After Mai left, I knew today would have to be the day. I had to tell Genmitsu and Kandai everything that was about to go down.

I tried to psyche myself up, but it was a daunting task. They had bought the magical girl stuff relatively easily, but that’s because it was easy to prove. How exactly does one go about proving that hell not only exists but is currently planning a full scale invasion of Earth? Most people would write me off as a lunatic.

That wasn’t all, either. I had to tell them about the Kagami situation. They had been looking into Kyoukei Mira’s background for a little while to help us in our search, so to tell them that all of that effort had gone to waste would not be a fun conversation to have.

I felt terrible. These people had spent the better part of a decade doing everything they could to keep me safe, and here I was getting ready to tell them that I was leaving to stare down death once again. They deserved better.

Shaking that self-doubt out of my mind, I slowly ventured my way down the stairs.

“Shin, you’re out of bed. We were about to sit down for some lunch, care to join us?”

“Ah- that’d be great, thanks.”

Genmitsu’s warm greeting left a bit of a pit in my stomach. Despite their prior reassurances, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for the burden I had unfairly put on my adoptive parents. They continued to treat me with all the love and care that one would their own flesh and blood, and I continued to take advantage of it while tiptoeing around my own death. It was horrible of me.

Kandai laid out some food for me and I nervously sat down at the table. My anxiety must have shown on my face because Genmitsu picked up on it almost immediately.

“Something troubling you? You look like you’re away with the fairies today.”

I gulped, not even knowing where to begin.

“Actually, there’s a lot I have to talk to you about. You… might not have to search for my friend Kei anymore.” With a heavy heart and a wavering voice, I explained the events of the previous day and who Kagami was. It occurred to me that I still hadn’t entirely come to turns with it all, because speaking it out loud just made it hurt even more.

“An assassin… are you and your friends okay?” Gen asked with grave concern on his face.

“Physically, we’re all okay. But I think the emotional scars will take a long while to heal.”

It was clear from both of their faces that they could think of little to say. After all, what can you say to someone who was almost murdered by a person they considered a friend?

“I may be misreading you, but this Kagami girl… you don’t actually hate her, do you?” Kandai broke the silence first, seemingly reading straight into my soul.

“…no. Despite everything she’s done, I feel no hate for her. Nor any of her friends. Maybe the things they’ve done are unforgivable, but they’re victims of the Director just like me. Even if I want to, I can’t hate them.”

Even though she had been in this position long before I was in the picture, I couldn’t help but feel that I had failed Kagami. If she and I truly were mirror images of one another, I had to believe she wasn’t beyond redemption.

I had to believe I could beat ‘Shapeshifter’ and bring back ‘Kei.’

“If everything you’ve told us is true, these girls have committed crimes that they have to see justice for. But…” Gen sighed as he spoke, “that doesn’t mean you can’t forgive them yourself. You have a stronger sense of right and wrong than anyone I know. If you believe you can turn them around and make them pay their dues, I’ll trust that you can do it.”

I was almost uneasy at just how much Gen seemed to trust me. Until recently, he was as strict as a parent could reasonably be. Of course, that was for my own protection, but his sudden change in tune caught me utterly off guard.

“Why… are you so okay with this? A month ago you’d have flayed me alive for staying up late.”

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“I’ll ignore the hyperbole that makes me sound like a serial killer. In the short time since all this magical girl business started, you’ve proven yourself more capable and reliable than we could have ever hoped for. You far surpassed the need for our protection a long time ago. I still care about your safety as much as I ever have, but you’ve won my trust. I know you’re too smart and too strong to put yourself in danger that you can’t get out of.”

That last sentence made me tense up. It had to be now. There would be no other other possible time to talk about this.

“A-about that…” I breathed in heavily as I tried to think of what to say, but no sugar coated words or comforting sophistry came to mind. “I’ll just say it completely straight: in less than two weeks I’ll be fighting my biggest battle yet. And… I can’t guarantee that I’ll come home from this one alive.”

If talking about Kagami was brutal, recounting the full story of the war against heaven and hell was agony. Watching their eyes steadily grow wider and wider as I continued to speak made me want to shut up and tell them it was all just a bad joke, but I kept going anyway. They had a right to know.

“…which is where I come in. We… can’t fight this war entirely defensively. We have to send someone into hell to learn about our enemies. Me and my friends… we’re the only ones with the right conditions for the job. I won’t lie to you. It’s an incredibly dangerous mission. But if we don’t go through with it… there won’t be much of a home left to save.”

I finished my explanation with a heavy breath. Just speaking about it all was exhausting.

“…I can’t say this whole thing sounds believable.” Gen eventually broke the heavy silence, speaking in a low tone. “I mean, heaven and hell being real? Demons coming to attack Earth? Divine power? Are you being serious about all of this?”

“Dead.”

Unsurprisingly, Gen was completely incredulous at the idea. Though she didn’t voice it, I could tell by her face that Kandai was sceptical too.

“This all sounds… like complete lunacy, in truth. But considering we know of the existence of magic, I suppose it isn’t all that far fetched.” He sighed, then met my eye. “That being said, I can’t possibly approve of you charging headlong into hell itself. No parent ever could.”

Under different circumstances, I’d have been somewhat relieved to see Genmitsu being back to his normal self.

“I understand that it’s too dangerous, but we have no other choice.”

“Then look for one. Call in the JSDF. Make this war a land invasion. Anything that doesn’t involve throwing yourself at the jaws of death.”

“Conventional weaponry doesn’t work on demonkind, only those with magical power can fight back, and there’s only a little more than 300 of us worldwide. It has to be us.”

“Make more! If there’s 300 of you already there must be a reproducible method of creating these ‘magical girl powers,’ get more people to join you.”

“The only person who knew where the magical girl formula came from was The Director, and the last vials he had were stolen after he was jailed. There can be no more magical girls.”

“Then figure out something! I will not let my son die an early death for a taste of victory!”

“What would be the point of living on anyway if we’re defeated!”

Realising we were now practically screaming at each other, Gen and I stopped dead, letting the room fall into silence. Eventually, I was the one to break the silence, lowering my voice back to normal.

“I have friends who I love with all my heart. A girl that I want to spend the rest of my life with. Parents who have raised and protected me as their own. I can’t lose all of that. Not now. Not after everything I’ve been through. If the cost of protecting that world is my life, I’ll pay it. If hell is coming to me either way, I may as well dive in feet-first and make sure no one else has to follow me.”

Though my voice was calmer, my tone was stern. It invited no debate. I wanted it to be clear that I was taking no other answer.

Gen opened his mouth to rebut, but found no words. Instead it was Kandai who spoke next.

“This is something you have to do, isn’t it?” She asked.

“It is.”

“Even though it’ll be dangerous?”

“Especially because it’ll be dangerous.”

“And you truly believe you can win?”

“With all my heart.”

“…make sure you come home safely. We’ll be waiting here for your return.”

“Kandai!” Gen snapped as his partner, before stopping himself and momentarily letting his nerves calm slightly. “Are you seriously thinking of letting him do this? He could get himself killed!”

“Didn’t the boss say the same thing when we took on this job?” Gen was taken aback by Kandai’s response, though he clearly had no argument against it. “We knew from day one that we would be mercilessly hunted by the Director and his goons if we took Shin in. Everyone warned us that we were throwing our lives away for a boy we didn’t even really know. But we took the job anyway. Do you remember what it was you said to the boss when he advised us against it?”

Gen almost looked ashamed as he thought back on his past.

“I think it was ‘if you truly believe in something with all your heart, you should be willing to lay down your life for it.’ I believe he called me a ‘naive fool’ in response.”

“And look where your ‘foolishness’ got us. We’re a real family. Our enemies are no longer hunting us. We won, because we were willing to take that leap of faith. Now Shin has his own to take. Is it our place to get in his way?”

Both Gen and I were floored by her declaration. I had expected the two would both protest to the very end.

After a while, Gen turned to face me again and spoke in a wavering voice, a single tear visible in his eye.

“I don’t want you to die, Shin.”

“I don’t want to die either.”

“Then come back to us. Finish your mission safely and return to us. That’s all I’ll ever ask of you again.”

“I’ll come back to you. I promise you that.”

With a solemn but hopeful atmosphere permeating the room, I hugged my parents and swore I would return home safely when the time came.