The hidden Head - Chapter 2 - The dragon awakens
February 5th, late evening/Magic association, Kanto branch/Kouichi POV
Nine magicians sat around a round table. Just a glimpse was enough to see the depressed atmosphere. These magicians were the heads of the Ten Master Clans, with the exception of Maya, who died just a few hours ago.
Each of them was still shocked. While not all of them liked Maya, no one had expected her to die this way. None of them had expected the terrorist attack. They joked about it, but no one had expected the terrorist to actually target the conference. After all, the venue of the conference was top secret and only known to the members.
At first, Saegusa Kouichi suspected one of them to be a traitor. But he quickly realized that everyone of them was just as shocked as he was. His long experience with politicians and other members of high standing made him skilled in assessing the facial expressions of his peers. Skilled enough to understand that the crestfallen look on their faces were not faked.
The silence continued.
Everyone knew that someone had to break the ice, but no one knew what to say.
They were angry. Angry about the terrorist attack.
They were sad. Saddened by Maya's death.
And they were furious. Furious about themselves.
"So, Maya's corpse disappeared?" someone said.
This was the reason they were furious. They could not even protect her corpse.
"You should not worry this much about her disappearance. The equipment used to treat Yotsuba-dono also disappeared. It is likely that the Yotsuba recovered her to prevent a DNA leak."
Unlike the rest of the heads, Kouichi was not furious about their failure to protect the corpse. He was furious about being unable to protect Maya. Again.
He knew that the other heads must have already known this. There are not many magicians capable of stealing a corpse directly in front of them. Still, they could not be sure unless the Yotsuba contacted them. And this uncertainty filled them with agony.
"Do we know who their next head is?" asked Atsuko. She was saved by Maya. Not only this, but she always saw Maya as some sort of idol. This idol guided her a long time before she finally became the head of the Mutsuzuka. She wanted to help and guide Maya's successor. This was something she had to do. Some form of redemption, one could say.
"No. Yotsuba Maya was the only known remaining member of the Yotsuba. The previous heads died long ago. The same is true for her twin sister. The Yotsuba released a report claiming her death in a hospital a few years ago. For all we know, Maya could have been the last Yotsuba with the rest being mercenaries."
Hearing this, Kouichi was a bit amused. The information control of the Yotsuba was top-notch as always. Kouichi knew that Miya was still alive when the Yotsuba reported her death, but died a few years later.
While the official report stated that Miya died childless, Kouichi's sources said something different. He suspected the Shiba siblings to be her children, but he had no evidence. And even if they were Yotsuba, this does not mean that one of them would be the next head. They were still too young. While there was no age restriction for being a head of a family, even the Yotsuba would not be so unethical and put a kid in charge of such a dark organization like the Yotsuba.
Or would they? Juumonji Katsuto was currently the youngest head, currently attending a university. It was said that he was already the de facto head a few years ago. But their family business was a construction company, not a family full of assassins and spies in charge of the japanese counter-terrorism unit.
If Kouichi knew about the low ethic standards of the Yotsuba towards their children and guardians, he would not waste a second before admitting that this was a very real possibility.
"So, do we need to hold another election to fill this vacancy?" someone asked.
"No. The status of being a member of the Ten Master Clans is not bound to a specific head. The Yotsuba are still part of the Ten Master Clans. We have to treat the current situation as an absence of their head."
"More important than the matter of who is their next head is the question of what they are going to do now. Last time I checked, the Yotsuba were inclined towards large-scale killing sprees when someone attacked on of their members." As Kouichi said this, he could see the expression of everyone in this room darken even more.
"We need to speak with them as soon as possible. Can we send them a message?"
Kouichi considered revealing his suspicion about the Shiba right now but decided against it. He would need to speak with them alone, without the knowledge of the remaining clans. It was unlikely that the Shiba would react well if suddenly all of the heads appeared at their door.
What was worse was the case of Kouichi being wrong or the Shiba managing to convince the other heads that they were unrelated. Kouichi's image was already battered yesterday by Maya, he could not allow any mistakes on his part right now.
Kudou Retsu probably knew a bit more about the Yotsuba, but the Kudou left the TMC yesterday. Maybe Kouichi would try to contact him regarding this matter.
"We do not know the location of their residence, so all we could do is to send a message to their inbox and hope that they reply."
"That will have to do. Next up is the matter of the terrorist attack itself." Mai said, steering the direction of the conversation forwards.
Hearing this, the dark expression of the faces were replaced with angry ones.
At the same time/Yotsuba main residence/Miyuki POV
Miyuki and Tatsuya were currently in the room that was prepared for them. The servants had followed Mayas last orders and only prepared one room for both of them. Tatsuya decided against asking for a second room, thinking that Miyuki could need someone to comfort her.
Truth to be told, Miyuki was not really feeling any grief. While she was saddened about Maya's death, she did still feel a bit of fear when thinking about Maya. They were never close, but Miyuki respected Maya. Maya had also won quite a few points when she engaged Miyuki with Tatsuya.
This was where Miyuki's real trouble lied. Would the clan respect Maya's decision or would they cancel this engagement.
It was unlikely that they would renounce Miyuki's position as the heir. They knew that Miyuki was the best choice for the position and would most likely be a puppet with Tatsuya making the decisions. And, while most of them would not admit it, they knew that Tatsuya was a perfect fit for making these decisions.
If it was not for Tatsuya being a Born specialized Magician, he would probably have become the head. Which sane person would dare to oppose him? Tatsuya could kill them all while being extremely hard to kill.
His cold heart and high intelligence along with his knowledge in military affairs and businesses were ideal for his position. While he lacked experience in politeness and politics, Miyuki did not.
"We should go. The meeting will start soon."
"Yes, Onii-sama."
After Maya's death, the Yotsuba immediately called for an emergency meeting. There was a special codeword prepared for the death of the head. This day, it spread like wildfire among the Yotsuba members and guardians. Along with it, a second codeword was relayed. This second word indicated that a Yotsuba member was killed by someone. The meaning of these two codewords together was quite clear: Maya, the head of the Yotsuba, was killed.
Looking around, Miyuki could see the uneasiness of the guardians along the way. The security was increased compared to normal. The guardians were reinforced with trainees. Instead of wearing their weapons hidden, they were wearing high-powered anti magician rifles.
Turning around a corner, Miyuki suppressed a small grin. The sight of a 12 year old guardian trainee wearing a rifle three quarters her size amused Miyuki.
Still, Miyuki had noticed the change of behavior towards her. It was well known among the Yotsuba family and guardians that Miyuki was the next heir. In their eyes, Miyuki was already the new head.
They arrived in a large hall. It was the same room used for the New Years Gathering. Tatsuya and Miyuki stopped at the table used by the main family. Since Tatsuya was considered to be Maya's son and Miyuki was the heir and fiancee of Tatsuya, they were both considered to be part of the main family.
Taking a look around, Miyuki noticed that most of the branch families had already arrived. A few members hailing from the far north had yet to arrive, but Tatsuya had assured Miyuki that the protocol ensured that all members could arrive within 6 hours in case of an emergency.
"Excuse me, would the madam like a drink?" A familiar voice asked beside her.
It was Minami, wearing maid clothes. Being called madam Miyuki wanted to retort. But she understood that Minami had to upheld a strict codex within the main residence.
"Ah, yes please." Minami knew what Miyuki's favorite drink was, so she did not have to ask for specifics. Turning towards Tatsuya, she heard another yes. For Tatsuya, it was pitch black coffee.
After Minami left, Miyuki spoke to Tatsuya.
"Minami was surprisingly lively. I don't think she actually has to do this stuff though."
"That is probably the reason. If you become the new head, Minami will no longer be performing such trivial tasks. It is likely that she wants to enjoy her normal duties one last time."
Miyuki nodded. The last members had just arrived and the meeting was about to begin. Miyuki stood up and went to the front. Being part of the main family, it was her duty to welcome the rest.
15 minutes later/Yotsuba main residence
After Miyuki gave her greeting, the situation was reiterated for everyone present. This task fell to Mitsugu, who was in charge of the Yotsuba's intelligence department.
The expression of everyone present was very grim. While they had already have been informed about Maya's death, hearing the confirmation was staggering.
A deep silence hang in the air. Not even the servants dared to move.
After a minute, a voice sounded loudly.
"This was a direct attack on both japan and on our family! This must be answered!"
"It seems like the world dared to forget why we are called 'the untouchables!' Lets show them hell!" this call was echoed by another one.
"Which idiot dared to not only provoke us, but actually harmed and killed on of our members? We must immediately punish them!"
"Last time we were many, but weak. This time, we are few, but incomparable strong. We are the Yotsuba!"
This last line was spoken by Miyuki herself. She knew that it was expected of her to call for revenge and inspire the rest of them. Her call was unexpectedly effective, because the last part was immediately echoed by the crowd.
"We are the Yotsuba!"
"Yotsuba!"
"YOTSUBA! YOTSUBA! YOTSUBA!" the once coherent sentence was quickly transformed into a chant calling for war. Over the course of the next few months, it would be joined by several others and resound every evening.
After the crowd calmed down, one of the branch heads spoke up.
"It seems like a consensus has been reached. All of our hearts call for war and revenge."
"Yes, this matter seems pretty clear now. But another question remains: Who will follow Maya as the next head."
"This seems also pretty clear. Maya named Miyuki the heir and her successor. I do not see any reasons to not let her become our new head."
"But she still attends school! I do not believe that she is ready yet."
"The new head of the Juumonji was also essential in charge while he was in school. And compared to our training, theirs is a walk in the park. If that guy was ready for it, then Miyuki is also ready. And lets not forget her fiance."
Hearing this last part, a shiver ran trough Mitsugu. He still did believe that Tatsuya should be locked away. But he would never go against Maya's orders. Mitsugu knew that this was probably the best. But he could not help but make one last remark.
"Still, the critic of Miyuki still attending school is valid. While both of them are probably are probably ready to skip a few grades and attend university, we must consider how the other clans view us."
"Since when do we care what these weak clans think about us?" The Yotsuba were, like most of the other master clans, a bit arrogant. They were not like the Saegusa, who make the whole world revolve around them. No, the Yotsuba's arrogance was more in the way of "those other clans have no right to be arrogant. They are weak and nothing special compared to us". Interestingly, the Yotsuba only held this thought against the other magic clans and families. They were not arrogant towards normal humans or normal magicians.
"Do we actually need to have a publicly known head? Maya rarely left the village and still got the job done. So why not keep Myuki a secret until her graduation?" This was an interesting suggestion.
"What about the matters which require attendance?"
"We could simply send a representative. Also, we do not need to keep Miyuki a secret from everyone. The other Master Clans know of our strength and the politicians fear us regardless of our head. And if this is not the case, then all we have to do is reminding them."
Mitsugu noticed that most Yotsuba seemed in favor of this plan. Resigning himself, he said:
"We should at least try to keep it a secret as long as possible."
"Ho ho ho." A deep and amused laugh was heard. Mitsugu recognized it. It belonged to one of his cousins. Without a doubt, his laugh was because this guy loved to troll the other families. Playing hide and seek between clan heads? Perfect. He continued:
"Well, it seems like it is decided. Shiba Miyuki, I am asking you: Do you accept this position in this trying times?"
Miyuki hesitated. Was she really ready for it? When she was young, she had always aimed for this moment. But it was wrong. Her life back then was built on lies. Now she knew about her Onii-sama. She no longer lived to become the clan head, but lived for her brother. She lived to please him. But accepting this position would effectively put him in charge. While her family members would never accept her brother to become the head, this would at least give him his power and recognition.
She turned towards Tatsuya.
Tatsuya looked back at her and gave a small nod.
Miyuki smiled and spoke out loudly.
"Yes. I accept this position and will do my utmost to lead this clan. While I am still young, I know that I have the strongest family in the world. I hope that you will guide me and help me into becoming a good head."
A thunderous applause erupted.
Half a hour later/Yotsuba main residence/Miyuki POV
After half a hour of congratulations, greetings, formalities and traditions, Miyuki was the new head of the Yotsuba.
Hayama was called to the front. While he was nearby, he did not enter the room. No one would have opposed him if he did enter, but Hayama still did not. From his perspective, it was unbecoming of a butler to attend this event.
But Miyuki could tell that this was only half the reason of his absence. His eyes were still red and his body was shaking. Hayama was the person closest to Maya. And Hayama watched over Maya since she was still a kid. He started working for the Yotsuba before Maya was even born. He played with her, studied with her and watched her grow up. Without a doubt, Hayama saw Maya as if she was his own daughter. He probably spent the last few hours crying in grief.
Miyuki could not help but feel sympathy.
She spoke to him:
"Hayama, you have served this family since head Genzou. Your contributions towards the Yotsuba are unrivaled among the servants. You assisted Genzou and Eisaku and guided Maya. Everyone here knows how close you and Maya were. You were one of the few people Maya trusted to the fullest. We know that you have watched her her whole life. Your grief is incomparable to the one I am feeling. Still, I have to ask you: Will you, Hayama Tadanori, guide me like you guided Maya?"
Miyuki could see a few tears dropping from Hayama's eyes. He was currently bowing respectfully before Miyuki, but the trembling she saw earlier was still present.
Hayama took a short breath before replying.
"Yes, my lady. I will do everything in my abilities to help you."
"Thank you. I will be in your care. Now go and rest for a bit. You may have been trained to serve even under physical exhaustion, but right now you heart is exhausted. Please feel free to join us anytime you want."
"Of course, my lady." Having replied, Hayama immediately left the room.
"Now then, we still have to prepare for a war." Myuki said as she turned back towards the rest of the family. She immediately received several enthusiastic replies.
"Mitsugu, we have to find the culprit. I assume that you can do this?" She gave her orders to the Kuroba family.
"Of course, Toushu-sama."
Over the course of the next hour, tasks were delegated and plans were made.
It was already late when Miyuki and Tatsuya returned to their room. They did not dare to use the room for the head of the family. Not yet, at least.
Authors note:
The dragon has awakened. And he is thirsty. Thirsty for blood.
Now that Maya is dead, Miyuki has become the new head. And with that, this fanfic has reached a point no Mahouka fanfic I know of had reached.
Miyuki seems to be doing quite well so far, but leading a war may be easier than managing the daily life of the family. And is Miyuki ready to lead the Yotsuba while studying for school exams? You will soon find out. Or not. I am not yet sure how much of this fanfic I am going to write.
This fanfic can be splitted into three parts:
The first part is the prologue, which covers Maya's death, Miyuki becoming the head and the revenge of the Yotsuba.
The second part will be focused on Tatsuya's and Miyuki's school life and the management of the Yotsuba family.
The problem is the third part. If this should not end up as an open-ended or endless fanfic, it needs an ending. An an ending needs a plot aiming for an end. And I am not yet sure which plot to follow.
I plan on finishing part one before I upload. So at worst you will end up reading a fanfic about the Yotsuba taking revenge. It is not that bad, right? If I fail somewhere in the second part it will be an open-ended story. The third part is annoying.
I admit that I had to fight with a few tears when writing Hayama's part. I had not yet realized how isolated Maya and Hayama were.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
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