Tokyo Ravens - Volume 1 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2 - Begin Worship 

Part 1 
"Uh...... Why are you here?" 
"......My summer vacation starts today." 
"Oh, I see, so you came back?" 
"Yes......" 
Natsume replied to every question Harutora asked with a stiff voice. 
Harutora and Natsume stood side to side on the bridge at twilight, leaning slightly on the railings mottled with paint. 
The wind blew lightly by the two of them, bringing a bit of a chill. The sun sank in the west, and the vast sky was quickly being dyed in the colors of the night. 
"Will you be here long?" 
"......About one week." 
"Oh, the Onmyou Academy's summer break really is short." 
"......Actually, it's not that short." 
"Huh?" 
"I have a lot of things I have to do there." 
"Uh, oh, I see." 
Harutora scratched his cheek uninterestedly, glancing at Natsume out of the corner of his eye. 
Her head was slightly lowered, looking at her own feet. For some reason, she looked a bit angry. On the other hand, Natsume's face always had a slight hint of dissatisfaction, and that look contrasted greatly with her beauty. 
She was a girl for whom the word 'beautiful' was more fitting than 'cute', who gave off an impression of calmness and tranquility exceeding her true age. 
Her eyelashes were long, her nose was turned-up, and her cheeks were thin, with smooth lines from her chin down her neck like a flower blooming in the shadows, but at best this was just an exterior facade. If one probed her more deeply, he would notice the pride and keen spirit that hid inside her heart. The black hair that floated in the wind danced freely with no regard for her image. 
There was only a space of one meter between the two, and they carried out a choppy conversation, each looking for words to say. 
Also, they had chosen different directions to move forward in. 
They were familiar with each other but didn't understand each other - This made Harutora feel mystified. The two hadn't met in a long time, but he had nothing to say. 
They hadn't been such strangers to each other when they were children, but since they had entered middle school, they had kept up this kind of relationship. Natsume who was born in the main family had been expected to become an Onmyouji since she was small, and had received the relevant basic training. The mentality of her and the people around her regarding this matter was different from Harutora's, who never had a bit of spirit-seeing talent. 
"How's the Onmyou Academy life?" 
"......What do you mean, how is it?" 
"Is it interesting?" 
"......I don't know, I'm not sure." 
"I, I see. Uh, it's different from a normal high school after all. Is it tiring?" 
"As for tiring, rather than the Onmyou Academy, the 'tradition' is more......" 
Harutora was surprised. It had already been a long time since he had heard that word. 
"Huh?" 
"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all......" 
Natsume hurriedly glossed over it, and Harutora didn't pursue the question further, awkwardly searching for a new topic. 
"What about Tokyo? Is it convenient to live there?" 
"......It's pretty convenient." 
"I, I see. You probably met some new friends there, right?" 
"Friends, you say?" 
"Huh? You didn't meet new friends?" 
"......I'm not very sure." 
Natsume's tone was vague, and her reply was dull. To the eyes of someone who didn't know her, her attitude might seem cold and emotionless. 
Actually, Natsume had always been extremely shy since she had been small. The current her was even more reticent, but because the other party was Harutora, she was already talking more than when she conversed with other people. 
"Haha, how worrying, you never were very sociable." 
"Right." 
"You couldn't be being bullied, right?" 
"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you have power there, you won't need to fear being looked down upon." 
The attitude she spoke with was refined, but the words she spoke weren't bashful at all. Natsume's manner of retorting hadn't changed at all since she had been small, and Harutora couldn't help but smile wryly. 
"You speak as directly as before." 
"......I'm speaking the truth." 

"But, you won't make friends like that." 
He carelessly spoke his true thoughts. 
Then, he noticed that Natsume's mood was beginning one of its rare swings, as if anger was spilling out of the mask that was her face. 
He tried to stop himself, but unfortunately it was too late. 
"......Then, Harutora-kun?" 
"What?" 
"Let me ask you, after you entered high school, what useful friends did you meet?" 
"U, Useful...... Friends aren't related to being useful or not, right?" 
"Is that so?" 
"It is. If you can happily get along together, you count as friends." 
Harutora tried not to rock the boat, replying to Natsume's defiant statement with a smile. 
However, Natsume continued speaking with a cold tone: 
"Friends are those who you compete with and learn from." 
"Th, That can't be all friends are, right?" 
"No, you don't believe it because you laze around every day, which is why a group of good-for-nothings gathered around you." 
"......Hey." 
Harutora's tone dripped with an anger that couldn't be held back. 
In that moment, a flash of regret showed in Natsume's eyes. 
But, in the next moment, her eyes gave off an even stronger aggressive light, as if to dispel her remorse. 
"......Harutora-kun, you must be clear on the Tsuchimikado family's current condition, right? I am the next heir who will inherit the Tsuchimikado family. I have a duty as the next family head, and I have no time to pass empty days, nor do I have time to hang out all day with useless friends." 
Her cute image changed, as if to a sharp blade. There was no rage in her tone, but it was like a katana being unsheathed, filled with calm resolution. 
Also. 
"...I'm different from you." 
As she said those final words, a cold smile of disdain even emerged on her face. He really couldn't fight back against that demeanor of Natsume's. 
Harutora knew she was right, the two of them were truly different. No, he only felt angry because they were different. 
"......Your words are still as vicious as ever." 
"I'm speaking the truth, like I said just now." 
"As expected of a prodigy, even the words you say are different from others." 
"Stating the truth has nothing to do with prodigies or mediocrities." 
Harutora was half a head taller than Natsume. He stared down, but Natsume glared up with her head raised, and the gazes of the two clashed in midair, scattering formless sparks. 
But, Harutora observed that the situation was unfavorable for him. He 'owed' Natsume. Even if he didn't feel that he had any responsibility, he actually felt sorry. 
So... 
"......You really aren't cute at all." 
He lashed out with those words, quickly turning around as if he wanted to flee. 
Natsume's response after hearing those words was far removed from her confrontational attitude just now. Since Harutora had turned around, he didn't notice - his childhood playmate's eyes had reddened. 
"......Don't worry." 
Natsume desperately suppressed the slight trembling in her voice, telling Harutora. 
"I won't ask you to change your current way of living, you can continue your happy days. I'll guard the Tsuchimikado - our family - myself." 
Different from the weak blow lashed out by the branch family's son, Natsume's words hit Harutora hard. 
Harutora could say nothing back, and Natsume quickly recovered her self-control when she saw Harutora's silence. 
She nodded lightly with manners that could almost be described as overly polite. 
"...Good night." 
After saying that, she made a neat turn, walking across the bridge. 
After her beautiful black hair dropped across her back, she departed without turning back. 
Feeling anxiety and disgust in his heart, Harutora scrunched up his face. 
He couldn't move his feet, and just quietly watched Natsume leave. 
"......Tch." 
He clicked. 
..."Liar". 
Harutora had to admit, he truly owed Natsume.