Chained Trickster

After classes wound down for the day, Arashi checked his phone.Come to the library.It was from Niijima. Short, simple, and to the point. Honestly, he liked it. Okay. Just give me a few.He gathered all of his stuff and put it in his backpack and then headed down to the library. He saw Niijima sitting at a table with a textbook flipped open. She waved him over and he sat down next to her. “Okay, so what all do you need help with?” He bit back a snarky retort that came naturally. He didn’t want to completely shut her down and make her turn away from helping him. Hedesperatelyneeded the help and being snarky and mean toward her would only offend her most likely. He just… It was hard to bat down his normal tendencies to try to fit into ‘polite society’ especially now that heneededto keep his head down. If he stepped too far out of line, Jabba would expel him. Hecould notafford that. And he knew he was already behind majorly, so this was going to bereallyimportant. “Um. I don’t even know where to start.” “Well, you said you have trouble with kanji, right?” He nodded. “How kinesthetic are you?” “Kine— What does that mean?” He’d legitimately never run into that word before. “Do you know if you learn well through movement?” “I…wouldn’t have any idea.” This was a completely alien idea to him. He thought the only way to learn was through books. People could learn through movement? That was so bizarre to think about. He knew he could learn well bydoingthings, but wasn’t writing kanji ‘doing’ it? It was traditionally how things were done. He really struggled with it since he hadn’t been consistently in education since he’d been nine. Hiragana and katakana were fine for him, but that was as far as it went. Well, some basic kanji, but that was it. She smiled. “I actually have a better idea than sitting here and drilling kanji into you. Follow me.” She got up and he blinked, but he followed her without any complaint. They went up to the school roof where a girl with fluffy brown hair in a Shujin uniform stood by the flowerbeds. “Oh, Okumura-san, I was actually hoping to talk to you.” Niijima walked over to the girl motioning Arashi over. “This is Kurusu Honoka. She asked for some tutoring help. I can’t stay long on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I was wondering if you could help for maybe half an hour to an hour or so on those days in my stead.” The girl looked more nervous than he felt. “Um. I’m here for a few hours after school to tend the flowerbeds, but I guess… It won’t take up all the time I’m here.” Niijima smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate it. She really needs help.” Arashi felt hatred bubble up in him again, but he knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Being referred to as ‘she’ was just par for the course, but he didn’t like it one bit. He felt a big course of energy bubble up in him, but he pushed it down. Now wasnotthe time to let Arsene out. Plus, he had no idea what it’d do to him to release Arsene in the real world. The Metaverse left him exhausted, so how much worse would it be if he unleashed it in the real world? They left the flowerbed area and she motioned Arashi over to a smaller area. “Okay, so, I have a friend that also struggles with kanji, but my sister knows he’s relatively kinesthetic. When was the last time you really got to study kanji?” “Um… Elementary school.” He winced. He didn’t want to reveal too much to this stranger, but he also couldn’t avoid it. Niijima’s eyebrows shot up but she didn’t say anything. “Well, you definitely have your work cut out for you, then. We’ll just start with some kanji right now and see if any stick since I don’t have a lot of time today.” With that explanation out of the way, she started walking him through using his arm like a brush and incorporating bodily movements into the stroke orders. It was definitely very strange but…it feltgood,actually. He wasn’t sure if things were going to stick or what, but it felt like it might stick in his memory better than if he were just brute forcing it. He actually felt…light. This was…fun? It felt like such an alien concept to him. He hadn’t thought learningcouldbe fun. School was boring and hard to sit through, but this was…actually pretty fun. After half an hour, Niijima nodded. “All right. I have to leave. But you looked like you were enjoying yourself.” “I…think I was.” He couldn’t even deny it. It had actually felt good to move around and learn like that. “I think I know how I’ll teach you from now on then.” She smiled. “We can focus on kanji for a little while during our sessions, then move to filling in the blanks in your notebook.” “Sounds good. Have fun at aikido.” He waved to her and she left. That meant he was now alone on the roof with the Okumura girl. He hesitated for a moment before walking over to her. “Um. You’re supposed to be my interim tutor, right?” She nodded, though her gaze was averted and her head was down. “Yes. What do you need help with? Would you rather go to the library?” “Probably for the best…” They headed down and found a table where he opened his notebook to reveal the large gaps in it. “I…haven’t had the best nor most consistent education in my life.” “I see… Well, let’s go back to the beginning of your notebook.” With that done, Okumura started walking him through things. He asked her questions and she was surprisingly sharp. She looked completely beaten down, but she was obviouslyverysharp and quick witted. He wrote as small as he could, but she helped him pick up on things for topics that he hadn’t evenknownwere part of them. And she explained all of it in a way that wassupereasy to pick up on too. She was a good tutor. She’d probably make agreatteacher one day should she want it… He was thoroughly impressed. He tucked his hair behind his ear. “I know Niijima-senpai agreed to be my tutor but…do you think we could do an hour or so after she’s done? You’re…a really good teacher.” She made thingsincrediblyeasy to digest. He wasn’t sure how she was so articulate, but it was honestly a relief. He had expected the random girl to be an awful teacher, but no, she was incredibly articulate and knew how to reach him in a way that most people wouldn’t. Her tone was quiet and submissive, but her mind and words were sharp and clear. “Um. I suppose… I’m usually supposed to be home within an hour of school letting out…but I’ll see if my father will let me help you.” There was a heaviness to her tone and her energy. Arashi tried to reach out with his wildcard abilities, but he justdid not knowhow to make sense of them. All he could do was figure that she was the same as Niijima. Something was holding her down and back from expressing herself. Probably her father, just from the way she talked. Adults really were the worst. Rat bastards, the lot of them. He still wasn’t sure what to expect from Lala and Crossroads… He wasn’t sure if he’d feel up to going or not. He really didn’t know what to expect. “Thank you. I should be heading off myself.” He bowed his head to her, then slipped away. He checked his phone and saw a message from Sakamoto.Hey man, come down to where we were yesterday!Arashi nodded and hustled down to the alleyway where Takamaki and Sakamoto waited for him. Sakamoto grinned. “Hey man! I thought you’d be here sooner than that.” “Ryuji, Itold youshe was getting tutoring help.” Takamaki sighed. “Sorry about him. He can be an idiot sometimes.” Like he hadn’t noticed by now… “Okay, so Ann’s told me that her best friend Shiho is on the volleyball team and she suggested maybe we could get her to talk to us,” Sakamoto said. “She might be able to help.” “I wouldn’t necessarilycounton it, though.” Takamaki sighed. “She’s just as unwilling to talk to me as she is anybody else. But maybe she would be willing.” Sakamoto nodded. “Let’s see if we can get her to talk.” “Practice should have just left off,” Takamaki said. “Okay.” He looked around and saw Morgana sitting on a trash can lid. “Hey Morgana.” He walked over, then petted the cat on the head. He felt bad for leaving him out here all the time, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it. “We’ll head back to LeBlanc soon enough.” Morgana nodded and stretched. “I am getting pretty hungry. But seeing if any of the volleyball team will talk to you iswaymore important.” Arashi nodded. “I’ll come get you after this.” He stepped away from Morgana and went back into Shujin with Takamaki and Sakamoto. Takamaki texted her friend and, within about ten minutes, a completely dejected girl with brown hair and a brace on her knee came limping up. “Ann…? What’s going on…? Isn’t that…the juvenile delinquent girl…?” The girl’s tone wascompletelydead and her eyes were dull. It reminded Arashi a lot of Okumura. This girl had beencompletelybeaten down and absolutelybrokenby whatever had happened to her. Takamaki nodded. “Yeah, she is, but she and Ryuji are trying to take down Kamoshida. Would you be willing to talk?” The girl shook her head. “It won’t do any good… It’s just…not worth it. The parents and teachers all turn a blind eye… All they care about is results.” Takamaki frowned. “Oh Shiho…” “We’re only on a break, so I should get back to practice…” the girl said. Takamaki frowned. “But practice is supposed to be over by now.” “Not since the year started.” The girl bowed and left. Takamaki sighed. “Well, that went about as well as I thought it would.” “I’m not too surprised, unfortunately,” Arashi said. He’d seen it in his small town. People who had been abused justwere notwilling to talk when it came to outing their abusers a lot of the time. Especially with how much one needed to save face in Japan and not stick out too much… Yeah, he got it all too well. Being a freak and a tattletale justdidn’tsit well with most people and they wouldn’t budge. Plus, it wasn’t like there was a lot of support for people escaping abusive situations, at least where he was… “Anyway, I should probably get back to LeBlanc. See you later.” Arashi nodded to Sakamoto and Takamaki before heading out of the school. He quickly texted Sakura to know he had two tutors and would be doing two hours of after-school tutoring in order to keep up on his schoolwork. He collected Morgana and headed back to LeBlanc. Once back, he took Morgana upstairs and then changed out of his school uniform, still despising the hyperfemme style, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He sat at the counter and put his head down on the counter. The café was empty at least, so that was good. He let out a hefty sigh. “That’s quite the sigh, kid,” Sakura said. “There’s just a lot going on.” He picked himself up off the counter and forced himself to look at Sakura. He still wasn’t surewhatthis guy’s angle was, being so kind and helpful to him. He really just wanted to live a normal, quiet student life, but fate had other plans for him. He really hated all of this. He would definitely be giving up the phantom thievery after dealing with Kamoshida, though. He didn’t want anything to do with it. He was already breaking his parole by doing this… The more he did, the more he risked. Hopefully they could get this done and over with as soon as possible. He just… He was in over his head with his studies and this phantom thievery nonsense. “I definitely don’t envy you. You hungry?” “Honestly, not really…” Between breakfast and lunch, he was still pretty full. “And it’s okay I’m staying two hours after school for study?” “You’re supposed to be living an honest, student life. How can I fault you for actuallytryingto do what you’re supposed to? You’re putting in the work and you’ll see dividends eventually. But would you like even a small meal?” He sighed internally. Sakura really wasn’t going to let him go without three squares a day, huh? He just gave a small nod. No point in fighting the man. “So are you going to Crossroads?” “I really don’t know. I still don’t really get what it’s about.” He looked at the strange business card Lala had given him. “I don’t know what to make of Lala. Is Lala male or female?” He didn’t knowanythingabout what Lala was talking about or how to interpret her. “Well, Lala is what you call a drag queen. Born male, but dresses and acts female. Often part of an act, but sometimes they justlivethat way. Her bar is a queer bar, though anyone’s welcome as long as they aren’t harassing anybody. I spent more time there than I care to admit.” Sakura rubbed his beard before heading over to the stove. “Queer…?” He had never heard that term before. “Basically, if you fall outside of the range of straight and heterosexual. There are people that identify as the opposite sex of what they were born, there are people who identify outside of the gender binary, there are people who only want to love the same sex, andwaymore beyond that. It’s a thriving, vibrant community, and Crossroads is a gathering place for queer people. I’m not queer, but Lala doesn’t mind hosting straight people as long as they aren’t harassing other patrons.” He frowned. “And why do youwantme to go there?” “Lala pegged you as some sort of queer. She didn’t answer beyond that, but she just…knows how to pick ‘em.” He frowned. “And you’re not going to throw me out for being queer?” It was a new term that felt strange on his tongue, but he finally had some sort of language to use for what he was. Didn’t the average person hate queer people? He really had no idea what to expect, going to a queer bar. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet other queer people or not… He feltextremelyanxious about this. How could somebody he’d only met for a few minutes peg him as queer? Was he really that obvious? He had hidden it all his life, aside from telling his parents about being trans. This feltsoantithetical to what all of his previous experience said. Sakura shook his head. “I ain’t tossing you out on the streets again. You’re a good kid.” He looked down and away. He wasn’t a good person. Nobody hadevertold him he was a good person after he’d been outed to his town. Everyone treated him horribly and they mocked and derided him. This didn’t feel like a positive thing. At least Lala hadn’ttotallyouted him for what he was. Even having Sakuraknowhe wasn’t who he appeared to be was uncomfortable. But he wasn’t going to complain either. He hadn’t had a roof over his head consistently unless his parents went out of town and he could get into the house and sleep on the couch for a while. “You’re clearly trying to put in the work to get better and keep up with school. Youwantto learn and do well. I’m not tossing a kid out on the streets just because they’re queer.” Arashi started when Morgana hopped up on the counter next to him. “Just accept it for what it is, Arashi.” He looked at Morgana, not wanting to do that in theslightest. He pulled out his Tarot deck and the binder from his back, then started shuffling. He looked through the index of spreads and found one called “making sense of the unexpected.” Morgana had told him that cards could be read as reversals as well, so he made sure to flip the deck around several times in order to get some reversals. He really had no idea what this would hold, but he needed to learn about the Tarot, so why not put it into some practical use? And it wasn’t like the cards decided what his life was like; that was up tohimin the end. It was just a tool for decision… The spread had seven cards: the first at the bottom, the second and third off to the side at a diagonal, the fourth one above the first, the seventh above the fourth, and the fifth and sixth off to the right at a diagonal. The binder said the seventh was a message from the spirit guide, but he didn’t believe in such nonsense. He would just take it as a general message that he should take away from the spread and session. He flipped the cards. One: The event and situation: Three of stones (pentacles) upright. Two: What happened: The Moon upright. Three: An important lesson: Two of stones (pentacles) upright. Four: How to grow from the situation: Two of scrolls (swords) upright. Five:How to be at peace with the situation: Ace of spirals (wands) upright. Six: How to be more comfortable with the unexpected: Chariot upright. Seven: Message from a spirit guide: Two of spirals (wands) upright. He looked at Morgana. “So what do you think about this?” It was going to be a headache to try to decode and interpret this himself. Morgana knew all about this, so he figured he’d ask him. “Give me a few minutes.” He licked his paw then swiped it over his ear. He was silent as he studied the cards, his tail flicking and twitching every so often. “Interesting spread. Do you want an in-depth interpretation or an overall interpretation?” “Both?” He was curious. “Overall, it’ll honestly be a good experience for you and it’ll help you grow. There are parts to yourself that it might even help soothe. If you want a card-by-card interpretation: “The first one that it’s offering you a chance at prosperity in ways you’ve never experienced before. It’s going to give you unexpected feedback and that feedback may lead to more prosperity. “The second one is that you’ve projected your fear into the situation and you think things aren’t going to be what they seem. The past is stopping you from proceeding forward and the uncertainty of what queerness is stops you. “The third one is the situation at hand… You’re really conflicted and you’re almosttooalert about it. You’re out of balance and the situation may help bring some balance to your life in a way you’ve never had it before. “The fourth wall says that you’ll grow from this if you choose to. If you don’t grow or choose to go, there may be painful consequences. It’s a hard decision for you to make because you’ve been so hurt in the past. “The fifth one says you’re somebody that’s never at peace and you’re restless in general. You have the potential to be at peace with the situation if you can calm down. However, you may become more creative in your life and new means by going. “The sixth one says that, to be more comfortable, you have to be confident while also being compassionate to yourself. If you don’t do these things, there will be painful consequences and never be at peace. “The last one is the message for you. It says that if you choose to go, then you’ll have a major path forward and ways to step outside of your comfort zone. It’ll be hard, but you’ll find ways to achieve your goals if you go and become part of the community.” He swiped his paw over his ear again and smiled up at Arashi. “Well, it’s overall positive, though there are some dire warnings.” He just stared at Morgana. That felt…far,fartoo personal. Morgana knew a bit more about him than anybody else, as the cat was the first…being he had come out to since trying to tell his parents. Takemi-sensei hadn’t turned him away or shouted at him either, but she was a medical professional. He was glad for that. He was…sort of out to Sakura and the man hadn’t turned him down. Was this just part of big-city living? People just didn’t care as much about other people’s business? Or was it just relegated to a few people? He still didn’t feel comfortable telling Takamaki or Sakamoto about it… Kids of any age could beincrediblycruel and he doubted teenagers were any different, really. Takamaki was sweet and kind, but that was probably just a mask. He doubted she wasactuallythat sweet…Everyonewore a mask and they could and would stab people in the back theminutethey stopped being useful. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost… What did he say?” Sakura asked. “It was a Tarot reading… I tried to do reversals, but I guess maybe I didn’t shuffle the deck that well. It said that going to Crossroads would be good for me…and there might be dire consequences if I don’t. I don’t know what to make of it.” It was eerie just how intense that this was. He doubted it’d always be this on point, but it really was creepy just how in tune Morgana had been with him when doing the reading. He had no idea how to respond to it. He just… It was intense. Now he could see how people believed in this stuff. Sakura sat a plate down in front of him. “Well, I still think it’d be a good thing to go. If you want, I can call Lala and have someone come escort you to the bar. You said you’re worried about being harassed and in danger?” He looked down. “Look at me. I’d be aneasytarget for anybody wanting to come after me. And…I have beenalmostassaulted in the past.” He shuddered. He identified as male, but a lot of his experiences weresolelyfemale. He knew that born men could be assaulted, but the way women were assaulted was a special kind of hell. “I, uh, may have kicked a few guys in the nuts because they were trying to come after me…” He looked down, shaking slightly. He wasn’t sure how Sakura would take the news that hehadactually hurt people in the past. He had told him that his charge this time was a mistake, but he had actually hurt people in the past… “Hey kid. Look up at me.” Arashi froze in place, his hands balled on the counter. He took in a shaky breath then looked up at Sakura. A warm smile greeted him. “In that sort of case, it’scompletelyokay to hurt somebody. It was self-defense against something that would traumatise you forlife.There’s a difference between self-defense and attempting to hurt somebody for your own gain. I’mnotgoing to hold it against you that you were trying to get out of a dangerous situation. Now eat up.” He nodded numbly and picked the cards up, then put them back into his deck bag. He ate mechanically while Sakura talked to somebody on the phone. “Lala’s sending Kirigami-sensei. He’s a man probably about my age, but he’s a university professor. Studies folklore apparently. He’ll be over as shortly as he can.” Arashi drew in a shaky breath. He always felt vulnerable around men that could easily overpower him. He still didn’t trust Sakamoto to not try to harm him whatsoever. Especially with that loud, brash personality of his. He felt a paw on his hand and looked over. “It’ll be okay, Arashi. Lala’s the Strength Arcana. I don’t think she’d do anything to put you in danger.” “I hope you’re right, Morgana. I hope you’re right…”

***

And yes, I actually did do the reading with physical cards. Any spreads I read from will be from the site Emerald Lotus with some from 1001 Tarot Spreads.