#Jun Sasada

[ladyloveandjustice]

Running the Gauntlet: A Natsume Yuujinchou fanfic (Part 1)

Part 1 of my fanfic based on the idea I had in this post about Natsume's running abilities making his life at school difficult that blew up.

Includes a couple silly footnotes!

Running the Gauntlet

“I wish Natsume wasn’t our anchor,” a classmate complained.

Natsume flinched. It’s not like I wanted to be, he thought glumly. He pretended he hadn’t heard, hunching over and tying this shoe. So many students and teachers milling around on the grass, waiting for the big event, whoever it was probably hadn’t noticed he was nearby.

But then, Nishimura’s response made him feel even worse.

“Man, shut up. You haven’t really seen Natsume run. He’s friggin’ fast. We’re lucky to have him.”

Natsume appreciated Nishimura standing up for him, but inwardly he was screaming at him to please stop talking about this.

Then Kitamoto chimed in, “Yeah, one of the first times we saw him outside of school, he basically dashed out of the woods at warp speed. So don’t be rude.”

He saw Kitamoto glance quickly at him, clearly aware might be in earshot.

“Fast? Come on you two, I know he’s your friend, but the guy is sickly. You’re expecting me to believe someone who collapses every other day is a good runner? I’m not saying he’s a bad guy, I’m just not counting on him to win this”. The classmate, who rarely spoke to Natsume, adjusted his glasses.

“You’ll see,” Nishimura said smugly.

Natsume groaned inwardly, straightening up.

He eyed the various students hanging out in different colored headbands, the boy handing out water bottles from the tent, and some teachers talking off to the side.  There was even a chattering crowd on the small set of bleachers. A crowd that included parents.

But worst of all was the looping black track, sizzling in the sun before him. He, Nishimura, and the rest who’d been chosen for the relay race would be lining up on it soon.

He hated Sports Day.

To be fair, this was his least hated sports day so far. He’d never actually experienced sports day while having friends before. When he was a kid, he could expect being pushed to the ground and mocked, or having classmates complaining loudly to teachers about being paired up with the liar. Best case scenario was he’d merely have to feel lonely as he was left out of class celebrations, watching parents and friends cheer others on when there was no one to cheer for him.

But this year he’d been able to cheer wildly for Taki during the bean bag toss, laugh at Tanuma as he was forced to dance awkwardly with the rest of his class during their group performance, and smile as Tanuma got some sweet revenge by beating him at the scavenger hunt. He’d gotten to high five Kitamoto and Nishimura after every victory, and even Sasada once.

So many parents being here was still a little intimidating, though. He kept expecting one of them to yell at him to get away from their kid, even though he knew it wasn’t like that anymore. The Fujiwaras hadn’t been able to come, as they had a relative’s wedding to attend today. Natsume hadn’t even told them today was sports day, because he didn’t want them to feel bad about it. He was also kind of relieved they couldn’t come, because he would have been even more nervous if they were watching.

Overall, it had been a good day. He was basically enjoying himself.

But there was no getting over the dread of his biggest obstacle yet—the relay race. He was really going to have to pay attention to his running. It was such a tough balance…he didn’t want to let down the class, but he also needed to think of…

“Natsume, are you okay?” He blinked, noticing Sasada was suddenly next to him. “You were spacing out a bit.”

“I’m fine! Actually, are you okay?” She looked pale, and she kept fiddling with her glasses. It was strange to see her without the usual air of confidence.

“I’m nervous,” she admitted. She’d been chosen for the relay race too, and was looking at the track with almost as much trepidation as he was.

“Sasada! Natsume!”  Nishimura ran forward before Natsume could reassure her. “It’s all up to us!”

“Yay,” Sasada said blandly.

“Whar’a wrong, Sasada?” Nishimura grinned smugly at her “Worried you’re gonna be the sports day cliché?”

“The…what?”

“You’ve seen it on TV, right? In anime and stuff? There’s always the one person who trips during the relay race. They scramble to their feet, tears in their eyes, and pass off their baton…” Nishimura imitated the gesture dramatically. “But don’t worry! You can trip all you want, I’m so fast it won’t matter! No need to be nervous!”

Sasada shook her head, putting her glasses back on. “You know what, your stupidity has calmed my nerves a bit, thank you,”

“Glad to be of service.”

---

Considering all that, Natsume wasn’t exactly surprised when Nishimura was the one who tripped.

Natsume winced when his friend went down, hoping he wasn’t hurt. It would be okay, right? Nishimura was so good-humored. This wasn’t a big deal or anything. He’d just laugh it off and…

Nishimura stumbled up, his knee bleeding, his face burning with shame. Natsume could see his eyes were brimming with tears. Of course he was devastated. Nishimura may act carefree, but he hated letting people down.

Natsume sighed.

Fine then.

“Nishimura!” He called out, offering his hand. “Don’t give up! I’ve got this!”

Nishimura’s face lit up instantly. He jogged as fast as he could and slammed the baton in Natsume’s hand. Natsume faced forward. The others had a massive head start, but that wasn’t enough to make him give up.

A yokai is chasing me, he told himself. A big one with sharp teeth.

And next thing he knew, he was crossing the finish line.

Cheers exploded around him as the other runners caught up, lagging after him. And then, suddenly, what seemed to be the entire class was rushing towards him. He had to resist the urge to put his hands up defensively.

Nishimura slammed into him from the side, embracing him. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was whooping and laughing. Heat spread up Natsume’s neck and face. It was the first time Nishimura had ever hugged him. Or cried so openly in front of him. He knew it was considered fine for guys to cry and hug only when it involved sports for some reason, but it was still a surprise.  He wasn’t used to that kind of intimacy. Not that it was bad. It was kind of nice.

 The rest of his class gathered around him, yelling things like “way to go” and “that was amazing!” Even Sasada, her face still red and sweaty from her run, was screaming her head off and jumping up and down. Kitamoto clapped Natsume on the back and soon several classmates followed suit. Natsume was sure a red handprint was permanently etched on his back now.

“Dude, I knew you were fast, but I didn’t know you were that fast!!” Nishimura yelled through his tears.

“Seriously, do you have a secret running regimen I don’t know about, or is it just natural talent?” Kitamoto said.

Natsume heard some more cheering explode behind him, and looked over his shoulder to see an uncharacteristically excited Tanuma waving at him from the other side of the track, “Congrats, Natsume!”

“Tanuma, you could at least… pretend to care… that our class lost,” said the boy Natsume had gone up against, still doubled over and panting.

“Sorry.”

There was loud whistle from the stands and Natsume saw it came from Taki. The girl next to her had covered her ears. Taki didn’t notice, and let out another impressively strong blast, waving at him. She removed her knuckles from her mouth and shouted “Woo, Natsume!”

Natsume was torn between being happy his friends supported him and so embarrassed he could die.

“I owe you an apology, Natsume,” said the boy with the glasses, whoever he was.

“Hell yeah you do!” Nishimura responded.

“Nishimura…” Kitamoto’s said scoldingly, his eyes flicking to Sasada.

“Ah…I’m sorry too, Sasada,” Nishimura said sincerely. “You really showed me.” (Sasada had been fast enough to give Nishimura a head start, as Natsume suspected she would be, she’d certainly caught up to him out of nowhere plenty of times in the early days of their relationship).

Sasada wasn’t listening, she was looking at a fit girl with short black hair from another class, who was also still panting from the race. “How about that, Chiyo!” she called over to her.

“You win this one, but I’ll get you next time, Jun! Just you wait!” Chiyo called with a matching huge grin and an excited look in her eyes. For some reason Sasada blushed delicately in response*.

“Okay, okay, give him some room to breathe,” Kitamoto said, shooing at the others. They all stepped back, though Nishimura remained by Natsume’s side. Natsume was grateful for Kitamoto, he was dizzy and overwhelmed. He’d had no idea races like this were such a big deal to people. He was more grateful than ever the Fujiwaras weren’t here to add on to all this.

“Look Natsume!” Sasada had finally torn her eyes away from the other girl and was pointing at the stands. “Even the track coach looks impressed!”

“No wonder, you’re faster than half her team,” Kitamoto said. “Bet she tries to recruit you!”

Natsume’s stomach dropped like a stone. Indeed, the track coach, a woman with short brown hair and sharp eyes, was looking at him with interest. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. His personal hell had returned. Had winning a measly race been worth it?

Natsume looked over at Nishimura, who was still jumping up and down and hollering about how he was going to treat Kitamoto, Sasada and Natsume to some manju, not even minding when Kitamoto snarked at him about it how it must be a cold day in hell if the man who sponged off everyone was paying the tab for once. He flashed Natsume another ecstatic grin, and Natsume smiled back.

Yeah, it had been worth it.

--

Natsume had experienced a lot of reoccurring horrors, but the most annoying of them was being hounded by track coaches at every school he went to.

Apparently, spending most of his life running from yokai had made him faster than the average person. He’d been unaware of this until his first year of middle school. When it came time to run the track, Natsume had heard whispers around him, a couple of the kids placing bets on when he’d collapse. One boy had even smacked him on the shoulder and screamed “The liar’s gonna come in dead last!” in his ear.

Natsume hadn’t really done much racing against other kids on the playground, and he’d been sick during a lot of gym classes, so he’d also figured he’d struggle against the other kids. It had completely shocked everyone, himself included, when he blew past them all with ease. He’d reached the finish line only to find the other kids several feet behind him, panting and gawking.

The gym teacher’s eyes had gone wide, and he’d immediately started urging Natsume to join the track club. The man had even gone to Natsume’s current guardians about it.

His guardians had resented that he was getting attention while their real kid was an overlooked benchwarmer on the baseball team. They’d thrown lots of snide comments Natsume’s way. And…well, he hadn’t had a good time on the track team at all. When he’d inevitably had to move again after those same guardians got tired of him, leaving the track club behind had been the silver lining.

Upon transferring to a new school, he’d decided to keep his speed under wraps. But then a coach noticed him running when he was late for class one day and his troubles started all over again. At first he’d avoided the coach by coming up with excuses about responsibilities or detention or headaches, but eventually he was just reduced to hiding under the bleachers when he saw the man.

At another school, a coach tried to recruit him for her team SO aggressively he’d made the stupid mistake of running away when he saw her—and naturally, seeing how fast he could book it had just increased her interest.

So, when he was gathering up all the extra water bottles from the hydration station tent at end of the day, and saw the track coach approach him, his heart started pounding, He fought back his urge to bolt, even a flashbacks filled his brain.

“Natsume, right? I’m Sakuragi, if you don’t remember,” The woman had a wide, genuine smile. He’d only spoken to her a few times, but he was pretty sure she was Taki’s homeroom teacher. “You showed some impressive hustle today! Have you ever thought of joining the track team?”

Fortunately, Natsume had his excuses pre-prepared. “Oh wow, that’s such an honor, Sensei!” He said, continuing to gather up the water bottles while still maintaining polite eye contact. “But, you see, I get sick very easily, so joining a team is a bad idea. I’d just end up being absent a lot, and I’d let the team down.”

“That’s not a problem.” To his horror, the teacher bent down and started picking up the water bottles herself.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself—” He began quickly, but she cut him off, saying “ I’d never require you to come in when you’re not feeling well. You wouldn’t need to worry about calling out sick. We’re a fairly large team, so other students can easily sub in for you if you can’t make a race.”

What kind of laid back track team was this? Never mind, Natsume had a backup excuse. “Well, that’s great, but I’m also concerned about making trouble for my foster parents. It’s a lot to ask them, and I don’t want to put them out. I’d be around to help them less. They’d have to pay for expenses, like when overnight trips at the inn when we go to other towns, or shoes—”

“The school supplies the shoes and other essentials, and we can cover trip expenses if need be. Also, I chat with Ms. Fujiwara at the grocery store often, and she loves bragging about you. I can’t see her turning down a chance for you to develop your skills and enjoy some team spirit!”

Natsume looked down at his shoes, sure that he was tomato red right now. Touko bragged about him? What did he even do worth bragging about? “He only missed ten days of class this month”? “His grades were perfectly mediocre again”? “He hasn’t come home covered in dirt in a while”? “He made five whole friends in school, somehow?”*

Still, through his embarrassment, he felt a little warm inside. She was proud of him. It was a still a new feeling, and he wasn’t sure what to do with this strange, shy happiness.

“Natsume?” The coach’s voice snapped him back to reality. “Is there anything else bothering you, or would you like to come do a practice session with us? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to join. I’ll respect your decision.”

“I…” Natsume was searching for another excuse.  

 Nishimura jogged up. “Natsume, do you need any—" He noticed who Natsume was talking to and his eyes widened. “Oh, sorry to interrupt, Sensei! Natsume, are you being recruited? That’s so cool!”

“Ah, you were his teammate today, right?” Sakuragi smiled at Nishimura kindly.

Nishimura flushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, Natsume really saved me out there. He’s a dependable guy! And he’s a great runner!”

Nishimura flashed a grin at Natsume, who was wishing he had telepathy so he could tell him to stop. He tried to send a signal by shaking his head slightly, but Nishimura wasn’t looking now.

“Well, that definitely sounds like track team material,” Sakuragi said jovially. She turned to Natsume. “Looks like your friends vouch for you. But it’s up to you, Natsume. Would you mind just stopping by?”

Natsume couldn’t bring himself to directly say no to a teacher in the first place, and now Nishimura and his enthusiasm had been added to the mix. “I’ll give it a try,” he mumbled, forcing a smile.

“Great! Just come to the track after school tomorrow. I think you’ll find it’s a lot more fun than you’re thinking.”

Natsume kept the smile fixed on as they carried the water bottles back into school. When the coach departed and they came ouside again, he and Nishimura met Taki and Tanuma. As always, Nishimura immediately started blushing and fidgeting , but as always, Taki failed to notice.

“I saw you with Sakuragi-sensei!” she said with a smile. “Impressing her is a big feat, Natsume! And don’t worry, she’s really nice.” She put her hand on Natsume’s shoulder, and Nishimura let out a strangled squeak. “She won’t get mad at you, whatever you decide.”

“Are you okay?” Tanuma said softly. Clearly both he and Taki had noticed he wasn’t actually happy right now.

“I’m fine,” Natsume said, letting the fake smile drop away and replacing it with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ll just check it out. No big deal.”

---

“I don’t get why you’re whining so much about it,” Nyanko-sensei said, trotting beside Natsume as he walked to school the next day. “It’s just one measly meeting. What’s so bad about this running team thing anyway?”

“The people who took care of me when I joined the track team the first time were really bothered by it. They didn’t like having to drive me places, or the attention I got—”

“The Fujiwara’s aren’t like that, so that’s a stupid excuse.”

“That’s true, but it’s more than that,” Natsume sighed. “Last time, I was constantly late or absent. A yokai would attack me or I’d get sick...”

“Wimp.”

“Shut up, Sensei. Anyway, whenever that happened, the coach yelled at me for flaking out. I let everyone down.”

“But this woman said it doesn’t matter if you’re sick and can’t come, right?”

“She says that now, but she might change her mind,” Natsume mumbled.

“You’re so gloomy,” Nyanko-sensei shook his head. “It’s annoying.”

“Look, even if what she says is true, my teammates probably won’t like me. They didn’t last time. And I just…I just hated the feeling of all those people looking at me.”

He’d struggled a bit with just the sports day crowd watching him, but being on a real team was a million times worse. All those people judging, all their hopes riding on him not messing up… He shivered, remembering the way his skin had crawled, the way his breathing turned funny, the way his hands had shook. All those eyes on him…the weight of their gaze had made him want to curl up so small they couldn’t see him anymore.

“And there’s the actual reason. You’re bad with other people and you get stage fright. Boring.” Sensei yawned. “Just get over it. You have yokai trying to eat you all the time, why’s this scary?’

“I’d rather deal with yokai than the track team,” Natsume said emphatically.

Nyanko-sensei scoffed.

“A couple years ago there was this coach who was always chasing after me to recruit me. I was running from her, trying to get off school grounds so she couldn’t follow me, but then I saw that there was this huge yokai on the path out of school. Big fangs, sharp teeth, claws, all that.  I’d have to double back to avoid it, and the coach would catch me. So… I took the better option, and I ran past the yokai.”

“Idiot. Did it attack you?”

“I took a swing at me and knocked me out. But because of that the teacher was reprimanded for making the sickly kid collapse and they threatened to fire her if she ever chased a student again. She stopped trying to ask me after that. So it all worked out.”

“I don’t understand humans,” Sensei sighed. “Anyway, I’m in favor of the track team. If it helps you run faster, that means less of you getting snatched by yokai and less work for me.”

“Stop being lazy and trying to skip out on your bodyguard duties, Sensei. Yokai shouldn’t be chasing me down in the first place, it’s your job to take care of them.”

“I’ve got my own life to live! Stop being so selfish!”

“I’m the selfish one?”

They bickered all the way to the school gate, and though Natsume would never admit it to Nyanko-sensei, it did make him feel a lot better.

---

Part 1 complete! Part 2 to come. This is probably about halfway there, if not more.

Footnotes:

*Yes, Sasada has a sports and academic rival yuri storyline in the background. Yes I'm being self indulgent. It's what she deserves. It probably won't come up much more, I just thought it would be funny. Sasada's having this whole romantic epic while Natsume's worrying about track.

*Touko has been bragging about how kind and helpful you are, Natsume, you dummy. And about the garden he made and how it was good it was and other things Natsume does really well he hasn't noticed. She's also probably noticed he's fast and relatively strong for his size, he's always fetching and carrying stuff for her, but Coach thought she was exaggerating. UNTIL NOW.

[mangatamarin]

I can't get enough of Natsume's human friends. No matter how weird he gets, they're always there.

Tanuma

Taki

Sasada

Nishimura

Kitomoto

Ya'll are rockstars and I aim to be half as good a friend.

[ladyloveandjustice]

I'm so glad I was going through my drafts because I was queuing a few things up, then saw this and was like "wait, is this happening right now? While I'm in Tokyo?" and it IS, and I got tickets for literally the second to last day it's happening and I'm so happy.

Natsume Yuujinchou coffee shop

[dailysmilingnatsume]

[dragon-in-a-mug]

just their dynamic

[natsuchous]

[stuff-diary]

Natsume's Book of Friends (Season 7)

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2024

Natsume's Book of Friends (Season 7, 2024, Japan)

Director: Hideki Ito

Writer: Sadayuki Murai (based on the manga by Yuki Midorikawa)

Mini-review:

This is a show that never fails to enchant me, no matter how many years and seasons pass. It has such a special knack for building a calm, whimsical atmosphere that always manages to help me relax. But at the same time, it doesn't hesitate to turn spooky when the story needs it. At the end of the day, Natsume's Book of Friends makes for an experience that you can't get anywhere else, and that's why I'll keep coming back for as long as new stuff comes out. And thanks to its (mostly) episodic structure, it's okay if you don't really remember what happened in previous seasons, which is something I definitely appreciate. But hopefully next time we won't have to wait so long...

[lunasohma]

part xi: Fantastic Mr. Yorishima

[ a twist of lemon / bakery au tag ]

[ << neighborhood tour gone wrong / chapter list ]

[ ao3 / ff.net ]

It’s a pestilence. Seiji goes to the woods.

warnings: blood/injury, exorcist-y happenings

“Natori-san, what’s the matter? You look so down.”She is kind, is Miss Sasada.

Natori-san seems to catch himself and regains his professionalism. “Ah, it’s nothing. Our new tree—” A stuttered twitch of the serving tray.

The young woman turns in her chair, but she can only see what anyone would see. “It’s lovely!” And it is. A white, fluffy, overflowing cherry tree.

“It is, isn’t it?” Natori-san’s voice is tenderly strained. Sasada looks back at him with a little frown.

“I look forward to Matoba-san’s cherry desserts,” she says lightly. At that, he can’t help but brighten.

“Yes, they’ll be quite something! Thank you for doing so.” He smiles, genuinely. “Now, what else can I get for you?”

—

The signs of a spreading blight started to show during their open hours. Nyanko-sensei scampered through the back door, the fur along his spine raised and tail puffed twice its size.

Fortunately, the sickness was contained to the tree itself. Still, as a precaution, they decided to close early.

—

Le Petit Chaton is closed for yard maintenance.

—

Takashi with Sensei atop his head, circles the tree. A young thing, but it is large enough. Trees take to their property as usual. From Yorishima’s arbour.

Shuuichi slips his glasses off and hands them to Seiji. “See anything?” For Shuuichi, it is a dark distortion just in his periphery.

Seiji shakes his head. “A perfect tree.”

Sensei hops through its branches, scowling. He bounds for the ground, nose wrinkled something fierce.

“Horrid!”

“Sensei… you shouldn’t have eaten that.”

“I won’t!”

“But you already—”

Seiji goes to get saucers of water and milk. And some sugar cubes for good measure.

—

Takashi and Nyanko-sensei proceed to paint a picture for them. Literally.

Well, technically it’s a doodle of their tree. A violent spattering of inky pawprints dot all the branches and the trunk.

Seiji will post it on the refrigerator.

.

“I’ve never seen anything like them.” Takashi frowns. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to do.”

“That’s fine, Takashi.” Shuuichi smiles. “We’ll ask Yorishima-san.”

—

Seiji sets off by himself because he wants to; Shuuichi is none the wiser.

He is on his way to Yorishima’s arbour with a hand-drawn map that he’s still skeptical of and a jar of nothing for his trouble.

Takashi uncups his hands as Nyanko-sensei steadies the glass jar between his paws. His gaze is as narrow as his cat’s until the jar is capped and sealed. The slip of paper to finish.

‘Safe,’ he reassures them with a smile. ‘Good luck, Seiji-san.’

A train trip is lovely, actually, especially with a picnic lunch packed by Shuuichi. A galette—not saying peace offering—though it will be cool, is tucked underneath everything.

—

But Yorishima meets him at the remote station. Seiji can’t help but think of a crane or some other long-legged waterfowl. One limb ever tucked into himself. Gaze removed yet acute. And so still.

They do not have long to walk, Yorishima explains. This is not the Yorishima family estate, the one full of old recipes and sleeping seeds. But instead, this is Yorishima’s place.

Seiji is thus warned.

—

Bowl of blackest ink. Horse-hair paintbrush. Stone mortar and pestle. Knife.

These are the items lined up on the table. A process might be deduced if Seiji knew more. He wonders if Shuuichi knows.

Outside, there are the trees, of course.

And inside, wood.

Drawers and cupboards of all sizes. They are up the walls to the ceiling. Black iron knobs and drawer pulls and latches and hinges.

All shut.

Seiji feels a kindred spirit somehow. His kitchen is similarly tidy. Safety, and that.

—

Yorishima has Seiji hold out his hand, palm up, over the low table, and he poises the brush over Seiji’s skin. The circle and all its intricacies appear and the brush is still at the start.

But Seiji’s palm is wet.

.

“Do you taste like a cherry tree?” So mildly. He doesn’t wait for Seiji’s answer as he tips the jar into his open hand.

It is a profusion of legs—house centipede on the drywall, spider strung from its web. Tangle and scrabble, scrape along Seiji’s palm with just a bit of a bite. Then it’s all gone. It has fallen from his hand.

It is uncanny, he’ll think later. The sudden absence of sensation. Click-tick-ticking cursorial limbs that he was never supposed to hear, knowing that they should echo on the lacquer of the table. His senses so sharp, suddenly tricked.

Blinded.

Something that is not there, but was. And is still, because he knows it is.

A shiver goes through Seiji as he is pulled from that world back to his own.

.

Yorishima brings down the jar with a lightning quickness and seals it up tight again.

“Stay in there, why don’t you?” The smile is wolfish.

—

Yorishima’s back is to him as he scans his supplies. He only opens one compartment at a time; Seiji can only wonder if it’s on account of his arm. Pressing his fingertips to one small door, pressing his ear to a drawer a meter in length, he stalks his room with intent. Again, the kindred spirit.

The knife is left, but Seiji doesn’t have to wait for long.

Yorishima returns to the table with a small handful of ingredients for all his activity. Into the mortar. Then he picks up the knife by its blade.

Seiji is no stranger to blood. After all, there are knives in his kitchen. But this is something altogether different. Yet he feels the need to sit still and watch.

Some test to pass. Some trial to best.

“That tree is mine, after all. This should remind them of that.” Conversational.

Is it an age before he sets down the knife?

Seiji only starts when Yorishima pushes the mortar and pestle across the table. Holding up his dripping hand as the excuse.

“Do I need to right away?”

“Excuse me?”

It’s not a yes, so Seiji produces a clean linen from his picnic basket and goes over to Yorishima’s side. The cut is remarkably clean, he admires, for how it was administered. The familiar motions of his kitchen guide his hands. A sure knot with sure pressure.

Yorishima seemingly makes his mind up about something.

“Don’t tell him, but the arm is plenty competent. But I don’t like to use it. So what am I going to do when it’s attached to me.” Like he’s talking of bothersome span of weather.

Seiji’s never had to parse such a collection of words. It is like traveling through the woods.

A starling’s song calls him through.

“I hope to never understand that,” he says simply. Seiji would still find a way in any case and Shuuichi would help him too. Just as Seiji would him.

—

“Not bad.”

“You should know, Yorishima-san. It’s your recipe.”

“My mother would always add extra vanilla. It plays nicely with the almond flavor.”

“I see. Next time, then.”

.

.

.

[ chapter notes, if you are interested! ]

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 16 Group 77

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Shroud Bros: Idia Shroud, Ortho Shroud

Natsume's Protection Squad: Natsume Takashi, Nyanko-sensei, Tanuma Kaname, Taki Tooru, Nishimura Satoru, Kitamoto Atsushi (& Natori Shuichi & Sasada Jun)

Submissions are still open!

Shroud Bros:

Sorry, I got no propaganda for them yet :(

Natsume's Protection Squad:

Sorry, I got no propaganda for them yet :(

[aoki-lab]

青木淳退任記念展　雲と息つぎ ―テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会 番外編―

Retirement Exhibition of Jun Aoki Clouds and Breaths -The Exhibition as Temporary Renovation extra edition-

東京藝術大学美術学部建築科において5年間教鞭を執ってきた青木淳の退任記念展を開催します。

●会期： 2023年11月18日（土） ‐ 2023年12月3日（日） ●開館時間：10:00 - 17:00（入館は16:30まで） ただし、最終日12月3日は16:00まで（16:00からは小金沢健人によるパフォーマンス） 会期中無休/入場無料 ●会場：東京藝術大学大学美術館　陳列館 ●主催：東京藝術大学美術学部、東京藝術大学美術館 ●企画：東京藝術大学大学院美術研究科建築専攻青木淳研究室（青木淳、笹田侑志、秋山真緩、大岩樹生、佐野桃子、三輪和誠） ●協力：菊地敦己、小金沢健人、中村竜治 ●会場設営：studio arche (甲斐貴大)  ●グラフィックデザイン：小原七海 ●問い合わせ：050-5541-8600(ハローダイヤル) ●Dates : Nov 18 (Sat) - Dec 3 (Sun), 2023Open throughout the session period ●Hours : 10:00 - 17:00 (Entry by 16:30)*Dec 3 until 16:00 (Performance by Takehito Koganezawa starting from 16:00) ●Place : Chinretsukan Gallery 1, 2F (The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts) ●Admission : Free ●Organizer : Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts; The University Art Museum ●Planning : Jun Aoki Laboratory, Department of Architecture, Tokyo University of the Arts (Jun Aoki, Yushi Sasada, Mahiro Akiyama, Mikio Oiwa, Momoko Sano, Kazutaka Miwa) ●Collaborators : Atsuki Kikuchi, Takehito Koganezawa, Ryuji Nakamura ●Venue Setup : Studio Arche(Takahiro Kai) ●Graphic Design : Nanami Obara ●Inquiry : NTT Hello Dial: 050-5541-8600

以下、青木淳によるステートメントです。

　

　2019年度、東京藝術大学美術学部建築科教授に着任しました。2023年度をもって定年に達するため、最初から、5年間という時間の限りを強く意識しての就任でした。 　 　その 5 年間で、日頃、「建築」について考えてきたことを、学生たちに伝えていきたいと思いました。 　建築とは、私たちに先立っていまここに存在している環境に対して、想像力をもって働きかけ、私たちの存在の基盤である環境そのものを揺り動かすこと、と考えてきました。どういう方向に揺り動かすはそれぞれの自由です。肝心なのは、一見、盤石の存在に見える目の前の環境もまた、それぞれの意志によって改変できるし、またそうすることによって、私たちは「自由」になれる、ということです。 　 　そのことを、実践を通して伝えられたらと思ったのでした。 　 　私の研究室に所属する大学院１年生たちに、そのことを目的としたプロジェクトを行なってもらうことにしました。それが、「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」でした。 　 　建築科の大学院入試は 9月に行われます。したがって、最初の大学院生を受け入れたのは、2020年度からでした。2023年度に大学院生をとると、彼ら彼女らが修士 2 年に進級したとき、すでに退官になってしまっていますので、2020年度、21年度、22 年度の 3年間だけ、大学院生をとるつもりでした。 　 　「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」は、３回で完結するひとつの企画でした。 　 　展覧会とは作品を見てもらう／見にいくためにつくりあげられる一時的な環境です。作品の内容がよく、それがうまく伝わると、よい展覧会と言われます。そして、ほんとうによい展覧会だと、作品と環境との境が溶け合い渾然一体となって、そこを訪れ、時間を過ごすその体験そのものが、私たちの内のなにかに働きかけるものです。 　 　この事態を、環境の側から見れば、すでにここに存在し、私たちの存在の基盤である環境がなにかによって改変され、その環境が私の固まりかかった存在を揺り動かしている、ということになるでしょう。作品が不要というのではなく、作品という項を仮に括弧にくくった見方をすれば、という話です。 　 　「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」とは、このような視点で、いまここに存在している環境に働きかけ、一時的に、それを一定の方向に変えてみせることであり、それはまさに、日頃、建築について考えてきたことと重なっていました。 　 　 　「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」を企画し、実践しなさい。 　 　この課題に対して、2020年度の大学院１年生たちは、東京藝術大学上野キャンパス・正木記念館を対象として、そこに置かれた備品を配置し直すことで、その空間が持つ特質を強調しようしました。タイトルは＜シン・マサキキネンカン＞、企画・実践は、荻野紗、齋藤悠太、藤井雪乃、山田寛太でした。（担当教員は教授・青木淳、助手・澤田航。） 　 　2021年度の大学院１年生たちは、渋谷駅前の桜丘フロントビル 1 階の「SACS 渋谷」を舞台として、現実の渋谷の街さながらに、展示を構成する個々の要素が独立した搬入／設営／搬出という動きのなかにある状態をつくりだしました。タイトルは＜鳥は泳ぎ続ける＞、企画・実践は、大貫友瑞、河上朝乃、高井爽、松井一将でした。（担当教員は教授・青木淳、助手・笹田侑志。） 　2022年度の大学院１年生たちは、有楽町駅前の新有楽町ビル B1F「旧理容室」を起点として、手渡されるインストラクションを手掛かりに、有楽町の表と裏を訪ね歩くことで、普段とは異なる街の顔を浮かび上がらせました。タイトルは＜HAPPY TURN＞、企画・実践は、月ヶ瀬かれん、仲野耕介、見崎翔栄でした。（担当教員は教授・青木淳、助手・笹田侑志。） 　これで、3 回の「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」が完結するはずでしたが、とある経緯があって、2023年度も大学院生をとることになりました。 　そこで、退任記念展として、その大学院１年生たち（秋山真緩、大岩樹生、佐野桃子、三輪和誠）と、番外編としての「テンポラリーなリノベーションとしての展覧会」を開くことにしました。 　今回だけは、学生たちの自��企画・実践というのではなく、青木、笹田が前面に立つので、番外編としました。 　とは��え、これもまた、建築というものがつねにひとりの個人に帰属できないように、青木個人の、あるいは青木と笹田の「作品」としての展覧会ではありません。建築は、ひとりの個に収斂していくものではなく、外に向かって広がり、ばらけ、にもかかわらず、一貫した「質」を保つものです。 　そのことをはっきりさせるために、何人かの「外部」の人に開こうとしています。 　グラフィック・デザイナーの菊地敦己さんには、「キャプション」という側面から関わってもらいます。 　アーティストの小金沢健人さんには、「パフォーマンス」という側面から関わってもらいます。 　建築家の中村竜治さんには、もうひとりの建築家として関わってもらいます。

[tiarasyailah]

voice actor Japanese voice black ops 6 sevati " sev " Dumas and Felix naumann

sevati "sev" dumas

Fun fact : sevati Duman was voice actors Japanese version That is Miyuki Sawashiro

is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. She has played voice roles in a number of Japanese anime/games including Beelzebub, Bishamon in Noragami, Petit Charat/Puchiko in Di Gi Charat, Mint in Galaxy Angel, Sinon in Sword Art Online II, Twilight/Towa Akagi/Cure Scarlet in Go! Princess Precure, Dlanor A. Knox in Umineko: When They Cry, Izuna Hatsuse in No Game, No Life, Amagi in Azur Lane, Celty Sturluson in Durarara!!, Kurapika in Hunter × Hunter, Raiden Mei and Dr.MEI in Honkai Impact 3 and Gun Girl Z, Raiden Shogun/Raiden Ei in Genshin Impact, Akane Kurashiki in Zero Escape, Ayane Yano in Kimi ni Todoke, Fujiko Mine in later installments of Lupin the Third, Queen in Mysterious Joker, Jun Sasada in Natsume's Book of Friends, Shinku in Rozen Maiden, Haruka Nanami in Uta no Prince-sama, Kotoha Isone in Yozakura Quartet, Kanbaru Suruga in Bakemonogatari, Saber of Red/Mordred in Fate/Apocrypha, Elizabeth and Chidori in Persona 3, Ivy Valentine in Soulcalibur, Jolyne Cujoh in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven, Wizard Cookie in Cookie Run: Kingdom, Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite, Kirari Momobami in Kakegurui, Ho'olheyak in Arknights and Rosetta in Punishing: Gray Raven.

Felix naumann

Fun fact : Felix naumann was giorno Giovanna was voice actors Japanese version Kensho Ono,

is a Japanese actor and singer. His most well-known characters are Tetsuya Kuroko, the titular protagonist in the anime series Kuroko's Basketball, Giorno Giovanna in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Slaine Troyard in Aldnoah.Zero, Yuya Sakaki in Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, Hakuryu Ren in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and Mikaela Hyakuya in Seraph of the End. He is also known as the Japanese dub voice of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series,[1] and Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He also plays Muromachi Tōji in the Prince of Tennis musical.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Learning that Sasada has this backstory AND that the thing she lost belonged to her dead mom explains a LOT about why seeing the yokai that found it was so important to her and why she's so obsessed with otherworldly things? Like this seems like really important knowledge to understand her character?

And honestly I have no idea why the anime skipped it. I guess maybe they thought it would be uncomfortable to use her as a gag character after this if this was her background?

Like obviously she parallels Natsume heavily and is the only one of his friends that understands being an orphan and living witb a family where you must feel like you aren't "theirs" completely. Which seems to be why Midorikawa had her move away immediately after this, (I guess she didn't want Natsume to have a friend who would "get" him on this level early on for whatever reason).

And it would feel a lot weirder for Natsume to be constantly avoiding her if he knew this about her. It would make it clear why yokai feel important to her, and would be weird for Natsume not to feel sympathetic and be more open about what she saw being real. Which notably, in the manga, he doesn't really have to be like "hhhhmmm what happened idk" like in the anime.

BUT. she's not a gag character anymore, and her yokai obsession has been dropped. So idk why they don't do something with this. It gives a lot of extra weight to the fact she was the one who specifically explained to Nishimura that Natsume lost his parents in the flashback ep. Especially sine she said "he probably feels really awkward" about being with this new family, which like, the fact she knows this could be because she feels the same way with her stepfamily.

I need a Sasada episode where Natsume learns this about her. Where Sasada's kind of kept this under wraps in the anime version but he learns about this, and realizes he's had a friend who's been through similar things all along. Give it to me. It could be really good and she deserves some focus.

[mogai-headcanons]

Takashi Natsume from Natsume’s Book of Friends is an aromantic asexual trans boy, Kaname Tanuma is a gay demiboy, Tooru Taki is a bisexual magigirl, Seiji Matoba is an aromantic asexual trans boy, Shuuichi Natori is a pansexual nonbinary person, and Jun Sasada is a trans girl!

dni transcript here

[connandoods]

Random old NatsuYuu sketches

From left to right, characters are: Reiko, Taki, little fox, Touko, Hinoe, Kaoru Sonokawa (Vol17Ch68/S6EP71), Tsukiko Takuma (Vol15CH60/S6EP67), nameless tree youkai (Vol4Special2/S3EP30), Sasafune (Vol5CH16/S2EP21), nameless exorcist lady (Vol7CH23/S3EP32), Yuriko Ogata (Vol9Special9/S4EP44), Nyanko, and Sasada!

[dailysmilingnatsume]

[dragon-in-a-mug]

Man am I last minute this year (life got super busy)! This is my secret santa gift for the lovely @enbynoodle. I decided to go with the "friends and family taking care of Natsume" prompt. I hope you like it.

Happy new year!

@natsume-ss

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

Relationship: mainly Natsume Takashi & Nishimura Satoru, but the others as well

Characters: Nishimura Satoru, Natsume Takashi, Madara "Nyanko-sensei", Fujiwara Touko, Kitamoto Atsushi, Sasada Jun, Fujiwara Shigeru

Additional Tags: Sick Fic, Sick Character, Friendship

Words: 4,235

Summary:

Nishimura Satoru is a good friend and that means bringing homework to a bedridden friend (and maybe a little more).

Satoru shuffled up to the front door, hesitating for a moment before he finally knocked. He pulled his scarf a bit tighter while he waited. The winter day was clear and actually not too cold for early December but the wind was persistent and had just enough of a bite to be uncomfortable. He considered if he should knock again, but just as Satoru was raising his fist to do so, he could hear noises from inside. The sound of someone hurrying down the stairs and making their way through the genkan, the hint of movement visible through the paper screen before the door was finally slid open.

The frazzled figure of Fujiwara Touko appeared, a smile spreading on her face upon seeing Satoru, though the look in her eyes remained slightly distracted. She looked tired.

"Oh, Satoru-kun, what a nice surprise," she greeted him sincerely.

"Hello, Fujiwara-san. I hope I'm not disrupting?" Satoru wrung his hands nervously, but Touko waved him off.

"Not at all! And how often have I already told you to call me Touko? Do you want to come in?"

"If I'm not a bother…" And with her reassurance Satoru stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"Do you want tea?" she asked as she walked further into the house. "I need to brew a new pot for Takashi anyway."

And there was the reason for his after-school visit. A sick Natsume, probably buried under a mountain of blankets upstairs as they were speaking.

"No, thank you very much, Touko-san. I just wanted to drop off some notes and homework. And no need to worry, the notes are Tsuji's, so Natsume won't have to decipher my handwriting," he laughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, eliciting a giggle from Touko, which Satoru saw as a little victory.

"Atsushi wanted to come too, but he had to run some errands for his father. He sends his regards though."

They had entered the kitchen and while Touko was putting on a kettle, Satoru busied himself with unpacking the school materials for his sick friend. After a few moments the silence, although not really uncomfortable, started to feed his anxious nerves. He paused his rummaging, clearing his throat before bursting out.

"How's Natsume doing? He really didn't look well yesterday." And really he'd looked like death warmed over.

When Natsume had met up with them on their way to school in the morning, he had looked more tired than usual. Which was a feat in itself. Natsume looked tired more often than he looked refreshed or, God forbid, well-rested. Atsushi's fretting had only been brushed of with an exhausted smile and reassuring words though and there wasn't really anything they could do about that.

Despite his clearly exhausted state, Natsume acted jumpy all throughout the morning, his body buzzing with a nervous energy. Leaving his friends mildly worried. Because sure, the boy was one weird egg and had done plenty of things that were much much weirder than his current tired, yet restless, behavior, but his friends still reserved themselves the right to be concerned about him. All of them tried to get him to take a break or at least make him admit that something was wrong, but alas they all failed in the face of Natsume's stubbornness. Even Tanuma and that's saying something.

So when lunch rolled around and Natsume all but disappeared as soon as the bell rang and none of them able to find even the smallest trace of the boy, their worry grew.

Natsume finally showed back up for gym class after their lunch break finished, just barely making it to the locker room before the bell. Somehow he looked even worse now than earlier. The dark circles under his eyes seemed even deeper than they had in the morning, which Satoru thought would be impossible.

"Hey, Natsume? Are you sure you're okay?" Achan had asked tentatively, the worry clearly visible on his face. Natsume just brushed him off.

"I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry. We should just get ready for PE. I'll be okay." He was all confidence and sunny smiles.

Famous last words apparently, because he was promptly proven wrong during their warm-up lapses, as he had barely started running before he crumpled to the floor. Atsushi, who had stayed close to the boy, his worry not allowing him to stray too far from their favorite trouble magnet, was only just able to catch him before he could hit his head on the floor and crack his skull. Only his quick reflexes prevented Natsume from gaining serious injuries from dropping like a sack of potatoes.

While Satoru dropped to his knees next to Atsushi, who had laid Natsume down carefully and was now leaning over the boy, he could see their teacher quickly approaching them. Their class had already started to form a circle around them, all whispering with concerned faces.

"What happened? Is he okay? Is it the anemia again?" Sasada asked anxiously. Atsushi shrugged displeased.

"I have no idea. He looked unwell the whole day, but kept saying it was nothing!" Achan was clearly frustrated by this turn of events. Satoru put a supportive hand on his shoulder. No need for Atsushi to beat himself up over this now. Their teacher had finally made his way through the gaggle of students and had listened to Achan's words. Now he lowered himself down next to Natsume's body as well, checking the boy over carefully, the others waiting anxiously for any verdict.

After he had made sure the boy hadn't injured himself during the fall, his hand brushed over Natsume's temple.

"He's burning up," he declared. "Kitamoto, Nishimura, do you think you boys can get him to the nurse's office?"

"Of course, sir!" they answered in unison.

With some struggle Satoru managed to settle Natsume comfortably on Kitamoto's back, piggyback style.

They made their way to the nurse in silence. Natsume often fell sick, sometimes at school as well (though often not as dramatic as today), but that didn't stop all of the worry to flood through them whenever something like this happened. Satoru held the door open as Achan entered the office with Natsume, the room more than familiar to them at this point.

"Hey, Obasan, we could use your help over here," Satoru called out. They heard rustling from the nurse's private office and a second later the door flew open.

"I swear, Nishimura, if you're trying to get out of a test again I–," she stopped her incoming lecture when she saw Natsume hanging over Atsushi's shoulder, unconscious.

"Natsume fainted again?" she asked, rushing over.

"Yes ma'am," answered Atsushi diligently. With Satoru's help he laid Natsume down on one of the cots. The nurse checked his vitals with practiced ease, quickly discovering his fever as well without their help. A quick check with the thermometer proved a body temperature of 38°C.

"When will that stubborn boy learn not to push himself so hard," she said more towards herself than them, slightly shaking her head in exasperation. "I'll call his guardians. Will you sit with him until I'm back?"

She didn't even have to ask them as Satoru was already pulling over two chairs for them to sit as Atsushi was getting an ice pack from the small fridge and wrapping it in a towel. They settled in for a longer wait. The nurse disappeared back into her office to make the call.

"Do you think it really was his anemia again? Or maybe just the weather this time?" wondered Achan aloud, his eyes trained on Natsume's sickly pale face with feverish red cheeks. Nishimura sighed exhausted.

"Who knows. With Natsume it's always a gamble, isn't it?" To that Achan could only nod.

They filled the time with meaningless chatter, more focused on the rise and fall of Natsume's chest than their conversation. Even before the nurse could finish her call, Sasada joined them, arriving slightly out of breath with Natsume's bag in hand.

"Oh good, you're still here. How's he doing?" Sasada gave Natsume a critical once over, only grabbing another chair and dropping herself onto it when she was seemingly satisfied with her findings. The bag was sat down beside her carefully.

"Same as before unfortunately," provided Satoru graciously. "Say, shouldn't you head back to class? I'd bet you my lunch that Sensei only allowed you to leave long enough to bring Natsume his bag."

Sasada stuck out her tongue, but didn't deny his accusation only countering them with, "As if he doesn't expect the same from you two, but yet here you are. You're not actually nurses, you know that right? Not like the school actually pays someone to look after sick students." They both all knew the only reason Sasada was lowering herself to Satoru's level and bickering with him like this was because she was nervous and tense. Satoru understood her very well. He behaved the same way when he was in a stressful situation, always either lashing out at people or making everything into a joke.

Luckily for Atsushi the nurse chose this moment to reappear and prevent the oncoming argument between the two hotheads.

"Fujiwara-san said she'll be here as soon as possible," she informed them, not even commenting on Sasada's presence. She was probably simply glad that only three students were camping out in her office and not almost double that. Satoru had to say, five people occupying on bedside could be a bit of a challenge, both physically and mentally (for the nurse of course).

Touko must have flown, there was no other explanation for how fast she arrived at the school (or she just broke every single traffic law, also not unreasonable). She beeline for Natsume as soon as she entered the room, only acknowledging the other occupants when she had checked her boy from head to toe. After she greeted everyone with a calmness and familiarity that could only come from having been in this situation several times before (they all knew Touko only appeared composed and somewhat relaxed on the outside and that she was actually a nervous wreck on the inside the moment she heard he child was unwell), they helped her transport Natsume and his things outside to the car she had borrowed from one of her neighbors.

"Oh hey, that's not the usual car," Satoru noticed. A red one replacing the usual silver. Touko unlocked the doors for them and she and Satoru unloaded Natsume from Atsushi, who'd given the unconscious boy a piggyback ride again while Sasada stashed Natsume's bag on the back seat.

"Ah yes, the Yamadas are visiting their daughter a few towns over so I couldn't borrow theirs," Touko answered, distracted as they finally settled Natsume on the passenger seat, securing him with the seat belt.

"Will you manage to get him out of the car on your own?" questioned Atsushi, but Touko immediately reassured him.

"Thank you for all your help, but I couldn't possibly keep you from your classes any longer than I already have. I've got it from here and if not I'll just ask the neighbors. Take care now, kids" And with that, she pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the other three behind with their worries, but no other options but to carry on with the school day.

Touko sighed warily.

"There wasn't much of an improvement yet, but at least he wakes up enough for us to keep him hydrated and he isn't nauseous this time, so…," she trailed off. Satoru cringed a little.

"Well, that's something, I guess. Small victories." Touko gave him a tired smile at that.

"That's true." The kettle whistled and she took it off the stove, pouring the water into the prepared teapot.

Suddenly Touko paused in her idling and looked towards Satoru.

"Say," she started, "do you have any plans for this afternoon? Are your parents expecting you back immediately?" Satoru tilted his head and thought.

"No, I don't think so. I told my mom I'd drop off some school work at yours, but she didn't give me a time when to be back. Why?" Touko wrung her hands.

"I know this is a lot to ask of you, but would you mind looking after Takashi for a bit? I hate to leave him when he's like this, but we're running low on fever syrup and there's some other stuff I'd like to pick up. I could wait for Shigeru, don't feel pressured by me," she assured him, "but I really wouldn't mind having them in the house as soon as possible."

That was an absolute no-brainer for Satoru.

"Of course I'll look after him. I'll just text my mom real quick to let her know in case she is expecting me back earlier, but other than that I'm all set. Anything specific you need me to do other than watch him?" Satoru immediately got to business.

"Oh thank you!" Touko gave him a quick hug that made Satoru blush.

"You only need to keep his towel wet and cold and maybe get some liquids in if he's awake." An easy task that Satoru was eager to get to. Helping out like that made him feel less helpless.

Touko filled a big thermos with the freshly brewed tea and wrote herself a list of things she'd need to get and a list of stores she'd be visiting in case Satoru needed to get a hold of her. With one last heartfelt thank you from Touko and a reassurance from Satoru that he could handle this, she left the house with quick steps and he started his guard duty.

When he entered the room, the first thing he saw was Natsume pale, but with feverish skin, buried deep in his blankets. The second thing Satoru noticed was Natsume's ugly ass cat sitting beside his head like some gargoyle (or protector, but probably gargoyle). Satoru stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The cat was following his every step with its unnervingly green eyes. Had they always been that green? He shivered.

Shoving his slight unease aside, he settled on Natsume's other side, immediately checking the towel on his temple. It was still moist and cool, so Satoru instead put down the thermos beside him and prepared himself to wait. It instead took him only a minute or two before he found himself in a staring contest with the cat. Honestly, how Natsume could have given this beast such a ridiculously adorable name as Nyanko-sensei was a mystery to him. Not to mention that he himself was more of a dog person anyway, but there was something unsettling about this cat sometimes.

Apropos cats! That reminded him of something.

"I got something from Taki for you. She told me to put it under your pillow," he murmured, not actually talking to the sleeping Natsume, but still addressing him. He was only slightly jealous of Natsume for receiving a gift from Taki, but he'd overlook it for now, if only because his friend was sick and Taki was just being her caring, thoughtful self.

He pulled a small pouch out of his pocket. It was a talisman. Taki had told him it was supposed to ward off illness and evil spirits. Maybe a little late for a talisman now as Natsume was already sick, but Satoru still thought it was a cute gesture. The cat was eyeing the pouch a bit too intensely for Satoru's taste. He held the talisman out for the cat in a silly effort to quell his nerves.

"Well? Does it pass the vibe check?", he asked and the cat proceeded to inspect and sniff the item thoroughly before responding with something that could have been a cat noise in another life, but sounded unnervingly human for some reason. Satoru decided to say fuck it and just take this as approval before more-or-less carefully shoving the talisman under Natsume's pillow.

Suddenly, as if satisfied with his actions, the cat got up, stretching its stubby little legs and sauntering away. Satoru didn't know if he should be relieved or not. No matter how weird this cat was, both behaviorally and visually, it did always seem to look after Natsume. Which, he assumed, wasn't too uncommon, he had heard about pets forming a special bond with their owner.

At the door the lucky cat turned towards him again, assessing him one last time. He didn't know what exactly possessed him to do it, but he gave the cat a small nod.

"I'll be watching over him for now, don't worry." The cat gave him a slow blink before it turned away, pawing open the sliding door and squeezing through the gap. This cat definitely wasn't a liquid, more like a ball of playdoh, Satoru thought. He smiled before refocusing on his current charge.

Natsume's skin emitted waves of heat and his cheeks were burning red. He looked bad, but not that much worse than yesterday, so Satoru assumed that was a good sign. Of course, he also didn't look better than the day before, keeping his optimism in check. He reached out his hand to change the towel, but Natsume choose that exact moment to jolt awake, sitting up straight, knocking Satoru's hand away with his body in the process. His breathing was labored and way too quick. Satoru tried to steady him, but as soon as he touched him, Natsume recoiled, his fearful eyes unrecognizing. Satoru retracted his hands, holding them up in a placating manner.

"Hey, bud. Everything's okay, it's just me." He talked softly like speaking to a wild animal. The boy blinked at him, his gaze still fogged by sickness, but his expression slowly opening up. He still didn't seem to register Satoru as, well, Satoru, but the tension in his body seemed to slowly subside, his mind not set on immediate flight anymore, curiosity seeming to win out.

"You're not a monster," he observed.

"No, I'm not. I'm a Nishimura. You know, your friend?"

Natsume sagged with relief.

"Oh, that's nice. I'm glad. I hate when the monsters come when I'm weak like this," he mumbled.

He was delusional, decided Satoru as he stared at his friends with wide eyes. And then he decided, who cares? Natsume said all kinds of weird things when he was healthy as a horse (well, healthy as a scrawny, anemic horse could be), so was it really that surprising that an unwell Natsume said even weirder stuff? Not really. His friend was sick and the monsters, may they be real or fake, seemed to really bother Natsume, so wasn't it his duty to assure him and provide him with a sense of safety? Satoru had promised Touko (and the cat) that he'd take care of him after all. Though, to be fair, he wouldn't have needed the pressure of a promise to make Natsume feel better.

"Don't worry, Natsume. I'll protect you!"

"Really?" he asked with bright, admiring eyes. Then he seemed to shrink back into himself.

"Sensei always gets grumpy when I get like this. Sorry, to be a bother." And to Satoru's absolute horror, Natsume's already fever glazed eyes started to grow wet and his face crumpled. Well, Satoru couldn't have that.

"Hey, come now. Don't say that." He reached out and slowly put his hand on his friend's shoulder, gently pushing him back down on the futon.

"You never have been, nor will you ever be a bother. Especially not when you're sick. You needing help isn't bothersome for anyone. We're happy to take care of you. Even your cat," he explained slowly like to a toddler (which with Natsume's stubbornness towards accepting any kind of kindness without rebuttal, it seemed appropriate to him) as he fixed the blanket around the thin boy, carefully tugging him in until he almost looked like a swaddled baby. Satoru grinned. His friend, kind and brave and so so stupid, could be so silly sometimes. And could make Satoru say silly things too, apparently. Going so far to vouch for a cat. Honestly! As if even a cat could get mad at Natsume. Ridiculous!

"Not that we like to see you sick or injured," clarified Satoru, not even giving Natsume's mind time to misinterpret his words. He pushed a few strands of sweaty hair out of his face. Natsume was looking at him as if he were the most curious thing he'd ever seen. It was enough to make Satoru go slightly red and he withdrew his hand from the boy's feverish temple. Natsume whined displeased at that and who was Satoru to disobey him when he was like that. So after he picked up the rag that had fallen beside the futon and re-soaked it in the water bowl, he started to run his fingers lightly through the blond hair. Natsume all but melted under his touch. The way his friend behaved like an overgrown cat, Satoru couldn't hold back a slight chuckle.

"Go back to sleep, Natsume. You need all the rest you can get." Natsume put up a valiant effort to stay away, his eyes always fluttering back open when they closed for too long. Satoru sighed fondly exasperated.

"Sleep. Don't worry, I've got you. I'll protect you from the monsters," he promised, lightly ruffling Natsume's hair before going back to stroking it.

That seemed to finally put him at ease because he proceeded to snuggle deeper into his blanket. Then he gave Satoru an almost dopey look.

"Thanks, Nishimura. You're a good friend." His eyes slid shut and his breathing, though slightly labored due to the illness, began to even out. In that moment Satoru was overcome with so much love for his friend. He shook his head with a soft smile. He was starting to behave like Natsume, the old sap. Or maybe this was a Satoru thing too? Achan told him before, how much of a softie he was. Which had been vehemently declined at that moment because Rude! I'm the manliest man that ever man-ed. I'm as soft as a block cement. But maybe he was onto something. Not that Satoru would ever give his best friend the satisfaction and tell him that.

"You goof. That's just what friends are for and one day you'll learn that," he whispered, getting himself more comfortable so that his arm that was currently tasked with petting Natsume's hair wouldn't get tired.

That's how he spent his time, occasionally re-wetting the towel and changing the water when it got to warm, never leaving Natsume's bedside longer than a minute, until Touko returned with her purchases. And he continued to sit next to his friend, running a hand through sweat-greased strands, until she finished preparing a chicken noodle soup for Natsume. Touko joined him upstairs as soon as the soup was simmering on the stove.

It also wasn't long before Natsume's ridiculous pig-cat joined them as well, in a surprising display of affection curling up on Natsume's legs on top of the covers. It blinked up at Satoru, giving him something that could pass for an approving look. Satoru felt like he'd done his job well, weirdly proud of himself.

At this point the sun had unfortunately long started setting. Satoru had to bid Touko goodbye and head home for the day. Natsume was still asleep at this point, so he had to settle for a last hair ruffle and a kiss on the head.

As he's leaving the property, he runs into Shigeru.

"Dropping off homework?", asks the man kindly. At Satoru's nod, Shigeru's face crinkled with a warm smile.

"You're a good friend." he patted Satoru's shoulder.

"I'm glad he has friends like you looking after him." Satoru blushed at that, but was quick to wave him off.

"We're the lucky ones. I just hope he gets better soon."

"Me too," he sighed. "Now get home before it gets fully dark. Thanks for visiting Takashi. I'm sure he appreciated it. We got him now, but don't hesitate to come back. Your support is just as good for him as Touko's delicious cold remedies."

"Thanks, Fujiwara-san, will do!"

Satoru had no doubt in mind that with such a warm family, Natsume's illness would soon be a thing of the past (the thought that he himself could have a similar healing property as the lovely Fujiwaras seemed preposterous to him, though that didn't stop a treacherous little part of his heart to swell at Shigeru's words).

And Satoru was right. A few days later, just as the first snow of the season started to blanket the world, Natsume returned, trudging along Tanuma towards school. His face not red from fever but from the cold air biting at what little of his skin was exposed (Natsume's parents had done a formidable job at wrapping him up, he looked a little like the chair of shame in Satoru's room where his clothes piled) and his eyes were shining again, not from sickness but from the life sparkling in them.

The whole friend group ecstatically welcomed Natsume back and Satoru didn't even had it in him to tease the boy about any prior happenstance, he was just so darn happy to have him back. Winter and life in general were just that much warmer and brighter for having Natsume Takashi in them.