I tried to be fair to each heroine (aside from the three who are not present) but since Miyuki is the main one so she got more dialogue time with Tatsuya.
Again, not much to say, enjoy.
"Mahouka" - speech
Mahouka - time, location
(Mahouka) - thoughts and short explanations
[Mahouka] - messages and calls
{Mahouka} - my comments and explanations
I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.
"G-Greetings, Tatsuya-san. It's finally my turn."
"There's no need to be formal, Ayako."
Ayako arrived, already in her underwear, perhaps because she wanted to be practical. Initially, Ayako was against everyone doing this in their undies, initially that is. There were two factors that overturned her initial reaction, first was the fact that Miyuki was always doing it like this (which sparked her rivalry), second was the fact that Ayako noticed that everyone was already dead set on this. If she declined due to it being "not lady-like", she would be the odd one out and the odd one behind as well.
Still, she at least tried to sound refined with her greetings, though her undressed appearance didn't quite match her words. And, needless to say, despite her apparent composure, she was blushing hard.
"How could I not? We made Tatsuya-san go along with our selfishness and you seem very tired too. I apologize for the trouble."
"Trouble is not the word I would use but I guess I am a little tired."
"But as expected of Tatsuya-san. Doing so many people in a row and in such a short amount of time too. An average engineer would take at least double or triple the time."
"It's not really a big deal. You just need to take away all unnecessary steps from the process."
"And yet most people can't do such a feat, right? I agree with Miyuki-san that you are too modest, Tatsuya-san. Though our clan is partly to blame for that…"
Tatsuya's habit of downplaying his own achievements and abilities was nothing new. It's not like they wanted Tatsuya to boast but they wished he could at least take pride in what he accomplished. As Ayako said, since the Yotsuba in general looked down on him for years, it's no wonder he grew like this, unable to think highly of himself. Even when Tatsuya did recognize himself, it's mostly as "significant" and not really as outstanding.
"You don't have to feel responsible, Ayako. If anything, you were among the people that helped get through that phase."
"...It makes me happy to hear you say that."
Ayako had managed to calm herself down because she got a little sad over remembering Tatsuya's treatment before becoming Maya's son. But now she was blushing again, not because of shame but because she was happy.
"Oh my, we seem to have drifted off our main subject. My apologies for delaying you, Tatsuya-san."
"It's fine. It helped me relax a little."
"I'm relieved to hear that. Well then, let's begin."
Though Ayako walked towards the device with elegant steps, Tatsuya could tell she was also a little on edge as she was visibly stiff. Honoka and Lina wore their emotions on their sleeves, Shizuku simply didn't show her emotions very much but Ayako stood out in the way she could hide her feelings behind a polite smile. Of course, Tatsuya was already familiar with that. This was something Ayako and Miyuki had in common, they both knew how to control and hide their emotions to some extent. To be fair, they weren't the only ones but they were the ones Tatsuya had known the longest.
"Just relax, Ayako. It will be over soon."
"I'm not a child, Tatsuya-san."
"Sorry. I wasn't trying to tease you."
"Fufu. I know. I was just joking. I know that you were just showing that you care."
Tatsuya was surprisingly enjoying this, rather, he was enjoying not having that awkward atmosphere from the previous three girls. He wasn't sure if Ayako was just pretending or if she really managed to relax herself and forget about her current lack of clothes. Perhaps making small talk during the tuning wasn't such a bad thing.
"This is a first. Tatsuya-san gave me advice about how to use my magic properly before but we never had a chance to do this."
"Well, Kuroba-dono (Mitsugu) would never allow it."
"... Otou-sama has always been too harsh on you, Tatsuya-san. But we are making progress, albeit a little too slowly."
"He has his own circumstances. There's no need to pressure him."
The unspoken sentence was "though if I agree with his circumstances or not is a different story". Tatsuya may understand that Mitsugu feels guilty over taking part in the creation of a "monster" capable of destroying the world. But Tatsuya still believes that Mitsugu's bad behavior and mistreatment towards him were unjustified and misguided. And he would never agree to Mitsugu's proposition of leaving Miyuki's side, not even if Maya ordered him to.
"It's not just Otou-sama, other members and servants of our clan also need to adjust how they treat Tatsuya-san. Though I guess that will take time."
"I was recognized only as a guardian until a few weeks ago after all. But I don't particularly care about the way they treat and see me."
"But we care, right? Mainly Miyuki-san too."
"...I guess."
Tatsuya wondered if he should start caring a bit more. Third parties looking down on him and making Miyuki angry was also nothing new. But now he had more people looking out for him and maybe he needed to show them some consideration and at least shut some outsiders up. Though, now that he was officially recognized as the son of the Clan Head, it would be a little hard to find people willing to criticize him to his face. He just hoped Miyuki was willing to let some people who wronged him before (Morisaki for instance) due to their ignorance go. Tatsuya didn't care what happened to them but it was better to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, even if said bloodshed was going to remain under covers due to the Yotsuba's influence. Speaking of which…
"Actually, I remember Miyuki-oneesama mentioned before that at First High some of the first course students would often badmouth and/or belittle Tatsuya-san…"
(Oh no.)
"Hey, Tatsuya-san. I won't say cruel things like 'kill them' but don't you feel like they could just… mysteriously and suddenly vanish?"
Somehow Ayako looked just like Miyuki now, she was smiling with her eyes closed and covered by a shade, giving her a sinister look. Her tone as well, got increasingly low as she finished her sentence.
"...There's no need for that. If you need to vent your frustration just scare them a little, there's no need to kill or threaten them."
"My, Tatsuya-san. I was only just joking. I'm not so simple-minded as to get rid of a few people who don't seem to know their places."
Though she kept laughing in a typical ojou-sama manner (Ohohoho) Tatsuya felt she was at least a little serious. Of course, Ayako wouldn't go through with the idea but she would certainly feel just a tiny bit tempted. All of sudden, talking during the tuning wasn't awkward nor enjoyable, it was exhausting.
"I'm done."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Not at all. Check if everything is okay."
"Hm. It's more than okay. As expected of Tatsuya-san." {Sasuga Onii-sama}
Ayako seemed happy with her CAD but she started glancing at Tatsuya and while he was tempted to just ignore her, he couldn't do that.
"What is it, Ayako?"
"You should know it, Tatsuya-san. What is it that you did to the others and haven't done to me yet?"
Tatsuya sighed once before resigning himself.
"I get it."
"Hm~. Not playing dumb is good."
Ayako hummed a little while making her way to Tatsuya. She was likely using all of her "refined and proper" power to keep her embarrassment under control. It certainly gave a better image than Honoka and Lina who were evidently breaking through their limits and screaming their hearts out before. Hopefully Ayako will be able to keep herself together.
"Then, here."
"Oh…"
Ayako felt like she was dreaming, a scene she always watched from a third-person perspective. A situation she imagined herself in many times but never had the courage to materialize. For years Ayako just kept watching Tatsuya's closeness with Miyuki from the sidelines and now she finally got a taste of what it was like. Tatsuya's touch was as gentle and warm as she expected. Though she was aware that she couldn't occupy the same space in his heart as Miyuki, Ayako was nonetheless happy for now.
Seeing Ayako like this, Tatsuya couldn't help but wonder if Mayumi, Erika and Kyouko would have the same reaction if he did the same to them. Everyone he patted until now had an expression of full bliss and as far as he was aware, he had no special patting skills. It was obviously a matter of feeling but Tatsuya himself couldn't quite understand it as, while he loved staying close to Miyuki, it's not like he would absolutely rejoice at receiving head pats.
"...Thank you very much."
"It's nothing."
"No, this is plenty actually."
"I see."
"You don't actually understand it, do you?"
"I won't say I have a good grasp but I believe it's something like a wish to be pampered."
"It's not that far off. Every girl has a desire to be cared for and pampered by the man they love, not just anyone."
"I see."
Seeing as Tatsuya has been indulging Miyuki for years, he could somewhat comprehend that girls had certains needs. He just never expected so many girls close to him to have the same needs. But when he thought about it again, even his upperclasswoman, Watanabe Mari, seemed to have a particularly sensitive side when she was with her boyfriend. Given what he saw and heard during his time at First High, Mari's usual rough and slightly boyish attitude vanished when she interacted with Naotsugu. Just as Tatsuya started to reflect a little on girls and their hidden sides…
"Well then, I believe it's time I take my leave."
"You don't need to be in such a hurry."
"I do need it though. Miyuki-san is next and I would rather not have to face her wrath for delaying her turn."
"..."
Tatsuya wanted to side with Miyuki and say that she wouldn't do that but as expected, even Miyuki might be running out of patience after all this time.
"Oh, and one last thing."
"What is it?"
"If you can Tatsuya-san, please try to save some time and adjust Fumiya's CAD as well on a later date."
"I don't particularly mind but what brought this on?"
"That child is also very attached to Tatsuya-san. He wanted to come as well but felt that he shouldn't intrude on our time together."
"Okay, I will talk to Fumiya later."
"Thank you very much, Tatsuya-san. I will be taking my leave now."
~more minutes later~
"I'm here, Tatsuya-sama."
"You can come in, Miyuki."
Tatsuya thought that either Miyuki would come in like she always does or she would storm in due to her jealousy and frustration at being last but instead she seemed nervous. In fact, her reaction seemed similar to the others which Tatsuya couldn't comprehend.
"What's wrong, Miyuki?"
"I-It's nothing!"
"...Miyuki, if you don't want to talk, I won't press you. But if there's a problem, I wish you'd spoke to me so we could sort it out."
"Tatsuya-sama…"
Miyuki wanted to say that it was unfair to be that gentle but she also thought that it was a little unfair of herself to not speak to him after showing such a reaction. Miyuki was aware, after all, that Tatsuya wasn't exactly developed in the romance field.
"It's not like there's anything, Tatsuya-sama. It's just, it's the first time we will be doing this as a couple and not as siblings."
"...I see."
"I'm sorry to bother you, Tatsuya-sama. B-But I just got a little nervous."
"It's never a bother, Miyuki."
Before, Maya had said that since Miyuki was an artificial magician with special genes, even if she had a child with Tatsuya, there would be no defects or anomalies and, as such, they could get engaged normally {refer to Yotsuba Succession Arc}. Of course, Tatsuya protested that that was not the main problem, which is to say, Tatsuya didn't see things like Maya did and to his surprise Miyuki agreed with Maya. Even if they could have children without problem, there was still the issue that they were brother and sister related by blood but Tatsuya was the only one against it, hence, the current state. But why would Tatsuya suddenly recall this? Because he was once again having a problem of perspective. In his head, it was a matter of fact that they always did the tuning together and that it hasn't changed. But to Miyuki, laying in the device only in her underwear as his fiancee was pretty different from doing it as his sister. Tatsuya thought this wasn't an issue but Miyuki had another perspective on the matter.
"You just have to think like before. Imagine that things were just as they were before. You can call me as you called before if it makes it easier."
"...I can't. Imagining that I wasn't engaged to Tatsuya-sama… I could never do that." Miyuki shook her head with a serious face.
Truth to be told, Tatsuya felt a little lonely not being called "Onii-sama" anymore and he was sure that Miyuki was not completely used to calling him by name either. Given their current engagement he could understand her position but insisted that she could call him like before in private. But Miyuki insisted on calling him "Tatsuya-sama" even when they were alone. It wasn't just to get used or to avoid others questioning their relationship, it was also a representation of her will. Miyuki finally got her wish and she had no intention of backing down and returning things to what they used to be.
"Tatsuya-sama, please don't worry about me. Even if I seem to be struggling, this is something I desire and I will never regret it."
"...Understood. If you go that far, I won't say anything."
"Thank you very much… Shall we get started?"
"Yes."
The initial problem solved, the tuning went smoothly. There was one difference though, Tatsuya could feel Miyuki's gaze on him during the entire thing. No, to be correct, Tatsuya was noticing her gaze more compared to the past. Miyuki would always stare at him but only now did Tatsuya seem to notice the emotions contained. Miyuki's changes also brought changes in Tatsuya, now he could see how so many of her actions were not done because of familial love but a deeper one. He felt guilty over not noticing until now but Miyuki wouldn't want him to grieve over this.
"It's done, Miyuki. You should…"
"...check if everything is ok, right? Fufu. I know, Tatsuya-sama." said Miyuki with a laugh.
Tatsuya gave a wry smile but he didn't feel it was bad. Although simple, Miyuki enjoyed this little interaction. Being able to guess what he was thinking and what he was going to say only reinforced how close to him she was. Miyuki knew better than anyone that and yet…
"...Tatsuya-sama."
"What is it, Miyuki?"
Miyuki suddenly spoke in a serious tone, opposite to her relaxed one from a second ago. She leaned on his back, similar to how she did some time ago {refer to Enrollment Arc}.Tatsuya took notice of that and prepared himself.
"I… am always going to be your number one, right?" she whispered in his ear.
"But of course. No matter what happens, you will always be my priority, Miyuki. No matter what." Tatsuya said, turning around and placing his hands on her shoulders.
Miyuki knew that Tatsuya couldn't actually fall in love with anyone else. As he could only feel strongly when it came to Miyuki, she was the only one he could love from the bottom of his heart. But she also knew that he still didn't love her as a woman, just as a sister, even if he was making an effort.
"I understand, Tatsuya-sama. But… am I a bad girl for wishing for more…?"
"No, you-"
"Tatsuya-sama is still not used to this relationship and yet… you are still going along with my selfishness. Tatsuya-sama treasures me more than anyone but I just keep craving for more. And despite knowing how hard you are trying, I'm still afraid when I see you getting along with others…" Miyuki said it all with her head lowered, avoiding Tatsuya's eyes.
"...Miyuki, if you are against my engagement with the others, I will…"
"N-No! It's not that!" Miyuki said with a tone a little stronger than what she wanted.
Even if Miyuki and Tatsuya had already agreed with this polygamy before, if Miyuki said "no" now, Tatsuya would follow her no matter what. Even if it meant going against Maya and everyone who already took part in this.
"I… already accepted the others. It's just… I'm afraid the time when I'm no longer your most important person will come. They are my friends and… my sisters now but I still don't wish for them to be as close as I am, even if this is unfair." Miyuki was already crying by this point.
"Miyuki…"
"I don't wish to take away their happiness and I don't wish for Tatsuya-sama to neglect them because of me and yet…!"
Though Miyuki was shouting at this point and tears were rolling down her face, Tatsuya remained calm. Obviously he wasn't happy but he was relieved. Tatsuya always believed that Miyuki was holding herself back, he just wasn't sure what it was about. In a way, it could be said that this is part of growing up. Miyuki was aware that it was "unfair" so she kept it hidden in her heart but she still needed to let it out and she was acting a little more reserved ever since she became Tatsuya's fiancee. That's why he was relieved, even now, Miyuki only felt comfortable with Tatsuya. She could only expose herself in front of him and could only remain vulnerable yet safe, when she was with him.
"It's okay, Miyuki." Tatsuya said, hugging her head to his chest.
"B-But…!"
"No matter what, you will always be the one most important to me. No one will ever change that. Even if I get closer to the others, I will never put them before you. I'm sure they all understand that deep down and no one condemns you, Miyuki."
"..."
"They must know how conflicted you were feeling too. And they understand you, Miyuki. No one is going to blame you."
Tatsuya lifted Miyuki's chin and looked straight in the eye, using his other hand to wipe her tears.
"Though, of course, if you still wish to blame yourself, blame me as well. I am partially involved since I never noticed your feelings and made you agonize for years."
"What?! How could I ever…?!"
"Then it's settled, right?"
"...Geez, Tatsuya-sama."
Miyuki's tears were still on her cheeks but there weren't any new tears forming. Miyuki was angry at herself for the most part but Tatsuya said it was okay to be like that. Not only that, but Tatsuya pointing out that the others were likely already aware of Miyuki's feelings played a big part in calming her down. Given how they all knew Miyuki to a considerable extent it was no surprise that they could guess how she was feeling inside, torn between monopolizing Tatsuya and helping her friends and family. They all joined the plan even knowing they likely will never be number one but they still wished to stay beside Tatsuya.
Wanting to monopolize Tatsuya was something they all understood well so nobody held anything against Miyuki. All she needed was for Tatsuya to point that out. They were all together in this, so if something was wrong they just had to help each other sort it out.
"I'm sorry for showing such an unsightly display." said Miyuki after calming down.
"It wasn't unsightly. Nothing you do is unsightly to me, Miyuki." said Tatsuya, patting her head.
"..."
For a little while, Miyuki just did the usual. She closed her eyes in a bliss while Tatsuya caressed her cheek. A sweet atmosphere was forming around the two, the kind that makes bystanders vomit sugar, only there were no third parties at the moment. Anyway, that peace lasted a few minutes, since a few minutes later Miyuki was suddenly surrounded by a dark aura. With a small smile and eyes that did not match that smile, she asked…
"By the way, Tatsuya-sama, what exactly did you do to the others?"
"..."
Tatsuya couldn't help but think to himself: "So it finally came, huh?".
"Oh, please don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing Tatsuya-sama. The others are also engaged to Tatsuya-sama but as we just discussed, I am the main wife."
Miyuki's point was "it's okay to do it to the others but I have to be the first one". That is to say, if Tatsuya did anything like kissing or more, he had to do it to Miyuki first.
"...They just asked me to pat their heads like I do to you, Miyuki. I believe they should have conveyed it to you as well."
"I see. We indeed talked about it every time someone came back… But is that really all? Honoka seemed a little more suspicious than the others." Miyuki said with a sharp gaze.
"...Actually, Honoka also asked for me to touch her cheek but this is also something I already did to you, Miyuki."
"So that was the case. Honoka is really stepping up her game."
Miyuki looked a little happy for her rival and Tatsuya felt it was better not to mention Lina's little incident. After all, it was not something she did on purpose so everyone was happier not knowing about that. Tatsuya didn't believe anyone would try to do the tuning naked simply to go further than Lina did but then again, he already got surprised too many times recently. It was better not to play with fire (their passion). A moment of impulsiveness was all it took to make "bad decisions". Just as Tatsuya was getting a little lost in his thoughts…
"Err… Tatsuya-sama?"
"What is it?"
"C-Could you please… close your eyes for a moment?"
"Hm? What for?"
"P-Please just close them!"
"O-Okay."
Tatsuya felt a little suspicious, even if he knew Miyuki wasn't going to do anything bad. But it's not like he could ever refuse her request so he just obediently closed his eyes. Soon enough, he felt something soft and warm on his cheek. He almost opened his eyes due to surprise but managed to keep them closed.
"Y-You can open them now."
Tatsuya, who opened his eyes, was greeted by the sight of Miyuki's blushing face. He hasn't seen her blushing this hard since their first night as an engaged couple during the Yotsuba gathering.
"I-I-It's still too much for me to do it on the l-l-lips! But this much should b-be f–fine!"
Tatsuya wasn't really sure how to respond. He somewhat expected something like this to happen when he closed his eyes but now that it actually happened, he was unsure about what to do.
"I-I just had to do it! Before anyone else di-did it!"
"There's no need to force yours-"
"I had to!"
Miyuki's interruption startled Tatsuya.
"E-Everyone else is doing their best! If I don't do b-better, they will leave me behind!"
"R-Right."
Somehow, Tatsuya felt they just spoke about something similar but decided not to comment.
"W-Well then, I should get back to the others! Excuse me!"
Miyuki before Tatsuya got a chance to answer. The question from the time when he was with Honoka came back to his mind, "can they really handle this engagement?". Unknown to him, Miyuki was actually tempted to kiss him on the lips but it was still too much for her so she changed her mind at the last second. She deceived herself with self-justifications like "it's still too soon" or "the mood isn't appropriate right now". While some of the excuses were indeed right, they really were just for Miyuki to cover her own inability to go through with her wishes.
(This was a long night.)
Just as Tatsuya thought so, he received a message on his console. It read the following:
[Dear Tatsuya-kun,
How are you doing? Certainly great considering how you must have spent your time taking measurements and tuning your lovely fiances' CADs while flirting around.
But oh dear, if I remember correctly, we are also your fiancees. That being the case, I hope you will save some time for us as well (^u^).
Unfortunately, the raid is coming soon so we won't be able to do it now but as soon as we get this case sorted out, we will be counting on you.
Sincerely,
You neglected fiancees.]
There was a lot Tatsuya wanted to retort to but he could guess from the way it was written, even if he didn't check the sender, that it was a message from Mayumi. And from the way she ended the message, Erika and Kyouko also had a hand in this message. Deciding to change his gears a little, he thought about the incoming operation.
(I just hope the operation at least goes smoothly.)
Given that a certain Sage from the USNA seemed to have his prying eye on this case, Tatsuya had to be on his guard. Gu Jie was likely not a threat in direct combat but he definitely did not survive this long by relying on his combat prowess.
(First Zhou Gongjin, and now Gu Jie. We have enough external threats as it is. Hopefully the internal ones will keep their heads down for now…)
As Tatsuya was thinking that, he never imagined that one of his greatest enemies was soon going to be born.
.
.
.
At the same time, in a different location
"Is this… the power of a parasite?" a young man said as he watched a video displayed on a monitor.