“I want to talk to him!” Harue exclaimed, eyes wide.

  “No,” James said firmly. “No way, no how. You’ll just let him out.”

  It was lunchtime, and James had gotten the girls away from Idol Club to ask about the oni.

  “What’s wrong with that? Unlimited wealth and power, that’s what he said, right?”

  “That does sound interesting,” Kana said thoughtfully. “Of course, his requirement of becoming his minion is unacceptable.”

  “Mitsue can be the minion,” Harue proposed. “He’s used to accepting instructions.”

  “I will not accept instructions that might, possibly, doom all of humanity,” Mitsue stated.

  “Why not?” Harue asked. “It’ll be fun!”

  “Alternatively,” Kana mused, “we could free him and then defeat and kill him. That way, we could acquire his treasure without any tedious interactions.”

  “That could happen!” Harue agreed. “There’s nothing to say it couldn’t!”

  “Just common sense,” James groaned. “Come on, you guys. Unleashing the ancient evil entity never goes well.”

  “If you’re talking about stories,” Harue said, “then I don’t know what movies you’ve been watching, because it always ends well.”

  “It ends well because it’s a movie and it has to,” James insisted. “But before that, there’s terror unleashed against the world.”

  “Yes!”

  “Terrible cataclysms risking the lives, or even killing millions!”

  “Uh-huh!”

  “Horrible deaths for all the promiscuous characters,” James tried.

  “We’re eighty percent good on that one,” Harue said. “I’m starting to think we watched the same movies. You just watched them wrong.”

  “You’re not supposed to root for the disaster!” James protested.

  “How can you avoid it?” Harue asked. “It’s so poignant, knowing that it will be overcome in the end by human ingenuity and courage.”

  “You’re impossible,” James said, deflating.

  “Thanks! But anyway, that’s in the movies. In real life, world-ending cataclysms are pretty rare—once a year, if that.”

  “That’s not rare at all! That’s terrifying!” James could feel a headache starting.

  “I’ll say! Do you know how many people in this world live their entire lives without getting involved in some life-or-death struggle with the fate of humanity at stake?”

  “Not enough!”

  Harue rolled her eyes and affected an offended snort. “How selfish. You’ve got yours, you don’t want anyone else to have one.”

  “Um, can we go back to the part where I die?” Suki asked. “I’m supposed to be the twenty percent, right?”

  “It’s not a strict virgin thing,” Harue assured her. “Just avoid going off alone with James to make out once the seal is broken, and you’ll be fine.”

  Suki frowned. “It would be irresponsible to get intimate during a global cataclysm… but I’ve never seen anything like this in the movies I watched.”

  “That’s because all your movies were curated,” Harue said. “Works of art to elevate and educate. Not trash.”

  She grinned slyly. “James is letting himself be guided by the worst kind of schlock that humanity can produce.”

  James growled in frustration. “Do you believe anything you just said?”

  “Eh,” Harue shrugged. “I don’t always pay attention to the things I say. Can we go visit the oni, now?”

  “No,” James said firmly. “It’s been declared off-limits by the PMC. And since I know that won’t stop you, Harue, if you’re seen down there, or the seal is somehow broken, then I’m telling Hatakiyama-sensei that you did it.

  Harue gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

  James glared at her. “I would. Just be glad I’m not giving this tidbit of information to the PMC.”

  “That’s dirty pool!” Harue protested.

  “When the fate of the world is at stake, I have to make some difficult choices,” James deadpanned. “Now, can we talk about why I brought this up in the first place?”

  “Huh, why did you bring this up?” Harue asked. “I wouldn’t be all revved up to destroy humanity if you hadn’t told me.”

  “My mistake,” James allowed, dryly. “The reason I asked was because I thought you two might know something about oni. For some reason, they’re missing from Midoriko-senpai’s education.”

  “Not surprising,” Harue said. “She deals with spirits, and oni aren’t that.”

  “What are they then?” Mitsue asked.

  “Hmm. I’ve only got what my sisters have told me; I’ve never met one myself. Do you know anything, Kana? It might be more reliable than my information.”

  “Indeed,” Kana intoned. She closed her eyes in thought. “My mother did pass down one memory about oni that she thought I should know. It is this: oni are the most tasty of all the mortal creatures that she has encountered. Also, the horns should not be consumed directly, but dissolved in a mixture of blood and water to make a kind of tea.”

  Harue giggled. “I don’t think that was quite what they were looking for.”

  “That is all that I have,” Kana said, unconcerned by the horrified looks of the humans around her.

  “Huh, I guess it’s up to me then,” Harue mused. She cocked her head to one side, considering. “Oni are rare these days. Much rarer than they used to be. I guess I know why now.”

  “You don’t mean…” James looked at Kana.

  “Oh, like humans are anything to talk about when it comes to hunting species to extinction,” Harue scolded.

  “Not people,” James insisted.

  “You just have a limited idea of what people are,” Harue countered. “The rocks, streams and trees can’t talk to you, but they talk to me.”

  She gestured around the cafeteria. “Every human building is built on and with the corpses of people, unheeded and uncounted.”

  “And that… doesn’t bother you,” Suki said quietly. It wasn’t a question.

  “Nah, it’s a spirit-eat-spirit world, you know?” Harue smiled. “You guys are just weird about it.”

  “Can we get back to the oni,” Mitsue interjected.

  “Oh, right! Um. Okay, oni are like humans, but not.” Harue nodded, as if she’d conveyed some deep truth.

  “That doesn’t explain anything,” James pointed out.

  “Well, they look like humans, except for the horns. And they generate ki like humans, except the horns let them do magic.”

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  “What kind of magic?” Mitsue asked quickly.

  “Dunno. But I do know that some of them cut off their horns so they can pass as human. They can’t do magic after that.”

  “Can they re-grow, or re-attach the horns?” Suki asked.

  “Dunno.”

  “Oni masks don’t look very human, though,” James said. “Particularly the colours. Red and chalk-white aren’t normal human skin tones.”

  “Artistic licence?” Harue suggested. “I’ve never met one, so I dunno, and my sisters never said anything about what colour their skin was.”

  “Kana said they were mortal,” Mitsue said. “And you said they were like humans. Can they be sealed like spirits?”

  Harue frowned. “No,” she said flatly. “There are seals that can have a physical effect, but I wouldn’t expect a shrine maiden to know about those.”

  “You’re a shrine maiden as well, aren’t you?” Suki asked. “Do you know the spells Midoriko-senpai knows?”

  Harue smirked. “Those spells don’t have a lot of use in a temple run by spirits,” she said. “I might have gotten my tail scorched if I tried learning them. But you know…”

  She cocked her head in thought again. “Physical confinement won’t cut it. Not if he has been sealed up for a long time. Oni age like mortals. Longer than humans, I think, so he’d be dead after… thirty years?”

  “Thirty ye—how long do you think humans live for?” James demanded.

  “Twenty, twenty-five? Is that not right?”

  Suki cleared her throat. “Life expectancy in Japan is 84 years, and a normal human can exceed 100 years in age.”

  “Well, that’s good news! You guys aren’t even halfway through your lifespan!”

  “You’re not serious,” James insisted. “You must have known that already!”

  “I try not to learn things that will depress me, like your ridiculously short lifespans,” Harue said. “Still, it’s good to know that you won’t necessarily expire in the next four years!”

  Whatever James meant to reply was lost because, at that moment, all their phones chimed with a notification. Harue was the quickest to check

  “Oh, the prof wants us to meet him after class,” she said. “That’s what the rest of you got?”

  James nodded as he stared at the message. “His people must have identified the first location,” he said.

  Then the end-of-lunch chime rang, and it was time to get back to class.

  “Hey, are you James St-John-san?” a student asked him as he was about to step into class.

  “What gave it away?” James asked, looking at the student. He was a second-year from his tie, and James didn’t know him. He was tall, by Japanese standards, which meant he didn’t quite reach James’s height. His haircut looked expensive—James wasn’t good at picking up on stuff like that, which probably meant it was really expensive. The flashy gold watch he was fiddling with looked expensive, too.

  “Uh…” the older kid said, looking flustered. “You know that you’re the only American in your class, right?”

  “Yeah, I noticed. That was a joke. What’s up?”

  “Oh! I’m Takamine Ren. Can we meet after classes? Say, on the dorm roof?”

  “I guess? This isn’t for a duel, is it?”

  “Ah, no, I have to ask you for a favour.”

  “Okay, I might be late, though, I have to see a teacher right after class.”

  “Great! I’ll be waiting.” And with that, he was gone.

  When school finally ended, James made his way to Professor Toei’s office. Suki and Mitsue were already there, and Kana and Harue were right behind him.

  “Thank you all for coming,” Professor Toei said without ceremony. “We’ve identified the location of one of the Power Stones as a facility belonging to the Hirasaka Agency.”

  “Ugh. Those guys,” Harue interjected. The professor gave her a look, but kept talking.

  “Yes. For the rest of you, I should explain the nature of that agency.”

  “They’re the spirit cops,” Harue put in. “They’re the fuzz, the P-O-L—”

  “Harue-san,” the professor interrupted. “Allow me to conduct the briefing.”

  Harue blew a raspberry and threw up her hands, but she sat back and let the professor talk.

  “As I was saying. Since the reign of the first Emperor, the Imperial court has always maintained at least one office devoted to harmonising relations with the spirit world. During the Meiji era, this duty was formalised when an Imperial Guard regiment was assigned to suppress spirit-related incidents. That unit is now known as the Hirasaka Agency.”

  “So they are spirit cops.” James pointed at Harue. “So why isn’t she in jail? Or the rest of her family, for that matter?”

  Harue stuck her tongue out at him.

  “From her attitude, I assume her family has had run-ins with Hirasaka.” Professor Toei sighed and looked disapprovingly at the fox-girl. “But from the research I’ve been able to do, the Hamamatsu Hachiman Shrine is well regarded in its local community. Despite the numerous reports of criminal activity.”

  “Nothing proven, no one harmed,” Harue said smugly.

  “An apt motto. In any case, the agency isn’t large enough to police all of Japan. It has to limit its concerns to major incidents that threaten populated areas.”

  He sighed again. “Not that we should rule out the possibility of corruption.”

  Suki leaned forward. “Regardless of Harue’s antipathy, this is good news, isn’t it? With your ties to the Japanese military, you can just ask them to hand it over.”

  “If only it was so easy,” Professor Toei sighed. “Hirasaka is quite independent of the Imperial Guard that they are officially a part of, and the Imperial Guard is a part of the police, not the army.”

  “Wait,” James said. “Japan still has an Imperial Guard?”

  “We still have an Emperor, James-san,” Professor Toei said with amusement. “An Imperial Guard should not be a surprise.”

  “Ah, right, I guess I forgot about that,” James said sheepishly.

  “Anyway, negotiations have proceeded to the point where they are willing for us to view the facility and point out exactly what artifact we are talking about.”

  “They don’t know?” James asked.

  “We don’t know what it looks like, and they don’t have the compass,” Professor Toei explained. “Reading between the lines, we’ve located a secure repository where they store a large number of dangerous or unknown artifacts. They’re not happy about that. Standard procedure would be to move them, but that won’t do any good until they figure out which artifact gave them away.”

  “So if they give us the power stone, they can move the rest of them without issue.”

  “That’s the result I’m hoping for,” Professor Toei said. “They might decide to keep the power stone and leave it in place while they move the rest of them.”

  “These other artifacts sound intriguing,” Kana said. “Should we not acquire them as well?”

  “They’re probably best left locked up,” Professor Toei said. “And there’s no way Hirasaka would let us have them.”

  “We could just take them,” Kana said.

  “Nuh-uh, don’t even think about it!” Harue interjected. She jumped out of her chair and pointed at Kana. “Don’t mess with the Hirasaka goons, that’s what my mama told me, and I’m making it my official ‘interact with humans’ advice!”

  “Very well,” Kana said, grimacing. “If that is what is required.”

  “In fact,” Harue said, spinning to face Professor Toei. “You can count me out of this trip. I ain’t setting foot in a cop shop.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” Professor Toei said. “We only need to take James and Kana—since she’s the one assigned to the stone we’re looking for.”

  “I’m happy to accompany you for moral support,” Suki said.

  “As am I,” Mitsue added. “Though… should I assume that we will have to pass through metal detectors?”

  “Yes, but you should be fine without your weapons,” Professor Toei said. “This is a government department, not some back alley marketplace. It should be completely safe.”

  James stepped out onto the rooftop, looking for Takamine Ren. He saw the older boy near the edge, looking through the protective fencing and headed over.

  “Nice view,” he said, to let the boy know he had arrived.

  “Ah! Saint-John-san!” Ren spun around and bowed. James returned it.

  “Takamine-san,” he replied, “What was it you wanted to talk about?”

  “Ah.” The boy looked away, embarrassed. He started fiddling with his watch again. “I wanted you to introduce me to Konoe-sama.”

  “What? Why?” That wasn’t alarm in his voice, James told himself. Just concern.

  The boy drew himself up. “So that I can ask her out!” he blurted.

  Oh great, what do I do now? James thought.

  “Are you… sure?” he said. “Kana is… a lot.”

  That wasn’t what James should have said. He should have said that Kana was a dragon, and as likely to eat Ren as kiss him. That would have been a truthful and fair warning for someone about to make a possibly fatal mistake. Ren seemed like a nice guy, it wouldn’t be fair to do that to him.

  “Of course!” Ren exclaimed. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life!”

  On the other hand, it wasn’t his secret to tell. He didn’t know it would end badly. Kana had made agreements. She hadn’t eaten any humans, as far as he knew.

  James felt the sting of Harue’s words from earlier. Was that how it worked? If you expanded your definition of people to include… everything, did you also have to reduce how much you cared about them?

  In that moment, James realised two things. One, Harue might have had a point, but she was a terrible guide to morality. Two, unless he came up with a better excuse, he was going to look terrible if he said no.

  “Okay then, sure.” James felt his mouth moving, but it didn’t feel like he was saying the words. “Just an introduction, right? I can’t say how she’ll react.”

  “Of course!” Ren beamed, and then immediately looked abashed again. “But, uh, if you could let me know the kinds of things Konoe-sama likes… it would be appreciated.”

  James winced. “She likes strength, wealth and fresh meat,” he said, before he could stop himself.

  “That’s great! I have one of those,” Ren said. James didn’t correct him. They arranged a time for tomorrow morning, after breakfast. James had done a lot of crazy things in the last two weeks, but he wasn’t going to get between Kana and her morning meal.

  The next morning, James waited until Kana was fed, before waving Ren over.

  “Kana, could you come with me for a moment? There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Kana raised an eyebrow, but made no objection as James led her over to where Ren was waiting. James might be sending the boy to his death, but he wasn’t going to make the guy confess in front of a bunch of girls.

  “Kana, this is Takamine Ren-san. He’s a second-year student at this school.” It was a pretty inane thing to say, but James did not know anything else about him.

  “Takamine-san, this is Konoe Kana-san.”

  “Are you a fan of mine?” Kana asked imperiously.

  “Yes, actually, but that’s not the reason I asked to be introduced,” Ren said nervously. One of his hands clutched nervously at his watch.

  “Well, I’ll let you two get acquainted,” James said, backing out as quickly as he could. To his dismay, but not his surprise, he saw that all of the Idol Club girls were looking on with fascination.

  “Is that… boy asking Kana-sama out?” Junko asked, her voice tinged with the hint of scandal.

  “It’s fine,” Suki declared. “Our Idol Club isn’t the sort that forbids dating, after all.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Junko grumbled.

  “You should think about going on a date or two,” Suki suggested. “They’re fun! I’m sure James could find you a nice boy.”

  “Hmph! As if any of the boys here are more than swine that don’t know pearls when they see them,” Junko sniffed.

  Finally, James turned to Harue, who was grinning as widely as he’d ever seen. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” she said. “This is gonna be hilarious!”