Chapter 293: 2
Chapter 2: Intelligence Gathering
"As you can see, the two carbon atoms must share at total of three valence electrons each to form complete orbitals in this scenario. Hence, this type of bonding is referred to as a 'triple bond'," Sona's chemistry teacher said, drawing an image on the whiteboard of two letter C's connected by three short lines.
The glasses-wearing woman absently wrote down everything that was said word for word, despite having already read the section the night before. But even as the lecture continued, she couldn't bring herself to focus on it. For the past week, her thoughts had been entirely preoccupied with the one thing: the person who had managed to match her in a game of chess.
Keijutsu Hatsume.
After their meal and chess match together, Sona had spent all of what spare time she had gathering all she had been able to find on the young man. It turned out that he was not just the President of the Rocketry Club, but Vice-President of the Robotics Club, and a regular member of the Chemistry Club.
Whenever she approached any of the members of those clubs asking about him, their responses were invariably the same: that he was smart, helpful, and the only notable flaw being that he could become so passionate about a project that it would be difficult for the others to keep pace with him.
His academic file showed that he was in the same year as her, Rias, Akeno and Tsubaki. However, the classes he was taken in mathematics and physics were two-years ahead of that, and the only ones that he ever obtained less than a 90% in. By all standards, Keijutsu appeared to be a young genius, yet he had somehow escaped her notice until just a week ago.
When she had tried to find out how this could be, she found that, outside of the clubs he was in, almost no student was even aware that he existed. He didn't answer questions more often than any other student, he didn't have any fangirls like Kiba did, and no outside group of friends. And Sona didn't share any classes with him, so she would have never had a chance to meet him until the rocket launch. It was… odd.
"Shitori-san?"
Sona blinked, before looking up and seeing her teacher looking at her expectantly. Realizing that she had been asked something, she said "I'm sorry, but could you repeat the question?"
Looking at her in unabashed surprise—Sona was never one to not pay attention in class—he said, "I asked if you could tell me how many sigma and pi bonds are in a triple bond between carbon atoms."
Quickly recalling the information, she said "Two pi bonds and one sigma bond."
The teacher nodded, satisfied, and returned to the lecture while Sona tried her best to not become distracted again. Soon after, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and people began moving for the door. Some talked about where they would go now to hang out, others complained about the homework they were given, and more others began exchanging gossip.
Sona was putting away her things when she heard of voice, asking "Sona?" She looked up to see that it was Tsubaki, who was looking at her in concern. "Are you feeling okay? You've seemed distracted for the past few days, and just now you drifted off during class," she said.
'Even Tsubaki is noticing it?' she thought, before shaking her head. Of course she would. Not only was Tsubaki her assistant and Queen, but she was also her friend. Now that she thought about it, it would have been more of a surprise if she hadn't noticed.
"It's nothing. I just have a lot on my mind," she said, before getting up and walking to the door. Behind her, Tsubaki frowned but didn't press the issue, guessing that if it was serious, it was still too sensitive of an issue to be discussed. And so, the two of them exited the classroom and entered the hall… only for Sona and someone else to walk right into each other.
"Ah!"
"Oof!"
The papers she was holding cascaded to the ground like an avalanche, the clipboard holding them bouncing on its edge a few times before landing. Sona herself nearly fell onto her back before she felt someone grab her arm and spin her around, abruptly reversing her momentum and causing her to fall against someone's chest instead of the floor. And she heard a very familiar voice say "Easy there."
Sona quickly looked up and saw a pair of lilac eyes, with a mess of salt-colored hair. Just the same person she had been thinking about. "Keijutsu," she said.
Keijutsu blinked. "Sona-kaichou? Are you alright?" he asked.
Sona nodded, but then became aware of the whispers surrounding them. Suddenly, she realized the image they made- herself leaning against Kei and looking up into his eyes, while he looked into hers with one hand still on her arm while another had wrapped around her midsection to keep her from falling.
Apparently, Kei also came to the same realization, and they both leaped away from the other as if they were made of fire. Kei coughed into his hand and willed the blush on his cheeks to fade away. "I'm exceedingly sorry for having knocked into you, Kaichou. Please, accept my apologies," he said.
Taking off her glasses to clean them, Sona said "No, I was the one who wasn't paying attention to their surroundings, so the fault lies with me. I'm sorry, Hatsume-san." Placing them back on, she saw that Keijutsu was wearing the same outfit as last time—a white lab coat over the male student uniform, though this time the black ribbon around the neck was replaced by a white tie.
Keijutsu smiled. "I said it last time: Please, just call me Kei, Sona-kaichou," he reminded her.
Sona smiled back. "Very well, Kei-san," she said, making Kei purse his lips.
But, realizing that was the best she was going to give him, Kei simply sighed and reached down to begin gathering the papers Sona had dropped. When she tried to stop her, he said "If you're not going to let me accept the blame for almost making you fall over, at least let me help you."
Not having a counter to that, Sona complied, and the two of them worked together to pick up the papers in short order. Once they were all gathered, Kei handed what he had picked up over to her. "Well, I should be going. Have a pleasant day, Kaichou," he said, before walking off. She watched him go with a smile. She felt herself glad to have bumped into him, even if it was in the literal sense.
"Sona?"
She looked behind her to see Tsubaki still there, though now she had her own look of surprise. For some reason, Sona did the sudden desire to not answer any questions she might have had, and continued walking. But her Queen followed, and asked "Who was that boy just now? It seemed as if you knew him."
Sona sighed. "He's someone I just recently met. He was part of the Rocketry event that we attended last week, and we exchanged a few words over a meal afterwards," she said shortly.
Tsubaki seemed to nod in understanding before suddenly freezing in place. When Sona looked back at her, she asked "Wait. You mean to say… you went on a date?!"
Sona simply stared at her for a moment, floored. After a few seconds of silence, however, her brain rebooted and she about to refute it when she stopped. Was what had happened a date? She supposed, depending on how one viewed it, it could be seen as such. Two young people meeting at a restaurant, spending time together, and enjoying themselves. But still, that didn't mean they had gone on a date, right?
Right?
Returning to the present, Sona looked at Tsubaki and said "I suppose it could have been" before resuming her walk. The two of them reached the Student Council Room and went inside, where Sona sat down at her desk. Placing the papers in her arms in the 'Finished' pile, she took a stack from the 'Unfinished' pile and began working.
But Tsubaki was not one to let something go unchecked, and said "It could have been a date? That's not an answer. Was it a date or not?"
Sona huffed in irritation. "If you want a definitive answer, then no, it was not a date. We simply met at the Sushi Shop and sat down together to eat. Then we talked for a short while, played a game of chess, and then parted ways. Satisfied?" she said.
Tsubaki nodded, apparently content with that. But then something occurred to her. Even if she already could guess the answer, she still wanted to know. "Just one last question. Who won the chess match between you two?" she asked.
But at that, there was silence. Tsubaki waited patiently, but when no answer came, she looked at Sona. The heiress to the Sitri House wasn't working anymore, and was simply sitting there.
"Sona? Who won the match? It was you, right?" Tsubaki asked. When she still didn't get a response, her eyes widened. "No… Did you lose the match to him?"
Sona whipped her head around. "No, I did not lose!" she said harshly, before looking forward. Eventually, she added "...It was a draw."
Tsubaki gasped, now fully understanding why Sona had been so worked up over this. Sona was someone that took great pride in her skills and the fact that no one had ever been able to outsmart her. Overpower her? Yes, there were plenty of devils strong enough to do that. Outwit her? Never.
What was more, she could still remember the story Sona told her about how, as a child, she had been engaged to another Devil in a marriage contract. But then Sona challenged her fiancé to a game of chess, with the stipulation that she would not resist being married if she lost, but the contract would be struck void if she won.
When her fiancé had accepted the challenge and lost—badly—Sona had declared that she would never marry someone who wasn't smarter than her. Other devils had since tried to beat Sona in chess, each one of them trying to obtain her hand in marriage. No one had ever come close.
But now this human, a fellow student at their school, had been able to match Sona at her own game. It wasn't a win, true, but in a way a draw was even more frustrating than a loss. At least then you knew where things stood, knew who was better and who was worse. But with a draw, it was still left up in the air. The only way to find out… would be to play the game again.
Coming to that conclusion, Tsubaki asked "Then why don't you challenge him to another match? And make sure that this one doesn't end in a draw?"
Sona nodded. "I have every intention of doing just that. However, after having played against Kei-san, I see that he's actually holding all the cards. He knows who I am: the President of the Student Council, the most intelligent student at the Academy, and someone whose popularity is only exceeded by Rias and Akeno. But I know almost nothing about him. So, before I play against him in chess once more, I need to learn more about him."
Tsubaki looked at her. "You're thinking of having him followed, like Rias did for Issei-san," she said.
"Yes. Knowledge is power, and only by doing that will I have the information I need to be able to make sure that I defeat him," Sona said.
Tsubaki nodded. "Then I'll station Tomoe and Ruruko on it right away," she said, before conjuring a magic circle and vanishing.
Sona sat there for a moment, and then started on her paperwork again. As she worked, however, she withheld a smirk. Careful planning, secret maneuvers, moves made before they even came face-to-face… This was a type of combat Sona had not experienced before. And yet she still found herself enjoying it.
The next day…
Keijutsu sighed happily as he put away the last of the chairs used for the Robotics Club. He was usually one of the last to leave, and as such had the responsibility of leaving the room cleaned up enough for when the janitor came through. Not that he minded; it had to be done by someone, so why not him?
Once all the chairs were put away, he left the building and began making his way home. What to do once he arrived? Fix an early dinner and enjoy a night of relaxation? Work on one of his projects and eat later? Or eat early and then work on the project? Decisions, decisions…
As he crossed the bridge near the school, his thoughts turned to the young woman who had made a pleasant yet unexpected appearance in his life. Sona Shitori. It wasn't often that he found someone who was at his level of intellect, yet Sona appeared to be one such person, if not even smarter.
And as far as appearances went, she was no slouch there either. A slim build yet attractive figure, short black hair that seemed to shine depending on the light, and violet eyes that perfectly went with said hair and were complimented by her glasses. If he had any lesser amount of self-control, he might have been entranced by her looks alone.
But appearances were not the determining factor to someone like him. What mattered to him was the mind, and he could confidently say that he had never encountered a mind like Sona Shitori's. He thoroughly looked forward to the next time he saw her.
In the trees off to his right, Tomoe Meguri closely watched Kei as he walked by. "So this is the guy Kaichou wanted us to follow, huh?" she asked. She was a pretty girl with shoulder-length reddish brown hair and swept bangs, as well as brown eyes. She was currently Sona's only Knight. Beside her was a younger girl with brown hair kept in long twin ponytails and green eyes. This was Ruruko Himura, one of Sona's Pawns alongside Reya and Saji.
Ruruko nodded. "That's him. Still, what is it that she wants to know? The guy's not even that good-looking," she commented.
Tomoe grinned. "You're only saying that because you already have eyes for Saji," she said.
Ruruko blushed deeply, but didn't try to deny it. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.
Tomoe giggled. "I think the only one among us who doesn't know is Saji himself. Better be careful though; I've seen Momo give him a few of the same looks that you give him," she warned.
The Pawn looked positively flabbergasted, but before she had a chance to respond, she noticed that Keijutsu had disappeared. "Huh? Where'd he go?!" she called, looking around. The both of them looked around until they spotted him already on the other side of the bridge, and walking along the side of the road almost out of sight. "Crap! We've got to keep up!" she said.
They quickly rushed after him while trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. It was easy for Tomoe, as her enhanced speed made it so that she could almost blur from sight and appear not far away from Kei in no time flat. But for Ruruko she had to be stealthier, and that ate up time.
So focused were they in staying close that they didn't notice that Kei was leading them in circles around the same block. After he turned the fourth corner a second time and still noticed the two girls behind them, he raised an eyebrow. Two girls wearing the uniform of his school following him around? Well, he was going to put a stop to that.
Without making it look as though he had spotted them, Keijutsu raised his hand up and pulled back the sleeve of his lab coat, revealing a rather old-fashioned looking wrist watch with several buttons and knobs on the side. He pushed one button and waited a few seconds before turning the knob next to it, then pressed the same button again. With that done, he abruptly crossed the street and sped up his pace.
Ruruko and Tomoe cursed before increasing their speed to match, hiding behind mailboxes, the corners of shops, even behind street lights as they followed him.
Ten more minutes passed in this fashion, with the Knight and Pawn following Keijutsu as he walked down a seemingly random set of paths. Just as the girls were starting to suspect that Kei was onto them, he switched paths again and went down an alley between two apartment complexes. When they entered the same alleyway, he had vanished.
"He gave us the split again! Come on, Ruruko! We're not letting him get away!" she said, before running forward.
"Tomoe, wait! You're going too fast for me to keep up!" Ruruko called, but it was in vain, as the redhead had already left the alleyway. Tomoe looked around frantically for Kei, but saw no sign of him. Thinking quickly, she leaped into the air at such speed that it would appear as if she had vanished, and reappeared on top a nearby building.
Looking around, she tried to find Keijutsu's distinctive hair color amongst the crowd. After a few seconds, she found him, walking at a normal pace several blocks away. Not even pausing to wonder how he had gotten there so fast, Tomoe blurred from sight once more and sped through the streets until she was only a few meters behind him.
She followed him as Kei made a full circle around the block before going into another alley, only for him to vanish again. Tomoe groaned loudly. "For crying out loud, it's like this guy's trying to shake off! What do you think, Ruruko?" she asked.
Silence.
"…Ruruko?" Tomoe said, looking around her. It was only then that she realized she had left her teammate behind, and swore. Quickly, she raced back to the same alleyway that Keijutsu had initially disappeared in.
To her horror, she saw Ruruko lying on the ground in heap, unmoving. "Ruroko!" she yelled, and ran forward before dropping to her knees in front of the Pawn. A quick check showed that she wasn't injured, and was in fact only unconscious. But that begged the next question: Who had knocked her out?
It was at that moment that Tomoe felt a piercing sensation in the back of her neck, as if she had just been punctured there. Immediately she felt herself become woozy, the world around her losing focus and turning into a fuzzy swirl of colors. Her body felt sluggish, but she just barely managed to turn around to try and catch a glimpse of her attacker. But all she saw was… a wasp?
Then her world went black.
The wasp hovered in the air as Tomoe fell forward, landing on top of Ruruko and forming a nice little heap. From above, Keijutsu dropped down and landed with a neat roll, preventing himself from breaking his knees on impact. Holding his hand out, the wasp flew forward and landed on his hand, though it did not sting him.
And upon closer inspection, the "wasp" was actually not a wasp at all. It was shaped exactly like a wasp, a Megascolia procer, to be precise, but it's body was composed of copper and it had aluminum wings, while the stinger was made of steel and its eyes were glass.
Keijutsu turned his hand over and watched the wasp scuttle across it, completely docile in his presence. "Well, the knockout poison I developed seems to be a success. As I expected it would," he said to himself, before looking at the two unconscious girls. "A pity I can't take you two with me, as I'd prefer to know whether or not the poison lasts as long as I intended for it to. But, you can't always get what you want," he told them.
Careful not to step on them, Keijutsu passed by their bodies and left them lying there. Assuming the poison in one sting worked as designed, they'd wake up in about five minutes anyway. And when they woke up, they'd return to whoever sent them with news of their failure.
A few days later…
Sona was finding her not-so-small amount of self-control pushed to the limit. After Ruruko and Tomoe reported back about how they had been knocked out by a wasp of all thing while surveying Keijutsu, she had tasked other members of her peerage with the job instead. And every day, her servants encountered a similar lack of success.
Momo and Tsubasa had been the second group, and had actually managed to not lose him on the first two days. They revealed that he lived in an apartment complex near the edge of town, and seemed to be living with no one else. Which was consistent with his academic file, as it had him listed as an orphan. But on the third day, they had both turned up unconscious just like the first two had been.
Next were Reya and Saji, and they had almost met the same fate. But after Saji was knocked out, Reya was able to react quickly enough to avoid being stung by one of the mysterious wasps. She caught it and was about to examine it when the wasp suddenly blew itself up, destroying any evidence before it could be examined.
Nonetheless, the fact that all of them had been assaulted by a mysterious group of wasps could not be considered a coincidence. Perhaps if it had happened only once or twice, but not three times. Similarly, when she ordered Saji and Reya to search Keijutsu's apartment for any clues to his nature, they had just barely made it through the front door when they had been knocked out from behind, even though there hadn't been anyone behind them.
Now, she was no closer to find out anything about Keijutsu than she had been almost a week ago. It was infuriating.
Tsubaki was the latest person who had been tasked with following him, and she was being especially careful to avoid being spotted. She had been able to figure when he was making four-corner turns to check for followers, and had been able to not fall for it each time. She had also made sure to stay out of sight tokeep him from seeing her.
With all the effort that she had put into it, it had paid off. Keijutsu was none the wiser to her being followed.
Unfortunately, her surveillance didn't yield much new information. Every day after school, Keijutsu followed seemingly random paths throughout town that inevitably lead to his home. Then he would enter his apartment and not be seen again until next morning.
Today was her hope that this would change. She had stationed herself across from Kei's apartment all of last night and had was waiting for when he would leave school in the morning. When he did, that would be her chance to search his apartment unhindered, and to escape even if she was somehow ambushed.
It was now approaching dawn, and Tsubaki had to fight to keep herself from falling asleep. She hadn't slept at all, not wanting to risk a single chance of Keijutsu leaving while she was sawing logs.
'I really hope this is worth it,' she thought, hiding on top of the roof of the complex across the street from Keijutsu's.
It seemed luck was in her favor, as just then the door to the apartment opened and Keijutsu walked out, locking the door behind him. Then, without a backwards glance, he began walking to school.
Tsubaki grinned and waited until he was at least a block away before flying down to land in front of the door. A quick application of magic unlocked the door and she pushed it open with her foot, just in case there was some sort of trap. But when nothing happened, she went inside and shut the door behind her.
Inside Keijutsu's apartment, it seemed to be a strange combination of a workshop and living space. A brown leather couch flanked by wooden end tables with lamps sat against the white-colored wall, and adjacent to it was a black bookcase filled with books from encyclopedias to textbooks to notebooks. There was no television, but instead a wooden bench that had several tools scattered across it and… a pair of dolls?
Curious, Tsubaki came closer and saw that, yes, there were a pair of old-fashioned porcelain dolls lying on the table. One looked to be remarkably well-preserved and was designed to look like a little girl with red hair and a red dress. The other was of a man with a tuxedo, top hat and monocle, but was faded and cracked in several places, with the monocle missing.
"So… he works on dolls?" Tsubaki muttered aloud, before shrugging. Well, there was one fact to include in her report however strange. She looked around again and saw that the hallway leading out of the living room lead further into the apartment, so she continued in.
There was a modest kitchen that seemed to be immaculately cleaned, and a small room with a washer and dryer. The farthest room was, if she had to guess, Keijutsu's bedroom. A quick inspection of the kitchen showed nothing worthy of note, and she decided to return to living room to investigate further before going to the bedroom.
She checked the bookcase first, and saw that the books themselves were actually more diverse in subject than she thought. "The Particle at the End of the Universe, The Future of the Mind, CNC for Industry..." she read, before blinking. "The Art of War?" She grabbed the book and pulled it off the shelf.
Opening it to the page that had been marked, she read "In warfare, subterfuge is your foundation, advantage your motivation, and circumstance determines your formation. Victory belongs to him who has mastered the combination of the devious and the direct."
The words eerily reminded her of current events. Sona was trying to use subterfuge and learn more about Keijutsu, and Keijutsu was able to avoid any of them without giving up his secrets. Most likely, the first one of them to make some sort of mistake would be the one to lose.
Putting the book back, Tsubaki looked around the living room further. There was nothing in the drawers of the end tables, and the notebooks would take too long for her to properly look through, given the fact that half the bookcase was filled with them. She was about to head to the bedroom when she noticed something out of the corner of her gaze. Looking back, she was filled with surprise.
The dolls on the workbench were gone.
Quickly approaching where they had been, Tsubaki tried to find them, but it was as if both of them had simply vanished. What was more, a pair of scissors and one of the knives was gone as well. Suddenly getting a bad feeling, Tsubaki began to head for the door when her instincts screamed at her to leap back.
Which she did, and not a moment too soon. The female doll flew through the air right where she had been, holding the missing scissors with both hands and closing them with a loud snip! Her instincts told her to move again, which let her avoid being stabbed in the side by the male doll, who was holding the knife.
Both dolls landed on the ground, and Tsubaki stared. Had those dolls really just tried to kill her? And more importantly, how were they moving in the first place?! But before she could try to figure that out, the two dolls stood back up and launched themselves at her once again, the female doll aiming for her neck while the male one went for her legs.
"What the hell is this!?" Tsubaki yelled, even as she summoned her naginata into existence and blocked both dolls. They pushed against her with a level of strength completely disproportionate to their sizes, but she pushed them away before swinging at the male doll. It sidestepped the blow and tried to run up her naginata, but she spun it and sent it flying away. The female doll flew at her, and she blocked its scissors.
However, then the doll yanked downward and pulled Tsubaki forward, disrupting her balance. Flipping over so that she would land on her back, she saw the male doll land on its feet and threw the knife at her. Tsubaki panicked and spread her out arms out, calling "Mirror Alice!"
Instantly, a large mirror appeared in front of her, which knife struck and was absorbed by. Then the mirror glowed and shot the knife back out at twice the speed it came in. The male doll couldn't react in time and was stabbed through the face, pinning it against the wall.
Satisfied that one of her strange enemies was taken care of, Tsubaki dismissed her Sacred Gear and focused on the female doll, which tried to cut the back of her knees. But she kicked it square in the chest and sent it flying back. The doll flipped over midair before landing on its feet and jumping towards her face.
She blocked it once again, but this time the blade of her naginata was caught between the blades of the scissors. And with a push from the doll, the scissors cut through the metal of her weapon, shearing her blade in half.
Tsubaki was stunned. A doll, which was moving on its own and trying to kill her, had just used a pair of scissors and cut her fucking blade in half! What was this shit?!
But then the doll leaped over the stump of her naginata had tried to do the same to her face. Reacting faster than she thought possible, she called forth her Sacred Gear once more between her and the doll, and the blades of the scissors passed through the mirror, reemerging on either side of the doll's head. Not having noticed, the doll kept going and snapped the blades shut, severing its own head. The mirror faded away and the female doll dropped to the ground, scissors clattering against the wooden floor.
Tsubaki panted as she stared at the destroyed body. That was, over and far away, the strangest encounter she had ever faced, and all for trying to sneak into Keijutsu's apartment. Though, this did explain why Reya and Saji had been knocked out when they tried to get inside. If creatures like these dolls were just lying around inside, then something else could be here too. Maybe more of those wasps. 'Still, I've spent enough time here as it is. I need to get out of this place and back to Sona. Now,' she thought, preparing to simply use a magic circle and appear inside the Student Council room.
But just then, she heard a voice saying, "Care to tell me what you are doing inside my home?"
Tsubaki froze. Slowly, she turned around and saw Keijutsu standing there, arms crossed and wearing a very displeased expression. Dozens of possible responses passed through her mind, including not saying anything at all and simply using the magic circle immediately. But what came out of her mouth was "What are you doing here and not at school?"
Keijutsu raised an eyebrow, before gesturing at the door. "The moment someone passes through my doorway, their magical signature is scanned and, if it does not match mine, triggers a silent alarm. Now, answer my question: Why are you inside my home?" he asked.
It was at this point that Tsubaki decided that not answering was the best option. Worst came to worst, she could just use a Memory Alteration spell later to make him forget she had been here at all. With that in mind, a blue circle bearing the Sitri crest appeared beneath her, and she prepared to leave. Only for Keijutsu to snort and say "I don't think so," before snapping his fingers.
Instantly, the magic circle vanished from beneath her feet, and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise, as if she had been given a shock. Glaring at him, Tsubaki said "What did you just do?"
"Oh, nothing special. Just put up an anti-magic field over the entire apartment. You're not leaving until I get some answers. But first…" he replied, and waved his hand.
That was the only warning she got before she felt something blunt and heavy hit her in the back of the head. She fell forward, but managed to look back and see that it was the female doll, which was still moving despite being headless, and had in fact hit her with the body of the male doll. Her world went black, and the last thing she heard was Keijutsu saying "Let's take this into my office."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone