Work Text:
There wasn’t anything stand out about today. It was a warm day, but not extraordinarily so, during one throwaway weekend in the early summer. This weekend did find Natsume not inside the Fujiwara house, exploring Yatsuhara, nor even off fishing with Nishimura and Kitamoto. This was only notable due to the fact that Shibata had called earlier in the week, complaining about how long it had been since he had seen Natsume.
It was very quickly decided by Shibata that this weekend Natsume was to make the trip to visit him. Natsume, not having any prior plans, easily agreed. Now the two were sitting outside a cafe, Natsume not so subtly sneaking food below the table to give to Nyanko-sensei, who let out gumbles that couldn’t entirely be passed off as cat sounds when he felt he wasn’t being given enough.
Shibata regaled Natsume with a story about how he had gotten an extension for an assignment by telling his teacher an elaborate story that ended with him having potentially saved the life of an elderly woman. The way that Shibata included every frivolous detail he could had Natsume smiling broadly with a ready laugh.
In fact, it was as Natsume was laughing that they heard Shibata’s name being called out, grabbing both their attention before the story could resume. They turned to see who it was, and Shibata gave an easy smile as he recognized the approaching teen easily. It looked as if he were heading back from playing baseball, likely training with his school’s team.
Recognition dawned on both Natsume’s and this newcomers faces as Shibata greeted him with, “Sakaguchi, it’s been a while since I last saw you. Last time was during the practice match between our schools, right?” Seeing his attention focused on Natsume and not him, he went on, “This is Natsume, if I remember correctly you were in our class when he transferred to the school.”
“Right, I remember!” It seemed as if Sakaguchi was going to say more, then thought better of it. His mouth opened and closed once before he spoke again, “Way back in primary school, you were only there a few months though. Suppose I can reintroduce myself, I’m Sakaguchi Kotaro.” He leaned on the railing near the table as he spoke, clearly not intending to leave before he wanted.
“Natsume Takashi, thank you for taking care of me during that time.” The smile Natsume gave when he said this was the plastic one that lacked sincerity, Shibata noted. He had received that smile before in the early days of their friendship or when he pushed too hard on something Natsume didn’t want to share.
There was a brief and awkward lull in the conversation as none of them knew quite where to go from there. It was Shibata who tried to smooth things over. “Primary school though, that takes me back. Who was it again that dropped their art project as they were headed to hand it to the teacher, stacked up the pieces when it broke, and said they intended to do that before handing it in?”
A laugh escaped all of them then, though Natsume’s was short lived due to not having been there for the event. “Oh I remember that, not sure who it was though! That reminds me of why I came over though. I’m putting together a reunion of our class from primary school and I didn’t have your number. It’s over summer vacation, and I can mail you the details as things come together.”
“Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun.” Shibata shuffled a moment to pull out his cell.
“What about you Natsume?” The question surprised both Natsume and Shibata. “You may not have actually graduated with us, but you were in our class for a while. Why don’t you come too?”
“Eh?” Natsume looked dumbstruck, as if he didn’t expect this to happen. Which, with how much he moved around, was probably a fair expectation.
“You don’t have to answer right now, but just let me know if you wanna come.” With that, Sakaguchi exchanged mail info with Shibata, then turned to Natsume. “Do you wanna exchange info?”
“Ah, I don’t have a cell phone.”
Before it could get awkward, Shibata stepped in, “I’ll message you if he decides to come.”
At that, Sakaguchi stood up from leaning on the rail. “See ya later then Shibata! Gotta get home before my mom notices I’m late getting back.” With a small wave, he was on his way.
There was a lull of silence between Shibata and Natsume, their previous conversation topic forgotten. Natsume took a sip of his drink in the silence. It wasn’t awkward, like it had been when Sakaguchi showed up, but it did stretch on. Shibata himself had a thoughtful look on his face before he stretched and reached for his own drink.
“I think you should come to the reunion.” It was a good think Natsume had swallowed, else he might have choked on his drink. The look on his face alone had Shibata explaining more. “I think it will be fun. I know you didn’t really have the best school experience there, but it’s likely that almost everyone has sorta forgotten you. It’s a chance to reconnect with people and make new friends.”
Natsume hesitated in his reply, and Shibata could understand why. A party with a room full of strangers who used to pick on him wasn’t exactly something to look forward to. Then again, if he was willing to try with Shibata, it wouldn’t hurt to try and become friends with others.
“I’ll be with you the whole night too, so it’s not like you’re going to be alone.” That, along with the smile that was equal parts cheerful and hopeful, was what decided Natsume.
“Okay.”
The potential spell of sappiness was broken as Nyanko not so subtly leapt onto the table and snatched some of Shibata’s food before bounding deftly out of reach to snack on it. Shibata had barely stood up when Nyanko disappeared behind the corner of the building.
Natsume sighed and put a hand to his forehead. “That damn ‘cat’ of yours better watch out when I see him again.” The smile on Shibata’s face cut any edge out of his words.
A brief snicker, “I’ll be sure not to warn him.”
-,-
It was summer vacation when Natsume hopped on the train to visit Shibata once more. The sun beat down harshly today, and he was thankful the train provided respite from the weather. Nyanko had loudly declared that if Natsume was going to a party, it was his day off as well, so Natsume was alone on a mostly empty train car. If they were being honest, Natsume knew that Nyanko just didn’t want to have Shibata try to shave the word ‘thief’ into the fur on his back.
The train car was only mostly empty, though, because while there were only two other humans on the train, there were also about six yokai. Not too unusual, save for one that was very obviously staring at Natsume. Well, perhaps only obvious to him, and not because he was the only one able to see it. The mask it wears is completely blank, not even slits for the eyes to peek through. It’s more the very human sense where you can feel the weight of something else’s eyes on you, staring.
Natsume made the conscious decision to ignore it. Perhaps if he didn’t interact with it, he wouldn’t be bothered. Experience told him this was not the case, but hope said he could try the same tactic even if it usually produced the same results. From the corner of his eye, he studied it in passing glances.
The yokai had a feminine appearance, dressed in a red yukata. Other than the blank mask covering the face, the only other thing of note was the neck, which was longer than a human’s, and clearly gave it away as the inhuman being it was.
Needless to say, it was a tense, albeit uneventful, train ride for Natsume. The yokai had done nothing but stare however, so perhaps it could simply just sense that he had spiritual power unusual for a human. If he gave no indication he could actually see it though, there was still the potential of it leaving him alone.
Finally, mercifully, the train arrived at his stop, and he stepped out into the shade cooled heat of the day. Up ahead, he saw Shibata lounging just outside the station. Natsume waved slightly as they made eye contact, and in turn Shibata’s face split into a huge grin as he returned the gesture excitedly.
It was as Natsume was walking out of the station that his heart dropped ever so slightly. A somewhat casual glance behind him told him that the feeling of being watched wasn’t just a feeling. The yokai from the train had followed him.
Still, if the yokai simply wanted to follow him that was fine. There were no signs of it wanting to do anything worse, and so Natsume shook off the small feeling of dread he had. By the time he was close enough for Shibata to see him clearly he had a smile plastered on his face. Shibata slung his arm around Natsume’s shoulders, and if his friend seemed nervous about something he figured it was just because he was meeting up with old classmates.
-.-
The yokai hadn’t stopped following Natsume after they left the station, not that he expected it to at this point. He pushed that from his mind however when Shibata stopped at the restaurant where they were meeting everyone. It was a little bit of a hole in the wall, blink and you miss it, type place. The sign out front was very general, but there was an air of warmth and love about the storefront that put Natsume at ease.
Shibata and Natsume stepped inside without preamble, and were immediately greeted by Sakaguchi, waving them over animatedly. There were about a dozen people already seated in the area, three tables had been claimed by the group already, and they found seats easily. The atmosphere had seemed to change as they sat, with first one, then everyone slowly recognizing Natsume.
It was awkward, to put it in the least words possible. No one outright said anything, but it was clear they remembered the kid they used to bully, even all these years later. Conversation didn’t exactly stop, but it got more quiet. Sakaguchi didn’t notice, greeting Shibata and launching in to how great it was to see him.
Natsume gave a polite smile to the people across the table from him, but wasn’t quite sure what to say. He eventually decided to simply say, “Nice to see you again, it’s been a while so you might not remember me,” Natsume grimaced inside, by the way they were acting they obviously remembered him, “but my name is Natsume Takashi.”
That didn’t stand for more than three seconds though. Shibata slung an arm over Natsume’s shoulder. Startled by the contact, Natsume looked over as he said, “You don’t have to be so formal! It has been a while though that’s for sure.” Shibata had a wide grin on his face. “Let’s reintroduce you to everyone then.”
Shibata then went the rounds of naming people off, which honestly impressed Natsume who had remembered none of their names. He even greeted three more people who came in after them. Natsume supposed it made sense, Shibata had only gone to the one school, and probably even had the same middle school as many of them, only needed to remember the names of maybe four different classes.
It was moments like this, he thought, with an arm slung over his shoulder and old memories being exchanged that Natsume realizes what he missed out on. Moving schools before he could get to know even the names of those in his own class. He didn’t have the experience of old friends that fell out of touch, couldn’t relate to the fads of video games or anime, and wouldn’t be able to joke about the habits of old teachers. He felt the acute pain of lost possibilities.
The people around them relaxed, and started to reminisce as the food that had been ordered for the group came out. No one out right ignored Natsume, but they didn’t go out of their way to include him either. He had expected it, but that didn’t make him feel any less lonely in the crowd of people.
He ate some of the food that was available, listened in on a few conversations, but couldn’t shake the wistful melancholy that had overtaken his mood. Eyes and mind wandering at this point, he looked over by the entrance to see the yokai from before standing there. Just as he was about to excuse himself for a few moments to step outside, Shibata unapologetically roped him into a conversation.
“Hey Natsume, do you remember that time when we were playing soccer during class?” Shibata lead with probably the vaguest question he could have asked, but carried on since he didn’t expect an actual response. “You had gotten the ball right when you were near the goal, and wound up to try and kick it in, but you didn’t notice that Machi was right there was right there.”
Natsume vaguely recalled the moment, but then Machi, who overheard this, slammed her hands on the table. Natsume jumped as she didn’t-quite-yell, “Oh my gosh I remember that!” A wide grin split her face. “You were, like, wide open, so I thought it would be cool to slide in and kick the ball free!”
Realization struck Natsume immediately, and Shibata saw his eyes widen. The smile that took over Shibata’s face only slightly related to the old memory. “I can see it almost in slow motion. Machi definitely cleared the ball, but you were still trying to kick it and just slammed her right in the thigh. I remember the look of horrified pain on your face because you hit with your toes, but you also wanted to make sure she was alright. You looked like someone had made you eat a lemon.”
Whatever Machi might have said was cut off by the snort and peaceful laughter Natsume let out. A couple people looked over in surprise at the person who had been the fairly stoic kid they teased. Natsume smiled mischievously at Shibata. “It’s probably about the same look you had when you caught that fish in the river.”
Shibata broke into a fit of laughter at that, a shared joke between the two. Machi, thoroughly pulled into the conversation, asks what happened. Natsume shoots another glace out of the corner of his eye to the entranceway, where the yokai still sat, position unchanged. It could just be following him out of curiosity, or maybe for its name. Whatever the case, it seemed to be patient and content with not bothering him. Keeping an eye on it was a smart thing to do though, just in case.
“So I’m straining to pull in this fish, and finally get it. Reel it in and hold it up, proud because that’s the first fish I caught and it was huge! About this big,” Shibata holds his hands nearly two feet apart. Natsume snorts.
“It was nowhere near that big. It was like eight inches.” There’s a round of giggles at Natsume’s interjection, and Shibata gives him the most betrayed look that he can’t help but join in.
The stories keep flying, and people are more ready to try and include Natsume. They ask him about his current school and what else he does on weekends. A lot of them hadn’t lived outside a city, so Natsume’s stories, however brief, of exploring were fairly well received. It wasn’t long until Natsume was making acquaintances with his old classmates that he wouldn’t mind trying to keep going.
Shibata, who was proud about how well this was going (in no small part thanks to him he would add) studies Natsume with the keen eye of someone who has been his friend for a while. Keener eye than some others as he also knows about Natsume’s sight. The still-tense edges to his posture and infrequent, but noticeable enough, glances toward the entryway has Shibata expecting that it isn’t just humans in the building.
Suddenly, Sakaguchi stands and loudly clears his throat, garnering the attention of everyone in the group. Instead of saying anything however, he flourishes a ring of keys that jingle slightly with the force put into their presentation. He doesn’t say anything until the silence has gone on long enough to make it awkward.
Sakaguchi flushes before he complains, “You all were supposed to ask me what the keys are for.” He tries to make a disappointed expression, but the effect is utterly lost.
“Well if you just flourish some keys at us without saying anything, we’re going to assume you would say something after.”
“Ah, that’s a fair point.” He scratches the back of his head and lowers the keys slightly. “Shows what I get for trying to be dramatic. That’s not important though. What is important is that I asked the headmaster if we could ‘break into’ the primary school and he gave me the keys!”
There was a chorus of “oooh” from the group of teens, and then excited chatter started. Everyone was excited to go back and explore the school it seemed, talking about how everything would seem so small, or how they wondered if anything big had changed. Shibata caught Natsume’s eyes, a question on his lips, before Natsume smiled and said it sounded like fun. With everyone in agreement, they paid and filed out of the restaurant.
-.-
Luckily, or perhaps more according to the plan that Sakaguchi had, they restaurant was within easy walking distance to the school grounds. The sun was beginning to set, giving everything soft golden tones. The brief walk through the residential area had the scents of home cooked meals wafting in the wind, and the excited voices of families as they enjoyed some time together carried past just after.
It’s the time of day where everything seems softer, as if another world could brush gently up against theirs for just a moment to give a passing impression. The group filed down the street chatting amiably, tones slightly lowered in deference to the residential area. They didn’t seem to want to break the soft glow of the evening.
Natsume hung toward the back of the group, content to observe for the moment, especially with the yokai still following, or perhaps walking alongside the group would be a better way to put it. It kept pace easily with the group, but stayed on the other side of the street. Shibata fell back to walk alongside him, but when Natsume didn’t immediately notice he laid a hand on his shoulder
Tensing, notably not jumping, at the contact, Natsume spun to face Shibata with a bit of a strained smile. Though they didn’t see one another everyday, Shibata could instantly see through the fake smile for what it was.
“Everything alright?” Maybe not the right question to ask, but it was a start.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s been a while since I came to this school so I’m just lost in thought.” Shibata nodded as Natsume said this, all the while slowing his pace to fall further behind the group.
When he judged they were a reasonable distance, he asked in a normal tone, “Is there a yokai around here that has you worried?”
If it was possible, Natsume’s posture grew even more tense. “No!” He answered just a touch to quickly. Shibata gave him the most disapproving look he could muster. “I mean, there are a bunch on the street but I’m not worried about them.”
Shibata recognized the half truth for what it was and raised an eyebrow at him. “Natsume, you were tense all dinner, even after people figured out how to talk to you. Not to mention you kept glancing at the entrance to the restaurant, and now to the other side of the street. I’ll believe that there are a bunch that don’t worry you, but my gut is telling me that’s not all there is.”
Natsume helplessly held out his hands, then sort of deflated as he opened his mouth once before deciding against his initial denial. “A yokai started following me around today, but it hasn’t done or said anything. It just keeps staring at me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t want to involve you in this, especially since there’s really no reason to be worried.”
“If there’s no reason to be worried,” he held up a hand to stop Natsume’s assurances of that, “then why are you? Obviously you’ve dealt with this a lot longer, but even if a human was stalking me I would be worried. I could have been helping.”
Exasperation was clear in Natsume’s voice when he spoke. “How would you help? You can’t even see it.”
“But I could message Tanuma to see if he could like… teach me how to make on of those sealing tags. Or even invite him out here. Maybe had him collect that fat cat of yours.”
“I don’t want to drag you both into my yokai problems. It would only put you in danger.”
“Did you ever think that we would risk it anyway? Did you ever think to ask if we would want to?”
Before Natsume could formulate a response to that, they were being called. Shibata had to tear his gaze away from the slowly cracking facade that Natsume’s face had become, not sure if he wanted to know what lay beneath it. Hopefully it was the realization that his friends truly did care about him, but whether it was that or something more sinister, he would never know. Sakaguchi was waving and telling them to catch up, the two hadn’t even realized they had stopped walking. By the time Shibata looked back at Natsume, his expression was closed off again. Natsume started off to catch up, and Shibata had no choice but to follow.
If Natsume noticed that Shibata did indeed pull his phone out and send a message, he didn’t let on. Shibata looked around the seemingly empty street, wondering what it was that had decided to follow his friend. He wished he had been able to send a message to Tanuma earlier, but this last ditch effort to help his friend would have to do.
-.-
With darkness encroaching, the schoolhouse took on an air of mystery that was expected, but still put people on edge. Sakaguchi went right ahead and unlocked the front doors to the building. As expected, nearly everything in the entrance hall to the school was in miniature. The school lockers barely came above their waist height. The small surroundings made them all feel like giants in comparison.
As a group they wandered down the halls, gradually making it to their old classroom. The chalkboards were closer to the ground, the desks smaller to the point that sitting in them made them all feel and look ridiculous. Sakaguchi produced a camera from his pocket and held it up.
“Let’s all take a picture, to mimic the one we took while we went here.” There was a great deal of shuffling then, as they propped the camera up and set the timer, getting into positions. Shibata looped an arm around Natsume, as if to make sure he didn’t sneak out of the picture. The wide grin Shibata gave the baffled look from Natsume had him smiling a moment later.
The picture taken, the group started to chatter happily, reminiscing even more than they had at the restaurant. It’s Machi that breaks the relative peace and quiet.
“Let’s play hide and seek!” Everyone turns to her in surprise. “It’s been so long since I’ve played it, and this is probably the best place to do it as well.”
There’s a chorus of agreement, but Natsume’s attention is arrested by movement to the side of the room. The yokai from before, who had seemed content to just follow, was taking slow steps closer to Natsume. Now that he was looking at it more properly, he questioned if its neck was longer than the last time he had really looked. It sure seemed like it was.
Shibata noticed Natsume’s expression as it slowly turned to panic, and placed a hand on Natsume’s shoulder. Natsume spun to face his friend, and as he did Shibata spoke. “Well if you wanna play so badly Machi, that means you have to be the first seeker!”
The groan she let out was one of resignation. “Guess that’s fair,” she muttered, salt in her tone.
Sakaguchi rushed in before people could disperse. “Make sure not to break anything. The principal said he would leave everything but the outside entrances unlocked, but if it is locked then don’t force your way in, just look for another place to hide. Let’s also stay inside the building.” He was inching toward the door as he spoke. “Other than that… count to 50 before you start looking for us Machi!” With that Sakaguchi was first out the door with a laugh.
Machi squeaked something about him being a cheater before she started counting. It took three seconds before the room was empty. Natsume was in stunned surprise as well, having been pulled out of the room by Shibata.
Shibata led him down the hall and up a few flights of stairs. As they turned some corners, Natsume looked back and saw the yokai literally chasing them. Shibata wasn’t leading for long, and soon they were running side by side. Shibata caught Natsume’s eye as they ran, and grinned like only someone who couldn’t see what was chasing them (but definitely knew they were being chased based on Natsume’s look) could.
“I dunno what you want to do here, but I was thinking roof?” Shibata looked behind them, even though he wouldn’t be able to see the thing.
Natsume cast a glance back when he saw Shibata looking, and his face visibly got paler. Shibata wondered how Natsume wasn’t scouted to be on the track team for all of two seconds before sprinting after his friend. Natsume held no doubts now that the neck of the yokai was indeed getting longer. Their head having been in view but not the body.
“The roof seems like a great place right now.” Natsume was able to breath out.
“Next left should be the stairs that lead to the rooftop.” Something occurred to Shibata, something Sakaguchi had said. “What if the door is locked?”
Natsume paused on the bottom step, the look of wide eyed panic shifting from Shibata’s face to down the hall. “I’ll take that chance, but you should continue down the hall. It’s after me.” Before Natsume could rush up the stairs, Shibata grabbed his hand, keeping him still long enough to look Natsume in the eyes.
“Not happening.” Shibata then took the lead up the stairs, Natsume’s complaints lost in following his friends up the stairs.
Shibata pressed the handle down on the door leading out to the roof with a prayer on his lips. Whatever deity listening that night had mercy, and the door swung open easily, with maybe a small creak of the hinges due to disuse. The two spilled out onto the roof, and Natsume instantly spun about and slammed the door shut, directly into the face of the yokai.Shibata threw his weight at the door as well just as the yokai slammed into it.
Startled at the force, the door opened perhaps an inch before the two boys got it closed tightly again an instant later. The two shared a glance, backs to the door, and Shibata let out a breath that could have been the briefest of laughs. There was a scratching at the door, as if the yokai thought it could claw through it.
Silence settled. Neither dared to lift the weight they had pressed to the one barrier between them and the thing chasing them. Steadily, almost to the point Shibata didn’t realize it was happening, the yokai pushed against the door in an attempt to open it. They were both helpless to stop the slow slide of their shoes on the rooftop as the yokai overpowered them.
When the yokai realized that it was indeed stronger, it threw more force at the door and the two went stumbling away. Natsume was knocked off his feet as he tripped during his stumble. Shibata managed to keep his feet, and quickly turned to see Natsume.
Though Shibata couldn’t see the hands doing so, it was clear Natsume was pinned to the ground. Helpless to really do anything else, but wanting to help all the same, Shibata charged and tackled the air above Natsume, making contact with an ineffable something and pushing it off. He turned to see Natsume struggling to get his arms under him to push himself up. It confused Shibata, but he didn’t have time to think as whatever he had tackled wormed its way out of his grasp and he lost all sense of it completely.
Natsume was still trying to struggle to even sit, and knowing that scanning his surroundings wouldn’t do any good Shibata rushed to his side to help. Shibata assisted Natsume to sitting, and then scanned around him as if it would do any good.
Suddenly, Natsume jerked in his arms in surprise, spinning his head to the side as if he had heard something. The wondered exclamation of “sensei” escaping Natsume’s lips. Clearly unexpected but nonetheless grateful.
For his part, Shibata’s tense shoulders immediately relaxed. He may not be able to see the fat cat that had apparently come to their aid, but he wouldn’t doubt his friend in this moment. Scarcely a minute passed and there was a large puff of smoke as Nyanko took the form they could both see.
Before either Nyanko-sensei or Natsume could say anything, Shibata let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thank god.”
“There isn’t any god here to take the credit,” Nyanko gazed back coolly before pointing one of his stubby paws at Natsume. “You brat, you should have called for me when you noticed that weakling.”
“And how was I supposed to do that you fat lucky cat?” Natsume’s usual joking venom was lacking from his retort. Looking at his friend, Shibata noticed a weariness in his eyes that wasn’t there before this whole ordeal. “You go off drinking and expect me to have a way to contact you?”
“This brat over here managed it just fine.” Nyanko then pointed at Shibata. “Got that beanpole Tanuma out into the forest calling for me.”
Natsume’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Shibata. “You told Tanuma?”
“Damn glad I did too.” Shibata’s expression could only be described as stubborn. “If I hadn’t who knows what would have happened?”
Natsume had the decency to look abashed at this. Nyanko let out a huff and strutted over to sit sturdily in Natsume’s arms. Then he looked seriously at Shibata. “He would have had his vitality drained even more than he already did. This idiot, for as dumb as he can be, has a ridulous amount of spiritual power, which is why the rokurokubi followed him in the first place.”
“It didn’t seem harmful at first.” Natsume weakly put in, and Nyanko gave him a look that said this was a discussion they had before.
“That’s because they only hunt at night,” Nyanko’s eyes glinted in the light cast by the moon, “If you had paid more attention you might have noticed the neck lengthening throughout the day as it tried to draw closer to it.”
Natsume huffed, but simply held Nyanko closer and accepted the scolding. It was peaceful for a few minutes until a female voice shouted across the rooftop and the two boys startled. “Hey! I thought we were supposed to stay inside! This is totally against the rules!” It was Machi. They had completely forgotten about the game of hide and seek.
Shibata stood up and scratched the back of his head, lifting a hand to wave. Nyanko snuck off as Shibata said, “Sorry, Natsume got light headed so we thought some fresh air would do him some good.” A noise of understanding came from her as she caught sight of Natsume.
She came out onto the roof herself then, heading towards them. Natsume was surprised when she held out a hand to him to help him stand. “You do look pretty pale. The fresh air might help but it would be more comfortable sitting inside. Let’s go.” There was only a moment of hesitation before Natsume put his hand in hers.
Another hand came into view as Shibata offered help, and together both Machi and Shibata got Natsume on his feet. Perhaps he was weaker than previously expected, but Shibata put a hand to his shoulder to steady him and all three walked back to the rooftop’s door. Machi proudly said that she had already found everyone else, and they were waiting in the old classroom.
“I would have found you both sooner as well if you hadn’t broken the rules, but I guess I can let it slide this time.” She paused and then a thought occurred to her. A sly grin overtook her face. “On one condition.”
“Oh no, I don’t like where this is going.” Shibata put a hand to his forehead in mock drama. Machi lightly punched his arm.
“It’s the least you can do, I’ll even cover for your breaking the rules.” Shibata rolled his hand in a ‘go on’ gesture, and Natsume smiled kindly. “You both have to come to the mixer my friend is hosting. She’s been having trouble getting guys to commit, and you both are handsome so there will be no complaints!”
The look of utter shock on Natsume’s face, as well as a reddening in his cheeks had Shibata laughing. Even Machi let out a kind-hearted giggle. Whatever response Natsume had briefly tried to stutter out was completely lost in their laughter.
Shibata grinned at Natsume. “It shouldn’t be too bad, it’s just another chance to hang out again.”
After regaining whatever composure he still had left, Natsume nodded. “Sure.”
“Awesome! I’ll let her know! The exact time isn’t set yet, but I’m excited to see you both there!” With that she skipped off into the classroom ahead of them. She opened the door only to say “Okay Sakaguchi, since I found you first it’s your turn to be the seeker!”
Sakaguchi’s groan, as well as the chorus of laughter had Natsume feeling a sense of peace that lasted the rest of the night. Even when Shibata insisted he stay the night after what had happened, the most resistance Natsume gave was a put-upon sigh completely ruined by the smile on his face.