HI GUYS! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
And I brought a new story with me! Yay!
Hey guys! I'm writing this chapter while my mom is watching the Super Bowl so please excuse me whatever mistake I make in the meantime (she screams really loud and her squeals are making my ears bleed. And I'm wearing headphones!)
The updates of this story are going to be way tooooooo slow so please, please, PLEASE bear with me, to be honest I'm just going to update every now and then so... yeah... please be patient...
And please guys, is painfully obvious that this is a Fem Tsuna fanfic (I'm a fan of gender-bender so deal with it!) so please if you don't like DON'T READ!
If you are a little lost: This is three years after the Manga ends.
Rated M because of possible future lemons and/or gore and because I'm paranoid! Rate might change.
And NOW!
Disclaimer: Natsume No Yūjincho and KHR! are not mine (unfortunately) I just own the plot
Summary: Tsuna has always been alone, always. The company of spirits are not the best one for a child and people certainly didn't accepted her as she was, so naturally when her father ask for her help she can't say no. But now that her 'mission' has ended she has to go back home, and that's something she doesn't want to. Pity we can't have everything we want to, and what is the fat cat talking about a book of friends?
Pairing: All27 (for now)
Warnings: FemTsuna, AU, Non-Cannon.
"Blah..." talking
'Blah...' thinking
"Blah..." dreams/flashbacks or spirits talking
Published: 02-10-14
Natsume Tsuname
- The Weird New Girl In Town -
(The Book And The Cat)
Tsuna's PoV
I breathed hard through my nose as I ran, my breath coming out in short pants. I tried to focus my eyes on where I was going but I could help but turn my head back once every few seconds to make sure nothing followed me.
"Reiko! give it back! return it to me!" the voice of a woman screeched through the forest but no one seemed to notice.
How much I wished I couldn't notice.
I kept running pushing myself and from the corner of my eye I noticed there was a path and ran towards it and just when I was stepping on it my leg was caught with something and I tripped falling flat on my face. What I didn't expected was hearing gasps of surprise from above me.
"Natsume?" a male voice asked, it was a mix between confusion and worry.
I propped myself on my forearms and looked up to the side to find two of my classmates looking at me, both of them had brown hair and eyes but one had lighter shade than the other. I thought for a second before their faces matched with I few names I knew.
Kitamoto Atsushi and Nishimura Satoru.
"Kitamoto, Nishimura" I nodded in their direction as a greeting "good afternoon" I mumbled as I lifted myself from the ground and brushed most of the dirty off my clothes.
"A-ah, g-good afternoon" the usually hyperactive Nishimura stammered dumbfounded.
"Well, excuse me" I said turning around and ready to stat running again.
"H-hey! wait, are you okay? that looked like a nasty fall" Kitamoto asked pointing at my knees. Thanks to Reborn I had the habit of wearing leggings or shorts under my skirts and I had to admit it was a very useful habit.
My black leggings that stopped a little above my ankles were ripped on my knees showing them bleeding slightly. If I hadn't been wearing them my legs would be worse, thank you Reborn.
"I'm alright" I tried to reassure them but if I was honest with myself, I looked far from alright.
"A-are you sure? do you need help" the one I identified as Kitamoto asked me tentatively and I shook my head.
"No thanks, I'll be fine" I smiled softly.
"You sure?" Nishimura asked and I nodded.
"Yes, I'll be going now" I said bowing my head slightly towards them in respect and one copied the gesture while the other waved but before I could even take a step I froze when an idea came into my mind and I looked at them once again "sorry to ask, but do you know of any shrine nearby? anything will do" I asked shyly, a small blush dusting my cheeks, thanks to my gift I was now socially awkward. Joy.
"Shrines?" Kitamoto asked and looked at Nishimura who just shrugged "there is an abandoned one up that hill" he said pointing to my left "but there is not much to look at, see that red spot over there? that's the..." I didn't bothered listening to the rest when a shiver ran down my spine and a burst of pain shoot through my left eye warning me of the presence of a yokai.
"Thanks guys!" I yelled at them waving my arm as I started running towards the hill they pointed "see you tomorrow at school!"
"Y-yeah!" I heard one of them yell back but I wasn't sure which one.
Ever since I was small, I would sometimes see strange things, things no one else had been able. They were probably the ones called yokai. They were never really friendly to me, but since I moved here there have been some who randomly pick fights with me. It's been quite problematic, especially since I'm the only one able to see them. Every time that happens I try to hide on the shrines, they keep me safe and out of the reach of the yokais.
After a couple of minutes I reached a red arch that signaled the entry of the shrine and I grinned slightly, unfortunately, nothing is easy for me and I was soon pinned to a tree, a claw-like hand squeezing the air out of my lungs.
"I got you" the guttural voice of a woman said and I lifted my head to look at a one-eyed purple yokai wearing a white kimono "I finally got you, Reiko!" she smiled creepily at me getting closer.
'Reiko?' I thought, my thoughts getting clouded by the pain I was feeling.
"Now return it" she said still smiling creepily at me but the aura around her quickly changed and I closed my left eye in pain "come on, return it!" she said squeezing me harder in her hand making me wince in even more pain.
"Wait" another voice interrupted and my eye moved to look at the form standing, or floating, besides the purple yokai, this one was a male and had fox-like features. He was looking at me with closed eyes (no idea how that worked) and I swore he was smirking at my misfortune "just wait a second, it would be a bother if your name is called" he said "better pull out her tongue so she can't call you" he suggested with a sadistic smile in his face and my eyes widened in fright, this one I had heard before and been victim of. Just a few weeks ago I got stitches on my tongue and no way I was getting more!
"Her tongue?" the purple yokai asked and pulled me away from the tree but without letting me go.
Acting on instinct I twisted my body as much as I could and kicked the purple yokai on her eye making her let me go and without wasting time I took the opportunity and escaped from them.
"Ow!" the purple yokai cried in pain clutching her eye.
"Fool! she got away!" the other scolded but didn't tried following me "cursed human!" he yelled at me and I winced at the words. It wasn't the first time I heard them, but they still hurt.
Why does this happen? it's not like I want to see them...
*FLASHBACK*
"Ah? Tsuname-chan? what are you doing? we only need three plates" one of my many aunts said.
"Eh?" I asked confused "but we need another plate for our guest over there..." I said looking at the figure in the corner of the room waving at me with a smile on his face.
"The child is saying some strange things again" one of my many uncles said.
"She just wants attention, she's lonely" his wife said calmly "she reminds me of Takashi-kun..."
"You think so too?" my uncle asked putting the cigarette out of his mouth "both of them are kind of creepy" he said and I looked down at the floor from my hiding place.
'It's not like I want to be this way...'
"Look right there" I said pointing at the figure in from of me. The one eyed thing was looking and touching the flower arrangement in the corner of the room.
"Where?" another of my many aunts asked "there is nothing there Tsuname-chan"
"There is something there! look closely!" I begged them getting closer and pointing again at the figure "look right over there! it's right over there! it's looking right at us!" I explained begging to god they would see it too "it's there! it's really there..." but they didn't, no one ever did.
"I'm sorry, I can't see it"
No one except for him.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
I was so lost in my memories I lost my footing while climbing the stairs and to avoid falling backwards I put my weight on my left side and fell into the grass, what I didn't notice was the seal which lead to me falling on it and breaking it.
"Oh no!" I quickly tried to fix it but it was too old to do anything about it.
"It's been broken" a guttural voice from behind me said and I turned around quickly, a small offering box was the only thing I could see and I started sweating slightly.
'Please don't eat me, please don't eat me' I cried pathetically inside my head.
"Brat, I should thank you for freeing me from my bonds" the voice said and the offering box started shaking until the doors opened and smoke starting coming out "I was just starting to get hungry"
'Oh crap, oh fucking crap, it's going to eat me!' I thought frantically, too afraid to move or do anything else other than to stay put.
The smoke quickly cleared and I spotted the statue of a maneki neko and I breathed in relief, thank go-
A small explosion occurred and I closed my eyes, a moment later a found myself being pinned to the ground by a very heavy mass, although not enough to hurt me placed over my stomach and I could only curse my bad luck.
"You are quite the precious human, to not to bumble at the sight of me!" a more squeaky voice said and I opened my eyes only to look at the maneki neko, the difference was that this one was... well, for lack of better words, alive.
I furrowed my brows and looked at the figure in front of me trying not to move to much.
"Say something" the cat said and my eyes widened slightly in surprise before they returned to normal.
"I'm used to it" I said nonchalantly.
"Imprudent brat" the cat said and then titled its face to the side "oh? aren't you Natsume Reiko?" he asked jumping off me and walking calmly around me as if inspecting me "what? you are not?" he asked after I kept quiet.
"Natsume Reiko was my grandmother's name" I explained when I remembered Taka-nii talking about her one time.
"Hmm? you're right, now that I look carefully, you look much shorter than she was, your hair and eye shades are darker than hers" the fat cat said looking me with sharp eyes "your scent is also duller, like something is masking it..."
"It should be obvious anyway, my grandmother passed away almost thirty years ago, even if she was alive she wouldn't look anywhere near my age" I frowned at the implication of me looking old.
"Reiko passed away already? she must have looked like a hag by the time she kicked it" he smirked and I wondered silently if he met her.
"I doubt it, I heard she died very young"
"Well... did she left you something called The Book of Friends?" he asked trying to look uninterested and my eyes narrowed slightly when my Hyper Intuition warned me inside my head.
"The Book of Friends?" I asked hoping he would tell me more but he didn't.
"Something she owned" he said simply, not looking at me.
"Hmm..." I hummed quietly assessing his movements and position, he seemed tense "I don't think so" I said. Technically, it wasn't a lie. Taka-nii was the one that left it to me after he died "why? is it important?" but he didn't answered, instead he opted for disappear out of thin air.
Weirdo.
Better get home soon then, wouldn't want him to find that book if it's dangerous.
I dragged myself off the dirty floor and shook off the dirt, I knew the other two yokais had already left and it was safe to return home.
Hopefully Touko-san wouldn't be home and wouldn't see me like this, don't need to worry her with something she can't help me with.
"Oh, Tsuname-chan!" the old woman greeted me with a smile on her face when I was trying to sneak inside and it quickly disappeared the moment she took notice of my appearance "what happened?" she asked me worriedly. It was a rather strange thing for me to hear those words without exasperation underlying them, it was... refreshing "look at you! are you hurt anywhere? how did this happen? is someone being mean to you?" she threw questions at me one after another.
"Oh, nothing of the sort! I just slipped and fell" I lied easily "I wanted to explore the area a bit and ended up falling down a fairly steep hill, I'm really sorry for worrying you" I apologized with a sheepish smile in my face "I'll mend my clothes right away…"
"Oh, don't be silly dear!" Touko-san had already started to push me gently towards the stairs, a determined look in her eyes, her actions warming me up. It had been a long time since someone cared for me that much "you go up and get cleaned up. do you remember where the first aid kit is? I'll wash your uniform now before dinner, and it'll be ready for you tomorrow morning, if we hang it out for tonight" she started saying "I do hope it won't rain… oh, before I forget, Tsuname-chan, I just got a massive watermelon from the Matsuda family from the top of the hill so make sure to come down after you get changed for a few slices, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am! thank you very much!" I smiled brightly at her and treaded lightly up the stairs, still listening to the soft worrying of the female half of the Fujiwara couple.
It had been a little over two months since I had moved in, maybe longer. Being cursed with my eyes meant that I could often see things that others either could not or would not –since I had learned long ago to distinguish the two early on in my life-Humans have never been known for their embracing nature, nor their tolerance for difference.
No.
It wasn't quite fair to pile all the blame onto my relatives even when they were sometimes mean to me, after all, they opened their homes to me, took me in as their own, and all I seemed to do was attract these… things. Some were relatively harmless, only observers, but others were far more aggressive. Over time, it became common for me to randomly hear whispers of 'I'll eat you!' from nearby bushes. I had never stayed long enough to find out if they would actually carry through with their promises but it's not something I would change if I could. If they were solid enough to push me over a bridge into the river, or choke me like it happened earlier today they could probably carry through with the promise of eating me as well without much problem.
Besides, it's not like anyone would miss me right?
After I had changed out of my uniform, and checked that the damage wasn't too bad (the legging were the only ones that suffered), I entered my room, and proceeded to search for the small box of family memorabilia that had been handed down to me after Taka-nii died. Dragging it out from the bottom of the sliding wardrobe, I began to drag things out of the old cardboard box. There were a few books and charms to keep away ayakashi as well as a bat covered in them.
I pulled the bat out of the box and a small green book tied with a small rope in the side to keep the pages together came into my view. Pulling it out, I blew the dust off revealing the rough calligraphy on its cover.
"Yuujin-cho?" I asked myself looking at the small book "what could this book have? an address book, maybe?" but what on earth would an ayakashi want with an address book?
Curiosity won over, and I began to flick through the aged pages. At first, all that seemed to jump out were pictograms, nothing that made much sense but soon I began to understand, or rather started to see the names.
'Hundreds? no, there must be thousands in here… names of yokais?'
"Hmm" I hummed quietly looking at the bat I had put on the floor besides the box and ran a hand through the charms on it, I never thought about the possibility of my grandma being able to see spirits too. I knew Taka-nii could but it never crossed my mind that maybe it was a family trait. Could it be? it sounded crazy, but what didn't these days.
"I see you've found it, The Book of Friends" the squeaky voice from not too long ago startled me. Whipping my head around so fast that I thought I must have given myself some kind neck injury, I came face-to-face with the animated maneki-neko that I had freed earlier accidentally.
"How…?" I started.
"That is not something that should be in the hands of a human" he interrupted me before I could finish.
"What…?" I asked confused but he totally ignored me.
"Hand it OVER!" the soft, pudgy faced cat then suddenly distorted, morphing into something hideously dangerous, and although I couldn't make out the exact details, I could see the massive, SHARP teeth being bared at me.
I acted on pure instinct. Kicking out my feet I rolled over to the side and grabbed the nearest thing available.
The charm-covered bat.
"Takako-chan! are you alright?" I heard Touko-san yelled at me worriedly from downstairs and I scrambled to my feet and to the rail if the stairs.
"Yes, ma'am! I just tripped on my feet, for worrying you again!" I lied smoothly eyeing the knocked out cat in my room "are you going out?" I asked.
"Yes dear, just for some groceries" she said "you'll be alright on your own, won't you?"
"Yes, I'll be sure to look after the house for you, have a safe trip!" I assured her.
"I'll be back soon!" she yelled and a moment later the sound of the door opening and closing reached my ears.
Re-entering my room I breathed out in absolute relief and proceeded to glare at the source of my problem. The cat was still knocked out so I went back downstairs to find a plate with five watermelon slices on it. Glancing around for a smaller plateful, and failing, I grabbed it and returned upstairs to a grumpy-looking cat that was sporting a rather large bump on the head.
I shoved my unwelcome guest out of the way and began to patch up the paper screen that the maneki-neko had ended up ripping after landing on it. Personally, I reckoned that the screen door had won.
"Eat that and get out" I said not even looking at him.
"How cold! you dare to be so rude to this great demon-?" he started with his stupid rambling again and I cut him off with a dark glare.
"Considering the fact that I'm actually feeding you, even after you destroyed my room and tried to eat me, be glad that all I did was hit you on the head" grabbing the first aid bag again, I searched for a coolant band the size of the cat's head, hoping that it would do some good "do youkai get infections from cuts? do you want any disinfectant?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"You're... treating me?" he asked in disbelief.
"Of course, it looks like the bat I used on you did more damage than I actually intended" I admitted sheepishly "I just wanted you to get out of the house" I said and was shocked momentarily at the softness of the seemingly ceramic fur and then continued to clean the tiny wound. "you said something about the Book of Friends? why do you want it?" I asked softly.
"Like I would tell you, unworthy human!" he practically snarled at me and I bit back a sigh.
"Fine, I'll just go ahead and recycle it, if it's that unimportant…" hook.
"Don't you dare! You have no idea what you'd be doing!" line.
"Well, unless you tell me of the significance, I have no way of knowing, do I?" I got you.
"Fine, ignorant hu-ow!" the maneki neko rubbed the new sore spot that had appeared on its head, "what was that for!?"
"Every insult earns you another well-deserved bump, you have been warned, Nyanko-chan" I replied detachedly, fighting to keep a smirk off my face. Now I know how Reborn felt when he was abiding Lambo.
Oh my god, I'm a bad person!
"I am not a cat!" the maneki neko yelled cutting off my train of thoughts.
"I call them as I see them" I shrugged.
"How dare you insult the greatness that is I! puny-ow!"
"Either your hearing isn't very good, or I need to put a bit more power behind these bumps on your head, Nyanko-chan" I said in a singing voice.
"You should at least bow your head to me and greet me as 'sensei', seeing as I will have to educate you in our world and ways" the maneki neko conceded, knowing when he was beaten and my smirk widened.
Crap, I'm really becoming Reborn.
"Okay, Nyanko-sensei" I said rolling the name in my tongue only to find it sounded... right "but I honestly don't think that educating me is going to make much of a difference in whether or not I hand this thing over to you"
"Hmph! you ignorance coupled with your power is inexcusable, as well as highly dangerous" now he is the one reminding me of Reborn "how you've managed to get this far along without getting killed or eaten is beyond me" well that's thanks to my HI thank you very much "you want to know about the Book of Friends?" I nodded tentatively "then we better begin with Natsume Reiko"
"My grandmother? I suppose she could see the same things as me, right? ayakashi I mean"
"Indeed" he nodded "even for a human, she was a very beautiful specimen" and I care about that because...? "of course, we judge by spirit rather than by appearances"
"So that's why you mistook me for my grandmother, our... auras must be similar then"
"Correct, the taste of your spiritual power is very similar" he agreed and I nodded "but with great power comes separation from normal human society, we are far gone from the era when most humans could still see us, and those who could not would acknowledge us to explain the inexplicable" he continued "because Reiko could see us, she became someone who treaded the border between humans and spirits without knowing who she really belonged with"
"So… my grandmother was a human, but had an... aura similar to the one of ayakashi?"
"Yes, but no matter how much her power tasted like one of ours, she was irrevocably human, and thus, never entirely welcome in our world either" he said and I could almost detect a hint of sadness on his voice "it was that isolation perhaps that drove her to make the Book of Friends"
I glanced down at the book, resting innocently on my lap. I didn't know why, but the pages seemed to be whispering to me, some of them benevolently, some with malicious intent, whilst most was with indifference.
What stories lay behind those names?
"A name, a True Name, is not one to be lightly handed over, nor lightly spoken" Nyanko-sensei started talking again "what you hold there is a book filled to the brim with the real names of thousands of yokai, and some are significantly more powerful than others" he said eyeing the book "The Book allows you total command of all these spirits, whether they want or not"
"How… how did my grandmother managed to create it? if what you say it's true, a True Name is not something to hand lightly to a human"
"How do you think? she would go around challenging ayakashi, sometimes as much as ten times a day to yokai who either caught her attention, or looked powerful enough to be a challenge, not to mention fun" he explained.
"And the prize?" no way they would accept without anything in return.
"The prize for them if she lost would be whatever they demanded, and her prize was always the same: she demanded that they sign their true names on a piece of paper, and it eventually accumulated to that" he said pointing the book.
I stared at the book in front of her one more time. This was the inheritance that my grandmother had left Taka-nii and he left me? It was grand, but also dangerous, not to mention creepy too.
Although it was a chance to pay back for twelve years worth of bullying, I knew that it was wrong to hold that much power over anyone. Or anything, for that matter.
"So, I assume that that's why you want this book?"
"Of course! it's far too dangerous to be in the hands of someone who doesn't even know how to call forth its abilities!"
"And I think that it's far more dangerous in hands such as yours, who know exactly how to use it? I'll be keeping it in a box until I can figure out what to do with it" I said and nodded to myself, I would seal it with Sky Flames just to make sure he wouldn't try to take it.
"What? stupid hu-ow!"
Well, the cat had to learn eventually, didn't he?
Sooooo... you love it? hate it? I hope I didn't made you guys wait a lot XD
I love you guys don't forget to review! XD
*Yokai: spirits, evil spirits, demons.
*Ayakashi: collective name for yokai
And sorry for the mistakes
I-chan out~ (or Mia, whatever you like)
Bye bye!