Tenma Ichinotani, an 11-year-old onmyōji, serves as a guardian in the City Patrol, specializing in defensive strategies with shikigami familiars. He wields two inherited paper dolls, Tamekichi and Matsukichi—legacies from parents he never knew. These shikigami expand into towering forms capable of devastating strikes or merging into a swift, formidable entity. A third origami-crafted papiervogel carries him through the skies during missions.

Though tasked with combating colossal insects, Tenma harbors crippling entomophobia, especially toward centipedes and crawling species. This fear often plagues him mid-mission, freezing him in place, yet he fights to suppress it, driven by loyalty to his patrol and the memory of his parents, who spent three sleepless nights forging his shikigami. His resolve to reunite with them one day anchors his ambition to rise as a revered onmyōji.

Allies like Jinbei Tsukishima steadily guide him to face his terror. Early encounters with certain insects left him helpless, but through repetition and Jinbei’s support, Tenma learns to steady his nerves, deploying his shikigami with growing precision. Pivotal missions see him transforming dread into sharpened focus, though some adversaries still trigger lingering paralysis.

Rootless and parentless, Tenma clings to his shikigami as his sole inheritance. Their silent presence fuels his quest to earn recognition, framing his patrol duties as both service and a bridge to familial connection. His journey weaves fragile confidence with enduring vulnerability, each battle a step toward proving his worth—and perhaps, one day, finding answers.