Author's Note: We've got another new tadpole this week! There will be about three or four more before the season is over. Speaking of which, there is going to be another canon kill next week. (I'm not going to tell you who.) I have the rest of next week's halo in my head. I have been sitting on this week's halo ever since I saw an episode -Man Hallow back in 2018. (I think it's 2018. It might be 2015. I will have to look later. I digress.) This season's plot keeps getting me ideas as I go along. I can't wait to see what is going to happen next week. For now, enjoy this week's halo.
Halo Five: Yusuke:
A man in his twenties twirled around on the sidewalk. Once again, he had successfully escaped. The warden was out elsewhere for the time being. This was the only time in the day he could get out and be free. That prison was so boring. It was even more boring when he was alone.
He looked around their neighborhood. Where to go today? He felt like some ramen. Not the Cup of Noodle stuff. Some real ramen. His mouth was watering just thinking about it. Well, better get going. The last thing he wanted was to run into the warden again. The man perked up and jogged down the street.
Akiko walked up to her door. She pulled out her key and stuck it into the lock.
"You better not be fucking with us," Yukio said.
"I'm not," she said. "He's right here." Akiko opened the door and poked her head inside.
"I'm home," she whispered. The girl pushed her way inside. The three adults followed behind. Akiko led them down the hall. She knocked on her bedroom door.
"Hello?" she asked. Yukio, Saori, and Itori looked at each other.
"Do you sense anything?" Itori asked. Saori shook her head.
"No," Yukio whispered. Akiko caught all of that behind her.
"Oh shit," she muttered. The tadpole girl threw open the door and ran into her room. She looked under her bed and frowned.
"Damn it!" she shouted.
"Is there a problem?" Saori asked. Akiko sighed and stood up. She turned around with a forced smile on her face.
"Looks like he got out again," she said. "We're going to have to find him." Her right eye twitched as she said this. The adults all looked at each other.
"No, this is not a joke," Akiko said through clenched teeth. "He really has escaped." They said nothing. The younger tadpole frowned as the adults looked at each other. She cursed herself under her breath.
DK had some prep work to do. She had her victim in mind. She had the method of how she wanted to kill him. First, the victim.
She spend all night looking through the public record. She had to find the most violent criminal in Ikebukuro. There were plenty of gangs to choose from. (Though, that might be the case anymore. She couldn't focus on that right now.) Once she found the victim, she could work from there.
It was a close call. Shizuo would've been her first choice but he was out of commission now. Oh well. Who's next on the list? DK paused when she came across a record that caught her eye.
Hm? What's this?
DK put on her glasses and read the article on her laptop screen. Izumii Ran. Mid-twenties. He was the leader of the now-dead Blue Squares for a short period of time. He had been in juvie for kidnapping and assault. There were more crimes. Another one who works for the Awakusu. A smile came across DK's face.
"Yes, this one will do just fine."
She reached over for her phone and shot off a quick text. DK smiled and hit send. Now, she had to wait for a reply and get to work. For now, she could rest and plot out the next two kills. DK smiled to herself in her computer chair. It worried her that she had lost her motive to kill. Murata just gave it all back to her.
DK covered her mouth as she giggled to herself. At least he was good for something in life.
Three thugs were stumbling home from a bar. They were loud and laughing. The bartender had to kick them out for harassing a female patron. The leader about started a fight on the way out.
"Fuck you, man!" he shouted. His friends had to pull him along.
"Come on," he said. "This place is lame anyway." The leader clicked his tongue.
"Whatever," he mumbled. He flipped off the building before turning to life. The three thugs began walking down the street.
"That was a lame bar anyway," one of his friends said.
"Yeah," the other man said.
Meanwhile, he stood out from the darkness. He's been stalking them for the last two days. One of his targets practically lived on Instagram. He sneered behind his mask. Such disrespectful youth. They needed to be punished. He stepped out of the alley.
One of the thugs looked out to see a figure walk out into the path.
"Look!" he said. His friends stopped in their tracks.
"What?" the leader asked. His friend pointed forward. The other two men turned their heads. A figure in a long black coat walked up to them. He dragged his cane along with him. The most striking was his red and white kabuki mask. The lead thug made a face as he swayed forward.
"Huh? Who the fuck are you?!" he asked. The figure didn't answer. Instead, he held two fingers together and waved them around like he was a priest exorcising a demon. The leader raised his eyebrow.
"What the fuck are you-?!" He froze with wide eyes. His body exploded into pieces with blood spraying everywhere. His friends were shocked and enraged.
"You!" one with bleached blonde hair yelled. He whipped out a knife and charged forward. The figure waved his fingers around in the same manner. The armed thug broke down into bloody pieces onto the sidewalk. The remaining thug trembled before he turned and ran. The figure waved his fingers around once more. The last thug broke down into bloody pieces as well. When it all got quiet again, the figure turned and walked away.
By now, more tadpoles joined in the search for the newbie. The adult tadpoles called up their siblings.
"Who exactly are we looking for?" Midori asked. "Like what do they look like?" Akiko sighed.
"I don't know," she admitted.
"Are you serious?" Taishi asked.
"You better not be fucking with us," Yamato said.
"I'm not!" Akiko shouted. She clenched her fists and sighed.
"It's his powers," the girl explained.
"His powers?" Midori asked. "Like a shapeshifter or something?"
"Or something," Akiko said. The older tadpoles looked at each other and sneered.
"So we are looking for anyone?" Yamato asked.
"Yep," Akiko said. Yamato threw back his head and groaned.
Meanwhile, the man sat at the ramen booth eating some good ramen for a change. It felt like Heaven in his mouth.
"Mmm!" he said as he closed his eyes and took it in. That mean old warden never let him do this. No! He had to stay in his cell while she got to go out. Not today. The man planned to do whatever he wanted today. He slurped up more ramen and took in the broth. He was going to have another bowl after this.
Kitano's phone buzzed on his desk.
"Ah," he said. "So it's finally here." The others probably should get the notifications on their phones too. This means they could move forward. Kitano looked down at his notes. There were only two more stages of the Tadpole Project left before it could be completed.
"I was hoping that we could hold off a little bit longer," he told Etsuko the other day. "However, Mam might have forced our hand in this."
"So what do you want us to do?" she asked.
"We've got no choice," he said. "We go forward."
"What do we have left?" the doctor asked.
"Eternal youth and immortality," Kitano said. His partner didn't even blink.
"When do we start?" she asked.
"We start making the drugs now," Kitano said. He held up his phone.
"Our supplies just got delivered today," he added.
"I'll go check my office," Etsuko said. She got up and walked out of the therapist's office.
Today, Kitano looked down at his notes. He needed to adjust the timetable if he wanted Tandeki to stay on top. He pulled out his phone. The therapist made the first call.
The search party got bigger. The tadpoles were probably looking through half of the city. Some of them thought about calling quits. Akiko puffed up her cheeks and put her hands on her hips.
"Where the hell are you?" she asked herself. She closed her eyes and tried to use "tadpole radio" again.
I know you are, mister! You can't keep ignoring me forever! Where the hell are you? I know you can hear me!
Naturally, there was no answer—again. Akiko clenched her fists at her sides and screamed.
Meanwhile, the man had finished his lunch. He looked around on the busy street. So many people out here. The man couldn't take his eyes off the crowd.
"Wow!" he said. He barely had anyone other than the warden to talk to. And she did all of the talking. He wasn't ready to talk to people causally. Maybe that will be for the next outing.
Suddenly, he froze.
Uh-oh. The man looked among the crowd. How many of them were there? He looked to his left. There's one looking around. He looked to his right. Two more were looking around too.
But then he paused.
"What the hell?" the man asked himself. There was someone else. He wasn't like him but he wasn't human either. The man shook his head.
Nope. No way. It was time to go.
The man quietly turned and started walking away. The warden clearly got back up. There was no way that he was going back there. No sir!
Now, Shinra and Celty had joined in with the search. By now, Akiko wanted to rip out her hair.
"Where the hell are you?!" she shouted. Naomi tried to comfort her by resting her hand on her shoulder. Akiko smacked her hand away.
"Don't!" she snapped. Naomi was about to speak when her phone rang.
"Excuse me," she said. She pulled out her phone and flipped it open.
"Hello?" she asked.
"I think we found something," Saori said on the other line. Naomi stood up straight as Akiko looked up.
"What is it?" she asked. Naomi waved her off.
"What did you find?" she asked. The tadpole listened in closely.
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Where are you now? Okay, we'll be right there," Naomi said. She hung up her phone and turned to see Akiko staring intently at her.
"Good news, we have a lead," the older tadpole said. Akiko tilted her head to the side.
"Where?" she asked. Naomi took her by the hand and teleported away.
The man was now on the run. It didn't take long for one of the warden's backups to sense him. It was a faint trace but it was enough. More than enough really. But that fourth presence was what really worried him. Did she get something otherworldly to track him down?
The man shook his head.
No. That can't be. She wasn't that desperate, right? In any case, the man had to keep moving. He needed to get back to the spot where he had his anchor.
Yukio looked up. There was someone like them nearby. The tadpole looked around. He looked to the left. He looked to his right.
"Where are you?" he asked himself.
You felt it too?
Yeah, but I don't see them. Yukio puffed up his cheeks and looked around again.
Any luck on your end? The tadpole looked up at the sky. Madoka stood on top of another building while Taishi flew around in the sky.
"I think I see something," Taishi said. His eyes trailed a man pushing his way through the crowd.
"I see him too," Madoka said.
"Where is he headed?" Yukio asked.
"Minami-Ikebukuro Park!" Madoka and Taishi said together.
"On it!" the leader said. He teleported to that location.
The man pushed himself to keep going. It didn't help that the doctor and the headless rider were riding around the area. Having her around weakened his connection. The man needed to get back. He remembered where he left his anchor. He bit down on his thumb to remember the quickest way to get there. It clicked in the man's head.
"Ah yes," he said. The man took off running before he vanished into thin air along the path.
Celty pulled Shooter to a stop. Shinra turned to his girlfriend.
"Here?" he asked. The dullahan nodded once. The doctor climbed off of Shooter.
"Wait here," he said. Celty watched as he ran down the path. Shinra spotted a man dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans running towards a bench. It was when he got closer that he got a better look up ahead. A boy with dark hair sat slumped over on the bench.
The man was just about to the bench when that familiar shock ran up his spine. No. Don't tell me…
Against his better judgment, he turned his head. Taishi flew down to the ground as Yukio and Madoka appeared next to him. The older tadpoles looked confused.
"Um… Who are you?" Madoka asked. The man blinked at first. They didn't know who he was. This could work in his favor. The man cleared his throat.
"Nobody," he said. "I am nobody." The three older tadpoles stared at him. The man didn't move. Okay, this wasn't working. He looked up to see a doctor in a white coat running toward them.
"Hey!" he shouted. The other three tadpoles looked up.
"What is it?" Taishi asked. Shinra caught up to them.
"That isn't the tadpole," he said, pointing at the man. Taishi, Yukio, and Madoka looked confused. The man himself froze.
"What are you talking about?" Yukio asked.
"Then why can we sense him?" Madoka asked. A gleam appeared in Shinra's eye. He walked up to the bench.
"Tell me something," Shinra said to the man. Said man stared at him with a puzzled look on his face. The doctor came up behind the bench and grabbed the child by the torso. He whipped out his scalpel and held it to his throat.
"What are you doing?!" Madoka shouted.
"What would happen if I were to slit your throat?" Shinra asked. "Would you be trapped in that body or would you die with your body?"
"Oh shit!" the man yelled. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground. The boy jerked back his head and gasped. The other three tadpoles looked shocked as more memories started to come back about this boy.
"So that's what you really look like," Shinra said. The boy stared up at him with wide brown eyes. Was he… trembling? Madoka felt sorry for him.
"What is your name?" Shinra asked. The child stared up at him.
"Yusuke," a voice spoke up. "His name is Koike Yusuke." Everyone looked up to see Akiko and Naomi appear out of thin air.
"He is my little brother," she said with her fists clenched by her sides.
"Oi! Oi! Oi!" a boy's voice whispered in the middle of the night. "Oi!" Osamu yanked open his eyes as a hand shook him on the shoulder. Ryota stood in front of his bed. The man blinked at him confused.
"Ryota?" he mumbled out. "What are you doing here?" He half-expected the boy to say that he was hungry again.
"It's coming," he said instead. Osamu blinked at first.
"Your horse?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," Ryota said as he nodded once. His handler narrowed his eyes.
"Is that all you came to tell me?" he asked.
"Yeah," the deity said. "Good night." He turned and walked out of the room. Osamu frowned to himself.
"You could've just told me that in the morning," he muttered to himself. The door slammed closed behind Ryota.
-December 15, 2015-
The party music in the house was pounding so loud with the constant chatter from the guests in the living room. Tatsuya's phone buzzed in his jeans pocket.
"Hello?" he asked over the pounding bass. The man tried to listen in to the voice on the other line.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you!" Tatsuya said. "Hang on." The man got up off the couch and pushed his way through the crowded hallway. He made his way into an empty back bedroom and closed the door behind him. Only when he got into a closet could he talk.
"Now what is it, Mizuho?" Tatsuya asked. He listened to his old friend's words intently. The man froze.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked. It didn't take long for him to bolt out of the closet, grab his coat, and hurry out of the apartment.