I will be first and foremost to say, I usually don't like OCs. I will also say that, to write an adventure fic in the Natsume Yuujinchou fandom, you can't not have OCs. Suffer it, bwahahaha...

Or even better, like them, lol XD

I've planned the fic out and it'll be about 26 chapters. Hopefully, you're in for a ride. This can be called the "slow" part of the fic, although things should pick up in the next pair of chapters.

On a side note, this is my only fic thus far that uses Japanese honorifics. Usually I believe in keeping those out, since if a fic is in English, then it should be in English and not something in-between, but since this series is so Japanese-centric anyways... It just seemed right. "Nushi-sama" is roughly "Lord."

Chapter 5

"Nushi-sama! Nushi-sama!" An excited voice pierced through the forest as the little scritch scratch of feet came closer.

He turned towards the tanuki and greeted him with a warm smile. "Hello, Ren. I was waiting for you. We were supposed to … ah … start our lessons today?" Names had been exchanged yesterday. He was to remain nameless, "for your own safety," they had said. "Nushi-sama" it is, for the time being.

The triangular head bobbed up and down. "Yeah! I'm the best at this, so you can count on me!"

"And just what is 'this?'" The arrangements were all so sudden, it felt like the world had only righted itself recently. One moment, he was a person without an identity, lying on the bare ground of an even barer forest, and the next he was Lord and Protector of the godforsaken piece of land. He was dressed in silk, a white and pale sakura pink kimono. Kakuyuki, the lady spirit with the long hair, said that the color suited him. He chalked that comment up to empty flattery. He hardly thought the fine material was appropriate for training in.

"Well," Ren did that shifting thing he did when he got nervous, "I'm a tanuki, and tanuki are masters of disguises…"

"So you're here to help me disguise myself?"

"No, it's more … more about the illusion. You should be able to do it, though! Maybe not as great as I can, but Nushi-sama is strong!"

"Now you're just doing that to make me feel embarrassed." He scratched his cheek, trying to remember why the boy's personality seemed so familiar. It was as though it were from an old dream.

Everything felt like it was in a dream, as though the events around him were being viewed through a film of molasses. Nothing was connected, and, most importantly, nothing was connected to him. He was just floating, letting things happen around him. It was a horribly disorienting sensation, but there was nothing to ground himself to, and so he continued drifting.

The other youkai seemed to be friendly. He could even handle being their "Lord" if that was what they really wanted. He seriously hoped nothing happened, though, because he didn't trust himself to be as great as they thought he was. He was sure to disappoint them, and with that would come danger, injuries, and possibly even death.

He didn't want to be responsible.

But he couldn't leave them alone.

Was he this bad before his memory loss?

"—-sama?"

He jumped. "Yes? Sorry, I drifted off for a second."

Ren's cheeks puffed up. "You weren't listening to a word I said!"

"No, really, I'm sorry. I must still be tired from the day before yesterday. I'm listening now."

The tension seemed to leave the small tanuki's shoulders. "Oh. Right. It was only three days ago, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, though. I'll do my best!" He struck what he thought was a "ready" pose.

Ren giggled. "OK, then. Here's how you do it…"

The lesson was easier than he would have thought. The concepts rested upon belief and will. That, combined with a certain kind of spiritual power that he apparently possessed, allowed others to see him as only what he wanted them to see him as. He didn't see any purpose or use for this trick, but Ren assured it would be very useful sometime.

Yes, it had only been three days, but it was a long few days, spent on the ground or in a futon. The closest thing the demons had to a lodge was a small straw-built hut that was made only to keep out the water. There wasn't even a wooden shrine nearby for shelter. It only made him appreciate his spirit companions more, since they were the only ones he'd talked to.

"Wow, you're a regular natural at this!" clapped the raccoon dog. "You sure you haven't done this before?" No sooner had he uttered those words did he clap his paws over his snout. "I'm sorry, Nushi-sama! I didn't-"

He shook his head. "It's all right. I don't remember. But what matters is that I can do it now, right?" As he said this, he concentrated on appearing like the ugly boar demon that had hounded him the night before.

Open laughter. "Haha, that looks like him! Igari will be so mad when he sees you like that!"

Ren continued guffawing, rolling around on his large belly. It wasn't long before "Nushi-sama" broke down as well, his snorts and grunts coming through the pig snout sounding foreign to his ears, and only serving to fuel his gut-wrenching laughter more.

In his usual form, and with human hands, he wiped a tear away as the hilarity finally died down. He lifted the boy's small frame into his arms, and they both headed back to what served as a village for the spirits – the straw hut and the small clearing before it.

Everything was sparse, dirty, dying.

But, perhaps … perhaps it wouldn't be so bad staying here for just a while longer.

For those who care, Ren's kanji is "蓮".

Please review!