Volume 11 Chapter 1 (1/2)
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Please forgive my sudden letter
Once again, I' any letters until now
But I'hted to be able to write a letter like this
I shed a few tears out of nostalgia
It's really a greeting after a long silence
I'm sorry Also, thank you
I'ht
An oscillating sound of cicadas came from outside the room
She returned to her childhood years, caught in her warm, hazy dream
The backcountry residence was in the mountains It was encircled by forests, and cicadas would be crying all day once it got to summer Moreover, the sound of cicadas covered the world due to the sliding doors being opened for ventilation in the blazing hot days
But to the young her, the so-called 'world' was just like that For instance, the air, the light, the time Also, the aura Naturally, the sound of cicadas was also there as so natural
A spacious, old, and yet cozy residence
The hallas lit by the dazzling sureenery floated in the air In co weather outside, the cool touch of the floor absorbed the heat She lay on the ground, fascinated by that comfortable sensation She carelessly listened to the oscillating sound of the cicadas
Sound and light, aura and tiether and became one She was in the world and could feel the presence of it
Her young self was powerless and weak, and wasn't even clear about the boundaries between the world and her 'self' Hence, when she occasionally lost her sense of self, it seemed as if she dissolved into the world
Her sense of self wasn't yet well-developed, and in many situations her senses were overwhelmed Her current phase of sense of self was si Even if it had a fored More importantly, if she was a spirit sensor who had the ability to 'see' aura, then her senses tended to becoly Like a butterfly blown around by the wind, her sense of self would easily cross the line betorlds Her sense of self dissolved,with the world Aura and tiht, beco one
Her soul hesitated in between
In order to keep that fro after they were born
”Natsume”
A name
She hastily rose after being called upon Her sense of self that had mixed with the world returned to her body
”Natsume”
A deep and gentle voice Also, that voice contained a special eained her sense of self after being called upon by her narew distant - her consciousness surfaced inside the room
She awoke in the roo her eyes
”Natsume?”
Tsuchi woken up by that voice
While her vision was hazy, she noticed a gaze focused on her body It was the master of the voice
A deep and gentle voice Also, aher
”Harutora-kun”
After her sleeptalking, she became conscious that the person wasn't Harutora Her mind wake up in an instant Natsume's eyes widened and she turned her body within the covers
”F-Father!?”
It was a ki old-rilasses and was an intellectual yet deeply shadowed man
Natsume's father and the current head of the Tsuchimikado family, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi
Natsuy
Then, ”That's fine” Yasuzumi briefly said
”Don't move for now, you're probably quite unsettled Both your body and your heart”
A slow, flat tone But it definitely wasn't a cold tone
Yasuzumi's normal cal of fatigue unlike usual had surfaced on hiht as he sat on the chair and no cloudiness could be seen in the depths of the eyes behind his glasses
Natsu at Yasuzumi in a daze
She didn't understand what had happened She couldn't understand the situation Also, where was this? Where was she right now? An unfamiliar room An unfamiliar bed Unfamiliar sheets An unfamiliar pillow
No
She knew Right Until recently, Harutora - Harutora ought to have been in the place that Yasuzuht now
Harutora's left eye had been covered by a cloth He had been extreentle And he had held her hand
Also, there was the business with Hokuto
He knew about how Natsu Hokuto She had told Harutora about her love Harutora had also smiled at Natsume--
A dream?
No Actually, she had recollections of this room's scenery She clearly rehtly and their lips touching
Then--
”F-Father Where's Harutora-kun?”
Yasuzumi's expression flickered because of Natsume's question But the voice he answered the question as always calm in order to keep Natsume's unsettledness to a minimum
”He - left after entrusting you to us”
”Eh?”
”It was just now A shi+kiga for you That shi+kigaami charm very quickly, but characters were appended to it It was a e from Harutora with this place and some explanation written on it It also wrote that he was entrusting you to us”
Natsume's eyes widened as she listened to Yasuzumi's reply Then after she heard that, Harutora's final words awoke in Natsume's mind
'Sorry, Natsuain'
She recalled it In the end, Harutora had announced a 'farewell' to Natsume
But--
”W-What about his departure? Where did he go? Why? Why did Harutora-kun leave me--”
A restlessness that even she didn't understand gripped her heart Her consciousness back then had been vague and she hadn't been able to understand the situation Harutora had left? He wasn't here anymore? Why? No, ere the circumstances? Why was she bedridden, and why had Harutora's left eye been covered? Just the two of them in an unfamiliar location What kind of story would lead to that situation--
'Go, Raven's Wing Return to your master's side'
”Ah”
She re halted
Her memories iirl holding a birdcage A three-legged raven shi+kigaht Also, the possessed, out-of-control Harutora Herself, who had rode Yukikaze and chased after the flying Harutora
The faint sht sky e, blowing her hair into aaway the su as she sat on Yukikaze, her fretful heartbeat, and her depression at being backed into a corner
Also, she had made a decision at the time
The pain of her chest being pierced through and the nu her li wrapped by cold and filled with e of discontinuity as if she had descended into an empty darkness But she was held in Harutora's arms and barely held on to her consciousness She wanted to convey it She tightly grasped those thoughts and ords with her final strength
And then--
”I”
Died
She should have
Being saved afterwards - she didn't feel that it was possible But as she living? Was there any link with the reason Harutora had left? He had entrusted her to her father - no, as her father here? She didn't know She couldn't understand What had happened? How had it ended up? After that - after she stopped Harutora's rae, what exactly had happened--
”Natsume”
Yasuzuhts were immediately pulled back to the bed
”It's alright So calm down”
Neither agitated nor pressuring
But they were 'powerful' words As if they were first-class spirit language
”First, the rooh they're out right now, Takahiro and Chizuru are here too”
”Uncle and Aunt too?”
Yasuzumi affirmed Natsume's meek words and then continued
”Natsu that's happened Rather, all we know is a very small part of the current situation Even so, I'll explain as much as I know about what happened while you were unconscious Perhaps it's a situation that surpasses your iination”
”But as I said before, you're fine for now Hence, settle down and cal now”
Yasuzuazed into Natsume's eyes and said that
Yasuzuentle, protective tone meant to comfort her It wasn't that kind Rather, it washer stand back up with her own strength Moreover, it was completely supportive and not forceful
Natsuht at Yasuzumi
How long had it been since she had spoken with her father face-to-face like this? Her father's voice sounded slightly ed than she re time Moreover, his appearance was the saer In other words, that was probably proof that Natsu time
Yasuzuht at Natsu with that look of her father's It wasn't just his look She wasn't good at dealing with her father in the first place It definitely wasn't hate, but she didn't kno to interact with hied now
But Natsuht at Yasuzumi
Around the corner of his eye She hadn't ilasses, but he looked similar to someone
Who was it? Right as she thought about it, soed
Harutora-kun
Right Harutora-kun, the last person she had seen His left eye had been covered by a cloth, but she still thought of Harutora-kun from back then
Similar
But that was natural As for why
'Harutora You were originally the main family's child the child of Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi'
She couldn't help but turn away ”Natsume?” Yasuzumi queried But Natsume couldn't respond
Back then, she - Souma Takiko - had said it She had said that Harutora was the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou, and Natsume was the 'decoy' that Yasuzu' had chosen Harutora and possessed him What she spoke of had been correct
Harutora and Yasuzueny of the Tsuchimikado
Then - what about her?
She couldn't ask The person who knew the ansas right before her, but she couldn't ask about it Natsume kept utterly quiet, frozen on the bed
The silence wasn't short The silence itself seehtly
Yasuzumi said to accept it But
He stayed silent But to Natsume, it was a silence that she felt would continue forever
But
”I”
Yasuzumi opened his aze towards him
”I have s I have to say”
Yasuzury, nor was he sad or sht, this person had always been like this She never knehat he was thinking Hence, she wasn't good at dealing with him
But right now, his calm and composed attitude relieved Natsume's stiffness bit by bit
”You don't need to be anxious I'd like you to spend some time and slowly listen to me”
Natsume still couldn't respond But this tiaze
The room with just the two of them was covered by another silence
After a period of tihtly
The sunlight outside thehad already reached its highest noonti out just like she remembered
The population distribution of Tokyo changed greatly in a brief span as it welcomed the new year
The business district and most of the commercial streets were deserted, and on the other hand, the residential areas were s buzzed noisily with a large number of people The flow of people was also unlike nor around didn't change by too reatly different from normal
The locations and change in actions of these people were also related to the spiritual aspect of the city of Tokyo This was also because of the aura that every hue amounts of people would have an effect on the spirit flow that pue' in the movement of people would create 'disorder' in the spirit flow
The disorder of the spirit floas linked with aura iive rise to spiritual disasters if it became serious But because it knew of these tendencies, the Onency had prepared countermeasures beforehand It was a demonic aura purification that they perforoal of stabilizing the aura inside Tokyo
The demonic aura purification would be carried out on the first days of the seasons along with New Year's Day Even aest The ceremony would continue until the last moment before the new year arrived, and the time from then until afternoon the next day would be occupied by the cleanup afterwards The New Year's vacation would follow right afterwards In other words, the Onency's normal duties - other than those of the Exorcist Bureau responsible for purifying spiritual disasters - would mostly halt around New Year's
”Well, the Onency'”
It was Tsuchiency Mystical Criation Department himself, who said this
In any case, to the fugitive Tsuchireat opportunity when the Onency's manpower resources were shi+fted to the demonic aura purification They had carefully hidden their traces and succeeded in slipping into Tokyo
The Tsuchimikado family head Yasuzumi Takahiro and his wife Chizuru of the branch faether with them after the 'dark temple' Seishuku Temple had been destroyed, for a total of five people
The stronghold they had selected wasn't in the western district Rather, it estern Kichijoji[1] Moreover, it was an old private home away from the station
”It's a house ed by an 'acquaintance' of an 'acquaintance', but it seems that their renovation plans stopped, so it's becoht after the renovation plans were decided, so we can borroithout worry”
”Though you say that, those two 'acquaintances' have their own hidden secrets, right?”
”No one in this world has no secrets”
Takahiro casually waved away his wife's accusation while announcing their new hiding place
It was Natsu a 'nuclear family'
This was a two-floor wooden building Allegedly, it had been built o, and it could accidentally befrom its external appearance, so no wonder they had decided to renovate it A small courtyard was built into it, but it was barren inside It was awater and electricity
Chizuru shook her head, dumbfounded:
”We're going to have to clean up first”
With that, the Tsuchi of the first month
If they used shi+kigaitives right now after all, so they wanted to use as little non-stealth first-class ic as possible Of course, they couldn't call on any relevant professionals, as they wanted to avoid attention from nearby residents if at all possible With that, all they could do to avoid others' attention was secretly do it by themselves
As a result, the cleaning that acco in took thole days
”Honestly, it would be a waste if we have to ain”
Though Chizuruenviron that they would keep this hiding place for a long time - at least, it wouldn't end in a few days
Though it had been an event from last year, the Tsuchiency higher-ups trying to take back the Raven's Wing As a result, the Raven's Wing had been stolen and the main family residence had been completely burned down Since then, Yasuzuitive lives They had constantly been hiding in local cities since Harutora had lost control and taken Natsume back from Tokyo That was because it was a bit harder for the Ons away from Tokyo
But this year, they had slipped into Tokyo at the Onency's doorstep This was basically a decision made by Yasuzue moveer and come to Tokyo in order to be able to deal with the situation In other words, it had been predestined that they would be living in this house until the 'huge movement' that Yasuzumi predicted happened
Of course, if the One locations immediately
”Anye'll end here today Let's eat There's no gas here, so we'll use a grill in the courtyard”
It was Chizuru's style to never be lacking in food everyday even if they were living a fugitive life Today's dinner was on a charcoal grill Natsuht cardboard boxes to the courtyard to use as chairs, Takahiro sat on the porch, and Chizuru headed over to light the grill
The sun set rather early in this season, and it was already di in the courtyard would leave an ihbors, but fortunately, the courtyard faced a wall of a nearby warehouse Hence, they were in a particularly cluttered area But in these circumstances, they wouldn't be seen by those around them, so it was very convenient
”Where's Yasuzumi?”
”He's on the second floor looking around I already called him anyway, he'll only come after he's done”
”He does whatever he wants, huh Well, we've known that Ah, Natsume-chan, Akino-chan, I'll leave the chopsticks and plates to you”
”Okay”
”O-O-Okay”
Following Chizuru's instructions, Natsume and Akino helped to carry out the dinner's preparation work
Akino was very happy when she heard it was mealtime Natsume couldn't help but smile at that Akino Their new resident since last winter always loved to eat Though she herself deniedhad even been teased by Takahiro and Chizuru before
Natsuhteen On the other hand, Akino seee It was because she had been left at Seishuku Temple while still a baby However, she had said 'probably twelve or thirteen' She was as tall as Natsume, and her face was still childish Si black hair with a pink ribbon, Akino tied her hair into two pigtails She wore slightly large glasses and looked like a rather tiirl
No, she didn't 'look like' one, she was actually very timid She was always cautious, soft-spoken, and didn't voice her opinion She was shy and didn't have much confidence in herself, and hence her self-esteem seemed to have unconsciously beco environment until now had been extremely peculiar, and she also possessed a peculiar spiritual nature Because of that, she had become withdrawn and counted as a helpless case on some level
Recently, she had stopped adopting her cautious attitude in their daily life, but that probably stemmed from Takahiro and Chizuru's clever communication abilities Actually, it looked like it took all her effort to greet the reticent Yasuzumi Maybe Yasuzumi currently hadn't shown his face at dinner out of a sort of goodwill, to keep Akino fro tense
”I'rill and eat as much as you want”
”Your best dish, honey”
”Oh my, dear, what did you say?”
”No, no, the fire's masterfully done as always”
Takahiro with a coht?” with a se entle ate herbivore In contrast to hi feline They were a starkly-contrasting yet well-matched pair of spouses
”Then, Akino-chan, what do you want to eat? I'll help get it for you”
”U-Um, meat!”
”Hoho, you're as straightforward as alhen it comes to food”
”Eh?”
”Because Akino's interests are eighty percent focused on meals”
”T-That's not true, you know? There are other things like W-Well, then I'll start with vegetables”
Akino's face was so sad when she proposed this that Natsuh out loud as she sat next to her
”It's alright, Akino Auntie said to eat as ht? Here”
She placed beef on the grill's grid Akino's face ihtforward readiness and carefreeness was part of Akino's adorable personality
Akino stared at the beef on the grid Srilling the cut ingredients with a happy expression ”Natsume, do you want some too?” Chizuru spoke and Natsu the children go first and still sat on the porch, casually drinking tea while looking at the ferill
It was a scene like a true fale person of the five in the fah Yasuzumi and Takahiro were both Tsuchimikado family edly been separated for a long time Maybe they could be called relatives, but they weren't really blood relatives
A traditional Onmyoudou family The Tsuchimikado that had been famous since ancient history
But they were actually like this It felt empty - but that said, it was unavoidable that she would find it unusual
A bashful smile surfaced on Akino and she carefully used her chopsticks to turn over the beef on the grid several tih she reproached that, Chizuru still arranged chicken on it It was bitingly cold oustide, but the crackling charcoal grill and the fa it warmed her heart and body
Natsume raised her head to look at the second floor of the house Light shone out of the second-floor glass s The lights that Yasuzumi had turned on
She suddenly reins
Natsume had been raised as the heir to the Tsuchimikado As the son of the current head Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi
However, Yasuzumi's true child was Harutora and not Natsume Then where had Natsume been born? Who were her true parents?
When Harutora left and Yasuzumi came to welcome Natsume, her adoptive father had told her the answer himself before she opened her mouth
”Natsui family?”
Yasuzumi had posed this question first His calm, steady tone was just like always Natsume nodded on the bed
The Wakasugi family was the maiden family of Natsume's dead mother - or more accurately, her adoptive mother - Tsuchimikado Yuuko
Like the Kurahashi+, the Wakasugi family was an old branch family of the Tsuchimikado It was a powerful traditional family on the level of the Kurahashi+, and they had been even ard to the not-yet-declinedthe Meiji period But unlike the Kurahashi+ that assisted Tsuchi and reviving the s They chose to keep a distance frouard the traditional systeh to avoid the chaos of the Pacific War, they were overwhelradually declined
Tsuchii, had been born in that family
Yuuko had died as a twenty-year-old woedly, she had recovered poorly after the birth, but it seein with Naturally, Natsume - and perhaps Harutora as well - had no entle woraphs in the residence The child Natsuraphs she had left behind
But the first person Natsui' wasn't Tsuchimikado Yuuko, but rather her mother
When Yuuko married Yasuzumi, her father had been near the end of his life After her daughter died, her left-alone mother had often visited Yasuzu a child The childhood Natsuh she had died of illness before Natsume reached elementary school, Natsume remembered what she had heard from the mother very clearly
But
”You aren't looking for coht now Therefore, I'll speak plainly Natsu after you were born That als happened in olden tii family was very famous in that era as a traditional Onmyoudou family”
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't unsettled In other words, she was an abandoned child
Maybe Akino was also an example of this, but there weren'tabandoned by their parents after displaying spiritual abilities Such tendencies were particularly notable outside of those ere born in faenerations Norreat extent by bloodline, but naturally there were also exceptions That here the 'receptacles' of practitioners with no positions, like the Seishuku Te with traditional faic - were effective There was a history of that
”You were dropped off several days after Yuuko died The Wakasugi mother who noticed the child placed next to the entrance seemed to feel that you were the reincarnation of Yuuko But she was already old It was very difficult for her to raise you, but she didn't plan on entrusting you to an orphanage, so she spoke to e as the just-born Harutora, a thought flashed through my mind like electricity Natsu you as Harutora's substitute”
What Yasuzus that she had half-anticipated Even so, Natsu
The world that she had so naturally lived in was slowly cruic? The truth that Yasuzumi spoke of was a reconstruction of the world to Natsu she had experienced to this point, this was the cruelest and ic
Yasuzumi continued
”The reasons for which I chose to do that are too coht now But what I can say is that I had no choice at the ti a child alone as a man I was overwhelmed by the special destiny that the child was burdened by - his final fate - because I couldn't completely anticipate it I didn't knohat the correct ansas or what to do as the head of the Tsuchimikado or as that child's father”
Yasuzumi remained cal time that the day would come when he would finally confess the truth to Natsume
”That's why I understood the thought that flashed throughyou as divine intervention Fortunately - perhaps it's wrong to say that, but Takahiro and Chizuru had been unable to have a child for a long time Because I knew the two of them wanted a child, I decided to entrust Harutora to Takahiro and Chizuru And to raise you”
Yasuzuht at Natsu far away
Hypothetically--
If Natsuood since before, then the shock Natsuht have been far more than her current unsettledness After all, it was a confession from the man she has always trusted as her 'father' ever since birth Maybe she would have been irreversibly hurt by the rebuilding of her world into a dissimilar dimension
However, ironically, Natsume herself understood that the relationshi+p between the two of them was indifferent and businesslike Hence, Natsume could accept the truth that she heard as simple facts Maybe Yasuzumi had only treated Natsume the way he had because he had considered this Natsu 'divination' ability
Of course, she wasn't unaffected