Editing Tokyo Ravens:Tome 2 Chapitre 2 (section)

===Partie 3===


Pour être plus précis, c'était une sensation d'aura.

Et ce qui l'émettait était juste derrière lui.

Harutora se retourna par réflexe, remarquant un petit enfant agenouillé. Il était penché en avant, les deux mains placées sur le sol.

« Quoi ? »

Il ne put s'empêcher de douter de ce qu'il voyait.

Il ne pouvait voir clairement son visage puisqu'il avait la tête baissée, mais il apercevait une petite tête peignée avec soin ― même s'il y avait deux protubérances de chaque côté. L'enfant portait des vêtements semblables à l'uniforme de l'Académie d'''Onmyô'', mais ils ressemblaient plus à son style originel, une tenue impériale de l'ère Heian avec un ''hakama'' pour bas. Les habits étaient visiblement lâches et l'enfant semblait avoir l'âge d'un élève de primaire. Non, peut-être plus jeune encore.

« ... »

Confronté à cet événement soudain, Harutora resta bouche bée un moment.

Dans un coin de sa tête, Harutora se demandait quand cet enfant avait pu entrer dans la pièce, mais un autre coin se dit calmement qu'il n'aurait pas pu ne pas le remarquer si quelqu'un était entré dans une chambre aussi petite. Au final, il ne savait absolument pas d'où venait l'enfant, pourquoi il était dans sa chambre ou pourquoi il se prosternait devant lui.

« Euh, eh... »

Harutora ouvrit prudemment la bouche.

Juste au moment où il parla, le dos de l'enfant trembla tout à coup comme s'il avait été aspergée d'eau chaude. Harutora ne put s'empêcher de tressaillir lui aussi, ravalant les mots qu'il n'avait pas prononcés.

Cependant, à cet instant, quelque chose d'autre retint l'attention de Harutora. Quand l'enfant avait tremblé, il lui avait semblé que quelque chose avait fouetté derrière son corps prosterné ― en d'autres termes, près de son derrière. Quand il la remarqua, les yeux de Harutora s'écarquillèrent de surprise.

C'était une queue.

Une queue en forme de feuille drapée de poils doux et lisses. Harutora sursauta presque de surprise, ramenant son regard sur la tête de l'enfant. Ces choses légèrement tremblantes sur sa tête n'étaient pas des formations capillaires naturelles mais des bouts de fourrure semblables à sa queue, des oreilles triangulaires et pointues.

« Toi, tes oreilles... et ta queue... ! »

Au moment où Harutora ouvrit la bouche, sous le choc...

L'enfant leva la tête.

C'était une petite fille.

Le visage de l'enfant était encadré d'une frange nette, sa peau était si blanche qu'elle en paraissait poudrée. Son physique respirait une jeunesse correspondant à son âge et elle avait l'air d'une poupée, ses détails même semblant assez raffinés.

Ce qui le marqua le plus profondément furent les yeux clairs qui le fixaient.

Ils dégageaient une lueur bleue.

Les yeux de la petite étaient d'un bleu beau comme le verre, profond comme le ciel et Harutora les observa avec stupéfaction, oubliant complètement les nombreuses questions qu'il se posait à propos de l'enfant.

Après qu'ils se furent fixés l'un l'autre un moment...

Tout à coup...

Des larmes perlèrent des yeux bleus de la fille et ce ne fut qu'alors que Harutora recouvra ses esprits, paniquant un moment.

« Quoi ! Eh ! Pourquoi tu pleures, tout à coup ! Et tant que j'y pense, qui es-tu ? ... Ah, peu importe, on s'en fiche, ne pleure pas s'il te plaît ! »

Harutora tendit les bras mais ne put que les agiter de manière désordonnée dans les airs, n'osant pas toucher le corps de la petite. L'enfant regarda sa réaction affolée sans ciller et ses yeux embués s'écarquillèrent.

Peu après, elle se mordit la lèvre et essuya rapidement ses larmes avec sa manche. Elle baissa ensuite la tête une nouvelle fois, élevant la voix :

« C'est un p-p-p, plaisir de faire votre connaissance... »

Elle avait beau élever la voix, cette dernière était très faible à l'origine et elle devait rassembler ses forces pour se faire entendre. Son intonation était tout aussi enfantine que son apparence et le cerveau de Harutora resta vide.

« ... Hein ? Tu, Tu as dit quoi ? Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? »

« Je-Je-Je, Je me nomme Kon, je suis une descendante de la renarde ancestrale Kuzunoha, a-a-assignée aux services de Tsuchimikado Harutora-''sama'', s-s-si cela vous sied... »

Tout en balbutiant, elle s'aplatit sur le sol. Bien évidemment, Harutora était déjà trop abasourdi pour parler.

... Que, Qu'avait-elle dit ? Une renarde ancestrale ? Descendante ? Vous sied... Qu'est-ce qui était censé lui seoir ?

"Rester sans voix" correspondait parfaitement à ce genre de situation. C'était le chaos total dans l'esprit de Harutora, ses pensées tournoyaient en tout sens et il finit par revenir sur le choc visuel.

En d'autres termes, ces oreilles et cette queue.

Ce n'était pas des accessoires puisqu'elles pouvaient bouger et elles avaient l'air assez réelles. Plus important encore, le corps de cette fille ne pouvait pas être doté de vraies oreilles comme celles-ci ou d'une vraie queue.

Elle n'était pas humaine.

Autrement dit, c'était...

« Ah ! Un, un ''shikigami'' ! Se pourrait-il que tu sois un ''shikigami'' ? »

Quand Harutora demanda confirmation, la fille ― Kon ― acquiesça rapidement et énergiquement.

À ce moment-là, Harutora comprit enfin. C'était un ''shikigami'', un ''shikigami'' qui avait l'apparence d'une petite fille. Mais alors...

« Est-ce que tu ne serais pas... C'est ''ça'' ? Ce talisman... Le ''shikigami'' que mon père m'a donné, c'est... ! »

Kon acquiesça à nouveau, un air d'extrême prudent émergeant sur son visage délicat.

« M, Mais je n'ai rien fait ? Comment as-tu pu apparaître tout à coup ? » demanda Harutora d'un air ébahi.

« En, En tant que serviteur, je me dois de garder mon maître à chaque instant. Je v-vous ai entendu m'invoquer tandis que je vous protégeais dans l'ombre... » expliqua Kon d'une toute petite voix, ses membres tremblant de surprise.

« Quoi ? T, Tu veux dire que tu es à mes côtés depuis que mon père m'a donné ce talisman ? Mais tu n'étais pas là ! Je ne t'ai pas vue du tout ! »

« Co, Comme mon maître ne m'a pas appelée, je me suis dissimulée dans les environs. »

« Dissimulée ? Tu t'es cachée ? Tu étais toujours là même si je ne pouvais pas te voir ? »

« O, Oui. »

Harutora demanda confirmation une troisième fois et Kon se contenta de courber la tête tout en aplatissant sa queue pelucheuse.

Elle avait l'air tendue et extrêmement effrayée. Harutora recouvra un peu de son calme en notant sa raideur anormale.

« Je vois... Je, Je comprends. En tout cas, commence par relever la tête, tu te prosternes tellement que je ne sais pas quoi faire et c'est dur de parler. »

Kon releva immédiatement la tête quand Harutora lui dit de le faire. Son visage infantile était encore tendu et elle se montrait toujours prudente. Ses oreilles tremblaient de temps en temps comme si elle ne pouvait pas camoufler sa tension.

« ... Maintenant que j'y pense, Alpha a aussi dit quelque chose d'étrange ce matin, comme quoi mon familier avait été enregistré... Alors il parlait de toi. »

Harutora s'assit en tailleur en face de Kon, jaugeant une nouvelle fois le ''shikigami'' qui se trouvait devant lui. La petite fille se tendit davantage sous le regard de son maître, se faisant à nouveau toute petite et fixant elle aussi Harutora, les mains toujours placées sur le sol.

Si l'on ignorait pour le moment les oreilles et la queue, Kon avait l'air d'une fille ordinaire, mais elle semblait effectivement plus matures que les filles ― ou plutôt les enfants ? ― de son âge apparent. Mis à part cela, elle n'était pas différente d'un véritable humain. Ses traits étaient un peu trop parfaits mais ses yeux au regard franc, le doux contour de son visage et ses petites lèvres étaient tous clairement "ordinaires", c'étaient ceux d'un enfant adorable et "ordinaire".

... C'était un ''shikigami'' ? Une aussi petite fille était d'une façon ou d'une autre un ''shikigami'' ?

Si Natsume avait été là, peut-être aurait-elle tout simplement expliqué qu'il était habituel que les ''shikigami'' apparaissent sous forme d'"enfants", mais Harutora, qui ne savait rien de tout ça, ne voyait vraiment pas quel genre d'attitude adopter face à une petite fille respectueuse et révérencieuse.

« ... Papa t'a confié à moi ? »

Kon acquiesça fermement.

« J'ai, J'ai aussi servi des générations de la famille secondaire des Tsuchimikado par le passé... » ajouta-t-elle, remarquant peut-être que le simple fait d'acquiescer ne résolvait rien à la confusion qui habitait le cœur de Harutora.

« Quoi ? Quand ça ? Mon père, peut-être ? »

« Mes, Mes souvenirs passés n'existent plus, mais j'ai effectivement servi plus d'une génération de la famille secondaire. »

« Tu veux dire que tu as servi la famille secondaire pendant des générations ? Je vois. »

Tout comme Yukikaze pour la famille principale ― Harutora accepta cette explication. En d'autres termes, la famille secondaire possédait des ''shikigami'' qui la servaient comme le cheval blanc et son père lui avait donné l'un d'entre eux. Dans ce cas, il n'était pas étrange que ce dernier ait tout spécialement mentionné le nom "Tsuchimikado".

« Euh, donc tu... » commença Harutora.

Kon s'écria immédiatement, trépidante et hésitante :

« M, Maître, je vous en prie, appelez-moi directement par mon nom. »

« Maître... Je, Je comprends, alors que dis-tu de ne pas m'appeler "maître" ? Tu peux m'appeler Harutora, ça ne me dérange pas. »

« H, H-H-H, Ha, Ha, Haru-t-t-tora...''sama'' ! »
<!--
"......You don't need to be that nervous."

"............"

"Uh, really! I won't mind at all, I really don't mind, so please don't show that kind of expression!"

Kon's round eyes began getting moist again, and Harutora hastily spoke to appease her.

"Calm down a bit first! Relax! Breathe deeply! Alright?"

Harutora did his best to convince her. Kon straightened her back and opened her small mouth to breathe deeply in accordance with his words. Her nature was very simple, but it was really troublesome to figure out how to deal with her.

...However...... This was also far outside his expectations. He felt that this was more like the relationship between a child and her guardian rather than a shikigami and her master.

At the least, she was far from Harutora's expectations and was not a shikigami that her practitioner could boast about to others. She definitely wouldn't be of much use in battle, and conversely, he might even have to protect her.

But, the biggest problem was still her external appearance. After all, if he brought this little girl around with him everywhere in public, it was very possible that it would give rise to unnecessary mistakes.

...That bastard dad......

He had originally believed his dad had finally congratulated his son seriously for leaving home, but he was definitely laughing out loud behind his back right now. Harutora had simply been a fool for jumping for joy with expectation.

But, hold on, Kon might not necessarily fail his expectations.

Shikigami couldn't be judged by their appearance, and though a strong exterior was obviously good, actual power was still the most important. It wasn't impossible that a strong shikigami actually hid underneath the exterior of a little girl.

"Okay, how about this. Kon, I want to ask about you first."

Kon quickly regained her serious look as Harutora spoke.

"First is...... Right, what kind of shikigami are you? It's fine to just say your type."

Harutora brought up what he thought to be the most basic question, but all he saw was Kon's confused face and rigid expression as if he had asked her to do something incomprehensible.

"Huh? You don't know what type of shikigami you are? Right, didn't you say you were a retainer? Could it be that you're a defensive shikigami that Touji just talked about?"

"Yes, I serve as Harutora-sama's retainer."

"Is that right? Uh...... what else did he say? In other words, you're a manmade type?"

"M, Manmade......?"

Kon's originally cheerful face was instantly covered by shadows. Pears of sweat emerged on her dismal face as if she believed there was no way to reply to that unforgivable sin.

"Huh? You don't know that either? ......Ah, I know, you served generations of branch families, so could you be an ancient shikigami from farther back than the General style? Uh, you don't remember things from before, right? But that should be right."

He remembered that Yukikaze had also been from long ago and had been designated a high-level manmade shikigami by the General style, so it was very possible that Kon was the same type as Yukikaze.

"Whatever, it's no use to continue asking since you don't know, so I'll change to a different topic. What are your special moves? What kind of things can you do?"

"...Yes, I apologize for being dull, but my best move is a stealth technique."

"Oh, a stealth move, let me see it."

"A, As you command......"

Saying this, Kon's figure became fuzzy and vanished in moments. Even though it was his own request, Harutora was still greatly surprised.

"Uwah! you vanished! Amazing, I can't see where you are at all."

He couldn't help but reach out, but his arm passed through the position Kon had been without obstruction. It seemed more like she had instantly moved somewhere else rather than hiding her body.

"Kon? Are you here?'

"Yes."

"Ohh, I heard your voice! Incredible, you didn't just make your body become invisible?"

"Th, Though that can be done, I have currently left my actual body and eliminated my presence."

"L, Left your body? What does that mean? Is it like a ghost?"

"Yes, I am in a spirit form...... and merged with the surrounding aura. H, However, if I speak like this, the aura will inevitably fluctuate......"

As Harutora heard this, he looked towards the direction that the voice came from and saw something like a blur of aura. But he didn't actually see it with his vision, but rather 'saw' the aura with his spirit-seeing abilities.

But, if Kon hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have noticed even with spirit seeing. So it was that kind of stealth - Harutora excitedly nodded.

"Okay, that's good."

Kon instantly reappeared once Harutora spoke. Even though it was right in front of him, she was just 'there as soon as he noticed it' like before, appearing soundlessly and presencelessly.

"Hmm...... It looks pretty amazing, way to go, Kon."

"Th, Th-Th, Thanks for your praise......"

"Don't be humble, that move is really amazing, I really admire it."

"I-I, It's nothing special......"

Kon lowered her face with red-tinged cheeks, her tail constantly waving back and forth. She seemed shy, and that expression was really quite cute.

"What else? Do you have other moves?"

"F, Floating in midair......!"

"Ooh, beautiful! It's like magic! What else?"

"M, Manipulating fire......!"

"Uwah, f, fireballs! Hot! Those are real fireballs! Amazing!"

Kon floated about fifty centimeters into the air while continuing to kneel, and a light-blue fist-sized ball of fire appeared above her head. The fireballs increased by two, so that there were a total of three fireballs floating round inside the room. The fireballs looked like wandering souls, but the heat they gave off was genuine.

...Really strong! This shikigami was so amazing!

Even though he had doubted at first, she had stealth, had levitation, and showed moves very suitable of a shikigami, simple yet convenient. The fireballs too - never mind how their strength was - they clearly gave off an intimidating presence, and Harutora was extremely satisfied.

Kon also looked proud upon seeing her master reacting like that, and her tail became even more active as she almost wriggled her body in happiness, unable to hide her excited look.

But...

"Incredible, Kon! What else? Do you have other skills?"

"......Huh? Other......"

Kon's face sank, the floating fireballs vanished in a puff, and Kon herself also dropped with a thunk from midair. "...Huh?" Her face gradually paled in front of the clueless Harutora.

Then, a strange light flashed in her blue eyes as if she had suddenly thought of something.

She rapidly changed her sitting posture, putting one knee forward as her right hand simultaneously reached quickly behind her back. Her movements were sharp and hard to imagine from her demeanor just now. Something was shining - just as Harutora thought this, the wakizashi<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wakizashi]</ref> she clutched with a reverse grip arrived at the tip of his nose.

Harutora gasped in surprise.

"I, I-I-If Harutora-sama orders, I shall not hesitate to sacrifice my life! E, E-Enemies of Harutora-sama shall be made into rust on this beloved blade 'Kachiwari'......!"

"............"

Her gaze was fierce, and the blade of the wakizashi flashed in front of his eyes, making Harutora's face stiffen.

"......I, I see, thanks, Kon. I got it, I understand already, so please put that thing back......"

Kon gasped in panic and returned the wakizashi behind her back as per Harutora's request. It seemed that the scabbard was inside her belt. After putting it back, she hastily returned to a kneel again.

...This wouldn't do.

"A, Anyway, Kon, that...... K, Kachiwari? That name is pretty scary...... Anyway, don't draw that blade without my permission. Got it? You definitely can't draw it!"

"B, But, Harutora-sama, as your guard, it is my responsibility to ensure your safety, if something unexpected--"

"Even if I encounter something unexpected, you still have to confirm with me first! Got it?"

Harutora snapped back, and Kon finally nodded her head reluctantly.

...A little shikigami doll who would draw a blade without warning, give me a break......

Though he wasn't sure when this shikigami had been made, it seemed like he needed to quickly correct Kon's overly old-fashioned manner of speech<ref> In the Japanese text, Kon speaks in a clearly old-fashioned manner of speech. </ref>, as there might be some day when it would lead to an unexpected grave situation.

...If this girl got into trouble, all the responsibility would be on him, right? What a joke, I can't deal with this myself.

He felt like his head hurt. It really wasn't a time to plan to use this shikigami to improve his image. Everything was the fault of his own bad luck, Harutora complained in his heart.

Just then - 'I always thought you were an idiot, but I didn't think you would be so dumb you didn't know anything!'

"Ugh......!"

Natsume's roar suddenly flitted through his mind, and Harutora hurriedly rid himself of his pretentious attitude.

...I, Idiot! How can I have this kind of arrogant attitude!

Right, this child had more reason to complain than him. In the end, he was only an outsider with the empty name Tsuchimikado, and a student whose grades were far behind and unable to keep up with the pace of studies. The shikigami with this kind of master was the one with the downright worst luck.

Kon seemed to believe that Harutora was scolding her, and her head was lowered in silence, with the ears on her head drooping down in depression.

On the other hand, could it be that Kon had this attitude of putting Harutora on a pedestal because she had made some kind of mistake? Maybe she believed that since Harutora was a Tsuchimikado, he was definitely a powerful 'great man'.

"Hey, Kon, in order to avoid any mistakes, let me first make it clear......"

"Uh, uh, yes."

Harutora's tone was serious, and Kon instantly straightened her back upon hearing it.

He coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat.

"L, Listen up Kon, I'll say it flat out, even though I'm a Tsuchimikado, I'm not like the incredible Onmyouji you served before. Honestly, I'm not even confident I can use your power to the fullest......"

As he said that--

Kon's eyes suddenly widened.

A bottomless despair was reflected from her blue eyes.

"Y, y-y-y-y-y-you mean that I am not needed?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears and her small body trembled intensely. "H, Hold on!" Harutora frantically leaned forward.

"No! You're mistaken! I didn't say anything about needing you or not, it has nothing to do with that, that wasn't what I meant...... I wanted you not to think so highly of me."

"...?"

Kon's teary eyes were wide in wonder, seeming as if she hadn't understood the meaning in Harutora's words at all.

"Actually, uh...... I'm still a student - something like an Onmyouji trainee, and my grades are terrible, almost to the level of a complete outsider, and I'm not at all incredible, so you don't actually have to be so respectful to me."

He said so much that even he felt ashamed, but that was the truth, he was helpless.

Kon listened to Harutora's confession with her mouth tightly closed and surprise all over her face. It made him think of the reactions of his teachers and the students from earlier in the day, and he couldn't help but turn his head embarrassedly.

But--

"That's not true."

Kon spoke resolutely.

She spoke smoothly and with a firm confidence in her voice, a reversal from before. However, after Harutora turned back around in surprise, the resolution on her face instantly collapsed and returned to the original flustered appearance.

Even so, she still tried hard to express her thoughts.

"I, I-I was guarding Harutora-sama the whole day today."

"...Ah."

Indeed, that meant that she had seen all of Harutora's idiotic appearance in the Onmyou Academy.

"Th, Then you should know clearly that I don't understand anything, right? Then why......"

"Because I-I am Harutora-sama's shikigami."

"For just that reason? You're so reverent and respectful of me because of that?"

Harutora asked in surprise. Kon showed a confused look and stared at him upon hearing this, as if that were common sense. If her attitude were indeed common sense...... As Natsume's shikigami, Harutora couldn't help but feel despair towards that kind of world.

"A, Am I troubling Harutora-sama?"

"No...... that's not it."

Harutora replied perfunctorily. Actually, he felt that Kon was exalting him too much, so he felt a bit uneasy.

...But......

Kon's humble words moved Harutora's heart after a whole day of experiencing misery.

Thinking carefully, it would be a true tragedy if even his own shikigami expressed a scornful attitude. Kon's attitude shouldn't be that stiff if they slowly got to know each other. Randomly slashing that wakizashi around was indeed a troublesome problem, but there was no reason to force her to change.

On the other hand, since Kon was definitely obedient to her master, he should do his best to respond to her expectations and become an Onmyouji worthy of her respect.

"......I understand, from today on you'll be my shikigami and I'll be your master, though I'm an unseemly master. Please take care of me, Kon."

Harutora secretly decided, speaking to Kon with a smile.

Kon's cheeks blushed and eyes gleamed for a moment. She lowered her head hastily.

"I, I-I-I am not worthy, please instruct me well--"

Her attitude and gracious words were courteous, and it was just her tail that jumped around like a little kid. Though he felt a little regretful, Harutora was no longer concerned after seeing Kon this happy.

...I have a shikigami now. Harutora digested that fact again.

"......Alright! Then, Kon, you were with me the whole day, so you should be clear on what kind of a person I am, right?"

"H-H-Harutora-sama is broad-minded, even someone like I can see--"

"Slow down, you don't have to rush to respond, I just meant that I was going to continue asking questions, like...... Right, is there any special meaning to your ears and tail?"

Harutora hid a wry smile, asking with as gentle a tone as possible. With that question, Kon's ears and tail instantly shook and stood up like they had been shocked.

"M, Meaning...... I am a fox spirit, so therefore......"

"Huh, you're a fox? Could you be a magical fox - no, maybe a kitsune?"

Harutora had originally believed that they had been dog ears and a dog tail. After hearing Harutora's question, Kon nodded. In that case, then the fireballs Kon had popped out just now might have been the so-called 'fox fire'.

Touji had explained that the standard manmade shikigami could hold external magical power. The 'external magical power' in this case was Kon's 'fox spirit', and in other words, Kon was a shikigami that practitioners had refined into a kitsune. Even so, Harutora actually didn't understand anything about what a fox spirit was.

He 'ohh'-ed somewhat curiously, learning forward to gaze at Kon's ears. Perhaps Kon felt a bit shy under Harutora's gaze, as her cheeks reddened and she turned away...... But her ears moved more and more intensely.

"......Can I touch them?"

"Hya!?"

"Ah, if you're unwilling, then I won't force--"

"N-N-No, that is not it, touch if you p-please......"

She lightly put her head forward and Harutora extended his hand with a "sorry".

He first felt Kon's ear between his fingers. Kon trembled like she had been electrified when he touched.

"Ohh, how soft - Haha, it even shakes, it's really like a puppy...... Ahah, all right, all right."

"............"

"Can I touch your tail too?"

"O, Of course......"

Kon was too shy to dare look at Harutora as she spoke, turning her back to him.

The feeling of her tail was even fluffier than her ears, and Harutora felt it softly, making a cheer of "Ohh!". He actually quite liked animals.

"It feels so nice, loose and soft...... Oh, it moved."

"......I, I-It honors me tremendously that you ...... enjoy it......"

"Yeah, this feels pretty good. On that note, I've never touched a fox before, so this is how their tails look."

"............"

Harutora continued to stroke her fox tail, prompting Kon to jolt straight every so often and then relax back down. She desperately endured it without daring to speak, her ears moving even more rapidly.

"Ah, sorry, is it itchy?"

"P-P-P-Please do not worry......"

"Can you move this tail at will? Actually, how does it move?"

"H, How--!?"

Harutora asked leisurely, but for some reason Kon cried out miserably.

Finally, she made a determined effort and stood up silently, her mouth tight and her show-white skin flushed down to her neck. Then, with her back towards the surprised Harutora, she slowly untied the sash around her waist.

"L-L-L-L-L, Like this!"

She spoke and suddenly pulled down her hakama.

A constantly trembling tail and a snow-white butt appeared before Harutora--

"What's going on, Harutora! I took a detour to the library on the way home as a precautionary measure, and noticed that somehow, the books I designated were all still there--"

Natsume roughly flung open Harutora's door without knocking, her arms piled with a small mountain of books. An angry roar burst out as she walked into the room.

Time froze, everything going silent.

Kon wailed soundlessly, frantically pulling up her hakama but carelessly catching it on her foot. Harutora quickly reached out to support Kon as she fell into his chest - and as a result the two of them abruptly held on to each other as the untied hakama fell to her feet.

[[image:Tr2_131.png|thumb]]

The books in Natsume's hands fell down one by one.

Kon was already completely frozen, but Harutora grabbed the fallen hakama with a speed challenging human limitations, pulling the hakama up like he was helping a child wear pants and tying the sash.

Then, he breathed deeply and was about to open his mouth, when--

"..................Harutora?"

"Uh--"

"..................What are you doing?"

"You're mistaken--"

This was Harutora's first time hearing such a tone from Natsume since he had been born, and the voice he replied with sounded like it hadn't come from his own mouth.

"Uh, you see, calm down and listen to my explanation, alright? You're mistaken, she's Kon, don't look at her like a child, she's actually a fox. More importantly, she's a shikigami, not a human. Look at her tail and her ears for proof. So you're wrong, it's not like you're thinking......"

Natsume frowned, her eyes fiercely emitting some kind of dangerous feeling.

At the same time, Harutora seemed to see several self-made charms for magic appear in her fingers, and even though he was very concerned about why she was taking out charms, his attention was drawn more to the word 'danger' clearly written on them. Harutora's justifications became quieter and quieter.

"............Pervert."

"Hold on--"

"............Die."

"N, Natsume?"

The girl's body seemed as if it had swelled several times instantly - this was what he saw with his spirit-seeing ability, definitely unmistakable.

"Die, pervert! Order!"

'When I arrived, your heart had already stopped.'

Touji from next door told Harutora this afterwards. Of course, that was probably only a joke.-->