A/N: Oh hi. I updated! Here comes a new text format thing.
word*- a cultural specific or foreign word which might need elaborating. Explanations are at the bottom's authour's note.
Disclaimer: I do not own Natsume Yuujinchou.
The sunlight entering from the nearby windows created a sparkling shimmer around the gem, the jewel glittering as it was hung tightly around the proud youkai's neck. Despite his size, his stubby paws made light thuds on the wooden floor, reminding him of Natsume's constant warnings about his recent weight gain.
The cat snorted proudly. That stupid exorcist should have known better than to underestimate the Great Madara.
The cocky smirk on the trotting youkai then began to falter as he remembered upon some additional details about his escape. Though I can't take complete credit, he silently added. He began to lick the rest of the scarlet red juice off his nose. That girl wasn't kidding when she said those berries were good though not in the same way Taki thought. Those berries, though a bit sour, were a youkain* variety that carried special healing properties. Ones that helped Madara have a speedy recovery from that injury, at least enough energy to escape from Matoba's servants. If the taste was this pungent with the little remaining spring water, just imagine how much of an energy boost it would give if those berries were still regularly sprinkled by the same water. Nyanko-sensei's eye began to narrow in thought. Just how deep did Matoba plan this?
The youkai shook his head to break from his growing suspicious. In any case, escaping after eating those berries was a piece of youkan*. Didn't break a sweat. Or anything else for that matter. And that boy was worried I would make too much of a ruckus. Wait till Natsume hears-
The cat immediately stopped walking.
Natsume…And I left him alone with that Matoba kid.
The cat dashed again, quickening his pace.
The jewel from the necklace continued to swish more rapidity around his neck, it's peculiar scent following in a broken pendulum motion.
There it is again. There was something strange about that gem…something yummy…something familiar…something-
And the next thing he knew, the cat was sent flying forward.
As they turned around the corner, Natsume mentally sighed in relief. Thank goodness Tanuma didn't lengthen the conversation anymore than needed, but he knew his friend did so very reluctantly. Now, he just hoped Matoba didn't suspect anything or look his friend up.
"Master Matoba!" an urgent voice called out. The group stopped as one of Matoba's servants came rushing towards the exorcist. Matoba leaned to the side to hear the servant's news.
There was an exchange of whispers but Natsume was able to catch a few words: "…the cat..." and "escaped". He also caught Matoba's expression twist into one of annoyance, confirming Natsume's suspicions. He resisted the temptation to relax but it was too late: Matoba caught Natsume listening, his eyes quickly flickered to the boy's gaze. The exorcist continued in a more hush tone with his servant, words spoken in a quietness that Natsume couldn't properly hear. When Matoba retracted, however, he saw a satisfied grin as his eyes glanced back towards the boy before looking forward. Matoba thanked his servant before allowing him to continue his regular duties.
"As you probably heard from your eavesdropping, your little bodyguard has escaped" Matoba spoke as the group once again began to walk forward.
Natsume didn't reply but he was secretly proud of Sensei for his escape.
"However, that isn't the important news I received. Did you know the gem you're searching for is made out of human blood" Matoba informed, successfully breaking the boy out of his thoughts. Begining to climb the staircase, the exorcist continued, "Along with that spring's guardian's, our analysis showed a portion of it is human blood. This part should be of interest to you: it was that relative of yours. What was her name again? Ah, yes. Natsume Reiko's"
Natsume froze in front of the first step. His grandma's blood was in it? Was that what Sensei sensed earlier? Natsume almost tripped as he felt himself prodded on the back to walk up the stairs.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Matoba chuckled darkly before turning to the next flight of stairs, revealing his sly grin as his eye now watched the boy like a vulture, "As expected of them to leave that detail out. Those deceitful, lying beasts. And they had the audacity to ask you for help?"
In the back of his mind, Natsume knew that the exorcist could be lying, trying to turn him against them. Yet it would not explain why the statue resembled that of a girl's head. "H-How did her blood become part of it?" Natsume found himself asking though he dared not look up.
"Now, do you really wish to know?", Matoba asked as Natsume turned for the next flight of stairs, Matoba's back now only remained visible.
"I-I'm sure she gave it willingly!" Natsume reasoned back. He hated how unsteady his voice sounded.
"Are you still going to believe them?" Matoba questioned in amusement as he finished climbing the stairs, "You're naiveness is going to cost you one day. Maybe today"
Natsume remained silent as he finished the last set of stairs, not wanting to continue the conversation.
"Well, we will have plenty of time talk about the full story later" Matoba informed the boy.
Before he could react, Natsume felt a rough shove on his back that pushed him into the open room.
"Unfortunately, we don't have the time to deal with you right now nor can we simply have you roaming around and interfering with our plans. Don't feel too lonely though. That cat of yours will being joining you soon…", Matoba told him before a mischievous smirk formed from his voiced thoughts, "…if my traps haven't killed him already". As Natsume's eyes widen, Matoba's smirk grew wider. "We'll discuss about your punishment later"
"Wait-" Natsume yelled but the door was shut before he could reach it. Natsume slammed himself a couple of times but it wouldn't budge. Probably from another seal, he thought in frustration. He sighed to himself and looked at the room before him.
Little did Natsume know that his energy was slowly draining.
A/N:
youkain- Loosely, a "youkai's kind/type". No it is not a real word and yes I made it up (because I don't know the correct related words for "youkai" in English and simply using the word "youkai" instead sounded weird, not that my word was any better)
youkan- alternatively spelled as yokan, it is a ajar-based jelly sweet that Nyanko-sensei likes to eat time to time (think of that purple jelly cake that Taki gave Nyanko-sensei in The Thing That Lurks in The Storeroom. I swear that's the desert in the Old Chateau in Pokemon but localization just won't admit it).
Yes, of course Nyanko-sensei had some berries on him. He is a smart cat (or maybe just a messy one).
Like how some authors have mentioned, Matoba is a fun character to write (maybe too much. Hehe, sorry Natsume) though he is quite a tricky one for me to pin-down. He is an interesting mix of a villain and a well-intentioned extremist (though I have feeling that I'm leaning on the former) and I have to be careful to not overdo one over the other. Please do drop by a review when you have the time to tell me how I'm doing on the story and characters overall. Thank you to all those who have read, reviewed, favourited and followed so far *gives a respectful bow*