Tokyo Ravens Volume 4 Chapter 3

The Onmyou Agency had ruled that she would enter the Onmyou Academy and study for three years as rehabilitation.

To say that person's face didn't flash through her mind when she first heard of this matter...... That wasn't possible. But you couldn't actually blame her for that, since that kind of thing had happened after all.

After things ended, since she couldn't help but be interested, she gathered quite a bit of information from the shadows, learning that that person's goal was to become an Onmyouji and that he had transferred in to the Onmyou Academy.

Hence, once she heard of this punishment: 'We can meet again.' She secretly thought to herself that they would meet again someday.

Also - fear welled up.

Once she thought of that person and thought of seeing him again, various emotions interlaced inside her heart. Hate, anger. Should she still use such means to mess with him, or should she use them to tease him?

... 'Shut up.'

Memories became clearer and clearer.

... 'Don't say another word.'

When the memories awakened, a chill instantly spread deep in her heart. She didn't care, nor was she angry, but her mood was heavy.

What exactly was wrong, was there a need to take it to heart? Even if she tried convincing herself, her feelings still didn't seem to improve. Worry, anxiety, anger. Even she herself didn't understand.

Those kinds of feelings were really powerful.

She had originally vowed from her heart to revive her brother, and had lived on this world just for that. She hadn't expected that her desire would be destroyed and her firm self-belief would shake with it. Precisely because she was this self-aware, her heart was lost and she couldn't stay together.

Her magical energy was sealed, her t.i.tle as a Divine General was confiscated, and she turned back into an ordinary girl.

Suzuka was scared.

He had tricked her the first time they met, and had tried to stop her with his weak strength, obstructing her plans - in the end, he had saved her life instead. He was an enemy, but he had saved her small life that had no intention of remaining in this world.

In the end, only her brother and that person could face her so selflessly.

How would she change after she saw him again in the Onmyou Academy? Could she still keep her original demeanor? She had long since lost her original reason for living, and entering the Onmyou Academy where he was simultaneously served to find a 'new self' for her.

Suzuka felt frightened.

But she had no intention at all of escaping.

For some reason, the cherry blossoms seemed to have scattered all their petals in one night. On the second day of the new term, the scene on the road from the male dorm to the academy felt lamentable to Harutora.

"......I never thought that going to school would be such a gloomy matter already on the second day after school started." The joy from yesterday couldn't be seen on Harutora's face, and actually he had had a hard time sleeping all yesterday night.

Moreover, he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

"Bakatora, right now isn't the time to be gloomy, you should be even more tense than yesterday." Natsume unhappily scolded Harutora since she hadn't slept well, her tone even more tart than usual.

Harutora turned his spiritless face.

"......Natsume."

"What?"

"Those gla.s.ses are really unnatural."

"This is all I can do, what else is there? I don't want to wear gla.s.ses either!"

Today morning, Natsume was wearing a pair of gla.s.ses with a particularly crude frame.

Late last night, she had run to a gla.s.ses store that hadn't closed yet, buying this pair of fake gla.s.ses and planning on saying that she usually wore contact lenses but had accidentally lost them to deceive others. Since she was unable to decide to cut her long hair, she could only mask herself in this area.

After Harutora returned to the dorm yesterday, he had first gotten rid of the students who had come over to find out the truth of the rumors, then he had randomly greeted the new students who had moved into the dorm. Finally, he had called Natsume and Touji to gather in his room. He first detailed the entire incident of last summer, reaching a common understanding, and then he had explained the process contacting Suzuka after school had ended, clarifying the problem and developing countermeasures.

They had discussed almost until dawn, but no clever tricks had showed up.

"The opponent's very perceptive, and since she's already focused on Harutora, all we can do right now is pray that she doesn't remember Natsume's appearance." Touji spoke while holding back a yawn.

Natsume inadvertently lowered her head, muttering: "......It's all Harutora's fault for being too impulsive." After saying this, she hurriedly pushed up the gla.s.ses slipping off her nose. "To think you would run out to find the 'Child Prodigy' before discussing it first...... And you even went by yourself!"

"Didn't I apologize many times for that matter yesterday?" Harutora, who was being scolded again for yesterday, spoke back, his expression bitter.

When they had discussed in his room yesterday, Natsume had actually been angriest about Harutora running out to find Suzuka. Harutora believed that never minding how things ended up turning out, contacting Suzuka hadn't been a poor judgment at the time......

"On the other hand, if I didn't run out to find that person, we still wouldn't understand whether she had noticed your true ident.i.ty, isn't that right?"

"You didn't need to go find her, I also knew that she still hadn't seen through my ident.i.ty yet."

"Maybe, but you don't have any definite proof. Right now we know the reason that she entered the Onmyou Academy, and we also know that her magical energy has been sealed. There's a big difference between knowing and not knowing those things, right, Touji?"

"That information is certainly not a small gain." Touji also gave him that much certainty. "Natsume camouflaged her aura...... But the opponent's one of the Twelve Divine Generals, and they might run into each other often afterwards, so it's really doubtful whether the camouflage can succeed."

Normally, male and female human auras were different. Though the differences between individuals were large, males were mostly yang aura and females were mostly yin aura.

When Natsume was pretending to be a male, she used magic that turned her original aura into yang aura.

When contracting with servant s.h.i.+kigami and defensive s.h.i.+kigami - especially when contracting with strong independent s.h.i.+kigami, males usually chose a s.h.i.+kigami with yin aura because they carried yang aura. Since females carried yin aura, they normally chose s.h.i.+kigami with yang aura, though of course there were exceptions to this. When it was determined that she would be the next head to succeed the Tsuchimikado family, she simultaneously inherited the Tsuchimikado guardian dragon - Hokuto.

Dragon auras belonged to yin, conflicting with Natsume who had been born a female. Natsume had deliberately contracted with the dragon to let her original yin aura and the dragon's yin aura mix, creating a male aura - yang aura. This was quite an original magic, the work of Natsume's father, and Natsume herself was unable to cast it. This was an important reason why her male facade hadn't yet been seen through by people around her - the pract.i.tioners who could see aura.

After gaining Touji's approval, "See! Touji thinks so too!" Harutora called out, going over the material he had explained yesterday again.

"Especially since I cleared up a lot of things after talking with that girl again. Her ability's outstanding, but in the end she's a little girl. She's indeed cunning, and she's extremely perceptive like Touji said, but she's definitely not an unredeemably bad person." the words Ohtomo had said yesterday still lingered in Harutora's heart, and the convincing power of that remark could be seen. Once he thought of the similarity between Suzuka and the past Natsume, he couldn't help but put force into his words. "Though she's troublesome, I'm still not completely helpless when it comes to dealing with her. Of course, I don't actually have any way to be certain, but I'll deal with her for now." Harutora tried convincing Natsume, speaking more and more animatedly, thinking that Natsume who had a similar experience could definitely understand his way of thinking.

His focus on the problem had been blurred - More accurately, Harutora hadn't noticed that he 'hadn't clearly understood where the problem was'.

Not only was Natsume unimpressed by Harutora's enthusiasm, her whole body slightly trembled instead as she angrily glared at Harutora. Was her almost tearful expression a mistaken impression? Touji half-closed his eyes, shaking his head as if saying 'You're really a Bakatora'.

"......Why......"

"Huh?"

"......Why do you always stand up for her?"

"What? I'm not standing up for her, though?"

"......Come to think of it, you were like this last summer as well. You didn't care about my warnings and you were still confident that you could convince her......" Natsume glared firmly at the confused Harutora, her tone angry for some reason.

"Last summer...... What weird things have you been talking about since just now?" Harutora asked back, completely baffled. Natsume's gaze glanced down, no longer staring intently into Harutora's eyes, and swept over Harutora's lips.

She tightened her lips, snapping in a low voice, "......Enough!" - her voice sounded like it was a bit depressed - and walked ahead on her own, her black hair whipping around.

Cherry blossoms swirled in the gentle breeze.

Harutora wasn't actually angry, just confused, casting a pleading glance towards Touji. Touji shook his bandanna-bound head, showing a difficult expression.

"......It seems like that brat is Natsume's Achilles Heel."

"Wh, What does that mean?"

Harutora's face sank, and his good friend didn't say anything else, just helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyway, we can't let her see Natsume, so it's up to you to be the 'Child Prodigy's opponent...... Though we're just trying to trick her, do your best."

"I know that."

"Right now it's enough just to do that." Touji spoke, patting Harutora's back. "Today, let's first think of a way to avoid letting Suzuka and Natsume meet, and as for what to do later - we'll think about it when the time comes."

Touji - whose expression was encouraging for some reason - smiled at Harutora.

The cherry blossoms danced in the wind, soundlessly falling on the perplexed s.h.i.+kigami's head.

Unfortunately, the situation was far more urgent than he had imagined.

"Good morning, senpai!"

The cla.s.sroom door was forcefully pulled open, and Suzuka walked in beaming with a smile - a devilish smile. The entire cla.s.sroom immediately erupted in a clamor.

The second day of the new term, a terrorist a.s.sault was launched right after the first cla.s.s, instantly hijacking all of the students' attention. Of course, Harutora and Natsume were also included among these students.

Terror and despair were followed by his thoughts stopping. Touji was the only person who could be relied on to deal with this sudden situation.

In the Onmyou Academy, the students could change seats however they wanted. Right now, Harutora and Natsume's seats were right next to each other, and Touji sat behind them.

"...Natsume." Touji warned quietly, as if neatly snapping a whip. Natsume immediately came to her senses when she heard this, hastily casting stealth magic. Simultaneously, Touji kicked Harutora's chair from under the table.

Harutora suddenly jumped, standing up.

"......U, Uwah, D, Dairenji! I, It's been a while!"

Harutora was panicked, stumbling out of his seat in order to get away from Natsume and get Suzuka's attention focused on him. Doing this had extremely great side effects. Kyouko, Tenma, and the other cla.s.smates cast excited gazes at Harutora one by one, perking their ears up at the two people.

Since his response had been really strange and embarra.s.sed, Suzuka forgot the role she was currently acting out for a while even though she had come to attack, her face growing suspicious. But, as expected of her having experienced many storms, her expression was still calm even though she had doubts.

"That's mean, Senpai, what do you mean it's been a while, didn't we just 'meet' 'yesterday' 'after school'? And it was 'just the two of us'... Ah, could that be a secret that you didn't want anyone else to know? Sorry--"

"Uh! ......No, that's not it - But, this is the second-year cla.s.sroom, so what exactly did you come here for--"

"Well, it would be stupid not to see each other since we're in the same school~ I wanted to at least come to greet you!"

"Liar...... Ah, it's nothing, so you came to greet me. You don't actually have to come here just for that kind of thing......"

He didn't grit his teeth, replacing it with a stiff smile instead. He quickly approached Suzuka, which naturally drew Suzuka's attention, not letting her notice the direction of Natsume. But to the eyes of the bystanders, maybe they would believe he couldn't wait to come forward to meet her, as after all there was no other possibility on the surface.

"H-Harutora...... You really......"

"W, Wow, Harutora-kun, wow."

Kyouko's eyes widened and Tenma couldn't conceal his excitement. The other students' reactions were about the same. Harutora desperately kept himself from shouting out angrily.

"Haha...... The break will be over really soon, so since you've already greeted me, you'd better return to your own cla.s.sroom, Dairenji."

"Senpai, you're being too unfamiliar! Just call me Suzuka."

"Stop it, just go back to your cla.s.sroom!"

Unfortunately, his self-control power wasn't strong enough.

"Ugh, senpai's so cold." Suzuka deliberately made an overdone reaction under the stares of the audience. On some level, this counted as a type of second-cla.s.s magic, and the effects were excellent, with the cla.s.s's stares focused on Harutora and Suzuka gradually rising in temperature.

Among the heated gazes, Harutora felt a malice that sent chills up his back that could even be called killing intent. For some reason, Natsume's glaring face immediately appeared in his mind, but in this kind of emergency time he couldn't turn around to check.

"......Come here for a bit." Harutora grabbed Suzuka's hand, forcefully pulling her into the corridor. Exclamations rang out all over the cla.s.sroom, but he ignored them, pretending that nothing happened.

"Don't overdo it this much. Didn't you say yesterday that it was just a prank?" After entering the corridor, he forcefully lowered his voice and spoke.

"Shut up, the first-year cla.s.sroom is way too stupid." Now that the surrounding gazes had vanished, Suzuka quickly showed her original self.

"Are you just pulling me in to pa.s.s the time? Why don't you use that time to make friends with the new students?"

"What are you joking about, how could the Onmyou Academy's new students have the qualifications to interact with me. Ah, of course that goes for you too."

"In that case, at least choose the new students."

"I don't want to, it's too tiring."

"That's because you're too fake! Come to think of it, could you be planning on faking like this for three years? You definitely won't be able to hold on for that long!"

After Harutora criticized her, Suzuka frowned in anger. It seemed like these words had perfectly hit the mark.

"......So annoying."

"It's the truth."

"......And you're hurting me."

"Huh? Ah, sorry."

He hadn't let go of her hand since the beginning. Once he let go, Suzuka quickly drew back her left hand that had been grabbed, gently rubbing it with her right hand.

The two of them went silent for a few seconds, then Suzuka tilted her head, looking at Harutora.

"......Hey, which one's Tsuchimikado Natsume? You're cla.s.smates, right?"

Harutora wasn't quite sure whether he was successful in hiding his shaken heart. "Uh, well...... We're cla.s.smates, that's right......" His att.i.tude was casual, but he stammered as he spoke.

Once a poor lie was exposed, it would lead to the other becoming easily suspicious. He had learned this from Touji in the fruitless all-night talk. But he still couldn't conclude how exactly he should deal with this.

The situation wasn't unexpected. "...Let me see him." Suzuka tried to peek into the cla.s.sroom, and Harutora frantically stopped her. "Ah, hold on!"

"Why? Is there something I can't see?"

"Th, There's nothing you can't see. Anyway, I've had enough of how my cla.s.smates look at me! You're not bored anymore, right? Hurry up and return to your cla.s.sroom!"

"What? How can you order me around like that? And why do I have to listen to your instructions?"

"I'm begging you! Though I can't compare to you, I also have an image to take into consideration and I don't want to have no place in my cla.s.s!"

Harutora desperately changed the topic, and fortunately the other party accurately sensed how anxious he was. "That doesn't matter to me~". The more frantic he got, the more maliciously Suzuka laughed, continuing to tease Harutora. Harutora sacrificed himself to try to stall for time.

Five minutes later, the bell sounding the start of cla.s.s finally saved him from his misery.

Unfortunately, the calamity didn't end like that.

"Senpai, why don't we eat lunch together?"

The next bomb detonated at lunchtime, in the center of the raucous academy cafeteria. Suzuka put an omurice[1] on her tray, racing towards the table where Harutora and the others were.

Harutora accidentally spat out all the broth of his tempura udon, and Natsume beside him forcefully pushed back her chair, crouching on the ground. In order to conceal the sound she made, Touji suddenly also stood up from his chair.

Natsume took into consideration the surrounding noise, desperately casting stealth magic. She managed to fix her gla.s.ses, keeping her crouching posture while escaping the cafeteria with all her power. In order to distract Suzuka, Harutora also stood up like Touji, waving his hand affectedly. "Yo, D-Dairenji!"

The surrounding gazes stabbed into him mercilessly and his back broke out in a cold sweat.

On the other hand, his exaggerated action made Suzuka furrow her brows again. But before she asked, she noticed that she knew the boy standing next to Harutora.

"Huh, you are......"

"You still remember me? Harutora and I collaborated to trick you back then, sorry about that." Touji spoke calmly, not one bit of apology visible on his face. Maybe thinking of the incident during the festival last year, Suzuka replied with an "Oh", her face solemn.

"You were together back then...... What, you were also an Onmyou Academy student?"

"I wasn't back then. This guy and I only transferred into the Onmyou Academy together after that incident ended."

Suzuka's expression seemed slightly surprised upon hearing Touji's explanation. Transferring into the famous Onmyou Academy in the middle of a term - there were very few students who could successfully test in like this. Maybe Harutora from the Tsuchimikado branch family could get in, but to the eyes of someone who didn't understand Touji's origins, such an example was extremely rare.

Suzuka was silent for a while, staring at Touji with both eyes. But not long after, her mood quickly changed. "Can I sit here~" She deliberately made her voice higher, choosing the seat next to Touji and across from Harutora to sit down.

Once she sat down, she immediately blinked.

"Huh? Why is there a half-eaten bowl of chicken and egg rice here?"

The bowl of rice Suzuka was asking about was placed on the seat adjacent to Harutora - the chicken and egg rice that Natsume hadn't been able to finish eating just now.

"Uh, th, that's--!"

"That's Harutora's." Touji sat back in his seat leisurely, carefully replying in place of the panicked Harutora.

"He has to eat enough for two people to be full."

"Yeah, that's right! That's how it is, I'm in my growing phase, you know."

"...Oh, I see, your appet.i.te's really amazing--" Suzuka's att.i.tude was still feigned, but her tone was cold, her gaze freezing. Harutora laughed dryly a couple times and was about to sit down, when "......So stupid, what 'growing phase'." Suzuka ridiculed him with a face full of scorn. Harutora cursed this d.a.m.n brat in his heart but couldn't do anything about it.

His temple inadvertently twitched and he forcefully clenched his teeth, forcing a smile onto his face and pus.h.i.+ng a thin voice out of his lips.

"......What do you want this time?"

"Nothing, I just want to eat lunch together."

"Go eat with your cla.s.smates."

"I don't want to, they're too annoying."

"They're not the annoying ones, you are! You shouldn't be pretending, it's way too reckless."

"Shut up, can't you be a little more quiet when you're eating? I can't stand hicks like you--"

"Before you came to annoy me, we always ate very quietly!"

Harutora couldn't hold back his agitated emotions for a while, and Touji smiled wryly, calling out to him: "Harutora." Then, he turned his gaze towards Suzuka by his side.

"......It seems like you no longer hate me or Harutora."

"Hmph, I told this idiot yesterday too, your thinking is so self-centered. How would I have the time to care about you small fry."

"That's extremely reasonable. So, are you truly just pa.s.sing time when you come find Harutora to trouble him?"

"Th, That's right, could there be any other reason?"

"Yeah, it's not like I can't understand your feelings. After all, it's hard to pa.s.s up messing with such an interesting person."

"You're pretty knowledgeable, but those words are flattering him."

"......Hold on, Touji, which side are you on exactly...... And Dairenji, that's not flattering at all."

You two... Harutora stared at the two of them upsettedly.

Suzuka feigned happiness, raising her pitch and saying "Hey, you're too unfamiliar, Senpai! Just call me Suzuka!" Harutora became more and more impatient as he listened.

"Right." Suzuka changed her tone again. "I didn't end up seeing Tsuchimikado Natsume just now, where's he sitting?" Saying this, she sized up the surrounding cafeteria a bit.

Not again, Harutora's face tightened. Unfortunately, Suzuka seemed to have already started s.h.i.+fting all of her attention towards Natsume.

"H, He, uh...... He's usually outside--"

"He's done eating." Touji interrupted Harutora's excuse, grabbing on and continuing to speak. "He wasn't feeling well today, so he went back to the cla.s.sroom without even eating much." He spoke casually, and at the same time didn't forget to warn Harutora with his eyes.

Natsume was famous in the academy, and anyone could learn by asking a random student that she always ate with Harutora and Touji. Touji had warned that suspicions would be aroused once a poor lie was exposed, and that meant exactly this kind of situation.

Touji continued to speak with a composed expression.

"What's wrong, are you still very interested in Natsume after that incident happened?"

That incident meant the event that had happened last summer. Suzuka was discomfited facing Touji's light provocation, hastily trying to speak out to deny it, but she probably thought Touji was different from Harutora, "......I guess I can't say I'm completely uninterested." She unexpectedly admitted honestly.

"I told this person the same thing yesterday, that though they removed me from my post, I was always a specialist of magic pertaining to Tsuchimikado Yakou. The Imperial Onmyoudou that Yakou founded still contains many mysteries that we don't understand, and if Tsuchimikado Natsume can become the clue to solving these mysteries, I can't ignore him no matter how small that possibility is." Suzuka poked her spoon into the omurice, mixing it around.

"......There's not enough ketchup." Next to the complaining Divine General, Touji glanced at Harutora. Harutora quietly nodded his head to reply with a serious face.

The situation was extremely urgent. Suzuka would definitely take any measures to find an opportunity to approach Natsume in the future, so how exactly could they stop her actions?

"Hmph - Whatever, it's too annoying to chase him to his cla.s.sroom anymore now. Why don't you tell me what kind of a person Natsume is."

Suzuka rudely waved her spoon at the two, her mouth full of omurice. Her appearance was immature and cute, but her att.i.tude was like a queen commanding her footman. Harutora helplessly pulled up an insignificant topic, exaggerating Natsume's masculinity as much as possible.

His days of concealing the secret and walking a tightrope hadn't ended.

Lunchtime seemed extraordinarily slow compared to the very brief after-cla.s.s break time.

"I like Harutora's idea."

During the time after the first afternoon cla.s.s, when they were in the emergency stairwell to escape the rumors flying around the cla.s.sroom, Touji frankly expressed his opinion towards Harutora and Natsume.

"What?" Natsume asked back. "Wh, What idea of Harutora-kun's?"

"His method regarding dealing with Dairenji. I think Harutora should find her again, no, he should find her as much as possible and have open-minded conversations with her."

Touji's sudden turnaround surprised Harutora, and Natsume's eyes also widened. In particular, not only did Natsume's eyes widen, but she even shouted: "No!". She pushed her slipping gla.s.ses back onto her nose while saying: "That's too dangerous! What if Harutora-kun reveals a slip that's even more serious? Doing that will only make things more difficult, I can't let him loose to continue digging his own grave!"

Natsume was dissatisfied - that remark in turn made Harutora dissatisfied - and Touji shrugged his shoulders at the two of them, saying: "I don't think so", denying Natsume's opinion.

"Harutora's approach has been more successful than we imagined, and it would be best to let him chat a bit more - gaining the opponent's trust, in case we need it in the future."

"In case we need it in the future...... What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what the words say. It's the most direct method in the current circ.u.mstances, and all we can do now is take precautions." Touji's face was calm as he spoke convincingly.

Touji always acted after thinking, so that profound statement hence sounded even deeper. But, the meaning of Touji's statement was really overly vague.

"I don't understand what that means, but anyways the priority is to avoid coming in contact with her as much as possible." Natsume retorted ferociously, her expression grave and stubborn. Her look showed an unmovable conviction as she glared at Touji.

Touji spoke strangely upon seeing this: "That's what I myself think, so forgive me if I offended you...... Honestly, you and that person are very similar."

"M, Me?"

"Right." Touji spoke deliberately teasingly. "Especially how both of you aren't straightforward. Right, it's also very similar how your personalities are like a child's."

Hearing Touji say this, Natsume's face momentarily flushed, but Harutora looked at Touji again in surprise.

Harutora hadn't mentioned Ohtomo's words to Touji, but Touji had a similar view as Ohtomo. It was evident that Suzuka and Natsume were indeed similar in some ways. Thinking carefully, the situation today noon could act as proof, as Suzuka had eaten alone right after entering the academy. It really made it impossible to not a.s.sociate it with Natsume when she had just entered.

However, "I'm very grateful that you say that...... But rather than giving this matter to me, honestly, I think you're more suitable to be her opponent. Your att.i.tude just now was much calmer than mine." After hearing Harutora's proposal, Natsume's expression suddenly lit up, and it seemed like he could hear her yell from her heart: 'That's it!'

She changed her opposing att.i.tude.

"Th, That's right, Harutora-kun's right! I can relax if we leave it to Touji-kun - Ah, no, I trust Touji-kun, so let's leave it for Touji-kun to deal with!"

"Tch...... Natsume, your change in att.i.tude is a bit too obvious, right?"

"I, I didn't! I was just...... Well...... I, I just believe that we shouldn't let Harutora-kun approach her rashly, and maybe Touji-kun's a more suitable choice......!" Natsume frantically explained, short of breath. She seemed quite satisfied with Harutora's proposal.

However, "No." Touji refused Harutora's proposal in a breath. "Harutora is the most suitable choice. In particular, judging by the current situation, it's only meaningful if Harutora steps forward."

"Wh, Why?" Harutora blurted out a question and Touji didn't reply directly, just showing a solemn gaze. "You all believe I'm the most suitable person to deal with that girl, and I decide to leave this matter to Harutora."

"Touji, isn't that a little too much wordplay?"

"Whatever you say. Anyway, this matter is left to Harutora."

"B, But......!"

"Natsume." Touji snapped sternly, facing the opinionated Natsume who refused to rest. "Since we can't find any excuses in time that will keep you from meeting Suzuka, the only thing we can do right now is to escape Suzuka's gaze as much as possible. But, we can't escape forever, so if we take the initiative and contact Suzuka, we can restrict her movements and even drag things out for a while. We won't need to fear your true ident.i.ty being exposed for now."

"But, Touji-kun can also be responsible for that--!"

"What's wrong, you trust Harutora that little?" Touji replied maliciously.

"I......!" Natsume glanced at Harutora with no reply. She lowered her head, her lips tight, clearly unwilling. Harutora wasn't angry when he saw her reacting so unwillingly, but he felt depressed instead that he was so untrustworthy.

The expression that Touji looked at the two with became wry. Then, he turned his head to face Harutora, who still didn't get it.

"No matter what, Harutora, you don't need to be troubled over what to do. You just need to find Dairenji and chat like normal, and maybe you'll unexpectedly notice some way to resolve things." Touji spoke leisurely - even a bit cheerfully.

Touji, who loved causing trouble, had pushed things onto him, so maybe he had a premonition that something would definitely happen. No, not just Touji, anyone could see that doing this was bound to stir up a lot of controversy in the future.

Harutora sighed. He had no choice other than nodding his head in a.s.sent.

After school ended that day, Harutora immediately took action and headed towards the first-year cla.s.sroom in order to find Suzuka as early as possible.

He didn't actually know what he would talk about after meeting her, but he would rather strike of his own initiative than cower in the cla.s.sroom waiting for the opponent to attack.

Following yesterday, Harutora had appeared in front of the cla.s.sroom two days in a row, and the new students' attentive gazes were more excited than yesterday. Unfortunately, he had still drawn a blank this time and heard at once that Suzuka had already left the cla.s.sroom.

With the lesson from yesterday, this time Harutora unhesitatingly left the first-year cla.s.sroom.

"......Kogure-san shouldn't have come today, right? Could it be that she already went back......"

Compared to how she always appeared at a deadly moment, he just wasted his time even when he took the initiative to go on the offensive, running around in circles.

Harutora decided that today he would go to the academy rear entrance first to test his luck, but he really didn't have any luck to speak of, and didn't notice Suzuka on the way to the rear entrance. If she had already left the academy building, it would really be difficult to find her by relying on the strength of a single person.

"She's not here, huh. I'll wait here for a bit." Saying this, he opened the door, checking the situation outside.

There were narrow alleys accessing the main roads outside the academy building's rear entrance, the lanes small enough to barely accommodate cars pa.s.sing through. Almost no one traveled these small alleys, but when Harutora walked outside, he noticed that there was a figure walking towards the main road.

She wore a pure white uniform, her body small, her uniform's size overly large and the sleeves overly long. He seemed to recognize the figure that was quickly trotting away.

"Ah, Senpai!" Harutora hastily called out and the female student stopped walking in response, turning around. She was the third-year senpai that he had run into after school yesterday.

She seemed to also remember Harutora. After all, she had been the one to recognize Harutora first yesterday and speak with him.

She looked backwards over her shoulder.

"Ah, the little girl's--"

"I'm Tsuchimikado Harutora! Also, senpai knew me long before I introduced myself, right? Why do you say 'little girl' as soon as you see me? And what words were you planning on attaching at the end!"

"Master."

"At least put 's.h.i.+kigami' in the middle there, please."

Once talk like 'the little girl's master' spread, the criticism received would surely surpa.s.s what he received for being Suzuka's ex-boyfriend. Doing this and that with a s.h.i.+kigami in the form of a young girl wasn't something that could be fudged over easily.

Harutora decided not to mind this matter for now, rus.h.i.+ng up to the senpai who was about to walk onto the road.

"Senpai, I have something to ask you--"

"What is it? Little girl s.h.i.+kigami's master?"

"......I didn't mean I wanted you to call me that......"

"You have a lot of requests."

"I don't have a lot of requests at all, I just want you to call me by my name like normal!"

"Young people these days speak really impolitely."

"Senpai, you aren't allowed to say that."

"Though I'm small, I pay attention to hierarchy when I speak."

"That has nothing to do with body size."

"Thine words must contain respect."

"What kind of hierarchy is that! You're just messing with me!"

He just wanted to hear of Suzuka's whereabouts, but he hadn't made any progress. Harutora breathed deeply, desperately holding back his impulses and trying to stay as stable as possible.

"Alright...... Senpai, could I ask whether you saw Dairenji Suzuka before you left through the back entrance? You know who Dairenji Suzuka is, right? She's the 'Child Prodigy' of the Twelve Divine Generals."

"I know, the little girl who confessed to you."

"......Don't mention little girls any more."

"The 'Child' in 'Child Prodigy' describes a girl who is little--"

"Did you see her or not!"

Harutora thought that he would probably have a very hard time seeing this senpai as an elder. Spit scattered as he roared loudly, wondering about how it seemed that he had started shouting at people everywhere since yesterday.

Before Harutora's raised voice, the senpai replied honestly: "I saw her."

"Huh, really? Did you see her here?"

"I won't tell you for free."

"Tch."

"I want to see the s.h.i.+kigami from yesterday."

The senpai made her request leisurely. Harutora stared at her, cursing this d.a.m.n girl on the inside. Of course, the senpai's calm expression didn't waver at all from this.

"......Kon."

Harutora reluctantly called Kon and Kon immediately appeared in midair and descended to the ground as her tail and hakama lightly swayed.

"You heard her, right? Please greet her."

"A-A-As you command......" After Kon replied, she furiously cast a vicious gaze towards the senpai.

The s.h.i.+kigami Kon was extremely loyal to her master Harutora but had a bad att.i.tude to others. In particular, she would exhibit explicit animosity when facing those who endangered Harutora.

She naturally displayed respect towards the senpai on the surface and was hostile in her heart. "......Greetings, I am Kon, the descendant of the ancestral fox Kuzunoha, the retainer of Tsuchimikado Harutora-sama." She spoke bluntly and made a bow done as a formality.

However, the senpai immediately knelt down to see Kon's lowered face clearly. Looking from such a close distance made Kon inadvertently look up.

The senpai held her gaze at a similar height as the restless s.h.i.+kigami's, staring at her without looking away. Her blank eyes rounded slightly, her lips tight. Since her expression was blank, her appearance looked quite frightening.

"Ah, senpai! I just let you look at her, don't do whatever you like."

"How rude, I wasn't doing that."

"You're staring so hard at her that those words really don't sound convincing."

The senpai didn't respond, still staring intently at Kon. Did she truly like little girls that much? Harutora couldn't help but worry.

...But......

Though Kon was young, her appearance was quite proper and exquisite, like a j.a.panese doll. On the other hand, though the senpai's appearance didn't count as peculiar, she was also a truly beautiful girl. If Kon was a j.a.panese doll, then senpai was a bisque doll.

These two people - and both were very small - looked at each other from a very close distance. To the eyes of Harutora who looked on from the side, this scene was like two living dolls looking curiously at something similar to themselves.

"......Nn."

The senpai stared for about one minute and finally stood up, recovering to her usual placid, calm expression.

"How satisfying."

"......That's good."

"But I haven't tasted--"

"I'll hit you!"

"I'm joking."

The senpai spoke calmly, but Harutora couldn't laugh and Kon's face became dismal. Though it was to obtain information, this wasn't an enjoyable mission after all.

"Did you make this?"

"How's that possible, I'm not that incredible. She's a s.h.i.+kigami that serves my family - the Tsuchimikado branch family."

"I see......" The senpai nodded. "So you didn't set that seal either?"

Harutora couldn't help but ask back upon hearing that unexpected question: "Huh?" Then, he immediately thought of an incident that had happened before.

The first time Ohtomo had met Kon, he had also said something similar, mentioned something like a 'seal'. Harutora hadn't heard of anything related, but since Ohtomo-sensei and the Onmyou Academy third-year student believed this, they couldn't possibly both be wrong or mistaken.

...There was a seal on her?

The person herself, Kon, was taken aback when she heard what the senpai said. It seemed that she herself didn't know about this either.

His own s.h.i.+kigami had a seal that he didn't know about. Harutora was actually quite troubled, but he and Kon had gotten along for more than half a year, so Suzuka's matter was a priority right now.

"You said you would tell me, so where did you see Dairenji?"

Harutora asked again. Things had been a bit too frustrating just in order to ask about this small matter.

However, the senpai didn't directly reply to Harutora's question. She raised her right hand wordlessly, pointing a finger, and "...One, two..." counting to three in front of the perplexed Harutora and Kon. "Huh, so this is where you were." Suzuka just happened to open the back door and walked out of the academy building. "Dairenji!" Harutora also turned his head in shock.

"Where did you go just now?"

"I wanted to ask you that, I even especially went to your cla.s.sroom."

"What? For what?"

"N, None of your business! ...Ah, right, I went to find Tsuchimikado Natsume, you shouldn't even need to ask......" Suzuka replied, her expression a bit fl.u.s.tered for some reason, but Harutora didn't actually have the energy to observe Suzuka's reaction carefully.

"Did you see him?"

"No, he wasn't there anymore when I arrived."

It seemed that Natsume had left the cla.s.sroom a step ahead and hadn't crossed paths with Suzuka. Harutora, whose face had paled from fright, finally relaxed his breath.

"I, I see, so we just missed each other."

"Missed...... Could you have come to my cla.s.sroom to find me?" Suzuka smiled coldly, deliberately showing a disgusted - but she actually didn't look like it - expression. "You should just give up on that thought. I said before, but I have no interest in you, so please don't follow me around however you want."

"Shut up, why would I follow you around."

He had just been tossed around by a senpai and now he was being tormented by a kouhai. Harutora couldn't help but wonder whether the Onmyou Academy had any normal students at all.

"Whatever, do what you want...... Right, senpai? Th--" As Harutora turned around, the senpai's figure was no longer there before he could even finish speaking.

"H-Harutora-sama." Harutora looked along the direction Kon pointed, and noticed that the figure of the senpai's back had appeared on the road, about to turn around the corner of the academy building. She was really a random girl.

"......What a difficult person to understand......"

Harutora scratched his head with a bitter face. Suzuka knit her brows, not understanding what had happened.

But--

Once she noticed Kon, her expression changed for some reason. At the moment, all of Harutora's attention was on the senpai, and he didn't notice her change. She hid the wavering in her heart, desperately keeping calm.

"......Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, it's nothing actually......" Harutora didn't know how to respond to that question. "R, Right." He pondered and the finally asked with an awkward tone:

"Are you free later?"

They walked into a random nearby fast food store. Strangely, Suzuka seemed restless as soon as they entered the store.

"What's wrong?" Harutora asked.

"N, Nothing! I just don't come to this kind of store very often......"

Harutora was greatly surprised and couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Suzuka hadn't entered this kind of fast food store before. As a result, Suzuka lambasted him and he ended up having to treat her to a burger, fries, and a milkshake to cool her down.

But--

This girl really was very similar to Natsume......

They both lacked societal 'common sense', which was enough to prove that they had grown up in a peculiar environment. In the eyes of a normal person, the magic community was quite a peculiar world in the first place, but they knew nothing of the world outside the magic community.

...So they were all lacking in unexpected areas.

Harutora thought while looking at Suzuka sipping her milkshake through a straw, reacting in great surprise to the sticky feeling.

"......Hey, you couldn't be thinking about something opinionated, are you?"

"Oh, you're very keen. I was just thinking you were pretty cute."

"Uwah, you're so annoying! What are you joking about, don't forget your position, your place is under mine! You small fry!"

Suzuka let go of the straw, her face red. Harutora showed a smile, his expression leisurely.

Then--

Harutora looked for the next topic, but he actually didn't have any goal other than resolving Natsume's problem. If he had to say so, he might grudgingly count 'enhancing mutual friends.h.i.+p' as the current goal.

Harutora turned his thinking into chatting mode.

"Are you used to the Onmyou Academy yet?"

"I'm warning you, don't take that kind of arrogant att.i.tude! Do you think you're amazing or something?"

"Hey, that's not what I mean, I was just chatting. It's nothing to get agitated about, right?"

"Nonsense, look at your overbearing demeanor!"

"You're just deliberately picking on things...... Oh, but I can probably guess the answer, it's not too unexpected."

"What? What does that mean?"

"In any case, you definitely can't integrate with everyone, right?'

"I-I-It's not your business! Especially since I didn't intend to from the beginning! Not one bit!" Suzuka howled angrily, but Harutora just smiled wryly. He added milk to his hot coffee. "Isn't that a bit of a pity? Maybe you'll find some people unexpectedly interesting after talking."

"Let me remind you again, don't forget who I am and remember it well with that useless little brain! Someone interesting? Idiot, how could there be anyone interesting, their levels and mine are way too different!"

"Other than the Twelve Divine Generals, you won't find any others who can match you in Onmyoudou power. Actually, you shouldn't stick to level gaps. Even if your levels are different, I believe there are a lot of people with charming natures."

"What the h.e.l.l are you talking about, you're talking like an old geezer. And what's a charming nature?"

"One of the best examples is right in front of you."

"G.o.d! Please don't take idiots as interesting, alright? Low-level and stupid, it really sucks to be you!"

"Well, you're too young, you still don't understand my charm...... Better eat your hamburger while it's still warm, do you know how to open the wrapping paper?"

"If you dare look down on me again, I might kill you!"

Once he felt that she was similar to Natsume, Harutora's chatter couldn't be stopped for some reason. In addition, he could freely speak words that he was unable to say to Natsume's face. Could it be that Touji had a.s.signed this matter to him because he had seen through this already?

Harutora smiled on the inside, chewing the hamburger in his hand. He only noticed when he was halfway done eating that Suzuka's forehead was sweating and her eyes were staring unmovingly at the hamburger.

Harutora couldn't help but snicker, wordlessly reaching out his hand without paying heed to Suzuka's exclamation from the side. He silently opened the wrapping paper, putting it back on her tray.

Suzuka gaped blankly, then said: "......Tch! S, So it's that simple! You just pull it open!"

"Right, it's that simple."

"I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"

"Hey, why are you so ungrateful." Harutora smiled, drinking a mouthful of coffee.

Beforehand, he hadn't expected that he would be chatting so happily with Suzuka, and even if Suzuka griped, he knew that she was similarly cheerful from the atmosphere of the chat. But, she would definitely throw a tantrum if he pointed this out.

"Honestly, it would be good if you kept this kind of aggressive att.i.tude in your cla.s.s."

"Idiot, how many times do I have to say before you understand, I need to consider my position. Do you understand what a position is or not?"

"Is that position so important to the current you?"

"What? What exactly are you--"

"Let me ask you, is your ident.i.ty as a Divine General so important?"

"Uh--!"

Suzuka couldn't say anything for a while, depressed. Harutora feared that maybe he had carelessly touched a sensitive topic, hastily continuing to speak.

"Well, of course I don't understand how much self-respect a Divine General has, and I'm not sure what kind of position you're holding onto. But I think that entering the Onmyou Academy is a great opportunity for you, and...... Your brother's matter has also come to an end already, and you have to think about your future now. Maybe you can find a new goal."

Harutora spoke sincerely, his tone like always. His remark had no intent of reproaching her at all, but Suzuka's eyes widened as she listened, staring at Harutora. Her face reddened...... Faint moistness showed vaguely in her eyes, and her lips were pressed tightly together. She didn't make any response.

Harutora didn't have any other thoughts, but once he saw Suzuka's response, "Uh." He couldn't help but think about what he had said. "......Sorry, that was thoughtless of me. Those things are very important, whether your ident.i.ty as a Divine General, or...... the matter of your brother."

Suzuka's life experience - she had mentioned the situation regarding her parents with her own mouth last summer. Her parents were Onmyouji and had used their biological children as experimental subjects, killing their son - Suzuka's brother as a result.

When Suzuka had been born - even since before she was born - she had been irrevocably tied to magic. She hated and cursed it, but she was still indoctrinated with her biological parents' magic. And to revive her brother, she practiced desperately, aspiring to become a powerful Onmyouji.

In Suzuka's heart, being a Divine General definitely had quite far-reaching implications.

"Sorry." Harutora sincerely apologized to Suzuka. Suzuka didn't say anything. On one hand, Harutora regretted his thoughtlessness, but on the other he clenched his teeth to endure the silent, depressed atmosphere.

After some time, "......Why......" Suzuka spoke with her head lowered.

"What?"

"......Why are you so......"[2] After managing to force out those words, she pressed her lips together again, falling silent. But just before Harutora planned on opening his mouth, she raised her head as if sweeping away the haze in her heart, stubbornly staring at Harutora.

"......That little girl with you just now was a s.h.i.+kigami, right? Was it yours?"

"Huh? Oh, right...... But I didn't make her."

The sudden topic confused Harutora for a while, but he still replied truthfully. After Suzuka heard that, her expression became clearly surprised.

"Y, You didn't make it?"

"No, her name's Kon, she's a s.h.i.+kigami who serves the Tsuchimikado branch family."

"......I, I see, I thought......"

"Thought what?"

"No, well......"

Suzuka stammered, a self-derisive smile suddenly appearing on her face. "That's true, how could you make such a refined s.h.i.+kigami. Also...... her type isn't similar to the s.h.i.+kigami from that time at all......" A crooked smile hung on her lips as she muttered as if talking to herself.

Harutora's body trembled when he heard that. Upon seeing his dark face, a shocked expression - though maybe he was mistaken - instantly flashed over Suzuka's face. Her lips trembled, hesitating as she decided whether to advance or retreat. A brief yet intense struggle a.s.saulted the girl. In the end, she finally couldn't hold back but call out: "Wh, What about you?"

"Wh, What does that mean?"

"You don't hate me?"

"Hate you? Why......"

"Idiot! Of course the s.h.i.+kigami from back then, the one that I killed!" Suzuka's face teared up and her emotions burst forth as she tried to conceal her tears with anger. "I destroyed your s.h.i.+kigami and you yelled at me to shut up and stared at me so fiercely, how can you deny it!"

Harutora was speechless, and at the same time, he spurred himself on forcefully in his heart.

This moment had finally arrived.

Unrelated to Natsume's true ident.i.ty, and meaningless towards gains or losses.

If he planned on continuing to interact with this girl Dairenji Suzuka, right now was the crucial moment. He definitely couldn't mess up.

He didn't need to lie. It would be enough to bring out his truthful self and reply sincerely.

Harutora smiled slightly.

"You're really an idiot." Right, he needed the truth right now. "Don't worry, you were the one who won't ever be able to see your brother again because of us. As the one who wasn't able to reach out to her, I'm the only one who needs to worry about Hokuto's matter. You don't need to hold it to yourself."

Suddenly, a teardrop finally fell from Suzuka's eyes. Harutora felt a strong shock, incredibly ashamed of himself.

Harutora had never noticed nor expected that she would be concerned this much about Hokuto. How exactly had he seen Suzuka? He always paid attention to the false appearances of the Divine General brat with a twisted personality, and as a result, hadn't he been the one to overlook her true side?

She was so alone, she didn't even have anyone to open her heart towards.

Once she noticed she was crying, Suzuka hastily wiped away her tears. Harutora didn't open his mouth, his entire body frozen and immobile.

After she wiped her tears, Suzuka looked straight at Harutora again, her moist, round eyes reflecting Harutora's figure. "......I......I, I......" Her words half-spoken, they refused to come out as if stuck inside her chest. She went silent, seemingly unable to get a hold of her complex and enormous emotions. For some reason, that appearance looked like the quite crucial situation of a child desperately reaching out her hand for help.

"It's alright." Harutora took the initiative and spoke, more or less placating the girl's emotions. Then, he thought of something important.

"Ah, right. Sorry, you don't need to burden yourself with Hokuto's matter, because she isn't actually dead."

After hearing Harutora's confession, Suzuka's expression changed, taking some time to understand that remark.

"......What does that mean?"

"Uh, she...... though she was a s.h.i.+kigami, she wasn't exactly the same as a normal s.h.i.+kigami. It's hard to explain, but she didn't actually have her own will, and was controlled by some other pract.i.tioner--"

"......L, Long-distance control? Sh, She was a simple s.h.i.+kigami?"

"Right, that's it. Anyways, that s.h.i.+kigami was made pretty sophisticatedly...... So even you didn't see through it immediately. But that Hokuto - that s.h.i.+kigami Hokuto was at best just a 'container', and the true Hokuto - the person who talked and laughed with me - should still be living somewhere in the world."

Suzuka was speechless upon hearing Harutora's explanation. She attentively listened to every word Harutora said and stared intently at his face, her expression as if she had suffered an intense shock.

Harutora continued to speak:

"Honestly, that was what made me decide to enter this world...... There were many reasons why I made this decision, but the majority of it was because I thought maybe I could meet Hokuto's controller again. That person's definitely an Onmyouji, so if I become an Onmyouji, we might be able to meet some day."

Harutora told Suzuka the dream that he had never confessed to Natsume and Touji, wholeheartedly only wanting to slightly lessen Suzuka's remorse. If Suzuka cared about Hokuto, maybe knowing this matter could let her unburden her heart.

However......

After hearing Harutora's explanation, Suzuka's body trembled and then stiffened. "......What kind of joke is that." The tone leaking out of her mouth was stilted, overturning Harutora's predictions. Then, the gaze that Suzuka looked at Harutora with was no longer clear and simple. The corners of her mouth curled, suddenly forming a savage smile, self-deprecation rapidly emerging on her face.

"d.a.m.n." She cursed.

...Huh? What was going on?

Harutora's heart leaped, not understanding why Suzuka's mood had suddenly changed so much. Upon seeing Harutora's reaction, Suzuka's mouth drew back even more. A smile like fresh blood dripping from a wound emerged on her face.

"......Whatever, this is so annoying. Anyway, I didn't need that kind of thing in the first place, so it's enough if I'm satisfied......" Suzuka spoke to herself, her voice giving off an appalling force. An electric chill ran through Harutora's back when he heard it.

"Wh, What are you saying?"

Harutora almost reflexively called out Kon, simultaneously regretting his orders at the beginning when he had commanded her not to appear no matter what happened.

Suzuka caught Harutora with her gaze, suddenly leaning her body forward. "......I......I'll rely on my own strength and get a 'new self'......" She held on to a will that seemed like it could crumble anytime as she stared pressingly at him. The fire of 'determination' burned in her gaze, the flames of a 'decision' that she would chase 'something' without fear of being hurt.

Right as her voice faded, her look suddenly s.h.i.+fted into a battle state. She clicked her tongue fiercely, overturning the chair as she stood up, casting a gaze behind her that was sharp as a knife.

"d.a.m.n! There really was someone watching!"

"What?"

"You! Your stealth is too simple!"

Suzuka barked, quickly forming a blade seal and slas.h.i.+ng her hand seal behind her - towards the table on the other side of the part.i.tion.

The magical energy cleaved through the air, still eye-catching even though it had been sealed, and exploded in midair.

In the next second, as he 'saw' an intense flash of light, a figure appeared and leaned out of the shadows towards them from a place that had been originally empty - no, a place that he had not noticed a presence from at all.

A dark Onmyou Academy uniform.

Jet-black hair tied with a pink ribbon.

"Aah!"

With her magic broken, that person tumbled to the ground from her chair. There was a pair of unbefitting simple gla.s.ses on the face that looked up at Harutora and Suzuka with trepidation......

"............Ah?"

Harutora's body went limp, momentarily forgetting his shock and fretfulness. His entire body went slack as if the vital force and mental force in his body had disappeared in a second.

Suzuka also stared blankly at that person.

That person's face was red, her body frozen.

Harutora was careless for a moment. "......Natsume, why are you......" Once the words left his mouth, he realized he had gaffed, but unfortunately it was too late. It was over. Harutora looked at Suzuka.

Then--

Who was this person - she didn't need to think much, Suzuka already realized. Everything happened instantaneously like a spark triggering a chain reaction.

I remember this person.

I always had that face in my heart and couldn't forget it, since after all she was one of the people who obstructed my plans. I was even more concerned after that incident happened, because she was the girl by Harutora's side.

The girl from that day who wore miko clothing, accompanying Harutora by his side. And also--

"......Natsume, why are you......"

Simply put - though Suzuka wasn't clear on the reasons why she was dressed as a male for some reason - with this, she could understand why she had been there back then, her magic unbefitting her age, and her reason for stopping Suzuka together with Harutora.

Tsuchimikado Natsume.

This girl was the miko from back then.

The encounters with Harutora immediately appeared in her mind. Every time Tsuchimikado Natsume was brought up, his att.i.tude would become strange. In other words, this was a secret that couldn't be told to others. Tsuchimikado was the main family 'son' to outsiders, but this was actually a lie concealing her true ident.i.ty.

Not only this.

...'The true Hokuto'...

"......Right."

High-level techniques that could even conceal her from Suzuka.

A reason for always being with Harutora.

...'She's still somewhere.'

"......So that's it."

Just then, a burning anger that even she couldn't help but be surprised about controlled Suzuka's mind, and a cruel personality - one that even she herself feared - broke its shackles.

A smile emerged on her mouth, her tangled emotions making her sneer leisurely.

She looked at Harutora, looking at his pale face and dumbstruck appearance, and her eyes moistened again.

This time, she made absolutely sure not to cry again.

"Now...... things are becoming more and more 'interesting'."

That's right, she definitely couldn't cry again.

After the disaster happened, the hollow sound of a ringtone emanated in the fast food store.

The ringtone came from Harutora's phone.

'Sorry, Natsume might have gone to find you.'

When Touji's message arrived, things had already progressed to the point of no return.

"Hi, darling! Good morning!"

The next morning, Harutora, who suffered Suzuka's a.s.sault, had a dull gaze. Natsume, who sat next to him, had the same half-dead appearance. Among them, only Touji was leisurely, casting an 'it's finally here' gaze at Suzuka.

A b.e.s.t.i.a.l smile flashed across Suzuka's lips, a killer light flas.h.i.+ng in her eyes. She walked leisurely towards Harutora's seat in the cla.s.sroom that had erupted into a clamor because of the word 'darling'.

"Oh? You don't look too energetic today, did something happen? I can give some of my energy to senpai~"

Suzuka played around with Harutora. Harutora was powerless to fight back with his weakness already in the girl's hands.

Then, Suzuka deliberately turned her gaze to Harutora's side.

"Ah! 'Could you be' Natsume-senpai? Tsuchimikado Natsume-senpai, the Tsuchimikado family's next heir. 'Nice to meet you'! I'm Dairenji Suzuka, I heard rumors about Natsume-senpai often in the Onmyou Agency~"

"I'm really moved, I 'always' really wanted to 'meet you'."

Natsume - no longer wearing gla.s.ses on her face - didn't say a word, nodding her head a few times mechanically. Harutora looked at Natsume next to him with an ashen feeling.

"I'm not used to living in the Onmyou Academy, so please 'look over me', 'senpai'." Suzuka spoke, a sweet smile all over her face.

"......Oh man, this isn't good." Touji muttered.

That simple sentence happened to be a concise and accurate evaluation of Harutora and Natsume's new term.