Chapter 2 – A plea

"Natsume-sama! Natsume-sama!"

Natsume didn't want to hear it. He was getting tired of helping out so much in one day already. He had returned five names, helped Taki with a cow-like ayakashi(1) and managed to hide Nyanko-sensei away from the girl. His friends had made him play soccer with them during PE and now he couldn't move a muscle.

"Natsume-sama!"

Boy, was this ayakashi persistent.

Natsume put down his mechanical pencil lightly and rubbed his temples. Agh, his school work would never be done at this rate. He had to learn about sequences for mathematics today and get ready for a science presentation tomorrow about ectoplasmas.

The famous (or not so famous) grandson of Natsume Reiko turned around to face the little ayakashi. "How may I help you?"

~.~.~.~

Natsume Takashi. Gransdon to the famous Natsume Reiko who passed away years back. Was constantly bullied and accused by other children and adults.

Why is that so?

Takashi has the ability to see demons, that's why. Just like his grandmother, he has an incredible amount of spiritual energy. He probably even got it from Natsume Reiko herself.

Because of his special powers and could see the monsters, he was passed around his relatives like a baton. One would take care of him for some time and pass him to someone else. They were afraid of this boy. They hated what came out of his mouth, his "stories" of monsters. The children bullied him while the adults shunned him.

However, his life took a turn for the better. He is now living with an old couple in the countryside. The couple doesn't mind having Natsume as their adoptive child and Natsume is more than happy to have a home.

Natsume had always liked adventure books and recently, he found the Book of Friends, ending up in some amazing adventures of his own.

~.~.~.~

And here stood before him another adventure. One that would once again put his life in grave danger.

The little ayakashi who was no bigger than Natsume's palm seemed to nod his head in gratefulness. "Natsume-sama, there is trouble in our forest."

Nyanko-sensei shook his fluffy tail and clicked his tongue. "There's trouble everywhere for you tiny ayakashi!" The fat cat jumped over a pillow and reached the side of the little ayakashi. "Maybe I should just eat you..." There was a devious smirk on the cat's face as he licked his lips, hungry for some meat.

Whack! A rolled up book was in Natsume's hand as Nyanko-sensei layed on his side with a huge bump on his head. "Nyanko-sensei" Natsume warned. He didn't want the cat to eat any of these ayakashi.

"Our forest is dying, Natsume-sama!" The little ayakashi continued.

The sandy-haired boy furrowed his brow. "What can I do about that?" There are tons of reasons why a forest can die, and Natsume wasn't sure if it involved ayakashis or humans.

The little ayakashi nodded. "Our diety, Bara(2)-sama, is weakening." The ayakashi held out his hands wide. "Just the other day, some people came and destroyed a huge part of our forest too! They just destroyed our homes without even batting an eye!" With that, the ayakashi seemed to droop.

Natsume could understand and sympathize with the ayakashi's feelings. After all, he knew what it was like to be homeless. The problem remained however, that human beings were involved.

"We're not taking this mission, Natsume." said a certain maneki neko. "Now go buy me some manjuu!~"

"Nyanko-sensei is right. We can't help you." Natsume didn't want to have anything to do with this. He couldn't bring himself to face more humans. "I'm sorry."

The ayakashi was appalled. "Why can't you help, Natsume-sama?" The ayakashi held out his two little hands. "Natsume-sama, please.." It was begging.

Natsume turned his head. True, that he didn't want to be involved with humans, but this ayakashi and thousands of other have lost their homes to these humans.

"Natsume-sama, please!" The ayakashi was on his knees, head bowed low. "Natsume-sama, please save our forest! Natsume-sama!"

From the tone of the small voice, Natsume could tell that the ayakashi was crying.

"Didn't you hear us?" Nyanko-sensei butted his fat head in. "We already said 'No'! Now get outta here before I chomp you to pieces!"

Most would fear for their own life, but this ayakashi just kept on begging. "Natsume-sama, please help us! Please!"

Natsume didn't like this at all. "Ayakashi-san, just go home. I can't help you, I'm sorry."

The ayakashi shook his head, making some of the teardrops drip from its face. "Even if I go back now, I have no home to return to. If I go back now, I will just be awaiting my death with my brothers and sisters!" The ayakashi's little body was shaking like a leaf. "And those exorcists will go unpunished as they destroy more and more of our homes!"

At the word 'exorcists', Nyanko-sensei's ears perked up. Natsume was suddenly much more alert. "What did you say?"

"Which exorcists?!" demanded Nyanko-sensei as he pushed his face closer to the bending figure of the ayakashi.

"The ones with the black yukatas and black haoris!" The ayakashi cried, making his little voice sound squeaky. "The ones who call themselves the Matoba Clan!"

The name sent a shiver down Natsume's spine. The Matoba Clan was once a great exorcist clan like so many others. Just like the others, they have decreased in number and eroded over time, leaving no more than a handful of exorcists left.

The current leader of the Matoba Clan, is in another league of his own. His name is Matoba Seiji and he is as emotionless as a stone. His heart is as cold as ice and so is his piercing gaze. He could not care less for ayakashi and humans alike. If they were useful, then he would keep them. If they were not and acted as obstacles, he would eradicate them without a second thought.

Natsume had crossed paths with the young leader of the Matoba Clan several times before. Each time they met, Natsume would get a queasy feeling from the pit of his stomach. Just looking at Matoba Seiji was enough to chill him to the bone.

"Natsume!" Nyanko-sensei snapped Natsume out from his thoughts. His pudgy paws were on Natsume's leg, shaking him awake.

"Nyanko-sensei, this changes the situation completely, doesn't it?"

The fat cat nodded. "I still think it's a bad idea!" The cat rubbed his stomach. "I won't get to eat my favourite fried ika anytime soon!"

Natsume smiled at Nyanko-sensei's outburst. "Ayakashi-san, let us help you."


Notes:

(1) Ayakashi : Means 'Demon'
(2) Bara : Means 'Rose'

Thank you, minna-san! I'm sorry for the late update from last week, please forgive me!

Don't forget to review! They make my imagination tank produce work faster.