A/N : hey guys , look I updated fast again haha ! Well I your happy I did my best to write this fast ! And also thankyou for the reviews ! They made me laugh and smile, I'm glad to know you like the story I totally appreciate it . ^.^
And thanks for you who favorites , followed and much more. Tennis officially ended this week on the 28th of september . So I'll have a lot more righting time, so be ready for faster updates !
I hope you like this chapter of Escape , I worked really hard to fit as much into it as I could. And an extra bonus ,this chapter will not be a cliff hanger .
So now that I'm done with my ranting onto the chapter !
Disclaimer : I don't own Natsume Yuujinchou
Natsume was definitely right, being with Natori was such a hassle . The man was constantly being hassled by humans wanting his autograph or a picture with him.
They'd hardly gotten to any work , and the assignment was due at the end of today. He sighed harshly , he wanted to get to work so he could go home and sleep.
He knew Natori was doing it too goad him . But what could he do, Natsume wasn't once to let his anger get the best of him.
He wouldn't let this bother him , he had to remain calm . If he did that then this would be over soon. He looked to Natori to him staring at him .
He blinked for a minute before Natsume tore his gaze away from the mans piercing eyes.
That's what he hated about Natori , it was either his eyes or his smile that bothered him the most. Natori's eyes were hard to look into.
But his smile made people who knew him personally cringe in unjustified fear.
The look he got in his eyes were horrible , full of things the human eye couldn't comprehend .
He shivered at the thoughts that Natori might have. Just the ideas that came to mind were enough to scare him.
" Are you cold Natsume-kun? " a voice asked .
Natsume turned to see Natori , he noticed it was no longer loud with the sound of voices . He looked behind Natori to see no others behind him.
How long had he been staring off into space, he wondered to himself . But soon his attention once again shifted to the man looking concerned at him, as he a shake of his head saying no.
Natori stared at him for a minute or two , as he appeared to give thought to his answer . But gave up with the shrug of his shoulders.
" Well then , let's get going shall we? " the man quipped cheerily .
Natsume stared at him for a minute , the appeared to be tense . Natsume had never seen him like that before. While natsume known him since he was young , the man never let his guard down . Not even around Natsume himself.
Was this job really that dangerous ? Or was something about this job bothering Natori . Thousands of questions filled his head , but he never asked them aloud .
Matoba had made it clear , that even if it was Natori he was to not speak a lot around others . Unless asked a direct question.
He always followed his master's words carefully, he always had since the day he meet Matoba.
-time skip-
He and Natori had walked for about an hour before they arrived at their destination . It was an old house , said to have had a haunted store house . And yokai who had a leash around its neck guarding it.
The yokais presence was strong but at the same time very weak. It seemed something was wrong with the yokai.
As soon as he and Natori got up the steps , they spotted it. The yokai who was said to have been causing trouble.
But to him , it couldn't have been this yokai.
The yokai was a slim and delicate figure of a women who . Had blonde hair and an mask with one eye placed in the center ; and to horns surrounding the top.
A girl yokai , while had faced such yokai before . And some had been girls before . That wasn't what was bothering him.
It was the very feeling of loss of faith , and giving up on life that bothered him. This yokai was ready to die , but the question was why.
He turned to Natori too see him wearing a mask of his own. one that was trying to give off a blank expression. One that said he didn't care what he was about to do , but inside said why am to do this .
" Natsume-kun , go stand off to the side. This yokai is to weak to fight , I don't need you right now. I alone am enough to handle this . " Natori said icily.
He flinched at the harsh words directed at him, then cast a glance to the petite yokai in front of him.
He kept looking back and forth between the two , and then it hit him. Natori knew this yokai , and this yokai seemed to be the cause of his unusual facade .
Natsume knew he had to do something , even if he was to be punished for it by Matoba later . So he stepped in front of Natori and turned towards the blonde haired man .
Natori's mask came off then , he'd never seen Natsume Rooney orders during a mission before . And Natsume couldn't blame him for being shocked .
" Natori-San , please don't do this ...y-you know this person correct ? " he asked hesitantly .
Natori now snapped out of his shock and Gave Natsume a hard expression. Natsume flinched , never had Natori looked at him that way . but he still didn't back down , he had to be strong .
" Natsume move out of the way now . " Natori hissed hatefully.
Natsume cringed but stayed put otherwise. The yokai behind him hadn't said a word throughout the entire ordeal that was occurring. But Natsume supposed it was out of shock.
Natori sighed before he looked at him with eyes full of disapointment . Then Natsume felt it coming before the words even left Natori's mouth.
Strings of black hair cut through Natume's skin and wrapped around his own delicate form . Pulling him back into a tree , he looked at Natori in horror.
Natori stared at him before directing his attention back to the petite yokai in front of him.
" Sasago don't let Natsume go. And don't let him get the best of you . Urihime watch him as well , I'll handle the rest . " Natori said threateningly .
Natsume watched in horror as the yokai stood watching Natori as he began making a circle and ripping exorcising paper.
He struggled against Sasago violently , black hair breaking ivory skin . Rivulets of blood made their way down his wrists and neck.
But all he could do is watch as the yokai made it's way over to Natori slowly , resigning itself to it's fate.
Natsume couldn't stand it , he be damned if that yokai was going to let someone she knew kill her and hurt her friend in the process.
So Natsume did the only thing he knew that would work. He stopped struggling and looked at Sasago .
" Sasago let go. " he said calmly .
He watched sorrowfully as the black haired yokai struggled under the power of his words,his power taking affect tremendously .
The power he hated so much , and it was only one of his many gifts he was born with.
The ability to bind yokai , with just the knowledge of a name. The ability that made Matoba want him so much, and also the reason the first met.
-flashback-
Little Natsume wondered around the vast forest , giggling in pure delight as he explored . He'd left Misuzu's side to go on a little walk.
Misuzu was his protector a hue horse-like yokai who was very harsh but also kind to him.
He made Natsume feel happy almost as much as Marada . His teacher and number 1 protector , and also his grandmothers dearest friend .
The only one besides a select few who knew who Natsume truly was. And who his family was as well.
But he didn't mind , he wasn't lonely or scared most yokai liked him. But some didn't , but that was fine .
He looked to the sky smiling softly at the thought of his friends. He laughed again and speed off farther into the forest.
But soon he stopped , he heard voices whispering and screams soon drowned out the voices . He froze it sounded like Hinoe , he lifted his head up and concentrated on her feelings.
He cringed at the feelings it brought him, terror , pain , hurt . It was pure torture , and even though it wasn't him being hurt his power was enough to make him feel the gist of what was happening.
They were killing her or torturing her for information. This made him feel immensely guilty , lately he attracted to much attention.
The other week at the end of the southern forest, that he resided in he found a wounded shiki of a exorcist and healed it's wounds.
He forgot that he wasn't to heal anyone that Hinoe , Misuzu , or sensei hadn't told him he could heal.
The yokai he healed had been awake the whole time and was apparently very interested in what his powers could do for his master . Sensei had rescued him his though , and yelled at him thourghly. But the yokai still escaped , and the others began to be more worried about his safety.
Reminding him that he wasn't to do such a stupid thoughtless thing again. Once again his abilities just got him into trouble .
He cautiously spread his golden-hued wings and flew up into a tree to give him a view of what was happening .
He gasped at the sight before him, Hinoe was bleeding . Huge blackened shiki with white masks surrounded her from every side , holding large pointed spears.
Natsume frowned , he had to do something . He looked around and spotted the humans who he had heard talking .
His eyes froze on the form of a child who couldnt be older that 14 standing near someone who suspected was the boys father.
The sight of the female yokai on the ground didn't seem to bother the boy at all.
Natsume returned his gaze to Hinoe who was now unconscious. But also noticed that everything was too silent .
He looked around again and noticed that the humans were looking around , and Natsume knew then that he had been sensed .
The only thing he could do was distract their attention away from Hinoe and run , and hope he just might run into Misuzu or someone.
He took a deep breathe before he jumped from the branch he was perched on. He landed onto of Hinoe , both of his legs on either side of her body.
He heard gasps all around him. He looked up to see all eyes on his small form . Now he was lost , what should he do . And then it hit him , he bent to Hinoe's level and put a hand on one of her wounds .
He closed his eyes and concentrated , watching a private motion picture in his mind. Hinoe no longer had wounds . She was healed to her original state , as if she was never hurt in the first place .
Many more gasps filled the air , he open his eyes slowly . The shiki had now retreated to their masters side , giving him a full view of the Exorcists before him.
They all stared at him intensely , and he returned their gaze albeit fearfully. But thought it was best to speak now that he had their attention away from Hinoe .
" ummmmm... W-what do you think your doing in this forest ? " he asked shyly.
The Exorcists stared at him in wonder. Natsume blushed he didn't understand what was so shocking , but then again he did at the same time.
But soon their shock was overcome by their normal senses and someone
Decided to end the deadly silence.
" Child of yokai , who are you ? What are you ? " the exorcist chief asked sternly.
Natsume froze he didn't know what to do , or what to say to the man. He thought of the many lies he could tell them, but he knew they wouldn't believe him . He was a terrible lier , and a an obvious one at that.
So instead he would tell them what they wanted. The truth , and then he would make break for it . Hoping they would follow him.
" I-I am the child of a human yokai , a-and y-you are intruding sir. Please leave this women alone. You came here to look for the yokai who has unusual gifts yes ?" he stuttered out nervously.
They stared at him in complete shock , while he knew it was hard to believe . He didn't think it would be that hard to comprehend .
" do you mean to tell us , that you are the strange yokai that others talk about . " another exorcist disbelievingly .
Natsume nodded shyly, he wasn't sure what to say . But his thoughts were disrupted once again by an exorcist .
" how absured , how dare you try to fool us! I'll teach you what it means to say such stupid lies , harubi kill this yokai immedialty ! The man demanded sending a large masked yokai his way .
Nastime cringed but didn't falter . He looked the other yokai straight in the eye .
" Harubi stop. " he stated calmly and softly.
In turn the yokai was sent straight on it's knees , struggling under the pressure of his command.
He knew then he had gotten their attention. The stares directed at him were piercing . But what he noticed when he looked up was the boy who he saw earlier looking at him intensely .
The boys gaze was very odd to him, it was if he could see straight through Natsume .
He flinched and unconsciously took a step back. The other exorcist seemed to have noticed his gaze looked to the younger boy beside them .
" Oh-ho Seiji have you found something you liked finally ? " the older black-haired male asked slyly.
The boy tilted his head to the side , but never broke eye contact with him. His flinches slowly formed into rapid shudders , the gaze was to much for him.
" Yes , this one is very interesting and powerful . As well as beautiful, father I want this one . " the boy said calmly .
He stopped shuddering , and was froze in fear . His eyes widened , he finally broke eye contact with the boy and looked for escape routes.
He came up with none that would allow him more than 16 ft. Or so before he would be caught .
Suddenly he was caught with a long white covering . It wrapped tightly around his small form , crushing his wings painfully around his back.
He tried to scream out hoping someone would hear him. But another white strip danced across his face , effectively shutting him up.
He was officially in full panic mode , he struggled endlessly but to no avail did it help. Footsteps could be heard from his position on the hard ground he lay on.
He rolled to left to see the boy who had made comments about wanting him , approaching his form agonizingly slow. Giving him the full effect of fear at pull power.
Laughter filled the air at his struggles. But that didn't stop him from trying. The boy had now stopped in front of him, and then he stopped his movements.
The two of them held each others gaze for what seemed like hours. Before the boy held his hand out to him reaching for his cheek.
He recoiled at the touch , putting up his best defense shield. Stinging the boys hand away.
The boy too recoiled away from his shield . A slight burn appearing on his fingers.
" you are an interesting yokai , I know I'm going to have some fun with you . But before that , I'm going to break you . " the boy whispered with a cold smirk.
His eyes widened a fraction at the threat , the words were spoken so coldly yet also so calmly. This person scared him, more than anyone he met before.
Hands Reached for him violently , but none of that bothered him. It was the boy he came to know as Seiji Matoba that was smiling cruelly down at him.
Shocks spread throughout his body , and soon all he knew was darkness. That day was the day he lost his "family", the day he was proclaimed Matoba's new pet.
The day he put into a gilded cage , to be shown off to the world. That was the start of his nightmares.
-back to present-
Natsume dashed to the circle just as Natori uttered his spell. He stood in front of the petite yokai as sparks flowed through his body.
Natori was yelling something , but he paid no attention to it. Concentrating his powers on protecting the yokai and himself.
Memories flowed through him like a motion picture . The petite yokai was in them as well as a ruby-eyed boy with brown hair. It was Natori , it was the memory of how the two met.
Just as soon as he saw it , it was gone in a flash . This was also one of his abilities , memory absorption. A painful but useful power, the ability to understand.
He blinked into awareness as the sky came into sight. He looked to his right to see Natori sitting on the ground wearing a sad expression.
" I thought I could give her a fifty percent chance. If the spell didn't work it would send her spirit on, if it worked it would burn the rope off her neck ." Natori said sadly.
Natsume watched him with blurry eyes as he continued to explain to him why he'd done what he'd done.
" she didn't know it , but I did recognize her . I wanted to free her from this painful curse. Natsume if you hadn't stood in from of her with your shield... She would have died ...Natsume I'm so sorry , I shouldn't have done this . I just wanted to talk to you again , I'm very sorry. " Natori said sadly.
Natsume was shocked at the mans apologies . Never had he heard such a sincere apology . It brought tears to his light honey-colored eyes.
Slowly he attempted to move , once he did he was on his knees holding Natori's face .
" Do not apologize , I did this because I wanted too . If you want to make it up to me then help her , she cares about you . Enough to let you take her life without even batting an eyelash . " he said softly.
Natori , was shocked had never heard natsume speak so much. And to say such words melted his heart .
-time skip-
The drive back home had been long . Natori glanced in the rear view mirror to see a blonde petite yokai with ice blue eyes, looking down at the boy whose head was placed in her lap.
Natsume's injuries were all gone , but Natori knew that even if the skin looked brand new what was underneath still hurt.
He returned his attention to the road ahead of him. Inside was silently asking himself what was wrong with him .
Even if he liked Natsume he never reacted like this . But Natsume's words had reached him , he knew he was getting soft .
He sighed as he saw the Matoba main household come into view . He didn't want to hand Natsume over to Matoba , but he knew he had too.
He would find another way to help the boy. But for now Natsume was to be returned to Matoba .
-End of this chapter hope you enjoyed it ! -
Remember to review or I won't update fast again !
-Sorrowfulchild