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Tokyo Ravens - Volume 12 - Chapter 3.2




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Part 2 
He wasn't confused. 
After seeing that breaking news, Tenma returned to his room right away and opened the backpack in his closet. 
It was a backpack he had prepared over a year ago. Inside was a change of clothes, cash, charms, and other necessities. He added the charms he had gotten from the 'workshop' today to it, completing his preparations for leaving home. 
His attention turned to an apartment room farther away as he 'looked'. The Mystical Investigator shikigami staying there was still monitoring Tenma's actions, but nothing in particular had changed. Even with the news that had been broadcasted, his own surveillance system hadn't been modified. 
But it was just temporary. As long as Natsume was still on the run, the surveillance on Tenma, her friend, would soon be strengthened. If he were to leave, he should take advantage of the present. 
He didn't know how much use he could be. 
But in the current situation, he needed to start moving first and think later. His other friends would think the same. 
But there was still another line he had to draw. 
Tenma paused for a while, changing back into the Onmyou Academy uniform he had taken off after coming back home. 
He breathed deeply and walked out of his own room, entering the living room. His grandfather wasn't here. He peered into the kitchen and didn't see his grandmother's figure either. Strange...... 
"Grandpa? Grandma?" Still, no response. 
He tried the bedrooms, the bathroom, and the lavatory, but didn't spot his grandparents. Could they have secretly left? Feeling it suspicious, he pushed open the door to the guest room. 
Surprise stopped his hands in midair. 
His grandparents were sitting with their backs to the door in the center of the guest room. Also, his grandfather was wearing a sokutai [12] and his grandmother had changed into miko garb. They seemed to have been waiting for Tenma - no, they had undoubtedly been waiting for Tenma. 
They had realized. Tenma stood still in a daze upon noticing the situation. Then, 
"Come sit down." His grandfather ordered without turning around. 
Tenma could only comply. He listlessly sat down in seiza [13] before his grandfather. 
The expressions of his grandparents were more serious than ever before. They had even changed their clothes for this, just like what Tenma had been thinking. 
His grandparents were still silent after he sat down. The two parties didn't even look straight at each other. 
But even without words or gazes, the 'conversation' between grandparents and grandson continued. The conversation between the grandson who was going to put himself in danger, and the grandparents who were unwilling to lose their grandson after losing their daughter. 
The silence still held out. They were exchanging feelings right now rather than words. Their life together for these years allowed them to have this exchange between individuals who cared for each other. 
"......You won't change your mind?" His grandfather finally opened his mouth after the long silence. 
Tenma's hands tightened as they gripped his knees. He couldn't accept the emotion-laden voice. 
Even so, Tenma's decision didn't budge. 
"Sorry." 
A slightly shaking, weak voice. He inadvertently wanted to laugh at himself. 
He regulated his breathing again, raised his head, and said: 
"Sorry. But please let me go." 
He met his grandparents' gazes. His grandparents, who had raised their heads at some point, stared at him with penetrating and gentle gazes. 
"Really." The same voice sounded again, and Tenma's heart constricted. "You can't win against that blood flowing through you." 
"......Truly so." His grandmother murmured as well. 
Then, his grandfather adjusted his seiza again, speaking as the Momoe family head: 
"Tenma. From today, you're expelled from the household." 
Tenma shuddered at the incomparably stern tone. But it wasn't fear. He wasn't afraid. That would be rude to his grandparents and to his own determination. 
"Yes." 
He replied, facing his grandfather. 
A bit of pride was mixed with his grandfather's severe expression as he looked at his grandson. Then, 
"So...... don't worry about us. Go follow what you believe in." 
Tenma stared. 
His grandfather motioned for his grandmother to take out a small box, then opened it. Inside was a key. 
"Take this with you. It's something your father left for you." 
"My father?" 
Tenma took the key, trying to 'look' at it. It didn't seem like a magical tool. 
"Ask Tsuruta of the Witchcraft Corporation for details. He knows everything." 
"Tsuruta!? W-Why?" 
"He was the one who sent the key after your parents died. He contacted us by phone just now. He's waiting for you in the center of Waseda." 
"How...... But!" 
"Act according to your own will, and we will act according to our own wills." His grandfather smiled fearlessly. "No matter how much trouble those actions bring." 
Tenma could say nothing back. He left the house, tightly holding the key. 


 

"I'm off." 
"Yeah, take care." 
A brief goodbye. Kyouko and her grandmother Miyo both expected this goodbye. 
Her grandmother couldn't endure a fugitive life with her physical strength weakened from living under house arrest. Though Kyouko wanted to bring her grandmother, Miyo had firmly forbade her from doing so. Miyo was only able to send her off so resolutely because she realized that her current self couldn't do anything for her granddaughter. Kyouko wasn't willing to sully her grandmother's noble feelings either. 
"Bye, Grandma." 
"Bye." 
After a light-hearted exchange, Kyouko left the residence behind her carrying a leather suitcase. 


...Though they had hidden themselves in the bamboo patch deep within the residence, once she left - or more accurately, before she left - she noticed the auras hidden inside the courtyard. 
They were the doormen working at the Kurahashi household. After all, that news had just been broadcasted, and she had gone out with a suitcase late at night, so anyone would feel alarmed. She had been too lax. 
Kyouko didn't shrink back, heading to the main entrance with dignity. A doorman jumped out and stopped her. 
"Kyouko-sama, please return to your room! Please!" 
He was a servant who had taken care of her in her youth. The other two people with him also blocked Kyouko's path. 
"Let me through." 
"I cannot!" 
"Really? Then...... Sorry." 
Kyouko apologized as she took out a charm. 
But the other two had already prepared spells before coming here, and were a step faster than Kyouko. 
"Bind! Order!" 
The two of them both threw out wood-element charms. They didn't want to harm Kyouko, so they tried to bind her while ensuring her safety. Kyouko let out a small wail and fell on the ground, with the suitcase dropping next to her. 
The servant who had talked first hastily approached her, but. 
"Wh-wh-what is this!?" 
Snowflakes rose up from the Kyouko's vine-bound body and then it disappeared, only leaving behind a humanoid shikigami charm. 
It was a simple shikigami. 
"Damn. That's why she came out from the main entrance!" 
"The back door! This was bait, Kyouko-sama's trying to leave through the back door!" The servant shouted and the group ran into the residence. 
Then, seeing that no one was left on the grounds, Kyouko emerged from the shadow of a bush where she had been stealthed and picked up the suitcase fallen on the ground. 
She had made this simple shikigami hold the suitcase and draw their attention before leaving through the main entrance and waited to escape through the front door while they ran to the back door to pursue her. 
Then, when she stepped out of the front entrance, the shikigami that had been positioned by the entrance monitoring Kyouko for the past year and a half appeared. 
"......Honestly, did you think that would work?" 
A beautiful, dangerous smile. Kyouko rapidly formed a hand seal. A seal worlds apart from the one the simple shikigami had used earlier. 
"On bishibishi karakara shibari sowaka!" 
Unmoving Golden Chains. Kyouko made a different hand seal right afterwards and hurled out a charm. "Order!" 
The blue flame of the fire-element charm rapidly engulfed the shikigami. It was just an instantaneous action, but it might have drawn the attention of the doormen from before. Kyouko left another simple shikigami there as bait and left the entrance using stealth magic. 
She was outside without being watched. Just that was enough to make Kyouko feel freedom like never before. But the real game was starting now. She searched for a pay phone first. Though there weren't many around here, Kyouko had made sure to check the locations of various pay phones. She hastily dashed to the closest to the residence, picked up the receiver, put in coins, and dialed the number she had memorized beforehand. 
There was only one person among her friends who hadn't changed his number. She had learned that he would be the first to move from her divination before. 
The phone connected after two rings. 
"Tenma!" 
"Kyouko! Is it Kyouko? Where are you--" 
Kyouko's heart warmed up upon hearing the familiar voice she hadn't heard since the year before last. "A phone outside my house. I know you're already out, Tenma. I'm the same. Can we meet up?" 
"Kyouko, do you know where Natsume is?" 
"Sorry, the divination wasn't successful...... But I do now the approximate area." 
"Got it. Let's meet. Kyouko, you're near your house, right?' 
"Yeah. Tenma, where are you? If possible, let's meet near Shinjuku--" 
"It's alright, I'll go to you." 
"Eh? But--" 
"It's faster this way." 
...Hmm? 
Something was odd about the way Tenma spoke. But it was a race against time and she didn't know when the doormen would find her. She thought about the local terrain and told Tenma the location to meet. 
Tenma arrived faster than Kyouko anticipated. 


 

Suzuka only learned of the capture of Tsuchimikado Takahiro and the others thirty minutes after the report came out. Suzuka made her decision right there, hating the wasted half-hour. 
Of course, this report itself might be a trap set by her father and Kurahashi to lure Harutora out. ...The more likely it was a trap, the more people they would send to help capture Harutora. In other words, the fighting power stationed at the Onmyou Agency would be mostly sent over there. She should take advantage of that and escape now! 
Her destination was Kichijoji. After seeing the news from before, both friends and enemies would gather in Kichijoji. She had to go there now too. 
A barrier had cut off the aura of the research lab from the outside, and she couldn't see whether Kumomaru was outside guarding. She definitely couldn't beat Kumomaru in a head-on fight, but the only advantage she had right now was that neither Kumomaru nor Yashamaru were willing to expose their true identities in front of normal employees. As long as she attracted enough attention, she wouldn't need to fight all-out with Kumomaru, and then she could take the opportunity to run away. The other problematic Mystical Investigators should have all gone to the scene of the incident, so there shouldn't be anyone to block her path... 
...That's what she would do. In any case, thinking about it wouldn't do any good. 
She took out charms, focusing her mind on presences outside, and opened the door to the research lab. 
In the end, 
"What!?" 
...He wasn't there!? 
Kumomaru's aura wasn't there. She 'looked' at the surrounding aura again, but as she thought, Kumomaru wasn't there. 
"W-Why......" Was it coincidence...... No, impossible. It was definitely some kind of trap. But was there any need to set a trap for Suzuka, who was already confined? 
...Ah, right, that's it! 
It was because of Natsume. Suzuka was released from her surveillance because Kumomaru had probably been sent to Kichijoji. A few half-baked Mystical Investigators couldn't do anything to the Tsuchimikado family, but capturing Harutora would be much easier with the aid of a powerful shikigami like Kumomaru. How fortunate. 
...This was her chance! 
Suzuka activated stealth and ran to the exit. Stay calm, stay calm. Though she wanted to run with all her might, the key right now was to maintain her stealth and stay hidden. She went down to the first floor. She ran to the entrance that workers used for deliveries instead of the main entrance. She passed by several employees on the way, but the abilities of a normal employee couldn't see through the stealth of the Child Prodigy Dairenji Suzuka. 
Escaping out of the back door, Suzuka stood on the nighttime road lit by streetlights. She ran past a few roads and unconsciously stopped when she could no longer see the Onmyou Agency. 
She took a deep breath. 
I've escaped the Onmyou Agency. 
...Have I escaped? 
She wondered whether it was a trap again. It still didn't feel real to her. Suzuka was startled by freedom she hadn't had in a long time. 
...No, no, it's not the time to space out. I have to hurry over to Natsume! 
The fact that Yashamaru and Kumomaru were able to ignore Suzuka and head over there meant that the situation was extremely critical. 
Could she still use her credit card? She had some cash on her, but she didn't know whether it was enough for a taxi to Kichijoji. Would it be faster to take the train? Right, since it was already dark, she might as well just fly there with a shikigami! 
Suzuka took out her tome-shaped magical tool and was about to summon one of her proud paper shikigami, when-- 
"Don't move." 
She had been careless. 
Barriers blocked her off in front, behind, to her left and right, and above. 
"......It's been a while, Dairenji." 
"Y-Yuge Mari!?" 
An Independent Exorcist wearing miasma protection clothing came up from behind. The 'Barrier Princess' Yuge Mari of the Twelve Divine Generals. Though Suzuka knew her face, they had almost never spoken. 
"Damn......" 
She had gotten careless since Kumomaru hadn't been there. She should have known that no matter how critical the Kichijoji situation was, they wouldn't just let her go when she had information about the third spiritual disaster terrorist attack coming up on Hinamatsuri. She was too naive. She was so remorseful she wanted to cry. 
"......Dairenji, I know you're friends with Tsuchimikado Natsume, and I can understand your feelings." A businesslike tone. "Don't resist and obediently return to the Onmyou Agency." 
"Shut up! You don't understand anything, so don't look like you know it all!" 
Yuge was surprised by her sudden malice. They had never been well acquainted, and Yuge still held on to Suzuka's image as the Onmyou Agency's poster girl. 
"Okay, okay. I don't really understand your situation. It's just business." 
"Have you never thought about whether the person giving your orders was right or not!?" 
"As a member of an organization, my duty is to follow orders. If everyone did whatever they wanted, it wouldn't be an organization." 
"That's what the people above you want you to think! They're all doing whatever they want!" 
"Even so, those are the rules. I'll say it again, don't resist and cooperate with me--" 
"Hmph! Who'd listen to you, you old hag!" 
"Old--" 
Yuge was speechless for a while, then pouted in anger. "Hey, why can't you speak a bit more politely--" 
"Honestly. Suzuka, you shouldn't have said that just now." 
A voice suddenly came from behind her. Yuge spun around to look. 
A sturdy-looking boy - no, a young man - was behind her, looking at Yuge with a challenging gaze. 
"But what's up with an exorcist making a surprise attack like a Mystical Investigator? Be more like an exorcist. Why don't you fight this 'oni' instead of bullying that brat over there?" 
As he proclaimed this, Touji took off the bandanna from his forehead. 


 

Natsume was running away on her own. Touji had prepared to move to where Natsume was after learning that. 
As the one who had it the easiest among his friends, he undoubtedly had the duty to meet Natsume first. He didn't know where Harutora was, so he was the only one who could help Natsume. 
"Wait." Amami stopped him. "This is a trap. It wouldn't have gotten on the news so fast unless they deliberately released the information." 
"Is it fake information?" 
"No. The contents are real, but Kichijoji is definitely full of Onmyou Agency men right now." 
"That's no concern. I just need to find Natsume before those guys do." 
"I told you to wait, I didn't tell you not to go. They're trying to lure us out, but they don't know where we are or when we'll appear." 
"......In other words?" 
"It's an ambush." 
"Then I need to go win quickly. Now's the time for blitzkrieg." 
"That would be if we were alone." 
Touji suddenly reacted. "......What do you mean?' 
"Go to the Akihabara Onmyou Agency building and meet up with Suzuka. Get her out if possible." 
An unexpected instruction. All kind of surprising tactics would always show up at Amami Daizen's hands. 
"......Can I hear the reasons?" 
"None of your friends, including Suzuka, will just sit still after seeing this news. Suzuka will have the most trouble moving around in this situation." 
"So you mean I should go give her a helping hand?" 
Amami nodded. "Takahiro of the branch family has the power of divination, so he wouldn't be caught by the Mystical Investigators that easily. In other words, they were caught by something other than the Mystical Investigators, something that could avoid divination. 
Something that could avoid divination......! 
"Yase Doji." 
"Right. Divination is ineffective on shikigami. In other words, Yashamaru and Kumomaru aren't at the agency building, they're capturing Takahiro and the others. We should gratefully take advantage of such a good opportunity." 
Then, when Touji came to the Onmyou Agency as per Amami's instructions, he happened to see a barrier on the road-- 

"Speaking of which, I didn't hear anything about a Divine General being here while the Yase Doji were away." 
Suzuka and the Independent Exorcist, 'Binding Princess' Yuge Mari. Their conversation didn't look very friendly. 
...Well, it was good that he hadn't passed them by. 
"Touji!?" Suzuka cried out in surprise from inside the barriers. 
"Touji...... You're Ato Touji!?" 
Yuge took a fighting stance. It looked like information on Touji had reached the Exorcist Bureau. 
"I'm quite honored that a Divine General remembers the name of a mere former student." Teasingly, Touji started gathering his body's magical energy. 
"Suzuka, how much time to get through?" 
Suzuka and Yuge instantly understood what Touji meant. 
"Five - No, four minutes!" 
"Do it in two." Touji said and charged at Yuge in a flash. 
But Yuge coldly said "......Are you serious?", using Unmoving Golden Chains without any warning. Touji also tossed out a protective charm to counter it and dodged to the side. 
The Golden Chains bound the magical wall from the protective charm he threw out along with the entire space behind him. If he hadn't avoided that just now, it would have been over right away. 
...I have to buy time against this opponent......!? 
"Did you say you wanted to fight me?" 
"Yes, please." 
"Stop. You'll just hurt yourself." 
"If I'm just gonna get hurt a bit, that's a great deal!" 
He ran forward again, and: 
"First seal, release!" 
Armor of demonic aura formed all over Touji's body. It had been a long time since he released the seal outside of training. A sense of release fueled Touji's fighting spirit. 
But Yuge's expression didn't change. She just formed a hand seal and created countless restricting barriers in front of her. It looked like she already knew Touji's name and understood that he was a living spirit. 
Touji dodged as best he could with his living spirit reflexes. It would be over if he ran into a single barrier. 
Suzuka cried "Touji!" with a wail, but Touji roared without looking at her: 
"Still one minute thirty seconds left!" 
He desperately dodged. He wasn't just relying on his reactions, it was more of predicting them beforehand by 'seeing' the flow of aura. He told himself that he couldn't possibly lose to this kind of opponent if he wanted to be capable of fighting Kagami. In any case, he dodged with all his might. 
On the other hand, Yuge's expression changed slightly. Suddenly, she lifted a hand above her head and unleashed magical energy in a flash, forming a huge barrier that covered the entire road. 
"What!?" 
He was in range. Touji felt the burden of magical energy from the barrier and his movements slowed down. 
"Ugh!?" 
The barrier shrank to the approximate size of a person, tightly confining Touji. 
...As expected...... 
The name 'Binding Princess' was no exaggeration. She wasn't the same type as Kagami, but her strength was undoubtedly deserving of the Divine General title. There was still one minute. He had originally wanted to hold out for another thirty seconds, but as expected, this was an enemy he couldn't hold back against. 
"Third seal, release!" 
The malicious demonic aura that poured forth blew away the Divine General's barrier from the inside. 
"What--" 
Yuge and Suzuka were both stunned. 
With horns on his forehead, crimson flames of demonic aura, and protruding fangs, Touji shot towards Yuge like an arrow. 
When Yuge reflexively put up a barrier, it twisted from the sheer brute force. Stunned, Yuge retreated a step. Touji advanced to pursue, giving her no room to relax. 
The pale Yuge put up one magical wall after another, but Touji completely shattered them all. Though it reduced Touji's speed, it also meant she had no time to retreat and put distance between them, so he closed in on her step by step. Offensive power was the biggest weapon that Touji possessed when he controlled the oni. 
"You - what is this!?" 
"Who knows!? Go ask your friend the Chief for details!" 
With a crash, Yuge deflected Touji but was sent flying herself, colliding with the building behind her. 
Touji didn't pursue when she saw Yuge pull away, and retreated instead. 
Yuge suddenly became conscious about what was going on. 
"...Two minutes!" 
Suzuka undid Yuge's barrier. Touji picked Suzuka up and escaped the area with all his power. 
"Damn!" 
Yuge hastily pursued, but the physical abilities of the unsealed Touji were more like a shikigami's than a human's, and he leaped onto a streetlight and jumped onto the roof of a building. Yuge formed a seal to stop him with a barrier, but: 
"Order!" 
Suzuka's shikigami nullified the barrier. Yuge clicked her tongue as she watched the figures of Touji and Suzuka vanish on the other side of the building. 
One minute later, Touji shook Yuge off his tail completely and sealed his demonic aura again.



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