Volume 6 Chapter 2 (1/2)
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Ten the e Harutora had sent
It was an invitation to karaoke Not only Harutora but also Natsume and Touji had waited especially for Tenma to return in the academy
Even so, Ten alone on the road back home in the rain
Tene lines froata-cho, but Tenot off before Kishi+bojin, then walked back home This area was mostly older residents, and the roads were narrow andin this kind of place
Pots of petunias were placed in front of the store entrances and the stone walls were already faded Snails crept slowly on the bloo the roadside Occasionally, a stray cat would appear that had been wet by the rain, passing warily in front of Tenma Probably because of the rain, there weren't s were calm and tranquil All that could be heard were the sound of his u raindrops
The Momoe house was the parent's home of Tenma's mother, a traditional family that had been related to Onh they weren't very faenerations and could be counted as a notable family Tenma's mother was also a professional Onency
But, Ten Ten to run away from home, until she and her husband were killed in an accident His father's parents were already deceased, so Tenrandparents
To Tene, the Morandparents were nice but strict On one hand, they had the style of a traditional family, and in addition, Tenma's mother who had betrayed the Momoe family and run away from home left complex emotions in the elders' hearts Tenma knew that his own personality was sincere and he wasn't very self-assertive He had been raised into this nature, and he was vaguely aware that his grandparents had probably had a large effect
But Tenrandparents Rather, he loved them whole-heartedly
No s were, the two of thereatly Even if they had complex emotions, they didn't put up any pretense When he had received strict education as a child, he would occasionally feel that they were 'distant' froe, Tenrandparents were undoubtedly good people They didn't hate Tenma's mother, they had just been deeply hurt and had never healed from it
His elderly grandparents had only one wish, which was to raise Tenma into an excellent Onmyouji who could inherit the Mo had clearly transmitted that desire to Ten an Onently work hard
But,
”A professional, huh”
The force of the rain hadn't increased, nor did it show any signs of stopping, just continuing indifferently
The narrow road was e hi in a maze with no exit
Ten
But, was it correct to keep walking when he couldn't see where he was going?
Ohtomo wanted him to have faith in the Onmyou Acade his consciousness Even if he consciously had faith, he couldn't guarantee that he would be fully convinced If his heart and his consciousness were contradictory, it would just end up exhausting both of them
Anyway, he also understood
Exactly how difficult beco a professional was
Tenma walked back home with low spirits in the rain
The Moes, e, but it had its appeal
When he walked near his home, Tenma noticed that there was an unfamiliar person in front of the entrance
The youngthere with an u Tenma, then walked over
With a voice like a clear, flowing brook:
”Could you be Momoe Tenma?”
”Yeah--”
”Sorry to bother I'ator”
Hirata spoke politely to the confused Tenma
He entle, sincere demeanor even to a student, more like a priest than an On about him that made a deep impression
After Ten, his eyes widened in surprise
”Mystical Investigator? Then, what do you need with me?'
”Ah, no I haven't coation Actually, I wanted to deal with soaators use - Well, it's just some formalities with documents”
Hirata's explanation was brief and serious Upon hearing the phrase 'old shi+kigami', Tenma finally understood
”Could it be, it's my mother's?'
”Ah, yes”
”In that case, I think it would be better to find the factory Our family”
”It sees just now”
Hirata showed a steady smile as he explained
It seemed that he hadn't just co about his business
But, his posture as he stood in the rain looked as if he aiting for so
”If you chose to coainal creation of ht?”
”Uh, it seems to be an experimental product I analyzed it a little bit - it's simple, but it really has its own style”
Hirata's reht just be polite rhetoric, but it touched upon Tenain
Just like what Ohtoeable in this world had heard of the famous na members of the 'Witchcraft Corporation', a factory that ner and his father was the priineer
The Witchcraft Corporation didn't have a long history, but it was the first private enterprise that had broken the Onic ures were undoubtedly Tenma's deceased parents In particular, his ami which were still the primary product of the business and which had obtained the support ofshi+kigaators used when they captured criaa shi+kigaami created with the namesake methods of Tenma's mother
Before the Witchcraft Corporation had been founded, shi+kigath of the practitioner But after the 'enhanced usability' shi+kigami that were created 'enhanced for specific purposes' took the stage, shi+kigaath was unrelated to the person and that could wield a specific power' becaaency created now - both general-use shi+kigauidelines In that sense, Tenae methods of modern Onmyoudou
But on the other hand, the action of 'selling randparents of the Momoe family, which had passed down Onmyoudou since ancient tiami that were 'easy to use' and 'for the masses' would lead to the overall level of One to decline To the Momoe family, which had passed down Onmyoudou for many years, this was a shame to their ancestors
The Witchcraft Corporation was the otten along
”Tenma-san, did you just come back from the Onmyou Academy?'
”Nn, yeah”
”I see How tiring, to come back this late”
”Ah, it's not much”
Tenhtly, looking at Tenma
”I'll stop talking and takeyou out in the rain”
”Ah, I should be the one to apologize I was unable to help”
Ten Hirata bow to hiain
In the aze, Hirata's left hand that didn't hold the umbrella moved sharply yet smoothly
An instantaneous motion
The two of theazeshad happened Tenma inadvertently watched the direction Hirata left in
”Huh?”
He just noticed
”Why did that person know my name?”
It was hard to irandparents had especially told hi through his house's entrance
The force of the rain hadn't increased, nor did it show any signs of stopping, just continuing indifferently
After returning ho his rain-soaked uniform in his own room, but he didn't notice the small slip of paper in the pocket
The center of the japanese ency towered in an area near Akihabara Several strong auras swirled together in the first
It was already deep into the night An e to Chief Kurahashi+'s orders The main topic was the letter that had been sent to the office not long ago The probleht up was even ators had predicted - As for what it was, 'D' had notified the' They were currently holding ato discuss countermeasures
Everyone gathered in the ency
First was the one who had overseen this case the longest, the chief of the Mystical Investigators, Amami Daizen
Aexorcist officer, supervisor of the Exorcist Bureau, and Independent Exorcist, Miyachi Iwao
The Exorcist Bureau Intelligence Chief Watanabe Kenichi The chief of the Intelligence Bureau, the Special Senser Miyoshi+ Tougo Other than Watanabe, those four were all National First-Class Onmyouji - commonly known as Divine Generals
Moreover, these weren't the only ones of the Twelve Divine Generals gathered in theroom
The Independent Exorcist Kogure Zenjirou, Yuge Mari, and Kagami Reiji This was the first time after the 'Hinamatsuri Repurification' spiritual disaster terrorist attack that had happened this March that four of the five current Independent Exorcists had gathered together The fact that such situations kept popping up continuously could probably be called an abnormal situation of its own
There were also members with important positions in the Exorcist Bureau and Mystical Investigators in attendance Even the chief of the General Affairs Department was present because he understood the construction of the building the best Of course, the chief of the Mystical Investigator Public Safety Division and Hirata Atsune could also be seen, since Hirata was responsible for the Twin-Horned Syndicate business and had a very deep connection with the 'D' file Hirata was the only one in theroom without a position
Not even anything involving the 'D' file had e-scale action until now It was natural that they hadn't reacted like this before Never anization that incited practically all the big events - for now, the 'D' file had just looked like one of the subsidiary branches left behind by the Twin-Horned Syndicate In the end, even the naators Hence, even if the Mystical Investigators viewed 'D' as an extreerous person and had hunted hith, it wasn't at the level where they would th of all the departments to consider countermeasures
After all, 'D' was a practitioner ent by the name Ashi+ya Doman In the end, there were still too many mysteries to take him as a real threat Hence, the existence of the ency's attention because he was connected with the Twin-Horned Syndicate
The reason the Oned was because Independent Exorcists had co the 'Hinamatsuri Repurification' in March and confirency recognized 'D' as a dangerous element of the same level as the Twin-Horned Syndicate This coies centered on the Mystical Investigators were being developed to deal with him
Moreover, this was no small action of 'D' in some arbitrary area, but a notification of a bold, fearless, head-on criency At this point, this file had already become an important probleency
”What's important is that it's a problem of reputation”
Aher-ups
'D' had written the place and tioal The One nor with the additional spiritual disasters froy against 'D' Even if 'D' was the Onmyouji Ashi+ya Doman himself, they definitely couldn't lose
”I had a lot of things to ask that man anyway Also, he purposefully came up to us to make a disturbance So we definitely need to catch him”
Ae, held the bold and fearless declaration in his hand as he faced the people gathered in theroom Some people nodded their heads ae cal enemy burned in others
So everyone here possessed was a definite self-confidence and a definite trust in their own caency was a group of organized practitioners Nothe Onmyouji, they definitely had no reason to fear hile enemy
A the operational deployainst 'D' He was older than the Onency Chief Kurahashi+ Genji, and could be called the 'dean' of the Onh adjustments had to be made between divisions He occasionally also adopted the opinions of others, but he had instantly decided the main points of the operation
In the dead of night, the ressed smoothly and fervently
Only two people weren't influenced by the atmosphere
One was Kaga and had a strong spirit of resistance, always sitting on the sidelines for theHe held interest towards 'D' hi would bemore than the useless talk Perhaps he had even considered whether he could come in contact with 'D' alone before the people around hilanced at his subordinates several ti to want to check on their attitudes
Surprisingly, Kogure Zenjirou was the other person who hadn't been drawn in by the enthusiasm around him
Kogure was different fro But, his face was always shadowed by concern that was usually unlike him
Kogure was undoubtedly an excellent exorcist, but his position in the organization was still very low In a VIP-filled tiress of theunless the leadershi+p asked the opinions of everyone
Kogure's expression see he wanted to say as he watched the activity of the
But, in the end there was no opportunity for him to speak
☆
The ti ended
”Miyachi-san!”
After theattendees prepared to return to their own divisions Aure called out to his boss Miyachi alked in front of him in the office corridor
”Kogure? What is it?”
Miyachi stopped walking, turning around Kogure jogged up to his side
Miyachi was the supervisor of the Exorcist Bureau as well as an elite Independent Exorcist - a National First-Class On position, Kogure rarely had the opportunity to call hi enough to make even battle-hardened veteran exorcists tre the March operation against the Nue, his achieves in the outer garden of Meiji Shrine
It was hard to associate Miyachi's external appearance with his heroic combat history He had a bitter expression, was very cordial to people, and was ed and of a small stature He had a clear-cut face and was very expressive, like an actor on stage - especially like a seasoned co a funny and fashi+onable irew around his mouth and chin, and the rumor that this was the source of his na the cadres[3]
But, Kogure knew Miyachi's poell
He stretched in front of Miyachi:
”Sorry Actually, I want to talk - no, I have so to report”
Miyachi showed a wry s the file in his hand into a rod and tapping his neck with a thump
”What is it, to et back to headquarters?”
”I'd like to report here, if possible”
Kogure's expression was extre expression, but ied him on with a ”Go ahead”
”It's regarding the 'Raven's Wing'”
”The 'Raven's Wing', what about it?”
”Well The one sealed in the Onency storehouse is a replica I heard that kind of rumor”
”What?”
Miyachi suddenly raised an eyebrow
After staring at Kogure for a while, he pretended to look around randoure lowered his voice as erous to discuss such a topic while standing in the corridor
His gaze returned to Kogure again:
”What's going on? That'sso”
”You too, Supervisor?”
”Of course Where did the information come from?”
”Well An old acquaintance”
”Your acquaintance? Then, Ohtomo?”
”No I don't knohether you know the person Saotome Ryou”
”Saotome? I haven't heard that name What division?”
”The Iency”
Miyachi's expression changed again A diure and slowly sharpened
”The Lingering Spirit Division Could that person have not ended up the same way?”
”Yes That person left early on So there should be no relation with the Twin-Horned Syndicate”
”A researcher?”
”Yes Specializing in Tsuchimikado Yakou”
Miyachi nodded his head knowingly after hearing Kogure's reply
”I see Then thereSo that's the person who clai here is a replica”
After Miyachi spoke up to confirure nodded his head sincerely with a 'Yes'
Haha, Miyachi laughed while stroking his beard Kogure hadn'tbecause he didn't want to make the information publicly available Miyachi inadvertently noticed his circumstances
Kogure continued speaking
”Moreover, that person's words were very descriptive The Raven's Wing sealed in the Agency is fake, and the genuine is in the Onmyou Academy--”
”The Onmyou Academy? Hey hey, that's too”
Miyachi sy used by ency and its office
”Yeah I thought it was a joke the first ti carefully, I felt that it ht not be impossible The Onmyou Academy principal was the past head of the Kurahashi+ fa his lifetime”
”Yakou died the year the war ended At the time, the past Kurahashi+ family head was what, how old? For now say she was a child about ten years old Ah, well, I indeed heard Chief Amami say that the previous head was extremely active as a miko since she was a child Even so, she couldn't possibly have been given the Raven's Wing”
”It h direct ed to the resurrected On wartiether with Yakou in the On wartime, and after Yakou died, the half-shut down Onency”
”I see It's indeed not impossible But even so, the Kurahashi+ family's previous head didn't have any reason to hide the Raven's Wing in the chaos after the war, right? Much less to deliberately create a replica”
”That I still can't understand at all”
Kogure, who couldn't answer his boss's question,his head to look at Kogure and tapping his shoulder with the rolled-up file
”A researcher specializing in Tsuchimikado Yakou, huh”
His ht for a er
But,
”Well, whatever In any case, the opponent couldn't possible know such rare inforency There's no need to be concerned”
He made such a conclusion
A conclusion that could be predicted But, Kogure didn't feel at ease because of it
”Supervisor It was an official of the Lingering Spirit Division who told me that”
”Yeah, so?”
”Later on, the Lingering Spirit Division becaround for the Twin-Horned Syndicate Of course, there were definitely quite a few people who saw Saoto the”
”So?”
”Ashi+ya Doman - 'D' - has contacted the Twin-Horned Syndicate That person knows about this matter, and the probability that he believes it is definitely not zero”
Kogure explained, leaning his body forward towards Miyachi
”Please Please speak to Chief Amami We have to consider the possibility that 'D' will appear at the Onency office”
Ordinarily, 'D' would attack the offices of the Onency The possibility of such a situation was extreh It was undoubtable that they should make preparations for an attack centered on the office for such circumstances
But, if the probability of the other situation wasn't zero, they should divide off a o to the Onical enchantments that could be called the best in Tokyo, but it wasn't enough - they couldn't expose such a group of underage people to danger It would be the biggest disgrace to the Onency if they were sacrificed instead
But, Miyachi's reply wasn't as Kogure had expected
”Kogure Amami-san probably knows about these circumstances”
Kogure couldn't help but doubt his own ears, unconsciously letting out a ”Huh?” sound
An eed on Miyachi's lips
”Of course, he definitely knows more detail than you do That's the kind of person the Chief of the Intelligence Division is, he has those duties He crafted this operation while knowing about those circumstances”
At the saure, looking into the distance ”Perhaps”
”Perhaps he confirmed over at the Onmyou Academy After all, Aood terms”
Yes Amami and Principal Kurahashi+ were very close to one another Ohtoriped that he had been ordered here and there by the two of the the spiritual disaster attack in March
”Then what do we do? Honestly, even if we don't know 'D's true fighting power, fighting power of the operations h”
”Hey, hey It was none other than you who saw 'D' first-hand and reported that we needed to be on guard”
”Though that's true, with Supervisor and Chief Aher than e faced the Nue, right? Of course, that doesn't mean we don't have to be careful, but it wouldn't be a probleuard the Agency and split up our fighting power to defend the Onht?'
Kogure, who couldn't agree, or Miyachi's body was short and Kogure was of tall stature, so Kogure alerly
On the other hand, Miyachi inadvertently revealed a wry sance
The expression Miyachi looked at Kogure as ster is too inexperienced'
Then,
”The Kurahashi+ family's previous head hasn't admitted it to be true Naturally If what you say is true, then she's culpable of hiding the Raven's Wing”
Miyachi's analysis ure speechless
Miyachi pulled back his neck, continuing to speak as if he were debunking the tricks of a ician
”If the Kurahashi+ faency protect the On the truth about hiding the Raven's Wing Of course, the Agency would request that she hand over the genuine Raven's Wing, and with that she couldn't possibly refuse In other words, the Kurahashi+ family's previous head considered that the Onmyou Academy would suffer the threat of 'D', but even with that considered, didn't want to hand over the Raven's Wing”
Probably as expected of his boss, Miyachi's observation was even deeper and ure let out a ence
”But Why? Chief Kurahashi+ is Principal Kurahashi+'s son, right? Isn't he one of her own?”
The Onency chief were both froht now, the Kurahashi+ faic community, and there was no place that the Kurahashi+ fa this - no- there should be no difference between protection froency Moreover, protection froency would be safer
Kogure shook his head without a clue
Then,
”One of her own Indeed, that's true”
Miyachi's expression suddenly sharpened He stared with an eye-catching intensity at the confused Kogure:
”What's wrong, Kogure, you're too lax Have you already forgotten the incident last summer?”
This tiure was truly speechless
He finally understood The 'incident last summer' that Miyachi spoke of was a certain incident that had happened in the Onator had been identified as a member of the Twin-Horned Syndicate
At the tiators had coator and any further relationshi+p, but they were unable to trace his connections back to the Twin-Horned Syndicate and ended up with nothing in the end But on the other hand, that incident had revealed a truth that had been predicted long ago to the light of day
In other words, the Twin-Horned Syndicate still existed, and a sency
”Ah attitude towards the Onmyou Academy probably because of siency, instead of being taken by 'D', ould be giving it straight to the Twin-Horned Syndicate's hands Even so, considering the safety of the students, he probably should take so by the current situation, the probability that 'D' attacks the Onmyou Academy is very low this time In this situation, it's ment will become very tricky”
After hearing Miyachi's explanation, Kogure couldn't continueto have experienced his oerlessness, and tightly clenched his fist
Miyachi looked unblinkingly at his subordinate, the expression on his face hard to ascertain
Then, he knocked Kogure's head with the rolled-up file resting on his shoulder
”Anyways, Kogure, you have to focus and perforned to you - I'd be able to relax a bit if you could settle the living situation”
Sure and walked away again Kogure didn't call out to hi the back of his boss as he left
Miyachi's keen calculations constantly repeated theure's heart
The judgments Amami and Principal Kurahashi+ had made were probably based on the increased defensive power of the Onmyou Academy beforehand
Thinking again, this was clearly an operation that would involve fighting against 'D' face-to-face, but even if they couldn't make this public, it was indeed a bit unnatural to not have called 'him' over After all, 'he' had once come in close contact with 'D', and he was the only one to still live after being wounded
Though it hadn't been made public, Amami and Principal Kurahashi+ couldn't possibly be oblivious
In case 'D' attacked the Onmyou Academy, there was still someone in the academy who could oppose him
Even if victory was difficult, at the least that teacher could act as a shi+eld for the students
”Really, I have some sort of bad premonition”
Kogurehis teeth
It was one at night The 'tomorrow' that 'D' indicated had already arrived
The rain finally stopped, but thewas still diht start pouring again at any time
Harutora, who had left the dor, was alone, which was extre, clai to have no appetite, and Touji had been the opposite - it was a rarewhere he had woken up late In the end, Harutora had to walk to the academy alone
The ind carried the smell of the sea It was fortunate that he didn't have to use an uh for him to enjoy the time after the rain
But Harutora felt unexpectedly pained when he thought that it was ht now, the people around him already had more problems than he could handle
”Yesterday's karaoke ended pretty badly”
He had originally proposed karaoke to cheer up Tenht up toto cheer up Tenive him spirit wasn't a sham, but at the saether, he could probably return naturally to his former relationshi+p with Natsume If he could talk with Natsu had happened and continue acting With that, they would be able to coinally, that hat Harutora had planned
But, the i well The late-arriving Natsume and Touji had been depressed, with no intention at all of singing Suzuka seeradually lost interest after the two of them showed up In the end, it had become a two-person party between Harutora and Kyouko It was all because of that dile
Give o on for
Harutora didn't attribute all the problems to himself
But, one of the reasons Harutora and the others weren't getting along right now undoubtedly caht be Hokuto's practitioner
Really What exactly is going on?
Hokuto was a siami controlled directly by the practitioner The practitioner's words and feelings would becos
Even if there were so, Hokuto could essentially be counted as a body double of the practitioner No, she wasn't just a body double, she was basically the practitioner after changing clothes The 'person inside the clothes' was the same
So Harutora had never even dreamed that 'that' Hokuto's practitioner could be 'that' Natsume
After all, Natsume
Harutora had known fro ability, but he had only begun to realize around the time he enteredan On up, he had already woken up froun directly facing his own real future
At around that tirown alienated from Natsume, who had been very intimate with him
After all, Natsu an On middle school that she would test into the On fro a professional Onmyouji Harutora didn't see any other choice for Natsuine any
This girl walked towards a different path from him and would definitely enter another world The Harutora from back then was confused over how to face that kind of childhood friend So, he had naturally left Natsuht the same as he did
Of course, Harutora's beliefs had been mistaken Natsume had still one-sidedly believed that 'Harutora would becoaradually widened
Harutora only understood when he was in his third year ofto enter an ordinary high school Harutora had hurt Natsume - the worlds of the two of them were decisively separated just like that Even Harutora believed so at the time
Then
At the tied She became more feminine, sedate, and looked mature
Every time he met her, he felt that she had become prettier
Co her with himself, who had always been a stupid brat, produced an insurap
On the other hand, Harutora met Hokuto on a suic and never-fading 'su towards a new path
Hokuto was a 'new friend' to Harutora As a member of the Tsuchi an Onuntowards a new, more realistic future - he made a friend This encounter symbolized a new era, a new life, and a brand-new self
He had wanted to walk towards a realistic, definite world, and Hokuto was the first friend hethe way
Natsume, Hokuto
Harutora couldn't think of these two people, who sys, as the same person
Such a possibility was hard to iine
But,
That ribbon
Harutora walked along the road with a bitter expression
If Hokuto was Natsu?
It was a waste of effort no ht about her reasons
It ht be to watch over the boy ould one day becoht just have been a silly distraction froradually became hard to pull away from In addition, she couldn't truly interact with Harutora who had already become distant - that was probably also a reason There were many possibilities
But, regarding how rational the reasons were, only Natsume knew the answer From there on, further speculation was not possible
Think about other related areas
It was plain to see that Hokuto and Natsume's personalities just happened to be opposites
Hokuto was direct, cheerful, childlike, randoer were stronger than normal She spoke with a tone like a boy, and Harutora had always teased her for being a 'tomboy'
In comparison, Natsurasp on 'herself' when she enteredcarefully, she was a bit cold in some sense, and sometimes she even pull back into her shell Frankly, Harutora had frequently felt that she was hard to approach
They were co
But, Harutora's impressions of Natsume were all from before he had come to Tokyo More accurately, they were his 'preconceptions' of her when he had a distant relationshi+p with Natsume - Harutora had only realized this recently
After going to the On rooms of the saed Even if he described this in the e of her had collapsed
After all, Natsuhed unexpectedly innocently Her excellent grades hadn't changed, but she often slipped up, and she was a bit timid at important times
Ignorant of the world, acted tough, she always behaved normally, but actually didn't have confidence in herself
Harutora had finally understood after walking the same road
Natsuenius ould become the next head of the Tsuchimikado
Also, she was a norirl
Yeah, well, s had happened
A the the 'naivety' in her heart, or her childishness Before this, Harutora had always felt that Natsuure with the goal of being thecoldly upon things useless to this cause - such impressions were deeply implanted into Harutora's mind They were probably also 'preconceptions'
Such 'preconceptions' weren't mistaken theht They were only one side to her
Couy' Natsu the Onmyou Academy, I felt that 'this person is a bit tense today somehow'
At the time, he had immediately thrown that matter aith indifference After all, Natsue of personality was basically only at the time when she pretended to be a e to be a sort of act by Natsu any deeper
It was different no, Harutora already understood that 'Natsu to be a male' was also 'Natsume' Needless to say, when she pretended to be a male, it was more common for her to show the 'her' that usually wasn't expressed
If it were the Natsume from those times
If it were the Natsu to be a e of Hokuto that Harutora was extremely familiar with
Ah, idiot
He hio ask clearly and be able to relax a bit
Actually, Harutora had planned on speaking up and asking several times He would take the suspicion in his heart and ask Natsume clearly
But
But
'Who would be happy watching the person they like kissing someone else! Do you kno painful, how lonely, how difficult that feeling is!'