Tokyo Ravens - Volume 12 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4 - Meteor Flurry 
Part 1 
The event had been anticipated. 
But, 
"......Impressive. What a debut." 
Yashamaru murmured to himself, descending from the night sky down to the road. Kumomaru followed right behind him. 
He didn't need to turn around to sense that Kumomaru next to him was somewhat tense. It wasn't without reason. After all, 'he' who currently stood in front of them couldn't be spoken of the same way as one and a half years ago. 
On an overpass, Harutora held the still-unconscious Natsume who was bound by Yashamaru's Unmoving Golden Chains. Surrounding them on the other side of the overpass was the figure of Kakugyouki, holding the rabbit living spirit girl in one arm. 
They had been a step away from getting their hands on Natsume and the girl, but Yashamaru was more curious and excited than upset. The Onmyouji Dairenji Shidou who had abandoned his human body had dedicated his life to research on 'him'. 
'He' who had been born in chaotic times and who had established a huge system of magic amidst the swirling fires of war - the great Onmyouji Tsuchimikado Yakou. 
They had met before, while he had been working for his master. He had been trying to steal back the same Natsume who was collapsed behind him, and hadn't even spoken. 
But this time was different. There was already a camouflaging barrier set up around them, and no one would come disturb them. 
Suppressing the excitement in his chest, Yashamaru righted his posture and greeted him. 
"North Star King." 
He noticed a momentary tremor from Kumomaru behind him. Mutobe Chihiro was also an Onmyouji fascinated with Yakou. 
"It's been a long time, and I deeply apologize for being unable to greet you properly before. It's an incredible pleasure to see that you've successfully awakened. I am fortunate for the opportunity to meet with a great historical pioneer of magic, it truly is--" 
"Quiet." 
Yashamaru's lips twisted at that word and the words in his throat were stopped right there. 
Harutora gazed at Yashamaru with his right eye. He had been hit. First-class spirit language. Though he had showed an opening just now, it was incredible that he had been able to shut his mouth so precisely. 
He waved a hand to tell Kumomaru taking a stance behind him not to act rashly. 
...A bitter lesson. 
He had been struck without hesitation. But anger, bitterness, and displeasure didn't fill his heart. After all, it was obvious retribution for setting bait and doing such rude things to the reincarnation of that great Yakou. You could even say that he wanted the rare experience of taking one of the North Star King's moves directly. 
...Exactly what I've been looking for. 
That was how special the existence Tsuchimikado Yakou was to someone captivated with the abyss of magic. Even to someone as old and experienced as he. 
The Onmyouji who had mastered all the magic in the world and fearlessly stepped into the deepest taboos half a century ago. 
That said, Yashamaru greatly respected this Onmyouji named Tsuchimikado Yakou, but didn't worship him. His praise was just respectful courtesy. 
He stopped Kumomaru and released the first-class spirit language cast on his body, forming his hand seal slowly as if to tell the other party that he wasn't doing anything reckless. Then he lowered his head and bowed again. 
"My apologies. Please forgive my discourtesy, but my praise for you is no falsehood. I am sincerely happy for your return as the former leader of the Souma. ......Even if you are on a different side now." 
"............" 
Harutora's face was stony. He didn't react to Yashamaru's words, but a response came from an unexpected direction. 
"Eh!? Souma? Did you just say Souma!?" 
The living spirit girl that Kakugyouki was protecting cried out and then hastily shut her mouth. 
But her wide-eyed expression of disbelief could still be seen. 
As expected, Souma blood also ran through this girl's body. And the Tsuchimikado didn't seem to have investigated it much. 
"Hey, stand up." 
Yashamaru released the girl [15] . If you didn't count the rabbit ears sprouting from her head, the swaying girl didn't even reach the chest of her protector next to her. She looked confusedly between Kakugyouki and Harutora. 
"U-U-Um, I'm Natsume's friend, I just ran away with N-Natsume, so, well, I, um......!?" 
Seeing that incoherent expression told them that she didn't understand who the protector next to her was. No, it was likely that she truly didn't understand anything at all. But that was why she had been able to escape the Souma intelligence network so successfully. 
Harutora held Natsume and approached the flustered Akino, the hem of his Raven's Wing fluttering. 
"Hi, what's your name?" 
A simple tone. I see. Yashamaru's eyes brightened. 
"Eh? ......Ah, S-Souma Akino. ......B-But I don't have any relationship with the other Souma over there, okay? ...N-No, I'm really not related! It's my first time seeing him--" [16] 
"I know. So you're Akino? You said you were Natsume's friend?" 
"Y-Yeah. Definitely, I'm not lying--" 
"I said I know. It was a bit of a surprise." 
"Eh?" 
"She wouldn't even imagine taking the initiative to make friends before. Akino, I don't know how you see it, but that girl was incredibly antisocial before." Harutora smiled cheerfully as he spoke. 
Yashamaru quietly and carefully observed Harutora's appearance. 
Yashamaru himself had been resurrected as a shikigami, but it was different from 'reincarnation'. 'Who' the current Tsuchimikado Harutora was posed an extremely important point for Yashamaru and Kurahashi. 
Oblivious to what Yashamaru was thinking, Harutora continued speaking with the straightforward Akino: 
"Akino. I have to ask you for a favor. Can you carry Natsume away from this place while my shikigami clears the way for you?" 
"Eh, you want m-me!?" 
"I'm asking this of you because you're Natsume's friend." 
"B-But......" 
After hesitating for a while, Akino clenched her fists in front of her chest, replying resolutely to Harutora: 
"Y-You're Natsume's childhood friend, right? Natsume's always...... always been looking for you! You finally met, but......" 
"......Yeah. I know. But I still need to ask this of you." 
He said in a firm tone. 
It was a firmness that was hard to reject, as well as a firmness that wouldn't budge in the face of adversity and would only continue struggling forward. The rebuttal that reached Akino's mouth vanished like smoke. 
"Chief......" Kumomaru, who had been silently watching the situation unfold, quietly urged Yashamaru. But: 
"...Don't worry." Yashamaru dispelled Kumomaru's suspense. 
"......It's just the two of them. It's not too late to take care of things later. Kurahashi ought to have plans too. Right now we need to pay attention to Tsuchimikado Harutora." 
According to the conversation, Harutora seemed to want to stay here. Though Yashamaru didn't know what his plans were, it was a good thing for them. More importantly, recklessly stopping Akino from escaping was quite dangerous with Kakugyouki here. 
And most important of all...... 
Their preparations weren't done yet. They just needed to quietly watch for changes. 
Akino thought for a while and then put Natsume on her back. 
"Can you carry her?" 
"N-No problem!" 
"As expected of a living spirit, you're stronger than you look. I almost can't hold on anymore...... Ah, right. Keep this matter a secret from Natsume when she wakes up. ...I'm counting on you, 'Full Moon'." 
As he had thought. Yashamaru narrowed his eyes as if his prediction had hit the mark. 
After glancing cautiously in the direction of Yashamaru and Kumomaru, and then nodding to Harutora, Akino ran out to the road carrying the unconscious Natsume. 
She was just running on the ground, but she vanished in the blink of an eye. Quite an astounding speed. No wonder Harutora had asked her. 
Then-- 
Finally, Harutora turned his head back over to Yashamaru. 
Harutora and Kakugyouki confronted Yashamaru and Kumomaru on the narrow overpass road. The boy's eye stared straight at the two Yase Doji. 
Quite intimidating. Just as Yashamaru was thinking about what to do next-- 
"...Hishamaru!" 
Harutora suddenly barked. 
A woman in a military outfit with fox ears and a tail appeared in front of Harutora with a disappointed look. She was Hishamaru, who, along with Kakugyouki, composed 'Yakou's two guardians'. 
"Stand down." 
"But..." 
"Hishamaru." 
"......Yes!" 
She quickly moved back behind Harutora and took a stance. 
She hadn't left after checking on the Onmyou Agency men, but had approached them while under stealth. Perhaps she had been preparing for a sneak attack. 
Of course, Yashamaru and Kumomaru weren't so careless that they would let such a sneak attack work, but Hishamaru seemed a bit strange indeed. 
...Her aura wasn't stable? 
When he had fought with Hishamaru at the Exorcist Bureau before, she had just released her seal and her aura had been extremely chaotic. But now, her aura was more 'unstable' than chaotic. 
...Was that why he stopped her from sneak attacking? 
In any case, the actors were now all present. 
He wanted to first say something if possible, but the strange atmosphere didn't seem to be giving him the room to open his mouth. 
"......Are the Souma trying to make the same mistake?" 
Harutora broke the silence first. And he entered the main topic right away. Slightly unexpected, but that was just the development Yashamaru desired. 
"That's a misunderstanding. North Star King, you should understand that it's all a misunderstanding." 

"Quit it." 
"What are you referring to?" 
"That manner of speaking. You didn't talk like that at all the last time we met. There's nothing venerable about me." 
"Have you forgotten? The one before you right now is the leader of the Twin-Horned Syndicate, you know? The leader of that Twin-Syndicate formed of fanatics chasing after Yakou's footsteps?" 
Harutora listened with a resentful look. He [17] was incredibly disliked. 
"But...... alright. Since you say so, I'll stop speaking respectfully. But my respect for you is the real thing, you know? It wouldn't be too much to call it an obsession." 
"Lying again, huh." 
"No way. I just admire your heroics from your previous life. Establishing magic that none would speak ill about in the future using scientific techniques was an unprecedented feat! National funding, military support, a supply of talent...... you had as much as you wanted. What greater joy can there be for a practitioner? You brought about a golden age of magic." 
"............" 
"Haha, don't look so bitter. Are you embarrassed?" 
He still didn't respond. Yashamaru continued speaking his mind: 
"If I could realize any one desire, it would be to live in the same era as you and feel that excitement with my own body. Gathering all the magics of Japan, analyzing them all, modifying, and melding them into a complete system. It's like creating a world to an Onmyouji - no, it's a great revolution of 'reincarnating' a world! What fortune it would be to be part of that revolution. I truly admire you." 
Anyone delving into the road of Onmyou would think this, not just Yashamaru. To embrace a common vision and single-mindedly write a chapter of history. 
The private Yakou Academy had been one of his creations. 
Tsuchimikado Yakou had been the savior of the endangered magic community. Though there were naysayers, those naysayers had also been unconsciously helping along the downfall of magic. 
But Yakou hadn't stopped at revitalizing magic. He had stepped further along and broken through taboos, delving into the marrow of magic. Until...... 
"......Indeed, you failed that time." 
Yashamaru spoke emotionlessly. 
"But you can't call that a 'mistake'. Why would you use a sad term like 'mistake'? If you fail, just challenge it again. However many times it takes. Until you succeed." 
"......Causing huge spiritual disasters in Tokyo again is alright for the sake of that success?" 
"Of course." 
He already knew what Harutora was scared of. 
"Since ancient times, only a small number of humans have had the ability to 'see' aura. Why is that? It's so that they are 'able to see'. So that they can see that others 'cannot see'. Even if you must sacrifice something, you must look at the greater picture to contribute to humankind. That is our mission, although often people cannot see this." 
...I'm not being straightforward enough. 
"You failed that time." 
Yashamaru repeated. 
"But we're very thankful for that failure, you know? Now that we have that lesson, we'll succeed this time. We'd be able to fulfill any request you have if you were to give us your help." 
He was walking on the road that Yakou had cleared. It would be terribly exciting to continue walking forward with him. 
Tsuchimikado Harutora wouldn't do. Harutora, who was far removed from magic and who had grown up with the values of modern society, couldn't do it. 
But Tsuchimikado Yakou was different. 
"Since you regret your failure, come help us succeed. Isn't that why you reincarnated? Wasn't it to complete your mission?" 
"......I see. So Yakou had this group of believers. There are these kinds of people, in addition to second-class magic." 
"Please, please. You weren't like this in the past." 
"......Just as you say, practitioners probably exist to 'see'." 
Yashamaru's heart leaped when he heard 'his' reply. 
However, 
"But Onmyouji exist to use their 'seeing' abilities to maintain the balance of yin and yang." 
Hmph. Yashamaru's mouth twisted unconsciously. 
"Why must you be constrained by this? You're the one who expanded the scope of Onmyou to where it is now." 
"Even so, the role of the Onmyouji does not change. I admit that there were times when I became too passionate and deviated from that role. But don't point to me to justify your current actions." 
"Don't you want to know the spiritual composition of the world? Don't you want to test the possibilities of magic!? Don't you want to open the door to a new world with your own hands!?" 
Yashamaru straightened himself and shouted. His aura rose like an aureole [18] of light, his eyes burning like fire. 
But Harutora looked back with a sedate gaze. 
Silence. 
Silently, the spiritual pressure between the two of them increased. 
Finally, Yashamaru withdrew first. 
"Desire...... huh. I can't deny it, but at least call it a 'noble desire'. The noble desire that the Souma clan has wanted to realize for a thousand years. ...Alright, I understand. I didn't have much hope in getting you to accept it. I'm a bit regretful, but there's no other way around it." 
Actually, now came the important part. Yashamaru regained his self-confident smile. 
"So...... Let's venture into the next topic. How to take care of this current situation." 
Kumomaru quickly took a stance, and Hishamaru and Kakugyouki prepared to engage accordingly. 
An unstable atmosphere hung over the night road. 
The two dead knights, one alluring fox spirit, a one-armed oni, and a black-clothed Onmyouji. 
A modern Hyakki Yagyou [19] . 
"Let me repeat that I don't recognize you. I'll put out the fires that I started once before." 
Harutora's eye closed, and instantly, the Raven's Wing swept forward, followed closely by the two shikigami attacking from the left and right. 
Hishamaru went for Yashamaru, and Kakugyouki went for Kumomaru. 
 
In the next second, 
"Ugh!" "Hah!" 
Blows were exchanged. The four wove a typhoon of fist and feet. 
The spell that solidified a shikigami's body with every punch and kick was 'magic' on its own. The most effective means for someone who single-mindedly wanted to defeat the enemy. 
"Isn't it no fun to make it a physical battle right at the start?" 
"Spare the jokes, dishonorable undead!" 
Another fierce scuffle. In a physical battle, shikigami clashed with aura and sentiment. Kumomaru was falling into trouble as he fought with the one-armed oni who was spiritually the strongest present. 
"I'm only using one arm over here, you know? Or do I need to hold back some more, hmm?" 
Kumomaru was already powerless to do anything but defend. He had no chance of winning a physical battle. 
Usually, a few mere shikigami were nothing before the power of a Yase Doji. 
But their master currently wasn't with them. 
Resurrection as a 'defensive shikigami' meant that they were unable to use their full power when their master wasn't present. Takiko hadn't approved Yashamaru's and Kumomaru's current actions; they were acting independently. They couldn't get any support in this place that their master couldn't sense. 
Without the support of his magic, Kumomaru might not be able to suppress Kakugyouki alone-- 
"Don't look elsewhere during battle!" 
He kicked back to dodge Hishamaru's attack. With that kick, he pulled away far enough to use magic. 
"On bishibishi karakara shibari sowaka!" 
He chanted repeatedly and formed eight Unmoving Golden Chains, shooting them at Hishamaru like a shotgun. Just as she was about to tear through the bindings by force, 
"Argh!?" 
An intense shock. 
He had aimed at Hishamaru's unstable aura and deliberately strengthened the internal binding instead of the external. 
As expected, Hishamaru couldn't use her full power. The reasons were unclear, but it was a great opportunity for them. 
"Kumomaru, come help me--" 
Just as the words left his mouth, Yashamaru was engulfed by a lotus of red flame appearing out of thin air and struck down to the ground. 
Fire Realm magic. A merciless strike just like the first-class spirit language from before. 
"Seems like you want to hold out until the Independent Officers come, but we don't have that kind of time, you know?" Harutora spoke loftily, the hem of his black clothes fluttering lightly. 
His strategy to buy time had been exposed. Just by taking those two attacks, Yashamaru already had a deep feel for Harutora's fighting style. He didn't blindly show his strength, he just struck decisively at the most opportune time. 'Practical strength', like the strength of his old friend Kurahashi Genji. 
But, 
"......Well, buying time ends here. It looks like they already just got here." 
Yashamaru spoke as he righted himself. Harutora realized something was wrong, his single eye showing his alarm - unfortunately, it was one step too late. 
"You don't mind if I say a bit more, right? There were twenty total Swallow Whips that I let out a while back, and you brought down fourteen of them. One of the remaining ones made it back already...... Kumomaru!" 
Kumomaru stopped fighting and retreated backwards in a flash. The five Swallow Whips present responded to the signal and hovered in the sky above, drawing out lines of magical energy. 
The lines of magical energy crossed, and what appeared was a giant magic seal - a pentagram. 
"Ugh! Hishamaru, Kakugyouki, return!" 
Just as the words left his mouth, a powerful magic crushed down on Harutora like a waterfall. 
The Yamantaka method of the Vajrayana system of magic. 
"Damn, this strength......! Kakugyouki, help me!" 
Harutora had trouble resisting and hastily summoned his defensive shikigami for aid. But the magic bursting forth held Harutora perfectly captive and wasn't that easy to break through. 
Yashamaru took his hands out of his pockets and said calmly, 
"I'm proud to welcome the 'Fire Demon', Independent Officer Miyachi - the most powerful long-range magic user of this generation. Enjoy."