Survival Game, Book 1: The Fool

Act One: Chapter Eight

Ryou had passed through several corridors until he fell upon another test room. This one was probably as odd as the previous one, with the same checkered floors as the hallways from the first test, but the walls were covered in stained glass. Each glass displayed a different major Arcana and the ceiling was completely dark, specked with glowing white stars painted on and a large moon illuminating the room. There was no furniture in the small room, other than an antique table with two wooden chairs facing each other. An elevator stood out among the oddities, signifying the end of the floor. Someone is coming. Ryou noticed as he saw the elevator going down to his floor. This is it. This must be him. He quickly wiped his dampen palms onto his pants and tugged at his shirt collar, suddenly feeling a flash of heat. His clothes and hair were still slightly damp from the previous test, turning the reddish brown color of his hair to a deep brown.
When the elevator came to a stop, a figure stepped out, barely visible in the darkness at first. As he stepped out into the light, Ryou had to suppress a gasp of shock, unsure of how he didn't notice such an appearance even in the darkness. The man who stood before him made the whole room—the whole floor even—look like a normal everyday office. Ryou suddenly understood why the man acted so flamboyant in his speech. He's probably the definition of it. From the man's long royal purple tailcoat that faded into a more midnight blue at the tips with white cuffs at the end of the sleeves, all topped off with gold patterns of gothic lilies and swirls that was sown into the cuffs' fabric, to the matching top hat with two playing cards and a white plume tucked into the burgundy ribbon tied around it. The only thing that would seem normal about his attire would be the white long sleeved shirt, buttoned up to the collar and neatly tucked in, but that was covered by a velvet black vest, the same gothic pattern from his coat's cuffs etched into it with silver thread. Underneath the vest was a burgundy necktie to match the top hat and leather belt around his waist. Some sort of holster was on the right side of his belt, but from what Ryou could tell, there was no gun in it and the only weapon the man carried was a dagger, the handle barely visible underneath his coat. The man wore a similar pair of black dress pants to the ones Ryou owned for work, though seemingly much better quality and more expensive, which were tucked into a pair of knee-high leather boots. The boots looked just as expensive as the rest of his outfit, making Ryou feel self conscious in comparison.
Is this guy... truly my mentor? Ryou wanted to ask the question aloud, but he didn't even know if he could speak to someone as high class as this man appeared. They were almost the same height, both particularly average in stature, and the man was undoubtably more slender in physique, though Ryou was slim as well but slightly more muscular. Despite this, he felt small compared to his mentor, and now wished they had continued their way of training through the speakers. Reluctantly, Ryou approached the man, now waiting for him at one side of the wooden table. He forced himself to make eye contact, looking nervously at his mentor's pair of copper eyes, gleaming like two tiny flames from behind a pair of metal framed glasses and thick bangs of blonde hair that framed his face.
The man chuckled. "No offense, Nakahara-kun," he began, resting a gloved hand against his chin. "But, if this is your reaction to me, then you'll be defeated in seconds by a Grandmaster while you stand there gawking at them." He moved his hand to the holster-like pouch at his waist, unbuttoning it and pulling out the contents inside. "Now, before we begin your final test, I must do some preparations." Ryou almost flinched as the man threw the contents of his pouch into the air with the speed of a striking snake, until he realized they were merely a deck of tarot cards. He expected them to fall to the ground, and knowing his mentor, he wouldn't doubt he'd do something so stupid, but instead the cards seem to move around on their own, levitating in the air like puppets pulled on invisible strings. With a flick of the man's hand, the cards floated onto the table, arranging themselves in two long rows and stopping once they were all laid neatly down onto the surface. Ryou felt a prick of irritation shortly after recovering from his amazement, suddenly realizing that one card was missing. Shouldn't there be 22? He knew that much about the Arcana to point out such a thing.
"Don't worry about the missing card, I'm lending it to someone at the moment." His mentor reassured him as if he'd read the boy's mind. "Now, I should probably introduce myself. I had thought about doing it before, but it seemed impolite. Well, that and I was so wrapped up in the tests, that I honestly completely forgot! When you got to the second test, I was hoping you'd say something about the setup I made. It's my new pride and joy, even though it costed way too much time and money, but it turned out nicely, don't you think? There was also the part with that damned snow. Fake or not, I still can't stand it! It's cold and wet and it freezes after a few days so you're only destined to slip and fall! Then comes the slush afterwards and you go all day feeling miserable just looking at it. I hate it and 'snow' is in my last name! O-Oh, I'm rambling, aren't I? Ahem," He quickly cleared his throat before tipping the edge of his top hat to Ryou. "My name is Ayato Yukimura. But, just call me Ayato. No -sensei or -senpai onto it, just Ayato. It makes things more casual and less confusing that way."
But, doesn't he call me Nakahara-kun? Maybe he doesn't even know my first name... and he's supposed to be my mentor, I can't dare call him by his first name so casually! But, if it's what he wants... "U-Um, should we start the test already... Ayato?" Ryou stammered awkwardly, suddenly feeling as if his mentor wasn't as competent as he originally appeared. And I get the feeling he's not rich either... He added to himself.
"Of course... your final test will be very simple. It is only a case of making a decision. If you make the right decision, you'll pass and receive this..." Ayato pulled out a thin black leather box from his breast pocket and laid it on the table. "In this box holds the AX drug. Once you take it, you'll never be able to turn back. Well, not entirely. You could always leave, but once your powers awaken, you'll be a different person. That is where this test comes in. I will tell you your fate and then you'll make the decision: Will you take the drug or will you leave this program? You can't be naive about this and do it just to please your dear Mama. You got to make sure this is what you want. There are plenty of jobs out there and you can always better your attendance. You have other options than this to help your family... if they even need your help to begin with. That is why I'm telling you your fate. I'm sure once you hear it, it'll make your decision more clear."
Ryou waited for Ayato to begin, his throat drying with nervousness. He's right, I do have more options than this. But, something keeps pulling me towards the Survival Game. It had only occured to him when he started the tests, but since then, he felt some strange attachment to the program. Ayato could be right. I may be destined to be here. And now I'll at least know why. "Are you ready?" Ayato asked, his copper eyes narrowing in uncharacteristic seriousness. Ryou nodded firmly. "In that case, you start out with The Fool." He held up the card in question. "It is the start of your new journey, the one you were destined to go on. But, this is where a fork in the road comes in. You have a choice. You can continue on with the journey or you can ignore it and leave while you can. If you leave, you'll return to your dull life of textbooks and retail jobs, but it'll be more simpler. You'll continue on being blissfully unaware of what could've been and what you could've known. You won't be in danger, you won't be risking your life, but you'll keep thinking of the other path you could've followed. Yet, you can never follow it again. Though you're safe, was it truly the right choice?"
Ryou never spoke, only waited for Ayato to tell him the other option. "Now," He began, pushing up his glasses and moving a piece of blonde hair from one eye. "Let's say you stay with the Survival Game. There'll be more risks. You'll get hurt. Maybe you'll even die. But, you'll save lives and help your family like you wanted. And you'll be able to learn the truth, about secrets you were blind to all this time." At the sight of Ryou's lips beginning to open to protest, he added, "Did you really think Kimura-senpai chose you over a month of missed school days? That'd be a pretty dumb reason to ask you to potentially kill yourself, don't you think? No. You've been in the dark for so long, you poor boy. When I asked you the question about your father, you said you'd do anything, no matter the result, as long as it meant you tried every option. You didn't have an option back then, but you do now. If given the chance to find out what truly happened to him, would you take it? Would you want to know what has been hidden from you, even if it meant you may have different views of the world afterwards?"
"I-I... I would... but, why would anyone hide stuff about my father? The doctors said it themselves! He got sick overnight and took a turn for the worst." Ryou could hardly believe it. I don't think Ayato would lie, but... He guessed a part of him didn't want to fathom the thought. Why'd he tell me this and expect me not to want to know? "If it's true, then you must know! What is it?! What was he hiding from me?"
"It's not my story to tell, I'm afraid. Only fate can show you the truth, if you accept it. I cannot. In fact, I was a child myself back then. The only thing I cared about was going to the park every Sunday with my sister. If you want to know, then you must make the decision. If you say yes, you must do it for your own sake. You must do it because you want to. So, tell me," He held out the box and opened it up, revealing a syringe with clear liquid inside. "Will you take the AX drug and fight alongside us? Or will you turn back now?"
No! I can't turn back. I want to help my mom, that was my original goal, but I can do that and learn the truth both. If something happened to my father, I'm going to find out! He remembered Azumi's words about the four of them having connections to the Grandmasters. That must be it. If they were involved with his death, then I will fight them! I'll give him peace by putting them to justice! "I want to know the truth. Rather you're right or wrong, there must be some truth to it that I can find out. If the Grandmasters killed him, I want to know."
"I knew you would say that. With that said, here you are. I truly wish you luck. You can inject it into any vein and for the next 24 hours, you'll be fully energized. The after effects will kick in after that and the hard part of this program will begin for the next week. The after effects depend on which category number you get. If it was up to me alone, I'd have gave you #1000, fortune. But it appears fate has bestowed upon to you #89, medicine. Which means you'll have the powers to heal and fight in combat. Each category uses a different version of AX, so I can't tell you what to expect. All I can tell you is I hope fate guides you well." He took out the syringe and placed it in Ryou's hands. "Good luck. You'll need it."
Ryou wasn't sure why, but seeing his reward from all of this sparked some sort of joy into him. Though healing wasn't at all his first choice, he'd make it work. Azumi Kimura... Ayato Yukimura... I thank you. I don't know if this stuff about my father is real or not but I now get the chance to see if it's so. And if not, thanks to you, I'll get to embrace a whole new life thought to be impossible. Whatever happens now... I'll leave it to fate. And then, he inserted the needle and pressed down the piston.

(This was the end of Act One. I hope you enjoyed. Each act for this book is a different character and storyline. I hope you continue to read and I thank you for your support.)