Tokyo Ravens - Volume 1 - Chapter 4.2

Part 2 

Harutora ran on the straight road at night. 
The heavy rain didn't stop, and thunder even began rumbling, flashes of lightning slashing through the night. 
Unmindful of the horrible weather, Harutora had ran alone from the construction site that had been made into a magical battlefield. 
He ran to chase Suzuka. 
At the same time, he ran to stop Suzuka. 
His mind was blank and he didn't think of anything, just rushing forward. His breathing was erratic, and his heart felt like it was torn, intense pain wracking his entire body. 
He had dulled the pain with a healing charm for treating wounds and fatigue, and every time it failed, he changed to a new charm, never stopping his run. 
It was dark all around, the streetlights on either side glowing weakly. He almost couldn't see the road under his feet in this torrential downpour. The road extended into the darkness, and he could only vaguely see the road in front of him. He had long since forgotten how long had passed, nor did he know how far he had ran, and all he heard was the resounding sound of thunder and the sound of his breathless gasps. He constantly ran, running through the rain, running through the night, running through flashes of lightning, moving forward on an unknown road. 
He didn't stop running. 
His hand clutched the charm Hokuto had left behind after she disappeared. 
He made an effort to not think of Hokuto, and maybe it could be said that he was running to keep his mind off it, to make those thoughts go away. 
His thoughts inadvertently faded alongside his chaotic breathing, but when he stumbled, tumbling onto the road, his memories burst forth one by one like geysers, making him unable to help but recall the old days. 
Hokuto's appearance had never changed since the first time they met. Her body was thin, but had an unbelievably durable body and arm strength to match. She was fast on her feet, and she could even catch Touji sprinting as hard as he could. She didn't like talking about herself - They had never heard her mention her family or friends. 
Just now, when she had been wounded but hadn't leaked a drop of blood, she had even blocked the spider's steel leg while simultaneously casting magic. She had disappeared like smoke when she was lying in Harutora's arms, leaving behind her words telling Harutora to run away. She hadn't become a corpse, but a shikigami charm instead. 
To think that there could be such a thing. 
...Damn. 
Harutora was out of breath, yelling 'that idiot' in his heart. 
...Why was she a shikigami? 
The thought 'A fake Hokuto appeared just now, and the real Hokuto is somewhere else' emerged once, but he couldn't fool himself like that. 'I lied to you, I'm sorry for always deceiving you.' Hokuto had said that. 
Could it be that everything had been fake? Her existence had been fake, and her memories had also been fake? 
All the time he had been with her, every word she said, everything had been a lie - Could he had been lied to? 
If I've been lied to... 
If Hokuto's existence had been a lie from the beginning, if she had never once existed... 
Might she not be dead? 
...'Harutora, I love you.' 
Lightning struck, and thunder roared. 
He wanted to yell as loud as he could, but breathless as he was, he couldn't even shout the words in his heart. So, he strode forward, immersing himself in running forward, sprinting forth - Running desperately, thinking of running until the ends of the earth. 
Rain. Night. Lightning. Thunder. 
His vision became blurry, his consciousness faded, and he couldn't even feel the movements of his legs, as if his body had long since expended its energy and was depending on the assistance of his soul to continue running. 
Depending on his soul...... 

A flash of lightning split the atmosphere, followed by a clap of thunder, and the air shook intensely. 
Right, where had Hokuto's soul gone? She also had a soul, right? If she did - If the shikigami also has a soul, he wanted to see her again even if she was fake. Everything will be fine if I see her, I want to ask her clearly and understand. If her soul is wandering around somewhere right now-- 
Then. 
Harutora stopped. 
He didn't know how long he had run for. When he came to his sense, he hadn't seen the streetlights by the sides of the road for a long time, as only the rain continued falling in the world that seemed as if all light had disappeared. 
At the end of the darkness, on the other side, there was a fuzzy, weak point of light that glowed faintly. 
It seemed like a soul. 
"......Hokuto?" 
A hoarse voice came from his mouth. 
But, it wasn't a soul. 
It was the light from a lantern. Harutora knew that he had reached his destination. 
There was a minor road straight ahead, which led up to a gently sloped ramp accessing the hill behind him. There were stone steps heading up the slope next to the road, and there was the roof of an ancient-looking wooden shrine next to the stone steps, with a lantern hanging from the roof and giving off a misty light. 
Thunder flashed, illuminating the lantern under the roof. 
The pentagram family crest was printed on the lantern-- 
Along with the word 'Tsuchimikado'. 
Harutora stood in the night, catching his breath and looking at the light. Then, he walked closer as if to drive away the darkness. 
He stood next to the lantern, looking at the stone steps. The precipitous steps gave off the impression of a skyline in the darkness, blending into the dense, dark trees on either side. Two points of light shone like a mirage at the very top, the light of lanterns. 
Harutora climbed the stone steps. 
The force of the rain weakened, the sound of the shaking tree leaves growing noisier instead. 
He stepped up the stone stairs one after another, climbing up step by step. He grew closer to the night sky with every step upwards. 
Foreboding dark clouds and blinding lightning. 
He reached the hilltop. 
There was an outer door at the end of the stone steps, with starred lanterns similar to the one below on either side of it. 
He opened the door wide from the outside. 
On the other side of the door was the Tsuchimikado main family mansion, as if hidden from the dark night. 
"............" 
He hadn't come here in a long time. There were no electric lights inside, and it didn't seem like there was anyone home, but there was a living presence as if the mansion itself was quietly breathing. 
Had Natsume arrived home safely? Just as a slight anxiety rose in Harutora's heart...... 
"...Close the door, I'm in the Bellflower Room..." 
For a moment, he thought he had heard wrong. But, he hadn't been mistaken. A butterfly flew onto the nose of Harutora who was staring around the mansion, and a pure voice led Harutora through the creepy atmosphere. 
The butterfly before him was a shikigami, and it had been Natsume's voice just now. She really had made it home. 
Harutora held tightly to the shikigami charm in his hand, following the dancing butterfly into the mansion.