Part 5
By the time he noticed, it was already dusk.
Takahiro, who had been focused on some charms he had gotten his hands on, came out of the bedroom and moved to the kitchen after seeing that no one was there.
He asked his wife, who was preparing dinner:
"Where did Natsume and Akino go?"
"Those two just left. They said they were going to the station to practice stealth magic."
Chizuru replied, cutting the onion on the cutting board with rhythmic chops.
"Just the two of them?"
"Ah, come on. There's no problem if Natsume's there. That girl can already handle things on her own. A few stupid novice Mystical Investigators won't be able to do anything to her. Akino too, she's the best at running away."
Though she didn't say it in front of them, Chizuru had quite high opinions of the two children. And it wasn't just Chizuru. Takahiro calmly accepted his wife's words, frowning but making no rebuttal.
Actually, their powers far surpassed their ages. Though the arrogance of youth was also dangerous, they could overcome that danger with accumulated experience. That was why the two of them were still around.
"But it would be bad if they got spotted, even if they don't get caught."
"Then we'll just move again if that happens. They won't be able to catch us."
"......It was a lot of work to prepare this house."
"That's when it's time to use the strength of an adult, right, Darling?"
Chizuru was a short girl compared to the tall Takahiro. But the adult's strength she was talking about here didn't refer to body size, nor did it refer to the strength that varied between genders.
"......What's for dinner tonight?"
"Hot pot."
"I'm looking forward to your cooking, dear."
"Leave it to me."
Takahiro returned to his bedroom, saying nothing more to his smiling wife.
He walked out to the porch and went down to the courtyard. The courtyard seemed exceptionally quiet without the children - especially when Akino wasn't around. Or rather, their fugitive life was too noisy.
"......We've lived like this for quite a long time."
Takahiro murmured quietly, looking up at the night sky from the courtyard.
The sky was still bright. The faint moonlight quietly shone down from the eastern sky.
He had hid underground with Chizuru and Yasuzumi last year. The Tsuchimikado main family residence had been completely burned down. After a while, they had returned to Tokyo, taking Natsume after she was resurrected with forbidden magic and immediately escaping Tokyo, changing between various locations to avoid the Onmyou Agency's pursuit.
Yasuzumi, Takahiro, Chizuru, and Natsume. The four of them had been joined by Akino after the Seishuku Temple mess last winter. They had come back to Tokyo early this year. What a meandering journey.
We're still alright. When they had been born in or married into the Tsuchimikado family, they had all resolved to welcome trials and disturbances. Actually, he personally was thankful that he was given this opportunity to train himself. Playing with intrigue and justice wasn't a bad way to living. He didn't feel displeased with being a countryside Onmyou doctor, but he was bored to death without Harutora around.
But considering Natsume and Akino, he couldn't do anything stupid. Especially Akino, who was a wild girl who hadn't received any regular teaching. Though she had been forced to receive some teachings at Seishuku Temple, it still insufficient when he thought about it.
If possible, he would take advantage of the present to hand Akino over to some other household he could trust. Takahiro secretly desired this.
But Akino was a 'living spirit'. In that case, she would be tied up by relationships to the magic world no matter where she was.
Almost all of the current magic community was in the palm of the Onmyou Agency. In other words, it was in the palm of the Kurahashi and the Souma.
And not only was Akino a living spirit, she was also someone with Souma blood.
The Souma had allied with the Yakou-headed Tsuchimikado during the Pacific War in order to realize their clan's desire. But after the war, the Souma family became fragmented and lost their prestige. Perhaps Akino's family had broken off from some other branch of the Souma family back then.
It was impossible to tell how Akino had been entrusted to Seishuku Temple after that. But it was certain that even the core of the Souma family - Souma Takiko - hadn't completely gotten a hold of the state of the Souma family line.
...In that regard, it was a good thing that Akino had been entrusted to Seishuku Temple. No, maybe Akino's parents had given Akino away to avoid the Souma main family's investigation.
It was very possible. In any case, if she didn't have any abilities, the Souma clan wouldn't fixate on Akino.
But.
...Rabbit living spirits were quite rare. There was the danger that information would be exposed to the Onmyou Agency no matter who she was entrusted to.
If they knew that this living spirit was a Souma, then the Souma main family hidden within the Onmyou Agency would definitely make a move for Akino. In other words, it was too dangerous to leave her to an Onmyouji regulated by the Onmyou Agency.
He couldn't leave Akino to a dark Onmyouji organization either.
Then who could he entrust her to? The local Onmyouji were all...... but well, it was Tokyo.
What a pain.
And perhaps the most troublesome part was Akino's own feelings.
Akino had gotten warmed up to Takahiro and got along with Natsume like sisters after their month of living together. It would definitely be a big shock now to entrust her alone to some other family. She definitely wouldn't accept such a unilateral decision.
Of course, in a critical situation he would do so forcefully if he had to. But would Takahiro alone be able to successfully convince the three women? It would be hard. After all, Takahiro himself didn't want to give Akino away.
He at least wanted to have Yasuzumi read Akino's fortune, but fortunes of living spirits were difficult to decipher. As a result, all he could do was let Akino grow to the level where she could protect herself and stay with her until then.
......How naive...... Or was it?
Takahiro definitely wouldn't forgive himself if that naivety became Akino's downfall.
But there was nothing else he could do other than adapt to the situation. He sighed and smiled bitterly:
"Raising kids is so hard."
Raising Harutora had been very simple. After all, he was the kind who didn't need adults to fuss over him even if something happened, a kid who 'didn't have any problems'.
..................
Speaking of which, how long had it been since he saw Harutora's face?
"What are you doing right now?"
When he scratched his nose and walked back to the bedroom, he saw Yasuzumi coming down from the second floor. His expression was extremely grim.
Natsume noticed the instability in the air an hour before.
She was close to the JR Kichijoji station. A group of Onmyouji dressed in suits appeared for some reason, without any related facilities nearby. If not for Natsume's usual habit of unconsciously looking at aura, she might not have been able to notice.
Could they be Mystical Investigators?
Their presences seemed very much like it.
"......Stay in stealth."
Fortunately, they still hadn't spotted her. Then she should at least take advantage of that fortune and dig up some information before going back.
Just as she thought this, the Onmyouji suddenly moved as a group. They left a few sentries behind, with the others all moving to a different location. Just then, she clearly saw that they were all wearing hats or scarves to conceal their faces.
As expected, they were Mystical Investigators.
Natsume sent Takahiro a message, looking for an opportunity to go back as she stayed on her guard.
But the Onmyouji left behind didn't make any moves. They just waited in place.
Thanks to that, Natsume and Akino escaped the station without much effort.
Natsume stayed attentive to the surrounding movements on the road back home, still not lowering her guard. Just then, she noticed something very important.
"Ah?"
Her message still hadn't received a reply.
Had he not seen it?
Or were they coming straight here to avoid exposing her through a ringtone?
She hastily called Takahiro's phone. No one picked up. It seemed that it was out of battery, so they must have already gone out to look for Natsume and Akino.
She called Chizuru's number next.
......Still, no one picked up.
"What's going on......"
It couldn't be that both their phones were out of battery just by coincidence. Also, Chizuru ought to be making dinner right now......
"............"
She thought of the Onmyouji who had moved out before.
Anxiety.
Anxiety crept up her body.
Maybe she should try calling her stepfather--
But,
"Natsume!? H-Hey!"
A pale-faced Akino pulled on Natsume's sleeve, pointing to a television screen in an electronics store next to them--
'Kichijoji'. 'Tsuchimikado'. 'Arrest'.
Those words were below the image of an old, familiar, two-story building that she had planned on returning to.
Her stepfather's phone wasn't answered either.
"......Damn."
Bring broadcasted on the television was the news of the arrest of Takahiro and the others.
The dial tone switched to the voice prompt announcing that it had been unable to connect, and a foreign-sounding voice came over her phone. Natsume mindlessly gripped her phone, looking at the television screen across the window in despair.
The stars were now moving.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login