Natsume Yuujinchou
A cake?
Yes, it's Shigeru-san's birthday today.
Takashi-kun, would you buy one on your way home?
What kind do you want?
Let me see... It's his birthday, so strawberry shortcake.
Three small ones.
Okay.
Four!
Cats can't have sweets.
I'm not a cat!
I'm a Maneki-Neko and I love sweets!
Fun-filled, quiet days.
False Friend
The pattsiere studied in France or something.
It's really good.
Here you go.
Supermarket
Forest of Cute
Forest of Cute?
That's one heck of a name.
It looks like it's near Kitamoto's house.
This is it?
It's as cute as the name suggests.
That's why we're here, right?
It's hard for a guy to go in there alone.
I can't do it.
It's too much for me.
You carry a cat everywhere you go.
Since when do you get embarrassed?
Go.
You want to give them
a nice cake for Shigeru-san's birthday, right?
That's right.
Okay.
Natsume.
You're Natsume Takashi, right?
I've finally found you.
Who is this?
You know Natsume?
I've never seen that uniform around here before.
Um...
So he's made friends here.
Hey, what does that mean?
Sorry, I'm Shibata from Sakaki West High.
I was in Natsume's elementary school for a while.
You don't remember, do you?
No.
I remember.
You were a bit of a weirdo.
Would you come with me for a bit?
Natsume, let's go.
I can say it here, if you want.
Sorry, Nishimura, Kitamoto.
See you later.
Hey, Natsume?
How far are we going to walk?
You used to say weird stuff.
That you could see things others couldn't.
Was that true?
Liar!
He's lying again.
We should stay away from him.
Liar!
No way.
Your face changed color.
Are you serious?
It was a joke, when we were little.
I'm going home.
I'll come back.
You don't want your friends to find out about it.
I know that.
I'm not as good at lying as I used to be.
Oh, right.
Do you have any money?
Hey, where are we going, really?
Shut up. Shut up and come with me.
There are mosquitos out here.
What are we doing?
She's here.
Over there.
Do you see something?
A girl?
What kind of girl?
A normal high schooler.
With long hair.
Really?
She's actually human, right?
Don't laugh!
You can tell whether they're human or not, right?
She looks totally normal!
Why are you asking that?
Shibata?
Murasaki?
What are you doing there?
Is this a friend of yours?
Yeah. Natsume.
An old friend.
Liar.
Hey, play along!
You're friends, huh?
The girl named Murasaki
spoke with Shibata for a while and then left.
The two seemed close.
Shibata seemed to be in love with her.
Sorry for being so weird.
You really helped me, Natsume.
What was that?
Did you think she was a ghost?
Yeah, sorry.
I was weird.
What?
You think I'm an idiot, right?
No, I'm not making fun of you.
See how late it's gotten?
If I don't hurry...
The cake!
What?
What's wrong?
It's so pretty!
Will these cakes do?
Yes, thanks.
I went around to all the local places that carry cake,
but every one was out of shortcake.
If I had been alone, I never would have found it.
I found it, Natsume!
Shibata looked for it with me.
This is really good.
Takashi-kun bought it for us.
Thank you, Takashi.
Eating something sweet after something salty is really good.
Natsume, go get me another one of these.
I'm tired.
It's no good.
I can't open my eyes.
Where did you go?
I smell something unearthly on you.
Unearthly?
No, she was a girl.
No, where was I?
It's that girl.
She's eating something.
Shibata!
What are you doing here again?
It's because you said something weird.
I'm worried.
I think it was around here.
I'll look around.
I didn't notice yesterday,
but this is a pretty creepy place.
That sound...
You smell delicious.
You're a youkai, after all.
That's right.
I can eat you instead of him.
Some kind of white, pig-like thing bit me!
Nyanko-sensei!
Oww.
Curse you, human!
Just you dare and tell somebody who I am.
I'll follow you forever and eat you!
Brat!
He's my emergency ration!
She's a youkai from one of the flower trees around here.
She's pretending to be human,
so she can enchant someone and eat them.
Then, she's enchanting Shibata.
Youkai that forward end up making mistakes.
He probably came to you
because he felt something was wrong.
Hey, did you see at the gate?
Yeah, who do you think he's waiting for?
It's not somebody from our class.
Shibata.
I thought it was you.
What are you doing there?
That's the ugliest cat I've ever seen!
Get lost, ugly cat!
Shibata, this ugly cat is mine.
Oww!
What the heck?
What did you come all this way for?
About that girl from before...
Yeah... I really feel bad for what I said.
I met her in that park.
The first time, she just showed up,
when I was alone.
After that, I started seeing her once in a while.
But she wouldn't tell me her name,
or address, or what school she went to.
I thought she didn't like me.
But her eyes... It felt like she really liked me.
Hey, Shibata.
That girl...
It's cold.
Whenever I hold her hand
and we look at the flowers or the evening sun,
her hand is always so cold.
Even when I first met her.
What would you do if I was a monster?
It's stupid, I know,
but it bothered me for some reason.
Then, I remembered you.
Shibata.
She's not human.
Stay away from her.
What are you saying?
I was wrong.
She's not human.
Then, what is she?
You said she was a normal girl, last time!
I...
She's...
Enough. Shut up.
Shibata.
Liar.
You're a liar, after all!
Natsume Yuujinchou
Liar!
I can't stop just because he called me a liar.
For now I have to...
Don't worry.
She won't show up for a couple of days.
Jeez.
Don't you know how to hold back?
I told you not to come in without asking!
No cake today?
Here you go.
Anyway, that youkai.
Are you sure she won't appear for a few days?
She's not a powerful youkai like me,
she's a little wimp.
It'll take her at least three days before
she can appear as a human.
Three days...
I have some time, then.
Natsume?
He left? Already?
Yeah, by the back exit.
He ran away.
He's gone.
Thanks.
Are you sure?
He seemed worried about you.
You should talk to him, shouldn't you?
You're friends, right?
No, he's...
He's a kid I used to bully
and say I didn't believe.
What are you going to do?
Watch that youkai, so she stays away from Shibata.
What a pain.
You don't have any reason to go that far for him.
He's kind of a jerk, but not a bad person, I think.
Oh, fine.
You owe me another slice of cake
and another dried squid!
This smell.
Let me go!
You again?
Did you come to let me eat you?
I told Shibata you weren't human yesterday.
You can wait for him so you can eat him,
but he won't come!
Give up on him!
You're lying.
I'm not lying!
Then, he didn't believe you.
If he did, then you wouldn't have needed
to come here.
Well...
He didn't believe you, so you came here to try
and do something about it yourself, right?
Too bad.
Hey, Natsume. You see her?
Let me go!
I can end this right now by eating her.
Wait, Sensei.
Natsume.
Wait just a little.
I want to see what I should do.
Shibata really cares about her.
Natsume, you wimp!
She got away!
Chase her!
She fell.
I knew it, she's weakened.
Weakened?
I left her alone because
she didn't have that much time left.
Murasaki...
Murasaki?
A yamafuji tree?
It's big.
You woke up?
You two...
Don't touch me!
If you lowly humans touch me, I'll eat you!
Will you get better if you do?
I don't know.
But I thought
it would be better to try eating a human
than just disappearing.
I took human form, but I was so weak...
When I was tired and sitting to rest...
Shibata came to you?
I thought he'd be easy prey,
but I was too tired to even attack him.
I told him to come back in three days.
And three days later the stupid human came.
But he changed moods so much...
He talked so much...
I didn't even have time to eat him.
So, I said we should meet again.
No matter how much time passed...
No matter how many times we met...
It was fun.
And I never had time to eat him.
To tell the truth, he came last night.
Murasaki!
Murasaki, where are you?
I didn't think I could take human form.
Murasaki?
What are you doing here at this hour?
What if you meet a monster?
I'm fine.
Hey, want to take a walk,
To that hill by the river?
I want to go.
But I don't feel well today.
Can we do it some other time?
Okay.
It's a promise, Murasaki.
Yes, a promise.
Shibata already knew who I was then.
Murasaki!
Get away, Natsume.
If you touch her, she'll eat you.
I thought I would,
but I don't think I can.
He's Shibata's friend.
If I ate you, he wouldn't like me anymore.
Just wait.
I'll get a fish.
Wait...
Shibata!
Sorry, it's not that I don't believe you, but for now...
This is a letter from Murasaki.
Murasaki?
You met her?
Where is she?
Just take it!
Would you give this to Shibata?
I wrote what you humans call a letter.
If I met him, he would always remember me.
I said my goodbye and wrote out my feelings.
Is it because I got you caught up in this?
Because I called you a liar?
Because I didn't believe what you said?
Is that why you gave me these scribbles?
These characters...
Enough.
I'm sorry.
So...
You don't have to believe me.
Just keep this letter!
Murasaki.
Where is Murasaki?
Shibata?
Murasaki wants to see me!
This way!
Murasaki.
You shouldn't have come.
I told you I was going away and we couldn't see each other anymore.
But...
You promised me, didn't you?
Take me there, Shibata, like you always do.
Yeah.
Shibata...
Thank you.
Shibata...
I'm sorry.
I was so mean to you.
Yet you did all this for me.
Thank you, Natsume.
Murasaki would climb up to high places like this...
It's cold.
What's so funny?
Don't tell anybody this.
Tell them what?
That I cried.
Yeah, I won't.
What kind of answer is that?
Jerk.
When I was little, I wanted friends.
Human or unearthly,
they light a warm lamp in my heart.
Natsume Yuujinchou
Young Days
I was always alone.
I'm always alone.
I was always alone. They always looked so sad.
I didn't understand then...
how I felt, or how others felt.
I feel like drinking some sake!
Natsume Yuujinchou
Watch us next time!
I'd settle for some cake or dried squid, too!