“I was the lonely one.”

Takashi finds himself a new stalker: a little lonely fox who has a pile of rocks for a mother and a pretty hat which used to belong to a human. Their first encounter was in the forest, when he was being bullied by two average-looking earth creatures and Takashi jumped out of nowhere to save him. From that day onwards, the little fox followed him around until one day, he received a medicine which granted him a human form. Leaving the forest, the fox enters the city to look for his savior.
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“I wonder if you’ll become attached to me one day.”

Tsubame is a swallow (bird) spirit who was left behind by her parents when their nest fell of a tree and was stained with human scent. When her siblings died and only she was left, she became a spirit and wandered in the village of Futaba. Hidden beneath the bushes, she was mistaken for a stray dog by a man named Taniozaki, and from that day onwards Tsubame consistently received a plate of food from him. The village was eventually buried by a water dam, so the humans moved away, leaving the spirits to dwell in their homes and sleep beneath the water. One hot summer day Takashi and his friends passed by the village, and without his knowledge Tsubame had possessed his body by climbing on to his back. Nyanko exorcised Takashi upon seeing her through a magical mirror. After the pleasantries Tsubame explained her actions; she climbed on to Takashi’s back in order to meet or see the man who had fed her in the old village. Tsubame started following Takashi everywhere like a stalker until our soft-hearted protagonist finally gave in and decided to help her; the first Spirit who didn’t come to him because of the Book of Friends. Soon Takashi became attached to Tsubame, and even after letting her see Taniozaki, he didn’t feel he had actually fulfilled her wish, because the man could not see Tsubame. One night, through the help of Nyanko and another Youkai, Takashi joined the Futaba Festival of Spirits, wherein the prize is a yukata which will make any spirit who wears it become human for a night. Takashi won the yukata and he gave it to Tsubame. The following day he meets Taniozaki and the man confirmed that he did meet a girl in a blue yukata. As if to prove it he showed a picture to Takashi. And there, on the photo, was Taniozaki beside a shy, smiling human girl who used to be a bird. Takashi stared at it and began to cry.
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“Friends, huh?”

Takashi discovers an old train ticket from Reiko’s belongings. Curious, he visits an old station and there he meets a dumb but charming Youkai named Santo. Takashi couldn’t get much information from Santo, so Nyanko suggests using the Book of Friends to let him see Reiko’s memories. With that settled, Takashi helps Santo find his friend Mikuri, another Youkai. Upon reaching the station of Kiriganuma, however, they were attacked by earth spirits, who, according to Nyanko, feed off Mikuri’s anger and hatred. Things get complicated as Mikuri reveals himself and demands the Book of Friends from Takashi.
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“I wonder if you felt anything.”

Takashi’s class decided to hold a Courage Test in an old School building which was scheduled to be taken down the following day. Inside, Takashi encounters the God of Youth, a powerful spirit who harbors a grudge against the greedy humans. Things turned for the worse when the students started disappearing one by one.
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“Whether you are a human or an Ayakashi, we’re the same in that we meet with our hearts, that being alone is lonely.”

Ever since the day Takashi inherited the Book of Friends, he’s been constantly bugged by creatures from all corners of the spirit world. The process of releasing them often leaves him tired and sleepy. One day he meets two Youkais who begged his help in eliminating a certain human who’s been forcing them out of their humble homes through his high purifying powers. Takashi’s suspicions point to his schoolmate named Tanuma, who too, seemed to have the gift of sight. Even though he’s worried for the existence of the harmless spirits, he’s somehow elated that there is someone who can finally understand him.
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