Author's Note: We're back to Hisayo again. We haven't heard from her or her sister in a while, have we? Initially, they were supposed to have a bigger part in the story. But then, they just kind of got brushed off to the side. I am going to change that real soon. I wasn't really happy with how this halo turned out, but it is what it is. I finished it too early yesterday. So, I got started on the season finale. Speaking of which, the season finale will be next week. Once again, I am going to be sad until August. Or maybe not. There is going to be an omake in March and an AO3-exclusive side story in March-April. Look forward to that. For now, enjoy this week's halo.

Halo Twenty-Eight: Hisayo:

The Woman in Red needed an anchor to tie herself back into the living world. She managed to get lucky with three anchors.

-Hisayo-

I was in love when I died. That love cost me my life. My mother saw me as her rival. She loved him as much as I did. Because of that, she started to hate me. The rumors at my school didn't help either. I never slept with him. She didn't believe me. She thought I was pregnant with his baby. It wasn't true. She still didn't believe me.

I lost a part of myself when I died.

[Outside]

She didn't choose her. It was just the intense sorrow and anger that drew her to the girl's soul. The scent. That was all it took. There was something about an onryō. Especially if it was a freshly created one. The age of the girl made it that much more special. From there, she knew that she had her anchor to come back.

The bonding process didn't take too much either. She just reached out and sank her claws into Hisayo's dying soul. The girl didn't even know what was happening.

-Hisayo-

I love my baby sister so much. She was the only good thing in our short lives. She didn't do anything. I can't remember the exact moment she died with me. We've been together since then. In life, I tried to protect her. Now, she protects me.

From there, she reached out through Hisayo. She could see the girl's past. Hisayo was murdered for love. Her mother wasn't done with her revenge yet. By now, the darkness had taken over the girl's soul. She still couldn't move on.

Where is my sister?

[Outside]

Her sister. Six-year-old Isobe Toshiko. She didn't escape from their mother's wrath. Her fate wasn't as gruesome as Hisayo's but she didn't deserve it by her mother's hand like that. The vile woman had to seek out this little sister.

-Hisayo-

They come and they go. This is still our apartment. I am only to still have my mind because of a woman named Molly. My mother took over another woman to live out our curse. There is no explanation to our nature. Over the years, we've gotten stronger. They just die when they come around us.

This time is going to be no different.

A knock came on the door at apartment number twenty-seven. The landlord's son came by. No one had heard from the occupants inside since after the third month the couple moved in. His mother called him up to send him to check on the neighbors. The young man rolled his eyes.

"Again?" he muttered to himself. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Fine, I'll go," the young man said. He groaned aloud. Such a pain.

No one answered the door. The young man rolled his eyes. This was stupid. Every time his mom rented this apartment out to new people, they were either die or disappear. The young man didn't believe in curses or ghosts. Still, the rumors made it difficult to rent out the apartments in the building.

"Ma ought to just sell this building and get it over with," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, the young man looked up. The door slowly creaked open.

"Huh? So they are home," he said to himself. The young man poked his head inside.

"Hello? Is anybody here? Hello? Hello?" he asked. "I'm coming in." The young man slipped into the apartment.

"Why is everything so dark in here?" he muttered to himself. He reached around for a light switch. Why was it so cold in here? Right away, something seemed off.

"Hello?" the young man asked. He froze when he heard a crunching noise in the distance. He quickly lifted his head. A little girl in a red dress rounded the corner. The young man only got a glimpse of her ankle and her little pink rabbit dragged behind her. He tilted his head with a confused look on his face.

"Since when did they have a kid?" he asked. He followed behind with his hand out.

"Hey!" he shouted. He ran down the hall. The child had vanished into thin air. The young man stood with a confused look on his face.

"What the hell? Where did she go?" he asked. The man turned around when he heard feet shuffling behind him.

"Who's there?" he asked. "Oh." A tired-looking woman with messy hair stood in the doorway. Her eyes looked so empty. The young man blinked at first.

"Dylan-san?" he asked. The woman didn't respond.

"Hello?" he asked. No response. Okay, what was this? Was she ill or something?

"Uh… listen," he said. "You don't look so well. I'm going to come back later, okay?" The woman didn't respond. The glassy cold stare back the young man shiver.

"Right… Uh, goodbye," he said. He turned and took off running. Once outside, the young man called the police.

-Hisayo-

This was his fault. We only met him once. Kitano-sensei stopped by our apartment to see our dad. He wasn't there, so Kitano-sensei stayed with us for a while. Not much happened. To be honest, I thought he was kind of weird. Why did he decide to wait at the apartment with us? I never figured that one out. Our father kicked him out when he came home. At the time, I thought that was it. Though, he something really weird back then.

"There is so much that you girls don't know. You two could be of good use to the future someday."

At the time, I thought he was being weird. Being around him gave me an uneasy feeling. Part of me wanted to tell him to leave, but that would be rude, wouldn't it? Honestly, I was glad dad kicked him out.

[Outside]

Why did Kitano choose Hisayo and Toshiko? It's kind of hard to say. In a way, he felt sympathy for them. How could he though? Kitano and Takumi didn't exactly get along. No real ties to the family either. Maybe it was fate? If you believe in that sort of thing.

The police came by the apartment. A cop knocked on the door. It was supposed to be a routine welfare check. Just ask some questions and maybe take a look around the place. The cop looked up when the door opened. An eye peeped out from the crack.

"Yes?" a raspy voice asked.

"I'm with the police, miss," the cop said. "I was called to do a welfare check on you. Can I come in?" There was no response at first.

"Miss?" the cop asked. The woman took a step back. The door opened wider. The cop rested his hand to his gun as he slowly walked inside.

A strange look came over the cop's face. When was the last time this apartment saw any light? He could barely see anywhere. The cop reached around for a light switch.

"Miss why is it so dark in here?" he asked. He flipped on the light switch. The living room looked like a mess. Clothes were scattered around the floor. The TV was on, but the sound was down. Magazines, old newspapers, books, and other small items were strewn about the floor. The woman stood with her back to the cop.

"I apologize for the mess," she said. "I've barely had time to clean up."

"I see…" the cop said. He tried to think about what to do next.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Fine," the woman said.

"Are you really Molly Dylan?" the cop asked.

"Yes," she said. He still had his hand to his gun.

"How is your husband?" the cop asked.

"Fine," she said. "He's quieted down since we moved here."

"I see," he said. "Listen… I see that you are doing fine. I'll come back and check on you later." Molly didn't answer. She didn't even turn around. The cop slowly backed away and left the apartment. It didn't take him long to radio for help.

Back inside, Molly kept her eyes down as she smirked to herself.

Nobody goes to that Apartment 27. It was easy to see why. No one has heard from the Dylans for a couple of months now. There were questions. But no one bothered to go and look. Probably because of the other things unfolding around them. (We will get more into that later.) Molly has been alone in the apartment for quite some time now. No one has seen Scott for a while.

What about Hisayo and Toshiko?

-Hisayo-

I can't leave. This isn't my choice. It's in my nature. Toshi-chan shares the same fate that I do. Our mother is still around too. We just kill because it is what we do.

I am losing more of myself each day. The only thing that I have left that has any trace of me left is my diary. It's still in the house, but I don't know where. All I know is that someone will find it again and read it. I don't know what will happen after that.

[Outside]

Hisayo isn't the only one who is anchored to the vile woman. Because of that blackened girl, she now has her claws in Toshiko and even Asuka. It's not going to stop there either.

Soon, the Woman in Red won't need those anchors anymore. Once she is free to walk the earth, who knows what will happen to the ghosts. Do ghosts go away once the world is dead and wiped out? Do they pass on once there is nothing or no one to haunt? Do they recycle into something else? Or do they just remain where they are in an empty world?

That question has crossed Kitano's mind more than once or twice. He is determined to find out.

For now, things will stay the way they are in the cursed limbo and linger on. However, this will not last long. It just takes one push to break a hole in the cracked thin ice.

A certain discovery and a murder have just shoved things further into the Wasteland.