That night, the operatives known by the aliases Jasmine Jackson and James Jackson—Captain Jasmine Williams and Captain James J. Johnson—received troubling news. After shaking off their pursuers, they had met with Daniel Liu, a leader of the anti-peace faction and the mastermind behind the current sabotage plot, at a British-funded hotel.
"A Yotsuba mage? And the head of the Kagurazaka family?" Jasmine repeated, her voice sharp.
Daniel Liu nodded grimly. "The successor to the Yotsuba and the current head of the Kagurazaka family—along with his fiancée—were all present at the ceremony today."
"Kagurazaka... I've heard the name," Jasmine mused. She recalled William MacLeod telling her a story about how his father had once insulted someone by that name and ended up hospitalized for two weeks. While it was unlikely that same person was here, any relative of such a person was cause for concern.
"I don't mean to overstep," James added, "but it's not unusual for Japanese magic leaders to send representatives to a memorial service for war dead."
"Unusual? No," Liu replied. "But they cannot be ignored. Rumor has it that the current head of the Kagurazaka, Yugen, personally fought in the war five years ago. Even if they aren't here for us specifically, their mere presence is a massive obstacle."
The fact that Yugen had fought in the Battle of Okinawa had been leaked by a politician named Kanda the previous year. While the media had been silenced, rumors had trickled down through Magic High School students. Liu had heard these whispers, but lacked the specific details of Yugen's combat record. He ultimately judged them to be secondary threats compared to Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba.
"But they're just high school students," Jasmine argued.
"In the Yokohama incident, our elite forces were decimated not just by the head of the Juumonji family, but by students their age," Liu countered. "We cannot afford to underestimate them because they are young."
Liu cautioned them, but in truth, he did not know the full extent of Tatsuya, Miyuki, Yugen, or Lina's power. He simply lacked the information to truly understand the danger they posed.
March 25, 2097.
Despite being marked as high-priority targets by the enemy, the three in question were not exactly spending their morning tirelessly preparing for counter-terrorism. Tatsuya woke up in his hotel bed, and though they weren't at Kyuujouji Temple, his internal clock remained precise. He sat up and looked at the girl sleeping beside him, a soft smile crossing his face.
Before meeting Yugen, Tatsuya might never have shown such emotion to anyone but Miyuki. But through his friendship with Yugen, he had begun to change. Now, looking at the girl still lost in her dreams, he felt he had truly broken out of his shell.
The girl's eyelids fluttered open, and she let out a small groan.
"Good morning, Lina. You can sleep a bit longer if you like."
"Morning, Tatsuya... I still can't believe how calm you are after everything that happened last night. It's a little annoying."
"I'm not as calm as I look. To be honest, I didn't think you would be the one to initiate... I'm still processing it."
To put it simply, Tatsuya and Lina had crossed the threshold into a physical relationship.
It had started when they were assigned to the same room. Lina had made an advance, and while Tatsuya tried to talk her down, she had presented him with a letter from the head of the Yotsuba family, Maya. The letter expressed Maya's wish for Lina to be placed at the top of the list of potential fiancées—and explicitly stated that Maya didn't care if they became intimate. Realizing he had no escape, Tatsuya had consulted Yugen on how to handle the situation, and ultimately accepted Lina's proposal.
"I'm sure Miyuki is being loved by Yugen right now too... but even though I'm the one who pushed for this, are you sure it was okay?" Lina asked softly.
"I can't deny that my aunt probably authorized this for her own amusement, but I also realize I have a responsibility for not facing my own feelings sooner. Though... I'm not sure if I can maintain my self-control when it comes to you, Lina."
"...Do you want to attack me again right now?"
"If that's what you want."
Lina giggled. "That's so like you, Tatsuya."
Seeing a glimpse of a typical teenage boy in him made her heart swell. Neither of them had lived "normal" childhoods, which allowed her to empathize with his struggles more than anyone.
"We still have time before breakfast," Tatsuya suggested. "Let's just relax."
"Relaxing might turn into something more intense," she teased.
"You're starting to sound a lot like Celia. ...Why are you pinching me?"
"I don't want to be lumped in with her!"
Despite the bickering, they were clearly as close as twin souls. They spent the time before breakfast in quiet intimacy—an atmosphere that, naturally, did not go unnoticed by the occupants of the adjacent room.
"Well... it's a relief. Tatsuya really is a teenage boy after all," Yugen whispered from the other side of the wall.
"Yes," Miyuki agreed softly. "I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as well."
In truth, the letter Maya had given Lina had been "influenced" by Yugen and Miyuki. They knew that many of the women vying for Tatsuya's hand were aggressive, and a future of "extreme temptation" was inevitable. By encouraging Tatsuya to form a deep bond with Lina—the one he felt most comfortable with—they had effectively protected him from more predatory suitors and bypassed any rumors about him having "unusual" tastes.
As they spoke, Miyuki was lying draped over Yugen.
"Now that we've settled that," Yugen said, turning his attention to her, "I suppose I should focus on making sure you're satisfied. It is your birthday, Miyuki."
"Hehe, that's right. Then for today, I shall call you 'Master.'"
"Please... at least make sure no one else hears you say that," Yugen pleaded.
Miyuki, the star of the day, was playfully offering herself as his servant. Yugen could only hope that while she indulged in her whims, she would at least maintain a modicum of public decorum.
...As a side note, Minami was in the next bed over, sleeping peacefully through it all.
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