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Tokyo Ravens - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.1




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Chapter 4 - Kodoku 
Part 1 
Natsume didn't show up for the afternoon classes. 
Harutora was currently still in the classroom, about one hour after the afternoon classes had ended. 
He frowned listlessly, an appearance doomed to repetition, his fierce eyes like those of an intolerably hungry, fasting tiger. Kon hadn't materialized, but if she did, she would definitely feel deeply anxious because of the awkwardness. 
Almost no other students could be seen in the classroom. Other than Harutora, there were only two people staying behind in the classroom. One was Touji, and the other was Kyouko, unexpectedly enough. 
Touji sat in a seat two seats away from Harutora, his back to the chair with his feet propped on the desk, unmoving so that it was impossible to see whether he was awake or asleep. Kyouko was sitting in a seat farther away from the other two with her cell phone screen flipped open, constantly pressing buttons and trying her best to show an unconcerned appearance as if this had nothing to do with her. However, she didn't leave first, but instead stayed behind in the classroom. 
They were all waiting for Natsume to return to the classroom. 
The three of them hadn't talked much, and a heavy atmosphere hung over the vast classroom, permeating out from Harutora as its center. 
The sound of a door opening rang out and the door to the classroom opened. 
The clueless Tenma hastily jumped back in surprise once he walked into the classroom. He seemed to have believed that no one was left inside the classroom, and the group of people staying inside also surprised him. In particular, the gazes that shot at him as soon as the door opened surprised him so much that he almost withdrew and fled the scene. 
"......Wh, What are you doing? And you three...... Why are you all together?" 
"Nothing." 
Tenma asked nervously, and Harutora coldly replied to him. But it was fortunate for Tenma that there was even someone willing to respond to him, as Touji didn't react and Kyouko ignored his question. He felt like he had entered a dangerous and sensitive area, straining the kind smile on his face. 
"I, I see...... Ah, but it's perfect that Harutora-kun is in the classroom, Ohtomo-sensei actually gave me this just now and told me to give it to you." 
"To me?" 
Tenma held a long, two-meter long rod in his hand, and one end was set with a metal tip, with a metal hoop on the other end, the hoop passing through six other smaller rings like the shakujou [12] a monk or practitioner would carry while traveling. 
Harutora felt shocked, surprise all over his face, and Touji and Kyouko's gazes clearly showed great interest after taking in the shakujou one after another. 
"......What's that?" 
"It's a shakujou, have you never seen one before?" 
"I've seen one, but why are you giving this kind of thing......" 
"Didn't that wooden sword from yesterday break? Sensei wanted you to use this instead." 
"Hey, could he mean that he wants me to have more shikigami battles?" 
"I don't think so...... Sensei was probably dissatisfied that the wooden sword somehow broke, so he wanted to take revenge." 
Tenma said this while tilting his head, looking like he wasn't very confident. 
Indeed, after the fight yesterday had ended, Ohtomo had taken the wooden sword (wreckage) that he had enchanted himself, muttering: "This is way too ridiculous!" It seemed that he hadn't expected the wooden sword to come to such a tragic end. Even so, Harutora still didn't get where the significance of revenge came in. 
"......So annoying." 
Harutora frowned, taking the shakujou from Tenma's hands. 
The shakujou was heavy, but maybe its balance was good, since it was easier to handle than the impression its exterior gave off. 
But even if he accepted this kind of thing, not only would it occupy more space, it would just create more trouble. He didn't have many things right now so it didn't matter, but there wasn't actually much space in his dorm room. 
"Sensei wanted me to give it to you as soon as possible, could it be that he already knew you were still in the classroom?" 
"He already...... Why would he know? I didn't run into him." 
"I, I don't know that. But speaking of that, why are you and the others still in the classroom, Harutora-kun?" 
Tenma asked Harutora, no malice at all discernable in his tone. Harutora puffed out his cheeks upon hearing that like a child losing his temper. 
"Natsume didn't come to class in the afternoon, right?" Touji leisurely replied from the side. 
"Ah, right, that's very curious. This should be the first time Natsume-kun has skipped class, right?" 
"It seems like he had a fight with this idiot. Kurahashi was there at the time." 
"R, Really?" 
Tenma looked at Kyouko who was sitting farther away. Since the memories of what had happened the past two days were still fresh, the look Tenma gave Kyouko was obviously a bit surprised. Even if she had become the focus of the topic, Kyouko still stubbornly stared at her cell phone screen, refusing to raise her head. 
"What do you mean cutting class, I thought he was going to those special classes. That suit-wearing man came to get him again before I left." Harutora spoke, his anger still not fully disappeared. 
"Special classes? What are those?" 
"You didn't know? That person always disappears somewhere during breaks and after class ends, the teacher even specially comes to receive him." 
Tenma still had a wondering face after Harutora's explanation. But once he said "The person who asked you to notify us about him on the first day!" Tenma made a "huh?" sound and was extremely surprised for some reason. 
"H, Hold on, Harutora-kun, that was--" 
Tenma was about to hastily open his mouth to explain, but Kyouko who had been standing fast to her silence suddenly interrupted. 
"......Let me first explain, that person just now wasn't a teacher, he was a Mystical Investigator." 
"Mystical Investigator? You mean the Onmyou Agency Mystical Investigator?" 
"Are there any other Mystical Investigators?" 
Kyouko replied coldly. Harutora's face sank, and Touji took his feet off the table as if he smelled a dangerous air, sitting up in his chair. 
"Why would a Mystical Investigator come over and over to look for Natsume?" Harutora asked, his face still serious. 
"The Mystical Investigator came to investigate the incident that happened before." 
"The incident that happened before? What do you mean what happened before?" 
Could it be that the Mystical Investigator had come about Dairenji Suzuka? But that incident shouldn't have been made public. Harutora asked, not understanding, and Kyouko and Tenma unwittingly both showed the same surprise upon hearing that. 
"Harutora-kun, could it be that you didn't hear about it?" 
"Hear about what?" 
"......What's going on, aren't you his shikigami? What's up with you two?" 
"Hurry up and tell me what exactly happened!" 
The two of them both knew about what had happened to Natsume, and he was the only one in the dark. That fact annoyed Harutora, and he thundered, agitatedly standing up from his seat. 
At the same time-- 
"Harutora-sama!" 
Kon suddenly materialized on the desk in front of Harutora. 
Why was that? ...The moment Harutora's drive was weakened, a crashing sound like an explosion rang out and the window between the classroom and the corridor shattered, scattering everywhere. 
The four of them didn't get what had happened for a while and just gasped, frozen and unable to move from where they were. Only Kon showed wariness on her face, drawing the wakizashi from her waist. 
Kon's wide eyes looked - upwards. 
There was some giant, writhing creature above the frozen four people and Kon who had taken a stance. 
It was a hazy, dark cloud. A big cloud of fog that wasn't mist or smoke constantly writhed, spreading out as if planning on covering the ceiling of the classroom, like the thundercloud of a storm - no, it was moving its body gruesomely like a living creature. This cloud of fog was what had broken the window and rushed into the room. 
Harutora and the others were scared into a panic upon seeing this. 
"Wh, What is that? Hey, Tenma, do you know?" 
"I, I don't know! I've never seen that thing!" 
"Tenma, does the Onmyou Academy raise even these kinds of things too?" 
"I don't know! Why do you always ask me!?" 
The cloud of fog moved quite intensely. On the outside it looked grayish white, but a gas black as ink writhed inside it, with dark-red tendrils flowing around covering its entire body. In addition, it would often burst in a spasm, scattering sparks and flashing with light. 
That appearance was like an erupting volcano belching out smoke, but also like a never-before-seen deep-sea creature, or even like a hideous chimera doing a crazy dance. The strangest part was its texture, as that thing's outer form was like fog floating in midair yet it gave off a weight as if mud or dirt, this mass being what had broken the window. 
"......A kodoku [13] ." 
Kyouko spoke as she stared upwards, and the other three boys simultaneously turned to face her. 
"This thing is a kodoku?" 
Touji quickly spoke up to confirm, and Kyouko nodded while staring intently at the gas, her face pale. 
The kodoku was quite a mainstream curse in many different Onmyoudou styles. It used bugs like spiders or centipedes as a vessel. By placing a large amount of them in a pot-like tool, they were made to kill each other until the last one remaining was the strongest individual. This bug was used to perform the kodoku, namely as the sacrifice to serve as the vessel. By infusing it with the magical energy of the curse, it would become a type of shikigami. 
"I, In other words, this thing counts as a shikigami?" 
"Right...... And it's even a clearly banned magic." 
The kodoku had been designated as a 'curse-type' shikigami in 'General-style', and without the Onmyou Agency's consent, Onmyou law strictly prohibited its creation and use. 
"B, But this is too strange! There's a barrier around the entire academy building, so even a shikigami shouldn't be able to force its way in!" 
Harutora remembered Alpha and Omega from Tenma's panicked voice. Could it be that this shikigami had destroyed those komainu guards? 
Just then-- 
The center of the fog expanded, splitting into two halves, a giant eyeball emerging from within. The eyeball moved around fluidly, finally settling down on the bottom, right above Harutora. 
Horror ran through Harutora's entire body, and Touji's eyes flashed with a sharp light, with Kyouko and Tenma letting out screams. 
"Harutora-sama, please stay back!" 
Kon shouted and leaped upwards, and the floating fog sticking towards the ceiling moved accordingly. 
The fog began descending bit by bit, pieces of it dripping off like rain. The dropping fog drew out irregular paths in midair, successively attacking Harutora and the others. 
"Uwah! It's coming!" 
"Tch - H, Hakuou! Kokfuu!" 

Kyouko's defensive shikigami materialized a step behind Kon who had reacted first, leaping off the desk and neatly slashing their katana and spear, slicing up the fog that came continuously. Kon also used her big tail for balance as she moved through the air as if dancing, scattering the constantly attacking fog with her wakizashi. 
The fog that had been attacked showed the 'lag' phenomenon, its contour distorting and fragments flickering in midair. But after it was cut apart, the fog quickly merged back with the big cloud of fog on the ceiling, and the most important main body showed no signs of weakening. 
"Kon! Be careful!" 
"Please do not worry - Iyaaaah, it touched my t-t-t-tail!" 
"U, Uwah! Aah! Save me!" 
"Shut up, Tenma! Hurry up and help!" 
"......No good, my phone won't connect, how thoughtful of them......" 
The classroom became a battlefield in moments, and it was a tangled battle. The four of them hurriedly came together and held their ground, using the three shikigami as a shield to combat the kodoku. However, they were pushed back step by step by the gradually increasing fog that pressed forth, and finally retreated to the wall on the other side of the corridor. 
"Really, it's practically endless." 
Touji frowned. Harutora angrily went "damn", trying to open the window behind his back. He unlocked it, but the window wouldn't budge no matter what, as if it were stuck. 
"The window won't open! Why is it like that?" 
"That's bad! There's a barrier, when was it set......!" 
Kyouko turned around to size up the window and called out lightly. As she spoke, magical energy that covered not only the window, but also the entire surrounding classroom, visibly flowed. It seemed like they had been closed off inside the classroom. 
Touji grabbed a chair, smashing it into the window without saying anything. Kyouko and Tenma flinched in surprise, but the chair smashed into the window was easily bounced back. It seemed that it couldn't be damaged physically. 
"Can't smash it open, huh...... Kurahashi, do you have any way of destroying this barrier?" 
"H, Hold on! Can't you see that I'm incredibly busy!" 
The kodoku's assault didn't seem to be slowing, and the amount of fog was tremendous, and it couldn't be handled just relying on Kon and the two Yaksha. 
"Damn, is no one still inside the academy building? Why doesn't anyone notice this commotion!" 
"Th, The problem is the barrier, sound won't get outside no matter how noisy we are inside the barrier!" 
"Tenma! If you have spare time to explain, come over here and help! Those two new students are useless amateurs." 
Kyouko's expression was hurried, but the situation was quite dangerous. Her face paled as she focused on controlling the shikigami, and large drops of sweat seeped from her forehead. 
Tenma hurriedly took charms out from a charm box, but his hand slipped because his movements were too choppy and the charms scattered to the floor. He floundered in panic for a moment, then hurriedly picked up the charms from the floor. 
As he was picking up the charms, the fog dodged around the shikigami's blades. 
A cloud of fog deftly avoided Kokfuu's spear, rushing towards Harutora. Harutora readily raised the shakujou in his hands, but Kyouko 'tch'ed and took out a charm from her charm box a step earlier. 
She used a protection charm. The charm gave off a weak light and the attacking fog made a noise. In that moment, the smell of burning wafted out, and the fog dissipated as the protective charm burned it up. 
"Th, Thanks." 
"Shut up, don't talk to me!" 
Tenma had finally picked up his charms and now stammered incantations, throwing the charms at the fog. However, the fog had now spread everywhere in the classroom, and though in the end a single cloud didn't pose much threat, their chance of victory wasn't great since there was a mob of them. 
"......This thing's goal should be Harutora." At that time, Touji, who had been engrossed in watching the battle from the window, spoke up. 
"M, Me?" 
"It looks like it, from its movements." 
Kyouko and Tenma who were standing in the front quickly exchanged glances upon hearing those words. 
"Could it be Yakou fanatics again......?" 
"It's very possible...... Ugh! What a joke!" 
The pair's conversation also reached Harutora's and Touji's ears. 
The first day he had entered the principal had spoken about Yakou fanatics, but what was the relationship between Yakou worshippers and this kodoku? 
"What's going on!? Do you two know something?" 
Harutora asked urgently from behind. Kyouko's face sank, and she glanced at Tenma next to her like she was giving him the responsibility of explaining. 
Tenma helplessly opened his mouth: 
"Harutora-kun, well, you know...... Natsume-kun is Yakou's......" 
"Oh, you're talking about that rumor, of course I know. So you guys are clear about it too, huh." 
The principal had given an explanation that touched lightly upon that subject. "So then what?" Tenma showed an ashamed expression as Harutora urged him on, continuing to explain: 
"......Actually, two days before you guys entered, a fanatic who had heard Natsume-kun's rumor ambushed him on his way to school, trying to come in contact with him. He seemed like a very tough person, and in the end he even planned on a forced kidnapping, resulting in both sides using magic." 
"What did you say? Two days before we came here?" 
Though there had long since been rumors about Yakou fanatics looking for Natsume, he hadn't expected an incident to have happened so recently. 
"Yeah." Tenma nodded at the shocked Harutora. "Didn't I just say a Mystical Investigator came here to do an investigation? It was to investigate that incident. I heard that there was a big group of accomplices backing that fanatic at the time." 
Harutora was stunned. Such a big thing had happened, but he hadn't even heard a whisper of it. 
"B, But, don't Yakou fanatics worship Yakou? Why would they do that? Especially if they truly believe Natsume is Yakou, they wouldn't use a kodoku!" 
"Hmph! How can we make sense of those crazy fanatics' thoughts! Also, though the fanatic from before was subdued by teachers who rushed over, he was shouting some words like 'I came to help Yakou awaken' without giving up." 
"No way......!" 
In that case, the companions of the fanatic from that time had released the kodoku to make Natsume awaken as Yakou? That really couldn't be called worship, it was simply a twisted and one-sided crazy faith. 
"Damn, what 'special classes'! Why did that person lie to us?" 
"I think...... He probably didn't want you who had just entered to worry too much." 
Tenma replied conclusively. Maybe things were truly as he said, but even if they weren't, Harutora was already so busy with dealing with his own situation that his mind was spinning, so no wonder Natsume would be so apprehensive and deliberately conceal it. 
...'Harutora, Touji, let's do our best.' 
Back then, Natsume had said that with a smile and left her seat. She hadn't left to go to some special classes, but to guard against fanatics who were eyeing her and to talk about future countermeasures with the Mystical Investigator pursuing the case. Harutora couldn't help but get angry, half at Natsume who had burdened herself with everything, and the other half at himself for not noticing the abnormal situation. 
Then, Harutora came back to his senses. 
"......Hold on, what about Natsume? Could something be happening to Natsume right now?" 
Tenma let out an 'ah' as Harutora said this, his face paling. 
Since the opponents had used the kodoku to deal with the shikigami Harutora, Natsume couldn't be untouched. 
Moreover, Natsume hadn't come to class in the afternoon. Even if she was talking about countermeasures with the Mystical Investigator, and even if it was right after she had fought fiercely with Harutora, she had showed up in class the previous two days. Could she have skipped class today because something had happened to make her unable to come? 
Kyouko hurriedly glanced at the pale Harutora. 
"......Harutora-kun, didn't you just reproach Natsume-kun for not having the courage to talk to the people around him?" 
"That......" 
"Don't you think that you can't fault him for that? Everyone believes he's Yakou's reincarnation, and when you add the crazy fanatics circling around him, not only would people be unwilling to take the initiative to approach him, he'd obviously hesitate for fear of bringing trouble to others." 
"............" 
Harutora bit his lower lip, not even noticing that he bit so hard that it bled. 
...'I don't need Harutora-kun to tell me about those things.' 
No wonder she would respond like that. He was a shikigami and a childhood friend who knew her secret better than anybody, but had come out to attack her biggest irresolvable weak point. She would definitely feel even more pained and uncomfortable upon hearing those words come out of his mouth. 
He understood - it was a fact that he had borne in his heart before entering the Academy, but he had neglected it. Since he couldn't keep up with the coursework, he had tossed the things important enough that the principal had told him three times out of his mind, mustering his strength in order to let himself have a place in the class. 
Actually, Harutora was the one whose mind was full of only himself, not Natsume. 
"......Natsume." 
*Jangle* - the small loops on the top of the shakujou made noise. 
Kyouko, Tenma, and even Kon turned around in surprise - towards Harutora's position. 
Harutora was too busy to care about what kind of expression appeared on their faces. 
"...Kon, move aside." 
"H-Harutora-sama? But......" 
"Hurry up and move aside." 
Harutora barked again, and Kon threw off her hesitation, dodging to the side. Harutora grasped the shakujou, immediately advancing towards the gap ahead. 
The fog rapidly attacked, but was fended off by Harutora nimbly swinging the shakujou forward. A 'lag' reaction appeared for a moment, and it split apart. 
"H, Hold on, why are you doing this again--!" 
This was different from the fight, it wasn't a game. Kyouko couldn't say those words to stop him because that natural counsel couldn't keep up with Harutora's advancing back. 
Harutora brandished the shakujou, raining blows on the fog with an imposing figure that even rivaled Hakuou and Kokfuu - his momentum was even greater than the two of them. 
Kyouko and Tenma couldn't help but gasp. 
"......Kurahashi, Tenma, sorry for getting you involved." Harutora spoke without even turning around. 
"D, Don't be......" 
"But please, help me out just this once, and I'll apologize seriously to you later. Please help me beat back this thing and find Natsume." 
Harutora pleaded. 
Tenma shivered and clearly nodded his head to reply. 
Kyouko chewed on her lip. 
"......Since we'll die if we don't fight back, that's all we can do." She replied impatiently, a proud smile emerging on her face. "Sorry." Harutora apologized to the two of them again. 
"Things should be easier this way. Actually, I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work, so I'd like to ask the seniors to offer their opinion." Touji calmly spoke with a low voice as he watched.



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