Tokyo Ravens Volume 7 Chapter 2

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It was still an inexplicable encounter even when he recalled it after the fact.

"......Souma Takiko?"

"Yeah."

The girl showed a cheerful smile at the still-confused Natsume, nodding her head.

"You can call me Takiko. Can I also call you Natsume? ...And how about Harutora?"

Harutora was taken aback again at such a familiar way of addressing him.

Even the strong wind on the roof had calmed down at some point. The dim light of the foxfire illuminated Harutora, Natsume, and also Takiko.

If he looked more closely, Takiko was even marvelous-looking. Her face needed no description, but her red hair upon her pure white uniform was as beautiful as a doll. Was it because of color contrast? It resembled the particular beauty of artwork more than natural beauty.

Moreover, she really had the awe-inspiring charm of youth.

A slim figure with thin limbs and neck. The most eye-catching thing about her was her cheerful smile.

Takiko probably noticed the confusion of the two and revealed a somewhat embarra.s.sed smile.

"Ah, sorry. I'm being a little too familiar. I know about your situation well, so I couldn't help it......"

She spoke a bit bashfully.

"But...... I was really surprised to meet you directly like this. Also, I'm very happy."

The smile that emerged on her pretty features was as if to confirm what she said was true, and it actually did feel a bit merry. Natsume's confusion became deep and deeper. She looked pleadingly at Harutora, but Harutora was similarly confused. No, Harutora was probably even more at a loss.

Harutora collected his thoughts again.

"Then...... Souma-san."

"It's fine if you call me Takiko. Is it really too familiar?"

"That's not it...... Then, Takiko."

"Nn." Takiko smiled cheerfully after he changed how he addressed her. That action seemed particularly native, though it didn't change her impression of cleverness.

"Takiko, are you a first-year or a third-year......"

After all, her hair. Harutora and the others couldn't possibly not know of her if there were such an eye-catching student in the same year as them. He first thought that she was probably a first-year student who had entered the academy this spring, but Takiko's reply was a bit complex.

"My circ.u.mstances are a bit peculiar. It's a bit complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yeah. But I am also a 'student'. It's true."

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

Harutora lost the opportunity to continue asking after Takiko's mild, vague words,

The way she spoke was casual and direct, but her original temperament and style didn't crumble because of it. How should he put it - she was elegant. Just this made him worry about whether taking the initiative to question her would be too rude.

Natsume coughed lightly.

"Takiko...san. What are you doing here? It's already this late, and you're alone."

Natsume recovered the voice she used when she pretended to be male and asked.

But Takiko showed an even happier smile than when she had replied to Harutora. Deep feelings of affection could even be sensed from her expression as she looked at Natsume.

"Definitely the same as you guys."

"The same?"

"Yeah. After all, you two came to look at the Heavenly Altar, right?"

Takiko spoke after turning her body. Harutora also looked in the direction behind Takiko.

The foxfire illuminated the square stone platform, and torii in four colors were erected on its four sides.

"Heavenly Altar? ......You mean this altar? You - Takiko, you came here just to see it?"

"Yes." Takiko nodded after hearing Harutora ask. But she just expressed agreement without explanation, and it was impossible to speculate any further about the situation.

Come to think about it, why did she know about the existence of this altar? If the princ.i.p.al hadn't brought Harutora and Natsume here during that attack, they wouldn't have known that this altar was on the academy roof. Most importantly, those stairs, which were the only means of access to the roof, had been concealed with magic. Harutora hadn't been to the Onmyou Academy for a year yet, but he had never noticed the academy roof.

Or, had Takiko only learned about this altar after the attack. Even so, it was still a bit strange.

Actually, most of the students still didn't know about the magical battle between Doman and Ohtomo. It was even less probable for them to know that the academy roof had been their battlefield or about the altar set there. The final finis.h.i.+ng blow had been on the ground - in front of the academy entrance - and all of the students taking refuge in the underground magic arena thought that an Independent Exorcist had rushed here and defeated 'D'. That explanation wasn't wrong, and those who knew the truth also yielded and didn't explain.

Of course, compared to thinking nonsensically, directly asking the person herself in front of him would be more effective.

But,

"Hm......"

Though he wanted to ask about her situation in detail, when he looked at the smiling Takiko watching him, it was hard to ask smoothly.

Also, why did this girl take such a familiar att.i.tude on their first meeting? It was like she completely trusted them.

Natsume was indeed very famous in the academy, and there were several people who looked up to her. But with the 'rumors' that surrounded her, there were very few people who wanted to form a close relations.h.i.+p with her.

Moreover, Takiko's att.i.tude wasn't exactly like looking up or admiring Natsume. How should he describe it......? It was a look as if she were seeing a companion. Moreover, she looked at Harutora the same way. To be honest, it was confusing. But even if Takiko's att.i.tude held some hidden information, he couldn't feel any negative emotions like animosity or malice from it.

Also......

As expected, he thought of it. A familiar att.i.tude and a refres.h.i.+ng youthfulness. Harutora's thoughts became increasingly jarred.

Before he realized it, Harutora was already unable to move his gaze away from the person staring intently at him. He seemed to want to call out a name.

Hokuto.

Natsume coughed forcefully.

"......Takiko-san. If I may, do you know what this altar is?"

Natsume's voice seemed stiffer than when she had spoken before. Probably just a mistake.

Takiko's att.i.tude was as if Natsume was joking.

"How could I!"

She smiled brightly.

Immediately after,

"Someone like me wouldn't be able to understand the Heavenly Altar. After all, this Heavenly Altar was the essence of the Tsuchimikado family's magic - the strongest magic legacy that Abe no Seimei left behind! Even Tsuchimikado Yakou, who was the closest to the mystery of the Heavenly Altar, couldn't fully understand it......"

Natsume's expression went rigid for a moment.

Right afterwards, Harutora also understood the meaning in Takiko's words. He looked at her again, stunned.

"What does that mean?'

Natsume asked sharply.

"Could it be that...... you know about the ritual performed here?"

"You mean the 'Taizan f.u.kun Ritual'? Of course. But it would be presumptuous of me to claim that I even know just a tip of the iceberg."

Takiko replied honestly. Natsume's eyes widened and her lips pressed together.

Harutora was also speechless.

"......Eh? What? Wasn't the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual a secret ritual of the Tsuchimikado family......?"

He whispered to Natsume next to him for confirmation.

Natsume didn't move her gaze from Takiko.

"......Even if all you know is the name, you still know. But you shouldn't speak of it together with Yakou's name. More importantly, there are even fewer people who can casually a.s.sert that this is that altar."

The expression with which Natsume watched the girl instantly went serious.

Indeed, of the people around them, only Suzuka could speak of the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual in such detail, and she was a researcher of the Imperial Onmyoudou that Tsuchimikado Yakou had formulated. The Taizan f.u.kun Ritual that Takiko spoke of, along with her connecting it to Tsuchimikado Yakou, proved that her knowledge of this business was not to be underestimated.

Takiko showed a weak smile at Natsume's expression of alarm, as if she were saying that this was troublesome. At the same time, her expression was mixed with naughtiness as if she were happy that Natsume had 'recognized' her.

"......Who exactly are you?"

Natsume asked directly. Harutora breathed out quietly.

"Didn't I say already? I'm the same as you, someone walking the path of Onmyoudou."

Takiko replied, her manner of speech like a breeze blowing through the prairie.[1]

As if summoned by her voice, the calm night wind started blowing again. Natsume's black hair, tied with a pink ribbon, swayed to the wind along with Takiko's red hair.

Takiko closed her mouth and laughed quietly.

"......What an unexpected encounter. It makes me happy enough to dance. Although, if I say too much, I might be scolded......"

The girl shot them an expression of goodwill, just like before.

After Natsume and Harutora slowly glanced at each other:

"Do you know? The whole story of why the Heavenly Altar is at the Onmyou Academy?"

◎

"Yo, good morning~"

"Hmm? You're here again?'

"What is it? You're off today, right?"

The Onmyou Academy building during repairs. Alpha and Omega questioned Harutora, Natsume, and Touji in surprise after seeing them appear while pus.h.i.+ng aside the tarp over the entrance.

It was ten in the morning on Sunday. Because the Onmyou Academy didn't have cla.s.s, Harutora and Touji wore casual clothes. Only Natsume was still dressed in her uniform, purely because she didn't have any casual clothes other than pullovers she wore indoors.

"Everyone's off work outside, but the repair work is still going on in the academy building."

"Roaming around will disturb the work. It's not a good idea."

"No, no, that's not it. We've come to inspect something today. It's studying, studying."

"We want to investigate some old information. Can we enter the library right now?'

Harutora reb.u.t.ted the komainu's advice and Natsume asked this. "The library?" Alpha checked.

"You can enter...... But in the end, the enemy s.h.i.+kigami made that place into a mess during the commotion."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. That person seemed to be looking for something. He invaded the library first."

Harutora and Natsume glanced at each other after hearing Omega's explanation.

"......Come to think of it, As.h.i.+ya Doman's target was the Raven's Wing in the first place."

Touji muttered from behind them. "Yeah." Harutora echoed his thoughts.

"Well, it's alright. The information wasn't burned or made unreadable, right? It's actually better if the locks were destroyed. For now, let's go in and look."

"Yeah. ...Alpha, Omega, can we?"

"Nn. It is admirable to wish to study even during weekends."

"If you clean it up a bit while you're there, it'll save the workers some trouble."

"Okay, bye......"

Harutora spoke and was about to walk into the academy building, but he suddenly stopped as if he noticed something. He stared intently at Alpha's face.

His gaze fell on the forehead of the Doberman-like vessel. The pentagram pattern drawn in ink.

"......What is it?"

"Is there something on my face?"

"Ah, sorry. It's nothing. Bye."

The komainu asked concernedly, but Harutora smiled and glossed it over. The three of them swiftly entered the building together and walked to the elevator.

Harutora relaxed his breath after the elevator door closed.

"......I only noticed now, Alpha and Omega have pentagrams on their heads. They've always been the door guards of the academy, so maybe they're related to what Souma-san talked about yesterday."

"That's unlikely. Though the pentagram is the Tsuchimikado family crest, it's also the most representative magic symbol of Onmyoudou. In the end, it wasn't Tsuchimikado Yakou's mark."

Natsume denied Harutora's expressed thoughts somewhat unhappily.

But,

"......Hmm. If that Souma Takiko girl was telling the truth, I wouldn't be surprised even if you said Alpha and Omega were originally Yakou's s.h.i.+kigami."

"Touji, you too? Those two are the princ.i.p.al's s.h.i.+kigami!"

"That's right now. But they're mechanical s.h.i.+kigami, right? Even if the magical energy they move with now comes from the princ.i.p.al, that doesn't mean the princ.i.p.al created them, right?"

"The Kurahas.h.i.+ family definitely created them."

"Probably. But the other probability isn't zero. After all, 'the Onmyou Academy's predecessor was a private school that Yakou created'."

Touji leaned on a side of the elevator, speaking indifferently. Natsume pouted, seeming somewhat unconvinced.

"After hearing those words, it makes sense that the genuine Raven's Wing was at the Onmyou Academy instead of being kept at the Onmyou Agency. How suspicious."

Touji continued to speak cynically, and Natsume didn't respond.

Harutora scratched his head.

...Things seemed to be getting more and more complicated......

He thought about what Takiko had said last night.

She had informed them of the reasons that the altar was hidden in the Onmyou Academy, along with the origins of the Onmyou Academy's predecessor.

Needless to say, the Onmyou Academy was an educational inst.i.tution meant to train professional Onmyouji. The so-called 'professional' here meant those who obtained the Onmyou Agency qualifications of 'First-Cla.s.s Onmyou', 'Second-Cla.s.s Onmyou', or 'Third-Cla.s.s Onmyou', in accordance with Onmyoudou regulations. Right now, it was basically the same as 'becoming a standalone Onmyouji'.

But according to what Takiko said, when the Onmyou Academy had been first established, its goal was somewhat different from 'creating standalone Onmyouji'.

"Think about it."

Takiko had said to Harutora and Natsume.

"The two of you are the forty-seventh cla.s.s of Onmyou Academy students. The Onmyou Academy opened almost fifty years ago. But Onmyouji obviously already existed before then. As for Onmyouji before that, most of them were born in famous traditional families or were students of sects, and there were no 'educational inst.i.tutions' that accepted ordinary people. But...... Starting from a certain time, the demand for Onmyouji surged."

That was the period of the Pacific Theater[2]. The time when the Onmyou Bureau, which had been abolished after the Meiji Restoration, had been revived by the higher-ups of the Imperial Army.

It was also the period when Tsuchimikado Yakou emerged in the world.

"The Onmyou Bureau, which had been reborn and attached to the military, recruited all the capable Onmyouji, shugenja[3], and tantric monks at the time. Those were the true pract.i.tioners, who used what is now called first-cla.s.s magic. ...But during the war, manpower was still absolutely insufficient. Because they abolished the old habits and practices that had been in place until then, they opened the doors to everyone who possessed qualifications to be a pract.i.tioner and founded an inst.i.tution to train Onmyouji. The person who did that was no other than Tsuchimikado Yakou."

It had been called the 'Yakou Academy'. The organization that Takiko had called the Onmyou Academy's predecessor.

"......But no one knows the detailed situation. There's still one way to look at it, which is that the Yakou Academy was an organization that people who gathered around Tsuchimikado Yakou spontaneously established, and which didn't have the will of Yakou himself. Maybe that way of saying things is more fitting to reality. Because right now, there are almost no official records concerning the Yakou Academy left behind."

In any case, this Yakou Academy had still existed through the decline of Yakou, who had been the princ.i.p.al, and had become a birthplace for Onmyouji. After all, even though it split away from the military after their defeat, the Onmyou Bureau was responsible for dealing with the spiritual disasters that filled Tokyo after the war, and often needed new fighting power and new Onmyouji.

Afterwards, the acc.u.mulation of members' experience and reliability of strategies for dealing with spiritual disasters temporarily brought about a stable period, the Onmyou Bureau started fumbling around at its future development as an organization. In order to eliminate its image in the world of 'having once belonged to the military', it started officiating spiritual disaster purification and moved forward into a newly-born organization.

They founded the Onmyou Agency.

Along with this, the Yakou Academy also desperately needed a revival. Though the Yakou Academy had the organizational ability to train Onmyouji, the 'standalone Onmyouji' that the Yakou academy had once trained meant 'pract.i.tioners that could use first-cla.s.s magic'. So, the students in the Yakou Academy at the time learned the most outstanding, strongest system of magic - Imperial Onmyoudou."

'Imperial Onmyoudou' was the foremost practical and usable system of magic that Yakou had developed at the military's request. In other words, it was magic for military use. Regardless of its strength, the recently founded Onmyou Agency couldn't designate such a magic as their official magic. That was because the most important thing to the Onmyou Agency was to rid themselves of the image of 'having once belonged to the military'. Also, since Imperial Onmyoudou was a system that a single person had founded in a short period of time, it wasn't suitable for everyone. Learning it required incredible time and effort, and most importantly, extraordinary talent.

Hence, a new system of magic replaced the Imperial style. General Onmyoudou had the simplified Imperial style as a basis, and was refined in some sense.

That was the Onmyoudou that the current Onmyou Agency used and that was taught to the students in the Onmyou Academy.

"......It doesn't train 'standalone Onmyouji' who can use first-cla.s.s magic on their own, it trains Onmyouji who can use General Onmyoudou. That was the goal of the Onmyou Academy when it began. ......But--"

That was the first time worry flashed over Takiko's face.

No, Harutora wasn't confident whether it was worry or not. Her slightly gloomy expression seemed like it could be explained as a smile - a cold smile.

"That was the condition for the Yakou Academy's rebirth, as if to deny Yakou's magic from before. Because of this, infighting appeared among the people around Yakou who had founded the Yakou Academy. As a result, the Yakou Academy was split into two factions...... One of them became the current Onmyou Academy. Though it already has a long history, the Heavenly Altar at the Onmyou Academy is because of the details behind the founding of the academy. You could say that those are the 'traces' Yakou left behind at the Onmyou Academy."

After Takiko's explanation ended, she smiled kindly towards the raptly-listening Harutora and Natsume again.

They didn't know how to react at these things that they had never heard of until now. Takiko probably expected the reactions of the two of them, still keeping calm.

He didn't know what Natsume thought, but the most surprising thing to Harutora still came afterwards. "Incidentally..." Takiko added to the silent Harutora and Natsume.

"Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+ knows about this business very clearly. After all, she was involved."

"Involved?"

"The breakout faction she led founded the current Onmyou Academy. Yakou found her when she was small, and she was one of the first members of the newly-established Yakou Academy. Though she married into the Kurahas.h.i.+ family after the war and left the Yakou Academy, she was made into the princ.i.p.al after the Onmyou Academy was established."

Harutora held his breath.

At the same time, he thought of something else. The first day he had transferred into the Onmyou Academy, the princ.i.p.al had told him first-hand that she had once met Yakou. She had said he was a normal person who liked to play shogi, but who had very poor skills; someone who could cry and laugh.

According to Takiko's words, Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+ hadn't originally been a Kurahas.h.i.+ family member. Instead, Yakou had noticed her and given her to the Kurahas.h.i.+ family for rearing. Not long after Yakou died, she married with the head of the Kurahas.h.i.+ family and had given birth to Kyouko's father.

After the death of her husband, Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+ inherited leaders.h.i.+p of the Kurahas.h.i.+ family and had also served as the Onmyou Academy princ.i.p.al. She had recommended herself to become the princ.i.p.al, which was enough to show her intense feelings towards the Onmyou Academy. Maybe some of that was grat.i.tude towards Yakou, who had found her.

Just then, the elevator stopped. Harutora's group arrived in the corridor.

The shattered windows had been covered by tarps. It was day right now, so it wasn't as dark as before. The three of them walked through the corridor towards the library.

...Even so.

Harutora thought deeply again.

Who exactly was that girl called Souma Takiko?

She called herself a student, but what she had told them definitely wasn't something an ordinary student would know. Even Kyouko, who was the daughter of the princ.i.p.al that Takiko spoke of, probably hadn't heard about the predecessor organization to the Onmyou Academy.

...Was she really a student? Well, her age was similar to ours......

Never mind what she had told them, her red hair and unique air were also filled with mystery.

Moreover, her personality coincided with Hokuto's.

It was inconceivable. Her rational eyes and confident actions had many features different from Hokuto. Though the way she talked was similar, it was also different. The strange reason he recalled Hokuto was probably because of her open att.i.tude, and most importantly, the closeness she had towards Harutora and Natsume.

...Well, what I can confirm is that she's smarter than Hokuto.

Hokuto definitely wouldn't be able to calmly carry out such a lengthy, complex explanation. No, it was possible that Harutora just couldn't imagine it. In Harutora's mind, Hokuto was more p.r.o.ne to acting on intuition rather than reasoning, but he didn't have much confidence now.

After all......

Harutora stared at the neck of Natsume, who walked in front of him.

The pink ribbon tied in her black hair.

Last month, suspicions that Hokuto was actually Natsume had arose in Harutora, and those hadn't disappeared yet. If he hadn't been troubled by that, he probably definitely would have asked Takiko yesterday when he met her.

The reason Takiko acted so closely, could it be......

...I'm thinking too much...... Probably......

In the end, Takiko had led Harutora and Natsume by the noses for the whole night. They hadn't even asked how to contact her. The two were both inadvertently stunned when they noticed afterwards that her true ident.i.ty was a complete mystery. After they returned to the dorm and told Touji, he scolded them fiercely.

Harutora brainstormed, imagining Takiko's true ident.i.ty.

"But......"

Touji murmured, sounding extremely annoyed.

"However I imagine it, it's better to directly ask the princ.i.p.al than to flip through every book in this library. For sure."

Touji's opinion was natural. But Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+ was currently going back and forth for the academy building repair work, and the students didn't know where she was at all or what she was doing. Hence, they had visited the still-being-repaired academy building even on a vacation day, hoping to at least investigate some old information regarding the Onmyou Academy.

Natsume couldn't ignore what Takiko had told them. No matter what, they had to confirm its authenticity.

"I want to investigate what I can with my own hands."

Natsume told him her opinion again.

"If we need to get the princ.i.p.al, we can ask Kurahas.h.i.+-san as a last resort. But the princ.i.p.al's quite crafty, and we'll need some information beforehand or she'll pull the wool over our eyes."

"......According to what Souma said, there weren't any records of the Yakou Academy left behind, right?"

"Those were 'official' records. But there shouldn't be none at all. It's not limited to the Yakou Academy. I think that there are definitely records and information about the founding of the Onmyou Academy...... Or things like diaries of related people."

Natsume was extremely motivated. Touji's expression tightened, his att.i.tude quite different from her in terms of vigor. Harutora generally wasn't good at doing things like looking through books.

"......Incidentally, the fastest way to confirm would be to immediately call Souma."

"Yeah. Isn't that why I said that we didn't ask for her contact information!? I said I would treat you to a meal, so stop complaining for now!"

Touji was complaining like he rarely did, resentful that he had been lured by food. Natsume sharply had him shut his mouth. The silent Harutora knew that their lunch would be a reward for helping to investigate the information, so he didn't interrupt the conversation between his good friend and childhood friend.

Maybe Natsume was scared of meeting the princ.i.p.al immediately.

Natsume was rumored to be Yakou's reincarnation. Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+ knew a lot about Yakou, and it wasn't strange to want to know right now but at the same time not want to find out. She would first investigate some information. Maybe that decision was an unexpected moment of hesitation.

But Natsume's inflated energy only continued until they actually entered the library.

"Uwah! So this is how it was."

"Haha, that's quite the splendid destruction."

Natsume's eyes widened as she entered the library first. Harutora and Touji, who peeked over from behind her, were also so surprised that they almost laughed. The closely-packed bookshelves in the library were mostly collapsed, with the books scattered everywhere. Not only was there no place to stand, the books even piled up to their knees. The recording numbers were extremely strange, but there were probably thousands of books.

"That Omega told us to clean up while we were at it, but seeing this, I think we won't be able to do anything unless we clean up first."

"...So the repairs would be completed by the time we finished cleaning... that kind of situation. I say we save the trouble and stop by the town, have a meal and go home."

Touji proposed this, thinking it a blessing and following right behind the dazed Harutora.

"No." But the wide-eyed Natsume immediately came to her senses, making a new decision.

"Most of the books here should be related to magic. We want to look for information related to the Onmyou Academy's history. Also, no matter how messy it got, similar information will be gathered together. We just need to find the location of the information that we want and then excavate there."

That meant it would still become excavation work at the end.

Natsume rolled up the sleeves of her uniform, wading into the jumbled sea of books and walking into the library.

The two watched her back.

"......Harutora."

"......What."

"From next time on, you have to ask for the phone number of any girl you meet for the first time."

"Understood. When I meet a girl for the first time, I'll call you over first."

Luckily, Natsume found the area where the history-related information was scattered before they ate lunch.

Immediately after, Natsume created autonomous simple s.h.i.+kigami. After ordering them to arrange the nearby books in the corridor, she left the academy building to treat Touji to lunch. When the three of them finished eating lunch and came back, the corridor in front of the library was filled with many books, their sheer numbers already enough to make them lose any thoughts of categorizing them. Moreover, the simple s.h.i.+kigami were still working. They piled up the next mountain in front of the dazed Harutora and company and returned to the library.

Natsume's cheeks momentarily twitched.

"F, For now, we should be able to speculate about the contents of the book from their t.i.tles. Just pick the ones with promising information and confirm what's inside. No problem, we'll find it quickly!"

"......That would be good if it were true."

Touji sighed with an emotionless voice.

They actually spent six hours after that.

The three of them silently immersed themselves in their mechanical, meaningless work.

After Touji, Harutora, and Kon, who had been summoned midway, even Natsume who had proposed the idea started dozing off. Moreover, the corridor became darker and darker as the sun gradually sank in the west.

After it became dark, their effectiveness decreased even though Kon released foxfire. More importantly, they didn't want to continue this kind of work after the sun set.

Kon worked in the library, and the three of them who were outside had stopped talking, going silent for quite a long time. Harutora and the others no longer even looked at each other, silently searching for information. Next to them, the simple s.h.i.+kigami were still adding to the mountains of books left in the corridor.

But,

"......Hmm?"

Harutora made the first sound in a while upon seeing the newly-increased mountain for information. He had already looked through all of the old information, and everything that the simple s.h.i.+kigami brought over now was relatively new info.

They were more like booklets rather than books. He muttered "...Oh" upon reading the t.i.tle of one of them. These were the student registers of various years of the Onmyou Academy.

"Natsume, how about this? Student registers. If we find the first register, at least we'll know the names of the members of the Onmyou Academy when it was established, right?'

"......Sorry, Harutora. I investigated a long time ago...... They started making lists after the tenth cla.s.s of students...... Wow, I ordered the simple s.h.i.+kigami to keep this kind of information for later, but it still brought these registers. It seems like there might be almost no related information left......"

"......I see......"

The dejected Harutora let out a dry laugh.

But he still unconsciously reached out and leisurely turned its pages. As a register, all it recorded were the family names of the graduating students, means of future contact, and a brief comment by the student. For something this obsolete, the contact information was probably ineffective.

"......Ah. Maybe my dad's here. I think my dad was an Onmyou Academy graduate."

"......That's pretty interesting. Let's go look."

"Hey, Harutora. Touji, too. Do this seriously."

"It's alright, we're just having some fun. ...Ah! Ohtomo-sensei should be here too. Kogure-san was in the same cla.s.s, right? What cla.s.s was it?"

"What was it? ...Natsume. Do you know?"

Harutora and Touji, who had already completely lost their motivation, started looking for name registers together. Natsume sighed exhaustedly, indifferently answering "The thirty-sixth".

Not long after, they found the name register of the thirty-sixth cla.s.s.

"I found it, Ohtomo Jin! d.a.m.n, it would be more interesting if it had pictures!"

"Whaat, 'I had a meaningful three years' - What is this, it's so bland."

Natsume also inadvertently looked at the name register from the side upon seeing the two of them being noisy.

Just as Harutora said, the register didn't even have a group picture. It wasn't very meaningful.

But since their spirits had been in an almost dead state for a long time, it still slightly humored them. The three of them all laughed after they found the name of Kogure Zenjirou, a current Divine General.

"Ahahaha...... Well, it's about time to wrap up, Natsume. Let's stop here and go back for today. It's getting late."

Touji urged Natsume with a smile on his face. Natsume had probably laughed out her irritation, and wasn't stubborn any more, replying "Alright."

"If we can't find it like this, there's nothing we can do. We'll ask Kurahas.h.i.+-san to ask the princ.i.p.al."

She slowly rose after replying with a cheerful expression.

But just then.

Harutora, who was still flipping through the names list, murmured "...Hmm?", his fingers stopping.

He stared intently at a page of the register.

"......What? I feel like I've seen this name somewhere before - or rather, heard. Who was it again?"

He gave the page to Natsume and Touji to look. After the two of them leaned over, he pointed it out with his finger. "This one."

'Saotome Ryou'

Unlike Harutora, the two of them instantly reacted upon seeing that name. Natsume gasped, and Touji's muttered "this person" with a solemn face.

"Ah, so you guys know?"

"......You've heard too, Harutora."

"Yeah. I felt like I had some impression. But from where?"

"......The camp before. Suzuka talked about him."

"Suzuka--"

Harutora finally thought of it.

Then, he unconsciously looked at the register again.

... 'Before me, there was another person who researched the Tsuchimikado Yakou who was widely regarded as taboo. That person carried out deep and thorough research in this field, establis.h.i.+ng a complete system step by step by himself.'

Right. The night of the training camp, Suzuka had spoken that name in the place that Harutora's group of six had gathered.

... 'Saotome Ryou's theory was quite unique, and in his thesis - actually, more like in the notes that he transcribed - he claimed that one could use the 'Raven's Wing' to judge whether someone was Yakou's reincarnation.'

Now that he thought of it, that was also the first time Harutora learned of the Raven's Wing's existence.

"I see...... That person mentioned that we would be able to identify Yakou's reincarnation with the Raven's Wing......!"

Harutora and Natsume's gazes were inadvertently drawn together.

Natsume's lips tightened as she stared unmovingly at the short name on the register.

"......You've been a bit strange recently, Kyouko-san. Did something happen?"

Kyouko, who had suddenly been questioned by her grandmother on the car to the Meguro branch, turned to the side with a surprised "Eh?".

Kyouko's grandmother, Kurahas.h.i.+ Miyo, was the princ.i.p.al of the Onmyou Academy. She had a small frame but a gentle demeanor, an old lady who seemed a bit mischievous to others. Kyouko took the same car to the academy building every day with her grandmother. Since the location of the lessons had changed to the Meguro branch, the princ.i.p.al would first send her there before going to the academy building.

The princ.i.p.al sighed lightly at her granddaughter, who sat in the backseat.

"You've been staring into s.p.a.ce for a long time. Also, you have a listless expression."

"R, Really? It's nothing......"

"Even if you can reel in boys like that, being like that to your grandmother is......"

"I'm not trying to entice you, grandma! Also, I was just thinking about things, so why did things turn into this?"

"Oh my. Though I want you to lighten up a bit, you're already quite energetic."

"You didn't want me lighten up, you were just purely bored! Yes yes, I haven't been paying attention to you, Grandma. I'm so very sorry for not saying anything."

Kyouko, who was more of the mature type in her cla.s.s, would also show a childish side in front of this grandmother. Her grandmother looked with a gentle gaze at her granddaughter as she apologized irritably.

"I'm very happy that you're willing to properly keep me company. There haven't been many people able to accompany me recently."

"Father's work is very busy right now, right? He has a lot of work because it's a crucial time right now. ......Or perhaps Grandma is a bit too carefree?"

"Oh my. I'm beginning to retire now. All I'm concerned about is my cute granddaughter."

"Yes, yes, I'm extremely grateful."

The granddaughter spoke hurriedly to her laughing grandmother, somewhat embarra.s.sed.

The Kurahas.h.i.+ family was a famous family in the magic community and had many troubles that only famous families had. One of these was the fact that there were very few times that the entire family could gather together. Because of this, since her father was so busy, even Kyouko could feel that her grandmother treasured the time she spent with her family.

Of course, it wasn't that nothing worried her.

"Come to think of it, I heard about the incident yesterday. You conducted mock battles with the exorcists on standby at the Meguro branch?"

"......Your ears are as sharp as always. Yeah, we did. I did partic.i.p.ate in a mock battle. But I listened properly during cla.s.s and paid attention not to impede their duties. You don't need to worry."

"Oh my, that wasn't what I was asking about. Fujiwara-sensei was there at the time, so there wouldn't be any problems in that regard. That's not it, I was asking about how the mock battle went. How was it? Kyouko-san, did you win?"

She asked excitedly. The grandmother furrowed her brow in dissatisfaction, saying "Oh my, oh my" to Kyouko who sighed and reported "I lost".

"How unfortunate. I was very much looking forward to the outcome when I heard you had a mock battle."

"Well, Grandma? The opponent was a professional exorcist, you know? Whatever you think, I couldn't have won. We're not qualified as professionals yet, we're just students."

"Well. Then, did everyone lose?"

"......Touji won. As usual, he won two straight after transforming. Natsume-kun also got a tie. I think it's because the opponent was too strong. Also, he wasn't allowed to summon his dragon. Also, Suzuka-chan didn't partic.i.p.ate...... I, Tenma, and Harutora lost."

Kyouko dully recounted the outcome of the mock battles. If she could, she wanted to end this topic, but her grandmother still wanted to hear more details. Kyouko sighed again, unwillingly continuing her explanation.

But after explaining to her grandmother from the beginning to the end, Kyouko also realized some of her feelings.

That is to say, regarding Harutora.

The spectating exorcists were probably most surprised by Touji's transformation or Natsume's power.

But what surprised Kyouko and the others more was Harutora, as could be expected.

He hadn't used any special magic. The magic Harutora used at the time - every one - was magic that she herself knew. What's more, she had known beforehand that 'Harutora could use that magic'.

Even so, the 'magical battle' Harutora had shown was obviously different from his fighting style from before.

It was enough to call him a different person. There had been continuous surprises and amazements. She had been engrossed in his next moves, unable to move her gaze away for a moment. Even that team captain that was his opponent had been the same. She didn't know how much Harutora had noticed, but from spectating the battle on the sidelines, she saw it clearly. That team captain had been watching Harutora's moves extremely seriously, responding to them prudently yet cautiously.

...If......

If she had fought with Harutora at that time...... She might have lost. No, it wasn't a possibility, she definitely couldn't have won.

Harutora's fighting power was very strong, that she had known long before. Moreover, she could see his growth every day.

Even so - no, it was probably because of that. Kyouko finally felt 'Harutora's current strength' after having seen the mock battle yesterday. No matter how much progress he had made, Harutora was still half an outsider, a loser who was often a dunce - she had always seen him that way, holding on to her first impression, but she had finally awoken from that.

...Yes...... That person's power had been very strong in the first place. That's why he had been able to constantly use charms like that and why he was able to use strong magic. Though his skill with magic was very low, that would keep improving in the future after constant training......

If you asked who was more skillful with magic, right now and in the near future it was undoubtedly herself who was ahead. Kyouko was the daughter of the famous Kurahas.h.i.+ family, and she had been receiving special instruction since she was small.

But...... Maybe Harutora had even more of an incredible 'ability' than she did. That was what Kyouko thought after seeing yesterday's mock battle - the opposite of what she had always thought. The branch family member Harutora had also inherited the blood of Abe no Seimei's traditional Onmyoudou family, the Tsuchimikados.

...Even that person...... Is suddenly changing his direction.

The Harutora from before just had a strong spiritual power, and relied on brute force to attack. But in yesterday's mock battle, he had started to aim at the enemy's weak points for the first time. Though all of his attacks and counterattacks had been clumsy, he had already had a clear 'strategy'.

Harutora suddenly changed his style of battle. He had definitely been affected by the attack last month. After all, he had witnessed the magical battle between Ohtomo and As.h.i.+ya Doman first-hand. Judging from their topic yesterday during lunchtime, he had more or less received a very strong impact.

Seriously, as Kyouko saw it, Harutora and Touji should have found it hard to believe.

It would definitely be like that. After seeing such a shocking magical battle, most pract.i.tioners would feel indifferent emotions like 'that was special'. They wouldn't turn it around and question themselves. It was presumptuous to compare and they had nothing to reference against it. Also, even if that weren't true, they would lose the will to work hard because of how huge the difference was between them.

...Right, that guy has indeed grown, but he's inexperienced...... That's why he 'doesn't understand'......

If you just wanted to find a path and improve yourself, you would definitely hit some kind of 'wall'. Even for someone with outstanding talent, after a certain period of time, progress would stagnate.

What kind of level could she reach? How far could she work hard for? Whether she had self-awareness or not, she had probably naturally realized it somewhere in her heart.

Then, she wouldn't compare herself with people who were far ahead of her in that regard, thinking them as 'different'. If she did, then that would give rise to ugly jealousy. Emotions like anxiety and despair would swell up.

Of course, it was another matter to be friends with and get along with someone like Suzuka. What's more, it was because she thought of Suzuka's ability and her own as 'different' that she was able to keep from holding other thoughts and get along naturally with her.

So, Harutora had definitely just failed to understand. He only had a pure desire for those dazzlingly high standards of 'ability' because he didn't know how much he had grown. In that case, Harutora really was 'half outsider'.

...But.

Kyouko had been confident she wouldn't lose to him until not long ago.

But yesterday's Harutora would definitely win against Kyouko.

Harutora and Kyouko had experienced the same amount of time and witnessed the same intense battles, but a 'discrepancy' had still arisen.

She felt very mad. That Harutora, to think he was this presumptuous.

But right afterwards, she unconsciously let a wry smile show for some reason.

Harutora's figure as he fought desperately in the mock battle reappeared in her mind. A tight mouth and a perfectly straight gaze. How should she describe it...... He truly was a 'guy'. Then, she smiled wryly again. It seemed like she was able to understand the reason Suzuka was attracted to Harutora.

That was why. Harutora was extremely 'manly'.

Also...... When she thought about a different Tsuchimikado, sorrow pa.s.sed over Kyouko's face again.

...Natsume-kun......

The boy Kyouko liked. She had started liking him since she was small, and many things had happened since they reunited, but as expected, she still liked him...... yearned for him......

But now, there was something Kyouko was very concerned about.

It had started from the incident last month. At the time - everyone had been surrounded by Doman's s.h.i.+kigami and Natsume had fought seriously. He had seriously protected Kyouko and his companions with all of his strength. Thinking back, that was the first time Kyouko had seen the 'serious Natsume' with her own eyes. She had seen the undisguised Natsume first-hand.

But the Natsume from that time was different from normal. That didn't mean his desperation or how powerful he was...... It was something else that was different. Some feeling of wrongness.

Of course, Kyouko hadn't been in a normal condition at the time. Natsume wasn't the one to talk about if you were talking about desperation. So she had thought it was her own mistake.

But in the mock battle yesterday, Kyouko had felt the same feeling of wrongness from Natsume again for a moment. She thought of it. Various scenes from before, several flakes that she hadn't been concerned about and missed.

"......Hah."

Kyouko unconsciously closed her eyes. She cleared her mind, resetting her thoughts.

She didn't understand the true ident.i.ty of the feeling of wrongness. She unconsciously avoided thinking about it. She didn't want to know the answer and she was unwilling to think. She was scared.

Because of this, she been a bit stiff with Natsume recently. Though it was fortunate that Natsume hadn't felt anything at all...... It still wasn't a good inclination.

...What should I do?

Since Harutora had entered the academy, Kyouko had begun feeling frustrated about her personal relations.h.i.+ps.

"......Kyouko-san?"

The princ.i.p.al called out to her upon seeing Kyouko go silent at some point. Kyouko came back to her senses. She turned her head, looking at the eyes that had protected her since she had been small gazing at her as if they could see through the depths of her heart.

Kyouko was distraught. But her grandmother didn't say any unnecessary words to her granddaughter who was like that.

"We've arrived already. Do your best today as well."

She hastily looked outside. The car was already stopped next to the Meguro branch. Kyouko didn't dare to meet her grandmother's gaze. Expressing thanks to her grandmother for asking nothing at all, she said:

"I-I'm off."

She lightly left those words and opened the door to leave the car.

...Really. Get a grip!

Kyouko urged herself as she watched the car speed away. She straightened her back and walked into the branch.

She checked the location of her first cla.s.s from the bulletin board by the entrance. It was in the second meeting room. Right now, she had already memorized the locations of the various meeting rooms, so she didn't need to go look carefully at the room map. She greeted the bureau members who pa.s.sed by her, walking into the second meeting room with steady steps.

When she entered the room, most of the students were present, including Harutora, Natsume, Touji, and most of the dorm residents.

The three of them also noticed Kyouko. Harutora said "Yo. Good morning.". As Kyouko also greeted him, she unconsciously peeked at Natsume's expression.

But before Kyouko and Natsume spoke to each other:

"Kyouko. Are you free after school today?"

After they greeted each other, Harutora asked this of Kyouko. "Eh?" Kyouko's attention returned to Harutora.

"I am free...... what is it? Could it be that you're going to try getting into another mock battle?"

"No, no. It's something else this time."

Harutora shook his head, smiling.

"I wanted to go on a hospital visit. For our homeroom teacher."

"......So in short, that Yakou researcher called Saotome Ryou whom Suzuka spoke of before was actually Ohtomo-sensei's cla.s.smate?"

"That's right. That's the only thing we got after spending an entire Sunday. It's a feeling like going into a ramen store and all they have is curry."

Harutora shrugged his shoulders at Kyouko's confirmation.

The sun set at a later time every day.

It was after cla.s.ses had ended. Harutora and the others were riding the train to Ueno during what was called the evening, though the sun was still bright.

Actually, he had already visited Ohtomo before. When Ohtomo's condition stabilized, he had gone to thank him for his a.s.sistance during the attack. But Ohtomo had transferred to a hospital in Ueno after that.

The people who went to visit him this time, outside of Harutora, were Natsume, Touji, Kyouko, Tenma, and Suzuka, six people in total. But visiting was actually just an excuse. Their true goal was to hear about information related to Saotome Ryou. Of course, though they had heard they were cla.s.smates, he might not know any detailed information, but they might as well ask and see first.

Also, they planned on questioning Ohtomo about whether he knew anything regarding the Onmyou Academy history they had learned from Takiko. But they didn't expect much in this regard. Ohtomo had originally been a Mystical Investigator, and he didn't have much experience as a teacher. As expected, the key person in the relations.h.i.+p between the Onmyou Academy and the Yakou Academy was Princ.i.p.al Kurahas.h.i.+.

"......In that case, you should have contacted me yesterday by email or something else. I was with Grandma today morning, you know?"

"Sorry, Kurahas.h.i.+-san. I thought it would be better to speak with you face-to-face because I thought that it would be hard to meet with the princ.i.p.al immediately and because the topic is also rather complex."

Natsume spoke apologetically. Kyouko hastily waved her hands in alarm. "No, it's no problem, Natsume-kun!"

She had conveyed what Souma Takiko had said to her to Kyouko, Tenma, and Suzuka during lunchtime. But just as she, Harutora, and Touji had antic.i.p.ated, this was also the first time Kyouko had heard about it.

"Now that you mention it, Grandma kind of evaded the question about the altar on the roof. I'm also interested in how specifically it's related to Tsuchimikado Yakou. I'll have to question Grandma carefully."

"Thanks for the help." After hearing Kyouko's reliable words, Harutora expressed his thanks.

Then, Tenma said "Uh," as if he had thoughts.

"But that girl called Souma is very interesting. Is she really a student?"

"Yeah[4]. If the Onmyou Academy were in its normal condition, we could find some related worker and ask......"

"What about Alpha and Omega? Harutora-kun, have you guys asked whether they know about that girl?"

"Ah." Harutora raised his voice as if he had thought of something in response to Tenma's inadvertently-made proposal.

"That's right! Those two guys should probably know if she's a student. d.a.m.n, I should have asked them."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. But I bet they don't know anything."

"Huh? Why?"

"Intuition."

"Intuition, huh."

"Anyway, I haven't seen her."

Touji stuck his hands in his pockets, replying coldly.

"But considering what I heard about that girl's att.i.tude to the two of you, she would definitely have approached you earlier if she were a student and went to the academy every day. There would always be an opportunity for some kind of reason. Even as a chance encounter, it's too unnatural to happen to meet a cla.s.smate for the first time on the academy roof at night as it's being repaired."

"There's also the possibility that she's a new student who just entered this year."

"There's one new student who entered this year who made a declaration in front of all the students on the first day and viciously disrupted your lives. In the end, she's walking with you guys right now."

"Hmph." After hearing the matter that Touji casually pointed out, Suzuka, who walked ahead and to the side of them, narrowed her eyes and looked back, her long ponytails swaying.

Maybe Suzuka had tried to approach Harutora and Natsume with all her might since the start, but had been set back for some unexpected reason. Well, he was probably overthinking it.

Harutora felt that the opportunity was right.

"Suzuka. Are there any new students with red hair among the first-years?"

"How would I know. I have no interest in the other students."

"......I guess."

"Rather than that. I was listening just now, did you mention Saotome? I'm more interested in that."

The six of them had discussed it, but Suzuka was the one who understood Saotome most clearly. More accurately, the others just knew the information that Suzuka had told them. But even Suzuka had only understood Saotome from the research he had left behind.

"Though I knew he was an Onmyou Academy graduate...... That was too vague. There are so many Onmyou Academy graduates in this line of work."

According to the explanation they had heard from Suzuka before, Saotome had once been a member of the now shut-down Imperial Household Agency Lingering Spirit Division. He had been a subordinate of Suzuka's father Dairenji s.h.i.+dou, who was the culprit of the spiritual disaster attack two years ago. But it was uncertain whether he was a member of the Twin-Horned Syndicate like Dairenji s.h.i.+dou. He had disappeared without a trace before the Mystical Investigators inspected and dissolved and finally shut down the Lingering Spirit Division. Of course, he hadn't been heard from since.

"Well, we don't know if they had any contact after graduating, even if they were cla.s.smates. I don't think Ohtomo could possibly know what Saotome's doing now. I was just a researcher, and had a pure interest in my fellow researcher Saotome. What kind of person is he...... But I kind of feel like the only answer I could get is 'who knows'."

Suzuka put her hands behind her head, speaking listlessly. She was probably antic.i.p.ating what kind of result there would be.

Actually, he probably wouldn't be able to answer with much if someone asked him about the situation of anyone from middle or elementary school. Other than several people he had been close with, all he had known about others were their names.

Moreover,

"......It seems like Ohtomo-sensei wouldn't have many friends......"

Harutora also inadvertently expressed his approval after hearing Kyouko mutter quietly. Kogure, who was in the same cla.s.s, had a very wide friend group.

Harutora secretly peeked at the expression of Natsume next to him.

Natsume probably wanted to know more about information regarding Saotome than Suzuka did. To Natsume, who might be Yakou's reincarnation, Saotome, who was more knowledgeable about Yakou's personal information, had to be someone she wanted to meet. In particular, Saotome had proposed that using the 'Raven's Wing' could judge whether someone was Yakou's reincarnation. She wanted to at least confirm its authenticity.

The Onmyou Academy kept the genuine Raven's Wing, but it had been taken away by Natsume's father before As.h.i.+ya Doman had attacked. Natsume's father was an outstanding diviner, and he had predicted Doman's attack - or at least the danger of exposing the Raven's Wing - and had moved it to a different place beforehand.

Actually, Natsume hadn't asked her father about anything related to the Raven's Wing.

If she could, Natsume didn't want to contact her father, whom she didn't have a very good relations.h.i.+p with. 'Use the Raven's Wing to ascertain the truth' - Saotome's idea was too ambiguous and lacking in evidence.

But if she could find information related to Saotome - especially if she could get a hold on the clues in front of her...

In that case, maybe she could meet with Saotome herself.

Natsume walked on the road. Not much could be seen from her face. Harutora gave up, unconsciously looking towards the sky.

Just then, the horn of a car suddenly sounded towards the walking Harutora.

Their group stopped and turned towards the road. The car driving on the other side of the road deliberately made a U-turn to approach the sidewalk where Harutora and the others were.

The car stopped next to them. It was a small car, an old model Mini Cooper. It was painted black from end to end, and the windows were shaded. A black Mini.

The pa.s.senger-side car window rolled down--

"...What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Senpai?"

A neat, doll-like face, expressionless like a mask, looked at Harutora from the car window. No interest of the speaker could be felt from the voice that spoke to Harutora and the gaze that looked at Harutora.

She was the third-year Onmyou Academy senpai that Harutora knew. Though he ran into her very infrequently, every time he did, she left behind unforgettable impacts.

"How rare, you're riding a car. Senpai, what are you in Ueno for?"

"Inviting Kon-chan to go for a spin."

"......Could you answer questions seriously, even just occasionally?"

"Don't worry, I'll return her in the evening."

"That's not the problem!"

"If the price isn't too high--"

"That's even less of a problem!"

Though this was a bicker completely the same as before, the people around them were inadvertently dazed. Come to think of it, of the people here, only Touji had met the senpai.

Harutora hastily turned back around.

"Ah, I'll introduce her. Natsume, I talked with you before, right? 'That' senpai. ......Ahh, her name's Suzu."

The senpai Harutora introduced stuck her head out of the window, succinctly saying "nice to meet you". Of course, she was still expressionless as if she were sleepy. Harutora's group, starting with Natsume, nodded as if they didn't know how to respond to this senpai who greeted them. But - not unexpectedly - the senpai seemed completely unaffected by her kouhais' strange reactions.

"Should I introduce these guys too? You met Touji before, right? Next is--"

"I know. Tsuchimikado Natsume, Kurahas.h.i.+ Kyouko, Dairenji Suzuka, Gla.s.ses."

"Ah, so you knew them. Well, they're pretty famous in the academy."

"......H, Hey, Harutora-kun? What about me?"

Tenma, who had been called 'Gla.s.ses', protested silently. Harutora hastily introduced Tenma, though he didn't know whether the senpai was seriously listening.

She looked at everyone with a blank gaze that they couldn't figure out the target of. When her gaze focused on Suzuka, she stopped for a moment.

What was she doing? Suzuka, feeling a bit suspicious, furrowed her brows. "What?" The senpai stared at her.

"......How unfortunate."

"......Uwah, I completely know what senpai means. It looks like you've fallen pretty far."

"How rude. Call it enlightenment."

"It's a completely depraved direction."

Come to think of it, she might be the only person he could bicker so impolitely with. To think this kind of person was his senpai. What a sad fact.

As if losing her temper at the rude att.i.tude of her kouhai, the senpai - no expression on her face, like always - seemed to get mad with a "hmph".

She frowned slightly.

"What a declaration of a winner. I hate that kind of gaze that looks down on others."

"Hah? How am I the winner?"

"Because you're the owner......"

"Oh. You mean Kon. ......No, I know, but......"

"How envious. So hateful. The winner's lack of self-awareness, the owner's arrogance."

"What's wrong? Am I thinking too much, or are you even more annoying than normal today?"

"If you don't have a little girl, you can dearly love your own s.h.i.+kigami. That's discrimination against those who don't have them--"

"Enough is enough, Senpai."

The senpai, her hands on the window frame, got more and more vigorous as she spoke. Harutora mercilessly reprimanded her again.

But she wasn't as energetic as usual this time. Had something happened? Perhaps something hateful had happened, or her expectations had been dashed.

Unexpectedly,

"Let me go on a date with her!"

"Why are you getting angry! Come to think of it, why are you upset! Also, I won't permit that!"

The fact that the topic couldn't progress even if he uncharacteristically negated her hadn't changed. But though Harutora had asked 'what have you come to Ueno for', he didn't really want to know the answer.

But he really was very interested in this car. After all, there wouldn't be only one person in the car. Actually, the senpai sat in the pa.s.senger seat of the Mini. Someone else drove.

He still hadn't seen Senpai with anyone else. Driven by his curiosity, Harutora peeked into the driver's seat from the pa.s.senger side window.

The person driving the car was a black-suited man wearing sungla.s.ses. He was extremely bland, - or rather, his extreme lack of individuality bothered him. The people next to him were having a stupid conversation, but he didn't even look away from what was in front of him.

"He's a s.h.i.+kigami. He's just driving."

His hair stood on end momentarily.

The voice came from the backseat. There was one more pa.s.senger. However, he hadn't noticed at all before he heard that voice. His thoughts froze, and only his eyes reflexively turned to the backseat.

"....Th, That's weird......?"

After seeing the person who had spoken, his stiff body relaxed. A small boy sat in the very narrow backseat of the Mini.

A scary elementary schooler, probably. His clothes were very neat, and he wore an old-styled suit and cropped slacks. He wore a bowtie and sungla.s.ses.

Sungla.s.ses as red as blood.

His body below his head didn't move at all. He faced Harutora with just a fearle