Chapter 2 - The Waking Darkness
Part 1
The elementary and middle school Natsume attended was a traditional school that was on the verge of being shut down.
She was the only student in her year, and she didn't have a good relationship with her senpais and kouhais either. It was a stifling place. Because the Tsuchimikados were both local celebrities and a family of unknown origins, the other students - and the teachers – avoided getting unnecessarily involved with the child of this family. Natsume was always alone.
She learned of the rumor that she was Tsuchimikado Yakou's reincarnation in elementary school. That rumor led Natsume to forgo taking the initiative to interact with others. She shouldn't involve other people. She was scared, alone and helpless.
So, Natsume used her alone time to practice magic, calmly accepting her father's increasingly strict tutelage. That was her fate for being born into the Tsuchimikado family. A solitary life where she couldn't get close to others.
But that Natsume had an important friend. Natsume was only no longer alone when she was with that boy. No, even if no one were around her, Natsume could just think of that boy to forget her loneliness.
It might have been because of that boy that she was able to endure the strict training. Natsume had once made a promise with the boy. That promise ensured that Natsume would never be truly alone.
...Okay. I'll become Natsume's shikigami.
One person living alone with magic. That was the fate of a Tsuchimikado.
But she wasn't the only one born to the Tsuchimikado. It was only because she was a Tsuchimikado that she was able to meet that boy, and that was the only reason the boy would stay by her as a shikigami.
Then, that was enough. She wouldn't object to such a lifestyle.
Even if all she had was magic, even if there was nothing around her. As long as Harutora was with her, Natsume was satisfied.
This residence seemed to have been constructed in the highland by a county road in order to be hidden in the forest.
The residence of the Tsuchimikado, the once-great Onmyoudou family.
Because of its old age, this residence here had already become part of the scenery. It definitely didn't have a gorgeous appearance, nor was it so solemn that it deterred visitors. It was old and venerable. But it gave off a difficult-to-dislike style.
An altar was set in one of the residence's twenty-odd rooms, the one called the 'Bellflower Room'.
The Bellflower Room faced one of the many courtyards. The normally completely closed sliding doors and barriers were opened wide that night.
The night air was mostly-covered in clouds, and the moon showed its face from the gaps in between. The sound of insects came from the moonlight-filled courtyard.
A man sat alone in the center of the Bellflower Room.
The Tsuchimikado family head, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi.
His hair was already tinted white, and it was hard to see his true age from his external appearance. He wore a kimono, as always, and wore metal-framed glasses. His face gave off a knowledgeable impression, but it revealed a bit of darkness.
The lights weren't on in the room, and the Bellflower Room was even darker than the courtyard. Yasuzumi, who sat on the floor, watched the 'boards' in front of him. It was a thin tool formed by two boards. There was a rectangular board that represented the 'earth' and a round board that represented the 'sky'. This was an ancient magical tool used in divination called the Liu Ren Board [2] .
Also, there was a tall wooden box large enough to hold a kettle next to Yasuzumi, wrapped up as if it had just been delivered. From the gaps in the packaging, it could be glimpsed that the wooden box appeared to be sealed with Japanese paper.
Yasuzumi stared motionlessly at the boards in the darkness. Only the noise of insects waxed and waned like a tide in the heavy silence of the night.
The sound of insects suddenly stopped.
At the same time, the noise of many footsteps arose. Immediately afterwards, a tense atmosphere swiftly spread.
"He's there!"
Several suit-wearing men walked into the courtyard in front of the Bellflower Room.
Right behind the speaker were dark-blue swallows flying through the air, and the shikigami charms he cast out became a giant green cat. The binding shikigami 'Swallow Whip' and 'Cat Bandage'. These men were Mystical Investigators of the Onmyou Agency.
But it wasn't just them.
"...Tsuchimikado family head Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi. We're here to arrest you."
A young female voice.
A woman walked up from the encircling Mystical Investigators. She had medium-length hair held up with a barrette [3] , a streamlined nose, clever eyes, and wore a jacket and a tight skirt. But upon careful inspection, her upper clothing was exorcist miasma protection clothing that had been cut short for more ease of movement.
She was probably in her mid-twenties, and she was clearly younger than the Mystical Investigators behind her. But her resolute posture exhibited the special arrogance and dignity of a front-liner, without a trace of negligence or indulgence. The aura from her body was the most prominent.
But that was natural. Because she was one of the Twelve Divine generals, a National-First Class Onmyouji.
Yasuzumi slowly raised his head from the board.
His gaze passing through his glasses turned towards the courtyard whose image was cut into a square [4] .
"......Independent Exorcist Yuge Mari......"
The woman - Yuge - lifted an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
"You recognize me? I heard that the Tsuchimikado Family head was a recluse...... We don't want to make things troublesome for no reason either. Sorry to bother you at this time, but I hope that you can behave and come with us. Alright?"
Yuge persuaded him with respectful words.
At the same time as that businesslike opening, she stared at Yasuzumi in the darkness with a sharp gaze. The Mystical Investigators behind her had long since taken battle-ready stances.
But Yasuzumi didn't move a muscle.
"Could you tell me your reasons?"
He briefly asked back with a calm voice, beautifully controlling his emotions.
"Unfortunately, I don't know the circumstances either. However......"
Yuge looked at the wooden box next to Yasuzumi.
"......Though I don't know what's inside that, it looks like you know better than me from the fact that you especially prepared it, right?"
"......"
Yasuzumi didn't reply to Yuge's question.
Yuge waited a moment, then nodded as if checking with herself.
"How about it? If you have a clear conscience, please cooperate with us. Moreover...... To be honest, I myself can't understand our mission this time. If possible, I hope to hear an explanation from you."
"Independent Officer."
"What is it? Don't you have the same questions?"
Yuge leisurely looked back and asked the restless Mystical Investigators.
"Why would anyone want an Independent Exorcist to leave her original post and lead a team of Mystical Investigators out of Tokyo to arrest a member of a once prominent Onmyoudou house? Though I shouldn't look for faults in this mission, it's hard not to feel suspicious."
The Mystical Investigators also looked unhappy upon hearing Yuge's indifferent words. Just as Yuge said, they hadn't been told the reasons for arresting Yasuzumi. Although the Mystical Investigators hadn't even been informed of the objective of their mission before arriving at the scene, deliberately exposing their discontent to the target they were trying to arrest violated the traditional methods of the Mystical Investigators.
Of course, they couldn't force the exorcist Yuge to comply with the Mystical Investigator's operational methods either.
"......Honestly, that useless guy, what exactly is he planning......"
She complained quietly in a voice no one could hear.
But the miscellaneous affairs ended here. She immediately took up a stance, looking at Yasuzumi again.
"In any case, our requests are as I stated. Your answer?"
Yasuzumi's reply was curt, with no plans of beating around the bush.
"I refuse."
Yuge inadvertently tensed as if feeling annoyed. But at the same time, the Mystical Investigators acted together in concert without Yuge's instructions. It was Yuge who panicked instead of Yasuzumi, but the Mystical Investigators didn't pay her any heed, directing all of the 'Swallow Whips' stopped in the air to rush towards the Bellflower Room.
But at that moment.
"Oh my. How bold, to try stepping into the Tsuchimikado house while wearing those shoes."
Something flashed out and Yuge simultaneously erected a barrier.
A jagged trail of light left the dark room. The dozen 'Swallow Whips' that flew over were instantly incinerated and became dust that dropped onto the veranda.
"...Retreat."
Yuge quickly gave the Mystical Investigators an order. Her indifferent gaze sharpened by several degrees. The Mystical Investigators instantly drew back. Yuge spread the barrier, covering all of the members inside it.
Immediately afterwards, a charm that came from who knew where flew out from the Bellflower Room as if it had waited for them to finish those actions.
The charm exploded and released a beam of light.
Flash.
Along with the sound of the air being scorched, yellow lightning pummeled Yuge's barrier. The violent impact made Yuge's expression turn serious.
"......No one is to step out from my barrier. You will die."
Following Yuge's command, several more charms came flying at them.
A sequence of flashes.
Sharp, slender lightning bolts leaped through the air as if to shatter the silence from before. Multiple lines of light became whips to pummel Yuge's barrier. Forked lightning incinerated all the 'Cat Bandages' that were still outside the barrier.
A deafening roar and a blinding flash. The Mystical Investigators shouted but it was hard to hear them clearly. The lightning strikes seemed to be completely automatic but didn't harm the residence a single bit. It was common knowledge that magic that controlled 'lightning' was extremely difficult, but this practitioner's control was flawless.
"......"
Yuge motionlessly maintained the barrier.
Not long afterwards, the lighting assault abruptly ceased. Though they endured the attack, their five senses were overwhelmed. Yuge tightened her lips, glaring at the Bellflower Room but unable to release the barrier.
"...Oh my, how incredible. I was trying not to break the barrier, but I didn't think it wouldn't budge an inch. You're quite outstanding."
The same voice as from before, with a calm tone unsuited to the atmosphere.
Yasuzumi was still sitting stationary in the center of the Bellflower Room. But at some point, a woman had arrived next to him. She had a hand on her hip and a happy smile.
The woman wasn't tall and she looked to be about forty years of age, but she seemed vibrant, like the image of an athletic girl after many years. She had a headband on her forehead and wore - unexpectedly - miasma protection clothing. They were quite out-of-date and there was a lightning emblem on the chest that she seemed to have sewn on by herself.
With an indifferent tone, Yasuzumi said:
"She's a National First-Class Onmyouji. You've heard of the title 'Binding Princess' before?"
"Eh? This is the 'Binding Princess'? A barrier user? I see, so it's you. So you were a Divine General."
The woman nodded in admiration with a 'no wonder' attitude. Yuge didn't relax, staring at the two who seemed to know each other.
"......Who are you?"
"Uhuhu. I'm your senpai. Though it's a bit embarrassing...... You've heard of the 'Akihabara Ram', right?"
"......No."
"Huh? Really? How strange. Then, what about the 'Exorcist's Heavenly Belle'? Or 'Lady Thunder of the Flash'?"
"......It's my first time hearing those."
"I, I see...... Well, there's no helping it. You're still too young. I've been inactive for fifteen years, so it's reasonable that you had no opportunity to hear about me."
The woman consoled herself, seeming depressed. Immediately afterwards, the eyes of an older Mystical Investigator behind Yuge suddenly widened.
"I remember! That magic just now - that woman's the 'Human Power Generator'!"
"Ah."
"...Eh, huh? Hold on! Why do you only remember that insulting nickname? Who was it? Who did you hear that from?"
The red-faced woman shouted very angrily. But it was actually only coincidence that Yuge knew this nickname. Her former boss had mentioned that there was once a female team captain of a spiritual disaster purification team who was good at lightning magic. Although she never obtained 'First-Class Onmyou' qualifications, her skills - though her boss at the time had used 'destructive power' to express it - could be ranked among the top five of all exorcists.
But the current problem wasn't her history. Rather, why was such a powerful former exorcist with Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi?
Yuge didn't turn back, quietly asking a question of the Mystical Investigator behind her.
"......Have you gotten in contact with the other team that circled around to the other side of the residence?"
"No."
"I see......"
Ending the conversation, Yuge thought for a moment. Then, she straightened her back and slowly walked forward.
She walked outside of the barrier she had put up. The Mystical Investigators panicked, quietly gulping as they saw Yuge's aura rapidly converge.
On the other hand, the woman in the Bellflower Room blinked.
"Oh my. Are you planning on fighting me head-on? You're a barrier user, right? Is it really alright to walk out of the barrier you barely managed to cast?"
"......I'm arresting you two in the name of the Onmyou Agency."
Yuge didn't reply to the woman, making a one-sided proclamation.
In a calm and businesslike tone,
"Resistance is useless. Please obediently accept your arrest."
"Well."
The woman smirked slightly, helplessness seeming to be written on her face.
"I've already made it clear beforehand, so I won't hold back anymore."
The woman became angry, taking out a charm to deter the other party. But Yuge was unfazed, so the woman pouted angrily.
"You asked for it!"
The woman shouted and refined her magical energy. However much of her true ability she was using, this magical energy was strong enough to make an active exorcist speechless. "Hah!" With that sound, she threw the charm from her hand into the air.
In that moment, Yuge said in a split second:
"...Akada of the east, Shutakou of the west, Satteiro of the south, and Sodamani of the north--"
She chanted an incantation, and then the woman's charm magic exploded.
"Order!"
The woman used a wood-element charm, but it was a wood-element charm of her own original creation. A sudden flash emerged and they were assaulted by a roar. Lightning became a whip that swung straight at Yuge.
But it was the ground on Yuge's left and right that exploded with a giant roar. The lightning that lingered in her vision had drawn out an arc towards Yuge, but it had suddenly twisted weakly before reaching her and changed its trajectory. As if the lightning had deliberately avoided her.
Actually, the lighting the woman had released had indeed 'avoided' Yuge. The incantation Yuge had chanted just now was a 'lighting-repelling' magic from Imperial Onmyoudou. Though it wasn't a high-difficulty magic, it wasn't very applicable, so it hadn't been brought to General Onmyoudou. The woman, whose weak point had been seized, gritted her teeth.
"A youngster like you using such an ancient move - let me tell you, you can't defend against my attack with that level of 'lightning-repelling'!"
Those words definitely weren't conceding defeat. It had already been fifteen years since she left active duty, but she was still a legendary lightning user. Taking that into consideration, she probably had other methods to combat her special magic.
But Yuge had the same thoughts.
"On bishibishi karakara shibari sowaka!"
The Unmoving Golden Chains magic. Not only could this kind of magic be used to deal with practitioners, exorcists often used it to deal with spiritual disasters as well. Yuge didn't form hand seals for this magic, it was an Unmoving Golden Chains with just a brief incantation. But the magic released scattered in midair like a shotgun, attacking the Bellflower Room like a rain of arrows.
"Eh?" Next to the surprised woman, the previously motionless Yasuzumi tapped the ground with his fingertip. Suddenly, the emergency barrier set in the Bellflower Room activated and deflected the assaulting magic into the corridor.
"What was that just now? The magic shattered - n-no, it split?"
The woman widened her eyes and stared. Yasuzumi also watched Yuge motionlessly through the barrier.
The barrier Yasuzumi had activated was a seal of ancient Tsuchimikado heritage that used spiritual power to protect the residence's Bellflower Room altar. This magic abided by ancient regulations different from General Onmyoudou, and was several times stronger than barriers set in exorcist training rooms.
"On bishibishi karakara shibari sowaka!"
She chanted the same incantation again. The Unmoving Golden Chains she released split again and flew towards the barrier Yasuzumi had put up.
This time, it wasn't deflected by the barrier. Rather, it passed through.
"Eh?"
"......"
The finely-split magic captured Yasuzumi and the woman in succession. Though this magic wasn't the strongest of Unmoving Golden Chains, it still had the function of its original magic after splitting many times. It was Yuge's original creation.
But the most frightening element wasn't the splitting step.
"Wh-Why? Yasuzumi-san, did you release the barrier?"
"......It seems that she 'saw through' the magic and grasped its structure. The barrier wasn't destroyed, it was rendered ineffective."
"'Saw through'? ...Just now? It was ineffective right after she saw it? Isn't the barrier here the pride of the Tsuchimikado?"
The woman was in a great panic. She had trouble moving, as her body was already seized by the Unmoving Golden Chains.
In a calm tone, Yuge said:
"Just as you said, I'm a 'barrier-user', a specialist in that field. Now, why don't you come too, 'Human Power Generator'."
Only when Yuge spoke and walked towards the residence did the woman realize that she had come across a worthy opponent. Even though she knew that her opponent was a Divine General, she had gotten careless because of her age.
"......There's no helping it."
She muttered those words and then revealed an expression more serious than before.
"Yasuzumi-san, I'm breaking through."
"Please be gentle."
In the next moment, light surpassing the lighting from before erupted from the woman's entire body.
An explosion sounded as if the air was boiling. Yuge unconsciously put up a barrier, which repeatedly shook under the shockwave.
"...Ah."
She frantically opened her closed eyes and stared ahead. Countless sparks and flashes of electricity burst from the miasma protection clothing on the woman's body like decorations. Electricity came from her body, blasting away the golden chains constricting her. She had never seen this kind of magic before.
"Yasuzumi-san, the barrier!"
"It's released."
The woman's lightning seemed to have simultaneously released the golden chains of Yasuzumi next to her. Yasuzumi tapped the ground with his fingertip again, releasing the Bellflower Room's barrier. The woman reached out her right arm.
She released lightning with a rumble, and electricity assaulted Yuge in a torrent. Yuga rapidly strengthened her barrier, but the lightning that the woman released far surpassed her charm magic from before, forcing Yuge back along with the barrier that protected her.
Late at night.
The lights were still on in the executive office of the Onmyou Agency building. The person who sat at the heavy desk was Kurahashi Genji, the Onmyou Agency Chief as well as the Chief of the Exorcist Bureau, the most important person in the modern magic world. The iron-like impression he gave off never faltered. The severity he still gave off in silence highlighted his presence even more than his title.
Kurahashi was still seriously dealing with his business.
The ring of a phone call broke the silence.
"...Sorry for the wait. We have the 'Raven's Wing'."
Kurahashi nodded heavily upon hearing the report that came over the phone. Then, he hung up the phone, calmly returning to his work without revealing any particular emotion.
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