Tokyo Ravens

Chapter 25

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Tenma walked out of the magic practice field, immediately seeing the message Harutora had sent.

It was an invitation to karaoke. Not only Harutora but also Natsume and Touji had waited especially for Tenma to return in the academy.

Even so, Tenma still used himself not feeling well as an excuse, walking alone on the road back home in the rain.

Tenma"s family was in Gokokuji[1]. He had to change lines from Shibuya to Ikebukuro and Nagata-cho, but Tenma always rode until the center line and got off before Kishibojin, then walked back home. This area was mostly older residents, and the roads were narrow and meandering. Tenma liked walking in this kind of place.

Pots of petunias were placed in front of the store entrances and the stone walls were already faded. Snails crept slowly on the blooming hydrangea leaves along the roadside. Occasionally, a stray cat would appear that had been wet by the rain, pa.s.sing warily in front of Tenma. Probably because of the rain, there weren"t many pedestrians and the surroundings were calm and tranquil. All that could be heard were the sound of his umbrella and the pattering raindrops.

The Momoe house was the parent"s home of Tenma"s mother, a traditional family that had been related to Onmyoudou since the mid-Edo[2] period. Though they weren"t very famous, they had worked as Onmyouji for generations and could be counted as a notable family. Tenma"s mother was also a professional Onmyouji who had obtained qualifications from the Onmyou Agency.

But, Tenma"s mother hadn"t come back after meeting Tenma"s father and choosing to run away from home, until she and her husband were killed in an accident. His father"s parents were already deceased, so Tenma was taken in by the Momoe family and looked after by his grandparents.

To Tenma, who had lost his parents at a young age, the Momoe family"s grandparents were nice but strict. On one hand, they had the style of a traditional family, and in addition, Tenma"s mother who had betrayed the Momoe family and run away from home left complex emotions in the elders" hearts. Tenma knew that his own personality was sincere and he wasn"t very self-a.s.sertive. He had been raised into this nature, and he was vaguely aware that his grandparents had probably had a large effect.

But Tenma didn"t hate his grandparents. Rather, he loved them whole-heartedly.

No matter what his grandparents" feelings were, the two of them loved him greatly. Even if they had complex emotions, they didn"t put up any pretense. When he had received strict education as a child, he would occasionally feel that they were "distant" from him, but at his current age, Tenma felt more and more whole-heartedly that his grandparents were undoubtedly good people. They didn"t hate Tenma"s mother, they had just been deeply hurt and had never healed from it.

His elderly grandparents had only one wish, which was to raise Tenma into an excellent Onmyouji who could inherit the Momoe family. These two elders who were bad at lying had clearly transmitted that desire to Tenma. That was why Tenma could one-sidedly set becoming an Onmyouji as his target and diligently work hard.

But,

"......A professional, huh......"

The force of the rain hadn"t increased, nor did it show any signs of stopping, just continuing indifferently.

The narrow road was empty, covered in puddles of rainwater. Surrounding him was a boundless, dark world, as if he were walking in a maze with no exit.

Tenma liked walking.

But, was it correct to keep walking when he couldn"t see where he was going?

Ohtomo wanted him to have faith in the Onmyou Academy. But, an action like "faith" actually meant isolating his consciousness. Even if he consciously had faith, he couldn"t guarantee that he would be fully convinced. If his heart and his consciousness were contradictory, it would just end up exhausting both of them.

Anyway, he also understood.

Exactly how difficult becoming a professional was.

Tenma walked back home with low spirits in the rain.

The Momoe family"s residence was a cottage surrounded by hedges, matching the family"s history. It wasn"t large, but it had its appeal.

When he walked near his home, Tenma noticed that there was an unfamiliar person in front of the entrance.

The young man wearing a black suit was standing there with an umbrella up. He smiled after noticing Tenma, then walked over.

With a voice like a clear, flowing brook:

"Could you be Momoe Tenma?"

"Yeah--"

"Sorry to bother. I"m Hirata Atsune. A Mystical Investigator."

Hirata spoke politely to the confused Tenma.

He maintained a gentle, sincere demeanor even to a student, more like a priest than an Onmyouji. His lock of red-dyed hair was the only thing about him that made a deep impression.

After Tenma listened to Hirata"s greeting, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Mystical Investigator? Then, what do you need with me?"

"Ah, no. I haven"t come to visit for an investigation. Actually, I wanted to deal with some business regarding old shikigami that the Mystical Investigators use - Well, it"s just some formalities with doc.u.ments."

Hirata"s explanation was brief and serious. Upon hearing the phrase "old shikigami", Tenma finally understood.

"Could it be, it"s my mother"s......?"

"Ah, yes."

"In that case, I think it would be better to find the factory. Our family......"

"It seems so. Your grandfather said the same things just now."

Hirata showed a steady smile as he explained.

It seemed that he hadn"t just come to visit, but he had come out after already talking about his business.

But, his posture as he stood in the rain looked as if he were waiting for something...... That was probably a mistaken feeling.

"......If you chose to come to our family to ask, that old shikigami wasn"t ma.s.s-produced, but rather an original creation of my mother, right?"

"Uh, it seems to be an experimental product. I a.n.a.lyzed it a little bit - it"s simple, but it really has its own style."

Hirata"s remark might just be polite rhetoric, but it touched upon Tenma"s wounds again.

Just like what Ohtomo had said in the magic practice field, everyone knowledgeable in this world had heard of the famous name of Tenma"s parents. The two of them were the founding members of the "Witchcraft Corporation", a factory that made unique magical tools. His mother was the chief designer and his father was the primary engineer.

The Witchcraft Corporation didn"t have a long history, but it was the first private enterprise that had broken the Onmyou Agency"s status as a monopoly and divided up the magic market. Its largest figures were undoubtedly Tenma"s deceased parents. In particular, his mother had invented many manmade shikigami which were still the primary product of the business and which had obtained the support of many Onmyouji. Among them, the most famous was the binding shikigami "WA1 Swallow Whip" that the Mystical Investigators used when they captured criminals. This manmade shikigami had already become a synonym for binding shikigami, and actually, the current commonly-used types of binding shikigami and transport shikigami were shikigami created with the namesake methods of Tenma"s mother.

Before the Witchcraft Corporation had been founded, shikigami strengths were directly connected to the strength of the pract.i.tioner. But after the "enhanced usability" shikigami that were created "enhanced for specific purposes" took the stage, shikigami strengths became standardized. This type of shikigami "whose strength was unrelated to the person and that could wield a specific power" became mainstream for manmade shikigami in the future. The manmade shikigami that the Onmyou Agency created now - both general-use shikigami and defensive shikigami - also followed such guidelines. In that sense, Tenma"s mother could be said to have changed the shikigami usage methods of modern Onmyoudou.

But on the other hand, the action of "selling magic" produced a completely different emotion in the grandparents of the Momoe family, which had pa.s.sed down Onmyoudou since ancient times. They had always complained that manmade shikigami that were "easy to use" and "for the ma.s.ses" would lead to the overall level of Onmyouji shikigami usage to decline. To the Momoe family, which had pa.s.sed down Onmyoudou for many years, this was a shame to their ancestors.

The Witchcraft Corporation was the most important reason his mother and grandparents had never gotten along.

"...Tenma-san, did you just come back from the Onmyou Academy?"

"Nn, yeah......"

"I see. How tiring, to come back this late."

"Ah, it"s not much."

Tenma"s expression became gloomy again. Hirata smiled slightly, looking at Tenma.

"......I"ll stop talking and take my leave. I"m extremely sorry for calling you out in the rain."

"Ah, I should be the one to apologize. I was unable to help."

Tenma also lowered his head in a fl.u.s.ter upon seeing Hirata bow to him again.

In the moment Tenma moved his gaze, Hirata"s left hand that didn"t hold the umbrella moved sharply yet smoothly.

An instantaneous motion.

The two of them raised their heads and their gazes met. Hirata walked away with a smile as if nothing had happened. Tenma inadvertently watched the direction Hirata left in.

"......Huh?"

He just noticed.

"Why did that person know my name?"

It was hard to imagine that his grandparents had especially told him. Tenma racked his brains but couldn"t figure it out, walking through his house"s entrance.

The force of the rain hadn"t increased, nor did it show any signs of stopping, just continuing indifferently.

After returning home, Tenma hung his rain-soaked uniform in his own room, but he didn"t notice the small slip of paper in the pocket.

The center of the j.a.panese magic community - the Onmyou Agency towered in an area near Akihabara. Several strong auras swirled together in the first meeting room of the office building.

It was already deep into the night. An emergency meeting was currently being held here according to Chief Kurahashi"s orders. The main topic was the letter that had been sent to the office not long ago. The problem "D" had brought up was even more severe than what the Mystical Investigators had predicted - As for what it was, "D" had notified them that he was going to steal the "Raven"s Wing". They were currently holding a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Everyone gathered in the meeting room was a member who could represent the Onmyou Agency.

First was the one who had overseen this case the longest, the chief of the Mystical Investigators, Amami Daizen.

A managing exorcist officer, supervisor of the Exorcist Bureau, and Independent Exorcist, Miyachi Iwao.

The Exorcist Bureau Intelligence Chief Watanabe Kenichi. The chief of the Intelligence Bureau, the Special Senser Miyoshi Tougo. Other than Watanabe, those four were all National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji - commonly known as Divine Generals.

Moreover, these weren"t the only ones of the Twelve Divine Generals gathered in the meeting room.

The Independent Exorcist Kogure Zenjirou, Yuge Mari, and Kagami Reiji. This was the first time after the "Hinamatsuri Repurification" spiritual disaster terrorist attack that had happened this March that four of the five current Independent Exorcists had gathered together. The fact that such situations kept popping up continuously could probably be called an abnormal situation of its own.

There were also members with important positions in the Exorcist Bureau and Mystical Investigators in attendance. Even the chief of the General Affairs Department was present because he understood the construction of the building the best. Of course, the chief of the Mystical Investigator Public Safety Division and Hirata Atsune could also be seen, since Hirata was responsible for the Twin-Horned Syndicate business and had a very deep connection with the "D" file. Hirata was the only one in the meeting room without a position.

Not even anything involving the "D" file had made the Onmyou Agency take such a large-scale action until now. It was natural that they hadn"t reacted like this before. Never mind the Twin-Horned Syndicate - the organization that incited practically all the big events - for now, the "D" file had just looked like one of the subsidiary branches left behind by the Twin-Horned Syndicate. In the end, even the name "D" was a tag name used inside the Mystical Investigators. Hence, even if the Mystical Investigators viewed "D" as an extremely dangerous person and had hunted him down with unusual strength, it wasn"t at the level where they would muster the strength of all the departments to consider countermeasures.

After all, "D" was a pract.i.tioner who went by the name Ashiya Doman. In the end, there were still too many mysteries to take him as a real threat. Hence, the existence of the mysterious pract.i.tioner "D" only received the Onmyou Agency"s attention because he was connected with the Twin-Horned Syndicate.

The reason the Onmyou Agency"s original att.i.tude had changed was because Independent Exorcists had come in contact with "D" during the "Hinamatsuri Repurification" in March and confirmed that he was an actual threat. After that, the Onmyou Agency recognized "D" as a dangerous element of the same level as the Twin-Horned Syndicate. This commotion had happened as strategies centered on the Mystical Investigators were being developed to deal with him.

Moreover, this was no small action of "D" in some arbitrary area, but a notification of a bold, fearless, head-on crime sent to the Onmyou Agency. At this point, this file had already become an important problem related to the overall credibility of the Onmyou Agency.

"What"s important is that it"s a problem of reputation."

Amami"s announcement probably voiced the opinion of the higher-ups.

"D" had written the place and time in the letter bringing up the problem, even including his goal. The Onmyou Agency had to compress their huge normal business - especially dealing with the additional spiritual disasters from March - to their smallest limits to be able to plan strategy against "D". Even if "D" was the Onmyouji Ashiya Doman himself, they definitely couldn"t lose.

"I had a lot of things to ask that man anyway. Also, he purposefully came up to us to make a disturbance. So we definitely need to catch him."

Amami, the person in charge, held the bold and fearless declaration in his hand as he faced the people gathered in the meeting room. Some people nodded their heads ambitiously, some people received the message calmly, and a fearless morale towards the approaching enemy burned in others.

Something everyone here possessed was a definite self-confidence and a definite trust in their own camp. Most of them were all incredibly strong, and the Onmyou Agency was a group of organized pract.i.tioners. No matter how strong the Onmyouji, they definitely had no reason to fear him if he was only a single enemy.

Amami quickly began explaining the operational deployment for the attack against "D". He was older than the Onmyou Agency Chief Kurahashi Genji, and could be called the "dean" of the Onmyou Agency. He had smoothly resolved things even though adjustments had to be made between divisions. He occasionally also adopted the opinions of others, but he had instantly decided the main points of the operation.

In the dead of night, the meeting still progressed smoothly and fervently.

Only two people weren"t influenced by the atmosphere.

One was Kagami Reiji, with the nickname "Ogre Eater". He was young and had a strong spirit of resistance, always sitting on the sidelines for the meeting. He held interest towards "D" himself, but he felt that the content of the meeting would be meaningless and took it as nothing more than the useless talk. Perhaps he had even considered whether he could come in contact with "D" alone before the people around him. Miyachi was his direct superior and had glanced at his subordinates several times, seeming to want to check on their att.i.tudes.

Surprisingly, Kogure Zenjirou was the other person who hadn"t been drawn in by the enthusiasm around him.

Kogure was different from Kagami. He listened carefully to the contents of the meeting. But, his face was always shadowed by concern that was usually unlike him.

Kogure was undoubtedly an excellent exorcist, but his position in the organization was still very low. In a VIP-filled time like this, it would be hard for him to influence the progress of the meeting unless the leadership asked the opinions of everyone.

Kogure"s expression seemed as if he had something he wanted to say as he watched the activity of the meeting.

But, in the end there was no opportunity for him to speak.

☆

The time was already past midnight when the operational meeting ended.

"...Miyachi-san!"

After the meeting ended, the meeting attendees prepared to return to their own divisions. Among them, Kogure called out to his boss Miyachi who walked in front of him in the office corridor.

"Kogure? What is it?"

Miyachi stopped walking, turning around. Kogure jogged up to his side.

Miyachi was the supervisor of the Exorcist Bureau as well as an elite Independent Exorcist - a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji. Because Miyachi was currently in a commanding position, Kogure rarely had the opportunity to call him by his nickname, the "Enma" Miyachi. He was someone strong enough to make even battle-hardened veteran exorcists tremble, and was still feared by many. During the March operation against the Nue, his achievement had been piercing one of the giant "Type-Chimera"s wings in the outer garden of Meiji Shrine.

It was hard to a.s.sociate Miyachi"s external appearance with his heroic combat history. He had a bitter expression, was very cordial to people, and was middle-aged and of a small stature. He had a clear-cut face and was very expressive, like an actor on stage - especially like a seasoned comedian, leaving a funny and fashionable impression on others. A beard grew around his mouth and chin, and the rumor that this was the source of his name "Enma" had even spread among the cadres[3].

But, Kogure knew Miyachi"s power well.

He stretched in front of Miyachi:

"Sorry. Actually, I want to talk - no, I have something to report."

Miyachi showed a wry smile upon hearing Kogure"s bland tone, rolling the file in his hand into a rod and tapping his neck with a thump.

"What is it, to make you this anxious. You can"t wait until we get back to headquarters?"

"I"d like to report here, if possible."

Kogure"s expression was extremely serious. Miyachi cast him a probing expression, but immediately urged him on with a "Go ahead".

"It"s regarding the "Raven"s Wing"."

"The "Raven"s Wing", what about it?"

"Well...... The one sealed in the Onmyou Agency storehouse is a replica... I heard that kind of rumor."

"What?"

Miyachi suddenly raised an eyebrow.

After staring at Kogure for a while, he pretended to look around randomly. Kogure lowered his voice as much as possible, but it was too dangerous to discuss such a topic while standing in the corridor.

His gaze returned to Kogure again:

"......What"s going on? That"s my first time hearing so."

"You too, Supervisor?"

"Of course. Where did the information come from?"

"Well...... An old acquaintance."

"Your acquaintance? Then, Ohtomo?"

"No. I don"t know whether you know the person...... Saotome Ryou."

"Saotome? I haven"t heard that name. What division?"

"......The Imperial Household Agency."

Miyachi"s expression changed again. A dim light shone from the eyes that looked at Kogure and slowly sharpened.

"The Lingering Spirit Division...... Could that person have not ended up the same way?"

"Yes. That person left early on. So there should be no relation with the Twin-Horned Syndicate."

"A researcher?"

"Yes. Specializing in Tsuchimikado Yakou."

Miyachi nodded his head knowingly after hearing Kogure"s reply.

"I see. Then there might be an a.s.sociation with the Raven"s Wing. So that"s the person who claimed to you that the Raven"s Wing here is a replica."

After Miyachi spoke up to confirm, Kogure nodded his head sincerely with a "Yes".

Haha, Miyachi laughed while stroking his beard. Kogure hadn"t mentioned this issue in the meeting because he didn"t want to make the information publicly available. Miyachi inadvertently noticed his circ.u.mstances.

Kogure continued speaking.

"Moreover, that person"s words were very descriptive. The Raven"s Wing sealed in the Agency is fake, and the genuine is in the Onmyou Academy--"

"The Onmyou Academy? Hey hey, that"s too......"

Miyachi smiled wryly. Incidentally, the "Agency" was mostly terminology used by members of the Exorcist Bureau, referring to the Onmyou Agency and its office.

"Yeah. I thought it was a joke the first time I heard it, but after thinking carefully, I felt that it might not be impossible. The Onmyou Academy princ.i.p.al was the past head of the Kurahashi family. She met with Yakou during his lifetime."

"Yakou died the year the war ended. At the time, the past Kurahashi family head was...... what, how old? For now say she was a child about ten years old. ...Ah, well, I indeed heard Chief Amami say that the previous head was extremely active as a miko since she was a child...... Even so, she couldn"t possibly have been given the Raven"s Wing."

"It might not have been through direct means, the Kurahashi family also belonged to the resurrected Onmyou Bureau during wartime. Kurahashi family members worked together with Yakou in the Onmyou Bureau during wartime, and after Yakou died, the half-shut down Onmyou Bureau was built into the current Onmyou Agency."

"......I see. It"s indeed not impossible. But even so, the Kurahashi family"s previous head didn"t have any reason to hide the Raven"s Wing in the chaos after the war, right? Much less to deliberately create a replica."

"That...... I still can"t understand at all......"

Kogure, who couldn"t answer his boss"s question, mumbled vaguely. Miyachi sighed lightly, raising his head to look at Kogure and tapping his shoulder with the rolled-up file.

"......A researcher specializing in Tsuchimikado Yakou, huh......"

His mouth forming a "へ", Miyachi thought for a moment while rubbing the beard on his chin with his finger.

But,

"Well, whatever. In any case, the opponent couldn"t possible know such rare information. The location in the notice was also the Agency. There"s no need to be concerned."

He made such a conclusion.

A conclusion that could be predicted. But, Kogure didn"t feel at ease because of it.

"Supervisor. It was an official of the Lingering Spirit Division who told me that."

"Yeah, so?"

"Later on, the Lingering Spirit Division became the breeding ground for the Twin-Horned Syndicate. Of course, there were definitely quite a few people who saw Saotome"s research results, and maybe there are people among them who noticed the matter pertaining to the Raven"s Wing."

"......So?"

"Ashiya Doman - "D" - has contacted the Twin-Horned Syndicate. That person knows about this matter, and the probability that he believes it is definitely not zero."

Kogure explained, leaning his body forward towards Miyachi.

"Please. Please speak to Chief Amami. We have to consider the possibility that "D" will appear at the Onmyou Academy as well as the Onmyou Agency office."

Ordinarily, "D" would attack the offices of the Onmyou Agency. The possibility of such a situation was extremely high. It was undoubtable that they should make preparations for an attack centered on the office for such circ.u.mstances.

But, if the probability of the other situation wasn"t zero, they should divide off a minimum number of people to go to the Onmyou Academy. The Onmyou Academy building had defensive magical enchantments that could be called the best in Tokyo, but it wasn"t enough - they couldn"t expose such a group of underage people to danger. It would be the biggest disgrace to the Onmyou Agency if they were sacrificed instead.

But, Miyachi"s reply wasn"t as Kogure had expected.

"...Kogure. Amami-san probably knows about these circ.u.mstances."

Kogure couldn"t help but doubt his own ears, unconsciously letting out a "Huh?" sound.

An empty smile emerged on Miyachi"s lips.

"Of course, he definitely knows more detail than you do. That"s the kind of person the Chief of the Intelligence Division is, he has those duties. He crafted this operation while knowing about those circ.u.mstances."

At the same time as he explained seriously, Miyachi"s gaze left Kogure, looking into the distance. "Perhaps......"

"Perhaps he confirmed over at the Onmyou Academy. After all, Amami-san and the previous Kurahashi head were on good terms."

Yes. Amami and Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi were very close to one another. Ohtomo had once griped that he had been ordered here and there by the two of them during the spiritual disaster attack in March.

"Then what do we do? Honestly, even if we don"t know "D"s true fighting power, fighting power of the operations members is more than enough."

"Hey, hey. It was none other than you who saw "D" first-hand and reported that we needed to be on guard."

"Though that"s true, with Supervisor and Chief Amami, our fighting power is already higher than when we faced the Nue, right? Of course, that doesn"t mean we don"t have to be careful, but it wouldn"t be a problem if we just left the same fighting power from last time to guard the Agency and split up our fighting power to defend the Onmyou Academy, right?"

Kogure, who couldn"t agree, made his proposition with great vigor. Miyachi"s body was short and Kogure was of tall stature, so Kogure almost covered Miyachi when he leaned forward eagerly.

On the other hand, Miyachi inadvertently revealed a wry smile at Kogure"s air of arrogance.

The expression Miyachi looked at Kogure with was mixed with equal amounts of trust and "this youngster is too inexperienced".

Then,

"...The Kurahashi family"s previous head hasn"t admitted it to be true. Naturally. If what you say is true, then she"s culpable of hiding the Raven"s Wing."

Miyachi"s a.n.a.lysis made Kogure speechless.

Miyachi pulled back his neck, continuing to speak as if he were debunking the tricks of a magician.

"If the Kurahashi family"s previous head requested that the Agency protect the Onmyou Academy, it would be equivalent to admitting the truth about hiding the Raven"s Wing. Of course, the Agency would request that she hand over the genuine Raven"s Wing, and with that she couldn"t possibly refuse. In other words, the Kurahashi family"s previous head considered that the Onmyou Academy would suffer the threat of "D", but even with that considered, didn"t want to hand over the Raven"s Wing."

Probably as expected of his boss, Miyachi"s observation was even deeper and more cunning than Kogure"s. Kogure let out a moan after Miyachi pointed out his negligence.

"But...... Why? Chief Kurahashi is Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi"s son, right? Isn"t he one of her own?"

The Onmyou Academy princ.i.p.al and the Onmyou Agency chief were both from the Kurahashi family. Right now, the Kurahashi family was a great family that had a grasp on the magic community, and there was no place that the Kurahashi family couldn"t reach if they tried. Considering this - no matter what kind of mystery was in the Raven"s Wing - there should be no difference between protection from the Onmyou Academy and protection from the Onmyou Agency. Moreover, protection from the Onmyou Agency would be safer.

Kogure shook his head without a clue.

Then,

"......One of her own. Indeed, that"s true."

Miyachi"s expression suddenly sharpened. He stared with an eye-catching intensity at the confused Kogure:

"What"s wrong, Kogure, you"re too lax. Have you already forgotten the incident last summer?"

This time, Kogure was truly speechless.

He finally understood. The "incident last summer" that Miyachi spoke of was a certain incident that had happened in the Onmyou Academy. Simply put, a certain Mystical Investigator had been identified as a member of the Twin-Horned Syndicate.

At the time, the Mystical Investigators had completely cleared up the problematic Mystical Investigator and any further relationship, but they were unable to trace his connections back to the Twin-Horned Syndicate and ended up with nothing in the end. But on the other hand, that incident had revealed a truth that had been predicted long ago to the light of day.

In other words, the Twin-Horned Syndicate still existed, and a small number of its members had mixed into the Onmyou Agency.

"......Amami-san hasn"t taken a tough att.i.tude towards the Onmyou Academy probably because of similar reasons. If he took the Raven"s Wing back to the Agency, instead of being taken by "D", we would be giving it straight to the Twin-Horned Syndicate"s hands. Even so, considering the safety of the students, he probably should take some countermeasures...... But judging by the current situation, the probability that "D" attacks the Onmyou Academy is very low this time. In this situation, it"s most appropriate to face it calmly. Well, the final judgment will become very tricky."

After hearing Miyachi"s explanation, Kogure couldn"t continue making his proposal. He was a bit downcast, seeming to have experienced his own powerlessness, and tightly clenched his fist.

Miyachi looked unblinkingly at his subordinate, the expression on his face hard to ascertain.

Then, he knocked Kogure"s head with the rolled-up file resting on his shoulder.

"Anyways, Kogure, you have to focus and perform the task a.s.signed to you - I"d be able to relax a bit if you could settle the living situation."

Smiling as he spoke, Miyachi left behind Kogure and walked away again. Kogure didn"t call out to him again, silently watching the back of his boss as he left.

Miyachi"s keen calculations constantly repeated themselves in Kogure"s heart.

The judgments Amami and Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi had made were probably based on the increased defensive power of the Onmyou Academy beforehand.

Thinking again, this was clearly an operation that would involve fighting against "D" face-to-face, but even if they couldn"t make this public, it was indeed a bit unnatural to not have called "him" over. After all, "he" had once come in close contact with "D", and he was the only one to still live after being wounded.

Though it hadn"t been made public, Amami and Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi couldn"t possibly be oblivious.

In case "D" attacked the Onmyou Academy, there was still someone in the academy who could oppose him.

Even if victory was difficult, at the least that teacher could act as a shield for the students.

"......Really, I have some sort of bad premonition......"

Kogure muttered listlessly, clenching his teeth.

It was one at night. The "tomorrow" that "D" indicated had already arrived.

The rain finally stopped, but the morning was still dim. It was windy, and the restless sky seemed as if it might start pouring again at any time.

Harutora, who had left the dorm in the morning to walk to the academy building, was alone, which was extremely rare. Natsume had left the dorm first without eating, claiming to have no appet.i.te, and Touji had been the opposite - it was a rare morning where he had woken up late. In the end, Harutora had to walk to the academy alone.

The warm wind carried the smell of the sea. It was fortunate that he didn"t have to use an umbrella, but the weather wasn"t good enough for him to enjoy the time after the rain.

But Harutora felt unexpectedly pained when he thought that it was more relaxing to be alone than with company. Right now, the people around him already had more problems than he could handle.

"......Yesterday"s karaoke ended pretty badly......"

He had originally proposed karaoke to cheer up Tenma, but it was actually also a strategy Harutora had thought up to mend his relationship with Natsume. Naturally, wanting to cheer up Tenma and give him spirit wasn"t a sham, but at the same time, if everyone could happily have fun together, he could probably return naturally to his former relationship with Natsume. If he could talk with Natsume like before, he could just pretend that nothing had happened and continue acting. With that, they would be able to completely revert to the atmosphere in the past - Originally, that was what Harutora had planned.

But, the important Tenma hadn"t partic.i.p.ated since he wasn"t feeling well. The late-arriving Natsume and Touji had been depressed, with no intention at all of singing. Suzuka seemed extremely happy, but had gradually lost interest after the two of them showed up. In the end, it had become a two-person party between Harutora and Kyouko. It was all because of that dilemma that his throat still hurt today morning.

...Give me a break. How long is this situation going to go on for......

Harutora didn"t attribute all the problems to himself.

But, one of the reasons Harutora and the others weren"t getting along right now undoubtedly came from himself. Because Harutora suspected that Natsume might be Hokuto"s pract.i.tioner.

...Really...... What exactly is going on?

Hokuto was a simple shikigami controlled directly by the pract.i.tioner. The pract.i.tioner"s words and feelings would become Hokuto"s unaltered words and feelings.

Even if there were some differences and if the pract.i.tioner was acting, Hokuto could essentially be counted as a body double of the pract.i.tioner. No, she wasn"t just a body double, she was basically the pract.i.tioner after changing clothes. The "person inside the clothes" was the same.

So Harutora had never even dreamed that "that" Hokuto"s pract.i.tioner could be "that" Natsume.

...After all, Natsume......

Harutora had known from a very small age that he didn"t have the spirit-seeing ability, but he had only begun to realize around the time he entered middle school that his childhood dream of becoming an Onmyouji was actually not his fate. After growing up, he had already woken up from his childhood dreams for the future and begun directly facing his own real future.

At around that time, he had slowly grown alienated from Natsume, who had been very intimate with him.

After all, Natsume was taking great strides towards her future of becoming an Onmyouji, and had already decided before entering middle school that she would test into the Onmyou Academy after graduating from middle school and end up becoming a professional Onmyouji. Harutora didn"t see any other choice for Natsume - he didn"t even dare imagine any.

This girl walked towards a different path from him and would definitely enter another world. The Harutora from back then was confused over how to face that kind of childhood friend. So, he had naturally left Natsume"s side with the self-righteous beliefs that Natsume thought the same as he did.

Of course, Harutora"s beliefs had been mistaken. Natsume had still one-sidedly believed that "Harutora would become her shikigami" after the distance between the two of them gradually widened.

Harutora only understood when he was in his third year of middle school. At the time, he told Natsume that he was going to enter an ordinary high school. Harutora had hurt Natsume - the worlds of the two of them were decisively separated just like that. Even Harutora believed so at the time.

...Then......

At the time, Natsume had slowly changed. She became more feminine, sedate, and looked mature.

Every time he met her, he felt that she had become prettier......

Comparing her with himself, who had always been a stupid brat, produced an insurmountable gap.

On the other hand, Harutora met Hokuto on a summer day in his first year of middle school. That nostalgic and never-fading "summer race" happened just as Harutora planned on moving towards a new path.

Hokuto was a "new friend" to Harutora. As a member of the Tsuchimikado family and as someone who had dreamed of becoming an Onmyouji since childhood, and as a young man who had begun moving towards a new, more realistic future - he made a friend. This encounter symbolized a new era, a new life, and a brand-new self.

He had wanted to walk towards a realistic, definite world, and Hokuto was the first friend he met along the way.

Natsume, Hokuto.

Harutora couldn"t think of these two people, who symbolized completely different meanings, as the same person.

Such a possibility was hard to imagine.

But,

...That ribbon......

Harutora walked along the road with a bitter expression.

If Hokuto was Natsume"s shikigami, why had Natsume done such a thing?

It was a waste of effort no matter how he thought about her reasons.

It might be to watch over the boy who would one day become her shikigami, or it might just have been a silly distraction from the start but later gradually became hard to pull away from. In addition, she couldn"t truly interact with Harutora who had already become distant - that was probably also a reason. There were many possibilities.

But, regarding how rational the reasons were, only Natsume knew the answer. From there on, further speculation was not possible.

...Think about other related areas.

It was plain to see that Hokuto and Natsume"s personalities just happened to be opposites.

Hokuto was direct, cheerful, childlike, random, expressed her emotions honestly, and her happiness and anger were stronger than normal. She spoke with a tone like a boy, and Harutora had always teased her for being a "tomboy".

In comparison, Natsume was quiet, mature, sedate, and already had a firm grasp on "herself" when she entered middle school. Thinking carefully, she was a bit cold in some sense, and sometimes she even pull back into her sh.e.l.l. Frankly, Harutora had frequently felt that she was hard to approach.

They were completely different after more careful thinking.

But, Harutora"s impressions of Natsume were all from before he had come to Tokyo. More accurately, they were his "preconceptions" of her when he had a distant relationship with Natsume - Harutora had only realized this recently.

After going to the Onmyou Academy together and living in neighboring rooms of the same dorm, his impression of Natsume had suddenly changed. Even if he described this in the most conservative manner, he could still say that his image of her had collapsed.

After all, Natsume got mad often, and laughed unexpectedly innocently. Her excellent grades hadn"t changed, but she often slipped up, and she was a bit timid at important times.

Ignorant of the world, acted tough, she always behaved normally, but actually didn"t have confidence in herself.

Harutora had finally understood after walking the same road.

Natsume was the genius who would become the next head of the Tsuchimikado.

Also, she was a normal girl.

...Yeah, well, maybe not "normal", as after all various things had happened......

Among them, Harutora felt the most surprised that Natsume was hiding the "naivety" in her heart, or her childishness. Before this, Harutora had always felt that Natsume had already become an "adult". An indifferent figure with the goal of being the main family"s next head - also, an att.i.tude of looking coldly upon things useless to this cause - such impressions were deeply implanted into Harutora"s mind. They were probably also "preconceptions".

Such "preconceptions" weren"t mistaken themselves, but Natsume wasn"t as simple as Harutora thought. They were only one side to her.

...Come to think of it, the first time I spoke to the "guy" Natsume after entering the Onmyou Academy, I felt that "this person is a bit tense today somehow".

At the time, he had immediately thrown that matter away with indifference. After all, Natsume"s complete change of personality was basically only at the time when she pretended to be a male. He had taken that personality change to be a sort of act by Natsume and hadn"t dug any deeper.

It was different now. Now, Harutora already understood that "Natsume when she was pretending to be a male" was also "Natsume". Needless to say, when she pretended to be a male, it was more common for her to show the "her" that usually wasn"t expressed.

If it were the Natsume from those times...

If it were the Natsume pretending to be a male... Overlap wasn"t impossible with the image of Hokuto that Harutora was extremely familiar with.

...Ah, idiot.

He himself also felt anxious. Better to go ask clearly and be able to relax a bit.

Actually, Harutora had planned on speaking up and asking several times. He would take the suspicion in his heart and ask Natsume clearly.

But.

But......

... "Who would be happy watching the person they like kissing someone else! Do you know how painful, how lonely, how difficult that feeling is!"

He couldn"t ask.

For whatever reason, he couldn"t ask her directly.

It would be fine if she denied it. That wouldn"t produce any change in their relationship thus far. Maybe it could even restore their original status.

But--

What if she gave an affirmative reply? If his suspicions were indeed true...... An action like confirming with Natsume would destroy their previous relationship. Completely.

Harutora feared that situation.

Destroying his ordinary life until now.

He had always greatly cherished his ordinary life with Hokuto and Touji until last summer, constantly turning his back to the world of Onmyouji and his ident.i.ty as a Tsuchimikado family member.

The current Harutora feared that his previous relationship with Natsume would be destroyed.

.........I"m still running away.

First, even if he asked the question directly, he wasn"t sure Natsume would tell the truth.

If it wasn"t true, she would definitely make that clear.

But what if it was true? If Hokuto truly was Natsume"s shikigami, would Natsume end up saying her thoughts? After all, if Natsume happened to be Hokuto, then the confession back then had actually come from Natsume"s mouth.

That Natsume.

To Harutora.

Harutora unconsciously covered his hot face with his hand.

...Natsume? To me? No, but...... could it be...... how is that possible......

If, just if, on the off chance, if Natsume answers my suspicions......

...What would become of things...... Eh? In other words, that"s equivalent to Natsume admitting the confession? I, In that case...... Eh? Eh!

Harutora couldn"t think calmly about what would come next. Honestly, that was the main reason Harutora couldn"t speak normally to Natsume.

..."Especially Natsume-kun. It"s like the shikigami is a part of him."

..."Only Natsume-kun would be able to do such a thing, right?"

The words that Tenma and Kyouko had said during the camp supported Harutora"s suspicions at an excellent time.

It was possible.

It could be.

The possibility and various imaginations mixed together in Harutora"s heart.

..."I"ll kiss you."

..."Harutora, I like you."

Harutora"s cheeks became redder and redder as his head spun.

Really......

Was it really like that?

Was such a thing possible?

"Ah, idiot!"

Heat flowed from his body in his confusion. His originally ambiguous feelings were amplified infinitely.

There was no one he could talk to about this kind of situation. Touji had recently been suspicious of him as well. He could do nothing about it. If he could have thought of something he would have done it long ago.

What exactly could he do? What should he do? Harutora thought bitterly while holding his head.

Just then,

"H-H-Harutora-sama? Are you unwell?"

Harutora came to his senses upon hearing the young girl"s call.

"Kon?"

"Y-Y-Yes. I am extremely sorry for being so forward. Harutora-sama did not seem well, so......"

The voice of Harutora"s shikigami, Kon, reached him. Her figure wasn"t visible in her stealthed state, and hence she spoke up to ask out of worry for her master"s condition. Harutora was suddenly a bit embarra.s.sed, a bitter, shameful smile emerging on his face.

"Sorry for making you worry. I"m fine."

"That is good, but......"

At the same time as she replied this way, Kon"s tone was still filled with worry. Harutora forced a smile.

Actually, this confusion was just pure imagination - no, it was wishful thinking. Reality didn"t go along with Harutora"s wishful thinking at all. It was probably just a bland truth that had been hidden. He frightened himself by how he had gotten so anxious on his own from his own wishful thinking.

Of course, it wasn"t easy to suddenly change his att.i.tude.

"......Hey, Kon."

"Y-Yes."

"I"m not very brave."

"Impossible! Y-Y-You are without a doubt......!"

The shikigami"s panicked denial was just favoritism towards Harutora. Harutora was thankful for her feelings, but they weren"t enough to console him.

"Really, this isn"t like my style at all. I get along well with people no matter who they are. I originally thought I was very good at interacting with people, but I got arrogant somehow."

Even more importantly, the other party was his own childhood friend. It had already been several months after he had come to Tokyo, and he originally thought there was no longer any gap between them, yet things had become like they were now.

"......Unexpected. I really hate this......"

Harutora hadn"t been used to hesitating and worrying alone in the first place. The more his heart was troubled, the more he felt depressed, the less able he was to find a suitable way to deal with it.

"......Th, Then...... Harutora-sama?"

"Hmm?"

"Could it be, Harutora-sama, that you are worrying about the matter regarding Natsume-dono?"

"Uh...... Well, yeah. You"ve always been with me, so you understand too, I guess."

Harutora smiled wryly and gave an affirmative response. Actually, it was half self-derisive, not just any wry smile.

"It"s actually as you say, Kon. But I"m extremely sorry, I can"t talk with you about this. Please forgive your master"s depression a little."

"Th-Th-This is a matter of course!"

Outside of Harutora"s expectations, his shikigami denied her master"s self-derogatory words.

Then,

"I, Kon, am well aware of H-H-Harutora-sama"s troubles!"

"Huh?"

"Harutora-sama is very gentle, overly gentle, which became trouble!"

Kon spoke in snippets and full of self-confidence.

But, the shikigami"s words pierced her master"s chest all at once.

"Ah."

Harutora"s face unconsciously twisted and he went speechless. Of course, Kon wasn"t being deliberate, but those words felt like violent satire in Harutora"s ears.

...Gentle?

No, that wasn"t true.

It was the opposite.

...Yes, I...... Thinking carefully, I......

Wasn"t I always just thinking about my own feelings?

The suspicion had appeared in his heart on the bus back from the camp last month. After that, Harutora had been this troubled every day, no longer taking the feelings of those around him into account, and even letting his relationship with his friends grow worse and worse.

Whether Natsume was Hokuto"s pract.i.tioner or not, Harutora had created such troubles because he didn"t know how "he himself" should face her, as well as because he didn"t know how "he himself" should organize the emotions in his heart if he learned that Natsume was Hokuto.

These weren"t the feelings of Natsume or Hokuto.

They were just his own selfishness and capriciousness.

The strength suddenly drained out of Harutora"s body and he feebly collapsed on the pedestrian road. "H-Harutora-sama!" The shocked Kon materialized, and a kimono-wearing girl with ears and a tail appeared next to Harutora.

"A-A-Are you feeling unwell? Please cheer up!"

"......Kon."

"Y-Y-Yes."

"Thanks for comforting me."

"Hmm?"

Kon"s blue eyes widened. On the other hand, Harutora lowered his head, showing his self-derisive colors.

...d.a.m.n. I hate myself......

Natsume"s feelings...... right. If Hokuto was Natsume"s shikigami, why hadn"t she said so? Hokuto hadn"t spoken of her history up through the very end. Was it because there was some reason that she couldn"t say?

He thought about it but didn"t understand that reason - No matter how he thought, he couldn"t prove the relationship between Natsume and Hokuto - and Hence Harutora quite his judgments, giving up on continuing to think.

He hadn"t even thought about what the person in question, Natsume, felt regarding the incident. Harutora had ignored anything like trying to understand her feelings up till now.

"...Ah, H-Harutora-sama."

"......I"m pathetic."

"No, well, H-Harutora-sama."

Kon shook Harutora"s shoulder in a panic. Harutora"s head was lowered in depression, revealing a nihilistic smile as he muttered quietly. "That"s enough, you don"t need to be concerned about me."

Harutora had forgotten to consider Natsume and Hokuto"s feelings. This was enough to prove that Harutora was no longer able to look after other peoples" problems.

But, to think he hadn"t noticed at all after being troubled for a month until his own shikigami pointed it out. His own problem was too severe.

"Someone like me, really......"

"Beast."

"Yes, I"m a beast - Hah?"

Harutora raised his head blankly in his posture with his hands touching the ground.

A pair of high boots that seemed familiar were close in front of him, with slim legs extending up from them.

As he raised his gaze further, he saw an overly large white uniform and a well-proportioned yet expressionless girl"s face that looked unblinkingly at him with a cold gaze.

Harutora blinked.

"S, Senpai--"

"Beast."

"Huh?"

"You"re doing this to sneak a peek under my skirt, right?"

"Huh? Ah, sorry. I didn"t mean to."

"As compensation, I also want to see Kon-chan"s panties--"

"Shut up, pervert!"

As he listlessly stood up, it suddenly became the other person looking up at Harutora.

She was extremely small, but probably older than Harutora. After all, she was a third-year Onmyou Academy senpai. Kon had probably shaken Harutora"s shoulder just now to notify him that she was approaching.

Harutora rose. Kon went behind her master"s back, unconsciously putting distance between her and the senpai. After Harutora confirmed that the shikigami had guarded herself, he nodded. He had given orders to Kon the past few days that she could put priority on defending herself only in front of this senpai.

Harutora looked at the senpai again:

"Good morning, senpai. You appeared as suddenly as always."

"Good morning. You took a long time to greet me."

The senpai"s expression was hard to read. She seemed to be thinking about something, but he couldn"t tell what it was at all. After all, this senpai would be hard to understand even if her expression was extremely plentiful.

"Kon-chan too, good morning."

"......Morning."

Kon returned the greeting nervously. The senpai stared at Kon without moving. Upon seeing her unmoving gaze, Harutora helplessly called out "Kon", walking to a position that blocked the senpai"s gaze.

He called out "Senpai" to warn her. Of course, the senpai still didn"t move.

"What"s wrong, Harutora-kun."

"Oh, to think you remember my name this time."

"How rude. How could I forget?"

"......Enough, I"m probably already used to how you talk. I won"t tsukkomi that kind of statement anymore."

"......Ah, don"t you think it"s a bit boring right now?"

"f.u.c.k."[4]

The senpai said - probably - very hatefully. Successfully retaliating now after always being bullied one-sidedly felt extremely pleasant to Harutora. But from his lesson last time, he couldn"t go too far.

Now that he thought of it, there was something from last time that he definitely couldn"t forget.

"Ah! I thought of it. Senpai, to think you tricked me before!"

"When was this?"

"Don"t pretend. It was during the camp!"

"I tricked you?"

"Of course you tricked me! I was so ashamed at the time!"

Harutora was extremely indignant. Her actions back then had been so excessive that he still carried resentment now.

But the senpai said indifferently:

"I don"t remember."

"Lies!"

"Then let me ask, what did I say to trick you?"

"Huh? Uh, something like--"

"Something like! Can you be a bit more specific?"

"S, Specifically, when I thought senpai was skipping cla.s.s, well - no, there was some reason--"

"I don"t understand at all. Reason?"

"Didn"t you say it!?"

"What? What specifically did I say?"

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d...... You......"

The senpai was still expressionless as she raised her head to question Harutora. Harutora ground his teeth.

"I get it, I get it! The thing from back then doesn"t matter anymore!"

"Of course. We"re Onmyouji."

"Hah?"

"The one who gets tricked is at fault."

"Aren"t you admitting it!?"

"Shut up, virgin."

"Ohhhh, this is the first time I"ve wanted to hit someone so badly!"

Before he realized it, he was already shouting retorts. It wasn"t a lie to say he was mostly used to conversing with the senpai, but it seemed that he still had trouble taking control of the topic. No, it was more like he didn"t have such plans, nor did he have the confidence to do so. Moreover, the senpai still seemed to resent Harutora saying "shut up, pervert" right when they met.

As Harutora thought, the senpai stuck out her chest for some reason.

"Most importantly, I"m going to make sekihan[5]."

"You"re still going? That"s enough lying already!"

"It"s not a lie."

"Then what is it?"

"It"s just messing around with you--"

"I really want to hit you!"

Harutora"s raised fist constantly trembled, but the senpai still seemed rather unconcerned:

"At least the child I"m going to give birth to hasn"t lied yet."

She spoke with dignity. Harutora was already weary of anger.

"......Uh, senpai? You were lying just now, right? Or is everything you say just a lie?"

"Lies are the foundations of magic."

"Even so, senpai wasn"t using magic just now, you were just purely lying."

"Well, the sekihan wasn"t a lie."

"You"re still talking?"

"People who like little girls can live forever."

"......So unfortunate. If you were a guy, I could report you right away......"

No, even if she was a girl, society should still raise sanctions against her, and as soon as possible. Harutora already felt a physical headache.

"Really...... Why are you so annoying right from the morning...... I would probably be a lot more relaxed if I could face myself like Senpai."

"Like me?"

"To tell the truth, I admire you a bit."

"You should stop now."

"Why?"

"You"ll become a criminal."

"Ah, so someone like you has self-awareness too."

"Calling me by "someone like you" is too rude."

"No, I think Senpai was the rudest in the conversation just now."

Before he realized it, his troubles regarding Natsume had already been left behind as he quipped. If this senpai were there, maybe he would be able to hold a normal conversation with Natsume. But, rather than a "normal conversation", it would probably turn into him shouting angrily.

...Come to think of it, was this senpai like this when she spoke with other people?

Harutora had once mentioned to Natsume and the others that he had met a strange senpai and the topics that they chatted about. How would she react when she met other people?

"......Come to think of it, I still don"t know Senpai"s name. In the end, you still don"t plan on telling me?"

"I can"t give my name to a virgin."

"Ah, yes, yes. Then, I"ll call you Senpai. Senpai. ......Ah, I"ll give you a nickname, Little Girl Senpai, alright? That kind of straightforward nickname is extremely suitable for a little-girl senpai who will live forever, right?"

"......Little Girl Senpai."

"Yes."

The senpai raised her head and stared unblinkingly at Harutora, and Harutora lowered his head to stare at the senpai without moving.

Just then, the senpai suddenly turned around:

"...I"m very proud."

"You"re mistaken! Also, what are you getting shy about!?"

"Harutora-kun, you can do it pretty well if you try."

"Uh, thanks--"

"Now if only I had a shikigami like Kon......"

"Please stop! That shikigami would be too pitiful! Anyway, that"s the one thing I can"t do!"

"But, it doesn"t seem like an honorific."

"It"s not an honorific in the first place! It"s an insult!"

"Ah, but--"

"What now!"

"Please shout loudly when you call me by that name. You have to p.r.o.nounce it clearly."

"Understood! I"ll call you Senpai like normal, Senpai!"

Harutora, who was no longer sure how serious his jokes were, gradually became impatient. If the other party were a male - or a kouhai of his, he would shout at him with no reservations. How unfortunate.

Incidentally, Kon was probably also thinking about the same thing. She hid behind Harutora"s back, but her hands felt for her sheathed beloved blade Kachiwari. She could instantly release her overwhelming force once she received his order of "go". Even if senpai died under Kon"s blade, it would probably be quite fulfilling for her.

Compared to Harutora, whose substantial energy was dwindling, Senpai turned to the next topic almost without missing a beat.

"Come to think of it, Harutora-kun, do you have any worries?"

"I do, but they have nothing at all to do with Senpai.

"Talk to me about them as compensation."

"Listen to what I say! Didn"t I say they had nothing to do with Senpai!? Why are you this happy! Is it because of the nickname just now!?"

"Seventy points."

"So weird! ...Whatever, I don"t want to talk. I"m afraid I would like to be excused."

"But you"re troubled, right?"

"I said, I won"t tell Senpai about it."

"To get straight to the point...... it"s love, then."

"I haven"t said anything yet!"

"But it"s definitely love, right?"

"W, Well......"

"In the end, a virgin"s love--"

"I made a mistake talking to you!"

Even if he looked for people to talk to, he definitely wouldn"t have come to this senpai. Though he was a bit more tolerant than other people, Harutora still had self-esteem.

But, the senpai seemed to see through Harutora"s thoughts:

"No, it"s the opposite."

"Eh?"

"You can only talk about it because it"s me. Because our lives don"t cross."

"Ah......"

Indeed, some things could only be easily said to people who were unrelated. Senpai shouldn"t understand Harutora"s situation at all, but it might be possible for her to make a suggestion as a third party.

Even so, Harutora"s conclusion was:

"No."

Only that.

"I"m thankful for your feelings - Well, it"s just a polite thanks, please accept it."

He spoke politely and with a cold look.

"I see. Then I"ll just tell you what I think."

"Sorry, Senpai. I"m an idiot, so I don"t understand what you mean."

"I"ll give my idiot kouhai some suggestions in case you feel like talking about your troubles with me."

"......If you"re just saying it......"

Harutora muttered wearily.

With a serious face, the senpai:

"There"s no reason to worry."

Told him this.

Harutora showed an expression that he had already prepared, "Uwah--", raising his hands in a fake cheer.

"Uwah, you made me think about your suggestion during the camp. I"m extremely thankful, Senpai. You helped me out a lot, a great deal."[6]

A sense of disgust showed in his unrepressed voice.

But the Senpai wasn"t concerned.

"After all, your worries will soon become meaningless."

"Hah...... Well, come to think of it, it"s probably pretty unnecessary already."

At least at the moment. Harutora sighed.

Just then:

"Harutora?"

Harutora jumped upon hearing an interruption from behind him.

"Touji--"

"What"s wrong, I didn"t think you would still be here. You"ll be late."

Touji, who hurried up from behind, spoke blandly.

It was one of the rare days when Touji woke up late, so Harutora had left the dorm ahead of him. It seemed that he had caught up. Upon hearing Touji, Harutora checked the time displayed on his phone. "Ha, we"re in trouble."

Then,

"Ah, right, Touji. I mentioned to you before, this person is "that" senpai. ...Senpai, this person--"

"...Ato Touji."

"Eh? You know him?"

Harutora asked back in a fl.u.s.ter, but unfortunately, the senpai stared at Touji and didn"t reply. Touji seemed to have already noticed the Senpai, and seemed to recall after hearing Harutora say "that senpai".

He pulled back his neck slightly:

"h.e.l.lo."

And greeted her.

"I"m the second-year Ato."

"Nice to meet you, I"m Suzu."

"You gave him your name!?"

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