First chapter here. Since I received some complaints about my use of parenthesis, I will try to avoid using them. For the most part, I was using them to explain names or nicknames, just so that everybody could understand. For example, Naotsugu, Mari calls him Shu, but if you read the english novels it's written as Nao. Though I guess it really is a pain if I do that every single time. If you don't understand a name or anything like that, you can just google it anyway, you will definitely find it in the wiki.

I don't own anything.

"Mahouka" - speech

(Mahouka) - thoughts/comment or explanation

Saegusa residence 15:00, the day after Maya's suggestion

"Me and Tatsuya-kun?!"

"Fortunately, we managed to strike a deal with Yotsuba-dono."

"Fortunately for you, you mean! You just went and decided it for me!"

"I really thought you were going to thank me, Mayumi."

"E-Excuse me?! Why should I be thanking you?!"

"...I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. Or could it be that you don't realise it?"

"Re-Realise what?"

Though Kouichi really wanted to just say 'your own feeling', he knew very well that he was at a disadvantage when it came to this topic. Even if he noticed from previous interactions that his daughter held certain feelings for her kouhai, Saegusa Kouichi was someone that acted believing that 'the end justifies the means'. Even if it meant sacrificing your own feelings, if it was for the sake of your clan or the magician community as a whole, you should do it, so acting like he suddenly cared about his daughter feelings was impossible. Even more considering he was aware that Mayumi knew of his priorities. He cared about her feelings as far as they aligned with his goals, the same applied to his other children.

"Never mind it. But as I said before, you won't be alone on this."

"...The transfer student from the USNA as well, huh?"

"Indeed. Right now, Shiba Tatsuya and Shiba Miyuki are the focus of the world. Forming friendly relationships with them is a priority, for our clan and our country. Two birds with a single stone, passing down the blood lineage from powerful magicians and reassuring the others clans that the Yotsuba won't always keep to themselves, reassure that even they can be negotiated with. It's a beneficial deal for all parties involved."

"..."

"Your face says that you believe I'm only masking my personal wishes with the common good. I'll not deny that I have my own goals, but I assure you that this is not a bad deal for you Mayumi. I could've asked Kasumi or Izumi as well, but I judged that you would be the most suited for this engagement with Shiba Tatsuya-kun."

"W-What are talking about?! I already said it before, I only see him as a kouhai!"

"...And do you think anyone would believe you if they saw your face right now?"

"...!"

Mayumi quickly turned her face to the mirror hanging on the wall besides her. It was bright red, it was definitely a face she never showed her friends. She almost couldn't believe how much she was blushing.

"This matter has already been decided, I only wanted to tell you in advance so you could prepare yourself, but you got more shaken than I imagined Mayumi. Perhaps you should go outside and cool your head down."

"..."

"Mayumi?"

"...Yes, Otou-sama. I will be excusing myself."

Just like that, the discussion between father and daughter ended. Feeling conflicted, Mayumi decided to call Mari so they could talk it out. Maybe speaking with her long time friend could help her, or so she thought.

In a small cafe 17:00

"Sorry, Mari. I called you so suddenly."

"It's fine. I had the day off, not to mention Shu (Naotsugu) was busy, so I had nothing to do."

"That's good then."

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well..."

Mayumi used magic to stop the sound from leaking to the other tables. While they weren't discussing anything shady, and this engagement thing was going to be announced some time soon anyway, Mayumi just knew that they were both going to lose their cool at some point. Since there was no point in beating around the bush, she just went and talked about everything that happened in the last few hours.

"...so your family made a deal with the Yotsuba involving polygamy? And that girl from the USNA is included as well?"

"Yes! And that sly fox didn't even ask for my opinion! He just said that I was the most suited for this among my sisters!"

"...Well, as far as I can tell, he is not wrong on this one."

"Wha-! Even you Mari?!"

"I know being one wife among many must be frustrating, but your father too, he had two wives didn't he? Though he only had the second one after the first one died..."

"It's not an issue of being one among many wives! I mean, why I am included in the first place?!"

"...I'm surprised you are actually asking me this."

"Why are saying it as if it's a given?!"

"I'm not saying it's a given, but... could it be...you never noticed how you acted with Tatsuya-kun?"

"Wha-What do you mean, how I acted?"

"I know you like to tease people and stuff, but I never saw you acting so 'intimate' with anyone besides Tatsuya-kun. Maybe it's because we didn't knew he was part of the Ten Master Clans, but I guess you could actually see him as a person of the opposite sex. When it comes to Juumonji and Itsuwa, you always saw them in a professional manner. They were fellow magicians from the Ten Master Clans, so you always kept a professional instance, without involving your personal feelings. But because you didn't know about Tatsuya-kun, you got involved with him, even calling him by his first name right on his second day on school. I'm not sure how you thought it looked but to anyone else, it looked like you took quite a fancy to Tatsuya-kun."

"...Even so, I just like him a little, like a little brother...saying it's love is..."

"Mayumi, if we hadn't spoken about this before, I would agree with you but now it's just not possible. The way you panicked last time we had a discussion about your 'possible affection' towards Tatsuya-kun... The only thing left is for you to accept."

"M-M-Mari! "

"I'm serious Mayumi. You are not nearly as conscious with Hattori, Juumonji or Itsuwa as you are with Tatsuya-kun. Anyone looking can tell, only you keep saying that it's not like that."

"Urg…..."

"If I leave it to you, this is never gonna move on, so I will talk honestly. As magicians, it's not uncommon to marry someone you don't love, looking for a good magician to pass on the genes rather than looking for a good man is actually normal nowadays. But right now, you have a chance of going out with the person you like, even if you haven't realised it yet. I don't you to waste your chance, as it is, this may be the only chance in your lifetime of getting a happy marriage."

As Mari took a deep breath to speak her mind out, Mayumi felt like she almost like she was a child being scolded. Mayumi knew Mari was not angry at her, just frustrated, but Mayumi never experienced love before, so she couldn't tell if she really loved Tatsuya or not. She could accept that she was denying it out of stubbornness, but she couldn't outright affirm it either since she didn't understood her own feelings.

"Mayumi, I think you do like Tatsuya-kun more than what you think you do, but that's something only you can tell. You have to think for yourself, do you feel happy imagining yourself married to him? Do you feel like you want to stay by his side?"

"I..."

"You don't have to answer me, you just have to understand yourself. Though I think you will reach the same conclusion that I and your father did."

"Understand myself..."

"I guess I should go now. It would be better to leave you alone until you sort this out."

"Thank you Mari."

"Oh, one last thing actually."

"?"

"If you really feel that you father is a 'sly fox' and you find that you really love Tatsuya, then you could just take advantage of it. Your father is using you to form a connection with the Yotsuba, but in truth you are using him to build a relationship with Tatsuya, how does it sound?"

"...Haha, I wouldn't exactly get married for that reason but it does sounds nice to trick that sly fox for a change."

"Then, see ya."

"Yes, see you later."

Right after Mari left, Mayumi herself got up and started walking without any destination in mind. She just kept remembering everything that happened until this point, ever since she met Tatsuya, ever since her father started talking about getting a fiance. But her mind was going on circles, she saw Juumonji and Itsuwa as something like business partners but not Tatsuya. But that was not enough to say she loved him, she needed more, she needed something more to convince herself.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Mayumi noticed that she was walking near some sakura trees. It was the beginning of the year and classes were about to start for high schoolers. But this felt really nostalgic somehow.

"I see... When I first met Tatsuya-kun, the sakura were blooming on that day as well..."

On that day, she saw a second-course student just standing there. Aside from his sharp eyes, everything about his appearance was ordinary, but for some reason, she felt he was different. She felt he was special somehow and after that, she was constantly thinking about him. She reached out to him whenever she saw him on school, she seeked his help even when there were others that could help, she got jealous when he spoke about Suzune, for some reason she got really happy when he praised her mature(?) appearance on his second year.

Even if Mayumi never fell in love before, there were still things every girl knew. Getting happy when the guy she likes praises her, getting jealous when he speaks with other girls, seeking him out without any special reason other than seeing him… Even Mayumi knew these were all signs that she liked Tatsuya not as a little brother but as a man. But she decided to think one last time, was this what she wanted?

She tried imagining herself married to other male acquaintances.

(Juumonji-kun, he was always so serious and just like me, it was always a professional relationship. I imagine a marriage purely based on that, no affection between us whatsoever, I would have children just because it was the norm to produce strong magicians, regardless of one's feelings. While I'm somewhat familiar with him due to our time in school, there are some parts of him that I can't get used to...)

(Itsuwa-kun, he was not a bad person, but he wasn't particularly good either. He was immature enough to actually show some one-sided rivalry towards Juumonji-kun, who had no interest in that, right in front of me. I believe it was incredibly childish on his part, but he didn't seem to notice. He is like Juumonji-kun on the business-like relationship part, except that I would have to put up with his childishness towards Juumonji-kun.)

(Hanzou-kun, I could guess that he was attracted to me, but he was too naive when it came to interacting with me. But then again, a lot of students were like that, they blushed and lost their cool as soon as they spoke to me. Hanzou-kun was good as a magician by normal standards, but on Ten Master Clans standards not so much. While a marriage with him wouldn't be so emotionless like with Juumonji-kun or Itsuwa-kun, I don't feel anything special for him compared to other students at school, aside from the fact that I could tease him as much as I wanted.)

(And finally Tatsuya-kun, he was weak as a magician by normal standards, but he showed that he was anything but weak during his time on school. He didn't avoid my gaze nor did he stuttered when he spoke with me. Even if I played around he would sometimes play it back in his own way. I realised that I enjoyed his company, I could actually mix my own emotions instead of keeping it professional. Now a life married to him...It's too embarrassing! Imagining myself hugging him and walking around with our arms linked like Miyuki-san is always doing, just thinking about it puts my face on fire!.)

While trying to calm down, Mayumi noticed that she didn't feel so agitated when she thought about the others, and while it was embarrassing to imagine herself with Tatsuya, she didn't thought for a second, that it was a bad thing. She couldn't deny it anymore, she aware of Tatsuya as man and she wanted to be with him. Immediately, Mayumi covered her tomato-red face with both hands. Nobody was actually looking at her, but she still covered her face nonetheless. It took quite a lot of time until Mayumi was finally able to lower her hands and walk back home, though her face was still red and her mind was still full of new emotions.

"Welcome back, Onee-chan."

"Welcome back, Onee-sama."

"...I'm back, Izumi-chan, Kasumi-chan."

"Are you okay, Onee-chan? Your face is really red."

"Should I call for a doctor, Onee-sama?"

"...No, I'm fine. I just discovered something complicated about myself. But I'm fine now, I'm just recovering from the aftershock."

"If you say, Onee-chan."

"If anything happens, please tell us right away Onee-sama."

"Ok. Thanks, you two."

Mayumi retired herself to her room, hoping to get rid of the heat from her newfound feelings for her soon-to-be husband. She changed clothes, layed on her bed and quietly prayed that Kasumi wouldn't snap when she heard the news. Last time Kasumi thought Tatsuya was being intimate with Mayumi, she used magic to scare him, it completely backfired though.

"Well, if it's Tatsuya-kun, he will do something about it, he always does..."

With faith (?) on her beloved little kouhai, Mayumi peacefully went to sleep. Having finally made peace with her own feelings, Mayumi felt that she could move on now...she forgot to eat her dinner before sleeping though.