“The time has come,” Harue announced to the breakfast table in a grim voice that could have presaged the apocalypse. James glanced nervously down at the Idol Club. They had a full table of girls along with Mitsue and himself, and if Harue was going to announce the apocalypse, they weren’t all ready for that news.

  Harue paused long enough to make sure she had everyone’s attention and then continued with a much brighter tone.

  “To announce the date of our first concert!”

  James and Mitsue relaxed. Most of the girls tensed up.

  “Are you sure we’re ready? Kaori asked.

  “I was born ready,” Kana announced. “Keep up with me, or fall by the wayside.”

  “That is a very… stirring speech, President,” Suki said. “Thank you for the encouragement. I think we're ready, at least for our first concert. We’ve come a long way with Hatakiyama-sensei’s help.”

  “Oho, coming around on Sensei-sama, are we?” Harue crowed. “Ready to admit that he’s the best?”

  Suki pouted. “I’ll admit my concerns may have been unfounded. He still makes me uneasy, the effect he has on the other students.”

  “He’s so wonderful,” Junko sighed. The other two joined in with dreamy looks on their faces. Harue brought them back with a hearty clap.

  “Focus, girls! With Golden Week coming up, we’ll have the time to make costumes, so now is the time to finalise your characters!”

  “I want to keep the oni mask,” Suki said. “I didn’t want to make a complicated name, so I thought just Aka Oni? I’ve got some ideas for the costume, it should be simple enough to do.”

  She pulled a notebook out of her bag and showed the others a sketch of a festival yakuta with fishnet sleeves, fingerless gloves, and high-platform sandals.

  “You’re so good at drawing!” Kaori gushed. “I couldn’t think of anything edgy like that.” She glanced at Junko, “And I don’t mind if my family finds out, so I thought I’d just do a cat girl? I could wear face paint and cat ears, and use the same idol costume I was working on.”

  “The pink and cream dress?” Ema asked. “What about the name?”

  “Eh-heh, I’m not good with names. I thought maybe Kaori-nyan?”

  “Nah, you’ve got to think bigger, Kaori-chan!” Harue exclaimed. “What about Nyanstar?”

  “Eh, I’ll think about it. What about you, Harue-chan?”

  “Fox masks are pretty standard, and I’ve got the fox ears and tail sorted,” Harue said with a smirk. “For a costume, I thought I’d go streetwear, but palette-swapped to be idol appropriate, like a sunset coral bomber jacket.”

  “That’s awfully specific,” Ema noted. “What about the name?”

  “I already found one on minne.com! And as for the name…” Harue paused dramatically. “Hinakitsu-star-Pop!”

  “It’s a little long?” Suki suggested.

  “You can shorten it to Hina,” Harue replied. “And when it's written, you put a star symbol in the middle!”

  “I see,” Suki said. “And what about you, Junko-chan?”

  “I shall be appearing as Karasu Reira,” Junko said haughtily.

  “Some kind of crow?” Harue guessed. “Are you going to wear a beak on your face?”

  “Hardly,” Junko sniffed. “A black domino mask will suffice, along with a black feathered wig. It should set off my elegantly pale skin nicely.”

  “I guess,” Harue said. “And the costume?”

  “An elegant evening gown.”

  “In black, of course.”

  “Black and…” Junko hesitated. “Silver? Or blue?”

  “Does that sound like an idol costume?” James wondered.

  “No, it can work,” Harue said. “As long as the rest of us are bright enough to set it off, she’ll stand out as the one who’s not standing out, if you get what I mean.”

  “Oh, and I was going to have a line of feathers dropping from my sleeves,” Junko added.

  Harue snapped her fingers. “A cape! That’s what your costume needs.”

  “Oh, that could work. Should it be feathered as well?”

  “What about you, Ema-chan?” Suki asked, as Junko and Harue started discussing the relative merits of feathers vs feather-like fringes.

  “Well, I figured if Kaori was going to be a cat girl, then face makeup and fake ears could do a bunny girl just as well.”

  “Cute!” Harue declared. “What’s the costume going to be?”

  “Um, I thought some kind of martial character?” Ema tapped the hilt of her sword. James was all kinds of jealous of the way she could carry it around without bumping it into things. PMC training didn’t cover that part, and it really should.

  “Bringing your sword on stage? I guess that’ll be fine on school grounds,” Harue mused. “Armour doesn’t seem very idoly, but… how about a shrine maiden costume? Only, you wouldn’t be a shrine maiden, but a shrine guardian!”

  “Oh, that sounds nice! Suki-chan, can you draw it for me?”

  “I can, but I can’t really do the anime style, and we’ll need that if we’re going to turn these personas into virtual idols.”

  “There is no need for concern,” Kana interjected. “The boys in the Gaming club begged leave to aid me further, and I have decided to allow it.”

  “As expected from our club President,” Junko said proudly.

  “Concerning my own costume, I have procured—” Kana glanced at Harue, “—prosthetics of sufficient quality to portray my magnificence on stage.”

  Junko clapped. “I can’t wait to see it!” she enthused.

  “Yes, I’m sure it will be quite something,” Suki agreed. She shared a secret smile with James.

  “Right, so we have to book the assembly hall a week in advance, but for proper advertising impact, I think we might need to go for two,” Harue said. “Here’s what I think we should do…”

  Lunchtime was a smaller crowd, though they normally sat at the same table. The Idol club had dispersed, leaving the original crew to eat and discuss things in relative privacy. The room was less crowded as well. You had the option of buying a boxed lunch and eating it outside or on the roof. Not many took advantage of that for breakfast or dinner, but during lunch, the cafeteria was three-quarters empty.

  Eating outside wasn’t a viable option for Kana, as her prodigious appetite often meant two or three trips back to the serving counter, and she didn’t care to extend the trip.

  “James,” Suki said, delicately setting down her chopsticks, “I wonder if you’d be willing to accompany me to Harajuku?”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  James blinked. “That’s… in Tokyo, right?”

  “That’s right. If you’ve heard of it, it’s the place with all the unique and flamboyant fashion styles.”

  “Right. Well, um, I’m happy to go with you, but I have a lot of questions. Is this going to be a date?”

  Suki smiled. “We should try to fit one in, but this is about meeting my sister.”

  “Kaguya-san?” James asked.

  “Yes, I’ve been passing messages through Kana.”

  Kana sniffed. “My brother requires an inordinate number of text messages per day. Having Suki type some of them has eased my burden.”

  Mitsue perked up. “Has he taken precautions against his communications being intercepted?” he asked.

  “He says he has people for that,” Kana replied. “They did something to my phone, now it no longer has the annoying messages.”

  James looked at Kana’s phone. He was pretty sure that she’d selected it because it was the shiniest one. Of course, it was loaded with adware. No more, apparently.

  “Ads,” he said. “They got rid of the ads.”

  Kana looked at him scornfully. “That can’t be the right word; they add nothing.”

  “Never mind.” James looked back at Suki. “So, you’re in touch with Kaguya-san.”

  Suki nodded. “She wants us to meet at a cosplay event that’s being held during Golden Week in Harajuku.”

  “I get it,” James said. “With both of you in costume, no one will know who you are, and at an event, you won’t stand out. But how do you get to Harajuku? I don’t think Professor Toei will fly us in to meet an international terrorist.”

  James wasn’t sure he wanted to meet an international terrorist, but it was for Suki.

  “Kaguya-nee can arrange a boat to get us to Hiroshima,” Suki explained. “From there, we can catch the shinkansen to Tokyo.”

  “I see,” Mitsue mused. “Any surveillance is going to be focused on the ferry terminal. Kotodama-san might be suspicious if a disguised group got off the ferry, but he can’t watch everywhere.”

  He paused for thought.

  “It isn’t guaranteed to succeed, however. We don’t know as much as we’d like about Kotodama’s surveillance capacity, and you would have to maintain constant vigilance to make sure you did not give yourselves away on the trip.”

  “That’s why I want to take James along, for backup,” Suki said.

  “Greater safety in greater numbers,” Mitsue replied. “I should come along as well.”

  “Well, I’m in!” Harue said. “Cosplay, Harajuku and fighting robots—that sounds like a fun time!”

  “Unfortunately, I am unavailable on that date,” Kana said. “I will be attending a banquet.”

  Everyone looked at Kana, who continued eating her lunch and made no further comment. Mitsue was the first to muster a response.

  “Um, Kana, where and why are you going to a banquet?”

  “At a wedding in Kyushu. Ren—” Kana paused for a moment, “—-kun, is taking me as a guest to his cousin’s wedding for our first date.”

  “Bold of him to take you to a wedding on the first date,” Suki said, her eyes narrowing.

  “Why a wedding?” Mitsue asked incredulously.

  Kana glanced at Suki, but chose to answer Mitsue. “Because there will be a feast, of course. I am given to understand that while the food here is of high quality, Aunt Sima’s caterers will take it to the next level.”

  “That means she’ll meet his parents, which will put her ahead of me…” Suki muttered. “James…”

  “All my family are in the States, and my parents are dodging my calls,” James said. “If it helps, Takamine-senpai said something about his family having to approve of anyone he dated. Can’t do that without meeting her.”

  “I suppose we have to make exceptions for controlling, rich families and… whatever is going on with yours,” Suki conceded.

  “If we have moved past your personal crisis,” Mitsue said dryly, “Perhaps we can consider the near-future catastrophe when Kana murders a room filled with the rich and powerful.”

  “There will be no need for that,” Kana said. “First of all, I made an agreement. Second, there will be no need: they have already decided to feed me.”

  “I can’t help but feel that someone will make a comment about how she holds her chopsticks, and then the murder will begin.”

  “Nah, it’ll be fine,” Harue said.

  “You’re just saying that because you think it will be funny!” Mitsue objected.

  “It would be funny, but that’s not why,” Harue declared. “Those distinguished-family types will see her as one of their own or even… does anyone know what this guy’s dad does?”

  “He is an executive of a major pharmaceutical corporation,” Kana said, as if she were quoting someone.

  “Yeah, that’s not super important,” Harue decided. “They’ll probably see her as their natural superior.”

  “Accurate,” Kana said. “I am their natural superior.”

  “See? Nothing to worry about.”

  “As convincing as that is,” James said, “I think I’ll seek a second opinion.”

  “What happens off the island isn’t any of my concern, and shouldn’t be any of yours,” Midoriko said. “With… certain notable exceptions of an extra-dimensional nature.”

  It was after school, and they were talking in Midoriko’s office.

  “Isn’t that… irresponsible, though?” James asked. “Anything could happen!”

  Midoriko shrugged. “Dragons have been living in Japan for millennia, if not longer. Japan has survived. Off the island, the responsibility for preventing an incident lies with others.”

  “The Hirasaka agency, you mean? They seem more likely to incite an incident than prevent it.”

  “You must have had some unlucky experiences with them to think that. But I was talking about other spirits. They make sure that newcomers don’t rock the boat and spoil things for everyone. That’s why we tasked Kuzahana-san with educating Konoe-san, and her brother is talking to her now. He can make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy.”

  “You know about her brother?”

  “He’s contacted Yamada-kun, yeah.”

  “Well, if you say so, Midoriko-senpai. What was it you called me here to talk about?”

  “The oni,” Midoriko said grimly. “Speaking of responsibilities, my uncle has aggressively denied that the seal has anything to do with the duties passed down to the keeper of the shrine. He wants nothing to do with it. Have you learned anything by talking to your friends?”

  “Oni aren’t spirits, apparently. They’re humans with horns that can use magic, according to Harue-san. Oh, and they’re rarer in real life than they are in the stories.”

  Midoriko frowned. “That might explain a few things, but it still leaves us lacking crucial information. And the library hasn’t been of much help either. I need you to go talk to the Occult club and see if they know anything.”

  “Is that going to help? They don’t seem… serious.”

  “It might. I’d go myself, but I have paperwork.”

  James knew an excuse when he heard one, but it didn’t really matter. Management pushing the more distasteful tasks onto their subordinates was a staple of every culture, and in Japan, it was practically a commandment.

  The occult club room was at the end of the corridor that held rooms for the non-sporting clubs. James knocked on the door and was rewarded by a startled scrambling sound, coupled with the noise of something being knocked over.

  “Quick! Lock the door!” a muffled voice exclaimed.

  The click of the door latching told James he might have made a mistake being polite. If he’d just yanked the door open, he’d be inside by now.

  He decided to try a little less polite.

  “Open up! PMC!” he called, banging on the door again. More muffled scrambling.

  “Just a minute!” someone called.

  “The ritual cannot be disrupted at this time!” someone else yelled.

  “Just open this door before I break it down!” he yelled back. Not that he would. Japanese doors were sturdier than American ones, but he could probably break it if he called on his armour. But he wasn’t going to do that for what was supposed to be a social call.

  There was a frightened yipe! from the other side, so he supposed it had an effect. The scrambling sounds intensified, and he resolved to give them thirty seconds or so to hide the evidence or whatever it was they were doing.

  His patience was rewarded when the latch clicked and the door slid open, revealing a pitch black room.

  Maybe, rewarded is the wrong word, he thought. Then, the lights clicked on.

  Not the room lights. These were flashlights, probably. They were illuminating a student sitting behind a desk, set a little bit back from the door.

  Both the student and the desk were floating in mid-air.

  “Whoooo daares to consult the occult club?” The masked student intoned in what he probably thought was a spooky voice.

  “I can see the ropes,” James said, unimpressed. They were thin and black, but they were clearly visible. If the desk had been set further back, the magic trick might have worked.

  James stepped into the room, turning on the lights as he did. He glared at the student who was pressed up against the corner, holding a torch. She squeaked and ran further into the room.

  Now that the lights were on, James could see that the fairly large room was lined with shelves holding books and magazines. Even the window side was covered, effectively blocking any natural light. Posters with magical-looking diagrams covered the remaining spots.

  Classroom desks had been arranged to form a central table where the students who weren’t holding torches or ropes were seated. They all stared at James nervously.

  “I need to talk with your President,” James said. “Miyamoto-san, wasn’t it?”

  “Miyamoto-sama is away on important business!” the student in the air declaimed.

  James looked up at him. “Do you need me to cut you down, or—”

  “I can get down on my own!” the masked student said quickly. “Lower me, minions. Gently!”

  After an initial jerk, which James was pretty sure was deliberate, the desk and student were lowered to the floor. The masked student looked up at James.

  “I’m in charge,” he said. “I wear the Mask of Authority.”

  “Uh-huh,” James said. “Does the student council know you’ve attached those pulleys to the walls?”

  “We have permission!” one of the students at the table shrieked. “We’re allowed to use hooks to hang things as long as we fill in the holes when the club loses the use of the room!”

  “Right… what about Laurent-san? Is she around?” Not that the witch would have been his first choice, but she had seemed relatively sane.

  “She’s away too,” the masked student said sullenly.

  “It’s not a date!” one of the girls sitting at the table shouted. “It’s important Occult Club business!”

  “He left you a note,” the masked student said. “Here.”

  He handed James a sealed envelope.

  “Wait. What?” James asked. He looked suspiciously at the group while he opened it and read the note inside.

  Hello James,

  Sorry about the nonsense; they really can’t be talked out of it.

  The seal you are worried about is ancient, and was placed by a majutsushi of far greater wisdom and knowledge than can be found today. I fear that you may have to resign yourself to it failing.

  You may find some reassurance if you take Konoe-sama to talk with him.

  “Wow,” James said. “Now, that is creepy.”