Turns out people are actually reading this, so... Have another chapter! xD

Madara stepped closer to Natsume when The Book of Friends was mentioned, prepared to fight, though he still couldn't sense any malicious intent from Kantarou. "How do you know all of that?" The teen asked, clutching his bag tightly, grateful that Madara hadn't run off. He knew there was no denying his relation to Reiko, and if this man knew about the Book...

"You've become rather popular among youkai. We don't live near here, but word travels quickly. Rumor has it there's a boy called Natsume Takashi, the grandson of Natsume Reiko, who has inherited her Book of Friends, and is returning the names within it to the youkai with help from a fat cat..." He glanced down at Madara thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, the cat fits the description, too"

Naturally, Madara threw a fit when Kantarou called him fat, "This is not my true form! My true form is graceful, magnificent, divine-"

Natsume whacked the strange creature upside the head and sighed. "I won't let anyone take the Book from me." He stated simply, trying to sound as confident as possible, though he really hated fighting, especially if it was going to be against a human.

"I don't want it," Kantarou said simply, turning away from the boy and cat as he continued down the path, "If the rumors are true, I'd like to help you. What you're doing is the right thing, and it should bring a bit more peace to this land."

Natsume blinked. Kantarou wanted to help him? They were little more than strangers and he wanted to assist him with such an arduous, dangerous task? Why? One thing was for certain, he couldn't trust anyone who knew about The Book of Friends so easily. "Speaking of peace, what business do you have with the Tanumas?" He wondered aloud, following Kantarou as Madara made his way back onto Natsume's shoulder.

"The priest believes his son is sensitive to youkai, and that something there is making him weak. He asked me to exorcise whatever was causing his son so much trouble." Kantarou replied simply.

"Tanuma..." Natsume sighed. He wanted his dear friend to be well, but he truly disliked exorcisms. "You're an exorcist?" He asked, recalling the cruel methods of the exorcists he'd met thus far.

Kantarou nodded, "I ask youkai to leave the families alone and purify evil spirits so that they, too, may go to heaven. I don't try to bring harm to them, unlike most others I've heard-" He paused when the bells on his wrist began to jingle "of... This is dangerous. You should go home, I can find my way from here." He told Natsume, "Thank you for your help."

Natsume froze, concerned for his friend. It was dangerous? What had Kantarou meant by that? "What's dangerous? What do you mean?" He wondered aloud.

Kantarou held up his wrist to show Natsume the bells, "They ring in the presence of demons. There's a demonic presence nearby, you should stay away from here until I'm finished. I thought it would be a youkai feeding off of his energy, but if it's a demon... they can be rather ruthless when confronted..." He winced as the scar on his chest began to sear with pain. Was the demon coming to them? Or had Haruka lured it out? "And... It would be bad if it got a hold of the Book before we could defeat it."

Natsume sighed. The man had a point there, but... He couldn't just abandon Tanuma. "I'm coming with you," He said, determined, as Kantarou began to walk away from him, "The priest's son is a friend of mine. If what you're saying is true, I can't just sit back and watch."

Kantarou paused for a moment, then glanced back at Natsume. "He's your friend? I see... That's good. Alright, you can come along, just don't get too close to the demon. I've been performing exorcisms for years, and Haruka's been working with me for some time now, too. We can handle it on our own, I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're quite the confident human, aren't you?" Madara asked, narrowing his eyes as the three of them made their way to the Tanuma home, "You'd be wise not to underestimate Natsume and I."

"I'm not estimating at all," Kantarou said simply, "I just don't want Natsume to be wounded. His friends would wonder, wouldn't they? It's hard for me to say; humans are a mystery to me, no matter how much time I spend with them."

Natsume held the cat tighter, not realizing he was doing so. "Don't you have friends, Ichinomiya-san?"

Kantarou smiled, "Of course I do... Haruka and Youko-chan... I just don't have any true human friends." Of course there were a few people who considered him to be a friend, but he was still a bit wary of them. "It's great that you have human friends, Natsume-san."

With a sad smile, Natsume said "Only two of them know I can see youkai... Tanuma's one of them... And this is the place," He said, looking up at the building before them. Haruka, who had apparently been lounging on the grass waiting for them, sat up and looked at Kantarou, who was panting slightly now from the pain in his chest.

"Let's get this over with quickly," Haruka suggested as he stood and returned to his master's side.

"Let's," Kantarou agreed as he followed Natsume to the door, where they were soon welcomed inside by the older priest.

"Natsume-kun, you know Ichinomyia-san?" The man wondered aloud, looking from one to the other.

Natsume shook his head, "He got lost, so I helped him find his way here. Is Kaname-kun alright?"

A worried look came over the elder Tanuma's face as he replied, "He just keeps getting weaker, Natsume-kun. I asked Ichinomiya-san to come and see if there's anything he can do for him; I don't know where else to turn. The doctors can't seem to find anything wrong with him, and if it is something otherworldly, I can't do anything on my own."

"Has he always been sickly?" Kantarou asked, clutching the bells on his wrist tightly to keep them silent.

"He's been getting worse recently; I can't remember now how long he's been ill, but the doctors say there's nothing they can do, and I-"

"Tanuma-san," Kantarou interrupted with a gentle smile, "Where is Kaname-san now?"

"In his room... I'm sorry, Natsume-kun, could you show Ichinomiya-san the way? He'll be happy to see you, and I haven't told him about this yet... I didn't want to worry him."

"Of course," Natsume said softly, leading Kantarou and Haruka to Kaname's room. He knocked gently on his friend's door upon arrival, "Tanuma? Are you feeling alright?" He called through the screen. He heard heavy footsteps approaching the door before it slid open. The young Tanuma looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. His eyelids sagged and his hair was slicked back with sweat. His knees gave out and he fell towards Natsume, who caught him, with some help from Kantarou, "Tanuma?"

"He can't hear you." Kantarou said softly, "He's out cold. Whatever's sapping his energy seems to have a pretty strong grip on him. It's worse than Tanuma-san initally told me... Either he didn't realize how bad it was, or it's progressing quickly."

Natsume's eyes widened. How had he failed to notice this? "Will he be okay?" He wondered, biting his lower lip.

"He should be fine after we find the curse and take care of the demon. Wherever the demon is hiding, tampering with the curse should lure him out." The two men brought Tanuma back to his bed and eased him down. "Haruka, help me look," He told the tengu. Though it didn't sound much like a command, his name was used, and so he had to obey. Haruka began to remove the teen's clothing while Kantarou studdied his face, hair, and hands carefully.

Shifting uncomfortably, Natsume asked, "What would the curse look like?"

"Well, it depend-"

"Scratches," Haruka stated as he peeled the sweat-soaked shirt off of Kaname's back, revealing three large scratches running vertically along his spine. "Natsume, hold him up for Kantarou. We have to be prepared for a fight."

Kantarou shot a look at Haruka and said, "You don't have to be so rude about it, Haruka... But if you don't mind, could you please?" Natsume snickered, watching the two interact, and nodded, supporting Kaname in an upright position. He watched careully as Kantarou placed a seal on his friend's back and began to chant, though he was cut short when a massive, ogre-like red demon with gills pinned Kantarou to the ground.

"You dare interrupt my meal? Very well, I'll make a feast of you instead! You seem far more appetizing anyway!" The beast tightened his grip around Kantarou's aching body. Haruka smacked the demon away from his master with his staff and stood in front of Kantarou and the boys.

Kantarou coughed, drawing a scroll from his pocket and beginning a new chant as Haruka held off the demon. Finally, a piercing light seemed to slice the being in half, and it released a blood-curdling scream. Kantarou fell to his knees, tired and in pain as he watched the evil in the creature fade, and it became nothing but a red koi, flopping helplessly on the bedroom floor. "I see," He said softly, lifting the fish from the ground, "You were trying to protect your home, and were tricked, weren't you? These humans mean you no harm, so please leave them in peace," The fish ftopped wriggling and seemed to meet Kantarou's eyes for a moment before swimming through the air and back into the pond in Tanuma's yard with a mighty splash.

"Hmm? Natsume?" Tanuma, who Natsume had since laid back on his bed, opened his eyes and looked up at his friend, "Natsume, what happened?"

Natsume smiled, "It's okay now. Are you feeling better?" He asked gently, "You passed out earlier."

The teen nodded, "I feel fine, better than ever, actually..." It was then that he noticed the two strangers in his room, "Who are they?"

"You can see both of them?" He asked, blinking. It hadn't even occured to him that other people might be able to see Haruka.

"Of course," He sat up, then noticed something sparkling, reflecting light off of his window. "I... can see the pond?" Suddenly concerned, he looked to his friend, "Am I dead, Natsume?"

Kantarou shook his head, "You're alright. There was a demon masking the pond in return for your soul. It's gone now, you're safe." He stood up as Tanuma's father entered the room.

"Is everything alright? There was a lot of noise up here, and then a pond appeared in the yard... What happened?" he asked, looking down at his son, who was still half-naked.

"There was a demon hiding that pond. The reason your son was so ill is because it was devouring his energy; masking the pond in return for Kaname-san's soul. The demon is gone now, so the pond is visible again and your son is healthy." Kantarou explained with a proud smile. "Should the pond fade away, please contact me again, but you should be safe now. I'll erect a barrier just in case," with this, he nodded to Haruka, and the two of them left the room, presumably to create a barrier.

Natsume smiled at his dear friend, "I'm glad you're okay, Tanuma. You scared me for a second there."

The teen smiled back and apologized, "I'm sorry for worrying you... you too, dad."

"As long as you're better now," His father said with a sigh of relief. "The pond really is beautiful, isn't it? To think we had such scenery in our own back yard without even knowing it..." The elder man shook his head in disbelief, leaving his son and Natsume to talk amongst themselves while he went to find Kantarou and discuss payment.

"It really is beautiful, more than I imagined," Tanuma said softly, pulling his shirt back on. "Natsume, who were those men?"

Cliffhanger? Kinda? Not really. Well, here you are anyway. Chapter 2... I had to include the pond. I mean, it's just so pretty, it's a shame nobody else can see it. I have a thing for water features. Anyway, I hope you liked it ;3 see you next time! In which there will be 50% more Haruka and Madara! Should be fun.