Suzuka Dairenji, Momoe Tenma, Kyouko Kurahashi, and Ato Touji were gathered in one place. There didn't happen to be a special event, as a matter of fact, a grim atmosphere had settled in the room, despite the summer sun piercing through the windows. It was evident they were all uncomfortable. It certainly wasn't the heat, a quiet monotonous hum echoed from the AC. Rather, it was the news and the recent happenings, concerning a man they all once knew.
Touji was the one to break the silence. He stood up and began in a loud voice. "I'm sure you know why I've gathered you here today." Everyone mentally agreed with slow nods, but not a word was spoken. It seemed to Touji as if they all had something to say, Suzuka was squirming in her chair, and a few drops of sweat could be seen forming on Tenma's forehead. Kyouko however, remained as calm and reserved as ever. Still, the positive vibes she brought with her couldn't be felt. "You've all seen the news. The Onmyo agency is mobilizing its divine generals for 'security reasons,' apparently there's going to be an influx of magic attacks in the area soon."
"Sheesh! Can you just get to the point?!" Suzuka's short temper had already made itself present, she hadn't changed much in terms of personality, but she had grown to become a beautiful young woman, more importantly, her magic abilities had further improved. To the other three in the room, she would always be Suzuka though.
"Um Suzuka-san, I don't mean to be rude, but we all know what he's going to say." Said Tenma.
"Ahhh" Suzuka sighed. "I guess we do."
"It's Yakou- no, Harutora. He's started moving again. Now, all of you know this because you know there's no other reason for the onmyo agency to mobilize. This 'magic attack' thing is bullshit, only one divine general is needed for a phase three." Touji was becoming more and more agitated by the moment. To bring up Harutora, whom everyone thought was the subject of the meeting, so casually, he clearly had something else to say.
Kyouko lost her composure. "What is it? What didn't I see in the stars?" she frantically asked.
"Well… I know what he's going to do. Actually, I caused it." Touji smirked "And I want you all to help him. Trust me, we'll all benefit." He lost his smirk and his tone became serious. "If he does this, we can go back to the good old days. Remember when we were in high school? Remember all the fun we had? There was no worrying about death every day, we didn't get caught in in this maelstrom of bullshit that those adults created. It was just us, Harutora, and -" his voice cracked and tears started dripping. "-and Natsume. We can get our lives back!"
Everyone looked down when Natsume was brought up. She and Harutora had always been there for everyone. Each and every one of them owed some sort of debt to Natsume and Harutora. Touji's mention of their childhood caused a flood of memories to come back. Soon, they were all in tears. Tenma and Kyouko embraced each other and sobbed over their shoulders, Suzuka was bawling like a toddler again, and Touji sat down and covered his eyes.
"Of course we'll help you!" Everyone said in unison.
"And Harutora and Natsume." Touji added.
"Of course!" smiles appeared over the tears on their faces.
"So here's the plan…"
Harutora sat on the roof of his hideout. The sun was blazing, and he was wearing the raven coat. One would expect him to be sweating profusely, but he had used water magic to chill the surrounding air with ice. As he gazed at the Tokyo skyline, blurred by heat, he contemplated how to resurrect Natsume. "I no longer have the full moon, so Taizan Fukun is not an option...besides, I don't have any of Natsume's familiars to bind her to, nor would any besides Hokuto be appropriate."
"Still thinking of her?" The Yakou side of him began speaking. At the same time, he attempted to take over. "You're only hurting yourself, come on, let me show you true magic." Yakou continued.
"It was your magic, that killed her! It was your fault! Y-you reincarnated yourself in me! That caused Souma to force the Raven coat on me! Which killed her." Harutora clenched his fist. There was no way for him to hurt Yakou, but he refused to give in as well. He partially blamed Yakou for Natsume's death, and secretly vowed to purge his existence from his body when possible, of course he doubted that specific promises validity since Yakou could've potentially heard it and might've taken precautions. With an intense amount of concentration, he forced Yakou's thoughts away from his own. His thoughts drifted back to Natsume.
"Onmyo magic is but a branch in the grand system of manipulating nature we call magic. The onmyo system forbids certain techniques, as does other sects of magic. There are many cases of western magic practitioners banning the use of certain "black magics." In the end, it's all lies. It's simply there to make real what's not. It matters not if I am not permitted to do so. It only matters if I can do it or not. And this I can do." Harutora came to a conclusion. "The first part does not require a sacrifice or offering. The enchantment is not very difficult, it has been performed many times before...just never like this. If I fail, I can try thousands of times by casting it in reverse. But never...never on her. She's too precious, I'll need to experiment." Harutora grimaced and he shook as frustration wracked his body. "The second part however, is too difficult for someone like me. My knowledge of Yakou's memories barely assist in this. This wasn't something done alone either, and the sacrifice, I don't have one yet. What other choice do I have though? Without it I can only enjoy a brief time with her again. Our mortal lives...they don't seem that precious when death is but an illusion in the face of magic. But she alone is evidence that such a statement has no merit. There's always the possibility of reincarnation...Yakou's successfully done it - but no. I can't. I refuse to put such a burden on them. If future Tsuchimikados were just like us, and something happened with the Raven cloak to provoke a response, and someone like her would lose their life... I wouldn't want someone to suffer like me. No child deserves this." Harutora stood up with a determined look on his face. The sun was setting, its red glow shone across the sky, casting long shadows. "This is how the sun was, when we met that summer. I remember its beauty...I thought of it so lightly, the me back then couldn't enjoy it. Like a collapsing star, brief and bright, soon it was gone and night came. Now...now I yearn for it every day, or perhaps the memories associated with it. She was like a collapsing star as well. Now that she's gone the only thing I have is this void within my heart that absorbs all emotion...as a black hole would. How I have changed in four years." Harutora sighed, and whispered "Well of course I've changed. I won't even tolerate failure now, and to think I was once so lazy." A pained smile followed by a short laugh came after. He whispered again, in a much softer, grieving voice. It was clear it wasn't directed to himself, yet not to the sky either. "I will get you back. I know how. Time magic. And the Tenchu Chifuu ritual."