#sasada jun

Nyanko-sensei / Madara (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko)

The original appearance of the graceful youkai Madara has been sealed inside a maneki-neko, and eventually he ended up getting accustomed to his current form.

With the promise that he would receive the Book of Friends if Natsume died, he lives with the family as a pet cat while acting as Natsume's bodyguard. He acts according to his whims, but is still a reliable presence.

Tanuma Kaname (CV: Horie Kazuma)

The son of a Buddhist priest that lives in Yatsuhara, and a schoolmate of Natsume's.

Though not as strongly as Natsume, he can sense the presence of youkai, and quickly becomes ill when exposed to their aura. A precious friend who knows of Natsume's secret.

Taki Tooru (CV: Satou Rina)

Like Tanuma, she is a friend that knows of Natsume's secret.

Although she cannot see youkai, under the influence of her grandfather who researched youkai, she is knowledgeable regarding circles and spells. A big fan of Nyanko-sensei.

Nishimura Satoru (CV: Kimura Ryohei)

Classmates with Natsume. An important friend with whom Natsume can interact with as a normal friend without telling about his supernatural powers. A trend-chasing mood maker. He seems to be interested in Taki.

Kitamoto Atsushi (CV: Suganuma Hisayoshi)

Natsume's friend. Like Nishimura, an important friend with whom Natsume can interact with as a normal friend without telling about his supernatural powers. Earnest and calm, but merciless when it comes to playing the straight man to Nishimura.

Sasada Jun (CV: Sawashiro Miyuki)

Natsume's classmate. An honor student who serves as the class representative. She suspects that Natsume can see youkai.

Natori Shuuichi (CV: Ishida Akira)

On the surface, he is a popular actor, but in truth he makes a living by exorcising youkai.

An acquaintance* who can also see youkai like Natsume, he worries and watches over Natsume, who walks a different path from him. Has a lizard-shaped youkai on his skin.

* 「理解者」: one who understands, confidant, sympathizer

Fujiwara Touko (CV: Itou Miki)

A distant relative on Natsume's paternal side. She has a kind and gentle personality, and always watches over Natsume with kindness and warmth.

Fujiwara Shigeru (CV: Itou Eiji)

A distant relative on Natsume's paternal side. A man of few words, but a dependable presence. Always watches over Natsume with kindness and warmth.

Matoba Seiji (CV: Suwabe Junichi)

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.