Miyuki Sokana placed her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose as she walked the halls of the Tower Reversed. She didn't know why, but no matter what visions came upon her, she felt at ease in this strange place. She knew where everything was without even using her second sight. The place felt natural to her; she felt more at home here than at home with her own family. She gently traced the giant stones that made up the Tower's walls with one finger, feeling the brittle mortar against her fingertips. She had been blind for as long as she could remember, but it hadn't hindered her, even as a youth. Her abilities as Fortune allowed her to see things even normal humans couldn't see. She never had need of a cane, or a dog. Until her memories flooded her mind, she felt like a perfectly normal girl. But unfortunately, the memories did come. The horrors of brutal battle; the collapse of the Council Arcana; her friends dying around her. Whenever these mermories came back to her, she felt the burden of Fortune heavy on her shoulders. To have to tell someone their fate, even though it may be their own terrible demise. Miyuki's hand abruptly froze, and scratched into the mortar. She dropped to her knees and clutched her head. Images flashed into her mind like wildfire. She saw a steady trickle of blood make its way down an ornate blade. The blood pooled, and in its reflection she saw a young girl. Miyuki clawed her temples. She saw several bodies motionless on the floor, the Queen of Pentacles cackling as she stood over their bodies. Blood painted the hands of the queen, and her laughter was shrill and vicious. Miyuki curled into a fetal postion as one final image flashed into her mind. Joker stood over Hotaru, twirling his knife. He slowly licked the blade as he approached Hotaru, who looked trapped in the corner, no hope of escape. But the vision was then consumed in a burst of white flames. Miyuki rose to her feet, and slowly moved towards the tower's entrance. The blind girl broke into a run, aiming to find Hotaru before...Anyone else could. ARCANA Concept by Scott Schimmel Chapter Four: Magic Tricks Cactus Natsu Forrester was rightfully worried. Here was her best friend, flanked by two total strangers, relatively unworried about the fact that Joker had made a personal visit to her. "Hotaru, who are these people, anyways? I mean, I'm glad to see you, but who are the playboy and the kid?" Natsu looked for a reaction from her friend. Tetsuya coughed slightly at the playboy comment, but let it go, while Hanako remained silent. Hotaru cleared her throat and spoke up. "Natsu, these are Koishikawa Tetsuya, the Knight of Cups, and Hanako, the Page of Pentacles." Hotaru gave an exasperated look to her friend, fearing her reaction. Tetsuya gave Hotaru a calm glare. She continued, ignoring him. "I found out why Joker attacked me.. You see, I'm a tru--" "Hotaru, what the *hell* are you talking about?" Her friend cut her off at the pass, a cross between confusion and annoyance on her face. "Natsu, weird things have happened since yesterday. Remember how Yasuragi-sempai saved the both of us?" At her friend's nod, she continued, "It turns out that she was the Ace of Blades. She told me that Joker attacked me because I'm a trump. That weird little thing he did with time was a pocket dimension, or something. We're different from normal people. We're reincarnations of people who fought a war a long time ago. We each represent--" "Tarot cards." Natsu cut Hotaru off once more, " You expect me to believe that all of a sudden the world has become something like a plot out of this?" She held the shoujo manga on her bed up for emphasis. A pleading expression swept across Hotaru's friend. " You think it was easy for me to believe? I need a friend, Natsu. Someone who knows what I know and won't betray me. We've been best friends since we started high school, ne? Why would I start lying to you now?" "..." Natsu's expression was blank as she looked into her friend's pleading eyes. She knew Hotaru to be a bad liar,despite her experiences with the drama club, and Natsu knew that every word that came out of Hotaru's mouth was true. She looked at the ground, running the previous day's events through her mind. Natsu's eyes fell on Hotaru. "Alright, I'll bite." She gave her friend a tired smile, "But what does all of this have to do with you? You couldn't harm a fly, let alone a knife-weilding, flower-bringing, crazy fly." Hotaru's mouth opened but she knew she couldn't come up with a good reason even if she tried. Tetsuya's words broke the silence. " Since our little friefly here has decided to tell you all our secrets, beautiful, I may as well finish the story." Natsu scowled at him, but Tetsuya took no notice and continued. "Basically, Hotaru is a very powerful trump, a Major Arcana, that could pose a threat to a faction that seeks to kill and conquer all the Arcana on our side. You've met Joker. He hates everything about us, and Hotaru being as powerful as she is, the psycho feels the need to kill her. But fear not, for the Knight of Cups protects her this day." "Great, she'll be dead as soon as you see something that looks good in a skirt." Natsu smirked, assessing the playboy with utter disgust. "Hey, lady, you don't even know me! I could be a great guy, for all you know! You don't know what you're missing." Natsu rolled her eyes at Tetsuya. She looked down at Hanako, smiling gently. "How'd you get mixed up in all of this, Hanako-chan? Shouldn't you be at home with you mom, instead of running around with this loser?" Natsu's thrust her thumb towards Tetsuya. Hanako offered a shrug. "Ain't got any family. And if it means I get to sleep in a bed, and eat real food for a change, then I like it!" Hanako gave a bright smile. Natsu frowned at the young girl. "You lost your parents? I'm so sorry." "More like they lost me. Couldn't afford me." Hanako shrugged, "It ain't too bad. You just gotta be careful. Lotsa weirdoes in Tokyo." A nurse kindly chose to interrupt this conversation so Natsu could get some rest. She gave the four youths a calm look before informing them that visiting hours were almost over. "Look, Hotaru, I'll be getting outta here tomorrow, so we'll talk more about this at school, alright?" Hotaru gave her a bright smile and a nod. "Just...Be careful, okay? With all this Tarot stuff around I don't want to see you getting hurt..." "'Course she'll be okay. I mean, she's got me. What more do you need?" Tetsuya boasted, which thoroughly unimpressed Natsu. Hotaru walked to the bed and hugged her friend. She smiled at Natsu, which seemed to relieve the girl, at least a little. "I'll be fine. I have Tetsuya-san and Hanako-chan to protect me. Besides, all I have planned for the rest of the evening is to go home and study. Which you should be doing." Hotaru reached into her bookbag and pulled out several sheets of paper which she set in Natsu's lap. "Your assignments, Natsu-chan." Natsu groaned. Hotaru had kept her word, all right. The trio waved as they slowly made their way to the door. Natsu weakly waved back, somewhat flattened by the load of work Hotaru had tossed at her. She picked up the first assignment, a sour expression on her face. -------------------------------------- The Shinjuku Police Department was hustling and bustling as usual. Young policemen and women dragged people into a deeper part of the bulding for questioning, officers were dispatched to serve their people, and everyone seemed to be genuinely busy with the work of the just. "Chikusho." Sgt. Nakamura looked at the stack of papers that were quickly crowding his desk. "Why is it that because someone else gets stabbed we have to fill out several trees worth of paper?" Nakamura was typing up what he thought to be his hundreth form, while across from him, his partner had his feet propped up on the desk, smoking a cigarette. Nakamura frowned, and resumed typing. Sgt. Sagara shifted his feet."It's part of the job. These things do have to be recorded. Otherwise we'd have a bunch of people in prison because they 'did some stuff' or 'shot some guy'. Wouldn't make much sense, would it?" Sagara smirked at his partner, while shuffling a deck of rather tall cards. "Then why is it, that when the time comes to do these blasted reports, I always end up doing the typing?" Sagara took a drag from his cigarette, and gave another sarcastic smirk. "Because, Nakamura-kun, you phrase things so much more eloquently than I do. Why, I swear, it brings a tear to the chief's eye every time he reads one of your reports." Sagara imitated wiping a tear from his eye, which brought a grin to his partner's face. "I guess you're right. After all, I can read and write, I suppose I should be the one to have to do this." Nakamura gave a sly smile to his partner, which got him a rude gesture in return. "What are you shuffling, anyways?" "Dunno. They were on someone that Takajima arrested earlier. They had some cool pictures on them, so I took 'em." "Should you be stealing a prisoner's belongings?" "What he doesn't know can't hurt him, now can it? Heh. Cool picture." He flung a card at Nakamura, who recoiled as though he'd been stung when the card hit his hands, and his eyes followed it hit the floor. He bent over, and picked it up, twirling it in his hands. He stared at the card and gave it a thoughtful once over. The card depicted a regal gentleman sitting on a throne, a scale in one hand and a sword held high in the other. Some english word was printed at the bottom in fanciful script. He tossed it onto his desk. "Quit playing with cards and go get us some coffee." His friend smirked and rose, heading for the cafeteria. Nakamura stared at the card for several minutes after Sagara had gone...Why did he feel so strange? ------------------------ In another part of the city, the three Arcana made their way down the street leading to Hotaru's residence. Tetsuya and Hotaru fiercly argued with each other, while little Hanako looked between them as they bickered with one another. "I *still* say you shouldn't have told her! This is supposed to be a closely guarded secret and you spit it out to some friend who doesn't even have very good manners! I mean, what'll happen when we tell the others?" "I don't know...But she's just as involved in this as I am. I mean, Joker stabbed her! What'd you think she was going to do, forget about it?! And second, she's my best friend." Hotaru glared fiercely at Tetsuya, but calmed quickly. Hotaru rarely spoke loud enough to show anger. Even in drama, she spoke at a level where only those near her could discern what she was saying. "Look...Can we trust her?" Hotaru nodded in the affirmative. "Of course we can. We've told each other stuff no-one else will ever hear! That's how best friends are, right?" "Alright, alright. Just don't go letting your school know. Keep this on the down-low. We've managed to base our efforts on secrecy. Though, now that I think about it, we haven't really done much in a while." Tetsuya shrugged. Hotaru stopped the other two. "Here we are! Thanks for a lovely afternoon, Tetsuya-san. And thank you for understanding." Hotaru smiled at the duo, and waved as she walked up her front steps. "Whoa, whoa, waitaminutehere!?! What about her?" Tetsuya pointed his finger at Hanako's beautiful, smiling face. "I mean, can't she stay with you?" "I'm sorry, Tetsuya-san, but my mother wouldn't be pleased with my bringing in a houseguest. And besides, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure something out. I'm already late, and my mother is really punctual." Hotaru gave him another warm smile. "But--But!!" Tetsuya pulled out his schedule and frantically shoved it in Hotaru's face, "I've got a date at six! And then I've got another one at 8! What am I supposed to do, bring the kid along for the ride?" "Cancel your dates." Tetsuya's jaw dropped and he looked at Hotaru as if she had told him to saw off his own leg. He looked between the two girls, who were both currently smiling at him. He straightened himself, and managed to pick his jaw up off the street. "Alright, alright. This is the first, and last time I'm doing this. Study hard, Hotaru-san." Hotaru nodded and ran inside. Tetsuya turned his attention to Hanako. The young girl stared at him. He stared back. This continued for quite some time, before Tetsuya gathered his thoughts, and spoke to the little girl. "You have no idea how much I'm sacrificing for this... So...What exactly do ten year-olds do, anyways?" The two began walking down the street, continuing the conversation. Tetsuya swore if he saw anybody he knew, he would run as fast as he could..."Well, swipe stuff from stores...Pick pockets...Look through trashcans for food.." Hanako counted each item off on her fingers, trying to think of a few others. "Lemme rephrase that. What do normal ten yeal-olds do?" "I dunno." "Wanna go see a movie?" Hanako shrugged. "Wanna go to the park?" Shrug. "How about an arcade?" Shrug. Tetsuya's head fell. "Alright, what do *you* want to do?" "Well, I'm getting kinda hungry." Tetsuya did what any normal human being would do. He facefaulted. ----------------------- Hotaru gracefully walked up the front steps, and removed her shoes. She unlocked the door, and walked inside, glancing around for any sign of her mother. She continued to walk down the long hallway that lead to her room. Hotaru looked around her room. Everything was exactly as it should be. Stuffed animals resided in several different corners of the room, all welcoming Hotaru home. Her bed was neatly made, and a few pop idol posters shared the walls with a few bishonen. She gently waved at her stuffed animals, and turned to walk out of the room. "Mother!! I'm home!" Hotaru shouted, but found an unusual silence greeting her. Hotaru walked into the kitchen, finding it curious her mother was absent. She opened the refrigerator, and took out a box of juice, and went to sit at the dinner table. The house seemed to be getting colder... Hotaru stood up at the table and shivered from the cold, but found the temperature was suddenly normal again. She recalled a recent conversation, realization dawning in her eyes. <"Exactly. You should be able to notice them, now that you've been inside one."> Yasuragi-sempai's words echoed in her ears as she recalled that conversation. She ran through the kitchen and into the den, hoping to make it to the door... "Hello, firefly." Joker sat prone upon the back of the couch, lazily dragging his knife along the furniture's edge. Hotaru's mother lay prone on the couch, unconscious. Hotaru stood frozen, as Joker taunted her with his knife, slowly waving it at Hotaru and her mother. He lifted it up to bring Hotaru's attention to it, and inspected it with a great show of care. Suddenly he dropped it directly above Hotaru's sleeping mother, blade cutting through the air. Hotaru let out a shrill scream and ran towards the couch but stopped as Joker caught the knife just above her mother's face. "Tsk, tsk, firefly. You're the only one here who's going to die, now aren't you? What purpose would I have of killing such a sweet woman?" Hotaru slowly began to back away from the two of them, fear taking control of her very being. She was about to run when she saw that Joker had pressed the blade of the knife to her mother's throat. Hotaru broke into a cold sweat, halting at the sight of Joker threatening her mother. "However, firefly, we won't play the same game twice. This time, I hold all the cards." He pulled a card from the air with his free hand and began to wave it about. The Fool. Hotaru gulped, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Joker make the card disappear from whence it came. "Now come over here, firefly, or I'm afraid I'll have to hurt your poor, dear, old mother." Joker beckoned her to him with one finger, his eyes taking on the look of a hypnotizing snake. Hotaru slowly stepped towards Joker. Every nerve in her body was quaking with fear. She had to do *something*. She couldn't just let herself die, could she? "That's it, little firefly, come a little closer...Isn't this a wonderful joke? Your mother will wake up to find her daughter..." Joker laughed as he let the statement hang. "W-why are you doing this? Why can't you leave me alone?!" "Because instead of being one of us, you're one of them. Come now, leaving the firefly magician alive wouldn't do, would it? It's nothing personal, it's just life's little joke on you. Poor girl. I'll end this all for you.." At the end of his last statement, Joker lunged at Hotaru with his knife, aiming to drive it through her throat. Joker had timed the in such a way that Hotaru would barely be able to dodge out of the way. Hotaru stumbled backward and ran towards the door, only to find Joker once more blocking her escape. She turned and ran into the kitchen. Joker grinned, allowing her to run. ------------------------- Miyuki, despite being blind, and tiny, ran like lightning. People moved out of her way for fear they would be bowled over by the speedy youth. She flew out of the school gates, intent on reaching Hotaru's home before sundown. She didn't know exactly where Hotaru resided, but Fortune guided her feet, causing her to move even faster. The vision she had witnessed was worse than most of the others. All she could determine was that the vision of Hotaru linked to the last one. She would die if Miyuki couldn't run fast enough. Miyuki's speed, however, would be her undoing. She ran aimlessly, taking streets that made little sense to any onlooker. She swore she heard someone call her name...And before Fortune could warn her, she ran over someone much her height. This, combined with the initial pain of touching another Arcana sent Miyuki and Hanako to the ground. "Miyuki! Are you alright?" Tetsuya helped both ladies to thier feet. Miyuki grabbed him by the collar and yanked his head to her level. She panted her next words, as her breath was running dry. "Hotaru...Where?" "Uh...We just dropped her off at her house not fifteen minutes ago... Oh yeah! By the way, this is Hanako, she's the Page of--" "NO TIME! FOLLOW ME!" Miyuki broke off into another dead run, speeding down the street Hanako and Tetsuya had just been down. Tetsuya looked at Miyuki in the distance, and then noticed Hanako clutching her knee. She had been scraped in the tumble the two girls had took, and was on the verge of tears. "Hanako. Shh...It's alright. We've got to go help Hotaru. C'mon, now." Tetsuya slowly calmed her, and helped her onto his back, and the two took off after Miyuki. ------------------------ Joker stalked silently through the house, occasionally calling out to scare Hotaru. Hotaru clutched her favorite teddy bear to her chest.. She had made it into her closet...She prayed Joker hadn't seen her. Her thoughts were cut short as she heard her door pop open. She heard Joker plodding around her room. He threw things around, scouring for the young girl. He paused. Hotaru felt her heart beat fast in her throat, as she heard Joker step towards the closet. He roughly stabbed through the door, causing Hotaru to scream. Joker continued his little game, stabbing lower and lower through the door, while Hotaru pushed herself deeper into the corner of the closet. Joker opened the door, and practically ripped the bar out of the closet, forcing clothes into the air, making them land around the room. He fixed his psychotic gaze to the girl on the floor. "Well, little firefly, it would seem the game is over. Too bad, I had wanted this to go on for a while longer. But I guess I won't be having any more fun tonight. The joke's on me." With his last sentence , he stabbed downward at Hotaru, and time seemed to slow between the two. Joker's knife made its careful descent to Hotaru's cowering form. Hotaru opened tear filled eyes, and watched as the knife stabbed towards her... <"And Fire, little Firefly."> "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Hotaru screamed like a banshee as her eyes lit up with white light. She cupped her hands, and a strong white fire flew, erupted from her hands. The blaze impacted Joker square in the middle of his chest, and the force of the blast threw him backwards, through Hotaru's bedroom window. Hotaru gasped for breath, as sweat streamed down her face. What had happened? One moment she thought she was dead for sure, and the next, she had taken out Joker... "Well done, Magician." Hotaru turned to see Miyuki in the doorway, giving her a weak smile. Hotaru fainted. ------------------------