Mahouka SI: The Yotsuba Prince (The Irregular at Magical Highschool SI

Chapter 27

KICHIJOU MASAKI-The Crimson Prince

Masaki was the scion of the Ichijou clan. He had been hailed as a prodigy ever since he was a child, believed to be peerless in his age group and yet all that praise had proven itself to be a lie.

He was not the prodigy he believed himself to be. He was strong, but he would admit openly that he was not as strong as Inei Yotsuba. He had expected himself to be distraught, to be angry at realising this, and yet he was not.

He was excited at the new challenge that was before him, and though he had lost to the Yotsuba heir in the Ice Pillars Break he planned to try and redeem himself in the Monolith Code, and yet the recent directive from the TMC had him boiling.

"What the hell are they thinking?" he snarled in rage, gritting his teeth, rushing the tablet in his hands as he stood in the waiting room before their first match.

"Do they think so little of me, of us, of the whole Council," he raged, frustrated at their behavior. As the heir in line Masaki was not oblivious to the politics and the plots of the council.

The Ten Master Clans may cut a united figure, but the truth could not be further from that. The Master clans were both unequal and divided, with many harboring their own agendas and intentions.

It was just that the Council, was a union created to stop the Government's unreasonable meddling into the magical community of Japan, and yet over the years he often felt that it had become the very thing it had wished to refute.

"They must want to showcase their unity and discredit the Yotsuba heir," George added from the side, both of them are now wearing their uniforms.

"But still, this is not the way to do things," Masaki added. He was no fan of Inie Yotsuba as well, or the Yotsuba in general, because of their secretive and inhumane practices. Yet, going so far just to put down one clan or one person was a bit too much.

"Maybe, but there is definitely a greater game afoot here," George added as he rubbed his chin.

"I have a suspicion that all this is a manifestation of an internal war within the Ten Master Clans, and they have made the Nine School's Competition into a battleground, though it seems they lost this battle and now are trying to save face," George's assessment was correct indeed, and given he was not a part of the TMC, it was surprising how accurate it was.

"They have issued the command. Now the question is, will Inei Yotsuba comply with it?" Masaki smirked as he shook his head.

"I doubt it. " From what he had managed to gleam, Inei Yotsuba was his clan's statement piece, one sent to remind the TMC and the world of the boogeymen of Japan's magical society.

It had been years since a Yotsuba had been in the public eye, the clan taking a backseat and doing their activities from the shadows. This had made some people doubt the tales and stories concerning the infamous Yotsuba, and now Inei Yotsuba had been sent to remind them just why one did not mess with the Boogeymen of Japan.

"The Yotsuba are many things, but they are not cowards. He will not back down," Masaki said as he looked at the TV, as the first match of the Monolith Code was set to begin.

It was set between First High, and Seventh High, and the two teams assembled as the announcer made the countdown.

"Start," and he watched as the Seventh High's Team began to move immediately. The terrain was an open field, and all three of its members began to rush forward.

"What the..." Masaki gasped as he saw that none of the students from the first high were moving.

He watched as Inei Yotsuba looked at his two teammates who stood there, their heads hung low and unmoving. He shook his head and stepped forward.

"They are not going to fight...." he realized, as his blood boiled in rage, at what he was seeing.

"They are trying to throw the match."

0000

MAYUMI SAEGUSA

Mayumi watched as the two contestants beside Inei refused to move, as her fists balled up. Their intentions were obvious to her and to anyone with a semblance of knowledge about Monolith Code.

They were trying to hamper Inei, who had yet to move.

"Is this your doing?" she asked, scathingly, distressed adn disappointed in her classmate and friend.

And yet Katsuto shook his head.

"No, I am afraid not," he said and he sighed as he shook his head.

"The truth is, I want all this conflict as little as you do, Saegusa," he said softly, and this was a side Katsuto Jumonji, Japan's Iron Wall, would never show anyone else.

"I understand clashes among clans and the political ploys that follow. But this is getting extreme and unreasonable in many ways," he said, and yet she knew he would not back off, for that was the kind of person he was.

Katustio Jumonji was a man married to his duty, and his status. He was the acting Head of the Jumonji clan, and he would do all that was required of him per his station, no matter how heinous or noble.

"I just don't understand it. Why are the clans moving against him," she said as she looked at the ground.

"I understand the fear of the Yotsuba name and their expanding influence. But this goes beyond simple clan politics. It's becoming too ugly," she whispered as she sighed, feeling tired of all this.

And if this was her state, she dared not imagine what Inei-kun must be feeling, for he was the one bearing the brunt of all this. Ever since he had stepped into the limelight, the clans had been coming after him, clans that were supposed to be his allies, his countrymen.

"I know I should not say this, but most of what is happening can be traced back to one clan," Katsuto-kun added as Inei-kun finally began to move as he stepped forward, reaching for his CAD.

"The Kudo's," he told her, and she was surprised.

"The Kudo's, but why? From what I remember, the Kudo clan was rather neutral on the whole Yotsuba affair and supposedly had even an amicable relationship with the Yotsuba," her father had once said that the Kudo clan's patriarch had once been the teacher of the current Yotsuba clan head.

"I do not know what the Kudo clan is thinking, but they are instigating this all, and for what reason. None can tell," and with that, he stood up.

"No matter, they are underestimating him," he said as he turned away and began to walk out the waiting room.

"They should have learned by now that they cannot beat him using such cheap tricks," and he was right as in the next moment as the three Seventh High students surrounded Inei-kun, she saw him stop as he brought up his hand and used a single magic.

"Dismantle," the voice came, and suddenly, the very ground underneath the three contestants vanished, and all of them fell down the ditches that came out of nowhere, rendering them incapable of fighting.

0000

KUDO RETSU

Kudo watched Maya's son slaughter another team from one of the Magical Schools single-handedly without even flinching and was surprised as he turned off the TV. This was expected.

Inei Yotsuba was not one to back off from a challenge, and the fact that Maya had yet to step in for her son spoke of several facts. Either she didn't care about him as much as she had led him to believe, or she had such a belief in him that she had not made a move.

But regardless, the boy's refusal to back out and his open display of power right after he had decimated No-Head-Dragon, a GAA-associated organization, was a statement from him and the Yotsuba that they had not forgotten that incident. That they would not settle down unless everyone associated with Dahan, and GAA was put down.

Inei Yotsuba's blatant display of strength was fuelling the war mongering faction in the military, believing that this was the perfect chance to launch an attack on GAA, that the truce that had held was useless, and that they needed to push back.

And why wouldn't they be rejoicing? For they knew that if they were to order it, they would have the perfect weapon at their call in the form of Inei Yotsuba. By now half the ministry was aware of his history with Dahan, and how he had been a captive of them for years much like his own aunt, and they all wished to weaponise the boy's wrath, for their own gain.

And yet the greatest tragedy was that the boy would let them. So strong was his hate that he believed that he would let himself become the instrument of GAA's destruction and would plunge Japan into a war again. A war that would endanger his family, his sons, and grandchildren.

That is why he had to put a stop to the boy. Not for he hated him. No, because of the danger he posed to the fragile peace they held.

And it seems he was not the only one who sensed the danger posed by Inei Yotsuba.

"Where did you get that information, Kouichi?" he asked, surprised that the man had found a way to control the boy so quickly.

"Does it really matter," the head of the Saegusa clan replied briskly, and his student had really come into his own.

"We now know of a way to neutralize the threat of Inei Yotsuba," he added.

"And as long as we do, we avoid the idea of war with GAA?" he added, and Kouichi nodded.

"Yes, but first, we need to capture the boy. And from what we can see it is nearly an impossible task to hinder the boy," Kouichi added as he looked out the window.

"I tried to explore the option of deploying him for this task, but I am afraid that will not be possible," and Kouichi frowned.

"That man, the Maheshwara," he asked, and he nodded.

"Indeed, there are certain complications and conditions that must be fulfilled to deploy that special agent, conditions that we cannot fulfill in this case," he sighed.

"Then we have no choice but to brandish the full force of the Ten Master Clans to put him down," Kouichi offered.

"And how do you plan to do that?" and the man was quiet before he began.

"I believe I know just the way."

0000

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