Chapter Text
It's a sight to behold indeed, for those who can see it. An immensely powerful horse yōkai, an elegant woman in an old-fashioned kimono, two humanoid figures holding banners and, of course, the wolf-like form of Natsume Takashi's shiki all glide through the evening sky as if they were floating on water. The boy himself is, no doubt, perched on top of his shiki, though it's too far away for the exorcists on the ground to make out all the details. They can, however, hear the laughter and chimes of bells as the group processes through the clouds.
Not for the first time, Matoba wonders how Natsume Takashi-kun has managed to acquire such a powerful servant. Although, after this incident perhaps he should amend that thought to 'servants.' It is clear these yōkai follow the boy in some capacity.
Nanase-san is the first to comment.
“They're on a different level. If we were to gather all of our ayakashi they may not even be able to hold a flag against them, Matoba.”
Matoba studies the procession above and thinks on the older woman's words.
“...You may be right. But there are many ways of doing things.”
Holding a contract with just one of the ayakashi above would elevate the Matoba clan's power significantly. Though it seems a show of strength is out of question for the clan. No, Matoba will have to take a different approach, a more subtle approach.
Takashi-kun has made it clear he has no intention of joining clan Matoba. The boy may be idealistic and naive, but Matoba suspects he won't change his mind on this matter. Matoba thinks back to how Takashi-kun acted at the mansion.
“He was oddly concerned with his bag,” he says in reply to Nanase-san. “I wonder what was inside? According to the one that looked inside there was something like a notebook there.”
Nanase-san's tone is puzzled.
“...A notebook?”
“Yes, what was it?” Matoba tilts his head up and watches as the yōkai procession fades from view. He narrows his eyes as he recalls what was written on the front of the notebook.
“The book of something or other was written on it.”
Clearly no exorcist has heard of anything like that, since no one chimes in with more details. No matter. Matoba was able to uncover preliminary information on Takashi-kun before. It's clearly time to take a deeper dive.
Matoba smiles slightly and says to no one in particular:
“Even though we did not acquire the yōkai we sought, it seems this area and its inhabitants are worth looking into further.”