Transparent (Takashi Natsume x Reader)

Decision (XV)

"Natsume," I said, "We should leave."
"Y...Yeah. Let's go," Natsume said, turning me around. But he bumped into something. I practically ran into his back. "Whoa!" he yelped.

"Ugh!" I grunted. "Natsume?" I asked, "Did you run into a tree?"
'Those damn trees,' I thought.
"...No. It's not a tree." Natsume began to back up. "Then what is it?" I asked curiously. I peaked my head around Natsume's back, which was blocking my view, to see an unexpected sight.

Another Natsume was standing in front of us.
"(Y/N)? What are you doing here? And who is that?" The newly appeared Natsume asked with a flushed face.

"Shit," I whispered.
I thought and thought. Which one is the real Natsume? Of course, there was the possibility that both of them were fakes. I remember my last encounter with it. I had it. At least, I thought I did, and that was good enough for me. I pondered a bit more to make sure I was confident enough to try my plan.

Finally...
"Natsume," I commanded.
The Natsume I was with before answered first with a quick "Yes." The other, the one we had just found, answered moments later with another simple "Yes?"

I grabbed the Natsume that I was with before this confusing encounter by hand. I pulled him down to my hight.

"Let's go," I whispered into his ear. I quickly pulled his arm directing him to run.

The only thing that I could think was, We have to get out of here. Where can we hide?

Like I said, my mind was mostly blank. This could be understood through where I decided we should hide: the shack.

I opened the doors with a slam. I didn't expect such a loud thud since they were sliding doors, but I couldn't let myself dwell on the little things. I shoved Natsume in and closed the doors behind us with another loud noise.

I began to exhale deeply with my forehead resting against the door. To say the least, I was tired. Natsume abruptly stole my attention. "Umm, (Y/N)."

"Haa, what is it, Natsume?"
"Look." It was one word, but it compelled me to turn against the door to view my new, unwanted surroundings.

My day was filled with surprises, but none more unexpected than the sight before my very eyes.

From the outside, the shack seemed small, old, and rickety. On the inside, however, it was a huge, luxurious mansion. In front of the doors with which we stood, there was a hall that led to a magnificent, grand staircase.

'Bigger on the inside, huh? Just like the T.A.R.D.I.S.' I thought. (Pardon the Doctor Who reference. I just couldn't help it.)

"Natsume, we should hide."
"Hide?"
"Yeah, incase it comes after us."
"Oh! You're right! We should hurry then."
There was a subtle knock on the door. We both flinched. A shiver went down my spine. I did not want to see that thing again.

"Don't run away, (Y/N)." Its voice was audible.

"Let's go!!" Natsume tugged my arm. We began running up the stairs.
"Hah..." I panted. When can I stop running..? I desperately wanted to know.

We heard the door slam open. I gasped. I ran a bit faster; not that it was by much, but I was motivated to be quicker.

"In here!" Natsume had ran into a room at the end of the hall on the second floor. He closed the door behind me.
"Haa... haa..." I could barely breath.
"Deep breaths. Take deep breaths," Natsume consoled me.
I nodded. I tried to do as told but I started shaking as I breathed in and out. "(Cough) (cough) (hack)!" Natsume gave me a worried expression.

"(Y/N), I-"
"Knock, knock, knock. Is anybody there?" It was knocking on the door to the room we were in. My legs were about to collapse again. "Damn..." I whispered.

I looked around the room. There was a a bed, a vanity mirror, a bathroom, and a closet.
Where to hide? I decided on the closet. I dragged Natsume and pushed him into the closet. I squeezed in after him. It was pretty roomy in there.

There was a rustling behind the door and the sound of the door handle shaking. I leaned at one end of the closet, where I came in, Natsume was at the other end. "Whoa!" he whisper-screamed. I looked at him with a face that said "Shh!" Natsume grabbed my wrist. Huh...?

He brought me close to him and whispered in my ear, "I found something." He used the hand that wasn't holding my wrist to push the closet wall he was leaning on. It opened a little. Barely enough for us to fit through. There was a space beyond the opening. I peeked through it to see a small place that could snugly  fit two people. It would be tight, but I realized that it was less obvious a place to hid then where we were now.

"You go in first," Natsume demanded. I was against it, of course, but he had made such a determined face that there would be no point it arguing about it.

I squeezed through the opening. I'm surprised it didn't make any creaking noises. The door to the room, however, made a long squeaking noise. It must have gotten in. But Natsume was still in the closet. "C'mon!" I whisper-yelled. He instantly complied. He was in the narrow space with me. But we still had to close the opening. It turned out to be harder to close than to open.

"Are you under the bed?
"I'm coming to find you~!"

We push with some force the first time. It didn't close. We tried again and again, each time applying more pressure.

"Hmm? You aren't here.
"I wonder where you are?
"Come out, come out wherever you are~!"

We ended up using all our body weight and manpower that we had to shut it, and, unsurprisingly, it made a loud thud.

"Oh? Are you in the closet?"

It opened the closet door. It didn't see us of course. But Natsume and I still held our breath instinctively.

"..."

It shut the closet door and the room's door shortly after, seemingly defeated.

"Thank goodness..." Natsume exhaled.
With all this pressure relieved, I rested my head on Natsume's shoulder and wrapped my arms around him back in a tight embrace. I could hear his heartbeat. It was still racing.

Wait,
His
Heart...?'

Only after thinking this did I realize how we were positioned. I was hugging him, I was pinning him against the wall. Oh, shi-!

But before I could freak out and push him away, he embraced me. He hugged me to his chest and rested his chin on the top of my head. "That was close, wasn't it?" he asked.
"Yes, it was."
I took a deep breath, and continued.
"Natsume..."
"Yes?"
"I... like..."

"Oh? There you are!"  It called gleefully.

Huh? But It left, didn't it?

It had opened the space dividing the closet and where Natsume and I were.

-To Be Continued-

Author's Note: That took longer than expected. Haha...(⌒-⌒; ) please don't hate me.

I have actually been anticipating this chapter for a long time now. I have since I first started this fanfic.
I got inspiration from this song.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G-YNNJIe2Vk
I thought some of you might be interested. It's weird, but I haven't listened to it in months.