A/N: Hope you like it! (*u*) A very merry Christmas to all of you!

WE TOO, WILL BE STORIES IN THE END

This was it. Today was the day. Natsume had butterflies in his stomach ever since waking up. He could hardly eat, and with everything prepared and nothing to do, Natsume stood in the centre of his room.

Everything was the same as it always was. Nothing had changed even though everything had. By the door, next to his zipped bag-pack lay a small bag that the yuujinchou fit in perfectly. He had decided to keep it separately and would strap his to his waist or leg so that it would always be with him. It wasn't something that he could afford to lose. The lives of yokai were quite literally in his hand.

He was delaying minute by minute, as if something would magically happen if he just kept staring outside the window in his room. Madara for once had been quiet and considerate: a comforting presence which right now, in his neko-form, was curled at his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them with determination. He looked down at his sensei and nodded.

'I'm leaving.' he called out to Touko-san and Shigeru-san. For the last time.

'Have fun!'

'Don't stay out in the sun too long.'

'I won't.'

He took his leave as naturally as he possibly could, concentrating on the road ahead and and warmth of his sensei on his shoulder.

They had walked for a few hours, at least, in silence, when Madara said: 'Let's rest for a while.'

Natsume simply nodded and sat down against a tree overlooking the small valley of hills below. They were deep into the country, so much so that there were few trees in fields of grassland. The town was far into the outskirts: it was a quaint little place where cars really didn't exist, and the bus arrived a couple of times each day. The nearest train station was a few miles walk away and had already been overtaken by nature. So, it didn't take a long walk to find yourself in the middle of nowhere. He held his sensei in his arms tightly.

Something, he needed something to occupy his mind, so that he wouldn't think of what he had just left. He was truly sad to leave. Running away from home was not new for him, but this time, peole would search for him in genuine concern, and this would be the only time that no one would be able to find him. It would have been ironic if not for the despair he felt.

He thought about the past two months, and everything that had passed. He remember when that had happened, and when Madara had given everything to save him, when he had turned into...

'Sensei?'

'Hm?'

'You know back then... when that happened?'

'What about it?'

'You transformed into a human form.'

'I did.'

'Who was it? I've never seen that form before. It was...'

Madara smirked. 'Do you want to see it?'

Natsume nodded. He was curious after all. He had been all this time, but with everything that had happened he had pushed it to the back of his mind. The form that had pressed his lips to his in a final desperate attempt to save him. He didn't feel embarrassed by it; it was his sensei who he trusted with everything he had.

Madara jumped out of his lap, the smirk still on his face.

And with a puff of cloudy white smoke, a human figure appeared in place of the cat.