Tokyo Ravens - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.1

Story 1 - The Pair in the Snowscape 
An icy chill permeated the interior of the twenty tatami room. 
Snowflakes flew around outside, the tree branches in the courtyard completely covered by a layer of white snow. The cold air seeped soundlessly into the room as if a frost would emerge at any time. 
This was the Tsuchimikado main family residence-- 
The 'Bellflower Room'. 
An altar was set up in the room, with green sakaki and gohei [1] on it. In the center were consecrated five standing colored paper gohei in blue, red, yellow, white, and black, symbolizing the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Pottery was placed on the table, with salt, rice, and hemp in the tall plate and the bottles filled with water and sake. In addition, there was snapper [2] and several kinds of fruits and vegetables. 
In addition, the family crest, the 'Seimei Bellflower Mark', was painted on the altar in thick black marks of ink. 
Several candles were set on the altar, their flame flickering and hazily illuminating the scene on the altar. 
There were three people inside the Bellflower Room, separable into the Tsuchimikado family's next heir - Tsuchimikado Natsume - and the branch family's son, who was also Natsume's shikigami - Tsuchimikado Harutora. The other person was the Tsuchimikado family's current heir - Natsume's father. 
Natsume's father wore a kimono, holding a peachwood bow made for exorcism. He chanted an eulogy towards the altar, often fiddling with the un-nocked bowstring of the peachwood bow. 
Twang-- 
The bowstring resounded in the room, vibrating the cold air, and then disappeared, dissipating outwards accompanied by the eulogy. 
His fingertips played out a distinct rhythm on the bowstring, like an ancient musical instrument. Natsume danced with the simple music as an accompaniment. 
She wore miko clothing, an arrow held in her hand, an arrow made out of a reed stem. 
Twang. The bowstring sounded - Natsume danced gracefully, the crisp noise of her clothing rubbing together and the light noise of her stepping on the floor sounded, followed by creaks. 
Her black hair danced as if following the bowstring, her long sleeves fluttering as if swaying with the bowstring. Snowflakes also danced around. 
Harutora kneeled in a corner of the room, gazing at the miko's dance - the Kagura. 
The cold air made his nose go red, and his lips lightly emitted white fog. He straightened his back, gazing seriously at Natsume. 
The candles cast several dim shadows next to him. With every move Natsume made, the miko's figure swayed soundlessly in the firelight, vanishing and re-emerging like a mirage in the candlelight. 
Yin and yang. Yang and yin. 
Harutora watched the dance closely, and Natsume silently danced. 
The eulogy was chanted endlessly, and the peach wood bow sounded the cords. Aura filled the room, spilling outside the room and rising straight into the sky. 
The solemn ceremony continued as if it would never end. 
 

The solemn bells of New Year's Eve came from the distance. 

The next day was a sunny, comfortable winter day, fitting to be the first day of the year. 
The sparrows chirped shrilly as Harutora and Natsume walked on the countryside road. Natsume walked in front and Harutora followed behind, the two of them separated by a distance of a few steps. 
Around them was a paddy turned into a snowfield. Mountains covered by white snow stretched in the distance, and if they looked as far as they could across the open plain, they would happen to see a home that looked a lot like an island drifting in a white sea. This scene, like a white slate, was perfect for the new year. 
"......The air here really is crisp." Harutora breathed deeply, emitting white fog. 
With his deep breath, the clear mountain air seemed like it could purify his body, like a refreshing drink from a transparent spring. 
Harutora's words seemed to not reach Natsume's ears. He saw her advance forward with quick steps without even turning around. 
She silently and indifferently advanced. The countryside road extended straight ahead, the signs of tires faintly visible on the snow. Harutora and Natsume stepped on them as they walked on the show-covered road. 
Harutora walked leisurely, but Natsume's steps seemed a bit impatient. 
"It's fortunate that the weather's clear, it's great." 
"............" 
"It was really unfortunate yesterday that the taxi driver had to get off to install snow tires halfway through." 
"......Yeah." 
Natsume spoke while stepping on the snow, finally replying to Harutora's words. 
Harutora wore a heavy sweater, with a jacket on top of it. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and his hands were inserted in his jacket pockets as he used his elbow to carry his athletic bag. 
On the other hand, Natsume wore the Onmyou Academy uniform. She wore the Onmyou Academy-designated coat, with the male uniform underneath that outer layer. Her long hair was tied up by a ribbon. She was posing as a male student, greatly different from her miko outfit yesterday night. 
The two of them were on the road back to their dorm in Tokyo. 
Natsume was obeying the main family 'tradition', pretending that she was a male in front of outsiders. She happened to assume the post of a miko on the occasion when there were no outsiders, but she continued to pose as a male when she returned to Tokyo. 
"............" 
"............" 
Natsume's footsteps were still fast after she replied. Her back looked cold as she walked in front, with no intention of heeding Harutora, but she wasn't mad, nor was she in a bad mood. She was just moving forward indifferently without any particular emotion. She had been like this since yesterday. 
Harutora let out white fog again, casually calling out: "......Hey, Natsume." 
"What?" 
"We could wait until the bus is about to come to leave." 
"Keep going, there's a bus on another line that we can take. There should be a bus coming soon." 
"Oh, yeah...... I know that, but......" Harutora stammered, and Natsume finally stopped when she heard that, turning to look at Harutora behind her. "Sorry, Harutora-kun, for making you come with me......" She spoke apologetically, regret written all over her face like she had only noticed it now. 
"You don't need to be polite." Harutora shook his head hastily. "It doesn't matter to me, since there wouldn't be anyone around if I went back home anyway." After saying that, he pried into Natsume's business a bit. "But-- Is your home always...... like that?" 
"......Yes." 
Natsume nodded her head bitterly, her expression without any intent at all of being self-deprecating, but rather quite calm. Harutora couldn't reply for a while, only replying after some time: "...I see." 
Then, the two of them began walking again. Harutora walked next to Natsume, side by side with her. 
Harutora supported the athletic bag on his arm, and Natsume also had a duffel bag over her shoulder. They had hurried back here from Tokyo yesterday during New Year's Eve, their goal being last night's ceremony. Every New Year's Eve, Natsume would carry out a 'great purification' ritual with her father in the main family residence and purify the misfortune of the year. 
This year - No, now it already counted as last year - she had continued the convention of the past, returning to her old home to carry out the ritual. Her shikigami Harutora had taken the opportunity to come with her. 
They had only stayed for one night, preparing as soon as they had arrived yesterday night, and afterwards immediately and constantly carrying out the ritual. They had immediately slept after finishing the ritual, and promptly left the main family residence the next day after finishing breakfast. Excluding the time of transportation, the two of them hadn't even stayed here for half a day. 
"It's almost like a business trip." Harutora murmured blankly. 
Actually, the two of them might have been even more busy these past few days than someone on a business trip. The daughter had finally come back for New Year's, but the father and daughter almost hadn't spoken any words at all. They had formally greeted each other with a few words, but their only discussion topic was how to carry out the ritual. Judging by the attitudes of the two, this kind of situation was commonplace, but Harutora who had come together with her felt uncomfortable. 
Natsume seemed to also notice Harutora's awkwardness. She had apologized for this matter just now. 
"I haven't seen Uncle in a while...... He's still the same as before, he hasn't changed at all." Harutora spoke carefully and cautiously. 
"......He doesn't like interacting with others." Natsume muttered a reply upon hearing her childhood friend's frank feelings. On that note, the expression on her face had no anger or embarrassment. She was just casually speaking her own thoughts. She herself only had thin emotions for the father she had blood relations with. This attitude wasn't quite the same as being indifferent. She had long since seen through things, so she purposefully acted cold. Also, she didn't just act this way towards her father - perhaps also towards herself. 
It wasn't Harutora's place to mind the family matters of others. He didn't know what to say, as he had only seen the surface of things after all. 
"Harutora-kun's family......" 
"What?" 
"Harutora-kun's family's situation - I only noticed that my own family was a bit different after seeing how Uncle and Aunt got along." Natsume couldn't conceal her hesitation, and Harutora almost replied 'It's not a bit, it's very different' to her, but he hastily suppressed himself and swallowed his words. 
Natsume didn't have a mother, and she only had her father to call family, and that father was cold as ice to his daughter. She didn't know how a normal family interacted, so she didn't get mad or fuss. It was a natural, calm response. 
Of course, Natsume's father didn't mistreat his daughter, nor did he escape from his societal responsibility and duty that he bore as a father. In particular, he had seriously taught her magic since Natsume was young, recognizing and appreciating her ability. 
It was just that he didn't have a great deal of emotion towards Natsume, but he wasn't completely emotionless. It was somewhere in the middle. 
Harutora stayed silent, surreptitiously looking at his childhood friend who walked next to him. 
Though it was already slowly improving, Natsume was basically still an extremely shy and unsociable person. Perhaps this was mostly because of her father - it could even be said to be caused by her growing environment. For a long time, only her childhood friend Harutora had counted as Natsume's close friend. 
"......Natsume, let me ask you." 
"What?" 
"Do you hate your father?" 
"......Do I hate him..." Natsume spoke a bit hesitatingly, an empty smile on her face. "I'm not very sure myself." 
The attitude that she replied with didn't seem unusual. Maybe those were her true feelings. 
Harutora checked the expression on Natsume's face, saying "...I see" again, and then silently moving his gaze to the scene around him. 
The surface of the snow melted under the dawn's illumination, glittering with light and flashing with a radiance. A breeze blew, and though the air was cold, it wasn't unbearably so. 
A brief silence permeated. Natsume asked cheerfully as if to change the atmosphere: "But Harutora-kun, are you alright?" 
"Why wouldn't I be?" 
"You finally went back, but you're returning to Tokyo so fast." 
"Oh, so that's what you meant. It doesn't matter to me, my mom and dad aren't home anyway, so I wouldn't see anyone if I went home." Harutora shrugged indifferently as he said this. "The two of them are really carefree. Their only son is toiling hard outside, but they run off to Hawaii to have fun over New Year." 
"That proves they have a good relationship, isn't it very good?" 
"That's true, but all the way until last year, we would always eat soba at home over New Years, but once I leave home, they go off to Hawaii...... Since they're going to Hawaii, at least they should have gone while I was there and brought me along." 
"Do you want to go to Hawaii?" 
"Of course I do - Wait, what? Have you gone to Hawaii?" 
"No, I haven't left the country." 
"Doesn't everyone normally want to go overseas to have fun? That's something everyone wants, even if it's just once." Harutora spoke angrily, bearing resentment for his parents. Natsume just looked up after hearing that, casually remarking: "......It's really hard to imagine what it would be like to have fun overseas." 
"I know it would definitely be very fun without even imagining. They went to Hawaii, Hawaii! Damn~ They should send souvenirs to Tokyo for me, right?" 
"I like passing New Year's in Japan, do you dislike it?" 
"I don't hate it...... But we pass the New Year the same every year, so wouldn't it be new and exciting to have a different kind of New Year's once in a while?" 
"I......" Natsume wanted to reply, but her cheeks suddenly blushed red. She glanced, distraught, at Harutora next to her, looking at him for a bit and then turning her gaze away. "This New Year's was different from before...... It was fresh and... v-very fun, do you not think so?" Natsume spoke, revealing a pointed gaze, her expression looking like she was expecting something. 
"Really?" Harutora still faced forward, speaking dissatisfiedly. "So it's not......" Natsume momentarily lowered her head in dejection once she heard that reply, the hope dashed from her face. 
"But, right, I was just thinking about Hawaii, but this year was actually my first time not at home for New Year's." Harutora spoke as if he had only noticed this now, and Natsume immediately raised her head in excitement. "And I stayed at your house last night." Natsume vigorously nodded her head upon hearing Harutora's words. 
"R, Right, we were living under the same roof yesterday night...... Ah, but it's always like that in the dorm......" 
"I haven't passed the night at your house for a long time, it seems like the last time was years ago--" 
"--The last time was summer vacation during sixth grade, so it's already been four years and four months." 
"You replied so fast! That's incredible; your memory's amazing for being so clear." 
"Huh!? It's not, I just happened to remember it......" 
Replying extremely fast, Natsume turned her head, pretending not to know anything. 
"Really?" Harutora asked in wonder. "......But, the last time was back in sixth grade, huh. I would always run over to your house when I was little." 
"......Actually, the futon you slept on last night was your personal futon." 
"What? My personal futon? Why does your house have such a thing?" 
"That's also coincidence. You always slept on that futon when you came to my house in the past...... My house doesn't have visitors that often, so over time it became your futon...... Ah, right, same for the dishes." 
"Uwah, those are all for my personal use? Come to think of it, I had some kind of familiar feeling when I was using them......" Harutora couldn't help but smile as he spoke. 
Harutora's parents would always visit the main family residence once or twice every month, and they would almost always stay over for a night. Hence, Harutora and Natsume had often played together. When they were children, Harutora always secretly looked forward to the day they would visit Natsume's house. 
He had also taken advantage of a vacation to bicycle to Natsume's house to play once. Their houses weren't close, and thinking back on it now, even he couldn't help but admire his perseverance at the time. He had desperately pedaled his bicycle, riding on the long country road that they were currently walking on, but the Harutora at the time believed that playing at the residence with Natsume was a very happy thing. 
"......Yeah, it's really nostalgic." Harutora smiled slightly as he murmured, looking at the snow-covered road. 
"Just nostalgic?" Natsume griped somewhat dissatisfiedly. "Don't you think it feels very refreshing? And e-exciting......" 
She didn't pay any heed to Harutora's inner feelings, her question completely incongruous to his thoughts. She cast a questioning look towards Harutora again, the expectation from before emerging in her gaze again. 
"A refreshing feeling, huh......" Harutora smiled wryly at his childhood friend's words. "Yeah...... That's true, you're always posing and speaking like a guy when we're in Tokyo. Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I chatted with the 'original' you. It's extremely rare indeed and very refreshing." Harutora showed a naive smile to Natsume as he replied this way. Natsume took up the expression of a referee who had trouble over judging and how to award points. 
She seemed to decide that this performance was barely qualified, so she just complained a little bit. "Is it that rare? I'm always like this when it's just you and me together......" Her heart thudded as she said this. "B-But that's true. If we were in Tokyo, it would be very rare for us to chat together for such a long time......" She continued speaking, but wavered halfway through. 
Why didn't I notice earlier - No, it's not too late now - There are still opportunities to turn things around - She softly recited several inexplicable and curious words, then clenched a hand into a fist as if to urge herself on. 
"Right, I also felt that the ceremony yesterday was very refreshing. After all, my family almost never performs that kind of 'proper ceremony'." Harutora spoke leisurely, then turned his head to look at Natsume. "Also, I never saw you dressed up as a miko since that incident last summer." 
"Ahh, back then......" Natsume's expression seemed like she was reliving the past. To be honest, Harutora felt the same way and understood why Natsume showed this kind of expression, even though the incident had happened four months earlier. 
"Honestly, it hasn't even been half a year since that incident happened. It's hard to believe." 
"Yeah." 
"I never even dreamed that my goal now would be to become an Onmyouji or that I would enter the Onmyou Academy around last year's New Year." 
"You couldn't think of it because you're lazy and irresponsible." 
"Ah, saying that is going too far. Also, you can't just blame me for this. I was born without the spirit-seeing ability, and my parents didn't ask me at all whether I wanted to become an Onmyouji...... Also, I destroyed the family tradition ...And didn't honor our promise from before...... Uh...... Sorry." Harutora scratched his cheek with his index finger in embarrassment as he detailed. 
Natsume giggled upon seeing Harutora's appearance. 
"Since you already became my shikigami, you don't need to hold it to yourself." 
"Oh, alright." 
"Though you made me wait a bit long......" 
"Uh, that's because......" 
"......And your grades are bad." 
"D, Don't be inconsiderate." 
"It's alright, I'll teach you properly and correct you, whether it's Onmyoudou or your lazy and irresponsible personality. That's my duty as a master." 
"......Tch, it's always that." 
Harutora frowned bitterly, and Natsume giggled happily. 

Just then, a strong wind blew and the surrounding snowflakes danced lightly. 
"Uwah, it's so cold." Harutora shivered, and Natsume was also unable to help but close her eyes tightly. 
Nothing in this open area could block the wind as it blew. The momentum of the wind broke the stillness, and only then did they notice that clouds obscured the blue sky and that the sky was gradually getting dark. 
"It really is hard to get through winter just relying on this jacket. I should hurry up and buy a good winter coat." 
"Me too...... I would have worn something else if I knew earlier." 
"Are you cold? If you don't mind, I can lend you this scarf." 
"It's alright, if I put the collar up I can mostly--" 
"Okay." 
"Yeah.................. Ah--" Natsume's entire body suddenly went stiff, an unbelievably regretful expression flashing over her face. She hastily moved her gaze towards Harutora - to the scarf on his neck-- 
"......" 
--She struggled with her feelings. 
"Huh? What's wrong?" Harutora noticed her gaze, speaking up to ask. 
"No, uh......" Natsume hesitated. Though the words had reached her mouth, it was a bit embarrassing to say it again since she had already refused it once before. She held a sliver of expectation in her heart, hoping that Harutora would notice her feelings...... But, in the end he was the slow Harutora. "......Nothing." Not long after, she sighed. 
Afterwards, she still showed a regretful gaze and stared at the scarf from time to time. On the road, she thought about something that could easily turn around the situation, then visually compared the length of the scarf to the distance between her and Harutora's shoulders. In the end, she gave up the thought, sighing heavily: "......It wouldn't work." 
Harutora looked blankly at Natsume's suspicious actions, but then he looked at Natsume as if he had suddenly thought of something. 
"......Is it because of the long black hair?" 
"Wh, What are you saying?" 
"You're very suitable for a miko outfit like yesterday's." 
"Really?" Natsume's expression had trouble concealing her surprise upon hearing those words, but she immediately pressed him aggressively with questions: "Th, Thanks. What...... do you think is suitable?" 
She showed a feigned indifference, but she actually asked very cautiously like a hunter gradually approaching an animal. 
Harutora immediately replied: "It looks very pretty when you wear it." 
"Very pretty?" Natsume's eyes inadvertently widened. 
"And pure." 
"Pure?" 
"It also has some kind of mystery." 
"Mystery?" 
"It looks noble and elegant, like a traditional, gentle Japanese woman." 
"A traditional, gentle woman!?" 
Natsume's face became redder and redder, and her footsteps became unsteady as if Harutora's praise had already made her dizzy. 
The results exceeding her expectations brought her more shock than joy. She was like a hunter who had originally just planned on hunting a rabbit for a good meal, but who was suddenly presented with a roasted bull. She couldn't believe it for a while because she was overly excited. 
But, just as she managed to accept the truth of those remarks and as the shock was about to turn into joy, the boy nicknamed 'Bakatora' grinned evilly. 
"Right, if the students in the academy saw you dressed up like that, they would never guess it was you. You're arrogant and unreasonable, shouting 'this is an insult' at the drop of a hat, so it's really impossible to imagine similarities between you and a miko...... Huh, w-wait, Natsume! Hold on, I was just joking, don't take it seriously!" 
Natsume's face went red and then white, and in the end she stormed forward with a red face. Harutora hurriedly chased from behind. She stomped forcefully on the snow, her entire body trembling from anger, unable to stand Harutora's insults-- "Hey, sorry." But Harutora didn't look apologetic at all, bowing to her in apology with a smile. 
"Sorry, don't get that mad, it's just a little joke for the new year." 
"......I don't want to hear your voice anymore this year......" 
"I'm apologizing to you, so don't get mad, alright? Also, I really think you are suitable for the miko outfit, and you also danced wonderfully yesterday. I was in a daze watching it." 
Harutora put his hands together, bowing his head in apology and sincerely speaking his thoughts. 
Natsume clenched her teeth, glaring at Harutora while seeming to think about how to handle this person whose performance was far below the passing score. Harutora, on the other hand, didn't notice his low score at all. 
"I'm telling the truth, you know. If someone saw you, they definitely wouldn't expect that you're normally always a girl posing as a guy and pretending to be male." 
"......In any case, I just need to wear the male uniform and no one will suspect me to be a girl." 
"Don't say that, it would be terrible if your identity got exposed. Isn't it the best that no one suspects you?" 
"That...... is true......" 
"Right? But everyone would definitely be incredibly surprised if they saw it. Especially Kyouko and Tenma, I'm sure they'd be shocked speechless and staring blankly." Harutora spoke jokingly without remorse. 
Natsume stared at Harutora with narrowed eyes again, muttering: "......Bakatora." and sighing deeply. Then, she helplessly went along with Harutora's chat. 
"......I wonder what everyone's doing right now." 
"Probably the same as an ordinary person, eating New Year's food or watching TV." 
"And shrine visits." 
"Right, there are also people who go out to visit shrines. I've seen it on the news before, Tokyo's shrines are so packed." 
"The more famous the place is, the more people participate." 
"Why does anyone go somewhere so crowded for New Year's - though I want to experience it once if there's an opportunity, it seems pretty interesting." Harutora seriously pondered this meaningless trivia. 
Natsume sighed helplessly, a wry smile emerging on her lips. 
"Tomorrow should be packed as well, I can come with you if you want to visit a shrine...... Right, someone like Kurahashi-san should also be very busy today." 
"That reminds me, Kurahashi is a distinguished family as well. Maybe they're carrying out some solemn ceremony like the Tsuchimikados." 
"It's possible, but more importantly, her father's the Onmyou Agency Chief, so there are definitely many people visiting their family for New Year's. Also, Tenma-kun's family is also traditional--" 
"Huh? Tenma too?" 
"You didn't know? The Momoe family has quite a history...... Actually, not just Tenma-kun, but most of the students in the Onmyou Academy are children of famous traditional families." 
"M, Most of them? But I guess I'm also from the Tsuchimikado branch family." 
"Even if we don't want to admit it, the magic community is truly a closed and ancient world." 
"Yeah...... In that sense, Touji's an outlier in this world...... I wonder if that person went home and properly passed New Year's with his family......" 
"Come to think of it, Touji doesn't talk about his family much. I remember that his family is in Tokyo, right?" 
"Huh......? Oh, Yeah, right......" Harutora suddenly returned to a stammer, obviously avoiding Natsume's gaze. Natsume felt it was strange, staring at Harutora for a good while and then deciding not to force him, giving up the questioning. 
"We can ask everyone what they did over New Year's after school starts. Maybe there really were people who went off to Hawaii or overseas for New Year's." Harutora changed the topic. 
"Maybe there are people who use the break to study hard." 
"People like that aren't friends." 
"You can't say that......! Jeez Harutora-kun, you should take advantage of the vacation to study seriously, your grades are the worst in the whole class." 
"I, I know......" Harutora's expression stiffened. Natsume smiled sincerely and straightforwardly. 
"But......" 
"Yeah?" 
"......It feels a bit unusual, being concerned about what others did over their vacations like this." 
"Huh, is it? This is very normal--" Harutora was about to refute her, then realized when he was halfway done speaking and hastily closed his mouth. Then, he deliberately spoke grandly: "I forgot, you don't have many friends. You didn't talk with anyone there before Touji and I transferred to the Onmyou Academy, right?" 
"......Yes." 
Harutora tried glossing it over with a joke, but Natsume nodded honestly - and a bit embarrassedly - when she heard. She looked at Harutora, sticking her tongue out lightly. Upon seeing this kind of reaction from his childhood friend, Harutora was a bit moved. The Natsume from before definitely wouldn't admit something like this so openly. 
"......It's not bad, right?" Harutora smiled happily, as if it were something happening to himself. 
"What's not bad?" 
"You learned that there were a lot of very interesting people after talking to them - Right?" He asked happily. 
Her shikigami's satisfied gaze made Natsume's heart resist, and she showed a displeased gaze. But she admitted defeat very fast, relaxing her body. "......You're right." She herself smiled as she spoke, and Harutora hmphed regally with his nose. 
"This is all because of me." 
"Yes, it's all because of your help...... You had better take responsibility." 
"Huh? What responsibility? What does that mean?" 
"Think about it slowly yourself." Natsume replied with a serious face, and Harutora vaguely felt danger, but still didn't get the meaning in those words. "But--" Then, Natsume suddenly lowered her head with a complex expression. "I deceived everyone other than Touji. I didn't think that way originally...... Things recently have made it more and more painful......" 
Harutora murmured an "Ah" upon hearing Natsume's sudden confession, then didn't say anything more. 
Natsume posed as a male in the Onmyou Academy to deceive others, and currently the only people who knew her 'true identity' were Harutora and Touji. This included the other classmates, and even Kyouko and Tenma that she had a decent relationship also took her to be a male. Looking at it that way, she had indeed 'deceived' Kyouko, Tenma, and the other students. 
Natsume went silent after saying that, and Harutora didn't know what to say for a while. 
Whump - The snow on a streetlight by the side of the road fell down. Harutora unconsciously pressed his lips together. Natsume's mood was complex, but he had never thought about this for her sake. Now, he felt incomparably shameful and remorseful. 
The two of them silently walked on the snow-covered road for a long time without opening their mouths to say anything. 
At some point, the originally stopped snow began slowly falling again. 
Snowflakes lightly drifted down from the calm, windless sky and slowly descended, stopping on Harutora's shoulders, falling on Natsume's bangs, and quietly lingering for moments before silently vanishing. 
The two of them continued striding through the snow without a word. 
Not long after, Harutora looked down at his feet and called out lightly. "Hey, Natsume." 
Natsume looked at Harutora, not saying anything to reply. 
"......That kind of thing sounds a bit strange, but I think the you that's hiding your identity is actually more 'sincere' than the original you." Harutora said. 
"............" 
"I understand your feelings...... Or rather, I'm trying to understand your feelings, but......" Harutora lifted his face, turning his head to stare at Natsume as he brought forth his most sincere feelings to continue speaking. "I said it before, do you still remember? You are you, it has nothing to do whether you're posing as a guy or whether you're a girl. You're the true you when you're not posing as a guy, and you're also the real thing when you're posing as a guy. At least, that's what I believe." 
"............" Natsume didn't respond, but nor did she escape Harutora's gaze. Then, she smiled spontaneously, changing her tone, and saying merrily: "That's true, I didn't mean to lie in the first place. Though I'm hiding something from everyone...... But everyone in this world has secrets." 
Those words sounded forced. Maybe she was pushing herself to think that way. "Th, That's right." But Harutora could only firmly express agreement right now and support her from the side. 
Harutora spoke seriously: "You have no choice in doing that anyway. When the right time comes, you can clear things up with everyone. Maybe they'll get mad, but in the end they'll definitely smile and choose to forgive you...... Ah, no, it might be hard to apologize to Kyouko after you reveal it......" 
"Huh? Why?" 
"N, No reason! Uh - Anyways, if they get mad, they'll inevitably get mad at me - and of course Touji as well. We'll all apologize to everyone when the time comes and beg forgiveness of them." 
"Okay...... I hope everyone will be willing to forgive us." 
"We'll know when the time comes! Before then, we--" 
"We?" 
"We're accomplices." 
Right? Harutora grinned again, seeming a bit self-confident, as if he were smiling at an accomplice who shared a common secret. 
"...Yeah......" That way of saying things seemed to strike Natsume well. She nodded her head proudly, then couldn't help but break out into a smile. 
"When we go back to Tokyo, we'll become fraudsters, right? Saying that seems like it's hinting at something, it's perfect for the situation right now." 
"The situation right now?" 
"Think about it......" Natsume glanced down. "Two people slipping around sneakily, walking through the snow together. Isn't that like escaping from a crime?" 
"Ahh...... I guess so, it has a pretty hardcore unfeeling style." 
"It's not a big deal to have a few lies, since it's a hardcore style." 
"Right...... So we're a criminal pair, like a killer and his mistress - Ah, no, with our situation, it should be the oldest daughter of a famous family and her lover." 
Harutora cracked a bad joke, looking at Natsume with a smile. However, Natsume's eyes widened and her cheeks burned red, staring unblinkingly at Harutora. Harutora realized what he had said upon seeing Natsume's expression, and only then did he cry out with a blush. 
The two of them looked at each other with red faces. After a while, they simultaneously came back to their senses, hastily turning away. 
They fell silent once again, walking on the country road with lowered heads and treading noisily on the snow. 
Only a bit of distance was left to the bus stop. Not long afterwards, Natsume breathed out as if she wanted to warm her frozen hands, unhesitatingly calling out: "......Harutora." 
"Hmm?" 
"Thanks." 
 

Fortunately, the Shinkansen line that they returned on was empty. 
Since the ceremony had been carried out until very late and they had gotten up early the next day, the two of them almost hadn't slept at all. The two of them had already started snoring not long after they sat down. They sat in the window and aisle seats of a row of three, with no other passengers around. 
They silently and contentedly snored one after another, sleeping soundly. 
Just then, a small child somehow appeared in the seat by the walkway, kneeling in the seat with proper form. This child - more accurately, she wasn't a human, the most obvious evidence being the pair of pointed ears that poked out of her head of short, soft hair as well as the leaf-shaped tail that grew out from behind her kneeling rear. 
She wasn't a human, but rather a shikigami. She was Harutora's defensive shikigami - Kon. 
She kneeled in the swaying seat, her immature face inexplicably frowning, and her eyes staring straight at Natsume who sat by the window. "So you two are alone?" She pondered quietly, her tone like the detective from a short story who was about to debunk the murderer's alibi. 
"......In the end, I couldn't come out even if I wanted to." Then, she stared at her master - Harutora - with a cold and vexed gaze, her tone sounding crestfallen. 
Harutora and Natsume, who were next to each other, had their heads tilted as if they were resting on each other's shoulders. Kon narrowed her eyes and glared at this scene, her pointed ears continuously twitching nervously. Not long afterwards, she intruded between the two, pulling her master's and Natsume's heads apart in the other direction and sat back in her seat, facing Harutora in an upright posture, respectfully bowing her head in tribute. 
"......Harutora-sama, I offer my sincerest apologies for the late greeting. I wish you a happy new year, please take care of me this year as well......" 
The seat swayed. Just like when she had appeared, Kon somehow vanished without a trace. 
The car approached Tokyo. 
Only after almost three days of the new year had passed did Harutora remember that he had never wished his defensive shikigami a happy new year. It would take a while for Kon to forgive him about this.