The Book of Grandchildren ( Natsume Yuujinchou X Nurarihyon no Mago)

[2] Can hear a song from far away (edited)

In the middle of a summer day, when the sun is precisely at the top of our heads, suddenly a massive earthquake engulfs the whole Nura main house.

" W-what?! What's happening?! "The one-eyed old man asked in a panic, just like everyone else.Confusion was reaching its peak when the presumable earthquake added a bright light engulfing the room.

BOOM

A few moments later, after the light dazzled everyone's eyes, a loud noise with a big crush was heard in the middle of the room as if something enormous had fallen from the roof. Everyone--including Rikuo and the Supreme Commander-- immediately put on their guard as they stood up in alert. The light dimmed slowly, and the smoke screen of dust and other things revealed the thing that just fell.

" What is it?! "Shouted Karasu Tengu with him in front of Rikou to guard the Third Head...

.
In the middle of intense silence, where everyone seemed ready to slash anyone who caused such a huge riot in their house, a young man groaned in pain.

" Agh... ouch... My head... "Natsume rubbed his head softly.

" Nyanko-sensei...? Nyanko--"Before calling out to him for the second time, the self-proclaimed bodyguard voiced his complaint.

" N-Natsume...! I-It's heavy...! "A round and fluffy ball of fur is protecting Natsume correctly--although by accidentally using his body as a pillow.

" Ah! Sorry, Sensei! Are you alright? "
Natsume instantly gets off from his round-back.

" Geez! This is all your fault! Not only did you make my Book of Friends thinner, but you got me into trouble again! "

" What? I disagree that it's my fault! Aren't you supposed to be my bodyguard? You just let this happen again. "

" You fool! You dare to blame this on me?! Who do you think you just made a pillow a second ago, huh?! "

"....Pfft, 'pillow'...."Natsume couldn't hold his laughter, which made Nyanko-sensei slap him in rage with his kitty paw.

But after a short argument, they soon realized they were no longer in their backcountry, Kanawa, or the forest anymore. Nyanko-sensei quickly put on his guard as the smoke screen slowly revealed a strong youkai's presence.

" Natsume, stand back. There's a lot of Youkai--"Nyanko-sensei's words get hitched as sharp blades are pointed at the two of them. Many kinds of youkai surround them, but what is truly dangerous is how they carry weapons such as swords. This isn't a normal sight back in Kanawa; Natsume rarely sees any Youkai holding man-made weapons back in his place.

" So it's a white pig! "The light brown-haired man, Zen, shouted with rage.

" I'm not a pig! It's a cat, you fool! "But Nyanko-sensei seems to still have a complex about correcting everyone's misunderstanding about his vessel.

" Whatever, you pig-cat! State your name and explain yourself, or this sword will fly to that fat body of yours! "Hitotsume, the one-eyed old man, point his sword to Nyanko-sensei.

" No, stop it! Please don't hurt him! "Natsume immediately jumped to rescue and took Nyanko-sensei in his arms while holding his sling bag tightly. Nobody knows how such a simple, worn-out sling bag contained his precious Book of Friends.

" Then explain yourself carefully."Gyuuki, who stood behind Natsume, looked down at him with his piercing eyes.Natsume bites his lips for a second before finally giving in to them.

"I'm Natsume Takashi, and this is Nyanko-sensei. We didn't know what was happening, but we were suddenly transported to this place by a youkai's power. "Natsume explained it anxiously. He's sure that he needs to mind every word he uttered or something will get messy here.

" A Youkai's power? "Rikuo asked in confusion while standing behind other elders. At that time, Natsume noticed how the voice sounded young; however, he was too preoccupied with watching everyone's hands to see the voice's owner--lest they suddenly decided to go for the kill.

" I swear that's true, so please don't hurt us. "Natsume appealed.

Rikuo was thinking about it, and it's not the first time a yokai meddled with human business. But the young boy thought there was something amiss with how this situation turned out. In the first place, most Yokai who fiddled with human life usually only wanted to prank them--if not to hurt them. Why would the accused Yokai Natsume speak of transporting them to his very mansion instead?

" Don't lie! Don't you see that you just caused considerable damage to this house? Don't you dare to think that you can get off unscathed! "With his huge and tall figure, Shoei immediately intimidated Natsume even more.

"I-I'm sorry about the damage we had caused, we don't know anything! But we will take responsibility for it. I will fix the ceiling and do everything I can to make this place like before."Natsume kept begging while holding his bag and Nyanko-sensei.

" Natsume, that's enough. They won't listen to you whatever you say. "

" Sensei! "

" At a time like this, we should--"
Natsume's words get cut off when suddenly, amid this ordeal, a regular sentence is thrown out at him.

" Natsume... Natsume Reiko-sama? "That's the usual and too familiar phrase always tangled with Natsume's daily life.

" Eh?! "Both Natsume and Nyanko-sensei were presently shocked by the Youkai's question. To be exact, it's not because of the question, but it's more to the fact that a youkai knows Reiko even in here.

" Ah! I-I'm not-- "As always, Natsume tried to explain one thing after another, but to no avail.

" Reiko-sama! Reiko-sama! "A small half-human-bird youkai instantly ran up to him. As if the room was not crowded enough by now, many big and small youkai suddenly barged into the meeting room. Everyone could barely react, seeing several new Yokai entering the crowd of the higher-ups to reach Natsume.Karasu Tengu tried to stop all those Youkai from entering the hall. Still, their numbers, added to the confusion and everything that led to this situation, overwhelmed the small Karasu Tengu. They had completely forgotten who they had faced before.

" This smell... Natsume... Reiko....Natsume Reiko-sama! Natsume Reiko-sama! "

" N-no stop! I'm not Reiko! "

" Reiko-sama, please give me back my name! "

" Give it back..."" Reiko-sama...! "" Natsume Reiko! "

Natsume almost fell from the sudden impact swarming over him. His back bumped into Gyuuki, who stood right behind him. Natsume didn't realize it, but when he bumped into the menacing Yokai, Gyuuki's expression changed into surprise in a second. " He's... a human? " He thought.Four of Rikuo's closest friends, Tsurara, Aotabo, Kurotabo, and Kubinashi, hurriedly ran to their leader's side after being taken aback when they witnessed a crowd of the new Yokai surrounding someone in the middle, not to mention the mess in the hall.

" Rikuo-sama?! What's happening ?! "Tsurara asked with her bright yellow eyes staring wide-eyed at the chaos.

" Rikuo-sama! Are you alright? "Asked Kurotabo worriedly.

" I'm fine. But more importantly, please separate the lower youkai--"His unfinished words suddenly got overlapped by a blinding Spiritual Lightray from the centre of the crowd.

" This is getting troublesome. "Nyanko-sensei jumped out from Natsume's arms, letting out his blue Spiritual Light shine the brightest to scare away those lower Yokai. However, the Spiritual Light from Sensei's forehead marking affected not only the new Yokai who swarmed Natsume but also the higher-ups to some degree.

" Gyaaaa! "" Ahh!! Stop...! "

As Nyanko-sensei struck them with his light, he changed his form into his original wolf-like beast form. With reflex, everyone--significantly the lower Yokai-- jumped back instantly to the outside of the hall room.

" Sensei! "Natsume called out from behind his tail.

" Enough! You dare to touch my prey again, and you will become my feast! "Nyanko-sensei bare his fangs at the scared lower youkai and the stronger youkai. Nyanko-sensei's colossal beast form had difficulty standing up in this room completely. It's as if his whole body is already covered half the room.

" A beast! So it's an enemy, after all! "Shouted one of the elders, pointing his swords at Madara, the true form of Nyanko-sensei.Realizing the situation had worsened, Natsume couldn't bear it anymore but tried his best to prove his innocence.

" Stop it! Please don't attack him! Sensei, please calm down! "Natsume charged to the front. But one of the elders seems so blinded by his rage that he has prepared to slay Natsume with his sword.

" Natsume, you fool! "