Natsume Yuujin Chou 37

Natsume Yuujinchou 36 – The Tale of the Deceitful Friend

Code
N- Natsume
M- Nyanko-sensei
Ni- Nishimura
Ki- Kitamoto
SH- Shibata
MS- Murasaki
T- Touko-san
F- Shigeru-san

01
Natsume Yuujinchou
Mega Hit!!
Strange Tales of Ayakashi Contracts
The Tale of the Deceitful Friend
Alongside the seasons, my feelings begin to change also…
Midorikawa Yuki

02
N- Ever since I was small I have sometimes seen strange things
N- As others cannot see them, they are most likely
N- What you would call youkai
N- …A cake?
T- Yes, its Shigeru-san’s birthday so I’d like it if you’d buy one on the way home
N- Okay, what kind of cake?
T- Something birthday-like, with lots of cream?
T- Please buy three cute, white shortcakes

03
N- Got it
M- Make it four
N- Cats shouldn’t eat sweet things sensei
M- I’m not a cat! I’m a maneki neko that loves sweets!
N- My days are noisy but peaceful
Ni- Natsume, let’s go home
N- Ah, sorry, I have to go shopping…
N- Oh yeah, do you know any cake shops?
Ni- Cake shops?
Sign – Forest of Cute
N- …That place?
Ni- That place
Ki- Is it okay for guys to enter such a cute place?

04
N- …impossible, it’s too high a hurdle for me
Ni- What’s a guy like you, who usually walks around hugging a cat
Ni- Getting all embarrassed about walking into a cute shop for!? Go!
Ni- You want Shigeru-san and Touko-san to eat delicious cake don’t you!?
N- That’s right, okay, I’m going in!!
Ni- Oh, you’re going?
Ni- Then buy me some cream puffs while you’re at it
SH- Natsume
SH- You’re
SH- Natsume Takashi, right?
SH- I finally found you, long time no see
N- What?

05
Ni- Oh, you’re a friend of Natsume’s?
Ni- I haven’t seen that uniform around here before
N- What? …um…
SH- Hm…
SH- So you made some friends here huh?
SH- So Natsume, are you still the same as always?
N- …What are you talking about?
Ni- Hey you
Ni- What’s this all of a sudden?
SH- What? Oh, sorry, I’m Shibata from Sakakinishi High

06
SH- Once upon I time I went to the same primary school as Natsume
SH- Do you remember me?
SH- I remember you
SH- Because you were kind of strange
SH- Can you accompany me for a bit?
SH- I have something I want to talk to you about
Ni- …what’s with you, what a nasty guy?
Ni- Let’s go Natsume
SH- Natsume
SH- I don’t mind talking here either
N- …Sorry, Nishimura, Kitamoto
Ni- I’ll catch up with you later
Ni- What!?

07
Ni- Hey, Natsume!
N- How far are we going to go?
SH- Just follow me okay?
N- What is this guy?
N- An ayakashi?
N- What do you want to talk about?
N- Sorry, but I don’t remember you at all
SH- Oh? You have a different aura than you did back then
SH- You’re expressions were so fake, you were always concerned about what others thought
N- Hey, cut it out
N- If you don’t have anything important to say I’m leaving
SH- Come on now, you’re unexpectedly short tempered aren’t you?
SH- Do you still say stuff like you used to?

08
SH- You used to say weird stuff to get everyone’s attention
SH- If I remember correctly you said you could see stuff no one else could
SH- Was that
SH- For real?
N- …of course not… back then
N- …If I didn’t lie like that I couldn’t get anyone to pay attention to me
SH- You look pale… so it’s true?

09
SH- You really can see things that aren’t human, can’t you?
N- How pathetic, taking attention seeking words from a kid so seriously
N- I’m leaving
SH- If you leave now I’ll come see you again
SH- The reason you don’t want your friends to know
SH- Is because it’s true, isn’t it?
SH- Come on
SH- Oh yeah, and Natsume?
SH- You have money on you, right?

10
N- …what…?
h/w- Tsk
SH- No helping it then
SH- Wait here
N- What…?
SH- Here
N- …huh?
N- Oi seriously, where are we going?
SH- Shutup! Just shutup and follow me!!
N- Just what does this guy want…?
SH- ‘The reason you don’t want them to know’
SH- Is because it’s true, isn’t it?
N- …Lately
N- I’ve become a pretty bad liar

11
SH- Natsume, it’s this way, hurry up and get walking
N- A park?
SH- Ah
SH- Hide, Natsume!
N- Wah!?
N- ! What is it?
SH- Look Natsume, over there
SH- Look

12
SH- …What do you see?
N- ‘What’ you say…
N- …There’s just a girl
SH- …what… kind of girl…?
N- What kind?
N- An ordinary high school girl with long hair…
SH- Really!?
SH- Are you sure, Natsume!?
N- Eh?
SH- That girl is really human?
N- Pfft
N- Ahahaha
SH- ! Don’t laugh!
SH- You know for sure right? That she’s really human?
N- Ahahahaha

13
N- No matter how you look at her she’s normal isn’t she?
N- Why do you think she isn’t human?
MS- Ah
MS- What are you doing in there, Shibata?
SH- Wah
SH- Murasaki
MS- …oh?
MS- A friend of yours?
Sh- …yeah, this is Natsume
SH- He’s an old friend
N- Liar
SH- What!?
SH- Oi, just go along with it!

14
MS- Haha, you’re really close, aren’t you?
N- …After that
N- Shibata and the girl called Murasaki talked for a while
N- Then she went home
N- The two of them seemed close
N- Shibata probably
N- Likes her
SH- You saved me Natsume
SH- Sorry… what was I thinking?

15
N- What were you thinking, that she was a monster or something?
SH- Yeah…
SH- What… you think I’m an idiot, don’t you?
N- …I’m not really making fun of you or anything
N- …The sun has well and truly set…
N- …Ah
N- Wah, the cake!!!
Sh- What, what, what!?
T- Welcome home
T- …You’re a little late, was it okay? Sorry for demanding so much
T- Oh, how pretty, thank you!

16
M- After that we went to all the nearby cake stores
N- But they were all sold out of shortcake
N-We ran around and finally found some beautiful cakes
N- …If I was alone, I may not have been able to find them
N- Shibata helped me look
F- Oh, delicious
T- Takashi-kun bought them
N- Ha
N- Happy birthday
F- …Thankyou, Takashi
M- …Phew

17
M- Eating something sweet then something salty is something special
M- Natsume go fry me another one
N- Haah… I’m beat
N- …No good… I can’t open my eyes///
M- Oh? Where did you go?
M- You smell like ayakashi again
N- …hm…
N- …Ayakashi?
N- No, she’s just a girl, Shibata
N- Just an ordinary girl
N- Why do you think she’s not…
N- …Huh?
N- Where am I?

18
N- Oh, it’s a dream
N- Oh, it’s that girl
N- She’s eating something
N- What is she…
N- !? Shibata!!
N- Waaah!
N- A dream…

19
M- So
M- Why are we going to this town again?
N- Because you said something weird and it’s bothering me
N- Just because she was dressed like a student doesn’t necessarily means she’s not an ayakashi
N- …Look, this is the park
M- its pretty deep in the forest for a park
N- Just like I feared, she’s not here. Let’s look around a bit then head home
N- I didn’t notice yesterday
N- But this park is kind of creepy
N- A noise?
N- Where’s it coming from…?

20
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21
M- Hmph
M- Well, it certainly stinks of ayakashi
M-Oi Natsume, do you think this mushroom is edible?
M- Natsu…
M- Ahhh!?
MS- You’re the kid who was with Shibata yesterday, aren’t you?
MS- Why are you here?
N- …Are you an ayakashi!?

22
MS- …Oh?
MS- You don’t seem all that surprised, so you are used to us?
N- Why are you pretending to be human?
MS- …You smell delicious
MS- I suppose I can just eat you instead
N- Lo…
N- Look out…

23
MS- Gyaaah!!
MS- A white piggish creature bit me!
N- Nyanko-sen…
M- Gyah
N- Ow
MS- …You damned human’s child
MS- Just try telling someone about my identity
MS- I’ll chase you wherever you try to run, and eat you
MS- If you value your life then you’ll keep your mouth shut
MS- Don’t tell that boy either
M- How insolent, this guy is my emergency rations
N- Wait…
N- …So she really was an ayakashi…

24
M- That was one of the ayakashi of the flowering trees around this area
M- She planned on eating humans by disguising herself as one to deceive them
N- Then Shibata is…
MS- ‘I suppose I can just eat you instead’
N- The one being deceived…
M- Ayakashi that are planning on devouring something tend to let their guard slip
M- That boy may have sensed something inhuman from that girl
M- Did that satisfy your curiosity? Let’s go home
M- Come on now, quick smart

25
U- Shibata –
U- You’re not coming to club activities today either?
SH- Yeah, I think I’m coming down with a cold
U- Liar, you’re just skipping aren’t you?
U- Hey, did you see?
U- Yeah, I wonder if he’s waiting for someone
U- He’s at the gates right? I saw him earlier
U- It looked like he was wearing a gakuran; I guess he’s not from around here
T/N: A gakuran is a type of school uniform
U- Eh, maybe I should go look too
SH- …A gakuran… is it him…?
U- Ah, but he has a super ugly cat at his feet
U- Scary!

26
SH- …An ugly cat…?
SH- Ah, Natsume
SH- So it was you…
SH- Wah, what an ugly cat
SH- Shoo, get away you ugly cat
h/w- Look out, Natsume!!
N- Ah, Shibata, that ugly thing is my cat
h/w- Cut it out sensei
SH- I always knew you were strange

27
SH- What on earth made you start looking after that thing?
N- It just sort of happened
SH- Hmm…
SH- I see, so you’re in the home of some people who you can ask to let you have a cat
SH- That’s good
N- …Yeah
SH- And? Why are you here?
N- Eh? Um…
N- Shibata, it’s about that girl from yesterday…
SH- Oh
SH- I’m really sorry about that, she’s a girl I met at that park
SH- I spoke to her when she was sitting down all spaced out; I guess that’s when it started

28
SH- Since then whenever I wandered by that park she was there
SH- I guess during one of our many talks… I started to like her
SH- I wanted to know more about her but she wouldn’t tell me her phone number or address
SH- …I thought maybe she didn’t like me…
SH- No! I can tell by her eyes she’s thinking about me too!!
N- Um, Shibata, actually
SH- But recently the things she said when we first met have been bothering me
N- What?
SH- When I first spoke to her

29
SH- She smiled
SH- And asked what I would do if she were a monster
SH- Of course I thought she was strange
SH- But
SH- When she suggested we go look at some flowers or the sunset, and we walked, holding hands
SH- Her hand was really cold
SH- Not just her hand either, I guess you could say her body temperature
SH- its stupid right, but the more we were together the more this weird uneasiness was born
SH- Sometimes when she smiled like she was hiding something I would suddenly think of you

30
SH- If it was you, who was always insisting you could see things that weren’t human…
SH- If it was you…
SH- If you told me she wasn’t a monster, then…
N- No, Shibata
N- That girl is bad news
SH- …What?
N- Shibata, that girl is not human
SH- …What? What are you talking about?
SH- Didn’t you say she was just a normal girl?
N- I was wrong, she’s… not human…

31
SH- You told me she was a normal girl
SH- If she’s not human, then what are you saying she is!?
N- That’s…
N- Anyway don’t get close to her
N- She’s
SH- That’s enough, shutup
N- Shiba…
SH- I knew it
SH- I knew you were just a liar