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Sorry for the short chapter—I'm working on rewriting another fan fiction I have
:)
Chapter 6
"It's a wonder you're in such good condition after that," Mayumi said.
"Nah, that's expected of Kokonoe-sensei's disciple, I guess," said Mari.
Regardless of his training, it was incredibly impressive that Tatsuya was able to manage fourteen opponents without sustaining any injuries.
Tatsuya's focus shifted.
Juumonji Katsuto. He had the number 10 in his name. If his name alone wasn't impressive enough, his stature was. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with rippling muscles easily identifiable even under his uniform.
Everything about him gave his character an incredible presence.
As expected of one who stands alongside Mayumi and Mari as part of the First High School "Big Three."
"You didn't see how it started?" Mari asked him.
He nodded, "I can't be sure of Kirihara provoked the Kendo club, if there was some earlier grievance, or something else."
"Is that why you didn't act straight away?" That was from Mayumi.
"I intended to intervene if it became dangerous. They can handle a few bruises themselves."
Besides, his duties required the prevention of magical violence, neither Kirihara nor Mibu used magic when they started sparring. Had Kirihara not used any, Tatsuya would have remained a bystander to the end.
"...Well it's fine. We don't really have the personnel to intervene in every fight."
"What did you do with Kirihara?"
"Kirihara's collar bone was fractured, so I handed him over to the Health Committee. He admitted his error in the infirmary, so I figured no further action was required."
"Hm... very well." Mari turned her eyes towards Juumanji Katsuto.
"I'm grateful for your leniency. To have used a highly lethal magic such as Sonic Blade, even if no one got hurt, we had thought a suspension was unavoidable. I'm sure Kirihara realized that. We'll give him a full lecture and make sure he takes this lesson to heart."
"We'll leave it to you." Katsuto gave a slight bow, which Mari returned. "Is the Kendo club satisfied with that?"
"They share the same offense of provocation. They're in no position to make a fuss."
"Chief, I'm sorry for being discourteous, but," he gestured to the door, indicating he desired permission to leave.
"Before that," she asked briefly, "was Kirihara the only one who used magic?"
"That is correct." Kirihara was the only one who successfully activated magic, is what he should have said, but Tatsuya had no intention of going into such a detailed explanation.
"I see. Thanks for your hard work." Receiving permission, Tatsuya turned around and left the club headquarters.
"Onii-sama," Miyuki rushed over to him. "Thanks for all your hard work. Today was rather tiring wasn't it."
"It wasn't a big deal. Good work today as well, Miyuki." As Miyuki stood before him with both hands clasped onto her bag in front of her, Tatsuya, with a fond look, gently stroked her hair, then leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.
Miyuki half closed her eyes in pleasure as she gazed up at her brother, and their eyes met.
"I realize that they're siblings, but you know..." Leo muttered to himself.
Erika squinted whilst Mizuki slowly reddened.
Tatsuya at long last removed his hand from his sister's head and turned to the three.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting."
The delicate atmosphere dispelled, Leo shook his head with a crisp smile. "Don't be so distant, Tatsuya. There's no need to apologize."
The others agreed, "I haven't been waiting at all, I just came from the end of a club orientation. Erika did too."
Tatsuya nodded, despite his knowledge that they had been waiting quite a while. Still, the thought was nice.
"Why don't we go eat? It's a little too late to be cooking..." he offered.
On the next day of the entrance ceremony, the five talked about the days happenings — clubs they joined, boring housekeeping matters, people who tried hitting on them, all sorts of experiences, but in the end the topic that drew the most interest was the drama involving Tatsuya.
"Kirihara used a rank B lethal magic didn't he? It's a wonder you weren't hurt."
"It was a lethal magic, but Sonic Blade has limited applications. Apart from the blade being invisible, it's no different from a sharp sword," Tatsuya replied tiredly.
"But, didn't you stop it with just your bare hands? Wasn't that dangerous?"
"It's fine, Mizuki. There's no need to worry about Onii-sama."
Erika raised an eyebrow at her confidence, "Miyuki, you weren't worried at all?"
She shook her head, smiling at Tatsuya, "Of course not. There is no one who can defeat Onii-sama."
Tatsuya felt something akin to pride bloom in his chest.
Erika was at a loss for words. Kirihara's swordsmanship was flawless, and the Sonic Blade was not in any way inferior to a real sword. Tatsuya remained claim, and slammed the shinai down with Aikijutsu, a technique that only a exper magic user could perform.
Even so..."I don't mean to doubt Tatsuya-san's ability, but Sonic Blade is far from a normal sword. I mean it emits ultrasonic waves, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I've heard of people wearing earplugs to block out ultrasound."
"That's not it. Onii-sama's Taijutsu is superior," Miyuki said simply. "Countering magic rituals is Onii-sama's specialty."
Erika immediately latched on to her words, "Countering magic rituals? Not Data Fortification or Zone Interference?"
Miyuki nodded proudly.
"That's..." Erika didn't even know what to say. Cast Jamming wasn't even taught in schools, especially not high schools. "Cast Jamming...is it some sort of electromagnetic wave that hinders magic?"
"It's not exactly electromagnetic," Leo said. "It's a magic ritual that interferes with Eidos, like a magic cancelling system. It's not like Zone Interference, which affects a fixed area with the caster at its center. Zone Interference doesn't change information, and if the strength of the ritual is stronger than the interference, the interference will be shut out. Cast Jamming scatters vast amounts of meaningless Psion waves so that the magic user cannot affect the Eidos being affected by the jam caster. It overwhelms a magician's data with a large amount of extra data, greatly reducing the speed of data upload."
"So did you use Antinite?" Antinite fulfills the same conditions by emitting Psion noise. In theory, it is possible for a magician to evoke noise for Cast Jamming by themselves, but in practice it's exceedingly difficult. Unlike Zone Interference, under the influence of Cast Jamming, the user's own magic would also be affected.
"No. Antinite is a military resource. Price notwithstanding, it's not something a civilian can obtain."
"Eh? But, you said you used Cast Jamming..."
"Ah ー I'd like to keep this conversation off record alright?" Giving Tatsuya puzzled looks as he lowered his voice and leaned closer, the others followed suit. "What I used is a practical application of Cast Jamming, 'Specific Magic Jamming'."
Mizuki's confused eyes, magnified by her glasses, blinked slowly, "So it's a theoretically new magic?"
Many magicians use original magic, often devised in an intuitive effort to understand one's natural magic, but magicians who can devise theoretically entirely new magic are few indeed.
"I... discovered it by chance." Tatsuya laughed as he answered. "You guys know that when you use two CADs simultaneously, Psion waves are given out and it's impossible to use magic in most cases?"
"Ah, I've had that happen!" Leo nodded at Tatsuya's words.
As Tatsuya further explained his discover of the magic, Erika's mind metaphorically exploded.
"Okay, but... why is this all off-record? If you patent it, I'm sure it would be very profitable."
Tatsuya smiled bitterly as he answered Leo, "For a start, this technique is still incomplete. It can only be used on magic the opponent is in the midst of casting, and moreover it's not like they can't use it, it's just more difficult. Also, I can't use any magic whatsoever myself. That alone is fatal enough, but being able to interfere with magic without using Antinite is a problem in itself."
"...I don't see how that's a problem?"
"Don't be an idiot," Erika scolded. "In terms of national defense and security, magic is now indispensable. If the ability to disable magic without great magical strength or Antinite, which is unreasonably expensive, became widespread, the foundations of society would crumble."
Tatsuya nodded in agreement.
Miyuki gripped his arm a bit tighter at the thought.
Even when off from the Student Council, they weren't off duty. It wasn't a shift-based system in the first place.
"I'm sorry for making you wait all this time..."
Tatsuya approached, "No matter what I say, you'll still be worried it." Tatsuya placed his hands a little below the narrowest part of her waist. He stared her in the eyes, "It's no burden to me, Miyuki. You could never be one."
A few students passing through the corridor stared, offering displays of animosity toward Tatsuya and those of adoration for Miyuki.
Their moment was interrupted by someone calling, "Shiba-kun!"
The voice, although raspy, was definitively female, and belonged to a voice neither sibling recognized.
"Good afternoon. Should I start by saying, pleased to meet you?" At this point, her attention was entirely directed at Tatsuya.
"Ah, nice to meet you too. Mibu-senpai, correct?" From the Kendo incident, he wanted to say.
She nodded, "Thanks for earlier. I never properly expressed my gratitude." Her smile was friendly. "I also wanted to have a little talk with you... Is it possible for you to accompany me for a bit?"
Although her friendly attitude likely charmed many others, he wasn't susceptible to her charms. She could hardly compare.
"I can't now."
She wasn't so much offended as she was taken aback upon being rejected so ceremoniously.
At this, Miyuki hid a smile behind her hand.
"Maybe in a few days?"
Mibu nodded, albeit dejectedly. "That's fine."
Upon her exit, Miyuki grabbed her brother's sleeve and tugged his arm closer. She pressed his arm against her front as she snuggled against him. His free hand came to stroke her hair.
Today was decidedly better than yesterday, Miyuki acknowledged.
