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Tokyo Ravens - Volume 9 - Chapter 5.5




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Part 5 
On the verge of dawn. 
The spirit sensers who belonged to the Intelligence Department noticed a drastic spiritual abnormality happening inside the city. 
The location was Shibuya. The center of the abnormality was near the Onmyou Academy area. They immediately made a request to mobilize the Meguro branch spiritual disaster purification team, but when they mobilized, the spiritual disorder suddenly stopped as abruptly as it had started. 
A large number of spiritual disaster purification teams had mobilized because of the commotion at the Onmyou Agency building that night. They had to stay on guard for spiritual disasters that were happening and there were almost no teams on standby. 
Hence, the Exorcist Command Room rescinded the previous request for the team to mobilize upon receiving the report that the abnormality had stopped. They had the team return to standby in order to be able to deal with a spiritual disaster in case one happened. Director Miyachi left the Exorcist Command Room and the Exorcist Bureau Chief Kurahashi received this report after daybreak. 
When he received the report, Kurahashi heard from Yashamaru about Takiko leaving Natsume to Harutora. 
"Really--" 
He returned that word, not preparing to issue any new orders in particular. 
But...... 
After he hung up the phone, he, who would normally immediately return to work, went silent and motionless, sinking deep into thought. 
He received the report in the executive office. Kurahashi wordlessly stared into the center of the room as he sat in front of the desk. 
"...Even so." 
Kurahashi murmured as if talking with someone. 
"Even so, the path of Onmyou cannot be severed--" 
Words similar to the ones of those who had raised the boy standing in that place a few short hours ago. 
No one replied to Kurahashi's words. 
Kurahashi sat in front of the executive office desk alone, continuing to stare into space. 

Since Kogure left, there wouldn't be any exorcists visiting the park. Ohtomo judged this and asked Principal Kurahashi through a message to take the students and Amami. 
Amami had lost consciousness very quickly after that. Ohtomo had laid the still-unawake Kyouko and the unconscious Amami on benches, using magic to cast as much healing magic as he could on each of them. 
Then, he entrusted several messages to Tenma. "See you later." After dropping those words, he left the area with Doman. Right now they were riding Doman's small black car out of Tokyo. In the driver's seat was a specialized driving simple shikigami that Doman had made. Ohtomo sat in the passenger seat, and Doman sat in the backseat. 
Just like Kogure had said, the Onmyou Agency would probably hunt Ohtomo. Though there was a need to lay low for now, Ohtomo wasn't concerned. After all, that was his past 'profession'. 
Rather than that, now-- 
"......Priest?" 
Ohtomo questioned the Doman behind his back, continuing to stare ahead through the windshield. 
"Do you know much about the Taizan Fukun Ritual?" 
"Unfortunately, I'm not too sure about the consequences. But there was some spiritual activity just moments ago. At least it was probably evidence that Taizan Fukun was summoned." 
Doman turned and glanced back at where they had come from - the direction of Tokyo - and said this. 
Harutora had borrowed Saotome's power and carried out the Taizan Fukun Ritual. Soul magic. He had carried out a forbidden magic banned by the Onmyou Agency. He had only planned on taking back Harutora. He had never imagined things would become like this. 
Maybe he had been wrong, but this was his choice. 
Ohtomo had said this to Kogure who tried to stop Harutora and had blocked him. Was that judgment truly wrong? He had to make sense of it from now on. Then, if he was wrong - what further decisions would he make? 
"......Priest." 
"What is it?" 
"You have my deepest gratitude for tonight." 
"Hoho. You don't need to thank me. I said that this was your 'favor'." 
"......Regarding that 'favor'." 
Ohtomo straightened himself slightly, looking into the backseat over his shoulder. 
"It was for 'winning' against you, right, Priest?" 
Doman realized from his almost impolite words of confirmation. 
"Not bad......" 
He replied while casting a piercing gaze through his sunglasses. 
"This old man was surmounted and defeated in a 'competition of magic' that he proposed himself. Originally, I was in a position where I couldn't complain even if I were purified without a trace." 
"In that case, to say that you've repaid that original 'favor' with this is......" 
"......Hmph, right, it seems a bit insufficient." 
Joy loomed on Doman's mouth as he pried into Ohtomo's true intentions - along with an ominous smile. 
"......Right." 
Ohtomo replied plainly. 
"Then, Priest. Why don't you repay all of the remaining 'favor' in one go. Please become my shikigami. For one year from now...... no, two years." 
Doman stared silently at Ohtomo for a while. 
Then, his childish features were filled with humor. 
But it contained no naive, childlike feelings. Rather, the childishness of his appearance was wiped away and revealed the aged, ugly face from deep inside. As if an inhuman 'devil' from hundreds of years ago had quietly surfaced. 
"How sudden and exaggerated. Do you understand what kind of a thing you're saying?" 
Doman had mentioned the favor repayment to Ohtomo in order to bind him with a 'curse'. The more Ohtomo relied on Doman's strength, the more he would 'depend' on this ara-mitama, accepting Doman's claws. Doman had aimed at this and granted Ohtomo a 'favor'. Ohtomo also understood this. 
Then, though they had originally 'joined together for battle', if it became a 'shikigami contract', then their influence on each other would be tremendously different. 
"You...... you'll be consumed by this old man, you know?" 
Ohtomo had long since prepared himself for this extremely likely situation. In other words, it was a contract with the devil. 
But now that the Onmyou Agency was his enemy, he had to lay low. And he wouldn't be able to simply hide, or the Onmyou Agency would be tracking Harutora's whereabouts alone. 
"If I'm consumed...... Well, I'll let you have another leg...... or I'll obtain victory in another 'competition of magic' and take back my freedom." 
Ohtomo spoke sincerely, but Doman laughed joyfully. 
"Not bad, not bad, selling yourself out like that. That's how so-called practitioners originally were, though they've become significantly scarcer recently." 
"Your reply?" 
"I accept. From now on, Onmyouji Ohtomo Jin will be my master." 
Doman readily committed himself. "Thank you." Ohtomo spoke briefly, then returned his gaze to the other side of the windshield. 
The small black car carrying an Onmyouji and an ara-mitama drove along the road. 
The distant sky reflected in the windshield began to rapidly brighten. On the other hand, the darkness in the car felt as if it were gradually growing. 
An ordinary dawn came to the courtyard, as if the chaotic night had been a lie. 
The eastern sky brightened and the refreshing vigor of a summer morning began to mix in with the surrounding air. Tenma carried complex emotions. In just one night, everything had changed, but the morning before him right now didn't seem different from normal at all. 
Tenma was currently in the Kurahashi's Mejiro [33] villa. It was a small oceanside residence, and it had a traditional atmosphere of a Taisho-era structure. The size of the courtyard was moderate, and it seemed cared for although it wasn't gorgeous. 
Tenma sat on a bench in the courtyard. In front of him was a black lacquered iron fence used as an enclosure. Tenma sat on the bench, looking across the iron fence. 
After Ohtomo had left with Doman, the contacted principal had hurried to the park just a few brief minutes later. Then, she had put the unconscious Kyouko and Amami in a car and entered the villa along with Tenma. Right now she was in a room carrying out Amami's treatment. 
Just then-- 
"...Tenma." 
"Kyouko-chan, you woke up?" 
"Yeah, just now." 
Kyouko came to the courtyard. Her face was still poor, but she seemed to have regained her calm. 
"I already heard what you said from Grandma." 
After saying that, Kyouko approached the bench. Tenma rose to make room, but Kyouko smiled and shook her head. 
By 'what you said', she meant the report on what happened that night. Of course, the contents were extremely shocking even though it was only the range of what Tenma understood. Though the principal hadn't said anything at all, the fact that they had taken shelter in this villa instead of the main family residence was definitely to avoid Chief Kurahashi's eyes and ears. At the least, there was a need to hide Amami. He feared they would turn towards this villa very soon. 
He wasn't sure how much the principal had said to Kyouko about her father. But she would have to face it directly sooner or later, or maybe she had already realized. 
What kind of decision would Kyouko make from now on? 
"Ohtomo-sensei also left." 
"Yeah, he said to say hello to everyone for him." 
Right. It wasn't just Kyouko, Ohtomo had also made his decision. Needless to say, Harutora was the same. 
Touji, Suzuka, and even Tenma himself would be forced into making decisions from now on. Regardless of what path they all chose, they would be unable to return to the start. They could no longer return to being ignorant students. 
"......You haven't heard from Harutora?" 
Tenma wordlessly nodded at Kyouko's question. 
The day had dawned. Perhaps Harutora had carried out the Taizan Fukun Ritual last night. 
However, why hadn't he contacted them? It couldn't have been that the ceremony failed, could it? He became increasingly anxious because he didn't know anything at all. Even if they tried to contact them, Harutora and Natsume probably weren't carrying phones on them right now. 
"Ah, but, I got a message just now--" 
Kyouko's eyes suddenly widened when Tenma's words were only half-spoken. He looked behind him in surprise. 
Right afterwards, someone put his hands on the iron fence enclosing the villa's land and said: 
"......Yo, I'm late." 

"Touji-kun! Suzuka-chan!" 
Tenma and Kyouko ran towards the iron fence. Touji smiled lightly, but faint relief flashed over Suzuka's face when she saw that Kyouko looked fine. Tenma had informed them of the villa's location when Touji had contacted him before. Tenma had come to the courtyard to wait for Touji and Suzuka. 
However, Tenma and Kyouko's happiness didn't develop into a full smile. Touji and Suzuka were the same. 
"......Harutora-kun isn't with you, huh." 
"Yeah. ......In other words, I guess he hasn't contacted you guys either." 
After Touji sighed, he moved to the entrance for now. He entered the villa land with Suzuka, explaining his parting experience with Harutora to Kyouko and Tenma again. 
In the end, after Touji and Suzuka became bait to let Harutora escape, the spiritual disaster teams pursued them until the break of dawn. Afterwards, they grabbed an opportunity to switch themselves with simple shikigami and finally escaped the pursuit. 
"Well, it wasn't that tiring after the crow tengu retreated. It's thanks to Suzuka." 
Touji looked back while thanking her, but Suzuka's expression didn't clear up at all. 
She stared at her feet, not meeting anyone's eyes. 
"......He said." 
"Eh?" 
"He said he would properly bring Natsumecchi back......" 
"Suzuka-chan......" 
Tenma couldn't say anymore. Kyouko silently approached her, hugging Suzuka's small shoulders. Suzuka didn't try to resist like before. 
The four of them silently stood still in the courtyard illuminated by the sunlight. 
Just then. Bzzzz. A faint vibration sounded out and the four of the immediately turned. 
A phone with an incoming call. Tenma's phone. 
Tenma hastily checked the screen. Displayed there was a name that had just been added. 
"Saotome-san!?" 
After hearing this, the other three tensed up as well. Saotome should have been performing the Taizan Fukun Ritual with Harutora. 
He hastily picked up the phone. 
"...Good morning [34] , Tenma-kun, are you awake?" 
A flat tone just like always, but it was undoubtedly her. "Saotome-san!" Tenma clutched the phone with great force. 
"How's Harutora-kun? What happened to Natsume-chan? Did the Taizan Fukun Ritual succeed?" 
"For the moment." 
Tenma looked at the shining faces of the other three. The three seemed to have heard the conversation. Touji clenched his fist and made a victorious pose, Kyouko put her hands together in front of her chest, and Suzuka's gloominess from before was wiped away. 
But. 
"In any case, you also had it tough, Tenma-kun. We probably can't meet now, but you don't need to worry about this side. Do your best over there." 
She straightforwardly said things that couldn't be ignored. Moreover, it was with the impetus of being about to hang up the phone. 
The faces of the three changed again. "Please wait!?" Tenma cried out in a panic. 
"What do you mean, we can't meet for now? Did the Taizan Fukun Ritual succeed? Was Natsume-chan resurrected? Could it be that Harutora traded--!?" 
"There's no problem, they're both living. For now." 
"W-What does 'for now' mean? Also, what do you mean we can't meet?" 
"There are a lot of reasons." 
"Don't be ridiculous! Please explain!" 
It really wasn't a joke. Moreover, with Saotome, there was a high probability that she was being serious and not joking. Tenma desperately hung on. 
But Saotome's voice became distant after that. "Saotome-san!" Tenma called out again. 
After some time. 
"Harutora-kun says 'thank you'. How great." 
"That's not good at all! Is Harutora-kun there too? Please let him talk!" 
"Excuse me, there's not much time. I have to go." 
"Stop that, okay!? Please--" 
Just then, Touji suddenly interjected from the side: 
"Tenma, speakerphone." 
"EH? Ah--" 
He comprehended very quickly, changing the call into speakerphone mode. Immediately afterwards, Touji roared loudly into the phone. 
"Harutora! You can hear, right? Answer me!" 
"Aah!" The sound of the senpai's wail came through the phone switched to speakerphone mode. She had probably taken the phone away from her ear in a panic, as the microphone picked up and sent over the sound of swishing wind. They also heard the sound of an engine from the distance. The sound of a traffic light in the distance [35] . The faint sound of multiple footsteps. And also-- 
A sudden laugh that spilled over. 
It was Harutora's voice. 
"Harutora!" 
"Harutora-kun!" 
"Harutora!?" 
"Bakatora!" 
Touji, Tenma, Kyouko, and Suzuka all shouted into the phone. 
Their four calls were absorbed into the phone and reborn in a different place. 
A brief interval. 
However, the phone call was cut off like that. 
Tenma was stunned and hastily called her again. But it didn't connect. After he continued sticking to the call, it connected for a moment and was immediately cut off. He tried to call back, but it still didn't connect. Then, after he called one more time came the tone of the answering machine. 
"......What's going on?" 
Tenma spoke out of incomprehension. Perhaps the other three had the same feelings. 
The laugh just now had undoubtedly been Harutora. Harutora had been there. 
But why hadn't he tried to explain anything? 
"Could it be......" 
Kyouko murmured, her face pale. 
"Could it be that Harutora...... became Yakou......" 
Tenma and Suzuka were frozen in shock. Harutora had reawakened as Yakou. That was a very possible thing. Moreover, it was convincing. If Harutora was still Harutora, he definitely wouldn't have one-sidedly cut off contact like that. 
Tenma and the others kept staring at the phone, speechless. This was an extraordinarily huge change that Tenma and the others couldn't deal with. Even if they hated that change, they couldn't imagine what to do. 
But. 
"......Then I'll go ask him directly." 
Touji said. 
Touji's expression was stiff, as he also felt that the possibility Kyouko had mentioned was convincing. But Touji showed an impertinent smile to the other three who inadvertently turned to him. Even if it was a fake smile, this smile contained Touji's style. 
"I'll do everything possible to track him down and question him 'who are you'. ......I'll also confirm whether he's forgotten us." 
Touji's words instantly jarred Tenma, Kyouko, and Suzuka's hearts down to the roots like Kyouko's divination prophecy. "...I see." Kyouko replied without thinking. Tenma nodded after meeting Touji's gaze and Suzuka pressed her lips together. 
"If he says something like he's Yakou...... I'll hit him hard." 
"......Yeah, I won't stop either. Until Harutora-kun says sorry." 
"......Hah, the two of you are so gentle. He should get on his knees before that. Who told him to toss other people aside like that." 
The three others were half-sobbing by the end. Even so, "Alright." Touji still extended a firmly-clenched first before his companions. 
Then-- 
"We'll probably split up after this. We can't stay together like before anymore." 
Abrupt words. But they were words suited to the current conversation. 
Touji's harsh words produced no small anguish in the hearts of Tenma and the others. However, no one refuted him. 
Tenma had had a premonition before, and Kyouko and Suzuka also realized. 
They would have to make their own decisions from now on. 
They couldn't return to being ignorant students anymore. 
"We'll probably become scattered. But even so, we have a common goal. To find Harutora - and Natsume - and to lecture them. I'll teach that idiot what courtesy is." 
That was their bond. 
The magic of a vow that tied the four together. 
Tenma put his fist above Touji's extended fist, and then Kyouko placed her fist, and finally Suzuka placed her fist. 
The four fists became a group, firmly tying their feelings together. 
Towards the unknown day when they would be liberated. 
It was the moment that these chicks left the nest.



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