Tokyo Ravens - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.2

Story 2 - Winter Day's Dinner 

"Right, Harutora, have you thought of what to do for dinner?" 
The afternoon classes had ended. After school, Tsuchimikado Natsume questioned Harutora among the Onmyou Academy classroom full of loudly chattering students. 
Her black hair, tied up with a pink ribbon, gently slid across her shoulders as her head moved slightly. Harutora, who was preparing to pack his bags to return to the dorm, uttered a "Huh?", stopping his hand movements and turning to look at Natsume. 
"What am I going to do? Won't I just go to the dorm cafeteria?" 
Harutora asked back, confused, and then it was Natsume's turn to have a surprised expression. 
"You really did forget. Wasn't a notice posted in the dorm cafeteria in the morning? Fujino-san has business tonight, so dinner won't be provided." 
"Huh......? Ah, I remember, the notice told everyone to find food themselves. I forgot." Harutora scratched his head casually. 
Harutora and Natsume lived in the Onmyou Academy male dorm, and Fujino was the female manager of the male dorm. Normally, she attended to the food in the dorm. 
"What should we do, should we eat out first before going back?" 
"That's not bad on occasion." 
"What do you want to eat?" 
"Huh? Uh...... soba." 
"Then I'll have udon. The weather's cold today, so a bowl of boiled udon is perfect." 
"Udon again? Harutora, you always eat udon." 
"I haven't eaten boiled udon in a long time, though." 
"Isn't it still udon? It's rare for us to have an opportunity to eat out, so we should go eat other things, it's fine if it's not soba. For example - f-fashionable French food...... or Italian food with a refined atmosphere......" 
Natsume glanced hesitatingly at Harutora, expectation clearly visible in her expression. Unfortunately, as was natural, Harutora didn't notice her feelings, speaking honestly: "But I'm short of money this month, I can't even eat much at normal small restaurants." Natsume's face fell. 
"......What, Bakatora, you went with Kinoshita-senpai......" 
"Huh? What did you say?" 
"Nothing......! But, what should we do now? Should we just find a random fast food store?" 
"It would be nice if we could find a cheap and delicious fast food store......" 
The students who lived in the dorm almost all ate in the dorm, and lunch was taken care of in the academy cafeteria. The three meals weren't a problem, but all the choices they could think of were chain restaurants and fast food stores when they considered eating out. Especially for Harutora, who would almost always walk into an udon store when he wanted to eat out. 
"Ah, right, Touji, do you know any good places?" He asked his classmate Ato Touji. Touji wore a bandanna around his head, which had developed into his personal trademark. He was currently living in the dorm along with Harutora and the others, but he had lived in Tokyo before, so he was even more familiar with this place than Harutora or Natsume. 
Maybe because the conversation of the two had reached his ears, Touji replied extremely quickly: "I do." Then, he quickly noted: "But never mind today, we should just go back to the dorm to eat." 
"Huh? But today......" Harutora asked back, while Natsume stared at Touji in surprise. 
Touji grinned knowingly. 
"What do you think about nabe [3] ?" 

Touji, who had made the proposal, prepared a clay pot and a small gas-powered stove. In addition, he had fish, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and other ingredients. 
Natsume's eyes widened in surprise. 
"What's up with these things?' 
"Other people gave them to me." 
"Other people gave them to you...... Who gave them?" 
"The dorm manager who's away today." 
"Fujino-san?" 
Touji explained. Fujino had realized urgent business last night, so that was why she was away today, but the food had already been appropriately prepared. This morning, Touji had happened to run into Fujino in the corridor, and had asked for the food after hearing about things. 
"This food was originally going to be made into our dinner, so what's wrong with taking it?" 
"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, this is a big help to us." 
Most dorm rooms had wooden floors, but Harutora's was tatami, which was perfect for nabe. 
They got utensils from the dorm cafeteria, spreading out a folding table, assembling the small gas stove and putting the clay pot on it. The food was washed with water and placed in stainless steel bowls or plates. 
In order to cook up a delicious soup, they put seaweed in the bottom of the pot, pouring water into the pot with a kettle. The soy sauce had already been prepared by the side. 
Touji lit the small gas stove. 
"Harutora, check the radish." 
"Okay. Is the gas on? What should we start with?" 
"Anything is fine." 
"That's true, but the mushrooms have to be last." 
"That's common knowledge." 
Harutora and Touji prepared deftly. On the other hand, Natsume seemed a bit uncomfortable, kneeling in a corner of the room and staring unblinkingly as she watched Harutora and Touji's every move. She never spoke a word, in stark contrast to the joyful other two. 
Touji noticed Natsume's reaction. 
"Natsume, what's wrong? Are us two guys too carefree? Is there something you're not satisfied with? Come over here if you want to point something out." 
"Right, you're the only girl here, so if you're good at managing things, we can leave it up to you." 
"Huh, no, I......!" 
After hearing Touji and Harutora say that, Natsume hastily waved her hand. 
Though she lived in the male dorm, Natsume was actually a girl. She and Harutora were from the famous Tsuchimikado Onmyoudou family, and Natsume had already been designated as the main family successor who would become the next heir. She obeyed the main family 'tradition' and posed as a male, but only Harutora and Touji who were here knew her true identity. 
"Natsume, could it be that you hate nabe?" 
"Th, That's not it." 
"Ah, could it be that the main family also has family traditions for nabe?" 
"B, Bakatora, how could there be such a thing." 
Harutora and Touji asked one after another. Natsume became flustered, and they also furrowed their brows. 
Just then, the sound of knocks came from outside the room. 
Harutora called out "The door's open", and two students immediately opened the door and walked in. These two were their classmates, the graceful, beautiful girl Kurahashi Kyouko and the glasses-wearing, kind-looking boy Momoe Tenma. 
"Oh, Natsume-kun, sorry to disturb you~!" 
"Kyouko, this isn't Natsume's room, it's my room." 
"Touji-kun, I brought the things from the store you told me. You wanted these, right?" 
"Oh, thanks, Tenma, you can put them over there." 
The two of them joined Harutora's group of three, and the small room instantly became lively. Actually, after deciding to cook nabe, they had thought that it would be more fun with more people, so they had invited two others who had been in the classroom. 
Kyouko and Tenma randomly searched for somewhere to sit down. 
"I haven't had nabe in a long time. But what flavor is this? The food in the pot is really mixed up." 
"Huh? We aren't going for anything in particular...... We're just putting them in randomly." 
"Putting them in randomly...... Why isn't there crab?' 
"C-Crab? As expected of something a main family daughter would say......!" 
"Touji-kun, the thing you asked me to get was so heavy, what's inside? Ingredients?" 
"Yeah, there's alcohol inside." 
"Huh? H, Hold on! You couldn't be planning on drinking?" 
"Haha, Touji, you said you wanted to have nabe in the dorm, but actually the food was just an excuse, your main goal was the alcohol." 
"Right, I ordered it from my phone during lunchtime." 
"Huh~ I've never drank before." 
"It's alright Tenma and Kyouko, you don't need to force yourselves. Touji and I will drink this." 
"Harutora-kun, you drink?" 
"This guy is known as 'Thousand Cup Master', you know." [4] 
"Well, I happened to drink a bit with my dad before." 
"Wow, it was already dangerous enough for a girl to sneak into the male dorm by herself, and you still want to drink alcohol...... Natsume-kun! If something happens, you have to protect me." 
"Don't worry, probably only Natsume has the power to attack you among the group here." 
"That's true." 
Everyone had already become noisy before things had even started, chatting ebulliently. Everyone talked to each other as a group, exactly the atmosphere of hearthside nabe. Harutora and the others never lost the smiles on their faces either. But, Natsume was still alone in this happy, jovial atmosphere, and her expression became more and more restless as the ones next to her became noisier and noisier. 
This time, Harutora noticed her appearance. 
He called out "Natsume?", his expression showing worry rather than wonder. 
"You've been a bit strange since just now, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" 
After hearing Harutora say this, everyone in the room turned their gaze towards Natsume one by one. The originally clamorous room instantly fell silent. "Actually......" Natsume was flustered by everyone's attention, speaking the truth with her head lowered. "I... I've never eaten nabe......" 
"......Huh? Is that true?" 
"Unbelievable......" 
"Y, You haven't?" 
"H, How strange......" 
Everyone was stunned by those words. They spoke in stammers, surprise all over their faces. 
"Ah, but...... Right, your family only has you and your dad." Harutora murmured, remembering Natsume's family situation. 
Natsume's mother had already died, and only her father was left in her family. Moreover, the relationship between Natsume and her father wasn't very good, so she almost had no opportunities to eat nabe with others. 
"B, But, on the other hand, I always looked forward to a day like this, but like this, uh...... Though I'm happy to eat nabe with everyone, I'm a bit nervous......" She kneeled on the ground with her gaze lowered, clearly a bit embarrassed. 
Harutora and the others didn't know how to respond to her choosing a time when everyone was noisily sitting around the nabe to make that remark. Harutora replied blankly: "I, I see......" 
"B, But you don't need to be that formal. Nabe is for everyone to have fun and eat whatever you want!" 
"I don't understand how everyone can have fun while eating......" 
"No no no! Of course you can! Don't we always eat together in the academy and dorm cafeterias?" 
"That's just eating your own food." 
Natsume's condition was far more serious than he had imagined. Harutora hadn't expected that she didn't even have this most basic - no, this common knowledge. 
Touji smiled slightly upon seeing this, standing up. 
"...Alright Natsume, to help you have a good time, you drink a cup too." 
"Wh, What? N, No, I can't drink! Touji, you're also underage, right?' 
"It's alright, I have a license." 
"What license?" 
Touji didn't pay heed to the panicked Natsume, deftly opening the box Tenma had carried over and taking out the alcohol inside. 
"Hey hey, how can you just take out a liter bottle of alcohol?" Harutora said with a bitter smile. 
"Uwah, no wonder it was that heavy." 
Touji poured sake into a cup, giving it to Natsume. Natsume declined again profusely, but she was forced to accept the cup. 
"But let me ask, Natsume, can you drink?" 
"D, Don't look down on me, of course I can, I like to drink sweet wine......" 
"Sweet wine......" 
"I can drink sacred wine too! Also, I didn't oppose you because I couldn't drink, it was because minors are forbidden from drinking......!" 
"Don't be that stubborn, you're supposed to be able to do whatever you want when you eat nabe." Touji spoke casually. 
"Yeah...... Since Natsume-kun wants to drink, I'll drink too." Kyouko spoke as she put food into her mouth. 
"Huh? Everyone's all drinking? Then I'll......" Even Tenma came along for the ride. 
"Don't worry, I ordered a lot of alcohol." Then, Touji took canned beer and sparkling wine out of the box, putting them on the tatami. 
Kyouko and Tenma seemed to be people who didn't normally drink, but they sized things up curiously and chose relatively sweet alcohol, pulling the tabs on the cans. Natsume held the sake-filled cup with both hands, looking around in a panic. Finally, Touji poured sake for Harutora and himself. 
"Does everyone have something to drink?" 
He looked at everyone, checking verbally. The other four not including Natsume raised the alcohol in their hands in unison. 
"Harutora, you call it." 
"W, Wait, Touji! Drinking in the dorm is really......!" 
"Cheers." 
The voices of the four overlapped, then they sent the alcohol to their mouth. The expressions on their faces were either satisfied, or they frowned from the bitterness - But, they immediately smiled, looking overjoyed. 
"Ugh......" Natsume muttered. "I, I definitely won't drink!" 

"That's not right! Nabe's not like this, it should be more like that! Not like this!" 
"Okay, okay, I know. Natsume, you should put the spoon down first." 
Natsume sat on the floor, the small bowls used for eating nabe in front of her knees. Her right hand held a spoon, and her left hand held a cup of sake as she agitatedly flailed them around. Her white face was flushed red and her eyes were erratic and confused. 
"...Uwah! Nabe is so good, it's amazing!" She said while sipping the sake in the cup. 
"That's not nabe, you're drinking sake." 
Harutora corrected her helplessly, and Natsume immediately put a frown on her reddened face when she heard this, pursing her mouth. She leaned her whole body forward, glaring straight at her childhood friend. 
"What, Harutora, do you have a problem? The mood's good for first time eating nabe, so what are you-- no, what do you have a problem with." 
"You haven't eaten anything, you're just drinking a bunch of sake with an empty stomach. No wonder you got drunk instantly." 
"Drunk? Drunk...... I'm not drunk? I'm not drunk, right? 
"You're drunk if you're like that! You can't even speak clearly." 
"Hey...... I'm drunk, okay, since you say so, I guess I'll be drunk......" Natsume seemed a bit depressed, but not long after, she began filling her mouth with sake again. 
"--Pwah! Touji, another cup!" 
She beamed with a smile, joyful and forcefully thrusting out the cup. Harutora couldn't help but sigh when he saw this. 
She had become a true drunkard, and she was an annoying drunk who would go crazy. The Natsume who had so firmly refused to drink just now had vanished somewhere in the blink of an eye. 
"......So N-Natsume-kun becomes like this after he drinks......" 
"......W-We really shouldn't have persuaded him to drink......" 
Kyouko and Tenma looked blankly at Natsume, each touched by guilt, believing that they shouldn't have casually persuaded her to drink. Natsume's wild appearance after alcohol made them not dare to continue encouraging her to drink, but Touji snickered quietly, letting out an evil laugh. 
Of course, Natsume didn't care at all about the people around her. Rather, though she didn't care, she still noticed. Kyouko and Tenma's gazes made her furrow her brows. 
"Hey! You two aren't eating at all! That's no good, you have to eat." She barked angrily, grabbing the large bottle from Touji's hands and pushing it in front of the two. "Didn't I just tell you? That isn't nabe, it's alcohol." Harutora hastily stopped her, but unfortunately Natsume didn't listen to his words at all. 
"......What, this is my first time eating nabe, why aren't you eating?" She stared intently at Kyouko and Tenma, showing a vicious gaze as she pressured the two. 
Kyouko and Tenma's faces went stiff as they glanced at each other. 
"You don't need to force yourself to drink with this drunkard." Harutora spoke exhaustedly. 
The two of them smiled bitterly upon hearing his words. 
"Yeah, but to tell the truth, we're responsible for Natsume-kun getting drunk like this......" 
"That's right, I'd feel sorry if we didn't drink with him a little." 
"Hey hey, though you say that, can the two of you drink much?" 
"Don't worry, I'll stop when I've had enough." 
"Okay, Natsume-kun, sorry for troubling you." 
After saying this, the two of them offered out their cups, and Natsume happily poured sake into their cups. 
Harutora looked at the three of them, his heart full of anxiety. 

The final result showed that their capacities really were as he had predicted. 
"That's weird~? The crab, where'd the crab go. Hey, I haven't eaten crab! Who ate my crab!" 
"......Uh, Kyouko, how many drinks is that? You drank too much." 
"......U......Uu......It wasn't me, I didn't eat crab...... Really...... I don't know any crab......" 
"......Tenma, there wasn't any crab in this pot in the first place. Also, what's there to cry about!" 
Everyone had quickly become completely drunk, far exceeding what Harutora had predicted. 
Natsume happily laughed out loud. 
"Ahaha! No crab, no crab, no crab? Ahahaha." 
"......Natsume, Let me remind you that you're the most drunk among everyone here. Also, what's funny about those words?" 
"Ah, Harutora's looking down on me, Bakatora's getting mad at the crab, doesn't that suck, crab? Wahahaha!" 
"......I can't do anything, I give up......" 
The image of the next heir of the Tsuchimikado family, the prodigy of the Onmyou Academy, and his childhood friend had suddenly vanished from Natsume. He wished he had known she was such a bad drunk earlier, because the way she had been when she had been nervous about her first time eating nabe was much more relaxing. 
"Don't you feel hot?" Not long afterwards, Kyouko said this and began taking off her clothes. "No way. Hey, Kyouko?" Even though Harutora was panicked, he didn't turn around to look. 
She managed to undo her buttons with her hands, slowly removing the outer layer. She loosened the tie [5] , opening the neckline of her shirt. 
Her cheeks were flushed red, and her tied-up hair was a bit messy, looking extremely sensational. It couldn't be seen from under the imperial clothing-like uniform of the Onmyou Academy, but Kyouko actually had quite a nice body. A seductive scene appeared in front of him, and Harutora really had no idea where to put his gaze. 
"What 'protect me if something happens', how can others protect you if you take off your own clothes...... Kyouko! Your skirt! Your skirt is open!" 
"Hmm~......? Ah." 
Her stocking-covered thighs were almost all exposed. Kyouko rearranged her skirt, glaring at Harutora with misty eyes. 
"Hey, can you please not look wherever you want? Guys always...... stare." 
"Wh, Who's staring? And what does 'look wherever you want' mean? I'm behaving like a gentleman here!" 
"Hmph...... Whatever, I can't blame you for myself being so cute. I'll forgive you this time." 
"What do you mean 'forgive', you should be the one apologizing to me!" Harutora hastily tried to resolve the misunderstanding with a red face, but Kyouko just exclaimed "It's so hot" with an indifferent face. She lifted her hair, making Harutora feel even worse at the fact that each and every action of hers looked so charming. 
"............" Natsume stared at their war of words, the smile disappearing from her lips. "Ahh, I'm also hot!" Then, she purposely spoke and slowly took off her outer clothing. She didn't undo the buttons, just directly pulling the whole thing off from above. It got stuck as she pulled it up, so her body just squirmed constantly. It was too tragic to watch. 
"Idiot! Natsume, stop it!" Harutora frantically rushed out, pulling the uniform down on Natsume's body. 
The fact that Natsume was posing as a male in the Onmyou Academy was a secret that couldn't be revealed. The curves of her body couldn't be seen easily underneath the Onmyou Academy uniform, and the shapelessness of it helped Natsume out a lot, hiding the fact that she was actually a girl. But-- 
"What are you doing, Harutora! It's so hot, I want to take off some clothes!" 
"You can't! If you take off your clothes, it's over! You can't do that!" 
"Uwah, Natsume-kun is lifting his clothes...... Ah! Harutora, don't stop him." 
"I heard you, Kyouko! Do you know what you're saying?" 
"......Uu, I'm not hot, why is it only me...... Maybe it's because I didn't drink enough......" 
"It's fine if you're not hot! Tenma, even you're thinking of taking your clothes off?" 
"......But, you can't see anything even if Natsume takes everything off but his shirt......" 
"Touji! Stop speaking nonsense!" 
"Uwah, Harutora, Touji's bullying me." 
"Stop it, Natsume!" 
Harutora retorted one after another without any opportunity to catch his breath at all. Not only he didn't have time to drink, but also couldn't eat the nabe. 
"Touji, won't she drink too much like this? Stop filling her cup." 
"Huh? It's rare to be able to drink happily, it's alright." 
"I can't stand you......" Harutora couldn't help but reproach his good friend. But just then, he suddenly noticed a more fundamental and serious problem. His face instantly changed. 
"Hold on, hey, Touji, are you alright?" 
"What do you mean, alright?" 
"Uh, you aren't drunk, right......?" 
"Me?" Touji frowned, replying to Harutora's anxious question. "Don't look down on me, Harutora. I once drank a whole bottle of vodka in one night, this much alcohol won't be enough to get me drunk." 
"I, I see, that's good......" 
"But, I really did get dead drunk back then. When I woke up, I noticed that the people who were drinking with me were all lying on the floor covered with blood and bruises. They even said that they would die before drinking with me again......" 
"Okay! Give me the cup right now and close the bottle! It's time to go to the bathroom and vomit up everything you've drank!" 
Looking carefully, he could notice that Touji was staring at Harutora with a dazed expression, an inauspicious light in his gaze. Even he himself hadn't noticed. 
"Really, don't go too far, you guys! I'm ordering you guys to water it down, I'm going to go downstairs to get some water right now......" 
As he said this, Harutora took the teapot and stood up. However-- 
"No, Harutora! What kind of shikigami dares to leave his master!" 
"That's right, Harutora! To think you planned on sneakily eating all the crab by yourself!" 
"Too far...... It's too far, Harutora-kun...... Don't throw us away......" 
Kyouko got angry, Tenma sobbed, and Natsume grabbed Harutora's leg, making him almost fall into the nabe. 
"Th, That's dangerous, Natsume! Let me go!" 
"No! I don't want to let go." 
"Stop grabbing, are you a little kid?" 
"I say, Harutora, why are you trying to be a good boy by yourself? It looks like you haven't drank enough, right?" 
"Stop making trouble!" 
"......Cunning...... Harutora-kun....... You're too sly, getting us this drunk......" 
"You got drunk yourselves--! Uwah!" 
Natsume had originally grabbed on to Harutora's leg, then she put her hands on his waist as if she wanted to climb up, leaning her entire body onto him. Harutora was pushed up next to the nabe, and Kyouko and Tenma immediately encircled him. 
"Harutora! To think you would ignore me and push over Natsume-kun! I'll take a picture and sell it to Fujino-san!" 
"Don't say such scary thing! Also, what are you angry about? And why are you mad at me?" 
"......Harutora-kun and the others get along so well......" 
"I'm not someone to be envied right now, Tenma!" 
"Ah~ Harutora's scent......" 
"You too, Natsume! You're not Hokuto, don't randomly smell others!" 
"Hokuto's my shikigami, I'm a master, not a shikigami~" 
"No, I wasn't talking about that Hokuto...... Ahh, let go, stop grabbing me!" 
Harutora struggled to push her, but Natsume grabbed on to him tightly without letting go, even laughing "hahaha......" as she got carried away, continuously rubbing him with her cheek. If somehow she remembered what she had done after she sobered up, she definitely wouldn't dare show her face before him for a long time. 
Upon seeing Natsume like this, Kyouko pouted angrily, pulling Natsume's uniform in hopes that she would come over to her. 
Touji, still drinking, took this time to suddenly smile bitterly for some reason and say: "Oh my...... How unfortunate, Natsume." Of course, neither Harutora nor Natsume had the leisure to listen to what Touji said. 
"Harutora~ Harutora~" 
"Stop singing, let me go!" 
"......Uh? I'm not feeling so good all of a sudden...... I want to throw up?" 
"Throwing up right after making a fuss? You really are a terrible drunk!" 
Harutora really wanted to cry, and he truly wept several manly tears. 
"How did this happen! The nice nabe was completely destroyed, have mercy on me......" Harutora couldn't conceal his irritation. 
Just as he was secretly lamenting to himself, a certain matter shocked him and he suddenly raised his head. 
"Th, That's weird, Tenma?" 
Harutora became aware that Tenma had quieted down and only then realized that he was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, his head swaying left and right. Harutora had a flash of inspiration upon seeing Tenma like that. 
"R, Right, it would be a lot easier if everyone just drank until they passed out......" 
Never mind Touji for now, Natsume and Kyouko had long since drank themselves silly. Even if he didn't mind them, they would pass out sooner or later. Everything would be resolved if he just had them drink themselves unconscious. 
"Okay, I know, Natsume. I won't leave, so let me go." Harutora pulled off Natsume's hand, sitting cross-legged on the tatami and facing the blurry-eyed Natsume and Kyouko. "Since it's like this, let's drink to our hearts content tonight! Touji, drinks!" He raised his cup at Touji after saying this. 
Touji silently poured for them and Harutora emptied his cup in a gulp. 
"Ohh." Natsume and Kyouko clapped and cheered. "Don't just watch, I'll drink with you, so let's have a lot!" At Harutora's encouragement, they began drinking again. 
Harutora was secretly pleased with himself...... 

"......D, Damn, I didn't think it would be this difficult......" 
"Huh......? Hic...... What? Harutora...... hic...... What did you just say?" 
'Glug, glug, glug......' "Pwah, this bottle's done too, okay, let's drink...... sake, then......" 
Natsume giggled blankly, Kyouko's entire body was limp, and Tenma had long since been sleeping soundly. Contrary to Harutora's expectations, even though the two girls were already completely drunk, they continued drinking without stopping. "......Damn, I ended up almost passing out instead......" In addition, Harutora, the so-called 'Thousand Cup Master', was still clear-headed, but he felt unstable once he stood up. 
In addition, Touji had just left the room not long ago, only saying the word 'shower'. He was drunk, and though Harutora feared that he would pass out in the shower, unfortunately the current Harutora really had no time to worry about him. 
"Damn, what a group of bad drunks." 
Thinking carefully, Harutora hadn't actually had any experience drinking with youths of a similar age - other than Touji. His and Touji's capacities weren't bad, and it was hard to imagine this outcome. 
Also, in this situation, Kyouko still didn't give up, seeming to think this was a good opportunity, approaching Natsume while saying "Ahh...... Natsume-kun, I think I'm drunk......". Kyouko had a pure personality, and normally she definitely wouldn't do such a thing, but her current self was like an unbridled wild horse, and everything that came from her mouth was true. 
"It's alright, Kurahashi-san...... hic, Harutora also said I...... hic, was drunk." On the other hand, Natsume clung to Kyouko who had crept into her arms, rubbing her head and consoling her. Kyouko was shocked and overjoyed, her eyes reddening and her face happy. Because of various reasons, Harutora felt complex emotions upon seeing that, envying Tenma who had long since passed out. 
He happened to look at the clock, noticing that the time was already very late. But even though Natsume and Touji might be alright if they dispersed right now, Kyouko and Tenma definitely wouldn't be able to go back home by themselves. There might be something he could do if it were only one person, but he feared that he wouldn't be able to make the last train if he had to split up to send the two of them home, and he had no money on him to call a taxi. What's more, Harutora didn't know where they lived at all, so this was extremely bad. 
"......What should I do, we still need to go to school tomorrow......" Just as Harutora was worrying... "Mm." Tenma next to him rolled over, his face filled with happiness as he slept. Natsume and Kyouko were happily hugging each other, and Touji had left, going off alone to shower. Harutora was gloomy, only hoping that these troublemakers would kindly give him a break. 
Could it possibly be that this situation would continue all the way until dawn? If it really did...... then he was helpless to stop it. No one could resolve this alone. 
Harutora desperately hoped for countermeasures to resolve the crisis before him. "Ahh!" Just then, Natsume suddenly stood up, and Kyouko who had been leaning against her cried out and fell backwards on the tatami, but she didn't even glance at her. 
"Oh, Oh no, Harutora! We finally had the chance to eat nabe, but I forgot about the most important -hic- thing!" She cried out, immediately rushing out of Harutora's room. That action greatly surprised Harutora, and he wasn't even in time to speak up to stop her. 
"......Wh, What is it? What is it this time?" 
Harutora was alarmed. A while later, Natsume rushed back into Harutora's room at the same speed. 
Her hair was messy, but her eyes were glowing. She held a book in her hands. It looked like she had rushed into her own room to get this book. 
It was a book of magic. 
Harutora didn't know what kind of a magic book that was, but he had a bad premonition when a magic book appeared in this kind of situation. 
"H, Hold on, Natsume! What are you planning on--~" 
Harutora's face paled and he tried to stop Natsume, but unfortunately he was too late. 
Natsume slowly drew out a charm. 
"Unbounded night, infinite darkness, block the light and let darkness descend, Order!" 
In the blink of an eye, there was only blackness before Harutora's eyes. 
Kyouko screamed shrilly, and Tenma suddenly raised his head upon hearing that - Of course, Harutora didn't see this. He couldn't see anything at all, and for a while he even couldn't tell whether his eyes were opened or not. 
"N, Natsume, what are you doing?" 
"Dark nabe." [6] 
"I knew that was it, damn!" 
"I hate this! I can't see! Natsume-kun, where are you?" 
"......Ugh, it's so dark. Right, I was sleeping, so there's nothing wrong with that. Good night......" 
Harutora stood up, wanting to walk over in Natsume's direction, but Kyouko suddenly crashed into him and they both fell over. In addition, he accidentally stepped on Tenma while tumbling over, making the sleeping Tenma moan. 
"I really -hic- looked forward to dark nabe, it seems really -hic- interesting." Natsume spoke drunkenly in the darkness, but no one in the room was in a mood to listen to her feelings. No one looked at her, or more accurately, no one could see her. 
"This is bad! Natsume, release that magic!" 
"Huh? Is that -hic- Harutora's voice! Don't worry, the magic will release itself in a while." 
"How long is a while!" 
"I don't know?" 
"What do you mean, you don't know!" 
"The morning?" 
"We have to wait until the morning!? And you're too uncertain!" Harutora groaned bitterly, despairing deeply. However, everyone in the room was panicked, not just Harutora. 
"N, Natsume-kun! Natsume-kun, where are you?" 
"Th, That's weird? Who is this? Who's hugging me - it hurts!" 
"Isn't this Tenma!? I was looking for Natsume-kun - Yah! So cold! What idiot put a cup here!" 
"It hurts...... This is my first time having a painful dream......" 
"Hahaha, it's so fun...... hic...... uh...... Hey, Harutora? what do we -hic- do after dark nabe?" 
Screams, angry shouts, and exclamations resounded in the impenetrable darkness, but Harutora no longer had anything to say. "H-H, Harutora-sama? May I ask......" Just then, he heard a child's voice in the darkness, and simultaneously he felt something fluffy moving next to him. He quickly came to his senses, a hopeful light momentarily flashing in his eyes. 
"Kon! Right! You're here too!" 
Harutora's shikigami, Kon, had been the one speaking. Though he couldn't see her, that fluffy moving object just now should have been Kon's tail. It seemed that she had been unable to keep watching as her master fell into a crisis, so she had purposefully materialized herself. 
"Kon? Can you see?" 
"Yes." 
"Great! Can you destroy this magic?" 
"I-I, I am afraid I cannot......" 
"Tch, alright, nothing we can do. Then - Ah, the stove! First turn the stove off!" 
"A, As you command." 
Click. The sound of the gas-powered stove being turned off sounded immediately. 
This ordinary action of turning off the stove brought Harutora an inexplicably great feeling of relief. He had never thought that losing his vision would be such a terrifying thing, but he was practically fighting for his life in this current situation where he was stuck in the 'dark nabe', 
"Damn...... I'm also pretty drunk, I can't think well......" 
"Natsume-kun~ Where are you~" 
"Hey, Kyouko, don't use that kind of sad voice! Also, stop thrashing around, you might kick something!" 
"Umm...... Can I keep sleeping? Or......" 
"Go to sleep! In this kind of time, it would be best for you to sleep, Tenma. Right, Natsume? What kind of magic is this exactly?" 
"Hmm? What does that mean?" 
"Does this magic just make the room dark? If that's the case, we should evacuate outside......" 
"Ahh, it's no use -hic-, this magic doesn't target an area, it covers peoples' vision -hic-. 
"You're really troublesome!" 
In that case, it would be more dangerous to go outside and safer to stay in the room. 
"H-H, Harutora-sama, I shall first put away the pot and utensils." 
"Oh, okay, thanks for your help." 
"Huh? Harutora, why are you -hic- putting things away? What about the dark nabe?" 
"We can't even see, what kind of nabe do you want to eat!?" 
"Ugh...... boring......" 
"Shut up! Also, sit down!" 
Harutora barked, hearing Natsume's muttered grumbling coming from the other side of the darkness. But, she seemed to actually sit down obediently after hearing that, as he could hear the sound of someone sitting on the tatami from her direction. 
"What should we do now...... Natsume, Kyouko, and Tenma are all like that...... Ah, right! Touji. That person isn't affected by the magic! Kon, go call Touji to come over." 
Harutora thought of something else he could do, immediately ordering his shikigami. Kon instantly replied: "A-A-As you command." Then, the sound of the door opening came through the room. 
Touji had already been drunk when he had walked out of the room, but since he had taken a shower, his drunkenness had definitely receded quite a bit. 
Kon's presence disappeared, only leaving Harutora and the others surrounded by darkness. 
His sense of time was paralyzed in the complete darkness. "None of you move." Harutora ordered forcefully, fretfully waiting for Kon to bring Touji into the room. 
A while later-- 
"H-H-Harutora-sama." 
"Kon! What about Touji?" 
"Yes, he is already sleeping in his room--" 
"Wake him up!" 
Harutora momentarily couldn't suppress his killing intent, but that was actually inevitable. 
Perhaps it was the splitting headache he had from drinking too much, but that wasn't completely the effect of the alcohol. 
Whatever, I don't care. Harutora thought resignedly. 
"H-Harutora-sama, if I may...... The others are all sleeping......" 
"What? D, Did you say they're sleeping?" 
After hearing Kon say this, Harutora hastily perked his ears up in the darkness. After hearing that, he noticed that Natsume and Kyouko's voices had indeed vanished. In addition, when he listened carefully, he could even hear snores - snores that didn't come from Tenma. 
One of them came from Kyouko's direction, and the other murmuring sound was definitely Natsume. It seemed that they had quieted down because of the darkness and had suddenly been attacked by sleepiness. Harutora was first stunned, and then he collapsed to the tatami, his whole body limp. 
"......Now it's going to be like this until morning......" 
They had to go to class like normal tomorrow morning, but right now he couldn't wake up Kyouko and Tenma to tell them to go back home. 
"I just wanted to eat nabe...... Why did it become like this......" 
Resentment tortured Harutora, but he couldn't do anything about it. In that case, he could only leave things as they were for today. 
"......I guess I'll sleep too." 
As Harutora's wariness relaxed, Natsume suddenly breathed deeply-- 
"...Harutora, you can't be picky..." 
She sleeptalked with her original high-pitched voice, scaring Harutora half to death. "Nnn." After calling out, she breathed out in satisfaction, rolling over - at least, she seemed to have rolled over. 
"......Huh, what was that?" 
"......That's weird? Whose voice was that?' 
Kyouko and Tenma moved slightly in the darkness, asking in sleepy, muffled voices. 
Harutora gasped, and then spoke resignedly: "......It's me." 
"......What...... So it was Harutora." 
"......Haha, Harutora-kun, your voice is high-pitched like a girl's......" 
Kyouko and Tenma fell silent again after speaking. After a very long - at least, it felt very long to Harutora - silence, the two of them began snoring again. 
After confirming that the two of them were asleep, he called out: "......Kon." 
"Yes." 
"Cover them with blankets." 
"A, As you command." 
Kon floated lightly in midair, opening the closet door and taking out the blankets inside. Her movements were as light as possible to keep from waking any of the others. 
After hearing her quiet voice, Harutora let out a sigh from the depths of his body, muttering pathetically: "I'm so hungry......" 

The next morning, Fujino who had returned to the dorm didn't dare believe the scene before her eyes. 
"......H, H, Harutora......kun?" 
"......Hmm? Oh, it's Fujino-san...... Morning......" 
Just as Fujino walked to the second floor of the dorm, planning to open the windows in the corridor, she saw Harutora walk out of his own room, carrying the deeply sleeping Natsume. 
"Uh...... H-H-Harutora-kun...... N-Natsume-kun is...... Uh......" 
"Ahh, sorry, this idiot was sleeping in my room for the whole night." 
"......Your r-room...... for the whole night......" 
Fujino's heartbeat accelerated. Harutora, who would normally frantically make excuses for himself, wasn't like normal for some reason, and his attitude was clearly calm and composed - it seemed that he had resigned himself to his fate. He stared at Fujino. 
"I'm having him go back to his room to sleep. Will there be breakfast today?" He spoke casually. 
"Yes......" 
"Okay, then I'll see you in a bit." 
After saying this, Harutora walked into Natsume's room, carrying her as she muttered sleeptalk and leaned her head into his chest. His casual, fearless, and leisurely attitude made Fujino's body quiver, and she stood frozen in place for a while. 
She swallowed. 
"This...... does this mean...... they've advanced to the adult stage?" 
For some reason, the dorm had red bean rice [7] for breakfast that morning. Harutora's prediction had become true, last night really had been a terrible winter feast.