Black Swan Wonderland

Rokujo

V: Wrath

Halo Fourteen: Rokujo:

Kitano stared at the Heartseed. Emily's stem had already sunk into the plant. That's one more tadpole gone. He looked up when he heard a knock on his door.

"Enter!" the therapist said. Etsuko and Aya walked into his office.

"Oh good, you're here," he said. "Shut the door." Etsuko closed the door behind her. Kitano took a breath.

"You know why you are here," he said.

"Yes," Etsuko said. "What do you want to do about him?" Kitano moved his arms behind his head.

"Firing him is out of the question," he said. "I refuse to give him the chance to seek revenge with the other two groups against us. But we can't let him go free after what he did to Emily." He turned and looked up at Aya.

"And you want me to be the one to discipline him?" she asked. Kitano pressed his hands together.

"Now, I don't usually ask you to do your magic because you have other skills under your belt," he said. "But as it stands, I am at an impasse. The worst thing I could do is nothing. But I do not want to make the problem worse than it already is."

"So you want me to curse him?" Aya asked.

"Do as you see fit," he said. "But you have to do it before he does something else that could derail us." Aya bowed her head.

"Understood," she said. "I have just the thing in mind."

"Excellent," Kitano said.

"When shall we see the effect of Emily's death in the other tadpoles?" Etsuko asked. Kitano turned back to the Heartseed plant.

"I would give it a few hours," he said. "Our guest should be coming soon." The women nodded.

Masaomi found Mikado sitting outside of his apartment. He had a dazed look in his eyes. The blonde shogun's heart sank.

"Mikado? What are you doing out here?" he asked. The tadpole looked up at him.

"She's dead," he said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Masaomi asked.

"Emily's dead," Mikado said. His friend's jaw dropped.

"What?" he asked. The tadpole used his hands to mimic someone jumping off the roof of a building.

"She thought she was a bird," his voice trembled.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Masaomi said. He walked over and pulled his friend into his arms. Tears formed in Mikado's eyes. His best friend heard him say something inaudible.

"What did you say?" Masaomi asked. He looked Mikado right in the eyes.

"I am a shinigami," he murmured.

"What are you talking about?" his best friend asked. The tadpole sniffled.

"I've watched them all die," he said. "Satoshi, Azusa, Emily..." The tadpole trembled. "I was there and they died." Masaomi took Mikado by the face.

"Listen to me," he said. "Look at me. Look at me." His friend stared at him as a single tear ran down his cheek. The blond shogun sighed.

"I had to kill Satoshi," he said. "Otherwise he would've killed you."

"Wouldn't that have been better?" Mikado asked in a weak voice. Masaomi frowned.

"I am going to pretend you didn't say that," he said. "I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that ever again man, do you understand me?" The tadpole trembled at first.