Cross posted from my Ao3 Account.
SUMMARY: In a sleepy village above a large mountain, a rumour begins to spread. More and more people from the village are disappearing and no one knows the cause. Eventually, the rumours start to spread in certain circles, and Natori is contacted about the issue. It's a much bigger case than he's had before, and enlists the help of Natsume. No more lies, no more pretenses.
"Natsume, will you help me on this?"
What they later find is something beyond what they had imagined. Several years ago, disaster struck the area, and the entire village was wiped out. Those who managed to survive, fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Or so the story goes. When Natori and Natsume visit, though the village is barren, they manage to find one or two villagers within the foggy village- disappearing into the darkness of their shops, or escaping deeper into the fog...
"There lies a mountain in the far East. There has been talk of mysterious disappearances. Several monks have gone to solve the problem, but none have been successful. In fact, none have come back. No one could tell when it all started. There are many versions which all end in the same way- a cycle of death and destruction, hate and vengeance. To find out more about it all, the only true, best way would be to obtain the information for oneself."
Natori read the note over once more. An exasperated sigh escaped him. "You can tell your master that I've received the note." He eyed the creature that had slunk into the shadows as soon as they had delivered the message that they were meant to. Instead of disappearing immediately, it lingered. Stared at him, unblinking. Two red pinpricks where the eyes would be gazing out of the darkness. Behind him, Hiiragi, Sasago, and Urihime lingered protectively. Hiiragi's hand twitched to rest on her sword, but Urihime's hair rustled. She stopped. The eyes in the darkness did not flicker toward them, but only another second passed before those too completely sunk into nothingness.
With the spirit gone, Natori removed the eye-glasses perched upon his face. He leaned back into his chair- exasperation mounting.
"Master." Hiiragi's one-eyed mask appeared in his upturned line of sight. "What does the note say." Her voice as even and measured as usual. But there was a curiosity that resonated. There always was when it came to Natori.
"Hiiragi, stop pestering Master." Sasago spoke. But her curiosity was there as well.
"It seems we'll be going to an impromptu party." If Hiiragi's expressions could be seen, her eyebrows would be pinched together in askance. But the three spirits did nothing but stand by and watch the exorcist as he picked up the note once more to skim its contents.
—
It was a few days later when Natori found himself donned in his exorcist robes. His arms folded into the sleeves in front of him, glasses perched upon his face. Hiiragi was the only one left at his side, Sasago and Urihime out along the premises. They would be there in the blink of an eye if he needed. Hiiragi only remained because she solemnly left the man's side. She got it in her head that the information gathering would be dangerous, and she would rather be close enough to act- despite his constant telling of otherwise.
"Ah, Natori. It certainly is rare to glance your face at such meetings." An old exorcist spoke from behind him before moving to his side. Natori turned.
"If I showed up too often, how would I manage to keep people wanting to see more of me." Charm. It was his fall back for everything, even in situations that he would rather not be in.
"I think your skill as an exorcist proves your worth itself."
"You flatter me." It was all pleasantries. His mind already drifting to questions he'd need answered; questions about the strange mountain that was brought to his attention. The whole reason he was even at the party.
Before he could continue, or before the other man could, a new voice came from nearby.
"Natori. I'm surprised to see your face here." He turned to see Nanase, an ever-present member of the Matoba Clan. She was dressed as sharply as ever in a lavender cotton, two-piece pantsuit.
"Just how many meetings do you have, to make it obvious that I'm not here?"
Nanase outrightly ignored his words. She turned her head back and forth, the action made it obvious that she was looking for something in particular. She then turned back to Natori, a suspicious tint glinted the lens of her rounded glasses. "I see the Natsume boy is not with you."
"We're not as close as you seem to think." A lie. He would never let anyone know how important Natsume was to him. The less they knew, the better. He would protect Natsume. "It's good to get out and learn things every now and then. After all, there's so much useful knowledge."
She folded her arms over her chest. Her gaze focused on Natori's own as if she was trying to read the inner workings of his mind. She sighed. "Don't tell me you're using an exorcist meeting to gather information for your acting. "
"But if you can't utilise all your resources, what is the point of it all?" Natori slipped on an easy smile. His flighty, boyish acting charisma painting over his image.
Nanase barely controlled a roll of her eyes. "Perhaps you should invite the boy next time."
Natori's smile only shone brighter as it stretched wider. "He doesn't seem the kind to be an actor. But I'll be sure to ask the next time I run into him."
Nanase brought her hand to her forehead and sighed at Natori's antics. But she didn't say anything else, and the exorcist-actor used that moment to dismiss himself. As he walked away he could still feel her eyes boring into his back. He expected her to call out to him again, but the voice of the man he had been speaking to earlier rose up drawing her attention away. Eventually, Nanase's voice chimed in as the two engaged in conversation. Natori let out a small sigh and continued with his retreat.
Natori had lost track of how many people he had spoken to at the exorcist get together. How many times he'd tried, and failed to gather information on this supposed mysterious mountain. It began to look more and more like a cautionary tale- a myth or legend than anything else. As an attendant walked by with a tray of drinks- some glasses empty, some filled to the brim. Natori snagged one. He gave a charming smile to the waiter who looked up only to hustle away between the throngs of people.
"Natori Shuuichi. Your face isn't one I see at these meetings often."
Natori downed the drink, then looked at his glass when he realised there was nowhere to put it. He turned.
"Yes. I'm starting to see that."
"What brings you here? Beside information of course. I can't imagine one would come to these things simply to meet up for a casual chat with other clans."
"I'm afraid I don't have that kind of free time." The two gave a short chuckle. Natori's eyes fell back to his empty glass, watching the condensation make patterns of streaks and drops of water all along the surface. He would give one more chance on finding out information for what he had gone in attendance for. If it led to another dead end then he would have to find other means to know what he wanted. Or admit that he was sent on a goose chase. The latter did not do well for his mood. "I came to find out about a mountain in the north-west."
"I'm sure you are aware that there are many mountains in our beautiful land." The man gave another short chuckle at his own words.
"I suppose." Natori conceded as he watched the condensation on his empty glass. "Though this seems to be the only one where people go missing without a trace."
He expected the man to make another attempt at a witty remark. Nothing came. Natori looked up at his fellow exorcist to see the man's eyes narrowed in thought before looking around the room as if checking to see who was nearby. Once he was satisfied he turned back to Natori.
"Why don't we have a drink? Your glass looks a bit lonely."
Natori stared at the man for a moment. Going by the time he had spent trying to find something on the current case he was pursuing, it seemed that the information finally came to him. He glanced at the glass in his hand, and looked back up to see another waiter making rounds. As they passed by, he swiftly rested the glass on the tray.
"I could use a quality drink."
—
After the meeting Natori felt a headache niggling at the corners of his skull. He didn't know if it was because of the exorcist meeting, the meeting that came after, or the large amounts of alcohol he may or may not have consumed whilst receiving all the information. In reality, it was possibly a combination of all three.
They had gotten drinks at a fairly populous area. A number of people, both young and old traipsed the sidewalks. Taxis drove by more oft than not in the streets. Natori hailed one and got in.
He would certainly need to further investigate into the matter of the mountain. But he knew there were a number of books that would shed light onto the matter as his family home.
—
When Natori got to his estate he didn't waste time reminiscing about a childhood passed, or wandering around the grounds lost in nostalgia. He made his way to the library, his legs taking him without incident even as pain pounded against his skull.
He browsed the shelves, his fingers brushing against the spine of each book. As he found one that he thought would help his investigation, his fingers lingered. He tapped the spine before finally pulling the book from its tight confines. By the end he had a stack of five books.
Natori sat, his stack placed in front of him, before he opened the one on top to pour over its contents. Hiiragi appeared from thin air, and stood beside him. She didn't say anything, and Natori continued with his work as if she wasn't there.
He managed to reach the middle of book two before Hiiragi made a sound. She placed a glass onto the table. Natori looked over at the clear liquid.
"You should drink something, Master. Humans are quickly ailed from a large alcoholic consumption."
Natori's laugh was hollow. "It's already late for that." He took the glass regardless, and downed the contents, thanking Hiiragi absently. He continued with his research and his shiki once again let him be. Though he could still feel her presence lingering somewhere close behind him.
The reading proved a bit dry by the third book. Natori flipped through the pages with one hand. His other keeping his head propped up as he read. He finished the book with a sigh, putting it to the side and grabbing another. As Natori read through the fourth book in his pile, his fingers stilled momentarily before he used them as a guide as they skimmed across the pages. He sat up a bit straighter, his lips involuntarily reading the words aloud.
"Nothing ever comes easy, does it." Natori sighed. He reached up to take his glasses off only to realise that he'd never put them on in the first place.
"Are you going to ask Natsume?" Hiiragi's voice broke through the fog of Natori's mind. Her question was clipped, but the exorcist knew exactly what she was referring to. He had thought about it himself. Rather, the idea had flitted through his mind unwarranted.
"Oh? Ask him what?"
Hiiragi stared at him for a long moment. It wasn't exactly unnerving for Natori as he could imagine others may feel. Instead it was like a silent judging and scolding look. He sighed heavily.
"He shouldn't be tangled up in things such as these, Hiiragi. It could get dangerous."
"Natsume should decide what he wants to do." A brief pause. "You should gather all the help you can."
Natori sighed once more. He could understand all the subtleties in his shiki's speech, the care over his well-being in suggesting safety in numbers. But he didn't know if he was willing to risk Natsume's safety either. He kept silent, and so did Hiiragi. She seemed to know when to stop and simply leave him to his own thoughts. He would have a lot to think about.
He looked at the book again, the words he'd just read, jumping out at him. He closed the book, pushed it to the side, and rested his head in his arms. He needed sleep. If he was to think about his next move clearly, he'd need to get rid of his headache first.
—
"Sensei, don't wander off too far." Natsume called out to his cat bodyguard. Nyanko-sensei either didn't care to listen, or hadn't heard as he bounded off ahead in chase of a butterfly.
Natsume shook his head as he watched his bodyguard disappear into the underbrush of the forest. He cast a quick glance around his surroundings in his suddenly isolated state. There weren't even tiny spirits lingering in the quiet corners of the forest as far as he could see. He shook the feeling and continued his casual stride. His attention caught once more when a nearby bush rustled loudly.
Natsume's steps halted. "Sensei?" He waited a moment, expecting the lucky cat form to leap into sight. It didn't. The bushes rustled more urgently than before, and Natsume took a defensive step backward.
A blur of white flew out at him. He only had time to throw his hands up to shield his face before something latched onto his arm. A startled yell ripped from his throat as he tried to shake his arm free. He grabbed whatever was attached to his arm, ready to rip it off, when it fell limp. The harried tugging stopped suddenly. He looked down to see a large white humanoid-shaped paper. At the same moment the bushes rustled again making him look toward it.
"N-Natori-san?"
"Natsume."
Another section of the bushes moved and the two males looked in time to see a white ball flip into the air only to land in the shape of white, orange, and grey fluff. Nyanko's eyes darted back and forth, taking in the scene. Natsume's look of surprise, the paper hanging limp from his arm, and finally settling on the taller of the two- still slightly amidst the forest brush.
"Natori-san. What is this?" Natsume cut through the terse silence, loosely gesturing to the paper talisman. "If you needed me, there are more normal ways to do so." He sighed, his mind taking him back to one of their earliest meetings. He was at least grateful that this time he was not dragged along the forest ground against his will.
"I'm sorry Natsume. It was only meant to locate you." Natori held his hand palm upward. The paper in Natsume's grip rustled and shrunk. When Natsume let it go, it flew obediently into Natori's awaiting palm.
"Is something wrong?" Natsume grew concerned when Natori closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Can't control a simple trick, and you look like shit." Nyanko harrumphed. Natsume gasped.
" Sensei!"
Though, when Natsume looked at Natori again, he could see that the man looked a bit tired. And he was.
It had been several days since Natori had holed himself up in his estate's library. In those days he had weighed the pros and cons to what he had now come to do. And even still, the point of keeping Natsume out of danger outweighed all else. Though Natori saw the sense in Hiiragi's earlier words.
"Natsume should decide what he wants to do. You should gather all the help you can."
If nothing else, he would at least talk to Natsume about it. He focused on the boy who looked back at him expectantly.
"Why don't we go somewhere and talk."
