This chapter is updated by Novels.pl
August 11th, AD 2092 / Okinawa - Airforce base ~ Villa
The two days after that passed by normally.
That person followed me around as always, and I treated him the same as always. I thought I’d try being nicer to my brother. —No, I still think so.
I thought that if I did so, something might be changed.
But it only served as a constant reminder that habits, once ingrained, cannot be so easily corrected.
Yesterday, and the day before, I again as always, treated him selfishly. There are seven days left of our two week vacation. In those seven days, I will most likely treat him the same again and again. I cannot overcome myself.
……If it were one week ago, I wouldn’t even have noticed.
Just what is happening to me?
I don’t understand myself. I don’t understand what it is I desire.
In a state of melancholy, I supposed I had to pass this day as well with such thoughts clouding my mind.
But, happily — saying so may be far too impudent, yet it seemed that would no longer be the case — I no longer have the luxury of such thoughts.
Just as I was finishing breakfast, emergency alerts started blaring from all the devices and equipment around.
The ones issuing the alarm were the armed forces.
In other words, an attack by a foreign power.
I stared intently at the screen, as if to devour it.
"An invasion is underway from the West sea."
"There has been no declaration of war."
"The attack force is a fleet of ballistic missile submarines."
"Currently, they are semi-submerged and are attacking the Kerama Islands."
At that flood of unfamiliar words, panic threatened to overwhelm me. The only words which stuck were ‘ballistic missile submarine’. Was the submarine we encountered on our cruise a harbinger of this event?
"Please allow me to convey this to Maya-sama as soon as possible!" Sakurai-san could not hide her impatience as she made her request. "Yes, please do."
And as she nodded, neither could Okaa-sama hide her nervousness. I thought, no wonder.
I myself certainly hadn’t considered that we’d suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a war with no warning.
The TV anchor from earlier was making repeated calls for everyone to ‘please stay calm’, although he himself didn’t exactly look like a figure of composure either.
Of course. Saying something like ‘don’t panic’ in a situation like this is far more ludicrous.
The reason I wasn’t truly panicking was because I simply didn’t have that sense of reality. I think I saw everything as if it were someone else's problem, and kept myself in a sort of escapism.
But……what about this person?
My brother, reading in silence from a small terminal rapidly scrolling with data far more detailed than the TV reports, seemed to have misplaced his human emotions such as agitation and tension elsewhere.
In a calm atmosphere, seeming as if considering all this a mere intellectual exercise, if someone had called him a complex android I might have even been inclined to agree with them.
Does my brother not feel that this is really happening, the same as me? Or does he really, simply not feel anything at all?
As I stared, my brother made an ‘oh?’ face.
Just as I was thinking "what is it?", my brother took a communication terminal out from the breast pocket of his summer jacket.
"Yes, this is Shiba……no, I should be thanking you for the other day……to the base, you say?"
From his response, I guessed that the ones on the line must be our recent acquaintances from the Defense Forces, the Captain and his squad. But the base should be in a state of war at the moment, what could it possibly be?
"I appreciate the offer, but……no……yes, I’ll try talking with my mother…… alright, I’ll contact you later."
As he finished the call, it was no longer just me staring at my brother.
Turning to Okaa-sama who was seated on the couch, my brother stood up and bowed.
"Madam."
Facing his real mother, that person addressed her so.
Why, at such a time, does that pain come back to me, as if it was squeezing my heart?
This pain which I had never felt before one week ago.
"We have received an offer from Captain Kazama at Onna Air Force base, to shelter in the base."
"Eh!?"
Involuntarily, I let out a sound.
He’s only met us twice, and only one of them really counts as a meeting, so why……?
Unbelievable things were piling up one after the other such that my emotions were almost saturated, but the surprises didn’t stop there.
"Madam."
Sakurai-san held out a cordless voice communication unit, a so called ‘handset’. "It’s a call from Maya-sama."
This time not even an ‘eh’ came out. A call from Aunt?
To Okaa-sama?
Okaa-sama and Aunt are twins, and generally speaking it’s not too unusual for them to converse, but……it is an open secret amongst the Yotsuba that Okaa-sama and Aunt don’t really get along well.
They don’t openly come to blows, but their relationship is somewhat like the Cold War.
Which was why just earlier, without even Okaa-sama contacting her……
Before my eyes, a different sort of nervousness appearing on her face, Okaa-sama took the headset.
"Hello, Maya? ……Yes, it’s me. ……I see. I guess you’ve been using your influence…… But, wouldn’t moving be dangerous? ……I suppose……alright.
Thanks."
After she finished talking, Okaa-sama handed the headset back to Sakurai-san. "Madam. What did Maya-sama have to say?"
Taking the headset, Sakurai-san asked that natural question. "She has arranged for us to shelter with the Defense Forces."
"Then, the call Tatsuya-kun received just now."
"That would be it, it seems."
"But, wouldn’t moving be dangerous?"
"That's what I said, but,"
……Why? Wouldn’t a military shelter be sturdier and safer than a private one?
"Although we are not in an official state of hostilities, against an opponent who would launch a surprise attack like this, expecting them to comply with all the rules of war would be too much of a leap of faith."
"That……I guess so……"
Seeing Okaa-sama and Sakurai-san, then my brother’s grim expression, it’s like I’m the only one who doesn’t understand the situation. Asking them to explain everything bit by bit would be demeaning however……I guess I’ll just keep quiet for now.
"Although it wouldn’t have been too difficult, she did make the effort, so let’s try doing as Maya says. Tatsuya."
"Yes."
My brother, who had been left standing all the while, reacted with a snap. ……
Since the person himself wasn’t making a dissatisfied face, surely there was no reason for me to be feeling this.
"Contact the Captain and tell him, we accept. Also, request a pickup if possible."
"Certainly."
It almost seemed to me as if everything petty was being pushed onto my brother, but, I’m sure that was just me overthinking things.
Somehow, I had predicted this.
The soldier who came to take us to the base, was none other than Lance Corporal Joseph Higaki.
"Tatsuya, sorry to keep ya waiting!"
"Joe, thanks for coming all this way."
"C’mon man, there’s no need to be so formal." Lance Corporal Higaki gave a bright cheerful smile.
My brother in contrast looked slightly reserved, but was still far more expressive than usual.
No matter how you look at it, the attitude he directed to this Lance Corporal whom we had just recently met was far friendlier than that he ever had towards our family.
Okaa-sama’s furrowed brow was no doubt in disapproval towards this rude behavior.
It couldn’t possibly be that she was displeased that my brother would open up more to others than his own relatives right?
Whether noticing Okaa-sama’s displeased expression, or Sakurai-san’s impatient manner, Lance Corporal Higaki stowed the familiar attitude and, snapping to attention, gave a salute.
"By order of Captain Kazama, I am here to pick you up!"
"Thank you for your efforts. Please take us there."
"Ma’am!"
As the Lance Corporal delivered his message in a somewhat more enthusiastic manner than strictly necessary, Sakurai-san replied with a bit of a wince.
Lance Corporal Higaki showed no sign of noticing.
……Truth be told I had wished I were more worried earlier, but now I was able to at least understand a bit better why they were concerned about getting to the base.
The roads were flooded with evacuating civilians, the blaring of the stuck military vehicle’s horn lost amidst the crucible of chaos — was a scene I didn’t see.
As if the island were quietly holding its breath, the only vehicles on the roads were dark toned military ones.
The atmosphere, rather than a state of alarm, seemed more like a state of martial law. —Although I’ve only ever seen both in videos before, so I don’t exactly know the truth.
Riding in a Defense Forces car, without once being stopped at a checkpoint, without once coming under attack from an enemy, we reached the base uneventfully.
An hour had already passed since the attack began, and despite being taken by complete surprise by the yet unidentified enemy, the Navy and Air Force seemed to be managing to hold them off at the shore.
Unless you had intel from the actual island in question, you’d have no way of knowing anything was actually happening and simply have to take the military’s word for it.
Surprisingly, we weren’t the only civilians who had been evacuated to the base.
Although it wasn’t quite in the hundreds, the number of people here seemed pretty close.
In addition to us, five other civilians had been guided to this underground shelter.
It’s none of my business, but I can’t help wondering that considering the threat of enemy attack, is it really okay to invite such a large number of unrelated and useless people?
Perhaps, even we—even I, will end up having to fight.
I cannot just rely on Sakurai-san. Okaa-sama was seated on a couch, still recovering. And it will be Sakurai-san’s duty to defend her.
Until today I have never had the experience of battle, but my combat magic abilities have been judged to be no less than those of a grown magician.
That was Sakurai-san’s judgement, so it’s reliable enough.
Yet that alone wasn’t enough to dispel my anxieties, and I glanced over subtly at the neighboring seat.
My brother had sat down on the chair next to mine.
Normally he’d always stand just a bit aside or behind me, but now we were sitting next to each other so as to not draw any attention.
In his breast pocket, two CADs were hidden and ready for use at any time.
I’m unsure if this person has anything which could be considered ‘combat experience’ either, but unlike me, he has plenty of experience killing people.
It wasn’t some paltry number like five or ten either.
I had not verified such scenes with my own eyes, but since there’s no benefit in lying to me about it, it’s definitely the truth.
In support of that experience, my brother maintained perfect composure. His eyes didn’t wander nervously, nor did his body tremble.
Looking at my brother, my anxiety melted away just a little. Once more……thinking that, I looked over again.
For some reason, our eyes met. Eh? Eh? Wha? Why?
"Are you alright, Miyuki?" ……!
As agreed three days ago, that person called me ‘Miyuki’. Unlike that time, not pretend-friendly, but a soft, gentle voice. "I’m right here."
……That’s, cheating……!
I don’t know what expression I should make.
I don’t know what expression I’m making right now.
Hey! Get a grip me! This is just the suspension bridge effect*! Like a horror house! Stockholm syndrome…
…Is somewhat different from this situation, but anyway, it’s all in my head! Seriously, now of all times, hitting on your actual sister is way too inappropriate!
He himself probably had no such intention, but that’s totally irrelevant, no rather, that’s just infuriating!
I glared at my brother.
Doing so, my brother abruptly rose from his chair. Eh? Was I really, making such an unpleasant face?
—Actually, as if not allowing my idealistic naivety to proceed any further, events were proceeding at a rapid pace. I found that out soon enough.
◊ ◊ ◊
It wasn’t just my brother who had suddenly stood up. One breath later, Sakurai-san also knocked aside her chair.
The strangers seated with us, wearing startled expressions, stared at Sakurai-san and that person.
"Tatsuya-kun, that was……"
"Sakurai-san, you heard it as well?"
"Then, there really were gunshots……!"
"It wasn’t a pistol but full auto, probably an assault rifle." ……Eh? That means, the enemy is here!?
Why?
Isn’t this place right in the heart of a military base? "Do you know the situation?"
"No, from here is……the walls of this room appear to block magic."
"Yes……it seems, a traditional barrier magic has been erected. Not just this room, but the entire building has been covered to prevent magical reconnaissance."
"We can still use magic just fine within the room however."
Sakurai-san showed agreement to my brother’s words. I had had no idea……
"Hey, y-you guys are magicians?"
Unexpectedly, a man sitting a little apart from us called out to Sakurai-san and my brother. He wore well cut clothes, and appeared to be a man of status. The ones sitting with him were likely his family.
"Yes?"
At that sudden voice, Sakurai-san answered in a dubious tone. The man continued in a rather pompous manner, although I think it was mainly bravado.
"Then, have a look at what’s going on." ……The heck?
It’s like he’s talking to some employees. That’s so……!
"……We are unaffiliated with the base."
Sakurai-san also replied in an offended tone.
Under duress it seems one’s true nature shows itself, but there is no obligation to engage with total strangers, especially ones who hold no interest to you, she was probably thinking.
However, Sakurai-san’s natural point was lost on this man. "That’s irrelevant. You lot are magicians right?"
"Yes, I said we were."
This man wasn’t even listening to Sakurai-san’s words. "Then isn’t it your natural obligation to serve humans?" ……!
No way, for people to still say such things with such cold conviction……
Not to mention, right to a magician’s face……!
"Did you really mean that?"
Menace crept into Sakurai-san’s voice. Her eyes were already narrowed. Even that man flinched slightly, but his rant didn’t stop.
"I-In the first place, magicians are ‘things’ created to serve ‘people’. So it shouldn’t matter whether you’re military or not."
My shock and anger were too strong for words. This man had just uttered the unspeakable.
But the sad truth is, there are still numerous non-magicians who think such things. "I see, yet even assuming that we are indeed created existences."
Replying in my place was my brother who had until now let Sakurai-san do the speaking.
His tone was neither upset nor angry, but merely cold and cynical.
"We are under no obligation to serve you."
"Wha!?"
"Magicians, as existences who serve society and public order, are not required to follow the whims of one unknown individual."
To serve society and public order is a phrase in the ‘Charter of the International Association of Magic’ well known even to non-magicians. Of course, this man likely knows it as well.
"Y-You impertinent child!" Hence this reaction.
That man yelled red faced at my brother.
Looking at my brother’s eyes, they were filled with contempt and pity.
"Honestly……as an adult, aren’t you ashamed to act like that in front of your children?"
Although they had used the same word ‘child’, the meaning was completely different.
The unknown man looked back at his family with a start. His family was looking back at him.
His own children, seeing his childish outburst, stared at him in contempt. To the trembling man’s back, my brother delivered the coup de grâce.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something……in this country, more than 80% of magicians came about through lineage and ancestry. Even including partial treatment, the number of biologically ‘made’ magicians does not even reach 20%."
"Tatsuya."
Bringing matters to a close was Okaa-sama. She most likely didn’t have any such intentions though.
Speaking in a languid voice from the sofa, Okaa-sama called my brother’s name. My brother took his eyes off the trembling man’s back.
"What is it?"
"Go see and report on the situation outside."
As usual, my mother gave instructions in an indifferent tone. But unusually, my brother frowned.
"……More so than knowing the situation outside is the possibility that harm may befall you in here. In my current state, I cannot protect Miyuki from a remote location."
"Miyuki?"
In a cold voice, Okaa-sama cut through my brother’s objections. Her eyes, frigid, narrowed.
"Tatsuya, do you remember your place?"
Only her tone remained courteous; her voice trembled along with her back. My brother called me Miyuki, because I had wished it. Yet hearing Okaa-sama’s soft imperative voice, I couldn’t even speak up in his defense.
"—My apologies."
My brother apologised with a word, and didn’t speak up any more. "……Tatsuya-kun, leave this place to me."
Breaking into that awkward atmosphere, Sakurai-san spoke up. Losing interest, Okaa-sama looked away.
"Understood. I’m going."
Bowing in Okaa-sama’s direction, he left the room.
Neither my brother, nor Okaa-sama, so much as spared one glance at the man’s family as they looked on with frightened eyes.
I can hear sounds like firecrackers coming from outside.
Of course, there’s no way they’re having a festival out there. The sound of shooting is audible even to me now.
And it’s not just gunshots which are getting closer.
A number of footsteps approached the room, and stopped outside. Sakurai-san stepped in front of Okaa-sama and me.
Her bracelet CAD was charged with psions, ready to deploy magic immediately.
It’s difficult to maintain a ready state for a prolonged period of time like this; Sakurai-san’s technique really is quite something.
I can only see her back, but she was probably glaring sharply at the door. "Excuse me! I am PFC Kinjou, Airborne second squad!"
Although maintaining her alert state, I could tell Sakurai-san’s tension decreased slightly. I was also relieved to hear voices on the other side of the door.
It seems like they’re soldiers from the base.
Standing behind the door when it opened were four young soldiers. They all seemed to be second generation Left Bloods, but I wasn’t particularly concerned. It was just the nature of the base’s locality.
Their machine guns being tinged with heat was probably a result of rushing here whilst exchanging gunfire with the enemy.
"We are here to take you to an underground shelter. Everyone, please follow us."
They were expected words, yet I hesitated. If I leave now, I’ll become separated from my brother.
"I’m sorry, but one of us went out to see the situation outside." Before I could speak, Sakurai-san talked to PFC Kinjou.
Sure enough, the PFC frowned.
"But enemy forces have penetrated deep inside the base. It’s dangerous to remain here."
To some extent, this was expected as well.
"Then, please feel free to take just those people along for now." However, Okaa-sama’s words were completely unexpected.
"I will not simply abandon my son." Sakurai-san and I exchanged a silent glance.
Although her words are completely natural if you think about it, a sense of discomfort remained.
"But……"
"You, Kinjou-kun was it. Please go ahead and take those people along, we will remain here."
The man from earlier came forwards to see what was going on, and the four soldiers, now looking grim, began talking to each other in undertones.
"……About Tatsuya-kun, couldn’t we contact Captain Kazama later and get him to meet up with us?"
In that gap, Sakurai-san spoke to Okaa-sama in a low voice. "I’m not worried about Tatsuya. That was just for face." Okaa-sama’s reply was returned under her breath.
I was forced to spend great effort to prevent my knees from knocking together. Why does Okaa-sama, to her true son, act so indifferently……?
"Then why?"
"Intuition."
"Intuition, you say?"
"Yes. Intuition that these people are not to be trusted." In an instant, Sakurai-san’s alertness flared to the max. I also forgot all my grievances.
Setting her apart from others, earning her the name Ruler of the River of
Oblivion'Mistress of Lethe', Okaa-sama’s ‘intuition’.
Okaa-sama’s specialty magic lies not in perception nor prediction magic, but is a mental interference magic, and as ‘mental’ magic users are hypothesised to be closely linked with the ‘Akashic Record’, they possess exceedingly insightful intuition……although there are exceptions, such as me.
At that time, the four soldiers also finished their consultation.
"We are very sorry, but we cannot leave you in this room. Please act responsibly, and come with us."
The words were the same as before.
But, the feeling that their attitude has suddenly become threatening, is surely just my preconception right?
"Dick!"
A new character brought rapid developments to the scene.
PFC Kinjou, upon hearing that voice, immediately opened fire on the speaker, Lance Corporal Higaki.
There are no windows in the corridor walls so I cannot tell if he was hit, but it was certain that the voice just now had been Lance Corporal Higaki, and it was also certain that PFC Kinjou had been firing at him.
The man’s family began to scream.
PFC Kinjou’s companions advanced into the room, their muzzles aimed.
Sakurai-san immediately began an activation sequence, but a ‘noise’ suddenly filled my head, like scratching glass, and the magic formula’s construction faltered.
This is, a Psion wave? Cast Jamming!?
Holding my ears and turning around, I saw that one of the four wore a brass ring. Okaa-sama was clutching her chest and slumping over!
This is bad……!
From the start, Okaa-sama had extreme sensitivity to Psions. In addition, she was no longer young, and her Psion wave resistance had fallen as of late.
The Psion waves from Cast Jamming now adversely affected her body as well. I have to stop it!
"Dick! Al! Mark! Ben! Why?"
My palms still held to my ears, I heard Lance Corporal Higaki’s voice faintly. Thank goodness, so he wasn’t hit……
"Why are you betraying us?!"
"Joe, rather, why are you so loyal to Japan!"
Between single shots—so machine guns can fire single shots as well I thought, although honestly I could care less right now—PFC Kinjou bellowed in return.
"Have you lost it, Dick! Isn’t Japan our homeland!"
"Look at how Japan has treated us! Even though we joined the army, even though we worked for the sake of Japan, we’re still just ‘Left Blood’s to them! We’re outsiders, no matter how much time passes!"
"You’re wrong! Dick, that’s just what you think! Our parents were unquestionably foreigners. Compared to the guys who have lived here for generations, it’s natural for them to treat us a bit like strangers! And yet the military! The unit! Our superiors and our comrades, treat us as brothers! Accepted us as friends!"
"Joe, that’s because you’re a magician! Because they see value in you, the military guys show you a good face!"
"Dick, are you really saying such a thing? Are you really saying that as a Left Blood you’re treated as an outsider, and as a magician I live a separate existence from you guys? Am I not your comrade, Dick!"
The sound of gunshots faltered.
And, the Cast Jamming Psion wave weakened. A chance!
Judging from this instability, the Antinite user is a non-magician without a magic field. Just because you‘re pushing a bunch of Psions, and are using a general form of Cast Jamming you can’t even control properly, thinking you can keep me, the candidate for the next Yotsuba head, down forever is a big mistake!
I cannot use a CAD. The time taken to initiate an activation sequence would be too much.
The only magic I can use then, is that.
The mental interference magic I inherited from Okaa-sama.
It’s different from Okaa-sama’s magic, which interferes with mental structure, but like Okaa-sama’s magic, it acts upon the target’s mind.
It’s a magic which freezes their soul.
So as to not involve unrelated people in the effect, I took aim only at the one wearing the Antinite ring—
And activated my mental freeze magic, ‘Cocytus’.
The Cast Jamming stopped.
I knew that the person had ‘stopped’ as well.
He was the third human I had ‘stopped’ in this manner.
They aren’t killed, but that which is frozen will never again melt, that which is stilled will never again move; the same as death.
To hold back my guilt, I ground my teeth together. In doing so, valuable time was lost.
That was my weakness.
So therefore, this result was well deserved. I knew he wasn’t alone.
I knew there were numerous muzzles pointed in our direction.
As Sakurai-san activated her magic, those triggers were pulled at the same time. The magic Sakurai-san had been forming dissipated with no effect.
One sweep of those machine guns drilled me, and Okaa-sama, and Sakurai-san, full of holes.
The places I’m hit are,
Not so much painful as,
Hot.
My whole body is,
Cold.
I understood that flowing out of me was not only my blood, but also my life. I am, going to die……
I had always thought that when you die you’re supposed to feel things like regret or attachment, but surprisingly I can’t think of anything.
If I could have just one regret, it would be, that I had wanted to apologise to that person properly.
If I didn’t exist, that person could have lived a more normal life. He could have been free.
I’m sorry, Nii-san.
I’m so sorry, Onii-sa……
"Miyuki!"
I’m hearing things.
I’m thinking about my brother, so my mind conveniently fabricates my brother’s voice for me, I thought.
I mean, there’s no way my brother would call my name with so much emotion, in such a desperate voice.
As if he didn't want me to go.
I fluttered my eyelids open with difficulty, and greeting me was the sight of an overcast sky, disappeared walls, rebels nowhere to be seen, and, my brother, with his left hand stretched out towards me.
An overwhelming ‘something’ was released from my brother’s left hand.
It covered my dying body, easily penetrated my barrier of Data Fortification, and flowed into me.
My brother’s ‘heart’ enveloped me.
I could think of no other way to describe it.
It read my body’s everything, and remade everything anew. My body, ‘me’ myself, was being recreated.
By my brother’s will, by my brother’s strength.
Merely calling it magic could not describe its power, its exquisiteness, and its audacity yet delicacy.
No, without a doubt, this is ‘magic’.
This is something truly worthy of the appellation ‘magic’.
I felt like I could see the God of Death, in the distance, turning away. Absolutely helpless and seeming rather vexed.
Of course, that must have been a hallucination.
The God of Death in my hallucination seemed rather human, and without thinking, I gave a little laugh.
There was no longer any sensation of blood welling up in my throat at all. "Miyuki, are you alright!?"
My brother’s anxious face filled my now clear field of view.
This is the first time I’ve seen such raw emotion on this person’s face. "Onii-sama……"
For some reason, that word passed smoothly through my lips.
There was no feel of stuttering at all. "Thank goodness……!"
It's fine to tremble.
It's fine to get flustered even more.
I mean, that person is tightly and firmly embracing me.
—But I shamelessly felt that being in Onii-sama's arms was where I belonged, as if this were only natural.
That must be why, when Onii-sama embraced me, I had reflexively grabbed the hem of his shirt.
Onii-sama looked at me with wide open eyes, then softening them, stroked my head.
"Ah......"
Without thinking, my voice leaked out.
In response Onii-sama gave a decidedly teasing smile, then looked away as if embarrassed— his face tightened.
He was expressionless not in the sense of lacking emotion, but in the sense that he seemed to be fully concentrating on something.
As if he were desperately remembering something.
In his line of sight were, even now on death's door, the profiles of Okaa-sama and Sakurai-san.
"Onii-sama!"
Without answering my call, or perhaps his focus was such that he couldn't even afford to do so, Onii-sama pulled out a CAD with his left hand.
An utterly incredible torrent of Psions stirred in Onii-sama's body.
Onii-sama was constructing a vast Psion Information Aide capable of holding unbelievable amounts of data.
His index finger pulled the trigger of his CAD.
It seemed as if Okaa-sama's body was being sucked into Onii-sama's left hand. That was an illusion of course.
I don't know what he's doing, but I do know what's happening.
I could guess correctly, because the exact same thing had happened to me.
Onii-sama took all the data configuring Okaa-sama's body, copied it into his magic processing area, and after processing overwrote Okaa-sama's physical information.
The gunshot wounds disappeared.
The blood splattering the floor and soaking her clothes disappeared. In a rush, I ran up to Okaa-sama's fallen body.
Although pale, sure enough, she was breathing.
The same state as just before she was shot......
No, this is......
Making it as if she were never shot in the first place?
Onii-sama pointed the CAD in his left hand towards Sakurai-san.
In a speed incomparable with Okaa-sama's turn, he quickly and smoothly completed the Psion Information Aide.
Is he getting used to it......
?
After just three tries, Onii-sama has already mastered this ultra-high level magic capable of completely restoring a person's body!
I trembled in awe, yet at the same time my heart coolly regarded this as only natural.
—I mean, this person is my Onii-sama after all—
My chest was full of pride.
All of my ignorant foolishness, scattered to the winds.
With a face saying 'I don't believe it', Sakurai-san looked down at her own body. Okaa-sama had not awoken, but her breathing was stable. She hadn't fainted but was rather merely sleeping so there was no pressing worry, said the Army surgeon who had hurried over, and I gave a sigh of relief.
"I am sorry. For an uprising to happen here is completely my fault. This won't be able to change anything, but if there is anything you want, please just say it. As a soldier of the National Defense Force, I will do whatever is within my power."
Onii-sama, next to me, turned to face Captain Kazama.
Seeing the Captain's bowed visage, he said 'please raise your head'.
It seemed the reason Onii-sama had been able to rush over at the very last minute had been thanks to the help of Captain Kazama and Lieutenant Sanada. Those rebels likely intended to kidnap us as hostages, and looking back we had managed to escape that due to Lance Corporal Higaki's intervention. —Their real target had been that man, and we had simply been caught up in the situation. He was an executive in a munitions company, and both him and his family were now guarded in a separate room. That means the military, by having us share a room with that man, were responsible for our deaths. It's also an indisputable fact however that it was thanks to the time Higaki-san bought, that Onii-sama was able to make it in time.
But, if it weren't for Onii-sama's magic, there is no doubt that Okaa-sama, Sakurai- san and I would have died.
Emotionally, this couldn't be overlooked.
"Then first of all, please tell us the exact situation." I didn't intend to demand anything.
I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have allowed Sakurai-san to take the lead either.
Even if Okaa-sama had been awake, in this case I would have had her remain silent.
This is a right for Onii-sama alone.
"Is the enemy the Great Asian Alliance?"
"We have no conclusive evidence yet, but that is most likely the case."
"It's a lie that we've stopped them at the coast, isn't it?"
"That is so. On the West coast of Nagoshi, submerged enemy troops have already made a landing in force."
......Then the submarine that time was in preparation for this?
"The enemy navy holds supremacy over the waters of the Keramas. In addition, from Naha to Nago, guerrillas in collusion with the enemy are disrupting the movement of personnel."
......That sounds pretty bad.
"But all is not lost. The number of guerrillas was not that great from the beginning. Control has been regained in 80% of the areas affected. The internal rebellion in the Army will soon be shut down as well."
"Their purpose of buying time to secure the landings is already done, so their use is at an end. Like tossing a piece of garbage, I believe the Great Asian Alliance couldn't care less about their loss."
At Onii-sama's dispassionate point, Captain Kazama's face twisted sourly.
"Next, please protect my mother, sister, and Sakurai-san in a safe place. If possible, somewhere safer than the shelters."
"......We'll take them to the Air Defense Command and Control Centre. The armour there is twice as thick as the shelters."
......I was scandalised. The Command and Control Centre operated by the military was far better protected than the shelters they had evacuated the civilians to. Then again this is a military base after all, so I guess that's just how things were built.
"Lastly, please lend me an Armour Suit and infantry kit. Well, I say lend, but I won't be able to return the expendable supplies to you."
"......Why?"
I also could not help feeling uneasy about this request. Why, Onii-sama?
And why did you not include yourself in your earlier request?
Looking into Onii-sama's eyes, trying to discern his true intentions, I gasped. Within his eyes,
Making mere rage seem lukewarm, Burned all consuming hellfire.
"They dared to raise their hand against Miyuki. They must reap their just reward."
Amongst all those who heard that voice and felt their blood run cold, for Captain Kazama to keep his complexion unchanged, spoke volumes for his courage.
"Do you intend to go alone?"
"This is not a military operation. This is personal."
"I don't mind that in particular. It is impossible for humans to fight a war separate from emotions. Even a fight for revenge, as long as it is controlled, is no problem."
Onii-sama and Captain Kazama's eyes met. Rather, they were glaring at each other.
"We cannot allow the slaughter of non-combatants and the surrendered, but you have no such intention anyway right?"
"I do not intend to give them the grace of surrender."
"That is fine. Our mission is the repulsion of the invaders or their utter destruction. There is no need to offer surrender."
Captain Kazama is a different kind of person to Onii-sama, but his resolve is not one whit less.
"Shiba Tatsuya-kun. We welcome you to our line of battle." Onii-sama, showed no hint of gratitude.
"I do not intend to follow the command of the army. What I fight for, and what you fight for, are different things. But we share a common enemy, and if we share a common goal of annihilation, then let us fight side by side."
Like a steel edge tempered by a legendary craftsman, the air around Onii-sama was cold, sharp, merciless......
At such an Onii-sama, I could only stare in awe.
"Very well. Sanada, find him an Armour Suit and gear! Airborne, we move in 10!"
"Sakurai-san, please look after my mother and sister."
Standing, Onii-sama said so to Sakurai-san, then without waiting for her reply followed after Lieutenant Sanada.
That time, the faint smile he wore when he looked at me was definitely not an illusion.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Um, are you sure this is alright?"
As I watched my brother's back receding, Sakurai-san stepped up to me and began talking.
"What is it?"
It seems, as if my thought processes had been sabotaged or escaped altogether; I had not moved my attention for a while.
"However skilled Tatsuya-kun is, fighting a war...... Nevermind rushing straight to the front lines, isn't that far too dangerous?"
"!"
Sakurai-san's whisper, rang in my ears like a loud alarm clock.
That's right! What am I spacing out so calmly for? Onii-sama is going to war! "Miyuki-san!?"
Sakurai-san's voice floated behind my back as I ran. Only her voice chased me.
She cannot afford to leave Okaa-sama. I'm sorry.
I apologised to her in my heart.
Leaving Okaa-sama behind is painful, but right now, I have to stop Onii-sama! I ran with that one thought in mind.
Fortunately, he had not yet gone that far ahead, and I caught up to him without getting lost.
"Onii-sama!"
He might not turn around. That fear flashed through my mind but it was a needless worry.
Onii-sama said something quietly to Lieutenant Sanada in front of him, then halted and faced this way.
Sanada-san stopped a while ahead. He probably did so with our consideration in mind.
"Miyuki, what is it?"
At him naturally, in a natural tone calling me 'Miyuki' I began to dreamily glaze over again, but this isn't the time for that.
"Onii-sama, um,"
I suddenly realised that I must not, under any circumstance, begin saying 'please don't go' over and over.
That's far too much like the kind of thing a heroine would say to stop her lover in some romance movie (or novel or manga or whatever) or something.
Not to mention bringing in the whole 'forbidden love between brother and sister' mess.
"Miyuki?"
As I stood suddenly lost for words, Onii-sama looked at me in a puzzled manner. My cheeks must have been bright red.
"......Pl-Please don't go."
Even so, it's not like I can just not say it then. I have to stop him.
"Please don't do something so dangerous as fighting the enemy army. I don't believe there's any need for Onii-sama to do something so risky."
I said it......
!
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I thought 'this should be fine'.
For Onii-sama to shake his head at my words— to shake his head at all, was something I had never once considered.
"Certainly, there's no need. I am not going because there's a need, but because I wish to, Miyuki."
Which was why my brother's reply was such a shock to me.
Shocked at the denial, and shocked at his words almost implying he wanted to kill people.
But my body, rather than trying to distance itself from him, reached out and caught his sleeve.
With a clumsy smile, he took hold of my hand grasping onto his jacket, and gently pulled it away.
"As I said earlier, I am going for revenge against those who have hurt you." Looking into my eyes, Onii-sama's expression was almost embarrassed. "Not for your sake, but for the sake of my own feelings."
While saying so, Onii-sama's pupils...
"If I don't, I won't be able to rest."
Seemed to be telling me that everything was for my sake.
"To me, the only thing I can feel is truly precious is you alone, Miyuki." That wasn't my mistake.
"Sorry for being such a selfish brother." That wasn't my conceit.
Onii-sama softly released my hand, and gave me a laugh while maintaining his somewhat embarrassed expression.
My entire face must have been burning red.
However, recalling something troubling in Onii-sama's words, I furrowed my brow.
"Can feel, is precious......?"
Just now Onii-sama hadn't said 'is precious', but 'can feel is precious' right? It's simply a slight difference in wording, and may not have any particular meaning behind it but......
For some reason, I'm anxious.
As those words subconsciously slipped from my mouth which wasn't even a question, Onii-sama gave a wry smile which seemed to say 'you got me'.
His expression seemed to be laughing, yet crying.
There was nothing like tears, not to mention I have never even once seen Onii- sama cry, yet somehow I could sense that to Onii-sama this was a matter fraught with pain and full of sorrow.
"I am sorry!"
So I apologised. I had vowed that I would cause Onii-sama no more sadness, and yet again I......thinking so, I bowed low.
Two slender hands slipped through and parted my long hair, caressing my cheeks. Onii-sama's hands, slim yet far bigger than mine, strong and firm.
His hands gently lifted my head, and I looked up.
There was no force in them, yet I could never resist. Rather, faster than my head could resist, my body complied with Onii-sama's will.
"No
......I suppose it's about time you knew. If possible, I would have preferred that you never found out but......
As our mother's daughter, and that person's niece, that would have been a fleeting dream in any case."
Onii-sama's words were aimed at me, yet it seemed as if he wasn't talking to me, but reminding himself.
"Onii-sama?"
"There's no time at the moment, and I don't believe this is something that should be heard from me. So Miyuki, please go and ask our mother. The answer to the questions you have right now."
"From Okaa-sama......?"
To me without time to collect my uncertainties, simply blankly repeating his words back at him, Onii-sama gave one more smile, this time strong.
"Miyuki, don't worry. You are the one thing precious to me. Therefore, in order to continue protecting you in the future, I will definitely come back safe."
There was no deceit in Onii-sama's words. There was no sense of comforting.
"I'll be alright."
Sheathing his smile and tightening his expression, his gaze unwavering, As if it were a true and undeniable fact.
"There is nothing in existence which can hurt me in the truest sense." I believed that there was nothing at all which could harm Onii-sama.
Onii-sama moved his hands from my cheek to my head, and stroked my hair.
He ran his hands over my now slightly messed up hair, laughing all the while, then moved to continue after Lieutenant Sanada.
This time, for real, Onii-sama headed towards the battlefield.
◊ ◊ ◊
Then again, as you'd expect, I had no idea where this Command and Control Centre place was.
I had no choice but to return to that room which has lost its wall. Come to think of it, how did the wall disappear?
Onii-sama and Sakurai-san had said that a barrier which blocked magic had been incorporated, meaning that the chances it had been destroyed by magic were low, yet the cross section was so surgically precise that it was hard to imagine any other way.
Although I'm pretty sure they wouldn't leave me behind, I couldn't help being anxious and returned to the room at a trot.
Ah......
"I'm sorry for having kept you waiting."
First I apologised to Okaa-sama, who greeted me.
As important as it is to recover her strength, there's no way she can simply be carried on a stretcher, so thinking about it, it's only natural that she'd be awoken by some means.
Because of my own selfish discretion and abandonment of Okaa-sama, which resulted in forcing them to wait, I bowed low not to escape her anger, but out of true regret.
"There's no need to apologise, Miyuki-san. You went to stop Tatsuya going off as he pleased, didn't you?"
Okaa-sama answered with a smile. Uu......She's pretty mad......
"So, where did Tatsuya go? I don't see him around."
"That's, um......Onii-sama went to help the military fight the enemy."
"Onii-sama?"
Okaa-sama raised an eyebrow.
Reflexively I thought ‘oh dear’, but I didn’t once think of correcting myself. Okaa-sama didn’t reprove me either.
Instead of blame, she simply gave a long sigh.
"Doing things his own way as usual……that child truly is defective."
Her words weren’t denouncing, they were forsaking. Not resignation, but abandonment.
I didn’t even have to ask who she was talking about. Rather than indignation, I felt appalled.
For a mother to be so utterly indifferent concerning her own son.
"Well, whatever. Things seem to have somehow worked out this time, so let him do as he wants…… Thanks for waiting. Please take us now."
Okaa-sama spoke to the soldier waiting to guide us.
No, things didn’t ‘somehow’ work out.
The only reason I’m alive, the only reason Okaa-sama was saved, was because of Onii-sama.
Yet to that ‘somehow’, I was unable to say a word in dispute.
Entering the Command and Control Centre, we had passed through no less than five blast doors.
On a floor around the size of four classrooms with no windows and no walls connected directly to the outside, around 30 operators sat in front of three rows of consoles in one hall, while opposite the large wall-mounted screen was an entrance leading to eight single mezzanine rooms.
We were lead to one of the single rooms with a glass front.
"I don’t sense any cameras or wiretap surveillance. It seems like this is one of the rooms high level officers and executives in the Ministry of Defense use while on inspection."
After examining the room, Sakurai-san informed Okaa-sama.
I have no idea what she did or how she did it, but her findings are always reliable. That means it’s okay to talk about secrets in here.
"The glass in front isn’t just ordinary glass either. They have the same thing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. It’s capable of projecting anything from the monitors in the Command and Control Centre."
Sakurai said so while watching the desktop monitor and operating the console. "Okaa-sama, there’s something I’d like to ask."
In the meantime, I decided to take the plunge, and ask Okaa-sama about the matter from before.
"Earlier, Onii-sama had said that the only thing which he can consider precious is me, but……when I asked him why he didn’t say ‘is precious’ but rather ‘can feel is precious’, he said I should ask you, so……"
"I see. Tatsuya said that."
Listening to my question with a frown, Okaa-sama said that with a bored expression.
"I suppose it’s about time you knew."
Onii-sama had said the same thing. Just thinking about what this big secret was, I stiffened with tension.
"But, before that……Miyuki-san, stop calling Tatsuya ‘Onii-sama’. I don’t really mind in public places and the like where the presence of others can’t be helped, but when alone with only the Yotsuba, you should not be treating Tatsuya like your brother."
Okaa-sama didn’t reprove me in a strong tone, but was as if simply regaling me with an undeniable truth.
"You are the one who will follow after Maya and become the head of the Yotsuba. If you’re seen depending on the utter failure that is your brother, it could become a huge minus in the future someday."
"That way of speaking is……!"
I instinctively forgot my restraint, and harshly rebuked my mother.
As tense as I was while listening carefully, no matter how much they were Okaa- sama’s words I simply could not let them go unanswered.
"Calling your own child an utter failure like that!"
"I also think it’s unfortunate, but it’s the truth so it can’t be helped."
"That’s wrong! With his power, Onii-sama saved me!"
"That thing earlier? True, if he can’t at least display that level of……still, that is all he can do."
At my heartfelt objection, Okaa-sama answered in a voice colder than I had ever heard up to now.
It was a voice which had abandoned all hope.
"If Tatsuya has told you to come to me, then I don’t particularly mind. Where to begin……"
As my mother remained deep in thought, without warning the window taking the place of an entire wall changed the projected scenery.
The room full of frantically working operators changed to a bird’s-eye view looking down on the earth.
In that view I saw Onii-sama, having just dropped from the sky. I looked over at the one who had brought that up, Sakurai-san. Sakurai-san was wordlessly watching me—watching me and Okaa-sama. That she didn’t intend to speak a word was obvious at a glance.
I also understood that she knew many things that I did not.
—Okaa-sama didn’t so much as glance at the screen now showing Onii-sama. "Tatsuya was born defective as a magician."
Okaa-sama didn’t look at me either.
"It’s not that I feel no responsibility for bearing such a child, but the unchangeable fact was that Tatsuya was a hopeless cause as a magician."
That didn’t mean she had closed her eyes.
"From the time he was born, Tatsuya could use only two types of ‘magic’. Decomposition of Eidos, and reconstruction of Information Bodies. Within the concept of these two categories Tatsuya has devised a variety of techniques he can use, but however far you take them, with just those two, it is impossible to alter Information Bodies as a true magician should."
Her eyes simply stared into nothingness.
"Magic are the techniques which modify Information bodies, and thus change phenomena. However trivial the change is, to be able to make the change at all is magic. But Tatsuya is unable to do that. All he can do is break an Information Body down, and recreate it back in an earlier state. That is not magic in its truest sense. That child, who was born without the talent to use magic in the true sense of the term in altering Information Bodies, is unquestionably a defective magician."
Perhaps, what Okaa-sama was looking into, was her own heart……
"Well, that reconstruction ability did end up saving us, but strictly speaking that power is not ‘magic’."
I did not refute her words. But, I thought.
If that isn’t magic, then just what, should that power be called.
If it is to be given a name other than ‘magic’, then doesn’t that only leave the word ‘miracle’?
"But, we the Yotsuba are magicians who stand amongst the Ten Master Houses, and therefore one who cannot use magic cannot be a Yotsuba. That child, unable to use magic, could not live as one of the Yotsuba. So Maya and I, seven years ago, performed a certain operation on him. Although truth be told, the motivation behind that experiment wasn’t that alone……"
Experiment? Okaa-sama, on Onii-sama?
"The Artificial Magician Plan. A project to implant in the consciousness of a person who isn’t a magician, a man-made magic operation area and thus give him the abilities of a magician."
Artificial Magician Plan. Those words rang ominously in my ears.
"As a result of undergoing that mental reconstruction surgery, that child ended up losing his emotions."
Mental reconstruction surgery? Lost his emotions?"
"No, rather than saying emotions it may be better to say urges. Strong anger, deep sorrow, intense jealousy, grudges, hatred, hungering appetite, sexual lust, blind love. Such ‘beside oneself’ impulses were lost, with one single exception, and in exchange Tatsuya obtained the ability to use magic."
That means……
"Unfortunately, the artificial magic operation area is markedly inferior in performance to that of a natural one, and he could only end up being used as a Guardian."
I won’t believe it, I thought.
There’s no way that could be, I thought.
"The one who performed that ‘surgery’……was it you, Okaa-sama?"
While thinking so, I couldn’t help but ask.
The large ‘window’ now showed Onii-sama, surrounded by well-built adults, making contact with the enemy landing force.
"Who else could do it but me?"
My sincerest wish, that she would deny it, was not to be. I really should have known.
The Magic Operation Area is not a physical area in the cerebrum, but rather is a direct mental function.
Adding an artificial Magic Operation Area would therefore entail altering the mental structure.
That would be impossible without Okaa-sama’s magic, ‘Mental Structure Interference’……
"……Why would you do that?"
"I’ve already told you the reasons. Let’s answer something more important you wish to know."
—Ah, I see……
I’ve also noticed.
I realised.
In that experiment, it was not only Onii-sama who ended up losing some of his emotions.
I don’t know whether it’s a side effect of that magic, a sense of guilt or some other different mental effect but,
For the first time, I felt terror at this thing called ‘magic’.
This ‘magic’, which could so cruelly alter the human heart.
On the screen, Onii-sama pointed a large pistol shaped CAD at the foe. Before him, enemy after enemy faded to dust.
"The one exception that Tatsuya didn’t lose…… Answer me that."
"The one impulse left to him, is brotherly love." —Please stop already, Okaa-sama.
"Love towards his sister, in other words you, and the desire to protect you." —I don’t want to hear any more.
"That is all he has left, his one true emotion." But that was not allowed to me.
Holding my two hands in front of my mouth was an instinctive action. It may have been a conditioned reflex.
There wasn’t really a need for it though.
I was so shocked, to the extent I couldn’t let out a cry.
"Tatsuya himself knows well. That’s what he means by ‘can feel is precious’. He thinks of me simply as his ‘mother’, and the natural parent-child attachment which should go with it does not exist. The only one he can hold dear in his heart is only you, Miyuki. Back then, he simply saved me incidentally. Or perhaps, merely because he determined if I were to die then you would be sad."
"Did Okaa-sama……intentionally choose for this to happen?"
Even though I was speaking myself, it felt like I heard someone else talking. It felt like a me which was not me was moving my body and asking questions.
"I obviously didn’t plan things out to that extent. However, I did think that if the capacity that was left was only enough for one emotion, then it should be affection directed towards you. Tatsuya will be spending far more time with you, after all."
"Did you say that to O— No, that person?"
"Of course I explained. That child still has plenty of common sense. Having no parental affection is trivial in any case, so there’s no need to worry about it."
When she said that, Faintly,
I felt I could glimpse Okaa-sama’s suffering that she could not love her child. "Is there anything else?"
"No……thank you very much."
A part of me, felt that I shouldn’t have asked. A part of me, also felt truly glad that I did ask.
To squarely face a painful past, and painful truths, yet unflinchingly look forwards to the present and the future.
The screen showed Onii-sama, advancing resolutely into a desolate wasteland. Neither shell nor bullet could reach him.
Tank-like things pointed their turrets at Onii-sama, and vanished along with the crew inside.
Onii-sama continued without changing pace.
But the soldiers advancing with Onii-sama did not move the same way.
To not be left behind by Onii-sama, they ran as if flying from cover to cover, shooting guns and magic all the while.
Ah!
One of the soldiers was hit.
Seeing the battlefield from a camera in the sky, it’s like watching something right from a movie.
Within the screen, before I could even begin feeling shock, Onii-sama was pointing the CAD in his left hand at the fallen soldier.
When did he?
There was barely any time to even turn his neck.
In the next moment, the soldier began running on the screen again as if nothing had happened.
An enemy turret spat fire.
It didn’t reach.
Onii-sama raised his right hand.
The enemy form disappeared. It was almost like the special effects of a movie.
Allied soldiers fell.
Onii-sama raised his left hand.
Just with that, the fallen soldiers rose unscathed and continued the fight.
What was shown on that screen was to me, with a far greater grasp of magic than not only the general public but most magicians, like a movie with an extremely poor sense of reality.
But those would be the irresponsible thoughts of a bystander.
To the soldiers fighting alongside Onii-sama, it was a fortune beyond their wildest hopes. Any injuries, even fatal ones, were healed immediately as if merely waking from a dream.
To the enemies fighting against Onii-sama, he was terror incarnate. A nightmare who raised their foes, and obliterated all before him leaving only shadows and dust.
Like an Avatar, Onii-sama strode across the battlefield. All because I had gotten shot.
That was something decreed seven years ago, from the time he was only six. How can I possibly make it up to him?
What can I do to ever make it up to him?
Even this life now, is something I owe completely to him.
Sponsored Content
