Tetsuya strode towards the half-closed door as if with a strong sense 
of purpose, but slowed when he was only a few feet away.  He had been 
waiting to confront Miyuki over the matter of the attack on Hotaru, to 
force an explanation from her if necessary, but now that the 
opportunity was at hand, he was unsure.  He had known Fortune for a 
while now, and she just didn't seem capable of cold-blooded murder.  On 
the other hand, if she had seen a vision that had lead her to believe 
that Hotaru *needed* to die...  That had to be it, or something 
similar, he decided.  Out of a sense of duty, perhaps.  Very well, he 
would focus on the *why* instead of plunging in blindly with 
accusations and evidence.

Calmer, and with a firmer resolve, he took the last few steps and flung 
open the door.  "Miyu-" he began, but the sight before him cut his 
words short.

A young girl lay sobbing on the floor.  It took the Knight of Cups a 
few seconds to realize that it was indeed Fortune, but something was 
different, something Tetsuya couldn't quite put a finger on.  Then he 
realized what it was.  Somehow, the ancient air that had always 
surrounded her was gone.  She seemed nothing more than a child.

All of Tetsuya's prepared words about Hotaru fell away as he rushed 
over to the girl.  Hesitantly, he put a hand on her shoulder.  "Miyuki?  
What's wrong?"

A tear-stained face slowly emerged from a tangle of hair.  Her blank 
eyes wavered around, as if trying to seek something out.  "Tetsuya-san?  
Is that you? 

Tetsuya felt as if a blade of ice had been shoved into his spine.  
Something was wrong here, very wrong.  He fought to keep his voice 
calm.  "Miyuki, what is it?  What happened to you?"

Her voice was filled with broken glass.  "It's gone, all gone."

He helped her up gently into a sitting position, one arm supporting her 
frail, trembling frame.  "What is all gone?"

"Everything," she replied dully.  "The world is all gone.  I see 
nothing."

The ice crept along his skull, and he shivered.  "But... that's 
impossible.  How could this have happened?"

Dry leaves rustling in the wind.  "Hanako."


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Arcana

Created by Scott Schimmel

Part 20: Through A Darkened Glass

By Lady Brick

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The older woman stared in shock for a moment before finding her voice.  
"May I ask who you are and what you are doing in my daughter's room?"

Ishido continued smiling.  "Usono Ishido... I'm a classmate of your 
daughter's... We are working on a project together."

The woman frowned.  "I believe I've heard your name before.  You look 
very familiar, have we met at all?"

"Yes, I walked Hotaru home a few days ago."  Ishido shook his head in 
mock anger.  "After that attack by that horrible Joker fellow, I 
thought it would be best to keep an eye on her."

Mrs. Komatane's expression softened.  "Why, that's very kind of you, 
and I thank you.  But where is Hotaru?"

"She and Natsu-san went back to pick up some notes for our project they 
had forgotten."  Joker broke off into a wonderfully theatrical coughing 
fit.  "I would have gone with them but I haven't been feeling too well 
lately..."

Hotaru's mother had already shifted from inquiring to concerned.  "Oh, 
my, that cough sounds horrible.  Come to the kitchen and I'll make you 
some tea."

"That's fine, I'll just wait here for Hotaru and Natsu-"

Concerned became stern.  "Some nice hot tea is just what you need for 
that cough."

Smiling once more, Ishido stood from Hotaru's bed, leaving the tarot 
cards in an unnoticed jumble.  "That would be wonderful, Mrs. Komatane, 
thank you."


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"Hanako?"  Hotaru stopped short as she saw the younger girl dart out of 
the gate and head down the street, seemingly not noticing them.

"Something's wrong..." Hotaru began, but Natsu had already taken off 
after her.  The tall girl caught up easily, and by the time Hotaru 
reached them, Natsu had already urged the trembling Page to take a seat 
on the pavement.

"Hanako, what's-"  The Magician was cut off as Hanako threw her arms 
around her neck and began crying softly.  Startled, Hotaru patted her 
back.  She had never seen Hanako that upset, not even when Arisa had 
held her captive.  She wouldn't have even guessed that the girl was 
capable of crying like this.

"Miyuki... she attacked me..." Hanako sniffled, already fighting to 
bring her tears out of control.

"What?"

"She's gone crazy or somethin' I don't know..."  Hanako looked up at 
her, and Hotaru could see that one of her eyes was red and puffy-
looking, and not from her sudden burst of crying.  Hotaru's mouth set 
in a thin line.

"Natsu, could you take Hanako to your house for a while?"  Her voice 
had a angry edge to it.

The tall girl hesitated for a minute, then nodded.  "What are you going 
to do?"

"I'm going to go home and ask Ishido if he knows why Fortune might be 
doing this... I don't know."  Hotaru shrugged helplessly.  "He's the 
only one I can find quickly, and I think.... I think I can trust him."

Natsu gave a somewhat disbelieving snort, but didn't argue.  "Just be 
careful, Hotaru."

The Magician smiled.  "I'm kind of surprised that you aren't demanding 
to come with me, just in case."

Natsu stood, gently guiding the now-silent Hanako with her.  "I'm 
starting to think that maybe you don't always need someone there to 
take care of you.  But I'll come by later, okay?"

Hotaru nodded, then raced towards home.


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When she saw her mother's car in the driveway, Hotaru panicked.

Hoping that Ishido had stayed well hidden, and wracking her mind for an 
explanation if he hadn't, she hurriedly opened the door.  "Mom?"

"In here, dear," came her voice from the kitchen.

Hotaru stopped short at the kitchen doorway when she saw Ishido sitting 
down, drinking a cup of tea with her mother.  "Mom, I can explain..."

"Where is Natsu?" the older woman asked.

Hotaru blinked.  "Um, she had to do something at home... she's coming 
over later," she replied, having no idea as to why her mother was 
asking.

"That's good.  I hope she doesn't leave you two to do most of the 
work."

"Work?"

"Your history project."

Hotaru nodded.  "Oh yes.  History.  Project.  Need to work on that."  
Grabbing Ishido by the wrist, she practically dragged him down the hall 
to her room, closing the door behind them.

"I didn't know you liked playing so rough, firefly."  Ishido rubbed his 
wrist a bit gingerly.

"Stop it you... you... are you crazy!?"

"Do you have to ask?"

Exasperated, Hotaru plopped down on the edge of her bed, unnoticingly 
upsetting the tarot cards that were scattered there.  "What if she had 
remembered who you were?"

"Unlikely.  The drug I gave her previously was chosen specifically for 
its ability to blur the memories of the previous few hours.  No 
witnesses of course.  She thought I looked familiar, but that was all."

The casual way he mentioned the murderous attack he had attempted made 
Hotaru shiver.  "Anyway, there are worse problems now.  Fortune 
attacked Hanako... she's the Page of Pentacles...  It was bad enough 
when she tried to kill me, but Hanako is harmless."

"Any Arcana, no matter how undeveloped, can still be dangerous," Ishido 
said bluntly.  "But that is rather odd.  I sensed that there was a time 
of great transition ahead for Fortune."  He grinned suddenly.  "Maybe 
she's forced control for so long that she's completely lost it now.  
That would certainly be amusing."

"That's not funny."

Ishido shrugged and gathered the scattered tarot cards, pausing when he 
reached two cards that had fallen to the floor.  "Hmmm...  This is 
quite interesting..."

"What is it?"  Hotaru knelt down to see.  Ishido held up two cards, the 
Page of Pentacles, covered by the Ten of Wands.  "It appears that your 
Hanako has or will have quite a burden dropped on her shoulders."

"Is she in any danger?"

"Hard to say.  But I can tell you this.  Whatever it is that she is 
going to go through, it isn't going to be easy."


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Five minutes after they had parted from Hotaru, Natsu began worrying.  
"I hope she'll be all right by herself."

"She will be," Hanako assured her.

The older girl looked down.  Hanako seemed to have calmed down a lot 
since she had encountered them.  She certainly wasn't dancing down the 
street, but Natsu had to admit she was a bit impressed with how quickly 
the girl seemed to have bounced back from being attacked.  "How can you 
be so sure?"

Hanako just shrugged.  Natsu sighed, wishing she could be so sure of 
her friend's safety.  True, she had seen Hotaru send a maniac flying 
through a window, but now she seemed to trust that maniac 
wholeheartedly.  That was more what she was worried about.  She had 
come to realize that Hotaru did seem to have the power to defend 
herself from such physical attacks (so odd, when Natsu had always been 
so used to protecting the smaller girl) but she so easily believed 
people, trusted them, was convinced of their positive intentions.  Like 
their classmates they had eaten with earlier.  Natsu was sure that 
their intentions were less than honest, while Hotaru had apparently not 
even been willing to consider the fact.  She was sure that that would 
get the girl into trouble.  She allowed herself a small smile.  Even 
though Hotaru now had mystical powers, it was nice to know that she 
still needed her level-headed best friend around to watch out for her.

She glanced down and Hanako.  "You doing okay?"

A pause.  "I'm kinda hungry."

Natsu gave another smile.  "I'm sure we have some food at home.  It may 
just be a snack, but it should be something... will that work?"

Hanako didn't reply.  Natsu looked down at her to find the young girl 
staring at her oddly.  "Hey, are you okay?"

A moment later, Hanako blinked, shook her head.  "Yeah, I think so."

"Something wrong?"

The Page seemed hesitant to speak.  "You looked kinda weird for a 
moment.  Like shiny.  It hurt my eyes.  But it's gone now."

A chill trickled down Natsu's spine.  She wasn't sure what to say to 
that, so she didn't say anything, simply urged that girl on towards her 
house a little more quickly.


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The large yellow and green vehicle squatted in the drive of the small 
house, seemingly dwarfing it.  It shone in the sun, its bright colors 
standing out vividly against the muted surroundings.

Oddly enough, most of the people who passed by didn't seem notice it, 
and those who did seemed to give it little heed for the unusual sight 
that it was.

Even more unusual was the man who suddenly appeared next to it.  His 
countenance appeared rather ordinary; that of a typical middle-aged 
man, but his appearance from nowhere, as well as the way he seemed 
suspended upside-down in midair, would certainly have startled any 
passerby, if they had seen him.

The man looked down (or rather up, from his position) at the vehicle, 
and smiled.  "So your current master has given you the name Victory, 
has he?  How fitting.  So then he knows?"

There was no audible reply, not surprisingly.  Even an object of such 
great magic as the Chariot could not surpass all the rules of the 
mundane world.  But those attuned to such methods of mystical 
communication could hear the spirit embodied within, and the Hanged Man 
was one of these.

"His wife?  How unusual.  But he must have had some encounter with 
other Arcana, to know the truth."

A pause.

"Ah, so you do know of the actions of the Queen of Pentacles.  And how 
your master sides with her for the moment.  But his heart is not truly 
in this war, and his will is weak.  He doesn't belong amongst us."

Silence.

"I care nothing of his worldly strivings.  Has it truly been so long 
since you have really been amongst us?  How long has it been since you 
have been in a true battle?"

A longer pause this time.  The man suddenly burst out laughing.

"Yes, yes, like riding a bike, I know.  It is odd how much you and she 
are alike.  Force will solve everything, correct?  Well, both of you 
are fools.  There are more than two sides to this battle, and the one 
who loses may indeed claim Victory in the end."

A silent, almost rumbling vibration seemed to emanate from the Chariot.

"Don't take that uppity tone with me.  You are the one who has become 
distracted by this world, like so many of the others.  You lose sight 
of your true purpose."  The man chuckled.  "You should try looking at 
things from my perspective."

Two sets of distinct footsteps approached, and the Hanged Man quickly 
faded from view.  A moment later, Hanako and Natsu rounded the corner.  
The younger girl nearly tripped when she saw the imposing vehicle.  
"What in the world is that?"

"It belongs to my cousin's uncle.  He calls it Victory."

"That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

Natsu laughed as she guided Hanako to the front door.  "Just don't say 
that to Uncle Will, he'll have a fit."

"It feels funny too."

"Hmm?"

"Like some sort of buzzing or something."

Natsu vaguely remembered Hotaru saying something similar the day 
before, but shrugged it off.  "Come on inside... I think we still have 
some of those cookies Chris brought over from America.  If the pig 
didn't eat them all."

"Mmm."  Hanako immediately seemed to forget about Victory.


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Sumire entered the Tower Reversed and frowned at the empty main 
chamber.  She had planned to continue working on Hanako's reading of 
the tarot (not that she really wanted to, but once started, such things 
had to be carried through to the end) but the scamp was nowhere to be 
found.  It was a bit odd, being that she was usually here at this time, 
but such inconsistency was to be expected from the young.

The Ace of Blades was uncharacteristically startled when Tetsuya raced 
into the hall.  Spotting her, he hurried over, his face pale.

"Can you stay here with Miyuki?  I need to go find Hanako."

Sumire's eyes narrowed slightly.  Something must be very wrong in order 
for the normally smooth Knight to be so frantic.  "Why does Miyuki need 
someone to stay with her?"

"I can't explain now... I have to find Hanako.  Just go in there with 
her... try to help her if you can..."  Without another word, he raced 
off, leaving the now troubled Sumire with questions that she would 
apparently have to wait to be answered.


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Chris sighed in disgust at himself, having lost with Mitsurugi, who was 
by far his best character.  There was just no denying it... the old man 
was damn good.

"I'm afraid I shall have to excuse myself, as I am now out of money," 
the teenager said, his hands shoved in his pockets.  The old man 
chuckled.

"Well, this was certainly an enjoyable game, young man.  It is good to 
find a worthy opponent."

"Worthy?"  Chris scratched his head.  "But you killed me."

"Yes, but your heart was truly in the game.  You fought with nobility 
and honor, and not simply for the joy of winning, but for the game 
itself."

Chris struggled for a moment, wondering if the old man was serious, and 
then smiled.  "Well, once the game is over, what is left?"

The man nodded.  "Exactly right young man.  I hope that we shall have 
the chance to play again sometime."

Chris gave a brief nod and then exited the arcade.  The old man 
remained for a few minutes more, one hand resting on the Mystery Club 
Tournament Deluxe game, appearing lost in thought.  Finally, he gave 
the machine a parting pat and walked through the doors.  He took a look 
at the sky, gave a small smile, and began whistling.

He had gotten three blocks when a voice spoke to him.  "So the Council 
sent you to spy on me, did they?"

The old man turned to see a girl in a school uniform glaring at him 
scornfully.  "It has been quite a long time since I have been 
associated with the Council.  I'm surprised you didn't know that."  His 
voice was mild.

"Well, I doubt you are here to help me, so may I ask what you are 
planning to do here?"

He smiled pleasantly at her.  "My dear girl, there are balances that 
must be maintained.  Good and evil.  The conscious and unconscious.  
Those at war and those at peace.  The magical and the mundane."  His 
smile faded a bit.  "Though I fear that some things may be breaking 
down faster than expected."

Maki frowned.  "What are you talking about?"

"You of all people should know."

"Enlighten me, old man."

He sighed, looking for all the world like a slightly exasperated 
grandfather.  "The Arcana have been pushed through this world too many 
times.  With each successive life, more memories are lost, more pieces 
are lost.  Powers and purposes are lost, warped, disfigured.  You, my 
child, are but a shadow of the true Queen of Pentacles.  You have been 
tainted by this world and the power you see in it, much as the Council 
has.  You have forgotten your true role."

"I disregard my role in order to claim another."

"Is there really a difference?"

"You are boring me."

He looked down at her, rather sternly, yet with a twinkle in his eye.  
"Always so impatient, so eager to claim everything.  You should learn 
moderation."

Maki met his gaze.  "Isn't that your job?"

"Do you despise Temperance so because you have none?"

"I hate those who refuse to act."

He raised an eyebrow.  "In not acting, one can perhaps have the most 
significant purpose."

"Cut the Zen crap and get out of my sight."

The old man gazed at her steadily for a moment, then smiled through his 
beard.  "The impetuousness of youth.  I wish I could remember it, but 
alas, I only lived it once, and it was quite long ago."  He nodded, and 
began down the street again.  "But remember Queen of Pentacles, without 
a strong center, the circle will shatter.  There must be some who do 
not act, some who live, some who remember."  His voice grew fainter as 
he disappeared around the corner.  "Even when the rest of you have 
forgotten."


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The land of dreams was shapeless and formless, except to those who 
could form their own paths.  The Page of Cups was one of those.  His 
small figure moved slowly, yet great distances seemed to flash past 
him, until he seemingly reached what he was looking for.  

A crumpled body lay on what passed as the ground, a small vial still 
clutched in his hand.  The Page calmly watched the last few breaths 
rattle away, then bent over and retrieved the vial from Harlequin's 
limp fingers.

"I hope this eases your pain," the child said quietly.  He reached 
over, gently closing the still-staring eyes.  "You, at least, truly did 
walk the path of Fools.  I hope your student is more wise."

He regarded the body silently for a moment.  "Don't worry, I will keep 
my promise.  Neither side shall have my aid.  Now there are none left 
who know of me, and no others will ever find me, you may be assured of 
that."

Gathering his things, the Page of Cups did not give the twisted figure 
a second glance as he disappeared into the swirling mists.


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Hotaru stared at the two cards in Ishido's hand.  "Are you absolutely 
sure about this?"

Ishido began to answer, and then doubled over in another coughing fit.  
Worried, Hotaru grabbed his shoulder.  "Are you all right?"

He shook his head slightly and sat upright once more.  His face was 
slightly pale, but seemed to be returning back to normal.  "Just a bit 
of a relapse, I think."  He frowned slightly, shook his head again.  
"Hmm.  Feel a bit better actually."

Hotaru sighed.

Ishido turned towards her with a smile.  "So, firefly, I can stay for 
dinner, right?"


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Wow.  Compared to everything I've written recently, this is *long*.  
And this is yet another part that was written in about three days, 
amidst school crap and traveling for the holiday.

I have to say I'm really proud of this part, more so than a lot of the 
other things I have written for Impro.  It just came easier than a lot 
of other things I've written... I think I've found my replacement for 
MC ^_^

I know I might get nailed by some for throwing yet another Major Arcana 
into the mix, but I just adored the old man... he reminded of a certain 
skee-ball playing guy in Dogma ^_^.  And I thought it was about time 
there was someone around who actually KNEW things, not that Temperance 
is necessarily going to tell.  I sort of see him as the balance to the 
other Arcana who cycle through multiple lives... as he said it himself, 
he is the one who lives and remembers.  I even get the impression that 
he may still be going through his first life, that he could be an 
original Arcana, but I don't know if that goes against any rules that 
have been established.  But I really don't see him becoming a major 
player in the events going on... the more the others act, the less he 
probably would.  Though maybe he would throw his weight in when one 
side starts to topple the other.... but basically he's just a nice old 
man who likes to play fighting games.  I think he may be one of my 
favorite characters ^_^;;  You just want to give him a hug or 
something.

ANYWAY, because character bloat is a looming problem, and because it 
was requested, I killed off Harlequin.  In my opinion, he already 
served his purpose, and having him hang around just seemed extra 
baggage.  And I booted out the Page of Cups, but if truly necessary, he 
can be brought back.  Just because he thinks he can't be found doesn't 
mean it is true.

Some minor tarot notes... the Ten of Wands in Ishido's reading 
symbolizes pretty much what he said, a burden, and the struggle it can 
bring.  The Hanged Man and the Chariot who had already been introduced 
are naturally opposing cards (the former indicates victory through 
sacrifice and loss, the later through strong action), so I thought it 
would be fun if they got together and had a chat ^_^  And the Queen of 
Pentacles represents a welcoming and nurturing heart (something Maki is 
clearly lacking) and that is what Temperance meant when he said she had 
lost her purpose.

Anyway, enough rambling.  Thanks to Sharyna, Brett, and Scott for 
prereading so fast.  And people, PLEASE write some reviews... I haven't 
gotten feedback for about the last five parts I've written....

Lady Brick
Lady_Brick@yahoo.com