"Your 'puppet' has just left for school. As you've expected, she doesn't remember a thing." "Of course not. Not yet, anyhow. But she'll do what I instructed her to do. They always do. You should know that better than anyone." The Hierophant turned his head to face the speaker: a dark-haired woman in her late twenties, clad in a kimono. Around her eyes, a long blindfold was tied that fell to her shoulders like a bandanna. "World." "Of course," she nodded. "I shall continue to watch them." "In particular, I want you to watch the Paradox." "I can see them all quite easily." "We'll need to know immediately if my plan is successful or not," he persisted simply. "And we'll have to execute it quickly; that girl won't survive for long, given the amount of power I've forced into her." "You seem especially concerned with this one. You're going to a lot of trouble." "As I've told Hanged Man, her actions cannot be predicted. With Fortune..." he paused to think of the proper word, "...displaced, she is our highest priority." "I see. Very well. I shall pay special attention to her." "One more thing," the Hierophant called over his shoulder as the woman headed towards the door. "If the operation succeeds, we shall commence the plan for the Magician." "Her? Not Justice?" She asked in confusion. "The Magician is damaged. She won't find use of her powers for some time yet, but Justice-" "When Judgment appears, we may yet be able to use Justice to our advantage," he interrupted. "But the Magician... There's only one option." "Understood." She exited the room. "Our only option," Hierophant said again, returning his gaze to the card of Judgment on the table. "Don't worry, we'll defeat you. I've got everything all planned out." * * * * * Arcana started by: Scott Schimmel Chapter 27: Falling into a Trap by Brett Schimmel * * * * * "Is it raining out?" Natsu asked as she opened the front door. She was already mostly-dressed for school, her jacket hanging loosely from her shoulders. Tetsuya wiped a few droplets off his coat, then stepped inside of her home. "A little. It's not as bad as it looks." "That's good. I never liked the rain much." She turned her head, calling over her shoulder, "Hanako! Tetsuya's here." "Heh. Feels like it's been a while since I was last stuck with her," he commented, his eyes idly scanning the room. "It's only been two days," she reminded him as she pulled on a shoe. "Anyhow, thanks for offering to watch her today. Chris came home last night and demanded I find someone else." "It's no trouble. I have the day off anyhow. As long as she doesn't ask for-" "What's for breakfast?" Hanako asked, bounding into the room. Tetsuya sighed. "Figures." "You should've known better by now," Natsu laughed as she pulled on her other shoe and stood. "I'm off. Gotta get to Hotaru's place before she wakes up and thinks she's late again." "We're going in the opposite direction," Tetsuya pointed out as the three left the blond girl's home. "Guess we'll be parting here." "All right. Have fun." "Natsu?" Tetsuya said as she started moving away. She stopped. "What?" Tetsuya stood silent, as if trying to formulate the words in his mind. After a moment, he shook his head. "Never mind. I'll tell you after school." She blinked. "If you say so." The Knight of Cups watched her leave, then turned to Hanako. "We should get going as well." "To eat, right?" He nodded, casting a final glance at Natsu's distant figure before heading in his own direction with the child. He wasn't sure if she knew yet, but he couldn't keep it from her much longer. Sooner or later, he'd have to tell her about Will. * The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle by the time she arrived at Hotaru's home. She chuckled as her friend came dashing out the door, holding her lunch bag in her teeth as she tried to pull her jacket on. The Magician stopped short when she saw the other girl, dropping the bag into her palm. "Don't tell me..." "Right on time!" "I don't believe this," Hotaru muttered as she walked towards the school with her friend. "I fell for it again." "Some things just never change," Natsu laughed. "So, how are you today?" "Pretty good," she replied simply. Her face portrayed otherwise. Several seconds of awkward silence passed before she spoke again. "Still no word on Miyuki's parents?" "Nothing." "I see." "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find them. They must be worried enough to start looking by now. If we just wait..." "What will we tell them?" Hotaru asked suddenly, taking her friend off guard. "Huh?" "What do we say? We can't tell them about the Arcana, but they'll know it wasn't natural causes, either." Natsu pondered in silence. She was right. With all that had happened, they had been too concerned with finding Miyuki's parents to contemplate what to actually say to them. "I dunno," she said at last. "But we can't very well do nothing, can we?" "No," Hotaru solemnly agreed. "She was their daughter. They have a right to know." * "How's it going?" The oil-covered mechanic slid out from beneath the bizarre vehicle and gazed up at the foreigner standing over him. "Pretty well, sir. With luck, she ought to be ready by early tomorrow, or possibly even this evening." "That soon?" The mechanic gave a half-smile and slid back under the jeep-hybrid. "For what you're paying us? Most definitely." "Good. Glad to hear it." He bent forward, whispering so that the mechanic couldn't hear. "Hear that? We'll be able to kill the girl soon." A moment of silence passed. "That boy? But we were hired to..." More silence. "Alright, we'll just have to go after them both." * Hotaru yelped at the sharp cracking sound. She turned her gaze from the window to Akiyama-sensei, who stood with an irritated look on his face, tapping his open palm with the pointer he had used to strike her death.. "Komatane, do you find the outside to be more interesting than my class?" For a minute she felt anger surge through her. How could he ask that after Miyuki had just died? How could he say that after all she'd been through? "I'm sorry," she apologized, just as the bell rang, ending the Chemistry class. "The period's over, so I'll let it go for now, but don't let it happen again, or else," Akiyama warned. "Hai, sensei," Hotaru nodded. He seemed satisfied enough with that, and headed back to his desk where he mused over some papers. He can say something like that because he doesn't know, Hotaru's mind answered her as she gathered her books. Outside the classroom, things continued as normal. Some students stood in the halls to chat, while others hurried to get to after-school clubs, or to just leave. They didn't know what happened; she shouldn't expect them to. "Hiya," Natsu greeted her, blinking in surprise when Hotaru answered her with a smile. "I see you're looking better." "A bit," Hotaru agreed as they started walking. "I'm still... disturbed by this whole ordeal, but it's just another school day for everyone else. I figured I should try to act as I normally do." "I know it's rough," Natsu consoled her, "but remember, at least she's not really dead." Hotaru nodded, but remained quiet. Realizing she wasn't going to bring up a conversation subject anytime, The taller girl attempted to start one. She had barely opened her mouth, though, when she heard the footsteps falling quickly behind them. "Heyyyy, you two!" Shiho yelled, waving her arms as she approached them. "Hurry up! Drama Club's having a meeting soon!" "Eh? Since when are you in Drama Club?" Hotaru asked. Shiho grinned sheepishly. "Since yesterday. I figured since the Astronomy Club doesn't meet until late anyhow, I could use the extra time for something else." "How many clubs are you in, anyway?" Shiho chuckled as she scratched behind her head. "Ehehehe... Lots! But, anyway, why don't we all get to the meeting?" "Hate to break it to you," Natsu interrupted, "but I'm not in the Drama Club." "Wha-? But I thought you were members!" "She is," the taller girl pointed with her thumb. "I'm not." "Well, I already knew that. That's why I came to get you. But I figured you'd both be in it." Catching Natsu's wary eye, she quickly continued. "Uh, not that I think you two do everything together but you seem awfully close to each other. Er... I mean, not in that way... Um, anyhow, I just figured if one of you was doing something, the other might... Hmm... I'm going in circles." By this point both Hotaru and Natsu were trying to stifle giggles. "Um... Anyhow, I'll see you there!" she said, turning and moving away as quickly as she had come. "Heh. That one's always worth a laugh," The blond girl giggled. "She means well." "You should follow her. You don't want to be late." "I was thinking of skipping Drama Club today," Hotaru said in response. "You should go," her taller friend insisted. "It'd do you good." "All right." she agreed. "What about you?" "I'll have to get home. Gotta get Hanako from Tetsuya." The blond girl thought for a minute. "What are we going to do about her?" "Hmm?" "I mean, I can only keep up my facade for so long. Sooner or later, someone else will have to take care of her, unless..." "She's not going back to the Tower Reversed," Hotaru said, reading her friend's thoughts from her face. "Not to live, anyhow. It's not safe, even if Miyuki's there." "That's what I thought. So, we'll need to do something about her." Natsu shrugged. "Oh well. We can worry about that later; I'll handle her for now." Hotaru nodded. "Okay. I'd better go now. I'll let you know if I come up with anything." "Same here," the blond girl promised. * "I'm finished!" Hanako announced, licking the remnants of her sundae off the corners of her mouth. "You sure?" Tetsuya raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Hanako nodded, and he checked his watch. "Just as well. We should get back to Natsu's home; she should be on her way by now. "'K." They rose from their seats and strode to the register. Tetsuya sighed as he took out a sizable potion on money from his wallet and handed it over. Once outside, Hanako looked up at him. "We gonna do this again tomorrow, 'niichan?" "Eh? No, I have school." "Oh." the child's gaze fell to the ground. A thought crossed Tetsuya's mind. "Come to think of it, don't you have school, too?" "Don't you have a busy schedule?" she countered. "Not recently. I've been keeping it free, in case I was needed, like today." "Needed to watch over me, huh?" the Page of Pentacles suddenly stopped, and Tetsuya turned to her in confusion. Before he could speak, she continued. "I'm not a kid, you know. I can take care of myself." "Hanako..." "I don't need you people to go out of your way for me!" she shouted, promptly spinning around and running from him. The Knight was quick to follow. "Hanako! Calm down! We can talk..." The chase didn't last very long. Tetsuya was older and faster, but the Page had one advantage over him: her size. She crawled through a hole in a nearby wooden fence, one that he couldn't hope to follow her through. "Hanako!" he shouted, banging on the obstacle. His heart sank when he received no response. * The afternoon was looking much better. One could hardly tell it had rained. Natsu Forrester was certainly enjoying this weather much more, at any rate. It would've been nice to take a slower walk, but she didn't have the time. Time... Would she be able to make soccer practice tomorrow? Idly, she wondered when it was she had last gone. "Natsu." The voice startled her. Quickly glancing around, she saw a girl leaning against a streetlight casually, dressed in the school uniform of Hataraku. In fact, Natsu realized, she knew this person: one of the three girls trying to befriend Hotaru and her. What was her name? It was similar her own... "Natsumi?" she guessed. Evidently she was correct, as the girl started walking towards her. "Natsu, I need to talk to you." The blond girl folded her arms. "About what?" "Hotaru. I want you to leave her alone." "Why?" Natsu asked cautiously. Did she know something? "Your abilities. They're a threat to the Magician, and to everyone. But mostly to her. You need to stop seeing her, and if possible get out of contact with her before." "Are you Arcana?" "Sort of..." the other girl grinned, ever so slightly. "But that is irrelevant. The wheels of fate are in motion, and your destiny is decided. You must leave before it's too late!" Natsu smirked, meeting her gaze. "Sorry." "You won't go?" "I don't believe in Fortune-telling, but if you happen to be right, I'm not going to leave Hotaru to fend for herself." "Even if it means you may turn against her?" "That won't happen." "You sound sure of yourself." "It's because I am." "I see," Natsumi sighed, falling into what Natsu could only imagine was a fighting stance. "You leave me no choice." She pulled her fists up in response. "What do you want?" "Exactly what is necessary. You will be removed from involvements with the Arcana, forcefully." "You just try it!" Natsu shouted, throwing a quick punch. The other girl seemed to be a little surprised, but just before the attack connected, she jumped high, flipping and landing behind her. Swiftly, the blond girl turned, but not fast enough, and a punch to her gut sent her flying, where she painfully crashed into the streetlight the her opponent had been leaning on earlier. Wasting no time, Natsumi did a cartwheel towards her as she rose, then leapt and spun, driving the heels of both of her feet into the other girl's chest and forcing her to the ground. Natsumi used to force of the impact to propel herself high into the air, where she spun around once and swiftly dropped feet first. Natsu rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the girl as she stomped hard right where her head had been a minute ago. She rose to her feet, gasping for air as she raised her arms. "Still able to fight?" "I've been through worse." Natsumi scowled, then rolled at her. She crouched, preparing to defend against a low attack, but suddenly the gymnast pushed off the ground with her hands, her feet striking Natsu's face hard enough to spin her so she fell on her stomach. Quickly, the blond girl was in a kneeling position, raising her left arm to defend against the oncoming punch. It impacted hard, too hard. There was an audible cracking noise, and Natsu shrieked. She fell to the ground, squirming and clutching her wounded limb in pain. "I never really wanted to make friends with you anyway, 'Freak'." Natsumi raised her foot, and Natsu screamed louder as she felt her ribs crack. The other girl grinned almost maniacally, raising her foot again. And suddenly she staggered back, clutching at her head. "Gaaahh! The pain!" Fortunately, it was only momentary. The pain receded, and she smiled calmly, ready again to finish her foe off. Then she gasped. Natsu was no longer on the ground. Instead she stood, seemingly ignorant of the pain she must have been in. Her features seemed sharper, and her eyes... Her eyes were glowing with bluish-green energy. With a cry, she hurled herself towards Natsumi, a pair of similarly colored wings flashing behind her only briefly as she charged. The other girl tried to dodge, but she was too quick. A flurry of blows assaulted the gymnast, not even giving her a chance to cry out in pain. They weren't just from the attacks, either, she realized. It was as though her mind was trying to physically claw its way out of her brain. Suddenly she remembered what had happened. The strange inverted man, the other one who had spoken some strange words to her... It was all coming back. And too late. Her enemy suddenly thrust both of her hands forward, her fingers enveloped in light, they connected with her stomach, and then... The light left Natsu's eyes. She briefly looked at her bloodied hands, then collapsed from exhaustion, horror and pain. * There was a loud splash, but the child ignored the water from the puddle as it soaked her shoe. She just kept running, not ever sure where it was she was headed. "Hey!" Shouted a female voice. Hanako stopped, looking up to see that girl from last night. "Maki?" she asked timidly. The girl nodded. "Nice to see you again. Are you alright? You look like you've been crying." Hanako wiped away the tears from her eyes. "It's nothing." "Are you sure?" Concern spread across the elder girl's face. "Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help!" "It's the others. They don't think I've noticed, but I'm being a burden to them. They won't let me stay at the Tower Reversed, 'cause they think it's not safe, but they're going to too much trouble to let me stay with them. I didn't wanna bother them anymore, so I ran away." "I see," the Queen responded. "But, I don't wanna live alone again," Hanako continued. "I don't wanna go back on the streets!" "Have you thought what we discussed last night?" she prompted. "You can stay with me!" "But... I don't wanna trouble you." "Oh, it's no trouble! The housemaid would be there to take care of you during the day, and you can have all sorts of nice things to eat! Even things like candy from other countries!" "Are you sure?" "Of course I am! Don't you remember? We always used to be like this in the past." Maki extended her hand. "Come along now, I'll treat you to something good to eat." Hanako reached out, taking her hand. "You're right. I remember." * "Your puppet has fallen," World reported. "Excellent," Hierophant grinned in anticipation. "The police have already been contacted. Everything is in motion! Now, if the Page of Cups shows up on time..." "He is there. He is administering to the Paradox's wounds as we speak," World confirmed. "It seems you were correct. He is unable to avoid helping them, even though he would have it otherwise." "Perfect. She won't even appear mildly wounded by the time the police find her. Very well, this phase of the plan has ended." He nodded in approval, and took a sip of his wine before continuing. "Have any others been found yet?" "Not as of yet." "I see." Another sip. "Well, no matter. They're all out there somewhere. They simply need to be awakened before Judgment." "I shall seek them out," she assured him as she departed. Hierophant took another sip of the wine. "Now, as for the Magician..." * "I'm home!" Hotaru yelled. It was pointless, since she knew neither of her parents were, but she did it anyhow. Kicking off her shoes, she hurried to her room. A Midsummer Night's Dream. That was the play the Drama Club had decided to do, after much debating. She liked that one. Casting wasn't complete yet, but she was hopeful. She giggled as she thought of various Arcana playing the roles in the play. The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. Hotaru hurried downstairs and picked it up cheerfully. "Good afternoon! Komatane residence!" "Hotaru, is that you?" "Chris?" She thought she recognized his voice, but he sounded as though he was panicking. "Thank God, Hotaru! It's Natsu. Thank God I got in touch with you." "What's terrible? Chris, calm down!" she pleaded. "What's this about Natsu?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "She's in jail. They said she tore open a girl's stomach!" The phone fell from her hand. * * * Author's notes: At first I was a little uncomfortable with having to follow up my own part, but that changed once I actually started writing. Hopefully, though, this situation won't come up again. Big thanks to Kate Malloy and NinjaDeBugger for prereading.