Author's Note: I had a bit of a struggle writing Rocchi's fight with Wrath. I hope I got it right. Let me know (gently) how I did. I wanted to write the ending but I ran out of time. -Sigh- Oh well, there's next week. We have two more sins left and so many more ideas to cover this season. So let me shut up now and let you enjoy this week's halo.
Halo Fifteen: Ikari:
"Thank you again, gentlemen," Kitano said. He looked at the shiny gun in the bag.
"You're welcome," Daichi said. Osamu bowed his head.
"How is Roc?" he asked.
"Fine," the therapist said. "We won't have any problems from him for a while. I even think that his obsession has passed." The men didn't speak. Kitano walked over to his shrine. He opened the bag and dropped the gun into the right slot. The altar shook for a few seconds before it went still.
"Excellent," Kitano said.
"We'll leave you to your work," Daichi said.
"Thank you," the therapist said. The younger men bowed and walked out of his office. Kitano smiled over his shrine. The tadpoles should be inheriting Emily's power shortly.
-10:00 a.m.-
Anzu walked up to the front door of apartment 318. How long had it been? Three years now? She felt like a bad friend. The blood tadpole looked up when the door opened a crack. A dull gray eye stared back at her. Anzu's heart sank when she saw her.
"Mizuki," she said. "Hey, how are you?" The other girl stared at her.
"It's me, Anzu," the blood tadpole said.
"I know," Mizuki said in a raspy voice. "Why are you here?" Her tone was low but full of accusation. Anzu shifted in place.
"I just came by to see you," she said.
"Why?" Mizuki asked. It hurt to see Anzu like this. Mizuki used to have a future as bright as hers. The blood tadpole lowered her head.
"I lost someone recently," she admitted. Mizuki didn't speak.
"Can I come in?" Anzu asked.
"No," she said. The blood tadpole frowned.
"I want to help you, Mizuki," she said. "Why won't you let me in?"
"Please leave," the other girl said. She shut the door before the tadpole girl could say a word. Anzu stood as she felt her heart breaking into little pieces. She tried to knock again but the door didn't open.
"Go away!" Mizuki shouted. Anzu lowered her hand. She heard one thought from Mizuki's mind as the door closed.
Traitor.
Despite all of this, Anzu couldn't give up on her.
Rocchi made his way back to Ikebukuro. Something felt off about this part of the city. Instinct told him to turn back around now. But he needed to avenge his men.
Suddenly, his phone rang. His first thought went back to Non. The gang leader would have to try and calm her down again.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Is this Rokujo?" a man's voice asked. Rokujo narrowed his eyes.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"My name's Yukio," he said. "My girl and I are supposed to meet up with you." Something clicked in the gangster's brain.
"Where are you right now?" he asked.
"We're near Sunshine60," a woman's voice said. "Have you gotten the coordinates yet?"
"Huh?" Rokujo asked.
"Did you get a text of numbers?" Yukio asked. The gang leader was about to say no when his phone buzzed.
"Hang on," he said. Rocchi checked his text. Sure enough, he had one new message. The gang leader opened the text. There was the text with the coordinates.
"Yeah, I got it now," Rocchi said. "I'll see you in ten minutes." He didn't know why he said that as he hung up. It just came out like that.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" a tiny voice shouted later in the afternoon. Mikado slowly drew open his eyes. A small face was really close up in his. The tadpole blinked at first before jumping back in shock.
"What the…?!" he asked. A tiny figure in the shape of a girl stood on his lap. Long brown hair came down to her(?) lower back. Those big grey eyes stared up him while she(?) grinned. Was that a samurai outfit she(?) was wearing? Mikado quickly grabbed a blanket and covered up the little figure. He heard muzzled shouting from underneath. Mikado drew back the blanket. The figure glared at him.
"Hey!" she snapped. "Don't cover me up like that!" The figure snorted and folded her little arms across her chest.
"How rude!" she said. Mikado quickly bowed his head.
"I'm sorry!" he said. "I didn't mean to do that. You just startled me. That's all." The little figure tilted her head. Mikado got another good look at her.
"Who are you anyway?" he asked. The figure cleared her throat.
"I am a spirit familiar," she said. "At your service." She bowed her head. It didn't take long for the tadpole to piece together what was going on.
"Are there others like you?" he asked.
"Yes," she said nodding.
"Heh," Mikado said. This familiar looked so small. The tadpole wondered how many more of them were left.
"Mikado?" he heard next to him. He turned his head to see Masaomi waking up next to him. The familiar looked at the blonde shogun.
"Who's that?" she whispered. Mikado gently pushed her back, shushing her.
"Yes?" he asked. Masaomi looked up at up, using his right hand to prop his head up.
"Who were you talking to?" he asked. Mikado straightened up in his futon.
"You remember how I told about Emily's death?" he asked.
"Yeah…" his best friend said. "What about it?" Mikado's eyes shifted left and right.
"Well…" he said. "I think I have some of her powers now." Masaomi sat up straight.
"You're kidding," he said. "Which one did she have again?"
"She controlled Taiyou," Mikado said. "He was a spirit familiar thing. Didn't talk much. Kind of creepy -looking. Looked like a samurai." Masaomi nodded as he started to get it.
"Ah," he said.
"Who is that?" the little familiar asked next Mikado. Her new master had to push her back.
"Hush," he whispered.
"Huh?" Masaomi asked.
"Not you," the tadpole said. Mikado sighed. He was going to have to deal with his new familiar later. But for now…
"Masaomi, I don't think you should touch me for a while," he said. "I don't know how much stronger Azusa's powers had gotten."
"Right," his friend said. Mikado took a breath. He turned back to the little familiar spirit looking up at him with wide eyes. The tadpole couldn't help but feel that something worse was coming for him.
Rocchi pulled up to Ikebukuro West Park. A man with short dark hair flagged him down. The gangster pulled to a stop.
"Yo!" the man said, waving. Rokujo narrowed his eyes for a few seconds.
"Yukio," he said.
"So good to see you again, friend," the tadpole said. Rocchi looked behind Yukio. A woman with long red hair stood a few steps back.
"Are you Itori?" he asked. She took steps forward.
"Yes," she said. A little smile broke onto the gangster's face.
"You're pretty cute," he said. Itori looked away blushing.
"Hey easy there, buddy," Yukio said. He could feel her eyes on his back. Wisely, he didn't add anymore to the warning. The male tadpole cleared his throat.
"Anyway," he said. "Are we ready to go?"
"Where exactly are we going?" Rocchi asked. Yukio shrugged.
"Where else?" he asked. "We just got follow the coordinates to the location of the duel." Rocchi didn't like the sound of that but he needed to avenge his men.
"Do you want to lead or do you want me to lead?" he asked. Yukio shook his head.
"Let's just go together," he said.
"Alright," Rokujo said. The trio headed off to their destination.
Mikado took off the bandages from his wrist. The skin still looked so red. It stopped itching at least. But was that bite mark supposed to be screaming?
"Ooo, that's not good," a voice said. Mikado jerked his head upwards. A woman with long black hair stood looking down at his wounded wrist. Her gold corset held her curves in place. Her top hat matched her black stockings. Mikado scooped back with a gasp. The woman raised her eyebrow.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked. The tadpole blinked at first before his memories caught up to him.
"Don't do that to me, Dahlia-san," he complained. The pale woman's lips curved into a smirk. He never understood why she wore bright purple lipstick.
"You don't have to be so jumpy all the time," she said. Mikado frowned at her. Dahlia picked up his wrist. She looked at it as if she were studying the bite mark really closely.
"What is it?" Mikado asked. Dahlia looked him in the eye.
"This isn't good," she said. "Oh. Oh…" The tadpole gave her a strange look.
"What?" he asked. Dahlia looked him in the eye.
"She's given you her venom," she said. The color drained from Mikado's face. He slowly started shaking his head.
"Don't tell me…" he said. Dahlia kind of chuckled.
"Oh, no, no, no," she said. "You aren't going to turn into a pervert. Her venom does not do that." Mikado frowned. Her nonchalant tone was not helping. And did she have to say it like that?
"So what does it do?" he asked. Dahlia let Mikado's wrist drop to his side.
"Have you been seeing ghosts lately?" she asked.
"More than usual?" he asked. The woman leaned in close to his face.
"I mean in your eyes," she said. "Try to think back. This is really important." Mikado dug back into his memories over the past few days. Flickers of dark clouds flashed in his mind. The tadpole flinched as it came back to the surface.
"That's the first stage," Dahlia said. "The toxins are starting to spread." Mikado stared at her with big eyes. He opened his mouth to speak. The woman put up her finger.
"Relax, relax," she said. "You can fight it. You have the blood and powers to do it. Although…"
"What?" Mikado asked. She didn't say anything at first. Dahlia pats him on the head.
"You are being dragged into their world," the woman said. "I do not doubt you will be strong enough to Yokubo's poison but you have seen so much in all the times. I am worried that this would be the last time." Her tone sounded more serious, somber even.
"W-W-What should I do?" Mikado asked. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. A confused look on his face. What is this? Why is she doing this?
This is only a quick fix.
What?
The only way to defeat the toxin is to feed it. This is all I can do for now. Dahlia pulled away.
"I wish you luck," was all she said. And then she was gone. Mikado sat alone in his apartment. He looked down at his wrist.
"What exactly did you do?" he asked. The redness from the wound at disappeared.
"Heh," Mikado said.
Rocchi, Itori, and Yukio walked further down an abandoned road. This trail to the destination seemed to be going on. The sun was starting to set by now. Yukio looked back at Rokujo.
"You and I are a lot alike," he said.
"Okay… That was random," Rokujo said.
"I mean it," Yukio said. "We don't want to fight girls. But I feel that we have no choice in this matter." Rokujo shook his head.
"That's just how it is," Yukio said. "I don't like it either."
"Then I will do the fighting," Itori spoke up. The men stared at her back.
"Itori?" the other tadpole asked.
"Don't start, she said. "She won't stop until we fight her."
"Wait… Her?" Rokujo asked. Itori smacked Yukio in the arm.
"What did you do that for?" he asked.
"You did this last time," she hissed. "We can't afford to have him backing out."
"Yeah but still…" Yukio said.
"Guys," Rocchi said. "Is that it?" He was pointing forward. The other two tadpoles looked up. Confused looks came across their faces. They had arrived at an abandoned gas station. The only thing working were the lights. The billboards looked like they had seen better days. The pumps didn't look like they would be of any use anymore. The store looked like it hadn't been open since the seventies. Was that a broken down old car in the parking lot?
Chikage climbed off of his motorcycle.
"What's a broken down gas station doing in the middle of nowhere?" he asked.
"This is it," Yukio said. He didn't sound confident about that. A woman chuckling filled the air. The trio looked up and saw the red-haired woman dressed in armor. Rokujo instantly recognized her.
"It's you!" he shouted. The woman held out her arms and smirked.
"Welcome to my battleground!" she said. "My name is Ikari. I am the deity of wrath and I will be your opponent." Rocchi shook his head.
"I'm sorry, love," he said. "But I don't hit women." Ikari glared at him.
"Come on! What's it going to take for you to fight me?!" she shouted. "I've attacked three of your men. Don't you want revenge?"
"Well… yeah…" Rocchi said. Ikari rolled her eyes.
"I am going to stop you right there," she said. "You're already starting to piss me off." The deity cleared her throat.
"Anyway, we all have one hour to fight," she said. "You either have to defeat me or run out of time. Before we begin, I will answer three questions. Starting… now."
"Why do you keep trying to get me to fight you?" Rocchi asked. Ikari threw back her head and groaned.
"Men like you piss me off," she said. "You don't want to hit me because I'm a woman. I am a fighter! I fight both men and women! Fight me like an equal, damn it! Just do it!"
"How do you guys keep making these battlegrounds?" Yukio asked. Ikari cleared her throat.
"We just make it out from something deep within our souls," she said. "It's a long-passed on power that I don't care to explain. And don't worry about hitting the pumps. The barrier keeps us from hitting anything that could hurt us from the outside." Ikari pulled out a yen coin and tossed it to one of the old pumps. The coin bounced back and landed in her palm.
"Last question," Ikari said. Itori stepped forward.
"What will you do if it's just me fighting you?" she asked. The deity sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I will still have to fight," she said. Ikari reached behind her and pulled out a sword.
"Let's fight!" she shouted. The deity charged towards to Rocchi. He whipped out his kabutowari and blocked her sword. She looked up with a smile on her face.
"Good, now you're getting it!" Ikari shouted. But that was only as far as he would go. She did the attacking while he did the dodging. The deity clicked her tongue.
"Come on, you pussy!" she screamed. "Fight me like a man!" Rocchi still wouldn't do it. Ikari came at him with her sword again.
"Do you seriously think that you can win by just dodging me?!" she screamed. She took another swing.
Clang!
Ikari looked up to see Itori blocking her with a trash can lid. Her face turned red with rage.
"Get the fuck out of the way, bitch!" she screamed. The female tadpole pushed her back. Ikari stumbled backwards. She managed to catch her balance. Itori gave her a cold look.
"Your opponent is me now!" she said. The tadpole let out a battle cry and kicked Ikari in the stomach. The deity fell back and broke down laughing.
"You'll have to do for now!" she shouted. Ikari picked up her sword and fell at her second opponent. Chikage was about to get up and stop them but Yukio grabbed him by the arm. The tadpole shook his head.
"I am not going to let them fight," Rocchi said with his eyes. Yukio sighed and shook his head.
"I know it sucks," the tadpole said. "But you have to let them fight. Stopping them would just be an insult to them." Rocchi wiggled out of his grasp.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't let two beautiful women ruin their faces and bodies in a fight over nothing," he said. Yukio bowed his head.
"Then use these," he said. The tadpole handed him a handful of darts. Rocchi picked them up and remembered what they were planning. Each darts was painted in silver with red Kanji written on the surface. The tips were painted a light gold color.
Itori kept her eyes on Ikari's sword. There had to be a weak point. She looked over her shoulder at one point. Rocchi was standing alone. He nodded once. Ikari looked up with her teeth clenched.
"What the hell are you trying to do?" she asked.
"Chikage, aim for the base!" Itori shouted. The gang leader rose his dart above his head. Ikari's eyes widened.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she asked. Rokujo threw a dart at her long sword. The weapon sailed through the air and hit the blade. The whole sword shattered and broke into little pieces. Ikari's face turned redder as she screamed in rage. Rokujo gave her a little smile.
"It looks like we won," he said. Ikari threw down her broken sword. The pissed off deity vanished into thin air. Yukio turned to the gang leader.
"She's going to come after you for a rematch, you know?" he said. Rocchi kind of shrugged.
"I can live with that," he said. Rokujo turned and walked back to his bike. Itori and Yukio followed behind.
Natsuko skipped up to the Starbucks with a huge grin on her face. She held her folder to her chest as she walked through the doors. Detective Nakamura sat at the counter, frowning. He drummed his fingers on the counter. The journalist smiled wider and ran over to him.
"Hey!" she said in a cheery voice. Nakamura rolled his eyes. Natsuko sat down next to him and slapped down her folder.
"What do you want, Natsuko?" he asked. The journalist giggled.
"I can help you crack your case!" she announced.
"Pass," he said. The journalist pouted at him.
"Oh come on, Kota-kun!" she said. "Can't you at least hear me out?" She leaned on him, grabbing onto his arm. Nakamura pushed her off.
"Stop calling me that," he complained. Natsuko obviously didn't take the hint. She broke into a catlike grin because she had been dying to say this for weeks now.
"I think your cases are connected!" she said.
