(A/N): Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.


Chapter 3: Recruit

Shizuku's presence was requested by the Student Council during the lunch period. As she drew closer to their office, she noticed the older Shiba sibling was headed in the same direction bearing his typical, neutral expression.

"Ah, Tatsuya-kun. What brings you to the Student Council?" Tatsuya seemed impressed with her equally expressionless face.

"I was told the Public Morals Committee Chairwoman wished to speak with me." Shizuku had rarely seen anyone who could match her stoicism.

"Interesting, I was informed of the same. I wonder what this is about?"

"No idea, but it will probably be troublesome." For a moment his brow furrowed before returning to it's normal state.

Shizuku knocked on the door. "Pardon us. It's Shizuku Kitayama."

"Tatsuya Shiba."

The two inclined their heads with their greetings.

"Shizuku-chan, Tatsuya-kun. Thanks for coming!" Mari welcomed them kindly. "I'm surprised Miyuki isn't with you Tatsuya."

Though Mari was clearly teasing, Shizuku was interested in his response as well. Tatsuya and Miyuki seemed inseparable outside of class.

"Miyuki wanted to come, but I convinced her she should get to know our friends better."

Despite the lack of hesitation as he spoke, Shizuku couldn't help but doubt Tatsuya's words. She put that suspicion aside for the moment.

"Mari, maybe we should get down to business so Shizuku-chan and Ta-kun can get back to their friends?" Mayumi proposed in her cheery voice. One of Tatsuya's eyebrows twitched at Mayumi's words.

"Ta-kun?" Shizuku wondered. "The President seems pretty relaxed with Tatsuya", she thought.

Mari nodded her head in agreement with Mayumi's suggestion. "I called the two of you here because I'd like invite both of you to join the Public Morals Committee."

Shizuku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Turning her head to see Tatsuya's reaction, his eyes narrowed a bit in annoyance… or so Shizuku thought. It was hard to tell with Tatsuya's expressions.

"So that's why Tatsuya didn't want Miyuki to come along. He must have suspected this invitation and Miyuki would definitely have 'convinced' him to accept…"

Shizuku responded to Mari after a brief pause. "So Course 2 students are allowed to join the Public Morals Committee?"

Mari nodded her head. "Unlike the Student Council, the PMC is an honorary council and thus isn't bound by all the same regulations. It's main function is to keep order among the student body, look for shady behavior and break up fights. That sort of thing."

Tatsuya finally spoke up. "Chairwoman, members of the committee are to step in even when magic is used, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then surely my being a Course 2 student makes that a problem for me. My practical ability with magic is quite low, I would be more of a hindrance in stopping fights where magic is required!"

In Shizuku's opinion, Tatsuya's response was a bit desperate. Although she had not seen it herself, news of Tatsuya's defeat of Morisaki Shun the previous day had already spread across campus. If he could so easily take down someone as skilled as Morisaki, he must have a level of practical abilities sufficient for the position Mari offered.

"Tatsuya, don't belittle me. We saw your battle simulation with Morisaki-san yesterday." Mari briefly glanced at Mayumi and winked. "We know you're not some helpless nobody when it comes to tests of strength."

In the face of her superior reasoning, Tatsuya sighed and seemed to consider Mari's proposition.

"What about you, Shizuku-chan?"

"I graciously accept your invitation, Chairwoman." Shizuku was interested in learning more about Tatsuya, especially since Honoka was crushing on him.

"Excellent! And you Tatsuya-kun?" Mari smirked at Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow. "If you join the Public Morals Committee you'll be able to be around Miyuki more often. As a member of the Student Council she will often be working in this room."

"I humbly accept your invitation, Mari-senpai" he said stiffly after pausing for a moment.

As Mari stood up to leave the Student Council room, she said teasingly "Don't look so down about it Tatsuya. You'll get to be around Mayumi more often as well."

"M-Mari stop that!" The President seemed mortified at her friend's statement. A bead of sweat appeared on Tatsuya's forehead at Mari's declaration.

"President-"

"It's Mayumi, Ta-kun." Her eyes narrowed at him.

"You get your name back when I get mine." He challenged her with his commanding gaze. Mayumi met that challenge with hard stare of her own.

Interrupting their catfighting, Mari stated "Anyway, meet me after school in the PMC HQ and I will go over your duties as members. You will start your first patrol tomorrow, as Recruitment Week is upon us."

"Yes Chairwoman", Shizuku and Tatsuya both responded. They then made their way out now the room.

Shizuku wasn't entirely sure why she accepted. She had as much interest in joining as Tatsuya seemed to have, which is to say none at all. However she found Tatsuya to be an interesting character.

Like her, Tatsuya wasn't from a prominent family of magicians. Yet he managed to distinguish himself at a prestigious school like First High, which boasted numerous descendants from the Hundred Families, the 18 Assistant Houses and even a few from the 10 Master Clans. Granted his talents didn't lay in superb spellcasting, but he found his own way to excel. Taking the top spot in all the theory exams was incredible.

Not to mention, she found the dynamic between he and the Student Council President to be intriguing. She feared, however, that she might have to break the news to Honoka.

"I hope she won't be too upset if what I suspect is true…"


(After School, Public Morals Committee HQ)

While Miyuki was attending to her duties as a member of the Student Council, Tatsuya was heading to the Public Morals Committee headquarters with Shizuku.

To say Tatsuya found Shizuku impressive was an understatement. She excelled on her exams; only his sister beat Shizuku's overall score. And her ability to control her emotions and prevent childish outbursts was no mean feat at their age.

"Maybe Miya should have simply had Shizuku train me in this regard…" he thought jokingly.

Arriving at the headquarters, he announced their presence to which the Chairwoman - Mari Watanabe - welcomed them into the very messy room.

After explaining their responsibilities as members of the Committee, Tatsuya finally had to make a request of Mari. He was irritated the moment he saw the state of their headquarters.

"Mari-senpai, could I clean this room? As an aspiring Magic Engineer, I find such a cluttered environment unbearable."

The room was practically trashed. Garbage was strewn about, dust covered most of the shelves and various papers had been tossed around the room in no particular arrangement.

Mari lifted an eyebrow. "By all means, but given the level of your combat skills I'm surprised you're set on magic engineering."

Shizuku nodded, saying in her monotone voice "If you can already beat someone like Morisaki-san, I would have thought you'd interested in enlisting in the military."

"Given my low technical skills, I couldn't hope for more than a rank-C license. Besides, Magic Engineering is my passion; I'd take it over the military any day." He noticed he was speaking more excitedly than usual, so he calmed himself lest he reveal too much.

He believed the two girls were upstanding enough individuals. But that didn't mean he was interested in telling them his life story, even if he were allowed to do so.

As the 3 students cleaned the room, Tatsuya was congratulated by a couple of Course 1 students who entered the room. Though shocked by a Course 2 student being invited to the Committee, Mari's statement that he beat one of the top Course 1 Freshman in mere seconds changed their perception of him for the better.


(Shiba Residence, later that evening)

"Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki tells me you've joined the Public Morals Committee. Nice going!" Honami smiled at Tatsuya as he blushed slightly.

"They wouldn't take no for an answer. I couldn't find a plausible excuse to deny their invitation."

Honami knew Tatsuya saw joining clubs and committees as distractions from his chief goal, but Honami was glad he relented. She wanted to see him live his life as normally as he could, to accept the praise he earned and to make friends.

Because the Yotsuba valued magic ability over all else, Tatsuya's accomplishments never mattered and were never praised. He quickly developed an inferiority complex about anything he did. His grades were uniformly excellent, he mastered close and long range combat, and he even developed the groundbreaking Loop Cast system for CADs as Taurus Silver.

However, he required the artificial Magic Calculation Area Miya installed in him in order to cast Systematic Magic. Such an artificial processor was quite inferior to a natural one, leading to his poor ability with magic in general. This led to him being rejected as defective by most of his family.

Even with Honami, his twin second cousins and now Miyuki supporting him, it was tough to change his reflexive response to downplay himself. Bad habits die hard.

While Miyuki was eating her food, Honami snapped her fingers and pointed at Tatsuya. "You only agreed so you could stay near Miyuki, didn't you?"

Miyuki looked at Tatsuya with a surprised look. Smiling wryly, Tatsuya answered in a falsely humble tone "You read me like a book, Honami-san."

"Onii-san, y-you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me…"

"Yes I did Miyuki. Protecting you is my number one objective." Tatsuya responded quickly and robotically. "This also gives me an excuse to be around you more often."

"Onii-san!" Miyuki blushed and put a hand to her cheek.

Tatsuya's face became confused, causing Honami to giggle at his obliviousness.

"Besides, you were so adamant that I join the Student Council. This way you can be satisfied as well." This statement caused Honami to direct a quick glance to Miyuki.

"Make sure you're careful while on patrol, Tatsuya. I know your abilities as well as anyone, but all the same it wouldn't due to let your guard down. Someone else could get hurt, even if you can't."

Nodding, Tatsuya said "Of course. And given it's Recruitment Week there's bound to be a number troublesome incidents."

"The same goes for you, Miyuki-chan. Do your best with your Council duties."

"Right, Honami-san!"

After the two seemed to retire to their rooms, Honami began to wash the dinner dishes. They could no doubt afford an HAR (Home-Automated Robot) to do such chores, but Honami always felt compelled to do them herself. She felt more fulfilled by directly helping Tatsuya and Miyuki.

As she continued washing dishes, she wondered what sort of feelings Miyuki had for her brother. While they'd make a cute couple, the nature of their would-be romance bothered Honami greatly.

Before she could pursue that line of thought, she was startled when a voice from behind called out "Let me help you with those, Okaa-san."

"Eh! O-ok Tatsuya-kun. But don't sneak up on me like that! Yakumo-sensei has been a bad influence on you..."

Despite her rebuke, a small smile appeared on Honami's face which matched the smile on Tatsuya's. Tatsuya never referred to her as his mother when Miyuki was around as he felt it would denigrate their deceased mother. While Tatsuya was never on great terms with Miya, Miyuki had loved her mother dearly. Miyuki was close to Honami, but it was more akin to a relationship between sisters.

By the time he was 7-years old, Tatsuya had begun referring to Honami as his mother in private. She initially resisted it, but as their relationship deepened to the level of parent and child, she stopped fighting it. She even came to love hearing him say it. It felt like the one thing she had that the Yotsuba couldn't take away from her.

"So how was your day, Okaa-san". He handed her the plates he washed.

As she rinsed and put them in the dishwasher, she responded "Oh the usual. Cleaned the house, got some training in, updated the Main House on the goings on. But what about you, Mr. Silver?"

She turned to Tatsuya and winked. "I hear Mayumi Saegusa is the Student Council President. Is she as beautiful as they say?"

She hadn't really expected Tatsuya to respond. Because of Miya's "Mental Design Interference" magic, he wasn't a very emotional person. Women besides Miyuki never drew his attention in a noticeable way.

But the bead of sweat on his forehead and the twitch of his right eye at the mention of the Saegusa surprised her.

"Maa maa Tatsuya, could it be you have a thing for Miss Saegusa?" She playfully elbowed him in his side.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Okaa-san. You know I'm incapable of such things." His face went neutral as he cleaned the silverware. Tatsuya's stoic mask might fool many, but not her mother's intuition. That girl must unnerve him somehow.

"Riiiiight", Honami said as she wiggled her eyebrows at Tatsuya, who simply smirked in response.

"Did Oba-ue have any orders for me?" Honami allowed him to change the subject so he could save face.

"No, she has no doubt you're fulfilling your duty as Miyuki's Guardian. She was more interested in how Miyuki's schooling was going."

As Tatsuya nodded in response, Honami couldn't help but feel a bit down at just how devoted he was to that duty...


(Next day, on Patrol at First High)

Though Tatsuya was still sore from his intense sparring with Yakumo that morning, he departed from the Public Morals Committee HQ to patrol the campus of First High School.

There were tents all over the school grounds, giving them a festival vibe.

As it was Recruitment Week, all of the various clubs were trying to attract new members to their ranks. First High only boasted 200 students at a time, meaning there was stiff competition over potential recruits.

Just as Tatsuya was beginning to hope his patrol would be without incident, he noticed a familiar redhead being fought over by two clubs.

"These guys are relentless…" he exhaled in a sigh.

"She wants to join our club you greedy bitch!"

"Us greedy? Puh-lease. She was trying to join our club assholes!"

As Erika was jostled back and forth between the girls fighting over her, one grabbed Erika's uniform and pulled off part of her coat in the struggle. Another had groped her, much to her shock.

"Are you people insane?" Erika yelled.

Leaping into action, Tatsuya used one of the 2 CADs he borrowed from the PMC to cast an Oscillation-type magic. By kicking the ground and then directing the amplified vibration at the crowd, he was able to knock everyone off balance. Tatsuya grabbed Erika and assisted her in retreating between two surrounding school buildings.

Looking at her, he thought "Man, they did a number on you…" Erika's jacket had been pulled off one of her arms. Her new uniform had taken a beating as well.

Then he noticed Erika was showing quite a bit of cleavage due to being pulled back and forth before.

"Turn around!" she shouted as her face blushed bright red. He quickly did as commanded.

After she fixed her disheveled appearance, Tatsuya tried to think about anything other than the body he had just seen. He succeeded… somewhat. At least he wasn't blushing.

"Tatsuya… did you see me?"

He wasn't sure if he should respond. "Lying would be the smart thing to do, yes… wait, no she knows I saw her cleavage…"

Turning around, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He wasn't able to say anything, which was as good as a confession.

"Y-you idiot!" She kicked his shin, which hurt a little bit.


(2nd Gymnasium, "The Arena")

After cooling off, Erika knew she had been unreasonable. Tatsuya had helped her get away from those jerks outside.

Still, she wasn't above using Tatsuya's accidental impropriety to rope him into walking with her as compensation.

...

Erika could not be more bored if she tried. As they were watching the Kendo club down on the first floor of the gym, she grew more annoyed at a girl who was in a Kendo match with a boy from her club.

"You seem irritated by their match, Erika."

"Well yeah. Her skill level is much higher than than the other guy's. This is practically a rehearsal for Mibu-san."

"She can hardly fight a true martial arts match in a high school setting. This is only for recruiting new club members, so it makes sense to show off a flashier match. A true martial arts match is about killing one's opponent after all."

Despite Tatsuya's slightly grimmer expression when he spoke those words, Erika couldn't help but feel he was a bit nonchalant about the topic.

"You seem pretty calm about the prospect of killing someone."

"Or maybe I'm just not getting worked up over a smart recruitment tactic?"

She glared at Tatsuya in annoyance at his dismissive response. Before she could retort, Tatsuya's gaze grew more serious.

"Trouble?" he said.

Looking down, Erika could see a new group had taken to the floor and interrupted the Kendo club's demonstration.

"Looks like the Kenjutsu club are causing trouble", she responded.

One of the Kenjutsu club members challenged Sayaka Mibu of the Kendo club.

"Oooh, looks like we might get to see a decent match after all! Kirihara-senpai and Mibu-senpai are gonna go at it! You might have to step in after all, Tatsuya!"

"Huh?"

Erika then dragged Tatsuya off to watch the match up close on the first floor. She wasn't done exacting her payment just yet.


As the match between Mibu and Kirihara began, it soon became apparent that Mibu was the more skilled swordsperson. She didn't fall for any of the feints Kirihara attempted and deflected away all of his attacks with apparent ease.

"Kirihara's reliance on magic would naturally make him a less skilled swordsmen than Mibu who focuses solely on swordplay", he thought to himself. Magicians tended to be arrogant that those with inferior magic to them are likewise inferior in all other aspects. Kirihara clearly made this mistake with Mibu.

According to Erika Mibu placed 2nd in the National Middle School Kendo tournament two years prior, while Kirihara placed 1st in the Kanto Middle School Kenjutsu tournament that same year.

The match came to a close when both combatants went for broke. Kirihara used an overhead strike with his shinai, while Mibu went for a straight thrust with hers. Kirihara only managed to graze Mibu's left arm, while she had managed to score a solid hit to his right shoulder.

"That attack would have killed you in a real fight, while yours wouldn't have even reached bone. Just accept that you lost to the superior swordsman, Kirihara-san."

"A real fight you say, Mibu? Heh… hehehe". Kirihara began to laugh hysterically.

"I can't catch a break", Tatsuya thought annoyedly. He quickly activated the recording device members of the Public Morals Committee wear as insurance when apprehending a suspect.

Kirihara input commands on his CAD to activate his magic. A loud screech emanated, causing some people to fall to their knees, while others screamed at the use of magic.

Thanks to his "Elemental Sight" superpower, Tatsuya read the Activation Sequence of Kirihara's magic.

"Oscillation-type Magic… Sonic Blade? Is he really resorting to a B-ranked lethal spell after losing a Kendo match?" he thought.

Before Kirihara could even attempt to swing his blade at Mibu, Tatsuya appeared between the two at high speed and activated his own magic using both of the CADs he borrowed from the PMC.

By activating an interference magic ritual in one CAD and using the reverse ritual with the other CAD, Tatsuya could prevent his opponent from casting or sustaining their magic.

Tatsuya's "Specific Cast Jamming" caused Kirihara's "Sonic Blade" to fade away. The Psion waves Tatsuya produced left the Kirihara and surrounding students disoriented. Tatsuya then appeared behind Kirihara in a flash, pulled his right hand behind his shoulder, pressed on the back of his knee and forced the 2nd Year student to the ground.

With his knee pinning the stunned upperclassman to the ground, Tatsuya put on his PMC communication device. "This is Tatsuya. I've apprehended one Takeaki Kirihara for the improper use of magic. He's injured so please bring a stretcher to my location."

"Who the hell is this?"

"There's no way a Weed could be on the on the Morals Committee!" The student had spotted the PMC armband Tatsuya was wearing.

"Learn your place!"

Soon the entire Kenjutsu club began to assault Tatsuya in earnest, but he was too fast for them to keep up with. Tatsuya quickly bested them by making them interfere with each other's attempts to grab him.

Realizing Tatsuya was toying with them, the Kenjutsu club members attempted to use their CADs to cast magic.

"Hot heads, every last one of them…"

Repeated use of his "Specific Cast Jamming" prevented any of them from using magic to make the situation worse. All the while, a bespectacled member of the Kendo club watched the situation with rapt fascination.


(Club Headquarters, 1 hour later)

"So you didn't see how the altercation started, Tatsuya-kun?"

"I observed a verbal dispute between Mibu-senpai and Kirihara-senpai, President." Mayumi knew now wasn't the time to react to his way of addressing her, so she settled for a brief glare.

"I didn't intend to get involved if they could settle their dispute with a Kendo match. But once Kirihara-senpai activated a spell I immediately intervened."

Mari asked interestedly "And you reported that Kirihara was the only one to cast magic,correct?"

"Yes. Kirihara-senpai was the only student to activate magic." Mayumi found his choice of words curious.

"Given that he acknowledged his error after having his injuries looked at, I judged that no further action needed to be taken."

Mari nodded. "It's a good thing you didn't get hurt, Tatsuya." Mari turned to the head of the Disciplinary Committee, Katsuto Juumonji. "We have intention to send this to the Disciplinary Committee."

"The leniency is appreciated. Given the lethal nature of the spell he used, I'll make certain Kirihara understands how close he came to expulsion if he hasn't already realized it." With that, the large man left the room.

"Alright Tatsuya, you're dismissed. Thank you for your hard work."

Inclining his head, Tatsuya left the club headquarters room.

"Am I the only one who felt Ta-kun was holding something back?" Mayumi asked her friend.

Mari seemed amused. "I don't know much but based on some rumors I heard earlier, Tatsuya is definitely leaving out some interesting information."

"Such as?"

"He appeared to cancel out Kirihara's "Sonic Blade" with an unidentified Counter Magic. A number of students were brought to their knees by some sort of Psion wave he used to disrupt the magic."

Mayumi was shocked. "Psion waves? But that's Cast Jamming isn't it? How could Tatsuya have access to antinite for such a technique?"

"Hm, none of the rumors I heard mentioned it. He only seemed to have the 2 CADs he borrowed from the Public Morals Committee."

"Wait, 2 CADs? How could he use them both without interference?" Attempting magic with 2 CADs caused the Psion waves from the CADs to interfere with each other and prevent magic activation.

Smirking, Mari said "I've no idea. I initially wondered if he was bluffing when he requested the two he borrowed." She paused for a moment. "He's an interesting addition this year indeed. You'd better not wait too long to make your move Mayumi!"

"Mariiiii, What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Mayumi, you answer that question with your actions everyday. Besides, you've been crushing on him so hard but he hasn't cracked yet. Is the almighty Mayumi Saegusa so unused to doing the chasing?" Mari was giggling.

"Oh this is not fair Mari, not fair at all!" Mayumi cried out.

Mayumi's sprint out of the room was comical due to her small size, causing Mari to guffaw.


(Classroom 1-A, The Next Day)

As she sat in class, Miyuki found herself a bit down as she thought about her brother.

"He tells me not to worry, but he was attacked by a member of Egalite earlier today..."

Miyuki knew Tatsuya could handle himself. But he had a knack for getting into trouble, especially for her sake. And direct threats to magicians such as Egalite and it's parent organization - Blanche - were exactly the kind of trouble he would get embroiled in. She wondered if he found her annoying for being so dependent on him. He always seemed to be acting for her sake while she didn't feel her contributions to him were proportional...

To escape her malaise, as soon as class ended Miyuki headed for the Student Council office and threw herself into her work.

A knock on the Student Council's door announced the presence of her brother. She was surprised that she felt so ill at ease that he showed up at that moment, given what she was thinking about.

Tatsuya hadn't yet picked up her mood, thankfully. After he removed his jacket, Azusa spotted his custom Silver Horn CADs in the holsters Tatsuya wore on his torso. Tatsuya noticed her eyeing the devices, so he allowed her to examine it thoroughly.

"Silver-sama…" she said in awe as she nearly rubbed her face on Tatsuya's CAD.(1)

Because Miyuki's back was turned, she misunderstood Azusa's remark as identifying her brother as Taurus Silver. The shock caused her to accidentally turn on the alarm of the workstation she was at and she turned to look at her brother.

Everyone looked at her, causing her to flush in embarrassment as she turned it off and got back to her Student Council work.

The President decided to continue to broach such a dangerous topic, much to Miyuki's annoyance.

"Ta-kun, how did you get one of the Silver Series CADs? I hear they're quite difficult to get ahold of." Her voice seemed innocent enough, but Miyuki couldn't help but find her suspicious.

"Ah, that. I'm a beta-tester, so I'm able to get them at a discount."

"Shiba-kun, did you get to meet Taurus Silver in person! What kind of person is he?!" Miyuki briefly turned her attention to the show behind her again. Azusa was only inches from Tatsuya and her face was glowing in anticipation…

"Why do all these girls get so close to Onii-san…" Miyuki hadn't lost control yet, but it would only be a matter of time at this rate. Not to mention, Azusa's question was particularly troublesome for Tatsuya to answer.

"Heh, I'm not that well connected at FLT to know something like that. FLT keeps most of its corporate secrets hidden away."

"A-chan, don't go thinking about using Mental Interference Magic to get information out of Ta-kun. You know it's illegal~" Though the President's face looked kind, there was an edge to her voice at seeing Azusa so close to Tatsuya.

"Not her too", Miyuki thought in frustration.

Before Miyuki lost control and froze everyone, Tatsuya stepped away from Azusa and patted Miyuki on the head.

"Oi oi, don't lose your head over here, Miyuki. Azusa-senpai was just excited."

"President, Shiba-kun, I'm soooory!" She bowed repeatedly in embarrassment for going "Device-taku" on Tatsuya.

Soon Azusa realized she hadn't done her schoolwork because she pestered Tatsuya for so long, Mayumi helped her. While the upperclasswomen were discussing the "Three Great Puzzles of Weight Systemic Magic", Tatsuya joined the conversation to clear up Azusa's confusion about why Generalized Flying-Type magic hadn't been made real yet.

Miyuki was just glad things had cooled down before she had lost her cool…

And then Mari lobbed a bomb at her brother.


"Tatsuya, is it true you verbally harassed the Second Year, Sayaka Mibu?"

"Harassed? What a vulgar word… That isn't true in the slightest."

Miyuki sighed in relief; Mibu was regarded as a very beautiful girl by the student body. Even Tatsuya had to admit she was rather good looking.

"Then what did happen?" Mari asked curiously.

"Mibu-senpai wished for me to join the Kendo club and she asked for my assistance in changing the plight of Course 2 students. I wasn't interested in helping with either, so I declined."

"How exactly did she intend to change the situation for Course 2 students?" Mayumi asked.

"That's part of the problem. She and her compatriots don't appear to know what exactly they wanted the school to change. My suggestion was to demand more teachers so Course 2 students could have them if they really wanted to better their education. However, she didn't appear to want to ask for such a thing."

Mari seemed contemplative.

Tatsuya spoke up again. "It was strange though…"

"Eh?" Mari broke from her inner thoughts.

"I was just saying that it was strange. Something seemed off about Mibu-senpai."

"Like what, Ta-kun?"

"Well, it's not anything I can prove but she seemed quite obsessive about her goal but had given almost no thought in how to attain it. Her gaze grew very intense and angry when discussing it, to the point where she seemed to forget I was present for a moment…"

"And?"

"They seemed like the symptoms of those who have been mentally manipulated by magic."

Everyone present was shocked by Tatsuya's speculation. As users of Mental Interference Magic, Miyuki and Azusa silently agreed that the symptoms Tatsuya described were the classic signs of such manipulation. However, it could also be accomplished by Consciousness-Interference type magic.

Mari became very serious. "Are you suggesting someone is brainwashing the Course 2 students by taking advantage of the animosity between them and the Course 1 students?"

"As I said, those symptoms don't constitute proof alone. I would simply suggest that there are active organizations who would employ such tactics for their own ends. Perhaps one such as the anti-magic International Political Organization, Blanche?"

Mari and Mayumi were again stunned.

"Tatsuya-kun, how do you know about Blanche?!"

"Eh, it's not classified information. There's no way to censor all the information about such a group. Honestly, there's quite a bit of discussions about them online. And besides, nothing good can come from simply ignoring and hiding their existence."

Mayumi seemed to be a bit hurt from Tatsuya's statement, taking it as criticism of her.

Speaking quickly, "I wasn't criticizing you Mayumi. I'm just of the opinion that the government has handled this situation poorly, allowing such groups to fester and recruit those dissatisfied with the current state of society under the guise of eliminating discrimination by magic."

Mayumi smiled at Tatsuya appreciatively and placed her hand on his. "Thanks Ta-kun~."

"My my Tatsuya, you're quite the lady-killer. First you break Mayumi down and then you build her back up. Be sure to take good care of Mayumi, got that?" Mari was on a roll today; Tatsuya wasn't sure he liked Mari anymore.

Mayumi blushed at this remark and removed her hand quickly. Tatsuya's back stiffened and he glanced at Miyuki nervously.

And sure enough…

"Lady-killer… taking care of Mayumi-senpai…" she whispered darkly.

Suddenly Tatsuya's lunch began to freeze due Miyuki accidentally casting an Oscillation-type magic which freezes objects by greatly reducing their motion. It could be considered a smaller scale version of the magic "Niflheim".

"Oi oi, Miyuki she's just joking around! Get control of yourself!" he said in a slight panic.

Miyuki flushed in embarrassment. Tatsuya looked down at his ruined lunch. He was still pretty hungry. He was mildly annoyed, but he was unable to tell Miyuki that.

"To accidentally cast magic… Miyuki-chan your Interference Strength must be enormous."

Though she said that cheerfully, Mayumi had a bead of sweat of her forehead. She seemed afraid Miyuki might direct her magical talents at her if she got close to Tatsuya in her presence again.

Everyone ate a quiet lunch after that.


(Kyuuchouji Temple, Evening)

Although Miyuki was annoyed by the antics in the Student Council office, she had gotten her revenge by roping Tatsuya into joining the Technician Team for the 9 Schools Competition. He had blown everyone away with a display of his engineering talents.

As she watched her brother's intense sparring match with Yakumo, she wondered if she had gone too far with her payback. Tatsuya never sought the praise of others, so that aspect of the 9 Schools Competition didn't entice him. Yet that was exactly the reason Miyuki wanted him to participate; he deserved accolades for his achievements for once in his life.

Even still, she couldn't help but think she was going against a recent talk she had with Honami…

(Flashback)

"Miyuki-chan."

"Yes Honami-san?"

"I need to ask you something important, but I need you to really take to heart what I'm asking you."

"O-ok Honami-san."

"Tatsuya said you tried to get him a spot on the Student Council. Is that right?"

Nodding, Miyuki said "Of course. He's far more deserving of it than I am."

Honami sighed nervously. "I know you mean well Miyuki, but you've got try not to do such things in the future."

"Huh, why not?" Miyuki was perplexed. How could Honami of all people not want Tatsuya to be recognized…

"You have to know that I mean no disrespect when I say this Miyuki-chan. But Tatsuya has to grow up."

Miyuki was shocked. Tatsuya was about as mature as could be at his age.

Putting some heat into her voice, Miyuki responded "What are you talking about? Onii-san is very mature. What does any of this have to do with me trying to help him?"

Honami calmed herself down before responding. "Miyuki, did you stop to consider whether or not Tatsuya wanted to join the Student Council?"

Miyuki swallowed her tongue. She hadn't considered that at all. Tatsuya normally went along with whatever she said. She didn't see why he would be opposed to being with her on the Council if possible.

"Why don't you think Onii-san would want to join the Student Council?" she asked nervously.

"I've been close to Tatsuya for awhile, so I have a good understanding of how his mind works and what he wants…"

Honami was hesitating.

"Please go on, Honami."

"As you know, your mother's Mental Interference Magic eliminated Tatsuya's ability to have strong emotions."

Miyuki nodded sadly. It had bothered her when she started growing closer to Tatsuya. She wasn't sure how much of his behavior was just an act for her benefit and how much was honest.

"Well, that's not quite true." Miyuki looked up in shock, so Honami continued. "I've noticed for many years now that Tatsuya's stronger emotions genuinely come out at times."

Miyuki knew Honami was right. Because of the Mental Interference Magic that the Yotsuba added to suppress Tatsuya's power, Miyuki had an intuitive feel for her brother's emotional state.

She noticed that occasionally she would feel such genuine emotions through their connection when she was with him. Oftentimes it happened when she wasn't around though. In fact, she had felt such emotions from her brother earlier when she heard Honami doing the dishes.

"When do they resurface?"

Honami blushed slightly as she said "Whenever he and I are together…"

"Wh-what!" Miyuki's mind conjured up quite the wrong image in response.

"Not like that, Miyuki!" Honami was pretty flustered by the insinuation. "I just meant... because Tatsuya was never close to Miya-sama, we've been very close for about a decade. I noticed he seemed more open around me over time."

Miyuki was quite jealous, but she knew she had no business complaining. She was ashamed of her previously dismissive treatment of her brother. Honami never subjected him to that so it was natural that they were so close.

"What's all this have to do with me trying to get Onii-san into the Student Council? Even if he doesn't wish to join, I only want the best for my brother. Surely that isn't a bad thing?"

"In essence Miyuki, you're not letting Tatsuya grow up. Tatsuya doesn't want adoration because they don't further his goals and it's not the kind of person he is. You know Tatsuya is compelled to do what he feels is best for you. Your mother's magic made sure that took priority over everything in his mind. If you're always enforcing your will onto Tatsuya - even accidentally - he will probably never become whole again."

Honami's face fell at the possibility of that occurring. "He needs those of us around him to care for him like the family we are. But we also need to give him some room to grow into the kind of person he wants to be, the kind he chooses with his own will. That's why I was so excited that the two of you were attending First High. It gives Tatsuya the chance to have part of his life under his control for the first time. He knows even better than me what it's like to have every facet of yourself controlled by another." Honami sounded quite bitter as she finished.

(End Flashback)

Still, Miyuki couldn't help but get Tatsuya to join the 9 Schools Competition. It was the best opportunity for everyone to see just how capable her brother was. And better yet, he would be doing what he loved best by tuning some of the team CADs.

After Yakumo defeated Tatsuya in their spar, Miyuki requested Yakumo help her train for the Mirage Bat competition.

Even as she trained intensely using Yakumo's Ancient Magic "Will o' Wisp", she couldn't shake the feeling that she was conveniently ignoring Honami's plea.


1) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

(A/N): Wow, this took awhile of get out, another week. Sorry about that, I wish life was simpler. :-( As compensation, this chapter is a bit longer (around 6000 words).

I admit, I'm not sure how well I did with this chapter. I feel like I skipped around a lot. Some parts were, as I say at the top, purposefully different from the canon. Partly, I'm trying to streamline some things so this fic isn't ungodly long. Another part is I'm trying to make some things make better sense than in canon Mahouka. Like in canon, Tatsuya (for no reason) suggests that Taurus Silver might be a Japanese youth. That makes no sense if he's trying to keep it secret. He just randomly says it and it's weird. I was also purposefully terse on some details and events. Again I'm sorry. I just don't want to reiterate everything. ;)

Anyway, I hope someone enjoyed this chapter, even if I'm not sure about it myself. Please write me a review. I feel better knowing actual people read them them and were interested enough to review it. Positive reviews and constructive reviews are a big help. Thanks for reading~