Black Swan Wonderland

Michiko

Halo Twenty-Four: Michiko:

-Michiko-

I never wanted to get too many people involved. But now it is too late. I don't have time to ponder what went wrong. I have to end this game before it gets worse.

Unlike Makoto-san and his wife, I still have my memories. I remember every round, every death, and even the first time Tandeki reached their goals. I still have my magic too. Though it's not as strong as it was when I was dragged into this game. I can't worry about that now.

I looked at the small crowd of people in Noriko-chan's apartment. I hadn't expected Mikado to be here but given what happened last night, it can't be helped. I have to end this game before the city is swallowed in ruin. Fuck.

"You aren't going to leave, are you?" I asked Mikado.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"Figures," I said under my breath. Well, fuck. I rubbed my forehead and sighed. Right.

"How much do any of you remember?" I asked. Makoto, Noriko, and Mikado were quiet for a moment. I frowned.

"I remember the time I was at Chou Mori," Mikado spoke. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"I don't know where to begin," he said.

"That's good enough for now," I said. I turned my attention back to Makoto and Noriko. I needed to stop screwing around here.

"Have any of you noticed something off lately?" I asked.

"Off? Off like how?" Makoto asked. Mikado lowered his eyes.

"I kept seeing fog around last night," he said. We all turned to him.

"Does that count?" Mikado asked.

"What kind of fog?" Michiko asked. He tried to think about his answer.

"Really low?" Mikado asked. "There was no reason for it." I thought about what he said.

"That could be something," I said. It was a pain to get everyone calmed down to speak at this point.

"What are you doing here?" Noriko asked. Mikado turned his head.

"Do you know these people?" he asked.

"No..." she said, shaking her head. Makoto looked hurt hearing that. I grabbed his hand.

"It'll come back to her," I whispered.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Mikado asked. So here we are. I didn't think I was getting anywhere with this. I needed to change tactics since time wasn't on my side.

"I probably should start from the beginning with this," I finally said. I hated this part. I've lost count of how many times that I had to tell this story. But I didn't have any choice.

"What is going on?" Mikado asked. I took a deep breath. I rubbed my forehead and started again with the basics of the story.

-Past-

I awoke to someone kicking me in the back. I winced as I tried to pull myself into a tighter ball. Another kick came to my back.

"Get up!" he barked. "We have work to do!" He never saw me as his daughter. I was just a tool to make money. My powers were natural even at a young age. I think it came from my mother. I never met her. He told me that my powers came from her.

That's the only truth that he's told me.

I learned not to ask questions. I just had to be his little puppet for the gathering crowds in every city we went to. We did make a good amount of money. But most of it went to food and his drinking. Never did we try to pay for whatever room we stayed in. We would leave in the middle of the night before the staff could be any wiser.