Over a week has passed, and Keisuke Shirosawa remained comatose. Since then, Hotaru Komatame had visited him thrice, including today. She'd met Keisuke's parents. They couldn't stay for long, of course, since they had work to do. Keisuke's brother never visited him. Not even once. No one else had visited Keisuke other that his family and themselves. Of course, there were those police officers, but they were mostly asking for his condition as a formality and not really in genuine concern. Hotaru was starting to wonder if Keisuke ever had any other friends other than the members of the Arcana. Maybe that's one of the things one gives up when they become one of Them. Hotaru finished narrating to the prone Keisuke of the things that had happened in the past few days to look up at the other person in the room. Since that scene during their first visit, Tetsuya Ishikawa had withdrawn into himself, and wouldn't even acknowledge Keisuke's presence. Right now he was standing by the window, looking out towards the bustling streets below. Tetsuya once said that he never liked him. Yet he visits Keisuke everyday. "Oh, hello there, Hotaru and Tetsuya," Arisa Takasakura's lilting voice flowed into the private room, the rest of the petite doctor following suit. "How long have you two been here?" Hotaru waved cheerfully. "Hello, Doctor Arisa. You're early today." At the other side of the room, Tetsuya nodded slightly in reply. "I'm just doing my rounds, is all Delphi rounds," Arisa quipped. Hotaru blinked in surprise. "Pardon?" "It's nothing... just an Internet in-joke. Sorry," giggled Arisa. Tetsuya shook his head. "So how is he, Doctor?" Hotaru asked. Arisa briefly frowned before returning to her usual pleasant expression. "Not good. Keisuke's physical condition's stabilized, but he's in a coma from the trauma of the accident." "It wasn't an accident," Tetsuya mumbled. "I'm sure of it." "...Okay," Arisa raised an eyebrow at Tetsuya, but let the matter drop. "So although we've done all that we can for Keisuke, we can't do anything else if he won't wake up by himself." "So everything is all up to him now," Hotaru concluded. "...DÇjÖ vu." "Oh?" Arisa raised an eyebrow. Hotaru shook her head, her hair ribbons trailing behind. "It's like I've gone through all this before, and that I've been listening to that line over and over again." ""Look, Hotaru..." Arisa, being close to Hotaru's height, patted her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Lines of worry formed around her face as she spoke. "My diagnosis sounds harsh but we really couldn't do anything more. His doctors have done an excellent job, and physically he'll be fine in a few weeks once he regains consciousness." "I know," Hotaru sighed. "I know." Arisa moved closer to the bed. She intended to pick up the doctor's report folder at the bedside, but something else caught her eye. "Hmm... What are these cards doing here?" Both Arcana looked up. "What cards?" asked Hotaru, the Magician. "Are these yours?" Arisa asked, showing them the five cards Tetsuya was holding. "Weird..." The Fool, Reversed. The High Priestess. The Page of Cups, Reversed. The Ace of Blades. And the Knight of Blades. Hotaru shook her head. "I wonder..." Tetsuya, the Knight of Cups, mused. * * * * * Arcana an Improfanfic started by Scott Schimmel Chapter 39 Torn Signposts written by Signus Megido * * * * * "I'll get it!" Hotaru announced as she picked up the ringing phone. "Moshi moshi..." she greeted to the receiver. "Komatame residence." "Komatame." "Sumire!" Hotaru spoke, waves of relief washing over her. "Where are you? We haven't seen you for days. You weren't anywhere in school. Tetsuya and the others were starting to get worried." Hotaru could almost hear a chuckle from the other end of the line. "Izumo." "Oh." Hotaru blinked at the brief response. It took a while for the meaning to hit. "Nani? You're in Izumo? How come?" Another chuckle. "Hunting ghosts. How are things there? Did you find Hanako?" "Yes..." Hotaru hesitated. "...No, not really. Tetsuya thinks that she's probably with other Arcana we haven't met before." There was a muted conversation on the other line between Sumire and another person. Hotaru thought that the other voice sounded familiar. "Sumire?" "Arisa believes that Hanako is with the Queen of Pentacles," Sumire replied. "That's bad, right?" Hotaru blinked. "Wait, Arisa is with you?" "Yes." "Is she--" Hotaru began. "It's all right," Sumire interrupted. "The Knight of Blades is still a friend, even after all that has happened between us." Hotaru remembered Tetsuya and Keisuke. Somehow, she couldn't help but giggle. "So you two are a couple now. That's great, Sumire!" The Ace of Blades sounded flustered. "What do you mean by that, Komatame?" "What I meant that you two have gotten back together and patched things up with each other," Hotaru clarified. "I'm happy for you two." "Thanks," Sumire grumbled. There was another pause. "I have to go. I am using a pay phone right now. I will call again. Take care." "Wait, I..." The receiver clicked and went silent. Hotaru smiled at the thought of Sumire being delinquent. "It's good that Sumire has her friend back," she voiced her thoughts aloud. Then she thought of Natsu, and her smile vanished. "Oh, Natsu..." * * * * * "Aka, what now?" Arisa asked Sumire as she stepped out of the phone booth. Sumire mulled over the situation for a moment. "We should start looking for clues on the Page of Cups' whereabouts," she spoke up after the lengthy pause. "How?" Arisa wondered aloud. "He could be anywhere by now." "Call it a hunch, but I don't think he'd have gone far," Sumire replied. "At least, not right now. There's also something else that concerns me, and I think you know what I mean." Arisa nodded. "He said that he was only following 'the will my King'. I wonder... If he was only following orders from the King of Cups, who could it be?" "More importantly, who is our 'King of Blades' too?" Sumire added. Both remained silent for a while. * * * * * "Pawn to K-six," the white-robed woman announced her move. Her opponent, a man his late twenties, idly brushed at his pristine gray suit as he studied the chessboard atop the conference table between the two of them while she leaned back on the plush chair. "Rook captures Knight," he said. There was a momentary pause, and then the woman casually reached out for her next piece to move despite of the blindfold covering her eyes. "Bishop captures Rook." He smiled. "Knight captures Bishop." "Queen captures Knight." Without losing his smile, he reached out to the other side of the board and made his gambit. "Pawn captures Rook. Check." "Queen to R-eight." He pressed on. "Pawn forward, promoted to Queen." "Queen captures Queen." "Knight to B-eight. Check." She briefly hesitated. "Pawn captures Knight." "Checkmate. My Bishop was waiting for the opening," Rusty elaborated with a grin. The World quietly smiled back at the King of Blades. "Congratulations, Attorney Date-Smith. You have won again. The current score is in your favor, at a ratio of three to one." "Of course," he said, rearranging the pieces on the board. "But I have to say, you've given me quite a challenge there, Ma'am. For once, I'm not even sure if I'd win this time." "You flatter me too much," she dismissed his praise with a smile. "I can barely keep up with your degree of skill." "No, I'm serious. Then again, I've yet to face a real challenging opponent in chess, as well as in any other game." "You will soon." "What was that?" he asked as he placed the last pieces on the board. "Oh, nothing, nothing... I wonder if the others will be coming?" she wondered. "Maybe," Rusty shrugged. "Chariot may have called us out, but we don't have to answer. Who knows?" He leaned closer. "So, care for another game?" She smiled again. "Of course. I would like to tie with your score by the time anyone else arrives." His eyes twinkled in anticipation. "We'll see about that." They began again. * * * * * The Healer walked on a vast silent plain, in a place that is both everywhere and nowhere at once. The androgynous boy walked towards a ruined ancient structure in the middle of the endless empty field, the only notable feature in this formless wasteland. Broken marble pillars surrounded the desolate abandoned courtyard. He walked inside, his bloodstained robes caressing the occasional debris sticking out of the cold stone floor, with the stride of someone entering their abode. Inside the yard were many chairs scattered haphazardly around an old wooden table, and all save the table were smashed to pieces, now unusable. "I am here," the Page of Cups announced. "The Page of Cups. The bringer and taker of Health and Vigor." Perhaps now I wouldn't have to bear the burden at all, Healer reflected. Or at least I won't have to bear it all alone. I have followed my role, as the Trumps demanded of the Cups. Hopefully the sanctions will now be lifted. "I await your command, my King." The courtyard was not empty anymore. * * * * * After supper, Hotaru was lying on her bed. She was gazing blankly at the ceiling as she recalled the events of the past few days. It was when she thought about the brief phone conversation with Sumire did she realize something. "Wait... Who is the Queen of Pentacles?" Hotaru sat up, mentally wanting to kick herself for forgetting to ask. She settled for a facepalm. "Mou..." ____________________ Author's Skribulous: A grad student's projects are never done; When you're finished with one, There'll more where that came from. Dammit. Thanks and props go out to the people on irc.sandwich.net (especially to SD Ryukage) for preread and suggestions. Any bugs and errors here are all my doing and are intentional. I think. Really. ^^;;;