Tokyo Ravens - Volume 6 - Chapter 1.2

Part 2 
Several incandescent lights were connected in a row. As the visitors watched the fireworks, the sound released flickered like a small ripple. 
The summer festival. 
The burning smell of soy sauce, the cries of stalls greeting their guests, the distant sound of cicadas as well as the suffocating heat of the surroundings; the thick summer atmosphere was spreading through the air. 
Everyone was smiling. Children ran by their feet, their voices hoarse with laughter. 
However, the one with the most gorgeous smile, whose laughter was the most uplifting, was the girl wearing a yukata. 
I want to eat this, I want to play that, I still want to go there. Hurry, hurry. 
Her smile was as gorgeous as a sunflower. 
The constant cries of her heartfelt feelings could be heard. 
She turned her head around as I did my best to catch up. 
A smile emerged on her mouth naturally. 
The girl in front was running, looking behind several times, urging me on. 
Smiled wryly and chasing the girl, feeling forced yet feeling a sense of attraction to her. It was as though every action was being compelled by her. 
The back of the girl running in front. The ribbon in her hair floated back and forth. A pink-colored ribbon. Every time the ribbon swayed, her hair swayed lightly in the air. 
Beautiful, waist-length black hair. 
“Ah?” stopping my footsteps. 
Then, the girl noticed and stopped as well. 
She turned her head around, the ribbon in her black hair swaying in the wind like a gentle floating pendulum. 
The girl blinked ,her big eyes filled with hope. 
“What’s wrong, Harutora?” 
“Natsu –“ 
Unconsciously making a sound, Tsuchimikado Harutora sat up in his quilt. 
He was in his own room in the Onmyou Academy boarding dorm. After lights out, the room was pitch dark. In the silence, only his own breathing could be heard. 
“......Hu - “, he breathed out a long sigh to calm his breathing. The ever-present sound of raindrops could be heard from outside the window. 
“H-H-Harutora-sama? Is there something wrong?” 
Suddenly, Kon appeared out of nowhere and asked out of concern for her master. 
“......Nothing’s wrong” replied Harutora ambiguously, taking a deep breath again. 
......Was it a dream? 
He opened his cell phone to check the time. It had just reached 3 AM. Harutora did not move a muscle, reflecting, but his brain was blank. 
The rain outside continued. 

The rhythm of the raindrops could be heard. 
Blue hydrangeas bloomed brilliantly along the side of the road, absorbing the rainwater. The streets of Shibuya were foggy due to the warm rain. It was the fifth day of the raining season in the Kanto region, and this overcast and rainy weather had been continuing for the past few days. 
The Omnyouji training institution, the Omnyou Academy. One of the Academy’s classrooms. 
The air-conditioned classroom was so comfortable that it felt like it had no relation with the wet conditions outside. However, the artificial cold air seemed so impersonal. The sound of the air-conditioner droned on through the rooms without a care. 
Harutora, cheek in his hand, rested his elbow on the desk, listening to the teacher teaching from the podium. 
The lecturer’s voice sounded faint in the silent classroom. In front of Harutora laid his notebook. He occasionally spun his mechanical pencil about his right hand, lost in his own thoughts. 
He glanced at the seat beside him. 
Sitting next to Harutora was his childhood friend, Tsuchimikado Natsume. Unlike the mentally slack Harutora, she was attentively watching the podium. 
Due to the head family 'family tradition', Natsume had to wear male clothing. Her face also did not have any signs of makeup. However, her profile was beautiful enough such that no makeup was needed. She did not just have good looks; the intelligence that showed from her eyes matched her excellence. 
Even her straight back as she recorded the notes was elegant. 
The opposite of that guy. 
“......” 
During the return bus trip from the practical skills training camp, an uncertainty formed within Harutora's mind. Harutora had been secretly looking at Natsume from the side. However, you would not need to pay that much attention to notice this. His eyes moved to her long black hair – tied with a pink ribbon that rested along the side of her neck. 
On the bus back from the resort, a sense of suspicion had entered his heart. From that moment on, Harutora kept peeking at Natsume’s ribbon. 
At that time, Harutora accidentally took the ribbon and repeatedly looked at it a number of times. Even so, he ultimately was unable to remove the doubt in his heart. Even now, as he continued to secretly peek, it was still difficult to find an answer. 
But, 
...“Very cute isn’t it?” 
...“I will take good care of it.” 
...... 
Harutora unknowingly narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow as he stared at Natsume’s ribbon. Entangled deep in his thoughts, Harutora repeatedly asked the same question a hundred times yet could not find the answer. 
Could it be. 
Could it be – No it can’t be, but then. 
“......” 
Suddenly, Natsume moved – aware of that movement, Harutora quickly looked away, turning his head as far back as he could. From the edge of his vision, he saw that Natsume noticed him looking the other direction. But of course, Harutora did not give her any response. He tried to act as though nothing happened, despite his stiff neck and his rapid heart rate. 
On the other hand – 
Natsume, who felt someone’s eyes on her, turned her head around and saw Harutora suddenly turn his head the other direction. Her beautiful face became overcast, her long eyelashes drooped down with a sense of loneliness, and her shoulders, wrapped in the school’s uniform, lost its strength. 
She still did not give up hope, turning her eyes to glance at Harutora again. But her childhood friend held his unnatural and rigid attitude, and kept looking in the other direction. Natsume sighed and reluctantly faced the podium again. 
The faint voice of the lecturer echoed throughout the classroom. The Academy student who could hear him took their notes, the sound of their pen tips scratching against the paper. 
It was still raining outside. 
For some unknown reason, a depressed atmosphere filled the air within the classroom equipped with the latest air-conditioning,