Tokyo Ravens - Volume 8 - Chapter 1.4

Part 4 
... 'He was a boy.' 
That evening, Harutora couldn't sleep. 
Kyouko's impulsive confession kept repeating itself in his mind, as if his brain were being violently beaten with no warning. For now, he had no idea what he would do in the future. 
He had returned to the classroom afterwards and didn't have anything to talk about even when he saw Natsume. Touji and Tenma had been mystified and tilted their heads for the whole time, and Natsume was also a bit anxious. But he couldn't say it, nor was he able to. His heart was still a mess. 
In the end, he had helplessly welcomed in the end of school and had returned to the dorm in a daze. The only thing he could hope for was that Tenma could convince Suzuka and request her to mediate with Kyouko. Unfortunately, he hadn't heard the final outcome, so he could only hope that she did everything she could. 
...But...... But, how could I remember that kind of thing? 
It had been from his childhood, and it had only been a day, so there was nothing he could do about it even if he forgot. But even though he admitted that...... He indeed felt ashamed, now that he had remembered only after she had said so much. Being unlucky should have a limit. 
...I really have terrible luck...... 
No, thinking that was too rude to Kyouko. But, what had Kyouko been thinking when she said that? Or, did she have to say it? Was it that she couldn't keep staying silent even if saying it wouldn't help? In that case, considering her feelings, Harutora felt ashamed. 
Harutora tossed and turned, wallowing in self-loathing. He passed the night like that, and hence his mind was fatigued and didn't work well. When he was finally able to catch some sleep, the summer sun that had already risen outside was painting a gray dawn. 
...I have to go to the academy building again...... And then...... then what...... 
Already exhausted, he finally lost consciousness a short while later. 
He shouldn't have dreamed. 
But...... 
"Harutora-sama!" 
Kon's urgent shout woke Harutora up. 
He was covered in sweat the moment he rose. It was already late morning, and the room was bright. 
The room was filled with aura, and it was bad. Dangerous aura was being refined without any point, and it was unconsciously being discharged outside. 
A doorknock sounded. It was Natsume. "Harutora-kun?" Judging from her unusual demeanor, it wasn't hard to surmise that she had noticed the abnormal situation inside the room from the corridor. 
"Ah!" 
Harutora jumped up, controlling the aura inside the room. Once the aura was released, it couldn't be reabsorbed. But it would be too difficult to stabilize this aura. 
What should he do? 
"...Kon! Bring the simple shikigami charms! Any kind will do!" 
Kon, who had already materialized, swiftly brought Harutora simple shikigami charms from his bookbag. Harutora controlled the spiritual power in the room, turning it into magical energy and infusing it into the charms that were only written with basic magic. He did it all in one go while carefully avoiding an explosion. 
"Get some more! Bring them all!" 
"Y-Yes!" 
Kon continuously threw out shikigami charms and Harutora poured magical energy into them until they reached their limits and ruptured, and finally lowered the spiritual pressure in the room. Not a single one of his shikigami charms were left when he had finally 'dispersed' the aura safely. 
"......Hah......" 
He exhaled deeply together with Kon and wiped his cold sweat. 
He had been careless. Though he had told himself he definitely wouldn't get distracted, he had dropped his guard because of yesterday's shock. 
"H-Harutora-sama. This really is......" 
"......I know. But, don't tell anyone for now, please." 
After Harutora asked that of his shikigami, he opened the door that had been constantly knocked on. 
Natsume was standing in the corridor with a solemn expression, already wearing her uniform. Come to think of it, he hadn't checked the time yet, but she had probably been worried about the always-oversleeping Harutora and come to wake him up. Then, she had noticed the abnormality inside the room. 
"Harutora-kun! What was that just now--!" 
"Ah, sorry for that so early in the morning. I was kind of...... sleep-confused." 
"Sleep-confused...... There was definitely something strange, right?" 

"......Sorry......" 
Harutora couldn't make any good excuses and showed a difficult expression. Natsume stared at Harutora, but seemed to understand that it hadn't become anything serious. She sighed deeply. 
"......As expected, your aura still hadn't stabilized, right? Moreover, it's even more serious than when we talked the night before." 
"Well...... You definitely can't call it good. I was originally planning to wait until summer break, but right now it seems like I should go talk with my dad as soon as possible." 
"Do that. Unstable aura is definitely a huge problem for a practitioner." 
Harutora became depressed after Natsume's serious words, like a child who was scolded after making a joke. Kon, on standby behind him, nodded with the same opinion as Natsume. 
"Well, I'll go get ready for now so that we won't be late. Natsume, you go to the cafeteria first." 
Harutora temporarily ended the topic. Natsume seemed to still be worried and looked at Harutora. 
Harutora, after returning to his bed, noticed that there was a message recorded on the phone next to his pillow. 
It was a text message. What? He inadvertently let out a sound upon seeing the sender when he picked up his phone. 
"Amazing. He timed it as if he were here. Natsume, it's a message from my dad." 
"Eh?" 
Natsume's eyes also widened in surprise. After all, just like he told Tenma yesterday, his laissez-faire parents usually never contacted him of their own initiative. 
It couldn't be that they only heard about the Meguro branch incident now, right? While thinking that couldn't be it, he opened his phone and looked at the contents of the message. 
But, 
"Hmm? ......What's up with this?' 
"What is it?" 
"Well...... 'We're safe, don't worry'. What's up with this?' 
Harutora blankly turned the screen of the phone and Natsume also furrowed her brows. 
Could it be a mistake? What did he mean, 'don't worry'. It should be Harutora who wanted care. 
The two of them looked around, feeling confused. 
But they immediately learned the true meaning behind that message. 
"Harutora! Natsume!" 
Touji rushed up the first-floor stairs and arrived in the second-floor corridor. His expression was extremely abnormal, but he definitely hadn't come running because he noticed Harutora's aura running out of control. 
He revealed a rare serious look. 
"Go to the cafeteria right now! Hurry!" 
He just said those words and rushed back down the stairs. Harutora and Natsume went speechless for a while. 
"What's up with him?" 
"......Let's go see, Harutora-kun. I had a bad premonition." 
Natsume jogged off and Harutora hastily followed behind her. Kon also stayed right behind her master. They went down the stairs after Touji and burst into the cafeteria on the first floor. 
The dorm residents who had come to eat breakfast in the cafeteria were in a clamor, pushing each other around in front of the single medium-sized LCD TV. After they noticed Harutora and Natsume appear, they all looked back at the same time and hastily opened a path to the television. 
The two of them looked attentively at the television. 
A news program was currently airing. It seemed that a fire had broken out someplace and they were currently shooting real-time footage of the burned ruins. Thump. Harutora's heart suddenly beat. The building had been completely incinerated and its original appearance couldn't be distinguished. But he had some impression of this image and knew that place. 
Natsume's knees buckled and she slumped down as if she had lost her backbone. Harutora and Kon unconsciously supported her - but were still speechless. Their gazes returned to the television again. 
The reporter was still explaining something, but it went in one ear and out the other. He managed to make out some choppy phrases - the locally famous - historic family - Onmyoudou - those phrases pierced Harutora's body like a nightmare. 
'The fire had already gone out naturally by the time the fire brigade rushed there after noticing the fire at dawn, so there is no fear of it creating a wildfire. Also, no bodies were found, but contact still hasn't been made with Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, who lived there. Authorities are currently--' 
"No way." 
The residence of the Tsuchimikado main family. 
The television was currently showing the scene of Natsume's burned-out old home.