Tokyo Ravens Volume 11 Chapter 2

"Natsume-kun was resurrected...... That's what Suzu-san said, right? And that Harutora-kun was fine?"

"Yes. ......Though she added the phrase 'for now'......"

Tenma nodded and replied to Kurahashi Miyo's confirmation.

The phone call from Saotome Suzu that had reached Tenma's phone from earlier had been cut off after an extremely short dialogue. He was in a state of knowing almost no details at all.

He would use the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual to resurrect Natsume. Tenma and the others had sent Harutora off with that kind of determination. They had let him go. Hence, they weren't sure about what had happened to him afterwards. They weren't sure whether Natsume had 'truly' resurrected either. They weren't even sure 'what kind of state' Harutora was currently in.

The time had already flown by to six in the morning.

Currently, Tenma and the others were in a Kurahashi family villa in Mejiro - a small, seaside residence. Other than Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi and Tenma, the people present were Ato Touji, Kurahashi Kyouko, Dairenji Suzuka, and the figure of Amami Daizen lying with his back on the sofa.

The night that had jarred the Onmyou Agency and even the magic community had finally given way to the dawn. However, things weren't over. Or rather, this was only the beginning. The people gathered here right now vaguely antic.i.p.ated this.

The tumultuous night had ended.

But maybe the magic community would give way to an even longer night now.

"......I understand. In any case, there won't be any results even if we think about Harutora-kun and Natsume-kun's situations like this. Rather, we should consider our own matters right now. Think about the future."

The atmosphere in the room sharply tensed up due to the princ.i.p.al's words.

Tenma had told the princ.i.p.al about what the students had done last night and what they had witnessed. Also, it seemed that she had heard all the details from the once-imprisoned Amami. The situation was deeply pressing. After all, the people present had opposed the leadership of the Onmyou Agency.

They had opposed the Onmyou Agency Chief, Kurahashi Genji.

"Excuse me...... Princ.i.p.al? Is Chief Kurahashi truly, um......"

Tenma stammered a question to the princ.i.p.al.

Kurahashi Genji was an important person at the apex of the modern magic community. Not only was he the Onmyou Agency Chief, the Mystical Investigator Chief, and the Exorcist Bureau Chief, he was also a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji holding 'First-Cla.s.s Onmyou' certifications. He was the leader of the Twelve Divine Generals and had been named the 'current most influential' Onmyouji.

But that wasn't all. He was the current head of the famous Kurahashi Onmyoudou family...... Also known as the princ.i.p.al's son as well as Kyouko's father. He was the relative of two of the people here right now.

But the princ.i.p.al silently acquiesced to Tenma's question. Though she had prepared her heart, Kyouko's face distorted slightly at her grandmother's grim expression.

"......Amami-kun."

The princ.i.p.al moved her gaze to Amami on the sofa.

Amami was the former Chief of the Mystical Investigators. But he had mysteriously disappeared after the Twin-Horned Syndicate sweeping operation - or so it was said. But in truth, he had been locked underground in the Onmyou Agency building until he had escaped last night. It seemed that his treatment had been like torture, and he was extremely weak. Though the princ.i.p.al had urgently treated him, he still couldn't move with his own strength, nor could he speak since his throat was burned. His magical energy was in a perfectly cut-off state especially to block him from using first-cla.s.s magic.

Even so, his sharp, thorough gaze was still vigorous.

Amami maintained his posture of lying on the sofa as he endured the princ.i.p.al's gaze, lightly moving his chin to express agreement.

At the same time, a spider quietly crawled up his shoulder. A pale blue spider about the size of a thumb. It was a 'Trick Spider', Amami's shikigami.

This shikigami was a test product of Tenma's dead mother and possessed two important strengths. One was that it was able to materialize on its own by absorbing the surrounding aura. The other was that it could be controlled without using magical energy as long as its magic settings were completed beforehand.

It was originally a shikigami that had been formulated to be used by ordinary people who couldn't manipulate magic. Hence, Amami could also use it after his magical energy was completely sealed. Last night, Amami had controlled this shikigami and led the captured Harutora and Tenma, who had snuck into the agency building. Though one of the two Trick Spiders had been destroyed, the other one that had followed Tenma had safely escaped with him.

Then, from the Trick Spider on Amami's shoulder--

"Unfortunately, the Chief's guilty."

Came Amami's voice.

Tenma's eyes widened with a "Huh?". Though the Trick Spider could share vision and hearing with the pract.i.tioner, it didn't have the function of making sound. In fact, it had been silent for the whole time it led Tenma around.

"It's my magic." Then, the princ.i.p.al explained in place of Amami.

"Because we had to ask about the situation no matter what. Though it's just a temporary overwrite, I managed to add to the shikigami charm's magic--"

"You can leave that for later, Miyo-chan."

Amami's voice sounded from the Trick Spider on his shoulder again. The gazes of the group focused on Amami.

"As for your doubt from before, it's unfortunate, but that's how it is. I heard it directly from the man himself, so it can't be wrong. Kurahashi Genji - that guy is the culprit who manipulated the Twin-Horned Syndicate from the shadows until now and led to two spiritual disasters from behind the curtain. The Souma faction have joined hands with him."

Tenma and the other students groaned at Amami's cutting a.s.sertion.

"......What's his goal? Is it Yakou's resurrection?"

It was Touji who asked this.

His expression was calm, but his eyes were as cold as ice. After a pause, Amami replied, "Not necessarily."

"The fact that he stole the Raven's Coat can be explained away as for Yakou's resurrection. But we can't clearly say that's the man's goal yet. Maybe that's just the individual expectation of the Souma girl. Actually, those guys abandoned the Twin-Horned Syndicate of gathered Yakou fanatics after using them as a stepping stone to spread the jurisdiction of the Onmyou Agency."

"But." Amami carefully continued.

"The Tsuchimikado branch family boy - No, it's more accurate to say the main family boy. In any case, judging by what the boy called Harutora said, that man's goal seems to be to 'continue Yakou's legacy'. ......That said, I know nothing about what the crucial 'legacy' includes. I expect that it's taboo. The Chief's true intent is unclear right now."

Then, Amami showed Touji a rebellious smile.

"I told you before, right? I said that every adult in this world is an old fox. But Kurahashi Genji is the worst of them. It's not easy to completely see through him."

Touji wordlessly nodded at Amami's words. Though Touji had firm self-confidence, he definitely wasn't a fool. He objectively recognized that the enemy was far cleverer than himself.

"......Is 'that man' an accomplice?"

This question came from Suzuka.

Suzuka's expression was stiff. It wasn't just the princ.i.p.al and Kyouko who had 'relatives' involved. The 'man' Suzuka spoke of referred to her - once-dead - father, Dairenji Shidou. The Divine General who had been called the 'Professor' was the mastermind behind the 'Great Hinamatsuri Purification' spiritual disaster terrorist attack. He was a person who had been viewed as the leader of the Twin-Horned Syndicate in the past.

Touji replied to her instead of Amami.

"Yeah, that's for sure. Though I haven't said so yet, that guy was there when I broke into the executive office. In the end, that guy awakened as Yashamaru, Souma Takiko's shikigami. Since Souma Takiko is allied with the Chief, he's naturally on the same side."

Suzuka lowered her head and tightly bit her lip after Touji announced that.

Though Suzuka was a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji, she had obtained 'First-Cla.s.s Onmyou' qualifications at a young age because her father had strengthened her spiritual power through magical experiments. Suzuka held strong animosity towards her father for toying with her and her brother.

"......Come to think of it now, the Chief and Dairenji were coworkers in the agency. Maybe their relationship started before Dairenji was reborn. Maybe much...... earlier......"

Suddenly, the Trick Spiders' words became unsettled and suddenly cut off. "Amami-kun!?" The princ.i.p.al's face paled and hastily ran forward with Kyouko by her side.

Amami closed his eyes in extreme exhaustion on the sofa. But after Kyouko supported his body, he slowly opened his eyelids.

A weak, bitter smile emerged on his mouth, and he said:

"......Sorry, my consciousness left me for a moment......"

"P-Please don't be so reckless. You have to settle down as much as possible right now--"

Though using the Trick Spider didn't require the use of magical energy, in the end the wounds and fatigue acc.u.mulated on the old man's body were extraordinary. Even if he had received the princ.i.p.al's magic treatment, that didn't change the fact that Amami's condition was extremely bad.

But Amami smiled and spoke to the worried Kyouko:

"......Don't be reckless? That's wrong, Kyouko-chan."

In contrast to his frail image, he showed a powerful smile.

"Let me take the opportunity to say that you can't give voice to such 'naive judgments' in the future. Those kinds of worries are the things an 'adult' says to shelter a 'child'. ......All you others listen carefully too, not just Kyouko."

Amami's gaze caught Touji, Suzuka, and Tenma. The feeble and barely-conscious old man's gaze scorched and solidified the children like flowing magma.

"Listen up. You all have to allow me to be as reckless as possible for as long as I'm still living. That's a necessary situational judgment stipulated by a 'standalone Onmyouji'. ......Of course......"

Amami's expression suddenly eased.

But the children shook even more instead after hearing his next words.

"That's if...... you truly plan on opposing the Onmyou Agency."

Touji, Suzuka, Tenma, and Kyouko all went speechless. The blood drained out of the faces of one, and one flushed red in a flash. One clenched his fists tightly, and one gritted his teeth.

But none of them averted their gazes. No matter what choice they made, there was no choice of fleeing.

"They'll be getting into this villa soon too. There's not much time. Just like Miyo-chan said at the start, let's think about the future."

The Onmyou Academy, one of the few Onmyouji training inst.i.tutions in the nation.

To people who held goals of becoming professional Onmyouji, this was a trial to explore the future difficulties along the road. Its curriculum was practically famous, and the difficulty of its practical curriculum was even more special. The power of one who reached the highest, third year could be called practically professional with regard to first-cla.s.s magic. It was more famous than famous among the knowledgeable in the magic community.

The building of this academy was built in Shibuya, Tokyo. The current academy was a new building constructed four years ago, and had been heavily ruined in June last year. But it had been completely repaired now, and the vestiges from that time had vanished without a trace.

Not only was it a building furbished with the newest equipment, it also had a solemn feel to conform to its half-century of history. To the large number of Onmyouji who had come from this academy, it was a school building that was difficult to forget.

But--

If the past graduates visited the current Onmyou Academy, they might feel a small sense of wrongness within their nostalgia. Of course, the building had a new look, but it wasn't that kind of outer change, but rather a change on the inside - a change in the atmosphere.

At least Tenma thought so.

Maybe he was the only one who felt this. Maybe he was only concerned by such a subtle change because of his experiences. Maybe that was it. Tenma harbored complicated emotions as he looked at the familiar academy building towering before him.

"Ah, Momoe, morning."

"Good morning. It's so cold today~"

A pair of male and female students greeted Tenma before he entered the academy building. Both were in the same grade. "Good morning. It is very cold." He smiled and replied, then the three of them walked into the academy building together.

The academy building's main entrance had two pairs of heavy automatic doors. When the first of those automatic doors opened, Tenma inadvertently looked to the side.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Momoe-kun?"

"Nothing...... I felt like I've unconsciously gotten used to this scene."

"Eh? Ahh. You're talking about Alpha and Omega?"

The two cla.s.smates stopped because of Tenma's words, turning their gazes to the same direction. The s.p.a.ce between the pairs of automatic doors. There had been mechanical shikigami to the left and right with the form of komainu before. Alpha and Omega who had once been the door guards of the Onmyou Academy. The shikigami of Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi.

But now, there were no komainu there. As replacements, there were just several shikigami charms framed on the two walls. In an emergency, the teachers would materialize these to defend the academy building. In that sense, it was 'rational' given their function, but Alpha and Omega hadn't purely been guards. They had kind personalities contrasting with their haughty language, and had been well-liked by the students as the face of the Onmyou Academy.

Most of the students had been sad when the two of them had been taken away. Of course, Tenma was the same.

But before he noticed it, the scene without the komainu had become ordinary for Tenma.

"Come to think of it...... it feels lonesome from time to time."

"The current first-years don't even know Alpha and Omega. Now that I think of that, it feels estranging."

"......That's true."

Other students came in through the automatic doors opening behind his back as he replied briefly. He couldn't just stand there without moving forever. Tenma also pa.s.sed through the second set of automatic doors, entering the first floor.

Unlike usual, the vast floor had been adorned with ornate decorations. They were red and white-toned, j.a.panese-styled ceremonial decorations with gold and silver trim. A banner hanging from the ceiling read 'Onmyou Academy New Year's Ceremony' in black letters.

His cla.s.smates looked up above their head and said:

"Come to think of it, it's tomorrow."

"That's not it, there's a dress rehearsal this afternoon."

"Really? I can't feel any motivation."

"There's no helping it, there's gonna be a lot of media coming in this year."

The girl shrugged her shoulders at the frowning boy. Tenma also silently looked above.

The New Year's ceremony was an activity where the Onmyou Academy celebrated the new year, just like its name. That said, it had only started being held last January. Its main purpose was more to raise the Onmyou Academy's image in the media than to ceremoniously celebrate the new year. In short, it was propaganda that the Onmyou Academy aimed outside.

The New Year's Ceremony was an activity that had been started last year by the thinking of the previous Onmyou Academy Princ.i.p.al.

Last autumn, Kurahashi Miyo who had been the princ.i.p.al since the academy opened had resigned from her post as Onmyou Academy princ.i.p.al citing health reasons. Her shikigami Alpha and Omega had also left the Onmyou Academy during that time.

The new princ.i.p.al after that was a former Onmyou Agency official who had retired. The Onmyou Academy had 'changed' bit by bit since then. This New Year's Ceremony - or rather, the fact that this kind of activity was being held in the first place could be called proof of that change.

"......But."

Tenma muttered.

"Actually, there were even more students who entered last year. The number of students withdrawing decreased a lot too."

"Hmm? Well, there were indeed a lot of new students last year. But of course the number of students withdrawing decreased. After all, when we were second-years, there were so many unprecedented incidents--"

As the boy spoke with a bitter smile, the girl next to him quietly said "idiot" as if to reproach him. "Ah......" After the boy noticed, his face became awkward.

There were particular students at the center of the 'unprecedented incidents' during the second year of Tenma and the others.

Tsuchimikado Natsume.

Also, Tsuchimikado Harutora.

Tenma's relationship with the two of them had been particularly good. Other than that, he had also always been with Ato Touji and Kurahashi Kyouko before.

The biggest reason the new princ.i.p.al was holding this New Year's Ceremony was to eliminate the bad image lingering in the Onmyou Academy. The New Year's Ceremony could be called a cleanup after Tenma and the others.

"...Let's go."

Tenma smiled and spoke to the two of them, pa.s.sing through the floor towards the elevator. His cla.s.smates glanced at each other and then chased after Tenma.

The boy spoke in a tone meant to change the topic:

"......Come to think of it, it seems like there are more teachers after the vacation. The first-years are saying that."

"Ah, I heard that too. It seems like they're also former Onmyou Agency people too."

"After the princ.i.p.al changed, the number of former Onmyou Agency teachers increased. Well, there were a lot in the first place."

"Even former public servants who started working again?"

"Eh? Who knows......"

Tenma and the others rode the elevator and changed floors to head to their cla.s.sroom. "Now that you mention it." The girl asked Tenma.

"Momoe-kun, are you not going to enter the Onmyou Agency in the end?"

"Ah, I don't know."

"You still haven't decided? You're as leisurely as always."

"Momoe's home was a shrine or a temple, right? Are you going to continue it after you graduate?"

"No, my family's not......"

Tenma spoke vaguely and uneasily. As expected, the matters that got the most attention among the third years were each other's future plans. But because Tenma still hadn't decided, he couldn't join in the topic.

Tenma's parents had died in an accident when he was still a child. Since then Tenma had been taken in by the Momoe family on his mother's side and had been raised by his grandparents.

Though the Momoe family wasn't that famous, it had been an Onmyouji family for generations. His grandfather and his mother had been professional Onmyouji. In particular, his mother's manmade shikigami inventions had left behind huge achievements. She was a famous person among those related to the professional magic community.

But his bold and daring mother had brought discord to his relationship with his conservative grandparents. After she essentially ran away from home in secret, they had never ended up making up even until her death. The feelings of Tenma's grandparents who had been left behind and Tenma himself who lived with them after he was also left behind were incredibly complicated.

His grandparents didn't speak of Tenma's future path too much. Or, maybe they still held recollections - or perhaps bitter memories - about their disputes with his mother in the past.

But to the left-alone Tenma, his grandparents undoubtedly expected him to become a professional Onmyouji able to succeed the Momoe family. Tenma himself was also grateful to his grandparents and had entered the academy with the goal of becoming a professional.

To become a professional, standalone Onmyouji. That was Tenma's future goal.

It was just that...... what exactly was a so-called 'standalone Onmyouji'?

"Hm~ But, you know? If you don't have the goal of entering the Onmyou Agency, are you thinking about joining some kind of organization? Or working alone?"

"I~diot, no one can do it alone. ......Ah, come to think of it, Nakata was accepted into a magic tool company last year, right? Although there was a condition that he obtained qualifications."

"Eh, what kind? Where? Witchcraft Corporation?"

"It's not a famous place like that. A place that was established just last year. Allegedly, it seems like it was opened by a household of Onmyouji. So it's more like a workshop than a company."

"Hey, that's a bit surprising. For someone of Nakata-kun's power, I'd think entering the Onmyou Agency would be certain."

"He said that it was good because he would be able to work feely there. He even bragged that 'I'll grow the business'."

Though Tenma didn't interrupt his cla.s.smates' conversation, he turned an ear out of immense interest.

If it had been established last year, then it was probably a business formed conforming to the Onmyou legal reform from last year.

The magic community had often been accused of being secluded from both inside and out. However, the current Onmyou Agency was continuously pushing for Onmyouji to partic.i.p.ate in new areas of society in order to improve that outlook. The Onmyou legal reform was a very important part of that. It greatly alleviated the limitations on magic - along with the limitations related to the Onmyouji who controlled magic.

New magic-related careers would definitely further increase in the future. The demand for Onmyouji in society would gradually increase alongside that trend. It wasn't just the Onmyou Academy. The magic community itself would change in the wake of the Onmyou Agency.

"...In any case, future plans are very important, but I'm just thinking about obtaining professional qualifications for now. I'm still learning and practicing every day until then."

After Tenma said this, it was the turn of the other two to show discontent.

They just happened to arrive at the cla.s.sroom when Tenma reb.u.t.ted. But after Tenma called out, "Sorry, I'm going to the restroom," he walked through the hallway alone without entering the entrance to the cla.s.sroom.

Then--

The moment he turned the corner and entered a blind angle for the rest of the students, he started to stealth himself as naturally as breathing.

Of course, a 'vanishing aura' for a sudden, perfect stealth magic would attract the attention of a keen spirit seer even more easily. He did it bit by bit, in no hurry. He maintained a constant pace, gradually deepening the stealth magic as if he were melding his body in with the air.

He understood in his heart that this was 99% useless worry.

Even so, he had no reason to ignore the remaining 1%.

Tenma's stealth magic had already completely activated before he entered the male restroom. He walked into the restroom like that, entering the deepest stall and closing the door.

He still didn't release his stealth. He closed his eyes, quickly and thoroughly inspecting the surrounding aura.

There was nothing suspicious. Tenma opened his eyes, taking out the letter from his backpack. The letter that had been given to him this morning by the bespectacled girl.

He wordlessly turned the pink-colored envelope over several times to confirm. He couldn't find any magical traces. He opened it and took out the contents.

There was just one sheet of paper.

He first swept over it with a sharp gaze, then slowly read it again.

The name of the sender hadn't been recorded on the message. Nor could he find any clues to trace back to the sender. It wasn't coincidence, she had deliberately concealed herself. Though it had been handwritten, Tenma wasn't familiar enough with this penmanship to know the answer.

More importantly, the contents seemed superficial. Even if this message were given to a third party's hands, they wouldn't be able to grasp any concrete information. Someone who knew about the 'circ.u.mstances' to some degree might realize something, but he wouldn't necessarily be able to obtain any more information than the situation. It was a message written after such consideration.

There was just one thing.

The feelings of the person who wrote the letter were deeply conveyed.

And those feelings most clearly pointed to the sender of the letter.

Tenma closed his eyes, silently suppressing the emotions that spilled forth. Then, he checked the letter again, this time paying attention to intent rather than words.

He checked whether there were any hidden words written somewhere. But even though he checked once again, Tenma grasped that there weren't such things. Grat.i.tude and apology were clearly written in the letter, especially the feeling of not wanting to bring Tenma or others trouble. This letter was completely one-sided news sent from the other party.

Even so, Tenma read the letter again several times.

He checked the time with his watch. It would be bad if he didn't return to the cla.s.sroom soon. Tenma ripped the envelope into fine bits and flushed them into the toilet. Then, after a slight hesitation, he folded the message as small as possible. He took out a shrine protective talisman that he had carried in his bag and opened the bag to put the message inside.

Then, Tenma left the stall and washed his hands, heading to the cla.s.sroom.

The place that had become the location of the New Year's Ceremony was the magic practice field underneath the academy building.

It had originally been a place used for practical first-cla.s.s magic skills, but it was the only place that could accommodate the entire student body, and hence it had been used for the entrance ceremony and other things. It was constructed like an athletic stadium, and the arena bordered by magic barriers was also encircled by spectator seating on all four sides. The day of the New Year's Ceremony, only the third-years were on the arena ground. The second and first-years along with the media that had been invited to cover it watched from the spectator seating. The third-years also carried the ceremony forward.

Hence, the final coursework of the day had been canceled for Tenma and the third-year students, and they were having a dress rehearsal to prepare for tomorrow instead.

"Why do ceremonies and rituals have to be so formal? They're so tiring."

"I know what you mean, but isn't it a problem for an Onmyouji to say that?"

'Rituals' like this had been important work of Onmyouji since ancient times. Tenma smiled and advised his cla.s.smate about his statement.

The New Year's Ceremony was overall split into two portions. The first half that was held after the princ.i.p.al's greeting was the same as the demonic aura purification that the Onmyou Agency carried out at the end of the year.

But this was just an imitation. The Onmyou Academy's New Year's Ceremony was just held with the goal of 'purifying the evil of the old year and praying for the beauty of the new year'. They ceremoniously carried out the demonic aura purification ritual along those lines. But the process itself had more meaning than the actual effectiveness of the magic ritual. In that sense, it wasn't that far apart from the original work of Onmyouji. As Tenma had said before, conducting rites and rituals were important duties of Onmyouji.

But the highlight of the New Year's Ceremony was the latter half, not the former. After the demonic aura purification ritual, the students summoned shikigami to put on a dance performance.

Unlike the demonic aura purification, the shikigami dance performance had no other magical significance. But the materialized shikigami had unique appearances and beautiful movements. Hence, even if an ordinary person unrelated to magic watched, he would easily understand that it was 'amazing'. In other words, it was propaganda for the Onmyou Academy's skills. Though the news planned on reporting on the present situation, the eye-catching shikigami summoning was also well-received on television.

"In the end, it's more like a simple performance than a ceremony."

One of his cla.s.smates said this, and it was actually true. And just like Tenma had said earlier today, this kind of performance was a.s.sociated with certain outcomes.

In any case, the third-years were split into demonic aura purification and shikigami-controlling groups, carrying out their dress rehearsals individually. Tenma was in the latter, the shikigami controlling group.

Initially, several students in the group who were particularly good at controlling shikigami would summon and control shikigami on their own. The summoned shikigami were different types of self-made simple shikigami and manmade shikigami that they owned themselves. It was the highlight for any spectating pract.i.tioner.

But the biggest highlight that they publicized to the outside was the shikigami group dance performance to end the New Year's Ceremony. The students all brought forth a large amount of manmade shikigami together and performed a group dance.

The created shikigami were old-styled general-purpose 'M1 Domestic[1]' and also general-purpose 'M3 Asura'. The former was originally a smaller shikigami, but the size of the latter had been modified and reduced slightly. In the end, there were many, close to fifty in total. The magic practice field arena that had become the location would be completely covered by shikigami, giving off quite an overwhelming feeling. It was undoubtedly a spectacular dance performance to someone who didn't understand magic at all.

Though the group dance performance was so gorgeous on the outside, actually controlling it wasn't so tough. That was also because the movements of the shikigami had been set up in the spell beforehand.

Even that spell was shared. It looked like people were individually controlling the shikigami just for show, but actually everyone partic.i.p.ating just sent their magical energy into a single spell. With that, all of the manmade shikigami would comply with that spell and dance autonomously.

The students just continuously infused magical energy to maintain their materializations, with each student responsible for two shikigami. It wasn't such a burden for third-years of the famous Onmyou Academy.

But--

"Ah, wait wait! Stop. ...Momoe! You're summoning too slow. You're positioned wrong. Do it again!"

"O-Okay. Sorry."

The students' and the shikigami's' movements stopped together because of the practical skills teacher's instructions. Tenma's face reddened as he endured the gazes of the students around him.

Since all the shikigami shared a single spell, it couldn't be fixed part of the way through if one was created too slowly at the start. In other words, once things started they couldn't go back. That was the only difficulty of the group dance performance.

But Tenma didn't make a mistake again afterwards and they started the group dance performance again. Then, the dress rehearsal ended successfully without any particular problems occurring.

"Get a little more energetic, Momoe-kun."

"Your practical skills are still poor even though it's been so long."

"S-Sorry. My timing was off."

Tenma left the magic practice field while apologizing to his teasing cla.s.smates. The entire cla.s.s knew that Tenma's practical skills weren't the best, but everyone also knew of Tenma's gentle personality. Everyone poking fun at him was close to him, and everyone wore smiles.

Today's coursework ended here.

But there were also students who stayed behind in the magic practice field to train their practical skills on their own. Also, there were people who went to the library to study. Everyone was mindful of obtaining qualifications after they graduated.

The Onmyou Academy wasn't just a simple educational inst.i.tution, but rather a training inst.i.tution for professional Onmyouji. No matter what path they took in the future, everyone had a goal of obtaining qualifications. Once they reached their third years, the pressure of that imminent reality gradually increased.

"What are you doing today, Momoe? Where are you going?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm going straight back home today."

"Aww. You aren't depressed from your slip-up earlier, are you?"

"That's not it...... W-Well, we can walk together part of the way."

The companions he walked with after school ended were mostly fixed. Tenma chatted with the customary people while deciding to first return to the cla.s.sroom.

Just like always, the center of the topic was their career paths and obtaining qualifications. They all held the same anxiety and antic.i.p.ation towards the coming forks in the road. But even so, they actively advanced while laughing with each other.

Spending time with his Onmyou Academy cla.s.smates. That was Tenma's ordinary life right now.

Then--

"......Ah."

The conversation stopped after someone made a sound. Everyone's gaze turned in the same direction.

A girl walked towards them from the end of the corridor. She was a girl whose chestnut hair was done up and who possessed beautiful, idol-like looks and figure. Also, she had an aura-like sense of presence that the other students didn't.

Kurahashi Kyouko.

The granddaughter of the previous princ.i.p.al, the daughter of the famous Kurahashi family. She was an excellent student who represented the Onmyou Academy with her lineage, power, and looks. Even in the dress rehearsal from before, where Kyouko had been selected for the shikigami dance performance, she had beautifully controlled two 'Yaksha'.

She was Tenma's friend that he had talked and smiled with every day before.

But right now, Kyouko carried an atmosphere that kept the people around her from getting close. Her excessive standing out and her 'past matters' couldn't help but make one hesitate about approaching her. She herself probably felt that kind of atmosphere, but she didn't try to eliminate it, fully accepting it instead.

As if overwhelmed by Kyouko's atmosphere, Tenma and the others couldn't help but fall silent as they pa.s.sed through the corridor.

After the distance shortened, it seemed that Kyouko also noticed Tenma. But she didn't particularly react. She just shot him a gaze for at most a moment. Though Tenma met her gaze, he didn't show any particular expression.

They approached wordlessly and pa.s.sed by each other.

After they pa.s.sed by, Tenma sneakily looked behind his back, keeping the people around him from noticing. But Kyouko walked through the corridor with no intention of turning around. But what Tenma watched wasn't Kyouko. Rather, it was her back.

It was there.

Though it was dematerialized, there was something that was deliberately unstealthed 'displaying' its presence there.

A shikigami.

It seemed to have been modified quite heavily, but its type was probably a sensory shikigami. A shikigami that closely followed her when she was in the Onmyou Academy. Ostensibly, the Kurahashi family had given her a bodyguard as a precaution. But at least there were very few among her cla.s.smates who honestly believed this.

At the same time as that shikigami monitored Kyouko, it silently expressed to those around her that she was being monitored. The existence of that shikigami was one of the reasons the students kept a distance from her.

That shikigami had begun following Kyouko around since she had returned to school in the autumn of their second year. Tenma was taken aback by the fact that a year had pa.s.sed since then.

"......Wow, Genius Kurahashi still feels so stifling."

"Should it be called a feeling of pressure or the feeling of a rare mountain flower[2]......"

"She suddenly became mature after that incident happened."

The cla.s.smates started frivolously speaking to one another after they pulled a sufficient distance away. But the student who spoke last awkwardly looked at Tenma with an "Ah".

Something similar had happened this morning too. Tenma just replied with the word "yeah" with an unconcerned demeanor, pa.s.sing through the corridor with his cla.s.smates. Not long afterwards, the chatting resumed and Kyouko's business didn't become the topic again.

After returning to the cla.s.sroom, Tenma parted with everyone and left the academy building alone.

He felt that this was being excessively careful.

Even so, Tenma would still wait until the date changed.

But he wasn't just waiting until the dead of night out of carefulness. He would continue worrying until the final moment. That was since he couldn't determine what would become the trigger or what kind of reactions would come of it. The situation Tenma was currently in surpa.s.sed Tenma's processing ability. He wouldn't be able to deal with it if his own actions led to something bad.

More importantly, he had been told 'not to move'.

...No......

That wasn't right. Tenma thought of the situation back then. When everyone's' future plans had been decided, when Tenma had been commanded to 'wait'. Amami had said this to Tenma, who felt inadequate by just being on standby.

'Do as you like', he had said.

'Youngster, think, think, and think properly by yourself, and then decide', he had said.

Though his tone had been resigned, he had felt first-hand that they weren't that way. In addition, it was more the opposite. At that time, Amami had given Tenma and the others a definite choice. He had said things like 'Even if you recognize that you're in a situation where you could easily drag everyone in, you still have to act based on your own judgment. That's how you become 'standalone.

Hence...... He had decided.

The thing he had to abstain from the most right now was being 'conspicuous'. But even so, Tenma couldn't and shouldn't ignore the protective talisman clutched in his hand. He thought of the message concealed inside.

Maybe the sender of this letter was satisfied by just handing it over. Maybe she felt that it was fine to withdraw after conveying her grat.i.tude and apology. This was the right thing to do, he convinced himself. Maybe he believed it. In fact, she had written 'I'm alright' on that message. Not 'doing well', nor 'fine', but rather 'alright'.

If she were truly alright, she wouldn't have written that.

Though he respected the 'opinion' of she who had conveyed that she was alright even given her situation, in the end that was just an 'opinion'.

This letter needed a reply.

A reply from Tenma and the others.

Tenma was currently in a room in his own house. The lights were out and he sat in the chair in front of his studying desk. He had closed his eyes and continued to 'watch' something for close to an hour.

He had noticed that aura about two months after that summer incident had happened. It was a room in an apartment a moderate distance away. Perhaps it had become occupied immediately after that incident. Tenma could notice it because the pract.i.tioner whose shikigami was staying there had become careless and had started slipping up with the stealth magic.

Tenma had been questioned about the situation by Mystical Investigators after that incident. But he had returned to his ordinary life disappointingly easily afterwards. Of course, although he didn't believe things were that simple, it had still been a big shock when he noticed that aura. The fact that he was being secretly monitored. He might have fallen into a panic if he hadn't expected it beforehand.

Tenma observed the shikigami that monitored him with even more care than usual.

He had received a letter in full view this morning. If that scene had been witnessed, then the surveillance tonight might enter a different state from usual. He had waited this long in order to clearly distinguish if that were true.

However, Tenma's conclusion was that the state of the surveillance hadn't changed.

...Good.

Tenma slowly opened his eyes.

He was already prepared. His resolve was the same. Tenma rose from the chair, putting on a coat without turning on the lights and taking a backpack with a charm box. Then, he took the simple shikigami charm placed on the table into his hand.

"......Order."

A simple shikigami that looked exactly the same as him was created. Though its appearance was a bit crude, no part of its appearance could be distinguished as out of place by a shikigami monitoring from afar. Simply put, it just needed to have the same aura as he did.

Also, he had understood that the shikigami mainly surveyed the area around his house rather than its interior through his observations up to this point. Upon careful thought, that was natural, as the opponent's target was the people who would approach him and not himself. The subst.i.tute shikigami was just a safeguard.

Tenma sneakily left his room and arrived in the corridor.

The Momoe family house was an old cottage house. The lights in the corridor were already out, and there was no movement. The residence was surrounded by hedges, but there was a back door along with the main entrance. He prepared to enter the courtyard through the kitchen exit and use that back door.

He entered the kitchen, putting his shoes on before he left through the exit. He breathed and then began his stealth.

That moment, the lights in the kitchen were turned on.

The fact that his body moved first when he was surprised was the result of Tenma's secret training through this year and a half. He finished his stealth in a flash and refined his aura into magical energy. At the same time, he spun his body around to face backwards again while pulling a charm out of the box on his waist. It was a fluid reaction that all took place in a single instant. Even the person who turned the lights on was taken by surprise and dumbstruck.

But Tenma didn't release the charm.

"...G-Grandpa!?"

The person standing in the kitchen exit was Tenma's grandfather. Stunned, Tenma maintained his stance of holding the charm, then hastily hid the charm behind his back.

"W-What's wrong? You're not sleeping?"

Tenma questioned his grandfather, desperately putting on a dry smile.

Though his grandfather's expression was shocked for a period of time, it soon returned to the same stern expression as always. Then, he started at his grandson in silence for a while.

He spoke in a solemn tone:

"......That's what I should say. Tenma, what are you doing at this time?"

A legitimate doubt. Tenma maintained his ready-to-run stance, immediately making the excuse, "I was going to go to the convenience store...... I-I got hungry while studying...... Also, I wanted to get my mind off things for a while. I was going to take the time to go out and walk......"

That kind of reason probably couldn't explain how he had snuck around to the back door without turning on the lights. Tenma was extremely tense. His mind had been as calm as the surface of a lake before, but it was now a mess and couldn't work well. His heartbeat just kept accelerating.

The grandfather stared wordlessly at his grandson.

Then, keeping his stern expression, he said:

"......Be careful outside, don't stay out too late."

After saying this, the grandfather turned off the lights and returned to the corridor from the kitchen. Stunned, Tenma watched him go.

...T-That......

He was so useless for being thrown into a panic so easily even though he had been so cautious. In the end, that was all he could 'handle'. But in any case, he hadn't been questioned any further. That was a great help.

...How troublesome. But that's great.

Tenma breathed deeply once. He calmed his emotions and checked the time again.

Though he had wasted some time, he still had more than enough. He stealthed himself again, finally entering the courtyard through the kitchen exit.

When he returned to the bedroom and quietly closed the sliding door--

"......Was it Tenma?"

He was spoken to like that.

Tenma's grandfather turned his gaze towards where his wife lay in the darkness. His wife moved her body with a rustle, pushing aside the sheets that covered her and propping up her body.

"Did he leave?"

"No, it seems to be different. It looks like he'll probably be back in the morning."

His wife breathed a sigh of relief in the darkness due to her husband's words. Even he felt the same way. Though he had prepared for it, it seemed like in the end he wasn't able to make up his mind whether to stop him or let him go. He was frankly relieved that the problem was resolved without needing an answer from him.

"......Honestly, I was surprised. The moment that kid entered stealth, I practically couldn't see him even though I knew he was there. I turned on the lights as fast as I could - but even so, I didn't see him immediately......"

Though he had been retired for a very long time, he was at any rate a professional Onmyouji. Even to him, his grandson's stealth was astonishingly remarkable.

Also, his grandson had entered a state of being able to use other magic while being stealthed. Moreover, it had been in a brief moment. Casting other magic while putting up stealth was actually quite a difficult thing. His grandson had calmly - after he had clearly been taken by surprise - accomplished it.

He knew that his grandson had been secretly training and honing his skills. Though he had reported poor practical skills grades, he had already noticed that those were just on the surface. But his growth seemed to have surpa.s.sed the level of skill that he had imagined.

He held expectations of his grandson's growth and felt happy about it.

But at the same time, the anxiety deep in his heart grew.

Simultaneously casting stealth magic and other magic was indeed a difficult technique, but it wasn't a necessary technique for most Onmyouji. There was no need to master such a technique if one's goal was purely to become a professional. That kind of skill only became necessary for people who were going to use Onmyoudou to 'fight'.

Should he stop him? Should he let him go?

Or was thinking about it just a waste of effort in the first place? Maybe the answer had long since appeared in a place that he couldn't reach.

"......In the end, that child has finally left the house as well......"

His wife murmured a sentence.

The voice that came from the depths of the darkness reflected her optimistic, transparent feelings. But it seemed in addition to loneliness, an equal amount of sadness was hidden in that voice.

A smile emerged on his mouth that always wore a stern expression.

"Even so, this time wasn't a mistake."

He quietly announced that, as if swearing it to himself and the soul who had left the house in the past.

The bedroom was dark and he couldn't see his wife's expression. But he knew about his old wife's illusory smile and her nod of a.s.sent.

It was six-thirty in the evening. A car entered the entrance to the Kurahashi family residence.

Kyouko, who came out from the backseat, thanked the driver and closed the door.

Then, she entered the residence through the main entrance. "......Hah." She sighed with an expression of letting down a heavy burden.

She looked over her shoulder, but the shikigami that had been closely following her to 'watch' up through before was on standby on the other side of the closed door. The shikigami that the Onmyou Agency - or rather, her father - had prepared monitored Kyouko all the time. But only when she was in the residence was there an exception. She had made him accept that condition with her personal privacy as a pretext. In the end, the entire Kurahashi residence was covered by a tough barrier. There was no reason for a surveillance shikigami.

...How tiring.

The shikigami had been following her around for a year and a half already. In the end, she was used to it, but she was no longer concerned. Although she admitted that she understood that she was the 'precious daughter' of a famous family, she never would have thought that she would be treated like a secluded princess in this way.

Of course, she wasn't being secluded because she was a 'princess'. The reason was the complete opposite.

"Well, it's because I'm a super delinquent girl."

As she snorted, she realized that a maid of Kyouko's home was hastily running over to welcome her.

More than half of the Kurahashi residence maids had been taken in by the Kurahashi family. Their att.i.tudes had become quite estranged after 'that incident'. In short, they treated her carefully like a bomb[3] After superficially greeting that maid, Kyouko headed to her room.

At the start, she had once become impatient and had spoken scathingly to them. But she had stopped doing that very quickly. Because they had showed hurt expressions.

The ones taken in knew about the general incident that Kyouko had been involved in. After all, it was a generally-known fact that Kyouko had been friends with Harutora and Natsume. But they seemed to believe that it had completely been the Tsuchimikados in the wrong, and thought that Kyouko had committed a crime to shield the Tsuchimikados because of their friendship.

Though she felt that it was hard to explain, they understood it that way more out of firm trust in Kyouko's character than worry about her father. That was why they were hurt by Kyouko's satire and shot back sad gazes.

There was no helping it even if she was angry, and feeling bad about herself was also foolish. But it wasn't something she could explain in detail. So it was enough to stay like this. That was what Kyouko thought. This was much better than being turned a blind eye and secretly slandered.

But it would be a lie to say she didn't feel lonely. Both in the residence and the Onmyou Academy, the current Kyouko didn't interact normally with anyone.

"So, I started talking to myself more."

Kyouko quietly said this, but she couldn't even speak up when she talked to herself out of concern for the shikigami outside. Her phone had been seized, and her personal computer had also been taken away. Was she the only one nowadays who was completely 'secluded' like this?

"I'm not cut out for this......"

She smiled and spoke softly, but her voice was even more depressed than she imagined. "No, no." Kyouko shook her head, smiling impertinently and straightening her back.

No matter what anyone said, she had become weaker. Slowly, slowly. But she ought to be able to stay aware and suppress such internal weakness.

Toughly. Cheerfully. Actively move forward. She consciously continued pointing her heart in a lively direction. Kyouko spoke to herself while heading to her room through the long hallway.

She put down her backpack after entering the room, changing her clothes and taking a bit of a break. She relaxed while sitting in the chair and thinking back on each and every thing that had happened today, no matter how trivial.

"......Yeah."

A natural smile emerged on her face and Kyouko faced the desk and started to study.

Though she had been forbidden means of contacting the outside and tools for gathering information, nothing else had changed from before. Rather, she could read things like books on magic unrestricted even if they were very possibly 'improper' to be memorized by a girl. She hadn't been deprived of the use of the defensive shikigami Hakuou and Kokfuu that she had used in the dress rehearsal today either.

Perhaps things of that level wouldn't be any a.s.sistance at all to her father. But such things didn't matter. Kyouko was undoubtedly being given the environment to study and raise her power.

Kyouko had recognized and been conscious of the fact that she was the Kurahashi family daughter for the eighteen years up till now and had acc.u.mulated training and studies every day.

But she had never studied seriously like the past year and a half. Also, the more she seriously studied, the more painfully she felt how much she 'had to study'. There were truly a blindingly large amount of things she had to learn, more than she could fathom.

Magic was profound and vast. Kyouko had finally started to realize that fact. "Could it be--", Kyouko recalled. Back then - maybe Harutora had felt the 'sensation' that Kyouko was currently feeling after watching the magic battle between Ohtomo and Doman. He had felt the sensation of sincerely facing the world of magic for the first time.

An hour later, her maid came to inform her about dinner. Kyouko stopped studying and headed to the dining room. She ate the food that had been prepared alone and then returned to her room to continue studying. She continued studying single-mindedly until ten at night.

At ten, the alarm clock that had been set up rang. Kyouko turned off the alarm clock, cleaned up her desk and then left the room.

The place she went was an annex[4] of the residence. It was the place her grandmother currently lived.

She first circled around to the back of the courtyard. Though the sun had set, the various stone lanterns placed in the courtyard were lit. Narrow bamboo stepping stones were hung up into a small stone bridge across the pond that connected to the annex.

The annex was a j.a.panese-style two-story building. It was a clearly gorgeous building and was fully-equipped for a person to live in. But her grandmother was currently forbidden from taking a single step outside this annex. When she thought of that, more quiet anger directed towards her father spilled forth than what came from her own treatment.

But her grandmother had said herself that 'anger' was an unnecessary emotion for their current selves. Nothing would come of it even if they got angry. All they had to do was calmly and indifferently complete what they needed to do.

The interior of the annex behind the sliding door was brightly lit.

Kyouko called out upon entering the annex. "Grandmother?"

A reply came from the second floor. Kyouko walked up the stairs to the second floor. Her grandmother was facing a j.a.panese desk in a room on the second floor. After Kyouko entered the room, she turned her head and smiled sweetly.

"Welcome, Kyouko-san. How was your day?"

The same basic dialogue as before. A dialogue completely the same as the ones they had shared before the incidents. Kyouko agreeably replied "The same as always."

"There was just the New Year's Ceremony dress rehearsal in the afternoon. Since the New Year's Ceremony is tomorrow. ...Ah, also, I pa.s.sed by Tenma in the hallway."

"Oh my, is Tenma-san still doing well?"

"Yeah. Just like always, it looks like he's getting along very well with his cla.s.smates."

"That child would definitely be like that. Rather, was he uncomfortable when he pa.s.sed by you?"

"Because he's the only one living peacefully? Haha. It's Tenma after all, so it's very possible. Well, that's certainly the truth, so I won't be too bothered even if it concerns him."

Kyouko spoke happily, sitting on the tatami in front of her grandmother.

But she checked her grandmother's appearance while giving an account of what had happened today - the condition of her body as well as her mental condition. No matter what, her grandmother was already old. She couldn't ignore the effects of living under house arrest. Also, Kyouko was the only one who could worry about her grandmother right now.

But whether she understood her granddaughter's worries or not, Kurahashi Miyo wore a full, composed smile no different from before. "Then." She said, offering the j.a.panese-style desk to Kyouko.

Two wooden 'boards' were placed on the small j.a.panese-style desk. A round board representing 'heaven' was placed directly above a square-shaped board representing the 'earth'. They were Liu Ren boards that had been used by Onmyouji for astrology since ancient times.

"Let's begin, Kyouko-san. Your training to 'read' the stars."