Tokyo Ravens - Volume 5 - Chapter 4.3

Part 3 
The practical skills training camp's curriculum ended. It had already gotten close to six in the evening. 
Since there wasn't much time to rest during class, the second-years and the third-year students were mentally and physically depleted. But because the camp had ended, they felt a sense of accomplishment in addition to their fatigue. 
Now, they had less than one hour of time to do whatever they wanted before returning to Tokyo. At the same time, they had to make their departure preparations in this time. The students enjoyed the freedom of their liberation from coursework, reminiscing about the camp. Since there were quite a few students who had gotten along with the third-years they had class with, there were students everywhere taking out their phones to take memorial pictures. 
This was the first leisure time that school activities ought to have since they had arrived at the camp. 
Of course, there were also people who didn't fit in with the surrounding atmosphere. Natsume was one of them. She didn't have any interest in reminiscing about the camp that had already ended, but instead prepared for things to be settled, looking everywhere extremely anxiously for Harutora. 
Whether her expression or attitude, everything showed that she was tense and fretful. She hadn't found Harutora, but her tension was already approaching its limits. 
She walked to the room of the second-year students, noticing Touji. 
"T, Touji!" 
"Oh, Natsume, are you prepared to go back--" 
"H, Have you seen Harutora?" 
"Harutora? Come to think of it, I don't know where he's gone--" Touji replied casually. "Ah." One second later, he seemed to think of something. 
He leisurely sat on the tatami, looking up at Natsume. 
"Right, I forgot you wanted to confess." 
"What did you forget? I, I'm not going to confess, I, I just want to confirm......!" 
"Didn't I tell you to act in the morning?' 
"Isn't that putting the cart before the horse? Also, we had class after that, so how could I say it......!" 
Natsume's face reddened as she declared with a lowered voice. Touji put his hands behind his back and leaned back on the ground, coldly tolling his eyes at Natsume, his expression like he was asking, 'does this girl know that there's nowhere to go after getting on the bus'? 
Then, he thought of something. 
"Right, I saw Harutora just now." 
"Where?" 
"It seems like he was called over by Kyouko." 
"Kurahashi-san?" 
Natsume's face sank unconsciously. 
She had business with Harutora. That situation made her feel distraught. Since yesterday morning, Kyouko's attitude had been a bit different from usual. 
Her bad premonition became larger and larger like a snowball being rolled. She even remembered that at the start, when Harutora had entered the Onmyou Academy, Kyouko had asked him whether he liked her. She became more and more flustered. 
"I, I'm going to look for Harutora!" 
"Yeah, do your best." 
"You come too!" 
"What? Why do I have to--" 
"Don't speak nonsense!" 
The classmates around them didn't get what had happened, looking at Touji and Natsume one by one. Natsume didn't pay their gazes any heed, urgently rushing out of the room while pulling Touji along. 

 

Kyouko brought Harutora next to the warehouse behind the auditorium. 
Perplexed, Harutora asked again: "Kyouko, what's going on exactly?" Kyouko firmly kept her mouth shut in front of others, only saying: "Just come with me" and forcefully bringing Harutora along. 
Harutora thought she was mad, but that didn't seem to be it. Her attitude was serious, giving off an air that was difficult to describe. ...Was this matter related to Suzuka? 
Kyouko hadn't come in contact with Harutora and the others for the whole day, not just during lunch, and Suzuka had been avoiding Kyouko. Harutora thought of what Touji had said, that Kyouko might have secretly taken some action. 
Kyouko didn't say a word, walking straight to the place they had their discussion last night. After arriving, she finally turned around to look at Harutora. The atmosphere between the two of them was like a repeat of the scene last night. 
"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly, Harutora." 
"It's alright, is it something concerning Suzuka?" 
"Oh my, your observational ability this time is pretty sharp." 
"Thanks... Did something happen with you and that girl?" Harutora asked directly, and Kyouko nodded her head unconcernedly. 
"After last night, the two of us chatted for a while. It was secret girls' talk." 
"......G, Girls' talk?" 
"That's right. That's why she seems to be wary of me." Kyouko playfully stuck out her tongue as she said this. 
Never mind Kyouko for now, it was very hard to imagine Suzuka chatting about something like 'girls' talk'. Maybe it was actually Kyouko one-sidedly pulling her along. Harutora unconsciously thought about 'owners that became hated by capricious kittens because of their excessive enthusiasm'. 
"No wonder she was running away from you today. Isn't it counter-effective like this?" 
"That's not the case. I also knew that it wouldn't succeed easily. Also, there will be many opportunities to reverse the situation later." 
Kyouko replied without a care and without remorse to Harutora's helpless expression. 
"Also, that girl won't let anyone get close if you're not a bit forceful." 
"What do you mean by getting close?" 
"I meant that she won't open her heart." 
Kyouko put her finger to her lip, glancing down mischievously. Her attitude was like she was playing around, but she spoke very seriously. 
Harutora felt admiration from the bottom of this heart. 
...This girl's observation is truly thorough. 
Harutora also felt that bickering and holding a war of words with Suzuka was the best way to draw closer to her. Suzuka's personality was twisted, and she always hid the feelings in her heart. Kyouko might also have come to the same conclusion as Harutora not long after seeing the unaffected, 'true' side of Suzuka. 
"Also, I roughly figured out Suzuka-chan's personality." 
"S, Suzuka-chan?" 
"She herself agreed to let me call her that." 
"To think she would agree... Exactly what methods did you use......" 
"The secret is to start by applying strong pressure and slowly soften your attitude." 
"............" 
She casually explained in a cute voice, but Harutora broke into a cold sweat upon hearing that. He didn't know what exactly they had done last night, but he couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Suzuka. 
"We chatted last night, and I think--" Kyouko changed her tone, staring at Harutora with clear eyes. 
Harutora inadvertently straightened his back. 
"I believe that if we want Suzuka-chan's help, the key isn't something like having Natsume help her experiments like Touji proposed. It's actually you. You're the key." Kyouko plainly spoke her thoughts. 
"Me?" 
"That's right." Kyouko nodded her head seriously towards the confused Harutora. 
"Honestly, Suzuka-chan and Natsume-kun don't get along very well, and she even made it clear that she 'hates' Natsume-kun...... Though it's not clear whether those are her true feelings judging from her personality, she's so stubborn that she won't possibly compromise with someone she hates. Also, not only is Suzuka-chan that way, Natsume-kun is also very stubborn, and he won't easily accept others......" 
"Th, That's right." 
"I think their personalities are actually very pure. It's not impossible to break down the wall, but it will need a very long time. If we have don't have many opportunities to gather like yesterday, they might never get along." 
"......That's true." 
Harutora believed that even if a meeting like yesterday was held a few more times, it wouldn't be that easy to undo the knot between Natsume and Suzuka. But he also understood and agreed with the meaning in Kyouko's words. In the first place, it was impossible for the two of them to construct an amicable relationship in a short time. They weren't the same as Touji, they weren't people who acted for their own 'benefit'. 
Kyouko smiled, embarrassed. 
"Actually, I don't really like doing things behind their backs and criticizing friends for not getting along well...... But I don't want to see Suzuka-chan continue to be alone either. Especially after hearing the things from last night, I agree with Touji's opinion and I think that everyone should establish good relationships with each other." 
"......It's great that you think that way." 
Regarding the information that had crossed hands last night, it was all about the Tsuchimikado family. Even though Kyouko was their classmate, she had no relation to the entire matter. However, she took the matter as something that had happened to her own self, thinking seriously about countermeasures. Harutora really felt grateful from his heart. 
"You mean that we'll put Natsume and Suzuka's issue to the side for now and first establish a good relationship with Suzuka, right? Okay, I got it. Though she loves to mess around with me, I'll try to take the initiative to talk to her." 
Harutora hadn't been able to hold his head high in front of Suzuka since Natsume's true identity had been revealed. However, plain honesty couldn't gain Suzuka's trust, and even if the fact that she held his weak point in her hand didn't change, he ought to shorten the distance between them as much as he could. 
...Anyway, I'll definitely just get tossed around again. 
Though Suzuka was threatening, she hadn't revealed Natsume's identity yet. Maybe it was simply on a whim...... He might as well follow Kyouko's lead and try to trust Suzuka. 
Though it was hard to unravel his enmity with Suzuka, Harutora had interacted with her for a very long time after all. 
...Alright. 
Harutora made his decision. 
However, Kyouko used a sort of somewhat unusual expression to gaze at the resolving Harutora, speaking with unparalleled calmness: 
"As for that...... I want to take the opportunity to ask clearly." 
"About what?" 
"What do you think of Suzuka-chan?" 
"What do you mean, what do I think?" 
"Do you like her?" 
Harutora was impressively surprised. "What are you talking nonsense about!?" 
"What, I'm not saying anything that's nonsense, it's a very serious question. Most of the students in the class think that you two are going out. Doesn't she call you 'darling'?" 
"Th, That's true...... But you know that girl's personality, right? It's all a prank, she's just using that matter to mess around with me!" 
"......Do you really believe that?" 
"I don't just think that, she herself admitted it!" Harutora was a bit angry. 
Among the pranks Suzuka had pulled, the most serious were the rumors of the two supposedly going out. Beginning with the 'first kiss announcement', he had long since gotten tired of Suzuka's endless teasing. 
Upon hearing Harutora's agitated rebuttal, Kyouko just furrowed her eyebrows worriedly, murmuring: "Really." Then, she sank into thought like a tutor who had heard a stupid student reply with a stupid answer. 
"......I wanted to know your thoughts excluding 'that part'... I didn't think I would encounter a bottleneck at this stage." 
"What does that mean? What exactly are you talking about?" 
"Bakatora." 
"Ugh!" 
An extremely familiar scolding sounded in his ears. He felt a bit moved for some reason. 
Kyouko changed to an easier-to-understand format and explained in detail: "Harutora, do you remember how I said you were the 'key'? I mentioned Suzuka-chan's personality just now too. She talks big, but she actually--" [31] 
"Shut up, cowtits!" 
An angry roar momentarily sounded, interrupting Kyouko's words from the side. 
Harutora and Kyouko were taken aback, hastily looking back and noticing that Suzuka was scrambling at them, her face red. Kon immediately appeared, guarding Harutora's body by standing between them, but Suzuka who had suddenly burst in didn't pay her any heed at all. 
"I can't listen any longer! Don't think so highly of yourself! You're always spewing nonsense and talking about useless crap!" 
She rushed in front of the stunned-speechless pair, spewing abuse. 
"Damn, damn! Go die! Die! You... you bitch!" 
Suzuka cursed wildly. Her normal eloquent demeanor wasn't visible at all. It was clear that she was fretful, so agitated that she didn't care about what she was cursing. Harutora and Kon stared blankly from the side as they watched her Divine General self shouting and making a scene. 
On the other hand, Kyouko showed a gentle smile as if she were sorry upon seeing Suzuka cursing with a red face. She honestly admitted: "Sorry, I just couldn't sit and watch Suzuka-chan, but I really shouldn't have gone ahead by myself - Sorry!" After saying that, she put her hands together, lowering her head in apology to Suzuka. 
Such an apologetic attitude - She had been caught red-handed yet her attitude was unmoved. It seemed to make Suzuka even more annoyed. 
"Shut up! You're so annoying! If you want to apologize, go die! Go!" 
Suzuka bared her teeth, viciously cursing without stopping. Unfortunately, even Harutora also felt that her ferocious appearance lacked vigor, like a puppy barking at a large dog quietly lying nearby. He couldn't help but feel that Suzuka wasn't scary and that Kyouko's dignified presence was the true fright. 
"Right, Suzuka, why are you here?" 
"Isn't it just coincidence? I just happened to pass by!" 
"Oh my, but didn't you just say 'I can't listen any longer'......" 
"I, I didn't! I didn't say such a thing!" 
"After just one night, you two get along this well......" 
"What? Has your brain gone bad? How is this getting along well at all?" 
"We actually have a naked relationship." [32] 
"Don't call it something like that! Has your brain gone rotten too? Also, you forced me into the bath!" 
"I see, that's why you were talking about tits--" 
"You don't need to remember that kind of thing so clearly!" 
"Listen to me! You two, listen- to- me!" 
Kyouko hit Harutora forcefully to stop his remark. Kon's regretful expression seemed like she hated herself for being unable to defend him, but it was truly Harutora's fault for receiving that blow. 
Suzuka was furious, stomping the ground out of anger. 
"I said so many times, I don't want to be associated with you guys! I don't care about your lives, didn't I emphasize that? But why do you still do this? You're older than me, you should be able to understand what people say!" 
That hysterical, angry roar sounded like it was a roar coming straight from her heart. Harutora and Kyouko couldn't help but self-reflect deeply after the girl's intense accusation. What Suzuka said was right, they were indeed older than she was. 
"Also, as for what you were talking about just now, it's like this idiot says!" She turned to Kyouko, pointing at Harutora and speaking agitatedly. "I'm just messing around with him! I'm playing around with this idiot because his reactions are really interesting, understood? More importantly, I also said yesterday, this idiot bastard has someone he likes! I messed around with him on purpose because I knew that!" 

Suzuka spoke firmly. When the wary Kon heard those words, her ears shook keenly. 
"What?" The man in question, Harutora, widened his eyes in surprise. Suzuka's words sounded in his ears like a thunderbolt out of the blue. 
"Huh? Uh...... umm......?" Harutora looked at Suzuka and then looked at Kyouko. Finally, he looked back at Suzuka, his mouth becoming more and more rigid. The tail of Kon under his feet swished back and forth anxiously. 
Kyouko crossed her arms, glaring ferociously at Harutora. 
"......Hmph, I half-doubted it when I heard yesterday...... It seems like it wasn't a lie." 
"Uh, no...... It's not like that, Kyouko, I don't......" 
Kyouko narrowed her eyes further, staring at the flustered Harutora. "......Right, I remember you liked me when you entered the academy. You couldn't still be yearning for me, right?" She looked like a hooligan deliberately picking a fight. 
"...Huh." The originally furious Suzuka underwent a dramatic change, her attitude instantly becoming cold as if she had taken a bullet through her heart. The fur on Kon's ears and tail also suddenly bristled. "What did you say?" But Harutora, the subject in question, couldn't understand what Kyouko meant for a while, his face stunned. 
"Didn't I reject you back then? I already have someone I like. Give up." 
"No... That's not it, you're wrong, what are you saying, that's not it at all! I said back then, you were just mistaken - also, what do you mean by 'yearning', that's so old!" 
Harutora finally came to his senses, fully negating Kyouko's speculation. Even though he denied it as much as he could - "Really?" Kyouko's expression was still full of doubt. 
"Then who do you like?" 
"UH, that question's a bit too sudden!" 
"I know! Could it be like Fujino-san imagines--" 
"Every single thing that pervert manager said is pure fantasy!" [33] 
"Th, Then Kon-chan--" 
"I explained many times, the hotel thing was a misunderstanding!" [34] 
"......The only one left is Kinoshita-senpai--" [35] 
"Don't mention him in front of me!" 
Past scars were reopened one by one, bringing Harutora a shock far surpassing his expectations and making him remember the miserable days of his youth that he had somehow gotten through. 
"M, More importantly, Suzuka, why don't you say who I like? You're just pretending, right?" 
He strengthened his tone unnaturally. "Quiet." Kyouko glared, speaking up to stop him. 
Suzuka heard him say that and bit her lower lip. Then, she smiled coldly, making herself seem as arrogant as possible, and said: "......There's no use hiding it. Last year..... You said the girl last summer wasn't your girlfriend... But you like her, right? After we met again, didn't you joyfully say that she was actually still alive!? That the practitioner - the 'real Hokuto' was still living in this world." 
Suzuka glared ferociously at Harutora, as if spitting gloom from her heart. Her gaze held indescribably complex emotions. 
Harutora's heart thumped. 
He hadn't expected to hear Hokuto's name at this kind of time. He felt even more alarmed that hearing Hokuto's name made him distraught. 
This situation was as if a sneakily hidden diary was recited out loud by others. A problem that he had deliberately ignored and avoided thinking about had appeared in front of him at a time he hadn't expected. 
"Hokuto? Who's Hokuto? Natsume-kun's shikigami also has that name......" 
Kyouko questioned Harutora, and Kon also turned towards Harutora, forgetting to guard her master. Possibly concerned because she had heard the other party was a shikigami, Kon looked up at Harutora in alarm. 
"......Honestly." Harutora laughed listlessly. 
He was a bit embarrassed and felt a bit awkward, unwilling to let others learn about his sentimental past. He opposed and refused to let others step into this area. 
But... 
...Right, I've already decided to be honest. 
He dismantled the wall in his heart, explaining to Kyouko - and Kon, and also letting Suzuka hear his confession from the beginning again. 
Hokuto. 
She was his first irreplaceable friend, who had encouraged him to become an Onmyouji. 
During the explanation, memories of Hokuto were awakened one after another. Every ordinary and normal day, messing around meaninglessly, laughing and doing stupid things, the unique, precious memories left behind. At the time, Harutora didn't care about the future and wasn't concerned about society. He just naturally lived a monotonous everyday life one day after another. Thinking back now, at the time he had practically been the same as a child - he knew that he hadn't grown much, but he still couldn't help but think that way. 
The golden period during the transition from childhood to puberty. 
Hokuto was the symbol of those brilliant years. Harutora felt inexplicably pained as he talked about her. 
One impression was especially bright. It was the night of the summer festival. 
His first time seeing Hokuto wearing a yukata. 
Hokuto stepping on her sandals with wooden sounds, shuttling back and forth between the booths, innocent as a child. 
She incited Harutora into playing a shooting game, teasing him with a remark. Hokuto's proud and joyful smile afterwards crossed his mind, her tearful confession under the dazzling fireworks and her weeping face deeply pained his heart. 
He wanted to see her so much. 
He wanted to meet and talk with her so much. 
That hard-to-control, intense thought assaulted Harutora, stimulating him. He desperately suppressed it, not letting his emotions explode. 
He forced himself to endure. 
At the start, Kyouko had been half-doubtful, but she knew that Harutora had no reason to lie. More importantly, Suzuka had seen the shikigami - Hokuto - with her own eyes, and had seen that the shikigami Hokuto truly existed. Hence, she could only silently listen to Harutora's explanation. 
Kon seriously perked her ears up to listen to Harutora's explanation. She seemed to be very interested in her master's past. She stayed silent and motionless, never interrupting. 
Of course, Suzuka was the same. 
Harutora finished explaining the ins and outs of it, smiling slightly. 
"Even now, I actually have no idea at all about that girl's true identity. I don't understand why she appeared before me or what her goal was. But I believe, no, I know, that there's a bond between us far more important than those reasons." 
Harutora spoke, looking at Kyouko, Kon - and Suzuka - in turn. 
"So, I still want to see her now. If she's unwilling to say, I won't force her to say the reason. I just want to meet her... and talk with her... and have fun and laugh with her like before..... I want to see her smile." 
He felt a bit lonely, but he still sincerely voiced his inner thoughts. 
Kon gazed at Harutora, lightly and sadly calling out: "Harutora-sama......" On the other hand, Kyouko said nothing, staring straight at Harutora. 
Suzuka turned her face like she couldn't stand it anymore, her face full of anxiety and anguish that had nowhere to go. 
"Didn't I say?" She said angrily and self-derisively. "I said already...... I knew that from the beginning, and that's why I messed around with him. What an immoral guy. To think you like a shikigami... I can't stand you......" 
She spoke mockingly, shrugging her shoulders as if to express 'This topic is over, can we please end it'. Harutora didn't refute Suzuka's insult, as it was the truth after all. 
Kyouko's reaction was different from Suzuka's, who chose to 'escape'. She had no intention of compromising at all. 
She revealed a sharp gaze. 
"I understand now...... But, so what? You 'like' that practitioner - the one who controlled the simple shikigami Hokuto, right? Do you 'love' her?" 
"Hey hey, you're so pushy, I was so honest already." 
Harutora smiled bitterly and uneasily, but Kyouko didn't let him go, forcefully asking him to speak: "Hurry up and say it." 
"That...... I don't know either." Harutora said after pondering for a while. 
Suzuka raised her head to look at Harutora in surprise after hearing this. Kon also gazed solemnly at Harutora. 
"Honestly, that girl is my 'good friend', and I never thought about such a thing. Things just happened afterwards...... That's why we weren't able to meet again. Indeed, there isn't the relationship of 'good friends' between us anymore, but as for whether I like or hate her...... I don't really feel anything like love......" Harutora spoke embarrassedly. 
Suzuka stared at Harutora with complete focus, as if she didn't want to miss a single word that he said. 
"......So?" Kyouko nodded her head, continuing to question him. Harutora looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. 
"So... I, I probably like her. But even though we had a good relationship, that girl was basically a mystery. There will be a lot of changes if we meet again. Anyway, I just want to 'see her again' for now! As for what kind of changes...... I don't know until I meet her!" 
Harutora shouted out his inner thoughts almost self-deprecatingly. He also knew that his face was red to the tips of his ears. He hadn't been very good at dealing with such topics in the first place, and especially since it was Hokuto's matter, he was practically embarrassed to death. 
But, everything he said was true. Harutora's love - he himself didn't know whether he could call it love - had been paused that summer day. The love couldn't be called a success or failure, it had become an unsolved mystery. 
Harutora could do nothing about it either. 
...Also...... 
Also, even if he met Hokuto again...... Even if Hokuto confessed again, Harutora didn't believe that the current him would have the same reply as he would have back then. After things had happened, he was no longer his past self. His feelings from back then were now memories sleeping deep inside his heart and he could no longer put them into words. 
But even so, he had never been able to truly face his own feelings. Hokuto's issue had bound his legs somehow, making him dare not advance, dare not think deeply, dare not come up with an answer. 
If he didn't meet Hokuto again, he might never be able to move forward. 
"......How very romantic." 
Kyouko seemed to accept his answer, giving him a few words of comment. Harutora, feeling wronged, said quietly: "Shut up." 
"Hmm......" Kyouko muttered, furrowing her brows and crossing her arms, as if encountering a difficult problem outside of her expectations. 
"Who exactly is that?" 
"Would I have this much trouble if I knew?" 
"If what you said just now is the truth, it means that practitioner's ability is quite high. Not only did Suzuka-chan fail to spot it immediately, she and Harutora interacted for several years. Even if you didn't have any spirit-sensing ability at the time, you didn't notice anything wrong. Normally, that would be impossible." 
"......Tenma also said similar things. He said that that person's a powerful professional Onmyouji for that to be possible.' Harutora spoke, thinking of their conversation when they had been making curry. Kyouko also affirmed Tenma's opinion, nodding and saying: "I think so too." 
"That person isn't necessary a powerful, professional Onmyouji, but it's undeniable that she's exceptionally skilled. Supposing it was someone around you...... Only Natsume-kun would be able to do such a thing." 
Suzuka staggered upon hearing Kyouko's casually-mentioned conclusion, her whole body stiff. 
"What?" Harutora inadvertently asked back, then couldn't help but laugh loudly. "Hahahaha! What nonsense are you saying, Kyouko. How could Natsume do it, that's ridiculous. What reason would Natsume have to waste so much effort doing such a thing?" 
"You're the stupid one, Harutora. I was just bringing up a technical possibility. Could it be that you didn't hear me?" 
"Oh, sorry, sorry, that's true. But it's such a stretch that you thought that way. 'Natsume' and 'Hokuto'? Hahaha, what a ridiculous combination!" 
Harutora thought of the difference between the two and then laughed even harder as if a joke had perfectly hit the mark. Kyouko and even Kon couldn't help but stare blankly at Harutora's appearance. Since they had been talking about a serious, sensitive topic until now, he instantly eased up. 
After laughing for a while-- "Uh...... My bad, sorry. If you knew Hokuto, you definitely would have thought the comparison just now was ridiculous. It's too funny." Harutora explained, managing to suppress his impulse to laugh. 
Among them, only Suzuka stared at Harutora's reaction with an expression of incomprehension, as if an assumption she had already made had been completely overturned and she had fallen into confusion. 
"......H......" She hesitated over what to say. "H, Hey?" 
"Huh? What is it?" 
"So that means...... If you 'knew', things wouldn't turn out that way......" 
"Huh? I can't really understand what you mean......?" 
This person was probably looking for trouble again. Harutora raised his alertness, asking back honestly. 
However, Suzuka suddenly closed her mouth, speaking no more. Her head seemed to be whirring rapidly, but he couldn't see what she was thinking about inside her head at all. Harutora and Kyouko glanced at each other. She was also surprised. 
"N, Never mind that. Anyways...... What were we talking about just now?" 
"......Your relationship with Suzuka-chan." 
"Right, do you get it now, Kyouko? Though it seems explaining it again now would be pointless." 
"Yeah......" 
Kyouko spoke in a stammer, only able to nod her head. At a loss, she looked at Harutora and Suzuka in turn. 
Just then, Suzuka suddenly turned her back, walking towards the auditorium and leaving the two of them, making Harutora and Kyouko panic. 
"Wh, What's wrong? Suzuka?" 
They hastily called out to Suzuka, but she didn't stop her steps. 
"......I'll consider it." 
"Huh?" 
"I don't like the feeling of this kind of secretive action...... I'll consider what we mentioned yesterday...... B-But I'm just going to consider it!" 
Suzuka turned her head slightly, setting her face to conceal her bashfulness. After flinging down those words, she swung her head back around, striding away at a brisk pace. Harutora wondered whether he might be being oversensitive. 
In a flash, Suzuka had already disappeared into the forest. 
"Wh, What's up with that girl?" 
"............" 
Harutora asked Kyouko. Kyouko herself seemed to be clueless, wonder all over her face. 
"We should go catch up to her first!" 
"Catch up? Why?" 
"Didn't we just reach a common consensus just now? We need to go on the offense! For whatever reason, Suzuka-chan managed to loosen up and talk. This is a great opportunity to achieve victory." 
Slap. Kyouko smacked Harutora hard in the back, chasing after Suzuka. Though Harutora was alarmed, he still couldn't go against Kyouko in the end, leaving after her back. 
In the end, Kon who was left in the area naturally chose to follow after Harutora's steps. But before leaving, she glanced towards the warehouse wall - a corner of the white wall - suspicion showing in her gaze. 
"............" 
But, she didn't take any other action, turning around towards Harutora again and kicking off the ground. As she dematerialized her body, her figure vanished. The sound of Kyouko calling out to Suzuka could faintly be heard from the direction Harutora and the others left. 
Then...... 

 

On the other side of the warehouse corner, where Kon had gazed at before leaving, Natsume sat on the ground holding her knees. Touji stood still with a bitter expression. 
They had looked for Harutora and Kyouko who had taken him away everywhere in order to confirm Harutora's feelings. When they noticed him, it was already inconvenient for the two of them to show themselves. Though they didn't want to eavesdrop, they ended up listening until the end. Of course, they could have just interrupted in the middle - but the two of them hadn't done that, falling into a dilemma they couldn't retreat from. 
Natsume held her knees, depressed, with her head between her knees. 
She had already been motionless for a while. When she had been listening to the topic of Hokuto, her face had gone pale and then red, and the final developments had made the blood drain out of her face, her body going stiff like a corpse. 
Touji didn't know what to say, rubbing his temple gloomily. 
Natsume was similarly silent. Seeing her current appearance, even the normally poison-tongued and sarcastic Touji couldn't possibly say 'serves you right'. Doing so wasn't just because of his feelings as a friend, but rather out of sympathy as a person. 
In the forest with the sun sinking to the west, an awkward, lingering atmosphere pervaded the space between the two of them. 
Touji couldn't help but sigh heavily. 
"......Really, that Bakatora......"