First story: Natsume meets a boy who seems to be like him – he can see and is being chased by yokai. He's also maybe being bullied. Second story: The little fox yokai decides to visit Natsume because he's feeling lonely. Third story: Hinoe tells the story of how she met Reiko. Fourth story: A one-shot completely unrelated to Natsume's Book of Friends. A student falls in love with the teacher for whom she often acts as an assistant. He chose his career over his girlfriend, and the student therefore does her best to hide her feelings, not wanting to mess things up for him.

I think this volume includes the first story in this series that might be called “lengthy,” although it somehow doesn't feel any longer than any of the other stories. This is also the first volume in which Natsume starts thinking about his future and the possibility that he might one day become a parent.

It was nice to see more of Reiko, although Hinoe's story was disappointingly skimpy. And the fox yokai was adorable.

The one-shot was...blah. Okay, for a teacher-student semi-romance, but blah.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )