Line #18 Heartwarming/NatsumesBookOfFriends


1	* Amazingly, Nyanko-Sensei gets one [[spoiler: when he helps a lost little girl back to safety - carrying her on his back in his OneWingedAngel form. His seemingly unkind and blunt attitude really isn't fooling anyone by this point, is it?]] And right after that, when he reunites with Natsume after their fight and his being kicked out of the house--"Natsumeeeeeee!" (Cue the big fat kitty galloping after his "pet.")
2	* Give Natsume access to a Youkai which is helpless, depressed, or otherwise in pain, particularly one that's even vaguely cute. Watch the fangirls melt at how adorable he becomes when he's got something to protect. And then there's Natsume with Tama-chan... just... oh, goodness, ''Tama-chan!''
3	* In episode seven of the OddlyNamedSequel ''Zoku'' - What initially seems to be a cruel prank by Reiko (taking a Youkai who's name she had stolen's contract and tying it to a tree branch, telling him not to come back for it for fifty years "or else the seas would rage and the world would be destroyed!") turns out to be an incredibly sweet gesture: [[spoiler: The little Youkai wanted to see the sea, but was afraid to leave the forest. Reiko knew that fifty years was but a blink of an eye for a Youkai, and that if she tied the contract to a tree, then by the time the Youkai came back for his name, it would be tall enough for him to see through the forest -to the ocean beyond.]]
4	* In ''San,'' Natsume and a cat/prankster youkai from his childhood apologizing and coming to terms with one another.
5	* Natsume's conversation with Tanuma after [[spoiler: the latter is attacked by a dangerous youkai while trying to help Natsume]]. Aside from the HoYay, Natsume realizes that, although he should never lose his concern for his friends, he should be more confiding in them (or at least [[SecretKeeper Tanuma]]).
6	* The ending of the Moon-Splitting Festival arc, when [[spoiler: Houzuki and Fudzuki leave the mountain side-by-side as two identical lights.]]
7	* Chapters 51.1 and 51.2 of the manga, detailing how first Nishimura and then Kitamoto befriended Natsume. Nishimura was probably Natsume's first real, human friend, despite often just being cast as one of ThoseTwoGuys with Kitamoto.
8	* In chapter 52, when Natori tell Natsume that in the past, he wanted him as an ally to help his cause, but now he is happy to help Natsume however he can.
9	* Chapter 56 of the manga, the ending when it seems as if a little girl-youkai is going to vanish to wherever youkai vanish to after fulfilling her mission of returning a towel to a human who was able to see her only once, fifty years before. [[spoiler: Natsume gives her a gift of a new towel from the now-old man, and she re-materializes, smiling in obvious glee.]] In the same chapter, before that, she realizes how little she knows about humans. She first expresses concern that Natsume might die just from being out in the rain, and then worriedly asks Natsume whether after fifty years, the man is still alive. [[spoiler: He is, and he is now a grandfather.]]
10	* In the first part of season two, Natsume and Nyanko engage in a little snowball fight. In that same episode, he also became concerned for Natsume's safety when he was holding onto a hostile yokai. Despite his claims that he's only there for the book, he seems to have developed a protective nature towards Natsume.
11	* In episode 5 of season two, you learn that a friend of Natsume's friend had a grandfather named Shin'ichiro that believed in Youkai and wanted to see them, as well as that there were Youkai that would often come to visit him and watch him learn about them as a way to entertain themselves. At the end of the episode, not only do these Youkai [[spoiler:help save Natsume from an evil ayakashi,]] but you also see that [[spoiler:when Shin'ichiro was on his deathbed,]] they gathered around him and performed a healing spell in the hopes of making him feel better.
12	* In season two of the anime, you find out that there was one young human boy that did not fear Reiko. When he sees two other boys making fun of her, she has to stop him from going after them with a baseball bat. Reiko even exorcises a malicious Youkai from the boy's home because she cares about him so much. [[spoiler:Many years later, this man adopts Natsume, becoming the first to fully accept the Youkai-seer into his home.]] This home is the very same one Reiko protected years before, and Natsume eventually does the same, finishing the job this time.
13	* Chapter 31/Season 3 Episode 12:
14	** The flashback where Natsume was adopted by the Fujiwara couple. They were the first people to even ''want'' Natsume to live with them and their kindness pulls Natsume out of his DespairEventHorizon. An omake later tells the story of the adoption from Touko's perspective, which alternates Heartwarming and Tearjerker. The Fujiwaras are basically Carl and Ellie from Up.
15	** Nyanko-sensei taking care of Natsume when he is sick, and protecting him from the Youkai that shows up for revenge. If there was any doubt before, this episode really removes Nyanko's pretense that he's only staying with Natsume for the sake of gaining the Book of Friends.
16	* Season 4 Episode 5 shows that Natsume didn't have an entirely FriendlessBackground before staying with the Fujiwaras. At one of his previous schools, a girl named Yuriko befriended him despite being warned away from him by her mother (and even after he'd accidentally kicked her during a Youkai encounter). She later stands up for him when he is wrongly accused of breaking a window, and though Natsume moves away soon after, both of them look back on their friendship fondly.
17	* The big finale of Season 4, as Nyanko-sensei accompanied Natsume on his long, long trip back to visit his old home. They at long last arrive at the warm hours of twilight. As Natsume began reminiscing about the short time he had spent in this place, even Nyanko-sensei, in complete contrast to his usual loud and careless behaviour, said nothing out-of-place and stayed by Natsume's side the whole time[[note]]In one scene, Nyanko-sensei examined Natsume's childhood drawings behind the wardrobe by himself with silent interest, showing just how much the he had come to care for the boy.[[/note]]. Despite all the years past, Natsume still could not help but break down in tears at having remembered everything. With his purpose fulfilled, Natsume leaves the house for the last time with a final "I'm going now, dad", bringing a beautiful conclusion to his arduous homecoming. Also double as a massive TearJerker.
18	* Chapter 27, where do we start? When Nishimura and Kitamoto visit Natsume so Nishimura can offer to take Natsume's place in the bazaar because he was worried Natsume was feeling uncomfortable and just wasn't speaking up. Then Natsume's flashback of Nishimura and Kitamoto teaching him how to ride a bike. Then finally near the end, Nishimura and Kitamoto coming to check on Natsume and giving him a scolding (out of concern) for being so careless, telling him that they can tell them anything.
19	* Season 5, Episode 1: When Kayatsubo threatens the Fujiwara household, Nyanko-sensei transforms into Madara and ''immediately'' races home, standing guard until Natsume returns.
20	* Chapter 63/Season 5 Episode 9:
21	** Lord Shuon, a very powerful spirit, was traveling incognito when he befriended a humble little shiitake ayakashi who originally had no idea of just how mighty and important his new fishing buddy was. After Shuon departs to continue his journey for enlightenment, the shiitake spirit hatches a plan to join the entourage, and enlists Natsume's help in creating a costume intended to let him blend in with Shuon's entourage (of course, Shiitake's barely a foot tall, but he's very optimistic). When he finally makes the attempt, he's immediately caught out and mocked by the retainers. Shuon regretfully tells him that the path is not simple, and he can't take Shiitake along. As the entourage flies away, Shiitake weeps to see his friend go, then tells Natsume that he'll work as hard as he can to one day be truly worthy of joining them--and one of the retainers who had mocked him returns, apologizes for the mockery, and gives the little guy a book, saying, "Join us once you have finished learning all we have written here."
22	** While subtle, Nyanko-sensei shows his caring side just a shade more than usual in this episode, too. He eavesdrops on Shiitake getting the idea to offer Natsume as a sacrifice to Shuon, with the implication that he was prepared to intervene if things went south for Natsume. But when Shiitake is about to confess to Natsume that he'd considered sacrificing him (after having rejected the temptation), Nyanko pointedly interrupts him, preventing a reveal that could have cast a shadow on Shiitake and Natsume's relationship. Nyanko even seems quietly affected after Shiitake is seemingly turned away by Shuon and breaks down crying.
23	* The first OVA, in which Nyanko-sensei protects and guides a pair of children who are wandering through a forest. Especially the times when they suddenly disappear and are randomly climbing trees at a 45 degree angle over a conveniently-placed precipice, and Nyanko panics before rushing in like every animal babysitter in cartoons. Let's face it, Nyanko-sensei is a FriendToAllChildren even if he would never admit it.
24	* How much Natsume cares about Nyanko-sensei. TakingTheBullet or rather the cursed arrow? Check. Fussing over a sick, fat kitty? Check. Putting himself between a weakened Nyanko-sensei and Matoba? Check, Check, Check. Between these moments there is a short scene when a youkai appears and makes a mess of Natsumes room. Natsumes first act is to grab sick Nyanko-sensei, huddle him close and cover and potentially shield him with his in body. It's not just Madara who puts on a tsundere facade about someone he deeply cares about.
25	* Touko radiates heartwarming constantly, but episode 10 of ''Go'' is downright unbearable. It's a flashback episode to before Natsume was adopted by the Fujiwaras, and it's more or less about how much they love each other, and how Natsume's unexpected addition to their lives just made them even happier - plus an endearing symbolic subplot wherein Touko befriends a crow [[spoiler: she later learns is accompanied by the spirit of its mate, when she'd been worried about it being lonely.]] The crow subplot is that Touko rescued a crow that was trapped under some collapsed poles and since then it has alerted her to danger. The episode starts with the crow warning her that a storm is coming and to take in her laundry. Causing her to reminisce about how she befriended the crow, and upon learning that crows mate for life wondering if it had never met its mate or if it had lost its mate and wondering which would be worse. A serious concern for the aging, childless Fujiwaras. At the end of the episode when the crow flies off [[spoiler: Natsume says that there are two crows, one of which is pure white.]] At which point Touko looks at him in shock, then smiles and says [[spoiler: "So you did find your mate, good for you." Establishing that not only has she made the decision that not finding family is worse than never having it at all, but also reassuring her that our loved ones don't ever truly leave us as well as proving that even if they don't let him know the Fujiwaras are aware of the rumors about Natsume's powers and not only believe them but accept and love him as their family anyways.]] Pure SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel.
26	* Season 5 Episode 11: The Chukyuu take Natsume up a mountain peak to see some rare flowers that will only bloom for a short time. When Natsume gets a fever as a result, they feel responsible and go to great lengths to procure some medicine. And after they learn that the medicine apparently only works on youkai, they still try to cheer him up by picking some of the aforementioned flowers for him. Not bad for PluckyComicRelief. They even get a moment of philosophical waxing, reflecting on why youkai so entranced by the flowers (and by extension, [[WeAreAsMayflies humanity]]) when they know full well that they won't last.
27	* After being sealed away by an inexperienced exorcist who mistook his stone-washer purifying power for scribbling graffiti on stones, Azuma has been tainted by impurity and has lost his ability. He prostrates himself before his old master/father figure, Nanamaki, to mournfully apologize for his failure and express his regret that he can no longer go home to their village because of his impurity. Nanamaki's immediate response is to pull Azuma up off the ground, embrace him tightly, exclaim that he's happy to see him again, and tell him that if Azuma can't go back to their home village, they can go on a journey together to find a new home.
28	* Season 6 Episode 7:
29	** Natsume is visited by Gomochi, a youkai who is not here to reclaim his name or air grievances about Reiko, but to instead express his gratitude for something Reiko had done. He tells Natsume about how Reiko had saved his forest from a pair of quarreling youkai, and how this event led to him meeting his bride-to-be. In fact, he had visited with the intention of inviting Reiko to his wedding. Natsume attends in her place, and upon seeing the joyous occasion, reflects with pride on his grandmother's good deed.
30	** Reiko defeated one of the quarreling youkai, Senki, by tricking him into a challenge where the winner was the first one who could pick the fruit off the top of a tall tree. While Senki tried climbing up the tree, she simply knocked the fruit to the ground by throwing a tree branch. When Senki conceded, Reiko gave the fruit to him as consolation, commending him for his honor.
31	** The other youkai, Hyakko, was a more difficult opponent, as he managed to determine the terms of the contest before Reiko could. He challenged her to a chestnut-collecting competition, well aware that he knew the forest much better than she did. Lacking any other options, Reiko appealed to the other youkai of the forest for help. At first, it seemed that most of the youkai were unwilling to assist a human, but it then turned out that many of them had spent the entire night collecting, [[TheCavalry providing Reiko with mountains and mountains of chestnuts]] that win her the match.
32	** Senki and Hyakko are both shown attending the wedding in the end, all animosity seemingly forgotten. Even more so knowing that they'd been fighting over who got to marry Kibune, Gomochi's future bride, in the first place.
33	* "The Waking Rock":
34	** Natsume decides to help Mitsumi, who has been assigned the role of the titular "waking rock", accomplish his goal of awakening the powerful youkai Iwatetsu. However, other youkai (including Nyanko-sensei) are racing to wake Iwatetsu themselves, as anyone who does is awarded with a bounty of sake. When Natsume and Mitsumi reach the shrine where Iwatetsu resides, Natsume finds Nyanko-sensei curled up nearby, apparently having arrived before them but chosen to forfeit the race. Nyanko [[IWasJustPassingThrough makes the excuse]] that he'd fallen asleep while waiting for the other youkai to get there, hoping to snatch victory from them at the last minute, but the manga makes it clear that Natsume isn't fooled. It is also strongly implied that Nyanko-sensei [[PapaWolf devoured a youkai]] that had threatened Natsume earlier.

Context Heartwarming / NatsumesBookOfFriends