Beast [Irregular at Magic High School fanfic] (Boyxboy)

Chapter 19

It was unexpected, seeing him while hurrying towards the upstairs conference room from the main gathering area.

The planning of the event had been rather abrupt, and mostly orchestrated on the part of the Saegusa and Juumonji's father. Juumonji had even warned me to wear my CAD and a bulletproof vest beneath my clothes, and to be prepared for anything. It was clear that even when it was his own family, there was a certain point that he did not trust them. Something I learned quickly while acting as his right-hand man.

We were aware that the Shiba siblings would be attending, as Miyuki was now the acting clan head, and also the former head, known around here as Lady Yotsuba. Invitations were mostly handled by Juumonji's father. I remember an incident where he'd been laughing over an invitee's reply, and had remarked that the Yotsuba invitee seemed rather peeved but was attending anyways. I had assumed that was Tatsuya, as he didn't quite seem the sort to enjoy this sort of event.

But catching a good look at Minoru on my way had completely flipped that around. Forget an event hosted by two of the most powerful Ten Master Clans, Minoru would be more than agitated in a waiting room with other normal people. He looked it too, at least on the wolf side. He was in a wheelchair, near his siblings and a tall man that reminded me of my father, with a mostly neutral expression aside from the way his lips were pressed together in a thin line. Ori was larger than I remember him being, and seemed extra alert. Minoru was not happy to be here, but aside from the general social aspect of it, I couldn't guess at what. For Minoru to be displaying agitation definitely made it out of place. Even back then, during the NSC, he'd been mostly impassive, though a little jumpy.

It ended up being the first thing that I conveyed to Juumonji, before handing him the correspondence from the security teams. His immediate reaction was a frown.

"Minoru is here?"

"I saw him with Tatsuya and Miyuki, yeah. He's got his wolf with him."

"Was there anyone else nearby?"

"Just a man that looked like an attendant to him. He looked like me a little. Brown hair, green eyes. About 6 foot tall. Minoru didn't seem to mind him."

"I don't think a simple gathering of guests for a party is enough to draw him out."

"You sure? He is a Yotsuba now."

"He's the sort to isolate even amongst his own family. We saw that during the Nine Schools Competition. You mentioned he was agitated?"

"He certainly didn't look comfortable or happy. Wasn't his usual expression either."

"Mm. Keep alert. Something else is going on here."

"Of course."

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I'm getting more and more tired of these people. So many come to greet my siblings, or merely my sister, and then look at me as if I'm expected to smile and flatter them. I don't. I don't even introduce myself, just staring at each one and letting either my sister or my guardian to handle anyone attempting to talk to me.

The strange absence of members from both engaging parties is making me very nervous. I'm almost tempted to have Ori take my place while I try and figure out what's going on here, but that would attract attention the moment my 'wolf companion' seems to disappear. Eventually, we are welcomed inside, into an overly luxurious hall that makes me want to turn around and go bury myself in a nice plain bush. It's not long before food and drink is brought around, but I avoid it all. I'm old enough, but I don't drink. And I prefer plain meals, like miso and basic prepared fish. I suppose I'll have to eat something eventually since it will be quite a long time before we go home, but I intend to put it off at least until I know what the hell is going on, if not until the last minute possible.