Author's Note: I've had a solid week with the Wasteland chapters. This halo turned out to be eleven pages. (Wow!) I was worried that I would run out of things to write for this, but it all came out. There so much going on this week. It seems that the Yellow Scarves are really dead and we have a new element to this game. What's going to happen next week? You are going to have to see. For now, enjoy this week's halo.
Halo Two: Yuuko:
She had the face of an angel. Daichi knew this, but he also knew her true nature.
"Oh, fancy seeing you here," the man said. "Have you been waiting long, my princess?" She broke into a huge grin.
"Yes!" she said. She giggled as Daichi patted her on the head.
"And how have you been doing?" he asked.
"Great," she said. She looked like a gorgeous angel with her pale skin and long black hair. She was beautiful and knew it. Her kimono top looked more like a bra while her skirt showed off the shape of her hips. She wouldn't look out of place in Harajuku.
"You ready to go?" Daichi asked.
"Yeah!" the angelic girl said. The man laughed.
"Alright, let's go," Daichi said. Both of them headed out of the building. The girl leaned against his side. Suddenly, his phone rang.
"Hm?" she asked.
"Excuse me," Daichi said. He pulled out his phone and answered it.
"Hello?" he asked. "Ah, Chi-chan! What's up?" The conversation didn't last long. Daichi sounded so upbeat with each word.
"You need help with your homework?" Daichi asked. "Sure. I could come and help you. I'll be there in a few minutes. Love you too. Bye." When he hung up, he noticed the girl frowning at him.
"What?" he asked.
"You were talking to her again," she said in a cold tone.
"Of course, she is my sister," Daichi said. The girl pouted at him. He sighed and patted her on the head.
"Come on, Yuuko-chan, we've been other this," he said. "I love all of you equally. I'm not going to play favorites with you." Yuuko still frowned at him.
"Aw, come here," Daichi said. He pulled the girl into a hug. She still pouted.
"Fine," she muttered.
"There you go," Daichi said. The man let go of his spoiled princess. Yuuko perked up a little bit.
"Oh yeah, did you take care of that errand that Kitano-sensei asked you to do?" the man asked. Yuuko's smile could rival the streetlights above.
"Yep!" she said. "It was so easy-peasy! It didn't take too long for them all to fall down!" Yuuko twirled around and giggled with her arms out as she said that. Daichi couldn't help but smile as he patted her on the head.
"Very good," he said. Yuuko followed Daichi into the city with a childlike smile on her face. Little black butterflies followed behind them.
"Okay, just tell me what happened," Masaomi said in a calm voice. He, Mikado, and Yatabe sat in a booth at McDonald's. Yatabe still looked like he had seen a ghost as he replayed this morning's events in his head.
"Take your time if you need to," Masaomi said. Yatabe nodded once.
"They're all dead," he said in a choked-up whisper. Masaomi didn't know how to respond at first.
"They are?" he asked in a low voice.
"Yes," his second-in-command replied.
"But why? What happened? Who did this to them?" Masaomi asked.
"They did it to themselves," Yatabe said in a choked-up voice. He broke down trembling. Mikado stopped slurping on his water as he stared with wide eyes.
"That doesn't make any sense," the blonde shogun said. "What are you talking about?"
"We were all just hanging around in usual hideout," Yatabe said. "Not much was going on. All of a sudden, we heard someone screaming. We turned and saw Higa with a bloody knife in his hand. He stood panting with blood on his face. When we saw Jin on the ground holding his stomach, it didn't take us long to figure out what happened." He trembled at what he was going to say next.
"'He stabbed me!' Jin cried. 'He fucking stabbed me!' Higa's eyes looked so empty. It was like there was nothing inside. We asked him why he did this. Higa didn't say anything. He charged with that knife."
"Then what happened?" Masaomi asked.
"As we were trying to get Higa to calm down, another fight broke out," Yatabe said. "Before I knew it, everyone was fighting around me. They didn't know why they were doing this, and they didn't seem to stop. I tried to get them to stop, but they couldn't hear me over the shouting. They fought until they were all dead." He froze, looking up at Masaomi and Mikado. The look in his eyes told him that he worried that they wouldn't believe him. Mikado finished off his water.
"Did you notice anything strange while this was going on?" he asked.
"There was one thing," the gangster boy admitted.
"What?" the blonde shogun asked.
"Little black butterflies," Yatabe said. "There had to be thousands of them. I had to be the only one to see them. Then I saw her." He shuddered when he said "nothing".
"Her?" Masaomi asked.
"There was this girl there too," his second-in-command said. "She looked kind of cute, but not right in the head. Just looking her gave me the creeps. She just stood on the other side of the room, watching us. She never said anything. I had a feeling that she was involved in this somehow."
"So how come you weren't affected by whatever happened?" Masaomi asked. Yatabe pulled himself together before finishing the story.
"I didn't know what to do," he said. "I was going to reach for my phone when I felt someone breathing on my neck. I didn't get the chance to turn around to have a guess who it was. I could tell that she was smiling. She grabbed me by the shoulder. She asked me if I knew why she spared me. I said no. I heard that crazy bitch laughing behind me, man.
"'I spared you because you are going to give Kida-kun a message,' she told me. I asked her what that was."
"What did she say?" Masaomi asked. Yatabe looked so pale.
"She wanted you to know that it was her who killed them. And she's coming for you next," he whispered. The blonde shogun felt a lump form in his throat. He started to piece together what was coming next.
"Did you get a good look at her face?" Masaomi asked. His second-in-command shook his head.
"No," he said. Mikado and Masaomi looked at each other as they tried to figure out what to make of this.
Police cars crowded around the Tokyu Stay Hotel. A woman with long black hair got out of a new one that pulled up. The heels of her boots drew attention as she walked. Two police officers stood waiting for her.
"You're here," one of them said.
"Where is the body?" the woman asked.
"Right this way," the other cop said. She followed the men inside. They ignored the growing crowd of onlookers. The woman sneered to herself. Did they have anything better to do?
The trio walked over to the elevator. The detective pressed the up button before she glanced behind her.
"Which floor is it again?" she asked.
"Sixth floor, Room 650," one of the cops said.
"At the end of the hall, huh?" the detective asked. The doors slid open. The detective stepped inside, followed by the two cops.
More polices were waiting outside the room. The detective and the other two cops walked up to them.
"How bad is it?" she asked.
"Pretty bad," another cop said.
"Show me," the detective said. The two cops looked at each other before they moved to the side. She walked into the room.
Red coated the walls and carpet. Blood soaked through the sheets. The woman had long since expired. Her wrists were chained up to the black wired headboard. The same went with her ankles at the bottom bedposts. Her eyes had been gouged out. Her lips were red, not from lipstick. Both her and her male companion were naked on the bloody bed. The two were locked in a morbid passionate embrace. "Cheater" was carved into the man's back. He let off a low groan at the woman's chest. The detective walked over for a closer look. She let off a low whistle.
"Yikes, you weren't kidding," she said. She took out her camera and took photos.
"They used fake names and paid in cash," one of the other cops said. Of course, they did.
"She's been dead for quite some time, but he's barely alive," another one said. The man let off another low groan. The detective took a look around. It was then she started to pick up on smaller details in the room. The blood on the walls was actual writing. "Slut", "Whore", "Cheater", and "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" were painted all over the wall. Photos of the man with his family cluttered the dresser and nightstands.
"You think the wife did this?" one of the cops asked.
"It could be possible," the detective said. They paused when they heard muffled noises.
"Hm?" the detective asked. The sounds came from the man on the bed. He sounded like his tongue had been cut out. She leaned in for a closer listen.
"What is he saying?" the cop asked. The detective furrowed her brow.
"I think he said get me out here?" she said. She turned back to the victim.
"Don't worry, sir," she said. "We'll do that as soon as possible." The man let off a louder moan. The cop by her side went pale as he got a better listen.
"Hisakawa," he said. The detective turned and noticed the look on his face.
"What?" she asked. The cop didn't want to say it at first.
"What is it?" Hisakawa asked.
"That's not what he said," he said.
"What?" she asked. He lifted his chin. He mumbled something under his breath.
"What did you say?" Hisakawa asked.
"He said, 'Get me out of her,'" he said. It took a moment for the detective to piece that together.
"Oh…" she mumbled. An unpleasant image filled her head.
"Hisakawa?" another cop asked. The detective looked up.
"Huh? Oh, call an ambulance for the man," she said.
"How do we get them unstuck?" the cop asked behind her. Hisakawa looked down at the victims on the bed.
"They will separate them at the hospital," she said. "After that, we'll have the body taken to the medical examiner."
"Yes ma'am," the cops said. Everyone got to work around her. Hisakawa took out her notepad and took down notes. She couldn't help but have the feeling of being watched.
Daichi helped his younger sister with her homework. This was where he felt happiest. Ever since he was a child, he loved numbers. He could figure out the hardest math problem in his sleep. His sisters saw him as a math god.
"Now, show me how you do it," Daichi told Chi.
"Okay," she said. She picked up her pencil and got to work. Yuuko sat on the couch across from them, sneering at Chi. Daichi happened to look up and catch her gaze. The girl quickly looked away. Instead, Yuuko pulled out her phone. It didn't take her long to get online. She smiled at the rumors about the Yellow Scarves killing each other. Oh yes, there were conspiracy theories. Yuuko covered her mouth as she giggled at the mentions of demon possession.
"Something funny?" she heard Daichi ask. Yuuko quickly looked up. Brother and sister were staring at her. The girl smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, nothing," she said. Yuuko smiled and looked down at her phone again. Chi turned to her brother.
"What is wrong with her?" she whispered. "She's just creepy." Yuuko glared at her with hate in her eyes. Daichi pulled his sister to his side.
"Don't mind her," he said in a low voice. "That's just how she is at times." Yuuko stuck out her tongue and looked down at her phone. Daichi frowned before he turned back to Chi.
"Just finish your homework, okay?" he whispered.
"Okay," his sister said, nodding. She picked up her pencil and got to work.
Yuuko wasn't the only one looking up rumors about the Yellow Scarves' deaths.
Masaomi stared at his phone, gritting his teeth. Mikado put his hand on his shoulder. The other boy looked up. This time, the tadpole was on his fifth bottle of juice.
"You're just making it worse," Mikado said.
"I know," Masaomi said. "I can't help it. I want answers."
"I know you do," the tadpole said. "Let me help you." His friend looked him in the eye. He was about to speak when Mikado's phone floated in the air. Masaomi quickly looked around.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"It's okay," Mikado insisted. "We're alone here." Suddenly, the Dollars chatroom came up on the screen. The keys began to type by themselves. Masaomi could barely keep up with their movements. Mikado stared at his floating phone as the keys did the work. With one press of the send button, the email went out to everyone in the Dollars. Masaomi's jaw dropped.
"How did you…?" he began to ask. Mikado tried his best not to gag at the taste in his throat. He reached into the plastic 7-11 bag and pulled a fifth bottle of juice. The tadpole opened the bottle and took a drink. More like, chugged the whole bottle down. His friend gave him an odd look. When he emptied the bottle, Mikado took a breath.
"It's something that I have been working on," he admitted. "I was bored one night and wanted to see if I could do it." The tadpole fished around in the bag for another bottle of juice.
"I've gotten quite good at it too," Mikado said. He pulled out the bottle and opened the cap.
"Uh… How many of those have you had?" Masaomi asked.
"Seven juices and fifteen drinks," the tadpole answered without missing a beat. He took another drink of juice.
"How are you holding up?" the other boy asked.
"I still can't get rid of the taste," Mikado complained. He finished down another bottle. The tadpole took another breath.
"It gets worse when I use my powers," he said. "I feel like I'm going to vomit. Drinking something makes the taste go away for a short time. That's why the others and I have to keep drinking anything we can get our hands on."
"Even bleach?" Masaomi asked, half-jokingly. Mikado kind of side-eyed his friend.
"Okay, I apologize for that one," his friend said. The tadpole lowered the half-empty bottle by his side.
"How many more days do you have with this experiment?" Masaomi asked. Mikado shuddered with a grim look on his face. He looked out the window.
"Nineteen more days," the tadpole boy mumbled. His friend didn't say anything, but he felt his misery. It didn't take long for their phones to start buzzing.
Izaya looked at his phone. He too read the message looking for information about the murders of the Yellow Scarves. The Information broker smirked to himself.
"She really went and did it," he said to himself. Usually, Izaya would have something else witty to say. But right now, his mind was distracted. He hadn't heard from Mari since he confirmed her about Tsukumoya. She hadn't tried to contact him since she left Ikebukuro. Did she leave? She told him not to contact her.
"I don't want them to know where I am," Mari told him as she was packing up her things in the hotel room. "It's too dangerous for me in this city. I am going to have to go somewhere far away." Izaya watched her on the bed.
"And go where?" he asked.
"I don't know," the programmer said. "You already put me in danger by showing up here. They could use you to track me down." She zipped up her duffle bag.
"Do not follow me. And don't contact me," Mari said. "I can't afford to be dragged back in to finish that awful program. My advice to you would be to get out of Ikebukuro while you still can. So… this is goodbye." When she was done packing, Mari was gone.
Izaya looked up at the sky. He could track her done if he desired. But she warned him not to do so. He would have to trust her.
"I am going to end this," Mari said. "This game can't go on. This will end with me."
Back in present day, Izaya smirked to himself.
"I wish you luck, then," he muttered. Maybe it was time to leave Ikebukuro again. Sadly, the information broker would never get the chance.
Shinra blinked for a moment.
"What are you saying?" he asked. Saori and Naomi sat across from him at the table.
"We are coming with you," Naomi said. She picked up her bubble tea and took a drink.
"Come on, be reasonable," Shingen said.
"We are," Saori said before sipping on her green tea. "And we have decided to come with you to Osaka." Father and son looked at each other. These women were the ones who came to him. They insisted that they had to talk to them. They wouldn't hear of it otherwise. Shingen had no choice but to let them in.
"It makes sense," Saori said. "You don't know what state she's going to be in. She might not even trust you. Let us talk to her. We can help her." She took another sip of her tea.
"Besides, you don't exactly have a good track record of trust with us," Naomi said. She sucked up a ball of taffy and began chewing on it.
"Aw, that hurts me," Shingen said in a pitiful tone. His son rolled his eyes.
"Look, just let us do the talking," Saori said. "You can just sit in the car and wait." The men looked at each other. These ladies weren't going to back down, were they? Shingen sighed.
"Fine," he said. "You can come with us." Shinra turned his head.
"You sure about this?" he mouthed. The women took more sips of their drinks.
"When do we leave?" Naomi asked.
"This afternoon," Shinra said. "Does that work for you?" Naomi and Saori looked at each other before they took another drink.
"That works for me," Naomi said. "How about you?"
"Sounds good to me," Saori said. Shinra and Shingen just looked at each other with unease.
"Good night," Daichi said. "I will see you tomorrow."
"Bye-bye, love you!" Chi shouted from the door. Yuuko rolled her eyes.
"I will call you when I get home," Daichi said.
"Okay!" his sister said. Her brother and the other girl wait until the apartment door closes. Yuuko frowned as she puffed up her cheeks. Daichi smiled as he patted her on the head.
"There, there," he said. "That didn't take too long, now did it?" Yuuko looked up, wrinkling her nose.
"Whatever," she muttered.
"Aw, don't be like that," Daichi said. She turned her head, pouting. Her handler knew how to fix the situation.
"Which one would you want to do first—ice cream or meet up with your sister?" he offered. Yuuko looked up at him.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"Uh-huh," Daichi said. Yuuko's eyes filled with stars.
"Ice cream!" she said. He chuckled.
"Okay," he said. "Then we will go to see your sister." Yuuko hugged him wildly.
"I love you so much! You are the best!" she shouted. Daichi smiled and patted her on the head.
"Yes, yes," he said. He caught a glimpse of the little black butterflies floating around their heads.
He took her to a popular ice cream spot in downtown Ikebukuro. Yuuko adored chocolate and strawberry. Daichi didn't mind spoiling the girl. Still, she was his responsibility for the game. Yuuko needed to be sharp and ready for the game when it reached its climax.
"So when does your horse get here?" Daichi asked as Yuuko licked up the ice cream. She glanced up at him with twinkle in her eye.
"There has to be more bloodshed," she explained calmly. "The Yellow Scarves were only a bite."
"Okay… how much more do you need?" he asked. Yuuko took a moment to think.
"I have a few ideas…" she said. Daichi raised his eyebrow. As if she heard what he was thinking, Yuuko rolled her eyes.
"I won't touch your family," she said. "No. I have my eyes set on a certain gang in Saitama." Yuuko twirled her long locks between her dainty fingers.
"Oh really?" Daichi said. He took a lick of his ice cream.
"Uh huh," Yuuko said. "After that, there's going to be more bloodshed with the other gangs. And then, my horse will be here."
"Oh careful, your ice cream is dripping," he said. The girl looked and licked up the drips as fast as she could. Daichi smiled at how cute his girl was.
When they finished their ice creams, Daichi made his way to Etsuko's apartment. The pair stood in front of the door. It always felt so weird for him to be here. The doctor always kept to herself. She never tried to associate with the rest of the inner circle after work hours. Daichi couldn't help but wonder why.
He reached forward and pressed the buzzer. Yuuko paced around with a goofy smile on her face.
"Easy," Daichi said in a low voice.
"I can't help it," she said. He gently shushed her.
"I know, I know," the man whispered. They looked up when the door opened. Kaori stood at the doorway with bright eyes.
"Nee-san!" Yuuko squealed.
"Yuuko-chan!" Kaori cheered. Both girls squealed and hugged each other.
"I missed you so much!" they said in unison. Daichi smiled and shook his head. He looked up when heard footsteps. Etsuko came up to the doorway. She raised her eyebrow.
"Did you need something, Hajime-san?" she asked. Daichi gave her a small shrug.
"Sorry," he said. "I just had to let her see Kaori." Etsuko had no emotion on her face as she backed away from the door.
Kaori and Yuuko sat on the couch in the living room. Etsuko and Daichi watched them from the kitchen.
"Has her horse started to manifest yet?" the doctor asked. Daichi shook his head.
"It's going to take more bloodshed," he said.
"I see," Etsuko said. "And the Yellow Scarves?"
"Dead," the gardener said. "One less gang involved with the game. For now, Osamu and I keep growing the flowers."
"Excellent," the doctor said. "Are you going to leave Yuuko here for the night?"
"If you don't mind," Daichi said.
"Fine," Etsuko said. The younger man bowed his head.
"Thank you, sensei," he said.
Meanwhile, Kaori turned to Yuuko.
"When will our brothers get here?" she asked. The other girl shrugged.
"Don't know," she said. "They'll come when they want to."
"Ah," Kaori said. "Why did you leave that boy alive?" She narrowed her eyes as she said that. Yuuko wrinkled her nose.
"Why did you leave Aoba alive?" she asked. Kaori put her hands on her hips.
"Because I wanted a new toy to play with," she said. "He's just so much fun to torture. Besides, what else was I supposed to do. The gates were still being opened. What's your excuse?" Yuuko put her hands on her hips.
"I needed a messenger for Masaomi," she said. "After all, I'm just getting started. It's going to be so much fun to see all of the hope drained out of him." Both girls paused for a moment. Kaori shrugged.
"Fair enough," she said.
"Thank you." Yuuko bowed her head.
"Now what?"
Yuuko took a moment to think. "I'm heading out to Saitama tomorrow." Kaori titled her head.
"What's out there?" she asked. The other girl broke out into a huge grin.
"Oh… just a certain biker gang that could slow down the gang," she said. "I want to see how many I can take out at once this time." Kaori leaned in mesmerized.
"Oooo, do tell," she said.
"I will if you tell me all of what you did to Aoba," her sister said. The other girl couldn't help but smile.
"I will," she said. "You should hear what I did to one of the twins."
"Oh really?" Yuuko asked. "Tell me all about it."