Author's Note: I have been sitting on this idea for a long time. I love the imagery at the ending. There was going to be another part, but I am saving that for next week. This should be an interesting turn of events. And Shizuo's back! I can't wait to see him wandering around the city as a minotaur. Next week is already planned out. Oh and there's going to be a little something on AO3 only around April and another omake coming in March. For now, enjoy this week's halo.

Halo Twenty-Five: Michiko:

Michiko can tell that something is wrong. Masaomi went through that Faustian deal after all. She just didn't know the extent of the damage that he brought to himself and all of them this time. After she gave Masaomi a piece of her mind, Michiko decided to try and see how bad the exchange was this time.

Day 1

1.

Masaomi found himself back in the interrogation room. Huh? I'm back here. Part of him wondered if the past three days were just a dream. No, that wasn't it.

"So it was real," Masaomi said to himself. He started to remember what led back to this. I was arrested for murder, but I didn't do it. I said something that put me in seventy-two-hour holding in a psychiatric ward. Then Michiko helped me escape and then… then…

The detective was about to speak when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hang on," he said. The detective got up and walked out of the room. Masaomi watched intently. The last part of what happened came back to his mind, making him shudder.

"I made a deal with… with… that… woman…" Masaomi muttered. His stomach turned as he remembered the first time he saw her. That woman looked so pale. She might have looked pale, but something about her looked so intimidating. And she didn't really do much after the first encounter. They did talk. That was it. No. There was a bargain. Yes, there was a bargain. It was to save Mikado and Michiko. But what did I offer in return?

Masaomi looked up when the door opened. The detective walked in with a frown on his face.

"You're free to go," he said. "Your alibi checks out." The boy sat there with a stunned look on his face before he was relieved.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes!" the detective shouted. "Now get out of here." The boy stood up.

"Thank you, sir," Masaomi said, bowing. The detective rolled his eyes.

"Just get out," he said. The boy walked out of the room.

Masaomi found Michiko standing outside of the police, frowning at him. The boy looked confused at first.

"Michi-chan?" he asked. She ran over and slammed her small fists against his arm.

"I told you not to do it!" she yelled. Masaomi tried to push her off.

"I did it for all of you!" he yelled. He managed to grab her by the wrists and hold her still. Michiko growled as she glared at him.

"I didn't ask for you to save me!" she shouted.

"What about Mikado?! Huh?!" Masaomi shouted back. "Was I supposed to let him die?!"

"That's how they operate!" Michiko yelled. "They used him to make you become a player in this game!" The boy stared at her. She took a huge breath.

"They drive you into despair and then use you to turn back the time for you to fix it," Michiko said. "But that's the thing. You are making a deal with a devil. The price is never in your favor. You offer one thing and she will end up taking something higher." She had tears forming in her eyes. Masaomi tilted his head.

"What did you give up?" he asked. Michiko opened her fists. She sighed as she looked like a rag doll in his grasp.

"My magic," she said. "And my adult years." That last answer confused Masaomi.

"What do you mean?" he asked. She looked him in the eye.

"How old do you think I am?" the girl asked. She's asked him this before.

"How old are you really?" Masaomi asked. The girl snorted. She sighed when she looked into his eyes again.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone," Michiko said. "Not even any of them. You're lucky you're still in the early stages. I just hope…" Tears started to form in her eyes.

"I just hope that this one time will be the last," she said. A single tear ran down her cheek. Masaomi pulled her into his arms. Michiko narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Shhh, it's okay," Masaomi whispered.

"No, it's not," the young girl said softly. "It's not." He didn't listen. He was going to have to see in all due time. That's the part that always broke.

2.

"Have the antidote ready?" Kitano asked.

"Yes," Etsuko said. They stood over the uncovered Heartseed plant. Etsuko uncapped the syringe.

"Down into the roots, yes?" she asked.

"That's correct," Kitano said.

"Understood," the doctor said. She pumped the air out of the syringe and walked up to the blackening plant. Etsuko stabbed down by the roots and injected the thick clear liquid. She drew back the needle.

"Done," she said.

"And now we wait," Kitano said. "Lucky for us, we don't have to do that for too long. Not that I mind or anything." He and the doctor watched as the plant started to turn green again.

3.

Mikado remembered being close to death. He was trying to get Masaomi out of the psychiatric ward. He took a taxi there. Mikado remembered dragging himself to the garden. From there, he kept going in and out of consciousness. Someone dragged him into a magical barrier. From there, it got hazy.

He did remember waking up to seeing Masaomi floating in midair in a daze. Something about the scene looked so wrong. Mikado couldn't move to reach his friend. The next thing he knew he was back in his apartment.

But something wasn't right.

Suddenly, Mikado's phone rang.

"Hello?" the tadpole asked.

"Good morning, my pets," Kitano's voice came through a pre-recorded message. Mikado froze. He should be used to this by now. He should be.

"No, you aren't dreaming. You really were ill for the past three days. Let me explain why," the therapist's message continued. "There was a slight cell mutation in your bodies. But do not worry. We fixed it with a little antidote. However, we don't know the extent of the damage or results in this latest development. That is all. I really need a better way to sign off with these. Anyway, we'll be in touch soon."

Mikado stared at his phone after the message ended. Of course, this was Tandeki's fault. What were they trying to pull now? Mikado didn't get time to think about that.

The tadpole made another quick call.

"Hello?" Masaomi asked on the other line. Mikado about collapsed to his knees in relief.

"Kida-kun! You're alright!" he said.

"Yeah," his friend said.

"Where are you now?" the tadpole asked.

"I'm at Michi-chan's place," Masaomi said. There was a pause. Mikado wasn't sure how much his dear friend remember. He didn't know how to approach the subject without sounding crazy. (Even though that pretty much has gone out the window at this point.) Mikado cleared his throat.

"I'll be over there in a few minutes," he said.

"Do you know how to get here?" his best friend asked.

"Yeah," Mikado said. "I will see you then." The tadpole hung up and disappeared from the room.

3.

The tadpoles started to feel better already. Still, they couldn't trust the situation. Calm before the storm. There's going to be something new to their endless evolution.

"Feel any different?" Reo asked as she looked at her hands.

"I can't tell," Erina said.

"Me neither," she said. Reo glanced over to see Miya standing over in the corner.

"Is she staying with us?" the younger girl asked.

"She has to," Erina said. "We have to keep her away from that cult."

"Please don't talk to me like I'm not here," Miya spoke up. Erina and Reo looked up at her.

"Our apologizes," Erina said. Miya nodded.

"Do you think he's going to come after you?" Reo asked.

"I don't know," the other tadpole said. "He's not been stable lately. Not since…"

"Oh…" Erina said. Miya frowned.

"I'm worried about those women in Asahara, but I couldn't stay," she said. "Not after what he did to a fifteen-year-old girl." Miya sighed.

"Then stay with us for a while," Erina said. "You need to focus on yourself first." The other tadpole looked up at her.

"Right," Miya mumbled. Reo sat on the floor, watching. This wasn't going to be enough. They all knew that. The tadpoles needed to find the others and fast. Something told them that winter would be the deadline for everything.

4.

"She's not letting me leave," Masaomi whispered.

"Why is that?" Mikado asked with a puzzled look on his face. His friend shrugged and shook his head.

"I mean, I can't go anyway," Masaomi said. "The police have it taped off still." The tadpole didn't have an easier way to come out and say this. He might as well just ask.

"Hey, Masaomi," Mikado said.

"Yeah?" his friend asked.

"Have you noticed anything strange lately?" the tadpole asked. Masaomi had a grim look on his face. I don't want to tell him. He doesn't have to know. I did it for him after all.

Mikado took him by the hand. Masaomi froze.

"Take your time if you need to," the tadpole boy said. The other boy pressed lips together. He just looked away.

Michiko watched from the kitchen doorway. She held her hand to her chest. The girl was still looking for the real price that Masaomi had to pay to restart this round. On the surface, the boy still acted like a normal goofball and flirt. Michiko didn't buy it. She just had to be at the right time to catch it.

"I'm sorry, Masaomi-kun," Michiko mouthed. Tears ran down her cheeks.

5.

The detectives went through both external hard drives. Most of the folders were hidden and password protected. This didn't bother the cops. If Kita wasn't going to talk, let the hard drives talk for you. What kind of information were they going to find? It had to be something really juicy that she would keep her mouth shut about. Cyber forensics was going to enjoy this challenge. The detectives could already hear the chatter around the station.

One of the detectives turned to his partner.

"Hey," he said.

"Hm?" his partner asked.

"Do you get the strange feeling of déjà vu here?" the first detective asked. "Like we've done this before?"

"No," the other one said. "Why do you ask?" The younger man thought about that for a moment and shrugged.

"I don't really know," he said. They turned back to the computer screens.

Day 2

6.

Taro wandered around in the empty streets in the early hours of the morning. The arrival of Yuuko's horse gave them more freedom to do as they pleased. Taro had only one thing in mind right now.

The deity stood at the gates of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals grinning. He waved up at the camera. Not like they would be able to see, but still, he couldn't help himself. Taro lowered his hand and disappeared from sight.

He reappeared in front of the elevators. There weren't many people inside. If there were, they couldn't see him. Taro stretched his neck from side to side and shook out his limbs. The deity took a breath.

"Right," he said. Taro reached out and pressed the down button. He waited as the numbers counted down at the top. The boy perked up as the doors opened.

"Show time!" he said to himself. Taro causally strolled into the elevator. The doors closed behind him. And away he went. The deity counted down in his head with a smile on his face. He couldn't help but giggle to himself.

The doors finally opened on the basement floor. Taro counted down in his head before racing down the hall.

Shizuo sat leaning back when he heard someone running towards him. It wasn't the woman. It wasn't that weird, creepy girl either. No. This was different.

The footsteps ran closer.

"Hey!"

Who was this? A low whistle rang out in the air.

"You don't look so happy here. Do you want to get out of here?"

Shizuo froze. What was that? A faint scent tickled his nose. What… What was that? His mouth started to water. Something about it seemed so… familiar. I… I want it.

"Come on. Come get it. Come on. Come on."

Clink.

His right arm dropped to his side.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Hey. He could move. Shizuo tried to stand up. His legs felt like jelly. He must have looked like a toddler with a bullhead trying to walk for the first time. How long had he been down… wherever he was? Shizuo didn't have any concept of time anymore. He nearly fell to his knees. That person giggled as he tried to stand.

"Come on. You can it, Shizu-chan."

Shizu-chan. Something about that name made him flinch. That scent wouldn't let him dwell on it. It started to be slowly pulled away.

Wait. Where was that scent going?

Shizuo had to force himself to take a step forward.

"That's it. Keep going. Come on. Come on."

The minotaur stumbled as he walked forward.

"Look out!" That child's giggling reminded him of someone who used to annoy him. A hand reached out and took him by the sleeve. Shizuo followed by the sound of giggling.

"Let's go!" They made it down to the hall.

They made it to the elevator. Taro pumped his fists in the air.

"We did it!" he shouted. The deity turned to Shizuo. He tried to inch him to move.

"Go on," he said. "You're free now." The minotaur stared, maybe stared, at him. Taro tried to inch him forward again.

"Come on. Go on. You're free now," he said. Shizuo stared at him, cocking his head to the side. Taro sighed and smacked himself in the forehead.

"Of course! You don't know how to use an elevator anymore," he said. "You probably couldn't push the button anyway. You don't have hands anymore. You have hooves." Taro stuck out his tongue as he gently hit himself in the head with his fist.

"My bad. That one's one me," he said. Taro turned to the buttons and pressed the button for the ground floor.

"Up we go!" he said as the doors closed. Shizuo leaned against the wall with no emotion on his bullhead.

I guess I am going somewhere?

The elevator made it back up the ground floor. Taro smiled as the doors slid open. Of course, the hostage was going to need a little guidance to be free. The deity turned back to Shizuo.

"You're free now! Let's go!" he said. He took Shizuo by hand/hoof and led him out of the elevator. The minotaur would've looked confused if he could show it on his face. By now, the alarms were going off.

"Time to run!" Taro shouted. The deity took off running as fast as could with the minotaur in tow. Shizuo surprisingly was able to keep up as they made it to the door.

"Freedom!" the deity shouted before they made it outside. He was going to let go until he was in the right spot. Taro grinned as he pictured all of the chaos and ruin that a rampaging minotaur would bring.

"This is going to be a riot!" he shouted. Shizuo turned to blink his bull eyes. He didn't understand what the hell this weird boy was saying.

7.

Michiko pulled Mikado aside in private in one of the back rooms in her apartment.

"You wanted to talk to me?" the tadpole boy asked. Michiko paced around as she pressed her lips together.

"Have you noticed anything off about Masaomi?" she asked. "Even if it's something so little. This is really important." Mikado took a moment to think.

"Not really," he said. "He does seem a bit sadder than usual." Michiko stared at him intently.

"Has he mentioned anything about…?" She looked around quickly before standing on her tiptoes to whisper the rest.

"Saki," the girl whispered.

"No," Mikado said. "I hadn't had the chance to ask him." Michiko frowned as she shifted the weight on her feet.

"Did something happen to him?" Mikado asked. "I think I remember seeing him floating in midair in a daze." Michiko froze and stared at him with wide eyes.

"What did you say?!" she asked.

"So it wasn't a dream?" Mikado asked. Michiko could feel her stomach turn. Of course, he was going to remember. She lowered her gaze.

"Tell me everything that you remember," the girl said. Mikado took a breath and started talking. Each word made Michiko realize that their secret was now out to one witness. She looked down at her hands.

"I'm going to tell everything about their game," the girl said in a quiet voice. Michiko lifted her eyes.

"But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone else for now," she said. "Do I have your word?" Mikado gave her a stern look.

"I promise," he said. Michiko sat down on the bed, took a breath, and started talking.

Day 3

8.

Michiko decided that she really needed to test Masaomi to see what he really gave up for a price. She waited to follow Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri home from school. She wasn't going to intervene. Just observe the three friends for now and see the answer for herself.

All-day, the air in the city felt heavy. Michiko could feel her heart pounding without putting her hands to her chest. She swallowed big gulps of air. It all reminded her that time was running out for all of them. She didn't have time to dwell on that.

There would be time to get Makoto and Noriko to fall in line to help her.

The trio of friends ran into Kadota and his friends on the street. They still hadn't seen Walker lately. He was probably still in hiding for the time being. It wouldn't be long before the pyromaniac otaku would join his friends. (In fact, Michiko knew exactly where he was.)

All seemed to be fine. Still, Michiko couldn't relax. She stayed inches away from the group. The girl didn't dare to take one step out of line.

Something had to give.

"Hey Kadota," Masaomi said as he looked at his phone. "Who's this girl in the picture with me?" The gangster came around and took a look at the blonde teen's phone screen. The photo in question was of Masaomi happily embracing Saki in an undisclosed location.

"What are you talking about? That's Saki," Kadota said.

"Who?" Masaomi asked, narrowing his eyes. By now, this had their friends' attention. He didn't sound like he was joking at all. They didn't know what to make of this.

"Come on, Masaomi," Erika said. "How could you forget your girlfriend like that?" The blonde shogun looked up at her, puzzled.

"Girlfriend?" he asked. "I don't have one." Meanwhile, Michiko's eyes as the horror of the true price began to sink in.

9.

"I will accept."

She reached forward to the scarf. But then her hand darted straight into Masaomi's chest. The boy let out a strangled gasp of pain. She gave him a cold smirk.

"I will take your love as payment!"

Her nails sank into Masaomi's heart. Blood formed on his shirt and around his mouth. Masaomi started making gagging noise. That vile woman pulled out his still-beating heart. Blood covered her pale hand. Her jaw unhinged as she shoved the beating organ into her mouth. She licked away the blood from around her mouth. Masaomi stood frozen and wide-eyed. That vile woman smiled and counted down on her fingers.

"Five… Four… Three… Two…" She licked her deep red lips.

"One."

The life returned to Masaomi's eyes. His heart started beating again in his chest. Only it felt much colder, almost dead. The boy started at her wordlessly.

"Payment fulfilled," she said. "Thank you for your services."

And just like that, the cycle started again.