Whatever else I called Hiro Takehara, coward would never enter the list. He rushed in, his body wreathed in a shimmering aura. I could see the Immortal Form flowing through his whole body, but more faintly than normal. He was fighting at half power, so as not to exhaust himself.

Hiro let loose with a flurry of punches, hammering Brother Frettchen across his chest and stomach. Even holding back, the blows could have felled a small tree.

Yet, the Holy Brother didn’t so much as flinch. “You hit like an orc. Would you like to feel for yourself?”

With a shocked yelp, Hiro leapt out of the way of Brother Frettchen’s fist. His hand was blinding to my Mimic Sight as all of the stored energy released at once, rocking the floor like an earthquake. I kept my feet, but Hiro toppled over, still off balance from his dodge.

The narrow hallway didn’t give him much room to maneuver, and Brother Frettchen’s boot caught him right in the chest. I expected the blow to send Hiro flying straight down the hall, but instead the impact slammed him spine first into the nearest wall.

“This is really an awful matchup for you,” said Brother Frettchen. “My affinity is-”

“Newton’s Revenge,” said Hiro as he stumbled to his feet. “You’re name’s Uchi, right? You can absorb and redirect kinetic energy any way you like.”

Brother Frettchen’s playful chuckle made my skin crawl. “Oh, do you know me under the mask? I didn’t realize I was famous.”

“Mr. Maki talked about fighting alongside you in Madagascar a few times,” he replied, making me wish I had paid more attention to the old blowhard’s war stories.

“I hope it was good,” Brother Frettchen said.

“Mostly,” Hiro replied. “He said you were a beast on the battlefield, and seemed to think you were an okay guy.”

“Well, it’s nice to know I live up to the Divine Blade’s standards.”

Hiro shook his head. “No, he just didn’t know the real you. He’s a hero and you’re a monster.”

Brother Frettchen’s good mood vanished. “You don’t know Asahi Maki at all, then. Let’s stop playing.”

“Ready when you are,” said Hiro, beckoning Brother Frettchen forward.

My earpiece sparked to life. “What the heck was that?” demanded Maggie. “It’s like someone set off a bomb down there!”

“Apparently Brother Frettchen isn’t just talk,” I said. “Takehara’s down here, too.”

I winced as Maggie filled my ear with a string of curses worthy of a goblin sailor. “Is everyone in that stupid class in the tower?”

“It almost seems that way,” I said.

“And what are you doing?” she demanded.

“I’m staying out of it! I’m not going to get in between those gorillas!”

“Then go find your real target. Have you dealt with Yamada yet?”

“There’s no sign of her,” I said.

“Then go change that,” she snapped, though her voice softened as she added, “And if you’re fast about it, I’ll give you your reward early.”

Strange, I couldn’t muster my ardor for Maggie’s charms just then. “Yes, ma’am,” I muttered as she hung up.

Where could she be? Hiro and Mariko couldn’t have had any warning we were on the way, and Hiro wouldn’t have left a wounded Mariko by herself if he could avoid it. The hallway was full of identical doors, but Hiro had conveniently marked his exit point by making his own exit.

“Uchi, you’re in my way!” I shouted.

Distracted by his real name, Brother Frettchen took an uppercut to the jaw, forcing him back. Twin rivulets of blood flowed from either side of his mouth.

“Ha! So your little trick only works when you can focus!” Hiro launched himself forward.

“Right you are,” said Brother Frettchen in his calm voice from before as he caught Hiro’s fist in his hand. “And now you have my complete attention, so your struggles are just making it worse for you. Let me get out of your way, Brother Mockingbird.” With that, he planted a boot in Hiro’s chest, sending him flying down the hallway.

I didn’t wait for him to land; I wanted as little for my feeble conscience to turn into guilt as possible. I dashed through the door, rather than using Hiro’s impromptu hole in the wall. I wasn’t a barbarian, after all.

As I had expected, my Mimic Sight revealed Mariko hiding behind one of the batting machines.

“I know you’re there, my dear,” I said.

“It is you.” She stumbled out of cover, her head wrapped in a red-tinged towel. “What’s going on out there? It sounds like a war zone!”

“You aren’t far off,” I replied, reluctant to meet her gaze. “I’m… I’m glad to see you’re on your feet.”

“Barely,” she said. Her hand reached out towards me, but she stopped. “You’re wearing the mask again. You… you aren’t here to help Hiro out, are you?”

“No. I’ve been told…” I swallowed, starting over. “I have been tasked with ending the threat your knowledge poses to Ms. Edwards.”

I wanted her to shout at me, or starting slinging spells, just something to give me an excuse to fight back. Instead, she leaned back against the chain link fence around the batting cage. “I see.” Her voice quavered, but her gaze didn’t waver. “And you’re following orders?”

“I don’t have a choice,” I said. “She has Kiyo and Rose. Yukiko, too. She promised that if I did what she asked, they would be spared. I couldn’t get you included in the same deal.”

“Hiro! Hiro!” Her desperate cry cut me to the quick. There was no response, save more crashing further down the hallway.

“I almost wish he would come,” I said. “I’d do anything else, if only I had a choice.”

“Nobody has to be a killer,” she said. “There’s always a choice.”

“Perhaps at one point. But I’ve made my bed, and I’m afraid you have to lie in it.”

Mariko squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a long, ragged sigh. “I can barely stand, and everything’s a blur.” She straightened up, pushing her chest out. “If you’re going to do it, do it quickly.”

I raised my hands in a casting pose. What would be the kindest spell? A cleanly cast Bloody Lance could do the trick. Or perhaps a Magic Bolt?

A waste. It was all such a damn waste, after I had come back for her, to have it end like this. My hands trembled, rebelling against the orders my brain gave them. A dry throat turned my attempts at casting into a dry croak.

Well, if I couldn’t make a spell work, then I could use a weapon. I pulled off the red and black scarf, willing magic into it. The wool hardened in my hands, forming a serviceable blade. Killed with a weapon she had unknowingly helped make. There was something poetic about it.

I closed the distance. She was completely in my power. The logical thing to do was to separate her foolish head from her body, to save the woman I cared for more and keep Maggie happy for as long as I needed to.

Instead, I found myself returning the scarf to its place around my neck. I gently pressed a hand against her makeshift bandage. My fingers, which had rebelled at the sensible course of action, had no problem with casting a Subdermal Heal, even as my throat suddenly found the moisture to let the extended chant come out.

She cried out as I manipulated her body’s magic to stimulate her natural healing. Nerves don’t take kindly to be wrenched around, even if it’s for their own good. “What are you doing?”

“You know damn well what,” I spat. “There, you should be in good enough shape to drive.”

She blinked twice, removing her bandage. “Drive?”

“You can drive, can’t you?”

“Yes, but-”

I fished the keycard out of my pocket. “Go down to the car garage. Car 15-H. You can take Hiro with you.”

The sound that burst from Mariko’s throat was halfway between a chuckle and a sob as she threw her arms around me. I felt my neck grow wet with her hot tears. “I knew you wouldn’t!”

My face burned, and not just due to her closeness. “Yes, well, don’t make too much of it. Let’s dry those tears. There isn’t time for that.”

“How can I help it? You’re all over the place today! Attacking me, using me, saving me, threatening to kill me, healing me, holding me! I’m getting emotional whiplash!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “If you think you have it bad, try living it. The worst mistake I ever made was growing a conscience.” I pushed her away, taking her by the shoulders. “I’ll try to distract Brother Frettchen so you and Hiro can escape. You can tell Hiro not to worry about the others. They’re my responsibility, and him running around will only complicate things.”

I missed what Mariko said next as my earpiece came to life again. “Brother Mockingbird, report!”

“I have the situation well in hand,” I said with a wink. “Yamada is no longer our concern.”

“I want proof of death,” she said. “Especially with that wishy-washy way you’re talking. Her hand should suffice.”

My stomach churned with dread, and Mariko’s horrified expression the told me she was close enough to overhear Maggie. “Don’t you think that’s a tad ghoulish?” I asked, chuckling like she had told a joke. “That sounds more like Brother Frettchen’s kink. How about her braid instead? This is a new uniform, after all.”

“But he seems to love it so! I want to see what all the fuss is about,” she said. “If it isn’t Ms. Yamada’s, then I think Ms. Jones’ dainty little hand would look good above my fireplace. Am I clear?”

“If you so much as touch her-”

“I won’t have to, since you know where your bread is buttered. Yamada’s hand. Right or left, I’m not picky. Am I understood?”

“A-as you command. Brother Mockingbird, out.”

The newly healed Mariko stepped back, running into the chain link fence again. “You can’t seriously be thinking about it!”

A joke about her right hand not working properly died on my lips. The grisly, awful enormity of the choice before me had me quaking.

“I don’t… I won’t…” Life was so much easier back when I lived by the Law of Self. Malthus of the Grim Horde wouldn’t have wanted to vomit when he raised his hands into a casting position.

“There’s another way. There has to be.”

I swallowed. “I don’t know what I can do. They have the three of them helpless in the mall, with a half-dozen Brothers guarding them. I-I’m sorry, but…”

I should have just fled right then. Hell, I should have already been halfway to Nagoya proper, but my young conscience had me tangled every which way. I wished for somebody, anybody, to save me from this situation.

The sounds of approaching footsteps were my only warning. I twisted out of the worst of the blow, but the impact sent me careening into a wall.

“You get away from her!” shouted Takehara, looking none the worse for wear.

My hero.