Natsume Yuujinchou Roku

Natsume Yujin-cho Roku

Ever since I was little, I've sometimes seen strange things.

Other people don't seem to be able to see them.

I think they're what people call "youkai."

Run, Sensei!

Wait, Natsume! It's too hard to run after eating!

It's your own fault!

You ate all the dango for the guests!

If they're sitting next to you, I'm going to think they're a snack.

Touko-san bought them for me because she said they were really good.

Your "guests" are just that Tanuma kid and that Taki girl, right?

Give them lollipops or caramel or something.

Jeez... I hope the store still has some.

What's that?

I hear what sounds like two things colliding.

The

Days

Eater

A pot?

Why's he hitting his head against a wall?

How should I know?

That's a youkai, right?

Let's get out of here before we get involved.

Yeah.

I can't get this pot off.

I can't break it.

Can you take it off?

What do you think, Sensei?

I want to help, but...

He's not a sealed youkai, is he?

I don't think I sense any kind of spell from that pot, but...

I found an old pot and looked inside,

and I guess I got stuck.

As you can see, I'm not anyone suspicious.

Please help me.

Anybody who says they're not suspicious is maximum suspicious!

Right, Natsume?

I'll take it off you,

but if you try anything, Nyanko-sensei will exorcise you, okay?

What?

Are you trying to make me work for free?

I'm going to pull.

One, two...

Got it!

I am the Days Eater.

I am on a journey.

The Days Eater?

I must repay you for this.

No need.

Take care.

Bye.

As thanks, I will restore your youth.

Hey, wait! Wait!

Listen, don't try anything!

You'd better not!

Sheesh...

Natsume got tiny!

A weird cat's talking!

Hey, Natsume!

How do you know my name?

What are you?

A tanuki monster?

There's so much I want to scream that I'm not sure what to say!

Damn it... he got younger and lost his memories, huh?

Hey, Natsume!

Please stay away, tanuki monster.

I'm not a tanuki! I'm Nyanko-sensei!

Calm down!

Think about it.

Do you know where you are now?

Forget about me.

Do you know where you are, or what today's date is?

How old are you today?

No...

What happened to me?

I don't really know...

Right now, I'm...

It seems less like he went back to being a kid

and more like his memories are confused.

Listen carefully, okay?

I am Nyanko-sensei!

I saved your life, and you are my servant!

You are presently a high school student with completely average grades,

no girlfriend at all,

freeloading at the Fujiwara household.

You can look at me that way all you want, but that's the truth.

Anyway, we're going home so we can figure out what to do.

Go home?

To this Fujiwara-san household?

But if what you're saying is true, tanuki,

will they be okay with me coming back like this?

It's true that not only can we not explain this to them,

if Natsume's memories come back, he might rip the hair out of my tail.

You're going to pay for frightening Touko-san and Shigeru-san, Sensei!

Maybe I'll take him to Natori then...

A child?

What should I feed him? Milk?

He wouldn't be useful at all, I think.

You're so rude.

The Dog's Circle then!

You're so cute, Natsume-sama!

We, the Dog's Circle, will take care of you forever!

Forever! Forever!

Shut up!

No, if I'm not careful, he'll be reported as missing.

T-Tanuki, it's okay.

I'll figure things out on my own.

I can't go with a youkai I don't really know well.

I'm sorry.

It's Nyanko-sensei!

Huh? Sensei? What are you doing here?

Who's that?

Great timing, you guys!

Do something!

Is it okay for you to be so loud?

Where's Natsume, by the way?

Look carefully at that kid!

Natsume's... little brother?

Close! That's him!

I'm sure it's hard to believe, but a youkai turned him back into a kid.

A kid?

But... can he be fixed?

No idea.

For now, I want to go someplace else.

Tanuma, let us go to your room.

Yeah.

Natsume-kun!

Wait, Natsume!

Where are you going?

You know me?

Yeah.

We're your friends.

Come to my house for now.

You might be scared because you don't know what's going on,

but we know that you can see youkai.

You're close enough to us to tell us that.

Is that enough for you to trust us?

Let's go, Natsume-kun.

Thank you, sir.

Look, over there.

You can see a temple, right?

That's my place.

Wow.

You live in a temple, Tanuma-san?

Just call me Tanuma.

Call me Taki.

Okay...

You don't have to force yourself.

Yeah, you can just call me Taki-san... it's fine.

But I feel like I know this path.

That... field?

Do a lot of lotus flowers bloom there?

That's right, Natsume-kun.

We once made a wreath of flowers there.

Look, Natsume.

We went to the shrine up those stairs for a festival.

And, if you follow that path between the fields, you'll come to a river

where we go fishing with Nishimura and the others a lot.

A festival?

Yup.

Fishing?

Yeah.

It's like a fairy tale.

No, Natsume-kun.

It's true.

It's all true.

Excuse us.

Excuse us.

So what do you remember now, Natsume?

I don't know.

It's like my head's gone blank,

but I feel lighter all of a sudden.

It feels really weird, but I don't know why...

That tanu—cat monster tells me

that I'm really in high school, but I can't believe that.

Sensei, how did this happen?

It's the work of the Days Eater.

The Days Eater?

I thought I'd heard of him somewhere...

He travels around, staying in old houses and storerooms,

and when he leaves, as thanks he takes one of the old things there

and makes them new again.

He has the power to make even men and beasts young again,

and supposedly certain shamans were desperately looking for him.

Natsume just helped him and got "thanked."

So if we find this Days Eater again and ask him for help,

I might be able to go back to normal.

Yup.

Then I have to get back to where I was...

I'm going.

Natsume!

Sorry.

But I want to see for myself.

Then we'll go, too...

What's the point of going along if one of you