???, Japan?

???, September? ???, 2050?

I awoke with a splitting headache, which came as a surprise. I hadn’t expected to wake up again at all. After I had put Maggie out of the world’s collective misery, I could remember stumbling towards the stairway before my legs buckled beneath me as I succumbed to my blood loss and Wizard’s Desolation.

Everything felt fuzzy; had I been drugged, or was I simply exhausted? I didn’t have the hangover-like headache that follows Wizard’s Desolation, and no drug humans or devils had concocted could fix that. Just how long had I been out?

I definitely wasn’t on the roof anymore; everything was too soft for that. A bed? I was sitting upright, as though the bed was jackknifed halfway through. I wasn’t handcuffed any longer, but when I tried to move my arm, I found my wrist attached to an IV bag. “What in blazes?” My voice was muffled in my ears, and reaching with my free hand, I found the left side of my head was wrapped with bandages.

“You’re awake!” I started at the unexpected voice, wincing in pain as I disturbed my IV needle. Rose’s green eye shone with concern as she sprang out of her chair, her forgotten magazine falling to the side. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

“Just a tad,” I said. I scanned the hospital room. Rose and I were joined by a uniformed Wizard Corpsman I hadn’t met before. His outfit’s black and red coloring marked him as a combat wizard. He looked down on me with a steely glare. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“No, we haven’t.” He didn’t pull that conversation thread.

Fortunately, Rose was more than happy to fill the awkward silence. “Soren, do you know where you are?”

I thought I had a pretty decent idea, but in my mental fog, I couldn’t recall if Rose had any reason to think I’d been to the Wizard Corps hospital in Gozaisho before. I knew for certain I had run into her there in my Nurse Kazushi disguise, but she wouldn’t know about that, naturally. Waking up in a hospital bed instead of a prison cell made me think I might still have some secrets, so I decided to not incriminate myself.

“No, I can’t say I do. The last I remember was passing out on the roof.”

“You’re in a Wizard Corps hospital up in the mountains.”

I feigned surprise. “How did I end up here?”

Rose didn’t cry, exactly, but her eye was dewy as she crushed me in an embrace. “We thought you were… there was just so much blood when we found you!”

“You won’t be rid of me that easily.” I returned the hug as well as I could with one free arm. Her touch helped wake me up fully. My memories of that awful day started falling back into place, and I gripped Rose harder. “Ms. Edwards, you damn liar.”

Rose twitched at the d-word. “Come on, Magpie, watch your language.”

“I’ll speak how I please,” I said. The smell of disinfectant must have set off my allergies, since I was a bit dewy myself. “I didn’t think I’d see you again for… for a lot of reasons. She said that Brother Maus had finished you and Hiro off.”

Rose stood back, and I noticed for the first time that her left eye was covered in a white patch. “It was close, but we stopped him.”

My jaw went slack. “Don’t tell me he took your eye!”

Rose’s brow knit with confusion, before she giggled. “Oh, this? No, no. The lights went out again while we were chasing Brother Maus through a server room, and Hiro flashed me by accident.”

“If he’s that blinding, he needs to get more sun.”

“You’re awful,” Rose chided, smirking despite herself. “I mean he flashed me a with Merlin’s Lantern. I’ll be right as rain in a day or two. I’m better off than Brother Maus, though.” She drew a line across her throat with a finger. “Hiro’s a beast with his sword.”

“That’s a relief.” One less Holy Brother left to point the finger at me. A calm descended over me. Sitting there, chatting with Rose, and throwing the odd verbal curveball her way felt normal.

I frowned. This was too normal. She was acting like nothing had changed, when she knew I was a traitor to the League twice over. Why wasn’t she mentioning it? What was her angle?

I squinted at the guard. Was that their game, to get me to talk by throwing Rose at me? If it was, it was a decent ploy. Assuming that even was Rose. I knew full well that disguise wands were a thing, and the Holy Brotherhood had made a convincing replica of Rose at one point.

She had been chattering on, but stopped. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Rose, how’s your brother Charles doing?”

She crossed her arms under her chest. “I don’t have a brother named Charles! How do you not know their names? There’s only four to keep track of!”

Truthfully, I didn’t; I only knew that there wasn’t a Charles. I unclenched a bit. If that wasn’t Rose, it was a convincing facsimile. “It must be whatever drugs I’m on.”

“You aren’t on any drugs,” countered Rose.

I straightened up, my muscles protesting like I’d just run three marathons. I slouched back into my pillow. “We’ll have to rectify that.” Glancing down, I noticed a few empty cans of soda and juice strewn around Rose’s seat. “Just how long have you been waiting here?”

“You were out for more than a day. We’ve been taking shifts.”

No wonder my throat was so dry. “Who’s we?”

She started counting off on her fingers. “Me, Mariko, Hiro, Paul, Yukiko…”

“Wait, Yukiko visited?”

Rose nodded. “She tried to pretend she wasn’t worried, but I could tell. Don’t tell her I told you; she’d be embarrassed.”

Two things struck me about her list. “Paul made it, then? Thank goodness. But… has Kiyo not visited?”

Rose hesitated. “We actually haven’t seen her since the doctors released her. There’s nobody in her room, but with Kiyo that doesn’t always mean anything.”

I felt a deep frown crease my face. “I see.”

Rose sighed. “She took it hard. Barely said a word the whole trip over, and she wouldn’t look anybody in the eye.”

“Frankly, my dear, I’m surprised you’ll have anything to do with me after what happened.”

Rose grew rather quiet, her visible eye meeting mine. “You did the right thing in the end, Magpie, and saved all our lives. That counts for something. Just don’t do anything like that ever again.”

I was tempted to say something sarcastic, maybe promise that I wouldn’t join up with terrorists to bring down a tower, and nothing more. But, this was a serious moment. “I won’t.”

“Darn straight!” She lightly smacked her forehead. “Wait, what am I doing? You’re awake! I need to go tell everyone else!”

“Are they still here?”

“We’re all technically under observation; healing magic isn’t always perfect, especially when it’s cadets doing it to each other in the field.” She bent over to retrieve something from a bookbag.

Did I look? Yes.

Was I proud of myself after? Not entirely, though did she have to choose the shortest skirt the Nagoya dress code had to offer? As far as I was concerned, that was entrapment.

She handed me a tablet open to the SatoVid app. “While I’m gone, do a search for Magpie Wizard. I think you’ll like what you see.”

I very much doubted it, but I forced myself to smile. Once she was gone, I followed her instructions. There were a few dozen videos, but I recognized the thumbnail on one that had been viewed millions of times. The video was titled, ‘The Magpie Wizard Owns Holy Sister Warrior.’

“Oh no.”

“This is Soren Marlowe speaking,” said the dashing young devil on the screen. “To those outside the Tower, the siege is nearly broken…” It went on until poor Rei destroyed the camera.

“Where the devil did they get the idea I was called the Magpie Wizard?” I scrolled through the related videos and saw an official news report with the same screenshot. Bloody Hell, it had even more views than the first clip!

After another playback of my declaration, the video cut to a middle-aged Japanese man with a bad toupee. “We just got this footage from inside the Nagoya Tower, which has been under siege by the traitorous Holy Brotherhood of Mankind since this morning. The young man has been identified as Nagoya Academy student Soren Marlowe, affectionately known by his classmates as the Magpie Wizard. He was instrumental in foiling the last attack by the Holy Brotherhood in Nagoya proper. When asked for comment, Asahi Maki, the Divine Blade, had this to say-”

I shut off the screen. If it hadn’t been Rose’s, I would have hurled it across the room.

“It’s a shame you stopped there,” came Mr. Maki’s rumbling voice. “That was a good interview. What’s the matter, you don’t like the spotlight?”

How had such a heavy man snuck into the room? I must have been transfixed by the screen.

“S-sir!” The wizard guard snapped a smart salute, which Mr. Maki returned.

“At ease,” said Mr. Maki. “Give us some privacy.”

The younger man gulped. “I-I’m under orders to watch him, Sir.”

“Tell them I relieved you,” he replied. “If I can’t handle a hospitalized young man with a magical disruptor on, I deserve to lose.”

Magical disruptor? I had thought my ankle felt heavier than normal.

With a last, respectful bow, the Wizard Corpsman beat a hasty retreat out.

“That was some stunt you pulled there, Cadet,” said Mr. Maki.

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. How much of the truth did he know? Those were loaded words. “Yes, well, one does what one must.”

“Come now, Magpie,” he said, Rose’s chair groaning under his musclebound bulk as he sat. “We know you aren’t a modest man. Show your pride! You’re the hero of the hour!”

I didn’t demand to know how. That would give the whole game away. “I’m not quite up to bragging; I only just woke up. I take it Rose found you?”

He nodded. “I was just visiting Yosuke next door. Those butchers did a number on him.” His fist trembled with barely contained fury. “I should have been there to help.”

“They planned for that, sir,” I said. “You can’t be blamed for standing aside when the whole student body was captured.”

He let out a sigh. “If anybody had to be stuck behind enemy lines, I’m glad it was you and Takehara’s fan club. I just…” He fixed me with a gaze that would have made a goblin loose his bowels. “Did you know about Ms. Edwards?”

“I always thought there was something off about her,” I said, trying to sound neutral.

His fist dented the drywall near my bed. “I thought she was a friend, but it all fits. I’d wager that assassination attempt was her too!”

“Then you’ll be glad to know I avenged you,” I said, as I relived my final blow on Maggie.

He clapped me on the shoulder. “Good man.”

We were interrupted by a commotion at the door. Rose and Hiro both tried to enter at the same time, bumping into each other. That earned Rose a silent, jealous glare from Yukiko, who followed. Mariko and Paul brought up the rear.

“Paul, I’m pleased to see you’re in one piece!”

“More or less.” Paul chuckled before wincing. He was dressed in a simple bathrobe, and I saw the outlines of bandages under his shirt. Otherwise, he looked as healthy as ever. “You worry about yourself, Mags. You look half dead.”

Yukiko coughed into her hand. “Why are you surprised? I told you I could save him.”

Hiro shook his head before responding in Japanese, leaving Yukiko looking chastised. I realized for the first time I was again outside of the school’s translation effect.

“Good morning, Soren,” said Hiro.

“It isn’t the morning anymore,” said Yukiko with a sigh. “We need to get you some more English lessons, and get Soren at least a bit of Japanese.”

Mariko stepped forward, more shakily than the rest. She wore a bathrobe and a drab hospital gown similar to Paul’s, her rich, brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face pale. She kept tugging at her right sleeve, pulling the too-short robe down to try and keep her scars covered, only somewhat successfully. “Good evening, Soren.”

I straightened up. “Mariko, are you alright? You gave us all a fright after you got a lungful of that magic glitter.”

She nodded. “The doctors want me to stay here for a few days for observation, but they were able to fix the damage. You’re the one I was worried about. The doctors said you got hit with the same spell as me. How are you holding up?”

My chest twinged in pain as I remembered the drips of ruhspont spattering my chest. “I think so. I didn’t get much of that poison on me.”

She let out a long breath. “Thank goodness. You had me so worried when you slept through a whole day!”

“Has it really been that long?” I asked.

Rose leaned in, playfully ribbing Mariko. “She’d know! This nutter was taking her first nap since she got here when I found her. She was in here more than I was!”

“Ara!” After uttering the unfamiliar exclamation, Mariko blushed. “You don’t need to make it more than it is. I just wanted to be there when he woke up is all.”

Meanwhile, Hiro and Yukiko were in their own little world, chattering in Japanese like nobody else was there.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’d fought them and betrayed them. Paul had followed my lead into an awful mess, and Rei was dead by my hand. For that matter, Paul should have been in a jail cell, too. The easy chatter made It seem like nothing was amiss at all, but that couldn’t be true. I was too afraid to ask, though, as if mentioning the ugly truth would break the spell and bring the whole Anti-Demonic League down on my head.

“Yo, Mags, are you crying?” asked Paul.

“O-of course not. It’s allergies.”

“There’s no need to shame him.” Slim arms wrapped around my shoulders as Mariko cradled my head against her chest. “It’s alright, Soren. It’s been an awful time for everyone.”

If crying got me clutched against Mariko’s bosom, I wondered if I should cry more often. I tried not to focus on that and took the comforting gesture for what it was. I was mostly successful.

“That could have been me,” mumbled Paul.

“Yes, it could have been,” replied Mariko.

Mr. Maki jumped to his feet. “Alright, that’s enough mothering! Marlowe’s a soldier, darn it! And so are you for that matter. Act like a Second Year, Yamada!”

Seeming to remember she had an audience, Mariko shot up, blushing yet harder. She tilted her head in confusion at Mr. Maki. “Wait, Second Year? But I didn’t participate in the combat trial.”

Mr. Maki laughed. “I’d say that taking on a squad of Holy Brothers and surviving is more of a combat trial than any of us imagined. As far as I’m concerned, you all graduated with flying colors.”

Mariko frowned. “I’m not sure I wanted that.”

“It’s the best thing for you,” replied Mr. Maki. “It might technically be against the rules, but you saved my life once, and the Divine Blade repays his debts.”

Yukiko frowned at the mention of rule breaking, but she kept her objections to herself.

“Congrats, Mariko,” said Rose.

“At least you aren’t in limbo anymore,” I said. She nodded, but she didn’t look any more pleased. Looking to spare her feelings, I decided to change subjects. “What happened? The last I remember, I was on the roof.”

“I’m kinda shaky on it too,” said Paul. “I was ganked by that Ratte asshole, and then I woke up here.”

“We won,” said Hiro, holding up two fingers in a V for Victory sign. “We killed Maus Brother and bad soldiers.” Hiro looked expectantly at Yukiko.

“That’s a little better,” said Yukiko.

“Kiyo showed up and said you needed help upstairs,” said Rose. “Then she passed out for a while. She wasn’t kidding! You looked like you’d been through a woodchipper.”

“I certainly felt like it,” I said.

“You got out better than Ms. Edwards,” said Mr. Maki. “Traitorous bitch.”

Yukiko and Mariko didn’t seem to care for the description, as accurate as it was. Neither seemed willing to call out their teacher’s tone, though.

Rose continued. “You didn’t have enough magic left for healing, so we had to call the paramedics for advice while they sent some people up. Then the Headmaster helped us shut off the Peace Bond, and it was over.”

Hiro flexed his arm. “Glad I lift weights. Very heavy.”

“A fat joke from you, Takehara? I’m proud.”

“Thank you!”

I finally couldn’t stand the suspense. “I don’t understand. I did horrible things yesterday. Why are you even here, visiting me? Hell, why aren’t you trying to avenge yourselves?”

“Language!” snapped Yukiko and Mariko simultaneously. Apparently they were more than happy to chastise me.

Hiro had never had much grasp of the English language, but the warmth in his eyes transcended the language barrier. “Kasasagi, you are friend. Helped us. We forgive you. It is okay.”

“At least, we are willing to consider your side of the story,” added Yukiko, glaring at Hiro for being too forgiving.

“What the devil is a Kasasagi?” I asked, not wanting to get into it just yet.

“It’s Japanese for Magpie,” said Rose.

“It’s what we all call you,” said Mariko. “The translator smooths it out.”

“Some of them call you that,” corrected Rose. “I always use the mother tongue.”

I noticed Paul, the only member of Maggie’s squad left alive who knew the full truth, fidget nervously. He didn’t seem to like this area of discussion any more than I did.

I decided it was time to change topics again, lest I let something slip and incriminate us both. “How long until I can get out of here?”

“Why the hurry, Mr. Marlowe?” We all turned to face the door as Headmaster Tachibana rolled in on a wheelchair, his prosthetic leg still missing. The students all bowed deeply, while Mr. Maki only dipped his head. I abstained, since I didn’t want to jostle my IV tube again. “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

“I suppose not,” I murmured. My appointment with Dante had long since passed.

“Everyone, I will have to ask you to leave,” said the Headmaster, his harsh gaze not leaving my own. “I need to have a private discussion with Mr. Marlowe. Now that he is awake, we need to debrief him on his side of the Tower Attack.”

“Shouldn’t a doctor have a chance to look him over?” asked Mariko.

“They can once I am done with him,” replied Tachibana.

Everybody bade their goodbyes, and I used my best poker face, even as each hugged me or shook my hand. I couldn’t focus, as Tachibana’s eyes drilled into me.

When they had gone, he spun about, locking the deadbolt behind them with a To Me. He then rolled up, casting a Zone of Silence that encompassed half the room.

“You know,” he said, cracking a sly grin, “this is an exciting opportunity. I’ve never been this close to a devil who was not trying to kill me before.”

I gulped. I decided it was best to just come clean. He wouldn’t make that claim unless he was sure. “I hope I live up to your expectations.”

“We will see,” he said.