Author's Note: This took so much to write, but here it is. I needed a way to get Miya away from Murata and Asahara. Part of the inspiration comes from that dancing scene in that Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey movie. There's so much going on in here. I was worried that I wasn't going to get this up in time, but here we are. I have the rest of December mapped out for this fic. You are going to have to see what I am going to do next week. For now, enjoy this week's halo.

Halo Eighteen: Murata:

He's starting to lose his grip on sanity and power. Mostly his sanity. Miya's known this all along. She saw the future. So why does she still stay with the Church of Light? She's now starting to question that after the things she has seen. Miya isn't the only one who feels this way either.

One Year Earlier

Murata called everyone into what he called the Red Room. Chisa and Miya already knew where this was heading. Who was it this time? Everyone gathered at the thick wooden doors. Murata held up his hands.

"My flock! We have a demon among us!" he said. Whispers filled the room. Miya froze. She turned and looked at Chisa. The older woman looked just as confused as she did. Murata held up his hand.

"Do not fear," he said. "We shall exercise the demon!" Murata turned and unlocked the doors. He pushed them wide open. The color drained from Chisa's face.

"No…" she said.

Ikuo sat on his knees on a tatami mat. His body was covered in bruises. They had stripped him naked. His head was slumped down. The boy didn't try to run away. Chisa turned to Murata.

"Honey, what is the meaning of this?" she asked. Murata waved her off and walked into the room. He grabbed the boy by the hair.

"A demon has possessed him," Murata said. "Brother Ikuo has been corrupted." The crowd broke into boos and jeers.

"No! That's not true!" Chisa said. "He's just a kid!" She tried to run to him, but the other wives held her back.

"Get off of me! Let me go!" she screamed. The wives clung to her, nails digging into the skin. Murata held out his arms.

"See?" he asked. "He's already corrupted one of our own!" Miya gave Murata an odd look. She began to put together what this was all about.

"What are you doing?" she mouthed at the preacher. Murata ignored her.

"Now come on!" he said. "Who shall take the first blow?"

"No!" Chisa screamed. One of the wives covered her mouth. A guard moved from behind Miya.

"I'll do it," he said, cracking his knuckles. Murata let go and backed away.

"Very well," the preacher said. The guard snickered to himself.

"Gladly," he said. He walked up to the battered boy.

Wham!

The boy got another punch to the stomach. Ikuo choked out a gasp.

"Harder," Murata commanded. The guard put his weight behind that punch. Ikuo gasped aloud and whimpered.

"Harder!" the pastor shouted. The guard yelled and punched Ikuo so hard in the right eye that he broke the socket. The boy whimpered aloud. Murata threw back his head and laughed.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Come beat the demon out of this boy!" The rest of the cult jumped on the poor child. They all beat on him. They said the same thing over and over again.

"Man proposes, god disposes!"

They beat Ikuo with their fists, feet, and weapons. He didn't make a sound the whole time.

"Man proposes, god disposes!" one woman yelled as she stomped her high-heeled shoe into his face.

The whole time Chisa looked horrified the whole time. The other wives held her back as she tried to fight them to get him. Miya did nothing to stop this. Murata stood with a bored expression on his face at her side. Almost like he lost interest in the attack. This was just a display of power. If you got out of line, this was your fate.

So why did she stay after that? Miya told herself it was to keep the girls safe from the guards and Murata. So far, she had been doing good. But lately, Miya wondered if it was worth it anymore. But she couldn't leave the girls behind.

Still, this couldn't go on like this. Something had to give.

Present Day

Lately, it's gotten worse. It all started with that secretary's damned black tablet. Murata's really worried about what's on it. Miya has been keeping an eye on him.

"You don't know what's in the files," I said.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he kept yelling. Miya drew her mouth closed. In truth, she started to wonder if it was time to leave. But who would protect the girls? If she was gone, the guards would have the pick of their prey.

Murata whipped around.

"What's wrong?" Miya asked. He glared at her. She waited for this caged animal to speak. He wasn't stupid enough to lay a hand on her.

"Just go away," he said at last. "I don't want to see anyone right now." Miya didn't say anything and turned to walk out of his office. She quietly closed the door behind her.

On the surface, the secretary's notes looked like a list of names with different food items and high prices. To the naked eye, it didn't make any sense.

"Who pays 1,127,900.00¥ for a salad?" Mikage asked as she saw the news on TV.

Good question.

This is where you have to take a closer look. The Awakusu were the first to see it.

"Salad, fruit salad, ramen, chocolate cake, vanilla sponge cake, what is all of this?" Kazamoto asked. Shiki took a look at the screen himself. Something didn't look right about this "food list".

"Scroll up a bit," he said.

"Huh?" the younger yakuza asked as he did so. Shiki leaned in for a closer look. Kazamoto slowed down with his scrolling. He spotted one name that caught his attention.

"Isn't that Hoshino?" he asked. Shiki took a look with him.

"Yeah," he said. He remembered Hoshino. Still owed them money. What did he do to owe them? Kazamoto turned to his superior.

"Wasn't Hoshino involved with that underaged actress?" he asked. That question made something click in Shiki's head.

"What does it say for Hoshino's meal?" he asked.

"Tossed salad and a strawberry cake roll," Kazamoto said. It didn't take long for Shiki to put the pieces together.

"Did she have a note attached to this file?" he asked.

"Let's see," the younger man said. He scrolled through the file.

"No… Wait, hang on," he said. Kazamoto clicked on a link titled "Sakurai". That little click told the men what they needed to know.

"Heh, looks like Yukimura really did have the power of this country," Shiki said.

Turns out, the secretary and possibly Yukimura were running an extortion scheme for close to ten years. Judging by the list, they were running it rather impressively.

What else did she have in that black tablet of hers?

Chisa started to remember things herself. The things Murata made her do made her want to vomit.

Six Months Ago

The sun came in through the tall windows. Chisa rolled over and woke up behind Murata.

"Good morning," she said in a flirty tone. The woman giggled as she playfully tapped him on the cheek. Murata smiled.

"Morning, Baby Cakes," he said. They shared another kiss. The minister climbed on top.

"Last night was amazing," he said. Chisa's cheeks turned red.

"Uh… well… uh…" was all that she could stutter out. Her "husband" chuckled.

"You're welcome," he said. Murata kissed her again. She happily kissed back. His hand moved to her breasts. When was the last time he had a morning with her like this? It didn't matter. He was going to get him so now.

Then there came a knock on the door.

Murata gritted his teeth. Chisa pulled on his arm.

"Come on, baby," she said. "Just ignore it." The knocking on the door grew louder.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get this," Murata said. Chisa pouted. He slipped out of her grasp. The minister put on a robe. His "wife" folded her arms across her chest and frowned. Murata pretended not to notice her.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's me, boss," a man's muffled voice said. Murata opened the door.

"Ah, Hanagaki," he said. "What's on your mind?" A tan-skinned man looked into the room.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" he asked. Murata looked over at Chisa. His "wife" frowned. He waved her off.

"It's fine," he said. He turned to Chisa.

"Honey, go get dressed," he said. She frowned and climbed out of bed. She stuck out her tongue before walking into the bathroom. Murata just shrugged it off.

"Women," he said. "What are you going to do with them?" Hanagaki shrugged and shook his head.

"Anyway, the Diet member won't budge," he said.

"Damn it," Murata muttered. He glanced up at the man.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"Well, he does have a son," his friend said. Murata perked up when he heard that.

"Does he now?" he asked. The wheels started turning in his head.

"What else about this son?" he asked.

"He does have a birthday this weekend," Hanagaki said. The minister broke into a huge catlike smirk.

"Perfect," he said. "I have just the present." Murata turned to the bathroom door.

Present Day

Chisa felt like throwing up after remembering what all she was made to do with that diet member's son. It started to dawn on her all of the things that he made her do. This wasn't her. She never did anything to please a man.

"Baby Cakes?" she heard from down the hall. Chisa turned to see the bedroom door opening. Murata stood in the doorway with an angry look on his face. His "wife" frowned.

"Baby…" she said. Murata marched over to her and forced a kiss on her lips. Chisa didn't get time to react.

"Baby! What are you doing?!" she asked. The minister forced another kiss on her lips.

"Shut up!" he barked. "Just shut up! Shut up!" He forced another kiss on his "wife's" lips. Chisa couldn't put up a fight. She could only go along with it.

It wouldn't be long before the police get involved. For now, more people were starting to take notice. Who all were victims of this extortion scheme? The last is quite long.

Izaya whistled as he looked at the screen.

"Wow," he said. "Do you see this?" Aoba looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Izaya frowned. He wasn't as fun as Namie.

"Did you not see the news?" the information broker asked. The boy rolled his eyes. Of course, he wouldn't. Kururi had his phone locked away. Aoba's face turned red as he looked away and clicked his tongue. Izaya pretended not to notice.

"Things are about to get interesting," he said. Aoba rolled his eyes.

I'm in hell.

Meanwhile, Etsuko sat across from Kitano in his office.

"You really didn't look at the files, did you?" she asked.

"No," he said. The doctor didn't look surprised.

"That's a huge gamble you are pulling there," she said.

"Yes," he said. "I do this with good cause." The therapist leaned in across the desk.

"This is the exact calamity that we needed," he said. "Now, we just need to let the dominoes fall into place."

"And what do we do with the information that could be about us?" Etsuko asked. She already knew the answer to that question. Kitano sat back and smiled.

"Maybe they will start asking questions," he said. "But tell me, do you really think they would believe us?"

"We would sound crazy to them," she said.

"Exactly," Kitano said. He pulled out his phone and looked at the incoming news reports.

"The question who is going to crack first?" the therapist asked.

Even Junko felt the excitement. She started to play with the figures on her board.

"We're all standing on thin ice," she said to herself. "It just takes one little crack. And then it will spread and spread and spread. And then… Splash!" The nurse's hands went everywhere in the air.

"We all go splash into the freezing water!" Junko said. She broke into laughter. Her interns just stood around, watching. They learned by now not to ask any questions. The nurse smirked to herself.

Things came to a head days before October. It was already getting bad in the coming weeks. Murata wouldn't let the members of the church leave the property they were on. Chisa started to wise up to who the minister really was. But she can't leave. None of the other wives can. Chisa has to force herself to smile in order to survive.

Miya doesn't know what to do or think about her. She doesn't deserve this, but she's the daughter of the man who turned her into a tadpole. Chisa probably didn't know about the experiments at Chou Mori. But still, something told her to keep her distance.

Besides, Miya had other problems to worry about.

Murata's turned into a ticking time bomb. When he wasn't preaching, he stayed locked in his office. He wouldn't stop staring at the screen. Miya wanted to disconnect his laptop. She hid the power chord once and one of his wives paid for it. Even through his paranoia, Murata knew better not to lay a hand on his bodyguard.

"Don't ever steal from me again," he said in a cold voice. Miya didn't flinch. Each day told her that she couldn't stay here anymore. Still, she had to protect the women.

However, one night, in particular, would help to decide for her.

September 25, 2015

This was a rare night that Murata went out to a fancy restaurant. He didn't want to go to Russia Sushi tonight. Murata wanted to go somewhere high-classed and private. That was red flag number one to Miya. She looked around at the table. Murata sat at the head of his table. There were three guards with him. Two of them already hit the sake. Aw crap. Looked like her job was going to have to be hard. It wasn't just her and the men tonight. Murata dragged two of his wives with him.

That wasn't what Miya really worried about.

Hina was with them tonight. She was the fifteen-year-old daughter of one of Murata's other wives. Usually, Murata didn't have young girls out with him. Did one of the guards convince him to invite her?

Dinner felt tense. Nobody spoke at first. Miya took a drink of her green tea. She looked at the party that she was stuck with. (Maybe stuck was too strong.) Murata wore his typical fancy white suit. Those gold chains looked too tacky, but Miya didn't say anything. The last thing she needed was to hear his mouth, accusing her of mocking him. The three guards were dressed up in olive green military suits. Miya didn't understand why they dressed like this. Only one had some basic military skills. The bodyguard rolled her eyes. The two wives were dressed in matching sexy blue cocktail dresses. They sat quietly on either side of Murata. Miya had Hina sitting next to her. At least the girl had on a cute red party dress.

Murata downed another glass mug of beer. His face looked so red.

"I hate them all," he muttered. Miya gave him the side-eye. This was why she would never let him drink in public. Today had been a really bad day. Miya just didn't feel like dealing with him. Now, here they went again.

"They just want to take me down with them," Murata complained. "I'm a good person. I have been nothing but good for the family." None of the party said a word. Hina picked up a piece of edamame and popped it in her mouth. One of the wives did the same thing, but Murata smacked her hand.

"You've already had enough," he growled. "Can't have you getting fat!" The woman reluctantly drew back her hand. Miya whipped her head around. No one spoke up. One of the guards tried to choke back a drunken laugh. The tadpole cut him a cold glare. He quickly closed his mouth. Miya finished her tea. Murata cleared his throat.

"Those bastards," he growled. By now, Miya tuned him out. No use in stopping him. Just to let him get it out of his system. A waitress came by with their spring rolls. Everyone started to dig in. Miya ordered herself a second plate of spring rolls for her. She cursed her endless hunger that came with being a female tadpole. One of the guards looked over at her plate.

"Hey, let me have one of those," he said. He reached for Miya's plate, but she smacked his hand away.

"Ow, what the hell you bitch?!" he snapped. Miya glared at him as she popped a spring roll into her mouth.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, you stuck up bitch!" he shouted.

"Leave her alone," Murata slurred out. "She can do what she wants." The guard snorted.

"You're too easy on her," he said. "You fucking her or something?" Miya stuffed another spring roll in her mouth. The wives looked at her with unease on their faces.

"Nah," the minister said. "Not my type. Besides, she might be gay." The guards laughed at that suggestion. Hina frowned with her spring roll inches from her lips. Miya just rolled her eyes as finished her spring roll. One of the wives went for another spring roll.

"No!" Murata snapped, smacking her on the hand.

"Ow," she whimpered.

"You are not getting anymore," he growled. The wife looked over at Miya.

"How come she gets to have as many as she wants?" she whimpered. The minister downed his beer.

"She's special," he said. "I'm not going to fuck her."

"Can you please watch your language, sir?" Miya asked. "We have a minor here." Hina glanced up at her. Murata sniffed.

"Right…" he said. Miya kept a sharp eye on him. The wives shifted in place. The waitress came back with their sushi. The party ate in silence.

"More ale, wench!" Murata shouted. He smacked her on the ass. The waitress yelped and ran off. Miya's right eye started to twitch.

The night seemed to drag on into an uncomfortable nightmare. The minister came kept drinking. The more he drank, the angrier he got. The waitresses wouldn't even go near their table. One of them went to go talk to the manager. The party had already been warned that if Murata kept this up, they would be asked to leave. Miya couldn't tune out his rants anymore. The wives tried to calm Murata down.

"Get off me!" he shouted. He back-handed one of the women. It didn't help that his golden rings caught her on the nose. She screamed and covered her nose.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" the other wife asked. Miya clenched her chopsticks. Her nostrils flared.

"Fuck!" Murata shouted. He slammed his fist on the table. By now, the other patrons were staring at their table. The minister looked up with hate in his eyes.

"What are you staring at?! Huh?!" he shouted. Murata stood up on the table, knife in his hand. Some of the patrons tried to look away. A few started whispering to each other while not making eye contact. One of the guards tried to get him to sit down. He whispered into the other man's ear, but the minister pushed him off. The other two didn't even try to calm him down.

"Fuck!" the minister shouted. One of the waitresses ran to the back to get the manager again. Hina tried not to nervously laugh at her leader's outburst. A small chuckle escaped from her lips. Unfortunately for her, Murata whipped his head around to her. He had the face of a demon.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!" the minister snapped. The girl froze. She tried to hide behind Miya. Murata gritted his teeth and pointed his knife at her.

"Get up!" he barked. Hina sat frozen with wide eyes. The minister growled. He pushed everything off the table.

"I said get up!" Murata shouted. He used his knife to motion over to the table.

"Okay, okay," Hina said. She climbed up on the table before Miya had a chance to stop her.

"You don't have to do this," the bodyguard whispered.

"Shut up!" Murata yelled at Miya. The tadpole raised her eyebrow. The minister turned his attention back to the girl.

"Dance," he hissed. Hina stared at him with big eyes.

"I said dance!" Murata shouted. The girl started to dance nervously. The guards stare intently as the anger boiled up in Miya's chest. Tears started to well up in Hina's eyes. Murata clicked his tongue and slashed her dress. She screamed as the fabric fell on the table. Hina started crying as she tried to cover her white bra and panties. The three guards started laughing. The wives sat back and did nothing. Miya threw down her chopsticks and stormed out of the restaurant.

"Hey!" Murata shouted, running after her. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!" The minister grabbed onto her wrist. Miya spun around with a frosty glare.

"Take your hands off of me!" she snapped. The tadpole freed herself from her grasp. She vanished into thin air. Murata dropped his hand by his side.

"Fine!" he shouted. "Who needs you anyway?!" By this time, the manager came along and kicked them out with the threat of calling the cops. Murata put up his hands.

"Whatever," he said. The minister left with his wives, Hina, and the guards.

Miya stormed off down the streets. She didn't have much of a plan of what to do next, but she knew of one person she could talk to.

Erina, are you there?

She kept walking as she took a listen. Erina?

Miya? Miya, is that you?

The other woman about stopped in her tracks. Yeah. I finally did it. I finally left him and his cult. There was a pause.

Where are you now?

I'm going to head towards your club.

Are you alone?

Miya took a look behind her. Good, no one in sight. Yes. I will be there shortly. The tadpole disappeared into thin air again.

The secretary was arrested days after the Awakusu cracked the code. Her name was Morikawa Kita. She was thirty-five years old and worked for Yukimura for thirteen years. The people tracked her down at Ikebukuro Station trying to skip town. Several police officers surrounded her. Kita didn't even resist. She just put up her hands and was arrested.

Now, she's still in jail and not saying a word.