Volume 3 Chapter 1 (1/2)
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Very few people present at the ti of that incident
Most people, al about it after the fact
Noticing that they had crossed the line that could not be returned to
There were heavy chains outside the hospital rooic, and a sacred rope ined around itself on the outside, with sakaki[1] inserted to the left and right His father cautiously removed the the door handle
This cautious attitude made him inadvertently s He only now realized that he had only made this proposal because of his unsatisfied curiosity and boredom - as well as some sympathy
His father laughed, asking him ”maybe you should just drop it”, but he i that That sy since turned into a different emotion the moment he saw this 'sealed' hospital room
After taking a deep breath - the youth slowly opened the hospital room door
When the sound of the bell announcing the end of the exahed one after another, the tense at Murhter ca the exa the exam papers from the students' desks The proctor collected the exa Tsuchimikado Natsume, but Tsuchimikado Harutora sprawled on his desk, half-dead
The Onmyou Academy - The premier Onmyouji development institution in the nation This place was one of the classroo
Harutora was collapsed on the desk, and the look on his face was indiscernible at the time Even if the exaered on the face of Natsu seat, but she herself wasn't the reason to make her restless and tense Rather, it was Harutora, as this childhood friend had collapsed on the desk long before the bell had sounded
When she was taking the exalance anxiously at Harutora, and once the proctor collected the exam papers and left, she couldn't wait to open her mouth to inquire
”Harutora? The exam just now--”
”Don't say it” Harutora interrupted her words without waiting for her to finish, still spraeakly on the desk ”Don't say it and don't ask, don't say anything at all, don't ask anything at all, let me have some peace and quiet Please, tasukete[2]”
”P, Please isn't the saai'[3]?”
”Onegai[4]”
Harutora begged in a whi with a pained face Then, she said in a quiet whisper that only the neighboring seat could hear: ”Which parts? What didn't you get?”
”Didn't I say not to ask?”
”But how et, one? Two!?”
”A, A lot of questions”
Harutora's tone was agonized, and Natsurief
”What do you et a lot of questions! Almost all of the exam just noithin the sample problems, didn't we review them three times yesterday!”
”Uuu”
”Didn't we actually prepare very well for the essay topic? Didn't we stay up late ?”
”Uuu”
Harutora twisted his body as he was sprawled on the desk like he didn't have the energy to reply or rise, and Natsume looked at her childhood friend as if she couldn't bear the sight
Harutora's grades had plu the Onreat Onmyouji Abe no Seireat Onmyoudou family in the past, he was si rades of Harutora, who had been born in a branch family, were far lower than those of the other classmates, and he would often have to receive after-school tutoring because of this Despite the importance of the Tsuchiiven up on the thought of rescuing Harutora's grades
But, the exam this time was quite important, as their successful advancement into the second year was at stake, so it couldn't be abandoned lightly
Harutora raised his head with an 'uuu', his chin against the desk and his jaw clenched
”Whatever, I've already done all I can, all I have left is to rely on getting back with practicals”
Natsu her childhood friend's sorrowful lah she was anxious, the practicals were truly all that were left to turn things around
Natsuinal voice: ”I won't forgive you if you dare to get held back” Saying this, she raised her gaze, looking out of the classroom
The weather was gray, with dark clouds spread about and a thick, cold air could still be felt The sun was a bit weak, lacking any vivid, bright colors It see ti sun to arrive
Next month - early February - they would advance to the second year
Half a year had already passed since Harutora entered the Onmyou Academy to study
☆
The spear blade h the air
Of course, the opponent was attacking with the back of the blade, but if he took a hit head-on, he wouldn't just be fine after rolling on the ground a couple times in pain Harutora used the back end of the shakujou to keenly deal with the attacking blade
He rapidlyhis spiritual power The pentagraradually burned because of his circulating spiritual power, and when he felt this heat, he focused his ami before him
The Onami 'G2 Yaksha' named 'Kokfuu'
Not only did this shi+kigami possess basic unar a spear It was not an opponent comparable to an outsider like Harutora
But, the shakujou in Harutora's hands was a ical tool specially created by his hoe amount of spiritual power, he could turn his spiritual power into a blade of ical power or a shi+eld to clash with an eneic, but his spiritual poas strong, and this weapon suited to both attack and defense could be said to match up with him With this shakujou in his hand, at the least he could stand on the same level as his opponent, even if the chance of victory was not high
Kokfuu's spear clashed with Harutora's shakujou, and with his spirit-seeing eyes, Harutora 'saw' the surrounding aura swirl, along with Kokfuu's ave off, and thethe haft of the shakujou
Magical power collided with ical power, and a spiritual hose teuous roared, his body - his spiritual body - burning as if it had been scorched On the other hand, the shi+kiga spiritual pressure, its exterior giving off the exact sa to attack Harutora like a robot
But - a chance! The thought flashed through Harutora's ure instantly ran up behind Kokfuu's back as if seeing through his thoughts
It was a sirl who didn't even look ten years old She wore a suikan and a hakama[5], her appearance proper like a japanese doll, with two round, blue eyes, a pair of pointed, triangular ears on her head, and a leaf-shaped tail growing out of her lower body
She wasn't a huaami - Kon
”Haaaaah!”
Kon attacked Kokfuu from behind at the same time as she released her stealth and materialized She slashed the beloved blade Kachiwari in her hand, cutting Kokfuu in its lower leg That move was outside Kokfuu's expectations - outside the expectations of its master, Harutora's classmate Kurahashi+ Kyouko, who controlled it - and Kon's surprise attack ' reactions appeared in Kokfuu who had suffered an attack, and interference coursed through its body as it stoppedfor a moment
Just then--
”I win!”
Harutora's shakujou struck Kokfuu, and Kyouko who had been controlling the shi+kiga displeased
”Haha! How's that! I undoubtedly won this, right?”
”A-A-A, A, Harutora-sama! Your skill is incredible--!”
”Your ti more and more seamlessly!”
”I-I-I-I arateful for your praise!”
Harutora laughed joyously and Kon's face reddened in e her master's praise Not only did her face flush, her tail also wagged constantly like a puppy The defeated Kyouko h Kokfuu's materialized form
”I said before that Kokfuu was originally adjusted to act together with Hakuou Don't get it wrong, it can't wield its full power in a solo battle”
Kyouko warned Harutora with an i manner
Her brown hair was tied up and hung down, her eyelashes were long, her eyes were sharp, and though she seemed quite competitive, she was extremely cute Even if she wore a new uniforure or her pair of beautiful legs
Kyouko's strength was inferior only to Natsu the first-year students Maybe it was because of this that losing to Harutora made her dissatisfied even in a th When they had started, Harutora and Kon hadn't even had a twenty percent chance of winning, but his winning rate this year was greater than fifty percent, showing the pair's notable growth
Kyouko frowned and Harutora couldn't help but s her reaction
”I know that very well, I' carried away”
”It's fine as long as you know”
”D-D, Don't heed her, Harutora-sama Treat the complaints of the loser as the sound of the wind”
”I can hear everything, Kon-chan”
Kyouko narrowed her eyes, but Kon kept a straight face, her ears standing up, pretending she hadn't heard it This shi+kigah and hty towards people other than Harutora
Harutora and the others before hiic practice field underneath the acadeic practice field was set up like an athletic stadiu the arena on all sides
Since he had entered the acadeht with a Yakou fanatic as soon as he had entered the acade ami The reason was obviously so he could deal with Yakou fanatics, and in particular, it was to accuet used to ical battles
Natsume had been troubled by a 'rumor' every since she was small, and it had been rumored that she was the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou, the ancestor of modern Onmyoudou and the culprit of a spiritual disaster in Tokyo that had led to unprecedented calamity Because of this, Natsume was often harassed by blindly faithful Yakou fanatics Also, Harutora was only training his fighting ability as much as possible because he had obeyed the branch faami in order to protect his master Natsume
”How is it, Natsurades in the practical exaht?” Harutora looked up at the spectator seats fro the competition from the side
Natsu him say that
”Bakatora, do you really think the exaht directly with a shi+kigami?”
”That's true But I'y”
”You still rely on that shakujou to convert your spiritual power to ical tools into the exam!” Natsume's face went taut as she strictly criticized the triumphant Harutora
That serious action colossy black hair grew to her waist, tied behind her back with a pink ribbon Her body was slance, but she gave off a perseverant will from inside
”You still aren't proficient at using sih I don't believe this mock battle is a waste of time, in all honestly, it really isn't the tiht now”
”What, weren't you fine before about having a mock battle today?”
”That was because we don't knohat kind of topic this year's practical will have, so the only preparation you can take now is to smoothly circulate your spiritual power as a warm-up for tomorrow's practical exaed her shoulders like a ho a stupid student
The Onmyou Academy first-year curriculu was rare, so it was the practitioner's own qualifications rather than techniques that were important for the advancee every year
”But you coet any effective warami bare-handed this time?”
”That's suicide”
”Oh my, I'm happy to cooperate since Natsume-kun says so”
”Tch! Kyouko, don't call for Kokfuu so happily!”
Natsu down at Harutora's panicked appearance
Her attitude was still quite severe even if her shi+kigaami had to be by their Master's side all the time in order to protect their er be of any use as a shi+kigami as soon as he was unable to smoothly pass the exam and had to be held back or leave the academy
But--
”Pff” Moh His body type was about the sa boy as a classmate of Natsume and Harutora
”W, What is it, Tenma-kun, what's so funny?” Natsuh from the side
”Because--” A gentle sed on Tenma's face ”Natsume-kun, you say that, but when Harutora-kun won just now, you jumped up with your fists clenched in excitement and called out 'He won!' with a red face”
”What? What are you talking about! I, I didn't do that P, Please don't speak nonsense!”
Natsu him in a stammer As her words became more and more confused, an abnormally shrill and clear voice was even audible
”Hey, Natsume!”
Harutora hurriedly called out a warning from the arena, and only then did Natsuhtly a couple times with a red face Tenma and Kyouko looked at the interaction between the tith expressions of incomprehension
Unlike the pure white uniforhtly bluish, black unifore - the male uniform, the same as Harutora and Tenma
But - really, that person was usually calm, but she would beco sudden Her true identity would be revealed sooner or later Harutora muttered snappily in his heart
The heir to the Tsuchimikado family had to show himself as a male, and Tsuchimikado Natsume had entered the Onmyou Academy as a male student in compliance with this Tsuchi Natsume would be able to conceal this for Honestly, Natsuirl to the letter but dressed as a male For now, the only ones who knew this were Harutora, Harutora's shi+kigaood friend, Ato Touji
These students are really slow Even after half a year, her appearance looked very strange to me
During this half-year at the Onest reason Natsume was able hide it from others was that she socialized very little
Other than with Harutora and Touji who knew her identity, she was only close to Kyouko and Teninal shy personality, but th because of the ru Yakou
If one actually interacted with Natsume, one would notice that she was actually quite iifted student in the eyes of others because no one had noticed her deliberately-hidden other side Though her hair wasn't like a boy's, most people explained it to themselves as 'custoic cohts that 'his hair ornament has spiritual power', whether it was true or not Even so, a pink ribbon was too obvious, and Harutora couldn't help but secretly complain
”Preconceptions really have strong effects Huh? That's weird, where did Touji go?”
Harutora as looking up frolanced everywhere, but he couldn't find Touji who had originally been watching the battle together with Natsume and Tenma
”The principal called Touji-kun to the principal's office” Tenma replied on behalf of Natsume because her mood still hadn't calmed down
”The principal?”
”Right - You know about the principal's cat shi+kigaht? That cat ran over and said that she needed Touji-san for so”
Harutora turned towards Kyouko upon hearing Tenma's reply
”Kyouko, do you have any idea why the principal would look for a student?”
”Grand, so I'rande 'vision'”
”Vision?”
”Right, actually it's just divination Didn't you know? My grandist”
”Astrologist?”
”It seems like you should just repeat the first year”
The bad student of the class asked a question for every sentence Kyoko said,her arch her eyebrows in impatience
The principal of the Onmyou Acadeant temperament and the head of the fae influence on the ist - a diviner, and even though she had long since retired, it was said that there still wasn't anyone in the nation on par with her Kyouko was the granddaughter of this principal
”H around anyway It would be worriso for him”
”Touji's grades aren't bad In contrast, a student close to failing like you should be more worrisome”
Kyouko pointed that out frankly and cal
”Touji and I both transferred in froap open up?”
”You were never at his level since the beginning”
”That's true! I know, daood brain, he knew a lot about !”
”When I said 'since the beginning', I didn't mean since you transferred in Rather, it's been that way since birth”
”Since birth!? And isn't it miserable that it's hard to even deny!?”
Harutora cursed angrily, his eyes teary ”H-H, Harutora-sa your birth was inferior!” Kon consoled him tactlessly Ten as he listened, but Natsuhtened her spine, and spoke another proposal
”Harutora! The exay conversion , and if you can sy, you should be able to deal with the exam easily!”
The practical advancement[6] exam was tomorrow
Harutora's fate would also be decided tomorrow
”Purifying a spiritual disaster?”
”Right, that's the topic of this year's first-year practical exam”
Principal Kurahashi+ sat on a chair, nodding towards Touji who stood in front of her office desk
The interior of the Onmyou Academy principal's office was filled with traditional decorations, co that was like aBookshelves filled talls, with a red carpet laid out on the floor and a painted glass roo as a modern cafe, and it was overall quite traditional, with al the principal's possessions or creations of the Onmyou Academy
Only the principal and Touji were inside the principal's office, and the mechanical clock placed above the bookshelf ticked to and fro, quietly e of time
”Of course, on't have first-year students purify a true spiritual disaster Honestly, we've recently noticed an unstable aura that could create spiritual disasters, and because of this, the teacher ill be supervising the practical exam proposed to use this rare chance to deliberately allow the aura to beco a forced phase one spiritual disaster, and then leaving it up to the students to purify it”
After saying this, the principal supplemented it with some more detailed explanations
The principal was dressed in a kimono like olden ti sht posture Her shoulder-length short hair was already grayed, but she didn't feel old in any other way, her outward appearance still kept quite young Incidentally, there was a three-colored calico cat curled up and sleeping soundly, nestled on the redwood office desk It was her shi+kigami
Touji who stood before the principal had a slender body, wearing the Onmyou Academy uniform on his body and with a bandanna around his head, his hair ave others a courageous feeling, and even if he was being called into the principal's office right now, he didn't show a speck of tension
”Could I ask you what your motive is? I heard that conventionally, the topic of the practical exaed on his lips after hearing the principal's explanation and he asked provocatively But the principal didn't criticize Touji's attitude, lightly raising the corners of her mouth instead
”The exam emphasizes fairness But this exam is unfavorable to you, after all” The principal s directly into Touji's eyes ”You experienced a true spiritual disaster first-hand, and you're still battling against the after-effects that linger in your body”
The principal's gaze was tranquil and clear, not a speck of sympathy to be found, and probed for his inadvertent reactions Touji didn't avoid it, looking directly back into the principal's eyes Then, he deliberately relaxed his guarded demeanor
”That's right, but, could I ask how this is unfavorable for me? Could it be that you believe the spiritual disaster from that time left behind shadows in my heart?”
”Even if you are self-aware, you can't be certain it's not a possibility”
”Since I don't have that kind of self-awareness, I'm not sure whether it's there or not” Touji suppressed his own e leisurely
Two years had already passed now since Touji got drawn into a spiritual disaster
At the ti to advance to high school, but had to stay in the hospital for half a year to get treated for the after-effects left by the spiritual disaster Then, one year after he had gotten involved in the spiritual disaster, he had entered the sah school to study with Harutora, so in other words, he originally should have entered high school a year earlier than Harutora and the others But, the reason he ell-acquainted with On his treat
”Did you call for ive up on participating in the practical examination of my oill?”
”Huh? Were you planning to?”
The principal asked without any ed his shoulders as a reply
”I never liked exa others testsuited to my personality”
”Oh ardless of whether your grades are qualified, it's not a bad thing to understand your own ability from an objective standpoint”
”But disregarding whether grades are qualified or not is iht?”
”That's true”
The principal couldn't help but laugh at a student retorting like that She laughed vigorously, and the sleeping calico cat nestled on the table lightly waved its tail
”But, since Natsume-san and Harutora-san will both participate in toht? I wanted you to co to notify you of the exam contents beforehand and let you prepare yourself”
”Prepare myself? Does that need the principal to notify me herself?”
”Well Unfortunately Ohtoht now, and I am the only other person in the acade a bit too much”
Upon hearing this remark from the principal, a mix between self-derision and a wry smile flashed across Touji's expression, a complex and troubled attitude that he showed extremely rarely But, that expression vanished without a trace soon after
”So you orrying about ”
Saying this, Touji returned to his cal in his words, very ain upon seeing Touji with this kind of attitude, raising her eyes to look askance at this student
”Touji-san? That attitude of yours isn't so good”
”Huh? Oh, sorry, was ant?”
”Just the opposite You're fretful inside, yet you express yourself calmly and composedly, but that attitude is only 'pretend maturity', not a true ' your identity as a spiritual disaster victi alood either Annoying the other party can only count as a kind of childish communication technique, and it would sound much cooler if you just directly said that you didn't need sympathy”
Touji hadn't expected the principal to criticize hi his htforwardly, and even someone asn't Touji wouldn't kno to respond
”Your words are really resolute”
”Oh ? Or did you mean 'D-Don't speak nonsense, th-th-that's not true'?”
”Was there a reason to stutter when you said that I understand yourSorry, I should have been uidance”
Touji showed a rare helplessness, scratching his head over his bandanna Even Touji didn't want to discuss the definition of 'randmotherly principal
Especially since the principal's advice actually made him extremely unhappy
He had neverand accepting the after-effects the spiritual disaster left behind in his body, and had only chosen to transfer to the Onth to overcome them However, he couldn't help but feel anxious inside because that hard work had only resulted in others worrying unnecessarily about him
Very few people know about that incident, even people close to Touji Excluding the principal before hi who knew about this incident, and even Natsume wasn't very sure about 'what kinds of after-effects were truly left behind'
”You also understand that these after-effects are very troublesoht now, I've already adapted to the me realize that I'm a spiritual disaster victim, and I can't help but feel fretful However, I believe I can recognize them pretty well”
Touji spoke, his tone still harsh like always, but his expression this ti hi to trouble him
”Perhaps, as I actually just said that this exaize to you here However”
”I know, the principal's judgment Since I'm an Onmyou Academy student, I naturally defer to the decisions of the teachers, so thank you for taking the tirinned again
”Also, never ht now, I'll still find ti self-awareness with my primary physician From the perspective of the Onmyou Acadeed for the worse during the exa those extra words, he cast a rebellious gaze towards the principal
”You don't need to worry about that I', but I've already consulted your primary physician”
”What? Youthe principal's reply, Touji felt greatly surprise, inadvertently widening his eyes
When Touji had gotten involved in a spiritual disaster, it was Harutora's father who had been the doctor responsible for his treatment Harutora's father was an On ail in Tokyo, Touji had visited the clinic once every month The reason he knew Harutora was because Harutora's father had looked after him so much
”You didn't know? Harutora-san's father was also a graduate of this place”
”I, I see, so then”
The Ono, and not only was it old, it was actually the only school in the nation specialized in fostering Onmyouji There should have been quite a few On the same time period as Harutora's father
”I can't rely Aency”