Tokyo Ravens - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1 - Death 
"The true essence of sorcery is 'lies'? 
Truly. That is just like you. 
But I don't believe that. 
'Lies' indeed become the flowers of magic, but flowers are supported by their roots. 
Trust. 
Without that, no 'lie' will shine." 
--Hishamaru 

Part 1 
The child didn't have a name. 
A taboo child. An evil spirit. She was held in contempt and isolated. She understood she was that kind of existence ever since she learned about the world, even if no one explained it to her. 
She wasn't cared for, she wasn't loved, and she just 'existed' through each and every day. She believed without a doubt that it would continue until her death. She believed that that was her 'life'. 
But she was wrong. It wasn't like that. 
Because her life was full of ripples, neither superior nor inferior to anyone else born in that era. 
Everything began with a lively, spirited voice. The voice of a young boy who flung people aside and broke into her prison, opening the heavy door. 
"You're my shikigami? I see. You're very strange." 
It was a light shooting into the deep darkness. 
The moment she was illuminated by that light, the true meaning of her 'life' began. 

... "......I'm sorry...... for always hiding...... the thing about Hokuto......" 
A healing charm. 
Harutora came to his senses. What the hell was he spacing out for? Why was he wasting time. The bleeding was serious. He had to stop the bleeding right now. Quickly. Now. Right now. 
... "But. You probably...... already realized......" 
He had healing charms on him. He had taken them and other charms along as precautions against his aura going out of control, the oni Natsume had encountered, and the Onmyouji monitoring the dorms. Right, he had the necessary and sufficient amount. 
... "Harutora-kun......" 
He fumbled with the charm box on his waist, flicking open the lid with his fingertips and drawing out charms - but he couldn't complete his usual motion. His fingertips trembled and didn't listen to him. His mind was immediately painted over with anger and irritation, and he even became unable to breathe. 
... "I love you." 
Stay calm. No. Hurry. Hurry. He ignored his fingertips that still couldn't successfully move, using his whole hand to force open the charm box. Clatter. He grabbed all of the charms collected inside without any reservations. 
... "......I won't forgive you if you die......" 
"Order!" 
Strength that should have been almost dried-up flowed out from somewhere. He pressed the charms he had grabbed onto the wound as if to stop the bleeding. 
The moment he used magic, the fog enveloping his mind dispersed. Natsume remained motionless on his left arm with her eyes closed. The uniform was soaked from chest to abdomen. Fresh, warm liquid dripped down from the weight leaning on his arm, but it quickly cooled and hardened upon contact with the outside air. 
His heart felt as if a chunk of it had been ripped off as he gazed at Natsume's body. The chill of coagulating blood. He resisted the urge to vomit that rose in his throat, throwing aside distractions in order to focus on his magic. 
He searched for and infused magical energy into the healing charms that he pressed onto her body. At the same time, he meticulously rewrote the magic of the charms to match Natsume's wound. Every second counted. The effects were optimized when many healing charms were put together. He pushed his spiritual pressure to its limits, pouring in magical energy with so much force that the magic almost burst. 
However, it still wasn't enough. 
Of course, this was his first time treating someone's severe injury with magic. But for some reason, the things he had to do emerged one after another in his mind. He added his body's aura to Natsume's stagnated aura, forcefully making it circulate. He made his magical energy, that had been increased through connected five-element charms, flow into the healing charms. Then charm magic. He used a simple shikigami to momentarily fill the missing body tissue. It was even at a surgical level, but right now he could even understand those procedures. Anyway, he did everything that he could. He used all his means to bring Natsume back - he had to bring her back. 
"...Haru...!" 
He felt like he heard someone shouting above him. But he couldn't understand the meaning of those words, even though his mind was so clear. 
"Harutora! You--" 
The next moment, he heard someone's voice again and an impact came to his feet and knees with a bang. He immediately protected Natsume's body. He finally understood the situation after he collapsed on the hard asphalt road - they had fallen onto the ground and landed. Right, he had been flying in midair until just now - and out of control. No, right now he had to focus on healing Natsume. 
He lay Natsume's body down on the concrete ground, continuously casting magic as if to cover her. He stopped the bleeding, closed up the wounds, and repaired the damaged organs. Not enough blood. Magic instantly emerged in his mind and his mouth chanted an incantation he had never heard of on its own. He had to restore her to before. No matter what. Without leaving a single wound. Absolutely. 
Damn. He cursed unconsciously. Damn, damn, shit. Complaints overflowed from his mouth. 
Why had things become like this, why had people done such things. Why. 
Who was it. 
Momentarily, he felt a terror and despair that he had never known, but Harutora instinctively denied everything. Anyway, he wouldn't admit such things, such things weren't allowed. It had to be undone as if nothing had ever happened. 
It's alright, he desperately said to himself. The treatment was perfect, and Natsume's wounded body was clearly gradually recovering. She would be as good as new in a bit of time. 
However-- 
A loud roar. 
He searched for the next incantation from the endless knowledge that constantly streamed in. To make a stopped heart beat and make collapsed lungs expand. To make someone awaken. To make Natsume wake up again. 
"......tora!" 
How could he repeat the mistake he had made with Hokuto!? His current self was different from back then. His current self had only come to be after Hokuto had vanished and he overcame various experiences after setting his goal to be becoming an Onmyouji. He should be able to save her. Saving someone wasn't much. His important friend, his precious master, and his irreplaceable childhood friend. 
He could definitely save her, so please, please, please...... 
"Harutora!" 
His shoulder was grabbed from behind. 
His body flinched, and at the same time, something quickly reacted in the corner of his vision. 
Something black, like the wing of a raven-- 
"Gah!?" 
Touji, who had put his hand on Harutora's shoulder, was blown away. 
It was none other than the black coat he wore that had knocked Touji away - intending to protect its 'master'. This cloak-like, coat-like outer garment that seemed to be woven from raven feathers. The 'Raven's Wing'. The lower hem fluttered menacingly as it transformed. 
Touji instantly crossed his arms to guard against the Raven's Wing's preemptive attack. He was hit hard, but managed to land on the asphalt road. Fortunately, Touji had reacted reflexively, or else... Or if he hadn't luckily stayed in his oni form, he wouldn't have gotten off so easily. 
Just like Natsume. 
"......!?" 
Harutora's face twisted, reflexively taking off the Raven's Wing and throwing it aside. Immediately, the spiritual power coming from the Raven's Wing cut off and an intense exhaustion swept through his body. Intense, pulsating heat ran through him. His overloaded nerves burned as if they had short-circuited. 
Hah. Harutora slumped onto the asphalt road, the strength in his body wasting away. 
He weakly turned his head towards Natsume, who lay beside him. 
It wasn't Natsume who was there. 
What was there was Natsume's corpse, wrapped in a bloodstained uniform. 
After taking off the Raven's Wing, Tsuchimikado Harutora collapsed to the ground as if whatever possessed him had vanished. Only after confirming this did Ato Touji drop his guard. 
Touji was also extremely confused, but he forcefully suppressed his wavering heart and began studying the area. 
The place where Harutora had fallen was the middle of the road. Though they were quite far from the location of the fireworks festival, it seemed that traffic from the nearby areas had also been blocked off. But instead of cars coming by, there were several visitors passing by who had stopped nearby to see what had happened. "......Reboot." Touji quietly chanted the incantation, releasing his demonic transformation. 
The fireworks festival's fireworks still continued blooming. The night sky was dotted with bursts of color. The light dissipated from the explosions slowly winked out around them. 
Dairenji Suzuka was also there, in a location slightly farther than Touji. She and Touji - and also Natsume - had chased after the rampaging Harutora together after he had been possessed by the Raven's Wing. Though she had touched down to the ground, she hadn't gotten off her paper shikigami. Frozen in place, she looked at Harutora with a pale, naive expression - and at Natsume who lay in front of him. 
Her mind was probably blank. Even though Touji thought this, he wasn't an exception. A nearly crazed destructive impulse stood right behind Touji, peering over at this side. 
But Touji, who had continued facing his demon, had learned ways to deal with despair. 
He gave up on thinking, wiped his emotions, and approached Harutora. 
Harutora was slumped on the concrete with a soulless expression. 
His rampage until just recently had almost depleted his spiritual power. Harutora had lacked spiritual stability since he had fought with Shaver in the Meguro branch. He had also lost control during the day today and had been suppressed by the 'one-armed oni'. He had instantly gone rampant because of the Raven's Wing. 
But the current Harutora seemed to have recovered a bit from the boundary where his life was in danger, like he had been during Natsume's final moments. After Touji confirmed that fact, he decided to stop his analysis there and turned his gaze away from Harutora. 
Then, Natsume. 
He slowly approached her, feeling her pulse and checking whether she was breathing. 
She could still feel aura from the girl's body. However, Touji had learned that this was what General Onmyoudou called 'lingering aura'. The aura lingering on Natsume's body wasn't too different from Natsume's familiar aura. But even so, it was no longer Natsume. 
She had no pulse, nor was she breathing. 
Natsume was already dead. 
A faraway impulse started baring its fangs at Touji again. It would be so liberating to just entrust himself to that impulse. But Touji kept completely calm. Right now, he had a mission that he had to stay calm for. 
"......Harutora." 
Touji called out. Harutora didn't respond, but Touji understood that unlike before, these words reached his friend. 
But he didn't know how to continue speaking after that. It was too heavy of a burden. Touji made every effort possible to eliminate his emotions. In this kind of time, it was meaningless to force himself to do things that he couldn't do. Touji clenched his teeth slightly, rising and turning to Suzuka. 
"Suzuka." 
"............" 
"Suzuka!" 
Suzuka shivered, turning to him. 
"Help me put up a barrier to drive people away. Can you do that?" 
"......Uh, yeah." 
Suzuka nodded, her expression stiff. But something descended from above faster than Suzuka could put up a barrier. 
"Yukikaze......" 
The white horse shikigami that Natsume had ridden while chasing after Harutora, Yukikaze. 
The ancient shikigami that had served the Tsuchimikado family for generations seemed to already understand the situation. After descending and standing some distance away from Natsume and Harutora, it remorsefully lowered its head. Touji left Harutora and approached Yukikaze, putting his hand on its neck with a pat. 
Also, it wasn't only Yukikaze who appeared. 
"Ah, they're here! Everyone!" 
Even Touji, who was keeping calm, inadvertently stiffened because of that sudden voice. 
Across from where Yukikaze stood. His classmates Momoe Tenma and Kurahashi Kyouko ran over from the direction of the road. When Harutora had lost control, Natsume had mounted Yukikaze, and Touji and Suzuka had ridden Suzuka's shikigami and immediately flew into the night sky. Tenma and Kyouko who were left behind seemed to have run after their friends. The yukata-wearing Kyouko had taken off her wooden sandals and run in her tabi [1] . 
Seeing the two of them run up, Touji felt the impulse to escape, but he dismissed that desire, walking up as if to greet the two of them. 
Tenma and Kyouko were short of breath. They had to have run quite a distance. 
Even so, they desperately approached Touji's side. 
"H-How's Harutora-kun? Did you find him?" 

Touji only nodded at Tenma's question after hesitating for some time. After some confusion, Tenma's gaze was drawn to Harutora sitting on the road. Instantly, the eyes behind his glasses shone, but when he noticed the 'other person', he was stunned. 
Kyouko, who arrived a step later, bent down in discomfort, putting her hands on her knees. Then, she raised her head to look up at Touji, looked at Tenma, and then turned her gaze in the direction he faced. 
"......Eh?" 
A dumbfounded sound leaked out from a gap in her chaotic breathing. 
She asked with an almost stupefied expression: 
"......Natsume-chan?" 
The smile that had reflexively emerged on her face slipped off. Then, she suddenly paled. 
"What are you doing?" 
Tenma asked. Then, as if his own words had brought him to his senses, he grabbed Touji's sleeve. 
"What are you doing!? Hurry up and call an ambulance!" 
His voice and knees shook. "Hurry!" Touji didn't move in response to Tenma's pleading words, his face pained. Tenma slowly comprehended the meaning of that and went speechless. 
On the other hand, "......Natsume-chan?" Kyouko repeated her question in an almost inaudible voice. 
"No way. ......You're kidding, right? Enough is enough. That's not possible...... Why did this happen...... Why......" 
Hysteria slowly entered Kyouko's voice. 
The visitors watching from afar also began making a racket. Touji's heart was invaded by a hard-to-control restlessness again. He wanted to bellow loudly, he wanted to go on a rampage. But doing that wouldn't help anything. Calm down. Touji desperately clenched his fists. 
"......Tenma. What about 'that girl'?" 
Tenma seemed to instantly realize who he was referring to. 
"......She's probably still in the same place...... We just tried to catch up to you guys." 
It seemed like Tenma was calmer than Kyouko, or he still hadn't gotten a grip on the reality in front of him. "I see." Touji nodded slightly, then shouted to Suzuka again: 
"Suzuka! The barrier!" 
Suzuka nodded shakily after he instructed. She tried to use magic immediately but was unsuccessful. Anyone who saw her like that wouldn't believe her to be a Divine General. 
Then-- 
"......Right." 
Suddenly, Harutora mumbled to himself. Touji, Suzuka, Tenma, and Kyouko inadvertently looked at Harutora in surprise. 
"I'll go ask my dad. Even if I can't do it, my dad...... my dad can definitely treat Natsume." 
They were realistic, but obviously empty words. Touji's anger suddenly rose. 
"Harutora......" 
Touji spoke solemnly. Then, Harutora turned to Touji, still slumped on the ground. 
His expression was that of someone who had been defeated and was about to be crushed, yet still stood firm in the last moment. The expression of someone who had lost everything but still hung on to the final thread. Touji was helpless before those eyes that might crumble at any moment. 
"Isn't that right? My dad's a professional Onmyou doctor, right? Touji, didn't he seal your oni too?" 
"Harutora, that's enough." 
"Although he's usually joking around, his skills are top-notch. My dad can definitely do it. My dad definitely can." 
"Harutora." 
"He'll definitely be able to help, even with Natsume. After all, he's a professional Onmyou doctor, a true Onmyouji, different from someone like me! As long as he tries, even someone dead--" 
"Harutora!" 
He reached his limit. Harutora's expression crumbled with Touji's shout. Also, the thing swirling in Touji's body was spat out along with his angry shout. He felt like there was a hole deep in his chest and felt a numbness surpassing pain. 
"......Harutora." 
Touji spoke to him again. 
Then, he took a breath to let himself calm down, and continued. 
"No Onmyouji can resurrect the dead, no matter who." 
He said that indifferently, as if convincing himself. 
Touji just naturally said the obvious truth. 
At some point, the shooting of fireworks had also stopped. 
A heavy, depressing silence weighed on everyone present. Touji lowered his head, as if pushed down by that weight. 
That was the weight and bitterness of 'reality'. He couldn't escape from it or reject it. He could only accept and endure. 
But-- 
There was some 'twistedness' in that silence. Touji suddenly became conscious of that twistedness as he was immersed in that silence. 
He frowned. He noticed that Harutora, who had been staring straight at him until just now, had turned his head. 
An undisguised face of one who had been forced into desperation, cutting off everything unnecessary. His eyes held a strange light. 
Harutora was staring at Suzuka. 
He quickly looked at Suzuka. She had also noticed Harutora's gaze and was looking back. She had a childish, timid expression, but at the base of it was a terror of a different kind from before. 
A cold current ran through Touji's back. 
The words he had said before hazily reawakened in his mind. The premonition that formed before thinking - the unpleasant, ominous premonition - made his hair rise. 
"......Hey." 
He hastily spoke up. 
"Harutora, you......" 
However, the situation didn't wait for Touji to convey his 'suspicions'. 
Suddenly, Yukikaze neighed shrilly next to Touji as if to catch his attention. Immediately afterwards, a siren that had been mixed in with the sound of the fireworks before suddenly rushed into the road. 
A large black vehicle unlike a sedan and giving off a rough impression appeared. Because of the familiar model, Touji inadvertently took a stance. He didn't even need to look at the words 'Onmyou Agency' stenciled on the body. It was a transporter that spiritual disaster purification teams used. 
Black-clothed Onmyouji jumped in twos and threes out of the braking transport. Exorcists. Though they attempted to make a formation as their miasma protection clothing flapped, their movements suddenly became disorderly. The man in front looked at Touji and the others, his eyes widening. "A kid?" 
Touji inadvertently clicked his tongue. 
Harutora had lost control in the middle of the bustling fireworks festival area. There had been a battle involving first-class magic and even a midair battle after Hokuto was summoned to stop the rampaging Harutora. There would be many witnesses. 
More accurately, it had been the Raven's Wing that had lost control, not Harutora. Moreover, the Raven's Wing wasn't a pure magical tool, it was a shikigami. The out-of-control Raven's Wing was originally a mobile spiritual disaster, a Phase Three. It wasn't inexplicable that the Exorcist Bureau had noticed that aura and seen it as a spiritual disaster, or that exorcists - a spiritual disaster purification team - had suddenly come here. 
The spiritual disaster purification team that disembarked from the transport still surrounded Touji and the others regardless of the confusion they felt towards the circumstances. Also, their faces changed when they saw Natsume collapsed on the ground and covered in blood. 
Exorcists were specialists in spiritual disaster purification and supposedly amateurs in magical battles, but it didn't feel that way from their practiced formation. This was the unwavering pressure given off by professional Onmyouji. 
Yukikaze snorted as if asking 'what do we do'. Touji managed to suppress his impulse to click his tongue again. 
In any case, there was nothing their group could do now. Rather, it would be beneficial to hand the situation over to adults. Honestly, his faith in the Onmyou Agency had been shaken because of the matter concerning Souma Takiko. She had once said that it was the Onmyou Agency who had attacked Natsume's old home, the Tsuchimikado main family residence. Then, she had appeared in front of Harutora and the others with the Raven's Wing that originally should have been at that residence. Hence he had to conclude that Takiko was associated with the Onmyou Agency and see the two of them as 'bad'. 
But the Exorcist Bureau was alright compared to the Onmyou Agency. Even if they were of the same ilk, there was at least one person that he realized he could trust. Kogure Zenjirou of the Twelve Divine Generals. He was a former classmate of Touji's and the others' homeroom teacher, and he knew Harutora, Natsume, and Kyouko. If he successfully got in contact with him, he might seriously listen to their explanation. 
Most importantly, if they were entrusted to the Exorcist Bureau's hands - the hands that could be called 'the law', they should be able to stay away from the ominous premonition he had felt earlier. 
Touji breathed slowly, putting his hand on Yukikaze's head. 
"......Suzuka." 
He spoke while raising his hands, showing that he had no intention of resisting. 
Upon seeing Touji's attitude, Suzuka also obediently - actually, with an expression even more relieved than his - put her hands up. The exorcists next to them were surprised, perhaps because they knew the 'Child Prodigy'. 
Kyouko was still stunned, but he decided that she wasn't in danger upon seeing her appearance. Though Tenma didn't put his hands up, he lowered his head and didn't make any actions of resistance. 
But Harutora was different. 
Harutora, who had been slumped on the ground until now, reacted to the exorcists surrounding them, his body twisting fiercely. He desperately shook his head, sheltering Natsume, then held her tightly. 
"Harutora!" 
Touji shouted. But Harutora let it pass by his ears. He glared at the exorcists with bloodshot eyes. 
Finally, one of the exorcists took a step forward. 
"......We are a spiritual disaster purification team belonging to the Onmyou Agency. We're arresting you all. If you comply, we won't get rough." 
He stated their allegiance while proclaiming this. Harutora's breathing quickened and a vicious expression emerged on his face. 
Harutora's appearance looked like he was shaken by the confusion and had fallen into a state of panic. But that was wrong. That was just on the surface, and Touji had keenly seen through it. Unlike when he had seemed soulless before, a resolute will had arisen in the heart of the current Harutora. 
A dangerous will. 
"Harutora! Settle down!" 
Touji couldn't help but call out. But it ended up becoming the trigger. 
Harutora shot off the ground, quickly extending a hand. What he grabbed was the Raven's Wing that he had originally taken off and thrown away. Fwip. The black outer coat leaped up like a flapping banner or like a living thing. Ripples of golden light billowed over the black fabric. Harutora put on the Raven's Wing and held Natsume's body in his arms. 
Touji shouted Harutora's name again. 
At the same time, the exorcists put up a barrier. 
"Don't move!" 
The exorcists barked a warning. The Raven's Wing flapped its hem like a wing. 
A gust of wind. The flapping Raven's Wing whipped up a stormy swirl of magical energy. Then black feathers like arrows were released in all directions at the same time as it beat its wings. Those feathers cut the barrier the exorcists had put up into shreds. 
The forcefully-broken barrier scattered magical energy into its surroundings. The exorcists along with Touji and the other students immediately dropped to the ground, letting the violent magical energy pass. In that span of time, a black figure flew into the night sky. 
Harutora beat his wings like a bird with Natsume in his arms. 
"That idiot......!?" 
The exorcists constantly released magic one after another into the sky as Touji gritted his teeth next to them. Most of it was charm magic or simple Unmoving Golden Chains. But the Raven's Wing that wrapped around Harutora deflected them all back or just dispersed them. Their movements were well coordinated, but the Raven's Wing's automatic defense worked perfectly. 
The Raven's Wing's outline was absorbed into the night sky in moments and Harutora gradually drew away from them along with Natsume. Touji was instantly assaulted by an intense emotional conflict. 
"......Damn!" 
Enough, he would leave the thinking until later. Touji rapidly pulled on Yukikaze's reins. 
"Suzuka! Come!" 
He shouted while mounting the horse, flipping onto it. 
It was his second time riding Yukikaze. The veteran shikigami comprehended its rider's intents, leaping into the night sky without needing him to even touch the reins. "Touji-kun!" Tenma's voice was accompanied by shouts and magic that flew from the exorcists, but the white horse easily avoided them. 
Suzuka still hadn't caught up with the situation and hadn't acted decisively like Touji. Even so, she tightly shut her eyes in the end, directing the shikigami she still sat on to rise while she generated a large number of new shikigami to throw the scene into chaos. An alternative to a smokescreen. "As expected of her." Touji moved his consciousness towards Harutora ahead of him as he thanked Suzuka in his heart. 
"Yukikaze, I'm counting on you!" 
After saying this, he vigorously shook the reins.