Part 4
The second-year classroom was unusually noisy when Harutora and Touji opened the door.
Just as Harutora and Touji had entered the academy building, they had already sensed several oddities that were reasons the students in the class were noisy.
Natsume, Kyouko, and Tenma were gathered together talking in the classroom. The expressions of the three all showed tension.
Kyouko was the first to notice the two of them, calling out to them. "Harutora, Touji."
When Natsume realized, her gaze met Harutora's and Harutora unconsciously wavered. That vacillation seemed to affect Natsume......
"...Natsume, I was late in the morning, sorry."
"Eh? Yeah. It's alright."
He spoke openly, putting aside his individual feelings for now. With that, the tone he let out was unexpectedly smooth and natural. Natsume also showed a bit of a surprised expression and replied honestly.
But, the conversation suddenly stopped there. The two of them both averted their gazes as if they had trouble dealing with the awkward situation before them. It really was hard to change quickly.
But,
...Yeah. The situation just now hadn't been bad, right?
Right now, his emotions no longer mattered. He couldn't continue making Natsume's mood worsen. Harutora hoped that he could build his actions upon that principle. He spurred himself on again. Even if he couldn't produce instant results, he couldn't keep escaping his responsibility.
But, there was a more concerning situation right now than interacting with Natsume.
"Harutora, Touji, you noticed too?"
Kyouko spoke with a serious expression. Harutora and Touji nodded to reply.
"Alpha and Omega, right? I feel like they weren't like normal."
"The atmosphere of the academy is a bit different, especially the teachers."
The two of them elaborated on their own observations.
The Alpha and Omega that Harutora mentioned were the two komainu that guarded the entrance of the academy building. Of course, they weren't normal komainu, but rather shikigami that the principal used. They were named mechanical-type shikigami, as their physical forms were controlled by their vessels. They were commonly known as the academy door guards.
The two komainus' tones were ancient, and they were actually extremely honest. For some reason, their attitudes were a bit proud, but they thought about the students. They always greeted the students when school started and ended, and were quite popular among the students.
But, Alpha and Omega were different from normal this morning. They didn't have any greeting, nor did they show their proud attitudes like normal. The aura and sonic inspections also took longer than usual. Hence, there had even been a slight congestion around the entrance.
Moreover, the teachers were also on tenterhooks. Especially the teachers responsible for practical skills coursework, who had been continually patrolling the academy like they were on alert for something. They replied vaguely when asked for a reason.
"......And that's not all."
This time Natsume pitched in.
"The academy building's barrier was also strengthened. ......It wasn't this strong this time yesterday. That means that the barrier was strengthened overnight after we left the academy. To think such a large-scale barrier was upgraded in one go."
Touji's gaze moved to the side upon hearing Natsume's words. It was hard to tell from inside the building, but Natsume wasn't lying.
"Hey, Kyouko. Did the principal say anything?"
"She didn't come home yesterday. Seems like she stayed at the academy."
Kyouko faced Harutora, shaking her head.
Principal Kurahashi was Kyouko's grandmother. After hearing Harutora say "Is that usual?" to confirm, she thought for a moment with a fretful expression.
"Well, it's occasionally like that...... I sent her a message this morning, but she hasn't replied yet. She usually replies instantly."
"......I see. So that means the principal's very busy right now?"
Touji muttered as if speaking to himself. Harutora and Natsume inadvertently looked at each other. Tenma, who heard that remark, swallowed.
"......Are they preparing for something? Like maybe training for a fire evacuation......?"
"......Even if it were evacuation training, the probability of a 'fire' is very low, right?'
Touji said with a bold and fearless tone.
Then, he looked at Natsume:
"Natsume. Do you have Yukikaze's charm on you right now?"
"Yeah, because I can't carelessly leave it in the dorm. I always bring it with me."
"Good. ......Harutora. Go underground and pick up the shakujou right away. It's safer to carry it around with you today."
"......Got it."
Harutora nodded his head honestly upon hearing his good friend's suggestion.
The shakujou Touji mentioned was a tool Ohtomo had created for Harutora - a magical tool, which could mostly make up for the poor skills of the practitioner and help Harutora control his strong magical energy to a certain level. When he was a first-year, he had used it in the fights against the Yakou fanatic and the Type-Chimera. Harutora often used the shakujou when he trained by himself, so he normally left it in the locker room of the magic practice field.
Also, Yukikaze was a high-level white horse shikigami that served the Tsuchimikado family. As an ancient shikigami, its battle experience was plentiful. It had originally been kept in her family's residence, but had been entrusted to Natsume after the spiritual disaster attack in the spring.
"......Hey, Touji. Have you noticed something?"
"Not at all. But, if we don't do this, we won't be able to do anything after something happens, right?"
Touji smiled as he spoke to the wide-eyed, staring Kyouko.
"Well, don't worry. After all, this is the Onmyou Academy building. It's well-equipped and there are professionals around. On a magical level, there aren't many places in Tokyo safer than here. Even if something happens, we probably won't have to take the stage."
"So anyways, we don't need to be this worried--"
"However, Tenma. It's stupid to not do anything because we don't have the opportunity to take the stage, and we can't make any progress. If it's not evacuation training, then it's a drill in advance of a true enemy attack. We have to treat things like advance drills seriously for them to have any meaning."
Touji said this, knowingly patting Tenma's shoulder. Everything he said was reasonable, but what made him concerned was his restless air. His trouble-loving blood was boiling again. He had inadvertently become more energetic than usual.
But, Harutora also agreed with Touji's opinion.
"Then, I'll go get it."
He prepared to leave the classroom as he said this, but just then, the teacher pushed open the door and walked in.
"Class is starting. Sit down, everyone."
He spoke in a cloudy voice and walked to the podium. But, it wasn't Ohtomo who walked in, but rather a different teacher.
"Eh? Sensei, wasn't it Ohtomo-sensei's class today?"
Harutora immediately spoke up to ask.
The teacher looked at Harutora:
"...Ohtomo-sensei has urgent business and can't come to class. Alright, please return to your seats."
His tone was coarse and he replied bluntly. He sounded like he were just arbitrarily dealing with the question, or maybe blocking opportunities for any further questions.
He felt increasingly uneasy. Harutora quickly glanced around. Natsume, Touji, Kyouko, and Tenma seemed to share his feelings.
"......Something probably truly happened."
The words Touji quietly murmured made Harutora shiver.
He couldn't get the bad premonition out of his chest. Harutora didn't wait until the class break period, ordering Kon to go underground to get the shakujou from the changing room during class.
At the same time, he sent Suzuka a message, warning her to be careful.
The reply was very brief:
"I don't need you to tell me that."
Just those few words.
He would learn from their interaction afterwards that the students in the first-year classroom also felt the same abnormal atmosphere. The teachers were so nervous that even those who had just entered the academy noticed it.
On the other hand, Kyouko had already sent several messages to the principal but hadn't received a single response. In the end, she called her directly during the class break period, and after the dialing sound, it immediately went to voice mail.
"......I'll go see directly."
Leaving those words, Kyouko rushed out of the classroom. Not long afterwards, she returned in a hurry. It seemed that the principal wasn't in the principal's office. Her panicked actions portrayed the anxiety in her heart.
"Ohtomo-sensei has business and the principal's not here either. ...Touji, do you know Fujiwara-sensei's mail address?"
"I don't. But you probably won't be able to find him. I heard from students in his class, and it seems that all the teachers responsible for practical classes are gone."
Just as Touji said, the practical skills class that Harutora's class anticipated afterwards had been completely changed into a lecture. It seemed that they no longer paid any heed to the students' questions and suspicions. The tense feeling that floated around in the silence seemed to be waiting attentively for something.
As Harutora and the others wondered, the curriculum went on systematically.
Ohtomo wasn't here, and the students still didn't get any messages back. But, the other teachers' attitudes were like always, and the time passed uneventfully.
At some point, the bell for lunchtime had already sounded. At that point, the students' upsurge of tension had slowly begun to ease up.
"What exactly is going on? Could it be that they're planning a surprise for the entire Onmyou Academy?"
"Well...... It's possible, if it's my grandma."
Kyouko replied wryly upon hearing Harutora's sarcasm.
They had passed a high-strung morning, but in the end nothing had happened at all, so it had just been a waste of effort. Harutora had even sent Kon to look around the academy in the morning because he was so concerned. Tenma's tension seemed to have affected his body, as he held his stomach with a pale face.
Only Natsume and Touji were still tense. Even so, compared to before, the latter didn't seem tense at all on the outside. He was someone who enjoyed this kind of situation, so it was natural.
"......Touji. Does it really have nothing to do with me? Dairenji-san mentioned Yakou fanatics before......"
"The Twin-Horned Syndicate? No, I think this has nothing to do with them."
Touji immediately replied to Natsume's question.
"Why?" Towards Natsume, who asked this:
"Think about it. If it were action related to Yakou fanatics, the principal would no longer be able to hide you at this point. Actually, it should be the opposite, she would call for you immediately and warn you to be careful."
"Y, Yeah. I agree with Touji-kun's point. The principal called Natsume-kun over during the Nue incident."
"However, Tenma. At the time, it was because the Onmyou Agency requested for her assistance, right? They wanted to use Natsume's dragon in their operation."
"That was a special situation. If there really was danger approaching Natsume-kun, even if the principal herself was silent, the teachers would focus their defense around Natsume-kun. Today - it's hard to say, probably dealing with a spiritual disaster attack? The fact that they increased the academy building's barrier particularly matches that."
"I think the same as Kyouko. Supposing the opponent was Yakou fanatics - or the Twin-Horned Syndicate that Dairenji mentioned - their target would be limited to Natsume."
Touji repeated his conclusion again, but Natsume still didn't let it go.
"If people attack the Onmyou Academy, their target must be me--"
Natsume didn't want to see the safety of other students impacted because of herself. Even if Touji and Kyouko denied such a possibility, she still had trouble relaxing.
But,
"Natsume."
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login