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smashconTitle: The Spirit of Celebration
Author: arctic_dragon
Rating: G
Prompt: Celebration
Fandom/Series: Natsume Yuujinchou
Word Count: 1,695
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
Summary:
It looked more like a children's birthday party than a party for a man turning fifty. Then again, there was no point in assuming Natsume-san would conform to anyone's expectations. In a way, the oddity of the party was the perfect representation of the mystery that was Natsume-san.
The Spirit of Celebration
It is a strange party, Megumi thinks, making her way between the tables littered amongst the trees as she looks for the host and guest of honour. Helium filled balloons float above mismatched chairs surrounding dozens of tables and brightly coloured paper streamers are draped every which way over the trees in the garden. There was even a piñata hanging from one of the shorter tree's branches.
It looked more like a children's birthday party than a party for a man turning fifty. It was also a rather Western influenced festivity for a man who espoused such traditional values at times. Then again, there was no point in assuming Natsume-san would conform to anyone's expectations. In a way, the oddity of the party was the perfect representation of the mystery that was Natsume-san.
He's maintained an air of mystery ever since arriving in town after the worst storm the area had ever experienced. He and his strange tag-along cat were common fodder for the town gossip mill even after twenty years of living amongst them.
Waving a cheery hello at her long time neighbour, she finally spotted Natsume-san thronged by a number of his biggest fans. A group of children bounced happily around him, each of them talking over the top of the others about this or that weird thing they'd seen.
Megumi hid a smile behind her hand as she came up behind the group. A few too many years ago, that had been her and her friends crowding around Natsume-san for a bit of his attention.
Natsume-san had never been known to have any particular job but he'd volunteered his time at the library for weekly sessions of storytime shortly after arriving in town and still went to this day. His storytime session had quickly made him very popular with all the children. He'd told wild stories of gods and spirits and such a way that you would almost think he'd experienced the events of the stories himself. Even when some of the older children had scoffed at the make-believe they were there every week for the start of Natsume-san's tales. It had always been such a disappointment when another volunteer had replaced Natsume-san because he was out of town on another of his urgent errands.
When Natsume-san sent the kids off for the start of the piñata an older man and woman were quick to step up to him before Megumi could bring herself to Natsume-san's attention.
The woman laughed lightly as she hooked her arm with Natsume-san's arm. "Popular as ever, hm?"
"We can't all hide in the kitchen like you and Tanuma seem intent on doing." He bantered back calmly.
"Don't even think of trying," she said poking him in the shoulder with her free hand, "Tanuma will throw you out."
The man held his hands up in mock defence, "Leave me out of it."
They all laughed at what was obviously an inside joke.
The woman suddenly perked up and peered about the garden, "Where is my favourite cute and cuddly teacher?"
Natsume-san gestured vaguely to encompass the entire garden, "Look for the largest concentration of sake and you should find him."
The woman made a sound Megumi could only classify as a squeal and marched off determinedly. The man was quick to follow.
"I'll rescue him from her before there is bloodshed."
Watching them go, Natsume chuckled quietly. Megumi cleared her throat nervously to catch his attention.
"Happy Birthday Natsume-san."
"Thank you. It's lovely to see you could make it Furihito-san." Natsume-san smiled at her in welcome.
The same warm smile had meant his storytime events overflowed with teenagers and adults. The smile that had caused half his fans, male and female alike, to go weak at the knees. Age had done nothing to reduce its potency, Megumi thought, feeling just as overwhelmed as when she was 16 and had a full-blown crush on him.
She returned the smile somewhat bemusedly, "Who could miss such an interesting party."
Natsume-san laughed and looked around his garden, "That's all Taki. She was determined to celebrate my birthday since she's refusing to acknowledge her own birthday in a few months."
"It's odd but lovely and suits you perfectly," Megumi couldn't believe she'd actually said that, "I mean..."
Natsume-san waved off whatever apology she was going to make, "No, you're right. It does seem to suit me."
Paper crinkled between her fingers as she fidgeted in embarrassment. Right, the reason she was so intent on finding Natsume-san. She held the package out to him to avoid any further verbal fumbles.
"You didn't need to bring a gift," he said taking it gently from her hands.
Her now empty hands curled in on themselves and she shoved them awkwardly in her jacket pockets, "It's nothing much."
He delicately peeled back the wrapping paper from the frame. Megumi couldn't bear to watch his reaction to her gift and fixed her gaze on the children blindly throwing themselves at the piñata.
Along with a variety of unusual habits Natsume-san was known to stop and pray at every shrine he passed by. In fact, Megumi was sure he had gone out of his way to find every minor shrine littering the area around the town to pay his respects. Although this practice had been the cause of ridicule from some of the rowdier children Natsume-san had managed to convert a fair number of his followers to follow the tradition. Even to this day Megumi couldn't pass by a shrine without paying her respects.
"Oh," Natsume-san's voice was soft with wonder as he stared at the painting she'd presented him with, "this is an absolutely lovely gift."
"I'm not sure how well it turned out, but you always describe spirits in such a kind way and I've only ever seen them depicted as monstrous things. So..." she trailed off gesturing at her painting in explanation.
He waited until she met his eyes before offering sincerely, "Thank you Furihito-san. It's amazing."
She felt her cheeks heat at such heartfelt praise and she coughed awkwardly unable to think of anything to say in return. She was relieved when Morikawa's son interrupted the moment by barrelling into Natsume-san's legs.
"Natsume-san! I won the piñata," he cried thrusting out his hand full of candy winnings.
Natsume-san crouched down to gravely admire the boy's winnings, "Well done Katsuo-kun."
Morikawa-san cleared her throat gently, obviously prompting and the boy recited dutifully, "Thank you for the candy Natsume-san."
"You're quite welcome," Natsume-san returned promptly.
Job completed Katsuo reached out and tugged at Natsume-san's sleeve, "Why are there a bunch of empty tables no one is allowed to sit at?"
Surprised Megumi looked around and spotted the tables the boy was referring to sitting off to the side of the rest of the party tables. Morikawa-san blanched at her son's indiscreet question, but Natsume-san just laughed.
"Did I ever tell you the story about why I moved to this town Katsuo-kun?"
The boy shook his head solemnly while both she and Morikawa-san leaned in attentively to hear the story that was one of the sources of Natsume-san's mystery.
"There was a huge storm that battered your town. The winds were so huge they felled trees and blew down houses. I heard a rumour that it was because the local gods were angry at being forgotten. What a surprise it was to find the rumours seemed true and that the gods shouted to be heard and so pushed up the storm with another blast of wind. To calm them down I stopped at all the shrines and promised I would listen to their words and I would never forget them. Eventually the winds stopped blowing and the town was saved. To keep my promise I have to make sure there is a place for the gods and their entourages should they wish to join my celebration. I wouldn't want them to think I had forgotten them or that they were being ignored."
"Oh," Katsuo said nodding in agreement.
Natsume-san winked at her and Morikawa-san when the boy looked away. A shared look of embarrassment passed between them upon realising they'd been sucked into a story meant to distract the attention of a four year old boy.
Natori Shuuichi interrupts their gathering with a dazzling smile. The renowned actor and director's smile practically emits sparkles and rays of light Megumi noted through her astonishment.
He collects Natsume-san from the ground with the cheerful cry of "Cake time!"
Megumi takes a moment to blink the aftermath of that smile out of her eyes and trails along behind them. She distantly wonders at the real purpose for all those empty tables.
X-X-X
Takashi willingly follows along with Natori's urging but mutters pointedly in his direction, "It's creepy for a 60-year old to do that."
Natori merely directs his twinkling smile in Takashi's direction with a toss of his head, not even bothering to protest his actual age for once.
Takashi feels his smile grow with amused fondness and sincerely offers to Natori, "Thanks."
"Think of it as your birthday present," Natori remarks, clapping him on the shoulder before pushing him towards the giant cake.
The candles are lit and ready to be blown out.
Taki and Tanuma step up beside him as he stares at the monstrosity they had organised for the day. Even Nyanko-sensei deigns to join him for the first time since they had unsealed the sake bottles, jumping from Taki's arms and onto his shoulder.
Taki nudges at him with her elbow, "Make a wish and blow out the candles Natsume."
Takashi looks around at his brightly decorated garden. The low buzz of conversation had filled the space all afternoon, overlaid to only a few with the raucous laughter of spirits who had imbibed too much.
He looks at the people who have come over to watch the cake ritual, all unwittingly rubbing elbows with a variety of gods and spirits. The happiness of the moment fills his heart, infusing warmth throughout his body.
He blows out the candles without making any wish at all. He can't think of anything he would want more than this.
***
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Author: arctic_dragon
Rating: G
Prompt: Celebration
Fandom/Series: Natsume Yuujinchou
Word Count: 1,695
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
Summary:
It looked more like a children's birthday party than a party for a man turning fifty. Then again, there was no point in assuming Natsume-san would conform to anyone's expectations. In a way, the oddity of the party was the perfect representation of the mystery that was Natsume-san.
The Spirit of Celebration
It is a strange party, Megumi thinks, making her way between the tables littered amongst the trees as she looks for the host and guest of honour. Helium filled balloons float above mismatched chairs surrounding dozens of tables and brightly coloured paper streamers are draped every which way over the trees in the garden. There was even a piñata hanging from one of the shorter tree's branches.
It looked more like a children's birthday party than a party for a man turning fifty. It was also a rather Western influenced festivity for a man who espoused such traditional values at times. Then again, there was no point in assuming Natsume-san would conform to anyone's expectations. In a way, the oddity of the party was the perfect representation of the mystery that was Natsume-san.
He's maintained an air of mystery ever since arriving in town after the worst storm the area had ever experienced. He and his strange tag-along cat were common fodder for the town gossip mill even after twenty years of living amongst them.
Waving a cheery hello at her long time neighbour, she finally spotted Natsume-san thronged by a number of his biggest fans. A group of children bounced happily around him, each of them talking over the top of the others about this or that weird thing they'd seen.
Megumi hid a smile behind her hand as she came up behind the group. A few too many years ago, that had been her and her friends crowding around Natsume-san for a bit of his attention.
Natsume-san had never been known to have any particular job but he'd volunteered his time at the library for weekly sessions of storytime shortly after arriving in town and still went to this day. His storytime session had quickly made him very popular with all the children. He'd told wild stories of gods and spirits and such a way that you would almost think he'd experienced the events of the stories himself. Even when some of the older children had scoffed at the make-believe they were there every week for the start of Natsume-san's tales. It had always been such a disappointment when another volunteer had replaced Natsume-san because he was out of town on another of his urgent errands.
When Natsume-san sent the kids off for the start of the piñata an older man and woman were quick to step up to him before Megumi could bring herself to Natsume-san's attention.
The woman laughed lightly as she hooked her arm with Natsume-san's arm. "Popular as ever, hm?"
"We can't all hide in the kitchen like you and Tanuma seem intent on doing." He bantered back calmly.
"Don't even think of trying," she said poking him in the shoulder with her free hand, "Tanuma will throw you out."
The man held his hands up in mock defence, "Leave me out of it."
They all laughed at what was obviously an inside joke.
The woman suddenly perked up and peered about the garden, "Where is my favourite cute and cuddly teacher?"
Natsume-san gestured vaguely to encompass the entire garden, "Look for the largest concentration of sake and you should find him."
The woman made a sound Megumi could only classify as a squeal and marched off determinedly. The man was quick to follow.
"I'll rescue him from her before there is bloodshed."
Watching them go, Natsume chuckled quietly. Megumi cleared her throat nervously to catch his attention.
"Happy Birthday Natsume-san."
"Thank you. It's lovely to see you could make it Furihito-san." Natsume-san smiled at her in welcome.
The same warm smile had meant his storytime events overflowed with teenagers and adults. The smile that had caused half his fans, male and female alike, to go weak at the knees. Age had done nothing to reduce its potency, Megumi thought, feeling just as overwhelmed as when she was 16 and had a full-blown crush on him.
She returned the smile somewhat bemusedly, "Who could miss such an interesting party."
Natsume-san laughed and looked around his garden, "That's all Taki. She was determined to celebrate my birthday since she's refusing to acknowledge her own birthday in a few months."
"It's odd but lovely and suits you perfectly," Megumi couldn't believe she'd actually said that, "I mean..."
Natsume-san waved off whatever apology she was going to make, "No, you're right. It does seem to suit me."
Paper crinkled between her fingers as she fidgeted in embarrassment. Right, the reason she was so intent on finding Natsume-san. She held the package out to him to avoid any further verbal fumbles.
"You didn't need to bring a gift," he said taking it gently from her hands.
Her now empty hands curled in on themselves and she shoved them awkwardly in her jacket pockets, "It's nothing much."
He delicately peeled back the wrapping paper from the frame. Megumi couldn't bear to watch his reaction to her gift and fixed her gaze on the children blindly throwing themselves at the piñata.
Along with a variety of unusual habits Natsume-san was known to stop and pray at every shrine he passed by. In fact, Megumi was sure he had gone out of his way to find every minor shrine littering the area around the town to pay his respects. Although this practice had been the cause of ridicule from some of the rowdier children Natsume-san had managed to convert a fair number of his followers to follow the tradition. Even to this day Megumi couldn't pass by a shrine without paying her respects.
"Oh," Natsume-san's voice was soft with wonder as he stared at the painting she'd presented him with, "this is an absolutely lovely gift."
"I'm not sure how well it turned out, but you always describe spirits in such a kind way and I've only ever seen them depicted as monstrous things. So..." she trailed off gesturing at her painting in explanation.
He waited until she met his eyes before offering sincerely, "Thank you Furihito-san. It's amazing."
She felt her cheeks heat at such heartfelt praise and she coughed awkwardly unable to think of anything to say in return. She was relieved when Morikawa's son interrupted the moment by barrelling into Natsume-san's legs.
"Natsume-san! I won the piñata," he cried thrusting out his hand full of candy winnings.
Natsume-san crouched down to gravely admire the boy's winnings, "Well done Katsuo-kun."
Morikawa-san cleared her throat gently, obviously prompting and the boy recited dutifully, "Thank you for the candy Natsume-san."
"You're quite welcome," Natsume-san returned promptly.
Job completed Katsuo reached out and tugged at Natsume-san's sleeve, "Why are there a bunch of empty tables no one is allowed to sit at?"
Surprised Megumi looked around and spotted the tables the boy was referring to sitting off to the side of the rest of the party tables. Morikawa-san blanched at her son's indiscreet question, but Natsume-san just laughed.
"Did I ever tell you the story about why I moved to this town Katsuo-kun?"
The boy shook his head solemnly while both she and Morikawa-san leaned in attentively to hear the story that was one of the sources of Natsume-san's mystery.
"There was a huge storm that battered your town. The winds were so huge they felled trees and blew down houses. I heard a rumour that it was because the local gods were angry at being forgotten. What a surprise it was to find the rumours seemed true and that the gods shouted to be heard and so pushed up the storm with another blast of wind. To calm them down I stopped at all the shrines and promised I would listen to their words and I would never forget them. Eventually the winds stopped blowing and the town was saved. To keep my promise I have to make sure there is a place for the gods and their entourages should they wish to join my celebration. I wouldn't want them to think I had forgotten them or that they were being ignored."
"Oh," Katsuo said nodding in agreement.
Natsume-san winked at her and Morikawa-san when the boy looked away. A shared look of embarrassment passed between them upon realising they'd been sucked into a story meant to distract the attention of a four year old boy.
Natori Shuuichi interrupts their gathering with a dazzling smile. The renowned actor and director's smile practically emits sparkles and rays of light Megumi noted through her astonishment.
He collects Natsume-san from the ground with the cheerful cry of "Cake time!"
Megumi takes a moment to blink the aftermath of that smile out of her eyes and trails along behind them. She distantly wonders at the real purpose for all those empty tables.
X-X-X
Takashi willingly follows along with Natori's urging but mutters pointedly in his direction, "It's creepy for a 60-year old to do that."
Natori merely directs his twinkling smile in Takashi's direction with a toss of his head, not even bothering to protest his actual age for once.
Takashi feels his smile grow with amused fondness and sincerely offers to Natori, "Thanks."
"Think of it as your birthday present," Natori remarks, clapping him on the shoulder before pushing him towards the giant cake.
The candles are lit and ready to be blown out.
Taki and Tanuma step up beside him as he stares at the monstrosity they had organised for the day. Even Nyanko-sensei deigns to join him for the first time since they had unsealed the sake bottles, jumping from Taki's arms and onto his shoulder.
Taki nudges at him with her elbow, "Make a wish and blow out the candles Natsume."
Takashi looks around at his brightly decorated garden. The low buzz of conversation had filled the space all afternoon, overlaid to only a few with the raucous laughter of spirits who had imbibed too much.
He looks at the people who have come over to watch the cake ritual, all unwittingly rubbing elbows with a variety of gods and spirits. The happiness of the moment fills his heart, infusing warmth throughout his body.
He blows out the candles without making any wish at all. He can't think of anything he would want more than this.
***
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Please take the time to comment on the fanfic. Thanks.
