Chapter 6
Akira was visiting the Samegawa Flood Plain when he saw a young girl, with dark brown hair, sitting there as well. A blank card.
“Hello. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”
She looked surprised.
“O-oh, well I-I’m here with my father. We’re on summer vacation, but… my mother is busy.”
“That sucks. I’m Akira Kurusu, but call me Akira. What about you?” he grinned.
“H-Hifumi Togo. You can call me Hifumi, if you want.”
“Okay! What are your interests?”
A fire lit, in her eyes.
“My father and I particularly prefer shogi. It’s so cool, and I’ve even won a competition!”
“Shogi? I’ve heard of it but never played. I’m into tarot cards, but would you teach me?”
“Of course! You’re really interested? Well, then I have a board at our hotel room, and- oh. I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”
“You’re passionate. I think it’s great! Oh, but can I tell my mom first? She’s at work right now, but I can visit her.”
“Of course! Where does she work?”
“A bookstore.”
“Wow! There must be so many shogi books- are there?”
“I think there’s a whole section for strategy.”
“Woah.”
I am thou, thou art I,
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh the chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Star Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing
That shall lead to freedom and new power…
Lavenza?! Akira looked around, but with no luck. This had happened before, with Igor (0. Fool.), Lavenza (XI. Strength), Uncle Minato (XXII. Universe.), Mom (XXII. World), and… ****-kun (****.*******.). Hifumi didn’t seem to notice his confusion, as he caught up with her. When he used his third eye, her card had been activated! But, it was from a different deck?! The same one as Igor’s, Lavenza’s, and Goro’s. The image was different, and it was in French.
XVII. L’Etoile. The Star.
From then on, Akira learned shogi, but not enough to beat Hifumi. They hung out more often, and soon he had a fifth unbreakable bond. When he introduced her to Lavenza, the three of them became an unstoppable trio of disaster. Hifumi would plan out the strategies, Akira would enact them, and Lavenza would help, or bail them out of trouble.
_______________________
“Okay, ladies, I’m thinking we need codenames.”
“Why? What is the point?”
“Well, you can be Trickster, since that’s what Lavenza and the other blue people call you.” Hifumi had only met Margaret and Marie, but had been informed there were others.
“Nice nice, except I don’t know why they call me that. Sounds cool, though, so I’ll go with it.”
“We call you the Trickster, because you are the Trickster. Anyway, I think Hifumi should be Star.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s your arcana, the means to which all is revealed!” Akira and Lavenza spoke in unison.
“You keep saying this, but it’s hypocritical since you complain that your uncle keeps saying it.”
“Shhh. No logic in this house, Star. What should Lavenza’s name be? Blue? Short?”
“You will face true Strength, should you keep that up.”
“What about Butterfly? Since her headband, and all?”
“Great! Now, Butterfly, what’s our next objective? Star, we’ll need a strategy.”
_______________________
She confided in him before she left.
“Akira, I wanted to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“You know how I told you I won a competition for shogi?”
“Yeah, you’re really smart, sooo…”
“My mother has been pushing for me to do more and more of them. I… love shogi, but, I don’t think this is about that anymore.”
“Oh. Well, if you keep doing what is right, then it’ll all be okay. Take this, for good luck.” He handed her a long red cord with a yellow tassel at the end and a three leaf clover shape at the top.
She put it in her hair.
“I’ll come back here. For Christmas. But, it’ll only be a few days, and that’s all I could convince my parents for.”
They see Lavenza coming over.
“You’re coming back for Christmas?” She bounces on her toes.
“Yeah.”
“Great, then we can all hang out again! I’ll make sure Trickster over here doesn’t lose his shogi skills. Maybe he could beat you one day.”
“Ha! As if! Nobody can face the might of the Togo Kingdom!”
“We’ll see.”
“Bye Akira, Lavenza.”
“Farewell, Star.”
“Au revoir, mon étoile~”