Dark Side of Wonderland

Byakko

Halo Seven: Byakko:

-Her-

I have been watching them since Halloween. Those tadpoles really do stand out. Thirty-eight of them are around in Tokyo alone. Two of them will join them soon. We know where the rest of them are. They will all soon come together. Such beautiful abominations stand among the humans. This will not do.

My mistress has sent me out on a mission. She wants them dead. She wants them all dead. They upset the natural order of things. This game goes against the natural order. The tadpoles just make it worse. They will survive the End of Days. My mistress cannot have this. Lately, it's gotten worse. They are starting to reproduce. Two of them not born yet. One of them will be born to a human girl. This cannot pass. More abominations will walk among the humans. The tadpoles must be annihilated.

I was told to stand down in the beginning. But now I am free to act. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I have so much that I want to do. I am allowed to go scorched earth on them. I am allowed to hurt those close and dear to the tadpoles and make them suffer. And suffer they will. Suffer and die. Three of them are already dead but this isn't enough. They all have to die. They are all abominations. They should not exist.

I'm not the only one who thinks that. There will be others to hunt for the beautiful abominations. They are doing the good work of my mistress. But there are those who will go to great lengths to protect those damned abominations. They have their own motives that I don't understand. The tadpoles must have them fooled to have them on their side. This will not do.

The damned creatures will have to die! I am not only one who is on the mission.

Itori ran to the hospital late in spring. She got the call hours before. The tadpole looked around the people rushing in the lobby. Her hands rested on her big belly. Itori tried to flag someone down.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" she shouted. She finally got the attention of one of the nurses.

"Hey!" the tadpole shouted. "Do you know where my fiancé is?" The nurse tilted her head to the side.

"Fiancé?" she asked.

"Yes, Miwa Yukio," Itori said. "He's my baby's father." The nurse froze for a moment.

"Where is he?! Where is he?!" the tadpole pleaded. She grabbed the nurse by the shoulders. The poor nurse pulled away from her.

"I'll go look for him," she said.

"Thank you," Itori said, bowing her head. The nurse turned and walked down the hall. The tadpole held her hand to her chest. She already knew the truth. They didn't have to tell her. Itori waited for dreadful news. That didn't take long, however. The nurse came back with two doctors and another nurse. The doctor broke the news to her. Itori sank to her knees in tears.

"No!" she wailed. "No! No! No!"

Itori woke up in tears.

She's had this dream how many nights now. So many that she's started to lose count. It's always the same. Itori would make it to the hospital only to learn that Yukio was dead. She would have to raise their baby alone. Itori turned over into the futon.

This wasn't the only one she's had. Itori drew her knees to her chest.

"Are you okay?" Naomi asked last night. Itori shook her head. The older tadpole frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Itori kept her head down.

"I don't want him to die," she whispered. Tears ran down her cheeks. Naomi pushed her bangs from her forehead.

"You won't lose him," she whispered. Itori looked up at her. The other woman gave her a sympathetic look. Itori turned her head away.

"Don't," she said.