"Sensei, you better not be drinking sake so early in the day," Nyanko-sensei whined, imitating Natsume's tone as poorly as possible. If it sounded like a dying rat, then all the better. He clicked his tongue as he kicked a pebble on the dirt road with the all the force that his stubby white paws could manage. Like he'd listen to anyone's orders! That was far beneath a yokai like him.
Natsume was being a fool.
Besides that, it was spring – the best time to drink the best sake during hanami. Deciding to drink four more bottles of sake than usual, he was about to head into the nearby bushes when he heard a girlish giggle. He looked behind him, and saw a group of kids laughing amongst themselves. While he never bothered to notice most humans, least of all their loud and obnoxious offspring, something about those children caught his eye.
They didn't look like they're from around here, judging from the way they seemed to drink in the scenery. Nyanko-sensei huffed. What's so special about a bunch of trees and mountains to gawk at? Then he noticed that one of them was holding something to her face while looking around. It was one of those human contraptions called a video camera, right? How could she even see from that thing? Her two companions didn't seem to mind though, and just smiled at her blatant ecstasy.
The only boy in the trio was smiling especially sweetly at the third member of the group. He also had that strange look on his face. Humans called that kind of face the "lovesick puppy" look, didn't they? Human expressions were always so weird—oh! Nyanko-sensei blinked. That kid had some kind of aura going on around him, Chinese in origin if his memory still served him well. He hadn't seen one of those in a long time. At the very least, it looked like he could take care of himself well enough in a fight. Not bad.
As for the third person…
"A nice spring day we're having today, isn't it?"
Nyanko-sensei twisted around, jumping a little out of the way. He didn't even sense anyone come near him. "Who's there?"
He heard the soft laughter first before he saw her. The figure was draped in a cool green dress, and had long wavy hair that reached to her waist. Her gray locks framed a kind smile and bright eyes. Normally, Nyanko-sensei would have had thrown a fit to the being that had the gall to make fun of a benevolent creature. But instead, he remained silent out of shock.
It was undoubtedly rare to see such life in a pair of eyes that belonged to the deceased.
The ghost giggled again, and only then did he notice the great pair of wings on her back. "I'm sorry that I surprised you. But I couldn't help but notice your intent gaze at the children, um…" She paused, cradling her chin in thought.
Recovering from the shock, Nyanko-sensei snorted. "You can call me Madara-sama, you impertinent spirit! I should be giving you a harsh punishment for such rudeness, but I will overlook it just this once. Be grateful!"
"Oh my! Then I should thank you for giving me the grace of your mercy, Madara-sama," the ghost replied with an elegant bow, her translucent dress billowing in an unfelt wind. It was hard to miss the obvious mirth in her voice, but he decided to ignore it. Just this once.
Then he remembered what the all-too friendly ghost said earlier. "And I was stalking my prey! You're distracting me," he snapped, looking back at the children who—
"Shi—! They're gone!" Nyanko-sensei exclaimed, staring at the now empty road. He turned to glare at the winged ghost. This was all her fault!
Except she too was looking at the road with surprise. "Oh dear! They've already gone ahead!"
"And whose fault was that?" he hissed, but the ghost was already on the move. "Oi! Don't just go off on your own when I'm talking!"
When she turned to look back at him, he rather thought that that smile was too bright for a dead person. "This way."
"W-wait! Wait, I said, you—" Nyanko-sensei called after her as she flew off into the bushes. They zipped through the trees and bushes with surprising ease. Though he hated to admit it, the ghost guided him through the forest that was easiest for him to pass in his magnificent yet troublesome cat form. She was thoughtful, he'd give her that.
When she flew up to a cherry blossom tree branch next, he skilfully climbed through the flowers. As he reached the edge of the branch, he saw the ghost looking at the road below. Not too far from where they perched, the same trio of children had just turned from a fork on the road. He noticed how her eyes focused on the third member of the group. Well now. This time, Nyanko-sensei took the time to look.
The other person in the group was a girl with a cheerful smile. She was holding hands with the boy, swaying them gently back and forth, and later joined hands with the other girl. He didn't miss the fact that she had the strongest aura of the three, a powerful yet gentle presence. He also didn't miss the resemblance of the bright eyes.
"…A family member of yours?"
The ghost's smile softened. "Yes, she's my daughter. I was a bit worried about her since she had just given away something precious to her. But," she continued with gentle, knowing eyes, "since it's Sakura-chan, I'm sure she will be all right."
Nyanko-sensei smirked. "Those are powerful words." She merely smiled at him.
"Uwaaah!"
He looked below and found the group of friends staring at the tree he was perched in. The girl with bright eyes was particularly impressed. "What a big cherry blossom tree! And it's so pretty!"
"Yeah, beautiful," the boy smiled at her, and Nyanko-sensei made a face. Disgusting, was what he could've thought about that. But really, the emotion in that one sentence was just intense enough for him to sense it even from this distance. It looked like the girl with the video camera noticed too for she started to giggle at them. The other one didn't seem to notice it at all, and just continued to admire the tree she was named after.
"Really now," he muttered as he began to lick his paws. "Is that daughter of yours some kind of ditz or something?" But when he looked to the ghost, she was gone. He grimaced. "Tch! So rude!"
It was strange, but he didn't entirely feel as bad about it as he normally would. Honestly, what was going on in his head to so much as entertain a passing ghost? Still… He glanced at the trio below for a moment, and patted the tree branch he sat on. Cherry blossom petals began to fall delicately through the air, fluttering gently to the earth. The wonder in the children's faces was a sight in itself to behold.
Nyanko-sensei allowed a small smile to emerge. Oh well. He supposed that he could celebrate hanami a bit more this year.
A/N: Inspiration struck me to write this piece when I was re-reading the Cardcaptor Sakura manga for old time's sake. I didn't realize how much emotional investment I placed into them until I felt my heart break with every passing chapter. However, when Nadeshiko mentioned about Sakura "giving away something precious to her", this is a reference to what happened in Tsubasa Chronicle Chapter 217, a sort of epilogue to the events in CCS.
Also, for those who may not know, hanami is one of the traditional Japanese customs wherein the people enjoy the fleeting beauty of flowers (normally connoting to cherry blossoms or sakura). The term literally translates to "flower viewing", although nowadays they involve having parties and feasts under the flowering trees.
Lastly, the title of the story comes from the literal English translation of the name Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko is the Japanese name of the delicate pink carnation that blooms during the summer. (You may have also heard the name from the term Yamato Nadeshiko, which means "personification of an idealized Japanese woman" or "the epitome of pure, feminine beauty".) It is also worth mentioning the symbolism of the flower since it is very befitting of such a gentle character – a mother's undying love.
As always, I hope you find this story to your satisfaction, and perhaps even a little heart-warming.