Title: Shelter
Rating: G
Pairing/Character/s: Natsume, Nyanko/Madara
Summary: After fleeing from a vengeful spirit, Natsume finds himself lost in the forest, caught out in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Prompt: 22. Mother Nature
A/N: Thanks to Aeth for helping me with the prompt. C: Uni started again today.
Natsume's foot slipped on a particularly slippery patch of earth, and he went down in a foomph, not even given enough time to shout out in surprise as he hit the ground hard. The breath left his lungs in a shocked gasp even as he tumbled down the slope, accidentally biting his lip when he hit a tree which abruptly stopped his fall albeit in a fairly painful manner.
"Oi! Natsume! Where are you?"
That was Nyanko-sensei's voice…wincing, Natsume sat up, feeling his head spin. He took several deep breaths before he got to his feet, his legs wobbling and aching from the long run earlier.
"Nyanko-sensei!" He called out, hearing his voice bounce through the forest. He waited – a heartbeat, two heartbeats – and then the manekineko bounced out from the foliage, looking cross and concerned at the same time.
"You fool!" He launched himself at Natsume's head, and because the boy was so tired from running Nyanko managed to land squarely in his face. Both of them crashed to the forest floor, Nyanko threading all over his face before he decided to settle down on Natsume's stomach. "You should have just let me take care of that impudent spirit before haring off like a deer."
"Sorry," Natsume didn't think he could get up with Nyanko sitting on his stomach. "I need to get home, or Touko-san is going to worry."
"Too late for that," Nyanko said, his eyes slitting. "The storm's already rolling in – you won't be able to find your way in the forest."
Nyanko was right, Natsume realized. The manekineko had barely finished his sentence before an ear-splitting crack sounded in the sky. Natsume jumped; a moment later, rain poured down, set to soak him to the skin within seconds if he didn't find some form of shelter fast.
There was a puff of white smoke and the next thing Natsume knew, he was surrounded by soft, white fur, sheltered from the thundering rain and warmed by Madara's body heat.
"You'll just have to think up an excuse for the human woman later," Madara grumbled, settling down against the rain. "If I try to fly you home in this weather you'll just be roasted by the lightning, and that would be bothersome."
Natsume hesitated for a moment.
"Do you still have the Book of Friends?"
He touched the pouch around his waist. "Yeah, it's still here."
"Good," Madara sniffed. "At least you held on to it."
Natsume smiled, and then snuggled into Madara's fur, deciding that waiting out the storm was the best thing to do for the time being. When he reached home, he would apologize to Touko-san, and promise not to stay out too late again…
Madara could feel the moment when Natsume fell asleep, his breathing evening and deepening as he relaxed. The stupid human, he thought to himself, but the thought held a note of sentiment in it. He settled down as comfortably as he could, made sure that Natsume was shielded from the rain, and closed his eyes, his ears still pricked for any unusual sounds in the torrent of rain. When they got home, he was going to make Natsume pick out all the dead leaves from his magnificent white fur.