A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Dreaming - Blondie

"…Are you sure you're not intoxicated?"

"Perfectly sure. Trust me, this is the last thing I want to be doing today."

"Yet here you are, ready to get a n-nipple piercing," Umi's piercing eyebrow twitched to coincide with her stutter.

Currently on her piercing bed was a woman with straight black hair and a scowl on her face. In the corner, stifling a grin, was a rather pretty woman with brown hair and pierced ears.

"She's a woman of her word, after-all."

"Are you totally sure you want to see this?" Umi turned to face the giggling woman, who was doing her best to stay out of the way but also trying to get a good view. There was a hint of mischievous excitement in her eyes.

"T-Totally! Sora lost the bet, so she needs to get her nipples pierced!"

"I'd much rather you not be here for this, Eriko," the woman on the bed snapped. Umi fondled awkwardly at the hem of her black t-shirt and hummed.

"Y-You're sure you want the nipples pierced? Not an ear or eyebrow?"

"It has to be the nipples."

A pierced eyebrow was raised again.

"Both nipples."

Umi pulled her lips together tightly as the giggling woman flashed a form.

"She signed the forms, and everything is ready, so let's get piercing!"

'So much for a relaxing day-after-Valentine's-day,' Umi mumbled, pulling on her gloves and reluctantly getting to work.

"I'm just looking at Umi-senpai's schedule at the moment, and it looks like her earliest availability is next Tuesday…Her days off are Sunday and Monday…Yep, I'll lock that in for you now! We'll see you then!" Rin hung up the phone and sighed.

Fridays were normally rather slow, save for the occasional walk-ins. Since Fridays were also Nozomi's days off, and Rin was not allowed to do a proper tattoo, she'd be at the reception: taking appointments and sorting out back office things, as well as continuing to practice on the pigskin at one of the stations.

Rin had overcome her squeamishness towards the fake skin, and was currently working on more difficult, but one of the most common tattoo designs: flowers.

'Rin-chan, let me tell you right now, that If you want to be a tattoo artist, you're going to have to be able to draw and tattoo a lot of flowers.'

Nozomi's words echoed in her head as the orange-haired apprentice walked away from the counter and sat back at her station with the tattoo machine slowly tracing over a rose stencil.

The store phone was clipped onto her belt, since Umi was currently with a client, and the pedal was on standby to switch off if the phone rang.

There was a sudden squeal of agony that came from the piercing room, followed by a howl of manic laughter. Rin knew that two women were in there, plus Umi, but she had no idea what was going on. All she really knew was that one looked extremely reluctant, and the other was practically glowing with glee.

"Umi-senpai isn't that harsh," Rin mused out loud as she cleaned off the excess ink off of the pig skin.

She wasn't able to continue, because the phone rang. Rin carefully turned off the machine and placed it down carefully, before proceeding to answer phone.

"Gooooood afternoon! Lily White Body Art! This is Rin speaking!" She was always cheery when she answered the phone, in comparison to Umi's low monotone voice, and Nozomi's cheeky remarks.

"Hello, is the owner of the establishment present?"

"No, sorry, today is her day off. She'll be back in on Sunday, however."

There was silence from the other end, and Rin bit her lip.

"Um…Hello?"

"Yes, I am still here. Sorry about that…Would you mind taking a message for the owner please?"

"Of course, just gimme a sec," Rin placed the phone in the crook of her neck, using her left shoulder to hold the device to her pierced ear. She then picked up a pencil from her station and a piece of tracing paper.

"Okay, what would you like me to pass on?" Rin leaned against her cabinet of ink to take the details.

"First, I will leave you my contact number. It is as follows,"

Rin jotted down the number and the name of the woman: Anju.

"And here is the message: If the owner of Lily White Body Art does not call me back before 5pm on Monday, I will close down the business."

Rin's heart stopped. She froze completely as her blood ran cold.

"O-okay, I'll let her know."

"Thank you, Rin-san. Have a nice day,"

The caller hung up, and Rin was left in her new-marble state, save for her short and shallow breaths. Without thinking, the apprentice scrambled to her feet and dashed into the break room to call Nozomi.

"Close down the business?" Nozomi's voice was surprisingly calm over the phone, and it was making Rin even more anxious.

"Y-Yes! I don't really know how or what happened by the lady said if you don't call 'em by Monday we'll be done for!"

"Rin-chan, I need you to calm down," Nozomi lay in her bed, ear to her mobile phone as Eli idly played with her hair. However, upon hearing the news, she stopped instantly.

"I will call them first thing Monday morning. I doubt that type of business will be open on the weekends," Nozomi stared at the ceiling, her vision going out of focus.

"Don't worry, Rin-chan. This is for me to deal with."

"B-But Nozomi-sen-"

"Rin-chan," The tattoo artist cut of her apprentice in a slow voice. There was a groan from Rin.

"Urgh, fine! But if I show up to work on Monday in a state of panic, you'll know why!"

"Understandable, just leave this matter for me to handle. Keep working on your pigskin practice. If anyone wants a small tattoo on Saturday, you may do them."

"Wait, What?!"

"I trust you, Rin-chan. If the tattoo is no bigger than the legal requirement for you, then by all means, tattoo away, my young Padawan."

"…Okay…"

"Have faith in yourself, Rin-chan," Nozomi grinned, and hung up. She turned her emerald gaze to the worried sapphire, and smiled.

"You shouldn't worry either," Nozomi lightly tapped the pad of her right first finger to Eli's nose. The blonde pouted, not convinced.

"That's like telling an alcoholic to stop drinking."

"Hmm, maybe, but regardless, please leave me to sort this out. It's my store, after all."

Eli let out a huff, and rested her head on Nozomi's chest, covering up the owl holding the tarot card.

Later that night, when Eli was sound asleep, Nozomi reached over for her set of tarot cards and decided to draw. The moon hung proudly in the sky, with its beams filtering through the window effortlessly.

The artist drew the first card: The Hierophant

'Hmm,' Nozomi placed It on her left knee before drawing again. She instantly knew what it meant: A large corporation with strict requirements, a symbol of knowledge.

'I don't work for a large corporation,' She thought before drawing another card:

Death. She couldn't help but laugh.

'You'd think I'd know change when I see it,' Nozomi placed that card on the mattress in front of her, and got ready to draw again.

The Tower.

Nozomi bit her lip, she didn't want to know what was happening, but she couldn't help dwelling on it. The artist didn't particularly hate any of her cards, but The Tower was one she didn't particularly like to see.

Shit's about to hit the fan.

As usual, my tumblr url is: tarot-tatas