Nagoya, Japan

Monday, August 8th, 2050

I had no inkling of what that day held in store for me just then, of course. For once, I was glad Kiyo had been found sneaking into my dorm room and been summarily banished. I missed the funny little sniper, but I also could never breathe a word of what I’d done. It wasn’t easy; flashes of Haru Obe’s cold, dead body flashed through my mind as I slipped on my gym attire.

I shook my head. “Stop being ridiculous, Malthus. His own lover was upset when she learned you tried to spare him! Don’t care about that worm more than Maggie did.”

My conscience, atrophied as it was from years in the Grim Horde’s military, didn’t listen. A sure sign that spending so much time with humans was bad for a devil’s mental health. I wished that Headmaster Tachibana didn’t run a dry tower; I could have used a good drink right then to chase away those images.

Fortunately, I had an alternative. Every morning, Rose, Kiyo, and some of our other friends would meet in a small gym on a lower floor in the great Nagoya Tower. A bit of exercise was just what I needed to clear my head.

Of course, that meant a trip down the elevator. The Grim Horde didn’t have the wherewithal to make a building taller than five stories, so the idea of being hundreds of feet off the ground in the Nagoya Tower was always a tad unsettling. I’d almost become accustomed to looking out the Tower’s windows.

Almost. Objectively, the view of the forest that ringed the school was lovely. It was hard to enjoy myself when my instincts told me the elevator was bound to fail me at any moment. At least I didn’t quake anymore; I simply focused on the door instead.

“Magpie!” A pair of lithe arms grabbed me from behind in a loving tackle.

“Kiyo,” I said. I coughed again to try and cover the my startled tone. “Kiyo,” I repeated in a deeper, more commanding tone. “How long have you been waiting here?” I pivoted around, finding I had been embraced by thin air.

Kiyo Jones shimmered back into view as she deactivated her magical affinity, the Death of Light. “Where’s the fun in that? I need to have some secrets.”

“Now, my dear, we agreed: no more recon.”

She shook her head, sending her sideways-facing ponytail bouncing. “This wasn’t recon. That’d be me following someone around. This is more like camping.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “Camping? In an elevator?”

She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I keep forgetting you’re a caveman who discovered video games like two months ago. It means waiting in one spot for somebody to come at you.”

“Caveman?” That made me want to punish her somehow, but the elevator dinged behind me, telling me we’d reached out destination. “Well, you’d best watch yourself. We primitives aren’t to be trifled with.”

She responded by raising to her tiptoes and kissing me briefly on the lips. “Nah, trifling with you is half the fun.” Before I could object, she’d released me. “But I guess we’re about to be in public. I miss the good old days, when we hung out all the time.”

“That I can agree to,” I said, rubbing my lips on my blue tracksuit’s sleeve. I’d correctly guessed I’d find a faint red smear there. Kiyo had changed a lot since I’d met her, transforming from a reclusive slob to a recluse who took some care about her appearance. I was one of the few exceptions to her shyness, a position I’d fought long and hard for.

It seemed we were the among last to arrive at the gym. Rose Cooper had set herself up on one of the treadmills facing away from the door, and I admit I had to tear my eyes away. She was practically an addict; as if we didn’t get enough in our morning meetups, she was also in the long-distance running club. I couldn’t argue with the results, though. Still, it wasn’t worth triggering Kiyo’s jealousy again.

“Hey, Magpie! Hi Kiyo!” cried out Hiro, his face lighting up when he spotted us.

“Focus, Hiro,” said Yukiko without opening her eyes. “This is dangerous.” Her hand glowed red, as did the imposing barbel resting on Hiro’s shoulders.

I strolled over. “You know, Takehara, most people would add more weights instead of making their girlfriend use her gravity magic.”

Yukiko shook her head. “It was my idea; it’s good practice to make sure I can keep a steady increase in the weight.”

“Wait, you just said it was dangerous,” said Kiyo in a combative tone.

Yukiko opened one eye to glare to Kiyo. “As long as we can both concentrate, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

I took the hint. “We’ll leave you to it,” I said, waving over my shoulder as I pivoted away.

“Hold on a sec. Yukikins, kill the magic.” The diminutive woman’s face flushed red as she carried out his order. Yukikins? That could be right. The school’s translation magic struggled with turns of phrase at time. However, it let a devil who didn’t speak of a lick of Japanese converse with a human who must have slept through English class as a child.

“Not in front of them, please” murmured Yukiko.

Hiro didn’t acknowledge her embarrassment. “Do you know what’s wrong with Mariko and Paul this morning? Mariko isn’t answering any calls, and Paul just said he was leaving our sewing club and blocked me on SatoChat. What happened?”

I winced. “That’s a story they’ll have to tell you.”

“That sounds like you know what happened, but don’t want to say,” said Yukiko.

“If that’s how you want to interpret it,” I replied, enjoying Yukiko’s irritation as I took Kiyo’s hand, guiding us over to the treadmills with Rose. “It’s messy, and it isn’t my place to spill the details. You can ask her yourself.”

“Spill what details?” asked Rose. The blonde wizard didn’t look our way, though. She seemed to be in the mysterious ‘zone’ she referred to. She had never explained what it meant, but seemed to assume I’d know, so I always smiled and nodded.

“Why Mariko and Paul aren’t here,” said Kiyo. “Magpie knows something, but isn’t saying anything.”

“Well?” asked Rose.

“Well, what?” I retorted, tapping the buttons on my treadmill.

“After all of the gossip I’ve given you, you owe me,” Rose said.

My, they really were out to drag the second-worst thing to happen Friday to the forefront of my mind, weren’t they? So much for clearing my head. “Look, it’s a private matter, and I’ll have you know that I can keep a secret.”

“You can give up, Rose,” said Kiyo, starting her own run. “Magpie likes me best, and he won’t even tell me about it.”

Rose frowned, a frown spreading across her freckled face. “At least tell me if it’s bad.”

“It certainly is,” I said, knowing that I’d just waved a porterhouse under a dog’s nose. “However, that’s her story to tell. Now let’s get off this topic. How are your brothers doing?”

“You don’t really want to hear about them,” sulked Rose. “You’re just trying to distract me.”

“And? It’s part of our morning ritual at this point. Go on ahead.”

Rose flashed me a self-assured smile. “Alright, I will. If you can tell me how many brothers I have, I’ll drop it. Otherwise, you have to tell me.”

I broke into a sweat, and not because I’d just hit my stride. Bloody Hell, I had names, but I couldn’t match them with anyone. She was the youngest in the Cooper family, I knew that, and I always thought there were too many. It was three. Or four. Possibly five?

“Four,” I said.

Rose’s face fell. “You got lucky.”

“Nah, my Magpie’s a great listener,” said Kiyo, flashing me a loving grin.

“I can be both,” I said. I savored my victory, for I knew it would be short lived. Like everything else, the truth about Mariko and Paul’s breakup would out. I simply hoped I wouldn’t have to be there to deal with the fallout.

Like most of my hopes, it turned out to be forlorn.