Tokyo Ravens - Volume 7 - Chapter 3.3

Part 3 
The Mystical Investigators only showed up at the Meguro branch some time after the afternoon classes had started. 
However, the inspection of the Meguro branch only lasted for a very short time before ending. No intense activity had happened like they had predicted. Judging by this, the Meguro branch probably didn't have any members of the Twin-Horned Syndicate hiding inside it in the first place. 
"Th-That's how it should be, right? Otherwise they couldn't possibly have let the Onmyou Academy classes continue like always." 
Tenma heaved a sigh of relief and said this after the Mystical Investigators left the branch. 
According to some rumors they had heard, the Mystical Investigators' true target was the Shinjuku branch. However, the students weren't sure of the actual circumstances. Because the teachers hadn't said anything at all, they probably didn't know anything related to this incident. 
What they could confirm was that after the Mystical Investigators left the Meguro branch, Shaver was still in charge of guarding them. He continued watching Natsume. 
...Kagami also returned to the branch. 
Harutora, who had just spoken with Kagami during lunchtime just now, returned to Natsume and the others, focusing on eating his already soggy udon noodles. However, thanks to this, all Harutora had to say to Natsume and the others was that Kagami had 'called him over to talk'. 
He didn't want Natsume and the others to know the contents of his talk with Kagami - that probably wasn't the reason. As for why he didn't want them to ask, it was probably because he himself didn't completely understand that conversation. Once he thought it was related with Suzuka, Touji, and Kyouko, his heart began growing restless deep inside and thinking of many bad things. It was like second-class magic had been cast on him, hitting him with a concealed poison. It was no wonder Harutora and the others felt that Kagami was a man to be avoided. 
Even though various anxieties filled Harutora's heart and the interior of the branch, the Onmyou Academy afternoon classes still ended safe and sound. 
After school let out, 
"What a long day." 
Touji's tone revealed a bit of exhaustion. 
Though Harutora agreed with his remark from the bottom of his heart, 
"Very unfortunately, our business isn't done." 
Natsume muttered with an ironic tone, sneakily glancing towards a corner of the room. Shaver was crouching there on the floor, looking towards Natsume with an empty gaze. 
"......No way, I thought he wouldn't come to the dorm......" 
"You're joking. Classes already ended. Let's say something to Kagami and have him take him back." 
"Wait, Harutora. Although classes are over, it's unsure whether the hunt for the Twin-Horned Syndicate has ended. They only said it would be over today, right?" 
Come to think of it, although they said Natsume would be guarded, they hadn't explained any details about the matter at all. "Ah, really, give me a break." Harutora said gloomily with a bitter face. 
"In the end, we can only find Independent Officer Kagami to confirm." 
"......Yeah. To be honest, I don't want to get involved with that person again." 
However, even if they wanted Kagami to take Shaver away, Harutora and the others couldn't tell where he was inside the branch. Who should they ask - right as he thought of that question, Harutora had a good idea. 
"Right! Let's bring Fujiwara-sensei when we go to ask Kagami. That way it won't turn out too badly." 
"How could we...... Isn't that too impolite to Sensei?" 
"Well, though I also feel that way, but since we don't even know who to ask about where Kagami is, we might as well ask Fujiwara-sensei and try requesting that of him as well." 
Fujiwara was a former exorcist as well as a senior. Thinking back to the time of the practical skills exam, Fujiwara had probably felt that Kagami was very hard to deal with as well. But to Harutora and the others, they could relax a great deal if Fujiwara was with them. Though they felt a bit apologetic, they could only ask him to do this as a teacher for his current Onmyou Academy students. 
"If we've decided, let's hurry up and go find Fujiwara-sensei." 
Natsume, Touji, Kyouko, and Tenma followed Harutora's proposal, starting to split up and search for Fujiwara with five people in total. 
Ignoring the students who returned home in droves, Harutora jogged around the branch interior, asking any teachers he encountered along the way about Fujiwara's whereabouts and inquiring everywhere. 
However, 
...The more anxiously I look, the less I find...... 
Basically, Harutora's luck was very bad, and at this kind of time it was essentially impossible for him to complete his task very quickly. He went through the entire first floor of the branch and had already arrived in the courtyard at some time. 
The sunlight that shined on the courtyard had already become slightly red. The sun would sink below the horizon after a while longer. The tense and anxious atmosphere that had surrounded the branch for the entire day also slowly dissipated under this gentle sunlight, and the atmosphere became a bit peaceful. 
Harutora moved his gaze back down, happening to see Kyouko's figure. 
"Hey, Kyouko! Did you find Fujiwara-sensei?" 
Kyouko was facing the courtyard's first floor corridor, walking while seemingly pondering something. Harutora greeted her and walked towards Kyouko, and only then did she respond and turn around, smiling slightly and replying "Ah, Harutora." 
Kyouko's posture as she turned around in the calm, waning sunlight was inexplicably imprinted into his field of vision. 
But, 
"Sorry, I haven't." 
A wry smile emerged on her face as she answered. It was lacking in vigor, somewhat unlike her original style. 
"I see. The other three haven't contacted me either. Could he have gone back home already?" 
"Well, who knows." 
Kyouko replied to Harutora, her voice a bit empty. 
Harutora showed a slightly worried expression. Suddenly, he thought of the topic from lunchtime before. 
"......Hey, Kyouko." 
Saying this, he changed the topic. 
"Uh, have you, been tired recently?" 
"Eh? H, How can you tell?" 
"I mentioned it before - because you're always feeling dispirited recently?" 
"R, Really? I haven't really felt that." 
Kyouko wore a smile as she replied to him, but the smile seemed to hold shadows, as if she were trying her best to fake a smile. After seeing Kyouko behave like this, Harutora started secretly observing her again. 
"But, we've been having that kind of feeling. Suzuka and the others all feel that you don't have much energy...... Ah, could it be that you have some troublesome business? You can talk to me if you don't mind, although whether I can help is a different matter." 
Kyouko had consistently been the mood-maker since Suzuka had joined Harutora and the others, helping to integrate Suzuka into them. Though Harutora hadn't properly expressed it, he felt extremely grateful to Kyouko for this. 
At first, Kyouko appeared somewhat cool and collected after Harutora asked this, but in the end she seemed to give up, sighing with a "......Hah." 
Kyouko turned her body slightly as if she were avoiding Harutora's questioning, starting to play with her chestnut, 'halfup'-styled [20] hair with her soft, delicate fingers. 
Then, she glanced at Harutora with a shy expression. 
"......I... don't seem the same as usual?" 
"I guess. To be honest, I've felt that way for a while." 
"I see...... Yeah, that's right. I've been a bit down, that's for sure." 
"Down...... I guess so. At least, you're practically a different person from when you were talking nonstop during the camp." 
Harutora spoke jokingly. Kyouko's face reddened as she heard those words. 
"Th-That was because you were so unpresentable at the time." 
"Maybe, but you helped me out a lot. Judging from the outcome, we were only able to get along well with Suzuka thanks to you." 
"I, I didn't...... do anything that incredible." 
Harutora smiled as he saw Kyouko say that while fidgeting, responding "That's not true." 
"Also, I'm truly grateful to you and Tenma. Even though you learned about Natsume and Touji's business, you're still able to get along with them like always." 
"Th, That's because we're all classmates...... and friends." 
"What I'm trying to say is that you were able to get along with us with just those reasons. Moreover, you fought with us before...... I'm extremely grateful. It's great that you and Tenma are in our class. Though I usually don't think of it, it really is incredible luck for me." 
Harutora said this sincerely and Kyouko's face became even redder. 
"R, Really, could you not casually say this kind of thing to peoples' faces!" 
"Hey hey, you don't need to get mad, I was just thanking you." 
"What I mean is, when you say that you'll make others embarrassed! You really are a Bakatora." 
Kyouko glared sharply at Harutora with a red face. 
But a smile immediately appeared on her mouth. That smile was slightly different from the one before. It felt like she had turned back into the normal Kyouko. 
... 'It's no wonder the current chief is having his daughter follow you guys around.' 
Kagami's words emerged in Harutora's mind, but now he was already able to scoff at such accusations. 

He reckoned that if Kagami saw the current Kyouko, he would probably ridicule this as being a play at friendship. He wouldn't understand how interesting and beautiful the 'friendship' that he disdained was, nor how irreplaceable it was. 
But Harutora was different. If he couldn't even trust the Kyouko who was smiling before him right now, he'd be completely trounced by Kagami or the Twin-Horned Syndicate. 
"Come to think of it, we haven't talked like this between the two of us since back then." 
"Yeah, everyone's basically been moving together since we spoke at the camp." 
"Though it was pretty effective. Everyone was able to fight as one during last month's attack because we were together. It's pretty incredible that our group was able to learn how to cooperate." 
"Yeah......" 
Kyouko suddenly shifted her attention upon hearing what Harutora said. He had often seen her react like this recently. Even if she was in a conversation, she seemed to be preoccupied with something else...... 
"......Hey, Kyouko, you became dispirited after that attack." 
Harutora checked with her. Though Kyouko looked somewhere else, her neck still stiffened slightly. 
As expected, that was it. Harutora though that while speaking: 
"I'm the same. I often thought of the situation from that time afterwards. Although I said this to everyone, Ohtomo-sensei is so powerful. But......" 
Harutora didn't want to pry too much into this matter. He feigned indifference as he asked. 
"Kyouko, it seems like you're not quite concerned about the same thing as I am. What else concerned you from back then?" 
"............" 
Kyouko didn't turn towards Harutora. She just closed her lips, looking blankly at the flower garden in the courtyard. Her pretty profile revealed a seemingly angry yet sad expression in the constantly waning sunlight. 
At that point, 
"...Hey, Harutora." 
Kyouko suddenly turned around. The voice she spoke with was completely different from before. 
As her wavy hair floated up, 
"Though I've already cleanly forgotten it, do you still remember that promise?" 
Kyouko's attitude was very cheerful, but he still felt like there was some problem. "Promise?" Harutora asked back. 
"When you and Touji just transferred into the Onmyou Academy, didn't we deal with a Yakou fanatic Mystical Investigator? After that, didn't I make a promise with you? In return for my assistance, you would help Natsume-kun and I get together - that promise." 
"Ah." 
Harutora gaped, an expression extremely fitting of 'ah'. Kyouko's shoulders shook upon seeing that completely dazed expression. 
"You really forgot." 
"Well, you see...... Wasn't that just you!?" 
"What, we obviously promised. Are you trying to gloss over it now?" 
"I, I'm not trying to gloss it over......" 
He hadn't thought at all that she would mention something from so long ago - and something so irrelevant. Harutora became flustered immediately. 
...Come to think of it, this girl liked Natsume. 
Since everyone's relationships had always been good, she hadn't been actively expressing herself recently, so he had completely forgotten about that matter. 
Kyouko moved her upward-facing gaze to the unhappy Harutora who seemed like he had eaten a bug. Harutora was reflected in her clear eyes beneath her pretty curled eyelashes. Harutora's expression stiffened and he went silent, maintaining an attentive posture. 
Kyouko revealed a mischievous smile. 
"Bakatora." 
She quietly teased him. 
"......Harutora, you say yes to things so easily, but you always end up standing them up." 
Harutora couldn't tell how much of Kyouko's soft feminine tone was joking and how much was serious, putting him in a difficult position. 
 
How complex did emotions have to be to create that kind of mysterious tone? Harutora's heartbeat inexplicably accelerated and at the same time his mouth was only able to produce vague responses like 'nn' and 'ah'. 
"Th, then, are you concerned about Natsume? But why so suddenly......" 
Right, it was time for Harutora to ask a question. 
"Ah, Harutora! And Kurahashi-san, you're both here." 
In the middle of this wonderful opportunity, Natsume appeared from the branch building and noticed Harutora and Kyouko, so she jogged from the corridor to approach them. 
"Fujiwara-sensei's last class seems to be in another place. They said he already went back." 
Natsume showed a 'that's too bad' expression and hung her head as she reported to the two of them. Afterwards, she instantly noticed the strange atmosphere between the two, tilting her head confusedly. 
"Huh? What's up with the two of you, did something happen?" 
"Oh, uh, it's nothing, nothing at all." 
Though his expression and attitude were a bit stiff, Harutora played the fool for now. 
However, he heaved a sigh of relief on the inside. It was fortunate the topic had ended, or it might have developed in a strange direction soon. 
But Kyouko seemed not to think so. Though she showed an expression of not wanting to continue speaking when Natsume suddenly appeared, after that, she seemed like she wanted to get it over with quickly instead. 
In a flash, she moved in front of Natsume, meeting her gaze face-to-face. 
"Natsume-kun." 
"Huh? What is it?" 
Somewhat confused, Natsume looked at the serious Kyouko. Harutora's expression stiffened with an 'ah'. 
...Not good. 
Upon seeing Kyouko's expression that seemed like she had already decided, Harutora suddenly felt a bad premonition. But the atmosphere had already changed by the time he truly entered a state of panic. 
Kyouko, with a nervous expression, and Natsume, who didn't understand the situation and blankly looked at her. Harutora racked his brains but his mind wouldn't work. He didn't know what to do and could only watch them from the side. 
But, 
"What are you doing?" 
Not expecting to get cut off halfway, the three of them all turned their heads. That person's face was familiar. It was the thirteenth team captain, to whom they had proposed a mock battle last week. 
"Ahh, uh...... Eto-san." 
Maybe there was still training later, Eto still wore miasma protection clothing and carried a well-used backpack over one shoulder. 
He was a tough person to deal with, but Harutora was truly thankful to have someone who could intervene and destroy their impasse at this kind of time. Natsume's expression instantly stiffened, and Kyouko swallowed the words she had been just about to say. Anyway, they had avoided the 'bad development' that Harutora had predicted. 
Also, he should probably know where Kagami was. 
"You came at a good time. Actually, we're looking for Independent Officer Kagami. Though he should be inside the branch, could you tell us about where he--" 
"You, what are you doing here?" 
Eto repeated his question, ignoring Harutora's own question. 
His mechanical expression wasn't pointed at Harutora. Rather, he stared at Natsume, the expression on his face like ice. But even so, there were some changes - subtle ones - in the atmosphere compared to during the mock battle. He gave the sort of feeling that his entire body was exhausted and dried up. 
No, first off, his attitude was a bit strange. 
Eto continued to stare at Natsume, slowly continuing to speak. 
"Your admirers were desperate just now, you know? But what exactly were you doing in this kind of place?" 
Eto's tone didn't reveal any of his emotions. But his tone seemed to contain a bit of open-mindedness - or perhaps something similar to a self-deprecating mocking. But Natsume was still confused and unclear, with a confused expression on her face. 
"......Wh, What do you mean?" 
Natsume asked this back, a bit of alarm audible in her voice. It wasn't only Harutora who felt this. Perhaps Kyouko was the same. 
...What......? 
He really was a bit different from during the mock battle. This serious, stony man was actually inexplicably anxious now for some reason. It was like the feeling of a helpless boat drifting on the water after the thin, old rope tying it to the shore had been severed...... 
"I'm asking you why you haven't gone to help." 
Eto's tone even had a bit of gentleness in some sense. 
"Or is it that to you, those idiot believers aren't even deserving of your concern? They're all tiny, meaningless, not worth a glance...... Tell me, what exactly are you thinking - North Star King?"