Author's Note: This time, it's Shizuo's birthday. Here's another idea that I have been sitting on for quite some time now. I'm surprised at how much I managed to pull out. I love how it turned out. I added a couple more characters to the world of Wonderland. There are going to be more coming soon. You are definitely going to see more of the Master of Lies. Maybe you might see more of Kioko too. Next up will be Chikage's birthday in February. I have something for then too. For now, enjoy today's bite.

Master of Lies

Mikado came home late one night in the middle of November. Right at the door alone, he could sense that something was off. At first, he contemplated calling the police. But call them for what? The tadpole knocked on the door. He pressed his ear to the surface for a listen.

"I know you're in there," Mikado said. "You aren't going to trick me into opening this door. Who are you?" No response but the tadpole knew that whoever was inside could hear him. Mikado puffed up his cheeks. Fine, they were really going to do this. The tadpole pulled out his key and unlocked the door.

His apartment was so smoky inside that Mikado couldn't see a thing. The tadpole coughed as he tried to fan away the smoke. His eyes adjusted to the dark once he got through the smoke. There was a figure sitting in the middle of the room. Izaya(?) sat looking up at him in a deep red kimono. He held a long pipe between his dainty fingers. His red eyes seemed to glow in the dark. Mikado took a step back.

"Izaya… -san?" he asked. But then Mikado shook his head.

No.

"Who are you?" Mikado asked. The Not-Izaya flickered out his thin red and black pipe.

"I am the Master of Lies," he said.

"The Master of Lies?" Mikado asked slowly.

"That's right," the Izaya look-alike said. He took another smoke of his pipe. Mikado tried to piece together what the hell was happening. The Master of Lies glanced up at him.

"I know, I know," he said. "Why the hell am I here? Heh." The man leaned forward with a Cheshire cat smile.

"Your powers fascinate me," he said. Mikado opened his mouth but the Master of Lies held up his hand.

"Hold it! I'm not done," he said. He lowered his hand as the tadpole closed his mouth.

"It's not just you," the Master of Lies said. "Only seven of your brothers and sisters interest me. You see, all eight of you have powers that interact with human nature. Like you. You see people's inner demons. That alone gives me goosebumps."

"Why though?" Mikado asked.

"Why though? Why though?" Non-Izaya asked. "Do you know the gold mine that you have?" He stood up. Mikado felt so small as the man walked up to him. The fact that this Master of Lies looked, acted, and even sounded like Izaya was unnerving. The man put his hand on his shoulder.

"You have a treasure," he said. "You can see everyone's little secrets." But then the Master of Lies frowned.

"What I don't understand is why aren't you fully using it?" he asked.

"Huh?" Mikado asked. The Master of Lies took him by the cheeks. It wasn't possible for teeth to be that white.

"You have no idea what you can do," he purred. "You hold all of the secrets in your hand. You can have all of these humans at your mercy. You could bring them to their knees or be their savior!" His free hand moved around manically.

"Alas, you are playing it too safe," the Master of Lies said. "This will not do."

"What do you want from me?" Mikado asked. The man laughed as he let go of his cheeks.

"I'm here to push you to your limit," he said. "I want to see what all you can really do." The Master of Lies held out his hand.

"Come on," he said. "This could be exciting." There was something alluring about his voice. Mikado stared at him mesmerized. Wasn't this what he used to want? Plus, the tadpole was curious about what all he could do.

Mikado reached forward and took him by the hand.

Mikado reached forward and took him by the hand.

"Good boy," the Master of Lies purred.

The next day, Mikado went to school. He had gotten used to all eyes on him. However, the eyes on his back were hard to ignore. Though the Master of Lies wasn't physically with him, Mikado could still feel him behind him. His new "shadow" was looking around for targets to put his new protege into action. He didn't believe in starting off small. Which student was carrying the biggest package right now? So many lies running around in high school. The Master of Lies would have to take a solo trip here sometime. He made a mental note of that.

Ooo! I just found the perfect one. Look over to your left.

Mikado turned his head. A girl with long light pink hair walked by. She looked to be about the same age and grade as Aoba and Kururi. Mikado had to admit that she did look pretty cute. This girl was petite in figure with a nice amount of curves in the right places from what he could see. However, that wasn't what caught his attention.

Slut. Slut. Slut. Slut!

The demon was a deep red. The horns curled into a spiral on its head. Golden eyes flashed his way. The demon hissed at him, revealing black pointy fangs. Mikado about stumbled backward. He should've been used to it by now. Something seemed off about that demon.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Mikado glanced behind him. The Master of Lies grinned at him. Him with Izaya's face was unnerving. Mikado didn't have to ask what he wanted him to do.

"Come on," the Master said. "Show what you can do." Mikado felt himself tense up at the challenge.

His target's name was Kuroki Kioko. She was sixteen and in her second year of high school. Kioko… Well… Had quite the reputation. The boys of Raira Academy knew her too well. She had been in many beds. The girls hated her for it. Because of this, she got into many fights after school. Kioko didn't seem to have any friends. She tried to act tough on the surface. Kioko walked around the halls like she didn't care. She just did as she pleased.

Mikado trailed this girl around Ikebukuro after school. He had to not look creepy while doing that. He kept his eyes on that demon on her shoulder. It stared at him the whole time. Was that… glaring at him?

She can see me.

Ghostly fingers rested on his shoulder. Mikado didn't have to look behind him to know who that was.

Talk to it.

"What?" Mikado asked aloud. All eyes were on him in 7-11. Even Kioko turned and looked up. The tadpole paused. How was he going to get out of this one? Mikado slowly backed up to the door.

"Um… sorry about that," he said. He turned and dashed out the door. Mikado didn't notice that Kioko was staring at him with a curious look on her face.

Who was that boy following her? Ever since yesterday, Kioko noticed him following her around. He was being kind of creepy but strangely beautiful. Usually, she was the one doing the chasing of all the boys she fancied. Why did he have such an interest in her? Come to think of it, she had seen him around school. He was one of the seniors. Quite popular with the girls. In fact, he had a cute girlfriend with big boobs.

Kioko looked down at her own chest. Her breasts weren't as big as Sonohara's. (She thought was her name. She was going to have to check later.) Still, Kioko could make it work. Part of her wished that she wasn't so developed. Maybe then… Maybe then…

She pushed him out of her head and focused on that boy with spiky black hair and blue eyes. All of the girls in their school fawned over him. At first, Kioko couldn't figure it out. But now, she couldn't get him out of her head. Why did he do that to her? It was like he was an invader. This would not do. She was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.

"I'm home," Kioko said once she got home.

"Where've you been, you little bitch?" a woman's voice slurred out. The girl looked to see her mother dressed in a bathrobe nearly falling off the couch with a bottle in her hand. She looked over at the girl barely conscious. Kioko pressed her lips together and ran to her room. Once there, she closed the door behind her and locked it. The girl walked over to her bed and flopped down. She buried her face into her pillow and screamed.

This wasn't going to do. Kioko was going to get to the bottom of that beautiful boy if she wanted what was left of her sanity.

So Mikado struck out with the last attempt. Something told him that the Master wasn't going to let him quit this little mission. So it was back to trailing Kioko and learning more about her. This wasn't going to be easy, was it?

First, he had to try and talk to it. He's tried it once before but it gave him the creeps.

No, no. I'm not letting you back down from this. I came here to see what you can do. Give me a show.

Mikado gritted his tongue. He clearly was not Izaya. The information broker wasn't this agitating. Still, he had to get this over with. Good thing it was Friday. There would be no school tomorrow. Mikado began following her off the school grounds.

Kioko's path started out normal. Mikado kept his eyes on the demon on her shoulder. She glared at him. (At least the demon was a female.) The tadpole had to try and talk to her. It couldn't hurt, right?

Mikado took a breath.

Hello?

The demon glared at him as they walked down the street. Mikado about jumped but he wasn't going to back down.

Can you hear me?

The demon glared at him. Mikado tightened his resolve. I will not back down. I will not back down.

What?!

Mikado about stumbled backward. She spoke back. Well, too late to turn back.

Um… hi.

What the hell do you want?!

Okay, Mikado hadn't planned this far ahead. He was just trying to talk to the demon. The tadpole didn't know what to say to her.

What… are you?

The demon snorted. I'm a demon, of course. Are you stupid?

No. I mean… What kind of demon are you?

What?

What kind of demon are you?

What the hell kind of a question is that? I'm a demon!

I can see that. The demon narrowed her eyes at him. Wait, you're that weirdo who can see us!

Mikado felt his right eye twitch. That was rude but a bit strange. But she knew about him?

Yes. We know all about it. What I don't understand is why can't you leave us alone.

This isn't my fault. I am stuck with these powers! Do you think I want to know every little secret around me?

The demon clicked her tongue. You aren't supposed to see us! Leave me alone! She opened her mouth and hissed at him. Mikado stumbled backward with a yelp. Kioko turned around when she heard him. The tadpole stared at her, blinking. Okay, time to go.

Mikado turned and ran off.

Still, Mikado couldn't drop this mission. (Not like the Master was going to let him up anyway.) He kept following Kioko and her demon around. The tadpole trailed her to a love hotel. She met up with an older boy from another school in the parking lot. They shared a kiss before going inside. Mikado didn't have to go inside to know where that was heading. This wasn't her first time either. From what he learned, some of the love hotels in Ikebukuro knew Kioko on a first-name basis. And it wasn't because she worked there either.

Mikado decided enough was enough. He was going to have to confront her himself.

The tadpole paced around in the parking lot, wondering how he was going to make this less creepy.

"I just should just introduce myself," he said. "No big deal, right? I just need to convince her that I am not stalking her and that she's not in danger." Mikado frowned to himself. That was going to be hard to believe but he would have to make it work. The boy took a breath.

"Right," Mikado said to himself. He froze when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Against his better judgment, the tadpole spun around. He leaped back when he saw Kioko standing behind him, frowning.

"What the-?!" he shouted.

"Why the hell do you keep following me?" Kioko asked in a cold tone. "Who the hell are you?!" Mikado stood there for a moment. His target glared at him. The tadpole dropped his shoulders. He might as well say it.

"There's a giant demon on your shoulder," Mikado said. Kioko tried to feel along her shoulder for it. Her fingertips went through the demon's curved body.

"You can't see her," Mikado said. Kioko wrinkled her nose.

"You're being weird," she said.

"I'm not lying," the tadpole said. "You can't see her but I can." Kioko threw back her head and laughed.

"That's a good one!" she shouted. "You really are nuts."

"I'm not making this up!" Mikado said. "I see people's inner demons!" Kioko laughed louder before staring at the tadpole.

"If you want to fuck me, then just say it," she said.

"No!" Mikado said. "It's not like that! I wasn't following you around! I was following around your demon."

"Okay, you are creeping me out," she said. Mikado wasn't looking at her now. That demon stared at him. She hissed at him. The tadpole grabbed Kioko by the shoulders.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed. Mikado stared deeply at that little demon. Suddenly, something strange happened.

The demon on Kioko's shoulder tensed up. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. The body started to break down into waves of sand. Voices started to fill Mikado's head.

Slut. Slut! What a whore! Bitch! She would give it up to any boy! Ew, what a slut!

Mikado pushed himself to keep looking. Visions and more voices filled his head.

Kioko would invite different boys into rooms in love hotels. Sometimes, she would follow them into their cars. They would kiss and get undressed. Kioko would just lay there and take it. Mikado saw her get on her knees in front of another boy in a bathroom stall. All of the boys had one thing in common as she made a rather simple request.

Do you like me?

Yes.

Could you do one thing for me?

What?

Kioko would lean really close. I need you to kill my dad.

That was always a turn-off. The boys would push her away and say that she was crazy.

"No, don't!" the demon yelled in Kioko's voice. A pair of delicate hands with black-painted nails grabbed Mikado's shoulders.

"Do it!" the Master shouted in his ear. Mikado took a breath and pushed his concentration ever hard. The demon's body started to puff up. The tadpole was hit with more images.

This time, he was in her room. A chubby naked man sat on the side of the bed covered in sweat. Kioko lay in bed under the sheets with empty eyes.

More images filled Mikado's head.

That same man lay on top of Kioko. Tears ran down her cheeks. He grunted heavily as he pounded into her. He had his heavy hand over her mouth.

"Whore like your mother," he purred in her ear. The man stuck out his tongue and licked his ear. Kioko shivered as more tears ran down her cheeks.

Another image was of a woman with messy black hair and her robe wide open passed out on the couch. That same man walked into the living room with a hungry devilish look on his face. He snickered as he walked over to who could be said his wife.

"Stop it! I don't want to see anymore!" Mikado could hear himself screaming.

Crash!

The demon puffed up and exploded into little pieces of red sand clumps. Mikado and Kioko collapsed to the ground, panting. The tadpole looked at his target. Kioko had tears in her eyes now.

"Your father," Mikado said. "Does he-?"

"Yes!" Kioko said in a harsh whisper. "W-W-What did you do to me?"

"You have to get away from him," he said, grasping her shoulders. Kioko shook her head.

"They won't believe me," she said.

"You have to try," the tadpole pleaded. "You can't keep going on like this. You're going to end up destroying yourself." Mikado took her by the hands.

"Promise me that you will get help!" he pleaded. The tadpole paused when he heard a slow clap behind him. He turned to see the Master of Lies walking up to him, clapping.

"Well done! Well done!" he cheered. "Beautiful! Impressive! Well done! Well done!" Mikado glared at him.

What was that?

"You saw that demon's true nature," the Master said with a shrug. Mikado stared at him as he pieced it all together. He could do all of that? The Master smirked as he walked up to the tadpole. He put his hand on his shoulder. The Master of Lies leaned in close to Mikado's ear.

"I can't wait to see what you and the others will do next," he whispered. And then he was gone. Mikado was left with a crying girl in his arms.