So here's a one shot for Natsume Takashi kun from Natsume Yuujinchou! As usual, a sudden idea popped up in my head when I rewatched a couple of episodes from the very first season and I had to write it :D
I hope I was able to get the personalities of the characters right, and that of Takashi kun if he ever ended up being confessed to and landed himself with a girlfriend.
Happy reading! ^^
~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOKAI SIGHT
Ami pov:
I stood outside the classroom doors waiting to be called in by the teacher and asked to introduce myself to at least three dozen boys and girls who would be my classmates from today. I had just moved into this calm countryside town with my family and today was my first day at school. It wasn't anything new to me though so I didn't feel nervous at the thought of being around new faces.
"Transfer Student, you can come in now." Sensei called and I took a deep inhale before letting myself in.
I walked to stand next to the teacher and turned to face my new classmates. I bowed and gave everyone my best smile.
"Hi everyone! I'm Erizawa Ami and I just moved into the countryside. I hope we can be friends and have a fun year together. I'll be in your care."
"It is a girl!! And she's pretty!!" One of the boys in the middle seats cheered and exchanged fist bumps with his friends.
I laughed with a slight shake of my head, not surprised in the least by the reactions I got. Sensei though seemed a little exasperated and slapped his metal scale on the front desk to make everyone settle down. When everyone fell silent, having been cut short of their excited chatter, the teacher looked at me with a kind smile.
"Okay, I want everyone to be nice to Ami chan and help her get used to the new atmosphere. I'm sure you all remember how nerve-wrecking your first days of school were so I expect you'll all be generously welcoming. Ami chan, you can take the empty seat over there by the window. The class representative Sasada chan will take you for a tour around the school during break." Sensei instructed.
"Okay, Sensei. Thank you." I responded with a chaste bow and made my way to the seat allotted to me.
I sat down and exchanged greetings with my immediate neighbors before Sensei told all of us to shush so he could begin class. Being my first day here, I assumed that I would be cut some slack so I didn't bother opening my textbook. Instead, I looked out of the window feeling just a little sad.
In all my sixteen years, I've never been in a single school for more than two years. My father had a job that got him transferred to different cities every two years so I ended up having to move from one school to another even before I could get used to the place. I had very few friends during the time I spent in any one school – even though I called them my close friends, they weren't people I could share my secrets with so I always ended up losing touch with them when I moved.
And of course, I had no boyfriend either.
It wasn't that I wasn't social or couldn't get along with people easily. I was friendly and could get involved in conversations easily but there was one thing that I couldn't share with anyone which made me keep my distance from those around me. It wasn't a bad habit or a family problem of any sort. In fact, if it were either of those, I wouldn't have minded talking about it to someone for some sort of consolation. I wouldn't have to try and maintain distance out of fear of being made an outcast.
Keeping my personal life aside, Kaa san, Tou san and I had become tired of constantly moving from place to place like nomads. So Tou san had finally decided to settle in this town in a company that ensured stress-free work timings and, obviously, no transfers.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw movement in my peripheral vision. Looked away from the scenery of the countryside, I looked down at my desk at the furthest edge. My lips twitched when I saw two small paws grabbing the edge of my desk and trembling. A few seconds passed and what appeared to be tails popped up and took support of the desk to help the rest of the tiny body finally climb up onto the desk. I covered my smile by clearing my throat softly as I observed the five tailed brown fox, barely six inches long, sitting in front of me and cleaning its fur with a tiny pink tongue having finally succeeded in climbing up to its destination.
When it had groomed itself enough, it looked up at me with its golden eyes and my eyes softened. I finally let a small smile graze my lips and tentatively reached out to touch it. It hissed for a moment, probably seeing my advances as a threat, but nuzzled its head against my fingers when it realized I would do it no harm.
I suppose anyone else who could see a creature like this would have freaked out but I was used it, having seen these supernatural creatures called Youkai for many years now. That's right – this was the secret that prevented me from being able to be completely honest with anyone, even my parents. After being called a freak for hallucinating things that weren't there and suffering through counseling sessions to 'cure' me for this hallucination, I decided to keep this special ability of mine as a secret.
Anyone else in my shoes would have probably called this as a curse and would have hated the fact that they could see Youkai. However, I couldn't consider it as a curse. I was awed by the appearances of all the Youkai I could see – some were fascinating, some frightening, some cute and cuddly and others what you could call wolves in sheep skin. I had my own set of experiences with Youkai, both good and bad, but not bad enough to make me hate them in any way. They were a part of our world and deserved to live just as much as humans did.
Most of the time, I acted as if I couldn't see them. It was to make sure that I didn't get into unnecessary trouble with them or end up being called a freak by the normal people around me. And since I ignored them, pretending as if I couldn't see them, they too ignored me like I was a fly passing by. But adorable little Youkai like this that cuddled to you with their soft fur tingling your skin were hard to ignore.
I resisted a laugh when I saw that the Youkai had fallen asleep on my desk. It had curled up with its tails wrapped around itself to keep warm. Seeing no need to pay any more attention to it for now, I looked back at the chalkboard to see what Sensei was teaching.
They were stuff that I had already learned in my previous school – an advanced academy that prepared us for international level competitive exams – so I decided to look around at my classmates to at least recognize them by their faces. However, just before I could do so, my gaze was locked with that of a boy's. He had sandy blonde hair and golden eyes which were so wise as if he had just seen a ghost.
I noticed him glance at the Youkai on my desk and I tensed. Could he see it too? Could he see Youkai just like I did? Was he just like me? Or was he just looking at me like I had gone crazy because I was touching 'thin air'?
"Ami chan? Would you please come up to the chalk board and solve this problem?" Sensei spoke up and I tore my gaze away from the boy.
"Okay, Sensei." I responded and stood up from my seat while pulling my hand away from the tiny Youkai that had woken up and was now nuzzling against my hand again. I fell sideways because of the loss of support and I had to resist making a sound at how it adorably purred in displeasure.
When I reached the chalkboard, Sensei handed me a piece of chalk and smiled. "You don't have to feel nervous. Consider this as revision of what you learnt in your previous school, okay?"
I nodded with a smile in response and looked at the geometry problem written on the chalk board. It was an easy problem and I solved it quickly. After a word of appreciation from Sensei, I sat down at my desk again. I glanced at the boy with whom I had had a short staring contest before, expecting him to still be watching me, but he was looking ahead with his chin resting on one hand and a bored expression on his face. Shrugging slightly, I looked back at the Youkai as it walked closer to me and proceeded to climb onto my shoulder. It sat there comfortably, happily, and didn't disturb me with any more than occasional nuzzles during the rest of the day.
>>Timeskip
"I'm off to school, Kaa san!" I called as I hopped on one foot to put on my shoe onto the other.
"Have a good day, dear! And make sure you give my homemade manju buns to your friends!" She called back from the kitchen.
"I will!" I responded with a light laugh and headed out of the house and down the road towards my school.
Days had become weeks and weeks had become months and now it had been close to four months since I began attending school in this countryside town. Everyone was so much more welcoming than the students in the posh city schools I had always attended and I already had several friends I considered close – Sasada chan, our class's representative, Michiko chan, Kitamoto kun, Nishimura kun, Tanuma kun and Takashi kun.
Natsume Takashi kun was someone I had felt an odd connection with, especially after receiving his rather startled stare on my first day at school. I had initially thought that he too could see Youkai like me and that he would ask me about the small fox Youkai I had been playing with during class. However, he had spoken to me quite normally – well, more so awkwardly at first – and we become good friends after hanging out in our group several times. He was probably just weirded out by my odd behavior on my first day. After all, it's not really normal to touch something that no one can see and smile at it.
I'm sure I had just appeared to be a crazy person to him, just like I did to all the other people who couldn't see Youkai. It was a common occurrence in my childhood because I didn't stay aware of my surroundings when I happened to see a Youkai nearby. When I spoke to the Youkai or walked around one that I happened to see in the middle of the road, I was oftentimes called strange and freakish. It was after several such embarrassing and rather hurtful incidents that I began to ignore Youkai and find ways to avoid them while not appearing to act strangely.
I was aware that Youkai were abundant in forests and secluded areas rather than main city streets so ever since we moved into this town, I kept my distance from any sort of dense vegetation.
Besides keeping this ability of mine a secret, I had come to like Takashi kun more than a friend. Even though he didn't stand out in the group, he was a soft and kind person and very easy to talk to. I felt at ease around him and even felt that he wasn't the kind to judge people for who they were. The sense of comfort while in his company had soon turned to romantic affection. As much as I yearned to confess my feelings for him, I was hesitant to do so. If we ended up becoming close and he found out about my ability to see Youkai, he was sure to call me a freak as well and wish to not have anything to do with me. And then everyone else in the school would find out and perhaps even everyone in town would find out and I would have to go through the torture of being alone and outcast once again.
I don't think I would be able to handle that kind of rejection again but....I still wanted to be closer to him despite all the risks. I really really liked him and I had hope somewhere in the smallest corner of my heart that he wouldn't push me away for being different.
"Takashi kun!" I called upon seeing him walking a little ahead of me.
He stopped walking and turned to look at me. He smiled in return and waited for me to catch up to him so we could walk together to school. When I reached him, I noticed that he was carrying his cat in his arms. Unlike other house cats, this little guy had the appearance of a fortune cat and was quite plump. He was quite adorable and enjoyed cuddles and ruffles from people. Although, there was something mildly off about him too. The way he sometimes stared at people was creepy, as if he was trying to look into their very soul. It was also odd that in the midst of cuddling, he would suddenly tense and jump away as if he hated being treated like a pet.
Well, he was probably just a cat with multiple personality disorder or something.
"How come you have Nyanko Sensei with you? You know you can't bring him to school, right?" I said and scratched him on the head earning a satisfied purr in response.
Yet again, after a moment of indulging in my scratching, he tensed and hissed while slapping my hand away with his paw. He almost appeared to be pouting and Takashi kun sighed exasperatedly as he looked at him.
"He refused to stay at home today. He's been following me ever since I left home." Takashi kun said only to wince when Nyanko Sensei bit him, jumped out of his arms and ran off into the tall grass on the side.
"Ah! Nyanko Sensei! Wait!" He hollered in vain and then sighed again. "Geez...."
I could only laugh and shake my head. "Let him go, Takashi kun. He's probably just in a bad mood. You said that he does go off on his own every now and then, right? I'm sure he'll be back soon."
"Hmm, I guess so. I just hope he doesn't come to school and cause me any problems."
I looked ahead with another laugh. Not only was the name of the cat funny, he was quite a troublesome little guy and always seemed to get Takashi kun into trouble by being mischievous and poking around in places he shouldn't. It was almost like he was playing around with Takashi kun, being his superior and in a way bossing him around. Who knew adorable house cats could be so much trouble?
"Oi!!! Natsume! Ami chan!" We heard a voice call out and looking ahead, we spotted Nishimura kun and Kitamoto kun waving at us furiously and grinning widely.
When we reached them, I smiled awkward as they looked at me with hopeful eyes.
"Ne ne Ami chan! Who are you going to give chocolates to today??" Nishimura kun asked.
"If you don't have anyone, you can give them to me!" Kitamoto kun chimed.
"Chocolates? What for?" Takashi kun asked curiously, showing that the fact that today is Valentine's Day had completely slipped his mid.
"Oi oi Natsume, how can you be so nonchalant about today?" Nishimura kun asked with a pout. "Today is Valentine's Day! It's the day when guys get proposals from girls in the form of chocolates! Of course, there are nice girls who will give all of us chocolates out of friendship but there are high chances that we can get girlfriends today!"
"Exactly! And I'm sure Ami chan has got some chocolates too!" Kitamoto kun said excitedly. "So Ami chan, are you going to give all of us chocolate or is there a lucky guy today??"
I felt heat rush to my face and I looked away from them feeling embarrassed. After a lot of contemplation, I had decided to give Takashi kun chocolates today and finally tell him that I like him. But with all this teasing, I was beginning to feel nervous and awkward and worried about not making a fool of myself.
"Arre, what is with that reaction?? Wait a second!!! You do have someone you like?? And you're going to give him chocolate today??!" Kitamoto kun reacted first.
"W-well, about that...." I mumbled and pushed some strands of my hair behind my ear while giving a flustered glance at Takashi kun.
"Who is it?? Is it me??" Nishimura kun asked. "Or Kaname? Or Okiwara?"
"C'mon you guys...." I said and held my hands up in defense. "Y-you're making me feel really awkward here! You'll find out soon anyway...."
"Aww man! That means it's not any of us! Isn't that sad, Natsume??"Nishimura kun whined but Takashi kun sufficed with a half hearted smile. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation and didn't seem to want to get dragged into it either.
Done with their teasing and questioning for now, the four of us made it to school just before the bell rang and the gates were closed. We shuffled up to our classroom and settled in for another day of intense grinding from the teachers.
Most of the morning passed by painfully slowly but the minute the lunch bell rang, everyone was bustling about distributing chocolates to their friends and their, hopefully, to be boyfriends. I stayed seated at my desk and fiddled with the small bag of homemade chocolate I had prepared to give to Takashi kun. I glanced his way and blushed seeing him sleeping with his head on the desk. He looked so tranquil and handsome and the nervousness in me increased two fold.
"C'mon Ami chan! Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch!" Sasada chimed while turning to face me.
"O-oh, um, why don't you guys go ahead first? There's something I have to do." I said and averted my eyes to the side.
"Ahh....you're planning to give chocolate to Natsume kun, aren't you?!" She asked with a smug smile. I looked at her wide eyes and blushed even darker as she and Michiko chan giggled.
"W-wha...How did you know that?!" I asked in a hush whisper and glanced at Takashi kun to make sure he hadn't heard. Then again, it didn't matter if he heard about it or not. After all, I was going to confess to him in a few minutes.
"It's so obvious that you like him! You should see the way you blush every time you look at him!" She teased more.
"I don't blush when I look at him!" I hollered but looked away mildly sheepish. "M-maybe I do sometimes....but I think I've been hiding it really well!"
"You are good at hiding it and most of the guys in our class are too dense to notice such reactions anyway but you can't hide it from us!" Michiko chan chimed.
"Oh my goodness, this is so embarrassing...." I mumbled and covered my now flaming face with my hands.
"No it's not! I'm actually cheering for you!" Sasada chan said and bent down to whisper into my ear. "But there's one thing you should know about him. He's a little different from normal people. He can....see things."
I uncovered my face, my flustered expression now replaced by one of surprise. What did she mean by that?
"Sasada chan, what do you mean by that?" I asked her and she shrugged.
"You'll find out, I guess. We'll leave you two alone in the class for a while so you can confess without worrying about audience!" She winked and hurried over to Nishimura kun and Kitamoto kun to drag them away before they could wake up Takashi kun. I overheard her say that I would wake him up and bring him to the cafeteria since I was still packing up.
I waited for a few more minutes until the classroom had cleared out and it was only Takashi kun and I remaining. My heart was now pounding so hard that it was the only thing I could hear. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths to ready myself for my life's very first confession. I got up from my seat and walked to where Takashi kun was sleeping while holding the bag of chocolates in my hands. Just as I reached him, I noticed a small one eyed Youkai trying to climb up onto his head.
I brought a fist to my lips and laughed softly before cupping my palm and providing a bit of support to the Youkai. Upon my gesture, the Youkai looked at me for a moment before going back to tugging at Takashi kun's hair to climb atop his head while gladly accepting the support of my palm. When it tugged another tress of his hair, he twitched and opened his eyes. Startled by him waking up at such a moment and not wanting him to think I was doing something weird to him, I took a hold of the Youkai in a firm yet gentle grip and pulled it away to hide it behind my back along with my chocolates. Unfortunately, the Youkai still had a hold on Takashi kun's hair when I pulled it away, he yelped as he felt the sharp tug.
He sat up and rubbed the side of his head that had been abused and then looked at me. He glanced around the classroom, surprised to see that there was no one here besides us, and once again looked up at me with curiosity swirling in his eyes.
"Erizawa? What's going on?" He asked slightly groggily and I felt so flustered that I was sure steam was coming out of my ears.
"T-T-Takashi kun! I-I'm really sorry! T-the thing is, there was something i-in your hair and I just...." I stuttered like an idiot.
I couldn't complete what I wanted to say though because I yelped upon feeling a sharp sting on my thumb. I dropped the bad of chocolates I had been holding behind my back and shook off the Youkai that had just bit me in an attempt to escape. I glanced at the Youkai as it scuttled away from us and then bent to pick up the bag of chocolates. I felt it and sighed in relief, glad that none of them seemed to be broken from the impact.
"Erizawa, are you okay? What happened?" Takashi kun asked while looking at me worried as I stood. I did notice him glance behind me for a moment though but I doubt he saw the Youkai.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. I just kind of....hit myself against the chair." I answered dumbly and mentally cursed. As I feared, I was making a fool of myself in front of Takashi kun.
"That's a relief. Then shall we head out for lunch? You came to wake me up so we could go to the cafeteria, right?" He said with a smile and stood up.
"A-actually...." I stuttered and held out the bag of chocolates in both hands to him. "I-I wanted to give you these, Takashi kun. I made them myself."
He was silent for a moment and I looked up from my lashes to see him looking at the chocolates with wide eyes.
"These....these are for me?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper and laced with surprise.
I nodded and felt a jolt of electricity when our hands came in contact as he took the bag of chocolates. He looked just as awkward and hesitant as me and completely unaware of what to say.
"Takashi kun?" I spoke up again and looked into his eyes despite how flustered I felt right now. "I like you. I really like you, Takashi kun and....I was wondering if we could go out."
This time, Takashi kun's face filled with color and his blush reached all the way till his ears. But as soon as his face flamed, a sudden thought seemed to come to his mind. He tensed for a moment and then looked away mildly disappointed. He stepped away from me and I felt a painful jab in my chest. Had he....rejected me?
"Thank you for the chocolates. I will think about what you said." He said flatly and walked out of the classroom, leaving me surprised, dumbfound and with a throbbing pain in my chest.
Takashi pov:
I sat at my table in my room while rolling around one of the chocolates that Erizawa, no, Ami had given me. I was surprised that she confessed to me today, and embarrassed even, but also happy. With how unsocial and reserved I am, I never thought any girl would take an interest in me romantically.
She was a transfer student who I had been friends with for just a couple of months. She was nice girl, cheerful and mingled well with everyone. She was pleasant company because she wasn't hyper like the other girls of my class. I think she was the first girl I had had a normal conversation with for more than five minutes.
She had told us that she didn't have many close friends from her previous schools though, mainly because her father transferred every two years causing the family to move from one city to another. as such, she seemed to have a mildly reserved personality like me.
I was surprised that she had confessed to me and I am quite sure I was as flustered as she was, my face red and my voice caught in my throat at that time. In fact, I too enjoyed her company and I had begun to feel a little too self conscious while around her. I liked her too, more than a friend, but I didn't know she thought of me in the same way. That's why I had never really bothered with trying to get closer to her in any way – well, there was also my hesitance that didn't allow me to do anything about it.
But as much as I was happy and actually did like the idea of becoming her boyfriend, I knew this could never work. We were too different and I had a secret that I couldn't tell anyone or let anyone find out. If she knew that I could see Youkai, I'm sure she would call me a freak and run away, just like everyone else of my family. Even thinking of that possibility sent a sharp pain through my heart. I had been shunned away enough and for longer than necessary and I didn't want to have to go through with something like that again, especially from someone I had come to like.
"Nyaaaaan!!!" I heard a yell and I stumbled forward when Nyanko Sensei landed on the back of my head rather violently. It was hard enough to make me hit my forehead on my table.
"Nyanko Sensei! What are you doing?!" I hollered angrily and tried to punch him off my head. He avoided my fist though and jumped off of me to take a defensive stance while standing on the floor.
We had a glaring contest for a few moments before I sighed and gave up. I rested my chin in my hand again and closed my eyes.
"Tch tch, humans get depressed so easily. Look at you sighing over that girl from your class." Nyanko Sensei mocked making my brow twitch.
"It has nothing to do with you so don't poke your nose into it." I muttered.
"Oh ho ho....so you do like her." He teased with a smug grin. "But you're scared that she'll dump you when she finds out that you can see us."
"Shut up, you stupid cat! And mind your own business!" I snapped.
"Who do you think you're calling a cat?! This isn't my real form!" He retorted in response. "Besides, don't you think there's no reason to hide your ability to see Youkai from her? She can see them too, right? She was the one who pulled that chibi Youkai away from your head during lunch break. She's probably just hiding her ability like you so she doesn't get into unnecessary trouble. Both of you are such wimps."
I twitched and frowned slightly. It is true that I had been finding her behavior strange every now and then and I was wondering if she could see Youkai as well. Even on her very first day, I had noticed a small fox Youkai nuzzling her hand while sitting on her desk. I'm sure I saw her smile and react to its nuzzling, as if she could see it there and encouraged it to be close to her. There were several other instances where she would appear to be gazing into the distance but I was almost sure she could see the Youkai standing or walking in front of us.
I perked up when another thing suddenly hit me and I looked at Nyanko Sensei. "Wait a minute, how do you know she confessed to me during lunch break anyway?! You came to my school when I told you not to, didn't you?!"
"You should be glad I did!" He hollered back. "I saw her touch the Youkai when you were sleeping! She can see them too!"
"If she can see them too....no, I can't believe that unless we test it." I said.
"See? I told you that you like her." Nyanko Sensei stated in a muffled voice while he ate something.
"S-shut up! I-I didn't ask for your op-hey! Those are the chocolates she gave me! I didn't say you could eat it!" I scolded and reached out to the bag of chocolates he was digging through.
I looked inside and saw that there was just one left – I had eaten only one since I came back from school and I clearly remember seeing at least a dozen chocolates in the bag. This gluttonous cat had eaten almost everything!
"Those chocolates were delicious! She said she made them herself, huh? You should ask her to make more for you so I can eat them. That is, after she becomes your girlfriend."
Feeling my last bit of patience snap, I hit Nyanko Sensei as hard as I could on the head and walked out of my room with the last chocolate safe in my hands.
Ami pov:
"Okay class, make sure you submit the project before lunch break tomorrow! It will be included in your final evaluation so I hope you take this seriously." Sensei instructed as she stacked her books and reference material.
We all voiced out words of agreement before packing up for the day. I let out a sigh and stuffed my books into my bag before standing up. I told Sasada chan and Michiko chan that I had something to take care of so I could go home by myself today. I wasn't in very high spirits since yesterday because of Takashi kun's indirect rejection. I had been avoiding Takashi kun since after lunch break yesterday. I didn't even meet his gaze when we had passed by each other on the way to the cafeteria today. Seeing my expression yesterday, Sasada chan and Michiko chan had guessed that my confession hadn't really gone well. They had vouched to ask Takashi kun why he had rejected me but I told her that it was okay and that I didn't want to force him to like me.
I wasn't angry at him for not having the same feelings for me that I had for him but it still felt painful and I knew I would need some time to feel better.
Just as I stepped out of the school gates, I heard my name being called out from the distance. I turned to see Takashi kun hurrying to where I was. I clenched my fists slightly, not quite in the mood to talk to him, but I didn't want to be rude. I managed a small smile and waited for him to reach me. When he did, he bent forward while taking support of his knees so he could catch his breath.
"Ami, I need to talk to you." He said hesitantly when he straightened up. "There's some place I want you to go to with me...if that's okay with you."
I narrowed my eyes just a bit wondering what he was planning and also a little surprised that he had called me by my first name instead of my last name like he usually did. Was he going to take me to some flowery meadow and then say he accepted my confession? He didn't seem much like a romantic so where did he want me to go and for what reason??
"Okay." I said with a single nod and walked next to him, following him to wherever he wanted to take me.
We walked for a few minutes before Nyanko Sensei joined us. He toddled next to me and even glanced up at me once with what appeared to be a grin. It was a little unexpected because cats never actually smiled....right?
The rest of the walk was silent and awkward. Takashi kun and I maintained a foot distance between each other so our hands wouldn't brush even by accident. We soon took a turn off the road and into the thriving vegetation just on the outskirts of the town – a place where people said that Youkai existed. Of course they never saw the Youkai but strange happenings ignited such rumors. I was sure they weren't rumors though because I could feel the change in air around us.
"Um, Takashi kun? How much further are we supposed to go?" I asked, now feeling a little wary.
"Just a little more." He mumbled and continued on.
When we made it to a meadow, a clearing with lush grass and small flowering plants growing everywhere, we came to a stop. I looked at Takashi kun curiously as he turned to face me. He glanced at Nyanko Sensei for a moment awkwardly and hesitantly before meeting my gaze again. He seemed determined about what he was about to do and my heart skipped a beat, anticipating him to say what I wanted to hear.
"Ami, could you close your eyes for a few minutes? There's something I want to show you....a surprise of sorts." He said.
I just nodded and closed my eyes while taking a deep inhale. I heard a bit of shuffling after that and my ears twitched, trying to pick up the sounds clearer. I was sure I could hear people talking but what it was they were saying was unclear. After a few more noises, everything fell silent again.
"You can open your eyes now." Takashi kun said and I bit my lip before opening my eyes slowly.
I was greeted by a big eye merely centimeters from my face instead of the meadow and I yelped in surprise. I stumbled back, tripped over my feet clumsily and finally landed on my rear. I looked up to see a Youkai standing in front of me, one with a big head and a single big eye.
"Yup, it looks like she can see us." He said with a hand at his chin in thought. "Natsume dono and Madara sama were right."
"They're right, they're right." The other Youkai standing a few feet away nodded in unison.
"I told you that you were worrying over nothing." This time, it was Nyanko Sensei who spoke. I looked at him with wide eyes, absolutely dumbfound.
"N-Nyanko Sensei just spoke." I said airily. "He just spoke! Takashi kun, w-what is going on here??"
My heart skipped a beat when I saw his smiling so gently, his cheeks dusted a light pink. He looked relieved and happy and I couldn't tear my gaze away from him.
"It's a relief that we're the same." He said and walked up to me. He held out his hand and I hesitated for a moment before letting him help me up.
"So you can see them too." I stated when I was standing. We were barely a foot apart and Takashi kun blushed, suddenly flustered. He took a step back and ruffled his hair.
"Y-yeah. I can see Youkai too." He answered and I too broke out into a relieved smile.
"It must have been tough, huh? You know, being called a freak by those around you...." I mumbled while looking down but I didn't lose my smile.
"It was....but I don't hate my ability to see them anymore. I'm actually glad." He answered and glanced at the Youkai huddled in a group talking to each other. "Besides, there's something I have to do. I have to finish what my grandmother started."
"What your grandmother started?" I asked curiously but he just shook his head.
"I'll tell you about it some other time."
We were silent for a moment after which I summoned courage to clarify the end result of this little field trip of ours.
"Um , Takashi kun? Now that we know the both of us can see Youkai and won't look like crazy people to each other....does it mean you accept my confession?? I noticed you call me by my first name too, so...." I trailed off awkwardly.
When his whole face turned red, I got my answer. I brought a fist to my lips and laughed, happy and now finding this awkwardness thoroughly hilarious. Takashi kun joined in soon after and the atmosphere around us lightened.
"My my, look at you two. I've never seen a weirder pair of humans before." Nyanko Sensei muttered as he walked closer to us.
I sat on my knees in front of him and rubbed his head, earning a purr in response. He snapped and jumped back after he realized he was getting comfortable and glared at me.
"Stop doing that! I'm not a cat!" He hollered.
"Well, you sure look and act like a cat to me." I pointed with a laugh.
"This isn't my real form! If you see my real form, I'm sure you'll have nightmares for weeks!" He gloated making me raise a brow.
"Why don't you show me your real form then? Unless, of course, you're just making it up to hide the fact that you're just a cuddle-loving cat Youkai." I teased and he snapped.
He disappeared in a puff of smoke, at which I squealed embarrassingly, and gasped with wide eyes when the smoke cleared to reveal a huge wolf. He was a magnificent beast, his paw itself almost half my stature. I couldn't help but slowly get up from the ground while unable to tear my gaze away from him and reach out to hold his face in both my hands. He narrowed his eyes at my gesture but didn't pull away. In fact, he purred again, just like he did in his cat form but in a much deeper tone, and accepted my caresses.
"You're really beautiful, Nyanko Sensei." I said and placed my cheek against his face with my eyes closed.
"My real name is Madara." He corrected and pushed me away from himself. "Anyway, haven't you ogled over me enough? You and that brat Natsume should go out on a date or whatever."
"Oi Nyanko Sensei! Don't say stuff like that so easily! You sound embarrassing!" Takashi kun scolded once again turning pink in embarrassment.
I faced him and giggled with a light blush but he merely averted his eyes, unsure of what to say or do now. Nyanko Sensei, or Madara, transformed back to his cat form and landed on my back. Being rather heavy for a house cat and having been in a very relaxed stance, I ended up stumbling forward. I'm sure Nyanko Sensei landed on me on purpose though, because as I fell forward, my lips came in contact with that of Takashi kun's. I then yelped as Takashi kun fell back with me on top of him and everything around us fell to pin-drop silence.
My eyes went as wide as dinner plates and I was sure I had a blush going all the way till my ears matching that of Takashi kun's.
"T-Ta-Takashi kun! O-oh my goodness! I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean to...!" I stuttered hopelessly as I scrambled off of him to sit on my knees on the ground instead.
"Heh, isn't that better? Why are you apologizing anyway? You're his girlfriend now so you should kiss him, right?" Nyanko Sensei said nonchalantly as he began to walk away from us. "Enjoy your date, Natsume, Ami."
I felt happy. I was happy that Takashi kun had accepted my confession, we were now an official couple and we had shared our first kiss together even though it was completely unexpected. Even though I was thoroughly embarrassed right now, I smiled. But Takashi kun seemed so flustered by everything that had happened and annoyed at what Nyanko Sensei had done and bashful that the other Youkai around us were giving creepy grins our way that he finally snapped.
"Nyanko Sensei, you stupid cat!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's the mischievous Nyanko Sensei for you! Yet again, it's his responsibility to help Natsume out, but this time not against Youkai but in the matter of getting him a girlfriend XD And isn't Takashi kun just adorable? >w<
I love putting up pictures between the story! X)
Hope you all enjoyed this one shot! Do let me know your thoughts :)
Vote!
COMMENT!
:D