I stood alone in an open field. Bodies were sprawled on the cold hard ground around me. My friends and family were dead, anyone I had crossed paths with was dead, they all had with had met their end. Human and ayakashi; together in death. If the situation weren't so horrifyingly serious, I would have laughed at the irony. They had been victims of a very malicious and sinister spirit. That menacing ayakashi responsible for the chaos around me was long gone but his words lingered for an eternity after his absence. As he spoke, humour had lined his tone. He had laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world, when to me it was the exact opposite: a dreaded and loathsome proclamation.
"You've caused this human child, you are cursed. Their deaths are on your hands. They welcomed you into their lives and look what happened to them. You brought all this chaos and destruction. You are to blame." He ended his speech with the most malevolent cackle I'd ever heard.
With his words ringing in my ears, my knees grew weak. It wasn't long before they collapsed under me and I landed in a heap on the ground. Silent tears found themselves streaking down my cheeks as I held back choked sobs. On some twisted level deep down, I knew I deserved this. I deserved to be alone, for the only thing that accompanied me was death and destruction. I lowered my head, locking my blank stare onto my hands. I knew this would happen sooner or later. No matter where I went it was always like this. People always seemed to get hurt. I would watch on, seemingly unfazed by their reactions, as their mistrust and loathing towards me grew. Then I would be moved again, only to have the previous events repeated over and over, eternally. No matter where I went it was always the same. Why did I think this time would be any different? Was it because, for the first time, I was actually wanted? Yes, they had wanted me. They brought me into their home, their lives. I should have protected them, should have been more careful. I shouldn't have let this happen.
I lifted my head, casting my glazed eyes over their bodies once more. A sudden minute movement from their corpses caught my attention. Hope flared within me, maybe they weren't really dead. Perhaps there was still a chance that they were alive. I pushed myself to my feet as their twitching began to become more pronounced. I rushed over to the body closest to me and knelt down beside it. The figure belonged to Tanuma. Dread soon replaced my hope as fear rooted itself deep within my chest. Tanuma's body was cold to touch; it looked so pale and lifeless. This wasn't something that was still alive. The body before me was most definitely dead. As I sat there puzzled and stunned, the corpses pushed themselves to their feet. Their lifeless bodies moved to surround me. I was terrified.
"Look at what you've done, Natsume!" Hiiragi's body cried eerily.
"Do you see what you've brought upon us?" came Kitamoto's ghostly voice.
"Are you happy now, Natsume? Are you proud of what you've caused?" Anger lined Hinoe's tone.
"We've suffered because of you and your secrets!" Shigeru accused.
"If you had just stayed away from us we would still be alive." Tanuma stated.
I began to panic. It was true; it was all my fault that they were dead. If they had never have met me they would still be alive.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I cried as they closed in on me.
"Takashi!" a familiar voice yelled. "Takashi!" Who was it? The voice sounded so kind and warm. "Takashi!" my eyes snapped open. Around me was the room that had become so familiar, the room that the Fujiwara's gave me. "Takashi dear, if you don't get up now you'll be late for school."
It was Touko-san. She was calling me. "Hai, Touko-san!" I laid motionless in my futon for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts.
"Another bad dream, Natsume?" Sensei emerged from my futon.
"Sensei! Stay out of my bed!" I said and whacked him on the head. I got up out of the clutches of the warm sheets, ignoring Sensei's usual grumbling, and headed downstairs to greet Touko-san. The bad dream was soon gone and forgotten.