The next day...
At the dojo.
"Master, this tea is good."
Baifeng Uesugi said after taking a sip of tea.
"Little Feng, how did you find time to come here today?" Yakumo Kokonoe asked, puzzled.
"I haven't seen you in a long time, Master. I happened to be free today, so I came to see you," Baifeng Uesugi explained.
Just then, the sounds of a fight outside caught Yakumo Kokonoe's attention.
"Looks like the Shiba siblings are here. Want to go see them with me?" Yakumo Kokonoe asked.
"No. I'm attending the same school as them now, and I used a few tricks to keep them from learning my real identity," Baifeng Uesugi said.
"Little Feng, have you thought about how you'll explain yourself if Miyuki finds out?"
Yakumo Kokonoe asked with a sly grin.
"Master, are you sure you don't want to go out and have a look? If you don't, Tatsuya's going to cripple the people in your dojo."
Baifeng Uesugi said, at a loss for words.
"All right, then. If you're not coming out, wait here for me."
Yakumo Kokonoe rose and walked into the courtyard.
When he arrived, he saw Tatsuya Shiba fighting, but instead of going over to him, he went to Miyuki Shiba.
"Miyuki."
"Sensei?"
Miyuki Shiba heard Yakumo Kokonoe's voice and turned, but saw no one.
When she turned back, she found a finger poking her cheek.
"Ah!"
Miyuki Shiba jumped in fright and took a small step back.
"Sensei, please don't sneak up on me with your presence concealed."
"I can't help it. I'm a stealth practitioner, after all," Yakumo Kokonoe said, stroking his chin.
"Concealing my presence is second nature to me."
"There's no such profession as a ninja anymore," Miyuki Shiba said.
"No, no, no. I'm not a ninja. I'm a stealth practitioner who inherited the bloodline, a user of ninjutsu," Yakumo Kokonoe said, denying it.
"I know you're the legitimate successor to the ancient tradition of Old-Style Magic, Sensei, but you're a little too..." Miyuki Shiba said helplessly.
"By the way, is that a First High School uniform?"
Yakumo Kokonoe had heard Bai Feng Ueyama say that he was attending the same school as the Shiba siblings, but upon seeing Miyuki Shiba's uniform, he asked.
"Yes. The entrance ceremony was yesterday," Miyuki Shiba replied.
"I see. Hmm, nice." Yakumo Kokonoe looked Miyuki Shiba's uniform up and down.
"We came today to tell you that we'd enrolled..."
"Sensei?"
Seeing Yakumo Kokonoe continue to stare at her, Miyuki Shiba spoke in confusion.
"A brand-new uniform radiating an air of innocence, and an inner beauty that can scarcely be hidden beneath that lovely exterior."
The more Yakumo Kokonoe spoke, the stranger his expression became.
"S-Sensei?"
Miyuki Shiba took a frightened step back as she spoke.
"Like a flower bud about to bloom, a freshly sprouted shoot..."
"That's right, this is moe. It's just too moe."
The more Yakumo Kokonoe spoke, the more exaggerated his expression became.
In a room not far away, a pair of eyes had been watching Miyuki Shiba the whole time, the coldness in them no longer possible to conceal.
Miyuki Shiba saw his expression and cried out in fear.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Yakumo Kokonoe sensed a sharp presence behind him. The exaggerated look vanished from his face, and he turned around with a serious expression.
As soon as he turned, he saw Tatsuya Shiba's attack coming and raised both hands to block it.
Yakumo Kokonoe stopped the attack, but it still kicked up gusts of air.
"Master, Miyuki's feeling a little frightened. Could you calm down?" Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Not bad, Tatsuya. You actually attacked me from behind. If Little Feng had been the one to do that, I might really have been in for some pain."
Yakumo Kokonoe said.
When Miyuki Shiba heard Yakumo Kokonoe mention Baifeng Uesugi, a trace of nostalgia flashed across her face.
"Master, if our elder brother were here and saw what just happened, I think you might be in the hospital tomorrow."
Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Ah, hahaha."
Yakumo Kokonoe's heart skipped a beat at that. After all, Baifeng Uesugi was right inside the room, and he didn't know if he had seen what happened.
Tatsuya Shiba drew back his arm and attacked Yakumo Kokonoe again.
The two began to spar.
After exchanging several moves in quick succession, they both pulled back.
"Oh, Tatsuya, maybe I'm no match for you in hand-to-hand combat anymore."
Yakumo Kokonoe joked, rubbing his shiny bald head.
Tatsuya Shiba ignored Yakumo Kokonoe's words and sped toward him again.
This time, Yakumo Kokonoe got a little more serious.
After they exchanged a few more moves, Yakumo Kokonoe sent Tatsuya flying with a shoulder throw.
Tatsuya Shiba turned in midair and righted himself.
The two put some distance between them again.
Miyuki Shiba watched their sparring from the side, concern written on her face.
"Not bad. That boy Tatsuya has improved a lot over the years."
Watching from inside the room, Baifeng Uesugi couldn't help praising Tatsuya Shiba's current hand-to-hand skills.
"All right, come on," Yakumo Kokonoe said, beckoning Tatsuya Shiba forward.
Tatsuya Shiba rushed at Yakumo Kokonoe...
An hour later...
Tatsuya Shiba lay on the ground, panting.
"Brother, are you all right?"
Miyuki Shiba asked worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. As I thought, I'm still a long way from matching our elder brother," Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Sorry, I got your skirt dirty."
Tatsuya Shiba noticed Miyuki Shiba's dirty skirt and apologized.
"It's all right. Please don't worry about it."
Miyuki Shiba took out her CAD and pressed a few buttons. Cleaning magic activated instantly and began removing the dust from her skirt.
While cleaning the dust from her skirt, Miyuki Shiba also cleaned the dust off Tatsuya Shiba.
A moment later, both of them were spotless.
"Tatsuya, you don't need to compare yourself to Little Feng. He's no ordinary person. He knows more about Ancient Magic than I do."
Yakumo Kokonoe said.
"I know, Master. I just still hope I can reach the same level as my elder brother."
Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"Then you still have a long way to go, and it's sure to be hard," Yakumo Kokonoe said.
"Sensei, we also wanted to ask if you've heard anything about Brother Bai Feng," Miyuki Shiba asked.
"Ah, well, I haven't seen Little Feng in a long time either."
Yakumo Kokonoe rubbed his shiny bald head and smiled guiltily.
"All right. Sensei, Brother, would you like some breakfast?"
Miyuki Shiba said, picking up the lunch box beside her.
"Sure," Yakumo Kokonoe said with a smile.
The Shiba siblings went home after breakfast.
After Tatsuya Shiba and Miyuki Shiba left, Baifeng Uesugi, who had been hiding in the room, walked slowly outside.
"Master, watching you spar with Tatsuya made me want to have a go too. How about we exchange a few moves?"
Baifeng Uesugi said, looking at Yakumo Kokonoe with a smile.
Looking at the smile on the face of the person before him, Yakumo Kokonoe's heart went cold.
"Little Feng, let's forget it. My hand-to-hand skills aren't as good as yours."
Yakumo Kokonoe refused repeatedly.
"That won't do. Here I come, Master."
Baifeng Uesugi gave Yakumo Kokonoe no chance to escape and charged straight at him.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Several piercing screams rang out from the dojo.
Baifeng Uesugi dusted off his hands and left the dojo, thoroughly satisfied.
Yakumo Kokonoe was left alone on the ground, his face black and blue as he stared blankly at the sky.
First High School.
In the classroom, Tatsuya Shiba worked the keyboard with practiced ease.
Mizuki Shibata, who was beside him, exclaimed when she saw him.
"Wow, Shiba, what are you doing?"
"I'm checking the courses and registering for classes," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
A male student in front of him marveled at the speed of Tatsu Shiba's fingers.
"That's fast."
"Sorry, I'm just surprised there are still people who use only a keyboard to input things."
"If you're used to it, it's actually faster this way," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"Oh, I'm Leonhard Saijou. Just call me Leo. I specialize in convergence-type hardening magic," Leonhard Saijou said, pointing at himself.
"I'm Tatsuya Shiba. Just call me Tatsuya," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"Okay, Tatsuya," Leonhard Saijou said.
"So, what magic are you good at?"
"I'm not good at the practical side. I want to become a magic engineer," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"I see. You do look pretty smart."
Leonhard Saijou said.
Baifeng Uesugi had just arrived in the classroom. Seeing Tatsuya Shiba and the others talking, he went over to them.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hello, Uesugi," Mizuki Shibata said with a smile.
"Hello, Mizuki," Baifeng Uesugi said with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Leonhard Saijou. You can call me Leo," Leonhard Saijou said, looking at Baifeng Uesugi.
"Hi, I'm Baifeng Uesugi. Just call me Bai Feng," Baifeng Uesugi said.
"Okay, Bai Feng."
"Bai Feng, we were talking about what magic we're good at. Tatsuya just said he wants to become a magic engineer," Erika Chiba said.
"Bai Feng, who's this?" Leonhard Saijou asked, pointing at Erika Chiba.
"Calling someone 'this' out of nowhere? How rude. I guess that's what unlikeable boys are like," Erika Chiba said disdainfully.
"What? You're the rude one," Leonhard Saijou shot back, getting to his feet.
"Don't think you can say whatever you want just because you're good-looking."
"Looks are important. But a gross boy like you who mistakes being sloppy for being free-spirited wouldn't understand..."
"Y-you... What did you say?" Leonhard Saijou said angrily.
"All right, Erika, take it easy. And Leo, you too. Be more of a gentleman. Don't get so worked up over what a girl says."
Seeing the two act like this the first time they met, Baifeng Uesugi spoke helplessly.
"Hmph..."
Erika Chiba gave a soft snort at Baifeng Uesugi's words, but said no more.
"Ding-a-ling."
"All right, that's the warning bell. Class is about to start," Baifeng Uesugi said.
"Erika, you went a little too far too," Mizuki Shibata said.
"Tch." Leonhard Saijou clicked his tongue and returned to his seat.
Erika Chiba likewise returned to her seat.
Seeing that everything was all right, Baifeng Uesugi went back to his seat as well.
At noon, in the cafeteria.
Baifeng Uesugi had intended to eat lunch alone, but he couldn't turn down Mizuki Shibata's invitation. In the end, the five of them ate together.
"Visiting the workshop was really interesting," Mizuki Shibata said.
"I want to be a magic engineer too, so I learned a lot."
"Yeah, it was definitely worthwhile," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"I wonder if I could handle work that complicated," Leonhard Saijou mused.
"You definitely don't stand a chance," Erika Chiba said, shooting him down.
"What did you say? And why are you eating with us anyway?" Leonhard Saijou asked.
"I'm just eating with Mizuki, Shiba, and Uesugi," Erika Chiba said.
"Ah." Seeing this, Tatsuya Shiba sighed helplessly.
"Uesugi, isn't that right?" Erika Chiba asked.
After waiting for a while without getting an answer from Baifeng Uesugi, Erika Chiba asked again.
"Uesugi, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Don't talk while eating or sleeping. When I eat, I prefer to eat in peace," Bai Feng Ueyama said after swallowing the food in his mouth.
"Bai Feng, you and my older brother really are alike in that respect," Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Really? I just think you should focus on eating when you eat, or you might choke," Baifeng Uesugi explained.
"I see," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"Brother."
Just then, Miyuki Shiba walked over.
"Miyuki."
"Brother, may I join you?" Miyuki Shiba asked.
"Miyuki, there's room here," Erika Chiba said, scooting farther in.
"Thank you, Erika," Miyuki Shiba said.
"Um, who is this?" Leonhard Saijou asked, puzzled.
"Miyuki Shiba, my younger sister," Tatsuya Shiba explained.
"Oh, I see."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shiba..."
"Shiba, let's go somewhere with more room."
Just as Miyuki Shiba was about to introduce herself, a group of medical students walked over and spoke.
"It wouldn't be nice to disturb them."
"No, I'll stay here," Miyuki Shiba declined.
"Ah, Shiba, you'd better not sit with Weeds."
The man in the lead spoke after glancing at the school emblems worn by Uesugi and the others.
"What?" Erika Chiba demanded.
"It's better to keep a clear line between Course 1 and Course 2."
"What did you say?" Leonhard Saijou asked, standing up with a deep frown.
"Um..." Seeing the two groups come into conflict, Miyuki Shiba tried to speak up and ease the situation.
"Um, I'm done eating, so I'll be going."
At that moment, Bai Feng Uegami simply got up, took his leave, and departed with his tray.
"Miyuki, I'm done eating too. I'll be going."
With that, Tatsuya Shiba also left with his tray.
"Hey, Bai Feng, Tatsuya, wait for me," Leonhard Saijou said, hurriedly picking up his tray.
"Bai Feng," Erika Chiba called out to Baifeng Uesugi, signaling for him to wait for her.
(P.S.: Keep the "power" coming, and the happiness never ends!
As a new author, thank you all for your support. I hope you'll click to request updates and send some "power."
Please give this new author a little more encouragement and motivation.
First, let me wish you all happiness and joy!)