The hidden Head - Chapter 5 - ... and continues
At the same time/On a boat near the Brazilian Coast/Miyuki POV
The cold wind blew around Miyuki's head. A small shiver ran down her spine.
Whether this was due to the cold air or what she was about to do, she did not know.
She wished that Tatsuya could accompany her. But alas, he could not. At least for now.
Tatsuya was currently somewhere in japan. He would probably be sitting somewhere in a public cafè, wearing his sunglasses and drinking coffee.
While it may seem like an idyllic scene befitting of the live of a normal Person, it was just a cover. The sunglasses were not normal sunglasses, but a modified version of a CAD developed by the 101 IMEB. It was a CAD Tatsuya and Sanada developed together. Just like the third eye, it was designed to help Tatsuya with ultra long range magic.
The reason Tatsuya was using this CAD in a public cafè was simple: The USNA and possible other countries had already suspected him to be the SCM. By showing his face in public, he would appear more unsuspicious.
The Cafè he sat in was indirectly owned by the Yotsuba. Today, the waitresses were replaced with undercover guardians. The psion sensors around the cafè were replaced with fake ones. This made it seem like Tatsuya had not cast a single spell during his visit to this cafè.
Miyuki understood that it was important that Tatsuya had to appear in public when he used is SCM.
She still wished for him to be by her side.
As the new head of the Yotsuba, Miyuki was expected to lead the attack on Brazil. She was expected to personally execute the culprit.
The clan members knew that Miyuki's combat training was way below average for a Yotsuba member. She was simply not trained to fight at the front line. She would only have to participate in the first few attacks. Afterwards she would continue her training as the new head. The branch heads saw this as more important than her joining the attack force. Her whole participation was merely a symbolic act.
The boat had just arrived on the coast.
She and the other Yotsuba's on the ship quickly left and entered the nearby jungle.
They would meet up with their comrades and start their attack on Brasília, the brazilian capital.
Miyuki had to think back at Yokohama. She killed several attackers during the invasion. She had felt horrible afterwards.
Could she really lead this attack? Was she ready for this?
Onii-sama... She thought back to her beloved brother and fiance.
A few hours later/Deep inside the brazilian government bunker/Miyuki POV
Miyuki sat at a nearby chair. She needed to catch to breath before she could continue.
Miyuki had not received excessive physical training. While her magic excelled in mass-suppressing their enemies, she still had trouble to catch up with her clansmen.
AHHHHHH! another cry echoed trough the bunker. It seems like her comrades were already "cleaning" another room of soldiers.
Miyuki listened apathetically. She had already heard so many screams during this night. It would take some time until she would be able to sleep normally again.
She stood up. Her blood soaked clothes adhered to her body. Miyuki withstood her desire to cast a cleaning spell. The "VIP" still had to see the blood of his people.
Shaking her head, she followed her comrades, heading deeper into the base.
Soon she arrived at a large blast door. Her clansman waited beside it.
"He should be in here. Ready when you are." One said to her.
"Then lets go." her reply came.
"On my sign. 3... 2... 1... go." One Yotsuba destroyed the door. Two other had already prepared both magic and physical defense around Miyuki.
Now it was Miyuki's turn. Ignoring the bullets and spells the enemy was throwing in her direction, she casted Cocytus.
The room had turned silent. Their defense had only lasted a few seconds before the well-coordinated Yotsuba had killed everyone, except one person.
Miyuki took a few steps towards the corner and looked to the "VIP".
He was currently shaking in fear. Miyuki was taken aback. How cold such a coward dare to attack her family? Angrily, she began talking to him:
"Hello mister president, it is a honor to meet you." She spat out sarcastically. "What do you think about my attire? Is it not beautiful? I especially like the new color. It is called 'brazilian blood'."
The brazilian president gulped. He knew his last minutes had come. he just hoped it would be over soon.
"Please do not worry. There will be enough blood to dye everyone's clothes." Well, maybe not everyone's. The massacres of the Yotsuba were not aimless, so the amount of blood flowing would be limited. But the brazilian president did not know this.
It was time to end this. The brazilian reinforcements would arrive soon.
"Mister president, I know that this may sound clichè, but you have made exactly one mistake: You dared to attack the Yotsuba! You dared to kill my aunt! We Yotsuba may not be the nicest people, but we would have left you and your nation in peace if it were not for this attack. Tell me, what were you even thinking?"
"I..." He tried to formulate a response, but before he could really start his sentence, his head already felt to the ground.
"Would make a nice cup." One of her comrades suggested.
Please not, Miyuki thought in disgust, My stomach can only handle so much before I have to vomit.
The next morning/a TV studio/Kimiko POV
"Breaking news! Multiple cities and military bases were destroyed in a large scale attack on the Federative Republic of Brazil. Just a hour later, the dead bodies of the brazilian ministers were found. Eyewitnesses report that they were hanging headfirst on the walls of the brazilian parliament."
Kimiko gulped. This were awful news. And looking at the teleprompter before her, she knew that it would only get worse.
"Even worse, shortly after the first reporters arrived there, the whole building caught fire. It is likely that the perpetrators waited for the news to spread in order to cause even more panic."
And worse.
"While it is still unclear who was behind this attack, the estimated number of casualties is in the millions."
Kimiko had a bad feeling. In order to cause this many causalities in such a short time, nuclear weapons or SCM would be required. And nuclear weapons were banned.
"Brazil is currently in a civil war. For the past few months, the brazilian forces were fighting with heavily armed guerrillas. It is possible that this new attack could have been caused by the guerrillas. While it is well known that this conflict caused many civilian deaths, this would still be the first time an attack of this scale happened."
None of the japanese news mentioned the similarities between this attack and the magic used by japanese forces during Scorched Halloween. In fact, only very few news even mentioned the use of magic.
It appears that enough of them drew the connection between these attacks and the Yotsuba. And they did not dare to draw their wrath towards them.
In the afternoon/In front of the Shiba family house/Retsu POV
Kudou Retsu was currently standing in front of the door with the name Shiba on it.
He hesitated a short moment, but then rang the bell.
He waited.
After a minute, he rang again.
After still not receiving any response, he turned back to his car, but did not yet walk towards it.
Instead, he casted a simple ancient magic spell. He searched for any traces of the residents, but still could not find any. Instead, he found another ancient magic spell laid over the estate.
Before he could inspect it in more detail, he noticed a new presence. He turned around and noticed a monk standing at the entrance.
"Master Kokonoe would like to inform you that this house is under his protection. He requests you to leave immediately." The monk said this and disappeared.
Apparently this was one of the Monks under Kokonoe Yakumo. I should probably leave for now. The relationship between the ancient clans and the Kudou is already bad enough. Retsu thought to himself and walked towards his car.
And if Kokonoe is involved, there is a chance that that person is secretly pulling the strings. Retsu remembered an ancient magician he once met. They had not talked much, but Retsu could feel that he held tremendous influence.
At the same time/Inside a hypersonic transport/Tatsuya POV
Tatsuya sat inside the hypersonic transport, which took him from Japan to Brazil. He was already wearing full combat gear.
His eyes seemed empty and he appeared unconcentrated, but anyone who knew about him and his abilities would know better.
Tatsuya was currently using Elemental Sight to look over Miyuki.
Miyuki was physically fine, but he noticed her trembling. She was very stressed.
Hold on, Miyuki. I will soon be by your side.
It would still take a few hours for him to arrive in Brazil and join up with her.
Then he would comfort her and let her cry in his arms. Tatsuya knew that Miyuki was not experienced enough in this field of work. He hoped that the would never have to gain such experience either, but now that she was the new head it was inevitable.
But he could at least try to ease her pain.
A few hours later/A middle class hotel at the outskirts of a brazilian City/Miyuki POV
Miyuki and Minami were playing a classic card game. While neither of them would normally prefer card games over "normal" games on their information terminals, both of them were thought a number of classic games. There were various situations in which this skill could come in handy.
In this case, they simply did not have their information terminal with them.
Electronic devices could be tracked. They left their personal terminals back in japan. Right now the only device they carried was a special mid-range communication device specifically designed to be untraceable.
In theory, their rough position could still be located by tracing the strength of the signal and triangulating the source . But this only worked while they were actively transmitting.
Other than this, everything looked like they were ordinary tourists.
They currently resided in a middle class hotel normally frequented by tourists, they ate local delicacies like normal tourists, they even went sightseeing just like normal tourists. Only at night they would meet up in secret and strike.
Knock... Knock Knock... Knock A series a knocks resounded from the door. It followed a specific pattern previously agreed on. Whoever it was who knocked on the door, this person would likely be a Yotsuba.
Minami readied her CAD. There was no way to know for sure, so it was better to be prepared. Miyuki went to the door and opened it.
"Onii-sama!" Miyuki left out an ecstatic call. Tatsuya had finally arrived.
"Psst, Miyuki. It is OK now." Tatsuya embraced her after closing the door behind them.
Miyuki looked up, towards Tatsuya's face. Tears ran down her face.
"Apparently she was already at her limit." Tatsuya thought to himself. "It's OK. I am here now." he repeated.
"Onii-sama..." Miyuki could no longer hold back. She had longed for Tatsuya to be by her side, to soothe her pain. Even though it has only been a few days, she had missed him. And now he was finally here.
Miyuki put her hands on his cheecks and kissed him.
Minami was frozen in surprise while watching the scene.
A week later/Top secret USNA Bunker/Balance POV
It has been a week since the Yotsuba started their revenge. While this should have been more than enough time to shed light onto the situation, the opposite was the case.
After a week of rapid attacks, Brazil was left in disorder.
And there was still no evidence pointing to the culprits. Of course, anyone with a bit of skill and knowledge in the current world politics knew that the Yotsuba were behind this attack, but there was no proof.
They rarely learned about the attacks as they happened. Most of the times a few hours had already passed before someone noticed that a military base was destroyed.
The brazilian army could only stand back and watch. It was terrifying.
There were two cases where an attacker was killed. But as soon as the magician stopped moving, their body exploded, leaving only ashes behind.
But instead of giving hope to the loosing brazilian forces, these cases only led to more despair.
These killed magicians were top-level magicians. But they used generic attacks. Not generic like "using normal spells", but generic in the form of using a signature magic used by multiple of the attackers.
If the attackers really were the Yotsuba, then these magicians would not have a signature magic. The Yotsuba had no signature magic, only individually unique magics. This meant that the attackers would either be a normal magic family or...
A shiver ran down Balanace's spine. Were the Yotsuba capable of mass producing top-level magicians?
Balance did not believe that someone other than the Yotsuba was behind this attack. The Yotsuba were nice enough to leave a few hints.
Hints like brainwashing a pilot of the brazilian air force to crash his plane into the brazilian ministry of defense. Clearly a homage to the Nightmare of 2062, in which the Yotsuba did the same.
Or hints like making whole battalions suddenly start killing each other. Mind magic was rare. There were not many capable of utilizing it to such a degree and on such a scale. Needless to say, the Yotsuba were capable of both.
Still, it's better for us if the Yotsuba are the culprits. Otherwise it would mean that there is another threat we have to take care of. And the Yotsuba will at least ignore us unless we provoke them.
Balance let out yet another sigh. The next month would be busy.
Another week later/Yotsuba main residence/Miyuki POV
Miyuki was drinking the tea Hayama had served her. She had returned a few days ago and already had gotten used to working in Maya's old study.
Tatsuya was still in Brazil, hunting down any remaining high-ranking officials. He would join her next week and prepare for their return to first high.
It seemed like Hayama had already done a few preparations on his own. Right now, their house was being retrofitted with various security related things. Apparently even their walls and windows were being bullet proofed.
"Say, Hayama-san, is there anything important happening at first high?" Miyuki asked while reading yet another business-related document.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Like most magic high-schools, there remains an uneasy atmosphere."
Miyuki was not surprised. Not only was there a major terrorist attack on the TMC conference, just two days later another terrorist attack happened, this time directly aimed at the students. While it was harmless and staged by the Yotsuba, the students did not know this. For them, the only important detail was that the culprit was still not captured any may try again, maybe successful this time. And of course, the Brazilian populace (well, mostly only officials and soldiers) was currently being slaughtered by elusive attackers. At least some of the students would be capable of associating this event with the vengeful nature of the Yotsuba.
"Other than that, the increase in security at first high was also finished." Hayama added.
"Increase in security?"
"Yes, both officially and unofficially. We have transfered multiple guardians to first high, disguised as both students and teachers. We have also pressured the magic association into increasing the security at the magic high schools in response to the terrorist attacks. This should ensure your safety, my lady. Of course, these measures will do little compared to the security Tatsuya-sama will provide you with."
Miyuki nodded. There was nothing her Brother could not stop.
In the Evening/Saegusa Mansion/Kouichi POV
Saegusa Kouichi sat at the head end of the table in the dinner room of the family mansion.
The chairs around the table were mostly empty. Other than Kouichi, only his three daughters sat on them. His sons were busy with their own work and mostly living independently.
Even among these four, eating dinner together was a rare occurrence. Kouichi himself spend most of his dinners together with influential individuals. Still, he ensured that they would sit together at least once a month.
This time though, Kouichi arranged this dinner because there was something he wanted to ask his two youngest daughters.
"Kasumi, did anything interesting happen at first high during the last few weeks? Were the students able to cope with the recent terror attacks?" His concern about the other students was only superficial. While he did not wish any harm for them, he would not hesitate sacrificing their wellbeing for his plans. But this time, it was only used to mask his true intentions.
"They mostly got over it, but there is still a feeling of anxiety in the air." Kasumi replied.
"This is really unfortunate. Izumi, how was the student council able to handle the situation? Did the student council president gave a comforting speech?" Yet another pair of questions to mask the true questions.
"Shiba-senpai herself fell victim to the recent attack against the magic high schools. Oh, my beautiful senpai, I pray for your well-being." Kouichi choose to ignore the last part, but Kasumi didn't. He heard the sound of a kick below the table, followed by a pained expression on Izumi's face. Still, Miyuki's absence was yet another sign for him, further proofing his suspicion that she was a Yotsuba. Which led to another question: did the Yotsuba really allow their children to follow them in this war? As far as Kouichi knew, Miya and Maya had not participated during the war against Dahan.
"Other than that, first high received two new teachers and two more transfer students." Hearing this, Mayumi also listened more attentively. Like Kouichi, she understood the shortage of magic teachers in the high schools. It was rare enough that a new teacher started at a high school, and two at the same time starting at the same school was unprecedented.
This was the reason Kouichi had arranged for this dinner. He wanted to see what his daughters knew about this. He already received a new piece of information. He had not yet heard about the transfer students. More Yotsuba? No, more likely some sort of bodyguards. The Yotsuba take the protection of their kin really serious. The teachers are most likely also bodyguards. He thought to himself.
"Transfer students? At this time of year?" he asked. It was not actually the first time this happened. Last year, a student from the USNA arrived as part of an exchange program.
"It seems like they recently moved in nearby. We heard that they are twins and already have an older sister studying at first high. Other than this, not much is known about them."
This response was not as helpful as he hoped, but it further cemented his belief that these transfers were not normal magicians, though he still lacked proof.
"You said the student council president was hit by the recent attack? How is her health?" Another question. Hearing it, Mayumi slowly got an idea what this conversion was really aimed at. Raccoon dad, she thought once again.
"We do not know the details, but we received a mail from her stating that she should be able to return within the next week." Izumi worked with her in the student council, so she knew it the best.
This was rather helpful for Kouichi "This means that the Shiba's were not fighting in Brazil. Even the Yotsuba would require more than a few weeks to bring down a nation. So it was likely only in order to increase the security. If the Shibas are Miya's children, then they are likely the only remains of the the main family of the Yotsuba, so they would be heavily protected." he thought.
"Well, I certainly hope for her recovery. Say, Izumi, why don't you sometime invite her over for dinner? As some sort of apology that we were unable to prevent the terrorist attacks." After her father's request to Izumi, Mayumi felt her theory confirmed. So that was what you were after.
"Sure, I will do it." Izumi was too excited about the chance of dinner with her senpai to notice the abnormality of such an invitation by her father.
The next week/House Shiba/Minami POV
Minami had followed Miyuki and Tatsuya back to their home. It was still early in the morning when they arrived and they would only have a few minutes to switch into their school uniforms before they would have to leave for first high.
Due to the last few weeks they had gotten used to be up early, but the trip from the main house back to their own house had still taken a few hours. Minami was actually surprised that they could still arrive on time.
As soon as they had entered the house, they had noticed the modifications to their house. Even the floor plan on the ground level was altered to provide extra cover in case of emergencies. Still, they had to hurry and thus had no time to inspect the home thoroughly.
Minami entered her room and opened the closet to put her own uniform on. But before she could do so, she noticed that something was off.
She turned around and could not believe her eyes.
Instead of her bed, there were now three beds. And two of them seemed to have been used rather recently.
"Onii-sama, Minami-chan! Hurry up, we are going to be late for school!" a shout resounded from below. It seemed like Miyuki was excited to finally have some sort of normality back in her life.
Part 1 end.
Authors note:
Well, it seems like the final chapter of the first part is now finished.
I will proceed to upload this fanfic over the course of the next few weeks, but if you are reading this, I will probably already be finished.
This part was meant as an introduction to the story, but i am not sure when i will continue this story.
By the way, does anyone of you have naming suggestions for the twins? As you have probably already guessed, they are Yotsuba guardians. I am not sure whether they should be sakurai-series guardians or from another series. Sakurai would make sense with their official 'sister'-background, but i am not sure whether it would add much to the story. If you have any suggestions, please do not be afraid of sharing them. I am also not sure about their gender, but i think i will go with femal. This way it would be less weird for them to sleep in the same room with Minami. Or maybe they will be a male and a female.
I apologize if these last two chapters felt a bit rushed. This is my first fanfic and I have yet to figure out a good pacing. I also lacked ideas of how to write the Yotsuba during their Quest of vengeance, so I opted to write it mostly from the POVs of third parties.
Well, anyway, the next part is Slice of life about being the head of the Yotsuba while attending high school at the same time.
Authors note - Addendum:
Thank you for your reviews. This was the first chapter adjusted after your feedback, btw. The next part is not yet written (and not even fully planned). Your reviews provided me with quite a few ideas regarding the plot, so i am actually glad i have not yet started writing part 2.
I hope you enjoyed part 1.
Edit February 10th 2020: I just finished implementing one of the style suggestions (speech is no longer italic). I am still planning the next part, but it got delayed. It are always some details which takes the most time. It took me a few months just to settle for the names of the twins.
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