Once again in the painfully unfamiliar hospital setting, Haruka looked around and noticed Tanuma, who seemed to be falling asleep, in one of the waiting room's chairs. "Tanuma." He said to get the boy's attention, "Where's Kantarou?"
Snapped out of a daze by the sound of his name, he replied, "They didn't tell me, they just said to wait out here and-"
"Excuse me," A clearly stressed and overworked doctor interrupted, "Would either of you happen to be Haruka-san? Ichinomiya-san is refusing treatment, and we had to restrain him, but he keeps calling for 'Haruka.'"
Haruka sighed, "You should have tied him down from the start. Where is he?"
The doctor led them part of the way to Kantarou's room- he let them find their way as soon as his screaming was audible. The second he saw the tengu, Kantarou, who was about to be sedated for the sake of the other patients, finally seemed to relax, "Haruka! There you are! I woke up and I was all alone and then they tied me down and- Haruka! Are you listening to me?"
"Are you listening to yourself? You're in a hospital and you tried to run off screaming my name like a madman. Have you forgotten the reason you're here?" Haruka prompted, which quieted Kantarou for the time being.
Once Kantarou was silenced, the attending physician asked Haruka, "When he was admitted, you said he fell out of a tree, correct?"
"Yes, that's right," Tanuma spoke up, trying to keep his little lie alive. "Is he going to be alright?"
The doctor shook his head, "It's a miracle he made it to the hospital. That 'tree' he fell out of created a fracture in his arm that breaks through the skin, as well as one on his middle finger, and somehow managed to break three ribs, bending them inward... Are you sure he wasn't attacked by a boa constrictor?"
"None of us own pet snakes..." Tanuma replied lamely.
"When he tried to get up, he nearly punctured his left lung, which is why we had to restrain him. Unfortunately there isn't much we can do here. Because it isn't flail chest and surgery might cause even further complications, we can't get clearance for surgery. Just rest as much as possible and be extremely careful if you have to move. It should heal in about six weeks. As for the arm, your cast will do most of the immobilization for you, but you have to be careful not to turn it or you'll risk twisting the bone. The splint is sufficient for your finger as well." The doctor finished, "Now that he has someone to take him, he's clear to go home. Just make sure he rests and doesn't climb any more trees. I'll send a nurse with the discharge papers." With this said, the doctor left the three (four, including Madara,) in relative silence.
Reaching with his left arm for the bag hanging from Tanuma's shoulder, he asked, "Where's Natsume-kun?"
"Being held hostage in exchange for our contract." Haruka replied, taking the bag from Tanuma and placing it on the bed beside his master.
Attempting to sit up, but meeting resistance from the restraints, Kantarou argued, "We have to find him and-"
"Ichinomiya-san?" One of the nurses poked her head in and smiled, "Are you ready to go home?" She brought some paperwork over to Haruka, the only one of the three that resembled a responsible adult, and had him fill out and sign a few places (which wasn't easy as she kept prompting him for a last name,) until finally the three were leaving.
Once in the parking lot, where Haruka lifted Kantarou out of the wheelchair to carry him instead, he said, "Sugino is looking for Natsume."
"Haruka..." Kantarou smiled proudly, happy that the demon eater had not only thought about him and what he would want, but had acted on it. Maybe there was a chance for his childhood dream after all. He wasn't about to push his luck by commenting on it, however. Instead, he looked to Tanuma, "Tanuma-san, I'm sorry, but is there any way you can disguise Natsume-kun's disappearance?"
"Well, school won't be a problem since it's summer, but I don't know what to tell Shigeru-san and Touko-san..."
Kantarou looked a bit sad as he asked, "Are those his parents?"
"No, his parents are both deceased... I don't know much about it myself, Natsume doesn't like to talk about his childhood, but supposedly he got passed around between family members. They're distantly related, but they care for him like he's their own, and he doesn't want to lose that, so he doesn't want them to know that he can see youkai." Tanuma explained, though it was difficult to explain things he didn't know much about himself.
After a few moments of silence, Kantarou offered, "I'll speak with them. The current situation is partially my fault, anyway... Do you think you could show us the way to their home?"
Important A/N: The rest of this chapter will be Kantarou and Tanuma going to Natsume's house and talking to Touko and Shigeru- (mostly) predictable stuff that some people (myself included) might find entertaining to read. If you're not interested in it, it's okay to skip to the next chapter- hence the notice. My feelings will not be hurt. :p
Tanuma led the way to the Fujiwara's home and knocked on the door after insisting that he go with Kantarou and Haruka. He felt it was his responsibility to ensure that his friend's secret remain a secret. "Tanuma-san? What a surprise! I'm sorry, but Takashi-kun went out a few hours ago and hasn't come home yet."
"I know," The teen responded awkwardly, "That's actually what we're here to talk to you about,"
"Hello, Fujiwara-san," Kantarou greeted from Haruka's arms. "Do you have a moment?"
Noticing the shape that Kantarou was in, the woman seemed a bit stunned, "Oh goodness, are you alright? Please, come in!"
Once everyone was settled at the table, aside from Haruka, who had invited himself to go back outside once Kantarou was seated, Kantarou introduced himself. "My name is Ichinomiya Kantarou, a folklore author and scholar. On the side, I do exorcisms of youkai and demons." He glanced over to Tanuma, "Which is why I came in the first place. Tanuma-san's father called me in due to his son's waning health and having no where else to turn. Natsume-kun showed us the way to their home when we got a bit off track at Nanatsuji's. As it turns out, a demon was possessing a koi in their back yard, and this demon was essentially devouring Tanuma-san's soul."
The couple seemed rather disturbed by this news, but Tanuma quickly assured them, "I'm fine now! Ichinomiya-san and Haruka-san took care of everything."
"Unfortunately, in doing so, we stirred up a far more powerful, dangerous, and infamous demon, Douji Ibaragi, who spirited Natsume-kun away and left me like this in the process. He's being held hostage because I blacked out."
"He's being held hostage by a demon?" Shigeru questioned, raising his voice a bit.
"Haruka's already asked someone to look for him... As soon as we know where he is, we'll get him back, I promise." Kantarou stated firmly. In spite of his condition, his stubborn attitude stood true.
Attempting to help Kantarou's cause, Tanuma added, "I know this all sounds asinine, but... Ichinomiya-san knows what he's talking about. I couldn't really see what was happening, and I'm sure Natsume couldn't either, but, I mean, a pond appeared in my back yard out of no where because of what he did with that koi-"
"Purified," Kantarou supplied, "I purified the koi, expelled the demon, which revealed the pond. Afterwards, I was teaching Natsume-kun and Tanuma-san basic protection techniques, which is why Tanuma-san is covered in sutras. Unfortunately, it seems I hung around a bit too long, and Douji Ibaragi showed up."
Rather skeptical but keeping an open mind, Touko asked, "Why is this Ibaragi person after you?"
"Demon," Haruka corrected as he walked back inside. He'd been hoping that Kantarou was finished with the conversation so they could go home, but perhaps he could at least help to hasten the process. "It's a complicated situation, but essentially, Ibaragi is currently after our contract." Of course he wasn't foolish enough to mention the Book of Friends. He couldn't expect humans to understand or know of it, anyway.
Upon receiving several questioning glances, Kantarou forced a smile, "Haruka is better known by his old nickname, the oni-kui tengu. By naming him 'Haruka,' I formed a contract with him. I'll spare you the details, but essentially, he has to follow my commands, and part of the reason they're angry with me is because I don't allow him to eat demons."
Still uncertain, Shigeru asked, "Then why did they take Takashi-kun instead of you?"
"If Kantarou dies before breaking our contract, I'll be bound by it into eternity. All of his rules will apply to me until the day I die." Haruka explained, a bit impatient.
Kantarou sighed, "Unfortunately, Natsume-kun is of no use to them, so killing him would be no big deal. They're holding him hostage to say 'unless you want this innocent child to die, give it up.' We're working on locating them for right now, but don't worry, we'll definitely get him back safe and sound."
Doing his best to support Kantarou, Tanuma added, "For what it's worth, I really trust Ichinomiya-san. I just met him today, but he's already saved my life twice. I have faith that he'll bring Natsume back alright."
So you all know, the fact that I did the whole "feel free to skip" thing is really getting on my nerves now because... Demon... and... Aaaargh! Don't worry though- you're not going to miss my planning, I just have to put it off. Which is annoying me. ALSO- for those of you who are bothering to read this right now, I'll let you in on a little secret~ (soon to be not so secret) the character lineup is about to grow. A lot. Youko, Rosalie, (not Suzu because I prefer the manga wherein she does not exist because she's annoying) possibly Hasumi- if only to rage about Rosalie running off to Kantarou's house- on the Tactics end, and Natori (unfortunately), Hiiragi, Sasada, and Taki... Possibly some of Natsume's youkai friends, but I'm not entirely sure about that.