Author's Note: We just had to come back and explore Masaomi's self-destructive behavior and guilt over it. I am enjoying his arc so far. I have more ideas for it. That poor boy suffers in my fic. I will come back to his misery soon. Because that is what you want. Anyway, I did struggle a bit to write this, but I got it all out. Tomorrow, I will be back for the Halloween special. I can't wait to share it with all of you. Buckle up, because it will be a doozy. For now, enjoy this week's halo.


Halo Twelve: Masaomi:

"Stop making me feel guilty!"

Masaomi has been shouting that in his head lately. He can't stand the way that everyone looks at him. However, this latest episode cut him deeper than any stare.

The former shogun put his fingers to his lips. What was he thinking to kiss him like that? It just happened. Mikado kept getting more beautiful each day. Masaomi wasn't gay. He fancied himself as a playboy. But looking at Mikado started to make him a bit… curious. That was the thing. It wasn't just girls who found his best friend irresistible now. Men—gay or straight—started to give him a second look.

Now that Mikado bolted out of the café, Masaomi found himself thinking again. He didn't want to come back here. However, the boy didn't have much of a choice, now did he?

Ever since he made that deal with that Woman in Red, Masaomi's "love life" had been a parade of bad decisions. Misa couldn't help but point it out.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Huh?" Masaomi asked in his futon. He turned to see Misa staring at him, frowning. He braced himself for more philosophy and talks about true love.

"It's like you're never really here when we're together," Misa complained.

"I'm here right now, aren't I?" the boy asked. The younger girl frowned.

"You know what I mean," she said, hitting him in the ribs.

"Ow," he muttered under his breath. "I don't know what you mean." The boy saw the disappointed look on her face. He's been seeing that more often lately. The boy sighed.

"Look, I don't know what you want from me," he said.

"Fidelity, respect, companionship, love, intimacy," Misa listed off. Her tone sounded so desperate with each word. She wants a fairy tale. Something that he can't give her. Masaomi doesn't know how to tell her that he is not the boy she is looking for.

"What makes you think that I could give you any of that?" Masaomi asked. Once again, Misa looked so disappointed. The sex was good and she was a kind girl. Maybe too kind. But this had been going on for too long. Ending this farce would be a mercy to them both.

So why were they still hanging on like this?

Masaomi buried his head in his hands in the maid café.

"Why do I keep fucking up?" he asked himself.


Misa isn't the only girl in Masaomi's life.

He's been seeing Ruriko more often. He didn't get it. She could have any man she wanted. She even had a boyfriend that she was proud of. Why was Ruriko so interested in him?

"You're cool," she said as he followed her back to her place.

"Cool?" Masaomi asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Yeah," the older woman said. "You're cool and kind of cute." Ruriko tilted her head to the side.

"How come you don't have a girlfriend?" she asked. Masaomi paused at that question.

"I don't know," he said. He might have had one once but that felt like a distant dream in another life. Ruriko stopped in her tracks.

"What is it?" Masaomi asked as he turned his head.

"Kiss me," she said. The boy looked confused at first.

"Wait… here?" he asked. "Right now?" Ruriko gave him a little smirk. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Masaomi just stood there. He should be used to this by now. He's made out with several girls. This should've been no different. It was just a kiss after all.

But… Why did he feel so uneasy around her?

Ruriko slowly pulled away. Masaomi just stared at her quiet. Her lips curved into a little smirk.

"You are so cute," she said. His cheeks grew warm. Masaomi cleared his throat. This woman might be too dangerous for him. It would be best if he pulled away now. Put some distance between them. Come up with a way to never see her again.

That was all forgotten when Ruriko took him by the hand and led him back to her place for the rest of the way. Maybe breaking away could wait until tomorrow. After all, that void wasn't going to fill itself. Just one more night. He was going to change tomorrow.

That's what he told himself at least.


Michiko could already see the destructive path that Masaomi was taking. The others knew, but she had the full details. Mikado was supposed to get through to him. He's not been doing his job. It looked like Michiko was going to have to be the one to do it. It didn't help that cell phone reception had been taken out weeks earlier. She didn't know where he went at the moment. Something about looking for someone in Shinjuku. Oh no…

Were they looking for her?

If she's back in the picture, things were about to spiral out of control and crash. This game was like a wildfire and Sonomi thought she was bringing a bucket of water to help put it out. However, she thought it was water but really it was gasoline. If she's caught wind of what's going on, then things were worse than she thought it could get. It looked like they had hit rock bottom, but that wasn't true anymore. Winter was already here. Christmas was coming in a few hours.

Michiko picked up the receiver of the landline she created three days ago.

"Yeah, it's keeps getting worse," she said. "She's back in the picture. Yes. I'm talking about her. How soon can you get here?" Michiko paced uneasily. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good. I will be right at the front door," she said. Michiko hung up and walked to the living room.


Mika walked up to Shingo's door in the hallway and knocked. She backed up as it opened a crack.

"What do you want?" the boy asked.

"I have something that I want you to look into," Mika said.

"I'm not going onto the dark web," he said.

"No, it's nothing like that," Mika said, waving her hand back and forth. "You won't have to go that far. I promise." She reached into her apron pocket.

"I just need you to look at what's on this drive," she said. The boy took the USB drive.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"It was left for me in a locker," Mika said. "I tried to look at all of the files on it. Some of them are cryptic and I couldn't access the others. Deep hacking has never been my strong suit. Sure, I can crack into passwords and things like that. But this is a bit complex for me. I figured since you were good at computers that you could take a look."

"And you want to know what is on this?" Shingo summed up. The girl slowly nodded. Shingo opened the door wider.

"I will see what I can do," he said.

"Thanks," Mika said. Shingo closed the door in her face before she could say anything else.


Second Dream

Mikado awoke in another bedroom. This time, everything was purple. The satin sheets felt like they could swallow him up at any time. The black lace curtains looked like they were going to blend in with the wall. A side table sat next to the bed covered with different kinds of sex toys. Mikado tried to move but found himself cuffed to the bed. Flashbacks of his time at Chou Mori filled his head. Tadpole patients were tied down to their beds in the middle of the night to keep them from escaping. Sometimes, Mikado's hands would be so numb by morning.

The tadpole started to hyperventilate.

"Aw, what's the matter, baby? You look so tense." That voice sounded smoother than honey. Mikado tried to look around in the dark.

"It's only me."

She sat across from the bed. The tadpole tried to look through her open see-through white shirt. That was all that she had on along with a deep indigo witch hat. Her red eyes glowed in the dark. She held up a cup of tea in her hand.

"Oh good, you're awake," she said. A fat black cat sat at her side.

"Why do you have me tied down like that?" Mikado's voice barely came out through that yelp. The woman gave him a curious look.

"Hm? Why do I have you tied down like that?"

The tadpole slowly nodded.

The woman finished her tea before standing up. Mikado averted his eyes from the curves of her naked body. Meanwhile, she looked over his naked form, slightly disappointed.

"Don't tell me that you are a virgin."

His face turned bright red. "No, I'm not!" The tadpole tried not to think about those bad days in Chou Mori. He started to take in slower breaths.

"Good to know." The woman giggled to herself. Mikado stole a peek up at her. She looked down at him with a curious look on her face.

"Who are you?"

The woman chuckled. "Baimei Shen." There was no way. This couldn't be the goddess of prostitution. He guessed that lies were welcome in this room. Mikado gulped as he lifted his chin.

"You're a witch, aren't you?" he asked. Baimei covered her mouth as she giggled.

"What if I am?" She leaned in close to his face. Her lips curved into a foxlike grin. She turned his face to hers.

"What are you planning to do with me?" he asked. Baimei broke into a loud laugh.

"My, my, my," she said. "You ask a lot of questions. Here." The woman leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Mikado just laid still. What else could he do?

But wait… Wasn't he now a godlike being? He could just break out of these damned handcuffs. It should be no effort. The tadpole was going to have to try.

Wait… Why weren't they coming off? Baimei gave him a little nip on the lips before sitting up, laughing.

"She told me what you could do," she said. Mikado stared up at her with big eyes. Baimei calmed down and smirked.

"Now, enough with the games," she said. The woman leaned down to his ear again.

"You better make this worth my while," she hissed in his ear. She gives him a playful nip on his right ear. Mikado sucked in a mouthful of air. Baimei moved down to his neck. The tadpole closed his eyes and let off a reluctant moan.

Meanwhile, Yokubo sat in the corner of the room and took another sip of her wine.

"Eight more to go," she said to herself. She counted down to the night when she would finally take him.


This is where Masaomi is about to royally screw up. It started with a chance encounter. First, Masaomi walked out of the café. He didn't know what to do. Maybe she should go and find Mikado. But what would he say to him? Somehow, "sorry" wasn't going to be enough. Can things go back to "normal" between them? Could they pretend that kiss never happened? Masaomi buried his hands deep into his coat pockets. There was a tiny part of him that dared to hope. Or maybe…

"Masaomi-kun?"

The boy turned his head. He froze as his heart jumped into his throat.

Oh…

Ruriko stood, waving at him. She smiled with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. The tiny snowflakes never seemed to land on her. Her presence alone stopped time in its tracks. Masaomi didn't know what to do. How did she manage to find him? Okay, this was getting weird. He nervously waved back at her.

"Uh… hi…" Masaomi said. His eyes darted around for anywhere to look than at her. She did look strangely beautiful under the streetlights. They weren't even that close to each other and Ruriko still made him nervous. The boy's eyes shifted to the right.

"Um… what are you doing here?" he asked. Ruriko closed the distance faster than the boy could keep up. All that he knew was that she was so close to him. Her perfume teased her nose.

"I'm just out," she said. "I am from here, you know?" Masaomi's mind went blank. Oh yeah, she did say something about that, didn't she?

"Now let me ask you a question," Ruriko said. That got his full attention. She looked him deep in the eye.

"What are you doing here?" the older woman asked. Masaomi stared up at her. He felt so small in her gaze.

"I was with a friend looking for someone," he said in a small voice. Ruriko gave him a sexy little pout.

"Where's your friend?" she asked. Masaomi's eyes shifted away from her. He didn't know whether he should confess the truth or not. They were quasi-dating after all, but somehow it didn't feel right. They weren't that close. She didn't much about him and he didn't know much about her. Why did she insist on pushing that boundary?

"Gone," Masaomi said. His voice came through almost quiet as he said it. The boy looked down at his feet. Ruriko turned his gaze toward her. How was she able to hold that much power over him? That question made him feel afraid all over again.

"Did this friend of yours have a falling out?" she asked. He slowly nodded once.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah."

Ruriko let go of his face. "Heh." Why did she have to be so beautiful and demonic at the same time? The woman made a peculiar face.

"Hm?" she asked. The boy refused to look up.

"You're the devil, aren't you?" he asked.

"Why would you say that?" she asked. Masaomi's words died on his tongue. Usually, there was no effort in talking to girls. But Ruriko…

He came back to reality when he heard giggling over his head. The woman patted him on the head.

"You really are so cute," she said. Ruriko leaned in close to his face.

"Spend Christmas with me," she said. She was so close to him. Maybe too close. Her perfume made her head swim. If he still had his heart, Masaomi would ask about her boyfriend. Maybe come up with an excuse to not spend time alone with her.

"Okay…" The way that came out almost sounded like he was in a daze. He pressed his lips together. Ruriko leaned in close to his ear.

"Come with me," she said in a husky, seductive voice. He quickly turned his head.

"Wait… now?" he asked. Ruriko stood up straight, towering over him once more. He should not be doing this. Part of him thought about using Mikado as an excuse to say no. After all, they weren't supposed to be out in the city alone. Plus, he didn't know if the tadpole made it back to the dead zone that Ikebukuro had become. What if he couldn't reach his friend by then? Would he get no signal in Shinjuku as well? Ruriko eyeing him didn't make it any easier to think.

He dropped his shoulders.

"Where?" he asked. Masaomi averted his gaze again. Ruriko giggled as she turned his face to hers. Her eyes could cut through his soul if she wanted. She only said two words that sealed it for him.

"My place."

That was all it took. Masaomi followed his quasi-girlfriend all the way back to her place. Mikado would be fine. He could just look for his friend later. It should be fine, right?