It's been a while...More than I thought actually. You know, for the first two months, I didn't even think about this fanfic, like, not at all. Then it suddenly came back to me "Oh, I have to write the next chapters". But the timing couldn't be worse. I had tests, I had work to do and I had to work out as well. My doctor said that I should exercise more, so I actually have to use a few hours each day to go to the gym, something I didn't do before. The time I actually spend thinking about this fanfic is minimal. Like, even when I have free time I want to play games, watch series and stuff.

Another thing, I hit a wall a while back, not literally of course. I was writing a chapter but I wasn't motivated (repeating once again, I have no intention of dropping this fanfic). So I just went for a change of pace and wrote a different story (two actually), a one-shot that I had in my head for some time now. And it worked wonders. I felt satisfied writing something different and felt refreshed when I came back to this one. I know that it kinda goes against what I said about finishing this fanfic before writing anything else but I needed this to finish this chapter.

Once Again: I only planned this fanfic till the part where that harem comes together, everything else I had to think of later. Even now, I don't have an ending planned so I have to use time to think about what will happen next and, as a consequence, it takes more time for each chapter to be released.

I don't own anything.

"Mahouka" - speech

(Mahouka) - thoughts or small notes

Mahouka - place, time

Ichijou residence, one day after the meeting.

"...And that's what happened."

"Masaki..."

Shinkurou ran full speed towards the Ichijou residence when Gouki called him. Usually, he would try his best to refuse indulging in the Ichijous's hospitality but this time was different. He never saw his best friend so depressed, or rather, heartbroken. Shinkurou decided to accept Gouki's proposal and spend the next few days in their house but seeing Masaki's state, he wasn't sure he would be of much help. But even so, as his general and best friend, he couldn't just leave Masaki like that. Then suddenly...

"I'm entering."

"Akane, not now."

Akane barged into the room, not even bothering to knock. Masaki was somewhat used to his sister's impolite attitude but now he seemed to be a little short on patience.

"I just came to see how you were doing now that Shinkurou-san came. Yesterday you looked terrible, Nii-san."

"...Of course I did. What do you think I went through?"

"Err... Akane-san, now it's a little…."

"I also came here to offer advice, actually, love counselling to my dear Nii-san who just got rejected."

"...What? But you never even entered a relationship before. How could you even offer me any advice?"

Masaki still looked half-dead, with the other half angry, on the inside and his responses were a little monotonic but the fact that he was retorting to Akane as he usually did was a good sign. Or at least to Shinkurou it looked like a good sign.

"Haah… Nii-san, I'm saying that as a girl I can offer you a viewpoint that you lack."

"Masaki, neither of us have any romantic experience so… I think it's worth a shot to at least hear Akane-san out."

"See? Even your strategist is saying so."

"...Fine."

"Ok, so, tell me exactly what happened."

"The thing is..."

In short, Masaki told Akane what happened, from the moment Gouki encouraged him to pursue his first love, to the moment Miyuki shot him down. Actually, Shinkurou had to take over halfway since Masaki couldn't handle reviving these moments again, right after doing it for Shinkurou.

"Nii-san… I never met this Shiba-san but I agree with what she said. I think it's wonderful that you did your best for your first love but you were overenthusiastic."

"Akane-san…!"

Shinkurou thought the same thing but unlike Akane, he didn't reproach Masaki. Perhaps it was because Masaki looked too pitiful, perhaps it was because he wanted to support Masaki in all of his decisions. But even so, he knew that Akane was right and he found himself unable to strongly stop her.

"Even you, Akane…? This is just unfair…."

"What did you say, Nii-san?"

"I said it's unfair!"

""!""

Masaki's sudden scream startled both Akane and Shinkurou. They never saw Masaki explode like that.

"I mean, that guy (Tatsuya) was just lucky! He got to know Shiba-san earlier than me! If it wasn't for that…! It's just unfair! To begin with, this entire engagement was something that the adults decided! I can't accept this!"

"Masaki…."

Shinkurou was appalled. He never imagined that his best friend had so many unknown sides to him. Unfortunately, these unknown sides were not positive ones. Still, Shinkurou couldn't bring himself to say that Masaki looked like a child throwing a tantrum. Shinkurou, that is, Akane was a different story.

"Nii-san… you look really pathetic right now."

"A-Akane-san…!"

"Don't stop me, Shinkurou-san."

Different from her usual attitude, Akane didn't even look at Shinkurou to answer him. While they were both close to Masaki, Akane was not Masaki's best friend, she was his family. That seemingly small difference was enough for Akane to do what had to be done while Shinkurou remained still.

"Nii-san, tell me seriously, what exactly were you trying to do?"

"...Are you going to say that I should give up as well?"

"Personally, after what I heard, I think you really should give up. But you didn't answer my question yet."

"...You already know the answer."

"Nii-san."

"...I wanted to talk to Shiba-san. I wanted to express my feelings and I wanted her to accept them."

"Nii-san, you say that you wanted her to accept your feelings but what about the other way around?"

"What?"

"From what you said, you didn't spare a thought about how Shiba-san felt, did you?"

"Eh...?"

"You gave it your all and I can understand a little that you didn't had much time or choice but you were so caught in your own pace that you forgot to think about Shiba-san's feelings."

"..."

Masaki didn't say anything, no, he couldn't say anything. Miyuki said something similar to him, that he just "got in her way". Shinkurou also remained silent, he was hopeless when it came to this kind of knowledge but he understood that Akane could do what he couldn't, say what he wouldn't.

"Also, Nii-san, you do at least realise that your outburst just now was incredibly childish?"

"But..."

"Nii-san, you saying that 'that guy' was lucky to have met Shiba-san before you, you do understand that it's just your arrogance, right?"

"...I!"

"Nii-san, what do you even know about Shiba-san? What was your basis for saying those things? As far as I know, you don't really know what kind of person Shiba-san is, you don't know what she likes or dislikes. You were just forcing your feelings and avoiding everything that was not convenient to yourself."

"...Urg."

Masaki looked like he had just bitten a bug. He was frustrated, at his precarious situation, at "that guy", at Shiba-san's refusal and at his little sister's arguments. Until now, he was handling it by thinking that he was just unlucky but now that Akane pointed out his childishness, he was left with no way to escape reality. Even after Miyuki went through the trouble of pointing out his mistakes, he kept repeating them and denying his own arrogance. He was from a good family, he had a good appearance, he was one of the leading figures of his own generation and had good reason to be proud, but now he realised that he was taking things too far.

"Nii-san, I don't know what kind of person Shiba-san is but, from what I heard so far, I also don't think it was a matter of who met her before. It's a good thing that you didn't say that in front of her, I mean, insulting a girl's loved one is not the best way of making her fall for you."

"...I didn't…."

"I'm not sure what your intentions were but your words meant that. You were saying that he is inferior to you as a man. I'm not sure about Shiba-san, but if I was in her place, I would absolutely get mad at the person who said that."

Intruding on someone's long-awaited engagement, claiming to love them when it's just about looks, and finally insulting her beloved, one might suspect that Masaki was actually trying to make Miyuki hate him judging by his actions alone.

"...But what am I supposed to do then? What about this frustration inside of me?"

"You have to hold it in, Nii-san. That's what being a grown up is about, right? Not lashing at everyone. That's what Shiba-san did too, isn't it? She could have screamed and blamed you for trying to ruin her engagement."

"..."

"Well, that's it from me. Shinkurou-san, please continue to care of my stupid Nii-san from now on as well."

"Of course, Akane-san. I will do my best."

Akane said all she had to say. Giving up or not was up to Masaki but giving up was definitely the path with less suffering. But what worried Akane was not the choice of giving up, it was whether Masaki was going to remain stubborn or not. Even if Masaki decided to persist, it was still somewhat acceptable but remaining stubborn, waving his arrogance around, was only going to create enemies and smear mud on the Ichijou's reputation.

"...Jouji, what do you think?"

"...Masaki, I am your strategist. I wish to support you no matter what choices you make."

"...I know but I want to hear what you think it's best right now."

"...Honestly, I think you should give up Masaki."

"..."

"You changed, Masaki. Ever since you decided to seriously pursue Shiba-san. And it was not for the better."

"Do you also think that I was too arrogant and childish?"

"...Not at first, but...Your behaviour just now was not something you should repeat.."

"...I see…..."

"Masaki..."

"Sorry, Jouji. Can you give me some space? I need some alone time."

"...Okay. I will be waiting for you."

Shinkurou knew that Masaki needed time to collect his thoughts. He already received a scolding and counseling, doing anymore was not going to help right now. He could only hope that whatever conclusion Masaki reaches, will not cause any more damage.

Yotsuba villa, Izu

"Welcome back."

"Welcome back. How was it, Miyuki?"

"As we feared, Ichijou-san was there as well."

"Did anything happen then?"

"Nope, Miyuki shot him down hard. I almost feel bad for him."

Miyuki, Lina and Minami had just arrived in the villa when they were greeted by Honoka and Shizuku. The two were worried about Miyuki since there was a chance that Masaki was also going to be at the meeting but their worries were needless. That aside, they were all following a schedule. They would spend a few days in the villa to get used to it and then go back to their homes. Right now, Honoka and Shizuku were there but in a few days, Kyouko and Mayumi were going to replace them. Miyuki, Lina and Minami were the only ones that could live there for now, as Miyuki would go whenever Tatsuya was, Lina was supposed to stay with the Yotsuba and Minami was Miyuki's bodyguard.

"Still, you two are settling in just fine."

"Since we are also going to l-live together at some point, we thought we should get used to this, Miyuki."

"You stuttered, Honoka."

"I-I know that, Shizuku!"

"Was everything fine with Pixie?"

"Ah, Lina, I guess you could say that it was 'fine'. Not perfect but..."

"Tatsuya-san ordered Pixie to obey our orders as well though she didn't seem that happy."

"Err… I believe you said she had a Parasite? And that she somehow seems to be developing an ego that has Honoka as a basis?"

"Something like that."

"S-Shizuku, there's no need to dwell in this any further!"

"Fufu. You are still bothered by what happened before, Honoka."

They had somewhat explained Pixie's situation to Lina but she still found it a little hard to believe. Even if they knew that Lina was not going to snitch on them to her superiors, they still weren't willing to completely explain it. That said, Shizuku simply gave three words and Honoka, who was worried that the "Pixie confessed Honoka's feelings to Tatsuya" {refer to Volume 10, Visitor Arc} incident was not brought back to light, tried to stop Lina from probing any further. Miyuki found Honoka's embarrassment amusing and just laughed lightly. Even more since Honoka had already confessed before and with her being engaged to Tatsuya now, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"But it's really over then? Ichijou-san won't try anything else?"

"It's hard to say, Honoka. I really hope he will understand that I have no intention of leaving Tatsuya-sama's side."

"Yeah, I mean, you spoke quite frankly when you rejected him. But then again, he is the guy who tried to propose to the girl whose engagement had just been announced."

"Hearing Lina say it like that, I wanted to see it too."

"Shizuku, saying that you wanted to see Ichijou-san being rejected is a little..."

"You're wrong, Honoka. I meant that I wanted to see Miyuki talking like that."

"I know, right? She usually acts all lady-like so it was a little refreshing to see her talking like that."

"Whatever might you two be talking about?"

"Ah… ahaha…. Nothing." "Nevermind."

Miyuki wished to always be as polite and refined as she could for Tatsuya's sake. Which is why she just had to stop Lina and Shizuku from spreading the word out. It was definitely not Miyuki just asserting her position as the top wife, or so she thought.

"A-Anyway! I heard from Erika that we are going to have a big operation soon and I was wondering if I could take part in it."

"Oh, so you already heard about it, Lina. Thank you for your offer but Tatsuya-sama said that it would be better for you to sit this one out."

"Why? I might not be as good as Tatsuya but I can also fight!"

"Of course, we all know how capable you are but..."

"There is still the issue with the USNA."

"As Shizuku said."

"The situation with Edward Clark?"

"Yes. We believe in you, Lina. But we also believe that it's better to avoid making rash moves for now. Edward Clark could also blackmail you using your friends from the USNA to sabotage the operation."

"That is…."

Lina didn't want to believe it but seeing how Edward seemed willing to betray an allied country and how Raymond didn't seem to care about lives, only entertainment, she couldn't refute. She somewhat understood that she had to keep a low profile but she still felt frustrated. Lina doesn't particularly enjoy fighting but she was still looking forward to fighting alongside Tatsuya.

"I'm sorry but… what is this operation about? Oh, if it's something confidential, then it's okay to not tell me!"

"Don't worry, Honoka. It is confidential but it's not like you are going to tell anybody. Soon, Tatsuya-sama, Ayako-san, Kyouko-san and Mayumi-senpai will be investigating, and possibly raiding, a few suspicious locations."

"S-Suspicious?"

"Is it the magician from Dahan?"

"Exactly, Shizuku. He is already in Japan but we are not sure about his exact location. Thanks to everybody's efforts, we managed to narrow down his possible locations and we will visit them simultaneously."

"Will the other clans cooperate as well?"

"That is the case. Juumonji-senpai and Ichijou-san were supposed to take part as well but..."

"...Given Ichijou-san's current emotional state, it might be better to send someone to take his place."

"That's right, Lina. Since the Chiba Clan will also participate, we thought about having Erika take Ichijou-san's place. But it will all depend on the Ichijou Clan."

"...Miyuki, I know that we just asked but… will it really be okay? Surely Ichijou-san won't challenge Tatsuya-san to a duel or anything like that, right?"

"It's fine. Even in the worst case that it actually comes down to a fight, Tatsuya-sama will definitely win."

"Hm. Tatsuya-san is strong. As expected of my exclusive engineer."

"""...What?"""

Shizuku's words suddenly brought the other three to a halt. Depending on the situation, it could pass as a joke but since Shizuku was always speaking in a monotone, it was hard to tell. In this situation, rather than calling it a joke, an "intentional slip of tongue" was more fitting. Tatsuya was indeed Shizuku's engineer during the NSC but they never heard anything about him working beyond the NSC. As far as Miyuki was concerned, Tatsuya was HER exclusive engineer.

"Shizuku, what might you be talking about? How come I never heard Tatsuya-sama saying anything about this subject?"

"Shizuku, I also want to hear about it!"

"Me too!"

Miyuki had the typical jealous look, smiling mouth but closed shadowed eyes. The air was also getting chilly and it was already possible to see one's breath. Honoka and Lina were too busy questioning Shizuku to care about the sudden cold. Shizuku kept her nerve though, she actually didn't change her expression at all despite the incoming danger.

"I meant that Tatsuya-san is helping adjust my CAD and I won't accept anyone else doing it."

"Oh, so that's what you meant by 'exclusive'. But it still doesn't fully answer my question."

Shizuku wasn't trying to say that Tatsuya was working as an engineer only for herself, she meant that she would only accept Tatsuya and no one else doing that work. Having someone tune your CAD was an action reserved for people that were either close or trusted. Saying that you wanted someone as your exclusive engineer meant that you either were that intimate or that worthy of trust.

"Miyuki, Tatsuya-san always does it for you, right?"

"I wouldn't allow anyone but Tatsuya-sama to take that role after all."

"And you always do it in your underwear too, right?"

"N-Not always! Ah…."

Miyuki realised her own mistake a little too late. In fact, that slip of tongue seemed like something Lina would do.

"M-Miyuki! So it's true?!"

"D-Doing it in your u-u-underwear! With T-Tatsuya-san!"

Sure enough, given how intimate Tatsuya and Miyuki were, Shizuku and Honoka carried their suspicions about how Tatsuya tuned Miyuki's CAD. Lina simply never stopped to think about it. While not completely proved, it was commonly believed that the less clothing you wore during the tuning, the better. But then again, this kind of tuning was reserved for people close to each other.

"I already spoke with Tatsuya-san and got his approval."

"Given our relationship I can understand that Tatsuya-sama was not going to refuse but what exactly did you say to get him to accept?"

"I only stated that giving Miyuki preferential treatment was unfair."

"S-Shizuku, so you are that serious. How come I never thought of this before…!"

Though Shizuku kept her usual poker face, there was a faint shade of pink on her cheeks. Mostly certainly, she was also going to do the tuning in her underwear. Honoka on the other hand, was appalled at how her best friend could be so aggressive when she got serious about Tatsuya. If Honoka was not careful, next time Miyuki laced herself on Tatsuya's arm, Shizuku was going to take the opposite side before her.

"I-If that's the case, then me too! I will also get my CAD tuned by Tatsuya-san!"

"H-Hey! Don't leave me out of it!"

Honoka immediately joined him, followed by Lina.

"It's fine. Tatsuya-san should already know that everyone is going to demand the same thing. He said he will do it when he gets back. Erika-san, Mayumi-senpai, Kyouko-san and Ayako-san will get their turns later."

"By later you mean, when we (Honoka and Shizuku) leave and they replace us?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't that mean that me and Miyuki have an advantage over you all? Since we live here, Tatsuya has more freedom of schedule to tune our CADs."

"Now that you mention it…!"

"It's fine. Tatsuya-sama won't do it daily for us. It's not like we will do it many times more than you."

"I guess… I hope Tatsuya-san comes back soon."

"Already looking forward to it, Honoka?"

"D-Don't tease me, Lina! It's just that, by doing this I feel like I will get closer to Miyuki's level!"

"Y-You might have a point. These two were close long before we joined in, who knows how much they haven't done together already."

"T-Together…. Lina, don't say it like that! We have a pure relationship, we haven't done anything improper for highschoolers!"

"...Miyuki, did you ever look in the mirror when you were at school? Who would believe you when you say that?"

"A-Anyway! Tatsuya-sama will return just before dinner. He can tune our CADs tonight."

"By the way, I already asked him to tune mine first."

"S-Shizuku!"

"Honoka, you have to attack to win."

Once again, Shizuku showed how serious she could get. Honoka always believed that, while she wasn't one on the offense that much, she also wasn't just defending. But seeing Shizuku right now, with her hand lifted forming a V for victory, she felt that maybe she should try harder.

"All is fair, in both love and war, huh?"

Lina was reflecting on the corner. She felt a little frustrated but it wasn't bad. On the contrary, it was a frustration that motivated her to try harder. She knew that their relationship was strange to the common eye but she thought it wasn't bad. For now at least, she was happy and had friends whom she count on regardless of her identity as Angie Sirius.

Kuroba residence

"Do I really have to do this, Nee-san...?"

"But of course. Or maybe, you don't want to help Tatsuya-san?"

"That's not it! It's just… do I really have to disguise myself again?"

"That's a matter of course. Even if we are cooperating with the other clans, we still have to keep some secrets in case there are any unwelcome onlookers. After all, it was merely decided that 'some of the Yotsuba forces will raid the military base' and no names were given. Surely some will try to spy and unravel the identity of the members involved."

"Urg… I do get it, Nee-san. But sometimes I have the feeling that you enjoy yourself a little too much at my expense."

"Oh, don't mind it. You are just imagining things. Even if it's pretty much an open secret that the Kuroba are a branch family from the Yotsuba, we can still keep it a secret that Yami is Fumiya."

"I see. The same goes to my magic, right? Even if they see my magic, if they can't tell it's me it won't affect me as Fumiya."

"Exactly."

As a matter of fact, the Yotsuba were a huge part of the operation to catch/kill Gu Jie. However, while Ayako, plus some of the Kuroba forces, was sent to visit a military base, Tatsuya was sent to another location.

"Oh, and Nuts will also be participating."

{Nuts or Hashibami Yuki. One of the main characters from the Plan to Assassinate Shiba Tatsuya spin-off}

"Will she? I never heard about this thought."

"That's because she will be doing the cleanup. Anyone who tries to sneak or run away will be dealt with by her. But that, of course, is off the records as well."

"Understood. Then, I will see you in a few days, Nee-san. You will be spending some time with Tatsuya-niisan today, right?"

"Fufu. That is the case. Since I will be dining at his villa today, I believe it would be a good chance to ask him to tune my CAD."

"Eeeh?! Y-You are actually going for it, Nee-san?!"

"Don't be so surprised, Fumiya. I also have to stand my ground. Miyuki-oneesama is not the only strong rival around anymore."

"I-I guess….still, having Tatsuya-niisan personally tune your CAD. I'm a little jealous."

"...Fumiya, as expected, you really..."

"I didn't mean it like that! And what do you mean 'as expected'?!"

"I wonder now, what did I mean?"

"Nee-san!"

Ayako knew that Fumiya didn't swing that way but his behaviour combined with his flushing cheeks and his feminine appearance sure created misunderstandings sometimes. Though, if there was something Ayako wasn't aware of, it was the fact that Shizuku, Honoka and Lina were ahead of her. Tatsuya somewhat predicted that Honoka and Lina were going to hop along with Shizuku's CAD tuning request. And since Ayako, Mayumi and Kyouko were supposed to have engineers of their own, he never imagined that they would all ask for him. Sadly for him, he was wrong. But that is a story for another day.

Hashibami Yuki, aka Nuts: She is of the main characters from the spin-off that has a light novel and a manga.

Quick spoilers; she is an assassin/hitman, older than she looks by the way, who tried to kill Tatsuya when he was in middle school. And, obviously, she failed. He wiped the floor with her and she then realised that, not only was he a "monster" way out of her league, but he was also involved with the feared Yotsuba. She was then "recruited" into working or the Yotsuba. I'm leaving a lot of details out 'cause I also didn't read much of the spin-off.