Rebirth

She laughs at Saegusa's concern for the match, “Oh, you don't need to worry. I don't know how long it will take, but it will be over in a snap.”

Mikihiko gives her a puzzled look, “Isn't that self contradictory?”

She smiles, “You'll understand at the end.” Then she turns to Sora to lean up and press a kiss to his lips, “I'd wish you good luck, but well. We both know you'll win.”

Then she nods at Leo and ruffles Mikihiko's hair, much to his protests, “What are you, my mother?!”

She laughs again out loud, even as her mind replies automatically without hesitation, ‘Emotionally, yes. Just tell me you don't have safe living conditions or even just can't bear to be with your blood relatives anymore, just say the word to make them pay for what they've done to you. I'll make sure you have somewhere to go to get away from them and make clear the Consequences of their actions to your family.’

Sora eyes her, since with everything going on, she hasn't mentioned the emotional adoption to him and Miho. She gives him a ‘later’ look, then gently straightens Mikihiko's cloak, “Don't lose this.”

Mikihiko whines, “I know, I know.” He looks down as his cheeks flush, “These are so embarrassing though…”

She shakes her head, “I added them to you guys gear for a reason. They have magic circles inscribed that you'll need. Things like that outweigh any embarrassment.” Her lips twitch, “If it helps, think of it as taking a page from Ancient Magicians from your European counterparts.”

He grimaces slightly, “Not really, but I'll try…”

She laughs, and hearing the lower buzzer telling the teams it's time to go, backs off with a wave, then still smiling, she turns and walks away.

As she does, she gets that insistent feeling she's being watched, and a quick glance with Elemental Sight quickly pinpoints Ichijou, watching her with longing eyes under furrowed brows. She brushes the observation off. She isn't responsible for nor obligated to do anything regarding Ichijou's feelings for her.

Ichijou Masaki can't get rid of his confident smile as they wait for the match to officially start. By pure luck, the randomly selected event stage was the Open Plains. It was quite unfortunate for their adversaries, but he wasn't about to turn away from Lady Luck smiling on him.

He's still a bit bemused by the First High team's… attire. For reasons he couldn't wrap his head around, Amano wasn't but the other two were wearing what could only be described as cloaks over their combat gear. He honestly can't blame the one guy, Yoshida if he's not misremembering from the name listings, being so embarrassed over it.

He's admittedly focusing on him and his embarrassment more than is necessary, and he admits it, if only to himself. Mostly because he knows his emotions will boil over far too quickly if he even looks at Amano right now.

It wasn't fair.

Why was he the one with Toshiko’s attention? Who held her affection? He was so- so bland and unimpressive. What does Toshiko see in him? Because yeah, he'll admit that while she's pretty she's nowhere near model level, but she- she's so graceful, and carries herself with such confidence, and command, and dignity.

She wasn't the most beautiful woman in the room during the welcoming banquet, he'll admit that, but she'd snagged his attention and held it all night. Even after the banquet ended, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. He'd ended up tossing and turning in bed for hours as she ensnared his mind. After, he had wondered if she'd just made a strong first impression and his sudden infatuation would end just as swiftly as it arrived.

But then there had been that Battle Board incident. He genuinely regrets not being able to see how swiftly she acted -taking charge until she got everyone on task and only stepping back once she was sure everyone knew what their jobs were- in person. He'd tried to brush that sheer competence she showed to back up everything else off as a one off, even as he'd sort of obsessed over the footage, but then the Newcomers Division events had started. And it was breathtakingly clear just what events she was covering as well as just how incredible a technician she was on top of everything else.

She was absolutely the sort of person who deserved no less than to marry into the prestige of the Ten Master Clans.

So why, why, why did that blend into the background, disappointment to magicians, nobody have her attention so thoroughly? He didn't have the magic, he didn't have the looks, he didn't have the pedigree, he had nothing of value to offer someone like her. So whyhim? Was it just because he was lucky and met her first? If he'd been the one to meet Toshiko first, then… there was no way she'd settle for Amano of all people.

Hearing the start siren, he immediately locks his gaze on Amano, somehow unsurprised to see him staring back with his own intensity. He wants to feel pleased, satisfied, to interpret it as Amano acknowledging him as a threat to his relationship. Instead, he feels a sudden chill down his spine like he's staring death itself in the face, having encroached on his territory.

It doesn't stop him from reacting instinctively, if anything, it triggers his instincts all on its own to some extent. Thankfully not enough to be over the rules allowed use of force, but Amano doesn't even glance up at his Air Bullet spell, and when it launches, those strange wires of his rip through the air, intercepting it and shredding the bullet of air the spell had made with magic on the end of the wire.

Then he starts forward almost leisurely. Even as he doesn't let his expression show anything, he grits his teeth behind his small confident smile as he fires again and again and again while advancing as well, ‘Take me seriously damn you! Take me as a threat! Both as a superior magician and to your relationship with Toshiko!’

Amano hardly even reacts himself as his wires whip around him, tearing the spells launched at him to pieces without even lifting his actual CAD towards them or using it for defense. That isn't to say he doesn't cast, he does, but he mostly seems to just be poking experimentally at Masaki's defense. His defense wasn't even a proper spell, not really. It was a subconscious use of magic similar to data fortification on their Eidos that magicians used on themselves, making it harder to cast magic on them.

Amano doesn't even look upset at whatever he's learning from it. He should be feeling the difference in their power, why…

He barely hears George say something to their teammate behind him, but he's not very surprised when he starts hearing his footsteps, and running at that, at an angle rather than a direct line between the two Monolith's like he was currently moving in. What is surprising is that it seems to serve as a signal of its own to Amano, who also breaks into a run.

He grits his teeth harder even as he fights to keep his vague smile in place, ‘What, you're more confident now or something? Do you think George not being directly behind me ready to back me up increases your chances of winning? Don't make me laugh!’

Nevertheless, Amano starts closing more rapidly, yet even as he continues to ramp up the speed of his casting as he continues to get a feel for Amano, who still hasn't shown any tricks up his sleeves, Amano keeps up just fine. It makes no sense. It makes no sense! How could this mediocre nobody, and one who hadn't even been able to make it into course one in the one of the three schools that use that system manage to keep up with not only a course one student, but a descendant of the Ten Master Clans at that!

His attention is yanked away by the fact George, who had started to reach the point he could see him out of the corner of his eye, is suddenly intercepted by one of Amano's teammates. Saijou, if his memory of the team listings is correct. George starts to cast one of his Acceleration Shots, but the boy suddenly reaches for his cloak to whip it off. At first, he has a wild idea that it's hiding some trump card of some sort, but the thought barely has a chance to form before the thing snaps out into a solid square and is planted into the ground.

He wants to curse. The thing was, Third High had been making fun of them prior, asking if they thought those counted as ‘cover’ from George's line of sight requiring Acceleration Shot. The joke was on them. They were mobile cover. George is immediately forced to jump back with a movement type spell by the boy launching out and swinging that strange weapon integrated CAD at him. He's basically immediately beset by a wind spell though, and has to hurriedly counter it with his own magic.

When he goes for Yoshida, but suddenly falters in the face of the fact there suddenly seems to be multiple of him, presumably from an illusion. He's distracted enough by that, that he almost misses Saijou starting to swing down on George, too fast for his friend to react. As quickly as he can, he launches his own spell at Saijou, to at least knock his aim off course if it doesn't take him out of the fight. It's enough of an opening for George to pin Yoshida to the ground with magic, tying him up from acting as well.

Nodding in satisfaction at George being fine, he turns back to Amano, only to find he'd closed far more than he'd expected in the fast scuffle. His next wave of Air Bullets is entirely on instinct, and immediately after he pulls the trigger, horror washes over him, ‘Oh crap! I didn't adjust it! At this rate, I'll end up killing him!’

For a brief moment that feels like eternity scene after scene of the sheer damage an unweakened Air Bullet can do fills his head. And he'd launched a bunch of them simultaneously.

Amano doesn't even bat an eyelash.

He starts physically moving with his wires to some extent after that, and he's not sure exactly the technique of it, but it only seems to help Amano's ability as his wires lash out at breathtaking speeds, so quick they almost seem to multiply.

The whole thing -from Amano's movements to the whirlwind of movement from the wires shredding the Air Bullets with the magic on the ends that unfailingly strike the magic shots with precision- almost looks like a graceful dance.

The next thing he knows, the last Air Bullets are being demolished as Amano twists to a stop less than a foot in front of him, the wire on his right side whipping past his face with a hair's breadth of space as it retracts while Amano reaches out with his left hand.

He's stunned into such a numb state that he doesn't even have control of the way his eyes track Amano's approaching hand as a distant part of his brain murmurs in stunned flatness about the rules against physical contact for combat. But then he notices his thumb and middle finger starting to press together like-

“Oh, you don't need to worry. I don't know how long it will take, but it will be over in a snap.”

He blinks as his gaze snaps to Amano's even as Toshiko’s voice continues to echo in his head on repeat.

Amano's gaze is amused.

His mind is immediately yanked to how he'd looked at him after the way he dealt with Eighth High, absolutely a nonverbal call out for the sneaky bastard. It hadn't been the calculating gaze of someone accepting and deciding how to handle a challenge, it hadn't been fear at biting off more than he could chew, it hadn't even been a lack of understanding or confusion. No, it'd been amusement, like he was watching the antics of a child.

And that gaze is back on him, amused once more as Amano releases a deafening sound amplified snap, in the brief moment before he loses consciousness, he almost wants to cry, feeling gutted.

He'd known Toshiko was their technician, and he knew intellectually that with a technician as good as her, she was absolutely part of crafting the strategy for the competitors she was in charge of.

Yet somehow, it never crossed his mind that she may craft a strategy specifically for Amano on taking him down. But the fact she'd been able to drop that line before the match makes it abundantly clear that it was her strategy.

Sora looks down at the disrespectful brat that thinks it's okay to keep pushing after a woman has indicated she's not interested for one reason or another, then shifts his gaze to Kichijouji. Unfortunately, amplifying the sound of that snap enough to knock Ichijou out cold had also delt enough damage to him that he wasn't in the best state himself, kneeling on the ground a bit winded from the sheer amount of magic he's had to use, blood dripping down from the eardrum he ruptured. It was uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to complain, since he'd specifically wanted a strategy to low-key humiliate the little shit, and with the rules of physical combat being what they were and his own specialty with physical combat, done in by a snap of all things was the best Toshiko could come up with.

He could push through if he had to, he's been in worst situations, but…

Kichijouji flinches when their eyes meet, and between the shock of Ichijou, who he'd been so confident being defeated and the idea Sora was still capable of more, he loses his hold on the spell he'd been pinning Mikihiko with.

Mikihiko quickly sweeps his gaze around, lingering on him and Ichijou for a moment before locking on Kichijouji, his expression starts burning with determination. He slips his eyes closed as a small smile plays at his lips at seeing that look.

That was exactly why he wasn't dealing with Kichijouji. Toshiko had asked him that if possible to leave Kichijouji to Leo and Mikihiko as a means of helping Mikihiko with his confidence. Given Leo seems to be down for the count by Ichijou's attack earlier, Mikihiko would have to be the primary target instead of support, but given the faith Toshiko had in him, he'd likely be fine.

Especially given that Mikihiko had recently let her translate some Ancient Magic activation sequences into a CAD, not altering the spells in any way, shape, or form, just how their activation sequences are drawn up.

Mikihiko uses another illusion to stop Kichijouji from being able to fire at him, then yanks the generalized CAD Toshiko had set up specifically with his translated Ancient Magic. He hits noticeably more buttons to pull up the activation sequences he wants, before slamming his hand on the ground.

Sora wasn't sure how exactly Toshiko’s Ancient Magic to CAD translation works, and he'd respected Mikihiko's privacy about his magic not to ask, but it's incredibly obvious that she'd done just as good a job on that as she does with any other CAD work.

The ground shakes, far more than it would warrant, but seemingly as a side effect of Mikihiko's hand striking the ground. Then a tear starts to rip itself into the earth, heading straight for Kichijouji. The boy tries to use more weight and movement magic to evade up and back, but he's suddenly halted. It isn't until Kichijouji glances down that he himself notices the tall grass wrapped around his legs, but unless it was strengthened by the spell as well, that couldn't possibly be what's holding him. Nevertheless, Kichijouji suddenly seems to get more frantic to yank free, and actually succeeds.

But he's so focused on that he completely misses the electrical spell before it strikes him.

His hearing is completely shot at the moment, so it's only his instincts of the shaking in the ground that has him looking over in time to see the last member of Third High right in the beginnings of launching a tidal wave of earth and rock at Mikihiko. He forces himself to his feet as his gaze snaps back to Mikihiko and he realizes from the lack of an attempt to dodge and his tense expression that Mikihiko is in no condition to really respond.

He doesn't get a chance to try to get Mikihiko out of the way before a shadow hurtling across the ground has him snapping his gaze up instinctively to see a black square careening through the air.

He relaxes since it can really only be one thing.

He's proven right when it slams down right in front of Mikihiko before the rushing wave of ground can hit him, blocking him from getting hit. Mikihiko looks rather surprised, and so does the last Third High boy.

Which also means they're both taken further by surprise when they look over just in time to see Leo swinging the handle of the weapon integrated CAD, swiftly knocking the last of the Third High competitors out cold.

He smiles as he drops his head. Given the way the other two light up, he has to assume the end of the match was announced, since he certainly couldn't hear anything at the moment.

It hadn't quite gone according to plan, but Toshiko still achieved everything she was aiming for, and he got to put that disrespectful brat in his place. He's perfectly happy with the results.

She smiling at the excited students, utterly euphoric at the victory. Saegusa seems more stunned than anything, “...We won, right?”

Ichihara smiles, “Yes, we won.”

That seems to unleash the tides of other students in the headquarters tent, “Yes! We won!”

“We've won the Newcomers Division!”

Saegusa starts smiling as another female calls out, “We did it!”

Then she turns to her only for her smile to fall, “Toshiko? You… don't look very surprised.”

That draws attention to her, but she just tilts her head before her smile slowly widens, “Saegusa-senpai, you recall that I sent you an email with a link to something password locked the morning after I suggested the replacement team?”

She blinks, “Ah? Yes. What of it?”

She huffs a small laugh, “Do me a favor? Pull it up on the main TV. The password is Monolith Code Completion, no spaces, English letters, first of each word capitalized.”

Saegusa blinks in surprise but accepts a tablet terminal from Ichihara and quickly gets it displaying on the TV before typing in the password.

A surprised hush falls over the crowd in the tent at what it reads, and as it does she pushes herself to her feet and starts for the entrance to go meet up with the team. She doesn't need to read it to know what it says. No more and no less than, “I lied. Freak occurrences known as miracles do happen, so it wasn't 100%, but given Third High would've needed a miracle, I actually estimated Sora, Leo, and Mikihiko's chances of winning at 99%. I figured you'd think I wasn't properly judging things if I gave that high a number though, so I lowered it to be more believable.

Relevant facts: 

Sora is the biggest threat out of the First High Newcomers Division Monolith Code.

Leo is combative, highly durable, as well as capable of serving as cover for Mikihiko.

Mikihiko is an Ancient Magician.

Ichijou has a personal grudge against Sora and is prideful.

Kichijouji has zero experience with Ancient Magic.

Due to how much of heavy hitters Ichijou and Kichijouji are, Matsubara is more likely to be primarily on the defense and possibly serve as backup.

Ichijou and Kichijouji are close and highly protective of each other.

Subsequent prediction of events with this knowledge and the general strategy:

As the biggest threat and with his personal grudge, majority of Ichijou's attention locks on Sora immediately.(1)

Kichijouji realizes they underestimated him and makes a move.(1)

Leo gets in Kichijouji's way and prevents usage of Acceleration Shot.(1)

Mikihiko uses Ancient Magic to throw off Kichijouji to leave him vulnerable to Leo.(1)

Kichijouji has no counter to Ancient Magic, drawing Ichijou's attention to get him out of trouble and subsequently attacks Leo.(1)

Leo is not eliminated due to his durability, but is stunned.(1)

Sora eliminates Ichijou.(1)

Mikihiko eliminates Kichijouji.(1)

Leo recovers and eliminates Matsubara.”(1)

A stunned silence hangs over the tent, and she glances back as she rounds the pinned back flaps, meeting Saegusa's stunned gaze, “I was never worried about them losing to begin with.”

She feels a little bad at the closing ceremony. Having been drafted to the competitors, Leo, Mikihiko, and Sora had been allowed to attend if they wanted, but even without mentioning the rest of their friends, on a more selfish note, she was more caught up in the fact Miho couldn't come.

She knew this kind of thing wasn't to her liking anyway, so it wasn't a loss on that front, it was in having to attend a party like this without her wife. While it would undoubtedly scandalize the kids if she did, she wishes she could spend the night with both her husband and wife if she's going to be forced to attend such a party to begin with. And Saegusa had practically made her attendance mandatory for her CAD and strategy support that had won every match she was covering the players for.

In fairness, Sora doesn't like these types of events anymore than Miho, but given it was his replacement team that pulled First High out of the proverbial fire, his attendance had also basically been made mandatory. 

Saegusa had also pretty much banned them from hanging out just outside the door like she had during the welcoming banquet, so they couldn't even just linger there with Miho and Hoshi again.

Sora, ever the sweetheart when it comes to his girls, both in the romantic sense as well as familial with Hoshi, has been doing his utmost to distract her from it all, dancing with her repeatedly and practically glued to her side when they weren't.

The mood is a bit of a mixed bag because of it all. So it's really not much of an interpretation when Juumonji approaches, “Amano.”

Sora looks over at him, “Juumonji-senpai.”

He glances at her, before looking back to Sora, “Come with me a second. Alone please.”

Sora's brows furrow, “I'd rather not leave Toshiko alone if it's all the same. There's nothing you could tell me that I wouldn't pass along later anyway.”

Juumonji stares for a moment then sighs, “If you insist.”

He leads them out to the gardens, and glancing at some of the students lingering around for fresh air and the like, leads them deeper in before turning to them, “Amano, are you from the Ten Master Clans? A more unknown branch perhaps?”

Sora tilts his head, “...Given the uncharacteristic display in your final match, I think you already know the answer to that. But I suppose if it's necessary to get verbal confirmation… No, I'm not.”

Juumonji slips his eyes closed, “I see.” He reopens them to pin Sora with a look, “Then as per the clan meeting, I'm going to advise you as the magician who's serving as assistant head of the Juumonji family. Amano, you should join the Ten Master Clans.” He tilts his head, “Let's see… For example, how about Saegusa?”

Sora's brows furrow, “How about’? You mean an arranged marriage?”

Juumonji doesn't hesitate, “That's right.”

Sora's brows unfurrow, “Rejected.” Juumonji looks surprised at how quickly he turned it down, “I appreciate you giving me advice Juumonji-senpai, but I actually already have paperwork for an engagement that's been filled out for over a year now that's merely waiting for my sixteenth birthday in a few months to be filed. To Toshiko here actually.”

Juumonji's brows furrow and he opens his mouth, but before he can speak, Saegusa's voice cuts in from behind them, “About that, given Toshiko has repeatedly said things that puts her in the same league, if not above, you herself, it would be best if she married into the Ten Master Clans as well.”

Sora tilts his head in amusement, “Did you two plan this or something?”

Saegusa shakes her head, “No, but I saw you two leaving with Juumonji, and could guess what it's about. Given that I assumed he'd have problems convincing you two, I thought I should assist.” Her brows furrow as she looks down, “That, and…” She sighs before looking back up at them, “My father has already mentioned to me suggesting a proposition that you marry me or one of my younger twin sisters.”

Sora shakes his head, “With all due respect Saegusa-senpai, that's still rejected, official proposition or not.”

Saegusa's brows furrow further, “Sora… I don't think you understand, some of the Ten Master Clans may very well decide that if you won't join us, they'd rather get rid of you.” She looks at her, “Both of you given the things Toshiko has said and what it says about her given what you achieved.”

She shakes her head, “Again, we appreciate the concern Saegusa-senpai, Juumonji-senpai, but we have zero intention of not filing our engagement paperwork to each other in a few months.”

Juumonji and Saegusa both look concerned, but share a look and a sigh and let it go, though it's Saegusa that speaks, “Then, I suppose we shouldn't take any more of your evening up.”

They both nod then head off, leaving the two physically older teenagers behind.

It's been about two weeks with little more of note then Saegusa starting to look into her successor for Student Council President, as apparently it's decided internally beforehand and only their name goes on the ballot, when Hoshi comes bursting into the Amano living room, face in full on chaos gremlin mode. She closes the door swiftly behind herself, “You won't believe what nonsense I just heard!”

Sora looks at her in confusion, “Didn't you have some sort of meeting about a potential job offer or something? Did it really go that poorly?”

Hoshi snorts, “More like they're fuckin morons. Or well. I guess I should give them credit. They didn't take it at face value, they absolutely analyzed all sorts of shit, they just came to the wrong conclusion.”

Sora's expression becomes bemused, “About?”

Hoshi shakes her head, and almost alarmingly casual, ”The fact they could hire me to assassinate you.”

She chokes, and Sora gives his sister an incredulous look, “I'm sorry, what?”

Hoshi rolls her eyes, “Yeah, apparently a behavioral expert or something saw a recording of when I said I'd kill you for a walnut and you countered saying I had an awfully steep price, cause you'd kill me for a sunflower seed, and I'm gonna assume that our history as assassins is influencing our body language and all that nonsense, because they came to the conclusion we were both absolutely serious about it. Which, side note, today I learn our friends are not, in fact, fucking with us or joking when they make comments on us hating each other. They genuinely believe it.”

Sora blinks rapidly, as his gaze drifts away, “Huh. No kidding?” Then he shakes his head and turns back to his sister, “Please tell me you were smart enough to accept the job if you get half the payment up front so we can really screw them over.”

Hoshi gives her brother an offended look, “What sort of person do you take me for? Of course I accepted the job if they give me half up front. The question is, do we fake your death to screw them out of the other half before we off them or something, or?”

Sora hums as he looks down thoughtfully, “You bring up a good point…” There's a couple beats of silence before he shakes his head as he turns back to Hoshi, “but as tempting as it is, I'm gonna have to say no. If nothing else, it could get stupidly complicated depending on how they want confirmation, potentially close the trap we unknowingly built into our relationship to basically lure most people who want one of us dead into practically confessing, and I've gotta be available if Toshiko or Miho need me.”

Hoshi nods, “Oooh that's true. Alright then. Just wait until we confirm the payment then deal with them?”

Sora grins at her, “Yup.”

Hoshi sighs, “It's not helpful now, but one of us should probably learn hacking. Betcha them transferring the money and therefore making a link of sorts between the accounts opens a line to get into theirs to clean them out before we deal with them permanently. Which, probably too late this time, but in the future if this comes up again…”

Sora's grin shifts to a smile, “That's a good idea!”

That is of course, when Miho pipes up, in that tired voice that seems specifically reserved for when her ex-cop habits see her trying to reign in their husband and sister in law's illegal tendencies, “No. No it is not. That's illegal.”

She hums as she joins the conversation, “It may be against the law, but so is assassination. I'd argue they're just getting compensation from the criminals who tried it.”

Miho squints at her, “If it's not Sora encouraging your crushingly destructive tendencies then it's you encouraging his criminal tendencies. I love you two to pieces, but I seriously sometimes question what other reason I could've been made soulmates with you two rather than reigning you in.”

She snorts, “You know full well soulmates don't always make sense at a glance.” Miho sighs and she shakes her head as she turns back to Hoshi, “Do we even know who's behind this assassination attempt?”

Hoshi rolls her eyes, “So, there I was, trying to piece together clues and all that and had even gotten an idea right?” They nod, “Then they go and make it all a waste if time when they try to ‘sweeten the pot’ by mentioning that if I pull it off and get away with it, the head of the Saegusa family may ‘appreciate my skills more then others seem to’ and hire me to work for the Saegusa more permanently.”

Sora gives her a confused look, “I'm sorry, what was that about appreciating your skills?”

Hoshi rolls her eyes again, “Apparently, they're under the impression that at least part of the ‘hostilities’ between us is because you're constantly overshadowing me and blinding those around us to what I'm capable of. And they know I am capable since they tapped into security cameras and have observed us sparring in the backyard. I guess they think I'm jealous or something?”

Sora snorts, “What a load of nonsense.”

Hoshi nods, “You're telling me. Idiots even outright said why they were doing it.” She nods her head to the side briefly, like she's gesturing at something, “Not that it's news after Katsuto and Mayumi's warnings. It's entirely because he can't stand the idea of someone capable of absolutely demolishing a member of the Ten Master Clans existing outside of the Clans, and since you've turned down all the marriage offers from them…”

Now it's Sora that rolls his eyes, “What a bunch of morons.” Then he shakes his head, “So, wait until the money transfer is confirmed, then get rid of the group that was sent to look into me and hired you? Then look into hacking so we can take advantage of any idiocy like this in the future even more?”

Hoshi nods, “That's the plan.”

Sora nods back, “Works for me.”

She shakes her head fondly at her husband and sister-in-law.

After the last of the drinks, she puts up a soundproofing and lip blurring barrier around her group, currently at Café Einebrise. The owner doesn't even bat an eyelash, long used to the fact they sometimes put them up when they're discussing more sensitive topics, “So. It has come to mine, Miho, Sora, and Hoshi's attention that there has been… quite the misunderstanding.”

Shizuku lowers her cup to give her a bemused look, “So why aren't the twins here then?”

She huffs a laugh, “Hoshi and Sora honestly felt embarrassed by the idea of discussing it.” A blatant lie. They were busy dealing with the Saegusa employees before they could realize Hoshi wasn't making moves to assassinate Sora, but that was the cover they had agreed on, “And you guys really can't talk to anyone else about this, not because it's a some super secret, but because it's private, personal, and the idea of other people they don't know and trust personally knowing feels like dragging up the past for them, okay?” She gets understanding nods, so presses on, “It has come to our attention that you are not, in fact, joking around like we honestly thought you all were when you expressed confusion regarding Sora and Hoshi always being together or me and Miho having such a good relationship with Hoshi as you seem to be under the impression they hate each other. That is wildly inaccurate.”

Everyone is surprised, but it's Erika who speaks, “So it's not one of those weird situations of a family pretending that something is the truth when everyone can see it's not and just trying to get other people not to mention it by insisting over and over?”

She shakes her head, “No, it isn't. It's-” She sighs, then goes with the tweaked version of the story they'd put together and Maya had arranged records of to back her up, just in case anyone looked into it, “Hoshi had a close brush with mental magic when she was a kid. There was this whole thing of a minor attack, culprit was taken down, but his magic went off and she got caught up in it a bit. It affected her emotions. Like, she lost her capacity for them entirely for a while, and for a bit, no one was sure if she'd recover or if it was permanent.”

Honoka gasps, unable to hold back, “That's horrible!”

She nods, “Yeah, it really was. Honestly, personally I sometimes think the worst part was that their parents are so negligent since they only had them out of obligation that they didn't even really know about it. They were vaguely aware of doctor visits and stuff, but the only thing we've ever been able to figure was that they assumed it was standard check up stuff, since they were legitimatelyconfused as to what Hoshi and Sora were talking about when they caught them talking about it since the situation with you guys kinda brought it up.”

That part was true, Sora and Hoshi had purposely staged their parents walking in on them discussing it just in case anyone asked. She sighs at their horrified expressions, “Sora utterly refused to give up on his baby sister though, and it's gonna sound corny but I'm dead serious when I say that's probably the only thing that saved her. When her emotions started coming back, the general conclusion of the professionals was that it was very likely only because she had Sora to essentially latch onto.”

There's more than a few misty eyes at it. It's touching, especially since it's technically true, the only things she's lying about are details like how it happened, not what actually happened in general. She sighs, “Anyway, after she'd recovered a good bit, at some point she decided that annoying Sora was the singular most delightful thing in the world. Because of what happened, while it was obviously annoying since that was the point, it was also kind of amazing for Sora. Since his sister who almost lost her emotions and didn't legitimately care about him was capable of feeling so gleeful, and about annoying him given she physically wasn't able to care about him for a while. The problem comes in here. In that it started as them enjoying being able to bicker like normal siblings, but it escalated over and over and over again, and now their sibling love language is… those casual death threats and all that.”

Miho pipes up at this point, “In fairness it was just because we were there for it all, but that was why none of us four actually realized it was legitimately giving people the impression they hated each other. When actually, you would be putting Sora in a hard position if you asked him to choose between us,” Miho gestures between herself and her, “and Hoshi. Because he's absolutely an adoring overprotective elder brother, and Hoshi loves him and is just as protective of him right back.”

She nods, then laughs, “If anything, you know that phrase ‘kill for each other, die for each other’ that people sometimes use when it comes to loyalty? It's not quite accurate for Sora and Hoshi, but only because with them it’s, to directly quote something Hoshi once said, ‘Die for Sora? You think I'd do that to my brother? Are you crazy?’ so it's very much not due to a lack of loyalty.”

There's a few beats of silence as they all process that before Leo snorts, “That changes a lot of the interactions I've seen.”

That gets more than a few murmurs of agreement before Miho smiles, “We just wanted to clear up the unintentional misunderstanding. Normally Sora and Hoshi wouldn't care, if anything, they'd prefer the misunderstanding over having to explain the situation to strangers, but with you guys being our friends… And that's also why Toshiko asked you to keep it to everyone here right now, because it's not like, some clan secret or anything,” She gestures towards Erika and Mikihiko to highlight the example, “but they don't like talking about it, and they generally hate the idea of people they don't personally know and trust knowing and talking about it.”

Mikihiko nods as he drops his gaze to his drink, “That's fair. I myself- the thought about people discussing my accident even if I don't technically know about it if they don't bring it up-” He pushes out a heavy breath, brows furrowed before he looks up with a tense smile, “I can absolutely understand on a personal level.”

There are serious nods all around the table, and she smiles. It was true they haven't known them super long, but the decision had been made to trust them with it anyway. Even with the fact that now that they're aware of it, Sora and Hoshi had every intention to keep the accidental trap they'd built in place.

She used to deal with Nobles, Sora and Hoshi used to be assassins, and Miho was a cop. They were fairly confident in their collective judge of character, and they all seem like good kids.

She's not even very surprised when Saegusa and Ichihara ask to speak with her before the official lunch break, pulling her out of class early to do so. Once they get to the Student Council room, she doesn't even give them a chance to speak, “This is about the fact that between Hattori being recruited by Juumonji as the next Head of the Club Management Group and Nakajou initially refusing to be the next Student Council President the idea of Yuki taking that spot was proposed, isn't it?”

Saegusa looks surprised, then laughs lightly, “I suppose it can be somewhat obvious in retrospect…” Then she shakes her head, “But yes, I wanted to consult you on that.”

She doesn't miss a beat, “It's a horrendous idea.”

Saegusa and Ichihara become incredibly surprised at that, though it's Saegusa who responds, “Ehh? How so?”

She shakes her head, “Because the Student Council President has a considerable amount of power in the school and my brother will abuse it.”

Ichihara's eyebrows are furrowed, “Surely is not that poor of an idea-”

She tosses her hand up and to the side in aggravation, “Let me put it into perspective for you then. If Yuki becomes Student Council President, I will remove myself from being enrolled in First High right then and there.”

Saegusa chokes and a heavy silence falls for a few beats, “That… Is it really that terrible of an idea that you'd go so far?”

She sighs in aggravation, “Listen. My brother is good at making himself seem well put together and all that, projecting a Kikōshi air, but my brother is mentally unstable and would abuse that power.”

Ichihara frowns, “Mentally unstable? Surely that's-”

She blows out a sharp breath, “That-” Then she scrubs a hand over her face, “Fine, there's really no way around it, even though it's usually a private matter.” She looks Saegusa dead in the eye, “My brother is in love with me and constantly has absolute meltdowns at me being in a relationship. Does that sound at all mentally stable to you? Or how about the fact that even with me, he doesn't actually care about what people want, just what he wants, like that stunt in trying to get me into the Student Council back when the school year began for instance. He knows full well I have zero desire for things like that, yet he went and did it anyway because the only thing his obsession makes more important to him than what I want is some weird desire to shove me into the limelight and ‘show people how great I am’ or whatever, which is ironic considering he also gets insanely jealous of other people when it comes to me. Does that sound in anyway, shape, or form like someone who should be the Student Council President? Especially given how much power that position holds?”

Saegusa looks rather disturbed, and Ichihara isn't much better, her voice shaking, “That… Do- Do you have any sort of proof? I mean, not that I think you're a liar Shiba, but accusations like that-”

She barks a laughs as she pulls her mobile terminal out and shakes it back and forth in front of them, “We have a private security system at home and I make sure at least some of the videos of his behavior when we aren't in the public eye is saved separately for ease of access if you want proof.”

Saegusa's mouth thins, “I know it's an awkward and private topic, but Rin isn't wrong that we can't just take your word for it, so if you would…”

She doesn't hesitate to connect to the TV, pulling up video of them having one of many more recent discussions regarding how he feels about her and her firmly telling him she'll never reciprocate, so he needs to back off if he outright refuses to move on. It even has him repeating what he's said before about how he'll marry and have children through artificial insemination if he has to, but he'd prefer to die with his love for her then let it go.

That in and of itself ramps up Saegusa and Ichihara's disturbed feelings if their faces are any indication, but she mercilessly continues to cram just how bad an idea it is down their throats with a clip of them arguing later about how he'd tried to force her onto the Student Council even though he was fully aware she didn't like attention which it would inevitably bring and his insistence that she's too great to hide in obscurity.

After that, it's clip after clip of various tantrums and meltdowns over her relationship, including one from their first day of his meltdown after there was discussion of the fact her and Sora's wedding was basically already entirely planned out. It does bring up their closed polygamy with Miho, but they've never made any effort to hide that, so she doesn't even know if they were unaware to begin with.

About eight meltdown clips later, Saegusa holds up a shaky hand, “That- That's enough. You've made your point.”

She disconnects from the TV and shoves her mobile terminal back in her pocket, “For the record, while I'll be the first to admit that him having such power impacts me the most, since he would absolutely abuse it to try to force me away from Sora and Miho and to be around him more frequently, he would not respect anyone else's choices once he decided what he wanted as well. So I ask again, do you really want him as Student Council President?”

Saegusa rubs at her temples, “No. Not in a million years. If anything, if I'd known any of this, I wouldn't have invited him to the Student Council to begin with.”

She shrugs, “What, do you expect me to warn people upfront about his issues in the first meeting? To tattoo ‘mentally unstable’ on his forehead?”

Saegusa shakes her head, “No, of course not. I wasn't saying it was your fault at all, just-”

She cuts off and pushes out a hard breath, and Ichihara purses her lips, “That still leaves the problem of who will be the next Student Council President.”

She shrugs again, “I'd say to just explain the situation to Nakajou and point out that if it goes to an actual vote that with the way he's all too good and putting on a public face, it's far toolikely that he'll win by popular vote.”

They both blanch, seeming not to have thought about that yet, then share almost panicked looks. Saegusa's voice is shaking and weak, “Th-that- A-chan would do it just to keep the position from Yuki, wouldn't she?”

Ichihara purses her lips, “Azusa has more than a couple confidence issues, but I can't see her standing by and allowing such a disaster to happen, no.”

As the period officially ends and lunchtime starts, she hums, “Sounds to me like you have a game plan, so unless there's something else?”

Saegusa gives her a somewhat strained smile, “No, that's everything. Thank you for your rather valuable… information. It's rather critical, I feel.”

She nods and the goodbyes are quickly exchanged before she heads out to catch up with her soulmates and their usual group for lunch.

A snippet of the conversations picking up now that school was officially over reaches her, and she frowns, “Why, exactly, is the fact Sora, Mikihiko, and Leo won the Newcomers Monolith Code reflecting on me?”

Sora laughs from next to her as they start out of the classroom, “Because while people do praise me somewhat for executing your plan, the very fact you'd planned it well enough that you were able to make that quip about how it would ‘end in a snap’ means people tend to give you more of the credit.”

She starts to protest, but before she can get very far, she's surprised by Watanabe's voice laughing behind her. She turns to her quickly and swiftly slips past the kids to be at the back of the group in front of her, “Watanabe-senpai? Is there something urgent?”

Watanabe shakes her head though, “No, not urgent exactly, just that Mayumi informed me of a decision she made regarding the upcoming Student Council President election at lunch, and I feel like we should make some adjustments to the Disciplinary Committee's security plans in light of it. It was last minute enough that I was concerned an email about the meeting may be missed, so I left class early after finishing my work and was going around to tell everyone in person before they dispersed after the final period.” She nods in understanding, and Watanabe smiles, “But I couldn't help but hear your conversation, and I'd just like to say that if anything, I think you take too little credit. Yes, absolutely most of it goes to the Monolith Code team, but in light of what you revealed after the match was over…” She shrugs, “You had more of a hand in it then you like to claim.”

Leo gives her a surprised look, “Ehh? What's that supposed to mean? Things seemed to go pretty off track and come down to the wire at the end there.”

Watanabe smiles, “Ah, are you aware that there are cameras on posts in each of the high schools hq tents?” Leo shakes his head, and she tugs her mobile terminal out, “There are. For a multitude of reasons but that's not really important right now. It's relevant because after the Nine Schools Competition, the committee for it will forward all the footage of that and the events they participated in to each of the respective Highschools so if they want or need it for anything, they have it on hand. As long as you have authorization of some sort, all of the footage is easy to access.”

She doesn't even get a chance to protest before Watanabe is flipping her mobile terminal around, currently paused on a video showing the image of the ‘Winner First High’ screen after the Monolith Code finale and hitting play. Letting them see for themselves Saegusa questioning her lack of surprise, the mention of the email timestamped to the day after the replacement team had been put together with the link, the password to access to where the link leads, of what it says after it's put in. She doesn't even stop it there, letting them see her toss out that line about never being concerned about it before she leaves.

It's only at that point that she stops it as she turns her mobile terminal back around. Leo is staring at her in surprise, and after a beat of following Watanabe's mobile terminal as she slips it away, Mikihiko whips towards her with wide eyes, “You-... You knew I'd beat Cardinal George?”

She shrugs uncomfortably, “I've been telling you since you took down those intruders that you're more competent than you give yourself credit for. Why do you think even Master has such a good opinion of your abilities?”

Mikihiko is still rather stunned if how numb his voice sounds is any indication, “Yeah… but… I…”

She sighs and throws Sora and Miho a glance over her shoulder, and they nod to indicate they've got him. Then she takes a step towards Watanabe as she scans her usual group, or at least the part that's in the same class as her, “We can talk about it later, but I should get going.”

Sora, Miho, and Hoshi respond pretty normally, but the rest of them are absent and stunned.

She has to give it to Saegusa for managing to get the votes as her last act as Student Council President to achieve removing the rule that course two students can't join the Student Council, and apparently the reality of the situation was enough to convince Nakajou to take the Student Council Presidency, since they never spoke to the issue about her again and she was there giving a speech about her candidacy before the vote.

Well, realistically, it was less of a vote and more just a matter of approval, since there would be problems with the Student Council President if they were so disliked that practically no one voted for them and there were mostly write-ins.

Speaking of which, she'd been brought to the Student Council room by Watanabe the next day, apparently at Nakajou's request.

Once the count of the paper ballots -which she's been told was used entirely so the vote couldn't be digitally manipulated- is officially announced, congratulations start being offered to Nakajou as she stares down the somewhat shaken Saegusa. When she notices, she visibly swallows and gives her a somewhat jerky nod, acknowledging just how right she was about the vote.

Because of the way the rules at the school work, because there was a candidate, the write-ins were considered invalid unlike they'd be in an official government election. But by the actual count irregardless of validity? 

Out of the five hundred and fifty-four votes, Shiba Yuki got two hundred and twenty and Nakajou Azusa only got one hundred and seventy-three. If there hadn't been a candidate, even if Nakajou had still gotten the votes she did, Yuki would have won.

As for the remaining one hundred and sixty-one votes? Some weird rumor had started back when people were still waiting to find out the candidates that she was in the running. How it got so popular when before the day of the vote when Saegusa convinced the students to accept her proposed amendment to the Student Council rules as her final act as Student Council President, it was still against the rules, she had no idea. But it had, and there had been more approval to the idea then she was comfortable with due to the minor infamy she's gained from her placement on the Disciplinary Committee as well as how quickly she'd acted during the Battle Board incident, the sheer skill as a technician she'd shown that had helped a good bit in every one of the competitors she was in charge of win their events, and the team she'd put together and guide to victory, even against the ‘Crimson Prince’ and ‘Cardinal George’ duo in the Third High team.

You'd think that last one would have the votes go to Sora or Mikihiko as the ones who took those two out, but apparently their group had been overheard discussing the video proving she'd predicted the outcome with such accuracy, maybe not down to the blow by blow, but the general beats of the match. That in turn, had only seemed to fuel her growing fame within the school even more, much to her chagrin.

Now though, she was in a meeting with Nakajou and Watanabe, who hadn't yet passed off the Disciplinary Committee Chief position to whoever would be her successor. Namely, they'd called her in because they wanted to talk to her about Yuki and his Student Council placement. They'd both prefer if he wasn't on the new Council to begin with, but they were concerned about it both looking suspicious, potentially creating an uproar, as well as potentially setting Yuki off and how to handle it in either case. Be it any advice from her on continuing to handle Yuki's presence on the Student Council, or how to handle not inviting him to avoid an incident, and also consulting her on her opinion for the other issues if Yuki isn't invited back since she's there anyway.

She hums after hearing the gist of things from them, “Technically speaking, you could probably avoid Yuki throwing a fit if you framed it as you just filling him in as Nakajou-senpai had already made the decision out of consideration of the things I'm sure he's been saying indicating to her that he regrets accepting it and how it cuts down on the amount of time he potentially has with me.”

Watanabe tilts her head, “But?”

She rests her forearms on the table and leans forward, “But you'll have to be careful about the wording. Yuki doesn't care about things like being on the Student Council in general, but he does care about having as many achievements as he can to show off to me. I'd recommend that you don't make it obvious that it's because of me nor any problem you see with him. If you mask it like your calling the previous members of the Student Council to make it clear who you're asking to be on the new Council, toss out a line about the fact the rest are graduating this year, then something like ‘it's a good thing it'll boost Yuki's resume that he was already actively on the Student Council, as I'm sorry Shiba but I've decided not to invite you back, as I personally got the impression from the number of comments about losing lunch with your sister that you regret accepting and were just too polite to resign’ or something similar in your own words. Then knowing Yuki, he'll interpret it as a best of both worlds situation of him already having acquired the achievement to show off to me, but now no longer having to dedicate time like his lunch to something other than me.”

Nakajou frowns up at her, “Um. And you're okay with that? Since the president- I mean, Mayumi, told me about the situation, and… I mean, won't that free him up to harass you more?”

She smiles at Nakajou, “I appreciate the concern Nakajou-senpai, but I've been dealing with my brother as well as my brother's temper tantrums and his meltdowns for years.” She sighs, “Dealing with the general student body is even easier. I don't know how good you are at subtly nudging conversations, but I'm sure Saegusa-senpai and Watanabe-senpai are capable of it, so just have one of them help you. Either get someone to ask if Yuki will still be on the Council or have one of them make a semi-public surprised comment on him not being on it if you can make it believable that your talking openly about things that are normally behind closed doors between when you decide and talk to Yuki, and when it's officially announced and laughing it off for the same reason I told you to give Yuki.”

“That he hates the way it pulls him away from me, but he was too polite to resign from Saegusa-senpai's Student Council so you chose not to invite him back and he was actually happy about it because you weren't wrong. You'll really only have one of two reactions, people who just accept it, and people who shift their ire about it to me as the reason, which I really couldn't care less about. Honestly, the biggest problem will be Yuki inevitably trying to follow me around on my after school Disciplinary Committee patrols given he won't have the Student Council eating up that time.”

Watanabe crosses her arms as she gazes at the table thoughtfully before looking over at Nakajou, “She's… not wrong as far as I can see. Better yet, if you staged a semi-public discussion, the fact you hadn't invited back the last of Mayumi's Student Council that isn't graduating this year as well as the fact you did so explicitly to free up his time to see his sister more, which wordlessly makes it clear you haven't invited her to the Student Council either, would even counter those rumors that Mayumi would be something of a shadow Student Council President and you just her puppet.”

Nakajou tilts her head, “You think?”

Watanabe nods firmly, “Yes. Which is also why it'd be better if Mayumi is the one you staged that conversation with, so she can show how not upset she is.”

Nakajou nods slowly, “Okay…” Then she clenches her hands, “Okay! Then that's what we'll do!” She turns to her with a smile, “Thank you so much Shiba!” Then she looks down, “Though, I'm a bit sad that it'll circumvent the excuse and to hear that you have no interest in being on the Student Council anyway. As while Mayumi recommended I let the accusation simmer down so they wouldn't think it was her doing, I was actually thinking about inviting you to the Student Council later. Since while I have to fill all the normal positions quickly, Mayumi isn't wrong about the fact how many students and what positions they have isn't set in stone and is entirely up to the Student Council President.”

She smiles, “Happy to help Nakajou-senpai, but no, it wouldn't work with the excuse and I'm sorry, but I'm truly not interested.” She pauses a split second before making another decision, “And if I may Nakajou-senpai? I would recommend you make the issues with Yuki a secret that the whole Student Council knows, so that it gets passed along and none of the Student Council Presidents that hold the position while my brother is attending try to invite him back. Given the excuse you're using, I doubt he'd agree, but…”

Nakajou nods seriously and Watanabe sighs, “That sorts… multiple problems actually, but it does present another in Yuki trying to follow you around. Unfortunately, it's not technically against the rules for Disciplinary Committee officers to patrol with others accompanying them, but I can already imagine the potential headaches he'll cause even if he's no longer allowed to carry his CAD with the authority as a member of the Student Council. And that's before mentioning the fact that while it is important to get someone so unstable off the Student Council, as the Chief of the Disciplinary Committee, I can't really rightly condone harassment.”

She hums, “Like I told Nakajou-senpai, I've been dealing with Yuki for years. I mean, given he's been getting worse lately, there's a good chance my partners and Hoshi will start following me around on patrols to do what they've been doing lately of each of them occupying one of my sides and Hoshi walking directly behind me to prevent Yuki getting pushy about my physical space, but…”

Watanabe nods, “As I said, it's not against Disciplinary Committee rules for an officer to be accompanied on patrol as long as it doesn't interfere with their job, so if that's what you have to do, that's fine.”

She hums, mind drifting to bringing it up with them privately. If they start accompanying her soon, then since he rightly shouldn't know anything about her helping Nakajou plan how to quietly push him off the Student Council, then at best he should just deem them starting to accompany her right before that time frees up for him as cursed timing.

She gazes at the official announcement for the new Student Council members. Given they'd followed her advice and staged a discussion between Nakajou and Saegusa, no one was really surprised by the fact Yuki wasn't listed, but it had increased the number of dirty looks she was getting. Not that she cared, but it sure irritated Yuki. She wonders idly, if Yuki even realizes that the harsh looks he gives people he catches looking at her like that is lowering their opinion of him in general.

That doesn't really matter one way or another either. The new Student Council didn't have any problematic people that she could tell. She knew Nakajou obviously; She'd met Isori as a fellow technician in the Nine Schools Competition and while she hadn't gotten to know him particularly well he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and would likely make a good Treasurer; Honoka was a somewhat surprising pick for the new Secretary but she doesn't foresee any issues with her either; And Shizuku was absolutely a solid pick for a replacement to the Vice-President position in her opinion.

If anything, she found it vaguely amusing that half of the new Student Council was in her friend group, and the others she was at least personally friendly with, even if they weren't outright friends.

She shakes her head to dislodge her wandering thoughts as she looks away from the official announcement, looking over at Shizuku and Honoka with a smile, “Congratulations you two.”

They both nod, but Honoka, always the more expressive one, is flicking a look below furrowed brows between her and Yuki. Presumably, Nakajou had taken her up on both her advice and essentially okay to reveal the situation between herself and Yuki to the Student Council. She hadn't really thought about the possibility of anyone she had a personal connection to being invited to the Student Council, certainly not two of their friend group, but she still can't bring herself to regret it, given it was too important not to potentially allow Yuki to gain the sort of power the Student Council President had.

She ignores Honoka's flickering gaze and Shizuku's knowing look as she smiles and glances at the group, “Do you guys wanna celebrate at Café Einebrise after school and your Student Council duties and everyone else's clubs are done?”

Honoka gives her a determined smile, apparently deciding to just push through and ignore it, “Yes! That sounds great!”

The rest of the group let out their own cacophony of agreements, so that settles that.