All right, here's the next chapter. Some things are going to go differently than originally planned, though none of you will catch on. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! And please review.
It was a mid-summer's day and Spiral was about to leave the hospital after recovering from his injuries. Spiral was lifting a part of his shirt up and taking a look at what remained of the wound, which seemed to have healed up nicely, the stitches all removed and almost looked like it was completely gone.
"Wow, I'm surprised how quickly that healed." Spiral said.
Valerie and Momo then walked in.
"You guys didn't have to pick me up, you know." Spiral told them.
"We just want to make sure you get back to the Academy safely." Momo said. "The Prophets tried to take your life while you were here and you never know if they'll try to attack you again."
"Eh, good point." Spiral said. "Although I wish I came back to school at a better time. Finals are coming up. I haven't been able to study for the last few days, so I'll have to borrow notes from one of you guys. Shroud will have the most accurate, but I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of pointless crap and written in a way that I might not understand."
"Oh yeah, don't remind me about finals." Valerie said.
"You don't even have to take them... not here, anyway." Spiral stated.
"I know, but I won't get to spend any time with you." Valerie said.
"But you'll be coming with us to the beach afterward." Spiral kneeled down and rubbed her head. "By the way, did you ask our 'other guests' if they wanted to come, too?"
"I didn't ask Sophie yet, but I did ask Karina." Valerie answered. "She wanted to stay here and look over Static while we're gone."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Momo exclaimed. "I should go out and get a new swimsuit!"
"Come on, everyone else is waiting." Valerie said.
Spiral just stood there motionless for a moment.
"Daddy, are you coming?" Valerie asked.
"Oh, right, coming." Spiral snapped out of his daze and left the room with the two girls.
Back at the Academy, Aura, Shroud, Naoto, Chan, Chun, Hikari, Takashi, Asuka, Lilith, Azusa, Kokoro and Eve were all in the student lounge, reviewing for their respective finals.
"So..." Naoto spoke up after looking at Shroud's notes. "How exactly do you get that answer? There's no step by step."
"I already know how to do this stuff, so I only write the steps when I absolutely have to, meaning school assignments." Shroud responded.
"Does anyone else have accurate notes that are easy to understand?" Naoto asked everyone.
"Sorry, but Takashi and I are in a different class AND a year below you guys." Azusa stated. "Different exams and all that."
"You can always look at mine, Naoto." Kokoro told him.
"Will your notes have lovey-dovey stuff scrawled all over it?" Eve questioned.
"No... I use a different notebook for that kind of stuff." Kokoro answered.
Spiral and Momo then entered the lounge.
"Hey, guess who's back?" Spiral asked as he entered the room.
Everyone greeted Spiral with a very positive welcome.
"How'd the stitch removal go?" Asuka asked.
"Well, to be honest I was a little scared of the doctors pulling tied up string out of my skin." Spiral responded. "Though their removal seemed to go quite smoothly."
"You know that beach vacation we're planning after school lets out?" Aura asked. "I managed to reserve rooms for us at Momohime Resort."
Takashi was drinking a can of soda, but when he heard that he immediately spat it out.
"Momohime Resort? !" Takashi exclaimed. "Are you freakin' rich or something? !"
"Yes, she is." Shroud interjected. "Her family earns somewhere between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge McDuck."
Eve had taken a bite out of a moon pie and started choking after hearing that last statement. Shroud immediately ran behind Eve and started applying the Heimlich maneuver, eventually causing Eve to cough out the piece of food she choked on and sent it flying across the room.
"... Ew." Hikari simply said.
"I don't get it." Lilith expressed. "How much money is that?"
"*cough, gasp* It's like billions of dollars a year." Eve answered.
"Holy crap!" Naoto shouted. "You mean for two years, Spiral's been living with billionaires? !"
"You really are a lucky bastard." Takashi added. "Anyway, I can't wait to see you girls in swimsuits."
"Do you think Sophie and Valerie will come, too?" Chan asked.
"I think Valerie is asking her right now." Spiral said. "We don't know anything about Sophie, but how can she say 'no' to a fascinating resort?"
"No." Sophie said.
Valerie and Sophie were in the secret library.
"Why?" Valerie asked. "It's not going to affect our time in any way."
"I don't know everything my family did before I was born, but there exists the possibility that they could be staying at that hotel during your father's stay." Sophie rebutted. "And I'm still mad that you let that slip out."
"They would find out eventually!" Valerie said. "I'm pretty sure when they faced against the Prophets, the beans would be spilled anyway! The only thing they know is that I'm Spiral's daughter in 26 years and that's it. When they pressed me to ask about my mom, I kept my mouth shut. Eve even wanted to take a sample of my DNA to scan."
"Did you give her DNA?"
"No."
"Did she pull out one of your hairs?"
"No."
"Did she keep a cup you had your mouth on?"
"... I don't know."
"Dammit, it's only a matter of time."
"And luck. I just hope she hasn't done that... or taken my DNA while I was sleeping. I mean, she knows we stay in here. Anyway, back to the original conversation, just come with us to the beach. It'll be a lot of fuuun."
"The answer is still 'no'."
Valerie thought for a moment before saying something. "When was the last time you had a break?"
"... I don't know. It's been a while... I see what you're doing."
"What?"
"We both know that stress can kill if one doesn't take the time to relax. And it has been quite some time since I last took a break... I mean, I spent most of my preadolescence working on my doctoral dissertation. And I have the Ph.D. to prove it."
"12 years old and you already have a Ph.D... You sure are something else."
"Now that I think about it, I didn't have that much time to relax whereas right now I can spend as much time as I want... Maybe it is time to 'kick back' for the first time in years. Very well then, I accept your invitation to the beach."
"All right!" Valerie jumped with joy. "... We should probably get swimsuits. I know Momo's planning to get some sometime this week."
"Doesn't she have final exams to study for?"
"Everyone needs to take a break from studying."
"It's true... my father didn't need to study a whole lot to do well. I get my brain from him... and my name."
"Yeah, your other siblings have Japanese names and you're all half-Japanese and half-white."
"... I do wonder what they're doing right now... Oh, wait, duh, time travel, when we head back we go to the original time and date we left from."
The next day, a little while after classes, Ms. Krystal was walking through the school's courtyard and stops when she notices Spiral sitting on a bench looking through a textbook and a notebook.
"You're quite the studious one, I see." Ms. Krystal said as she walked up to him.
Spiral turned his head to see Ms. Krystal walking up from behind him.
"Well, I'm always interested in learning new things." Spiral said. "Though at some point in my life, I'm going to need a job and the better I do in school, the better jobs that become available to me."
"I guess Shroud's rubbing off on you, huh?" Ms. Krystal commented.
"Actually, this is how I've always been." Spiral pointed out. "When I grew up with Momo, her family acted as our school... and when Aura took me in for two years, she let me come to her tutoring lessons with her."
"Sounds like you have some great friends." Ms. Krystal said. "I remember still remember hanging out with my friends a few years ago. We had a lot of great times together and I find myself wondering what they've been up to lately."
"... Can I ask you something a bit more personal?" Spiral asked.
"I don't know." Ms. Krystal said. "Only unless you really want to talk about. If it's uncomfortable for you, just let it go. I won't pry."
"Well... there's this girl-" Spiral was about to say.
"LOVE PROBLEMS?! Oh goodie!" Ms. Krystal said clapping as she took a seat right next to Spiral. "I mean-uh-I can help with that."
"To be honest... there are three girls."
"Wow! You're a womanizer? Who knew?"
"No, never. Nothing like that. I mean, at one point I had feelings for all three, but recently I realized who out of the three I wanted."
"Uh-huh." Ms. Krystal rested her head over her hand and listened carefully.
"The problem is I don't know how the other girls might take it. I'm afraid that if I finally admit these feelings, they'll be hurt. And that's the last thing that I want. I don't like seeing anybody get hurt. Especially if it's caused by me. I'm not sure what I should do."
Ms. Krystal nodded. "Suck it up."
Spiral stared at her with confusion. "Wha-what?"
"Be a man!" Ms. Krystal said. "Suck it up and get on with it."
"That's...not the advice I was hoping to hear."
"Oh I'm sorry, were you hoping for advice on how to make everyone happy and live happily ever after?" Ms. Krystal asked. Her mocking tone felt insulting. "Spiral, there is no way out of this without someone getting a broken heart. The best thing for you to do is talk to these girls and hope that they are mature enough to understand. They might not like it, but the world is like that."
"Wow, that's depressing." Spiral said. "I'm not so sure about any of this now."
Ms. Krystal stretched her arms out and held them behind her head. "Ya know?" Ms. Krystal said. "I can relate to your little love square."
"...How so?" Spiral asked.
Ms. Krystal looked up at the sky and saw a white, fluffy cloud. "Well three girls loved one guy. One girl stayed close to him and eventually married him. One accidentally kissed him, caused a lot of confusion for her feelings. But the third girl...she never told him. From the moment they met, the girl had a crush on him, but she knew he was meant for one of the other girls, so she never interfered. She always regrets not making a move...but in way...she's also happy she didn't."
"...Ms...Ms. Krystal?" Spiral interrupted. "How will this help my problem?"
Ms. Krystal chuckled. "It doesn't." She said. "I'm just sharing my personal experience with you."
"Well which of the girls were you?" Spiral asked.
Ms. Krystal turned her head and smiled at him "I could tell you." she said. "But then I'll have to kiss you."
Spiral fell off the bench. Ms. Krystal laughed at his reaction as he got up, holding his nose.
"It's 'I'll have to KILL you' not 'I'll have to KISS you!" Spiral said.
"Not the way I do it sweetie." Ms. Krystal said with a wink. She sat up from the bench and looked at him. "Good luck with your girls." She then turned to walk away.
"Wait." Spiral said stopping her. "You said that one girl married that guy. What happend to the other two?"
"One married his brother. As for the other..." Ms. Krystal answered. Then she turnd around with a bright smile. "Every year that guy has a Christmas at his house. The girl goes every year and always-ALWAYS catches him under the mistletoe."
Ms. Krystal walked away and Spiral scratched his head.
Back in the student lounge, everyone had gathered to study again.
"Takashi, no." Azusa said.
"What harm can it do?" Takashi questioned.
"You're not going to cheat by putting cheat sheets underneath your clothes!" Azusa scolded.
"Why should it matter as long as I know the answers?" Takashi asked.
"It spits in the face of academic honesty." Shroud stated. "Eve, help me out here."
Eve said nothing, though. In fact, she didn't respond at all.
"Eve?" Shroud tried to get her attention.
"... Huh..." Eve muttered.
"You've been acting strange." Shroud said. "Are you ill?"
"Huh? No." Eve answered. "I'm just... thinking is all. Minds like ours are always trying to figure out how the universe functions."
(Begin Flashback)
Eve was in her home's bedroom, placing a strand of hair in a machine's console.
"That was too easy." Eve said. "Taking Valerie's towel after she dried herself off from her bath was genius. Now... to figure out who the mother is by matching her strand of hair with the Spiral's prospective suitors."
Eve pressed several keys on her computer and several things came up.
"... Well this is strange... It won't read the DNA in her hair... Very interesting..."
(End Flashback)
*I wonder...* Eve thought. *It might be possible that because Valerie exists in our time, her final DNA structure is still yet to be determined. I guess the only way we'll be able to find out now is by waiting for it to happen in the present.*
"Come on, Eve, focus!" Shroud spoke. "The final exams start tomorrow! I know you're almost as brilliant as I am, but we still need to study to review the necessary materials!"
"R... right..." Eve responded.
The following week, all of the students took their exams. Some students found them easy, some found them fairly challenging... others thought it was God's or Buddha's way of punishing them. At the end of the following week, the scores were finally posted up. Spiral and his friends were standing in front of the board where the test scores were posted.
"Let's see..." Spiral mumbled. "Where is our class?"
"Found it!" Shroud said. "Not surprising I have the highest score."
"Look again." Eve pointed at the board again.
Shroud looked at the board and noticed that Eve's name was right under his... tied for first.
"What was that BS about 'I'm not as smart as you'?" Eve asked with a smirk.
"Where's your score, Spiral?" Aura asked.
"In the top 10." Spiral said. "Along with you girls."
"Eh, I'm right below that." Naoto said. "Hey, Kokoro's tied with me."
"How'd you do Asuka?" Spiral inquired.
"Not like you guys, that's for sure." Asuka responded.
Aura looked closely at the board. "But it seems you managed to at least pass your exams. That's good."
"I guess the only score we've yet to see is Lilith's." Spiral assumed. Spiral took a look at the posting and the expression on his face changed completely. "... You got the lowest score in the class?"
"Yep." Lilith said without a care in the world.
"You do realize that means you'll have to go to summer school, right?" Eve asked.
"What's 'summer school'?" Lilith asked.
"It means instead of taking a vacation, you have to take the class over during the summer to make up for the poor grade." Spiral answered. "I guess this means you won't be going to the beach with us."
"... Why didn't anyone tell me this?!" Lilith asked.
"The principal should have told you when she enrolled you here." Eve stated.
Azusa and Takashi come by.
"Hey, guys." Takashi greeted. "How're your scores?"
"Everyone seemed to do well." Momo answered.
"Except for Lilith." Hikari added.
"How did you guys do?" Spiral asked.
"That's why we're here." Azusa told them.
Azusa and Takashi looked at the posting and found their class.
"There I am!" Azusa exclaimed. "I'm... the top score?!"
"Wow! That's amazing, Azusa!" Spiral congratulated.
"And I seriously lucked out." Takashi said with a false grin. "I have the lowest score of all the passing students in my class. But hey, at least I passed and I get to see you girls in swimsuits! Man, I can't wait!"
"Yeah, I can't wait for the trip either." Spiral expressed before thinking. *And it'll be there that I'll finally let her know that she's the one.*
English Voice Cast
Todd Haberkorn Spiral
Lisa Ortiz Valerie
Cassandra Lee Sophie
Monica Rial Momo
Alexis Tipton Aura
Laura Bailey Hikari
Yuri Lowenthal Naoto
Maxey Whitehead Shroud
Luci Christian Eve
Christine Marie Cabanos Azusa
Johnny Yong Bosch Takashi
Karen Strassman Kokoro
Caitlin Glass Asuka
Wendee Lee Ms. Krystal
Cherami Leigh Lilith
Alison Viktorin Chan/Chun
Preview
Takashi: I can't wait! The girls will all be in swimsuits! It'll be a dream come true! And Ms. Krystal's coming along, too! I bet her swimsuit will be the best of all!
Naoto: I have a girlfriend. I have a girlfriend. I have a girlfriend.
Spiral: I do hope this trip goes well.
Naoto: Of course it will go well. How could it go wrong?
Spiral: It's just... it's just this weird feeling I have. Next time on Arcana of Fate, Spiral's Choice.
Takashi: At least come for the girls in swimsuits! You won't regret it!
Chan and Chun's Comedy Corner
A curtain opens and reveals Chan and Chun standing on a stage in front of a microphone.
Chan: Sorry about last time. My sister went ballistic on me.
Chun: You deserved it.
Chan: Anyway, since we passed out exams in the top 5 in our class, I say we do a academic achievement joke. And boy, do I got one.
Chun: ... *whispers to audience* This might not be good, people...
Chan: What do you call a graduate student who falls down a hill? ... An 'On a roll'...
Chun: ... I don't get it.
Chan: The actual term is 'honor roll', but I used a play on words to make a joke.
Chun: ... It's still not funny.
Chan: Everyone's a critic.
Chun: I'm sorry for the disappointment, people. Good night and we'll have better jokes next time.