Yoshiko (or Yohane, as she was wearing her cloak) held the card between her fingers. The card that determined Dia's future. Her eyes were closed as she tapped it against her forehead, trying to see what the card was with her mind.
The whole way there, Dia had regretted blurting out to Yoshiko about her deal with Mari. All of this was ridiculous- she was surrounded by candles, the camera was running, and Yoshiko was playing a strange dirge on her computer. Part of her worried she was about to be murdered.
Yoshiko began to hum in concentration. Her face contorted as she tried harder and harder to psychically read the card.
"Just read it with your eyes!" Dia yelled.
Yoshiko opened her eyes and read the card.
"Wow... Interesting..."
Dia's heart skipped a beat. "What? What is it?"
Yoshikos's eyes narrowed. "I see..." She trailed off.
"Spit it out!"
"Well... It's... Not very clear."
"Why? What card is it?"
Yoshiko's eyes shifted around. "Uhhh..."
Dia groaned. She leaned over the table and snatched the card out of her hand.
"What?!" Dia yelled. It was just s regular playing card. "Queen of diamonds?"
"Yeah... I don't have a deck of tarot cards yet." Yoshiko blushed. Then she snickered. "But Yohane can still look into the future... With her mind." She brought her hand up to her face.
"Humor me."
"Yohane calls upon the power of demons to access her powers..." She pressed her fingers to the side of her head and closed her eyes. "And I see..." Her face softened. "A sunset."
Dia rolled her eyes. Yoshiko kept hers closed.
"She's not talking."
Dia raised an eyebrow.
"Instead she touches your hand."
Dia blushed.
"And she leans in..." She opened her eyes. She saw Dia clutching the table and shaking. "And says..." She purposefully drags the sentence on, enjoying the torment she is bringing to Dia. "...It's joke."
Yoshiko burst out in laughter as Dia yelled at the top of her lungs.
"That's cruel!" She screamed over Yoshiko's laughter.
As the scene quieted down, Dia crossed her arms. She was contemplating walking out when Yoshiko spoke again.
"I do know that she does like you."
"I didn't come here to be assured of that."
"I don't need to look into the future to see it. It's in the way she looks at you."
Dia sighed, defeated. "I know."
"Then why were you interested in having your fortune told?"
"Because I was scared I was going to screw it up." Dia hugged her knees.
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
Yoshiko giggled. "You know each other well."
"But I've screwed it up before."
"When?" Yoshiko's voice softened.
"When we were just like you. We had our own idol group. We tried so hard…" Dia could feel her face burning and her throat choking up. "But we failed. Then Mari left… I thought she left for good. I thought she left because of me. Because I failed. I failed her." She could feel the tears beginning to well in her eyes. It was painful to bring up those memories of their hands piling up before their first live, frilled dresses, and their eager voices ready to sing.
"What happened?" Her palms became sweaty as she witnessed Dia's voice break.
"It was empty." Her voice was low and shook as tears began to fall down her cheek. The echo of the empty auditorium resonated in her head. The look on Mari's face as she stared at the empty seats- it broke Dia's heart.
"The auditorium?" There was sympathy in her voice.
Dia didn't answer. She took a deep breath and let go of her knees. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You care about her a lot. You should show her how much you care."
"What if I fail again?"
"She won't give up on you." Their eyes met, and they both smiled lightly.
"Thanks, Yoshiko."
