Author's Note: Happy Birthday to our friendly neighborhood gangster, Kadota Kyohei, AKA Dota-chan. I always wanted to use the picture on Reddit I got the idea from. I am going to use it again. The red sheets on the walls made me think of Purgatory. I finished this piece and the next one last month. It felt a little bit rushed, but I made it work. I decided that we would check in on Mikado and see how he is doing in this short story. He's got so much on his mind. Why doesn't he talk to the people that he's worried about? Yeah, we will be seeing Mikado down this hall again. The next birthday up will be idol/actress, Hijiribe Ruri. For now, enjoy this latest piece.

Long Hallway Home

"Good night. See you later," Mikado said. He closed the door behind him. The tadpole looked around. He could never get used to the quiet in these halls. The walls in Purgatory were built to block out sound. He might as well be in a morgue. Mikado frowned to himself. He needed to get back home. The tadpole took a breath. He turned and walked down the hall.

These walks were the worst part. Lately, Mikado didn't like to be alone in his thoughts. He wasn't alone in this revelation. His eyes shifted left and right. There was no one else around. Still, he couldn't escape from the thought that there could be lost souls hiding behind these doors. The tadpole always picked one of them jumping out and grabbing him. It had come close to happening before. However, it was just his girls playing a prank on him. Mikado pushed that thought out of his head. He needed to focus on getting back.

All he had to do was go down the hall and walk out the door at the end. Nothing too crazy, right? Well, this is Purgatory. It would never be easy for the living. All for the simple fact that they were still alive.

But tadpoles were different.

Mikado pushed himself to walk. Right now, it was bright. That wasn't going to last long. He counted down the stages in his head. Bright, darkness, red, and then free. Mikado started to count down in his head. Just stay calm and he'll be home shortly.

Winter was brutal this year. Mikado could see where this was heading. Ikebukuro was about to change. There wasn't much time left. Everyone has been doing the best that they could. Even through his problems, Mikado was trying.

His problems.

Yeah.

Bright

The lights were so bright. Almost blinding. He can't even hear the footsteps. Mikado forced himself to think about something else.

First, there was Masaomi.

He knows that he has a problem, but he's not doing anything to fix it. Everyone has stopped talking about Masaomi's little… "habits". That didn't stop everyone from being worried about him.

"Has he been tested for any STDs?" Naomi asked. Mikado eyed her.

"I don't think so…" he said. His voice trailed off. Naomi just eyed him. The tadpole thought about talking to his best friend. However, he needed to go about it the right way. He didn't want to come across as lecturing him. Still, the tadpole needed to be stern with him. Also, he had to be gentle at the same time. There was another issue at hand.

Could he even get through?

The tadpole looked out of the corner of his eye. There's nowhere there. Still, he can't relax. Not when he has to try and save Masaomi from himself.

Mikado couldn't judge him now that he thought about it. The tadpole remembered all of the wild nights that he had. Many girls remembered him. The memories started to come back. Some of the old habits were starting to return as well. It wasn't just girls either.

Mikado tried to block out the thoughts of fucking him back in early December. It was Ren's idea. The tadpole tightly shut his eyes. Why did he agree to do that? It wasn't rape or anything. Masaomi was drugged but he still agreed to it.

No!

It's not right! Mikado shut his eyes and shook his head. It was the silence. It pushed him deeper into his thoughts. He needed to get out of here.

When Mikado opened his eyes, the hallway had gotten dark. One section down, two more to go.

Darkness

Sometimes, Mikado forgot how short that last section was. The hall always felt so long. Even longer with the thoughts running around in his head. He still couldn't ignore that he has his problems. He already cycled through the issues with Masaomi.

Then there was Anri.

Two months into pregnancy. This baby was going to kill her. Mikado already knows how she is going to die. He tried to prevent it. Fate just loved to kick him in the ass. It wasn't done with him yet.

He didn't like the darkness. The tadpole didn't need a light to see where he was going. No, that isn't the problem. It's his head again. Why did he find himself coming back to such thoughts? They were getting worse lately. Mikado tried to get himself to focus on getting out of the hall. He turned and looked behind him again. Still, no one was there. The tadpole knew better than to relax. It was possible that someone could be pranking him. Mikado frowned. He didn't have time for this. The tadpole needed to get out of here. He took in a breath and counted down in his head.

One… Two… Three…

The tadpole started walking again. The silence grew worse from here. More thoughts ran through his head.

Mikado is worried for them both. Anri could die. But what if Tandeki found out about the baby? His stomach turned. They wouldn't… Would they? He shuddered as he remembered seeing little kids being pulled along for experiments. Honoka and Haru were four when they were pulled through the same experiments in the 80s. If they could do that to four-year-olds, then…

Mikado shuddered again.

No! He wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't focus on that either. He needed to get out of the damned hall. The tadpole took in a breath.

"Stop messing with my head!" he shouted. This time, Mikado didn't wait for a reply. He took off running through the darkness. Part of him wished that something or someone could be chasing him down the hall. At least he would be running away from something. But he is running from something.

He's running from his own head.

Red

It felt cold around him. Mikado reluctantly opened his eyes. He was finally in the red part of the hall. The bright red curtains covered the walls and ceiling. Black and white tiles covered the floor. He could see the doors at the end of the hall. Mikado just ended to keep moving. He already decided that he was not going to stick around any longer down this hall.

He drew in one more breath and started running.

Mikado tried to focus the thoughts in his head to stay quiet. He couldn't get distracted anymore. Anri and Masaomi were waiting for him. He had to get home and try to help his friends. When was this hall so long?

I don't want to stay here anymore!

He didn't want Masaomi to end up fathering children he couldn't take care of. He didn't want him to come down with a disease he couldn't get rid of. He didn't want Anri to die. He didn't want her to be used up to make the whole world sick. He didn't want his son to be taken and experimented on. He didn't want to be stuck in this nightmare again.

Mikado's feet carried him all the way down the hall. He gritted his teeth as hard as he could. The tadpole just had to get to the door. He closed his eyes and pushed himself as he reached out his hand.

His fingertips held hard metal. With one push, a breeze hit him in the face. His body moved through the open doors.

When Mikado opened his eyes, he found himself back in his room at Michiko's apartment. Once he was sure that he was in the right place where he was supposed to be, the tadpole could finally breathe. I walked over to his bed and flopped down. However, he knows that it isn't over yet. He's going to have to do it all again.

This will have to do for now.