This is a simple prologue to get you into spirit. Normal chapters will be longer.
By the way, this is based on the anime, not the manga, so expect Natsume's initial appearance to be with orange-honey eyes and hay-blond hair.
"Did you hear? They say they found a body by the river bank early this morning."
"Really? That's awful…"
"On my way, I saw some police cars and an ambulance parked by the river, but I couldn't get close. So that's what it was all about…"
"Do you think it could have been… someone we know?"
"Don't think about it now."
"Ah, my father heard from a friend of his, who's a police officer, that it might have been a homicide. Also, they have identified the victim."
The three girls that had been talking turned to look at the fourth one with anxiety, as they waited to hear the name of the deceased. Could it have been someone they knew?
"It was Natsume Takashi." The fourth girl said without batting an eyelash since the name was unknown to her. But two of the girls gasped in recognition as their eyebrows shot up and their eyes widened in horror. One of them seemed particularly shaken. She stopped walking as her schoolbag, released from her grip, fell silently on the ground, muddy from the previous night's rain, and she lowered her head with disbelief, giving the empty of cars road in front of her a blank, lifeless stare.
The other girl turned to look at her with confirmation, only to realize how shocked she was. "Sasada…" she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder comfortingly.
"…Natsume? But… No, Natsume can't… " Sasada mumbled in response and her legs started trembling, ready to give up on her and let her crash down, next to her muddy schoolbag. She felt those horrifying Goosebumps in her stomach, the chill run down her spine, all those terrifying emotions one ends up feeling upon realization of a person's death, that sudden snapping of the thread that used to connect them.
As if on cue, a single drum-rolling thunder and the gradually enhancing pitter-patter of the raindrops commenced the continuation of last night's awful storm.
.
.
The police officer averted his gaze from the two specialists that proceeded to gently tuck the body of the poor boy, who had so tragically lost his life, into a yellow body bag. His clothes were still dump and torn, signs of his torment. Most of the blood had been washed away from them, but there was a tad of crimson blending in with the white of the boy's shirt, under which three deep gashes were fated never to heal.
However, the officer couldn't help but spare one last sad glance at the boy's face; so pale, vacant of life and emotions, disturbingly calm. What a pity really.
"You all right, rookie?"
A big heavy hand gripped the police officer's shoulder. He turned to look at the muscular tall man that was his superior with more despair than he would have wished to show.
"Why don't you go sit in the car now? I'll take things from here…"
The rookie silently nodded with gratitude and turned away to slowly trudge towards the police car that had been parked nearby, next to an ambulance that had arrived futilely. His superior sighed heavily as he looked down at the corpse. Even he couldn't stand unfazed. Murders were not common in his peaceful town, and this event was particularly worrying and unpleasant.
He had recognized the boy's delicate features immediately; he was the kid that used to buy manjuus from his wife's shop, a regular customer. He'd met him once when his wife had had a problem with her hip and he had had to take over the shop for a few days. That boy had been so nice and polite and had even asked about his wife's condition with worry. He had brought a cat with him too, a fat one that had tried to eat half of the sweets that were on display. And if he recalled correctly, the Fujiwaras, acquaintances of his family, had taken him in a while ago.
How was he supposed to tell them? He had always hated being the bearer of bad news.
"What the-?"
The two men that were responsible for putting the body in the bag scrambled away with surprise, leaving the bag only halfway zipped as they quickly stood up on their feet.
"What's wrong?" the officer demanded strictly.
"H-hair… his hair!" one of them stuttered weakly and pointed at the body.
The man speechlessly turned to see for himself, taken aback by such a weird statement.
The boy's hair was… indeed turning white. The officer's mouth gaped in disbelief as he observed the warm, dusty-blond colour fade away from strands of hair that were mysteriously being dyed silver right before his eyes.
The breeze that had been blowing suddenly grew stronger, to the point that the man had to shield his eyes from the moaning wind.
There.
Squinting with effort, the man managed to make out the shape of a white round figure standing at the top of the steep river bank. Actually, it was not entirely white, as there were orange and grey patches on its back. A pig? No, its ears were too pointy and upright. Its almond-shaped eyes were intensely fixated on something next to him.
"That's…" the superior officer muttered with surprise as he recognized the cat.
Suddenly, there was a deafening crackle of thunder, accompanied by the great flash of the lightning that stroke somewhere nearby. The wind swirled violently towards all directions, and the three men were thrown to the ground by the incredible force. The police officer, whose hat had been blown away, felt the first raindrops crash against his forehead. When they all opened their eyes again, everything was absurdly calm. The rain was falling to the muddy grass below their feet, and there was no eerie wind.
However, there was something missing. The yellow body bag had been abruptly ripped to pieces that had been scattered all around. Natsume Takshi 's body had mysteriously disappeared without a trace…
...
"…Sen-…-sei…"
"It's ok Natsume. I've got you now. Everything is going to be alright." He heard the soothing deep voice of his faithful cat guardian.
For some reason, Natsume felt too much fatigue to attempt to open his eyes. His limbs were numb, and an excruciating pain coming from his abdomen made breathing a difficult, painful process. A chilling breeze was beating his face with force, and that weird sensation of dizziness made him assume that he was flying up in the sky.
"It hurts…" Natsume whispered. He frowned and greeted his teeth in distress. His fingers dug deep into the white, soft, thick fur of Nyanko, seeking comfort and help. However, he withdrew his hand upon realizing that the fur was unpleasantly wet and warm. Nyanko's muscles twitched slightly.
"Try not to talk or move. You're injured."
"Sensei… You're bleeding…" Natsume noticed.
There was no answer, other than a stiff huff.
For the next few moments, Natsume lay still on Nyanko's back, trying to forget the pain and get his confused thoughts in order. Everything was a nasty blur. "Where…"
"I'm taking you to an old friend of mine. They will know what to do. Now try to save your strength." Nyanko's following furious words were the last thing Natsume heard before his consciousness drifted back to the darkness: "I'm going to get that bastard for what he did. I'm going to devour-no, better yet, tear his body to shreds and throw his head in the sea! Curse him! Curse him!"
Well? Are you curious to find out how Natsume got into such a mess? Leave a review and tell me your opinion! Thank you in advance.
I'll try not to let you down, so see you next time! Hope next chapter's better!