Sorry for the late update. I had been working on a drama script someone had requested me and I had to put this fic away for awhile as I worked on it. Now, here I am, before that I would like to give some lectures about the characters in this fic. If you hate spoilers for the real anime you better skip it..hehe

Matoba Seiji, the person who is probably the most OOC in this fic. Since he hasn't yet made his grand appearance in the anime, I couldn't tell for sure, what his characters like, how his voice sounds, what his 'mokuteki' were, is he bad, or is he actually a nice guy with misunderstood personality etc etc etc… I really hope that he will show up in the next season in 2011, well, if they decide to make a third season of it which I, 50% doubt it. Haha! But, seriously, if they make the third season, we will absolutely meet him. His arc was pretty interesting as compared to the others and it gives the continuation to whatever happens with Natsume and his Book of Friends.

The things that happened in Matoba past have not yet been revealed in the manga, and yes the childhood memories he had with his brother, I made it all up! :P So does his ability as an exorcist; the cloth manipulator (see chapter 5). Hahahaha! Well, come on, Midorikawa Yuki-sensei had made him so interestingly mysterious that we couldn't figure out a single thing, that's why I let my imagination go a bit wild for that. And, since Natori uses papers for his jutsu (in the manga Matoba admitted that the natori-clan was the expert in manipulating papers), I decided why not make his rival a cloth-user then… besides his enchanting bow…. ^_^ But, he seemed to have the power to restrict people+youkai in the manga, and because I couldn't tell for sure, I drop it. But, I didn't make up the eye-eating youkai issue… that one is official.

I'm sorry for making him look so bad and sinister in this story. Natsume did think like that of him in the manga though and we can see how distrustful Natori was towards Matoba-clan in the anime (zoku episode 9). I like it when Nanase-san warned Natori about intercepting their business in the manga (chapter 23), she did it just to lure Natori and figure things out, and Natori had thoughtlessly come flying to Natsume to make sure everything's okay. Hihi.. Natori may look like that, but he is as naïve as Natsume not 1% less.

Okay, enough blabbering. Hope you enjoy this chapter! By the way, I made an obvious mistake about Matoba, and because we had come this far, I'm not telling you about it….^_^

Chapter 12

Madara soared above the trees while twenty other youkai pursued him. Looks like he was able to lure those troublesome fools into the forest, away from the training ground. He didn't like to fight with all those branches getting on his way, but he just didn't want to thump all those guys into a pulp in front of Natsume, let alone force them through his cake hole. The boy was too soft-hearted and too tender, Madara thought, that he didn't want to scare him. He wondered, if Natsume was alright after what happened to that female shiki. He's a strong-willed boy, he'll be alright, he thought. Yeah, we hoped so…

For once in his life, he had to agree with that lizard brat for putting Natsume inside that barrier. At least, he won't get hurt if anything goes bad. And, he won't get involved in his fight as well. Twenty was quite a number to beat. No matter how troublesome it was, it was not that he couldn't manage. But, it will be much harder to deal with if he had someone he needed to protect at the same time.

From afar, he could sense a slow change in the atmosphere and his lush white fur on his back bristled. There's only a reason why that happened and he was glad that he was quite far away from that wretched training ground now. To still give him creeps even in this distance…Damn those crazy exorcists!

A youkai suddenly pounced on him out of nowhere and Madara instantly ducked dodging the abrupt ambush. The cat-like youkai sliced a mass of fur but missed him of course and as it hovered on top of him, Madara clawed it from below and it was thrown away colliding with another youkai as it went. Madara stood glowering at the group of youkai which surrounded him, none fierce enough to scare him though.

So, you honestly think that beasts like you, who are ignorant of your own place can take down a higher being like me?

Madara dug his bloody claws within the grassy earth and growled. This could get pretty ugly.

.

Natori dodged the piece of cloth that was lashed swiftly towards him. The unusual dark fabric slammed against a tree leaving a deep cut on its trunk. He glanced at the poor tree for a second before diverting all his attention back to his opponent. He secretly gulped. If that thing hit him just now, he would…

Before he could finish his line of thoughts, another swift blur advanced for him. There's no time to dodge it this time and he threw his chain paper dolls forward in attempt to shield himself. The paper caught the cloth and instantly restricted it like snakes. The cloth was thorn into tiny pieces.

"Woah, that was pretty something, Natori. Your move and your marvelous costume make it looks so extremely realistic." Matoba said. He paused for a second before amusingly looking at the antique straw slippers at Natori's feet. Matoba seriously had no idea why the other was dressed like that but all that he lacked was a weapon, he mused to himself.

"Thank you for the compliment," Natori said a little out of breath. Thanks to that, his annoyed twitch was barely visible.

"But, do you know, one of the rules stated in the Code of the Shinsengumi is that it prohibits its members from engaging in private fights."

"Is that so? Then, I shall commit seppuku right after I defeat you, Matoba-san."

After exchanging smiles they continued to lash at each other and dodge each other's attack.

Meanwhile, from inside the barrier, Natsume sat on the grass worriedly watching the fight. Natori-san had nothing to do with this, he reminded himself, and he was just being dragged in this situation and defended him in the name of friendship. He was just here because he wasn't strong enough to defend himself, and because there's no one else who could help him. Deep inside his heart, Natsume was glad that Natori was helping him, but there's no way he could cramp away the anxiety within him seeing the man fight. Even Natori seemed to be able to get the upper hand in the battle he knew better how he was actually not in a condition to fight. What if he got injured again? What if he got killed by the one-eyed guy? But, there's nothing he could do to stop the fight and even if he had been yelling and protesting earlier, all Natori gave him as a response was just a smile. If only he could get out from this barrier and put a stop to it… for the first time in life, Natsume truly hated the art of exorcism.

Hiiragi saw how the boy who sat beside her gripped a fistful grass on the ground. His brows were crooked and knitted in agitation and Hiiragi could tell the boy was extremely worried. There was no sign of tears anymore though the boy seemed to continuously sniffing. What happened before to the poor youkai was miserably heartbreaking. And Natsume must have gravely affected by it. To see that he was no longer crying, was a blessing. Perhaps, Natsume was trying hard to push all that grief away since there was another danger at hand. The boy was getting stronger, she thought. Still, she didn't dare to bring out the delicate matter concerning Minami, perchance the boy would crumble down like sand. Ignoring her own share of worry she tried to sooth him.

"Do not worry so much Natsume. He may look ordinary as a man, but Master is very strong. He had almost the same reputation with Matoba," she told him with much gentle voice she could muster.

"But, his arm is still hurting him. He may not be able to keep up with those swift movements for long."

It's true that Natori's movement was slowing down a little and Hiiragi saw how he relied more on his left hand than the right. She was thankful that her master was ambidextrous.

"Please trust him," she said, more like to herself this time. "I have faith in my master."

Both of them dashed forward, launching each other's attack. There was a swishing sound as the two conjurers met, colliding onto each other's assault and hurled away. Natori safely landed on the ground while his chain papers still twirling around him. In truth, Natori was heavily panting after all the hassle. His body felt a little heavy and his legs were slightly shaking. But, he didn't have time to regard all the weaknesses and pain he felt right now. He needed to stay strong and win the fight! Unexpectedly, he felt a stinging pain on his head. He raised his good hand to feel it and found a small cut. A line of crimson rivulet oozed out from his temple.

Damn it, Matoba just got me!

Matoba was grinning as he saw some blood on his opponent's head. But, the grin quickly vanished as he himself raised his hand and found a bloody cut on his own cheek. Now, Matoba was truly pissed. He had been in many fights before, be it with youkai or human, but not a single drop of his blood until now was shed.

Natori Shuichi, there's not a single soul he really wished to exterminate, right then.

The cloth-user summoned back the shattered fabric on the ground and they gathered in front of him like accumulating black smoke. Breathing a cursed spell between his teeth, the large heap of dark cloth flew forward, forming a huge ferocious black dragon as it advanced towards Natori.

In a breath, a big paper doll stood up covering its master, holding the dragon at bay. Natori held out both his hands forward withstanding the dragon's great pressure but it proved to be futile as his arms began to shake. He knew he couldn't hold it, not a minute longer. Without second thought, he slipped a hand into the fold of his hakama and took out another ofuda between his fingers. He chanted a little spell and the paper flew, flinging towards the dragon like a boomerang slashing it in two. The dragon instantly vanished and the black heap of cloth fell silently to the ground.

Just as Natori unwound to catch his breath, an object suddenly flew towards him, cutting through the paper doll which stood protecting him, hitting and stabbing him on the shoulders. He cried in pain as he was flung seven feet backwards before kissing the ground.

"Natori-san!" he heard Natsume's worried voice called for him, a sign that a terrible thing had indeed occurred. By the time he lifted himself from the ground all he could sense was pain. He could even barely register a black arrow sticking out from his left shoulders, having painfully grazed his clavicle.

"You have used your weapon," Natori said turning to the impishly grinning Matoba in front of him. A large bow was visible held by his hand.

"I remembered, only shiki was forbidden in this fight, not including the weapons," Matoba told him. Natori gripped the arrow and pulled it out in a breath. He hissed and blood came rushing down his arm drenching his left sleeves in scary primal red. It was true that he had said nothing about weapons before and how very foolish of him to entirely forget about it.

The ground seemed to be shaking underneath him and he could feel a depressing aura raised up as his opponent gathered about three magic arrows in his direction. Seizing the pain, he staggered to his feet. "Well, Natori. If thou wish to live, summon thy weapon!"

After so many years of exorcising the spirit, the days he used his weapon could be counted with fingers. In fact, the last time he used it was when he was set out to slay an evil deity in a mountain with the Head of the Natori household, his Grandfather, five years ago. Somehow, even until now Natori had an amount of dislikes towards weapons.

After all, a weapon, no matter how convenient, was made to kill. That was why, even Natsume had only seen him using sticks the entire time.

Matoba stretched out his bow, ready for a kill while Natori stood up, a little hunched, clasping his bleeding shoulder. Matoba-clan was originally a group of skilled bowmen and Natori knew within this distance he would not miss. There's no way he could stop those with his papers either. Still clasping his wound, Natori raised his now weakened and wounded left arm forward. He let his fist relaxed and his fingers unclasped as if he was about to reach and hold onto an invisible object in front of him.

The arrows came faster than a breath and they cleaved through the air with frighteningly deafening hiss. Two meters away before the arrows reached him, slowly and calmly, almost like a whisper, Natori called its name.

"Ryuken."

Translucent lines instantly formed in front of him and as he clasped his fingers together, he was holding onto not nothingness, not air, not papers, but the hilt of a sword. He swung the weapon forward two times faster than any eye could catch and the three black arrows lay uselessly on the grass.

Natori let the tip of the long blade touched the ground, it had been awhile for him to swing it in a fight, and both his arms were in a bad condition that he began to feel the sword heavier than usual. A green ofuda along with a thread made talisman dangled at its hilt.

From afar, Matoba was clapping his hands, half-admiring, half-mocking his opponent. That bastard, instead of being anxious, he was enjoying the fight!

"I'm truly honoured to see Young Master Natori in action today," he said. "I heard that they say the young master was fearsome in battle, who had played quite a role when they eliminated that demon 5 years ago. He had not shown any interesting skill nowadays, though, I'm glad that the rumours were true. All the more reasons for me…

TO DEFEAT YOU!" Matoba launched more arrows as he finished his last sentence.

Natori braced himself as the arrows came. Of course, he dodged and swatted them away as easily as he did before, but Matoba mercilessly continued his assault leaving Natori no time to breathe. In truth, he was confident with his sword skill, he had been through a Spartan training with his Grandfather before; having no confident would be a shame. But, Natori realized the slowly faltering sight he was having and the ever throbbing sensation through his every muscle that kept troubling his concentration – he was indeed running out of time. If he was hoping to win the trade, he needed…

to end this thing quick!

Natori dashed forward as he whacked more arrows in his way. Matoba kept firing with arrows that ended with close calls. He admired the other for being able to move that fast despite of the injuries he bore, but he knew the man wouldn't be as lucky next time.

Again, from inside the barrier, Natsume could no longer sit still. He was walking to and fro instead, glancing at his friend and clasping the fabric of his shirt. In his agitated mind, he tried hard to mentally recall the spell Natori had taught to destroy the barrier around him. Indeed, he hadn't forgotten it and he knew he wasn't wrong. But, this barrier seemed a little bit tricky than what he had learnt and no matter how many times he tried to dispel it, it didn't work.

Natsume inhaled exasperatedly. He remembered Natori-san had recited the spell along with him when the barrier was built. He must have double-layered it, locking them from outside. If that was the case, even though Natsume was one of those who performed the ritual, it might be quite impossible for them to get out.

Inwardly, Hiiragi was as anxious as the boy. Yet, she stayed on the ground eyeing her master closely, reading his every move. Somehow, she knew what her master was thinking and she knew that he was somehow in a hurry. That, in truth, worried her a lot. She realized that a long-range combat was putting him in a great disadvantage and that her master was trying to improve the situation by closing the distance between him and the opponent. Still, that had not put Hiiragi much at ease. Master, it was not like him to be so rushed.

Another arrow missed his head by a mere inch. It passed whizzing closed to Natori's ears. Yet, Natori's face remained unfazed. He focused straight onto the brunet ahead of him and kept moving forward. Matoba was indeed skillful with his bow, no doubt he was born with it, one slip he would definitely be dead. But, if he could at least pass the arrows and get himself within the defenseless circle of the bowman, there will be plenty of openings for a successful attack. If he could at least get a little closer. Natori severed another arrow coming his way. Just one more step… and one final blow…

Natori jumped forward, sword swinging straight to his opponent's front. Before he knew it, a long cheesy smile crept onto the brunet's lips. The blade was met with the wooden curve of the giant bow and Natori was stopped dead on his tracks. Just after he did, a swishing sound came, and Natori was forced to retreat a few steps to dodge the swift black cloth coming for him. Within seconds, a giant bow was swung towards his head, swishing along its way like a gust of wind. Natori crouched low and the bow passed through his sweet blond hair. Pivoting his weight for the next blow, in his position, Natori aimed for Matoba's leg this time. The latter leapt backwards buying him a few distances just before the cold blade could graze his ankle. In a blink of an eye, Natori bolted up again, launching his frighteningly fast and unseen attack. Again, his blade met the amazingly tough wood of his opponent's bow.

Matoba's smile never left his mouth, and even while he stood with his bow in hand, blocking the other's blade, it irritatingly spread longer to his cheek, much to the blond's frustration. "You are quite a persistent type, Natori."

With inhumane speed he flipped the large bow with one hand and swung it towards his opponent. It was Natori's turn to block the attack this time and he was swept a little aback by its powerful blow. It was true that Matoba carried a bow, a weapon which brought one to believe that he was a long-range fighter. However, Natori noticed how he was also skillful in closed combat and the weapon was equally convenient in both fights. In other words, this man had no opening to begin with. Matoba juggled and flipped the bow from one hand to another like a yari user, carefully avoiding the side of its thread in every hit. Still, it didn't stop him from attacking.

Natori's shoulder began to sting and in a beat he lightly sidestepped, only to be grazed by the tip of the bow. Natori hadn't realized until then that the bow had blades at its both ends and blood began to drip from his side. In a breath, he blocked another attack from Matoba with a wince on his face, mentally reminding himself to be more careful with it next time. More swinging with incredulous power went his way and Natori was forced to leap, dodge and block all at the same time. Unfortunately, as he was blocking one attack in mid air, a kick landed straight on his gut and he was sent flying about three meters backward.

He safely landed on his feet, carefully poised himself in a sitting position. The mass of long hair fell messily over his shoulders as the severed white ribbon holding the pony tail in place fell silently to the ground.

"You are really a persistent type, Natori. It's hard for me to hold back." Natori decided not to reply Matoba's taunt. He was forced to sit still, saying nothing even if he really wanted to. That was because his body had begun to ache very badly and that he was bleeding in more than one places had worsen his condition. His heart was pounding inside and his sight began to shake ever so slightly in every beat. He was heaving too heavily for air that it hurt.

"It makes me wonder, Natori, you had been striving so hard from the beginning," Matoba said mercifully lowering his bow. "And the boy had nothing to do with you. Tell me, Natori, what is your reason behind this?"

"I have my own reason to do things I did. And, you don't have to know," Natori replied panting.

"Indeed, I don't have to know. But, in his case…" The brunet turned towards the boy inside the barrier. The look in his eyes was meaningfully taunting. "In your case, Natsume Takashi-kun, you really did have a right to know."

"What are you implying?" the boy snapped suspiciously eyeing the other. Natsume Takashi may be naïve. He may be an idiot, as Sensei said he was, in certain things. But, he couldn't possibly miss the disturbingly knowing look in Matoba's eyes. For good reasons, he learnt to keep his guard up around this man.

"What I mean is that, why is that poor Natori over there is bold enough to go against me, intercept the association requests addressed to me, getting on my way with my brilliant plan and much importantly fight to the death in the face of my bow for your sake?" he said pointing at the tired Shinsengumi on the ground. "If I were him, be it a friend or not, I would not stick my nose into other people's business, unless…

unless, there's some significant credit that I wish to gain." There was a cheesy unsettling smile as he finished his last sentence. Both Natori and Natsume abruptly turned and squinted towards the brunet.

"I don't understand what you are saying," Natsume said distrustfully. Surely, he understood that Matoba was suggestively saying that Natori-san would betray him. He just didn't quite understand under what basis he would.

"How very naïve of you, Natsume Takashi-kun. What a blissful child!" For a moment Matoba's gaze softened, as if for once he had honestly shown what he had truly felt. Then, his eye turned sinister again. "Truly, I'm a little jealous of you. Well, no wonder you are being tricked by him. He's a good actor after all."

"I won't let you speak ill of Natori-san!" the boy boldly warned.

"And why is that?" he griped. "Who is he to you anyway? And don't tell me because he was a friend you are ready to lose your life for him. And don't tell me because he is a family either. Familial tie is even worse. Same goes to you, Natori! Who is this boy to you?" Matoba's voice echoed in the entire place, as if it could clearly be heard through the woods. Silence was the only thing that lingered after that between them. Natori diverted his gaze sideways from Natsume's face straight to the ground where he was sitting, saying nothing, and amazingly enough, just like the elder, Natsume's eyes widened slightly, almost puzzled, not knowing how to answer. It was for the first time a person had asked him that. In truth, he had never thought of it at all; about who that exorcist was to him. He was a person he met by accident one day, who had after that suspiciously gotten involved in his life yet he hadn't felt it strange at all. Why did he keep popping up and helped him sometimes? Surely, he never did things for free, and Natsume would have to help him with his job in return, but he had always been kind to him. Why is that? What is he to that man? And what is that exorcist to him? Indeed, there's no answer to that question.

"Hee? This is very interesting. So you guys don't understand it either," Matoba said eyeing the two back and forth. "Well, human relationship is complicated, I won't blame you. Anyway, Natsume Takashi-kun, that person over there surely has some credits to gain from you. Looking at your face, I know that you have also been wondering the same thing I did, yes, whether he, after all this time, had been very protective over you since he's after that precious book of yours."

That was all Natori could take and in a split second, Matoba leapt up from his place avoiding the dangerous chained papers lashed his way. The shinsengumi valiantly stood before him shielding the boy from his sight.

"You know nothing about this, Matoba-san. So, I hope you will be quiet for awhile," the blond said between gritted teeth. Anger was evident in the dark reddish pools of his eyes.

Matoba landed gracefully on the ground and smiled with exceeding satisfaction.

"I was just merely guessing, no need to get very angry for it." He was about to received another blow from the infuriated samurai when he mockingly said "Well, were I wrong, why don't you tell him the truth, Natori?"

There was a sharp inhalation coming from the paper-user, as if Matoba's arrows in the form of words had really hit his target. In an instant, he halted and the anger quickly vanished. It was unlikely of the man to feel shame, but that was how Natsume saw him as he stood there, gripping the sword too tightly that his hand shook. His brows furrowed and his sight trembled ever so slightly as he hesitantly regarded his opponent. Thanks to the untied long blond hair that fell over his face, no one was able to see the hurtful face he was making. He let his gaze fell guiltily to the ground and bowed unable to say a word.

With his back facing him, Natsume couldn't see his face, but he didn't have to look at the other's face to know this. The exorcist didn't turn around to face him even once as if there was no strength left in him to tell the truth, to deny whatever accusation the annoying brunet had made. At that moment, Natori had silently admitted there were indeed some secrets he didn't tell the boy and he knew, for the life of him, he knew that Natsume knew it.

Slowly the exorcist sighed in defeat lowering his sword, the tip of the long blade shamefully touching the ground.

"Natori-san?"

Owh…. Do you enjoy this chapter? Please review ^_^

P/S – Yeah, I made up about Natori's sword, haha, sorry I couldn't resist the temptation…