Chapter 12
INEI YOTSUBA
With a pressing deadline and a weighty task at hand, the team had accepted the high-stakes challenge of negotiating with the course two student body. Leading the negotiations from their side was Kamono Kinoe, the Third year head of Kendo club, and the half brother of Japan's Blanche commander.
That made it clear that this was not a negotiation but a trap, one that they were going to spring intentionally. With Mayumi giving her final instructions to the others, he found himself alone in the hall contemplating everything, only to be joined by his two cousins later.
"Will you be fine Inei-kun?" Miyuki questioned, and she smiled.
"You need not worry about me. You have a herculean task of your own," and indeed, they did. Both of them were to lead the defence of the School's Main Data Centre, a place that Blanche was looking to target.
"Still the enemy will be attacking us while you will be walking into their den. Is there anything you need," Tatsuya asked, and he shook his head.
"I will be fine. Though I have one request to make," he said, and Tatsuya nodded.
He watched as Mayumi walked out of the room, ready for what they were about to do.
"Do try to keep a few of yours' alive for further questioning. I don't know if I will be able to spare the one on my side," he whispered so only Tatsuya and Miyuki would hear me, and the black-haired boy simply nodded.
"You just keep the Mayumi-san safe. I will handle that part," and with that burden off his shoulders, Inei turned towards the girl who was set to walk into this hyena's den.
"You ready, President-san?" he asked, and she nodded.
"I am," and with that, after a final nod, they set away, their duties and tasks already decided.
So, he and Mayumi walked out of the school building using a special exit to reach the meeting site, and he did not miss how tense she seemed.
"Why are you so worried?" he asked as he slowed his pace, seeing her look up and bite her lip.
"The more I think about it, the more guilty I feel for putting all of you in this difficult situation," she said as her fists balled up and she raised her hand.
"Especially you. As your senior and the student..." Inei rolled his eyes as he tapped her forehead a bit forcefully, making her wince.
"Ouch," she said as she began to rub it.
"You worry too much, President-san. Everyone is doing this because they believe in you, and Mari and Katsuto-san both spoke against this because they cared for you quite a bit. They did not wish to see you get hurt," he said, reassuring her.
"And with me here, that is an impossibility," he said as he turned away from her and began to walk once more. She followed behind him, face down and flushed.
"Now, no matter what happens inside, I want you to promise me one thing, Mayumi," and she seemed a bit taken aback as he used her name.
"Once inside, do not leave my side," he said, and she nodded.
"I won't."
And then, both of them took one more step forward and entered the abandoned building that was set as the meeting point.
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SHIBA MIYUKI
Shiba Miyuki was outside the school's data building, along with the rest of her brother's friends and one more disciplinary committee member, all of them poised and on edge for what was about to happen.
The students here had been handpicked by her brother for the task, even though she knew that most of that was unnecessary.
"Everyone," her brother suddenly began.
"Get ready! They are here, her brother said, and Miyuki immediately reached for her CAD, and so did Shizuku and Saijou-san.
"Shizuku, now!" and with that, the usually quiet girl pressed buttons on her CAD.
RUMBLE. RUMBLE
"Earth Wall," she whispered, and an earthen wall erupted around them in a circular fashion, shielding them from the bullets.
"Saijou," her brother asked, and his friend nodded, his own CAD in hand.
"Yeah, I got it," and he then screamed.
"PANZERR!" and she saw his magic invoke as the earthen wall was strengthened enough to buy her enough time.
"They are all in range, brother," she said, her hand placed firmly on his shoulder, using his special site to keep track of all enemies heading for them. Since most of their weapons were anti-magic, using actual old-school bullets, her brother's gram demolition would not work. Not that he was useful, but it was better for them to keep his other powers hidden.
"Good, take out their guns," he said, and she nodded.
"As you say, brother," she said, closing her eyes. She pressed the button on her CAD and felt her psions move. In an instant, the temperature in the area dropped as she used Oscillation-Type Magic, Freeze Dry.
And as their guns froze, the men screamed.
"AGHHH!" "IT'S JAMMED!" "What is going on!"
"Now, Saijou, Chiba, attack," her brother commanded as he jumped forward as both Saijou-san and Erika-san ook out their swords and jumped up.
"Miyuki, Shizuku, provide assistance from behind. Sawamura-san, watch our backs," he ordered, and the Disciplinary Committee member nodded as he geared up and tackled two enemies who were trying to break through from behind them as her own brother joined the front.
And the Blanche members tried to put up a good fight, yet without their guns and grenades, they were no match for them, especially with Erika-san and her brother being supremely skilled in close combat and Saijou-san's magic leaning in the same forte.
Shizuku and herself provided backup, taking out enemies and providing defense, as Sawamura-san covered their backs. Ultimately, in a battle that lasted barely over thirty minutes, all enemies were down.
They had won.
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MAYUMI SAEGUSA
Mayumi Saegusa was not a simple magician. She was a daughter of the Saegusa clan and was hailed as a prodigy herself, even though she was not quite fond of that title.
Her true potential lay in long-range combat, and as she entered the abandoned building, she used one of her signature techniques, 'Multi-Scope' to assess her surrounding and as they had suspected, there were enemies all around them, surrounding them from all sides, more or confirming what they already suspected.
"They have surrounded us," he whispered to Inei-kun, missing how his eyes had turned red once more, similar to her own coloring, yet with a strange pattern inside them.
"I know," he replied as they walked straight towards the main culprit behind this mess, the president of the kendo club. Kamono Kinoe, or otherwise. Tsukasa Kinoe, brother to Tsukasa Hajime, head of Blance's operations in Japan.
He stood there surrounded by several students, and both she and Inei-kun stopped as she stepped forward.
"Kinoe-kun, I am here," she said in a straight voice, firm and authoritative.
"I am grateful that you accept..."
"Do we really have to go through this farce?" Inei-kun's lazy voice cut in from behind her, and she saw Kinoe-kun's eyes widen.
"What do you me...."
"Why don't you come out from hiding in that little corner? I know you are there, you four-eyed mongrel," and his voice grew a bit haughty as he said those taunts.
She first heard a chuckle and then watched as a rather tall person stepped out from the corner and walked towards Kinoe-san; he was Tsukasa Hajime, the person behind this mess.
"I should not have expected anything less from you, Inei-Yotsuba?" and she saw Inei-kun frown.
"You seem awfully aware of me," he said with a frown as the purple-haired person came and placed a hand on his half-brother's shoulder and stepped forward.
"Ohh, I know much more than you think, Yotsuba, even how you were created," and she was taken aback by those words.
'Created.' She frowned as she turned and looked up at Inei-kun's face. The lazy expression was gone, and his eyes glinted.
"Ohh, you do. And yet you had me come here. You must really not care for your life," he taunted.
"You don't understand, do you? All I had to do was to get you here, and all it took was riling up and controlling a few students, and here you are," and he laughed menacingly. She was taken aback by his words, realizing that instead of herself, Inei-kun was their target.
"Now, I have achieved my purpose with you in my hands. Soon enough," he taunted before turning serious.
"NOW!" the Purple man screamed, and she tried to activate her signature magic, 'Hale Bullets,' and yet suddenly she felt the sequence break, and even her Multi-Scope was turned off, as a headache took over her.
"How?" she gasped out as she held her head.
"You did not think I would come unprepared, did you, Saegusa," he taunted as he brandished his ring, and she noticed the purple gemstone shining on it, the same one being held by the half a dozen men surrounding her and Inei-kun.
"Antinite, this little stone takes away your magic, making you all human just as you and me," he laughed, and dread began to pool in her heart as she realized just the mess they were in.
She, of course, knew of Antinite. It was a protected resource, one that could only be bought by the military. How the hell had they gotten their hands on such a massive amount of it?
"Now, if you do not want that girl to be killed, raise your hands and step forward?" the leader of Blanche commanded, and her heart sunk as she turned towards Inei-kun.
"Don.." but before she could say anything, he touched her shoulder and gave her a small smile.
"Let me handle this," he said, taking a step forward but no more, and began to rub the back of his head.
"I said to step forward and raise your hands! Otherwise, my men will shoot you both!" the man screamed once more.
"Yeah, about that," Inei-kun began as he looked up, his face cold, and she saw his eyes spin as he whispered.
"What men?" and suddenly she felt the psions in the air shift and her headache went away, as suddenly the whole building was filled only with one single boom.
BOOM!
And it was not an explosion, but the literal collapse of all the blanche members, dying, their bodies being shredded and their whole being getting reduced to nothing but blood and particulate matter.
All of it happened in the blink, no even quicker than a blink, as blood began to flood the floor, and Mayumi was so shocked as she looked up at Inei-kun, knowing that it had been him who had caused this devastation, and only then did she truly realize what it meant to be a Yotsuba.
This was not the power of a simple magician; he had overdriven the infinite and literally tore through their enemies.
"WHAAAA..." the Blanche leader was equally taken aback and was covered in blood, with him being among the few that were left standing.
"YOU! YOU Monster!" he screamed as he stepped back, stumbling back as Inei-kun took a step forward.
"And yet you thought you could control this monster. You truly overestimate yourself, you mongrel," he said as he stepped forward, and all those alive fell to their knees as the air was thickened with his psions, and the pressure was suffocating as Mayumi could do nothing but watch as Inei-kun walked up to the leader of the Blanche.
"You may think yourself lucky that I have spared you. But soon enough, you are going to regret it and wish that you were dead," and with that, she felt him activate his magic once more as his eyes seemed to darken as he spoke up in a barely audible whisper.
"Tsukoyomi."
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