Natsume is at home early one evening when he hears a knock on the door. He sees Tohko outside, asking to be let in. But when he opens the door, there's nobody there, and a gust of wind rushes past. Another Youkai is after the book of friends!

Nyanko-sensei runs away from Natsume to chase a dragonfly. He finds himself stuck with two young children on their first errand. He keeps trying to leave, but the area of the forest they're in is filled with dangerous youkai. Can he help them complete their errand, while still retaining his sanity?

As the first delicate snowflake touches the cold ground, Nyanko-sensei dozes on his hot-water bottle next to Takashi Natsume. While his aunt prepares a warm dinner, Natsume takes a walk, welcoming the snow and the chilly weather. However, his peaceful promenade is disturbed by a white, fluffy snowman yokai with perturbing black eyes, searching for something warm and sparkly. With no further information, Natsume sets off to help find what the spirit desires.

Natsume continues to spend his days giving back Youkai their names from the book of friends. One day, as he's heading home, he finds himself chased by a giant, rolling pot. The youkai in the pot insists that his grandmother Reiko stole a doll from her. When she threatens to hurt his family, however, he's forced to go out and find it. But would his kind, smiling grandmother Reiko really steal a doll from someone?

Natsume helps a youkai out of a pot, and as a "reward", is made young again. But Natsume is already young, and making him younger just confuses him and addles his memories. When he doesn't know who to trust, will he have the strength to know who his real friends are?

Natori's group searches the Hakozaki mansion for the study. But other forces want the powerful magics contained within, and Natsume doesn't want them to have it...

Tamami, a young schoolgirl, counts her steps through a forest, following instructions on a piece of paper. She stops to take a break and falls asleep but is awakened by an odd talking cat. Through meeting the cat and his human partner, Natsume, she learns that the forest has its own separate world from the contemporary, where one can see things otherwise invisible. Putting her trust in the duo, Tamami tells them about the story of how she helped a white owl that reappeared in her dreams to lead her back inside the bizarre forest.