Madara was just finishing his day at the temple when he felt the wards break. He dropped the broom he was using and ran for the back of the temple complex, senses reaching for the threat—because it had to be strong to get through the wards—and felt Takashi.

Takashi, but wrong.

Madara rounded the corner and found a wild-looking fox standing just inside the complex, red blood on its side and fur on end. It took a moment to connect it to Takashi, even though Madara had seen him as a fox before. He'd never seen him this terrified, not even when he first met him and Takashi didn't trust anyone at all.

"Takashi…" Madara approached carefully. Takashi was shaking, and gasping for air in the way that spirit creatures rarely did. He looked like a mortal fox if not for his color and extra tails. Madara reached out and Takashi flinched back. It had been more than a month since Takashi last flinched away from him. It hurt more than it should have. After all, Takashi, even terrified had come here not to their home in the woods. "Hey. What happened?"

This time Takashi didn't flinch or snap at his fingers. Madara's fingers brushed soft silver fur and he found himself with an armful of shivering fox moments later, staining his robes with mud and blood. Mud? Where had Takashi been?

"Madara," Misuzu said from behind him, sharp and warning. A glance showed he had his staff, ready to fight a threat. He looked at Takashi though, so that meant Takashi wasn't just spirit now, or maybe that he was a fox to people who couldn't clearly see spirits.

"It's Takashi," Madara said. "He's hurt."

"What could hurt him?" Misuzu looked past the wards, a frown on his face.

"I don't know. Can you fix the wards? I need to…"

"Go." Misuzu might not approve of Madara's friendships with ayakashi, but he wasn't heartless.

"Calm down," Madara said to Takashi. His shaking was slowing, but he was still breathing too hard, still not talking. "You're not alone now."

Disconcertingly, Takashi buried his nose in Madara's shoulder and pressed closer. Madara exchanged an unnerved look with Misuzu before carrying Takashi to the back room of the shrine, the room where Misuzu kept bandages and other small amenities for when exorcisms went wrong. Madara carefully set Takashi down despite how reluctant he was to be let go and tried to look at his wound. Takashi flinched away.

"I have to look at it. What even hurt you anyway? I've never seen you bleed." Granted Takashi hadn't fought things around him, actively avoided confrontation from the look of it.

Instead of using words, Takashi gave an unhappy whine that raised the hair on Madara's arms.

"Claw marks?" Madara mumbled. "This would be easier if you were in human form," he added.

Takashi tensed, clearly trying. Limbs twitched, a graceless shift and probably painful compared to the fluid changes Madara saw before. Moments later a human face with fox ears pressed against his shoulder as Takashi panted into it. His hands were white knuckled and tangled with Madara's robe. "You okay, brat?"

Takashi shook his head, but didn't answer in words. What the hell.

"…I'm gonna peel back your clothes." Takashi didn't fight him, just leaned on him like Madara was a safe place and let him examine and bandage the injuries. He didn't protest even when Madara had to clean mud away from them. By the time Madara was fixing Takashi's clothing back into place, Takashi had relaxed against him, almost boneless and only half conscious.

"Gonna tell me what happened now?" Madara asked as he pet up and down Takashi's back. Takashi made an unhappy sound. "C'mon, this isn't like you." Gold eyes slit open to look at him, like Takashi was saying 'how would you know?' But Madara hadn't spent months with him without getting to know him. "You're scared, and I've seen that before. But you don't end up hurt and terrified like this. Hell, you're being clingy and usually you barely tolerate my touch."

"You're not usually this gentle," Takashi mumbled against Madara's neck. If Madara stopped and thought about it, he had pretty sharp teeth right now, right against his neck, but it was Takashi. The idea of him using the teeth was as ridiculous as the thought of him magically turning into a kitten overnight.

"Oi, don't make it sound like I'm mean."

"You're very nice, Sensei, even if you don't like to show it." Takashi tensed and pulled away. Madara almost pulled him back to his shoulder. He shouldn't be moving too much. "I'm fine," Takashi said, not convincing in the least. "I just went too far alone and ran into someone I shouldn't have."

"Someone? An ayakashi?"

"A river spirit…" Despite how Takashi was trying to appear unbothered and calm, his ears flicked back, betraying him. "He knew Reiko at one point. I don't think they had a good relationship." He didn't meet Madara's eyes or look directly at him as he said that.

Something itched at Madara that Takashi wasn't telling the whole truth. He couldn't make him talk though. Madara sighed. "Let me guess, he mistook you for her."

"More or less," Takashi said.

"And he…attacked you."

"…more or less."

There was more to it than Takashi was saying. Madara tipped Takashi's face up, but his unhappy frown and eyes that still wouldn't look at Madara didn't give away enough to tell him what made Takashi look so terrified. "You didn't goad him did you?"

Takashi frowned at him directly then. "Of course not. I… don't know if he's going to try and find me though."

"He's a river spirit, right?" Madara asked with a hum. "River spirits don't usually go far from their river, or when they do, it can't be for very long. They're basically minor gods so they need to stay near their domain. If the river dries up, you either get a dead spirit, or one without ties—which makes them dangerous, but this one still had a river?"

"He did. He doesn't like humans. Or exorcists."

"Huh."

Takashi slumped back against Madara, cutting off that conversation. "Sensei? Can we go home? Please?"

"Yeah. We can go home. Just let me go tell Misuzu I'm leaving."

It was hard to leave Takashi sitting there when he still looked so lost and weak, but Madara slid the door shut and went back to where Takashi had broken the wards. He'd done it so easily too. Maybe, Madara though wryly, they needed better wards.

"I take it your ayakashi is still alive?" Misuzu said, a brush in hand as he painted spells on wooden plaques to put up and reinforce where the barrier had broken.

"He's not mine, but yeah. He's going to be fine. He was shaken up though, and some river spirit attacked him. Know anything about that?"

"Hmm." Misuzu tipped his head to the side. "A long while ago, the Matoba clan hunted a river spirit for harming humans, but I cannot remember if they managed to seal it or not. It was around when you left, so my memory is not the sharpest with its details. Perhaps your ayakashi stumbled on a particularly territorial spirit."

"He said it thought he was Reiko."

Misuzu gave him a side-eye.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Madara huffed. "He feels similar, so it makes sense that it might have mistaken Takashi for her. It must have had a grudge against Reiko or something."

"She was a spirit that liked to provoke people," Misuzu said.

"She wasn't that bad. She had friends." Misuzu kept up his judgmental look. "Look, I'm taking Takashi home. Could you keep an ear out for any rumors about a river spirit just in case?"

"I can." Misuzu turned back to his task. "I expect you to work on a better warding system over the next week."

Madara groaned. "Fine. I'm leaving, old man."

"Be careful not to get pulled into something you can't handle, brat," Misuzu said in a parting shot.

Madara made a rude gesture that probably wasn't even noticed.

o*O*o

Takashi was strangely quiet the whole way home and just claimed his usual sleeping spot as soon as they made it to the shrine. He curled up in the corner, favoring his side and Madara wanted to hit something with how distant he looked, like he was sleep walking. Instead, the frustrated feeling just jumbled around inside of him without an outlet. Madara let out a sharp sigh and pulled out the blankets he'd gotten for Takashi, laying them out on a bed.

"You need to lay down and rest, not curl up like a bug."

"It's fine," Takashi said, distant. He'd gone from emoting more than Madara'd ever seen to back to the blank face he'd used when they first met. Like he was trying to keep his distance, or maybe he was regretting letting Madara see him weak.

If it was the latter, Madara could understand it; he hated being vulnerable too. If it was the former… Hadn't they moved past that point? "You're sleeping in the bed," Madara said.

"I'm fine," Takashi growled, curling up tighter.

"…Are you worried about the ayakashi finding you?" Madara asked, taking a stab in the dark toward understanding.

Takashi frowned at him, a bit of worry seeping into that blankness. If he hadn't been worried, he was now. "…He probably would have attacked us on the way back here if he was going to," he said finally. "Sensei, you should rest."

"I should rest," Madara repeated disbelievingly. "I'm not the one with blood loss or who ran halfway across the prefecture from the look of it. Take the damn bed or I'm going to move you to it."

Takashi glared and Madara glared right back. If it was a battle of wills, Takashi would probably win on an average day—Madara was weak to him and he knew it. Today, he wasn't backing down though, and Takashi must have realized that because he slumped before creeping painfully onto the mess of blankets.

"We should both rest," Takashi said, facing away from Madara as he laid on his good side.

Madara scowled. But Takashi wasn't paying any attention to him now, determinedly facing the wall with his eyes shut. With a huff, Madara laid down with his own blankets. "If that ayakashi shows up around here, I'll scare him off."

Takashi didn't answer.

He probably didn't think Madara would do it. Honestly, if it was strong enough that it hurt Takashi, there was a chance Madara wouldn't be able to beat whatever it was. Still, the idea of something—someone—hurting Takashi and not doing anything about it… He half wanted to go find whatever did this and smack the hell out of it until it backed off.

He closed his eyes, but the terror on Takashi's fox face, the blood on his fur lingered on the back of Madara's eyelids. It was a kick in the gut, knowing Takashi could be hurt. He seemed as invulnerable as Reiko had been, for all his skittishness and fear. Madara turned on his side. He couldn't get comfortable. Takashi could have been injured too badly to come home. He could have been killed and Madara would never have known.

He would have vanished. The only proof he existed would be a handful of memories spread across less than a dozen people and a couple of blankets in the shrine.

Madara turned over again, this time so he could see the rise and fall of Takashi's chest a short distance away. Injured but still breathing. Still here. Why did he stay? Why did Takashi stay or Touru remain in the forest so close to humans?

Why had Reiko stayed so long only to leave?

And would Takashi be next, in the line of people Madara let into his close-guarded heart, to leave him with no explanation or anything to hold on to?

"…Sensei," Takashi said softly, not turning toward him. Then silence.

Madara half thought Takashi was talking in his sleep, but his breathing wasn't slow enough for that. "What?" he asked, just as quiet.

A soft scuff of fabric on wood as Takashi shifted. "…If you could ask…would you…?" More silence. "Never mind."

"Ask what?"

"It's nothing important," Takashi said with a sigh. "Goodnight, Sensei."

Madara waited, but he didn't say anything more. Slowly, Madara let his head fall back to pillow on his arm. "Goodnight, kid."

Until he drifted off, Madara wondered what Takashi had stopped himself from saying.

o*O*o

There was only so much longer, Madara thought as he hung washing from a nearby tree, that he could keep living at the little shrine on the woods. It served him well through summer and autumn so far, but as frost started to crawl across the ground, he knew he couldn't stay there over the winter. Takashi would manage, but if Madara tried, he'd freeze. There was no insulation to the shrine, and even the ragtag collection of blankets Madara had amassed wouldn't be enough once it reached the dead of winter. He'd get frostbite or at the very least he'd get sick.

He was so used to living here though that he didn't really want to leave, and that was why he'd put it off so long. It was kind of funny. He'd returned to his hometown figuring he'd just be there long enough to get enough cash to bounce to another place. To go back to his life of odd hours and odd jobs and hanging with rough crowds and never letting anyone get too close. Of dodging hungry city ayakashi and pretending he was a normal man.

Instead, he'd ended up working in the shrine he'd said he'd never return to and was living with an ayakashi. He talked with ayakashi all the time. He had tanuki stealing his leftovers and teasing him on the weekends, and Hinoe and One-eye and Cow-face messing with him at Hinoe's bar. He slept better hearing Takashi breathing nearby in a tiny shrine in the woods than he'd slept most of his nights in the last ten years.

Life was a backhanded joke sometimes.

"Hey Takashi," Madara said, finishing hanging their clothing to dry. "We need an apartment. I probably can't afford anything much bigger than this shrine."

Maybe two, three times its size at most.

"What's wrong with the shrine?" Takashi asked. "I thought you gave up on the apartment by this point." He abandoned what he'd been doing; Madara thought it was pressing flowers for Asahi, but it could have just been Takashi collecting random shit because he could.

"I'm a sad mortal person and I can't stay in a flimsy shrine once it gets cold or I'll probably croak," Madara said.

"…have you been okay lately?" Takashi asked, looking concerned. He'd come so far from the scared brat flinching at everything. "It's been pretty cold."

"Eh, we practically share body heat in there," Madara muttered. "It's just cold enough to think about. I should have been looking for a place ages ago. Hinoe was 'hinting' over a month ago…"

"Is it really that hard to get an apartment?"

"Depends on the place." People were a bit nicer lately, probably because working for Misuzu made Madara almost respectable. Almost was the key word though, and there were still too many people that remembered him before. "Most places want you to pay an advance and have character references." Madara snorted. "At least Misuzu can be good for something."

"Is it a problem that I'm here?"

"Eh?" Takashi had a serious little frown on his face like he was picking apart a problem. "Nah. Everyone thinks you're me illegitimate child or whatever. You're fine." It was Madara's character that was in question, not Takashi's. Most people seemed to like Takashi, though now that it was fall, there were questions why he wasn't in school, and Madara didn't have any answers for that. Lies could only go so far.

"Do I need to find a job?" Takashi asked.

The thought of an ayakashi working a part time job had Madara laughing before he could think about how that sounded. Takashi gave him an insulted look.

"No, no, just." Madara caught his breath. "You're fine. You've been helping with some of the shit Misuzu sends me on. That's more than enough."

"I use your resources," Takashi pointed out. "I don't really need them the same way you do and you go out of your way to—"

Madara put a hand over Takashi's mouth and Takashi's fox ears—his preferred form these days that was so much like Reiko's Madara still did double-takes sometimes—tipped back with disgruntlement. "Kid," Madara said, "you're fine." Madara never thought he'd be parental in any way, but it was strange how he kept finding himself looking for things Takashi might like or making sure he was fed. It made it easier to care for himself too somehow, like all he'd needed was an excuse to look after someone else to get himself in gear enough to meet his own needs. Go figure. "Besides, Hinoe would skin me for being a shit dad if you got a job."

"You're not actually my father," Takashi grumbled, pulling Madara's hand away. "If anything you're the child since I'm a three-tailed spirit."

"A spirit that's got maybe a few years of memories," Madara pointed out drily. "You're a kid, human or spirit."

Takashi opened his mouth to make a retort, then closed it, eyes sliding away from Madara with the guilt that kept popping up when he looked at Madara lately.

Something had changed and Madara couldn't figure out what. It couldn't just be that scare with the river spirit. If he thought Takashi would tell him, he'd have pressed for info by now, but there was something fragile about Takashi whenever he got that expression, and Madara worried he'd break everything they'd built in the last few months if he tried to get to the bottom of this.

Madara let the moment go as he'd done the last few times. "Asahi's visiting today right?" Madara said, changing the topic. "Why don't you have fun with him while I look for an apartment? There's gotta be someone who'll rent to me."

"Okay, Sensei," Takashi said quietly, obediently, in a way Madara didn't like.

Madara narrowed his eyes and Takashi just smiled at him. Tired, worn, and older than he had any right to be in his eyes. He'd spent the last decade sealed and couldn't have been around much before then, three tails or not. Madara was the old one. He felt old just then. He sighed. "Put the laundry away when it's dry, kid," he said. "Don't go anywhere dangerous."

"I was just planning to take Asahi to see Atsushi and Satoru."

Well, the tanuki did like the kid. Asahi would probably have a lot of fun. "Good." Madara ruffled Takashi's hair and Takashi let him this time, didn't even sputter or dodge. Madara was too tired for whatever was going on in Takashi's head. He sighed. "Have fun, Takashi."

o*O*o

"Takashi!" Asahi yelled, barreling into Takashi's legs. Behind him, Ginrou smiled stiffly, her shiki partner giving Takashi a nod.

Takashi hugged Asahi gently and nodded back.

"Don't get into too much trouble," Ginrou said, "and have him back to the train station by four."

"I will," Takashi promised as Asahi all but vibrated with joy at his side.

"Bye, Ginrou-san!" Asahi yelled, tugging Takashi toward the station exit. "Have fun shopping!"

Ginrou waved, smile softening, and Takashi let Asahi's presence take priority. "You're excited," he teased gently.

"I missed everyone!" Asahi said. "It's been weeks and I wanna see Atsushi and Satoru and look for cool leaves at the park and—" He waved his free hand excitedly, words seeming to fail him.

Takashi laughed. "We can do that. How are you?" he asked. "How is living with Ginrou?" Takashi had spoken with Asahi a few times over the phone, once to arrange this visit, but this was the first time they'd had with a guarantee that no one was listening in.

Asahi swung the arm Takashi held back and forth, making a game of not stepping on the sidewalk cracks as they walked. "It's okay. They're pretty nice there and when an ayakashi was all scary and mean, Ryousuke scared him off so that was good."

"You got attacked?" Takashi asked, a tiny bit of growl in his voice.

Asahi glanced up at him, and back down at his feet. "Just the one time. There's not as many ayakashi at their home and most of the ones there are the little ones that are really nice and want to make friends. I think the big ones are scared to go close."

Well, Takashi thought, they were exorcists after all. "So you like living with them?"

"It's okay," Asahi said. His small hand gripped Takashi's. "But I miss you and I liked living in the woods. It was fun sleeping close to people."

Takashi knew—though how he knew he couldn't say—that humans, especially children, needed to be held and touched. Asahi had probably been missing that along with so many other needs when they met. Takashi held Asahi's hand that little bit tighter. He hoped he got hugs and care with his new household. "It's going to be winter soon, so you couldn't have stayed in there then. You'd get sick."

"I don't mind the cold," Asahi said. "But I'm not mad anymore that you had to give me to Ginrou-san. Madara-sensei has trouble just looking out for himself, huh?"

Takashi snorted. Such a perceptive child. "He's doing his best. He's looking for apartments now so we don't have to live in the shrine."

"The shrine's a good home," Asahi said, "but it would be nicer with running water. Or electricity."

"Exactly."

"Can I visit when you get an apartment?"

Takashi smiled. "Of course."

Atsushi and Satoru were already in the park when they got there. Surprisingly they weren't alone; Touru was with them, playfully teasing while Satoru got more and more flustered. All teasing stopped when she caught sight of Takashi and the child with him, her cat ears perking up excitedly.

"Aaaaah!" she squealed rushing over. "He's adorable! Young humans are so tiny!"

"Touru," Takashi sighed, as she squished Asahi in a tight hug. Asahi, being a remarkably laid back and friendly kid considering his upbringing, didn't even try to squirm free, though he had a wide-eyed, shocked expression on his face.

"What? It's been ages since Fluffy-kun was small like this! I like cute things."

"You're going to overwhelm him."

"Oops." She let go and Asahi wavered like he wasn't sure if he could stand on his own. "Sorry. You're just so cute. Oh! He's like a little fox," she said, looking between Takashi and Asahi. "With his orange hair and how you've claimed him."

"I haven't claimed anyone."

Atsushi and Satoru gave Takashi knowing looks with matching grins. Takashi's ears flicked back.

Touru rolled her eyes. "Yes you have. Anyway, he's 'Little Fox' to me now."

"Uh," said Asahi.

"It means she likes you," Atsushi said. "She likes to give nicknames."

"Only to cute things though," Satoru said.

"None of us are cute enough."

"Sadly," Satoru said with an exaggerated nod.

Touru rolled her eyes again, ears flicking dismissively. "You're too old for nicknames."

"Sensei's older than we are," Takashi pointed out.

"I knew Fluffy-kun before he could grow facial hair," she said. "He's forever a round-faced, scruffy, fluffy twelve-year-old to me."

Asahi giggled. "So you're one of Takashi's friends?"

"Yep!" Touru said cheerfully. "He mentioned you'd be visiting and I wanted to meet you!"

Asahi gave her a bright smile. "Can we be friends too?"

"Of course!"

Takashi smiled softly as Asahi enthusiastically started up a game of hide and seek with the others. As hard of a choice as it had been to give Asahi to the exorcists, it looked like it had been the right one.

Asahi was doing okay. And Takashi was going to stick around and make sure he grew up cared for and with friends, ayakashi or otherwise.

o*O*o

It was a shitty apartment. Even by Madara's standards it was shitty, with stained tatami and a scorch on the wall that the landlord hadn't even bothered to paint over. The toilet ran and the sink dripped and it had a weird smell to it, like cooking oil gone rancid and dirty feet. Madara hated it on sight, but it was the best he was going to get. Besides, it wasn't like Madara hadn't lived in shitty places before. He knew the drill. He could fix the drippy faucet and running toilet. He knew how to get rid of weird smells and to take apart a room and clean it until it was more livable. He could even paint over the wall if he wanted, but cracks and stains didn't matter much compared to things like cockroaches and mold. And if there turned out to be either of those, well, Madara knew how to deal with that too.

It was just that compared to the shrine in the woods, it felt like a total dump even though it was more than twice the size of the shrine, had running water, and heating. Takashi, when Madara showed him, had taken one look, sighed, and said he'd be in the park if Madara needed him.

It would have been nice to get help carrying their belongings to the new apartment, but to be honest, Madara couldn't blame him. If he had the option, he'd skip out too. But being the adult and the one paying for the apartment meant Madara hauled his suitcase and their blankets and the other odds and ends he'd accumulated in the last few months to the apartment himself in two trips before collapsing and making a list of everything he'd need to buy to make this place livable.

Madara was going to miss having money to buy tiny luxuries like the occasional chocolate bar, or an actual drink at the bar. Or not so luxurious things like shampoo that wasn't from a bargain bin and socks to replace the ones that he'd worn holes into. Good thing he knew how to sew.

One of the only upsides was that the former resident had left behind some of their furniture, so Madara had a banged up chabudai table and a dresser so he could finally stop using the suitcase to live out of.

That was actually the first thing he did after peeling himself off the ground. Make sure the dresser was clean and separate out his meager pile of clothing into drawers. He left the bottom one for Takashi's things, though he didn't really have much.

Going through that suitcase was like going through his life and myriad of poor choices. He hadn't packed neatly when he left his previous apartment, just gathered up everything of use and value and hit the road. Now he was unearthing things he'd forgotten he packed, let alone owned. Why had he thrown in the joke shirt one of his one-time friends got him? He didn't even wear that thing. Or the earrings? He hadn't had a pierced ear since he was twenty. But somehow they were in there along with other small items he'd just swept into his suitcases over the years whenever he moved instead of going through his belongings properly. He never did seem to move with much planning ahead of time.

In the back bottom corner of the bag, he found his old keepsake box, a dented metal thing that he'd taken from Gramps years ago. As a kid it held whatever interesting object he'd found that week, like a marble or a glittery rock or a feather from an ayakashi that only Madara could see. Somewhere along the way it gathered more than that. Bits of memories. Madara opened it up. He hadn't added anything to it in a while and it had been years and years since he actually sifted through its contents.

He plucked things off the top—a letter from a friend he hadn't spoken to in years. A pressed flower given to him by an ayakashi child. Stickers hoarded like jewels, all yellowed at the edges and peeling from their backings with glue gone brittle. Gramps's favorite pocket knife, given to him shortly before he passed away. Rocks and feathers and childish treasures, and there tucked at the bottom was a pendant.

Reiko's pendant.

Madara froze. He'd forgotten it existed. Forgotten she'd given it to him even though he'd worn it for four years straight after it was gifted to him. Keep this, she'd said, and if you need me, call me and I'll find you. A gift to a child from the only parental figure that had had time for him back then. Protection in the most sincere way Reiko ever managed. Usually she just made backhanded threats.

The pendant was small, only a centimeter and a half in length, a cylinder made of some pretty colored paper covered in lacquer. It had a faint feeling of power to it, just like the day she gave it to him. Madara rolled it on his palm, the old, worn cord dangling.

If he called, he wondered, would Reiko still come? Was she even still alive to answer?

For a moment Madara was swamped with the aching longing to see her one more time. She was an ayakashi, she didn't owe him anything and their kind lived so much longer than humans. They could be fickle and capricious and favor only lasted so long as the ayakashi wanted. But she'd been the most important thing in his life once. And he liked to think he'd been important to her back. She'd given him this after all, a promise to help him if he ever needed it, and promises meant more to ayakashi than they did to humans.

How the heck had he forgotten this?

Madara cupped the pendant in his hands and thought about her. Pictured her like she was in his childhood memories, tall and strong and fierce with her silvery hair and sharp teeth and glowing eyes. Her laugh, both mocking and comforting. Her smile a challenge to the world. Reiko.

He could feel something from the pendant, but the longer he knelt holding it, the more disappointed he felt as nothing seemed to happen.

Madara's shoulders slumped. Of course. It had been a far-fetched thought anyway. Everywhere he looked since coming back pointed to Reiko being gone for good.

He sighed and went to put the box away with all its treasures. But… He slid the pendant over his neck.

It was barely noticeable weight against his collarbones, but he was hyper aware of it. It was still important.

Madara cleaned up his treasures and put the box in the closet before unpacking the rest of his meager belongings into the kitchen and bathroom. Maybe fifteen minutes after he put the pendant on, there was a scrabble of claws against the window and Madara looked up to see a flash of silver, and had a moment of hope—but he knew it was Takashi, the fox form too small, one of his tanuki friends hitching a ride on his back.

Madara opened the window. "I thought you were going to be at the park."

"I was at the park," Takashi said, shaking himself as whichever tanuki was on him slid to the ground. Takashi tilted his head like an inquisitive dog. "I felt like I needed to come back though. Are you okay?"

A smile felt a bit too stiff on Madara's face, his hand coming up to the pendant for a moment. "…I'm fine. I just forgot how much old stuff I had. There's a lot of memories tied up in that."

Takashi's eyes zeroed in on Madara's necklace. "What is that?"

Madara touched the pendant again. "Just… something Reiko gave me a long time ago. I forgot I had it."

There was something unnerving about how Takashi looked at it, something unnerving about the whole scenario, but after a moment, Takashi shook himself again and glanced around. "I suppose it's slightly more like a home."

"Just slightly?" Madara complained. "So ungrateful, brat."

Takashi snorted and shifted seamlessly into human form. He was getting better at that. It was almost as smooth as Reiko changed. The tanuki brat seemed content to stay in animal form for the moment. Though from how he was eying the cupboards, he was probably hoping for food.

"You're ungrateful too," Madara said toward the tanuki. "No snacks for brats with greedy hands."

"But Sensei, you're just as greedy," Takashi said, straight-faced.

"Oi." Madara caught him in a headlock as he laughed. "Liking nice things isn't greedy! I paid or foraged every scrap of food we have!"

"No, some of that I foraged too," Takashi corrected, wiggling free. He was still smiling and a month ago he'd have never let Madara do that. It made Madara feel a bit warm knowing how much Takashi had come out of his shell in the short time since he woke.

"Same difference. Anyway," Madara said, relaxing, "I'll need help cleaning this place tomorrow. It's going to need scrubbed from top to bottom."

"Yes, Sensei."

"You could help too," Madara said to the tanuki, but it backed away.

"I'm good!" it said, and Madara was pretty sure it was Atsushi. Either way he narrowed his eyes at him. "Next time," Atsushi said, giving Takashi a little wave and dashing off before Madara could strong-arm his help.

Surrounded by brats. When he looked back to Takashi, he was looking at Madara's pendant again with a strange expression on his face, like he was torn between something sad and fondly nostalgic.

"What?" Madara asked, crossing his arms defensively.

"Nothing." Takashi shook his head slowly. "Just. She must have really cared about you."

Something in the way he said it, a bittersweet smile on his face, made Madara really look at him. At how similar they looked. Takashi wasn't Reiko. By now Madara was damn sure it wasn't one of her jokes. But that was the same expression Reiko got every now and again when Madara was still little and he got excited to show her something new that he learned. Or how enthusiastic he'd been when he finally figured out how to channel some of his powers to fight back. Looking at Madara like he was both important and something she'd already lost.

He hadn't thought anything of it back then. Reiko's mind had always been a mystery. But looking at it from an adult perspective, maybe she'd been thinking of how fleeting it all was. Either because children were children for such a short time, or because he was human, there and gone to an ayakashi life span.

He didn't know what it meant to see it on Takashi's face now.

Madara fiddled with the pendant. "I like to think she did." Goodness knew he had cared for her back. "It wasn't enough though," he added, more as an afterthought than anything. "If it was enough we wouldn't be here now."

Takashi hummed, eyes seeing something planes away, right there but so far away inside. "It was enough at the time," he said at last, "or she wouldn't have given you that."

Madara blinked as Takashi walked past him into the tiny bathroom, starting up the bath and just abruptly ending the conversation there like there was nothing more to be said. The pendant was light between his fingers, but was it really so deserving of that surety?

After a moment, Madara shrugged. He had lists to write and cleaning to do and a strict budget to figure out so that they could keep staying here. There'd be time to puzzle through Takashi's words later.