Chapter 2 - Future and Everyday 1 page

Chapter 1 - Past and Present

Please forgive my sudden letter.

Once again, I'm sorry for not sending any letters until now.

But I'm delighted 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'm alright.

Part 1

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 something natural.

A spacious, old, and yet cozy residence.

The hallway was lit by the dazzling summer sunlight and the smell of greenery floated in the air. In comparison to the hot and stifling 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 time. They all mixed together 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 similar to a shell-less egg. Even if it had a form, it was weak and easily changed. More importantly, if she was a spirit sensor who had the ability to 'see' aura, then her senses tended to become overwhelmed even more strongly. Like a butterfly blown around by the wind, her sense of self would easily cross the line between worlds. Her sense of self dissolved, mixing with the world. Aura and time dissolved and mixed in along with the sound and light, becoming one.

Her soul hesitated in between.

In order to keep that from happening, people would cast 'magic' on others not long 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 emotion for her. She finally regained her sense of self after being called upon by her name with such emotion. At the same time, her young self grew distance - her consciousness surfaced inside the room.

She awoke in the room she had been in for a long time, slowly opening her eyes.

"......Natsume?"

Tsuchimikado Natsume slowly opened her eyes upon being 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, a motionless gaze watching her.

"......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 kimono-wearing man who sat on the chair next to the bed. He wore gold-rimmed eyeglasses and was an intellectual yet deeply shadowed man.

Natsume's father and the current head of the Tsuchimikado family, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi.

Natsume tried to rise in a panic but couldn't muster the energy.

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 calm couldn't be felt from his expression. In addition, a feeling of fatigue unlike usual had surfaced on him. However, even so, his body was still straight as he sat on the chair and no cloudiness could be seen in the depths of the eyes behind his glasses.

"............"

Natsume laid on the bed, gazing 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 Yasuzumi sat right now.

Harutora's left eye had been covered by a cloth. He had been extremely gentle. And he had held her hand.

Also, there was the business with Hokuto.

He knew about how Natsume had been the one controlling 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 remembered the sensation of their hands clasping tightly 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 with was 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 shikigami appeared in front of us while we were searching for you. That shikigami returned to a shikigami charm very quickly, but characters were appended to it. It was a message 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, Natsume. But someday...... I'll definitely meet you again......'

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, what were 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 remembered. Natsume's body went stiff and her breathing halted.

Her memories immediately linked and exploded in her mind. A red-haired girl holding a birdcage. A three-legged raven shikigami. Scattered black feathers and golden particles of light. Also, the possessed, out-of-control Harutora. Herself, who had rode Yukikaze and chased after the flying Harutora.

The faint smell of gunpowder floating in the air and the black night sky embellished with fireworks. The sky and the wind howling, blowing her hair into a mess, and peeling away the summer heat. She clearly recalled her bucking 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 numbness it soon turned into after surmounting her limits. Her body being wrapped by cold and filled with emptiness soon afterwards. The loneliness and feeling 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 wove words with her final strength.

And then--

"I......"

Died.

She should have.

Being saved afterwards - she didn't feel that it was possible. But why was she living? Was there any link with the reason Harutora had left? He had entrusted her to her father - no, why was 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 rampage, what exactly had happened--

"Natsume."

Yasuzumi spoke up. Natsume's confused thoughts 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 room you're in is a business hotel inside Tokyo. Though they're out right now, Takahiro and Chizuru are here too."

"......Uncle...... and Aunt too?"

Yasuzumi affirmed Natsume's meek words and then continued.

"Natsume. We don't know everything 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 imagination."

"............"

"But as I said before, you're fine for now. Hence, settle down and calmly accept what I'm going to begin saying now."

Yasuzumi gazed into Natsume's eyes and said that.

Yasuzumi's tone wasn't a kind of gentle, protective tone meant to comfort her. It wasn't that kind. Rather, it was more like a tone with which he gave a necessary order, making her stand back up with her own strength. Moreover, it was completely supportive and not forceful.

Natsume stared straight 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 more aged than she remembered now that she hadn't heard it for a long time. Moreover, his appearance was the same. She felt like her father ought to be a bit younger. In other words, that was probably proof that Natsume hadn't truly looked Yasuzumi in the face for a long time.

Yasuzumi's gaze pointed straight at Natsume. Natsume had never been good at dealing 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 know how to interact with him. Moreover, that point was still unchanged now.

But Natsume suddenly realized as she stared straight at Yasuzumi.

Around the corner of his eye. She hadn't immediately reacted since he was wearing glasses, but he looked similar to someone.

Who was it? Right as she thought about it, someone's face emerged.

...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 Yasuzumi had prepared. And actually, the 'Raven's Wing' had chosen Harutora and possessed him. What she spoke of had been correct.

Harutora and Yasuzumi were true relatives. The progeny of the Tsuchimikado.

Then - what about her?

"............"

She couldn't ask. The person who knew the answer was 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 seemed as if it were reproaching her. Natsume trembled slightly.

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 mouth. Natsume wordlessly and reflexively turned her gaze towards him.

"I have many things I have to say."

Yasuzumi's expression was composed. He wasn't angry, nor was he sad or smiling. He was unchanged from usual. Right, this person had always been like this. She never knew what 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 time, she didn't avert her gaze.

The room with just the two of them was covered by another silence.

After a period of time, Natsume slowly nodded slightly.

The sunlight outside the window had already reached its highest noontime point. The clamorous sound of cicadas rang out just like she remembered.

Part 2

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 more packed than usual, and shrines and their surroundings buzzed noisily with a large number of people. The flow of people was also unlike normal. Because it was a city, the number of people moving around didn't change by too much, but their routes and times were greatly 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 human more or less carried. Hence, the movements of large amounts of people would have an effect on the spirit flow that pumped through the ground - though temporary. A 'change' in the movement of people would create 'disorder' in the spirit flow.

The disorder of the spirit flow was linked with aura imbalance, and aura imbalance would give rise to spiritual disasters if it became serious. But because it knew of these tendencies, the Onmyou Agency had prepared countermeasures beforehand. It was a demonic aura purification that they performed every New Year. A large-scale magic ceremony with the goal 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 among these, the ceremony held on New Year's was the largest. 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 Onmyou Agency's normal duties - other than those of the Exorcist Bureau responsible for purifying spiritual disasters - would mostly halt around New Year's.

"Well, the Onmyou Agency's also a 'government agency'."

It was Tsuchimikado Takahiro, who had once belonged to the Onmyou Agency Mystical Crime Investigation Department himself, who said this.

In any case, to the fugitive Tsuchimikado clan, the New Year was a great opportunity when the Onmyou Agency's manpower resources were shifted 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 family. Natsume. Also, Souma Akino who had moved together 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 was western Kichijoji^[1]. Moreover, it was an old private home away from the station.

"It's a house managed by an 'acquaintance' of an 'acquaintance', but it seems that their renovation plans stopped, so it's become an empty house for the year. They left right after the renovation plans were decided, so we can borrow it without 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 Natsume's first time experiencing a 'nuclear family'.

This was a two-floor wooden building. Allegedly, it had been built more than fifty years ago, and it could accidentally be mistaken for an abandoned building from 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 a marvel that there was running water and electricity.

Chizuru shook her head, dumbfounded:

"We're going to have to clean up first."

With that, the Tsuchimikado family began an early spring cleaning in the beginning of the first month.

If they used shikigami, it would save trouble with their work, but they were fugitives right now after all, so they wanted to use as little non-stealth first-class magic 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 accompanied their moving in took two whole days.

"Honestly, it would be a waste if we have to move locations right away again."

Though Chizuru muttered that, she had deliberately rectified the living environment because they were anticipating 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 Tsuchimikado family had suffered an attack from the Onmyou Agency 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, Yasuzumi and the others had moved around, continuously living fugitive 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 Onmyou Agency to monitor things away from Tokyo.

But this year, they had slipped into Tokyo at the Onmyou Agency's doorstep. This was basically a decision made by Yasuzumi's divination. He had predicted that there would be huge movements in Tokyo in the near future, and they had braved danger 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 Onmyou Agency learned of this, they would have to change locations immediately.

"Anyway, we'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. Natsume and Akino brought 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 dim around. It seemed like dining in the courtyard would leave an impression on the neighbors, 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 denied making it, her blissful expression while eating had even been teased by Takahiro and Chizuru before.

Natsume was currently eighteen. On the other hand, Akino seemed to be unclear about her actual age. 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. Similar to how Natsume tied up her long black hair with a pink ribbon, Akino tied her hair into two pigtails. She wore slightly large glasses and looked like a rather timid girl.

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 become low. After all, Akino's living 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 from feeling tense.

"I'm thinking today's dinner will be a barbeque. Anyway, grill 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 composed smile and Chizuru going "Right?" with a smile of warning. Takahiro was a large man who resembled a wrestler, but he carried a gentle atmosphere that made one associate him with a huge herbivore. In contrast to him, Chizuru was small and lively, like a carnivorous hunting 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 always when 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 Natsume couldn't help but laugh out loud as she sat next to her.

"It's alright, Akino. Auntie said to eat as much as you wanted, right? Here."

She placed beef on the grill's grid. Akino's face immediately lit up. That straightforward readiness and carefreeness was part of Akino's adorable personality.

Akino stared at the beef on the grid. Smiling wryly at how serious she was, Chizuru also started grilling the cut ingredients with a happy expression. "Natsume, do you want some too?" Chizuru spoke and Natsume answered with an "Okay". Takahiro planned on letting the children go first and still sat on the porch, casually drinking tea while looking at the female group surrounding the grill.

It was a scene like a true family. However, actually, not a single person of the five in the family were blood-related. Though Yasuzumi and Takahiro were both Tsuchimikado family members, the Tsuchimikado main and branch families had allegedly 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 times. "That's poor manners, you know." Even though she reproached that, Chizuru still arranged chicken on it. It was bitingly cold oustide, but the crackling charcoal grill and the familiar people surrounding 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 windows. The lights that Yasuzumi had turned on.

She suddenly remembered her origins.

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.

"Natsume, do you still remember the Wakasugi 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 more influential with regard to the not-yet-declined main family during the Meiji period. But unlike the Kurahashi that assisted Tsuchimikado Yakou and the Tsuchimikado family in recreating and reviving the magic community, the Wakasugi family had stayed out of things. They chose to keep a distance from the central powers and meticulously guard the traditional systems. In the end, although they were fortunate enough to avoid the chaos of the Pacific War, they were overwhelmed by the waves of the era and gradually declined.

Tsuchimikado Yuuko, whose maiden name had been Wakasugi, had been born in that family.

Yuuko had died as a twenty-year-old woman after giving birth to Harutora. Allegedly, she had recovered poorly after the birth, but it seemed that she had been very frail to begin with. Naturally, Natsume - and perhaps Harutora as well - had no memories of her. She was a gentle woman, as her name implied^[2], that she had only seen in photographs in the residence. The child Natsume had once gazed patiently for several hours at the photographs she had left behind.

But the first person Natsume thought of when she heard 'Wakasugi' 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 Yasuzumi's residence to help him, as he wasn't used to raising a child. The childhood Natsume had once admired her as the 'Wakasugi granny'. Though 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 comforting lies or vague explanations right now. Therefore, I'll speak plainly. Natsume, you were placed on the Wakasugi's doorsteps not long after you were born. That almost never happens anymore...... But such things happened in olden times. The Wakasugi 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't many examples of children being abandoned by their parents after displaying spiritual abilities. Such tendencies were particularly notable outside of those who were born in families related to magic for generations. Normally, talent as a practitioner was decided to a great extent by bloodline, but naturally there were also exceptions. That was where the 'receptacles' of practitioners with no positions, like the Seishuku Temple where Akino had been - and along with traditional families of magic - 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 me about it. Then...... When I saw you, a child the same age as the just-born Harutora, a thought flashed through my mind like electricity. Natsume, that was...... the matter of raising you as Harutora's substitute."

What Yasuzumi spoke of were things that she had half-anticipated. Even so, Natsume couldn't stop her body from trembling.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 784