“That was not a grenade explosion,” Kaguya said skeptically.

  Harue squirmed around in the laps of everyone sitting in the back seat. Her tails and ears disappeared, and she managed, somehow, to squeeze in between Mitsue and James.

  “Technically, it was a gas line explosion,” she agreed. “Underground, in a sewer line. That cop car was right over the sewer access, did you see?”

  “I saw.”

  “I just set it off with the grenade,” Harue explained. “Grenades. One to crack the pipe, and the other to ignite it once the gas had spread. Just like they taught us in middle school.”

  “They did not teach you that in middle school,” James objected.

  “Not every country can be like America, James. Your early education might have been entirely filled with guns and gun maintenance, but here in Japan, we pursue a more balanced curriculum. Arson, lock-picking, sabotage and forgery… that sort of thing.”

  “You do not,” James stated firmly. He looked around for support.

  “That does match my own early education, but I don’t think I should be taken as an example,” Mitsue said sheepishly. Suki just shrugged apologetically.

  “It doesn’t surprise me at all that a family of spirit foxes should raise their kit to be a criminal,” Kaguya said.

  Harue sniffed. “Looks like I’m the only one who went to a normal Japanese middle school. Unless Kaguya-chan is enrolled as part of her cover.”

  Kaguya didn’t dignify that with an answer.

  “How are we going to get back?” James asked.

  “The same way,” Kaguya replied. “We’ll pick a different station for Takeshi to pick you up from.”

  “Won’t that risk another attack?”

  “The Old Man doesn’t have unlimited forces,” Kaguya said, shrugging. “He sent a significant portion of them to catch us, and we’ve left them behind, stuck in the cordon. He’ll want to assemble a bigger force before he tries again.”

  She grimaced. “That doesn’t mean he won’t send those forces after us. We’ll have to keep moving to stay ahead.”

  “Does that mean we’re not going to get a chance to talk after all?” Suki asked wistfully.

  “Sorry.” Kaguya looked forward at the buildings rushing by. “We tried, but it seems like Kotodama is a little too alert for us to risk contact for a little while.”

  “Couldn’t you come with us to the Academy?” James asked.

  “Sorry,” Kaguya said again. “Leaving aside I have work to do in Tokyo, I’ve been advised in no uncertain terms to stay away from your island.”

  Mitsue raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t thought you the type to take advice.”

  Kaguya chuckled ruefully. “Yeah, well, when I find a letter on the pillow of my safehouse that I haven’t even used yet, I take it a little more seriously. That was just over a year ago.”

  “But I hadn’t even…” Suki started.

  “I hadn’t even heard of them when I got the letter,” Kaguya confessed. “You can bet I did some research afterwards.”

  “And yet, a bunch of yakuza just walked in and kidnapped Junko-san,” Suki countered.

  “Were they dumb? Yakuza are generally pretty dumb.”

  “They were excessively dumb, even for Yakuza!” Harue put in.

  “That’s half of it, then. The other half… the Academy probably had plans that were advanced by whatever happened.”

  “Junko has been noticeably less annoying since the kidnapping,” Harue mused. “Maybe if she got kidnapped a few more times…”

  “Don’t,” James warned.

  “I’m just following the will of the Masters of the Academy, James!” Harue protested. “Just a cog in their ineffable process!”

  “Obviously, if Ogasawara-san is kidnapped again, we will inform Hatakiyama-sensei of your involvement,” Mitsue stated.

  “You wouldn’t!” Harue gasped. “No one likes a snitch, Mitsue!”

  “I think you will find that sentiment is only shared among criminals,” Mitsue said flatly. “Authority figures and victims of crime have a much greater appreciation of individuals who help police with their enquiries.”

  “Who the hell is Hatakiyama-sensei?” Kaguya asked.

  “He’s… someone who can make Harue behave,” Suki replied.

  “There’s someone who can make a kitsune behave?” Kaguya shook her head in disbelief. “Seems impossible.”

  “I quite agree, Ma’am,” Anthony said, “But further discussion might have to wait. We’ve arrived at the train station.”

  Kaguya and Suki didn’t have long to say goodbye. Speed was of the essence now, Kaguya insisted. It was probably just as well, since if it had gone on much longer, Suki might have started crying.

  The group leaving Tokyo looked much more normal than the group that had travelled there. Harue was just a normal schoolgirl again. Mitsue had switched his ninja outfit for casual wear. Suki had dropped the oni costume and looked like… a model who was between jobs. James hadn’t bothered removing his costume. He was going to attract stares regardless.

  Despite expectations—in Harue’s case, stated preferences—they managed to avoid trouble on the way back. Takeshi’s boat ride was just as bone-numbing as it was the first time. James was a little disconcerted to see that the carefully unidentified crates the boat had been carrying were gone. Presumably, they had made it to their destination.

  “While I did get to meet my sister, I think we have to call this a disaster,” Suki said.

  “Any event that ends with crashing through a police cordon probably qualifies,” James agreed.

  “Agree to disagree,” Harue insisted. “That was the best bit!”

  Suki hummed disapprovingly. “Do you think Kana’s date went any better?”

  James thought about it. Kana at a society wedding?

  “No way,” he said. “We should check the news sites to see if there were any deaths.”

  * * *

  “It was fine,” Kana said.

  “Nobody died?” James asked.

  Kana thought about it. “I don’t believe so. I wasn’t paying attention to every little detail, but I think I would have noticed someone dying. Probably.”

  “And… it all went well? Takamine-san was happy at the end of it?” Suki pressed.

  “He seemed to be.” Kana nodded. “I met his parents, and they seemed properly respectful. His cousin was a little rude, but I allowed it.”

  “You did?”

  “Takamine-kun explained that a wedding is a special day for the bride, so I allowed her to take some liberties.”

  James raised his eyebrows, not just at the statement but at Kana’s use of an honorific. Kun was… not strictly correct, since Ren was a second-year. She should have used -san or -senpai. But acknowledging him as an equal spoke of some degree of respect and approval.

  “My brother was there,” Kana added.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “What? Elidor-san? What was he doing there?”

  “He had some relationship with the groom. Something to do with business.” Kana shrugged. “We had a good talk.”

  “Unbelievable,” Harue said. “So, no complaints at all?”

  “Well, the reception was cut short before all the courses were served,” Kana said thoughtfully. “Which was a shame, because the food was very good.”

  “What happened?” Suki asked.

  “I’m not sure… something came on over the overhead speakers…” Kana waved vaguely.

  “The PA system,” Harue corrected.

  “Yes, that. I’m not sure what they said. I didn’t make out any words. That was during the second course, which was snow crab served with uni sauce. Very flavourful.”

  “Well, I finished the dish without issue, but there were a lot of people shouting. They seemed upset, and it caused the rest of the courses to be cancelled.”

  Kana frowned at the thought of lost food.

  “However, Takamine-kun did manage to procure me a large piece of wedding cake, which was very chivalrous of him.”

  * * *

  “Oh, yes, the date went very well, thank you for asking.”

  Takemine Ren didn’t look like someone who had gone on a date with a dragon. It might have been unfair of James, but he couldn’t help thinking that such a date would go either mind-blowingly well or terrifyingly badly.

  Tracked down by James and Harue, Ren looked… slightly pleased with himself. It didn’t seem possible. Kana had said it went fine, but…

  Suki hadn’t come, preferring to believe Kana’s story. Mitsue had claimed that ‘A ninja cares not for such frivolity’ and left them to go alone. But Harue was determined to get the juicy details, and James couldn’t let it go either.

  “I heard her brother was there?” Harue asked leadingly.

  “Oh yes, I met him. Very tall. Very intimidating. He gave me the talk.”

  “What talk?” Harue asked.

  “Oh, you know, it’s normally given by the father. Take care of my sister, treat her with respect and all that. I assured him I had nothing but the noblest of intentions towards his sister, and he seemed to accept that.”

  “Huh. And she got on well with your parents?”

  “They loved her. I was a little worried that her family wasn’t known, but her brother has business links with Kuze-san. Very fortuitous. And they appreciated her aristocratic bearing.”

  So what went wrong? Why did the reception end early?” James asked.

  Ren blanched. “Oh, that. Well, that didn’t have anything to do with Kana-san. I’m not sure she even noticed what happened.”

  “What happened?” Harue pressed.

  “I don’t think I should say. It was deeply embarrassing for Reika-san… and Kuze-san as well. I don’t think either family would like word spreading.”

  “Aw, come on,” Harue wheedled. “James set you up with her, and you can’t give us this?”

  “I really can’t,” Ren said reluctantly. “All I can say is that there was an incident that was broadcast over the PA, which made Kuze-san look bad. I don’t know if Reika-san will break up with him over it, but I don’t think either of them wants word of it to spread.”

  “That’s fine,” James said, pulling Harue back. “So, you’re going to keep dating Kana?”

  “Haha, I hope so, as long as I can find venues that meet her standards. She is quite the gourmet.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” James grabbed Harue again. “C’mon, we need to let Ren-senpai get back to class.”

  “But I—Oh! I can just ask Elidor-san!” Harue declared, switching gears in a second. She started texting even as James dragged her away.

  It took most of the day for Elidorious to respond, but when Harue found them at dinner, she was bouncing with excitement.

  “Have I got a story to tell you,” she said.

  “Signs point to yes,” Mitsue said.

  “Shaddup, you, that wasn’t a question.” Harue looked around the table. “Cover your ears, Junko, you’re too young for this story.”

  “I most certainly am not! I’m the same age as anyone at this table,” Junko protested.

  “Are you sure you should be telling it at all? Ren-san didn’t want it getting out,” James said.

  “Yeah—and I know why.” Harue grinned at him. “Maybe I should give it to the school paper?”

  “Would they even print a salacious rumour like this one?” Suki countered.

  “Of course! There’s no way they could resist, what with students being peripherally involved,” Harue said. “One high-profile student in particular.”

  She looked significantly at Kana, which prompted everyone else to do the same. Kana looked up from her food.

  “Hmm? I was just thinking that while this food is inferior to the high-class meals served at Reika-chan’s wedding, the difference is not as much as I would expect.”

  “Nothing but the best for the Academy,” Harue answered. “They have to serve this to the teachers as well.”

  Kana nodded thoughtfully and went back to her food. Harue giggled.

  “Anyway,” she said. “Kana mentioned that the cousin—Reika-chan?—was rude to her, but she allowed it.”

  Kana grunted acknowledgment, but she didn’t look up from her food.

  “Well, you know who didn’t allow it? Elidor-san!”

  “Who is Elidor-san, and why is he the only one that you give honorifics to?” Junko asked. “And while we’re at it, has anyone noticed that Kana-kaicho is using honorifics as well?”

  “She’s coming out into high society,” Harue explained. “A new world of shared respect and etiquette is opening before her.”

  “Elidor-san is Kana’s brother,” Suki put in.

  “Yeah, and he didn’t give Reika-chan a pass on whatever it was she said.” Harue sent another significant glance Kana’s way.

  “I don’t remember what she said,” Kana replied. “When Takemine-kun said I should make allowances, I decided it would be easiest just to ignore everything she said.”

  “Well, Elidor-san didn’t ignore it,” Harue declared. “He decided that the best punishment for Reika-chan would be to steal her husband.”

  Harue paused.

  “For him to steal her husband.”

  “He kidnapped…” James searched for the name, “Kuze-san?”

  “Noooooo….” Harue basked in the confused faces of the other students at the table. “He seduced Kuze-san.”

  Kana looked up into the sudden silence. “Why is everyone so quiet?”

  “Your brother’s gay,” Harue told her. Kana blinked.

  “Well, I knew that,” she said, and went back to her food.

  “Hold on,” James interjected, “You’re saying that Elidor-san decided to seduce the groom, at his wedding, and did it before the reception was over?”

  “You’ve met Elidor-san,” Harue said. “Tell me he couldn’t do it.”

  James opened his mouth, but he couldn’t say the words. Elidor was handsome, and powerful, and dangerous. Even in what James supposed counted as a casual business setting, Elidor had an aura about him. If he turned on the charm, James wasn’t sure what would happen. And that was supposing magic wasn’t involved, which was not a good bet.

  “I can’t,” James admitted. “But I can’t imagine him getting caught.”

  “Oh, that was deliberate,” Harue said. “This was a punishment for Reika-chan, remember? He arranged for the recording to be played at the reception.”

  “That’s horrible,” Suki said. “To humiliate Reika-san and her entire family like that.”

  “It seems quite restrained to me,” Kana said, pausing her eating. “According to my mother’s memories, any kind of disrespect from humans would be punished by the deaths of the humans who said it, and any humans who heard it.”

  She cocked her head in thought.

  “I wonder… does this mean that the rules have changed since my mother's time, or is he holding himself back on my account? Or… is he hoping to put on a kinder face for my companions?”

  Kana looked around the table. She shrugged. “I’m sure it will become apparent in time.”

  James knocked on the Music Room door.

  “Come in!” an unfamiliar male voice called. When James opened the door, he saw a man he didn’t know sitting behind the teacher’s desk.

  “You’re not Hatakiyama-sensei…” James said uncertainly. The man smiled in response, and James felt himself blush.

  Another absurdly handsome man? Is that a requirement to teach music?

  “I’m aware,” the man said. “I’m his assistant, Hoshiwara Kei.”

  “Hatakiyama-sensei has an assistant?” James asked doubtfully.

  “Oh yes,” Kei said. “Hatakiyama-sensei likes to spend at least some time coaching each student individually, so the demands on his time are considerable. His patience with paperwork is much less laudatory. Hence—”

  He gestured at the piles of paper before him.

  “Do you also keep the students from harassing him?” James asked, his mouth running ahead of his brain. The man just smiled. His tousled hair framed his face with gentle waves of black hair.

  “Sometimes,” he agreed. “Now, is there something I can help you with?”

  James blinked as he tried to remember why he was here.

  “Oh! I’m looking for Harue-san,” he said.

  Kei raised his impossibly sculpted eyebrows. “You’re James St John-san, are you not? I would have expected you to be looking for Ikari-san.”

  “Just James is fine,” James said automatically. He didn’t have to ask how Kei knew who he was. “And I’m looking for Harue because Professor Toei sent me to fetch her. She’s not answering her phone.”

  Something had answered her phone and purported to take a message. Based on the amount of giggles, James didn’t think much of the chance that the message would get through.

  “Ah, I see.” Kei pointed at a row of bags sitting on the classroom desk. “The girls are all in Practice Room C, getting ready for their upcoming performance. No distractions from social media allowed.”

  “Oh. Is it all right if I interrupt?”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. It’s a message from a teacher after all. Not a thinly veiled excuse to get a glimpse of his girlfriend in spandex.”

  “That’s right, it’s not.” James managed to keep his voice firm when he said that, but he couldn’t help staring at the teacher uncertainly.

  He was just teasing me, right?

  Kei waved him off. “Go, go, just remember to knock first.”

  James hesitated for a moment more before remembering to bow and dashing off. Practice Room C was easy enough to find. The school was laid out in an excessively logical fashion. It became even easier as he got closer and could make out the muffled sound of Japanese pop music.

  The music stopped just before he got to the door, which was a little unnerving, but he knocked anyway. Before he could get to the second tap, the door was wrenched open by Harue. She had her hair tied back and was wearing a sweatshirt over skintight leggings.

  “Hi James! Here to drool over Suki?”

  “No! I—”

  “Here to drool over someone else? Does Suki know? Is it Junko?” Eyes gleaming with mischief, Harue talked right over his objections. “You rascal! Are you going to do it in front of her? Are—”

  “Haru-chan,” a gentle voice said. Harue froze. Then she dragged James inside and shut the door.

  James stumbled a step from the sudden pull. Then he looked up, and he was staring at Hatakiyama-sensei.

  Hatakiyama-sensei was tall. Tall for any race, but especially so for a Japanese person. His features were strikingly handsome, with a chiselled jaw, high cheekbones and piercingly blue eyes.

  “You must be James St-John,” the god said.

  James often forgot to bow when he should in Japan. He didn’t have any trouble remembering to now.

  “Yes, sir. Hatakiyama-sensei. Professor Toei sent me to fetch Harue-san.”

  “Just Harue?” Suki asked. James looked over at her gratefully. He was always glad to look at Suki, but right now it gave him an excuse to not stare fixedly at Hatakiyama-sensei. “Isn’t this about our next mission?”

  “Uh, yeah, he said that there was no need for you or Kana to come.”

  Suki’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll see about that,” she said. “I’m not letting him send you out alone.”

  “Well,” Hatakiyama-sensei said. “I think we can end it a bit early today. Those of you who wish to meet with the professor can do so.”

  The girls—including Junko’s posse, who were looking very confused—lined up and bowed in unison. James couldn’t help joining in.

  “Thank you for training us,” they all said in unison. Hatakiyama-sensei returned the bow.

  “Dismissed,” he said with a lazy wave of his hand.

  “Now,” Suki said, latching on to James’s arm. “Let’s see what Professor Toei has to say.”