A/N: Nothing to say!
WE TOO, WILL BE STORIES IN THE END
As the days flew by at an alarming rate, the pair found themselves closer than before. Maybe it was because of all the time that they had spent together, or maybe the situation just made it happen. Either way, there was a certain tenderness between them which wasn't present before. Oh, but not much had changed: they still bickered as usual, Natsume helped yokai as usual, and Madara went out drinking as usual. The yuujinchou got thinner as Natsume's bag became fuller, and one of them was never far from the other.
Natsume was sitting at the dinner table with Nyanko-sensei on his shoulder, waiting for Tokou-san to finish cooking. The pair watched amused at the harmless little yokai who had made the set dinner table its playground. It was time now to start bringing things to a close. While Natsume wouldn't be able to say goodbye, he wanted everyone to know how grateful he was, how precious all of them were to him.
He wondered what Tokou-san and Shigeru-san's reaction would be when he wouldn't come home one night in a few week's time. Touko-san would be angry that he hadn't called to let them know he would be late. Shigeru-san would console her at first, but as the hours past, they both would worry. They would call his friends asking for his whereabouts, and when even Natori-san hadn't heard of him, all their anger would dissapate into more worry and fear.
Shigeru-san would go out looking for Natsume while Tokou-san watched the house. And when Shigeru-san returned alone, Tokou-san's face would fall. While waiting helplessly they would fall asleep at the table. At dawn, the light would wake them up and they would look at each other in horror, realising that the night had passed and he had still not returned home. Tokou-san would run upstairs to his bedroom just in case, only to find it empty, and Shigeru-san would call the police. He would take a day off work and search the entire town.
In the evening, all of his friends would turn up at the Fujiwara's doorstep asking about Natsume, because he hadn't turned up at school either. They would all search in the forest until the darkness stoped them. Tokou-san would check him room again and again only to see that everything was the same: his cloths were still neatly folded in his closet, his school bag and book lay organised around his desk. The photos he had put up, hidden on the inner wall of the closet, still remained and the few possession he had were still in his room. He couldn't have run away, they all reasoned, with just the clothes on his back.
A few days would pass, with everyone searching fruitlessly. The Fujiwara's faces would grow weary and the school-kids' grim faces wouldn't smile. It would be then that Natori-san would turn up, and with a sombre face would simply say that he hadn't seen Nyanko-sensei around either. Tanuma and Taki would gasp, shocked at the revelation; they had been so woried for their friend that they didn't even for a moment think of where Ponta was. Nishimura and Kitamoto would frown, defeated because Natsume brought his cat everywhere. The Fujiwara's faces would fall even more. Only Natori-san wouldn't worry - he knew that the yokai could be trusted to keep him safe, and though he wouldn't know the reason, he of all people would understand.
It hurt, just to think of it. He held Nyanko-sensei, who was now on his lap, tighter. The neko-form stayed still in his arms - Natsume knew that his sensei could sense his despair, and it was comforting to know that fact.
In his internal musings, he hadn't realised that Shigeru-san and Tokou-san were siting on front of him at the table, waiting for him to start eating. 'Takashi? What's wrong?' Shigeru-san was the first to ask. They were both looking at him with concern, which only made him feel worse. Every time that he thought that he would be able to do this, that he could be strong enough, something like this happened. If he didn't keep a tight control over his mind, it would soon wander to where he didn't want it to go and he would end up feeling worse than ever.
But the thing that scared him more was the fact that he already felt like he was drifting apart from everyone. Nothing had changed, but just because he knew what was to come... Was such the power of knowledge? It really was like was Madara had said: his perspective had already changed, and the change was irreversible. He tried stopping his face fall even more at the thoughts which wouldn't leave him alone, but his attempt at a smile was miserable, if anything.
'Do you not like the food today, Takashi-kun?' Touko-San asked worriedly.
'No, no, everything is delicious as always. I am just not very hungry.' Natsume was quick to assure, as usual, but today it seemed more forced and less truthful.
'I see. Well, either way, you should at least eat something, Takashi.' Shigeru-San said, with Touko-San nodding encouragingly in agreement.
'Okay, then. I'll eat.'
The rest of dinner passed normally if a little rigidly on Natsume's side. The Fujiwara's didn't notice, or pretended not to notice, his discomfort. Before he stood to excuse himself, Tokou-San exclaimed: 'My, my. This is unusual. It seems that Nyankichi wasn't hurry today either.'
Indeed, today, the cat-form had made no move from the boy's lap, forgoing the bowl of his much loved Tokou-san's home cooking that lay still untouched on the floor.
'That is unusual. I'll take it up with me - he'll get hungry later.' Shigeru-san and Touko-san nodded at him, and they couldn't help but watch their charge's face as he stood after carefully gathering his cat in his arms, the little smile on his face the most genuine one all night.