SPIRIT WORLD

~ Musca ~

This feeling of disturbance I had, along with Michi fainting… That couldn't be simple coincidence.

"Musca!"

"Lady Faera, is that you?" I had heard my master's voice inside my head.

"Yes. I felt something shifting with the card gates and tried to summon you here. I'm glad I succeeded."

"I had become caught in the feeling I needed to come back here. That was you?"

"Correct. What's happening there? I can't see it for myself."

"What… Milady, am I in the right place?" My eyes couldn't be right.

"Yes. There is no doubt as to that. Why?" The concern in her voice had grown steadily.

"There should be three more gates here for the Spade, Clover, and Diamond worlds… But there's only one gate that has all four symbols on it. What's happening?"

"… It can only mean one thing, Musca. The four worlds have become one for some reason."

I pursed my lips. "But… What does that mean for Michi?"

"She's going to have to face a challenge the first heroine did not. Michi will have to go through all four worlds at the same time."

"Is that even possible? It seems like a very large burden."

"It will have to be. Please, do everything you can to give her your support. In the meantime I will try to look into what may have caused this."

I closed my eyes. How would Michi react to this? Would she be strong enough to carry everyone's emotions and hopes? "Please do, milady. I will give it my best as well."

"Return now. I can tell that you wish to get back."

"Yes."

"Musca, before you go… I advise that you be completely truthful with Michi from now on."

I bowed my head. The lies I had told in the beginning were inconsequential now with this new development. But Lady Faera was right. I needed to be there for Michi without question now, and that meant coming clean. "I won't fail either of you. I promise."

"Good luck, Musca. I have faith in you."

I definitely would not fail in this. I would not let Michi down again.

WORLD OF SUITS

~ Michi ~

I was dreaming something that felt so real it was scary.

A boy ran up to me. We were both young, me looking a lot like I had in my middle school memories with Shin and Toma. It was around that time, then, probably before.

"You're really moving?" He was breathing hard, apparently having tried to get here as fast as he could.

"Yeah. I told my dad that I wanted to stay here with my mom… With you. But he says I shouldn't be near her anymore." Being young, I didn't understand it all.

"… I hate this."

"Me too, but… I promise I won't forget you. I promise, okay?" I gripped the boy's hands tightly.

The boy looked at our hands for a while before taking one of his away, reaching into his pocket while keeping a grip on one of my hands. "I'll never forget you either. So, take this for me." He slipped a ring made out of a knotted weed onto my finger. "And someday, when we're both older, we can get married. That way no one else can ever separate us again. Promise."

I nodded, smiling and close to tears. "It's a promise."

The boy hugged me tightly. "I'll miss you so much, Michi."

I squeezed the breath out of him. "I'll miss you too, Ikki."

It was in fact too real to be a dream. I was remembering again.

"Michi?" I felt Musca's presence again as I started to wake up. "I'm back. But use your mind to talk to me since there are other people in the room. How are you feeling?"

Like shit… What happened?

"We should talk later, when we're alone. Try dealing with the people in front of you right now."

"Huh?" I cracked my eyes open to find both Shin and Ikki in chairs next to the bed I was in. Some girls would have been happy to find two reasonably attractive men next to them when they woke up, but for different reasons concerning them both I found it pretty hellish. "Why are you guys here?" I grumbled as I sat up.

"Michi!" Shin jumped up.

"Good morning to you too, Michi." Ikki chuckled.

"Shut up, you," I growled at him, then tore my gaze away when my thoughts turned back to what I'd just remembered. It couldn't have been right. Just a hallucination, maybe. Hopefully. "Those sunglasses make you look like a douche."

"Would you prefer that I take them off, then?"

"No, thank you! No way." That would be even worse. My face was getting red. Me, agreeing to marry this guy… Impossible.

Shin sat back down, gaze flicking back and forth between Ikki and I. "Anyways… What happened, Michi? This is the second time you've fainted."

"Well, I think…" I scrambled to think of an excuse. "Maybe I'm just not used to working hard anymore, so my first day back at work came as a shock…" It was an excuse that made me sound like a wimp and I didn't like it at all, but at least is was passable.

"You're an unexpectedly delicate flower." Ikki laughed.

"Shut up. Don't you talk about flowers in front of me," I snapped. "Anyways… I feel fine now. Can I go?" It was still dark outside, so I apparently hadn't been here for an incredibly long time.

"We would have to ask. They ran some tests to make sure you're okay," Shin explained.

"You can't just get up and leave, even if that's something you would try to do," Ikki teased.

"You wanna try me, pal? Just watch." I started to get out of bed.

"Woah, Michi." Shin put his hands on my shoulders. "Settle down."

"Fine, fine." I glared at Ikki. "Would one of you mind going to ask? Please?"

"No problem." Shin stood still, looking at Ikki.

"What? Are you waiting for me to go?" Ikki smiled. "Scared of leaving me alone with Michi?"

Shin scowled. "Shut up, that's not it at all." He stalked out of the room.

"You did that on purpose." I glared.

"Don't think so badly of me. I didn't expect that reaction at all."

"Humph." I crossed my arms. "What happened after I passed out? Why are you here?"

"It's not complicated. I saw you from across the street and helped Shin get you here. What, did you expect me to just sit by and do nothing?"

I sighed. "No, no… Thank you. And I am sorry for worrying the both of you."

He grinned. "You apologized. You said you never would."

"Oh, shut your mouth." I conked him on the head. "I'm not so prideful that I can't give you your proper dues."

"Well, I'm just glad you're alright."

"Hey, so…" I began awkwardly. "Um…" There didn't seem a good way to ask about my dream, or memory, whatever it was. "Your eyes. What's with them?"

He smiled, but it was heavier than any of his previous expressions had been. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"You'd be surprised what I would believe, you know." Since I knew about the Spirit World now, I had a lot less skepticism.

"Hm. You'd probably hit me again, thinking I was trying to pull your leg." He laughed it off, returning back to his old self.

"Come on, don't be like that."

"Michi, I remember now!" I jumped at Musca's exclamation in my ear. "My friend Orion, I've mentioned him to you before. Lord Nhil is his master. Anyways, Lord Nhil's first contact with the human world, the one that led him to become involved in the events that lead to the first heroine, was Ikki here. He granted Ikki eyes that attract women."

"Huh…" I peered at Ikki. So it was the magic of the Spirit World that made him how he was. I reached over and yanked his sunglasses off, making a point of looking in his eyes. When the pulling, the allure, started, I pushed my thoughts to Shin. If I thought of him, then Ikki's eyes wouldn't bother me. My prior affection gave me power to resist. "See? It's fine."

"Hey, Michi…" Ikki put his hands over mine, holding them gently. "Do you really not remember me, after all of this time?"

I froze. "Uh…"

"Michi, what's going on? What did I miss while I was gone?" Musca stared at us.

You didn't miss anything!

"And yet this is happening!"

He kept leaning closer… "Uh, uh… Wait a minute, okay…?" I stammered. Even with what I had remembered, there still wasn't enough context to say anything for sure yet. But right now, I was feeling his breath on my face. There wasn't time to figure anything else out. I put my hands against his chest, ready to push him away, but then he shifted, putting his lips next to my ear.

"I promise I won't forget you." His whisper was so hot, and yet shivers were going down my spine. "You really don't remember saying those words to me?"

"I… I just… Just hold on a minute, please…" I was trying to pull at more memories, but they just weren't coming. It was as if they were being blocked by something.

"Oh my." I looked past Ikki's shoulder and saw a Shin standing with a nurse in the doorway. The nurse was blushing faintly, hand over her mouth. "I'll pretend I didn't see anything." She laughed and came into the room.

Ikki leaned back with a sigh then put on his silky smile again, able to change masks quickly. "It's quite alright."

I kept trying to meet Shin's eyes, but he wouldn't look at me. I'd have to explain this later… But then again, he didn't have much of a right to be bothered. He had rejected me. "So, um… Am I well enough to leave now?"

"Yes, but your tests showed that you were slightly dehydrated. You need to drink plenty of water every day, alright? Do you have someone to help make sure you keep good habits?"

"That's…" It was in moments like these that I felt my loneliness creeping back up.

"I can watch over her no problem," Ikki offered, smiling at me.

I couldn't read him, and it annoyed me to no end. "You most certainly won't." What was his game? I had to figure it out, somehow…