Summary: He was gone, disappeared into thin air. He never thought that the man could just vanish like that, never thought he would disappear from his life, never thought he would miss him so much. It wasn't until after the man had left from his life that he began to realize just how much he needed him. Someone like him, someone who understood his feelings of loneliness, who knew what it was like to lie, who could see those things, yokai, just like him...Even though they shared different views, the man was there for him. Even if they only saw each other a few times, he was fond of him. Now, he had to do something, find a way to bring him back before it is too late...

Disclaimer: I do not own Natsume Yujin Chou. This is purely fan made.

Author's Note: There may be a bit of OOC and I'm not quite sure if the yokai I used will be correct, but from what I have read and researched, that is what it is. This is a shounen-ai fanfic, which means boy x boy. If you don't like that type of genre, then turn back now. Paring: Natsume x Natori, Natori x Natsume

Chapter 1

The soft touch of a warm hand slid down from his forehead to his cheeks. Gently, so tenderly did it brush over his pink lips. He stirred slightly to the touch as it ran down to pale neck. His lips parted, letting out a slight pant. It was then that he heard the familiar voice call out to him. "Natsume-kun..." whispered the voice, so closely to his ear that he had to open his eyes to see who was calling him. His light brown eyes, tinted with gold stared up at a mask. His eyes widened with fear and punched as a reflex, screaming. The masked woman fell backwards and landed with a thud. "Unn..." mumbled the voice. He peeked one eye open and gasped to see who it was. "Hii...Hiiragi?" mumbled Natsume as he rushed to her side, "I'm sorry! It was a reflex." The yokai sat up and shook her head. "Knowing that you see enough yokai, I would think it wouldn't surprise you anymore," she said, "No, it's my fault. I barged in here without permission." Natsume smiled lightly and helped her up to her feet. She was wearing her normal clothes as usual while Natsume wore his pajamas. "What are you doing here? Where is Natori-san?" asked Natsume, completely forgetting about the dream.

"That is the reason why I am here," replied Hiiragi as she faced Natsume, her voice serious.

"Did something happen?"

"He...He is gone."

"...What do you mean?"

Natsume panicked as the words left her mouth, though he did not completely show it. Still, his voice had an edge to it. He couldn't have...Died...He can't. The thought sent shivers down his spine. What would he do if Natori was gone from his life? Even if they never did spent that much time together or had different beliefs, still, Natori lived in a world like his. He didn't want to lose someone like Natori. "I mean as in, he has disappeared, has gone missing," said Hiiragi.

"Where would he go though?" Natsume asked, still tensed with fear. Well, he's not dead, but he is still missing.

"Kamikakushi..." mumbled Hiiragi

"Huh?"

"He has been...Spirited away."

Natsume froze with shock. Natori may not be dead, but being spirited away is the same as almost being dead. Gone, hidden away by the hands of God himself, never to be seen again unless the powerful being itself allows him to come back. Why? Why Natori-san? What has he done? Questions filled his head as he searched for answers. "Why?" muttered Natsume. Hiiragi shuffled towards him and sat besides him. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I tried to stop it...But I was powerless. I thought that if I came here, you might be able to help me," whispered Hiiragi, a slight tone of desperation. Natsume broke out of his thoughts and brought his gaze down to Hiiragi. Next to her, Nyanko-sensei was still asleep. For him to not be woken up by my own scream, what a deep sleeper... Natsume shook his and sighed. He knelt down next to Hiiragi, reaching out a hand and placing it on her back gently. He tried to comfort her in any way. "Let's work together and I'm sure we'll find him, somehow, but we will," said Natsume comfortingly, "I promise." He heard a light tap on the wooden floor. Natsume looked up and saw Nyanko-sensei staring at them. "You shouldn't make empty promises," he said, his chubby cat face was illuminated by the moon light that slipped through the glass window.

"You heard everything?" asked Natsume.

"Of course. Your shrilly scream woke me up. I just pretended to be asleep. So, it looks like that man has been spirited away. Hmph, it's not too surprising."

"Nyanko-sensei..."

Natsume scolded him, but Nyanko-sensei only shrugged it off. "There's no point in trying to find him. Once a human has been spirited away, you can't bring them back unless the tengu itself allows him to be. He must have angered it. Hah, the man gets what he deserves," stated Nyanko-sensei. Natsume frowned and smacked Nyanko-sensei in the head. "Oi, why did you hit me?! I was only stating the obvious!" exclaimed Nyanko-sensei as he head bump Natsume on the chin. Natsume fell backwards and swiftly sat back up. He reached out towards Nyanko-sensei and punched him, sending him flying. Nyanko-sensei smacked against the wall and groaned out in pain as he fell to the wooden floor. "Don't say such cruel things when Hiiragi is here. She's very worried about Natori-san," scolded Natsume. Nyanko-sensei did not reply, for he was knocked out cold. "Sorry about that," mumbled Natsume.

"No...He is right. There may not be a way to bring him back...I hate to think that way though," said Hiiragi.

"..."

Natsume bit his lower lip, thinking of some way of how they may be able to bring Natori back. I can't let this go as it is either. Kamikakushi huh? There just has to be a way.. He heard Nyanko-sensei groan again. He looked over to where Nyanko-sensei was trying to get up. "What do you think Nyanko-sensei? Is there a way?" asked Natsume.

"I just said there wasn't," replied Nyanko-sensei, annoyed by the question.

"Well, think of a way then. There just has to be. What did Natori-san do anyways?"

Natsume brought his attention to Hiiragi as he asked the question. She didn't answer, just merely sat in silence. "Hiiragi?" whispered Natsume as he tried to get her to answer him, but she didn't. He sighed, giving up on the idea to ask her what happened. "It's still late. I'm glad that Toko-san and Shigeru-san didn't wake up though," he said, "Tomorrow, after I come back from school, I will help you find a way to bring Natori-san back. After all, you're not the only one who wishes him to come back." He smiled at Hiiragi softly. He noticed she relaxed just a little when he had said that. Hiiragi nodded and stood up to leave. "Thank you. I can't do much in return, but you have my gratitude," she said as she bowed her head towards Natsume. Natsume smiled reassuringly and waved his hand. "There is no need," he replied as he watched her leave through his window.

"I can't thank you enough," she said again before she left, leaving Natsume to the silence of the house.

"You're a fool," mumbled Nyanko-sensei as he strolled over to where Natsume stood.

Natsume looked down at the orange and white cat and sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe I am, but I'm not going to leave Hiiragi alone," he said as he made his way back to his futon. He crawled back into bed, closing his eyes once more. "Tomorrow, we will help Hiirgai," he mumbled as he fell into slumber. The last thing he heard from Nyanko-sensei was a scowl and then everything went silent.

..................................................................................

The bell rang and rush of voices filled the building. People laughing and chattering among themselves. Natsume grabbed his bag, trying to hurry back home. Hiiragi may be waiting already. He tried to hurried out, but was blocked by a group of students. "Oi! Natsume, where are you going?" called out Sasade as she caught up with him.

"Eh? Just going back home," replied Natsume naturally.

Lying had become something natural for him now. Always, he has had to lie to keep the people around him from knowing about his ability. Somehow, it had become a fear of his. "Toko-san asked me to run a errand for her," he said, trying to elaborate on it so she didn't catch the lie.

"Oh? Want me to help?" she asked cheerily.

"Er, I can do it myself."

"Sasade-san, there's a class president meeting!" called out someone from behind them.

Natsume tilted his head so he could see. "Tanuma?" mumbled Natsume. He saw Tanuma wink at him and he smiled thankfully. "Looks like you've got a meeting to attend. I'll be going now," said Natsume as he made his way through the crowds and left her behind. That was a close one... Natsume had just reached his house when he notice Hiiragi standing in front of the brick wall. "Ah, so you're here already. Let me put my stuff away first," said Natsume as he walked passed her and into the house. He practically ran upstairs and dropped his school belongings into the room. "Nyanko-sensei, let's go," he said as he looked down at the sleeping yokai. Nyanko-sensei mumbled incoherent words, turning his head away from Natsume. "Nyanko-sensei," Natsume called out more firmly, "Get up or I will ask Toko-san to make diet meals for you. That would mean no more of your favorite foods." At that statement, Nyanko-sensei got up quickly and jumped out of the window meet up with Hiiragi. Natsume smiled slightly at the scene, grabbing the Book of Friends before leaving. Meeting back up with Hiiragi, Natsume asked, "So, what are we going to do?"

"I've thought about it and the only idea I could come up with was...Meeting with the tengu that caused this," replied Hiiragi.

"Do you know how it looks like?"

"Yes. He has short black hair with black wings. His eyes are red and he has a scar running from his right eyebrow to the bottom of his right eye."

"Sounds familiar," muttered Nyanko-sensei, "But I'm not so sure."

Natsume gave a nod and began walking towards the forest. "I guess we should check the forest first then?" asked Natsume. Hiirgai agreed with him and they made their way over there. Inside the forest, it was eerily quiet. Natsume stood in the middle, looking around, searching for any presence, but there was none so far. He met back up with Hiiragi and Nyanko-sensei. "Found any clues?" asked Natsume. The two yokai shook their head in silence. He sighed and took a look around the area. "Maybe we should ask the yokai around here," suggested Natsume.

"That's a good idea," replied Hiiragi as she began to wonder off.

"Okay then."

Nyanko-sensei tagged along with Natsume as they asked around, but everyone they asked had not seen a tengu described like that before. It was starting to hit dusk and Ntasume couldn't stay out that long. Once again, they met back up with Hiiragi. Her search was the same as theirs. "We're not progressing much," said Nyanko-sensei. There was a small rustle from behind them. They stiffened at the sound as it rustled again and then a low moan. Natsume turned around and yokai lunged at him. Her neck was long and her long black hair covered her right while her left eye was gouged out. Natsume fell onto the dirt ground as the yokai strangled him. He fought for control, but failed utterly. Nyanko-sensei lunged at her, distracting her from Natsume, but it was enough for Natsume to free himself. He punched the yokai in the face and scrambled to his feet. He started running, everything around him becoming silent except for the sound of his breath and his footsteps crunching into twigs and dried leaves. He was about to come to a clearing when the yokai appeared before him. He slid and slipped and watched in horror as the yokai once more lunged at him. "Reiko! Give me back my name!" she screeched. Reiko? Ah, the Book of Friends!Natsume was almost standing up, but she was already too close. Hiiragi jumped in front of Natsume and unsheathed her katana, but a little too late. She was knocked away and slammed against the trunk of a tree. She knocked out, leaving Natsume to save himself. Just then, a voice boomed out from the sky. "Leave him! He is my prey!" yelled Nyanko-sensei. He had already transformed and was now fighting with the yokai. "Natsume! Get the name!" he commanded. Natsume fumbled to find the book. He finally grabbed it and opened it. Imagining the yokai in his mind the book began to flip pages. It fluttered swiftly until finally it stopped, a paper stood up amongst the others. Natsume ripped the paper easily and stuck in between his lips. Clasping his hands together, he blew on it and the name flew out easily. Slowly it towards the yokai and entered her. Nyanko-sensei moved back and watched as the yokai's name was returned. The memories flowed into Natsume, a sweet memory. "Ahh, you are looking for the black tengu? I know where you may find information about him," said the voice of the yokai that Natsume has just return the name to, "Would you like to know? In return for giving my name back."

"Yes," replied Natsume.

"Head towards the stream north of here. There you will find the kappa. He will give you clues, but only in riddles. But I feel that you are a strong one, you may be able to understand..."

With her last words, the yokai disappeared. Natsume fainted, but Nyanko-sensei caught him before he hit the ground."How troublesome," muttered Nyanko-sensei.

Natsume woke up, his vision a bit blur. He blinked it away and sat up, finding himself back in his room. He looked to the side and saw Nyanko-sensei sleeping. He smiled and patted Nyanko-sensei on the head. "Thank you," he whispered. He felt a familiar presence and brought his gaze to other side of his futon. "Hiiragi?" called Natsume.

"It looks like you are fine," she said.

"Mm, yes."

"Tomorrow we will head to the stream."

Natsume nodded and watched as she silently left his room. He laid back down and sighed. He was still exhausted from today's work. Deciding it was best to rest, he closed his eyes to sleep. In his dreams, he was walking a dark path, but ahead of him he could see someone's back. He reached out, but he couldn't touch the person. The person began to walk farther and farther away. Natsume tried to run to catch up, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't. It felt lonely when that person disappeared and everything turned black. He was by himself, looking at nothing but total darkness. A voice ehcoed through his mind. "Head towards the stream north of here. There you will find the kappa. He will give you clues, but only in riddles. But I feel that you are a strong one, you may be able to understand...The black tengu is unforgivable..." Natsume looked around to find the voice but was stirred awake. His dream broke apart and he woke up to start another day.