Original subtitles

Natsume's Book of Friends

[7]

Sorry, Nishimura.

Put that stuff in the storeroom out back.

Roger.

Hey, Natsume, what are you—

Hey, Natsume!

What?

Huh?

Is this... a finger?

A doll's finger, maybe? Scary!

But...

is Natsume...

Hey, Nishimura!

Ooki-sensei is calling!

Crap! My homework!

I'm back!

Why do I keep getting asked to do odd jobs?

Man, I'm tired!

Oh, right.

Drat. I forgot...

It's kinda creepy, but if it's Natsume's, I can't throw it away.

Maybe I'll call him.

Natsume?

What are you doing?

This is the second floor! That's dangerous!

And what are you doing here this late?

Oh, right. Did you drop this? I found it outside the gym.

So it is yours?

Is it important?

Yeah.

Okay, here you go.

Hey.

Sorry, but could you hold onto it for me for a while?

And don't tell anybody about it.

Why?

Sure.

Okay, it's our secret!

Natsume!

Natsume

on the

Moonlit

Night

Natsume was always a little strange,

but at night it was even harder to tell what he was thinking.

What's wrong, Nishimura?

Well, something kinda funny happened last night.

Funny?

No, never mind.

Having a secret is kind of fun.

Today is 5/15 (Th)

Midterms 5/26 (M) through 5/29 (Th)

Crap, it's midterms time already?

Yeah.

What do you think it's gonna cover?

Probably this part.

Where?

Crap.

I think I need to start taking this seriously.

What about this part, then?

Natsume's the same as ever.

I'm not good at this stuff.

I'm the only one getting nervous.

Hey, did you catch the late show last night?

No, I didn't.

Natsume's good at keeping secrets.

Natsume!

What's wrong?

I came to check on it.

Is it okay?

I put it in this can.

Let me see.

Here. Want to take it?

No, not yet.

See you soon.

Soon?

Hey!

Natsume's hard to get a read on.

He's a strange guy.

Is it okay? Let me see it.

If you're that worried, take it with you.

Here you go.

Not yet.

And if you're coming every night, come in through the front door.

It's dangerous.

Or I can show it to you at school in secret.

You really are strange.

What is this, anyway?

What do you think it is?

Well, it's a doll's finger, maybe?

Yeah.

It's got a nail.

Now that I'm taking a good look at it, well...

It's cold and a little heavy. Maybe it's old.

But it's clean, not dirty.

Someone must have really cared for it.

Well, given how important it is to you, it must be important, right?

Yeah.

Bye.

You're leaving already?

Come in for a second.

I figured you'd come today, so I brought snacks.

It went on like that for days.

Every night, he would come...

Another awesome-looking lunch.

I'll trade you my octopus-shaped hot dog for your tamagoyaki.

At school, he was the same as ever.

Huh? For two hot dogs, then sure.

Okay, you've got yourself a deal!

And soon I started wondering if my time with Natsume at night was really happening...

Or maybe it was just me having one long dream.

There was just something about Natsume...

Nishimura!

Sorry.

Not yet?

Oh, there he is.

Is it okay?

Let me see it!

Sure thing!

The red-eyed Scorpion

and the Eagle's spread wings...

The blue-eyed Little Dog,

and the coiled Snake of Light.

Wow, that surprises me.

I guess you sing, too.

They used to sing it for me all the time.

Who? Toko-san?

I forget.

They used to pat me on the head all the time...

but I forget.

I'm sure they've forgotten me too,

and that's why they don't come to get me.

Natsume?

What's your name?

No, never mind.

See you again.

Hey, Natsume!

It's strange.

He's been my friend for so long,

but I feel like he's my friend all over again.

He's asleep again.

Lately it seems like he hasn't been sleeping at home a lot.

Maybe he's tired from cram school.

I hope he doesn't get sick.

I'll ask.

Okay, thanks.

Nishimura.

Nishimura!

Natsume...

Are you okay?

Did something happen?

Oh, it's...

daytime, huh?

Then it's a secret.

Why do I feel like it's been a while since I've seen Natsume's face?

What's wrong? Don't look so scared.

Leave it to me. It's fine, Natsume.

I'm sorry, Nishimura.

I'll fix it somehow.

Natsume silently stared into my eyes for a moment,

like he was looking for something.

For some reason, I remembered how his eyes were when we met: like glass beads.

Actually, the Natsume I see at night has the same eyes.

Well, I don't mind either of them.

How is it?

Yeah, just give me a second.

The red-eyed Scorpion

and the Eagle's spread wings...

What's up?

You're in a really good mood tonight, Natsume.

Yeah.

Hey, let's go for a walk tonight.

And take that finger.

Orion sings in the heavens...

Natsume seemed like he was having such fun that I also...

From where fall dew and frost...

The cloud of Andromeda...

Hey! I told them I was going to a convenience store.

Hey, why don't we?

That's not the way to the store.

Well, whatever.

I feel kind of good.

Smell that night air!

Even if you know a place, it seems different at night.

Doesn't it feel like you've gotten lost?

Like everybody else is safe at home, and you're alone and lost.

It's kind of scary.

Scary?

Yeah.

Scary, but fun!

It's a full moon tonight!

The cloud of Andromeda in the shape of a fish's mouth...

Hey.

Let's go in here.

This is... an abandoned house!

Don't worry. I know it well.

Someone you know owns it?

Wait, Natsume!

Huh?

Hey, Natsume!

The red-eyed Scorpion,

and the Eagle's spread wings...

The blue-eyed Little Dog...

Natsume?

The window...

Did a crow break in?

The left hand.

Where the middle finger goes.

So the finger belongs to this doll.

Will that do?

Huh?

Where'd you go?

Natsume...

Orion sings in the heavens...

From where fall dew and frost...

Nishimura!

Nishimura!

Natsume?

Thank goodness.

Are you hurt?

What happened?

What happened?

Well, you said you wanted to go for a walk, and...

We came in here...

The doll! Did you see it?

I put the finger in and it started moving!

Finger?

Doll...

I'm sorry.

Yeah. There's no such thing as a moving doll.

Maybe I imagined it.

And I thought I fell off the stairs, but I'm not hurt...

Is that what Natsume was wearing earlier?

It all feels hazy, like it was just a dream.

Nishimura, I'm sorry.

I think I got you involved in something weird.

I'm sorry.

Why are you apologizing?

It was exciting! Like a midnight adventure!

Thank you, Nishimura.

Actually, I think what I thought was the doll moving

was just the curtains moving under the moonlight.

It's embarrassing.

I can't tell anyone I passed out 'cause I was scared of a ghost.

Hey, Natsume...

What was that song you were singing?

Song?

I was singing?

Yeah.

I don't know, actually...

In that moment, Natsume seemed like a different person

than he was at school, or the one I'd been seeing at night.

You're kinda neat, Natsume.

And when he laughed along with me, he was the same Natsume as ever.

When I put the finger on the doll, for some reason

I knew that he wouldn't come see me at night anymore.

I knew I'd see him at school tomorrow, but for some reason...

I felt a little sad.

I remembered that as I looked up at the moon behind the clouds.

Yeesh. That was one powerful doll.

Even if it was just at night, it was able to send out its psyche towards its finger.

Yeah.

I think it was then...

I felt something strange in what the crow was carrying in its beak.

It must've been a finger from the doll in that mansion.

The crow dropped it and flew off, so I didn't really think about it...

But Nishimura must have picked it up after that.

The doll must've sent out its psyche to search for it, and approached Nishimura.

It let its psyche take the form of you, his friend.

Well, it was a wimpy spell that would only work at night.

I'm glad I realized something was strange about Nishimura these last few days,

and watched from outside his house.

But...

Why did it make him bring the finger to its mansion tonight?

It could've done it before...

Because it's the full moon.

Perhaps the full moon made that yokai stronger.

Maybe now that it was stronger,

it was going to eat him or kidnap him after it got the finger back.

Maybe that's what it intended at first.

But when I went inside after him, I saw...

Nishimura?

Nishimura!

Nishimura!

I think it was a doll's hand that had grabbed him,

and stopped him from falling down the stairs.

Once I grabbed him, it vanished.

It probably hid deep within the mansion,

so that no one can hurt it, and no crows will steal its fingers.

Sensei...

Someday I'd like to tell Nishimura...

that I want him to keep smiling like that forever.

I wonder what the song was.

Who knows?

Natsume's Book of Friends [7]

Preview

That Which Blocks The Ceremony

That's my line, actually.

Making a promise with the inhuman is that...

Don't slow us down.

Do you like the biwa, Natori-san?

Biwa! Biwa!