He doesn't stop there, however. Natsume pulls on her scarf with one hand and manages to bring her down to his level, while the other hand holds a fireball near her cheek.
"You can't threaten me with Aoi," he growls. Ayame is too surprised to respond. After a while, she grabs the fingers holding her scarf and loosens them, and pushes away the hand with the fireball.
"But 'Aoi' made you jump," she replies as calmly as she can, rearranging her scarf to regain some of her dignity. "It's obvious your sister is your driving force."
It's a while before Natsume extinguishes his fire, and he starts to slouch.
"Speaking of your sister," Ayame says after a pause. "She's obviously a hostage, but where?"
"Not like you'll help me if I tell you," the boy says, seething with discontent.
"Maybe I will," she snaps. "Maybe if I can, if I think it'll help to train you."
Natsume stays silent and clenches his fists again. Ayame is momentarily distracted by the waxing moon; the almost-crescent is silver like Gin-san's hair, she thinks.
She almost blushes – it's an instant reaction to thoughts of Gin-san – but she stops herself when Natsume stops fidgeting.