(MoD) Chapter 30: The Akahashi Clan

Chapter 30: The Akahashi Clan

Takauji was sitting beside Murayama on her bed, his younger sister looking up at him, desperately hoping he’d have the answers she was looking for. 

“Takauji… what’s happening to me?” She sniffled, holding up her left hand, reciprocating the same feeling she had experienced earlier today. 

Whoosh! 

A ball of fire ignited around her hand, one which didn’t seem to be affecting her in any way whatsoever. A phenomenon which her mind simply couldn’t wrap itself around, save for passing it up as a freak illusion—but even that wouldn’t suffice anymore now that her brother was also observing it.

But the abnormalities didn’t just end with fire.

Murayama raised her right hand, channeling another sensation she had been hit with after the one that caused the fire. 

Crackle! 

Sparks of light-blue lightning erupted from her other hand. Her brother hummed thoughtfully as he adjusted his glasses, and she was nothing short of bewildered by his complete unbotheredness. 

“Well, I’ve got a few things to say. But I suppose the most reasonable thing to start with would be some clarification,” he paused. “You’re a Magician, and so is the rest of our family. Myself included.”

“Magician…? Takauji… now isn’t the time for jokes—” 

He opened his palm in front of her, allowing his Dark Mana to swirl around him as Murayama’s eyes widened in shock. She blinked repeatedly, her thoughts becoming more of a mess than they already were. 

“Every Magician has an element, mine’s a little unusual. However, from what I’ve learned, I’m pretty sure you have a dual affinity.” He was aware that she didn’t understand what he was talking about, but chose to continue anyway. “If a newly awakened Magician’s parents are also Magicians. They’ll normally only inherit one of their affinities, I’m guessing our Mom and Dad have Lightning and Fire, although I’m not sure in what order. And you ended up with a Mutated Mana Core.” 

Dual affinities were unbelievably rare among Magicians, with about a 1/10000 chance of occurring for any newly awakened Magician. 

It was usually a sign of immense talent, since a Mana Core capable of sustaining two different energies at once had to be unbelievably durable, and have a strong innate balancing ability to make sure they didn’t clash.

If Murayama had been brought up in a Magician organization, she’d be immediately labeled a prodigy, just from her unique awakening alone.

While she didn’t understand a single word that had come out of his mouth, there was one thing she managed to pick up on. 

“Mom and dad… are also like this?” 

“Mhm. You can also stop using your Mana now, if you keep it up for too long, you’ll run out and exhaust yourself.” From what he could tell, her reserves were quite impressive for a newborn 1st Circle Magician—and would probably grow rapidly. 

Once the tension within her settled, Murayama’s eyes shot alight in realization. Her mind recalled all the strange habits Takauji had been picking up as of late, and all the cryptic half-assed explanations he had given her repeatedly. 

Her expression darkened a little, frustration boiling up within her. 

“How long… have you been like this?” 

“Not that long,” he shrugged indifferently. “It’s hardly even been a month since I first awakened, and I planned on telling you when you got your awakening as well. Which is why I’m sitting here talking to you now.” 

She pressed her lips together. Usually, she was capable of putting up with her brother’s attitude, but right now, she wished he’d take her shock more seriously. 

“Did they—” she hesitated, thinking of their parents. “—tell you first? While keeping this a secret from me…” 

“No, they kept it hidden from me as well.” He clarified, causing relief to wash over Murayama. She wasn’t sure how she’d react if their parents executed such a blatant display of favoritism. “I found out through an acquaintance, and I’m going to visit them tomorrow to beat them into giving me some answers.” 

“Wait. You said that my uh…” 

“Affinities.” 

“Yeah. You said I got them from Mom and Dad.” 

“That’s likely.” 

“If that’s the case, then how come yours is you know… different?” The thought of them not being related came to mind, which she’d find relieving and immensely disturbing. 

Personality-wise, them not being from the same blood wouldn’t bother her. But the notion that her parents had been hiding something arguably even more significant than the strange powers she had just awakened—was not a reality she’d want to confront.

“What kind of question is that?” He raised his eyebrow. “I’m the smartest creature alive, of course, you wouldn’t get to share the privilege of having the same affinity as me.” He huffed arrogantly, holding his head. “I’m the only human with the Dark Element, which’ll remain the case forever.” 

Suppose anyone were insolent enough to dare awaken the same affinity as him. In that case, he’d hunt them down to assert his dominance in the most petty manner imaginable. 

Such was his right as royalty, or something. 

“You’re insufferable,” she exhaled. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the fact that Takauji insisted on being his usual self was beneficial to her mental state. 

The last thing she needed was a tense air hanging over her, even though she could now shoot fire and lightning from her fingertips—his demeanor made it feel like it was business as usual. Even if he was doing so unintentionally, she couldn’t deny that he was doing a reasonably good job filling in the older brother role.

“Good grief, even though you’ve awakened, you’re still incapable of comprehending your brother’s intelligence.” He shook his head while facepalming. “Whatever. As I said, I will visit our parents in Kyoto tomorrow. Are you coming with me or not?” 

“Wait a minute. Did you just say parents? Is mom also there?” What happened to her story of being an investment banker abroad? Their father lying about things wouldn’t shock her, but her mother was usually the straight-edge one. 

“Yes. I don’t particularly care for the mongrel’s story. But I am interested in hearing what she says when I confront her. I called her shortly after I told Dad I was coming over.” 

“What did she say?” 

He hesitated for a moment, something that was uncharacteristic of him. 

“Nothing concrete.”

…

Kamigyo Ward was, in fact, the historical and current residence of the Ashikaga Clan’s estate. But the descendants of the late Shogun weren’t the only ones residing there. 

On the other side of the ward was an area surrounded by a photogenic sea of sakura cherry blossom trees—their bright-pink leaves glistening under the radiant beams of sunlight hitting them from above. The sound of turtle doves singing in unison enhanced the atmosphere to an almost regal degree.

The area was sectioned off from the Ashikaga Clan’s side of the ward by a wide river, with bright-colored koi fish and catfish swimming up and down the stream. 

This area belonged to the Akahashi Clan, from which the original Ashikaga Takauji’s wife, Toshi, had hailed. They, too, had Mana coursing through their veins and had enjoyed a great deal of wealth from the Ashikaga Clan when Takauji and Toshi were engaged, building the foundation for their current standing in Magician society. 

Unfortunately, the current Akahashi Clan Matriarch was only a 3rd Circle Magician. This makes her incapable of standing on even footing with Ashikaga Tsuji and puts them a rank below the Ashikaga Clan on the Magician’s Council. 

“To think that even in my old age, I’m still going to have to deal with a mess of this magnitude.” 

Standing on her lonesome inside the Akahashi Estate’s main hall was an elderly woman, who looked surprisingly tall for her age, and had an unnatural amount of vigour on her constantly stoic face. Her fiery-orange eyes blazed with all the wisdom she had accumulated throughout her lifespan. 

Her light-gray hair was tied into a neat bun. She wore a crimson robe with a pink flowery pattern etched across its soft fabric, accompanied by an orange sash wrapped around her waist. 

This was the Akahashi Clan’s current Matriarch. Akahashi Mitsuko. A woman who had long since reached her peak, and had no delusions of breaking through to the 4th Circle with the short amount of time she had remaining. She had come to terms with the fact that all that was left for her to do was pass the torch onto the next Matriarch.

Boom! 

“INTRUDER!” 

Crash! 

“HELP! HELP ME!” 

Fwoosh! 

“IT BURNS!” 

Outside of the main hall, the sounds of bones being broken, teeth being knocked out, and bodies set on fire endlessly rang out. But Mitsuko didn’t seem bothered, as if it was all just another day in the office. 

“Oh well. I might as well hurry this up to finally retire.” She rolled her aching shoulders, clasping her hands behind her back and facing the main hall’s entrance with a tranquil, expectant look. 

Bang! 

The entrance door flew wide open, having been catapulted off its hinges by a thunderous force before falling a few feet in front of Mitsuko. 

“Must you cause such a ruckus every time you come here to throw a temper tantrum? Miho.” Mitsuko groaned, facing the woman standing before her with a vicious glint in her eyes. 

“I can’t help it, bullying your half-assed servants is just too much fun. Old hag. It’s their fault they don’t recognize me anyway.” 

“Now now. That’s no way to refer to your mother. Also, you barely visit. Can you blame them for not recognizing you?” The Matriarch calmly wagged her finger at the battle-crazed individual, who was none other than her daughter, Akahashi Miho—Ashikaga Taro’s ex-wife, and Takauji and Murayama’s mother. 

She had long brown hair that she let cascade freely over her shoulders. She also had a tall, slim, sleek physique packed full of muscle, one that was practically hand-crafted for fighting. 

Her eyes burned with the same orange intensity as her mother's, and her attire consisted of a simple white dress shirt and black slacks, making her seem like some kind of corporate businesswoman. Contradicted by the fire erupting from her body, of course.

“Fair point. It’s still fun to bully them, though.” She snickered. 

Like Mitsuko, Miho was also a 3rd Circle Magician despite a vast disparity in their age. And what’s more, she was already at the peak of the 3rd Circle. Her Mana Core is on the brink of breaking through to the next stage, an event which will probably happen this year. 

She was by far the most talented Magician to come out of the Akahashi bloodline in recent history, and the person Mitsuko hoped to hand leadership of the clan over to. Unfortunately, she followed him away from clan life during her engagement with Taro when he cut ties with the Ashikaga Clan. 

And once a certain amount of time had passed, she fell in love with the experience of being free from the rules, regulations, and dated traditions of the Akahashi Clan. She decided that she was better off living as she pleased, regardless of whether she was still married to Taro, and no longer interested in returning to the clan’s banner. 

Because of that, Mitsuko was now tasked with finding someone else. Lacking the power to force her daughter to assume the mantle. 

Even though the Ashikaga Clan was technically capable of helping her, she had been reluctant to put herself in Tsuji’s debt, not trusting the man’s nature. Besides, now that they had become obsessed with their “reincarnated” Shogun, there’s no way they’d be willing to focus on anything else.

“Oh well, now that you’re here, we might as well talk. There’s something Tsuji’s trying to arrange that might interest you.” 

“Oh?” Miho disengaged her flames.

“It’s about Miwa, the girl that Tsuji wanted his eldest son Takumi to marry.” 

Immediately, Miho’s expression shifted tf discomfort, as if she had already deduced what her mother would talk to her about, and how she would react to the revelation. 

Bzzzttt! 

But before that conversation could begin, her phone began to ring. 

“Ugh! It’s the shitty brat!” Miho grumbled. 

For reference, “shitty brat” was her nickname for Takauji. While “sweetheart” was hers for Murayama, making it abundantly clear which of the two she favoured more. 

“You might as well answer it,” Mitsuko suggested, being familiar with her daughter’s opinion on her children. “He’s going to want to hear from me as well, though I doubt he will react well.” 

The second Miho heard that her son would be bothered, her face lit up with unparalleled joy like she had just won the lottery ten times over. 

‘You’re finally proving yourself useful for once! Old hag!’ 

Call answered! 

━━━━

I’m sure some of you already know where I’m going with this, but for those who don’t, you’re bound to find out soon. VERY soon. Like, probably next chapter soon, unless I try to get my master’s degree in yapology or something.