#which also creates the (incredibly funny out of context) dissonance of him being like 'i'm here to rescue you!'

[coquelicoq]

[ID from alt: Two pages from chapter 101 of the Natsume's Book of Friends manga. Natsume faces Matoba, holding Nyanko-sensei and standing in front of Hiiragi. He says, "Mr. Matoba?! What are you doing here?" Matoba says, "I came to rescue you." Natsume, surprised, says, "What?" Sensei says, "Here they come" as he looks at the sky behind Matoba. Matoba smiles without turning around as Ban's wooden puppets fly toward his back. He turns his head as a paper doll whizzes past, toward the puppets. As Matoba stands there calmly, several paper dolls whoosh past him to collide with the puppets. Sensei says, "Paper dolls?!" Natsume thinks, "Those are…" and turns to look behind him in the direction the dolls came from, where Natori has appeared. Natori says, "Good, you're safe! This way!" /end ID]

matoba trusts natori so completely to handle the puppets that he just stands there totally relaxed as malevolent entities target his unprotected back. doesn't lift a finger to defend himself. okay. hot.

also what's funny is this is the exact same energy matoba was giving off in world unbent when their positions were exactly reversed - back then it was natori who was standing right in front of the threat and matoba who was shooting around natori to attack it. matoba is now confident in natori's abilities in the same way he's confident in his own - though as we see later in this same arc, he's also aware that he's capable of things natori isn't. he doesn't need natori to be exactly on his level, he just understands what natori can do and adjusts his behavior to leave those things to natori and to focus his own efforts on the things he's better at. he's strategizing as a team, under the assumption that natori has his back, under the assumption that they're working together and that they know how to do that. the competence & confidence & compatibility & trust! three whole chapters before he and natori do their incredibly sexy joint spellcasting, matoba is already fully in battle couple mode. not to put too fine a point on it but hot hot sexy hot.