Devil's Wonderland

Chikako

Halo Eleven: Chikako:

-August 3rd, 1996-

Chikako sat on the floor of her living room coloring pictures. She moved with her father to Ikebukuro six months ago. Aside from his strange behavior everything was going great for the little girl. Chikako could make friends easily. She made good grades and the teachers adored her.

Her social life was great but her home life was vastly different.

She looked up when she heard the front door at about one in the morning. Her father staggered in, muttering to himself.

"I'm home," he mumbled. At first, Chikako didn't know how to react. She wouldn't know what state her father would be in when he came home. Sometimes, he would be so drunk that he would be asking who she was. Other times, he would just pass out on the floor just as the door opened. Chikako would have the daunting task of dragging him to bed. Tonight, he was sober and wide awake.

But, there was something different.

A look a fear spread across the little girl's face. She saw a woman bloodied and beaten sitting on her father's shoulders. Big red handprints were around her neck. Her red provocative dress was torn to shreds. Chikako's father stood in the doorway panting.

"What?" he asked. Chikako stood up and started backing away with big eyes. She turned and ran away, panting.

-August 15th, 2015-

"Thank you for your hard work!" Chikako called from the doorway of the police station.

"Get home safe, okay?" one of the cops said.

"Sure will," she said. Chikako bowed and started heading home. Still to this day, she pretends that everything is normal. Sure, the police force knew about her abilities and visions. That didn't change how she felt about her life. Chikako used to be normal. Trying to be now wasn't much help.

Suddenly, she paused when she heard footsteps. The coroner glanced behind her.

"I know you're there!" she said. "Come out and show yourself!" She slipped her hand into her purse to her stun gun. When the coroner turned around, there was no one in site. Chikako didn't let down her ground.

"Come on," she said. "Don't hide from me. I already know you are here. Just come out already and get it over with!" Chikako started to pull out her stun gun as the footsteps grew closer. But then, she froze. A tall pale man can into her line of vision. Long white hair came down to his ribcage. His white robes were open, exposing his bare chest. Chikako's face turned bright red as she stared at the muscles on his body.

"Oh..." was all she could say. The silent man walked closer to her. The coroner didn't know how to react. He didn't seem human but there was no malice present. She took a step back as he moved closer. Now, he towered over her. There was nothing in his small black eyes.

"W-W-Who are you?" Chikako asked. "What do you want from me?" The man didn't answer. He stood stared her in the eye. Suddenly, the man vanished right before her. Chikako backed away with big eyes.

"What the hell was that?" she asked. The coroner shook her head and forced herself to keep walking.

Moments later, Chikako walked down to the crosswalk. She felt much better being surrounded by people. Ever since she had haunting dreams, the coroner would try to surround herself with crowds. The more people around the more she could breathe. At home, she didn't want to be around her father with that woman on his back.

-1996-

Her name was Tsubaki. That wasn't her real name but that doesn't matter for this story. Not much was known about her past. She was a call girl working in the seedier parts of Ikebukuro at the time. Her roommate reported her missing the morning after the third of August. Tsubaki's body was found three days later in an alley behind the hotel where she was last seen. She had died from strangulation. Tsubaki had been beaten about the head, face, and torso. Her dress had been torn to shreds. At the time, the police had no leads. Witnesses couldn't give any details. There was only one security camera in the back alley running. The video was grainy but it showed a man about 5'10" to 6'1" carrying what was thought to be Tsubaki's body out into the alley and dumping her behind a trash bin. Fingerprints didn't come up to a match to anyone in system. The DNA would take time. The usual johns all had alibies. The case looked like it would run cold.