Your hotel bed showed its age as it squeaked beneath you, but it was still more than comfortable. Not as comfy though, was suddenly being awoken quite early in the morning, the sun barely up, as Kikuko yanked you out of bed.
"Get showered and dressed, then follow me," she told you, as you noticed behind her that Na-rae was also awake and dressed.
After taking possibly the shortest shower in your life, given you had a habit of spending quite a while in there, unhealthy as it was for your heating bill- point was, you got ready as soon as you could, as Kikuko then led you outside.
Being led around in the chill morning air, Na-rae and you were made to climb to the top of a local hill. Reaching the summit, Kikuko then produced a sheet of paper, and instructed you to "Read".
It was hard to make out her writing in the early dawn, but straining your eyes, you slowly managed to. It appeared these were her instructions on how to gentrify yourself, most of which were stuff you expected from her, like getting up early, exercise regimens, dietary limits aimed mostly at cutting out Korean and Western foods, and a list of 'acceptable' activities, including history, poetry, calligraphy, art, weapons training, meditation, horse riding, that sort of thing.
But what made you so desperately want to tear this piece of paper in two, was the list of people deemed 'socially unacceptable' for you to hang out with, which included:
- Keiko
- Yuya
- Colette
- Reina
- Himawari
- Mamiko
- Hitoshi
- Ibuki
- Masaomi
- Takako
- Megumi (accommodation arrangements will be made)
"I would've included Melissa, but as a fellow All-Ace I am unable to do so," Kikuko stated, biting her lower lip.
You just gritted your teeth. You felt you should've said something, but for now, all you could do was shoot a dirty look at Kikuko. Of course, this list made you determined that you'd keep on seeing all these people... you'd just have to do it more stealthily.
Although, you had to expect something very similar would've happened had you 'sworn allegiance' to Melissa. Maybe Azuma would've let you keep hanging out with your friends, but that meant he probably would've tried to involve himself and his ideas more and more in their lives.
"You are free to leave now. We will be departing back to Japan now, hopefully in time for the beginning of school," Kikuko told you.
"Wait, you're making me catch an international flight on a school day?!" you burst out, but Kikuko barely registered your concerns.
"Er, sorry about all that, Miss Honoka," Na-rae told you, referring to you like that even if you were now technically equals. "Nasty business this is, dragging you out at the crack of the morning. Oh er, by the way Mistress, I suppose you'll be wanting your keisaku done now?"
"If you will, Tsubasa," Kikuko said, sitting down in the lotus position.
"Wait, I'm also your Jack now, so wouldn't I be able to-" you tried to say but got cut off.
"Don't even think about it," Kikuko snarled.
* * *
Going on a third flight in this many days was far from ideal for you, and having to go to school immediately after just made it worse.
Some good news was that you weren't sitting next to Azuma or his butler this time. The bad news was you were now sitting next to Kikuko, though at least Na-rae was also there.
You did at least try to get around to finishing Over a Mysterious Rose, but of course Kikuko had to intervene.
"And what are you reading?" she spoke.
You sighed, as you tried to make clear, "Look, it's a manga. The author's name is Yakumo Kaguya, does that sound 'foreign' or whatever to you? Or are you just playing fun police?" Speaking on impulse, you flinched expecting Kikuko to retaliate.
Instead, your Ace just said "No, continue on, I was just inspecting if it was of appropriate quality, that was all". She went silent again, but felt the need to add, "I do know how to have 'fun', if that's what concerns you. Ask me and I'll 'hang out' with you sometime, you'll see I'm not from some alien planet as you make out".
"...When did I imply you were?' you sighed.
"Er, I've been catching glimpses o' your reading material, Miss Honoka, seems perfectly alright to me," Na-rae tried to chime in.
Landing in Sapporo again, as you were driven back, Kikuko arranged for you to be driven past where she lived, a lone renovated pagoda close to some local volcanic vents, which you guessed were kin of the 'Hell Valley' around Noboribetsu, with Mount Yotei looming nearby.
"Your parents have some weir- interesting choices in real estate," you had to remark.
"Actually, I live there alone. Well, not entirely, obviously I have my servants and personal tutors," Kikuko said, "Though interestingly, never an apprentice before, till now".
Finally, you stepped out back at the familiar school gate of Hanataba. You'd only been gone for a couple of days, but it felt almost unreal seeing this place again.
<<BGM: Nujabes - Counting Stars>>
One of the reasons for the impromptu Russia trip, you'd been told, was to 'lay low' after Gakuto's death. Didn't appear to have worked then, as every other student you overheard was talking about Gakuto, even though mid-terms should be on right now.
"First Eitaro, now Gakuto? Man, I can see why people think this place must be haunted-"
"-Gakuto was the top gamer, the top tech visionary our school had. We were gonna revolutionise the world thanks to him, but now..."
"Is there like a curse on the All-Aces or something? One Ace died a couple of years ago too-"
"-I dunno, I can't get my mind off the fact that Kikuko and Melissa full-on brawled with each other."
Well, okay, that last one wasn't about Gakuto, though still wasn't something you wanted to be reminded of either.
* * *
"Oh hey, Honoka, decided to play truant on Saturday, did you?" Tanizawa-sensei greeted your tired self with.
Huh, wait, I thought the All-Aces were covering that for me? you thought as you stumbled back.
"Heh, can't say I blame you; I was like that myself at your age, and lots of kids take Saturday off anyway. That said, you've got mid-terms to busy yourself with, but I was told to tell you one other thing..." she then said.
"Like, it's good that you're Class Rep, but Boss Lady Teruko says that, given your association with delinquents, you really need to join more clubs or something to improve your image, show you 'care about this school' or whatever," Ryouko went on.
"Hey wait, I'm acting head of the Occult Club, and I'm with the All-Aces," you protested.
Ryouko sighed. "Sorry, but they explicitly told me Occult Club didn't count, what with Colette and all. The All-Aces, er, that's complicated. While prestigious, they're not technically an official club, weird as it is to think that's the case, more of an 'omni-clique' or something," she went over.
More like some parasite organism, if you ask me, that thought boiled within you.
"Put simply, you're being asked to join another club," Ryouko summed it up. Given you also had mid-terms, and after that the Sports Festival, you doubted you'd be able to get anything else done besides these club activities.
[ ] Drama Club, you might want to check up on Azuma to make sure he's not abusing his power there.
[ ] Historical reenactment, er, 'Tea Ceremony' Club, you are Kikuko's Jack now.
[x] The Cricket Team, Takako seems perky enough, and she is desperate for members.
[ ] The Photography Club, reading about modelling had gotten you kinda interested in the art.
[ ] The Football (Soccer) Team, they probably still haven't recovered from Eitaro's death.
[ ] The Computer Club, you don't know they're handling Gakuto's death.
[ ] The... Dating Corner, apparently it was supposed to be for relationship advice.
[ ] Write-in.
"Ooh, interesting choice," Ryouko casually remarked, "I guess Fujino Teruko was hoping you'd join one of our more, er, 'established' clubs, but I do know the Cricket Team is almost on its last legs, so that's quite nice of you.
For now, however," she said, drawing out a pile of papers, "You've got mid-terms beginning, so you better get your mind on books and less on balls- wait, that came out wrong. Er, you know what I mean".
You slumped down at your desk, presented with your essay to write on I Am A Cat. Suzako and Yuuya still next to you... for the time being that is, you did think to ask them how they were doing, but you knew talking wasn't exactly cool during mid-terms.
Yuya did seem to be sailing smoothly with his essay, guess The Waste Land's brevity was really working out for him. The same should've been the case for Heart of Darkness, but a fidgeting, gasping Suzako didn't seem to be progressing as well.
Turning back to your paper, you just went ahead and tried penning a starting sentence:
[ ] "Much has been written about I Am A Cat, being one of the most known works of Japanese literature. However..."
[x] "If we define Surrealism as 'placing thee ordinary out of its familiar context', then Soseki's I Am A Cat..."
[ ] "We come to take much for granted in our human lives, not being until we take a step back that we are made to reflect..."
[ ] Write-in
You gasped with relief as the bell rang. You did remember the Cricket Team was scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, incidentally the same days as the Football Team. However, even just this Monday, you knew there was still something you could do that concerned them, them and practically everyone on Kikuko's list.
You waited outside the school gates until you saw Reina slumping out, all her former cheer seeming to have been drained by now. Double-checking to make sure Kikuko wasn't around, you ran up to her, smiled, and asked, "Hey Reina, um, long time to see! Er, I kinda need your help with something, eheh".
"H-Honoka?" Reina for a second shot up with joy, but her sunniness faded the moment after, "Oh, um, you need my help with something? Okay then... So, y-you're not ignoring me because Melissa said I'm not a Jack anymore, right?"
You insisted, "No, of course not! Hey, you don't need Melissa in your life, Hell, I think she needed you more than you her," you proclaimed, before getting around to asking, "But speaking of the Aces, er, they're really starting to crack down on who I can or can't hang out with, so... I thought you might be the best person to help me pick a disguise".
Reina twitched. "Oh, ah, that's interesting. Ah, I'm not like super well-versed on, y'know, espionage, but I do know clothes and makeup," she said, as she started looking around for any All-Aces too, "Hey, meet me at my place, I'll help you pick something out".
As Reina left however, you suddenly felt Kikuko's eyes upon you. Kikuko wasn't saying a word to you, as her seething expression said it all.
"Er, Kikuko, hi. Look, if this is about Reina, don't worry, I only bumped into her for like a second," you were quick to tell her.
Kikuko's tense glare ceased, as she then replied, "I trust I can take your word for that, correct?"
Later in the evening, you made your way over to Reina's house, by now getting into the habit of swerving your head left and right and looking behind you to check for Kikuko or the others.
Reina's home sure wasn't what you expected, being a more traditional house straight out of, well, not Kyoto, but definitely one of those towns that'd get called a 'Little Kyoto' or something.
Being greeted by Reina again at the door did indeed confirm this was the right place. That said, something looked, er, unusual about Reina, as she'd painted her nails black and was in the middle of applying dark purple eyeshadow.
"Honoka, you made it here all fine? Great, come in, I'll show you to my room!" she said, leading you up a set of narrow wooden stairs.
Her bedroom was more what you expected from her, pinks, yellows, and fluff all around, but you also noticed the addition of some blacks and blood reds, colours that seemed unlike her.
"Er, I've been inviting Colette up here a couple of times, help her out while she's still suspended, and I've been keeping a couple of gifts of hers, you know how it is," she told you, "Ooh, I think a few of my, um, her outfits that she gave me would really suit you, there is always more to spare!"
Reina then pulled out a bunch of gothic dresses and wigs, all of which you previously never would've expected from her closet, as she added, "Right, we need some makeover montage music!" Turning on her phone, you were met with a surprise blast of angry, dark emotional music, leaving an embarrassed Reina scrambling to change it to something brighter and peppier. "Eheh, don't know how that got in there" she tried to laugh.
* * *
"Hey there, so how was, er, Russia like?" Megumi asked you, once you finally returned to your apartment... an apartment which may not be yours for long.
You sighed, telling them, "It's a big country and all, which I only saw a relatively tiny part of over like, one weekend. Plus, I needed a translator with me almost constantly... yeah, I really don't know what to make of the place".
Megumi leaned back on their couch and surmised, "Huh, fair enough. Well, Himawari- she insisted on being called Nightshade, she and I had a memorable enough time, you could say. Her secret's way out of the bag now, like she's not even wearing a wig anymore," they told you.
You shuddered, "Er, Megumi, when Himawari was here, how often was she 'Himawari' and how often was she 'Nightshade'?" you put it in perhaps not the most elegant way.
"Pretty much all Nightshade, all the time," they said, "Her hair's dyed now. I can only imagine how much being expelled sucks, I mean I had a few close brushes back in high school, but if she was sad she didn't show it. Heh, she sure knows how to throw a party for two, it's great that the landlord didn't check up on us for all the marijuana fumes".
You politely laughed at that, biting your lip all the while. You then set down beside Megumi, as you finally told them, "Listen, that sounds great... but I've got some bad news. Well, part of it's good news, but there's a nasty catch".
Megumi had to side-eye you, before saying "...Go on. What, don't tell me you had a run in with the Russian mafia or something?" they laughed, only to see your face not brightening. "Honoka..."
"The All-Aces are gonna be doing something about my lodgings. That's confirmed now, though I don't know when or where yet," you said to them, before you then recoiled even more, hugging your knees, "The bad news is, well, they say the new place is gonna only for me... I'm sorry".
Megumi just sighed at first, but then said, "You know what? I expected as much, coming from those people. Well, I guess there's one upside for me, I'll be able to have your room, eh?" They nudged you with their elbow, but your mood didn't lighten.
"Megumi, do you, well, how do I put this?" you muttered out, before being blunt, "You think we have enough in common that we'll run into each other again? I mean, us ending up in the same apartment together was coincidence really, when you think about it".
Megumi then looked straight into your eyes and said, "Honoka, of course we'll see each other again! It's not just this flat you know, I mean we both hang out with Nightshade, I'm still seeing Ryouko, and we've talked about heaps of stuff together before!" They then smiled at you, saying "Besides, you know where my university is, or the places I like to hang out, so I'm always here if you just wanna talk".
"T-thank you," you said, smiling awkwardly as you admitted, "Maybe I was being too hasty when I went all 'Will we ever see each other again'?"
"Yeah, although," they said and gazed down, "I was gonna say at least you'll be somewhere more secure than this flat... but given what I know of the All-Aces, I have to doubt even that".
"You know what? I'm still gonna show you around the new place," you suddenly declared, though while having to admit, "Might have to be sneaky about it though, I mean, you've probably figured out the entire point of them doing this was too separate us".
"Yeah, you didn't have to tell me," Megumi sighed, before speaking to you firmly, "Honoka, in a situation like yours, the last thing you wanna do is give in. Don't let them rig the game or unbalance the scales," they paused and went inward, "The world tried to do the same to me too".
You've hinted before, you had to think. You didn't say anything to Megumi, but just instinctively hugged them.
- Temperance has Journeyed to Rank 4! -
Smiling, Megumi then said, "When you do go, I'm gonna have to throw you one serious farewell party, you've earned it!"
* * *
Not before long, a chance to display your newfound status as Jack of Swords, er, the other one, came when you entered the school corridors that morning. It seemed something of an argument had broken out between two male students, one tall and dark-haired, the other rowdy and with dyed hair, about who was better between Kikuko and Melissa.
"Kikuko is a delicate beauty blessed with grace and culture, the likes of which we have not seen in Japan for centuries!" the taller student proclaimed. "Melissa is a brutish invader to raise her hand against her".
"Oh please, her being a 'traditional beauty' just means Kikuko's old news! Melissa brings a dash of much-needed flavour, I mean how often do you see foreign girls out here besides tourists?" the rougher, tough student countered, "Plus her company's gotta be the richer out of the two!"
"Ah, well I think Suzako's-" a third guy said but was quickly ignored.
"Okay, break it up you two!" you had to spell it out for them, leaving the two boys muttering as they left.
They did seem to agree on one thing. "Like Honoka's one to talk. I mean, most guys around here lost interest in her when those pictures of how she used to look were leaked!"
"Indeed, she'd be nothing without the All-Aces!"
This whole moment just left you seething. Apart from their comments in general, you couldn't care for this whole Melissa vs Kikuko thing anyway. This wasn't the first time you'd heard students comparing them, that weird 'you're either a Melissa guy or a Kikuko guy' thing was a common rivalry guys around here had. But ever since that brawl, er, you had gotten into with Melissa in Kikuko's body, the whole thing had been catapulted back into the limelight.
You had more mid-terms stuff to look forward to today, but eventually you did get your chance to check out the Cricket Team. This meant having to get changed into the disguise Reina had given you, which took a little while itself, but still being school meant you only had to squeeze on the wig.
Not having a field of their own, you found out that Takako had to borrow the school's baseball diamond whenever they weren't using it.
"Oh yeah, what did I tell you, Ikue?!" the black-haired, highly tanned Takako sprang up, "See, I knew if we just kept the club open we'd attract new members one day! So hey, thanks for coming, what's your name?"
You then removed your wig, sure that any All-Aces were out of sight, and said, "Takako, it's me, Nakamura Honoka. We met back on the first week, remember?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, Honoka!" Takako picked up on, before having to ask, "Er, but why the secrecy then? Like, cricket's not embarrassing to you or something?"
You gulped, before saying "Oh no, not at all." Hesitating longer, you then made your situation clear, as you'd figured you'd better do so sooner rather than later, "The All-Aces are, well, you knew Eitaro. They've been cracking down even harder on who I can and can't hang out with recently, hence the get-up".
"Hoo boy," Takako sighed, before she smiled and said, "Y'know, it's funny you bring up the All-Aces here, because, well lemme introduce ya to, ah, the only other person I have on the team right now, Yoneyama Ikue!"
"Pleasure's all mine," smirked a blonde girl with her hair in spiralling twintails, extending her hand but with an uppity smile. From first impression, you'd call her a kogal like Reina, but on closer inspection, she seemed to be going for a more European air (or well, her attempt at European).
"Ah, Ikue's usually a skier, but coming up to summer she was looking for some other sport to occupy her, hence where I came in," Takako explained, "Thing is, she was once in the running to become a Jack, even an All-Ace, but well...".
Ikue just flipped her hair, "I refused to be anyone's follower, yet they wouldn't let me be a full Ace for some reason," she stated, before looking downcast, "Thus, my whole reputation at Hanataba collapsed, I went from popular to outcast in seconds".
"Sheesh, I'm-I'm sorry," you could only say. I figure the Aces let you go like that because you weren't a Wild Card, then...
"Hey, we got new members, so let's focus on what's looking up for us, huh?" Takako beamed out, before saying to you, "Um, although in the end I do gotta ask, Honoka... do you have any plans for recruiting new members? Ah sorry, can't help myself, Sports Festival next week and all, but I should get around to explaining the game."
"No, that's okay, I'm happy to help find new people," you said, before adding "Or rather, give new ideas for recruiting people, since y'know, have to be careful the Aces don't see me doing this on their watch".
[x] Suggest trying to find girls who don't fit into the existing sports teams.
[ ] Suggest girls who may find an interest in cricket due to cultural, aesthetic reasons.
[ ] Suggest girls who are bored and just need a hobby.
[ ] Suggest people you know, see if they have time.
[ ] Ask someone to help recruit potential cricketers for you.
[ ] Write-in.
"Er, well here's a thought, " you began with, "Do you know anyone who's been like, kicked out of or turned down by any of the existing sports teams we have here?"
"Yeah, there's a few," Takako said, "But like, a team's gotta have eleven people, so we gotta find eight more, and then we've also gotta get an umpire and like- Ugh!" she then squatted down into a heap, clutching her head with her hands.
"And yes, I know we really don't have the luxury of being selective with players," Ikue had to chime in, "But Honoka, I must ask, how much do you know exactly about the sport?"
"Hey, I did try reading up on it a little bit," you protested, but had to admit, "True, finding Japanese-language sources on cricket, er, requires a lot of scraping through the internet or library".
"Listen, we're ready to teach if you do need help, aren't we Ikue?" a back-to-brightness Takako said to her teammate, "I mean, I had to give you a crash course too".
"Yes yes. Well then, Honoka right? Let's just run you through each of the roles to see what you're naturally best at" Ikue said pointing you towards the field.
Through what you supposed was your 'audition' for the team, it at least became clear to you that a lot of the game was because hand-eye coordination, not just looking where you were throwing but also looking at what the opposing bowler or batter was about to do. Maybe a little like chess, except with a much briefer window, or like boxing even but with other people there besides your opponent, that and the lack of face-punching.
Bowling was notably different from what you'd seen of pitching in baseball though, given that you had to run up and had no special glove. the main thing though was remembering to keep your arm completely straight, otherwise it was a 'throw', not a 'bowl'. Fielding, trying to catch the ball after it'd been hit, was probably the... most awkward role to try out for, since there only being three of you right now meant that you didn't have a wicketkeeper for the time.
Either way, Takako and Ikue were both left nodding, as the former said, "Wow Honoka, you... ah, meet the basics for every role we had you try! Ooh, have you had experience in this kinda thing, not cricket per se but like, similar stuff?"
"You mean running fast, looking around, and hitting things?" you went with the first response that came to your mind, "Yeah, pretty much".
"Well then, have you decided on your team role?" Ikue pressed.
[ ] Bowler.
[x] Batter.
[ ] Wicket-keeper.
[ ] Fielder.
[ ] Let them decide (roll 1d4).
[ ] Wait till more players have joined.
"Okay, that's settled!" Takako said, clasping her hand together. "We're happy to have ya, Honoka, and hey, you said you were gonna try pulling in more players throughout the week for us, right? Thanks, because you've kinda figured out I 'spose, we really need all the help we can get! But for now, ah, haven't kept you too long, have we?"
You looked up to see the sun indeed setting, before you replied, "Yeah, but like I went in expecting cricket to take quite a long while to play, even if technically I didn't play any proper game today. Uh, guess my point is that I'll be heading off, but hey, I'm still looking forward to next time!"
"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Sun Arcana"
"Awesome! Well, hope to see ya Thursday!" Takako said, but then broke out into shivering, "Boy thought, does it really get cold here at night. I mean, I'm still used to Okinawa..."
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