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.
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