So I noticed that there aren't enough Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends) fanfictions. I also noticed that most of them are Natori/Natsume-centric. This makes me want to shoot things. Furthermore, I noticed that there aren't enough Tactics fanfictions. I'm not going to complain about the content of those. HaruKan for the win. Because I strongly support HaruKan and TanuNatsu, and this is supposed to be a Kantarou/Natsume centric fic, this is probably going to be a pretty PG fanfic. Honestly I don't see them having a romantic relationship, but... I mean... Wouldn't they be epic friends? They're so much alike (even in hairstyle, anybody else catch that?) so, yeah. If you're reading this wondering "Why is Baka writing ANOTHER new fic instead of updating the others?" the answer is... Because I said so and I'm a bad person. Also because Natsume Yuujinchou SHI premiered on the 2nd. If you didn't know that, you do now, so go watch it. Also, for those of you who are only familiar with Tactics or only familiar with Natsume Yuujinchou, I suggest you go read and/or watch the other because, quite frankly, they're both amazing. Enough of this rant.

THIS FANFICTION WILL NOT CONTAIN LEMONS. I promise. There may be a bit of flirting and implied boy love, but none of it will actually occur. You're welcome to let your imagination do whatever it wants to this fic, but... It's intended to be friendship, not love. Also, I don't own Natsume Yuujinchou or Tactics, or affiliated characters, products, etc; I just think they're both really epic win and decided to write this, mmkay? Pay no mind to the fact that they're from different time periods, because quite frankly, I don't care. If I want to believe Tactics is modern-day, I will. And I can. And I did. So just enjoy. xD

"It's been a while since we've gone so far away from home for a job, hasn't it, Haruka?" The silver-haired boy tilted his head towards his beloved companion as he walked on, but found nobody there. Pausing, he looked around, somewhat confused "Haruka? Haru-"

"SENSEI! I FOUND YOU!" Kantarou turned to see what the yelling was about, and was bowled over by a teenage boy who was clearly in a hurry. Dazed, Kantarou stared up at the boy who was now on top of him. Something about the energy from this kid was different than anyone Kantarou had met before. The teen apologized excessivley as he stood up and offered a hand to help Kantarou up.

As Kantarou accepted the hand and stood, he said "I'm fine, don't worry about it," With a gentle smile. "Why are you in such a rush?"

Natsume fumbled for an excuse for a moment, "My cat... ran away from home and I saw him just now, over by Nanatsuji's," pointing to the shop.

Following his gaze, Kantarou spotted Haruka, sitting on a bench, calmly eating a sweet bun. "HARUKA!" Kantarou stormed over to the tengu, completely forgetting about Natsume, who was running right behind him.

In a simultaneous rage, both Natsume and Kantarou shouted "Don't just run off like that!" They looked at each other, then back to the ones they had been searching for.

It was then that Kantarou noticed the ball of a cat sitting in Haruka's lap, also eating something, though it was going down so quickly he couldn't tell what. "Haruka... Feeding strange youkai with my money isn't part of the job description. Don't leave me like that again, I thought something happened."

The tengu swallowed the rest of his bun and licked his fingers clean "I got them for free and decided the cat was more deserving of food than you." He teased, which of course sent Kantarou into a brand new tantrum.

Natsume glanced at his self-proclaimed bodyguard, who was cautiously eyeing Kantarou. Had he referred to Nyanko-sensei as a youkai? He snatched the cat off of the tengu's lap and growled lowly "Will you at least pretend to do your job? Honestly, you stuff your face enough at home."

The implication of Madara being fat started one of their ritualistic arguments, that finally ended when Kantarou asked Natsume "Is that your cat?"

"Ah... Yeah, this is him. He's a bit of a pig... I'm sorry, it sounds like he stole your friend's food." Natsume sighed, glaring at the cat.

Haruka rubbed the cat's head and said, "He seemed hungry, so I gave it to him. Kantarou, let's go."

Kantarou, remembering the reason they were there, turned to Natsume with a warm smile and asked, "By any chance, do you know where the Tanumas live? We got a little off the path of the directions we were given."

Natsume stared at Kantarou, somewhat uneasy now. First he'd said the word "youkai," something Natsume wasn't used to hearing from most people, and now he wanted to know where Tanuma lived? "It's okay, Natsume. I don't think they mean any harm, but be on your guard. The tengu is infamously powerful. I heard he'd been sealed up a while back, but he seems to be different now. It shouldn't be a problem, but I'll stay close just in case."

Wide eyed, Natsume, whispered to his cat, "Tengu?"

The ayakashi nodded, looking up at his prey with those smiling eyes of his. "It seems we've stumbled across some interesting people today, Natsume. Let's see what they're up to."

Still uncertain, but feeling better with Nyanko-sensei's support, he nodded to Kantarou, "I can take you there."

"Ah, really? Thank you!" Kantarou bowed slightly, before following Natsume, glancing behind him on occasion to make sure Haruka was still within sight. Eventually, the road became a path through the woods, at which point, Kantarou rested a hand on Natsume's shoulder, stopping him.

Natsume tilted his head to look at Kantarou, "Is something wrong?" Kantarou pointed to the ground about a foot in front of Natsume, where a snake was making it's way across the path from a dense bush. "Oh, thank you. I would have stepped on it..." Both boys watched as the snake continued across the path, until Natsume noticed that about halfway down the snake's body, long fur replaced scales. Startled by this discovery, he yelped and dropped Madara.

Kantarou raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you afraid? He doesn't mean us any harm." The man crouched down by the snake youkai and encouraged, "Go on, I won't let the cat eat you." The youkai watched Kantarou for a moment, then thanked him and went on his way. Kantarou straightened up and said, "I thought there was something different about you. Especially when I saw your "cat..." You see youkai too..."

Natsume backed up a bit more, stopping only when he bumped into Haruka. "Tengu..." He said quietly, stepping away from Haruka as well.

"His name is Haruka." Kantarou told Natsume, "He has a bit of a reputation as being the onikui tengu." (A/N- demon eating tengu)

"Onikui...?" Natsume shivered at the name. He had never heard of such a thing, but the title was rather frightening. "You eat demons?"

Uninterested in the conversation, Haruka continued down the path towards the Tanuma household. "He used to, before I met him. He was sealed away for several years... When I broke the seal, I named him Haruka, and I don't allow him to eat demons. It seems a cruel thing to do. I'm sorry if I scared you before, it's just that I've never met someone else who can see youkai."

Natsume nodded, completely understanding the feeling, "It's alright... My name is Natsume Takashi-"

"You're Natsume?" Kantarou asked, a shimmer of excitement in his eye, "Natsume of the Book of Friends? Reiko's grandson?"

Gripping the bag containing the Book tightly, he nodded. There was no denying it, but even so, if that was what this Kantarou was after... It could be trouble.

I'm going to end this chapter there. I know it seems kinda random, but... I'm kinda thinking nobody's going to read this anyway so it doesn't really matter. If you do read it, however, and you like it, please speak up. I like hearing from people, and I probably won't continue typing this story if I don't get any responses. I enjoy it enough just thinking about it, this is all for you.