Part 3
The rain had started in the afternoon, and gradually grew stronger as time went on.
Natsume met him inside an old cafe. He unfolded his umbrella, rushing into the store, and the entrance bell made a crisp ringing sound.
It was five in the afternoon. A dim light passed through the shade, illuminating the store's rustic-styled interior decorations. Because of the effects of the weather, it was cheerless inside the store. Harutora looked around the store, noticing Natsume in a booth inside.
"Did you wait long?"
"......No, I didn't. Well...... I wanted to apologize to you for calling you out on the day of a typhoon."
"Don't worry, I also wanted to talk to you face to face."
After the two of them greeted each other, the store employee came by to help them order. Harutora randomly picked a cup of iced coffee, but Natsume silently stared at the black tea on the table.
Natsume wore a black chiffon dress, and the mature, fashionable dress was very fitting for her elegant beauty. Her long, jet-black hair didn't seem to have been blown around by the wind at all, and maybe she had ridden a taxi here. The black tea seemed already cooled, but she didn't even drink a sip.
"............"
He felt tense, as after all, he had just listened to the things Touji had talked about, and also the fight on the bridge two days ago still made him feel uneasy. He had been extremely anxious when he hadn't been able to reach her, but he couldn't say anything once he met her.
...Was she truly Yakou's......?
Natsume's appearance hadn't changed much from when he saw her two days ago.
...No, that wasn't right.
She wasn't completely unchanged either, and Harutora noticed that there was a discrepancy in Natsume's appearance.
Natsume was usually mature and calm, but today she was inexplicably impatient, sitting uneasily. For some reason her face was red and she refused to look directly at Harutora. Speaking of which, she had clearly been abnormally tense as well when she had greeted him just now.
What was it? Harutora couldn't help but wonder.
"I looked at the message, I'm sorry."
Natsume suddenly apologized, bowing deeply. Harutora's eyes widened.
"Huh? W, What?"
"It was all my fault, I put you in danger in yesterday's festival."
"W, Wait, why is it your fault?"
"You were found because the other person mistook you for me, right?"
Harutora finally understood why Natsume would apologize when he heard her say this. It was because Harutora had been involved in danger in her place.
"It's alright, you don't need to apologize to me, and more importantly I didn't say things clearly in the message. It was actually my mistake that that person stayed mistaken, since when that person made her initial mistake, I went with the flow and pretended to be you. In any case, that girl is the most to blame, it's not your fault."
Harutora hurriedly explained, and Natsume concealed her surprise upon hearing that.
"Pretended to be me? Why did you do that?"
"Uh, because that person said she wanted you to cooperate with her experiment, and I wanted to know what she was planning......"
Harutora spoke hesitantly.
"That's really......" Natsume showed a reproachful look for a moment. "You also knew that person was one of the Twelve Divine Generals - A National First-Class Onmyouji, right? You're really too reckless to dare trick her."
"That's why I was so concerned, I felt it was very dangerous......"
"Since you noticed the danger, that's even more reason not to have done that! You're an outsider, and if you get involved in a dispute between Onmyouji, and something happens - Actually, you really did end up in danger, and it's lucky that nothing happened. Your actions are way too reckless!"
Natsume rebuked him, much like a class president berating the nonsense of her classmates. "Sorry......" Harutora apologized to her, downcast.
Harutora had originally planned on stopping the danger before it reached his childhood friend. But, he couldn't retort with anything if one were to reprimand him for biting off more than he could chew. If it were Natsume who was wrapped up in the same crisis, she would definitely be able to deal with it more cleverly.
Seeing Harutora so depressed, Natsume hurriedly shut her mouth.
She lowered her eyes, embarrassed.
"......S, Sorry, you only got involved with this business because of me."
"Didn't I just say, it's not your fault at all."
Harutora brought that up again, but Natsume didn't share his thoughts. She clenched her fists, bringing them close to her knees, her face flushing red and her mouth thinning.
She had been this stubborn since long ago. Harutora clearly realized that she believed that she had to bear the entire burden for this happening.
...An impulsive person.
Harutora muttered secretly. Just then, the iced coffee was sent over, but he didn't have any intention of reaching out for it.
"......You should care about your own safety. Maybe it's not very convincing if I say it, but this Dairenji Suzuka is truly very powerful."
Once Suzuka's name left his mouth, Natsume's head and shoulders suddenly trembled.
"......Yes, I know."
The tone of the reply was far different from her usual.
Harutora was a bit surprised. Her voice sounded like it was even angrier than Harutora himself, who had been caught up in that crisis.
"Do you know each other?"
"Of course I don't know her!"
"Th, Then why are you......"
"Th, That's because...... I, I heard evaluations of her from others. I recognize that she indeed has the power of a National First-Class Onmyouji, but as for her personality - she's an extremely dislikeable girl."
Natsume spoke, her anger spilling over.
Harutora was truly frightened in this moment. It was his first time hearing Natsume belittle someone like this, so this showed how bad of an opinion others had of Suzuka.
But.
"......But, she's the youngest one to attain the rank of 'National First-Class Onmyouji', known as the 'Child Prodigy' Onmyouji. If she found me, I would be helpless. I want to take countermeasures as soon as possible."
"Helpless...... It's the same even if you face her?"
"Of course, the opponent is an Onmyouji possessing power among the top of the nation."
"Ah, yeah, that's true......"
But you're Yakou's - Harutora swallowed those words that he had almost spoken. Natsume's quizzical gaze drifted towards him, and he hurriedly coughed lightly a few times, smoothing things over.
"What will you do specifically? Have you told your family members?"
"No, I haven't...... My father is in Tokyo right now."
"Your dad too? How unfortunate, my family's the same."
"......My father went to Tokyo together with Aunt and Uncle."
"Huh, is, is that so?"
The Aunt and Uncle Natsume spoke of meant Harutora's parents. Harutora didn't know that matter at all, and his face flushed slightly.
"So that's why I returned."
She spoke honestly. Harutora was tongue-tied for a moment, unable to reply with anything.
Natsume's mother had already died, and her father was the only parent left. Before she had gone to Tokyo to study, it had always been the father and daughter together.
Natsume didn't seem to get along that well with her father. Actually, Harutora wasn't too clear on the situation, but he occasionally would hear one or two things from his parents. He had heard that they almost never spoke since they had started living together.
Even so, the current situation was more critical than usual.
"Since our family is all in Tokyo, it would be safer for you to return there as soon as possible."
"I can't......"
"Hey hey, think about your current situation. However bad your relationship with your dad is, doing that is too dangerous."
"No, it's not because of that......"
Once Harutora said this, Natsume seemed perplexed for a moment, looking like she didn't know what to say.
"She...... The 'Child Prodigy' said that she was going to hold the 'Taizan Fukun Ritual', right?"
"Huh? Oh, I didn't hear very clearly...... Could it be that you know what that is?"
"I know."
"Really!? She said it was soul magic, isn't that forbidden? Is it very famous?"
Harutora asked in surprise, and Natsume looked back at him, not expecting that.
"The 'Taizan Fukun Ritual' was originally a ritual held by the Tsuchimikado family."
"......What?"
Those unexpected words stunned Harutora.
Natsume said:
"The Taizan Fukun Ritual originated as a ritual held by Abe no Seimei, the ancestor of the Tsuchimikado family, and afterwards became a national secret held by the Tsuchimikado family for many years. She should be planning on holding the 'Imperial Taizan Fukun Ritual’, which has undergone drastic changes, but the two are fundamentally similar."
"S, Similar?"
"Right, in the courtyard behind my home - actually, a good distance away - there is a hill known by us as the 'Imperial Hill', and the altar for the Taizan Fukun Ritual, guarded by generations of the Tsuchimikado family, is there. She will probably hold the ritual there. In that case, as a member of the Tsuchimikado family, I must guard the altar, and so I cannot leave this place."
"What......"
"Holding the Imperial Taizan Fukun Ritual requires taking great risks, and I definitely cannot give her that opportunity."
Great risks. Harutora couldn't help but cringe when he heard that. The 'Imperial Taizan Fukun Ritual' had indeed brought huge spiritual disasters in the past, and Natsume obviously knew that as well.
Though that were so...
"Even so, you can't guard the altar as a one-man army, right? Didn't you also say that you couldn't face a Divine General just now?"
"......It has nothing to do with whether I can do it or not, it's a problem of responsibility. My father is not here right now, so only I can bear the responsibility of guarding the altar."
"Wait, this doesn't solve the problem at all. Since you can't guard it, isn't it the same whether you're there or not?"
"That just means that I did not complete my responsibility as a descendant of the Tsuchimikado family."
Natsume was a bit haughty, proclaiming indignantly. Harutora was distressed but could do nothing.
Maybe this was the mettle of a main family member, but if she couldn't guard the altar in the end, it couldn't count as completing her responsibility, Harutora thought.
On the other hand, because of this, there was even less of a reason to act irresponsibly. It wasn't like he couldn't understand Natsume's stance.
Since she was small, Natsume's sense of justice and sense of duty were stronger than other peoples', and she was the kind of person to seriously proclaim 'sometimes one has to fight battles with no chance of victory'. If he heard her say that kind of thing, Touji would probably laugh coldly in disdain, but Harutora would nod his head to express agreement.
In particular, if Natsume was truly Yakou's reincarnation, the Taizan Fukun Ritual was a rite connected to her fate. If Natsume herself knew that rumor, then it was no wonder she was trying to stop the holding of the Taizan Fukun Ritual however she could.
"Nn......"
Harutora crossed his arms, creased his brow, and stared up at the ceiling.
Then.
"......I know. But, I still need to persuade you to return to Tokyo."
"Harutora-kun, how many times do I have to say it for you to realize, that--"
"Dairenji Suzuka's target is you. Also, the ritual needs you to be carried out, right? Just guarding the altar is meaningless, your safety needs to be guarded just like the altar."
Harutora spoke carefully, and Natsume inadvertently went silent. Her lack of an immediate retort proved that she believed Harutora's words were reasonable.
"But...... If we overlook the altar like that......"
"I'll guard the altar."
Natsume's eyes widened as she heard Harutora speak.
How long had it been since such an expression had appeared on Natsume's face? Normally, she would always wear an ice-cold face like she was slightly angry, but once she was caught off guard, she would show a childish look.
Harutora continued speaking, a bit embarrassed:
"After all, it's dangerous, and since a descendant of the Tsuchimikado has to guard the altar, I'll guard it for you."
"......You, what are you talking about? You don't know magic......"
"The opponent is a Divine General, and even you don't have a chance of winning, right? In that case, it's the same no matter who guards the altar. Unless you have some way to hold the altar from a Divine General?"
Harutora spoke calmly, and Natsume's lips trembled, speechless.
Natsume was overbearing when it came to strict guidelines, but she was unexpectedly poor at coping with other unexpected attacks, and she was particularly at a loss when she understood the reasoning behind it. That childhood weakness hadn't changed at all when she grew older, and Harutora couldn't help but smile.
"You go evacuate, I'll stay behind to deal with her. With that, not only can we stop Dairenji Suzuka from holding the ceremony, we'll also uphold the responsibility of guarding the altar. We'll see how things turn out. Maybe there's not a high chance of smoothly guarding the altar, but it's better than ending up with you getting captured if you stay behind to guard the altar."
"But......"
"Come on, stop worrying. More importantly, you don't have the time to worry about others right now, Dairenji Suzuka is heading towards the altar, and she'll probably try to find you first, so you're in danger too."
After saying this, Harutora took out a leather case fastened to his waist.
It was a commercial box of charms several times larger than a cell phone case, a box that Harutora had picked up from his house before coming here.
He opened the strap on the top of the box, took out the charms inside, and placed them on the table.
"These are healing charms I took from my dad's clinic, and there are also some talismans inside. These are all expensive charms carefully crafted by the Onmyou Agency, and I'm not sure how to use them, but having them should be very convenient for you."
If they clashed with Suzuka face-to-face, the chance of winning was small. But since this situation had gotten on the news, the Onmyou Agency would certainly be thinking of a way to make this crisis subside, and Harutora and Natsume just needed to smoothly escape from Suzuka's grasp.
Just as Harutora was thinking this method could work......
"......Harutora-kun, you're too crafty."
Natsume silently lowered her head and murmured, unable to retort.
"......You only treat yourself as a Tsuchimikado during this kind of time."
Saying this, she raised her head, eyes resentfully staring at Harutora. Her small voice carried a rare awkwardness, different from her normal tone, and it really seemed like a child's anger. Harutora was stunned upon hearing it.
...First she called me a liar, and now said I was crafty.
He felt that he might truly be a crafty person, after hearing her say that. But, it was different from when she had branded him a liar, as Natsume didn't have any intention of blaming Harutora now, and Harutora felt pure joy at the difference between the two.
"......I guess you could say that, but rather it should be because it's this kind of critical juncture."
Saying this, he put on a light smile.
It was a smile that completely couldn't compare to Touji's and was unsuitable for his face, but Natsume burst out into a smile alongside.
For some reason, he felt his cheeks were a bit hot after seeing Natsume's smile after so long, and he hurriedly averted his gaze.
"In, In any case! Don't worry about me, my luck's bad, but I'm always able to avoid the worst outcome. Look, didn't I get dragged into a magic battle yesterday, but I returned safe and sound, right?"
He spoke lightly.
"...Oh, also, that Dairenji Suzuka doesn't seem as bad as the rumors say. She's indeed headstrong and arrogant, but she actually has her cute points. If she truly comes to the altar, I think I should be able to convince her and stay alive--"
Crash - A dull noise sounded, and Harutora hastily closed his mouth, frightened.
Looking carefully, Natsume's right hand that had originally been placed on her lap had pounded the table next to the black tea, tightly clenched into a fist.
"......I see, so she's pretty cute, huh?"
An abnormally cold voice seeped from her mouth. Harutora was extremely astonished, but with her lowered head, he couldn't see her expression from under her bangs.
Natsume suddenly took out her phone.
"......Hello, I called for a car just now. I'm leaving the store now, could I ask you to pick me up at the store entrance? ......Alright, thank you."
After she finished speaking, she hung up the phone.
"Huh? You're leaving?"
"Right, since continuing to talk would be useless."
Harutora felt that Natsume's tone was especially heavy when she mentioned the word 'useless'. His face couldn't hide his confusion at the sudden change.
"Uh...... But I still don't know the precise location of the altar......"
"I don't want to trouble you, please don't intervene."
"What, wait, wasn't I going to guard the altar?"
"Who said I would let an outsider like you guard the Tsuchimikado sanctuary? Please don't think of the proposal you brought up yourself as the answer."
Not only had the situation completely turned backwards, she was filled with some sort of unapproachable imposing force.
Natsume put away her phone and took out her purse, put her share of the money on the table, and silently stood up.
"Hey."
Harutora paid their bill and carried the half-conscious Natsume to the taxi she had called for.
When one's spiritual power disappeared all at once, resistance to magic would be weakened significantly, and though her life wasn't directly in danger, it would require a very long time to return to normal.
The main family's mansion seemed to have a tool that could recover her spiritual power, and after Harutora learned this, he decided to go to the main family residence together with Natsume.
The typhoon closed in step by step, and a stormy scene emerged outside. Large drops of rain splattered randomly on the windshield, and the car sometimes shook from the wind's fury, as if expressing Harutora's state of mind.
...It's all my fault. I hurt Natsume......
He had originally believed that Suzuka had kissed him just to taunt Hokuto, to make her unhappy. But, it hadn't been that simple at all, and Suzuka had actually used magic at that time, setting a trap.
Thinking about it now, Suzuka had warned him in a very strange way. She had deliberately repeated three times to 'definitely tell Natsume face-to-face'. In the end, Harutora hadn't thought deeply about it, and had brought the enemy's shikigami right in front of Natsume.
Natsume was still unable to easily speak. Beads of sweat stood out on her pale forehead, and her always-sharp eyes were half-covered by her eyelids, her entire person seeming extremely weak. Her face had lost its color, and her body sank into the chair, breathing weakly.
...Damn.
His childhood friend's painful appearance made Harutora gnash his teeth. He had been blinded by his stupidity.
"......I couldn't tell...... It's my fault......" Natsume spoke, as if to console Harutora.
Natsume hadn't opened her mouth, and these words made Harutora hastily rise.
"Sorry, it's all because of me--!"
"......No, she's a Divine General...... Even if you were under her spell, it would be hard to tell......"
"But!"
"Forget about it for now...... With this, she has obtained 'me'. We have to stop her...... from reaching the altar."
Suzuka had said that she wanted Natsume to cooperate with her experiment. From her seizure of her spiritual power, it was very likely that she didn't need Natsume herself, just her spiritual power. Since she had the spiritual power, maybe Suzuka would immediately move towards the altar and hold the ceremony.
"We have to return quickly...... and prepare to fight......"
"I, Idiot, how can you fight in this condition?"
"............"
Natsume didn't reply. It seemed that the short conversation just now had already depleted her strength, and she closed her eyes in exhaustion.
Her pale face had somehow recovered its normal unyielding look. Even though she knew it was a war she couldn't win, she still wanted to fight to the end. That strong will didn't need to be put into words, as her firm look already showed it.
...What should he do?
Just as Harutora was troubled, his phone rang.
'Harutora, are you alright over there? Did you deal with that childhood friend smoothly?'
The phone call was from Touji. He could hear the shrill sound of the wind whistling behind him, so he was probably outdoors.
Harutora glanced at Natsume. Her eyes were closed, head resting on the seat.
She looked like she was deeply asleep, and though her breathing was still laborious, it had finally stabilized. Harutora explained the situation as quietly and quickly as possible without rousing Natsume.
The shrewd Touji grasped the situation very quickly.
'I see.'
He uttered those words softly, some excitement discernable in his voice. Maybe his bad habits were showing, as he clearly showed some happiness in his demeanor.
'No wonder that brat let you go so easily. Or maybe she's just extremely careful, or you're extremely stupid...'
"Both of them. Never mind that, I have something to ask of you. Could you call the Onmyou agency or other related units and tell them about the Mystical Investigators yesterday? I don't know whether they will believe us, but I think they won't ignore you if you bring up the Tsuchimikado name."
As the news expressed, the Onmyou agency was deploying additional assistance from Tokyo, but at the moment, only the team from yesterday was here. They might not be enough to deal with Dairenji, but they would be much more useful than Natsume in her current condition and him.
But...
'Actually, I called you about the Mystical Investigators. They seem like they've found the brat, and they already started moving just now.'
"What? Really? Why do you know that?"
'Well, how should I describe it, I have a stupid friend who got caught up in this trouble after all, so I'm using a few channels to see whether I could help him out.'
His friend replied calmly from the other end of the phone.
Harutora couldn't help but smile bitterly. He said it was for Harutora, but he was definitely complaining in his heart about how he wasn't involved. However, the power of his actions was surprising, as Harutora never would have thought he would know about the actions of the Mystical Investigators. How had he done it?
"Huh, but first, did the Onmyou Agency's assistance arrive?"
'It hasn’t. It might be late because of the typhoon.'
"In that case, they'll definitely be defeated again, right?"
'Are they that stupid? They're professionals, and they don't fight unwinnable battles. I'd guess they'd prepare an ambush after noticing that kid.'
However incredible he was, Touji didn't know what kind of actions the Mystical Investigators were taking. But, Suzuka would logically head towards the altar, and the Mystical Investigators hunting her should also move in the same direction.
After Harutora gave his opinion, Touji expressed agreement from the other side of the phone.
'Next, it's up to how the Mystical Investigators prove themselves. What about you, what are you going to do?'
"I'm taking a taxi to Natsume's - to the main family's home, it seems like there's a tool that can recover spiritual power there."
'I know, but won't that person be behind the main home looking for the altar? You might be caught up in a magic battle again.'
"Don't joke around, I can't get any more unlucky--"
Before he finished, the taxi suddenly screeched to a halt.
The driver screamed, and the sound of the brakes was ear-piercing as the car slid on the wet road.
Harutora reflexively covered Natsume's body.
Goosebumps rose all over his body, and terror grasped his heart, but fortunately there were no other cars and there was no immediate disaster. The taxi made a ninety degree spin before it finally stopped safely.
"What is it?"
"M, Monsters!"
The driver cried out to answer Harutora's question, and then, Harutora also saw that thing.
On the other side of the window that had fogged up due to the temperature, there was a group of beasts on the road that looked as if they had been made from paper.
Those were Suzuka's shikigami. Harutora couldn't help but doubt his eyes.
--Impossible!
He glanced at Natsume, who was beneath him. Natsume hadn't woken up because of the chaos, but her face was slightly twisted and she was panting fiercely as if she were having a nightmare.
"Damn......!"
'Harutora, what happened!'
Touji yelled from the other end of the phone, noticing something was wrong. The big group of shikigami ran along the road, seemingly on a rampage...
However, they suddenly returned back to paper without any warning.
"......Huh?"
Harutora hadn't even had enough time to feel shocked before the pieces of paper were immediately brought down by the rain, as if the scene from yesterday were reenacting itself. Not long after, all of the shikigami disappeared, becoming scraps of paper scattered along the asphalt road.
"......What's going on?"
Harutora worried for a moment, deciding in the end to leave the unconscious Natsume, and walked alone out of the taxi's backseat.
The rain battered his body as soon as he walked out of the car. This place was on the outskirts of a large paddy field, and it was very far from the city. Black clouds gathered above his head, and heavy rain poured everywhere.
Right now, the sun had already set, and the surroundings were dark. There were dim streetlights on both sides of the road standing out among the darkness and rain. To his right was the paddy splashing with rain, and to his left was a rusty iron railing, with a factory construction site behind it. The shikigami had appeared from the direction of the construction site.
He could hear the sound of breaking objects and roars coming from the construction site amidst the sound of the rain.
Harutora remembered yesterday's magic battle. There were people locked in a battle of magic behind the construction site, and the people fighting were definitely Suzuka and the Mystical Investigators.
Touji's worries became reality.
"......How bad is my luck, really?"
He muttered blankly as he stood in the torrential rain.
In any case, he had to leave quickly...... Harutora thought this--
--No, wait!
Escaping would be to no avail. Today's situation was different from yesterday's, and in Harutora's current position, he had to do whatever he could to stop Suzuka's actions, especially since Natsume was bound to insist on it and definitely wouldn't listen to Harutora struggling to persuade her.
In that case.
"............"
Harutora grimaced.
"......Touji."
'Harutora? What happened?'
"I ran into her."
Touji gasped on the other end of the phone. That was obvious, as he hadn't even dreamed that Harutora would actually run into another magic battle.
'......Damn, are you sure you haven't been cursed?'
"Maybe. But fortunately, Natsume's alright, and I'm planning on having Natsume return home in the taxi first, and I'll go observe the outcome."
'What? Hey hey, don't speak nonsense, who would go looking for trouble on their own.'
"You aren't allowed to tell me that."
At the same time as Harutora remarked, he also quickly collected his thoughts.
What Touji said was right, the Mystical Investigators couldn't have fought again with Suzuka without thinking of some countermeasures. Then there was even more of a reason for him to confirm the outcome before escaping. Of course, he wanted the Mystical Investigators to win, but if they lost, he would have to know as soon as possible to be able to ready the following plans.
Even if he was actually already helpless.
'Don't go, Harutora. The enemy's an Onmyouji, what can you do?'
"I can't do anything, all I can do is go see who wins. Also, even if Dairenji Suzuka wins, maybe there will be an opportunity if she's exhausted her strength or drops her guard."
'What opportunity?'
"......An opportunity to sneak up to her and beat her up."
'Alright, Harutora, I get that you're an idiot, now listen to me and get out of there.'
"Shut up, I was just joking."
Touji wanted wholeheartedly to stop Harutora, but Harutora just briefly told him his destination and hung up the phone.
He returned to the taxi, asking the driver to send Natsume back home. This driver seemed to be a dedicated taxi driver of the main family, and had many dealings with the main family. Even if his face was pale, he still answered Harutora's request.
"......Natsume."
Natsume's consciousness still hadn't recovered, and Harutora quietly called her name.
Seeing Natsume's current appearance, he actually didn't want to leave her, but considering that he wouldn't be of any use by Natsume's side either, it would probably be more useful to her for him to confirm who won.
He took out a healing charm from his charm box.
The healing charm was one that treated injuries using spiritual power, and it couldn't restore spiritual power, and Natsume's current spiritual power was weak, so the charm's magic wouldn't have much effect.
"......I wish I could use this thing......"
It was too late to say that now. But, even if Natsume's spiritual power was weak, his own spiritual power might help a bit. Harutora chanted in a mutter, holding the charm tightly.
Natsume still slept deeply. Harutora said 'I'm counting on you' to the driver after sticking the charm to Natsume's chest, and watched the taxi leave.
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