Poke Face: Chapter 2
Akira was dressed in a dark pair of skinny jeans, a loose black tank top, and gray fitted hoodie with sleeves that only reached half way down her upper arm. Her black boots clicked on the sidewalk as she headed to the place where the show was supposed to take place. Somehow that magician boy had magically got the free ticket into her dress the previous night. Sure he had a personality that pissed her off, but he wasn’t a bad magician and she had to admit to that.
Akira found the building where the show was going to take place and saw the line of people anxiously waiting to get in. The signs read that they were a traveling show and their group was called Arashi, and that they would bring a storm of good times and fun. Then she saw a sign with five faces on them including the magician from last night. She rolled her eyes at that innocent smile on his face before walking over to get in line. As she passed the ticket booth she heard someone calling out to her.
“Miss! The one from the other night!” the voice called to her.
Akira turned and saw the magician’s sidekick from the night before. She walked over to him when he motioned for her to come hither.
“He was waiting for you, let me show you back stage. He wanted to see you before the show,” Ohno explained before leaving the booth and escorting her back into the building.
Akira followed silently as he led her to a hall of rooms. Just then one of the men off the poster walked out of the room and shot a big smile at them. He ran up to them, his sparkling green outfit blinding Akira slightly.
“Oh-chan you can go back to the ticket booth, I’ll show our guest to Ace’s room,” Aiba told Ohno as he relieved him of his duty.
Ohno just nodded his head before heading back and leaving Akira in Aiba’s hands. Aiba motioned for her to follow him and the two of them headed down the hall.
“So what’s with all the sparkles?” Akira asked curiously.
“Our ring leader is also our stylist and he has a flashy taste in clothing. I don’t mind it since it’s just a costume,” Aiba explained as they approached the room at the end of the hall.
Aiba knocked on the door, waiting till he heard an ok from inside before opening the door and letting Akira in. Akira walked in and noticed it looked like any normal dressing room. Then her eyes landed on the figure sitting in front of his mirror. He was probably admiring how handsome he looks, I bet his ego is bigger than this building can fit Akira thought to herself as she faked a smile at him. Nino smiled back at her before waving Aiba away, waiting till the door was shut before getting up and walking towards her.
“I’m glad to see you came, did you want to see me again?” Nino jokingly said as he circled around her with a sly smile on his face.
Akira played it cool as she casually answered, “Iyah, you said you were a magician so I came to see some magic. I’ve always had an interest in magic.”
“Hmm is that so?” Nino pouted slightly hearing she was more interested in the magic than in him.
“Don’t tell me that you’re disappointed I only came for the tricks and not for you? Of course you sure did seem happy to see me again,” Akira teased him with a smirk on her face as they locked eyes.
Nino smirked back before he strode back to his seat in front of the mirror and joked back, “The real trick was how you got into those jeans and still manage to breathe.”
Akira smiled as she shifted slightly, running her hand down her leg and then back up while she kept his gaze on her, “They can be a hassle to get into, but getting out isn’t that hard.”
Nino tried to play cool, but his heart was pounding like crazy with this woman. He didn’t know what it was, but she was so interesting and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Before he could say anything else there was a knock at the door. The door opened and Jun popped his head in to tell him it was five minutes till show time. Nino was disappointed at the timing and that Akira left to find her seat.
Once she left Jun asked, “Did you meet her last night?”
“Yeah, she’s my new target. I’m aiming to be the King of her heart and she’s playing a hard game with me. Though I don’t admit defeat and I won’t start now with her,” Nino explained before grabbing his deck of cards and heading out.
~-~
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to our show, I’m your ring leader and host for the night, Joker!” Jun announced as he bowed to the audience.
Akira watched from a seat close to the stage, looking forward to a good show.
“Now let me introduce our first act. He may not look like it, but this man can lift anything like it weighs nothing. Here is our strong man, Spade!” Jun announced before hurrying off the stage.
When Sho came out Akira thought they had to be kidding. He looked tone, but he wasn’t overly muscled like you’d expect from a strong man. But Akira was speechless when this guy started to lift one thing after another that obviously weren’t meant to be picked up so easily. Akira couldn’t help but get into the show as she clapped and watched as the next guy came up. His nickname was Jack and Akira recognized him by his smile. Aiba juggled many things that got more and more dangerous. Akira was on the edge of her seat until she realized that the next act was the magician himself.
The lights dimmed down and in a sudden cloud of smoke Nino appeared. He smoothly transitioned from one trick to another but Akira wasn’t quite impressed yet. Then her interest was perked when he was going to be locked up in a trunk while being tied and handcuffed. She leaned on the table as she watched Ohno finish tying him up before helping him into the trunk. Then after he locked it up Ohno took a black sheet and covered the box. He waved his hands over it before removing the sheet and unlocking the box. Then he opened it up and tipped it over to show that no one was in there anymore, but the rope and handcuffs.
Akira was about to clap her hands when she jumped hearing a voice beside her, “Pretty cool huh?”
Akira whipped around and saw Nino sitting in the seat next to her, leisurely leaning on the table and smiling at her. Akira played her surprise off as she answered, “Shouldn’t you be heading up there now?”
A light shone down on their table as Nino stood up and announced, “And now I shall take this lovely lady up to the stage with me to play a little game!”
Nino extended his hand out to her and Akira politely placed hers in his though she was mentally thinking that she could help herself to the stage. Once on stage Nino led her over to a chair and asked her to sit before running to grab a couple mics from behind the stage. He came over quickly and handed one to Ohno and then one to Akira.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, my assistant here will try a little mind reading! First we shall try to do something simple, first I want you to pick a card from this deck,” Nino explained before pulling out a deck and handing it to Akira.
Akira looked through it and pulled out her favorite card, the queen of hearts. Then she handed the deck back to Nino, holding onto her card without showing it to Ohno.
Ohno spoke calmly into the mic as he instructed Akira, “Alright, now that you have your card, imagine it in your head. Think really hard, close your eyes, and shout it in your mind so that I can hear you clearly.”
Akira closed her eyes and imagined the card in her brain as she shouted loudly on the inside that there was no way he’d get this card. Then when she heard Nino tell her to open her eyes she did and looked straight at Ohno. She honestly wondered about this guy since the look on his face made it seem like he was off in another world.
Ohno focused again before bringing the mic up and announcing, “Your card is the queen of hearts. And yes, I can get it.”
Akira was frozen from the shock as Nino went over to her, taking the card from her hand and showing the audience that it was indeed the queen of hearts. What the hell is this guy?! Akira thought to herself as she watched him smile at her goofily.
In the audience a pair of blue eyes watched before getting up out of her seat and heading for the exit. She stopped when Jun came up to her and asked, “You won’t stay for the end?”
She chuckled before answering, “I’ve seen enough, I’ll be back since it’s so interesting.”
Jun smiled as he saw her tuck some of her dark hair behind her ear before getting closer to her and whispering, “I wouldn’t mind you coming back, I’ll even give you a free ticket backstage and show you my dressing room.”
She smiled seductively at him as she answered, “I think I’d like that. I’ll be sure to come back to see you Mr. Joker.”
Jun handed her a ticket from his pocket before watching her leave out the door. He thought she was interesting with her brown boots, checkered shirt, and denim skirt, it reminded him of a country girl. Once out of the building the woman reached up and pulled the dark wig off her head, ruffling her blonde hair as she strut down the sidewalk.
“I see our Queen may have met her match this time…and I may have found myself a good time too,” Rin giggled to herself as she pulled out her phone and texted the others.
What cha think~?! Leave me a comment XD P-P-P-Poker Face!