Notes and Disclaimers:  The following is an original work by me, freely using the creative genius of Tachiwaka Megumi, to whom I am indebted. The characters of Saint Tail, Asuka Jr., et al are owned by Kodansha and TMS.  

This story is... well... long.  It's the longest one on the page in fact. I'm frankly surprised I managed to make it all the way to the end and I owe it all to my wonderful beta reader Lan without whose help I would have plopped this in the 'Bits and Pieces' file, also known as the 'home for unfinished stories' and never thought of it again!

I've put the piece of promo art at the bottom of the page... I like it and wanted it to have a home.

                                                                                                                                                           Stirling Twilight

 

Past Influences

 

Asuka Jr. leaned over to pick up the envelope that had slipped from his book. He held it up to eye level, puzzled by its sudden appearance. It bore his name on one side, inscribed in handwriting he didn't recognize. Clearly it was meant for him, but from whom? Visions of Saint Tail challenges flashed through his mind, but this was hardly her typical means of delivery. With a mental shrug he slid his finger under the envelope’s edge and worked it open.

Inside was a large Tarot card, and a letter. The lunchtime crowd was making the usual amount of noise, so his startled gasp went unnoticed. Hastily he gathered his things, put them away, and made for the door. Several of his friends looked at him in confusion, but no one questioned him as he exited the room.

Once in the hall, Asuka Jr. headed for the stairs to the roof. He knew this area was off limits, which only meant that the crowd there would be considerably smaller than the one down here.

He hurried through the press of students, not even sure why he was rushing, but the envelope was clutched in his hand and he wanted to be alone when he read it again.

 

The roof was blisteringly hot and there was no shade to be had. Less than a handful of students were there, sharing the quiet haven. Asuka Jr. glanced at them, not recognizing a soul, and made for a private spot along the fence. With one last, furtive look around, he pulled the letter out and reread it.

Asuka Jr.
        I know you'll have no problem handling this for me. Enclosed is a challenge for Saint Tail. Make sure she gets it.

The young detective scanned the page, front and back, looked back into the empty envelope and then at the card. Compared to a playing card, this card was big. The image it bore was of a hand, emerging from a swirling cloudbank, holding an upright sword. A crown, from which hung two green branches, encircled the sword’s tip. The picture was almost meaningless to him, though he knew he could research the card with no difficulty.

But why should he?

He had been initially shocked at the command. Then annoyed. Who was this jerk who was trying to use him as a messenger boy?! He shoved the package back together and then into his pocket. With a frown he returned to homeroom.

 

Standing where he could watch everyone leaving school, Asuka Jr. scanned the crowd. He was waiting for Haneoka Meimi. The envelope was still in his pocket and very much on his mind. He figured if anyone could tell him what the card meant it would be her. But as the throng of students thinned, he realized he had been waiting in the wrong spot. Haneoka was most likely to follow Mimori Seira to the chapel and that path was off to the side of the school and well out of sight. Annoyed with his mistake, he turned and headed into town, and the library.

Since lunchtime he had waffled between ignoring the letter totally, and finding out what he could without attracting attention. Mentally he snorted in derision. Why this person thought he could get in touch with Saint Tail was beyond him, and what the card would mean to her was also out of his ken.

He had finally decided there was no harm in stopping at the library to find a book on Tarot, when Haneoka passed his desk. She had been on her way to the chalkboard during the English lesson and it had come to him at once that she was the person to ask. But now, here alone, he realized he wasn’t thinking straight, and meeting Haneoka at a time like this was just inviting trouble. She possessed the incredible talent of causing a fight, no matter what the topic. Yet even as this thought formed he knew it wasn’t the whole truth. He was just as likely to pick on her, and he could never put his finger on why. But there it was; something about her fascinated and enraged him with every glance.

So lost in these thoughts was he, that Asuka Jr. didn’t notice that the object of his ruminations had joined him. Without making a sound Meimi fell into stride beside her classmate. She could see that he was deep in thought and a smile tugged at her lips as she watched him roll something around in his mind. When they reached the path that lead to town, Asuka Jr. drifted toward it, bumping into the petite redhead. Suddenly aware of his classmate, the young detective leapt backward in surprise.

"Haneoka!"

She beamed at him.

"Don’t do that!" he yelled into her silence. Annoyed and startled, he opened his mouth to launch a scathing remark at her, but then realized he was falling into his old pattern and closed it again. Casting a quick glance at her, Asuka Jr. could see she was watching him, her head tilted and an amused gleam in her eyes. She resembled an inquisitive cat as she watched him, and oddly, he felt rather like a caged bird. Shaking his head to dispel these images, he gathered his resolve and smiled back.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Now it was Meimi’s turn to defeat the impulse to pick a fight. She quickly suppressed whatever it was, said she had the time, and what could she do for him?

Asuka Jr. looked around and then gestured toward the park. As they moved off, neither spoke while he searched for a space he felt comfortable enough with. When the trees finally outnumbered the people, he drew close to a bench and offered her a seat.

As she sat, Meimi watched his face. "Something's bothering you." It was an observation that somehow started as an uneasiness in her heart. She could feel a hand clutching and squeezing, deep in her chest, as she looked at his pensive face. It was amazing to her how quickly her annoyance at him could turn to concern.

He nodded, agreeing with her comment. Reaching into his breast pocket, he drew out the letter. Without a word he handed it to her and waited for her to go through the same range of emotions he had experienced during his original perusal.

But the sensations within Haneoka Meimi’s mind were nothing like Asuka Jr. could ever have imagined. She read the two lines of the letter, checked the back for any other information and then lifted the card from the envelope.

Instantly she knew, and understood why, the person who had given him this letter had done so. That person knew he would ask her. Unwittingly Asuka Jr. had carried out the poison pen’s plan. Who was this person? What did they want?

It flashed through her mind that Asuka Jr. would be waiting for an explanation, and with a great effort of will she wrestled her turbulent thoughts under control.

"Why’d this person think you could get a message to Saint Tail? Do you normally talk to her? Do you have a way of contacting her?"

Asuka Jr. looked like he wanted to be annoyed, reading into Meimi’s implications, but pointed to the card instead. "What does this card mean? Do you know? I thought you might…"

She turned away from him, and her unanswered questions. Holding the card up at eye level, she began talking without looking at him.

"It’s the Ace of Swords," she said sagely as if she were quoting from a book. "Aces commonly mean a beginning, and in this case a beginning of understanding, which is why the hand is coming out of the clouds. This suggests a fog rolling away from the viewer’s eyes. The suit of Swords is typically an emotionally charged, argumentative suit… many battles are found in Swords. If this person means to challenge Saint Tail, this was the card to pick."

"What about the crown?" Asuka Jr. asked, totally absorbed in what she was saying. Meimi glanced back at her classmate, and found him studying the card intensely. Truly he was the person to be the messenger, she thought.

"The suit of Swords is also a suit of the higher thinkers, your kings and scholars."

Solemnly she turned the card over so the sword's point was facing downward. "Like this, the card means disaster, and self-destruction."

Meimi dropped her hand back onto her lap and turned to face the young man beside her. She remained silent until he met her gaze. "If I were Saint Tail," she began slowly, "and you’d handed me this card," for a second her voice failed and she swallowed hard, "I would know several things." Again she paused… not for effect, but to draw a much needed breath. "I would know that whoever sent this to you knew who I was, my real identity I mean… knew what my relationship to you was, and that he, or she, was alerting me to the fact." The petite girl allowed a moment to pass, for this information to penetrate. "I would also expect to be sent other cards, seven in all."

"Why seven?"

"This card, I’m assuming, is the first card of a seven card spread. The first card represents the main question, the presenting problem… the reason for the reading. In this case, the challenge to Saint Tail."

Asuka Jr. nodded. "What comes next?"

"The next card is what ‘covers’ you. I mean the person having the reading, not you. In this case, the next card will either represent the motivating factor, or a means of protection for Saint Tail."

"I’m not sure I follow you," he said, but then their eyes met again. Something he saw there made him stop. For a long moment he searched her eyes, looking deep into her soul. Then he understood.

"You’re scared," he whispered in amazement.

The statement hung between them, unchallenged. This seemed so out of character for Haneoka that Asuka Jr. was tempted to laugh, but he fought the urge. Sliding closer to his classmate he lifted the card and letter from her limp fingers. Once they were returned to his pocket, he met her eyes again. "Why?"

Meimi tried to smile, but couldn’t. A deep blush covered her cheeks as she turned away from him. Over her shoulder she began; "I am scared, you’re right. I’m scared for both of you. The people you and Saint Tail have gone after in the past have never seemed this clever. All your other cases have been very straightforward. This one, to me, suggests a great deal of planning."

"One card can tell you all that?" he asked with a small laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Meimi whirled around, her mouth open to protest.

Suddenly there was a strange whistle and an arrow embedded itself in the wood of the bench, two inches from Asuka Jr.’s leg. He looked at it in shocked surprise, as the whistle came again. With an alarmed oath, Asuka Jr. leapt onto Meimi, bearing her to the ground as a second, then a third, arrow thunked into the bench where they had been sitting.

As his arms went around her, Meimi screamed in surprise. When he kept moving, her alarm gave way to fear, and then to anger. His weight pressed her down to the grass, and she, unaware of what was happening, writhed under him, trying to extricate herself, angry words leaping to her lips. A deep growl of pain from him silenced her, and then a searing slice to her leg burned through her body, momentarily blinding her.

Confusion and pain caused a cry of frustration to escape her lips. Meimi struggled to rise but found that Asuka Jr. was hissing in her ear for her to take cover. He rolled off her long enough for her to see the arrow in the ground beside her, and the trickle of blood coming from the wound in her leg. Asuka Jr. was no better off as he reached for the long shaft that rose out of his back near his shoulder. At the sight of the arrow in his back, Meimi felt herself slipping into a blackness she had never known before.

 

The anxious faces of her parents were the first things Meimi saw as her eyes fluttered open. Behind them were flashing lights of red and blue and the sounds of people hurrying to-and-fro. She felt that she was flat on her back and whatever she was lying on was padded. A blanket covered her body. Bemused, Meimi looked around, and then remembered the pain in her leg, Asuka Jr.’s weight on her and she struggled to sit up, his name on her lips.

Stepping into her line of vision came the smiling face of her classmate. Relief caused her to flop back, and drew a chuckle from someone she couldn’t see. In the next second, Asuka Keiji loomed over her. He was smiling, as if at some unknown joke.

"You’re probably wondering what happened," he began, "But first I have to know how you feel, because if you don’t feel like talking, I can question to you later."

Meimi thought for a second, and felt herself frowning. "I feel fine," she said, her voice a mere whisper. This surprised her, and she raised a hand to her throat only to wince at the contact.

"I’m sorry," came the soft voice of Asuka Jr. He looked embarrassed as he moved into view. "While I was trying to protect you it seems I did more harm than our attacker. I must have had my arm against your throat when we fell. I’m sorry."

Meimi smiled weakly. "Really, I feel fine."

Asuka Keiji took this statement at face value. He removed the unlit cigarette from his lips and dropped it to the ground. Drawing out a pack of cigarettes he put a fresh one in his mouth and reached for his pad. Flipping it open, he began to read aloud.

"It appears that you and Asuka Jr. were sitting on a bench in Park A, at about 4:30 PM, when an attempt was made on your lives," he declared without preamble.

The three Haneoka’s gasped, and the parents moved closer to their daughter as if able to protect her after the fact. The young redhead nodded for the detective to continue.

"According to Asuka Jr., a letter was delivered to him at school, by means as yet to be determined, challenging Saint Tail." He withdrew a plastic bag from a pocket and held it where Meimi could see it contained the letter, envelope and card. She nodded in agreement. "The nature of this challenge is also unknown," he went on. "Asuka Jr. says that he found Haneoka-san after school and asked for her help interpreting the card’s meaning. It was after about 10 minutes of talking that the first arrow struck the bench. A total of seven arrows where fired into the area in and around the bench, four doing little to no damage, one grazing Haneoka-san’s leg, two striking Asuka Jr., one in the shoulder and one grazing his leg. It has been determined that these shots were not random, and were in truth aimed at the two students in question."

He paused and looked hard at Meimi. "Are you still willing to go on?" She nodded again, and so the detective continued.

"It is also the opinion of the police that the assailant was shooting where he did with a degree of accuracy that will not be easy to hide. Investigations will begin with local archery ranges.

"The reason for this attack is believed to be the means of delivering a second card to Asuka Jr., and to frighten him if possible."

Meimi gasped at this, struggling upward to see the card, even as Asuka Keiji brought it, in its protective plastic bag, into her line of vision. There was a hole cleanly through the center of the card and Asuka Keiji slowly turned it to face her.

It was the Lovers.

"What covers you," Haneoka Genichiro whispered. Asuka Jr. heard however and exclaimed in surprise and embarrassment. Meimi felt herself blushing, and while she hardly felt she needed to ask, she wanted confirmation.

"Which arrow?" she managed.

Asuka Keiji looked mildly surprised and said, "The one that hit your leg."

Meimi closed her eyes even as tears spilled from them. Her mother quickly suggested they stop, but then Meimi protested and put her hands out to her father. He helped her to a sitting position facing the older detective.

"What do you want to know?" she whispered.

Asuka Keiji frowned, obviously wanting to let it go for the moment but thought better of it and flipped a few more pages in his book before he spoke again.

"Do you know of any reason why you and or Asuka Jr. would be the target of such an attack?"

Meimi shook her head.

"Do you know of a reason why someone would want to challenge Saint Tail?"

Meimi shook her head, again and again. The questions dragged on and some of them Asuka Jr. was able to answer for her. Meimi cast occasional glances at her classmate, and every time she did his eyes were fixed on her. She could see in the strange light that he was very concerned and she could guess he felt in some way responsible. She longed to be able to reassure him, to let him know it was really her that had placed him in danger, but she knew that was impossible.

When Asuka Keiji was finished with his questions he excused himself, and directed Meimi’s parents to his squad car for some brief paperwork. Meimi suddenly found herself alone with Asuka Jr.

He approached her, eyes downcast. She shifted over, making room for him, inadvertantly exposing the bandage on her leg. Hastily she drew her skirt over the linen, but not before a noise like sympathy came from him.

"Please don’t," she whispered, "I’m feeling delicate enough as it is."

Asuka Jr. smiled and sat beside her on the gurney. "I am sorry, though."

"Please," she said with as much annoyance as her voice would allow for, "you did nothing, and suffered worse than I did."

He laughed at this. "Actually my wounds, and I use the term lightly, are no worse than yours."

Meimi looked surprised at this, "But I saw…"

He nodded in agreement, his face breaking into a broad grin, "And it must have been quite a sight, or at least it was to the couple of joggers that found us!"

Meimi tried to laugh but her throat protested the action.

"Yes," he went on importantly, "I was shot right in the suspender. I think about an eighth of an inch actually touched my skin. The only reason the thing didn’t bounce off was it got stuck in the suspender. They make ‘em pretty thick these days," he added with a chuckle. "But the hole in my shoulder needed nothing more than a Band-Aid. And as for the graze," he gestured to his ripped pants, "it’s in the same spot as your, exactly, which is why the police think the person shooting at us was such a marksman. No one could have made such a lucky shot twice."

Meimi said nothing, but nodded her agreement.

"Actually," he went on, not looking at her, "the worst thing that happened to you was my elbow to your throat. I really am sorry."

Meimi smiled at him and again shook her head.

Asuka Jr. looked around, found the parents still by the squad car and turned back to her, "So tell me… what’s next?"

Meimi knew exactly what he meant and dropped her gaze to her hands. "What crosses, or opposes you."

He took a moment to think about this. "You mean the next card will represent the mysterious challenger?"

Solemnly she nodded.

"There's a Devil card, isn’t there?" he asked softly, but then turned to her with a smile. Meimi did her best to return it.

****

Meimi lay back on her bed and pondered the events of the day. Ruby demanded, and received, some attention before settling on a pillow and drifting off to sleep. Meimi agreed, it was late, but with so many things to think about she seriously doubted she would be getting much sleep. As she reflected on the day's adventures several things were crystal clear and she mulled them over in her mind.

First of all, the person who sent the card knew, or was pretty sure, who Saint Tail was. How this knowledge had been gained she could only guess at. Had she been followed? Had she been seen leaving the chapel? Had she made reference to something only Haneoka Meimi could know? Several similar questions flashed through her mind, with no hard answers. With a sigh she absently began stroking the sleeping Ruby. This line of thinking was getting her nowhere. So she turned her thoughts to one of her favorite subjects, Asuka Jr.

This person wanted to include Asuka Jr. in the challenge and had done so by giving him the envelope to deliver. If they hadn't wanted him involved they would have challenged her directly. But then why fire the arrows at them? To scare them? To make them know just how serious this person was? Or was there another reason?

This person had a good working knowledge of Tarot, and was an expert with the bow and arrow. For a moment she tried to think of a reason someone, with these skills, would want to challenge her in this way, but nothing seemed forthcoming. Whoever it was, they had a point to make and they would be doing it all too soon.

Her major concern was the fact that this person was not opposed to using violence. This was unusual in her world. The various thieves she had encountered were, by and large, petty thieves and not carrying anything of a deadly nature. Carefully, she raised her leg in the air, looking at the bandage on her thigh.

The hospital had cleaned and dressed the wound, told her to keep ice on her throat and sent her home with her anxious parents. Now, alone in her room, she touched the bandage, and winced. It wasn't that bad, she chided herself, and dropped the leg back down.

An idea suddenly struck her and she leapt out of bed. Sitting herself at the desk she yanked open a draw and pulled out a Tarot deck. Slipping the cards out of their box she quickly flipped through them, removing the Ace of Swords and the Lovers. She placed the cards on the desk before her, first the Ace and then the Lovers on top of it. Expertly fanning out the remaining deck she pulled out several cards. Any one of these would do for the next card she thought, allowing her eyes to linger on the cards. She sat back, looking at the remaining deck. Thoughtfully she drew another card and held it up, admiring it.

The Knight of Swords.

Asuka Jr.

She tenderly laid it to the side and began pulling other cards, laying them along the edge of the desk. All were important; all of them represented her life and the people in it. For a moment she studied the cards, but then her gaze fell back onto the original pair she had pulled.

How would the poison pen deliver the next card, she wondered.

 

It was posted to the bulletin board in front of the school. Most people simply walked past it, not realizing its importance. Some, who had no doubt read the morning's newspaper, pointed to it, but kept walking. Meimi saw it. She saw it from far away and knew it for what it was. Quickening her pace she drew closer, her hand involuntarily reaching to pulling it down.

"It's him, isn't it?" came a familiar voice.

Turning, she was not surprised to find herself looking into the eyes of Asuka Jr.

"Good morning," she said, dropping her hand with an embarrassed giggle.

"I wasn't sure if you would be coming in today," he mumbled, his eyes on the ground between them. "How does your throat feel?"

Meimi smiled up at him. "Fine, really."

Like his father, Asuka Jr. accepted her answer without question. Reaching up, he took down the card and slipped it into his pocket.

"Did you see the newspaper this morning?" he asked as he turned and began walking toward the school.

She made a noise meant to indicate she had.

"Then you know what homeroom will be like?"

Again she agreed.

"Can I meet you after school? I’d like to talk to you about the card." He still didn't meet her eyes and Meimi felt a blush on her cheeks. But she wasn’t fast enough in her answer.

"I’ll understand if you don’t want to," he said, dropping his voice, "after last night…"

She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to a stop. Asuka Jr. turned, surprised. She stood, holding his jacket in one hand, the other was pressed against the bruise on her throat. As he watched she smiled and shook her head, "I’ll met you at the front door," she whispered. He smiled at her and nodded, then together they turned to brave the crowd in homeroom.

 

It was just as bad as she thought it was going to be. Several copies of the morning paper were around the room and her classmates descended like vultures as Meimi entered. Asuka Jr. had suggested that they not go in together, and she had heartily agreed... but it didn’t help.

Questions like: was she scared, was it exciting and worst of all, why had she been in that area of the park alone with Asuka Jr. flew around her like leaves in a breeze. Seira ran interference on most of the questions, owing to Meimi’s inability to speak loudly, which, in itself, drew all kinds of sympathetic groans from her friends, and evil glances at Asuka Jr. Meimi did her best to dispel any suggestions of a relationship between her and her fellow classmate, who was undergoing a similar inquisition on the far side of the room. Mercifully, Sister arrived shortly thereafter and things returned to normal… until lunch when it all began again.

After eating a quick lunch of soup, Meimi and Seira strolled away from the school, in the direction of the chapel. As they walked, Meimi did her best to describe the events of the previous evening, and of the card found today. The friends conjectured on who the challenger could be, and came up empty. Seira promised to do her best with the several contacts she had to see if she could learn anything, and together they drifted back toward the school.

 

At the end of the day, as Meimi retrieved her shoes from her locker, an envelope slipped from the cubbyhole and floated to the ground. Instantly knowing what it was she grabbed it, ripping it open, all the while hoping that no one saw.

Inside was another card… the King of Swords; only this one was torn in half.

With a gasp she changed shoes and ran for the door, and Asuka Jr.

The young detective was where he said he would be, and as he looked up at her his smile faded.

"What?" he cried with more feeling than tact. "You’re as white as a sheet!"

"Your father?" she said as loud as she could, "where is he? Can you call him? You have to make sure he’s ok!"

Together they turned and sprinted toward the closest phone booth. He didn’t question her as they ran, he trusted her judgement, and he could guess the reason for her urgency.

The officer that answered the phone told Asuka Jr. that his father was in his office and if he waited he would be connected. But after several minutes on hold the officer picked up again. Asuka Jr. turned wide eyes on his classmate, but then leaned back weak, it appeared, with relief. He nodded hugely, letting her know everything was ok, said he would come over and hung up the phone. Turning he smiled at the redhead and began walking toward town. Meimi followed.

"It seems my father was in his office," he explained, "but had stepped out just as I called… and fell down a flight of stairs. He’s fine and back in his office with a bag of ice. I said we would stop by, and now…" he turned to face her, "you’re going to tell me how you knew."

Meimi raised her hand, the envelope still clutched in it. "This was in my shoe locker," she whispered, handing it over.

Asuka Jr. stopped walking and opened the envelope. He pulled out the two halves of the card and fitted them together.

"This card is sort of the policeman of the deck," she said softly. "He’s an older man, or a man that’s wise for his age. He is in a position of authority and is able to dispense justice."

"You took the rip to mean foul play?" he asked putting the card back into the envelope. He glanced over at her and saw her nod, a hand once again pressed to her throat. He stopped then and turned to face her.

"Would ice cream help?" he asked with a smile.

"It couldn’t hurt," she whispered, smiling back.

 

Asuka Keiji sat at his desk, the phone in one hand, and a bag of ice in the other. He looked mildly annoyed as his son gave him a quick once-over before taking a seat. He also appeared to be deep in a conversation that was totally one sided. So much so in fact, that he carefully placed the phone down on the desk at one point, went to a filing cabinet, extracted a folder, came back and put the phone back to his ear with an, "Um uh."

Opening the folder, he removed several photos and handed them to his son, casting a smile at Meimi. She smiled back, but quickly turned her attention to the photos.

The pictures were of two paintings and a large chalice. All three looked old, were religious in subject matter, and the chalice seemed to be made of silver. Asuka Jr. kept his voice low as he explained that his father was the head of the department that dealt with stolen art and artifacts and that these pieces where recently stolen from the silver vault at St Paulia’s.

Meimi gasped. Could it have been the poison pen? Had she been seen? It was just too close to home...and nothing else made sense.

"Why hasn’t the theft been made public?" she asked, hoping to cover her exclamation.

Asuka Jr. shrugged and handed her the pictures to hold while he reached for the folder. Asuka Keiji, still holding the phone, lifted several things off the reports as his son slid them off the desk.

With a skill she could only admire, Meimi watched as Asuka Jr. leafed through the pile of paper. It was obvious that he was reading as he went and rather quickly he came to the end of the folder.

"Here it is," he said after a minute, slipping a piece of paper out from the rest. He took a second to scan the page before he read aloud; "Prime suspect is the Rev. Jonathan Peer, the only person to have a key to the silver vault."

"That they know of," the redhead said with a degree of annoyance.

Asuka Jr. looked at her, mild surprise on his face. It seems her astuteness caught him off guard. "That’s true," he agreed returning his eyes to the report. "But there was no sign of a forced entry, so, until more facts come to light, the people at St. P’s want this kept secret. It seems the police are cooperating… these pieces were stolen over a week ago."

Meimi dropped her gaze back to the pictures in her lap and allowed herself time to study them more closely. Turning one over, she found a description of the size and weight of the item, along with a number, and two dates.

"What are these?" she asked, motioning to Asuka Jr.

"Oh," he said taking the picture from her hand, "these photos are the ones that the insurance company sent over, it’s what dad mostly has to work with. These numbers correspond to a list of insured items owned by the chapel. When you take out a rider on an insurance policy you're required to send pictures of the insured items to the company. Usually there’s a catalog with another photo held by the owner. Who donated the item, if it was a donation, the value, things like that are kept track of. And these," he pointed to the dates, "are the relative age" he indicated the older number, "and the date the insurance began," he point to the more recent date.

"Does the report give the value?"

He looked back and then pointed with a soft whistle, which brought a frown to his father’s face.

Meimi followed his finger to a very large number. Her first thought was… "For that?!" but she kept it to herself. Asuka Jr. took another look at the pictures and then smiled at her. "Hard to believe huh?"

She nodded emphatically.

Suddenly they were both aware of Asuka Keiji speaking for the first time since they had arrived. He hung up the phone and silently transferred the bag of ice from his elbow to his ear. Both students laughed.

"If you hadn’t whistled who knows how long I would have been on!" he said, putting the ice on his leg under the desk. "I owe you one. So," he continued as if they had been speaking all along, "I have the item you wanted." Turning, he picked something up and rose to hand it to his son; it was one of the arrows.

"Now you promised," the detective went on as he sat back down, "nothing that’ll put you, or Haneoka-san, in harm's way."

"There was that case with the ‘Flying Amethyst’, you remember?" Asuka Jr. explained, "And the senpai said that he would do anything for Saint Tail… well I’m calling in that marker, that’s all, I promise."

The detective nodded. "Good idea." He paused, looking at them both hard before he asked. "And what else?"

Meimi glanced over at her classmate. Their eyes met as he pulled out the next card. "You’ll probably want to bag this," he said as he handed it across the desk.

Asuka Keiji’s eyebrows disappeared into his hair as he opened the envelope. Reaching into his desk he did pull out a bag, which he placed the card into. Sealing it, he turned it so he could see the card within. It didn’t take a second before he looked up at Meimi.

"You’re wondering if I was pushed…"

"… or if there was something on your slippers," she finished nodding.

With that he rolled his chair back and removed the items in question. Bringing them into the light, all three of them could see the sheen of something oily.

"Well, I’ll be," Asuka Keiji whispered, shaking his head.

Asuka Jr. rose, arrow in hand. "Be careful dad, ok? And I’ll let you know if we find out anything."

Meimi leaned over, adding the photos to the folder on the desk, the one of the painting of St. Sebastian on top.

 

"Do you think he’ll notice?" Asuka Jr. asked as they left the police station.

"The painting?" she asked, her voice almost at its normal volume. "I’m sure he already has."

Her classmate nodded, coming to a stop. He looked at her, but avoided her eyes. "Do you want to come with me?"

Meimi almost let herself slip, but she quickly smiled and nodded. Asuka Jr.'s head snapped up and he smiled back, looking delighted as he swept his hand out and began leading her away from town.

As they walked, he explained the case of the "Flying Amethyst," omitting, she noted, any incriminating details. She smiled to herself, thinking how honorable he was.

"The bottom line is," he concluded, oblivious of her fond smile, "if Tatsu-san can tell us anything about this arrow, we might have a lead."

Meimi nodded in agreement, and suddenly stopped. Asuka Jr. took a step or two before he noticed, then turned to face her, confusion plainly on his face.

"We forgot to give your father the card from this morning!" she whispered, her voice failing yet again.

Asuka Jr. looked annoyed with himself and drew the card from his pocket. "Well," he sighed, "it’s not a total loss," he handed the card to her with a weak smile, "at least you can tell me about it."

Meimi looked up at him as she took the card. He was doing it again, she thought. He was taking a moment of her life and flipping it on end. She had expected histrionics but had recieved a smile. For a fleeting second she felt herself overcome by tears, but then the moment was gone. With a mental shake of her head she turned her attention to the card he offered her. Once again Meimi held the card out to where they could both easily see it.

The night before, when she had been laying out the various cards, trying to guess which card would be the next up, she had feared that this would be the chosen card. It made the most sense from a villainous point of view. The proof that her fears had been realized was now in her out-stretched hand.

"It is the Lightning Struck Tower," she said, forcing her voice to work. "This is, arguably, the worst card in the deck."

"Why?" he asked, looking at the card.

"Because it is a complete and unexpected change. Literally, a bolt from the blue. It’s something that touches everyone, regardless of class or race. It’s an ending of friendships, or relationships."

Asuka Jr. could see that she was getting upset. Reaching past her, he lifted the card from her hand and turned it upside down, like she had the Ace.

"And like this?"

"Impotence, entrapment…the worst of all, possible ruts, there’s nothing good about this card."

Again he tried to put a light touch to her mood, but at that point they had arrived at the home of Tatsu Yuki and the conversation ended as Asuka Jr. pushed the bell.

 

It took very little explanation before they were admitted into the house. The housekeeper said that yes, the master was in, and asked them to be kind enough to wait before she hurried out of sight.

"I really get uncomfortable with all this formality," her classmate whispered once they were alone and as if to punctuate the fact, he ran his finger long the edge of his collar. Meimi smiled, but then turned as the sensei joined them.

Tatsu Yuki was younger than she remembered, but then, she had only seen him in the dark. He bowed to them both, and as she and the young detective straightened, Meimi placed herself off to the side, allowing the archer a good look at her. Keeping her expression bland she willed him to see her, as he had known her before.

And he did. Meimi acknowledged the change with a slight nod.

Without the slightest hint of recognition on his side, he gestured toward a doorway that opened into a formal garden. Their host waited for them to be seated, and for tea to be served, before he asked them the nature of their visit. Asuka Jr. presented the arrow, still in its evidence bag, to their host, and began questioning him on its possible owner. Meimi was only half listening, trusting that Asuka Jr. would love to go over the facts with her as they walked home. Her mind was on the cards.

 

"I’m sorry," Meimi said as they stopped before her house. "I wasn’t really listening."

Asuka Jr.’s jaw dropped as he gazed at her. She’d done it to him again, taken a moment of his life and turned it on end. With an exasperated shake of the head, he turned to leave.

"Wait," she said, catching his sleeve, "please come in. There's something I’d like you to see." The young detective looked unsure, but allowed himself to be pulled along after her.

Asuka Jr. had only been in the Haneoka’s home twice before, but both times had left an indelible impression. Their house was small compared to the one he shared with his father, but the warmth and feeling of love encapsulated in its walls was just so totally alien. He couldn’t help but wonder if his own home would have been the same if his mother were alive. Happily, he followed her, welcoming the chance to experience that feeling once again.

As they headed for Meimi's room, her mother caught sight of them and extended a greeting. She quickly invited Asuka Jr. to dine with them, but he declined, saying he had to be home to feed his father. Eimi smiled and returned to the kitchen, leaving the classmates alone.

Before opening the bedroom door to her guest, Meimi raced inside, to tidy up she said, but really it was to hide Ruby. The hedgehog was perfectly happy to be wrapped in blankets and placed in the closet, cage and all, and was soon fast asleep.

Stepping back, she ushered him in and dropped her bookbag on the bed.

He took a second to look around, admiring the feminine feel the room had, before he joined her at the desk.

She had several Tarot cards laid out, and he easily recognized three of the four they had been given so far. As he watched, she found the fourth and placed them in the order of their appearance. Mentally he reminded himself of what she had told him... the presenting problem, the Ace of Swords, what covered them, the Lovers, what crossed them, the Tower, and finally the King of Swords.

Meimi pushed Asuka Jr. down into the chair and leaned over him, directed his attention to the four cards.

"These three you know," she said, and pointed to the ones he had just enumerated for himself, and he nodded in agreement. As he watched she placed the Ace down, the Lovers on top of it, and the Tower horizontally across the other two.

Placing the King of Swords below the three piled up cards she then placed three other cards around the small pile, only these were face down. The King she placed at the bottom, and to the left, right, and top were the face down cards.

"These cards," she indicated to the three face down, "we don't know yet, but that is their placement. They are," and again she pointed, "past influences" the King of Swords, "present influences" she pointed to the right hand card, "future influences," the top card, "and the out come," the left and final card.

"How does my father fit into past influences?"

Images of Kaitou Lucifer flashed through her mind, but she drew her thoughts back to the more recent past. "He's in a position of authority, and Saint Tail is, after all, a thief..." she allowed the thought to linger, hoping he wouldn't press her for more. He glanced up at her, obviously expecting her to continue, but found her studying the cards.

A strange feeling gripped his chest as he looked at her profile. Her hair had swept clear of her shoulder and was hanging down on his opposite side, a sort of fiery curtain closing them off from the rest of the room. Her skin in the light of the desk lamp was smooth and had a glow he had never noticed before. The thought of being in her room suddenly struck him and with a great deal of heat in his face he forced his eyes back onto the desk and away from this line of thinking. It was then he noticed the cards she had laid along the side of the desk. Leaning toward them he picked one up, welcoming the diversion.

"What are these?" he asked, studying the first one. It was the Magician.

Meimi giggled as she looked at what he held. "I was pulling cards that represent the people in my life."

He turned the card he was holding around to face her, "Your father?"

Meimi smiled and nodded. "It's rare that a card is taken at face value, like in the case of the Lovers..." even as she said it she was sorry. "I mean," she went on hastily, the words tumbling over each other, "that card usually represents a choice, which would fit in this case because Saint Tail's life would be changing, in ways she wouldn’t be able to control--"

"What about this one?" he said into her avalanche of words, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

With a sigh of relief Meimi bent to see which card he meant, only to find he was holding the Knight of Swords. Blushing hotly she took a step back, stammering to find words. Surprised by her reaction, Asuka Jr. rose, the card in hand. He glanced at it, back to Meimi, and then blushed himself.

"I...think I should be going," he said lamely, dropping the card back on the desk before making for the door

Meimi let him go.

****

As Asuka Jr. placed a plate before his father, the older detective concluded his ideas on the connection between the painting of St Sebastian and the shooting in the park. Asuka Jr. could only agree.

"And what about the arrow?" the older detective asked as he began to eat.

Asuka Jr. took his seat and picked up his chop sticks. "Tatsu-san said that the shaft was handmade, which would suggest a custom job unless this freak is into making his own arrows, which Tatsu-san said could very well be the fact. The point being, this wasn’t bought at a store. The wood was nothing special, but the tip of the one I had, was made for target practice, in other words--"

"Not sharp enough to do any real damage to anything but straw bails. Happily it was one of these that got you in the back…but our guys had come to the same conclusion. The three that were shot into the bench had hunting tips on them, strong enough to embed themselves in the wood. I have to wonder," he went on thoughtfully, "what would have happened if you hadn’t reacted the way you had?"

"Meaning he must have had more than seven arrows with him, which would be a pain to carry around and getting them out of the park must have been a drag…"

Their eyes met and they both leapt for the phone.

 

Eimi and Meimi clapped wildly as Genichiro bowed.

"Wonderful!" Eimi sighed, her eyes gazing at her husband with a rapture that Meimi knew would only lead to her own embarrassment. Excusing herself, she hurried to her room, threw open her bedroom window and tossed the rope out. She was quite sure her parents wouldn’t miss her tonight, so she headed for the chapel.

It felt wonderful to be out and alone in the cool night air. Meimi ran lightly, and all too soon found herself before the chapel doors.

She suddenly paused, unsure. Granted, she hadn’t had a chance to tell Seira of the theft from the silver vault, but should she tell was the question. Meimi knew Seira would tell her of such an important fact, and Meimi owed her friend no less, but Asuka Jr. had taken her into his confidence.

Pushing the doors open, Meimi smiled and left behind the battle in her heart.

"Hello Seira," she whispered, taking a seat behind the kneeling novice. Seira said nothing for several seconds before raising her head and smiling at her friend.

"I heard about the theft from the silver vault," the novice said by way of a greeting. She rose smoothly to her feet and joined Meimi on the pew. Neither said a word for several minutes, then the flood banks broke and Meimi told Seira everything that had happened that day. She concluded with the embarrassment of the Tarot card that Asuka Jr. had found on the desk. Seira added nothing, listening silently until the story’s end, and time passed, heedless of the two friends.

 

Asuka Jr. accepted the gloves that were passed to him and knelt beside his father. The two men opened the bag and began handing items out, announcing what they found as they were passed to other officers to be bagged and numbered.

A dozen arrows, of various tips, the bow, gloves and the item Asuka Jr. was searching for: the next card.

The Magician…and it was neatly cut in half.

With a strangled cry the young man jumped to his feet and raced for a phone. He could barely force his mind to recall Meimi’s number, but soon the phone was ringing, endlessly, and then the answering machine clicked on. Asuka Jr. found himself yelling into the phone, calling out numbers for someone, anyone, to call before he hung up and ran back to his father.

"There's no answer," he announced, "I’m going over there."

His father nodded and then pressed a cell phone into his son’s hand. "Keep in touch, let me know the second you hear anything."

Asuka Jr. nodded as he ran into the growing darkness.

The house was silent and no one answered his pounding on the door. Stepping back he looked up at the window to Meimi’s room. It was still ajar, the rope hanging to the bushes. Fear gripped his heart with thoughts of her abduction, but then he thought of the chapel and was running toward the school in the next second.

 

The blasting bang of the door exploding open made both Meimi and Seira scream in surprise. Asuka Jr. was halfway down the aisle when the girls recovered enough to understand what had happened. Angry cries rose to her lips as Meimi faced the young detective but before she could speak he began shouting at her.

"Where’s your father?!" he bellowed, panting hard.

Taken aback for a second, she stammered, "At the Crown Theater, doing a show," and then the color drained from her face and she sagged against her friend. "Doing the escape act…" she finished weakly as Seira's arm went around her.

Asuka Jr. put the phone to his ear and began barking orders. He called for a car to meet them, told his father where to find Haneoka Genichiro, and, grabbing Meimi’s wrist, began dragging her toward the door, all the while shouting into the phone. Seira silently followed.

As they ran toward town the squad car that was sent to pick them up arrived, and they all piled in. The ride was one of the worst experiences of Meimi's life and she unconsciously held Seira’s hand in a death grip.

 

The crowd of police cars around the building suggested they were taking the threat seriously. In a mass, the police rushed the theater with Asuka Keiji at the lead. Screams of surprise and terror filled the hall as the swarming officers made for the stage. Shouts of ‘stay calm’ were everywhere, and mostly being ignored. Meimi felt herself being swept along in the irresistible current of people, a sickening numbness in her stomach.

On stage, the action had been interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the police. The two assistants, their hands raised toward the tank of water where Haneoka Genichiro hung suspended behind a curtain, backed away in fright as Asuka Keiji leapt onto the stage. The detective grabbed a microphone stand, and swinging the base like a baseball bat made for the curtain, intent on smashing the glass behind it.

"Wait!"

All eyes turned toward the voice. Standing in the aisle between her friends, Meimi crumbled to her knees, sobbing, as he father walked out from the side of the stage.

The sound was deafening as the audience went wild.

Asuka Keiji, stunned, looked from Genichiro to the tank and back. The two assistants suddenly remembered themselves and lowered the curtain, showing the empty water cell, with its dangling manacles.

A barking laugh escaped the detective and he dropped the mic stand back onto the floor, extending a hand toward the magician. Asuka Keiji was blushing a bit as they shook hands, and Genichiro, waving to the audience, lead the detective off the stage.

Once out of sight of the audience, the magician dropped the detective’s hand and smiled broadly.

"Nice entrance," he said with a chuckle. "I’m sure there’s a very reasonable explanation as to why you’re here, but I have a show to finish. So if you don’t mind I’ll be back in about 15 minutes." With that he reentered the stage amid thunderous applause.

 

It was well after the show that the Asukas and Haneokas found themselves in a restaurant, picking at unwanted food. Seira had excused herself back to the chapel, suffering from a mild headache she had said, though Meimi was sure she just wanted to be far away from the rest of the events of the evening.

Both she and Asuka Jr. sat in silence as Asuka Keiji recounted the reasons for the dramatic entrance into the theater, and though he apologized again and again, Genichiro was just too happy with the whole affair to be even mildly annoyed.

"You’ve really done me a huge favor," he said, a broad grin on his face. "I think they’ll be talking about this show for a long time to come. And the newspaper critic was even there tonight. You couldn’t have picked a better night if we had planned it."

The rest of the conversation went along the same lines; Genichiro praising the officer for his unwitting aid, and Asuka Keiji endlessly trying to apologize. When it finally seemed they had run the subject to the ground the conversation turned to the performance in general. It was then that Meimi turned to face her classmate.

Asuka Jr. looked as mortified as his father had and he didn’t meet her eyes as she faced him.

"Thank you,’ she whispered, her voice gone yet again. "I really can’t thank you enough. If something had happened to my father I don’t know what I would have done."

The young man beside her blushed, and then looked annoyed. "I couldn’t have screwed this up more if I planned it," he spat. "I just can’t believe what I’ve done to you and your family."

"I understand," she whispered, and she meant it, "but in this case better safe than sorry--and no one's said you were wrong in your guess. Something might just happen to my father, but not tonight…thank heavens."

He managed a weak smile at her generosity. A sudden burst of laughter from the adults drew their attention and Meimi leaned closer the Asuka Jr., "Why don’t you walk me home," she whispered, and rose, not waiting for him to have second thoughts. Quickly he joined her, made his excuses to the assembled parents, and guided her from the room.

 

Back in the evening air, Meimi stretched long and loud. Asuka Jr. stood beside her, watching, a smile on his face. When she righted herself and faced him, Meimi jerked her head in the direction of home. He nodded and fell in beside her.

"So the bow and arrows were still in the park," she said matter-of-factly. "That actually makes sense, but it also makes me think he wasn’t done with them."

Asuka Jr. nodded, "My father was going on at dinner about the painting you’d noticed and it’s possible relationship to the case. He said there were 19 arrows in the painting, and 19 total in the park. But in my mind that ends that picture and leaves the other one and the chalice."

Meimi took a second to think this over. "What was the other painting of?"

With a flourish Asuka Jr. pulled the photos from his jacket pocket. "He doesn’t know I have these," he whispered sotto voce, and made a big show of glancing around as if someone might hear on the deserted street.

Meimi giggled and snatched the pictures from his hand. "I don’t trust you with these," she said, moving under a streetlight to study them.

 

Meimi wearily made her way through the dark house, intent on bed. It had been, perhaps, the strangest two days of her life. As she reflected on the incidents that had brought her to this point she couldn't help but wonder at it all. It felt like she hadn't spoken to another soul but Seira and Asuka Jr. for days and while her leg didn't really hurt, her throat was a livid color and still ached.

Pushing her bedroom door open, she flicked on the light and flopped onto the bed. In mere moments she was deep within a dream.

 

Meimi dreamt she sat up in bed as a voice came from the still open window. Someone was calling a dog. Hurrying to the window the Dreamer looked out, only to find a man looking up at her!

He was clinging to the wall, like a giant spider, and he smiled grotesquely at her. With a silent scream, Meimi pitched backward, falling to the floor.

Fearfully she turned toward the window, even as the man leapt lightly into the room, a small ghostly white dog close at his heels. He looked at her with a rather idiotic grin on his lips. As she watched he dropped the sack he had on a pole over his shoulder onto the floor.

Like a magician conjuring he reached into the bag and produced a white flower. With the same moronic smile he presented it to the Dreamer as she sat before him. Hesitantly she took the flower, only to have it turn into a dove and fly out the window. The man watched it go, and then rounded on her, a frown on his face. Meimi backed away again, struggling for the door.

Suddenly the man began looking around, almost like a dog sniffing the air, until his eyes fell on the Tarot cards on the desk. Hastily crossing to it, he rapidly sorted through the cards, obviously looking for one in particular. As he did, a card slipped to the floor. Meimi didn't need to look at it to know it was The Fool.

Finally the lanky man halted his search and smiled over his shoulder at her; a cold, sinister smile. Meimi frowned; she could see a card clutched to his chest. Rising from her place on the floor, she moved to where she could see him. As they stood regarding each other the Fool slowly turned the card around for her to see.

It was the Knight of Swords.

With a soundless scream, Meimi lunged for the card, but the Fool was too fast for her, and he leapt backward out the open window, closely followed by the dog.

Without a second's thought, Meimi leapt after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And landed on a rocky coastline.

Behind her rose huge, towering cliffs, and above all was a brilliant, lavender-blue sky. The smell of brine from the ocean was crisp and the air cold against her skin. Meimi looked up and down the beach before she noticed a sort of tall, tombstone at the water's edge. Swallowing hard, the Dreamer moved toward it.

It turned out to be a chair back. A massive stone throne, with a large scallop shell supported by beautiful mermaids at its top, revealed itself to her as she moved around it. Seated upon the throne was her mother! As their eyes met, Meimi couldn't suppress the cry of delight she felt.

Eimi was dressed in a long white silk robe topped by a cape that looked and moved like flowing water. Her hair was done in braids that were tucked under a gold crown. In her hand Eimi held a large, lidded chalice, like the one in the picture that Asuka Jr. had shown her under the streetlight. Eimi smiled at her, and reached toward the chalice. Lifting the lid off, she tilted it so Meimi could look inside.

Within the silver cup was a tiny replica of their house, as if seen from above. It was wrapped in the dark of night and looked still and quiet. Meimi looked in confusion at her mother, but then saw the Fool leap from a window, land lightly on the lawn, and run into the night.

"Do you know who I am?" Eimi suddenly asked, replacing the lid on the chalice.

Meimi smiled. "You're the perfect mate. The loving mother, the beloved wife, best friend, kind, gentle and adored by all."

Eimi nodded.

"Do you know he's been taken?"

Meimi gasped at the sharp pain in her chest, her color draining away, but she forced herself to nod. "I guessed."

"That's why you jumped," Eimi said simply. "But Dreamer, you have to know..."

The Queen of Cups suddenly rose from her throne, and she towered over Meimi. With two fingers the Queen lifted her daughter off the shore and held her up to eye level. Meimi didn't dare look down.

"You have to know, Dreamer, not everything is about you." With that she let go of Meimi.

And with a violent jerk Meimi woke up.

Sitting up, she saw that one of her parents at least had been in the room. The light was out, the window closed, and there was a blanket over her. Leaping up, the redhead turned on the light and rushed to the desk. The Fool was on the floor where it had fallen, and no matter how she searched she couldn't find the Knight of Swords. Truly he was gone.

Throwing open the window, Saint Tail leapt into the night.

****

The only thing she could think of that would relate to the last painting was the city zoo. The poison pen had been very careful of representing himself to the fullest with the first picture and Saint Tail expected no less from the next one.

The painting had been the image of Saint Francis of Assisi, emerging from a cave. Various animals--and not all of them of the warm, fuzzy, harmless variety--surrounded him. Saint Tail thought, as she ran through the night, that the only place in the zoo that would house such a scene was the bear cage. It was a shame it wasn’t winter, she thought quickening her pace.

There were enough lights on in the zoo to make the small thief cling to the shadows. All around her were the sounds of sleep. It hadn’t occurred to her to check the time before she had come out here but it had to be after midnight. She probably didn’t have much time.

Swiftly making her way through the park, she found the bear cave, thought again it must be the place, and then caught sight of a bit of white near the cave’s opening. Another card!

Dropping into the cage as softly as possible, she could hear the snoring of the bear long before she could see it. Keeping her eye on the sleeping creature, she bent to retrieve the card. As her fingers touched the smooth surface, a spot light suddenly blazed on, blinding her.

Card in hand, Saint Tail leapt straight up, back into the darkness. Moving as quickly as her eyes would allow, she searched for a hiding place, and found one in the cracks of the rocks. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to still her heart, she looked at the card.

Oddly, the reverse was blank. Turning the card over she saw the Hanged Man. Puzzled, she recalled its implied meaning, that of giving something up to gain something better. It’s position in the Tarot spread would have fallen in the present influences space.

With a sigh she nodded. It was obvious that she was meant to trade places with Asuka Jr., surrender herself to gain his freedom. Fine. She would do it.

With that resolve in mind she rose from her hiding spot and climbed to the crest of the bear cave.

From here she could see that the light was still being shone on the cave, but she could also see that it came from three different places around the park. They all just converged on the cave. Jumping down, she carefully inspected the place where they met, and found nothing of note on the stone. Placing her hand in the stream, she saw there was a pattern to the light. With a gasp she lifted the blank white side of the Tarot card into the beams.

The image the lights created was that of the card, Strength. A smiling woman closing the mouth of a lion. Saint Tail retraced her steps out of the bear cage and sprinted for the lions.

 

Asuka Jr. was there. His wrists were tied behind his back, and the end of the rope was attached to his left ankle, making him the very image of the Hanged Man card. He was lying with his head near the ground, on a board that leaned him back without making him actually hang. Even from this distance, and in the dim light, she could see he was unconscious.

Saint Tail took a long moment to scan the cage. The lions were nowhere to be seen and Asuka Jr. appeared to be alone. She was convinced there was going to be no way for her to make it to him before the poison pen saw her so she considered her best course of action. Her first order of business was to wake her classmate, without waking the lions.

With a flick of her wrist Saint Tail conjured two fans of cards. Quickly she sent them flying toward the prone form of Asuka Jr. Once the cards had placed themselves in a circle around him she snapped her fingers. Instantly the cards each exploded in silent flashes of brilliant white light. Asuka Jr. moved his head sluggishly but didn’t appear to wake up.

Again she considered. A sad smile slowly crept over her face. There was really nothing she could do. She was walking into a trap, plain and simple.

Once again she conjured a fan of cards, only these were Tarot cards, and all the same card, the Sun. In the reversed state the card represented defeat and as she moved toward Asuka Jr. she left a trail of cards.

 

There was a small path of dried blood on her classmate’s neck which lead to a tiny impact wound. The blood had flown as if he had been in this position for quite some time. Saint Tail could only assume he had been drugged and that this wound was evidence of it. The poison pen had shown himself to be an expert shot once again. It occurred to her that he must have also drugged the lions since he was acting without fear of them, but this was a dangerous assumption.

Moving quickly, Saint Tail inspected the board and the ropes, looking for the fastest means of releasing Asuka Jr. from his bonds. As she reached for his wrists the young detective stirred, moaning softly. Dropping to her knees, Saint Tail hissed in his ear for him to be quiet. He didn’t seem to be aware of her as he struggled to regain consciousness. She tried again to make him understand, but finally had to place a hand over his mouth. This had the effect of bringing him to total wakefulness. The detective thrashed wildly before he saw who was beside him. His looked at her in surprise even as she put her lips to his ear.

"You have to be quiet," she whispered, "we’re in the lion’s cage. You’ve been drugged and I’m trying to get us both out of here in one piece."

Asuka Jr. nodded and remained quiet.

Once again reaching for the ropes, Saint Tail was not surprised to hear a voice address her.

"So we meet again."

Rising slowly, the petite thief keep her eyes on her classmate as he strained to see the speaker.

"Say nothing," she whispered firmly, turning her back on the detective to face the poison pen.

A dark form loomed out of the darkness and stopped in a deep shadow.

"I’ve waited years for this," the man said with barely suppressed glee.

Saint Tail squinted into the darkness, trying to make out any details and couldn’t. "What do you want?" she asked, placing herself protectively before her helpless classmate.

"I want to enjoy my victory," was the mocking reply.

"What victory?" she shouted into the night. "I have no idea who you are!"

A scornful laugh drifted back to her. "Allow me to remind you."

An arrow whistled past her, missing both her and Asuka Jr. by inches.

Saint Tail didn’t flinch and stood her ground.

The next arrow was even closer and Asuka Jr. cried out for her to move, but she stood firm, even as another, and another, rushed at her. Her hair and skirt moved in the wind the arrows created as they shot past her. Below her, Asuka Jr. was hysterically yelling for her to take cover, but still she didn’t move. When there was a break in the arrows she addressed the man.

"What do you want?"

Again he laughed. "I want you to beg me for his life."

Saint Tail fell to her knees, her arms wide.

Behind her Asuka Jr. thrashed against his bonds, wildly screaming all sorts of oaths and threats at the man, but Saint Tail said nothing.

A sudden pain in her neck made Saint Tail gasp. Reaching up she found a small dart in her skin, which she quickly pulled out, even as darkness enfolded her.

 

When she came back to consciousness her first thought was that her head was pounding. It lolled to one side as a soft moan escaped her. Her next thought was that dawn was lighting the horizon. After a second’s delay she realized she was upside down. The poison pen must have her as the Hanged Man now, her laboring brain concluded. This thought had the effect of making her fight for consciousness. Her eyes rolled in her head, coming to rest on a dark form bending over her. It was Asuka Jr. and he was  looking at her, hard.

He was on his knees before her, his hands tied behind his back. The expression on his face was a mixture of horror and disbelief. "Haneoka?" he asked softly.

With a weak smiled she nodded. "How else could I rescue you?"

"Are you insane?!" he demanded, his voice a harsh bark.

Of their own accord her eyes slowly closed as she shook her head. "It was the best plan I could think of quickly. And besides, where else could I wear this costume?"

His demeanor suddenly changed, the usual desire to pick a fight sweeping over him, but a more urgent matter sobered him just as quickly. He locked eyes with his classmate and struggled to steady his voice. Drawing a deep breath he whispered, almost fearfully, "Are you Saint Tail?" His eyes were pleading as they searched her face. "The bruise on your neck…"

"Of course she is!" came the shouted answer. Both thief and detective turned to face the man who still lingered in the shadow. "She’s had other names, but even now I know her. Isn’t that right, Saint Tail?"

Slowly, painfully, Meimi shook her head, her ponytail seeping the ground, "I have no idea who you are."

"I knew you when you were Kaitou Lucifer," was the soft reply. "You can’t hide behind a new name."

At the mention of her mother, Meimi gasped. Asuka Jr. reacted violently as well.

"If she were Kaitou Lucifer," he yelled at the dark form, "she would have to be in her thirties! How could she be Kaitou Lucifer, or Saint Tail for that matter?"

"Shut up!" the man yelled, stepping into the grove, exposing his face for the first time.

"Jonathan Peer!" Asuka Jr. whispered in astonishment.

Meimi looked at the young detective, surprise evident on her face, and then back to Peer, who was nodding in agreement.

"Yes," Peer granted, stepping where they could see him. A long bow was in his hands and a quiver across his back. He was dressed all in black and had a sardonic leer on his face. He also had an arrow fixed to the bow, pointed at Meimi’s chest.

"I’m Peer," he went on coolly, "the same man who stole the Royal Chalice from the State Museum 20 years ago, only to have it stolen by Kaitou Lucifer!" He spat his words out in anger. "I’ve waited 20 years to get my hands on it again, Kaitou Lucifer, and this time you are not going to take it away from me!"

A feminine voice suddenly rang out, "Good evening!"

Peer looked around, his arrow wildly pointing in every direction as he sought the source of the voice.

Meimi gasped, recognizing the voice. It wasn’t Seira!

"Saint Tail!" Asuka Jr. yelled, he eyes finding her with practiced ease.

The silhouetted form of the small thief stood atop the fence some distance off. Her hands were on her hips and her whole appearance was that of someone waiting.

Once assured of everyone’s attention, Saint Tail produced a fan of cards that she sent speeding toward Asuka Jr. and Meimi. In the next second Asuka Jr.’s hands were free as the razor sharp cards cut him loose. Meimi gasped in surprise as an arrow flew in from her left, severing her own bonds. Looking into the darkness she saw the tall dark form of Tatsu-senpai, bow in one hand, his other raised in a silent salute.

Asuka Jr. was upon her in the next second, frantically working her ropes free. Scooping her up into his arms the young detective dashed into the darkness. The sputtering sounds of Peer’s anger could just be heard.

"I want to tell you," the detective said as he ran for the far side of the cage, "that this was possibly the stupidest thing you’ve ever done."

Meimi chuckled and snuggled against him.

Bemused Asuka Jr. looked down, only to find Meimi smiling up at him. The young man blanched under her gaze and tried to recover his composure with a snort of derision.

Reaching the cage wall he set her down and offered to help her over the fence, but she declined, telling him to get back and help Saint Tail. Without another word he turned and ran back in the direction he had come in. Meimi watched him disappear into the darkness before conjuring her silk hat. Tatsu-senpai was at her side in the next second.

"I found your trail of cards. What do you plan to do?" he asked softly.

"We have to protect Kaitou Lucifer first and foremost," she said as she began jogging toward her mother. "I’ll leave her to you, Asuka Jr. is mine, and we’ll leave Peer to the police."

"They’ll be here any minute."

Saint Tail smiled up at the archer beside her. "Then it’s Show Time."

 

Peer had fired several arrows at the Saint Tail on the fence, only to see them pass through her as if she were a shadow. With an oath he turned his attention away from the cage and began looking for a projector, or some other means of her obvious deception.

Asuka Jr. knelt in the pool of darkness that Peer had used before, watching. He had also concluded that Saint Tail wasn’t on the fence, but his more immediate concern was the recovery of the stolen items, and the capture of Peer. Saint Tail, he knew, could take care of herself. Even as this thought flashed through his mind he wondered how many arrows Peer could have. With a shake of his head he let it go. He just couldn’t be everywhere at once.

Trusting Tatsu-senpai, Saint Tail leapt lightly into the silhouetted place on the fence her mother had taken upon her arrival. She was sure Peer had wasted too many arrows on the space to try it again. Placing her hat before her, Saint Tail reached into its depth and began scooping out handfuls of butterflies. Thousands of the winged whispers filled the air around her, until, with a joyful laugh, Saint Tail snapped her fingers, causing each butterfly to blaze with a brilliant white light. Suddenly the lion cage was as bright as daylight as the fluttering insects moved about.

Cursing in frustration, Peer searched for the source of the light, and his eyes fell on Saint Tail. With a sinister smile he bent his bow. "I won’t be fooled again," he hissed.

"Over here!" came a piping voice.

Whirling, Peer saw Kaitou Lucifer, still in her Saint Tail costume, on the far side of the cage, waving hugely. Glancing back he saw the Saint Tail that he had just been aiming at was gone. He turned back with a howl, and let loose the arrow he had been holding. It flew at Kaitou Lucifer with the accuracy the police had noted, only to be splintered in half mid flight! Dumbfounded Peer staggered back a step, reaching for another arrow. What had happened? He loosed another, and another…all with the same results.

As his hand removed the last arrow from the quiver, Asuka Jr. leapt from his hiding place and tackled the man from behind, bearing him to the ground with lethal force.

Saint Tail leapt from the pen wall into the cage, her hat before her. Passing her hand over the brim she conjured a rope that went snaking toward Asuka Jr. as he fought the would be thief.

The sun broke the horizon, giving light to the tableau around her. She could see Kaitou Lucifer retreating, as well as the shadowy form of Tatsu-senpai as he headed home. The sounds of police sirens reached her ears at that second, and racing from his car was Asuka Keiji, with Seira in tow. Smiling, Saint Tail pulled the ropes free and caused the hat to disappear. Dropping to her knees beside Asuka Jr., she helped him finish tying Peer up.

"You did really good," Asuka Jr. said without disguising the pride in his voice. Meimi beamed at him, but he continued to be busy with the ropes and didn’t meet her eyes. "I think," he went on, his voice a mere whisper, "I like your hair this way."

Meimi felt a blush coloring her cheeks as she rose to meet her wide-eyed friend. Seira looked at Meimi, her eyes bespeaking her fears, but then Asuka Keiji arrived and quickly took charge of the situation. The two friends had no time for explanations.

It took a little time for the police to properly confine Peer, so while they waited, Seira and Meimi stood out of the way, watching the proceedings with interest. When Asuka Jr. finally came to collect them he removed his jacket and swung it over Meimi’s shoulders.

"You’ll be less conspicuous," he said with a smile.

Standing before her, he pulled it closed over her costume. Meimi smiled up at him and reached up to pull the ribbon from her hair. Neither noticed as Seira beat a hasty retreat.

 

Not long afterwards the three young people, and Asuka Keiji, were seated comfortably in a small café. Steaming cups of tea and coffee where before them as they relaxed after the events of the evening.

"That was a very rash and foolish thing to do," Asuka Keiji said as he chastised Meimi. She took it very well, looking suitably ashamed. Seira, for her part, could hardly keep the relieved smile from her eyes. "You could have been seriously hurt…" he paused to removed the unlit cigarette from his lips, then chuckled, "but you did help Asuka Jr." He leaned close to Meimi and smiled, "Thank you.

"But" the detective sighed thoughtfully, rocking back; "I don’t know what I’m going to tell your parents. Your mother had been very interested when we discussed this case last night after the show. She was asking all kinds of question about the chalice."

Meimi felt a change of topic was needed, and fast. "Seira," she said, turning to the novice, "why are you here?"

The nun-in-training smiled. "I called the police when I realized who Father Peer was, or I should said, who he should have been."

Asuka Jr. and Meimi exchanged puzzled glances.

Asuka Keiji chuckled softly, "Allow me to explain," he said, draining his coffee mug and motioning for a refill.

"It seems about 30 years ago there was a man named Robert Shean, an American by birth, who was mentally unstable and believed himself to be a sort of modern Robin Hood. He affected a lifestyle like anyone alive when Robin Hood was around would have lived. He became very good with the bow and arrow and went around his town fighting for justice. Sadly, this landed him in jail. It was during this time that he became proficient with the Tarot cards.

"When he was finally released he decided that his mistake had been in fight for justice in America. He then moved to Japan, and began practicing his craft again, with the same results. Some of the people he fell in with brought the Royal Chalice to his attention. The chalice is a European relic and legend has it that if you drink from the cup you’ll live forever. This was too much for Shean’s warped mind and he stole it. While escaping, however, he encountered Kaitou Lucifer, who relieved him of the chalice. She got away, but Shean didn’t.

"While in jail the second time he met Father Jonathan Peer. Peer and Shean became close, until Peer’s untimely death during one of their visits. It was relatively easy for Shean to dress Peer in his own clothes, and effectively trade places with the priest."

"He then came to St Paulia’s," Seira interjected, "because the Royal Chalice is one of our treasures and had been on loan to the F Museum when the theft had occurred."

Asuka Keiji nodded emphatically. "He searched 20 years for Kaitou Lucifer and finally came to the conclusion that Saint Tail and she must be one and the same." Here the older detective laughed loudly. "I’ve been searching for even longer and never once had that thought!"

"But where is the chalice now?" Asuka Jr. asked, interrupting his father’s merriment.

"I think I can answer that," Meimi said, shocking them all.

"I believe," she went on, "Peer, or Shean, really thought that I was Saint Tail. That’s why he sent the challenge to Asuka Jr. He knew Asuka Jr. would ask me, being a magician’s daughter I would likely know Tarot. He broke into my room, removing cards from my Tarot deck and leaving clues. Even though he was incorrect in his guess, he had chosen well enough that we were able to follow his lead."

Asuka Jr. was shaking his head. "But that doesn’t explain why the cards he chose were specific to Saint Tail."

"They weren’t," Meimi said smiling, "they were specific to Kaitou Lucifer. There seems to be enough similarities that we just assumed."

"From one Kaitou to another," Seira said softly, drawing a nod from Asuka Keiji.

"But that still doesn’t explain where the chalice is," the younger detective complained.

"It’s at my house somewhere," Meimi said and relayed to them the details of her dream. "When the Queen of Cups was showing me my house she was letting me know where to look for the chalice."

"She even told you the reading wasn’t about you," Asuka Jr. said in awed tones.

Meimi nodded. "I’m sure if we dig where the Fool landed in the yard we’ll find the chalice."

Asuka Keiji drained another cup of coffee and beckoned for the check. "Shall we go look?"

 

When the police car pulled up in front of the Haneoka house, two very scared parents rushed to the door. Meimi quickly ran into their arms, smiling, and reassuring them as best she could. The whole story of Peer/Shean we repeated and the possible resting place of the chalice disclosed. The group trouped to the place below Meimi’s window and a short search ensued, ending at a disturbed spot of grass. Less than 10 minutes later, the Royal Chalice was in the kitchen being cleaned of the dirt that clung to it.

"Where are the paintings?" Meimi asked, grabbing one of the rice balls off the plate her mother placed on the table. Everyone followed her example and soon the room was full of the sounds of eating, and praise for the cook.

"They’re back in the silver vault," Seira said, sipping her tea. "It seems they were only necessary in leading Saint Tail, or whomever, to the places that Father Peer wanted them to go to. Once he had used them, he put them back. It was this that alerted Father Hayes to the fact that it had to be Father Peer committing the crime. No one else could have taken, and replaced, the stolen items."

"He was only after the chalice," Asuka Keiji said, helping himself to another rice ball and nodding his appreciation to Eimi. "That, and his revenge."

"How sad," Eimi said, refilling the empty plate for the third time. "To spend so much of your life being angry at another person."

"Well," Meimi said thoughtfully, turning to Asuka Jr., "I’ll spend my life angry at you if you don’t tell me how you knew who Peer was. When he came out of the shadows you said his name like you had been expecting him."

The young detective smiled. "I recognized him from the police file. Remember, when I was reading to you about the case? His picture was in there."

A sudden exclamation from the area of the sink drew everyone’s attention. Genichiro, who had been wiping the chalice turned to face the crowd, a dirt smeared card in hand.

"The last card!" Meimi cried in alarm. She had forgotten that there was one more card, but the smile on her father’s face as he looked at the card made her slip down in her chair in relief. Dramatically the magician wiped the card clean and then turned it to face the assembled friends.

It was Judgment.

 

Meimi walked slowly toward the chapel. The events of the past week were becoming less of a topic as time passed and she welcomed the change. That she had been involved was common knowledge. That she had pretended to be Saint Tail was not. Even Asuka Keiji agreed that, that bit of information needn’t be let out. She smiled at the thought and quickened her pace.

As she came clear of the trees she saw a familiar form leaning by the chapel door. Asuka Jr. appeared to be waiting for her. He turned to face her as she drew closer and finally he moved to meet her.

Smiling broadly, she greeted him. For a moment he smiled back, but then his face began to color and he dropped his gaze.

"What's wrong?" Meimi asked, concern evident in her voice.

Asuka Jr. looked uncomfortable and then reached into his jacket pocket. "I found this, last night, and thought I should return it to you. It seems Peer put it in my pocket...I can only imagine it was when he had me tied up."

Meimi saw at once it was a Tarot card and, judging by his reaction, she could guess which card it was...her missing Knight of Swords.

Without looking at the card, she lifted it from his hand. "Thank you," she said, smiling at him, "I was missing it."

His head snapped up. "You were?"

Meimi nodded as she slipped it into her bag. "I look at it a lot," she said, meeting his eyes.

Asuka Jr.'s pleasure at the admission was evident as he took his leave of her. Meimi watched him go with mixture of happiness at their meeting, and sadness at its brevity, before she turned and let herself into the chapel.

 

 

Home