Heiya, it's ONCE AGAIN been a long time. I'm really sorry that I take so long to release and I won't bore you with details this time.

I just wanted to say:

- Thank you very much to anyone who still has the patience to wait for my updates.

- Somehow there are still people that private message me asking if I dropped this story, despite the fact that I already said many times that I won't drop it. I'm really just slow at updating. IF I spend a year without news or updates then, as I said before, assume I'm dead or at the hospital.

- As a compensation of sorts, this will be not a double release but a QUADRUPLE release.

- Saying this just in case someone didn't notice but I rushed some parts of the story, all that stuff about Gu Jie and Edward Clark was only supposed to happen after Tatsuya returned to school. I will be rushing other parts as well.

"Mahouka" - speech

Mahouka - Time, place

(Mahouka) - thoughts or complements

{Mahouka} - my comments

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.

Yotsuba villa, Izu

Shizuku's turn

"Tatsuya-san, I'm ready." said Shizuku in a typical monotone.

"...Shizuku, do you really have to do this in that appearance?" the frowning Tatsuya asked.

"...I do. Otherwise I can't catch up to Miyuki. Just… Please don't stare too much. It's a little embarrassing."

Shizuku said the last part in a small voice. Tatsuya wanted to say that he wasn't staring but decided against it. Saying that she shouldn't do it if she was so embarrassed was no good either. He already experienced Miyuki's behavior of "I want him to look but at the same time I'm too embarrassed when he looks". Tatsuya just wordlessly continued to make the final adjustments before Shizuku laid on the machine.

"It's a little nostalgic." said Shizuku as if to break the silence.

"What is?"

"It hasn't been long but the only times I spent alone with Tatsuya-san were during the NSC."

"I guess so."

Though Shizuku said it like that, Tatsuya noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. He guessed that Shizuku was trying to hide her embarrassment with small talk. Despite the fact that they all agreed to hold the tuning and measuring sessions privately, it was still too embarrassing. In fact, Miyuki wasn't that on board with this arrangement since she didn't want Tatsuya to stare too much at other girls. Rather, since she was the main wife, she wanted Tatsuya to look at herself first. But she lost to both the majority (Ayako, Lina, Shizuku and Honoka) and the argument that Tatsuya already tuned her CAD like this many times before.

"..."

"..."

Given the silence, Tatsuya couldn't help but think to himself "Now, this is awkward". It's not like they chatted everytime Tatsuya adjusted Shizuku's CAD but given the current situation, with Shizuku's current undressed state to boot, the awkwardness was raised to the maximum. Tatsuya felt like he should say something but at the same time he felt that saying anything would just make it worse. Like someone trying to break an awkward silence but ends up accidentally bringing up an even more awkward topic. Shizuku definitely felt the same so it was only a matter of who was going to break the ice first.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...So, Shizuku, how is your family?" said Tatsuya finally breaking the silence.

In truth, Tatsuya considered just remaining silent but decided that at times like these, he needed to "man up". If only, for Shizuku's sake.

"...Otou-san and Wataru are fine. Okaa-san is still a little mad but she doesn't hold anything against Tatsuya-san."

Though Tatsuya asked in a vague manner, Shizuku immediately knew that he was referring to their thoughts about her situation. Needless to say, it was predictable but Tatsuya felt like asking anyway, if only to show he cared. Shizuku already explained everything about her family's reactions before but it was good to know that nothing changed for the worse.

And after a little while…

"I'm done. Please check if everything is okay. If you feel anything wrong tell me right away." Tatsuya said in a slightly professional tone.

"Hm… It's okay. It's perfect as always." Shizuku remarked, with emphasis on the 'always', while examining her CAD.

"That's good. I feel like I am more used to tuning your CAD, Shizuku." Tatsuya intended to say that just as a small comment but…

"...So aside from Miyuki, I'm first right?" asked Shizuku with a strange fire in her eyes.

"...I meant that I tuned your CAD the most during the NSC compared to everyone else." Tatsuya calmly tried to defuse her.

"So I'm first, right?" Shizuku was having none of his neutrality.

"...I guess you are." said Tatsuya, resigning himself.

"Mn." Shizuku gave a small nod while clenching her fists as if firing herself up.

Tatsuya knew that trying to stop Shizuku was going to work as well as breaking through Phalanx with his bare hands so he just nodded. Shizuku, on the other hand, really surprised him with her assertiveness. She was always supporting Honoka but it seems that, in a way, Shizuku got a load off her back. One could say it was similar to Ayako, who also seemed to hold back less and less each time they met. And speaking of 'not holding back'...

"... Tatsuya-san, I have one last favor to ask before I leave." Shizuku looked really embarrassed now, her entire body was fidgeting. Though that fire from before was still present in her eyes.

"...What is it, Shizuku?" Tatsuya asked, a premonition of trouble (embarrassment) already in his head.

"Could you… pat me in the head?"

At this point, Shizuku lowered her head so much that Tatsuya couldn't even look her in the eye.

"...Shizuku, can I ask why?"

Tatsuya wanted to hold his head but felt like it would be insulting. It's not like her actions annoyed him but he still felt Shizuku was a little too caught up in her own momentum to stop herself. If the others were here they would definitely ask the same, even Miyuki who already got her head pat countless times before.

"I just… felt a little jealous seeing it when you did it to Miyuki. And….it's still too much to ask for it in front of the others…. Is that no good?" Shizuku asked the last part, sounding really sad.

"..."

(You're basically making it impossible for me to refuse.)

Tatsuya couldn't help but feel like Shizuku was trapping him at this point. Truth to be told, Tatsuya actually almost petted her head before when she apologized for her mother's behavior towards him {refer to Double Seven Arc}. Shizuku lowered her head a little and looked really sorry and that figure mixed with Miyuki's in his head, which almost led Tatsuya to pet her involuntarily. Though, he believed that it was better not to disclose this, even more since Shizuku, as she was now, could take advantage of this knowledge later.

"...Hah….Alright, just for a little." said Tatsuya, once again resigning himself.

"...Thank you."

As per Sihzuku's request, Tatsuya put his palm on top of her head and started to slowly caress it. He was doing it a little more carefully as it was his first time doing this to a girl other than Miyuki. It definitely felt different, not only because of her hair but because he knew that it was not Miyuki. That alone gave a strange feeling to Tatsuya.

"Mnn…" Shizuku not so silently moaned a little.

She kept her eyes closed, almost like someone who was trying not to wake up from a happy dream, quite similar to what Miyuki does when Tatsuya strokes her head. Tatsuya erased the idea of asking if it was okay, Shizuku's expression said everything.

A few seconds later, Tatsuya decided to stop and Shizuku retreated one step, albeit a little regretful.

"...Was that good enough?" Tatsuya forced himself to ask.

"It was a little embarrassing but… it felt really good." said Shizuku, looking a little dreamy.

"...Is that so?" Tatsuya had no idea how to comment on this, or if he should even.

"A little longer would have been good as well… but I will get bullied by the others if I hog Tatsuya-san too much."

"..."

"Well then, thank you very much, Tatsuya-san. I will be taking my leave now." Shizuku excused herself with a calm expression, except that her poker face was as red as a tomato, and steady steps.

Tatsuya hoped that Shizuku wouldn't "brag" about what happened but he felt that even if she kept quiet, the others would still guess, or rather, feel that something happened. Shizuku's red face aside, Tatsuya came to fear women's intuition as a force to be reckoned with.

~a few minutes later~

Honoka's turn

"We-Well! P-Please take care of me, T-T-Tatsuya-san!" Honoka exclaimed.

"There's no need to get so nervous, Honoka. Just try to relax."

"Y-Yes…!"

Honoka arrived blushing as hard as Shizuku was just before she left. Tatsuya was actually worried since they didn't even do anything yet and Honoka was already in this state. He couldn't help but wonder if Honoka was going to faint at this rate. Worse yet, if she did faint, he is likely going to have to do this again since Honoka will have lost her turn. And they will do this again and again, till Honoka manages to control the flow of blood to her head. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

While Tatsuya was having this light fear of an unlikely but possible future, Honoka finished undressing and walked to the device. Though she was still wearing her underwear, she kept her hands up, covering her upper and lower parts as if she was naked. Tatsuya wondered if he should point out that the exposure wasn't that different from when she wore a swimsuit at the beach, but he understood that it would be too insensitive. Pointing out that the way she covered herself only made it worse since it looked like she was not wearing anything underneath was also a no go.

"I'm ready, Tatsuya-san!" Honoka involuntarily shouted.

"...Honoka, you don't need to force yourself if it's too much for you."

Honoka was red all the way to her ears, yet her tone seemed as if she was fired up and about to enter a fight. Tatsuya couldn't really understand the girl's feelings of rivalry when it came to romance but he was pretty sure no one was going to look down on Honoka simply for not going through with the CAD tuning. After all, she already had hers tuned during the NSC and some of the others (Mayumi, Kyouko and Erika) weren't even here to get their turns tonight.

(They are going to chew me out for this later…)

"I-It's fine, Tatsuya-san! I can do this!"

"If you say so."

Tatsuya was a little anxious at first, fearing that Honoka might try to strike a pose in her underwear or something and leave him unsure of how to respond. Thankfully, she just walked to the machine and laid down waiting for him to start. As expected, even though she could do it in her swimsuit, doing it in her underwear was too much. Though, Tatsuya could think of a certain blond foreigner highschooler that would certainly do it if she was tricked into believing it was normal for the japanese. She has, after all, a history of embarrassing herself due to her clumsiness and her lack of knowledge about japanese customs.

~some tuning later~

"I'm done, Honoka."

"T-Thank you very much!"

"Make sure to check everything."

"I-It's fine! It's perfect actually!"

To tell the truth, Tatsuya wanted to just ask Honoka to put her clothes on already but that would likely make her even more nervous. During the entire process, Honoka kept stealing glances at him as if checking (hoping) if he was conscious or bewildered by her exposed figure. Shizuku was a little better, she at least tried to keep her eyes on the ceiling. Honoka just kept moving her gaze and Tatsuya was not sure if she was trying to pretend not to look or if she was doing it without noticing.

"T-Tatsuya-san."

"What is it?"

"Errr….." Honoka was fidgeting hard.

Just as she called him back from his thoughts, Tatsuya saw her eyes spinning and her face redder than he imagined possible. This premonition of trouble was getting old at this point.

"C-C-Could you please do something to m-me?!" Honoka pleaded.

"...Sorry, could you please be more specific?"

"I-I mean, you did something to Shizuku, right…!?"

If anyone heard that, he would definitely be labeled as a pervert or something close to that. Tatsuya was sure that he didn't do anything to feel guilty, but the way Honoka said it gave him a headache. Kasumi would definitely try to knee him in the face for real if she was here, not that he would obediently accept it though.

"Honoka, I just tuned her CAD as promised–"

Tatsuya tried to defuse Honoka…

"There's no way that was all!"

…in vain.

Her assertiveness wasn't just in her voice but in her approach, she didn't seem to realize but her face was inches away from his. Tatsuya slowly raised his arms in surrender.

"...Did Shizuku talk about it?"

"Shizuku didn't say anything but she seemed really dazed and a little happy. When we asked her she just said that it was a secret!"

"I see."

Shizuku certainly didn't brag about it but sometimes leaving a topic open, without affirming or denying it, was the worst choice. In this case, leaving it to their imaginations was definitely the wrong choice as they could imagine that Tatsuya did more than just a head pat.

"But Honoka, I just patted her head a little. Nothing much."

"T-Then! Tatsuya-san won't mind doing it to me as well, right?!"

"...Certainly not."

Given her enthusiasm, Tatsuya thought she might try asking for something a little more extreme. But if it was just a few pats, he wouldn't mind. He just hoped that Mayumi and Kyouko wouldn't ask for the same in the future. Tatsuya already felt awkward doing it to girls of the same age but doing it to someone older than him was even worse.

Just as he did to Shizuku, Tatsuya patted Honoka. Her reaction was predictably different. While Honoka also seemed to be in a bliss, she looked more nervous and close to overheating than Shizuku. Her disappointed reaction at the end was similar though… only, it was not over just yet.

"T-Tatsuya-san, can I ask for one more favor?"

"...Yes, what is it?"

(I really wanted to say no but I fear she would cry if I did.)

"Not just my hair, b-but on my f-f-face as well!"

"...Your face?"

"Y-Yes! Just like you do to Miyuki!"

"..."

(Somehow, all the times I spoiled Miyuki are haunting me now…)

Tatsuya doesn't regret indulging Miyuki but he noticed that this "you did it to Miyuki so do it to me as well" was going to follow him for a long time. All of the girls were quite familiar with the way he treated Miyuki so they are likely going to demand that he does the same to them or at least close to that. It's a lost battle from the start, if he agrees Miyuki will get jealous and will demand more intimacy with herself since she is the main wife, if he declines the others will complain about preferential treatment and unfairness.

"Here."

"...!"

Tatsuya slowly reached for Honoka's left cheek with his right hand. He didn't stroke her cheek and just kept his hand still as he felt that this was still more than Honoka could handle without fainting. True enough, Honoka already looked happy enough to faint. It would probably help if she closed her eyes like Miyuki usually does but perhaps due to the shock, she kept them wide open and staring straight at Tatsuya's eyes. They kept eye contact for a few seconds before Tatsuya decided that it was enough.

"Ah…."

It took a few seconds for Honoka to realize that it was already over. Tatsuya knew that some people were good at attacking and bad at defending but he still couldn't help but wonder how exactly Miyuki and Honoka hoped to marry him like this. It's not like he doubted their feelings or resolve but they were so passionate and aggressive when they attacked and yet they looked about to explode every time Tatsuya did anything. He had his doubts about their chances of surviving a heart attack before they even got officially married.

"W-Well then. I'll be off."

"...Yeah. Thanks for your hard work."

"N-Not at all! Tatsuya-san did all the work!"

(...All things considered, I'd say that you had it a lot harder than me.)

Though Honoka still looked a little dazed, mid walk she started to skip and hum. Seeing that, Tatsuya knew he had nothing to worry about for now. His relief was quickly replaced with tiredness when he recalled that he still had to worry about Lina and Ayako. Since he was already used to tuning Miyuki's CAD, he thought (hoped) that things would go smoothly with her.

~a few minutes later~

Lina's turn

"I'm here, Tatsuya!" exclaimed Lina in an exaggerated manner.

Lina was a little similar to Honoka in the way they both wore their emotions on their faces. Just like Honoka, Lina was already blushing even before anything happened. Honoka was too assertive but Tatsuya thought that maybe he could do something about Lina.

"I-I just have to take off my clothes and lay down over there ri-right?"

"Yes but you don't have to take them off if you don't want to."

"It is too embarrassing… but I ha-have to do it! I can't have everyone leaving me behind!"

"If it's too much, you can wear this."

"A white shirt?"

"It's made so as to not interfere with the tuning."

"...Ok….Is this what he is into?" Lina said as if to whisper.

"?"

(This… is just a long white shirt. Tatsuya… doesn't have some kind of weird fetish, does he…? Making me wear something like this… No! There's no way Tatsuya has that kind of idea! That guy already has an obsessive love for his own sister, no wait, it's cousin now. But whatever! Tatsuya wouldn't do this to me just for some weird fetish! …Right…?)

Lina grabbed the shirt and moved out of the room with her head down. Tatsuya was a little relieved that Lina was not changing in the room but he also felt a little worried. Part of him felt that Lina was having the wrong idea about him, her barely audible response only contributed to this. Sure enough, as soon as she came back, Tatsuya's headache came back with her.

"...Lina, it's a little sudden but have you used this type of device (bed-type) for tuning before?"

"Yes, we had to take measurements too once a month back in the USNA."

"And you used a bikini during the tuning?"

"? Yes, why?"

"..."

Leaving aside the fact that Tatsuya doesn't believe that just once a month is acceptable, he couldn't understand why Lina was wearing only the shirt he gave her. He thought that maybe he was just imagining things but looking closely, Lina was really not wearing underwear under the shirt. She should have known that Shizuku and Honoka were wearing their underwear before so why was she wearing just the white shirt? Simply because he offered her a shirt she somehow misunderstood that she was supposed to wear just that? Was this girl for real? He was pretty sure he never instructed her to do so.

"What? Somehow, I have the feeling that you are criticizing me." Lina sent a reproachful gaze.

"It's just your imagination."

"Did I do anything wrong?"

"..."

(I can somewhat understand why Lina was sent to spy on me before {Refer to Visitor Arc}. Most people won't expect the infamous Angie Sirius to be this naive girl with no actual spy training or experience.)

To tell or not to tell, a hard question with a simple answer but not so simple consequences. Tatsuya didn't really feel like talking about Lina's current outfit and Lina herself seemed to be on edge already but thinking about the future when she will likely take more measurements in Yotsuba facilities, it was better to solve this misunderstanding now. And even if Lina got mad, deep down she would know that she only had herself to blame.

"Lina, that shirt was given to you to cover your underwear. You weren't supposed to take off all your clothes." Tatsuya said with a sigh.

"...Eh?" Lina said, widening her eyes.

(As always, this girl makes interesting expressions when she gets flustered/surprised. But this is my chance while she hasn't processed the situation yet.)

"Lina, you should remember that I gave that shirt because you said it was too embarrassing to use only your underwear. So it should be clear that you were supposed to wear the shirt over your underwear. There's also the fact that from what you told me about your experiences at the USNA, you never took the measurements with this appearance."

"Wha-! Y-You, wha-!"

Lina's face was a mix of frustration and shame, a little hard to tell which one was stronger. Not only the shame of having made such a mistake and being seen in such an outfit, but also the anger at Tatsuya's thorough and calm analysis that cut down any accusation she might have, left her unable to finish a single word. "What should she do", "what should she say", "why does this guy have such steel nerves", Lina's mind was full of questions but her mouth wasn't forming any of them.

Seeing Lina like that, Tatsuya thought that maybe he should throw her a lifeboat. If there was one thing he admitted about Lina, it was that she could at least (try to) adapt her stories and follow up helping hands (lifeboats).

"...Well, I guess I should have made it clearer. While I never said what you should do, I also never said what you shouldn't do."

"Eh? Ah! T-That's right! You never…" Lina was just about to accept Tatsuya's help when she came to a sudden stop.

"? Lina?" Tatsuya was puzzled as he thought it was going to be over.

All of sudden, Lina recalled what her good friend, Sylvie, told her before.

"Lina, you should know that while our superiors appointed you for this engagement, they weren't being considerate of your feelings. They were just using them."

"M-My feelings?! S-Sylvie, that is…!"

"Lina, I already said that you should be proactive and the first step for that is acceptance. I won't judge how you feel about Shiba Tatsuya, I may be a little worried since he is part of the Yotsuba but I know that you wouldn't fall for a jerk or a psychopath."

"..."

"My point is, you should also take advantage of your assignment. Our superiors sent you since you were the best candidate but as I said before, this is a golden chance so take it."

"B-But…"

"Lina, you don't have to scream that you love him to the heavens. Just… don't back down when the time comes."

(That's… right. I'm Angie Sirius, the strongest magician of the STARS and one of the Thirteen Apostles. Something like this is nothing for me…!)

Remembering Sylvie's words gave her courage, well, at least enough courage to not run away. Her face was still red all over but Lina stopped herself from accepting Tatsuya's help, instead…

"Thi… fi…ne…."

"Sorry, could you repeat?"

"I said that this is fine!"

"...What?"

This time Tatsuya was the dumbfounded one.

"It will take too long to change again! I will just do it like this!"

Lina barely finished her sentence and started walking towards the device fast, just short of running.

"...No, it really won't take too long—"

"Too late! I'm already here! Just start already!"

"...Fine."

Once again, Tatsuya felt anxious about his future. He thought Lina would be easier to handle than Honoka but for some reason unknown to him (Sylvie) Lina was more daring than she should be. Tatsuya blamed himself for hoping for the best without preparing for the worst. After all, Shizuku herself already got him off guard right at the beginning of this entire comedy (tragedy). To think he still had to deal with Ayako and Miyuki. Miyuki was definitely not happy about being last and he could only imagine what she was going to ask of him.

The tuning itself was pretty uneventful. Lina was holding the hem of her shirt as if to protect her unprotected lower half but aside from that nothing noteworthy happened and Tatsuya was able to peacefully finish things on his end.

"It's over Lina."

"T-Thanks."

"You should get changed or you might catch a cold."

"I-I guess. I'm not really… feeling cold though."

"..."

Tatsuya decided to just skip asking Lina to check her CAD. As a professional he should insist that she verify her CAD before leaving but as a person he felt it was probably not for the best to extend her stay in the room. He didn't even comment on how high Lina's temperature should be given how red her face was. Saying that she could get sick was simply a way out he offered her.

"W-Well?!"

"?"

Lina seemed to be demanding something from him but he couldn't tell that exactly. From her reaction it's supposed to be obvious but then again, with her current panicked mental state it could be anything.

(Also, she should stop crossing her arm under her chest while she's not wearing a bra. It seems she did in an attempt to show a confident attitude but it's completely backfiring. But let's not add fuel to the fire.)

"What's wrong?"

"...pat…"

"Sorry, could you repeat?"

"The head pat!"

"...did you hear that from the others?"

"Shizuku kept quiet but everybody could tell something was off. Once Honoka came back we decided that there was no point in hiding since we would each come to our own conclusions. Hence, they both spoke about what you did."

"..."

Unsurprisingly, Honoka maintained her silence in regards to her "extra pats" on the cheek. If Shizuku discovered that she received less than Honoka, she would come back here demanding the same treatment. In a way, Honoka could be unexpectedly cunning.

"Right, then…"

"Ah…"

Tatsuya didn't wait for Lina to calm down since with her personality there was no way she was going to calm down anytime soon.

"Ah…uh…ah…"

As Tatsuya caressed her head, Lina seemed to have forgotten how to speak properly or perhaps she forgot how to think rationally.

"There, satisfied?"

"Uh…I…I…"

"Take your time to calm dow–"

"Y-You idiot! Don't just su-suddenly do that!"

(Even if you say that, your response is a few seconds too late.)

"Should I not have then?"

"I-It's not like I hated it! I actually liked it a little… But you have to warn me first!"

The last part before the scream was a whisper but since they were quite close to each other, Tatsuy heard everything just fine.

"W-Well then ,see ya!"

In a panic over her own words, Lina dashed out of the room at full speed. Hopefully she would remember to change her clothes before she headed back to the others and hopefully she wouldn't trip on her way back. With Lina being less shy and Shizuku more proactive than he predicted, Tatsuya decided it was safe to assume he would not be able to predict anything that was still to come. At least when it came to the girls' behavior. God help him when they return to First High. Rather than an assassination attempt, he might not survive his fiancees competition over himself.