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Most fights are over. Everyone is sitting on the ground, leaving a big space in the middle. The two fighting are Isogai and Maehara. I fought with Sugino for today’s training session while Kataoka and Okano fought each other. Sometimes we’ll switch it up, but it’s usually the six of us getting together in some sort of combination. No one else want to partner up with Isogai because he’s half angel, and I’m looked down upon because I’m human. Maehara and Sugino seem to agree that partnering up with the others is not safe for me as I’m susceptible to curses. Even if Isogai is around and can lift them, it seems they don’t want to get in trouble with Karma.
Isogai finally gets in a hit in that sends Maehara to the ground. Maehara falls flat on his back and sits up after a moment while Kataoka, Okano, Sugino and I cheer for them. No one else react. I catch a glimpse of Terasaka just scowling.
“Who invited half-breeds and humans to soldier training anyway?” I hear him mutter.
Maehara, who is now on his feet again, turns to Terasaka, having heard it too. “The King demanded it, in case you need to be reminded, and both Lord Nagisa and Yuuma are welcome. They need the training just as much as the rest of us.”
“This is only for demons. How do they curse!” Terasaka yells. “And they can’t even be accepted if they don’t pass the entrance exam.”
“Funny how you don’t complain about my presence,” Maehara states.
“You’re a proper demon!” Terasaka yells. “Only demons can defend Hell, Satanica and the King!”
“We’re not just defending the King!” Maehara yells. “We’re defending his people, including anyone staying at the castle!”
I see Sugino stiffen up. I’ve known him long enough to know that there is someone among the working staff inside the castle who he likes. I have wondered who, but I haven’t seen him interacting with anyone other than Maehara and Isogai and then Mimura a couple of times. I don’t think it’s any of them, so it must be one of the maids, or maybe Hara or Kayano.
While I’m rethinking who Sugino may like, the argument between Maehara and Terasaka has escalated and they are now standing nose on nose, looking like they’re both about to throw curses at each other.
“Hiroto, leave it be,” Isogai says and I see him placing a hand on Maehara’s shoulder. His tail is moving around his body, grabbing a hold of Maehara’s, which is swaying from side to side, preventing it from doing so. Maehara seems to tear himself away from the argument and exchanges a nod with Isogai.
“You’re right, I should,” he says and takes a few steps back.
“An angel has you wrapped around his little finger,” Terasaka exclaims, a scornful grin on his face.
“No one has that kind of power, angel or otherwise,” Maehara says before he marches away. I notice how his tail is now holding Isogai’s, forcing the dark-haired of them to walk along.
“Let’s go,” Sugino tells me.
We walk across the practice grounds and I hear footsteps behind me. I know it’s Kataoka and Okano. A while back, Isogai told me that he and Maehara have been friends with the two of them since their schooling days. This is why they happily fight against Isogai and me when someone needs a change of pace.
I observe Maehara’s and Isogai’s entwined tails in front of me. Normally it is really hard to see, but when Isogai’s tail is close to any other demon’s pure black tail, it becomes evident that his is actually a dark shade of gray rather than pure black.
“This isn’t the way to go about things,” Sugino says, breaking the silence.
“In case you haven’t noticed, the others aren’t quite so willing to accept half-demons and humans into demon ranks,” Maehara says, his voice cold.
“And you think their talk about them is bad when you’re actually around?” Sugino asks. “How many insults do you think I hear about Isogai and Lord Nagisa in a single day?”
“Quite a few,” Kataoka says. “Enough that if we got as aggravated as you, that’s all we’d ever do.”
“Getting revenge by placing little curses is a lot of fun though,” Okano says with an evil grin on her face.
“How are we going to fight… anyone when we can’t put up a united front?” Sugino argues. “We have to fight as a team!”
“I agree we should fight as a team,” Maehara says. “But I’m not fighting alongside Terasaka when he keeps insulting my friends.”
“You’ll need to learn to do so,” Isogai says. “You’re the best at cursing besides the king. What if they need you again?”
“I’m not fighting alongside them if they don’t fight alongside you and Lord Nagisa,” Maehara argues.
“Lord Nagisa is only learning this in order to be able to defend himself,” Isogai argues.
“I’d still like them to see me as a part of the group,” I say. “I’m not a princess who needs protecting. I’m me, who wants to protect myself.”
Isogai turns his head and offers me an apologetic smile. “I apologize,” he says politely. “I didn’t mean to offend you, but I honestly doubt that either of us will get to fight on the frontlines, at least not so long as the king has got a say on the matter.”
“I know,” I say.
“Should we talk to the king?” Okano suggests. “Maybe he can make the others fight with us as a team?”
“I would rather not get Karma involved if I can help it,” I say. He’ll just overcompensate and make me feel even more special in an even more uncomfortable way.
“Let’s wait until next week,” Kataoka says.
“For the new coach to start?” Okano asks.
“A new coach?” Isogai asks.
“We’re getting a new coach starting Friday,” Kataoka says. “Everyone’s really excited about it. He’s said to be skilled in all types of combat, martial arts, swordplay, knives, and quite strategic too.”
I glance at her and see her tail giving a little extra wave when she mentions the strategic skill. I guess this is what she’s the most excited about.
“He should apparently have been considered for the guardian post that Karasuma-san from upstairs has,” Sugino says. “I guess he fell a step too short.”
“I wonder why,” Maehara says.
“How are those guys even elected?” Okano asks. “I really want to know what made Ms. Bitch qualify.”
“Good question,” Kataoka says and they both begin to chuckle.
We reach the entrance to the castle and Maehara and Isogai let go of each other’s tails before heading inside. I follow them, promising to see Sugino, Kataoka and Okano next week. I admit the idea of a new coach is getting me a bit excited. This is the first change down here I haven’t been involved in in some way. I wonder what even brought it on. I guess I’ll see on Saturday.
On the following Saturday, Isogai and Maehara are waiting in the hall next to Mimura when I come down the stairs in my training outfit. We’re all ready for another round of exercising. Maehara is beaming with excitement. His tail is waving excessively from side to side. He reminds me of a dog. Isogai is calmer, but even he is not completely capable of controlling his tail’s excited movements. Mimura’s tail is hanging as still as ever, but he is clearly amused by the servants’ lack of ability to control their tails.
“You two seem ready,” I comment as I reach them.
“Yuuma hasn’t been talking about anything else all morning,” Maehara says.
“Oh, I was so excited about the new coach I couldn’t sleep all night!” Isogai exclaims in a near-perfect parody of Maehara.
“I did not say that!” Maehara exclaims. “You’re making me sound like a maiden with a crush!”
“Judging from how you were acting this morning, I thought that was the case. Sorry for being mistaken,” Isogai says.
Maehara seems completely defenseless against Isogai’s polite but teasing words.
We begin walking to the yard where we usually train with the soldiers. Maehara asks me about my thoughts on the new coach and we exchange theories on what they will be like as we make our way over.
Once we round the corner, we see that all the other soldiers are standing in neat rows with their backs straight. I notice how all of them look different from usual. They’re all a bit more tense… anxious even. They don’t move a muscle. Not even their tails are moving.
“Get in line quick,” Terasaka warns us quickly and quietly.
Maehara reacts first, running to the back. Isogai follows him, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along. We line up next to each other, in the same row as Sugino and the others.
It seems like everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the new coach to show up. Even I feel caught up in the tense mood. Thankfully we don’t have to wait for long.
There he comes, a man with short black hair and a kind smile.
“Why so tense?” he asks.
No one answers.
“Wasn’t it some good training we did yesterday?” the coach asks.
Again, no one answers.
“Wasn’t it?” he asks, stepping close to Kimura, who gulps.
“It… it was,” Kimura replies in a small voice. I notice his tail twitching, but not making any anxious movements.
“Now, did you practice?” the man asks, looking at all of us again.
“Yes,” they say as with one mouth.
If this was a school, it would be the school of Hell, I catch myself thinking before remembering that that’s exactly where I am. Still, this is not how training usually goes.
“I hear there are some new people joining the class today,” the man says, looking to me, Maehara and Isogai. He offers a small bow while keeping eye contact with me. “Pleased to meet you. My name is Takaoka Akira,” he says, smiling just a little too pleasantly.
“Shiota Nagisa,” I say.”
“Isogai Yuuma,” Isogai says.
“Maehara Hiroto,” Maehara says.
“Ah, the best at cursing,” Takaoka says, offering Maehara a friendly smile.
“Not quite,” Maehara says, but I can tell he is flattered from the way he smiles and the way his tail is slowly waving.
“Only second to the king, is what I heard,” Takaoka says. “No need to play that down. It’s something to be proud of.”
“Thank you,” Maehara says.
“We’ll split into pairs and practice use of curses!” Takaoka announces. “Get to it!”
Everyone begins to partner up. I find myself partnering with Maehara today. Isogai and Kataoka create a pair and Okano and Sugino team up.
We begin to fight. I know Maehara is holding back. He doesn’t place a curse on me. He only fights to make contact and I fight to dodge his attempts at touching me. Most demons need to touch to curse. Only a select few can do it at a distance. Apparently Karma is one of the select few. That comes as no surprise. Maehara, on the other hand, needs to touch to place a curse, which I guess is one fact that makes his abilities inferior to Karma’s.
We have fought for a bit when I hear Takaoka’s voice ripping the air as he yells at Kataoka.
“What are you doing? I told you to practice your curse powers!”
“But…,” Kataoka’s lips move, but no other words come out.
“You don’t know if the half-breed will be resistant?” Takaoka asks. “Maybe we should test that.”
He grabs Isogai by the arm and drags him up in front and then calls out to make everyone seize fighting. Then he pushes Isogai ahead.
“I want to see if this angel responds as badly to curses as a real angel should!” he announces. “All of you line up and place a curse on it in turn. Let’s see how much it can handle.”
I glance at Isogai. His eyes are a little wider than usual.
“Any volunteers?” Takaoka asks.
No one steps forward.
“You do it!” he points to Yada, who steps forward, looking very reluctant. She still moves, making her way up to Isogai.
I see the tension in her body, from her fingertips to her tail. She slowly reaches her hand forward and places it on Isogai’s shoulder. He doesn’t react.
“Maybe he is a demon after all?” Takaoka wonders loud enough for everyone to hear. “Increase the strength of the curse!”
“No!” Yada protests.
“Do it,” Takaoka orders.
“No!” The resistance is clear in her voice. I can’t see her face and her tail only reveals little, but it seems she’s on the verge of crying. “I don’t want to hurt someone if I don’t have to!”
“Alright,” Takaoka says. “But he would have been better off if you had just gone and done it.”
I make eye contact with Isogai again. Takaoka’s hand has been on his shoulder all this time, even when Yada cursed him. It’s still there, and now I can see that Isogai is hurting. His body makes no reaction. His tail hangs down perfectly still and he doesn’t make a sound, but the pain is clear in his eyes. Little by little, it seems the pain is increasing and drops of sweat begin appearing on his forehead and color slowly begins to drain from his face.
“What are you doing!” It’s Terasaka yelling. “Clearly he feels it! Leave him alone!”
“I want to hear how much it can take before it screams,” Takaoka says.
“That’s evil beyond reason!” Terasaka yells.
“Leave him alone!” Maehara exclaims. He’s about to take a step towards Isogai and Takaoka, but I decide to make my move. There’s no way I’m not a factor in this. No way I’m going to let any of the others fight my battle.
As I make it up to Takaoka and Isogai, Isogai’s knees give out under him and he sinks to the ground. He still hasn’t made a single sound, but his pain is now clear in his breathing too.
“Are you upset that he’s the only one you can actually hurt?” I ask.
“I could hurt you if I wanted to,” Takaoka tells me. His hand remains where it is, resting firmly on Isogai’s shoulder.
“But you will not,” I tell him. “Because you know you will be in trouble if word gets back to Karma.”
“He is nothing but a child. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. I have no respect for him,” Takaoka says.
“But you respect his power,” I say, deciding to take a wild guess. “Maybe you even fear it.”
Takaoka says nothing. His face reveals nothing, but his tail tells me that my guess was correct. It’s all stiff, and because he is bent slightly forwards to keep full contact with Isogai’s shoulder, the stiffness of the tail becomes even more visible.
“Leave him alone,” I say.
“You can’t order me around,” Takaoka says, smirking.
He is forcing me to use it. I feel the reluctance within me just from the thought, but there is no other way to get this done.
“As a lord of this castle, I can and I will,” I say. “You have mentally beaten these people to the point where they are scared of you. I know this is Hell, but fear does not make for loyal subordinates. I will tell Karma what is going on here and tell him my thoughts.”
Takaoka snorts. “As if that’s gonna change anything. I’ll just tell him of the improvements I’m making. You’ll see. There’s nothing you can do, little human.”
Isogai inhales sharply. The sweat is now pouring down his face. I need to make Takaoka let go of him fast.
“Let him go, or I’ll tell Karma,” I threaten.
“Nice try,” Takaoka says. “Knowing a good kid like you, you’ll probably tell him anyway, no matter if I let go or not. I say you and I have ourselves a duel.”
I give him a puzzled look. “What kind?” I ask.
“A fight,” Takaoka says. “No cursing, no hostages, no other funny tricks. Just you, me and two knives. Once one of us gets stabbed, the other has won. If I win, you make sure this half-breed resigns their position, and you never participate in training again.”
“And if I win?” I ask.
“I’ll resign my position as your coach,” Takaoka says. His tail is beginning to sway and curl up and down. He seems confident in his own victory, even with no cursing. I don’t trust him. How big are the chances that what he is offering is actually going to be a fair fight?
“That’s not even,” Terasaka says.
No, it’s not. I completely agree with that. He gains too much if he wins. I need to make it even, at least on that front.
“If I win, you resign your position and leave Hell,” I say.
The corners of Takaoka’s mouth go up. “If that’s your condition,” he says.
“It is,” I say. “We are going to duel. Please let my friend go.”
Takaoka lets Isogai go and he sinks down on the ground. Muramatsu and Yoshida rush over and get him away, bringing him back to Maehara, who quickly begins fussing over him like a mother hen. I look to Sugino, who is standing next to them. His blue eyes are filled with concern. His tail is bent in zigzags.
Takaoka comes over, handing me a knife with the hilt first. I grab it and hold it up to inspect it. All my fights so far have been without weapons. This is my first time holding one. Strangely, I don’t feel afraid.
“Get into your fighting stance,” Takaoka says. “I’ll give you a fair chance.”
I nod my head. I position my feet, one slightly in front of the other. I ready the knife in my hand and relax my knees as I can’t be pushed over, but can move quickly. I take in a deep breath and focus on my target in front of me. He has scared the soldiers, Sugino, Okano and Kataoka. Yada’s eyes are wide and she is now standing close to Kataoka, partially hiding behind her. Terasaka looks like a beaten dog. The others look just as bad, but I never imagined anyone could get to someone as tough as Terasaka in just a single day.
“Ready?” Takaoka asks. He is also in a fighting stance now, focusing on me.
“I’m ready,” I confirm.
“Then we begin,” Takaoka announces.
I watch him carefully. I watch the way he holds his knife, the way his tail moves, each and every little movement of his eyes. I watch all of it. I take it in, searching every last bit of him for the tiniest sign that he is about to make a move. If you want to defeat a bully, never strike first. Eventually they will get impatient and make their move. Reacting to a move is easier than making one of your own.
“I don’t see what you can do honestly,” Takaoka says. “You have no curse power, and you never trained a day until you got here. Come on. Why don’t you just back down?”
I’m not going to fall for that. Him thinking I might is almost worth feeling offended by, but only almost. I suppress my feelings and continue observing my opponent.
“You’ll lose,” Takaoka says. “I give you one chance to back down or I will kill you.”
I wonder if I can really die again, even if I have only died once. Well, demons die eventually, so I assume I can die too. It’s not going to make me back down. I’m not afraid of this. He can’t scare me. The fear is packed away somewhere my opponent can’t reach it.
I see it in his eyes now. It’s only a flicker of impatience, but it’s there.
“Are you scared to attack me?” he asks me. “Then I’ll make it easy for you. Ready or not.”
He moves forward. He is fast, faster than anyone I have fought before. I feel my heart pounding as I narrowly dodge his attack and dive under his arm, getting behind my target. Before he even realizes that I have dodged, I have the knife on his throat. I hold the tip against his skin and I quickly feel him shivering underneath it. I sense how his pulse is going fast. I can hear my own pulse too, but it doesn’t bother me.
“I was going to ask if you needed help, but it seems you’re fine,” Karma says and I turn my head to see him approaching.
“I guess so,” I say, letting go of Takaoka, who falls to the ground, even if my knife didn’t even break his skin.
“Could you tell me what happened?” Karma asks, looking between Takaoka and me.
“I’m afraid I don’t know too much of the story,” I say. “I’d ask one of the soldiers, like Terasaka-kun.”
“And what would you like me to do with him in the meantime?” Karma asks.
“It’s up to you,” I say. “I don’t punish people, but he ruled your soldiers by fear and had it not been for him fearing your power, he would have hurt me, apparently.”
“Oh really?” Karma glances at Takaoka again. “We can’t have that. And I assume he let Isogai-kun get your dose of pain instead?”
“I’d assume so,” I say.
“Kimura,” Karma says. “Get Nakamura. Tell her to bring the restraints. Sugaya, Sugino, Muramatsu, Yoshida, the four of you stand guard over coach Takaoka. Terasaka, you come with me.”
The orders fly from his mouth with the determination that only someone who has given orders their whole life can put behind them.
“Lord Nagisa,” Maehara says, claiming my attention. He waves me over to sit between him and Isogai, who already looks much better.
“Are you okay?” Isogai asks me as I sit with them.
“Are you?” I ask, feeling much more concern for him.
“I’m fine,” Isogai says.
“He held so tight he left a mark, and Yuuma says his shoulder still hurts,” Maehara elaborates. “But you need rest too, Lord Nagisa.”
“I feel fine,” I say.
“No one feels fine after having that much adrenaline running through their body,” Maehara argues.
I know that. I’ve felt a rush of adrenaline many times while I was a living human in the human world. It felt like adrenaline in the moment, but I definitely don’t feel exhausted like I should. And there was something different about it too, not that I could put my finger on exactly what it was.
“I feel fine,” I tell the two of them.
“That can’t be right,” Maehara says, leaning forward. He places his hand on my forehead, as if feeling for a fever. I don’t have one, and it seems that Maehara quickly realizes this too.
“Do you think he’d have a fever if he was exhausted?” Isogai asks.
“Doesn’t your mom have one when she’s exhausted?” Maehara asks.
“She’s chronically ill,” Isogai argues.
Maehara backs down. “Still, I can’t believe you aren’t exhausted after that. Wasn’t it scary going up against him with a knife. I was terrified the first time I had to fight someone with a real knife.”
I think back, wondering if I really was scared. I guess a part of me was, but to such a small degree that I barely even noticed.
“Not really,” I say.
The two look at me as if I’ve begun sprouting horns and a tail… no, I doubt they’d look at me like that if I began sprouting features that are normal down here.
We sit like that until Karma comes over.
“I will send him to the void,” he declares. “He is not a citizen of Satanica or Hell in general. He is from the mid-level, so I have no reason to keep him here.”
“That’s good,” I say.
“Are you okay, Nagisa?” Karma asks.
“I’m fine,” I say.
Karma glances to Isogai. “Go see Okuda-san. She should have something for the physical pain. I’ll want a report of your experiences later.”
“What?” Maehara asks, horrified.
“It’s important knowledge. I need to know in order to use him correctly,” Karma says.
Maehara frowns, but says nothing. Isogai bows and then leads the way to the castle, Maehara following him.
“The rest of you, go home!” Karma exclaims.
I watch as the other soldiers begin to leave. Sugino sends me a worried look, but does leave along with the others. Someone has already come to take Takaoka away and Karma and I hang back to observe the scene.
Once everyone has left, Karma glances at our surroundings before he bends down and picks me off the ground in bridal style.
“I never said you could hold me like this,” I protest.
“You never said I couldn’t either,” Karma says, holding me close.
I don’t struggle. I don’t know if it’s the look in his eyes, the gentle way he holds me or the way his tail is caressing my cheek as we walk, but something tells me that he is doing this out of concern for me. Thinking of it in that way, my position feels much less humiliating. I just hope no one has to see me like this.
We go through a door I didn’t even know was there. It seems to be a backdoor that leads to an upward going staircase. We follow it and I find that it finishes right next to the one leading to the west tower. From there, Karma carries me to my room and uses his tail to open the door before he steps inside and lays me on the bed.
“Stay there,” he says.
“I guess I overstepped,” I say, letting out a small sigh as I allow myself to sink back into my pillows.
“No,” Karma says. “You did good. I saw it all… the whole fight.”
I lean up on my elbow to get a better look at him. He is standing with his back to me, but he is facing the mirror and I’m not sure he is even aware of that. His face is covered in emotions of frustration, sorrow and relief. I wonder if he was worried about me.
“I saw from the moment you walked up to him,” Karma continues. “You were… incredible.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, now glancing in the opposite direction of the mirror, towards the orange sky outside the window. “Both for saying that… and for caring for me.”
“You’re… welcome,” Karma says, his voice small, but his words genuine. He then begins heading towards the door. “Get some rest,” he tells me. “I’ll make sure you don’t need to leave this room for the rest of the day.”
“Thank you,” I tell him again. He doesn’t need to do this. I actually think he is being overly worried, but I know he means it, and that fact alone makes me unable to tell him that. I decide to just let him care for me for the rest of the day.