Tokyo Ravens - Volume 9 - Chapter 3.2

Part 2 
He didn't return messages, nor did he pick up his phone. 
As a result, Touji, Kyouko, and Suzuka could only give up on meeting up with Tenma. 
Touji came from the dorm, Kyouko from her residence, and Suzuka from her apartment. After leaving the Exorcist Bureau and being sent to their various homes, they secretly snuck out and gathered back up. Kyouko had changed from her yukata into clothes easier to move around in. 
"............" 
Touji silently checked the time. How many times had Touji repeated that action? They had already wasted quite a bit of time. Even if there was still a long time until dawn, they didn't have time to waste. 
Tenma's home was by Gokukuji [10] . Though it was the farthest from Akihabara, it shouldn't have been too difficult for him to slip out undetected compared to Kyouko who had been with the principal and Suzuka whose life had been monitored by the Onmyou Agency since the incident last year. If he had taken a taxi like the three of them, he should have gotten here long ago. 
Even if something had happened, it was very strange that they had no contact from him. It looked like they could only believe that Tenma 'wasn't coming'. 
Unexpectedly, Suzuka was the angriest. 
"That wimpy Glasses really just left us. Well, I didn't expect much out of him to begin with! But what's good about abandoning everyone and just saving yourself? Is he stupid!?" 
She cursed resentfully, her face red. Suzuka's tone wasn't like her style. Rather, it might be proof that she was showing her true feelings. 
The place the three of them met up was one of the ticket gates of the JR Akihabara station. The rolling door had already been locked, and it was empty. But there was a twenty-four-hour store nearby, and quite a few cars going by even in the dead of night. If three underage kids were roaming around at this kind of time, even patrolling police wouldn't ignore them. 
"......Let's go." 
Touji spoke readily after checking the time one last time. Then, he strode out without saying anything else. 
However, Suzuka stared at her feet and didn't move. "Suzuka-chan......" Kyouko spoke to her as if to console her. 
"It's excusable...... Rather, Tenma made a decision in his own way. Unfortunately, Tenma's practical skills are bad...... he might become a burden instead." 
"......Even so." 
Suzuka gritted her teeth, unwilling to agree. 
"Don't just run away......!" 
Tenma's practical skills were clearly inferior to the three present. But Suzuka even had her strength limited, and things varied depending on their opponent. Considering the 'adults' that might be waiting for them in the Onmyou Agency, a small difference in ability might not be too meaningful. 
Even if Suzuka was here, it was because she wanted to stay with everyone. She wanted to act together with her companions. 
Tenma's actions mocked those feelings of Suzuka's. Hence, it made her mad and she wouldn't forgive him. 
"Suzuka-chan......" 
Unlike Suzuka, Kyouko didn't plan on blaming Tenma. Kyouko had felt despaired once in the Meguro branch when she had faced the rampaging Shaver before. If not for Tenma extending a supporting hand, she would have left the battle and crouched on the ground. 
But, "Don't blame Tenma." She didn't use that to persuade Suzuka. She could understand Suzuka's feelings. 
Then-- 
"That's enough." 
Touji stopped striding out. 
He spoke to Suzuka, who was thinking about refuting her immediately: 
"Just like Kyouko says, it's very likely that Tenma backed off. Staying behind was the correct choice." 
"But! I-Isn't that guy also one of our--" 
Friends...... The next, trembling word vanished from her mouth. 
Touji - even at such a time - was smiling slightly wryly. After all, no matter how much the people around her teased her, Suzuka wouldn't admit that she was one of Harutora and the others' 'friends'. 
Touji faced Suzuka again, saying: 
"Suzuka, Tenma's good point is that he's not as reckless as us, he does things properly. Hence, even if we screw up, there's still Tenma - if you think that way, you'll feel a lot more at ease, right? Even if he's not here, that guy will help us in his own way." 
He was half-saying it for himself too. In contrast to the contents of his words, Touji's expression seemed lonely and regretful. 
"Anyway, let's go. It's not wise to break in during dawn." 
Touji started walking with those completely relaxed words, not stopping this time. Though Suzuka hung her head for some time, she finally started walking. Seeing this, Kyouko also followed behind them. 
It was less than a ten minute walk from the station to the Onmyou Agency. 
"Let me say this first......" 
Touji spoke while walking. 
"I'm ashamed to say it when I proposed this, but unfortunately, we don't know about the interior of the Onmyou Agency. I don't have any thoughts about our plans for breaking in either. If you have any ideas, say them now." 
Of the three of them, Suzuka was the most familiar with the agency building. Though Kyouko had visited the agency building with her grandmother and father several times, Suzuka had dealings with the agency building as a National First-Class Onmyouji before. 
However-- 
"......Then let me first say that no one has a full grasp of the agency building's structure. Actually, it's almost like a maze deep inside there." 
Suzuka consciously switched the mood, replying to Touji. 
The Onmyou Agency building had been renovated and expanded several times since it was an old structure that had been built not long after the war, but there were still a large portion left over and many places that had stayed the same. This was because of the Onmyou Agency's nature, as the spiritual and magical aspect added difficulty to the construction and the construction couldn't be done while the building was being used. Though the Onmyou Academy building had been reconstructed last year, unlike the Onmyou Academy classes, the Onmyou Agency work couldn't be interrupted that easily. 
Moreover, the Onmyouji made specific and special instructions because of the renovations and expansions, so every time the agency building was worked on, it became an increasingly specific structure. Though they did not interfere with normal operations, there were dead ends everywhere that wouldn't be noticed during normal work. Even among the agency members, people who had a grasp of its 'entirety' were an extreme minority. 
Actually, Suzuka had carried out her research of the Taizan Fukun Ritual forbidden magic in a secret research lab in the agency building. That was also because Suzuka wasn't used to being 'outside' the Onmyou Agency, and so she didn't have a choice, but as a result, her research had progressed without any hindrances. Naturally, she had laid down thorough seals and barrier, and in addition, she had been partitioned from the neighboring room by a wall, as if she had been in a cut-off magical space. 
"......In other words, it's hard to attack and hard to defend. Not bad." 
"Idiot. No matter how hard it is to defend, it's obvious that the opponents have an overwhelming advantage." 
"The opponents don't only have an overwhelming advantage in terms of position." 
"But, Suzuka-chan, you're the one who knows it the best among us. Do you have any idea about ways to break in or the like?" 
A bitter expression emerged on Suzuka's face at Kyouko's sincere question. 
"......Anyways, we can break through the barrier around the whole agency building and the security guards at the entrance. I can also think of several places that Bakatora might have been thrown into......" 
The results of Touji's sudden strategizing were obvious and he came up with results instantly. The agency building's security was of a normal level. At the least, they could 'expect' that. 
But they should expect that there was strict surveillance set up around Harutora. In that case, finding Harutora would be far trickier than slipping into the agency building. 
"Of course, Bakatora's magical energy has to be sealed. All we can do is investigate everywhere we can think of and look everywhere that seems suspicious." 
"Okay, then we had better get moving." 
After saying this, Touji quickened his pace. Suzuka also sped up, doggedly following after Touji. Needless to say, Kyouko also hastened her steps, but...... 
She thought absentmindedly. 
If Tenma were here, then maybe he would be able to make everyone feel more secure even if he was anxious and panicked - something like that. Even if they were pushed back, maybe he would provide a cautious opinion and right their path - something like that. 
She thought of the inexplicable feeling she had when they had parted from him at the Exorcist Bureau. She had seen - she had seemed to see a faint light from Tenma. Maybe that had really been an illusion or something else. Something like a daydream that her heart had seen because of her pain and exhaustion. 
Kyouko vigorously shook her head. 
She had to focus on the present right now. She had to think of a way to see Harutora and talk about Natsume's matter. 
Afterwards, the three of them wordlessly and silently moved with quick strides. 
Several minutes later, the Onmyou Agency entered their vision. 
At-- 
--Almost the same time. 

A small black car stopped in an alley near the Onmyou Agency building. 
A man with a fake leg came down from the driver's seat. Then, a young boy came out of the car from the backseat across from the driver's seat. 
A boy who was about elementary school age, who would make one think of reproaching him for not being asleep at this kind of time. Moreover, the way he dressed was pretentious and intriguing. A black jacket, vest, and pants. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and had a bowtie around his neck. 
Moreover, though it was the dead of night, his eyes were covered with sunglasses. Sunglasses with lenses as red as blood. 
The boy looked up from behind the back of Ohtomo, who had exited the car first-- 
"Heh." 
He laughed with a mysteriously mature attitude. 
"......I didn't think that this old man recognized by that Abe no Seimei would be called and ordered in the dead of night around by a brat not even thirty years old. You never know what will happen, even if you've lived for a few hundred years." 
The boy - Ashiya Doman - spoke pretentiously with a jovial tone. 
Ohtomo glanced at him expressionlessly, asking: 
"......Do you dislike it?" 
"How could I?" 
Doman chuckled, his mood good. Ohtomo snorted coldly. 
To put it bluntly, he hadn't intended this. Doman definitely wasn't someone he could trust. It was extremely dangerous. And that danger exceeded the scope that Ohtomo could deal with. 
But there was no other way. He had used all the cards he could have. Right, he had sworn in front of Natsume. 
"...So? Let me confirm, your goal isn't to get revenge for your dead disciple, it's to steal back the imprisoned one, right? That reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou?" 
The boy leaned into the car again as he asked this, taking something out of the backseat with a clatter. 
It was a case with wheels on the bottom - a suitcase. 
"Did you know?" 
"About what?" 
"That Tsuchimikado Harutora was the reincarnation." 
"Heh, you overestimate me." 
"Really?" 
"Of course." 
"Great, then there's still a chance of becoming friends with you, Priest." 
"......Hmm? It felt like you just said something quite arrogant, or was I wrong?" 
Doman frowned, extending the handle of the suitcase. This time, Ohtomo didn't glance at him again. 
Needless to say, he wanted to get revenge for Natsume. He obviously wanted to. 
But Ohtomo fully understood that pure revenge was no good. Revenge was just self-satisfaction. Regardless of how many elaborate words he wove, they wouldn't reach the dead. Because it was an idiotic and shameless thing to push revenge onto others just because he couldn't accept it - just because 'he himself' couldn't stand it. 
If he wanted to do as the dead wished, then he had to turn those thoughts towards the living. 
"But to be honest, I didn't think you would force yourself this much." 
"Really? It's purely a rational decision." 
"In any case, you're allowing this old man to have fun." 
"......I truly feel like being an ara-mitama and bored to tears would really be the worst." 
Ohtomo responded coldly to the outwardly innocent and joyful Doman. 
But Ohtomo hadn't thought he was forcing himself like Doman mentioned. 
The greatest strength of an 'individual' with an 'organization' as his opponent was speed. Responding quickly was the key to victory. Hence, he would fight and win quickly. There was no room for hesitation in the optimal choice. 
More importantly, there was no room for trickery or strategy this time. It was the simplest surprise attack. 
Break in and steal. 
Ohtomo knew extremely well how effectively pure, uncalculated force could instantly take control of a situation and lead to the goal. 
"What kind of level do you think the 'enemy' is on?" 
"In general, they're high level...... But I don't think they're completely unbeatable." 
"Hm, Of the current members, I'm expecting the most from 'Enma'." 
"If possible, I hope we can avoid him." 
"Then are the 'numbers'." 
"I think we should be able to gain the upper hand if the problem is just 'numbers'." 
"Kuku...... Let me advise you, that thinking is 'naive'." 
"......Indeed, I'm being overconfident. My apologies." 
They actually had an extremely serious conversation in tones that didn't seem particularly serious. It wasn't bad. A sharp feeling of tension. It felt like his 'instinct' from his Mystical Investigator time had returned. The efficiency and humility that had been cut off from him. He gradually organized his battle state. 
"Alright, there's something I wish to ask of you. I'm expecting a lot." 
"Leave it to this old man, I'm raring to go." 
He couldn't trust Doman. But there was no partner more capable than him in the 'strength' aspect. He was extremely fortunate that he 'didn't need to worry'. He didn't need to fight while protecting anyone. It had been a long time since he had been able to seriously focus on his own magic. 
If he wanted to do as the dead wished, then he had to turn those thoughts towards the living, Ohtomo believed. 
But, putting that aside for now-- 
"......Allow me to resolve things." 
Unbeknownst to Harutora and the others, Ohtomo quietly proclaimed with an expression behind his glasses that they probably would have difficulty imagining. 
The warm night wind slowly blew by. 
Just then. His phone received a message. It was from the principal. Though he wanted to just check it out of obligation, he couldn't ignore it when he saw the subject, and he continued and displayed the contents. 
He read over it once. 
"......Hah." 
He smiled happily. 
Apparently, Kyouko had vanished from her home. 
He instantly realized. Just like before, it was his obtrusive, serious, reliable, and lovable students. They were well-focused tonight. Though he felt it wasn't like his style, he couldn't help but feel proud of his students. 
He couldn't let them endure any more pain. He definitely couldn't let them run into any more suffering. 
He could understand the feelings of Kyouko and the others. 
But. 
"...Sorry, Kyouko-kun. This is the only thing I can't permit. This is 'adult's work'." 
He didn't believe there was a need to return the principal's message. He had already submitted his resignation. Thanking the principal's insight for suggesting this, Ohtomo put his phone away. 
"Then, let's go, Priest. The plan will be as we just said." 
"Very well." 
Thunk - his cane and fake leg made noise as Ohtomo face the Onmyou Agency and took a step.