Author's Note: Once again, tech fail got me. This time, it was my wireless Bluetooth headphones. I have pushed the power button down so hard that it doesn't work anymore. I liked them too. I will have to replace them. Other than that, I was worried that I wasn't going to get this halo up on time. But I managed to get it with minutes to spare. I love how it turned out. There is one idea I got from the short-lived show, Aquarius, and the real-life case from the Mason Family. I have been sitting on this idea for quite some time now. I managed to get it out and kick the game into high gear. I can't wait to get on with the next two weeks. For now, enjoy this week's halo.

Halo Fourteen: Senso:

Bakura: Okay, that was weird. I downloaded that file that was in the chat room the other day. I clicked on it, but all I got was this loud screeching noise for twenty seconds before it shut down my computer. I booted it back up and everything was fine. When I went to click on the file, I kept getting a message saying that it was corrupted. I can't open it or delete it.

Setton: You too?

Kyou: What was that all about?

Saika: Is it some sort of a virus?

Bakura: I don't think so. Could just be some sort of a prank.

Mikado read over the chat log. He too had downloaded that file. For some reason, he couldn't help but get the feeling that it was met for one person in particular. If only he could access it again. Lucky for him, Mikado knew someone who could help.

Shingo. Are you there? I need your help with something.

Yeah. What is it?

I am going to need you to try and decode a file.

You mean the one in the Dollars Chatroom?

Yeah. Can you help me out? I think someone put the file on there to reach out to someone.

Who?

That's what I am trying to find out. Can you fix the file or something?

There was a pause for a moment. I will see what I can do.

Thank you.

There were many trips to the phone and computer stores to get that file off the computer. Lucky for them, the guys at the stores were also in the Dollars.

"No problem," the guy at the phone store said.

"We got you," the computer guy said. They were more than happy to get to work. The guys managed to find a way to remove the file without causing much damage. And just like that, the strange incident was all but forgotten.

September 13th, 2015.

-10:00 a.m.-

Anna, Roc, and Yuka stood waiting at Ikebukuro station.

"Where exactly are we going to go again?" Roc asked.

"Ginza," Yuka said.

"And who's the guy again?" he asked.

"Here," she said. The intern handed her colleague her phone. Roc read the screen. He narrowed his eyes.

"Kanda Fumito?" he asked. The intern read over the information. Suddenly, his eyes widened as it sank in. "Wait! Is this…?" Roc quickly looked around.

"Are we really going to go after this guy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Anna said. She stretched her neck from side to side.

"Wow," Roc said. He handed Yuka back her phone. She shoved it into her pocket. Kitano sent them on a little mission. He called them into his office in the early hours in the morning.

"This is what I am going to do today," Kitano said. He handed the paperwork.

"Here is all of the details," the therapist. "The only thing you have to do is get creative." The interns looked up at him.

"What exactly are we doing, sensei?" Yuka asked.

"You will find everything you need to know in the notes," he said. "Take as long as you want. Don't worry about getting caught. All you have to do is read the notes and follow them to the tee. You have to be back by morning. Do any of you have any questions?"

"We can do what we want, right?" Anna asked.

"Yes," Kitano said. "You can get creative. Any other questions?" The interns didn't say anything.

"Good," Kitano said. "Get going." Anna, Roc, and Yuka filed out in a single file.

Yuka turned to Roc. Her colleague narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Why are you here?" Yuka asked.

"Because I was assigned to be here," Roc said.

"No," she said. "I mean, why are you here with this group? Anna's here because she wants to get away from her family legacy. I am supporting myself because my father refuses to do so to prove my worth to inherit the family line of doctors. Why are you here?" Roc tilted his head.

"Why are you asking me this?" he asked. Yuka shrugged her shoulders.

"Just trying to gage your motives," she said. She turned back as the train pulled up into the station.

"Come, Anna!" she shouted. Anna shoved her phone into her bag and followed behind. Roc clicked his tongue and frowned.

"What would you know?" he muttered to himself. He followed behind the girls. They all boarded the train and rode off.

Aoko sat in the corner with her knees to her chest. She didn't question how she got here. Her only question was how to get out of here. They were holding her on drummed up charges. No one was telling her why they arrested her. The questions they asked in the interrogation room made no sense.

"Why am I here?" Aoko asked. The police didn't answer her. They kept shouting at her. Nineteen hours. They kept her in that interrogation room for nineteen hours. No sleep, no food, no water, no bathroom breaks. She couldn't even call home. Her parents probably didn't know where she was.

Aoko dropped her head on her knees. How was she going to get out of here? How long were they going to hold her here until realized that the charges were bull shit? Would they believe her or him?

"I can't stay here! I'm innocent!" Aoko wailed aloud.

"I know," a voice said. The woman jerked head upwards. Walker leaned against the bars smiling at her.

"Have we met before?" she asked. She didn't know why she asked that. Walker shrugged.

"Maybe," he said. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know," Aoko said.

"Come on," Walker said. "You must have done something bad to end up here. So tell me. What happened? Did you kill somebody?"

"No!" she yelped. Aoko quickly covered her mouth.

"Then what did you do?" he asked. She sighed and looked away.

"Nothing," the woman said. She sighed again.

"Can I take a guess?" Walker asked. Aoko looked up at him.

"What?" she asked. He leaned in closer to the bars.

"Were you framed?" the otaku asked. The woman lifted her head.

"Ha! I knew it!" Walker said. Aoko looked away again. She muttered something under her breath.

"Hm?" Walker asked.

"It was by that bastard," she said a little bit louder.

"Who?"

"Murata."

Walker raised his eyebrow. "Murata? You mean that preacher police watch on TV?" Aoko clicked her tongue.

"He's not a preacher," she muttered. "He's nothing but a con man."

"Oh? Were you in his cult?" Walker asked. Aoko lifted her head. That might have been the first time she heard someone agree with her on what the Asahara really was.

"My sister," she said.

"Oh! You were on a rescue mission, weren't you?" Walker asked. He turned around in his cell with his arms out.

"The young heroine went undercover to rescue her sister from an evil cult," he said. "But alas, her cover was blown and the minister had her thrown in jail like poor Matsu the Scorpion after her lover betrayed her!" The otaku started to sing the theme song from the movie series.

"You're beautiful, you're the flower, he praises you/But if you bloom, he will get you scattered/Stupid. So stupid/I go so stupid singin' my grudge blues," he said.

"Shut up!" one of the other inmates yelled.

"You can accept your pitiful fate/But when you cry, he'll make you cry more/Women, oh women/It's women's tears that makes my grudge blues," the otaku said. He danced about as he sang. Aoko gave him a strange look. Who was this guy? Walker suddenly paused and turned.

"But fear not," he said in a whisper. "Our heroine will escape with the help of one clever, imprisoned tanuki, among several others." Walker ended that statement with a wink. Aoko blinked at first.

"What does that mean?" she asked. Walker disappeared back to his corner and sat down. It didn't take long for the one to take the hint. The otaku wouldn't say anymore after that.

Kitano wasn't the lone wolf everyone thought him to be. There was a friend in his life, in fact. It started all the way back when he was interning as a doctor.

-Kitano-

I didn't understand why he wanted anything to do with me. He was the one who came up to me on our first day of work. His name is Kubo Hayato. Everything about him reminded me of a little puppy. Excited to help save lives. Always good-natured. Never saw him upset even when we lost patients.

I remember the first day we met.

I was in my headspace that morning. This was in the Spring of 1970 and I was twenty-three at the time. I had just finished med school. There were many offers for me to work in hospitals across Japan. I chose the best one in Tokyo. I was to work at the University of Tokyo Hospital Tokyo. I wasn't there to make friends. I was there to work.

That was my plan at least.

During orientation, I noticed this man my age staring at me. I tried to ignore him at first. However, I would catch glances of him still looking at me. What was with this guy? Something told me that he was going to try and talk to me.

Sure enough, he came over to me after the lecture. I happened to look up to see that man walking over to me. I rolled my eyes. And here we go. Granted, I didn't hate the guy. I wasn't a social person. I still am not.

"Hello!" he said. I gave him a dull wave.

"Good morning," I muttered. That man stood staring at me. I blinked at him.

"What?" I asked.

"My name is Kubo Hayato," he said. "It's nice to meet you." I blinked at him. Why was he telling me this?

"Okay…" I said.

"What's your name?" Kubo asked.

"Kitano," I said. Lucky for me, we were called away to our mentor. We would be stuck on the same team. But we didn't talk much to each other when we started our first rounds. Now, Kubo was a bright guy. He really did know his stuff. In that aspect, I respected him. Kubo took his job just as seriously as I did. Something about his smile kind of put me off in a way. It didn't help that he kept trying to talk to me on that first day. By lunch, I couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it with you?" I asked. "Why do you keep trying to talk to me?" Kubo had that annoying smile on his face that I wanted to smack off of.

"You looked lonely," he said. I all but snorted at him.

"I'm not lonely," I said. "I am here to work, not make friends."

"Well that's just boring," Kubo said. I turned my head. He cocked his head.

"The way I see it, it doesn't hurt to have a friend or two," he said. "You never know when you are going to need someone."

"I don't need anyone," I said.

"I might need you," Kubo said. I just stared at him. Who was this guy?

"Are you even human?" I asked. The other man gave me a strange look.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I don't think you are human," I said. "You must be an alien or something." Kubo just shrugged with that smile on his face.

"Call me what you will," he said. I finished up my lunch and walked away. Since then, he followed me around and tried to talk to me. Over time, Kubo wore me down.

"If I let you be my friend, will you back off?" I asked.

"Maybe," he said. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Who was this man? I got to know him over time. It was Kubo who was the lonely one. He just needed a friend. He would be one of the most reliable allies in the hospital that I would come to know. We stayed close even after I quit. He invited me to his wedding. Kubo came out to my wedding. I even met his daughter. His girl knew my own. That's how close our families were. Everything in our relationship was fine and dandy. However, there was one dark cloud that always followed him around.

His name was Yukimura Itsuki. He was never in our medial circle. Kubo and this snake met shortly after I started my psychiatrist career. I remember the first day I met him. Kubo was rather chummy with him. Me? Not so much. Right off the bat, I didn't like Yukimura. I always had the first that he had ulterior motives. When we were alone together, I never gave him too much information about myself. He didn't need to know anything about me and I was doing my best to keep it that way. I couldn't tell Kubo about my suspicions. How could I? I didn't have any proof. Just a hunch. My suspicions came true on that dreadful night of October 29th, 2013. From then on, I vowed to make that snake pay.

I made it down to the basement. I knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" I heard Kimiko ask.

"I'm coming in," I said. I opened the door before she could answer. I poked my head inside. Kimiko sat across the room at her computer. She didn't look up at me.

"Yes sir?" she asked. I walked into the room and closed the door behind me.

"Miyashiro-san, your daughter's class trip is coming up, yes?" I asked. Kimiko still didn't look up.

"Yes," she said in a trembling voice. I walked over to her. My hand gingerly rested atop her monitor. She paused with her typing.

"I have a small favor to ask of you," I said.

"What?" Kimiko asked.

The trio of interns came up to apartment 6-18. Roc turned to Yuka.

"This the right place?" he asked. Yuka pulled out the paper and read for a few seconds.

"Yes," she said.

"Right," Roc said. He reached up and knocked on the door.

"Coming," an old man's voice said. Anna, Roc, and Yuka looked at each other. They put on their masks. Roc pulled up his hood. The girls followed suit.

"She's going to actually show up, right?" Anna asked.

"She should," Yuka said. The other two didn't look so convinced. Just like her siblings, she could be a total diva. She came when she wanted to. Then again, this was her thing. She could show up right away when she sensed blood was coming. By the time the door opened, they were ready to go. A man in his seventies froze as he looked at the three masked strangers.

"Hello Yukimura-san," Roc said in a growl. Yukimura started to panic. Roc reached out and grabbed him by the face before the old man had the chance to shut the door. The old man let out a muzzled scream as he was shoved back into his apartment. Anna closed the door behind them. She locked it and put the chain on it.

Yukimura was bound down to an armchair with zip ties and duct tape. The three interns stood in front of him. Roc held a gun to his face.

"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!" he shouted.

"Give us the black book!" Anna shouted through her mask.

"Black book?! What black book?!" Yukimura asked.

"Don't play dumb, old man!" Roc shouted. "Tell us where the book is!" The old man started sweating as he shook his head.

"Liar!" Roc yelled. Anna unzipped her bag and pulled out a wrench. She walked up smacked their victim in the right knee. Yuka was quick to turn on the TV to drown out the screams. She turned it up at full volume.

"Now where is the book?" Roc asked. Yukimura gritted his teeth. He sucked in a mouthful of air.

"I'm not telling you!" he growled. The intern clicked his tongue.

"Search the apartment," he said. "Take whatever else you find valuable." Anna and Yuka looked at each other for a moment.

"You want this to look convincing, don't you?" Roc asked. "Do it!" The interns went down the hall. Yuka shot him a surprised glance. He had read the paper after all.

"Here!" Anna said, throwing Roc the wrench.

"Thank you," he said, catching it. He turned his attention back to their captive. Yukimura started to catch on to what was unfolding.

"You will get nothing," he hissed. Roc smirked under his mask as he cracked his knuckles.

"We'll see about that, old man," he said.

Shingo sat at Mikado's computer.

"Anything yet?" Mikado asked.

"I'm trying," the younger boy said. "This isn't a normal coding." Mikado leaned in for a look.

"It's been encoded so that only one person can hear the message," Shingo said. The older boy looked at him.

"Is such a thing possible?" he asked.

"With magic, yeah," Shingo said. "I haven't seen anything like it."

"How much do you have?" the older tadpole asked.

"I have this," Shingo said. "I think I might know how this might be for."

"Who is it?" Mikado asked. The other tadpole. unblocked his headphones. The tadpole boy hint play. Static came through the speakers at first. A welcome change from the screeching noise that came through the first time it was played. The boys strained for a listen.

"That sounds like a woman," Mikado said.

"Shhh," Shingo whispered. More static came through the air. Two sentences managed to break through.

"Ishikawa Noriko. Please remember who you are."

Mikado about leapt back.

"Play that back!" he shouted. Shingo rewound back the few seconds on the audio.

"Ishikawa Noriko. Please remember who you are."

The younger tadpole boy hit rewind a couple more times before the audio stopped playing altogether. Shingo gave up after a few more tries.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That's the best I could do." Mikado stood up.

"No," he said. "You just gave me everything you needed to know." He pulled out his phone and started dialing.

"Mikado?" Shingo asked. He was already on the phone.

"Yeah, you're going to want to hear this," the older tadpole said.

The child with the red hair and the scar on her right eye finally made it to Ikebukuro. It took a while, but something woke up and drew her here. Lately, she's been hearing whispers in her head. They kept telling her to come to the city. She didn't have a reason or notion as to why.

Something about this city felt so familiar. Had she been here before? There's somebody that needs her. Who was it?

Her memory was still a haze. However, there was something else that she noticed. In her dreams, she would see a figure of a man in a mirror. He kept trying to talk to her. But she couldn't hear what he was saying. She couldn't see his face either. But he still tried to reach out to her. He really wanted to say something. She still couldn't understand him.

Last night, she saw him again. This time, he came through clearer.

He had a scar on his right eye just like her. His hair was just as red as hers. He looked so nice in his suit. Was that a third skinny leg next to him? That man tried to talk to her again. The girl tilted his head. There was no sound again. He still kept appearing in her dreams. It was like he was trying to tell her something.

Maybe that's why she was here? She had to keep moving until she reached her destination, wherever that was.

It's been three hours now. Roc looked over at the hostage. Yukimura was a tough old man. Two broken knees, two broken calves, broken right eye socket, broken and bloody nose, a black eye, eight, no nine broken ribs, a cracked skull, and probably some ruptured organs. The more they beat on him, the more Yukimura showed his turn clothes.

"Anything yet?" Roc asked.

"No," Anna said. Her colleague clicked his tongue.

"Well, keep looking!" he shouted.

"Where else can we look?" she asked. "We've practically torn up the whole place." The interns looked around the formerly fancy apartment. Between the three interns, they did some serious damage. Books and papers were scattered all over the floor. Light furniture had been upturned. Blood mixed with the broken glass on the floor. Boxes and cabinets were left open. Roc even took a knife to the couch out of frustration during his turn to search. Yukimura started laughing through the pain.

"Shut up!" Roc shouted. He picked up his bat and smacked the old man in the stomach again. Yukimura gasped aloud. Roc gritted his teeth. He took in a breath.

"Get creative," the intern said.

"What?" Anna asked. Roc turned to her.

"Think," he said. "We were told to get creative. Then get creative!" Anna took a moment to think. Roc narrowed his eyes. A light lit up in her head.

"His computer!" she shouted. "We never saw his computer anywhere!"

"What? That's not possible," Roc said.

"We checked everywhere," Anna said. "We haven't seen a CPU or a laptop in this place." The pair turned to the old man. He stared them down with a curious look on his face. Roc threw down his bat and picked up the stun gun again.

"Where is your computer?" he asked. Yukimura laughed through the pain.

"I don't have a computer," he said.

Zap!

Yukimura took a zap under the chin. The old man's head jerked backward.

"Bull shit!" Roc yelled. "Everyone has a computer of some sort these days!" Zap! This time, the man was zapped in the throat. Zap to the chest. Zap to the stomach. Zap! Zap! Zap!

Roc stood back, panting. Yukimura looked through smug his pain. The intern clicked his tongue.

"He's mocking us," he muttered under his breath.

"Guys!" Yuka shouted. Everyone looked up to see her running down the hall. The intern held up a large black tablet in her hand.

"I think I found it!" she said. Yukimura's eyes widened as far as they could in panic. Roc happened to catch that look.

"Ah-ha!" he said. "Looks like we found it!" The intern sounded like he was speaking from a script. Yukimura broke into a cold sweat. The interns turned to him.

"What do we do with him now?" Anna asked. The old man really started to panic.

"H-H-Hey! We don't have to do this!" he said. "We can talk. Y-Y-You already got what you wanted." Roc smirked behind his mask and shook his head.

"Nah, not all of it," he said. Yukimura moved his head back and forth in painful panic.

"W-W-W-What do you mean?" he asked. Roc turned to Yuka.

"Any sign of her yet?" he asked.

"No," his colleague said. He groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Damn it," he muttered. Yuka rubbed him on the arm.

"Don't worry, she'll be here," the intern insisted. Roc looked her in the eye.

"She better," he said.

"Now what?" Anna asked. The interns turned back to their captor.

"Anyone else want to take another whack at him?" Roc asked. The other two interns said nothing. Their hostage actually pissed his pants.

Kururi shoved Aoba back onto her bed. Her boyfriend looked up at her. His girl glared at him.

"What's the matter?" Aoba asked. Kururi held up his phone.

"I've heard what you been saying about Izaya-nii," she said.

"You've been searching through my phone?" he asked.

"I had to, babe," she said. "Who were you talking to?" Aoba gave her a strange look.

"No one," he said.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me," his girlfriend growled. He hadn't seen her so angry before. In fact, Aoba had never seen her angry at all.

"I'm not lying," he said. Kururi glared at him. Aoba didn't know what to do. An unnerving sensation washed over him.

"Heh," she said. "If you aren't going to tell me, I will find out soon enough. I have my methods." Kururi noticed the confused look on her boyfriend's face.

"Aw, what?" she asked. "Did you think Iza-nii would be the only one with all of the information in the family?" Aoba's eyes widened. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse…

Kururi giggled.

"For now, I am going to have to punish you," she said. Aoba gave her a blank stare.

"You're joking," he said. She smiled and shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk," Kururi said. "I would never joke about something like this. You really disappointed me. I thought that I could trust you. This will not due." Her boyfriend's right eye twitched. She was serious.

"First, I will be taking your phone," Kururi said.

"What?!" Aoba asked. She stuck up her index finger.

"Tsk-tsk," she said. "You don't get to complain, babe. You are going to have to learn." The girl turned off his phone. She climbed off of him and walked over to her closet. Kururi dropped his phone in a box and locked it. She shoved the said box at the top of her closet.

"There," she said. The girl turned back to her boyfriend. She walked over to her dresser and pulled open a drawer. Aoba lifted his head in time to see her opening it. His eyes widened as she pulled out a black spiked collar with a black leash. Kururi turned to him with a grin. She walked over and climbed back onto the bed.

"Keep still," she said. The girl unfastened the collar and hooked it around his neck. Aoba gave her a blank stare. He didn't like where this was heading. Kururi smirked as her knees came on either side of him. She grabbed onto the collar.

"You really are the submissive type, are you?" she asked. Aoba's eyes shifted away from her as his face turned bright red. Kururi chuckled. Already, the pieces of her plan began to fall into place.

"Take off your belt," she said. Aoba whipped his head around. His girlfriend shot him a cold look.

"Take off your belt," she growled. "Do it!" Aoba reached down and took off his belt. Kururi snatched it out his hands. She moved his arms behind his back and tied his wrists together with his own belt. A naughty little giggle escaped from his lips. It didn't help that she was so close to him in his lap.

"Such a good boy," she cooed. Kururi leaned down to his neck. Her lips pressed against his skin. Aoba let off a small gasp. His girlfriend sucked harder on the skin. When she pulled away, a perfect hickey was left in its place. Kururi chuckled at her handy work.

"It's so beautiful," she said. The girl tugged on the collar.

"You are going anywhere for a while," she said. "I already told your mom that you would be staying over with me to study for the weekend." Aoba stared at her with wide eyes. Kururi playfully slapped him on the cheek.

"Now, it's for a little lesson in discipline," she purred. A cold, seductive smile spread across her face.

Roc stepped back with his knife in his hand.

"I'm bored now," he said. They turned to their hostage. The man had his head to his chest. Anna reached forward and slapped him on the cheek.

"Oi! You still with us? Oi! Oi!" she shouted. Yukimura let off a low groan. Yuka checked for a pulse.

"He's still with us," she said. Roc breathed out.

"Good," he said. "She would've been pissed if he died before she got here." He grabbed the old man by his hair.

"Hey! Stay with us!" the intern yelled. "You're about to get to the good part." Suddenly as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Roc threw his hands up in the air.

"About time!" he said. Yuka walked over to the door and looked out the peephole. Kaori stood outside, looking up. The intern opened the door.

"So glad that you could make it," she said. Kaori bowed her head.

"The boss said you can go now," she said. "I'll take it from here."

"Very well," Yuka said. She turned to her colleagues.

"We can head out now," the intern said.

"Finally!" Roc said. "I want to go get something to eat."

"I'll buy," Yuka said.

"Sweet!" Anna said. The interns packed up their things and headed out of the apartment. They bowed their heads at the smiling girl.

"Have fun," Anna said. She closed the door behind her. Kaori waved.

"Sure will," she said. Kaori turned and marched over to Yukimura. The old man looked up in time to see that saccharine smile on the girl's face. He didn't have it in him to scream anymore. Kaori stood with her knife in her head.

"The boss said, this is for her," she said. The old man's eyes widened.

Slash!

Kaori basked in the blood hitting her face from the carotid artery. Yukimura didn't even make a sound. Death would be instant with all of his other injuries. Kaori pumped her fists in the air.

"500 points!" she yelled. The girl twirled around and laughed in front of the dying man. Once he was dead, Kaori vanished into thin air. They would find the body in the morning.

Mikado took a big sip of water when he heard a knock on the door.

"Is that her?" Shingo asked at his computer.

"Yeah," the older boy said. He walked over to the front door. Mikado swallowed a mouthful of air before he opened it. Noriko stood outside.

"Ishikawa," Mikado said. "You made it. I'm so glad you're here." The girl gave him a curious look.

"What did you want to show me?" she asked. The founder of the Dollars swallowed in a mouthful of air to keep down the sick.

"Right," he said. "Come inside." Mikado stepped back into his apartment. Noriko followed him inside. Shingo turned when he heard the older teenagers walk into the room.

"I don't get it," Noriko said. "What are you trying to show me?" Mikado turned with a pair of headphones in his hands.

"You are going to want to hear this," he said.

"Wait… Is it that file on that Dollars chatroom?" she asked. "I thought that it wasn't working."

"I fixed it," Shingo said.

"Huh?" Noriko asked.

"Please," Mikado pleaded. He slipped the headphones on Noriko's ears. Shingo hit play. The words from the sound filled her ears. She started tearing up.

"Ishikawa?" Mikado asked.

"Artemis…" Noriko said. The world seemed to fall away around her as she sank down to her knees. Mikado's voice faded into the background.