Natsume Yuujinchou Go

Natsume Yujin-cho Go

Wait!

Wait!

Wait!

Where are you?

So heavy!

Move, child of man!

Sorry!

You okay?

I'm not okay!

I was almost crushed!

He's tiny.

Kid, you can see me even though you're human?

Okay, I'll make you my servant.

Perfect. Follow me.

That hurts! Let me go!

There you are!

Natsume of the Book of Friends!

You look delicious!

Oh, I see something tiny.

I'll eat you both!

He's got nothing to do with me!

So yummy!

So yummy!

So yummy!

Natsume!

Following a

Narrow

Path

You'll be fine here.

You're strong enough to punch out that youkai!

No...

Can you get home on your own?

How impressive.

Wh-What's wrong?

A scratch.

A scratch?

I knew it...

There's an outlaw-like scratch on my beautiful cap.

Sorry, was that me?

Dummy! Dummy!

How are you going to fix this?

Shuon-sama is a very noble person!

Sh-Shuon-sama?

Oww!

He won't like me if I look like an outlaw!

You've no choice, kid.

You're going to be my servant and work for me for a while.

Get lost, wimp.

He's mine.

Sensei!

When did you get here?

This is my walking path.

Throw the mushroom in the bushes and let's go home, Natsume.

Mushroom?

I'm an acquaintance of the great Shuon-sama, you rude thing!

Shuon?

Yes!

I finally might be able to see him again.

So I have to prepare for my plan.

And you have to help, kid.

Me?

You have to pay me back for the scratch on my cap.

What's with that bratty mushroom?

Let's cook and eat it!

Just try it, you mitarashi dango!

So I ended up helping the mushroom youkai.

I'm not a dango!

You look good!

I'm a sweet!

So, who's Shuon-sama?

What? You don't know him? How ignorant!

Well, I guess low-born humans like you

and low-ranking youkai wouldn't know them.

Fine, I'll tell you.

Ahem.

I was always noble and alone.

I spent my busy days fishing, eating, and sleeping.

So you're just sleeping and eating?

Sensei, let him finish.

Continue.

One day, I was caught by a hungry animal,

and almost eaten.

A youkai got caught by an animal?

What a wimp!

Just as I was prepared to be eaten...

Help me!

Someone help me!

There, there...

I don't know where he came from,

but he was a youkai like none I'd ever seen before.

Beautiful beast, eating a youkai will not calm your hunger.

Can you let him go?

I'm saved...

Aah... I did it again.

Animals have their own rules.

If I cannot allow them to follow them,

I still have a long way to go...

I don't understand,

but you saved me.

I owe you my life.

Thank you.

That was how I met Shuon-sama.

Ever since then,

I would sometimes see him in the forest and talk to him.

He probably came because

he enjoyed making small talk with me.

This is fun.

And we started to fish together

But Shuon-sama was strange.

There was never a hook on his line.

I told you, you can't catch anything without a hook.

I prefer it this way.

Fine.

I'll catch something and feed it to you.

Look, I caught something!

Dang it! It got away!

Don't laugh!

This is so much fun.

We're in luck!

The humans say that a wish on a shooting star will come true!

You won't make a wish?

Everything is alive.

Even the stars.

And then one night...

My friend, thank you for everything.

My fellows and I leave this land tonight.

I am on a journey of spiritual training.

I will return to the path of a hermit.

The path is narrow,

and we will never see each other again.

I am Shuon.

Farewell.

W-Wait!

Where are you going?

I like traveling, too!

I was so happy to have a friend!

Take me with you!

Take me! Take me, too!

I learned later that Shuon was so noble a being

that most aren't allowed to even speak to him.

And he saved me and called me his friend!

I was so jealous of the beautiful ones who were with him.

I wanted to join him.

Ever since then, I've journeyed in search of him,

and I heard that he'll be passing by that hill on his journey this evening,

so I hurried here.

That's stupid.

What will you do when you catch him?

I'll dress up like a monk

and join the end of the line,

and act like I belong there!

That's such a dumb idea, it's kind of refreshing.

So if I have this awful-looking mark,

they'll find me out!

I-Is that the problem?

Wake up.

Stop chasing weird dreams.

There's no way something like you

could be with somebody like that.

That's not true!

If I'm beautiful when I see him,

I'm sure Shuon-sama will...

I'm sure he'll take me with him.

If I didn't look so pathetic,

I'm sure...

So you're going to help me, kid!

Don't boss people around!

You lazy-butt mushroom!

I'm not a mushroom, you ball of fried lard!

I'm not a ball of lard!

I'm a noble...

Natsume Yujin-cho Go

So what are you going to do with these rocks?

Rub the powder into my cap to hide the scratch.