To make up for last chapter's size~

It was a Sunday, and the day for the Club Recruitment week. Though Tatsuya was not given time to waste resting, he was to attend a party. The main reason being a Ten Master Clan event where only Tatsuya was invited from the Yotsuba. When Tatsuya heard this from Yotsuba Maya he was only irritated at the thought of attending a party. The next part being the order that he had received from his 'mother'.

'Attend the party without a CAD.'

When it came to Yotsuba Maya, it was always a case of read between the lines if you wanted to fully understand her and what she says. Everything she does is twisted in a way. In this case, she meant to show the Saegusa that if anything were to arise that the Yotsuba's use of Flash Cast is all that was needed and that they were a clan who didn't need a CAD to repel intruders on their turf. It was somewhat of a tall order because it was more than just showing who is stronger between Yotsuba and Saegusa, the party would hold members from the other Ten Master Clans and their affiliates. It was more a meeting between diplomats than a party and Tatsuya was Yotsuba's representative. To the eyes of the world, Tatsuya is barely around half of the Demon's might and if he can deal with whatever would arise then that would strike more fear whenever the name 'Yotsuba Maya' arose and at the same time improve the reputation behind the name 'Yotsuba Tatsuya'.

This was of course a simple ploy by Yotsuba Maya as Tatsuya was the strongest out of the two. With or without a CAD, whether it was Physical or Magical he was stronger. Though the magic he used outside of his innate Decomposition and Regrowth would be either spells he created himself, ones that were way too powerful and wide-spread for this party, or common spells. Combine that and Tatsuya can use Air Bullet, a common very practical spell with Flash Cast essentially turning his preferred Right hand for Destruction into a gun. Whereas normal magicians would fire from the palm after a second or so of build up, Tatsuya could quite literally point and shoot through utilizing Flash Cast. Even still, Tatsuya could get through it easily through the use of the Ancient Magic he was taught by Kokonoe Yakumo.

All that though was a little pointless, it was to continue a petty rivalry that would disappear when Tatsuya took over. He cared very little for the rivalry. In his eyes, the separation was the only path to follow. Greed. When it comes to offspring, all humans are greedy and it doesn't matter whether they are born or not yet. The next generation is always to be a step above the last, the world can only go forward that way. Even with a tragic tale behind it all, the only logical way forward was to split them apart. And Tatsuya knew that both Yotsuba Maya and Saegusa Koichi knew that as well, there was no chance that they wouldn't as after all it happened to them. What transpired did so through bitterness, a deep seated feeling of betrayal. And this fell to Yotsuba Tatsuya and Saegusa Mayumi to make something from the situation, whether it was to furthen the gap or completely get rid of that gap.

There was no chance that Tatsuya could decline such an event either as because he was the only person to receive two invitations for the party, both as Yotsuba Tatsuya and as Taurus Silver. And Yotsuba Maya was half-tempted to send him there as Taurus Silver to further the gap but she reeled in the somewhat petty thought at revealing the person behind such an important name. One that was still alive but put into the history books.

…

Stepping out from the inconspicuous black vehicle that brought him here to the party, Tatsuya reaffirmed that the cuffs of his shirt were firmly tightly by playing with the cuff links. Breathing out a slight sigh, he pulled his body into form standing up straight and walked the couple dozen meters to meet up with the other attendees who were just about to walk the small path to the entrance of the hall where the banquet would be held.

Just as Tatsuya got in line with the other attendees, the attendees just parting for him to slot in, he took note of two groups in the front of the queue. The first group being a man called Ernst Rozen, the head of the Japanese Branch for Rozen Magicraft, who was with Tatsuya assumed to be either his wife or secretary and then the second group behind them looked more like a unit than a group. A team of bodyguards perhaps for the very influential man in front of them.

The queue whittled down slowly, the other attendees chatting and laughing around him as Tatsuya patiently waited, taking the small steps forward as the groups in front were being admitted.

"Next."

When Tatsuya stepped forward for his 'turn' he did it somewhat dramatically. Taking the step forward with his face looking straight ahead, his body swaying slightly like a pendulum before hitting centre stiffly then slowly turning his head to his right at an angle fully exposing his red and blue orbs to the guard who was checking in the visitors.

The guard visibly stiffened at the sight of Tatsuya's eyes, his eyes widening before blinking rapidly.

"Yotsuba … Tatsuya."

Tatsuya's voice came out with a slight drawl of his given name.

"H-hai. You may go in Yotsuba-dono."

Tatsuya nodded at the guard who tried to play off his voice cracking. Turning back forwards, Tatsuya waited a short second before moving into the building straight into the hall.

The moment Tatsuya entered, his eyes were drawn to the ostentatious appeal of the decorations and the insides of the building itself. The whole room gave off the feeling of being built for this occasion. A building created solely to host parties, parties held by the Saegusa clan.

Tatsuya's eyes stayed off the supposed important people there attending the party, not through dislike but habit. Surveying his surroundings were built into him. He was a very important person himself, Politically and otherwise. Safe to say that he was at the top of the list for most important people at this party and the most likely target to literally anyone as it was very rare that a Yotsuba member even attended an event like this, it was still plenty rare that Yotsuba Maya would even attend the Ten Master Clan meetings and even when she did she wouldn't disclose anything from her side.

When Tatsuya was finished with surveying the hall, his attention came to the buffet table in front of him and the waiter who was standing next to him graciously holding out a glass of what looked to be champagne. Tatsuya quietly mouthed a word of thanks to the waiter before taking the glass from his hand and bringing it up to his lips as he then cast an eye over the attendees alongside the waiters relieved departure.

Important people from around the board across Japan. Nothing but political power, there weren't even police members here not even the higher ups in the police force. It was exactly like what Yotsuba Maya had told Tatsuya earlier. There would be no physical defense because of the magical strength in the building. A defense against anti-magic wouldn't have been thought about. It was hard to tell whether it was through ego or stupidity.

None of these people however approached Tatsuya, they were all waiting for someone to break the ice with him. A Yotsuba at a party was important, they all needed or wanted to create some sort of hold with the Shadow Clan but no one seemed to have the courage to take the step needed to approach. No-one except Saegusa Mayumi.

"Tatsuyaaaa-kun~"

Not showing any particular interest, Tatsuya moved only his eyes to look at the oncoming torpedo of energy.

"Mayumiiiiii-san~"

The way Tatsuya was able to express both playfulness and emotionless at the same time in only his voice stopped Saegusa Mayumi completely a step or two away from him. Though it didn't stop her for long, she got over her surprise quickly and marched up to Tatsuya grabbing him by the arm and practically forcing him to look at her properly.

Tatsuya just looked at her for a few seconds with an eyebrow raised before sighing and deciding it was best to give into what she wanted.

"That dress looks very becoming on you, Mayumi-san."

Mayumi's cheeks tinged a slight red colour from the praise. It wasn't something she was used to at the point of how it was said. The male in front of her uttered the praise with complete composure, it was new and thus able to catch her off-guard or perhaps even display the point more effectively as the truth rather than a spluttered attempt.

"And you too Tatsuya-kun. A suit fits you very well."

"Should I thank you for the praise or the free-flowing continuation of a conversation?"

"Mou~~ Tatsuya-kun, you should be kinder to your Onee-san."

"Having an Onee-san wasn't a part of my knowledge. Pretty sure I'm listed as an only child."

Tatsuya replied to Mayumi's teasing pout with a neutral debunking and single raised eyebrow.

"Your teasing aside Mayumi-san, whether you came to me on the behalf of the host or to ease the other attendees into my presence, I offer my thanks. Though I can't help but think poorly of them for being too scared."

"You are welcome Tatsuya-kun."

"I can't help but feel hurt. Am I really so unapproachable?"

Perhaps that single sip of champagne was already starting to do its stuff on Tatsuya. Luckily, Mayumi was more than happy to just play along.

"It's not you Tatsuya-kun, it's her."

Tatsuya sighed at that point, it was hard to figure out whether he was following it all through or just him loosening up from the champagne. If the coffee incidents have any weight on his actions, then it could very well be the champagne.

"How unfortunate. I'm going to be stuck my whole life with her legacy in my shadow. If only I could find some way to get through. Something. Someone."

It was at that point that Tatsuya showed that he still had it together, to anyone who actually knew Tatsuya at least. He was now pushing for something regarding the 'order' he had been given. Obvious hint but hint all the same, slight swap on positions but it's a time old way of doing things.

"My, Is Tatsuya-kun trying to tell his faithful Onee-sama something?"

Tilting his head in the opposite direction of Mayumi, he looked down towards her with a soft smile.

"The purpose and details are for you to choose, Mayumi-san."

While keeping his smile soft, he allowed his eyes to glisten and his psions to filter through. A stunning façade that Tatsuya could only pull off when he isn't sober, a necessary evil for Tatsuya. Using it as a perfect place to leave that conversation he did, but as he did so he turned towards the pair of eyes that were fixed on him from the moment that Mayumi even approached him. Saegusa Koichi. Clear, focused eyes that wouldn't let anything pass them by, and that was perfect for Tatsuya.

Making sure that there was no one in between him and Saegusa Koichi's line of sight, Tatsuya raised his soft smile into a smirk to raise a challenge to the esteemed and most influential clan head.

'I know what's going on. Let's see who falls for who.'

It was a challenge that Tatsuya knew would go through. Both sides, both Mayumi and Tatsuya were at the Zenith of their age range and even older. Mayumi was a known beauty and there hadn't been a boy yet who could resist her, outside of the business-centric Juumonji Katsuto. No matter how you looked at it though Tatsuya was an enigma, he attracted everything but most commonly danger. He was wrapped up in mystery and tape, and what better things than that to get a woman interested in a man.

…

A couple glasses of champagne and a welcoming toast later, Tatsuya was already at the point where anymore glasses and he might accidentally blurt out that fact that he is Taurus Silver to his top opponents in Rozen Magicraft and Maximilian Industries. Tatsuya enjoyed speaking with them however, hearing of their own insight towards magic engineering and how he could incorporate that stuff in his own work. Most would see that as stealing, Tatsuya however would call it just desserts. They shouldn't have spoke in detail so easily, who knew that a youth and fresh mind could spur such an interaction. Well, lips are always looser after an alcoholic beverage.

While his ability to keep classified topics locked away was somewhat disturbed, his physical abilities aren't hampered yet. The weakening of his body system was fully in control, if his body got to the point where his abilities would be less than adequate his magic would activate and make him as good as new.

There was multiple occasions where Tatsuya found himself being sized up, by both males and females alike. Of course, their reasons for doing so being different especially seeing that a Yotsuba could be cheerful and friendly with an award winning smile of course. The males found themselves lacking, most of them took that a little poorly getting a little antsy with a possibility of being problematic. Both of these groups however didn't come up to him, it was only the older groups that did so. Of course, that was an expected thing though. Trying to get their claws into the Yotsuba heir on their first proper party, it wasn't something they could pass up on. No matter what the repercussions from the Demon could be, they were all worth it to a degree. Yotsuba Maya was the only reason why there had been absolutely zero marriage requests towards Tatsuya. Now though, now that he has made an open appearance that stance might change.

All in all, the party was mediocre but it wasn't boring. The ending cemented that for Tatsuya as what way to make a party better than a fight.

Bang Bang

Two clear shot rang through the air accompanied by the sound of rushing feet and people freezing in mid-conversation.

Tatsuya found himself in the centre of the hall alone with Saegusa Mayumi. The entrance to the hall opening up as 2 dozen men filtered into the spacious hall, four of those twenty-four men having antinite in their possession. Tatsuya quickly found himself being mentally attacked by the resulting noise from the antinite rings, nothing all too annoying for him though.

"All CADs down on the ground now!"

The man suspected to be the leader and the only one with neither a pistol or a sub-machine gun shouted out into the hall with a large caliber pistol raised into the air.

The occupants of the hall however heeded his order, magic was powerful but this antinite stopped that, for the most part, and this enable normal guns to actually be useful weapons against magicians. While they were busy putting their CADs down, Mayumi included, Tatsuya just stood there anticipating what next. There reason for being there was simple, to ambush the party where the Yotsuba heir would be designating him as an immediate strike zone and to impede his presence in later parties. Whether it was an outside job for people getting back at Yotsuba personally, or a Clan hiring some thugs to try and lower Yotsuba's ranking and hold over Japan.

A normal clan this may work, heck it might even work on a 'normal' Yotsuba member as normal as they can get anyway but on Yotsuba Maya or Yotsuba Tatsuya? Not a chance. They are always prepared, even the more gruesome preparations have an equal standing of being used as the others.

Looking around, the leader of the intruders didn't take long to find his target. His eyes deadlocked on Tatsuya, he marched towards him pistol raised to head level. Others visibly winced at the act, Tatsuya stood there completely unimpressed with a single eyebrow raised.

"Yotsuba Tatsuya. What made this party special huh? Why did this particular party make a member of the shadows leave that safe place?"

To Tatsuya, this was a rather odd leader. His speech was unusual, the worst kind. The feeling that he was trying to make Tatsuya feel bad for choosing this particular party was evident but Tatsuya was expecting a more ruthless version.

"The alcohol, the women, the food. What other reasons do you go to a party for?"

For all intents and purposes, Tatsuya was trying to provoke the leader into getting irritated. It seemed that Tatsuya has miscalculated the outcome here, especially with Mayumi being behind him.

"A boy of your age, that's all you really need to think about."

A toothy grin came from the leader but no change in anything else. It gave off the air of close friends meeting, the way each side received and gave their answer. There was no ounce of being tense between them.

"So tell me Yotsuba Tatsuya, why are you so calm staring down a gun barrel?"

"Come on, I'm a Yotsuba. I could watch you carve open a women and I wouldn't blink an eye. A pathetic little pistol in my face is little to be worried about. Try a cannon and I might shift my eyes a little to take it all in."

Tatsuya replied in an ever so calm manner, in such a way that finally started to grate on the leader. By this time however, Tatsuya had already readied his attack with his hand in his pocket ready to fire. The champagne though was still in his system, obviously so his thought was to do something uncharacteristic and he drew up his hand shaped like a pistol. Figurative muzzle next to … actual muzzle.

They both then shared a smile but it was more like the leader reacting instinctively to the smile that Tatsuya put on as he raised his hand.

"What's your barrel huh? Like a .22?"

Tatsuya then shifted his smile into a smirk and then fired, abruptly and unsuspecting. A white cylinder like projection shot out from his finger with an audible bang and shot through the leader's forehead cleanly, not even any blood splatter.

"I guess it's a .50 with a hole that big."

Tatsuya's remark was off-putting. He replied in such a way like he fired through taking offence to the man's comment but that was obviously false. Something like that was child-level in a Yotsuba's repertoire. What scared everyone the most though was the fact that Tatsuya did it unfalteringly, without warning and without a CAD. There was no lead-up to Tatsuya's action, that didn't even fit as fighting back. They were only being held-up, lethal action in that manner wasn't needed or warranted but that didn't matter because Tatsuya knew full well now why he was told not to bring a CAD.

While that order gave a forewarning, Tatsuya didn't think that it would actually be this way but seeing it makes it fit perfectly. A ploy by Yotsuba Maya again. She had no reason to tell him not to take a CAD unless she already knew that something would happen. She made it so. She also did it without care. She knowingly and completely willingly put a hit on her own successor along with where he would be. And Tatsuya found this hard to be simple trust in her heir, that wasn't how she worked.

Ruthless was one of the many words that ran through Tatsuya's head in response. It was a test and there was no test better than a live one when you can actually die. The surrounding people getting hurt was also no skin off her back, actually it would probably turn out to be advantageous in the end.

Giving out a light sigh, he turned left for a second and then right for a second and once he turned to look back forwards metal clattered against the ground. The sub machine guns completely fell apart, each and every part disengaged and fell to the ground.

The room then fell back to being silent. What they witnessed was an impossibility but what they would get from investigation would only lead to more questions. But the room would once again light back up when Tatsuya turned around to Mayumi completely ignoring the remaining 23 intruders.

"So … where were we?"

Tatsuya huh?
The change up in how Tatsuya went about it is all in the end portion.
The describe changes it, to show Yotsuba Maya what she wanted and otherwise.

Of course this chapter is just an additional one with no real relevance to the story.
It's a portion of the trials from Yotsuba Maya.
These will come every now and again without set placings, for you guys anyway.

See you in the beginning of the month.

Ciao~~