video;

[spiritually]

[ The video starts with a deep moaning, echoing through a cave. It's dark, but there's enough light to see what's going on. A blonde man named Natori, older than Natsume with glasses, holds a pot before him and is chanting in the center of a large magic circle.

Natsume stands about forty feet from the circle, his eyes narrowed in determination. A rock in his hand. After another deep groan, Natsume throws the rock up toward a huge, mindless monster, visible for once to all, perhaps because the community simply decided to make it so-- maybe something else, we may never know. The giant looks to him and Natsume runs toward the circle and the monster takes chase.

It's too fast, much faster than Natsume and the creature picks up him with his hand, drawing him toward a huge, gaping mouth that seems to have a dark gas seeping out of it. ]

{{ OOC note: Bold is Natori, italics is Matoba, and underlined is the unnamed woman. }}

Natsume!

[ Natori stands to run to aid Natsume, but there's no way he'd be able to make it. Just as the monstrous youkai is about to throw Natsume down his gullet, suddenly an arrow with a fuda shoots him in the back. ]

Ye who rest in the Earth and hold the keys, come to me. Ye is the one who disturbs the stones. Take away the inhuman one.

[ It's a strange man with long, black hair and a strange eyepatch. Matoba. A flash of green light fills the cave, then the monster begins dissolving with a cry of pain, leaving Natsume to fall to the ground. Natori runs to him, helping him sit up. ]

If you don't need a youkai, don't waste time on it. Just blow it to bits. [ Matoba stands with a long bow in his right hand at the entrance to the cave, an older woman in a suit by his side. ] I don't care about the youkai or that.. but you interest me.

[ The video closes in on Natsume's face. He's glaring. There's a slight quiver in his breath, but he doesn't speak up. Despite being saved, Natsume's obviously not okay with this man. ]

We'll meet again. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[ Natsume continues glaring at him as he turns and leaves, but there's another voice to the side. A woman, clawing through the pile of ashes that was left of the youkai, muttering madly, desperately. ]

I can't forgive him.. Matoba... I'll never forgive him!

There's nothing you can do for them now. You'll have to forget it all. [ Natori's speaking calmly, even as the woman's on the verge of tears. ]

Could you forget!? Could you forget..? [ The ashes begin to float up and she reaches up for them, crying out, breaking down into sobs. Natsume's expression changes. He feels bad for her. Even though she just nearly killed them all by releasing that... but he can't say anything. She runs off, crying, and he can't say anything.

Finally Natori suggests they go and Natsume follows, silently. There's blood on the sleeve of his left arm. As they walk out, Natsume runs over to an injured Nyanko-sensei toward the entrance of the cave and picks him up silently. Natsume's not the only one with blood on him. It looks like Nyanko-sensei was shot with an arrow as well.

Natsume didn't understand. He didn't understand how Matoba could just dismiss the spirits like they meant nothing. How no one else seemed to see or understand the pain that that woman had gone through from losing a dear friend. He couldn't understand how they couldn't see how much the spirit who had asked him to help with this had risked to save her friends. Were all humans connected to the spirits like this? Would Natsume be like them soon?
Natori and Natsume don't say anything as they leave the cave, Natsume simply holding the unconscious Sensei close and not looking at Natori. ]

Comments

video; locked (sort of considering kyouko's skills with that suck)

[selfished]

[ What the heck-- she hardly even notices it, but she's holding her breath when that giant monster has Natsume in its hands. Like Natsume is seriously about to be eaten, and she can only sit here and watch.. but when it's shot down, she can finally let that breath out again. Not that she was worried. Not at all.

But.. even so, the video goes on, and she just watches the rest of it with a slightly confused frown. There's so much she doesn't get, but.. okay, first things first. Not that she's worried about Natsume at all, but still, someone else might see this and get the wrong idea, right? Right. Okay, trying to lock this here.. ]

Natsume..! You're okay, right?!

voice; locked (same)

[spiritually]

[ It showed it.

It showed it.

It couldn't have picked something else? Anything else? Though he supposed none of the rest of the day was really fantastic either. Maybe... when they were at the restaurant...? That would still raise too many questions, but Natsume couldn't figure out how to go back and lock the video. It wouldn't let him. He didn't know what to do.

Kyouko would probably come hurt him if he didn't say something soon though. ]

A little tired.

[selfished]

[ She's probably coming to hurt him all the same. Okay, no, probably more like 'yell at him', but either of those works. Despite her not entirely realising it is, it's pretty obvious that she's actually worried or at least emotionally fazed by the whole deal. ]

You're sure that's just it? You're not lying to me, right?!

[spiritually]

My arm hurts a little, otherwise I'm fine. Promise.

It probably... looked strange. [ If Matoba fired that arrow and Natsume thinks that no one else could see the spirit, then it probably looks like Matoba shot at him. ]

I didn't get hit by that arrow.

[selfished]

.. [ She takes a deep breath, but there's almost something frustrated in it - like she's trying to keep her emotions in check here but it's just not working. Kyouko's always been way too emotional, either way. ]

Natsume, I could see it.

[spiritually]

What?

[ His voice sounds clearly confused at what she means. There's no way she meant the youkai, is there? ]

[selfished]

That-- .. that thing! It was gonna eat you, wasn't it?! [ At least she isn't too scared by the youkai itself - heck, it looks just like the witches from her world, just huge and really weird. But when it comes to his safety, that's another matter entirely.. ]

You said nobody could see them, right?!

video;

[ponytailprince]

What..... was....

Hey Natsume! You're okay, right? So explain that creature!

[Seriously, it really was like Digimon...]

voice;

[spiritually]

I'm... fine. It was a--

[ How do you explain these things when people have actually seen them? ]

That woman summoned a spirit, Natori was going to seal it, Matoba ended up exorcising it because we couldn't get it to the circle. They're both exorcists, that's all. It's... I don't usually... get involved with exorcisms.

[ That's true, at least. Natsume dislikes a lot of the ways that exorcists deal with things, even the one he's friends with.. ]

voice;

[ponytailprince]

...Wait, why did she summon this thing in the first place?

[do you need help natsume? poor kouji isn't able to transform anymore or else he would help totally.]

voice;

[spiritually]

That.. the man, Matoba, used someone she cared about as bait. She was trying to get revenge.

voice;

[ponytailprince]

....Wait, what?

That's... really sick. And you're with these people?

voice;

[spiritually]

No. Matoba and Nanase-san-- the older woman with him-- are part of the Matoba clan of exorcists. I don't.. really get along with them.

Natori-san is my friend. He's the blonde guy, but he's not with them even if he's an exorcist. I don't work with him either unless he's helping me or something just happened while we were hanging out.. I don't like exorcisms unless there's no way around it.

permavid

[windgodgirl]

Oh my, what an unpleasant brute.

What was that woman talking about, before she fled? [there will be a million more questions to follow.... sorry Natsume.....]

voiiiice, will note if it changes. locked though

[spiritually]

Matoba? [ The youkai's a butt, but it wasn't really his fault. He'd been sealed up so long he couldn't even speak. ]

Matoba.. used someone close to her as bait. I actually saw it happen, I couldn't get there in time.

[windgodgirl]

If you don't need a youkai just blow it to bits, he says! What a sad, pathetic excuse for a man. [it isn't often that Aya speaks of someone so unpleasantly (in fact, she practically never does) but apparently now is a special occasion.]

So it was someone the woman loved? A human using a human to bait a youkai. I'd be lying if I said I've heard that scenario plenty of times before.

[spiritually]

[ Natsume won't argue against that part. After being kidnapped, threatened, hurt, and having Nyanko-sensei and himself shot by one of Matoba's arrows in what was obviously not an accident... He's not exactly a fan of the man. Double for the policies he knows he has. ]

It wasn't another human. It was a youkai that was used to bait another youkai. Her friend, the one that she loved, was a youkai.

[windgodgirl]

... A human and a youkai in love? I haven't heard of something like that in a long time.

[spiritually]

[ There's a smile in Natsume's voice. He's seen it before. ]

It's uncommon, but it's not bad. Anyway... don't go telling everyone about this, okay? It's off the record.

video

[answerer_sword]

Are you alright?

[Bazett recognizes the young man. She had seen him in the New Year's party. It seemed he too had gotten involved with supernatural forces]

video

[spiritually]

I'm fine. Just a scratch, that's all.

[ Average day tbh ]

It was a weird day, things like that don't normally happen...

Re: video

[answerer_sword]

The monster? Or the way it all ended?

voice;

[spiritually]

Both.

[ People worry too much when things like that happen, he's already got Kyouko of all people freaking out on him.. He doesn't want everyone to know that this is what he faces all the time. Even if they could see it.. He doesn't want to get anyone involved in it or know nearly dying is a common thing for him. ]

I-It'd be pretty weird if I saw youkai all the time right?

Re: voice;

[answerer_sword]

It depends on your line of work, but if you are just a normal human boy, then yes, it would be odd.

voice;

[spiritually]

I don't have work. I'm just a student.