Chapter 2:

The moon was high enough in the sky to illuminate the forest, and the number of Reiko's yawns was growing with increasing frequency when Natsume decided to give up for the night.

"Maybe you should head home?" Natsume proposed and received a snort in response.

"Why?"

"I thought… maybe your parents might be worried about you?" Natsume admitted, the worried faces of the Fujiwara couple appearing in his mind's eye.

Rather than laugh or explain herself further, Reiko asked in an odd voice, "Do your parents worry for you, grandson?"

It shouldn't have hurt. He didn't even remember his mother, and his father had been dead for much of his life, and yet, the sting of tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "No, they… they died when I was young." He admitted quietly to mask the tightness of his throat.

Reiko seemed to have anticipated that answer, judging by the way her eyes squeezed shut and her head bowed in sorrowful acceptance.

She cleared her throat. "Who are you living with then?"

Natsume, though he still felt the familiar ache from mourning the life he could have had with his parents, smiled fondly at the couple's name, "The Fujiwaras."

Reiko squinted her eyes at the vague sense of familiarity she felt hearing that name but wrote it off.

"Do they treat you nicely?"

Natsume's smile only grew and Reiko found herself smiling back at the happiness radiating from the young man in front of her. "They do."

He launched into a few stories about the calm days in the house with the older couple. How Touko-san liked to garden and how she was an amazing cook. How she would try to hide her mistakes that were almost always delicious.

His grandmother chuckled and smiled along with him. He hadn't even gotten the chance to mention all the wonderful moments he had with Shigeru when Reiko stilled, her hand coming up as an indication for Natsume to stop talking. She slowly swiveled her head, almost as if she were listening for something faint.

When she finally found what she was searching for, she tugged Natsume along behind her, "This way!"

They crashed through the woods, spooking the rabbits back into their burrows. Natsume was awed that his grandmother didn't trip and was agile enough to stop him the one time he nearly fell in their pursuit.

As suddenly as she began, Reiko stopped, seeming to recoil from something. "Shit, Takashi. What made you want to tangle with this thing?"

Natsume tilted his head, forgetting to point out that Reiko was the one that had originally 'tangled' with the youkai. "What do you mean?"

Reiko sent him an incredulous look. "You can't feel that?"

Natsume's brow furrowed and he tried to focus on his surroundings, like he had when he found the youkai Matoba had tried to contract into his service.

There was perhaps a faint sense of power, but nothing that he hadn't felt before.

Reiko shook her head in quiet bemusement before tugging him along behind her again. "I figured we'd be dealing with a powerful youkai since it's able to move through time, but this is far beyond what I could've imagined."

They slowed their pace until they were only creeping through the trees, careful not to make too much noise in the event this wasn't Daido after all.

Natsume only needed to hear its lumbering gate before he knew who was waiting just beyond the brush. When they finally reached a point where they could see it, Natsume decided that the moonlight was certainly kinder to the youkai's features than the sun had been.

"Daido!" Natsume called, feeling Reiko's fingers brush against his shirt in an effort to stop him.

The spirit turned, its head tilted at an odd angle, causing a piece of flesh to drip off and fall to the ground with a wet splat, "͢N̛͜a͏̴͡t̨s̴͘um͏͜e̴̡͢?̶͢͢"͜

The voice sent shivers down his spine, and judging from the way Reiko gasped behind him, she felt the same.

Still, Natsume pressed forward. "Daido, I need you to bring me back to my own time."

"͠N͠a̶͟t̵͞s̸u̧̕m͏̢e?̵͘"̷ The youkai lumbered in their direction, one slow step at a time.

Natsume felt Reiko at his side a moment later, her hand covering her nose and mouth. She grabbed and lifted his arm wordlessly instructing him to do the same.

"He's got spores pouring off of his body." She warned.

Natsume squinted, his hand shielding his face as small, black particles danced into view. The spirit's nearly transparent body was suddenly opaque, and the horror was finally in perfect clarity.

Natsume felt his stomach lurch at the sight and he doubled over. Reiko's comforting hand on his shoulder was the only thing keeping him from retching all over the ground in front of him.

"I guess the spores hide the youkai?" Reiko proposed, stepping in front of Natsume protectively when Daido was only a few steps away.

The youkai finally stopped its approach, much to the humans' relief. "N̴̛a̶̢ts͠u̸͘͜me̷,͝ ̢w̷͢ha̢͜t̸̛͜ a͠r͝e ̸͢yo̵͘͡u̕͢ ̨͞d̛ơi̧ng ̕͠įn̴̢͜ ͡͞t̛͞hi҉s ̢t̷͘į̵m̶͠e̢͡?̶͢

Reiko tilted her head and took in a deep breath, a hand combing through her hair in a haughty gesture and the other holding her hip, revealing her face to the spirit, "I think it's obvious that you're the one who brought him here."

Daido turned his gaze to Reiko before he took a step back. "Y̴o͏̢u̸!͞͠"

"Me?" Reiko turned to Natsume for an explanation, his sheepish smile hidden behind his hands. "I think you can uncover your face. It doesn't seem to harm us, only make him harder to see."

Natsume hesitantly pulled his hands away from his face before explaining the events up until then in a rush, eyes never leaving the youkai for fear that he'd run away again. Which didn't seem likely with the way the spirit was slowly starting to puff up its chest in a show of bravado.

"͟Yo͏u̸'ve̴ ҉m̢ad͠e a̡ ͠fo̢o̸l̕ of ̛me̸ for f̷ive̕ t͡im͝es̛ ͠n̵o̴w! It̸'̴s͡ t͟i̢m̢e̸ for͏ ͜me̸ ͏to̢ w̵i͡n!҉" The youkai challenged.

Reiko hummed. "And what do you get if you win?"

"T̸h̛e͘ vic͝to͞r̨y͢ that̶ ͝h̶as̵ be͜e͞n ̵d̨en͡ięd me̸ t̨i͟m̕e an͜d ͟again!"̛

"Very well," Reiko nodded before continuing, "And if I win, I demand you give me your name."

Daido spared only a moment's hesitation before agreeing.

Natsume couldn't believe he was witnessing what he'd only seen in memories. It was far less comical with his future on the line, however.

"Natsume, you be the judge." Reiko suggested.

"For what?"

"We're going to play 'The Daruma Doll Fell Over'."

Natsume's eyebrows lifted in surprise. He'd never seen her attempt this game with a spirit before. He was suddenly reminded of the image of the ambling spirit's lumbering gait and nodded.

"Go stand by the tree." Reiko ordered before turning back to the youkai, "You know the rules, Daido?"

The spirit nodded. "̴I'v͘e̢ pl͞ay͠ed͝ this gam͞e͜ ͡five͞ ͡t͝i̢m͠es ͏now̵.͘ ͞I ̷th͟i̛nk̢ I͝ g̴o̶t ̡i̴t ̴af͜t͜e̷r t͠he four͝ţh ͘on͢e."

Natsume walked to a tree in the distance and shared a nod with Reiko before turning around. "The Daruma doll fell over!"

He heard two sets of footsteps behind him, one rushing in his direction and the other approaching with slow, squelching steps at a much slower rate. He didn't bother calling out the phrase and turning around again, confident about who would be the winner.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder firmly before he was turned around to meet a puffing Reiko, her mouth open in a wide smile while she caught her breath. "I won!"

"T҉ha̛t's̨ n͟o͡t̷ fa͏i҉r!" The youkai complained. Still a fair distance away from them.

"Fair or not, a deal's a deal."

Daido kicked the ground, pieces of his flesh detaching and sticking to the grass and making the two humans wince in disgust. "͟Fine̸."

Reiko had Daido sign his name, judging by how quiet he was, Natsume got the feeling that the spirit had resigned itself to this fate and didn't actually mind signing his name into the Book.

"Well…" Reiko began, shuffling awkwardly. "I guess this is where we part ways."

Natsume's shoulders slumped at the thought.

Yes, he wanted to return home, but this was his only chance to meet his grandmother. It felt like they'd hardly spent any time at all together. He had so much to say and yet he was so overwhelmed he didn't even know where to start.

Still, he did his best to sum up his feelings into something short, in case Daido decided he wanted to transfer to another time. Natsume didn't want to test whether the Book was able to summon youkai from different time periods.

"About what you asked me earlier?" Natsume paused, "About whether you're a good grandma? I don't know if you ever intended for me to get the Book of Friends… but I like to think your intentions for making the Book were so your descendants wouldn't have to suffer alone like you did." He lifted his gaze to meet Reiko's. "And for what it's worth, I think you're the best grandma."

Reiko's expression was unreadable and Natsume feared he'd said the wrong thing. His worries were assuaged moments later when Reiko smirked before slinging her arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a rough hug. "And you're the best grandson I could have asked for, even if you are a little scrawny."

Natsume pouted, ready to argue before the hug gentled and Reiko embraced him fully, giving him a firm squeeze. Her voice was muffled by his shoulder, "This is to make up for all the hugs I'll never get to give you as a kid."

When she sniffled, Natsume realized he could feel a small damp spot on his shoulder.

He returned her embrace with equal fierceness. Fighting back the tears at the sudden awareness that when he returned, Reiko would be dead.

And he'd never get another moment like this.

When they finally separated, their eyes were red-rimmed and glossy. And, for once, Natsume was able to bid farewell to someone he'd never see again. "Goodbye, grandma."

She nodded, waving at him while he took a few backwards steps towards Daido. It was only when he'd turned to face the youkai, his hand nearly brushing the fading spirit's skin, that he heard her speak.

"I'm glad I met you, Takashi."

He opened his mouth in a silent, unfinished gasp before the world fell away from him once more. He'd somehow forgotten how awful it was to time travel, and every sickening moment brought with it a fresh wave of impending doom.

The sound of crunching leaves met him at the end of his journey along with Nyanko's creaky voice. "Natsume!"

Golden eyes blinked slowly into focus, "Sensei?"

"Idiot! You don't just go reaching for youkai like that! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Every other word was punctuated by a soft smack of his paw on Natsume's head.

"Sorry, Sensei."

Natsume slowly pulled himself up from the ground and sighed when he found the Book of Friends still open to the spot where Daido's name had been.

Only… there was more than just a name on the next page.

Written in large, neat characters: I left something for you in the corner of the Fujiwara's yard.

His eyes widened, and he tore off in the direction of home after scooping the Book up, Nyanko calling after him in confusion before running to catch up.

His heart swelled at the thought of home.

He was going home.

Upon his return, he made sure to go inside to greet the Fujiwaras before he tried searching for Reiko's gift. He'd forgotten that Touko had been cooking a special dinner until he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen.

"I'm home!"

Touko's voice echoed from the kitchen, the sound of her careful steps approaching with it, "Takashi?"

His questioning, "Yes?" was said as she rounded the corner and appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, giving him a quick scan to make sure he didn't have any injuries.

When she didn't find any, her eyes wrinkled in a wide smile, "Excellent. Shigeru should be coming home any minute," she turned to head back inside while Natsume decided to put his search on hold, "so could you help me set the table?"

Natsume hummed agreeably and set to work putting the plates and silverware on the table before helping move some of the side dishes over.

They'd just set the last one on the table when Shigeru announced his return, "Sorry, I'm late!"

"Nonsense." Touko rebuked lightly, "You're just in time."

When Shigeru turned to Natsume with a raised brow Natsume answered with a helpless smile, "We just set the last thing on the table before you came in."

The older man smiled warmly, "Well, thank you both for dinner then."

"Ah… no. I didn't do anything. Touko-san made this."

The Fujiwaras shared a look before Touko gave him a stern look, "You were a big help with dinner! You helped me with setting the table!"

Natsume shrugged, not believing for a second that he'd been of any real help with the meal and knowing the Fujiwaras were too nice to ever make him feel like he didn't contribute to their family.

"And I'm sure after dinner, you won't mind helping me clean up, either?" Touko mentioned with a teasing note to her voice. When Natsume nodded, finally breaking free of the shell he'd begun to crawl into again, she smiled, "See? You're a tremendous help."

Natsume smiled in an 'if you say so' sort of way that had Shigeru chuckling.

Natsume, as reserved as he was, quietly basked in the warmth the older couple gave him, 'This is home.'

Natsume finished washing the dinner dishes with Touko in record time and tried to keep how antsy he was getting hidden from the couple. There was no need to make them feel like he didn't want to be around them.

He scooped Nyanko up and headed outside under the pretense of playing with the cat. Touko gave him a confused smile but dutifully told him to be back in before it got too late.

A quick search of the yard revealed Touko's gardening trowel was the only digging tool Natsume had at his disposal which made digging aimlessly in the four corners of the yard that much more difficult.

He was digging the fifth hole when he sat up with a sore back and sent Nyanko a dirty look. "You could always help, you know?"

"I could." Nyanko admitted, unmoving from his spot.

Natsume rolled his eyes and returned to digging, muttering about useless cats that needed to go on a diet until he felt a puff of air at the back of his neck.

When he looked up, he was met with a large, white muzzle leading to golden eyes.

Madara gently pushed Natsume back before gouging the earth with his claws and disturbing more dirt than Natsume had in the thirty minutes he'd been outside.

Nothing.

They went to a previous corner Natsume had dug at after he convinced the spirit to fill the hole back in.

When Madara's claws raked through the dirt again, the dull sound of what could have been a cereal box being shaken was heard over the hissing of dirt and sand.

Natsume was quick to place his hand against the spirit's leg "Wait! I think you found it!" In a puff of smoke, Madara became Nyanko once more.

Amidst the loose dirt Madara had overturned, was a worn, wooden box.

Shakily, Natsume pulled it free and opened the lid to reveal a few numbered composition notebooks.

He carefully set the books back inside and filled in the remaining holes he'd made. Nyanko helped, if only to speed up the unveiling of what Reiko had left her grandson.

When he was finished, he returned to his room, box tucked safely under his arm. He didn't realize how tense he was until he shut the door to his room behind him and Nyanko.

He settled on the cushion at his desk and opened the box to pull out the notebook labelled 'One' to the first page.

Inside, he found Reiko's handwriting.

Takashi,

I'm not sure how to start this, but I'll be damned before my grandson doesn't get to know his grandma. So, here goes:

It's been a few days since I sent you home and my mind is still plagued with the many questions I had for you but didn't have the courage to ask.

It's for the best I suppose. I don't even know whose child I'm going to bear and yet I've looked at every man I've passed since you left and can't help but wonder if it's him. It's agony!

I don't have the best track record with books, but your grandma will do her best with this one. I don't know how often I'll write, but I will try to write often.

Perhaps this will give us both closure? I must admit, though I only knew you for a short time, you are very-

The next word was messy and looked like it had been erased, changed, erased, and rewritten several times before settling on a word.

-precious to me.

I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE HOW HARD THAT WAS TO WRITE!

I also hope no one finds these while I'm still alive. I don't think I could stand the embarrassment.

I don't know what I'll write in this thing, but surely it might offer you more insight into your grandma's life?

I realize this is a very one-sided exchange and question the fairness of it. I guess you'll never know if I decide not to leave these for you.

I've made sure to leave the page beside Daido's name blank in case I need to leave instructions to find this.

You said you were living with the Fujiwaras? The only ones I know of have a kid named Shigeru. Is he the one taking care of you now? I hope he's changed from who he is now, for your sake.

I hope it's the same Fujiwaras because that is the best place I can think of to hide this book where no one else will ever have the chance to read it. I'll scope out the yard tomorrow for the best hiding spot.

This is so odd.

I've never put much thought into the future and now I find myself constantly wondering what it will bring.

If I do decide to follow through and give this to you, I leave my words in your care.

-Reiko

"I guess she didn't think she'd be writing more than one." Nyanko mumbled before he registered the sound of Natsume's sniffles.

The spirit's ears flattened to his head, watching Natsume's hunched over form sobbing into his desk from the corner of his eye. The cat shuffled closer until his side was pressed against Natsume's arm, hoping to bring some modicum of comfort.

He wondered if Natsume would be able to read through all of Reiko's words. He was sure the story of how he and Natsume's grandmother had met was in there and was curious to see what she thought of their meeting.

Golden eyes looked back at Natsume. Nyanko could wait until Natsume read it himself.

Notes:

Well, there ya go! I hope it was alright! I know it got pretty angsty but I tried to make it as painless as possible!

I'm tossing the idea of making a short collection involving Reiko's journal entries, but I think it would be best to make it a Tumblr blog (Letters From Grandma or something)? That way I can post sporadically or as often as I want xD

Edit:

I made a Tumblr for more "Letters From Grandma"!

www. tumblr blog/ letters-from-grandma

Feel more than free to follow if you'd like to read more of Natsume Reiko's story!
...that I'm trying to make up without tangling with actual canon xD