After sending Miyuki and the others back to their rooms, Tatsuya was in the work van, tweaking activation sequences. Isori was working beside him.
"Shiba-kun, why not head back? Your players don't compete until day four," Isori suggested.
Tatsuya glanced at the clock—past midnight. Isori was right; as a first-year, Tatsuya only needed to focus on the rookie matches. No need to overwork before the event.
"I'll head out, then," Tatsuya said.
"Good work," Isori replied with a smile that, for a guy, was oddly charming. Tatsuya recalled Isori's complaint about lacking male friends and suspected this might be why but kept it to himself.
(Maybe I'll patrol a bit,) Tatsuya thought.
Hayama and Kazama had warned him about suspicious activity nearby, so Tatsuya decided to stroll around the hotel, doubling as a patrol. If nothing turned up, fine. He walked casually, hoping for the best. With his ability to sense presences, he didn't need to wander, but after hours of work, he wanted a breather.
(Three suspicious figures… not CADs, but guns? Wait—is that Mikihiko?)
Tatsuya detected the intruders and their weapons, then sensed a familiar presence. Mikihiko was practicing spirit summoning and had likely noticed the intruders too.
(He'll run into them before I get there,) Tatsuya calculated.
Reading Mikihiko's activation sequence, Tatsuya swiftly pulled the trigger on his CAD. The intruders' guns disintegrated, and a split second later, Mikihiko's lightning struck, knocking them out.
Earlier, Mikihiko had been alerted to the intruders by his spirits.
(Suspicious people here? This is a military facility,) he thought, panicking.
Unlike Tatsuya, Mikihiko hadn't been briefed about potential threats, and his mind was already unsettled. His father's words from the day before echoed: "Go see the place where you should've stood." Had an accident not robbed him of his power, Mikihiko would've been a Nine Schools competitor, not a reserve. His father meant to make him confront his current strength, and Mikihiko understood that.
Erika had called it a mistake, but Mikihiko suspected his father had pulled strings.
(I can do this,) he resolved.
Capturing the intruders would prove his worth. Mikihiko drew a talisman and activated his magic. But the intruders noticed him first.
(I'm done for…)
Mikihiko's spell would hit in one second, but their guns would fire in half that, piercing him. Bracing for death, he was stunned when the guns fell apart, and his magic knocked the intruders unconscious.
"Who's there?!" Mikihiko shouted.
It was aid, but allies weren't guaranteed. The enemy of an enemy isn't always a friend.
"It's me," Tatsuya stepped from the shadows.
"Tatsuya?"
A second-year like Mikihiko, Tatsuya was rumored to have defeated top first-years. Mikihiko burned to know his secret.
"They're alive. Nice work," Tatsuya said, checking the intruders.
Mikihiko, despite the praise, spoke bitterly. "But without your help, I'd be dead. I should be dead."
"…Idiot," Tatsuya snapped.
"What?"
Mikihiko had expected agreement, not this.
"I helped, and you took them down. That's the only fact. 'Should'? What do you think 'should' even means?" Tatsuya pressed.
"I…" Mikihiko faltered.
Tatsuya sighed, exasperated. "Don't tell me you're measuring yourself against some absurd standard—like taking down any enemy, no matter how skilled or numerous, all by yourself?"
Mikihiko's chest tightened. It was a ridiculous benchmark, yet he'd been thinking something close to it.
"I'll say it again, Mikihiko. You're an idiot," Tatsuya said flatly.
"Tatsuya…"
"Why do you keep selling yourself short?"
"It's pointless to tell you. It's just how it is," Mikihiko said, trying to shut it down.
Tatsuya didn't let up. "Maybe it's not."
"What?"
"Isn't your issue the speed of your magic activation?" Tatsuya asked pointedly.
Mikihiko froze, his core insecurity laid bare. "…Did Erika tell you?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
"Your sequences are too inefficient," Tatsuya said.
"What?"
"Not your ability—your sequences are flawed."
"How dare you say that! The Yoshida family perfected these over generations! You see them once and call them defective?!" Mikihiko exploded, furious not just at the insult to his family's work but at Tatsuya exposing the truth he'd avoided.
"I just know," Tatsuya said calmly. "You don't have to believe me."
"What?" Mikihiko repeated, softer. Tatsuya didn't seem to be lying.
"I can read activation sequences and analyze magic formulas at a glance. Believe it or not… Now, what do we do with these guys? I'll watch them. Go get security," Tatsuya instructed.
"Got it," Mikihiko said, grateful for the task. He needed time to process.
After Mikihiko leaped over a hedge with a talisman, Tatsuya spoke into the darkness. "Care to show yourself, Major?"
"You noticed," Kazama Genzou emerged.
"Just a hunch," Tatsuya said.
He'd sent Mikihiko away because he'd sensed Kazama, his superior and senior disciple.
"Can I leave these guys to you?" Tatsuya asked.
"Fine. Their intel could be useful. I'd have taken them anyway," Kazama said.
"Good to know."
"We're staying at the hotel. Come by tomorrow," Kazama added, switching from "Special Lieutenant" to "Tatsuya."
"Understood," Tatsuya replied, shifting from a salute to a nod, treating Kazama as a familiar rather than a superior, and returned to his room.
Note: New story is out, if you want to check it out.
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