- しば -
April, 2095, First National Magic University Affiliated High School, Tokyo
Shiba Tatsuya sighed, turning and walking away after making sure that his sister had entered the main auditorium. While he loved his younger sister, he sometimes wondered where she had gotten her stubborn streak from. Having convinced her to follow through on her duties as the representative for the incoming freshmen, he now found himself with an hour to kill before the matriculation ceremony was scheduled to begin.
The spring breeze tousled his dark bangs as he wandered about the First High grounds. Occasionally the wind would drift by carrying a handful of sweet sakura blossoms plucked from the many trees that dotted the campus. He inhaled deeply, picking out the faint scents of lilac, almond, and rose. It was not often that he had an opportunity to enjoy the gifts of nature, as his many duties often precluded him from such activities. He took some time to reflect on his situation; how strange it was for him to settle into the life of a normal high school student, when his life was anything but. He continued his stroll through the well-tended foliage, the gentle winds and his own messy fringe tickling his cheek and forehead, and he allowed himself to enjoy this moment of silence and tranquility. His wandering brought him to a small copse, where he noticed a three-person bench in the shade of a large Japanese Maple; a good place to enjoy the scenery and read until the ceremony began.
Soundlessly, he pulled out a mobile terminal from his jacket pocket and soon he was lost in the latest research papers on recent magic developments, picking out interesting topics and mentally shelving them for additional study. His peace was broken by the footsteps of several female upperclassmen passing by, an indication that students were beginning to trickle onto the campus. He caught snatches of their hushed whispering when they thought they were out of earshot.
"...weed..."
"...sure is enthusiastic for a reserve…"
The offending voices gradually faded away on the wind. Tatsuya knew they were talking about him. The lack of the eight-petal emblem on his shoulders and breast were clear indications of their subject. However, he ignored such statements; no one was more aware of his own shortcomings more than himself. He had just barely eked into Course 2 based on his papers on Magical Theory and Magical Engineering, the only reason he had been able to do so. He allowed a rueful smile to tweak the corner of his lips. Besides, enrolling in a magic high school wasn't really necessary; he was simply here to fulfill his duty.
He checked the time on the terminal. It was almost time to head towards the auditorium. He realized he was not alone when he sensed the presence of a newcomer, rather than hearing her footsteps. Somehow the person felt familiar.
"Are you a freshman? It is almost time to go-"
The intruder seemed to stop her sentence in shock as he lifted his head to meet her gaze. Pacific-blue eyes met crimson-rose ones. One of his brows twitched ever so slightly.
Saegusa Mayumi. How unexpected.
In the vacuum of silence left by the interruption of his companion's sentence, he gracefully climbed to his feet. Amusedly he noticed that in the three years that they had not seen each other she hadn't grown a centimeter, as Mayumi barely reached his shoulder. However, he did note that in that time her figure had developed from that of a young teen into that of a mature beauty. The wind caused her wavy mass of hair to tumble about, and the sunlight reflected a spectrum off her dark locks - ebony, slate-grey, jet-black, and charcoal - as it glinted in the light. The majority of her hair was held firmly in place with a large striped bow, while the rest of it tumbled freely down her back and about her shoulders. Her cheeks were dusted pink, giving her a youthful aura. She shly tucked a stray fringe behind her ear.
"Do you always order others around?"
Tatsuya surprised himself with the teasing comment he offered. It was though they had picked up right where they had left off three years ago, sitting on the beach under the parasol together.
The petite girl huffed.
"I'm on duty. I'm supposed to direct freshmen into the hall."
He inclined his head slightly.
"That's an important mission. Not unlike the one you performed three years ago-"
"You knew about that?" She looked surprised.
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"I think everyone knows of it. I wasn't quite surprised. You did try to rush to my aid at that time."
His eyes drifted down to her hands, which she had clasped before her in a formal posture. A silver bracelet gleamed in the early morning sunlight.
"You're a part of the Student Council. That's fairly new."
He saw his companions' eyes land on the mobile terminal still in his hand. Her crimson-rose eyes reflected recognition.
"You like reading? It does explain your spectacular scores. Good job by the way."
The edges of his eyes tightened, giving them a steely edge. Her brows furrowed in confusion and she cocked her head to the side slightly. She reminded him of that time on the beach, eyes wide with curiosity, studying him, as if he were a mystery to unravel.
"Shiba-san? You know that your grades are unparalleled in the history of First High, right?"
Tatsuya shrugged, shifting on his feet, and turned his gaze back on her. She seemed troubled by his less than enthusiastic response. Mayumi took a few tentative steps towards him, fists clenched at her sides.
"It doesn't define you."
His eyebrows raised slightly, confused at her non-sequitur. He noted that her gaze lingered momentarily at his breast before meeting his again. Ah. That was what she meant.
"It doesn't matter if you're Course 1 or Course 2. It depends on what you make of it," she stated confidently. "You're better than this. I'm sure everyone will affirm that."
If possible, her eyes gleamed brighter in the sunlight. She extended her palm towards him, her right hand, as if she was offering help. A look of recognition crossed his face. The same hand that he had healed three years ago.
"You haven't quite answered me on how you did it," Mayumi accused playfully.
Tatsuya's lips curled ever so slightly in response to that statement.
"Magic," he replied, echoing his own answer from that time.
The response drew out a bright laugh from the elven princess, which tinkled like bells. She seemed to accept the response for the time being. The mischievous gleam in her eyes told him that she had not given up so soon. Her gaze turned inquisitive again.
"How did you and your family escape from the Okinawa incident?"
Tatsuya's chest hitched involuntarily, but was careful to control his expression. His voice grew sombre.
"We took shelter with the military-"
"But lost someone in the process? I knew that there was a rebellion."
He nodded gravely, concealing his surprise. It was both impressive and unnerving that she could read his carefully managed body language. He knew he should be wary of this woman, but her own lack of facade and open expressions put him at ease. Mayumi looked sad.
"I tried looking for you but couldn't find either you or your sister. I couldn't send people to search for you discreetly after Okinawa because it would have raised the suspicions of my father."
He arched a brow, again, surprised by her open admission of secrets kept from the head of her clan.
"Your father doesn't know of me?"
Mayumi shook her head.
"No. It would have been hard to talk about you without giving away your secret. I'm from the Ten Master Clans. They would take a rapt interest in you, one that is far less driven by intellectual curiosity."
Mentally he chided himself; if Saegusa Koichi had known about him and his sister they would have known it long ago. He allowed an appreciative smile to grace his face, and he bowed slightly to reflect his gratitude. The wind ruffled his fringe; she seemed to shuffle abashedly. Tatsuya glanced quickly at the terminal in his hand. He was surprised at the amount of time that they had spent together talking. He turned the screen off and stowed the device back in its pocket.
"Aren't we supposed to attend the ceremony now? I know you like to be fashionably late, but I can't be," he asked, a touch of humor in his voice.
The petite girl smacked him immediately. The solid thump was the only sound in the empty garden. Mayumi seemed to be in shock from her offending action, staring at the place she had just hit him. His eyes lighted in humor.
"Hurry, little ojou-sama. You shouldn't keep the other morals away from your sacred presence. I'm quite sure that the freshmen would like to have the opportunity to meet the once-in-a-decade prodigy at remote precision magic."
Without waiting for her response, he turned and began down the path towards the main hall. As he got closer he could see that the area was starting to fill up with more students. He heard a huff and felt Mayumi's presence at his side. He was slightly amused that her pace was slightly faster than his in order to keep up with his longer stride.
"You should be honored that I'm willing to accept your snarky comments," she complained loudly. "I'll get back at you soon!"
He inclined his head towards her slightly.
"I'm more worried about incurring the wrath of Miyuki than your little kitten tantrum."
At this Mayumi stopped in shock.
"Kitten!"
He nodded his head in agreement.
"Kitten, with those fearsome little claws. They pack a punch."
Puffing again, she briskly passed him into the auditorium. As she did so she made sure to stomp on his larger foot, momentarily forgetting about the image she was supposed to maintain as the eldest daughter of the Saegusa family.
Tatsuya noted that he had smiled more times today than he had in a long time.
- しば -
Shiba Miyuki tried not to let her annoyance and discomfort show on her face as she made her way back to her seat after completing the freshmen address. Internally she sighed again; while it was a given that she would perform the best during the entrance examinations she bemoaned the fact that she had been selected for the position of freshmen representative. Grudgingly, she did understand what her brother meant when practical skills were valued more heavily in terms of ranking students at school, but she did occasionally enjoy acting like the stubborn teen she would have been if she had been born into any other family. After all, they only had each other; she hated the Yotsuba mentality. If this was how Magicians treated their own, how could they expect any better from Non-Magicians?
As the Student Council President started wrapping up the last address of the Entrance Ceremony, Miyuki did let out a sigh, mentally preparing for the next few minutes. From experience, she knew that people tended to be mesmerized and enchanted by her perfect facade of a proper ojou-sama. This compounded with the fact that she was the freshmen representative ensured that the next minutes of her life would be dominated by introductions, not only from the freshmen, but from the upperclassmen as well. She knew that Tatsuya encouraged her to get to know her classmates, so she would follow his request, but only for a while. She did promise to meet up with him after the ceremony.
She tried not to think about how she would have rather been in Course 2 with her brother; they were both far ahead of the curriculum at First High, and she knew that Tatsuya would be able to teach her anything she was lacking.
At the dismissal of the students to their respective classrooms, Miyuki closed her eyes to mentally compose herself as all around students began to rise out of their seats, forming small clusters as they tried to identify their classmates and potential friends. Opening her eyes again, she steeled herself as she gracefully rose from her seated position. As expected a small crowd was already forming around her, in a way that could almost be called claustrophobia-inducing. She offered a small, but gracious smile to the other students, and offered a small curtsy.
"Shiba Miyuki. I look forward to being in your care."
The crowd was spellbound by her simple introduction, as evident in the wonder of many of their eyes. One-by-one, the other students introduced themselves. She saw that they were all Course 1 students. She caught a flash as she saw Tatsuya wave and make his way out of the auditorium.
There were some names she took note of. Mitsui Honoka's appearance could have been very easily described as 'cute', and she had an enthusiastic personality to match. Her friend, Kitayama Shizuku, seemed to be the opposite of Honoka, with her appearance and expression that could be called stoic. She reminded her a little bit of her brother. She recalled that both of them had ranked highly, especially in the practical application portion of the exam. She noted one boy detach himself from the crowd, bowing to her. The brown-haired boy seemed to exude a confident, but haughty attitude.
"Morisaki Shun, I look forward to being in your care."
Miyuki responded by inclining her head slightly.
"That was a wonderful address, Shiba-san," he began, "but I didn't quite follow what you meant about allowing everyone the opportunity to learn. I mean, surely you didn't mean the 'Weeds' right?"
At the term Miyuki's eyes darkened, although she made sure to keep her expression neutral and a firm control on her magic. She decided at that moment that she did not like this boy. She tilted her head a little to the side.
"That is an interesting opinion Morisaki-san. Considering we are all freshmen high school students at this prestigious institution, I would have thought that our main objective here was to learn as much as we can, regardless of our standing."
Morisaki seemed startled by her response.
"Well…"
"You did really well, Shiba-chan. I, too, think that everyone should be treated alike."
The crowd surrounding her parted for the newcomer, who happened to be the Student Council President. Miyuki noted that Saegusa Mayumi was a beauty, with her pale skin contrasting against her dark curls and elfin features, crimson-rose eyes bright. She seemed to be more impressive in person. Many of the freshmen boys sighed and became flustered in the presence of another beautiful woman. She was slightly surprised at the affectionate tone of address she received, but appreciated the unexpected support in the form of the highest student authority in the school. The elegant girl bowed her head slightly.
"I'm Saegusa Mayumi, the President of the Student Council. I would have loved to meet you before the ceremony, but I was held up. I'm pleased to finally meet you."
"Shiba Miyuki. I look forward to being in your care," Miyuki returned with an equally elegant bow. She wondered what could have been so important to have held up the President before the entrance ceremony, which was supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the Student Council.
She gave her a warm smile before turning back to the crowd.
"If it doesn't trouble you, I would like to speak to Shiba-chan privately for a while."
Miyuki was internally relieved that she wouldn't have to tolerate the pressure of the crowd for the time being. The relief was evident in her eyes. Mayumi seemed to pick up on her change in demeanor.
"It takes a while to get used to this."
Miyuki blinked owlishly.
"I'm sorry, Chairwoman?"
"Mayumi, if you don't mind," Mayumi replied, pulling a face, "I have to deal with enough titles outside of my family duties. It takes a while to get used to this." Her tone was kind. "After a while, you'll learn to adapt to it. It can be slightly trying in the beginning. It's not good to be alone."
Ah. So that's what she meant. Miyuki shook her head.
"Oh, I couldn't, Chairwoman. That wouldn't have been proper. But thank you for the advice."
The diminutive President pouted. It was a little astonishing to see her open with her emotions, especially with a new acquaintance such as herself. She appreciated the candid reactions and counsel.
"Mayumi-senpai, if you have to insist on properties."
Miyuki laughed brightly.
"Miyuki then, Mayumi-senpai."
"Chairwoman?"
Their conversation was interrupted by the man standing behind and slightly to the right of Mayumi. From his voice he sounded impatient. From the earlier introductions she recognized him as the Vice-President, Hattori Hanzo. It seemed that she was not the only one surprised by Mayumi's familiar tone.
Miyuki's eyes darted back to Mayumi as she shuffled on her feet.
"Mayumi-senpai, I have a prior appointment. I need to leave first."
"Chairwoman?" Hattori repeated, an added edge of insistence in his address.
Mayumi seemed wholly content to do things at her own pace, Miyuki noted amusedly. Maybe it came from being the eldest daughter of such a prestigious family. Mayumi gestured to the other side of the hall, where she knew her brother would be waiting. Miyuki concealed her surprise with a brilliant smile. How had the President known where she was heading? She hadn't provided any details. She filed that question away for reconsideration at a later time.
Wordlessly, she turned and made her way to her brother, allowing Mayumi and Hattori to follow behind. She felt that the diminutive President was studying her closely. Maybe she should have been more careful to control her reactions.
As she drew near to her brother, she noted that he was making conversation with two girls. Internally she huffed. She would have much rather spent the time with him than the earlier crowd. He caught sight of her and turned in greeting.
"That was quick Miyuki. Good job on your address."
She smiled indulgently, bowing her head slightly.
"Thank you for waiting onii-sama. You flatter me too much," she replied. She tilted her head to look around her brother's frame at the two girls he had been chatting with. "By the way onii-sama, are you dating already?"
Miyuki inwardly cursed at her slip of annoyance; she knew she could be a little territorial around her brother, but that was a byproduct of their closeness. Tatsuya's gaze seemed to take on an edge of slight disapproval.
"Miyuki, that's rude you know. These two are my classmates, Chiba Erika and Shibata Mizuki," Tatsuya turned his body to introduce the two girls.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shibata Mizuki," the girl with glasses said, bowing to her. It was rare to see someone with glasses in this day and age; she seemed to be the timid sort.
"I'm Chiba Erika. You can call me Erika," The girl with bright red hair added cheerfully.
She noted her brother's eyes dart to look behind where she was. A flash of panic at her poor manners came over her; in their introduction and bantering, she had forgotten that the Student Council had accompanied her! She automatically moved to the side to include Mayumi and Hattori in their group. From her expression, she could tell that Mayumi was scrutinizing their interactions.
"Miyuki, are you done with your business with the Student Council? If you aren't, I could kill off some time by myself," Tatsuya mentioned. His gaze seemed to linger on the President. Mayumi stepped forward.
"It's good to see you again, Tatsuya-kun."
At this Miyuki failed to control her reaction; Mayumi seemed to have extended her familiar expression to her brother. And what did she mean by again? Her eyes unconsciously swung back to her brother.
Tatsuya seemed nonplussed by the greeting. He inclined his head slightly in response, an action befitting that of a highborn gentleman.
"Chairwoman."
His reply was respectful and brief. However, the President acknowledged his words by widening her smile. Tatsuya also seemed to have the ghost of a smile dancing about his lips. How very interesting. Mayumi turned back to the two other freshmen girls with them, dropping into a deep bow.
"I'm Saegusa Mayumi, by the way. I apologize for my tardiness in introducing myself."
Tatsuya watched over the entire exchange with a stoic expression. She noted his eyes flicked over to the Vice-President, who seemed to be standing at Mayumi's side like a bodyguard. The petite woman seemed annoyed that he did not take her cue to introduce himself.
Miyuki stepped back to study the scene as Mayumi engaged Erika and Mizuki, touching topics such as their experiences on their first day, to Mayumi's exploits at the nine Schools Competition. She noted that Tatsuya was also looking at Mayumi, although not with his usual expression of danger appraisal. She had never seen him act and look so relaxed in...well, ever. She knew he lived all of his life constantly on guard from all sides. It was a good thing he could act like a normal high school student, even for a moment, even though his life was anything but normal.
Mayumi suddenly turned to Miyuki, as if just realizing something. She flashed her a bright smile.
"It was nice meeting you, Miyuki-chan," she said, clasping her hands together, "I will not overstay my welcome. We should speak at a more appropriate time."
Miyuki was surprised that she was leaving so soon. But she figured it made sense; the President of the Student Council must be a very busy position.
"But Chairwoman! What about the schedule?"
Mayumi shot a glare back at the Vice-President, silencing him. Miyuki noted that despite the height difference, Mayumi exuded authority.
"We do not have an appointment with Miyuki-san. We should not impose on them any further."
Miyuki noted that her brother seemed to want to say something but did not. He was looking at Miyuki, with a questioning glance.
"I would love to have the opportunity to catch up with you, Miyuki-chan, Tatsuya. I shall take my leave."
As she turned to leave, she gave Miyuki one last smile and a surreptitious wink at Tatsuya that she would have missed if she had blinked. Who was this woman to her brother?
"Onii-sama, would you mind walking me to class, at least for today?" Miyuki asked coyly, reveling in playing the role of spoiled younger sister.
Tatsuya's eyes softened. She knew that he would not deny her request. She really would have to break that habit of playing to his weaknesses.
"For today," he agreed, before turning to his two newfound classmates. "Mizuki, Erika, I'll see you in the classroom later."
Tatsuya led Miyuki out of the auditorium into the courtyard. She stopped at the top step and breathed in the fresh spring air, allowing the breeze to play with her long hair, as Her brother watched her amusedly. The two of them continued towards the main building, walking most of the stretch in a comfortable silence. She appreciated the fact that her brother's presence seemed to ward off any potential engagements but took note of the many glances that were sent in their direction. Was the divide between the two Courses so wide that students from each branch could not be friends?
"Onii-sama."
"Hmm?"
Miyuki cast a furtive look at her brother beside her.
"Who is Saegusa-san to you?"
The question seemed to take Tatsuya aback.
"The Chairwoman? What brings this up?"
"W-well…" she stammered, "you two seemed to be acquainted, so I was just wondering…"
The sakura petals gently floated by, borne in the wind.
"I don't believe I treated the Chairwoman with such familiarity…"
He trailed off after looking at his sister.
"It just so happened that I had the opportunity to meet and talk to her for a bit before the ceremony," he continued, "She was rounding up the stragglers, and I just happened to be one of the few she ran into."
"Ah... so you must have been 'the hold up'." Miyuki's laugh tinkled brightly. Her brother raised an eyebrow, perplexed.
She swung out and stopped in front of her beloved older brother, head tilted cutely to the side, hands clasped behind her back, and a mischievous grin plastered on her face.
"If you say so, onii-sama. She seemed to pay close attention to you. And you also seemed to be relaxed in her presence."
At this statement both of Tatsuya's brows shot past his hairline. She laughed again; after living with him for so long she was probably the only person that could read the nuances in his narrow expressional range. Or maybe it was because she was his sister that she was able to see him in this light.
Well, maybe not the only one for long.
"I'm happy you have the chance to be a normal high school student, onii-sama."
- さえぐさ - しば -
Mayumi tried to busy herself with setting up the shooting range for the second day of classes; several different workshops would be ongoing throughout the day to allow the freshmen to get a chance to see what specialist classes First High offered and an idea of what the curriculum was for each one. While all students were asked to possess a passable control over general spells in the Four Great Systems and Eight Major Types, many Magicians possessed predispositions to particular specialties. Unfortunately, the school only covered curriculum over the Modern definition of Systematic Magic, so some students whose fortes laid outside of this umbrella were neglected in favor of the Magic Association's classifications. Her thoughts drifted to one specific blue-eyed freshman; she was sure that the proper assessment would have shown he was a powerful Magician in his own right.
"Ma-yu-mi~"
She blinked as a slender hand was being waved in front of her eyes.
"Did you even hear a word I was saying? You seemed to be lost thinking about something."
Mayumi glared at the taller girl beside her leaning languorously on the railing of the platform. Watanabe Mari may have been the Chief of the Disciplinary Committee, but she also sometimes tended to come off as lackadaisical when it did not come to matters of her classes or duty, such as this moment in time.
"Maybe if you helped me I would have time to listen to you ramble. Besides, what are you doing here? You aren't in this class and you don't specialize in long-range spells. And don't you have duties to attend to as Chief?"
Mari waved her off.
"I have an open period right now. And besides, it's good for Kanon to figure things out without me there to organize everything," she replied, referring to the Vice-Chief who would take over come the end of summer.
Mayumi noted that there was still several minutes before the workshop was scheduled to begin, but the area was beginning to fill up.
"Ehhhh, there's a lot of people here Mayumi," Mari commented dryly, looking over her shoulder at the gathering behind them. "There's even some Juniors here. You always draw them like moths to a scorching flame," she added, the humor dancing in her eyes, "What if they learn who you really are, Mayumi? You'll probably lose them in a flash. You've never shown any interest in them."
Mayumi ignored the comment in favor of checking the settings on the console for the umpteenth time. She wouldn't need to go all out; the medium settings should be good enough for a demonstration. Most of the freshmen wouldn't be able to tell anyway, except maybe the ones that followed the Nine Schools Competition. Besides, most students failed to hit them all on the medium setting anyways.
"Oh? The freshmen representative and her brother are here. This will be interesting."
Her head snapped at her friend's words, missing Mari's surprise at Mayumi's reaction to the comment. She glanced around the observation area, searching the rows of observers.
She did not have to search long.
There seemed to be a small commotion among a group near the front. A sturdy looking male Course 2 student and a red-headed girl she recognized as Chiba Erika seemed to be glowering at a group of Course 1 students next to them, while the shrinking Shibata Mizuki seemed to be trying to defuse the situation. Shiba Miyuki was looking as radiant as ever while the stoic blue-eyed man next to her tried to ignore the piercing glares being sent his way from the Course 1 students who appeared to be slighted from taking some of the best viewing spots for the demonstration. She caught his eye; she quickly turned back when she saw his eyebrow raise ever-so-slightly. Her cheeks enflamed, but Mari was still gazing disinterestedly over the audience.
"It seems that the freshmen seem to be more...explosive compared to the previous year. Due to the Shiba siblings. It seems to heighten the rivalries between Course 1 and Course 2.
Mayumi turned back to the console, changing the difficulty to the highest setting. For some reason, she wanted to show that impish freshman that she was more than just a kitten.
She pulled her goggles down over her pert nose; tuning everyone else out, she hoisted the specialized rifle-shaped CAD and activated her magic. Within moments, everything on the field had been destroyed in an impressive display of precision and power. The demonstration was natural for her, considering that she trained at a more demanding pace outside of class. It was expected of a Saegusa ojou-sama.
Her eyes flicked to the man standing in the front row of the audience. His pacific-blue eyes gleamed in admiration. Nodding to her, he turned to leave, Miyuki beside him and the three other Course 2 students shuffling to catch up.
…
Tatsuya tried to ignore as his newfound classmate Saijou Leonhard continued to bicker with Erika. Miyuki simply looked amused at the exchange. It was impressive how quickly two people could hit it off so spectacularly poorly in such a short period of time. Or maybe this was simply the way they were testing the waters around each other. Was this what they called 'belligerent sexual tension'? He didn't understand.
"The Chairwoman draws quite the crowd, doesn't she onii-sama?"
Tatsuya had to agree with his sister. Stepping into the practice hall, he noted the popularity of this workshop; no doubt it was to get a glimpse of the elegant, yet unapproachable, Student Council President who would be conducting the demonstration. While the number of students in the room was nearing the capacity, he saw that the first few rows had vacancies. Lacking none of the uncertainties of the Course 1 students hesitating nearby, he led the group straight to the front row. He ignored the glares from the surrounding Course 1 students, while Leo and Erika turned their attention from each other to the common enemy they had found. So they did have common grounds after all. He could tell that Miyuki was also miffed at the looks he received.
Atop the platform he recognized the petite figure of Mayumi fiddling with the control panel, while another Course 1 upperclasswoman's gaze drifted disinterestedly over the crowd, it seemed to settle on him for a while before she turned and said something to Mayumi. Immediately he saw that she turned to glance over the crowd before her crimson-rose eyes found his quickly before turning back to the console, pulling down her goggles. The room quieted down as she hoisted the CAD, and the simulation began. Dozens of clay discs were launched across the open field at an eye-watering pace, but none escaped her notice. Knowing that all eyes would be focused on the Elfin Sniper's performance, Tatsuya activated his own Elemental Sight.
Convergence, Release, and Speed. Truly an impressive combination. And a Perception-type spell to keep track of everything. A prodigy indeed.
In seconds the program ended; the crowd applauded its approval as Mayumi shifted her goggles to perch atop her head and shook out her wavy locks. Her eyes darted to meet his own. He inclined his head slightly before turning to leave, Miyuki silently following. Leo and Erika stopped their scowling long enough to notice that Tatsuya had left before Mizuki would have had to forcefully drag them off. He doubted the slight girl would have succeeded with the two powderkegs.
"She sure was impressive, Saegusa-senpai," Erika quipped when they were several meters away from the demonstration hall, hands laced behind her head.
"I couldn't even keep track of everything that was going on," Leo added.
"Psh. A blockhead like you could never aspire to be like that," Erika teased, setting off another argument between the two, Mizuki once again relegated to the role of peacemaker.
"I'm sure given time and practice you could do that too, Miyuki," Tatsuya glanced down at his sister. Her cheeks flushed from the praise.
"Although I also think that such a feat would be a simple task for you as well, onii-sama, given your abilities."
His eyes gained a faraway look. In such an application, his sister probably was right, albeit he would be forbidden from it for such a mundane reason.
"Miyuki", he said quietly, thankful that they had such loud cover for their private conversation, "you know you shouldn't bring that up."
Miyuki's head dropped in shame; Tatsuya's gaze softened and he patted her head. It was no fault of hers that it had to be kept a secret. He knew she mentioned it only with the highest regard in mind, but for both of their safeties it needed to be concealed.
"Don't worry about it. Just imagine if a Course 2 student could have pulled a comparable performance to the Elfin Sniper herself." The two siblings shared a smile, Miyuki's laugh meeting Tatsuya's wry turn of the lips.
"It's been a long morning touring the workshops. What should we do now? Visit a couple more, or head to the cafeteria for an early lunch?" Mizuki asked, after successfully getting Leo and Erika to calm down for the moment.
"Hm. The cafeteria is bound to get crowded soon, so maybe it is a good idea to try to beat the lunch rush," Tatsuya responded absently, "How does everyone else feel?"
"Sure, I could do with some food," Leo commented, with Erika and Miyuki adding their own replies of affirmation.
"Miyuki, you probably know the school the best since you had the walk around with entrance ceremony committee yesterday, what's the best way to-"
"Shiba-san!"
A loud voice from behind them interrupted Tatsuya's question to his sister. The group turned to see who had called out; from the large group of unfamiliar faces and Course 1 flower emblems on their uniforms, Tatsuya deduced that they were wanting to get the attention of the younger Shiba sibling.
"Let's go take a look at some of the other practical workshops. You shouldn't disturb them."
The brown-haired spokesman, Morisaki Shun, who he recognized from his sister's description when she was telling him about her first day, cast a dismissing glance in Tatsuya's direction and promptly proceeded to ignore him, as if the lofty statement was a dismissal for him. He could tell Miyuki was unhappy with the request and was on the verge of denying, possibly in a very unbefitting manner, if he didn't step in to de-escalate; it was too early in the year for her to be losing control of her magic. He gently touched her elbow.
"Miyuki. It's a good opportunity for you to get to know your classmates."
Miyuki's ice-blue eyes reflected acceptance of his request, and she nodded. The situation would have worked itself out had not another student added the next inflammatory comment.
"Yeah, we need to draw the line between Course 1 and Course 2," spoke another boy in the Course 1 group.
Tatsuya closed his eyes in exasperation of what he knew would probably happen next, given the presence of two particularly fiery Course 2 students.
"Hah?" Erika asked, eyes ablaze.
"What did you just say?" Leo growled, folding his arms and using all 180 centimeters of his Germanic heritage to stare down the speaker. He had to admit Leo would have been in imposing sight had he come across him on the street. Maybe it was the fact that many Course 2 students simply tried to avoid confrontation with Course 1 that both groups of students were content to allow the status quo to continue, but it was clear that Erika and Leo were cut from a different cloth.
Either that or they didn't get the memo. Tatsuya didn't care much either way. However, he was sure that if they had not been on campus, they would have come to blows; maybe they still would despite the fact. He noticed from the periphery that the two groups were beginning to draw attention. Best to separate the two belligerents, and do so quickly.
"Miyuki," he said, turning to his sister, "I'm going to take off now. I'll see you after school near the gate."
She seemed to read his intention with the quick retreat.
"Alright, onii-sama."
His eyes softened at the reply, before promptly turning and walking away.
"Hey! Tatsuya, hold up!"
"Tatsuya!"
Erika and Leo gave once last glare backwards before hastily catching up with Tatsuya, a flustered Mizuki in tow.
- しば - わたなべ -
Miyuki confirmed her hunch; she really, really didn't like Morisaki Shun. Or any of the other presumptuous Course 1 boys in her class, for that matter. She instinctively scooted a little closer to her brother as she watched the proceedings unfold at the school gate. She was surprised when the shy Mizuki took charge of the confrontation from the Course 2 student's side, but it probably also helped that she was flanked by two of the toughest students out of the freshman class in terms of sheer tenacity.
"Onii-sama…"
"Don't start apologizing, Miyuki."
Her brother watched the events unfold like a hawk; his pacific-blue eyes glinted in the sunlight as she recognized the expression he took on when studying a potential obstacle, human or otherwise. She turned her worried gaze back on the scene.
"There's something we want to discuss with her, that's all!"
"That's right! All we need is a little of her time!"
The last comment struck a nerve; she was a human being, not some object to be bartered over! Tatsuya also seemed annoyed, and she could hardly blame him. It was only day two of the school year. What was she, some 'takane no hana' to be chased after?
"Didn't you hear that she's going home with her brother? They may be Course 1 and Course 2, but they're still siblings!"
"This is a matter that concerns 1-A. Don't go around meddling with us 'Blooms', you lowly 'Weeds'!"
Miyuki's clasped hands tightened. The irony that the logic of the statement was lost on the students who were considered the best and brightest of the year only compounded the anger at the fact that these were her classmates that were throwing around such terms. She saw that Leo and Erika were tensing up as well. Leo opened and closed his fists, flexing his forearms. A crowd of students was beginning to gather and whisper in hushed tones.
"We're all newly enrolled students here, remember? Just how superior to us do you 'Blooms' think you are at this point?" Mizuki prompted with uncharacteristic ardor.
Miyuki glanced at her brother. She knew Mizuki meant will with the line of questioning, but no way would the Course 1 students would pass up such an invitation for a demonstration, a hunch that was proven right when Morisaki Shun's expression darkened.
"Do you want to know just how superior we are?"
She inwardly groaned when Leo took the bait.
"Sounds entertaining!" Leo challenged, dropping into a combative stance. "Why don't you go ahead and show us, then?"
She looked back at her brother, wondering why he hadn't already stepped in. Actually she knew that he didn't want to draw attention to himself, and by extension her, but it seemed like that plan had long since passed the drain and was well into the sewage system.
Morisaki waved the other Course 1 students back as the area cleared to give Leo and Morisaki room.
"Fine."
Miyuki detected the gathering of psions around him, even though he had no CAD in hand yet. Was this the Morisaki 'Quick Draw'?
"In that case, I damn well will show you…" Morisaki began while flicking the tail of his jacket out in a redundant and excessive flourish. "...just how much better we are!"
Just then he had pulled out his CAD, which he indeed had primed in preparation, which confirmed her guess; She could see that Leo would not make it time to either dodge or counter Morisaki's attack. She could feel her brother resignedly lift a hand, ready to deploy his own counter, but stopped when a blur of red flew across her field of vision.
Morisaki's pistol CAD clattered uselessly a few meters away while its owner clutched at his hand, grimacing.
"At this distance," Erika snarked confidently, baton pointed at Morisaki's face in a challenge, "it's just faster to move my body, see?"
"I agree with you, but dammit, weren't you just about to smash my hand, too?" Leo glowered at her.
"Goodness, no. I would never do such a thing!"
"Don't you dare try to laugh it off!"
Miyuki couldn't help but be amused that the two could still find time to argue in the middle of a confrontation with a common enemy.
"Ridiculous…"
"You, a mere 'Weed'."
Miyuki's attention turned back to the other Course 1 boys, several of which had rolled up their sleeves to display their own bracelet CADs.
"All of you, stop it!"
…
"Ahhh, why did I ask for this job!"
Watanable Mari collapsed onto her folder arms in front of the terminal.
"Mari! If you're going to complain, I believe the Disciplinary Committee has their own room for you to wallow in your self-inflicted agony!"
She turned her head and cracked open a single eye at the other occupant in the Student Council room. Mayumi didn't bother to look at her friend but continued to type into her own terminal.
"If only Kanon-"
At that statement Mayumi shot a glare towards her best friend.
"You are not pushing any more of your paperwork onto Chiyoda-san, especially since this is specifically the job of the Chief of the Disciplinary Committee!"
Mari threw her hands in the air. She was chosen for this position because she was tough and decisive, and excelled in magical combat to back it up. However, her abilities did not extend to organization and logistics, much to the amusement of the rest of the committee and the dread and chagrin of her Vice-Chief. At the moment she was attempting to organize the patrols for the upcoming Club Recruitment Week, which required her to comb through all the member's schedules to ensure proper coverage of the entire school for the duration of the event; a mean feat considering they were a committee of ten members covering a school with a student population of 600. On top of that, they were down two members for the moment. Well, technically two. She absentmindedly glanced at the profile of the student that the teachers had recommended for the position. Morisaki, from the hundred families. He seemed competent enough given that he ranked 3rd in the practical portion of the entrance exam. That still left one opening…
Mari saw her opportunity.
"Ma-yu-mi~" she sang, "How am I supposed to finish this schedule when I still don't have the Student Council's representative for the committee? You know this schedule won't work until I have the last piece." Mari grinned devilishly. Mayumi who was accustomed to Mari fobbing off her paperwork duties was not amused and she was rewarded with another glare.
"I told you we are still in the middle of the selection process," she replied tersely. "Just prepare a couple different potential schedules and pick the one that fits best with the final selection. Besides, this was supposed to be done at the end of the last term."
"So tedious," she muttered, careful to make sure Mayumi didn't hear her in her Student-Council-President mode. She wasn't any fun when she was like this. "Life was so much easier when all I had to do was take someone down every so often."
She sighed and checked the time in the corner of the screen. 5:03. Club activities would be ending soon, which meant that students would be going home after retrieving their devices, the most dangerous window of time for escalation of conflicts. This year's freshmen class seemed to be especially explosive due to individuals such as Morisaki and Erika.
"Mayumi, want to come on a patrol?" Mari asked, saving her work and shutting down the terminal.
Mayumi glanced at the clock in the room before nodding and following suit. The two seniors made their way towards the front gate.
"Do you think anything will happen today?"
Mayumi looked pensive.
"I wouldn't doubt so. Do you remember what happened before lunch?"
Mari heard that there had been a confrontation between a group of Course 1 and 2 students right after Mayumi's specialist class had wrapped up, apparently involving the freshman representative, her brother, and Erika, much to her exasperation; she hadn't gotten there soon enough to see for herself and break it up. Sometimes Erika and her were much too alike; she hoped they would be able to get along with each other now that they were at school together, but she wasn't holding her breath. She was roused out of her musings at the sounds of commotion near the gate.
A certain student with bright-red hair was pointing her baton at another boy. It took her a moment to recognize Morisaki Shun from the distance based on his profile she was just looking at earlier. The Course 1 students seemed to be rattled, but it didn't take long for her to see that several other students were preparing to unleash their own magic; the fastest one seemed to be a girl with her hair tied in twin tails. She was more inclined towards close combat, so she was helpless at this range.
"Mayumi."
"I see it."
The petite Student Council President already had her hand raised with a gathering of Psionic light, before firing a single psion straight at the girl's CAD, disrupting the Activation Sequence. She was caught by another slim girl standing nearby after dropping from the shock of having her Activation Sequence forcibly cancelled.
"Stop right there! Unless it's self-defense, head-to-head magic attacks are criminal offenses!"
At the voice of Mayumi, all the other freshmen cancelled their own sequences and dropped their hands to their sides, looking uncertain as to what would happen next. Mari stepped up, holding up the wrist with her CAD to display it.
"I'm Watanable Mari, Chief of the Disciplinary Committee. I'll be taking your statements now; you all need to come with me," she called out in a loud voice, asserting control over the situation.
She looked around. Erika scowled when she caught her eye. It was interesting to note that most of the Course 1 students had some combination of shock and hesitance written all over their faces, while the Course 2 students simply looked surprised. They and the freshman representative girl - Shiba Miyuki - seemed to turn to the stoic looking freshman in the back to gauge his response. So this was the elder Shiba-san. He in turn seemed to be looking intently at somewhere beside her; she realized it was at Mayumi. She shot a quick glance at her friend, who was meeting his gaze head on, with a touch of pink on her cheeks.
The expressionless man stepped forward.
"Sorry about that."
He was unarmed, but the way which he carried himself exuded an air of danger. She turned to face him with a lifted hand, a simple blasting spell at the ready. He didn't react but looked pointedly at the hand for a second before meeting her own gaze again.
"The prank went too far," he said, bowing.
"Prank?" Mari raised a single eyebrow in disbelief. She and Mayumi had seen from afar that had it not been for Erika, a fight would have broken out. Well. Maybe 'despite Erika' was the more accurate phrase, given her temperament.
"Yes," he asserted, "Morisaki's 'Quick Draw' is famous, so I asked him to give a demonstration as a form of satisfying our intellectual curiosity. However it got out of hand. The others were only anxious to defend." He flicked his eyes towards Erika and the twin-tail girl.
Morisaki looked dumbfounded. Either he didn't expect Shiba to cover for him, or he assumed his specialty was still unknown. Under different circumstances, the admissive statement could have been read as a threat. She looked towards the twin-tail girl, who seemed to be recovering from the earlier daze.
"Then would you care to explain why that girl was about to activate an offensive spell?
She dropped her eyes in contrition.
"Even if you call it an attack, all she intended to fire was a flash of light. It wasn't on a level where it could have caused blindness or impairment."
There was a collective hitch of breath among the group, the only sound that permeated the thick silence in the air for several seconds.
At this both of her eyebrows raised and she dropped the hand with the prepared spell.
"Oh? And you know this how? Don't tell me you were able to read the Activation Sequence as it was being deployed."
Mayumi seemed to be speechless as well. His posture didn't change but the sense of danger in the air thickened.
"I'm no good at practical skills, but I am adept at analysis," he replied with an answer that couldn't be called an admission, but rather an even bigger ambiguity.
She looked again at Mayumi, who was still staring at the boy. At this point Shiba Miyuki stepped up, seemingly uncomfortable with the current line of questioning.
"As my brother has explained, it was a series of misunderstandings. I apologize sincerely for causing trouble, Watanabe-senpai."
Her statement shook Mayumi out of her thoughts.
"Ma~ri, it's fine. Tatsuya and Miyuki-chan said that they did it to improve their own knowledge," she defended, "While I applaud the spirit, it is still prohibited for you to execute it. I hope this mistake will not be repeated in the future."
Mayumi's eyes were fixed in Morisaki's face as she said the last few words; she seemed to be defending the Course 2 students. Mari frowned skeptically.
"Since the Chairwoman has spoken on your behalf, I shall refrain this time. Should it happen again, I will carry out disciplinary measures."
All of the freshmen sunk into deep bows.
Before she turned away she cast one last look at the man. Tatsuya, huh?
"You're Shiba Tatsuya, right?"
She made sure to look at Mayumi while she was asking the question, who seemed to be intentionally looking away, pretending as if she was not concerned with the personal exchange. She knew Mayumi too well to be tricked.
"Yes," Tatsuya confirmed, sharing a meaningful glance with the petite girl. His expression once again had not changed, but there seemed to be a hint of humor in his pacific-blue eyes.
Mayumi's hands were clasped before her, as if she were desperately trying to maintain the persona of the Student Council President. Mari turned to leave while Mayumi shot one last smile at the two siblings. Psh. As if she could hide anything from her.
"Mayumi, you owe me one."
"Hah?" Mayumi asked incredulously.
She cast a humorous look at her friend.
"I did you a favor by letting you be the heroine, so you owe me one."
"What!"
"They should have been punished if I wasn't doing you a favor. The students from both classes needed to be taken down a peg, otherwise the violence could have escalated.
Mayumi sighed, shaking her head, curls swaying in the wind.
"Such tensions are common. Punishing them would make things worse. It was good that Tatsuya tried to alleviate the situation; things will cool down for a bit. The discrimination is systematic."
Mari smiled slyly at Mayumi's words.
"In any case...Tatsuya, huh? I'm surprised, Mayumi. He didn't seem to be that much of a looker. So this is the Chairwoman's type huh?"
"W-What are you talking about?"
"I've never seen you spare a second glance to any other boy in all the time I've known you. It was like you were trying to drill a hole in his head with your stare. And besides, just 'Tatsuya'? No '-san', not even a '-kun'? Better be careful, or everyone will be able to see through that 'Saegusa ojou-sama' personna of yours," Mari teased. A stroke of realization hit her, and she turned back to her friend, her sly smile becoming a mischievous grin. "You know...I just might be inclined to accept him into the Disciplinary Committee so that the both of you may spend more time with each other."
At the statement Mayumi's face flushed red. Mari had never seen this side of Mayumi before; she had just found a treasure trove of ammunition for her teasing.
"You have an active imagination!" scolded Mayumi.
"In all seriousness, he seems to be the kind of guy to hold his own. You might want to genuinely consider him for the position. Things will change if we have someone like him on the team."
"Well, as graduating members of First High, we should be the heralds of a new age right?" Mayumi responded, already recovered from Mari's jabbing.
"If that is the will of the President, who am I to deny it?"
"I should think that the Chief of the Disciplinary Committee would have enough political clout."
Mari scoffed.
"Please. You are too popular to be touched."
- さえぐさ -
Mayumi wouldn't have admitted it to Mari, but she was anxious to check on the two Shiba siblings early the next day. Outwardly she kept the polite, but distant facade of an ojou-sama of the Saegusa clan as she waited at the station, but inwardly it took all she had not to fidget, especially since she didn't know their schedule. She recalled the jaded look in Tatsuya's eyes at her praise during their reunion on the first day, and how he hung back and allowed the Course 1 students to talk down to him on the second. He only ever asserted himself whenever it came to matters surrounding his sister, much like that time on the beach of Onna.
She didn't have to wait long for a car to pull up and deposit a breathtaking beauty and another man who could very well have been called ordinary in appearance, if not for the pacific-blue eyes that reminded her so much of the ocean. Said eyes found her own as he was helping his sister out of the car; if he was surprised at seeing her, he did not show it, unlike his younger sister, who graced her with a warm smile. The two made their way over to her.
"Good morning, Tatsua, Miyuki-chan," she greeted sunnily.
"Good morning to you as well, Mayumi-senpai," Miyuki responded with equal cheer.
"Chairwoman. It is surprising to see you at the station," Tatsuya added tersely "Were you waiting for someone?"
She gave him a glare at the fact that his greeting lacked all of the cheer of her own and Miyuki's. He seemed to find the reaction amusing by the way his eyes gleamed momentarily in the early morning rays. She gestured towards the walkway that led to the school.
"I was waiting for the both of you, actually, given the extenuating circumstances that happened yesterday."
Miyuki inclined her head in thanks.
"Well, it's our understanding that such things aren't the norm. Hopefully things will cool off in the coming weeks," Miyuki answered for both siblings, glancing at her brother.
Tatsuya shrugged.
"I think it's only natural that they would try to get to know the people that they would be spending most of their time with. Even if they were a little...insistent about it. After all, we aren't going to be able to be together as much as we were before enrolling here."
She didn't know why, but it seemed like his tone and body language had undergone a complete turnaround; instead of the relaxed shoulders and soft eyes of their first meeting, his back had become ramrod straight and she noticed his gaze was constantly sweeping the areas to the front and sides of them. She had been schooled in the way of shaping others' perception of her to give off the right impression, so she was sure he was acting this way intentionally. She wasn't sure the reason for it, but she knew she didn't like it.
"Are you two looking forward to your first day of official classes?" she asked, deliberately sending a glance towards Tatsuya, in an effort to draw out an authentic response.
"Yes, I'm definitely looking forward to the formal instruction. Much of First High's prestige is built on the reputation of its academic rigor after all."
The two girls turned to Tatsuya.
"I'm more interested in the library access," he answered after a brief hesitation. "All Magic High Schools have access to the National Magic University's database on working magic theory and research. I enjoy reading, and all of the material is on the cutting edge of the current technology."
His answer seemed to be the first genuine response of the day, by the way Miyuki beamed at him and he turned away, as if embarrassed. She too smiled softly at the response.
Mayumi saw that they were drawing near the school gates. She stopped and turned to face the siblings.
"I'd like to continue the conversation I started with Miyuki-chan on the first day after the entrance ceremony. It would be easiest to conduct this in the Student Council Room in a more relaxed atmosphere. What are your plans for lunch today?" She again emphasized her look at Tatsuya to convey the fact that the invitation was for the both of them.
"I should be able to…" Miyuki began before also turning to look at her brother.
Tatsuya hesitated.
"Since you only need to talk to Miyuki, I don't see the need for me to also be in attendance. It would be overstepping my bounds."
She frowned. There he went again downplaying himself. She stepped closer to him.
"Nonsense. I can choose to invite whomever I will. Will you be joining us for lunch, Tatsuya-san?"
Again the teen wavered, glancing around. She was aware that both hers and Miyuki's presence would draw the attention of almost everyone passing through the gates, a fact which was also not lost on him. He seemed to see the resolution in her eyes, and her use of the honorific with his name was not unnoticed. He closed his eyes and sighed, resigned. When they reopened, she barely managed to catch another glint which revealed his amusement at her tenacity.
"If that is your wish, Chairwoman."
…
As she had requested, the two siblings showed up on time for the lunch discussion. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at seeing Tatsuya awkwardly join her, Rin-chan, A-chan, and Mari at the long table that served as the main workstation-slash-discussion forum. He was clearly out of his element when it came to social functions.
"Please excuse us." Miyuki greeted, and both teens bowed. Mayumi waved them both in.
"You don't need to stand on formalities here, Tatsuya, Miyuki-chan. We're all friends here!"
Mayumi glanced at the other occupant in the room. The Vice-President normally didn't take lunch in the Student Council Room, probably due to the fact that he was the only male officer on the team, and as such felt uncomfortable due to the gender disparity. He ended up being the target of most of Mayumi's and Mari's teasing. The teen acknowledged Miyuki's presence but barely gave a flick of a glance towards Tatsuya from his position at the workstation at the back of the room, a fact which annoyed her slightly, and continued his work on the terminal. While not a proponent of the discrimination between Course 1 and Course 2, he often suffered the pitfall of gauging students based on their perceived ability.
She formally introduced everyone in the room, before all of them grabbed their lunches from the meal dispenser with the exception of Mari. The lunch conversation was easy-going; Miyuki was relieved to know that she had found a group of seniors that would be able to support her, and they in turn were able to learn a little bit more about the Shiba's background. They were all enchanted by her etiquette, which would not have been out of place if shown by a highborn lady. She tried to draw Tatsuya into the conversation, but all of his replies were clipped and guarded. However, he seemed to approve of Miyuki's endeavor to get to know other students better. His protective behavior was a strange contrast to the clear distance he had placed between himself and his sister from what she remembered from so long ago.
"Well, why don't we get down to business, then?" Mayumi asked with clasped hands once all the trays were stacked neatly at the edge of the table. "Continuing on from where we left off the other day, we'd like to extend an invitation to Miyuki for a position on the Student Council. All student leadership positions other than that of the Student Council President, Club Management Group Leader, and all Disciplinary Committee members are appointed, and as such, it has been the tradition to select the Freshmen Representative to the Student Council."
Miyuki turned to look at Tatsuya, as if looking for confirmation on how to proceed. The entire room was silent as the two carried out their wordless conversation. The only sign that a communication was occurring was the subtle nods and tightening and relaxing of the lips that she caught from her intense observation of the elder Shiba. It reminded her of how her sisters did the same thing. She glanced at Mari and was gifted with a knowing smirk and a waggle of her eyebrows. Mayumi turned away immediately, upon realizing what her scrutiny of Tatsuya might have come off as. Fortunately Suzune and Azusa didn't appear to catch her own exchange with Mari.
Miyuki turned back to her, inclining her head.
"It would be my honor to have you accept me into the Student Council. I look forward to working with all of you."
She clapped her hands together.
"Wonderful! Then we are agreed that you'll be joining us as a Secretary for the Student Council this semester. A-chan will be able to better explain what the duties will be."
She saw Tatsuya looking around.
"Well, since this has now become Student Council business, I should excuse myself since the next period will be starting soon. Miyuki, I'll see you after school?"
Tatsuya made to get out of his seat.
"Actually…" Mayumi hesitated before looking at the girls seated to the right. "There was another matter I was hoping to discuss with you Tatsuya."
Everyone looked surprised at her words. To Suzune and Azusa, she seemed to be going off script, as they were only looking to fill the second Secretary role with Miyuki. Mari's eyes widened for a moment, before that damned smirk of hers returned. Mayumi huffed; she had seen that look too many times in the past three days alone. Tatsuya paused and settled slowly back into the chair.
"There is the one issue of filling the remaining Student Council nomination to the Disciplinary Committee."
Suzune raised an eyebrow, sensing where she was going with the line of thought.
"If I'm not mistaken, selecting a Course 2 student to the position would not be in violation of any rules, right?"
Tatsuya's eyebrows shot past his hairline, while Miyuki beamed at him. Azusa was wide-eyed, her head swiveling between Mayumi and Mari, who smiled smugly and shrugged.
"I have no problem with this. I've had a taste of what he can do; he'd be a welcome addition to the team."
The sound of chair legs scraping the floor cut Mari off; Tatsuya had stood up, a hand on the table and the other reaching out as if to physically stop the conversation. He made to protest, but a second voice beat him to it.
"Chairwoman, you don't mean to appoint a 'Weed' to the Disciplinary Committee do you?" Hattori objected, sending a glare in Tatsuya's direction.
Tatsuya looked back at him.
"I, too, don't think such an assignment would be appropriate for someone of my standing," he conceded.
Azusa's breath hitched and the temperature seemed to drop around Miyuki. Mayumi, for her part, frowned, but before she could comment on the Vice-President's use of the forbidden term, Mari too stood up and crossed her arms, gazing coolly at him, choosing to ignore Tatsuya's agreement with the opposing party.
"It's forbidden to refer to Course 2 students as 'Weeds'...you have some nerve, using that term in front of me."
"Glossing over it won't do any good." Hattori dismissed, "The Disciplinary Committee's job is to crack down on students in violation of the rules using practical application. A 'Weed' couldn't hack it; their skills are inferior and they would be in over their head when confronted with the situation."
"It's true that the Committee is largely meritocracy-based, with a weight towards practical magic. However, there's more than one way to get around that situation," Mari countered. "Shiba has the eyes and the brains to read Activation Sequences directly and predict the kind of spell being used."
Hattori sputtered.
"That's...impossible! Even the simplest of Essential Singularity-type Sequences is loaded with data, as many as 30,000 characters. There's no way he could read that in an instant!"
"Common sense tells us that there's no way. That's precisely why his skills are so valuable. He's sure to become a powerful deterrent towards all those would-be violators who keep getting off easy because we can never establish their crimes," Mari shrugged before continuing.
"Also, there's one more reason why I want him on my committee. Just as you say, at this school, there's an emotional chasm between the Course 1 and Course 2 students. The Course 1 students police the Course 2 students, but never the other way around. This system has only served to deepen the rift. I'm just not a fan of the notion of allowing the committee that I lead to foster such a sense of discrimination," she concluded.
Hattori looked disgruntled, he turned to look at Mayumi, but she only frowned back, disappointed in him. She would have hoped that he would have been more open minded after working with her for so long. He knew that since she was one who put forth the nomination, his only course of action would be a formal veto using his power as Vice-President. He stood up straight.
"Chairwoman! As Vice-Chair, I am against appointing Shiba Tatsuya to the Disciplinary Committee. A Course 2 student lacking magical power would be in over his head on the Disciplinary Committee!"
At this Miyuki moved to defend her brother but Mayumi stepped up.
"I'll have to disagree with your assessment of Shiba Tatsuya, Vice-Chair. I've seen his abilities in person and am confident that we will not find a better candidate," she stated, making her position clear. Mayumi thought back to the thirteen year-old boy surrounded by the bruised bodies of grown men on the beach. Every eye in the room turned towards the boy in question. Miyuki was at his side, gripping his sleeve, looking as if she were about to make her own protest. Tatsuya gently touched her hand and she released her hold on him.
Tatsuya sighed, then hardened his eyes. He stepped towards Hattori.
"This discussion is going in circles. I honestly would prefer not needing to be in such a position of authority, but since the Chairwoman," he said looking meaningfully at Mayumi," believes I am in the best position to fulfill such a role, I have no choice but to acquiesce."
"Vice-Chair Hattori...if it would make you feel better, I would be willing to let you test me."
Hattori scoffed.
"And how exactly would you like me to test you?"
Her breath hitched as Tatsuya's eyes glinted and the corners of his lips upturned ever so slightly.
"Why, in a simulated battle of course."
- しば - さえぐさ -
Tatsuya made his way across the main lawn of the campus over to the library, head down, in an attempt to make himself inconspicuous during the passing period. If at all possible, today was working itself out to be even more of a headache than yesterday; he needed some time to himself to decompress before the scheduled match the next morning, and the reading rooms in the First High library were each restricted to a single occupant, the perfect place to hide away, undisturbed, for a bit.
After he had issued his challenge, the Vice-President seemed to be fuming at his perceived audacity. However, this did not deter him from accepting it. He had stalked out of the room, leaving a very awkward and tense atmosphere, so he excused himself not long afterwards, just enough time to ensure that they wouldn't run into each other when making their way through the hallways.
The breeze picked up, carrying the scent of sakura on the air.
"Tatsuya!"
A familiar voice called out his name, which caused him to stop and turn to locate the owner of said voice. The petite Student Council President came to a stop in front of him. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
"Chairwoman."
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
He raised an eyebrow at the admission.
"I'm sorry. Have I done something to warrant your attention?"
For some reason she made a face at his question. Did he offend her in some way?
"I didn't get the chance to talk to you about lunch. Sorry about that by the way. I didn't mean for it to turn out quite like that…"
Mayumi looked abashed, as if it were somehow her fault. Well. It wasn't entirely her fault.
"There is no reason to apologize, Chairwoman," Tatsuya consoled eyes softening slightly, "Although if you still believe yourself to blame, let me offer my forgiveness."
He seemed to notice that they were getting some attention from the other students in the courtyard.
"If that is all you needed to talk to me about, I'll be heading over to the library," he said, as he turned to leave.
"Wait, actually…" Mayumi began, but cut off suddenly, looking away.
Tatsuya sighed. This conversation was taking longer than expected, and with just the two of them it would seem inappropriate for a Course 2 freshman like himself to be having a private conversation with the Student Council President.
"In that case, we should move to a more private place to talk," she said.
It was only when Mayumi's face flushed even redder that he realized the alternative interpretation of his statement, but apparently she was still undeterred.
"Yes. You said you were heading over to the library?"
Nodding, he turned and led the two of them over to the other building. He was careful to maintain an appropriate distance between the both of them. Neither of them said a word throughout their journey. He looked uncertain when they came to a stop in front of the door of the reading room he had reserved for himself.
"Are you sure? These rooms are meant for a single occupant," he asked hesitantly.
Mayumi's only response was to roll her eyes and pull open the door.
"Now, what was it you needed to discuss, Chairwoman?"
Tatsuya was cognizant of the fact that his hips and shoulders were pressed up against Mayumi's, an arrangement that could not have been avoided given the narrow width of the room. Had he been any other male student he might have been blushing and stuttering like mad.
"You didn't seem to like it when I put your name forward as a candidate for the Disciplinary Committee. Should I not have?"
Tatsuya internally was both amused and exasperated. She chose to ask for his input now, after everything had already gotten so thoroughly out of hand?
"From our few interactions, you should already know that I'm not the type to go looking for attention, Chairwoman," he said glancing down at her. "The Disciplinary Committee itself is already very visible among the students. Add the fact that I'll be the only Course 2 student to have been appointed ever, and you can see why I would have rather avoided this arrangement."
"Would have?"
"Well, you kind of left me no choice. Watanabe-senpai seemed to be on board and I could see that Miyuki was about to back you two up."
"If it bothered you so much, why press the issue then? Why would you go so far as to challenge Hanzo-kun to a match?"
Mayumi's crimson-rose eyes reflected the light coming from the display terminal.
At the question he hesitated. If was to be completely honest with himself, he wasn't sure why he did so. If it was Miyuki, he would have done it to defend her honor in a heartbeat, but this was Saegusa Mayumi, a girl he had barely known for three days and then some. All he recalled at the time was that he didn't like seeing Hattori argue with her when he knew she was right. He decided to put those thoughts out of his head for the moment and go with the most logical answer.
"The discussion was going nowhere. And it seemed to be everyone's opinion that I could prove useful. Now that Miyuki is on the Student Council, it could be a good way for me to line up our schedules again, hence my change of mind."
Mayumi still looked skeptical.
"Well, as long as you are ok with it. I apologize again for getting ahead of myself and not consulting you before I sprung it on you."
A wry smile tugged at his lips.
"I wasn't under the impression that the Chairwoman asked people for permission to put them to work."
She immediately smacked him on the arm, just like she had on the first day. Her face seemed to light up again, but she scowled at him.
"There you go again."
"Pardon?"
"That's the ninth time you've called me 'Chairwoman'."
He wrinkled his eyebrows. She had been keeping track?
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
She glared at him.
"What's with the formal attitude? I notice that other than the first day you've seemed to be especially careful to take that stance with me."
He frowned. "Ah. Well as the Student Council President, the Saegusa ojou-sama, as well as the idol of the school, it wouldn't be proper for me to act so familiar with you. I believe I've also adopted a similar relationship with most of the upperclassmen I've met thus far."
Mayumi huffed and crossed her arms, annoyed.
"Is that your opinion? I don't need my friends worrying about how strangers perceive me. I can choose who I want to be friends with, and everyone else can deal with it."
Tatsuya inclined his head.
"I see. I apologize then."
Mayumi shot a sly wink at him.
"If you truly were sorry, you would stop calling me 'Chairwoman', at least when it's just us. Call me Mayumi."
"But-" Her now familiar glare cut him off.
"Ma-yu-mi." she enunciated clearly.
He paused for a moment, staring at her.
"Mayumi-senpai."
"Mayumi."
"Mayumi-senpai."
"Mayumi." she forcefully insisted.
A touch of humor reached his narrowed eyes.
"Kitten."
…
Mayumi chewed on her lower lip as she paced around the reserved Practice Room where the duel was scheduled to take place. She wasn't so much concerned about Tatsuya's ability to take on Hattori, rather the ramifications of such a duel.
Formal Duels were not necessarily a rarity at the school, but it was a known fact that the official win-loss record of students with recorded battles was taken into account by faculty when calculating the ranking of the students according to practical ability. When the system had first been implemented, many students attempted to abuse the system to increase their rankings, so it had soon been placed under the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Committee to authorize and referee such matches. It was the fact that such matches were also used in academic rankings that produced the side effect that almost all of the recorded combatants were Course 1 students; she hadn't recalled ever seeing a Course 2 take part in a duel in her entire time at First High.
Essentially, no one had considered the precedent of how a Course 2 student would be ranked for a victory over a Course 1 student. She wouldn't know what would happen once the results of the match would get posted.
She did one more sweep of the room. Mari was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, tapping her finger, looking pensive. Hattori was standing at one end of the room in the location marked for a duelist, staring intently at the door at the opposite side of the room. Rin-chan was ignoring everyone else in favor of tapping away at the mobile terminal in hand, while A-chan looked uncertain at the situation.
The door slid open and the two Shiba siblings stepped in.
"Excuse us," Tatsuya greeted in a clipped tone.
They made their way over to the table in the middle of the edge of the room and set the silver case he was carrying. Unconsciously, her feet carried her over to him. He glanced at her, and his eyes seemed to soften at her own anxious expression.
"Chairwoman," he greeted in a low voice.
While formal, she felt the gentle tone soothe her anxieties. He could handle whatever came his way.
He popped open the case and withdrew a silver pistol-shaped CAD, a model she had never seen before. She noticed that the case contained six additional cartridges. She had no experience seeing him cast with the use of a CAD, so this would be her first time seeing his ability other than his healing magic up close. His long fingers deftly picked out one of the cartridges and swapped it out in the chamber.
He gave one last look at Mayumi before steeling his gaze and making his way to the spot opposite Hattori. She shared a glance with Miyuki, who nodded at her and gave her own tentative smile as the two made their way over to the sidelines.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Tatsuya apologized in his typical bland tone.
Mari looked curious.
"Do you always carry around multiple storage devices?" she asked, referring to the multiple cartridges in the case. Indeed seeing anyone carry even three was unusual while the teen was packing six.
"Yes," he responded easily. "Since I don't have the sufficient processing abilities to master a generalized model."
A soft sniff came from Hattori's position that could easily have been missed. Mari looked even more interested. Mayumi tuned her friend out as she began to lay out the rules for the match, fixing her gaze on Tatsuya. Miyuki too, had her hands clenched in front of her.
Mari raised her hand, glancing at the two boys.
"Are you ready?"
Hattori rolled up his sleeve to get better access while Tatsuya gripped his CAD tighter. They both nodded.
"Begin!" she yelled, dropping her hand to indicate both sides were free to start their attack.
It would take her several days to figure out just what happened at that instant. She made the mistake of blinking, and one moment Tatsuya was there, and the next he was over there and Hattori was flat on his face. Everyone else in the room except Miyuki seemed to be stunned speechless. Tatsuya lowered his CAD and glanced over in their direction. It took Mari several seconds for her brain to catch up with her eyes.
"Victory goes to Shiba Tatsuya by knockout," she announced, still processing.
Several minutes later, after everything had been documented and Hattori had recovered, Miyuki accompanied Mayumi, Suzune, and Azusa back to the Student Council room, leaving Tatsuya with Mari to go over Disciplinary Committee duties.
"Your brother really is something else, you know?" Mayumi commented to Miyuki.
"Indeed, that was quite the display," Suzune added, glancing at Mayumi. "I can see why you would put forth his recommendation. There's no way anyone in the school can dispute the appointment based on what we just witnessed."
"Although he didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea of joining the Committee in the first place, yesterday. I wonder what convinced him otherwise?" Azusa asked no one in particular.
Mayumi covered a small cough; she caught Miyuki casting furtive looks in her direction. She seemed to have a thoughtful expression on her face, or was she studying her?
"My brother is simply modest. But with that performance, he knew he'd be hard pressed to turn down the appointment.
"Although I'm glad," Miyuki spoke to the air, "that his efforts are being recognized."
Mayumi had the feeling that the younger Shiba's words were somehow meant for her.
- ちば - じゅうもんじ -
Erika slid into the booth in the cafeteria that her new friend group had unofficially claimed. Mizuki sat next to her, while Leo and Tatsuya settled into the chairs opposite. She glanced around the table; they certainly were an odd group. Mizuki was a demure girl, very much her opposite in terms of personality. Leo, while at first glance appeared to be nothing more than a block of muscle, actually had a solid head on his shoulders; she supposed he would have had to since he made it passed the hardest entrance examination out of all the high schools in the nation. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was quite good looking, in a wild sort of way. Her gaze finally landed on Tatsuya, who seemed to be rubbing his left shoulder. Out of the entire group, he was the enigma. The plain looking teen definitely belonged in Course 2, by the way of his poor practical talent, and the way he carried himself reflected a passive indifference. Yet the way he was able to turn a situation around when he chose to assert himself seemed to wring grudging respect out of anyone who came across him when he got serious; the image that came to mind was a stream, yielding but strong.
Tatsuya let out another sigh, sounding weary. She couldn't really blame him. He had really made waves around the school. The first shock was when the official records were updated with the latest Official Duel, which showed that Tatsuya had defeated a Course 1 upperclassman - who also happened to be the Vice-President of the Student Council to boot. Then had come the rumors of a Course 2 freshmen being elected to the Disciplinary Committee, a rumor that was proven true soon after. She had a front row seat to see him arrest the captain of the kenjutsu team, after all. As expected, many of the Course 1 students and Course 2 upperclassmen didn't take too kindly to hearing about the news that a freshman 'Weed' had been appointed to the position. Leo seemed to pick up on this.
"You got another Committee meeting today? Isn't your 'Hell Week' over?" he asked, referring to the Club Recruitment Week.
Erika internally gave a shudder; after the incident which Tatsuya had to "rescue" her from, she made sure to either stay far away from the main plaza or allow herself to be accompanied by some other people. She appreciated that Honoka's light refraction magic really came in handy in those situations.
"Yeah, I'm off duty today," Tatsuya replied, getting out his chopsticks. "Looks like I'll finally get some downtime."
"You sure were front and center in all that activity," Mizuki added.
"How many arrests did you make again?" Erika asked cheekily.
"Thirteen-"
"Yeesh, in five days? I would not want to be in your shoes," Leo muttered.
"-discounting the six incidents that required my physical intervention and the three other instances of improper use without established motive."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, dummy," she replied glaring at Leo, "that there was magic directed at him, but he didn't have time to track them down."
She resisted the urge to frown. He didn't seem to care that he had attracted the ire of five-sixths of the school. Either that or he was crazy confident to handle it all. Maybe just crazy.
"You're quite famous, you know," Mizuki added in her characteristic soft voice, "They're calling you the mysterious first year who took out all of those magic-oriented Course 1 club students without using any magic yourself."
"What do you mean 'mysterious', I really could have done without all the scrutiny," Tatsuya said without looking up from his meal.
"Well, then why did you join? I mean, everyone knows that it's a pretty dangerous job." Erika asked. "Don't tell me just because 'that woman' told you to."
Tatsuya's brows furrowed.
"That woman? Are you referring to the Student Council Chairwoman?"
It was Erika's turn to be surprised.
"Saegusa-senpai was the one who nominated you?"
Tatsuya quirked a brow.
"Well, yes. I joined as the Student Council nomination for the open position. Did you mean someone else?"
Erika shrugged.
"Well, I figured since it was her committee that 'that woman' had dragged you into it."
Leo and Mizuki both looked confused, while Tatsuya seemed to be piecing her statement together. A flicker of realization crossed his eyes.
"You're referring to Watanabe-senpai, aren't you?"
"Watanabe Mari? You know her?" Leo looked surprised. "I didn't realize you were close to her."
Erika scoffed.
"That couldn't be farther from the truth. I simply don't like her."
Tatsuya's lip curled ever so slightly.
"Oh? Is this how you treat people you don't like?"
Leo looked confused.
"I thought you didn't like me?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Idiot. If I didn't think I could get along with someone like you, you wouldn't be sitting there."
"What's 'someone like you', supposed to mean, huh?"
Mizuki tried to calm the two of them down. Apparently a week or two of being in the same class as them had already allowed her to get used to their antics.
"A-Alright everyone, let's just calm down-"
She was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
"Attention, all students! We are a volunteer coalition seeking to abolish discrimination within the school!"
Everyone in the lunchroom appeared surprised at the unexpected broadcast over the PA system. She noticed Tatsuya frown and pull his terminal out of his pocket to check something.
"We demand an opportunity to negotiate on equal terms with the student council and the Extracurricular Activities Federation!"
As suddenly as it started, the broadcast ended, and Tatsuya sighed, a common sound these days.
"So much for downtime. I'll need to report to the broadcasting room. I don't think I'll be back to finish lunch. Leo, if you're feeling hungry feel free to take my portion."
Leo frowned.
"You know I can bring it to the classroom for you later."
Tatsuya waved him off.
"Don't worry about it. I have a feeling that this one is going to take a while to resolve.
…
"You're late," Mari commented dryly.
"I apologize. What's the situation?"
Juumonji Katsuto watched the events unfold in front of him with what appeared to be passive indifference. He figured that the Course 2 teen had arrived last due to the fact that Course 1 and Course 2 lunches were scheduled at different times and that he had come from the cafeteria, a fact that was held against him due to circumstances out of his control. He noted that although Shiba Tatsuya had arrived last to the scene, he seemed to easily assert himself, even among the Course 1 members of the disciplinary committee. He paid careful attention to how the man conducted himself. His first and, up till then, only interaction with the teen had been at the panel where he, Mayumi, and Mari received his report over Kirihara's arrest.
At the time, the impression he got of the man was that he seemed to be dangerous. The way he gave his report reminded him of a soldier giving a debrief from a job; back straight, shoulders back, head high, and the concise, yet complete explanation all made it appear to be practiced. From listening to the rumors, it sounded like he was largely passive unless forced into action, content to allow events to happen, but when push came to shove, he was a force to be reckoned with. He had reviewed the reports he had submitted during the Club Recruitment Week, as was his job as Group Leader, and made a note of the Course 2 student's activities. The deed definitely proved the word, and the deed had definitely shown he was a capable student, despite his course designation.
And how he had the opportunity to observe him perform in person, in the context of the other Disciplinary Committee members. It was interesting to see how the other members reacted to his words when he arrived on the scene. Most of them arrived, looked around, and fell into rank, waiting for the leadership to make the call. Tatsuya didn't seem to realize that by uttering those words he had asserted some control over the situation, which by their looks, some considered faux pas. He noted that the Course 1 upperclassmen appointed by faculty recommendation seemed annoyed that the freshman spoke up at all, while the less prejudiced ones like Tatsumi, appeared to be simply surprised. The other freshman member of the committee, Morisaki, was visibly irked, as indicated by his glare.
He was impressed by the way he easily discussed the situation with the likes of Mari and Suzune; he was born to be a leader, whether he or anyone else knew it or not.
Truly a man to be wary of.
"Group Leader Juumonji, what are your thoughts on this?"
The teen's steely blue eyes met his own at the address. He didn't know if he had been caught observing him.
"I don't see any problem with negotiating with them," he said slowly and deliberately. He wanted to use this opportunity to see how he would react in this situation, so he intentionally gave off the appearance of pondering an interesting problem.
"From the outset, this was just a pretext. If we refute that strongly enough, it should assuage their anxieties." He waited for his response.
"So you're saying that we should just stand by?"
He paused, as if pondering Tatsuya's conclusion.
"As far as that goes, I can't come to a decision yet. Their unlawful behavior can't go unpunished, but I don't find it criminal enough to warrant destroying school facilities for the sake of a speedy resolution," he concluded. The response was both clear in what the desired outcome and consequences would be, but he purposefully avoided commenting on how the situation should be settled, curious as to see what he would say.
To his well disguised surprise, Tatsuya pulled out his mobile terminal to make a call, contacting one of the perpetrators. He crossed his arms to listen to the teen's skillful negotiations with the "volunteer coalition".
"...Group Leader Juumonji has agreed to negotiate with you. I have yet to confirm the Student Council's position...No, wait, the Student Council will also negotiate. I'd like to discuss the time and date of these negotiations with you...No, your freedom is guaranteed...Yes...Alright, then."
He watched in fascination as the teen worked, carefully observing the way Mari and Suzune both supported his efforts with the parley. He put away the terminal.
"She says they'll be coming out shortly. We should get ourselves into position," he reported in his usual clipped tone.
"Position?" Mari asked confusedly.
"Into position to take custody of those people inside," Tatsuya responded grimly.
Mari frowned and placed a hand on her hip.
"You know, it seems to me that you just told them that you'd guarantee their freedom."
"The only person whose freedom I guaranteed was that of Mibu-senpai's. And besides, I never said a word about the fact that I was negotiating on behalf of the Disciplinary Committee."
At this Katsuto failed to contain his surprise, brows shooting upward. So that was how he was spinning it? Suzune had a matching expression on her face. He glanced over to where the Disciplinary Committee was assembled. They had a wide assortment of looks, ranging from looks of reluctant respect, to anger, and to incredulity at the exchange.
He could not help but feel a touch of admiration, and of unease; that display reminded him of the way the heads of the Ten Master Clans conducted business when he shadowed his father, with unspoken agreements and subtle cues, and hidden traps everywhere. This man was dangerous.
As expected, the perpetrators did not take too kindly to the perceived treachery. He stepped in to cover for the first-year.
"Shiba didn't double-cross you."
The slim girl who he figured was Mibu Sayaka shrank under his intense gaze.
"We'll listen to your demands," he continued. "But complying with your requests, and approving of the measures you took are two different things."
"You're absolutely right about that. But..."
A familiar voice cut in. He turned with a raised eyebrow.
"Saegusa-san?"
"...Would you mind releasing them?"
Mayumi glided onto the scene.
"But…" Mari started to object.
"As long as they're students at this school, there's no reason to view them as flight risks."
She turned to face him.
"The school has decided to leave this matter in the hands of the Student Council."
Ah. So that was why she was late. He had no problems with the arrangement, but Mari was a bit peeved. He gave a single affirmative nod and stepped back, crossing his arms, content to once again observe from the side.
The two groups talked for a little while longer, before Mayumi and the Student Council coalition led the disgruntled Course 2 students away to hash out the details. Before she left he observed Mayumi shoot a solitary glance towards Tatsuya, one that was reciprocated with an almost imperceptible inclination of the head. So he had also caught the eye of the Student Council President. Just who was this man?
- さえぐさ -
As always, Mayumi walked to First High alone from the station. Despite what she had told Tatsuya during their time together in the reading booth, as the eldest daughter of one of the most powerful and influential of the Clans, it would have been improper for the other students of the school to act so familiarly with her. As they all made their way towards the campus, the rest of them maintained a polite distance from her, keeping their interactions to whispered praises and shy and apprehensive smiles, as though separated by a barrier of glass.
This morning, she took the time to methodically go over the various issues that the Course 2 coalition for fairer treatment had brought up during the discussion with the Student Council. The open forum would be happening tomorrow, so she needed all the time she had to prepare for it. Mentally she jotted notes down to look into various structures and programs under the current administrative policies.
"Chairwoman?"
She was jerked out of her musings at the sound of the familiar baritone voice, coming to a stop and swiveling in the direction it came from. She was surprised that he was waiting for her. Her eyes met his pacific-blue ones.
"Tatsuya?" Her eyes then found the peerless beauty waiting besides him. "You too, Miyuki-chan? What's the matter?"
The two siblings stepped out of the awning they were waiting under to join her.
"Good morning, Chairwoman. We were wondering about yesterday's incident."
The river of students parted and moulded its way around the trio standing on the sidewalk. Looking around, she was conscious of the glances that they received. She flashed a warm smile at them, careful to not make it too bright.
"We shouldn't stand here to talk. Would you two care to walk with me?"
She made sure to make eye contact with Tatsuya, trying to tell him with her look that it would be alright. He looked uncertain, but acquiesced, nodding hesitantly. A surge of warmth blossomed at his consideration. Wordlessly, they fell into step, Tatsuya joining her on her left side, with Miyuki on his left. She allowed them to walk in silence for a bit, wordlessly enjoying the company of companions that she had gone without for two years prior, had she not been of such social standing.
"They're demanding equal treatment between Course 1 and 2 students," she began after they had traveled a bit. "But they don't seem to have figured out how they want to change things. If anything, I got the sense that they wanted the Student Council to come up with concrete plans."
Tatsuya glanced down at her, content to let her fill them in on the situation.
"Well, then it turned into a heated back and forth. In the end, we agreed to hold an open forum tomorrow after school."
Tatsuya failed to show any surprise at her words, other than a raised brow. She was quickly becoming used to the man's unflappable demeanor.
"That happened pretty fast. While I do understand the strategic merits of not giving your opponent ample time to prepare, by the same token, we'll have just as little time to strategize as well."
At the statement she showed her own surprise at his use of the first-person plural. She turned her crimson gaze to his face, questioning. His own eyes flicked down to hers, curious at her confusion. She turned back to the road, a small smile gracing her lips. He may not have realized it, but he had subconsciously grouped himself with her camp; she was glad that he had grown more accepting of his position within the school and its leadership.
"Which members of the Student Council will be participating in this open forum?" Tatsuya continued.
Cheekily, she turned and pointed at herself; Tatsuya's eyebrows raised. She absently noted that that truly meant he was surprised. The teen paused mid-stride.
"Don't tell me you're going to be the only one?"
She laughed brightly.
"Since we're out of time, if it's just me, they won't rip me to shreds over minor differences of opinion. And I'm more afraid of impression manipulation turning this into an emotional debate."
"Meaning that you'd never lose a logical argument?" Tatsuya probed.
She simply smiled.
"Besides, if those kids have reasons strong enough to defeat me in a debate, then all we have to do is make them an integral part of running this school from now on."
A fleeting look of admiration flashed in his eyes at her bold claim, shouldering the entire scrutiny and ire of half the school's population and taking responsibility for all of the leadership's actions.
"Speaking of which…"
She spun to face the boy.
"...would you do me a favor Tatsuya?"
Both of the Shiba siblings gave her curious looks.
"During the forum, I'd like you to be on stage off to the side with Mari and the rest of the Student Council."
Tatsuya frowned at her request.
"I'm hardly the best person to have up there. After all I'm just a Course 2-"
Realization dawned on his face and the edge of his lip turned upward ever so slightly.
"I see. You're going to use me as a mascot for Course 2 inclusion. Quite devious of you, Chairwoman."
She didn't say anything but continued to smile at him. He inclined his head.
"Very well. I'll play the pawn in your game, my Chairwoman."
She couldn't help but notice the way her pulse quickened at his use of the possessive with her title.
…
"Compared to the Course 1 students, the treatment received by Course 2 students is both inferior and discriminatory in all ways!" the Course 2 spokesman railed. "Aren't you trying to cover up that fact, Chairwoman?"
Mayumi could have sighed at the juvenile arguments that the Course 2 students were circling back on. It was one thing that she had been trained from a young age to understand politics and the deft maneuvering of the different policies of the Ten Master Clans through the use of connections and hidden messages and agreements posited through veiled ambiguities. It was another thing to lack the foresight to prepare factual evidence and statistics to craft their argument, a failing that was costing the opposition dearly at the moment.
Not that it was affecting her own position detrimentally in any way; in fact, she had effectively been given free reign to counteract and contradict all of their statements while at the same time being given the public opportunity to push her own ideas. She was honestly hoping that they would have challenged her to maybe bring up some proposals she had not thought of before, but feared she had vastly overestimated them.
"You just pointed out that it was 'in all ways'. What are you referring to specifically?"
She resisted the urge to sigh again as she poked yet another hole in the Course 2 students' generalizations.
"The magic-oriented clubs, with their high ratio of Course 1 students, clearly receive the lion's share of the budget, compared to the non-magic-oriented clubs mainly populated by Course 2 students!" The Course 2 spokesman finally touched upon one of the biggest perceived issues that had begun the chain reaction of the events leading up to the forum. "Isn't that proof that preferential treatment for Course 1 students is overlooked even when it comes to extracurricular activities?"
Mayumi retook the stand.
"Even non-magical clubs, such as the soccer team, which has compiled an excellent record in national competition, have been allotted sums that compare favorably to those given to the magic-oriented clubs. To say that the club budget allotments result from preferential treatment for the Course 1 students is a misconception."
Mayumi gazed out across the crowd. In a reversal of the normal seating positions, the front and floor sections of the main auditorium were largely populated by Course 2 students while the balcony and mezzanine seats were occupied by the Course 1 students. It made sense, really. In a situation like this, Course 2 students had more to gain from the exchange, and thus were more invested. The Course 1 students simply were here to observe how everything played out. However, what both groups failed to realize that this wasn't a zero sum game; neither side had to "win" or "lose", and it was her goal to make everyone realize that. She figured now would be as good a time as any to wrap things up.
"But I won't deny that there is a discrimination among the students that is being pointed out," she continued, pausing for effect.
"Blooms and Weeds."
A startled murmuring broke out in the crowds. She could feel Tatsuya's cool gaze from where he stood to the edge of the stage.
"These are terms that have been banned by the school, the Student Council, and the Disciplinary Committee."
She resisted the urge to look over to him. She was sure the rest of the student leadership would have been just as surprised by the direction of her argument, but she persisted in her train of speech.
"But unfortunately, I must admit that they are still in wide use. It's not just Course 1 students. Among the Course 2 students, there are those who despise themselves as Weeds, and are resigned as well as accepting of it. Yes, such a lamentable culture does exist here. The issue is this barrier to awareness!"
Her eyes unconsciously drifted to the teen standing in the corner. This act had the effect of causing everyone else in the room to follow her eyes to see the Course 2 uniform up on the stage. His pacific-blue eyes reminded her of the time where she met a thirteen year old boy whose jaded eyes reflected a maturity that vastly exceeded his years. It reminded her of the first day of her last year, where she met a man who had quietly accepted other's definition of what he should be. For a moment, it was just the two of them, as if it were just her talking to him. He held her gaze steadily.
"As this school's Student Council President, this barrier to awareness is what I've wanted to somehow break down. But that's not something that should be resolved by creating new discriminatory practices. Every one of us, from Course 1 and Course 2, are students of this school. The time that we spend here as students of this school...for each of us, these three years are irreplaceable."
"I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all what I hope for," she continued, tearing away her gaze from Tatsuya's intense pacific-blue eyes, having finished what she wanted to say to him, and turned back to the hall.
"In the Student Council, there is still a system that discriminates against Course 1 and 2 students. Under the current system, all officers except for the president must be nominated from among the Course 1 students. This regulation can only be overhauled during the general assembly that is convened during the reelection of the student council president. When I step down, my final task as Student Council President will be to do away with this regulation at the general assembly. People's hearts cannot be changed by force. And since that's not the way to go, I plan to make as many improvements as I can in all other areas."
The conclusion of her address was met with a raucous applause, while the Course 2 advocates silently held their heads in defeat. She was thrilled that both Course 1 and Course 2 students joined in the applause, giving her hope that things could be changed. She sent a sly wink at Tatsuya, who lowered his head. His eyes open reflected the admiration she only had been able to catch a glimpse of yesterday.
A large blast rocked the auditorium hall, causing many students to stand to get away from the walls. Several shouts betrayed the panic. From her vantage point on stage, she could see various students stand up to make a break for the doors, or sow confusion among the greater student population. She caught sight of some of the tri-colored wristbands on the Course 2 students; Blanche had finally made their move.
"Mayumi!"
She caught sight of a Course 2 student aiming a CAD towards the stage. A tall body placed itself in front of her; Tatsuya intercepted the spell with the dual-wielding style that she had heard rumors about. He turned around to verify that she was alright, eyes softening, before nodding and heading off to deal with the quickly escalating incident both inside the auditorium and around the rest of the campus. Taking his cue, she turned back to the auditorium to attend to settle the chaos happening in the auditorium.
Despite the chaos, she smiled to herself; he had used her name.
She absently noted that he smelled like the ocean.
- しば - さえぐさ -
Tatsuya stopped at the edge of the treeline. His black jacket and matching pants allowed him to blend into the night. Making sure he was well concealed under the shadow of the tree in the moonlight, he lifted the mobile terminal he had in hand once again to verify the location, which he received from a very hesitant and nervous Ono-sensei on his way out of the school after his pressured insistence. He had concealed his motorcycle about half a kilometer away in the forest, well away from the single dirt road leading up to the abandoned facility, and was currently trekking the last leg of the journey by foot to arrive at the indicated destination flashing on the terminal's screen. He had left Miyuki at home, not allowing her to follow him; it wasn't her responsibility to take care of this problem.
It had been quite the hectic day to say the least.
The day had begun with the now routine schedule of recorded lectures and the occasional practical exercise. Then he and the entire school had gotten to witness Mayumi's tour de force speech on her plan to close the divide that yawned between Course 1 and 2 students. The late afternoon brought with it its own master headache, which saw the entire Disciplinary Committee and a large portion of First High students repel a terrorist attack from Blanche that could only have happened with the support of it's child organization, Egalite, which had members that could be found among the more radical of the Course 2 cohort.
With the help of Erika and his sister, they had managed to thwart the apparent main objective of the invading force: to retrieve unpublished and unreleased records on magic theory and engineering stored on the National Magic University internal database, a database that First High had access to as an affiliated high school. The end result was that everything was successfully contained within the school premises and the authorities were only called in to take away the terrorists themselves; the school would handle the issue of the internal dissidents themselves.
He thought back on what had transpired several hours before. Tatsuya had been able to comfort Sayaka in his own strange, blasé style, while also gleaning enough information to deduce that someone had tampered with her memories. Strangely, both Miyuki and Mayumi didn't seem to be pleased to witness a teary-eyed Sayaka crying into his chest; Miyuki he could understand, but he wasn't sure Mayumi had any reason for her irked frown. In any case, after she had calmed down, they were able to learn a little more about the organization and their goals and methods.
The Triumvirate discussed the issue among themselves for a bit, trying to determine the best course of action with regards to Sayaka. Tatsuya remained silent, simply listening in to the discussion, adding pieces of comments here and there when prompted. In the end, the group decided that they would let Mayumi report it to the head of the Saegusa and let them deal with the insurgents. In the meantime, Sayaka would be kept under the watch of the school counselor, Ono-sensei, until the issue was resolved, and then be transferred to the hospital to get her assessed on any other damages the school nurse might have missed. Through all of this, they were able to keep Mibu Sayaka from being tried under the law, which had, in effect, given Tatsuya a window of time and free reign to settle the matter on his own.
One by one, the students filed out of the infirmary to retire after the long day, led by Erika and Leo, followed by Mari and then Juumonji Katsuto until the last occupants in the room were Sayaka and the school nurse, with himself, Miyuki, and Mayumi standing off to the side, out of earshot. Mayumi seemed to be observing him, as if trying to find something inside his steely pacific-blue eyes. He twitched an eyebrow.
"Well, Chairwoman, it has been a long day. I'm sure you are tired and Miyuki is as well, so we're going to head home for the night."
As he and Miyuki turned to head out of the infirmary door, he felt a hand grasp his arm. Surprised, he turned around, only to have Mayumi plant herself firmly in front of him. Her crimson-rose eyes seemed to be staring deep into his soul. She frowned.
"You're planning on doing something after you head out those doors, aren't you? I remember this look."
He had to take a moment to cover his astonishment at the ease with which she had read him. He had wanted to handle everything himself without drawing the attention of other interested parties, such as the school and the Clans, so he had intentionally not said much during the decision making. He carefully considered his words.
"I will not do anything right now," he said slowly. "I lack the information to make any moves at the moment, so I will let the issue lie for now."
It wasn't technically a lie. He wouldn't do anything at the moment because he would be waiting for the cover of night for his ambush. And while he didn't have the information, he knew exactly where to get it from once he walked out the doors.
Mayumi didn't seem to be satisfied, but she released her grip on his arm.
"Alright then, if you say so," she replied hesitantly, "I'll keep you updated on the situation."
His eyes softened, and for a moment he felt a pang of regret of having to go behind her back like this.
"Thank you, Mayumi."
His thoughts returned to the scene at hand. Stowing the terminal, he continued his hike through the woods. The crisp night air was silent save for the occasional hoot of an owl piercing the quiet. The rustle of his footsteps over the new spring grass was barely distinguishable from the disturbance caused by the breeze flowing through the underbrush. Eventually he came to a stop by the edge of the barbed-wire fence that enclosed the supposedly deserted building. The lights in all the buildings were dead, except for a solitary beam streaming out of a small window near the back of the facility that was the only clue that the area wasn't as vacant as an initial look suggested. He was sure that Blanche would be on the lookout given today's failure; closing his eyes he tuned the material world out and deployed his elemental sight to get a better read on the situation at hand. Carefully, he swept the inside of the facility making note of personnel and equipment.
20 in the first room, not including the leader, Tsukasa Hajime. 10 in the back room, supposedly as back up. Armed with Howa Type-35 assault rifles, military grade.
He continued his mental combing of the plant.
Security cameras in all rooms, connected to the main CPU in the basement. I'll have to take care of that one first. Cameras also spaced evenly across the fence edge and the gate…
He snapped out of his survey when his sight came across three figures and a military grade humvee waiting just up the road from the front gate. Two of the three were familiar. Abandoning all sense of stealth, he sprinted along the edge of the fence line and skidded to a stop after breaking the treeline to arrive at the dirt road. A thin older gentleman spotted him; at this he opened the door at the back of the vehicle and two slim figures emerged from the vehicle.
Sighing, he crossed his arms at the sight of them.
"Chairwoman, may I ask what you are doing here tonight, and with my younger sister at that?"
…
From his crossed arms and frown on his face, Mayumi had the feeling that Tatsuya wasn't too happy with her. It was difficult not to wilt under his intense gaze, but she had a reason to be disappointed as well! She crossed her arms in return and drew herself up to her full height. Tatsuya continued to stare down at the petite girl, a twitch of the eyebrow his only reaction to her intimidation tactic. For some reason his amusement at her attempt peeved her more than the events that led up to the situation at hand.
"I believe it should be me that should be more upset, Tatsuya," she retorted, emphasizing his name. "You lied to me."
Tatsuya didn't back down from her accusation.
"I didn't tell you anything that was untrue at the time."
She frowned and merely continued to stand in silence.
The stoic teen was unflappable, but it was clear that Mayumi would not be backing down either. He sighed.
"I simply didn't want to cause any commotion. This is something that I need to do. There was no reason to get any other students involved. This was a one man job; I could get in and out without anyone noticing and everything would have been resolved."
He turned back towards the gate.
"Well, any pretense of stealth will be out the window and long gone by now."
Mayumi tugged on his sleeve to get him to look at her.
"That's not the point. Do you not trust me to tell me these things?"
She searched his eyes, causing him to shift uncomfortably.
"Technically we've only known each other for a couple weeks, Mayumi…"
Her grip tightened; she wondered that she never bothered to put up a facade for him. He seemed to sense her disappointment. He softened his eyes and inclined his head.
"Very well. In the future, I'll try to be more...open, when I can."
She released his arms, allowing a small smile to grace her features. The silence stretched for several seconds before a feminine cough interrupted them.
"On a first name basis are we, onii-sama?"
In their conversation, she forgot that she had gotten Miyuki-chan to help her with her scheme. The frown returned to his face as he turned to his sister.
"Now why are you here, Miyuki? I thought I asked you to wait at home?"
"Well-"
"I-"
Mayumi moved to interrupt, but Tatsuya beat both of the stuttering girls.
"Wait. Don't tell me Mayumi roped you into this?"
"I was concerned, onii-sama! Mayumi-senpai just offered a way that I could help!"
Mayumi couldn't help but feel abashed that she had somehow exploited the siblings' closeness. Tatsuya merely shook his head.
"I suppose I brought this on myself. I don't suppose I can convince either of you that I have the situation well in hand and that you should both return home?"
He sounded both amused and exasperated.
"Well…" Mayumi began mischievously, "like you said, they already know we're here…"
"...so wouldn't the extra hands be helpful?" Miyuki concluded.
"Now they're colluding against me…" Tatsuya half muttered to himself, but it was loud enough that everyone heard it. "I suppose it's better that I can keep an eye on both of you than having to stumble upon another surprise tonight."
He glanced at Mayumi, humor lightly reflected in his pacific-blue eyes.
"I'll just have to stay on my guard from now on. Can't have the both of you plotting behind my back all the time."
His eyes turned serious again.
"Since the enemy probably knows we're here, it will be easiest to go for a full frontal assault."
Mayumi shifted nervously, glancing at Miyuki, who seemed to have no problems with his comment. The lithe girl's confidence in her brother soothed her somewhat, and she too steeled her features.
"I'll be the vanguard. Miyuki, you're with me. Mayumi, can you take your...bodyguard," he paused glancing in the direction of the older gentleman before continuing, "and make sure that none of them escape out the back?"
She nodded to Tatsuya and beckoned towards Nakura-san.
"Miyuki?" he asked his sister.
"Yes, onii-sama."
Wordlessly, Miyuki activated her magic, freezing the hinges of the gate. A second spell caused the frozen metal to shatter, allowing the four to finally step onto the premises. While they were probably being watched, it wouldn't do any good for them to allow them to see any more of what they had in hand than they had to.
Wordlessly, the group split off, with Mayumi and her bodyguard circling around back while Tatsuya and his sister headed towards the front entrance. She would have to talk with Nakura-san later to make sure he didn't report about anything that happened this night without her first vetting it. Knowing her father, he would be keen to learn more about Tatsuya, who had taken such an interest in Blanche. She was only glad that she was his direct superior in the Saegusa household, so he had a duty first to her rather than her father.
Using 'Multi-Scope' she identified the backup group of ten men in the back of the facility and a route that would take her close enough to neutralize them without giving away her own location. Treading carefully the two arrived at the back door to the building. She allowed Nakura-san to quietly cut through the deadbolt and slipped into a darkened corridor. Leading the bodyguard, the two of them navigated the hallways until they were in position for them to carry out their ambush. They were in a spare room three rooms over, just within range of what she could sense and interact with. The two of them settled into separate corners of the room, waiting to make a move.
Two minutes later she heard the sounds of muffled shouts, although curiously, no gunfire. Tatsuya and Miyuki must have engaged with the enemy, her signal to act. She rolled up the sleeve of her sweater to access the bracelet-type CAD on her wrist. She tapped a few times, deploying a spell. 'Hale Particles' was a magic that was good for large groups of targets and for Area-of-Effect damage, but where she truly shone with this particular brand of magic was with her control and accuracy; she wasn't called the 'Elfin Sniper' for no reason. She unleashed a rain of condensed air particles in two waves.
The first set was fired with abandon at the typical subsonic speed attributed to the spell, piercing through the wrists and kneecaps of all the insurgents, rendering them immobile and incapable of wielding their guns. The second set was fired using larger and slower moving pellets, striking the spot just beneath the ear right on top of a bundle of nerves that would ensure that they would not be getting up anytime soon. The entire attack was over in less than twenty seconds. She checked one more time with 'Multi-Scope' to ensure they would not be caught off guard with an ambush of their own.
Mayumi led her bodyguard further into the building, sticking to the shadows. The voices grew louder until they arrived at a doorway leading to the main atrium of the building. She peeked her head out to survey the scene before her.
She had to catch a breath at the sight Tatsuya was facing a group of 20-odd men with assault rifles trained on them. He was standing in front of Miyuki, protectively shielding her with his own body. He held a single Trident-Silver Horn before him, conversing with the man who she assumed to be the leader of the group. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the stoic man exuded an aura of calm self-assurance; she had to admit the sight was quite dashing despite the dire circumstance. His eyes flicked to her for a second. Let me deal with this one his eyes seemed to tell her. She reached down to touch her CAD; he might be able to handle it, but it wouldn't hurt to be ready, just in case. Mayumi settled down and listened in on the conversation.
"And if I decline your generous offer of membership?" Tatsuya continued the conversation where it had left off.
"It wasn't a request," the leader scoffed. With a dramatic flare again, Hajime threw his glasses up in the air. "Shiba Tatsuya! You will join us as our comrade!" Circles of pink light emanated through the air.
There was a moment of silence where Mayumi could feel the quick thump of her heartbeat. It was as if everyone else in the room was holding their breath as well.
Tatsuya looked unimpressed at the display.
"Consciousness Interference Type Magic, Evil Eye," stated Tatsuya flatly. "Or so you call it, but in reality, the flicker of those light signals with their hypnotic pattern is projected onto your subject's retinas. It's a Light-wave Oscillation Magic spell. It's hypnosis, nothing more. Is that what you used to replace Ms. Mibu's memories, too? Your brother mentioned that her memories had been intensified by magic to get her to join Blanche."
"Onii-sama...but that means…" Miyuki whispered to her brother, furious.
The insurgents muttered uneasily, several of them backing off slightly.
"You!...Why?!"
"I'm going to make my offer one last time. Surrender now," Tatsuya leveled his CAD in a way that was both serene, and yet threatening, "or I will resort to force."
"Fire...fire!" the leader shouted in a panic that his well defined plan had gone off the rails.
The several of the armed men trained their rifles on the teen while the rest activated the Antinite rings that they had concealed. From this angle and distance, she could feel the effects of the anti-magic mineral bringing on a headache; she couldn't imagine being in the direct line of fire of 10 of those signals interfering with her Magic Calculation Area. She could also see Miyuki shrink behind her brother, feeling the magnified effects of the anti-magic.
Tatsuya pulled the trigger of his CAD; what could he hope to do under such circumstances?! But before her startled eyes, all of the rifles fell apart in the insurgents' hands. The men, too, were too dumb struck to move at the loss of their weapons. She barely caught sight of Tatsuya pulling his trigger again, and all of the men fell to the ground, bright spurts of blood the only indication that they had been struck down.
She was stunned. She had never heard of anyone wielding such wide-area interference magic to both destroy machines and take out personnel with such pinpoint accuracy. From her vantage point, it didn't seem that the weapons were haphazardly cut up, as she would have expected, nor were the insurgents bleeding from any other places than their shoulder and knee joints. With this kind of skill, she didn't understand how he could have been placed in Course 2.
For some reason the magic felt familiar. She thought back to the warmth she felt three years ago when he had healed her.
The leader panicked and sprinted straight towards where she was hiding. With practiced movement, she tapped another sequence on her bracelet CAD and unleashed 'Dry Meteor', her personal anti-personnel finishing strike. The man dropped like a log.
Tatsuya lowered his CAD and strode through the fallen bodies moaning in pain. His pacific-blue eyes found hers as she stepped out of the shadows. She quietly asked Nakura-san to step outside to call the Saegusa family connections to clean up the mess.
She picked her own way through the carnage.
"This reminds me of our first meeting," Mayumi greeted. "This time I managed to accomplish what I needed to do..."
She wrinkled her nose.
"...Although I loathe to admit it, you really didn't need us did you?"
Tatsuya didn't answer her question, but there was laughter in his eyes.
"You did not trip. It was a good idea for you to switch to a bracelet-type CAD," the man commented amusedly.
"Wait, your first meeting?" Miyuki asked confusedly. "In the garden on the day of the Entrance Ceremony?"
She shot a surprised look at Miyuki.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" she questioned.
Miyuki's eyes swiveled back to her brother.
"You mean you knew her before?"
Mayumi fixed her gaze on him. Tatsuya shrugged nonchalantly.
"We met by chance on the beach at Onna three years ago," Mayumi answered for the both of them.
Her mind suddenly made the connection after reviewing their confrontation with Blanche.
"You wanted to annihilate them. You picked the fight because you perceived them as a threat to Miyuki's safety!"
Tatsuya merely looked exasperated.
"Didn't I explain to you after that?"
"Wait. What fight?" Miyuki asked, thoroughly lost.
She turned back to look at the younger girl.
"I attempted to help him because I thought that he was being bullied by a bunch of thugs. I didn't help much, however. I tripped-"
"And provided a distraction. I didn't kill them because of her," Tatsuya interrupted, brushing off the incident as inconsequential.
"I should have saved them from you!"
The edge of Tatsuya's lips lifted slightly.
To her astonishment, Miyuki sank into a deep bow before her.
"Thank you for helping onii-sama."
"Miyuki-" Tatsuya started, exasperation in his voice.
"Huh?" She could not understand either of the siblings actions.
Miyuki grasped both of Mayumi's hands firmly, but gently.
"No one has ever thought of helping him in any way. I'm glad Mayumi-nee, that you tried. I know you are here for him."
She flicked her eyes towards the teen. Tatsuya had turned away, as if uncomfortable. She couldn't explain the feeling of warmth at his genuine reaction and the affectionate tone that the girl had finally returned from the first day of class.
The sight of Miyuki before her brought to mind another image, that of another with strikingly similar features, but darker eyes. It was a fleeting vision, a memory that slipped out of her grasp as she tried to focus. The petite figure had been almost swallowed up by the couch she sat on, but it was the intense dark eyes that captivated her. Soft, frail words floated through her mind.
"You'll meet him again."
The anxiety that accompanied the memory drifted away with the words.
Who was that lady? Why was she so familiar?
"Mayumi-nee?"
Her vision sharpened again, and the concerned look on Miyuki's face filled her line of sight. She frowned, scrutinizing her face, while pressing a hand to her forehead.
Miyuki shifted uncomfortably at the intensity of the stare; Tatsuya had stepped forward, as if to shield his sister with his body.
The fog in her mind cleared.
"I'm sorry. You reminded me of someone," she apologized, rubbing her head with a hand. The holes in her memory troubled her. It reminded her of the exchange that she had witnessed, and the memory of Mibu Sayaka lying in the infirmary bed, trying to piece together what was true and what was not. Who could she trust if not her own memories?
"Are you alright?"
Tatsuya's eyes had softened, and a touch of concern filled his face. She put the issue out of her mind for the moment, shooting a smile towards the teen. She would come back to think on this later.
"Yes, I'm fine. You should head home. I'll stay here to handle the aftermath. After all, I did say that the Saegusa would handle this." She graced them with a cheeky wink.
The Shiba siblings bowed slightly to her.
"Very well then, we'll see you in school tomorrow..." Tatsuya said for both of them.
"...Mayumi."
