Original subtitles

ORIGINAL WORK BY YUKI MIDORIKAWA

It's raining!

Let's take shelter at that station.

What's a train station doing here?

Nishimura said that despite the train line

having shut down, there are still station houses here and there.

It's Matoba!

Oh, Natsume.

What an odd place to run into you. What brings you here?

I'm taking shelter from the rain. But I'll leave.

I hear it is to get heavier.

You should relax here for a while.

I was just getting bored too.

Why don't we have a chat?

I don't have the time for that.

A bird? Is there a bird under there?

That's unexpected Do you like birds, Matoba?

It's not a bird.

It's a vicious yokai that I just captured.

Don't give me that suspicious look.

I'm not kidding around.

This is a tea cake that was served at a home that availed of my services.

It was really delicious so I took some with me.

Would you like one?

It's not poisoned or anything like that.

-I'm going home. -You don't need to say that.

You're curious about what is under this cover, right?

An old family that I know sent me

a request saying they want me to check out their home.

When I got there, there was a bad feeling in the air.

But as I walked around the grounds,

I didn't sense the presence of any yokai.

There was a magnificent Nepal holly tree in the garden.

And you could hear the sound of a charming bird singing.

When I asked the land owner,

they said that they made a feeding station and gave them fruit and water every day.

But they never once saw the birds.

The yokai was mimicking the call of the birds

and gaining strength by eating the feed.

It's a frightening spirit that attracts a massive yokai with its beautiful voice.

That massive yokai attacks the home

and the little one makes off with the spoils.

So it's in that cage right now?

I'm not convinced.

It might just be a bird.

You may be calling it an ayakashi

in order to trick Natsume and have a bit of fun.

Master…

Mr. Kitty-cat, you say some interesting things.

I've never seen them,

but yokai who trick people by pretending to be birds

are really bad guys called hitokubi.

While it's true I have sensed a very strange aura for a while,

all I get from that cage is the aura of a bird.

If you really did catch a hitokubi,

why would you be here alone with something so dangerous?

Oh!

Master…?

But he's right.

Why is he alone without any of his men?

And before we even get to that,

why is he in this station on an abandoned train line

in the first place?

Is this really

even Matoba?

And is it a bird under that cover?

Or is it a yokai?

It's a really vicious yokai.

I will take care of it in a moment.

But before I do, I would like to give you a look at it.

It is very good at mimicking voices,

but why do you think it is called a hitokubi?

Why are the lights turning on in an abandoned station?

-This isn't good at all. -What?

Something bad is coming.

Oh, it's here.

Be quiet. Close your eyes and don't move.

Everything's okay now, Natsume.

The bird cage is gone.

When it starts to drizzle,

for some reason that massive yokai

passes by this abandoned rail line.

He never enters the station building

but if you loiter around the station when it's drizzling,

you'll be eaten too.

Be careful.

What happened to that bird yokai?

Was it really a yokai?

Yes, it was such a vicious yokai

that it's cry and aura was enough to fool even your kitty-cat.

It is a very difficult beast to get rid of

so I had it taken away.

Taken away?

I presume it was taken away by that massive yokai.

It seems to be brightening up.

The rain will likely stop soon.

No matter how many times I see it, the Hakozaki estate sure is massive.

You're right.

Natsume?

Oh, B… Beniko.

What happened?

Nothing, it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

The Hakozaki estate is a massive estate

which used to be inhabited

by an old man said to have been an eccentric researcher

in exorcism.

I had previously helped his granddaughter Beniko

find his hidden study.

What is it you wanted to talk to me about?

I have been coming here of late to tidy the place up.

But I feel the presence

of strange people and spirits on the premises.

It's creepy,

but I don't want to get involved with exorcists anymore.

I was wondering what to do, but then I remembered you.

-Could it be that thing we just saw? -Could be.

There are so many remnants of ayakashi in this house.

Apologies to rudely drag you into this.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you,

but I will check the grounds.

-Thank you, Natsume. -You're welcome.

By the way, the last time I came here

I encountered Mr. Hakozaki's dragon shiki.

It said something that stayed with me.

Long ago,

I believe that I met a man with very similar features to you.

I have heard a lot of rumors about my grandmother,

but I know nothing of my grandfather.

So I thought that the man the dragon was referring to

might be…

-Your grandfather? -Yes.

Do you know anything about it, Beniko?

Have you seen anyone coming in and out of here

who looks like me?

I'm very sorry,

but I know almost nothing

about this house or about my grandfather.

But I'll contact you if I find anything while I'm tidying up.

Thank you very much.

That weird thing we saw earlier was around here.

It's a mirror.

Don't touch it. It may be cursed.

-I saw something strange in the mirror. -I knew it.

But why is there a mirror here in the first place?

This house used to belong to someone researching exorcism.

It's not uncommon for ayakashi to be roaming around here.

The problem is the ones who cause trouble.

You're right.

Let's ask Beniko to give us more detail.

Someone is over there.

They're holding an umbrella despite it being sunny.

I've seen that umbrella somewhere before.

Oh, Natsume.

Matoba? What are you doing here?

I have some minor business here.

It seems that the mistaken experiment of one of our craftspersons

escaped to this area.

I asked the Hakozaki household

if anything strange had been happening.

And they reluctantly let me through.

They initially turned me away

because they said they had someone looking into it.

I guess that was you.

You seem to find a way

of ending up in all sorts of places.

If it's one of your men's blunders

then I'm sure you will deal with it.

Yes, of course.

But I have already set up barriers so that the yokai can't escape.

So if you try to leave, the cat might get hurt.

The quicker we get to the bottom of it, the quicker you can go home.

Can I count on your cooperation?

I'm doing this for Beniko and Master.

I can't believe this guy. I think I should ignore the barriers

and just bounce out of here.

It's easy to say that, but imagine how much of a pain it would be.

-For me to tend to your injuries. -A pain, you say!

That would be an amazing chance for you to show your gratitude by caring for me.

-How dare you say that?! -So…

What kind of yokai are we dealing with?

One of our skilled exorcists got a bit cocky.

It appears he wanted to create a powerful yokai himself.

He offered a sacrifice,

and forced the weak yokai that had gathered to inhabit a doll.

He performed a kind of forbidden spell.

The doll escaped the exorcist's possession,

and it came to this old estate perhaps owing to the spiritual aura it emits.

He made a yokai?

More like a shadow puppet.

Once we find it, all I have to do is cast a spell and then it's over.

A doll?

My grandfather may be linked to this place in some way.

If there is a yokai here that can do harm and if it is hiding in this mansion,

then I want to do something.

Matoba, why do you have an umbrella when it's sunny?

Is it some form of trick to capture the yokai?

Come to think of it,

you had the same umbrella when we first met too?

Oh my, you remembered.

Well, meeting you was an intense experience.

This umbrella has nothing to do with the yokai.

Don't you remember that I told you there's a yokai

looking to take the right eye of the head of the Matoba clan?

I believe he may be on his way soon.

This acts as a sort of talisman against him.

You want to keep it away with an umbrella?

Will it drop down on you from the sky?

It's movements are hard to read.

It may drop down from the sky, or it may come in sideways.

And then other times…

You were saying?

There are many patterns of attack.

It is a repulsive yokai

that is physically very powerful but lacks any shred of intelligence.

I had forgotten, but Matoba is continuously pestered by yokai

just like Natori.

Please search the eastern side of the estate, Natsume.

Let's not get too involved.

Let's clear this all up quickly and just go home.

I agree!

I always end up working like a dog whenever I am with you.

-I hate this. I hate it! -Master.

Control yourself when you are in someone else's garden.

-I'm going home! -What about here? No, nothing.

-They're from the Matoba clan. -It's so big it's hard to search.

I don't want to run into them.

-Oh, if it isn't young Natsume. -Woah, N… Nanase!

I heard what happened from the boss.

Just consider yourself a bit unlucky and help us out.

You have an umbrella too, Nanase?

Is that to guard against the yokai who's after the right eye?

Huh? Oh yes, it's unlucky timing but that time has come again.

Once a month, it looks for an opportunity to try to take the right eye.

But when we evade its attacks, it heads home with its tail between its legs.

But then it returns again, without fail.

And it just keeps happening over and over again.

It has a massive body and is jet black.

But it is primitive and immature, like a child.

It can also be cunning sometimes.

But the power of the spirits is our strength.

The stronger our connection and attachment to him,

the stronger the power of the Matoba clan becomes.

How can you ward off a monster like that with an umbrella?

If you open this, what do you see?

It looks like an eyeball, right?

It's the doll.

So that's the shadow puppet?

We can't let it escape!

Let's corner it the garden.

We've set up a spell. Matoba should be waiting there

so he can activate it whenever he needs to.

We've set up a number of traps throughout the garden.

Have you been using mirrors?

That was one of our traps.

One of the mirrors in the courtyard was broken.

That's bad.

Could you run ahead and put the mirror back up?

It doesn't matter if it's just a fragment.

There is a sword mark made on the tree trunk

for you to place the mirror.

Understood.

I'm counting on you!

I thought that I would dispose it the minute I found it.

But I can't vanquish that type of yokai.

Forbidden spells really are horrible.

So not even you can vanquish it, Master?

The person who created that thing

must have been truly abominable.

I can't count the number of times

that Master has saved me.

But it is incredibly rare to meet someone like that in your life.

Created by a man who could not find anyone who would stand by his side at all times,

he turned to forbidden spells in

the hope of building someone like Master and made this yokai.

It's a warped relationship.

The yokai is headed to the place where Matoba is waiting.

I need to hurry and replace the mirror!

"Breaking the stone and proceeding forward gave rise to a red storm…"

It's up there?

Matoba!

"Destroy…

those who block the way."

Is it still moving?

What is making that noise?

Take cover, Natsume.

It's coming from the sky.

It just had to come now, didn't it?

-Are you okay? -Yes.

You missed again, you foolish ghoul.

That isn't Matoba's right eye.

Go back to where you came from.

Is that its eye socket?

It doesn't have a right eye.

So this is the yokai that is after the right eye of the Matoba clan.

Of course, it hadn't been dispelled yet.

This is perfect timing. Hey, monster.

This doll is after my right eye too.

It might get to it first, you know?

Well, that tidies him off.

It devoured the yokai that the Matoba clan couldn't completely defeat

in an instant.

What a horrendous creature.

That black ayakashi

crawled away as it muttered to itself.

While it might be powerful

and most barriers are useless against it,

it seems as though it has very poor eyesight.

It can find us Matoba through its sense of smell,

but it gets confused when we are holding up these umbrellas

that look like eyeballs.

It is very greedy but lacks intelligence.

Did you know, Natsume, that I really hate dumb creatures.

But sometimes,

although it is very rare,

that ugly black blob

manages to transform into a person and come at us.

It transforms into people from my past

and others that I know.

But I see through it almost immediately.

Because its right eye is missing.

I felt sorry for the complicated situation

the Matoba clan found themselves in.

But I felt extremely disturbed

seeing them hate that mysterious yokai so deeply,

but taking advantage of it at the same time.

I really can't warm to exorcists at all.

You can't lump all of them together.

It seems to be brightening up.

The rain will likely stop soon.

It's safe to step out.

Thank you very much.

I would have loved to have had a long talk with you.

But I have to get to a job, so let's do it next time.

Matoba,

did you come on your own so as not to endanger anyone else?

I didn't want anyone to think that I was cutting corners.

I must get going, goodbye.

Oh, also, please keep this a secret.

He really is a creepy fellow.

But if it were me,

I'm not sure if I could do what he does.

Having a monster drop down on me or attack me from the sides.

Sometimes,

it transforms into people from my past

and others that I know.

When I saw him smile at that moment,

he felt very alien to me.

NEXT TIME ON NATSUME'S BOOK OF FRIENDS

Apparently Taki has a really handsome boyfriend.

She helped me when I was in trouble.

She's a really important friend.

Do you believe in yokai and monsters?

We have to hurry. Taki is in danger!

Subtitle translation: Shane Forde