Major Arcana -Birth-

Chapter 1.1

I woke up that cloudy morning feeling like it was any other day. Of course, it kinda wasn't. It was, after all, my graduation day. I was supposed to graduate from high school.

I walked down the stairs and stared at the food already prepared for me on the table.

...I wasn't feeling very hungry.

The food the government prepared for me didn't taste very good. It tasted bland and cold, like it was made without love.

...The food my dad made for me tasted better.

I think it's been eight years since I last saw Dad. Dad wasn't the wealthiest man nor was he the smartest, but he was still my dad. I loved my dad.

But, fate wasn't too kind to me. Fate has never been kind to me.

First, terrorists took my real mom and dad away from me. They say that the terrorists were part of that group called, the "Ruin Seekers". That's all I know of the people who burst into the hospital and shot and killed everyone there. It was the day I was born, April 1st, April Fool's Day. Some people say that because I was born that day, I was born a "Fool" Ranker.

Afterwards, no one wanted to deal with me. No one wanted to raise a "Fool" Ranker. They didn't want to be ridiculed. But then, Dad came in. He was a homeless man living on the streets. He ate garbage for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But, he decided to take me in anyway. He raised me for ten years. He would find bits of leftover food, real food, from restaurant dumpsters and cook them up into a gumbo of some sort using an old pot that was thrown away and a makeshift flame using rocks, sticks and leaves.

Even if it was all leftover food, it still tasted good. All because Dad cooked it with love.

But, on my tenth birthday, Dad got really sick. At first, we thought it was just a common cold. We would get colds pretty easily being out on the streets. The only thing warm to wear were ragged old clothes that were thrown out and we only had two thin, ripped blankets to sleep with. Dad would always make a fuss about having me use both blankets; "I ain't cold," he'd say. But, I could tell from how he huddled in a corner that he was really cold. So, I'd force him to use one blanket. He'd grumble a bit before taking it with a ghost of a smile on his face and we would sleep next to each other, wrapped up in the blankets.

The cold got worse. Much worse.

I changed into my school uniform, put my shoes on and then walked outside with my school bag. I just walked away from the cold, cold house that the government paid for.

Dad first got weaker and weaker. He couldn't get up as easily anymore and he wasn't able to go out to get food as frequently. I would go in his place.

I walked on towards my school, Arcana High, before something hard hit me in the head. It kinda hurt.

"Get lost, useless trash! "Fool" Rankers like you should just go where all the trash belongs. The junkyard!" some boy shouted. I glanced over at him.

He was with another group of boys all around his age. They looked like sophomores from my school. I glanced at their cheeks. The boy who had shouted at me was only a "Priestess" Ranker. They ranked "2" in the Major Arcana Social System. One of the other boys was a "Magician" Ranker, a "1", and the last one was an "Emperor" Ranker, a "4".

...That's not much higher than mine. In the social system, the lower the number, the less power you have in society. I'm ranked the lowest, a "0". "0's" are treated pretty badly by everyone. But, I don't really mind all that much. I can't even hide my rank, either. I've already been registered as a "Fool" Ranker. Not to mention my number makes it blatantly obvious. Everyone has a number that appears on their left cheek at birth. That number represents what rank they are.