clearly. There was a female youkai wearing a mask among them, too.
"Okay, listen to me, boy," the man said. "Take in a deep breath."
He did.
"Try to shut off your mind to the outside world, so 'it' wouldn't find out. Guard your thoughts well. And relax, that's the most important." Natori saw the boy nod and try to relax, as he'd told him. He gave him a little time, meanwhile flashing Natsume an encouraging smile.
"Have you relaxed?"
Homura nodded without a word, eyes closed.
"Okay." He produced an ofuda-like piece of paper, placed it to lips, and muttered something Natsume didn't catch, and then broke into a run in Homura's direction. Homura, at the time, had his eyes closed and didn't notice until he was firmly pressing a piece of paper against his forehead. He distinctly heard the man telling him keep focused on his thoughts and try to drive the youkai out. He opened his eyes in a hurry; part of his vision was obscured by the paper. He felt something nagging at the back of his mind. How exactly was this man assuming that he could understand an instruction like that and follow? ! How do you even drive something not you out of your own body in the first place? ! He started to panic and shook his head, but the man's other hand reached up and locked a good grip on the back of his head.
"Don't fight it! Think of it as you're imagining that you're kicking somebody out of your house! Try and call out to the youkai, and when it answers 'drive' it out!"
Homura squeezed his eyes back closed and tried his best to focus. Right, there was a time when Seiji forcefully invaded his room after a few of the upperclassmen tried to mess with him. He had fought back because Seiji was nearby, but in the end he got involved too. He didn't think letting him into his room was a good idea and locked it before the other even managed to make it up the stairs, but apparently he was stupid enough to overlook the fact that the home owners made duplicates of their room keys and hung them up in the kitchen in case of emergencies. Seiji, of course, just had to know about that and got his room key. He'd tried to force him to get out after that, but eventually he admitted his defeat.
Homura drew in a quick breath. No need to think about what happened after that. Just focus on when I tried to get him out.
He relaxed a little, Natori noticed, and he thought that maybe this was going to go along easy after all. "Alright. So now—"
Suddenly the boy broke into a fit of hysterical giggles. Hiiragi yelled at him to get away, and he quickly let go of him and withdrew the hand holding the exorcising spell to his forehead, and turned to dash back to his original position, only to have his wrist locked in a vice grip by the once-more-possessed boy.
"Wha—"
Homura snatched the paper from out of the exorcist's hand, and ripped it in half, still giggling. "Ahahahaha, it's been such a long time since I've had this much fun! Fools, to think I won't be able to figure out your so-called plans!" He let go of Natori's wrist. "Well, it is true that both you and the boy over there are fools, but, Homura-'kun', you are the biggest fool of them all!" He laughed.
Natori backed a few paces, cursing. "What do you mean? Haven't you disturbed his life enough?"
"No, I haven't. It still isn't enough to make the poor boy bow down to me! Don't you understand? This child has such an enormous amount of potential darkness I can feed on! In a matter of days I may even be strong enough to free myself! Or I can be strong enough to devour the boy altogether, even!" A couple of dry laughs escaped his lips.
Natori noticed a flutter of activity in the leaves of trees. He knew it was Suzuya, he could barely make out some feathers poking out. He immediately raised a hand in that direction, silently commanding him not to make a move yet.
"W-Well, what did you mean by the boy being the bigger fool here?" he asked, trying to draw some attention.
"You have my most 'honorable' pity, exorcist. Even though you had given the simplest instructions to drive me out, the boy just had to search his memories for an example! And—" Suddenly he froze, black eyes wide. "You…!"
Homura wasn't that sure what had happened, but he was sure that somehow the youkai had found a way to take control of him. But suddenly he was back again, blinking confusedly. "Eh…? Did I…"
"Homura-kun!" Natori called urgently. "Come here to the edge of the circle! Quick!"
Homura willed his feet to move, and ran over to the circle. But he fell all of a sudden, and with an alarmed cry, doubled over when he tried to get up, shaking.
"Homura! What happened?" Natsume cried, panicked.
"L-Legs… cramped up…"
There was another flutter of wings. Natori looked fiercely in that direction and turned to look at Homura. The youkai must be trying to stop him, he observed. He racked his mind for a solution.
'Hah, never think that I would let go of you that easily, boy!'
"Sh-Shut up…" He exclaimed in surprise when he felt a great deal of pain coursing up and down his body.
'You've made me very angry. Now I'm going to take over by force, whether you like it or not.'
Suzuya gritted his teeth as he watched the scene below him with great apprehension. Damn that Natori, I don't think I can hold out much longer…
Homura's breathing came out in short, harsh breaths as he felt his mind slowly draw a blank. He swallowed hard. If he lost his power to think, that would mean that the youkai would win without much trouble. Damn it… He willed himself to think, to find that missing link so the youkai could get the hell out of his body. He weighed all of his current pain in his mind, and suddenly…
He did it.
With something akin to an electric shock he felt it trying to break away, but it must have grown attached to him; he felt it struggle. Whether it was struggling to get out of his body or vice versa, he didn't know, but the pain was escalating with every passing second. Finally he saw dark mist surrounding his body, and the pain slowly started to ebb away, but he still felt the rush of it in him, and it seemed like his body didn't realize it yet.
To hell with the pain, Homura was actually starting to feel relieved when he saw that his vision was blurring and felt his system shutting down. He gladly accepted the darkness embracing him. But it wasn't the time yet.
Natori braced himself when he finally saw the youkai starting to seep out of the boy's body. He was starting to get worried that he would have to drive it out by force, but if possible he wanted to keep that option until things got out of hand. He didn't want Natsume to witness it more than he already needed to. He sneaked a brief glance at the younger male who was crouching to his side, readying the pot needed to seal the youkai. Sure enough, there was a worried expression clearly written all over his face. But suddenly his eyes widened.
"Natori-san!"
Natori turned around immediately. Sure, the youkai was out, but instead of being forced to get drawn to the circle like it was supposed to, it resisted the pull and made for limp boy's neck, choking him. A strangled gurgle was heard, and Natori saw yet another angry flap of wings among the trees and Natsume fingers clench around the pot.
He drew out another paper and flung it at the youkai. He knew that it would stick to the youkai's forehead and weaken it very considerably. He also purposefully chose a weaker spell so the youkai wouldn't just disintegrate in front of their eyes. It screamed angrily, and was pulled towards the circle.
Suzuya felt something similar to anger bubbling inside of him, but still viewed the situation below. The exorcist had something stick to the youkai's forehead, Natsume was ready with the pot, Homura was lying limp on the ground. He thought that maybe he wasn't needed after all, until he spotted the youkai—who was then kneeling; the ritual is going to end soon—claw at the spell on its forehead.
He wasted no time and flew down to Homura, muttering a quick apology before possessing his body this time. He felt himself adjust to the body quickly, then jumped up and ran to the bushes where Natori had stashed the wooden stick earlier. It had spells bound all along it, and Suzuya knew it could do him harm too if he was hit, but right then he was in a human's body so it couldn't affect him. He saw the look of surprise on Natsume's face, and smirked as he ran towards the circle, wooden 'weapon' outstretched. It made contact with the youkai's back, and then it really was over. The youkai was locked inside the pot, the exorcist sealed it, and it was clear the little piggy kitty was not needed.
Natsume ran to his side immediately; Natori followed suit, nodding at him with understanding.
"Homura! Are you…" he paused when he saw blue eyes in place of dark reddish ones and a smirk instead of the usual smile.
"Heh. It's Suzuya, not Homura." He closed his eyes and got out easily, catching Homura as he started to lean sideways and picked him up. Natsume looked at the unconscious teen's face, eyebrows knit together.
Natori placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, he's fine now. He just needs a little rest, that's all."
Natsume nodded, but he didn't look convinced.
"Well then, since this is finally over, we should all get home now. Let's do this—you guys get Homura-kun back to his house, and I can contact Fujiwara-san if you're so worried. But if he's still not okay in the morning, don't make him go to school."
"But…"
"He needs all the rest he can get—it's been rough for him recently. And tomorrow after you finish school, let's meet up somewhere and I'll treat you both to lunch," Natori said cheerfully. "I haven't properly introduced myself to Homura-kun anyway."
Natsume smiled. "Thank you, Natori-san!"
Suzuya nodded. "Yes, thank you, Natori-san," he said with obvious sarcasm.
"Hmm? And what's the matter with you?" he asked.
"Forgive me for stating the fact that I had my share of trouble with this guy too, exorcist."
"Oh? Does that mean you wanna come too?" Natori teased.
"Of course," Suzuya replied curtly, completely ignoring the teasing coming out of the actor's mouth. "I want delicious food."
"Food, you say?" Nyanko-sensei cried, hopping into Natsume's arms. "I'm coming too!"
Both Suzuya and Natori looked away at the same time, as if not acknowledging the cat's presence.
Ignoring Nyanko-sensei's rants, Suzuya said:"I wish he'd wake up soon."
Natori's eyes widened. "Are you actually worried for him?"
"No. I'm going to beat him up when he does."
"Don't!" Natsume said.
Well… Sorry for the crappy ending, I couldn't find another way to end this chapter… But I hope you guys liked this chapter too! Sorry I didn't go too detailed on the spells though. I couldn't find any of the incantations and I was lazy to rewatch Natsume Yuujinchou just to see what Natori and Matoba said.
By the way, I actually came up with another idea for a Natsume Yuujinchou fanfic! =D But it's not my original idea, I just sort of planned it out while viewing fan-drawn manga. If you go on Zerochan(dot)net, her ID is Rcsemato. You can click on the Pixiv link on the right if you want to go to her Pixiv page, where the manga is. Just to let you know, she draws the most Natsume Yuujinchou fanart, and the most beautiful, too! And also… the most erotic. [sideward glance, sheepish smile]
So, the fic is going to be about Nyanko-sensei actually abandoning Natsume. [noooo don't kill me just yeeet~] Then he was taken to Matoba's house by Natori, and… I'm not so sure what happens after that because it's more focused on what happens BEFORE that, lol… Anyways, it's going to be angsty, and if you're interested in reading it, let me know~ Or else I'll tweak the plot a bit and if it goes well, it's gonna be another different story… Or not a story at all…
BUT, I'll be posting it when I have the time since my current priorities are this fic and my Durarara! one. But, yeah, I'll post it. =D
Reviews please~ Nomi nomi nom nom
