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taizi · 2 years

Note

For the dialogue prompts to break a reader's heart, might I request 6,7, and 8 (either combined or not- with your writing, it'll be good no matter what) for Natsuyuu (bonus points for NishiNatsu and/or Natori being best bro)?

If you're up for it, of course- if not, that's cool too.👌

HEARTBREAKING PROMPTS

6. "Am I going to die?"

ao3 // ko-fi

Shuuichi is on set when the news breaks.

A panicked college-aged intern is turning the volume up on the TV in the lounge, and Shuuichi looks up from his lines in time to watch a local station air some amateur drone footage of what looks like the apocalypse.

It’s a busy intersection downtown, which at this time of morning should be in full swing as people commute to work or classes. Instead, traffic has ground to a standstill, vehicles left abandoned as hundreds of people run from a frenzied mob.

The room is quiet, everyone slow to react to what they’re seeing. It’s like something from a horror film—found-footage is trendy, when it’s produced well, so for a moment Shuuichi thinks he’s looking at an upcoming Netflix original. He finds himself thinking the Foley effects could use some work.

Then it cuts back to two pale, shaken newscasters sitting stiffly behind their desk. The anchorwoman is turned in her chair, a hand covering the mic clipped to her shirt as she speaks rapidly to someone off-screen. The anchorman’s eyes dart as he reads silently from the teleprompter, and then he clears his throat.

“We’ve received word from our correspondents in Tokyo that the recent widespread reports of violent and erratic behavior are not a local event. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases has not yet confirmed if this is the work of a virus, but eye-witnesses on social media have made the comparison to—to rabies. Again, there is no official statement yet, but it is strongly recommended that you stay in your homes, and avoid all contact with individuals showing any of the following symptoms—”

“What the fuck,” Hana blurts. She’s still sitting at the table across from Shuuichi, where she’d been running lines with him, but her script lay abandoned now. “Is this a joke?”

“I’m checking Yahoo,” the intern says. Her nose is already buried in her phone. “I don’t understand, the streets were clear when we got here.”

“The streets were empty when we got here, because it was like three o’clock in the morning,” someone from the AD department retorts. “What I want to know is how something like this could have happened in a matter of hours.”

There’s a bit of a flurry then, of people checking their phones and computers, or getting up to stand closer to the television. Two men leave the room at a brisk clip to collect the cast and crew still milling about the set, and a woman Shuuichi vaguely recognizes as Hana’s agent uses the landline to call the security office in the front of the building.

Shuuichi’s heart is racing. He’s staring at the news broadcast, at the worried reporter standing outside a hospital, where flashing ambulances are lined up and paramedics are rushing up to the building pushing gurneys.

A digital banner stretches across the bottom of the screen, the scrolling text reading China has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been diverted. The United States has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been diverted. Great Britain has declared a state of emergency. All inbound flights have been…

“Urihime,” he says under his breath, “check in with Hiiragi now.”

Hana gives him an odd look but Urihime nods and disappears without a word. Sasago, hovering faithfully at his opposite shoulder, drifts closer to make up for her absence. Shuuichi forces his eyes away from the TV and digs his phone from his pocket.

There are thirty-some email notifications, a handful of texts—but most concerningly, a missed call.

Shoving away from the table, Shuuichi taps to redial, and holds the phone to his ear. He paces to the far side of the room, and can’t force himself to breathe until the moment the line finally connects and Natsume’s quiet voice says, “Natori-san?”

Oh my god, Shuuichi thinks, pressing his forehead against the wall, oh, thank god.

“Are you alright?” he demands. “Is everyone there alright?”

“We’re fine,” Natsume says quickly. “Um, everyone’s still asleep but me and Kitamoto. There’s been a lot of noises in the hallway, but Hii—I mean. I figured I shouldn’t open the door.” Shuuichi makes a mental note to kiss Hiiragi right on the face for strong-arming the most stubborn teenager alive into staying in the relative safety of the hotel room. “I, um, I tried to call you—”

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t see it,” Shuuichi says. He rubs a hand over his face, struggling between the crippling relief that the kids are safe, and the visceral, terrifying reality that something could potentially still happen to them. “I’m on my way back now, okay? Stay put. Listen to Hiiragi. Don’t let the chaos twins do anything stupid.”

He means Taki and Nishimura, and he knows Natsume knows exactly who he means. He hears the kid murmur something, ostensibly to Kitamoto, and then the sound of movement, and then a door closing softly.

“I’m in the bathroom now. Natori-san, are you sure?” He sounds frightened. His voice is still quiet, but his words are coming faster now, all but running together as his anxiety rears its head. “I mean—we looked out the window a few minutes ago, and it’s—”

“Hey,” Shuuichi says firmly. “I know what it looks like outside. I don’t care. Keep away from the windows, and keep quiet, and wait for me. Tell your monster he has my full permission to sit on you if that’s what it takes.”

Natsume laughs a little. “He’s listening. He says he doesn’t need your permission.”

“For once, cat, I almost respect you,” Natori says with a light-heartedness he doesn’t feel. “Alright, Natsume. Wake your friends up, eat something. I’ll see you soon.”

He hangs up, digs the heel of his hand into his eyes, and allows himself five seconds of silent panic. Then he turns around and strides for the door.

“Um, Natori-san, I don’t think you should leave,” Hana says, alarmed, as he grabs his coat from the hook and pats the pockets to find his keys. “The governor said—and the police—Natori-san, we’re supposed to stay inside!”

That gets some attention. There’s a sudden swell of well-meaning colleagues rounding on him, urging him to stay calm, sit back down, let Ha-ri make you some tea. Ordinarily, Shuuichi might have been touched by their concern, but now he just doesn’t have time for it. He glances at Sasago and then looks pointedly at the door. She inclines her head and sweeps out in front of him, causing the people in his way to stumble aside and neatly clearing his path.

Everyone is staring at him, staggered. Even the ones who weren’t pushed by an invisible force seem staggered. Natori spares a moment to bow his head and says, “Thank you for taking care of me. Good luck.”

He pushes out the door into the empty hallway. His steps on the polished tile floor echo, and another pair of footsteps follows him out.

It’s the intern, Ha-ri. She lifts her chin and says, “My little brother’s cat-sitting at my apartment. He’s only in Osaka in the first place because of me.”

“I’m headed for Tennoji ward. If you’re going in the same direction, you’re welcome to tag along,” Shuuichi replies, and holds the door to the parking garage open for her.

As soon as they’re outside, it’s clear they’ve left safety behind. There’s an overturned car on the street, burning steadily, and another parked on the sidewalk with a shattered windshield. It’s ominously still—the busy morning foot-traffic is conspicuously absent.

Sasago leaps to the roof of the garage and casts her blindfolded eyes up and down the street. Urihime joins her there, glancing down at Shuuichi.

“The kids are safe,” she says shortly. “Let me guide you, Natori-dono. The streets are a mess, but I remember which ones are mostly deserted. Sasago and I will clear the way. Count on us.”

They move quickly. Ha-ri keeps close and says nothing, hands white-knuckled on the strap of her crossbody bag, canvas sneakers treading silently on the asphalt. If she thinks it odd that Shuuichi turns down streets and alleyways seemingly at random with total confidence, she keeps it to herself.

The set in Chuo is only a few miles away from the hotel the kids picked in Tennoji. They were so looking forward to this trip, a whole week in the city with a movie-star chauffeur at their beck and call. Shuuichi left them to sleep in this morning, with plans to get some work done at the studio and be back in time to bring them lunch, but he wishes he hadn’t. He shouldn’t have left.

Sasago throws herself bodily in front of him before he can round the next corner, and Ha-ri stumbles into his back at his sudden stop. Urihime hisses through her teeth for them to get down! Shuuichi grabs Ha-ri by the strap of her bag and drags her down with him, their backs pressed against the side of a large vending machine.

Something shambles by.

Ha-ri gasps, and then muffles herself with both hands before she can give them away, her knees tucked in tight against her chest. Urihime and Sasago are crouched warily in front of them, a guard that only Shuuichi is aware of. And on the street, moving in odd, awkward clusters, there are…

People.

People with torn clothes and tossed hair, looking as though they just tumbled out of a car accident. A lot of them have blood on their necks, or their hands, or their mouths. All of them have milky-white eyes and a vacant expression, as though they’re sleepwalking through this nightmare.

The last thing Shuuichi expects is for the nearest one to turn its face toward the shiki. Shuuichi’s heart shoots up into his throat as the—the sleepwalker teeters drunkenly, staring straight at Urihime, who is visibly bracing herself for a fight. Thankfully, though, it seems like the sleepwalker is aware of yokai in the same way that animals are—a passing interest only, the spheres of their existence just overlapping in the fringes.

Shuuichi and Ha-ri stay absolutely still until the street has emptied. Even when Sasago quietly gives the all-clear. They just sit there, not speaking, breathing like they’ve run a marathon.

Then Ha-ri says, “Rabies.”

“What?” Shuuichi asks stupidly.

“The man on the news said it,” the girl replies. Her voice is wooden and grim. “He said that it was like rabies. And they—some of them looked like they’d been—”

She doesn’t say it. She doesn’t have to. Shuuichi closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the machine behind him. Acclimating to this brand new genre of shit-show he has no choice but to deal with.

“Natori-dono,” Sasago says with some urgency.

“Right,” he mutters, and pushes himself to his feet. He stretches a hand down to Ha-ri, pulls her up beside him, and they go.

They bump into a few other people, panic-stricken and running for whatever safe place is waiting for them. None of them linger long enough to exchange words. Most stores and kiosks they pass are closed and locked tight, security shutters lowered. Outside a little fast food restaurant is a row of delivery scooters parked on a rack; one of the scooters is missing, and there’s a broken lock lying on the ground next to an abandoned sledgehammer. Without pause, Ha-ri stoops and picks up the hammer.

The shiki save them two more times within fifteen minutes; the third time, Shuuichi doesn’t need the warning, and neither does his young companion. They fling themselves silently into a sidestreet, and Shuuichi shoves Ha-ri back even farther, into the shadow of a stoop, just in time to miss a handful of the sleepwalkers who seem to be chasing the taillights of a passing car.

“I think it’s safe now,” Shuuichi says, and starts to step back onto the sidewalk, but Ha-ri grips his sleeve.

“I have to go the other way,” she tells him, barely more than a whisper. Her eyes are wide, and with the huge glasses and full bangs she looks absurdly young. She’s only a few years older than the kids Shuuichi is responsible for. But there’s iron in her spine, and she lifts her chin the way she did back at the studio when she refused to stay behind. She ducks forward in a bow, and says, “Thank you for taking care of me until now.”

Fuck, Shuuichi thinks. Out loud he says, “Give me your phone.”

Bewildered, Ha-ri tucks the hammer under her arm to slide her iPhone out of her back pocket.

Shuuichi opens the messages app and texts himself. Handing the phone back, he grits out, “I know that kids seem to have a medical condition that makes them choose to be stupidly self-reliant at the absolute worst of times, but you have my number. Contact me if you need help. For your brother and your cat, if not for yourself.”

Ha-ri blinks rapidly a few times, taken-aback. Then she smiles for the first time all morning. She slips her phone back into her pocket, bows again, and says, “Be careful, Natori-senpai. Don’t let them bite you.”

Then she spins around and runs the opposite way down the winding alley toward the chained fence blocking the next street. She tosses her bag and the hammer over first, then plants one sneaker on the fence, heaves herself to the top, and disappears on the other side without a sound.

She’ll probably be fine.

“Urihime,” Shuuichi orders quietly.

With a displeased sigh, the shiki takes off after her. Sasago tilts her head toward the street, and Shuuichi follows.

He’s running on nothing but anxiety and adrenaline by the time he reaches the hotel. It’s tucked away at the end of a busy street, near a huge train station, because of course it is. There are dozens of sleepwalkers in the way, and Shuuichi’s stomach sinks like a stone.

But Hiiragi appears in front of the building, and points with her sword toward the small service road that leads around to the back, presumably for the unloading of delivery trucks. Then she disappears again, and Shuuichi realizes why a moment later. The window of a restaurant a few blocks away explodes into a loud shower of glass, and all the shambling bodies on the street react like wild animals, clawing over one another to rush toward the sound.

It’s potentially the most horrifying thing Shuuichi has ever seen. He very carefully compartmentalizes his reaction, because frankly there’s no time for it right now.

Once they’re in the building, weaving through eerie stockrooms and a gleaming, completely abandoned commercial kitchen, Sasago leads him past the elevator to the stairwell, and then herds him up four flights of stairs, glaring coldly when he dares gasp for air too loudly.

“Well, excuse me,” Shuuichi wheezes. “Not all of us can float.”

There are some alarming sounds on the second floor, and absolute silence on the third and fourth. Shuuichi doesn’t trust it for a second, but he shoves open the stairwell door when Sasago gives him the go-ahead, and beelines straight for his suite.

Ridiculously, he starts searching his pockets for his keycard. The door is ripped open a second later, and Hiiragi says, with just barely passable deference, “Natori-dono. Get inside now.”

The moment he does, he feels himself cross a barrier. It’s like stepping into a physical net of safety. It feels as though whatever is happening outside can’t reach him here, even though he knows that can’t really be true. He can hear quiet chatter from the next room, all those dear voices present and correct and secure.

He leans against the wall and closes his eyes. He just needs a minute.

When he opens them, he has company. On the step above the neat row of shoes lined up in the entryway, Madara is tucked into a fat little loaf, unnatural green eyes glinting. The symbol on his forehead is glowing faintly. Shuuichi doesn’t think he’s ever seen it sustained for longer than a few seconds at a time.

“Is this your work, cat?” Shuuichi asks, waving a hand to indicate that barrier he’s only peripherally aware of. His voice is hoarse and exhausted. The cat deigns not to comment on the state of him, which is a kindness he didn’t expect.

“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” Madara says plainly.

“I paid for this room, freeloader,” Shuuichi mutters, and braces a hand against the wall as he follows the quiet sound of conversation into the sitting room of the extravagant suite. It’s dimly lit even at half past ten in the morning, with the heavy curtains pulled across the windows, and the TV is on so low he can barely hear it over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

He barely catches a glimpse of Natsume’s wide-eyed expression before the boy is crossing the room at a run and colliding with him hard enough to knock the breath out of his lungs.

It’s the absolute last thing on the list of things Shuuichi has to complain about. It doesn’t even make the list. He plants his chin on the top of Natsume’s head, wraps an arm around his shoulders, and takes a full breath for the first time since he saw that news broadcast.

Natsume is joined in short order by a tearful Taki, then Nishimura, then Ogata. Kitamoto slumps where he’s sitting, like whatever has been propping him up this whole time just collapsed underneath him. Shibata glares at Shuuichi with vitriol, because he tends to get his feelings mixed up when he’s thrown into high-pressure situations, but he buries his face in Tanuma’s shoulder before his mouth can run away from him. Tanuma, for his part, looks like he’s just barely keeping a panic attack at bay by nothing but sheer willpower and the need to be present for his friends. He pats Shibata on the back gently.

They’re all ruffled and pale, still in their pajamas, wrapped in the extra throw blankets from the closet and the duvets from the beds. It’s like a slumber party gone catastrophically wrong.

“It’s okay,” Shuuichi tells the room at large. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“What’s happening outside?” Ogata asks, voice warbling. “I called my friend Junko, but she lost signal. She told me that a bunch of people broke into her dad’s store. She said they were acting really strange.”

“We found a bunch of different news stations on TV,” Tanuma whispers. “It’s happening all over the country.”

“I can’t get ahold of my parents,” Kitamoto blurts. “Or my sister. Or Tsuji or Sasada. Or anyone from Hitoyoshi.”

“Are you okay?” Natsume says, pulling out of Shuuichi’s arms just enough to look up at him with stricken brown eyes. His voice cuts through the room easily, because no one is willing to talk over him. “Did you run the whole way here? Come sit down. Shibata, move. Satchan, can you get him something to drink?”

Shuuichi smiles as they scurry like little worker ants, and gratefully accepts the expensive bottled water from the minibar that Nishimura presses into his hands. He can see the kids visibly sitting on their questions, trying to be respectful, and he thinks they’re so good. They’re much better than he was when he was their age.

They don’t deserve whatever fresh hell is happening outside.

“Here’s what I know,” Shuuichi says, and lays everything out.

“You don’t know much,” Shibata says judgmentally. Nishimura digs an elbow into his stomach.

“What are we going to do?” Taki asks. "Are we going to die?"

"No, Tooru," Shuuichi says sternly, shutting that down as fast as he can. "None of you are going to die."

She’s frightened and clearly trying to be brave. She has a marker clenched in her fist, and it reminds Shuuichi of the way Ha-ri had hefted that sledgehammer.

All of their worried faces are turned up toward his. He’s the oldest person in the room, ancient at almost twenty-four years old. He’s responsible for them, agreed to be when their parents gave permission for this big trip to the city. It’s his job to make things right. Somehow, he has to make this right.

His phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out and opens the new texts, with an audience of at least four teenagers peering over his shoulders.

They’re both from Ha-ri. The first one is a selfie. She’s sitting on the carpeted floor of what looks like a bedroom, with her arm around the shoulders of a boy who looks exactly like her. There’s a huge orange cat draped across their laps and the twins are grinning wearily at the camera.

Made it, the text beneath it reads. And you?

Shuuichi finds himself smiling. He glances around the room and says, “If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

The kids seem thrown off by the question, but only for a moment. They trade glances, communicating in that silent language that people only develop after spending way too much time together, and then Shibata speaks up.

“My parents are overseas.”

“So are mine,” Taki says.

“My mom is a doctor,” Kitamoto pipes up. He’s near tears, frightened that he hasn’t heard from his family yet. “She’ll be able to help.”

Nishimura slips away to shove himself into the armchair with Kitamoto, which is probably equal parts annoying and comforting. He takes Kitamoto’s hand and squeezes hard, and that tips the scales in favor of comfort, after all. Kitamoto leans against him and looks a little less frantic.

“My brother’s pre-med,” Nishimura adds. “And supposedly he’s back from university for the weekend. He wouldn’t be completely useless to have around, I guess.”

“Junko’s on our way,” Ogata says quickly. “She could meet us and come along.”

“There’s room at the temple for everyone,” Tanuma offers in his careful, thoughtful way. He sounds like he's half-afraid his friends might shoot him down, even now, in this worst-case scenario. He's ridiculous and Shuuichi would do anything to protect him.

Natsume lifts his ugly cat into his arms and hugs it tightly. His eyes are moonlike, round and hopeful. It’s obvious who he’s thinking of—Touko and Shigeru and their big, welcoming smiles, and their big, welcoming house, and how they always leave a light on for him.

No one has outright said it yet; none of them are eager to sound childish in the face of what is shaping up to be a global disaster. They’re trying to be very grown-up about it.

But the wanting is plain on their faces. It’s clear where they would all feel safest.

Shuuichi is thinking about Madara’s barrier, and the deft way the shiki handled the sleepwalkers every step of the way between Chuo ward and Tennoji. He’s thinking about all of Natsume’s questionable friends among the ghosts of Yatsuhara, and their unwavering loyalty to him, and how eager they are to prove their worth. He thinks that Hitoyoshi might just be the best place to go, if only they can make it there.

“Okay,” Shuuichi says. “Let’s go home.”

#📢ZOMBIE AU📢#im so predictable. its fine #natsume yuujinchou #natsuyuu #natori shuuichi #natsume takashi #my writing #prompt #natsumiyasblog #natsume zombie au #will i add more to this ?? potentially #ive been watching z movies all weekend ok let me live #thinking of dawn of the dead (2004) and how the nurse got home from a normal shift and woke up the next morning to a total shit show #those vibes #i didnt edit this at all pls forgive me

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kakyoinsfacialscarring · 3 years

Text

My first Nishinatsu fic. Trying to get in the habit of writing fanfiction because I’m about to graduate and become unemployed so I’ll have a lot of free time. Crossposted to ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744874

Nishimura doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to this. Natsume was perfectly fine just minutes ago on their walk home, and now Nishimura’s having to dive to keep his head from hitting the ground too hard.

It had been a relatively normal night, by Natsume standards. They had had to stay late after school to help plan for the upcoming school festival, and as they began to leave Nishimura noticed the sun had already started to set.

“My moms gonna kill me.” he whined. “Why does it feel like these days are never-ending, we just wake up, go to school, go home and do chores. We never have time for fun anymore.”

“That’s not true,” Natsume smiled, “we went fishing on Saturday for the whole day.”

Nishimura scoffed. “That was ages ago!”

“It’s Tuesday.” Natsume laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Nishimura tried to ignore the swooping feeling in his gut and the heat rising to his cheeks. He scowled.

“Easy for you to say. I’m sure Touko-san lets you do whatever you want when you get home and feeds you a bunch of yummy food, like the stuff she packs for your lunches.”

He glanced at Natsume again and saw him looking at the sunset with a pensive expression. They had reached the entrance to the school and Nishimura found himself hesitant for their paths to divert.

Well I’m already late, He thought, what's a few extra minutes?

“We’d better get going if you’re gonna be home before dark.”

Natsume turned and looked at him, already knowing where he was going with this. “Nishimura, you’re already late.”

Nishimura rolled his eyes and began walking in the direction of Natsume’s house. “Exactly. I’m already late so it doesn’t matter what time I get back.”

Natsume quickly caught up to him and Nishimura felt himself smirk slightly at the annoyed look on his face.

He talked about nothing while they walked, just complaining about cram school and laughing at how Kitamoto had dropped his drink on the girl he liked at lunch today. In the beginning of their friendship, Nishimura talked nonstop about girls. Especially when Taki was introduced to their small group of friends. But recently, he found himself unable to talk about crushes in front of Natsume, and his feelings for Taki had diminished to just thinking she was cute. Because a large part of him knew that when Natsume’s smile reached his eyes, or when Nishimura made him laugh and he ducked behind his bangs, he had very similar thoughts about Natsume that he did about the girls he used to talk about.

Natsume hummed and responded at all the right moments, but as they continued walking and it became darker Nishimura noticed that he was becoming less and less responsive, his eyes flicking to the forest next to the pathway. It was not unusual for Natsume to be distracted, but Nishimura felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he watched him and tried to follow his eyes.

The more they walked, the darker it got. He had the creepiest feeling and kept glancing at Natsume, who had started walking faster. He strided forward to keep up and didn’t complain. He always got the feeling that if Natsume was looking over your shoulder at something, it was a good idea not to turn around. And if Natsume was running from something, it was a good idea to pick up the pace.

Suddenly, a flash of wind zoomed past him and seemed to hit Natsume right in the chest. He was knocked back a few steps and swayed where he stood. Nishimura wasn’t surprised by how quick his reflexes were now after being friends with Natsume for over a year, but again. He’d never get used to this. His adrenaline spiked as all the color drained from Natsume’s face and his eyelids fluttered.

“Woah woah-“

Nishimura rushed forward and grabbed him under the arms and tried to lower them to the ground slowly. Natsume chose that moment to go completely limp and Nishimura went down with him, his arms straining under the dead weight. They were at an awkward angle with Natsume’s legs bent beneath him and his head against Nishimura’s chest. Nishimura tried to adjust them so that he could see Natsume’s face.

“Natsume.” Nishimura called shakily. He tilted Natsume’s head back and his heart clenched as his head lolled. He quickly used his hand to lift Natsume’s head back up against his shoulder, his other hand supporting his back. “Natsume, come on.” He said again, keeping his hand on his face and running his thumb over his cheekbone. Natsume’s face was slack and he was a little warm to the touch, but not enough to cause him to collapse. Under the streetlight he was so pale that he looked like a ghost. Nishimura adjusted them again and shook Natsume’s shoulder gently. There was no way he could carry him home completely unconscious.

“Natsume wake up, come on bud.” He tried one last time, seeing some movement behind his eyelids. His eyebrows scrunched up and Nishimura allowed the worry to take over and smoothed over his eyebrow with his thumb. He’d have time to be embarrassed about it later.

Natsume’s eyes blinked open slowly and Nishimura felt something unclench in his chest and let out a breath. “You with me?”

“Satoru?” Natsume’s voice was soft and his eyelids fluttered, and Nishimura could tell he wasn’t quite awake yet by how unfocused his eyes were.

“Yeah. Just take a minute to wake up a little bit.” He said softly, not wanting to startle him. Natsume blinked some more and cleared his throat as he became more aware of his surroundings. He finally looked up at Nishimura who smiled in relief, though his brows were still furrowed in concern. Natsume stared back at him with color rising back to his cheeks.

“You alright?” Nishimura asked nervously after a moment of silence. Worried that the flushing was the sign of his fever rising, he moved his hand from cradling Natsume’s head to press it against Natsume’s forehead.

“I’m alright,” Natsume started to sit up, still leaning against Nishimura for support. “Sorry.” He winced as he moved his legs from where they’d been bent uncomfortably.

“Don’t apologize, that wind was pretty strong. It came out of nowhere.” Nishimura smiled nervously as his hand hovered against Natsume’s lower back. He noticed Natsume’s eyes dart away from him, a telltale sign that Nishimura had come to pick up on to mean he was hiding something from him.

“Yeah, it did. Still, I’m sorry I made you worry.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Nishimura joked, immediately cursing his stupid mouth when Natsume grimaced. “Are you feeling better?”

“I-“ Natsume glanced at him and seemed to come to the conclusion he wouldn’t get out of the question with an 'I’m fine'. “I’m a little dizzy, but I’ll be alright.”

Nishimura sighed and took a moment to take in their surroundings. It was completely dark out now, and though they weren’t near any houses he knew they were a short walk from Natsume’s house. There was a streetlight a few steps from them that illuminated their immediate area, but the forest across the path was dark and ominous. Nishimura shivered and unconsciously tightened his grip on Natsume’s waist, pulling him closer to him.

“Sensei?”

Nishimura turned his attention back to Natsume, who’s attention was on his very fat cat sitting a few paces today, glaring at them. Nishimura didn’t know how he didn’t notice him, although his focus on Natsume had been pretty intense.

Nishimura scowled right back at it. “Oi Nyanko, aren’t you supposed to protect him from scary winds? Where were you?” Natsume whipped his head around and stared at him with wide eyes. “What? I’m not stupid. That cats like your service animal or your bodyguard or something, I swear.” Nishimura joked. “And don’t whip your head like that when you’re dizzy.” He added when Natsume’s eyes fluttered slightly and he leaned more into Nishimura’s chest. Nishimura felt himself flush slightly and thought he heard a scoff nearby, but when he looked up he only saw the fat cat shifting to walk closer to them. It put its paw on Natsume’s leg, its eyes narrowing as it looked between them and the forest.

“We should probably get you home.” Nishimura said, following the cats eyes. “On a scale of 1 to 10 how likely is it that you’ll faint if you stand up right now?”

Natsume cut a glare at him and pushed off his chest, kneeling to stand on his own. Nishimura quickly grabbed his arm and helped him stand up. He swayed slightly, so Nishimura grasped his other arm tightly as well. When he looked up they were very close together, their breath intermingling. Natsume’s face was flushed again, and Nishimura wanted to get him home as quickly as possible.

“Come on.” He said, draping Natsume’s arm around his shoulder, noticing the couple of inches between their heights. “You’ve grown since we met, no fair Natsume.” Nishimura whined, starting to guide them in the direction of the Fujiwara house. “You’re not allowed to grow anymore until I catch up.”

Natsume let out a breath, almost a laugh. “I don’t see that happening.”

“Don’t make me drop you.”

————

Touko was reasonably worried when they walked through the door so late, especially with Natsume as pale as he was. She rushed to him and fretted immediately, smoothing his bangs out of his face and checking his temperature. Nishimura never let go of the hold he had around Natsume’s waist and the hand around his shoulder. Somewhere along the walk, he had gone from holding his wrist tightly to keep him balanced to their hands being clasped together. Nishimura could feel his hands sweating.

“Thank you for getting him home safely, Satoru.” Touko said, turning to him and clasping his cheeks. “I’m going to put on some tea and get him some water, would you mind taking him upstairs?”

“Yes ma’am.” She patted his cheek and turned to the kitchen, with one last worried look to Natsume. Nyanko waddled after her with his bell ringing, seemingly unworried now that the door was closed behind them.

“You’re so late already, I can head up on my own. I’m alright-“ Natsume started, attempting to detach himself from Nishimura. Nishimura tightened his hold again.

“I don’t care.” He said nonchalantly, kicking off his shoes. “I mean, my mom doesn’t care. I was exaggerating earlier. She probably won’t even notice I’m gone. I’ll get the same amount of ear full no matter what time I get home.” He shrugged and looked down, nudging Natsume so they could start their trek up the stairs. He glanced at Natsume and found him already looking at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

“What? Are you dizzy?” Nishimura pulled him closer, prepared to take them to the floor if he needed to.

“No, I’m fine. Let’s go upstairs.” They made their way up the stairs, with Nishimura making sure to support Natsume the whole way up. They run into Shigeru at the top, who’s face contorts in worry when he sees how Nishimura is supporting his foster son. He goes ahead to Natsume’s bedroom, lays out his futon, and closes the window.

“Thank you Shigeru-san.” Natsume says shyly, averting his eyes. Cute, Nishimura thinks.

“Just try to get some rest.” Shigeru says, ruffling Natsume’s hair. “And Nyanko,” Shigeru looks behind them at where the cat is sitting in the doorway, a bun in it’s mouth. “Watch over him while he sleeps, ok?”

Nishimura held back a laugh at that. Everyone seemed to talk to the cat like a human, even a man as serious as Shigeru. But the laugh died in his throat at the way the cat seemed to stand straighter at that, as if he had understood and was taking his job seriously. He was probably just overthinking it.

He finally let go of Natsume so he could change into his pajamas. He turned around and covered his eyes, but stayed alert in case he fell or couldn’t balance. When he turned back around Natsume was lowering himself down into his futon, looking worn out. Nishimura walked over to him and plopped down next to him. Natsume blinked at him with his wide eyes, and Nishimura took in his whole face. He had freckles over his nose from spending a day outside with him over the weekend, and they popped out with how pale his complexion was tonight. His eyes softened the longer Nishimura stared at him, and he noticed the specks of green sprinkled around in the deep hazel. His eyes flicked down to his lips and back up at Natsume’s face, who’s freckles had disappeared under a blush.

At that moment, Touko walked in with two cups of tea and a glass of water. Nishimura leaned back, not realizing how far he had leaned into Natsume’s space. With Natsume’s attention drawn away, Nishimura noticed the cat sitting at the end of the futon, his eyes narrowed to slits and his ears pressed against the back of his head. Nishimura glared back at it for the third time that night, not even having it in him to be embarrassed that he was beefing with a cat. They seemed to come to an agreement as the cat huffed and settled in next to Natsume's feet.

“Satoru dear, would you stay the night? I don’t want you walking home in the dark, I’ll call your mom for you.” Touko urged gently, while pushing Natsume back to lay down and checking his temperature again. He made eye contact with Natsume who smiled at him weakly back at him. That was all he needed.

“That sounds good.”

#nishinatsu #natsume yuujinchou #Natsume Takashi #Nishimura Satoru #natsumes book of friends

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mayorofcattown · 5 years

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Natsume Week: Day 5 Identity/Personality

Nishimura is absolutely the one to immediately validate all of Natsume’s punk impulses

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume week #does this count as #nishinatsu #I'm gonna say it does #fan art #art

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owletstarlet · 5 years

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1, 3, 14 pour Tanuma/Natsume :)

From the 21 otp questions meme! Sorry this took so long, I’m getting over an illness at the moment but these were awesome questions, thank you!

1. If you had to change the pairing’s very first meeting, how would you change it? 3. What is your favorite AU/trope/prompt idea for this pairing? 14. Is there a pairing that you think rivals them?

1. If you had to change the pairing’s very first meeting, how would you change it?

However unlikely, I really really want them to have met previously as children. I’m a talking a very brief encounter, which Natsume might have trouble even recalling but which Tanuma would turn over and over in his head for years after. I feel like I maybe(?) read a fic along these lines where they met at a temple when they were kids so if that’s your idea I’m sorry for shamelessly expanding on it and please link me to your fic! But how I’d imagine it would be as follows: little Natsume gets carted along to a family function by foster-parents-du-jour who don’t really want him there (similar to how Shigeru first found him). So he’s kind of wandering these temple grounds and making himself scarce, and he stumbles into this other boy sitting sort of hunched over beneath a very large very old tree. And up in the branches of the tree, watching all this, is a very intent, very hungry youkai (which possibly can’t come down out of the tree, it’s hallowed ground and whatnot). And little Tanuma here’s got a horrible headache, his forehead pressed against knobbly little knees trying not to be sick, and he just about jumps out of his skin when this other kid just bursts out of nowhere, yelps instead of introducing himself, then grabs his wrists and starts yanking him away from the tree like it’s on fire. And then little Natsume proceeds to haul him to his feet, steer him out from under the tree and over to the nearest temple building, but not before pausing to deliver a sharp “stay away!” back up into the tree branches. And little Tanuma just gapes, and little Natsume just gapes right back for a long moment, still holding onto Tanuma’s arms. Finally he blurts out a quick, “stay inside, you’ll feel better, don’t go near that tree again,” before excusing himself and taking off again. And Tanuma’s feeling too poorly to go after him or argue, but when he does go inside he feels much better. And he can’t get the encounter out of his head for years to come, wondering what that other boy saw, where he is now, if they’re the same. And he doesn’t immediately put it together when they meet again in high school, but when he does it takes quite awhile before he works up the nerve to ask Natsume if he remembers that day.

3. What is your favorite AU/trope/prompt idea for this pairing?

A perennial favorite trope for these two is just. Peaceful, idyllic fluff where they’re free to be Dorks In Love and neither of them has to be stressed out about anything, I can literally never get enough of that shit because god do they deserve it. But. The fics that are nearest to my heart are ones involving either of them being Very Gentle with the other during instances of Bad Brain Stuff. It’s really interesting with these two because I think they both generally have a pretty good intuition about when the other’s having a tough time, but they are really lousy at actually communicating which can just compound the issue, and that’s true in multiple instances in canon. But there’s a reason that there’s an abundance of fic featuring Tanuma being very soft and patient when Natsume’s under bombardment from anxiety or past traumas. And, of course the literal saved-you-from-a-horrible-death kind of fics, but usually the angsty brain stuff is pretty inextricable from the life-threatening situational fics. Another point strongly in the favor of the hurt-comfort trope in fics is the fact that Tanuma gets to feel like he’s doing something, like he can’t punch a youkai in the nose for Natsume’s sake but he’s got a first aid kit and a comfortable bed and empathy in spades when Natsume needs him.

Rarer and vastly underrated, though, are fics where it’s Natsume helping Tanuma through his own issues. He’s got like. Textbook anxiety symptoms, probably doesn’t do well in crowds, and his self-esteem’s (canonically) in the negatives— as of the Sasame arc Natsume’s only really just realized how deeply the self worth thing runs, and every time in canon Natsume’s ever tried to tell him “stop doing stupid stuff, I care about you, you idiot,” Tanuma’s just like *blink-blink-does-not-compute* “ok, see you at school, bye now—“ And Natsume understands so many of the things Tanuma struggles with, isolation, loneliness, feeling worthless and not really having anyone around to contradict that sentiment. And I just. I am so, so here for Tanuma feeling loved and cared for (speaking of, thank you taizi for my life).

Oh, and real quick, another great idea that needs more fic: Tanuma actually getting to become a badass exorcist. Actually just. Give this boy more fics in general because he deserves the whole world, and specifically give us exorcists who are decidedly not the two stellar examples of humanity we’ve got in canon. But I digress.

14. Is there a pairing that you think rivals them?

Ahh, nishinatsu, for starters. This is largely @taizi‘s fault in terms of the vast body of excellent work they’ve produced I have always always always been weak for loud bombastic ray-of-goddamned-sunshine characters paired with the quiet characters. That’s most often my go-to ship in any given fandom, and even as a side character Nishimura’s intuition about what Natsume needs or wants is so spot-on, and that of course is true of Kitamoto as well.

The other, much weirder ship, and this is ENTIRELY TAIZI’S FAULT, is Tanuma and Shibata. It just. Since they referred to it as a soulmates ship in empty hands, it just stuck in my head and refused to leave me alone, because I wanted to understand how that would even work because they’re so radically different, and tai’s got a wip which I love exploring the dynamic of this weird little ship that would require so much energy and effort from both parties.

#slight cw for mental health stuff #tanunatsu #natsume takashi #tanuma kaname #ask meme #owlet's meta #natsume yuujinchou #natsuyuu #natsume's book of friends #taizi #yume-x-hanabi #nishinatsu #nishimura satoru #shibata katsume #tanubata

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plumoh · 5 years

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[NishiNatsu] By your side

Word count: 1800

Summary: You can always find happiness in the simple things of life.

Note: AO3 link. Written for Chocolate Box 2019!

One-shot: By your side

Here is the thing. Natsume acts like he doesn't know what hands and legs are supposed to do, like he's an infant discovering the use of limbs by flailing and making distressed noises, and that's alright because he's prone to this bout of panicking once in a while.

The other thing is that usually, Nishimura isn't the one to cause such a state.

“Hey, relax, I'm sure Touko-san and Shigeru-san won't mind! And I know for sure that my brother and my mom won't mind, either.”

Natsume opens and closes his mouth several times, eyes so focused on what to say that he looks on the verge of imploding. His cat sits at his feet and yawns, bored out of his mind as he watches a butterfly fly by, and attempts a swipe at it. Nishimura is convinced that this is the epitome of normalcy.

“It's okay if you don't want to,” Nishimura says, furrowing his brows. “We've only had sleepovers with the other guys in the past, I understand if you're not comfortable with the idea yet.”

It's not the truth but it's not wrong either, because Nishimura will never be mad about this sort of subject. He did have an outburst, once upon a time, when he was still learning what kind of person Natsume was, and trying to wrap his mind around the fact such a nice guy was despised by basically everyone he met. He knows that things have been difficult, but if he doesn't push a bit, nothing will change.

Natsume recovers abruptly, his arms falling limp against his sides, and he doesn’t quite meet Nishimura’s eyes but he tries, and that’s the most important part.

“I was just surprised by your suggestion. Sorry if I seemed too weirded out, Nishimura.”

The light comes back in these clear eyes, bright and unashamed, emanating sincerity like a perfect-fit cloak. Nishimura loves the feeling of pride he gets from that; above all, he loves how at ease Natsume is—it took some time and Nishimura sometimes fears he will retreat back into his shell, but it happens very rarely, now.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright.” He grins, and wraps an arm around Natsume’s shoulders. “I’m glad you’re okay with it.”

Natsume smiles, and Nishimura’s heart melts, again.

***

Some people would think they’re being paranoid or extremely slow, which might be true to some extent, but better be safe than sorry, right? It’s not like they can decide what to do without taking into account every factor they know, unless they wish to make mistakes they’d regret. Nishimura’s mother told him that teenagers are supposed to make mistakes, and that was how they learn life, but Nishimura thinks it’s way too painful to rely on deeds that could have been prevented and saved them a lot of grief. He doesn’t want Natsume to freak out, and from what he’s gathered (with a little bit of help since he's apparently too blind), Natsume is afraid of messing up, so that’s fifty-fifty. No big deal, if they’re on the same page. People shouldn’t meddle, anyway, so the accusations are irrelevant.

He doesn’t want to be inconsiderate, and he wants to make Natsume happy. If they need to take baby steps to do so, then Nishimura will keep this pace; seeing him smile and get flustered at the small attentions is worth everything, and Nishimura will fight anyone who tries to push them into a direction they don’t plan on following.

He takes Natsume’s hand in his, gently intertwining their fingers, holding him tight. He doesn’t look at his boyfriend’s reaction, but from the way he stiffens then immediately relaxes, it feels perfectly safe and how it should be. He doesn’t have any frame of reference regarding this kind of experience, but Nishimura is positive this is the best feeling he could have plucked from his heart.

They reach Natsume’s home, where they let the cat rush into the house probably to get snacks, while Natsume announces his arrival.

“Thank you for having me!” Nishimura says enthusiastically, removing his shoes and lining them up with Natsume’s.

Touko-san greets them with her warm smile and her bright energy, like she’s never running out of supply to make guests feel at home.

“Welcome back, Takashi-kun. Satoru-kun, please make yourself at home!”

She is so kind and so reassuring Nishimura can’t even believe she isn’t an actual angel blessing them all. He is so, so glad that Natsume lives with the Fujiwaras and found somewhere he can call a home.

“Touko-san, can I help you prepare dinner?” he asks earnestly. “I brought tomatoes from our garden!”

Touko-san looks surprised at his request, a refusal at her lips, but she casts a quick look at Natsume then at Nishimura, and her decision is made.

“That's very kind of you Satoru-kun. Takashi-kun, we are out of green onions, could you pick up some at the store? I forgot to ask you to buy it on your way home.”

Nishimura’s smile grows wider at the confusion written all over Natsume's face, and has to bite his cheeks to contain his laughter. He squeezes his shoulder and gestures towards the door.

“Don't worry, I'm not going to break anything,” he teases. “And Touko-san won't let me anyway.”

“But Nishimura—”

“It's okay, just go, we need our green onions!”

The cat chooses that moment to resurface, what looks suspiciously like anpan in his mouth, striding towards Natsume's feet and brushing against his ankles. Natsume looks down with a crease between his brows, and falls into a deep silent conversation with his pet. Nishimura can't believe that a cat manages to pull a deadpan expression while being smug, but that’s the reality he’s living—this creature has always been weird, and oddly reassuring at the most random times, but he seems to understand Natsume on a whole other level than people. Whatever communication that happened between the two pushed Natsume to agree to leave the house. He shoots a smile at Nishimura over his shoulder and promises to be quick, his cat in tow.

When the door slides closed, silence reigns for a few seconds before Touko-san chuckles. The sound doesn’t startle Nishimura, but he does turn around to stare at her, not without joy of his own.

“Takashi-kun must be thinking I want to tell you embarrassing things about him,” she says.

“I already see him embarrass himself every day, but I wouldn’t be against more information,” Nishimura laughs.

He picks up the bag of tomatoes and deposits it on the kitchen counter. Touko-san was already cutting vegetables before they arrived, while the meat is marinating. She instructs him to slice them in small pieces, which he does diligently—he has never been the best cook in the vicinity, but at least he can make good use of a knife.

They take their time. Nishimura knows that getting Natsume out of the house isn’t insignificant, especially since Touko-san is being quiet about it. So he waits for her to speak, while he pretends he’s able to focus on his task without freaking out.

“You and Atsushi-kun have been such good friends to Takashi-kun,” Touko-san whispers. “I was so relieved to see there were people willing to become his friends. You know how hard it has been for him.”

Oh he knows, he knows nothing has ever been kind to Natsume, but he wishes he knew more; not to do something about it, because he can’t, but because it would lift a bit the weight of this burden constantly crushing Natsume, even when the situation is nothing like anything he’s lived before. Nishimura wants him to know it’s alright to talk about it.

“I just wish he’d be more open about his past.” His grip around the knife tightens. “We trust him and he trusts us. And now we’re, uh, closer.”

Touko-san stops stirring the soup and turns to him, her eyes crinkling with unconcealed happiness. “Takashi-kun always needs time to adjust to something, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to tell you stories he never told us after a few months.”

The implicit affirmation she expected them to be together for a long time, maybe forever, makes Nishimura’s heart skip a beat and stay stuck in his throat. He averts his eyes and swallows, unable to hold Touko-san’s gentle gaze without feeling he’s drowning.

“Thank you so much for everything you’re doing for my son, Satoru-kun. I wanted to tell you that. Shigeru-san isn’t here yet, but once he returns, I’m sure he will say the same.”

She puts a hand on his arm, silently nudging him to look at her. Her infinite love for Nasume is so palpable, but it extends to everything beyond its simple form—Nishimura senses her affection for him, her wishes and expectations, and he wants to fulfill them. He wants to wrap his arms around this world of love and keep it in his pocket, to remember how lucky he is, how much it means to him.

He meets Touko-san’s gaze, lips curling upwards in a grin. “I won’t disappoint you. Thank you for trusting me with Natsume.”

Touko-san nods, and she pulls him close for a hug. Nishimura embraces her just as tightly, remembering that this is a woman who wanted to pour all her energy into a child and who finally has the chance to do so. They stay like this a moment longer before pulling away, both of them showing so much gratitude Nishimura is surprised they can’t grasp it.

“I know you’ll care for him.” Touko-san pats his arm.

“I will, don’t worry!”

Later, when Natsume comes back with the requested green onions, Touko-san greets him with an even more cheerful smile and asks him if he plans on going on any dates with Nishimura soon. Both boys flush a deep red and Natsume stammers out an answer Nishimura isn’t sure makes sense, but Touko-san laughs behind her hand and tells them they’re being cute—which, admittedly, is the case for Natsume, at least.

Natsume’s cat settles at the foot of the table, patiently waiting for his food (or so it seems), though his piercing eyes are gauging Nishimura, as lazily as they are judgmental. He doesn’t make any sounds, he’s just being his brand of strange, so Nishimura raises an eyebrow at him, even if he feels silly for starting a staring match with a cat. It doesn’t last long, though, as Nyanko-sensei breaks eye contact with a snort and decides that bothering Natsume is more entertaining. The cat is very weird, the experience was very weird, but Nishimura can’t help thinking that he just passed a test with flying colors.

Well. He can deal with cryptic cats, if it’s Natsume’s and an essential companion to the family.

#natsuyuu #nishinatsu #natsume takashi #nishimura satoru #fujiwara touko #natsume yuujinchou #my fanfic

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dogcircle-scans · 6 years

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In case you didn’t know, Jessica is our resident memer. :P

- Niji

[We might be making a meme page in our subsequent releases, but we’ll need to see how many ideas we can get lol.]

#natsume yuujinchou #Natsume’s Book of Friends #natsume manga spoilers #spoilers #nishinatsu #apta memes

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floweryfandomnerd · 6 years

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@theincrediblemoonchild I’m your @natsume-ss

I hope you enjoy this Nishinatsu soulmate au!

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #i hope you like this #i wish i could have coloured it #or that it was better than it is #but i'm still kind of learning with my art #Flings this into the abyss and hides

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battle-goats · 7 years

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It’s apparently Fanfic Writers’ Appreciation Day, so I might as well throw some love out to my faves.

@the-pen-pot: I aspire to achieve your breath of vocabulary and to one day write as eloquently as you do.

@deadcatwithaflamethrower: RE threw me into the Star Wars fandom head first over a year ago, and I haven’t regretted it since.

@taizi: has the best NatsuYuu fic out there, and I admire their tenacity in filling the nishinatsu tag.

@araceil: The only writer on ff.net I still follow because I love her crossovers so fucking much. I’m so excited to read every idea she has for BNHA.

@iwritevictuuri: The person single-handedly bringing back the songfic with some A+ Victuuri on top of it.

@soulestring: Writes some of the best izukatsu out there and I live for the updates.

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firefly-in-lovely-illusion · 7 years

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Lapidot`s Camp Pining Hearts 💚 💙 Photograph @nishinatsu

#lapis lazuli #steven universe #SU #lapidot #stevenuniversecosplay #peridot #camp pining hearts #su cosplay #lapis cosplay #peridot cosplay #lapis lazuli cosplay #SU shipping

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applejee · 7 years

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u know the phrases “natsuyuu” and “tanunatsu” always make me doubletake when i read em bc u kno how when u read u like read em aloud in ur head? natsuyuu always reads weird to me especially....

i mean most shortened names of things, particularly ships, operate on the naming basis of first one or two syllables of the first and last word, ie bokuaka iwaoi sasataki nishinatsu etc etc etc... maybe its cause im primarily used to seeing ship names based off the kanji??? i say tanatsu bc its 田夏, i say kiribaku cause kirishima’s name is read kiri-shima and bakugu’s is read baku-gou, anyways i realised im too tired for what i was tryna do w this post but i always find natsuyuu weird bc yuujin isnt the last word? -chou is technically? plus its a lot quickr n easier to say imo lmfao ANYWAYS

#jee says things #i found a dog hair in my hair as i was typing this

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alainaavocado · 4 years

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the dilemma of wanting to use natsume week to push my nishinatsu agenda but also im lazy as hell

#blah blah #natsyuu #some of the days r pieces that r taking me a bit longer so im like hhh #the 7th day is prolly the most complicated 😔#but im SO stuck on day 5 prompt like i have no idea what to do asjfhk

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taizi · 3 years

Note

I am reading some of your older Natsume Yuujinchou fan fics and I absolutely LOVE them! Can u please write some more about him idk what topic I'm sorry T.T but any good ones u can think of ?

well i was in the MIDST of answering a nishinatsu prompt but my drafts seems to have consumed that ask entirely, so i guess i’ll just write that prompt here instead !

“I mean,” Nishimura blurts, “just look at him!”

He gestures with both hands, as if words are failing him. Across the room, Natsume is laughing, shaking off snow and unwinding a borrowed scarf. Tanuma is thanking him profusely for the hot tea he ran to the vending machine outside for; given that Tanuma just returned to school after being out sick for a few days, it makes sense that Natsume and mother-hen Tsuji wanted him to stay put. The whole thing is very mundane and in no way out of the ordinary and Nishimura, for whatever reason, is pissed about it.

Bemused, Kitamoto settles into what has been his default state since he was three years old and humors his best friend.

“I’m looking,” he says gamely. “It’s Natsume. He’s wearing a hat.”

“Do not over-simplify this,” Nishimura warns with utmost severity.

His tone causes Suzuki to glance over from her desk in alarm, but Kitamoto makes Meaningful Eye Contact with her and she glances from him, to Nishimura, and then across the room at Natsume, and out loud says “oh.” Then she gives Kitamoto a pitying expression and returns to her book. Kitamoto wishes it were that easy for him to escape.

“Okay, sorry,” Kitamoto concedes. “Is there something special about the hat that I’m missing?”

“It’s adorable,” Nishimura hisses with real, actual venom. “It has a pom-pom on the end. What the hell? Who gave him the right?”

It is pretty cute, Kitamoto has to admit. He thinks Taki is the one who got it for him, but he can’t remember, and now he’s certainly not going to mention it. He wouldn’t throw his friend under this bus, not even to spare himself.

“Right,” he says. He flips a page in his magazine. “Some nerve.”

“I mean it’s bad enough that he’s the most handsome guy in our grade,” his best friend goes on, outwardly seething, “no, scratch that, our school! I mean, already way, way out of my league, and then he has to go and--”

Kitamoto looks up. The conversation has taken a new, unlikely turn, and with Nishimura, you have to catch these things quick, or he’ll get the idea that he’s allowed to think them.

“Hey, hold on a second. What’s this about ‘out of your league’?”

“Sorry, I thought you said you were looking,” Nishimura says with enough bitterness to make Kitamoto frown. “It’s Natsume. I don’t have a chance in hell.”

This crush has been a thing for going on a year and a half now. It’s the most open secret in school, because Nishimura is about as subtle as a bullet train and wears his heart on his sleeve-- he always has. But up until this point, Kitamoto had thought all the dithering and nerves was a little bit just because it was kind of fun to like somebody, and nerve-wracking to confess. It’s not as though any of them are gonna vanish any time soon, not with another year until they graduate, and plans to go to university together after that.

Kitamoto figured that when Nishimura got tired of drawing hearts in his notebook and then screeching when someone asked to borrow his notes, he’d tell Natsume that he’s been in puppy-love with him since about two days after Natsume moved to Hitoyoshi in the first place, and they’d all have a good laugh about how long it took them to get their shit together, and that would be that.

He never expected to hear something like this out of Nishimura’s mouth.

It’s the worst thing he’s ever heard out of Nishimura’s mouth.

Kitamoto gets up, so abruptly that his chair screeches back across the linoleum. Nishimura’s head snaps around and he reflexively grabs Kitamoto’s arm. They’ve been inseparable since before they could walk and that means that, generally, they can sort of read each other’s minds.

Kitamoto wonders if he’ll ever stop being furious with himself that he missed something as big as this.

“Hey, woah, what are you doing?” Nishimura says. “Why are you mad?”

“I’m mad because my best friend is an actual, honest-to-god idiot,” Kitamoto snaps. “And I’m going to prove you wrong.”

He manages one step in Natsume’s direction, and Nishimura yanks him back into his chair with a super-strength born of absolute terror.

“Don’t you dare! If you love me you’ll stay right here!”

“Of course I love you,” Kitamoto says, whirling on him. “You know I love you.”

For a brief second, he finds himself terrified: what if this is something else he’s missed? What if--

But Nishimura rolls his eyes, and his grip on Kitamoto’s arm slides down to his hand, and he tangles their fingers together as easily as if they’re in kindergarten again. This is one thing, it seems, neither of them have ever had to doubt.

“I know, Acchan. I’m just having a bad day.” Nishimura bites his lip. He looks down, and away. “But... you know what I mean, right? You know that Natsume is-- he’s on another level. You get that, right?”

“He is not better than you,” Kitamoto says, perhaps too loudly. A few classmates glance in their direction. From Nishimura’s nervous twitch, one of them is probably Natusme, but he’s all the way across the room. There’s no way he could have overheard. “He thinks the world of you. You spend every waking minute together. This is the first time I’ve managed to steal you away in like two weeks.”

Nishimura slants a bit of a smile at him. It’s nothing like the megawatt grins he’s usually throwing around, but it’s something. Kitamoto squeezes his hand, refusing to back down.

“Even if he doesn’t like you back,” Kitamoto says, “he already loves you. And I love you, and so does Taki and Tanuma and Tsuji and Ogata and even Shibata, even though he’d never admit it. I’ll make him if it would make you feel better, though. I still have blackmail.”

And there it is-- a laugh. Nishimura leans back in his chair with it, a loud ha-HA that he muffles in his sleeve, and Kitamoto grins at him.

“For now, let’s go find Taki,” he says, standing up again. He draws Nishimura up with him by their joined hands. “There’s still a few minutes left before the bell.”

“Sure,” Nishimura says, following along agreeably. “Why do we need Taki?”

“You’ll feel better after you can gossip with her about your hopeless crush,” Kitamoto tells him dryly. “And I’m gonna tell her all that nonsense you said about not being good enough, and she’ll yell at you about how much we love you till you cry, probably.”

Nishimura gasps, the perfect picture of betrayal. He’s back to his overly-animated self and the whole room feels lighter for it. Kitamoto tugs him along, smiling, and waves at their friends as they pass by.

“I told you that in confidence!” Nishimura shouts.

“Next time get it in writing.”

He’s prepared for it when Nishimura throws his full weight against his back in revenge, and manages to haul him up piggy-back style with enough grace that they don’t immediately fall over.

Nishimura wraps one arm around his neck, squeezing too tight for comfort, just to be a brat, but at that point they’re both having fun as they make their ungainly way toward the door. Whatever hurt Nishimura has been holding onto has been left behind for now, and if Kitamoto has his way, it won’t be coming back.

And behind them, Natsume buries his face in his hands. Tsuji and Tanuma trade a swift, knowing glance over his head, and then reach over to pat him on the shoulder and the arm respectively.

“I mean,” Natsume mutters, eyes drawn to where Nishimura is crowing with laughter, noisy and charming and the brightest thing in the room, “just look at him.”

#natsume yuujinchou #natsuyuu #nishinatsu #kitamoto atsushi #nishimura satoru #natsume takashi #my writing #prompt #anonymous #natsuyuu fic #ah nishinatsu....my one true weakness...

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