A/N: New story! Set somewhere in the later volumes, because Nyanko isn't wholeheartedly jumping at every chance to have a decently powerful youkai eat Natsume.

Long note at the bottom. Happy reading!

"Oi, Nyanko-sensei! Where are you?"

Natsume paused to sigh. The forest was quickly filling with shadows, and he really didn't want to get lost out in unfamiliar wilderness at night. He needed to find his wayward bodyguard and head back to the dorms where the class was staying for the durations of the trip. "Oiiiiii! Nyanko-sensei!"

The bushes to his left rustled, and Natsume jumped. Turning to the disturbance cautiously, he ventured, "Nyanko-sensei…?"

A short figure appeared, cloaked and vaguely humanoid and distinctly not a pudgy cat. Its pitch black eyes latched on to Natsume. "A child of man…? Natsume Reiko?" It croaked.

It didn't seem hostile, but Natsume still edged back slowly as it emerged, its head tilted curiously. "No, I'm not Reiko-san. She's alread-"

"Not Reiko! Not Reiko!" It let out a hysterical little giggle, a maniac grin spreading its lipless mouth. "Of course not!" It leaned in, leering as Natsume backed away as quickly as he dared. "Did you know Reiko's gone? She's gone! She gone!" The youkai twisted through the trees in a mad little dance, sable cloak billowing around its bony frame, as it chanted, "She's gone! She's gone!"

"Er..."

Natsume hesitated, debating between staying and simply leaving while it was distracted, before he ventured, "Excuse me..." The youkai froze and tilted its head just enough to stare at Natsume with that unnerving gaze again. "Did you know Reiko-san? Is your name in the Book of Friends, by any chance?"

"Book of Friends... Would a child of man's name in the Book of Friends, child of man?"

"Natsume!" A fat, tri-colored cat came bumbling through the underbrush, obviously more than a little drunk and with sake bottle strapped to its back. "I take my eyes off you for five minutes, and you run off on your own- hmm? What's this?"

"You were the one who went off on your own, sensei. And I'm not sure, but this youkai seems to have known Reiko-san." He turned back to the spirit, who simply stood there, stock-still, evidently still waiting for a reply. Natsume decided to humor the strange youkai. "No, there are no human names in the Book of Friends. Why?"

"What's this about the Book of Frie-?" Nyanko-sensei was abruptly cut off as the youkai, seeming to have just noticed the creature by Natsume's feet, leaned over and shoved its face so close that it's nose almost poked the lucky-cat in the eye.

"And you? Is your name in the Book of Friends, tanuki?"

"What?" Nyanko jumped back, equal parts indignation and a need for personal space. "I am not a tanuki! And don't compare me to those lower-level beings that Reiko picked fights with; I'd never do something so stupid as have my name taken! How dare you!?" Madara slammed his paw onto the ground several times to emphasize his point, fuming. The rest of his rant was cut off as the youkai leapt up, eyes sparkling with something akin to hope, and promptly skipped a sort of strange, ecstatic circle around the two.

"Two! Two who know Reiko! And not in the Book!" It rasped a breathless laugh as it came to a stop exactly where it had started. It pivoted to face them both, impossibly wide smile splitting it's face. "Are you sad she's gone? Are you?"

"Eh?"

"Why do you ask?" Nyanko huffed, shifting. He hadn't noticed, drunk as he was, until it started moving around and spreading its scent, but this unassuming youkai was powerful. Possibly on par with the great Madara himself.

It stopped smiling for a moment. Tone wiped of all inflection, it replied, "Because I'm the one that sent her to the afterlife."

"So, so! Are you sad? Are you?"

A/N: Why, hello there.

Introductions! I'm Alyss, nice to meet you, and surly-and-sarcastic down there is Alex, my personal live-in grouch. He shoots down my lovely plunnies and makes me work. Ugh.
[Hello. I'm Alex, and contrary to whatever goes on in Alyss' sorry excuse for a mind, I am capable of being polite. Up there is Alyss, my perpetually illogical and petty acquaintance. She is incapable of managing her own plot bunnies, so I put them out of their misery when they get out of hand. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.]

So! Anyone who checks out my profile knows that I've been on something of a Yuujin-chou binge recently. You've just started reading the result of that binge XP And if you're reading this, you may (or may not; who knows?) know of my other Yuujin-chou story, A Twist in the Times Before. It's been on hiatus for the longest time, and now I plan to rewrite it. It's kind of awful. But that rewriting process will only really start after I'm done with this fic, so no worries! (Hakuna matata! XP Raise your hand if you get it~)

This fic is sort of Reiko-centric, even if she doesn't come into play until much, much later. It's going to be mostly Natsume and Nyanko, though. Maybe a few cameos from other Yuujin-chou characters; I'm not sure.

[Alyss. Name.]

Ah. Right, I need help picking an appropriate name for the youkai. I have one in mind, but it's a bit clichéd and I don't really like it. There's a bit of a cap on how far I can go without a name and a basis/background to go with, so any help with that would be muchly appreciated. It might have to wait a bit till you know more about the youkai, though.

Right, ramble over. This story will not be that long; ten chappies, maybe, and longer ones than this one. (I only ended this one there because I'm fond of trolling people XP) Expect the next one in a few days. Laters~