Chapter 25
SHIBA TATSUYA
Last Night attack had caused quite a scare, and the revelations in the newspapers this morning had done little to aid the organising committee of the Nine School Competition, as one of their own employees was arrested on charges of facilitating and conspiring with a foreign entity.
He did not even need to think about just who was behind all this. It was mainly the Kudo family and the military that were behind the organization of the Nine School Competition, and both of them had tried to mess with the Yotsuba, and this was their retaliation. Humiliating them both openly while keeping their hands clean.
Truthfully, it was a warning shot, one he wished the military and the Kudo Clan would understand, though that would all come later, for right now, Shiba Tatsuya had another issue to deal with.
He had been entrusted with a task, by someone who was both his family and a friend. One who was quite close to Miyuki, and there was no way he was going to fail at that. Even if his opponent was another genius.
Shinkuro Kichiouji, also known as Cardinal George, was Ichijou Masaki's right-hand man. He was a certified genius, having worked out one of the eight Cardinal Codes, which formed the basis of magic all around, before even entering his teens.
And that boy was set to be his opponent for the final of Speed Shooting, the first of the two competitions he was participating in.
"So, you are that guy's general," the young boy addressed him, and Shiba did not shift, though he got his reference.
Shinkuro Kichiouji thought himself to be Ichijou's general, an advisor to the King, and he thought of him as such.
"I wouldn't say that," he said as he took out his CAD. The Silver Taurus's latest model glistened in the Sun as the herald began the countdown.
"I don't know what magic Yotsuba used to bring down Masaki, but I will not let him down. I am going to take back the points you stole from us," he declared, and Shiba only smiled.
"I am afraid I cannot let that happen," and with the countdown came to an end, and he pulled the trigger.
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KUDO RETSU
After the major debacle with the news, the Nine School Competition Committee had called in the military to reassure the students and the rest of the magical faculty about their safety. Kudo Retsu had underestimated the Yotsuba thinking that because of their secrecy they would need time to retaliate against him and his comrades, however, it seems that Maya planned to make full use of Inei's public identity to do as much damage as she could.
"To think that one of your own staff members would be working for a foreign entity," Major Kazama began as they both lounged in the VIP room of the hotel, watching the live event down below with bated interest.
Or at least he watched while the Major sipped his tea, rather indifferent to the competition that went on down below.
"It truly is a shame," he commented as he watched Shinkuro Kind take the stage alongside Miya's son.
"The man escaped our screening and was in contact with a foreign entity. The bug he used I was able to identify as a common virus used by GAA decades ago, but whatever Inei Yotsuba did to the man we have not been able to extract any information out of him," he said as he put one leg above the other and picked up his cup of tea.
"He is impeding your investigation," Major Kazama questioned, with a raised a brow.
"He is a way to make us seem incompetent. I believe he plans to deal with whoever was behind all this soon enough," for that would be the only reason to keep the man's mouth shut.
"He is a Yotsuba, and he is showing why the world fears them," Kazam commented.
"And yet if he remains so, even Japan will be made to fear them, and that is something that we cannot let happen," for the whole of Japan would be at its whims. And though he respected them, the Yotsuba were too single-minded, too prone to violence and tragedy and warfare that if they were to become the dominant force in Japan, any hope of making peace with their enemies would be lost.
"So you are still set in your way," the general questioned, and he nodded.
"I am. I had hoped that young Masaki could prove himself to be the boy's equal; however, that is a lost cause, and as it stands, we have none who can stand against Inei Yotsuba individually," and was not that a scary thought.
"You are wrong, Kazama added.
"We have one guy," he replied as he looked out the window at the final of speed shooting that was coming to an end. The result was very much as he had predicted it to be.
"Shiba Tatsuya," he realized, and indeed, the boy had just schooled Shinkuro Kichiouji, winning the finals in a landslide, ending the competition more or less.
"Yet he would never take up arms against the boy. Afterall, he is his own cousin," and such wasted potential.
"That is true, but also not," Kazama commented.
"Because Shiba Tatsuya cares little for the clan or for Inei Yotusba. The only person he cares about is his sister, as long as we are able to make her give that order. She will comply, and he will stand against Inei Yotsuba," Kazam added, his eyes narrowed.
"That is an interesting thought," he said, and Major Kazam shrugged.
"It is why you summoned me."
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INEI YOTSUBA
The Nine School Competition was more or less over. With First High dominating for the initial four days, the scores were so skewed that unless they absolutely failed at in the rest of the events, they would not lose.
And so, with the Nine School Competition coming to a close, he had some time to kill, and tonight, he was going to make good use of that time. He had been able to recover the location of the headquarters of No-Head-Dragon from the employee at the Competition and had been informed that the higher-ups of the organization planned to flee the company by tomorrow morning and were hosting an emergency conference today.
And today he was paying them a visit. A final visit.
"You did not have to come here with me," he said as a raven-haired girl stepped forward, her red eyes glistening in the darkness of the night as they stood on the rooftop of a building road opposite the Headquarters.
"If I cannot persuade you to let the authorities deal with this, then the least I can do is accompany you for this mission," Mayumi replied, her tone grave and serious.
And she was smarter than she let on. She had realised his true intentions from two nights ago and had been keeping an eye on him knowing that he would make a move against the true hands behind the troubles faced by their school.
So, when he left his apartment to come here, she followed him secretly and refused to budge despite his various attempts to make her go away.
Of course, there were more forceful ways to make her go away, and yet it did not sit well with him to use her mental interference prowess on her for something like this. He felt that she genuinely cared for him, and he wished to respect that.
"It will be ugly," he said, warning her. She looked him in the eye, pushing back a strand of hair and smiling resolutely.
"I am not easily scared," and then her eyes turned towards the building opposite to them.
"As for people like them, people who would harm children and dabble in magics like 'generators.' They deserve no mercy," she said, her bloodlust leaking out of her tone as she ground her teeth.
"There is no need to worry, though," she suddenly added.
"The secrets of your magic will remain safe with me, no matter what happens," and that was a sentiment he cared little for. And yet it showed her willingness to go against her family's directives, for he was sure that the Ten Master Clans were looking for any piece of intelligence on him and his magic.
He sighed, seeing her not budging, he looked to the skies as he voiced out his deepest concern.
"I don't like people seeing me at my worst," he whispered into the darkness as she walked to his side. He was not affected by killing, especially not when he was doing it to monsters such as heads of a criminal syndicate, one closely related to that man—Gu Jie. Yet he did not wish to let her see him like this, he felt it reduced his own humanity, made him less human in her eyes—something that bothered him for some reason.
"This is not you at your worst. This is you shouldering burdens beyond your stature and age," she whispered as she held his hand.
"And someone should be there to tell you that you are not alone in this. Not anymore," she whispered as she rested her head on his back.
He turned around and looked her in the eye before suddenly he knelt down and wrapped his arms under her, surprising her.
"Hold onto my neck," he said as she quickly did so as he picked her up in a bridle carry.
"What are you doing, Inei-kun?" she asked, flustered at the suddenness of his actions, and yet she hooked her arms around his neck.
"I am going to show you something fun," and with that, he activated the latest magic Tatsuya had programmed into his new CAD, one of his own creations, something that he was going to showcase to the world soon enough.
And as the magic activated he felt his feet lift off the ground, as he floated in the air. His body began to move forward, and as they left the edge of the building, Mayumi shrieked in horror.
"Inei-kun! What are you doing!" she screamed, as he chuckled at her surprise as he held her firmly.
"Just relax and hold on tight," he assured her as he looked her in the eye.
"I won't let anything happen to you," and at her words, he saw her cheeks flush as she gulped and finally realized that they were floating in the air, moving in it rather freely, and the surprise of it finally wore off, and the amazement registered.
"This is..." she gaped as she realized what was going on, and he smiled.
"Actual Flying Magic," he replied, and her eyes widened.
"But that was considered an impossibility," she gasped out. It was one of Magic's three greatest puzzles. Though there were magics that allowed one to fly, they were specialized, yet this one was the first generalized magic that anyone could use.
Anyone competent that was.
"It is no longer. The announcement will be made tomorrow, but FLT and Taurus Silver have made the impossible into possibility," and her eyes.
"You know, Taurus Silver," she gasped out in surprise, and he smiled.
"I do, and in a way you know him too," he said, seeing the words click. Suddenly, her eyes widened.
"You cannot mean..."
"Shhh, I am overstepping here. It is not my secret to share, so I would prefer it if you kept quiet about it," he told her, and she nodded as she slowly let go of the grip around her neck, opened her arms, and let the wind run through her hair.
"WOHOOOOO!" she screamed as he chuckled and spun her in the air. The only downside the magic had was its high psion consumption, something that did not matter for him.
"I cannot believe it. I am flying," she said with a chuckle, and he smiled.
"You are only the third person to experience this magic in open-world conditions," he said. It was one reason Tatusya had programmed it into his Cad to get an open-world test.
"That makes me quite special," she said as they landed on the rooftop of the HQ of No-Head-Dragon.
The room had an opening that opened onto the top floor where all the executives had gathered, and he walked towards it, his smile gone from his face as he looked down.
"Go," she said as she let go of his hand.
"I will be waiting right here," he said, nodding as he took a step forward and began to descend.\
BOOOM!
As his feet touched the ground, it cracked, and the executives screamed in surprise.
"WHAT!" "WHO ARE YOU!" "INTRUDER!" and he felt it, half a dozen men and generators rushing towards him, and before he could let go of his magic, he felt it, the air in the room thickened as massive Ice spikes formed in the air and rained down on the people trying to attack him.
"ARGH!" they screamed as the Ice spikes skewered them all onto the ground. He looked up and found Mayumi looking down, her own Cad in hand as he stood straight and smiled.
"Hello there, everyone," his voice rang out in the room as everyone's gaze focused on him, and the way they paled and their faces lost all their color told him that they recognized him, which was not a surprise given his face had been plastered on the news for days now.
"I have been told that you guys have been wanting to meet for quite some time," he finished as they all sat still, as fear gripped their hearts.
"And so here I am!"
"And hello to you as well..." he began as he looked at the telecom device in the center.
"...Gu Jie!"
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