Chinami's Thoughts on Takatsuki Division
The blind seer of Ōta lifts a cup of warm green tea to her lips. Letting the liquid fill her mouth, it soon descends down her throat filling her body with warmth. Sighing, she puts her glass to the side and begins observing Japan's interesting and abnormal people. Placing her hands around her crystal ball, she thinks about which team to choose now... she makes a decision. The team of Shattered Moon of Takatsuki Division.
The crystal ball begins by playing out the scene of a bespectacled young girl of 11 or 12 walking through a school hallway, holding onto a textbook with her head down, carrying a textbook in her arms. She figures if she keeps to herself, no one will bother her. Many other kids in the hallway barely give her a passing glance, but a few either snicker at her or whisper something to their friends while pointing their fingers at her.
She is so busy trying to avoid looking or communicating with anyone, she doesn't pay attention to what is in front of her. Before she knows it, she is quickly shoved to the side into a row of lockers by a much taller girl and falls to the ground. The older girl sneers at her along with her friends and continues on their way as if nothing happened. Almost everyone watching laughs at the bespectacled girl, who fights back her tears. She picks up the book she dropped, and continues walking down the hallway, more quickly this time. All the while she is thinking to herself, 'Don't let it get to you. Just ignore it.' The scene then ends.
The scene opens up to show the bespectacled girl again. She hasn't changed much, though she is a year or so older. She is sitting in a hospital room, looking at an older woman with similar facial features in a hospital bed. The woman is very weak but still looks at the girl as she speaks. The girl is smiling sadly, whilst holding onto the woman's left hand. The woman closes her eyes and murmurs a few words before the heart monitor makes a beeping sound, showing that the woman has flatlined. The girl's eyes fill with water as she hugs the woman as doctors and nurses come into the room, rushing the girl out. She stands by a wall and slides down it as she continues to cry for the loss of her loved one. The scene then ends.
The scene begins by showing the young girl, now many years older sitting down on a couch in her house. She is obviously troubled as she looks down at her hands and what is in them. In one hand is her mobile device, used to send texts or make calls. In her other hand was a phone number on a business card, one she doesn't recognize but was told to call. How did she get the number you ask? It was given to her by a strange black-haired woman who told her that she could solve all of her money problems if she agreed to call her and inform her about the whereabouts of two women whom she personally knew.
The bespectacled woman weighed her options. This woman obviously did not have the best of intentions regarding the two women whom she wanted to find. And besides that, both girls were her friends, and they treated her far better than anyone else did. They didn't judge her, make fun of her, or anything. ...But with her caretaker falling ill, money was hard to come by, and in this world, the more money you had, the better. Not only that, the woman promised her a position in the government. Working for Chuohku with a high position... it was something few could even dream about! Weighing her options, she clenched her teeth and shook her head. Opening the call menu, the girl punched in the numbers on the card. She had made her choice.
The scene now shows the woman in her current form. She has aged almost a decade, but is now a proud member of Chuohku wearing their official uniform. She is seen bossing people around, and most officials either give her a wide berth or simply ignore her. She has made many sacrifices and choices to get to where she is now. ...Though she says she doesn't regret any of them, she knows it is a lie. The money she had received for betraying her best friend... no, a better term for them would be 'blood money'. She can never take back what she has done. ...And even if she could, what would be the point?
At the DJ's name, the crystal ball begins to play out a scene. In it, a scene of a dark-haired boy of nine years is seen in a dirty kitchen. He is trying to use a stove to cook something for himself and someone else. In a room not too far away from where he is, he can hear the loud snoring and mumbling of a man whom he'd rather not think about right now. He can smell, and even taste the scent of alcohol from where he is. It makes him sick to his stomach. He inhales a deep intake of air as he pulls his hand back after getting some hot oil on his arm. He growls as a faint burn appears. It's official: he really hates this way of life. The scene then ends.
A new scene opens showing the dark-haired boy again, though he is several years older, now a teenager. He is sitting in an office with his legs crossed and his head resting on one of his hands as he faces a table full of school board members. He frowns as he already knows what they've decided to do with him. He didn't bother defending himself as he knew anything he said would either just get misinterpreted or disregarded. So what was the point? He knew he wasn't an ideal student. He knew he had a tendency to, as they say, "act out".
But none of that compared with him beating and hurting a member of the school staff. But he had no regrets. In fact, he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he could. And why not? That bastard tried to sexually assault someone he cared about! He deserved everything that happened to him, and more! Looking up, he listened as the head of the table began talking, though he already knew what was being said. The scene then ends.
The scene changes showing the dark-haired boy again. Again, he is older than his previous form. In fact, he looks so different, it'd be a wonder that you can recognize him. His hair had been cut to a short length, and he was dressed in a JMSDF uniform. He stifles a yawn as he is lined up with other navy men and women. Even after a year in this place, he hasn't fully adapted to the schedule he keeps. Still, he will admit, this place has provided him with a discipline he never thought he'd have. He looks as the captain approaches, and sighs, as he mentally prepares himself for another hard day. The scene then ends.
The scene comes on showing the boy in his current form as he currently standing behind a turntable in a nightclub. A smile is on his face as he appears happy for the first time in his life. ...But still, as happy as this life makes him, he can't help but wonder just how long it will last. Will he truly be able to protect his friends and family from the evil machinations of Chuohku? And speaking of which, will Ryoko's position as a Chuohku official reach his limit with her, forcing him to end their long friendship with each other?
The crystal ball comes on and shows a young girl of four or five sitting at a table in a dinky-looking kitchen. A boy with dark hair is busy, trying to cook something on a stove. As he finishes, he places two plates on the table: one for her and one for himself. He places a small piece of meat which is a bit burnt and some greens on both plates. She looks at his plate and notices that his portion is a lot smaller than hers. She offers some of her food to him, but he shakes his head 'no', and just encourages her to eat, which she does. That was it. A normal dinner in their household. One where they were required to do the work that adults were supposed to do. The scene then ends.
The scene then changes as the girl is older. She is sitting outside an office inside a school. She is struggling to hold back her tears as she is trying to come to terms with what is happening. It was all her fault. Her fault that her brother was now going to have to be forced to leave the school. He was already looked down upon because of his acts of vandalism and fighting. She didn't know why he acted this way; he never told her. But now... now he was going to be expelled. And it was all her fault! If only... if only she hadn't agreed to meet with that boy... if only she had never got herself in that situation... if only she had never been born! If only... if only...
The scene changes again and shows the girl has aged once again. She is sitting outside in a room, in a studio. She was clearly nervous. For one thing, she had never done voice acting before. And for another, she was a bit nervous about being alone with a man, especially after... no! She... she promised her brother she wasn't going to think about that. This unfortunately did little to help her nervousness. Taking a deep breath, she jumped up as her name was called. Hurrying inside, she stopped as she felt the cell phone in her pocket buzz, signaling a new message. Quickly pulling it out, she looked as on the main screen was a message from her brother, which only had two short, but sweet words: 'Good luck.' Smiling, the girl felt her anxiety vanish as she proceeded further into the studio.
The scene opens showing the girl in her current form. She is currently standing inside a sound room, reading from a script as she is voicing a character for a horror movie that is coming out soon. She always like horror genres; they were far easier to get into than other ones. She sighs as she finishes her lines, but is truly happy with her work. Despite her life not being how she planned it, she was happy with it.
...Of course, she still can't shake the feelings of the past. The feelings of that man who came close to assaulting her. She knows it happened in the past and that the man is gone, but she still has nightmares of that day. Will there come a time when she can have a restful sleep without memories of that day occurring?
Much like before, Chinami's hand scours the 78 tarot cards laid out on her table. Her hand seems to automatically stop at certain ones, and won't continue until she has turned them over, revealing which ones they are. Obeying, the blind seer does this three times until the cards are revealed. The first one shows five magicians fighting each other upside down (Five of Wands - Reversed). The second card is a man inside a horse-driven machine (The Chariot). The last card features a woman stroking a lion's head upside down (Strength - Reversed).
The ball begins to play out moments in Shattered Moon's lives. Ryoko awakening in a hospital bed after a tragic accident, Aiko meeting his girlfriend, Yukiko Sakura, for the first time, and Kirumi's marriage to her betrothed. All three did not have happy childhoods, but they have obviously tried their hardest to make the most of them. But will their pasts continue to hold sway over their futures? Will they ever be able to move past the mistakes that each of them made? Only time will tell...
