[Day: Sunday, February 16th. Time: 3:30 p.m.] [Weather: Sunny, for a change. Plenty of snow on the ground, though. And it's still chilly.] [Around noon, Chikako called Katie and happily dragged her along to see 'Land of the Rising Black', a new movie about a samurai in post-apocalyptic Japan who rides a motorcycle, fighting bandits with a sword. Over the course of the movie, he uncovers a conspiracy by the new government and foils it. As you've probably guessed, it was all action, little plot.] [Little did Katie realize that Haruko had gone to see the movie too, until they literally bumped each other coming out of the theatre. And funnily enough, Nanami was there, too.] [Mini start!] * Haruko emerges from the theater and puts on her jacket and gloves without stopping to look up and thus bumps into someone. She's so practiced at her apologies that she blurts one out before realizing she knows the victim. * Katie oofs and blinks. "It's okay, Haruko." * Nanami exits with a large popcorn under one arm and sipping on a soda in another. She slows down and stops a few steps at the collision site. * Haruko grins sheepishly. "Good, hi Katie hi Chikako, I didn't know this was your kinda flick, oh, hello Nanami." * Chikako grins, cheerful as always. She's wearing a red sweater and a long blue skirt, as well as a sun-shielding hat. "Hi Haruko! And Nanami too! I didn't expect to meet you here! That's so cool!" ( At one of my local theaters you can buy corn dogs. That pleases me to no end, except the theaters far enough away that I'm always late so don't typically have the chance to buy one :( ) * Nanami blinks once, then spits out the straw, pointing at Chikako. "Yeah, I remember you. From the theme park right?" * Chikako nods. "Yeah." She giggles, remembering the park. "That was so cool!" * Katie shrugs with a small grin. "It's not." * Haruko finishes putting on her coat, she's wearing relatively grungy jeans and a t-shirt. Only notable accessory is a nice expensive looking set of riding gloves, which include fingers, unusual for that style of glove. I just thought it was great...you know the part where that guy almost ran them over, then skidded to the side and the sword was at just the right height to...oo, I love these." * Chikako nods. "The movie was so cool! It was my idea to bring Katie." She grins at Katie. * Nanami stops to sip through her straw the last bit of soda. * Haruko grins widely. "Yup, bad guys in these movies never stand a chance. All about the bike, and the fortunate rider." * Katie laughs. "Yeah, well. You could probably figure out a way to drag me to any kind of movie." She playfully thwaps Chikako. * Chikako nodnods. "The rider was cool! The bike was cool too. And I like movies. They're so cool!" For some reason while watching though, I though that if I survived World War Three I'd end up as Saki's mechanic. Umm.. must be her leather jacket. * Nanami grins as she throws away her soda. "I like her. She likes just about everything." Unlike that idiot of a brother of mine. He'd NEVER take me to a movie like this. * Katie tugs her jacket over her sweatshirt. "Must be." No, that's why you take him. * Chikako nods. "Yeah! Tell him how cool it'd be." Don't know what's not to like, the toys a better in spy flicks, but they're more believable and wild in these. I always feel like I could spend a month in a junkyard and make stuff like this. * Nanami shakes her head. "Uh-uh, I couldn't really do that. Not how he's acting lately." * Katie raises an eyebrow at that. * Chikako grins at Haruko. "You're really into mechanical stuff, huh? That's so cool!" How has he been acting? Actually, let's take this somewhere else. * Haruko nod nods. * Nanami looks at Katie while crumpling her popcorn bag. "Eh...Kaede's just...complicated." * Katie starts walking out, calling cheerfully, "Hot chocolate this way!" * Chikako grins and follows merrily. "Hot chocolate is so cool!" * Nanami resists a snicker as she follows close behind. * Haruko follows along smiling. "I'd love to know how they did that jump off of the melted remains of Tokyo Tower and then raced along the remains of the skyline chased by all the evil government broken down helicopters. That was so cool, don't you think Chikako?" * Chikako nodnods enthusiastically. "Very cool!" * Nanami lets out a little humph. "A lot of it's done with computer animation nowadays. I've seen a bit of it done..it kind of takes the magic out of it though." * Katie chuckles. "Magic's overrated." [They get to a nice little corner cafe a few blocks away from the theatre.] ( no CoffeeGuy here, though. Sorry. ) * Katie enters and orders hot chocolate for all the girls. She wasn't lying. * Haruko sighs. "Yeah, non-computer effects are so much neater, looks more real and they actually make the stuff." * Chikako proclaims again how cool hot chocolate is. She wasn't lying either. At least, she doesn't think so. I'd like to be a daredevil some time in my life. I think it'd be a lot of fun. * Chikako nods. "It'd be so cool!" * Haruko licks her lips. "I'd do it now if there weren't consequences, I could handle the danger, but don't think my parents could." * Katie takes the drinks over to one of the tables. "Fun, maybe, but also dangerous." She has a seat. * Chikako sits down too. "Yeah, the danger's not as cool Heh. I laugh in the face of danger...and strange pedophilic men. * Haruko sits at the table, takes off her coat, but leaves the gloves on, insulation from the heat after all. * Nanami grumbles a bit. "Though I'd really like to do something else to that guy." * Katie shrugs off her coat, too. "I'll help." Yeah, it wouldn't be half as much fun without the danger. Course being able to pick your danger makes a big difference. And I'm in too. * Chikako blinks. "What guy?" * Katie looks over to Chikako. One who's seriously uncool, more uncool than the computer guy. * Nanami looks down at her cocoa. "Though I think bro's taking it worse than I am..that's what I meant." * Chikako tilts her head, blinking in confusion. Someone tried to do some... things to Nanami against her will. Oh. That's not cool. Not at all. Happily we managed to interfere. * Katie nods. * Nanami snaps her fingers. "You know, I was thinking about having all you guys over for dinner or something. As appreciation for it." Dinner? Sure. Want me to write an article about him? I can make him look so uncool the whole school would laugh. * Haruko smiles, "That'd be great, but don't feel obligated." * Chikako waves her hand. "Oh, don't worry. It's cool with me." * Nanami squeals with delight and claps her hands. "Great. Say this next weekend? That sound good?" * Haruko smiles and chuckles. "Fine by me, just name the time when you get a chance so I can schedule shrine work around it." * Katie nods and sips at her cocoa. Okay...I'll nudge him to make you guys something extra special then. It'll be great! * Haruko slowly sips at her cocoa. Not half bad, how much were these Katie? * Nanami sips the cocoa cup herself, with a big grin on her face. * Katie smiles sheepishly. "Not that much." Oh, thanks then. * Chikako grins. "It's cool. I'll buy for us next time." * Katie laughs. You don't have to. Yes she does. You're too generous. I don't mind. It's cool. Nono, see, Chikako's the generous one. She's the nice one, too. I'm just moderately kind. * Katie nods. Why does there have to be "the" nice one..why can't you both be nice hmmm? Because it's not as much fun that way. Is for me. * Nanami grins and takes another sip. "This is really good chocolate." It's cool with me either way. * Katie sticks her tongue out at Nanami. "Who asked you?" * Haruko grins and keeps sipping. * Nanami sticks a chocolaty tongue back. "No one said I couldn't have an opinion." * Katie blinks, then frowns suddenly. "Hey, Chikako. I've been meaning to ask you." Did you ever notice anything weird about Taro? * Haruko loses the grin but keeps sipping. * Nanami rests her chin on her wrist. "Who's Taro?" Taro? Not really. He seemed cool to me. Ah, my boyfriend. Kind of. Well, I'm not sure anymore. He, um. I've been avoiding him recently. Meh. Boys are mostly creeps anyhow. Why? Is he being uncool with you? He's never had a girlfriend before, so maybe he's just not cool with the whole thing yet. That's not true! Some of them are so cool! Yeah? Name one. Kyon! Kyon is cool! The troll??? * Haruko giggles. "Dunno about him, but Ryuji seems nice enough." * Chikako tilts her head. "Huh?" * Nanami puts her hand over her mouth and resists the urge to snicker. * Katie looks down at her hot chocolate. "No, it's just... remember when I told you that I was going to give Ken choc-" She stops at all the talking. So you got Ken and Taro, Katie? * Haruko resumes sipping and letting Katie talk. No, Nanami. Ken makes my life miserable, and I do the same for him. Haruko thinks it's a childish crush on his part. * Chikako stares at Nanami a minute with confusion on her face, then looks at Katie. "Uh, yeah. That was cool. Did you go through with it?" Yeah, I did. And I was right. He *did* flip out. * Nanami shrugs. "Probably is." * Nanami sips her chocolate again and listens intently. * Haruko shrugs and listens. * Chikako grins. "Cool!" She blinks a few times. "Wait, that's what you wanted, right?" * Katie grins at the memory. "But..." The smile fades a little. "Taro walked in at the end, and... um. He attacked Ken. He told Ken that I was his, and if he ever touched me, he'd kill him." * Nanami frowns. "Bad karma." And then there was nothing I could do! Nothing! I tried to stop him, and I got hit and I was *bleeding*, and damnit, Taro still wouldn't stop! * Chikako blinks a few times. She frowns. "That's not cool at all." * Haruko frowns. "No, not at all. I'd hoped it wasn't that bad." Wait wait..I'm lost here. Your *boyfriend* hit you? So... I don't know. Kyon and Jin came in and broke up the fight and you were there, right Haruko? It was an accident. I got a little close. Yeah, but I came in after you were hit, I thought it was Ken at first, or a training accident. It appears I overestimated Taro. * Chikako slumps. "This is so uncool. It's all my fault." * Nanami scowls. "Doesn't really matter. If any guy did that to me, he'd.." * Katie rubs Chikako's back. "It's okay. You didn't know and besides, I had a crush on him anyway." "Yeah, but I should have told you he thought you were cool." * Haruko nods in agreement with Nanami. "I've dumped for less, much less." Nobody would have guessed. I mean, Taro, he's a sweet, shy guy, right? I- I don't know. Shy guys can sometimes be jerks too. * Katie bites her lip. "I just don't know. I've been avoiding him, but... if I break up with him, I don't know how he'll take it." That's not cool... I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd take care of you though. * Chikako claps her hands together. "Oh! Why not tell Kyon? He'd back you up if Taro tried anything. He's cool like that." * Haruko narrows her eyes. "Yeah, fear should not be a part of any relationship." You shouldn't stay with a guy just because you're afraid. * Nanami nods to Haruko. * Katie shrugs. "It's not just me. What if he thinks it's because of any of the guys I hang out with? Or any girls, because they put me up to it?" That wouldn't be cool, either. * Nanami narrows her eyes a bit. "And you said you weren't too generous? You can't take this on yourself." * Haruko giggles. "Ken will protect us!" * Katie sips on her cocoa, then chokes. "Haruko!" Like I said, tell Kyon! He's the VP. I'm sure he'd be cool with helping you out if Taro tried anything. Well, I... guess. After the mocking session, anyway. * Haruko looks sheepish, "Sorry, but really, if Taro goes after anyone then we have more than enough good guys to watch after us don't worry." Let alone the bad guys. * Chikako tilts her head. "What bad guys?" Ken. Well, bad guy actually, but nevermind. * Nanami looks intently at Katie. "You really thought of keeping this all on your shoulders, didn't you?" * Katie rubs at her forehead. "I recently joined the kendo team, too. Maybe I should quit." Oooh.... Taro's on the kendo team. That's not cool. * Katie glances up at Nanami. "It's not really your problem, but I was going to talk to somebody." * Chikako beams. "But the rest of the kendo team is cool! They'll..." She slumps again as she realizes. "But I thought Taro was cool too..." * Nanami sighs and shifts her seating. "I knew it. You ARE more alike than I thought." I know a good martial arts place you could go to instead, they could use more women, although that may not be what you need just now. No, I- I was going to talk to somebody. I was meaning to talk to Chikako about it for a while, really, but... it's hard. And things keep coming up. * Nanami sips her cocoa, glancing out of the corner of her eye. Like what? The Festival? This is more important! It's cool that you wanted to talk to me, though. And you came down on my brother so hard for keeping HIS personal stuff secret? Geez. Hey, it happened on Friday, okay? I needed to think this over! * Haruko nods. "I'm impressed you're talking about it this calmly this soon, it's not like you've had time to deal with it any ways." Yeah. It's cool. Umm.... What should we do, though? Want me to ask someone for help? I know a bunch of people who'd be cool with helping... * Haruko looks over to Chikako. "Does Taro have any particularly cool friends, one that would understand why Katie should break up with him." [Before Chikako can answer Haruko's question, she vanishes! Along with Nanami! And everyone else in the cafe but you two.] * Haruko looks around for any new arrivals. [You don't see anyone in the cafe.] * Katie blinks. * Katie stands and picks up her cocoa with a sigh. "Okay, whoever it is, where are you?" * Haruko stands up and looks for exits. [There's an exit out front. It's the same one you came through.] * Haruko gulps and speaks quietly to Katie. "There isn't a way this can be a good thing, is there?" It never is. * Katie walks on over to the exit, cocoa in hand. [Outside, they see Jin, looking confused.] * Haruko grabs her coat and hurridly puts it on. * Jin stands in the center of the street, no less. Jin? What are you doing over there? * Haruko joins Katie outside and looks rather surprised. * Jin stops looking around and turns his attention to Katie. "Uh... I'm not sure." Okay. Can you make a guess? * Jin folds his arms in thought. ... uh... * Jin unfolds them after a minute and gives Katie a blank look. "... No." * Katie sighs. "Okay. Do you want to come in? It's warmer." * Jin shakes his head. "No... No, you come with me." Why? ... I'm not sure. * Haruko looks a bit worried. "Where?" Uh.... * Jin points down the street to the left. "That way... I think." * Haruko nods, "Is this the message Jin? Or is this something new?" * Katie considers this, then shakes her head. "Let me get my jacket." And she disappears back into the cafe. Uh.... I'm not sure. * Haruko calls after Katie. "Grab my cocoa please." * Katie returns, wearing her jacket and carrying two cups of cocoa. She hands one to Haruko. Thanks. Welcome. * Katie has a sip of cocoa and walks on over to Jin. We may want to walk on the sidewalk, Jin probably doesn't consciously control this field and it may drop. Uh... Ok. * Jin looks round more while waiting. * Katie tilts her head. "We're going to go with you, Jin. But in order to do that, you need to go, too. * Haruko starts walking in the indicated direction. "Jin, do you know anything now that you didn't know yesterday?" Because... Uh... I'm not sure. * Jin nods at Katie. He looks around a bit, then starts in the direction he pointed. "This way... I think..." * Katie walks, too, putting her free hand in her pocket. * Haruko follows along. "Katie, if you feel a breeze coming when we get there, please give me a wave." * Jin leads the two down the road about two blocks. Then he stops and looks around. * Katie chuckles at that. "How do you mean?" She stops when Jin does. * Jin points left down an intersection. "This way... Uh... I think." Okay. * Jin heads that way. * Katie keeps a-goin'. * Jin stops three blocks later, at another intersection, and after some thought, turns right. * Haruko follows. "Just a hand signal, last breeze I ended up on the floor some several meters away." * Katie smiles faintly. "Oh, that. Um. I kind of didn't even realize I was doing it." * Haruko ponders whether were moving towards anything she lnows. * Jin leads the group far away from the cafe, suffice it to say. Sometimes he turns one direction twice, so it seems like your backtracking. The area gets less and less nice as he leads, but it doesn't become a slum. Just lower class. * Haruko laughs quietly and speaks in a low voice. "I know, but if we have to run, it might be wise to do it again. And I'd like to keep my feet." * Katie shakes her head. I don't know how. * Haruko grins, "Sparkling personalities it is then." And our charmingly good looks. * Haruko nods. [Eventually, Jin turns a corner, and you see a girl who couldn't be older than thirteen sitting on a bucket behind a cardboard box she must be using as a table. She's wearing a dark purple cape and a floppy, rimless hat over her more normal looking clothes (knee-length blue skirt, white jacket with zipper and blue collar).] [The same design is stitched on the cloak and the hat, as well as on a cloth hung over the front of the table. It looks like an hourglass surrounded by a circle, with two straight-line vertical tangeants touching the circle on either side.] [The girl is looking around confusedly. "Huh? Where'd everyone go?"] * Haruko whispers. "So much for our charmingly good looks." * Katie takes a deep breath and looks over at Jin. "Here?" she asks. Uh... I think so. I'm... not sure. * Haruko bows to the girl. "Hello, my name is Haruko Kinsha. And that question has a long answer I'm afraid." * Katie nods and looks back at the girl. * Girl blinks at Haruko. She runs a hand through her shoulder-length black hair, and sighs. Then she suddenly grins, her eyes glinting. ( So the pattern looks kinda like |(X)| ? ) Well, no matter! You'll do. ( Yeah. ^_^ ) * Katie tilts her head. Do for what? * Girl grins. "Ever wonder what the future holds for you?" * Katie smiles at that. "Sometimes, yeah." * Haruko bites her lip. "I'm happy in the present, but sure." * Girl spreads her arms in gesture. "It just so happens I'm a powerful medium, who's learned the art of precog... pre... uh, fortune-telling from some travelling gypsies. No... Chinese magicians. Feng Shui specialists." * Haruko laughs, "Those are credentials enough for me." * Girl waves her hand. "Ah, it doesn't matter who I learned it from. The point is I'm really good and my fortunes are always accurate. Want a reading?" Neat. I have to wonder, though, why aren't you more worried about people disappearing than you are? * Girl shrugs. "Hey, you're the first customers I had all day. Why should I care about the people who aren't interested?" * Haruko snorts. "Fair enough, I think I'll take one, but I'm curious, you know Jin?" She gestures at fortune's fool as she speaks. * Girl peers at Jin. "Uh... Do I know you?" I'm not sure. Perhaps you should get to know him, he does excellent recruiting for you. What's the price of a reading? * Girl blinks twice, then grins, with that glint in her eye. "Oh yeah, I remember him. He's come here loads of times. One of my best customers, yup. And he's never been disappointed. Right, uh... Jin?" Uhhh.... I'm not sure. Oh, the price? 1000 yen. It's not much, considering all the secrets that are bound to be unlocked. In fact, I'd almost say it was worth 10000 yen. Of course, I'd never ask you to pay such a sum... But I wouldn't object if you threw in an extra 500. * Haruko nods. "Certainly. 1000 yen is a generous offering. Would you like to go first Katie?" * Katie chuckles and shakes her head. She does, however, walk over to the girl and takes a seat on another bucket opposite the box. "I'm up for it, on one condition. Well, two." * Girl winks, trying to make it look like she's not. Uhh.... * Girl frowns. "Is it gonna cost me? There's no refunds, sorry. Can't refund your future." * Katie pulls a tarot deck, shuffles, and holds it out to the girl. "Nope. Just pick a card." * Girl stares at Katie, her jaw dropping. * Haruko watches and grabs some money from her fairly meager purse. * Katie smiles. You've got those too? Oooohhh... * Girl sighs and pulls out a Tarot deck. "Guess you know how to read them, huh? There go my customers." I've got a reason. I'm no fortune teller, really. But if you want to know, I really do need to talk to you about it. Just pick a card, please? * Girl turns her head slightly so she's looking at Katie out of the corners of her eyes. "Ooooo... kay... What's the catch?" You show me the card, I take it back and shuffle, hold the deck out to you, and you draw again. And then you listen to me when all the fortune telling is over. That's it. ... Why? * Haruko takes out 1500 yen from her purse. "Yup, no charge, and you might just learn something." * Girl gives Katie a look. "You're wierd, lady." Never the less, she takes one of the cards. * Katie nods at Haruko, then looks back at the girl. "Because... you need to know some things, if you don't already. That's it." Whatever. But you'd better stick to the deal and pay me after this, or you'll be sorry. * Katie laughs. "Of course." * Haruko grins. "For we are honorable ladies." * Girl shows Katie the card, her eye glinting. "See? Wheel of Fortune. 'Cause you came here to get your fortune told!" * Katie grins and nods. She takes it and shuffles the card back into the deck, then holds them out for her to draw again, being sure to watch carefully. * Girl draws another and shows it. "And High Priestess, 'cause my predictions are so great." * Katie blinks. "How did you do that?" She takes the card and flips it over in her hand. Uh? * Haruko raises an eyebrow. You asked me to draw a card, so I drew one. No, it's... You're part gaijin, aren't ya? They don't have cards where you come from? If, say, you were to hold a tarot deck to me, I'll draw Page of Swords every time. Drawing the same card is one of the things most Arcana do. And I'll explain that when you're done telling fortunes. * Katie takes the deck and puts it back in her pocket. "Speaking of which." She grins. * Girl raises an eyebrow at Katie. "Uh... You're confused." Uh... Be right back. * Jin heads down the street and turns a corner. He's lost from sight. Lady? I hate to tell you, but the cards are the arcana. I'm a medium. * Katie glances back at Jin, then turns to the girl. "No, just living in a strange world. And... we'll get to that later, okay?" * Jin comes back a few minutes later. Kaede follows right behind him. * Haruko laughs. "Whatever happened to the paying customer always being right?" Hey, it's just a hobby. Hello Kaede, we were talking to your sister earlier. Apparently she has better taste in movies than you do. ^_^ * Katie looks over. "Ah, hi Kaede." * Kaede starts to walk in and looks around the area, then down at who's in. "Oh. um.." * Jin walks back up to Katie and Haruko. * Kaede shakes his head. "This...was a mistake.." He starts to turn around. * Haruko gestures to the girl. "This here woman has offered to tell our fortune for a reasonable fee. A worthwhile transaction I'm assured." I dunno what trick you might use either, but drawing two cards in a row? Doesn't happen usually. Unless it's set up. Do you consistently identify with one card when you read your own fortune? You know, Kaede, I'd normally talk to you about this, but hey. I don't want to deal with it right now. If you want to hide, go right ahead. Yeah. One of the cards usually represents someone's present state. So what's yours? Only fair as you will soon know ours. * Kaede looks over his shoulder and smiles awkwardly. "And what am I hiding from?" * Girl peers at Haruko. "Uhh... Like I said, it depends on your mood and present state." * Katie keeps her attention on Kaede. "You tell me. You're the one who decided coming here is a mistake. So go on, leave." * Haruko shrugs. "Not of a consistent state then, probably for the best, means you aren't in a rut, but perhaps we should start with the readings." * Girl looks towards the sky. "If I had to guess, I'd say my card's the Wheel of Fortune right now, 'cause hey, I'm about to tell yours." * Haruko nods. "That would follow." Well, it's not as if I intended to come here..it's like the restaurant all over again... * Girl eyes Katie and Kaede. "You sure?", she asks Haruko, not breaking her gaze. And every time you talk to us, it seems. Maybe you should just transfer out of our school. Should make you more comfortable. * Katie opens her mouth to say something to Katie, then turns back to the girl and blinks. "What?" * Girl chuckles. "He won't. 'Cause..." She stops. ... Tell ya for 500 yen. * Kaede shakes his head. "Well, I certainly don't see why not.." He heads generally away. Maybe we'll just find out. Don't worry. He'll regret it. * Girl chuckles. Sure you don't want to know? * Haruko giggles. "Didn't they make you read an Western Literature Kaede? Defy fortune and it'll come back with a vengeance." * Katie frowns. "Three hundred yen." Okay, fine. Course, there's only one real explanation worth selling. * Girl turns the card around. It's the Tower. * Katie pulls out the money and looks to the girl, waiting for- She blinks. "Well, that explains that." She hands it over. See? This one's a bad one. He's gonna be sorry he left. ( ka-ching! ) Haruko, mind pulling him back while I get my fortune read? * Girl smiles. "It'll be 1000 yen. Though if you'd like to donate more, it all goes to ch... uh, a very good cause." * Haruko grins and laughs. "Fair enough. Although m'lady fortune teller, 500 yen is in it for telling me if Judgment or Queen of Cups comes up." Um... Okay. * Katie laughs. "What good cause? And go right ahead." She taps at the table. * Haruko walks to a position where she can not remotely see the table. * Girl waves her hand. "Don't worry about it. Now, let's begin. Pick a number from one to eight." * Katie shrugs. "Six." Okay. * Girl shuffles the cards. * Katie watches. * Girl draws the first one. Page of Swords. * Girl draws the next. Judgement. She puts that right of the page. * Girl draws the next, Knight of Cups. She puts that above Judgement. * Girl draws the fourth: Ace of Wands. She puts that below. * Girl draws the fifth. Death. She puts it right of Judgement. * Katie blinks. * Girl draws the last, the Emperor. She puts that right of Death. * Girl clasps her hands together and rubs them gleefully. "Okay! And don't forget, 500 yen for Judgement!" So... * Girl leans over the cards. She points at the Page of Swords. * Katie snickers. "I'll remind her." This says that you've got a lot of insight... Or maybe you're a spy... Or an ambassador. From America, maybe? Nahh... The Page of Swords is me in this, right? * Katie peers at the cards, too. Uh... Yeah... Sorta. * Girl points at Judgement. "Or you could be this. I'm not sure..." Sorta? And I'm from America, but not a spy or ambassador. I- * Katie pauses. "Why that one?" * Girl shrugs. "'Cause that's the way it works. You can be this one, too," She points at the Emperor. "But I doubt it. You don't look like an Emperor." * Katie giggles. But if you are, you're gonna kill a lot of people. Or maybe just change them. Death can mean change. * Girl points at Death. ... Or You might be killed or changed by a lot of people... Yeah, I think it goes in that direction. So one of them is me, but you don't know which one? Isn't that confusing? Well, it could be either. That's the way the tarot works. * Katie blinks. "Killed. That's cheery, but about right." Okay, but why so many? I mean, those two I understand. * Katie points at the Page of Swords and Judgement. "Because I keep getting the Page of Swords, and a group thinks I'm Judgement. It's... a long, complicated story." Now look. Either you're Judgement, with the Page of Swords backing you, or your the Page of Swords, who's doing something with Judgement. Pushing it towards Death, maybe. That might be a good thing. Except for the Emperor. He's gonna be killed or changed by Judgemen.... Wha...? * Girl eyes Katie. "You have got to introduce me to this group. Sounds like they suck at reading the tarot." * Katie nods and hrms. "Okay." It's not a reading. But I told you I'd explain, didn't I? Just wait for it. Well, anyhow, in the process... * Girl points at the Ace of Wands and Knight of Cups. "These two are either helping push Judgement towards Death, or they're being pushed away by it. What do you mean? Well, you see, as it moves towards Death, these two help push it, like a sphere, so they end up closer to you as they do it. But if it's pushing them away, they end up further from you and each other. I see. Not as pinpoint as I'd like, but go on. Anyhow. The point is they're involved as Judement goes towards Death, which will kill - or change - the Emperor. But! * Girl smiles dramatically. She's really into this. * Katie smiles, too. It's nice to see somebody into it. It could be that the Emperor has ordered that these three be killed - or changed -, and has sent Judgement to do it. In which case, they're all being pushed away by Judgement. See? * Katie blinks. "That's interesting. And I guess. I really do need to learn how to do this." Sorry, it's top secret. But I'll do it whenever you like, for a price. * Katie laughs. "Of course. A good magician never gives away her secrets." Is that the entire reading? Yeah! The tarot's always vague. * Katie nods and counts out twelve hundred yen. She hands it to her. "Thanks." * Girl frowns. "Hey! You said I'd get more for having Judgement!" Haruko said you'd get more, so Haruko's paying. * Katie grins. "Like I said, I'll remind her. Do you want me to try to explain all of that, now?" Yeah. Explain away, lady. I can't wait to hear this. Okay. You're going to think I'm crazy, because you weren't introduced into it with someone trying to kill you, but I have to try. Too late, lady. You're an Arcana. And so am I, and so is Jin. And Haruko and Kaede, who wandered off. Uh... no. * Katie chuckles. "Yes, well. That's life. And my name's Katie, by the way, so you can stop calling me 'Lady'." * Girl points at the cards. "These are arcana. I'm a medium." Um... I am? * Katie shakes her head. "In this case, Arcana is someone who's an... avatar? Yeah, an avatar of one of those arcana." She points at the cards. No.... That's a medium, like I said. Who the heck taught you this? It's like they mutilated the rules or something, L... uh, Katie. * Katie sighs and stands. "Hell. This isn't working. You didn't disappear, so you should be one, but you didn't..." She frowns a little. * Kaede heads back in the general direction of Katie and the girl..he looks obviously less irritated now. * Haruko comments quietly to Kaede as they approach. "Oh, I'm sorry for the approach we used with the chocolate, there were other ways that would have been less awkward. Meant to earlier, but, well everything happened." So Kaede. I know you. * Kaede blinks and sighs. "You knew how I'd feel about it..." * Haruko whispers. "I do make mistakes sometimes. But enough of that." * Katie rubs at her cheek and glances over at Haruko and Kaede. "Guess I can't finish after all. Haruko, she pulled Judgement. You owe her five hundred." * Kaede stops slightly, confused. "Wish I could say the same." * Haruko pays the girl. "We can step back a bit if the reading isn't over." [By the way, the people vanish as you come back here, you two.] Nah, I'm done. You own me 500 yen The reading's over, but explaining the whole powers thing is pretty hard. I was about to try to demonstrate. * Kaede nods and steps up to the box, plunking down 500 yen for Katie. "What did you mean, you know me?" Uh... Nothing personal, L- Katie, but... I don't think whoever taught you this stuff knew what he was doing. You own the bike shop, right? * Katie closes her eyes, then opens them again. "Can you just take all of those cards off of the box? I don't want them flying everywhere." * Kaede blinks slightly, his hand frozen on the money as he carefully looks at her. "Um..yes..why?" * Girl shrugs. "Whatever La- Katie." She takes the cards, shuffles them into the deck, and puts it away. * Haruko walks over to Katie. "So if you don't mind telling me, how did it come up? I won't trouble you for the rest. And Kaede, I already paid the 500. Save it for your reading." 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets 9. (DR1) Wanna know? 200 yen. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets 9. (Grr. DR2) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets 5. (Gotcha. ^^) * Kaede looks at Katie and takes a slight step back, adjusting his glasses. [The box lifts into the air. (after a heck of a lot of work)] * Girl stares. "Woah! Freaky!" ... Is it? * Katie stares at the box, letting out a deep breath. "That's not easy, you know." * Haruko grins. "You should try that with carpets, maybe you could fly around." * Jin looks at the others for confirmation. It's still more than I could do. Oh sure, Haruko, but I think it'll take a little more practice. You tryin' to tell me you did that? Get real. * Haruko pouts. "Let's convince her later, I want my reading." So..what exactly do you think happened then? You know? I really should just wait for people to almost get killed to try explaining this. It's damn near impossible if it's not a life or death situation. * Katie snaps her fingers, and the wind dies, the box dropping to the ground with a thud. * Kaede frowns at Katie, but then looks back at the girl. "I still want to know when you came into the shop though. I'd think I'd recognize you if you did.." * Girl peers. "I dunno how you did it, but I still don't buy it." * Girl grins at Kaede. "And for 200 yen, I'll tell ya." Says the fortune teller who's always right. When people disappear for no apparent reason. Sure. A shrewd business woman..I already gave you 500 though. Didn't say that. Said my fortunes were always right. * Katie grins. "It's what I meant." * Girl shrugs and stuffs the 500 away, along with the rest of the money she's gotten. "Ok, we'll call it even." So you owe me a little extra actually.. * Kaede straightens and folds his arms. * Girl grins. "Sorry, no refunds." * Girl eyes Kaede, frowning. "So whatcha mean, then?" Well, there's got to be some other information you have..worth the extra 300 yen right? Relevant information, I might stress. * Haruko chuckles. "Good caveat." * Girl shrugs. "Not really. An' I never been to your bike shop. I heard your sis talkin' about it, is all." * Kaede blinks slightly then leans forward. "And how do you know my sister?" 'Cause we both go to Minazuki Junior High. * Kaede sighs slightly. "Figures Nanami would team with a shrewd dealer like this..." * Girl grins. "Hey, I run an honest business here." You realize if you stopped grinning while you said that, you might actually get people to believe you. * Haruko grins. "Naw. She'd just be less fun." Yeah. * Girl chuckles. * Kaede rubs his forehead. "Fine..fine.." * Girl picks up the cloth. "Well! Almost closin' time. Sorry folks, show's over." You always show up here for readings? ... There was a show? Perhaps another time. * Katie walks over to Jin and pats him on the shoulder. "Really, you have to try to realize where you're taking us." * Girl nods. "Usually, yeah." She jerks her thumb at the building behind. "Place is abandoned, so nobody cares." Uh.... Ok... I'm doing it now. Alright...we might seek you out again then.. Well, it was nice meeting you, miss...? * Girl grins. "50 yen for a name." * Katie grins. "Maybe I'll just ask Nanami." * Kaede looks over his shoulder. "Consider it part of the 500 I gave you." Fine. Saori. But no last name. * Haruko waves. "Good enough." As Katie said, we'll get that from Nanami. Works for me. Nice meeting you, Saori. Even if you do think I'm crazy. * Girl folds the cloth over her hand and pulls off the floppy hat. Not crazy. You just didn't learn the tarot right. * Kaede smirks a bit. "Take care, Saori..good luck in your business." Uh huh. Later. * Girl heads down the street. * Kaede turns around to Jin and adopts a more serious expression. "Alright, you have to figure out how you do that." * Katie watches her go, then giggles. "Don't have cards where you come from. Like tarot come from Japan anyway." Uh... What? Realize when I'm talking? Uhh... Because I speak, and I can tell I'm speaking. Drag me along for the ride..I don't mind it so much this time, but..it's got to stop. Huh? * Haruko laughs. "So Katie, how'd judgment come up. You going to kill us all?" Haruko grins widely as she asks the question. She might. Oh, lots of fun cards in that one. Apparently I'm either the Page of Swords involved with Judgement, or Judgement with the Page of Swords backing me. * Kaede sighs. "That's why I said you have to figure it out..I know you don't know you do it at all." ... Do what? Why would another Arcana back Judgement though? From what we've heard... Unless they didn't know it was Judgement in the first place.. * Katie mmms and closes her eyes. "Judgement may be pushed towards Death, which is either drawing the Ace of Wands and Knight of Cups towards me, or away from me. Judgement may kill or change the Emperor." The last possibility is that the Emperor is controlling Judgement, which is pushing Death, the Ace of Wands, *and* the Knight of Cups. * Kaede frowns slightly. "Think that might be this Zein?" It could be. Which Zein? ... What's a Zein? He's in The Band, right? * Haruko narrows her eyes a bit. "I had a feeling this would be complicated." Uh... I'm not sure. Yeah. It has been nothing but complicated from the first day. * Katie looks over at Haruko. "Either way, Satoshi, Taki, and possibly Saki are involved. Me too, of course." * Jin looks at Katie. "Can I be, too?" * Katie grins at Jin. "Sure, why not?" Thanks. * Haruko shrugs. "Well, working this out with Sumire will be tricky, but least the band didn't come up in the reading..." Not as far as we know. One of them could be the Emperor. * Haruko nods. [Mini end]