Shoko Komi's Ultimate Challenge

by Ulquiorra9000

Communication 22: it's like magic

At dinner on Wednesday night, Masayoshi Komi actually made a faint smile and motioned to get his daughter's attention. Shoko looked up just as her father reached for her face, or rather, her ear. What was he doing?

Shoko gasped when Masayoshi reached behind her ear and produced a 500 yen coin. He flipped it in the air, and Shoko caught it. Here. It's some extra allowance for getting such good grades this semester, Masayoshi's face clearly said. He gave Shoko an approving nod.

"Oooooooh! That was such a neat trick, dear," Shuko cried, clapping her hands. "It's like magic! Did you see that, Shosuke?"

As expected, Shosuke rolled his eyes so hard Shoko swore they were about to pop out of their sockets.

No extra allowance for him, then, Masayoshi's expression said with an implied shrug. And Shoko, what's that look?

So... so... COOL! Shoko pumped her fists and imagined her dog ears perking up. This was totally her new challenge! How about she put on a magic show for her friends and dazzle them with her performance? But she needed to practice her tricks first. And look up those tricks. And figure out how to handle the stage fright. And get a top hat and cape...

Better get started!

*o*o*o*o*

At lunch on Thursday, Shoko decided to practice with a friend, and she found Rumiko Manbagi seated by herself in the cafeteria. So, Shoko waved hello and took a seat next to her, heart racing, coin in hand.

"Hey, girl! What's new?" Rumiko asked brightly. "Seriously, that history quiz today was a real bummer! Like I have time to memorize everything that happened in the Meiji era! You know what I mean?"
Shoko held up a paper note: We can study history together sometime if you like. But right now, you've got something behind your ear!

"Wh-what? Which ear?" Rumiko's eyes widened and she scrambled at her ears, messing up her carefully-styled hair in the process.

Shoko motioned, and quietly told her, "I'll get it. Hold still." She reached with a trembling hand and swiped at Rumiko's ear, only for her 100 yen coin to drop to the floor with a clink.

"Whoa. Did that fall out of your pocket? Or was that mine?" Rumiko swooped down and grabbed the coin. "Oh, whatever. You can have it, Komi! I get a pretty generous allowance anyway." She beamed.

Shoko accepted the coin back and decided to come clean. She held up another note: I'm practicing magic tricks. But I messed it up. I'm sorry.

Rumiko held her hand to her mouth. "That was a magic trick? Like, duh. I should have realized! I'm the one who's sorry, Komi." She winced.

Shoko shook her head. I just have to keep practicing, she said on another note. She tried the trick again on Rumiko's other ear, only to drop the coin halfway through. She tried it yet again, only to lose the coin completely. Darn it! Where did it go?

"Aw, hang in there. Everything takes practice," Rumiko said with a kind laugh, patting Shoko's back as the latter hung her head in shame. "And I'll give you a 100 yen coin from my purse. I've got a bunch of 'em."

Shoko nodded in thanks, finding newfound respect for her father. He must have practiced that coin trick for years to get that good! Like, meditating under a waterfall and standing atop a wooden pole in the moonlight!

And there were other tricks Shoko could try, too.

Is this your card? Shoko held up a note while her good friend Najimi Osana watched with amusement. Shoko had tracked down her ever-so-popular classmate across the cafeteria and asked them to practice with her, but so far, well...

"Haha! Nope, that's not it!" Najimi stuck out their tongue when, for the fourth time, Shoko held up the wrong card from her deck. What, it wasn't the ten of aces? Even a broken clock is right twice a day!

Shoko sighed with dismay and shuffled her deck as Najimi patted her on the head.

"In all fairness, you were never gonna get my card," Najimi told her. "It was impossible!"

Shoko gave Najimi a confused look.

"Because this was my card! Bleeeeeh!" Najimi made a goofy face and held out the joker. But that card wasn't even in Shoko's deck! Where did it come from?!

It seems you're the one with masterful sleight of hand, Shoko admitted on her note, her hands trembling.

"Yeah, I've been known to hoodwink a few suckers in my time," Najimi said smugly, flicking the joker card behind them. It landed right in some girl's soup as she passed by, and she shot Najimi an annoyed look en route to her seat.

Shoko nodded and added to her note. I'm practicing magic, but I can't get the hang of it. I couldn't do the coin-behind-your-ear trick on Rumiko, either.

"Bwahahahaha! My uncle did that trick on me when I was eleven," Najimi said. "Except he got a 10,000 yen bill from my ear instead. Woo-hoo!" They threw up two peace signs.

Shoko gave her friend an incredulous scowl. A 10,000 yen bill? No way. Well, whatever. Shoko had more practice to do!

*o*o*o*o*

That afternoon, right after class let out, Shoko found Makoto Katai and tried to guess his card, but alas, Shoko dropped the deck, and Makoto's card was never found. But at least Makoto was sweet enough to take it in stride and even apologize for the botched trick before going home. Then Shoko tried to get a coin from behind Ren Yamai's ear, only to badly miscalculate how the other girl would respond.

"K-Komi's caressing my... my ear... aaaaahhhhh..." Ren went red and sighed with pleasure, her knees buckling as soon as Shoko tried to get the coin from behind her ear. She even drooled. "G-get a picture!"

"On it!" One of Ren's gal-pals busted out her smartphone and snapped a photo of a thoroughly aroused Ren Yamai and a thoroughly confused Shoko Komi. It took five minutes of written pleading and gesturing for Shoko to convince Ren to finally delete that picture. Hey, that's a magic trick! The amazing disappearing photo!

Okay, that doesn't really count.

Are you all right, Shoko? Masayoshi's face said when he looked up from his magazine. He was seated on the living room couch when Shoko came home that afternoon, head cocked with confusion.

Shoko changed into her indoor shoes and made a dejected face. So, her father got up, walked right over and retrieved another 500 yen coin from Shoko's ear. So amazing!

Masayoshi pressed the coin into his daughter's hand and gave her a reassuring nod before returning to his reading. Shoko held the coin to her heart, vowing to give this another shot. The real magic comes from inside!

*o*o*o*o*

Shoko needed more magic inside.

"What the?" Shinobino blurted out when Shoko tried to make a 100 yen coin vanish in a napkin, only for Shoko to forget which corner had the double-sided tape, so the coin fell right out. Then, Shoko tried to make a plastic cup vanish under a cloth, only to accidentally crush it instead and lose the marble she tried to make appear under a second cup. Darn it! Next, Shoko tried to make a pencil magically stick to her hand, only to accidentally poke herself painfully with it, much to Nene's horror. And then she tried yet again to guess someone's card; in this case, Kaede Otori. Shoko incorrectly guessed the six of hearts, the two of clubs, and the jack of diamonds before she somehow drew a Pikachu from the Pokemon trading card game. What the...?

She gave the Pikachu to a grateful Kaede and slouched away, convinced that she was no David Copperfield. Looks like the challenge is a bust.

Right before lunch ended, Shoko took her chance to return another poetry collection book to the library, and she noted how happy Himiko looked today. Himiko was humming to herself and grinning as she sorted the books on a cart, and Shoko couldn't help a smile in response.

"Good afternoon, mistress Komi! Woof woof!" Himiko cried. "Thanks for returning that on time."

Shoko nodded and made up her mind. Himiko was clearly in the mood for some fun, so this was Shoko's last chance to pull a rabbit out of her hat, so to speak! Shoko cleared her throat, and the ever-so-loyal Himiko stood at attention and watched as Shoko made a pencil magically stick to her hand.

Himiko gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth. "Wow! How are you doing that?"

Shoko shuffled a deck of cards and let Himiko pick a card, then shuffled the deck again. "Is... is this your card?" Shoko whispered when she held up the queen of clubs.

"Oh my gosh! It is!" Himiko yelped. She jumped up and clapped. "Like real magic!"

Encouraged, Shoko next reached over with a trembling hand and produced a 100 yen coin from behind her ear, and gave it to Himiko as a gift. Then she made another 100 yen coin vanish into a napkin, and Shoko actually made a fancy flourish with the napkin and bowed before a clapping Himiko. Then, Shoko made a marble seemingly teleport from one hand to another, only for it to teleport again into an amazed Himiko's uniform jacket pocket.

"This is so cool!" Himiko squealed. "How did you do that?!"

Shoko hesitated, then finished the show with the classic "split your thumb in half" trick, and Himiko actually fainted.

"Your... your thumb, mistress," Himiko mumbled as Shoko knelt by her side to help her get back up. "You've embraced... the supernatural..."

A minute later, Himiko got over the shock and clapped one last time. "What a wonderful show, mistress!" she cheered. "Thank you so much! I'll never forget this."

Shoko nodded again and skipped out of the library in victory, the challenge already marked complete in her mind. She felt ready to saw Najimi in half onstage and show everyone how far she had come! Just kidding, no more magic after today.

Still, Shoko couldn't help getting another coin from behind Shosuke's ear after their guitar lesson in his room that evening.