Nagoya, Japan

Sunday, July 17th, 2050

“Kiyo?”

“Yeah, Magpie?”

“When you invited me out into the woods to do something, and I’ll quote you, ‘exciting in private,’ this isn’t what I expected.” I lay prone on my stomach in the still moist grass, holding Kiyo’s beloved rifle in my arms.

“That’s ‘cause you have a dirty mind, Magpie.” Kiyo was sitting to my side, plugging away at her GoSato portable console.

“Oh, come now!” I worked some mock outrage into my voice. It was a challenge; I usually enjoyed her nonsense more than not. “You chose those words on purpose. False advertising is a crime, you know.”

“What’s wrong with target practice? And loosen up your grip. Lucile’s a delicate flower.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Lucile’s a high-powered rifle that can pulp an orc at half a mile.”

Kiyo didn’t look up from her game. The fact that she could still criticize my shooting spoke volumes about her peripheral vision. “She can be both. You can be more than one thing at a time. You should know that better than most people being, y’know, a demonkin and all.”

She had me there, though it took a moment to sink in. Kiyo had an amazing talent for making me forget my cover. “Let’s not use the d-word if we can avoid it. One never knows who might be listening.”

“There isn’t another person for a kilometer around,” countered Kiyo. “You’re just deflecting ‘cause you don’t want to admit I’m right.”

“Deflecting? Me? Never. I’m also never wrong, though I will grant that there are worse ways to spend an afternoon. Certainly a better sight than my bedroom.”

The grounds around the great Nagoya Tower, home of the Nagoya Academy of Magic, were surrounded by a large pine forest. Headmaster Yosuke Tachibana had a magical affinity for promoting plant growth, and he had filled a circle of bare countryside with trees that looked centuries old. It made for a fine training ground for us wizard cadets, and an even finer spot to get away from prying eyes.

The area we had commandeered was a shooting range where Kiyo spent most of her field days with the other shooters. It was set in a picturesque meadow surrounded by pine trees that nearly blotted out the sun. It really did feel like there was nothing in the world but me, her and the row of magical targets we had created. The glittering red spheres floated idly in space at the end of the field in front of a high, stainless steel wall that was covered in dents and carbon scoring. She had mentioned they had repurposed the section of a battleship’s hull. Its poor state of repair spoke to the destructive power of the wizard cadets.

“I know, right?” She finally put away her game console and gave me her undivided attention. “I mean, I love hanging no matter where we are, but we’ve been cooped up so much lately.”

“Seems like a bit of an overreaction,” I replied. “Confining us to the school grounds until ‘we know things are safe?’ That’s a bit of a vague timeline.” I looked up from my task, being sure to keep my finger well clear of the trigger.

Kiyo bit her lip. “Headmaster Tachibana’s just worried after… y’know… what happened at the Serving Wizard’s House.”

I rolled my eyes. “The Holy Brotherhood isn’t going to attack again so soon.”

Kiyo raised an eyebrow at me. “You sound pretty sure.”

Considering I knew their local commander’s plans? I could be confident. Still, I couldn’t exactly say how I knew. It was time to be vague myself. “They have us jumping at shadows which, I’ll remind you, is exactly what terrorists want.”

“I guess. We just got pretty close to getting killed. Haru would’ve gotten us if you weren’t… y’know…” She trailed off. “We need a codeword.”

“For what?”

“You being a dem… a y’know. What should it be?”

I shrugged. “Whatever pleases you, my dear.”

“Anyway, Haru would’ve had us if you hadn’t been a cutiemuffin.”

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I shot her a glare. “No! I refuse! That is not the codeword!”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “You said I got to choose. Anyway, if you weren’t a cutiemuffin, I don’t think you’d have had the magic to stop him.”

I stopped. I couldn’t let her see that it annoyed me. That’s how I’d been stuck being the Magpie Wizard. “It’s a dangerous topic, regardless. Someone could overhear and put things together. Let’s get back to shooting.”

She shot me a smirk. “Alright, we won’t talk about you being a cutiemuffin.” I couldn’t resist flinching at that. “And now you’re too loose. If you pull the trigger now, you’ll hurt your shoulder.”

I let out a frustrated grunt. “Well, how about you show me the proper way?”

She got on her hands and knees and crawled over, taking my hands in hers. She was a delicate girl, but the calluses on her fingers reminded me she’d been a markswoman since long before I met her. She guided me this way and that, until she declared my grip and posture “acceptable.”

I shot her a sly grin and decided to pay back her teasing. “Funny, you’ve never complained about my grip before. You always seem satisfied.”

Her face, normally pale as the moon, flushed a bright red and she shook her head, sending her black hair bouncing. “Why do you always have to spoil nice things by being dirty?”

“Because it’s so fun making you blush,” I replied with a smirk. “Oh, could you fetch my ear protection? I don’t want to move and spoil things.” Before we had started dating, she had fired Lucile in a tight space, and I’d learned a valuable lesson about firearm safety. The sound cancelling earmuffs she slid over my ears were a nice human invention. Back home, I’d always just used my hands when the goblins fired their cannons. I’d have to introduce them when I went back.

I forced thoughts of home from my mind. I was enjoying a nice day with Kiyo. The future didn’t exist, for a little while, at least. I remembered her advice from the War Games. I checked my scope, adjusted as best as I could for the light breeze, exhaled and pulled the trigger. The boom of Lucile’s report was still audible through the noise dampening material, and just like then, its stock jumped into my shoulder. One of my magical targets, a thin sheet of magical energy known as Svalinn’s Mercy, shattered into a hundred glittering shards.

I let out a triumphant war whoop. “Did you see that, Kiyo? I got it on my first shot!”

Two things struck me in short order. One, Kiyo was wearing her own ear coverings, so she wouldn’t be able to hear me.

Second was a gallon of water that soaked my head. I shot up onto my knees and looked for the source of the attack. Kiyo lay there, laughing uproariously, and I could just sense the dissipating remnants of her spell.

I stripped off my ear coverings. “What the devil… what the heck was that for?”

Stifling her giggling, she sat up and pointed to her earmuffs, making a show of being unable to hear me.

“Oh, going to play it that way, are we? Very well. If you wish to make this a wizard duel, then have at you! Water Orb!” Red runes of magical energy danced around my hand, ordering the moisture from the air into a sphere. A flick of the wrist sent it flying towards Kiyo, striking her square on the nose.

She let out a confused squeak and fell back. I set aside Lucile and charged in. I was on her in a moment, pinning her arms down. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what she said. I hadn’t taken off my ear protection in my rush to attack. She looked distressed, and thanks to the school’s translation magic, I couldn’t be sure if she was speaking English for me, or her native Japanese out of panic.

“You can’t think I’ll fall for such an obvious trap!” She persisted and writhed in apparent agony. I knew she was playing. She had to be. I just needed to outlast her.

Though she looked convincing. What if she had landed on a rock?

My resolve folded instantly. I removed our earmuffs as quickly as I could. “Kiyo? Are you alright?”

Her grimace vanished in an instant. She thrust her hand at me. “Water Orb!”

Unlike her, I kept my balance, straddling her on my knees. She giggled all the while. “Why you little… stop laughing, blast you!”

“You should’ve seen your face, Magpie. I wish I’d had my phone ready.”

“Well, I’m grateful you didn’t. What would they think, seeing a military cadet carrying on like that? For shame.”

She puffed out her cheeks. “Hey, you did that to me months ago! You were a cadet too! Fair’s fair.”

I shot her a cocksure grin. “Sure, but I’m a known cad. People expect more from you.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. We’re in the class for screwups.”

“Maybe. But, it seems to me that we’re in a compromising position here. I propose that we forget shooting and make you live up to the spirit of your promises.” I braced myself over her, giving her just a moment to realize the truth of my words and, if she were so inclined, object. I had learned my lessons about human girls; they preferred that I get permission first.

She didn’t push me away, of course. She did vanish from sight, a quirk of her magical affinity, the Death of Light. I could still feel her, though.

“Feeling bashful?”

“Y-yeah. I mean, we’re outside. What if somebody catches us?”

“That’s half the fun, my dear. Now, let’s see that pretty face, hm?”

She shimmered back into view. “Good idea. You don’t know how my face works when I’m invisible. Half the time, you end up kissing my ear. I mean, it’s cool that you’re into that…”

“Slander! It’s just harder to hit a target I can’t see.”

She giggled. “Alright, alright. You ear fetish is not the weirdest secret I keep for you. I’ll meet you halfway.” She levered herself up and our lips met. “Love you, Magpie.”

“I know.” Her smile slipped a little when I didn’t return her sentiments. It was hard not to, as much as my devilish common sense railed against the idea. A devil doesn’t give voice the Enemy’s great lie, that you can love another as much as yourself. It went against everything I was taught, even if Kiyo had induced some temporary insanity in me.

I didn’t give her time much to be disappointed, though. I cupped the side of her face and kissed her again. I took my time. After all, we were in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday afternoon, and we were ahead on our homework. We had all day to ourselves.

Because the Enemy, or perhaps simply karma, loves to spite me, I heard a feminine voice behind us. “Oh, my.”