Original subtitles

ORIGINAL WORK BY YUKI MIDORIKAWA

Sometimes,

the feelings of those near to me inhabit me.

It was always instantaneous and I never really cared about it.

But that time,

that time was different.

-A massive monster in Shiho Valley? -That's right.

It always hid itself away

but it has been spotted around lately.

I wonder if it wants its name back.

Are you going to go out of your way to give it back?

You're such a fool.

What would be the problem if I did?

There might be a nice candy store on the way.

Stop thinking you can get me to help you

with simple tricks like that.

Oh, it's a masu salmon.

Where? Where?

While we're out here, I'd like to return the names to the yokai around here.

I'm the only yokai in this area who wrote their name on some paper.

Are you the grandson of Reiko Natsume?

Could you return my name?

Yes, I will look for your name in the Book of Friends.

No need. I know where it is.

It's the first page.

The first page?

So that means this is

the first yokai that Reiko had write its name in the book.

Could you please tell me about Reiko Natsume?

Fine, it's a good way to pass the time.

It was only a short time,

but I will tell you about the time when Reiko came to this forest.

"What should I do if this is a bad guy?"

"Oh, what a pain in the ass."

I have the power to see what people are thinking, even if it's just for a moment.

You could say that their feelings are conveyed to me.

Oh, is that so?

Well, I was expressing annoyance with every fiber of my being.

This power can invite trouble,

so I holed myself up here in the forest.

And that was when Reiko Natsume came here.

Did you hear the news?

Lately, there has been a human lurking around the forest.

The master of the grotto tried to mess with her,

but she deftly avoided him, fluttering around like a butterfly.

And she just ignored him.

How insolent!

Why don't we try to mess with her if we see her?

Why are you making such a racket?

If you keep it up, I'll eat you.

Help us!

I wanted to live in peace

so when the ayakashi approached my quarters, I would chase them away.

I lived a simple, quiet life on my own.

One day, when I returned to my sleeping quarters.

Huh?

I thought I had finally found a place to sleep in comfort.

Is this where you sleep?

Sorry. I promise I will avoid coming here again.

-See you. -Huh?

Eh… okay…

I saw her again from time to time after that encounter.

She would expertly dodge the ayakashi who sought to harass her.

That is how she managed to stay alone at all times.

She was just like me.

Being alone feels great.

That human seemed to understand that.

I heard a human has come to the western rock mound.

Again? Let's go see.

Huh?

Is she the one everyone keeps talking about?

-No, I think the she's more-- -Hey, you!

I thought I heard a ruckus so I came to investigate.

What do you think you are doing in this forest?

I'm sorry. I'm just reading.

I didn't intend to cause a fuss.

No, no. I'm sorry.

But it's not a good idea to hang around this forest on your own.

You best hurry home.

See you.

-W… wait! -Huh?

What? Do you not know the way home?

No, that's not it.

Can we talk for a moment?

I just moved to the area.

Absolutely not.

Now, go home.

Erm… okay. Sorry.

That Reiko is quite cold and unapproachable.

I thought the same too.

But that girl

came to the same spot again the next day.

Hey, you!

Why did you come back here?

Oh, I'm glad I could see you again.

Sorry, I just wanted to give this to you.

A school badge?

I think you dropped it yesterday.

You're right.

How generous of you.

It may not even have been mine, yet you came back to give it to me?

But thank you. I appreciate it.

See you.

Yes, goodbye.

Hey, the girl is back again.

What the heck am I doing?

What are you doing?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I haven't gotten used to my new home yet.

And I'm not fitting in in school.

The sun hits this spot just right here.

I'm… sorry.

You don't have to apologize.

It's not my forest anyway.

-I'm actually an intruder here too. -Oh?

I like it here too.

I am going to take a nap. Wake me up when you leave.

Thank you.

Reiko didn't stay there because she suddenly liked that girl.

She hung around to ward off any ayakashi who might try to harass the girl.

Perhaps because Reiko had a closed heart,

I could never sense what she was thinking, even once.

After that, the girl came every day

and Reiko would throw herself right next to her.

When the girl would go home, she'd wake Reiko up and leave.

Then, one day…

Hey, can I ask your name?

My name is Soko.

Soko Morinaga. It's written with the character for the color blue.

What about you?

I've no reason to tell you my name.

I am…

Are you hungry?

Oh yeah. I have candy with me.

Why don't we compete for it?

Huh?

We can play some sort of game

and if you win I will give you this candy.

And if I win, why don't you tell me your name?

You're a strange person. Sounds good. I was feeling bored anyway.

And I don't plan on losing.

BOOK OF FRIENDS

Let's throw a pebble at that rock,

and the person who hits that triangular blemish is the winner.

What do you think?

Sounds good.

Then I will go first.

Aim!

I wasn't even close.

My turn.

Wow, that's incredible.

So I won.

Okay, here's the candy.

Thanks.

Wow, it's very blue.

It's pretty, right?

Yes, it's just like the "blue" in your name, Soko.

Thank you for the candy. See you again.

Sure. I won't lose tomorrow so you better be prepared.

Hey, wait!

After that day, Soko came back

every day to challenge Reiko to play a game.

I really enjoyed seeing an exasperated Reiko trounce her.

Ready? Go!

I guess I won again.

But you are quicker than I thought.

When I was younger, I was faster than most kids.

Are you okay? You don't look so well.

I'm fine. I just pushed myself too far so I'm out of breath.

It seems like you are quite weak.

You moved here to recover from something, right?

If you got sick because of me, it’d be a major nuisance.

I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention.

I'm really sorry.

It's fine, just take some rest.

Today, I will wake you up.

Thank you.

Things have been so fun lately.

I have finally gotten used to my new home too.

And my classmates have started to talk to me.

I've started to want to plant some flowers in my garden.

I wonder which ones would be good.

If you have a moment some time,

you should come to my house.

Flowers, huh?

In the depths of this forest,

there is a meadow full of beautiful flowers.

Someday, we should…

I had lived in the forest for a long time,

but I had never heard of a meadow of flowers.

There must be such place in this forest.

When I thought about it, I felt excited for some strange reason.

I wonder what flowers bloom there?

What kind of flowers will bloom in Soko's garden?

Where is Reiko's secret meadow of flowers?

While I couldn't breach the barriers around Reiko's heart,

I could see Soko's heart from time to time.

She was afraid people would resent her for her illness.

So she was looking for a place where she could be alone.

But she was really enjoying Reiko's company.

And was desperate to become Reiko's friend.

Soko loved Reiko.

Does it bother you that I read the minds of others randomly?

No, no.

Sorry.

Or is it worse to tell you their thoughts?

Or perhaps it would be worse to keep it to myself?

I heard about this at school,

but there are lots of different legends and stories about yokai in this area.

Is that so?

Like a swamp in which skulls dance,

or the big monster of Shiho Valley.

They say he's a terrifying oni.

I also heard another rumor.

They said that there's a strange and violent girl in the neighboring town,

so I shouldn't go there.

They said her name is Reiko Natsume.

Sometimes she says violent things and even hurts people.

I wondered if you live in the neighboring town?

So I thought that I should tell you about her

because I don't want anything bad to happen to you.

I see.

Hey Soko, my name is…

That's the first time you called me by my name.

Really? I thought I did when you gave me the candy.

But that felt more like you were talking to yourself.

I got a big fright.

That dead tree just fell over.

Let's move somewhere else.

Your fingertips have turned red.

-What's wrong? -Huh?

Don't worry about it. It's no big deal.

Really?

It's about to rain too. You should go home for today.

Okay. See you.

Dang it! I was going to tell her my name.

But you haven't lost yet.

Does that matter?

I don't know. I don't know what matters to people.

Oh.

The next day…

Can I decide the game we play today?

Yes, that's fine.

But I think it's going to rain again.

We should get this over with quickly.

Thanks. Do you remember our first match?

It was to hit the blemish in that rock with a pebble.

I want to do that again.

That's fine with me, but are you sure?

You didn't even hit the rock last time.

Just watch. I will hit it this time.

Aim!

Look! I hit it. Yay!

Soko practiced hitting the stone

every day after you left.

She must be really desperate to be your friend.

I should tell her now.

If she learns who I am,

and changes her stance towards me,

I can pass it off as something that happens all the time.

So I should do it now.

You intend to lose on purpose?

I'm sorry. I got a bit overly excited.

You're up next.

Right.

You missed? So I won?

Yay! I finally won.

So tell me your name.

I want to be friends with you.

It's Reiko. Reiko Natsume.

But Reiko Natsume is…

Get out of here!

You look sick.

It has started to rain too. Please go home.

But I…

Go home.

Sorry…

I thought Reiko wouldn't come back to this forest again.

But…

It was Soko who didn't come back.

She didn't come the following day either.

I guess it was to be expected.

Why are you crying? What a strange yokai.

I guess it doesn't matter. I was just getting bored.

Follow me.

What is this place?

It must be the place…

Can you wake me up when the sun sets?

I'm under no obligation to do that.

You're right.

I knew that it was unlikely that she would show up again.

But I did enjoy spending time with her.

Playing games is a good way to pass the time.

Speaking of that, what is your name?

What don't we play a game?

If you win, I will do whatever you say.

But if I win, tell me your name

and wake me up when the sun sets.

You actually wanted to bring Soko here, right?

It doesn't matter.

It's the same no matter who I see it with.

What's pretty is pretty.

What's boring is boring.

Whether you are with someone or on your own.

I lost

so I wrote my name on paper as proof I'd be bound to her.

And when the sun began to set, I woke her up as promised.

She thanked me and then she left.

After that, Reiko never came back.

But the day after,

Soko came by.

She kept on coughing

so I presume that she was bedridden for a few days after the rain

and the appearance of all the little ayakashi.

Soko came the next day too.

And the day after that.

I spoke to her.

I told her Reiko was waiting the day after they last met

and even the day after that.

I told her about the flower meadow that she wanted to show her.

I also told her that it was a really beautiful place.

But Soko couldn't hear me.

I spent days and days at her side waiting for Reiko.

I tried speaking to her every single day, but my words never reached her.

But then when the season changed,

Soko disappeared.

I couldn't tell Soko

that Reiko had actually waited for her.

Nor could I tell Reiko

that Soko had continued

to wait for her too.

As you are her grandson,

a small fragment of her may still live within you.

In that case, I might have finally been able to tell her now.

I gave my name as promised

at the whim of a human.

The powerful ones are truly frightening.

A trivial little game

managed to bind our souls together.

If she will no longer call on me,

can I have my name back, grandson?

Of course. Thank you.

Sometimes the feelings of those near to me inhabit me.

It was always instantaneous

and I never really cared about it.

But that time,

that time.…

I wished that my feelings could have inhabited her.

I wished I could have communicated

how beautiful I thought those flowers were.

What is this, a dream?

-Reiko! -Huh?

Perhaps this was the dream

Reiko had among the flowers while sleeping

next to Soranome.

People say the Book of Friends is a form of forbidden spell,

but actually it's just the result of playing games.

That Reiko is terrifying.

Yes, I guess you're right.

Master, I could see the meadow.

There were so many flowers, and it was so quiet.

It was very pretty.

It was truly beautiful.

I really wished I could have shown it to you too, Master.

It was a beautiful place

covered with blue flowers.

NEXT TIME ON NATSUME'S BOOK OF FRIENDS

Could it be origami?

Those are my traveling companions.

Get rid of that strange thing quickly!

The sunset looks pretty so I want to watch it.

Goodbye, Natsume.

Subtitle translation by: Shane Forde