A/N: I apologize for putting this story on Hiatus for so long, but as promised, I will be continuing it whenever I'm free or bored from the usual routines I do each day. Hopefully you'll enjoy the new chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. This fiction is written because of my personal enjoyment. Constructive comments/feedbacks/critiques will be much appreciated.

CHAPTER 14: Hostility

The fifth day of the Nine School Competition passed without any problems, unfortunately only for First High. For other schools, however, the same could not be said. Numerous of incidents happened repeatedly for contestants of other schools. While most were non-lethal and even minor malfunction of CAD and certain aspects during competition, it started to cause unwanted gossips of sabotages targeted towards First High as the mastermind. Of course, despite the fact that they were no solid evidences of such claims.

Tatsuya, once again, wandered around at night as the occurring incidents started to affect his attention. He was quite sure that this could not be the doings of any participants nor competitors. It must be the work from outside sources or organizations, since the sabotages were extremely professional, military-grade even. However, before he could make such presumptions, further verifications and opinions were needed.

"He must be thinking of the same thing." Tatsuya thought about his close friend.

"Ah, Tatsuya-kun, out wandering the night again I see."

Tatsuya jerked back slightly as the familiar sweet voice yanked him out of his cognitive thoughts.

"And I can see that you have a lot on your mind as well, Mayumi-sempai." Tatsuya turned towards the approaching woman.

Mayumi smiled before giggled slightly. "Seems like you finally remember how to call me properly, I expect nothing less."

Tatsuya chuckled in response. "Well, since you are extremely talented in magic, I already expected that you will be able to hypnotize me to do your bidding." He answered plainly.

"And I thought you are extremely capable at cancelling others' magic." Mayumi cutely attempted to return the tease.

However, she just simply stood no chance against the prince of poker face himself.

"Apparently not towards the Elven Princess herself since she is able to bewitched my speaking habits." Tatsuya countered while referred to the Ichihara Suzune's speech on the bus.

"Cheeeee…" Mayumi pouted as she turned away briefly.

Tatsuya shook his head at the childish antics, but he always felt refreshed, amused even whenever he managed to tease the President.

"All those aside, what's on your mind, President?" Tatsuya asked, slightly concern for Mayumi's constant habit of staying up so late.

Mayumi smiled, not a bright smile that she usually once wore, but the smile that expressed sadness and stress that caused Tatsuya to felt slightly taken back from asking.

"It's just not easy being a President, Tatsuya-kun." Mayumi closed her eyes, her expression filled with anxiety. "To have to deal with the numerous accusations, and the need to constantly put on the optimistic appearance for others… sometimes… I just regret about being the President."

At that moment, Tatsuya felt the unbearable urge to console the woman in front of him, despite its mere faint presence. Never before have he felt such pull, such desire, such… emotions towards someone other than his sister. It felt so foreign to him, and it demanded to be sated.

Much to Mayumi's surprise, she felt two strong yet delicate hands gently held her shoulders. She sighed in slight comfort as the warm feelings slowly spread throughout her body.

"Please, don't say things like that, sempai."

Mayumi twitched slightly due to the close proximity of how Tatsuya spoke to her, however she remained silent, wanting the man to continue his speech.

"Sometimes, it is necessary to let go, since it's impossible to control or solve everything as previously planned or thought." Tatsuya reasoned, as he learned from that first-hand. "I can assure you that you already did the best you can. No one else could've done a better job."

Mayumi smiled slightly. "I do understand that, Tatsuya-kun… I tried… believe me. But I am still felt responsible for every outcome that happened and will happen. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with taking responsibility… but it's just…"

"Too overwhelming at some point." Tatsuya continued for the Elven Princess.

"Sorry, I sounded like a selfish person there, didn't I?" Mayumi glanced upwards to the dark skies. "A person who regretted of being a leader because she felt anxious about taking responsibility."

"Not at all, Mayumi-sempai."

The woman faintly yelped in surprise as Tatsuya delicately turned her around to face him.

"What you felt is totally normal. Anyone that carries such responsibilities and burden on themselves will feel the same way as you did." Tatsuya reassured. "Please, don't be too hard on yourselves."

"…I see." Mayumi gained a slight happy smile.

"Also, you are not alone, sempai."

"Eh?"

Tatsuya smiled slightly. "Everyone in the council, myself, Miyuki, Shu, even the students are willing to also share your burden and responsibilities. Please never think that you are alone, because you are not. Don't forget that."

Mayumi's eyes widened in surprise before her eyes shut almost immediately after that. She let out a sigh of content, her attractive smile finally made its way onto her visage once again. Instead of giving Tatsuya her usual verbal tease and jokes, her actions caused the emotionless man to unwittingly took a step back.

"Thank you, Tatsuya-kun."

Tatsuya's eyes widened as Mayumi gave him one of the sincerest and happiest smile she could ever muster. At that moment, he simply hallucinated, that Mayumi was actually Miyuki herself. It took the man by surprise as he had to remind himself that Mayumi was not Miyuki. She was herself, Saegusa Mayumi, the person that he admitted to feel delighted to be around.

"It is my pleasure, President."

"Seems like my spells have already worn off, Tatsuya-kun." Mayumi giggled. "I suppose maintenance sessions are in order."

Tatsuya sighed tiredly, albeit with a smile. "What do you have in mind?"

Mayumi pondered for a second before she clicked her fingers.

"Be my audience for tonight."

Tatsuya contemplated back a few days ago, when Mayumi sang numerous songs and hummed music pieces for him. In his book, that night was arguably one of the most enjoyable experiences he ever had. The thought of participating in such event again made him felt unexplainably giddy.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of punishment?" Tatsuya responded jokingly.

"Ara~ are you trying to say that you enjoyed the previous sessions?" Mayumi teased.

"It would be a lie if I say no." Tatsuya answered emotionlessly.

"Meanie… you could've just say yes." Mayumi pouted before she pulled Tatsuya by the arm. "C'mon, let's find a place to sit!"

Tatsuya half-smiled at the enthusiastic girl while let her dragged him around until both of them found perfect spot underneath a sizable tree. The moonlight shone brightly, which gave both of them needed natural vision of the surroundings.

The entire night was filled with beautiful and alluring voice, one could have compared them to the singing of the wind itself due to its calm yet loving qualities embedded within. Both students were so caught up in the moments that they were unable to sensed two pair of purple eyes briefly watching them from afar. The mysterious figure had a smile on its face as it quietly and inscrutably disappeared into the shadows, leaving no trace of its presence behind.

(Sixth day of the Nine School Competition)

It was the sixth day of the competition, yet the investigations of the occurred incidents were not advancing as much as people hoped. Little to no evidence was successfully collected as most of the affected personnel reported to either had malfunction with their device or claimed that it was an error on their own part. This fact bothered a lot of people, namely one.

Shu Shirakawa was pulled into his deep thoughts during his walk around the hotel area. He felt that something was tugging at the edge of his mind, a strange sensation which almost mimicked animals' danger sensing instincts. To maximize his thoughts effectiveness, he decided to took a secluded walk away from all the commotions in the First High's strategizing room. Despite the fact that he already agreed to become a guinea pig for the CAD checking prior to matches, nothing had happened to him. Obviously, there were a lot of information still being left out.

"Hn." Shu narrowed his eyes almost immediately as he sensed someone hastily approached him at abnormal speed. The insane man immediately put on his usual annoying smirk as the person that followed him all the way here stared at his face with hateful expression.

"Yare yare, what do I owe for this sudden confrontation once again, Masaki?" Shu smirked.

Masaki gritted his teeth. "I'm here to finish this once and for all!"

"Again? You still haven't had enough?" Shu raised his eyebrows curiously. "Elder Kudou even told us to put this "petty rivalry" aside." Shu said, the mocking tone was clearly indented at the word rivalry.

"Silence!" Masaki swiftly pulled out his CAD.

Shu shook his head. "You are unbearably naive."

The insane man slowly walked up towards the Crimson Prince with steady pace. The more steps he took, the shakier Masaki's hands become. Despite fighting and killing many people during the war, the heir of Ichijou Clan did not willingly accept the fact that Shu's actions in the past caused him quite a serious mental trauma.

Masaki Ichijou did not, could not, and would not admit it. That he was afraid of the Cosmic Horror.

"I have no qualms in killing you. In fact, if you aren't the heir of Ichijou Clan, I would already cut your head off with my bare hands." Cold and ruthless expression appeared across the Cosmic Horror's facade as he stared forward.

Masaki flinched but still able to kept his firearm CAD pointed at his arch nemesis' face.

"Unfortunately, it would simply create more problems if I actually murder you." Shu said impassively. "However, if you really want to die that badly, I suppose we can arrange that."

A lone echo of Air Bullet was heard throughout the empty courtyard since Masaki fired it as a distraction for himself to back away. The Crimson Prince followed up the initial shot by also firing multiple Air Bullets via magic sequences around the Cosmic Horror as he expertly butterfly twist jumped backwards.

Shu's expression did not change in the slightest as the Air Bullets completely disappeared before it could do any damage.

"Is that all? I expected newer tricks from the Crimson Prince." Shu mocked.

Almost immediately, the embodiment of horror had to rolled away as a magic sequence passed through his former position. The grass and plants in that area instantly exploded as steam rose up from their scattered remains.

"Going for the kill now, are we?" Shu chuckled darkly as he pumped his Psion for counterattack.

Masaki literally froze as he felt malice-filled Psion washed through his body, He tried to move his body but failed miserably.

"Gravity Hold?!" Masaki internally cursed. He got too reckless on his aggression that he forgot Shu's most proficient ability, gravity control.

"How would you like to die?"

Masaki felt the chilling sensation rose up his back as he heard the voice from behind. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted on his right hand as he automatically dropped his gun. Masaki defiantly turned to the right despite the Gravity Hold and grudgingly saw his bleeding right hand.

"You… bastard!" Masaki spat hatefully.

"Do you think you're the only one who can utilize the internal injury tactics?" Shu wondered aloud. "Your Rupture is an impressive spell no doubt, but I could also simply sever your blood vessels via gravity… forcefully."

Masaki silenced his own scream as he felt numerous rupture from his right hand upwards to his arm. Blood flows out of his skin forcefully as Shu utilized gravity magic to pull out the crimson substance from its rightful place.

"I could've killed you a long time ago, I could just kill you now, but I won't." Shu forcefully turn Masaki to face him via gravity.

"So what?! You expect me to return the "favor" for showing me mercy?!" Masaki shouted back. "Don't you fu-"

"I expect no such actions from you." Shu retorted before Masaki could finish. "Because you already have, that is." The publicly entitled evil outer god mentally smirked to himself.

An awkward moment of silence makes its presence since Masaki had nothing to say after that, fortunately not for long however.

"Because you are and will be an absolutely useless asset to me, Masaki." Shu, now, verbally finished his sentence with the most arrogant smirk he could've muster.

Masaki continuously gave the insane individual multiple swearing and death threats while struggling desperately to be free.

"Quite unfortunate that I'm not participating in Monoliths Code. I would love to publicly embarrass you in front of the crowd, including your entire clan." Shu smiled maniacally with delightfully dreadful expression. "But don't be disappointed just now, I can still blow the lid on you publicly during the Ice Pillar Break competition."

Unimaginable anger exploded in the minds of Ichijou's heir. Masaki had always been calm and collected despite being in dire situations, but every time he faced against the man who nonchalantly and singlehandedly killed his comrades and commander during Sado Invasion his patience and calmness were always dwarfed by hatred. Frankly speaking, its due to the loyalty and friendship he had towards the soldiers during Sado. It also didn't help that he was young at the time, which influenced his hatred even more after Shu smilingly dismantled his friends right in front of him.

Before Masaki could threw another insult, he was launched forward and impacted roughly on the ground. He coughed violently before looked back and tried to find his CAD, only to see that it was in Shu's hand.

"Quite interesting CAD you have here. Still, I wouldn't want to steal a child's toy." Shu observed the firearm before throwing it near Ichijou's location.

Masaki wasted no time as he scrambled to get the CAD before re-pointed it at his nemesis.

"Go ahead, do it. It won't change anything." Shu sighed. "But I will warn you that this time, I will personally crush your precious toy with my bare hands."

Masaki was far from a fool, he knew that he stood no chance at this point, especially for the fact that his emotions were getting better of him. His body was also in need of medical attention, judging from the internal pain he felt around his ribs and right arm.

"Tch…" Masaki immediately stormed away from the scene, holding the wounds on his right arm.

Shu smirked to himself. "Heh, all according to plan… well… almost…" The insane man looked down towards his left leg before he knelt down. If there was anyone standing in front of the Cosmic Horror, they would be able to see an extremely nasty blistering wound on his left leg. Blood poured out of the wound constantly while the skin showed signs of 3rd degree burn from hot liquids, or in this case, his own blood.

"He got me good there." Shu winced internally as the more he observed the wound, the worse it looked. According to the man himself, this was one of the most painful wounds he ever received.

"He got you good there."

Shu's eyes twitched. "Thank you for sympathizing with my conditions, Mr. Regrowth." He replied sarcastically.

Tatsuya revealed himself from the thick forest behind the used-to-be battlefield. The emotionless man carefully observed the wound before decided to give his opinion.

"Let me take care of it." Tatsuya offered as he took out his CAD.

"No."

"I insist." Tatsuya pressured.

Shu shook his head. "This wound, like all other scars, will served as a reminder to myself."

"You and your nonsensical pride…" Tatsuya sighed while kneading his forehead. "Someday, I swear that you'll get killed by it."

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Shu responded cryptically.

Tatsuya sighed for the umpteenth times. "At the very least let me use Regrowth on you for Miyuki's sake."

Shu immediately paused. If Miyuki saw this, and he knew that she would, it would make her very upset although not with him. Not to mention that it would distract her ability to focus during competition since she would always keep her grudge and death gaze upon Ichijou's heir. However, he does not like to keep secrets from people he cared about, it would imply that he basically distrusts them.

"Quite ironic, since I currently do keep some secrets from them." Shu mentally sighed while nodding quietly, but not before saying something in return.

"I will not keep quiet about this, Tatsuya. I will talk to her if she asked me what happened." Shu said.

Tatsuya shook his head disapprovingly but simply replied simple yet exhausted words in return. "Do whatever you wish."

It took merely seconds for the nasty wound to vanish without any trace as Tatsuya finished his Regrowth process.

"What are you planning to do now?" Tatsuya asked curiously as he pocketed away his favorite CAD.

Shu shrugged. "Tell Miyuki about what happened if she asked, prepare for ice pillar break competition, what else?"

"You know what I am talking about."

Shu turned towards the serious-face Tatsuya. The Mahesvara was dead serious about the question, curious about the next action of his counterpart.

Shu grunted. "For now, nothing. Though you and I both know that it will be not long until something "unfortunate" happened."

Tatsuya stiffened. He expected something close to this out of his friend, but the thought of Shu rampaging around does not gave him any comforting thoughts.

Shu chuckled. "I'm not talking about killing anyone here. It's about the recent interferences during this event."

Tatsuya's eyes narrowed as the previous uncomfortable thoughts were replaced with even further curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it quite strange that the interferences that happened were too well-planned?" Shu asked smilingly.

Tatsuya stayed silent but beckoned the insane man to continue.

"I researched and observed all the contenders and schools that participate in this competition and found that no one could've make such constructive, effective, and perfect sabotages like these so-called incidents." Shu explained.

"What about Cardinal George?" Tatsuya asked with all seriousness despite the fact that he already speculated the said factors.

Shu shrugged. "Possible. After all, he is a genius. Although, I doubt it. His motive wouldn't take him that far. Also, his master is holding his leash back quite nicely." Shu smirked humorously.

It was quite a true statement since the young genius would never acted on his own without Masaki's permission and agreement. And since Masaki was still intimidated by Shu, it was less likely that this sabotages were the schemes of the Crimson Prince and Cardinal George.

"I see." Tatsuya nodded. "So, you are suggesting that this is an outside act from other people, possibly organizations?"

"That is what I speculated. However, solid proof is needed to confirm this fact."

"Understood." Tatsuya pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. These mysteries were starting to get to his nerve. "We should get back. It is quite late."

"Ho? Eager to go back to your "Sempai" I see." Shu smirked foxily.

"Miyuki's match is up next, and I will kill you if you miss it." Tatsuya's eyes twitched. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who his friend was talking about. "Also what about you, Mr. Genius? You seem to be unenthusiastic to return to see my sister."

Shu chuckled even louder than before. "Of course not, I do feel extremely eager to return to my Blizzard Princess."

Tatsuya shook his head before muttered something incomprehensible. Both of them started to walk back towards the meeting camp.

"One advice though, Tatsuya."

The emotionless man stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever feels right, you better do it quick." The casual friendly tone of Shu Shirakawa shifted icily. "Time, is something we should cherish and use wisely… especially for people like you and me." Shu spoke before walking forward, leaving the emotionless man to stood by himself.

"…Whatever feels right, huh?" Tatsuya pondered before followed his friend back to the hotel.

Location: First High Meeting Camp, Nine Schools Competition Event Site

"There you are, Tatsuya-kun!"

Tatsuya flinched and sweatdropped slightly as he was automatically dragged by Mayumi after he entered the First High tent, much to Shu's and other spectators' amusement.

"Chairwoman…?" Tatsuya mumbled as he finally got forced to sit down on his usual seat by the overenthusiastic vixen.

"We've been looking all over the place for you! You somehow disappeared after Kitayama-san's match!" Mayumi pouted slightly.

Tatsuya chuckled ever so slightly. "I simply have some private business to attend, Chairwoman. I apologize." The pariah of Yotsuba clan looked towards his friend at a specific part while shaking his head.

Shu rolled his eyes but staggered slightly as he saw Miyuki gave him a suspicious glare. He winced as the Blizzard Princess dragged him quite roughly towards the back room even before he could say anything.

"Something happened…?" Mayumi sweatdropped towards the two disappearing couple with a hidden tone of curiosity and suspicion.

Tatsuya shook his head while exhibiting his usual poker face. "I believe there's nothing. Simple occasional quarrels between lovers perhaps?" A slight smirk appeared on his face.

Mayumi giggled slightly. "I see that your sis-con effects are getting lesser and lesser as time passed hm? Tatsuya-kun?"

Tatsuya sweatdropped as people that overheard their conversation also giggled from Mayumi's claim. It was undeniable that after his close friend and Miyuki decided to take their relationship onto the next level, he gave his sister a considerably larger space for her own privacy and time. Unlike his previous routines, he let Miyuki experienced the incoming hardships and stresses on her own, which proved to be quite effective since she handled it perfectly without any of his help nor intervention.

"She grew up, along with myself, which I have someone to thank for that." Tatsuya, with a smile, mentally noted to himself before decided to verbally response to Mayumi's claim. "I simply acted previously as a brother, President. Now, she can handle things on her own just fine without my intervention."

Mayumi smirked foxily. "It sounds like you are pouting from being cast aside, Tatsuya-kun."

"As expected of someone who is experienced. You are able to cleanly looked through my poker face, impressive." Tatsuya commented emotionlessly.

"Cheeeee…" Mayumi hissed before she looked away with a pout.

Tatsuya chuckled. "Just joking, President."

"I don't hear you." Mayumi effectively "hmph-ed" as she ignored Tatsuya.

Tatsuya responded with a tired smile. "Hai hai, Mayumi-sempai. Do you hear me now?"

Mayumi turned around and smiled at Tatsuya. The emotionless man inwardly flinched. He never expected such a sweet smile from the daughter of the Saegusa family. Tatsuya felt the strange sensation washed over his minds. It's daunting… it's indescribably captivating.

The moment when a man got bewitched by a woman. No pun intended in this case, of course.

"Tatsuya-kun, is something wrong?"

Tatsuya got pulled back to reality after the concern voice of Mayumi. The said woman definitely had her worried glances focused on him as well.

"I… I am fine." Tatsuya surprisingly struggled to respond.

Mayumi cutely tilted her head in confusion. However, instead of asking more question, she decided to simply gave Tatsuya an understanding nod before returned to the task at hand. Despite her actions, she knew deep inside that something went wrong with the older Shiba, since he never abruptly answered her in this manner.

"If you say so, Tatsuya-kun. Let's move on to preparation of Miyuki-san's next match." Mayumi suggested.

"Hai." Tatsuya answered as he cleared his mind before performed maintenance on Miyuki's CAD.

In one of the rooms in the back of the meeting camp, however, the conversation between the Cosmic Horror and the Blizzard Princess still continued.

"What happened?" Miyuki half-demanded, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Shu decided to stay silent and kept his poker face.

"I can sense faint amount of Onii-sama's Psion all over you, especially here." Miyuki eyed Shu's left leg.

"Her controls and senses literally improves day by day…" Shu thought about Miyuki after she was able to control her power. He could not believe the growth rate of her ability, which was currently skyrocketed. No mere humans should be able to develop such delicate senses in such short time, they must be both talented and refined at the same time.

"Nothing serious, Tatsuya just joined me after certain discussion with someone I know." Shu internally smacked himself for not speaking the whole truth despite his previous talks with Tatsuya.

Miyuki definitely knew that something was going on, and she wasn't going to let him go with such excuses. "Stop bending the words, Shu-kun. I know you better than anyone." Miyuki certainly had enough.

Shu sighed. "I got injured due to my own ignorance. Tatsuya fixed me up."

"I told you many times to stop being reckless." Miyuki frowned. "Who did it?"

"…"

"Shu…?" Miyuki walked forward, effectively pressured her lover even more.

"…"

"Shu." Much to the embodiment of insanity's surprise, he swore that Miyuki's eyes flashed red for just a slight millisecond.

"Who. Did. It?"

Miyuki's voice was hard as steel. The two were so close that they almost kissed one another, however those trivial details were hardly important to them right now. The authority and menace behind her eyes ignited like a small flame that contacted with a fuel tank. The desire for vengeance and retribution was seen through her soul's window.

"Masaki Ichij-"

Air pressure around the area condensed even before Shu finished his response. Not even a single drop or trace of Psion was leak through the air, despite the unnatural phenomenon crashing down mercilessly.

Shu just had to note that Miyuki was extremely similar to him sometimes. If she was injured by someone, he would've already thought of a plan to murder the responsible party.

"Calm down."

Miyuki's eyes met with her lover once again, this time, with even more defiance than before.

"Calm down… you expect me to calm down…?" Her voice was soft, but full of ice. The murderous glance she possessed empowered itself even stronger than before.

Shu immediately pulled the Snow Queen into a hug in the attempt to disarm her hostility.

"Letting your emotion loose is natural, but sometimes it is necessary to maintain balance." Shu whispered as his expression turned into a concern one.

Miyuki's eyes slowly retained calmness once more. "Control is key, I know. You're the one who taught me…"

The couple slowly separated before Miyuki continued.

"Did it hurt?"

Shu chuckled slightly. "It did stings a lot. Well, I guess it's my fault."

"You and your recklessness…" Miyuki sighed tiredly.

"Well, that, and the fact that I caused such a strong hostility trauma to him during Sado Invasion." Shu admitted.

Miyuki adopted a disagreeing look. "It's not your fault. Anyone would have done the same thing that you did."

"Despite that fact, I am still at fault for killing his comrades in front of him." Shu sighed

"Did you just regret your decision?" Miyuki replied in slight disbelief.

Shu blinked comically. "No, of course not. I admit the fault, but I don't really care if I killed them. Only the fact that I did it in front of Ichijou caused me some setback, that's all."

Miyuki facepalmed softly but with an amused smile on her face. "You and your antics…" She giggled slightly.

"There, feel better now?" Shu smiled as his girlfriend got her cheerful-self back.

"Yeah… but I really want to give… Ichijou-san a piece of my mind…" Miyuki commented.

"Don't bother." Shu gripped her shoulders softly. "You must focus on the incoming match, you hear? He already received a payback as wounds of his own."

Miyuki sighed slightly. "I see…"

"Good. Now go do your brother proud." Shu commented.

"Won't you also be proud of me?" Miyuki pouted as she followed him towards the main meeting area.

Miyuki squeak slightly as Shu stopped abruptly, causing the Snow Princess to bumped into his back.

"I already am proud of you, since that day we fought on the temple grounds." Shu muttered.

"Eh?"

The man turned around briefly and stared into the eyes of the one of the few persons he will ever care about. Miyuki shifted nervously in embarrassment, but the smile on her face said only one thing, pure happiness.

Their "sappy" moments, according to someone, were cut short however with a loud cough.

"This is not the correct time nor place, you lovebirds."

Both Shu and Miyuki turned towards the interferer, the slightly bandaged Watanabe Mari, who crossed her arms with slight displeased expression. People all around them were also staring with mostly tired or annoyed looks while others were filled with jealousy. In the spectating crowds were also Tatsuya, who was half-smiling at the scene, and the ever-so smiling Mayumi, who sported a considerable blush on her face along with hypnotized dreamy expression.

Shu deadpanned while muttered something incomprehensible under his breath as Miyuki blushed before she fastened her steps towards the chuckling Tatsuya for pre-match checkups.

"You are getting quite close to him, Miyuki. When should I expect the wedding invitation?" Tatsuya teased emotionlessly as he ran checkups on her CAD.

"Onii-sama!" Miyuki slapped Tatsuya playfully on the arm causing most of the people to chuckle at their interactions.

"You also, Shirakawa. You know better that this is not the time and place for your love life." Mari scolded slightly.

"I don't see the harm of such actions, Chief" Shu shrugged while sarcastically emphasized Mari's title. "Although, I'd say that the jealous expression of some "people" here makes it quite amusing." He gestured towards the Public Morals Committee Chief with the usual annoying smirk.

Mayumi giggled as she saw Mari's hands shook with fury while tick marks made its presence on her head.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya rechecked Miyuki's CAD to make sure everything is in place before handed it back to its user.

"Everything is in place, Miyuki." Tatsuya commented.

"Thank you very much, Onii-sama." Miyuki accepted smilingly.

"Don't get nervous and do your best, me and that guy will be watching." Tatsuya pointed at Shu, who rolled his eyes slightly before nodded with a smile of his own.

"Hai!" Miyuki answered with enthusiasm.

"Welcome to the continuation of Women's Ice Pillar Break Competition! Today, we have a stunning match between First and Fourth High, both talented and captivating competitors!"

The crowd roared in response as most people desired to see the famous Snow Queen, Shiba Miyuki, in action.

Most of the Student Council and staff members including Tatsuya and Shu were watching from the observation room from above.

"From Fourth High, Ayaka Shimizu!"

The platform on one side slowly ascended upwards as the feminine figure was seen by all. She was wearing a tomboyish-looking pink sports uniform with a red cap as a finishing touch, which gave her the baseball-pro looks. The crowds, especially from Fourth High cheered loudly for their player.

"From First High, Miyuki Shiba!"

The opposite platform followed the first one, which slowly revealed the petite yet beautiful form of Miyuki Shiba. She wore a delicate white-scarlet dress which resembled a Miko, Japanese Shrine Priestess, with small flowers on the right of her waist as a small finishing touch of decoration. The crowds basically exploded from two sides, either stunned by the beauty of the Snow Princess or eager to see her in action.

Shu sighed. "As much as I like what I am seeing, I don't see the point of dressing up for such event."

"Jealous now, aren't you?" Tatsuya said emotionlessly.

People in the observation room quieted down slightly since they also felt eager to hear Shu's answer.

"Hn." Shu scoffed.

Tatsuya shook his head with a tired smirk. Sometimes he was just able to read the Cosmic Horror like an open book.

Down on the field, Miyuki looked up and successfully searched for Tatsuya's and Shu's whereabouts. Both of the men nodded, signaling that they were rooting for her. She flashed both of them a brief smile as the sound of countdown started.

Beep!

Ayaka, the Fourth High player, got into her stance.

Beep!

Miyuki concentrated on her breathing as her Psion output steadily increased throughout.

Bang!

Miyuki immediately casted specific spells onto the opponent's and her own field simultaneously, causing sudden wave of immense heat to surgically radiated on the Fourth High field. The thermal energies and heat from her field acted as additional fuel to the great conflagration on her opposition's as ice and eventually heavy snow rapidly formed above her own.

"What the-!" Ayaka trembled backwards as the explosion of such caliber instantly washed over her senses. She could feel the immense heat constantly scorching from her skin, even from such distance away.

"I-Impossible… redirecting thermal energies with Oscillation Magic in such a short time!" Ayaka muttered in disbelief as she tried to counteract the on-going attack with Convergence Magic by attempting to isolate the heated vapor and ignited molecules away from her ice pillars.

Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain…

"That's… Inferno…" Mari commented in awe since she herself could not even able to use it properly.

"Not only that… she managed to utilized the heat energy from her field to keep Inferno empoweredwhile effectively decreasing temperature on her own…" Mayumi commented.

Tatsuya observed the scene as carefully as he could since he felt something indescribable aura radiated from his sister. Almost instantly, he noticed that Miyuki's eyes were slightly gleaming in bright azure as Psion thickly enveloped her body despite most people's inability to see, let alone sense it.

"This…" Tatsuya muttered as he turned towards his friend.

"This is but a mere fraction of her power." Shu responded. "An insignificant drop of her true power… she will completely dwarf us in terms of power and talents soon."

"Her powers are growing way too quickly." Tatsuya said in weariness.

Shu chuckled. "Don't worry, even I did fine. For her, it would be as simple as a walk in the park."

"An assurance from you, especially the part that you did "fine" made me even more worried." Tatsuya's eyes twitched.

The insane man rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, overly attached sis-con."

Tatsuya spluttered slightly as Mayumi, even Mari laughed at the insult.

As much as the people in the observing room conversed, they were pulled back onto the match in front of them as they started to felt the temperature from the ongoing match affect them despite being behind Miyuki's field.

"Dammit!" Ayaka, as fast as she could, tapped her fingers on her wristband CAD but to no avail. She failed to gather her concentration, which caused her inability to establish her desired spells.

Miyuki took this time to her advantage, hastily increased the pressure within her opponent's field before ruthlessly sucked away the heat causing immediate cold effect. The instant shift of two unnatural contrast temperature caused extreme explosive phenomenon.

All the spectators, even the Fourth High player herself had to squint their eyes as abnormal flash of explosion echoed throughout the arena. The shockwave of the explosion rang out violently and indiscriminatingly, effectively knocked most spectators out of their seats. The white fog produced from the sudden blast slowly dissipated away, showing audiences the aftermath of the match.

The total destruction of Ayaka Shimizu's field…

Winner! Miyuki Shiba!

The crowds roared for the younger Shiba's performance. Ayaka slumped down on her knees in disbelief as she simply and easily got wiped by Miyuki.

The Snow Princess bowed slightly to her opponent, decided to not show pity in her eyes since it would just be an insult to the Fourth High. Her platform started to descend amongst the huge cheers of the spectators.

"Nice work, Miyuki."

"Thank you, Onii-sama!"

After the match, Miyuki rejoined the crew in the observatory room. She received a lot of praises, especially from Mayumi regarding the fact that she was able to pull off two of the most difficult spells that normal magicians had a lot of hard time using, let alone control.

"I'm pretty sure you just made yourself into my never-piss-them-off list."

Miyuki turned towards the approaching Shirakawa before playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Shut it mister, I'm pretty sure I'm always on that list." Miyuki deadpanned jokingly.

Shu laughed as he patted Miyuki on the head. "Well done, now I'm really looking forward to spar with you."

"And I will make sure to give you a run for your money." She declared confidently with a smile as she leaned towards the patting like a cat.

"Ho! Confident now aren't we, Ms. Ice Cream." Shu smirked with amusement. "I suppose I should get ready for my match."

Miyuki leaned forward and gave the last Shirakawa a hug. "Good luck, Mr. Show-off." She giggled softly.

"Thanks, Mrs. Shirakawa."

Miyuki, with a sizable blush, attempted to slap the man one more time, but the mischievous laughingly dodged the strike while exited the observatory room. Mari sighed for the umpteenth time at the two interactions but decided to stay quiet.

"So, when will I receive the wedding invitation?" Tatsuya smirked slightly.

"Onii-sama!" Miyuki face gone into a deep shade of crimson.

Safe to say, many people got a good laugh, especially Mayumi and Tatsuya, at Miyuki's expense and embarrassment.

Location: Chinatown, Yokohama

Since the Nine School Competition was being broadcasted throughout the country, it was quite expected that the criminal organization behind multiple sabotages in the competition was observing the match, particularly the Ice Pillar Break match between Shu Shirakawa against Kazama Kenshiro of Sixth High.

"He is extremely powerful indeed. Boss would not be happy if we fail." An executive grimaced.

The fat-looking man sighed. "The preparation is already made. Despite being the Cosmic Horror himself, I'm pretty sure he would have to comply with the… agreement that we will propose to him." He smirked.

"Don't underestimate him." The well-built man warned. "We all know what happened to anyone who crosses him. None of them end pretty."

The fat man scoffed. "Every man has his weakness, and we definitely found his."

A single screen popped up in front of the No Head Dragon Executives. It was a picture of the Cosmic Horror himself along with another person, a beautiful young girl with black hair, both of them were smiling to one another while walking from shop to shop in Tokyo's shopping district.

"Send out the team. Prepare for the operation. It must succeed at all costs."

At the command of the head executive, multiple teams of people, wearing black suits and sunglasses, exited the room in an extremely accurate formation.

Unfortunately, all of them failed to realize… that, in this context, they were playing with something that human comprehension could not come close to match nor understand…

That crossing the Cosmic Horror will also awaken another monster.

End of Chapter 14