A shallow gasp. Escaping before he could stop it. It boomed like a clap of thunder in the dark room.

"Nyanko-sensei?" he called after a hesitant moment.

There was no response.

You just imagined it, Takashi. There's nothing there, he tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to reassure himself. He pulled the covers up to his chin, clutching at them with shaking fingers.

Against his will, his tired eyes closed. Earlier that day he had returned a name, and his body still hadn't recovered. As he felt his consciousness drifting, he heard it again, the soft pattering of feet across the floor. His eyes opened instantly.

And came face to face with large red hollow eyes inches from his own. His arm moved on instinct even as he let out a yelp of surprise.

The hit never landed. As the boy swung, it reached out with quick hands and placed a finger to the child's forehead. He slumped unconscious to the bed, and the ayakashi looked him over, an unreadable expression in its large glowing eyes.

"No time." It muttered to itself, pulling the child into its arms. "No time at all." With a quick glance around the room the ayakashi's eyes rested on the schoolbag lying on the desk nearby. After a quick peak at its contents, it laid the bag gently on the boy's defenseless form.

Then, just as quietly as it had arrived, it was gone. When Nyanko-sensei stumbled into the room several hours later, mumbling a song to himself drunkenly, it was to find an empty room.

When Natsume opened his eyes, it was to see green. His brain blearily attempted to understand how he had gone from being in bed to suddenly being within the canopy of the forest. As his brain slowly connected dots and memories resurfaced, he bolted upright.

"Ho ho ho. Finally awake are we?" Natsume whirled around, stumbling to his feet as he faced his kidnapper. Familiar red eyes looked at him, a large toothy grin quickly drawing his eye to the rest of the ayakashi. Natsume had seen many strange things over the years, but he thought this could be considered one of the weirdest. It was tall. Its head and arms were thin, but its body was almost teardrop shaped, starting small but puddling together in a big fat lump that his scrawny legs somehow supported. Bright red hair sprouted from its head and trailed down its back like a mane. Its skin was pitch black, with white circles at its elbows and knees. It had fox ears, a lizard tail and a small set of feathery wings that flapped with its every move.

"Who are you?" Natsume asked. The ayakashi did not respond, flapping its hands about as it beckoned him to a small stump nearby. On it was a selection of berries and mushrooms. Natsume felt his eyebrows rise in surprise, but wandered over to the stump anyway. He could almost hear Nyanko-sensei scolding him for being too careless and trusting of other ayakashi. But Natsume couldn't help it. Once he had started to learn about ayakashi and had learned how kind some of them could be, he couldn't just treat them all as unfeeling monsters. It would be the equivalent of all the abuse he had received from judgmental guardians over the years. And Natsume refused to bestow the same kind of pain he had received his whole life.

That being said, he couldn't quite muster up the ability to actually eat any of the food the ayakashi had offered him. He did know enough about ayakashi to know that they didn't know much about humans or their eating habits. He doubted the berried were actually edible.

"Why am I here?" Natsume tried again as he sat down. The ayakashi settled in front of him and regarded him for a quiet moment, tilting its head as it stared at him. Natsume felt himself squirm under the scrutiny, still unsure of what the ayakashi could possibly want from him.

"You are as strange as the rumors say, Natsume-san." It picked up a bug that had wandered onto the table and ate it before continuing. "Even more strange than Reiko-sama."

"You met Reiko?" Natsume blurted out excitedly, only to be discouraged when the ayakashi shook its head.

"One of my small followers met her on a trip. She took his name, and we worried for years that she would call him away to a far distant mountain and that he would not know how to find his way home. But she never called."

Natsume nodded his head, it was something he had heard from many ayakashi, that Reiko never called any of the bound ayakashi to come to her after taking their names. He still wondered why she had made the Book of Friends in the first place. At the thought of the book, Natsume panicked. He noticed the absence of the familiar weight of his bag across his shoulders, and sighed in relief remembering he had been abducted from home. The book wasn't on him in the first place.

"Tell me, Natsume Takashi…" Natsume found himself looking into the unnerving red eyes of the ayakashi before him, unable to move. The back of his brain screamed that he should have been more careful. He didn't know how powerful or dangerous this ayakashi could be. He could hear Nyanko-sensei's scolding voice, 'stupid, naïve Natsume! Why do you let so many small-fry get to you?'

"I have heard that you return names of the ayakashi bound in the Book of Friends. Is this true?"

"Yes." The answer came forced from his lips, not that Natsume would have withheld such information.

"Why?" The ayakashi tilted its head curiously.

"…" Natsume had no easy answer, and found himself nearly choking on air as his body felt compelled to give one. "It's the right thing to do," he finally gasped out. He felt more than saw the ayakashi's surprise, its hold over his body slipping and allowing him to move once again. He bolted to his feet immediately. He needed to get home, wherever home was.

"If you want, I will give the name of your friend back, as long as he has no intention of harming anyone." He backed away from the ayakashi slowly, nearly tripping over a rock. "But I need to get home, my family will be worried if I disappear." He turned and ran into the foliage. A black and red blur raced into vision faster than he could comprehend, and he ran right into the ayakashi's rock solid grip. With no effort, it dragged him back to the stump. With a flick of its tail the stump was cleared of berries and he pushed the human onto it. Natsume fell back in surprise, tumbling off the back of the stump.

"Why do you return the names?" the ayakashi asked, its eyes alight with some emotion Natsume did not recognize.

"N-Nyanko-sensei always gets mad when I do it, but I know it's the right thing to do. They should be free. I'm the only one who can do it, and it's my responsibility as Reiko's grandson. If I don't do it no-one will." Natsume's voice shook. He tried to stay calm, but he was scared. He hadn't even had time to throw a punch. This was not an ayakashi he was capable of escaping from, and who knew where Nyanko-sensei had gotten off to.

"Ho ho ho." The ayakashi laughed, hunkering down so that its face was inches from Natsume.

"Tell me, child," it whispered. "What would you do if the Book of Friends were in danger?" Natsume's eyes widened.

"Danger?" he asked. He sensed this question was deeper than it sounded.

"Any kind of danger." Natsume's mind reeled. He had never thought of it before, never had to think of it before. He just kept it safe, it was just what needed to be done, there had never been a conscious thought in the action before.

"I-I don't-" he started. But his voice caught in his throat when the ayakashi raised a hand and directed Natsume's gaze to the right. As he glanced over his breathing stopped altogether as he saw the Book of Friends dangling in the branches of a tree over a cliff he hadn't noticed before. He could hear what sounded like rushing water, and assumed that below the cliff was a river.

"Whatever happens to the Book of Friends will affect the ayakashi whose names are in the book. You rip a page, it rips apart that ayakashi. You light it on fire, and those ayakashi burst into flames. If it gets wet…"

If that book gets wet all those ayakashi will die. The thought overtook Natsume and before he even realized what he was doing he was up and running, his eyes glued to the book as a gust of wind swayed the small branch and it tilted ever closer to the edge. As it fell, he felt himself leaping forward to snatch it from the air. He let out a relieved sigh until his foot caught and he felt himself tripping forward towards the river. For the first time he realized how fast the water was raging past below him. He only had a moment to assess the situation before he flung the book towards the edge of the cliff and safety. He heard it hit down with a soft thump and then he was engulfed in water.

He struggled, and twirled, but he had no way of telling up from down. His floundering limbs smacked against rocks and branches. He smacked into something large, and sucked in water as he gasped in pain. He choked and thrashed, but it was no use. The edges of his vision blackened and he thought he saw a streak of red before it was all swallowed up.

The ayakashi felt bad as he pulled the human from the water. He had not realized how weak humans truly were until he had seen it fight uselessly against the river current. He had not meant to cause the boy harm, but it had been a necessary test.

And the child had passed.

Being careful with the child, the ayakashi wandered back to its home and the fallen Book of Friends. He lay the boy down carefully beside the book.

It was time. Lifting a finger to his mouth, the ayakashi used a sharp tooth to draw blood. He smeared it in a complex pattern across Natsume's face, arms and chest. Then, lifting the book reverently, he lay it on the boy's chest, resting his own hands atop it and allowed his power to do what it must. He felt the drain, and watched as black inked scribbles slid from the book and began to make a new home within the young human. With the last of his power he sealed the deal with his own name, watching as his blood formed into his name and then turned inky black as it settled on the boy's skin, joining the rest of the swirling mass. With a pleased sigh he sat back to appreciate his work.

"RIniki-sama, is this wise?" a small childish voice made him jump in surprise. "Is this not dangerous for both us and him?" Riniki looked down at his little follower with a smile. The bird-like ayakashi had vibrant blue feathers and long catfish whiskers just behind its beak.

"It is the only way I can think to truly protect the names, little one." He replied. "Too many of our enemies have heard of the book. The exorcists will not stop searching for it. But they will never look for a book in a child."

"But was it worth giving up your freedom?" the small ayakashi questioned. "It is unheard of for a God to give his name, let alone bestow his powers to a human child."

"You just don't want to have to take up your new title as my chosen heir."

"When I said I would be your heir, I did not except you to give up your title so soon."

"Yes, well I knew you were not clairvoyant when I chose you. It worked in my favor."

"Your jokes are not funny."

"Ho ho ho. You simply lack a proper sense of humor, my child."

Nyanko-sensei was furious. He could not find that dumb child anywhere. He had searched all over the forest, high and low. He had bugged those idiotic weaklings who always came to bug Natsume and even asked Hinoe for help, but the whelp was nowhere to be found!

'Baka," he thought angrily, as his stomach growled loudly enough to startle some tiny bird-like ayakashi from a nearby bush. He watched them fly away in a dazed panic. With a final flick of his stubby paw he scampered back towards the Fujiwara's house. If the idiot Natsume would not come home for dinner, he would take his place—and his portion of scrupulous dinner, as payback for his marvelous self's efforts.

Having not found hide nor hair of the boy after hours of searching, it was a great shock to fly into Natsume's room and find the boy lying sprawled on the floor by his bed, covers askew. The boy's shirt had ridden up and his pale stomach was exposed for the world to see. Nyanko-sensei held back a snicker before he remembered how long he had wandered searching for the boy who had been at home the whole time. With a mischievous smile he gracefully snuck towards the side, though not that gracefully—he was a pig-cat after all, and was about to pounce on the unsuspecting sleeper when a knock came at the door. The spirit froze in its crouch, caught in the act.

"Takashi?" Touko peaked her head in the door, her eyes wandering the room before settling on the sleeping boy with a soft chuckle. "You'll get sick if you leave your stomach exposed in this cool night air." She quietly came across the room and settled several blankets over her young charge.

With one last loving look the older woman left the room, so focused on Natsume that she didn't even notice his mischievous cat. With a huff Nyanko-sensei curled up by the boy's shoulder. His eyes drifted closed as he calmed from the panic of losing the boy, only to dart open a moment later. His eyes scanned the room with a predatory glare before settling on Natsume's schoolbag. It lay open, and the Book of Friends lay exposed.

For a moment Nyanko-sensei was tempted to steal the book as he had often threatened to do in the past. But in the end, he simply sighed, waddled over to the bag and closed it. Nyanko-sensei then sat on top of the bag to dissuade any possible intruders from attempting to touch his property.

Nyanko-sensei often wondered if the book was worth all the trouble and effort it took to guard it and its young keeper. He was strong enough that he didn't truly need the book. It was just something nice to have that would increase the respect he received from other spirits. When Nyanko-sensei had decided to leave the book in the possession of Natsume, it had been because he was bored and it sounded like a short entertainment. When he got bored, he could just take the book, eat the brat and be gone.

He never meant to get attached.

Natori was fidgeting.

It irritated him more than he cared to admit to even himself. As an actor and as a trained exorcist, he was extremely proud of the control he had over his composure and person. He wasn't supposed to be prone to displaying his feelings of agitation. Or worry.

Natsume.

The teenager was never far from the exorcist's mind. Natsume was much more powerful than any other person Natori had ever met, and he didn't like how many ayakashi the young man attracted. It wasn't safe. And now, knowing about the Book of Friends, Natori only worried more. He had dug up as much information as he could as soon he could after first discovering the long-hidden secret the boy had been carting around in his bag like it was not a very dangerous, very illegal ayakashi article. He hadn't liked what he had discovered.

And now, somehow, one of his sources had leaked. All the nearby clans had somehow become privy to the information about the Book of Friends, and he knew that Matoba was likely to act sooner rather than later. Matoba had always had a strange transfixion for Natsume, and Natori worried what he would do now with more information to hold against innocent, trusting Natsume.

The train wasn't moving fast enough. Natori had headed for Natsume's home as soon as he was freed from his most recent movie set. It was too far away. He wouldn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. He clutched his pants to stop fidgeting and prayed to all the gods that Natsume would stay safe until he could arrive to protect him.

Natsume woke to the smell of something sweet that had soured horribly. His nose wrinkled up even as he registered the heavy weight on his chest and the source of the horrible smell. Nyanko-sensei was back, and he was hung over. If he weren't always out drinking he would have been here to protect Natsume from the weird ayakashi and the Book of Friends wouldn't have almost fallen of the cliff and Natsume wouldn't have nearly—

"Wah! Stupid brat! Don't sit up so suddenly, I was sleeping there! Such an ungrateful brat!"

"The Book!" Natsume was across the room in a moment, not even attempting to reason out how he had gotten back to his room after his fall into the river. By all accounts he should be dead, but he wasn't and so it didn't matter right now. What did matter was the Book of Friends and the fact that the names of those ayakashi could be at risk.

"Don't ignore me you stupid worthless piece of meat!" Nyanko was always extra irritable when he was hung over. Natsume was well-versed in ignoring his drunken, hurtful words. He had years of practice ignoring such things after all.

The book was in his bag, looking as unobtrusive and ordinary as always. Natsume sighed and sat back with a rush of relief. His brow furrowed. If the ayakashi hadn't wanted the book, then why take Natsume and it in the first place? Something just didn't make sense.

"You reek brat. What intrusive low-life did you wander off with this time?" Nyanko rambled at him. He sniffed at Natsume half-heartedly, then sat up straight. All signs of drunkenness were suddenly gone as his eyes glared intently at Natsume. He got up in Natsume's face and sniffed again.

"Why do I smell a god on you? What insufferable snooty god would waste their time seeking out such a weakling like you?"

"I-y-a- a god?" Natsume spluttered. Surely not. That weird looking spirit may have been powerful, but he hadn't looked like any of the other God's Natsume had run into before.

"A god." Nyanko said with another decisive sniff. "A powerful one at that. Not one of those dumb human-idol worship-seekers either. A good old-fashioned yokai god."

There was silence for a moment before Nyanko seemed to catch up with his own words.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH A GOD, YOU IDIOT? HOW ARE YOU NOT GOD-FOOD RIGHT NOW?" Natsume covered his ears and flinched back as much as he could with an overweight pig-cat sitting on his legs.

"Ho ho ho. I believe I can answer that question," came an amused voice. Nyanko leapt into the air with a roar. In a large swirl of power and lights a giant white fox glared down at the now much smaller looking tear-shaped ayakashi. Rather than cower as Nyanko expected all spirits to do in his magnificent presence, the ayakashi only smiled a too-sharp grin at the fox and shook out his red mane. Red sparks flew into the air, and as soon as one of them touched Nyanko there was an instant 'poof' and a disgruntled snort as the spirit found himself trapped once again in his cursed pig-cat form. He scampered immediately to stand behind Natsume and glared daggers at the other spirit.

"Nyanko-sensei?" Natsume asked worriedly.

"What does stupid god-sama want?" Nyanko asked petulantly, like a young child denied its favorite toy.

"I came only to check on the Boy of Friends." The spirit said with another chuckle, slowly wandering over to stand in front of Natsume.

"You mean the Book of Friends?" Natsume asked, a wrinkle creasing his forehead.

"No. I meant the Boy of Friends." Without further words he stretched out a hand and touched it to Natsume's brow. Natsume felt something stir inside of him, like a well of water suddenly surging for the surface. With a gasp, he felt a wind pick up around him, and looking down instinctively, he saw that his hands and arms were covered in the squiggly lines of the language of the yokai. Glancing at the small mirror in his room, he saw that his whole body was covered, even his face, in moving black names. His eyes, normally a strange amber-ish yellow were glowing with a golden light, and his narrow slits had lengthened even more; his eyes looked like those of a cat. Light shimmered around his form.

Natsume shivered. He didn't even look human anymore.

"Welcome to the world of yokai, Natsume-sama." The god said, an eerie sharp smile gracing his face. "I hope that if you have any questions or concerns about your duties as a god you feel free to come to me. I've so missed having fellow gods to converse with."