It's been 2 days since Natori's visit and 3 days since I left the Fujiwaras. Natsume placed the brush he was holding on the table and collapsed on his back with a heavy sigh. He stared out the window and at the clear sky above. I wonder if they're angry...

The door suddenly slid open and startled Natsume back into sitting position. He didn't want them to think that he was slacking off with his training after all.

The man who entered was Matoba Seiji and for some reason, on his hands was a tray of tea and snacks.

Natsume thought that it was odd for him to be doing such work but didn't comment on it. His sensei, on the other hand, was smiling from ear to ear despite himself at the thought of the head of the Matoba clan serving them tea. It was usually one of lowest-ranked members of the clan or his shiki who does such chores.

"Natsume-kun, I brought some tea." He said as he set a cup in front of the boy, placed a bowl of rice crackers in the middle of the table and then sat across of him.

Natsume eyed at the pile of charms and seals he still had to do but he had a feeling that declining the man's offer would be a fruitless attempt so he just obediently cleared the table and reached for his tea. "T-Thank you."

Nyanko-sensei jumped on Natsume's lap and sniffed at the liquid. "Natsume, don't worry, this tea isn't poisoned," he said as he proceeded to gulp down Natsume's share.

"Sensei..."

"My, how rude of you. I have no intention of harming Natsume-kun. He is a valuable member of the Matoba clan after all."

The cat jumped on top of the table, narrowed his eyes at the other man and scoffed, "Hmph. Stupid exorcist, Natsume is only here because he needs something from you. Once that's done, we're out of this stupid place."

"Sensei!" Natsume suddenly grabbed his cat from the table and held him against his chest, "I know you don't like Matoba-san but please don't cause him any trouble."

Nyanko-sensei wriggled out of Natsume's arms and landed back down on the table, "Fine! But just so you know, I still don't trust this exorcist brat!"

Natsume heaved a sigh and punched the cat on the head. He didn't put much power on the punch but it was enough to make his sensei forget his anger for now. "I'm sorry, Matoba-san. Even though you were considerate enough to let us stay here..."

Matoba didn't seem bothered by the cat's words at all though, he was just smiling from where he sat and watched the exchange the other two just had. "It's no problem if it's you but," he cast a glance towards Nyanko-sensei who was then busy nursing his abused head, "if I were you, I'd keep my pet on a tight leash."

"I'm not his pet, I'm his sensei!"

"It seems like we can't have a proper conversation with it around so I'll be taking my leave." Completely ignoring the cat's protest, the exorcist stood up and headed for the door. "And Natsume-kun, you really would make a fine exorcist," he said as he gestured towards the charms and seals the boy was doing earlier and left the room.

As soon as Matoba's footsteps could no longer be heard, Natsume flopped back down on the tatami mat with an even heavier sigh escaping his lips.

Author's Notes/Ramblings: Hello! I bet you weren't expecting me to update so soon, huh? Well, I got a little motivated since someone I know followed this story. I was actually going to post this two days ago but when I went to check on a little something from the manga, I ended up reading a whole bunch of chapters. XD Speaking of chapters, does anyone know which chapter of the manga does Shibata and Murasaki appear in? I can't seem to find it. Thanks in advance!

And as usual, thanks for reading! :D

8/1/14