Tokyo Ravens - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.4

Story 4 - Cold Memory In Dark 
So hot. 
No, so cold. 
His face was hot, but his body was very cold. His head was dazed with a splitting headache, and his hands were limp and powerless. He was covered with sweat, his nose was dripping, and he couldn't stop coughing. 
So unlucky, the boy complained. 
He had long since known that his luck was not good, and this time he had caught a cold on the day he was going to his friend's house to play. He had ridden his bicycle all the way here right after school ended on the day before the long weekend. Once he woke up, his body had become this bad. What bad luck. 
He continuously coughed, blowing his nose. 
If he were in his own room, at least he would have manga, and he could - behind his parents' backs - play videogames, but he was bored to tears in someone else's guest room. This house had a vast courtyard that he could play in, but there was almost nothing to do for leisure indoors. 
In particular, this guest room was so large that it created anxiety. The family had brought in a heater for him, so the room wasn't cold, just boring. 
He couldn't hear anything at all from the silent house even if he perked up his ears. The more he looked at the unfamiliar lines in the wood of the ceiling, the more restless he became. 
Cough. 
Even the light sound of coughing inexplicably lacked a sense of reality. 
What bad luck, his fevered brain thought fuzzily. Suddenly, the paper door opened with a thump. 
A girl walked into the room. She was this family's only daughter - the boy's childhood friend. Once he saw her walk in, the boy's face momentarily lit up. 
Now he finally had someone to talk to, he thought. He had been feeling bored because sleeping by himself with a cold was lonely. Though he didn't want to spread his cold to others, if it were just a chat...... 
After the girl entered the room, she silently walked next to the bed where the boy lay. The boy joyfully looked at the girl who stood beside the pillow. 
However, the girl's expression was strangely gloomy as she looked at the boy. 
The girl looked at the boy with a serious, solemn, and somewhat worried-looking expression, but it also had a bit of trepidation. The heap of things in the girl's hands troubled him even more. 
Charms, gohei, sakaki, shimenawa, jade strung with string, a shakujou with bells on the top, a sword used in rituals, and even rosaries and vajras. 
These were all 'magical tools'. 
"......?" 
What are you doing with those things? The boy wanted to ask, but he couldn't speak, his mouth only letting out the sound of a cough. With that cough, the girl's expression became even more solemn, and her young mouth tightened. 
She nodded her head lightly as if communicating with herself, her expression solemn. 
"D-D-Don't worry......" 
"......?" 
"I, I'll treat your cold......!" 
"............?" 
The eyes that the girl stared at the boy with carried a firm will. The boy's gaze was confused as he blankly looked back at the girl. 
It was evident how bad the boy's condition was from the fact that his instinct failed to sound the alarm. 

His heart had had a bad premonition since he had that dream. 

"Hi, you're early today, Harutora...... Hey, are you alright?" 
The dorm students all wolfed down their breakfast in the first-floor cafeteria of the Onmyou Academy male dorm. 
Ato Touji walked into the dorm cafeteria, suppressing a yawn, holding a tray of breakfast while looking for an empty seat. He noticed Tsuchimikado Harutora had started breakfast before him, which was rare. 
Touji immediately furrowed his brows upon seeing Harutora. 
"You look different, Harutora." 
Just as Touji said, Harutora's physical condition was clearly bad. His face looked like it was fevered, his eyes were misty and clouded, his nose was red, looking like he should blow it a few times. He hadn't touched the breakfast on the table at all. 
"......What? Don't speak nonsense, Touji......" Harutora scoffed. "......How could I - cough - get a cold. Cough. I'm the most proud of - cough cough - my health......" 
"So idiots can get colds too." Touji replied calmly, sitting at the same table as Harutora. "You should go find the manager and ask her for cold medicine. Eat your breakfast, take medicine, and go back to your room to get some proper sleep." 
"Hey, Touji, what are you going on about? I - achoo - don't have a cold - cough." 
"Don't worry, not going to class for a day won't have the slightest effect on your grades at all." 
"What are you joking about, I'm fine - cough cough cough!" 
"Ah, look at what you're doing. Don't cough all over, it's dirty." 
Harutora coughed while blowing his nose, his forehead rocking to and fro. Touji looked at his good friend, the expression on his face closer to stupor rather than worry. 
It looked like Harutora's cold was quite severe, so maybe he had a high fever. In the long time he had known him, this was Touji's first time seeing Harutora like this. 
"Anyway...... I'll go to class...... After all, I'm...... a member of the Tsuchimikado family......!" 
"If Natsume heard your words, she would definitely be moved to tears." 
"......Also, I don't - sniff - have a cold...... I'm incredibly healthy......" 
"Can that be called healthy? People say that idiots can't catch colds, but it looks like it means idiots don't notice that they have a cold." Touji spoke unforgivingly. 
Just then, a student that also lived in the dorm walked into the dorm cafeteria. 
It was a boy whose long black hair was tied up with a pink ribbon. But, she actually wasn't a boy, her true identity was a girl who was posing as a boy. Touji - and Harutora - knew about this matter. 
Touji raised his hand slightly, calling out: "Natsume." Tsuchimikado Natsume noticed Touji, her face brightening. 
But in the next second, Harutora pushed his chair back, calling out loudly and standing up. His face was hot and his attitude was clearly panicked. 
"T, Touji, I'll be going first!" 
"You're going?" 
"Ah, help me finish this breakfast! See you!" 
Harutora pushed his tray to Touji and hastily left the dorm cafeteria, coughing and blowing his nose. 
Natsume, who was watching from a distance, stood still, dumbfounded. Touji, who was nearby, was also stunned. 
"......What is that guy doing?" Touji looked at the tray Harutora had pushed over, not knowing what to do. The breakfast on the tray had long since become cold. 

"......Therefore......" 
The lecturer's hoarse voice sounded like he was chanting scriptures. It reverberated through the quiet classroom. 
The most famous Onmyouji cultivation facility - the Onmyou Academy. The students who entered here to study all had goals of becoming professional Onmyouji and improving themselves every day, so they had very strict expectations of themselves and - essentially - no one would talk during class. During lectures, only the teacher's lecturing would enter their ears along with the sound of writing. 
However, today another noise was mixed into the classroom. 
Cough cough cough cough...... 
Sniff sniff sniff...... Honk [10] ...... Sniff sniff. 
The irritating sound of coughing and nose-blowing rang out continuously, sounding exceptionally grating in the quiet classroom. 
The noise came from the furthest back seat in the classroom where a single person sat all alone, often letting out irritating noise. Honestly, his actions made trouble for others, and the students that had originally sat nearby had all changed seats one by one. 
Even though the protesting gazes of the classmates shot towards the culprit who was making the noise, that person didn't notice, so they all turned towards his 'master'. Natsume sat in her seat, shrinking her body in embarrassment. 
"......Really, what is that idiot doing......" Natsume complained to Touji who sat next to her. 
"He has a cold." Touji replied casually. 
The two of them sat in the center of the classroom and there was a bit of distance between them and Harutora's seat. 
Though he had left the dorm first, Harutora had only entered the classroom right before the class started. He chose a seat far back as if he were avoiding the two of them, but judging from the incident in the dorm cafeteria during the morning, Harutora might be avoiding Natsume. 
"......Hey, Natsume. It isn't much help to the Tsuchimikado family name if he completely disregards that kind of condition and comes to class, right?" 
It could even be counterproductive. Touji glanced at Natsume. "Don't misunderstand." Natsume protested quietly. 
"I didn't force him to come to class even if he had a cold. I was even surprised. I thought he would take advantage of the cold and sleep happily in the dorm......" 
"Even if he didn't have a cold, he seems like the kind of person who might skip class to sleep in the dorm." 
"Also, Harutora hasn't gotten a cold for many years...... What exactly is up with him?" 
Natsume seemed also to be clueless. This really wasn't like something Harutora would do. 
"Could it be - Could it be that he finally sees himself as a member of the Tsuchimikado family?" 
"That's one hundred percent impossible." 
"It, It's not completely impossible, look, it might be because he's fevered......!" 
"So his brain's gone bad from fever? That might be possible." 
Touji spoke tartly. Natsume was inadvertently speaking more and more harshly as she surveyed Harutora's condition. 
"......That's weird? Whose shikigami is that?" Just as they were discussing, the teacher suddenly spoke in surprise. 
They looked towards the podium. There was a young girl sitting on the lectern. She was a young, kimono-wearing girl. A pair of pointed ears sprouted from her head and a leaf-shaped tail grew out from behind her back. 
"Kon?" 
The girl was Harutora's defensive shikigami, Kon. Natsume's heart pulsed and she stood up from her seat. 
Kon sat on the table and turned her head over her shoulder to look at Natsume, saying: "......Burp......" 
Natsume couldn't conceal her shock. 
"......What did you say? Kon?" 
Kon unsteadily stood up on the lectern in front of the stunned and silent teacher and students...... Then her foot slipped and she fell down. 
The normally nimble shikigami wasn't prepared and fell down headfirst. Because she looked like a little girl on the outside, the female students inadvertently screamed. 
Kon, who fell onto the floor, seemed not to mind, almost as if she hadn't noticed that she had fallen. 
She bent her body, standing up slowly and shakily, her movements obviously abnormal. Her steps were staggered, her hands flailed, her young face was clearly dazed, and her eyes were empty - not knowing where to look, as if she were dreaming. Her fox ears drooped and her tail followed a strange continuous rhythm. "......Is she drunk?" The students sitting in the front row murmured. 
"Nonsense! How could I be drunk...... Burp." Kon spoke with a slur and almost none of the students felt surprised at that. 
"Harutora! What are you doing?" Natsume frantically barked. 
"............" 
"Harutora!" 
"......Huh? Oh...... It's alright...... Don't need to worry - Achoo!" 
He looked extremely worrisome. Also, once he sneezed, Kon seemed to reply with a burp. 
"What's going on, Natsume?" 
"Harutora has a cold, putting his aura in an unstable condition. Also, shikigami like defensive shikigami and servant shikigami are directly affected by the practitioner's physical condition!" 
"That's why Kon's drunk?" 
"Normally one would deal with this kind of situation beforehand, but Harutora doesn't know what to do!" 
As Natsume explained to Touji, Kon still swayed with stumbling steps on the podium. She swayed here and there, then suddenly noticed Harutora. 
"H-H, Harutora-sama! When did you go over there!" 
Unexpectedly, she took a great leap forward, stepping on the desks where books and notebooks had been placed and treading on heads that didn't evade in time, lightly dancing across the classroom. 
"Hey." Harutora leaned backwards, trying to evade, but she swooped up, grabbing his neck. "Uwah...... Harutora-sama is so warm......" 
She rubbed him with her cheek, her fluffy tail patting all over her master's body. Kon was a kitsune shikigami, but her presence wasn't like a fox, but rather more like a kitten. 
"What are you doing! Kon! Get off, don't be rude!" Natsume rushed towards Harutora's seat with a red face. Once she got close, it was Harutora's turn to suddenly stand up. 
"N, Natsume!" He breathed laboriously, pushing back his chair and backing off. Of course, Kon still tightly grabbed onto his head. He spoke with a hazy consciousness: "D, Don't be concerned about me! I'm alright! Don't worry!" 
"Stop making a fuss, Harutora! How can someone not worry if you say such a thing?" 
"It's really nothing! I really...... but it seems like my head's heavier compared to normal......?" 
"That's because your shikigami is sitting on your head, it has nothing to do with your cold!" 
"Ha......Harutora-sama......" 
"Kon! Sober up, quickly!" 
"......Nn...... It's a little hot......?" 
"If you don't like the heat then let Harutora go now......! I, Idiot! Why are you taking off your clothes in this kind of place!" 
Kon twisted her body on Harutora's head, pulling her suikan over her head and taking it off. She wiggled her tail, tickling Harutora's nose and causing Harutora to sneeze several times in succession, but he still tried to escape Natsume with a stumbling pace. 
"......Hey, Natsume, what exactly did you do to Harutora?" Touji said, his expression filled with suspicion. 
"How rude! I didn't do anything at all!" 
"But he's clearly scared of you, right?" 
"It's not my fault!" 
Natsume denied it desperately. The reactions of the two led to no small commotion among the students. 
Harutora was the shikigami serving Natsume, this was a well-known fact among the class's students. Moreover, Natsume normally strictly required that Harutora's actions not shame the Tsuchimikado family name, so they deeply felt the same suspicion as Touji. 
"......The Spartan education was overdone......" 
"......Frightening traditions of traditional families......" 
"......He's saying his true feelings because of the fever......" 
"I, It's nothing like that! Don't misunderstand! The Tsuchimikado family isn't the kind of traditional family you're imagining......!' 
"......Come to think of it, their relationship is really very strange......" 
"......Now that you say so, there were similar rumors spread before......" 
"......And don't spring and summer happen to match......?" [11] 
"I said, you're mistaken! Why are you getting more and more outrageous! Also, what do you mean by 'spring and summer match'?" 
As Natsume was flustered and defended herself to everyone, Harutora was still continuing to flee and Kon was still twisting her body and unclothing on his head. Every one of them was bad-tempered, and the situation became harder and harder to resolve. 
"I, In that case......" Natsume was forced into a corner and decided to take the opportunity to clean up this chaos early. 
A charm that seemed to have been made by Natsume appeared in her right hand. The word 'danger' was written on the charm. Her classmates' faces paled upon noticing and they fled the two of them one by one. 
However, "......Order." Before Natsume had time to throw out the charm, a charm had already floated to Natsume and the others' heads. 
That charm was a wood-element charm of the five elements, and there were three charms in total. The charms turned into vines in midair, tying up Natsume, Harutora, and Kon. They all tumbled to the classroom floor in an instant. 
The students in the class were all taken aback, turning to the podium. "......Ahem." The lecturer, who had thrown the charms, coughed lightly, looking at the students present with a measuring expression. 
"Uh...... Ato-kun." 
"Yes?" 
"Pardon me, could you help bring the Tsuchimikado-kuns to the infirmary...... Right now." 
"Okay." 

"...Cleanse evil... Purify disaster..." 
The girl waved a gohei, completely absorbed and with a serious expression. The boy lay on the bead, looking with wide eyes at the gohei moving to and fro above his head. 
The prayer had already continued for more than thirty minutes, and the girl had forbidden the boy from moving around recklessly during the prayer. At first she had even asked him to sit properly, but in the end she only ordered him to focus his mind. But the girl didn't specifically instruct him how to focus, just saying "anyway, you have to focus your mind", proving that the girl didn't actually understand what she had to do next. 
"...We venerate thee... and offer our respects..." 
The gohei swooped over his head and his childhood friend, the girl, continuously chanted an incantation. 
The girl ignited the incense she had brought and an unfamiliar aroma pervaded the guestroom. The boy coughed repeatedly, but the girl who was completely focused on the prayer almost didn't notice the abnormality at all. 
"Ha--!" Not long after, she called out shrilly, furrowing her brows and swinging the gohei over his head with a large movement. He shrank into his sheets, his body going stiff out of fright. 
Then, the girl went motionless. The silence stung his eardrums - but stung his tortured heart even more. 
The subtle electronic tone of beeping suddenly sounded from within the sheets. The sound came from the thermometer under the boy's armpit. Upon hearing that, the girl hastily flung down the gohei in her hands, pulled back the covers, and took the thermometer from the inside of the limp, weak boy's sleeping clothes. 
She stared unblinkingly at the numbers on the thermometer...... then showed a dejected expression. 
"......No use, the temperature didn't fall...... It rose instead......" 
As I thought, the boy replied in his heart. He was very happy the girl felt this way, but he really didn't believe that kind of prayer could treat a cold. 
"......Hey, you don't need to help. I'll be good and sleep, so Natsume, you......" The boy coughed while reassuring the girl. 
"No!" But, the girl stubbornly shook her head with a serious expression. "I can't just sit back and watch when it's so painful for you. It's alright, don't worry, I still can do something else!" 
The girl deftly chose the next magical tool to use, completely disregarding the worry and fear in the boy's heart. The boy could only slowly pull the sheets back and cover himself. 
Then, the girl started a prayer again. 
"...A vi ra hum kham... Namu Myouhou Ren... Namu Amitabha...... Sowaka!" [12] 
"............" 
"...Form is the void, and the void is form... naumaku samanda... Sowaka!" 
".................." 
"...Gyatei Gyatei... Ah, oh no, I forgot to set up the 'protective altar'." 
What was a protective altar? The boy thought blankly. Whatever it was, he had a bad premonition in his heart. 

"......Harutora ran away?" 
"Right! When I went to the infirmary, he wasn't there anymore...... He didn't come to you?" 
"......I haven't seen him......" 
Touji ate the daily special of mackerel miso stew in the academy cafeteria during lunchtime. He picked up the phone call from Natsume, looking around while holding his phone. 
After the commotion in the morning, although Natsume had been forcefully brought to the infirmary with Harutora, Natsume had immediately returned to the classroom for the next class, just leaving Harutora and Kon in the infirmary. Once the morning classes ended, Natsume had immediately headed to check on Harutora's condition, but she noticed that Harutora who should have been lying on the bed and quietly recuperating had snuck out of the infirmary at some time. 
"Maybe he returned to the dorm to rest after waking up? Anyway, he has a cold, so it's fine if he left early." 
"I thought so too, but I went to check with Alpha and Omega. He hasn't left the academy building!" 
"Then he might have gone to the bathroom or...... Right, doesn't the infirmary have a nurse? What did the nurse say?" 
"It seems like she didn't notice him sneaking out. But, his bed was still very warm, so it seems like he snuck out not long ago!" 
"......Uh, then what should we do......" 
Natsume seemed to be running around looking for Harutora's whereabouts while speaking to the phone. Natsume's anxious voice came through the phone, and he could also hear her panicked breathing and footsteps. 
"......Let me ask, do you have a reason for being so panicked? It's no big deal if Harutora sneaks out of the infirmary, right?" 
"This is a big problem! It would be good if he properly went back to his room and slept, but what should we do if he gets into trouble more like the morning!" Natsume shouted on the other end of the phone, seeming to view the situation quite gravely. "Judging from how he was in the morning, he might have lost control right now because of his cold! We have to find him as soon as possible!" 
"......Judging from his condition in the morning, it'll be counter-productive if you go to find him......" Touji urged her to calm down, but unfortunately just as he expected, Natsume didn't listen at all. 
"Anyway, hurry up and help me find Harutora! Contact me immediately when you notice any sign of him! Understood? Bye." Natsume insisted, hanging up the phone right after she finished speaking. Touji stared at his phone with a frown, worry showing on his face. 
He looked around inside the cafeteria again, confirming that Harutora wasn't nearby, and continued silently eating his lunch. 

The students in Harutora's class mostly ate lunch in the cafeteria. Very few people brought bentoes, but Momoe Tenma was one of those few people. 
He would occasionally eat lunch with Harutora and the others, but it was packed in the cafeteria, and he preferred not to take someone else's spot, so he mostly ate in the classroom since he brought a bento. Today was the usual. He opened his bento in the empty classroom and ate alone. 
But, just as he was eating the rice inside, the door of the classroom opened, which was very rare. 
Who could it be? Tenma looked towards the classroom door. 
"Ah, Harutora-kun." 
"......Tenma...... Only you're in the classroom...... Th, That's good......" 
Harutora, who had been brought to the infirmary during the morning classes, had returned to the classroom with Kon, who had also been taken away with him, on his back. The shikigami seemed to be sleeping, her face resting on Harutora's shoulder. She seemed quite comfortable. 
"Is your cold a bit better?" 
"......Cold? Hey hey, Tenma, I don't have - cough - a cold." 
"Don't force yourself." 
"......Haha, I'm not - achoo - forcing myself......" 
Tenma was concerned, but Harutora didn't appreciate it at all, just staggering towards Tenma and sitting weakly in the seat next to him. 
He sat Kon in the neighboring seat, sighing deeply and slumping onto the table. Just that small movement already made him short of breath. 
"......Hey, Harutora-kun. Your cold is actually very severe. You've been forcing yourself this whole time, right?' 
"............" Harutora murmured quietly, as if he didn't even have the energy to respond. 
"Have you eaten?" 
"......I don't have appetite." 
"Please go back to the infirmary and rest...... Right, have you run into Natsume-kun? He ran to the infirmary right after class ended." 
"......So my bad premonition came true...... Fortunately I -cough - quickly escaped before class ended." 
"Escaped?" 
"......But I can't drop my guard, he should still be looking for me everywhere...... That's why I chose to take shelter in the classroom." 
"Drop your guard? Shelter?" Tenma asked strangely, but Harutora still had no energy and didn't answer his question. 
"Harutora-kun, you should take care of yourself properly and stop forcing yourself. Natsume-kun was worried about you for the entire morning." Tenma wasn't clear on the details but he still worried for Harutora, speaking up to persuade him. 
"......Tch...... A, As expected...... Ugh......" But, Harutora's expression was troubled for some reason. 
"Huh, what? What's wrong, Harutora-kun?" 
"......Natsume really is 'worried' about me......" 
"Didn't I say? Also, anyone would be worried about you seeing you like this." 
"......Sorry for making everybody worry. I'm really thankful for everyone's concern, but......" Harutora held his head after saying this. 
Looking carefully, he was shaking slightly. Did he feel cold? His cold really was very severe - Tenma thought. 
Just then, the classroom door opened again. "Gyah!" Harutora let out a pathetic cry, turning towards the entrance. 
Once he saw the person who walked in the classroom, he relaxed his breath. 
"Wh, What...... It's Kyouko -cough- D, Don't scare me......" 
"What, Harutora, why are you here?" 
His classmate Kurahashi Kyouko walked into the classroom. Kyouko was from the famous Kurahashi family, the granddaughter of the Onmyou Academy principal Kurahashi Miyo. She always ate lunch in the principal's office with her grandmother. 
She walked up to Harutora and Tenma. 
"Your cold looks like...... it's not better yet. What are you doing running around outside without properly sleeping?" 
"......Huh...... I can't do that -sniff- it's a long story....." 
"......Oh, okay......" 
Kyouko cast a cold gaze at the stubbornly tight-lipped Harutora. 
"Anyway, what happened today morning? Natsume-kun was so worried about you but you ran away from him. Isn't that a bit rude?" 
"Now that you say that, why are you avoiding Natsume-kun?" 
Kyouko spoke irritatedly, and Tenma also asked a similar question out of worry. 
"......I said before, it's a long story...... Cough." Harutora spoke impatiently. 
"We're asking you for it!" 
"......It has -cough- nothing to do with you......" 
"You already interrupted class, so what do you mean it has nothing to do with us." 
"Yeah, and I'm really curious what happened. Could it be that your fever is so bad that you're delirious?" 
"......You guys don't know a thing, it was from before...... something -cough- from when I was small......" Harutora spoke irritatedly. 
It was hard for Kyouko and Tenma to accept that kind of explanation, but the other part was a sick person after all, and it wouldn't be good to stubbornly force the question. 
"Whatever, strange things happen to you every couple days anyway." Kyouko shrugged her shoulders, speaking dissatisfiedly. "Also, you helped me out." 
"......What did I help with? What does that mean?" Harutora asked but Kyouko didn't reply, slowly drawing out a charm instead for some reason. 
"Well - Order." 
A wood-element charm. 
The charm shot from her fingers, becoming vines in midair and instantly binding Harutora's movements. Tenma cried out in fright and Harutora tumbled from the seat. Kyouko herself looked pleased. 
She leisurely pulled out her phone. 
"......Hey, Natsume-kun? Yeah, yes, I caught that idiot Harutora...... Hey, don't be that polite...... Ah, I'm in the classroom, yeah...... Okay, see you later." 
She cheerfully finished the phone call. Harutora's originally miserable face became even paler. 
"N, Natsume? Did you just call Natsume - cough cough!" 
"Natsume-kun asked me to help find you." 
"You shouldn't be laughing so bashfully, you should be apologizing to me for doing that!" 
"You're so stupid, Harutora. I did that for you. You have to properly take care of your cold." 
"Was there a reason to suddenly throw out a charm when my guard was down? Damn, T-Tenma! Help me......" 
"Sorry." 
"You didn't even hesitate!?" 
"Yeah, regardless of the method, I also think that Harutora-kun needs to rest quietly. Also, I can't undo that magic." 
"You're so cold! Damn! In that case, Kon! Hurry up and cut apart these vines with your wakizashi--" 
"......Zzzz......" 
"That stupid shikigami!" 
Harutora wailed. Tenma felt a bit sorry, but Kyouko didn't even look at him. Kon slept soundly. It was hard to blame him for wanting to cry in this kind of situation. 
"Damn - Hmph! In that case, I'll crawl--" 
"Harutora! So this is where you were!" 
"Too fast! Where were you just now?" 
Just as Harutora planned escaping for his life, the door to the classroom suddenly opened and Natsume walked in. She noticed Harutora - a relieved expression flashed across her face - and immediately raised her eyebrows high. 
"I can't believe you. What are you doing, Harutora! Stop messing around!" 
"Uh, I, I'm not...... I'm fine...... I'm - Cough! Cough cough." 
Harutora completely refused to relax, his face clearly poorly-colored because of the cold. It was even inexplicably filled with fear. 
Natsume looked up and down at Harutora without blinking. Not long afterwards, she sighed heavily, moving towards Harutora and the others. 
"Since this morning, I haven't understood what exactly you've been thinking...... Anyway, right now the most important thing is curing your cold. Please go back to the infirmary and properly rest, or I'll just send you back to the dorm altogether...... Let me make it clear, that's the order of your 'master'." She spoke helplessly. 
"......N, Natsume......" 
"What's wrong? What do you mean? You're a bit strange today, even for having a cold." Natsume spoke with a slight smile, her expression revealing a tenderness. 
Harutora's vine-bound body momentarily relaxed. Kyouko looked at Harutora, her expression as if saying 'Didn't I tell you'. Tenma also nodded affirmatively. Kon still slept soundly. 
Natsume gently said: "Don't worry, the teacher in the infirmary said it was just a normal cold...... I might as well help you cure it with magic tomorrow morning - Hey, Harutora!" 
Natsume hastily tried to stop him. Harutora scrambled past her, fleeing for dear life while still being tied up. He rolled around, his head and limbs constantly knocking into tables, rolling down the tiered steps of the classroom with a dead-set determination. Kyouko and Tenma were completely dumbfounded, but Kon never woke up from her sleep. 
"H-Harutora! Are you crazy?" 
Natsume hastily chased, but - surprisingly - Harutora's speed won out as if he were escaping for his life. 
"Cough! Ugh!" 
He coughed on the way, crawling on the floor like a bug to the classroom door. "......You should just give up......" Unfortunately, Touji just happened to walk into the classroom, mercilessly stepping on Harutora's back. Harutora collapsed onto the floor as if all of his energy had disappeared. 

"...Eloim, Essaim Elo'tm, Essaim... Eko, eko, Azarak, Eko, eko, Azarak..." 
The girl constantly prayed, but it was more like black magic than a prayer. 
The guest room radiated a strange-colored mist, creating an unusual scene. The weak light source cast ominous shadows everywhere in the room, and various aromas such as the candles and the incense burning on the altar overflowed. Often, a strange pungent odor could be smelled. 
The boy was still lying on the sheets. The sleeping clothes he wore had been pushed up and a strange pattern drawn on his body. He could only breathe in gasps with a "Hah, hah......" as if he wanted to cough but couldn't. 
"...Ph'nglui mglw'nafh... Cthulhu R'lyeh... Iyah! Iyah! Nyarlathotep, th'ga!" 
The girl had a towel wrapped around her head, and she held a staff in her hands that seemed to be an animal bone. She jumped a strange barbarian-like dance, making strange sounds that didn't sound like human speech at all. 
The boy lay on the bed, his expression like that of a sacrificial lamb waiting for its slaughter and the bitter taste of its cruel fate. 
Of course, this was just a child playing around, but the problem was that she was a child with extraordinary abilities. Color, smell, and sound encircled the guest room, and there were also other things in the room. The boy didn't have the ability to clearly recognize what those things were, but although he didn't have the ability...... What exactly was that strange 'presence' next to his pillow, behind the girl's back? The door that couldn't possibly be opened...... creaked open. What was this 'chill' that came immediately after...... 
The girl continued chanting magic. 
Hah, hah, the speed of the boy's gasps became more and more rapid. 
He would still have to wait several hours before the sky brightened. This night had already been enough to leave a good deal of trauma in the boy's heart. 
But...... 

"......No......No......Please......N-Natsume...... Hachoo!" Harutora sneezed, waking up. 
For a time he had no clue what was going on and just breathed chaotically. He gasped, slowly calming down. 
He was in his dorm room. The room was dark, and it seemed like night had already fallen. Silence reigned around him. Maybe it was the dead of night. 
He relaxed his breath, feeling like his heavy body didn't want to move as if a big rock were pressing down on him...... Right as he thought that, something brushed across his nose and startled him. 
"Kon?" 
The thing that brushed across his nose was Kon's tail. "......Ugh." He raised his head, looking at his own body and noticed that Kon wasn't dematerialized and was lying inside the sheets covering him - her tail pointing towards his face. Her sleeping face looked quite happy. 
"......Wh, What's going on...... Whatever, it doesn't matter......" He laboriously spoke those few words and then laid his head back on the pillow. 
He still remembered the lunchtime. Natsume had caught him in the classroom, and his memories were fuzzy after that, but from the fact that he was sleeping in the dorm room, he had probably been carried back to the dorm by someone. His body still didn't feel too well, but for now he was safe. 
But...... 
"......I had that dream again......" 
He didn't remember the contents of the dream just now very clearly, but it seemed to be a continuation of the cream from this morning. 
A dream from his childhood. On the night he went to Natsume's house to play, Harutora had caught a cold and Natsume had worked hard to cure his illness, but...... He was unwilling to continue recalling what happened next. He didn't even need to recall it deliberately, the terror from that night had already been carved deep into his heart. 
At the time, the 'thing' he saw had definitely been a 'hallucination' induced by a high fever, a 'mistake', an 'illusion' caused by his own childishness. He was very sure of that, but it didn't help his trauma very much. 
"......Really, I can't randomly catch colds like this......" Harutora murmured listlessly. 
Just then-- 
"......Nn......" 
A weak voice and a light motion came from next to his pillow, and Harutora hastily looked up. 
It was Natsume. 
She sat dozing on the tatami, a small washbasin by her hands. Harutora was taken aback, looking to the side and noticing that there was a wet towel on his sheets, fallen by the side of the pillow. 
"......N, Natsume......?" Harutora called out quietly, but Natsume showed no sign at all of waking up, mumbling sleeptalk instead. "......Harutora...... Hurry up...... and get better......" 
He quietly gazed at Natsume, then took the wet towel and put it on his forehead. The coldness of the wet towel felt very good. 
"......I can't believe you." 
He closed his eyes, a wry smile emerging on his lips. 
He still remembered that it had been like this back then too. When he was a child, after he had once gotten a cold at Natsume's house, Harutora had also suddenly woken up in the middle of the night and noticed Natsume sitting and sleeping by his pillow side - just like now. 
She looked tired and fatigued, but she still firmly stayed with Harutora. 
"I'm sorry, I hope you get well quickly......"She murmured sleeptalk as if she felt a deep guilt. 
He made up his mind to recover as soon as possible upon hearing Natsume's words. He had to hurry up and recover his health, This wasn't just for himself, it was also for Natsume. 
"I can't just catch a cold whenever......" 
Harutora spoke derisively to himself, emptying his mind and preparing to fall back into his dreams. He had to sleep well to let his cold be cured and let his body rest appropriately. 
Recover as early as possible and let Natsume relax. That was his responsibility, both as a shikigami and as a friend. 

However...... 

"......That's weird?" 
A warm, unusual smell entered his nose, and Harutora opened his shut eyes. 
He opened his eyes, but he couldn't move his body. This wasn't caused by the fever, but was sleep paralysis instead. His eyes anxiously darted around. 
Because he was lying on the bed facing the ceiling, he almost couldn't see anything around him, but if he glanced towards the room - it seemed that he could vaguely see strange objects continuously appearing in the corner of his vision. 
Perhaps those suspicious objects were magical objects. Harutora momentarily felt the blood draining out of his whole body. 
"......N......N.....N......Natsume......?" 
His call didn't receive a reply. 
The 'presence' from that time was coming again...... 
Ah, right, this is a dream, I'm still dreaming. Harutora desperately convinced himself. Right afterwards arose the sound of a thump...... The door...... 
Hah, hah. Harutora's breathing became faster and faster. 

"Hi, you're early today, Harutora...... Hey, are you alright?" 
The dorm students all wolfed down their breakfast in the first-floor cafeteria of the Onmyou Academy male dorm. 
Ato Touji walked into the dorm cafeteria, suppressing a yawn. He noticed that Tsuchimikado Harutora had somehow started breakfast before him twice in a row. 
Harutora desperately ate his breakfast as if he would lose his life if he didn't eat quickly. 
"......It seems like your cold's better." 
"Nonsense! I couldn't catch a cold!" Harutora stuffed his mouth with food while declaring solemnly. "What cold...... I definitely won't catch a cold again! I'll get enough nutrition! I'll...... I'll be healthy forever!" 
He spoke resolutely, but tension and fear showed from his eyes. Touji furrowed his brows, staring at his good friend. 
Just then, another student of the dorm walked into the cafeteria. 
The student who walked into the cafeteria was Natsume. Touji raised his hand slightly, calling out: "Natsume." 
Natsume noticed Touji and Harutora, then noticed that Harutora was eating and beamed happily. 
But, once Harutora saw her walk into the cafeteria, he immediately pushed back his chair, making a loud sound, and stood up, uttering with a pale face: "T-Touji, I'm going......!" 
"You're leaving?" 
"Bye!" 
After saying that, Harutora fled the cafeteria without looking back. Natsume, who was watching from a distance, stood still, dumbfounded. Touji, who was nearby, was also stunned as he watched Harutora leave. 
Touji turned to look at Natsume. The two of them glanced at each other, simultaneously putting on a worried and incomprehensive expressions. 
"......What is that guy doing?" 
The morning cafeteria seemed quite refreshing, the smell of miso soup floating through the air. It was filled with a calm, peaceful presence, a completely different world from that of yesterday night.