Volume 12 Chapter 1 (1/2)

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The twinkling of the stars, and the shi+ning of crossing comets

They approached, ether

He felt like unraveling all of this would be impossible

Tsuchi all of this is impossible”

That hy he thought he should pray

Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi murmured: ”That's why I'll pray”

As for how that went

The cold February night felt as if pieces of ice were floating in the air

The cold wind that blew across the roof of the building fluttered people's hair and chilled their bodies But Hishamaru materialized and allowed the cold wind to batter her body as it pleased Her unstable existence alleviated the brunt of the cold wind

This old building in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district was in an alley two blocks away fro streets near the station There were sis nearby, as if the area were froo

This eight-story building was rented out to various people on a monthly basis, with the exception of the Chinese restaurant on the first floor, the seventh floor that was being used as a warehouse for a hth floor which outsiders were told was 'eistered on any real estate listing It was a s city

Also, that blank space was the den of a certain oni who had hung around Tokyo's darkness for a long time

The night wind blew Hishamaru's hair Of course she was stealthed, and anyone who saw her would have to be killed This stern young wo an old military outfit was a blue-eyed beauty But even an ieous contours would lack the charure see and the backdrop of the lonesohtly moved her ears and looked down indifferently

Her hth floor As ordered, Hishay to cae the ceremony

Though her master had said 'it's very unlikely that we'll be noticed, but we should still be careful', Hishamaru hadn't spotted any atte out an extreic He had probably had her ic affected her Of course, ca the ceremony was just a formality

Hishas”, but she hadn't looked happy

Hishaami She had been called one of Yakou's retainers, and her naic co after Yakou's death, and when Tsuchimikado Harutora (the master who had been mentioned previously) had been born, she had immediately rushed to his side

But Hishamaru couldn't immediately serve Tsuchimikado Harutora, since Harutora's father, Tsuchi so Yasuzurow up as independently as possible Hence, he didn't perami Hishamaru to serve Harutora But Yasuzumi had still permitted Hishamaru to stay by his son's side But at the same time, he had th, personality, and memories until his son was able to face his fate of his oill Hishamaru had accepted that condition and had chosen to serve at Harutora's side in the form of Kon (her form when she had been small)

That seal had been broken during the suo But it couldn't be called a clean break Hishamaru had forcefully broken the seal in order to save Harutora during a battle with the Divine General Kagareatly harmed her own spiritual body She had alh the binding of the seal Though her body had recovered after that, her spiritual body was still in an extremely unstable condition Harutora had ical ceremony because he orried about her body

No, that ht not be it

Though he had already awakened as Yakou's reincarnation, Harutora was just Harutora It was hard for him to accept that Kon, who had been with him all this time, had suddenly transformed into Hishamaru Kon hat Hishamaru had looked like when she was a child, but it was hard for Harutora to not feel confused when she suddenly grew up

When Hishamaru broke the seal, she had lost a part of her e to her spiritual body It included herwithKon Hishamaru wasn't worried, but it was more accurate to say that she couldn't be worried She realized the gaps in her youki That was also a reason why Harutora orried about Hishamaru

It had been more than a year and a half since then Time had flown

She didn't regret her choice to break the seal Rather, she felt like it was a kind of honor But now she felt very depressed that she couldn't use all her strength as a shi+kiga what he could to restore Hishaht now, not only was she unable to use all her power, but she had even beco cared for by her master It was so shameful But there was also anxiety in that remorse Hishamaru knew that her spiritual body lacked stability and that this stability orsening every day She had only felt it faintly at the start, but now she was certain Also, she feared that it was an irreversible change

It was even harder for Hisha her condition when she ith Harutora The incident that had happened in the dark teood exa less stable, would worsen severely every time there was a battle But Hishaht Of course, there was the terror of facing vanish separated fro the Onency

She was a valuable fighting force to her ht disappear at an i there would send her master to a fatal end Hishaht of such a terrible possibility

Hishaain Another retainer was next to Harutora as he concentrated on the cere more and more now that Hishayouki was a rival as well as a partner with the sa him stay next to her uarantee her master's safety, her heart was still very envious

”Kakugyouki arranged for this place too”

After all, Hisha sealed for endary oni, with a history to match the Tsuchi time Of course Hishamaru couldn't match his intellect, experience, and societal connections

Actually, it wasn't just their hiding place Kakugyouki had even provided their living expenses In the past, Hishayouki as a dependable man wise to the world

”In that case, if I orldlier instead of being more loyal”

To be honest, she still wasn't sure exactly how loyal Kakugyouki was to Harutora Kakugyouki didn't have Kakugyouki's dedication; it was more like interest and concern Because of that, he had retreated into seclusion after Yakou died instead of chasing after his youki caaain In any case, Yakou and Harutora still held his interest Also, coyouki also followed Harutora for athe worst possibility that Hishaht of That reason was he was Harutora's friend, not just a powerful shi+kiga sht of this

She thought of the television broadcast last month The ceremony held at the Onmyou Academy - the New Year's Ceremony Hishamaru and her roup of ss dancing above the stage It had truly been a beautiful and heartwar scene Kurahashi+ Kyouko and Momoe Tenma were the only ones still in the Onmyou Acadeas It was probably tough to live while being monitored

The ency knew about Ten in contact with Tsuchiht not know No, judging by the situation, Natsuht have tried to come in contact with him on her own

”Natsuain”

”Natsuht now”

The Tsuchi care of Natsume had switched between various locations for the last year and a half, evading the Onency's search But Natsume's contact with Tenma was evidence that the Tsuchimikado family was still alive It was very likely that Natsume and the others had returned to Tokyo now

”Then, my friends, reunite in the Tokyo sky next time”

Hishamaru looked up at the starry sky and quietly closed her eyes Meic faces froered, and even now they were treasured friends She prayed in her heart to reunite with theether However

”Back then, I”

Inadvertently, the figure of Natsu Natsu with Harutora who tightly hugged Natsume as he wept

Hishahts that she couldn't let go of made her heart faintly ache She furrowed her brow, sharpened her gaze, and thought of the past in order to cover up her inner anxiety

A pretty, unobtrusive girl stood in front of the entrance to the roof She looked like a middle-schooler, but she was actually much older After all, she had been a member of the Onmyou Academy's thirty-sixth class, a classmate of Harutora's homeroom teacher Ohtoure Zenjirou Though her looks were pretty, she gave off a cold, expressionless i in one direction, it was ih Harutora and the others had said 'You'll know once you get used to it', Hisha under that expressionless face She was Saotoether with Hishaht Harutora had awakened

”An extraordinary stealth ic as always”

”That's my specialty”

”Do you need so?”

”No, I was just taking a walk”

Saoto quickly to Hisha spiritual power even when Saotome was this close, only a faint sensation But as her stealth technique so refined? Her ability to hide herself was certainly great, but there were only a handful of practitioners who could take Hishaency with her class from the Onmyou Academy She had been the foremost Yakou researcher in the past, and later on had beco Spirit Division, the origins of the Twin-Horned Syndicate In addition, she had been Ashi+ya Doyouki several ti this period Certainly a unique history Saotome had called herself a senpai of the On when Hishamaru had been with Harutora as Kon - and had been unconscionable and nosy It was certainly no lie that she was a graduate Cos had already become troubleso that Tenht Harutora had awakened), creating the trigger for Harutora to awaken as Yakou Also, she had been the one to prepare beforehand for Harutora's use of the Taizan fukun ritual to resurrect Natsuside her research subject, ency treated as a terrorist group If Saoto this solely for her Yakou research, then she could only be called a fool

Of course, Harutora had allowed Saotome to move with them It seereeh she didn't know the details of it, basically she was allowed to act freely As Harutora's retainer, Hishamaru was confused by why she was allowed to act freely But as expected of Do about how Saoto

She had tried talking with Kakugyouki about it once, but he had just said 'don't worry about it' In the end, Harutora had allowed it, so Hishamaru didn't have any objections Did she? Or didn't she? When she thought of her s she wanted to speak of but couldn't put into words

”Is this alright?”

”What?”

”You're not watching the ceremony of Harutora-sama, your object of research?!”

”I've already seen him countless times”

”We ht be spotted today as well”

”I'll deal with that when the time comes We can only risk it, anyways”

Saotoht of stairs Even so, she still stared straight and expressionlessly at Hisha work Saotome looked at Hishahed, unable to endure it

”What is it?”

”I' you”

”Please stop, you'll make me lose my focus”

”Oh no!”

”Hmm?”

”Your aura got worse again” Saotome's expression finally became serious as she flatly pointed this out

”I know”

”Then why don't you do so?”

Saotome suddenly moved her face over, only two centimeters away from Hishamaru's Hishamaru quickly beca my best”

”Right now too?”

”When it's necessary”

”It's not the tietting any worse”

Saoto out a rare eh she felt aard at Saoto she said was true As evidence, Saoto you can do now other than my proposal?”, as well as:

”You're a burden for Harutora-kun, right?”

”That is true”

”You have to keep yourself in good shape in order to do your duty, right?”

”Right”

”I' selfish”

”That's a lie, isn't it”

Hishamaru felt extremely annoyed, but all of that was correct The counterht of before to combat Hishamaru's unstable spiritual body was truly effective But she felt sorry to use it

Going on a as an excuse Her goal was to convince Hisha and convincing the shaken Hishamaru

Harutora'safterwards, Hishaic

At first glance, this seehth floor of an inhabited building, the primary base of Harutora and the others Walls had been torn down in half of the floor space, and a large rectangular pillar stood there looking somewhat lonesome The walls and floors were tattered everywhere, and the materials placed in a corner of the roo But this roo environment was all due to Hishamaru's hard work Siht into the rooether Most of them were disposable supplies and wilderness survival equiphts installed, their illuhts Because of that, the abandoned room felt kind of like a secret base

Tsuchied on the floor in the deepest part of this rooy seeped from his left eye He focused his ic cereh Hisha the cereency fro it

A large wooden box was placed in front of the cross-legged Harutora, with a raven perched on top of it Looking carefully, it had three legs The legendary bird that was called the syarasu It was a shi+kigami that Tsuchi It became a jet-black coat when Harutora used it, but nored raven as it was now Harutora sat facing the yatagarasu In contrast to Harutora's closed right eye, the yatagarasu's golden eyes stared at Harutora Of course, it was iolden eyes aroused instinctive feelings of fear

A retainer leaned against the pillar next to the two of them

He was a huge ht hand was in the pocket of his pants, and he had no left hand, the sleeve of his jacket drooping down from the elbow He wasn't a human, he was an oni, a true oni who had lived for centuries He was Harutora's retainer, Kakugyouki

Harutora focused his ht eye, sighing deeply and see: ”Looks like I don't need to ask if it succeeded or not” Harutora didn't reply and shook his head listlessly The yatagarasu flapped its wings, flying to a clothes stand near the entrance It was the place that the yatagarasu usually stayed Kakugyouki glanced at the seated Harutora as if to say that the failure wasn't his fault Then he turned his head in a different direction, saying with a sarcastic tone: ”I already told you a dozen times If it doesn't even react with this, then it's already disappeared or been sealed”

Harutora replied bitterly: ”I don't know”

”As a relic of Yakou, it's ency's taken it into custody But if so, Chief Kurahashi+ and the rest couldn't have failed to notice the signs even if Yakou sealed it himself There should have been soht?”

Harutora's face fell and he nodded at Kakugyouki's words

Harutora and the others had searched the Onency research facilities ency treated Harutora and the rest as terrorists According to Saotome, who had been a member of the researchers, they hadn't had what Harutora was looking for in custody Of course, Saotome couldn't have known details about every tool that was sealed in the agency building, but she had participated in the Yakou research There was a Raven's Wing replica in the agency building that only she could see through

”The Principal hid the Raven's Wing and prevented people fro their hands on it Maybe people who didn't know better used this[1] like an ordinary ical tool Most people don't know that it exists”[2]

”I see, and the Souma scattered at one point as well There are a lot of breaks in information”

”Well, it's not strange that its whereabouts became unknown after the post-war chaos”

”In that case, most of our clues have disappeared”

”That's why I keep calling out to it like this” Harutora frowned and stared at Kakugyouki

The Kurahashi+ family and the Sou the Pacific war The Kurahashi+ family was a branch family of the Tsuchimikados, and had continued on with the support of political circles and strong societal connections, unlike the declining Tsuchimikado roup of practitioners since the feudal era and had mysterious connections with the old iher-ups in the military to reconstruct the Onure The two families had been crucial aids to Yakou's abilities

But after the defeat in the war, the Souma family had been split into several lines The true princess was Souer for Harutora's awakening And speaking of other faami Yashamaru - Dairenji shi+dou

Theretheic After all, it had already been half a century since japan's defeat

”But, Harutora, supposing that it was lost after the war, it's possible that it's gone sonal itself won't even work”

”Yes, that's also a problem Both the Kurahashi+ and the Souma were based in Kanto[3] But I think that it's very unlikely that it left Tokyo Ah, where's that Full Moon[4]”

”Truly a tough problem”

”Ah, what a waste of effort I'h about the problem”

The sharp light that radiated from Harutora's eye as he ht It had already been more than a year and a half since then Harutora had always been chasing after that enigot on one knee, and looked into the distance, : ”There's no time”

”Natsuht be action soon No, it's possible that action has already started”

”The Onency, huh”

”Of course, that's the center of everything But that's not the only place The problem is e should do and e should choose”

”Even so, Hishaht now There'll be proble now” The latter half of his words were spoken in a self-derogatory tone Kakugyouki looked expressionlessly at his master

Silence fell over the room

Soon afterwards, Kakugyouki said: ”No nore the Kurahashi+ and the Souma But to be honest, it's even more troublesome than your situation back then We'll have to conduct a thorough investigation”

”You can never think of a way at the critical moment”

”Yeah, I know, but right now” Harutora's face turned apprehensive

Kakugyouki sighed, finallyaway from the pillar He smiled and said:

”Alright, then how about this”

”Hmm?”

”This tio do what you want”

”Kakugyouki” Harutora smiled

But Kakugyouki said very calmly:

”But, I ”

Harutora furrowed his brow and said:

”What!? You're so cold-hearted!”

”Since I'm an oni”

Harutora sly Just then, someone knocked on the door and it opened Saoto out ”Senpai” Harutora still called Saotome 'Senpai' in this kind of situation It wasn't that Harutora wanted to call her that, but rather it was Saotome's wish

”Looks like it failed”

”Honestly, everyone around me is an emotionless bastard”

”Ah, that's mean I was concerned about you”

Saotome was a bit displeased, but her expression was still the saitive Harutora and the rest The Onether with Harutora either Allegedly, Saotoators' search still continued She was youki at various kinds of secretive jobs That was probably fros

”Anyways, this time was a waste of effort too”

”Yeah”

”How depressing I want to see the Full Moon too Harutora-kun, let htly ease your worries”

”Ah? What are you trying this time?”

”The convincing succeeded”

Just then, Hishamaru entered

”Kon”

”Yes, Harutora-sama”

It was Hishamaru who entered But her body had shrank a lot She had turned fro woman into the form of an elementary-schooler But her ears and tail were still the same

Harutora smiled

”What is it? It's been a long time since you dressed like that”

”E-Eh, that's e, ah, no!”

Hishamaru's ears twitched frantically as her face reddened She didn't dare look at Harutora

Saoto Hishamaru

”Regretfully, Hishamaru-chan's spiritual instability is undoubtedly the truth So I had her at least turn into Kon's forht, Kon-chan?”

”Don't add the 'chan'!”

Hisharily at Saotoht of Actually, Hishamaru's spiritual body was stable in Kon's forami Her spiritual body was obviously composed of powerful aura that could only be disturbed by a powerful force But the speed at which it ran out of control was also very fast But Kon's spiritual state was mostly sealed by Yasuzumi's power, so she could keep the instability and keep her main spiritual body stable

”This is a way to save energy”

”Not only am I useless as a retainer, I've caused Harutora-sama to worry recently I'ize, but please allowby your side”

Hisha her head

Saotome balled up a fist when she saw this She said:

”Harutora-kun, be a man”

”No, it would be great to be with Kon Kon - no, it ht be better to call you Hisha”

”Harutora-sah you say that, my current form is really a bit”

”Then we can be together again after you turn back”

”Isn't it great that I was able to succeed in convincing you so selflessly, Kon-chan?”

”H her tail”

Kakugyouki leaned against the pillar again Saotoarasu hopped around on the clothes stand and cawed

”It's great that everyone's here”

”Harutora-sama” Hishayouki sarasu stopped ju about, and Saotome quietly walked behind him

”I reahtful”