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Chapter 55: Magical Physical Education: Boat Gunner

Two buses had been chartered for the Nine School's competition from first high, all of the C.A.D's had been primped, primed, calibrated and loaded onto the second Bus where Tatsuya stood guard. Klaud had once again mounted on the back of Inari to fly to the final destination, though she was staying awake, providing areal support in the form of top down security. The third bus had the remaining members of the Public Morals committee loaded on board. In short, they were covered. That said they were still being extra precautions, this of course was normal, considering the fact that the year before they were attacked by a international group of criminals, and this year they thought that they were being caught up in some kind of war game. That said, they arrived at the stadium and hotel combination safely without any incidents.

"Well that was anti-climatic." Klaud stated touching down on the pavement next to the second bus.

"You say that like you wanted something to happen." Tatsuya commented cocking a suspicious brow at Klaud.

"The thought had crossed my mind as felt myself wrench my guts for the third or fifth time." Klaud stated as she rubbed her stomach that was worn from air sickness. Suddenly the group spotted a black tsunami as a army of reporters rampaged over the pavement heading in their direction. "Speaking of, you wanna bolt?"

"Please." With that Tatsuya climbed onto Inari's back and they took off through the air.


They soon arrived in the laboratory area where things were being set up and where Klaud made a Beeline for the window where she emptied her stomach.

"She really doesn't travel well does she?" Tatsuya asked actually surprised at the reaction that Klaud had given.

"No she doesn't." Inari replied as if this fact should have been obvious.

"She's not in any shape to take part in the dance." Letting out a sigh, Tatsuya unfolded a Cot and helped Klaud on it. "Just rest here for tonight, I'll go and get you in the morning for the first event." Leaving Klaud behind, Tatsuya made his way to the Hotel's ballroom where he reunited with his sister and associates.

"Is there something wrong with Klaud?" Miyuki asked noticing that the individual who had left for the technical lab with Tatsuya earlier was no longer present.

"She doesn't travel well. What's the situation on the competition?" Tatsuya asked looking around the room.

"Hello Harold!" Miyuki suddenly shouted grabbing hold of her brother's arm and leading him over. "Tatsuya this is Harold." Miyuki stated indicating the nervous looking blonde that she had just led Tatsuya to. "He's a transfer student from America, but he watched last year's NSC on TV and he very much wants to meet you." Which Tatsuya mentally interpreted as 'This guy, very suspicious and was asking about you.'

"P-P-Pleasure." Harold stated nervously extending his hand forward.

"Same to you." Tatsuya stated much more calmly as he shook Harold's hand in turn.

Having Harold in his sights, Tatsuya immediately went to work using elemental vision to discern as much information as he could. Which is to say not much, Elemental sight not able to give him any details about Harold.

"S-S-Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable." Harold stated as he quickly pulled his hand away from Tatsuya. "I emit a unique psion frequency that makes it so that I scramble the vision of magicians that get close to me."

That statement only made Tatsuya more suspicious, if there was a convenient person that could make himself completely immune to magical sight then he would be a huge asset on the front lines. Seeing as how that wasn't the case, then that just makes this person all the more suspicious.

"I-I Should go now." Pointing in another direction Harold suddenly ran off.


Later that night, Tatsuya was sitting in front of his laptop having opened a chat box with his associates. That said, their faces weren't the only ones present. No that particular honor went to the ten foreign exchange students who were listed out in front of them.

"Harold Houdini, David Blaine, Christopher Angel. They aren't even trying to be subtle about this are they?" Erika asked letting out dissatisfied sigh speaking of the names of three world famous illusionists who shared their names with various last minuet foreign exchange students that were competing for the eight other schools.

"They have some type of Anti-magic cloak on them, I can't get a good look at them using my elemental sight." Tatsuya commented crossing his arms in dissatisfaction.

"Does anyone have any idea what their records say?" Erika asked prompting Tatsuya to shake his head.

"We can't access the school records during the games. Under normal circumstances they're kept under lock and key, but without proof of our suspicions we can't get the government to open them up for us." Tatsuya stated leaning his face on his fist.

"What are you doing trying to ask permission? You're a computer nerd for Pete's sake hack it!" Leo snapped prompting Tatsuya to shake his head.

"I made those security systems myself, they're hack proof, at the very least they're hack proof with what I have on hand at the moment." Tatsuya stated looking dissatisfied. "It seems that we have no other choice but to participate in their little war games. Unless any of you have any ideas?" Everyone looked to each other and then back to Tatsuya. "Well then, see you all in the morning."


And morning did come, in spite of the Public Morals committee members from all nine of the schools all being on watch there were no more saboteurs like last year trying to break into the hotel to point the odds in one direction or another. Instead Klaud who had finally recovered from her air sickness during the night was dressed in her clownish thermal diving suit and took the field for the first senior event, Boat Gunner solo.

"Firstly from First high the competitor who made a huge rampage at the games last year, Klaud Reed!"

The Audience roared to life at the Announcer's words, booing Klaud for making a mess last year and praising her for her power. A boat had been prepared for First High's use, however as each school would be having multiple participants Klaud instead walked right by it. Instead she used her staff to produce a ice float the size of a life raft and sat down on it. The sight made Honoka gulp, from the get go she knew that this was more than a competition between school's rather it was also a battle between students as well. As such Honoka came to the realization that Klaud would be making a huge rampage of indiscriminate slaughter against all of the students. Which in this case included her.

"Good luck." Tatsuya stated patting Honoka on her shoulder.

"And now In a rare scenario, a foreign exchange student from China, Misty Lee competing for Fourth High!"

A nervous looking female student in a dark swimsuit and with brown hair walked onto the shores of the competing area, a huge man made lake, much to the boo's of the crowd. China was not that popular here, in spite of the efforts of Klaud's father to brute force their way in. In fact many would argue that it is because of the efforts of Syaoran Lee to bully his way into negotiations with the political company of the nation that China was not very well liked, though the two do have a long history besides that.

"Onto the rules of the events! All of the contestants have been given un-motorized boats that must be rowed either manually or by magic! The water is filled with one hundred targets that must be destroyed, the round does not end until all one hundred targets have been destroyed!" With a explanation given, the screen switched to a image of a count down. "Three! Two! One! GO!"

Suddenly Klaud hit her staff on the water, letting loose a ripple of ice that soon took the entire lake. Not only that, but Klaud switched over to gun form and fired a red mass of Psions into the air, the shot card, on a seek and destroy mission for the targets.

"Amazing! First High Contender Klaud Reed starts the battle with a overwhelming offensive, leaving all of her opponents incapacitated! Remember folks that so long as she doesn't directly attack her opponents Ms. Reed is still in the clear as far as the rules are concerned! Not only that, but she's unleashed a high level spirit on the battle field with seek and destroy intentions!"

"I'm not that easy."

Suddenly the ice that took over the lake started to sink, like it was being pushed away by a giant invisible force, shoved off to the side as it were, along with most of the boats.

"Well now that's familiar." Klaud commented in a clearly suspicious tone of voice.

"A-A-Amazing! Competitor Misty Lee just demonstrated a strategic class magic on the same level as one of Japan's top aces!" Not that a major water disturbance was enough to slow the shot card down.

No that was the other invisible force that was pushing the Shot Card away. Of course Klaud knew what this force was, Honoka, dual wielding pistol type C.A.D.s equipped with the Air Mine program. To counteract the ruthless overwhelming power of Klaud, Honoka had to unleash equally overwhelming power, using one C.A.D. to bat away Klaud's attacks, and using the other to try and clear away the ice looking for the targets in concert with the dozens of other students on the ice doing the exact same thing.

"Of course they're prepared." After the huge Rampage that Klaud had gone on last year it would only be logical that they would make preparations against her. "Well, it's not like I don't have anything up my sleeve either." Saying that ominous sentence Klaud unleashed a second card into the water.

Suddenly the ice started to ripple, as it was gradually shifted and cracked, explosive bubbles rampaging and shifting the ice rendering the surface that was too hard to move on too unstable for the boats to stay on the surface. Not that was Klaud's concern, the shattering bubbles crushing the targets from the confines of the ice, she had obtained a overwhelming victory of one hundred to none.

"Winner! Klaud Reed of First High!" As the announcer said that, Honoka looked up at the score board a bitter feeling in her heart. "Klaud Reed has achieved a over whelming victory with crushing results! What kind of common sense breaking person has been entered into the ranks of this years NSC?"

"That Much eh?" Indeed the board reflected the bitter feeling inside of her heart, Klaud One Hundred, Honoka Zero.


"Hmm. Perhaps it was a mistake to put her in the solo Event." That Was what Retsu Kudou was thinking, looking at the overwhelming display of power demonstrated by Klaud. "Perhaps if she had been teamed with that Honoka girl and limited to either directing the boat or going on the offensive things might look a little less... one sided."

"Ah... Mon-Monster!" Retsu's son, Makoto Kudou, on the other hand had his jaw hanging open from the sight. "What kind of...?"

"Don't look at me for sympathy, I warned you about her and you ignored me." Retsu explained only able to let out a sigh in response to his son's childish reaction.

"Why hasn't someone of that level of been drafted as a strategic class magician yet!?" Makoto asked angrily. "Magicians have no right to refuse military service, and with someone of that level of power on our side we could easily take over the entire world!"

"Makoto your thinking is too naive!" Retsu scolded in a harsh tone of voice. "That girl had to come from somewhere! And we already made that woman our enemy once! I'd rather not see this small country destroyed many times over!"

"Is... is her family that powerful?" Makoto asked a sense of terror creeping into his form.

"Sometimes it's hard talking to the ones who were born after 'the Big One.'" Retsu stated in a tired tone of voice, men of his age should not be thinking about such horrifying things.

"The Big One? That Trifecta of a Earth Quake, Tsunami and Nuclear meltdowns that hit Japan in the early twenty first century?" Makoto asked as realization slowly dawned on him. "You mean to say that wasn't a Earthquake that started all of that?"

"No, no that was indeed a Earth Quake." Retsu stated in a tired tone of voice. "The real question you should be asking yourself is 'who caused it?'"

"That family..."

"No." Retsu stated cutting off his son's question with ruthless efficiency. "That woman, who is both the mother and grandmother of that young lady you just called monster, is the one responsible."

Monster indeed, Retsu could remember the day that woman walked up to him demanding the return of her brother, how she had effortlessly slaughtered his men, how bold of a front he put up claiming that he didn't bow to terrorists. How she pulled out one card, one spirit of such law breaking power, that then proceeded to turn Japan into a disaster zone in a few short hours. Suffice to say, they were very lucky that she then turned that passion into mercy by using her considerable power to aid Japan in the recovery, even after she made him watch as she destroyed it, over, and over, and over again. Even when he begged her to stop, claiming that her wanton destruction was hampering his efforts to get her brother back. Even when they eventually returned what was left of her brother to her, barely alive and but a quarter of who he use to be. She could have just as easily used that power to return Japan to a pristine state after all was said and done, she wanted them to remember that, the face of that infuriated descended god upon the Earth who would never forgive them for their crimes.

"If you do love this country as you claim Makoto, do not make a enemy of that family."


The members of First High had been given towels to dry off with and food to each of them following Klaud's crushing victory. Honoka was just sitting in a corner of the room, looking depressed, in comparison to last year, Klaud's victory was even more over whelming, the only reason why Honoka was able to win last year was because Klaud tripped herself up in the final lap.

"What are you being depressed about Honoka?" Klaud asked looking at Honoka with her brow cocked.

"Klaud you cold hearted woman! You still have to ask her something like that even after using that kind of fire power on a frail person like her!" Miyuki stated in a harsh scolding tone of voice.

"What about her is frail?" Klaud asked in return. "Tell me something, what would you have done in my shoes? Intentionally hold back my power? Only reveal what I'm capable of in the last Quarter, only to then gush forward at the last minuet and claim overwhelming victory? Of course not!" Klaud snapped which prompted Honoka to look up at her. "I'm not a sadistic type of person who toys with her opponents only to claim victory at the last minuet! Rather, I took the match seriously from the beginning and as such here we are now."

"You were going all out from the beginning?" Honoka asked sniffling.

"Being serious and going all out is not the same thing, I came up with a simple strategy to claim victory, that strategy was met by surprising resistance so I altered it. Isn't this what the definition of taking things seriously is?" To Klaud's question, the others had no response.

"That... really doesn't apply to you who is so powerful though." Erika stated trying to apply her own logic here.

"Your thinking is flawed!" Klaud stated letting out a growl.

"Even a diseased mosquito can bring a man down with him! The issue of 'difference in power' doesn't apply to real life! Giving up just because 'the task is too difficult' is the mentality of quitters! People who give up without even trying!" To Klaud's statement, Honoka found herself getting up and walking over, sitting down across from Klaud and eating her own food.

"After we're done here... do you think you can give me some pointers?" Honoka asked in a weak tone of voice.

"Certainly, but first, shall we discuss what we saw during that match up?" Klaud asked looking around the room.

"That was the same strategic class of magic that Mio specializes in. Only that individual isn't anywhere near as frail as she is." Tatsuya stated prompting Klaud and the others to agree.

"Hopefully their little super soldier program is limited to just making pumped up versions of Strategic class magicians." Erika stated sitting with her arms crossed. "Still, if that lady is in on this madness then it can't be anything good."

"I have someone that can secure a guaranteed audience with her, so leave that matter to me." Klaud stated a smirk on her features.

"Klaud, what are you planning?" Miyuki stated noting the evil look on Klaud's features.

"Oh I'm just gonna start making Rebecca pull her weight!" While Klaud uttered those ominous words the rest of the Boat Gunner events were sent underway.