A massive canvas is set against a wall right in front of the petite Sakura. She analyzed the canvas, planning her next move. All of this was a ploy to keep her mind off her present circumstances, as she was unable to come to terms with the fact that she now seemed to have a superpower.
Slam!
Ariel came storming in, arm in a cast. Sakura whipped her head around, startled by the young woman's present state. "W-What happened!?"
"Doesn't matter! Guess what! I have powers!"
"Huh!?" Sakura's Boon slipped out from within her, spiraling around her as if swimming in the air itself.
"W-What the hell is that!?"
"Oh, shi-!" Sakura fell from the step ladder she was on, Ariel quickly teleporting herself right under Sakura, keeping her up with one arm. "W-What!? Did you teleport!?"
"I did, didn't I!?" Ariel laughed, letting Sakura fall for a moment before catching her by the collar, putting her down like a kitten hanging by the nape of their neck. "You have a power too!?"
"W-What!? Uh..." Sakura couldn't help but laugh in sympathy with Ariel, completely flabbergasted. "I... I guess we both have powers...?"
"Holy shit! That's awesome!"
"W-Wait? Why is your arm broken? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Eh... yeah, I'm good. It was just some dude trying to jump me. He seemed to have some weird power as well, but I beat his ass and went on my merry way."
"Wait, really!? Someone else? Why did they do that!? Huh!?"
Ariel shrugged. "I du--" She stopped, as if remembering something. "Oh shit, he was actually asking for someone." She pointed at Sakura. "They were askin' for you."
Sakura pointed at herself, a brow raised. "W-What, me?'
"Yeah, I dunno what the hell all of that was about, but my ability is called Conquest of Spaces."
"W-Wait, you can't just move on from that last fact! Why was he looking for me!?"
Ariel shrugged. "I dunno, but I beat his ass, so that should be enough, right?"
Sakura sighed, clutching her head with one hand.
"What's that weird serpent thing you got called?"
"Casper."
"Oh~! Hella sick~!" Ariel chuckled, her eyes following the floating creature as it swam around its owner. "It's kinda cute."
"Why would some guy be looking for me? Oh, God, is it my fault that you're injured? Why didn't you tell him?"
"I ain't no snitch."
"But... your arm..."
"Yeah? So what? I've broken shit before, it isn't a big deal."
Sakura shared a look of sympathy with Ariel, sighing. "Well... as long as you're fine with it, I guess. Um... I-I..." Sakura paused. "What do we do about this? Why is someone looking for me? I don't get it...? I'm sorry this happened to you cause of me."
"This shit didn't happen because of you. I made my decision, and I had to reap the consequences. Stop bein' such a pussy about this and get over it, okay? I'm alright."
Sakura was still uncomfortable about the thought of someone being hurt because of her, but she attempted to push the idea out of her mind. "Well... regardless, thank you for doing that for me."
"Hey, so... you don't know why that dude was looking for you, right?"
"Not a clue. I have no idea why anyone would be looking for me. It's not like I'm famous or anything, and those who do know me don't really give a damn about me to begin with, so..." She shrugged.
"Well, just lettin' you know, Sakura. I give a shit about you, like... a small smidgen at the very least."
"Only a smidgen?" Sakura frowned.
Ariel shared a confused look, throwing her only available arm up. "Yeah, a smidgen." Ariel scoffed, awkwardly scratching her face as she scanned the paintings scattered across the room. Ariel swallowed, "Uh... a-actually, y'know... I... you wouldn't mind helpin' me out with art?"
"You want to learn about art?"
"Well... believe it or not, I was actually the one who asked Ben about the club... h-he went and did some shit on his own, but yeah. I-I technically brought it up."
"R-Really... uh... how did you get to know Ben, by the way?"
"I should ask the same of you." Ariel laughed, crossing over to Sakura. "How'd you get to know him?"
"Childhood friend. He's from another wealthy family like mine, and y'know how he is... ever the extrovert."
"Interesting."
"What about you?"
"He helped me out of a shitty spot. Simple as."
Sakura chuckled. "Yeah... that sounds like him. It... explains the... peanut gallery he has."
"Hah!" Ariel laughed. "Peanut gallery, what a way to describe 'em!"
"How do you feel about him?"
"How do you?" Ariel shot back, a smile on her face.
"I think he's a cool friend. That's about it."
"Really?" Ariel sighed. "Well... I both admire and dislike the guy. That's my opinion on Ben."
"Oh~!" Sakura paused for a beat. "Yeah, fair."
"He's just too optimistic about everything."
"Uh... I wouldn't mind teaching you art, by the way. A-Are you gonna join the club?"
Ariel smiled, thinking on it for a moment. "Y-Yeah, I'll do that. Um... do you have a sign-up sheet?"
Sakura nodded, hopping over to the opposite end of the room, throwing a variety of different binders and notebooks behind her before grabbing a sheet of paper, handing it over to Ariel. "Here."
Ariel let out an enthusiastic huff from her nose, holding the paper with a single hand. "Hell yeah." She placed the sheet down onto one of the room's desks. "You got a pencil?"
Sakura crossed over to one of the sinks, grabbed a pencil from one of the variety of different paint-stained cups, and handed it over to Ariel.
Ariel signed the sheet. "I'll go and turn this in."
"Okay!"
Ariel left, and Sakura was now alone within her clubroom. Left with the smell of paint with a light tinge of humidity. Sakura took a deep breath, calming her nerves. "Let's not mess this up," Sakura whispered to herself, rubbing her hands together to comfort herself—the thoughts of the past few days resurfacing from the back of her mind.
After a bit of waiting, Sakura looked over at Casper, eyes locked onto the tail of this unknown ability of hers. Sakura grasped onto the tail, feeling the weight of the serpent pulling against her. Instinctually, she whipped Casper like a whip, the weight of it slamming against the floor, cracking, causing it to shake. Her eyes widened, the serpent rebounding off the floor, flying into the air, rolling up into a ball before falling onto the ground again.
Casper didn't sink into the floor like before, just sitting there like an actual ball, teetering back and forth. "Oh...?" Sakura took a step back, reeling a foot back, and at full force, she kicked Casper, the spirit bouncing off the walls. Sakura flinched, and for a moment, it continued to rebound before finally crashing into one of the desks set out randomly across the room. "Oh!?"
After the desk was destroyed, Casper unfurled itself, swimming back over to its master. Sakura looked curiously at the creature, whispering to herself. "What are you...? I know you're a part of me, but how...?"
A few more minutes passed, and eventually, Ariel returned. "Yo!"
Sakura is crouched down low, Casper at her feet. She spun around to look at Ariel. "Uh... heh, yo..." Sakura meekly waved at Ariel.
"Alright! Let's celebrate! Us becoming like... superheroes or some shit, and me becoming the new Art Club Member!"
Sakura stood up. "Oh, uh... um..." Sakura chuckled. "Karaoke? Why don't we do some karaoke? That sounds like... an apt celebratory place, no?"
Ariel nodded. "Yeah, definitely-- Wait, do you know a place? I didn't take you for the singing type."
"I-I do. I... uh... I don't have many hobbies, but singing is one of them. Choir as a kid, y'know? Do you wanna... go?"
Ariel smirked. "Yeah, I'm okay with that. Lead the way—you're going to have to help me pick out songs, though. I only have one arm after all."
And with that, both of them set off. Sakura ordered a private room for the two of them as they got there, and they both slipped inside, sitting down.
"Never been to one of these before."
"Never went with any friends or anything?"
Ariel scoffed. "Nah, Ben... and now I suppose you are also one of my only pals."
Sakura's face lit up, a newly found shine in her eyes. Overwhelmed with emotion, all she could do was give Ariel a big, bright, toothy smile. Ariel's eyes widened in surprise. From Ariel's perspective, it was a smile that could stagger even the most steel-willed of men and women, the most stoic of people.
An innocent, gleaming white smile that carried an untold amount of joy. Never in her life had Ariel seen a smile like that from anything but a child, but a smile like that on a young woman like Sakura was like staring into the sun on a cloudy day.
Ariel laughed to break the silence. "Uh... guess you can relate, huh?"
Sakura laughed as well. "Y-yeah... I suppose I can. I... uh... my only friends have been either some people I play online with on some MMO, or Ben. H-Honestly, h-hearing you calling me your friend is..."
"Alright, alright, you're doin' too much. Let's start singing some tunes, maybe get a drink or two, maybe some food or something as well-- do they have that here?"
"They do," Sakura said, taking the tablet. "I'll start first, you could conceive some food that we can order." Sakura licked her chops.
"Well, you sure got comfortable fast." Ariel chuckled.
"I-I wanna say, I'm super rusty by the way, so I might not be too good at singing."
"Weren't you in a choir? You'll be fine." Ariel scoffed, grabbing a menu set out on the table before her. "How about wings? Some fries? We could get those."
Sakura blinked. "Man... I could go for some wings. That sounds awesome..."
Ariel couldn't hold in her surprise. This shut-in rich girl seemed more and more like a normal person the more she got to know her. "Wings it is, let's get some juice with that too. What do you prefer?"
"Just a strawberry lemonade is fine."
"I'll go for a HI-C then."
"I think... I'll sing..." Sakura methodically went to pick out a song, slowly gliding her finger across the tablet screen. "B.Y.O.B. by System Of A Down?"
"B.Y.O.B.?" Ariel snickered. "Crazy way to start a karaoke date."
"K-Huh!?"
"Oh, calm the hell down, that's what this is. A date doesn't have to be romantic, girl~!" Ariel pressed a button on the table, calling for a server.
After getting their food, and some long deliberation, Sakura finally landed on a song they could sing to, standing up, mic in hand, and a massive smile on her face. "Okay, I got this. I'm a little rusty, so be patient, okay?"
"What are you singing? Also, the point of karaoke isn't to sound good, right?" Ariel chuckled.
"Call Me, by St. Paul & The Broken Bones."
"Hm?"
The song began to play, a bouncing tune filled with drums, trumpets, and bass. Sakura prepared herself, taking a breath in as she brought the mic up to her lips. "♪This ain't the heartache that I thought I knew... This ain't the party that I thought we knew.♪"
"Oh shit." Ariel's eyes widened as Sakura sang her heart out. Though her voice cracked on some lines, her singing was emotional and engaging. Ariel couldn't help but bounce her leg to the music, nodding along.
"♪You got your limit, baby~! I got mine! Six-eleven, three, three, six nine~! You've got to call me baby~!♪" Sakura bobbed to the beat momentarily before continuing. "We ain't the lovers that'll tear me down~! We ain't the fortune all over town! You got your limit, baby~! I got mine! Six-eleven, three, three, six nine~!♪"
They both become immersed in the music, the minutes passing by in what felt like seconds. Ariel spoke up, "God damn, chica~! That was some impressive stuff. You know, I never noticed until now, but your voice is way more husky when you raise your voice."
Sakura placed the mic down, eyes darting wildly across the room as she sat down. "T-Thanks...? Is... is that a good thing?"
"Nothin' wrong with a little bit of husk, y'know? I'd say it adds to the charm, y'know? It gave your singing a unique raspiness, y'know?"
"I see... so... um... You're up next. I'm curious to hear your voice. Are you... have you sang before, or...?"
"Uh... n-not really. I don't really sing, no." Ariel chuckled, grabbing the mic and tablet. "Won't stop me though."
Ariel selected her song just as the server came back with their wings. Sakura's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face. "Wings!"
"Alright, here we go~!" The sound of saxophones and bass. Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra. Ariel bounced to the tune, "♪Fly me to the moon~! Let me play among the stars!♪" Compared to Sakura, Ariel's singing voice was significantly rougher, more monotone, and bare. Despite that, though, Ariel continued to sing. "♪And let me see what spring is like on a-Jupiter and Mars... In other words, hold my hand... In other words, baby, kissme. Fill my heart with song and let me sing forevermore. You~ are all I long for... All I worship, and adore~... In other words, please be true~! In other words, I love you~!♪"
Sakura had already been indulging in the wings set out in front of her, admiring Ariel's attempt at a performance. More than not having a voice suitable for singing, Ariel hadn't really put much thought into how they'd sing as a whole. With the proper instructions, she could portray a much more stable performance, one that sounded more similar to the song itself.
Eventually, Sakura sang with Ariel, who suggested once she finished the song, "The next one, we should make it a duet."
Sakura blinked. "A duet." Her face lit up. "Yeah, sure! That sounds fun, uh... what should we sing?"
"Another Frank Sinatra song could be good, but we should do like... a karaoke staple or something?"
"I got one! We can do the most karaoke song of all time! Bring Me To Life!"
A moment passed.
Sakura takes a breath, "♪How can you see into my eyes, like open doors? Leading you down into my core... Where I've become so numb...♪" She took a breath. "Without a soul... My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold~! Until you find it there and lead, it, back... home~!♪"
"♪Wake me up!♪" Ariel stepped in, acting as the male vocals for the song, bringing in a newfound intensity to her voice.
"♪Wake me up inside~!♪"
"♪I can't wake up!"
"♪Wake me up inside~!♪"
"♪Save me~!♪"
"♪Call my name and save me from the dark~!♪"
"♪Save Me~!♪"
"♪Save me from the nothing I've become~!♪" A beat. "♪Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me~! Breathe into me, and make me real~! Bring me to life~!♪"
"♪I've been livin' a lie~! There's nothing inside~!♪"
"♪Bring me to life~!♪"
"♪Frozen~ inside without your touch, without your love, darling~! Only~ you~ are the life among thedead~!♪"
"♪All of this time, I can't believe I couldn't see-- Kept in the dark, but you were right in front of me!♪"
"♪I've been sleeping a thousand years, it seems, got to open my eyes to everything~!♪"
"♪Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul!♪"
"♪Don't let me die here...♪"
"♪There must be something more~!♪" Ariel screamed, both of them intensely jumping to the music, massive beaming smiles on their faces.
Eventually, after finishing their meal, they both left the karaoke place, heading back home and going their separate ways. Ariel went out of her way to see Sakura home, waving at her at the door as she slipped into her apartment complex.
The elevator rattled momentarily as it slowly made its way up to her floor. The doors opened, Sakura crossing over to her room, which was close by. Sakura sighed, content, a card slotting in like a key, a beeping sound registering her arrival before the door clicked open. Sakura pushed in on the handle, heading inside, and met with the same bluish-black color scheme, drenched in a small bit of moonlight peeking in through the window curtains.
She could smell the paint from where she stood, sighing. "I need to clean that up..."
"Sakura."
She jumped like a cat, her hair standing up in alarm, her side jabbed against the side counter beside her, knocking the wind out of her body as she dropped to the floor. Sakura clutched her side, groaning. She slowly peered her head over one of the couches, her eyes locking in on her sister; thin, ghostly pale, her black hair rolling past her shoulders and down her chest and stomach. She looked incredibly frail, gaunt, downright anorexic.
Sumika, Sakura's older sister. Her black, hollowed-out eyes stared back at Sakura, head resting on one of her palms. "Where were you?"
Sakura's breath hitched. "U-Uh... I... I-I was... I--"
"Take a breath. Where were you?"
"I-I got distracted at school... um... I-I was teaching a new member of the Art Club how to paint and we lost track of time..."
Sumika remained silent for a moment. "So... you decide to go out and spend your time on frivolous things like... making friends?"
Sakura hesitated. "I... F-Friv-- I..." She shook her head, attempting to recollect her thoughts. "I-It's not frivolous, Sumika... p-please. I... I've been focusing on my art, just as I did before, okay? And I truly mean it, I-I was with a new Art Club member."
"But you lied... what did you lie about?"
"W-We weren't p-painting... b-but... it really isn't that bad. Currently they're recovering from a broken arm, so I wanted to give us, and them a break and stuff, so... w-we went to sing karaoke..."
"Karaoke... okay. And what about your art? How has that been going?"
"I... Uh..." Sakura took a deep breath and then exhaled. "I-I have a huge piece in the works... T-That's all I have to say on that though..."
"Huge?"
"I-I meant... b-big. Like, actually big."
"Okay... go to bed. Try not to become sidetracked, okay?"
"O-Okay..."
"If you do... You know what the consequences could be, don't you?"
Sakura nodded. "Y-yes!"
"Go to bed."
"Y-Yes... okay..." Sakura scrambled to her room, breaking out into a cold sweat. She never knew how to handle her sister, and today was no exception.