Wheel of Fortune
Reading 10: Seven of Coins (Upright)
"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out
and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."
-Bruce Lee
Mei Shirakawa was quiet throughout the trip out of the hospital. Being picked up by these strange people—who went by the names of Yomi and Yusuke Jojima—only made her apprehensive. Who were these people? And why did they know her name? She needed to consult with her tarot deck to figure out the best phase of action. She had no idea what Renenutet was up to, and a part of her didn't even want to know what the gigantic serpent had in store.
Lightly shuffling her tarot deck from her purse as to not disturb these strange people, Mei drew a card from the very bottom of the deck and looked at it curiously. It was upright, with a man wielding a hoe in his hand, staring at his work in the garden. Growing from a large bush were seven golden coins marked with stars.
"A Seven of Coins..." She thought. "Even though I've done so much hard work, I might not gain the success I want right now. All I have to do is wait...but I've already done so much waiting! How long am I going to sit here being tortured by waiting for something good to happen?!"
Mei snarled and placed her head into her hands. No matter what she did, all she could do was sit in the sidelines. Why couldn't she actually do something that was useful? For the past few days, she's been sent into slumber by the Aries Zodiarts, heard voices in her head, learned that her 'best friends' were hired hands by the man who caused all of this madness, her parents didn't care about her at all when she was in the hospital, Jiro was dead, and she was now contracted to an ancient serpent. She hated it—why did she have to suffer? Who was causing her so much pain and misery?
"Mei-chan," said Yusuke, turning around. "Are you all right?"
"I don't know," Mei replied. "I've been feeling upset at my path in life and I don't know whether or not I'm going to have a happy ending. I mean...my life's been in complete turmoil and I just can't guide myself to the future I want."
"Just calm down," said Yomi. "Everything will work out in the end."
"How can you say that?! You didn't have parents who didn't care about you at all! You didn't have friends who only were your friends for a simple paycheck! You didn't see someone die by your own best friend!" Mei placed her head in her hands and yelled, "HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH A THING WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH?!"
Both Jojimas stared at each other as Mei continued to sob. The crying continued as the three traveled to the Jojima residence.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Renenute stared at her handiwork. Lying before her were the soulless bodies of Ros and Guil. In a few minutes, their bodies would erode into sand and their existence would be all but forgotten. If anyone tried to see their face, they would only see blank slates. If someone tried to recall their names, it would always be on the tip of their tongues (but then again, they were always called Ros and Guil so it wasn't that difficult to remember). Besides, it looked like no one cared for them in the first place...so why should she care about them?
However, even with karma paying its due, she frowned. She didn't find what she was looking for in those two guys. Perhaps she had to try a different approach as to find it.
"They said something about a mother," Renenutet noted, closing her eyes. "Perhaps if I can locate her, then I can probably find the key. I want to see you again, Macupo...how long has it been since we told fortunes to the little ones?" She sighed. "I just want to see your face once more..."
Knowing that she wasn't going to find answers by staying in Ros and Guil's old apartment, she transformed into her disguise as Madame Pollux and walked out, closing the door behind her.
0-0-0-0-0
Mei entered the Jojima residence and smelled a warm stew cooking away. While Yusuke Jojima went to the kitchen to see how it was cooking, Yomi Jojima dragged Mei up the stairs and into the bedroom. Mei looked around, seeing photos of the happy couple all dressed up in elaborate costumes. They even had some with a young girl with long black hair and a big smile on her face.
"Is that..." Mei began. Yomi turned to a large picture of her, her husband and the girl all dressed in the colors of Mardi Gras.
"That girl's my daughter, Yuki," Yomi explained. "She's staying at a friend's house to go over some stuff for her Kyoto trip tomorrow."
"Oh..." Mei said. "She came to visit me at my school a few days ago."
"Eh! She did? How was it?"
"It was...a very interesting day." Mei sat down on the bed and balled her hands into fists. "There was so much that happened that it's hard to recall at them in one sitting."
"It was on that day that Gentaro-kun died," Yomi replied, picking up a photo on her vanity dresser. This one depicited a young boy and girl dressed as an English King and Queen wielding scepters and bags filled with candy. "Yuki hasn't been the same after that. The two had been best friends since kindergarten, and she blames herself for not being able to stop the attacker from landing the killing blow."
"Anyone would blame themselves for not taking action." Mei thought to herself, recalling how she watched her inverted IV The Emperor played out for Gentaro. "And because of that, others blame them for just standing there doing nothing."
"I hope Yuki will be able to understand that it wasn't her fault," Yomi continued. A tear fell down her eye as she set the photo frame down. "But...life goes on, and we must learn to live with what fate has given us."
"And tarot is just a way of telling us the resources..." Mei thought to herself. "I just want to use them to give me happiness..."
"Aha!" said Yomi, opening her large wardrobe. She pulled out a white and powder blue dress from its hangar and presented it to Mei. "Put this one."
"But why?" asked Mei.
"It's to go with tonight's French dinner!" Yomi answered. "Now hurry! Your father's preparing the dessert while we speak!"
"What are we having for dessert...mother?" Mei felt hesitant in calling a complete stranger her mother, but it fit for some reason. She was being part of something, instead of tossed aside for work.
"It's a surprise, dear," Yomi chuckled. "Now, let's get dressed."
Mei nodded her head as she removed her hospital gown and began to dress up.
0-0-0-0-0-0-
Twenty minutes later, Mei was walking downstairs in a white and powder blue dress with a matching feathered hat, and fanning herself with an elegant fan edged with lace. Yomi was by her side, praising her in French while Mei could only nod her head in agreement. Yusuke was already at the table, ladling bowls of beef stew for his wife and 'daughter'. Mei's stomach grumbled loudly—the food looked so delicious.
"Mei!" said Yomi, lightly tapping the back of Mei's head with her fan. "Control your hunger! We shall eat soon enough!"
Mei nodded her head as she reached the dining room and sat down on her chair. Served in front of her was a large pot of beef stew, something that looked similar to star-shaped biscuits, slices of baguettes, and a plate full of colorful macaroons. Everything was so delicious...
"Now Mei," said Yomi, taking a baguette slice into her hand. "Do you have anything to ask us?"
"I do, actually..." Mei sliced a piece of beef and placed it to her lips. After she finished eating it, she asked, "Why are you treating me like I was your own daughter? I mean...you have one already..."
"I guess it is strange that someone in a fancy costume picks you up and takes you to their house," said Yusuke. "Well, Yomi and I do this for a living. We're part of a rental service and..."
"WHAT?!" Mei felt her anger boil—those words reminded her of Yamada's twisted love for her, and how Ros and Guil were only paid to be her friends. She didn't want to be with people who were paid to be friends and family...she'd rather die then let that happen!
"Mei, listen to us for a minute!" said Yomi. "We're from a non-profit organization called 'Engagement in Loneliness.' Many adults come and take care of children who have recently lost their parents or loved ones in tragic cases. In this case...you."
"A friend of yours called us and asked that we give you a nice warm dinner," Yusuke added. "She also went and contacted your grandparents to pick you up from this house."
"Really?" Mei was very close to her grandparents, seeing as she had no siblings. She hadn't seen them since for quite some time, so moving with them would be a refreshing change of pace. "That was...very kind of her."
"She's also agreed to take care of you as a Big Sister for the next couple of days," Yomi added, taking one of the star biscuits into her mouth. "Oh, and the biscuits are something called duchess potatoes. Try one out."
Mei nodded her head as she took one of the star shaped mashed potato bundle into her mouth. She smiled as she tasted the creaminess of the potatoes melt in her tongue.
"So Mei," said Yusuke. "How were your parents?"
"They...weren't interested in my troubles," Mei answered back, folding her napkin into squares. "They were busy with their work and didn't even realize I was sick. They slapped me when I was hospitalized and my mother dropped me at the hospital and drove off without me."
"How long has this been happening?" asked Yomi.
"For about the past few years actually. Usually they'd leave me alone if I left them alone, but honestly I don't care that they're dead. They're not going to get sympathy from me when it comes to cremating them."
"But they still raised you," said Yusuke. "That should count as something. They were the ones who helped pay for your clothes, food, tuition for school, etc. Even if they don't show the love that you want them to give you, if they had the time to do that...shouldn't you be thanking them?"
"I...I don't know." Mei ate more of the beef stew before continuing. "I mean...you don't just forgive people who hurt you, right? How can you do such a thing?"
"It's painful, but sometimes it's the best thing to do." Yomi noted. "But enough about that. We're all here to have a delicious dinner! So chin up, and we shall let you eat cake after all is said and done!"
Mei smiled and nodded her head. With her spirits renewed, she began to eat once more.
0-0-0-0-0-
After dinner was finished, and Mei was in some new clothes, she was in the living room, shuffling through her tarot deck. In front of her on the coffee table were three important cards: XXII The World (upright), the Three of Coins (upright) and XI Justice (inverted). They were giving her the most confusing of questions.
First, XXII The World represented her future. What type of change was she going to go through? Was it already there with her contract with Renenutet? Was she going to get something new in the following days? The problem with change is that it could be so subtle sometimes. You never know what you were going to expect until it slammed you right across the face.
The Three of Pentalces was Yamada's future card. He was going to be praised for his success...Mei wanted to rip that card into shreds when she drew it. Yamada Tatsumori, the Apostle of Sleep, the devil whose deal made Ryusei kill Gentaro was going to be rewarded. How was that even possible?
The last card was the Kamen Rider Club's future. What type of loss were they going to go through? Were they going to lose another loved one? And if so, who could it be?
Mei sighed as she tried to run different interpretations of the cards through her head. Since she barely had information on the Kamen Rider Club or Yamada, she couldn't create an accurate description as to what the deck was telling her. Even if she used her powers, well if she could call them that anyway, what would that do? It just gave her hints as to what would happen, but not accurate descriptions.
"Renenutet..." she thought to herself. "Where are you? What are you doing?"
Hearing no response from the Serpent in question, Mei just shook her head, gathered the cards on the table and shuffled her deck once more. Right now, she just needed to be alone more than ever.
Next time, while Mei tries to understand the cards of the future, Renenutet interacts with two boys who seem to possess the personalities of serpents she had in the past. It is through this encounter that the wheels of fate begin to turn once more.
To be continued in XI-XIII Death (Upright)