Chapter 61 ~ Attack on the Detention Center
<span style="font-weight:400">October 25, 2095. Afternoon.
<span style="font-weight:400">As nned, Yuuji and Tatsuya headed directly to the Hachioji Special Detention Center with Mayumi and Mari after school.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mari led with Tatsuya by her side, while Mayumi walked leisurely with Yuuji, following them from behind.
<span style="font-weight:400">Although Tatsuya knew about his newly formed romantic rtionship with Mayumi, the couple didn’t engage in any disy of affection, such as hand holding, on their way there.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mayumi was still too shy to reveal her rtionship with Yuuji to her friend, so Yuuji respected her decision and acted like he would before bing her boyfriend.
<span style="font-weight:400">Walking through the detention center, which functioned simrly to a prison but with a better overall cleanliness and appearance, they soon arrived in the room with a stic k numbering 707.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yuuji-kun, Tatsuya-kun, we’re going here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Purely out of habit, Mayumi grabbed Yuuji’s and led the two boys into the room next to room 707. The gesture wasn’t missed by the keen-eyed Disciplinary Committee chairwoman, but with more important things at hand, it went past herpletely. She entered room 707, leaving that disy of affection Mayumi did to the handsome first-year boy as a fleeting thought that quickly disappeared to the back of her mind.
<span style="font-weight:400">The room Yuuji entered was an extremely small, prison cell-sized room. But, unlike a typical prison cell, there was no bed of any kind. Just a desk in the corner with an in-builtputer-like device installed into it considering there was arge screen at the center of iit, and arge one-way ss that allowed individuals in this room to see through the room next door but not vice versa.
<span style="font-weight:400">In the other room, they saw Sekimoto Isao sitting on a white mattress that rested on a simple, steel bed.
<span style="font-weight:400">And right after, they saw Mari enter his room, shocking thenky third-year student that had be even paler than he was previously.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-Watanabe?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Intimidated and nervous, Isao grasped his right wrist, where his CAD would usually be, out of habit, only to be reminded that all of his belongings had been confiscated. The only thing he has in his possession now was his own body and the hospital robe he was wearing.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-What are you doing here?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“I came to hear your exnation.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Even you can’t use your magic here!”
<span style="font-weight:400">For obvious reasons, usage of magic without permission was prohibited in the detention center. And the rule was further enforced by the use of magic jamming devices with antinite as its coreponent. However…
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really now?”
<span style="font-weight:400">As if blown by a light breeze that shouldn’t exist here inside a small room with concrete walls in the basement, Mari’s short hair began to float and sway lightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">In the next moment, Isao also felt a light breeze caress his face and blew his hair. Immediately, his eyes widened in shock. He quickly covered his nose and mouth, but in his panic, inevitably sucked in some of the gas Mari concocted with her magic.
<span style="font-weight:400">A groan of pain resounded from his throat, and in the next moment, his body rxed. His arms fell onto hisp as his eyes zed over in a daze.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is that scent-based mind control?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tatsuya asked, immediately recognizing anding up with a usible guess as to what Mari just did in those few moments.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is this your first time seeing it, Tatsuya-kun?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is it your first time as well, Yuuji-kun?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes… But perhaps it’s to be expected of Mari-senpai to have such fine control of her magic.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fufu, perhaps~”
<span style="font-weight:400">Without having to wait long, Isao quickly spilled out every single thing with Mari’s spell loosening his mouth.
<span style="font-weight:400">“After copying over the data from the demo machine, I was supposed to go through Shiba’s personal belongings.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What were you after?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“The relic…”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the relic, and the two beside him followed suit.
<span style="font-weight:400">But just as Mari was about to question Isao further about the relic and who ordered him, the ring sound of a siren resounded.
<span style="font-weight:400">The three immediately exited the room and saw the emergency sign, alerting the entire detention center of an intruder, disyed in the screen on the wall.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yuuji! Tatsuya-kun!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Mari quickly appeared from the other room right after in a panic and looked towards the three and the screen.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s an intruder… And it seems he’s after Sekimoto Isao…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tatsuya narrowed his eyes towards the end of the hall. Yuuji, Mayumi, and Mari followed the direction of his gaze and saw arge, muscr man in a seemingly regr jacket and long pants, walking through the empty hallway. The heavy sound of his boots, apanied by the loud siren, echoed through the hallway at a leisurely ce as he looked around, searching for his prey.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yuuji…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Whispering under her breath, Mayumi nced at Yuuji to confirm her suspicions for but a moment, not wanting to tear away her gaze from the iing danger before her. And to her great misfortune, he nodded and stepped forward in a protective manner, confirming all her fears.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji had told her about his encounter with the man before them now, and his nod confirmed that it was indeed the same man. The man-eating tiger, Lu Gang Hu.
<span style="font-weight:400">Lu Gang Hu, although a force to be reckoned with inbat, perhaps didn’t have subtlety in spades. And upon noticing their presence and seeing Yuuji and Tatsuya, a look of recognition appeared on his ferocious face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Chairwoman, prepare forbat and be careful. He is an extremely dangerous man.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Mari’s eyes, which had been glued on Lu Gang Hu’s figure, turned towards Tatsuya in shock. Endless questions filled her mind regarding their current situation, but she knew better than to ask them during such an emergency.
<span style="font-weight:400">With a nod, she stepped forward along with Tatsuya. She took out a jet-ck, rectangr device, and the moment she swung it, two sharp, razor-like des of the same length broke out from it, forming a slick, jet-ck sword that tripled its original length.
<span style="font-weight:400">Lu Gang Hu growled with clenched teeth, disying his razor sharp fangs, and moved into a stance.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, in a disy of immense speed, the man eating tiger leaped into a hunt with both hands clenched into fists.
<span style="font-weight:400">In a reaction to his dash, Mayumi activated her magic, creating three light blue magic circles that floated around Mari and Tatsuya. And from it, a torrential rain of icicles struck Lu Gang Hu.
<span style="font-weight:400">But, with his entire physique enhanced by magic, both permanently through bodily modifications and temporarily through spells, the icicles didn’t even slowed him down. And the moment he came in close, Mari let out a battle cry and brandished her sword towards him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Haaaah!!!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Kkhh!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Perhaps not calcting in the speed in which Lu Gang Hu was dashing at, Mari struck the palm of his hand with the handle part of her sword, effectively making her attack useless and allowed the man eating tiger, whose speciality was meleebat, into an extremely dangerous range.
<span style="font-weight:400">At least, that’s what Lu Gang Hu thought.
<span style="font-weight:400">But in that moment, his well-honed instincts detected danger. And when he nced to the left, he saw the other part of the de had circled around and moved towards him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Kuh-!”
<span style="font-weight:400">In a disy of lightning speed reaction and surprising flexibility, Lu Gang Hu bent backwards, almost to a 90 degree angle, and dodged the uing de.
<span style="font-weight:400">And when Mayumi fired off another torrent of icicles right above him, taking advantage of his off-bnced form, the beast leaped backward again and again to avoid all her sessive attacks as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">A look of shock colored the top special opsbatant officer. He truly didn’t expect this level of resistance from what seemed to be a group of high school students.
<span style="font-weight:400">But, he had orders that must bepleted, no matter what the circumstances were or no matter what the cost may be.
<span style="font-weight:400">The look on his face changed from that of a stoic soldier to that of a ferocious, yet controlled, beast.
<span style="font-weight:400">He moved into a martial arts stand with both fists pulled back to his waist, facing up. Then with a swift and powerful movement, he turned both fist into ws and raised them before him, creating a powerful whirlwind that surrounded his entire figure.
<span style="font-weight:400">Seeing this, Mayumi continued to shootrge amounts of powerful, sharp icicles towards him. But unfortunately, every single one was either deflected or destroyed by the powerful whirling winds.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, once the whirlwind dissipated and the figure of the man eating tiger appeared once again, he charged forward once again with terrifying speeds and an even more terrifying determination.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mari went into her stance, raising her sword hand in front and elongated her des, revealing the three jet-ck des connected by strong yet flexible cord which were currently hardened into steel using Reinforcement Magic.
<span style="font-weight:400">But to her shock, Lu Gang Hu suddenly disappeared from her sight. And a momentter, she heard loud thuds on the wall to her right.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her eyes immediately turned towards the sound, and as she feared, Lu Gang Hu appeared once again and now, he had passed her and was quickly approaching Mayumi and Yuuji.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mayumi!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Chairwoman!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The moment she tried to go after him, Tatsuya grabbed onto her shoulder and stopped her from recklessly charging in towards the extremely powerful and deadly soldier.
<span style="font-weight:400">She turned and looked at Tatsuya in shock and anger. But upon seeing his calm expression as he gazed forward, she stopped. Slowly looking back towards Yuuji and Mayumi, her eyes widened in shock when she saw the terrifying, powerful invader dangling his feat ferociously as his entire upper body was seemingly held by an invisible force in mid air.
<span style="font-weight:400">She looked down and saw Yuuji, with his left arm raised in front, gazing at the man-eating tiger with a calm, icy gaze.
<span style="font-weight:400">He lowered his hand and Lu Gang Hu’s body began leaning forward until he was parallel to the ground as if he was controlled by Yuuji’s hand movement.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, he lowered his arm, and the man-eating tiger mmed into the ground, instantly creating a massive spider web crack on the concrete floor beneath him.
<span style="font-weight:400">But when Mari thought it was the end of it, the ground continued to crack and the crater grew deeper and deeper as an increasing amount of pressure and weight continued pressing Lu Gang Hu into the floor.
<span style="font-weight:400">Groans of pain and struggle were the only thing that could escape the clenched teeth of the Great Asian Union’s special ops soldier as his body felt like it was being crushed by a mountain.
<span style="font-weight:400">He could hear not only the crack of the floor, but also his limbs and ribs that had begun to break one by one, piercing his muscles and organs. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips. And before long, darkness enveloped his eyes as he fell unconscious.
<span style="font-weight:400">--------------------------------X--------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji and Tatsuya were standing before therge screen tv in Yuuji’s living room. On the screen, the beautiful figure of Fujibayashi Kyouko sitting in the car was disyed.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“We’ve, unfortunately, failed to capture their leader, Chen Xiang Shan. However, thanks to you two and the twodies capturing Lu Gang Hu, we were able to take the entire mobile espionage unit into custody, so I’d call that an overall win. Thank you.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“We should be the one saying that, Kyouko-nee. Thank you for helping us investigate this matter.”
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“Fufu~ I didn’t know I raised you to be such a sweet talker.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Kyouko giggled in amusement, covering her lips with her fingers, as she smiled brightly like a loving sister.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“On paper, perhaps. But quite a few manufacturers like Izumo Electronics and Tsukumo Magic had fallen victim to them, you know?”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah, so that’s why their stocks dropped tremendously…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji mused in realization. He didn’t know what the Great Asian Union invaders’ did to those twopanies, but he did short sell a lot of their stocks and got quite the profit from it.
<span style="font-weight:400">He thought it was just a coincidence and his <<Investment Proficiency>> simply made him cash in on it, but it seemed like it was connected to the problems he had been facing.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“Oh did you~? Then you should treat me to yakiniku once in a while~ Don’t forget your big sister, okay~?”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“A-Ahahaha… Okay…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“By the way, about the Relic, where did the leak originate?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tatsuya asked, and a sigh escaped her lips as her expression quickly changed to being dejected.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“I’m embarrassed to say, but the army’s ounting data was leaked. So every single magic research facility that had received payment from the army was targeted.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see… Thank you for going out of your way to contact us.”
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“You’re wee. Have fun at the contest in two days.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm. Thank you, Kyouko-nee.”
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“Tell Miyuki and Aika I said hi~”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The call ended and the two sat back down on the couch together. Tatsuya closed his eyes and leaned back to the incredibly soft sofa, exhaling deeply as he rxed his mind and body.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tired?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“More so worried. Although we know what will happen in thepetition… No, <i><span style="font-weight:400">because</i><span style="font-weight:400"> we know what will happen then, I can’t help but think about it consistently.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Now I feel a bit ashamed for not thinking about it as much as you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">A small smile appeared on Tatsuya’s face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t be. I’m sure your mind is fully upied by your lovers. You have a tall task ahead of you. Caring for one girl sopletely is difficult enough. Not to mention three, and in the future, even more considering your appearance and tendencies.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... Are you teasing me?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Of course not.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji turned his head and looked at Tatsuya, who was rxing with his eyes closed while smiling, suspiciously.
<span style="font-weight:400">There was an urge in his heart to deny it, but he knew Tatsuya was right.
<span style="font-weight:400">He had been trying his best to make them the happiest they could be and protect them. Even though he knew full well they could protect themselves, he didn’t want them to be in the slightest bit of danger if he could help it.
<span style="font-weight:400">That’s why he had been busying himself by working hard to earn money for a future where they could do anything they want without a worry in the world.
<span style="font-weight:400">Not only Aika, Erika, and Mayumi, but also for Mira, Yuna, Nina, his aunt Aika, and perhaps… more in the future.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Tatsuya said, considering his tendencies, appearance, and… fetish, he’s more than likely to get into a rtionship with even more girls in the future. So he needed to learn how to care for his lovers properly and divide up his time and attention as equally as possible. Fast.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well… I can’t deny it. And there’s so many things I need to learn so I can give them the love, care, attention, and time they deserve.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Although I might not be of help in this department, I will still offer it. If you need any help or someone to talk to, I’ll be there for you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you, Tatsuya. I really do appreciate it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tatsuya nodded slightly, his lips still curled into a smile. Then, Yuuji joined him and rxed his body by leaning backpletely on the couch.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How about you? How is your rtionship with… Miyuki?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji snuck a nce at Tatsuya as silence fell between the two. There wasn’t any apparent change to Tatsuya at first, but Yuuji noticed the disappearance of the slight smile that he had before on his lips.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...It is well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">At his reply, a frown appeared on Yuuji.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...You may not understand the sentiment because of your… constitution. But your feelings towards her, your desire to protect her, make her happy, all of them, they’re not emotions and feelings <i><span style="font-weight:400">they</i><span style="font-weight:400"> installed in your brain. They’re <i><span style="font-weight:400">your</i><span style="font-weight:400"> genuine emotions and feelings.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And we all know how genuine Miyuki’s feelings are towards you. You’ve seen how hurt she was, both in the anime and in real life, when you are hurt. So… try to understand it. I know it won’t be quick. But try… try to understand your sister’s feelings… and your own. For her sake. And for yours as well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji kept his gaze at Tatsuya as he kept his silence.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We arerades who met coincidentally through the chat group and came to trust each other after seeing our respective… stories. But after spending time with you, I’vee to consider you an extremely close friend of mine, Tatsuya. One that I could entrust my life to. And I don’t want to see such a precious friend of mine suffer.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I want you to be happy. And I know that your happiness lies with Miyuki. Once you ept her feelings and relearn how to love, I’m sure you will find your well deserved happiness along with your beloved.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yuuji…”
<span style="font-weight:400">He turned his head towards Yuuji and opened his eyes to look at the man he hade to trust and treasure. And listening to his words, a million thoughts crossed his mind as he looked down to his right hand that he raised in front of his face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...I’ll try. Thank you… Yuuji.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji’s lips curled into a relieved smile as a small sigh escaped from it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You are weed. And just like what you offered me before, let me offer the same to you in return. Feel free to talk to me if you want any advice. Though if it’s rted to Miyuki, perhaps Aika or the girls would be better. After all, I’m still learning how to care for the ones I love as well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I will take you up on that offer.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tatsuya nodded, and offered up a fist to Yuuji, which he bumped with a grin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright! Now, as our first step in bing a better man for our beloveddies, let’s go out and treat them to dinner”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That is a good idea. It’s just in time for dinner as well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Great! What are you thinking? Yakiniku? Sushi?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Let’s ask them. We will be treating them, after all.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Haha, good thinking.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji stood up from his seat and raised his arms high into the air, stretching his body.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright! Let’s go tell them. They must be in my room.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.”