i dont own either natsume or lotr.
There was once a young couple, who moved in to small home in a remote town surrounded by peaceful mountains. The town they lived in was small, and the townspeople were like a family, close and wary of outsiders, and at first were cold to the new settlers. But the couple were loving and kind to the town, young and old, and grew on the hearts of all and were easily accepted into the community. They grew to be much loved, and the town could no longer remember a time when the peaceful couple didn't live there. The children would merrily follow them through the center of town singing and laughing, the elderly would look upon them fondly and they would give a cheery greeting to all they passed. Even filled with happiness as they were they began to long for something more. They began to try for a child of their own, but months passed and the young wife began to doubt she could bear children. They were sad for a time but the couple again grew happy, for they were together and loved the sleepy town they lived in, they drew peace from each other. Seasons came and went and many a peaceful year passed when the couple began to spread unexpected but joyous news; the young wife was with child! They were beyond happiness and all the town rejoiced, and anxiously awaited the day the child was to be born.
The child was beautiful, dirty blonde hair with a silvery gleam and eyes the color of melted honey and was named Natsume, after the season of summer in which he was born. But the day brought both great joy and sadness, for it was a long and difficult labor and the mother died in child birth. The father who had so dearly loved his wife and child began to grow mad with his grief, and although he showered the baby with love and attention he swiftly grew sickly and drawn and soon after followed his love into death. But the town swore to love the child as much as they had the couple, in order to honor them and their easy kindness and the child was happy and spoiled for a time.
Soon distant relations came to seek the child left behind, for the young couple were surprisingly wealthy and had left all their money and worldly possessions to the child. The town could not keep a hold of the child despite their love, for they were not family by blood and had to let go. They grieved for the lost couple they had grown to love so much and despaired that they could not at the very least keep the child. The relatives who had thought they were clever to come and take Natsume from the little town quickly became enraged, for the young peaceful couple were also very smart, they knew that people would come after the money and made a plan in case of their death. The money was not to go to the child until he was of the age of eighteen, and could do with it what he liked. Until then he could only have access to a trust fund which would only take care of basic necessities. If he were to perish for any reason the money was to be spread among town they had lived in. No matter how these strangers argued with the law and pleaded, the money would never reach them. Unfortunately for the child this plan backfired, the relatives mistreated him and passed him on to others. He traveled between many families, at best treated with kind indifference at worst with cruel words and abuse. This was not helped by the fact that he was considered strange, he claimed to see things that weren't there for attention, lied about silly things and startled everyone by yelling without reason. For the things he saw were spirits and could only be seen by people with spiritual powers, and his were unnaturally strong. The families were cruel, the children were cruel and even the teachers thought him a trouble maker and to be treated with disdain. He grew tired of life and wished for a loving family, he dreamed of an escape, of other worlds and fantastic adventures, of acceptance. He wished for freedom.
On the year of his thirteenth birthday he was finally granted his chance, he came across a store that looked like a home. It was a strange place for a shop, set between huge buildings and in a style unlike the modern ones and he was going to unknowingly pass it by, but was drawn to it. Wary and untrusting, for he was never treated with any kindness before, (from either human or spirit) he entered the small shop. The inside was just as mysterious as the outside had been and he was politely greeted by two small children, who quickly led him to another room. It was the home of an eccentric but strangely beautiful woman who commanded his attention. In the corner of the room he could see another; a teenager still dressed in school uniform and for some reason an apron. Finally after a few seconds of expectant silence, compelled by some strange feeling he spoke "I wish to find a home where I can be loved." The woman smiled, and he couldn't look away, she told him that the price would be his power to see the unnatural, his inheritance and his help in a dangerous quest; it was a large price to pay although he would still have some spiritual energy. Without thought or doubt or reason he accepted, an instinct perhaps born from his powers told him that she was not lying, that he could trust her. Smoke filled the air eerily and he thought he saw her eyes gleam. "Consider it done, Natsume," she said simply, before something was drawn from his body, inky and black, the ceiling seemed to come down and grab him, distorting strangely before all he saw was blackness.
He woke up to the sounds of a forest, a noise that sounded both strange and achingly familiar, it made him feel safe. He grew up in cities for most of his life. Most of the relatives he stayed with preferring the convenience of a city, he could not remember a time that he had had the privilege of being under a cool canopy of leaves, and that seemed a tragedy to him now. He gradually, reluctantly got up from the carpet of green to look around; everything seemed so full of life. He was in a small clearing, surrounded by trees and dotted with little flowers, birdsong and the rustling of leaves could be heard and even the trickle of a stream nearby. The sun was high in the sky and Natsume felt at peace with himself, a place had never felt like this to him before, his skin almost tingled with the feeling of life. It almost felt like the very air itself was trying to speak with him, if only he would just stop to hear.
Stretching, he looked down and noticed the ground seemed closer than it usually did, alarmed he ran , following the sound of the running water and prayed that the water was clear and still enough to view his reflection. When he reached the river what he saw both frightened and intrigued him. He was just a little bit smaller than he used to be, more the size of when he was ten then the thirteen he was now. His eyes seemed to pop out of his face, the unique coloring of melting honey seemed to shift colors to molten gold when he turned his head. They sparkled in a way they never had before. His hair looked the mostly the same, cut short and silvery blonde, but it seemed just a bit more lustrous and silky then before. He reached out to touch it, to see if it was as soft as it looked and almost jerked in shock, he pushed his hair away and looked in the water again, his ears were pointed! Pointed! They seemed to tie his entire new look altogether, a beauty that was distinctly non-human, some other. He looked one last time, this time standing rather than crouched over the water. He still had the same body, a skinniness that seemed just past the point of healthy in malnourishment. A small bruise just lingering on his arm, a little scar on the side of his hand, things that could point more to a rambunctious child than anything more sinister, which was the way he preferred it. He'd rather not try and explain having any larger bruises than he carried now. Now he'd just have to find out what to do next, he could not hear any sounds of civilisation and although the forest was a peaceful place, he'd rather not be there at nightfall. He thought back to the beautiful woman, who hopefully granted his dream, and just wished he knew what he had to do to get there.