Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - 𝕁𝔸𝔼𝔾𝔼ℝ

Ch. 10 - Road Troubles

The day started bright and early, they had to get a move on anyways to get to the location of the nine schools good-will tournament. Mayumi was wearing a white flowing, short dress, with what seemed to be abstract splatter flowers lining the bottom, the colors on the fabric being vibrant as ever. The young lady gave a smile to Hiro as she then said: "I'll be heading over to the student council room to finish some last-minute things for the competition." as to which he nodded and began heading to the buses. There were in total four buses with at least three that were colored completely black.

"Those are the least likely to be thrown into an accident if any at all.. even if there was an attack." He said to himself as he placed his hand once on each of the transport vehicles, with a small sigil forming over it and quickly fading. It was protection magic- something that the spike mages were balanced in much like their combat capabilities. Tatsuya walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll be counting on you, Hiro." with a wink to show that the tall man already technically knew what he was. This caused him to sigh in disbelief as he was figured out but, then again, it was likely only him that knew about it anyways.

People from mainly course one would begin to board the vehicles, with only a few course two filing into the bunch. "Bus 2." Tatsuya started as he pulled out a tablet, then looking to Hiro and motioning to it. Of course; Miyuki caught his eye, and he wanted to go onto that bus however- it'd probably look weird, he was too awkward relationship-wise for that. Climbing onto the bus, he looked around and took a seat at the front. Looking out the window, he saw Mayumi being the last to climb onto the green, white, and black bus, with her talking to Tatsuya. "Flirting again..?" He thought to himself, "She really has something for younger men.. doesn't she?" before shaking his head. Tatsuya climbed onto the bus as they all began to move out from the area.

A seat was taken next to him- it was Tatsuya. What flowed through his head was known only to himself; "Special Officer.. keep that spike mage in check." as to which it was then followed by a salute and tune out. "Spike mage..?" Miyuki asked curiously as she walked back into the room, "Aren't they extinct though..?" he couldn't lie to his sister as he then spoke. "They're supposed to be however- the East Germans tried an off-the-books experiment, and succeeded in making an artificial spike mage." considering the tall man knew how Hiro felt about Miyuki, the question then flew out of her mouth. "Do.. you know who it is?" she asked as he then shook his head, "No- all I know is that they'll show up at the nine schools tournament to watch over everyone." the young lady pouted as he patted her head. "Isn't it time for be-"

His thoughts cut out as the buses entered onto the Japanese interstate, making a signature humming noise heard inside all of the transports. Hiro closed his eyes as he thought about what could technically happen but everyone was technically to be watched by him. Just as he shut his eyes- a large crash was heard with a vehicle being spotted flying through the air. The shorter male instantly got up and forced the doors open as all of the buses stopped in a slant. "Although my magic is protecting it.. it was always a matter of how long I could keep the damn thing up." Hiro said to himself as the spell around the buses shattered, with him propelling himself over the bus holding the people participating in the tournament.

He looked back and saw Miyuki looking at the car, along with Mayumi standing up. "This is my chance.. to show that I can protect everyone- even them." the young man walked forward as both of his arms began to crystallize once again, with his legs being spread across the ground to force an even stance. The vehicle sped forward at him as he then slammed his hands outwards, stopping the car in its tracks as he began to push it back with a grunt coming from him. "Damn. IT!" he yelled as his grip slipped, slamming his fist into the front vent of the vehicle, it basically stopping the engine. Due to the fact that he was limited, the crystal was of course weaker than usual, which caused his arm to snap back in an unnatural way- this broke it as the vehicle then stopped with a screech.

His legs hardened to slow it further, then coming to a stop just feet in front of the bus. Steam was shot out from Hiro's mouth as he slouched down to one knee. "Holy shit..." he thought to himself as Maelstrom then spoke in his head, "You were going to need it at some point.. it isn't the best but- it works." the steam came out of his mouth purely due to the fact that the power he had used, he wasn't really supposed to even think about using. Thus, it damaged his internal organs and caused rapid regeneration to occur inside his body. Any stress felt by those on the bus ensured that they did not associate the steam with him but, with the vehicle. His arm snapped back into place nearly automatically as he then released all of the crystal. Approaching the door, he knocked on it as it then opened. "Is everyone all right?" he asked curiously as he peeked his head in.

His shorter stature clarified that it was indeed him instead of Tatsuya who stopped the vehicle. It was noted that his reaction time ever since that meeting with Maelstrom shot up within his brain. "Lead vehicle needs someone in it that won't kill everyone with a spell.. you're lucky it got cancelled when it did." which made him shoot a glare at Kanon and Morisaki, the two knuckleheads' who almost blew up the bus by trying to act quickly. "I'll move the crashed vehicle so we can get on our way." He stepped off the bus once again as a few people exited the black buses and set up cones as the three other buses placed themselves to the side, as well as the first lead. Hiro hardened his arms again as they made contact with the vehicle, steam emerging from his mouth again as he picked it up and forced it to move. A platform appeared between the two highways, with a support emerging out of the ground and holding it. It was noted that the vehicle was placed on the platform.

The engineer students looked in utter shock as he did this, and began collecting the cones so they could get back on track. Tatsuya walked over to Hiro and whispered: "It'd be tactically correct if you protected the lead vehicle- I'm moving you to it." he said as he brought up the tablet and pressed a few points on the screen. The shorter male nodded as he climbed onto the bus and took a seat near the front of the bus. "It'll be about ten to fifteen minutes before we start moving again." The driver piped up as he then slouched in his chair, amazed that such a close call was averted. Miyuki raised herself from her seat as she then walked over to where Hiro was, taking a seat. "Are you okay, Hiro?" she asked as she looked at his arm, "Your arm didn't bend correctly.. I'm afraid if you broke it or not." he looked at her and smiled lightly, "My arm is just fine. The crystal supported it and stopped it from breaking." as to which she smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Thank you." and let it go before she traveled back to her seat with Honoka. A giggle was heard as he blushed lightly, it was pretty evident how he felt to those who could see him. He took a sigh of relief in the seat as he then cracked his back by moving it inwards. Before long, the bus began to move again as they got back into the flow of traffic on the highway. Now addressing the giggle- it was Miyuki and Honoka who both giggled in unison. Miyuki of course held feelings for her brother however, someone like him would likely suffice, not the same of course. Honoka was encouraging her to go for Hiro due to the fact that.. she wanted Tatsuya herself. It was a good relationship tactic but, evil in every way. With that being said, it wouldn't take much longer to reach their living accommodations for the tournament.