A/N: Heyyy, so I know I promised I'd start this up once I'd finished Sad she's Gone, but that story is not cooperating, and my Akatsuki no Yona fic (on another site, not here, but you should check that fandom out if you don't know it already) is just me banging my head on a wall, so. Ehehe. Surprise?
(Apparently I have a tendency to plan out depressing, depressing stories and then balk and freeze up before I actually get to the depressing part.
Also, finals make me focus on my baby like nothing else does.)
IF YOU ARE NEW AND HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M ON ABOUT: Welcome! This is a rewrite. Don't read the old one, it's terrible and kind of spoilerish and I'm taking it down soon. I'm Alyss, Alex is currently doing his best imitation of a pouting brat and giving me the cold shoulder so you'll meet him later, and this fic is basically my recurring Natsume Yuujinchou daydream made writing. It is also my baby, so ask nicely if you wanna hold it, and if you have a baby of your own with similar features or something PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN GO ADORE AND COO AND MAKE FACES AT YOURS TOO 8D
Also, I ramble. Nice to meet you :3
Does this fic need warnings? Umm. Mild, canon-typical violence, and angst? And fluff —hopefully enough to choke on, but I'm not sure. Stuff. No romance, though, because Natsume is a TITCHY BRAT and manga-Matoba has never come across as a pedophile; I'm not too sure what the anime's getting at, but I SUBSCRIBE TO MANGA-CANON, so NATSUME HAS SILVER HAIR AND NO ONE IS GAY. NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH GAY. THAT IS ALL.
My lazy one-time disclaimer: I don't own Natsume Yuujinchou, but I'm treating it's ambiguous past as my current stomping grounds. No ayakashi were harmed in the making of this story, though a few (writer's) blocks may have been demolished in what I swear was a terrorist firebombing and a great many plotbunnies were slaughtered with extreme prejudice.
Something strange was going on. It started a few days ago, Natsume thinks idly.
Well, okay, maybe it started even as far back as a last Sunday, he amends, since that was when all the youkai started looking nervous and whispering at each other. But he had done his best to ignore the agitated hissing, and his latest foster family's home is blissfully free of ayakashi, which he's grateful for. It gives him time to do his homework in peace, which he has already done, and to think, which is all he can really do on rainy days like this while he waits for the Rakuto couple to come home. They are on the young side of middle-aged, pouring themselves into their careers, and —he is peripherally aware— already looking for someone else to take him off their hands, because neither of them have the kind of time needed to look after a child, especially not one they're barely related to. Their home is a small, bare apartment that is less 'lived in' and more 'a place to sleep and cook' —and where he is forbidden from leaving once he comes back from the local elementary school. It lacks any real source of entertainment, so Natsume does his best to keep it tidy and whittle away the boredom with as little fuss as possible.
Which he is doing now. Which leads him back to his musings on the unusual happenings of late.
Perhaps things started almost a week ago, but the first time Natsume really noticed something weird had been in the afternoon of his second day at the local elementary school, four days ago, when his mostly peaceful day (there was, after all, still some fuss about helping the new kid fit into the class —nothing he wasn't used to, though, not after switching schools so many times) had been interrupted by a scream. A scream that none of his classmates heard or reacted to. He'd jumped out of skin, because even if he hadn't really heard anything either, it had felt like a scream —all urgency and distress and hereherehere. He'd been edgy all through the day, but had gradually relaxed by the time dinner came around and still nothing had happened. He'd dismissed it as a one-time thing by the time he'd gone to bed.
That notion had been shot down when, in the middle of the night, another scream had jolted him awake —and given him the distinct impression that it was coming from a different location. He'd been nervous, but eventually managed to go back to sleep.
That Wednesday had been terrible, even by his usual something-wants-to-eat-me standards. The Scream happened all the time, and just when he'd managed to relax a little, it would suddenly split the air and startle him all over again in a mentally exhausting cycle. People had begun to notice how twitchy he was being, which was bad, and even the youkai he'd seen on his way to school had looked at him suspiciously, which was worse. But the very worst part of all was that he still couldn't figure out why it was happening, or even where it was coming from, since the source of it seemed to be a different spot each time. By the end of that day, his nerves had been a wrung-out mess, and he'd collapsed for some thankfully-uninterrupted sleep.
The next day was better, since the screaming had dwindled to almost nothing. He'd almost hoped that meant it would pass, but what youkai he could see all looked even more unsettled and nervous. He kept an eye on them as best he could, and slept uneasily.
Yesterday had been worse. The screams had picked up a little, though nowhere near as often as before, but his skin was constantly crawling. All throughout the day there were eyes on him, following him, watching him, winding him up every time he got close to a window or went outside for recess until he felt like a spring stretched too far. No matter what he did, he couldn't figure out where the creepy feeling was coming from or what whatever-it-was wanted. He'd wondered if he was being paranoid, started acting paranoid and looking over his shoulder every other minute, and every new scream became a trial on his frayed nerves.
The dawn of a new day had not abated the feeling any. He'd spent this entire Saturday holed up in the apartment to escape the rain, and could still randomly feel that stare on his back and that each scream was somehow a warning of impending doom.
He also has the distinct, gut-twisting impression that they've been happening closer to the town lately. It's unnerving, especially since he'd seen one of the few youkai —there didn't seem to be a lot hanging around this town, actually— promptly panic and run for cover after another one had sounded nearby, and couldn't figure out why.
Which leaves him where he is now: too exhausted to do study, too keyed-up to nap, and too unsettled to think of anything but the mystery on hand. Sighing, he shoves himself to his feet and searches for anything to do. Maybe if he manages to exhaust himself enough with house chores and unpacking, he'll be able to actually sleep a little.
Hunting. Something was hunting, or being hunted, but the prey (hunter?) was being elusive and he couldn't pin them down, couldn't find it–
not to be seen not to be heard shut up shut up–
Natsume jerks awake, breath rasping as he heaves in air like a man drowning in dream. The aftermath of a Scream lingers in the air, alarmingly close. Quietly, he pushes himself upright in his futon, and wipes the clammy sweat from his forehead. A glance at the living room clock (next to which he spreads his futon, since the Rakutos don't have a spare bedroom and Natsume is small enough to sleep in the space in front of the couch) shows that it is horribly early to be up, especially so given it's a Sunday; even the ever-busy Rakutos are still in bed. He collapses backwards with a muffled groan, and considers going back to sleep for an hour.
He is annoyed, and doesn't try very hard not to be (because then he would be scared, and he's been feeling that way for days, now). Nothing good comes of getting involved with youkai, he tells himself —and this undoubtedly has something to do with the spirits— but he also wonders if he can really just leave this matter alone. It doesn't look like it's going to stop on its own, and it bothers him more than he cares to admit. He doesn't know if it's dangerous or harmless or a warning (though it certainly feels like a warning), and even if he could screw up enough courage to ask one of the scary youkai about it, they'd been increasingly sparse of late —probably hiding from something (and isn't that a worrying thought?). He sighs, and burrows under the covers until he hears signs of waking from the bedroom.
He usually likes Sundays at the Rakuto household; the couple uses their day off to housekeep and relax, and today Natsume is allowed to be useful and actually talk to his relatives. So he spends the morning awkwardly trying to help out with sweeping and dusting while Auntie Arisa pretends not to give him the stink-eye and Uncle Yasu tries to make small-talk.
Once the laundry is done, he's released for the afternoon by Auntie Arisa (who he has mentally decided is some kind of cleaning fiend —not that he minds). Both the Rakutos have left him at home so that they can go and be social without lugging a kid around, and he is free to wander and visit the local park. The rain has left everything a little damp, so he is left alone; there are no kids to watch play, or youkai to bother him. Even the feeling of that watchful gaze is absent (something which happened only sporadically, and never for long), and Natsume can almost relax onto the swing. He manages a few minutes of peace before another Scream goes off —the first one that day, and almost frighteningly close. He jumps, startled, but quickly sinks back down and furtively checks to see if anybody had seen that.
Nothing. The park was still empty. He breathes a sigh of relief, which sharpens into annoyance, which slowly sinks into contemplation. He is curious, and bored, and that is the only reason he can later give for why he jumps off the swing and makes his way down the road to the outskirts of town.
Seiji treks through the woodlands, taking care not to slip on the slick patches of moss and mud. This job was proving to take longer than expected. He pauses for a moment to consult his mental map, and that's when he manages to catch a hint of muttering nearby. Silently, he searches out the source.
"I think it was... around here? Maybe this way?"
He comes to a halt at the sight of a little boy, no older than twelve and dressed in clothes a little too large for him, wandering slowly through the trees ahead. The child looks like he is searching for something, or perhaps trying to remember where something is. Seiji considers. Perhaps a boy from the nearby town? The child didn't look like a spirit, but he had a strange aura...
The boy was also heading rather close to where he'd set his spell, and that was a problem better nipped in the bud. Let it never be said that Seiji was indecisive. Stepping forwards, he asks nonchalantly, "Have you lost something?" The boy jumps.
The first time Matoba Seiji and Natsume Takashi lock gazes, the world as they know it does not end. No one is kidnapped, no great alliance is struck, and youkai did not cower away from the sight the pair of them made. As it so happened, one of them was amused, a little bemused, and acting with an ulterior motive; and the other was floundering, uncertain in the face of what appeared to be concern, and far less suspicious than he should be.
Though neither knows it, that just about sums up the beginning of their friendship.
"Well?" Seiji prods. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help; it's dangerous for children to go walking in the woods alone."
"Oh, uh, thank you, but I'm fine. I was just, uh," the boy casts about for an excuse. "Trying to find... a path?"
Seiji smiles as disarmingly as he can. "Oh? To where? I'm a bit new to the area, but I know these woods pretty well."
"Uh... To Hawamachi. I live there," the boy blurts, looking uneasy. "I got a little lost," he tacks on.
The nearby town. A local child, then; probably avoiding bullies, by the look of him. How boring. "It's that way; just keep the sun to your left, so you don't get lost. It isn't a good time to be wandering in these parts. Terrible things can happen to children who stray too far from home, after all," he tilts his head in a way that he knew made his smile look distinctly predatory, "so hurry along now, alright?"
The boy scurries off. Seiji watches him go, and hopes the warning will be taken seriously —at least for a few days. He hadn't lied; it was a dangerous time for normal humans to be in these woods, since a rather powerful youkai was being active right now. He also didn't need a clueless local calling attention to his spells, however unlikely that would be. It could make the situation rather troublesome, if he had to guard against humans interfering. With that in mind, he summons one of his shiki to him with a gesture.
"Follow that boy. Make sure he leaves the woods."
Orders given, he turns back to the task at hand. Brushing aside some branches, he steps over a low-hanging rope and into a small clearing. It is the work a few moments (and a lot of concentration) to reset the spell, and Seiji frowns thoughtfully at his handiwork. Over a full week since his quarry had first awakened, and the spells were still going off —which was not entirely outside the predictions made from its previous behavior, but still a bit surprising. What was more noteworthy, though, was that the ones going off tended to be near the town, which contradicted everything Seiji had heard about it being reclusive and avoiding humans. Were the spells reacting to a different spirit? In theory, only one youkai in the area should be powerful enough to set them off, but it was not a spell meant for tracking, and it was, frankly, not one he'd ever tested before —which was partly why he'd chosen this method, actually; he could use the practice. Conventional methods of locating this target had already been proven ineffective by exorcists more experienced than he.
He steps out of the cordoned-off space, and considers his next move. He hasn't been able to pin down a good location for an ambush, and he's not arrogant enough to think he'd manage to capture it in head-on confrontation —and even if he were, he'd still have to find it first, which was proving a lot more difficult than he'd thought.
It all came back to whether he was even tracking the right youkai or not, Seiji decides. He might have wasted days setting up these spells, if they weren't doing what they were supposed to, and he was already working on borrowed time. He turns away from the manor, hidden deeper within the woods, where he had set up shop. He needed to investigate a few things before his time ran out.
A/N: Present tense. Bleugh.
*I have no idea if Hawamachi is an actual place or what; I pulled it out of my very fashionable trilby after listening to the audio for the google translation of "river town" XD
In case you're wondering, Natsume is nine. Because, this was my train of thought: So I figured I wanted Natsume to be elementary-school-young (young enough to be dependent on others, but not so young as to be completely irrational and naïve) and arbitrarily made him ten, just because. And since this is ideally set as canon-minus-a-few-years(-with-a-few-twists), Seiji still has to be older by seven years, so I made him seventeen-which, okay, maybe a little closer to the throes of puberty than I'd wanted, but Seiji's a mature kid and being seventeen means Seiji's met Natori according to canon (which I'm going to treat as canon in this story too). And then, this terrible, brilliant plot bunny up and bit me —probably drawn by the pretty sparks thrown out from the clash of MATOBA THE ICHIMARU GIN EXCEPT AN EXORCIST and the thought of Puberty Drama— and suddenly Seiji was in high school —like, had a high school life and an actual location he attends and a reputation among his classmates, and not just kinda vaguely is somewhere in his second-or-third year of high school. Okay, fine, shelve that thought for way down later —in the sequel or something, maybe.
And then Alex threw an epic fit. Because, and I quote: if Seiji Is In A High School, then Obviously He Has Classes, therefore WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING STALKING NATSUME DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR?
So um. Then I had to look up holidays that high schools have that elementary schools don't (in Japan, what even), or just holidays in general, and that basically turned into a crash course on The Japanese Skool System —and apparently the notions I used in the original fic were wildly inaccurate so it's actually an even worse fic than I initially thought, heh, whoops. But I looked, and I couldn't really find anything useable, so basically for the duration of this whole fic Matoba-kun is skipping classes with his family's permission while they cover bases at school —which Harunekonya-sensei (who is awesome and a kick-ass teacher and has basically cornered the market on must-read Yuujichou-fanfics and who you should all go shower with love because I'm pretty sure just mine is nowhere near enough to repay them for the help they had no obligation to give me, and without whom this fic would make so much less sense XP) tells me is neither common nor advisable, but I'm working with it because Seiji's family is filthy rich. They let him go at it mostly alone, though, because he's an old hat at the basic exorcist-fieldwork-things (ie. seal this one, exorcise that one) by this point and needs some more diverse experiences to grow —and the opportunity was both potentially profitable and a time-sensitive matter, for reasons. But then I checked the ages, and if Matoba-kun is in his third year of high school, then he's supposed to be super busy with entrance exams to universities and whatnot, so it's very unlikely he could actually take the kind of time off that I'm planning on working with in this fic. Except, Natori says he started dabbling in actual exorcist-stuff when he was seventeen too and he introduced himself as being in his second year of high school in that one special short in the manga, so then I had to look up all their birthdays and climate in Japan, because weather was not a Thing I wanted to deal with much. So, yeah, that's how this fic became set in spring sometime (somewhere between April and early May, a few weeks after the start of the school year and in the reportedly mild spring of Japan), Natsume became nine, and Seiji became sixteen(-going-on-seventeen)-but-a-few-months-older-than-when-he-meets-Natori :) Which, by the way, means Natsume's beginning fourth grade, Seiji's beginning his second year in high school, and Natori's now beginning his third year in high school.
Then I realized that I did actual research for fanfiction WUT I'm turning into such a nerd my god Alex Alex help me.
Next time: Matoba is a sneaky little thing who investigates. Natsume is also sneaky littler thing, but doesn't quite manage the same level of success.