Part 2 || 2 | Sakura

----------------------------------------

A Tale of Four Spies

----------------------------------------

Within the bulb of the Riddell Court cul-de-sac, the trio of muse officers appeared standing over three five-pointed seals on the sidewalk in front of Grace Ransom’s house. Momo pointed out said house, and Sakura and Ryder looked up at their target’s friend’s house, a two-story residential with a gabled roof over the garage. And sure enough, the Muse Inspector’s observations were proven true when Sakura heard the cacophony of the four Jacks commenting on the Jack of Diamonds’ taste in older women, which the Jack of Diamonds denied.

“Ugh, they’re here,” Sskura deadpanned.

Momo also deadpanned, adding, “And they’re noisy.”

“Yep,” Sakura said, wondering how Judy and her friend hadn’t thrown those four Jacks out of the house yet. “Let’s get out of here. We’re too exposed.”

So Momo walked over the gravel of someone’s front yard towards a mesquite tree, manifested a blank omamori charm in her hand, placed it against the trunk, and said, “Give us shelter, oh tree spirit,” and she disappeared from view.

Ryder said, “What the . . .”

“Hey, sis!” Sakura added. “Where’d you go?”

(“I’m close by,” Momo said in her mind. “Head over to the mesquite tree in front of you.”

Sakura traded looks with Ryder and said, “Are you talking to the tree spirit?”

“Yep. Come on over,” Momo said.)

So Sakura and Ryder went over to the tree and stepped into a small thatched pavilion beneath it. There they saw Momo talking with a female spirit sporting a pair of long braided twin tails over her shoulders, who also wore a headband, a buckskin dress over blue jeans, and moccasins.

Both girls were sitting cross-legged and waving them over, and the tree spirit said, “Have a seat, girls.”

So Sakura and Ryder took their seats next to Momo.

“My name is Pamahas,” the tree spirit said. “You said you wanna stay here for a bit?”

“Yep,” Momo said. “Will you let us?”

“I can,” Pamahas said, “but why here of all places?”

“We’re keeping tabs on a girl named Judy Windermere,” Momo said. “Do you know who I’m talking about?”

Pamahas paused, then said, “That dreamer girl?”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Momo said. “We’re on a case from the Muse Bureau involving Judy’s whereabouts during a week of entrance exams. She kept disappearing for a few hours during exams, and after a week of this happening, the Muse Chief wanted us to investigate where Judy went. We’re here, because Judy’s at her friend’s house,” and she pointed it out.

“I see,” Pamahas said. “I saw a girl running to that house this morning, followed by three rambunctious men.”

“You saw the Jacks?” Sakura said.

“I did,” Pamahas said.

“Did you see the fourth one?”

“The fourth one,” Pamahas said, “opened the door when Judy arrived. I thought they were having a party.”

“Do you know the name of the girl that lives in that house?” Ryder said. “Judy’s friend, I mean?”

“It’s Grace Ransom, I think,” Pamahas said.

“How often did you see Judy visit Grace?” Momo said.

“Often enough to know that they’re very close,” Pamahas said, “almost like sisters.”

“Whenever you saw Judy visiting Grace,” Momo added, “was there anything you noticed about them?”

“No, not at first,” Pamahas said. “They’re both chipper girls, but on Judy’s most recent visits, she seemed put off. I’m not sure why, though.”

Momo was about to ask another question—

When Momo’s smartphone chimed, and so she fished it from her pants pocket, saw the Muse Inspector’s number, and said, “Momo here. What is it, Muse Inspector?”

Moments passed.

“Fox eyes?” Momo said. “Where?”

Sakura traded glances with Ryder, then looked at a rather pensive Pamahas stroking one of her braids before looking back at her sister.

“I see,” Momo said. “Then what exactly are we dealing with here? . . . Really, a dream eater? . . . Wait, are you sure about this? . . . What did the Chief say? . . . I see. Thanks for telling me. . . . We’ll think of something. . . . I will, don’t worry,” and she hung up and replaced her smartphone in her pants pocket.

“What happened?” Sakura said.

“The Chief’s tailing a potential dream eater on his end,” Momo said. “While he’s doing that, the Muse Inspector wants us to keep an eye on our target.”

“But how do we do that from here?” Ryder said.

That’s when Momo looked at Sakura and smiled, and her smile told Sakura what was rolling through her mind. So she gaped, saying, “No way, sis! You don’t actually mean—”

“Yep, you got it,” Momo said.

“You’re kidding!” Sakura said, standing up. “You’re expecting me to just waltz in there and introduce myself?”

“Yep,” Momo said.

“But what if we get found out?”

“We won’t, you little worrywart,” Momo said.

Yet Sakura didn’t share Momo’s confidence, thinking up a whole host of situations that could go wrong, one of which involved the idiot Jacks blowing her cover if they saw her, so she said, “But what if—”

“Look, you’ve already got the perfect cover,” Momo said. “Just ask if those Jacks are inside and go from there. You’ll do fine, I promise.”

“Yeah, but what if—”

“That’s the best way of doing it,” Ryder said.

Sakura was about to speak, but Pamahas beat her to the punch, saying, “If it’s like that, then I have something to take with you,” and she got up, opened a small door about a foot and a half tall inside the trunk of the mesquite tree, and disappeared for a few moments.

Sakura stared at the base of the tree, then looked down at her partners and said, “Are you serious?”

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Momo said.

“We need ears there,” Ryder added, “and since I can’t go in, you’ll have to do it.”

“Oh, my God, really?” Sakura said.

“Just do it before getting cold feet, okay?” Momo said.

Again Sakura was about to voice her qualms—

When the small door opened at the base of the tree again. Then Pamahas came out carrying a turtle pendant necklace and offered it up to Sakura, saying, “Put this on, so we can listen in while you’re in the house.”

Sakura bent down, took it, and fitted it over the twin tails of her head, then said, “This is the first time I’ll be going undercover.”

“Yep, I know,” Momo said.

“You’ll do fine,” Pamahas said. “Don’t sweat it.”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“And if anything happens,” Ryder added, patting her book bag, “we’ll come in with shotguns a-blazing.”

“God, I hope that doesn’t happen,” Sakura said.

“Come on,” Momo said. “Get going.”

“And what about you?”

“We’ll be here listening in,” Ryder said.

“I’ll be reviewing the witness statements,” Momo said, getting out the envelope of eye-witness reports from Ryder’s book bag. “Just think of this as an early introduction, because you’ll be going to her school, anyway.”

“Try to make friends with her, okay?” Ryder added.

Sakura was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll try my best, but this better be worth it.”

“Geez, just get going already!” Momo said.

Sakura breathed out a sigh, resigning herself to the reality of this case, and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll go,” and she stepped off of the platform.

“And keep us informed,” Momo added.

“I will, sis,” Sakura said and headed to the house.

“And don’t blow your cover,” Momo said.

“I won’t!” Sakura said.

----------------------------------------

A Tale of a Strange Visit I

----------------------------------------

The walk across the simmering tarmac of the street under the glaring sun of a late-August noon had Sakura sweating at her temples by the time she made it to the entryway. She wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her blouse, wishing she had brought a baseball cap with her, and approached the door.

Somewhere inside the house was the hubbub of the four Jacks’ voices talking about a card game by the sound of it, as well as snatches of female voices talking about something else, so Sakura pressed the doorbell that chimed in her presence. She then heard a chair move as one of the Jacks said that someone’s at the door, yet a girl’s voice told him to stay put. Then there were light footfalls before the door opened in front of her, revealing a bespectacled girl in her pajamas with brown hair and dark eyes staring back at Sakura without speaking a word from her gaping mouth.

Sakura waited for a response, but when none came, she said, “Uh, hello there. I’m Sakura Yume. Sorry for interrupting, but I’m looking for four males in this house.”

Judy just stared at her.

“Hello there?”

“Sorry,” Judy said.

“That’s okay,” Sakura said.

“Are you from my dream?” Judy said.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Sakura said.

“Judy, who is it?” her friend yelled from inside the house.

“It’s another girl,” Judy yelled back, then back to Sakura: “You’re from my dream, aren’t you?”

(“Damn it, you blew our cover!” Momo said.

“How was I supposed to know she found us out already?”

“Just go with it!” Momo said. “We’ll deal with it later.”)

So Sakura said, “Are you sure you’re talking about the same girl, because I haven’t seen you before,” which was only half true: even after taking Muse Bureau Academy’s entrance exam, she had only interacted with the figments of Judy’s dreams, not with the girl herself in person like this.

“But I saw you and your sister,” Judy said.

(“Damn it!” Momo said. “How the hell does she know?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, sis,” Sakura said), then to Judy: “Can I come in? It’s hot outside.”

“Oh, okay. Come in,” Judy said.

Judy stepped aside, and Sakura entered the air-conditioned coolness of the living room. But when Judy closed the door behind her, Sakura resisted the urge to look back over her shoulder even when she knew there was no danger. Sakura always had the heebie-jeebies whenever she entered someone else’s house for the first time. Maybe it was the finality of a closing threshold in an unfamiliar space, like a door closing behind you in an empty house. Whatever it was, the hell Momo had put her through in the Trevor Waltman training case made it worse, and she hadn’t told her sister about it yet.

“Are you okay?” Judy said.

Sakura turned, saying, “It’s fine.”

“You’re sure?” Judy said. “Your hands are shaking.”

Sakura bit her lip, fisted her hands to stop the tremors, and said, “It’s fine, believe me.”

(“Sakura, are you okay?” Momo said.

“I’m fine, sis,” she said. “It’s just nerves.”

Momo said nothing for a moment, then said in her mind, “Oh, my God! Sakura, tell me the truth: Is it because of the Trevor Waltman case?”

“Not now, sis!” Sakura said.

“Damn it, why didn’t you tell me?” Momo said.

“Please, not now, sis!” Sakura said in her mind. “I’m in the middle of something!”)

That’s when Judy came up to her, put her hand on her shoulder, and said, “Seriously, are you okay?”

“I just have a thing about closed doors,” Sakura said, “but that’s only for houses I haven’t been in before.”

Judy winced, saying, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

(Now Momo breathed out a sigh in her mind, saying, “I’m really sorry, Sakura. I shouldn’t have put you through that case. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

“Okay,” Sakura said.)

Then another girl with black hair and blue dark eyes appeared at the kitchen’s entrance, saying, “What’s going on?” So Judy came up to her and whispered something in her ear, to which the other girl said, “Oh, I see.”

“Sorry for making a scene,” Sakura said.

“No, it’s fine. I’m Grace Ransom, by the way,” she said and waved her into the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I can fix you up with something if you want.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Sakura said.

“What about something to drink?” Judy said.

“Orange juice if you have any,” Sakura said, following Judy and Grace past the staircase and into the kitchen, where the four Jacks were playing poker at the dining table behind the kitchen countertop.

“Welcome, my Lady!” the Jacks said.

Then the Jack of Hearts added, “Care to join us?”

“Nah,” Sakura said, waving away his offer beside the kitchen countertop that overlooked their poker game. “I’ll just watch from here. Don’t make a mess, okay?”

“We won’t,” they said.

While the Jacks went on with their game, Judy took a glass from the cupboard and placed it before Sakura on the countertop, and Grace took a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, filled the glass, and replaced it in the refrigerator. Sakura took it and gulped down half of its contents before plunking it back on the countertop and saying, “Those guys didn’t make a mess here, did they?”

Grace and Judy traded glances, and that alone told Sakura all she needed to know about their antics.

“That bad, eh?” she said.

“Nothing that towels and a trash can can’t fix,” Judy said, “though their table manners are atrocious.”

Sakura winced, saying, “Sorry.”

“For what?” Judy said.

“For their manners,” Sakura said.

“Do you actually know these guys?” Grace said.

“Yeah,” Sakura said, looking at Judy and Grace in turn and wondering how she’ll explain this without compromising herself. “Judy, right?”

“Yeah,” Judy said.

“Did you tell her about your dream?”

“Yeah, I did,” Judy said. “Were those real guns?”

“I can’t talk about that,” Sakura said.

“Are you an agent?” Grace said.

(“Inspector’s gonna be pissed,” Ryder said.

“Sakura, I’m begging you: Do something!” Momo added.

“I’m trying, sis! Give me a break!” Sakura yelled in her mind, racking her brain for a way out, then chanced upon a solution. It was risky but worth a shot.)

“Come on, spit it out,” Judy said.

So Sakura raised her finger to her lips and said, “Can you two keep a big secret?”

Judy and Grace traded glances again before nodding.

“I’m part of a paranormal investigation that’ll have me going to your high school next week,” Sakura said.

(“Sakura, have you lost your mind?” Momo yelled.

“I know what I’m doing, sis,” Sakura said in her mind.

“I hope so,” Momo said. “Otherwise, we’ll be up to our necks in red tape!”)

“No way!” Grace said.

“It’s the truth,” Sakura said.

“Are you serious right now?” Judy added.

“Dead serious,” Sakura said.

Judy looked over at the Jacks, saying, “Is that why you were looking for those four earlier?”

“Part of it,” she said.

“And what’s the other part?” Judy said.

“That I can’t say,” she said, “without compromising the case.”

“Whose case are you talking about?” Grace said.

(“Don’t even think about it,” Momo said in her mind. “If you compromise this case, I’m kicking your ass!”

“I won’t, trust me,” Sakura said.

“We’ll see,” Momo said. “Just don’t fuck this up!”)

Thinking back to the pair of red glowing eyes in the window of Judy’s back patio, Sakura said, “There’s a spirit looking in on students like you. That’s as much as I can say. Say, Judy,” she added, looking the girl in the eyes, “have you ever felt like you’re being watched?”

Judy paled and said, “Sometimes.”

“How long has it been going on?” Sakura said.

“Since this month, actually,” Judy said. “In fact, I was talking about it with Grace last night.”

“About the eyes?” Sakura said.

“Geez, how much do you know?” Grace said.

“Enough for a visit,” Sakura said as she kept her eyes on the four Jacks discarding their cards in the pile in the middle of the table and picking up new ones from the deck. When she noticed the Jack of Clubs’ face brighten with a smile, she said, “You’ve got a good hand there?”

“Indeed,” the Jack of Clubs said.

“You cheater,” the Jack of Diamonds said.

“And you’re a sore loser,” the Jack of Clubs said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at his remark, so the Jack of Spades turned around in his chair and said under his breath, “He’s the only chap here that hasn’t won a single hand yet.”

“That’s because you’re cheaters!” the Jack of Diamonds said. “You all have cards up your sleeves!”

“No, you’re just unlucky,” the Jack of Hearts said.

“Or incompetent,” the Jack of Spades added.

“Or both,” the Jack of Clubs added.

Then the Jacks of Hearts and Spades and Clubs laughed at the Jack of Diamonds’ expense, who grumbled that they were cheaters with a taste for fallen women. While the three Jacks let the Jack of Diamonds shuffle the deck this time, Sakura turned back to Judy and Grace and said, “This is gonna sound crazy, but bear with me, okay?”

“What is it?” Judy said.

“Can either of you see spirits?”

Judy and Grace traded glances yet again, and Judy said, “We can, and we’ve seen a few over the years.”

“Are you for real?” she said.

“Yeah, we can really see spirits,” Judy said.

“Okay, this is workable,” Sakura said, hoping that Momo and Ryder and the Inspector won’t shoot her down for suggesting this. “I have two other partners conducting this investigation with me, but while they’re doing their part, I’ll be doing my part as a student at your school. In short, we’ve found out from a ghost at your school that there have been rumors amongst the students there of a spirit watching them, so I need more feet on the ground. I won’t say much else, because I don’t wanna compromise this investigation any further, but will you two help me gather information?”

Judy and Grace gaped at her question.

“This is like the Ghost Hunt books!” Grace said.

“A ghost hunting club?” Judy said.

“Kind of,” Grace said.

“So what do you say, girls?” Sakura said.

“Count us in!” Judy and Grace said, in unison, with Grace going off on a tangent that this is gonna be the best school year ever, while Judy quieted down a bit.

“What is it, Judy?” Sakura said.

“If this is a real spirit,” Judy said, looking Sakura straight in the eyes, “then why is it looking for me?”

Sakura bit her lip, not wanting to tell her the whole truth, and said, “I don’t know yet.”

“But we’ll find out, won’t we?”

“We’ll do whatever we can,” Sakura said.

“Promise?” Judy said, extending the pinky of her left hand for a pinky swear.

Sakura gulped, because pinky-swearing in the Floating World often involved cutting off your pinky and swallowing a thousand needles for breaking your promises, but she said, “I promise,” and locked her pinky around Judy’s (before adding in her mind, “How about that, sis?”

Momo laughed through the telepathy between them and said, “Not bad, but don’t scare me like that!”

“I won’t,” Sakura said.

“Promise?” Momo added, making Sakura imagine her elder sister extending her own pinky for a pinky swear.

“I promise,” Sakura said.)

----------------------------------------

TBC