By the time Tatsuya and Miyuki returned home—having seen Honoka to her door and secured Pixie in the garage—the hour was well past midnight. For siblings of their age, it wasn't exceptionally late, but the night's skirmish had left their nerves humming with a lingering excitement that made sleep a distant prospect.
After the usual routine of late-night meals and baths, Tatsuya retreated to his room. For once, he wasn't immersed in magic theory; he was catching up on general studies. He was just closing a digital textbook when a soft knock came at his door.
"Onii-sama, it's Miyuki. May I come in?"
"Of course. Come in."
Tatsuya turned his chair away from his desk as the door clicked shut. It was an hour most would consider inappropriate for a bedroom visit, even between siblings, but he welcomed the distraction.
"So," he began, "what's on your mind?"
He managed to keep his voice steady, though he found himself momentarily caught off guard. Miyuki sat on the edge of his bed with a somber expression. She was wearing a gown, cinched tightly at the waist, but the fine silk of her nightwear beneath it offered glimpses of porcelain skin at her throat and hem.
(Was she always this oblivious?) Tatsuya wondered privately. (Or has she been taking fashion cues from Shizuku lately? If it were anyone but me, this would be a problem...)
"Am I... interrupting your studies?" Miyuki asked softly.
"No. You know as well as anyone that I don't exactly 'struggle' with schoolwork," Tatsuya replied. To anyone else, it would have sounded like a boast, but to Miyuki, it was simply a statement of fact.
"Onii-sama... I'm confused," she admitted, her gaze dropping to her lap.
"Confused?"
"I don't know what magic is anymore. I don't know what we are."
"What brought this on?" Tatsuya asked, his voice softening.
"You know better than anyone that magic and supernatural powers are essentially the same thing. That's not just theory; it's the reality of our existence," Miyuki said, her eyes searching his. "But then there are the Parasites—these 'demons.' They use magic too. And looking at the way they used it tonight... there was no fundamental difference between their power and ours, other than the process of activation."
Tatsuya listened in silence as Miyuki leaned forward, her eyes bright with a flicker of something close to terror.
"I used to think it was because they were possessing magicians—that they were just hijacking a human mind to manifest their power. But after seeing Pixie... after seeing her use psychokinesis through resonance with Honoka... I realized I was wrong. The machine didn't have a 'magical' output, but the entity within it did. Magic and psychic ability are one and the same. If these 'demons' possess the same power we do... is that where our power comes from? Are we just... extensions of something inhuman?"
Tatsuya didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and crossed the room. He didn't tower over her; instead, he knelt so that he was at her eye level, a gesture of grounding equality.
"Miyuki... you're overthinking this. In Japanese, the word for magic is Mahou—the 'Law of Demons.' But in English, the word Magic shares its root with Magi... which means 'Wise Men' or 'Sages.' It is the Sage's Art."
"Oh..."
"You couldn't sleep because you were afraid that you were becoming something non-human, didn't you?"
Miyuki's face flushed a deep crimson.
"In that case," Tatsuya added with a trace of a tease, "should I stay with you until you fall asleep?"
"Would you... hold my hand?" she whispered.
Tatsuya realized he might have pushed the teasing a bit too far, but he was hardly in a position to refuse. He followed her to her room, took a seat by her bedside, and held her delicate hand until her breathing turned slow and rhythmic. Before long, she had drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Moving through the dark hallway with the silent grace of a shadow, Tatsuya returned to his room. He let out a small, soundless sigh.
(Even someone as brilliant as Miyuki can still feel like an outsider in her own skin,) he thought.
He was pulled from his reflections by the soft vibration of his phone.
"Yes?"
"Master Tatsuya, I hope I'm not calling at an inconvenient time?"
It was Hayama, Maya Yotsuba's head butler. His timing was, as always, unnervingly precise.
"It's fine, Hayama. I assume something happened? Did Erika and the others lose the Parasites?"
"As expected, your insight remains as sharp as ever," Hayama's voice crackled with a polite, dry amusement. "A group from Section 3—acting under the influence of the Saegusa family—conducted a successful 'extraction.' We received an anonymous tip sent to Madam Maya. It appears the informant was none other than Lady Kyoko Fujibayashi, acting on the subtle instructions of Kudou Retsu."
"An 'anonymous' tip that you identified that quickly?" Tatsuya remarked.
"With the resources of the Yotsuba, nothing is truly anonymous," Hayama replied smoothly.
"I see. Thank you for the update."
"Of course. Goodnight, Master Tatsuya."
Tatsuya ended the call and lay back on his bed. He knew he'd likely be getting a frantic call from Erika and Mikihiko in the morning, full of apologies and excuses. But for now, he closed his eyes, letting the silence of the house wash over him.
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