(A/N): Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

Chapter 4: Blanched

Tatsuya wasn't having a great week. Because the week started off with an upperclassman attempting to use a lethal rank-B spell, Tatsuya assumed it couldn't get any worse.

Naturally, as soon as one asks "How can it get any worse?" fate decides to show you. As the week progressed, Tatsuya found himself being attacked by unknown assailants who would cast a minor spell at him and then retreat into crowds of other students before he could identify them.

Initially he assumed they were just disgruntled members of the Kenjutsu club. However as he began to arrest some of them, Tatsuya soon discovered they were Course 1 students unaffiliated with the Kenjutsu club.

After defeating one of the top combatants among the Course 1 students, Tatsuya faced near constant retaliation from them. While he was on patrol, Course 1 students would cause some sort of commotion that Tatsuya had to intervene in due to his position on the Public Morals Committee. While he was dealing with whatever issue was occurring, someone would "misfire" magic at Tatsuya to varying degrees of success.

He quickly realized he had a target on his back, but he didn't realize how far the collusion had spread until it had taken its toll. He was becoming frustrated by the end of the week.

"Tatsuya-kun, are you OK?"

Tatsuya had been massaging the bridge of his nose when Erika asked her question.

Turning towards her desk, he responded "Just a bit annoyed, no need to worry."

"Are those guys still randomly using magic on you?" Erika seemed ready to retaliate on the Course 1 students herself.

"I'll be fine. Starting today students won't be allowed to have their CADs on their person during school hours." Tatsuya sighed as if to say "Finally."

Leo seemed to be stifling his laughter. "Well Tatsuya, you could have avoided all this if you had rejected their offer to join the Morals Committee."

"Don't remind me…" He suppressed the desire to sigh again.

Having befriended him the previous day during football*, Mikihiko Yoshida spoke up. "Tatsuya, I heard you were accepted onto the technician team for the Nine Schools Competition. Nicely done." Given Mikihiko had himself scored the 3rd highest in the theory portion of the entrance exams, it was natural for him to praise others who had a wealth of knowledge about magic.

"Yeah. Miyuki roped me into it and Mayumi thought it was a great idea so I couldn't get out of it." Tatsuya's right eye twitched for a moment. While he wasn't opposed to helping First High win, he felt it was a distraction given how close he was to making a huge step in favor of his goal. Generalized Flying-Type Magic was nearly within his grasp...

Erika misunderstood his reaction and smiled mischievously. "Is that so Tatsuya? It seems like you can never refuse when she asks you to do something."

Erika did not specify who "she" was and Tatsuya didn't bother to ask. It would only encourage her. Tatsuya's composed expression and lack of response seemed to irritate Erika, so she didn't press onward.

"I always knew this expression would save me a lot of headaches", Tatsuya thought amusedly.

As class progressed, a voice suddenly began to blare over the PA system startling everyone in Class 1-E.

"Attention students! We are a group which seeks to rectify the discrimination suffered by the Course 2 students at First High!"

Leo was agitated and shouted at the loudspeakers, "Oi, don't you guys realize the volume is already loud? Stop yelling!"

"Yelling in response only makes you more annoying, Leo."

Mizuki got between their lover's quarrel before it escalated. "This isn't the time you two."

Suddenly, the voice on the PA system returned (now at the proper volume). "Our group is demanding the Club Management and the Student Council negotiate with us to address our grievances."

Turning toward Tatsuya, Mizuki said "Looks like you have business elsewhere, Tatsuya."

Giving his trademark sigh, he responded "Indeed. If they have the PA system they must have taken over the Public Announcement Room."

As Tatsuya left classroom 1-E, he couldn't shake the feeling that this situation would escalate to more troublesome levels.

(Train Station, Next Day)

As Mayumi was waiting at the train to take to school, she was surprised when a familiar voice roused her from her thoughts.

"Good morning, President."

Turning towards the speaker, she saw his periwinkle-blue eyes were watching her in amusement while the beautiful maiden next to him seemed annoyed at his behavior.

"Eh?! Ta-kun don't scare me like that," she pouted.

Shrugging, he cut right to the chase and asked her "Mayumi, what happened with the situation regarding Mibu-senpai and her cohorts?"

The previous day, Mibu and and her compatriots had been removed from the PA Room after Tatsuya managed to trick them in leaving the room. After they exited, they were about to be arrested until Mayumi decided to handle it a different way.

Mayumi responded "You'd find out later anyway, but we settled on having a public forum tomorrow after school. It was as you said, Ta-kun. They didn't have any real proposals on how to improve the treatment of the Course 2 students."

Miyuki spoke up, saying "Tomorrow? How soon. Even if it leaves them with little time to prepare, won't your side face the same problem?"

"Well there's not much of a 'side' for me. I will be the only one from the Student Council debating them at the forum." She smiled at the surprise the siblings showed at her revelation.

"Don't worry you two. Being alone gives me the advantage of having a unified message."

Tatsuya saw the wisdom in her words. "In other words, you aren't at a disadvantage when debating the merits of their proposals."

Mayumi nodded her head. "And if they truly have the better argument, we'll just have to make strides to use them to better the school."

(School Auditorium, Next Day after school)

"Course 2 students are treated as inferior in every way! For starters, the budget allocation clearly favors clubs with more Course 1 students. If the current student administration is truly interested in equality, they will surely seek to address this blatant favoritism."

The speaker walked away from the podium. The auditorium in which the public forum was taking place was packed with students from both Courses.

Mayumi didn't find the assertion to be sensible; it was easily refuted if one knew the activities of the various clubs.

After taking to the podium, she responded "That is misconception. The clubs which receive greater funding do so because of their accomplishments and the number of their members. But this isn't restricted to clubs with more Course 1 students, this also applies to clubs not based around magic. The football* club for example has reached nationals so they too are allocated more than some of the other clubs."

Mayumi began to use this opportunity to explain her vision for overcoming the antagonism between the Course 1 and 2 students. Notably, her intention to remove the regulation prohibiting Course 2 students from joining the Student Council at the end of her term as Council President. Her evident desire to change things won over most of the audience, who proceeded to give her a standing ovation.

Before Mayumi could say anything else, suddenly several windows of the auditorium were broken by canisters. As soon as the canisters hit the ground they began to release copious amounts of gas.

"Probably sleeping gas," Mayumi thought. Luckily, Hattori managed to neutralize the gases by converging them all into sphere.

Tatsuya and Mari had, along with the rest of the Morals Committee, managed to apprehend the students they noticed wearing Egalite bracelets. The students appeared to expect the attack, leading to them standing out amongst the rest of the panicked student body.

When several armed individuals stormed the room, they were surprised to see their sneak attack failed to thin the student numbers. Tatsuya disappeared in in a flash and took out 3 of the out from behind with punches to the head, while Mari did similarly for the remaining 2 terrorists. Before anyone could catch their breath, suddenly several explosions shook the room; luckily the auditorium was not the target of the bombs.

Tatsuya spoke up authoritatively. "I'm going to head off the terrorists at the Practical Skills Building!"

"I'm coming too, Onii-san!"

As they quickly ran out of the auditorium, Mayumi couldn't help but shout, "Be careful Tatsuya-kun!"

Mari was rubbing her chin as she said "How did he know what their target was?" Mayumi had no answer, but she had more pressing matters to attend to keeping the students calm and bringing in the appropriate assistance.

(First High Infirmary, Later that evening)

Having thwarted the attack on First High by Blanche in their attempt to access restricted magic research, Miyuki was currently watching the Second Year Course 2 student bawl her tears out on her brother's school uniform.

Miyuki was more than a little irritated at the sight, given Tatsuya did nothing to stop the girl. Sayaka Mibu was distraught at having helped Blanche for no reason, given her misunderstanding of a prior interaction was Mari.

As Sayaka finished, Tatsuya spoke up. "Mari-senpai, Mayumi, I believe my earlier assessment was correct."

The eyes of the 2 in question widened.

"You mean-"

"They didn't…"

"I've no doubt that they implanted false memories into Mibu-senpai. Most likely using some sort of Consciousness-Interference type magic."

Miyuki knew her brother would know exactly what magic was used to alter Sayaka's memories. But he was careful not to let himself appear too knowledgeable lest his abilities be discovered.

Sayaka was shocked at this revelation. "W-what?! Those bastards…" She began gritting her teeth in anger.

Katsuto Juumonji had taken a contemplative expression when suddenly Tatsuya began to walk towards the door with anger etched on his face.

"Where are you going Onii-san?" Miyuki said.

"I intend to destroy Blanche."

Juumonji looked amused at Tatsuya's declaration. Miyuki instantly disliked him, as if he knew what her brother could do…

"Tatsuya, we aren't authorizing this. I'm not letting students put their lives on the line to do the work the police should handle."

Undeterred, Tatsuya responded "I never intended to ask for assistance from Club Activities nor from the Morals Committee. I'm going to handle this alone. That is, unless you really want the police to get involved?" At that word, Tatsuya glanced pointedly at Sayaka.

Juumonji understood involving the police would have severe repercussions for the students involved, especially since it would be difficult to substantiate the claim that they had been manipulated by magic.

Mayumi jumped in, saying "But Ta-kun, how would you even find where Blanche are located? They didn't exactly leave a forwarding address." Miyuki nodded in agreement.

Smiling, Tatsuya simply walked up to the door and opened it. Behind it was Haruka Ono, one of the school counselors… Except she was wearing some sort of pantsuit.

Her Onii-san didn't let her down though. Haruka's outfit had no effect on Tatsuya's behavior.

"I was foolish to think I could sneak up Yakumo-sensei's favorite student…" She was rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

After Ono-sensei gave her brother the location of Blanche's hideout, Miyuki volunteered to go with her brother.

"Absolutely not Miyuki. I can't put you in undue danger." His voice was almost panicked.

"Allow me? Onii-san you aren't the boss of me," she huffed. "I will be going with you."

Tatsuya's back stiffened, and he responded in a forced voice. "Of course, Miyuki."

Mari couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction. "She's got you whipped Tatsuya. It's too bad your siblings," she teased.

Miyuki blushed, thinking about her confused but no-so-innocent thoughts about her brother.

Katsuto also stated that he would go, given his duty as a member of three 10 Master Clans and a student of First High. When Mayumi volunteered, Katsuto attempted to stop her.

"Mayumi, there's no need for you to go. This sort of operation is more suited for someone with my abilities." His voice was firm and brokered no compromises.

Mayumi was steadfast though. Placing her hands on her hips and leaning towards him, she said "I'm just as much part of the 10 Master Clans as you, Juumonji-san. I'm capable of defending myself. If Miyuki-chan is allowed to go there's no reason I can't!"

Katsuto's iron will was faltering at Mayumi's reasoning. "Besides, Mari can stay here to maintain order on campus until we return."

Mari looked over annoyedly. Miyuki figured she enjoyed beating up some terrorists as much as the next girl...

After Katsuto had acquired a military vehicle for their makeshift assault team to use, their group was joined by Mayumi's bodyguard Nakura. Second Year Takeaki Kirihara attempted to join them as well, but Katsuto refused him.

"Kirihara, fighting some terrorists for Mibu isn't going to make her forgive you. After all, you attempted to use a lethal spell against her after losing a Kendo match." Katsuto's tone was firm. This time he would not give in.

Making his way back to the vehicle, Miyuki heard Katsuto say "Kirihara, if you want Mibu's forgiveness, you have to change yourself. Become a better man, one who has a mature reaction to unforeseen losses. One who isn't clouded by his own sense of superiority. Meaningless bravado will only get you so far."

As they began to drive to the destination Ono-sensei had shown them on the map program, Miyuki couldn't help but notice the way Mayumi snuggled up against Tatsuya.

"These women…" she thought. Only luck saved the occupants of the vehicle from experiencing an icy Hell.

"I'll go with Ta-kun~" Mayumi said in a nearby squeal.

Tatsuya had a bead of sweat at that declaration.

Miyuki was gritting her teeth as she said in an irritated voice, "I will go with Onii-san. Juumonji-senpai can accompany you Mayumi-senpai."

Personally, Tatsuya was more comfortable with Miyuki's suggestion of team ups. But he recognized the issue at hand.

"That would leave you and Shiba-kun without a strong barrier user, Miyuki. Nakura is proficient in such magic. And given he protects Mayumi that leaves the best grouping to be you and I, while Shiba-kun heads in with Mayumi and Nakura.

Miyuki gave a quick sigh and agreed, though she was obviously annoyed about something.

As they got out of the vehicle, Katsuto and Miyuki headed to the other side of the abandoned chemical plant while Tatsuya, Mayumi and her bodyguard Nakura were to take the front entrance.

Mayumi tugged on Tatsuya's sleeve and said with a slight blush "Keep me safe, OK Tatsuya-kun?" Tatsuya could only nod nervously at the expression she was giving him.

Nakura coughed to dispel the tension, so Tatsuya began to lead them to the entrance of the abandoned plant.

As they got to the entryway, Mayumi smiled devilishly and said "Nakura-san, please stay behind to guard our flank. Wouldn't want any of Blanche to catch us from behind~"

Tatsuya did not like the look in her eyes as she looked at him.

Objecting to Mayumi, Nakura began to say "Ojou-sama, this is no time to-"

"Nakura, that was an order not a request."

Sighing, the aged man said "Of course, Ojou-sama." The man eyed Tatsuya as if to say "Don't mess up." Tatsuya nodded at the man.

As they entered the abandoned site, Tatsuya grew increasingly uncomfortable at how close Mayumi was getting to him. Luckily for him, his Elemental Sight showed him they were about to walk into a room full of armed terrorists.

"Mayumi, the next room is full of armed men. Get ready." Tatsuya's voice was hard, indicating she needed to get serious.

"Right, Tatsuya-kun!"

"The user of that Consciousness-Interference magic may be here as well. Be on the lookout for any attempt at such manipulation."

She nodded with a determined look on her face.

When they walked in, a purpled-haired man in glasses shouted in glee. "Tatsuya Shiba, welcome welcome! We didn't dare to hope you would come for us. But based on what my sources say about your relationship with your sister and Miss Saegusa there, I shouldn't be surprised you'd come after our attack!"

Mayumi almost stumbled at the man's words. Tatsuya was confused about her behavior as always.

Tatsuya stepped forward, placing himself in front of Mayumi. At his movement, the dozens of terrorists surrounding the pompous man aimed their automatic weapons at Tatsuya.

"Tsk tsk Tatsuya, I was told you were brilliant. You are simply… outgunned here."

Even Tatsuya had to groan at that.

"That aside, I am most intrigued by your ability to use Cast Jamming without antinite. Such an ability will be most useful for my organization."

Tatsuya chuckled at the man. He really went all the way with this monologuing his plans shtick.

Suddenly, the man took off his glasses and threw them into the air to distract Tatsuya.

"Join us Tatsuya Shiba! You work for Tsukasa Hajime now! You are Blanche, you live to see the downfall of magicians!"

Purples waves of light were projected from the man's eyes at Tatsuya.

As Tatsuya stumbled are bit, Mayumi shouted "Tatsuya-kun!"

Miyuki was pretty miffed to say the least. Not only was she having to fight a bunch of no-name Blanche mooks, she didn't even get to do it at her brother's side.

She looked over at the imposing senior. Katsuto. Although his family's barrier magic "Phalanx" made their offensive pathetically easy, she wouldn't forgive him for separating her from her brother. And for letting her brother go with… that woman.

Miyuki couldn't stop thinking about Mayumi. It was obvious Mayumi was interested in Tatsuya. Probably the only person in their circle of friends who didn't realize that was Tatsuya himself.

Miyuki froze several terrorists with "Niflheim", much to Katsuto's surprise given the spell is extremely difficult and only available to licensed A-rank magicians.

"Shiba-san."

"Yes Juumonji-senpai?"

"Is there something going on between Shiba and Mayumi?"

Miyuki's eyes widened in shock. There's no way that could be true, right? Her brother can't feel those kinds of things, can he?

Her voice came out harshly, "Why would you think that?"

Juumonji was clearly not comfortable with this kind of conversation, so he spoke hesitantly to Miyuki.

"It's just… I've never seen Mayumi act like that before. She's never acted like that around any of the the others at First High."

Miyuki sighed in relief. He merely noticed what she had. She was scared for a second…

"Nothing is going on between them, Juumonji-senpai. Mayumi-senpai and ND Onii-san are just friends."

"Hm." Katsuto didn't seem to agree, which only grated on Miyuki's nerves even more.

"Tatsuya-kun!" Mayumi had shouted.

The man identifying himself as Tsukasa Hajime was laughing in ecstasy. After casting his magic Tatsuya lurched back an his head was turned towards Mayumi, his eyes were unfocused.

"The incredible Course 2 student is now part of Blanche! Magicians will learn magic is not all-powerful with this boy. Now Tatsuya, eliminate that girl so that we may be on our way." The man smiled arrogantly.

Mayumi shouted "Don't let him control you Tatsuya-kun!" She was nearly in tears that he had been mentally corrupted.

The corners of his mouth arched upwards a bit, causing her to take a step back. However, Tatsuya turned away from her and spoke in his usual monotone voice.

"As I thought. Consciousness-Interference type Magic, Evil Eye. Rather pretentious name, it's essentially just hypnosis. You thought your little stunt with the glasses would fool me?"

Tatsuya smiled and seemed to mimic Tsukasa's dramatics. "Don't underestimate me. It takes no effort for me to simply blow away your Magic Sequence with my Psions."

Tsukasa Hajime had been growing more and more haggard she Tatsuya continued to speak. "Destroying a Magic Sequence? Bullshit, your Counter Magic is Cast Jamming!"

Mayumi was amazed. What Tatsuya said should be impossible. To destroy a Magic Sequence with Psions required an enormous Psion count, more than ever she possessed. "Gram Demolition" was a magic with almost no users in the entire world.

And his correctly identifying the man's manipulation magic confirmed hers and Mari's suspicion that Tatsuya could see Activation Sequences.

"He's incredible…" Mayumi whispered entranced.

As she walked forward to stand next to Tatsuya, Tsukasa began to freak out and walked backwards into the crowd of Blanche members.

"Kill them you fool! Kill them!"

Mayumi was about to erect a barrier to block the projectiles, but Tatsuya placed an arm in front of her and shook his head.

As the armed Blanche members raised their firearms, they let began to yell. For some reason, all of their weapons began breaking into pieces.

At this sight Tsukasa fled from the room in a panic. As the terrorists opted to pull combat knives, Tatsuya sighed and spoke to Mayumi.

"Get behind me for a moment."

As soon as she did, Tatsuya directed one of his Silver Horns as the crowd of men and emitted several consecutive Psion waves, causing them all to fall over unconscious.

"Oh my Tatsuya, you make it look easy." She winked at him for maximum charm.

Tatsuya rubbed the back of his head nervously and said "Yea well, that won't hold them for too long. We need to apprehend the rest of them as well."

She they proceeded to the next hallway, Mayumi activated her sensory magic "Multiscope" to see far ahead and through the walls. She noticed even more men with firearms, and some of them wore strange rings too.

After reporting this too Tatsuya, he sighed and simply responded "That won't be a problem. Just get behind me when-"

"Tatsuya that's like the 3rd time you've told me that tonight. I can take care of myself you know."

"Oi I just meant those guys have antinite. I didn't want to get uncomfortable when they used Cast Jamming."

Mayumi saw her opportunity. "Oh, so you were worried about me, Ta-kun~?"

"Of course."

"Oh Tatsuya-kun, to think you have such feelings for me~"

Tatsuya was sweating buckets at this point. "No I just meant-"

"Anyway Tatsuya, we need to focus on this he guys in the next room. Come on~".

She grabbed his arm and pulled him with her until he walked on his own.

As Tatsuya walked into the room first, he noticed the Blanche terrorists aim several rings at him which promptly began to emit the familiar Psion waves used to stop magic activation.

Tsukasa Hajime was at the back of the room cackling. "Now you will see magic is not all-powerful! You're powerless under true Cast Jamming, Tatsuya Shiba!"

Mayumi pressed up against Tatsuya back and shuddered a bit at all of the Psions bombarding them.

Tatsuya responded calmly "This much antinite… So your sponsor is the Great Asian Alliance, while your employer was was a breakaway of the old White Russia."

At the identification of his own secrets, Tsukasa repeated his order to kill them.

Tatsuya aimed the CAD in his right hand at the men in front of him. Blue beams shot forth and pierced through the terrorists as he destroyed parts of their information bodies with Partial-Mist Dispersion.

Mayumi gasped at the magic. Tatsuya knew showing her this much could be dangerous, but it was the best move given all of the antinite in use.

The armed men all collapsed due to the holes Tatsuya made in their bodies, causing them to bleeding considerably.

Tsukasa had lost all confidence and shrieked "How can you use magic under Cast Jamming?!"

Before Tatsuya could retort, the wall behind Tsukasa was blown open by a multi-colored barrier. Stepping through the hole in the wall was Juumonji followed by Miyuki, much to Tatsuya's relief. He had kept track of her via Elemental Sight the entire time, but it was comforting to get visual confirmation nonetheless.

Before Tsukasa could use his antinite on the new entrants, Miyuki looked at him in irritation and froze the hand with the antinite bracelet, causing Tsukasa to howl in pain before Juumonji used a spell to render him unconscious.

"Miyuki, I'm glad to see your unharmed," Tatsuya said in in a relieved tone.

Miyuki blushed a bit in response and simply shook her head.

"Eh, Tatsuya. How did you use magic under Cast Jamming? Especially such a powerful magic as that one."

Tatsuya turned to look at Mayumi as the authorities Katsuto called for upon their arrival got to work detaining all the criminals. Her eyes were bright in adoration, unnerving Tatsuya.

"Well, that's as bit of as secret Mayumi," Tatsuya said aloofly. Tatsuya was about ready to bolt, but he felt like he had snakes in his stomach at the thought of just bolting from her.

"Awww, I know it's rude to ask about your magic but can't I at least get a hint Ta-kun~?" At this question, she placed one of her hands on Tatsuya's arm mischievously.

Tatsuya shuddered a bit at the contact. At this point, Miyuki stormed off to sulk, though Tatsuya didn't notice. He was distracted. Juumonji was surreptitiously watching their interaction, though he couldn't hear what was said.

"Well,.uh…" Tatsuya was having a hard time answering without giving away too much. Mayumi was too knowledgeable at magic theory and too skilled in practical magic for him to trick. She might even infer the nature of the spell herself.

Mayumi took a step closer to him causing his breath to hitch a bit. Close contact with the opposite sex was not something his Guardian training equipped him to handle. It had simply never affected him before.

"Please Taaaaa-kun~?"

"O-Ok," he said. Sighing at being caught this flat-footed, he continued "It's a magic I was born with. Decomposition allows me to break down information bodies that I perceive."

Mayumi looked shocked at him for a moment and stepped back. Tatsuya wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand he felt and bit more comfortable but now he wasn't sure if he scared her or something.

Suddenly she flew forward and hugged him around the waist. Looking up at his face she said "I knew you were an amazing guy! To have a power like that… it's incredible." Her eyes were alight like stars again.

Tatsuya wasn't sure how to handle this, so he just did what he always did for Miyuki. Patting her head with a *pon pon*, he said nervously "Mayumi, could you please let me go now?"

Embarrassed at the scene she was making and the head pat, Mayumi stepped back blushing. Miyuki had been watching the proceedings from afar and was chomping at the bit to freeze Mayumi on the spot.

"Sorry Tatsuya. Hehe, well this has been an… eventful evening. But since Katsuto-kun has things wrapped up here, I will see you later. Goodnight Ta-kun~"

Bidding Tatsuya farewell, Mayumi left with Nakura.

After he and Miyuki arrived home later that night, Tatsuya was feeling more confused than ever before. Miya's magic shouldn't have allowed such feelings of great nervousness to come out, much less whatever happened to him when she touched his arm.

He couldn't exactly ask anyone else about since he was more or less a unique case in how magic altered his mind. Even his Aunt Maya, who was subjected to the same magic, didn't undergo the same procedure as he did.

He wasn't sure if it was an old adage, but it should be: When in doubt, ask your mother.

(Shiba Residence, near midnight)

After Miyuki went to bed, Tatsuya knocked on Honami's door and she let him in.

"What brings you here so late, Tatsuya?" she said, followed by a yawn.

"Sorry to keep you up so late, Okaa-san. I was just… troubled by something earlier." Tatsuya's brows furrowed at whatever was on his mind.

Patting the bed to indicate he should sit next to her, she waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"I've been getting these strange feelings lately… I just don't know what's happening to me." He was rather glum.

She hated to see him so worried, so she pulled his head down onto her shoulders after moving her purple hair to lay on her other shoulder.

"What kind of feelings?" Honami asked in a concerned tone. Although he seemed worried about it, Honami was rather excited for him, though she masked it.

"I'm not exactly sure, this is all so bizarre for me… After all the ridiculous moved Blanche made, Miss Saegusa was hounding me a bit. We got into a sticky situation so I had to use a Decomposition spell to deal with it." He sighed. "I had to spill the beans about the magic, I couldn't think of a road out of it without inviting more scrutiny on myself."

At the mention of that girl's name, Honami almost giggled. She had been joking before but she was starting to wonder if Tatsuya did have a thing for Mayumi Saegusa. It was almost a cruel bit of irony given Maya's history with Mayumi's father, Koichi. But then again, Honami wasn't shredding any tears over sleights to Maya...

Trying to get to the bottom of why he was upset, she asked "Are you down because you told her about the magic?"

Tatsuya thought for a moment before he responded. "No. It was more like I didn't feel comfortable lying to her about it. I probably should have just walked away, but it just didn't feel right. My stomach clenched at the thought of doing that."

Honami's eyes lit up, though Tatsuya didn't see that. She knew she had to clamp down on her excitement or she'd confuse the boy even more. He needed her to be his rock right now, not just his wingman… wing-girl, whatever.

"Do you regret telling her?" Honami asked pointedly.

"No, I'm just a bit nervous this could have repercussions if word gets out. Oba-ue won't take kindly to this, not to mention the government."

"Does Miss Saegusa strike you as trustworthy?" Honami asked as she wrapped her left arm around her son's waist to hold him closer to her.

"I'm not sure, I believe so. I think she and a friend of hers figured out I can read Activation Sequences and that hasn't gotten out yet."

Honami stood from the bed and knelt in front of Tatsuya. After putting her right arm on his shoulder, she said "If you're not sure yet, maybe you should hang out with her some more until you're certain you want to open up or not. The decision is yours, son. Only you can make this choice, not me, not Miyuki and certainly not Maya."

After Honami gave him a patented mother's hug, Tatsuya responded happily "Thanks, Okaa-san."

Sporting a wide grin, she said "That's what mothers are for. But a word of warning." Suddenly her tone changed to somber, while she gave Tatsuya a glare he had never seen before.

"Y-yes?"

Smiling creepily, she gripped his shoulder harder and said "If I become a grandmother before I'm 40 I'll kill you."

"W-what?!"

"Oh nothing. Get to bed son."

"Right, Okaa-san." Tatsuya walked out of Honami's room with a completely bewildered look.

Speaking to herself, Honami said "Sorry Maya, but it looks like Miya thought emotion should win out in the end."

Sighing to herself, she stated "I only hope he can get to that point."

Next Chapter: Nine Schools Competition Part 1

(A/N): Wow, I'm really sorry about how late this was. Life has been extremely busy for me lately. Hopefully this didn't come out too bad. I've also written (but not yet uploaded) the first chapter of a Mahouka crossover fic. I'll try to upload that soon after I rewrite part of it, as reward for this chapter being like a week later that upload.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review. I like seeing reviews.