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JSDF Headquarters, Tokyo.
A month had passed since the events that were called the One-day War. In a highly secure room within the Military Headquarters, there was a meeting being held between all of the highest-ranking military as well as other officers in the nation.
"I would like to officially begin this meeting. While it would appear prudent to follow protocol and hold a welcome speech, I believe none of us have that privilege right now." Yoshihide opened to which the Generals and the other officers nodded.
The international backlash that Japan received for the events that had transpired in Dahan had been immense. An estimated twenty-five million civilians had been wiped off the map in that attack. Although there was no official regulating body internationally after the U.N. had been dismantled, a lot of foreign nations including the U.S.N.A. had demanded that Japan make the identity of the perpetrator public and bring them to justice.
However, the nation's hands were tied since the identity of the culprit was a complete mystery. Although a lot of video evidence had been provided to them from various sources, none of that was enough to identify the unknown magician. Although the person in question was a male, nothing concrete that could help in identifying him was available. All the images and videos showed the same blurry individual cloaked in shadows. Not even the guy's height was known since it varied from picture to picture everywhere between 5'6 to 6'11.
As a nation, Japan had officially declared that the individual code-named 'Maheshwara' was not affiliated with them during the signing of the peace treaty.
"It has been a month Yoshihide-dono. Do we still have no clue?" Lieutenant General Tanaka started.
"I'm afraid that it is so, Tanaka-dono. We have used every means at our disposal to identify the individual and we still can't find even a tiny clue to who he is."
"Have any of the clans claimed him? I don't think that kind of strength can be born in a clan that isn't a part of the Ten Master Clans." Makoto Nakamura served as the Minister of Health in the cabinet. Although he wasn't a part of the magician community, he had spent a lot of his youth dealing with various Magician Clans.
"Even if he was part of one of them, I highly doubt they will publicly claim him. His actions in Dahan have made him a walking target for the USNA and the New Soviet Union. Although neither side has made a move, no doubt due to fear of retaliation, any clan that is associated with him will be an automatic target." Haruki Tanaka was the only woman in the room. She served as the Minister of Education.
"Let us leave the identity of this mysterious magician behind for now. Suppose he can escape not only ours but also the entirety of the magician community in the nation. In that case, I believe that it is not a wise decision to antagonize such an individual." Akira Yamamoto was by far the oldest person in the room. He knew very well that his actions could doom the nation of Japan if he wasn't careful enough. A magician capable of wide-scale destruction was not someone he was scared of but a person capable of pulling the trigger for such destruction without remorse was.
"We are gathered here to address the elephant in the room that is Magic. Although the country is relatively peaceful for now, there are a lot of closed-door murmurings against magic and magicians." Yamamoto said.
"I am of the opinion that we, as in the country, need a method to regulate the magic community. I have been informed that the USNA has already presented a bill in their Parliament preventing any high-ranking magicians from leaving the country permanently." Ryoichi Suzuki, who served as the defense minister said.
"While we should definitely look into that, I don't think the public will be satisfied with just that". Nakamura said. "The general opinion among the public is to introduce some form of regulations on magically talented individuals." He added.
"That would put us directly against the entirety of the magician community. Might I remind you that the Yotsuba alone could stop any such bill from passing the parliament if they wanted to." Haruki said. "What we need to create is a bill that will appease both the people and the magicians." She added.
"Do you really think such a thing is possible?" General Tanaka asked his daughter. "If we make the rules too strict, thereby restricting the magicians completely, even if we managed to get past the Clans, we will still doom any chances of prospective magicians from taking up magic as a field of employment. We all know that magic cannot be forced on someone who doesn't want to learn it. On the other hand, if we make the laws too lax, it will inevitably lead to a rise of anti-magic sentiment within the people. Although only in its infant stages, we are already receiving news about Anti-magic organizations popping up in various nations." He added.
"I have an idea". Yoshihide said. "One of the main issues people have about this entire fiasco is that we currently do not have any way to identify the magicians from various clans that haven't made themselves public. What if we made it mandatory that every individual above a certain age limit be registered with the nation? We already have ranking categories for magicians in place in terms of military viability, it would be easy to apply it on a large scale. Have the magicians be ranked appropriately and then be registered in a database that will be run by the nation. I don't think the Master Clans will object to that. We can add the law about traveling restrictions as well." He explained.
"I believe I can add something to what Chief Yoshida just proposed". Haruki said. "Instead of simply registering individuals capable of using magic, why don't we make it so that they can only register after taking courses from a select number of educational institutes? I propose that we establish Magic High schools across the nation and connect them with the National Magic University. The University is an independent organization and can ensure that the power will not be concentrated in a few hands." She explained.
"That seems like a good idea. However, do we have enough magicians that are able and willing to teach children in magic?" Yamamoto asked.
"I have already done a basic survey and I believe we have enough manpower to establish at least nine magic high schools for now. We can always increase that number after a few batches enter the workforce. The main issue is that we currently have no method in place to identify civilian children that have magical aptitude in place." Haruki explained.
"That can be solved by using the club system in junior high and Middle schools". Ryoichi said. "Although we can't supply any magicians to such schools, we can provide magic testing equipment and guides on how to use them to every Middle and junior high school in the country. This should provide incentives to those with the capacity to use magic to prepare themselves for Magic High school tests." He continued.
"I believe that is an excellent idea". Yamamoto said. "Does anyone have any objections?" He asked. No one said anything.
"If that is all, I can complete the proposal by tomorrow and produce it to the Master Clan Conference for their opinion on the matter". Yoshihide said.
"Thank you, Chief Yoshida. I believe today's meeting is over. All of you are dismissed." Yamamoto said as the ministers and generals stood up and saluted him before leaving.
In an undisclosed location, at the same time.
At the same time that Japan's light side was holding a meeting, the shadows of Japan were in their own meeting.
Anyone who personally knew Kudou Retsu would say that the Kudou patriarch was one of the strongest magicians on the planet. This meant that he held a considerable amount of power and hold among the magicians of Japan. However, the Kudou Retsu currently standing held none of that pride.
The Senate was an organization that could be said to encompass the dark side of the magical world in Japan. They held incredible levels of influence among not only magicians but also other political and business figures. One could even argue that the Senate indirectly controlled Japan.
"So, Kudou-dono, do we have any lead on our mysterious benefactor?" Toudou Aoba might have only been in the forties but he was the highest-ranking individual in the Senate. As the hidden sponsor of the Yotsuba Clan that were currently the strongest in the entirety of Japan, he held a lot of sway in the Senate.
"My apologies, Toudou-dono, but our hidden friend has left no trace of himself anywhere. Everything that we tried to track him down has failed miserably." Retsu said respectfully.
"Are we sure that your family is completely in the clear? After all, our mysterious friend did use 'Parade' which is supposed to be a secret of the Kudou family." Kashiwa Kazutaka was the oldest member in the three-man group for briefing Retsu. Unlike the other two members of the Senate who looked like monks due to the Buddhist roots of their respective clans, Kazutaka looked like a well-aged scholarly gentleman.
"With all due respect Kashiwa-dono, I would know if someone in my own family was capable of such a feat. After all, anyone with such monstrous prowess would have stood out at some point." Retsu said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Parade was the Kudou family's ultimate secret technique. As far as Retsu knew, only he and his son were able to use it in the Clan. Even if one were to count the number of people who knew about the existence of Parade in the globe, you wouldn't need all ten of your fingers. However, the undeniable fact was that someone else had managed to use their technique, with a precision that rivaled or even surpassed him to boot. There were no traces whatsoever that indicated that such a person even existed.
"I suppose you are right". Kashiwa replied.
"Ayame-san informed us that he had made contact with Genzou-dono shortly after scorching Dahan. The evidence that the Yotsuba released on Dahan was collected by him." The third member of the group, Anzai-Isao said.
One of the major reasons why Dahan had been quiet on the global stage aside from the fact that they were on the brink of collapse, was the fact that shortly after the war, the Yotsuba had released comprehensive documents which had proved that the kidnapping attempt made on Maya was made by not 'just a group of unrelated rebels' like they originally claimed but a large number of high-ranking officials in Dahan's government at the request of The Kunlunfang Institute. Although the general consensus among most countries was that the reaction was a bit too excessive, no one could claim that Dahan was innocent. The Great Asian Alliance welcomed Dahan into their fold shortly afterward but the damage done to them would take multiple generations to recover from.
"Did the Yotsuba provide anything?" Retsu was a bit curious.
"That will be a negative. According to Ayame, the man only made contact with Genzou and his elder daughter. They avoided probing him with magic since they did not know how he would react and they were in the Yotsuba family's main house." Isao said.
"This means that we are back to square one again. As we speak, the Prime Minister is in a meeting which will decide on the restrictions to be applied on magicians. Although they do not pose any threat to us, the public might get out of hand if things continue as is." Aoba spoke.
"I suppose there is nothing else we can do right now. Kudou-dono, please remember to update us on any new happenings."
The Yotsuba Main House, the next day.
The Yotsuba Family gathered together once again at the order of Genzou. Although he felt that they had been gathering a little too often these days, he kept it to himself.
"Before I tell you why I called all of you here, I would like to address a few things. Eisaku, how is the 'clean-up' going." Genzou said.
"We have successfully dealt with every single person on the list that you had provided. To think that such scum would come from our own nation is nauseating to think about." Shortly after the war ended, Genzou provided a list of names to Eisaku which held the name of the Japanese Diplomats located in Dahan who knew about their plans to capture Maya. Eisaku had been tasked with taking care of them without raising a fuss.
"Good. Then, let us get to business." Genzou motioned to one of the servants to distribute the Virtual Information Tablets.
"This is a proposal from the Japanese Government that I just received today. They have sent this to every house in the Ten Master Clans, The Eighteen Assistant Houses as well as The Hundred Families." He explained.
The members of the family read the information provided to them carefully. Eisaku was unsurprisingly the first to finish.
"I believe I have no problems with this suggestion." He spoke. "Although the bit about Registration can be risky, especially if someone were to hack into the information servers of the Magic Association, that can be dealt with quite easily as long as they don't do anything stupid."
"I agree with Eisaku on this. There isn't anything in here that would be a problem aside from the traveling ban which might not be a bad thing." Yasuyo said.
"I agree". Motosuke said.
The rest of the clan were all in agreement as well.
"If that is all, I will inform the Master Clan Conference that the Yotsuba is in support of the new motion". Genzou said.
"By the way, Juuzou, do you have any lead on 'that' person?" Eisaku asked. "Mother is going crazy due to her inability to find him even after he waltzed into the middle of our own home and left without a care". Eisaku asked.
Eisaku was the closest to Ayame among the Yotsuba siblings. Therefore, he was decisively scared as he witnessed his mother increasingly descend into madness every passing day. Ayame's eyes were her pride and the fact that someone managed to escape them didn't sit well with the former matriarch of the Yotsuba.
"We have nothing. It isn't like we are the only ones looking either. The military, the other clans, and even a few foreign organizations are looking into him. However, none of them have gotten lucky. For all intents and purposes, our mysterious friend is still a complete mystery."
"I see. Let us leave it at that." Eisaku said.
California, The United States of North America, The Clark Household.
"Sorry for disturbing you at such an inopportune time Professor Clark." The man speaking was a middle-aged man with pale blond hair that was tightly cropped. The multitude of medals in military garments spoke volumes about the fact that he was an accomplished military officer.
Colonel Paul Walker was the Base Commander of STARS, a magic-oriented military wing created the previous year. He was currently speaking to a young man who looked no older than twenty-five.
"Please pay it no heed, Colonel." Edward Clark was familiar with some of the higher-ranking military officers of his nation due to having worked with them on multiple projects.
"As much as I want to say that this visit is purely on the basis of our friendship, that would be a lie". Walker said. "Allow me to formally invite you to join one of our nation's most secret projects. We believe that your unparalleled genius when it comes to communication networking will be a huge boon to us." He added.
"Might I ask what the project is about Colonel?" Edward asked.
"I cannot furnish anything to you unless you agree to join us, Edward. I am sorry but you know the protocols."
"I suppose I will have to trust you on this one Colonel. I will join if my country needs me." Edward said.
"Excellent. The project is called Echelon III. We are planning on creating a wide-range information interception system using electronic devices. Currently, only The President, Myself, and you are the only people who know about the project. I do not need to tell you to keep it a secret." Walker said.
"Does this have anything to do with the Strategic-class magician that appeared in Dahan?" Edward was a bit curious.
"I cannot deny that. We were originally supposed to start this project in five years after the STARS were fully organized and ready. However, the current situation has shown us that we have a glaring weakness when it comes to data collection. No information about the unknown magician has been collected even though a month has already passed. We have to address this issue as soon as possible." Walker explained.
"I will give you my full support Colonel". Edward said as he saluted the Colonel.
And so, the entire world was moving forward as they searched for answers about that one person. What was this person doing you ask? He was fighting on a completely different battlefield himself.
"Tatsuya, this will look good on you. Try it on for Mom." Shiba Mayuri was currently out shopping with her son. After the war had abruptly ended (She was not aware of the exact details except the ones covered by the news), this was the first time she had taken her son out.
"Mom, but I have already tried thirty different pairs already. Surely, we can just pick some of those." Tatsuya was physically incapable of being tired. However, spending less than two hours with his mom as her personal mannequin had already emotionally drained him.
"Don't talk back to me, young man. If you continue to dress like an old man all the time, you will never find a girlfriend for yourself." Mayuri scolded.
Tatsuya sighed and did as he was told. Today was going to be a long day, he could feel it.
And that's a wrap. Hopefully this chapter was better than the previous one in terms of quality. Thanks for all the continuous support for the fic.
Now to answer a few questions:
fencer29: First of all, thanks a lot about the info on the Senate. I literally had zero idea that it even existed before. Now, the reason Dahan split their forces was because it was just supposed to be a first wave. Their main goal was to take Okinawa which would make assaults on the mainland far easier on the future. It was supposed to be a large scale suicide-bombing.
Chrestomathy: I kind of know about the reasoning behind Miyuki being wed to Tatsuya, I just did not like the incest, is all. No hate tho.
Me Myself and I: Thanks for the detailed review and I did take some of your ideas in this chapter.
To all the others who reviewed, thanks and keep it coming. The only reason I keep uploading this daily is because ya'll are supporting me.
I'll see you soon.