Chapter 13
INEI YOTSUBA
Inei's life was shrouded in mystery and secrets unknown to but a few people. His abilities, more specifically, his possessing not just one but both of the Yotsuba's true magical gifts, was something that only he knew about. Not even the Dahan had ever truly managed to understand his mental-interference prowess.
Magic was a gift, it was a miracle that made possible humanities greatest desires. He himself believed that a person's magical prowess was the manifestation of their desire. Tatsuya and himself were the biggest examples of that.
Tatsuya's magic was a manifestation of his mother's desire to take revenge on the world for what had happened to her sister, and Inei's own magic was born out of his desire to preserve his sense of self and to cut through the bind, keeping him locked up, and through that desire his magic had manifested.
And somehow, this little insect of a man knew of his magic, knew of secrets that he should have no knowledge of. And now, as Hajime Tsukasa looked around like an idiot as they stood in a black-and-white clearing, Inei's gaze narrowed.
"Where are we? What happened?" he screamed as Inei stood there observing him.
"We are in hell," he replied as suddenly the man found himself chained to a cross, unable to move as Inei appeared right infront of him.
"And unless you start giving me answers, you are going to stay in it for a long time," he said and saw the man's eyes widen Inei materialized a thousand metallic nails right behind him. All of them began to move closer, and closer tot he bastard who began to shake.
"This is not real. This is not real!" he screamed, and Inei deadpanned.
"Why don't we put that to the test?" he questioned as a nail entered his hand, literally nailing him to the wood as the man screamed and so on and on it went until he had his answers.
Not that there were many to be had, the idiotic bastard had been given information through an anonymous source, information that only Dahan had, information about his magic, and most importantly, the magical sequence burned into his skin.
And though for Kajime Tsukasa, a lifetime may have been spent in the hellscape of 'Tsukoyomi,' in the real world, only a few seconds had passed, and the purple-haired man's body twitched and shook as his eyes rolled up and drooled dribbled from his mouth.
"What was that?" he heard a gasp from his side. He looked and saw the pale-faced form of Mayumi backing away from him, and he pushed back his hair and shrugged as she covered her mouth, and he finally noticed the blood that now littered the floor, dying it red.
"That was their retribution," and with that, he turned towards the students, who were all shaking, unable to move due to sheer fear.
"Sleep," he used his magic once more and saw their bodies collapse in an instance.
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MAYUMI SAEGUSA
Mayumi Saegusa watched as the Police took away the Blanche members, at least those that had survived. Despite their reluctance to involve the authorities, once Blanche's presence had been confirmed, there was simply no way that the Police would not be involved, only when they would be involved.
Now, the whole incident was being painted as a terrorist attack in which the students were brainwashed and used against their will, and their fates all now rested in her hands as the Student Council president.
This was a huge mess, one that could have devolved into something absolutely horrendous if not for the boy beside him.
She had always known that Inei-kun was powerful. He was a Yotsuba, and that name carried a certain level of significance, but what she had seen in that building was unlike anything she had ever seen.
The power, the ruthlessness. It was all unimaginable.
"You shouldn't worry too much," he spoke from the side as they stood leaning against the abandoned building as the Police did their investigation.
"What?" she asked, getting out of her trance
"Hajime Tsukasa was a user of a magic called 'Evil Eye', one that is highly suited to mental manipulation. He will confess to the liberal use of this magic during his interrogation, absolving the students of most of the blame. The police will not have any case against the students," he assured her, and she was taken aback by those words as she looked towards him.
"But how?" she gasped, and he shrugged.
"Because I made it so," he said before reaching into his pocket took out his phone and showed her a message.
"The course two students have cast their ballots," he said, and she saw the option that had won.
"Open Convention," she read, and he nodded. He pocketed his phone once again.
"Yeah. You always wished for an opportunity to address the divide between the two courses, and now you can do so publically. All the grievances can be voiced out in this convention," and she suddenly connected the dots.
"You!" she gasped out, recalling how, before coming to the building, Inei-kun had vanished for a few minutes and how he had been spotted at the place of the major protests.
Mental Interference magic, that was the Yotsuba specialty.
"You used your magic on the students," she gasped out, and he shrugged.
"I did nothing sinister. Just nudged along their opinion, and gave them hope, and a hero as well," and at that, she felt her own phone shake and she took it out and saw that the school's open forum was rife with discussion. Discussion over a few video clips.
She clicked on one and saw a number of faces she easily recognized fighting the terrorists, protecting the School's Main Data servers, and only then did everything click together for most of the students doing the actual fighting and dismantling the terrorists were Course two students.
"With the kendo club president out of the picture, the course two students will need a new rallying force. And this incident will do just that while bringing forward the point that your worth as a magician is not defined by being a course one or course two student. It is how you utilise that gift," Inei-kun said and she was surprised by his thoughtfulness.
And only now did she realize that Inei Yotsuba had many sides to him. Had many secrets to him.
"I have done my part," he said.
"Now the rest is in your hands," and there was a soft smile on his face, and she could scarcely believe him to be the same person that had slaughtered so many people in a single breath, and yet could she fault him for that.
The enemy had targeted them specifically and was highly prepared, and she had walked into the trap they had set willingly, putting a lot in jeopardy, including her and his life. A trap that she could have fallen into had he not been there to protect her.
"Ouch," she rubbed her forehead as Inei-kun flicked her forehead and asked with a raised brow.
"What is going on in that head of yours?" President-san.
And she pushed down all her earlier fears and smiled warmly.
"You truly are a softie, Ine-kun," she said, and he seemed to be taken aback by her words as she suddenly leaned forward and pinched his arm with all her strength.
"And is this any way of treating your senior? This is the second time you have done this," she admonished him as he screamed in pain, and she enjoyed it.
"Let me go! You demon," he said as he tried to pull himself away, yet she did not let go/
0000
KUDOU RETSU
Kudou Retsu had many titles. He was the Elder of the Ten Master Clan, and at ninety, he was regarded as Japan's premier magician. Though he knew that he was long past his prime, he doubted that even in his prime, he would have stood a chance against the person sitting opposite him.
Maya Yotsuba is the head of the Yotsuba. She was his student once, until he failed in his duties and she was kidnapped by the Dahan. The subsequent events that followed were his faults.
Ever since then, both of them have been on the opposite end of the political spectrum in many ways.
"I never knew that you had a son of your own," he began as he sipped his tea, and Maya smiled.
"And are you asking me that as Kudo Retsu or as 'the Elder of the Council?" she cut in, and he smiled.
"I am asking you as a simple old man," he replied, and she smirked.
"Anyone can hardly call you simple Elder," and she had identified rather easily in which capacity he had appeared here.
"You are playing with fire, Maya. If this continues, the Yotuba will overgrow and destroy the Ten Master Clans." There was already fear about this, but Inei Yotsuba's presence solidified that.
He was looking into the boy's history and origins and had yet to come up with anything, a surprise given his history. The boy had appeared out of thin air.
"I don't believe I am answerable to the clans in how I run my family," she cut in, and that was indeed true.
"Maybe, but this goes beyond that. This is about Japan's Magical future," he added, and she shrugged.
"The Yotsuba have always done their duty," she added.
0000
And deep into the night, Mayumi Saegusa was on a call with her own father once more.
"So, do you have any more information about the Yotsuba?" her fists balled up as she remembered what she had seen earlier in the building, how he had used his magic.
"No."
And the line was silent for a time, only for it to end with a single word.
"Then goodbye, Mayumi."
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