#guess whos having fun getting back into natsuyuu :)

[uniformbravo]

been reading natsuyuu manga for the first time and you'll never believe this but.... some things are different

[goodlucktai]

63 for the angst it brings when combined with natsuyuu if that's still open, this prompt really reminds me of one you did a second ago called "for a moment i was warm". honestly that one shot me point blank but that's besides the point here

PROMPTS LIST

63. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” “Actually he’s right in front of you.”

let’s make it a companion piece to for a moment i was warm, just for fun :)

x

Nyanko-sensei says it’s nothing too alarming. That since it happened once before, it’s perfectly reasonable that it might happen again. 

“He got knocked loose, that’s all,” the lucky cat says, sounding entirely unbothered. 

“Uh-huh,” Kaname replies faintly. 

Natsume is-- well, his body is laying on the floor of Kaname’s sitting room. Kaname is so anxious he feels like he’s about to have an out-of-body experience. 

He’s grateful his father is gone for the weekend. He wouldn’t know how to explain this. He’ll call Touko-san and let her know Natsume is staying the night at his house. He already called Taki, who left her house at a run and promised, over the sound of her front gate crashing closed, that she would be there in fifteen minutes. 

Now he’s just sitting here, mechanically feeding his lunch to a spirit cat, staring at the lifeless shape of his best friend on the floor. 

“Um,” he says, feeling vaguely as though this is a bad dream he might wake up from if he thinks about it hard enough, “I should call an ambulance, right?”

“Nah,” Nyanko-sensei says. “He isn’t hurt. No bump on the head this time. Think of it like tripping and losing a shoe.”

Kaname nods like he gets it, even though he doesn’t get it at all. His hand is shaking as he passes the cat another bite of egg. He thinks maybe he should call Natori, too. He has the number saved in his phone in case of emergencies. Natori had told him, very seriously, not to be afraid to call. 

And Kaname still is afraid to call, a little, but he’s more afraid of this. He’s terrified of this, actually. 

“Alright, already,” Nyanko-sensei snaps so abruptly that Kaname jumps. The chopsticks clatter to the floor, but the cat only shoves them aside. “I’m getting an earful over here from this brat of mine. You’re lucky you can’t hear him, Tanuma.”

Kaname blinks. For the first time since they showed up on his doorstep, he tears his eyes away from Natsume and meets Nyanko-sensei’s keen gaze. 

“He’s here?”

“Where the hell else would he be?” Nyanko-sensei gripes. “I told you it isn’t like last time. He’s not off wandering Yatsuhara without an idea of who he is. He just lost a shoe.”

Oh, Kaname thinks, and he’s so absurdly relieved he feels like he might cry. 

“You didn’t tell me that,” he says, pressing the heel of his hands against his eyes. 

He was thinking about those long, frightening days spent combing the forest, searching for his comatose friend’s restless spirit. Those long, frightening evenings in the hospital room, sitting at Natsume’s bedside and praying that he would come back.

“I would have if I’d known I’d have to listen to this otherwise,” the cat mutters. But maybe he sounds a little rueful. One ear twitches, down and back up again. He adds, “Guess I’m stuck playing messenger for you brats until that girl gets here with her seeing circle.” 

Kaname casts a glance around the room. The yokai fish are swimming up the walls and across the ceiling, faint shadows of those vibrant creatures he can’t actually see. 

Natsume doesn’t cast a shadow. That doesn’t stop Kaname from looking for him. 

“Where is he?” he asks, eyes trailing. He tries to make a joke. “Right behind me?”

“Right in front of you, actually,” Nyanko-sensei says. 

There’s nothing in front of him. Kaname faces it anyway. He smiles a little, even though he doesn’t really feel like smiling. It’s different now that he knows his friend is watching. 

“Even if you had nowhere else to go, I’m glad you came here,” he says. “You’re always going to be safe here. So don’t wander off again, okay?”

The front door rattles open with force somewhere behind them. A very winded Taki is calling out a greeting while she stumbles out of her shoes, five minutes sooner than she said she’d be. She really must have run the whole way here. 

At the same time, while Kaname’s attention wavers between the sitting room and the entry way, he catches a flash of color in his periphery. It’s only for an instant, but he’s sure of what he saw. 

Natsume’s silvery hair. His head resting on Kaname’s shoulder like a pale cloud. 

“He says not to worry,” Nyanko-sensei interprets grudgingly. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

[dogcircle-scans]

Natsume Yuujinchou: “Cookies to the Forest’s Entrance” Summary (Chapter 105)

Our cuties are back with more adventures!

I was trying to get this out within a week of the chapter’s release, but life happened so it took a while. ;w; Anyways, this is our first chapter after the 4 month hiatus! Perhaps to serve as a breather after the super intense Homura arc, we have a relatively short chapter (only 24 pages compared to the usual 30-40 pages) about Natsume, Tanuma and Nyanko-sensei stumbling into an old house in the middle of the forest. In some ways, this chapter felt more like a special chapter rather than a main one (don’t expect any plot or character development for this one, especially not information on the grandpa), but surprisingly, it also helps wrap up some stuff in the Homura arc (firstly, DID NYANKO GET HIS COOKIES, secondly, our poor cinnamon roll pure boi needs a hug ;w;). It still gives me the usual NatsuYuu feels, so no complaints from me! Also (I’m sorry for plugging), but if you enjoy what we do, and don’t mind giving a couple of dollars,

please buy me a coffee or two. At the moment I’m using my Kofi funds to buy raws of the manga for our scan uses, but after losing my Tumblr account, I haven’t had any new donations, so my tank is running empty (especially after buying the raws for Volume 25). ;w; If you have some spare cash and would like to help support our scan work, please help donate. You have my eternal gratitude. TwT As always, special thanks to Jessica for proofreading this for me on a Sunday!

- Niji

Chapter 105: “Cookies to the Forest’s Entrance”

While walking home from school, Tanuma accidentally steps onto a cookie, hearing it crack under his foot. He spots another cookie in the distance, and begins finding more and more of them the further he looks.

Tanuma: (It leads into the forest.) // This is just like Hansel and Gretel. / I wonder who dropped these…

Tanuma: ! // Natsume? Natsume: Huh… // Tanuma!? / Why are you in a place like this? Tanuma: You too, Natsume, what are you doing here…

Tanuma asks if Natsume might have been the one to drop the cookies, but it turns out Natsume didn’t notice the cookies at all. After recognising the cookies, he runs off, following its trail. Tanuma runs after him as well. At the end of the trail, they find a little house.

Natsume: Ah. // In a place like this… / Is it a vacant house? Tanuma: Hey, Natsume… / Do you know what these cookies are? / You looked like you were looking for something.

Natsume: …It’s nothing big. / I guess you can say I was just curious… Tanuma: Curious? Natsume: ——These cookies are…

Natsume recounts what happened shortly after he and Nyanko-sensei returned from Homura. Touko and Shigeru were extremely glad that he was able to find Nyanko-sensei, and gave Nyanko-sensei the cookies that they had kept aside for him (if you remember at the start of the arc, Nyanko-sensei wanted some pretty cookies but ran off before Natsume went to buy them). Nyanko-sensei was super happy about them too. However, when Natsume returned home from school that day, Nyanko-sensei was nowhere to be found in his room. Thinking that Nyanko-sensei might have ran off to play as usual, and that he might be going beyond Yatsuhara…

Natsume: I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I figured it would be interesting to try following Sensei at least once… Tanuma: … I see… Natsume: ...Don’t laugh. Tanuma: Haha, I’m sorry. / So, at the end of these cookies will be…

Yes, it is Nyanko-sensei.

Natsume: Found him! Tanuma: Fufu. / There’s a hole in his bag. / So that’s how the cookies fell out.

Tanuma: *sigh…* ……Natsume? Natsume: ——As I thought, I’m still a little worried about Sensei. Tanuma: Ah… / That’s right, at the White Mist Pottery* Village, he caught the eye of a strange Collector……

[*I’m gonna translate “Hakka Pottery” to “White Mist Pottery”, since I can pretty much confirm that ‘Hakka’ is not a family name lol. So, for localization sake, I am translating the whole term.]

Natsume: …There was someone who reassured me, saying, “I’ll take care of this incident, so you don’t have to worry.” // He isn’t someone who would say things without thinking, so I did think that things would be alright now. / But when I didn’t see Sensei around like this, I can’t help but feel anxious. // ...But I’m glad.

Natsume looks around.

Natsume: I guess he found this vacant house and has been idling around in it. / …Seriously, he even brought his favourite sake and sake bottle with him. Tanuma: Wow… // It doesn’t look like anyone is here, and it’s quite wide. Rather than a residence, this is more like… an arbor?

Tanuma: It’s old, / but it’s pretty. // It’s perfect as a hideaway / or as a secret base.

Natsume: A secret base… / Then we’ve done something bad, haven’t we? Since Sensei has been secretly having fun here… Nyanko: *open!* Hm hm. / Natsume and… the Tanuma brat. Natsume: Ah! Nyanko-sensei! // I’m sor- Nyanko: You came here with perfect timing. Help me out. Natsume: Huh!?

Nyanko-sensei explains that he discovered this place while chasing butterflies during his patrol. He figured that it would be the perfect place for him to take his afternoon naps, and was just in the midst of checking it out. The only issue is that the place is rather dusty, and Nyanko-sensei doesn’t have the spare time to clean the place up as he likes.

Nyanko: I’ve brought some dust cloths with me. / Just wet them in the river over there. Natsume: What— Nyanko: If we don’t at least clean this veranda, you two won’t be able to idle around either, right?

And just like that, the boys got to work.

Natsume: Geez~~~ *wipe wipe wipe wipe* // This house may be vacant, but it might have an owner, so don’t just do whatever you like, Sensei. Nyanko: Come on! / Put your backs into your wiping! Boys: Phew~~ // We’re finally doneee—

Completely exhausted, they plopped down onto the veranda, and had their rest. And as they closed their eyes—

Natsume: (What is this?) / (There’s some sort of sweet fragrance coming from somewhere.) // (Is it Sensei’s cookies?) / (No…) // (Maybe it’s flowers.) / (——It’s very) // (kind and sweet——)

Soon enough, Natsume notices that evening has already arrived, so they prepare to leave.

Nyanko: By the way, how did you two learn of this place? Natsume: How? Because your cookies had fallen out, Sensei. Nyanko: WHAT!? // *stunned* There’s a huge hole… Natsume: Shall we pick them up on our way home, Sensei?

Nyanko: …… / No, just leave them as they are. // We still have lots of maintenance to do. / Tomorrow, you two will follow this trail back to my afternoon napping spot. We will gather there.

[Did Nyanko just… sacrifice his cookies!? Omg!]

Natsume: “Maintenance”……? Tanuma: Haha, I’m sure birds would have eaten them by tomorrow, Sensei.

The following day, the two boys find the trail of cookies and arrive at the empty house.

Natsume: We’re here. Nyanko: You two are so slow! / You’re gonna be devoting yourselves to the maintenance of my drinking party spot! Natsume: Wasn’t this your afternoon napping spot? Tanuma: ——Huh? Natsume. / There’s something on the pillar there…

Indeed, on the pillar was a hand-written note, saying,

“Thank you for wiping the place. Please enjoy yourselves here.”

Natsume: Uwah! / It’s probably from the owner. (S- So embarrassing…) Tanuma: I wonder if it’s okay to just take advantage of their offer like that. / Even though we entered as we liked… Nyanko: Stop complaining! Today, we are wiping the sliding doors! / I want the moonlight and the evening sun to shine on it beautifully.

Natsume: …As an apology for Sensei coming in as he liked, we should at least clean the frame of the sliding doors. Tanume: Let’s do that. Natsume: You help too, Sensei. Nyanko: Hmph. / Just this should be enough, right?

Or so they thought.

Nyanko: *rip…*

Stunned by the tear, the two boys inspect the damage. Natsume asks if it can be fixed, and Tanuma figures that, if they bring some sliding door paper and glue tomorrow, it should do the trick. Natsume returns to the note on the pillar, and quickly jots down an apology.

“Sorry, we tore the sliding door. We will fix it tomorrow.”

Back at home, Natsume asks Shigeru for some sliding door paper.

Shigeru: ...Hm? Sliding door? Natsume: Yes… // Can I have enough for one grid? / We were staying at a place and we kind of… tore it. Shigeru: Oh. / Were you at the Tanuma’s? Natsume: Ah, no. Shigeru: It’s okay to be mischievous, but you have to keep it in moderation.

Shigeru: If it’s at home, you can break as many as you like, // but always make sure to apologize, alright, Takashi? Natsume: …… Yes.

[Shigeru is such a good papa ;w;]

As Natsume leaves the next day, Touko stops him, handing him some strawberries.

Touko: Here, give them these strawberries as an apology. // *rustle!* Do your best! Natsume: ——… // Thank you so much. Nyanko: Oh~~~ These strawberries look tasty~~~ Natsume: They are not for you, Sensei.

[And now we have our sweet mama TwT]

They continue to follow the trail of cookies (how have they not been eaten by animals yet??), during which Natsume asks if the owner might be there. Nyanko-sensei promptly answers that he doesn’t need to care so much about an uninhabited empty house.

Natsume: Don’t you start, Sensei. Tanuma: Oi, Natsume—

The three of them head to the house, and find that a new note has been attached to the pillar.

“Thank you for cleaning the sliding doors. I have a request. Could you help me plant these seeds in the garden?”

Natsume: Huh? // By ‘seeds’, do they mean this? // …They don’t sound angry. Tanuma: You fix the sliding door, Natsume. / I’ll clear the weeds over there and plant this. Natsume: Thank you, Tanuma.

Natsume: …… // (The owner of this house sure is strange…) // (Rather, it feels like…) // Hey… Nyanko-sensei…

Nyanko: HEY! / ENOUGH OF THAT! HURRY UP AND BRING OUT THE PAPER! // Let’s paste it down right away. It’s time to repair my afternoon napping spot! Natsume: ——… Yeah. // You’re right.

The three of them set down to work, and finally finished everything. Once again, exhausted, they plop onto the veranda and napped.

Natsume: (Nevertheless…) // (This is such a comfortable place——)

In his dreams, Natsume hears a man speak, and the thoughts of someone else…

Man: “——Hey there. Sorry to keep you waiting.” ??: ——It’s alright. // Always, / forever, // I will be here, waiting for you.

Natsume wakes up.

Note: As an apology, we have left some strawberries here. Tanuma: It’s quite a mysterious arbor. // It’s like we are exchanging letters with the house owner. Natsume: That’s true. Tanuma: ——Hey, Natsume. Natsume: Hm?

Tanuma: ...Nah. / See you tomorrow. Natsume: Yeah. // See you tomorrow.

And that night, Natsume had a dream.

Natsume: (There was a gentle-looking man sitting alone on top of the veranda.) / (And around him, perhaps it was the flowering season… There were so many colors as though it was overflowing with it.) Man: Ah, my beloved arbor. // I can only visit you once every year. / I can’t even maintain or take care of you. Please forgive this useless owner of yours. // This year, I’ve been busy with my family business as well. / The days where I come here provide emotional support, so I always look forward to it. // Ah, / the view here is so beautiful. // I built this here hoping that someday, / I could bring my wife, my children, and my family here to view this scenery. // But after so long, it has always just been me.

Man: I’m sorry. Even though I built you, // I’m always here alone. // I’m sorry I couldn’t make it lively. // ——Someday, // should // guests arrive here——

Natsume wakes up. The following day, he meets up with Tanuma again, and they follow the trail of cookies into the forest. Natsume wonders about all the strange things involving this situation, about the forest that was so close to his house and yet he doesn’t know much about it, about these cookies that still look great even after so long, and about the mysterious owner who never shows his face. And when they arrive at the arbor—

Flowers had bloomed across the garden.

Tanuma: What!? / Flowers!? // …This can’t all be / the seeds I planted yesterday…? // Just how did… Natsume: ——I’m guessing // this arbor made all of them bloom.

Tanuma: Huh… SFX: *rustle*

The one who wrote notes to thank them for cleaning the floor and the sliding doors might have been the arbor itself. With its memories of bygone days, it’s always been here inside the forest, waiting.

Natsume: You finally have guests coming here. / But I’m sorry that it was us.

This was such an old, old little arbor, and it felt as though it was mustering the last of its power to show them this scenery.

Nyanko: Ooh, there are strawberry flowers here too. Natsume: Tanuma. / Why don’t we take a seat at the veranda and look at this scenery for a bit? Tanuma: Huh? Natsume: Somehow, / I feel like we won’t be able to come here again tomorrow.

Tanuma: ———……… // I see——… Natsume: (——I wonder if there are buildings that can become ayakashi too.)

That was the mysterious arbor that Nyanko-sensei found. It was only a short while, but it was where two people, one beast, and another certain someone, had spent their time together. As they take a seat on the veranda, Natsume recalls the words that the owner had said in his dream.

Man: ——Someday, // should guests arrive here…

Man: Make sure to welcome them with lots of flowers, alright?

It was a beautiful and lovely, secret arbor.

“Cookies to the Forest’s Entrance” END

[goodlucktai]

if youre taking natsuyuu prompts, maybe just some wholesome natsume loving? maybe protective teachers (possibly a teacher from a previous school who meets his current and starts bad mouthing? I dunno) I love your writing!!!

x

For most of the students, small-towners as they all are, it’s their first time in Fukuoka, so the itinerary the teachers and chaperones have planned is more of a guideline to fall back on than anything else. With three days ahead of them for this trip, there’s plenty of time for them to see a good chunk of what the capital city has to offer without keeping to too strict a timetable. 

“Nomiya-sensei, did you want me to put everyone in groups?” The class representative, Tsuji Masayuki, materializes at Futoshi’s elbow. He’s watching his classmates with a harried sort of mother hen look, and adds, “Before they go too far?”

Futoshi bites back most of a grin and says, “Sure, Tsuji. I appreciate it.” And then, for what feels like the fifth time, “This is a vacation for you too, you know.”

“I know,” Tsuji says quickly, smiling even as he moves away. “Natsume is helping me, so it won’t take long. We’ll make a list of the groups and be right back!”

Sure enough, Natsume Takashi is waiting for him with a handful of other students, and smiles when Tsuji presents his self-given task. His kids are a good bunch, Futoshi decides, and he’s content to hang back and watch over them for awhile.

The other classes move ahead while Tsuji’s classmates roll their eyes good-naturedly and allow themselves to be lumped into groups of threes and fours. Tanuma, Kitamoto and Taki, two boys from class one and a girl from class five who nonetheless are familiar faces in Futoshi’s classroom, grin from where they wait to one side as Nishimura Satoru is paired, perhaps predictably, with Natsume and Tsuji himself.

“Well, you’re no fun,” Nishimura says blandly, “but I guess you can be in me and Natsume’s group, Masa-chan.”

“Would you rather be stuck with Adachi?” Tsuji says with an icy smile, pencil hovering above his roster. Nishimura shuts up promptly, his friends howl with laughter, and Futoshi makes a mental note to remember that threat himself. 

“Nomiya-kun!” a voice calls out suddenly, and Futoshi turns in some surprise to be greeted by a familiar face. “It’s Akihiko,” his old friend says unnecessarily, a pleased smile on his face. “We went to college together.”

“I remember you,” Futoshi says, moving forward to clasp his hand. His already pleasant morning gets that much better, and he grins. “Still teaching?”

“Am I ever,” Akihiko says with the faint air of exhaustion that speaks of the long nights and early mornings Futoshi himself is familiar with. “And I can see you’ve got your hands full. Class trip?”

“Yeah, it’s all they’ve been able to talk about for weeks. It’s not so bad though,” he adds, “my class this year is my best one yet.”

“You probably say that every year,” Akihiko says dryly, and there’s no prudent way to deny that, so Futoshi ignores him. Laughingly, Akihiko says, “Well, most kids are alright. You get one or two stand-out cases, but mostly they’re all more or less the same. If you can teach one class, you can teach them all.”

Futoshi blinks, surprised to be faced with a philosophy he doesn’t agree with in the least. “Is that so,” he finally says.

“Granted, everyone I’ve talked to has had that one nightmare child,” Akihiko goes on. “At least, that’s what I was always told. And I never really bought it until a few years ago, when a boy transferred into my class in the middle of term. Strangest kid I’ve ever met, and nothing but trouble!”

Tsuji is coming back with his roster, and Futoshi is grateful to turn his attention to someone else. He’s already wearing a smile for his student, putting a hand out for the clipboard. 

But Tsuji doesn’t seem to notice, bright eyes darting from his face to Akihiko’s as sharply as if he’d just been shocked. With a pang, Futoshi realizes Akihiko is still talking, and in the middle of saying something along the lines of “– and honestly it was no wonder why. That Natsume alienated himself with his weird behavior and no one wanted to be around him.”

Tsuji stands there with the clipboard hanging in one half-outstretched hand, frozen to the spot by something riding the line between horror and hostility. And Tsuji has never once given into his temper despite all the responsibility he shoulders and the raucous classmates he has to keep in line, but he looks up at Akihiko and opens his mouth around something Futoshi knows will get him in trouble. 

“Thank you for your hard work,” he says, before his student can get a word in edgewise. He takes a step closer, and takes the roster out of his hand. 

Tsuji reluctantly drags heated eyes off Akihiko in favor of giving his teacher a long, measuring look. Futoshi holds Tsuji’s eye firmly.

“I’ll take care of everything else, okay?” he says. “You go catch up with your friends and have a good time.”

Futoshi may not be perfect, but he’s always done right by his kids, and the pay-off is right here, in the way Tsuji relaxes inch by inch, trusting in his teacher to make this right. Somewhere behind him, Nishimura is yelling for Tsuji to ‘come on, everyone else has left us behind already, hurry up!’ 

“Then just leave without me!” Tsuji retorts as he hurries back to join them, and Futoshi smiles at the indignation on Nishimura’s face.

“But then I’d have to leave without Natsume!”

Tsuji doesn’t look back once, but he hooks a proprietary hand around Natsume’s arm and all but drags him out of the room – away from Akihiko’s disdainful soliloquy and back to the relative safety of the rest of their class. 

Only then does Futoshi turn to face Akihiko, and his smile fades at the stunned look on the other man’s face. “After that, it goes without saying,” Futoshi says slowly, “that Natsume is in my class this year.”

“I guess it does.” Akihiko seems bewildered. “I thought you said – “

“That my class this year is my best yet? I did say that. You’re right, I probably say it every year, but I mean it every year, too.” 

There’s a knot in the pit of his chest, because Futoshi remembers the solemn ghost Natsume Takashi was at the beginning of the year, the way he would find the transfer student eating lunch by himself, or napping alone in unused classrooms. 

And only moments ago he was smiling brightly as he helped overworked Tsuji, with probably the most extroverted child Futoshi has ever taught hanging off him the way Nishimura is always hanging off him anymore, while a handful of their friends from other classes waited nearby.

It’s a turnaround Futoshi doesn’t get to see often – a comeback from whatever else Natsume has lived through that makes Futoshi proud of him as a student and as a person, too – and he hates that there are teachers, educators, that could see what he sees and not appreciate it for the wonder it is.

“He was a child who I can only assume was treated unkindly by many people,” Futoshi says, “and despite those people, he has grown into a compassionate and caring individual, well-liked by his peers and surrounded by friends. As his teacher, I’ll thank you to leave him alone from now on.”

Futoshi bows shortly, only to be met by silence. It’s a silence that doesn’t bother him, and one he doesn’t think too deeply on. Moving away from the man he once knew to catch up to the students he came here with, his thoughts are already shifting to the restaurants nearby, and where he might be able to afford to treat them all to lunch. 

[goodlucktai]

for the natsuyuu prompt: how about taking the train into the city? and maybe natsume's lived there before, maybe his friends give him better memories; i just want them doing dumb teenager things together and having fun (also i love ur writing so much thank u always)

x

The thing is, Natsume’s not as good at keeping secrets as he seems to think he is. 

Atsushi might not know the matter of them, but he knows they’re there. 

Natsume very carefully doesn’t react to the name of the place they’re going, when Nishimura first brings up the idea. He doesn’t flinch or freeze or frown, but the pause he takes is loud and clear – Atsushi probably would have seen it from the other side of the room. He’s pretty sure the others see it, too. 

And because they’re all reasonably intelligent people, they don’t wonder why a neighboring town might have bad connotations for him. Natsume has never told them any specifics about the conditions he grew up in, the people he grew up around, but they can guess. 

“I really, really want this to happen,” Nishimura says abruptly, with that bright-eyed look of absolute conviction that usually precedes his getting his way. “We haven’t taken a trip together in ages! We have to go!”

Atsushi has known Nishimura long enough to recognize an ulterior motive when he sees it. Natsume has only known Nishimura for two years, give or take, and still softens at the enthusiasm on the other boy’s face. 

“I’ll definitely go,” Natsume says, putting his own feelings on the back burner. “It sounds like fun,” he adds convincingly.

If it had been anyone else manipulating Natsume like that, Atsushi would have taken them aside for a few strong words and maybe a threat for good measure, if the situation called for one. But it’s Nishimura, of all people, who can and will get into physical altercations if he feels his friends aren’t being treated respectfully – who is especially protective of Natsume, always reacting immediately to Natsume’s moods and behavior like a wise dog – and Atsushi knows better than to think Nishimura has anything but Natsume’s best interest in mind. 

When they arrive, stepping out of the station and onto a bright city street, Nishimura proves it by throwing an arm around Natsume’s shoulders and proclaiming, “This is gonna be great! I’ve never been here before!” 

“Really? I have,” Natsume says. “I used to live here, actually. Before the Fujiwaras took me in.” 

Tanuma goes stiff, and whatever fleeting thought moves through his eyes is at once too fast for Atsushi to follow, and too shaken for him to want to bring it up. Taki puts a discreet hand on Tanuma’s arm. Nishimura bulldozes ahead with hard-headed determination to make the impossible happen. 

“No way! Then you know all the cool places to go,” Nishimura drops his arm in favor of snatching up Natsume’s hand, a sunny smile on his face. “Show us your favorite place to eat!” 

Natsume sets his cat down, rather than let go of Nishimura’s hand to wrap his second arm around it again, and the disgruntled creature goes to Tanuma instead. Atsushi doesn’t miss the slight way Tanuma relaxes when the cat begins purring in his ear, but he’s also a decent enough person not to mention it.

“Oh, um,” Natsume is saying eloquently, “I didn’t go out much here, but – there’s a restaurant my foster parents really liked?”

“Ugh, bluh,” Nishimura says with disdain, “those people have bad taste. Any other ideas?”

Natsume looks wondering at the easy dismissal of the family he wasn’t good enough for. “There’s a place some of my classmates would go to after school. It has burgers and shakes and stuff.” 

“Ooh, that sounds good!” Taki says brightly. “And I’m starving.” 

So off they go – Nishimura doesn’t let go of Natsume for longer than a moment at a time, dragging him up and down the sidewalk, and if there are unhappy, restless thoughts in Natsume’s mind, they don’t have time to settle. 

By the end of the first hour, Natsume is grinning as widely as Taki is, and when he says “Let’s go to the mall next! There’s a store I think you guys would love,” Nishimura’s shoulders slump just a little bit, like a weight has been lifted and whatever task he assigned himself is finally done. 

Atsushi bumps his arm as the others move ahead, and says, “You’re a good friend to him.”

“Of course I am,” Nishimura scoffs. 

There’s an edge to it, almost. Nishimura meets the eyes of every stranger he passes, as though he can tell just by looking who might have hurt his friend here in the past. His kindness is never anything but kindness, but the ulterior motive Atsushi knows to look for is obvious in the almost hateful line of his mouth when Nishimura speaks up again.

“He’ll forget about this place,” Nishimura says with certainty. He may be a lot of things, not all of them good, but he’s not a liar. And in all the years Atsushi has known him, Nishimura has never looked as fierce as he does now. “He’ll forget all of it. If I have to take him on a cross-country roadtrip to make it happen – to every single place he was ever unhappy – then I will. I’ll give him good memories to make up for all the bad ones, just you watch me.”

“I believe you,” Atsushi says, and he does. “But if you think the two of you are going on that roadtrip alone, you’ve got another think coming.” 

Natsume can keep his secrets. The rest of them will just do their best to make sure a day will come when those secrets don’t hurt him anymore.