Chapter 106

"Actually, I haven't seen him since we graduated college. We kept in touch with letters, and lent books back and forth to each other. It wasn't a close relationship to say the least. Eventually, the back and forth petered out. We never had our reunion. Then I heard news that he passed away. It's been a few years since. But I was tidying the library... and I found a book he had returned to me. I was feeling nostalgic, so I started flipping through it... and I found a note. "Come visit sometime"... it said. We both had few friends. Unlike introverted me... He was a boisterous extrovert, and people liked him. At the same time, he was eccentric and inaccessible. In all those years of correspondence, he never once suggested a reunion. I... found this one note too late." — Yorishima, Chapter 106.

Chapter 106
Information
Release Date	July 21, 2020
Kanji Title	亡き友を訪ねる 前編
Romaji Title	Naki tomo wo tazuneru Zenpen
Chapter	106
Volume	26
Pages	24
Story Arc	Visiting a Departed Friend
Chapter Guide
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List of Chapters

Chapter 106, titled Visiting a Departed Friend First Part (第百六話 亡き友を訪ねる 前編, Daihyakurokuwa Naki tomo wo tazuneru Zenpen) is the one hundred sixth chapter of the Natsume's Book of Friends manga series. It is the first part of the two-parter arc, "Visiting a Departed Friend."

In Japan, it was first published in Hakusensha's shojo manga magazine LaLa in July 21, 2020 (LaLa September 2020 issue #551, No. 9), and was then collected and released into Volume 26 in January 4, 2021. In North America, it was released in December 7, 2021 by Viz Media.

Summary

Takashi Natsume and Nyanko-sensei are on a bus to go buy some jelly cake, when they come across Yorishima — the retired and reclusive exorcist who helped them out before. Yorishima tells them he was going to visit the daughters of a late friend from college, Takeru Kusakabe, to pay his respects. However, said friend also had the ability to see yokai, and not everything might be right in his house and with his daughters.

Plot

Takashi Natsume and Nyanko-sensei are alone at the bottom of a bus in a very rural area, and Sensei is speaking loudly and enthusiastically about the "agar-jelly goldfish in a raindrop cake" he's about to eat. Natsume scolds him for being loud, but Sensei points out there's no one in the bus anyway, which makes him wonders if they're even on the right bus to start with. As Natsume comments Sensei is the one who rushed him on board and they start to banter, Natsume suddenly sees someone getting on the bus and realizes he knows that person. It's Yorishima, who looks surprised and also recognizes Natsume.

Yorishima spotting Natsume on the bus.

Natsume thinks about how Yorishima is a retired exorcist and live alone in the mountains that Shuuichi Natori introduced him to when they had problems with scarecrows yokai. Yorishima says that meeting someone he knows here must serves him right for leaving his house, and then asks Natsume where he's headed. Natsume tells him he and Sensei went to go buy jelly cakes. Yorishima then explains to them he was going to visit an old friend's house; they haven't seen each other since college, but kept in touch with each others through letters and exchanging books, so they weren't really close. He heard he passed away a few years ago, but as he was cleaning the library he found a book he'd returned to him, in which there was a note telling him to come visit sometimes. He goes on saying they both had few friends, but unlike Yorishima who is introverted his friend was extroverted and well-liked yet eccentric; but even so, he never suggested a reunion, and Yorishima found that note too late. He also found a book he'd forgotten to return, so he wanted to return it to his friend's daughters and offer his respects to the family altar. At that point, the bus announce the Karasumuro stop, so Yorishima apologizes for telling Natsume all this and informs him this is his stop, asking him what he wants to do. Nyanko-sensei comments that this is definitely the wrong bus.

Choko introducing herself.

Natsume get off the bus with Yorishima, asking if he doesn't mind if he tags along. Yorishima says he'll have to wait for his right bus anyway and that he'll show him the way afterwards, plus that Natsume being here will give him an opportunity to leave "when things get awkward." So, the three of them head together to the Kusakabe house. As Natsume is about to ask a question about Kusakabe, they arrive at the place which is a huge house, where Nyanko-sensei suddenly catch sight of a shadow at the window; but Natsume only assumes it must be one of the daughters. Yorishima came in with Natsume, introducing himself as Takeru Kusakabe's friend and wanted to return a book. They're greeted by a young woman with long hair named Choko, Kusakabe's daughter; she instantly recognize Yorishima's name and says how her father told her so much about him. She energetically tells them to come in and disappears to serves them tea, and Yorishima comments that she sure takes after him.

Tsukiyo introducing herself.

Sensei decides to jump off to "go exploring," and at that moment another young woman with short hair cut up to her neck appears. She's Choko's younger sister, Tsukiyo, and comments that Yorishima looks younger than she expected. Before he can answer she decides to go help her sister, but then notices Natsume and asks who is he is. Yorishima says he just happened to be with him, but then Tsukiyo changes topic again and asks what happened to Yorishima's arm. Yorishima looks uncomfortable and replies it's nothing, while Natsume remembers what Natori said to him about how it is rumored that his arm has been taken over by a yokai. Tsukiyo then tells them they can go check her father's bookshelves if they want, and excitedly go back to check on the tea. An exhausted Yorishima comments he wants to go home, as Natsume tells him to stay strong. He then adds that Kusakabe must have told his daughters all about Yorishima, which Yorishima seems to ponder over. However, as he pulls out the book he intends to return, he says he's relieved because he was worried Kusakabe didn't any other friends if he was spending his time writing to him, but if he had a good life that's the most important thing.

Natsume and Yorishima together.

Natsume asks him if that book was from Yorishima's library with the loquat tree when he asked Natori to fetch a book before. Yorishima gets angry at the fact Natori is still "dragging a kid around," but Natsume just smiles and says he's the one who asked to go pick loquats with him, and that Yorishima is good friends with Natori. Yorihima denies it and says Natori just "doesn't have a good mentor," so he keeps showing up with questions. Yorishima then adds that Natsume shouldn't associate with exorcists if he wants to keep living a normal life between the two worlds, before leaving to check Kusakabe's library. Natsume muses about how he doesn't know Yorishima well yet, but that he reminds him to how he used to be before he came to live with the Fujiwaras.

Nyanko-sensei getting surprised by "something."

Hanae suddenly barging in.

Meanwhile, Nyanko-sensei is exploring the place and comments on how annoyingly big it is, as well as the fact that this house "has something." He gets surprised by something behind him who seems to reach for him, then run back off to Natsume and tells him all panicked that something weird live there and that he was almost attacked. Natsume doesn't take him seriously and only think he's talking about Kusakabe's daughters. Suddenly, a third young woman with even shorter hair than Tsukiyo's arrives, saying a "fat tanuki" wandered into the house. She is shocked to see Natsume here who quickly introduces himself, at which point Yorishima comes back after hearing noise. The woman says she is Hanae and recognizes Yorishima's name; Natsume apologizes for his cat running around, and Hanae exclaims it's no problem as the three of them loves cats, then tells Yorishima to take a seat.

However, as Yorishima sits down he seems strange. Natsume asks him what's wrong, and he replies he stayed away from Kusakabe because he could see, and that those who can sees yokai only brings trouble. As Natsume is confused, Yorishima adds that as far as he knew, Kusakabe only had two daughters. At that moment, Choko and Tsukiyo comes back with the tea, and Hanae joins them to help them. Natsume finally realizes what Yorishima means: one of the daughters is not what she seems to be.

One of the three Kusakabe daughters isn't what she seems.

Characters in Order of Appearance

• Takashi Natsume
• Madara/Nyanko-sensei
• Yorishima
• Choko, Tsukiyo and Hanae
• Shuuichi Natori (Mentioned)
• Takeru Kusakabe (Mentioned)

Afterwords

"Mr. Yorishima is a former exorcist who appeared in Volume 20, in a chapter called "Ten Nights." I worried that two chapters of of 24 and 32 pages might not be long enough to tell the story, but I was looking forward to working on it. I wanted to include it after having done the story on the village of vessels. Drawing Mr. Yorishima always feels timeless. And it was a new experience writing about someone who has as much power as Natsume. It must be complicated for the younger generation to see someone so powerful be retired and reclusive, no matter what the circumstances that brought it about. I wanted to draw lively daughters, a large mansion, and the moment you come to notice a whisper of loneliness in an otherwise radiantly beautiful space."

— Yuki Midorikawa.

Trivia

• This is the 2^nd time Yorishima features in a story and in a chapter.