Once a group of Magic Association personnel had come into the room to clean, Tatsuya and Katsuto headed to the elevators. Rather than walk side by side, Tatsuya walked at an angle slightly behind Katsuto to avoid being in Katsuto’s blind spot. The older boy didn’t explicitly request this; it was simply Tatsuya’s way of being thoughtful.
The two did not speak. They simply walked forward in silence. No one could blame them. Their battle the previous month had been so fierce that one of them could have died under regular circumstances. Not enough time had passed to mend their relationship. The fact that they were able to hide their enmity toward each other was praiseworthy enough. Perhaps it was proof that they were mature enough to leave that sort of thing on the battlefield. Their silence was only broken by an abrupt voice from the corner of the elevator hall.
“Is the meeting over?” Mayumi asked casually, despite her involvement in the previous month’s battle.
“Saegusa?” Katsuto said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I was curious.”
Katsuto rubbed his temple. Tatsuya knew exactly how he felt.
“Yes, the meeting is over,” Katsuto told Mayumi.
“That was fast. So what happened?”
Katsuto was about to tell her to ask her father about it but stopped himself midway. He knew Mayumi much too well to think something like that would make her back down.
“We can’t talk here,” he said instead.
“Then let’s find a meeting room.”
Much like the Kyoto branch, the Magic Association’s Kanto branch building had a number of rooms that personnel and approved guests could use to avoid being overheard. Though Mayumi wasn’t exactly a regular, she frequented some of these rooms.
“You should come, too, Tatsuya,” she urged.
Tatsuya knew Mayumi wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had no plans for after the meeting, and there was still plenty of time before Miyuki left school. Although he wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having to spend more time with Katsuto and Mayumi, he nodded and said, “Fine.”
✦ ✦ ✦
As soon as they entered the meeting room, Mayumi grabbed the kettle.
“Would you like some tea, Tatsuya?” she asked.
“Sure.”
He noticed that Mayumi didn’t bother asking Katsuto if he wanted tea. Tatsuya felt tempted to speculate about what this could mean, but he stopped himself after foreseeing the hassle it would entail. Mayumi placed three teacups on the table and took a seat across from Katsuto and next to Tatsuya.
“Drink up before it gets cold,” she said.
Tatsuya and Katsuto interpreted this as a passive-aggressive order and they both took a sip. Mayumi’s tea had become much tastier than when she used to make it in high school. Seemingly pleased with her own work, Mayumi happily set her cup down on the table. Once Katsuto and Tatsuya had done the same, Katsuto looked at Mayumi.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“Everything.”
“Do you know what the meeting was about?”
“How to deal with Minoru turning into a parasite, right?” Mayumi replied instantly.
Tatsuya noticed that she was being awfully laid-back about the situation, despite knowing what had happened. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one.
“Do you really understand what’s going on?” Katsuto asked. “I thought you and Minoru were pretty close.”
“Of course I understand,” Mayumi said calmly. “I was involved in the previous parasite incident, too, you know. Although I ended up not being very helpful.”
She sounded slightly disappointed at the end of her reply, but otherwise, she was the picture of serenity.
“In that case, you can probably guess what happened at the meeting,” Tatsuya cut in.
“Sure,” Mayumi said. “The goal is to capture Minoru and either seal him away or extract the parasite, right? What I want to know is how exactly you plan on catching him.”
Katsuto and Tatsuya exchanged glances as if to make sure they could tell her and decide who would be the one to speak first. In the end, Katsuto decided to take the initiative.
“We’re going to set up a trap at the hospital where Minami Sakurai is staying,” he explained.
“Are you in charge?” Mayumi asked.
“No, your father is.”
“My…father?”
A look of surprise broke her calm expression for a moment, but she quickly forced her lips into a polite smile.
“Isn’t Minami one of Kasumi’s classmates?” she continued.
“Yes, that’s right,” Tatsuya answered politely.
“So you’re going to use a high school girl as bait? And you’re okay with that?” Mayumi shot Tatsuya an accusatory look.
“Whether we like it or not, Minoru will visit Minami again,” he told her.
“The Yotsuba clan will be providing protection inside the hospital while the Juumonji clan provides protection outside,” Katsuto added. “We won’t let Minami get hurt.”
“I doubt Minoru would just waltz in with all that security in place,” Mayumi countered.
“Then we’ll just think of something else,” Katsuto replied offhandedly.
“If you say so…” Mayumi sounded doubtful. “Either way, you and Tatsuya are going to join forces to solve this?”
Unsure what she meant by this, Katsuto frowned. But Tatsuya smiled inwardly. He understood she was just trying to help their relationship.
“As members of the Ten Master Clans, the Juumonji and Yotsuba families will always be allies,” he explained. “A temporary disagreement isn’t going to end that.”
“If you say so…,” Mayumi repeated.
But unlike before, a smile spread across her lips.