Volume 18 - CH 8(3/5)
The problem was that the number of students from Class-A during the previous session was odd. The option of forming groups of three people was abandoned and in the end, a single person had to practice on their own. As luck would have it, that person had been Miyuki.
Actually, everyone in the class had wanted to raise their hands and pair up with Miyuki. The problem was that everyone else had already picked their partner, and now wanted to switch. It wasn't like nobody wanted to group up with her.
Since yesterday had been the day of lessons and experiments, such a problem hadn't popped up. Much like last week, the situation today shouldn't have happened. ——If it hadn't been for the fact that Masaki had just ‘moved in'.
"Shiba-san, would you pair up with me?"
After Masaki had been told the goal of this practice session by the teacher, he had gone towards Miyuki. He proposed pairing up to the lone student.
Noise flittered across the practice room. Words of regret and some curses escaped the lips of various boys in the classroom. It was limited to a mere "Damn, too late!".
"Yes, with pleasure. I look forward to working with you, Ichijou-san."
Even Miyuki might have found it unpleasant to practice alone. Hearing Masaki's request, she nodded with a radiant smile.
When Masaki heard the explanation for the exercise, he muttered "Isn't that easy?".
These days, the second year students of Third High were practicing the use of Magic on a target behind a wall. That being said, the real purpose of this was to be able to cast Magic on an invisible opponent, or one taking cover behind an object.
Compared to the combat application oriented practices of Third High, Masaki couldn't help but think of First High's practices as a way of competing in cleverness.
And after watching Miyuki performing the task, this impression only strengthened. Miyuki perfectly changed the color of the ball in 10 sets within the allotted time of 30 seconds. What Masaki felt admiration for was the more bright and vivid colors of the ball than her perfect timing. This plainly showed the level of her interference strength.
"30 seconds exactly. As expected of Shiba-san."
"Thank you very much. Ichijou-san, you can start whenever you want."
With social etiquette in mind, Masaki had praised Miyuki's talent, and being urged on by such a lovely girl afterwards, he was now brimming with enthusiasm.
All unneeded feelings disappeared in an instant, and Masaki was now focused on his target like in a real combat situation.
"How about the count? Do you want the notice set at 10 seconds?"
Hearing Miyuki's proposition, Masaki was about to say "There's no need", but reconsidered.
"..Alright then, please set the countdown for the last 10 seconds."
Thinking that just for him, Miyuki would do the countdown had its charm for Masaki.
"Understood."
It seemed like his cheeks were about to loosen when he heard Miyuki's crystalline voice.
"I entrust the signal to you."
Masaki once more focused on his Magic. His mindset had already switched to a war-like state.
"In that case, 3.. 2.. 1.. Start!"
While Masaki was setting the time-based ending conditions in his head, he executed his Magic in succession.
Red - - Green - - Blue.
Red - - Green - - Blue.
The lively colors he created were in no way inferior to Miyuki's.
Masaki felt satisfaction at the fact his Magical power wasn't losing to Miyuki's.
Red - - Green - - Blue.
Red - - Green - - - Blue.
Maybe caused by his idle thinking, his rhythm started to fall apart. To correct his mistake, he tried to adjust the timings.
Red - Green - - Blue.
According to his own time perception, the discrepancy had been dealt with.
Red - - Green - Blue.
Now, however, the problem lied in the fact that due to his adjustments, he was too far ahead.
Red - - - Green - - - Blue.
Masaki waited more than 1 second in order to slow down his sets. Red - - Green - - Blue.
He then managed to get back to the regular interval. He decided to make the final adjustments during the countdown.
"10.. 9.. 8.."
Miyuki's countdown started.
His error margin was less than a second's time.
Masaki opted for correcting the error on the final sequence.
"3.. 2.."
Red - Green, "1.."
Blue.
The plastic ball went back to its original white color. "It's over."
Slightly late, Miyuki reported the end of the time limit.
"Remaining: 0 - 7 seconds. It's very hard to imagine that this is your first time Ichijou-san."
Miyuki turned a smiling face towards Masaki.
Masaki hid the cramp that was forming on his face and returned a smile.
The passing line for this exercise was for the last color change to be within a single second of the timer's end. The reason he managed to clear the exercise was thanks to the countdown. When thinking that Miyuki managed to perfectly time hers without Masaki's assistance, he really couldn't feel pleased at all.
"Just 30 seconds. Not bad, Honoka."
"Eh-he-he, this is my area of predilection after all."
Hearing the nearby voice, Masaki received an even stronger shock.
Using the remaining time for the session, Masaki finally managed to achieve the clearing conditions on his own.
? ? ?
After the morning classes ended. "Ichijou-san."
Masaki had finally managed to recover from the shock he had received from having to actually put effort in the practice session from before. He was called by a girl from the side.
Masaki turned his face towards the voice. He was like any other Magician and possessed a good memory. He could remember Honoka's name almost without any lag.
"Umm, Mitsui-san was it?"
The fact that he remembered her name was not due to her previously introducing herself nor hearing her name from someone else. He remembered her as the victor of this year's Nine Schools Competition in the Mirage Bat category.
"Yes, my name is Mitsui Honoka."
Honoka nodded with a pleased face. She didn't have any interest in Masaki, but knowing each other's names would make their interactions smoother. Honoka had smiled in relief.
Masaki interpreted her smile as pure courtesy as well. "Ichijou-san, would you like to go to the dining room together?"
"Huh, with me?"
That was why, such an invitation took him by surprise. "Yes, with us."
Honoka looked over her shoulders. There stood Shizuku and Miyuki.
When she met Masaki's gaze, Shizuku nodded without changing her expression. No, well, maybe it had been a bow? Shizuku's reaction had been that ambiguous.
As for Miyuki, she was displaying a smile that hid what she was really thinking. But at the very least, to Masaki, this smile didn't give off the impression that he'd be a bother.
"..Is it alright for me to go with you?"
Instinctively using the polite tone again, Masaki replied so.
Realizing that his eyes were turned towards her, although her smile still looked slightly bitter, Miyuki's expression softened.
The smile that gave off a faking sentiment turned into a warm smile. "Yes, certainly."
To Miyuki's answer,
"It would be my pleasure!"
Masaki stood up with vigor.
"Huh?"
This first person who saw Miyuki's group, who was slightly late for lunch, had been Erika.
Yesterday she had thought 'He will try to stick to Miyuki for sure' and was surprised when Masaki kept his distance. But now she was suspicious that Masaki was acting exactly like she originally predicted.
She wasn't the only one. Leo and Mikihiko were also looking at Masaki with intrigued eyes.
"Umm, Onii-sama.. Is it alright if Ichijou-san shares a seat with us?"
"Of course."
However, Tatsuya' answered as if it had been obvious. An immediate response.
Rather, Masaki was the one who was puzzled right now.
Masaki, who was standing there dumbfounded, was spoken to by Tatsuya in a direct —— that is to say, not in a particularly friendly way
——tone.
"Ichijou, do you know how to place an order? The purchase system of the cafeteria should be something rather standard."
"Ah, yeah. No problem."
"Let's go, Ichijou-san."
Being urged on by Miyuki, he went towards the ordering machine with her. Honoka and Shizuku followed just behind him.
Having retrieved her meal, Miyuki sat down next to Tatsuya. Masaki sat down right in front of her.
Honoka was next to Masaki, right in front of Tatsuya.
Erika, who had been sitting in front of Tatsuya, gave her seat to Honoka and moved next to Miyuki.
Erika, who had purposefully taken a roundabout path around the table, suddenly spoke to Masaki.
"Ichijou-kun, how's the investigation going?"
Masaki almost choked on his freshly acquired bowl of soup. Since he had seen Erika a few times already, he wasn't surprised at her overly familiar attitude. What had surprised him was the fact that she asked him such a question about a duty verging on a grey line with the law, in a place where anyone could be listening.
"Erika, Ichijou has just arrived in Tokyo. No matter how outstandingly superior a Magician he is, there is no way he'd accomplish something like that in a day."
While Masaki was struggling to find a way to answer, surprisingly for him, he was rescued by Tatsuya.
"I guess that's true."
"Indeed, Erika. This is not something you should ask in such a pressing manner. Ichijou-san, sorry about that."
Lightly reproving Erika, Miyuki bowed towards Masaki.
"No, well, this isn't something that needs an apology or anything."
Miyuki directed an innocent smile towards Masaki who was getting flustered. Masaki's pure-hearted reaction might have been something refreshing for her.
"That being said, I envy you, Ichijou-san."
"Ah? Umm, what about?"
With Miyuki's dazzling smile turned towards him, Masaki was getting more and more restless.
"For you to be called a ‘outstandingly superior Magician' by Onii-sama. Onii-sama is unexpectedly nice to you."
Miyuki sent a look of reproach to Masaki while smiling. No, to be more precise, it was more like envy?
Of course it was just a joke; however, what little calm Masaki had managed to preserve was blown away in an instant, he couldn't think of anything. His concerns about Miyuki calling Tatsuya "Onii-sama" as well flew out of his mind.
Tatsuya opened his mouth. "That's not the case" he said. Maybe it had been to turn Miyuki's gaze away from Masaki, maybe it had been a straight manner of scolding her for teasing him, but anyway, it was obvious that Tatsuya had again come to his rescue.
"So after all, Tatsuya-san recognizes Ichijou-san's ability." However, as if covering for her, Honoka interrupted his sentence. "That's nice. It feels like some sort of rivalry between two men."
"You might say rival, but in terms of Magical Power, it's pretty clear that Ichijou comes out on top."
Being so directly talked to, Tatsuya had no choice but to turn his attention away from Miyuki. Without wasting time, Tatsuya turned his attention to the person in front of him.
"However, isn't what we're practicing currently Tatsuya's field of expertise?"
"Well, that is because the current theme requires precision more than speed and strength."
Without humbling himself, Tatsuya honestly replied to Honoka.
"Tatsuya-san managed from the very beginning to perfectly time every color change for 1 second."
Mizuki seemed to be completely relaxed, and she opened her mouth as if she had been the one praised.
"Really!? Tatsuya-san, that's incredible!"
Hearing Honoka and Mizuki's speeches damaged Masaki quite clearly. Miyuki, who was seated right in front of him couldn't overlook this, and gave him some comforting words.
"Even though I always stay within the time limit, I still end up being slightly too fast or too slow."
However, Honoka who sitting next to him and was even closer, hadn't noticed.
"Tatsuya-san, isn't there some kind of trick for this?"
Being overjoyed at Miyuki showing sympathy for Masaki, she couldn't help but try to draw Tatsuya's attention.
From Honoka's point of view, everything was going according to the plan.
It had been Honoka who proposed to invite Masaki to their table. She had planned on pushing Masaki towards Miyuki while using this chance to get closer to Tatsuya herself.
Saying this is wicked would be pitiful.
"All's fair in love and war" was a popular phrase that originated from a tragicomedy of Great Britain from the 17th century. That being said, in modern times, there were strategies that were established as forbidden by a multinational treaty, so you couldn't say that this phrase was true for everything.
It remained true for the matters of love, and you couldn't say that everything was allowed. For instance, using a lie like ‘I am bearing your child' to force your lover to give you money in order to part with you, those kinds of things were usually restricted by your sense of morals.
Still, what Honoka did was not exactly foul play; all things considered, this was pretty common for a girl in love. Using her friend's partner that way might be considered in bad taste, but it only served as evidence of Honoka's strong love.
? ? ?
After leaving Miyuki at school and going back home, Tatsuya mounted his favorite motorbike and headed towards Tsuchiura. Needless to say, his destination was the National Defense Base of the 101st Brigade. It was the headquarters of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.
Tatsuya was sporting a rough appearance on his bike, wearing trousers that looked like they were made out of leather, topped off with a large and imposing jacket. But the only thing that mattered at the gate was your ID, and from Tatsuya removing his helmet, he was granted access to the base.
Parking his motorbike in front of headquarters, he looked at the third floor of the building. His grave look was due to the negotiations —— neither a report nor a consultation —— that would come.
Still, it wasn't possible to ignore it. The fact that the Ten Master Clans had taken an official stance regarding the terrorism perpetrated by Gu Jie at Hakone had mainly been in order to attenuate the anti-Magician hate.
However, after hearing about Gu Jie's activities in Kamakura, it was decided that Tatsuya would have to bring them down as soon as possible. It hadn't been an order from Maya, but something he proposed of his own volition.
Gu Jie's method of using Magicians as literal tools for his goals went against Tatsuya's ambition of giving Magicians a way to live without being instruments of war.
These were irreconcilable differences. In the future that Tatsuya envisioned, Gu Jie's existence was something that could not be allowed.
Gu Jie had to be killed. In order to achieve that, he would have to get rid of the victims he used as tools..
Lightly shaking his head to settle down, Tatsuya entered the building and asked that his arrival be relayed. In reality, he didn't even want to phone beforehand, but he couldn't just suddenly intrude without at least doing that much.
There was still 5 minutes before the designated time, but Tatsuya proceeded through. Was this place shorthanded as usual? He hardly met anyone on his way to the commander's room.
"Special Lieutenant Ooguro."
He raised his voice towards the room after knocking on the door. It wasn't like his voice could directly pass through the door, but it was equipped with a microphone that automatically picked up voices. It was something visitors were unaware of.
"Enter."
Actually, the voice originated from the speaker system embedded inside the door. The technology had advanced to the point that the speaker wasn't visible to the user.
After he heard the sound confirming that the lock had been removed, Tatsuya opened the door.
Kazama was sitting at the desk in front of him, it seemed that today he was alone. A touch-screen terminal was on his desk, he was most likely looking over a proposal or a report until Tatsuya arrived. His responsibilities appear to have increased with his promotion.
Tatsuya stepped in front of his desk and saluted.
Although Kazama stood up to return the salute, he immediately sat down again. Tatsuya, who wasn't invited to take a seat, stayed still.
"Special Lieutenant, at ease. So, what suddenly brings you here today?"
That wasn't to say that Kazama was irritated. Even his voice had remained calm.
"Since our communication could have been intercepted, I thought that I would come and report to you directly."
"Oh.. Are you saying my battalion's encryption code could have been cracked?"
"Affirmative. Actually, I was warned that there was a high probability that the communication codes of the Yotsuba Family have been deciphered already."
Tatsuya revealed one of his cards immediately. Kazama's eyebrow twitched lightly.
"..Still, I think that the codes we are using should be stronger than the Yotsuba Family's."
"I am of the same opinion. But still, I thought that this was enough of a reason to be careful."
Although Tatsuya didn't mention exactly on what grounds he had thought that there was a need to be cautious, Kazama didn't object.
"..Alright. Special Lieutenant, state your business."
"There is a possibility that the special forces training grounds of the Zama base have been corrupted by foreign elements."
The Special Forces Training Grounds —— This place had received this name due to fact that it gathered numerous Magic users who had seen their Magic Power strengthened after training there, and received the name ‘Special Tactical Soldiers'. Despite its name, it wasn't so much a training center as a place where experiments were conducted on living humans. The Defense Forces were keeping those reinforced Magicians in a few of the well-known facilities.
Just this information alone would cause a large scandal for the Ministry of Defense if it was leaked, but the Zama base had another secret. Within its walls, joint research was being conducted with the USNA.
Even though it was something unbeknownst to the rest of the world, it remained true that they were providing Japanese citizens for some foreigners to experiment on.
This was a dark side of the government that could never be made public, and a shameful heritage of the pre-war days.
Tatsuya was reporting that this kind of facility, which was constantly under extreme surveillance, had been partially taken over by foreign powers.
"..Did something happen?"
Kazama didn't ask "What?" nor "Is that true?". Neither did he ask "On what grounds can you say that?".
Kazama was trying to figure out what could have happened to make Tatsuya come to this conclusion.
"Last Saturday at dawn, during the pursuit of the mastermind behind the Hakone terrorist acts, Gu Jie, there had been interference from Magicians specializing in ‘Combustion'. Without a doubt, these Magicians were supposed to be on standby at the Zama base."
The special forces training grounds of the Zama base were especially useful in times of war, with psychics strengthened for ‘Ignition' or ‘Explosion'. The three people that Tatsuya killed last Saturday at Kamakura, after an investigation by Yoshimi, turned out to be Magicians who had been changed into ‘Generators' at the special training grounds of the Zama base.
"Are you saying that the terrorists' hand has extended as far as the Zama base?"
"Affirmative."
Kazama folded his arms and leaked a groan, a frown on his face. It had already been quite a scandal that Zhou Gongjin had concealed himself in the Uji Second Supply Base, but for geographical reasons, anything pertaining to the Zama base was immediately an even more serious matter.
It was right under the nose of the capital, Tokyo. A facility made in order to hide the truth about experiments on living beings. A comfortable cage where combatants comparable to heavy weapons were confined.
The simple fact that one of those bodies which had been experimented on managed to slip out of the base was a big problem in and of itself. If it became known that such beings had become the underlings of an anti- Japanese operative, then it probably wouldn't just end with the National Defense taking responsibility.
"Who is aware of this?"
Kazama closed his eyes and asked Tatsuya so. "So far, only the members of the Yotsuba Family."
In other words, this information hadn't leaked to the Ten Master Clans. Hearing this, Kazama's expression seemingly softened. Still, he had kept his posture with his arms folded, and his frown remained.
"Does Special Lieutenant intend on attacking the Zama base?"
"Negative, Lieutenant Colonel."
Tatsuya's tone had changed subtly.
"Even though Zhou Gongjin had been given shelter in the Uji Second Supply Base, I don't think Gu Jie would do something similar in Zama's base."
"Gu Jie.. Is that the name of the mastermind?"
Hearing a name that rang a bell in his head, Kazama looked up at Tatsuya, unfolding his arms.
"However, didn't you just say that the experimented bodies of the Zama base had become the pawns of this Gu Jie?"
"There is no mistake in that fact. However, while it is true that reinforced Magicians from the special training grounds have been turned into ‘Generators', assuming that Gu Jie himself is present there and responsible for this would be presumptuous."
"So you think that someone in the Zama base cooperated with Gu Jie and took the reinforced Magicians out of the base?"
"Affirmative."
"Hmm.. Compared to thinking that an unidentified foreigner infiltrated the base, this is certainly more realistic. However, how exactly did he do that?"
"A staff member from the special forces training ground might have been turned into a puppet. There might be a Magician capable of an operation as complex as performing the remodeling needed to create a ‘Generator', along with depriving someone of his free-will."
Kazama put both of his elbows on the desk and joined his hands while silently thinking.
"..Are the identities of the people turned into Generators known?"
"Here."
Tatsuya took out an unsealed envelope and presented it to Kazama. He retrieved 3 folded sheets of paper from it. These were photographs of the 3 people that had been turned into Generators, and their bodily features were recorded as well.
"If we shared that information with the base of Zama, we could probably get our hands on the puppets in a few days. However, would it be possible for this investigation to be left to me?"
Kazama matched Tatsuya's gaze, still sitting. He was looking at him with such intensity that it probably wouldn't have been exaggerating to call it a glare.
Tatsuya then revealed his second card.
"Speaking bluntly, I know where Gu Jie's hideout is. However, that place is next to Zama's base."
"..Are you worried about involving Zama's base and having this turn into an all-out battle?"
To Kazama's low, yet heavy voice, Tatsuya returned an answer immediately.
"That is a possibility. Especially since the members of Special Forces Training Grounds of Zama's base hold a strong enmity towards the Ten Master Clans, if someone who was sent there to investigate agitated them too much, it could be dangerous."
Kazama couldn't deny Tatsuya's prediction possibly happening. This was a facility made with the goal of not letting its residents escape. Various adjustments had been made in order to not let even the bodies that had gone through the strengthening experiment have a chance of leaving. With that in mind, escape was basically nothing but a dream. Still, it was a fact that, every year, the Ten Master Clans helped in dealing with cases of escapees.
It might sound inhumane, but for the Defense Forces, disposing of them was a much safer way. If the experimented subject survived, it would take a great deal of effort to keep the whole thing a secret. On the other hand, a dead body would leave no tangible evidence behind it. Taking the power and influence of the government into account, burying such a mundane affair in the dark would be no trouble. At the very least, compared to the cost of keeping one alive, it was far cheaper.
If headquarters learned that an unauthorized fight broke out near Zama that involved a member of the Ten Master Clans, and the Yotsuba Family.. They could make experiments escape on purpose to put the responsibility of disposal on the Yotsuba Family. This was a scenario that was likely to happen.
"Concerning the non-intervention promise made to the Zama base, we will need the cooperation of the General."
"We wouldn't have the time for this. Gu Jie would be able to escape."
"..Special Lieutenant, do you want to settle things once and for all?"
"I'm planning to avoid as many fights as possible with National Defense personnel. However, if a fight broke out by accident or due to unavoidable circumstances, I will erase every single trace of it."
Tatsuya was saying that if need be, he'd use his ‘Mist Dispersion' even on allied troops.
"It might be impossible to do otherwise."
With a bitter expression on his face, yet deprived of hesitation, Kazama permitted the use of Tatsuya's Mist Dispersion.
? ? ?
It was 8 P.M. when Tatsuya finally arrived near the Zama base, having traveled from the Tsuchiura base after taking his time to settle various affairs.
He didn't talk to Katsuto and Mayumi about his coming here today. Of course, not even to Masaki. He missed today's meeting as well. Rather, members of the Yotsuba Family were his companions.
It seemed like all the members were already gathered. Tatsuya stopped his motorcycle in the public park's parking lot and stepped up to a van.
"Fumiya, Ayako, you did well in coming despite today being a weekday."
Once he was in whispering distance he called out to his second cousins in a low voice, they had been erasing their presence just like he was.
"Tatsuya-niisan!"
While keeping his voice down as well, although unable to completely hide his astonishment, Fumiya responded.
"I didn't even feel your presence. You keep getting better and better at being invisible."
"Good evening, Tatsuya-san. I understand that the current situation demands it, but since this is bad for my heart, could you be more considerate?"
Fumiya let out undisguised praise while Ayako reproached him. Her attitude had changed a little ever since his engagement with Miyuki had been announced.
She was less reserved, and it looked like the distance between them had shortened.
However, this was Ayako trying her best to accept the reality of the current situation.
"It looked like Yoshimi-san would faint due to the shock."
Near Ayako, Yoshimi shook her head from left to right in her usual mysterious style.
"Yoshimi-san, you don't need to hold back. Tatsuya-san, despite being so straightforward, utterly lacks any form of common sense; in this situation it wouldn't do any good to hide the truth."
Those words may have been surprisingly abusive, but Yoshimi wasn't one to have reserved thoughts. She was more the type to let her guard down.
"I'm alright. I won't be shaken by something like this."
"Eh..? But you looked pretty surprised from what I saw."
"It's not the case. I'm an adult after all."
Yoshimi had become quite talkative with Ayako as well. Her wariness might also have loosened since they were cousins. For Ayako and Fumiya, Tatsuya was their elder second cousin, from their father's side of the family.
Yoshimi, on the other hand is the daughter of the brother of Ayako's mother. In other words, their maternal cousin.
Yoshimi's full name was Shinonome Yoshimi. Although she was currently 21 years old, she wasn't going to school. Even during her high school years, she had followed a correspondence system. Thus, she could perform investigative duties while learning.
With this in mind, it would make sense if she had developed a sort of elder sister role towards Ayako, but looking at them, it was pretty clear that it was Ayako who would grasp th-->>