The Boy with the Sight and the New Beginning

A teenage boy slowly woke up. He remembered being on a train, but for some reason found himself in a limousine now. Everything was a dark blue color. It was far more luxurious than how he imagined a real limousine to look.

Sitting directly across from the boy was a long-nosed old man in a black suit. Sitting at his side was a distinguised-looking woman. The boy thought she looked a little similar to himself, but her platinum blond hair and yellow eyes seemed even more unearthly, though very beautiful.

The long-nosed man opened his bulging eyes. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."

The boy stared at him calmly.

"Hmm... I expected this to seem rather strange to you, but you don't appear a bit alarmed."

"I'm used to it," he replied. "Besides, I've seen your kind before."

"Wait, what?" The man's classy demeanor was replaced by puzzlement. "My kind?"

"Aren't you a tengu?" he asked.

The long-nosed man frowned. The woman at his side stifled a laugh.

"I'm not a tengu... My name is Igor. I am... delighted... to make your acquaintance. Just so you are aware, you are fast asleep in the real world. This room exists between dream and reality - mind and matter. I have summoned you here within your dreams."

"Why?" the boy asked. He met with supernatural beings countless times before, but this was the first time someone made contact within his mind.

"Because you have an intriguing destiny," Igor explained with a smile. "I am already aware that you possess the 'sight,' and that has been a significant influence in your past. But the coming year will mark a turning point in your future. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests, to ensure that future is not lost.

"Before we continue, I should mention that only those who are bound by a 'contract' of some form or another may enter this room."

"A contract...?"

Igor gestured to an open notebook and pen on the table between them. The boy didn't notice the book a moment ago. It was as if it formed out of the very air when Igor gestured. It was called a contract, but the page was blank.

He hesitated. This wouldn't be the first time a supernatural creature tried to trick him into doing something he'd regret.

As if reading his thoughts, Igor said, "Do not worry. I am not binding you to do anything on my behalf. On the contrary, this contract simply states that you will assume responsibility for all decisions you may make."

"I've been doing that all along anyway," he replied. And so, he wrote his name down on the blank page.

Natsume, Takashi

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant." Igor gestured to the woman on his left. "This is Margaret. She is a resident of this room, like myself."

She nodded. "My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey."

Igor looked back to Takashi. "In the coming days, you will become aware of a special 'power,' after which you will return here. We shall attend to the details at that time. Until then, farewell."

Takashi stared at Igor. "So you're really not a ten-"

"No."

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Ever since I was little, I've seen weird things.

Things other people can't see.

They're creatures called yokai.

April - 11 - 2011

Takashi Nastume slowly woke up for real. He was sitting alone on the train. He was moving to a new town to live with a new relative. It was something he experienced countless times before. Ever since his parents died, he was always getting shuffled around between increasingly distant relatives.

Sometimes it was horrible from the start. Sometimes it would be all right at first, but then he would act suspicious or say things the adults wouldn't understand. Nobody could see the supernatural like him.

"I definitely can't tell them about that dream I had... if it was a dream," he mumbled.

As Takashi got older, he learned to pretend that he didn't see strange things, but it was already too late. He couldn't escape his reputation as a troubled child, just as he couldn't really ignore the creatures around him. It was part of the reason he never stayed in any one place for very long.

.

"Dojima-san," the man on the telephone said. "Every time someone asks you to take him for a while you always try get out of it."

Takashi stood around the hallway corner. He didn't know why he was eavesdropping. He'd heard it all before.

"I know you're going through a hard time, but so are we. We can barely feed our own family! It's just you and your daughter there, right? Can't you watch him for just a few months?"

Takashi, with a perfectly neutral expression, walked towards his shared room and prepared to pack his things. He was actually a little grateful to go to a different house - This one had soot sprites hanging from the ceiling, constantly snickering at him, not that anybody else heard them.

.

Takashi became upset again when he realized he would be living out in the countryside. The world of the supernatural is everywhere, but as you go further from industrialized cities and closer to nature, there are naturally more yokai. It was just like regular wildlife. But there was nothing Takashi could do about it.

He readjusted the duffel bag on his shoulder and walked out of the train station. The first thing he did outside was take a deep breath of the fresh air. As hectic as county life could be for him, Takashi realized how much he missed it. While his last address was in the city, he was born around the mountain area. Takashi had many memories - good and bad - of being in a county town like this. It was the closest he ever felt to being "home."

He allowed a faint smile on his face.

"Hey, over here!"

Takashi looked over to the voice's source. He saw a man and a little girl standing in front of a parked van. The man was middle-aged with tanned skin and stubble. The girl looked about seven and wore pigtails. Takashi promptly walked over.

The taller man extended his hand. Takashi gave a real-looking smile and shook it. "Hello. I'm Takashi Natsume."

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo."

"Uh, t-thank you, sir." He wasn't expecting the compliment. Takashi realized he was trying to make a good first impression. New guardians were always polite at first... Most always.

The handshake ended. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you."

"Thank you, sir," Takashi repeated. "It's nice to meet you."

Dojima chuckled. "Don't be so formal. Besides, we already met. Though, I guess you wouldn't remember. I watched you when you were a baby a few times."

"Oh, is that so?" It was hard to keep track of which relatives had a turn with him and which ones didn't. His eyes wandered to the small girl standing behind Dojima's leg.

Dojima pushed her forward. "This here's my daughter. C'mon, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." Takashi wasn't a literal cousin, but there was no better word for a relative so many times removed.

He was called family, but Nanako obviously didn't know this person. Nervous around this stranger, she shyly diverted her eyes and grabbed onto her dad's pant leg.

Takashi saw some of himself in the girl. He used to be shy like that too when meeting relatives, before he learned how important it was to put effort into first impressions. As he grew older his shyness evolved into formal distance.

Dojima looked between the two reserved children and began to feel the awkwardness of the non-introduction. "Alright then, let's get going."

He opened the van door for Takashi, who placed his single duffel bag inside. Dojima raised an eyebrow. "One bag? Is that all you have with you?"

"Huh? I... I thought my other things were already mailed here?"

"I thought so too, but we only received two boxes so far."

"Yes. That's everything."

Dojima was confused. And Takashi was confused at his confusion.

"Nevermind. Hop in."

.

On the drive home, they stopped at a gas station. Nanako got out of the car to use the bathroom. Takashi got out to stretch his legs, still a little cramped from the long train ride. He stared out at the road.

Takashi heard footsteps and a voice from behind. "Hi! Welcome to Moel."

Dojima spoke with the station attendant. "Give it a full tank, please. Regular's fine."

"Right away, sir! Are you going on a trip somewhere?"

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city."

"The city, huh?"

Since they were talking about him, Takashi decided to be polite and join them. He turned around.

Bones and claws painted the color of blood. It was so large it took up his entire field of vision. It looked like a messenger of Hell!

"AAAHHHHH!"

Absolutely terrified, Takashi fell onto his butt and raised his arms to guard himself. His eyes were forced shut.

"Takashi! What's wrong?!" It was his uncle's voice.

Takashi slowly opened his eyes to look, and then he lowered his arms in surprise.

He wasn't in the Underworld anymore. He was back in the Moel gas station, as if he never left. The only people in front of him were Dojima and the station attendant, looking at him with concern. That enormous, horrifying entity was gone without a trace.

He looked all around the area. It really was nowhere to be seen. "Where... Where did it go?"

"Takashi, are you okay?" Dojima asked him.

"Huh? Um... Yes, I'm fine... I just thought I saw... a spider."

"A spider..." Dojima looked at him strangely.

The attendant burst out laughing. "Aha ha ha! Are all city boys as jumpy as you?" He bent over and clutched his sides.

Takashi lowered his head in crushing embarrassment. He was only here for a few minutes and he already revealed how bizarre he was from the get-go.

Dojima sighed. "I'm gonna go for a smoke." He walked away. He didn't say anything else to the boy, but Takashi felt like he ruined his chances with his new guardian.

The attendant stepped over to Takashi. "Sorry about laughing. I just never saw anyone get so spooked before. But I don't want you to think us country folk are unfriendly." He offered a hand to the fallen boy. "There's not much to do around here, but it's a nice place to live."

Takashi didn't blame him for laughing, but he felt a little better hearing the apology. "Thanks..." Takashi grabbed onto the hand and the attendant pulled him up to his feet. The attendant's hand was cold, but his grip was very firm.

"Oh, right! I still haven't filled the tank yet." The attendant rushed over to the pump. Takashi took another look around the area. He was still wondering about that image he saw.

"I only saw it for a second," he muttered softly. "Maybe it really was my imagination this time..." He placed a hand against his head and leaned against the van.

Nanako returned from the bathroom and looked up at Takashi. "Are you alright?" she asked. "You look kinda pale."

Now that she mentioned it, Takashi was feeling a little dizzy. He started to worry if he caught a bug during the trip. It would explain a thing or two... Today was turning out to be the worst first impression he made in a long time.

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Author's Notes: It seems a little strange to me when I see a Persona fanfic that "replaces" the protagonist with an "OC." You choose his responses in the game, so isn't he built to be an Original Character anyway? I can understand though. You can hardly write about a blank slate in a narrative story. And then "The Animation" and "Arena" came out, to say nothing of the manga.

Even so, in the actual game, I interpreted the protagonist as a blank slate with no "default" name or personality. Many Atlus protagonists are like that. (Tatsuya Suou and Maya Amano are a notable exception, since they're only part-time silent protagonists.)

Anyway, if he can become any type of character, I eventually got the idea of making him into pre-existing characters. And Takashi Natsume of "Natsume's Book of Friends" seemed like a wonderful candidate. There are already several overlapping elements in the two stories. Thus, the creation of this fanfic.

It feels weird calling him "Takashi" all the time. I always think of him as "Natsume." But it would be much more awkward addressing him by his family name and not Yosuke, Chie or the others. And yet I don't call Dojima "Ryotaro." I'm trying to be accurate to how the game does it, but it feels just a little bit weird.

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Glossary: Anime fans probably know these terms already, but a refresher can't hurt.

Yokai - In "Natsume's Book of Friends," this is used as a catch-all term for gods, demons, nature spirits, monsters, possessed furniture, or any kind supernatural creature (though it seems to exclude human ghosts). Come to think of it... it's very similar to how Atlus uses "devil" or "demon" to describe all the summonable creatures in its games, even though it encompasses more than just devils and demons.

Note: Even though yokai is a catch-all term, for purposes of this fanfic, Shadows do not count as yokai/demons. Shadows are part of the human mind rather than separate, mythical creatures.

Tengu - A creature from Japanese mythology. Basically a bird-man noted for its long beak.

Soot sprites - Called "susuwatari" or "susukodama" in Japan. They can be seen in "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Samurai Sentai: Shinkenger." Though the ones in Shinkenger didn't look like they were made of soot, I'm pretty sure they were based on the same creature.

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A Few Months Later

"Onii-chan, come look," Nanako called him towards the TV. "It's a rerun of that show all the boys in my class like, Shinkenger."

Takashi watched over her shoulder. "What are those yellow, furry things hanging from the ceiling?"

"Soot sprites."

Takashi was confused. "They don't look anything like soot sprites."

Nanako looked at him with innocent interest. "What do soot spites look like?"

"Uh...! Well... I-I don't know, I'm just guessing...!"

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Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons or events is coincidental. Opinions expressed by characters within do not necessarily reflect those of the author.

This is a fan-written story that uses the likeness of "Persona 4" and "Natsume's Book of Friends" without permission. "Persona 4" is owned by Atlus and "Natsume's Book of Friends" is owned by Viz Media and Yuki Midorikawa (to my knowledge). I make no profit by posting this story online.

I also do not own "My Neighbor Totoro," "Samurai Sentai Shinkenger," nor any other franchises mentioned in this story.