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Natsume already regretted coming here.
Here being another exorcist meeting. He hadn't really enjoyed the meetings he had been a part of so far, mainly because he'd always ended up getting caught in some kind of trouble. Still he kept showing up when he was invited, in the hopes of maybe, someday, finding a kindred soul.
This time the invitation came from Matoba Seiji, Natsume's least favorite exorcist of the bunch. The man was unscrupulous and cold, having no regard for neither humans nor youkai. In that aspect he was the polar opposite of Natsume Takashi, who had a heart too big and bright, that couldn't ignore someone in need, no matter if it hurt him in the process.
To be honest, he only showed up because Natori promised he would tag along. He had asked the man for his company, despite worrying about burdening him. Of course he had agreed, not wanting the boy to run into any problems, as he tended to do in his good old Natsume fashion.
Natsume was incredibly thankful for the presence beside him, especially when he was missing the weight of his chubby bodyguard in his arms.
Nyanko-Sensei thought it would be best if he kept to the shadows and didn't show his furry face until he was needed.
Natsume could understand the reasoning, of course he did, with this being a huge gathering and himself wanting to stay under the radar, but that didn't make him miss the safety that the grumpy cat provided any less.
Natori's voice brought him back to the present. "You alright there, Natsume?" The look the exorcist was giving him was warm and a tad concerned. Natsume gave him a small, but earnest smile.
"I'm fine, Natori-san. Just a bit nervous."
This was the truth. He had no idea why the head of the Matoba Clan invited him this time, but he was sure that the man had some kind of mind game planned out for him, probably to try to convert him to become a member of his clan again. That was not going to happen though. Natsume may not be the best judge of character, but even he could see that Matoba Seiji was bad news.
If push came to shove, he still had Natori and Madara, who seemed fiercely protective of him from time to time, contradicting the cool and unapproachable facade they liked to showcase. They were huge softies on the inside and Natsume knew that better than anyone else.
Natori put a light hand on his shoulder. "That's okay. It's probably for the best if you stay alert around some of these exorcists. Especially Matoba. But don't worry, I won't leave your side tonight." That promise actually made Natsume feel a little better. "Thank you, Natori-san. Matoba-san can be unpredictable. I'm glad you're here, although I'm sorry for dragging you into my problems again." But Natori immediately waved him off.
"Don't worry about it, Natsume. You're never troubling me." It was still hard for Natsume to not see himself as a burden and he appreciated the reassurance from the other. Natori gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze before he let go.
They made their way slowly across a stone path. On each of their sides was foliage, but it expanded into a deep, quiet forest to their right, while they could catch glimpses of water and the sound of small waves rolling onto the shore to their left. In front of them a big mansion came into view.
The windows were all alight, soft chatter reaching their ears as they got closer. Natsume was amazed by the size of the house. It wasn't as big as some he had visited before, but it was still impressive. The entire building was buzzing with life.
Through the windows he caught glimpses of many exorcists. He knew that a lot of people attended these gatherings, but there were probably more exorcists than he had ever seen before, all of them accompanied by their shikis.
In contrast to the almost empty forest this liveliness was staggering. It reminded the boy of a busy anthill. That thought brought an amused smile to his face, but it didn't last long as his gaze landed on the form of one Matoba Seiji, standing in the middle of the pathway.
The two newcomers stepped out of a bamboo grove into the open as Matoba made his way towards them. The man was always smiling, but it could have kept ice caps from melting. It was sickly-sweet and just so fake even Natsume cringed when he saw it. He waved at them.
"Ah, Natsume-kun, I'm so glad you came. And you brought Shuuichi-san with you. How nice. I don't see your cat though. I hope he is not neglecting his job again? We wouldn't want something to happen to you, do we now?" he asked, false concern laced into his voice. He was still a few meters away, but the gap between them was closing fast.
Natsume just hoped the evening would pass by without a hitch and as fast as possible. Matoba really gave him the chills. Of course he didn't want to tell him that Nyanko-Sensei was close by, keeping himself hidden so he could swoop in and get Natsume out of every tight spot he might get himself into. Instead he changed the topic.
"Why did you invite me here, Matoba-san?" Natori had positioned himself slightly in front of Natsume, ready to step between him and anything that may try to get to him. Matoba chuckled in his usual foreboding way. "My, my, I would almost assume you think I had some ulterior motives when I asked you to come here. Don't you worry, Natsume-kun. I simply thought this would be a great experience for you, " he said placatorily.
Natsume gave him his best glare, but didn't say anything. Natori spoke up beside him. "Then why don't you lead the way? The meeting is inside after all. No need to stand outside and waste time." He gave the head of the Matoba Clan a polite, but cool smile, raising an eyebrow challengingly.
The other man didn't look bothered in the slightest, probably already drawing conclusions about his missing bodyguard on his own. He wordlessly turned around and lazely waved his hand to signal them to follow him.
Natsume and Natori walked a few steps behind Matoba and the little procession made its way towards the mansion. It was surrounded by water, only accessible through a bridge that slithered its way over the small lake. They were almost at the house, when Matoba suddenly stopped.
"What color does that kimono have, Natsume-kun?" He turned his head slightly to gaze at Natsume. The other two came to a halt as well.
"Kimono?", repeated Natsume confused. He sent a questioning look towards Natori, but the man was slightly glaring at Matoba, which the other didn't even bother to return, his eyes still solely trained on Natsume. They both knew what was going on and he had no idea what this whole ordeal was about.
Natori seemed to take pity on the poor confused boy because he gave up on his one-sided staring match with Matoba, turned in his direction instead and pointed at something behind Natsume's back. He turned around and followed Natori's extended finger until he saw the object of discussion. Then his breath froze in his lungs.
With wide eyes he stared at the thing up in a gnarled old tree. It was so beautiful he forgot how to breathe for a moment.
"So, what color is the kimono?" Matoba asked again, now standing right next to him.
Natsume flinched, the presence of the others having temporarily slipped his mind and the sudden proximity not helping his nerves at all.
He furrowed his brows at the question, but when Natori laid a reassuring hand on his back and took position on his other side, he relaxed slightly.
He studied the fabric of the kimono closely, which was being illuminated only by the moon and the stars above, the lights from the mansion not reaching it. Despite his little knowledge regarding the topics of textiles and clothes, even Natsume knew that this kimono was special. And in spite of the darkness he could make out all the details perfectly fine.
The fabric was likely handmade silk. Its color was the most radiant crimson he had ever seen.
Whenever they read poems about the war in school he could never quite picture what red flowers blooming on a blood drenched battlefield were supposed to look like. He thought he had an understanding of it now.
Blossoms made out of golden yarn winded their way across the expensive cloth. Petals of gorgeous chrysanthemums and lovely peonies were stitched carefully onto the garment, one wouldn't be able to find similar flowers in any earthly garden.
How was he supposed to describe this magnificent kimono with mere words? And even more so, why? Why did Matoba ask him in the first place? Both he and Natori clearly knew what it looked like. So why?
Natsume finally peeled his eyes off of the kimono and turned to either men at his sides. Both of them looked expectantly at him, so he told them what he saw. "It's red." Natsume cringed internally at how mundane it sounded, not worthy of the thing in the tree.
He tried again. "It is a dark crimson color. It's lovely." Natori patted his back. "Very good, Natsume."
Natsume looked confused at him. Good? What was good? What was going on? From his other side Matoba asked, "Do you see any patterns?" Turning towards him, Natsume slowly nodded. "Flowers. There are golden peonies and chrysanthemums," he answered, hoping someone would explain to him what this was about. Apparently not because the only thing he got in response from Matoba was "Like I thought."
Having enough from the exorcists' cryptic behavior, he decided to just ask. "What are you talking about? Why are you asking me this?"
Again it was Natori, who took him out of his misery. "That kimono looks different for everyone. Depending on the spiritual level of someone it has different colors. For people with low spiritual power it looks white. The more powerful ones see it in different shades of red. For me it is crimson,which is pretty good, if I may say so myself. But people who can see any pattern at all, let alone both chrysanthemums and peonies, are really spiritual. Not many are that capable," explained he.
A magical kimono. Natsume couldn't say it was his first one, but this was definitely the best one so far.
"In fact, I'm currently the only exorcist that is able to see the whole flower pattern," said Matoba, casually flaunting his superiority. But now it turned out that Natsume could see the same things as Matoba. He hummed pensively as he turned back towards the tree.
Was Matoba, too, breathless when he first laid his eyes on the beautiful robe? On one hand it was kind of hard for him to imagine, but on the other hand, he couldn't think of any other possible reaction one could have for such a masterpiece.
"So, not everyone gets to see it like this? That is tragic!" Natsume's heart bled just from the thought of it. Either everybody should be able to appreciate its beauty or no one.
"Well, yeah, but there is no need to feel sad about it. It is what it is. The people who only see a white piece of fabric don't know what exactly they are missing, so they won't feel bad about it," Natori tried to give him some kind of reassurance.
But Natsume knew better than most other people that you can yearn for things you never had. Still, Natori was right. If he dwelled on that thought for too long, it would only bring him grief. So he turned away from the tiny island in the lake that hosted the tree with its precious treasure and the three continued their way towards the mansion.
Natsume was deep in thought until Natori gently nudged his side. He smiled warmly down at the boy. "Penny for your thoughts?" Natsume returned the smile. A small thing that seemed to hold the light of an early summer morning in it.
"I was just thinking about the kimono." Natori nodded, encouraging him to continue. "It's just so pretty, it's a shame so few can see it. Though it is kind of hard to make out due to the distance and because of all the hair," told Natsume the man.
And then both Natori and Matoba came to a screeching halt. They whipped around to face him.
"Hair?", asked Natori, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"Hmmm yeah… the long hair shields quite a bit of the kimono, don't you think?"
Hair… that didn't fit though. It irked him the wrong way. It was simply too plain to just call it hair. It was way too beautiful, far too precious for that. The way it was flowing down the back of the kimono like liquid moonlight, every strand glowing in a cold, but gentle light. They were so delicate, that every time a soft breeze passed by they billowed up, lapping at the sky not unlike a rushing stream making its way down the mountains towards a valley. The kimono may have been gorgeous, but the being on the tree was ethereal.
The person who the silver locks and the red kimono belonged to was a youkai. There was not a single doubt in Natsume's mind. No human being could possess such an inconceivable beauty.
Their long legs dangled with a grace from the place the person was seated on, that it would make gazelles green with envy. Thin arms gleamed like bone china and fragile fingers rested in their lap.
They looked like a zephyr-like wind could blow them away, yet they radiated a confident air, strong and constant.
Natsume was sure, nothing could get them out of that tree if they didn't want it. They had sat there for a long time and they would continue to be here for a time frame that a simple human couldn't wish to comprehend.
Natsume had seen his fair share of gods, all powerful and unbelievably handsome, but never something like this. The way they held themselves, their timeless nature, it was something unique and felt almost forbidden to look at.
Everything seemed to gravitate around this being with such an effortless ease. He was so close to them, yet they felt unreachable. Despite looking like the moon sat foot on earth, the being had an aura to it that told him that it could do so much more, than just change the tides.
Natsume wouldn't have been surprised if someone told him that this tree was the middle of the universe. If he were a gambler, he would have even bet on it.
His eyes had wandered back to the celestial body perched on the ancient tree. He admired the figure with an ache in his chest he could not hope to put into words.
Then they turned their head. It was a small movement, just enough so that they could look at Natsume. His heart stuttered in its place only to start beating faster. He now could see a part of their face.
Their pale skin stood out stark against the dark background. They possessed a face so lovely, that they must have been at least an angel.
Long white eyelashes adorned the eye that was now focused on Natsume. Its observant look made his knees weak and he felt like falling to the floor and yet he could not avert his gaze or even move an inch for the life of him.
An eye of the color of a dying star, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns, stared right through him, no doubt gazing into the farthest corners of his soul, uncovering his whole essence in the blink of an eye. He felt stripped bare under their scrutinizing gaze, every secret and his deepest desires laid out before him for the holy being to judge.
Then their lips quirked up into an unfathomable smile and he felt like, if he would die right now, right here, he would die happy and blessed.
This eye contact only lasted for a moment, but to Natsume it felt like an eternity. When the being turned back around a wave of emptiness washed over him, but the feeling was gone as soon as it had started. Instead something light and precious made its home in his heart.
Air rushed back into his lungs and Natsume hadn't even realized he had held his breath. He looked back to the exorcists that were watching him in unbelieving fascination.
At that moment he realized that they couldn't see it, hadn't witnessed what had just happened.
He had grown accustomed to the fact that those people could see the same things as him. They may not perceive everything as he does, having a rather dark view on youkai and the likes, where he saw kindred hearts full of longing and love, but now being able to see something that they couldn't? Especially something as wonderful as this? It made something in his stomach twist.
He looked at them with saucer-big eyes, not sure what he should do or say now. In the end he didn't have to say anything, as Natori slipped back into his role as the unofficial older brother. "You are really amazing, Natsume," he said in awe and with a bright smile, nothing like his sparkling actor ones.
There was an understanding look in his eyes and Natsume just knew he didn't have to hide, didn't have to feel bad for something like this. If he didn't know better, he would say Natori looked proud, but that couldn't be right.
Then the man put his hand on Natsume's shoulder, warm and strong and oh so safe and gently pushed him towards the mansion.
"Let us head inside. That cat of yours would kill me if you'd catch a cold out here." Natsume nodded in agreement and they resumed their path towards the house.
Matoba had a thoughtful look on his face and Natsume was sure he had to deal with that at some point, but for now he had to deal with this exorcist meeting.
And so they finally headed in, joining the other exorcists and their shikis.