Part 4
In the scene of the purified Nue spiritual disaster, Harutora sat on the road alone, exhausted.
Next to him was Touji who had dismounted from Yukikaze. The horns and fangs on his face had already returned to their original state. After landing, Kon walked around here and there, seeming to be scouting the spiritual disaster area. Kogure's crow tengu gave the work of maintaining the condition of the area to Harutora and the others, flying out to find their master to report.
Natsume didn't stay by Harutora and Touji's side, still sitting on the motorcycle in the distance. When she had received Yukikaze's charm from Touji, she had unhesitatingly asked for the reason why Yukikaze had appeared here. "My father......" She murmured several words but didn't open her mouth again, her expression seeming quite complex. Concerned about her mood, Harutora and Touji both happened to move away from her.
No one present opened their mouth to say a word, and the area became quite tranquil after the noisy crow tengu left. After completing this matter, they didn't even have the strength to rejoice. Touji who had come here in the end wasn't as bad, but Harutora and Natsume were already so tired that they were limp and powerless.
Harutora sat on the ground, supporting himself from behind with his two hands. "Come to think of it..." He spoke with a wry smile: "The day's finally over." Those words seemed like the final conclusion to this day. Touji replied, also with somewhat of a wry smile: "That's right."
So many things had happened one after another during the period of time from the start of the practical examination until now, though it actually hadn't even been half a day. Moreover, every single event had been important and serious. Their feelings inevitably felt a bit confused and they had a hard time calming down.
Today in the morning, Harutora had only been worried about whether he could successfully advance a grade. Though he had knowledge relating to shocking situations like spiritual disasters, Divine Generals, and development into phase threes - because he was in the Onmyou Academy and knew about these matters because he belonged to the magic community - in the end, they still had had nothing to do with his daily life.
The incident that had happened to Touji was the same. Though he had been worried at the start when he heard about the exam contents, he hadn't seriously worried that Touji would show signs of demon transformation again. That showed how much he trusted the adults around him - his father who was the primary physician caring for Touji, the proctoring teachers of the practical exam, and the Onmyou Academy that he belonged to. He had been confident that no matter what happened, those adults would come forward and guard their daily lives to ensure they weren't destroyed.
But, after this day, Harutora truly realized that he was wrong.
It wasn't that adults weren't willing to protect, but they could only do what they could.
Things had happened that even the teachers in the practical examinations couldn't handle. Even the Onmyou Academy couldn't completely protect the students. Even the Exorcist Bureau, though they had finally purified the spiritual disaster, had caused severe damage. Even the Onmyou Agency's trump card, the Divine Generals, weren't omnipotent superhumans, and there were little girls like Suzuka among them along with hateful people like Kagami.
Harutora trusted that the adults would protect him in the end, and had never believed that was a mistaken thought. In particular, the figure of the practical teachers who had stepped forward for them were burned into his heart.
But on the other hand, he also understood something. Fanatically believing in the adults around him and blindly giving everything to them to deal with wasn't called 'trust', but rather 'dependence'. He had learned to first rely on 'himself' before relying on the assistance of adults. He would rely on his own strength and his mustered efforts...... If that kind of hard work wasn't enough to resolve the problem, he trusted that the people around him would come forward to help. That was true confidence, or perhaps could be called 'faith'.
"......I have to do my best......"
After defeating the Nue, he hadn't thought that these kinds of ideas would appear in his mind. The path to becoming an Onmyouji seemed to be longer and more tiring than he had imagined. No, it shouldn't just be the path of an Onmyouji, growing up and maturing was definitely also an arduous process.
"......I really never thought you could control the oni...... How is it? Touji? No problems?"
Harutora sat on the ground looking up at Touji next to him. He feigned calmness on the outside, but he couldn't conceal the wavering and tension deep in his heart. After all, he had just fought with Touji who had almost turned into a demon, and thought that while Touji was fine on the outside, there must be some trauma left in his heart.
"I'm not sure." But, Touji's attitude was no different from usual, and his mouth smirked like always. "Just now was only 'practice', I still can't say for sure."
"......It seems scary. Both a former juvenile delinquent and a demon. That's not just a bad dream, that's a nightmare." [64]
"Be careful what you say, Harutora. On the off chance that I do become a demon, it's very possible that you'll be the first one to be eaten and chewed up in a bite."
Touji deliberately showed his canines, grinning and relieving the remaining doubt in Harutora's heart. Harutora had reconfirmed that Touji was a trustworthy person.
"Next time, I'll send you a tiger loincloth [65] so you can wear it instead of that bandanna."
"Hmph, your head's so big after defeating a single Nue. Don't forget whose power was inside that shakujou."
"You don't know how hard I had it before then, you only came out when things were almost done with. To think you're still proudly taking credit."
"Because my unfortunate self was beaten up by a certain person, but I still rushed out here so worriedly. That kind of situation is very rare, you know."
The two of them bantered, glancing at each other. Harutora's expression relaxed first.
"You really had it hard too."
"Honestly, I'm confident that my luck's even worse than yours. But--" Touji's face suddenly went serious. "You and I are the same, we seem to always turn the tables in a crisis. When I encountered the demon and became a living spirit, your dad rescued me, and that's why I can stand here like this today. You could call all of it a blessing in disguise."
"A blessing in disguise? What's that mean?"
Seeing Harutora's confused look, Touji smiled wryly. "Bakatora."
"I encountered the demon, but also met you guys. With that, I'm already satisfied." Touji managed to speak with a youthful, sincere tone. Harutora blinked in surprise, looking up at his good friend, then smiled evilly.
"Huh? What's wrong with you, Touji? Haven't you used up your lifetime's worth of 'youth' tonight?"
"......That's true. Pretend I didn't say that just now." Touji mocked himself bashfully, turning away.
Harutora hastily grasped the opportunity to latch on without letting up. "Nope, I definitely won't forget." He changed into a cross-legged sitting position, putting his hands on his knees and grinning happily. Touji knocked his good friend's head with an embarrassed face.
In the distance, Kon's ears had perked up at some point, watching Harutora and Touji restlessly. She seemed to want to return to her master's side but couldn't find the opportunity.
Just then - "Kon." Natsume, sitting on the motorcycle, called out to Kon in a whisper.
Kon walked over in surprise, as Natsume seldom called out to her.
"Don't disturb them."
Natsume warned Kon in a childlike tone. She spoke maturely, but her expression was evidently impatient. Kon replied unwillingly: "I understand."
Natsume sighed lightly, watching Harutora and Touji's backs from afar.
Though she was concerned about her father seeming to have seen through everything, at the same time she understood that she was helpless regarding this kind of situation even if she was concerned. She didn't understand her father's true intent, and simply believed that she should be grateful to her father for sending Yukikaze over.
Right now she was walking the same road as Harutora and Touji. There might be thorns everywhere on this road, but as long as she remembered that everyone was on the same path, they could weather the most difficult storms one by one. Today was the best example.
"But......" Kon muttered, her gaze still looking towards her master and his good friend. The two of them were laughing heartily, teasing each other. "......It's very enviable."
Natsume smiled upon hearing Kon's dissatisfied complaint, saying: "Yeah", expressing agreement from the bottom of her heart.
Even if she was dressed as a male, all that changed was her outer appearance, and she was still an outsider to male friendships.
"Male relationships are really... cunning." Saying this, Natsume shrugged her shoulders, burying her face in the collar of her uniform.
The incident happened at that moment.
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