Devil's Wonderland

Ryosuke

Halo Eighteen: Ryosuke:

Masaomi and Mikado followed Nagisa to her master. She blended into the crowd with ease. At first glance, you couldn't even tell she was a crane familiar. Mikado tried to figure out where he had seen her before.

"You have seen me before," Nagisa said, glancing over her shoulder.

"When?" Mikado asked. She stopped and turned around.

"You can't remember everything, do you?" Nagisa asked. The tadpole boy shook his head.

"You?" she asked Masaomi. The Yellow Scarves shogun shook his head.

"Hm..." Nagisa said, thinking. "That's strange. You should have most of your memories back by now."

"What do you mean?" Masaomi asked. The crane familiar waved him off.

"Never mind," she said. "It'll come back to you soon. We've got other things to worry about right." Nagisa picked up her pace and hurried down the crowded street. The boys looked at each other before catching up to follow.

They made it to an apartment complex near Sunshine Aquarium. Nagisa walked up to number 35 and knocked.

"We've been here before," Mikado whispered. Masaomi turned to him.

"Hm?" he asked. The boys looked up to see the door open. A man about eighteen years old stood in the doorway. He looked like he had just woken up. His black t-shirt and striped shorts were wrinkled. The man rubbed the back of his head.

"Huh?" he asked. "Who are all of you?" Nagisa smiled and embraced Ryosuke.

"I'm home," she said. This was enough to wake up the man. He pulled Nagisa into his arms.

"Welcome home," the man said.

"I did as you asked," she whispered. "I brought them here."

"Hm?" her owner asked, looking up at Masaomi and Mikado.

"Uh... hi..." Mikado said.

"Yo," Masaomi said. It took the man a moment to realize who was at his door. He covered his mouth.

"Oh crap!" he said. "I am so sorry! I should've known that you were coming today!" The man quickly bowed.

"No, it's okay," Masaomi said. "Really." The man stood up straight.

"Oh, I'm Takizawa Ryosuke," he said. "I'm so glad you're here. Please, come inside." Ryosuke pulled Nagisa inside with him. Mikado and Masaomi looked at each other before following them inside.

The apartment looked standard. Everything was cleaned up. Ryosuke walked over to the couch and sat down. Nagisa joined him. The boys sat across from them on the love seat.

"There is so much to talk about," Ryosuke said. "Go ahead and ask questions."

"When have I talked to you?" Mikado asked.

"It was back in the previous cycle," Nagisa said.

"How many cycles have been there?" he asked.

"We're still counting," she said. Masaomi remembered something that Michiko once said.

"What was this about a gate?" Mikado asked.

"Ah yes," Ryosuke said. "How much time do you two have?"

"We have plenty of time," Mikado said. Masaomi nodded. The older man grabbed Nagisa and clutched her by his side.

"Okay, what all do you remember first?" Ryosuke asked. The tadpole pressed his lips together before he began to speak.