In My Life- Back from the dead with a two-part installment!
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Shorter days were just what the bar-goers of Mineral Town looked forward to each year, because as soon as the sun went down, the glasses went up. And on Fall 5th, the bar-goers were drinking each other under the tables. At least, a half-way decent excuse for their excess drinking could be a competition.
Cliff darted his way around tables with an empty tray at his side, quickly holding out the tray once he reached the bar counter for Ann to slide a few drinks down his way.
"The Duke bellows for more," Cliff grumbled irritably. "He also called you a wench."
"Let him," Ann replied with a half shrug. "He's drunk."
"And what do we do with him when he conks out?" Cliff asked, quickly snatching up the drinks and arranging them on the tray.
"Makoto can take him home."
Ann turned to the beer tap, oblivious to Cliff's silence. Once she turned back, Cliff was ready.
"Ugh..." he groaned. "Ann, Makoto's not even here!"
"He isn't?" Ann asked , eyes darting up at the clock and back. "Fine, forget him." She groaned. "People don't even start getting drunk until about..."
"WEEEE-ENCH!" Duke called out.
"...Nine." Another groan. "I'm an hour ahead of schedule, damnit."
As Ann went back to fill more mugs at the beer tap, Cliff groaned and picked up his tray and dragged himself back to his subordinate duties. The only thing that managed to grab Ann's attention was the garbled shattering off all the beer mugs Cliff had with the strained yelp he let out once he crashed into the floor.
She dreaded turning around, debating whether someone had passed out and poor Cliff tripped over the pisser or if Cliff just wasn't a very good busboy. Finally, she sucked in a sharp breath and spun around, only to see Cliff propped up on his chin and flat on his stomach and Duke sitting over him with his left leg extended, laughing like a moped engine.
Cliff buried his face in one palm and silently drummed his fingers on the floor, waiting for the roaring laughter that burst out all around the Inn to subside. And in a delayed reaction, Ann jumped up onto the bar counter, nearly taking off a surprised Basil's head with her steel-toed boots.
"Everybody... OUT!!!" she roared, instantly hushing everyone. She stood there for a few moments, her face turning redder with every breath, and she couldn't believe what she did.
But everyone else sighed in discontent, shuffling and grumbling and stumbling over chairs on their way out. Once the last of them cleared out and Cliff was back on his feet, Ann hopped off the counter with a disheartened groan and went to get a broom.
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"Jeez," Makoto grunted flatly, and Ann let out a long sigh.
"If my dad was here, that wouldn't've happened," she lamented, flinging her coaster aside. "I should've just closed at six like he said and not tried to take on the bar crowd by myself, or put Cliff in that situation..." Cliff rubbed her shoulder gently.
The three hung around in what seemed to be a perpetual state of nothingness, silence, until the slow clicking from the front door shook them out of it.
Three sets of eyes fell on a dripping wet Doug once he stepped into the room, his orange hair matted to his head and his shirt stuck to his arms. He managed to bring about five gallons of water with him, and all of that dripped from his clothes alone.
It wasn't raining out either, but Ann didn't care. She toppled the chair as she scrambled to her feet, barely giving her father time to react when she flung her arms around him. He caught her embrace, and it seemed that it wouldn't break.
-----
Everything was back in order at the bar the next night, with everyone getting drunk in moderation and the rowdiness maintain as gruff garbles of small talk and glasses clanking around.
No one took much notice when Karen walked into the bar. She had a long board draped under a black cloth, making her way to the counter with a restrained smirk about to burst out all over her face. Ann was just turning around from the beer tap when their eyes met, Karen standing over the counter with the board held out for Ann to see.
"What's that?" Ann asked, fizzing glass in hand. She slid it down the counter at Basil absentmindedly, somehow caught up in the vibes of the draped object. Not even the crashing of the glass on the far wall broke her out of it.
"Yeech!" Basil exclaimed. "Broken glass!"
Ann poked her head in further to examine it, barely grazing the cloth with her fingers.
"Do you wanna see it?" Karen asked, her smile becoming even more mischievous. Ann turned back up to nod, and Karen motioned with her head to the door leading to the back rooms of the Inn, where Ann's bedroom was located.
Without any realization, Ann found herself sitting across from Karen on the wooden floor of her minimally decorated bedroom, watching her friend casually lean herself against the bed and the wall as she yanked the black draping off the board.
"What the hell is that?" Ann asked, arching her eyebrows.
It was a washed beige rectangular piece of wood, and it was very plain and undecorated. Carved into it was each letter of the alphabet, followed underneath by numbers zero through ten, and then followed by GOODBYE in capital letters. The simple carvings were thick and painted over in black ink, with OUIJA painted up top and flanked on either side by YES and NO.
"What do you think, Ann?" Karen asked slyly, reaching into the inside pocket of her purple windbreaker. She pulled out and brandished a triangular piece of carved wood with a convex lens planted in the middle, the planchette, finally placing it centered on the word OUJIA. "You know how long I've wanted to get my hands on this, and it was sitting in my basement."
Feeling once again prompted to touch it, Ann barely ran her hands over each carved letter, almost cautiously.
"My parents never wanted to see this thing again," Karen continued. "From what they said, the first and last time they used it was on a harvest moon. They went to the cemetery with all our folks to use it."
Ann tried her hardest but couldn't fathom an image of her father, clean shaven and playing with a Ouija board at around seventeen years old.
"They never told me, but supposedly it scared the crap out of them. Especially my dad."
Ann briefly turned her attention to her bureau, where a picture of her parents on their wedding day stood. Her father had long hair tied into a tail, and a silver ring piercing on his left ear.
She still couldn't picture him playing with a Ouija board.
"Night of the harvest moon," Karen announced, pointing at Ann. "Town square. Eight P.M" She let out another sly smile. "And round up a group. A Ouija board's more fun with a group."
Ann sighed.
"I dunno... I don't think I can see Elli or Makoto or Gray or any of them playing with this," she said, and with that Karen smirked.
"I've got Rick roped in, just you watch. Then Popuri's gonna want to tag along, she loves this stuff. Mary's gonna want to see this too, and there goes Gray with her. Watch."
Ann gave a half-nod, but started up again.
"What about...?"
"You drag Cliff... duh," Karen cut in. "Elli shouldn't be too hard to get. Either you can ask her or threaten Makoto to go somehow when you rope Cliff in."
"You think Makoto ask her out?" Ann asked incredulously.
"Well he did in the summer, to the fireworks festival," Karen informed her. "I think." She thought about it for a moment, and let out a quick laugh. "Now isn't that a stretch? I just wish he'd get his act together and admit how he feels already."
Ann chuckled.
"So that's why you've started annoying him about her," she smirked.
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"I don't know why she started annoying me about her," Makoto muttered from under the windowsill.
Makoto and Cliff were lounging around in their room when Cliff, comfortably stretched out on the bed in a nook between the mattress and the wall, decided to bring up Makoto's unrequited love.
"You hate to love talking about this, don't you?" Cliff asked, idly strumming his guitar.
With his sideways glare, Makoto let out a low growl in Cliff's direction.
"If you want to keep your other eye, you'd shut up."
Cliff nodded Makoto's threat off, not even breaking his playing.
"Hey!" Ann exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. "Let's go ask the guys right now!"
"Good idea!" Karen replied with a nod, stretching out her numb legs a bit before getting up.
"It's simple," Makoto grumbled. "I have my reasons for not telling her."
Cliff gave a half shrug and let out a sigh. It was the first time he broke off his strumming since he started.
"Fine... I'll leave you alone about it," he replied, slowly picking up his strumming again.
With a soft sigh, Makoto slowly spun around and sprawled himself on the floor flat on his back. Cliff watched him stare blankly into nothing from his bed, but a quick rapping on the door jolted the both of them. Without even time to react though, Karen and Ann burst into the room.
"You know, we could've been making out or something," Cliff piped up, setting his guitar aside. Makoto grunted an incomprehensible monosyllabic word from the floor, not even getting up.
"Lovely," Karen said quickly. "Anyway, let's get down to it. You've got yourselves plans for the Harvest Festival night."
"You've got that right!" Cliff replied with a broad smile in Ann's direction that got her to smirk back.
"Yeah, but we're taking a detour first, Cliffie," Ann informed him through her smile, leaning up against the door frame with her arms folded. "Nod and like it, or watch your meals from now on."
The wince Cliff let out was enough to ensure that he surrendered. He set a quick glance in Makoto's direction and said:
"Unlike you, Ann doesn't bluff."
He only managed a groan out of Makoto, and Karen continued.
"Makoto, you're coming too," she told him curtly. "And ask Elli...that is if you can muster up the courage."
"First off, you could be inviting me to a saucy puppet show for all I know," he muttered without even looking at her. "Second, you make it sound like I'm frightened of her. Jeez."
"I am," Cliff piped up.
"Shove it, bard," Makoto shot back. With a groan he dragged himself to his feet, hovering over Karen with his arms folded. "Time. Place. Now."
"Eight. Cemetery. Be there," Karen replied just as curtly. Makoto took it and nodded, but had one more question.
"Err… when is the Harvest Festival?"
------
It seemed that over the span of one night, more leaves were falling and the temperature was quickly dropping. A lot of townsfolk were taking turns decorating the town square for the Harvest Festival, and no one was safe trying to nonchalantly pass through without being asked to hold a ladder, help pitch a tarp, or cart boxes of cheesy novelty prizes from Mayor Thomas's house to the square.
Makoto managed to avoid doing any work by walking Ein, and that was a valid enough excuse for everyone to leave him alone.
Except Karen.
"So," she started, almost showing up next to Makoto out of nowhere. "Why are you walking the dog?"
"Ein," Makoto corrected, shoving his free hand in the pocket of his hooded sweater.
They turned the corner, passing the library.
"Okay, it's Ein, but you have a farm you can let him out on, you know," Karen stated, kicking a pebble.
Makoto rolled his eyes.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," he muttered. He let Ein stop for a minute to sniff around, and the dog seemed interested in the yellow pinwheel jammed askew next to Mary's family's mailbox.
"I'm working on my impeccable timing," he admitted. A chilly breeze swept right past them, and Karen shivered a bit before she continued.
"That's the way," she nodded, just as Ein instantly lost interest in the pinwheel.
They continued for a while in silence, all except for Makoto discreetly rehearsing what he was going to say. Ein wanted to stop at least every two steps and repeat his procedure, but it gave Makoto enough time.
Finally, he stopped on a suitable patch of grass.
"I'll let you go now, Farmer Boy," Karen said quickly, but her attention was gradually drawn downwards. "And by the way…"
"What?"
"I hope you brought a bag."
And as suddenly as she had shown up, she was gone. Makoto dismissed her and turned to look at Ein.
"Not on her yard!" he snapped. "Don't you have any respect??"
"Makoto!"
He let out a yelp in reply as he instinctively shoved Ein out of the way with his foot. And just as Elli approached him, he was sitting down untying his shoelaces with Ein buzzing around next to him.
"Hi Elli," he said with a feeble wave, now tying up his laces. "Tying my shoes."
"I see," she said with a sweet smile. She looked over at Ein, and then back to Makoto. For a moment that Makoto watched her, she looked as if she was about to say something.
"Ummm…" Makoto could barely get past that, feeling his jaw lock up.
"What's the matter?" Elli asked, and Makoto felt she right on the verge of saying "You smell like dog shit." She was trying her hardest to keep a casual face, and finally managed to stifle it after taking a deep breath.
Makoto shook his head, still looking up at her. Finally, he shifted his glance away, focusing on a small rock by his left foot, up at the colorless sky, and back down at the rock.
"Yeah…" Makoto finally managed to choke out. "You… should get back to work."
Elli glanced at her watch, nodding quickly.
"Wow… you're right," she said in an exaggerated manner. "I'm running late!"
She gave Makoto a warm parting smile as she headed off, and Makoto watched her leave. As soon as she was out of sight, Makoto jumped to his feet and scraped up enough dirt to cover the remnants of Ein's dirty work. Then on the same burst of energy he ran back to Strawberry Fields, with Ein bounding around far behind.
But he was all except defeated. A few hours later with a new pair of jeans on and his other ones in the wash, Makoto briskly made his way through the town square. He felt the trepidation rattling right down to his knees and straight up, pinching the back of his neck.
Meanwhile, it was almost closing time after a slow day at the clinic. Elli was done sorting everything away, and could've been done five times over. Instead, she hovered outside of the Doctor's office, watching him shut inside his work.
She flashed quick smile, and was off without him noticing. On her way to the door, she grabbed her coat from the tall rack behind the counter, putting it on as she was reaching for the doorknob only to have it open before she could get her fingers on it.
Makoto stood in the doorway, his hair chaotically whipped out of place from the chilly evening wind and his cheeks tinged.
"Ummm… can I walk you home?" he immediately asked. Elli wasted no time agreeing.
"Of course. I'd love that!"
They were walking at a leisure pace side-by-side, both of them serenely silent. Not only gusts of wind were the only voices around them, and they halted at a group of whispering shrubs. For a moment, they exchanged arched eyebrows and slight frowns at each other.
"Hmmm… I hope there are no voyeurs out here tonight," Elli began, rolling her eyes and shooting a glare at the bush.
Makoto quickly nodded.
"Yeah," he said, turning his gaze from the bush to look Elli in the face. "I wouldn't want our privacy violated." He looked back over at the bush with a disapproving stare. "Karen... and random accomplice."
"It's me!" Popuri piped up, sticking her head out from the bushes with a jaunty smile. But with a muffled slap from Karen, she let out a yelp and hid back in the bush. She was still on all fours when she cursed out Karen.
"You bitch!"
Makoto and Elli exchanged groans.
"Let's go," Elli said, and Karen stuck her tongue out at them before they left. But this time, Elli wasted no time in silence.
"Makoto, I wanted to ask you something," she said, and the two stopped in front of the front lawn of her house, looking up into his eyes.
Makoto was briefly baffled, but gave her a single nod.
"Come moon viewing with me tomorrow night."
A look of disbelief spread all over Makoto's face, and the nervousness pounded erratically in his stomach. He just stared at Elli, who maintained a somewhat cooler expression than him, and he even dismissed the blush on her face as a result for being outside in the cold.
But even Elli was wringing her hands together, waiting for Makoto to reply, and the feeling was creeping up to her face. Thoughts spun around in her head, and hindsight was the only thing that could better phrase her request.
"You really want to go with me?" Makoto asked, leaving Elli somewhere between amused and a little flustered.
"Yes, Makoto," she said with a lopsided grin. Makoto kept staling, but slowly nodded.
"Okay," he said flatly, his eyes calm. "But I was going to ask you."
"I thought you were," Elli immediately replied, and Makoto's face quickly twitched upon hearing that. She wanted to swallow her tongue for that one, but she managed to shake out of it.
"Okay now, we'll have plenty of time to talk while we're inside," she covered, playfully tugging Makoto's right arm. The farmer boy arched his eyebrow at her, taking awkward steps down the stone path of her lawn. "Grandma wants you for dinner tonight."
"I'll get in the oven," Makoto deadpanned, finally able to walk straight since Elli let go of his arm.
"Thanks for cooperating," Elli replied. "Grandma's been itching for borsch for the longest time."
"Add tofu and corn... serve over white rice," Makoto added.
They reached the door, and Elli smiled warmly at Makoto as he held it open for her.
"Dinner was great, but now I'm having second thoughts about Elli. She asked me to go moon viewing with her, completely beat me to it. Now I'm not sure if I should keep holding back."
--From Makoto's Journal
Makoto started his next day very early while the sky was still pale. Soon he would be able to move back into his house, but Gotz was still working on the last touches. After he was done with his work for the day, he and Cliff managed to get some lounging around into their schedules.
The day came and went, and the time for everyone to meet up in the graveyard was drawing near. Suffice to say Makoto was a little baffled for find Elli wrapped up in her coat and waiting for him at the outside entrance of the Inn. Even she broke out a pair of jeans and old brown boots to go sit in the mud for hours.
Cliff and Ann got a head start on their walk, and Makoto was last out the door. He turned to Elli, folding his arms over his chest.
"I was gonna pick you up," Makoto said flatly, and Elli gave him a half shrug.
"Yeah, but Karen wanted to come here with me," she replied. "Miss Van Pelt's on a pow-wow craze today... she even charged me for her advice." Makoto noticed her face was crimsoned again, even more than the night before.
Makoto looked her in the face, his shady, piercing eyes causing Elli to halfway cover up her face with her right hand.
"Something wrong?" he asked. "What'd she ask you?"
"No... Nothing really," she assured him with a sheepish smile. Snapping back out of it, she straightened out and continued. "Anyway, she wants to pow-wow with you, so I'll get a move on and meet you there, okay? She'll be back with Rick and Popuri soon."
And with that, she gave him long parting wave as she walked away. Makoto sent a one handed wave back, lasting until a firm grip clamped him on the shoulder from behind, and he knew who it was before he spun to meet Karen in the face.
Rick and Popuri were just coming up from behind, with Rick carrying a large, brown paper bag in his left hand reluctantly holding out a water bottle to his little sister with his right. Once she took her gulp and handed it back to Rick, he wiped the rim with his palm briskly before forcing himself to take a tiny sip.
Neither Karen nor Makoto spoke while Rick and Popuri were around. Karen's eyes sparked as she mentally prepared her eloquent talk with the farmer boy, while Makoto remained stone-faced. They waited behind as Rick and Popuri got a long head start, with Rick muttering under his breath.
"Always about Makoto... making me take this stupid board..."
But Karen dismissed him with a huff, and gave Makoto a nudge to get him to start walking. They were moving so languidly that it seemed the trees and houses around them came to a stand-still.
"You know I've got my reasons for not telling her," Makoto finally began, his hands in sweater pockets. "And... you're not charging me for any advice."
Karen knew it. She gritted her molars as Makoto began gaining the upper hand.
"And now you're pushing Elli at me too," he continued. "Look, if she likes the Doctor, that fine with me."
"You don't mean that."
But Makoto was revving himself up.
"Yes. I. Do," he retorted. He felt every joint in his fingers locking up from inside his pockets, and every nerve and vein being pinched in the back of his neck. "The worst thing I could do is let her down. So if she likes the Doctor, fine." He quickly turned on the balls of his feet to make his escape.
But he was barely done with the motion when Karen instinctively grabbed his arm and gave him a firm tug. For a moment, the two were brought face to face, and a brief tension hung in the air around them.
"Makoto, if you honestly think that nobody's going to keep you around here come two and a half years, you're wrong," she half sighed, half spurted out as she looked endearingly Makoto in the eyes, almost waiting for him to retaliate.
But he didn't.
"H-how'd you know?" he barely managed to sputter out. Karen didn't break her gaze for one second, and it was dawning on Makoto. "Did Elli... does she think I feel that way?"
Karen nodded solemnly.
"Well..." Makoto sighed. "She was the one who asked me out tonight. On one hand, I think she really wanted to go with me, but then she could just have me as a last resort." He hung his head low, muttering inaudibly under a sigh.
They were rounding the church, the graveyard just behind it. Karen was about to defend Elli when Makoto caught her off guard in a hushed voice.
"Karen... No more excuses."
And she was taken aback, either hard of hearing or in complete disbelief.
"Huh? What'd you say?"
Makoto looked her in the eyes, nodding.
"No more excuses, Karen," he repeated. "I'm going to tell her." He saw that she completely bowled over by his decision, on the verge of questioning him. So he continued.
"You're right. There's no reason for me to have to leave. If I want to stay here, I'll work my ass off, and it'll all be for her." He paused, gathering his next words in his mind. "And... her grandmother told me one time that I shouldn't have to live with the regret of not telling her." A resolute expression solidified on his face, leaving Karen speechless.
"And if she doesn't like me back, fine. At least I did it, and I'll have nothing to regret."
They arrived at a clearing in the graveyard, where everyone was already waiting and groaning once Karen and Makoto showed up. Retorting, she stuck out her tongue at everyone as she walked up to a very pallid Rick. Rick let out a groan himself, but more of a sickened, resigned groan, before holding out the bag with one arm for Karen to take.
"What's the matter Rick?" she asked as she took the bag, immediately breaking eye contact to dig. He squeaked in reply, only to receive an oblivious nod from her from the verge of falling in the bag. Finally, she fished out a black cloak, tossing it over her shoulder to Makoto.
"I thought it looked cool, but since it's nearly six feet long, you're the only one who can wear it," she offhandedly explained with a shrug. Makoto let the cloak drop, holding it by the hood and staring at it analytically.
"Put it on, Mackie," Karen snapped. She pulled out the draped object she brought to the Inn a few nights ago and carelessly tossed aside the bag.
He groaned and slipped the cloak over his head, turning to his flank to give Elli a lopsided frown from under the hood. She shrugged in reply, and then reached up to pull it off for him.
"That's better," she commented.
Karen was already on her knees with the draped board sitting in front of her, and everyone else followed suite one-by-one. Once she saw they were all settled in the most comfortable positions they could wriggle themselves into, she wasted no time revealing the Ouija board.
Gray had no idea what it was, Mary's heart jumped up to her throat, Popuri was completely engrossed in it, Karen was very laid back, holding the planchette in one hand and leaning back on the other, Rick was nearly choking on his tongue, Ann and Cliff exchanged shrugs, and Makoto and Elli did the same.
"Karen... you're not supposed play with this in a graveyard," Mary admonished her in a low voice.
"Karen, I already told you I'm not participating in a séance," Rick huffed, folding his arms. He waited for Karen to reply, but she stalled a bit as she placed the planchette on the board.
"This isn't a séance, it's an experiment," she corrected, looking up at him. Rick let out another huff, mumbling something under his breath.
"Not a séance... my ass..."
"Karen, the pointer's moving," Makoto said flatly. He leaned in a bit. "D-R-I-V-E... drive...M-Y-C-A-R... " He paused, and everyone leaned in to watch it.
"Drive my car... bitch," Elli read aloud. Makoto shuddered, and Karen quickly reached in and snatched up the planchette.
"I guess we don't leave it on there," she said coolly, clenching onto it with white knuckles.
Silence.
"Let's just try it for a few minutes, okay?" Popuri finally piped up. There were a few indifferent shrugs and nods; everyone else roped into the séance wanted to leave to go moon viewing.
Karen gingerly placed the planchette back on the edge of the board closest to her, leaving her index and middle finger on it. With a quick bout of contemplation, she flipped it upside down, still leaving her two fingers there.
"Alright," she said, turning to Popuri. "Put your two fingers on it too. Just you for now."
Popuri complied.
"Anyone out there?" Karen asked aloud.
It held still, and Karen asked again.
"Is anybody out there?"
Still nothing. Karen turned to Popuri again.
"Kind of... try to let go a bit," she said, and Popuri took her fingers off the planchette, hovering over it. Karen shook her head. "Mentally, you know?", and Popuri lowered her fingers back on the planchette and took in a deep breath.
The planchette jiggled, just barely, and steadily circled past Popuri counterclockwise, making its way around the board.
"It's working!" Popuri exclaimed, her voice quivering with excitement. "It's actually working!"
Everyone fell into a hushed state of trepidation. Some were leaning in to get a better glimpse at the board, but feelings of foreboding wretched deep in the pit of Rick's stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut and clamped his teeth together, almost grinding them.
"Karen! I don't like this!" he cried, literally, with tears leaning over the edge of his cheeks. He snapped his head over, staring her down through his thick glasses. "Your mom and dad TOLD you this thing scared the bejeezus out of them time and again, and here you are, me thinking you've matured, choosing to drag everyone here when they could be off on their dates, to go through the same thing our parents went through years ago!" His voice was cracking terribly, and he had to catch his breath, holding a trembling finger up under Karen's nose.
"If you don't pack this board away right now..." he continued in a worn voice. "Then I'm breaking up with you... and I MEAN it this time!"
Karen sighed.
"Rick, come on. We're just going to..."
But Rick jumped to his feet and wasted no time walking off, cursing a long streak loudly enough for everyone to hear. They waited for him to turn the corner, once he was stewing silently, and Karen continued.
"Not the first or the last time," she commented, but everyone else exchanged looks with each other instead of replying.
"Ummm... well... my parents don't know I'm here," Mary said. "And I'm afraid..."
"Likewise none of ours," Karen quickly answered. "And you're afraid Rick's gonna tell all our folks where we are?"
Mary responded with a meek nod.
"Fine," Karen said. "We'll just ask it one question. Just to test it. Then we'll call it a night." She hadn't removed her two fingers from the planchette the entire time. "So... let's get a guy and a girl."
Her focus ran along her extended arm and fell at twelve o'clock.
"Makoto and Elli, it's yours," she told the two of them, who were trying their best to stay poker-faced before they were called. The planchette sat right in front of them.
"Come on guys!" Popuri encouraged, taking her fingers off the planchette. Karen did the same, and before it got the chance to move again, Makoto and Elli placed their fingers on either side of the lens.
"Can you ask it a question?" Elli asked Karen. "I don't know what to ask it."
"Okay," Karen replied with a nod. She looked down at the planchette, and everyone dipped in further to watch it. "Only something kind of stupid, just to see if it works. I'll ask it... something about Makoto."
Makoto quickly looked up at her, deer-in-the-headlights. Karen drew in a long, deep breath, closing her eyes as she softly exhaled.
"Are the rumors about Makoto Ogawa true?"
Makoto and Elli barely even rested their fingers on the planchette. It glided very slowly, past the alphabet, and to the upper right-hand corner....
Yes.
------
I know, I took forever updating this, and I'm really, really, really, really sorry! I work six days a week now, and I know, it's sad that I started this chapter in August. Man, for a while, I was afraid that I lost touch with this fic, but I got it back together. I hope... I know this doesn't go far along the lines of plot, but it's a two-part chapter, and I hope the next one will be done soon.
Anyway... shout-out time!
Ferocious Death-Kappa- Ahhh!! Kappa!! Well... Mr. Kappa better watch his head (not you Mr. Kappa, but Mr. I'll-Assault-You-With-Cucumbers Kappa) But yes, thanks for all your support! And... will you assault me with cucumbers?
The Enigmatic ...- Cookies for all! I'm glad you found the Gray and Mary bits cute... I'll be working with them more, believe me. Thank you!
anime26angel- That's the way! Knock that bitch out! And thank you!
Ray Ray Ray- Glad you liked it. Thanks!
Gravilorn- I hope this chapter gave you a Makoto fill. It's refreshing to sometimes focus on other threads of the story. Thank you!
azn anime addict47- Took me long enough, didn't it? Glad you like Makoto too. You can have a cookie too, of course. Thank you!