The Book of Grandchildren ( Natsume Yuujinchou X Nurarihyon no Mago)

[4] At the whereabouts of time

Mentioning Reiko to Natsume would always get his attention, picking his curiosity, although he could only listen and not question them any further. However, he's different now, at least to some degree. Natsume isn't so scared anymore of what the answer will be; he's more open to how the world works around him, and he wants to understand things better. The things that he didn't dare to ask about.

" Nurarihyon-san, you knew about my grandmother? "

" Not really, we're not acquainted. But her name often appeared from time to time around the youkai folks. Since I was close enough with this fatty cat in the past, I caught glimpses of her when I was visiting Madara's forest. I also heard she was quite the beauty among the humans and Youkai, so I just wanna check if she even came close to Yohime, hahaha! "
Nurarihyon laughed out loud after a big puff from his pipe.

Rikuo looked at his grandfather beside him with unbelievable eyes behind his round glasses.
" Gramps... you're thinking about cheating on grandma? "

"What?! Rikuo, you idiot! How come you came to that conclusion?! Don't even joke about that, alright?! You want me to hang you upside down on the tree, huh?! "

The grandfather almost choked on his smoke to object to his only grandson's accusation. It leads to a burst of simple laughter from the youkai elders and Natusme.

" Well, anyway, you heard that. It's just a simple curiosity on my side. Also, your round cat didn't let me strike up a conversation with your grandmother, not that I would have though."

Natsume's attention then goes to Nyanko-sensei, who's eating the dango that Nato Youkai offered from Nurarihyon.

" Eh? You did that, Nyanko-sensei? Why? "

" Why, you ask? Of course, so Reiko won't have any funny ideas challenging this old fart to give his name. One wrong move could end up a bloodbath with this man. And his temper also wasn't as mild as now. Reiko might be strong, but challenging a Youkai of Nurarihyon calibre would be foolish. "

" ... Huh.. I... didn't know that. You never told me, but thank you, Sensei. "
The young lad smiled at his cat genuinely.

Even now, Nurarihyon could feel that Madara's temper was also not quite like it used to be in the past. Both of them have changed significantly due to human meddling, it seems.

On the other hand, Rikuo took an interest in their talk about the past.
" Eh? I thought Natume came from an Onmyouji (Japanese Exorcist) family. I mean, Nyanko-san is your summoned Youkai, right? "

" Oh, no. We're not tied up with any contract. Umm... it's a promise. "
Natsume's gaze fell on Nyanko-sensei.

As if hearing his internal thoughts, Nyanko-sensei added a few words to sign Nurarihyon not to chase the matters further.
" As if a great being like me would submit to a wimp like him. It's just a measly promise to kill the time. That's all. "

" I see. If that's the case, it must've been an amusing promise, huh? Anyway, looks like the situation between us has changed now. How about you stay here for a while. Just treat it as an old friends reunion, yeah? "
Nurarihyon scratched his chin with a cheeky smirk plastered on his face, annoyed the old cat.

" Only if you have booze. "

Before the deal has been made, Natsume immediately strikes up a refusal kindly to the Supreme Commandres's offers.

" We're really grateful for the offering and the hospitality the Nura clan has offered, but unfortunately, the day is getting dark, and we can't stay overnight all of a sudden. How about this Saturday? I will come back to help with the renovation. "