To blood-doll-aishiteru: XD I'm not sure why I made Natsume go into the car. If its me , I won't follow a stranger that easily eitherXD Maybe my opinion about Natsume is a innocent boy?XD
"Are you sure about this Natsume?" the cat asked quietly. "Though I can protect you if anything happens"
Natsume wavered slightly before giving a firm nod and the both of them disappeared into the black car with tinted windows.
This is the only way to know what is going on.
There is only one word to describe how Natsume felt now. Awkward.
He was sandwiched in between the two teenagers. The girl held a book in her hand, her head propped up by her arm that was leaning against the tinted window of the car. The boy was happily immersed in his music that was leaking and blaring out from his silver headphones. The only noise in the silence that hung in the air was the sound of the engine, humming softly in the background.
Natsume squirmed slightly, not knowing what to do. His gaze dropped to the cat that was sleeping in his hold and chuckled quietly. It was amazing how the cat could fall asleep after sleeping for sixteen hours straight, and in this atmosphere too. And to think the cat promised him that it will protect him if anything happens.
As if sensing Natsume discomfort, the girl made a mark on her book before closing it and turning her head to face Natsume, her eyes dull as always. Natsume shifted upon her gaze and shrunk down slightly, almost as if trying to appear smaller.
"Natsume Takashi…is your name, am I right?"
Natsume lifted his head and gave a nod, though the smile on his face was strained. Tilting her head, the girl couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. Am I that scary?
"My name is Yuuko. The guy beside you is bakahaya-kun"
Upon hearing the insult that was directed at the boy sitting beside him, Natsume blinked in confusion before his eyes twinkle in amusement. He thought the girl was someone who will hurt him or the cat that continues to slumber soundly in his arms.
When she noticed the nervousness around Natsume eased slightly, her eyes widened slightly in surprise, not expecting her insult to help Natsume to relax. When she saw Natsume directed a smile at her, she gave tried to give one of her own. However it was twitchy and weak, making it obvious that she have not smile for a long time.
"Bakahaya said that we'll answer your questions" She peered dully at the boy beside Natsume and crumpled a piece of paper that was lying around on the floor, before throwing it at the boy. Natsume raised his eyebrows, thinking that it was weird to have pieces of paper in the car. The boy eyebrow twitched in annoyance before taking off his headphone.
"You could have just told me that you wanted to talk…"
"I doubt you can hear me, bakahaya-kun"
"It's Kazehaya!" The boy screamed in exasperation.
"Well, bakahaya-kun, Natsume-san has some questions for us." A smirk graced her lips when she saw Kazehaya twitched in irritation and huffed before turning to Natsume.
"So, what are those questions?" Her hazel orbs stared at Natsume dully.
"You guys are exorcists, am I right?" Natsume asked hesitantly, his grip tightening on the cat that continues to sleep soundly.
"Bakahaya-kun, answer" Yuuko smirked and flip opened her book once again. Well, it wasn't that she was unwilling to talk to Natsume; it's just that she felt tired. She didn't want to give Natsume vague or halfhearted answers but she knows that the boy has endless energy and will give Natsume the answers to his questions and perhaps additional information. That was the reason why she told Kazehaya to answer Natsume questions while she recharged herself by immersing in the book.
However Natsume thought that she might be offended by what he said or the way he acted. His shoulder slumped slightly and embarrassment welled up in his eyes. Noticing this, Kazehaya place a hand on his shoulder and gave Natsume a soft smile.
"Don't worry about it, she's just tired. Now, to answer your question…I am an exorcist but she's more like a necromancer."
"Necromancer?" Natsume tilted his head slightly, confused as to what Kazehaya meant.
"Well, to sum it up, they can do whatever exorcist does but with the additional ability to bring back the dead. But this lady here uses her power to banish or bring the spirits to their death when necessary. Also they have the ability to see the future". Kazehaya smiled when he saw Natsume absorbing the information. "People with this ability in the past were thought to be a witch".
Natsume gave a small nod, affirming Kazehaya that he could continue. Though, he was pretty shocked that spirits could actually die.
"Also, Yuuko is the head of the exorcist council. That's the reason was in contact with the two clans she mentioned earlier… which kind of sapped her energy away. She prefers her books over people after all." He grinned sheepishly while he fiddled with his phone to stop the music that was still playing. "Any more questions?"
Natsume eyes narrowed in fear. To say that he was shocked was an understatement. If Yuuko was the head of a council that has the same mindset as the Matoba clan, there would be a chance that he would be forced to join a clan and become an exorcist. He was determined not to have that happen.
"What does the exorcist council do?" Natsume asked cautiously, as if treading on eggshells. He is after all, sitting right next to a leader that might force him to do things against his will or even hurt him or people that are precious to him.
"Well, they set the rules to ensure that the exorcists are in line and do not do anything foolish, like eradicating the spirits or helping the spirits to destroy things in the human world." Kazehaya paused slightly and continued, "Jobs for exorcists also have to go through the council for examination before it is allowed to be put up to hire exorcists. I guess you could say that they are like the government in the exorcist world".
Natsume could feel the fear squeezing his heart. With those powers, if she wants Natsume to join, he wouldn't be able to do much. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he gathered his courage again to post another question.
"What did Matoba-san told Yuuko-san?"
Kazehaya froze and peered at Yuuko who was reading her book through her half-lidded orbs. She turned to Kazehaya, giving a small nod to show him that he could reveal the conversation between her and the Matoba Clan leader.
"Well… he told Yuuko that you have strong spiritual abilities and he wanted to bring you in and train you to become an exorcist. Though when Yuuko asked if you were willing to join, that guy merely smile and said that you will, soon that is." Kazehaya shivered at the thought of the Matoba clan leader smile. It was too creepy for him.
"What was Yuuko-san reply?" Natsume bit his lower lip as asked the question that was weighing on his mind.
"She gave him a straight 'no' and continues to read, you should have seen his face!" Kazehaya snickered while Natsume could feel all the tension unravelling around him and he gave a sigh. Now he could move on to the next question and satisfy his curiosity.
"Why are you telling me this?"
A grin spread across Kazehaya face and his eyes twinkled merrily.
"To piss the Matoba off" This was definitely not one of the answers that Natsume was expecting. He could feel a laughter threatening to slip out of his lips.
"Why?"
Yuuko hummed to herself before rolling her head to face Natsume and giving him an answer that caused Natsume to chuckle.
"Because we thought it would be interesting to do so"
Kazehaya snickered and shook his head slightly. "I think you should give a proper explanation Yuuko"
"That's your job, bakahaya" She replied dully and continues to read. Kazehaya tensed slightly before sticking out a tongue at her.
"We do not approve what the Matoba clan has been doing. Especially the part where they hurt the spirits for their own gain" Natsume could feel his heart thumping with happiness. He never thought they there were someone who had the same thoughts as he.
"Yuuko also wanted to meet you to find out if you were willing to join and if not, did the head of the Matoba clan threatened you." Guilt starts to well up inside Natsume. To think he thought the two teenagers would hurt him. He shook his head slightly and pushed the feeling to the back of his mind and continues with his questions.
"Why…why didn't you seal Nyanko-Sensei?"
Kazehaya huffed angrily. "We are not like those pests, we only seal those that cause trouble or have hurt humans, but not before understanding what was their reason for it".
Natsume blinked in surprise. He thought only Natori-san would seal those who had caused trouble or hurt humans, but before he had met Natsume, Natori had also held a burning anger towards the spirits and never hears them out. He thought that all exorcists wanted to get rid of the spirits, be it those who were living peacefully among the human race.
Yuuko tilted her head slightly and brush out a strand of hair that was blocking her view of her book. She blinked tiredly at the two, immediately understanding what was running in Natsume mind. Another sigh escaped her lips as she voiced out her opinion.
"People…they want to feel that they belong to a group and they want to feel that they are needed. You too, have felt the feeling of loneliness and sadness right, Natsume-san?" Yuuko muttered, her gaze not leaving her book. The two boys turned to look at Yuuko, their attention fully focused on her.
"Exorcists are the same… They are not human like the rest…but not spirits either. In the past and present, they are still face with rejections from both species alike and could never fit in. This would most probably be the reason why they hate the spirits so much. If the spirits were to disappear, they might be able to blend with the rest of the humanity, fit in with what many would consider 'normal'. "She gave a soft sigh, momentarily overwhelmed by the feeling of grief. As to why she felt that way, she couldn't understand fully either.
Silence continues to hang thickly in the air as the two boys ponder silently over what Yuuko said. The girl on the other hand, felt her eyes trailed back to her book. Natsume glanced at the girl before tilting his head down to look at the sleeping cat and pat its head gently. He was starting to feel sleepy, probably because he had been sitting in the same spot for almost half an hour and had nothing to do. He was starting to feel safe in the presence of the two, even though they had just met.
Maybe, he felt that the two holds the same view as him. Just maybe.
Soon he was drifting off, eyes shut, and his breathing beginning to even out and he fell asleep.