Tokyo Ravens - Volume 12 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3 
Part 1 
Kurahashi received a report first thing in the morning when he reached the agency, one that made him rewrite his plans for the day. 
"Tsuchimikado Natsume was spotted. The Kadei sisters noticed her." 
Kurahashi was a steely man, already over fifty years old. Yashamaru was an extravagant aristocrat, looking no older than twenty. But the two of them had once been the same age and shared ideals for the future of Onmyoudou. 
"Really? The two of them saw Tsuchimikado Natsume?" 
"They saw traces of a dragon. She was a teenage girl. There shouldn't be anyone other than Natsume who gives off that kind of feeling." 
"And the location?" 
"Shinjuku, but she ended up moving to Kichijoji." 
"Hmph, Kichijoji, huh." 
"That's right." 
Tsuchimikado Natsume had been resurrected with the Taizan Fukun Ritual by Harutora awakened as Yakou during the summer two years ago. And for some reason, Natsume had been able to use her dragon shikigami as her own power after that. That was a truth that the Mystical Investigator Yamashiro Hayato had witnessed at Seishuku Temple last winter. 
Natsume was currently an important hostage for the Onmyou Agency as they pursued Harutora and Ohtomo Jin, and she was the Onmyou Agency's target since she was easier to capture than the other two. There had been reports that Natsume had been in hiding, moving with Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Takahiro, and Chizuru. Hence, Natsume's capture was also an opportunity to finish off the Tsuchimikado in one clean sweep. 
"We should act immediately." 
"This is an incredible opportunity. We'll be able to capture them if we put forth all the power of the Mystical Investigators." 
"That being said, aren't they just hiding around Kichijoji? Their stealth magic is quite high-level; can we spot them?" 
"Of course, we have the help of the metropolitan police. The case of the fire at their main residence still hasn't been resolved. With their power, we should be able to investigate exactly where they've gone. 
Takahiro of the three Tsuchimikados was a former Mystical Investigator. Since he was extremely familiar with the Mystical Investigators' tactics, attacking head-on ought to be more effective in this kind of situation than small tricks. 
"If Yasuzumi-kun performs divination, he'll quickly learn about our movements. It's not a good idea to rely on outside power." 
"That's why we need to resolve it today. The more time we take, the more likely it is that they'll know." 

"It's the same. They've been able to continuously avoid the Mystical Investigators' search for the past year and a half. Why is that? We get noticed when we're getting close no matter how fast we are. No, that's not all, they notice as soon as we move ever so slightly. Though it's certainly good to act earlier, we can't capture them relying solely on speed." 
Yashamaru smiled at his stern-faced ally. What Yashamaru said was certainly reasonable, but it was an indisputable premise that they couldn't just leave the Tsuchimikado alone. He said: 
"They can't read the stars of shikigami. Let me do this. I finally have free time, so if I go look with Kumomaru the two of us should be able to do something." 
"Then what about Dairenji Suzuka's monitoring?" 
"The Tsuchimikado have a higher priority right now." 
Yashamaru stood up from the sofa after speaking, strolling slowly like always. He smiled at Kurahashi. 
"Then I'll leave the rest to you. I look forward to a successful report." 

"The three of them didn't notice. Go get approval from the Mystical Investigators on standby as soon as you can." 
Yashamaru contacted Kurahashi in the agency building from a place one block away from the Tsuchimikado hideout. Normally, divination could only read the stars and fates of humans. But reading the stars of shikigami was impossible. So Yasuzumi hadn't anticipated the surprise attack by the shikigami Yashamaru and Kumomaru. But not everything would go so smoothly. 
"Hmm? Tsuchimikado Natsume escaped!?" 
"It's more like she wasn't there to begin with. It seems like she's gone out." 
"Then let's wait for her to come back." 
"Wait? Unfortunately, the house is a bit destroyed and there are people gathered around. Do you think she'll just waltz on back?" 
Their phones and computers had been destroyed in the magic battle. During the battle, Takahiro had skillfully destroyed their electronics instead of trying to escape. It had been a keen judgment to stop any leaks of information and to destroy any clues about Natsume. But that said, Natsume would have trouble escaping. Yashamaru immediately began a search for her. But... 
"How about this, why don't we report the capture of the three Tsuchimikados and the fact that the underage girl traveling with them is currently a fugitive to the media? Can we make it as big as possible right away?" 
"It's possible, but for what reason?" 
"The reason we want Tsuchimikado Natsume is as bait to lure Tsuchimikado Harutora and 'Shadow'." 
"Ah, so we use this news to draw out Harutora." 
"Right, one clean sweep." 
"Okay, I'll prepare immediately." 
Yashamaru decided his strategy with Kurahashi and began a search for Natsume along with Kumomaru.