Rebirth

She's somewhat of a mess of emotions the next day. She'd woken up to an email from Kazama letting her know that while he hadn't directly interacted with the higher ups of the local branch of No-Head Dragon, through tracking him backwards through security footage and others he interacted with that were clearly part of that group, they'd managed to pinpoint their headquarters. Since it was more of a civilian matter, they'd handed the intelligence off to Detective Toshikazu, and they'd successfully raised them during the night. Well, for the most part, apparently one of the assholes had managed to escape out the window with a flight device and was currently on the run. He was the only one of those bastards to get away though, the rest had been taken into custody.

Which is where the mix of emotions comes from. On one hand, she felt a vicious satisfaction that they'd gone down, and they'd gone down hard, enough so that when they understood how solid the evidence against them was, more than one of them had broken and made plea deals. She also felt relief that they weren't in any position to target the kids anymore. And those fuckers would. Because from what they'd learned from the ones who talked, the whole thing was over a fucking betting ring. They were set to lose a lot of money if First High won the competition overall. So they'd tried to make sure they were in no position to do so. They'd only been doing everything, actively targeting children, risking serious injuries or death befalling them for some fucking money.

And that's where the emotions on the other end of the spectrum tearing through her come in. She was utterly disgusted by them, and also had more than a smidge of regret. Because she's not sure they deserve to live, and she could have tried just tracking them down herself and killing the fuckers. Just make them disappear, it's not like anyone was likely to miss them, and even if they had fooled people around them into thinking they were remotely decent, the police would have just undoubtedly put it down to crime rivalries when the investigation turned up what sort of people they actually were. There was little she could do about it though, since it would be significantly more suspicious if they died in police custody, and she isn't much one for executing anyone she finds reprehensible anyway. She'll certainly kill enemies that don't surrender, and there are some people that just can't be allowed to live even if they did, like Voldemort in her previous life. There was a huge difference between that and killing them while they were almost guaranteed to be unarmed and defenseless in police custody though.

At the current moment, she was trying hard not to think about all of it as she made her way to the Newcomers Division Speed Shooting, just rounding a corner on the last stretch, when a male voice calls out behind her, “Ah! Miss Shiba!”

Turning, she's surprised to see Ichijou and Kichijouji, the so-called Crimson Prince and the prodigy who discovered the Acceleration Cardinal Code(1) at thirteen which earned him the nickname Cardinal George.

She tilts her head, “Did you need something?”

Ichijou smiles, more awkward than she'd expect from an heir to one of the Master Clans, “Ah, not exactly? In all honesty I just wanted to express my admiration.”

She tilts her head as the two boys reach her and they resume her walk to the Speed Shooting event, “For what?”

Ichijou scratches at his slightly flushed cheek, “I wasn't there in person, but I heard about, and even saw video replays, of how quick to respond and sort things out you were at the Official Division Battle Board finale. As much as magicians are taught to respond as quickly and decisively as you did, most magicians our age are honestly still rather likely to freeze up.” He laughs a little nervously as he drops his hand, “Honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting of you after the welcome banquet at all.”

She gives him a surprised look, “The welcome banquet?”

Ichijou nods, “Mm. I actually noticed you that night after you stopped hovering out the door.” His flush deepens a little as her surprise increases, “Don't look at me like that, you carry yourself with such confidence, dignity, and grace, exude such command, that a lot of people couldn't help but have their eyes drawn to you, like metal to a magnet.” He turns a little sheepish, “Actually, I owe you an apology if I'm being honest. I must admit I thought that commanding aura of yours was more a bluff, since I kind of assumed that you'd have to have spent way too much time developing your movements to be so graceful and refined that I just kind of assumed you wouldn't actually know what to do in a crisis.” He laughs awkwardly as he looks away, “Sorry for making such a poor assumption about you.” He glances back at her out of the corner of his eye, “You certainly proved me wrong with how quickly and professionally you responded to the Battle Board incident. It's rather admirable in my opinion.”

She hums, “Thank you,”

Kichijouji grins at her a little teasingly, “Mm. I hope you don't think me presumptuous, but whatever guy ends up marrying you in the future will be quite fortunate, and I sincerely hope they realize that and don't take you for granted.”

She laughs lightly, “Thank you, though there's really no worry about that outcome.”

Ichijou grins at her as well, “Oh?”

She hums in agreement, “Yeah, because if anything, my boyfriend praises me almost excessively.” Her lips twitch, “Much to our friends’ chagrin from having to see it play out throughout the day at school.”

Kichijouji's expression flickers in surprise, before he smiles, “That's wonderful! Though… Please don't take this the wrong way since I only wish you the best, but just because your current partner appreciates you properly, that doesn't necessarily mean your future husband will, since, again no offense, but you never know what the future holds. There's no guarantee your current boyfriend and future husband are the same man, you know?”

She laughs lightly, “Yeah, that is true in general, but Sora is only my boyfriend because those same laws that say you have to be sixteen to get married put the same age limit on official engagements as well. Otherwise, he'd already be my fiancé. Everything is already in place so that the papers just need to be filed the day of his sixteenth birthday.”

The ages for them being the same may seem counterproductive, but it was more set up that way so that in case of pressing need parties could skip the engagement and go straight to marriage while still being an acceptable age, as well as cutting off people getting engaged at fourteen then immediately marrying at sixteen. Regardless, she still found it incrediblyodd, and a bit concerning about the possibilities of the government pushing more laws to do something like having the right to deny magicians’ engagements it leaves wide open. They can't require people to file their engagements if all they're doing is wearing a ring, but on the grounds of insisting magicians had to maintain a relationship for a certain period of time to ensure they're a good match and won't end up going off on each other explosively enough to cast magic at each other and potentially drag others into it or cause property damage, they'd pushed that law to force couples to file their engagements and another that meant they couldn't legally marry without pressing reasons until they'd been engaged at least two years.

Ichijou's smile twitches slightly, but it's Kichijouji who responds, “Oh really? You two must be pretty serious then. But Sora, Sora… the name doesn't ring any bells from the competitors, nor can I think of any ‘Sora’ names in the various notable families that are attending First High right now either, am I misremembering?”

She smiles, “Oh, he's not competing. He's around, yeah, but technically he's just a guest since he's not even on the support staff. And that's because he isn't from any of the hundred families, assistant house, Ten Master Clans, or anything else like that.”

Kichijouji gives her a surprised look, “Really? That's surprising. Honestly, a woman of your quality, I thought it was nearly inevitable you'd catch the interest of a guy from one of those families and end up marrying into it.”

She shakes her head, “Oh no, I'm perfectly happy with Sora, and the head of my family is satisfied with him as well.” She laughs lightly again, then mischievously grins, “I suppose it'd sound silly to you, but I swear he's always brought to mind the idea of soulmates with me.”

Ichijou glances away, “Isn't it a bit early to decide it so conclusively?” She furrows her brows a little and he gazes at her, “I mean, it seems that way now, but what if a better prospect comes along or something? Someone you connect with even deeper or something.”

Her brows relax, “Oh, I'm not concerned about that. I genuinely can't imagine loving anyone as much. Both in the sense that I struggle to imagine life without him and also that I can't really wrap my head around increasing how much I love him, much less applying it to someone else.” She turns her gaze forward, “Speak of the devil.” She lifts the hand not holding her tablet terminal as she calls out casually, “Sora.”

He smiles at her, “Toshiko,” He flicks a glance at the other two, “I was starting to get a bit worried after all of the trouble lately, but I guess you were just walking slower.”

She hums in agreement, “It would've been rude if I outpaced them like I was trying to leave them behind.”

He nods, but he doesn't get the chance to say anything before Ichijou pipes up, “So this is your soon to be fiancé, huh?” She nods and he looks over to eye Sora, “You're a lucky man. But a word of advice. A woman as incredible as Shiba is bound to draw attention. You'd best be careful, lest someone sweep her off her feet.”

Sora smiles, just the tiniest bit sharp, “Oh, I'm fully aware of how fortunate I am. And I treat her like she's a queen like she deserves, so I'm not worried about someone stealing her away.”

Ichijou hums, but Kichijouji speaks up before he can, “We need to get going Masaki.”

Ichijou glances at him and nods before smiling at her, cheeks staining slightly, “I suppose I'll see you later Shiba.”

She nods, “Perhaps.”

She and Sora watch them walk off before she glances at her husband, “So was that in my head?”

He snorts, “No, he was totally trying to make a move and that friend of his was playing wingman.”(2)

She hums, “I thought as much, especially given the way they brought up pedigree multiple times and how they expected ‘someone like me’ would marry into such a family. Ichijou really doesn't respect ‘I'm already in a relationship’ though, given he didn't drop it after he realized I am not, in fact, single.” Sora hums in agreement as his face goes dark, and she shakes herself out, before she turns to smile up at him, “Sorry for bothering you while you were patrolling, but he was honestly irritating me with his not so subtle digs at you and it seemed the fastest way to get them to leave.”

He smiles at her as he reaches out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, “It's no trouble darling. If anything, I'm glad you got in touch with Rowena mentally to have her contact me through my golem backup bracelet rather than just putting up with it on your own.” He leans forward to give her a brief kiss, “But as happy as I am to help and as much as I'd love to stay, I really should get back to patrolling just to be safe. Love you.”

She smiles, “Love you too.”

She watches him go fondly, then shakes her head a bit as she tries to push her mind to focus not on the mess with No-Head Dragon, Ichijou's little crush, or just how much she loves her husband but rather on being Shizuku's support staff.

She'd developed that new spell Active Air Mine after what competitors and events she was going to cover was decided on during the lead up to the actual competition after all. And while she's done plenty of testing and Shizuku has gotten used to it, if nothing else, she owes it to the girl to pay close attention to how well it works for her in the preliminaries to try to make any necessary final adjustments before the head to head matches.

Especially with such a new spell, even if Shizuku has already gotten some practice with it.

Which reminds her, as a newer spell, the Magic University will probably ask about adding it to the Index. Given Maya's request for her to do her best not to draw the sort of attention that may expose her identity as Mihana, a Yotsuba, or worse, Obara Ryumi, she couldn't let it be listed under her name.

Well, it was easy enough to deal with. The first person that's known to cast a spell is usually listed as its creator, so it should be easy to have it listed under Shizuku's name. If anyone asks, she can just say she's not one for fame. It's not even a lie, even if it's not her main motivation.

She honestly feels somewhat exasperated as she watches the Newcomers Division Ice Pillars Break match currently playing out, slower than any of Yuki’s others at that. Either that or like she wants to crawl in a hole and hide for once out of sheer embarrassment, something that's rather out of character for her.

Miho gives her a concerned look, “Toshiko? Is something wrong?”

She groans lowly as she buries her face in her hands, “I have never in my life been more glad for people being unable to hear Yuki in public.” They were in the private room higher up so the technicians and the like have a better view of exactly how Ice Pillar Break plays out. When Miho tilts her head in bewilderment, to avoid any confusion from a silencing spell, she just uses a muffliato to make their conversation an indistinguishable murmur as she turns her gaze away from the match to Miho, “He found out about Ichijou making a move on me yesterday somehow if the things I can tell he's saying with Elemental Sight are any indication. He's tearing Ichijou a new one verbally about daring to even look at me like that. He's even taking his time with the event just to have more time to tear into him privately.”

Miho winces, “So… he's going total territorial siscon? Out loud?”

She hisses back in mortification, “Yes.” She turns her head back to being buried in her hands, “Someone knock me out now.”

Miho rubs her back in comfort, “Well… at least Ichijou is the only one hearing him be like that?”

She groans, “Just shoot me. Why did I agree to be his technician?”

Miho bites her lip, “Partly because your mom begged you to accept the proposal of which competitors you'd cover since it perfectly reasonably falls within sibling boundaries?”

She drops one hand as she turns the other and drags it down over her eyes before it's pressed lightly against her mouth, “Never again. I am never being his technician at an event like this again. And I am so telling our mother what he did.”

She watches them dully, and the only thing that makes the situation more embarrassing is that Ichijou is starting to get heated himself, and it's starting to turn into a fight like they're fucking medieval nobles dueling for her hand in marriage or something.

It's mortifying.

It's absolutely mortifying.

She's so damned glad the competition is not set up to be able to hear what competitors are saying to one another. It's mostly just a protection for people from things like the Hundred Families and Ten Master Clans to avoid them running into each other and unintentionally airing things that are more private in the heat of the matches, but it's certainly saving her a boatload of embarrassment right at the moment.

Anyone who hears the things he's saying, not the carefully measured words he tends to say to their group but heated and thoughtless, would know basically instantly that he's in love with her, obsessed with her to a mind boggling degree in fact. Which is undoubtedly why along with all his own passion, Ichijou is also giving Yuki a somewhat disturbed look.

Ichijou may be rather arrogant to think he can just roll up and steal her from Sora, but she can't blame him for being disturbed, and if anything, along with the personal embarrassment, she feels bad for him for having to deal with Yuki's unhinged obsession.

In a desperate attempt to save herself, she tries to distract her brain enough that the conversation her Elemental Sight was watching play out past the sound barriers won't really register, she whips her terminal out and opens the four person group chat with Hoshi.

Mass text

I swear, sometimes that boy just makes me wanna...... 🧴💦 or 🗞 him…

Sora

What did he do this time?

He's getting all obsessive possessive with Ichijou in their match because he's OFFENDED that Ichijou made a pass at me.

Not because I'm in a relationship with you of course.

Just in general.

Sora

…Why am I somehow not surprised?

She holds back the hysterical laugh that wants to bubble up as she studiously ignores Yuki.

Because he always seems like he's a hair's breath from going full Yandere?

Sora

…That's WAY too accurate a description. So probably.

And you just KNOW he's going to be proud about it and expect praise for it.

Despite the fact he's not mad like MOST siblings would be because his sibling that's being hit on ISN'T single but just because of his OWN obsession.

Someone just knock me out. Or stab me. Or shoot me. Really I DO NOT care if it gets me away from THIS.

Sora

I am NOT stabbing you. Not letting anyone else stab or shoot you either. Pick something else. And no, it can't be getting knocked out either.

Then keep freaking distracting me so I can pretend I'm distracted enough that I don't know what he's saying.

Her husband doesn't waste a second on doing everything in his power to do just that.

It doesn't help as much as she was hoping, but it's better than being forced to focus on Yuki's obsessive circus.

She groans, “I already got in touch with our mother. That boy just does not understand what's wrong with what he did. Or rather, is probably more accurate to say he refuses to understand.”

Miho gives her a somewhat awkward smile, “Honestly, in fairness given just how much he's obsessed, he probably genuinely can't understand why there's a problem? Most people with obsession tend to have their perception rather… skewed to say the least.”

She shakes her head tiredly. There's a few moments of silence, and during that Hoshi shows up, grinning at her when she spots her after entering, “Oh good! You're still here!” She tilts her head, and Hoshi just turns a little mischievous, “I got you something as a present to make you feel better after the Ice Pillar Break match today!”

She gives her sister in law a baffled look, “What?”

Hoshi's response is to whip the hand she'd been hiding behind her out, holding out a spray bottle with a handwritten label on it reading ‘siscon-icide’, “Tada! siscon-icide, like pesticide? I thought you could use a bit of cheering up with a gag gift!”

Sora ducks his head as though that will do anything to hide his amused smile. At least Miho actually hides her mouth behind her loosely curled fist. She herself just stares at it a moment before slowly lifting her head to meet Hoshi's gaze, “Do not put that temptation in front of me right now. With what he pulled today, I may actually spray him in the face with it.”

Hoshi snickers and Sora barks a laugh at that, “He'd probably deserve it!”

Miho gives her a bemused look, “Honestly, I know you've been trying to figure out how to handle everything about him without resorting to bullying a child, but at this point, a little public humiliation may be necessary to drive the point home. Nothing else seems to be getting through to him.”

She hums, “Maybe? Who the hell knows at this point.”

Sora lifts his head to grin at her, “If nothing else, maybe the threat of it will do something.”

She sighs, “Maybe? Honestly though, I'm starting to think nothing will get through to him.”

Sora shrugs, “He's obsessed enough that it genuinely wouldn't surprise me at this point.”

She sighs tiredly.

She's not even surprised when she registers some of the data her Elemental Sight has been feeding her -namely that Yuki is waiting in her room- as she gets closer with Sora, who had insisted on walking her back.

She rubs at the spot between her eyebrows and Sora glances over, “Is he here?”

She sighs, “Waiting in my room.”

He hums, “Wanting to ask why you called your mother and ditched him, trying to apologize, or what? What do you think he's here to harass you for?”

She rolls her eyes, “Hell if I know. Fuck, could be trying to proposition me for all I know.”

He twitches, “He better not be. I may actually have to throw hands with a child otherwise.”

She laughs weakly. It's around then that they reach her door. Swiping her keycard to unlock it before tucking it to her palm with her last two fingers and pushing down on the handle, she only opens it a crack before turning to Sora, “Thanks for walking me back.”

He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, “Of course dear.” Then he leans forward to kiss her briefly, smiling at her warmly as he pulls back, “Goodnight.”

She smiles back, “Goodnight.”

She watches him turn to leave, not looking away until he's rounded the corner out of her physical sight line before she takes a quiet breath in and finally turns to actually enter her room.

She glances at Yuki, unsurprisingly looking extremely unhappy, possibly partially because of whatever their mother said to him, but likely mostly due to hearing her with Sora. Yuki looks at her with furrowed brows, “Onee-sama… Why would you have been upset about what happened with Ichijou?”

She gives him a bland look, “One, it isn't really your place. It would be mine, Sora's, and Miho's. Two, you weren't angry at him for making a pass at me because I'm already in a relationship like a normal sibling may be, which is the only time your outburst may have been acceptable. You were being possessive. Despite how many talks both I and mother have had with you.”

Yuki only grows more upset, “But Onee-sama-!”

She slams the spray bottle she'd been carrying in her other hand down on the table the room's terminal was resting on, “But nothing Yuki! I have tried to be gentle about it, I have tried to be firmer but still kind, but it's just not sinking into that thick skull that I do not return your feelings, I will never return your feelings, and your feelings make me uncomfortable, much less the fact that all you're actually doing is making me want to distance myself from you more and more!”

Yuki looks like he may just cry, and some part of her feels bad, since he's only fifteen but she's at the absolute end of her rope with him. He looks away from where he was staring miserably at her face, then stiffens, “What's that?”

She glances at where his gaze was locked, realizing that he's looking at the spray bottle, and her voice turns blunt, “A gag gift from Hoshi to try to make me feel better after the stunt you pulled today.” She tightens her hand on the neck, “But you know what? I'm fed up with your nonsense. I'll cover the label, but I'm going to start carrying this around, and I will start spraying you like a misbehaving dog when you pull stunts like today or just generally cross the line, do you understand me?”

Yuki flushes deeply, “Onee-sama! You can't-!”

She cuts the hand holding her room keycard through the air, “Yes I can. And you? Have two -and only two- options right now. You apologize to Ichijou and claim you misunderstood when I was describing the interaction and thought he was harassing me and back off of me. Do that, and the label will not only be covered, but while I'll keep it with me as a threat to remind you not to cross a line again, you don't actually get sprayed. Two, you don't do that, and while the label is still covered, you get sprayed right in the face. Around others. I will not make it a private affair, much like you failed to keep your obsession with me private. Pick, wisely. And don't even think about trying to get right up to the line and hover there, because I will stop making my chastisements practically wordless and only understandable to a handful of people.”

Yuki's eyes tear up again, and without a word, he rushes out of her room.

She shakes her head angrily as she lets go of the neck of the spray bottle and tosses her keycard on the desk. Their mother was likely going to be livid at the threat but she doesn't care. Yuki keeps pushing and pushing, and she's done playing nice.

The next day, she's feeling rather grim as she walks behind Saegusa towards the meeting she was asked to attend. That No-Head Dragon member that got away… They had ordered an agent of theirs that hadn't been caught to sabotage the Monolith Code event in a big way, as a desperate attempt to try to shift the closing attention away from him.

Given they'd given up on subtlety since they weren't trying to hide their involvement so as to not create problems with their betting ring for rigging things, they'd gone all out. As angry as she was with him lately, she does feel like Yuki absolutely deserves the praise he's getting right now, since realistically, it was only his snap second thinking and quick action that had prevented a death from occurring, but one of the boys was in critical condition, and none of them were in any state to compete.

The room has more people than she expected seeing as not just Watanabe, Juumonji, and Nakajou in her capacity as technician team leader were there, but so was Kirihara, fellow technician Isori Kei, Hattori, and Ichihara are there as well. After they enter, Saegusa walks over to stand beside Juumonji, who she shares a look with and receives a nod from before she begins, “Toshiko, good work today. The results you produced exceeded our expectations, and we thank you for that.”

She blinks, and though she sincerely feels like this isn't the reason she was called, she answers it anyway, “It's thanks to the competitors and their efforts.”

Saegusa nods once, “Of course it's their achievement for working so hard. But every one of us here recognizes how significant your contribution was.” She nods in understanding, giving a thanks that's honestly more reflexive than anything, and Saegusa continues, “According to the current standings, First High is top in points scored. Third High is in second place, and in terms of just the Newcomers events, they're fifty points behind us. Even if we were to withdraw from Monolith Code now, we'd be assured second place finish in the Newcomers Division. Before the Newcomers events started, I would've been satisfied with that, but… Now that we've come this far, I'd like to shoot for first place in the Newcomers events as well.”

She tilts her head, “I can understand that, but what's this got to do with me? It's not like I can help.”

Saegusa hums, “This meeting is actually to discuss who we can call in to substitute for Yuki and the others since they can't compete. I asked you to come as well because with everything that's happened including your strategies for the competitors you've helped which have yet to see a loss, I value your input.”

She glances away as her mind immediately starts mulling over the topic. An idea comes to her surprisingly quickly, and her mind starts assembling a strategy reflexively, even as she smiles in bemusant and shakes her head, “If you were looking for suggestions, I regret to inform you that the only one I can think of would likely not meet your expectations, and would quite possibly result in more than a little outrage from the First High students that traveled here independently to watch the Nine Schools Competition in person. That's without even touching on the fact that they aren't even in the Nine Schools Competition team in any role.”

Saegusa tilts her head, “With the exceptional circumstances, the Nine Schools Competition committee is making an exemption regarding replacing our players, so it doesn't really matter where you pull from, just that they're First High students. Anyway, do you think whoever you have in mind could win? Even with the fact that Ichijou and Kichijouji are in the Monolith Code event?”

Her bemusement only increases, “Probably. Honestly it mostly comes down to proper motivation for two of them. But…

Saegusa smiles, “We're in a rather desperate position Toshiko, and quite frankly, we've already looked over the possible replacements we could try to pull from, and we have not been able to come up with a team that could even ‘maybe’ win, much less ‘probably’. Not with who they're likely to be against in the finale. As such, it sounds like your plan is the better one, regardless of it potentially riling First High students.”

Watanabe gives her a curious look, “Why do you think anyone from First High would have a problem with it anyway?”

She smiles a little warily, “Because they're all from course two.”

Saegusa gives her a surprised look, “I- …And you think they can win?”

She hums, “Probably. Though… One of them is fine, another has confidence issues but is actually a good magician so would do fine if handled correctly. The last one is actually the most important person for making the team work right, and he's fine… if given the proper motivation, since he absolutely does not care about things like school pride.”

Watanabe gives her a bemused look, “I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the latter to have filled in the open spot the Disciplinary Committee had at the beginning of the year if you have such a solid opinion of him. Or any of them for that matter.”

She gives her an amused look back, “We actually did talk about him. I explicitly told you that while he's generally a match for me in a fight, Sora isn't a good fit for the Disciplinary Committee. If it weren't for the aforementioned confidence problems, Mikihiko -Yoshida Mikihiko that is- might be a good fit, but… anyway, Leo -Saijou Leonhard- doesn't necessarily have a temper exactly, but he's probably too hot-headed for the Disciplinary Committee. As should be evident from the way he butted heads so hard with Morisaki back on the first day of school.”

Watanabe's expression shifts to understanding, and Saegusa's gaze drifts down as she brings her hand up, resting the side of her loosely curled pointer finger to her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment before looking back up, “Do you have ideas on how to handle those problems?” She nods, and Saegusa presses a bit more, “And you're sure they have good chances of winning if they're handled correctly?”

She tilts her head, “With the right tactics to make best use of their abilities, solid fifty percent base chance I'd say. Sixty five if Mikihiko's confidence problem is handled correctly. Eight-five if it is and Sora is properly motivated.“

Saegusa drops her hand to clap with the other once as she smiles, “Then, we may need to shuffle duties around, but if you're so confident that with the right planning and handling they have such good odds, then we'll go with your team with you as their strategist and technician!”

She blinks rapidly, “Are you sure? I don't really care personally, but selecting the replacements from course two…”

Juumonji speaks up at this point, “Whatever issues may arise from that we can deal with later. From what I've seen and heard, you have a good enough head on your shoulders to make a reliable judgment despite your personal ties, and if you're giving them an eight-five percent chance at victory… well, considering the best we could come up with from what we have available was projected to only have about a forty percent chance of winning, it'd be foolish to go with anything but your plan.”

She hums, “Fair enough. Wouldn't be hard to get in touch either, given Erika used her connections as a Chiba to get them rooms at the competition hotel instead of one of the nearby ones.”

Saegusa claps again as she turns her head, “Then A-chan! Please go and retrieve Yoshida Mikihiko, Saijou Leonhard, and Amano?” She glances at Watanabe, probably having heard of him from her before, and gets a confining nod before turning back to Nakajou, “Amano Sora and bring them here.”

Nakajou straightens, “Yes president!”

She quickly grabs her arm before she can hurry off, drawing a confused look from the girl, “Ah, I was in my room talking to Sora and a few others when Saegusa-senpai came and got me, and given they said they'd wait for me to get back, Sora is undoubtedly still there rather than at his own room. And please ask Sora to grab that proof of concept thing I had made, he'll know what I'm talking about.”

Nakajou had gained a look of understanding when she explained about Sora's whereabouts, but grew confused again when she mentioned the fortification weapon integrated CAD, which she hasn't named yet, but nods hesitantly when she tells her Sora will know.

She lets go of her once she's sure she's got everything she needs to know and she hurries off. As Nakajou leaves, she glances at Ichihara, “I already know it's fine, but I'm sure Saegusa-senpai and Juumonji-senpai will want confirmation, so please reread rule three and it's subsections for Monolith Code.”

Ichihara blinks, but nods as she lifts her tablet terminal. As she does, she pulls out her own mobile terminal to get to work on nailing down plans, vague overall ones for each of the randomly selected event environments first, as well as slightly more specific ones based on what she's seen of each team in the events so far. Both Monolith Code, and any who competed in more than one event which gives a bit of insight into their casting at least.

It's silent for a bit while they wait. From what her Elemental Sight is telling her, Saegusa in particular, though everyone to some extent, looks like they want to ask her questions, but thankfully none of them bother her. She's absorbed enough in her planning that she's not even sure how much time has passed before Nakajou is returning with the three, who are understandably confused.

She looks up and without aplomb, “Given the circumstances, the Nine Schools Competition committee is allowing First High to replace our Newcomers Monolith Code team. I was brought in to consult, and apparently the chances I gave a team of you three far exceed the possible teams they had discussed. So you're First High's Newcomers Monolith Code replacement team.”

Mikihiko looks surprised and flushes, “Ehh? But- I- I can't-”

Saegusa claps her hands, “Now now, I'm sure you can! Even if you don't win, doing your best is all I can ask for. But Toshiko speaks so highly of you all!”

Without hesitation, Sora immediately responds with a fake smile before Mikihiko, “Thanks. I currently hate it!”

Mikihiko shakes his head, “No, you don't understand, I can't, my family-”

She shakes her head, as she glances at Saegusa, who seems surprised, “Wrong way.” Then she looks at Mikihiko and tilts her head, “You mean like you said you couldn't take down those three intruders with guns we found but dealt with them nonlethally easily in a single spell?” Mikihiko's mouth snaps shut as he looks down uncertainly, “Or do you mean someone deemed by their mentally deficient family to be a failure of a magician -much like how my family said that about me until I was seven- can't possibly succeed.”

Mikihiko's hands clench into fists as he looks down, uncertainty flickering over his face before he looks up at her, gaze searching before he takes a deep breath, “...Okay. Okay I'll try, just-” He rubs at one arm awkwardly as he looks away, “Just don't be surprised or hold it against me if it doesn't work out the way you're hoping.”

She hums in agreement, then looks over at Saegusa, “Do you want Sora reluctantly going along with it because I asked, or motivated? Because I can get him motivated, but while he wouldn't go beyond the rules, First High may very well be accused of needless brutality.”

Saegusa looks a little confused, “If he stays within the rules, of course I want him motivated.”

She leans towards Sora, who's looking at her suspiciously, undoubtedly wondering how she thinks she can motivate him, and she grins at him, “You remember that interaction with Ichijou? How you weren't bothered in general but were rather unhappy that he kept pushing rather than respecting ‘I'm in a relationship’? While you can't make physical contact with your body per-say, this is basically you being given an excuse to have Ichijou catch those hands, proverbially anyway, given Ichijou is in Monolith Code, and it's expected you'll injure each other to a certain extent. But First High is only going up against Third High if we make it to the finals.”

Behind her from where she's turned in the seat she'd taken at the table while she was planning, Kirihara barks out a laugh, “Yeah! That'll do it! Even if it's not jealousy motivating it, having an excuse to get back at someone for disrespecting your partner is pretty solid motivation for most people!”

Mikihiko gestures with his hand, “You kidding me? This is the first I've heard of it, and I may not be Toshiko’s boyfriend, but I am her friend, and I'm feeling more motivated to make him pay for that disrespect.”

Leo laughs as he jerks a thumb at Mikihiko, “Yeah, I'm with Mikihiko on this. Don't need to be your boyfriend to be mad at you being disrespected like that.”

She snaps as she points at Leo briefly, “Oh, that reminds me!” She turns to Sora, who wordlessly sets the case on the table and opens it to toss the weapon integrated CAD at Leo, “You technically specialize in more physical combat and making direct contact isn't allowed, but given the rules have to be worded to allow things like using Acceleration magic to toss pebbles at someone for example, that absolutely works as an alternative. And you already have some familiarity with it from when you tested how well the proof of concept actually works. We'll have to submit it to the Nine Schools Competition committee to be examined, but it's in no capacity against the rules, so that's more of a formality.”

Saegusa furrows her eyebrows, “Are you sure… whatever this is, is within the rules?”

She nods, “Yeah. I made it after I saw Watanabe-senpai's more out of the box use of fortification magic during Battle Board,” Watanabe looks surprised and points at herself silently in question, “and came up with that as a proof of concept thing while trying to distract myself and simultaneously not overwork myself, and well…” She glances at Leo, and getting the hint, he activates it, “Since it's not physically connected to what he's holding, with the way the rules work, it's perfectly valid.”

Ichihara makes a noise of understanding, “That's why you asked me to go over the rules again.” She turns to Saegusa and Juumonji, “Shiba is correct. As long as it passes the committee's inspection, and I see no reason it wouldn't, it's perfectly valid.”

Leo had deactivated it while Ichihara was talking, and he turns to the other two, “So, we just gotta get to the finals to make Ichijou pay for disrespecting Toshiko?”

The other two grin, but she's the one who responds, “Yeah. I'll be your technician and strategist for the events. And when you do get to the finals, you will have to stay within the rules even in that match regarding how much force is allowed though, otherwise it'll end immediately, and also I'll be upset with you all if you get that far just to throw it because you push too hard on Ichijou. Furthermore, Ichijou seems prideful enough that beating him at Monolith Code will in and of itself hurt like hell.”

Leo laughs, “Yeah, of course, but staying within the rules doesn't stop us from getting back at Ichijou!”

The other two nod, and Saegusa gives an awkward smile, “I may have made a mistake regarding motivation…”

Watanabe, looking at the three in bemusement, tilts her head, “...Little bit.”

Juumonji, equally bemused, nods in agreement and she gives them an amused look, “I warned you.” Then she climbs to her feet, “So unless you'd prefer to go with the team you were thinking of before instead…” Saegusa hesitates, then shakes her head, “Then, we'll be heading out. There's a few things of strategy I'd like to go over before they get started on their matches tomorrow so they'll have a bit longer to think it over and get back to me on any questions, suggestions, or problems.” She holds out her hand to get the CAD back from Leo and puts it back in the case to slide towards them on the table, “You may wanna submit that today if possible though, to give as much time as we can if they take a bit longer to decide to approve of it or not.”

Saegusa nods even as Juumonji steps forward to collect the case. Without another word, she corrals her group out the door to head back to her room for a quick strategy meeting.

Because of the incident with Forth High's sabotaged CAD, the schedule for Monolith Code had been messed up. Thankfully, given that the only event the last of the five days dedicated to the Newcomers Division events was the Monolith Code semi-finals and finals, it hadn't been too hard to let the rest of the matches that didn't involve First and Fourth High play out. However, the Monolith Code tournament did use a competition format of having each school compete in four matches, with the schools with the most points advancing to the semifinals.

Since it was publicly acknowledged to be from outside interference so they hadn't been disqualified in general, Fourth High was still in the tournament, but they had been disqualified from the previous match against First High. Even with that, she can't help but feel terrible for the Fourth High kids, who have to be drowning in guilt over what they almost had a hand in. She can only hope they're given the counseling they undoubtedly need.

It did mean that technically, First High was considered to have already completed and won two of their matches, so while they did have to complete in the the two they'd been originally scheduled to have after the match with Fourth High, it was just those, and then if they had enough victories, the boys would they have their semi-final and possibly finals match.

It means it absolutely has the potential to be magically tiring for their team, since when they undoubtedly get to the finals, they'll have slogged their way through three matches already. She'd done her best during strategizing to make plans that had as little magical drain as possible while still optimizing their chances of winning.

The biggest factor she'd gone for was doing her best to create strategies that wouldn't require magical shootouts. It was why, in the first of their matches in the wooded zone against Eighth High, Sora had made a beeline for where the opponents Monolith was, using speed boosting magic to get there faster, only slowing enough to use his long honed stealth, moving mostly through the trees and taking full advantage of his experience in the jungles of the South America Heaven's Gate war from their previous life, slipping behind the defender and opening the Monolith within the 10 meter(3) requirement for the sequence to open it on his way through the clearing without stopping.

The Monolith defender, surprised by the Monolith suddenly opening, since it requires a signal from a CAD, starts to look around frantically, which is when Sora lets him spot him before heading off into the woods. Throwing a frustrated glance at the Monolith, but knowing full well there's nothing stopping him getting an angle to view the randomized five hundred and twelve characters carved into the Monolith, the input of which into an issued terminal was one of the two means of victory, he has no choice but to chase after him.

It's a poor move really. One should never engage with the former ‘Black Reaper’ in terrain like that.

It's all too short a time before he's trussed up using the new wires she'd made for Sora that used magic to move at the command of the user, but without being attached to his harness physically like his old gear. Rather, they're attached to small boxes they shoot and retract from, and those boxes have a magical fortification connection with his harness, so he can still use them for maneuverability if he wants to, since the fact their positions are fortified relative to his harness is practically set in stone, if the wires try to pull them, they'll absolutely pull him if he lets them. Really, they weren't different from his old wires in the slightest, the only changes being the lack of physical connection, and that he had to launch and control them entirely with magic.

The second of the three man team wasn't doing much better. Using a low magic cost spell which draws up a thick mist, and bombarding him with the equally magically cheap spell ‘Echo Maze’ which induces confusion, Mikihiko has him utterly trapped. It doesn't in and of itself count as being taken out of the competition, but it completely ties up one of the two assigned to offense. And Mikihiko really only had to hold him until the Monolith's code was input by Sora.

The third person on the team actually reaches First High's Monolith before Sora can circle back around and input it into the wrist strapped mini terminal the competitors were issued, but they don't really do any better, given that he didn't even successfully fire a single spell before Leo swings the handle to smash the extended end of the weapon integrated CAD into his side. He retracts it and holds it up to shoot it back out to adjust how far away from the handle it was 'fortified' to and swings it down to on him just as swiftly.

The match is called by the loud ending buzzer mere moments later as Sora finishes entering the code.(4)

All in all, the magic cost had been low enough that their bodies would recuperate it in under twenty minutes. Given their next match was in thirty, they'd be back to full by the time it came.

The second match is against Second High and surprisingly given the incident the day before, in an urban zone and even had the Monoliths both inside buildings.

That one goes even quicker though, since Sora once more rushes the general location of the Monolith, used the magic she'd placed in his CAD that reactivated the inactive Spirit Mikihiko had stuck to him, and once Mikihiko found the Monolith, went to where it was on the floor above it to send the signal to open it through the floor, since clear line of sight doesn't matter, just distance. The defender throws a surprised glance at the opening Monolith, but even on the floor above, Sora is already long gone. And their assumptions that he was unlikely to have any experience with Ancient Magic is proven by the fact he's utterly oblivious to Mikihiko's Spirit observing the Monolith's carving. If he did have experience, he may sense it, and he may know that Mikihiko can see through the Spirit's eyes as he currently is to input the code on his own terminal.

Both the defender and the two on offense against First High's Monolith are taken by utter surprise by the match end buzzer.

Once again, the match takes very little magic from them in general, though given the Second High offense had found the Monolith before the end, Leo and Mikihiko had to use some then as well. Not a whole lot, since before the end buzzed, Leo had simply needed to knock one of the attacking players down then called for Mikihiko to finish him, since the building's restrictions meant he couldn't go up for a downwards swing to knock him out. Mikihiko had been in his almost meditating state so he could connect to the Spirit Sora activated, so he wasn't able to hear him physically, but he was splitting his attention and watching through Spirits surrounding himself and Leo. As such, he'd already been at the ready to knock the competitor out with a controlled lightning strike.

Though the second competitor had managed to slip close enough to open the Monolith, Leo had used a fortification variant that kept it from opening properly. The player's shouted accusation of it being a dirty play wasn't wrong, but the tactic also wasn't against the rules. Though they hadn't taken him out before the match ended.

After the buzzer signals it, Saegusa turns to her with a bemused smile, “This definitely isn't the sort of thing most are expecting from Monolith Code.”

She shrugs, “That's because people tend to fall back on shootouts and going for the alternative win condition of knocking the other team out. You wanted victory, I said they'd get victory. I never said they'd destroy the other teams in a fight or something.”

Saegusa laughs and Juumonji gives her a serious look, “While they aren't inherently bad, these tactics will fail if you draw the Open Plains map.”

She hums, “It is the worst one for them, I'll give you that, but I've already made a plan for that as well.”

He gives her a grave look, “Even if it's in the finals against Third High? Where the Open Plains would give Ichijou and Kichijouji the biggest advantage?”

She smiles, “Yes.” His expression flickers with surprise and she climbs to her feet to go meet with her team, “I did have to get something approved by the Nine Schools Competition committee for it, but as it's perfectly within the rules of equipment, they've already given the green light to use it.”

Due to the weird timing of everything, since they'd also gone to the semifinals, First High was supposed to be against Eighth High, but given they'd already beaten them once today, after a bit of debate, the competition committee had swapped their opponent with Third High's, so that they were against Ninth High in the semifinals and Third High were the ones taking on Eighth High.

That's for after lunch though, and she's not about to waste the break she has from the busy morning schedule she and Sora have had when they have an opening to spend some time with Miho.

Hoshi hadn't even been there when they got back to the hotel, which Miho had explained in amusement was because while Hoshi had expressed a desire to congratulate them, in her own words, she wasn't stupid enough not to know that they will get ‘mushy’, which she has zero desire to be around. As much as she loves her sister in law, she's not going to complain about getting some privacy with her soulmates, even if they were too young for the particularly fun stuff.

Miho sighs as she leans back on the bed while popping her bottle of water open, “Gotta admit, even with everything happening, I didn't actually expect to see the Black Reaper in action again.”

She hums in agreement, “Tell me about it. Shame we're still minors?”

Miho gives Sora a contemplating look, “Well. You aren't wrong there. Without lives on the line or thinking I was potentially a target, I could definitely appreciate it more.”

Sora gives them a funny look as he pauses with his own bottle just about to tip far enough to drink from, turning his face away slightly, “What's that supposed to mean?”

Then he turns back to his bottle and starts to drink now that he's not occupied with talking. He probably should've waited a moment more, considering the way he chokes slightly at her words, “Because you used to be kind hot as Hei when you were going full Black Reaper.” He doesn't seem to have it go down the wrong pipe thankfully, given there isn't a coughing fit or anything as he quickly tilts his bottle back down enough that it's not spilling liquid. She shares an amused look with Miho before turning back to him, and sighs dramatically, “And now I can't even see how it compares in this life because of the block…”

Miho's eyes are practically sparkling in mischief, “Shame that.”

Sora points with his free hand at them, “You two are being mean. I can't even properly be teased right now, which is cruel.” They both laugh a bit and he shakes his head, “Cruel. And you're doing it just to be mean, and I know you are, because in over a hundred years together in our previous life I never heard anything about this!”

He sticks his nose up slightly, and she shakes her head in amusement as she reaches for one of the slices of apple Sora had put in one of the bentos, she doesn't even know who's, “Sweetheart, that's just because you're always so good at picking up on things that we both assumed you knew already.” He gives her a look of a mixture of confusion, mild horror, and slight dread, like the very idea that it was true, which it was, and he'd somehow never noticed was somewhat terrifying, “I mean, really though, why do you think you tended to get a little more action than usual after things like that?”

Miho tilts the head of her bottle towards her in agreement, “Like that final fight with no-nose since that wasn't all just a celebratory mood afterwards.”

She nods, “As an example but certainly not the only time.”

He stares at them, “...That isn't fair. That is absolutely not fair. It's totally unfair to only learn of it in an entirely different life!”

She giggles, then leans over to pat at his face teasingly, “Aww. Did poor Hei suffer from not knowing?”

He whines, “In poor Sora's opinion? Yes!”

She snickers and Miho laughs, leaning forward to add, “In fairness, like Toshiko said, we thought you already knew.” Her wife gives her a contemplative look, “Though in retrospect, given how much of a horndog he is sometimes, the fact he didn't take advantage of it more often, or at all as it turns out since those times we thought he was weren't actually on purpose, makes a lot more sense.”

Sora makes a noise like he's dying, “Of course I didn't know! What man wouldn't take advantage of knowing something like that?!”

She laughs with Miho. She has a feeling she knows exactly what their lunch break is going to be spent on.