Chapter 3: Seven of Wands

Nanami's childhood consisted of learning how to be an adult. The essentials of being independent were weaved into his everyday life; food preservation and preparation, cleaning, safety tools for days when his parents wouldn't be coming home from work, and of course, selecting the appropriate entertainment material to get ahead in upcoming topics. Tutors helped him with understanding budgeting, taxation, personal finances and the economy around him. Work ethics, interoffice politics, as well as the government's influence on his chosen career were mastered through documentaries and news articles.

In his family, this particular child rearing method could be considered one of their very few traditions. Fostering a competitive environment between peers in the same generation would be another.

His career choice and the short length of time it took him to enter the field gave his parents the freedom to proudly glorify the family's tried and true method. He was a head in the road his predecessors had laid out for him, at only twenty three he could easily afford to take a shortcut…

Six million…

The most he could make in this job. Even a conservative estimate where weekends and some odd days were excluded, his gains were still around four million. Enough money to allow him to retire comfortably there and then. To allow his parents to loosen their own budget and not have to worry about finances for the rest of their lives…

And then what?

When they no longer had to worry about perfecting the foundation of their future, could they talk about the present? Who were they? Who was he? What else made them a family?

"Your finances look good." He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It had been a while since he focused so much on any type of reading.

"Thanks."

Rainy sat crossed legged across from him. She zipped up her light jacket and tucked her mouth within the oversized neck hole for a second before returning to the ice cream cup that soon would join the two empty ones by her side.

"If you're cold, why don't you stop eating it?"

She blinked. "Cus it's been three hours and I'm bored."

"Oh." Nanami didn't have a chance to order anything nor did he hear what she picked out while he focused on the lengthy paper trail before him. He knew time had passed by the different things she was eating whenever he had a particular question.

Still, the fact that three hours had passed came as an embarrassing surprise.

"So, that's a yes on the job?"

Nanami gathered her papers and did his best to organize them to reflect the original state in which he received them.

"Yes."

"Great!" She stood up and stretched. "Your first job is to walk me home."

There were no other patrons in the restaurant. The hostess and waitress chatted happily by the large window that had grown dark with the night sky fully settled in. They didn't seem bothered by their presence, but he now felt the overwhelming awareness that he could be the annoying customer they would later speak about who overstayed their welcome.

Nanami's attempt to retrieve his credit card was swiftly rejected. "It's been taken care of," the waitress smiled.

"Oh." She handed him a small bag with what he guessed were the contents of his dinner. "Thank you."

Pleasantries and formalities were exchanged as they exited. He knew the discomfort of being treated to a meal would dissipate through the night. This was a business meeting. A strange business meeting, but he had to accept that the events played out appropriately.

"What exactly does the job entail?"

She looked around. The post work rush hour had emptied out leaving behind the nicely dressed youth that wandered through the night's pleasures. "This pretty much sums it up. Whenever I leave my home and the cafe, I always get attacked. But it's been hours and nothing." She laughed. "I just need you to scare them, or kill them off when they do approach."

"And you're willing to pay that much?"

"Mother brought me here for a reason and I can't find that reason if my outings are so limited. A few hours a day will probably yield better results than what I've gotten in the last couple of months living here. "

"What do you do now, when you don't have protection?"

"I regenerate fast enough that I can survive a low level curse if my Familiar can distract it long enough. But in this place, the curses that come after me are…" She shook her head. Just the thought of them made her arm hurt. "On Saturday I had a run in with a pretty nasty thing."

She lifted the white sleeve of her jacket to expose the bandaged arm undearneath. "It's not healed yet, and that's long for me."

He cleared his throat. That looked painful. "So the names you get?"

"Sometimes I redirect the curses to them."

Nanami stiffened. "That's dangerous."

"I don't think anyone has died…" Uncertainty hung from each word.

The former sorcerer stumbled over his words but nothing coherent came out.

"More reason for you to take on this job," she added. "I won't have to redirect curses anymore."

He breathed out. "Fair point." Financial and moral compensation rarely met for him.

"Wonderful!"

[3]

Do you trust me?

Yes

Above all else?

Of course.

Why?

Because you're Mother.

You will suffer, my love.

[3]

Yesterday, Rainy felt hopeful.

Her hastily put together plan to procure a guardian paid off much smoother than any other she had tried to manifest in the last nine decades. Through the week as lawyers and other guys in suits took care of the paperwork to create a proper binding agreement in the eyes of the humans, Nanami made sure to work on what he could for them. His organization skills were impeccable, by Friday he had a schedule for the upcoming week and a rough draft of the month. Weather forecasts, popular areas for different age groups, and even some coordinated lunch times if he found a particular activity worth exploring in the middle of the day.

Rainy felt prepared, her shoulders relaxed, and her stomach fluttered with anticipation. Things were moving.

Until they weren't.

You will suffer, my love.

The cloud of suffering loomed over her head even on the brightest of days. But when Mother made a point to use their limited communication to forewarn her… Rainy felt a special kind of misery.

You will suffer, my love.

Why? Why did she have to suffer? At this point she wouldn't even mind the grief if she only knew why.

"I forgot to ask about proper work attire."

A few quick blinks and her eyes focused on the present. The cloudless sky with its beaming sun, the trees dancing to the faint breeze, and her guardian who had been standing there uncomfortably for who knows how long. "Sorry, I wasn't staring. Spaced out a minute."

Like she would judge him for wearing casual slacks. His shirt had buttons and was nicely pressed and tucked in. She looked down at her own jeans and shirt.

Yeah, no room for judgment.

Nanami moved off the busy path with joggers and strollers, but chose not to join her on the bench. He stood beside the seat and they both gazed at the leisure populace enjoying the warm day. "You look… tired."

That was a gentle way to put it. The bags under her eyes could rival his. Maybe she would copy him in wearing glasses. Then she could pretend to be chic too.

"Mother spoke to me last night." She reached into her pocket and retrieved a small amethyst flower. One of the last remnants of her once great powers. "She told me I would suffer a lot so you should take this as a precaution."

His stoic demeanor faltered and he reached for the charm rather quickly. "Should we be worried?"

Rainy blinked. He knew about Mothers... "Sometimes she means it, sometimes she doesn't. I can never tell."

"I signed up to protect you against curses. I'll leave you to die if your Mother gets involved."

He knew about Mothers and the magnitude of their presence… "I'm just being extra careful, but I don't really think she'll hurt you. Humans are fragile, weak. Very few could satisfy her level of sadism."

Nanami rolled the flower between his fingers before quietly putting it away. "Why doesn't Scorpio simply undo the curse?"

She couldn't help the smile that sprung forth. He knew about my Mother. "You're really educated in ethereal stuff. I think this is the luckiest I've been in this lifetime…"

"I went through a strange phase in high school…"

"Really?"

He fussed with his glasses, pushing them up to cover his eyes, before settling on leaving them in their original spot a little lower on the bridge of his nose. "So why doesn't your Mother undo the curse?"

"On the one hand, she enjoys prolonged suffering. On the other hand, there's a good chance that whoever cursed me isn't from our lineage and she could be stepping on a political landmine by interfering. Things are quite tense up there from the little I can remember, so…" She shrugged. The answers never felt satisfactory.

"I see."

"The only thing she could do was ask for fairness. The other soul had to become human as well. That I know. But who, or where they are is a mystery. What led them to curse me is not something I know. Do they have fragmented memories? Are they fully aware? Are they looking for me, or actively running?"

"Sounds like an impossible task."

" … Sometimes it feels that way… But there are only so many countries on Earth, I have to find them eventually. Once I cast my net I know the names of every person there at the moment the spell takes, and anyone who sets foot there in the future."

His eyes widened and she wondered what piece of knowledge had her words touched up on now?

"Then there's some hope after all."

She didn't know if the words were a reassurance for himself or her, but Rainy would take a chance in taking them to heart. At least for the day.

Seeking out personal interaction was one of those human instincts that she didn't care to nourish. Languages were beautiful, cultures insightful, but no matter where she went, the parts of her she cared about the most were dismissed as mere folklore.

"I thought tourmalines were better for protection than amethyst?"

Rainy stood up. "Couldn't find any, but you're right."

It felt nice to be understood by someone.

Maybe the prophesied suffering would manifest tomorrow. Or at least later that day. For now, she wanted to indulge the seedling of hope braving the storms of her hopelessness to rise again.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading!