Chapter 291: Far Away

Characters (in order of appearance)

• Madarao
• Hakubi
• Tokine Yukimura
• Yoshimori Sumimura
• Sumiko Sumimura
• Shu Akitsu
• Shuji Sumimura
• Sen Kagemiya
• Shigemori Sumimura
• Toshimori Sumimura
• Shiguma (in flashback)

Summary

Sumiko Sumimura goes home alone, giving Yoshimori a chance to speak with Tokine. He tells her that he and his mother will be leaving in the morning, and that everything is changing. Tokine points out that everything hasn't changed and that he can always come back, but Yoshimori is unsure of this. Yoshimori says it's his job to seal Karasumori, but he isn't sure if he'll succeed even with his mother's help. Sensing the growing distance between them, Tokine begins to cry. Yoshimori immediately apologizes, but Tokine says she's okay. He tries to take back the entire conversation so he can do it over again, because he would rather see her smile. Tokine says she loves his kindness, and that won't ever change.

The next morning, Yoshimori and Sumiko prepare to leave. Shigemori Sumimura intends to make Shikigami clones to go to school for Yoshimori, having done the same thing for Masamori in the past. Sen Kagemiya says that with the school destroyed, he will probably leave as well, but asks Yoshimori to call once the lord has been relocated. Sumiko decides to take Madarao with them, and destroys the rock from his doghouse, revealing a small, striped orb within that is Madarao's true form. Yoshimori promises Tokine that he will definitely return. As they leave, Yoshimori asks how Sumiko convinced his father to let him go. Sumiko says she merely explained the situation, though Yoshimori feels she may have forced him into agreeing.

In a flashback, shortly after Sumiko returns to the Sumimura Home, she tells Yoshimori to use the blank state in front of her. Upon doing so, Yoshimori realizes she is a Shikigami clone. She admits that she only has a seventh of Sumiko's power and memories, and was sent to collect him. Yoshimori admits that without the blank state, he wouldn't have known the truth, and realizes that the gap between his power and his mother's is wider than he ever guessed. He resigns himself to go along with her plan, as she has had over ten years of preparation. He declines to know where they're going, saying it doesn't matter.