Formation

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Mei stretched after closing the final box of what was left of her belongings. She was no longer half naked and was now wearing the black tracksuit Kazuya picked out for her. She took one last look at the apartment she rented since she was in high school before leaving there for the last time. Although feeling reluctant, she felt that it was time to leave this place and move on to another part of her life.

"Are you ready?" Kyouko asked after she watched her load the last box in her car.

"Where's grandma Fuji and the girls?"

"They insisted on going on ahead to take Kazuya home. They wanted to get started on unloading your stuff so that you won't mess the place up on your first day"

"You all really shouldn't have gone through all the trouble" She shrugged off the comment. Mei was feeling weird finally leaving the home she got used to but she felt like she wouldn't regret it.

"It wasn't for you but for my Kazuya. Besides, at your pace it would take until the last minute for you to finally finish fixing everything"

"Are you sure about this? I know you offered before but…"

"All I ask for you is to not be like that ingrate Lee. I've let him off easy because he is still a child. You on the other hand know that Kazuya is my world. I want you to distance yourself from him now if you're only going to end up hurting him in any way" Kyouko looked her assistant in the eye and wanted to make this completely clear.

"You know that I won't. That's why you chose me as his secondary guardian right?"

"Hmph. Yumi already took my car with them so you drive"

"Don't be so cranky mother-in-law. Kazu loves you a lot too. He even mentioned you along with me while he was sleep talking" Mei of course was aware that forcing her to move was mostly due to Kazuya's attachment to her. She knew that Kyouko was feeling down whenever she would get along with him more than her so she wanted to give her a some encouragement.

"What did he say?"

"I think he was having a bad dream but he said; 'Mei don't abandon me again' and 'Mom don't leave me, don't die'. Neither happened in the past so it's just a bad dream"

"… yeah" Kyouko answered half-heartedly and silently got into the car.

Kyouko was silent as they went back to the mansion. Thinking deeply, she tried to think why her son would say such a thing in his dreams. She would never leave him nor did she think that Mei would abandon her son so why did he have such dreams? Did it have something to do with the memories he lost? Was it really a bad dream? This lasted throughout the whole drive towards the Kouzuki household.

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In the Shiroyuki household living room, Jirou, Tomoyo, Kaori and two head instructors were gathered. The two instructors were curious as to why they were summoned from their class after Jirou had received a sudden call. It turns out that it had something to do with the newest addition to the elite class. The instructors were briefed of his current circumstances beforehand, but today's news was quite disturbing.

Jirou had received a call from Kazuya's mother and told him about what she learned from him as well as the report from Yui. The Kouzuki's and the Shiroyuki's close relationship was no secret and Jirou himself had taken a liking to Kazuya. Hashiyama may have been had some relations with the Kouzukis and may have been a disciple formerly recognized by the dojo but he was not a Kouzuki.

"I want you two to investigate who in the dojo has good relations with that little bastard Hashiyama. Also get some of the students studying in Sacred Forest Academy to keep an eye on the situation. Be sure to be discreet about it. This concerns the safety of my granddaughter and my old friend's grandson so take this matter seriously"

""Yes Master!""

"That Hashiyama kid's skills are average but he's a sneaky little snake. It's a good thing that Kazuya had forgotten his hesitations or we wouldn't have been able to see his skills. Remind your students to only make a move if it looks like Kazuya won't be able to handle the situation. If that snake really does strike then it would be a chance for him to get rid of the stain of his past" he instructed.

"Jirou, that little bastard is a coward and I think that he will strike without putting himself at risk. Our granddaughter may be capable, but she is still inexperienced" Kaori who had been quiet spoke her thoughts.

"If he dares then he will know that he is not the only one who has allies"

"This is not your fight. You should wait till the boy asks for your help. I do not think he realizes his own position yet. This would be a great opportunity for him to do so"

"Hmm… you might be right. I'll leave it to their judgement"

"What should we do then master?" The two who were listening in were confused. The husband and wife had different opinions so they needed to be given clear instructions so they wouldn't feel the wrath of these two.

"Here's how it will go…" Jirou explained his plan in detail.

They thought of various ways to handle the situation in a way that would be beneficial for Kazuya's growth. Tomoyo listened quietly but was a little surprised to learn about what had happened to Kazuya in the past. He didn't seem like the type of person that would go through all that. This left her a little confused. She couldn't imagine him getting beat up by someone who she had no problems beating so for what reason did he allow himself to do so?

Their discussion and planning lasted for hours before they finally were able to call in a few students that would be involved in their plans. This was how the rest of the day was spent inside the Shiroyuki household.

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Kouzuki household before dawn.

"Huh?" Kazuya felt extremely rested and slowly opened his eyes. "This… my room?" he surveyed the surroundings and after seeing the pictures and posters Mei made herself, he confirmed where he was.

"Nnn…" A soft moan entered his ears after he moved to get up. His hand felt something smooth. He moved his hands to confirm what it was he was holding but couldn't believe it.

"Did big sis go this far to make a real-life pillow of herself?" He continued to move his hands around to make sure she got the measurements right.

"Hmm… the waist is thinner… though how did she get the scent and feel so lifelike?"

"Nnn…! NNn!" muffled sounds continued as his hands continue to roam freely.

"It even reacts. Though it's too much. Big sis wouldn't react like this"

"Nnn…! Are you sure about that?" Mei who finally couldn't hold herself back finally spoke.

"!!!" Kazuya immediately jumped off the bed in alarm.

"You shouldn't tease your big sis so much. I almost… err… I'm flattered you think your big sis is pretty and thin but why did you assume my waist would be bigger?" she slowly sat up with a flushed face.

"Well… I always hug big sis so…" he quickly made an excuse expecting her to get mad any second.

"Is that so? Why are you up so early?" She was embarrassed herself so she decided to change the topic quickly.

"I always wake up early to tr—wait why is big sis sleeping in my bed?" Seeing Mei sitting on his bed wearing only a white shirt and her black underwear clearly now jolted his thoughts back to the more pressing matter at hand.

"I moved here last night. You also said so yourself that you wanted a big sis pillow to hug so what's better than the real thing?" She smiled at him like it was obvious. "Are you going to chase me away after everything you said?" She pouted and made him remember the scene he caused before he fell asleep crying. He immediately turned away to hide his embarrassed face. He started changing his clothes to avoid looking back intending to start his morning routine.

"You can go back to sleep big-sis. You have work today so don't mind me" he tried to make a quick escape.

"Aww my Kazu is too sweet and cute. Big sis almost doesn't want to let you go but I'll let you do your thing so you won't kick me out" She laid back down.

Mei was a little surprised since Kazuya was too relaxed around her. She wouldn't have minded normally but he had been more open with her whenever she compared how differently he treated Kyouko and herself. It was as if she was the one that he saw comfortably as family. She couldn't tell if it was because he was still a child or if it was because of his amnesia. What exactly was so special about her?

"I'm off then big sis"

"Mn, Take care. I might join you one of these days but not now. I'm still too tired from unpacking"

"Rest well and sweet dreams big sis"

Kazuya went to run more than his usual routine. He felt great after sleeping off all his accumulated fatigue and after venting out his feelings yesterday, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. Things were producing smoothly and the preparations he was doing in the Kouzuki household was almost complete as well.

He arrived back at the household after the sun had risen and decided to double check the places he left specific marks on. He used his own blood that was rich with mana to place small formations around the whole area according to the research he studied from the book the demon lord gave him. The only thing left now was to activate them together by linking them with mana. This was the perfect opportunity since he was brimming with energy.

He added a little extra to the gathering formation. Aside from it perpetually concentrating mana in the Kouzuki household, a detection formation was also installed. Kazuya wanted to add a protection formation instead but that required a lot of mana and decided that it can just be added if this experiment was a success.

Since the formation would be activated by him, he would be able to feel whenever any living creature that he didn't permit to be detected by him. As long as he was there or came within range of their property, Kazuya would be able to sense them. This was usually a formation used when setting up camps, so he learned it as an extra precaution even if people took turns in keeping watch.

He sat on the ground and concentrated. He empowered his voice with mana before closing his eyes and spoke the elven incantations to connect and activate his formation. His body started to feel stiff as a large portion of mana in his body started to leave him. He could visualize the mana coming from his body slowly form lines connecting the small formations to form a larger one that covered their entire property,

"(Just a little bit more…!)" he thought as his breath started getting rougher.

Kazuya couldn't help but think that it was a bit ironic. When he was first summoned, he felt that he had taken modern technology for granted and would always think of various inventions on earth that would have made his life a lot easier. This time it was the opposite. He couldn't help but think about how convenient mana was and how it had become a large part of his life.

"One truly realizes the importance of something after losing it" he whispered before letting himself lay on the ground. He had succeeded. He could feel that the grass and other plants in his house were brimming with life as the mana around them continued to congregate.

Kazuya was in a good mood and felt a sense of accomplishment. He had successfully used mana and even formed his own formation in the modern world. He never thought that he would be doing this or if it was even possible but he succeeded. He raised his fist in the air and pumped it to celebrate.

"Now let's see if… huh?!" he paused.

It was then that he was alarmed. He had not noticed before now. The formation had just been activated and it was detecting extra human lifeforms currently in the Kouzuki household. He closed his eyes to confirm that they were indeed human readings. One of them was even moving towards him. This was neither Mei, Kyouko or Fujiyama but felt like someone that he hadn't met.

"(Could it be that Lee made moves this soon?)"

He braced himself and pretended not to notice the quiet footsteps slowly approaching. He prepared himself to strike and focused on recovering his strength. This couldn't have come at a worse time. He just finished activating the formation and was not in a state to put up a proper fight. He racked his brains to come up with a way to handle the situation. He needed think of a surefire way to win despite his current condition.

"(A sneak attack is my only chance)"

He calmed his breath and waited for the presence to come closer. He nervously felt the stranger come closer trying to hide the sound of their footsteps. This made him more anxious. The chances of him being successful had just gotten lower and his capabilities only recovered to being a normal child of his age.

"(It's now or never!)" Kazuya no longer had time to think as the person arrived into his range. He quickly flipped his body and immediately attacked, tackling the unknown assailant.