Just Like Fate

“…One more time.”

“Well, if you insist. But this is the fifth time, don’t you think asking for ‘one more’ is a bit-”

“Housho Margo. Enough talk. Just do it again.”

“Ara, my apologies dear Nanoka. Of course.”

Margo smiled. She moved the three cups back into position. Slowly she lifted them up showing that there was nothing underneath them. Then she showed Nanoka the inside. Out of her pocket she took a small rubber ball and placed it in the middle.

“Satisfied?” Margo asked. Nanoka nodded.

Her eyes stared intently as Margo placed one cup, then another, then finally one last one covering the ball. With her target locked on, Margo began shuffling the cups around.

Alas, poor Nanoka. When would she learn that focusing so hard on one thing was her downfall? Margo kept smiling as she shuffled the cups around at varying rhythms, slower, faster, sometimes even going back and forth. Then during one of the slower iterations, with Nanoka focusing on the cup with the ball under it, it was easy for Margo to slip another ball under one of the other cups. She continued to shuffle the cups as normal, save for one moment when she tilted the cup with the original ball just enough so that the ball would slip out and onto Margo’s lap.

A few more shuffles and then Margo smiled as she looked at Nanoka.

“Well? Which one would you like to guess this time?”

Decisively, Nanoka pointed at a cup and then reached to uncover it. Only for there to yet again, be nothing under it.

“Ah, what a shame Nanoka! Wrong again.”

“One more time!” Nanoka said, frustration mounting in her voice. “This time I’ll catch how you’re cheating!”

The look on her face was priceless. Margo delighted in it. A cruel hobby some might say, but Margo could only pity them for not understanding. Yet maybe their time together made Margo soft. If this was the Margo from before she would exploit the same trick over and over again until her target was bled dry. Why fix something that isn’t broken? And Nanoka’s currency of flustered faces was something that Margo wouldn’t tire of.

Nonetheless, Margo felt a twinge of pity. Nanoka deserved a bit of a break.

“Oh my, how could you imply I was cheating? But if you insist, then how about we change things up?”

Margo reached into her sleeves and pulled out a deck of tarot cards. Nanoka scowled. She definitely wanted to win once. But that was something Margo would never let her do.

“Don’t look like that Nanoka. This isn’t a game, rather just a bit of fortune telling for fun. How about it?”

The look on her face clearly showed she wasn’t interested. If only she knew how much easier that would make this part.

“Please Nanoka? Just once? We’ll do something simple.” Margo said, a hint of desperation in her voice, just enough to make Nanoka feel a bit of pity and want to play along. She did just make Margo repeat the same thing six times in a row, Nanoka would feel like she owed Margo a little bit.

And of course, much like all her targets in the past, it worked. Nanoka looked at Margo and nodded. “Just once.”

“So five more times after this?”

“Housho Margo!”

“I kid, I kid! Just once, just like you said.” Margo giggled. Again, Nanoka just made it so easy.

Margo shuffled her deck. She thought about how she wanted to do this. It would be child’s play for her to make Nanoka draw any card in her deck. Even if Nanoka insisted on handling the cards entirely by herself Margo was sure she could find some way to tease Nanoka with whatever card she drew. Ah, but she was getting ahead of herself. It would mean nothing if she didn’t know what she wanted Nanoka to ask about.

“So, my dear Nanoka. What would you like to know more about?”

“…”

Nanoka looked lost in thought. Margo was pretty curious as well. She had a feeling Nanoka would ask something along the lines of when her sister would be fully healed. Maybe she’d find some way to twist it into “she’ll get better when you finally find the cup with the ball under it.” What arcana would be greatest for that? It was a difficult idea but the best ideas were never the easiest. Her thoughts drifted when suddenly Nanoka answered.

“…I’d like to know how good my odds are with my crush.”

The cards spilled out of Margo’s hands.

Nanoka blinked out of surprise. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, um, yes! Sorry, I just…” Margo was strangely at a loss for words. If you asked a million Margos what Nanoka would ask about, that would never have come up.

Nanoka bent down and helped pick up some of the cards. “Here.” She handed them to Margo. Unable to look Nanoka in the eyes, Margo grabbed them and began shuffling the cards in a hurry.

Love? Love advice? From Nanoka? That was what she would ask about?! Margo’s thoughts were in a blender. She coughed and tried to regain her focus.

“So, what brought this about?” That’s right. Stay calm Margo. Deep breaths.

“…I thought this was the usual sort of question people asked.”

Ah, of course! Margo wanted to slap herself. Nanoka was just parroting what she knew about tarot cards. Of course, it was a common question after all. Her shuffling resumed under calmer hands.

“Plus… I was kind of interested in the answer myself.”

The cards almost dropped again but Margo caught herself.

“Right, of course.” Margo laughed nervously. “You’re right, it is a rather common question.” She coughed. “So… why don’t you tell me more about them?”

“Huh?” Nanoka looked confused. “Would that help? I thought you’d be able to tell from the card I drew.”

“Er… It would help my reading of the card.” Not entirely wrong but… Margo was strangely invested. What was her crush like?

But it seemed that Nanoka didn’t want to divulge any details. “…Do you really have to?” It was strange how shy Nanoka was being. So much so that the desire to bully Nanoka overrode her earlier shock. It was exactly the kind of thing she needed to regain her stride.

Clearing her throat, Margo smiled gently. “Well if you want an accurate reading it’s only natural that I be provided as much information as possible right?”

The hesitation and blushing on Nanoka’s face was just too irresistible. Now that Nanoka was hesitating like this, she simply needed to give her a… gentler out to divulge more information. “Of course, I wouldn’t need anything like their name or who they were. We can start with something simple. How about you tell me a little about what they look like? Surely that’s not something so embarrassing that you wouldn’t be able to say right?”

It worked. Nanoka let out a little sigh of relief as she contemplated how much information to divulge but if that was all then it was much easier. “They’re about my height. They don’t have very long hair. They’re…” A blush crept onto Nanoka’s cheeks. “They’re very pretty too.”

Oh Nanoka, if you were going to look like that, how was Margo supposed to hold back? She kept shuffling the cards and spread them out in front of her. “Fantastic. Let’s see what fate has in store for you and your crush then hm?”

Nanoka nodded. Margo smiled and motioned for her to pick a card. She chose one arbitrarily and flipped it onto the desk.

The High Priestess. Honestly, Margo wondered if there was a need to even stick remotely close to the tarot meanings when Nanoka likely didn’t know them at all. But perhaps this was a good way for Margo to brush up on her skills. It had been a while after all.

“Ah, quite the auspicious card to have been drawn to you Nanoka. Upright nonetheless, well not that I needed to see that.” Margo chuckled. “It appears you’ve been hiding your feelings from your crush, is that correct?”

“…Yes.” Nanoka nodded.

“But of course if that was all, then I wouldn’t need this card. I didn’t need fortune to tell me that.”

Nanoka looked annoyed. “If you’re just going to-”

“Hold on dear, there’s more to the card than that. I’m getting there. The High Priestess is all about mystery, what’s the fun in revealing everything right away?” Margo closed her eyes. “Fate is sometimes obvious, sometimes not. But if you were to look away from even the most obvious signs, how could you ever notice the subtle ones?”

The answer seemed to placate Nanoka as Margo thought it would. She continued.

“In regards to your relationship, it seems that the feelings have gone unnoticed by your crush as well. If they knew your feelings, the card would’ve been reversed.” Though of course, the cards could mean a variety of things. “So you can rest at ease that your crush doesn’t know about your feelings either. Isn’t that wonderful Nanoka?”

She didn’t react on the surface but Margo could tell she looked a little relieved. What an innocent girl, not wanting her crush to know about her feelings. And now that she was feeling a bit better, it was time to push her a little more.

“However this doesn’t tell us enough about how things will go from here on out. Nanoka, why don’t you tell me something else? How about a simple… older or younger?”

A simple question but it would help Margo get a better picture of Nanoka’s crush.

After some hesitation, Nanoka answered. “Younger.”

“Excellent. Now, if you would?” Margo fanned out the cards again.

The Moon’s silvery color reflected off the card and into the room.

“Hm, hm, hm…” Margo pretended to be deep in thought as she looked at the card. Nanoka glanced back and forth, almost worried that she had somehow messed up. Ah, how cute.

“The Moon… Well, perhaps you could help me interpret the card this time Nanoka. Tell me, is your crush rather… secretive?”

“Yes.”

An instant response. Margo actually didn’t expect this. She was expecting Nanoka to deny it, which in turn would allow Margo to weave in some doubt or negativity around Nanoka’s crush. But no matter, Margo would not be where she is today if her act would collapse around one unexpected response.

“I knew it, of course they would be. I imagine their true intentions are hard to understand, like a moon hiding behind clouds. Am I correct?”

Nanoka leaned forward, almost surprised. “That’s… yes, that’s right.”

“Indeed. The Moon shows us that getting into a relationship with them may be quite difficult.”

It looked like that wasn’t the answer Nanoka wanted to hear, but it was most certainly the answer Margo wanted to give. She smiled while looking at Nanoka. Now just how to push a bit further?

“But have no fear. Tell me something else about them. Then perhaps the next card could divine how it goes.”

Unable to look Margo in the eyes, Nanoka took a deep breath. Truthfully she wouldn’t normally continue with this but it seemed that somehow there was some power behind Margo’s tarot cards. But just how was she going to continue without Margo figuring out who it was?

“They’re… also very… fashionable.”

“…Nanoka dear, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

Nanoka clicked her tongue. “They’re… fun to be around?”

The way she tried to evade giving out more information was adorable. But it wasn’t enough. Margo gently smiled. “Oh come on Nanoka, it’s not like I would know who they are. What’s wrong with giving me more information?”

However the instant she said that she knew she was wrong. Nanoka’s face twitched as she said it. And while she nodded and replied listlessly that it was true and gave some throwaway detail about how her crush’s eye color (a lie no less), Margo knew better. It WAS someone she knew.

A very important revelation. Someone that both Margo and Nanoka knew? And they were younger than her? That eliminated it likely being some celebrity, and at least judging by how she reacted, it meant it was someone on the island. Which really narrowed it down to either An-an, Noa, or…

A thought suddenly crept into Margo’s mind. It couldn’t be. Could it? And somehow, the thought excited her. It was like being given the keys to a vault of solid gold.

Or maybe more accurately, the codes to an armory full of teasing potential. The most devious of grins threatened to rise on Margo’s face but she had to force it down. She must! Because there was still the chance that she was wrong. And she had to confirm it. She knew there was no way Nanoka would answer any more questions about them so instead she had to do it in a more roundabout way.

“Well, let us at least proceed with one last round of cards shall we? This time Nanoka, I would like you to pick two.”

Barely managing to recover her composure, Nanoka nodded and selected two cards. Cards that Margo already knew of course. She flipped them onto the table.

A brilliant golden sun, as well as a pale skeleton riding a horse.

“Oh my, what a rare combination of cards.” Margo nodded to herself. “An interesting combination, and an even more interesting meaning.”

“W-what does that mean?” Nanoka stumbled over her words.

“Well, you drew Death first so I’ll start with that.” Pull her in Margo. Send her down first. “When it comes to love, this can mean a few things. But given everything we know and given that well, you’re asking about your crush… the most simple interpretation is that unfortunately it seems this won’t go well. It might be better to move on.”

The dejected look on Nanoka gave rise to the sadistic pleasure that slept within Margo. She smiled and continued.

“But, because we drew two, we cannot interpret Death by itself. Take a look at the Sun. Look at how the golden rays emanate from the card. This, Nanoka my dear, is the greatest possible card to draw when it comes to love. Because it signifies happiness and fortune to come. Your crush is almost certain to reciprocate!”

“Didn’t I draw the worst card too though?” Nanoka replied.

“Of course it seems rather strange right?” Margo giggled. “Fate works in mysterious ways however. While it is true that Death could mean that it’s time to move on, you could also look at it another way. It could mean that it would be the death of your single status.”

Her eyes looked less downcast and there was even a bit of happiness in Nanoka’s expression. “Oh. That’s… That’s good to know. Thank you, Housho Margo.” She relaxed.

“But.” Margo cautioned her.

“But…?”

“The Sun is not a constant, as you are aware, it does set.”

“Yes…?”

“Which means…” Margo smiled gently at Nanoka. “If you want your relationship to go well, you must confess as soon as possible.”

Perfect delivery. And now Margo would know for sure. If Nanoka had a crush on Margo, she’d confess on the spot. If she didn’t, she’d leave and perhaps embarrassingly confess to An-an or Noa. Well, she’d have to think of some way to explain how she perhaps misinterpreted the cards. Oh, just imagining the look of despair on Nanoka’s face was getting Margo excited.

Nanoka took a deep breath. “Alright. Fine.”

Margo’s heart skipped a beat. Did that mean that… Was Nanoka going to confess to her? Now that she was about to, Margo realized she was less-

Then Nanoka got up and left. Oh. Margo let out a sigh of relief. Yet… she was also quite disappointed too. Did part of her really want Nanoka to confess to her? She thought about it. Maybe the look of rejection would look better if Margo did it directly to her. Ah well. It is what it is. She’d have to make do with seeing how Nanoka would feel after being rejected by someone else after thinking she’d succeed.

However strangely enough, Margo couldn’t find Nanoka anywhere. She asked her sister, even Noa and An-an but neither of them had seen her. Did… Did Nanoka realize Margo was just teasing her? Even still, this was rather strange. Abnormal even.

Her thoughts drifted as she wandered aimlessly outside. It would be a blow to her pride as a con artist but she supposed she couldn’t always win them all. Even Nanoka would have to get better at knowing when Margo was lying at some point.

“Housho Margo.”

Margo’s heart threatened to stop as Nanoka called out to her from behind. Just where did this girl pop out from?

“Oh, Nanoka. You really should do something about that habit of yours.”

“…Habit? That’s not important. I have something to tell you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I…”

Nanoka fidgeted as Margo looked at her quizzically. What was she-

“I like you!” Nanoka said suddenly as she thrusted forward some flowers.

It was an innocent confession from a girl who had been through so much to a girl who did nothing to deserve it. The flowers picked from the field explained why Nanoka had gone missing. The scenery of it was quite charming.

If only it wasn’t Margo standing there. Because of course, Margo was going to reject Nanoka, see the beautiful look of despair on her face, engrave it into her memory, and perhaps relish in it when Nanoka left the island.

“Oh, Nanoka… I-”

But the words wouldn’t come out. Margo found herself struggling to say ‘I’m sorry’ or anything like it. Instead, she was just looking at Nanoka who was so earnestly confessing in such a childlike way.

How… how could Nanoka say she liked Margo? After everything she did to her? The constant teasing, the constant pranks, everything just to see Nanoka’s flustered face. Did Nanoka enjoy that?

And somehow, the idea of Nanoka liking Margo made her happy. Margo thought she would only be looking forward to the idea of rejecting Nanoka but upon receiving her confession it was like a sudden burst of happiness. What was this feeling? She had never felt this way before when someone confessed to her. She had always looked forward to the feeling that would come AFTER she rejected them, not the feeling that came from their confession!

“Housho Margo…?” Nanoka looked up at Margo.

The look of Nanoka’s expectant face was too much for Margo. She turned around and tried to run.

“Wait!” Nanoka grabbed onto Margo’s arm. Margo struggled to break free but physical strength was never her strong suit. “Y-you said…!”

“I-I know what I said!” Margo shouted. She turned to look at Nanoka. Now there was the face that Margo had expected to see. But… where was the joy? Where was the pleasure that she normally felt?

This was wrong. This was all wrong! Damn it Nanoka!

She grabbed Nanoka’s chin. And she kissed Nanoka.

At first, Nanoka was surprised and shocked and naturally tried to push Margo away, but Margo wasn’t about to let that happen. She wrapped her arms around Nanoka and pulled her in tighter.

Margo had kissed before, but none of it ever felt like this. It felt electric. And it only served to make her hungrier for more. Each time Nanoka tried to pull back, Margo would push forward, until eventually the she was so out of breath they had no choice but to separate.

“Ha… Ha…” Margo gasped for air as she looked at Nanoka’s flustered face. This. This was the face she loved seeing the most. And it was only this wonderful because it was Nanoka.

Nanoka panted as she tried to comprehend what happened. “You… What…”

“Didn’t I tell you Nanoka? If you confessed, it would be successful. Just like fate ordained.”

“But… You seemed…”

“Why, I couldn’t make it that easy for you could I?” Margo grinned. “Nanoka dear, I hope you’re ready for what my love is like.”

Nanoka shuddered as she remembered a certain incident in the past.

“Ah, but don’t worry.” The grin turned slightly sinister. “I love you Nanoka, so there’s no reason for me to kill you. After all, how could I see how beautifully red your cheeks could become if you were dead?” Margo cupped Nanoka’s cheeks and kissed her once again.