Thank you to all who reviewed. This is my first fan-fic. To be honest, I did not really expect to continue this as a full story. The first chapter was just something that was a spur of the moment sort of thing. Anyways, this is chapter two. It's short, I know. I'll build up to longer chapters (maybe). Anyways, comment and review. I'd appreciate all input. :)
"Ah, the moon's beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Hinoe remarked, gesturing carelessly towards the bright lantern in the night sky. Her hairpin glimmered as it caught the soft beams of moonlight.
"Hmmph," Nyanko-sensei grunted as he swayed back and forth on his paws. He lifted his eyes towards the moon and gave a snort of derision. "You know what's really beautiful? Sake! Yup, sake ~" Nyanko declared as he swung the sake bottle back and forth. He grinned and waddled forward, humming an old tune completely off-key.
Hinoe rolled her eyes. "Uncultured furball", she muttered.
"Hey! What was that, you flowery freak! I heard that, you know," Nyanko scowled. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have things to do besides following me?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Madara. I wanted to see how Natsume's doing," Hinoe countered as she dangled her pipe in her fingers.
"Whatever. He's fine," Nyanko muttered. "All right! Second verse ~" and began singing again, much to Hinoe's irritation.
The two continued their bickering right until they reached the Fujiwaras' home. Leaping up to Natsume's bedroom door, Nyanko clumsily swatted the window open and clambered in. Natsume's probably going to be annoyed again. Tcch, the brat. "Natsume ~! Missed me? Flowery freak is here to see you. The sake is great tonight! Pity, you can't drink yet. Hey! Natsume! Are you listening? What, are you sleeping or something?"
Annoyed with the lack of response, he staggered towards the lump of blankets in the middle of the room. Pushing aside the covers, Nyanko realized that something was wrong. Natsume laid there, still and quiet. To the oblivious eye, he seemed at rest. To Nyanko's eyes, Natsume was far from peaceful slumber. His fists were clenched tightly, fingers biting into the flesh of the palm. Natsume's face, usually so calm and placid, contorted in pain-and is that fear? Nudging closer, Nyanko could see tears steadfastly streaming on Natsume's cheeks. Definitely not a dream then. A nightmare. Nyanko sighed. Nightmares visited Natsume all too frequently these days, especially with all those annoying yokai visiting the brat for their names back, or worse yet for help. Tcch. He jumped onto Natsume's chest and promptly began shaking Natsume. "Oi, brat! Wake up! You're having a nightmare. Oi, snap out of it!"
But much to Nyanko's surprise, instead of the usual punch and annoyed berating he would so indignantly receive from the ungrateful brat, there was only a harried panting echoing throughout the room. Natsume still slept on. In fact, the nightmare seemed to drag Natsume deeper in. As Nyanko peered curiously at him, Natsume's chest began heaving up. His breathing quickened in short, erratic pants. Was Natsume hyperventilating? What happened to him? Thump. An unforeseen force knocked Nyanko out of his reverie –and off his feet. "Hinoe!" he growled, annoyed.
"Get off! He needs to breathe. Do you know how heavy you are?" Hinoe complained as she pushed Nyanko off. "What's wrong with him?" Her eyebrows dipped slightly in concern as she gently thumbed Natsume's cheek. "Sweetie, wake up. It's just a dream." Natsume's mouth opened and Nyanko's ears perked up at the sound of mumbling. The two leaned in closer to Natsume to hear.
"Gone…Gone…No. No. Gone…Gone. Dead".
With each word that tumbled out of Natsume's lips, his breath increasingly hitched until his mumbles blurred into a hysterical stream of broken sobs. Nyanko and Hinoe viewed the scene with growing alarm. Overcome with a desire to comfort the boy, Hinoe found herself reaching towards Natsume again, trying to soothe him with gentle touches and her soft voice. Still, Natsume's nightmare persisted. The two looked on helplessly as the nightmare reduced Natsume into a writhing mass of limbs. "I don't smell anything unusual," Nyanko observed with a rare gaze of serious contemplation. He turned to Hinoe.
"This doesn't look like a spell or curse. That I know of, anyways". Her shrewd eyes surveyed Natsume as she puffed her pipe. "Does he have these dreams freq-?" A scream suddenly tore through the room. The sound reverberated, dragging goosebumps over her skin and leaving a foreboding sense of unease in their wake. God, the sheer amount of pain and grief. What kind of nightmare was Natsume even having? Hinoe fumbled for her pipe, fingers shakily lifting it up for another puff. The scream left even her, a yokai, trembling. And it seemed like she was not the only one affected.
Triggered by Natsume's scream, Nyanko tensed, fur bristling as if electrified by the sound itself. The calico-cat transformed into a white, furry beast with deadly claws and sharp, predatory eyes that exposed no sign of the drunkenness from before. Immediately, if not reflexively, Madara prowled towards Natsume, baring his fangs. Taking the hint, Hinoe smoothly stepped out of the way. Madara then curled his body in a protective circle around the boy. Snarling, he let out a deafening roar as a blinding light flooded the room. "Natsume!"