Dark Alice in a Dark Wonderland

Masaomi

Halo Twenty-Six: Masaomi:

-Masaomi-

I have a girlfriend now, I guess. I don't know how I feel about this. It just kind of happened, really. We didn't have sex that night she came to my place. She freaked me out when she asked for my real name. I thought that would be the end of that. She probably thought that I was being weird and would lose interest in me.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I woke up the next morning to a new text. At first, I didn't recognize the contact. Huh? Who's Hagihara Ruriko? I opened the text.

"I'll give you another shot, honey. Meet me tonight, Kida Masaomi."

At first, I couldn't connect the dots. Who was texting me? I didn't know a Hagihara Ruriko. Wrong number? A previous hook-up? Suddenly, the bubble with three dots popped up on the screen. Wait...

A picture popped up on the screen. My eyes widened when I saw who it was. That was my date from last night. It looked like she was standing outside of my apartment building. She held up her phone and had her lips puckered up in a kiss for who I assumed was me. I could see down her cleavage from the way she had the camera angled. The more I stared at it, the more tiny pieces started to come together. A puzzled look came over my face.

What the...?

It all started to slowly sink in.

I shot up straight in my bed. How did she know my real name? I told her no names. I felt myself start to panic. I hurried over to my window. I didn't see anybody outside. I breathed out as I felt my heart starting to relax. My phone rang in my hand.

Oh, it's just Mikado-kun. Mikado-kun? Why did I just call him that?

"Hello?" I asked.

"Kida-kun," Mikado said. "It's Chiharu. She's back." My jaw just dropped.

A father and son walked up to an apartment in downtown Ikebukuro. The man looked about thirty years old. The boy about twelve years old looked down at his feet. His father nudged him on the arm.

"Stand up straight," he hissed. The father knocked on the door. He smacked his son on the back. He and the man looked up in time to see the door opening. Saori perked up when she greeted them.

"Good morning, Honda-san," she said. The tadpole bowed before she let them inside. Father pushed his son forward. The boy reluctantly walked into the apartment.

"I will be back at one," his father said. He bowed and walked off.

"He will be in my care," Saori said as she bowed her head. She slipped into her apartment and closed the door.

The son was already sitting at the kitchen table. He tried not to make eye contact with Saori. They've seen each other for two years but something is different about her lately. Saori sat down next to him.

"Let me see your schoolwork," she said. The boy reached into his bag and pulled out his notebook. Saori opened it and took a look inside. She pulled out her pink glitter pen and clicked it on. The tadpole began looking over the boy's work and circled the correct sentences. She only had to make two Xs this time.

"Hm, very good," Saori said. "Your English is getting better." The tadpole frowned when she heard the boy's thoughts.

She's so close! My... My heart... It's... It's...

"Are you feeling okay?" the tadpole asked. The boy froze but didn't make any eye contact. Saori smiled as she lowered her pen.

"I know how you feel about me," she said in a low voice. The boy still wouldn't look at her.