Natsume yawned tiredly. The thought of a good night's rest was something he looked forward to. Natsume stepped out of the bath and let it drain. He quickly dried himself off to dress in his pajamas. Steam followed him as he sauntered down the hall to his room. Nyanko-sensei was missing, most likely gone out to drink. He collapsed onto his futon out of exhaustion, glad he'd finished his homework.

Finally, he was slipping away into unconsciousness. Dreams took him. Random images played in his mind. Meaningless images, not something Natsume was likely to remember. Then he started to dream of Ayakashi. These dreams were not uncommon. They were, after all, playing a large roll in his daily life. He dreamt of the Book of Friends, of Reiko. His thoughts trailed and chased each other like children played tag. Eventually, a strange scene was laid before him. There was a dark tall figure standing in a clearing, hidden by the darting shadows of burning trees.

Smoke and fire lit the night sky above them. Natsume could not see the stars anymore; the smoke covered them like a blanket. Natsume coughed. He was lying on his back, but didn't dare move. Fire surrounded him. There was no way to escape from this, he wasn't even sure if Nyanko-sensei would be able to save him. Natsume didn't realize he was dreaming, but how could he? The heat felt real; the bright orange and yellow seemed sharp as it stuck out and threatened to burn him from every direction. The dream was too vivid, too much like it could be reality.

Natsume's body was paralyzed, and he couldn't breath through the thick black smoke. He couldn't see the shadowy figure's face. And although this whole dream was frightening-the forest fire, the mysterious person standing a few yards away- there was one element that unsettled him more than those things.

The man, or figure, or ayakashi, whatever it was... was screaming. It was a scream that tore something in Natsume; it was so terrifyingly familiar. Like a scream Natsume should know, but from where? And from when?

The figure collapsed on it's knees and cried out in rage. Natsume was sure he would lose his voice. The pain that came from the sound was unfakable. "Reiko!", it suddenly cried, "Natsume Reiko! How could you just leave me here to die?! YOU LIAR!" Natsume gasped. The use of Reiko's name shocked him.

The person's shoulders shook with sobs. Natsume stared in confusion. Reiko? What does Reiko have to do with this? He knew his grandmother had bullied Ayakashi before, but it scared him to think that Reiko could hurt one this much. Which led him to think...was this another Ayakashi she took a name from? Could this suffering spirit still be bound to him?

"I should have never trusted a human...", it whispered bitterly. It stung more than any loud scream or anguished cry. Natsume could hear the bitterness in it's cracked voice, but knew by the way it spat out the last word that it just had to be a spirit.

Suddenly the fire grew brighter, and the figure stood. What Natsume thought was it's head slowly looked over in his direction. He saw a glimmer of eyes through the black smoke. It came closer, staggering each step like an insane person. Natsume snapped out of his shock. He tried moving. He was on his back, lying on the ash-covered forest floor. It felt like some invisible force was pushing down on his chest. He couldn't help but panic as the spirit approached. It walked slowly toward him, giving Natsume a growing sense of dread. The spirit was no longer screaming, or crying out in pain, but instead held an eerie silence which certainly made Natsume feel worse.

Natsume squirmed and struggled, but stopped dead when he finally saw it's face. He gasped, and put a hand to cover his mouth. Burnt skin clung onto the left side of it's face. Some of it was still falling off, revealing the flesh underneath. There was so much blood. It rolled down and splattered the ground beneath it's feet.

The worst part about it was it's eyes...they held a heavy look of killer intention. Pure hatred. And he was looking right at Natsume. Natsume shivered and suddenly sat up, pushing off the invisible force with all his strength. He knew he was going to die if he didn't run. He turned, but somehow that thing was quicker. Natsume felt something force him down.

"Get off!" Natsume demanded, thrashing around in his sleep.

"Natsume," it said calmly. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it in his panic and desperation. He couldn't breath under the weight of the thing.

''Natsume," it said again, "Wake up, stick-boy."

"Huh?" Natsume suddenly stopped in confusion.

"Wake up!" Something slapped his cheek.

Natsume woke up with a gasp. He was short of breath, due to Madara suffocating him. The cat peered into his light eyes like he was trying to find out what he was thinking.

"Get...off my...chest," Natsume panted breathlessly, attempting to push the heavy cat off.

Madara complied, but not without scoffing. "Pathetic," Natsume heard him mutter. He curled back into the basket Natsume had made him, circling a few times before he was satisfied to lie back down. Natsume wondered when Madara had returned. He looked at the almost empty sake bottle Madara held.

"What was that for?" Natsume questioned as he sat up. There was a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

"Look at the time," Madara said simply. Natsume huffed, but looked at the clock on his table, immediately gasping.

"I'm going to be late!" he cried, throwing the covers off. He dressed on record time and gathered all his homework, shooting down the stairs. Touko side stepped when he almost bumped into her.

"Natsume!" she gasped in surprise, then laughed. "Here, take this," she said, handing him a delicious smelling egg roll and a paper bag which Natsume assumed had his lunch in it.

"T-thank you," he said gratefully. He put his shoes on and turned back to her. "Do you need me to pick up anything?"

Touko smiled and shook her head. "Not today, Natsume-Kun. Just be safe."

I can't promise you that. He waved to her as he opened the door. "Bye, Touko! I'll see you later!"

"Have a good day, Natsume!" she called, waving back to him. Natsume closed the door and ran down the street, hoping that he wouldn't run into any spirits. He was definitely going to be late if he got delayed like that.