Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a long day for Sakura. 

Umemiya had sat him down after school to talk . Sakura didn’t do emotions . As such, he felt drained and very off his A-game. Then, to make everything worse, the whole of the 1-1 class had been at cafe Porthos. Sakura couldn’t even get a bit of peace and quiet there. It had taken all of ten minutes before he had enough of people for the day. 

He stormed out of the cafe and back towards home. 

The brisk evening air felt wonderfully refreshing. 

He was about halfway back when something collided with him. Sakura went skidding back several feet, his hands raised in defensive fists. He didn’t see anything until he looked down. There, sprawled on the ground was a young kid. Sakura didn’t recognize him. 

“Watch where you’re goin’ next time,” Sakura growled. 

The kid mumbled something that must have been frantic apologies. Then he looked over his shoulder, back the way he had come. In the evening light, Sakura watched as all the color drained from the kid’s face. Then he picked himself up and raced off like someone was chasing him. It was odd because the street was deserted aside from Sakura. 

Sakura could only grumble and shake his head. He spared the kid no other thoughts. 

That is, until a week later when he saw the kid again. 

Sakura was headed home from cafe Porthos once more. Today had been good, all things considered. Friendship was such a weird thing. Most days, Sakura would rather tear his own hair out than deal with people and his strained relationship with trust. 

Today, was one of those rare days that he (rather begrudgingly) could admit (under torture) that he liked hanging out with his classmates. They had invited him to hang out after school. Even though Sakura had been wary, he agreed. For some inexplicable reason, he ended up (dare he say it?) having fun. Now he was sprinting to his run down apartment to get out the cold, drizzling rain. 

Sakura was just about to head up the stairs when he noticed something odd. Something, or rather, someone was huddled against the side of the building, clearly trying to stay out of the rain. Sakura would have walked right past the person if it hadn’t been for the blond hair that stood out starkly in the shadows. 

Sakura when on guard immediately. 

“Oi! I can see you,” he growled, changing directions and going towards the possible intruder. 

The figure didn’t say anything or even move. More than a bit annoyed that he was being ignored, Sakura started to grab for the person. They flinched away and looked up. 

Sakura found himself face to face with the kid from last week. The kid was soaking wet and clearly chilled to the bone. 

“What are you doin’ out in weather like this, kid? You should be at home,” Sakura sighed. 

The kid didn’t respond at first. Then he gave a very slight shake of his head. 

“I said, go home,” Sakura growled, “You’re goin’ ta catch some kind of illness stayin’ out here.”

“I’m not a delinquent,” the kid’s voice was shaky. 

“How’s that relevant?” Sakura snorted. 

The kid attempted to hide even further in the shadows. Sakura frowned before deciding that he had enough of the kid’s attitude. He reached forwards and managed to scruff the kid. The kid went utterly limp. This made it easy to manhandle him. Out in the open, Sakura could actually get a good look at the kid. 

The kid looked maybe…. Seven years old? Eight years old? Shit. Sakura wasn’t good with guessing ages. Needless to say, the kid looked young. His face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises. The bruising extended to under the kid’s soaked, baggy shirt. Sakura was well acquainted with the marks of abuse. This kid didn’t have an easy life. 

“Who did that to you?” Sakura demanded. 

The kid just shook his head frantically. 

“Fine. At least tell me where you live.” Sakura sighed. 

This was met with more head shaking.

“Your parent’s names?” Sakura tried, shivering slightly as move rain water trickled down the back of his shirt. 

Another head shake. 

“Your name?” Sakura sighed. 

The kid didn’t answer that question either. 

“You can’t just be out here on the streets,” Sakura frowned.  

The kid froze. 

“I don’t wanna go home.” 

“And why is that?” Even though he asked the question, Sakura had a pretty good idea of why. 

The kid scuffed his shoe on the pavement. 

“I don’t wanna,” his voice almost a whisper, like he didn’t want anyone to hear him. 

“Did your parents do this?” Sakura gestured at the extensive bruises. 

That got a reaction, but not the one Sakura was expecting. 

“They didn’t mean to!” the kid cried, bristling defensively. 

Well that didn’t bode well for the situation at home. 

“So they did hurt you,” Sakura growled. 

The kid shrunk in on himself again. 

“It’s my fault,” he shuddered pitifully. 

Sakura was unprepared for the kid to pass out. The kid just keeled over, his small body limp and unresponsive. 

Sakura had no idea what to do next. After a moment of contemplation (brief, because it was still raining and the kid was clearly freezing), Sakura decided to take the kid inside. It was dark and raining so he wasn’t about to leave the kid outside to die of exposure. He also wasn’t about to turn the kid over to the police. Based on his own experience, the kid would likely just end up right back with his abusers, rather than actually being helped.

As he shut the door behind him and his guest, Sakura couldn’t help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into.  

<><><><><><><>

Natsume knew he was in trouble, literally and figuratively. He had run away from the Yamamoto’s house. This was not the first time it had happened. It was the first time it had been of his own volition. Before, the enraged youkai that haunted the coat closet was alway the one to chase him away. Natsume had received plenty of scratches to know that his youkai was far from friendly. 

Today, he had run because he simply couldn’t take it any more. The Yamamotos were just stressed. That’s what Natsume told himself. He knew he was a bad child that was always causing trouble for people even when he didn't mean to. That’s why the Yamamotos hit him and made him go hungry sometimes. It was because he was stressing them. 

Today had been the final straw. The youkai in the coat closet had torn apart one of the umbrellas. The couple had been angry. It was the first time that Natsume had been genuinely afraid that he might die at the hands of a human. He had run as far and as fast as he could. 

Eventually he had all but exhausted himself. He found a building to hide against. Then the rain started. Natsume was ill prepared for such weather. He soon found himself cold beyond what he thought was possible. 

This had been his condition when a strange teenager found him. Natsume didn’t really track much with the conversation. He was too cold. It was probably because he was cold that he eventually passed out.

Chapter Text

Sakura woke up with a crick in his neck. Sleeping on the floor was so uncomfortable. Why was he on the floor? He had a futon. A glance at his bed brought memories of last night rushing to his mind. 

There, still passed out on his futon, was the kid that Sakura had found last night. The kid hadn’t woken at all after Sakura brought him inside. His small body had been so incredibly cold. Unsure of what to do, Sakura had stripped the kid of his sopping clothing and wrapped him up tightly in the only blanket he owned. 

Sakura rose with a groan, massaging his neck to work the kinks out of it. The kid continued to sleep while Sakura got ready for school. After a moment of hesitation, Sakura decided to leave him be. It wasn’t like he had anything valuable to steal and the door didn’t lock so the kid could leave whenever he wanted. 

“Yeesh. Sakura. Are you ok?” 

Sakura stiffened and gave Tsugeura his most annoyed glare. 

“Wha'da'ya want?” he growled irritably. 

“You look like you didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Kiryuu observed. 

“I sleep perfectly fine,” Sakura growled. 

“You really don’t look like it,” Tsugeura agreed with Kiryuu. 

“Just shut up-” Sakura was interrupted. 

“Now, now, Sakura,” Suo tutted as he entered the classroom, “I’m sure there’s no reason for you to be yelling at our classmates this early in the morning.”

“You didn’t meet up with us!” Nirei chimed in, just two steps behind Suo. 

“Meet up with you?” Sakura was confused. 

Suo and Nirei exchanged a fondly exasperated look. 

“You didn’t look at your phone, did you?” Nirei sighed. 

“My phone?” Sakura fished in his pocket for the aforementioned device. 

He pulled it and found that he had missed seven calls from Nirei and over thirty texts from both his vice captains. He scrolled through them as quickly as he could (which admittedly wasn’t fast in the slightest). It seemed that Nirei had wanted to meet up before walking to school and try out the new dish over at Café Porthos. 

“Sorry,” Sakura grumbled as he shoved the hated device back in his pocket, “I didn’t see the texts.”

“Or hear the calls, apparently,” Suo smiled softly, but there was a knowing look in his eye, “Is everything alright?”

“Everythin’ is goddamn fine so everyone needs to stop askin’ me!” Sakura growled. 

It seemed that no one in the classroom believed him. He sat down with a thump, determined to get through the day as fast as possible. 

Indeed, the day did seem to pass very quickly. Sakura was sure that it was just because he wanted to verify that he didn’t have a corpse beginning to rot away on his futon. Finally the day was over. For the first time in his memory, Sakura was actually anxious to get home. If his classmates noticed, they didn’t say anything. 

Sakura let himself in the front door. He fully expected to either find that the kid had long since vanished or that the kid had up and died in his bed. Upon first inspection of his house, it appeared that the kid had left. Sakura felt strangely disappointed. He shook his head. It was for the best. He didn’t really understand the right way to help people and he didn’t want to be involved in any sort of drama. 

Then Sakura went to hang up his school clothes for the day in the lone closet. He nearly yelped in surprise. He found the kid huddled there, knees to his chest, scared stiff. Sakura blinked. The kid didn't move, almost like he had been turned to stone. 

“What’ch’ya doin’ in there?” Sakura sighed, hanging up his school jacket. 

The kid, as expected, didn’t respond. He just pulled his knees tighter to his chest. 

“Do you want ta come out?” Sakura offered. 

He wanted to get a better look at the kid now that the kid was awake. 

The kid shook his head. 

“Fine. Suit yourself,” Sakura shrugged. 

He left the kid alone to start fixing dinner. Under usual circumstances, Sakura would head over to Café Porthos for dinner. It was far easier than trying to cook something for himself. However, heading over to Cafe Porthos wouldn’t be an option for the simple reason that Sakura wanted to avoid any and all questions about the kid. 

After burning eggs two different times, Sakura decided that instant noodles was the best solution. He made some for himself and some for the kid. 

He brought the kid dinner, placing it in front of the closet where the kid was still hiding. Sakura wished he was better at talking, then maybe the kid would feel more comfortable. He almost called Umemiya, but he quickly decided against it when he realized that, in order for Umemiya to give him advice, he would also have to interact with said upperclassmen. Sakura could handle it at the school, he didn’t think he could handle having his home inevitably invaded. 

Instead he tried for conversation on his own. 

“You gonna eat?” Sakura grunted. 

The kid just stared back with large amber eyes. 

“Is that a yes or a no?” Sakura sighed. 

The kid, once again, did not move. 

“It’s not poisoned,” Sakura huffed. 

It took nearly an hour before the kid crept mouse-like from the closet to retrieve the food. He clumsily tried to eat the (at this point slimy and fairly disintegrated) noodles with the chopsticks Sakura had provided. It was all too obvious that he was unused to chopsticks. It was painful to watch him struggle. 

“Kid. Just eat with your hands for now. You can practice with chopsticks later,” Sakura sighed. 

The kid froze when Sakura spoke. After a moment, he obediently dropped the chopsticks and grabbed the noodles with his grubby hands. He reminded Sakura of some sort of feral animal. 

“What am I going to do with you?” Sakura could only grumble. 

The kid hunched his shoulders. 

Sakura just scrubbed his forehead. Seriously, what was he supposed to do next?

<><><><><>

Natsume woke up feeling strangely warm. He turned over on the futon and snuggled deeper into the blanket. It was so warm and-

Natsume panicked. 

He sat bolt upright, panting hard. 

Futon?

Why was he asleep on a futon?

The Yamamotos told him to sleep in the closet. They said he didn’t deserve a futon, so why was he asleep on one?

Natsume glanced around the room, more than half expecting to find one of the Yamamotos leering at him. The room was strangely empty. There was no one else there and there were no decorations in the room to tell Natsume what type of person owned the room. He got up from the futon to investigate the rest of the house, only to find that he was virtually naked. Natsume panicked. 

He might young, but he knew what was going on. The Tanedas had told him what happened to bad children. They were kidnapped and sold for their bodies. Natsume was the definition of a bad child. Natsume tried not to panic any more than he already was. He crept to the doorway. He found that he was staring at a small kitchen, a door that probably led outside, and a drying rack with his closet on it. 

Natsume wasted no time in snatching his clothes up and hastily dressing himself. He then tiptoed to the door, determined to make his escape. It was just his luck when he opened the front door, he found himself face to face with a youkai. It was about the same height as Natsume with large, bulbous eyes and sharp teeth. 

Natsume and the youkai stared at each other for a moment, sizing the other up. 

“I thought something smelled good around here,” the youkai licked its lips, “You would make a tasty appetizer.”

Natsume tried to slam the door shut, but the youkai caught it at the last minute. 

“Come now, come now. I can’t have my meal try to escape,” it smiled. 

Natsume ran. He raced back to the bedroom. On a whim, he dove for the closet, shutting himself inside. He sat utterly ridged, almost not daring to breathe. He heard the youaki scratching about the room. It tried to get into the closet more than once, but that appeared to be a difficult task. 

Eventually it must have left because the house went quiet. Natsume didn’t dare leave his hiding spot. He decided this was a wise move when he heard more sounds a few hours later. It didn’t sound like the youkai before, but that didn’t mean anything. 

Natsume held his breath. The footsteps approached. Natsume tried not to whimper. The door was yanked open. He shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. 

“What’ch’ya doing in there?” 

Natsume blinked. He found himself looking at a strange teen with black and white hair; his savior from the night before. What was he doing there?

Natsume stayed huddled in his safe corner while the strange teen drifted from the room. Then the teen was back, this time toting steam cups of something that smelled utterly heavenly. 

Natsume watched as the teen helped himself to one of the cups. 

“You gonna eat?” the teen asked. 

Natsume was uncertain of the correct response. He very much wanted to eat, but he didn’t want to appear too eager just in case the teen decided to take the food away at the last minute. 

Eventually, Natsume crept from the closet to the cup. He found it contained over-boiled instant noodles. With clumsy fingers, Natsume tried to eat the food he had been given. It was hard because he didn’t know the last time he had been allowed to use chopsticks was. 

“Kid.” Natsume’s heart just about stopped when the teen addressed him, “Just eat with your hands for now.”

Natsume obeyed. Dinner was much easier to eat after that. 

As he was finishing up, the strange teen sighed: 

“What am I going to do with you?”

Natsume felt a wave of guilt. He hadn’t meant to cause trouble again. He should leave as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

Sakura had been passed around between enough houses to know the look of a kid about to make a run.

“I would advise against running, at least for the moment,” Sakura sighed.

The kid froze, guilt and horror making his unusual colored eyes go wide. 

“If you run, you won’t make it far. You go out there right now and one of two things will happen. Someone else is going to find you and they are either going to take you to the police which will put your right back where I think you are trying to avoid or they will kidnap you. I don’t think you want either of those think, do you?”

The kid hunched his shoulders before slowly shaking his head. Sakura released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He had gotten the kid to actually respond to a direct question. Progress. 

“So… ah…you got a name?”

Rather than answering, the kid withdrew back into the closet. Sakura scowled until he noticed the abject terror on the kid’s face. 

“Fine. I’m gonna call you ‘kid’ for now because I’m shit at comin' up with names,” Sakura said gruffly. 

The kid didn’t respond. 

“I’m Sakura, by the way,” Sakura offered with a huff.  

Sakura continued to attempt to coax information out of the kid for the rest of the night. He got nowhere much. The kid refused to leave the closet and Sakura was disinclined to pry him out of his hidey-hole.  Eventually, Sakura gave up and went to bed. 

The next morning when Sakura woke, the kid was still in the closet. He was slumped against the wall, fast asleep. Sakura was tempted to fish him out of the closet, but as he got close, the kid woke up, eyes darting  about. 

Sakura made breakfast before darting off to school. This was there routine for almost an entire week. Sakura decided that it was like there was a feral animal living in his closet. The kid was there everyday as Sakura left for school and he was there every evening when Sakura came back. 

It was around the time that Sakura was wondering if the kid was just planning on living in his closet forever when it happened. The kid came out on his own. 

Sakura was making dinner. He was tired and sore. Patrol today hadn’t been easy. Sakura was more than a bit proud that he could hold his own against almost anyone. That didn't mean that he walked out of fights unscathed. Overwhelming odds and being paired up with Nirei had meant that Sakura walked away with more than his fair share of scrapes and bruises. 

Dinner tonight was simply instant ramen with a few toppings he had pocketed at Café Porthos. The water was almost ready. Sakura just about jumped out of his skin when something grabbed the hem of his shirt. Heart thundering in his ears, Sakura looked down. 

The kid was tugging on his shirt. 

Holy shit. 

the kid had left the closet on his own. 

“What do you want?” Sakura grumbled trying to hide his confusion, “Dinner isn’t ready yet.”

The tugging continued. 

“I already asked what you wanted,” Sakura huffed, “I-”

The kid reached up and tugged at Sakura’s hand. Then he darted away to the bathroom. Sakura was confused. The kid was back a moment later with a fist full of band-aids. He stared up at Sakura with big, worried eyes. It was almost adorable (Sakura refused to be swayed by a pipsqueak barely half his size). 

“I’m fine, kid,” Sakura huffed. 

The kid just furrowed his brow and shook his head. 

“But, you’re hurt,” he croaked. 

Sakura blinked. 

Then he blinked again. 

Double holy shit. 

The kid could talk. 

Then the words registered. Sakura glanced at his knuckles. They were pretty busted up, but not the worst he had ever done in a fight. Sakura attempted to brush off the kid's worry. It didn't really work. The kid was so agitated that he refused to eat until Sakura allowed him to place band aids on his knuckles. 

“Yeah. That happens. Sorry for scaring you kid,” Sakura sighed. 

The kid just gave a small shrug before picking up his cup of instant ramen. He glanced over at the open window. Sakura followed his gaze, but saw nothing. 

“Kid?” Sakura frowned. 

The kid started badly, spilling the ramen on himself. He froze. Sakura winced. That had probably hurt. The ramen broth was still really hot.  

“Shit. Let’s get that washed off you and make sure you didn’t get burned, alright?” Sakura got up. 

That seemed to break the kid out of his trance. He bolted. Sakura was thankfully able to grab the kid’s collar as he ran past. 

“Woah, woah, woah. Where are you goin'?” Sakura growled in annoyance. 

The kid went limp in his hold. Sakura easily toted the kid to the bathroom. He sat the kid down on the edge of the tiny bathtub. The kid was trembling. 

“I didn’t mean too,” the kid choked. 

Sakura paused. 

“Didn’t mean to what?” he frowned. 

“Your food. I’m sorry,” the kid mumbled softly. 

“Meh. It wasn’t that great to begin with so I’m not that upset,” Sakura shrugged. 

The kid blinked at him. 

“I’m sorry,” he offered once more. 

Sakura rolled his eyes before lifting the kid’s broth-sodden shirt up. The skin on the kid’s chest was red and irritated. 

“Jeez. You can relax. I’m just tryin' ta help you,” Sakura sighed. 

The kid did not relax. It was quiet the ordeal for Sakura to get the dirty clothes off of the kid. The clothes went in the wash. Sakura took the opportunity to bathe the kid. The kid was surprisingly obedient when Sakura told him to wash himself. The water was grimy by the time he crawled out. Under the dirt and other filth, the kid’s skin was littered with fading bruises. More bruises than Sakura had been prepared to see. 

Sakura noted that the kid’s light blond hair was natural. That, paired with the kid’s amber eyes, was an unusual combination, especially in Japan. Sakura knew that without a shadow of a doubt that the kid got grief for this. He could sympathize. 

The kid stayed huddled in the towel. Sakura realized with a wince that the kid didn't have any other clothes. Sakura had very little in the way of extra clothing. He dug through it, looking for something that might work. In the end, he grabbed the sweatshirt he never really wore. He dumped the sweatshirt on the kid. 

“There,” Sakura said gruffly, not really quiet sure what to do next, “That should work.” 

The kid stared back at him with clear surprise. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled. 

Sakura was rather confused by the warm feeling in his chest. 

<><><><><>

Natsume didn’t trust this strange teenager, not one bit. 

Every part of his instincts told him to run away, to make an escape while he still could. He was caught before he got very far. 

“You run and you won’t make it far,” the teenager sighed. 

After trying to pry for Natsume’s name, the teenager offered up his own name, Sakura. Natusme liked that name, but he didn't dare to voice such a thought. It would probably get him hit. 

Sakura tried to pry for Natsume’s name, but Natsume refused to fall for such tricks. In the end, the evening ended in a stale mate. Sakura went to bed and Natsume remained huddled in the closet. Natsume tried to build up his courage to leave once the strange teen was asleep, but he couldn't. It felt far safer in this closet than anywhere he had been recently. Natsume didn't remember falling asleep. 

The next morning, he woke to find Sakura approaching the closet. As soon as Sakura noticed that Natsume was awake, he aborted his approach and wandered off. Breakfast was placed in front of him a few minutes later. That was followed by the slamming of the front door as Sakura hurried off, no doubt to attend school.

After a few hours had passed, Natsume ventured to the front door. He cracked it open. No one in sight. Natsume made a dash for freedom. His attempt was thwarted by that same youkai that had chased him the day before. Natsume tried his hardest to run away, but he quickly realized that he would be no match in out running this youkai. Using the last of his speed and stamina, Natsume raced back to Sakura's apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. 

He stood there panting hard for several minutes. He heard the youkai prowling around the area for a little while after that. Natsume decided that it would be best if he laid low for a few days and hopefully two things would happen. 

Hopefully Sakura wouldn't be too mad and hopefully the malicious youkai would eventually loose interest in waiting for him. 

Sakura came back home and honestly didn't even give Natsume a second look. He just shoved a take out container his directions. 

“Yours,” he grunted before passing out in bed. 

Over the week, they seemed to settle into some sort of routine. Sakura would wake early, make breakfast. He crammed his own breakfast down his throat, left Natsume’s right outside the closet door (Natsume was floored by that kindness) and then raced off to school or "patrol" or whatever.

During the day, Natsume would occasionally venture out of the closet, but he never went too far. Then, presumably after school, Sakura would return. Dinner would appear just outside the closet door. Sakura would do the dishes and then pass out in bed. 

There was something..... disarming and safe about this person. Natsume wanted so very much to just lean into that safety, but he knew better than to fully extend trust. 

A week later is when that all changed. Sakura came home looking beaten up. Natsume knew this was his fault. Somehow, in some way, he had caused this. And the only thing Sakura had done was to be nice to him and feed him. Natsume could feel nothing other than immense guilt.

He crept from the closet up to Sakura’s side. After trying to get Sakura’s attention, Natsume decided it was best to fix this on his own. He scurried to the bathroom and rummaged through the virtually empty cupboards. He soon emerged with his prize: a fist full of band aids. 

Coming back out to Sakura, Natsume attempted to fix the damage he had done. Sakura seemed confused. 

“I’m fine kid,” he huffed. 

“You’re hurt,” Natsume pointed out. 

Sakura looked surprised. Natsume wondered why. 

Natsume was very upset that he wasn't allowed to help Sakura tend his injuries (something Natsume was very good at). As they sat down to eat, Sakura sighed. He held out his hands and allowed Natsume to care fo the scrapes. 

“Yeah. That happens. Sorry for scaring you,” Sakura turned back to dinner. 

Natsume was about to follow his example when he noticed the youkai in the window. It leered at him, attempting to jimmy the lock. 

“Kid?”

Sakura's voice scared Natsume. He jumped, the ramen in his hands spilling on himself. It burned. But-

oh. 

Natsume had committed a grave sin. He had wasted precious food. Sakura stood and Natsume knew what was coming. He was going to be beat. He attempted to flee. Sakura caught him and carried him to the bathroom. Natsume closed his eyes in fear. 

“Didn't mean to,” Natsume cried, hoping that would spare him pain. 

That had never worked in the past, but for some reason, it worked today. 

“You didn't mean to what?” Sakura sounded confused. 

“The food. I'm sorry,” Natsume could hardly force the words out. 

Instead of laying into Natsume, Sakura simply helped him strip his now soiled clothes and take a bath. The bath felt wonderful and Natsume almost felt guilty to enjoy it. After he got out, he looked around for his clothes. They were still in the wash. Natsume resigned himself to wearing the towel. Sakura seemed to notice the problem. He disappeared for a moment before he was back with a sweatshirt that he gave to Nasume. 

“There. That should work,” he grunted. 

Natsume was once again floored by how strange, yet kind Sakura was. 

Chapter Text

Sakura saw a marked improvement with his relationship with the kid for reasons he didn't really understand. 

Sure, the kid still liked to hide in the closet, but he as least came out at times. Sakura often found that he was watched as he made meals and cleaned dishes. The kid would sit there like he wanted to help but at the same time was too afraid to ask. Sakura didn't know how to offer for the kid to help without scaring the kid. It was an odd stalemate that Sakura chose to ignore (just like everything else he didn't know how to deal with).  

The trust that grew was slow and still felt more akin to the taming of a feral animal than to gaining the trust of human. Even still, it was clear that the kid was slowly opening up to him. Sakura wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was disconcerting to have someone so young trust him for anything. 

It was even more disconcerting as he saw himself in the kid. The way the kid flinched at loud noises, the way the kid never asked for more food than he was given even when he was clearly still hungry, the way the kid was starved for affection. Sakura felt mildly uncomfortable being on the other side and seeing the evidence of abuse. Is this what he looked like to his classmates? 

Week two with the kid dragged into week three. Sakura discovered that his issues weren't just at home. His abrupt departures for home after school some days and his deliberate avoidance of questions had been noticed and carefully catalogued by the whole class.

More than once Sakura had been cornered by Suo and Nirie asking if everything was ok and if there was anything he needed to talk about. Kiryuu tried to invite himself over a few times (Sakura always turned him down). Tsugeura followed him around, asking if there was anything he could help with.

Even Sugishita seemed mildly invested. Sakura had caught sight of his towering classmate attempting to tail him home a few times (Sakura was always careful to change his route home every day to through off Sugishita or anyone else who might try to follow him home). Sakura knew that he was lucky that none of his classmates had told their upperclassmen. He wasn't sure how much longer his luck was going to hold out. 

To keep up appearances that everything was fine and to squash everyone's annoying concern, Sakura spent more time at school and with his classmates. However, every day that he stayed out late with his friends, he felt guilty when he got back home. More than once, he found the kid fast asleep by the front door like he had been waiting for Sakura to return home. 

Sakura wasn't sure what to do. 

It was clear that the kid needed more attention than Sakura had to give. By all rights, Sakura should drop him off at Umemiya's doorstep. At the same time, Sakura was rather annoyed to find that he kind of liked having the kid around. The kid reminded Sakura too much of his younger self and he wanted to make sure that the kid didn't have to go through any further abuse. 

He wanted to keep the kid. 

Urgh. That thought drove him crazy. He wasn't a good person to keep a kid. He should stop pretending he was good at this. But the house would feel so lonely without the kid around. 

Sakura's thoughts argued back and forth. Each argument threatening to pull him off of his precarious tightrope. 

Then came the decisive day that made up Sakura's mind. 

It was late. If Sakura's alarm clock had a light, he would have known the time. As it was, he guess it probably around two or three in the morning. A big storm had rolled in. Rain beat against the window and the chill from the outside seeped into the room. Lightning lit the sky and thunder shook the building. 

Sakura wasn't sure what woke him up. He blearily glanced at the window. It was firmly shut and no rain was getting in. He glanced over the rest of the room. It was too dark to see anything. He rolled over and would have gone back to sleep if he hadn't heard a soft whimper. 

It took Sakura a moment to place what he was hearing. Then he realized what it was. He glanced at the closet where the kid was probably sleeping like he always did. Sakura couldn't see anything. 

“Kid?” Sakura grunted, voice thick with sleep. 

The kid shifted, rustling fabric as he did, but didn't answer. 

“Kid?” Sakura tried a little louder.

Still no answer. 

Sakura was in luck. The room was lit by lightning. In the brief flash of light, Sakura spotted the kid. He was huddled in the closet, back pressed again the wall. He was utterly stiff and he looked terrified. Sakura realized what was wrong. The kid was scared of the storm. Sakura himself had suffered from a similar thing when he was younger. 

“Come ‘ere kid,” Sakura sighed. 

The kid hesitated before he shuffled slowly out of the closet. He stopped right next to Sakura. 

“Come on,” Sakura grunted, lifting up a corner of the futon so that the kid could crawl next to him. 

The kid hovered there in confusion. Sakura finally reached up and pulled the kid down next to him. The kid seemed utterly confused for a second. Then the room was shaken by the next peel of thunder. The kid jerked in fear before completely disappearing under the futon and huddling against Sakura's side. He was trembling. 

Sakura felt a strange feeling in his chest. He felt the very strong need to protect the kid. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is what Umemiya felt. He quickly shook that thought from his head. He was not Umemiya. He did not want to be Umemiya (he told himself this was true). 

At the same time, he couldn't deny just how much he wanted to protect this small human. It was such an odd feeling. It kept Sakura awake for the rest of the night, even as the kid drifted off to sleep. 

Everything was topsy-turvy for Sakura's emotional state for the next few days. He snapped at his classmates without even understanding why, he avoided talking to people when possible, he lost a one v one fight for the first time in years. 

Despite the upheaval, Sakura felt a very terrifying sense of peace that utterly confused him. He had found a new goal. He needed to protect the kid. All else could burn in hell. 

It went well for a little while longer. 

Then the kid got sick. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume didn't trust Sakura, per say, but he didn't distrust the teen either. 

Sakura was strange and full of contradictions that Natsume just couldn't fathom. The teen was nice, but at the same time he was always gruff. He didn't really talk much. He almost always had sort of scowl on his face, but that being said, he was never intentionally cruel to Natsume. That last part was particularly strange. Natsume didn't know how to accept it. 

Strangely enough, as time went on, Natsume found that he sort of liked Sakura. It was lonely in the tiny apartment all alone. He was always worried when Sakura didn't return home at dinner time. What if something had happened?

Something had happened to his dad, that much Natsume did remember. One day he simply vanished. It happened so fast. In a matter of days, Natsume had been taken to someone else's home. He wasn't allowed to return home and none of the adults would tell him what happened.

It took Natsume a long time of waiting for an answer before someone eventually told him his father was dead. Natsume wanted to refused to believe it. A small part of him was sure that his father was alive somewhere else. He wasn't sure how that made him feel. He wondered, if that were true, had his father left because he was tired of dealing with Natsume and his stupid 'lying'? 

He wasn't sure which was worse: his father being dead or the chance that his father had simply abandoned him. He tried not to thing about it. 

Instead, he focused his attention on what was right in front of him. Sakura. Natsume couldn't change the past, but he knew that he could affect the future. He worked hard to make sure the house was as clean as he could make it. He never touched Sakura's few belongings. He never left the house, rather choosing to observe the world through the balcony doors. 

On the days that Sakura took a long time to come home, Natsume would camp out by the front door. More than once he fell asleep there (he was so very ashamed to wake up as Sakura carried him to the main room from the front hall). 

Sarkua seemed to understand that Natsume wanted to help, but he didn't appear to fully trust Natsume. Natsume was sad to realize this, but he wasn't surprised. He wouldn't trust himself either. 

As time passed, Sakura seemed more irritated than normal. Natsume was sure he was the reason behind Sakura's irritation. Natsume wasn't sure how to change that. Then the lightening storm came. 

Natsume kenw it was coming. He heard a pair of youkai complaining loudly about the impending storm as they floated past the window. However, foreknowledge only did so much. Natsume was unprepared for the voilence of the storm. 

Lightning broke the sky into jagged pieces and thunder threatened to bring the house down on Natsume's head. The rain slammed against the window, driven by the wind. It rattled the latch on the window like there was a youkai attempting to break in. 

Natsume tried to stay calm, but he didn't manage it for long. The storm had been going on for quiet some time when lightning struck somewhere not far off. The room was lit blindindly and not two seconds later the thunder came. 

Natsume was voilently reminded of two storms that had an impact on his short life. 

One was the night before his father disspeared (died?). There had been a bad storm, not unlike this. Natsume vaugly remembered huddling against his father's chest as his father hummed a song. The memory drove home the soul-deep feeling of loneliness that Natsume was feeling at the moment. 

The other storm came about a year later. It was the second night that Natsume was staying a the Ueda's house (a place he managed to stay at for a total of three days before they kicked him to the next house). The storm was voilent. Natsume, being his stupid and childish self, had sought some source of comfort. He had gone to the master bedroom. A particuarlly loud clap of thunder had him diving for the futon for safty. 

Needless to say, the Uedas were not thrilled to have Natsume join them in bed. Mr. Ueda had been particularly annoyed. He slapped Natsume across the cheek before locking Natsume in bathroom like he was a misbehaving pet. The whole incident further cemented in Natusme's young mind that he was not wanted. 

Something creaked and groaned outside. Natsume accidently let loose a terrified squeek. He quickly clamped his hands over his mouth. Just his luck. Sakura stirred in his sleep before rolling over and looking around the room. 

This was it. Natsume was going to be tossed out like garbage again. Sakura said something, but Nastume was too terrified to to really listen. 

"Come 'ere," Sakura commanded in a gruff voice. 

Natsume hated it, but he obeyed. He expected to be beaten or scolded or simply tossed out the window. Instead, Sakura lifted the corner of the futon. 

"Come on," Sakura sighed. 

Natsume was so very confused. What was Sakura wanting him to do? Sarkua answered the question by grabbing Natsume's wrist and pulling him under the covers. A moment later thunder shook the room again. Natsume panicked. He lached onto the first solid thing he found. 

It too him several long moments to realize that the solid thing was Sakura's chest. Strangely enough, Sakura didn't push him away. Instead, Sakura let a protective arm flop over him, pulling him into a loose hug. Natsume wondered if that was a mistake. However, several minutes past and Sakura made no move to push Natsume away. 

Natsume leaned a little closer to the solid chest next to him. Sakura's heart thrummed with a steady beat. It was a reassuring sound. Grasping after shreds of comfort, Natsume let himself fall asleep under the illusion that he was back home with his father. 

Natsume wasn't really sure what changed after that storm. Sarkua's mood still swung wildly in unpredictable ways, but for some reason, he seemed hyper-focused on Natsume. Natsume was confused to no end. Had he done something wrong? Or was Sakura waiting for him to make a mistake? He wasn't sure. 

Natsume didn't have long to ponder this strange turn of events. 

Two days later, Natsume woke up feeling ill. He felt hot and cold at the same time. His body ached and his head throbbed. He knew he was going to die.

Chapter Text

It soon became clear to Sakura that he was ill prepared for dealing with a sick child. The kid just lay on Sakura's futon in a miserable ball. His clothes were damp with sweat and to top it all off, he had a chest rattling cough sounded like it hurt. 

Sakura tried feeding the kid (not that the kid really wanted to eat). He tried just letting the kid rest (this was hard as the kid whimpered in his restless sleep). He tried bathing the kid (he wasn't really sure if that would do anything, but it was worth a try). Nothing worked.

It didn't take long for him to run out of ideas. 

Sure, Sakura had gotten sick plenty of times, but with the exception of that one time his classmates accidently found out, Sakura was well versed in how to just suck it up and move on without help. He didn't want that for the kid. He didn't want the kid to suffer. After some agonizing thought, Sakura did the only thing he could.

He broke down and called Suo. 

He stepped out of the apartment so that he wouldn't disturb the kid. He nearly chickened out twice before he pushed the call button next to Suo's name. Suo picked up on the second ring. 

“Sakura-” Suo couldn't even get more than that out before he was interrupted. 

“Suo. How do you take care of a sick kid?” Sakura bit out, just trying to get the conversation over with. 

There was a beat of silence before Suo spoke. Sakura felt his cheeks heating up. 

“A sick kid?” Suo’s voice was frustratingly neutral, “What do you mean?”

“If a kid is sick, what do I do?” Sakura growled. 

“Might I first inquire why you want to know something like that?” Suo hummed. 

“Just tell me,” Sakura demanded. 

Suo sighed. 

“What do you mean by sick?” he asked. 

“He’s sick,” Sakura growled, not really sure what Suo was asking. 

“Yes. What do you mean by that?” Suo tutted, “Does he have the flu? A cold? Something else?

Sakura had to stop and think. Was there more than one type of sickness? In his world you were either sick or you weren't. There was no use in 'classifying' them. Sakura scrambled to figure out what Suo was trying to ask him. Thankfully he vice-captain seemed to pick up that he was more than a little lost.

Suo sighed before listing off: “Is he throwing up? Is he feverish? Is he coughing? Does he just have a runny nose?”  

“I…uh… not throwin' up. He’s warm, like really warm, and he's sweatin' a lot and he won't eat anythin' and he's coughin',” Sakura listed off. 

There was a thoughtful hum from Suo's end of the phone. 

“Get him to drink lots of fluids. Check and see what temperature his body is at. It sound like he might have a fever. If so, you’ll want to keep an eye on it, just to make sure everything is alright,” Suo suggested. 

“Fluids and temperature. Right. Got it.” Sakura grumbled to himself.

“You also said he was coughing?” Suo hummed. 

“Yeah,” Sakura grunted.

“Try giving him some herbal tea and honey,” Suo advised. 

Sakura grimaced. Herbal tea and honey. Two things he didn't have in the house.  He would have to buy some, but that would mean cutting into his already stretched budget. Damnit. Kids were expensive. 

“Anythin' else I should do?” he sighed. 

“I wouldn't know. Not without seeing the kid.”

That put Sakura on alert. Suo was clearly trying to invite himself over into Sakura's life. Sakura didn't have the time to deal with nosy classmates at the moment; not now, not ever. 

“No,” he growled.

“Why not?” Suo huffed. 

“You… you might get sick,” Sakura grumbled. 

“Same for you,” Suo snorted. 

“I never get sick,” Sakura scoffed. 

“Riiiiight and I have an ancient curse living behind my eyepatch,” Suo snorted

“You don’t. I’ve seen your eye socket; it's empty. There’s nothin' cursed about it unless you just mean that you're missin' a body part,“ Sakura frowned in confusion.

There was heavy sigh from the other side of the phone. Sakura sensed that he had misunderstood something. He bristled, ready to defend himself, but Suo moved on.  

“Never mind,” Suo sighed, “When should I come over? How about now?”  

“I.. what? No! You don’t need to come over,” Sakura scrambled to keep his classmate at arms length. 

“Brilliant. Now works good for me too.”

“I said no!” Sakura cried. 

“But you called me in clear distress and I’m not about to ignore a call for help from my captain,” Suo said in a sing-song voice. 

“Call for… I don’t need help. I just had a question. That’s different," Sakura spluttered frantically. 

The conversation was slipping out of control. He growled softly, uncertain about what to do or say next. He hated this feeling and it seemed to frequently come up when his classmates were around. 

“Do you really not want me to come over?” Suo asked softly.  

Sakura hesitated. It was so like Suo to leave the final decision up to him. That was somehow worse than if Suo just invited himself over. On the one hand, if he turned Suo away and something horrible happened, he would never forgive himself and Suo would probably never let him forget. On the other hand, if Suo came over, sooner or later everyone would find out about the kid. Sakura wasn't ready for that just yet. 

Then he thought over his lacking skills. He didn't want the kid to die on him. His worry for the kid won out over his desire to keep his classmates out of his life. 

“It’s fine. Just… just don’t tell anyone and come alone,” Sakura hissed the last word. 

“Roger!” Suo said cheerfully. 

Sakura felt some sort of impending dread as he hung up the phone. No doubt Suo would tell Sakura that he was doing everything wrong. Or maybe he would simply report Sakura to the police, or worse, Umemiya. Or what if Suo took the kid for himself? That was somehow the worst option of them all. 

The anxiety made Sakura's head spin. He shook his head and told himself he would just have to suck up whatever came his way next. 

Sakura re-entered his dingy apartment only to find the kid leaning against the balcony door, panting heavily. 

“Oi! Kid? What are you doin' out of bed?” Sakura rushed to the kid's side. 

The kid blinked blearily at him and didn't answer. Then he looked back out of the window. Sakura wasn't sure what he was looking at. 

“I didn't....I didn't....” the kid sniffled. 

“You didn't what?” Sakura frowned.

The kid sat back a bit, looking confused. Then he broke down in tears. Sakura sat next to the kid, not sure what to say. Eventually, the kid toppled over in exhaustion. Sakura let him sleep where he fell rather than move him and risk waking him up.

The knock on the door came about 45 minutes later. Sakura opened the door expecting to see Suo. He was only partially right. Suo had indeed arrived, but he was not alone. He had brought Nerei and Kotoha with him. 

Sakura was going to kill his vice-captains. 

<><><><><>

Natsume knew he was going to die. 

His body ached. His head felt foggy. His chest hurt from coughing. His clothing felt damp with sweat.

This was going to be the end. 

The impending dread of his mortality weighed heavily on his young mind every time he got sick (which was frequent). Often times, he longed for it. Death meant that he wouldn't be a disappointment any longer. Death meant that he wasn't in someone's way. Death was what most of his relatives wanted even if they didn't always tell him to his face. 

It sort of surprised him that he wasn't dead already. None of the families he had ever been with had cared when he got sick. They simply ignored him for the most part or worse, avoided him to avoid catching whatever it was that he had. 

However, unlike when he got sick before, Natsume did not wished for the sweet release of death. Sakura was nice. For some reason Natsume being sick flustered him. Natsume felt kind of bad for taking up so much of Sakura's time, but at the same time he selfishly craved the affection.

Sakura gave him food (Natsume couldn't stomach the food, even the smell made him nauseous). He let Natusme sleep in his futon (Natsume didn't know why, he was just fine in the closet). He even helped Natsume take a bath when he felt gross and sticky with sweat. 

Sakura was nice to him and Natsume didn't want to throw it all away just yet. The stupid, little kid part of his brain wanted more of Sakura's attention. Natsume did his best to ignore the feeling. He remained huddled in bed, simply wishing for the end (of either the sickness or his life) to just hurry up already. 

Through the haze of what was probably a fever, he heard Sakura talking on the phone just outside the front door. The walls were thin and Natsume could hear that Sakura sounded frustrated. Natsume wondered if he was calling the police. 

Natsume glanced at the window. The face of a youkai floated just out side. 

"Come play with usssss," it hissed, "Come plaaaay with usssss."

Natsume blinked. It didn't make the youkai go away. He wished it would. This type of youkai always came to hang around when ever Natsume got sick. He couldn't help but wonder if the smell of sickness drew it. 

After gathering all the energy he had left, Natsume crawled from the small nest consisting of Sakura's futon and sweatshirt to the balcony door. The youkai scratched against the glass. The sound made Natsume shiver. Or maybe that was the loss of heat now that he was out of bed. 

“G-go.... 'way,” he croaked. 

The youkai did not go away. If anything it leered closer, fingers picking away at the edge of the glass. Natsume had no idea what to do.  

“Go.... away,” Natsume tried again, small hands splayed against the glass to keep himself balanced. 

The itching in his throat gave way to a coughing fit that left him wheezing slightly. He felt shaky and ill. He just wanted to sleep. The youkai at the window had other thoughts. It continued to talk to Natsume and demand to be let in, but Natsume didn't really pay attention.

Correction, he couldn't pay attention. His thoughts were scattered and he just wanted the youkai to go away so that he could sleep peacefully. 

“Oi! Kid? What are you doing out of bed?”

Sakura's voice was floating from....

from....

from somewhere. 

Natsume would have jumped out of his skin if he wasn't so tired. 

The youkai hissed at him again. 

Natsume didn't know where to look. 

Should he look at the clearly angry youkai? Or should he look at the clearly upset Sakura? He didn't know. 

“I didn't.....I didn't....” Natsume hiccupped. 

Sakura's voice was talking again, but Natsume couldn't track it any more. He burst into tears. This wasn't how he wanted to die. 

Finally, after utterly exhausting himself, Natsume once more succumbed to his fevered dreams. 

Chapter Text

Sakura stood spluttering in the doorway, not sure what to say. For better or for worse, Suo beat Sakura to the punch. 

“In my defense, I did tell them not to come,” he sighed. 

“But you told them?” Sakura narrowed his eyes. 

“No. I never told Nerie anything. He just followed me like a lost puppy.”

It was true. Nerei's eyes were so wide and innocent that Sakura had a hard time believing that the other teen had anything but good intention (that didn't mean that Sakura wanted him anywhere near the situation with the kid). He both looked like he wanted to leave and also give Sakura a hug. Sakura decided to ignore him for the moment, seeing as there was little harm that Nerei could bring. 

“And Kotoha?” Sakura growled. 

Kotoha didn't appear at all phased by his surliness. 

“Well, I had to get food from somewhere. She asked a lot of probing questions. I tried to dissuade her, but she insisted on coming. Either that or she was going to call Umemiya,” Suo sighed apologetically. 

Well. shit. That wasn't an option. Sakura did not want Umemiya anywhere near his apartment for a variety of reasons. 

“I can't trust you,” he growled. 

Suo's face fell slightly. Sakura was annoyed to feel a wave of guilt. 

“Yeah. I get that,” he said softly. 

Sakura shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to figure out what to do next. Technically no one had entered his aparement yet, so this could still be mitigated. 

“Is everything ok?” Nirei breathed. 

No. Everything was no ok. Sakura's kid was clearly dying and Suo had turned up with more people than Sakura was comfortable with. He tugged at his hair, trying to get his brain to come up with some sort of answer, any sort of answer. 

“Do you want us to leave?” Kotoha sighed. 

Sakura blinked. He didn't know that was an option. But.... did he want them to leave? Sakura glanced over his shoulder. The kid was out of view. They could leave at never be any wiser (for the most part). 

On the other hand, Sakura was more than a little overhwlemed. As much as he hated to admit it, these three had been grounding pillars in other times that he had been overhwlemed. In the end (and possibly against his better judgement) Sakura let all three of them into his house. 

Kotoha immedately set up in the tiny kitchen, laying out the food that she had prepared. Sakura was going to help (because he wasn't a heathen; he had a vague idea of what he should do as a host), when there was a loud gasp from the other room. 

Sakura bolted, ready to attack. As it turned out, Nirei, who had up until now been clueless about the reason for Suo's urgent visit, had discovered the kid. 

“S-sakura... the... there.... that's a kid!” Nirei's brain seemed to have temporarily shut off. 

“Correct,” Sakura grunted. 

“You had a kid Sakura?” Nirei demanded, pulling out his ever present notebook and frantically flipping through it, clearly looking for something.  

“He’s not mine. I didn't birth him,” Sakura growled in slight confusion. 

"That would be ridiculous,” Suo tutted from where he was checking the kid's fever, “Nirei wanted to know if you fathered the kid, not if you birthed him.”

"Same difference,” Sakura felt his cheeks growing warm, “And the answer is still no.”

“Why do you have a kid then?” Nirei asked. 

Sakura's cheeks grew even hotter as he mumbled the answer under his breath. 

“You what?” Nirei frowned.

“I found him,” Sakura grunted. 

“You found him?” Nirei cocked his head in confusion. 

“He was out in the rain and he didn't have anywhere to go that was safe,” Sakura growled, “He's been here ever since.”

Why was he being interrogated over this?

“You do know that is probably considered kidnapping,” Suo arched an eyebrow. 

Sakura bristled. This was not kidnapping. He hadn't taken the kid by force and the kid clearly didn't have any family that wanted him. What he had done was a rescue. Unfortunately, as always, Sakura's words failed to come out in a coherent order. After fumbling the response in the most embarrassing way, Sakura quickly changed the topic of conversation. 

“Is he going to die?” Sakura demanded, crouching next to his kid. 

“I don't really know how to answer that,”

“Then what is going on with him?” Sakura growled. 

“He's got a pretty high fever and a wet cough. I would get its a nasty cold,” Suo decided. 

“What do I do?” Sakura demanded. 

“Like I said, fluids and lot of rest. It should go away on it's own,” Suo shrugged. 

“But?” Sakura sensed that there was more that Suo had left unsaid. 

Suo hesitated. 

“Something just seems off,” he admitted, “I don't really know what, it just seems that way.”

Sakura could not accept that as an answer. Before he attempt to shake answers out of Suo, the kid woke up. The kid went from passed out to fully awake in a matter of seconds as his fight or flight response kicked in. 

He glanced around. Upon spying Suo and Nerei, the kid frantically scrambled to hide behind Sakura. Sakura didn't know what to do. Kotoha entered the room, steaming bowls of food in either hand. As she approached, Sakura felt the kid's small hands cltuch at the back of his shirt. 

“Here you go. Sakura, I made some for you too, but you need to eat as well. Don't think I haven't noticed that you stopped coming by for dinners,” she set the bowls down in front of him. 

She scootched one of the bowls towards the kid. The kid clutched Sakura even harder. Sakura felt increasingly overwhelmed. He remained ridged until Kotoha pulled away a little bit. He was then embarrassed to discover that Suo, Nerei and Kotoha were all staring at him and the kid. 

“What?” he growled in irritation. 

“I never pegged you for the type to take in small children,” Kotoha shrugged. 

Sakura's blush was back. 

“So?” he snarled. 

“Sakura, calm down. You're scaring the kid,” Suo pointed out. 

Sakura froze. Sure enough, when he looked over his shoulder, he found that the kid was trembling slightly and that his eyes screwed shut. Sakura grumbled a cruse under his breath. He forced himself to relax. 

Ignoring the audience, he poked the kid in the cheek. Once he got the kid's attention, he shoved the food at the kid. The kid just shook his head. Sakura picked up his own bowl. Eyes locked with the kid, he slowly took a few bites. That didn't seem to sell the kid on eating just yet, but the kid did relax slightly. 

“So, if I heard right from the other room, you just found the kid on the streets?” Kotoha hummed. 

Sakura gave a sharp nod rather than verbally answering. 

“You do realize that he’s not some sort of stray animal,” Kotoha pointed out, “He might have a family out there somewhere.”

“I know that he's not a stray animal,” Sakura growled, “But he's mine all the same.”

Kotoha held up her hands in surrender. 

“I get that,” she said, “But Sakura, do you really think you are the best equip person to help the kid?”

Sakura bristled at the question. Of course he was. Why would she even ask that? He stood with a sudden jerk. 

“Yes. I am going to help the kid,” Sakura snarled defensively, “You don't need to get Umemiya or anyone else involved! Don't even thing about taking him away.”

Kotoha looked marginally surprised. 

“I suppose I could respect that for now,” she sighed. 

Sakura relaxed. Of course, as always with his life, the moment he let his guard down, something happened. As he sat back down on the floor, the kid started crying. Sakura panicked. He frantically started checking the kid over. Was the kid hurt?

“Sakura, be gentle. I think he's just tired and overwhelmed,” Suo scolded. 

Sakura froze before slowly retracting his hands. When he was overwhelmed he wanted people to leave him alone. 

“You aren't very good at care, are you?” Nirei observed. 

Sakura didn't have time to craft any sort of argument. Nirei shuffled around Sakura. Then very gently he started to rub a hand up and down the kid's back. 

“See? Try something like this,“ Nirei instructed. 

Sakura did as commanded. He was loath to admit that Nirei's advice worked. Ever so slowly, the kid calmed down. 

<><><><><>

Natsume was incredibly confused as he was roused from sleep. The person leering over him was not Sakura. Natsume panicked. Somehow he spotted Sakura. He made a beeline for the only safe person in the room at the moment. He clung to Sakura with all the strength he had (which admittedly wasn't much). 

After a moment, Natsume peered out from around Sakura. The people sitting on the floor were still there. He was equally terrified and concerned. This was not a good situation. 

Sakura was angry. Natsume could understand. It wasn't ever fun to have your home invaded by unwelcome spirits. If he was feeling better, Natsume would have volunttered himself to run off and draw them after him. However, at the moment, Natsume wasn't sure if he could stand, let alone run. 

Instead, in his weakness, Natsume continued to cower behind Sakura. He selfishly hoped that Sakura would protect him. The youkai on the floor didn't move. Natsume was just about to let himself relax when a third figure entered the room; a lady. 

She approached with firm footsteps. Sakura didn't seem bothered by this one, so he must not see her. The lady youkai put something on the ground and shoved it towards Natsume. Natsume hid from it. He knew better than to take things from youaki. 

He gripped Sakura's shirt harder and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. There was a gentle tap on his cheek. Natsume darte to open one eye. Sakura was looking down at him in concern. The teen held up one of the steaming bowls and started to eat whatever it was. 

Natsume was terrified at first, but after moment, it became clear that this food was neithered poisoned nor was it simply going to vanish when a human touched it. Even still, Natsume didn't trust it. Natsume obversed his bowl while Sakura started to talk once more with the visitors. 

Natsume couldn't really follow the conversation. All of a sudden, Sakura rose to his feet. It startled Natusme badly. First one, then another tear started to spill down his cheeks. He was crying and he didn't know why. He found that he couldn't stop the tears. 

Natsume felt Sakura's calloused hands frantically groping his body. Then, out of nowhere, the hands were retracted. There was more talking. Then a different set of hands was rubbing up and down his back. The touch felt..... nice? It confused Natsume. He stared crying even harder. Sakura's hands quickly replaced the stranger's hands and that was a small comfort. Eventually, Natsume's tears ran out. 

He found himself leaning his full body weight against Sakura. The teen was gently petting Natsume's back in a strangely soothing sort of way. Natsume had no idea why, but it felt safe. 

Chapter Text

Over the next week, Suo and Nerei became a near constant fixture in Sakura's house. One of them was almost always there, helping out however they could. Sakura wavered back and forth between being disturbed by their insistence to help and relief that he wasn't in this child rearing venture alone. 

The kid was slow to return to health. It worried Sakura to no end. Still, it was nice to have help (and no small amount of advice) while the kid began his slow recovery. 

Sakura was quick to grow a accustomed to knocking on his door. If it wasn't Suo or Nerei, it was Kotoha dropping off food. That is why it startled him so badly when he opened his front door to find someone entirely different. 

Sakura's grumbling was stopped mid-sentence as his worse fear came true. Some one else was here. Kaji was standing in front of Sakura's door. The older teen looked annoyed (but then again, he always looked annoyed to Sakura, so that wasn't anything new). 

"OI!" Kaji started off in his usual loud voice, "SINCE YOU ARE STILL ALIVE-"

Sakura really didn't want Kaji to wake the kid, so he made a daring move. He reached over and tugged the headphones off of Kaji's head. Kaji looked even further annoyed, but at least his voice adjusted volume. 

"Since you are still alive, contrary to rumors, do you care to explain what you've been up to?" Sakura's upperclassman snorted, grabbing his beloved headphones back from Sakura. 

Sakura blinked, completely taken off guard. Were there rumors of his death? He didn't know why. Then the question Kaiji asked computed. How should he answer? (Should he even answer?)

"What do you mean what I've been up to?" he growled. 

"You've been missing from class and patrols this entire week," Kaji lectured, "You had better have a good excuse."

"I... It's not my fault," Sakura growled. 

"Riiiight," Kaji drawled, disbelief clear on his face. 

Sakura panicked. What should he say? He couldn't exactly tell Kaji about the kid. It was already a stretch that Suo, Nirei and Kotoha knew about him. 

"I....I....I..." Sakura floundered for words, cheeks feeling very warm. 

Kaji folded his arms over his chest, looking very unimpressed. 

"Just spit it out. None of us are gonna judge you, we just wanna help," Kaji growled. 

His tone and his words were complete opposite. It only served to confuse and set Sakura on edge. 

"Nothin' is goin' on," Sakura grouched mulishly. 

"Bullshit," Kaji snorted. 

"I swear. Nothin' bad you need ta be worrin' 'bout," Sakura tried further deflecting. 

"What. Is. Going. On?" Kaji bit down hard, crunching the rest of his lollipop. 

"Nothin'!" Sakura growled. 

Kaji clearly had enough. He reach out and grabbed Sakura's collar. Then he froze and his face proceeded to exhibited a wide variety of expressions that Sakura didn't know he could even make. Sakura was unable to identify the emotion it landed on. Surprise, maybe? Or perhaps confusion?

"What is that?" Kaji asked in a low voice. 

"What is what?" Sakura growled. 

His own question was answered a moment later when he felt small hands latch onto his leg. Sakura closed his eyes with a groan. The kid was here. 

"Sakura Haruka. Why do you have a child at your house?" Kaji demanded. 

"He's mine," Sakura jutted his chin out, daring Kaji to argue with him. 

Kaji looked very confused. 

"No. Really. Who's is he?" Kaji suddenly narrowed his eyes, "Did you kidnap him?"

"NO!" Sakura exploded, "Also, why is that one of your first questions?"

"It's a valid question."

Kaji looked between the kid and Sakura. 

"Definitely not a relative or sibling," he observed with a grunt. 

"I found him and he has nowhere else to go. I'm keepin' him. You have a problem with that?" Sakura snarled. 

Before either teen could say another word, the kid spoke up. 

"P-please don't hurt Sakura-san," the kid whimpered, "He didn't mean to help me."

Sakura wasn't sure which disturbed him more about that: the fact that the kid was trying to protect him instead of the other way around or the fact that the kid thought that people shouldn't help him. In response to his conflicted emotions, he pushed the kid behind him (he wasn't sure how Kaji would react around a child after all). 

Kaji glared at Sakura for a moment before crouching down to the kid's eye level. 

"You. Kid," Kaji grunted, "Look at me."

The kid peered out from around Sakura's leg. 

"I wouldn't hurt on Sakura on purpose," Kaji snorted. 

The kid watched with big eyes. 

"Now, I just have one question for you, kid," Kaji continued, "Did this oaf kidnap you?"

Sakura started glaring again at his upperclassman. The kid shook his head. His small fingers twisted anxiously in the fabric of Sakura's pant leg. Kaji rose with a huff. 

"I'll have to tell the school," he said. 

Sakura panicked. That was very much something he wanted to avoid. 

"Actually, can you not?"

"I have to. I'm a grade captain. I have a position of responsibility. If I see something, I have to report it," Kaji grunted. 

"I don't want Umemiya to find out," Sakura hissed. 

Sakura had no idea why he even said that out loud. After all, Umemiya had a startling habit of appearing whenever his name was voiced. 

"Why not?" Kaji huffed. 

Sakura wasn't sure if he could verbalize his exact fear. Rather than have his attempted explanation go down in flames and make a fool of himself, Sakura tried to switch the topic. 

"Never mind," he said gruffly. 

Kaji wasn't having it. 

"Why don't you want Umemiya to find out?" he growled, irked that his question wasn't answered. 

The kid whimpered softly. Kaji's face softened slightly. Sakura had no idea what to make of that. 

<><><><><>

Natsume had no idea what to think of the new, semi-permanent residences of Sakura's apartment. 

He decided that the blond one wasn't bad. It was easy for Natsume to establish that he was just another teenager that Sakura knew. His bright yellow hair was a bit startling, but Natsume had seen far stranger on most youkai. The only draw back was that this guest was loud and didn't really have boundaries (he kept trying to touch Natsume and Natsume didn't like that). 

Natsume did not trust the other being who came by. He couldn't verify if it was a human or a youkai, but the eyepatch, the decidedly not normal clothes, and strange earings made Natsume think that he was a youkai. As such, he avoided contact when possible. It made the youkai sad, but he strangely enough didn't chase Natsume around like every other youkai he had encountered. 

There was a lady who came by too, on occasion, but she didn't really come for very long. Natsume could tell that she was tired and that her job was demanding. He felt bad that she came all the way to Sakura's home to bring food. 

It took nearly a week before Natsume was feeling better (respectively speaking). He still felt very tired, but his fever was gone and he had stopped coughing. He was taking a nap when his dreams were interrupted by a firm knock at the door. Natsume did not recognize that knock. He pulled himself out of sleep, ready to run if it was a youkai (or the Yamamotos). 

He heard Sakura talking with whoever it was. They both sounded angry. Natsume crept up behind Sakura to peer at the stranger. He arrived just in time to the new person lunge at Sakura and grab the front of his shirt. Natsume gave a poorly muffled cry and dove for the safety of Sakura's legs. 

He didn't realize the disturbance he had caused until he risked looking up and found that both Sakura and the stranger were staring at him. 

"Sakura Haruka. Why do you have a child in your house?" the stranger demanded. 

Natsume cringed. He had done a bad thing. He knew it. Before he could apologize, Sakura spoke. 

"He's mine," Sakura declared. 

The two simple words startled Natsume badly. No one had ever claimed him before. He didn't understand why Sakura would say such a thing. His mind was buzzing with confusion as Sakura and the stranger discussed further options for where he had come from. Then Sakura had to go and continue his earth shattering declarations. 

"I found him and he has nowhere else to go. I'm keeping him. You have a problem with that?" Sakura growled. 

Natsume panicked when he heard the question. Of course there was a problem with Sakura keeping him. He wasn't worth the trouble. The stranger probably knew it too. Without thinking, Natsume threw himself in front of Sakura, trying to keep the stranger's wrath off of his savior. 

"Please! Don't hurt Sakura-San," Natsume trying not to feel the anxious sob in his chest, "He didn't mean to help me."

The stranger recoiled like Natsume had bitten him. Sakura shoved himself between Natsume and the stranger. Natsume felt a guilty wave of relief as he experienced something he had only ever heard of. Someone was protecting him. At the same time, the stranger crouched down to Natsume's eye level. 

"You. Kid. Look at me," the stranger said firmly. 

Natsume obeyed out of fear. 

"I would never hurt Sakura on purpose," the stranger said solemnly. 

Natsume stared at the stranger. He knew it was rude, but he couldn't help himself. The stranger had the same color hair as him. For some reason, Natsume really wanted to touch it. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the stranger started speaking again. 

"I just have one question, kid. Did this oaf kidnap you?"

Natsume quickly shook his head. If anything he had imposed on Sakura's generosity. Sakura had done nothing wrong. 

The stranger stood back up again. Natsume didn't track exactly what they were talking about (something about reporting and someone's name he didn't recognize). What he did understand was that it sounded like Sakura was in trouble. Natsume choked on a sob. He didn't mean to get Sakura in trouble. This was all his fault. 

Chapter Text

Somehow Sakura found himself in the main room of his own house. Kaji was seated across from him looking mildly irked and the kid was pressed to his back in clear fear. Sakura’s skin felt itchy from overstimulation. He wished everyone would just go away for a while. 

“You never answered my earlier question. Why don’t you want Umemiya to know about the kid?” Kaji asked.

Sakura played with the hem of his shirt. His emotions regarding Umemiya were ….unclear to say the least. It wasn’t that Umemiya was a bad person. Sakura just felt like every time he interacted with the older teen, he was left reeling and defensive. Sakura did not enjoy feeling either of those things so he avoided Umemiya as much as possible. 

Sakura belatedly realized that Kaji was still waiting for an answer. 

“I… he…he’s gonna take the kid,” Sakura growled. 

Kaji glanced at the kid. 

“Yeah. He might,” he shrugged carelessly. 

Sakura growled. The sound only served to terrify the kid even further. Sakura felt the small face pressing into his back. 

“Is that it?” Kaji grunted. 

Sakura struggled for words for a minute. 

“He…. I…He just… He just…. Why is he like that?” Sakura spat. 

“Like what?” Kaji frowned slightly

“Like that!” Sakura didn’t have any other words, “He…. he…. He…” 

“He what?” Kaji arched an eyebrow. 

“He makes me so confused!” Sakura snapped. 

“Join the club,” Kaji snorted. 

Sakura blinked. He had never once considered that Umemiya’s actions confused other people too. He thought it was just him; yet another short-coming on his part. Against his better judgement, Sakura felt himself relax just slightly. 

“He’s always been like that,” Kaji leaned back, “I don’t see him changing any time soon.”

Sakura nodded slowly. 

“So, about the kid,” Kaji clearly knew he was broaching a sensitive subject, “You really don’t know where he came from?”

“No,” Sakura scoffed, then he frowned, “Why?”

Kaji was quiet for a few minutes. When he answered, his voice was soft, like he wanted Sakura and not the kid to hear him. 

“It’s pretty obvious he’s been abused,” Kaji said. 

Sakura knew this already. He had seen the way the kid flinched at unexpected movement, the finally faded bruises on the kid’s body, the terror in the kid’s face at seemingly random things. They were all things he knew too well from his own experiences with abuse. 

“Who did it?” Kaji grunted. 

“Like I said, I don’t-”

Sakura cut himself off when he felt the kid tighten his grip. Kaji leaned to the side so that he could better look at the kid. The kid was clearly terrified. 

“I… I don’t wanna,” the kid whimpered, “Safer here.”

Kaji’s face softened. It was such an odd look that Sakura did a double take. He had no idea that his upperclassman had such a soft side to him. 

“You like Sakura, hm?” he said. 

Sakura couldn’t see the kid from this angle, but he could feel the hesitant nod. 

“That’s good,” Kaji grunted, “He needs someone to keep him in line. Can you do that for me?”

Sakura bristled. He did not need someone to keep him in line and even if he did, that job would fall to his vice captains, not his kid. Before he could tell Kaji this much, the kid spoke. 

“M’not very good at things. I always mess everything up,” the kid murmured, “Sorry.”

Sakura really hated that final word. That seemed to be one of the only words the kid would say with confidence. 

“Everyone messes something up sooner or later. I have confidence you’ll do just fine,” Kaji shrugged. 

The kid didn’t seem to believe him. Kaji fished in his pocket and pulled out a lollipop. He offered it to the kid. The kid hesitated before taking it. Kaji looked pleased. It soon became clear that the kid didn’t know what to do with it. Sakura scooted the kid next to him and unwrapped the candy. The kid looked mildly concerned before giving it a try. His nose wrinkled in an adorable fashion. 

“You don’t have much of a sweet-tooth do ya?” Sakura snorted. 

The kid looked confused. 

“What?”

“You don’t like sweet things,” Sakura rephrased. 

“I dunno. I never been ‘llowed to have candy before. I’m not a good kid,” the kid said seriously. 

Sakura decided that he wanted to join Kaji on the manhunt to find whoever had the kid before him. 

“You are a good kid,” Kaji murmured.

He reached forward and ruffled the kid’s hair. The kid froze, body tensing up. Kaji retracted his hand with deliberate slowness.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Kaji grimaced slightly. 

The kid just blinked at him for several minutes. His eyes were locked on Kaji. Sakura snorted as he realized a funny coincidence. Kaji’s hair was the same color as the kid’s hair. 

“What?” Kaji griped, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Sakura. 

“Your hair is the same color as the kid,” Sakura shrugged. 

The kid nodded a very slow agreement. 

“Your point?” Kaji snorted. 

Sakura shrugged once more. He didn’t have a point, it was just an observation. The funny thing was that the kid didn’t stop staring and Kaji didn’t seem to know how to handle it. 

“You can touch it if you want,” Kaji grumbled. 

The kid’s eyes went wide. With clear uncertainty, he reached out to gingerly touch Kaji’s hair. Then the small hand retracted. The kid continued to stare, but this time, there was something almost hungry in his gaze. 

“Do you see them too ‘cause you have hair like me?” the kid asked abruptly. 

The question caught both teens off guard. 

“See what too?” Kaji frowned. 

The kid bit his lip so hard it began to bleed. 

“The monsters; youkai,” he whispered. 

Sakura wasn’t sure what answer he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume was worried. 

Sakura was clearly upset and the stranger (Kaji?) was still here. Natsume wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t been able to stop the stranger from inviting himself inside, nor had he been able to bring in clear comfort to Sakura. Instead he was huddled behind Sakura like the stupid coward he was. He wondered if this was when Sakura got rid of him. He pressed his face into Sakura’s back, wishing he could just disappear. 

Natsume knew that Sakura and Kaji were talking about him. He wanted to follow the conversation, but they were talking about something (someone?) that Natsume didn’t follow. He did know that the something (someone?) wanted to take him away from Sakura and that scared him badly. 

“So, you really don’t know where he came from?” Kaji scoffed. 

Natsume froze. He didn’t want them to find out where he had come from. They might make him go back. 

“No,” Sakura growled, “Why?”

There was a pause. 

“It’s pretty obvious he’s been abused,” Kaji spat, “Who did it?”

“Like I said, I don’t-”

Natsume couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. 

“I… I don’t wanna,” he whimpered, “Safer here.”

He was unprepared for Kaji to peer around Sakura at him. Natsume felt like he was being sized up for a meal. 

“You like Sakura, don’t you?” Kaji hummed. 

Natsume was sure that was a trick question. Even still, he risked a small nod. 

“That’s good. Sakura needs someone to keep him in line. Can you do that for me?” Kaji asked. 

Natsume felt a sudden flood of terror. 

“M’not very good at things. I always mess everyone up. Sorry,” Natsume frantically tried tell Kaji that he was not a good person to give responsibilities to. 

“Everyone messes up sooner or later,” Kaji had a strange look on his face as he said this, “I have confidence that you’ll do just fine.”

Natsume had no idea what to say to that. He was still confused when Kaji shoved something into his hands. He looked down. It was a candy. Natsume didn’t know what to do with it. Had Kaji given it to him as a test? Was Natsume actually supposed to eat it?

As he was puzzling this out, Sakura moved him around so that there siding side by side. He then removed the wrapper from the candy and placed it back in Natsume’s hands. After praying that he wasn’t going to get hit for trying it, Natsume put the candy in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what to think of it. It was overly sweet and sour all at once. He wasn’t sure if he liked it, but he knew he had to finish it because he had been given it. Apparently his displeasure had been spotted. 

“You don’t have much of a sweet tooth do you?” Sakura snorted. 

“What?” Natsume frowned. 

“You don’t like sweet things,” Sakura rephrased. 

Natsume shrugged. 

“I dunno. I never been ‘llowed candy before. I’m not a good kid,” Natsume admitted. 

Candy was for good kids and he was not a good kid. As such, he had never been given any before (or if he had been given any by a teacher or such, it had always been taken from him). 

“You are a good kid,” Kaji snorted. 

Rather than dwelling on that statement, Natsume carefully observed the candy in his hand. He was taken by surprise when something touched his head. At first he thought it was Kaji lashing out for Natsume not appreciating the candy. But he quickly realized that the teen was stroking his head like Sakura did sometimes. By the time this occurred to Natsume, Kaji had retracted his hand. He looked sad. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Kaji offered. 

Natsume felt slightly sad that the nice touch was gone so soon. He stared at Kaji, noticing once again that the teen had hair not dissimilar to his own. Sakura apparently picked up on that. He laughed and pointed it out to Kaji. Kaji offered for Natsume to touch it. 

After a moment of hesitation, Natsume did just that. He reached up to pet the platinum blond hair. It was soft and well-cared for, unlike his own hair. It made him a little bit jealous. 

“Do you see them too ‘cause you have hair like me?” Natsume asked. 

He hadn’t really meant to say that, it just sort of slipped out. 

“See what too?” Kaji asked. 

He was frowning. Natsume realized that he had made a grave error. He bit his lip, barely even noticing the coppery taste of blood. Well, he had already dug his hole this deep, he may as well finish the task. 

“The monsters; youkai,” Natsume choked. 

He closed his eyes, refusing to look at the teens.

Chapter Text

Sakura was not one for supernatural things. 

He liked to ignore thinking about such things. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the supernatural (that was Nirei) or that he thought it was all a big joke (that was Suo); Sakura just wasn’t sure if he could punch a ghost and that was his main concern. 

Sure old, abandoned buildings were creepy, but that didn’t mean anything. Sakura was sure of it. 

Right?

“Youkai?” he murmured in disbelief. 

He wasn’t sure what to make of this announcement. He looked at the kid. It was clear that the kid fully believed what he had just said. 

“Who?” Kaji’s voice was low and angry. 

Sakura and the kid both jumped in surprise. 

“Who?” Kaji growled, “Who are these monsters?”

“I…I dunno,” the kid shrank back against Sakura. 

“Who. Are. They?” Kaji demanded, leaning forward. 

“I dunno,” the kid repeated. 

He was trembling. Sakura didn’t like it. 

“Back off, Kaji,” Sakura growled. 

“No,” Kaji snapped. 

“What is your issue?” Sakura was fully ready to brawl with Kaji right here and now. 

Kaji seemed like he was ready to fight as well, but looking at the kid made him think better of it. He sat back looking irked. Then he reached in his pocket and unwrapped a lollipop which he put in his mouth. 

“I know a thing or two about being bullied by people who can only be labeled as monsters,” Kaji grunted. 

“Yeah. I really don’t think that’s what the kid is talking about,” Sakura snorted. 

“How would you know?” Kaji shot back. 

Sakura shrugged. He didn’t know, it was just a feeling. He scowled slightly. Since when did he go around basing judgements off of feelings? This wasn’t him. 

In an effort to draw himself away from his spiraling thoughts, Sakura turned back to the kid. His twisted introspection was replaced with horror. The kid was pale faced and trembling. His hands were pressed to his face, covering his eyes. He was trembling slightly. 

The kid was terrified. 

“Hey. You ok?” Sakura nudged his small houseguest. 

It took a very long time before the kid responded in any way and when he did, it wasn’t verbal. There was the smallest shake of his head. Sakura felt immediately guilty. This was his fault. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that it had to be. After all, he had a track record of making things worse. 

He hesitated, not sure what to do or say next. Across from him, Kaji also hesitated. Neither teen was comfortable with this situation. The stiff silence was broken by knocking and voices at the door. Sakura, Kaji and the kid all jumped in surprise as the standoff was interrupted by invaders. 

The kid gave into his terror. He lunged for Sakura, burying his face in Sakura’s chest. Sakura could feel that he was panting hard. Sakura just frowned. It was Suo and Nirei. He wanted to growl. There were far too many people in his apartment at the moment. 

“Ah. Kaji-senpai. This is where you stormed off to at lunch break,” Suo said easily. 

“What are you doing here?” Sakura spluttered. 

“Visiting you!” Nirei nodded. 

“And dropping off homework,” Suo helpfully waved a stack of papers. 

Sakura frowned. 

“No. Really. Why are you here?” he demanded. 

“Nirei was worried about-” Suo started

“You were worried too!” Nirei interrupted. 

“I was not worried -”

“Yes, you were. You-”

“We just wanted to check in since Kaji-senpai disappeared from school,” Suo finished. 

“I didn’t disappear. I fucking told the staff where I was going,” Kaji growled in an irritated voice. 

His sour glare had Nirei ducking for cover behind Suo. 

“As you can see, I’m fine,” Sakura snorted. 

The quicker his vice-captains left, the quicker he could get back to trying to unravel what the kid had been talking about. 

“What happened?” Suo’s question was sadly predictable. 

Sakura hated just how well the eye-patched teen could read him. 

“Nothin’ happened. I just told you that,” Sakura growled. 

Suo turned to Kaji. 

“Something happened, didn’t it?” he asked. 

Kaji shrugged. 

“Apparently the kid can see fucking ghosts or something,” he huffed. 

This comment had Suo and Nirei both turning to the kid. The kid looked back at them warily, like he expected them to bite. 

“You can see ghosts?” Nirei crouched down to the kid’s level. 

The kid shrugged, retracting into his shell a bit. 

“Can you tell me more?” Nirei nodded, fishing for his trusty notebook.  

The kid hesitated, looking to Sakura for guidance. As much as it unnerved Sakura that anyone so young would look to him for anything other than protection, Sakura tried not to show his true feelings. He gave an encouraging nod. 

Or at least he hoped it was an encouraging nod. 

“I see youkai,” the kid said softly, “They chase me around a lot. They like to break things and make it look like my fault or they try to hurt me.” 

The kid shivered. 

“They hurt me alot. Some of them want to eat me too,” he finished in a whisper. 

Sakura had no idea if he could punch a ghost, but now he really hoped he could. A look to the side told him that Kaji was feeling the same way. 

“I see, I see,” Nirei murmured scribbling away, “And where do you see them?”

The kid blinked. 

“You believe me?” he asked, clearly shocked. 

“I’ve always believed in ghosts and stuff like that. I think it's true, so yeah, I believe you,” Nirei nodded eagerly. 

The kid twisted his fingers in the oversized shirt he was wearing. He looked deep in thought; an odd look for someone so young. 

“Are there any here?” Sakura demanded. 

“Sometimes,” the kid’s answer was decidedly evasive. 

“Are there any here now?” Kaji frowned. 

The kid nodded slowly. Sakura stiffened. 

“There’s two,” the kid said softly. 

Sakura cracked his knuckles. 

“Where?” he asked. 

The kid was shaking like a leaf. 

“There’s one there,” the kid pointed out the balcony door, “It keeps trying to get in. It already tried to eat me once.”

Well, Sakura wasn’t about to open the door and let a potential enemy inside. 

“The other one is there.” 

The kid swiveled to point at-

Sakura blinked. The kid was pointing at Suo. 

<><><><><><><>

Natsume was prepared for the backlash. It always came after he mentioned seeing youkai. 

“Liar!”  

The accusation echoed through Natsume’s head even though no one had spoken. Rather than snapped accusations or physical assault, the room was still and silent. Still, Natsume covered his face and expected the worst. 

Because the worst always came. 

“Youkai?” Sakura asked. 

He sounded dazed. Natsume had no idea why. 

“Who?” Kaji was angry. 

This tone was more in line with what Natusme had been expecting, even if the question was confusing. 

“I dunno,” Natsume tried to be truthful. 

Apparently that wasn’t enough. 

“Who? Who are these monsters?” Kaji demanded. 

Natsume was confused. 

“I dunno,” he said softly. 

He expected to get hit after that. It always happened when he couldn’t answer a question just right. He was not expecting Sakura to come to his rescue. 

“Back off Kaji,” Sakura growled. 

The teen’s voice was hard and uncompromising and…. protective?

“No,” Kaji growled back. 

“What is your issue?” Sakura snapped. 

“I know a thing or two about being bullied by people who can only be labeled as monsters,” Kaji grunted. 

“Yeah. I really don’t think that’s what the kid is talking about.”

“How would you know?”

Sakura shrugged. 

There was a beat of silence. Natsume kept his eyes covered, not willing to watch the two teens fight. 

“Hey. You ok?” Sakura grunted softly in his ear. 

Natsume could only shake his head slightly. Before Natsume could even attempt to explain what was going on, there was a knock at the door and then people entered. Natsume, unprepared for the arrival and already on edge, dove for Sakura, burying his face in the teen’s chest. He suspected that he knew who had come, but he didn’t want to check. 

“What are you doing here?” Sakura grunted. 

Natsume risked peeling his face away from Sakura’s chest. Sure enough, it was the yellow-blond boy (Nirei?) and the youkai with the eye-patch. They were bickering, which would have struck Natsume as odd if his adrenaline hadn’t been running full throttle.

“The kid sees ghosts,” Kaji’s off-hand comment startled Natsume. 

He hadn’t expected to be dragged into this. The yellow-blond boy was suddenly crouching in front of him. 

“You see ghosts?” he asked in an eager tone. 

Natsume didn’t know what to make of it. 

“Tell me more,” the teen demanded. 

Natsume looked to Sakura. Should he trust this teen with his secret too? Sakura gave a slight nod. 

“I see youkai,” Natsume admitted softly, “They chase me around a lot. They like to break things and make it look like my fault or they try to hurt me. Some of them want to eat me too.” 

Natsume held his breath, waiting for the hammer to fall. 

“I see. And where do you see them?”

Natsume blinked. This was an unexpected response. 

“You believe me?” he spluttered. 

“I’ve always believed in ghosts and stuff like that. I think it's true, so yeah, I believe you.”

Natsume didn’t know what to say to that. He had never once in his life experienced such trust from another person. 

“Are there any here?” Sakura demanded. 

“Sometimes,” Natsume nibbled on his raw lip. 

“Are there any here now?” Kaji frowned. 

Natsume gave a slow nod. 

“There’s two,” he said softly. 

Sakura cracked his knuckles. 

“Where?” the teen sounded pissed. 

Natsume knew he was shaking in fear, but he obeyed anyway. 

“There’s one there,” Natsume pointed out the balcony door, “It keeps trying to get in. It already tried to eat me once.”

The youkai stretching at the window paused what it was doing, head cocked as though it hoped that it would be let in. Natsume shivered and moved on. 

“The other one is there.” 

Natsume timidly pointed out the more problematic youkai. The eye-patched one sitting in the room. As he did this, Natsume realized his mistake. Youkai did not appreciate being pointed out to humans. Natusme gulped in terror. 

He was going to get eaten for that, wasn’t he?

Chapter Text

For a moment, Sakura could only blink. 

Then a snort of laughter escaped him. 

“You think Suo is a youkai?” he scoffed. 

That was ridiculous. Sure, Suo was strange, but that was it. Sakura was…..70% sure that was the case. Looking at Kaji and Nirei, Sakura found that they felt the same way. 

In response to Sakura’s question, the kid nodded slowly. Then he glanced at Suo again. Suo was sitting back on his heels looking mildly confused. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Is he gonna eat me now?” the kid whispered in fright, edging closer to Sakura. 

“What? No! Suo is not goin’ to eat you,” Sakura snorted. 

Probably.

Sakura could never really tell what Suo was thinking at any given moment. Nirei leaned closer. 

“So, kid, why do you think he’s a youkai?” the blond teen asked. 

The kid floundered for words. 

“He…he….he looks like one,” the kid croaked. 

Kaji stifled a snort (Sakura would have been right there with him if he hadn’t seen the horribly serious look in the kid’s eyes). 

“What do you mean?” Nirei’s pencil was poised for more note taking. 

“He’s wearing strange clothes and a weird eyepatch,” the kid mumbled. 

Sakura turned to Suo to let him explain himself. Suo caught the silent prompt and easily gave the kid an answer. 

“That's easy enough for me to explain. I wear this changshan style shirt because I grew up for a while in China and I find it to be very comfortable. They are common in China, but not Japan, so that is probably why you think it looks strange. As for the eyepatch, it is to keep the great and powerful demon-” Suo cut himself off, a look of realization dawning on him. 

Sakura had heard this excuse a hundred times before. It was Suo’s go-to explanation for his eyepatch and he had told it to everyone in their class (maybe everyone in Makochi). Any other day, Sakura would have laughed it off. Today, however, that only set Sakura on edge. Was the kid right about Suo? What if there was something off about his vice captain?

The kid clutched at Sakura even harder. Suo quickly tried to right his misstep.

“I’m sorry. I jest. There is no curse or demon. That was a story I came up with in grade school to keep the bullies away,” he smiled softly as he spoke, “I’m missing an eye. It’s a birth defect, simple as that. There’s nothing supernatural about it, only a little disturbing. That is all. I promise. Would you like to see?”

The kid nodded. Without another word, Suo gingerly lifted his eyepatch. Sakura had only ever seen his classmate without his eyepatch on once. It was still just as strange as the first time Sakura had (accidently) caught sight of Suo without it on. The empty eye socket stared back unnervingly, an empty void next to Suo's lively intact eye. 

“See? Like I said, there’s nothing supernatural about it!” Suo said in an encouraging voice.  

The kid leaned in to look closer. Sakura didn’t know why. 

“I like the fish,” the kid offered in a quiet voice. 

All the teens in the room froze. 

“You what?” Suo's smile took on a bit of a strained air. 

“I like the fish,” the kid frowned slightly 

“Fish?” Suo repeated, “What fish?”

At the questions, the kid’s shoulders folded in and he shrank back into his shell. Suo looked lost (it was a strange look on him). He looked at Sakura for an explanation. Sakura could only shrug. 

“What are you talking about?” he nudged the kid. 

“Nothing,” the kid murmured, hiding his face in Sakura’s side. 

Sakura could only stare at the kid. He had taken the kid in because of the clear abuse that was so like what he himself had gone through. It seemed that the kid had more issues than it had first seemed. Sakura had promised himself that the kid would feel safe here and it was clear to him that for the kid to feel safe, Sakura would have to extend trust. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I believe you, kid,” he sighed. 

The kid slowly peeled his face away to look at Sakura. 

“You do?” the kid’s eyes were wide with shock and wonder. 

“I do. I mean. Sure. Whatever,” Sakura felt his cheeks heat up. 

It wasn’t like he had done anything that great. He looked up from the kid and found that was a mistake. Suo, despite his earlier bewilderment, was smiling proudly. Nirei was beaming, eyes sparkling with excitement. Kaji was leaning back a bit, a subdued look of triumph on his face.

Sakura didn’t like any of those reactions. 

Not. 

One. 

Bit. 

Thankfully, Sakura wasn’t forced to sit in the uncomfortableness for long. 

“If you want, I know an exorcist,” Nirei volunteered out of the blue, “Or well, my dad knows someone who knows someone’s family who’s extended relatives used to be in the business and I bet they would help.”

Honestly, Sakura was entirely not prepared for that comment. He sat there blinking at his vice captain for a solid moment before responding. 

“Brilliant. How does that help us?” he scoffed. 

Apparently he was the only one who didn't connect the dots. 

“You really are dense,” Kaji huffed, “An exorcist would cleanse your apartment and keep the little guy safe.”

Sakura bristled at being called dense, but he had to agree with the second point. It was something he hadn’t thought about. If the kid really was mixed up with something supernatural, then an exorcist would help keep the kid safe (after all, Sakura was beginning to suspect that he couldn't punch a ghost). 

“Right. Nirei, you get in contact with your exorcist. Sakura, keep the little guy safe. I’m headed out,” Kaji huffed. 

“He’s not my exorcist,” Nirei protested. 

“Where are you going to anyway?” Sakura growled. 

“Home. It’s dinner time after all,” Kaji shrugged, heading towards the door. 

“You won’t tell Umemiya about the kid, right?” Sakura called after him.  

Kaji paused by the door. 

“I checked in with you. That is what I was asked to do. I won’t say anything, because that’s not what I was asked to look into.”

With that Kaji left. 

<><><><><>

Natsume was surprised when the youkai did not try to eat him, not even a little nibble (he was grateful for this; he had already lost one toe, he wasn’t too keen on losing any other body parts). 

“You think Suo is a youaki?” Sakura snorted. 

Ah. The disbelief. Natsume was familiar with this emotion. However, despite its familiarity, it still stung deeply. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Natsume could hardly force his voice to work, “Is he gonna eat me now?”

He expected to quite shortly feel the bit of teeth somewhere on his body, or, perhaps worse, a beating. 

“What? No! Suo is not goin’ to eat you.” Sakura’s voice was sharp and did not help Natsume’s fears.

“So, kid, why do you think Suo is a youkai?” the blond teen was suddenly right in Natsume’s face. 

“He….he…. He looks like one,” Natsume admitted. 

“What do you mean?” Nirei asked. 

Natsume hesitated. He had a hard time differentiating between what was real and wasn’t real sometimes. He had no frame of reference for what ‘normal’ looked like. How could he describe what he saw? Suo did not seem 'normal' (if that was the right word). Perhaps felt was a better word? Natsume wasn't sure people never asked him to explain things. 

“He’s wearing strange clothes and a weird eyepatch,” Natsume knew he was fumbling the explanation. 

It wasn’t Sakura who answered the accusation. It was Suo himself. 

“That's easy enough for me to explain. I wear this changshan style shirt because I grew up for a while in China and I find it to be very comfortable. They are common in China, but not Japan, so that is probably why you think it looks strange. As for the eyepatch, it is to keep the great and powerful demon-” Suo suddenly stopped talking. 

Natsume flinched. It was worse than he had thought. This was not a youkai. This was a person who was possessed by a youkai. Natsume had been insensitive and rude. He wondered if the youkai would possess him now (he was vaguely relieved; if that happened, Sakura’s friend would be free). 

Suo’s voice startled Natsume out of his thoughts. 

“I’m sorry. I jest. There is no curse or demon. That was a story I came up with in grade school to keep the bullies away,” the teen smiled softly as he spoke, “I’m missing an eye. It’s a birth defect, simple as that. There’s nothing supernatural about it, only a little disturbing. That is all. I promise. Would you like to see?”

Natsume nodded, not really sure what an eye socket looked like. Suo lifted the eyepatch, allowing Natsume to see what was underneath. 

“See? Like I said, there’s nothing supernatural about it,” Suo smiled. 

Natsume looked closer. 

It did look normal to him. Just an eye socket and miniature koi.

The fish seemed to enjoy the cover of the eyepatch as though it protected them. They were pretty to look at; bright reds and shimmering golds. Natsume had never seen anything like it before (and that was saying something). He sat back slightly relieved that there wasn’t something supernatural under the eyepatch after all. 

“I like the fish,” Natsume offered. 

It was true. They were very pretty. He was so absorbed in the fish that he missed the way everyone else froze. 

“You what?” Suo looked startled. 

Natsume blinked. He must have been talking too softly. 

“I like the fish,” he said a little bit louder. 

“Fish? What fish?”

Natsume realized his mistake too late. His shoulders folded in. He should have just kept his mouth shut. He had felt too comfortable and him feeling too comfortable always led to someone getting hurt. 

“What are you talking about?” Sakura nudged him. 

“Nothing,” Natsume shuddered. 

He refused to answer more than that. He didn’t want to get in trouble nor did he want to cause trouble. He buried his face in Sakura’s shirt. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry or throw up. Oddly enough, he felt Sakura’s arms tighten around him rather than pushing him away. 

“Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I believe you, kid,” he sighed. 

Natsume slowly lifted his eyes to look Sakura in the face. 

“You do?” Natsume could hardly believe what he had just heard. 

“I do. I mean. Sure. Whatever,” Sakura’s cheeks turned a bright red and he looked away. 

Natsume wasn’t given much time to relish the simple treasure of having basically an adult believe him. 

The blond teen started rambling about exorcists or something, but Natsume was distracted. He was cuddled to Sakura’s side, positioned so that he was peering around Sakura’s back. 

The youkai at the glass door was making faces again. It was also saying something, but the words were muffled by the glass. Safe in Sakura’s arms, Natsume did something he had never dared to do before. He made a face back at the mean youkai. 

As if startled by Natsume’s sudden guts, the youkai blinked before suddenly fading to nothing. 

Natsume almost smiled. 

He felt safe here. Sakura was a nice person and his friends weren’t too bad either. 

The only thing bothering Natsume was the question: how long would this last?

Chapter Text

Sakura was rather ashamed to admit that he didn’t sleep much that night or the next two nights. He couldn’t stop thinking about the kid’s revelation about youkai. The dark was strangely oppressive every time he went to bed, so he left the light on in the bathroom. The kid didn’t seem to mind. He slept as he always did, curled firmly against Sakura’s side. Sakura watched every shadow with suspicion. What if a youkai showed up while he was asleep? Sakura didn’t know what that would entail, but he guessed it wouldn’t be good. 

After three nights of hardly sleeping, Sakura was left feeling grouchy from the lack of sleep. It was in this condition that Sakura headed off to school. This wasn’t his first choice, however, Kaji showing up at his house highlighted the fact that people were getting suspicious and he couldn’t have that. The kid took the time to assure Sakura that he would be alright. With a head full of confused emotions and exhaustion, Sakura went to school. 

The moment he stepped into the classroom, he was set upon by his classmates. 

“Where have you been?”

“Are you ok?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Come on, Sakura. Tell us! Tell us!”

The cacophony of questions was irritating. Before Sakura could blow up at his peers, Sugishita appeared (seemingly out of nowhere) and fisted the front of Sakura’s shirt. Without a word, the taller teen dragged him from the room. Despite struggling his hardest and fighting for freedom, Sakura was dragged to the rooftop. Sakura broke out in a cold sweat. This was it. Umemiya had found him out. 

Strangely enough, it was not Umemiya who was waiting for him. It was Hiragi. The third year was frowning severely (though, when was he not?). Sugishita simply dumped Sakura in front of their upperclassman like he was a sack of potatoes before wandering off again. 

Sakura glared at his classmate’s back. It was bad enough that Sugishita was Umemiya’s goffer, but now he was willing to fetch Sakura for Hiragi too?

“Kaji said you’re fine and nothing else,” Hiragi’s voice dragged Sakura's attention to the matter at hand. 

Sakura grunted noncommittally. He was glad that Kaji had kept his promise to keep the kid a secret. 

“Is that true?” Hiragi pressed. 

“Yes,” Sakura grumbled. 

Hiragi did not seem convinced. He leaned back against the picnic table where he was seated and gave Sakura a hard look. Sakura jutted his chin out. It would take more than threatening looks to break him. 

“What is going on, Sakura?” Hiragi sighed. 

“Nothin’,” Sakura growled. 

“Nothing?”

“Yes. Nothin’,” Sakura sniffed. 

Hiragi frowned. 

“You sure?” Hiragi snorted. 

“Very,” Sakura glared. 

Hiragi looked like he might want to say something more, but he changed his mind. 

“When you finally realize you’re out of your depth, at least get help before it’s too late. It doesn’t have to be me. Ask any one,” he sighed. 

Sakura scoffed under his breath. He would not be asking for any further help. He had already (mistakenly? misguidedly?) asked Suo and while it hadn’t ended badly, it wasn’t exactly what Sakura had wanted. 

It was almost as if Hiragi could guess what he was thinking. He shook his head before fishing in his pocket for his stomach medication. Sakura took that permission to leave. He darted away as fast as he could. He waited out in the hallway, only returning to the class room once the teacher entered. 

The best course of action, he decided, would be to ease himself back into school life. He had shown up for classes today, but he wasn’t going to stick around after school this afternoon. Sakura was out the door the moment the bell rang. 

He took the long way home to lose a few of his idiot classmates who tried to follow him (Anzai in particular was annoyingly persistent and Sakura had to do a loop almost all the way around Makochi to lose him). Finally, Sakura was home. 

He should have been feeling more relaxed. Instead, a feeling of intense anxiety came over Sakura as he came up to his apartment. The front door was open. Not open in a oh-the-stupid-rusty-hinges-won’t-keep-the-door-fully-closed type of open. No, the door was fully open as if someone had thrown it open and not bothered to close it. Sakura didn’t even bother to kick off his shoes as he raced further into the house. The main room was empty of any living thing. The futon was trashed, the comforter torn to shreds and the single poster Sakura had recently put up (a stupid photo of a cat from Nirei that the kid liked) was torn off of the wall. 

All logical thoughts flew out of Sakura’s head. What the hell had happened? He highly doubted that the kid had caused this destruction. Had someone broken in and taken the kid? Had the kid run off?

In order to establish whether this was a robbery gone wrong or not, Sakura headed for the closet. He kept his small stash of cash under a loose floorboard there. He flung the door open and was greeted by a pair of terrified eyes. Sakura jumped back in panic. Then he realized it was just the kid. 

“Kid?” Sakura breathed. 

The kid flinched away from him. It had been a while since he had done that. Sakura was surprised to find that the reaction stung. He sat back, uncertain of what to do or say. He suspected that the kid had seen what had gone down in the apartment and was hiding because of that. Because the kid was safe, Sakura let himself relax marginally. 

“You ok?” Sakura needed to know.

He was rewarded with a tiny shake of the kid’s head. Sakura settled on the floor opposite the kid. It took almost an hour of Sakur staring him down before he crawled out. He made a beeline straight to Sakura’s lap where he latched on tightly to Sakura’s shirt. 

“What happened?” Sakura frowned. 

“G-got in,” the kid croaked. 

“What?” Sakura wrinkled his nose. 

“It got in,” the kid was nearly in tears. 

That was a concerning and rather ominous thing for him to say. Sakura started looking the kid over. This was a much easier task now that the kid wasn’t curled up in a ball in the closet with one side pressed against the wall. 

He now saw that the kid had several nasty scratches down his arms. More concerningly were the bite marks. There were three in total that Sakura could see. One on the kid’s wrist and upper right arm (both were scabbed over at this point) as well as his left calf. This last bite was far more concerning. It was deep and still bleeding. A glance in the closet revealed a sizable puddle of blood had already collected there. 

“What happened?” Sakura demanded.

The kid didn't answer. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume felt bad about telling Sakura about seeing youkai. 

As strange as it was, the teen seemed to believe him. Natsume could tell that Sakura was agitated about the new information. He looked tired all the time now and he was clearly on guard. It made Natusme worry. Sakura grumbled that he should probably go back to school. Natsume, feeling like he was doing his part, told Sakura that he would be alright alone. Sakura didn’t seem fully convinced, but he believed Natsume with a nod. 

After Sakura left for school, Natsume tried to clean up the house a little bit. He put the breakfast dishes next to the sink (he was too short to put them in the skin). After that he found the broom shoved behind the bathroom door and attempted to sweep the front entryway. 

Natsume was more than pleased to see that the youkai that liked to hang around outside the window had been gone since yesterday. It made Natsume feel more relaxed than he should have. 

After watching birds from the balcony window for a while, Natsume noticed something. There was a distressed whining coming from somewhere outside. After several minutes of hesitation and internal debate, Natsume set off to find out what it was. 

It didn’t take much looking. The whining was coming from a small, turtle shaped youkai had been flipped on its back. As hard as the youkai tried, it couldn’t right itself. It was so sad. Natsume rushed forward without thinking. 

He righted the small youkai so that it was no longer on its back. The little creature looked shocked at first. Then it chittered happily at him and nuzzled his hand. Natsume smiled softly. He felt good. 

The small youkai’s chittering abruptly stopped and it pulled itself into its shell. Natsume frowned. Something was wrong. He looked up. There, leering at him from around a tree was the mean youkai that liked to hang around this area. Natsume froze. He didn’t dare breathe. Maybe it would just pass right by him. Luck, as usual, was not on his side. The youkai charged. Natsume bolted. He scrambled up the stairs as fast as his small legs could take him. 

Teeth closed around his leg, biting down hard. Natsume bit back a cry of pain. He kicked with his other leg several times, finally managing to dislodge the youkai. He continued his flight. The youkai nearly caught him again as he tore open the door to Sakura’s apartment. Teeth started to close around his wrist. He yanked his arm away before they could fully sink in. The youkai charged through the door after Natsume. 

It pinned Natsume to the floor. Natusme fought back with all his strength. He didn’t want to die; not now that he had found somewhere that was nice to stay. After a fierce struggle, he finally managed to get free. He bolted for the closet and closed himself in. 

The youkai scratched against the wood, trying to break in. Natsume held the door shut as hard as he could. His heart was racing. The youkai snarled and growled. There were a bunch of crashing and ripping sounds out in the main room. Natsume was worried to know what destruction the youkai was wrecking that Natsume would have to take the fall for. 

Eventually, the sounds from the prowling youkai felt quiet. Natsume was left huddled in the dark, trying not to hyperventilate. This wasn’t the closest call he had ever had with a youkai, but it was by the far the most concerning. What would Sakura say? Would he want to get rid of Natsume on the spot or would he bother to find Natsume a decent next home?

Everything hurt and the future seemed grim. Natsume tried not to cry. 

He had no idea how long he sat huddled in the dark closet. He did eventually hear running feet in the entryway. Natsume wasn’t sure who - or what - it was. All of a sudden, the door to the closet was violently yanked open. Natsume curled up even further. 

“Kid?”

Sakura. It was just Sakura. 

For some reason, the teen looked worried and also relieved. 

“You ok?” Sakura asked. 

Natsume shook his head. It took a while for Natsume to convince himself to crawl out of the closet. He made a beeline straight for Sakura’s lap, not caring how stupid he looked. He craved a kind human touch. 

“What happened?” Sakura murmured somewhere above his head. 

“Got in,” Natsume croaked. 

“What go in?” Sakura demanded. 

Natsume didn’t know how to describe what had happened and he wasn’t even sure Sakura would believe him even if he could.

“It got in,” Natsume felt his eyes stink as tears built up. 

He stiffened when he felt Sakura checking him over. He knew the exact moment Sakura spied his injuries. If he had been at any of his other previous homes, this was the part where Natsume would be carted off to his next home. No one ever wanted to deal with him, especially not if he was making a mess of his blood on their floor. 

Then again, Sakura hadn’t gotten rid of him when he was sick. Maybe there still was hope? Natsume would just have to wait and see. 

Chapter Text

After a moment of hesitation, the kid buried his face in Sakura’s shoulder and whimpered softly. Sakura's heart clenched. In all the time he had known the kid, the kid didn't really like to express his pain (something Sakura was far too familiar with about himself). For the kid to whimper like that, it probably meant he was in a lot of pain. 

What the hell should he do? Sakura glanced at the kid's injured leg. The bite was deep. There was no way Sakura would be able to patch it up with his meager first aid kit. That really only left one option. 

One option that Sakura really wanted to avoid. 

He would have to take the kid to the hospital. 

Sakura had never been fond hospitals. He avoided them at all costs. If he were the injured one, he would have figured out a way to patch up the injury on his own. However, he wasn't the injured one. He really didn't have a choice. Sakura would have to go. 

Being as gentle as he could, he scooped the kid up into his arms. The kid whimpered again. Sakura took off running. He was thankful that it was dusk, so there were not many people out. He was a disheveled mess by the time he arrived at the small hospital a few blocks away. He nearly lost his nerve at the front door, but the kid's blood was soaking into his shirt and it urged him forward. 

“Please. You have to help him,” Sakura panted as he burst through the doors.

They must have been quite the sight as they entered because all of the staff in sight dropped what they were doing to come over. Sakura suddenly felt overwhelmed. He didn’t like having the hospital staff close in on him. He wanted them to back off and maybe approach one at a time. At the same time, the kid was hurt and he needed them to treat the injuries. 

When the hospital staff tried to take the kid from him. Sakura growled at them. He wanted them to help the kid, not take him away. Finally, when the staff realized that Sakura wasn't about to let go of the kid, they ushered Sakura along with the kid to a private room. 

The kid did not let go of his death grip (Sakura wasn't complaining), so Sakura sat on the bed with him. 

“What happened?” the head nurse asked as she started examining the deep bite on the kid’s leg. 

The injury looked far worse in the hospital lighting than in the dim light of Sakura's apartment. In response to the question, the kid shook his head. With a frown of disapproval, the nurse turned to Sakura. 

“What happened to him?” she demanded in a clipped tone. 

Sakura hesitated. 

“He was bitten,” he told her. 

“I can see that. Was it a dog?” she asked. 

Sakura had no idea so he simply shrugged. The answer did not seem to please the nurse, but let it be for the moment. The kid whimpered softly as she checked the severity of his wounds. Sakura did not like that sound. He clutched the kid tighter to his side. Was it childish? Maybe. Did Sakura care? No. 

He warily watched the medical staff as they cleaned up the kid’s wounds. The wounds on his arms were cleaned and bandaged while the wound on his leg required more care. In the end, there was too much damage to simply stitch it shut so the medical staff flushed it with something and gently covered it with gauze for the time being. They gave him an IV and then a blood transfusion as well as pain killers. Sakura decided that he did not like that they were touching the kid so much. 

Finally, the kid was patched up and nestled sleepily against Sakura's side. Then the questions came, rapid fire style. If Sakura had thought they had asked a lot before, he was unprepared for the amount they asked after the kid was treated. 

What is the kid’s name? Who is the kid? How did he get hurt? How did Sakura know him? Where were the kid’s parents? 

Sakura was beyond overwhelmed and he really felt like punching someone’s lights out as a way to relieve stress. Why did hospitals have to be so damn difficult? This is exactly why he never went to one if he was hurt. 

He growled at them and spat threats. They finally got the picture and left him alone, but not before informing Sakura that they needed to keep the kid overnight for observation because he was anemic or some bullshit excuse.

Sakura’s adrenaline was still running high even once they left the room. He was sure that they really planned on calling the cops and he was going to get into trouble. He always got in trouble sooner or later.

In a way, that fear did come true.

Not even an hour later, the door creaked open. The people who entered were not nurses nor cops. It was far worse.

Hiragi and Umemiya.

Sakura felt goosebumps run up his arms. This was it. His doom had come. He clutched the kid tighter to his chest. He wondered if he ignored them, would they go away? Sadly, that didn't happen.

“So, the hospital staff gave me a call, saying that a Furin student had turned up with an injured kid and that said student was acting a bit feral. Care to explain?” Umemiya hummed pulling up a seat to the bedside and making himself comfortable. 

No, Sakura did not care to explain. He briefly wondered if it was too late to make a run for it. 

<><><><><>

Natsume held his breath when his injuries were discovered. What would Sakura do?

Sakura, for his part, furrowed his brows. He glared at Natsume's injury. It made Natsume feel horrible. He had brought this on himself. He had made Sakura mad. It was his fault. 

Without meaning to, Natsume buried his face in Sakura's shoulder. His leg hurt and he was terrified. Sakura sat motionless for a few minutes longer. Then, without warning, he lifted Natsume in his arms and took off out of the door. Natsume clung to Sakura as the teen ran through the streets. Natsume didn’t know where they were going. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to feel dizzy. 

He heard the sound of a door opening and then suddenly there was a flood of voices. Natsume flinched and opened his eyes. It took him several long minutes to figure out where Sakura had taken him. 

A hospital. 

Natsume didn’t like hospitals. The nurses poked him with needles and they always told him to stop lying about how he got hurt. Hospitals were often where he traded hands from one family to the next. Hospitals were not safe. 

This one was oddly different. The nurses did poke him with needles, but the questions for the most part were directed at Sakura, not him. 

And speaking of Sakura, Nastume was shocked when the teen did not just up and leave him. Instead, the teen kept him firmly held close to his side, like he was afraid of Natsume being taken away from him. Natsume childishly responded in kind, clinging to Sakura's shirt with all his might.  

Getting his injuries taken care of hurt, but Natsume was used to pain. He forced himself not to cry the whole time (after all, no one liked it when he cried). Finally they were done treating his injuries. Natsume felt so incredibly tired. The warmth from Sakura’s body and the blood loss were making him feel sleepy. 

The nurses were talking with Sakura about a lot of different things. They were all questions that Natsume was used to, but for some reason, they weren't pestering him. Sakura growled at them a lot. Natsume decided that they must have given him drugs, because Sakura's growling sounded protective, rather than hostile. That would be really stupid though, right?

Eventually the nurses must have had enough of Sakura's growling because they left. The room was quiet after that. Natsume couldn't help but wonder if Sakura's growling could scare off other things. 

Like youkai. 

Natsume leaned into Sakura's much larger body, feeling oddly safe for such an unsafe environment. He was just about to drift off to sleep when the door to the room creaked open. He wasn’t facing the door, so he didn’t know who had entered. What he did know was that Sakura suddenly stiffened. That didn’t bode well. 

Before Natsume could twist around and look at the newcomers, a voice spoke. 

“So, the hospital staff gave me a call, saying that a Furin student had turned up with an injured kid and that said student was acting a bit feral. Care to explain?” 

Natsume did not recognize the voice, but he did know a threat when he heard one. He clung to Sakura for dear life.

Chapter Text

Sakura was more than half tempted to growl at Umemiya. 

Why? Why did it have to be Umemiya of all people? 

Umemiya, for his part, didn’t seem at all phased by Sakura or Sakura’s attitude (or even the strange nature of this situation). Hiragi stood with his arms crossed behind Umemiya. It was hard to tell what he was thinking past the scowl the older teen was wearing. 

Sakura belatedly realized they were waiting for him to answer. 

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Sakura scoffed, “Nothin’ strange is goin’ on here.”

Hiragi had no problem calling Sakura’s bluff without missing a step. 

“The kid cowering against your side says otherwise,” he snorted. 

Sakura did growl this time, his cheeks beginning to burn. Umemiya held up his hands in a gesture of peace. 

“Calm down, Sakura. I just want to know what’s going on,” Umemiya said placatingly, “You can tell your big brother, can’t you?”

Sakura refused to blink or look away from Umemiya. He wasn’t about show weakness in front of-

“He’s your brother?” the kid asked in a whispery voice. 

Sakura froze. 

Was Umemiya his WHAT?

No, no, no. That was very wrong. 

Before Sakura could protest the question, Umemiya leaned forward so that he was on the kid’s level. 

“Pretty much,” he smiled. 

The kid did the oddest thing. Instead of immediately trusting Umemiya like everyone else in this goddamn town did, the kid turned to Sakura. It threw Sakura for a loop. He hadn’t been expecting that. 

“He’s fine,” Sakura admitted begrudgingly. 

He hated the fact that Umemiya’s smile only grew at this comment. It was so unfair that nothing Sakura could do seemed to throw him for a loop. Sakura let his face fall into a scowl. It was then that he realized that Umemiya looked very much like he wanted to reach out and take the kid. Sakura shifted his body so that he was in between his upperclassmen and his kid. 

“So how do the two of you know each other?” Umemiya continued in a chatty tone

“He living with me,” Sakura shrugged. 

He realized this was probably the wrong thing to say. Ah, well, it was too late now.

“Where is the kid from, Sakura?” Hiragi sighed. 

Unlike Umemiya, there very much was a limit to how much bullshitting and beating around the bush he could take. 

“Around,” Sakura grunted.

Hiragi looked less than impressed, but he didn't press for answers. Sakura noted a subtle gesture from Umemiya, no doubt telling him to back down. 

“So you found him ‘around’ and you took him in? Why?” Umemiya asked pleasantly. 

Sakura had been sure his cheeks were already as red as they would ever be. This question revealed that wasn’t true. His cheeks burned even hotter. 

“Because,” Sakura griped. 

“You have to talk to me, Sakura,” Umemiya sighed, “If you don’t help me, I can’t help you with the police.”

The police? 

Shit. 

Sakura grit his teeth. He did not want the police involved. They would take the kid. Apparently cooperating with Umemiya was his only choice. Even still, Sakura remained on guard. 

“I took him in because was alone. Besides, he reminds me a little of me,” Sakura mumbled, averting his eyes in shame. 

“How so?” Umemiya’s voice was annoyingly gentle. 

Sakura really, really didn’t like the question. 

“He looks strange,” he grunted out. 

Given, the kid looked strange in a sort of exotic-and-probably-foreigner-but-still-adorable sort of way. Unlike Sakura's decidedly disgusting mix of half and half.  

“And?”

Damn. Umemiya really wasn’t going to let this drop, was he?

“It was pretty clear he was bein’ abused wherever he was at before,” Sakura grumbled. 

Umemiya hummed. He didn't appear surprised. It made Sakura wonder just how much Umemiya knew about his family life (or lack thereof) and the abuse that Sakura had gone through as a young child. 

“I see,” Umemiya hummed, leaning forward, “And how did he get hurt?”

“I dunno.”

“Sakura…” Umemiya sighed. 

“I don’t know! That’s the truth. I came home and he was like this.” Sakura felt defensive. 

Umemiya stared at him hard for a long time, as though trying to read Sakura’s thoughts. Then he sighed softly. 

“I believe you,” he said, “But I still need to know what happened.”

He turned his attention to the kid. 

“Hey there,” he smiled. 

The kid stared back with large eyes.  

“I’m Umemiya and that is Hiragi,” Umemiya first pointed at himself and then at Hiragi, “What’s your name?”

The kid was quiet. Sakura didn’t expect him to answer. Afterall, he had never told Sakura his name, so why would he tell Umemiya? Apparently Sakura underestimated Umemiya’s power of persuasion. 

“Natsume,” the kid murmured. 

Umemiya nodded.

“Natsume. Very nice. What’s your first name?” he asked. 

The kid looked genuinely startled at the question. Once again, he turned to Sakura. Sakura huffed, feeling a little odd that he was being asked permission. 

“Takashi,” the kid’s voice could barely be classified as a whisper. 

Sakura was unsure if it was fear or embarrassment. He could empathize with both. 

“Takashi. That’s a good name,” Umemiya smiled, “Can I call you that?”

The kid - Takashi - flinched violently. 

“No one calls me that,” he whispered. 

His small fingers tightly twisted Sakura’s shirt. It was that reason alone that Sakura knew he was upset and scared rather than embarassed. 

“What do you mean?” Umemiya hummed. 

“I only get called ‘Natsume’,” Takashi paused before adding, “If people even use my name.”

A dark furry passed over both Hiragi’s and Umemiya’s faces. Umemiya was successful in quickly wiping it away. Hiragi covered it by groping in pocket for his stomach medication. Sakura, too, felt mounting anger. He already wanted to beat the shit out of whoever had the kid - Takashi - before him. Now he was furious. He was just glad that kid wasn’t looking at him. Sakura wasn’t sure he would have been able to hide his anger like his upperclassmen. 

“I see. Well, can I call you Takashi?” Umemiya asked with a measured and natural tone. 

The kid nodded very slowly, almost like he was afraid that saying no was the wrong answer. 

“Alright, Takashi,” Umemiya kept up his easy smile, “What happened?”

“I got bited,” Takashi mumbled, his small fingers now playing with his IV. 

“That’s what I hear. What bit you?” Umemiya asked. 

“The youkai.”

“The youkai?” Umemiya glanced at Sakura. 

“He sees youkai,” Sakura shrugged, “He said Suo had fish in his eye socket.”

“Visual hallucinations?” Hiragi suggested. 

Sakura bristled. If the kid - Takashi (Sakura was going to have to get used to using his name) said he saw things, then Sakura was going to believe him. Besides, visual hallucinations didn’t harm you. 

“No.” Sakura growled in defense of his kid, “They’re real and sometimes they hurt him”

Hirigai looked too tired to argue. Umemiya rubbed his brow. 

“I see. Well, I suppose-”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Sakura blurted out, startling both him and his upperclassmen. 

Sakura wasn’t sure if he had ever talked back to either of them in such a way. Hirgai opened his mouth, no doubt to scold Sakura, but Umemiya held up a hand, the gesture stopping Hiragi and beckoning to Sakura. 

“You don’t need to do anything,” Sakura firmly stated once more, “I got it handled. I don’t need any more help. I’m going to protect him. He’s not gonna get hurt again.”

Umemiya gave him a shrewd look. 

“Sakura, is there a reason you don’t want my help?”

Sakura willed himself not to wilt under Umemiya's even stare. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume stared at their strange guests. They were both very tall adults. One of them had spiky hair. He looked very angry as he stood with crossed arms. The other one had white hair. He was sitting in a chair. This one was smiling, but Natsume didn’t think it was a friendly smile. Then again, he didn't have much experience with smiles.   

Natsume was startled out of his thoughts when Sakura spat an answer to the question. 

“I dunno what you’re talking about. Nothin’ strange is goin’ on here.”

“The kid cowering against your side says otherwise,” the spiky man snorted. 

Natsume flinched. They were talking about him. He was in trouble. No, that wasn’t right. He had gotten Sakura in trouble.

“Calm down, Sakura. I just want to know what’s going on,” the white-haired man smiled, “You can tell your big brother, can’t you?”

Natsume blinked. He looked at Sakura. Then he looked at the stranger in the chair. Then he looked at Sakura. He didn’t really see any resemblance, but maybe they were half-siblings?

“He’s your brother?” Natsume asked. 

The white-haired man leaned forward. 

“Pretty much,” he smiled. 

Natsume turned to Sakura for verification. If he had to chose, he would trust Sakura over these strangers. 

“He’s fine,” Sakura huffed. 

“So, how do you two know each other?” the white-haired man asked. 

Natsume leaned against Sakura. He watched sleepily as Sakura and the man argued over where Sakura had found him and why Sakura had taken him in. Now that Natsume was looking for it, he could see they were indeed siblings. He didn’t know how he had missed it in the first place. They argued just like brothers. 

Natusme felt very jealous. He wished he had a sibling. Not an older one, because he didn’t deserve that, but a younger one would be nice. Then Natsume could protect them. Natsume snuggled deeper into Sakura’s side. 

“Hey there.”

Natsume was taken by surprise when the white haired man abruptly turned to him. He stared back. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to speak. Adults didn’t like it when he spoke. But maybe it was safe because this was Sakura’s brother. 

“I’m Umemiya and that is Hiragi,” the man pointed to himself and then to the spiky man “What’s your name?”

“Natsume,” Natsume answered obediently. 

“Natsume. Very nice. What’s your first name?” Umemiya asked. 

Natsume froze. They wanted to know his first name? Natsume glanced at Sakura to verify that it was ok. Sakura gave a slight nod. 

“Takashi,” Natsume whispered.  

Natsume had no idea what to expect next. 

“Takashi. That’s a good name,” Umemiya smiled, “Can I call you that?”

That…..

That was…

That was unexpected.

Natusme didn’t know how to answer. He had very vague memories of his father calling him ‘Takashi’, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who did. He wasn’t sure he wanted someone else to call him that. His name was linked to memories of safer times, memories he didn’t want to ruin.

“No one calls me that,” Natsume admitted. 

His small fingers tightly twisted Sakura’s shirt.

“What do you mean?” Umemiya hummed. 

“I only get called ‘Natsume’,” Natsume admitted, “If people even use my name.”

“I see. Well, can I call you Takashi?” Umemiya asked with a measured and natural tone. 

Natsume hesitated before nodding, even though he wasn't sure he wanted that. What he did know was that it would be bad if he said no. 

“Alright, Takashi,” Umemiya nodded “What happened?”

“I got bited,” Natsume mumbled, nervously playing with his IV. 

“That’s what I hear. What bit you?” Umemiya asked. 

“The youkai.”

Natsume waited to be ridiculed or maybe hit. It always happened when he told the truth.

“The youkai?” Umemiya glanced at Sakura. 

“He sees youkai,” Sakura shrugged, “He said Suo had fish in his eye socket.”

“Visual hallucinations?” The spiky man - Hiragi?- scoffed. 

Natsume wilted. Even thought he was only in elementary school, he knew what that was. It meant they didn't believe him.

“No.” Sakura growled, “They’re real and sometimes they hurt him”

Natsume looked up at Sakura. This was the first time someone else had defended him to someone else about seeing youkai. 

“I see. Well, I suppose-”

Sakura interrupted Umemiya. 

“You don’t need to do anything.”

Umemiya looked surprised. 

“You don’t need to do anything,” Sakura firmly stated once more, “I got it handled. I don’t need any more help. I’m going to protect him. He’s not gonna get hurt again.”

Natsume's world was once again flipped on its head. He wondered if he was glowing. No one had ever been this nice to him. He was unprepared for Umemiya to sigh deeply.  

“Sakura, is there a reason you don’t want my help?”

Chapter Text

“I don't know what you are talking about,” Sakura tried for a bluff even though he knew it would fail. 

Maybe Umemiya would see just how uncomfortable Sakura was and let this all drop. He was out of luck. 

“Sakura...” Umemiya's voice held a stern warning. 

“I don’t need help,” Sakura spat out, “Yours or anyone else's. I'm fine.”

It wasn't strictly true, but then again Sakura's mouth had always run faster than his brain. In an effort to cover this, he glared at Umemiya. Umemiya had an usually stern look on his face. 

“Accepting help isn’t weakness, Sakura. I thought you would have realized that by now with your classmates,” the older teen frowned.  

Yes, Sakura did know that-

No, that wasn’t-

It just-

He-

Sakura’s brain felt like it was short-circuiting as he tried to sort out his thoughts. The harder he tried, the more tangled they became. Sakura tore at his hair in an effort to make it all make sense. 

Someone caught his wrists. 

“Stop, Sakura. You’re scaring him,” Umemiya murmured softly. 

Scaring him?

What-

Sakura looked down. 

Takashi was staring up at him with panicked eyes. The kid looked about ready to cry. Something in Sakura shriveled up in shame. He hadn’t meant to scare his kid. Umemiya sat back, giving them space. He didn’t speak again until both Sakura and Takashi were calm. 

“Sakura,” Umemiya’s voice was gentle, “Why do you dislike me?”

Sakura winced. There was apparently no escaping this interrogation. Umemiya waited patiently for his question to be answered. 

“You annoy me,” Sakura finally managed. 

Umemiya only raised an eyebrow. 

“And you confuse me,” Sakura continued, “And you're going to try and take Takashi.”

Hirgai gave a poorly muffled snort of laughter. 

“I see,” was all Umemiya said, “Anything else?”

Quite without meaning to, Sakura found himself telling Umemiya everything. 

Everything. 

It was like a broken dam. Sakura spilled everything from his confusing arrival at Furin all the way to finding and keeping the kid. His initial jealousy of and need to compete with Umemiya upon arriving at Furin to his new fear that Umemiya was far more judgment than he appeared. He finished with a rather tongue tied explanation of why the kid deserved better and why he didn't want Umemiya's help because he was afraid of his upperclassmen ripping the kid from him. 

The whole thing was strangely cathartic. Sakura felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as he vented on Umemiya. It wasn't until he was done speaking that the reportions of what he had just done really struck him. 

He had just told Umemiya everything; like a complete and utter fool. He should have kept his mouth shut. Nothing good would come of this. He was sure. 

“That is quite a bit,” Umemiya nodded thoughtfully, “And I’m sorry I haven’t taken the time before to properly make you feel comfortable. I don’t have an excuse for that.”

Sakura shrugged. Out of everything Sakura had just dumped on him, that was what Umemiya was bothered by? It only further cemented Sakura’s confusion and annoyance. Why couldn’t Umemiya just behave normally ?

Umemiya looked troubled. 

“Still, you shouldn’t keep him,” he said. 

Sakura stiffened. Shit. He had been right. He was too hasty to trust Umemiya and tell him the truth. 

“I’d like to see you try and take him from me,” Sakura growled. 

Takashi huddled against his side. Higrai cuffed the back of Umemiya’s head. 

“I suppose that did come out wrong,” Umemiya sighed, “You are just a kid yourself. You shouldn’t have the responsibility of a younger person’s life laid on you.” 

“I’ve had worse,” Sakura said gruffly. 

Taking care of Takashi so far was loads easier than putting up with verbal or physical abuse. In fact, Sakura wasn't even sure that was a fair comparison. 

“I suppose that may be true, but that doesn’t mean I approve of you driving yourself to the edge under my watch,” Umemiya shook his head. 

“You still can’t take him,” Sakura declared. 

He didn’t really want to start a fight in a hospital, but he was willing to do so if that is what was required. 

“He’s too much like you,” Hirgai snorted. 

The comment caught Sakura off guard. No! He was not at all like Umemiya! 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Umemiya sniffed. 

Sakura was confused by these comments. He felt like he was missing context to this joke. Hiragi noticed Sakura’s confusion and decided to help out. 

“Hajime helps at the orphanage. He would react the same way if someone else tried to take his kids too.”

“I suppose that’s correct,” Umemiya sighed, “And you know what that means?” 

Sakura did not in fact want to know. 

“If you insist on keeping him, you have a new family member,” Umemiya hummed, “But don’t worry, your big brother can help you figure things out.”

Sakura froze at the announcement. He had always disliked the word ‘family’. It never entailed anything good. Sakura had been neglected enough by his own parents to know that was never something he wished to inflict on Takashi. Him and Takashi, they were NOT family. No, Sakura was his protector. There was a difference. 

Hirgai noted Sakura’s discomfort, but before he could say anything, Umemiya turned to the kid. 

“You have a say in this too, you know Takashi,” Umemiya nodded, “Do you want to stay with Sakura?”

Sakura felt Takashi freeze. He felt a little sick. What if Takashi said no?

<><><><><>

Natsume waited with baited breath to hear what Sakura would tell his brother. If he knew what was going on between them, maybe he could fix it and maybe that would mean he could stay for longer. 

“I don't know what you are talking about,” Sakura tried for a bluff even though he knew it would fail. 

“Sakura...” Umemiya's voice was strict. 

“I don’t need help,” Sakura spat out, “Yours or anyone else's. I'm fine.”

“Accepting help isn’t weakness, Sakura. I thought you would have realized that by now with your classmates,” Umemiya frowned. 

Natsume could tell that he was disappointed, though he wasn’t sure why. He very much wanted to launch himself in between the brothers and clarify that, whatever was the matter, it was all his fault. Sakura wasn’t to blame. Sakura didn’t do anything wrong. This was all Natsume’s fault. 

Natsume looked up at Sakura. 

The blame in his stomach turned to sour horror. Sakura was tearing at his hair with a frantic energy. He was in distress. He was in distress because of Natsume. Natsume worked hard to hold back tears. It wasn't supposed to be like this. 

“Stop, Sakura. You’re scaring him.” 

Natsume barely registered Umemiya’s words. He was too focused on Sakura and his own thoughts and blame. It took Natsume a long moment to realize that Sakura was looking back at him with concern. Natsume hid his face in Sakura’s side out of shame. 

“Sakura,” Umemiya’s voice was gentle, “Why do you dislike me?”

Natsume waited for the answer.

“You annoy me,” Sakura grunted. 

Natsume relaxed. Good. The fight was about (theoretically) normal brother things. Not that Natsume was speaking from experience. 

“And you confuse me,” Sakura apparently wasn’t done, “And you're going to try and take Takashi.”

Natsume didn’t like that last part. He didn’t want to leave Sakura. Sakura was safe. 

“I see,” Umemiya hummed, “Anything else?”

Natsume listened as Sakura vented at his older brother. He found it a bit odd that Umemiya wasn’t already aware of his younger brother’s struggles, but then again, Natsume wasn’t really sure how healthy siblings should act. Natsume risked peeling his face away from Sakura’s side to watch. 

“That is quite a bit,” Umemiya nodded thoughtfully, “And I’m sorry I haven’t taken the time before to properly make you feel comfortable. I don’t have an excuse for that.”

Sakura shrugged. There was a slight pause. 

“Still, you shouldn’t keep him,” Umemiya said. 

Natsume felt resigned sorrow. He knew this would come sooner or later. With how safe he had felt, he had hoped it would be later. He should have known better. Nothing ever worked out right for him. 

“I’d like to see you try and take him from me,” Sakura growled. 

Natsume was rather surprised by the venom in Sakura’s voice.

“I suppose that did come out wrong,” Umemiya sighed, “You are just a kid yourself. You shouldn’t have the responsibility of a younger person’s life laid on you.” 

Natsume knew this was true, particularly since he was a burden to society. He realized that he had been quite selfish in his desire to stay with Sakura. He should offer to leave now. As much as it would hurt Natsume, it would be good for Sakura. 

“I’ve had worse,” Sakura said gruffly. 

“I suppose that may be true, but that doesn’t mean I approve of you driving yourself to the edge under my watch,” Umemiya shook his head. 

“You still can’t take him,” Sakura declared. 

“He’s too much like you,” Hirgai snorted. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Umemiya sniffed. 

“Hajime helps at the orphanage. He would react the same way if someone else tried to take his kids too,” Hiragi explained. 

He sounded exasperated, but not in a bad way. That was an odd idea. 

“I suppose that’s correct,” Umemiya sighed, “And you know what that means?” 

Natsume perked up cautiously. 

“If you insist on keeping him, you have a new family member,” Umemiya hummed, “But don’t worry, your big brother can help you figure things out.”

That…. That was a lot to unpack. Him and Sakura and Umemiya were…. family? The idea felt odd. Natsume's previous experience with that word wasn't the best. Natsume had been staying with family already, but Sakura wasn't like that. At least, he didn't think so. 

But maybe Umemiya had meant that Sakura was like the family that Natsume sort of remembered way back before his father died. That was also a confusing idea. Natsume wasn’t sure he could quantify exactly what that was and even if he could, he wasn't sure that Sakura would fit that box. 

Before Natsume could fully puzzle himself into a knot, Umemiya leaned forward. 

“You have a say in this too, you know Takashi,” Umemiya nodded, “Do you want to stay with Sakura?”

The question startled Natsume badly. 

He had a choice?

Chapter Text

Sakura fidgeted as he waited for Takashi’s answer. It felt like it took both forever and immediately. 

“I wanna stay,” Takashi’s voice was thin and tired, but determined all the same, “Sakura’s nice. He’s nicer than everyone else.”

Sakura’s cheeks started burning again at the compliment. He genuinely didn't know how to take it. 

“I see,” Umemiya nodded. 

He and Hiragi had some sort of silent conversation. Hiragi gave a sharp nod. 

“Takashi. Where did you live before Sakura found you?” Hiragi asked. 

Takashi froze. Sakura wondered for a moment if his kid had stopped breathing. 

“If…. if I tell you, are you gonna make me…. go back?” Takashi swallowed hard, desperately trying to become one with Sakura’s body. 

“No,” Sakura vehemently spat. 

Neither Umemiya nor Hiragi voiced a different opinion. Sakura was secretly pleased at that.  

“The Yamamotos,” Takashi mumbled, “I lived with the Yamamotos and before that the Tanedas and before that the Saitos and before that the Takahashis and before that the Ishigawas and before that the Yoshidas and before that daddy, but he died two years ago.”

Sakura winced. He knew that Takashi probably had a bad history with the foster care system, but he didn’t think it was that bad. Even he hadn’t bounced around to that many houses in that short amount of time. 

“How old are you Takashi?” Umemiya murmured. 

Takashi paused to count on his fingers. 

“Eleven?” His answer wasn’t confident at all. 

Sakura knew at once that it was a lie. There was no way in hell Takashi was eleven; nowhere even close to eleven. It appeared that Umemiya and Hiragi agreed with this opinion, but they didn’t press the issue. If Takashi didn't want to tell them yet, they weren't going to make him. 

“And why don’t you want to go back to the Yamamotos?” Hiragi asked. 

Takashi looked down at his small hands rather than any of the teens in the room. 

“They don’t like me. They hit me. And they get mad if I take food or if I ask for food. There’s also a scary youkai in their house that wants to eat me,” Takashi admitted. 

Umemiya was unable to keep the fury off of his face. 

“I see,” he murmured. 

Sakura could tell that he was seething. He wasn’t sure he had ever really witnessed Umemiya fail to hold back his anger. It was the shock of this that kept Sakura’s own anger at bay for the moment. Thankfully, Takashi seemed oblivious to the emotions of everyone else for the moment. Hiragi nudged Umemiya. Umemiya worked to wrestle his body language under control. 

“He’s staying with me,” Sakura reiterated. 

Umemiya was still distracted enough that he simply nodded. 

“You’ll need to find somewhere he can go during the day since he can’t come to school,” Hiragi pointed out. 

“It’s ‘cause I’m dumb, isn’t it?” Takashi wilted. 

“What?” all three teens asked at more or less the same time. 

“I can’t go to school ‘cause I’m dumb,” Takashi said. 

God. Sakura hadn’t heard wrong. He was having an increasingly hard time figuring out how to deal with his own emotions. As he was struggling, Umemiya reached forward and ruffled Takashi’s hair. 

“No. Nothing like that kiddo,” he promised, his smile a bit more forced than it had been, “You’re just not old enough yet. Sakura is in high school and you should be around kids your age.”

Sakura could watch in real time as Takashi’s body folded in on itself. The small fingers tangled in Sakura’s shirt clenched even tighter. He clearly didn't like that idea. 

“He stays with me, even during school,” Sakura growled. 

“Sakura-”

“He stays with me,” Sakura said once more. 

Sakura could tell that both of his upperclassmen had things they wanted to say, but refrained from doing so at the moment. Sakura wondered if that meant he would get an earful at a later date. Takashi leaned comfortably into the curve of Sakura’s body. Sakura allowed himself to take the risk to pull the kid closer. 

The peaceful atmosphere was rudely interrupted when the door slammed open. 

“SAKURA!!!!! Are you ok?????”

Nirei’s dramatic entrance was overshadowed by the fact that the short, blond teen was followed by a motley collection of their classmates. Sakura closed his eyes in either annoyance or exhaustion (he wasn’t sure which at this point). 

Why? 

Why where they all here?

<><><><><><>

Did he want to stay with Sakura?

Natsume had to ponder the question. 

Yes, of course he wanted to stay, but was that allowed? Natsume had never been allowed a choice of where he wanted to stay. He was always directed. That’s what adults did. They told him what to do and if he did everything right, he wouldn’t get hurt. 

That being said, was this a trap? Was Natsume allowed to choose? 

He decided to take a risk and answer. 

“I wanna stay,” Natsume admitted, “Sakura’s nice. He’s nicer than everyone else.”

He was surprised and relieved when no physical or verbal backlash came. 

“I see,” Umemiya nodded. 

Hiragi suddenly leaned forward. 

“Takashi. Where did you live before Sakura found you?” the spiky teen asked. 

Natsume froze, feeling panicked. 

“If…. if I tell you, are you gonna make me…. go back?” Natsume swallowed hard, desperately trying to become one with Sakura’s body. 

“No,” Sakura vehemently spat. 

Natsume hesitated. He wanted to stay silent and not tell them anything. At the same time, he had told them the truth about other things and they weren’t mad. Natsume chewed on his lip for a moment before taking the plunge. 

“The Yamamotos,” Natsume mumbled, “I lived with the Yamamotos and before that the Tanedas and before that the Saitos and before that the Takahashis and before that the Ishigawas and before that the Yoshidas and before that daddy, but he died two years ago.”

Natsume tried not to feel sick at the list of names. He supposed that the Yamamotos were not the worst people on the list. They were better than the Yoshidas. Even still, he hated the memories that these names brought up. Hunger, pain, isolation, fear, angry words, and occasionally blood. 

“How old are you Takashi?” Umemiya murmured. 

Natsume frowned. That was an odd question, but it did serve to give him something else to focus on. He counted on his fingers. 

“Eleven?” 

He wasn’t really sure. He felt fairly sure that he was closer to six and half or maybe seven. He didn’t tell them this because no one wanted him to still be that young. They wanted him to be out of the family and he had to be eighteen for that to happen. Maybe he should have just told them he was eighteen. That might have solved more problems. 

“And why don’t you want to go back to the Yamamotos?” Hiragi asked. 

Natsume looked down at his hands. He had already told them about who he had been staying with, so he may as well tell them everything. 

“They don’t like me. They hit me. And they get mad if I take food or if I ask for food. There’s also a scary youkai in their house that wants to eat me,” Natsume admitted. 

“I see,” Umemiya murmured. 

Natsume waited for the other shoe to drop. He had no idea what to expect next. Would they be mad at him for making problems for the Yamamotos? Would they try to take him back even though they said they wouldn’t? Or would they- 

“He’s staying with me,” Sakura growled. 

Natsume felt a thrill of nerves run up his spine. He was quiet certain he would never get used to hearing Sakura say that. 

“You’ll need to find somewhere he can go during the day since he can’t come to school,” Hiragi pointed out. 

Ah. Natsume was familiar with this one. 

“It’s ‘cause I’m dumb, isn’t it?” he wilted as he asked.  

“What?” all three teens asked at more or less the same time. 

“I can’t go to school ‘cause I’m dumb,” Natsume sighed. 

So far he had gone to school a total of two months over his entire life. It seemed interesting, but Natsume was too dumb to keep up with the other kids. Sure, the kids were supposedly a grade older than where he was supposed to be. Sure, the teachers never bothered to check why he was struggling. Sure, Natsume never had time to study at home. Those were just further reflections on him, though. 

Umemiya had an odd look on his face as he reached out to ruffle Natsume’s hair. 

“No. Nothing like that kiddo,” the white haired teen promised, “You’re just not old enough yet. Sakura is in high school and you should be around kids your age.”

Natsume didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be around kids own age. They didn’t like him. They always teased him and called him name. If he had to go to school, he wanted to go with Sakura. Natsume clutched at Sakura’s shirt, selfishly hoping that Sakura would step up and disagree with Umemiya. Strangely enough, he did. 

“He stays with me, even during school,” Sakura growled. 

“Sakura-”

“He stays with me,” Sakura said once more. 

Natsume felt…. oddly comforted. Sakura wanted him. With every repetition of the phrase, Natsume felt like it might actually be true. He leaned comfortably into the curve of Sakura’s body. Sakura reacted by pulling him a little closer. This was safe. Nastume knew that was true. He forced himself not to smile as he started to drift off to sleep. 

Natsume was utterly taken by surprise when the door to the room was slammed violently open.

“SAKURA!!!!! Are you ok?????”

A rush of adrenaline shot through Natsume. He recognized Nirei and Suo, but he didn’t recognize anyone else behind them. Who the heck were these people?

Chapter Text

Sakura felt Takashi beginning to tremble slightly against his side. He growled at his classmates, mentally willing them to back off. Out of the whole idiotic crowd, only Suo got the hint and remained by the door. 

Nirei all but leapt onto the bed. While Kiryuu, Tsuegura and Anzai pressed in close behind him. Sugishita was the lone exception. He completely ignored Sakura for the moment in favor of slouching over to Umemiya, hands jammed into his pockets. The action reminded Sakura of a particularly picky cat coming to check on the only person it liked. 

“What the hell are ya all doing here?” Sakura demanded. 

He was not prepared for the cacophony that followed. 

“We were just-”

“- and then I heard-”

“-and the hospital said that-”

“-injured-”

“-happened to you-”

“-since you’re the class captain-”

“-came over to see if everything-”

“-maybe got in a fight or something-”

“-check on you.” 

The overlapping voices were overwhelming and confusing. Sakura narrowed his eyes. Perhaps seeing that his captain was overwhlemed, Suo helpfully supplied the complete answer.

“We were all at Cafe Porthos when Nirei heard somehow that you were admitted to the hospital and wanted to come check on you,” he explained. 

Sakura felt a wave of gratitude towards Suo for simplifying the issue for him. 

“That’s it? Jeez. I’m fine, so you can go away,” Sakura grunted. 

No one moved. Sakura was about to repeat his command, but someone else spoke up first. 

“Sakura-chan,” Kiryuu hummed, “Who’s the kid?”

Sakura froze. Despite knowing this question would probably come up sooner or later, it still caught him off guard. He feigned ignorance. 

“I dunno what you’re talkin' about,” he snorted. 

“The kid,” Tsugeura cocked his head. 

“You know, the one leaning against you right now,” Anzai pointed out. 

Upon being pointed out, Natsume hid himself as much as he could behind Sakura's body. Sakura bared his teeth ready to fight his classmates. 

“The kid is Sakura’s,” Nirei helpfully nodded when Sakura didn't answer. 

That announcement received mixed reactions. Kiryuu gave him a coy look and tsked his tongue. Tsugeura gave a horrified gasp. Anzai glanced back and forth between Sakura and Takashi with pursed lips. Sugishita’s brow scrunched together threateningly and he stared closer at Takashi. 

Suo, for his part, had a hand held up to his mouth, covering a smile. Sakura wasn’t sure why.

“Sakura-chan…. I don’t mean to be that person, but how old were you?” Kiryuu leaned forward with a strange slowness, almost like he didn't want to scare Sakura.  

“I….what?” Sakura didn’t follow. 

“How old were you?” Kiryuu nodded. 

“The kid looks like he’s probably like, what, maybe six or seven years old?” Anzai commented before gasping, “But that means that Sakura would have been like ten or even younger. How the hell is that consensual?” 

“It wouldn't be,” Tsugeura frowned. 

Sakura felt like he was missing a key piece of information. What was bothering his classmates so much?

“How was what consensual?” Sakura frowned. 

“Sex,” Kiryuu looked him dead in the eye, “How else did you end up with a child?”

Sakura felt his heart stop. His cheeks burned horribly. He could hardly focus in a conversation about romance. This topic was arguably worse. 

“I…what… no…that… I…” the words seemed stuck in his brain and his tongue was no help. 

“Takashi isn’t Sakura’s kid, biologically speaking,” Umemiya spoke up. 

Sakura nearly collapsed in relief. His rescue was at hand. Someone else was going to deal with the uncomfortable details for him. 

“That being said, Sakura wants to take him in, so I expect all of you to help him out as much as you can,” Umemiya pronounced. 

“Being a single parent is hard,” Tsugeura nodded, patting Sakura comforting on the arm.

Sugeshita started to give Sakura an oddly sympathetic frown. Sakura, for his part did not like this turn of events. His mood swung the other direction. Now he wanted to curl up and die. Why? Why did life hate him so?

“Why is the kid in the hospital?” Nirei asked, worry creasing his puppy-ish face. 

“He got bitten,” Sakura grunted, not in the mood to elaborate. 

“Bitten?” Nirei cocked his head. 

“By a youkai,” Sakura huffed. 

Nirei’s eyes went wide. Strangely enough tears started to gather. Sakura was confused. 

“I’m sorry. This is my fault,” he wailed. 

“I… erm… why?”

“I’m still trying to get in contact with the exorcist and it’s taking longer than I thought it would,” Nirei sniffled, “I decided I wanted to get you a protection omamori. None of the temples in Makochi are open any more, so I went all the way to the next town over. They didn’t have any of the really powerful protection ones. I don’t know if layering them does any good. I should have just given these to you instead of trying to find just the right one. I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

With that Nirei dug through his bag. He proceeded to dump a large handful of cloth omamori on Sakura’s lap. 

“Are you only supposed ta take one?” Sakura grunted. 

He hadn't been to many temples before, but he was fairly certain that was a rule or something. 

“I mean, yeah, but this was for an emergency,” Nirei spluttered. 

Sakura contemplated the one on top, turning it over a few times in his hands. He seriously doubted the flimsy fabric would provide protection from whatever had bitten Natsume, but he was willing to give it a try if there was even a slight chance it would help his kid. 

On the other hand, Takashi seemed intrigued. He sat forward a bit more to look at the loot. Then he started sifting through them. In the end, he gravitated to one in particular. He clutched this one to his chest. Sakura decided that he must like it because it was a pretty green. 

“Thank you,” the kid croaked. 

Nirei smiled ruefully. He looked very much like he just wanted to hug the kid but knew that would be a bad idea. He settled for fidgeting instead. After thanking Nirei, Takashi glanced shyly at Suo. 

“Your fish are out,” he softly commented. 

Suo, for the second time since meeting Takashi, looked at a loss for words. 

“I see. Thank you for telling me,” Suo humored Takashi by slightly lifting his eyepatch and then replacing it. 

Takashi nodded before settling back into Sakura’s side. The other teens in the room had a range of reactions. Umemiya and Hiragi seemed mildly concerned. Sugishita was indifferent. Tsugeura and Anzai were definitely creeped out while Kiryuu seemed fascinated.  

Sakura was sure that his classmates weren’t going to be leaving any time soon, but a nurse stuck her head in. She seemed shocked to see so many teenage boys crammed into the small room. 

“Out! Out!” she huffed, “Visiting hours are long over. You can come back tomorrow.”

One by one, the Furin students obediently filed out (thought most of them looked peeved and like they wanted to protest). Umemiya was the last one to leave. 

“You know you can trust us, right Sakura?” he said softly. 

“Yeah,” Sakura grunted, “I know that.”

The odd thing was that he actually sort of believed it. Umemiya held his gaze for a few second before leaving with a nod. 

As soon as the door was shut, the room felt strangely empty and quiet. Sakura hadn't realized just how much life everyone had brough with them. Before he would have felt uncomfortable with others in the room. Now he almost felt uncomfortable without them. What the hell was Makochi doing to him?

Sakura looked back down at his kid. Takashi was watching him with sleepy eyes, the omamori still clutched to his chest. Sakura could almost sense the question he wasn’t asking. 

“It’s fine,” he sighed, letting his head fall back, “Everything will be fine. You’re not in trouble or anything like that.”

Takashi blinked heavily a few times before he fully nestled against Sakura’s side. The kid must have been exhausted because it didn’t take him more than a few minutes to fall asleep. Sakura lay there listening to Takashi’s soft snores. He vowed he would stay on guard all night, just in case. Despite his best intentions, it wasn’t long before he too drifted off. 

When the nurse performing rounds a few hours later poked her head in just to check on them, she smiled. They looked so comfortable together; almost like siblings. 

<><><><><><>

Takashi was terrified of the sudden influx of new people. 

He didn’t know them. What were they doing here? The room was suddenly full of noises and an almost electric like buzzing that he couldn't really figure out. He glanced around trying to figure out what was wrong. He gulped when he noticed a youkai slinking in with the rest of the new comers. The shaggy youkai started inspecting Umemiya. Natsume did his best to ignore the youkai. 

He heard Sakura growl softly and that did not help his anxiety. Two of the strangers and Nirei crowed close to the bed. Natsume tried to hide himself against Sakura’s body. He hoped that by laying very still, they wouldn’t notice him. Indeed, that seemed to work. At least initially. 

“What the hell are you all doing here?” Sakura demanded. 

At the question, the room seemed to erupt into noise. Natsume didn’t like it. The overlapping voices were overwhelming and confusing.

“We were all at Cafe Porthos when Nirei heard somehow that you were admitted to the hospital and wanted to come check on you,” Suo’s voice cut through the noise with precision and authority. 

Somewhere above Natsume, Sakura snorted. 

“That’s it? Jeez. I’m fine, so you can go away,” Sakura grunted. 

“Sakura-chan, who’s the kid?”

Natsume turned to peer at the speaker. It was one of the strangers. The teen had a lot of piercings. Natsume wondered if he was in a gang. He looked like the type to be in a gang. That being said, he didn't look dangerous. 

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Sakura snorted. 

“The kid.” This speaker Natsume could only describe as the embodiment of the color orange. 

“The one leaning against your side right now,” said yet another new person who was oddly normally looking compared to everyone else. 

“The kid is Sakura’s,” Nirei helpfully nodded. 

Natsume was unprepared for the reactions. They were varied, but he knew them all to be surprise and worry. He wondered why. 

“Sakura-chan…. I don’t mean to be that person, but how old were you?” The pierced teen leaned closer. 

“I….what?” Sakura frowned. 

“How old were you?”

“The kid looks like he’s probably like, what, six or seven years old?” the normal looking one commented before gasping, “But that means that Sakura would have been like ten or even younger. How the hell is that consensual?”

Nastume frowned. What were they talking about?

“How was what consensual?” Sakura huffed. 

“Sex. How else did you end up with a child?”

Natsume pondered this new turn of events. He supposed he knew what ‘sex’ was in a vague sense. The Takahashi couple had never minded talking about it in front of him. It always started with them kissing and lead to Natsume spending the night locked in the back shed so he couldn't interrupt them. He wasn’t sure what that had to do with Sakura. Sakura seemed surprised too. 

“I…what… no…that… I…” he words came out haltingly. 

“Takashi isn’t Sakura’s kid, biologically speaking,” Umemiya spoke up, “That being said, Sakura wants to take him in, so I expect all of you to help him out as much as you can.”

“Being a single parent is hard,” the orange teen nodded. 

Natsume furrowed his brow. No. That wasn’t right. Sakura wasn’t his parent. Sakura was….well, Umemiya said they were family. Did that mean Natusme was allowed to call Sakura his brother? That felt strange. Very strange. But in a decidedly not bad way. 

“Why is the kid in the hospital?” Nirei asked. 

“He got bitten,” Sakura grunted

“Bitten?” Nirei cocked his head. 

“By a youkai,” Sakura huffed. 

Natsume was unprepared for Nirei to start wailing. 

“I’m sorry. This is my fault,” Nirei looked like he was going to cry. Natsume didn’t like it.  

“I… erm… why?” Sakura was still frowning. 

“I’m still trying to get in contact with the exorcist and it’s taking longer than I thought it would,” Nirei sniffled, “I decided I wanted to get you a protection omamori. None of the temples in Makochi are open any more, so I went to the next town over. They didn’t have any of the really powerful protection ones. I don’t know if lairing them does any good. I should have just given these to you instead of trying to find just the right one. I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

With that Nirei dug through his bag. He proceeded to dump a large handful of omamori on Sakura’s lap. Oh. That explained the power that Natsume had noticed when the group walked into the room. He briefly glanced at the shaggy youkai haunting Umemiya. It was staring at him now. Natsume wasn't sure why it hadn't attacked yet. Maybe it was actually a friendly one?

“Are you only supposed to take one?” Sakura grunted. 

“I mean, yeah, but this was for an emergency,” Nirei didn’t seem all that sorry. 

Sakura picked up one top of the pile. That was all the permission Natusme needed to look through them. After a bit of digging, he found one that felt…..it felt.... he didn’t actually have the words for it. It just felt different. It felt safe, as odd as that sounded. He hugged it to his chest. 

“Thank you,” he croaked. 

Nirei nodded at him. Natsume took the chance to glance around the room. Something caught his eye. Suo's vibrant fish were swimming anxiously in front of his face. Clearly they had gotten out and wanted to go back under the eyepatch. 

“Your fish are out,” Natsume softly informed the teen. 

Suo looked surprised, like he didn’t know. 

“I see. Thank you for telling me,” Suo slightly lifted his eyepatch.

Nastume nodded in satisfaction as the fish dove for cover back into Suo’s eye socket. Now they would be safe and happy. He decided that he actually did like Suo. Suo was nice. Not as nice as Sakura, but still nice. 

Takashi nodded, settling back into Sakura’s side. The omamori felt nice and grounding. That coupled with the warmth of Sakura’s body, Natsume was feeling increasingly sleepy. He didn’t react much when a nurse came in to shoo everyone out. 

After the door was shut, the room fell quiet. Natsume watched Sakura’s face. He couldn’t tell what the teen was thinking. Was he in trouble? 

“It’s fine,” Sakura sighed, letting his head fall back, “Everything will be fine. You’re not in trouble or anything like that.”

Natsume blinked sleepily. He fully nestled against Sakura’s side. He probably should have apologized for making this such a problem, but he was so tired. He would do that tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Sakura was both unsurprised and mildly annoyed to see Umemiya and Hiragi come back almost as soon as visiting hours opened up in the morning. Takashi was feasting on the hospital breakfast of rice congee with some simple fish on the side. It was far fancier than anything Sakura could feed him back home (he was rather ashamed to admit this). 

Sakura, for his part, didn't have much of an appetite. His thoughts were too anxious to allow him to eat. He was worried what would happen next. That anxiety was only furthered when his upperclassmen arrived. Umemiya settled in the same chair as the night before while Hiragi stood by the door, arms crossed over his chest. 

Sakura was mildly surprised that no one else showed up. He knew that his classmates were nosy, as such, he had expected them as well. Umemiya seemed to sense his confusion. 

“Don't worry too much about your classmates,” Umemiya informed him, “Last night I told them not to rush over here all at once and overwhelm you both. They seemed just fine with that, though that may have been because they were pre-occupied with the fish apparently living in Suo's eye.”

Sakura had no idea what to say to that so he kept his mouth such. 

“On that note, there is something I have to say,” Umemiya nodded amicably, “We're going to help you Sakura, but in order to do that, there are somethings we have to establish some things first.”

Sakura did not like the sound of that. This sounded like a serious talk and that wasn't something that he really wanted to do right now. Apparently his feelings had no part in this. 

“Kaji had some less than flattering things to say about your living quarters,” Umemiya continued, his face neutral. 

Sakura bristled, mentally cursing Kaji. Trying not to feel the heat in his cheeks, Sakura looked at Takashi instead of Umemiya. Apparently Umemiya wasn't finished. 

“As such,” Umemiya hummed, “I want you to show Hiragi where you live so that he can give a thorough assessment.”

That startled Sakura. This was a horrible outcome. Far too many people already knew where he lived and had seen his apartment's less than ideal condition. He didn't want to be judged by anyone else. 

“I....what? No! It's alright. I don't need-” Sakura was cut off. 

“Sakura,” Hiragi grumbled from the doorway, “You do technically have a choice, but it would be easier for everyone if you just cooperate.”

That phrasing rubbed Sakura the wrong way.

“Listen here, you can't just...” Sakura's snarl faded as he caught sight of Takashi watching him with a nervous tautness to his body. After a minute of horribly conflicting emotions, Sakura could only admit defeat with an irritated grumble, “Fine. Fine. Whatever. I don't care.”

“Right. Lead the way,” Hiragi jerked his chin. 

“I ain't leavin' Takashi,” Sakura glared. 

Not now. Not when the hospital still planned on keeping him for a little bit longer. Sakura wasn't about to risk anything else happening while his back was turned. 

“He won't be alone. I'm staying with him,” Umemiya informed him. 

Sakura narrowed his eyes as he tried to find the loophole or trick he was missing. 

“He'll be safe Sakura, I promise,” Umemiya's voice was gentle, but his face was serious. 

Sakura knew somewhere deep down that he could trust Umemiya to watch Takashi just for a little bit while he was away. With a face like that, there was no doubt that Umemiya would sacrifice himself before letting Takashi come to harm. Sakura was a little bit jealous (and annoyed). 

After reluctantly agreeing to this arrangement, Sakura left Takashi in Umemiya's care and lead Hiragi to his apartment. He refused to looked at Hiragi’s face as they came up to the rundown building. He knew the building was derelict and he was ashamed to have someone he respected like Hiragi see it in full. 

“Well, at least you really do have a place to live,” Hiragi snorted softly. 

Sakura was left wondering what that was supposed to mean. With a slight drag to his steps, he lead Hiragi up to his place and let them in. 

“Doesn't the door lock?” Hiragi frowned. 

“No,” Sakura shrugged indifferently.

He realized after saying this that was probably a bad thing. To make up for his blunder, he scowled and jammed his hands in his pockets. Hiragi poked around the small apartment. Sakura, for his part, resolutely tried to ignore both his upperclassman and the stain of Takashi’s blood on the floor of his closet. 

“Sakura, you need better accommodations,” Hiragi announced once his inspection was finished. 

Sakura was well aware of this. He didn't need someone to point it out to him. 

“I don’t mind it here,” Sakura shrugged. 

“Let me rephrase that,” Hiragi sighed, “Your kid needs better accommodations.”

Sakura hated that he couldn’t argue against that. 

“I can afford this,” he tried to switch tactics. 

It was true. Even for a town like Makochi, the most basic of rent was staggering compared to the little that Sakura had in his bank account. Hiragi just glared at him like he didn't accept Sakura's excuse. He then scruffed Sakura by the back of his shirt and started dragging him to the door. 

“Come on,” he grunted. 

Somehow, Sakura found himself wrestled into standing on the doorway to a very nice townhome only a few blocks away from his own apartment. What they were doing there, he had no idea. Hirgai rang the doorbell before Sakura could escape. He was shocked when the door opened to reveal Nirei. The smaller teen looked just as surprised to see Sakura. 

“Hiragi! Sakura!” Nirei gasped, “Is everything alright? I was getting read to come over to the hos-”

Hiragi cut Nirei off. 

“Everything is fine,” he said, “Can Sakura and Takashi stay with you for a little while?”

Nirei paused to glance over his shoulder. 

“I would say yes, but my older brother is back in town for a few weeks. Sorry,” he mumbled. 

Sakura was used to being rejected. It still stung that Nirei had turned him down (not that Sakura wanted to live with Nirei or anyone else for that matter). Nirei pulled out his trusty notebook and flipped through it. He was clearly looking for something, but Sakura wasn't sure what. 

“Try Suo,” Nirei nodded, “That would be a good place to start.”

Sakura found himself dragged all the way to the other end of town. This time they ended up in front of a door for a very traditional, very expensive looking house. Sakura was more than a little intimidated. The door was opened by an older man who simply ushered them. He bowed and told them he would go find ‘young master Suo’. Sakura could only blink in confusion. 

Suo himself appeared a few minutes later, looking both surprised and concerned. 

“Is everything-”

The question was so predictable that Sakura didn't let Suo finish.

“Everythin'. Is. Goddamn. Fine,” Sakura growled. 

Suo cocked his head as though he were trying to read Sakura's mind. 

“Then to what do I owe this visit?” he asked. 

“Sakura's place is unfit for living. Because of that he and Takashi need a place to stay, if only for the time being,” Hiragi explained. 

Sakura’s cheeks burned. When put like that, he felt mortally embarrassed by this whole situation. 

“I… well… sure. I mean, I would have to check with my Master, but he would probably be fine. We have extra rooms,” Suo shrugged. 

Sakura fidgeted. 

“I don't wanna be a burden,” he grumbled. 

“You're not a burden,” Suo shook his head and gave a slight smile, “You just need a little help getting back on your feet, that's all.”

Sakura honestly wasn't sure what the difference was. In his experience, needing help was the same as burdening others. Despite that, he half hoped that Suo was right. 

<><><><><>

Natsume had very mixed feelings about this hospital. 

The nurses still poked him with needles and clucked their tongues on concern when they weighed him. At the same time, the breakfast that they gave him was the most delicious thing he had eaten in a very long time (or maybe ever?). He was almost ashamed to admit that after eating his own portion, he started eyeing Sakura's uneaten food. 

When it became clear that Sakura wasn't going to touch his food, Natsume started to nibble on it (after all, it would be sad if it went to waste). As he was doing this, Umemiya and Hiragi came back. They talked a little bit about needing to see Sakura's apartment. Natsume was worried that Sakura was going to be upset, but didn't end up happening. Sakura eventually agreed to show Hiragi where he lived. He left Natsume with Umemiya. 

As soon as the door was such again, Natsume felt lonely like he always did when Sakura left. Then he shook his head. He wasn't alone. Even as he thought this, Natsume felt the intense scrutiny of Sakura's older brother. He risked a glance at the older teen.

Surprisingly, Umemiya had a smile on his face. That made Natsume relax a bit. He decided that Umemiya, just like his younger brother, was much prettier in full daylight. His hair was shockingly white. Natsume wondered if it was soft like Sakura’s hair. 

“I suppose you want to know a little about me,” Umemiya nodded. 

Natusme wasn’t sure what the correct answer was. Yes, he was curious to know what kind of person Sakura's older brother was, but also he didn't want to get yelled at for asking questions. He picked at the IV line in his arm instead of answering. Umemiya caught his hand and gently guided it away. 

“Let's leave that alone, hmm?” the teen smiled. 

Natsume nodded obediently. 

“Now, ask me anything you would like,” Umemiya beamed. 

Natsume weighted the risk to his safety if he asked question. In the end, he decided that Sakura hadn't done anything in the whole Natsume had been with him to harm him on purpose. Umemiya, by being Sakura's older brother, must also be safe. 

“Why do you have a different last name than Sakura?” Natsume asked seriously. 

Apparently Umemiya had not been expecting this question. 

“Well, we have different fathers, so that would be expected...” he trailed off awkwardly. 

Oh. Natsume hadn't realized they were half brothers. Maybe that was why they didn't live together too. He had never been in a family with half siblings. He hoped that it wouldn't be too strained. 

“Anything else you want to know?” Umemiya smiled. 

Natsume pondered the question. 

“Why don't you and Sakura lived together?” Natsume cocked his head. 

“I think Sakura would rather murder me first than move in with me. I did offer it once. He's too independent and proud for his own good and he is easily startled. He socked me in the jaw over it,” Umemiya shrugged. 

“I don't think that Sakura hates you.” For some reason, Natsume felt that he had to say this. 

“Mmmh. I don't think so either. That being said, I think that Sakura would rather die than admit it. He's not big on affection. It makes him uncomfortable,” Umemiya huffed in amusement. 

Natsume wilted. Had he been making Sakura uncomfortable by forcing the teen to occasionally show him affection? Oh, he felt horrible. He was such a bad person. 

“That being said, you seem to have won over his heart though,” Umemiya nodded, “I've never seen him so protective of something, especially not another human being. You are very special.”

Natsume wanted to glow at the praise. Instead, he swallowed his pleased feeling. Happiness could disappear in a second. He didn't want to change anything or upset the balance of safety by showing that he was too happy. 

“You aren't upset at Sakura, are you?” Natsume twisted his fingers in the blanket over his legs.

“No, not at all,” Umemiya shook his head. 

“Are you sure?”

“Very.” Umemiya reached out to ruffle Natsume's hair. 

Natsume tensed up from habit, but he quickly relaxed when he realized that, much like with Sakura, no pain followed this action. 

“So, Takashi,” Umemiya hummed, “How was living with Sakura?”

“He is very nice,” Natsume nodded, “He didn't try to hurt me and he gave me food even when I didn't ask.”

He didn't miss the troubled look that flashed over Umemiya's face. He frantically tried to backtrack. 

“A-and it was my fault. I made him do that,” Natsume stammered. 

“I'm not mad at you kiddo or Sakura,” Umemiya said soothingly. 

That did not add up. Natsume had seen the look on Umemiya's face. He knew from experience that anger had to come from where and be directed at someone. 

“Who are you mad at?” Natsume risked asking. 

Umemiya seemed a little surprised at the question. He leaned forward and propped his chin up in his hands.

“Well, I suppose that I am mad at the people you stayed with before. They shouldn't have treated you in such away that you felt like basic human decency was something to be earned,” Umemiya hummed. 

Natsume wasn't sure what that meant. 

“I messed up?” he guessed. 

“No, you didn't,” Umemiya smiled again, but Natsume thought it looked like a sad smile. 

Umemiya watched Natsume's face for a few moment before leaning back in his chair. 

“Takashi, I want you to understand something,” Umemiya said with a serious tone.

Natsume was quick to nod his head. 

“What happened to you wasn't your fault. You were hurt and are still hurt and that's ok. It will probably take a while for you heal from what you went through. But don't worry. Right now you are in Mokichi and that means you are safe. While you're here, you don't need to worry about being hurt, going hungry or making anyone upset. You just have to be a kid,” Umemiya nodded. 

Natsume only tracked with about half of what Umemiya said so he focused on the part he did understand. 

“I dunno how,” he mumbled

“How to what?” Umemiya gently asked. 

“How to be a kid,” Natsume shrugged. 

He knew this because many of the families he had stayed with made pointed comments about how he was too mature for his age and that it was creepy (or downright unnatural). 

“Well, I have good news for you. It's not too late to learn,” Umemiya smiled, but once again the smile seemed a little sad. 

Natsume was about to reply when the door slid open. The shaggy youkai from last night slouched into the room. Natsume froze. 

Chapter Text

After Sakura had begrudgingly agreed to maybe move in Suo, Suo had taken off to find his master. The butler (apparently that was the man who greeted them was), ushered them to a very nice.... Sakura wasn't quiet sure what to call the room. There were some very nice western style couches and a low table. Sakura followed Hiragi's lead and sat gingerly at the edge of the closest couch. 

The butler bowed and disappeared. 

“Didn' figure Suo lived somewhere fancy,” Sakura grumbled. 

He felt very out of place. He had never been in such a fancy house. Sakura was suddenly very conscious of the couch they were sitting on. It seemed expensive. Should he even be sitting on it?

“Where did you think he lived?” Hiragi snorted, clearly amused. 

“In a normal house like everyone else?” Sakura shrugged. 

“Have you even seen the way your classmate dresses? Or what about the fancy teas he's always talking about? No way you could see that and think he doesn't come from money,” Hiragi snorted. 

Sakura blushed in shame. He had no idea. Being poor meant that Sakura had no frame of reference for that type of thing other than the fact that it was more than he could afford. 

To distract himself from Hiragi's comment, Sakura looked around the room. The room itself was about the size of Sakura's whole apartment. The floor was highly polished hard wood. The room had traditional sliding doors that looked out onto a peaceful garden. Sakura was busy studying the layout of said garden when the door creaked open. 

Suo and a much older man entered the room.

Sakura froze. 

For some reason, he had assumed that this 'master' that Suo lived with was a younger man. Maybe someone in their mid-thirties, physically fit and able to keep up with Suo. The man that came in with Suo was at least nearing retirement age. He walked with a stern dignity that clearly said he would accept no trouble in his house. More importantly (or perhaps more alarmingly) he looked very much like someone that Sakura would have liked to forget. 

His uncle. 

It took every fiber in Sakura's body not to get up and either run or launch an attack. He watched as the man and Suo took a seat on the other couch. Sakura did not feel any more comfortable when he noticed the man was closely looking him over. 

“Thank you for seeing us, Eisuke-san,” Hiragi nodded his head in greeting. 

Eisuke's gaze turned away from Sakura and towards Hiragi. 

“Toma-kun. It's always good to see you,” Eisuke's face softened a bit. 

The butler reappeared with tea. For some reason, Sakura found himself holding a cup even though he didn't care much for tea. 

“And you must be Sakura-kun?” Eisuke turned to him. 

Sakura's mouth was dry. He nodded. 

“Hayato says you need a place to stay for a bit,” Eisuke took a sip of tea. 

“That is correct, sir,” Sakura couldn't stop himself from replying formally out of habit.

His use of formal language caught the attention of both Hiragi and Suo. They both looked torn between amusement and concern. 

Sakura focused on the cup of tea in his hands. He noted with horror just how expensive the cup looked. He wondered if he would have to pay for it if he accidently dropped it. Wanting to be safe rather than sorry, he hastily set it down on the low table. 

“I see,” Eisuke nodded, “Hayato also mentioned when he was fetching me that you have a child. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Sakura swallowed, “He's ..... He's my little brother.”

The phrase felt beyond strange in Sakura's mouth. At the same time it felt so right. Sakura wanted to use it more. 

“And he would be staying here as well?” Eisuke hummed. 

“Yes, sir,” Sakura nodded sharply. 

“You are both welcome to stay, just know that my house is not a daycare center.”

Sakura nodded. That was fine. It wasn't like he planned on leaving Takashi here alone. The kid was vulnerable and Sakura wasn't about to leave him with this abusive asshole of a-

Sakura drove his nails into his thighs, using the pain to clear his thoughts. This was Suo's master in front of him, not his uncle. 

“-Sakura?”

Sakura blinked as Hiragi nudged him. 

“W-what?”

“He wants to know if you agree to remain Takashi's primary care-taker while you are here,” Hiragi softly prompted. 

Sakura snapped back to attention. 

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir,” Sakura nodded. 

“You're welcome to move in whenever. I'm sure Hayato will help you,” Eisuke nodded. 

Sakura really, really, really wanted to turn the offer down, but he couldn't. He couldn't because Hiragi was sitting right there next to him. He couldn't because he didn't know what other options he had. He couldn't because Takashi deserved better than that crappy apartment to call home and this house certainly fit that picture. His own discomfort should be ignored for the broader good. This was for the best. 

With a heavy feeling in his gut, Sakura nodded his agreement. That sealed the deal. 

“Are you ok, Sakura?” Hiragi asked as they made their way back to the hospital a little while later. 

“I'm fine,” Sakura grumbled in irritation. 

“Doubtful. You were sweating something awful the whole time and you even started using super formal language. What's up? Are you getting sick?” Hiragi pressed. 

“I already told ya. I'm fine,” Sakura growled, hating the heat in his cheeks. 

Hiragi looked far from convinced.

“Right. Well, if you need to talk, I'll be here,” the older teen shrugged. 

Sakura decided he would never be taking Hiragi up on that offer. 

He was still trying to get his thoughts in order as he entered Takashi's little hosptial room. Upon opening the door, he froze. Umemiya and Takashi were not alone. At some point Sugishita had joined them. Seeing his rival did not help his mood.

"You!" Sakura snarled. 

<><><><><>

Natsume froze, hardly daring to breathe. The youkai slouched over to Umemiya. It then did the strangest thing. It held out the plastic bag it was carrying like an offering. Umemiya beamed and accepted the bag. 

“You can see him too?” Natsume blurted out. 

Both the youkai and Umemiya turned to him. Natsume flinched he should have kept his mouth shut. 

“See who?” Umemiya frowned. 

Natsume shook his head. 

“See who, Takashi?” Umemiya prompted once more. 

“The... the... it's standing in front of you...” Natsume swallowed harshly.

He tensed up, preparing to run (though he wasn't sure he if he would be running from Umemiya or the youkai).

“Standing in front... Oh! You mean Sugishita!” Umemiya patted the shaggy figure on the shoulder. 

Natsume peered closer. No, he was pretty sure that was a youkai. This figure didn't seem to have a face.

“Here, let me help,” Umemiya reached up and flipped the hair aside. 

Natsume found that there was indeed a face under that hair. Said face was glaring at him. Natsume shrunk back in the bed. Upon seeing this, the human - probably not a youkai? - looked away in what was either shame or shyness. Natsume felt kind of bad. He knew he was creepy and he hated when he scared people. 

His hand groped for the cloth omamori Nirei had given him. He grabbed the powerful one and an extra one. Holding on to these for dear life, Natsume squirmed out from under the blanket. Taking care not to jostle his injured leg too much, Natsume wiggled towards the end of the bed. 

“Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,” Natsume mumbled. 

He offered his second omamori to Sugishita (that's what Umemiya said his name was, right?) and hoped that this would help to make amends. There was a very long pause, like Sugishita was trying to figure out how to respond. Eventually he reached out and took the omamori from Natsume. 

“Didn' mean ta scare you either,” he mumbled. 

He looked ashamed as he said this. Natsume continued to try and smooth things over. 

“I didn't mean to think you were a youkai, but if you were a youkai, I think you would be a nice youkai,” Natsume kindly informed him. 

It was the best compliment he could think of. Sugishita looked very lost for some reason. Natsume wondered if what he had said was not in fact a compliment. He tried not to panic even further. Much to his surprise however, Sugishita eventually nodded. 

“You're not a bad kid,” Sugishita grunted. 

Natsume tried really hard not to feel pleased at the unexpected compliment. Umemiya clapped his hands, drawing attention to himself. 

“My kohai is growing up on me,” he smiled. 

Sugishita slouched, pulling his neck in towards his shoulders in what Natsume thought was a very good impression of a turtle going into its shell. 

“Now, let's see what you brought Sugishita,” Umemiya nodded. 

Without a word of warning, Umemiya dumped the bag out on the end of Natsume's bed. The bag was filled with the most wonderful things that Natsume wanted desperately to touch (but refrained from doing so). There were bright crayons, coloring books and paper. There were some small toys and a few picture books. To top it off, there were even a rabbit stuffie as well as some snacks in fun looking packages. 

“Kotoha been gathering this like you asked. She gave it ta me this morning,” Sugishita grunted.  

Umemiya nodded eagerly. 

“Now, Takashi, this is all for you,” he smiled. 

Natsume was sure he had heard wrong. He frowned. Yes, he must have heard wrong. Why would this be for him?

“Why?” he asked. 

“Why what?” Umemiya cocked his head. 

“Why's it mine?” Natsume clarified. 

“Because I'm giving it to you. This is from me and Kotoha and a few other people. We wanted to keep you from getting board while you are in the hospital,” Umemiya smiled, “Go on, kid. It's for you.”

Natsume reached a hesitant hand out. He went for the stuffie first. Partially because it was the closets item, partially because he vaguely remembered having something like it when he was very small. He was allowed to grab it and stranger still, he wasn't hit for taking it. 

Umemiya and Sugishita just looked on. They didn't try to take the things back. It was then that the realty of this struck Natsume. He stared at the small pile of items that were apparently his in shock. He genuinely didn't know what to do with them. Umemiya seemed to sense his hesitation. 

“Here, do you you want to color?” Umemiya hummed the suggestion, “Or maybe we could play with the toys. Or-”

Natsume very, very slowly reached out to take the box of crayons. He was impressed to see that it was a brand new, unopened box. 

“Good choice,” Umemiya nodded. 

He pushed the coloring book and the pad of paper closer to Natsume. Nastume chose the pad of paper. It was here that he hesitated once again. He sat there frozen. Too afraid to open the box of crayons, too afraid to mar the clean, white paper. 

“You don't have to, so don't force yourself,” Umemiya told him gently, “Is there something else you want?”

Natsume panicked a little bit as his mind when into overdrive. He didn't know what the right choice was. Out of habit when he was feeling overwhelmed, he reached out and grabbed Sakura's jacket. The cloth was comfortable and familiar under his finger's. He felt a little calmer. He was startled when Sakura suddenly took of his jacket and draped it over Natsume's shoulder. 

Natusme blinked and looked up. 

Oh. 

That wasn't Sakura. That was Sugishita. 

“You wanted it,” Sugishita grumbled, looking everywhere but at Natsume in a decidedly Sakura-like move. 

“Sorry. I thought you were Sakura,” Natsume explained. 

He nestled deeper in Sugishita's very large jacket, trying to not feel the loss of Sakura too keenly. He didn't realize the tears running down his cheeks until both teens suddenly leaned forward with urgency. 

“Didn' mean to make ya cry,” Sugishita frantically twisted his hands together. 

“I miss Sakura,” Natsume admitted with a sniffle. 

He had never really cried over Sakura being gone. This was a first for him, he realized with detachment. He wondered if Sakura would cry if he was gone. Probably not. 

“He'll be back soon,” Umemiya promised. 

Natsume sniffled and scrubbed at the tears on his cheeks. A very large hand came to rest on Natsume's head. More than a little terrified, Natusme jerked away. Sugishita. The teen withdrew out of touching range, looking conflicted. 

“Sorry. Was just tryin' ta help,” Sugishita grumbled. 

Natsume felt bad again. He didn't mean to keep making Sugishita feel bad. Without a hesitation, he held the box of crayons out to Sughista. 

“We can both color?”

Sugishita looked like he was going to say no. 

“That's a great idea. You should do that,” Umemiya nodded. 

That was how Natsume found himself coloring with Sugishita and Umemiya. Natsume watched them at first, too afraid to touch his own paper. Umemiya colored in big strokes like he was trying to use the least amount of strokes possible to cover the most amount of the paper. Sugishita was hunched over his coloring page coloring with tiny, careful line as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. Natsume giggled and then quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. Umemiya observed this and winked at Natsume. 

Eventually, Natsume dared to color something of his own. He had to admit, it was pretty fun. These crayons were new and smooth. They made drawing easy. He looked with pride at his finished picture. 

“Umemiya?” Natsume chewed on his lip. 

Umemiya looked up from his own drawing (as did Sugishita). 

“I... I wanna.... I dunno... How to I write my name?” Natsume asked nervously. 

“You're name, hm?” Umemiya pondered this. 

He grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled some characters out. 

“Your last name is probably spelled like this,” Umemiya nodded, “I'm not totally sure about your first name. There are a lot of ways to spell 'Takashi'. Let's stick with Hiragana for the moment.”

The teen wrote something out on his own page and turned it to Natsume to see. Natsume copied the characters as best he could, but his handwriting shaky. It was as he was finishing this that the door to his room slid open. Sakura entered the room looking tired and defeated. That air was quickly replaced by anger when he saw Sugishita. 

“You!” he growled. 

Chapter Text

Sakura glared at Sugishita. Sugishita glared back. Whatever it was that Sakura was feeling (anger? jealousy? general annoyance?) was clearly mutual. Sakura's temper tantrum was sidetrack by a small voice. 

“Sakura?” Takashi's voice was quiet, “Did I do something wrong?”

That question was enough to startle Sakura into looking at Takashi. The kid was watching him with wide eyes that were suspiciously glassy. The kid was going to cry. Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen. 

Sakura's standoff with Sugishita broke. He raced forward to his kid. Takashi hugged him tightly, burying his face into Sakura's stomach. Sakura hugged him back, feeling confused and relieved at the warmth of another person pressed against him. 

“You didn't do anythin' wrong,” Sakura told him firmly. 

Takashi stiffened for a second then nodded slightly. 

“Missed you,” Takashi mumbled, his voice muffled. 

“I missed you too,” Sakura ruffled Takashi's blond hair. 

Takashi pulled back to look up at Sakura's face. He stared for a very long time like he was trying to read Sakura's thoughts. Then he pointed at the small tray table on his bed. 

“I made that,” he mumbled shyly. 

Sakura glanced at the paper. Something was drawn there. He reached down and pick it up. Bringing it closer to his face did not help him interpret what was drawn there. The only thing he could sort of understand was the kid's name written in shaky characters down the side. The rest of the drawing was confusing. 

“That's me and you,” Takashi pointed first to a small stick figure drawn in green and then to a much larger stick figure drawn in pink. 

“Why am I pink?” Sakura snorted.

“Cause your name is 'Sakura' and sakura flowers are pink,” Takashi shrugged like it was the most obvious answer before moving on, “And that's 'memiya and Suo and Suo's fishes and Nirei and Sugishita.”

This was a collection of blobs of various colors that seemed to hover in the top portion of the page. Upon explaining this, Takashi once again turned his face to Sakura, this time clearly waiting for approval.  

“That's..... that's a good drawin',” Sakura didn't know what else to say. 

Takashi openly gaped at him. 

“You know, maybe you should get better at drawing 'cuase then you could draw everythin' that you see and maybe it wouldn't be so scary,” Sakura shrugged. 

Takashi nodded seriously. Sakura happened to glance up and catch sight of Umemiya's beaming face. 

“My little Sakura is growing up,” he sighed. 

Sakura really did not know how to take that comment so he scowled. 

“Did you figure out your housing situation?” Umemiya hummed. 

“Apparently, we're staying at Suo's place,” Sakura grunted. 

He offered no further elaboration.

“That's good. You'll like it there. Eisuke-san is very nice once you get used to him,” Umriya nodded. 

Sakura bit his tongue. He wished he could agree. It was hard to see past the resemblance to his uncle.

He used the opportunity to seat himself next to Takashi on the bed. Takashi snuggled up next to him. It was only then that Sakura realized that Takashi wasn't being half swallowed by a blanket. Rather he had an over-sized Furin jacket draped over his shoulders.

Sakura glanced around the room, trying to figure out where it had come from. It wasn't Umemiya's jacket. The arm only had one stripe, not three. It wasn't Sakura's jacket either. He was currently wearing his. That only left Sughita. Sakura looked at Sugishita. The other teen wasn't wearing a jacket.

“He wanted it,” Sugishita grumbled, as though sensing Sakura's question. 

Takashi pipped up unexpectedly. 

“He's not a youkai,” the kid nodded. 

Sakura arched an eyebrow. Sugishita turned his head away, refusing to look at Sakura 

“You thought he was a youkai? Why?” Sakura arched an eyebrow. 

Takashi chewed on his lip for a bit before answering. 

“Thought he didn't have a face,” he finally mumbled. 

“Sugishita's hair was hanging in front of his face again,” Umemiya helped. 

Sakura couldn't stop himself. He snickered at the mental picture. Sugishita's face started to turn red. If Umemeiya and Takashi weren't sitting there, no doubt he would have launched himself at Sakura for a fight. Instead he started towards the door. He stopped right next to Sakura for a very brief moment. 

“If I find out ya been hurting the kid, I will end your fucking life,” Sugishita growled his threat in Sakura's ear. 

Then he left. 

Sakura struggled to process his classmate's threat. Really, what did Sugishita think Sakura was going to do? Clearly the kid was his to protect. He wasn't about to let anything hurt Takashi. 

Still puzzled by the words, Sakura turned back to Takashi only to realize that Sugishita's school jacket was still draped over the kid's shoulders. 

“The fuc-” Sakura quickly cut himself off because Suo had told him he shouldn't swear in front of kids, “The idiot left his coat.”

“He'll be back,” Umemiya shrugged, “Or you can return it. Either one works.”

Sakura decidedly did not like either answer. The first meant that Sugishita would be around Takashi again. The second meant that Sakura had to go to someone else's house and he had quiet enough of that today. He folded his arms across his chest. He sort of wanted to scowl, but he didn't want to scare Takashi. 

“Is something wrong?” Umemiya asked. 

“No,” Sakura grumbled. 

Umemiya looked far from convinced. 

“Nothin' is wrong. Everyone needs ta top asking,” Sakura frowned. 

“Very well, I will stop asking,” Umemiya sighed, “By that same token, I want you to talk to me if something is truly ever wrong again.”

First Hiragi and now Umemiya had said something like that. Sakura was confused what he had done to get that request. He turned to face Umemiya with determination. 

“Everything's gonna be fine,” Sakura declared, “I'm gonna protect him and he's gonna be safe.”

Umemiya did not argue with that statement. He didn't stop looking worried though. Sakura struggled to square his shoulders. He could feel the weight of the day crushing him. 

He was more than a bit startled when something was placed on his shoulder. He turned to find that Takashi had place one of Nirei's omamori on his shoulder. The kid was gazing at the open door for some reason. Then he looked back at them. When he noticed that he was being stared at he, he ducked his head. 

“Sorry,” the kid's voice was soft. 

Sakura grimaced. He was going to get his kid to stop apologizing soon or later. 

“You good?” Sakura asked. 

Takashi nodded slightly. 

Sakuta huffed. He wasn't sure if that was true but he decided to believe Takashi. Shifting his weight carefully so that the omamori stayed balanced exactly where Takashi had placed it, Sakura looped an arm over Takashi's thin shoulders. This kid was going to be the death of him, wasn't he?

<><><><><>

Upset. Sakura was upset. It was clear as day. Nastume wondered why Sakura was so upset. Was Sugishita a bad person? Umemiya didn't seem to think so. Natsume was confused. 

“Sakura? Did I do something wrong?”

As soon as the question left Natsume's mouth, he knew it was the wrong one. Of course he had done something wrong. He was always the person to do something wrong. 

Confirming this idea was the fact that Sakura remained frozen in the doorway, a very displeased look on his face. Something in Natsume started to shrivel up. Yes, he must have done something wrong without even knowing it. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. 

He felt the hot prickle of tears. 

All of a sudden, Sakura raced forward. His side embrace emboldened Natsume to hug him tightly. 

“You didn't do anything' wrong,” Sakura's voice was gruff but kind. 

Natsume nodded slowly. If Sakura said it, then it must be right. 

“Missed you,” Natsume admitted into the cloth of Sakura's shirt. 

He honestly wasn't even sure if Sakura heard him. Apparently he did. 

“I missed you too,” Sakura ruffled Natsume's hair. 

Eventually, Natsume pulled away. He stared at Sakura's face. Up close, Natsume could see that he looked exhausted even though it was still morning. 

“I made that,” Natsume pointed at the drawn he had previously been proud up. 

Now he wasn't so sure that feeling was warranted. Sakura picked up the paper with the air or a critic. Oddly enough, Sakura squinted at the page. Natsume wondered if he was having a hard time seeing. 

“That's me and you,” Natsume pointed at his drawing. 

“Why am I pink?” Sakura snorted.

“Cause your name is 'Sakura' and sakura flowers are pink,” Natsume shrugged before continuing, “And that's 'memiya and Suo and Suo's fishes and Nirei and Sugishita.”

Once his explanation was done, Natsume sat back and awaited the verdict. 

“That's..... that's a good drawin',” Sakura offered. 

Natsume felt a flash of surprise and joy. Sakura liked his drawing. This was too good to be true. 

“You know, maybe you should get better at drawing 'cuase then you could draw everythin' that you see and maybe it wouldn't be so scary,” Sakura shrugged. 

Natsume had never thought of this before (he had also hadn't had access to drawing materials like this in a very long time). That was a good idea. Maybe then people wouldn't think he was crazy. 

“Did you figure out your housing situation?” Umemiya hummed. 

Natsume perked up his ears in curiosity. 

“Apparently we're going to stay at Suo's place,” Sakura grunted. 

Natsume cocked his head. Sakura didn't sound happy. Didn't Sakura like Suo? Or was he wrong about that?

“That's good. You'll like it there. Eisuke-san is very nice once you get used to him,” Umriya nodded. 

Natsume wondered who 'Eisuke-san' was. He didn't think that was supposed to be Suo, but he wasn't sure. 

Natsume was very suddenly acutely aware of the fact that Sakura was staring at him. He squirmed, trying not to feel uncomfortable. It took him a moment to realize dhtat Sakura was looking at the jacket that Natsume was still wearing over his shoulders. 

“He wanted it,” Sugishita grumbled unexpectedly.  

This was true, but Sakura didn't look happy about it. Natsume quickly tried to reassure the teen that everything was fine. 

“He's not a youkai,” Natsume informed him. 

“You thought he was a youkai? Why?” Sakura asked. 

Natsume chewed on his lip for a few moments before answering. 

“Thought he didn't have a face,” he finally mumbled. 

“Sugishita's hair was hanging in front of his face again,” Umemiya helped. 

At that news, Sakura did a very strange thing. He started snickering. Natsume, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what was so funny. He looked over at Sugishita. The other teen was going red in the face. He abruptly stood and marched up to Sakura. 

He growled something very quietly in Sakura's ear before leaving the room. Sakura furrowed his brow in response. 

“The fuc-” Sakura quickly cut himself off, “The idiot left his coat.”

Natsume froze. He hasn't meant to keep the coat. Keeping other people's things was wrong. Umemiya spoke before he could start wiggling out of the coat. 

“He'll be back,” older teen shrugged, “Or you can return it. Either one works.”

The answer did not apparently please Sakura. As Natsume tried to figure out why, he was distracted by movement. He turned in that direction. The shadows in the creases of Sakura's jacket had moved. Natsume gently poked it. It squirmed again before sliding up Sakura's jacket and collecting on his shoulders like a gravity defying puddle. In response, Sakura's shoulders sagged under the weight. 

Natsume frowned, not sure what he was looking at. Tuning out the teen's talking in the background, he peered closer. The thing peered back. Natsume clamped a small hand over his mouth to quiet a noise of surprise. He wasn't sure what to do. He suspected that trying to shoo the thing away wouldn't do anything. 

Trying to gage the best course of action, Natsume watched puddle of shadows. It squirmed under his gaze. Natsume reached up and poked it again. This time it hissed at Natsume. Growing worried that Sakura might be hurt, Natsume groped for his omamori. He carefully balanced it on Sakura's shoulder. That was all it took. 

The dark puddle of shadows writhed before zipping out of the room with screech. Natsume watched it go. When he turned back to Sakura and Umemiya, he found that they were both staring at him. 

“Sorry,” Natsume ducked his head.

“You good?” Sakura sounded worried.  

Natsume nodded slowly. He was pleased to note that Sakura's shoulders were no longer sagging under the weight of the shadowy youkai. He hoped it wouldn't come back. Feeling a little bit safer than he had been feeling, Takashi snuggled back against Sakura. 

Chapter Text

It was a further two days before Takashi was released from the hospital. During that time Sakura learned a variety of things. 

One, Sugishita had a very odd weakness for the kid. He kept stopping by (conveniently forgetting his jacket every single time). On the rare occasion that Takashi asked for something, Sugishita went out of his way to get it for him. This made Sakura jealous beyond belief. He was Takashi's older brother, not Sugishita!

The second thing that Sakura learned was that despite the fact that his classmates were nosy as hell, they respected Umemiya's command to give Sakura and Takashi space. In fact, aside from Sugishita and Suo, no one else showed up for the whole time. Sakura didn't know what to make of that. It did mean that he didn't dreaded his return to the classroom (and his classmate's prying responses). 

The third thing that Sakura learned was that Takashi had some concerning health trends. The doctor told him that Takashi was very underweight and small for his age. They also told him that Takashi's iron levels were low. 

Upon Takashi's release, Sakura was given a full lecture about what he needed to do to keep the kid healthy. This included checking on the bite injuries and keeping them clean, as well as improving Takashi's diet and feeding him more protein and iron rich foods. Sakura nodded the whole time despite feeling very lost and having no idea what the doctor was talking about. 

Finally, they were free to go. Sakura hoisted Takashi onto his back, determined not to let the kid walk all the way to Suo's house (and maybe not for the next few weeks if he could help it). He was acutely aware of just how small the kid on his back felt. 

Takashi, for his part, clung to Sakura's back like a monkey as they made their way to Suo's house. Sakura had already been here the day before to move their meager things into the guest room allocated as theirs for the time being. That didn't mean that he felt comfortable marching straight up to the grand door of the big house. 

Refusing to show any weakness by hesitating, Sakura knocked straight away. Suo was the one to answer the door today. He greeted Sakura and then smiled at Takashi. 

“Are my fish out today?” he asked as a sort of greeting. 

Takashi observed Suo's face intently before shyly shaking his head. 

Suo moved aside and ushered them in. Sakura set Takashi down in the entry way as they both took off their shoes. Sakura tried not to feel embarrassed seeing his cheep sneakers and Takashi's heavily worn sandals next to Suo's simple yet pristinely cared for slip-ons and Eisuke's fine leather loafers. Takashi too, stared at the shoes for a very long time, so Sakura knew it wasn't just him who noticed the disparage of wealth. 

Suo then lead them on a full tour of the house. This was a much for Sakura as it was Takashi (Sakura had only been in a handful of the rooms so far and didn't know where anything was). Despite Sakura not particularly liking the idea, Takashi insisted on walking (limping would be a more accurate word) around on his own.

Sakura was more than a little concerned to see that Takashi stopped in every single room, carefully observing the shadows. He hoped that didn't mean there were youkai living in the house. (Something in his gut said that they wouldn't get that lucky). 

Suo was a gracious host, showing them around and not minding if the lingered. He simply filled the air with useless facts that would have made Nirei proud (this was no doubt for Takashi's benefit, but Sakura liked hearing these things too). The house was very big and Sakura was certain he would end up lost at least once before they moved out. By the time the tour was done, it was time for dinner. 

To say that dinner was awkward would be underselling it. 

The meal was held in a very nice, traditional dining room. With his injured leg, it was difficult for Takashi to sit comfortably at the low table. The butler (Sakura had learned his name was Sousuke) had made a small throne of cushions from somewhere for the kid to sit on. 

The food might have been good, but Sakura spent the whole meal so hyper-focused on Eisuke's every move to even fully be aware of what he was eating. Eisuke, for his part, watched Takashi. Takashi was trying desperately to get the long, Chinese-style chopsticks to work for his little hands (admittedly, he still struggled with regular Japanese ones). It wasn't going well. The kid looked torn between trying to use the chopsticks to be polite and just shoving the food in his mouth with his hands (like Sakura had been letting him do at their apartment). 

Eisuke's face was a neutral mask the whole time, not giving Sakura any indication of what he was thinking. This only served to put Sakura on edge. Distantly he knew that Eisuke was not his uncle, but that didn't stop Sakura from wanting to keep him at arm's length (or further, especially for Takashi's sake). 

Only Suo seemed to enjoy the meal. 

Finally the trial meal was over. Sakura lead Takashi back to their room as quickly as he could, shutting the door behind them as a barricade against any unwelcome followers. He then glanced around the room, looking for threats. The room was surprisingly was left almost exactly as Sakura had remembered setting it up. 

The only difference was that the two futons they had been provided were now prepped for them rather than being folded away in the closet (it must have been the butler man, Sakura decided). Takashi flopped down gratefully on the closest one. It was clear that today had been taxing on him. It took quiet a bit of poking from Sakura to get him to get ready for bed. 

Finally, they were both ready. Takashi snuggled into his own futon as Sakura lay down in his. The moonlight dimly lit the room. The wind in the trees outside made hardly perceptible shadows dance in the corners of Sakura's vision. He shivered and tried not to let his imagination get started. 

He hadn't been laying there for long when he felt a movement on his futon that was not his own. Sure enough, a moment later, Takashi crawled next to him and snuggled close. 

“You have your own bed now,” Sakura pointed out.

He wasn't irritated. If anything he was sort of glad that the kid had climbed into bed with him. It felt more comfortable than sleeping alone (which was odd because before Takashi, Sakura had always slept alone).

“It's cold over there,” Takahsi sniffled. 

He pressed even close to Sakura's side as though to prove his point. Sakura just huffed and didn't even try to move the kid. Takashi was soon asleep, snoring very softly. 

Sleep did not come easily to Sakura. He lay awake, eyes scanning the room for anything dangerous. He was half afraid that if he truly closed his eyes, when he opened them he would see his uncle standing over him. Eventually, the warmth of Takashi's small body and the kid's steady breathing lulled Sakura into a restless sleep. 

<><><><><>

Natsume was glad for the bag of things from Umemiya and Sugishita. It made the rest of his two day stay at the hospital a little bit more passable. It was nice too that he wasn't just abandoned there. Sakura stayed for almost the entire time (only leaving once more to 'move their stuff'). Umemiya, Suo and Sugishita all frequently stopped by. As selfish as it was, Natsume liked seeing them when they came. 

Finally, the time came for his release. Natsume was more than ready to go. This hospital had the nicest staff of any hospital he had ever stayed at, that didn't mean that he liked it. Sakura insisted on carrying Natsume on his back. 

Natsume would never admit it, but he did like being carried by Sakura. He knew he shouldn't (he was too old after all), but it made him feel safe and wanted. If he leaned his head forward and pressed his ear against Sakura's back, he could hear Sakura's strong, steady heartbeat. Natsume liked the sound. It was a reminder that Sakura was human and that not all humans were bad. 

As they walked along, Natsume took the time to observe the town. When he had run here all those weeks ago, it had been raining and Natsume had been too miserable to really look at the scenery. After moving into Sakura's apartment, Natsume hadn't really been outside. 

Natsume decided that it looked much nicer than some of the areas he had lived in before. The people in the street smiled. The few youkai that they passed didn't seem all that interested in him. Natsume liked the town. 

Eventually, they arrived at the large wooden doors of a traditional style house. Natsume sucked in a breath. He had never stayed somewhere so beautiful. The person who answered the door was Suo. This confirmed to Natsume that this was their new home.

Suo greeted Sakura before turning to Natsume. 

“Are my fish out today?” Suo hummed with a smile. 

The question made Natsume feel strangely self-conscious. He shook his head. Suo's fish were not visible today. Pleased at the answer, Suo ushered them inside and shut the door behind them. 

Sakura set Natsume down so that they could both take off their shoes. Natsume was cautious to place his shoes next to Sakura's. Even though the dog  curled up by the shoes was asleep, it might not be friendly. After hesitating a little too long, Natsume quickly put his shoes in line with the others. 

Suo gave them a tour of the house. Natsume didn't know if he was curious or afraid to live here. There were youkai in every room. Most of them were small things; a tanuki running down the hall every so often, the collection of giggling mushrooms that dotted the ceiling of the kitchen, the eyes peering back at him the big painting in Suo's room. The oddest one was the large, leafy youkai standing guard by the garden door like a sentry. It looked like a tree and Natsume was almost certain it was harmless. 

He knew all of these things were youkai because no one else commented on them. He was relived there were neither particularly vicious youkai or any that looked particularly human. 

Dinner wasn't much later. 

Natsume had trouble sitting at the low table with his injured leg. A very nice man gave him some pillows to sit on and make things a little easier. Unfortunately, dinner was still a struggle, even after that. The dinner made the hospital food look boring. Natsume didn't even know what half the things laid out on the table were. 

The difficult part came when it was time to eat. Natsume wasn't very good at using chopsticks and these chopsticks were strangely long and thick. They didn't really fit in his small hands. He knew that it would be rude not to use them because everyone else was using them. He was bound and determined to use them. 

The food at least tasted good. It was a relief that they weren't being fed leftovers. This made Natsume decide that Suo's father wasn't mean. He wasn't sure if this was the correct conclusion because Sakura spent the whole meal glaring at the older man. 

Finally dinner was done. 

Natsume trotted after Sakura back to their room. He was far more tired than he thought he would be. He flopped down on the closest futon as soon as it was within reach. 

“Come on,” Sakura toed him, “You have to get ready for bed first.”

Natsume really didn't want to get back up again, but he did as Sakura asked. As soon as he was ready for bed, he gratefully crawled back into the futon. Sakura switched off the light a few minutes later. It was then that unease started to creep up Natsume's spine. 

This was a new house with new youkai. Although everything had seemed fine in the daylight, now that it was dark, he was scared. The wind blew the trees outside and Natsume could hear the branches faintly scratching on the roof. A particuarly big gust spurred Natsume into action. 

He dove for Sakura's futon, pressing himself flush with the teen's side. 

“You have your own bed now,” Sakura pointed out. 

He didn't sound upset thought, just tired and worried. 

“It's cold over there,” Natsume sniffled. 

Sakura just sighed. He loosely draped an arm over Natsume like he did every other night. Secure and certain that he was protected now, Natsume finally fell asleep. 

Chapter Text

When morning came, Sakura was mildly surprised to see that everything was still fine. Neither he nor Takashi had been injured overnight. No one was standing over him, ready to strike while he was vulnerable. The door had not been locked, preventing their escape. Takashi seemed to pick up on Sakura's relieved attitude. He was a little more energetic than the day before and that was heartening too. 

By the time Sakura and Takashi made it out to breakfast, Suo and Eisuke had already eaten. Sakura was relieved for this, feeling like this meal he could actually eat (the simple breakfast was surprisingly filling). They were just finishing up breakfast when Suo poked his head into the room, reminding Sakura that they needed to head out to school soon. Sakura nearly scoffed that he knew this, but he held his tongue for fear that Eisuke was listening, waiting for a reason to pounce. 

As he shoved down the rest of breakfast, Sakura made up his mind. The doctor had advised that Takashi take the next week to rest and not to exert himself too much yet. That was all fine and well, the only problem was that Sakura wasn't about to leave Takashi helplessly trapped by himself anywhere near Eisuke (just in case). Sakura decided then and there that Takashi could rest at school (after all the doctor hadn't specified where Takashi should rest). 

Pleased with his decision, Sakura checked on Takashi's injuries to make sure they still looked good before shoving a few things into his rarely used school bag (admittedly, none of the things that Sakura grabbed were for himself; they were all for Takashi). 

They met up with Suo by the front door. 

“Are you really going to bring-” 

Sakura didn't let Suo finish that question. 

“Yes. Takashi is coming with me,” he glared at his vice captain. 

Suo opened his mouth, but then closed it without saying a word. He shrugged and lead the way out. Sakura followed close behind after hoisting Takashi onto his back. The walk to school was thankfully uneventful. Takashi seemed to like sunshine from his perch. He sighed contentedly as the early morning light warmed his little back. It was almost cat-like. 

Because of their slightly late start, they headed straight to school instead of taking a meandering route to greet random townspeople. The few people they did run into just waved. Sakura was relaxed all the way until Furin came into view. 

It was then that he realized that he might have made a grave oversight. He had forgotten about the other students at Furin. They stared at him as he approached the school. 

Or, well, to be more accurate, everyone was staring at the kid on his back. 

If he could go to the past, Sakura would not have changed the fact that he was bringing Takashi to school. It would have been nice to mentally prepare himself though. 

The stares were soon joined with murmurs. The voices were too low to catch what they were saying. That being said, Sakura knew that they must be talking about him. His cheeks flushed hotly. Putting his head down, he hurried on as quickly as he could. 

Finally, the classroom of 1-1 appeared. Sakura dove for the shelter of the familiar. He was greeted by a chorus of voices. 

“Oh my gosh! Anzai and Tsugeura were right!”

“Sakura, you really do have a kid!”

“Where'd you get him?”

Sakura grimaced.

Ah. Right. His other classmates, the ones who hasn't shown up at the hospital. They were here too. Man. He was really bad at thinking this through. Maybe he should have just skipped class today and taken Takashi to the park instead. 

The boys of 1-1 crowded in even closer. Sakura was used to them acting like this. Takashi was not. The kid clung to Sakura in fear, hiding himself from view as much as possible. Sakura growled. He set down Takashi and raised his fists, ready for a fight. Surprisingly enough, his classmates all backed off. 

“Sakura, they just want to say hi,” Suo sighed, coming up behind Sakura.

“They ain't got no right to terrify him like that,” Sakura glared his classmate into submission. 

He wasn't about to let them scare his kid. While Sakura was contemplating murder, Nirei elbowed his way to the front. He knelt down to Takashi's height. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked seriously. 

Takashi's wide eyes very slowly turned from the rest of the class to Nerei. The relief on his little face was evident. 

“Better, but Sakura had to carry me today,” he sounded guilty, but also pleased. 

“I'm sure you'll feel all better soon,” Nirei patted Takashi on the head. 

Takashi nodded slowly. He didn't come out from behind Sakura, but he did stop pressing his body right against Sakura's leg. Kiryuu came next. He squatted right next to Nirei and smiled. 

“I don't know if you remember me, but I came by to visit you and Sakura a few days ago,” he nodded. 

Takashi nodded. 

“I remember you, gang-man,” he said. 

“Gang-man?” Kiryuu echoed in confusion. 

“You look like you're part of a gang. Are you part of a gang?” Takashi asked. 

Sakura nearly snickered. Technically the whole school was a gang, but apparently to Takashi, Kiryuu was the one who look like he belonged in a gang above everyone else. 

“In a manner of speaking?” Kiryuu scratched the back of his head, “If you want you can call me Kiryuu or Mitsuki. Which ever you remember.”

Takashi silently mouthed the syllables as though that would commit it to memory. 

“Do you want to meet everyone else?” Nirei offered, pulling out his notebook in preparation of what would probably be a deluge of information. 

Takashi shook his head. It was clear he was overwhelmed. There was a collective groan of disappointment from the class. Sakura turned a disapproving look on them. Thankfully there wasn't much more time until class began. 

Sakura had never enjoyed school, but he really hated it today. He had been out of class for several days with Takashi at the hospital. It had set him back by quiet a bit in terms of following what the class was studying now (he knew he would have to do some serious studying tonight to make up for it). Takashi sat on the floor and snuggled against Sakura's leg. If the teacher noticed the newest addition to the classroom, he made no comment. 

Lunch came and went and before Sakura knew it, the final bell was ringing. The classroom reluctantly began to empty out for patrols. Soon, it was only Sakura, Takashi and, for some odd reason, Kiryuu. Takashi was napping and Kiryuu was playing a game on his phone.

Sakura kept a watchful eye on his classmate. Kiryuu seemed like a decent guy, but Sakura wasn't totally sure if he could be trusted around kids. Eventually, Kiryuu put down his phone and returned Sakura's stare. 

“I really wasn't expecting you to bring the little guy to class today,” Kiryuu hummed. 

Sakura bristled, fumbling to form a defense. 

“Are you going to bring him everyday?” Kiryuu asked. 

Sakura glanced down at where Takashi was napping on the floor like a cat. 

“Yes,” he shrugged. 

Today had gone decently well and that was all the confirmation that Sakura needed. In response to Sakura's answer, Kiryuu pushed his chair back with a scraping sound.

“We will have to figure out a different a different set up for you,” Kiryuu nodded. 

Sakura had no idea what that meant. Rather than answering, Kiryuu perused the desks. He eventually stopped by the back corner desk. 

“This one,” he patted it. 

“What about it?” Sakura frowned. 

“It will work perfectly,” Kiryuu nodded. 

“Work perfectly for what?” Sakura demanded feeling agitated by his lack of understanding. 

“This can be Takeji's corner,” Kiryuu nodded. 

“His name is Takashi and what the fuck are you talking about?” Sakura growled. 

“Well, it was pretty obvious the little guy was board today during class. We should make it less so for him. We all agreed in the group chat,” Kiryuu informed him. 

Kiryuu lightly stepped around the other desks until he was right next to Sakura's. For some reason, this started to trigger Sakura's fight or flight reflex. 

“Ne, Sakura,” Kiryuu's voice was soft, “Are you sure you're doing ok?”

“I'm fine,” Sakura was perplexed by the question. 

Why would Kiryuu ask him that?

“You were pretty pale when you arrived at class today and you've been more on edge than normal,” Kiyuu paused and looked at Takashi, “Is taking care of the little guy too much?”

“No. It's not too much,” Sakura growled. 

Not fully trusting his classmate to not steal his kid, Sakura decided it was time to leave. Sakura grumbled under his breath as he lifted Takashi into his arms. Takashi stirred and blinked sleepily as his nap was disturbed. It was objectively adorable. Kiryuu seemed to think so too because he leaned in a little closer. 

“Hey there little guy,” Kiryuu all but cooed, “I have a question for you. Do you like stuffed animals?”

Takashi blinked uncomprehendingly. He looked at Sakura for an explanation. Sakura could only shrug. He wasn't sure what this was about either. 

“I dunno,” Takashi finally mumbled. 

Kiryuu sighed dramatically. 

“You two are so alike, it's terrifying,” he huffed, “It's fine. Leave the decorating to me.”

Then without another word, he left. Sakura was beyond confused. After confirming that Kiryuu had indeed left and wasn't about to march back into the classroom, Sakura shifted Takashi to his back and carried him out of school. 

There weren't many people around by this point. Those who were still around, Sakura avoided with ease. He took Takashi to a park until Suo was done with patrol (Sakura wasn't about to head to Suo's home without him just in case Eisuke tried to accuse Sakura of killing Suo). Then the three of them headed home together. 

Dinner that was much the same as the night before. Sakura spent the whole meal watching Eisuke. The older man seemed aware of Sakura's intense gaze tonight. He stared back with grave eyes. It was hard for Sakura not to see his uncle. He kept his posture tense just in case he was attacked and needed to fight back.

Sakura was in the middle of nibbling on a bite of fish (or was it tofu? He really wasn't paying that much attention) when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the biggest difference in tonight's meal. 

Takashi's silverware. Last night, the kid had been struggling to use the Chinese style chopsticks. Those chopsticks were missing. Instead, Takashi was shyly using a set of brightly colored kid's utensils. There were small training chopsticks, but Takashi had set those aside in favor of eating his rice with a spoon. 

Sakura had no idea where those utensils had come from. A questioning glance at Suo revealed that Suo had no idea either. Sakura finished the meal in confusion, keeping one eye on Eisuke and one eye on Takashi. 

After dinner, Sakura took Takashi back to their room. He still had homework to do, after all. After a frustrating hour of getting nowhere, he found that his mind wasn't in a place to focus. He turned to check on Takashi only to discover that the kid had fallen asleep, mid coloring. Sakura snorted fondly and simply covered Takashi with a blanket. It had been a long day after all. 

<><><><><>

When Natsume woke, he was startled. For a moment, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. Then he spotted Sakura. The teen was already up and getting dressed. He seemed in a better mood than yesterday and that made Natsume happy. 

Once they were both dressed, he followed Sakura back to the dining room. Natsume was happy to see that they were having some sort of porridge for breakfast (this did not require him to use the big chopsticks). It was a little bland, but it settled nicely in his stomach and made him feel full. 

Suo poked his head into the room a moment later to remind Sakura about school. Natsume was too preoccupied with scooping up the last of his breakfast to really pay attention to what was said. He did know that after they were done eating, Sakura checked his injuries before herding him towards the front door. 

Natusme perked up. Were they going somewhere?

He put on his shoes carefully, avoiding the dog. Even though it was sleeping again, Natsume wasn't sure if it was friendly. Better to be safe rather than sorry. 

They all set out a few minutes later. Sakura carried him again today. Natsume wondered where they were going. He hoped it was somewhere fun. The sun felt nice against his back. He leaned forward with a sigh of contentment. 

Natsume watched the houses and shops pass by. They turned once last corner and Natsume suddenly spied a massive building. A school (or at least he was pretty sure that's what it was). He was a little bit nervous as Sakura marched right up to the intimidating building. There were a lot of people standing around outside. Natsume could hear the whispers. He hide his face in the back of Sakura's next. 

Thankfully, Sakura didn't hang around the area very long. They made their way up to the third floor. 

Natsume was more than a little terrified to find that this room was full of people too. They all turned to stare. The chatter grew louder. Natsume flinched when he realized they had noticed him. Sakura set him down and took a fighting stance. 

“Sakura, they just want to say hi,” Suo sighed fondly as he entered the room behind them. 

“They ain't got no right to terrify him like that,” Sakura growled. 

The fact that Sakura was acting aggressive worried Natsume. Apparently these were dangerous people. Natsume was about to consider fleeing when someone came forward and crouched down to his level. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Natsume slowly turned to face the speaker. He relaxed just slightly. It was only Nirei. 

“Better, but Sakura had to carry me today,” Natusme admitted. 

“I'm sure you'll feel all better soon,” Nirei patted Takashi on the head. 

Natsume nodded slowly. That was true. He should hurry up and get better because then he wouldn't be burden on anyone (at the same time, he secretly and selfishly liked having someone caring for him). 

As he was contemplating this, another person crouched down next to Nirei. He looked a litle familiar. Natsume scrambled to figure out why. 

“I don't know if you remember me, but I came by to visit you and Sakura a few days ago,” this new person nodded. 

Oh. That was right. Natusme remembered now. This pierced person with strange hair had stopped by once while he was in the hospital.

“I remember you, gang-man,” Natusme nodded.  

“Gang-man?” the teen seemed confused. 

“You look like you're part of a gang. Are you part of a gang?” Natsume wondered if he had made a wrong guess. 

After all, he had thought that Suo and Sugishita were youkai. Thankfully, the teen didn't seem all that offended. 

“In a manner of speaking? If you want you can call me Kiryuu or Mitsuki. Which ever you remember,” the teen offered. 

Natsume mouthed the name. After moving around so often and having to meet so many people, he had learned it was easier for him to remember them that way.

“Do you want to meet everyone else?” Nirei offered, pulling out his notebook. 

Natsume quickly shook his head, hoping that it wasn't rude for him to say no. He was already overwhelmed as it was. 

Sakura shooed everyone away before herding Natsume to one of the desks. Natsume settled on the floor by Sakura's feet. It wasn't very comfortable with his injured leg, but he didn't want to tell Sakura that. 

Class started not that much later. Natsume tried to follow what the teacher was saying, but none of it made any sense. He tried not to fidget. The longer school dragged on, the harder that was. Lunch was a welcome break from the confusing drone of the teacher, but it felt far too short. At some point during the afternoon, he fell asleep. 

He slept soundly until he felt his body being picked up. For a moment, he didn't know what was happening. He cracked open an eye. Oh. It was only Sakura. 

Natsume rubbed his eyes sleepily. He wasn't prepared to have the pierced teen - Kiryuu? Mitsuki? - leaning towards him. Natsume reflexively leaned back to put a bit more space between him and this stranger. Before Natsume could figure out what he wanted, the teen spoke. 

“Hey there little guy,” Kiryuu smile, “I have a question for you. Do you like stuffed animals?”

Natsume did not understand the question. In his confusion, he turned to Sakura. Sakura was no help. The teen only shrugged, indicating he didn't know either. 

“I dunno,” Natsume admitted. 

Kiryuu sighed dramatically. 

“You two are so alike, it's terrifying,” he huffed, “It's fine. Leave the decorating to me.”

With that he left the room. Natsume once more turned to Sakura. Sakura just shook his head. 

Just like how they had come, Sakura carried Natsume. They stopped by a park (Sakura treated Natsume to dango from a local shop) while they waited for Suo to 'finish club stuff' as Sakura put it. 

Finally, Suo rejoined them. One of Suo's fish had escaped. Natsume pondered if he should tell Suo this. He decided not to as Sakura and Suo were deep in conversation about something and he didn't want to interrupt.  

The walk home wasn't that far. By the time they got back, Natsume felt hungry. He was glad that dinner wasn't much later. Despite his eagerness to eat, Natsume was acutely aware of the fact that Sakura's mood plummeted the moment the stepped into the dinning room. Natsume tried not to be too upset (or confused) by that. 

Dinner was served in much the same fashion as the night before. They were all seated and the meal was laid out before them. Natsume was delighted to see that his place was set with different utensils than last night. He reached for them, but then hesitated. What if they weren't actually for him? After all, this was someone else's home. He glanced around, hoping for instruction or a confirmation. As he did this, he caught sight of the old man that Suo lived with. The old man nodded once. 

Natsume took that as permission to use the utensils. The small chopsticks were much easier to use. Natusme managed to eat all the chicken with them. He then opted to eat the rice with the spoon. It all tasted so good. 

After dinner was done, Sakura and Natsume went back to their room. Sakura had to do homework, so Natsume amused himself by trying to draw Suo's fish. It was here, sprawled on the floor with his crayons, that Natsume realized just how tired he was. 

The soft scratch of Sakura's pencil and the rustling of the trees outside soon lulled Natsume to sleep. 

Chapter Text

As it turned out, Sakura found out exactly what Kiryuu was talking about the next day. He entered the class room to find that it had been rearranged. The desks has all been scooted up a little bit. In the back corner, there was a ridiculously large pile of stuffed animals and blankets. 

Sakura eyed the pile suspiciously as he took his usual seat with Takashi. No sooner had he sat down than he was lifted from the seat and tossed over someone's shoulder. It was Tsugeura. 

“That's not your desk any more,” Tsugeura sounded pleased for some reason. 

“What the-Tsugeura! Put me the fuck down right this second!” Sakura seethed, fighting to get lose. 

Tsugeura did eventually comply, but not before carrying the thrashing Sakura all the way across the classroom. Sakura found himself plopped down in the seat of the desk in the back of the room, right next to the absurd pile of random crap. 

“This one is yours now,” Tsugeura smiled broadly, clearly pleased with himself.  

“This isn't my desk. This is Takanashi's desk,” Sakura snorted. 

Sakura glanced around the room. His classmates were watching him intently, clearly watching for.... something? Sakura honestly wasn't sure what. He attempted to go back to original desk, only to have his way blocked by Suo. 

“We all decided to put you in the back so that Takashi would be more comfortable,” Suo explained, “I hope you don't mind.”

The fuck? Yes, Sakura minded! He settled for glaring at his vice captain who apparently had no qualms about  rearranging the classroom behind his back.

“This isn't my desk,” Sakura hissed. 

“That's all right. This is your desk now,” Nirei nodded eagerly. 

“I told you I would handle the decoration,” Kiryuu nodded proudly.  

Sakura once more attempted to flee. He found that he was hemmed in (Suo in front, Nirei and Kiryuu on the right, Tsugeura on the left). There was no escape. This was rather frustrating, but he knew from being at Furin for the past few months that these guys didn't necessarily mean harm. They were just really bad at personal space (something Sakura was rather fond of). 

He growled at them and they did back off a bit, but not enough to let him return to his usual desk. This was problematic as he didn't want to be caught here. He knew from transferring around several schools that people didn't like it if you took their seat. His worst nightmare came true when Takanashi entered the room. Sakura was utterly confounded when Takanashi grinned before taking a seat at what had been Sakura's desk since his start at Furin. 

That was a truly unexpected result. Sakura dropped back down into the seat. 

“I don' get it,” he grumbled.  

His grumbling was interrupted by a soft, choked whimper. Sakura zeroed in on the noise. Takashi was crouched at the front of the classroom, hands pressed to his ears. Sakura vaulted from his seat, shoved past Suo, and ran to his kid. Leave it to his classmates to overwhelm a kid without thinking twice. 

“Takashi,” Sakura murmured, crouching down by his kid.  

Takashi shook his head. 

“Kid? What's wrong?” Sakura prompted. 

Takashi finally looked up. He noticed Sakura and dove forward, launching himself into Sakura's arms. Sakura held him close. Takashi didn't say anything. He just clung to Sakura, trembling violently. He was clearly terrified. Sakura didn't like that. He would beat his classmate to a pulp once Takashi was calmer. 

When it be came apparent that Takashi wasn't calming down, Sakura carrying him back to what was apparently his new desk. 

Takashi clung to Sakura and refused to be put down, even as class started. Sakura found it hard to concentrate on the class with Takashi clinging to him. They stayed like this all morning. Lunch couldn't come quick enough. 

As soon as the midday bell rung, Sakura fully gave Takashi his attention once more. By this time, Takashi had at least stopped clinging to him with a death grip. 

“What's wrong?” Sakura sighed. 

Takashi played with the hem of his shirt for a moment before answering. When he did answer, it wasn't exactly what Sakura had been expecting. 

“You're not gonna eat me, right?” Takashi mumbled.  

Sakura blinked. 

“No,” he confirmed, “I'm not going to eat you, why?”

“Your classmate said you were gonna,” Takashi sniffled. 

That was far from a funny joke. Sakura was now out for blood. Not even Umemiya would be able to stop him. 

“Which one?” Sakura growled. 

“That one,” Takashi said before pointing shakily at the far corner of the room. 

Sakura frowned. There was no one there. The corner was empty. He told Takashi as much. Takashi's face twisted in surprise and terror. 

“Sorry,” Takashi pressed his face into Sakura's chest. 

It slowly dawned on Sakura that there was only one reason for Takashi's fear. There must be a youkai in that corner of the room. He grabbed the first person who passed by (Sugishita) and handed Takashi off to them. He then marched over to the corner of the room that Takashi had indicated. He wound up a strong punch and let it fly. Unsurprisingly his fist connected with nothing but air. Sakura felt a little silly, but he told himself this was for Takashi. 

After giving several more punches the open air, Sakura turned back towards the class. It was only now that he realized that the whole room had gone silent as they watched him. Sakura's cheeks burned.

“What are ya lookin' at?” he snarled defensively. 

The rest of his classmates tactfully turned back to their own lunches. Sakura hurried back to his own desk. After glaring at Sugishita so that the taller teen knew that holding Takashi was a one time thing, Sakura took Takashi back. 

“Is that better?” he asked. 

Takashi's eyes were huge. He nodded slowly. The moment was interrupted by Kiryuu moving into Sakura's field of vision. 

“What?” Sakura frowned. 

“Everything alright?” Kiryuu asked. 

“Everythin' is fine,” Sakura scowled. 

Kiryuu arched a disbelieving eyebrow. Sakura noticed that he wasn't the only one. Suo and Nirei were also hovering nearby with looks of worry. 

“Fine. He saw a youkai. I took care of it,” Sakura grumbled before turning to Takashi, “I did take care of it, right?”

Takashi nodded. 

“There. Now you have your answer. Go away,” Sakura huffed. 

Kiryuu did not go away. Instead he turned to Takashi. Kiryuu chatted with Takashi (read: Kiryuu talked while Takashi nodded on occasion) while the three of them had lunch. Lunch period was almost ended with Kiryuu nodded towards the pile of things just behind Sakura's desk. 

“Takashi,” he smiled, “Do you want to try out any of this?”

Takashi just stared. He stared at Kiryuu, then the pile, then Sakura. Sakura could feel the unasked question. In response, Sakura shrugged and put Takashi down. It took the combined effort of Kiryuu, Suo and Nirei to convince Takashi that he was allowed to touch the pile of things that Kiryuu had brought in.

As Takashi slowly explored the pile, Sakura noticed that an extra desk had been shoved next to his. There was a thick stack of books on the seat. It was clear that this desk was for Takashi. He wondered how he had missed that this morning. 

When class resumed, Takashi stayed in the pile. Sakura turned to check on him every so often. Takashi took a nap wrapped in one of Kiryuu's absurdly colorful blankets. Sakura was loath to admit it, but it was pretty cute. He would need to thank Kiryuu later (He did do this after school, much to his own embarrassment and Kiryuu's delight). 

That evening was no different the one before. Sakura choked down his food while staring down Eisuke. All else was lost to him. It did not help matters that Eisuke met Sakura's heated glare without flinching. That was too much like Sakura's uncle. Sakura was hard-pressed not to remember things he would rather forget. Needless to say, the meal was no more pleasant than the previous two. 

As usual, the tension did not leave Sakura's body until they were out of sight from Eisuke. Takashi was thankfully oblivious, but Sakura did notice that Suo gave him worried looks during dinner. Thankfully Sakura's vice captain didn't press the issue with other people around. That being said, it did make Sakura wonder just how limited their time here was. 

He was still pondering this while he and Takashi started to get ready for bed. Thankfully his brooding was broken by a question from Takashi (admittedly, Sakura only caught the second half). 

“Can I still go to school with you?” Takashi asked while they were brushing their teeth that night. 

Sakura frowned, not understanding the question. 

“Why wouldn't you?”

“I messed up,” Takashi mumbled. 

Sakura was even more confused. 

“You.... messed up?”

“I messed up lots today. I made a scene and I made you be embarrassed,” Takashi looked at the floor, “I didn't mean to. I'm sorry.”

Sakura struggled to finds the words that he needed. 

“Takashi,” he sighed, “Nothing that happened was your fault. I don't care about you makin' a scene. Next time, I want you to do just that. I want you to tell me if someone threatens you; I don' care if they're human or youkai.”

Takashi watched him with big eyes. 

“I made you be embarrassed,” Takashi pointed out. 

“Nothing new,” Sakura waved him off, “I don't care.”

That wasn't strictly true. Sakura never enjoyed feeling embarrassed and he wanted to avoid that feeling at all cost. At the same time, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make for Takashi. 

Takashi nodded slowly. 

“Now, we better get to bed so that you get enough sleep before school tomorrow,” Sakura nodded. 

Takashi shyly smiled. Somehow, Sakura could just tell his kid was thrilled to hear that. 

The next two days were much the same. Takashi spent the day hiding out in Kiryuu's pile of fluffy things or swinging his adorably short legs while seated at the desk next to Sakura. Sakura's classmates were annoying and insensitive as hell, continually trying to claim any time with Takashi that they could. The evenings were torturous for Sakura with Eisuke around, but he forced himself to push through. 

A week into this new routine and things finally started to settle into place. The teacher finally started to acknowledge that Takashi was there to stay. Sakura was sure this was the case because of the elementary school worksheets that were mixed in with his own homework (Takashi was a little too excited to have his own homework).

Takashi, for his part, slowly started to accept that Furin was a safe environment. Everyone at Furin seemed to love the little boy. The classroom for 1-1 had a steady stream of students stopping by in the hopes of meeting Takashi. It wasn't just the first year students from the other classes who stopped by, it was also the upperclassmen. Umemiya himself was a frequent offender (Sakura had to stop the older teen from carrying off Takashi every time he stopped by, much to his chagrin and Umemiya care-free laughter). 

Everything was going to well that Sakura started to become suspicious. He could just feel it in his gut. Something was going to happen.

In a way, he was right.

<><><><><>

Natsume was very confused when they arrived at school the next day. 

From his perch on Sakura's back, he spied the odd pile of fluffy things in the back of the room. He was fairly certain that hadn't been there the day before. It almost reminded Natsume of a pack rat nest. That was about as much thought as he gave it. 

He settled down on the floor, expecting today to be like yesterday. This is why he was surprised when Sakura was suddenly picked up and tossed over the orange teen's shoulder. Natsume watched helplessly as his older brother was carried off away from him. This was a nightmare come true for Natsume. 

Before Natsume could attempt a rescue, he heard someone laughing behind. He slowly turned around. It was one of Sakura's classmates. He had long hair like Sugishita (though his was blond, not black) and he was wearing a Furin uniform. His lips were twisted in a sneer. Natsume didn't know who he was and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. 

“You really just let him get carried off like that?” the student scoffed. 

Natsume wilted. That was true. He had let Sakura get carried off. 

“It's a wonder he keeps you around since you're useless,” the student continued. 

Oh. That hurt. Natsume knew this was also true, but he desperately didn't want it to be true. He wanted to mean something to Sakura. 

The student leaned down into Natsume's personal space. 

“I wouldn't be surprised if he eats you. After all, you're not really worth much to him or anyone,” he hissed. 

Natsume pressed his hands to his ears. He didn't want to hear any more. He tried not to cry. It was hard. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Sakura appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. Without thinking, Natsume launched himself for the safety of Sakura's arms. Scoffing laughter filled the room once more. 

He clung to Sakura as the teen carried him away from the cruel student. Natsume watched the student the entire morning. He remained indifferent to the teacher. He watched Natsume with narrowed eyes. Natsume felt trapped. The lone comfort was that the student was staying away from him. 

Natsume didn't even realize the whole morning had passed until Sakura was talking to him. 

“What's wrong, Takashi?” Sakura sighed. 

Natsume played with the hem of his shirt for a moment before answering. What should he say? The student saw his hesitation. He smiled before he mimed viciously taking a bite of something. Natsume shivered. 

“You're not gonna eat me, right?” he asked softly, fighting hard to keep his emotions at bay. 

“No,” Sakura sounded confused by this suggestion, “I'm not going to eat you, why?”

“Your classmate said you were gonna,” Natsume admitted. 

Sakura did not give the reaction Natsume expected. He had expected to be laughed off or maybe Sakura really would start to eat him. He was not expecting Sakura's face to go dark with anger. For the first time since meeting Sakura, Natsume felt afraid of the teen.  

“Which one?” Sakura growled. 

It took Natsume a moment to process the question. Sakura was mad but not at him?

“That one,” Natsume shakily pointed out the grinning classmate. 

Sakura frowned.

“There isn't anyone there Takashi.”

At the same time, the student who had been mocking Natsume started to morph. His arms seemed to fuse back into his body and his smile grew until it quite literally split his face in two. A cold wave of horror engulfed Natsume. That was no student. That was a youkai. 

“Sorry,” Natsume wasn't sure who he was apologizing to, he just felt the urge to say it in the desperate hope that it would make things better. 

Natusme was taken by surprise when Sakura abruptly handed him off to Sugishita. Natsume's first thought was one of terror. If that student, the one who had looked so similar to Sugishita, was a youkai, what if Sugishita was a youkai too? Even despite his past interactions with Sugishita, Natsume was unsure. 

The second thing that Natsume thought was that Sakura was finally done with him. He wanted out and so he passed Natsume along like everyone did. 

Natsume opened his mouth to plead for pity when he noticed something odd. 

Sakura had marched over to the youkai. He was staring it right at it (not that he was probably aware of that). Out of nowhere, he threw a hard punch into the youkai's face. It would have hit the youkai in the face if it had connected. Instead, Sakura's fist passed right through. 

This first punch was followed up with several more, all more or less in the vicinity of the youkai's face. The youkai looked a mix of annoyed and amused. It hissed something that Natsume didn't catch before dissolving into the wall behind it. The youkai was gone. 

Natsume was in a state of shock. He had never seen that happen. 

“Is that better?” Sakura asked as he took him back from Sugishita. 

Natusme nodded slowly. He didn't even know what to think. 

“What?” Sakura frowned. 

Natsume twisted slightly in Sakura's lap to see that Kiryuu was standing behind him. 

“Everything alright?” Kiryuu asked lightly. 

“Everythin' is fine,” Sakura scowled. 

It seemed that even Kiryuu didn't believe Sakura.

“Fine. He saw a youkai. I took care of it,” Sakura grumbled, “I did take care of it, right?”

Natsume nodded. The youkai was gone for now that was an immense relief in and of itself. 

“There. Now you have your answer. Go away,” Sakura huffed. 

Kiryuu, did not in fact, go away. Instead, he stuck around and chatted with Natsume for a while. Natsume did not follow most of the questions, but he still sort of liked the fact that basically an adult who wasn't Sakura was wanting to talk with him (it also helped to distract Natsume a bit from his worry about the youkai). 

“Takashi,” Kiryuu abruptly said, “Do you want to try out any of this?”

The teen gestured to the messy pile of things that was threatening to eat Sakura's desk. 

Natsume stared at Kiryuu, then the pile, then Sakura. He wasn't sure what Kiryuu was asking him. Try any of that out? What did that mean? What was he supposed to try out?

Sakura set him down and gave him a gentle nudge towards Kiryuu. Natsume was more than a bit baffled as Kiryuu, Suo and Nirei all tried (at different times) to convince him to check out the pile. Eventually Natusme did as they told him. 

He was surprised to find that the pile of things was very soft. There were blankets and pillows and a large array of stuffed animals. Natsume may or may not have fallen asleep there not long after class started back up. 

He was almost a bit sad to leave his nice napping spot when it was time to go home for the day (that being said, Natsume didn't want to tempt his luck in the empty school after dark; mostly likely the youkai from earlier was still around). 

Dinner was tasty once more. Natsume was happy to eat what was put in front of him. That being said, Natsume couldn't help but notice that Sakura's mood had shifted for the worst. It didn't take long for Natsume to put together what was wrong. He waited until they were getting ready for bed before broaching the subject. 

“Are you mad? I'm sorry. I didn't mean too. Can I still go to school with you?” Natsume asked while they were brushing their teeth that night. 

He knew the answer would probably be no after everything he had put Sakura through today. 

“Why wouldn't you?” Sakura frowned. 

“I messed up,” Natsume mumbled. 

He knew that much. He had pointed out a youkai and he had made Sakura do embarrassing things. 

“You.... messed up?” Sakura looked confused. 

“I messed up lots. I made a scene and I made you be embarrassed,” Natsume looked at the floor, “I didn't mean to. I'm sorry.”

“Takashi,” Sakura sighed, “Nothing that happened was your fault. I don't care about you makin' a scene. Next time, I want you to do just that. I want you to tell me if someone threatens you; I don' care if they're human or youkai.”

But why? Why would he want that? Natsume could not figure out Sakura. No one ever wanted him to bother them twice. If they tolerated him messing things up once, they wouldn't stand for a second incident. Maybe Natsume should point out something crucial to get Sakura to retract the offer. 

“I made you be embarrassed,” Natsume pointed out. 

“Nothing new,” Sakura waved him off, “I don't care.”

Natsume nodded slowly. He wasn't sure if that was true, but he really wanted it to be. 

“Now, we better get to bed so that you get enough sleep before school tomorrow,” Sakura nodded. 

Natsume felt a slight glow of excitement. So he hadn't messed up bad enough to be left behind as punishment. That was good. 

Over the next week, Natsume slowly started to find his place at Furin. The teens who attended school there were big and loud and very overwhelming, but at the same time they also seemed to like him (for some reason he really didn't understand). Natsume was most excited when people he knew stopped by (Umemiya and Hiragi would come by the class room just to check on him). 

The best part of the week for Natsume was when he started to get homework too. He finally felt like he might belong to some extent here. 

The only down side was the youkai. 

Natsume saw it almost every day at school. It hadn't attacked him yet, but he knew that it was only a matter of time. He thought about telling Sakura about his fears, but he always stopped himself. He couldn't bring himself to burden Sakura any further than he already was. 

He just wished it would go away. 

Chapter Text

What happened on Saturday wasn't really what Sakura had been planning for. 

The plan had been to take Takashi shopping for shoes then to meet up with Nirei and Suo at Cafe Porthos before ending up at the park for Takashi to play. 

This wasn't exactly what happened. 

Sakura left with Takashi in the morning. The kid didn't complain as Sakura dragged him around to several different stores trying to find shoes that small. Eventually they find some in a kid's store (the shoes that Takashi picked out looked suspiciously like the ones that Sakura wore everyday). The store owner was nice enough to cut the tags off so that Takashi could start wearing them right away (this was a relief as the shoes that Takashi had been wearing were almost falling apart and apparently the whole school had noticed. Sakura had come to school yesterday to discover an envelope of money marked 'shoes for Takashi' had appeared on his desk. Sakura didn't know if he should be ashamed or touched by the kind gesture.)

They then started on their way to Cafe Porthos. Takashi's leg was healed enough that the kid could walk a bit on it now. Their pace was slow as Takashi clung to the hem of Sakura's shirt. He had been around long enough that most everyone in Makochi knew about him (and knew to give them a little bit of space unless Takashi approached them first). 

They arrived at Cafe Porthos without any incident. Kotoha greeted them with a smile. This was unsurprising. Sakura was sure that she was always smiling even when people weren't around to see.

Without Sakura even asking, Kotoha brought them each an omurice. Takashi's eyes went adorably wide at the plate of food in front of him. Sakura silently vowed that he would kill anyone who ever made Takashi sad. The kid waited until Sakura nodded before beginning to eat. It was pretty clear that he liked the food. Sakura joined him in eating. 

The two of them were midway through their meal when someone came in. Sakura looked up. It wasn't someone he recognized. As the man didn't look dangerous and he clearly was a nobody, Sakura's plan was to ignore the person. This become hard to do once the man took off his hat. 

Sakura choked. 

The man had blond hair that looked very similar to Takashi's hair. Moving as quickly and as cautiously as possible, Sakura slipped to the other side of the booth, positioning himself so that he was blocking Takashi completely from view. He wasn't about to risk the kid's relatives showing up and taking him back (this was a new fear that suddenly sprang into Sakura's mind at the sigh of the blond man). 

The man did not attack nor did he start shouting accusations. Instead, he went to the counter seating and ordered a coffee. 

Sakura observed him closely. The man was much younger than Sakura had initially thought, probably close in age to Umemiya. He wore a pair of glasses and his clothes seemed expensive, but it was hard for Sakura to tell. As though sensing Sakura's gaze, the young man abruptly turned to face Sakura. 

“Can I help you?” he was frowning. 

“Depends,” Sakura felt the urge to raise his fists into a fighting stance, “Who are you?”

By now, Takashi had noticed that something was up. Sakura put a firm hand on his kid's shoulders to keep him seated and out of view. 

“That's none of your business,” the young man shrugged. 

“It is because you came to Mokichi,” Sakura glared, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

He pointedly ignored Kohota's pointed sigh. The young man looked like he was going to give Sakura further grief, but then he inexpiably shrugged. 

“If you really must know, I'm here on a job,” he said. 

That did not answer Sakura's question. 

“You don't look old enough to have a job,” Sakura scoffed. 

The young man simply ignored Sakura. His eyes narrowed as he fixed on the empty air above Takashi's hidden head. Before Sakura could go on the offensive, the cafe door swung open. Nirei and Suo walked in. Sakura was relieved to have back up. He would put Takashi in Suo's care while he ran this suspicious guy out of town and-

“Are you Natori-san?”

Nirei's voice startled Sakura out of his thoughts. He looked up and noticed that both of his vice captains had stopped by the young man's chair. 

“What if it is?”

Nirei clapped his hands together eagerly. 

“I'm Nirei,” he nodded, “I'm the one who called you.”

“So it's your fault that I had to travel way out here. It was a long journey to get all the way here from Sendai,” the young man sighed, “Let's get this over with. What's the life threatening situation?”

Sakura couldn't make heads or tails of the conversation. 

“This is Sakura,” Nirei darted over to Sakura's side, tugging on Sakura's arm in a very child-like manner, “Can you help his kid?”

Sakura jerked his arm out of Nirei's hold, startled by his vice-captain's words. What the hell was Nirei babbling about? And with a stranger no less. No way he wanted any stranger to 'help' Takashi. 

“Depends,” Natori sighed. 

“Who the fuck is this?” Sakura hissed into Nirei's ear. 

“Oh. Didn't I tell you why we were meeting here today?” Nirei seemed surprised, “We're meeting up with that exorcist I was telling you about a while back. I finally managed to get in touch with him.”

The pieces finally clicked for Sakura. 

“Oh. So you're Nirei's exoticist,” he grunted, “Took you long enough to show up.”

The young man looked thoroughly offended. 

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, yeah, just do what ever it is that you do,” Sakura continued to glare pointedly. 

Just because Nirei knew this person didn't mean that Sakura trusted him. 

“I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even fully know what's going on here,” the young man huffed.

Well that wasn't promising. Sakura turned to Nireri. Honestly, he didn't know what this young man was supposed to do either. 

“We need you to get rid of every youkai in the town to protect Takashi,” Nirei nodded. 

Sakura honestly didn't mind the sound of the plan. If every youkai was gone then Takashi would be safe from things that Sakura couldn't punch. Takashi deserved that. 

Natori apparently was not of the same opinion. The young man the gall to laugh. Sakura snapped without thinking. He lunged and tried to throw a punch, but something caught his wrist in a firm grip. It was odd because nothing was there. Sakura jerked his wrist back and the sensation of being grabbed vanished. He glanced at his vice captains. They seemed just as confused as he was. 

“Do you realize what you are asking? In the town this size, there's no doubt a hundred, maybe more, youkai,” Natori snorted, “And even if I managed to banish all of them, they would just come back. What you ask for is impossible.”

“So you're useless,” Sakura growled. 

Natori narrowed his eyes. 

“I am not-” he cut himself off suddenly. 

A look over his shoulder told him why. Takashi had popped his head up to peer shyly at everyone over the top of the booth. Sakura panicked. 

“That's Takashi. He's Sakura's kid. He's the one you have to help,” Nirei narrated.  

Looking interest, Natori got up from his seat. Sakura blocked his path. 

“I don't trust you,” he growled. 

“Sakura, just let him meet Takashi,” Suo sighed.

Sakura didn't budge until both of his vice captains dragged him out of the way. Now that his path was clear, Natori approached the booth. Takashi continued to watch silently with wide eyes. 

“I'm Natori and you are?”

Takashi stared back for a little bit before responding. 

“Natsume,” he mumbled. 

His eyes flicked to the open space between Natori and Sakura. Sakura didn't know why. 

“Hiiragi, Urahime and Sasago,” Natori nodded. 

“N...nice to meet you,” Takashi offered. 

Abruptly, the kid's eyes went even wider. He shrank back in his seat like he was scared. 

“Sasago. Don't scare the kid,” Natori's voice held a warning, “You know better than that.”

Takashi did not uncurl from his corner of the booth, but he did watch Natori very closely. Natori seemed to know why Takashi was staring. 

“It's a gecko,” he sighed

“Does it live there?” Takashi asked very softly. 

“Unfortunately,” Natori grumbled. 

“He's cute,” Takashi offered, “I like him. I like Suo's fish too.”

Natori made a strange face that Sakura couldn't interpret. He finally shook his head and stuck a hand out. Takashi did not uncurl from his protective ball. Instead, he just stared at Natori's hand. Sakura was proud of him for that. Natori was a stranger and therefor he shouldn't be trusted. 

“I just want to check something,” Natori sighed, “Can you take this?”

Takashi's gaze flitted over to Sakura before he nodded very slowly. He grabbed the thing from Natori's outstretched hand. It looked like a blank scrap of paper. No sooner had Takashi picked it up, then he dropped it onto the table looking startled. He promptly dumped his glass of water on it.

“Fascinating,” Natori gave an amused snort. 

Sakura felt like he had been left out enough. He tore himself away from Nirei and Suo before marching over to Natori.

“Oi. You had better not be bullying my kid,” he growled, fisting a hand in Natori's shirt. 

Natori turned to face Sakura. He looked less than amused by Sakura's course of action. Sakura was rather startled to find his grip pried off of Natori's shirt with some invisible force. 

“Might we have a word outside?” Natori asked. 

Sakura nodded sharply. Outside was good because then Takashi wouldn't see it when he beat this creep up. After making sure that Takashi was alright and that Suo understood he was responsible for Takashi's safety until Sakura got back, he followed Natori out of Cafe Porthos. 

“What is it?” Sakura huffed. 

“Where did you get that kid?” Natori answered Sakura's question with a question of his own. 

“He's mine,” Sakura shrugged. 

“That didn't answer my question,” Natori frowned. 

“I found him around. Why?” Sakura narrowed his eyes. 

Natori ran a hand through his hair.

“He's..... well, I can see why you needed to call a trained exorcist in,” Natori admitted. 

Sakura didn't think that Natori looked like he fit the 'trained' description very well, but he held his tongue. 

“What do you mean?” Sakura growled. 

“He's powerful. Very powerful,” Natori murmured, “I'm not sure I've ever met someone with so much spiritual energy. Not even Matoba is that powerful. The kid completely incinerated the marking on my test paper without even trying.”

Sakura felt a flash of unearned pride. Of course his kid was special. 

“So?” he sniffed, feeling a little smug. 

“You're going to have to be careful that no one kidnaps him. I can think of half a dozen people that I know alone that wouldn't be above kidnapping to bring new power into a clan bloodline,” Natori shrugged. 

Sakura, quiet frankly, had no idea what that mean exactly, but he did get the gist. 

“If anyone tries to lay a finger on him, I'll beat the shit out of them,” he declared, cracking his knuckles to prove his point. 

No one was getting past him. He would rather die. 

“You can certainly try,” Natori murmured. 

Sakura narrowed his eyes at the perceived insult to his fighting prowess. He lunged to grab Natori's shirt again only to have his hand stopped midair once more. Sakura didn't understand why and he didn't like it. It wasn't fair that the man used spells or whatever to protect himself. He should fight Sakura one on one without any help. 

Apparently fighting was not on Natori's mind at the moment. 

“Any way, his power is definitely why youkai would want to hunt him down,” Natori shrugged. 

That was not encouraging. 

“Right. Then what can you do to change that,” Sakura frowned. 

Natori opened his mouth. 

Before he could answer, a scream split the air.

<><><><><>

As much as Natsume liked going to school with Sakura, there was one thing that was making him nervous. 

The mean youkai haunting the school was growing bolder and there was nothing Natsume could do. It had grown so bold as to take a swipe at Natsume a few times (Natsume assured Sakura that it was a cat that had scratched him; he was worried that if he told Sakura that the youkai was back, he would leave Natsume at home again and never take him back to school). He's one relief was that the youkai hadn't tried to follow him home yet. He didn't know what he would do if it came down to that. 

Today, however, was Saturday. As such, Natsume could put this problem out of his mind for the moment. 

Sakura had promised that they were going to by him new shoes today. Natsume was excited for this. He didn't remember the last time he had received shoes (new or used). The youkai around Suo's house seemed to sense his excitement. The tanuki was running around more than usual, nearly crashing into several walls, and the old tree youkai smiled at him. 

Finally Sakura and Natsume left to go shopping. After wandering around a bit, they finally found a store with shoes his size. Natsume promptly zeroed in a pair that looked a lot like Sakura's shoes. After Sakura repeatedly insisted that, yes, it was alright that Natsume was getting new shoes and that, yes, Natsume was the one who had to choose, Natsume pointed at the sneakers. 

Sakura bought them without a second thought. Natsume was excited that he was allowed to wear them out of the store. He marveled at the fact that his toes weren't squished at the end and that the bottom of the shoes weren't rock hard. 

Sakura led them to a cafe. Natsume immediately recognized the person behind the counter (but he didn't exactly remember her name). 

“Took you long enough to show up,” she scolded Sakura, “The little guy got out of the hospital more than a week ago and you've taken him to school but not here. Hajime told me. I've been waiting for you to stop by. It's not fair that Hajime gets to spend more time with him.”

Natsume wasn't sure who 'Hajime' was or why Sakura was supposed to have come here before now. While he was puzzling this over, the lady leaned over the counter to smile at him. 

“It's good to see you again,” she nodded. 

Natsume nodded back.

“Are you feeling better? Did you like the bag of toys?” she asked. 

“I'm feeling lots better,” Natsume nodded once more.

His injured leg hurt today from walking around a little more than usual, but it was feeling much better than the day he had been injured. 

“I liked the toys,” Natsume hurried to finish, dropping into a half bow, “Thank you.”

“Don't worry about it. I'm glad you liked them,” she laughed, waving them towards a table. 

Natsume and Sakura sat down and a few minutes later the young woman appeared with two plates. Natsume did a double take when she put a plat down in front of him. His plate had a fat omurice with a big smiley face on it. Apparently this was all for him? He checked with Sakura before digging in. It was delicious. 

Natsume was so absorbed with eating, he didn't catch what made Sakura's mood shift. One minute Sakura was happily chowing down on his food (he must have been hungry because he eat hardly anything at breakfast with Suo and Eisuke), the next minute, he was sliding into the booth next to Natsume. The teen was tense, though Natsume wasn't sure why.

He turned to go back to his own food, but he spotted something that made him freeze as well. A lady. There was a lady hovering over him. Or, at least Natsume thought she was a lady. She was wearing a blindfold and had curly hair and horns. She didn't attack Natsume, which was odd for a youkai. She just hovered there, watching him through her blindfold. Then she vanished. 

Natsume didn't know what to think. What did that youkai want? He was distracted from his question when he heard the door open once more and a pair of familiar voices. Nirei and Suo! Natsume wanted to say hi, but Sakura's hand on his shoulder kept him seated. 

Then, without warning, Sakura lunged away. Natsume was quick to peer after his teenage guardian in attempt to figure out what was going on. He found the strangest sight. Sakura had attempted to attack a stranger. His fist was stopped midair by what appeared to be strands of dark hair.

Said hair was coming from a menacing figure standing just to the side of the stranger. She had a red marking on her forehead and see seemed to be glaring at everyone and everything. The blindfolded lady hovered close by. A third strange figure wearing a mask stood with her arms cross next to the front door. 

Natusme didn't know what to make of this scene. 

“That's Takashi. He's Sakura's kid. He's the one you have to help,” Nirei announced out of the blue.

Natsume didn't move as everyone in the room turned to stare at him. Sakura looked peeved, Suo waved and smiled, and the three youkai were impossible to read. As uncomfortable as their stares were, it was nothing compared to the stranger. The way the young man stared at him didn't exactly feel like a mean stare. At the same time, it felt calculating and not exactly friendly either. The man stood up and started towards Natsume, his companions following. Sakura flung himself in front of the stranger, blocking their route forward. 

“I don't trust you,” the teen growled. 

“Sakura, just let him meet Takashi,” Suo sighed.

Sakura didn't budge until he was dragged out of the way. That did not instill confidence in Natsume about the stranger. The man and his companions approached but he gave Natsume a respectful space. Then he crouched down to Natsume's level. His companions remained behind him like silent guardians. 

“I'm Natori and you are?” the young man asked with a smile. 

Natsume watched the man and his companions for a moment before answering. 

“Natsume,” he mumbled. 

He knew better than to not give his name when asked. Natsume's gaze flicked to Natori's silent companions. Natori noticed Natsume's stare. 

“Hiiragi, Urahime and Sasago,” Natori nodded, pointing at them from left to right.  

“N...nice to meet you,” Natsume stuttered. 

Was that the right thing to say? He wasn't sure. 

“The brat looks like he's been starved. You should take him already,” the one with dark hair sniffed. 

Natsume did not like the way that sounded. He brought his knees to his chest to offer a thin veneer of protection. The masked one (Hiirgai?) shifted like she agreed. Natsume curled up tighter, knowing that there was nothing he could do should they actually chose to kidnap him. 

“Sasago. Don't scare the kid,” Natori's voice held a warning, “You know better than that.”

Sasago shrugged and did not look sorry. Natsume watched Natori's companions for a little while just to make sure they weren't about to act on their own. Natori seemed to understand that Natsume was uncomfortable. He waved his hand and they vanished from view. 

Natsume sucked in a sharp breath. He had no idea you could do that to a youkai. He turned his full attention back to Natori. The young man smiled encouragingly. At the same time, something dark skittered across the bridge of his nose and down his cheek until it settled on the side of Natori's throat. Natsume frowned in puzzlement. 

“It's a gecko,” Natori sighed

“Does it live there?” Takashi asked very softly. 

“Unfortunately,” Natori grumbled. 

He didn't seem pleased by the idea which confused Natsume. It would be fun to have a small animal friend with you at all times. 

“He's cute,” Takashi offered, “I like him. I like Suo's fish too.”

He glanced at Suo. Suo's fish were not out today. When Natsume turned back to Natori, the young man was holding out something in his hand. Natusme did not touch it. He didn't know what it was. He didn't know how Natori would react. It was safer for him to stay where he was. 

“I just want to check something,” Natori sighed, “Can you take this?”

Natsume swallowed before he nodded very slowly. He reached out and grabbed the thing from Natori's hand. Two things happened at once when he did this. 

One, Natsume realized it was a piece of paper covered in strange squiggles. Two, said paper burst into flames the moment Natsume picked it up. He quickly dropped it onto the table and tipped his glass of water onto it. The water did not put out the now fizzling blue flames. They went out on their own a second later. 

“Fascinating,” Natori gave an amused snort. 

Natsume wasn't sure sure what he had done to receive that reaction. He hoped it wasn't something bad. 

Without warning, Sakura charged forward and grabbed Natori's shirt. 

“Oi. You had better not be bullying my kid,” he growled. 

The masked youkai appeared a moment later and pried Sakura's hand off of Natori's shirt. Sakura looked startled by this turn of events. 

“Might we have a word outside?” Natori asked. 

Sakura nodded sharply. The teen murmured a few words to Suo before leaving the cafe with Natori. 

“Well, that was exciting. Leave it to Sakura to throw any of our expectations out of the window,” Suo sighed. 

“Do you think we should stop Sakura?” Nirei was biting his nails as he watched through the cafe window. 

“Only if it looked like Sakura would give an unprompted attack,” Suo shrugged. 

He helped himself to what had been Sakura's seat before this whole debacle had started. He smiled warmly at Natsume. 

“So, did you find a good pair of shoes?” he hummed. 

Natsume blinked before nodding. He hoped out of the booth to show of his new shoes to Suo and Nirei. 

“They look like Sakura's,” he told them. 

“They sure do,” Suo agreed. 

“They're way more comfortable than my old one and my toes don't hurt now,” Natsume added. 

“Well, that's good,” Suo's smile turned a little bit bitter, like he was sad to hear this. 

Nirei suddenly started babbling from his spot at the window (something about Sakura trying to grab Natori) and Suo hurried over to look. Natsume was going to follow them when something grabbed him. 

Long fingers closed around his throat from above and started squeezing. Natsume felt his feet leave the ground. He fought to get free. The fingers only tightened. Natsume looked up. A youkai was peering down at him from the cafe ceiling. Natsume could only see it's unnaturally long arms and it's bulging eyes. The rest of its body was hidden in the ceiling. 

He might have heard someone scream, but it was hard to tell over the rushing in his ears. As dark spots started to dot his vision, Natsume frantically attempted to resume his fight for freedom.

Chapter Text

The scream was high-pitched and not Takashi's voice. Kotoha. Sakura darted back into Cafe Porthos. He did not want to report to Umemiya that something had happened to Kotoha (escpailly while Sakura had been in the area).

The scene that Sakura found in the cafe was beyond bizarre. 

Kotoha was indeed the person who had screamed. She was scrambling to get from behind the counter. It was easy to see why. Takashi seemed to be floating in midair, frantically clawing at his neck. The kid's chest was jerking desperately like he couldn't breathe. Suo was laying winded on the floor not far from Takashi. It was clear he had tried (and failed) to help Takashi. 

Sakura found himself pushed aside as Natori darted in behind him. 

The young man had a serious look on his face. Muttering something under his breath, he whipped out some sort of a paper talisman. A blinding flash of light and a rush of air filled Cafe Porthos. Sakura was left momentarily blinded. 

His vision eventually cleared. Without hesitation, he darted over to Takashi. The kid looked disoriented and winded where he was laying on the floor. Sakura pulled his kid into his arms. Takashi reacted immediately and curled up against Sakura's chest. Sakura had learned this mean the kid was scare, overwhelmed or maybe both. 

“Are you ok?” Sakura growled. 

He knew his voice was sharp and demanding. He couldn't help it. He wasn't even sure what he had witnessed, but he knew that Takashi's life had been in danger. As a result, he could feel his pulse racing from anxiety. In response to the question, Takashi slowly nodded, looking dazed. 

“Are you hurt?” Sakura murmured, actively trying to soften his voice.  

Takashi shook his head. Sakura knew that couldn't be true. Takashi was trembling badly. His neck was red and might end up bruising later. The kid's breathing still seemed a little rough. Sakura checked Takashi's injured leg over. He was beyond thankful to see that it still looked alright. 

Now that he had established that his kid was not horrifically injured, Sakura could start squaring off with Natori. Sakura might not understand what was going on fully, but Natori clearly did and Sakura was sure he was hiding something. As such, it was Sakura's duty to beat the answers out of him. 

“The hell was that?” Sakura demanded. 

If he hadn't been clutching Takashi to his chest, he would have grabbed Natori by the shirt. 

“I told you youkai would want to eat him,” Natori shrugged. 

He didn't seem apologetic, but he at least appeared concerned, so that was something. 

“T-that was a youkai?” Nirei's voice was shaking badly.

At that question, Sakura finally had the presence of mind to look around at the rest of the people in the cafe. Nirei was froze next to one of the cafe windows, looking panicked and teary. Suo was picking himself up off of the floor. He had shallow cuts across his cheek like he had been scratched. It was unusual (and unnerving) to see blood on Suo. Kotoha was just behind Sakura, hovering with a medical kit in her hands. 

“That was a youkai,” Natori confirmed with a grimace, “I exorcised it.” 

His tone was casual, almost as though he had been discussing the weather, but Sakura could see the unease in the older teen's face. 

“Will it come back?” Sakura growled. 

Perhaps it was a stupid question, but he needed to know anyway. He needed to know if Takashi was in imminent danger. 

“No,” Natori shook his head, “That one is gone for good.”

That news made Sakura relax, if only marginally. Still holding Takashi, he stood up. Takashi continued to cling to him with a fierce grip (Sakura sort of appreciated it because it meant that not only was Takashi still alive, but that he also wanted Sakura). 

“Alright, listen here,” Sakura growled at Natori, “If you can't exorcise all the youkai in the town, you gotta teach me how to fight them.”

“You can't fight a youkai,” Natori snorted. 

Sakura did not appreciate that tone. It was mocking and derisive and brough up too many bad memories. 

“Why not?” he demanded. 

“Because you can't see them,” Natori sighed, “To fight a youkai, you would to start by having enough spiritual power to see them. That is not a learned trait. You get it at birth. So, no, you can't fight a youkai.”

Sakura bristled. He wasn't about to sit around and let his kid get eaten. 

“Then what can I do?” He snarled. 

Natori rubbed his forehead in thought. 

“There's a few things I can thing of that might help,” he finally said, “I can check around for any more obviously dangerous youkai and take care of those. I can also put up some talisman around places he goes most frequently.”

That was a start, but it didn't answer Sakura's question.  

“What can I do?” Sakura demanded.

“It looks like you're doing it; for now at least,” Natori snorted, gesturing towards Takashi. 

Sakura looked down. Takashi was still clinging to him with a death grip. Sakura nodded. That was right. He should have know. He had a tendency to get too focused on a fight and in the process forgetting to check in on those he was fighting for. 

“Fine. Whatever,” Sakura grumbled trying to cover up his embarrassment, “Just do something to help him already.” 

Natori raised an eyebrow at the rude tone, but he didn't argue.  With Kotoha's eager permission to turn this into a safe place for Takashi, Natori poked around and placed talisman around the cafe. In the mean time, Kotoha gently did what she could for Takashi and Suo.

She gave Takashi some ice wrapped in a cloth for his neck. Takashi silently accepted it from where he was still clinging to Sakura. Kotoha looked like she wanted to give him a hug, but was restraining herself.

Once Takashi was cared for, she moved on to Suo. His injuries were easy to care for as well. She simply gave Suo some band aids for the shallow cuts on his cheek. Sakura asked Suo what had happened to him. Suo admitted that he had raced over and tried to help Takashi, but that something invisible had clawed at his face and knocked him to the ground (Suo then procced to attempt to apologize to Sakura, but Sakura wouldn't hear anything of it). 

Nirei sat in a jittery mess, sandwiched between Sakura and Suo. Every small sound had him flinching. He only calmed down once Natori announced that the cafe should be safe now. 

“Where to next?” Natori asked. 

“School,” Suo suggested, “Wasn't there a youkai bothering him there?” 

This was true. Sakura had completely forgotten about that youkai. Natori gestured for them to lead the way. They must have made a strange sight as they made their way down the street. For once, Sakura found that he didn't care. Thankfully, it didn't take them long to arrive a their destination. The young man looked baffled when the arrived at Furin High School. 

“Is this were Takashi-kun goes to school?” he asked. 

“It is,” Sakura nodded sharply, “You got a problem with that?”

Natori just shook his head in confusion. 

The school was unlocked like it always was. At the direction of Suo and Nirei, Natori started in the 1-1 classroom. No sooner had he entered than he tensed up. Sakura noticed him reaching for a talisman. A bright light and a rushing sound filled the room. Natori observed the room closely before moving on with a nod. 

“Is that youkai gone now?” Sakura check with Takashi. 

He still wasn't sure that he trusted Natori as such he wanted Takashi's approval. Takashi looked around before nodding. Sakura felt glad. That meant there was one less threat to his kid. While they waited, Sakura let Takashi burry himself in Kiryuu's ridiculous pile of fluffy things. Takashi seemed pleased by this. 

Natori checked the school over, doing the same thing he had done with the cafe (honestly, not a process Sakura was even tracking with despite keeping an eye on the young man). Eventually, this location too earned Natori's seal of approval. 

“We should probably check my house out,” Suo suggested as Natori was finishing up, “That's another spot he spends a lot of time.” 

Sakura hated to agree, but Suo was right. If there was something dangerous at Suo's house (besides Eisuke), it would be safer to take care of it now. Suo lead the way as they left Furin. As they walked, something started bothering Sakura. He pulled Suo a little bit ahead so that he could ask his question in some semblance of privacy. 

“Is this alright?” Sakura kept his voice low. 

“What do you mean?” Suo frowned slightly. 

“Is it... is it... I mean...” Sakura stumbled for words. 

“Sakura, its my house. I can invite whoever I want over. It's not big deal at all,” Suo laughed softly. 

That wasn't strictly what Sakura was worried about. 

“I meant, is it alright for you to show up injured?” Sakura bit out in one go. 

Suo arched an eyebrow in surprise. 

“Yes. It's fine. You don't need to worry. I used to turn up injured all the time. This scratch is hardly an injury at all,” Suo assured him. 

Sakura did not find that assuring for some reason. Despite being unable to fully put his worry that seeing Suo injured because of Sakura would be the last straw for Eisuke, he let Suo take the lead again.

Natori gave a low whistle as he entered the house. At first, Sakura thought it was because he had never been inside such a nice house. That wasn't it though. 

“That is a lot of youkai,” Natori commented, shooing empty air away from the area of the shoes. 

Great. Not words that Sakura wanted to hear. Had he been inadvertently putting Takashi in danger by staying here? If so, Sakura was fine to leave. 

Natori respectfully poked around the house with Suo showing the way. Takashi wanted to come, but after the first room, Natori had him wait in the hallway. Takashi looked dejected this time. Sakura tried to ask him why, but Takashi just shook his head. 

It took much longer for Natori to check Suo's house over, despite the fact that it wasn't nearly as large as Furin High School. Again, this did not help Sakura's nerves. To make things even more horrible for him, Eisuke was still home. He approached Sakura for some reason. Unable to contain the memories of his uncle, Sakura quickly darted off to the bathroom to avoid the older man. He may or may not have hidden there for quiet some time. 

Eventually Natori's inspection of the house was finished. 

“All right, I took care of the problematic ones and placed talisman around the house,” Natori announced. 

“You took care of the problematic ones,” Sakura narrowed his eyes, “Does that mean that there are still some here?”

“Yes. There are still some here,” Natori sighed, “ As loth as I am to admit this, not every youkai is bad; in fact most are quiet harmless. On top of that, it seems that quiet a few of the youkai here seem fond of Takashi-kun.”

Quiet harmless my ass. Sakura wasn't sure he believed that part. After all, it seemed like everything wanted to eat his kid. He wasn't about to let that happen. He spent the next several minutes grilling Natori about the exact location and type of youkai that was still left in Suo's house. As it turned out, Suo apparently really did have fish living in his eye socket (not that Sakura had ever doubted this). 

After interrogating Natori thoroughly about each of the youkai, Sakura demanded one last thing from him. He wanted Natori to teach Takashi how to draw talisman. Natori hesitated at first, but he eventually gave him (perhaps due to Sakura's not so subtle threats). 

Natori spent the next hour instructing Takashi how to draw basic talisman. Takashi listened closely. He attempted to copy Natori's drawing, but his small hands weren't coordinated enough for thing not to look shaky. One thing that was unusual was the number of questions that Takashi was asking. Natori, for some odd reason, didn't seem to mind. He answered each one in a serous voice. Sakura tried to eavesdrop, but he didn't follow the conversation at all (he decided he would ask Nirei for a summary latter).

Natori didn't leave until it was almost evening time. He gave Sakura and Suo his number in case any problems came up. Then he finally left. 

Sakura was so emotionally exhausted from the day that he almost forgot to be on edge for dinner. 

Almost. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume fought to breathe. 

He was going to die. 

No!

He didn't want to die. 

He wanted to live with Sakura!

That being said, it was hard for Natsume to fight the inescapable fingers around his neck. The youkai on top of him did not care that he was struggling. It continued to stare hungrily at Natsume. It only broke its concentrating for a brief moment to swat something away. Just before Natsume was sure he was going to pass out, a blinding light filled the cafe. The youkai on top of him disintegrated. It vanished into nothing, almost like it had never existed. 

Now that he was suddenly freed from his captor, Natsume felt to the floor. 

Despite that everything still felt topsy-turvy. He just lay there wheezing and coughing. He was more than a little startled when something appeared above him. He blinked. Sakura's face came into focus. The teen was quick to scoop him up. Natsume pressed himself as close as he could to Sakura's chest. The strong, but strangely frantic beat of Sakura's heart drown out all else for a moment. 

“Are you ok?” Sakura asked, his voice reverberating through his chest. 

Natsume nodded. 

“Are you hurt?”

Natsume shook his head. He was sore, but he wasn't hurt. Sakura must not have believed him because the teen took the time to check on Natsume's injured leg. Everything looked alright. Natsume did not stop clinging to Sakura.

He was safe, he was safe, he was safe. 

The mantra wasn't exactly helping, but it also wasn't not helping. 

“The hell was that?” Sakura's voice was unexpectedly sharp and made Natsume flinch. 

He didn't know how to answer. He didn't where the youkai had come from nor where it had gone. He wasn't sure what to say. 

“I told you youkai would want to eat him,” Natori huffed. 

Natsume blinked. He didn't realize that Sakura had been talking to the young man, not to him. Natsume glanced at Natori. The young looked troubled. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he observed the room. The masked youkai that seemed to be his traveling companion was standing next to him, sword drawn. Natsume was quick to press his face into Sakura's chest once more. 

“T-that was a youkai?” Nirei's voice was shaking badly.

“That was a youkai,” Natori confirmed, “I exorcised it.”

“Will it come back?” Sakura growled.  

“No,” Natori shook his head, “That one is gone for good.”

That news made Natsume relax slightly even if he found it hard to believe. Sakura shifted and rose to his feet, taking Natsume with him.

“Alright, listen here,” Sakura growled at Natori, “If you can't exorcises all the youkai in the town, you gotta teach me how to fight them.”

“You can't fight a youkai,” Natori snorted. 

“Why not?” Sakura demanded. 

“Because you can't see them,” Natori sighed, “To fight a youkai, you would to start by having enough spiritual power to see them. That is not a learned trait. You get it at birth. So, no, you can't fight a youkai.”

Natsume wilted. Sakura seemed strong. It would have been nice to have someone who not only was willing but also able to protect him. Then again, what else should Natsume have expected after his life so far. 

“Then what can I do?” Sakura snarled. 

This question surprised Natsume. He pulled his face away from Sakura's chest a bit so that he could look up at the teen's face. Sakura was scowling, his brows drawn in and his cheeks flushed. 

“There's a few things I can thing of that might help,” Natori finally sighed “I can check around for any more obviously dangerous youkai and take care of those. I can also put up some talisman around places he goes most frequently.”

Natsume glanced over his shoulder at Natori. The gecko tattoo was currently settled on the side of his forehead, above his left eye. Natsume briefly wondered if it ever got lonely. 

“Then what can I do?” Sakura demanded.

“It looks like you're doing it; for now at least,” Natori snorted. 

Sakura looked down at Natsume. More than a little embarrassed, Natsume hid his face in Sakura's chest once more. 

“Fine. Whatever,” Sakura huffed, “Just do something to help him already.”

Natori talked with Kotoha in soft tone for a minute before heading towards the back area of the small cafe where the food was cooked. Before he left, he gestured to the masked youkai to stay with Natsume. Natsume wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He kept on eye on the youkai as Kotoha check out his neck. Natsume was so fixated on watching watching the youkai that he startled badly when something cool touched his neck. It was retracted when he jerked. Natsume tore his gaze off of the hovering youkai and looked to the side. It was just Kotoha. She offered him some ice wrapped in a cloth. Natsume took it slowly.

“You'll be alright,” she smiled softly at Natsume, “We're going to protect you.”

Oddly enough the masked youkai nodded at this statement. Natsume cocked his head. He wasn't sure why the youkai was agreeing with what Kotoha had said. The youkai must have noticed his stare because she gave an answer. 

“I do not particularly care about humans one way or another,” the youkai shrugged, “But it is rare to find one of your kind that can see us and rarer still to find a human with Sight who is still innocent. Natori-sama wants to help you, so we, his shiki, will help you too.” 

Natsume wasn't quiet sure what to say to that. He just nodded slowly in confusion. He was still processing her words when Natori reappeared and announced that the cafe was safe now. 

“Where to next?” Natori asked. 

“School,” Suo suggested, “Wasn't there one bothering him there?”

Natsume flinched. Suo was correct. The youkai at school was troublesome. He wondered if Natori would get rid of that one too. The small group set out. Sakura insisted on carrying Natsume this time around. Natsume didn't offer any protest. He was still a little shaken from his earlier brush with death. 

As they walked, Natsume looked at his companions. Nirei was strangely quiet. He was biting his nails and stuck very close to Suo. Suo's eyepatch had been knocked askew at some point allowing his fish to escape. They seemed more agitated than usual, swimming back and forth between his eye patch and the small cuts on his cheek (almost like they were worried about his health).

It was impossible to see Sakura's face from where he was being carried, but Natsume was fairly certain that the teen was on edge as well. Natori seemed to be the only one at ease. His youkai companions could be seen darting around the place like they were performing some sort of search. 

It didn't take them long to arrive at Furin High School. The school was unlocked and Suo lead them up to the 1-1 classroom. No sooner had the door opened than the youkai's mocking voice cut through the air, promising pain and injuries upon Natsume. 

Natori must have heard its taunts because he scowled and stepped forward. Just like at the cafe, there was a bright light and a rushing sound. Natsume blinked. When his vision cleared, the youkai was gone. Natori observed the room closely before moving on with a nod. 

“Is that youkai gone now?” Sakura frowned as he asked this. 

His distrust for Natori was clear. Natsume looked around the room. As far as he could tell there weren't any more youkai in the classroom now. His answer seemed to make Sakura happy. While they waited for Natori to finish whatever the heck it was that he was doing, Sakura set Natsume down in the pile of fluffy things. 

It was nice for Natsume to hide away for a minute. He was a bit sad when it was time to move on until he learned that their next stop was Suo's house. Natsume was happy. It had been a long day for him so far. He was happy to be heading home. 

Sakura once again insisted on carrying Natsume for this leg of the journey. Natsume could tell from his perch that Sakura was agitated. This was further confirmed by the fact that Sakura proceeded to drag Suo ahead a little bit and interrogate him about whether or not what they were doing was alright. Natsume wasn't sure what was bothering him so much. 

Finally, they were back at Suo's house. Sakura set Natsume down. Natsume was taking off his shoes when Natori commented:

“That is a lot of youkai.”

Natsume glanced over his shoulder. The tanuki was peering at them from down the hall and some of the small, mushroom youkai had migrated to the ceiling. Natsume turned to tell Natori that they weren't bad. He as he turned, he saw Natori shooing the dog away from the shoes. It was only then that Natsume realize that it might not actually be a dog. Was it a youkai? Whatever it was, it ran from Natori barking. Natsume was sad to see it go. 

With Suo leading the way, Natori started a tour of the house. Natsume started following them. Natori did not like this. At the first room, he stopped Natsume with a hand. 

“You should stay out here,” he said, “Just in case.”

He once again left one of his youkai with Natsume (this time it was the long haired one). Natsume was little bit sad to be left out of the way. He had finally found someone who could see what he saw and they didn't want him around. Sakura hovered for a bit. That being said, he fled when Eisuke came up to them. The older man just sighed when he saw this.

“I don't think he likes you,” Natsume regretfully told the older man. 

Eisuke turned to face Natsume.

“I can see that,” he glanced in the direction that Sakura had fled, “I just wanted to ask him a question.”

“I can tell him the question for you,” Natsume volunteered. 

It was the least he could do. It seemed like every one here was determined to do things for him and not make him work for his stay. Natsume was still having a hard time wrapping his head around that. 

“No need. I just wanted to ask him or Hayato who the their friend was. That's all,” Eisuke ruffled Natsume's hair, “I will track down Hayato instead. You can go back to playing.”

Natsume felt lonely as the old man left him alone in the hallway once more. The youkai must have been feeling bad for him because she disappeared for a minute before coming back with a handful of pebbles. She offered them to Natsume without a word. Natsume wasn't sure what to do with them. 

Seeing that Natsume was unsure, she set them down on the the floor. Bored, Natsume stared sorting them. The youkai joined him. It was sort of relaxing to sort and stack the pebbles. Natsume liked the way that they felt. They sat on the floor for what felt like forever. Finally, Natsume could hear voices up the hallway. Sakura and Natori. It sounded like they were arguing. Natsume wasted no time in hurrying off and trying to stop them from fighting. 

His arrival did very little in the way of their very loud discussion. Sakura kept asking Natori to tell him where every youkai was located. Natori did so begrudgingly. In and amongst all of their talk, Sakura demanded something more of Natori. He demanded that Natori teach Nastume how to draw the talisman that he kept using. 

Natsume perked up. He had seen what Natori could do with those and he wanted to learn. Then he could protect Sakura if something came after him. Natori eventually obliged. He spend the better part of the next hour teaching Natsume about basic talisman. 

Honestly, Natsume didn't understand most of it. He felt a little bit frustrated and embarrassed as he compared his sloppy drawing with Natori's. To compensate for his embarrassment, Natsume tried asking Natori question. Natori didn't mind. He answered what ever Natsume asked him. 

Through this, Natsume learned a lot about different types of youkai, the fact that Natori's youkai friends were in fact his shiki (servants?), and that Natsume himself had an unusually high amount of power. Eventually, Natori took his leave for the day. 

Natsume was sad to see the young man leave. He liked Natori, even if the young man was a bit blunt. 

Dinner that night was quiet. The day had been eventful. Natsume almost fell asleep during the meal. He was glad that bedtime wasn't much later. He was asleep before he hit the pillow. 

Chapter Text

Sakura noticed a marked difference for the better in Takashi's behavior after Natori's visit, even by the following morning. 

Takashi sat a breakfast with a happy smile on his face, completely engrossed in his food (Sakura hadn't realized before just how many furtive glances over his shoulder Takashi had always given). The heartwarming sight almost made up for Eisuke's watchful gaze. 

That being said, Takashi's newly grasped peace wasn't all smooth sailing (for Sakura at least). Sakura had turned his back for a minute while packing up school things. When he looked over his shoulder, Takashi was gone. Sakura felt a thrill of terror run up his spine. Where was Takashi?

Without thinking, Sakura dashed from the room, looking for his kid. It took several minutes of Sakura tearing around the house and dragging Suo into the search before Takashi was found. The little boy was in the central garden, carefully observing the empty air above the small pond and talking to himself. 

Sakura tried to forced his racing heart to calm down. It wasn't an easy task, especially when Suo seemed very aware of just how panicked he had been. Once Sakura felt his blood pressure go back down to something closer to normal, he called to the kid. 

“Takashi! Time to go!”

Takashi's head whipped around. His eyes lit up at the sight of Sakura and Suo. 

The walk to school was uneventful. Takashi walked as he usually did, gripping Sakura's hand as he observed the world around him. He still shyly ducked behind Sakura when the small group was approached by a few residents of Makochi with their usual gifts of food. 

“That youkai, is it still gone?” Sakura asked the moment they made it up to the classroom. 

Takashi looked around and nodded. 

“Good,” Sakura grunted. 

There was a marked difference in Takashi's behavior when there wasn't a youkai prowling around ready to torment him. He was far more relaxed and Sakura even caught him returning a few smiles. He was still clingy during the morning classes, but there wasn't a desperate edge to his grip.

In the afternoon classes, Takashi amused himself with coloring. Whenever Sakura looked over, he couldn't decipher the colorful scribbles, but Takashi seemed very happy, so he wasn't going to complain. 

It was after class that Nirei caught sight of Takashi's drawings. 

“You're so good at that!” he praised. 

Takashi jerked in surprise and his small cheeks blushed at the praise. 

“We should hang these up,” he nodded. 

Before either Takashi or Sakura could protest, Nirei snatched the pictures up and darted away. A few moments later, they were hanging on the back wall for all to see. The rest of the class crowded around to look at them. Clearly mortified, Takashi hid his face in Sakura's chest.

“They are very good,” Kiryuu patted the small boy on the head. 

“Thank you,” Takashi's voice was muffled in Sakura's shirt. 

“It almost makes me wish I had one,” he sighed. 

It was clearly a passing comment, but it must have stuck with Takashi because the next day, he was once again diligently coloring at his desk. When lunch came, Takashi very cautiously crept over to Kiryuu's desk. He tugged on the teen's shirt before presenting the drawing. 

Kiryuu looked genuinely surprised for a half a second before his face melted into a warm smile. He said something. The classroom was too noisy for Sakura to make out what it was. In response, Takashi's face lit up. Sakura felt an immediate stab of jealousy. He slouched at his desk feeling decidedly annoyed (though at what, he wasn't sure). 

“My, my, that's quiet the glare you're giving Kiryuu,” Suo hummed, “Or are you glaring at little Takashi?”

Sakura jerked. 

“I would never glare at Takashi,” he spat back. 

Suo gave him a very critical eye. 

“You are jealous,” the other teen finally shrugged. 

“I am not!” Sakura exclaimed, cheeks warm. 

“You are too,” Suo nodded, “It's only natural since he's practically your little brother.”

Sakura was left puzzled about what Suo's point was. He decided the easiest route was to ignore Suo. This was easy enough to do as a clamor broke out on the other side of the room. Sakura jerked when he realized Takashi was at the center of it. He raced over, vaulting over desks to get there faster. 

“Oi! Back off!” He growled, hauling his nearest classmate away. 

As soon as a path opened up, Takashi darted for the safety of Sakura.

“You good?” Sakura murmured. 

Takashi gave a very small shrug. 

Sakura frowned severally. What did that mean? Had someone tried to hurt him? 

“I think there's been a misunderstanding,” Nirei quickly explained. 

“How?” Sakura growled. 

“Everyone saw that Kiryuu got a drawing and they were all jealous.”

Sakura thought that was a ridiculous idea, but looking around at his classmates, he could see that Nirei was speaking the truth. 

“Fine. If you want a drawing, you have to ask him one at a time,” Sakura growled, “For fucks sake, don't crowd him.”

Just like that a line began to form. 

Sakura could only shake his head in disbelief. 

Over the next week, Takashi's drawing started popping up everywhere. It wasn't just in the 1-1 classroom. They were in other classrooms too. Takashi's eyes always went adorably big whenever he spied one of his latest drawing taped to the wall. 

The next week also saw an increase in the number of Furin students who took Takashi's slightly more relaxed attitude as a sign to approach the kid. In fact, by the time the week was over, Sakura had stop eleven different people from walking off with Takashi. Takashi for his part, did not seem to understand the sway that he had over the rest of the school. 

This was evidenced when a rather peculiar incident occurred. 

School had just let out and patrol routes were being divided up when the classroom door was abruptly shoved open. Kaji strode in, lollypop in mouth, headphones on. He looked around for a moment before spying Sakura. 

“Oi! Sakura!” Kaji bellowed, unable to hear the level of his voice due his headphones blaring music, “Umemiya wants-”

As startling as it was to have the second year captain yelling in a small enclosed space, it was far more starling for him to fall silent in the middle of his message. When Kaji suddenly fell silent, the entire class turned to look. 

Kaji was standing frozen in place. It was easy to see why. Takashi had come up and was tugging on the helm of his shirt. Kaji eventually pulled his headphones down and crouched down to the kid's level. Takashi offered him the paper. Kaji looked confused. 

“It's for you,” Takashi's voice was very soft. 

Thanks to the entire room holding its breathe, everyone heart him. 

Kaji accepted the paper and stared at it for a while. Then he nodded sharply before ruffling Takashi's hair. He then turned back to Sakura.  

“Sakura,” Kaji's tone was oddly soft now, “Umemiya wants to see the two of you up on the roof.”

Sakura frowned.

“Why?”

“I don't know,” Kaji shrugged. 

He then left, carefully holding Takashi's drawing with both hands (Sakura later learned that Kaji kept the drawing safely in his desk and refused to let anyone touch it). 

Sakura took Takashi to the roof top. He was more than a little intimidated to find both Umemiya and Hiragi waiting for them. 

“What do you want?” Sakura growled.

He was feeling antsy and worried. Were they in trouble? Was that why both he and Takashi had been called up here? The answer to his question turned out to be anticlimactic. 

“I just wanted to check in with you and see how everything is going,” Umemiya smile was blinding. 

“It's going fine,” Sakura said flatly. 

“I see, I see,” Umemiya nodded, “Kohota told me you had an exorcist stop by to help set up some safe spots for the little guy.”

Sakura shrugged. He felt Takashi duck behind him at the sudden attention. The kid might not be afraid of Umemiya but it was clear that Umemiya's big personality was overwhelming (something Sakura deeply understood).  

“How's your leg feeling?” Umemiya hummed to the little boy. 

“Better,” Takashi nodded shyly. 

“That's good,” Umemiya smiled. 

Sakura watched carefully, worried that Umemiya was up to something. Umwmiya caught Sakura's guarded gaze. 

“Is there something wrong?” Umemiya asked, cocking his head slightly. 

“Yes. Keep your hands off of my kid. You can't have him,” Sakura growled. 

Hiragi snorted in laughter. Sakura glared at his upperclassman. It wasn't a joke. He was genuinely worried that Umemiya might try to take his kid. 

“Don't you trust me, Sakura?” Umemiya whined a little childishly. 

Sakura did not answer that question. He did, but he wasn't about to say so out loud to Umemiya's face. Umemiya did not deserve that bit of ego stoking. 

“You wound me!” Umemiya gasped. 

“You'll live,” Sakura snorted before he could catch himself. 

He was relieved that his comment did not annoy Umemiya. In fact, both he and Hiragi gave a snort of laughter.

“I know!” Umemiya clapped his hands together, “Hiragi, can you show little Takashi the newest garden beds.”

Hiragi shrugged and stepped forward, holding out a hand for Takashi. Takashi hesitated. It was clear that he did not want to leave Sakura's side. 

“We're just going right over there. You can still see Sakura,” Hiraig said softly. 

Eventually, Takashi did wonder off with Hiragi, but he kept looking back over his shoulder at Sakura. 

“What is it?” Sakura growled.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that Umwmiya had sent Takashi away for a reason. There must be something serious that he wanted to discuss without Takashi overhearing.

“Always straight to the point, aren't you?” Umwmiya laughed softly, “Well, I suppose I should return the favor. See, the thing is that Suo approached me with a concern. He said that you don't seem to like it his house.”

Suo had approached Umemiya? Why that little-

“I... I don't... that's...” Sakura spluttered as he desperately tried to form words after the blindsiding question.

“You don't need to offer a defense, Sakura. I just want to know if you are alright staying there. I can find somewhere else for you to stay if you want.”

“I'm fine,” Sakura grumbled before adding, “Takashi likes it there.”

“I didn't ask about Takashi. I was asking about you,” Umemiya pointed out. 

“I'm fine. You didn't need to call me up here just to ask me this.”

“You would have preferred that I ask you over the school intercom?” Umemiya asked teasingly.

Sakura felt his cheeks burn even though he knew it was a joke. 

“I'm joking,” Umemiya quickly held his hands up in surrender, “But in all seriousness, do you know that you don't have to stay there if you are uncomfortable.”

“I doesn't matter. I'm fine,” Sakura grumbled. 

Sakura turned to go. Umemiya did not try to stop him. 

“Sakura, please tell me if things become too much to handle,” Umemiya said seriously. 

Sakura did not answer. He didn't need help with his personal life. He could deal with things well enough on his own. 

He was wrong. 

<<><><><><><

Natsume felt oddly light after Natori’s cleaning of Suo’s house. It wasn’t just the abstract knowledge that the place was free from harmful youkai. The air itself also seemed lighter (though, maybe that was just Natsume’s imagination). It was such an odd feeling that Natsume almost missed Sakura unease at the breakfast table. 

Indeed, with out the fear of accidentally angering something that might hurt him or running into a youkai that was liable to bite, Natsume wandered about while Sakura was getting ready for school. He ended up in the central garden. 

The early morning sun felt cold, but a little cold. With winter fast approaching, Takashi knew that he should appreciate this while he could. He watched the pretty birds darting about over the pond. 

“Takashi! Time to go!”

Natsume's head whipped around. Sakura was standing by the door into the house and Suo was behind him. 

Natsume eagerly followed the command. 

The walk to school was uneventful. Natsume was sure to tightly clutch Sakura's hand, just in case anything came now that he was leaving his safe haven. Thankfully the group was only approached by some of the elderly people who lived enroute to the school. They had a variety of food items that they insisted on giving Sakura and Suo. 

“That youkai, is it still gone?” Sakura asked the moment they made it up to the classroom. 

Natsume looked around and nodded. The youkai that had been tormenting him was gone. 

“Good,” Sakura grunted. 

Natsume couldn't help but feel relaxed as there was nothing waiting in the classroom to pounce on him. He was so happy that he couldn't help but smile back when a few of Sakura's classmates waved at him. During the afternoon classes, Natsume decided do some drawing. He drew whatever came to mind: Sakura and him doing homework together; Suo and his fish; the small mushroom youkai on the ceiling of the hall. 

Natsume drew all afternoon. It was relaxing. He was almost sad when the bell rung indicating that school was over. 

“You're so good at that!” Nirei's voice startled Natsume. 

He jerked in surprise. 

“We should hang these up,” Nirei continued with a nod. 

Natsume wasn't sure what he was talking about. Hang what up where? He got his answer soon enough. Without asking, Nirei collected Natsume's newest drawing and scurried to the back wall. A few others from class helped him to hang them up on the wall. Natsume wasn't sure what to think. 

This confusion was further emphasized when he realized that the rest of the class had come and gathered around. Natsume dove for the safety of Sakura and buried his face in Sakura's chest. 

“They are very good,” Kiryuu patted Natsume on the head. 

Natsume was mostly sure that was supposed to be compliment. 

“Thank you,” Natsume mumbled without peeling his face away from Sakura's shirt.  

“It almost makes me wish I had one,” Kiryuu sighed. 

The teen sounded wishful and almost sad. Natsume felt bad. He decided then and there that he owed Kiryuu a drawing in exchange for the very nice pile of things in the back of the classroom. 

Natsume spent a sleepless night tossing and turning, trying to decide what he should draw. He was still troubled at the breakfast table. Sakura was too pre-occupied to notice, but Suo noticed.  The other teen approached Natsume after the meal was finished. 

“Are you ok?” Suo crouched down to Natsume's level. 

Natsume didn't know what to answer. He didn't want to worry any one, but at the same time he wasn't ok. Eventually he plucked up the courage to shake his head. 

“What's wrong?” Suo looked concerned. 

“I....I...” Natusme hesitated, “I dunno know what to draw.”

There he had said it. Suo only appeared more confused. After a bit more prompting, Natsume told Suo about what he wanted to do and the trouble of trying to find the right thing to draw for Kiryuu. Upon hearing Natsume's explanation, Suo laughed softly.

“I think he would love anything. Don't think about it too hard,” Suo encouraged. 

Natsume nodded obediently, even though he wasn't really quiet sure what Suo could mean.

It wasn't until they arrived back at school that Natsume suddenly knew what he wanted to draw. He wanted to draw the pile of soft things that Kiryuu had set up for him. It took almost the entire morning, but Natsume did his best.

At lunch time, Natsume crept over to Kiryuu's desk. He tugged on the teen's shirt before presenting the drawing with his eyes screwed tightly shut. There was a pause before Kiryuu took the paper. Natsume risked opening his eyes. Kiryuu was smiling. 

“Is this for me?” Kiryuu asked. 

Natsume nodded. 

“I love it!” Kiryuu told him. 

Natsume's cheeks felt warm. He had hoped that Kiryuu would like it, but he hadn't imagined that Kiryuu would tell him to his face.  His elation was short lived. As soon as the rest of the class caught wind that Kiryuu had been gifted a special drawing, they all started to crowd in. Suddenly surrounded by towering people who were all looking at him, Natsume started to panic. He didn't know what they wanted. 

He was beyond thankful when Sakura shoved his way to the front and scooped him up. 

“You good?” Sakura murmured. 

Natsume gave a very small shrug. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't understand why Sakura's classmates had suddenly crowded in around him. 

“I think there's been a misunderstanding,” Nirei spoke up.  

“How?” Sakura sounded upset. 

“Everyone saw that Kiryuu got a drawing and they were all jealous.”

Natsume hadn't realized that is what was happening. His relief was soon mixed with confusion. Why would they want his drawings? It was an odd phenomenon. Over the next week, all the drawing that Natsume made at school were gifted to different people. Natsume was always surprised to see where they would appear next. Even the older students seemed interested. Natsume didn't know why, after all he knew that his drawings weren't very good. 

Even still, people wanted them. Natsume became used to people barging into the classroom under the pretext of something school related when they really had just come to see him (and maybe score a drawing). 

Natsume assumed this was the case when Kaji showed up. Natsume hadn't seen Kaji in a while. 

“Oi! Sakura!” Kaji bellowed, unable to hear the level of his voice due his headphones blaring music, “Umemiya wants-”

Kaji cut himself off when Natsume started to tug on his shirt. The annoyed lines on Kaji's face melted away and the teen crouched down. Natsume was quick to offer up his latest drawing (a drawing of a bird Natsume had seen). Kaji looked confused. 

“It's for you,” Natsume whispered in embarrassment. 

Kaji accepted the paper and stared at it for a while. Natsume wasn't sure if he was happy or not. Then Kaji nodded sharply before ruffling Natsume's hair with a gentle hand. Then he stood and addressed Sakura once more. 

“Sakura,” Kaji's tone was oddly soft now, “Umemiya wants to see the two of you up on the roof.”

“Why?” Sakura frowned. 

“I don't know,” Kaji shrugged. 

He then left, carefully holding Natsume's drawing with both hands. 

Sakura looked worried as he took Natsume with him to the roof top. Natsume had never been up here before and he immediately decided that he liked it. There were boxes with all sorts of plants in them. In the middle of all the chaotic greenery was Hiragi and Umemiya. Umemiya was weeding and Hiragi was standing behind him with arms crossed. 

“What do you want?” Sakura growled as they approached the older teens. 

“I just wanted to check in with and see how everything is going,” Umemiya looked up with a smile.

He stood up and brushed his hands on his pants.  

“It's going fine,” Sakura said flatly. 

“I see, I see,” Umemiya nodded, “Kohota told me you had an exorcist stop by to help set up some safe spots for the little guy.”

Natsume was worried when Umemiya suddenly looked at him. What was the older teen expecting? He did want Natsume to give some sort of explanation? Natsume hid behind Sakura's legs. 

“How's your leg feeling?” Umemiya hummed. 

It Natsume a moment to realize that Umwmiya was talking to him. 

“Better,” Natsume nodded shyly. 

It was true. All the stiches were gone and everything was well on the road to healing. 

“That's good,” Umemiya smiled. 

Umemiya glanced up at Sakura. 

“Is there something wrong?” he asked. 

“Yes. Keep your hands off of my kid. You can't have him,” Sakura growled. 

Hiragi snorted in laughter. Natsume wasn't sure what was so funny. Sakura liked to say that to everyone for some reason. 

“Don't you trust me, Sakura?” Umemiya whined a little childishly. 

Sakura stayed quiet. Natsume wondered why. After all they were brothers, so it was rude for Sakura to stay quiet. Was this the part were Natsume was supposed to talk?

“You wound me!” Umemiya gasped as though in response to Sakura's silence. 

“You'll live,” Sakura snorted.

“I know!” Umemiya clapped his hands together (startling Natsume), “Hiragi, can you show little Takashi the newest garden beds.”

Hiragi shrugged and stepped forward, holding out a hand for Natsume. Natsume hesitated. He wasn't too fond of the idea that someone else was telling him to leave Sakura. 

“We're just going right over there. You can still see Sakura from there,” Hiragi sighed. 

Eventually, Natsume did wonder off with Hiragi, but he didn't feel at ease. 

“Is Sakura in trouble?” Natsume glanced back over his shoulder. 

“No, Sakura is not in any trouble. Don't worry,” Hiragi smiled. 

“Are you sure?” Natsume tried again. 

“Very sure. Sakura will be fine. Umemiya just wanted to ask him a few question.”

“Oh,” was all Natsume could say. 

“What about you?” Hirai nudged Natsume. 

“How are you doing after the exorcist came through town?” Hiragi asked. 

“Better,” Natsume said cautiously. 

“Have you been having any other troubles?”

Natsume shook his head. 

“How is Suo's house working out for you?”

“It is very nice. I like it,” Natsume hesitated, “I don't think Sakura likes it.”

“And why is that?” 

Natsume shrugged. He had no idea. 

“That's alright,” Hiragi assured him. 

“Are you gonna get mad at Sakura for not liking it?” Natsume quickly asked. 

“Nope. Not at all,”

Natsume relaxed a bit. He poked at a slug under one of the plants. 

“Well, if something does happen, come to any one at the school and we will help you,” Hiragi promised. 

Natsume nodded slowly. 

“Now then,” Hiragi nodded, “I'm going to be honest, I know nothing about plants, that's Hajime's area of interest. What I do know is that these plants are pretty cool, right?”

Natsume nodded once more. The two of them spent a few more minutes poking about the planters before Sakura dragged Natsume off. Sakura looked like he was deep in thought. Natsume wondered why that would be. 

He found out two days later.  

Chapter Text

The talk with Umemiya hovered obnoxiously in the front of Sakura's mind for the next few days. 

He felt like after the talk, he was acutely aware of just how uncomfortable Eisuke made him. This discomfort was compounded with the fact that Eisuke had the sudden urge to approach him a few times in the hallway. Sakura always managed to escape him, but he didn't like the growing frequency of the encounters. 

Sakura was also confused about Suo. The other teen went on living like he hadn't clued Umemiya into a fact that Sakura was very keen to ignore (or hide). Sakura wasn't sure he wanted to confront Suo about it. He wanted to keep pretending that he wasn't hurt by his vice captain's betrayal. 

So, Sakura did what he did best. He lived life with his eyes on the ground. He refused to recognize the the twisting, churning anxiety in his gut that told him that it was only a matter of time before Makochi turned into every other town he had ever lived in. 

Sakura muscled on because others were relying on him. He would not let them see him weak, not matter how hard Nirei begged him to rely on others more. 

Unfortunately, he couldn't keep the illusion that everything was fine up for very long. 

It was Wednesday when everything changed. 

The funny thing was that it hadn't even started out like an extraordinary day. Sakura got out of bed; he took Takashi with him to school; he tried to eat his lunch in peace as his classmates were rowdy around him. 

After the school day was done, it was time to divvy up patrol duty. There had been a recent uptick in targeted attacks at the edge of Makochi as a small, out of town gang vied for a part of Bofurin's territory. As such, all patrols were on high alert. 

Sakura was more than happy to help with the dirty work of cleaning up the streets of anyone who thought they could just waltz in and terrorize the town. It gave him a chance to work off some of his nervous energy from being around Eisuke. He gladly accepted a patrol route that lead right through the area with the most scuffles. It wasn't until after he accepted that he realized that perhaps wasn't the best idea. Afterall, he had Takashi with him. 

“You're taking Takashi home,” Sakura grabbed Suo's arm as he said this. 

Sakura wasn't about to let Takashi come with him and thereby be exposed to a dangerous situation. He also wasn't about to let Takashi hang out at school by himself for anyone to waltz in and scoop up. 

“I... what?” Suo blinked. 

“I have patrol today. You're taking home,” Sakura gruffly told his vice captain. 

Sure he knew that sending Suo home meant that they would loose a strong fighter, but Takashi's safety was worth that price.  

“I also have patrol,” Suo pointed out. 

“Great. I'll take your route too. You take him home,” Sakura grunted, “Captain's orders.”

Sakura, as a general rule of thumb, did not hold his rank over his classmates heads. He wanted to be viewed as one of them and not be excluded simply because he was captain. Suo seemed surprised by Sakura's unusual pulling of rank. They both glanced over at Takashi who was happily drawing away, completely oblivious that he was the topic of their conversations. 

“Alright, but just this once,” Suo sighed. 

Sakura nodded. He didn't think it would be too much longer before Bofurin ran off the upstart gang. Then things would go back to normal. 

“You ready to go home kiddo?” Suo made his way over to Takashi.  

Takashi nodded. He gathered up his thing and followed Suo to the door. He looked a little confused when Sakura did not move to join them. Sakura felt a stab of guilt as Suo ushered him along. After a moment of hesitation, Sakura raced to the door.

“I'll be home soon, Takashi,” he called after them. 

Takashi looked over his shoulder. His face brightened and he nodded. That made Sakura feel at least a little better. He turned back to the classroom and eyed his patrol partner with slight annoyance. 

“Come on. Let's get this over with,” he called. 

Sugishita looked just as thrilled as Sakura felt about being paired up. The taller teen had a slight scowl on his face as they left the school. 

The patrol route turned out to be hectic. They hadn't even reached the halfway point before they were ambushed. There weren't many opponents, but they were strong. Sakura was forced to admit that he hadn't fought such tough opponents in a long while (he would never admit it, but he was glad that Sugishita was there with him). 

Eventually, the scuffles died down for the day as the light faded and a storm began to roll in. It was hard to tell if anyone had been a winner. Both Sakura and Sugishita were worse for the wear, but at least they had knocked out quiet a few gang members in retaliation. 

It was very late by the time Sakura dragged himself back to Suo's house. He was sore and tired. He realized with a stab of dread that it was past dinner time.

Sakura had yet to miss dinner at Suo's house so he wondered what sort of punishment might await that. Perhaps a withheld meal? Or would Eisuke make Sakura beg for food? Sakura wasn't sure he wanted to find out. He would have avoided Suo's house altogether if Takashi wasn't waiting for him there. 

Sakura let himself in the front door and went straight to his room. He hung up his school jacket and then paused. The room was too quiet. He check over his shoulder. Takashi wasn't in the room. Sakura sighed in irritation. He marched down two long hallways over to Suo's room.

Sakura's anxiety mounted when he saw that Takashi wasn't there either. Ignoring Suo's confused questions, Sakura raced to the garden. It was dark out and the storm was about to strike. Even still, Sakura check there as well. No Takashi. 

It was then that Sakura happened to notice that the lights were still on in the dinning room. Sakura ran there next. What he found there chilled his blood. Takashi was sitting at his usual spot at the table, hunched over some paper.

Right next to Takashi was Eisuke. The older man had his hand over Takashi's small one. What they were doing, Sakura didn't know. What he did know was that Eisuke was touching Takashi, possibly without Takashi's permission. 

Leftover adrenaline from the earlier fight mixed with the frantic fear for Takashi's safety. 

Sakura reacted without thinking. 

He tackled Eisuke away from Takashi. 

The older man was taken by surprise. That was probably why Sakura temporarily had the upper hand. The tables quickly turned. Sakura suddenly found himself flipped head-over-heels in a judo style flip. His breath left his body as he landed chest first on the floor and a hard knee was pressed into his back, keeping him down. 

Sakura lay frozen. 

His uncle leaned down, no doubt to scoff at him. 

Sakura tensed up, waiting for his uncle to retaliate. 

“Sakura-kun?”

The knee on his back was suddenly gone. Sakura was quick to dart out of reach. He spun on his heel, arms raised in defense. Backing up so that his back was to a wall, Sakura glanced around the room. Takashi was watching with terror on his face. This only confirmed what Sakura had suspected. Eisuke had been assaulting his kid. 

Sakura prepared for a retaliation, clenching his fists and squaring his shoulders. 

There was shuffling off to one side. Sakura noticed out of the corner of his vision that Suo was standing in the doorway, looking confused and concerned. Sakura didn't have time to focus on his vice captain. He looked at Eisuke (his uncle?) once more. 

“Sakura-kun? What's wrong?” Eisuke was frowning. 

Frowning meant displeasure. 

Sakura was well acquainted with his uncle's frown. No matter how hard he tried to forget it, he was sure that it was burned into his memory. When his uncle frowned, Sakura always ended up hurt. Always. 

Memories forced themselves into his mind. 

His jaw- broken. 

Hands twisting his wrists to keep him still. 

A sneer at his plea to stop. 

The soft reminder that he was unlovable and only good for the money he brought in. 

Running as fast and as far as he could. 

“Sakura-kun?” 

Sakura could not hold back a flinch at his name. He looked around for the speaker. 

Eisuke's intense eyes felt like they were boring into Sakura's skin. The older man took a step forward. Then another step. As the distance between them closed, Sakura felt the panic that had been lurking under the surface ever since moving into Suo's place suddenly burst free. 

He needed to get out of here. 

Fast. 

He was in danger. 

That man was going to hurt him again. 

Sakura's chest felt tight with panic. 

His mind mixed past and present. 

His uncle overlapped with Eisuke. 

Eisuke overlapped with his uncle. 

Sakura couldn't tell the two apart. 

Maybe they had never been two different people.

Someone might have said his name. Sakura wasn't sure. His ears were ringing. He did what his body requested.

He fled. 

<><><><><>

Natsume kept an eye on Sakura after that afternoon on the rooftop. 

Sakura, admittedly, acted like normal (at least in Natsume's view of things). He was brash at school, he listened when Natsume spoke, and he was still picky about his vegetables. All in all nothing new. 

Then Wednesday happened. 

It started out like every other day. Sakura, Suo and Natsume headed off to school. The dark clouds on the horizon promised rain later in the day. Natsume didn't mind. He liked rain. The school day pasted smoothly. Before he knew it, it was already the end of the day. 

Natsume stayed at his desk drawing while Sakura's classmates had some sort of an important sounding meeting. Natsume was waiting until they were done and then he could offer to help Sakura with whatever 'patrol routes' meant. He never got a chance to ask that question. 

Instead, Suo approached him. 

“You ready to head home kiddo?” he smiled easily. 

Natsume nodded obediently. He was more than a little confused and concerned when Sakura did not join them as they left the classroom. He tugged on Suo's hand to remind him that they were forgetting Sakura. Suo just kept herding him along. 

“I'll be home soon, Takashi,” Sakura's voice carried along the hallway. 

Natsume looked over his shoulder. Sakura had stuck his head out of the classroom and was yelling up the hallway. The reassurance made Natusme relax a little bit. He let Suo lead him through the school, confident that Sakura would keep his promise. 

There was a soft snort of laughter. Natsume looked up. Suo was smiling in amusement.

“I wonder if Sakura knows that half the school can hear him when he does that,” he quietly mused. 

“What is is Sakura doing? Why isn't he coming with us?” Natsume asked. 

“Sakura is going on patrol,” Suo nodded. 

“What does that mean?” Natsume wrinkled his nose. 

“He's going to walk around town and see if people need his help,” Suo explained. 

“I can do that,” Natusme nodded. 

“Maybe one day, kiddo,” Suo ruffled his hair.

Natsume pouted. It wasn't fair that he couldn't go with Sakura. He was very good at helping. Afterall, now he knew how to draw basic talisman thanks to Natori. 

The walk home was slow. Natsume did his best to prove to Suo that he should be allowed to go 'on patrol' with Sakura. He held Suo's hand when they crossed streets, he waved if people waved at him, and he pointed out the youkai that they passed. Suo seemed to find this amusing. 

They were all too soon back home. Suo invited Natsume to hang out in his room until Sakura got back. Natsume happily accepted. Suo set out tea and tea cakes. After a bit of encouraging, Natsume eventually helped himself. 

“I like it,” Natsume offered around a mouthful of tea cake. 

“You like what?” Suo hummed. 

Natusme pointed at the things that Suo had laid out. 

“Do you like the tea too?” the teen asked. 

Natsume nodded. Suo blinked. He clearly had not been expecting that answer. 

“Sakura's gonna blow a gasket when he finds out that you're a tea drinker,” Suo lowered his voice conspiratorially, “Sakura doesn't like tea.”

Natsume nodded gravely. He hadn't liked tea until one of his foster homes gave him very little expect for tea and rice. He had learned to like it because there was nothing else.  

Natsume hung out in Suo's room until dinnertime. He was rather concerned to find that Sakura's place at the table was vacant. It made him feel uneasy. Suo must have seen his unease because he assured Natsume that Sakura was just running late and this wasn't anything unusual. 

Natsume tried to enjoy the delicious food in front of him, but it was hard to without Sakura there. 

“Can Sakura still eat?” Natsume asked shyly. 

Both Eisuke and Suo turned towards him. Natsume ducked his head in shame. He probably shouldn't have asked that question. 

“Of course,” Eisuke tolf him, “Why would you think otherwise?”

Natsume could only shrug. The rice in his mouth felt like glue. 

“How about this, when Sakura gets home, I'll have Sousuke heat up his dinner once more so that it's fresh,” Eisuke offered. 

Natsume nodded. 

Sakura would probably like that. Natsume had noticed that he didn't like food that had gone cold. 

It wasn't too much before dinner was over. Both Suo and Eisuke both went their separate ways to do things after the meal. Natsume was left alone. 

He tried to go back to the room that he shared with Sakura, but that was too lonely. Natsume didn't want to go to Suo's room because he knew that Suo had homework to do. Eventually he settled in the dinning room. At least he could be here when Sakura had dinner. 

Satisfied at his choice, Natusme pulled out his own homework. 

This week's worksheets were difficult. Natsume had overheard Nirei telling Sakura that the teacher was trying to figure out what grade homework he needed. This week's homework felt too hard. 

Natsume decided to start with the easiest homework. He was learning how to write hiragana and simple kanji. The patterns made sence in his head, but his hand refused to draw anything that looked like the examples. Natsume bit his lip in frustration. 

“It just takes practice,” a voice hummed. 

Natsume looked up. 

He hadn't been aware that Eisuke had joined him. The older man was looking over Natsume's shoulder at the papers spread on the table. Natsume wondered if he was in trouble. Instead of snapping at him, Eisuke just smiled fondly. 

“It's been so long since Hayato was doing worksheets like these,” Eisuke nodded. 

Natsume chewed on his cheek for a moment. 

“Can you help me?” He softly asked.

Eisuke looked surprised for a moment, then he gave a small smile. 

“Of course,” he agreed. 

The older man settled in the next seat. After a bit of awkward rearranging, Natsume scooted close to Eisuke's side. Once they were arranged, Eisuke placed his hand over Natsume's hand to help guide the pencil as Natsume tried to write the simple character once more. Natsume was pleased with the result. 

“See? Like tha-”

Natsume was completely unprepared for Eisuke to be tackled away from him. He looked up in fear, expecting to find a youkai. Instead, he found Sakura. The teen had tackled Eisuke to the floor. In a surprising show of flexibility for someone his age, Eisuke flipped Sakura over his shoulder. Then Sakura was the one pinned to the ground. 

“Sakura-kun?” Eisuke sounded just as startled as Natsume felt. 

The older man released his hold and took a step back. Sakura whirled around, arms held up in a fighting stance. His eyes were wild. He looked like a feral animal. He was scraped up like he had been in a fight. 

Natsume felt something like terror running through his body. What was going on? Why was Sakura acting like that? Natusme didn't understand. 

Sakura glanced around the room before turning his gaze back to Eisuke. 

“Sakura-kun? What's wrong?” Eisuke asked with a frown. 

The older man took a step forward. Sakura's whole body went visibly stiff. Natsume wasn't sure if the teen was breathing. A strange look came over Sakura's face. Without warning, he ran.

Natsume could only watch in terror and dismay as Sakura pushed past Suo and fled the room. 

Chapter Text

Sakura let his feet blindly take him where they wanted. 

He didn't know where he was running. 

He didn't care. 

He just needed to get away from his uncle. 

Sakura barely felt the rain as it pelted him. He just kept running. Eventually, he stopped his running and looked around. Somehow, he had made it up onto the roof of Furin High School. 

Sakura shivered as the cold rain soaked him through. 

Feeling lost, he huddled between two of Umemiya's raised garden beds. His mind was still blank from panic. The cold rain felt like needles and the wind felt like it was ripping straight through him. Thunder boomed over head. Sakura curled up tighter and squeezed his eyes shut.

It was fine. 

This was fine. 

He was fine. 

“Sakura?”

Sakura nearly jumped out of his skin. He jumped up into a fighting stance, ready to blindly take on whoever it was. He was surprised to see Umemiya. 

“What are you doing up here?” the older teen frowned. 

Sakura was still struggling to get his thoughts into coherent order so words were beyond him at the moment. Something in Umemiya's face shifted. Moving very slowly, he grabbed Sakura by the wrist and guided him back inside the school. Sakura was shivering. He wasn't sure if he was cold or terrified. 

“Hey, what happened?” Umemiya's voice was annoyingly gentle. 

Sakura shook his head. 

“Do you want to talk to someone else?”

Sakura shook his head once more.

“I want to get you dry. Do you want to go back to Suo's place? Or do you want to go my place?”

Sakura shook his head once more. He wasn't trying to be difficult, he just found it very hard to see anywhere as safe at the moment. He realized that he should have run to his old apartment. At least there he could barricade himself in and no one would be able to bother him. 

He slowly sank to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. 

“Alright. Wait right here,” Umemiya murmured. 

The older teen took a few steps away, calling someone on his phone. An awkward silence fell as Umemiya waited for the line to pick up. 

“Ah! Suo!”

Sakura flinched without meaning to. Umemiya was going straight to the source. 

“Hey, listen, I stopped by the school to tie down a few loose things in the storm and I found Sakura. He seems panicked and he's not really talking so should I take him to my house or yours?”

Umemiya was quiet as he listened to Suo. 

“He did what? I see, I see,” the taller teen nodded slowly, “Hmm...... Yeah...... Ok, that's probably a good idea for now. Let's plan for that and I'll let you know if something changes.”

Umwmiya hung up. Then he crouched in front of Sakura. 

“Hey, let's head over to my place for the moment. It's not that far and it will be dry.”

Sakura found himself gently being tugged through the school and back out into the rain. He was in no mental place to keep track of where Umemiya was taking him. Eventually, Sakura found himself pushed through a door, out of the rain and into the warmth of a small apartment. 

He stood there dripping in the entryway. He didn't know why he was here. He wanted to leave, yet at the same time, he wanted to stay. Umemiya had proved to be safe before and a desperately irrational part of Sakura's brain screamed with the desire to cling to the semblance of safety, if only for a moment. 

Umemiya handed Sakura a towel. Sakura just stared at it. His brain felt too disconnected from his body to do much of anything at the moment. Umemiya must have seen this because he gently took the towel back and started to dry Sakura's hair. That got Sakura's attention. 

He jerked away. 

“I can dry myself,” he snapped. 

With a nod, Umemiya offered him the towel once more. Sakura dried his hair. As he was finishing, he looked up to see Umemiya holding out a change of clothing. Sakura did not accept. 

“Please,” Umemiya huffed in rare show of mild exasperation, “I don't want to see you catch cold.”

Sakura eventually took the clothing, but only because it was painfully clear that Umemiya wasn't about to let him refuse. Umemiya let Sakura duck into the small bathroom to change. Sakura was forced to admit the dry clothes did feel much better than his wet ones. It was a little embarrassing the way they hung off his body, but Sakura had already been through enough emotional upheaval today that he didn't have the reserves at the moment to really care. 

He slowly wondered into the main living area. He felt lost. Umemiya caught him by the elbow and gently shoved him over to the low couch. A mug was placed into his hands. Sakura looked at it in confusion. The brown liquid inside was certain not coffee. 

“I didn't know if you drank tea,” Umemiya explained, “So I made you hot chocolate.”

Sakura stared at his mug. 

“What am I? A child?” he snorted. 

That being said, he didn't refuse the drink. It was warm and sweet. 

“Feeling better?” Umemiya smiled. 

Sakura shrugged. 

“Now, I am curious, can you tell me how you ended up on the roof during a storm?” Umemiya cocked his head. 

“I didn't mean to,” Sakura grumbled. 

That was true enough. He didn't know why he had ended up there. He should have run somewhere safe, somewhere that his uncle would never be able to find him. Maybe he should have left town. 

“Didn't mean to what?” Umemiya prompted. 

“The roof.... I dunno....Any of it,” Sakura felt the telltale warmth beginning to creep into his cheeks. 

“I see,” Umemiya hummed, “Do you want to elaborate?”

“No,” Sakura scowled petulantly. 

“Alright,” Umemiya sighed, “I'm not going to force you to answer me, but I do want you to know something.”

Sakura begrudgingly looked up. 

“Whatever it is that you think you did, it wasn't your fault,” Umemiya told him gravely. 

“How would you know that?” Sakura scoffed.

On the inside, he was panicking. How much did Umemiya know?  

“Just trust me on that one,” Umemiya said softly, “Whether it was something tonight or ten years ago, it wasn't your fault.”

Sakura's hands clenched around the mug. He wished he could believe Umemiya. That would be nice. 

“Right, well, if you don't want to talk and I'm not going to let you go back out into the storm, I say we have a movie night,” Umemiya nodded, “What do you want to watch?”

Sakura shrugged and didn't answer. 

Umemiya chatted blithely into the air, clearly not expecting Sakura to have much input. For reasons that Sakura didn't understand, the atmosphere around Umemiya's house was relaxing. The adrenaline from earlier was long gone. Sakura felt bone tired. He didn't even make half way through whatever godawful movie Umemiya picked out before he pass out from exhaustion. 

<><><><><><>

It was becoming quiet clear that Sakura was not coming back tonight. 

Maybe ever. 

Natsume felt ill. He had gotten attached. He shouldn't have done that. He was still sitting frozen at the table. After Sakura had darted out of the room, Suo had followed. Eisuke too left not much later. Natsume was left alone. 

It had been a while since Natsume had felt so alone. He should have been ok with that feeling but today it was crippling. 

He hugged his knees to his chest. He didn't know what to do. 

Time ground on at an agonizing pace. Rain lashed against the roof and wind howled through the trees. Natusme just wanted things to go back to how they were. He wanted Sakura to come back. 

The clock on the hallway chimed nine. 

Natsume stayed put where he had been left. 

The rain did not lessen. 

The wind howled harder. 

Time ground on. 

The clock in the hallway chimed ten. 

Natsume remained where he had been left. 

Alone. 

Unwanted. 

In the way. 

What felt like a small eternity later, the clock struck eleven. 

Natsume was convinced that he was trapped in a horrible nightmare that he couldn't escape. 

“Kiddo? You're still up?”

Natsume tiredly turned to face the speaker. Suo was standing frozen mid-step in the hallway, almost like he had been passing by and just happened to look into the room. The teen rerouted his steps and made his way over to Natsume's side. 

“Are you ok?” Suo crouched down to Natsume's level. 

The question opened the floodgates. Natsume shook his head and shamefully hot tears burned his eyes. An odd look came over Suo's face. After a moment of hesitation, Suo pulled him close. As shameful as it was, Natsume couldn't overcome the urge to cling to Suo with all his might. He could feel himself trembling. 

“What's wrong?” Suo asked. 

“I....I want Sakura,” Natsume hiccupped as the tears began to fall. 

Suo's hand came up to rub his back. Natsume cried until his tears stopped on their own. He felt exhausted. 

“Sakura is....” Suo trailed off as though looking for the words, “Sakura needed some space. He'll be back tomorrow.”

Natsume knew he was young, but he could read between the lines just as well as the next person. 

“I didn't mean to,” he was careful not to his snot or tears on Suo's shirt. He didn't want to make Suo hate him. 

“You didn't mean to what?” Suo looked confused. 

“I didn't meant to make Sakura run away,” Natsume choked. 

He was always the problem. He had thought that life with Sakura would be different than his previous foster homes. He was wrong. 

He was startled with Suo spoke. 

“You're wrong,” Suo's voice was a little on the stern side, “You didn't do this. Sakura's actions are not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong.”

That was a nice thing to say, but it couldn't be true.... could it?

“Like I said, Sakura just needs some space. His thoughts were too overwhelming. He's with Umemiya,” Suo smile seemed a little forced. 

Oh. That made sense that Sakura would run to his brother's house. Sakura would want to go somewhere safe. Natsume didn't have that. He tried not to feel the sting of betrayal that Sakura had chosen Umemiya over him. 

The rain continued it's relentless pounding. 

Natsume sagged against Suo, emotionally wrung out. 

“Alright, let's get you to bed,” Suo stood and lifted Natsume. 

“C-can I sleep with you tonight?” Natsume's cheeks burned as he asked this. 

He shouldn't have asked this, but he wanted to have one more sliver of comfort before they all got rid of him tomorrow.  

Suo looked surprised by the request. 

“Sure. I don't see why not,” he smiled. 

Suo stopped by the room that Natsume shared with Sakura so that Natsume could grab his pajamas. As soon as Natusme was fully ready for bed, Suo let him climb into the bed first. Once he was settled, Natsume waited for Suo just like he waited for Sakura. 

It didn't take Suo long to get ready for bed. As with everything about Suo, it was efficient and effective. If Natsume was in a different mood, he might have giggled to see Suo like this. Suo hair was a bit mussed from changing out of his day clothes. His pajamas were bright red silk and were clearly well loved. It was also odd to see Suo without his eye patch. The empty eye socket gaped eerily. The fish that usually lived under the eye patch were free to swim about, though they didn't venture far. 

“Do I have something on my face?” Suo teased lightly. 

Natsume nodded slightly. 

“Your fish,” he answered. 

A small smile flitted across Suo's face. 

“Good. Then nothing out of the ordinary,” Suo nodded. 

With that, Suo turned off the light and climbed into bed. It didn't take long for Natsume to migrate to a position right against Suo's side. He felt a stab of loneliness. Suo was nice, but Suo was not Sakura. The raw parts of Natsume's heart started to hurt again. Quite without meaning to, Natsume cried himself to sleep. 

<><><><><><>

The choked sobs shook Suo's body despite the fact that they were not his. 

Takashi was trying hard to be quiet as he cried and he was doing a terrifyingly good job for someone so young. Suo restrained himself from comforting the small boy, suspecting that would only make things worse by making the boy self-conscious. 

Eventually, Takashi cried himself to sleep. 

The storm continued outside as Suo lay awake for a little bit longer. 

The last few hours had been worrying, even for him. He had chased Sakura out of the house, but quickly lost sight of Sakura in the storm. He and Eisuke searched for a good two hours before Suo happened to get a call from Umemiya detailing where Sakura was (and what condition the wayward grade 1-1 captain was in). 

Suo and Eisuke had returned home for the night, knowing there was nothing else they could do at the moment. It was entirely by chance that Suo passed by the dinning room on the way to his own bedroom and spotted the forlorn Takashi. 

It could not have been more obvious that Takashi was terrified. At first Suo had thought he was scared of the storm. Then Takashi had mumbled an apology for making Sakura run. Suo wasn't sure how to handle this. Takashi had bonded with Sakura for reasons unknown to mankind. By that same token, it was Sakura who was the one best suited to comforting Takashi. Suo did what he could, but he knew it wasn't enough. 

Suo's last thought before he too fell asleep was that Sakura had a lot of explaining to do come morning. He hoped that Takashi was the forgiving type. 

Chapter Text

Sakura sat bolt upright, panting as he woke from a nightmare. 

He was very disoriented. 

He didn’t know where he was. 

He didn’t how he had gotten here. 

The face of his uncle hovered before his waking eyes. 

Sakura tensed, arms raised to defend himself. 

Oddly enough, nothing happened. 

The face of his uncle slowly faded away and disappeared into the soft light of pre-dawn. It had just been a nightmare. There was nothing to fear now. 

Sakura flopped back down on the couch as the the tension left his body. He didn't feel like he had slept at all. In fact, the only indication that he had slept at all was the fact that light was growing in the room, indicating that dawn was coming and the night was over. 

Finally, Sakura looked around. He was in a room that he did not recognize, wearing someone else’s clothes. Something snored. Sakura looked down at the floor next to the couch. Umemiya was sprawled out on the floor, fast asleep. Some of what had occurred slowly seeped back int Sakura’s awareness. 

Umemiya had found him on the roof of Furin in the middle of the storm and brough him home like he was some sort of pathetic animal. 

Sakura tugged at the far too large shirt and frowned. Why had he been on the school roof? He had been running. Running from-

Sakura felt like he stopped breathing for a moment. 

How could he have forgotten? He had been running from his uncle. No. Eisuke? Sakura scrubbed at his eyes. It had been Eisuke, not his uncle, that he had run from last night. Or at least, he was fairly certain that was true. 

Sakura shivered. 

His uncle was the last person he wanted to think of at the moment. He wondered what Suo would think of him now. He would probably have some smart-ass comment ready and tease him for being an idiot. Not comforting. What would Takashi think?

Sakura froze. 

Takashi. 

He had left Takashi at Suo’s house. 

How could he have been so careless?

Sakura felt a sudden galvanization of energy.

Takashi.

He needed to make sure that Takashi was alright. He crept off of the couch, careful not to disturb Umemiya. He was disappointed to see that his clothes were still wet from the storm yesterday. Still, he changed into them, determined not to be caught dead wearing clothes from Umemiya. 

Then, being as quiet as he could, Sakura crept from the apartment. 

The storm had blown through during the night. The ground was damp and the air was fresh. The sun had only just risen. No one else was about yet. Sakura was thankful for this.

His steps were confident all the way until he caught sight of Suo’s house. It was here that he hesitated. Eisuke was in there. Sakura didn’t want to see the older man. He wasn’t sure if it was mortification for how he had acted last night or if it was the lingering horror of his uncle. Either way, Sakura had to fight to keep his feet moving forward.

The front door loomed forbiddingly in front of him. Sakura almost couldn’t bring himself to enter Suo’s house. He stood in front of the door for a very long time. Eventually, he forced himself to go inside. Strangely enough, he was not set up by Eisuke the moment his foot crossed the threshold. There was no screaming, no berating, no accusing, no attack, nothing at all. It was unsettling because Sakura’s gut was telling that there should be. 

He crept forward, hardly daring to breathe. 

He made it through the first hallway. 

That’s when he was caught. 

“You.”

Sakura turned to face the speaker. 

It was Suo. 

The other teen’s face was decidedly blank. Sakura did his best to ignore whatever confusing emotions were daring to choke him out at the moment. 

“Follow me,” Suo commanded. 

After a moment of hesitation, Sakura begrudgingly followed Suo. Suo lead him to the garden. Perhaps it was chosen on purpose, but Sakura had a full view of if anyone was attempting to approach them or listen in. 

“Sit,” Suo’s tone was uncompromising. 

Sakura wasn’t sure he had ever seen his vice captain like this. It couldn’t be more clear that Suo’s nerves were frayed. Honestly, Sakura should have been impressed to see controlled Suo in such a state. He had been around long enough to know that such a thing was a rare occurrence. 

Sakura gingerly did what Suo commanded and sat on the narrow bench by the pond. Suo remained standing, his hands clasped behind his back, his lone eye narrowed. 

“You’ve been uncomfortable ever since you moved in. I opted not to ask you about it because I know that each of us has our own problems. I figured it was your business and you would share once you felt comfortable,” Suo frowned, “I’ve tried to wait, but after last night I can’t wait any longer. What is going on?”

Sakura felt a rush of shame on his face. 

“Nothin',” he mumbled. 

“Bull shit.”

That caught Sakura off guard. Suo didn’t usually swear. 

“Really. I mean it. Nothi-”

“If you say ‘nothing’ one more time, I will punch you in the face. What happened last night wasn’t ‘nothing’. You were scared of something or maybe someone. What is it? What is going on?” Suo demanded.

“None of your business,” Sakura shot back. 

Suo looked like he was going to retaliate with the promised punch, but then he leaned back a bit and scrubbed at his eye. 

“I’m sorry. I am letting my emotions get the best of me at the moment. Last night was trying,” he apologized abruptly. 

Sakura frowned. It had been trying for Suo? Why? He knew that Umemiya had called Suo, so Suo couldn’t have been worried about his whereabouts or safety. 

“It’s Takashi,” Suo finally sighed. 

Sakura’s heart dropped. 

“He seems to think that you’ve abandoned him,” Suo told him gravely. 

“That’s not true! Why do you think I came back?” Sakura snapped. 

Sakura, as a rule, did not return to anywhere he had ever run from. This was incident was proving to be an exception to the rule. 

“I think that you reacted last night without thinking and now you don’t know how to fix things,” Suo narrowed his eyes. 

Sakura’s shoulders sagged. Suo had hit the nail on the head. That was exactly what had happened. 

“Listen, Sakura,” Suo sighed, “I just want to help, but I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

Sakura debated what to do. His instincts were telling him to shut up at the same time the weight of his past crushed down on him. Against his better judgement, Sakura answered Suo's earlier question.

“It’s Eisuke,” he finally admitted. 

“I have figured out that much,” Suo snorted, “What about him?”

Sakura’s mouth was dry. 

“He looks a lot like my uncle,” he mumbled as he picked at the hem of his damp shirt. 

“I see. Is that a bad thing?” Suo cocked his head. 

“Yes,” Sakura shuddered, “He’s a fucking asshole.” 

Suo waited for more explanation. 

“You gotta promise you’re not gonna tell Nirei or Umemiya or anyone else about this,” Sakura demanded. 

“Of course.”

Suo’s face was unusually serious as he promised this. There was no lie that Sakura could see. He would keep his word in this. 

Sakura knew there was no turning back. He took a deep breath before he began. 

<><><><><>

Natsume spent the whole night tossing and turning fitfully. 

He had been laying awake for a while before he felt Suo stir. The teen crept out of bed a little while later. He dressed himself and started towards the door. 

“Where are you going?” Natsume croaked. 

Suo whirled around. Apparently he hadn’t been aware that Natsume was awake already. 

“Sorry kiddo. Did I wake you?” Suo smiled softly. 

Natsume shook his head. 

The smile disappeared and a troubled look passed over Suo’s face. Natsume knew he had given the wrong answer. 

“I’m going out to the garden to do some meditation. Do you want to join me?” Suo offered. 

Natsume hesitated. He didn’t know what the right answer was. He didn’t want to intrude on Suo’s quiet morning rituals. At the same time he didn’t want to be left alone. 

“Can I?” 

“Of course,” Suo smiled. 

Natsume wiggled out of bed and padded after Suo. They went down to the garden. Eisuke was already there. Natsume felt a pang of loneliness that Sakura wasn’t there. He only kept the tears from his eyes by focusing on the pre-dawn light slowly lightening the sky. 

Eisuke and Suo set about doing whatever it was that they did in the morning. Feeling like he was intruding, Natsume settled down by the pond and let his fingers trail in the water. He wished that there were fish in the pond. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew was that Suo was shaking him. 

“It’s time for breakfast,” Suo informed him.

Natsume nodded numbly. He didn’t protest as Suo picked him up.

“When do you want me to leave?” he asked softly. 

Something strange came over Suo’s face. Natsume wasn't sure if it was horror or worry. It didn't stay long. Unlike Sakura, Suo was very good at controlling what emotions he showed. That just meant that Natsume had to work harder at giving the correct answers. 

“You are not leaving,” Suo paused, “Not unless you don’t feel safe.”

“Do you feel unsafe?” Eisuke asked. 

Natusme shrugged. 

“Listen, kiddo,” Suo hummed, “If you ever feel that way, all you have to do is tell someone, literally anyone in town, and they will help you.”

Natsume knew that wasn’t true. He had tried to tell people about when he wasn’t feeling safe before and no one ever listened to him. That's how he had ended up here. 

“I miss Sakura,” Natsume mumbled, pressing his face into the crook of Suo’s neck. 

“He’ll be back today, I’m sure,” Suo nodded. 

Natsume was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. 

“He won’t want me back,” he whispered. 

And wasn't that the crux of the issue. He wanted Sakura, but there was no way Sakura would ever consider taking him back. Once people let him, they left him for good, regardless of how he felt. 

“Why would you think that?” Suo snorted. 

“He left because of me,” Natsume mumbled. 

“I told you last night, Sakura did not leave because of you,” Suo sighed as he set Natsume down at the table.

“He left because of me. People always leave because of me,” Natsume shook his head. 

Suo exchanged a look with Eisuke. Natsume was too miserable to pay much attention to it. He poked at breakfast, not feeling much of an appetite.

“You have to eat something Takashi-kun,” Eisuke prompted. 

Natsume obediently put some food into his mouth. He managed all of three bites with his churning stomach. Then he felt sick and couldn't continue. 

“What if we had Sousuke make you some rice congee?” Eisuke hummed. 

Natsume shook his head. He did like rice congee, but he didn’t want to make even more work for these people. He had already been too much work for Sakura (this was his running theory as to why Sakura had left) and he was terrified of losing any more people in his life. 

He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to keep the tears and exhaustion at bay. By the time he looked up, it was just him once more in the dining room. Both Suo and Eisuke were gone. Natsume didn't know to where. 

Oddly enough, he wasn't alone for long. Eisuke reappeared a few minutes later without Suo. 

“Sousuke will be out in a few minutes with some rice congee,” Eisuke smiled gently, taking the seat next to Natsume. 

Despite the fact that he knew better, Natsume leaned into Eisuke’s side. He was tired. He hadn’t felt this lonely since he had lost his dad. Eisuke gently ruffled his hair. The feeling made Natsume all confused. Why was Eisuke being nice to him? All Natsume had done was cause trouble. 

The willow green youkai in the window drooped as though feeling Natsume's emotions. 

“You know, Takashi-kun,” Eisuke hummed, “Has Hayato ever told you about how he came to live with me?”

Chapter Text

Sakura still didn’t feel ready as he started his story. 

“My parents are weird. They’ve lived aboard pretty much my whole life. They left me and my brother-” he was interrupted. 

“You have a brother?” Suo arched an eyebrow. 

Sakura bristled at the question. He wasn't sure which annoyed him more: the interruption or the prying question itself. 

“Yes. An older brother. Why? You gotta problem with that?” Sakura snapped defensively. 

“No. Not at all. I'm just surprised to learn that. How much older is he?” Suo seemed genuinely interested. 

“A little more than fourteen years,” Sakura shrugged, “I don't see him any more really. He lives in Okinawa now. He doesn't visit.”

That was an understatement. The last time Sakura had even talked to his brother was nearly seven years ago. He didn't even remember the last time he had seen his brother. 

“What's his name?” Suo cocked his head. 

“Why do you care?” Sakura frowned. 

“It was just a question. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away,” Suo held his hands up to show peace.

Sakura glared at his vice-captain. He had already divulged his brother’s existence, so what did a little more information hurt?

“Weather,” he finally grumbled. 

“What?” Suo arched an eyebrow. 

“That's my brother's name. Sakura Weather. My birth name is Sakura Haru, with kanji for spring,” Sakura grunted, “Like I said, my partners are weird. They probably thought it was poetic or whatever.”

Suo made no comment. Sakura was thankful for this. 

“Anyway, when they were out of the country, they would leave me 'n Weather with our uncle. Weather moved out when he got into university, so it's fine or whatever. That just left me with our uncle.”

Sakura swallowed harshly. 

“My uncle….”

Where should he even start? There was so much that he didn’t want to remember; so much he didn’t want to share. 

Suo did not mind the silence. He just sat there patiently, waiting for Sakura to feel ready. The sun started to creep into the courtyard. 

“My uncle,” Sakura started again, “was an asshole. He just kept me around 'cause of the money that parents would send him to take care of me. He always used that money on himself though. It wasn’t bad at first, but that was probably because Weather was living with us. After Weather moved out, my uncle started getting violent. I learned to be pretty quick on my feet to try and stay away from him when I was home.”

Sakura took a deep breath.  

“When I was probably around Takashi’s age, I was runnin' from him and fell down a flight of stairs. I broke my jaw. My parents heard about it and sent more money than usual to cover the bill. My uncle liked the increase in money.”

To avoid looking at Suo, Sakura picked at his nails. This was uncomfortable for him to talk about. 

“He started hurting me more often then he would call my parents to complain how I was such a clumsy child or say that I had nothin' better to do with my time than pick fights. My parents never bothered to check his story. They just sent more money whenever I got hurt.”

Sakura paused. Suo was staring intently at him. Sakura wished he wouldn't, but he didn't have the courage to tell his vice captain this. Instead, he focused on his story once more. 

“Everything got really bad in middle school. The bullying at school started to get physical in addition to verbal. I ended up in the hospital a lot. My uncle liked it because every time I ended up in the hospital, he got more money and he didn’t even have to do anything. That being said, when we got low on money, he would hurt me again. If I'm being honest, I think I spent more time in the hospital than at school that year.” Sakura was embarrassed to admit as much. He hoped that Suo wouldn't think he was weak after this. 

“Then it got even worse. One of my teachers was worried about me. I don't know if he was actually worried or if he was just trying to uphold the school's reputation. He reached out to my uncle several times before he finally got my uncle met with him once. I don't know what they talked about. What I do know was that when I got him, that was the worst mood I had ever seen my uncle in.”

“My uncle told me that I was just making trouble for him. He said I was trying to get him arrested and he only ever did things to help me be prepared for the real world. He said that I should be thankful because no one else, not even my parents, wanted me so he had taken on the burden of caring for me. He said he was pulling me from school until I learned to be grateful. I made the stupid mistake of asking why….” Sakura swallowed hard. 

This conversation was dragging up old memories he didn’t want to remember. He didn’t want to remember his uncle’s blind rage. He didn’t want to remember the horrific beating that he still bore the scars of on his back. 

He lost the battle with himself. 

Sakura went down on hands and knees, retching violently. 

Suo was there in an instant, hands rubbing up and down Sakura’s back. It was quiet a while before Sakura's trembling arms didn't feel like they were going to cave on him and his stomach finally settled a bit. 

“He beat me up before he…. he locked me in the shed for two days without food or water,” Sakura croaked, still feeling ill at the memory, “He made me beg for forgiveness before he unlocked the door. I ran away that night. Got taken off the streets by the police. Told ‘em I was an orphan and they didn’t look too hard into anything, probably because I told 'em my name was 'Haruka' instead of 'Haru' and that didn't match anything in their system.”

Sakura rushed to finish his story, favoring speed over detail at this point. 

“The police made me live with a foster family for the mean while. I hated that place mostly because the family clearly didn't want me. I lived with them for three years. Then my uncle managed to track me down. I don't know how he found me again, but he showed up at their house one evening. I ran away from them and ended up here,” Sakura choked a little, “I've always been worried that he'll show up here too.”

There. Now Suo knew everything. 

Sakura stared at the shameful puddle of sick that he had left on the decorative rocks rather than at his vice captain's face. He knew what he would find if he looked up; pity, disgust, shock, indifference. Sakura had seen it all. 

“I see,” Suo’s voice was oddly void of emotion. 

Sakura knew from experience that this mean that Suo was seething. He winced. He wasn't unfamiliar with anger. If anything, it was the emotion Sakura was the most familiar with. Suo had every right to be angry with him, after all he had hidden his past for as long as he could from his prying classmates. Suo must be livid that Sakura had kept so much a secret.

“Where is your uncle now?” Suo asked abruptly. 

That was an odd question. 

“I don’t know,” Sakura admitted.

“You do know what you went through it child abuse, right?” 

“I'm not weak,” Sakura was quick to defend himself. 

“That's not what I said.”

Sakura hunched his shoulders. He knew that wasn't what Suo had said, but he knew it was what Suo must be insinuating. 

“Sakura, if you were uncomfortable about my master, why did you stay? You have left at any time or even not moved here at all,” Suo asked, switching topics.  

“It's better for Takashi here,” Sakura grunted, “He deserves somewhere he feels safe.”

“You matter too, you know,” Suo pointed out. 

“He’s a kid. He’s more important,” Sakura once again tried to deflect Suo’s point. 

“You’re a kid too,” Suo snorted. 

“Doesn’t fucking matter. It never has,” Sakura wrapped his arms around himself. 

“How can I help?” Suo asked. 

Sakura shrugged. He didn’t know. The answer did not appear to please Suo. 

“Is there anything?” the taller teen pressed. 

“If I knew, I would tell you,” Sakura hissed. 

He immediately regretted his tone as his tongue outpaced his brain. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled and ducked his head even further. 

Suo was quiet for a very long time. 

“I can’t say that I relate to much of your story. I’ve been living with my Master since I was a little older than Takashi’s age. My mother was killed in a car wreck. I lived with my grandparents for a while before coming here. Eisuke is technically my first cousin once removed, or something like that.”

Sakura felt a flash of jealous at Suo’s picture perfect life. Then he felt guilty for feeling that way. Suo's parents were dead so his life had probably hadn't been perfect. 

“What I do know is that you were hurt by someone who had no right to hurt you like that,” Suo continued, “Sakura, do you think speaking with my Master would make things better at all?”

That was the last thing that Sakura wanted. He did not want to talk with Eisuke about any of his past. Not now, not ever. 

“No!” he spat. 

“May I ask why?”

“I...I... I don't... I just... I can't...” Sakura was unable to find the words. 

His cheeks burned. He didn't know if it was shame, anger or terror. 

“Alright. Calm down. I'm not going to make you do or not do anything. It was just a question,” Suo said softly.

Sakura, logically, knew this. Still, it was nice to hear Suo say it out loud. He nodded stiffly. 

“That being said,” Suo sighed, “You do know you have to face your fears sooner or later.”

Sakura did not want to admit this.

“Can I tell my Master about any of this?” Suo asked. 

Sakura quickly shook his head. Maybe he would feel differently at a later time, but right now he couldn't bare the thought of any one else known these things, especially when the person in question looked so very much like his uncle. 

“I see,” Suo nodded, “Well, thank you for telling me.”

“Sure. Whatever,” Sakura felt embarrassed. 

“In the meantime, if you think of any way I can be of help, let me know. I will continue to think and see if I come up with anything myself.”

Sakura nodded slowly. He glanced at the sky. More time had passed than he had originally thought. 

“We’re going to miss school,” he pointed out, more as a way to escape this conversation than anything else. 

“School will still be there tomorrow,” Suo shrugged, “One day of absence will hard mar the record of a delinquent.”

Sakura rose from his seat and Suo followed his lead. 

The two of them made their way inside. It was just inside the house that Sakura found Takashi waiting for them, seated on the ground with his knees pulled to his chest. The kid was tense and wary, a little bit like how he had been when Sakura first took him in. Sakura hesitated before scooping the kid up. He was sad to see that Takashi did not immediately melt into his arms. Sakura was forcefully reminded of Suo's words about Takashi's fear. 

“Sorry,” Takashi murmured, gaze downcast. 

“Why are you apologizing?” Sakura frowned.

As far as he was aware, Takashi hadn't done anything wrong.  

“I didn’t mean to make you run away,” Takashi sniffled. 

Sakura could tell that his kid was on the verge of tears. His brain started to short-circuit as he tried to come up with what to say next.  

“I told you, it’s not your fault,” Suo sighed, “Right Sakura?”

“That’s right,” Sakura said gruffly, mentally thanking Suo for having his back yet again, “It’s not your fault. You didn't do anything.”

“Do you still want me?” Takashi mumbled. 

The question terrified Sakura. How could Takashi think otherwise?

“Of course I do!”

“Really?”

“You’re stuck with me,” Sakura insisted. 

Apparently those were the magic words. With a small shiver, Takashi buried his face into Sakura’s neck as he pressed himself as close as possible against Sakura's chest. Sakura just hugged him tighter. 

<><><><><>

Natsume respectfully shook his head. 

He didn't know until now that Suo was not Eisuke's son. 

“I suppose he probably wouldn't have,” Eisuke sighed, “It's not a very happy story.”

The older man settled back a bit before he began his story. 

“Hayato’s mother, Naho, was my youngest cousin. No. That’s not strictly fair. I had two cousins, both younger than me. She was the younger one. My family as a whole wasn't - still isn't - close. After I left home, I never bothered to keep in touch with anyone. In fact, it was entirely by accident that I found that she had died in a freak car crash. The road was slippery and she ended up off of the highway. Hayato was with her in the crash, but I didn't know that until later,” Eisuke smiled bitterly. 

Natsume could tell that even though he hadn’t been close to this person, Eisuke still missed them. He gravely patted Eisuke’s knee in comfort. Eisuke gave a soft chuckle at the action before continuing his story. 

“About two years after that, I was visiting the family grave for Obon. I happened to spy this scrappy kid with one eye crouched next to the gravestone. At first I thought he was another statue, but when I got closer, he took off. My aunt and uncle arrived a few minutes later with that same scrappy kid trailing after them. We exchanged greetings and they invited me over for dinner since I hadn’t been in town for a while. I accepted. It was over dinner that I officially met Hayato,” Eisuke nodded. 

“He had been staying with them since his mother passed away. They had never been very approving of Naho’s life choices and it was clear that they didn’t know who Hayato’s father was nor did they want to know. They had taken Hayato in because, to them, Hayato was a reminder of their daughter. However, he was a reminder of both the parts they missed and the parts they deeply despised.”

Natsume couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to remind people of your parents. No one had ever told him that. The closest thing he had experienced was the occasional youkai you liked to scream ‘Reiko’ which had apparently been his grandmother’s name. He didn't think this counted. 

“Something felt off about the whole thing, but I was set to leave town so I couldn’t really stick around to investigate. Hayato kept popping up in my mind for the next few weeks. I finally spoke to my older brother about him. All he knew was that Hayato was a sickly child with a birth defect, that was why no one else in the family had wanted him,” Eisuke continued, “I stopped by my aunt and uncle’s house again. They were less gracious about an unannounced visit. I said I wanted to spend a little time with Hayato and they got defensive. They said that Hayato wasn’t for sale, which was an odd thing to say.”

It was here that Sousuke softly padded into the room carrying a steaming bowl of congee. He set it before Natsume before taking his leave once more. Even though he had expected not to want any more food this morning, Natsume was forced to admit that it did smell good.

At an encouraging nod from Eisuke, Natsume took a bite. It was warm and creamy. Against his better judgement, he took a second bite. Then a third. Natsume found that he actually was hungry. Eisuke watched him for a moment before continuing his story.

“Where were we? Ah. Yes. I did a little bit more investigating. I took careful observation of my aunt and uncle to figure out what felt so off. My aunt and uncle weren’t treating Hayato like a child. They were treating him like a stand in for his mother. He wasn’t allowed to act like a child. He was scolded harshly for any fault even though he was only six years old. Often time, it wasn't even for things he could control. I saw him reprimanded more than once for simply being allergic to certain foods. They wanted him to function and behave exactly as they dictated,” Eisuke sighed deeply.

“I didn’t like what I saw. I knew that they would end up running Hayato into deeper and deeper irreversible trauma if I just let it be. After a long winded rant on my part, my brother suggested that I take custody of Hayato. My aunt and uncle didn’t take to the idea very kindly. They viewed me as trying to steal the last tangible reminder of their daughter.”

Natsume felt a slight stab of jealousy that Suo had actually been fought over by his family members. 

“It took almost two years, but I finally got custody of Hayato. The poor kid was terrified of me, much like Sakura-kun was last night. He had been taught to fear adults. It took several months before he started to relax,” Eisuke sighed, “The longer he was with me, the more I realized just how hurt the poor boy was. Thanks to his years with my aunt and uncle, Hayato didn’t know how to act like a child any more. He was so confused by the idea of affection at first. I don't think he let me hug him or even really touch him for almost a year after I got him.”

Natsume wasn’t sure why Eisuke had told him this. He shifted in his seat, waiting for the moral of the story. 

“All this to say, Hayato had to go through some of the same struggles with the adult figures in his life that you and Sakura are going through, though perhaps not quite as extreme. The only difference is that he’s just further on the path of healing than the two of you.”

Natsume nodded slowly. He didn’t believe that Suo had ever been timid or afraid. Suo was just as strong as Sakura. Suo was not someone who looked like he jumped at shadows or tried to eke out an existence by pleasing others. 

“It might be a long time to feel comfortable, but know that Hayato and I are here if you ever need anything,” Eisuke gently ruffled Natsume’s hair. 

Natsume picked at the rest of his breakfast. He had so many conflicting thoughts and feelings that he didn’t even know where to start. He was confused and frustrated at himself for a variety of reasons, not least of which was being unable to figure out what he was feeling. 

“You do know that it’s alright to feel scared or upset. It’s alright to feel like you don’t know what’s going on. Everyone feels like that sooner or later,” Eisuke hummed. 

“I’m not a baby,” Natsume shook his head. 

This had been drilled repeated into his head for as long as he could remember. He should just grow up already. No one would want him if he acted like a baby. 

“No, you are not,” Eisuke nodded in agreement, “But that doesn’t mean you can’t feel upset.”

This was a novel idea for Natsume, one that he didn’t know how to take. His eyes prickled. He scrubbed at his eyes, determined not to cry again. Eisuke's big hand gently rubbed up and down his back. 

“Sorry,” Natsume sniffled. 

“It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“But I messed up,” Natsume pointed out. 

“How did you mess up?”

Natsume shrugged miserably. He just knew that he had messed up because why else would Sakura have run from him?

“From what I see, you didn’t mess anything up, Takashi-kun,” Eisuke’s voice was gentle, “What ever happened with Sakura-kun does not reflect on you in any way. Sakura-kun saw me as an enemy. I’m not even sure that he noticed you were with me when he attacked. Sakura-kun has his own traumas and struggles to go through. You are not the cause of those. If anything, I think you’ve been helping him.”

Natsume looked up in surprise. He had been helping Sakura? No. That couldn't be right. He wasn't a help to anyone. 

“You know,” Eisuke continued, “I would imagine that Sakura-kun feels much the same way that you do right now. He probably feels bad about running away and he probably misses you-”

“Sakura doesn’t miss me,” Natsume blurted out. 

He should have stopped himself from interrupting, but he felt that he had to make sure that Eisuke realized this very important piece of information. 

“What makes you say that?” Eisuke hummed softly. 

“Because no one wants me,” Natsume hunched his shoulders. 

Eisuke was quiet for a moment. 

“Are you sure of that?”

“Yes,” Natsume could hardly whisper.

“Why do you think Sakura kept you?”

Natsume shrugged helplessly. He didn't know. Logically, Sakura should have tossed him aside awhile ago. 

“Well, from what I’ve heard, Sakura-kun has been quite adamant until now about claiming you as his. I don’t think he would give up that claim lightly.”

Natsume desperately wanted that to be true. At the same time, he was baffled by the idea of someone wanting him. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. 

“When Sakura-kun comes back, would you forgive him for running off?” Eisuke hummed. 

Natsume nodded. Of course he would. That was of course assuming that Sakura came back at all. 

“I want to show you something,” Eisuke rose to his feet.

More than a little worried, Natsume followed. Eisuke lead him down the hallway. They stopped at the entrance to the courtyard garden. There, sitting in the middle, were Suo and Sakura. They were deep in conversation. 

“I'm sure they'll be in shortly,” Eisuke hummed, “Why don't you wait here for him?”

Before Natsume could protest, Eisuke continued on his way. Natsume was tense as he waited for Sakura. What would Sakura say? Would he really want Natsume back? Would he forgive Natusme for being unlovable? Would he help Natsume be like Suo? The breakfast from earlier sat heavily in his stomach and made him feel sick. 

Finally, Sakura and Suo came back inside. Sakura seemed surprised to see him. Natusme drooped. Just as he thought. Sakura was trying to avoid him. He wasn't expecting Sakura to sudden surge forward and scoop him up. Natsume tensed up. Why was Sakura acting so friendly?

“Sorry,” Natsume whispered, choking on his own voice. 

“Why are you apologizing?” Sakura frowned. 

“I didn’t mean to make you run away,” Natsume hated himself so much right now. 

“I told you, it’s not your fault,” Suo sighed, “Right Sakura?”

“That’s right,” Sakura said gruffly, “It’s not your fault. You didn't do anything.”

“Do you still want me?” Natsume mumbled. 

“You’re stuck with me,” Sakura shrugged. 

Natsume wanted to believe that so badly. He leaned forward and buried his face in the crook of Sakura's neck, pressing himself as close as he could against Sakura. Sakura just hugged him tighter. Natsume should have felt relief. Instead he just felt desperation and anxiety for reasons his young mind couldn't name. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and continued to cling to Sakura. 

Chapter Text

Suo did not know what to do. 

Yesterday, Sakura had told him his history and it was just as bad as Suo feared it might be. Sakura for his part had been decidedly hostile and tense since that exchange. Suo wasn't sure what to do to get his class captain to calm down. 

It was bad enough that the rest of the class picked up that something happened when they returned to school. Only Suo's hushed threats of the possibility of incurring Umemiya's wrath if they pried too much was enough to keep them at bay. However, while that kept the rest of the class away from Sakura for the moment, it didn't stop them from being concerned. 

Nirei in particular was persistent in his worry. He tried to ask Sakura if he was alright only to get an acidic response of 'I'm fine' and a glare. He was left standing in the middle of the classroom like a kicked puppy. 

Sakura continued to all but hiss at people for the rest of the day. With their grade captain acting almost non-communicative, the rest of the class to Suo for explanations. Suo, bound by his promise to Sakura not to tell anyone anything, found himself between a rock and hard place. 

After three days of this, Suo was left feeling strangely overwhelmed. He didn't know who to turn to aid his struggle. He couldn't turn to Eisuke. Sakura would without a shadow of a doubt murder him if he did that. He didn't dare approach his classmates or Umemiya. While they could be considerate when the time called if it, acting slow and methodically wasn't their style. They would likely rush Sakura and that would make things worse. 

Suo did not often feel frozen by indecision, yet here he was. He made up an excuse and slipped out of patrol early. Sakura didn't even notice. He was too focused on Takashi (the kid was very clingy and rightfully so). 

Once free of the few classmates who thought they could tail him, Suo meandered his way through the town before coming to sit on the river bank. It was a place he came often to sort out his thoughts. Usually the rush of the water and muted murmur of traffic helped him focus. That didn't seem to be the case today. 

Suo watched the water flow by feeling far from peaceful inside. He was taken by surpise when a shadow fell over him. He looked up and found that it was Hiragi standing next to him. 

“You're hard to track down, you know that?” Hiragi grunted, “Are you hiding or something?”

Suo did not attempt to deflect. He knew he was hiding. He also knew that, out of everyone likely to search for him, Hiragi (or perhaps Kaji) would be the one to figure it out. After all, he had known Hirai since moving to Makochi almost eight years ago. 

“Perhaps, and yet you found me,” Suo shrugged. 

Hiragi narrowed his eyes. 

“What's going on?” he asked. 

“I don't know what you mean,” Suo kept the poliet smile on his face. 

“Cut the crap. You, Sakura, and little Takashi. What happened?”

“It's not that impor-”

“Suo,” Hiragai's voice was sharp, “You three are not fooling anyone. The whole goddamn school knows that something happened.”

Suo deflated. He had feared at much. 

“Talk with Sakura if you want to know,” he turned to stare at the river once more. 

“I tried that. He attempted to punch me in the face. Not exactly conducive speaking terms,” Hiragi snorted. 

Suo laughed bitterly. That sounded about right. 

“If Sakura doesn't want to tell you, then I'm in no position to tell you,” he said. 

Hiragi sighed heavily.

“You are loyal, I'll give you that. That being said, something is going on and I'm not going sit around and let my first year kohais self-destruct in a fiery inferno.”

“I don't think anything that drastic would happen.” 

Probably. 

Hiragi did not look convinced. 

“You really can't tell me at all?” he huffed. 

“Sakura asked me not to.”

Hiragai grumbled, but didn't press Suo for more answers. He just continued to stare at Suo. Suo ignored his upperclassman for a few more minutes. 

“Hiragai?” Suo bit his lip as he asked this. 

“Mmh?” Hiragi grunted. 

“I....” Suo hesitated. 

Hiragai waited in silence. Suo was not usually one to ask for advice. That being said, he was self-aware enough to know when he was out of his depth. 

“I don't know what to do,” he finally muttered, feeling a little ashamed. 

“I'm going to need more information if you want advice,” Hiragi folded his arms over his chest. 

“There was.... an incident.”

“Let me guess, something happened and Sakura reacted without thinking?” he huffed. 

Suo nodded sadly.

“Anyway, he ended up telling me a lot of things-” Suo caught himself before he said anything more, “All that to say, I don't know how to help him.”

Instead of immediately answering, Hiragai settled down next to Suo. 

“Without knowing the exact details, I can't offer any concrete plan.” Hiragai held up a hand to forestall Suo. “That being said, what if you do nothing. For now at least.”

Suo cocked his head. This was not the advice he thought he would be recieing. At seeing Suo's confusion, Hiragi continued his explination:

“From what I've gathered on my own, Sakura has had a far from stable life and Takashi too. Maybe what they need most right now is to see that your opinions don't change so quickly. They need something that is stable in their life.”

“I can't act like nothing happened,” Suo bristled slightly, “I can't unsee or unhear anything. I refuse to willfully ignorant.”

“I'm not asking you to. Just show them that they don't have to worry about you abandoning them as soon as you see their rough edges.”

Suo nodded thoughtfully. That plan might work. It also might push Sakura even further away. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Sakura was such a mystery for him. He never reacted as Suo predicted. On occasions, this was a true delight and allowed for many opportunities for Suo to tease him. Right now, thought, it was one of Sakura's most annoying qualities for Suo to deal with. 

Suo watched the river for a bit longer. He might not be able to fix anything, but maybe Hiragi was right. Maybe he just needed to be there for Sakura and little Takashi. 

“Alright,” Suo nodded slowly as he came to a decision, “I will try that.”

<><><><><>

Sakura was on edge. 

He had told someone about his past. This was perhaps one of the riskiest things he had done since coming to Makochi. He was certain that everything was going to change now. The fact that Suo now knew everything haunted him through every moment of his day. He wasn't even sure what about the thought caused horror in him. 

Was it the fact that he had admitted so many weakness and to someone he respected no less? Was it the refreshed memories no lingering in his mind? Was it something else?

What ever it was, Sakura felt himself shutting down as he tried to deal with the thoughts in his head. Even he noticed that he was more short tempered than usual. 

Sakura kept an eye on Suo, just in case Suo decided to use his newly gained information to get the better of Sakura. Oddly enough, Suo acted like nothing had happened. Sakura wasn't sure why. Surely Suo should be feeling something. Was he waiting to take advantage when Sakura's back was turned? That didn't sound like Suo, but that was the only logical conclusion Sakura could come to. 

The whole situation made Sakura agitated. 

To make matters worse, Takashi was acting strange. The kid had never been particularly loud, but now he had gone practically mute. Sakura couldn't figure out why. No, that wasn't quiet right. He knew he had done something, but he wasn't sure what. 

He tried leaving Takashi alone, but that seemed to make things worse. He tried talking to Takashi, but his words came out all mixed up and Takashi seemed more inclined to listen rather than tell Sakura what was wrong. 

To deal with his mounting feelings of frustration, Sakura withdrew emotionally. It wasn't making things any better, but at least Sakura felt like he could control something in his life. 

Then, about a week after 'the incident' (as Sakura had been calling it in his head), something happened to change this. 

Eisuke was out of town and Sakura was doing his homework alone in his room. Or, well, perhaps the better world would be trying to do his homework. He hadn't really been paying attention in class and the essay prompt in front of him was making this glaringly obvious. 

He could have probably sought out Suo and asked for the notes from the class (assuming Suo took notes, Sakura was more than half convinced that Suo had a photographic memory and didn't need to write anything down). 

Instead, he decided he was going to brute force the essay on his own. The lazy autumn sunlight was almost completely gone by this point in the day. Sakura glared at the scribbled mess on his page. What he had written down was far from an essay. He tore the page up in frustration. 

He was about to start on a new draft when there was a knock on the door. Immediately, Sakura when on alert. 

“Who's there?” he demanded. 

“Natsume,” the small voice mumbled. 

Sakura all but flew to the door. Why had Takashi knocked? He had never done that before. Was something wrong? Oh god. If something was wrong-

Sakura flung the door open. He was greeted by the sight of Takashi standing anxiously in the hallway. 

“What's the matter?” he demanded. 

Takashi took a step back. Sakura forced himself to use a much softer voice. 

“Did something happen?” he asked. 

Takashi nodded. Sakura's heart dropped. This was exactly why he never should turn his back. This was the last straw. They were leaving tonight. Sakura wasn't about to stand to the side and let Takashi get hurt any more-

Sakura was startled when he was suddenly tugged forward. He looked down. Takashi was tugging on his shirt, puling him into the hallway. Sakura followed, not sure what was going on. Takashi lead him to the dinning room. Here, the little boy pointed at the table. Sakura eventually got the clue and sat down. He wasn't sure what he was doing there. 

Takashi disappeared for a moment. He was back with a plate. The large plate was a little too big for his small hands, but he stubbornly refused Sousuke's help as the older man trailed behind him. Takashi placed the plate in front of Sakura. Sakura looked at the plate in surprise. It was heaped full of curry and rice. This was why Takashi had wanted him to come?

“It's for you,” Takashi was shy as he said this, “I helped make it.”

“You helped to make this?” Sakura blinked. 

Takashi nodded. 

“You've been upset and I wanted to make you feel better,” Takashi mumbled. 

The realization of how his distance had affected Takashi came crashing down on Sakura. He felt embarrassed for any worry he had caused his kid. 

“And....” Takashi bit his lip before continuing, “I thought I could prove that you don't have to get rid of me.”

This last part made Sakura feel ill. He wanted to address that right away, but he found that he didn't have the words just yet. Instead, he turned his attention to the curry. It was very good. Sakura wasn't particularly picky about curry. He didn't have it often. It was cheap to make, but it involved more knife skills than Sakura was comfortable with. He did eat almost the whole plate before looking at Takashi again. 

The kid was hovering next to him like a nervous mother. Sakura sighed and patted the ground next to him. Takashi hesitantly sat down. 

“Two things,” Sakura said, turning to his kid, “First and most important. I am not getting rid of you. You're my kid. Nothing will every change that. Ever. I didn't mean to make you think that had changed by running off. That was my fault. I'm going to stay with you.”

Takashi nodded slowly. 

Sakura knew that words alone would never prove that. People could say one thing, but their actions could be totally different. Sakura was very acquainted with this. He dejectedly realized that this is what he had been doing for Takashi. 

He clenched his hands into fists. He would need to reapply himself to showing Takashi that he did care and wasn't going to leave. 

“Second thing,” Sakura said gravely, “That curry was very good. Thank you.” 

Takashi's eyes went big. 

“You liked it?” he asked, chewing nervously on his lip. 

“I did,” Sakura nodded. 

As he said this he caught sight of the hand that Takashi had been hiding behind his back. He caught hold of Takashi's much smaller hand. The fingertips were carefully wrapped in band aids. 

“What happened?” Sakura narrowed his eyes. 

“The knife slipped,” Takashi looked ashamed. 

Sakura made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. What had Takashi been doing around knives? Sure, he had said that he had helped to make the curry, but Sakura had thought it was a figure of speech and not that Takashi had actually made the curry. 

“Sousuke-san helped me thought. He put band aids on my fingers and then he cut up everything else. I got to stir everything,” Takashi nodded, then very suddenly wilted, “I'm sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Sakura cocked his head. 

“I got hurt,” Takashi shuddered. 

Sakura pulled Takashi close. 

“True, I don't want to see you hurt, but I'm not upset,” Sakura nodded, “You did a god job. Thank you.”

For the first time since 'the incident', Takashi eyes sparkled with something like hope. Sakura felt the intense urge to protect that spark. He decided would be damned before he ever let his kid fell abandoned again. 

<><><><><><>

Natsume was beyond distressed. 

Sakura might have come back, but something was still wrong. 

The teen was moodier than normal. He glared at Suo, he yelled at his classmates, he sat there staring at Natsume for no apparent reason. 

Natsume knew that he needed to fix things and fast. 

After some deliberation and a conversation with the the lantern holding youkai in the bathroom, Natsume had a plan. He would make something for Sakura. More accurately, he would make curry for Sakura. 

Eisuke was gone for the next few days on some sort of trip and both Suo and Sakura were doing homework. Natsume used the chance to slip into the kitchen. No one was there. After wandering about, feeling lost, Natsume started to gather what he thought he might need. 

He had never made curry once in his life, but he sort of knew what you put in it. He found the potatoes first. They needed to be peeled. Natsume did a bit of looking and found a knife. After pulling a box over to the counter so that he was tall enough to see what he was doing, Natsume got started. 

It was a struggle. The knife and the potato were too big for his small hands. Natsume had watched people cook before so he knew what he needed to do. He cut the knife along the potato in his hand. This worked for a few strokes. 

Then the knife slipped and bright red bloomed cross the fingertips of Natsume's left hand. Natsume bit his lip to keep himself quiet. He was fine. The stinging pain in his fingers would be worth giving something to Sakura. 

Natsume persevered with his task. He was still working on the first potato when a much larger hand caught his wrist and pried the knife from his hand. 

Natsume froze. He had been caught. 

“What are you doing in here, Natsume-kun?” It was Sousuke. 

Natsume hung his head, awaiting punishment. He was started when a finger hooked under his chin and pulled up. 

“I asked a question child and I am awaiting an answer,” The stern tone and the kind face caused a disconnect in Natsume's mind. 

“I....I... s-s-sorry. I didn't meant ... I haven't...I didn't,” the words didn't come out right, making Natsume feel even more flustered. 

“I'm not upset, child. I am just worried. A kitchen is not a place for a child,” Sousuke sighed. 

“I wanted to make curry for Sakura,” Natsume admitted.

“Curry?”

“He said something about liking curry one time and he's upset and I had curry once when I was upset and it made me feel a little better and I just wanna make him feel better,” Natsume told the older man in a rush. 

“I see,” Sousuke nodded. 

Natsume was sure he was about to be throw out of the kitchen (maybe even the house). 

“Let's start by taking care of these,” Sousuke gently held up Natsume's bleeding fingertips.

Fifteen minutes later, Natusme was sporting band aids on four of his fingers on his left hand. Even though Sosuke had offered Natsume band aids with fun patterns on them, Natsume insisted on the skin-colored ones. He didn't want Sakura to know after all. 

Once Natsume's fingers were taken care of, the went back to the kitchen. 

“Now, I will peal and cut the vegetables,” Souskue nodded before setting up a small set stool, “You can help stir the pot while everything cook.”

Natusme nodded. He could do that. He knew how to stir. 

The curry took a little while to finish cooking. Natsume sat right next to it, worried that some youkai might try to steal it or that Sousuke might throw it away. Surprisingly enough, neither of those things happened. 

While they waited around for the curry to cook fully, Sousuke chatted at bit with Natsume. Natsume hadn't ever talked much with the man before. He found that Sousuke was not a serious as he looked. The man act like Natsume thought a grandfather might act. Sousuke, for his part, didn't seem to mind that Natsume had thrown off the dinner plan for the day. He simply switched to making enough for curry for everyone. 

Finally the curry was done. 

With Sousuke's help, Natsume managed to scoop a plate of curry and rice. Then, Natsume scurried off to the room he shared with Sakura. He knocked on the door. 

“Who's there?” Sakura sounded annoyed. 

Natsume was suddenly overcome by a wave of shyness. 

“Natsume,” he mumbled. 

There were footsteps and then Sakura flung the door open. 

“What's the matter?” he demanded in a sharp tone. 

Nasume took a step back. Sakura must have seen this because his eyes widened slightly. 

“Did something happen?” he asked in a much softer tone. 

Natsume nodded. He had made curry. He wanted to give it to Sakura. Could Sakura please come with him? The words felt stuck in his throat. Rather than trying to force them out, Nasume grabbed the hem of Sakura's shirt and tugged. 

Sakura looked down in confusion. Natsume pulled the teen forward. Sakura followed willingly. Natsume lead them to the dinning room. Once they were there, he pointed Sakura to the table. Sakura obligingly sat down. 

Natsume scampered off. He retrieved the plate of curry. Being as careful as he could, Natsume carried it to Sakura. 

“It's for you,” Natsume said shyly, “I helped make it.”

The question was: would Sakura accept it?

“You helped to make this?” Sakura blinked. 

Natsume nodded. 

“You've been upset and I wanted to make you feel better. And....” Natsume bit his lip before continuing, “I thought I could prove that you don't have to get rid of me.”

Sakura had a funny look on his face for the last part. So did Sousuke for some reason. Natsume wasn't sure why. Sakura then turned to the curry. Natsume was delighted and astonished when Sakura started to eat. The teen did not stop after one or two bite. He ate almost entire plate of curry.

Natsume hovered near by, awaiting the verdict to both the curry and his place in Sakura's heart. Sakura eventually had his fill. He then patted the ground next to him. Natsume sat with not small amounts of hesitation.  

“Two things,” Sakura said, “First and most important. I am not getting rid of you. You're my kid. Nothing will every change that. Ever. I didn't mean to make you think that had changed by running off. That was my fault. I'm going to stay with you.”

Natsume nodded slowly. 

This was not the first time Sakura had told him this. Even still, Natsume wasn't sure he believed it. Sakura had been distant for the past week. Natsume would be lying if he said it didn't hurt him. Oddly enough, the look in Sakura's eyes told Natsume that the teen had come to the same realization. 

“Second thing,” Sakura said gravely, “That curry was very good. Thank you.” 

Natsume's heart squeezed in his chest. This was far better than he had hoped for. At best, he was sure that Sakura would see him as valuable enough not to dispose of. 

“You liked it?” he asked, chewing nervously on his lip. 

“I did,” Sakura nodded. 

Then his eyes narrowed. He reached out and grabbed the hand that Natsume had been trying to hide behind his back. A frown appeared on his face as he examined the band aids. 

“What happened?” Sakura demanded. 

“The knife slipped,” Nasume felt ashamed. 

Sakura made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. Natsume rapidly tried to do damage control. He needed to explain what had happened as quickly as possible. 

“Sousuke-san helped me thought. He put band aids on my fingers and then he cut up everything else. I got to stir everything,” Natsume assured the teen, a thought occurred to him and he wilted, “I'm sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Sakura cocked his head. 

“I got hurt,” Takashi shuddered. 

He was weak. After seeing teens at Furin High School, Natsume was certain that Sakura never hung around with weak people, even if they were useful. No one at Furin would have ever gotten hurt, let alone by simply handling a knife. 

Rather unexpectedly, Sakura pulled Natsume close. 

“True, I don't want to see you hurt, but I'm not upset,” Sakura nodded, “You did a god job on the curry. Thank you.”

At Sakura's words, Natsume felt a small ray of..... hope? pride? relief? He didn't even know. All he knew was that he didn't want it to disappear. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself never to forget this moment. 

Chapter Text

The next two weeks were an odd mix for Sakura. 

On the one hand, his relationship with Takashi was improving once more. Takashi was a forgiving soul. It hadn't taken much more than Sakura lavishing attention on him (admittedly at the expense of school) for the kid to accept him once more. Sakura wasn't sure how someone so young could go through as much abuse as he was sure Takashi had been through and still have a soft heart. It made him want to coddle the kid all the more. 

That was nice, but it didn't drown out the discomfort around the house. Suo continued to act like the conversation hadn't even happened. He didn't press Sakura for answers, he didn't condemn Sakura, he didn't even seem to have shared the story with anyone. It was concerning. What was Suo up to?

Sakura finally had enough. After leaving Takashi in the bath, he cornered Suo in the other teen's room. Suo was seated at his desk, but he looked up when Sakura charged into the room. 

“Sakura,” Suo's voice startled Sakura from his thoughts, “I've been thinking....”

Sakura immediately went on guard. 

“If I don't tell Umemiya about what you went through, may I ask him a question?” Suo asked in a serious tone. 

Sakura was more than a little bit startled and confused. 

“Why are you askin' me if you can talk with Umemiya?” he frowned. 

“Because I would be asking him a question about...” Suo paused and rethought his wording, “Or rather, I would be asking a question for you.”

“What question?” Sakura wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

“I want him to find you somewhere different to stay.”

And there it was. Sakura had known with would be coming. No one ever wanted him around. 

“You want to get rid of me,” Sakura grit his teeth. 

Something like shock passed over Suo's face, almost like he hadn't expected Sakura to think that. 

“No. Not at all. I want you to feel comfortable. You aren't comfortable here. I think maybe you need a bit of space away from my Master.”

“Takashi likes it here,” Sakura grumbled. 

“You don't. You still don't. Even while my Master is away,” Suo pointed out. 

Sakura hunched his shoulder. Suo was very right. The thought that at any moment, Eisuke might come back home and step through the door left Sakura always checking over his shoulder. 

“S'fine,” Sakura grumbled. 

“No. It is not,” Suo shook his head, “I don't want to see you hurting or uncomfortable. That is my only reason. If you would rather, I can let the matter drop for now.”

Sakura stared at his vice captain for several minutes. He couldn't deny the fact that he would very much like to leave the house, no matter how nice Eisuke seemed. The resmeblance that he shared with Sakura's uncle would forever put Sakura on edge. 

On the other hand, Sakura didn't want Umemiya to know the details of what he had expierieced or what he was dealing with. He could deal with this on his own without appearing weak to one of the few people at Furin he genuinly respected. What to do?

Sakura finally made a choice; one that he hoped he wouldn't regret. 

“Do whatever you want. I don't care,” he grumbled. 

Suo nodded. 

He must have talked to Umemiya the next day, because after school was over, Umemiya paid the 1-1 classroom a personal visit.

“Sakura,” the Bofurin leader nodded, “A word?”

Sakura's cheeks flushed as he was called out. He felt the weight of his classmates stares on his back as he left the room. His only comfort was that Umwmiya hadn't called for him over the loudspeaker. Sakura followed Umemiya up to the rooftop. 

They were alone up here. Sakura felt fidgety. For once, Umemiya did not make a beeline for his gardening beds. Instead, he motioned Sakura over to the tables. Sakura followed with caution.

Umemiya didn't start talking until after he handed over a bag of snack. Sakura peered inside and took a box of pocky, not because he felt hungry but he knew that Umemiya would only pester him until he took them. After Sakura had selected what he wanted, Umemiya helped himself to a small bag of chips. The older teen started eating while Sakura just waited for Umemiya to get to the point. 

“Suo tells me that you are uncomfortable at his house,” Umemiya finally commented. 

Sakura refused to break eye contact with Umemiya. He would not show weakness in front of the top dog of Furin.  

“Maybe. Did he say anything else?” Sakura grumbled. 

“Nope. That was it. You know how cryptic Suo can be,” Umemiya smiled. 

Sakura felt his spine relax ever so slightly. Either Suo had kept his promise and hadn't shared any specifics or Umemiya was a very good liar. Given what Sakura had seen from the older teen already, he knew that last option wasn't particularly true. 

“I wanted to check with you and see if that is true and if so, I might have an idea,” Umemiya nodded. 

Sakura cocked his head. 

“What's your idea?” he asked without thinking. 

Umemiya appeared pleased by the question. 

“I think I know someone else you can stay with. They're not in town-”

“Then no,” Sakura had no problem cutting Umemiya off there. 

Sakura was not going to leave Makochi. Not now. Not that he had found a place to belong. Umemiya held his hands in a gesture of peace. 

“You didn't let me finish,” he huffed good-naturedly, “They don't live in town, but they might be willing to move here.”

Sakura could only scoff. No one worthwhile would ever consider moving to Makochi on their own volition. 

“If I have them come by, would you like to meet them?” Umemiya asked. 

Sakura hesitated before shrugging.  

“Depends on who they are.”  

Oddly enough Umemiya didn't immediately answer. Sakura frowned. 

“Who are they? Are they bad people?” he demanded. 

“What? No, no.” Umemiya startled like he had been deep in thought, “Not as far as I can tell and I'm a very good judge of character.”

“Who are they? Why aren't you telling me anything?” Sakura grit his teeth. 

Umemiya sighed before answering: “I did some checking into little Takashi's family background. They are distant relatives of his.”

The answer immediately turned Sakura off. 

“Then no. I don't want to meet them. They will be shit,” Sakura growled, “I'm not letting them have Takashi back. I'll make Suo's house work. It will work.”

With that, Sakura stormed off living the flabbergasted Umemiya on the roof. 

<><><><><>

Natsume admittedly felt a little overwhelmed. 

After giving the curry, Sakura had done nothing but focus on him. While this is sort of what Natsume had been hoping for, he hadn't been expecting this result. 

Sakura was making a clear effort to spend time with him. He stopped his homework when Natsume finished so that the two of them could draw together. He took Natusme to Café Porthos almost every day after school. He took naps with Takashi in the back of the class. It was fun and Natsume found himself selfishly wanting more. 

That being said, he never voiced this desire to Sakura. Natsume saw the watchfulness and tension that came back to Sakura when he thought no one was looking. It was because of this, Natsume was always careful not to demand too much of Sakura's attention. 

Sakura didn't notice Natsume holding back but Suo did. The other teen frequently sent an encouraging nod if he noticed Natsume acting reserved. This was all very odd to Natsume but he finally decided that he didn't mind it. It was much better than neglect, even if he often felt overwhelmed by the attention. 

It was in the midst of Natsume slowly coming to understand what it might be like to be wanted when Umemiya came to visit the classroom. He called for Sakura. Just Sakura. Not Sakura and Natsume. 

Natsume watched with worry as Sakura followed Umemiya out. Natsume gripped the straps of his small backpack, trying not to feel worry. He didn't think Sakura was abandoning him again. Afterall, Sakura had just left with his older brother. But why? Was Sakura in trouble?

“That's quiet the fierce some grip you have there little guy.” 

Natsume startled at the voice. He looked up to find that Kiryuu had taken the seat across from him. 

“You ok?” the teen asked. His voice was playful, but he seemed to be carefully observing Natsume. 

Natsume nodded. 

“You sure?” Kiryuu asked like he didn't believe Natsume's response. 

Natsume bit his lip as his lie was call out. 

“Is Sakura in trouble?” he asked softly. 

“Hmmm. In trouble? No. I don't think so,” Kiryuu shook his head before offering Natsume a smile. 

“Oh....” Natsume breathed. 

Then why had Umemiya wanted to talk and why had Sakura looked so tense?

“If you are worried about Sakura-chan, then you can relax. Umemiya likes him. He's probably just giving Sakura a pep talk. He did that quiet a few times before you came along,” Kiryuu commented encouragingly. 

That news made Natsume feel better. Kiryuu reached forward to ruffle his hair. 

“You worry so much for someone so small,” the teen smiled sadly, “It kinda breaks my heart to see.”

“Sorry,” the word was out of Natsume's mouth before he could stop it. 

Kiryuu helped himself to the pile of blankets and pillows just behind Natsume's desk. He patted the open space next to him in an invitation. Natsume hesitated before joining Kiryuu.

Kiryuu playfully tossed a stuffed bear and Natsume caught it. At a smile and a nod from Kiryuu, he tossed it back. They tossed the toy back and forth for several minutes until Natsume accidentally tossed it a little too far out of reach. 

Kiryuu leaned back with a satisfied smile. 

“See? Isn't that better than worrying?” he laughed. 

Natsume gave a very slow nod. While he had been playing with Kiryuu, he had quiet forgotten to be worried about Sakura. Was that ok?

A minute later, Sakura's voice could be heard in the hallway talking briefly with someone. 

“See?” Kiryuu smiled, “There was nothing to be worried about after all.”

Natsume almost agreed. Then he saw the look of frustration on Sakura's face as he entered the room. On second thought, maybe Natsume hadn't been worried enough. 

Chapter Text

"I'll make Suo's house work. It will work."

Sakura rather regretted his words, but it was too late to take them back. He decided that he would need to make good on what he had told Umemiya. Eisuke had returned from a 'business trip' today. Sakura would need to confront him to clear some things up. 

Sakura deposited Takashi in Suo's room before setting out on his mission. He felt more than a little ill and on edge as he knocked on the door. He was granted permission to enter a moment later. Out of habit, he kept the door partially cracked behind himself incase he needed to flee. 

Sakura hadn't been in Eisuke's study before. It was large, western style room that didn't really fit with the rest of the traditionally Japanese style house. The walls were covered with shelves. These shelves held neat rows of books, trophies and old kendo equipment. 

“Sakura-kun? Are you alright?” Eisuke asked with what was possibly concern coloring his tone. 

Sakura's wondering attention snapped right to Eisuke as soon as the man spoke. He kept the wall to his back and did not venture any further into the viper's nest. 

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other week,” Sakura forced himself to keep his voice neutral. 

Eisuke looked surprised. 

“There is nothing to apologize for. You were acting on instinct. You didn't hurt me, but you did scare little Takashi-kun. He deserves your apologies more than me,” Eisuke sighed. 

Sakura clenched his hands into fists. 

“I already apologized to Takashi,” he declared. 

“That's good,” Eisuke nodded. 

Sakura decided to just get this over with. 

“I.... um.....You.... You look like... like s-someone in my past... someone I don't like,” he grit out, “He hurt me.”

“I hope you know that I would never hurt you,” Eisuke said softly. 

It would be far easier if he did. Then Sakura could be justified for his unease around the man. 

“I know,” Sakura dropped his gaze to the floor, “But you look like him.”

Eisuke was quiet for several minutes. 

“I see. Because I look like this person, you can't relax around me. You see him and not me, is that correct?”

Sakura gave a slight nod. He found that it was easier to have this conversation if he wasn't looking at Eisuke. While Eisuke was physically similar to his uncle, the cadence of his voice was softer and warmer. 

“Do you want to live elsewhere?” Eisuke hummed. 

This sounded eerily similar to what Suo had offered. Sakura didn't like it. He didn't need to be coddled. 

“Takashi's more important. He likes it here,” Sakura said stiffly. 

“You are important too,” Eisuke hummed. 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Sakura hunched his shoulders. 

“Because it is true.”

“I don't think so.”

Eisuke sighed. Sakura could only imagine what the look on the man's face was. He did not look up to see if he was correct. 

“You'll get there one day. It will just take time. Focus on just the step in front of you, nothing else for now. That's what I told Hayato when I took him in,” Eisuke hummed. 

Sakura nearly scoffed, but he held it in. 

“I'm gonna make this work,” he declared, “I'm gonna make this work for Takashi.”

Sakura made the mistake of looking up. The face that looked so much like his uncles face stared back. He recoiled, groping for the door handle. 

“I'll make this work,” he nodded. 

Then he fled. His pulse was still a little too fast when he collected Takashi from Suo's room. His hands shook too. Oddly enough, for the first time since meeting Eisuke, Sakura forced himself to admit that perhaps this reaction was not the normal, that maybe he was more broken than he had first thought. 

That night, Takashi snuggled closer than usual. His small body fit with perfect ease right next to Sakura's side. Sakura gently ran a hand through the kid's hair. Takashi was worth whatever discomfort, he told him, Takashi was worth anything. 

As Sakura was mulling this over, Takashi's small voice broke the darkness. 

“Sakura?” Takashi whispered, his voice slightly muffed against Sakura's side. 

“Mmh?” Sakura grunted. 

“Can you teach me to be strong like you and Suo?”

The question took Sakura by surprise. 

“I... uh.... aren't you still a little young?” he snorted. 

He felt Takashi shake his head slightly. 

“Suo said once to Nirei that it's not best to fight alone and so I wanna protect you when you can't protect you,” Takashi's voice was sleepy but determined. 

Sakura did not know how to reply to that. He floundered for words. 

“Sure. If that's what you want, kid. I can teach you how to fight,” he finally grumbled. 

“No. I wanna be strong,” Takashi insisted, snuggling closer to Sakura's side. 

Sakura wasn't sure what the difference was, if there was one. Thankfully, Takashi wasn't done yet. 

“You and Suo are strong 'cause you been through lots of stuff,” Takashi's voice dropped even soft as sleep stared to claim him, “I been through lots of stuff, but m'not very strong. Wanna.... be... like.... you....”

The kid trailed off into soft snores. Sakura's first instinct was to laugh. Of course Takashi would fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. Then the topic registered and Sakura really wanted to scoff or maybe hide his face.

He wasn't a strong person. Dealing with Eisuke was showing this to be very true. If anything, Sakura was a weak person who was simply good at hiding just how miserable he failed. The only things he was good was hurting people and fighting.

Takashi could never hurt someone and Sakura didn't want to teach him to fight just yet. The kid was too young too gentle. He shouldn't be getting into fights yet (Sakura resolutely ignored the voice the pointed out he had been Takashi's age when he started getting into fights). 

As he lay there in the dark, Sakura tried to reconcile his view of himself with Takashi's words. He couldn't. Not matter how hard he tried. He lost far more sleep than he would have liked over this. 

When morning came, he was groggy. The feeling lasted through class. Sakura actually ended up falling asleep briefly at his desk. The rest of his classmates clearly saw just how tired he was. At the insistence of every single one of them, Sakura and Takashi were turned loose, rather than accompanying anyone on patrol. Sakura was more than a little thankful for this. 

He decided to go to Café Porthos and get something to eat there in the hope that it would salvage something in the already lost day. Takashi was humming as they walked along. The late autumn sun was shining with unusual warmth. Perhaps it was because the scenery was so beautiful and perfect that Sakura should have expected something to go wrong. 

He turned the next corner and he bumped into someone. He opened his mouth to apologize. The words died on his lips. 

“Haru? Thank goodness. I found you again.”

Sakura's breath caught in his chest as something like raw terror came to clutch at his heart. The face that leered back at him was not Eisuke's face. It was far worse.

It was his uncle. 

<><><><><>

Natsume was worried again. 

Sakura was acting all strange after the talk with Umemiya. He marched them home with a scowl on his face. Natusme couldn't help but wonder what had happened. 

Once they were home, Sakura took Natsume straight to Suo's room. He left Natusme with Suo while he marched off somewhere on his own. Natsume watched his retreating back forlornly from Suo's door. Natsume eventually turned to Suo. 

“I made Sakura mad again,” he sadly informed the other teen. 

Suo shook his head. He had been startled from his homework when Sakura charged in to drop Natsume off. He had yet to turn back to it. 

“No. It wasn't you kiddo. It was me. I asked Umemiya a question. I think he spoke to Sakura about it and it doesn't look like it went very well with Sakura,” Suo's smile seemed sad. 

“What did you ask?” Natsume asked. 

Suo hesitated before answering: “I asked him to find you both a different place.”

Natsume drooped. 

“Why? Do you not like Sakura?”

Unless, of course, maybe Natsume was the problem. Should he volunteer to leave so that Sakura could stay?

“I like both of you very much, but it's clear to me that Sakura isn't comfortable here and him being so on edge is making you worry,” Suo sighed, “I just want you both to be happy and comfortable. That's why I asked. If I could, I would keep both of you around. It's made the house so much livelier. I would miss that without the two of you.”

Natsume nodded slowly as he digested these words. Suo, by all appearances, was a trust-worthy person. If he said that he didn't mind Natsume and Sakura being around, then Natsume wanted to trust him. 

“Then why is Sakura upset right now?”

“I don't know. It could be any number of things.”

“Where is he going?” Natsume glanced at the doorway to verify that Sakura hadn't come back yet. 

“I think he is going to talk with my Master,” Suo guessed, turning back to his math homework. 

“Why?”

Suo looked momentarily surprised by the question. 

“Well, he probably wants to set some things straight with my Master. I think that Sakura feels bad about what happened.”

“Sakura doesn't like Eisuke-san, does he?” Natsume bit his lip. 

Eisuke seemed friendly, but maybe Natsume was really bad at reading people. Maybe there was something that he had missed, something dangerous that Sakura saw. 

Or maybe it was just Sakura overreacting. Natsume had noticed that Sakura tended to swing from one extreme to the other. He didn't know which of these it was and his young brain didn't provide him with the answer. 

“No, Sakura does not like my Master,” Suo smiled bitterly. 

Natsume picked at a loose thread on his shirt. 

“Sakura is strong,” he commented. 

“He is,” Suo agreed. 

“He's gonna go talk to somebody he doesn't want to 'cause he's strong,” Natsume felt envy creeping up his chest, “I couldn't do that.”

“You never cease to amaze me, kiddo,” Suo laughed, “but yes, you are right. Sakura is very strong in that way.”

Natsume was glad that he had found a supporter for his Sakura admiration club.  

“You are strong too, kiddo,” Suo nodded. 

That was a startling comment. Natsume could only blink owlishly at Suo. 

“You've been through a lot, but you still forgave Sakura almost right away after he hurt you. That's a different kind of strength,” Suo insisted. 

“M'not very strong,” Natsume pulled his knees up to his chest, “Not like Sakura.”

He knew this all too well. He was terrified of shadows and he could see monsters no one else could. What about that was strong?

Suo considered this for a very long time. In fact it was so long that Natsume was sure that conversation was over. Suo eventually gave Natsume a very direct look.

“What if you ask Sakura to help you?” he suggested. 

“Help me?” Natsume repeated in confusion. 

“Sure. I'm sure if you asked him, Sakura would help you be strong,” Suo said. 

Natsume perked up slightly. 

“Sakura would help me be strong?”

“He would do anything for you kiddo,” Suo nodded. 

Suo's words hung heavily in Natsume's mind. It wasn't until they were going to bed that Natsume finally had the courage (and the words) to speak up. 

“Sakura?” Natsume whispered into the darkness. 

“Mmh?” Sakura grunted, sounding half-asleep. 

“Can you teach me to be strong like you and Suo?” Natsume asked. 

Sakura was quiet for a moment before he answered: “I... uh.... aren't you still a little young?” 

Natsume shook his head slightly. 

“Suo was said once to Nirei that it's not best to fight alone and so I wanna protect you when you can't protect you.”

Sakura's hand stilled where it was ruffling Natsume's hair. Natsume wondered why.  

“Sure. If that's what you want, kid. I can teach you how to fight,” Sakura's voice was gruff. 

“No. I wanna be strong,” Natsume corrected even as he fought sleep, “You and Suo are strong 'cause you been through lots of stuff. I been through lots of stuff, but m'not very strong. Wanna.... be...like... you....”

For once, Natsume's dreams that night were not haunted by youkai or loneliness. 

Natsume dreamt that, somehow, he was home. 

Sakura was very tired the next day. Natsume noticed how the teen's steps dragged along as he walked and how he fell asleep at his desk half-way through the afternoon. He was happy when the rest of the class all but shoved then towards the door. 

Sakura, still looking disgruntledly sleepy, suggested that they go to Café Porthos to grab a bit to eat. Natsume was excited. He liked going to Café Porthos. Kotoha was nice. She always made tasty food and she always had a smile on her face.

The walk felt like it was taking forever today. Natsume was busy in his own word, watching the shadowy youkai shaped like birds gliding along with them when they rounded the corner. Sakura abruptly stopped. 

Natsume blinked. Sakura had run into another person. Natsume looked up to see if he recognized them (after all, he was getting pretty good at recognizing the local townspeople). The man in front of Sakura looked a lot like Eisuke, but it wasn't Eisuke. This man looked meaner, cruel. Natsume had seen that look on faces of a few of the people he had stayed with in the past. Nothing good ever came of it. Natsume wanted to run without ever having met the man. 

“Haru? Thank goodness. I found you again,” the man's tone was strangely soft. 

Natsume was confused for a second. Who was the man talking to? He glanced at Sakura only to find that the teen had gone ashen. 

Oh. 

The man had been talking to Sakura. 

Chapter Text

Sakura's body felt frozen. 

He couldn't breathe. 

What was his uncle doing here?

The man - Eiji - was talking. 

Sakura couldn't hear him.

Everything sounded like it was underwater. 

A hand reached out to grab him. 

Sakura lurched backwards, scrambling to put distance between himself and his uncle. He felt cornered, panicked. He needed to run. Now. He needed to get away from this man. 

Sakura turned to flee and-

“Let go of me!”

The voice stopped Sakura dead in his tracks as his panic found a new source. Takashi. Sakura whipped around to find that there was a reason why he had evade capture so far without hardly moving. His uncle had grabbed Takashi instead of him. Eiji had caught Takashi's arm, twisting it to prevent the kid from escaping. Takashi squirmed and kicked his short legs. It was futile. He was held fast. 

Sakura's heart felt like it leapt into his throat. 

“Let him go,” Sakura growled out, hardly recognizing his own voice. 

“I'm not sure I like that tone.”

Sakura flinched at the voice. It took everything in him to fight hard against the instinct to bow his head in submission. Submission. He knew that was what his uncle wanted. Sakura kept his back straight. He needed to be strong for Takashi. He needed to rescue his kid and get the hell out of there. 

“You ran from me and it's been annoying to track you down,” a frown twisted the man's face. 

Sakura felt terror crushing his chest. He could only watch as his panic made his Uncle Eiji's menacing face blur in and out with Eisuke's face.

“I never asked for you to find me,” Sakura managed to choke out. 

“Your parents did,” Sakura's uncle sighed, “I told them that you ran off and when you didn't show back up again, they asked me to track you down.”

Sakura felt sick. That was only one half of the story. He knew that his parents had no idea that running had been Sakura's only chance to escape the abuse. He distantly wondered if they even would care if they knew. 

“You don't care about them or me. You just want the money they pay you,” he said bitterly.

“Compensation is compensation.” The cold comment was accompanied by a careless shrug. 

Sakura bared his teeth. Wasn't that what his uncle cared about most? Money would always be his prize. If Sakura went back with him, his easy money would be gained once more. And Sakura-

Sakura knew that if he went back with his uncle, he would never escape again. 

“Now, it's time to go home,” Eiji huffed in a tone that said he thought he was talking to a fussy child rather than an independent teenager. 

“Fuck off,” Sakura spat, though his voice wasn't steady at all.  

This was apparently not an acceptable answer. 

“Do you need an incentive?” Eiji frowned. 

Takashi gave a cry of pain as his arm was twisted further behind his back. The sound tore at Sakura's heart in ways he didn't even known existed. His hands clenched and unclenched as his side. He didn't know what to do. 

He couldn't charge his uncle; not with Takashi held in a position like that. Eiji could easily do even further damage. Sakura did not want that. 

At the same time, Sakura wasn't about to sit helplessly back and let things side even further out of his control. 

“You sick bastard. Let the kid go.” Sakura barely even registered that he was shaking. He didn't know if it was furry or fear. 

“Will you behave if I let him go?” Eiji sneered. 

Sakura glared at his uncle. Behaving was the furthest thing in his mind. The moment his uncle let go of Takashi, Sakura would scoop him up and run. It seemed that this was evident to his uncle in some way because Eiji then scoffed: “That's what I thought.”

Sakura watched as his uncle set off, all but dragging Takashi behind him. Takashi continued squirming, trying to get himself free, and when that didn't work, he started kicking and screaming. Sakura distantly wondered if he himself had ever fought against his uncle like that. He didn't think so. Takashi was so much braver than he was. 

“Let Takashi go,” Sakura's voice was rough, but he forced it out anyway. 

“No.” The answer was short and sharp. 

Sakura tried not to flinch at the word. The deeply ingrained terror nearly did it for him on reflex.  

“He's just a kid. He doesn't-” Sakura didn't get to finish. 

“He's not a child. He's a way to keep you in line,” Eiji growled. 

At this pronouncement, Takashi went very still, terror clearly written on his small face. Sakura could only guess as to what was going through his head. 

“That will never-”

Sakura's uncle moved swiftly, twisting in a quick and efficient way that only a trained martial arts expert would know. At the same time, there was a soft snapping sound. Takashi wailed in pain. One of his wrist now hung at a strange angle. It was broken. Sakura just about retched at the sight.

Eiji, for his part, seemed unbothered by the pain he had just caused. The indifferent expression did not waver. Somehow that made this all worse. 

“No. Please. Don't hurt him. I'll go with you, just don't hurt him,” Sakura croaked. 

The idea of groveling to anyone, much less his uncle sickened him, but the thought of Takashi being hurt even further was more terrifying. 

“That's more like it,” Eiji nodded. 

The man lead them off. Sakura had no choice but to follow. As they walked, Sakura tried to edge closer to Takashi. His uncle spotted this and tugged Takashi to his other side by his broken wrist. Takashi's face was very pale and he looked like he was about to pass out as he stumbled along on his short legs. 

Sakura hated every moment of this. Oddly enough, he found himself desperately hoping that someone, anyone, would show up. He would have even welcomed Umemiya or heaven forbid Sugishita right now. 

“You won't get away with this,” Sakura mumbled. 

“Get away with what?” Eiji didn't even bother to look back at his nephew. 

“Any of this.”

“Any of what?” Eiji finally paused and turned to look over his shoulder at Sakura. He seemed confused about what Sakura was talking about. 

“Hurtin' other people,” Sakura's voice felt wavery, but he continued anyway, “Takin' me and Takashi away.”

“And you think you're going to stop me?” the man sneered, “Now come on. We're going home.”

He started walking again. Takashi whimpered softly in pain as his broken wrist was jostled once more.  

In the past Sakura might have gone willingly, afraid of getting hurt again, but now things were different. Sakura had learned a lot and grown even more. The fear of his uncle might still paralyze his mind, but his heart was focused on something different. For once in his life, Sakura had something that he valued more than his own safety.

As Eiji turned around to continue walking, he left a very small opening. Sakura decide in a split second what he was going to do. Without warning, he charged his uncle.

Instead of going for the grown man, he set his sights on Takashi. He tore his kid away from the momentarily loosened grip and the two of them went rolling along the pavement. Sakura curled his body protectively around Takashi's smaller body in an effort to protect the younger boy from the landing.

Finally they stopped in a heap on the pavement. Sakura was breathing hard. Against his chest, Takashi was trembling violently. It was hard to tell if it was from pain or fear.

Before Sakura could rise into a fighting stance, something heavy hit the back of his head. Sakura's vision swam at the unexpected blow. 

“I really don't want to do this,” Eiji sighed from behind Sakura. 

That was all the warning Sakura got before the heavy shoe lashed out again and caught him in the low back. He held back a groan. He attempted to roll away. As he did this, he realized that Takashi was now exposed to the abuse. He quick rolled back to prevent that. In doing this, he placed himself back in harm's way. 

The next blows landed on his back and shoulders. Sakura attempted to rise while also shielding Takashi from the blows. He made it to his hand and knees. 

Then without warning, something connected viciously with his temple.

Just before he lost consciousness, Sakura could have sworn he heard Nirei calling his name. 

Then the world went dark. 

<><><><><>

Natsume felt ice cold terror flood his veins at Sakura's clear panic. It was the same panic Sakura had worn on his face when he attacked Eisuke. Natsume tugged on Sakura's shirt, trying to pull him back the way they had come. Sakura remained frozen where he stood. It was like he wasn't even aware that Natsume was there.  

The stranger was talking softly, or perhaps hissing was a better word, to Sakura. Natsume did even bother to pay attention. The words he did catch were not nice. 

Then, the man's hand shot forward. 

Sakura scrambled backwards away from the hand, his eyes wide. Natsume noted that Sakura's whole body was tensed like a spring held under pressure. He was about to run. Natsume prepared to run as well. 

That's when the hand switched targets. 

It latched onto the back of Natsume's collar as he turned. Natsume was shocked as his collar came tight across his throat. He was yanked backwards, away from Sakura. Natsume squirmed. The man's other hand caught Natsume's arm. Natsume felt his limb twist backwards until it was pinned against his back. 

“Let go of me!” Natsume cried. 

Natsume thrashed against his captor, kicking his legs and twisting his body. It was useless. He was no match for an adult twice his size and strength. He was well and truly trapped. 

“Let him go,” Sakura growled unexpectedly. 

Natsume couldn't help himself. He turned pleading eyes to Sakura, silently begging for the teen to free him. Sakura remained rooted to the ground, chest heaving, his eyes blinking like he was coming out of a trance. 

“I'm not sure I like that tone.”

Sakura flinched at the scolding voice, shoulders folding inwards ever so slightly. Natsume didn't like it. He disn't like seeing Sakura like this. This was all this man's fault. If only he had left Sakura alone then Sakura wouldn't be scared. 

“You ran from me and it's been annoying to track you down.”

“I never asked for you to find me,” Sakura's voice was choked. 

“Your parents did. I told them that you ran off and when you didn't show up again, they asked me to track you down.”

Natsume didn't know much about Sakura's family, but they didn't sound any nicer than the places he had stayed. 

“You don't care about them or me. You just want the money they pay you,” Sakura accused. 

“Compensation is compensation.”

Sakura bared his teeth like he was some sort of wild animal. His heaving chest and blown pupils only further cemented this picture. 

“Now, it's time to go home.”

“Fuck off,” Sakura spat, though his voice wasn't steady at all.  

“Do you need an incentive?” the man frowned. 

Natsume couldn't hold back a cry of pain as his arm was twisted even further in the wrong direction. 

“You sick bastard. Let the kid go,” Sakura sounded angry. 

“Will you behave if I let him go?” 

Sakura glared at the man. Natsume was glad to see that some of Sakura's fight had come back. 

“That's what I thought.”

The man abruptly set off. Natusme found himself all but dragged along. He desperately resumed his fight for freedom. He kicked and screamed. He hoped that whoever noticed would come and help them. The man acted like this was nothing, like Natsume was simply a yipping puppy. 

“Let Takashi go,” Sakura sounded desperate. 

“No.”

“He's just a kid. He doesn't-”

“He's not a child. He's a way to keep you in line.”

Natsume froze. He wasn't sure what exactly that entailed, but it didn't sound good. He glanced at Sakura in fear. Sakura was going to help him escape, right? Sakura briefly looked at him before glaring at the man once more. 

“That will never-”

Natsume had no time to prepare himself. He found one of his wrists sudden twisted unnaturally to the side. Something bone deep in his arm snapped. Natsume's vision went white for a second. He barely recognized his own screams over the rushing in his ears. When he finally regained his senses a bit, he dared to look at the limb that was hurting so badly. 

He found that his right wrist was dangling unnaturally to one side. Hot tears of pain prickled at Natsume's eyes. Before he had a change to come to terms to the agonizing pain in his wrist, he was suddenly dragged forward. They were walking again. 

All of Natsume's energy was now focused on keeping his injured arm still. This was hard as the man, at one point, simply grabbed him by the broken wrist and dragged him off to one side. Natsume was sure he was going to pass out or throw up (maybe both). He could hardly keep his stumbling feet under him. He was sure that if he fell, he would simply be dragged along the pavement like a broken toy. 

Sakura's voice was somewhere behind Natsume, saying something softly that Natsume couldn't hear over the ringing in his ears. Natsume would have looked over his shoulder if he wasn't too busy trying not to be overwhelmed by the pain. 

“Get away with what?” the man sighed.

Natsume bit his cheek to muffle a sob as the man's hand clenched a little tighter around his injured limb.  

“Any of this,” Sakura's voice was a little louder now. 

“Any of what?” The man stopped walking for a moment. 

Natsume was selfishly relieved for the break.  

“Hurtin' other people,” Sakura said in response to the man's question, “Takin' me and Takashi away.”

“And you think you're going to stop me?” the man sneered. 

The large hand wrapped unforgivingly around Natsume's wrist twisted slightly. Something in Natsume's wrist ground and crunched against itself. Natsume found that his pain was ratch up several more notches. He couldn't hold back a whimper of pain nor the prickling tears. 

With that they turned to start off again. Natsume's head felt like it was spinning. The grown man dragging him along seemed indifferent to the pain he was causing. Natsume was taken by surprise when Sakura seemed to fly out of nowhere and tackle him to the ground. 

Sakura twisted his body so that he hit the ground first before wrapping himself around Natsume. The two of them rolled several times before stopping. Natsume clung to Sakura as hard as he could. He had no idea what was going on or who that man was. All he knew was that he wanted to be very far away from that man. 

Sakura started to rise when suddenly he gave a soft grunt as his head rocked forwards. He had been kicked. 

“I really don't want to do this, but you forced my hand,” the man had come over to tower over them. 

He started lashing out with his foot. Natsume noticed that Sakura deliberately made sure that he was in between Natsume and the blows. Keeping Natsume hugged protectively against his chest, the teen started to get up once more. 

A vicious kick connected with the side of Sakura's head. Sakura collapse to the side. Natsume held his breath in fear, clinging to the teen's now limp body. Was Sakura's dead? He didn't know.

Hardly able to breathe through his panic, Natsume turned towards the man. He had told Sakura just last night that he wanted to help protect him. He didn't expect to have to step up so soon. Having no idea what else to do, Natsume positioned himself so that he was in front of Sakura. He hoped that would protect the teen. 

Oddly enough, it was then that Natsume realized that someone was screaming. 

Someone that wasn't him. 

Vision hazy with pain and panic, Natsume glanced towards the sound. 

Nirei?

Chapter Text

Later, Nerei would be glad that he decided to take the route that he did. 

Technically it was longer than the other route he could have taken, but it also had less traffic so he could move a little quicker and therefore finish his task faster. 

Sakura had left his phone in the classroom and Suo told him to take it to Café Porthos. Nirei didn't know how Suo knew that Sakura would be there, but he didn't question Suo's suggestion. He hurried along the streets determined to give back the device before rejoining the patrols. 

He was nearing the half-way point to the cafe when he heard a scream. 

Nirei hesitated. He was already on a mission, but that person sounded like they needed help. That scream had been one of pain. His hand tightened around the phone. It was fine. Sakura could live without his phone a little bit longer (assuming he even noticed that he had left it behind). Nirei readjusted his course and picked up the pace as much as he could.

He turned a few more corners and it was here that he stumbled upon a sight that was certain would haunt the rest of his life. 

A stranger was dragging Takashi along by the wrist. The little boy was crying softly. Sakura followed with his head down in a startling display of defeat. He must have said something for the man suddenly turned back towards him. They exchange a few words. Nirei couldn't hear what was said, but whatever it was, it got a reaction out of Sakura. 

Nirei recognized the signs that his class captain was about to do something reckless. The teen tensed up before lunging at the man. He pulled Takashi away and the two of them went rolling along the ground. Before they had even stopped, Sakura was already curling his body around Takashi. 

The man appeared frustrated by this. He stormed over to Sakura and began to kick the teen. Sakura attempted to rise a few times. He never made it far, clearly trying to protect Takashi from the blows. It was an unfair fight. The man did not seem to care, he just continued to beat Sakura's defenseless body. Nireri realized in horror that he may very well watch his class captain beaten to death in front of him. 

“SAKURA! SAKURA!”

Nirei didn't even realize he was screaming until the man paused beating as he looked around. He quickly spotted Nirei. A frown darkened the man's face. Leaving Sakura motionless in the dust, the man started to advance on him instead. 

In the face of danger, Nirei did was he did best. He pulled out his phone and sent out a frantic text for help and a location pin to the first chat that his fingers found. It was the class 1-1 group chat. Nirei felt a flood of relief. The class should have started out on their patrols. That meant that someone would be along shortly. 

That relief died when Nirei looked up to find that man was almost upon him. It was now that Nirei realized that he was open and defenseless. Any and all self-defense lessons from Suo flew from his head. Nirei noted the way the man carried himself. It was the same way the Suo did; with certainty and decisiveness. It was clear that he knew how to fight. Even if there wasn't a large gap in their sizes and weight, Nirei knew that he would be no match for this man.  

Nirei felt frozen to the ground. He should he run? No, that would leave Sakura utterly defenseless. Should he attack? No, he knew that he was no match for this man. Nirei waivered between these choices. The man saw his indecision and finished closing the gap between them. 

“What were you looking at, punk?” he ask in a tone that was too soft to be friendly. 

“N-n-nothing,” Nirei stammered out, his throat strangely dry. 

He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He should have insisted that Suo deliver Sakura's phone. 

“Nothing? Good. How about we keep it that way?” the man sniffed.  

Nirei staggered backwards as a blow from the man's hand clipped his jaw. Nirei blindly tried to fight back. His wild motions might have been effective if he had been thrown into the sea and was trying to stay afloat. That is to say, they did nothing to hinder or deter the fully grown man with trained fighting skills. 

A second hard punch to the jaw and Nirei went down in a dazed mess. 

He wondered if the man was going to beat him to death too. Oddly enough, once Nirei was motionless on the ground, the man went back to Sakura.

He lifted Sakura by the back of the collar. Sakura hung limp in his grasp, blood streaking down the side of his face. Takashi gave a small cry and continued to cling to his brother-figure. The man viciously kicked Takashi away like he was a pesky dog. The kid flew through the air, rolling several times before landing in a heap on the pavement. He lay there unmoving. 

Satisfied that he was no longer hindered, the man started dragging Sakura away. Nirei needed to do something, to intervene in some way. He forced himself to rise on shaky legs. 

“H-hey. You c-can't take him,” he called out with far more bravado than he felt. 

The man turned with narrowed eyes. 

“You want to say that again?” he hissed. 

Nirei swallowed hard. 

“Y-you can't take h-him,” he squeaked out. 

“So you insist on doing things the hard way? Kids these days are so useless.” The man let Sakura drop to the ground in an unceremonious heap. 

He then started back towards Nirei. 

Nirei's knees were shaking badly. The man was truly angry now. Nirei had no chance to dodge the blow that came at him. It hit him hard in the rib and sent him flying backwards. He landed on his butt. He was sore and winded. The man was appraoching again. Nirei started scotting backwards along the pavement. He probably looked stupid, but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. He just needed to keep the man distracted long enough that real help could arrive. 

Some how he was able to evade the next two kick that came his way. This seemed to push the man even further into his rage. Nirei knew that he was a dead man now. He managed to block the following blow with an arm. The limb felt numb from the jarring force. Nirei wondered if it was broken. 

He continued crawl backwards up the street, drawing the man further from Sakura and Takashi. The man did not seem to be aware that this was Nirei's plan. He just continued to keep up with Nirei's slow retreat. The blows did not stop. Nirei knew that there was only so much more time before he received a critical hit. Still, he didn't stop. 

The end came upon Nirei sooner than he could have liked. A harsh kick caught him in the chest and he ended up on his back gapsing for breath. The man reached down and grabbed Nirei's collar. Still severly winded, Nirei found that the only thing he could do was watch as a punch was delivered to his face. He felt hot blood starting to run from his nose. 

The man wound up for another strike. Nirei closed his eyes and braced himself for the end. Oddly enough, this hit never landed. There was a swish of fabric and a surprised grunt from the man. 

“Sorry. I can't have you doing that.”

Nirei nearly cried in relief at the familiar voice. Suo had arrived. The other teen had blocked the man's hit. He was smiling, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was preditoral. It was full a little too wide to be comfortable. It made Suo look unhinged. Nirei felt equal parts terrified and relieved. 

At Suo's apperance, the man seemed annoyed. 

“Fine. Have it your way. I didn't want him anyway.”

Nirei found himself very suddenly dropped to the pavement. What little breath he had managed to catch was once again driven from his body. As he lay there coughing, Nirei found that Suo was standing protectively in front of him and that Suo's patrol partner___ had arrived to help. 

After he let go of Nirei and glared at Suo for several seconds, the man then turned and started to walk away, back towards Sakura's motionless body. 

“On that note, you can't have Sakura either,” Suo called. 

“And why is that?” the man sneered. 

“He belongs here.”

This comment visibly ticked the man off. 

“He doesn't. He's mine. The ungrateful brat is fucking mine.”

Suo's spine stiffened with a sudden jerk. Then he gave a shake of his head before he dashed off and caught up with the grown man. 

“See, I know things,” Suo nodded his head, his earrings swinging, “I know a lot of things that could land you in jail.”

Nirei couldn't help but wonder how Suo knew this man. In response to Suo's words, the man took a swing. Suo artfully dodged it. The man was unfortunately quick to recover. 

“Here at Furin, we look after our own. Unfortunately for you, Sakura is one of us,” Suo continued, “Since you hurt him in the past and you keep hunting him down, you need to be delt with.”

Nirei heard more footsteps. He looked over his shoulder. Anzai and Sugishita had arrived. Then Kiryuu and ___. Nirei felt relief blooming in his chest. He was sure now that the man wouldn't escape nor would he be able to inflict any further harm on Sakura.  If the stranger was uncomfortable with the new comers, he didn't show it. 

Clutching his phone like a good luck talisman, Nirei could only watch was unfolded next. 

The man decided that he wouldn't go down without a fight. As it turned out, he was a good match for Suo. It was clear that he had received martial arts training. He got in a few lucky hits, jabbing Suo hard in the ribs and stomach several times and then once to the cheek on Suo's blind side. Suo persisted, keeping his output to a minimum and wearing the man down. 

Once the man's energy started to flag, that's when Suo truly began his attacks. It was a vicious thing to watch. Strike and block. Hit and counterstrike. It was like watching a deadly dance. Nirei was very grateful that Suo was the one facing down this man. He wasn't sure who else would be able to.

The fight dragged on longer than Nirei thought it would. The man stood his ground as long as he could, but Suo's earlier tactic had worn his stamina down. He stumbled and that was what spelled his doom. Suo took advantage of the slip, downing the man with a well placed strike. 

Nirei could only watch as something odd happened. Suo continued to beat the man even as he lay on the ground, unable to fight back and barely clinging to consciousness. Nirei felt genuinely worried that Suo was going to take this too far. Was Suo planning to out right kill this man? Or had his anger blinded him so much to the point that he hadn't even realized that the man wasn't fighting back. 

Suo's knuckles were dripping blood. Nirei wasn't sure if it was Suo's or his victim's. The rest of the 1-1 class that had arrived so far was clearly nervous. No was was brave enough to interfere with Suo's dangerous attacks. Nirei bravely attempted to stagger over to Suo's side and reason with his fellow vice captain, but he lost his balance and was unable to get close enough. 

For better or for worse, this is when Umemiya arrived on the scene. 

The older teen panting hard like he had run all the way from school. He was closely followed by Hiragi and Tsubaki. Upon spying Suo beating the downed man, Umemiya quickly intervened.

He restrained Suo's arm and gently pulled him away. At the touch, Suo struggled to get away. Umemiya murmured something into Suo's ear (probably a plea for the younger teen to stop or perhaps a soft rebuke).

Abruptly, Suo's whole body froze. Then he blinked several times like he was trying to clear his vision. His arms dropped limply to his side and he took a step back from the downed man. Nirei felt like he could finally breathe again.  

“I got a call that there was screaming and that a group of students was attacking someone in the area. Does someone want to explain what is going on?” Umemiya's tone was tense. 

He was wearing a frown which was a rare occurrence. 

Leaning heavily on Anzai, Nirei stood up. He rushed to try and create something of a reply for Umemiya. The words tumbled out in no particular order. He informed Umemiya that, from what he could tell, that man was bad news. The stranger had hurt Sakura and little Takashi for some reason and, further more, Suo somehow knew the man which may or may not be concerning in and of itself. At the mention of this last bit, everyone turned to Suo for an explanation.

Suo shook out his bruised knuckles before saying anything.  

“Urmemiya, you have contacts at the police correct?” he asked evasively. 

Umemiya's brow wrinkled in confusion. 

“That is an odd way to say that I know a police officer,” he sighed. 

Suo nodded several times, like he was mentally talking himself into (or out of) something. He then turned to fully face Umemiya. His usual smile was gone, but so too was the blood thirsty gleam. What was left was something unusually vulnerable for Suo. Nirei almost felt uncomfortable witnessing it. 

“This is Sakura's uncle,” Suo didn't even bother looking down at the man on the ground, “He's the one responsible for abusing Sakura in the past.”

A murmur spread through the gathered teens. At this news, Umemiya's face darkened. 

“I see. Thank you for telling me this Suo. I will see that this situation is taken care of properly from here on out,” he said softly before turning an unfriendly eye towards the stranger's battered body. 

“Sakura!” Nirei suddenly gasp as a thought occurred to him.  

He looked around for the other teen. Sakura was still laying in the broken heap he had been left in. Nirei had never seen his grade captain so still. Right now, Sakura looked more dead than alive. The white part of Sakura's hair was streaked with red. He was still unconscious and that was beginning to freak Nirei out. 

Nirei scrambled for his phone. They should call an ambulance just in case. His hands were shaking so hard that it was hard to type the right numbers in. As he struggled with his phone, a hand came up and gently took it from him. Nirei started and looked up. It was just Anzai. 

“Hiragi's already making a call,” the other teen nodded. 

“Oh,” Nirei hadn't realized this. 

“How about you sit down?” Anzai seemed oddly concerned. 

“I'm fine,” Nirei insisted. He hadn't taken nearly the beating that Sakura had clearly taken. 

“You're bleeding from the head,” Anzai frowned. 

Nirei reached up and found that this was true. His nose was bleeding and it seemed that he had a small gash on his forehead. With this realization crashing down on him, the last of his adrenaline quickly faded from his veins. Nirei found that his legs felt like jelly as he sank to the pavement. There was still a bit of ringing in his ears, but at least it was fading. He noticed with worry that someone was crying. 

He looked around and quickly found who it was. Takashi was sitting in a huddled mess, sobbing uncontrollably. Tsubaki was gently trying to console him. It didn't appear to be working. It was gut-wrenching to see Takashi crying like that. Nirei knew that he should go over and help. 

Nirei started to rise. Anzai easily pushed him back down. 

“Rest. You did a good. We've got it from here. You can take it easy.”

“But Takashi-” Nirei croaked. 

Anzai glanced over his shoulder at Takashi and Tsubaki. 

“He'll be alright. We'll see to that.”

Nirei nodded tiredly. He was at the end of his rope, emotionally and physically. It was time to lean on his classmates to help. 

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. By that time, the scene had drawn quiet the crowd of both Furin students and neighborhood residents. All looked concerned to see Sakura in such a state. No doubt if Sakura had been awake, he would have been thoroughly embarrassed. 

The paramedics were quick to load Sakura into the ambulance along with Takashi and Tsubaki. Then they were off. As the ambulance drove away with blaring sirens, Nirei hoped that Sakura would be alright. 

<><><><><>

Natsume did not understand what was going on. 

He watched as the strange man attacked Nirei before coming back from Sakura. The man fisted a hand in the back of Sakura's collar. Natsume cried out and tried to prevent the man from touching Sakrua. 

For his troubled, he received a kick in the gut. He flew through the air. The pavement and sky traded placed several times. Natsume must have blacked out because when he finally managed to open his eyes, the man was attacking Nirei again. 

Natsume should go and help. He should prove that he wasn't useless. He found that his body betrayed him. The pain was making him shake. He felt disconnected. Shock. 

The small, leafy youkai on the ground next to him patted his head. Natsume just about jumped out of his skin when he heard Nirei give a cry of pain. 

Rather than helping Nirei, Natsume did the cowardly thing. He remained where he lay on the pavement. He kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He kept telling himself that his was all just a horrible dream. He would wake up any moment now and things would go back to normal. 

There was a lot of shouting. Natsume huddled as small as he could make himself. He didn't want to get hurt any more. The shouting continued. There were voices that he recognized, but he didn't bother to pay attention to them. After all, it could be his imagination. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a large hand settled on his shoulder. 

“Sweetie? Are you alright?”

Natsume risked peeling his eyes open. He found that he vaguely recognized the person as a Furin student. He didn't remember a name to go with the face at the moment. 

“Are you alright?”

Natsume glanced towards Sakura. The teen was still laying on the pavement like a broken toy. He wasn't moving. Was he dead? Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't he awake? Natsume found that once the tears started, he couldn't stop them. They just kept coming. 

A hand was running up and down his back. A voice murmured soft words. Natsume didn't pay attention. He couldn't pay attention. He was too distraught. The choas of the world around him was compounded by the arrival of sierens and even more voices. 

Natsume found that he was gently picked up and carried to a waiting ambulance. Sakura's body was already there. The teen's eyes were closed. His face and hair were streaked with blood. The only indication that he was still alive was the slight rise and fall of his bare chest which had wires snaking to it. 

The adults were talking. 

Then the ambulance started moving. 

Sarukra did not wake up. 

Sitting in the back of the ambulance, Natsume felt terribly alone. 

Chapter Text

Natsume felt hopeless as he sat by Sakura's bed.

Sakura was still unconscious. It was making Natsume worry. His worry was not helped by the fact that he felt slightly dizzy from the medication that the doctor had given him when the put his wrist in a cast. The only positive part was that his pain was dulled to a low throbbing that was almost ignorable. 

Natsume tucked his knees to his chest, trying to get a little bit more comfortable in the hard hospital chair. All the while, he stared at Sakura, mentally willing the teen to wake up already. Sakura did not comply. His chest rose and fell, but his eyes remained shut. 

Almost against his will, Natsume's eyes were drawn to the sterile white bandages wrapped around Sakura's head. At least the blood was washed out of Sakura's hair. That was a small relief. 

“Do you want to get some rest?”

Natsume ignored the question. He didn't know who asked him and he didn't care. He was going to sit with Sakura until Sakura was ok. 

To this end, Natsume refused any and all blankets or pillows offered to him. He was pretty much grown up so he didn't need them and he didn't need to sleep. He started glaring at anyone who suggested that he leave Sakura, even just for the night. 

Natsume couldn't stop himself from thinking that none of this would have happened if he was better, stronger. He should have protected Sakura better. Or maybe it was that he should have stayed out of the way. He didn't know. What he did know was that if he had done something different, then things wouldn't be like this. 

Someone handed him a cup. Natsume glanced down. It was juice. He didn't feel much like juice, but at the same time, he felt bad for not drinking it since he had been given it. He should just give it back so that someone else could have it. When he turned, there was no one to take the cup. Natsume looked around for a moment. Before resuming his vigil.

The cup was awkward in his hands. His cast was not making things any easier. Maybe he would feel better if he drank it. Then he could set the cup down. He slowly drank the juice, never taking his eyes off of Sakura. Sakura, for his part, remained unchanged. 

Natsume never noticed the plastic cup slip from his fingers nor was he able to fight the drowsiness that came over him soon after. He felt himself being lifted and placed somewhere warm and soft. Natsume's last conscious act was to snuggle against the firm body next to him. Then he felt asleep. 

<><><><><>

Hiragi leaned back in his seat, rolling his shoulders a bit to stretch them. 

He had come to sit by Sakura's bed in place of Umemiya for the time being. 

At the moment, Umemiya was dealing with the police regarding Sakura's uncle. It wasn't often that the police were called to Makochi any more. At first it was because the town was simply too violent for them to be affective in any capacity. Now it was because it was simply easiest not for them to interfere with Bofurin's territory. To this end, Sakura's uncle was quite the precedent.

Speaking of the man, he was currently at the same hospital as Sakura and Takashi courtesy of Suo's unforgiving fists. Hiragi wasn't sure if he should scold his kohai for displaying such unrestrained violence or if he should scold Suo for not saving some for everyone else. In the end, he popped more of his stomach medication rather than thinking about it any further. 

Stomach settled for now, Hiragi observed the unconscious younger teen on the bed in front of him. Sakura had taken several vicious kicks to the head. That was the reason for his current state. The injuries on his head had been treated and his bruised torso had been checked out as well. Thankfully, none of it appeared permanent. 

Now, all that they could do was wait for Sakura to wake up, something which Sakura was stubbornly refusing to do just yet. Perhaps that shouldn't have surprised Hiragi. Sakura never seemed like someone who liked the rules or expectations. 

Hiragi's eyes wondered from Sakura's face to the other side of the medical bed. Little Takashi was sitting in a seat there. The kid looked miserable and exhausted. His broken wrist had been splinted and his small arm was now all but engulfed by the cast. The kid's back was slouched, betraying just how tired he was. At the same time he refused to sleep.

The sound of shifting clothes came from next to Hiragi. He didn't need to turn to know that Tsubaki was just as uncomfortable as he was. Tsubaki was a touchy-feely person. He had attempted to physically comfort Takashi by cuddling with the kid, but the Takashi had all but rejected it, his eyes fixed on Sakura. The rejection had visibly disheartened and distressed Tsubaki. 

The door creaked open as the nurse poked her head in to check on things. It was well past visiting hours, but she wasn't about to force them to leave. Not in a situation like this. Hiragi was thankful for that. He didn't think Takashi would take it well if he was dragged from the room. 

Speaking of Takashi...

Hiragi slipped from his seat and followed the nurse out. 

“Do you have a way to help the kid sleep? Maybe a sedative or something? He's exhausted,” Hiragi murmured. 

The nurse hesitated. Hiragi knew what he was asking for. At the same time, it would set Takashi's healing back if he drove himself to utter exhaustion at Sakura's bedside (particularly when there was no need for him to do so).  

“I might. Let me check,” she said. 

Hiragi returned to the room. The nurse was back only a few minutes later holding a plastic cup of what looked like juice. She offered the cup to Takashi. Takashi robotically took it, his cast making things a little bit more difficult. 

Takashi drank the juice, never having any idea that he was being drugged. It took a little while for the sedatives to take ahold but when they did, they worked fast. Takashi started to droop and the empty cup slipped from his small fingers. Tsubaki was quick to catch Takashi before he fully keeled over. 

Murmuring gentle words, Tsubaki scooped Takashi up and placed him on the bed next to Sakura. Takashi immediately snuggled closer to Sakura's side, like a kitten seeking it's mother. Then Takashi felt asleep. Hirai was almost grateful. 

“I can't believe it came to this,” Hiragi finally sighed. 

“Me neither,” Tsubaki replied grimly, smoothing back first Takashi's hair and then Sakura's, “And I wish that it hadn't.”

“Agreed.”

“Why don't you think Sakura told us that his uncle was in town?” Tsubaki bit his lip. 

“From what I could squeeze out of Suo, I don't think even Sakura knew the man was around the area,” Hiragi sighed. 

“We should have done a better job protecting him.”

Hiragi hated how much he agreed with this. 

“We'll have to make it up to him somehow,” Tsubaki vowed. 

“Yes, we will,” Hiragi agreed. 

“When will Hajime be up?” Tsubaki asked. 

“Who knows,” Hiragi grunted, “He's dealing with the police right now, so it could be in five minutes or five hours.”

It was the truth. There was really no telling when Umemiya would be up. 

“I can't believe it was these two out of everyone,” Tsubaki almost sounded mournful, “Little Takashi has only just started to get comfortable here and Sakura has always been a flighty person.”

Hiragi sighed heavily. He agreed. There probably wasn't a worse combination of people at Furin to end up hurt at the same time. 

“I agree,” he finally said, “It's gonna be hard to get things back to how they were. Sakura in particular will probably need more help than he would ever admit. He might try to chase everyone away after this.”

“I know,” Tsubaki agreed, “We're going to help anyway, aren't we?”

“Of course we are,” Hiragi grunted. 

He just hoped that Sakura would cooperate on that end.  

<><><><><>

Suo did not feel bad for what he had done.

In fact, he wished that Umemiya hadn't stopped him. There was a part of him that would have gladly killed that man in cold blood and not felt a thing. Perhaps that was concerning, but Suo didn't care. 

What he did care about was the fact that this man had not only beaten Sakura up badly, but he had also laid a hand on Takashi and Nirei. Suo should have prevented that. 

When the pecking order of the the 1-1 class was first figured out, Suo had known that his role as vice captain was a role of protection. He had to protect Nirei from physical harm. He had to protect Sakura from re-living his past. He had to protect the others when they got in over their heads (as they so often did). Once Takashi had come along, Suo had gained yet another person to protect (not that he minded; he loved little Takashi). 

And he had failed spectacularly at that role today. 

It didn't matter that no one could have known that this was what was going to happen. Suo still should have been on the alert for it. 

He glared at his raw knuckles, barely feeling the pain there. 

“Hayato?”

Suo flinched at the sound of his Master's voice without meaning to. He turned around to find the man standing behind him. The light of the house spilled out around the man's frame, leaving him mostly silhouetted.  

“Yes?” Suo answered automatically. 

“What are you doing out here?”

Suo looked back out over the garden. He didn't really know. Now that he wasn't immediately trapped in his spiraling thoughts, Suo noticed the way the cold was biting at his skin and that his body throbbed where he had been hit. 

“Hayato?”

Suo realized that he hadn't answered. 

“Nothing,” he turned to head in inside. 

“What's going on Hayato?” his Master asked as Suo slipped past him. 

Suo bit his lip. He knew what he was going on. 

“What happened to your knuckles?”

Suo didn't have it in himself to pull away when his Master caught a hold of his hands to examine his busted knuckles. 

“I got in a fight,” he said. 

It was straight to the point. That was the best answer. 

“I know I taught you better than that,” his Master frowned, “What happened?”

“Sakura...” Suo bit his lip, “Sakura's uncle showed up and attacked him, Takashi and Nirei.”

His Master's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt. 

“I intervened and I.... I couldn't hold myself back. I kept hitting him after he was down,” Suo's voice went soft as he admitted the next part, “I wanted to kill him.”

Suo thought back to earlier this evening. He had seen Sakura's broken body laying on the pavement. He had seen little Takashi huddled in a quivering ball of misery. He had seen Nirei's bloody face. At these sights, something in him snapped. 

He might claim to Nirei however many times he wanted that he had no weakness, but that was a lie. A big fat lie. Suo's weakness was his friends. He refused to let them get hurt if he could help it. As such, that man had to go. If only Suo had gotten in a few more good hit. Then maybe he could have ended the threat for good. 

“Hayato-”

“I know, I know,” Suo grumbled, “To strike a downed opponent it a cowardly offence, and to stay an unjust attack is a noble calling. I shouldn't have given into my anger, but I couldn't help myself. The man deserved it. ”

His Master was silent for several long minutes. 

“That is correct. You should not have given into your anger and hatred.”

“That man abused Sakura,” Suo growled a reminder. 

“Thus you have said, but without Sakura-kun verifying that this is the man who hurt him, I only have your word that to go on. Whether or not that man deserved such lengths of violence was not for you to met out Hayato.”

Suo hunched his shoulders slightly. He knew that his Master was upset with how far he had taken the attack. Honestly, Suo couldn't blame him. From an objective perspective, he could see that he had made the wrong choice by attacking a downed man. At the same time he burned with frustration that the man who had hurt Sakura so badly was still living. 

“Come. I'll treat your hands,” his Master nodded. 

Suo followed the man inside to the bathroom. The process of treating his knuckles was far from fun or pleasant. Suo winced as first soap and then antiseptic hit his raw knuckles. It stung fiercely. He knew he deserved it. After the raw skin was cleaned, Suo let his Master gently cover the injuries with gauze. 

“Hayato,” his Master finally said, “I can not condone senseless attacks like that.”

Suo knew this. 

“But,” the man continued, “I can not deny that I am proud that you are so loyal to your friends and wish to protect them. Learn to balance one with the other. Moderation is better than an extreme.”

“Yes sir,” Suo sighed. 

It was a light scolding. Suo couldn't complain. His Master patted him on the head. 

“One last thing. Be there for Sakura-kun when he wakes up,” his Master murmured, “The poor boy will need all the support he can get.”

Suo nodded. He knew this was true. 

“Of course,” he answered. 

He meant it. This time he would make sure he didn't slip up. This time, Suo wouldn't let anyone get hurt. 

Chapter Text

Sakura woke up slowly. 

His body felt achy and sluggish in a numb sort of way. After what felt like a torturously long time, he finally managed to peel his eyes open. He was greeted with a white ceiling colored by the rising sun. Sakura slowly turned his head. 

An oxygen cannula lead to his nose and when he raised his hand to scrub at his eyes, he found that there was an IV there. 

“Sakura?”

At the sound of his name, Sakura turned his head the other direction. He found Umemiya watching him with an attentive face. Sakura blinked. What the heck was going on? Why was in the hospital? He remembered walking home from school and-

The run-in.

His uncle.

Takashi. 

Sakura jerked. Where was Takashi? Was Takashi safe?

“Woah, woah, calm down.” Umemiya soothed. 

“Takashi-” Sakura managed to croak out.

His dry throat was hardly able to form sound. Thankfully he didn't need to repeat his question. A look of understanding crossed over Umemiya's face. 

“He sleeping right next to you,” the older teen explained. 

Sakura stopped thrashing about in looked down. Sure enough Takashi was curled up next to him, fast asleep. The kid had been dislodged a bit, but it appeared that he had originally been nestled right against Sakura's side. Sakura finally let himself relax a bit. 

“The nurses finally drugged him to get him to sleep,” Umemiya explained. 

Sakura nodded slowly. He noted with worry and displeasure that Takashi was sporting a cast on his arm. With careful movements, Sakura brushed a thumb over the back of Takashi's hand. The kid kept sleeping. 

“Is he... 'kay?” Sakura grunted. 

He needed to know. 

“He's fine,” Umemiya hummed reassuringly, “You on the other hand took quiet the beating. Concussion, broken ribs and extensive bruising. You gave us all quite the scare.”

Sakura's cheeks felt hot. He knew he was weak for not fighting back better. It was stupid that he had been so spectacularly taken down by one person. A person who's fighting style he knew, no less. 

Wait? Was that why Umemiya was here? Was he here to expel Sakura from Furin?

“You did a good job of protecting him.” Umemiya nodded towards Takashi. 

Sakura wasn't sure he had heard that correctly. He had done a good job? How? He had failed and been beaten pretty badly in the process. To make things worse, Takashi had ended up hurt. What about that was deserving of praise? Sakura tried to form a rebutle, but he quickly became frustrated when words felt harder than normal. 

“Easy, Sakura,” Umemiya hummed, “You both are safe.”

It was only then that Sakura realized that he had been driving his nails into his palms. He loosened his fists slightly. 

“Didn't mean for him to get hurt,” Sakura mumbled. 

“I know that. Takashi knows that too,” Umemiya assured. 

Sakura glanced at his kid. Takashi was still asleep. Sakura looped an around Takashi's shoulder, pulling the kid back flush against his side. 

“Your uncle has been dealt with.”

Sakura froze at the mention of his uncle. On instinct, he glanced at the door, half-afraid the man was going to materialize there. His fears were thankfully unfounded. The doorway remained empty. 

Then Umemiya's words truly sunk in. 

“Dealt with? What does that mean?” Sakura turned back to Bofurin's leader. 

“It means that he won't be bothering you any further,” Umemiya nodded proudly. 

“I doubt that,” Sakura grumbled. 

He was wise to his uncle's tricks. After what had happened, he was beginning to suspect that he would never be free of his uncle's long arm, even here in somewhere as protective as Makochi. Most likely, the man had been scared off, but that was temporary at best. Sakura should probably move soon, just to be safe. 

“Yes, well, it will be hard to bother you from prison,” Umemiya huffed. 

That got Sakura's attention. 

“Prison?” he blinked in confusion. 

“That's were he'll be going, if I have anything to say about it,” Umemiya declared. 

Sakura was uncertain of how to process that. What he did know was that something seemed off; something in Umemiya's phrasing....

“Where is he now?” Sakura wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. 

“The hospital.”

“The hospital?” Sakura repeated numbly. 

So the possibly that the man really might materialize at any minute was real. Sakura tightened his grip on Takashi. 

“Suo did a number on him.”

“What-” Sakura was interrupted. 

“Don't worry about it. Needless to say, he won't be bothering you, or anyone else, for a while.”

“Oh,” was all Sakura could say.

Sakura remembered Suo mentioning his intense anger for the man. Apparently that hadn't just been talk. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what Suo had done to the man. In a fight, Sakura would have guessed that they would have been on equal footing. He hoped that didn't mean that Suo was injured too. 

“You will be safe from him,” Umemiya concluded. 

Sakura found that hard to fully believe. He had never been safe from his uncle. He didn't think that was likely to change now. However, Sakura very much wanted to trust Umemiya's word. He weighed it in his mind for a while before deciding that he would hesitantly lean on the promise of safety ready to pull back if things got too dangerous. 

With that out of the way, Sakura had something else to tackle. 

“What about Suo?” he asked. 

“What about him?” Umemiya cocked his head. 

“Is he alright?” Sakura asked. 

“He's fine, as far as I know. He left the scene on his own yesterday.”

Sakura felt slightly better upon hearing that. At least that meant that Suo was horrifically injured. That was always a good thing. 

“So....what now?” was all he could croak. 

He knew it was a vague question. He was happy to see that Umemiya understood all the same. 

“What would you like to happen?” Umemiya asked with usual gentleness. 

Sakura didn't know the answer. Umemiya just waited for his answer with the same patience he showed his plants. 

“I want to stay here in Makochi. I wanna stay with Takashi,” Sakura finally mumbled, his cheeks feeling warm. 

He had finally found a place that was starting to feel like home. He didn't particularly want to leave, if it could be helped. 

“Then that's what's going to happen,” Umemiya nodded. 

“How?”

“That's not your worry. Let your big brother handle it,” Umemiay fondly ruffled Sakura's hair. 

Sakura begrudgingly admitted that it felt good to have someone else who was willingly to look after him. Then he promptly felt embarrassed for thinking that. 

To cover his embarrassment, focused on Takashi. The kid stirred slightly, his nose wrinkling. He slowly blinked. Then, he looked up at Sakura and his eyes got very big. He sat straight up. 

“Sakura!”

Sakura had no time to prepare for the hug. It caught around the chest. Sakura bit back a groan of pain as his ribs protested the pressure. He wasn't about to let Takashi know that it hurt. He wanted Takashi to hug him. Takashi pulled back a minute later. 

“I'm sorry,” Takashi had tears in his eyes, “I didn't mean to get you hurt.”

“It's not your fault,” Sakura said firmly, “If anything, I'm sorry you got hurt.”

Takashi glanced at his arm and then back at Sakura. 

“It doesn't hurt so much now,” the kid nodded bravely. 

“Good,” Sakura nodded, “That's good.”

Takashi snuggled back against the curve of Sakura's body. It was here that Sakura became acutely aware of the fact that he was waring nothing but a hospital gown. Sure he had slept with Takashi in bed before, but Umemiya was a different matter. Sakura risked glancing at the older teen. Umemiya was smiling brilliantly as he was wont to do. 

Thankfully, Sakura didn't have to endure Umwmiya's blind joy for very long. The white haired teen slipped out of the room just in time for a barrage of Furin students to come in. 

Before the morning was well and truly started, Sakura's hospital room was all but invaded by his classmates. He had flashbacks to when it had been Takashi who was holed up in the hospital and they all showed up then too. He was a bit surprised that they would all show up to check on him too. 

He was worried that they had come to pester him with a load of question. As it turned out, they were all simply worried about Sakura's health and had come to keep him company. 

They were a rowdy bunch, accidently breaking a chair and the railing on the bed before the nurse threaten to have them all thrown out. Then they all calmed down as best as they could. Through this, Takashi sat glued to Sakura's side, refusing to be parted from physically touching Sakura. Sakura had no idea what was going on in his kid's head. 

Speaking of head, the loud voices of his classmates was starting to make Sakura's head hurt. Takashi watched him, his forehead puckered in worry. 

“P-please be quite,” Takashi's voice shook. 

At first no one heard him. He repeated his request. Sugishita, oddly enough, was the one who heard him. He started snarling at his classmates until one by one they all fell quiet. 

“Sakura's head hurts,” Takashi informed them shyly. 

The teens looked suitably chastised and most of the murmured apologized to Sakura. Sakura waved them off. For whatever odd reason, he would rather have a headache than to be alone (Makochi had done some serious damage to him for him to want this). 

The 1-1 class stayed as long as they could. They talked and played stupid games and generally just hung out. Sakura was almost sad to see them go when they started to trickle out one at a time to head to their respective homes for dinner. 

However, the day wasn't done with it's surprises. 

After the hospital seemed to have gone quiet with the last of the teens gone, the door to Sakura's room opened and Suo slipped in. 

<><><><><>

Natsume felt very groggy as he woke up. 

As he dragged himself from sleep he noticed that he was laying against something firm, yet soft. It felt a lot like Sakura. Natsume nodded sleepily in contentment. Yes, this is what it felt like when he slept with Sakura. Opening his eyes, Natsume could indeed confirm it was Sakura who was looking down at him. 

Except...

Wait...

Sakura?

Natsume remembered the events of yesterday. The rest of his drowsiness left his system and he sat up with a start. 

“Sakura!” Natsume cried. 

He lunged forward, hugging the teen. His short arms made it most of the way around Sakura's chest, but it was difficult with the cast on his arm. He probably would have kept hugging Sakura forever, except for the fact that he heard Sakura give a grunt of pain. 

Natsume pulled up and looked up.

“I'm sorry,” he pleaded, “I didn't mean to get you hurt.”

Not now, not yesterday, not ever. He never meant to get Sakura hurt. Sakura just shook his head. 

“It's not your fault,” Sakura said firmly, “If anything, I'm sorry you got hurt.”

Natsume glanced at his arm and then back at Sakura. 

“It doesn't hurt so much now,” Natsume boldly lied. 

In reality, it hurt a lot. The pain medication must have worn off while he was sleeping. Sakura apparently didn't know that fact. Natsume wanted it to stay that way. He didn't want to cause Sakura any more trouble. 

“Good,” Sakura nodded, “That's good.”

Natsume settled back into the curve of Sakura's body, relishing the fact that Sakura was awake now and that his vigil was over. Sakura gently looped an arm around Natsume like he always did. Natsume felt a guilty little shiver of joy at the protectiveness. 

Over the course of the morning, a lot of people started to flood the room. Natusme recognized them as boys from the 1-1 class. At first he was happy to see them (if not a bit overwhelmed). Then, however, he noticed Sakura furrowing his brow. Natsume knew that Sakura was in pain. His head must be hurting. 

“P-please be quite,” Natsume tired his best to be heard. 

At first no one heard him. He repeated his request. Sugishita, oddly enough, was the one who heard him. After locking eyes with Natsume, he turned and started snarling at his classmates until one by one they all fell quiet. 

“Sakura's head hurts,” Natsume pointed out. 

The other teens looked ashamed. Sakura just waved the apologies off as he so often did. The class of 1-1 stuck around for the whole day. Natsume was a little bit worried to see that neither Nirei nor Suo were with them. Where they ok? 

He didn't really have the courage to ask anyone. Instead, he sat glued right next to Sakura, determined not to be parted from the teen for the time being. 

Eventually, the boys started to filter out one by one. By dinner time, it was just Sakura and Natsume in the room. Natsume was glad. That meant he was able to spend time with just Sakura. 

Or not. 

Natsume was surprised when the door creaked open and Suo entered. 

Chapter Text

Suo looked decidedly grim as he sat down. 

Sakura felt his heart lurch. What was wrong? He glanced at the door. No one else was there. He looked at Suo again. He noted that Suo's knuckles were bandaged and there was a bruise on Suo's cheek just below his eyepatch. Sakura had to process seeing his vice captain injured in any way. It was concerning. 

Suo didn't say anything. He just sat there, head slightly bowed. Sakura felt even more on edge. 

“Suo?” he asked with hesitation. 

Suo blinked once before forcing his face back into the stupid mask of control. By now though, Sakura was wise to his tricks. He could spot the cracks that hadn't been there before. 

“Sakura, Takashi,” Suo nodded, “Sorry about that.”

“Are you ok?” Takashi's voice was quiet, but it was hard to miss in the still room. 

Suo smiled at the little boy. 

“I'm fine. Don't worry,” he assured. 

Takashi nodded with worry, like he didn't believe Suo. On that note, Sakura didn't believe Suo either. Before he could voice this. Suo abruptly stood. He then proceeded to bow formally at the waist. 

“I wanted to apologize, to you both of you, actually,” he said with a serious voice. 

“Ummmm.... why?” Sakura wasn't sure what else to say as his brain seemed to short circuit. 

This whole thing was not what he had been expecting. 

“I should have done a better job,” Suo sighed. 

“A better job of what?” Sakura still had no idea what Suo was talking about. 

Suo didn't answer at first. That was just annoying. After scooching Takashi around a bit, Sakura positioned himself in a better position. He kicked Suo in the knee to get him to straighten again. Suo did so slowly. He sighed before taking his seat once more. 

“Protecting you both,” Suo finally said. 

Sakura frowned. 

“I'm not a damsel in distress,” he scoffed. 

Suo winced. 

“That is not what I had meant to imply. I merely was trying to show that I failed as a vice captain and-”

“How did you fail? No one knew that my uncle was coming. If anything, I'm the one to blame for not reacting to the situation fast enough.”

Sakura was ashamed of how he had frozen at the sight of his uncle. Maybe if he had taken Takashi and run at the first sight of trouble, then things wouldn't have ended this way. Maybe if he hadn't stopped running when he got to Makochi, he wouldn't be in this position. Sakura could only shake these thoughts away. There was no use in them. 

“I suppose that is true enough,” Suo said humoringly, “Even still, I feel as though I should have done better. It is my job, after all.”

“What's your job?” Takashi asked in his adorably innocent voice. 

“Protecting everyone.”

Sakura could only shake his head. He felt that they were going around in circles. Why couldn't Suo just realize already that this wasn't his fault? He was about to say something, then he paused. 

Wait. 

Taking blame for everything even if it was out of his control. Wasn't that what his classmates, particularly Suo, were always telling him to stop doing? That he needed to stop taking things on as his fault? Before Sakura had always been sure that his self-blame had been right and for the best. Here, on the other end of the argument, Sakura was left floundering and confused. 

What should he say?

“I don't think that's what your 'posed to do.”

Sakura blinked and looked down at Takashi. The kid looked confused yet determined. 

“Whatever do you mean?” Suo smiled again, but the smile was a bit more strained.

“I mean, you're always telling Sakura he's not allowed to do everyone by himself. Why are you allowed to?” Takashi's small face pulled into a frown. 

Sakura could have laughed. Takashi was exactly what he had needed. How had he ever lived before finding his kid?

“Ah. Yes, but Sakura has a habit of taking people's blame as his own,” Suo gently corrected. 

“That's what you're doing,” Takashi wrinkled his nose, “That's not very fair. Don't do it unless you want Sakura to do it.”

Suo blinked. Then he laughed. 

“I suppose you are right,” Suo admitted. 

Sakura relaxed a bit for a second. 

“Sakura, I don't suppose you would forgive me?”

This caught Sakura completely off guard. 

“I.. um... sure. Yeah. Whatever. That's fine,” he mumbled, cheeks feeling warm. 

“Thank you. Though, I suppose I should tell that I-” Suo paused for a second, “Well, you see, I ..... your uncle....when I fought him... I...”

Sakura filled in the blanks. He had heard about Suo's brutal, non-stop attack from the rest of the class. 

“It's fine. He had it coming,” Sakura grunted. 

“I have to admit, I very much wanted to kill your uncle in cold blood,” Suo's voice was soft. His eye was unfocused slightly, like he was lost in the memory of the fight. 

Sakura waited for Suo to continue. 

“I know what he did to you. I know how he hurt you. I don't know if that was shameful of me, but I thought that death would be the only deserving punishment. Maybe I went too far. Maybe you wanted to have more of a say in what happened to him.” Suo flexed his fingers a few times, “I don't know. Please tell me if there is something I can do to make it up.”

The only thing Sakura could think of was a samurai warrior swearing to commit seppuku in front of his lord. It was uncomfortable and not a thought that Sakura wanted to dwell on. 

“Listen, Suo,” Sakura awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, “I.... um....”

He floundered for words. Suo just waited. Why was everyone in Makochi so good at waiting?

“I... well...” Sakura bit his lip, “Thanks.”

Suo just blinked. 

“For what?”

“For helpin' me out when I couldn't. I owe you.”

Suo met Sakura's gaze for a long time. Then he nodded: “Very well. If you insist.”

Sakura leaned back in the bed. Takashi immediately rearranged himself into a more comfortable position. 

“How are you holding up?” Suo asked. 

“Fine,” Sakura shrugged. 

His head was killing him and his ribs hurt something awful. That being said, he wasn't dead. In short, he really was fine. Suo just sighed.

“And you, Takashi?”

“M'fine,” Takashi nodded. 

Sakura didn't think that was true at all. He kept his mouth shut for the moment. A glance at Suo revealed that Suo was thinking the same thing. 

“I see. Well, I hope you both get to feeling better soon,” Suo nodded, “I'll let you rest and come back later.”

Sakura nodded. With that, Suo left. As soon as Suo was gone, Sakura turned to Takashi. 

“Lair.”

Takashi full body flinched. Sakura immediately felt bad for his word choice. 

“You could have just said that you weren't feeling good,” he continued. 

Takashi froze. His little face fell as a look of shame and guilt came over him. 

“M'fine,” he mumbled. 

Sakura wasn't buying it at all.

“What hurts?” he sighed. 

Takashi chewed on his lip for a few minutes before answer. 

“Arm.”

“Figures,” Sakrua sighed, pushing the call button for the nurse. 

Takashi was quiet while he was given more pain medication by the nurse. Sakura was certain that the two of them would call it a night after that, but things weren't done just yet. 

“M'scared,” Takashi mumbled. 

Sakura frowned at the soft comment. 

“Of what?” he asked. 

“I thought you were gonna leave me, just like mommy and daddy. I was scared of being alone again,” Takashi didn't look Sakura in the face. 

He looked so sad and then - oh - the words registered with Sakura. 

“I'm sorry for scaring you,” Sakura's cheeks felt hot, “But, you know that if something ever does happen, you wouldn't be alone here. Everyone likes you. They would see that you're taken care of.”

Takashi nodded slowly. When it was clear that there were no further objections, Sakura felt quiet proud of his pep talk. 

“I'll protect you better next time,” Sakura murmured. 

“I don't want you to. I would rather be hurt than loose you,” Takashi mumbled. 

Sakura didn't know what to say to that.

<><><><><>

Natsume's initial happiness at seeing Suo was quick to vanish. 

Something was wrong with Suo, that much was easy to see. 

First, and most glaring, were Suo's fish. Natsume could only watch in worry as they swam in agitated circles in front of his face. Something had upset them, but what? Looking past them, Natsume could see a bruise on Suo's face. It looked like it hurt. That must be what was upsetting the fish. Natsume felt bad. He wondered how Suo had gotten hurt. Sakura's classmate seemed untouchable in every situation. 

Sakura spoke before Natsume could.

“Suo?” Sakura's voice was oddly soft. 

Suo blinked, clearly trying to look past the agitated fish. 

“Sakura, Takashi,” Suo nodded, “Sorry about that.”

“Are you ok?” Natsume had to ask. 

“I'm fine. Don't worry,” Suo assured with a smile what wasn't completely believable. 

Nastume slowly nodded. He wasn't sure why Suo was lying (then again, Sakura always lied too). All of a sudden, Suo stood and bowed formally at the waist. 

“I wanted to apologize, to you both of you, actually.”

“Ummmm.... why?” Sakura sounded confused. 

“I should have done a better job.”

“A better job of what?” 

Suo didn't answer at first. Clearly annoyed, Sakura moved Natsume to the side. Then he proceeded to kick Suo in the knee. At the kick Suo straightened, but he still looked serious. 

“Protecting you both,” Suo finally answered Sakura's question. 

“I'm not a damsel in distress,” Sakura growled. 

Suo winced at the heat in Sakura's voice. 

“That is not what I had meant to imply. I merely was trying to show that I failed as a vice captain and-”

“How did you fail? No one knew that my uncle was coming. If anything, I'm the one to blame for not reacting to the situation fast enough.”

“I suppose that is true enough,” Suo sighed, “Even still, I feel as though I should have done better. It is my job, after all.”

“What's your job?” Natsume asked. 

Suo looked briefly surprised by the question. 

“Protecting everyone,” he answered. 

That didn't sound right to Natsume. 

“I don't think that's what your 'posed to do,” he said. 

“Whatever do you mean?” Suo smiled, but the smile was a bit more strained.

“I mean, you're always telling Sakura he's not allowed to do everyone by himself. Why are you allowed to?” Natsume frowned. 

The number of times he had heard Suo scolding Sakura for trying to take the blame all on himself was high. He was confused why Suo wasn't listening to his own advice. 

“Ah. Yes, but Sakura has a habit of taking people's blame as his own,” Suo said in a gentle tone.

“That's what you're doing,” Natsume wrinkled his nose, “That's not very fair. Don't do it unless you want Sakura to do it.”

Suo blinked. Then he laughed. 

“I suppose you are right,” he said, “Sakura, I don't suppose you would forgive me?”

Sakura jerked before mumbling: “I.. um... sure. Yeah. Whatever. That's fine.”

“Thank you. Though,  I should tell that I-” Suo paused for a second, “Well, you see, I ..... your uncle....”

Suo trailed off, looking uncomfortable. 

“It's fine. He had it coming,” Sakura scoffed. 

“I have to admit, I very much wanted to kill your uncle in cold blood. I know what he did to you. I know how he hurt you. I don't know if that was shameful of me, but I thought that death would be the only deserving punishment. Maybe I went too far. Maybe you wanted to have more of a say in what happened to him.” Suo flexed his fingers a few times, “I don't know. Please tell me if there is something I can do to make it up.”

Natsume very much wanted to crawl into Suo's lap and tell the teen that he and Sakura were ok. 

“Listen, Suo,” Sakura awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, “I.... um....I... well...Thanks.”

Suo just blinked. 

“For what?”

“For helpin' me out when I couldn't. I owe you.”

Suo nodded. “Very well. If you insist.”

Sakura leaned back in the bed. Natsume immediately rearranged himself into a more comfortable position. He let his broken arm rest against the bed. He gave a sigh of relief. 

“How are you holding up?” Suo asked. 

“Fine,” Sakura shrugged. 

Natsume knew that was a lie. Sakura's forehead was still wrinkled in pain. Not as much as before, but still concerning. 

“And you, Takashi?” Suo asked. 

Natsume started a bit at the question. 

“M'fine,” he quickly answered. 

It was a lie. Natsume's arm hurt (even resting against the bed) and he was still scared for Sakura, that something else might happen. 

“I see. Well, I hope you both get to feeling better soon,” Suo nodded, “I'll let you rest and come back later.”

Sakura nodded. With that, Suo left. As soon as Suo was gone, Sakura turned to Natsume. 

“Lair.”

Natsume flinched at the accusation. How many time had he been called that before? More than he could count. If Sakura thought- 

“You could have just said that you weren't feeling good,” Sakura's tone was much softer when he continued. 

Natsume froze as he was called out. 

“M'fine,” he mumbled. 

Sakura rolled his eyes. 

“What hurts?” he sighed. 

Natsume chewed on his lip for a few minutes before answer. 

“Arm.”

“Figures,” Sakura sighed, pushing the call button for the nurse. 

Natsume was quiet while he was given more pain medication by the nurse. As his pain finally dulled a bit, Natsume felt the pressure to say something. He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. 

“M'scared,” he mumbled. 

Sakura frowned. 

“Of what?”

“I thought you were gonna leave me, just like mommy and daddy. I was scared of being alone again,” Natsume ducked his head to hide from Sakura's searching gaze. 

He hadn't really meant to say that, but now it was out in the open. 

“I'm sorry for scaring you,” Sakura sighed heavily, “But, you know that if something ever does happen, you wouldn't be alone here. Everyone likes you. They would see that you're taken care of.”

Natsume nodded slowly. That might very well be true. But also, he didn't want to find out. He had enough experience of people who were 'supposed to care for him' and that had ended far from well every single time. 

“I'll protect you better next time,” Sakura murmured. 

“I don't want you to. I would rather be hurt than loose you,” Natsume mumbled. 

And it was true. As selfish as it was, he didn't want Sakura to go anywhere. He would rather be injured himself than for Sakura to leave him in any way. 

Chapter Text

Sakura was released the next day once it was confirmed that he wasn't in any danger from his concussion. Hiragi was the one to walk them home (which was overkill in Sakura's opinion). Suo was carrying Takashi. Sakura was a little annoyed that he wasn't allowed to carry his kid, but his aching ribs said that this was probably the best solution. 

Takashi kept his injured arm carefully cradled to his chest. The other hand was firmly fisted in the back of Suo's shirt. The kid kept looking over at Sakura for some reason. Maybe he was let down by the fact that Sakura wasn't the one carrying him.  

They were all quiet on the walk. Sakura was glad for this. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk with these two. No doubt they would try to talk about what had happened and Sakura didn't want that. Sakura walked with his head down so that he didn't have to look at either Hiragi or Suo or the people of Makochi that they passed. 

Suo's house soon came into view. Sakura was strangely glad to see it. While he wouldn't count it as a safe place, it was at least familiar. He was more than relieved to settle back into the room that he shared with Takashi and firmly close the door behind the two of them. 

They stood around in silence for a few minutes. Sakura let himself breath as deeply as he could. Sakura eventually moved to change his clothes (he was wearing some of Suo's clothes since his had been dirty and this what Eisuke had apparently dropped off). He felt more comfortable in his own clothes, if they were a little scratchy and cost a fraction of what Suo's clothes probably cost. When he turned around, he found that Takashi had yet to move. He just stood there, watching Sakura with big eyes. After some encouragement, the kid picked up his drawing things, but he didn't draw. 

“What's wrong?” Sakura sighed. 

Takashi lifted his broke arm. Sakura could have hit himself. That was right. It was Takashi's right hand that was broken. 

“I can't.”

“Sure you can. Just use your other arm,” Sakura encouraged. 

He would need to learn sooner or later since it would be in a cast for a while. 

“It will look stupid if I do,” Takashi bit his lip. 

Rather than answering, Sakura just grabbed some paper and a pen. He proceeded to draw something with his left hand. Admittedly, Sakura was no artist on a good day with his dominant hand. His drawing turned out to be little more than scribbles and squiggles.

“Is it a cat?” Takashi guessed. 

Sakura blinked. He had been trying to draw himself and Takashi. Even if that wasn't the case, what had come out was far from looking like a cat. 

“A- yeah. It's a cat.”

Takashi nodded, very pleased with himself. 

“I want to draw a cat too,” Takashi settled himself down next to Sakura and started drawing. 

Sakura was happy to see this. He stayed on the floor with Takashi. The two of them were very happy. A knock on the door interrupted their time together. 

“What?” Sakura sighed. 

He figured it was Suo. 

A moment later the door cracked open. Sakura's whole body froze when he saw the face. His uncle. His uncle was here. Sakura scrambled for a weapon. He need to-

Something small latched onto his sleeve. 

Sakura blinked. 

Takashi was looking at him with worried eyes. Sakura looked back at the door. His uncle- no, Eisuke was at the door. 

“I was just saying there's a light lunch if you two are hungry,” Eisuke's voice was soft. 

“R-right,” Sakura stammered. 

He waited until Eisuke withdrew before relaxing even the slightest. After a moment of concideration, Sakura decided that despite his discomfort, it would be safer to go eat than to stay in the room. He didn't want to risk angering Eisuke. 

He and Takashi went out to the dinging room. Eisuke and Suo were already there. Sakura sat down gingerly. He still felt on edge from facing Eisuke. The meal was awkward. Eisuke attempted to ask Sakura and Takashi questions. Sakura straight up refused to answer, simply not feeling comfortable. Takashi mumbled his answers into his small bowl of rice. 

Finally, the torture was over and Sakura lead the retreat back to their room as quickly as he could. 

This was a pattern over the next several days. Sakura felt his blood pressure elevate at the passing sight of Eisuke. Logically, he knew it was not his uncle. That didn't stop his mind from freaking out every single time. 

Finally, at dinner a few days later, Sakura broke. He simply couldn't take it any longer. He couldn't be in the same room as Eisuke. He just couldn't.

“I....I'm sorry. I have to go,” Sakura bolted as soon as he managed to stammer this out. 

He fled to the courtyard garden, panting hard. Out here, he felt like he could breathe. Out here, he felt safe. He probably was outside for only a few minutes before Suo found him.  

Sakura saw him approaching through the sliding door that lead inside. 

“Aren't you cold?” Suo asked as he approached. 

Sakura shrugged. He hadn't really noticed the cold until now but it was in fact bitterly cold outside now that the sun had gone down. 

“Come on,” Suo tugged him inside. 

He lead Sakura to his room to pushed him over to the kotetsu. Sakura grumbled the whole way, but he didn't pull away. 

Suo disappeared for a moment before coming back with a steaming teapot. He poured a cup for himself and one for Sakura.

“I don't drink tea,” Sakura wrinkled his nose. 

Suo's face fell. 

“Right. I forgot,” he sighed. 

He still passed the cup to Sakura anyway. Sakura didn't refuse. While he wasn't about to drink it, it was warm. Sakura held the cup in his hands, letting his finger warm up. 

“Just spit it out already,” Sakura demanded. 

“Spit what out?” Suo looked confused. 

“I dunno. Whatever was the reason that you dragged me here,” Sakura griped. 

“I just wanted you out of the cold. You do realize that it is winter now, right?” Suo snorted. 

“Whatever,” Sakura grumbled into his cup. 

Suo just rolled his eyes. The two of the sat in silence for a moment. 

“My Master reminds you of your uncle,” Suo commented abruptly. 

Sakura could tell from the posture of Suo's shoulder that Suo hadn't originally planned on bringing this up. After biting his lip, Sakura nodded slightly. This was a true statement. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Suo asked. 

“No,” Sakura grumbled as he shook his head.

He didn't even know how to help himself. He wasn't sure he would be able to face Eisuke and not panic, not after what had happened with his uncle not a week ago. He just wanted to ignore the problem until it hopefully went away on its own. His head throbbed. 

“I see,” Suo sighed. 

He did not ply Sakura with any further questions. 

The awkward atmosphere in the house persisted. The longer it did, the more Sakura felt on edge. He was sure now that the whole school knew it. The problem was, he wasn't sure what to do about it. He couldn't exactly avoid Eisuke indefinitely. He also wasn't about to move out. 

It was here, as Sakura was caught between a rock and a hard place, that Umemiya approached him with an idea. 

<><><><>

Natsume was happy to leave the hospital. 

This hospital had fewer youkai than most did, but there were still youkai hanging about. Leaving also meant that Sakura was going to be ok. 

The sad part was when Natsume asked to be carried, Hiragi shook his head and said no. Sakura's ribs were up to it just yet. 

Suo promptly offered to carry Natsume hope. Natsume could walk, but at the moment, he found himself craving human contact. He agreed, but the whole walk, he spent looking at Sakura and wishing that Sakura was the one carrying him. (Sakura, for his part, spent the whole time looking at the ground, his ears tinged pink). 

Suo's house soon came into view. Sakura and Natsume withdrew to their room. Sakura closed the door firmly behind them. After staring vacantly at the door for a few minutes, Sakura shook himself and went to change. Natusme hadn't noticed it until now, but Sakura was wearing what looked like some of Suo's clothes. 

As soon as Sakura was changed he turned around. He seemed surprised to find Natsume staring at him. Natsume probably would have just stood around watching Sakura for a lot longer if Sakura hadn't encouraged him to pick up his drawing things. 

“What's wrong?” Sakura sighed. 

Natsume lifted his broken arm. It twinged slightly at the movement.  

“I can't,” he mumbled. 

He could probably draw with his other hand, but it would look ugly. Besides, he was still a little worried that something would happen to Sakura if he looked away for too long. 

“Sure you can. Just use your other arm,” Sakura shrugged. 

“It will look stupid if I do,” Natsume protested, his cheeks feeling warm. 

He didn't like to look stupid if he could help it. 

Rather than answering, Sakura just grabbed some paper and a pen. He proceeded flop out on the floor and to draw something with his left hand. His drawing turned out to be little more than scribbles and squiggles.

“Is it a cat?” Natsume guessed. 

Sakura blinked. 

“A- yeah. It's a cat,” he agreed. 

Natsume nodded, very pleased with himself. More importantly, he could now do something with Sakura. 

“I want to draw a cat too,” Natsume decided. 

The two of them happily colored for a while. A knock on the door interrupted their time together. 

“What?” Sakura sighed. 

Natsume glanced at the door. At first, he was a little bit frightened. He thought it was the mean man from before. Then he realized it was just Eisuke. 

“Lunch is on the table of you are hungry,” Eisuke told them. 

Natsume nodded. Oddly enough, Sakura didn't respond. He didn't even seem to move. Natsume looked over at Sakura and discovered that the teen had gone absolutely stiff. Natsume tugged on Sakura's sleeve. Sakura blinked several tines, looking back and forth between Eisuke and Natsume. 

“I was just saying there's a light lunch if you two are hungry,” Eisuke said softly

“R-right,” Sakura stammered woodenly. 

Sakura remained stiff, even after Eisuke withdrew. Natsume could understand. He didn't like to be scared like that either. 

The two of them went to the dining room to join Suo ad Eisuke for lunch. Natsume found that he couldn't really enjoy lunch fully, not with Sakura staring down Eisuke. Suo looked unsurprised and worried. 

Sakura kept acting weird around Eisuke for several days. Then, one evening at dinner, Sakura abruptly stood. 

“I....I'm sorry. I have to go,” Sakura bolted. 

Suo sighed and followed after him. Natsume looked over at Eisuke. He was reminded of the night that this happened as well. 

“M'sorry,” he said. 

“Why are you sorry?” Eisuke looked confused. 

“For Sakura.”

“You don't need to apologize for him. In fact he doesn't need to apologize either. Hayato filled me in about the situation.”

Natsume wasn't really quite sure that meant, but Suo was a good person so it can't have been anything too bad. He poked at the remainder of his dinner. He felt Eisuke observing him closely. 

“Do I scare you now, Takashi?” Eisuke asked. 

Natsume wanted to say no. He wanted to say that he wasn't afraid of Eisuke. He couldn't. He could see why Sakura was afraid of the man. He looked a lot like that mean man. It made Natsume nervous. He didn't think that Eisuke would hurt them, but one could never tell with adults. 

Eisuke looked a little sad when Natsume didn't answer. 

The rest of the meal, Natsume was left thinking about whether he should have answered differently. 

His own confused thoughts were quickly forgotten when it became clear that whatever mood Sakura had fallen into wasn't going away any time soon. 

Just when Natsume was sure that he was going to have to do something drastic to get Sakura to snap out of his mood, Umemiya approached the two of them.

<><><><>

Umemiya was not one to easily tire, yet here he was, sitting with his head rested on the raised bar counter at Café Porthos. 

It had been a long few days. 

First had come the scare with Sakura. Umemiya would never forget how horrible it was to see Sakura's limp body as it was loaded onto the gurney. Takashi hadn't been much better. The kid was sobbing uncontrollably the whole time. Umemiya wanted nothing more than to ride with the two of them to the hospital and comfort them. 

He couldn't. 

He was left dealing with the problem. Sakura's uncle. Suo's fists had done their job. The man was unconscious and bloodied. At first, Umemiya feared that Suo had truly taken things too far and killed the man. Thankfully the man was still breathing and Umemiya wasn't forced to figure out what to do with a corpse. 

That being said, he wasn't out of the woods. He was now spend his days, when he wasn't checking on Sakura, with the police. The picture that was formulating from the information wasn't pretty. 

Sakura's uncle, while still injured and at the hospital, was currently being prepped for legal proceedings. Umemiya was doing everything in his power to make sure that this man ended up behind bars for a very long time. 

“Are you even still alive?” Kotoha sounded equally annoyed and tired. 

Umemiya grunted before raising his head. He loved Kotoha like a sister and trusted her like one too. She was one of the few people he willingly let his true emotions show through to. 

“I'm worried about Sakura,” he said. 

“We all are,” she sighed, “Him and Takashi both.”

“Yes. And Takashi,” Umemoya agreed. 

“So what are you going to do?” Kotoha asked. 

“How did you know that I was going to do something?”

“Please. I know you well enough I can almost read your thoughts.”

“Then what am I thinking of right now?”

Kotoha shrugged. 

“You're thinking about how your are going to pay for your mean promptly this time.”

“That's subliminal messaging. I'm immune.”

“You're too dense, you mean,” Kotoha snorted. 

“You wound me,” Umemiya threw his hands up in a dramatic manner. 

“Yeah, yeah. Now, how are you going to help Sakura?” Kotoha sighed. 

“You care about him,” Umemiya grinned. 

Not that he ever had thought other wise. 

“We all do. That I want to make sure that wat you are planning, you aren't going to scar him further,” Kotoha grumbled. 

“I would never do that!”

Kotoha looked far from impressed. 

“Alright, alright.” Umemiya dropped the playfulness, “I did some digging on Takashi's family.”

Kotoha looked intrigued. Umemiya could almost guess the next question.

“Don't ask.”

Umemiya wasn't about to share how he had done his digging into Takashi's family. Nor was he about to share what Takashi had gone through. The kid was a walking miracle, considering how well he was functioning after the abuse he had been through at his age. 

“I found someone who is distantly related who might be able to help out. It's an older couple. They would be willing to move here and take both Sakura and Takashi in.”

Kotoha looked skeptical. 

“Are they safe?” she asked. 

“Who do you think I am?” Umemiya scoffed. 

Kotoha threw a dish rag at him.

“Alright! Yes. They seem safe to me. They're coming into town in a few days. I want to meet with them. If they pass that, then I want them to meet Sakura and Takashi.”

Kotoha was quiet for a few minutes. 

“Do you think they would accept that?” she looked concerned. 

“What do you mean?” Umemiya could only frown. 

“I mean, they both have had pretty bad experiences with adults in their lives,” Kotoha pointed out. 

Umemiya knew this. He hadn't given it much thought before, but now that Kotoha had pointed it out he could see the concern. He thought back to how both Sakura and Takashi had acted when they first arrived. 

“I can only hope so,” he sighed. 

Honestly, with Sakura especially, that was about the best response. You could hope that things would end well. Sakura, after all, was quiet the wild card.  

Umemiya was left briefly wondered if this plan of his was a good idea.

Then he shook his head. 

The couple was coming into town next week. It was a little late to be thinking about scrapping the plan. He would meet them first and then go from there. 

Chapter Text

“I found someone you might be able to stay with.”

As soon as Umemiya said these words, Sakura nearly choked himself. 

Umemiya had grabbed them after school, ambushing them as they left the classroom. He had dragged them to Café Porthos and ordered them all food. This in and of itself wasn't out of character for Umemiya. What was concerning was the fact that Kotoha flipped the sign on the door to closed to deter other people from coming in. Sakura knew that something was up. He had just been unprepared for what that something was. 

At Umemiya's words, Sakura immediately bristled. He stared down Umemiya from across the table. Umemiya didn't exactly look serious, but his usual smile was dimmer than usual. 

“What?”

“Yup. I met with them and they're a nice couple too. No shady business about them. It would be perfect,” Umemiya nodded. 

That assurance did not help Sakura. He didn’t care how much lauding praise Umemiya gave them. They were still grown ups. Grown ups were dangerous people at the end of the day. 

“No. Absolutely not,” Sakura huffed. 

He was half expecting Umemiya to burst out laughing and proclaim that it had been a joke. 

“Why not?” the other teen instead asked. 

“Don't need anythin' like that,” Sakura scoffed. 

“I beg to differ. I think you do,” Umemiya folded his hands on the table. 

“Why would you say that?” Sakura frowned. 

“Because you aren't comfortable where you are at,” Umemiya gave Sakura a very pointed look. 

“H-how do you know that? Did Suo tell you again?” Sakura demanded. 

If so, he would be having words with Suo. 

“No. It is just something that I've noticed,” Umemiya paused and looked at Kotoha before amending, “Something we've all noticed.”

Something everyone had noticed? Sakura's cheeks went hot. He didn't like this. He felt cornered (even though he knew that was not Umemiya's intention). He stood abruptly, determined to leave the conversation. He got about half way to the door before realized that something was wrong. 

Takashi had not followed him. 

Sakura was quick to retrace his steps to the table to collect his kid. Takashi was sitting, chopsticks limply pushing around the last bit of rice on his plate. He looked almost dazed. 

“Takashi?” Umemiya softly asked. 

Takashi jerked slightly at his name, before looking back and forth between Sakura and Umemiya. He looked just as cornered as Sakura felt. 

“I....um...I...” the kid cut himself off. 

Umemiya hummed encouragingly.

“I wanna....” Takashi trailed off. 

“You want to what?” Umemiya prompted. 

Takashi looked terrified. He kept his broken arm hugged tightly to his chest. Chin tugged to his chest, he mumbled something too soft for Sakura to catch. 

“What was that?” Umemiya frowned ever so slightly. 

“Sakura's not happy and I want him to be happy and I....” Takashi bit his lip. 

Umemiya and Sakura waited in silence for Takashi finish. 

“M'scared,” he croaked in a barely audible voice. 

Takashi immediately ducked his head, like he was expecting to get reprimanded or hit. Sakura did not know how to process what Takashi had just said. 

“I see,” Umemiya hummed gently, “What are you scared of?”

Once again, Takashi was quiet for a very long time. 

“S-scare of something happening.”

“Like what?”

Takashi's reply was little more than jumble of softly spoken words. What Sakura could pick out was his own name several times as well as Eisuke's name and a reference to 'the scary man who hurt Sakura'. Something cold and guilty trickled down Sakura's spine. 

“That man will never be coming back to hurt Sakura or you. You are both safe from him,” Umemiya said in a serious voice, “As for the other parts, I understand. That's why I was wanting you both to meet with this couple.”

Takashi slowly nodded. He looked up and Sakura noticed that the kid was bit his lip so hard it was bleeding. Umemiya slowly reached across the table and pulled down Takashi's chin. Takashi's teeth released his lip and more blood welled up. Sakura felt utterly useless as Umemiya wet down a napkin and wiped Takashi's lip. 

For whatever reason, this brought tears to Takashi's eyes. He swiftly latched onto Sakura, burring his face in Sakura's shirt. Sakura reflexively wrapped his arms around the boy. This only caused Takashi to grip him tighter. 

Umemiya turned to face Sakura. 

“I'm not in the habit of forcing people to do things that they don't want to do. As such, I won't force you to do anything. That being said, I would very much like you to reconsider meeting this couple,” he said, “If nothing, think of Takashi.”

Sakura hunched his shoulders. 

“Fine. We'll meet them, but I won't promise that I will like them,” he grouched. 

“That's all I'm asking,” Umemiya said, looking strangely relieved. 

Sakura felt like he had signed his own death sentence. But, after a look at Takashi's body pressed against his said, it also felt like the right choice. 

Now, all Sakura could do was to feel ill and hope he really could trust Umemiya on this one. 

<><><><><><>

“I found someone you might be able to stay with.”

At these words, Natsume looked up from the last few bites of his food. This wasn't what he had expected to hear today. Umemiya had all but scooped the two of them up after school. Umemiya had gently balance Natsume on his shoulders while he dragged Sakura along by the collar. Sakura complained the whole way. 

“What?” Sakura choked. 

“Yup. I met with them and they're a nice couple too. No shady business about them. It would be perfect,” Umemiya nodded. 

“No. Absolutely not.” Sakura growled, slamming down his chopsticks. 

“Why not?” Umemiya's smile was slowly melting away. 

“Don't need anythin' like that,” Sakura snarled. 

“I beg to differ. I think you do,” Umemiya sighed. 

“Why would you say that?” Sakura scoffed. 

“Because you aren't comfortable where you are at,” Umemiya pointed out. 

“H-how do you know that? Did Suo tell you again?” Sakura's cheeks were starting to turn pink. 

“No. It is just something that I've noticed,” Umemiya paused and looked at Kotoha before amending, “Something we've all noticed.”

Something flashed over Sakura's face. Then he abruptly stood and walked off. The teen had done this so many times at the dinner table with Eisuke that Natsume didn't even try to follow. He knew that Sakura didn't want him to follow. 

Instead he stayed where he was, playing with the last few bite of food. His thoughts crowded him. There were too many things to think about. He couldn't focus on any one of them. 

“Takashi?” Umemiya's voice was soft but it still startled Natsume. 

He whipped his head up, looking anxiously back and forth between Umemiya and Sakura. He realized that was the focus of the attention from both of them. 

“I....um...I...” Natsume's mouth was dry and the food that he had eaten sat heavily in his stomach. 

He felt like he should say something, but he didn't know what. 

Umemiya hummed encouragingly. 

This did not help. 

“I wanna....” Natsume tried again, but got no further. 

“You want to what?” Umemiya cocked his head. 

Natsume clutched his broken arm to his chest and tried to make himself as small as possible. He tried to mumble out what was bothering him. He must have spoken too softly because both Umemiya and Sakura leaned in a bit more. 

“What was that?” Umemiya frowned ever so slightly. 

“Sakura's not happy and I want him to be happy and I....” Natsume bit his lip. 

Umemiya and Sakura waited in silence. Natsume felt a sudden flash of clarity. He knew what he had been feeling for a while; ever since Sakura was taken to the hospital. 

“M'scared,” he said. 

And that was what it truly was. 

As soon as he said it, it wanted to take it back. He ducked his head in shame and fear. These people had been nice to him. What right did he have to tell them that he was scared? 

“I see,” Umemiya hummed gently, “What are you scared of?”

Natsume hesitated. Should he continue? Should he keep his mouth such? He squirmed a little bit. He wanted to keep his mouth shut, but at the same time he didn't think that would make him feel any better. He bit his lip. 

“S-scare of something happening,” he admitted. 

“Like what?”

“I-I'm scared that Sakura might get hurt again and... and... and I... um... I don't wanna be scared but Eisuke-san looks a lot like the scary man who hurt Sakura. What if he hurts Sakura too? What if Sakura hurts him? What if the scary man comes back?” Natsume mumbled softly, feeling his cheeks burning. 

He kept his head bowed so that he wouldn't have to look at anyone. He bit his lip once more, this time tasting blood. 

“That man will never be coming back to hurt Sakura or you. You are both safe from him,” Umemiya said in a serious voice, “As for the other parts, I understand. That's why I was wanting you both to meet with this couple.”

Natsume slowly nodded. He could sort of understand that. He didn't like finding new places to live, but Umemiya said they were safe, then he wanted to trust Umemiya. He just wanted to be somewhere that he didn't feel scared. 

Maybe he was evil for being scared of Eisuke when Eisuke had done nothing other than look like someone bad. Maybe he was bad for wanting to live somewhere different. Suo probably would be mad and Natsume would no doubt look like a weakling. 

Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut? That's what he had always done in the past and sometimes things worked out on their own. Round and around his thoughts chased themselves. Nothing broke the vicious cycle. In fact, that was the odd thing. Silence hung heavily in the cafe. 

Feeling trepidation in his stomach, Natsume looked up. Sakura looked shell-shocked and dazed. Umemiya looked concerned. The older teen slowly reached out and tugged on Natsume's chin. Natsume's teeth released their unforgiving hold on his lip. Umemiya tutted softly. He used a wet napkin to wipe down Natsume's lip. The broken skin stung fiercely. 

Natsume's eyes burned. He wasn't sure if it was the stinging pain or if it was his own overwhelming thoughts. He blindly reached for Sakura. As soon as he made contact, he scrambled so that his face was pressed into Sakura's side. Sakura's arms came up to slowly pull him even closer. Natsume felt some of his overwhelming thoughts ease at the physical contact. 

Umemiya said something that he didn't catch, but he did hear Sakura's response. 

“Fine. We'll meet them, but I won't promise that I will like them,” he grouched. 

“That's all I'm asking,” Umemiya said. 

For some reason, Natsume didn't feel like this first step was going to solve anything. 

Chapter Text

Umemiya didn't give Sakura any time to regret his decision. The next day was Saturday. Umemiya showed up at Suo's door at an ungodly early hour for a weekend, saying that he was 'here to get Sakura and Takashi' (it would have been nice to have a heads up). Umemiya happily chatted with Suo while Sakura and Takashi got ready to go. 

Then he lead them to his own house. 

Takashi was respectful as he entered the house, carefully removing his shoes and putting them unobtrusively by the door. Sakura was less careful. He felt like the hair was standing up on the back of his head. His nerves were already jangled by the mere thought of what might come. 

Umemiya insisted that they make themselves at home. Takashi folded himself into a small figure on the couch. Sakura immediately took the spot right next to his kid, shielding Takashi from view from the rest of the room. Takashi leaned into him. 

It wasn't much later that a knock came at the door. Sakura was immediately on guard. He heard Umemiya open the door with a greeting. Voices filtered into the living rooms. A moment later, Umemiya appeared leading the new guests. 

The couple was not what Sakura was expecting. They were older, both with hair that was beginning to grey. The lady had smile wrinkles on her face. The man was harder to read. 

Sakura took a second to ensure that he was between Takashi and these people, just in case. 

“These are the Fujiwaras,” Umemiya introduced, “They are distance relatives of Takashi.”

Takashi perked up at his name. He peered around Sakura at the people in curiosity. Sakura remained unmoved. He would need more than their names in order to trust them. 

“I'm Shigeru and this is my wife Touko,” the man nodded. 

The woman at his side smiled gently. 

“Sakura,” Sakura shrugged, still trying to gauge how dangerous these people were.

“M'Natsume,” Takashi was decidedly shy, his fingers twisting in the fabric of Sakura's shirt.

Sakura decided to cut straight to the point.

“What is it that you want?” he folded his arms across his chest. 

If his bluntness surprised the couple, they didn't show it. 

“What do we want? We just want to give you a home, if you'll have us.” the woman nodded. 

“No,” Sakura said sourly. 

“Sakura!” Umemiya scolded. 

Sakura wasn't about to back down. 

“Where the hell have you been all of Takashi's life? Huh? Why are you just now showing up? That's a little too convenient,” Sakura accused. 

Umemiya pinched the bridge of his nose at Sakura's words. He was clearly displeased by this comment. Sakura found that he didn't care. 

“Sakura. You-” Umemiya started. 

“No, no, it's alright Hajime-kun,” the man sighed, “Sakura-kun isn't wrong with his questions.”

Sakura felt a flash of triumph. The man fully faced Sakura as he answered the question. 

“The truth is that until Hajime-kun reached out, we had no idea that Takashi even existed. No one in the family every really talked about him,” he said, “We are older and can't have children, but that doesn't mean that we haven't wanted any. That's why we want you both. We want to give you a home.”

That explanation was too sugary and fair-tale like for Sakura's liking. He narrowed his eyes. He spotted a hole in the defense. 

“You just want 'children' to take care of you as you age,” he accused. 

A look of surprise crossed over both the man and the woman's faces. 

“I won't lie. The thought has crossed my mind as we thought about the decision to take the two of you in. But I can assure you, that is not the reason why,” the man answered. 

“Then why?” Sakura snorted. 

“Because you both clearly need a home with love,” this time it was the lady. 

She was wringing her hands and looking like it was taking everything in her not to scoop Takashi up. 

Sakura could argue all day long that he did not in fact need a home with love. He had lived his whole life so far without it and he didn't need it. Takashi was a different matter. The kid needed love to thrive. Sakura had seen this first hand. At the same time, he wasn't sure that he trusted these people. 

“Why the hell should I trust either of you?” he sneered. 

The man gave it some good thought before answering. 

“You are free to trust or not trust us as you like. I am not going to dictate your emotions or feelings. As to why, well, I'm afraid the best I can do is to tell you that we have good intentions. I know that in situations like this, words mean very little, but maybe words can be a start?”

Sakura glowered. He very strongly wanted to dislike this couple. At the same time, they didn't seem evil. What should he trust? His insticts which screamed for him to run or his senses which told him to stay. 

“Here, I brought you some things,” the lady said. 

She dug through her bag. 

“I wasn't sure what colors you both liked, so I did my best,” she continued. 

As she said this, she handed something to Sakura and then to Takashi. Sakura frowned, trying to figure out what he was looking at. It was a long rectangle of knit fabric. Sakura's was a dark green and Takashi's was a much lighter green-blue color. Sakura, for life of him, couldn't figure out what he was looking at. He carefully inspected the item in the light. Was is supposed to be a blanket? No, the shape was too odd. 

“It's a scarf,” Umemiya supplied. 

Sakura felt his cheeks color. 

“I knew that,” he grumbled. 

He had not in fact known that. 

“I hope the colors are ok,” the lady wrung her hands. 

“I like,” Takashi offered shyly from his protected position snuggled next to Sakura's side. 

The lady beamed. 

“Oh good. I'm so happy. I spent probably too much time looking at different yarn,” she exclaimed. 

Sakura froze. 

“You made these?” he choked. 

He had never been given something like this on purpose that someone else had made. It was a confusing feeling. 

“I did,” the lady nodded. 

“Why?” Sakura couldn't stop the question. 

“Because I wanted to make something for you both. I was just so excited to meet you.”

Sakura was confused by these people. What were they up to with the nice smiles and the gifts?

“You can't bribe me!” he declared. 

He would have spat more insults at them, but he stopped when he noticed Takashi loving petting his scarf. Damnit. He needed to think about Takashi above himself. 

“You can't bribe me,” he grumbled sullenly. 

Umemiya just shook his head. 

“Sakura...” his voice full of reprimand. 

“If Sakura feels like he doesn't-”

“No. Sakura is just being difficult. He's like a feral cat,” Umemiya assured the couple.

They went back and forth for a few minutes, Umemiya assuring the couple that Sakura could be reasoned with and the couple assuring Umemiya that they didn't find Sakura offensive. Sakura felt his temper building at each word exchanged about him in front of his face. He had already been on edge and this was not helping. Soon he couldn't keep the lid on his temper. He exploded. 

“Just shut the fuck up. Quit talkin' about me like I'm not here!” he seethed, “I don't trust you at all. You're adults. Adults just try to screw people over. It's what they do. I can see right through your act. You can't fool me. I know that as soon as we 'agree' to live with you, you'll just take advantage of having us around. I won't like you do that to Takashi.”

Sakura might have kept ranting, but there was a tug on his shirt. He paused and looked down. Takashi small brow was puckered. 

“I wanna go home,” the little boy shivered. 

That was all the permission Sakura needed to scoop Takashi up and head to the door. 

<><><><>

Natsume was more than a little surprised when Umemiya showed up at Suo's house the next morening. Sakura looked descidedly displeased about his brother's appearance. It wasn't long before Umemiya bundled them both off to his own house. 

Natsume liked Umemiya's house. It was small, very small, but it had a nice garden and it was very close to Café Porthos. Natsume respectfully removed his shoes as he entered. Umemiya's house was neat in a chaotic sort of way. It was homey and cozy. Natsume instantly liked it. 

Even still, he was very aware that he was simply a visitor. Visitors were not to partake in another person's home. Natsume knew that very well. 

As such, he headed straight for the couch and folded himself up as small as he could. He knew he should take up the least amount of space as possible. Sakura followed him and sat down next to Natsume. Natsume leaned into Sakura. The physical touch was comforting.

A knock came at the front door. Umemiya leapt off to answer it. He was back a minute later, leading an older couple. The lady was wearing a gentle smile. She looked nice. The man sort of scared Natsume. Not in the fact that he looked scary. Rather it was his serious face that made Natsume nervous. 

“These are the Fujiwaras,” Umemiya introduced, “They are distance relatives of Takashi.”

Natsume perked up at the sound of his own name. These people were related to him? Really? He couldn't think of anyone related to him who acted this calm around him. He peered at the couple again from around Sakura. They looked suspiciously normal. The little youkai peering out from around the potted plant on the shelf seemed to agree. 

“I'm Shigeru and this is my wife Touko,” the man nodded. 

The woman at his side smiled gently. 

“Sakura,” Sakura's tone was decidedly surly. 

“M'Natsume,” Natsume provided, his fingers twisting in the fabric of Sakura's shirt as a wave of shyness passed over him. 

Sakura narrowed his eyes before demanding: “What is it that you want?”

“What do we want? We just want to give you a home, if you'll have us.” the woman nodded. 

This confused Natusme. This couple wanted them? No, that couldn't be right. They must want Sakura, not him. That would make more sense. 

“No,” Sakura said sourly, breaking Natsume's train of thought. 

“Sakura!” Umemiya scolded. 

Sakura glared at his older brother. Then he looked at the couple again. 

“Where the hell have you been all of Takashi's life? Huh? Why are you just now showing up? That's a little too convenient,” Sakura accused. 

Umemiya pinched the bridge of his nose at Sakura's words. He was clearly displeased by this comment. Natsume couldn't help himself. He didn't like when people he knew got upset. He shrunk back against Sakura's side, hiding himself from view. 

“Sakura. You-” Umemiya started. 

“No, no, it's alright Hajime-kun,” the man (Shigeru?) sighed, “Sakura-kun isn't wrong with his questions.The truth is that until Hajime-kun reached out, we had no idea that Takashi even existed. No one in the family every really talked about him.”

Natsume wasn't surprised. No one in his family liked the fact that he exsisted. Many had even told him that to his face. 

“We are older and can't have children, but that doesn't mean that we haven't wanted any. That's why we want you both. We want to give you a home,” Shigeru finished. 

This startled Natsume. Both? They wanted him too? Maybe he had misheard. 

“You just want 'children' to take care of you as you age,” Sakura accused loudly. 

A look of surprise crossed over both the man and the woman's faces. 

“I won't lie. The thought has crossed my mind as we thought about the decision to take the two of you in. But I can assure you, that is not the reason why,” Shigeru answered. 

“Then why?” Sakura snorted. 

“Because you both clearly need a home with love,” this time it was the lady who answered.

She was wringing her hands like she was worried. 

“Why the hell should I trust either of you?” Sakura sneered. 

There was quite the pause before Sakura's question was answered. 

“You are free to trust or not trust us as you like. I am not going to dictate your emotions or feelings. As to why, well, I'm afraid the best I can do is to tell you that we have good intentions. I know that in situations like this, words mean very little, but maybe words can be a start?”

Sakura glowered. Natsume couldn't help but shiver. What was it that Sakura saw that he didn't? They must be evil based on how Sakura was acting. 

“Here, I brought you some things,” Touko said, digging through her bag, “I wasn't sure what colors you both liked, so I did my best.” 

She pulled something out and handed it over. There was one for Sakura and one for Natsume. Natsume unfolded his. It was like a skinny blanket. It was soft and, to make things even better, it was in his favorite color. 

“It's a scarf,” Umemiya commented.  

“I knew that,” Sakura grumbled. 

Natsume hadn't known that, so he was glad that other people knew. 

“I hope the colors are ok,” Touko wrung her hands. 

“I like,” Natsume offered shyly from his protected position snuggled next to Sakura's side. 

Touko beamed before exclaiming: “Oh good. I'm so happy. I spent probably too much time looking at different yarn.”

“You made these?” Sakura choked. 

“I did,” Touko nodded. 

The answer surprised Natsume. No one had ever made him anything before. He turned his full attention to the handmade gift in his hands. He scrutinized it, but eventually realized that he had no idea what he was looking for. He ran his hand across the fabric, enjoying the soft texture.

“You can't bribe me!” Sakura suddently declared. 

Natsume glanced up, a little startled. Sakura briefly glaced at him before hunching his shoulders. 

“You can't bribe me,” he grumbled sullenly. 

Umemiya just shook his head. 

“Sakura...” his voice full of reprimand. 

“If Sakura feels like he doesn't-” Shigeru started. 

“No. Sakura is just being difficult. He's like a feral cat,” Umemiya assured the couple.

They went back and forth for a few minutes, Umemiya assuring the couple that Sakura could be reasoned and the couple assuring Umemiya that they didn't find Sakura offensive. It probably would have been funny to watch if Natsume hadn't been overcome with a terrifying realization. 

Sakura's cheeks were bright red. His brow was puckered. His lips were pressed so firmly together that they had almost dissapeared. Sakura was angry. He lashed out before Natsume could do anything. 

“Just shut the fuck up. Quit talking about me like I'm not here!” Sakura seethed, “I don't trust you at all. You're adults. Adults just try to screw people over. It's what they do. I can see right through your act. You can't fool me. I know that as soon as we 'agree' to live with you, you'll just take advantage of having us around. I won't like you do that to Takashi.”

Natsume tugged on Sakura's shirt, trying to get him to stop. The pleasant atmosphere of Umemiya's house was shattered irrevocably. Umemiya had a shocked look on his face, lips slightly parted like he was trying to come up with something to say. Shigeru's lips were pursed. Touko looked crushed. The small youkai in the corner had fled at the tone of Sakura's voice. 

Natsume couldn't take this. He couldn't take the the disappointment or the pressing sense of danger. 

“I wanna go home,” he shivered. 

As soon as these words were out of his mouth, Sakura scooped him up and darted towards the door. 

<><><><>

Umemiya couldn't hold back a groan of frustration as Sakura and Natsume all but fled the room. He hadn't expected Sakura to be very open to the idea of moving in with someone he didn't know, but he certainly hadn't expected such hostility. 

“I'm sorry,” he quickly apologized to the Fujiwara couple. 

As he had suspected, neither of the Fujiwaras was upset by this turn of events. 

“Don't be,” Shigeru shook his head, “Those boys look like they have been through a lot.”

Touko nodded in agreement. 

“Poor things,” she said softly, her face sorrowful. 

Umemiya massaged his temples. This was not how to today was supposed to go. Not in the slightest. 

Chapter Text

Kaji closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. 

If he had to hear Hiragi rant one more time, he was more than willing to go wring Sakura's neck without a second thought. 

Apparently Umemiya had found a good family for Sakura and little Takashi to live with. The meeting with the couple had gone poorly (Kaji was unsurprised to learn this since Sakura was involved) and Sakura had fled the meeting with Takashi. Umemiya was so distressed that he called Hiragi. Hiragi, eventually having enough of Umemiya's wailing, had texted Kaji to vent. Now Kaji was dragged into this whole mess against his will.  

Kaji grumbled under his breath as he finished yet another lollipop. 

It was fine. 

All he had to do was to beat some sense into Sakura and then Hiragi would go back to his normal, slightly less agitated self and get off of Kaji's back. 

He could this. 

<><><><><>

Sakura's thoughts felt like a tempest that was trapped in his head. 

After fleeing Umemiya’s house with Takashi, Sakura had felt nothing short of euphoric relief. They had made out unharmed and without a pursuit. They were going to be ok. 

However, the further they got, something like guilt came seeping into Sakura’s bones. He looked down at the scarf he still had clutched in one hand. In his mind’s eye he saw the lady with her gentle smile and the man with his steady nodding. 

This is where the confusion began to brew. 

Now that he was allowed some space to look at things and not feel trapped, Sakura questioned his initial assessment. That couple had not seemed evil on the surface. They had done nothing to warrant his suspicious in the short interaction they had. Umemiya had even recommended them (which was probably not as high of a bar as it could have been).

Further more, no adult that Sakura had ever interacted with had treated him like he (or his opinions) mattered. In that short conversation, his concerns hadn't just been tossed aside, instead the couple had attempted to address them. 

At the same time, Sakura couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something, just waiting until Umemiya had his back turned. They would reveal their true selves sooner or later. All adults did. Sakura was glad he had left them hanging. They probably deserved it. 

But then…. Why did Sakura feel so guilty for storming out? He shouldn't. Right? They were adults so Sakura couldn't exactly trust them. So why was he still thinking about them?

Back and forth the tug of war raged. 

For the rest of the day and the next, Sakura brooded on these thoughts. Sleeping on it brought no clarity, nor did the morning light. In fact the more he thought about it, the less closure he had. 

Suo attempted to talk with Sakura only once. He was harshly shut down and he did not try again. Eisuke stayed well clear of him. Umemiya tried calling him several times, but Sakura refused to pick up the phone. 

Monday did not change his outlook. He glared at everyone (expect for Takashi) and was sullenly silent (must to Nirei's concern). 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday passed no differently. 

Then Friday came. 

As he came back to the classroom after using the restroom at the end of the day, a hand closed on the back of his collar and yanked him the other direction up the hallway. Sakura gave a strangled hrk in surprise. Twisting and squirming, he managed to get himself turned around.

“Kaji?” he spluttered. 

Kaji grunted, but did not turn nor did he release his hold. He just dragged Sakura along. Sakura had no choice but to follow. They went, unsurprisingly, to the roof top. Kaji locked the door behind them before piling sacks of potting soil in front of the door as a barricade. 

“What do you want?” Sakura demanded, feeling a little combative. 

Once again, Kaji didn't answer. He dug through the backpack he had worn carelessly tossed over one shoulder. He thrust a bottle at Sakura. Sakura slowly took it. Barley tea. Sakura glanced back at Kaji. Kaji was pulling out a can of coffee for himself. What the heck was going on?

Kaji glared at Sakura as he opened his own drink. 

Sakura got the hint and started to drink. A silence fell over the two of them.

“Is there a reason that you dragged me up here?” Sakura finally dared to ask. 

“Yes,” Kaji's answer was clipped. 

“Then what do you want?” Sakura huffed. 

“To talk sense into you,” Kaji shrugged. 

Sakura furrowed his brow. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” he snorted. 

“I heard about the meeting with the Fujiwara couple,” Kaji started. 

Sakura could only bristle. His conflicted thoughts clamoured loudly. 

“And?” he grumbled. 

“What were you thinking? Running away like that after everything Umemiya has done to set that up?” Kaji scolded. 

Sakura glared at the drink in his hands. 

“Wasn’t my fault. Takashi wanted to leave,” he sulked, choosing to only tell a half-truth

“And why did he want to leave?” Kaji asked. 

Sakura shrugged. He didn’t know. Kaji gave a flat look of annoyance. 

“You don’t know? Great. How helpful,” he scoffed, “You’re not making this easy on me.”

Sakura had no idea what to say to that. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them. Sakura could feel Kaji's eyes on him. It made his skin crawl. He made a move to leave, but Kaji spoke again:

“Why didn’t you like them? That couple, I mean.”

“None of your business,” Sakura shot back. 

Wrong thing to say. Kaji's face soured and for a second, Sakura was absolutely sure that Kaji was about to throw hands. 

“It is my business because Umemiya is pissing Hiragi off and I have to hear about it,” Kaji shot back. 

Sakura hunched his shoulders. He should have guess. Even after living here for more than half a year, it seemed that he still was yet to learn that nothing was private in Makochi. 

The passing wind was decidedly chilly. Sakura shivered. 

The silence continued. It seemed like Kaji was waiting for Sakura to say something. The pressure worked. It wasn't much longer before Sakura caved. 

“What if they hurt Takashi?” he fiddled with the bottle in his hands. 

Kaji gave him a questioning look. 

“I don’t trust them because I know what adults are like. I don’t want Takashi to end up like me,” Sakura's voice felt like it was strangled in his throat, “What if they hurt him? I would never forgive myself. That's why I can't trust them.”

“Well, staying where you certainly isn’t helping him,” Kaji snorted. 

“We can live well enough on our own,” Sakura grumbled. 

Kaji stared at him for a very long time. 

“Have you considered the fact that you have a trust problem,” Kaji sighed. 

Sakura bristled. 

“I do not!” he spluttered. 

And he didn’t. He was sure. He was cautious yes, but not mistrusting. He had gotten over his mistrust over the past several months at Furin. He knew how to trust his peers. 

“Right,” Kaji snorted, “Like anyone would believe that at this stage.”

Sakura's cheeks burned. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sulked. 

Kaji didn't say anything. He just finished the rest of his drink in one gulp. 

“Why don't you trust Umemiya's choice?” he asked. 

Sakura froze. 

Once again the early winter wind filled the silence. 

“I….” Sakura bit his lip before admitting, “I want to, but I can’t.”

“Why not?” 

“I just can’t,” Sakura couldn't explain it. He wanted to trust Umemiya. After all, he had seen the good that Umemiya had done for the school and the community. He knew that Umemiya, logically, was someone who could be trusted. At the same time something stopped him. 

“You can’t or you won’t let yourself?” Kaji frowned. 

“Is there a difference?” Sakura shot back. 

“Yes,” Kaji’s voice was unusually soft. 

Sakura was caught off guard at the tone. He looked over at his upperclassman. Kaji looked like he was lost in thought for several minutes. Then he shook his head. 

“Why didn’t you step down as grade captain when I appointed you?” he asked. 

“Because I couldn’t,” Sakura shrugged. 

“You could have,” Kaji furrowed his brow. 

“Suo said it wasn’t allowed. He said I would get expelled,” Sakura spluttered. 

Kaji rolled his eyes. 

“Fucking eyepatch kid. He had to go and ruin my example,” he sighed. 

Sakura's intial thought was that of annoyance. Of course Suo had been pulling a fast one on him. But then, Sakura found himself feeling curious. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“The point I was trying to make was that you trusted me to see something in you that you didn’t see,” Kaji fished in his pocket for a lollipop, “I know that is not an easy thing to do, but you did.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I’m trying to say that, maybe for once, trust that Umemiya wants something good for you.”

“What if it’s a mistake?” Sakura choked. 

The thought of making a mistake where Takashi's safety was involved sickened him. 

“Then it’s a mistake and you go from there,” Kaji shrugged, “You won’t know unless you try.”

Sakura stared at his hands. 

They were shaking slightly. 

He didn’t like what Kaji had told him. He didn’t even want to consider what might happen to Takashi if he made a mistake. 

At the same time…..

At the same time, wasn’t Furin built on trust?

Sakura scrubbed a hand through his hair. As much as he hated it, his thoughts were starting to distill into something more cohesive. The picture they were creating was one he wasn’t sure if he was comfortable with. 

He didn’t want to, but something was saying he needed to give the Fujiwaras another chance and he hated that idea.

<><><><><>

Natsume did not feel any better after they had left Umemiya's house. 

He had hoped that getting Sakura away would help things, but it didn't. Not really. Sakura glowered and muttered to himself the whole walk back to Suo's house. He was so distracted that he almost walked into an active traffic intersection three different times (he only stopped, because Natsume tugged on his shirt each time). 

Sakura's mood did not improve for the rest of the day. 

It was still the same next morning, even when Umemiya stopped by. He looked disappointed when Suo reported that Sakura was still on edge. Natsume profusely apologized on Sakura's behalf. Umemiya simply told him that everything was ok and not to worry. 

Natusme did not follow this command. He continued to worry. 

During the week, Sakura was unchanged. 

It was because of Sakura's taciturn mood that he was surprised when Sakura was dragged off by Kaji. Natsume tried to keep up with them, but his legs were too short.  Kaji and Sakura when up to the roof. The door shut behind them. Natsume desperately pulled on the rooftop door. It wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pulled. He tried banging on it. Sakura did not come. 

Natsume choked on his breath a little bit. 

What was he supposed to do? 

He didn't know. 

He curled up on the top step in the hopes that Sakura would eventually open the door. 

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there when he heard footsteps coming up the stair case below him. The person making the footsteps came into view a moment later. It was Hiragi. 

Natsume pulled his legs to his chest in the effort of making himself as small as possible. Hiragi looked briefly surprised to see Natusme sitting there. 

“You alright little man?” Hiragi asked. 

Natsume hesitated before shaking his head. 

“Sakura....”

He didn't know how to say the rest of what he wanted to say so he looked at the closed door behind him instead. Hiragi got the hint and tested the handle. The door didn't open for him either. 

“Sakura went with Kaji and left me,” Natsume finally was able to expalin. 

“Kaji, hm?” Hiragi looked thoughtful.

After a moment of contemplating the door, Hiragi took a seat next to Natsume. Even when the teen was sitting, Natusme felt small next to him. 

They sat in silence for several moments. 

“I hear you met with the Fujiwaras,” Hiragi commented. 

His voice was neutral so Natsume wasn't sure if he was upset or not. He nodded anyway. 

“What did you think of them?” Hiragi asked. 

Natsume stared at the cast on his arm. 

“Sakura didn't like them,” he shrugged. 

“I didn't ask about Sakura. I asked about you,” Hiragi pointed out. 

Natusme hunched his shoulders. 

“I dunno,” he mumbled. 

“If you had a choice, would you want to know them better?”

“Sakura-”

“Not Sakura,” Hiragi shook his head, “Let's assume Sakura likes them for now. Would you want to know them better?”

That was an absurd question. Sakura hadn't liked the couple and he never would. If there was one that Natsume knew from living with Sakura, it was that Sakura was stubborn. 

“But Sakura doesn't like them and I want Sakura to be happy,” he truthfully said. 

This was apparently the wrong answer because Hiragi pinched the bridge of his nose. Natsume hunched himself up even smaller. 

“Do you like where you are now?” Hiragi eventually asked. 

Natsume shook his head slowly. He liked Eisuke and Suo but things just weren't working out there any more. Sakura was too much on edge and Eisuke... well, Natsume couldn't look at him without think about that bad man. 

“Where would you want to live?” Hiragi nudged Natsume. 

“With Sakura,” Natsume nodded. 

“Right. Where would you want to live, with Sakura?”

Natsume picked at the cast on his wrist. If he was being honest, he didn't know. He wasn't even sure that he cared.  

“Hiragi?” he asked in a small voice. 

“Mh?” Haragi grunted. 

“Are they nice people?” Natsume bit his lip. 

“Who? The Fujiwara couple?” Hiragi blinked. 

Natsume nodded. 

“Yes. At least from what I've seen. Besides, Hajime approves of them, so they can be trusted.”

That was true. Sakura's brother liked them. That had to count for something. As he thought about this, an image popped into Natsume's mind. It was ridiculous and unrealistic yet some how so desirable. What if he were living with Sakura and the Fujiwaras?

As he was trying to figure out some way to say this, there was a lot of shuffling and grunting from beyond the door. A moment later the door opened and Kaji started down the stairs. 

“Did you lock the door?” Hiragi demanded. 

“I did,” Kaji shrugged, “And I blocked it with potting soil. I didn't want you or Umemiya walking in on us.”

Hiragi pinched the brow of his nose. 

“Fair enough, but you locked Takashi out.” Hiragi rested one of his large hands on Natsume's head. 

Kaji glanced at Natsume. 

“Sorry. I had to. I wanted to talk with Sakura alone,” he shrugged not at all looking sorry.  

“Talk about what?” Natsume couldn't stop himself from asking. 

“Stuff.” Kaji's answer was vague and unhelpful. 

“And where is Sakura?” Hiragi sighed. 

Kaji jerked his chin towards the roof area. 

“Still up there. He has a lot to think about.”

With that, Kaji continued on his way, hands jammed in his pockets, headphones over his ears. Natsume wasted no time in racing to the now open roof top.

Chapter Text

Even after the talk with Kaji, Sakura wasn't convinced that giving the Fujiwaras a second chance was the right decision. 

In an effort to make himself feel slightly better about this whole situation, Sakura set about observing the Fujiwara couple. Thankfully, they were staying in town for a while. This gave him plenty of time to spy on them and seeing what they were up to. 

Part of him hoped he would catch them in the act of something truly nefarious. The other part of him hoped that they were truly as innocent and trustworthy as Umemiya seemed to believe

Sakura started by tailing them when ever they went out. He would leave Takashi with Suo and Nirei before setting off on his own. He didn't want his kid anywhere potentially dangerous people. He also didn't want Takashi to become attached by accident before Sakura had a chance to observe the Fujiwaras. 

Sakura did his best to be as inconspicuous as possible while he was out in public. He even so far as to wear a hat and a face mask to hide his identity. Unfortunately, his disguise failed on the second time out. He was spying on the Fujiwaras as they stopped to enjoy a little bit of the weakening winter sun. 

“Why are you skulking about dressed up like that Sakura?” 

Sakura nearly jumped out of his skin at the question. He whirled around. It was his worst nightmare. Not only had he been found out, he had been found out by two people that he very much did not want to see. Umemiya and Kotoha. They were standing behind Sakura, each holding a bag of groceries like they had just been out shopping. 

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Sakura blustered. 

He was glad for the face mask. It hid his burning cheeks. 

“Really?” Kotoha snorted, “You can't tell us at all why you are dressed like that?”

“I don't know what you are talking about,” Sakura once again protested. 

He glanced over his shoulder. The Fujiwaras were still unaware that he was there. That was good. Now all he had to do was get Umemiya and Kotoha to leave. Sakura turned back to glare at the two nuisance who were currently trying to blow his cover. 

Apparently oblivious to the fact that he was causing Sakura distress, Umemiya unhelpfully reached over and plucked the hat off of Sakura's head. He put the hat on his own head and proceeded to start posing.

“What do you think, Kotoha? Should I start wearing hats too?” he smiled. 

“No. You look ridiculous,” Kotoha snorted. 

Sakura silently agreed with her. 

“Anyway,” Umemiya turned back to Sakura, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Sakura mumbled. 

Umemiya looked around. He spotted the Fujiwaras further down the path. A knowing look crossed his face. 

“Having second thoughts?” he asked softly. 

“No,” Sakura bit out sourly. 

“Do you want to speak with them instead of just stalking them?” Umemiya offered. 

Sakura backed away. 

“No,” he shook his head. 

He didn't want to talk with them. Not yet. He needed to decide if they were worth it first. 

“Really?” Umemiya frowned, looking unconvinced. 

“I'm very sure.”

Umemiya opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was cut off when Kotoha slapped a hand over his mouth. She gave Sakura a serious look. 

“Is there anything we can help with?” she asked. 

The question confused Sakura. He didn't need help with anything. He shrugged rather than answering. 

“Well, if you thing of anything, you know where I work,” Kotoha nodded. 

With that, she started pushing Umemiya away. Sakura was left staring after them in confusion. He glanced over his shoulder to find that the Fujiwaras had moved on too and were now no longer in view. That was fine. Sakura didn't mind picking up where he had left off. 

His routine of tailing the Fujiwaras around was rudely interrupted the next day as well. Not by Umemiya. No, this time, it was by Takashi himself. 

The Fujiwaras were shopping this time. Sakura stayed half-hidden around the corner, watching them. It was because of this angle that he didn't see Takashi until it was too late. 

His kid appeared from seemingly nowhere. Sakura watched in horror as Takashi went up to the Fujiwaras. The kid was saying something that Sakura couldn't hear. The wife crouched down, reaching out for Takashi. Sakura was moving before he even registered it. Running over, he threw himself between Takashi and the couple, blocking their access to Takashi. 

“Sakura-kun?” The couple seemed surprised. 

Sakura was panting hard. His pulse was racing. He could hear it in his ears. 

“Don't touch him,” Sakura growled. 

His mind raced with images of what could have happened. 

“Don't touch him,” Sakura's voice was hoarser now. 

Without taking his eyes off of the couple, Sakura reached for Takashi so that they could flee. His hand met open air. He glanced over his shoulder. Takashi had backed up just out reach. The kid was staring up at him was unmasked terror on his face. It was the first time in a very, very long time, that Takashi had looked at him like that. 

“Takashi?” Sakura croaked. 

Takashi was shaking slightly. He backed up again Sakura tried to reach out once more. He looked back at the Fujiwaras. They were watching him with concern. 

It was by this time, more people had come over. Sakura distantly recognized Nirei's frantic voice and Suo's softer one. 

“I.... I just...” Sakura stumbled to find the words.

He had overreacted and even he knew it. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to make this right. This only made him panic harder. 

“Sakura. Calm down. They aren't going to hurt Takashi,” Suo's voice was irrationally calm. 

Sakura knew that was probably true. At the same time, he couldn't fully believe it. Suo's hand gripped Sakura's shoulder, grounding his thoughts a bit. Just as soon as Sakura was certain that his days wasn't going to get any worse, there come the soft words from Shigeru Fujiwara: 

“Sakura-kun. Would you have a moment to speak?”

<><><><><>

Natsume wasn't sure what to make of Sakura's erratic behavior after his talk with Kaji on the rooftop. 

Without warning, Sakura left Natsume with Suo and Nirei every free moment he had. He would be gone for hours on end, all without telling anyone what he was doing of where he was going. There were some days that Natsume didn't even see Sakura. When Natsume asked, Suo and Nirei didn't know what Sakura was up to (though each teen did have their theories). 

The behavior hurt Natsume a little bit. Why was Sakura acting like this?

No answer came to him. 

Suo and Nirei both picked up on his stress. While Sakura was out and about without him, they took him fun places. They took him to Café Porthos and Nirei's house. They went to an arcade and the library. 

Today was bitterly cold. Winter had truly set in. He held the scarf from Touko in his arms. He liked the way the soft fabric kept his hands warm. 

“Takashi?” 

Natsume looked up to find Suo and Nirei watching him. 

“Don't you want to wear your scarf?” Suo asked. 

Natsume was confused. He looked down at the scarf in his arms. 

“I am wearing it,” he protested. 

Nirei shook his head slightly. 

“You're supposed to wear it like this,” he pointed at the fabric wrapped around his neck. 

Natsume wasn't sure what Nirei was talking about. 

“Here, let me show you,” Nirei slowly reached out. 

Natsume let Nirei take the scarf. The teen gently lopped the scarf a few times around Natsume's neck. Natsume was a little uncertain if he liked it so close to his neck. He tugged at it a bit until is was a little looser. 

“See?” Nirei nodded, “Now your neck will be warm.”

Natsume could how that would be true. The sad part was that his hands were now cold. He pulled his jacket sleeves down as far as they would go. Unfortunately, his fingers were still exposed to the cold.

Suo sighed. He held out his own light gloves. Natsume put them on. They were too big for him, but they were already warm. Natsume realized belatedly that they were warm because Suo had been wearing them. He tried to give the gloves back, but Suo just shook his head. Natsume had no choice but to keep them. 

They continued their walk towards Suo's home. 

“You seem to like that scarf,” Suo commented. 

Natsume suddenly felt very self-conscious. He tucked his chin and hid his face in the scarf as much as he could. Then he allowed himself to nod slightly. 

“Where'd you get it?” Suo asked. 

“I think I've seen Sakura with a matching one,” Nirei commented. 

“The lady gave it to me.” Natsume didn't remember her name. 

“The lady.... you mean... um....” Nirei frantically started flipping through his book, “Tuoko Fujiwara?”

Natsume nodded. 

“She made it,” he told them. 

“She made it? That is very nice of her,” Suo smiled. 

Natsume's fingers ran over the soft fabric. 

“Is it bad to say thank you?” he asked. 

He had been thinking about that for a while. He felt he should tell Touko thank you, but he wasn't sure if that was proper or not. He didn't really know them. What if they got mad at him for liking it? 

“You should,” Nirei encouraged. 

“Sakura will be mad,” Natsume shuddered. 

“Sakura doesn't have to know,” Suo shook his head. 

Natsume bit his lip. 

“Do you want to thank her?” Nirei asked. 

Natsume nodded slightly. 

“Alright. I bet we can find them. They are still in town,” Suo led the way. 

Natsume followed close behind. He was worried this was the wrong decision. He kept a hand clenched in the back of Suo's shirt, just in case. 

Indeed, it didn't take Suo long to find the Fujiwaras. They were shopping and looking very happy without Natsume involving himself. Natsume lost his courage. He tried to stay hidden behind Suo. Suo just sighed and nudged Natsume forward. 

“Go on. You can do it,” he smiled. 

Realizing that he had no escape now, Natsume shyly approached the couple. 

“I .... um....”

They turned around and Natsume lost his voice. 

“Takashi-kun? Are you alright?” Touko asked. 

Natsume felt his cheeks heat up. 

“I.... I.....Um.....T-thank you,” Natsume stumbled over his words. 

“For what?” Shigeru prompted. 

“For the scarf,” Natsume fingered the soft fabric. 

At Natsume's words, a delighted look came over Touko's face. She smiled and knelt down. 

“Of course! You are so welc-”

“Don't touch him!”

Sakura seemed to come out of nowhere, throwing himself between them. Natsume jumped back in surprise. Where in the world had Sakura come from?

“Don't touch him,” Sakura growled once more. 

Natsume was so very confused and more than a little scared. Had he done something wrong? 

“Takashi?”

Sakura turned towards him slightly. 

That's when Natusme realized something important. This person was wearing a hat that hid his hair and the dark fog of a youkai hung heavily in front of his face. Perhaps this person spoke with Sakura's voice, but that was not Sakura's face. Natsume felt ugly, dark panic clenching his chest. This wasn't Sakura.

Natsume backed away in fear. He bumped into Nirei. Without thinking, he clung to the teen's leg, pressing his face into Nirei's thigh. 

Chapter Text

The question startled Sakura badly. 

“T-talk with me?” he stammered out. 

“Yes. If you don't mind.”

Sakura knew that he didn't have a choice. He gulped and looked over his shoulder. Suo was nodding encouragingly. Takashi was still desperately hugging Nirei's leg. Sakura's tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth. He turned back to the couple. The were still waiting for an answer. Sakura forced himself to nod. 

The couple must have picked up on the fact that Sakura was far from comfortable. 

“How about something to eat too?” Touko suggested. 

After a shove from Suo, Sakura begrudgingly followed the couple. He felt rather like an animal being lead to the slaughterhouse. They entered a restaurant Sakura had never eaten at. He did know the owners thought, so that helped slightly. They sat down and ordered food to eat. Sakura didn't feel all the hungry. If anything, he felt a bit sick. 

“Sakura-kun.”

Sakura flinched at his name. 

“We noticed that you've been following us around for a few days now and we were wondering what it is that makes you feel uncomfortable around us,” Touko said in a soft voice. 

Sakura decided that he disliked the question. He hunched his shoulders.

“I.... I don't... I'm not....”

He hoped that his stammering would make them feel just as uncomfortable as he felt. It didn't appear to be working.

“You're adults,” he finally murmured. 

“Ah. This is true.”

“Adults are bad people,” Sakura felt a flush of shame as his harsh assessment so he tacked on a, “Sorry.”

“That's alright. I've known my fair share of bad people who are adults. I've also known my fair share of people bad people who aren't.”

Sakura picked at the hem of his shirt. The food arrived. Sakura just stared at it. He eventually took a few bites because he knew it was rude no to.

“Hajime-kun told us a bit about what you and Takashi have gone through. We were so sorry to hear. Children don't deserve to go through something that,” Shigeru looked grieved for some reason. 

His tone make Sakura wonder what Umemiya had told them. Probably nothing good. 

“Shigeru and I both want you and Takashi to have a home that loves you and wants you,” Touko picked up where her husband left off, “You and Takashi are special; one of a kind. You deserve somewhere you're wanted.”

The mushy words and sentiments made Sakura feel even more uncomfortable and like he was being manipulated. He wanted those things but didn't deserve them, so why would they tease him in such a way?

“Don't need that,” he stubbornly grumbled. 

The couple exchanged a look that Sakura didn't understand. 

“Sakura-kun, is there something that would make you feel more comfortable?” Touko asked earnestly. 

Sakura didn't know, but he felt the pressure to answer. Should he make something up? He shrugged. It was easier if he stayed silent for now. 

“Would you be comfortable with spending a little more time with us?” Shigeru suggested. 

Sakura was immediately on guard. He narrowed his eyes at the suggestion. 

“What do you mean?” he demanded. 

“Nothing bad. We just thought you might feel more comfortable if you would interact with us to see if we are trustworthy,” Shigeru offered kindly. 

That wasn't a half bad thought. Sakura had gained a marginal amount of trust from following them around. That didn't mean he was ready to go belly up just yet. 

“Maybe,” he bit his lip. 

“Think it over. If there is something that you want to do with us, just reach out. Please bring Takashi too,” Touko nodded. 

Sakura decided that he was done. He slammed money down on the table before excusing himself. Once outside, he started to jog in order to put some distance between himself and them. His thoughts, once gain, were a confused mess. He wanted to dislike these people, but the more he saw of them, the more he was swayed to the opinion that they weren't bad people. 

He eventually stopped, hiding himself around the corner of a small alley. Catching his breath, Sakura looked at his phone to see the time. He was intrigued to see a text from Suo. His intrigue turned to terror as soon as he read what was there:

Something is wrong with Takashi. Please come home soon. 

That worried Sakura to no end. Turning on his heels, he ran to Suo's house as fast as his legs would carry him. 

“Suo? Takashi?” Sakura hollered as soon as he opened the door.

He toed off his shoes and left them carelessly in the entryway. He raced to the room he shared with Takashi and threw the door open. The room was empty. 

“Suo? Takashi?” Sakura called again. 

“Coming!” Suo's voice echoed down the hall from his room. 

Sakura started that direction. He ran into Suo a minute later. Takashi was acting usually shy, gripping Suo's pants like his life depended on it.

“Takashi?” Sakura knelt down, expecting his kid to run over to him. 

Takashi glanced at Sakura before hiding his face in Suo's thigh once more. Sakura was confused. He glanced at Suo. Suo gave him a helpless look as though to say he didn't know either. 

“What's wrong kiddo?” Suo asked, rubbing the back of Takashi's neck. 

“Th-that's not Sakura,” Takashi whimpered. 

Sakura was confused. Had Takashi mistaken him for someone else? That would, theoretically, be hard to do. After all, there wasn't anyone else that Sakura had ever met who looked like him. 

“What do you mean?” Suo asked, “Isn't it Sakura?”

Takashi vehemently shook his head. Sakura felt unexpectedly hurt. How was it that Takashi - his kid - didn't recognize him? The thought was devastating.

“Where is his face?” the little boy hiccupped. 

“It's right there,” Suo nudged. 

Takashi peeled his face away from Suo's leg just long enough to look at Sakura. Sakura did notice this time that Takashi's eyes seemed to focus on the middle distance, rather than on his face. It was almost as thought Takashi couldn't see him. 

“I can't see his face,” Takashi croaked, sounding as devastated as Sakura felt. 

“What do you see?” Suo prompted. 

“It's all dark,” Takashi desperately scrubbed at his eyes, looking like he was about to cry. 

Sakura felt lost. He had no idea what to do with this. 

<><><><><>

Natsume felt panicked. He didn't raise his face until after he heard the fake Sakura leave. Suo and Nirei were talking. Natsume didn't bother to listen to them at all. He was too scared to know what was going on. 

There was sudden a hand on his back. Natsume flinched away. The hand was removed. 

“Takashi? Kiddo?”

Natsume turned to face Suo. The teen was crouched down next to him. He looked concerned. 

“Kiddo? Are you ok?” he asked. 

Natsume didn't know how to answer that question. He wasn't ok. This encounter had scared him pretty badly.

“I w-want Sakura back,” he stammered. 

“He'll be back. He's just going to talk with the Fujiwaras,” Suo smiled encouragingly. 

“I want him,” Natsume felt close to tears. 

Suo looked concerned. He lifted Natsume into his arms. Natsume buried his face in the crook of Suo's neck.

“Is something wrong?” Suo hummed. 

Natsume didn't know how to describe what he was feeling at the moment. He just shook his head and pressed himself closer to Suo.  

“Alright. Let's get you home,” Suo sighed. 

Natsume did not feel any safer at Suo's house. He chose to hide out in Suo's room while they waited for Sakura to get home. Suo didn't say anything about Natsume's behavior, but Natsume could still tell that the teen was worried. 

Eventually he heard Sakura's voice in the hallway. Fear constricted Natsume's heart again. What if it was that person who sounded like Sakura but wasn't actually Sakura? What would Natsume do? 

Natusme clung to Suo's leg as they went out to see Sakura. He kept his eyes closed, too afraid for what he might see. 

“Takashi?” Sakura's voice floated over Natusme's head. 

Natsume risked prying and eye open. It was the same as before. The darkness hid the person's face. This was not Sakura. Natsume desperately turned to Suo, pressing his face into Suo's thigh. 

“What's wrong?” Suo asked. 

“Th-that's not Sakura,” Natsume whimpered. 

Natsume felt Suo's hand gently rubbing the back of his neck. 

“What do you mean?” The teen asked, “Isn't it Sakura?”

Natsume vehemently shook his head. 

“Where is his face?” Natsume felt hysterical. 

“It's right there.”

Natsume peeled his face away enough to look back at the stranger. The dark shadow twisted on itself and pulsed like it was live. It made Natsume shiver in fear. He hate it. 

“I can't see his face,” he croaked. 

“What do you see?” Suo prompted. 

“It's all dark,” Natsume desperately scrubbed at his eyes to keep the tears away. 

No matter what he did, the dark shadow stared back at him. He wondered what happened to the real Sakura. 

Chapter Text

Sakura stared helplessly at Suo. 

“Suo. What the hell is going on?” he growled. 

Suo looked serious, his lips pursed slightly. 

“I think something youkai related might be going on,” he murmured. 

Sakura's heart skipped a beat in worry. He hadn't even thought of that. 

“Youkai? Like what?” he demanded. 

Was there something here that he needed to fight? His hands clenched into fists. His eyes darted around, looking to attack any shadow that might moved unprompted. 

“I don't know. Do you-”

Suo was cut off when Takashi suddenly started running. The kid shoved past both teens and bolted towards the front door. More than a little bit startled by this turn of events, Suo and Sakura were slow to start following.

“Oi! Takashi! Wait!” Sakura called. 

Takashi did not stop running. The kid flung the front door open and ran out into the darkness. Sakura was tripping over his feet to get his shoes on fast enough. 

“Takashi? Takashi!” Sakura called, running out into the cold.

Takashi did not answer. Sakura felt something sick cramping in his gut. He started running around in admittedly aimless directions. He needed to find his kid. Something was wrong and he needed to fix it. 

“Sakura. Calm down,” Suo grabbed Sakura's arm. 

“Calm down? How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” Sakura snapped, his nerves way past being frayed. 

He was worried for his kid. He tried to tear himself away from Suo. Suo refused to let go. Something sharp stung his cheek. Sakura whirled around, looking for what had hit him. It was Suo's open palm. The stinging pain did create a little bit of clarity for Sakura's mind. 

“Are you calm now?” Suo sighed. 

Sakura grumbled in frustration. No, he was not any calmer, but logic had started to worm its way into his head. 

“I'm worried about him,” he finally admitted, his cheeks burning for some reason. 

“I am too,” Suo agree, “But running around randomly like this won't help.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Sakura frowned. 

Logically he knew that Suo was correct, but that didn't mean that he liked it. 

“If Takashi is scared, where is he likely to run to?” Suo asked. 

“You.” The answer was easy. Sakura knew that if he were incapacitated, Takashi would likely run straight to Suo for safety. 

“Ok. Aside from me?” Suo sighed. 

Sakura had to stop and think.

“Anyone in class,” Sakura shrugged. 

“Alright. Where would he go to find them?”

Sakura wasn't sure. 

“I don't know. Maybe the school or-” A thought occurred to Sakura, “Do you think he went to Umemiya?”

“Maybe. Let's start there?” Suo nodded. 

Sakura begrudgingly followed Suo through the dark streets. He wished he had grabbed a jacket like Suo. It was cold out. Had Takashi grabbed a jacket? Sakura wasn't sure. He didn't think so. The realization made his steps quicken. They were almost to Umemiya's house when Suo's phone chimed. Suo pulled it out and glanced at the screen. He abruptly stopped walking. 

“Sakura. Wait.” Suo's voice was sharp. 

The other teen showed Sakura his phone screen. It was a long message from Kotoha. 

'Is Sakura ok? Takashi showed up at the cafe out of nowhere and he seems scared that something happened to Sakura. I can't get ahold of Sakura. Do you know where he is?'

Sakura checked his phone to find that he did have several missed calls from Kotoha. He shoved the device back in his pocket. 

“Right. Let's go,” he grabbed Suo's arm and started back the way they had come.  

Suo hummed, typing back a response to Kotoha as he let himself be towed along. Sakura set off at a jog. He felt a little better now that he knew were Takashi was. The winding streets carried on further than he remembered the path being. Finally, Café Porthos appeared in his view. Sakura opened the door and entered. 

There was a sudden movement as Takashi dove under the table he had been sitting at. Kotoha looked relieved as the two teenage boys entered. That was nice and all, but Sakura gave a soft groan as an intense pressure started building in his temples like the beginning of a migraine. He staggered slightly under the sudden force. 

“Are you alright?” Suo asked softly. 

“I'm fine,” Sakura forced his voice to remain flat. 

Suo looked unconvinced.

“Wait here. I'll check on Takashi,” Suo nodded. 

Suo approached the booth were Takashi was hiding. He crouched down. Sakura found his vision blurring slightly. His headache intensified. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a low groan. 

“Are you alright?” Kotoha asked. 

“Migraine,” Sakura grit out. 

It was a stress response. That's what it was. It would go away in a few hours. He knew that from experience. Kotoha left before coming back with an ice pack. Sakura was more than grateful. He gave a soft groan of relief as he held the ice to his temples. This was a killer migraine and it had truly come out of nowhere. 

He closed his eyes. 

That was when the oddest thing happened. There were swift footsteps and then sudden something was slapped on his forehead. Sakura almost didn't register that part because the pain in his temples intensified to an excruciating level before fizzling out. He found himself gasping in relief. The world spun slightly at the sudden release of pressure. 

“Are you alright?” Suo sounded concerned. 

He was clutching a piece of paper as he stood in front of Sakura. 

“Much better,” Sakura was too bewildered to say much more than that. 

Suo turned to the booth. 

“Kiddo? Is this any better?” Suo beckoned to Natsume. 

Takashi slowly crawled to the edge of the table. He warily surveyed Sakura. 

“Sakura?” his voice was small and uncertain. 

Sakura nodded.

Takashi hesitated before fling himself at Sakura. He wrapped his arms as far as they would go around Sakura's waste as he buried his face in Sakura's stomach.  

“I thought you left me,” the kid sniffled. 

“You know I never would,” Sakura hugged his kid back. 

Takashi nodded hesitantly. 

Sakura slowly let the tension out of his shoulders. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back. He was exhausted. Today had been long and tiring. As he stood there wishing for a calm life, the face of the Fujiwara couple rose unbidden to his mind. For some reason, this time when he thought of them, he didn't immediately shy away from the thought of them. 

<><><><><>

Natsume felt frozen where he stood, watching the shadow. It roiled and pulsed. It was clearly unhappy. Natsume started to edge backwards. He should run. It would be safer if he did. Then maybe he could actually find the real Sakura. 

Suo was talking? Or maybe it was the fake Sakura.

Natsume wasn't sure. 

He fled all the same. 

He shoved past the fake Sakura and ran for the front door. There were footsteps behind him. Natsume ran into the street. It was dark outside. Natsume ran from shadow to shadow. He was sure now that he had lost his pursuer. He wasn't going to get hurt tonight. 

Natsume paused his running. It was only now that he realized just how cold it was outside. He had left without his coat or his shoes. He was cold. Really cold. He knew he couldn't spent the night on the street. 

Shivering and making himself as small as possible, Natsume crept through the night. There was one last safe place he could try. 

After a lot of wondering, he found the right place. Café Porthos. Natsume tried the handle. It was unlocked. He crept inside. The warm air felt safe. 

“I'm sorry. We're closed for-” Kotoha's voice cut off in surprise, “Takashi?”

Natsume stood there, shivering in the doorway. 

Kothoa came around the counter. 

“Takashi? Are you alright? Did you come here alone?”

Natsume bit his lip. Then he nodded. 

“Where is Sakura?”

Natsume just shook his head. He didn't know and that was making him afraid. Kotoha nodded vacantly. He called someone. 

“Shit. Sakura's not answering. Right. I'll call Hajime,” Kotoha started to dial a different number. 

“P-please don't,” Natsume whimpered. 

For some reason, he didn't want that. He wasn't even sure why. Maybe he was just feeling overwhelmed. 

“You and Sakura really are cut from the same cloth, aren't you?” Kotoa sighed. 

Natsume wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

“Do you want something to eat?” Kotoha asked. 

Natsume shook his head. He wasn't hungry and even if he was, he knew he was too anxious to keep food down. 

Kotoha frowned. 

“Wait right here,” she said. 

Natsume obeyed. Kotoha was back in a few minutes with a mug of hot cocoa. The warmth of the mug felt nice against Natsume's cold fingers. 

“So. Do you want to tell me what's going on?” Kotoha asked. 

Natsume hesitated. 

“Sakura's gone,” he blurted out. 

“What do you mean gone?” Kotoha frowned, “Did he leave? Or is he dead?”

“I don't know,” Natsume felt tears again.

His hands clenched around the mug he was holding. Kotoha ran a gentle hand up and down his back in a calming gesture. 

“Ok. Do you know where he is?” she asked. 

Natsume shook his head. 

“Do you know where the last time was that you saw him?”

That question was easier to answer. 

“At school,” Natsume reported. 

“So he hasn't been gone for long.”

Kotoha was doing something on her phone. 

“Suo says that Sakura is there with him,” she said. 

Natsume was relieved at first. Then he remember why he had run. He frantically shook his head. 

“That's not Sakura,” he croaked. 

“What dies that mean?” Kotoha frowned. 

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the screen. 

“Suo says they're on their way.”

Natsume felt a thrill of terror run up his spine. The whole reason why he had run was so escape and to find Sakura. If the fake Sakura came here, then Natsume would ne no closer to escape. 

The next ten minutes were some the longest of Natsume's life. The door swung open. Without thinking, Natsume dove for cover under the table. 

A high pitched wailing sudden filled the air. Natsume risked peaking out from under the table. The shadow was writhing and wailing. It was then that Natsume remembered something. Natori had placed protection talisman around the cafe. Maybe that would protect him?

The dark youkai continued to cling on. It squirmed and frothed, but it didn't go away. It anything it seemed mad now. The youkai and its host advanced towards Natusme. 

Natsume squirmed back under the table. 

The screaming from the youkai didn't stop. Natsume pressed his hands to his ears. It only somewhat muted the sound. 

“Takashi? Kiddo?”

Suo's face appeared as he crouched down. 

“What are you doing?” the teen asked. 

Natsume shook his head. 

“Do you need something?” Suo looked worried. 

Natsume hesitated. 

“P-paper and pencil.”

Suo looked confused, but he nodded. There was shuffling. A minute later, he was back with the requested items. 

Natsume took them. It took several attempts before he was able to shakily reproduce what he remembered Natori drawing. The only problem was what to do next. 

Natsume handed the drawing to Suo, hoping the teen would have ideas. Suo studied it for a moment before something clicked for him. He stood. There was more shuffling. The wailing from the youkai got louder and louder and-

Then like that it was snuffed out. 

The silence afterwards was almost eerie. 

“Kiddo? Is this any better?” Suo beckoned to Natsume. 

Natsume slowly crawled to the edge of the table. The other person who had come with him no longer had a dark shadow hanging over their face. It was indeed Sakura. 

“Sakura?” Natsume's mouth was dry. 

Sakura nodded.

Natsume hesitated before fling himself at Sakura. He wrapped his arms around the teen. Sakura felt warm and solid. Something in Natsume's chest broke loose. 

“I thought you left me,” he sniffled. 

“You know I never would,” Sakura's hand threaded through Natsume's hair. 

The touch felt comforting. Natsume nodded hesitantly. He pressed himself closer to the teen. He didn't want this to ever change. He never wanted this to go away. He hoped that it never would. 

Chapter Text

Takashi was emotionally exhausted, not that Sakura could blame the kid. He was emotionally exhausted himself.

Sakura was more than grateful to bundle his kid into his arms. Takashi promptly tucked his head in the crook of Sakura's neck. His breaths landed softly against Sakura's skin. He focused on that rather than Kotoha's smug and proud look (something that he quite frankly didn't know what to do with). 

He barely paid attention as Suo thanked Kotoha and ushered them back outside. 

“Here,” Suo sighed. 

Sakura startled when Suo started to remove his own coat. Sakura stared at his vice captain, now shivering in his thin changshan. Sakura immediately felt bad. Suo shouldn't have to suffer the cold because of Sakura's own incompetence (and lack of forethought). 

“Suo-”

Sakura was cut off when Suo moved forward. He draped his coat over Takashi. Takashi was clearly startled. He raised his head and looked around. He looked adorable with Suo's jacket draped over his head. Sakura could hardly hold back a laugh. Takashi wrinkled his nose (something that Sakura found to be even more adorable). Then he buried his face back into the crock of Sakura's neck. 

“Let's go home,” Sakura sighed. 

The walk back was thankfully uneventful. After the emotional turmoil of the day, Sakura was more than ready to tumble into bed still fully clothed.

Unfortunately, his sleep was far from restful. He tossed and turned. The dreams that came were not happy. They twisted and slid from one horrible fear to the next. The running theme in all was Takashi was gone. Sometimes is was death, sometimes it was abduction, sometimes Takashi simply never existed. 

It was some time in the wee hours of the morning when he woke with a start, gasping for breath. He didn't remember what he had been dreaming about, but he did remember the feeling of drowning in his dreams. 

Almost unconsciously, he groped to the side. His hand connected with something warm. Blinking sleep from his eyes, he turned to his side. There lay Takashi, curled up under his blanket, safe and still asleep. Sakura felt something loosen in his chest. Takashi was safe and sound. 

Sakura rolled onto his back and stared at the dimly lit ceiling. His mind was abuzz and now that he was awake, it refused to shut off. The realization that he could have lost Takashi made him shutter. What if Kotoha hadn't been at the cafe? What if Takashi had run off somewhere different and been taken or worse killed? What if Takashi hadn't wanted to come back with him?

The Fujiwaras were not solutions to any of these questions. At the same time, Sakura couldn't help but want more safe people for Takashi to turn to. Safe? Perhaps it was laughable, but in his tiredness that it was they seemed most to Sakura. 

Sakura threw and arm over his face. He hated this over thinking, this critical examining of every possible angle. It wasn't that he hated safety. He hated how exhausting it was. Somehow he managed to fall back asleep. 

The next time he woke, he found Takashi snuggled against his chest. After a bit of poking, Sakura discovered that Takashi was awake already. The two of them started to get ready for school. 

“Hey..... Takashi?” Sakura abruptly asked in the middle of them getting dressed. 

Takashi paused and cocked his head. His hair was still tousled from sleep and it made him look even younger. 

“I.... um....” Sakura scratched the back of his next, not entirely certain how to phrase what he was going to say next, “The Fujiwaras..... um.....What do you think of them?”

Takashi looked surprised. He scuffed a socked foot on the floor as he thought. 

“They seem nice?” Takashi seemed just as uncertain as Sakura felt. 

“Do you... I mean... if they.... um.....would you want to talk with them again?” Sakura asked. 

Takashi once again pondered the question. He nodded slowly. Sakura wasn't sure if he should be relieved that Takashi was far more accepting than he himself was or if he should be frustrated that Takashi didn't see the possibility for evil in them. 

Either way, Takashi's answer sealed the question that had haunted Sakura since he woke. 

After school, Sakura sulked over to the third year classrooms. He had never stepped inside of one and the moment he did, he almost regretted. He was immediately set upon by both Umemiya. 

“Are you alright? Is everything ok? Are you hurt? Is something wrong? How can I help? Are you in trouble?”

The barrage of questions from Bofurin's leader was overwhelming at best. Sakura felt uncomfortable. A small hand clentched the hem of Sakura's unform jacket. On insinct he draped a comforting arm over Takashi's shoulders (honestly, Sakura hadn't even realized until that Takashi had followed him). Hiragi rolled his eyes before proceeding to shove Umemiya out of the classroom and into the hallway. It was only then that Umemiya seemed to shut up. 

Sakura found that it was just the three of them in the hallway. Umemiya was looking expectantly at him, clearly waiting for him to talk. Sakura's cheeks started burning and he stared at his feet. 

“Can you set up another time with the Fujiwaras?”

Something in Sakura wanted to shrivel up and die. He wasn't even really sure why. Unfortunately, Umemiya's cheery answer of 'Of course!' did not help to settle his nerves. 

<><><><><>

Natsume felt a wave of exhaution hit him. 

He found that he wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere warm and safe and fall asleep. Sakura must have been reading his mind because the next thing that Natsume knew, he was being lifted up by the teen. 

Natsume promptly buried his face in the crook of Sakura's neck. Sakura's skin felt warm and alive. It was only further proof that this was a human holding him and not a youkai. 

Natsume distantly hear Suo excusing them from the cafe and the jingle of the bell as the went back outside. The cold hit Natsume's back unexpectedly. It seemed that the temperature had dropped even further. He was glad was currently pressed against Sakura's chest. He would be chilled otherwise. 

“Here,” Suo sighed. 

There was rustling of fabric

Natsume was beyond startled went something draped over his head and down his back. He sat straight up, worried for a second that yet another youkai had made its appearance. After a bit of groping, Natsume found that it was a coat. He didn't know where it had come from. 

What he did know was that Sakura was laughing at him. Natsume wrinkled his nose and pressed his face back into Sakura's neck. Here, he felt safe.  

“Let's go home,” Sakura sighed. 

The walk back was thankfully uneventful. Natsume was more than half asleep by the time they all made it home. He let Sakura carry him to the bedroom. The lights were off and the moment Natsume's head his the pillow, he was out. 

Natsume had the strangest dreams. In them, reality was indistinguishable from dream. Youaki and human tangled together. It was confusing and unpleasant. 

Natsume woke some time around sunrise. The first of the morning sun was beginning to poke into the room. Natsume saw the Sakura was still asleep. Seeing Sakura so still always startled Natusme. Giving into old habits, Natusme curled up with his head on Sakura's chest. In this position, he could hear the steady thud of Sakura's heart. The sound was comforting.   

Eventually, Natusme felt Sakura's stir. After some coaxing, the teen convinced him to get up for the day. Despite feeling a little bit apprehensive about the idea of going to school today (for whatever reason), Natsume followed Sakura's example and started getting dressed for school.

“Hey..... Takashi?” Sakura abruptly asked in the middle of them getting dressed. 

Natsume paused and cocked his head. 

“I.... um....” Sakura scratched the back of his next, looking decidedly uncomfortable, “The Fujiwaras..... um.....What do you think of them?”

Natusme scuffed a socked foot on the floor as he thought. He wondered if there was a trap somewhere in the question. Then he realized that no, Sakura wasn't the type of person to do that. 

“They seem nice?” Natsume was uncertain if he had chosen the right answer. 

Despite the fact that he knew Sakura (probably) hadn't asked him that as a trap, Natsume was still sure that there was a right and wrong answer to the question. 

“Do you... I mean... if they.... um.....would you want to talk with them again?” Sakura asked. 

Natsume pondered the question. He nodded slowly. Sakura nodded grimly. Natsume wasn't sure what exactly he had set of in Sakura this time. 

Without a word of explanation, Sakura sulked off after school. Natsume scurried behind him, worried that something was wrong. Sakura went to a set of classrooms that Natsume had yet to visit. Everyone looked bigger and taller than Sakura for the most part. Despite the fact that he had met all of these people before, he felt incredibly shy and uncomfortable. 

He darted forward and grabbed the back of Sakura's unform. Sakura's only reaction was to loop an arm over Natsume's shoulders. 

“Are you alright? Is everything ok? Are you hurt? Is something wrong? How can I help? Are you in trouble?”

Umemiya darted forward the moment they step foot in the classroom. Natsume was glad that Sakura was there because he didn't know the answers to any of those questions. Hiragi rolled his eyes before proceeding to shove Umemiya out of the classroom and into the hallway. It was only then that Umemiya seemed to shut up. 

Then they were in the hallway. Umemiya was looking at Sakura, clearly concerned. Sakura's cheeks were bright red. 

“Can you set up another time with the Fujiwaras?” his voice was sharp and defensive. 

A look of surprise came over Umemiya's face. The surprise was replaced by shock then excitement. 

“Of course!” he nodded. 

Natusme wasnt sure what to make of all of this.