Chapter Text
Gura didn’t know that anything could be more uncomfortable than her years old broken half-a-couch, but here she was. With the snowy air nipping at what seemed to be her entire body, the girl huffed a sweet cloud of mist and squeezed as much as she could into her puffy sweater. Besides work and classes, the silver haired girl was a rare sight to the world. As such, she took the occasion as an opportunity to show off more of her closet than her usual hoodie and short shorts. With a thick white wool knitted pullover and some slightly musty (an emergency shift earlier that week took over her laundry time) skinny jeans, she was hoping to impress… someone. Ina practically dumped this onto the girl, so she really had no idea what was in store. Who knows, maybe she’d be seated next to some pretty girl. The potential to hold hands accidentally or sharing some pricey concessions gave her some giddiness. The accompanying blush was able to warm her up slightly, or at least her face.
But for her first time doing anything non career lengthening in months… this could’ve been miles better. Well, actually, miles were probably too short, but the marine life major didn’t quite know her measurements past feet that well. In any case, her promised ‘magical experience’ had been nothing but a drag so far.
Coming off of an exhaustive shift at the coffee shop, she wanted nothing more than to lie down on her shitty floor mattress and gorge herself on chips and dip until she inevitably conked out watching whatever conspiracy theory bullshit was being pedaled on the discovery channel- the only cable channel her piece of shit black and white TV would connect to. Alas, maybe her depressive slump showed a little too well, as her lovely coworker and good friend, Ninomae Ina, gifted a ticket to a performance of… some kind. Gura wasn’t too sure, as Ina had to leave her station for a couple minutes to catch up with the shark power walking out of the building (with daydreams of food and getting off of her aching feet, no less), flusteredly handing the girl the tickets and promising a fun show and cute girls before returning to her shift. Gura wasn’t interested in many shows or performances, which were far outside of her already slim living budget, but the promise of a potential girlfriend (a fact that she had deluded herself with) got her rushing home to not miss the 8pm showing.
What Gura did not expect was a line miles out the door, forced to stand outside in the freezing temperatures. The loop de loops she’d made in the line already were making her head spin, and the queue didn’t even come close to ending with her. It seemed like the entire state and their mothers had decided they needed to see this show for some odd reason. Gura grimaced, promising herself that she’d bonk Ina if the show didn’t absolutely knock her fuzzy socks off.
Or if she remained single the following day.
Man, she really needed to get out of the apartment.
Her fantasies kept her entertained until she had reached the front of the line, only noticing when a comically large hand waved their outstretched palm in front of her face. It took a few seconds for her to trace the hand down the arm until she met his grizzly face. Sure, she’d admit she was a little short, but man, this guy was massive. Broad shoulders and lanky limbs, as well as a towering and imposing figure. The gray streaky hair didn’t even occur to Gura at the time. He wore a nicely fitted suit and tie, and a cute little usher hat with a small golden “A.W.” pin attached to the front. There was a stool he was leaning on, a bored expression written over his face as he stared down at the small girl.
“Ticket, please, madam?” He seemed annoyed, which wasn’t a total shock. The ever growing line behind Gura was already getting antsy and she was holding it up for longer than her allotted 5 seconds. She blushed and dug deep into her dark blue purse, grabbing at the ticket and dropping it into the man’s hand. He quickly brought it to his face and inspected the front, surely checking the legitimacy of the ticket.
“That’d be row 9, seat N. Please, enjoy the show.” He deposited the ticket into a box propped up on the stool next to him and gave a nice bow which Gura awkwardly returned before hurrying through the open set of double doors.
~~~
The wear and tear of the venue wasn’t hidden well behind the sloppily hung banners and LED bulbs adorning the walls. The cheap decorations seemed to absolutely adore comic sans, a reoccuring theme on the ominously barren posters of miscellaneous items: including a top hat, a few pairs of dice, a golden pocket watch and handcuffs, among other things. Any effort of general housekeeping seemed like rushed attempts to cover the stains, chipping and- in some cases- broken down interior. Gura felt that the creaky roof could cave in at any given point during the show. Even as she sat down, she was anxiously eyeing the squeaking wood.
She felt a distinct crumple as she adjusted her tail on the plush red seat before reaching under her bottom to retrieve a pamphlet that was apparently left there. In fact, as she eyed the seat around her for anyone who might’ve watched her just dug into her butt, she noticed that each empty seat had a matching pamphlet. Many of the already seating guests were reading the paper, pointing out certain sections and whispering excitedly about it amongst themselves. Gura felt stupid for just sitting down on what seemed to be an obviously placed item, but covered up her red face with the pitch black leaflet.
“Behold, mystical tricks beyond your comprehension!” and “Be amazed by the magic of another world!” appeared to be the gripping tagline of the cover. The backdrop was a picture of a velvety curtain (one far better than that currently adorning the stage) and a pale white glove gripping out from behind it. The sleeve of this mysterious entity was just barely showing, where Gura could catch a glimpse of the skin underneath: a slightly tanner white. Gura snickered at the corny lines and silly fonts, reminiscent of her own middle school projects of old. The red and white text colors truly set in the circus-ey vibe.
Opening the triple spread booklet, Gura was met with paragraphs upon paragraphs strewn about with cute little bolded titles proceeding them. The background of these could only be described as what would appear if you’d searched up ‘magician stock images’. The same gloved hands from the front page splitting a deck of cards, a scantily clad blonde woman peeking out of a box on stage, and of course, the classic rabbit popping out of a hat- a carrot tucked between its buck teeth. Gura almost laughed out loud at the absurdity and silliness of the pages, only holding it in out of fear of embarrassing herself. Section after section, a messily slapped together amalgamation of magician paraphernalia and buzzwords. For god's sake, what the hell even was a billet?
The seats around her filled up, but she didn’t notice one bit. Forget what she thought earlier, she was having a blast! Gura was absolutely having a ball giggling to herself about the silly crumpled up pamphlet until the lights dimmed and a loud quaint voice spoke over the speakers.
“The show will begin shortly. Please take your seats and silence any electronics you might have with you. Thank you, and be prepared to be wowed!”
Gura scoffed and smiled. If the brochure entertained her this much, the show had to be just as good. Hey, it wasn’t her money that was wasted afterall!
Fidgeting excitedly, Gura could hardly contain her cheers once the stage lights flashed on and the spotlights began to swirl willy nilly around the room. Her seat wasn’t too far from the front and she could make out the subtle sway of the curtains. Giddily clapping along with the roaring crowd, Gura thought for a moment whether they were all as ironically hooked as she was. Looking around, she was met with the sight of anxious and excited faces, everyone seemingly as concentrated as can be. Surely, there was no way that a show of this caliber would be…
But then she popped out from behind the curtain.
“Please welcome to the stage…”
Wavy shoulder length blonde locks were the first of many things Gura noticed. The way it bounced excitedly under the girls' cliche magician top hat as she pranced around stage, hyping up her crowd was mesmerizing.
“…your great,”
The tight fitting getup left nothing to the imagination, saving Gura the energy of undressing her in her mind. Every curve was on full display for the hungry shark, and she could feel the drool pooling in her mouth.
“…your powerful…”
And Gura felt her heart race.
“Ms. Watson!”
If Gura wasn’t sweating as soon as the pretty girl came out, she sure as hell was when she winked at her. Two enchanting light blue orbs stared into her own for the briefest moment (a moment that Gura swore lasted eons), and the magician playfully winked at her. Gura barely caught it before she whipped her head around to wave some more at the never satisfied audience. In all honesty, Gura had them tuned out, the quickening thumps of her heart drowning out all other distractions.
If she hadn’t forced her head down she felt she’d die of a burst heart. It was only then, looking down at the goofy pamphlet she was in the process of crumbling beyond recognition, that she looked again at the sections- one in particular. That blonde haired woman peeping out of the decorated crate had the same blonde hair and striking blue eyes as the magician on stage. It was a perfect match. Was this picture taken before she became a magician? Perhaps she had started as a simple assistant?
“Hello, one and all, ladies and gentlefolk! To the greatest performance you’ll ever see! That is, unless you decide to come again, of course!”
Cheers and whistles nearly blew out Gura’s eardrums, but she still found herself cheering among the rest, hoping to catch the blonde beauties attention just once more, if only for a second. The swirling lights all slowly began to gravitate towards the girl on stage, basking her in a brilliant white.
Watson beckoned the crowd to calm down, waving one hand down as she shushed the crowd with her other.
“Now, now, I know we’re all excited. Perhaps a few of you’ve seen a few of my tricks…” a large majority of the crowd cheered loudly at that “... and maybe some of you heard of me from a friend. I’d be willing to bet a couple of ya just stumbled in drunk wondering what all the hullabaloo was about. Whoever you are, welcome and thanks for coming! I hope I can thoroughly impress you all tonight.” She ended the introduction with a curt bow.
Hands behind her back, Watson adjusted the headset microphone on her face as a panel on stage opened up, slowly lifting a small wooden table in front of the girl. The crowd, seemingly entranced by anything, ‘oohed' and ‘ahhed’ as Watson prepped the props left on the table: a bucket, a glass cup, a couple of water bottles and a thick sheet of metal. Picking up the metal and banging it a few times to “wake up the audience” got a couple laughs. There was a momentary lull as she adjusted the set pieces to her liking, but Gura didn’t mind. She was fully satisfied just soaking in the beautiful sight in front of her.
Before long, the blonde headed girl cleared her throat and brought her attention once again to the crowd. “Now, for my first trick of the night, I’ll be displaying a bit of science. Do we have any geniuses in attendance?” Some of the crowd whooped and hollered, a few drunkards even stood up and applauded themselves.
“Well, you’re obviously no genius ending up in a place like this. Who’d waste 20 bucks on a shitty show like mine?” Most of the crowd laughed at Watson’s self-deprecation, and Gura couldn't help but laugh along as well. The magician reached over for the props, taking the two water bottles and pouring the contents of each into the glass. The crowd died down and watched with bated breath at the seemingly simple act. Though, as she pulled the items closer to herself, she managed to knock the bucket off of the table, cursing under her breath as she chased the large pail. Once she was able to latch on, she brought it back onto the surface of the table and bashfully apologized. It was still an amateur show, after all.
Gura didn’t know much about magic, never really paying much attention to the craft since she was maybe 7, but what she did know was that you couldn’t miss a single second of it. So she watched closely, trying in earnest to pry her eyes off of the blonde bombshell and her hypnotic hips and chest. The atlantean watched as she slowly lifted up the cup as if it were more than a few ounces. She looked to be really struggling to lift the cup even a few inches off the table, though she managed to as she slipped the metal sheet over the lid of the cup. Flipping the cup was as much of a challenge but Watson managed, exaggeratingly panting as she held the upturned cup in one hand, the metal sheet in the other.
“Now watch, as I levitate this water… in midair!” At the last part, she threw the sheet behind her and held the cup firmly with both hands. As promised, the water somehow stayed exactly as it was. Some easily pleased folks applauded loudly, while others simply continued to stare, not too impressed. Gura, for her part, thought it was rather impressive enough. Maybe it was a common trick? The magician continued to proudly display the cup to the spectators.
“Oof, sorry guys, this glass is getting a bit too heavy for me!” Watson alarmed the crowd as her arms began to shake from the weight of the small cup. “I’m gonna have to let it all out!” She quickly dragged the cup over the bucket and, with a quick snap of her finger, the water began to flow out.
But it didn’t seem to stop. The water just continued to pour and pour and pour as the magician began to regain the strength in her arms. Goofily, she acted shocked at how much water was contained in the glass, alternating making faces between the cup and her guffawing audience.
It only seemed to stop once the bucket overflowed just a bit, enough to alert the crowd but stopping before it caused a big mess. Shakily, Watson placed the cup back on the table and wiped her forehead with a ‘phew!’. The audience's cheers reinvigorated her enough to bow again, a duh dun echoing through the loudspeakers. Gura felt she was clapping louder than the rest.
~~~
Trick after trick, Watson blew Gura’s expectations out of the water. From an impossible card trick involving 3 sets of cards and 5 participants, a couple involving a grumpy old rabbit (which totally didn’t leave Gura flustered watching Watson coddle and coo at the damn animal) and even a trick Gura could only explain as a serious fire hazard (she couldn’t even begin to describe that one), the confident blonde flipped everything Gura thought she knew on its head. In all honesty, she was a true showman. She owned the stage, her charisma and personality mixed in with her natural theatrics to make for quite an entertaining show. Watson was as charming as she was impressive.
Once it came time for the finale, the college student was hooping and hollering along with everyone around her, all equally as astonished as her. Patting down whatever flames remained on the stage, Watson addressed the crowd.
“Alrighty, you all, it’s been a true blessing to have you all here tonight! Sadly, all good things must eventually end, eh?” Finished with the stage maintenance, Watson stood formally with hands behind her back. She smiled smugly. “But rejoice! We have 1 more trick in store for you lovely ladies and gentleman today.”
A brown haired woman in all black garb came from behind the curtains, pulling a long stretcher with her. Atop the gurney lay a saw and flat cardboard box. Gura would be surprised if anyone watching didn’t know where this was going. The trick was as old as the art of magic itself. Gura wondered what Watson could possibly do to improve the trick at all, since it was pretty bare bones.
Ms. Watson thanked the worker and she retired backstage. Wait, wasn’t that worker supposed to stay to get sawed? Or was someone from the audience going to participate? Gura blushed, hoping to whatever higher power that she’d be chosen if that was the case.
Everyone watched as the magician propped the box up on the gurney clumsily, taping the edges of the box to the sides of the stretcher and leaving the saw atop the box. The budget was truly showing for the worst. Confusingly, Watson herself began to climb into the box. She got comfortable and with her head dropping off of the top, spoke once more.
“Now, to help me with this trick, I’d like to call my lovely assistant, or rather a fellow magician, up on stage. Please give your biggest cheers to… Ms. Watson!”
Gura didn’t have enough time to be confused. Before she knew it, an equally gorgeous blondie walked from backstage, prancing around just like Watson had at the beginning of the show. In fact, the way her hair bounced and the tight-fitting clothing looked too similar as well…
What confirmed her suspicions were the piercing blue eyes locking with her once more. And once again, she got a wink in response. A simple gesture that left her in a flurry.
Who the hell was this Ms. Watson copycat?
“Thank you for having me, Ms. Watson!”
“Always a pleasure, Ms. Watson!”
“Shall we get on with the show, Ms. Watson?”
The pair curtsied and bantered a bit back and forth as the fake Watson took the saw in her hands, lining it up to at the precise angle.
“Alright, here I go! Oh, and tell me if it hurts, okay?”
She began cutting.
The original Watson, for her part, didn’t so much as flinch. In fact, she looked like she was having fun. Smiling at the crowd, waving with her not pinned down hand and generally being a bit of a goofball. It made Gura chuckle and brought a small smile to her face. The other Watson was diligently cutting the best she could with no indication of where to cut, obviously working to not harm her counterpart. Eventually she did hit the surface of the gurney, but instead of stopping, she continued until the stretcher cut in half. This caused original Watson to fold in on herself, thoroughly spooking the gasping audience and leaving her groaning in pain.
There was a pregnant pause in the theater before it rang out: “Hey, watch it, you dick!” She goofily attempted to extend her hand and rub her injury, but the cut limb couldn’t reach. The clone picked up the two pieces and propped them up so that the newly amputated magician could face the audience.
“Welp, Watson and I are gonna have to have a little talk backstage and fix me up a bit, so you can see yourselves out! Once again, thank you all for coming and have a good night! Bye bye!” They each bowed (well, Watson tried to bow) and fake Watson dragged the two halves behind the curtain. The crowd cheered for a long while after the pair left but Gura couldn’t cheer much with her jaw on the floor.
~~
Her mind scrambled to break down any tricks or gimmicks used in Watson’s tricks, determined to solve at least one mystery. But no matter how much she thought about the show, her mind always drifted back to the finale. Did Watson have an equally sexy twin sister? Pushing through the crowds through the doors and into the freezing night, Gura couldn’t decide if she was more impressed by the magic or the magician(s).
Looks like she’d have to pay Ina back in full.