Power of Card Magic

The Supermarket...

'Er...are we here to help you shopping?' Juubei blurted.

'We didn't come to be here to be pack mules, hag!'

'That, and a rather easy exam.' Maria smiled while skillfully ignoring Ban. 'Everyone has their cards, yes?'

Everyone took their cards out.

'You wouldn't understand with explanation so its time for a hands on.' said Maria in her cutesy, cheery voice while effectively treating Ban like a child who was glowering at her.

'We only need to learn how to use the cards!' Ban grunted.

'Tsunade was pretty close to it.' said Dino. 'She was able to see Kazuki being kidnapped.'

'Both you and she are a special case, Dino-kun.' said Maria. 'Your kind...can all use the Sacred Flames of Heaven card as your Master Card but Odin's Steed was more your match, so fate chose it for you instead.' she explained to Dino's astonishment. 'For Tsunade-chan whose power in flames is the strongest in the world in conjunction with her Master Card, she can effectively see what she wants to see and that cheap card she has earlier can't accommodate her immense powers.' she pointed out. 'Only the authentic card can accommodate it and give her desired results. Indeed, her intuition instinctively taught her how so she pretty much passes already though I can't say the same for everyone else yet.'

'...his kind?' Hevn blinked.

'Er let's not get into that...lest the law of my kind will breathe on your back forever.' Dino said with a smile that warned not to pry any further. This was a sharp contrast to what they've seen of him. It was a smile that sent chills.

Then again, he's a mafia boss...

'But really, precognition given by a card? That's really handy.' Juubei commented, impressed. 'Before, all she can do is burn and keep out what she wants and fly.'

'Fire exists everywhere Samurai-boy.' said Himiko. 'In Japan, ancient mikos of the past do Fire-Reading Sorcery as a form of fortune-telling or as a medium for spying because people relied on lamps and torches for lighting until light bulbs became in vogue that the art died and she wound up doing it in her card. She has potential to learn fire-related sorcery easily if she can use the card for it.'

'Fufufu...exactly~!' Maria chirped. 'So for the rest of you, as a beginner, before you can learn you must understand. That's how the Witch Queen taught me.' she stated in emphasis.

'I have to do it too?' Hevn asked.

'You gotta. You're already a board piece.' said Tsunade. 'Even if you retreat now, as long as your card that's essentially your life is on the brats' gaming board, you got nowhere to run and you'll just be another hostage if you actually left this group. You're the safest with us right now.' Hevn choked at that. 'That's what this told me at least.' she said, holding the authentic version of her card.

'Exactly!' Maria nodded in approval of the youngest of the crew. 'But dear, you're a brat too you know.' cue collective sweatdrops.

'I grew up too fast in the head, lady. I had no time to be an actual kid and mope about family issues.' Tsunade scowled. 'I moved on, the end.'

Dino really felt she's hiding something and kept what happened not long ago in her house in mind...and Ginji was the most worried about her for some reason and Ban was ready to shut him up.

'Hmm hmm. Hold the card in your hand, then while imagining being absorbed by the picture of your cards...grab the eggs here and stack them up one by one!'

"Huuuuuh?!"

'Like this!' Maria stacked a tower of eggs in a straight line with her card.

'Ooh!' the others clapped, but not Ban who just looked annoyed.

Not Ginji...

He was happily going for it.

'Yay! I did it!' Tare-Ginji cheered as he stacked four eggs to their shock, especially Ban's.

'Wha?!'

'Er, what's the point of this?' Juubei asked, discombobulated and in a rush to save his best friend.

'Like I said, this is a beginner's exam.' said Maria, making a point by holding up her hand in a pointing position. 'If you can't do at least this, you won't stand a chance against the children and you can forget Lucifer who mastered Divine Design you know. The children while amateurs in combat, mastered Divine Design. You must master Divine Design as you have what they don't, making their defeat easy. But as you are now, they can defeat you.' she said. 'Tsunade's the closest to Lucifer right now but not even she can beat all of them. Divine Design is exhausting if played for too long by amateurs who hasn't the witch training to strengthen their spirit. In that regard Himiko is stronger than Tsunade but her weakness is doubt.'

'To properly play Divine Design, not even an iota of doubt must be in your hearts.' she continued. 'By removing the doubt in your mind, opening your heart and believe, you will come close to Divine Design. Believe in yourselves. You each have an immense potential you haven't realized yet.'

Dino felt she really has this big motherly air for one being a witch that even he felt like he was encouraged by a parent.

'Ginji-san let's play.' said Tsunade. 'Let's make weird shapes with eggs.'

'You're on!'

'Oh my~!'

Ginji was doing well but...he was reluctant to use more eggs. Tsunade already made a heart-pierced-by-arrow out of eggs with the 'arrow' floating through the heart.

'Wow!'

'Very well done!'

'Raitei, why are you hesitating when before you happily stacked four eggs?' Juubei pointed out.

'But Juubei!' Ginji cried childishly. 'If the eggs crash, we'll have a debt bill in the supermarket! I'm not rich like Tsunade-chan you know and a single egg costs 28 yen!' Ban had a comical anvil crash on his own head since debts are nothing new to them but he didn't want another long damn bill!

'Muu, like I said, believe or your fears will come true Ginji-kun~' Maria pouted. 'In Divine Design, what your mind and will creates will happen. If you believed you'll rack up a nasty bill out of eggs...' and she left that hanging that caused sheer fear in the blonde.

'EEEEEEKKK!' Ginji literally panicked and bounced all over the place. 'NOOOOOHOHOHOOOO!'

Ban looked utterly cross at the mere idea while everyone else sweatdropped.

'Yare yare...you got lots more to work on, Ginji-san.' Tsunade giggled as with a snap of her fingers, her eggs flew back to the egg stacks in the eggs section. 'Fear of debts is holding you back.'

'Alrighty, I'll try my luck.' said Dino, motivated.

'Me too.' Himiko added.

'I'll give it a try...' said Hevn.

"If I can't even stack a few eggs, I can't defeat Uryuu, that bastard..." Juubei fumed.

'Really, I thought it'd be easy as pie with Ginji-san but I guess he's traumatized with debts.' Tsunade giggled as she stood on the side watching the others as Ginji was comically struck by an arrow by the truth of her words while Maria did shopping. 'Its easy for children who still believes in fantasy to master this brand of magic as well as for people with pure, spotless hearts like Ginji-san.'

'Huh? I have a spotless heart?' Ginji blinked. 'Did Maria-san wash my heart with soap earlier?'

Everyone went (-_-)'.

"How stupid is heee?!"

'...nevermind...but the point of the fact is, our opponents are runaway kids fed up with their folks who emotionally and spiritually exhausted these kids with school pressure or other bad home factors.' Tsunade told them as they were trying to stack eggs. 'They'd want the power of freedom magic can grant them and that determination enabled them to easily learn magic. They're already witches in training.' she stated as that got the older guys pausing.

'They got a taste of power at any rate and they'll do anything to stay out of the house by keeping hold on to their powers as a form of 'independence'. This in turn makes them loyal to Lucifer who will teach them magic if they defeat us. The more they do well, the more they'll learn magic. And if they have magic, they can live the freedom they wanted and live in the world and money can no longer tie them down to society. This is potentially bad, especially for super-powered damaged kids with magic powers who might take their hate out on the targets of their hatred and commit their first act of murder or something...on their own families before enacting the freedom they desired.'

That was something she'll do herself actually, so she was no better than them. She hates her blood family as much as they do theirs. This was the reason Ban had her tag along to help understand their quarry. She was the closest to them in mentality.

'T-that's bad isn't it?!' Dino squeaked out. 'Tsunade, in Mugenjou, how old were you when you killed someone? Your opponents are all junior high schoolers and one grade schooler.'

'I was nine years old.' said Tsunade, a fact that horrified most of her colleagues. 'But unlike me who has Shido who supported me through my first blood trauma, these guys don't have that kind of emotional support after a first kill. Things will get psychologically and emotionally hairy if that happens so guys, hurry up and master it already.' she grunted.

When she was abandoned, she left her house and found a family in Shido who was there when her own parents dropped her. But do these kids have that kind of support to be happy again like she did? Is Lucifer actually being a good savior to them as Shido was to her? That, was her worry.

By the time Maria was done shopping, Himiko got three eggs, Hevn got two, Ban sucked, Ginji got nine, Juubei, out of bull-headedness succeeded in making a circle and Dino, not wanting to look lame to his junior, made a house.

'Won~der~ful~!' Maria squealed at Dino and Juubei, hugging them so hard they each got a face-full of her boobs. 'I wish I can say the same for someone though~'

'Shut it, hag!' Ban snapped at the obvious jab at him.

xxx

'...its frustrating we can't see a thing because of that flame barrier.' outside on top of a building across the supermarket, five kids can see that the building was engulfed in a barrier. 'Even coming here personally don't help.' said a bandana boy.

'The Flames of Heaven is most powerful. We need to plan well on that one.' said another wearing a cap. 'We can't even draw her on the board along with Odin's Steed. Its got strong protection.'

'Well, she's just our age...its easy to have magic at our ages while adult newcomers are just stubborn until they accept it exists.' said the lone girl among them.

'Hmph. We'll have to be a bit more forceful then.' said another who wore earrings. 'Let's go.' and they vanished.

xxx

Madoka's Mansion...

'Good grief, what you got into is something else...' Shido pinched his nose. Kazuki willingly met the man who kidnapped him which is STUPID, and now they're all learning Witch Magic!

'W-will you guys be OK?' Madoka asked Tsunade worriedly. She's still at home with Shido...

'We'll be fine but they got a long way to go.' said Tsunade. 'Dino and I mastered the basics but we got more tests to become Dominators before we face our opponents. Stay here with Madoka-nee alright? I already asked Dino for animal transport help so they'll be here soon. That way everyone's OK.' said Tsunade. 'Wanna see your first magic, Madoka-nee?' she asked. 'I'll create a dimension wherein you're not blind...and you'll see our faces for the first time.'

'E-eh?'

Next thing Shido and Madoka knew, they were in a world reflecting the picture of her card which was pristine-white flooring with greek columns, and in the middle of the room was a great white pedestal and on it was a gorgeous gold cauldron of flames...and Madoka saw what her boyfriend looks like for the first time.

'Shido-san? Is...that you?' Madoka gasped out as she saw Shido and Tsunade for the first time in her life.

'Yeah, its me...' said Shido nervously. He wondered if things will stay the same now that she saw his face.

She blushed though and looked genuinely pleased and she was all-grabby with his face. 'Its really Shido-san! I know this face!'

'Madoka...' Shido smiled awkwardly, glad that Madoka didn't find him ugly. This was what he was nervous about.

"They're getting way too lovey-dovey over there..." Tsunade thought, just as awkward in a situation like this.

xxx

Maria's House above the shop...

While her shop was creepy befitting of a witch, her living space was gorgeous.

'Heee...that's a kind thing you did for Madoka-chan.' said Hevn as Tsunade relayed what happened in the mansion. 'She saw your faces for the first time?'

'Yeah. That was what made her decision to take that Eye Surgery since she wants to see him more.' said Tsunade. 'Things are looking up.'

'Well ain't monkey-boy lucky she didn't think he's a monkey.' Ban snorted in bemusement. 'How much does the surgery cost?'

'Well, seven steps up Juubei's hospital bills.'

'More than a billion?!' Juubei, Ban and Ginji looked horrified.

'Unlike Juubei who got blind with his own needles, Madoka-nee was blind at birth.' Tsunade pointed out. 'So its a lot harder, but can still be done. We already found a nice pair of 20/20 eyes and reserved it as a precaution.'

'Lots more of tests to come.' said Maria. 'Rest up for tomorrow!'

Tomorrow?

There's this the next day, in the streets of East-Shinjuku before a pricy-looking boutique.

'Ooh that dress looks so wonderful~' Hevn squealed at the dress. 'Hopefully I can snag a man one day and...'

'Snag?' Ginji blinked, not really getting it.

'Are you really going to get married?' Himiko deadpanned.

'Let her have her fantasies.' Ban drawled.

'I'm only 23!' Hevn yelled.

"I better not say I'm rich and single." Dino sweatdropped. That, and he's younger than her, being 21 this year and didn't Ban just say she's a money-grub?

'I don't think I'll ever marry.' Juubei snorted.

'Huh? Aren't you already married to Kazu-chan, Juubei?' Ginji asked innocently making Juubei choke.

'W-what're you saying, Raitei?!'

'Well who's the one having honeymoons in the hot springs months ago?' Ban smirked.

'That, was for recuperation after I got out of hospital!'

Across the street was Maria and Tsunade, enjoying some ordered drinks.

'Are we really going to be OK with Mido here?' Tsunade wondered. 'He's worse than everybody.' she can do pretty much anything thus opted out.

'He can if he would...he's just stubborn.' Maria pouted.

Dino got to tug the skirt before backing out, satisfied, Juubei did everything to the letter, Himiko managed to strip the mannequin, Ginji the same, Hevn just wanted the necklace and Ban?

Tripped the alarms by smashing the glass!

'Mido, you suck.' Juubei lampshaded as they ran for it.

'Shut up!'

xxx

Maria's house...the incident was on TV.

/Earlier today around 4 pm, a wedding dress was stolen from East-Shinjuku. Witnesses say a sea-urchin broke a window and ran off with the dress,/

'Who're they calling a sea-urchin?!' Ban yelled at the TV.

'Ban-chan calm down!'

'Its always like this with you guys.' Hevn complained.

'Man, my feet are killing meee...' Himiko complained tiredly, having fled the scene of the crime by jogging fast.

'Really, at this rate you can forget about defeating this Lucifer guy much less bring the kids back.' Dino chuckled. 'You suck.' he said, playing with his cup of coffee and making the drink move with his finger.

'Jeez, even I can get through the glass like a ghost.' Juubei said wryly, adding his two cents. 'You suck.'

'Shut up!'

'Visualization is the first step to bringing the cards to life.' said Maria. 'A glass window is easy compared to getting peanuts out of the shells. Well, everybody spend the night in here, more training tomorrow.'

'OK~!'

'Ban, stay up to work on your eggs~'

'Fuck that!'

xxx

Kitchen...Maria was cooking with Tsunade when Dino went in.

'What is it Dino?' Tsunade asked him.

'Tsunade, this world is kinda...mind-blowing.' said Dino. 'Freelancers older than you don't have much common sense and stuff, I'm not used to this.'

'Ahaha...we're unique in that way.' Tsunade snorted as Dino sat on a counter top. 'Out of all of us, only Hevn has a complete education graduating College and chose the underworld instead of her glamorous ex-occupation for reasons to herself. Kazuki and Juubei mastered and are knowledgeable of all Japanese Traditions and Arts before learning what the deceitful world Mugenjou has to offer but both lived in the wrong century. Kazuki's doing better as he could drive a boat. The rest of us are self-study. We don't exist in society. We don't have files in the legal world but in the underworld you get papers about our reputations and success rates. To those who don't exist in society like us, we can't go to school since they'll ask for birth certificates and things only parents can have and sign. Self-study is our only option. But as our worlds remain separate, so does how things work for us. We know stuff no college graduate knows and we know how things work in our jobs but clueless everywhere else.'

'We're pros in our jobs but outside that, we live lives that's outside a normal person's standard of common sense which you have.' Tsunade continued. 'We defy common sense to get what we want as long as we meet our objectives and we are not normal. The longer you stay with us the more you'll understand that.'

'Ah...'

'Heheh, after this job, your homework is to write an essay about your experience about this job and give it to me.' Tsunade giggled.

'Oi oi...'

Dino's phone rang.

'Ops! Scusami...' Dino left while asking, 'Pronto?'

'Italian's a really cute language in its own way.' Maria chirped. 'Have you seen your future with your card...?'

'I don't like it.' came the scowl. 'I'm content with my life and yet...'

'Maa maa...face come what may...that's a Freelancer's credo, right?'

xxx

'...yare yare...I can't back out of this job even if I want to because the enemy can easily crash our plane killing us all. Its that bad. We have to defeat them first.' Dino sighed. 'Things got stranger I wish things were how our world works. We can't leave Japan until the danger passed by. I'll ask for protection OK? This is not going to be easy...you guys go back first once I got things set up.'

That dinner time...

'Aww, you're leaving?' Ginji pouted. 'Why?'

'Division Meetings.' Dino moped, using a euphemism for Alliance Don Meetings. 'The Chief wants us to gather so I gotta fly back home but I'm worried about the situation...we need protection so they can't make our plane crash! Please lend me some cards!' Dino begged Maria. 'I'm still on the game board!'

'Humm...I do have some cards in mind...but first, we need Tsunade-chan to cleanse you and your men to effectively remove you from the game board's hold.' Maria told him. 'Then I'll lend you your Master Card and safe travel cards so they can't crash your plane but I do want them back, OK?'

'OK. We'll go to my hotel after dinner. Romario's already booking us a flight and we'll leave at 1 am...'

xxx

Dino's Hotel Room, a really swanky penthouse suite...

'Damn, even your men live in first-class suites!' Ban exclaimed as they're in the penthouse. What he'd gladly sell for a month here!

'Well, we're only here for a couple days anyway, its not much expenditure.' said Dino airily. 'Let's begin the ritual.'

'What ritual boss?' Romario asked him.

'We ended up in a job involved with the occult and that meant real hexes and curses. And I got cursed already but it can be cured.' said Dino. 'By curing me, we don't have to worry about our plane crashing.'

'Er boss, that's a little farfetched...'

'Truth is stranger than fiction y'know...' Dino groaned. 'Tsunade, baptize us with your card.'

'OK!' Tsunade held up her card and materialized her world and what a world.

"Its not Mist Flames?!"

It also has a presence that does NOT belong in Illusions created by Mist Flames. They felt like they don't belong here either.

'This type of power materializes Upper Reality, the dimension where the power of Divine Design Cards are used in.' Dino explained to his men. 'I was in the board earlier and now we'll get help making me leave the game so we can get to that damn meeting.' he said. 'I really wanted to see this job to the end...' he moped.

'Its time.' said Tsunade. 'Dino, be butt-naked.' she instructed.

'SCUSAMI?!' Dino squawked, red-faced as Himiko and Hevn gasped out.

'We have to burn your current outfit before we cleanse your body with my card's flames to make you retreat safely and imbue travel protection.' Tsunade told her. 'After I cleanse you, Maria-san will do the rest, she says.'

'A-alright but don't look!' Dino choked, red-faced.

Tsunade looked just as red-faced and embarrassed.

'I have to, dimwit! Or I might do my job wrong and cook you instead! D'you think I wanna see your willy, dumbass?!'

'Getting naked in witch rituals happens all the time darlings.' Maria giggled, anticipating Dino's 'goods'. 'Now get stripping!'

'...I need to get drunk after this...' Dino swore. 'Darn it, if not for that meeting I won't have to deal with this awkward embarrassment!' he whined as he reluctantly stripped.

Ban, Ginji and Juubei turned around, not wanting to see a fellow man's bits, Himiko and Hevn turned around because it was mortifying and they're not perverts.

Dino's men very reluctantly looked on because its to make sure no foul play happens but its weird looking at a naked guy...who's a decade/more than a decade younger than them.

Tsunade chanted the spell as she gathered flames from the altar that coiled around Dino starting from his feet and worked its way up and burned his clothes. She maintained her concentration while trying hard NOT to look at Dino's...assets. She was very red-faced and looked constipated as she chanted the spell she was casting. Needless to say its easy to feel sorry for her.

It was Maria's turn and she clearly liked what she saw. Taking out four cards out of the deck, she said, 'Dino-kun, place your Master Card on your heart.' she instructed.

'Like this?' Dino stuck his card on his chest where his heart was. Maria began chanting a long spell, while placing the four other cards on his torso and melded with his flesh, looking like tattoos.

'Its done.' said Maria. 'By merging the cards with your flesh, you can activate Divine Design anytime at will, and access the powers of the cards so you can travel back and forth safely but after the meeting, I want the cards back, OK?'

'Right, can I wear clothes now?' Dino stammered out.

'You can once I get us out of here.' Tsunade grunted as she brought them back to reality, back to the hotel room. 'Get dressed already! I'm having a hard time NOT looking!'

'I like what I'm seeing~' Maria giggled. 'He's soooo manly~!'

'Can it you cradle-robber!' Ban yelled.

xxx

'Hey! Odin's Steed is gone!' boy-in-a-cap cried. 'He vanished!'

'What?!' they looked at their cards and indeed, the card that represented Dino vanished in all their decks.

'He got out...such a thing is possible?!' the girl gasped.

'There are things we don't know just yet. Like the fact you can leave midway unscathed...how did they do it?' earrings-boy swore.

xxx

In a hotel room...

Lucifer looked at the game he was playing by himself with his real cards.

'Hoo? One retreated for good?'