Tokyo Ravens - Volume 2 - Chapter 2.3

Part 3
More accurately, it was a feeling of aura.
And it was right behind him.
Harutora reflexively turned around, noticing a small child kneeling on the ground, both hands placed on the floor as she leaned forward.
"What?"
He couldn't help but doubt his own eyes.
He couldn't clearly see her face because her head was lowered, but he could see a neatly combed - though there were two protrusions on the sides of her head - small head. The child wore clothing similar to the Onmyou Academy uniform, but it was more like the original style of the uniform - Heian-era imperial clothing with a hakama on her lower half. The clothes were clearly loose, and her body type looked like an elementary schooler's, no, maybe even younger.
"......"
He was speechless for a while at this sudden event.
When had this child entered the room? Harutora wondered in some corner of his mind, but another corner calmly thought that he couldn't have failed to notice if someone entered such a small room. In the end, he had no idea where this child had come from, why she was in his room, or why she was prostrated before him.
"Uh, hey......"
Harutora carefully opened his mouth.
Just as he had spoken, the child's back suddenly trembled as if she had been splashed with hot water. Harutora couldn't help but tremble as well, swallowing the words that he hadn't said.
However, just then, something else caught Harutora's eyes. When the child had trembled, it seemed like something had swished around behind her prostrated body - in other words, near her rear. When he noticed that thing, Harutora's eyes widened in surprise.
It was a tail.
It was a tail draped with soft, straight hair, a leaf-shaped fluffy tail. Harutora almost jumped from surprise, moving his gaze back to the child's head. Those things on her head hadn't been natural hair formations, but the lightly trembling things on the child's head were flaps of fur similar to her tail, triangle-shaped pointed ears.
"You, your ears...... and your tail......!"
The moment Harutora opened his mouth in shock--
The child raised her lowered head.
It was a little girl.
The girl had a head of neat bangs, her skin as white as if it had been powdered. Her looks showed a youthfulness matching her age, and she looked like a living doll, with even her fine details seeming quite refined.
The thing that impressed upon him the deepest were the clear eyes that stared at him.
Her eyes gave off a blue light.
The girl's round eyes were blue, beautiful like glass, deep as the sky, and made Harutora gaze in amazement, causing him to completely forget about the many questions he had about the girl.
A moment after the two of them stared at each other.
Suddenly--
Pearl teardrops dropped from the girl's blue eyes, and only then did Harutora come to his sense, panicking for a moment.
"What! Hey! Why are you suddenly crying! Come to think of it, who are you? ......Ahh whatever, it doesn't matter who you are, please don't cry!"
Harutora reached out his arms but didn't dare to touch the girl's body, only able to wave them helter-skelter in midair. The girl looked at Harutora's frantic appearance without blinking, her teary eyes widening.
Not long after, the girl chewed her lip, quickly wiping away her tears with her sleeve. Then, she lowered her head again, raising her voice:
"A p-p-p, pleasure to make your acquaintance--"
Even though she was raising her voice, she was just mustering her strength to let out her originally very weak voice. That voice was just as childish as her outer appearance, and Harutora's brain was simply blank.
"......Huh? W, What did you say? What's going on?"
"M-M-M, My name is Kon, a descendant of the ancestral fox Kuzunoha, r-r-retainer of Tsuchimikado Harutora-sama as so assigned, i-i-if it pleases you--"
She kowtowed on the floor as she said this. Of course, Harutora was already too stunned to speak.
...W, What did she say? Ancestral fox? Descendant? Pleases you...... What was supposed to please him?
'Speechless' referred perfectly to this kind of situation. Harutora's mind was in chaos, his thoughts were spinning around wildly, and in the end he returned again to the visual shock.
In other words, those ears and tail.
They weren't accessories, since they could move, and they also looked quite real. More importantly, a girl's body couldn't have real ears or a tail.
She wasn't a human girl.
In other words, she was......
"Ah! Sh, Shikigami! Could you be a shikigami?"
As Harutora confirmed, the girl - Kon - quickly nodded forcefully.
At that point, Harutora finally got it. She was a shikigami, a shikigami that looked like a small child, so then......
"Could it be - this is it? This talisman...... The shikigami my dad gave me is......!"
Kon nodded again, an extremely cautions look emerging on her delicate face.
"B, But, I didn't do anything? How did you suddenly come out?"
"A, As I am a retainer, I must guard my master at all times. I h-heard your summons as I was guarding you from the shadows--"
Harutora asked blankly, and Kon explained in a tiny voice as her limbs trembled from surprise.
"Huh? Y, You mean, you've been beside me since my dad gave me that talisman? But you weren't there! I didn't see you at all!"
"A, As my master did not call for me, I hid myself nearby."
"Hid? You hid yourself? You were always there, though I couldn't see you?"
"Y, Yes."
Harutora confirmed a third time, and Kon just bowed her head, flattening her fluffy tail.
She seemed tense and extremely frightened, and Harutora recovered some of his calm upon noting her abnormal stiffness.
"I see...... I, I understand. Anyway, first raise your head, you're prostrating so much I don't know what to do, and it's hard to talk."
Kon immediately raised her head once Harutora said this. That childhood face was still tensed, and her caution had not changed, and her ears would occasionally twitch like she couldn't hold back her tension.
"......Come to think of it, Alpha also said some strange words in the morning like my familiar had been registered...... So he was referring to you."
Harutora sat cross-legged across from Kon, sizing up the shikigami in front of him again. Kon became even tenser under her master's gaze, shrinking back her sitting body and looking back at Harutora, her hands still placed on the floor.
Ignoring the ears and tail for now, Kon seemed like an ordinary girl, but she indeed seemed more mature than girls - actually, probably children? - of a similar age. Otherwise, she was no different from a true human. Her features were a bit too perfect, but her straight-looking eyes, the soft contours of her face, and her small lips were all clearly 'ordinary', just like an 'ordinary' cute child.
...She was a shikigami? Such a small child was somehow a shikigami?'
If Natsume was here, maybe she would explain altogether that the shikigami was accustomed to appearing with the form of a 'child', but Harutora who didn't know such things really didn't know what kind of attitude to take towards a reverent and respectful small girl.
"......Dad gave you to me?"
Kon strongly nodded her head.
"I, I have also served generations of the Tsuchimikado branch family in the past--" Maybe noticing that simply nodding didn't resolve the confusion in Harutora's heart, she opened her mouth to voice a supplement.
"What? When was that? Could it be my dad?"
"M, My past memories no longer exist, but it was indeed not just one generation of the branch family."
"You mean that you served the branch family for generations? I see."
Just like Yukikaze of the main family - Harutora accepted that explanation. In other words, the branch family had shikigami like Yukikaze who served the family, and his dad had given one of those shikigami to him. In that case, it wasn't strange that his dad had especially brought up the name 'Tsuchimikado'.
"Uh, so you......"
Harutora called out, and Kon instantly cried out in trepidation and hesitation.
"M, Master, please call me by my name directly."
"Master...... I, I understand, then how about you don't call me 'master', it's fine if you call me Harutora."
"H, H-H-H, Ha, Ha, Haru-t-t-tora......sama!"
"......You don't need to be that nervous."
"............"
"Uh, really! I won't mind at all, I really don't mind, so please don't show that kind of expression!"
Kon's round eyes began getting moist again, and Harutora hastily spoke to appease her.
"Calm down a bit first! Relax! Breathe deeply! Alright?"
Harutora did his best to convince her. Kon straightened her back and opened her small mouth to breathe deeply in accordance with his words. Her nature was very simple, but it was really troublesome to figure out how to deal with her.
...However...... This was also far outside his expectations. He felt that this was more like the relationship between a child and her guardian rather than a shikigami and her master.
At the least, she was far from Harutora's expectations and was not a shikigami that her practitioner could boast about to others. She definitely wouldn't be of much use in battle, and conversely, he might even have to protect her.
But, the biggest problem was still her external appearance. After all, if he brought this little girl around with him everywhere in public, it was very possible that it would give rise to unnecessary mistakes.
...That bastard dad......
He had originally believed his dad had finally congratulated his son seriously for leaving home, but he was definitely laughing out loud behind his back right now. Harutora had simply been a fool for jumping for joy with expectation.
But, hold on, Kon might not necessarily fail his expectations.
Shikigami couldn't be judged by their appearance, and though a strong exterior was obviously good, actual power was still the most important. It wasn't impossible that a strong shikigami actually hid underneath the exterior of a little girl.
"Okay, how about this. Kon, I want to ask about you first."
Kon quickly regained her serious look as Harutora spoke.
"First is...... Right, what kind of shikigami are you? It's fine to just say your type."
Harutora brought up what he thought to be the most basic question, but all he saw was Kon's confused face and rigid expression as if he had asked her to do something incomprehensible.
"Huh? You don't know what type of shikigami you are? Right, didn't you say you were a retainer? Could it be that you're a defensive shikigami that Touji just talked about?"
"Yes, I serve as Harutora-sama's retainer."
"Is that right? Uh...... what else did he say? In other words, you're a manmade type?"
"M, Manmade......?"
Kon's originally cheerful face was instantly covered by shadows. Pears of sweat emerged on her dismal face as if she believed there was no way to reply to that unforgivable sin.
"Huh? You don't know that either? ......Ah, I know, you served generations of branch families, so could you be an ancient shikigami from farther back than the General style? Uh, you don't remember things from before, right? But that should be right."
He remembered that Yukikaze had also been from long ago and had been designated a high-level manmade shikigami by the General style, so it was very possible that Kon was the same type as Yukikaze.
"Whatever, it's no use to continue asking since you don't know, so I'll change to a different topic. What are your special moves? What kind of things can you do?"
"...Yes, I apologize for being dull, but my best move is a stealth technique."
"Oh, a stealth move, let me see it."
"A, As you command......"
Saying this, Kon's figure became fuzzy and vanished in moments. Even though it was his own request, Harutora was still greatly surprised.
"Uwah! you vanished! Amazing, I can't see where you are at all."
He couldn't help but reach out, but his arm passed through the position Kon had been without obstruction. It seemed more like she had instantly moved somewhere else rather than hiding her body.
"Kon? Are you here?'
"Yes."
"Ohh, I heard your voice! Incredible, you didn't just make your body become invisible?"
"Th, Though that can be done, I have currently left my actual body and eliminated my presence."
"L, Left your body? What does that mean? Is it like a ghost?"
"Yes, I am in a spirit form...... and merged with the surrounding aura. H, However, if I speak like this, the aura will inevitably fluctuate......"
As Harutora heard this, he looked towards the direction that the voice came from and saw something like a blur of aura. But he didn't actually see it with his vision, but rather 'saw' the aura with his spirit-seeing abilities.
But, if Kon hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have noticed even with spirit seeing. So it was that kind of stealth - Harutora excitedly nodded.
"Okay, that's good."
Kon instantly reappeared once Harutora spoke. Even though it was right in front of him, she was just 'there as soon as he noticed it' like before, appearing soundlessly and presencelessly.
"Hmm...... It looks pretty amazing, way to go, Kon."
"Th, Th-Th, Thanks for your praise......"
"Don't be humble, that move is really amazing, I really admire it."
"I-I, It's nothing special......"
Kon lowered her face with red-tinged cheeks, her tail constantly waving back and forth. She seemed shy, and that expression was really quite cute.
"What else? Do you have other moves?"
"F, Floating in midair......!"
"Ooh, beautiful! It's like magic! What else?"
"M, Manipulating fire......!"
"Uwah, f, fireballs! Hot! Those are real fireballs! Amazing!"
Kon floated about fifty centimeters into the air while continuing to kneel, and a light-blue fist-sized ball of fire appeared above her head. The fireballs increased by two, so that there were a total of three fireballs floating round inside the room. The fireballs looked like wandering souls, but the heat they gave off was genuine.
...Really strong! This shikigami was so amazing!

Even though he had doubted at first, she had stealth, had levitation, and showed moves very suitable of a shikigami, simple yet convenient. The fireballs too - never mind how their strength was - they clearly gave off an intimidating presence, and Harutora was extremely satisfied.
Kon also looked proud upon seeing her master reacting like that, and her tail became even more active as she almost wriggled her body in happiness, unable to hide her excited look.
But...
"Incredible, Kon! What else? Do you have other skills?"
"......Huh? Other......"
Kon's face sank, the floating fireballs vanished in a puff, and Kon herself also dropped with a thunk from midair. "...Huh?" Her face gradually paled in front of the clueless Harutora.
Then, a strange light flashed in her blue eyes as if she had suddenly thought of something.
She rapidly changed her sitting posture, putting one knee forward as her right hand simultaneously reached quickly behind her back. Her movements were sharp and hard to imagine from her demeanor just now. Something was shining - just as Harutora thought this, the wakizashi [5] she clutched with a reverse grip arrived at the tip of his nose.
Harutora gasped in surprise.
"I, I-I-If Harutora-sama orders, I shall not hesitate to sacrifice my life! E, E-Enemies of Harutora-sama shall be made into rust on this beloved blade 'Kachiwari'......!"
"............"
Her gaze was fierce, and the blade of the wakizashi flashed in front of his eyes, making Harutora's face stiffen.
"......I, I see, thanks, Kon. I got it, I understand already, so please put that thing back......"
Kon gasped in panic and returned the wakizashi behind her back as per Harutora's request. It seemed that the scabbard was inside her belt. After putting it back, she hastily returned to a kneel again.
...This wouldn't do.
"A, Anyway, Kon, that...... K, Kachiwari? That name is pretty scary...... Anyway, don't draw that blade without my permission. Got it? You definitely can't draw it!"
"B, But, Harutora-sama, as your guard, it is my responsibility to ensure your safety, if something unexpected--"
"Even if I encounter something unexpected, you still have to confirm with me first! Got it?"
Harutora snapped back, and Kon finally nodded her head reluctantly.
...A little shikigami doll who would draw a blade without warning, give me a break......
Though he wasn't sure when this shikigami had been made, it seemed like he needed to quickly correct Kon's overly old-fashioned manner of speech [6] , as there might be some day when it would lead to an unexpected grave situation.
...If this girl got into trouble, all the responsibility would be on him, right? What a joke, I can't deal with this myself.
He felt like his head hurt. It really wasn't a time to plan to use this shikigami to improve his image. Everything was the fault of his own bad luck, Harutora complained in his heart.
Just then - 'I always thought you were an idiot, but I didn't think you would be so dumb you didn't know anything!'
"Ugh......!"
Natsume's roar suddenly flitted through his mind, and Harutora hurriedly rid himself of his pretentious attitude.
...I, Idiot! How can I have this kind of arrogant attitude!
Right, this child had more reason to complain than him. In the end, he was only an outsider with the empty name Tsuchimikado, and a student whose grades were far behind and unable to keep up with the pace of studies. The shikigami with this kind of master was the one with the downright worst luck.
Kon seemed to believe that Harutora was scolding her, and her head was lowered in silence, with the ears on her head drooping down in depression.
On the other hand, could it be that Kon had this attitude of putting Harutora on a pedestal because she had made some kind of mistake? Maybe she believed that since Harutora was a Tsuchimikado, he was definitely a powerful 'great man'.
"Hey, Kon, in order to avoid any mistakes, let me first make it clear......"
"Uh, uh, yes."
Harutora's tone was serious, and Kon instantly straightened her back upon hearing it.
He coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat.
"L, Listen up Kon, I'll say it flat out, even though I'm a Tsuchimikado, I'm not like the incredible Onmyouji you served before. Honestly, I'm not even confident I can use your power to the fullest......"
As he said that--
Kon's eyes suddenly widened.
A bottomless despair was reflected from her blue eyes.
"Y, y-y-y-y-y-you mean that I am not needed?"
Her eyes brimmed with tears and her small body trembled intensely. "H, Hold on!" Harutora frantically leaned forward.
"No! You're mistaken! I didn't say anything about needing you or not, it has nothing to do with that, that wasn't what I meant...... I wanted you not to think so highly of me."
"...?"
Kon's teary eyes were wide in wonder, seeming as if she hadn't understood the meaning in Harutora's words at all.
"Actually, uh...... I'm still a student - something like an Onmyouji trainee, and my grades are terrible, almost to the level of a complete outsider, and I'm not at all incredible, so you don't actually have to be so respectful to me."
He said so much that even he felt ashamed, but that was the truth, he was helpless.
Kon listened to Harutora's confession with her mouth tightly closed and surprise all over her face. It made him think of the reactions of his teachers and the students from earlier in the day, and he couldn't help but turn his head embarrassedly.
But--
"That's not true."
Kon spoke resolutely.
She spoke smoothly and with a firm confidence in her voice, a reversal from before. However, after Harutora turned back around in surprise, the resolution on her face instantly collapsed and returned to the original flustered appearance.
Even so, she still tried hard to express her thoughts.
"I, I-I was guarding Harutora-sama the whole day today."
"...Ah."
Indeed, that meant that she had seen all of Harutora's idiotic appearance in the Onmyou Academy.
"Th, Then you should know clearly that I don't understand anything, right? Then why......"
"Because I-I am Harutora-sama's shikigami."
"For just that reason? You're so reverent and respectful of me because of that?"
Harutora asked in surprise. Kon showed a confused look and stared at him upon hearing this, as if that were common sense. If her attitude were indeed common sense...... As Natsume's shikigami, Harutora couldn't help but feel despair towards that kind of world.
"A, Am I troubling Harutora-sama?"
"No...... that's not it."
Harutora replied perfunctorily. Actually, he felt that Kon was exalting him too much, so he felt a bit uneasy.
...But......
Kon's humble words moved Harutora's heart after a whole day of experiencing misery.
Thinking carefully, it would be a true tragedy if even his own shikigami expressed a scornful attitude. Kon's attitude shouldn't be that stiff if they slowly got to know each other. Randomly slashing that wakizashi around was indeed a troublesome problem, but there was no reason to force her to change.
On the other hand, since Kon was definitely obedient to her master, he should do his best to respond to her expectations and become an Onmyouji worthy of her respect.
"......I understand, from today on you'll be my shikigami and I'll be your master, though I'm an unseemly master. Please take care of me, Kon."
Harutora secretly decided, speaking to Kon with a smile.
Kon's cheeks blushed and eyes gleamed for a moment. She lowered her head hastily.
"I, I-I-I am not worthy, please instruct me well--"
Her attitude and gracious words were courteous, and it was just her tail that jumped around like a little kid. Though he felt a little regretful, Harutora was no longer concerned after seeing Kon this happy.
...I have a shikigami now. Harutora digested that fact again.
"......Alright! Then, Kon, you were with me the whole day, so you should be clear on what kind of a person I am, right?"
"H-H-Harutora-sama is broad-minded, even someone like I can see--"
"Slow down, you don't have to rush to respond, I just meant that I was going to continue asking questions, like...... Right, is there any special meaning to your ears and tail?"
Harutora hid a wry smile, asking with as gentle a tone as possible. With that question, Kon's ears and tail instantly shook and stood up like they had been shocked.
"M, Meaning...... I am a fox spirit, so therefore......"
"Huh, you're a fox? Could you be a magical fox - no, maybe a kitsune?"
Harutora had originally believed that they had been dog ears and a dog tail. After hearing Harutora's question, Kon nodded. In that case, then the fireballs Kon had popped out just now might have been the so-called 'fox fire'.
Touji had explained that the standard manmade shikigami could hold external magical power. The 'external magical power' in this case was Kon's 'fox spirit', and in other words, Kon was a shikigami that practitioners had refined into a kitsune. Even so, Harutora actually didn't understand anything about what a fox spirit was.
He 'ohh'-ed somewhat curiously, learning forward to gaze at Kon's ears. Perhaps Kon felt a bit shy under Harutora's gaze, as her cheeks reddened and she turned away...... But her ears moved more and more intensely.
"......Can I touch them?"
"Hya!?"
"Ah, if you're unwilling, then I won't force--"
"N-N-No, that is not it, touch if you p-please......"
She lightly put her head forward and Harutora extended his hand with a "sorry".
He first felt Kon's ear between his fingers. Kon trembled like she had been electrified when he touched.
"Ohh, how soft - Haha, it even shakes, it's really like a puppy...... Ahah, all right, all right."
"............"
"Can I touch your tail too?"
"O, Of course......"
Kon was too shy to dare look at Harutora as she spoke, turning her back to him.
The feeling of her tail was even fluffier than her ears, and Harutora felt it softly, making a cheer of "Ohh!". He actually quite liked animals.
"It feels so nice, loose and soft...... Oh, it moved."
"......I, I-It honors me tremendously that you ...... enjoy it......"
"Yeah, this feels pretty good. On that note, I've never touched a fox before, so this is how their tails look."
"............"
Harutora continued to stroke her fox tail, prompting Kon to jolt straight every so often and then relax back down. She desperately endured it without daring to speak, her ears moving even more rapidly.
"Ah, sorry, is it itchy?"
"P-P-P-Please do not worry......"
"Can you move this tail at will? Actually, how does it move?"
"H, How--!?"
Harutora asked leisurely, but for some reason Kon cried out miserably.
Finally, she made a determined effort and stood up silently, her mouth tight and her show-white skin flushed down to her neck. Then, with her back towards the surprised Harutora, she slowly untied the sash around her waist.
"L-L-L-L-L, Like this!"
She spoke and suddenly pulled down her hakama.
A constantly trembling tail and a snow-white butt appeared before Harutora--
"What's going on, Harutora! I took a detour to the library on the way home as a precautionary measure, and noticed that somehow, the books I designated were all still there--"
Natsume roughly flung open Harutora's door without knocking, her arms piled with a small mountain of books. An angry roar burst out as she walked into the room.
Time froze, everything going silent.
Kon wailed soundlessly, frantically pulling up her hakama but carelessly catching it on her foot. Harutora quickly reached out to support Kon as she fell into his chest - and as a result the two of them abruptly held on to each other as the untied hakama fell to her feet.
The books in Natsume's hands fell down one by one.
Kon was already completely frozen, but Harutora grabbed the fallen hakama with a speed challenging human limitations, pulling the hakama up like he was helping a child wear pants and tying the sash.
Then, he breathed deeply and was about to open his mouth, when--
"..................Harutora?"
"Uh--"
"..................What are you doing?"
"You're mistaken--"
This was Harutora's first time hearing such a tone from Natsume since he had been born, and the voice he replied with sounded like it hadn't come from his own mouth.
"Uh, you see, calm down and listen to my explanation, alright? You're mistaken, she's Kon, don't look at her like a child, she's actually a fox. More importantly, she's a shikigami, not a human. Look at her tail and her ears for proof. So you're wrong, it's not like you're thinking......"
Natsume frowned, her eyes fiercely emitting some kind of dangerous feeling.
At the same time, Harutora seemed to see several self-made charms for magic appear in her fingers, and even though he was very concerned about why she was taking out charms, his attention was drawn more to the word 'danger' clearly written on them. Harutora's justifications became quieter and quieter.
"............Pervert."
"Hold on--"
"............Die."
"N, Natsume?"
The girl's body seemed as if it had swelled several times instantly - this was what he saw with his spirit-seeing ability, definitely unmistakable.
"Die, pervert! Order!"
'When I arrived, your heart had already stopped.'
Touji from next door told Harutora this afterwards. Of course, that was probably only a joke.