by Sato Tsutomu
Close — although not in terms of friendliness — with Maya, Kudou was publicly of the same status, a fellow Head of one of the Ten Master Clans. The way he said 'Yotsuba', and the way he now looked upon Ayako who was of age with his grandchildren, was as an 'adversary'.
"No, that will not be necessary."
A light befitting his intentions dwelled within Kudou's eyes. Yet before that, Ayako's cutesy yet fearless attitude didn't break.
"By the way Your Excellency, we don't have much time, so there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
At her hasty, or rather determined, attitude, the Kudou elder showed no sign of discomfort. He didn't think things were as rushed as that, but since he also wished to conclude things quickly he went along with it.
"Go ahead."
"My thanks."
At the old man's liberality Ayako gave another theatrical bow, then looked straight into his eyes.
"I'm afraid that Your Excellency's objective, the beings called Parasites sealed here which you had intended to bring back, have also been tasked to be retrieved by us as per my Head's orders."
"Hou."
The light in Kudou's eyes increased in sharpness and intensity.
At that light a hint of trepidation crept into Ayako's face, yet she rebounded with a firm smile immediately.
"—By happy circumstance, however, there appear to be two sealed vessels. How about this, one for Your Excellency, and one for us?"
Maintaining her firm smile, Ayako looked into the old man's eyes and awaited his answer.
Kudou laughed unexpectedly.
Loudly, and in enjoyment.
"Oh my......indeed. And you are yet but a junior high student."
Ayako had not told Kudou her age. His words implied that he had already pre-investigated her before she ever introduced herself.
There was no sign of disturbance in Ayako this time. It was her attitude that it was little wonder Kudou Retsu would have examined even a Yotsuba pawn such as herself.
Having herself known that Kudou Retsu would be taking to the field, that he would know of her was no surprise.
"Very well. Let us get along and go with one each."
"Thank you very much, Your Excellency."
Without changing her expression, Ayako patted her chest in relief.
She had no illusions as to her own magic strength. While she was not restricted in her magic like Tatsuya, she was not as universal as Miyuki either. She was a magician with defined strengths and weaknesses. And short range, direct combat magic was decidedly not one of her strengths.
She did not believe for a moment she could have hoped to take on one who was once lauded as the 'world's most skilled'.
Ayako gave silent thanks that by chance there had been two.
And—
(Tatsuya-san, I was able to perform my duty safely thanks to you.)
Even if Tatsuya hadn't agreed to cooperate, there wouldn't have been a time to request it anyway; Ayako slyly muttered in her mind.
◊ ◊ ◊
In Tatsuya's arms, Miyuki huddled.
However much she pleaded, Tatsuya would not put her down. Miyuki was not particularly petite for a lady, and was of a moderate weight. However much Tatsuya was trained there was no way the weight would not eventually be felt, but Tatsuya's arms cradling Miyuki wavered not in the slightest. Rather, he was carrying her so carefully that Miyuki did not feel any swaying despite the unevenness of the ground.
From their everyday conduct and behaviour, Miyuki would be the natural suspect for initiating skinship. However, Miyuki didn't now even cling to Tatsuya's neck; she merely clasped her hands to her chest and withstood embarrassment.
The silence was painful.
Not bitter; yet, her chest ached.
It felt as if her breathing would stop, and her heart would burst — from the perspective of others it would no doubt be a surprising 'overreaction', but Miyuki herself was desperately searching for 'something to talk about' in her overheating mind.
"Onii-sama, about Lina?"
This was what came out.
Tatsuya had shown beyond ordinary care towards Lina. At least, far beyond that of a mere friend.
Because she understood, truthfully Miyuki had not wanted to bring the topic up with her brother.
But now nothing else came to mind.
"Yeah?"
"Lina......did she seriously take Onii-sama's words to heart?"
Besides, Miyuki was also worried about her.
"I don't know. There's no way I could. I'm not her after all."
Somewhere under Tatsuya's tone was the feeling that it was unnecessary meddling.
Of course Miyuki knew her brother's words had been anything but. Even in Miyuki's eyes, the impulsive yet good-hearted Lina was ill-suited for the military. It may have not been her place, but looking at Lina she felt extremely conflicted.
"Lina has her own circumstances. Not being able to find her way is not something limited to her alone."
"Yet Onii-sama, you had reached out to her right......? Why?"
"Why, what?"
Miyuki was well aware that they were stepping into uncharted territory. If they were to stop, it had to be now.
But Miyuki did not stop.
"Onii-sama......why did you feel you had to help Lina? Is it because......you have special feelings concerning her?"
Tatsuya's eyes widened upon hearing his sister's words, but it was only for a moment.
"You seem to be misunderstanding things in various ways......"
Tatsuya gave a wry smile. But his expression wasn't very serious. At least, he seemed to be trying to answer his sister's question in good faith.
"As you say, this is the first time I've interacted with someone like Lina. Until now, everyone in the military was much older than me, and they had all chosen their path."
One by one, he carefully went over the misconceptions.
"The feelings I have towards Lina are not the kind you think. Bluntly speaking, I simply think it'd be convenient in the future if Lina were to leave the Stars. If possible not just exit the army, but move here. Naturalising as a Japanese citizen would be best."
No lies could be felt in Tatsuya's words. This close together, they could sense each other. Miyuki was confident she would be able to detect any falsehood in her brother's speech.
"Of course, it's not like I feel no sympathy. In a sense, Lina and I are very similar. You could say that we're in the same category."
Tatsuya's eyes were far away.
"Both Lina and I were placed 'where we are now' by no will of our own. And although I can at least say that I 'selected' to come to First High, Lina probably didn't even have that trivial choice."
Although his eyes were fixed on Miyuki, his gaze was somewhere further.
"I took the choice I was not granted. I discarded the 'role' I had been assigned, and leaped from the stage I was given. If Lina had hoped for something similar, as someone who was in the same place as her I thought I would like to lend her my strength......"
As Tatsuya hesitated, his eyes shifted their focus back to Miyuki and he smiled uncomfortably.
"In any case, it seems it was rather, unnecessary?"
There was a reason for the turbulence in Tatsuya's tone.
Up to now Miyuki had been huddled in Tatsuya's arms, yet now she embraced him tightly
Without thinking, Tatsuya released his hold on his sister.
That being said he didn't suddenly drop her but gently let her down, probably something subconsciously ingrained into his body.
Even as she touched the ground, Miyuki's arms never left Tatsuya's neck.
"It wasn't unnecessary...... Onii-sama's care will definitely someday, someday soon, reach Lina."
Tatsuya felt his sister's words flow into him, seeping into his chest.
"I mean, after this incident, Lina must definitely be *doubting who she is now*. She's a bit simple, but Lina is a smart girl. Having been this deeply inv
olved with Onii-sama, there's no way no questions would enter her mind."
"'Simple' is rather cruel."
Miyuki looked up, and moved her arms to Tatsuya's shoulders.
The siblings laughed together, then peacefully walked side by side.
Despite being a machine, or due to being a machine, having read the mood(?) Pixie had turned into a literal doll, and followed in silence.
◊ ◊ ◊
Even the heartwarming air between the siblings couldn't help but change upon seeing this.
The place where they had first sealed the Parasites was empty. The two sealed Parasites had been taken away by someone.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuya-san......I didn't intend to look away."
"......Tatsuya-san, I'm so sorry!"
"Tatsuya, please don't blame Shibata-san and Mitsui-san. I can guarantee that they didn't slack off. I didn't notice at all that the sealed 'vessels' had been taken away. Even though it was my seal......"
"You guys, don't blame yourselves. I don't mind at all."
Hearing that completely discouraged voice, that self-hating voice and that regretful voice issuing from the communication device, Tatsuya strove to reply with a bright tone.
"Tatsuya-san......"
They possibly misunderstood it as him trying to cheer them up. Tatsuya's attitude had not merely been out of consideration towards them; he truly wasn't concerned.
......He was amazed however.
"We got blindsided, but all it means is that they one-upped us this one time. We hadn't really considered what to do with them after the capture anyway, so there's no point being caught up in it forever."
As Tatsuya said, they hadn't made any plans about what to do 'after the capture'. They had only vaguely considered 'maybe we'll ship them off to Mikihiko's place', as they themselves had no use for the sealed Parasites whatsoever.
Meaning, the ones who had carried them off at least had something to do with them. If it were them, all they might end up doing was accidentally release the Parasites.
(But, well......were they aiming for this?)
"Onii-sama?"
It seemed she was misunderstanding his silence. At Miyuki's anxious inquiry, Tatsuya shook his hand in reassurance.
From his state, Miyuki knew Tatsuya was making a guess as to who the culprits were. If he traced back, he could probably track them down, she thought.
—Certainly, Tatsuya had used his 'vision'. He knew approximately what had happened here.
However, before that, one of the 'culprits' had left a message here for Tatsuya.
The reason he was so listless was primarily because of that.
A gust of wind blew, and stirred up the dead leaves not stuck to the soil.
Mixed amongst them were black feathers[10], probably from a crow, that were captured by Tatsuya's own two eyes.
◊ ◊ ◊
When Tatsuya rejoined the duo of Erika and Leo, both Naotsugu and the Sword Corps had already withdrawn.
They patted each other's backs, didn't pry deeply into what had happened, and went back.
Pixie was left in the school garage.
In order to enter the school after jumping the fence they had to return to the main gate, but neither Leo nor Erika said 'it's a bother, I'm going home'.
After joining with Mikihiko and the others, the seven of them left school as a group.
Such a large group leaving school at this time received no little suspicion from the gate guard as they exited, but they had prepared an excuse beforehand, and thanks to the dazzling smiles from the girls they left without a severe questioning.
And so, the long night ended.
The events of tonight, the people, demons and spirits, signaled the dawn of a new history in the contention of those who vied from the shadows, yet Tatsuya himself was little aware of this at the time.
Epilogue
The excitement could be heard floating on the wind. The grounds of First High School were full of joyful voices. If he strained his ears, it was possible to hear crying voices mingled in with them as well, but those were not necessarily unhappy ones.
In contrast, the cafeteria was barren. There were scattered figures whose number was less than the fingers on both hands. By the way, this did not mean that the students here were playing hooky from classes in session.
Today was the graduation ceremony.
Tatsuya was not using a paper cup; he sipped his coffee from a proper ceramic cup and placed the cup down directly on the table without a saucer (it hadn't had a saucer from the start).
And, he looked down on the multipurpose watch that most magicians did not use.
The time indicated that the ceremony itself was already over.
Those voices were probably the graduates leaving the site of the graduation ceremony, Tatsuya surmised.
Afterward, parties would be held in two small gyms. It gave off an unpleasant feeling that even at a time like this the first and second course students were segregated, but it might be that the people themselves felt more relaxed this way.
To be correct, normally this was not the most suitable thing. But second course students might be somewhat tentative when they were with first course students and first course students might not celebrate as much (primarily, about their entering Magic University) in the presence of the second course students. Because there was no difference between the food, drinks and other stuff, it was probably unnecessary to quibble about the different locations, Tatsuya thought.
However, due to the separated locations, it certainly took more people to do the labor than it should have. Because the contractors assigned to make the facilities and the cafeteria staff that prepared the food for the two sites received an extra bonus, they probably wouldn’t complain about the ‘superfluous work,’ but on the other hand, the Student Council hosting the graduation parties was on the top of the list of people complaining loudly about the superfluous work.
It was probably understandable.
Tatsuya was waiting for Miyuki, who was extremely busy with the management of today’s graduation parties.
It should be added — so that there are no misunderstandings — that he had offered to help with the preparations and management.
And had been repeatedly refused.
Azusa and the rest had clearly wanted the help.
However, Miyuki had determinedly refused Tatsuya’s assistance.
"There is no reason to bother Onii-sama with this matter!"
With this emphatic objection to even asking him for the slightest bit of help, Azusa could do nothing but refuse him.
Well, even without his sister’s excessive consideration(?), for many of the first course students and not too few second course students, Tatsuya’s presence would be slightly awkward.
He was the owner of abilities and achievements that cast doubts on the distinction between the first and second course.
For the third years, he was the rock that threw their final year into confusion. Not taking part was probably the correct move.
Naturally, when it was finally decided that he would not help out with today’s parties, there were people who indirectly said things similar to "this is all for the better" and sometimes(?) Mayumi was there when it happened and for some reason she blatantly steamed.
Mayumi had safely been accepted by Magic University. With her proven abilities and achievements, this could be thought of as inevitable; however, even with the damages from ‘vampires’ abruptly ceasing since that night, she unmistakably had to work harder because she couldn’t give the entrance examination her undivided attention.
She would, from April on, study at Magic University with Suzune and Katsuto, who had also been accepted — as was only proper.
Mari had not taken the exam for Magic University. She would be going to the Defense College. She did not give a reason. However, it seemed that she did not inform Mayumi beforehand and he had seen Mayumi make some harsh jibes to Mari about that — perhaps, she was hiding her
loneliness.
The Magic University and the Defense College were not really that far apart; if they wanted to meet, they would be able to do so at any time; still, to have the friend — the pair might not like to call each other friends, but everyone else had been labeling them that for some time — you thought was going to attend the same school with you go to a different school instead was probably not something that can be accepted easily.
Speaking of going to the Defense College—
"Shiba."
As Tatsuya was thinking that, a voice called out to him.
"Kobayakawa-senpai, hasn’t the party started already?"
This was the very person he had been thinking of.
"Ah, well it has, but I heard from Mari that you were here."
The magic abilities of Kobayakawa had never recovered from the incident at the Nine Schools Competition, even with therapy that risked her life. There was no loss to her sensitivity to magic, but she could not use magic as long as the suspicion ‘that she couldn’t use magic’ was not eradicated.
It seemed that Kobayakawa had resolved to quit school in October.
However, with only half a year left, even if she transferred to a liberal arts or science high school, she clearly would not have enough time to prepare to graduate and prepare for college. It seemed that after transferring, she intended to spend a year as a Ronin and search for a new career path.
"Do you need me for something?"
"Ah, that is, what…naturally, it is difficult to speak of it face to face... But, it’s necessary. I want...to say thank you to you."
Tatsuya was comparatively earnest when he looked inquiringly at the red-faced, obviously embarrassed, Kobayakawa.
"I haven’t done anything that I deserve Kobayakawa-senpai’s thanks for."
"That’s not true!"
In the highly unpopulated cafeteria, Kobayakawa’s raised voice echoed pretty well. She was not expecting that, and from her downcast head, Tatsuya could see her face becoming slightly redder.