Tokyo Ravens - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.2

Part 2 
Unfortunately, the situation was far more urgent than he had imagined. 
"Good morning, senpai!" 
The classroom door was forcefully pulled open, and Suzuka walked in beaming with a smile - a devilish smile. The entire classroom immediately erupted in a clamor. 
The second day of the new term, a terrorist assault was launched right after the first class, instantly hijacking all of the students' attention. Of course, Harutora and Natsume were also included among these students. 
Terror and despair were followed by his thoughts stopping. Touji was the only person who could be relied on to deal with this sudden situation. 
In the Onmyou Academy, the students could change seats however they wanted. Right now, Harutora and Natsume's seats were right next to each other, and Touji sat behind them. 
"...Natsume." Touji warned quietly, as if neatly snapping a whip. Natsume immediately came to her senses when she heard this, hastily casting stealth magic. Simultaneously, Touji kicked Harutora's chair from under the table. 
Harutora suddenly jumped, standing up. 
"......U, Uwah, D, Dairenji! I, It's been a while!" 
Harutora was panicked, stumbling out of his seat in order to get away from Natsume and get Suzuka's attention focused on him. Doing this had extremely great side effects. Kyouko, Tenma, and the other classmates cast excited gazes at Harutora one by one, perking their ears up at the two people. 
Since his response had been really strange and embarrassed, Suzuka forgot the role she was currently acting out for a while even though she had come to attack, her face growing suspicious. But, as expected of her having experienced many storms, her expression was still calm even though she had doubts. 
"That's mean, Senpai, what do you mean it's been a while, didn't we just 'meet' 'yesterday' 'after school'? And it was 'just the two of us'... Ah, could that be a secret that you didn't want anyone else to know? Sorry--" 
"Uh! ......No, that's not it - But, this is the second-year classroom, so what exactly did you come here for--" 
"Well, it would be stupid not to see each other since we're in the same school~ I wanted to at least come to greet you!" 
"Liar...... Ah, it's nothing, so you came to greet me. You don't actually have to come here just for that kind of thing......" 
He didn't grit his teeth, replacing it with a stiff smile instead. He quickly approached Suzuka, which naturally drew Suzuka's attention, not letting her notice the direction of Natsume. But to the eyes of the bystanders, maybe they would believe he couldn't wait to come forward to meet her, as after all there was no other possibility on the surface. 
"H-Harutora...... You really......" 
"W, Wow, Harutora-kun, wow." 
Kyouko’s eyes widened and Tenma couldn't conceal his excitement. The other students' reactions were about the same. Harutora desperately kept himself from shouting out angrily. 
"Haha...... The break will be over really soon, so since you've already greeted me, you'd better return to your own classroom, Dairenji." 
"Senpai, you're being too unfamiliar! Just call me Suzuka." 
"Stop it, just go back to your classroom!" 
Unfortunately, his self-control power wasn't strong enough. 
"Ugh, senpai's so cold." Suzuka deliberately made an overdone reaction under the stares of the audience. On some level, this counted as a type of second-class magic, and the effects were excellent, with the class's stares focused on Harutora and Suzuka gradually rising in temperature. 
Among the heated gazes, Harutora felt a malice that sent chills up his back that could even be called killing intent. For some reason, Natsume's glaring face immediately appeared in his mind, but in this kind of emergency time he couldn't turn around to check. 
"......Come here for a bit." Harutora grabbed Suzuka's hand, forcefully pulling her into the corridor. Exclamations rang out all over the classroom, but he ignored them, pretending that nothing happened. 
"Don't overdo it this much. Didn't you say yesterday that it was just a prank?" After entering the corridor, he forcefully lowered his voice and spoke. 
"Shut up, the first-year classroom is way too stupid." Now that the surrounding gazes had vanished, Suzuka quickly showed her original self. 
"Are you just pulling me in to pass the time? Why don't you use that time to make friends with the new students?" 
"What are you joking about, how could the Onmyou Academy's new students have the qualifications to interact with me. Ah, of course that goes for you too." 
"In that case, at least choose the new students." 
"I don't want to, it's too tiring." 
"That's because you're too fake! Come to think of it, could you be planning on faking like this for three years? You definitely won't be able to hold on for that long!" 
After Harutora criticized her, Suzuka frowned in anger. It seemed like these words had perfectly hit the mark. 
"......So annoying." 
"It's the truth." 
"......And you're hurting me." 
"Huh? Ah, sorry." 
He hadn't let go of her hand since the beginning. Once he let go, Suzuka quickly drew back her left hand that had been grabbed, gently rubbing it with her right hand. 
The two of them went silent for a few seconds, then Suzuka tilted her head, looking at Harutora. 
"......Hey, which one's Tsuchimikado Natsume? You're classmates, right?" 
Harutora wasn't quite sure whether he was successful in hiding his shaken heart. "Uh, well...... We're classmates, that's right......" His attitude was casual, but he stammered as he spoke. 
Once a poor lie was exposed, it would lead to the other becoming easily suspicious. He had learned this from Touji in the fruitless all-night talk. But he still couldn't conclude how exactly he should deal with this. 
The situation wasn't unexpected. "...Let me see him." Suzuka tried to peek into the classroom, and Harutora frantically stopped her. "Ah, hold on!" 
"Why? Is there something I can't see?" 
"Th, There's nothing you can't see. Anyway, I've had enough of how my classmates look at me! You're not bored anymore, right? Hurry up and return to your classroom!" 
"What? How can you order me around like that? And why do I have to listen to your instructions?" 
"I'm begging you! Though I can't compare to you, I also have an image to take into consideration and I don't want to have no place in my class!" 
Harutora desperately changed the topic, and fortunately the other party accurately sensed how anxious he was. "That doesn't matter to me~". The more frantic he got, the more maliciously Suzuka laughed, continuing to tease Harutora. Harutora sacrificed himself to try to stall for time. 
Five minutes later, the bell sounding the start of class finally saved him from his misery. 

Unfortunately, the calamity didn't end like that. 
"Senpai, why don't we eat lunch together?" 
The next bomb detonated at lunchtime, in the center of the raucous academy cafeteria. Suzuka put an omurice [5] on her tray, racing towards the table where Harutora and the others were. 
Harutora accidentally spat out all the broth of his tempura udon, and Natsume beside him forcefully pushed back her chair, crouching on the ground. In order to conceal the sound she made, Touji suddenly also stood up from his chair. 
Natsume took into consideration the surrounding noise, desperately casting stealth magic. She managed to fix her glasses, keeping her crouching posture while escaping the cafeteria with all her power. In order to distract Suzuka, Harutora also stood up like Touji, waving his hand affectedly. "Yo, D-Dairenji!" 
The surrounding gazes stabbed into him mercilessly and his back broke out in a cold sweat. 
On the other hand, his exaggerated action made Suzuka furrow her brows again. But before she asked, she noticed that she knew the boy standing next to Harutora. 
"Huh, you are......" 
"You still remember me? Harutora and I collaborated to trick you back then, sorry about that." Touji spoke calmly, not one bit of apology visible on his face. Maybe thinking of the incident during the festival last year, Suzuka replied with an "Oh", her face solemn. 
"You were together back then...... What, you were also an Onmyou Academy student?" 
"I wasn't back then. This guy and I only transferred into the Onmyou Academy together after that incident ended." 
Suzuka's expression seemed slightly surprised upon hearing Touji's explanation. Transferring into the famous Onmyou Academy in the middle of a term - there were very few students who could successfully test in like this. Maybe Harutora from the Tsuchimikado branch family could get in, but to the eyes of someone who didn't understand Touji's origins, such an example was extremely rare. 
Suzuka was silent for a while, staring at Touji with both eyes. But not long after, her mood quickly changed. "Can I sit here~" She deliberately made her voice higher, choosing the seat next to Touji and across from Harutora to sit down. 
Once she sat down, she immediately blinked. 
"Huh? Why is there a half-eaten bowl of chicken and egg rice here?" 
The bowl of rice Suzuka was asking about was placed on the seat adjacent to Harutora - the chicken and egg rice that Natsume hadn't been able to finish eating just now. 
"Uh, th, that's--!" 
"That's Harutora's." Touji sat back in his seat leisurely, carefully replying in place of the panicked Harutora. 

"He has to eat enough for two people to be full." 
"Yeah, that's right! That's how it is, I'm in my growing phase, you know." 
"...Oh, I see, your appetite's really amazing--" Suzuka's attitude was still feigned, but her tone was cold, her gaze freezing. Harutora laughed dryly a couple times and was about to sit down, when "......So stupid, what 'growing phase'." Suzuka ridiculed him with a face full of scorn. Harutora cursed this damn brat in his heart but couldn't do anything about it. 
His temple inadvertently twitched and he forcefully clenched his teeth, forcing a smile onto his face and pushing a thin voice out of his lips. 
"......What do you want this time?" 
"Nothing, I just want to eat lunch together." 
"Go eat with your classmates." 
"I don't want to, they're too annoying." 
"They're not the annoying ones, you are! You shouldn't be pretending, it's way too reckless." 
"Shut up, can't you be a little more quiet when you're eating? I can't stand hicks like you--" 
"Before you came to annoy me, we always ate very quietly!" 
Harutora couldn't hold back his agitated emotions for a while, and Touji smiled wryly, calling out to him: "Harutora." Then, he turned his gaze towards Suzuka by his side. 
"......It seems like you no longer hate me or Harutora." 
"Hmph, I told this idiot yesterday too, your thinking is so self-centered. How would I have the time to care about you small fry." 
"That's extremely reasonable. So, are you truly just passing time when you come find Harutora to trouble him?" 
"Th, That's right, could there be any other reason?" 
"Yeah, it's not like I can't understand your feelings. After all, it's hard to pass up messing with such an interesting person." 
"You're pretty knowledgeable, but those words are flattering him." 
"......Hold on, Touji, which side are you on exactly...... And Dairenji, that's not flattering at all." 
You two... Harutora stared at the two of them upsettedly. 
Suzuka feigned happiness, raising her pitch and saying "Hey, you're too unfamiliar, Senpai! Just call me Suzuka!" Harutora became more and more impatient as he listened. 
"Right." Suzuka changed her tone again. "I didn't end up seeing Tsuchimikado Natsume just now, where's he sitting?" Saying this, she sized up the surrounding cafeteria a bit. 
Not again, Harutora's face tightened. Unfortunately, Suzuka seemed to have already started shifting all of her attention towards Natsume. 
"H, He, uh...... He's usually outside--" 
"He's done eating." Touji interrupted Harutora's excuse, grabbing on and continuing to speak. "He wasn't feeling well today, so he went back to the classroom without even eating much." He spoke casually, and at the same time didn't forget to warn Harutora with his eyes. 
Natsume was famous in the academy, and anyone could learn by asking a random student that she always ate with Harutora and Touji. Touji had warned that suspicions would be aroused once a poor lie was exposed, and that meant exactly this kind of situation. 

Touji continued to speak with a composed expression. 
"What's wrong, are you still very interested in Natsume after that incident happened?" 
That incident meant the event that had happened last summer. Suzuka was discomfited facing Touji's light provocation, hastily trying to speak out to deny it, but she probably thought Touji was different from Harutora, "......I guess I can't say I'm completely uninterested." She unexpectedly admitted honestly. 
"I told this person the same thing yesterday, that though they removed me from my post, I was always a specialist of magic pertaining to Tsuchimikado Yakou. The Imperial Onmyoudou that Yakou founded still contains many mysteries that we don't understand, and if Tsuchimikado Natsume can become the clue to solving these mysteries, I can't ignore him no matter how small that possibility is." Suzuka poked her spoon into the omurice, mixing it around. 
"......There's not enough ketchup." Next to the complaining Divine General, Touji glanced at Harutora. Harutora quietly nodded his head to reply with a serious face. 
The situation was extremely urgent. Suzuka would definitely take any measures to find an opportunity to approach Natsume in the future, so how exactly could they stop her actions? 
"Hmph - Whatever, it's too annoying to chase him to his classroom anymore now. Why don't you tell me what kind of a person Natsume is." 
Suzuka rudely waved her spoon at the two, her mouth full of omurice. Her appearance was immature and cute, but her attitude was like a queen commanding her footman. Harutora helplessly pulled up an insignificant topic, exaggerating Natsume's masculinity as much as possible. 
His days of concealing the secret and walking a tightrope hadn't ended. 
Lunchtime seemed extraordinarily slow compared to the very brief after-class break time. 

 

"I like Harutora's idea." 
During the time after the first afternoon class, when they were in the emergency stairwell to escape the rumors flying around the classroom, Touji frankly expressed his opinion towards Harutora and Natsume. 
"What?" Natsume asked back. "Wh, What idea of Harutora-kun's?" 
"His method regarding dealing with Dairenji. I think Harutora should find her again, no, he should find her as much as possible and have open-minded conversations with her." 
Touji's sudden turnaround surprised Harutora, and Natsume's eyes also widened. In particular, not only did Natsume's eyes widen, but she even shouted: "No!". She pushed her slipping glasses back onto her nose while saying: "That's too dangerous! What if Harutora-kun reveals a slip that's even more serious? Doing that will only make things more difficult, I can't let him loose to continue digging his own grave!" 
Natsume was dissatisfied - that remark in turn made Harutora dissatisfied - and Touji shrugged his shoulders at the two of them, saying: "I don't think so", denying Natsume's opinion. 
"Harutora's approach has been more successful than we imagined, and it would be best to let him chat a bit more - gaining the opponent's trust, in case we need it in the future." 
"In case we need it in the future...... What does that mean?" 
"It means exactly what the words say. It's the most direct method in the current circumstances, and all we can do now is take precautions." Touji's face was calm as he spoke convincingly. 
Touji always acted after thinking, so that profound statement hence sounded even deeper. But, the meaning of Touji's statement was really overly vague. 
"I don't understand what that means, but anyways the priority is to avoid coming in contact with her as much as possible." Natsume retorted ferociously, her expression grave and stubborn. Her look showed an unmovable conviction as she glared at Touji. 
Touji spoke strangely upon seeing this: "That's what I myself think, so forgive me if I offended you...... Honestly, you and that person are very similar." 
"M, Me?" 
"Right." Touji spoke deliberately teasingly. "Especially how both of you aren't straightforward. Right, it's also very similar how your personalities are like a child's." 
Hearing Touji say this, Natsume's face momentarily flushed, but Harutora looked at Touji again in surprise. 
Harutora hadn't mentioned Ohtomo's words to Touji, but Touji had a similar view as Ohtomo. It was evident that Suzuka and Natsume were indeed similar in some ways. Thinking carefully, the situation today noon could act as proof, as Suzuka had eaten alone right after entering the academy. It really made it impossible to not associate it with Natsume when she had just entered. 
However, "I'm very grateful that you say that...... But rather than giving this matter to me, honestly, I think you're more suitable to be her opponent. Your attitude just now was much calmer than mine." After hearing Harutora's proposal, Natsume's expression suddenly lit up, and it seemed like he could hear her yell from her heart: 'That's it!' 
She changed her opposing attitude. 
"Th, That's right, Harutora-kun's right! I can relax if we leave it to Touji-kun - Ah, no, I trust Touji-kun, so let's leave it for Touji-kun to deal with!" 
"Tch...... Natsume, your change in attitude is a bit too obvious, right?" 
"I, I didn't! I was just...... Well...... I, I just believe that we shouldn't let Harutora-kun approach her rashly, and maybe Touji-kun's a more suitable choice......!" Natsume frantically explained, short of breath. She seemed quite satisfied with Harutora's proposal. 
However, "No." Touji refused Harutora's proposal in a breath. "Harutora is the most suitable choice. In particular, judging by the current situation, it's only meaningful if Harutora steps forward." 
"Wh, Why?" Harutora blurted out a question and Touji didn't reply directly, just showing a solemn gaze. "You all believe I'm the most suitable person to deal with that girl, and I decide to leave this matter to Harutora." 
"Touji, isn't that a little too much wordplay?" 
"Whatever you say. Anyway, this matter is left to Harutora." 
"B, But......!" 
"Natsume." Touji snapped sternly, facing the opinionated Natsume who refused to rest. "Since we can't find any excuses in time that will keep you from meeting Suzuka, the only thing we can do right now is to escape Suzuka's gaze as much as possible. But, we can't escape forever, so if we take the initiative and contact Suzuka, we can restrict her movements and even drag things out for a while. We won't need to fear your true identity being exposed for now." 
"But, Touji-kun can also be responsible for that--!" 
"What's wrong, you trust Harutora that little?" Touji replied maliciously. 
"I......!" Natsume glanced at Harutora with no reply. She lowered her head, her lips tight, clearly unwilling. Harutora wasn't angry when he saw her reacting so unwillingly, but he felt depressed instead that he was so untrustworthy. 
The expression that Touji looked at the two with became wry. Then, he turned his head to face Harutora, who still didn't get it. 
"No matter what, Harutora, you don't need to be troubled over what to do. You just need to find Dairenji and chat like normal, and maybe you'll unexpectedly notice some way to resolve things." Touji spoke leisurely - even a bit cheerfully. 
Touji, who loved causing trouble, had pushed things onto him, so maybe he had a premonition that something would definitely happen. No, not just Touji, anyone could see that doing this was bound to stir up a lot of controversy in the future. 
Harutora sighed. He had no choice other than nodding his head in assent.