NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10-Intentions!
Chapter 10
INEI YOTSUBA
Inei Yotsuba had many secrets, and yet he cared little for most of them. Except the one he could see right now as he stood in his bathroom, getting ready for another day at school, and in the mirror in front one could glimpse at the massive magical sequences carved into his very skin, and that very thing that had taken from him more than half of his life.
An ancient-brain-control sequence, one carved into his skin by one of the biggest names in Dahan's history, Gu Jie. He had another name as well, though he did not know it, yet that did not matter.
Gu Jie was enough, and Inei had promised himself that one day he would find him and exact revenge on him for what he had done to him. It was another reason he had come to Japan, and had known about the existence of Seven Sages, for he had heavy suspicion that this man was one.
The Seven Sages, believed to be seven random individuals chosen by an entity named Hliðskjálf, gave them access to anything and everything in the world, a brainchild of the USNA government.
He believed it was through the very thing that Dahan had managed to chase him everywhere he went. Though he defeated them all, this very thing had made his life a living hell, at least until he had escaped to Nagano, knowing that the mere presence of the Yotsuba would haunt and halt his captors, giving him the time he needed to make sense of himself.
And now he had, and though he had been content to live his life away in that cafe, being a Yotsuba had offered him another path. One that would make it so that no one, not Dahan, Not Gu Jie, and not USNA, would ever be able to lay a hand on him.
Yet it was not easy. Not that he ever expected it to be.
"Why is my life so troublesome," he lamented as he put on the vest before he put on his uniform and left for another day at school, a place he was beginning to get used to. His relationship with the Shiba siblings and his cousins had improved much, mostly due to the efforts of Miyuki, and he had not missed the subtle glances the President Mayumi sent his way when she thought he was not looking.
Though all that would come later, for today, he was going to meet a rather enigmatic figure. On the surface he was the simple leader of a temple, but in truth he was a tried and true shinobi, a master magician whose powers could rival those of Maya Yotsuba.
Yet his true strength lay in his slew of connections making him perhaps the most well-informed individual in the world after that damned American who had created Echeleon III.
"Well, let's get on with it," he said, walking out the door. After riding for an hour and a half, he found himself at the entrance of a temple shrouded in thick clouds, making it hard to see an inch.
He stood there, and shook his head pushing psions through himself and into his eyes activating the Magical Sequence implanted into them, as the world infront of him shifted, the mist vanished in an instant as he found himself looking straight at the man he had come to meet.
"To ever think I would see those eyes for myself," the man snarked as Inei walked upto him, where he sat on the porch sipping his tea idly.
"Illusions do not work on me," Inei said as he looked the man in the eye.
"I will keep that in mind, Yotsuba-kun, or should I call you 'World Cleaver'?" Inei perked up at that name, a name that even Maya Yotsuba did not know belonged to him.
"I do not know what you are talking about?" he replied, and the man shook his head.
"One can seldom hide anything for a shinobi, and I am the best of them," he said as he pointed to the empty space beside him and began to pour another cup of tea.
"You have nothing to fear from me, of course. The problem, however, is the fact that another entity has begun to suspect the same thing," he said as he handed him a cup of tea.
"That American?" he guessed, and the bald monk nodded.
"Indeed, and though they have not yet made a move, they are beginning to make the same connection I have. And with the resources at their disposal, I can assure you they will make it," he said as he sipped his tea as Inei did the same.
And now he had another problem to deal with. USNA was perhaps the most well-informed government in the world; they knew everything about Dahan and, if his own assessment was right, were planning to strike at the facility if the experiment with him had proven itself to be a success.
And yet the Dahan made a mistake, and he escaped on his own, and soon enough apart from teh Dahan another group began to chase after him, trying to capture him. And though the Dahan's magical prowess was simply remedied, the USNA were much more powerful and persistent.
In one of these attacks, he had been surrounded by more than ten magicians from the USNA, injured and tired, and so in his rage, he had used one of his trump cards, and soon enough, the whole area was razed to the ground.
"For a boy barely into his teens, you have many enemies?" the monk added, and he shrugged.
"It is what it is," he said before turning towards the monk with a frown.
"And yet you have been so forthcoming with all this information. Why?" he asked, knowing full well that there was not truly a free meal in this world.
"Ohh, so you have caught on," he said as his smile vanished.
"That is because there are people who believe that you could be the one to mend Japan's Magical Society," and he frowned at that.
"I highly doubt that, regardless, I will not dance to the tunes of your masters," he replied sharply.
"We know that, but you lack much of the baggage that hinders your cousins, and Japan's other strategic-class magicians, and have the most potential among them," and that was true, despite Tatsuya's prowess as a magician he hated being viewed as a weapon unlike him who had no qualms with the more deadly application of magic.
Tatsuya's true strength lay in his technical abilities as a magical engineer and scholar. He could do much. And yet the situation in Japan and the Yotsuba made it so that he was used more as a battering ram than the surgical scalpel that he was.
But with him in the picture, that would change, and it was one reason he and Miyuki had become friends with him, knowing full well that only he could shield them both from the future that lay ahead.
"Thank you for the tea," he said and gave the monk a nod as he began to walk away.
"Before you leave, I will leave you with a parting gift," the monk's voice cut in, making him stop.
"Do you know how the USNA classified your magic from all those years ago?" he questioned, and Inei shook his head.
"I do not," he replied.
"It is yet the only magic in its class. One could say a whole separate classification was created for it. They call it Calamity-Class."
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MAYUMI SAEGUSA
The course two students had barricaded themselves into the Public Announcement Room in an effort to try and secure for themselves 'equal rights', and a part of her wished that she had been able to do more, do better rather than letting things deteriorate to such a level but still she could not help but feel that there was an external factor in all this.
And yet, as she stood outside that door, she could do nothing but feel helpless, knowing full well about the sensitivity of the situation she had to tackle. It had taken her all her charisma to convince the school to leave this matter to the students and their respective bodies, for she knew that if the school intervened, the future of these students may very well be ruined.
"I have contact with one of the students inside," Tatsuya mentioned, and she sighed in relief.
"Good. Tell her that the Student Council is willing to negotiate with them as long as they end this act of vandalism," she said as she walked back and leaned on the wall with Katsuto, her yearmate.
"That is being generous," he added, and she shrugged.
"Their methods may be wrong, but they believe they have been pushed into a corner. If we are to end this, we must make them think that they are not in a corner.
"That is simply not on the table." She heard Tatsuya answer vehemently, and she frowned as she walked upto him.
"What is going on?" she asked, as he covered the mike of the phone he was using.
"They are saying that they will take right now. They are proposing a location outside of school," and she was taken aback by that demand.
"This is excessive," she said, feeling the demand to be too far off.
And he talked back, as she began to pace, feeling a bit overwhelmed when suddenly another person joined them, his white hair a standout among the crowd.
"Now, you cannot blame me for all your troubles, President-san," she heard Inei-kun call as he greeted her sheepishly. Miyuki had told her that since they had no class early in the morning, he would be arriving a bit late because of a personal issue.
"Inei-kun," she greeted him, his presence giving her reassurance for some reason.
"I have it on good authority that you have a rather precarious situation on your hands," he said, looking at the Public Announcement Office, commonly called the Media Room.
"Negative," Tatusya kun joined back in.
"They are insistent on their demand and are even demanding that they will choose the negotiator themselves," he added as he gave Inei-kun a subtle nod, and they stared at each other.
"Then we must break the door. Consequences be damned," Katsuto added, and Inei-kun raised his hand, stopping Jumonji-san.
"Have they mentioned wh..." she was cut off.
"I would have to stop you, Jumonji-san," he said, making her frown.
"This is not as simple as it may seem. If you attack that door, you will have an open revolt on your hands from the Course Two students, plus the students inside are not exactly fine either," he said, and she was alarmed by his last sentence.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Simply put, they are under the influence of Mental-Interference Magic. They are brainwashed," and that stilled her as she gasped.
"But who would do such a thing?" At this, both Inei-kun and Tatsuya-kun shared a glance as they motioned for them to move a bit.
"Tell them, Tatsuya," Inei-kun said, and the black-haired boy stepped forward while Inei-kun took from him the device he was using to contact the students inside.
"I have a suspicion that this uprising is being backed by an organization named 'Blanche'?" she was taken aback by the accusation.
She knew of Blanche. Of course, they were an anti-magic group based out of GAA and were gaining traction in Japan, involving students.
"How sure are you about this?" she asked.
"Very, and I am not the only one with this suspicion," he added.
"But why would they Target the school? What would they gain by doing such a thing," and at this, Tatsuya shook his head.
"At this point, I am not sure."
"I believe I have an idea," and with that, Inei-kun joined them once more.
"What did you discuss?" she asked.
"I think I have a pretty good idea of what they are after."
"What?"
"You and Me."
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