Dark Side of Wonderland

Sachie

Halo Twenty-Seven: Sachie:

Chisa and the Ten no Shin'en keep picking up steam. She is so high up in the polls. It looks like she will steal the race from under her rivals' noses. Chisa isn't doing this alone, however. There is Saku inside of her, of course. She also has help on the outside.

Sachie fluffed her up black curls in the mirror. Things had gotten so much better since Chisa took control. The woman just wished she could personally thank the DK herself. She turned her head when there was a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" she asked. The door opened a crack. Hina poked her head inside. Sachie gave her a little smile.

"Yes, dear?" she asked.

"Um... the mistress sent me here to come get you," Hina said. She took a step back from the door.

"I'll be right there," Sachie said in a gentle tone. Hina stepped back without a word. The woman shook her head and sighed. Why was that girl so afraid of her? They were all sisters together. She was going to have to work on that later. Sachie stood up from her chair.

"Show time," she said to herself. Sachie turned and walked out the door.

Sometime in Spring...

Anri sat on a picnic blanket with her hands on her round belly. It was a nice day out. The cherry blossom petals floated down to the ground.

"Mikado-kun!" she called. "Come look at this! It's so pretty!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" the tadpole boy shouted. He had his arms filled with a picnic basket and many treats. There weren't many people around. Still, it was a long walk to the blanket. He didn't remember who suggested a romantic cherry blossom picnic on this nice day. It didn't matter whose idea was this.

"I'm here," Mikado said. He looked Anri in the face. She seemed to be glowing in the afternoon light. When was the last time they were this happy?

"How are you?" Mikado asked.

"Fine," Anri said. "I'm fine." They took a moment to enjoy each other's company. The panic of the pending apocalypse and Anri's death were washed away to the back seat. Mikado even found himself happy to be a father. Such a perfect afternoon like this couldn't be real.

"What would you like to start with first?" Mikado asked. He looked down into the basket. His hand hovered over the mini ice cream cups in the corner of a basket.

"Do you want an ice cream? Which flavor do you want? We have chocolate, cherry, vanilla, peppermint, cotton candy..."

"Cherry will be fine."

Mikado froze. That wasn't Anri's voice. He turned to see Marin sitting across from him. She had a serious look on her face as she held her seven-month-pregnant belly. Mikado sat frozen. Marin looked him straight in the eye.

"It's going to be a girl," she said. And she will be born in spring." The tadpole didn't know what to say.

Mikado jerked awake in his futon. He looked around in the darkness. The tadpole had been having strange dreams lately. They ranged from benign, like the one from tonight, to downright terrifying. Mikado rubbed his forehead. That dream brought back some strange memories that he thought he lost. Speaking of which...

"Hello?" Mikado whispered. There's somebody in here with him. He can't tell if they are friend or foe. Yet something about them seemed so familiar. Could it be...?

Mikado shook his head. Nah, it can't be. Still, he knew deep down that he really had no idea.

It is natural that Chisa and the Ten no Shin'en have enemies. Junpei is one of them. Kitano is another one. Who are the others? There's Rokujo Chikage. And he's about to get some help.