[Go Soul Natsume's Book of Friends] Guang Xia

No.30 four times

Everyone has a door in their inner world.Some people's doors are closed all the time, only open to specific people; some people keep their doors open all the time, but lock the most secret window.

As for Kaname Tanuma, his inner world is that small temple in the forest.He was inside, cleaning the loquat leaves all over the floor with his father.Sometimes, there will be the sound of wandering footsteps outside the door.Little Tanuma opened the door, but there was no one in sight.

Later, Tanuma finally knew that it was a kind of creature called "monster".

Little Tanuma was frightened and hesitant, and closed the door tightly.However, the sound of wandering footsteps continued.Finally one day, Tanuma mustered up his courage, opened the door a crack, and saw the boy in white with light blonde hair.

——Natsume Takashi.

He doesn't know if Natsume is willing to knock on the door, but Tanuma has actually tried to share the world inside the door with Natsume.His world is a collection of broken images and sounds.Those fragments had an effect on Tanuma's life like a white smoke.

Some people in the world have a name for that smoky silhouette: "monster".More decisively, it is "things that are not human".

Tanuma has lived with these fuzzy fragments since he was a child.It is vague but undeniably exists in his life, in the mountains, in the temple, in the voice of his father chanting, on the towering loquat tree...it exists.

Tanuma's mother left early. According to her father, she had planted a loquat tree in the temple during her lifetime.When Tanuma met Natsume, the loquat sapling had grown into a big tree, just like a young boy.Tanuma likes to eat loquat fruit, and puts the spit out core in front of the loquat tree.The next day, these loquat cores will all disappear.He believed that no human would care about these tiny seeds except monsters.

Many times, Tanuma feels like the loquat tree left by his mother.Loquat is easy to grow, and the leaves are slightly like millet.He has always been humble.It is neither as strong as Natsume, nor as charming as multi-track, nor as lively as Kitamoto and Nishimura.In Tanuma's world, he has always been alone, and the fragments of those voices, and the loquat tree in the temple.Natsume was the closest person, but he never knocked on the door.

This summer, Natsume was seriously ill, and Tanuma specially sent a large handful of loquat leaves.But even the most powerful western medicine didn't work, Natsume had to go to Tokyo for treatment, and Aunt Toko returned the loquat leaves to Tanuma.

"I... can I go to Natsume's room and have a look?" Tanuma asked after taking the withered loquat leaves.

Aunt Tazi agreed.So Tanuma entered Natsume's room.Natsume obviously didn't have much.The room is jade clean and bright, the windows are wide open, and there are a few plum blossom footprints.Occasionally there are inaudible voices coming from all corners of the room.

Tanuma hesitated for a while, and put a few intact loquat leaves under Natsume's pillow.Loquat leaves are used to treat coughs, maybe they can still be used when Natsume comes back.

At the end of the summer, Kitamoto and Nishimura shouted excitedly at school, saying that Natsume would be back in two days.Tanuma only smiled, but his heart was full of joy.

The evening before Natsume's return, the five planned to go to Fujiwara House to hold a recovery party for Natsume.Kitamoto and Nishimura jointly bought a handheld computer for playing games, and Duogui bought a lot of cat food.Tanuma brought out an old ladder from the temple and leaned it against the loquat tree.The loquat tree had already produced golden fruits, and he climbed up it skillfully, trying to find a few complete loquat leaves.

At this moment, the ladder suddenly faltered.Tanuma clings tightly to the ladder, looking down, only to see the ladder shaking, but no one can be seen.

Tanuma stepped precariously on the edge of the ladder, struggling for a while, and seeing no one around, he said cautiously: "Well, can you let go of the ladder?"

"Huh?" As expected by Tanuma, a gentle and elegant female voice came from the void, hazy, as if it came from far away, "...I'm just afraid that you will fall."

"Your hands are shaking badly. It will be easier for me to fall." Tanuma said confidently.

"I'm sorry." The female voice said apologetically.

The ladder stopped shaking.It appears it let go of the ladder.Tanuma reached out and picked a handful full of loquat leaves, thought for a while, and picked a golden fruit.

"Do you want to eat loquat?" Tanuma asked.

"What, pipa?" said the elegant female voice, "My pipa is with Natsume-kun."

--Huh?Does it know Natsume?

"It's not the lute that plays the qin, but the loquat fruit. They just happen to have the same name."

"It's like this." The female monster suddenly realized, and seemed to smile softly, "It's so interesting. Qin's name is also the name of the fruit."

"Try it." Tanuma climbed down the ladder and handed out the loquat fruit to a certain direction in the space.

"Ah? I'm not here..." The female monster's voice sounded from behind Tanuma, with a hint of sadness as if she had noticed something, "...Oh, so you can't see me?"

"Yeah," Tanuma said bitterly, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, what's there to apologize for?" the female monster said understandingly, "It's not your fault."

Saying that, it took the loquat fruit in his hand.Tanuma put away the ladder, and when he heard the rustling sound of footsteps rubbing loquat leaves behind him, a soft feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

"Do you know Natsume too?" Tanuma asked cautiously.

"That's right. Natsume-kun once lent me my body to play the pipa for my friends."

"Natsume has always been a very gentle person." Tanuma said nostalgic.

"I heard that Natsume-kun contracted a serious illness in order to protect Qing Xingdeng, one of the hundred ghosts, and had to go to a big city for treatment. Is this true?"

"Yeah, but he'll be back tomorrow," Tanuma said.

"Well, I've heard that too. I'm really relieved." The female monster said comfortably, "I came to Yahara from the Isatsuki Forest just to meet Natsume-kun tomorrow."

"So that's the case. You said you can play the pipa?"

"Yes, my name is Asagi, and I am the luthier of Isatsuki Forest."

What an incredible conversation.Tanuma thought to himself.Can't see anything yet hear it so clearly.Elegant, soft, like the moonlight in the sky.It is also like a white lotus on the water, blooming petal by petal.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kaname Tanuma. I'm Natsume's friend."

I really want to hear Asagi playing the piano.Tanuma thought to himself.That must be very nice.

The next day, Tanuma, Kitamoto, Nishimura, and Doko went to Fujiwara House together.Along the way, everyone was discussing Natsume and his fat lady.Just thinking about Natsume's surprised expression, Kitamoto and Nishimura looked like they were about to cry.Duogui held the cat food with a look of fascination, and was intoxicated by the scene of holding the cat teacher in his arms.Tanuma was carrying a bag of loquat leaves, but Qian Cong's beautiful voice still echoed in his mind.

Will we encounter it at Natsume's place later?Will it still talk to him?

A group of people laughed and laughed, imagining all kinds of Natsume's reactions when they saw them, but they never expected it to be like this——Natsume was sitting on the porch holding an old chessboard, her brows were tightly furrowed, and her brown eyes were full of deep Helpless, as if caught in a dream from which he could not escape.

Even Mr. Cat, who usually has a smirk on his face, is listless.There was a plate of half-eaten watermelon next to it, and it didn't even look at it.

--What's wrong?

Kitamoto and Nishimura both stopped outside the door hesitantly, and looked at each other: "Is Natsume still recovering?" The fascinated expression on Doku's face also disappeared, replaced by worry and anxiety.

Tanuma looked at Natsume for a while.Is it about monsters?He intuitively thought so.

Tanuma pushed open the door of Fujiwara House and walked towards Natsume.The loquat leaves in the bag rustled.

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