Black Swan Wonderland

Hokori

Halo Twenty: Hokori:

"I don't want you to go," Shinra said. Celty started typing on her PDA.

[But I have to go,] she wrote. The couple ignored the reapers hissing behind them. Shinra sighed.

"Fine, then at least take this," he said. He shoved a small object into her hands. Celty looked down and opened her palms. A small silver beetle pin sat looking at her.

What is this?

"Please just take it!" the doctor pleaded.

[Fine, I'll take it.] Celty typed. Shinra walked over and hugged her.

"Thank you," he whispered. Celty gently put her arms around him. What was she going to do with him? Again, she tried to ignore the little reapers glaring at them.

"Great job, gentlemen," Kitano said as he looked at the ring in the bag.

"You're welcome," Osamu said.

"Now what?" Daichi asked. The therapist looked up at the men.

"Gentlemen, you are going to want to shield your eyes," he said. Kitano walked over to the altar. He opened the bag and dropped the ring into the final spot. Daichi and Osamu shielded their eyes. The alter began to shake violently. In fact, the whole office felt like it was in an earthquake. Kitano took a step back.

"So it begins!" he shouted. The altar shook harder as it started to glow. Light filled the office. All three men nearly closed their eyes. High-pitched singing circled their ears. Seven streaks of red light shot through the ceiling.

Suddenly, the room went still.

Despite this, the office was still so bright. Kitano resisted the urge to reach out and touch the altar. The men didn't speak. They couldn't move. They began to breathe heavily. One by one, the seven lights disappeared. The room returned to normal after last light vanished. Kitano lowered his hand. He walked up the altar. All seven charms broke down into ash.

"Now what?" Osamu asked.

"Sit back and watch," Kitano said. "Meanwhile, keep working with your flowers."

"Understood," Daichi and Osamu said. They bowed and walked out of Kitano's office. The therapist took one more look at his altar as it cooled down. This round was coming to a close already.

In the early morning hours, Celty's phone buzzed. The dullahan picked it up and looked at the screen. She received a new text from an unknown number. Celty already knew who this was.

"Hello, I am to be partnered up with you," the message read. Below it was a link. Celty looked over at Shinra. He was sound asleep in his futon. There were no figures hoovering over him tonight. Her boyfriend wasn't going to intervene with her fight tomorrow.

Celty tapped the link on the screen. A small video window popped up. A boy about thirteen appeared when the picture turned on.

"Yo," he said. It didn't take long for Celty to figure out who this was.

[Shingo?] she typed. The boy leaned forward as if reading something on his screen.

"That's me," he said.

[Okay... Are you a tadpole?]

"Yes," the boy replied. He turned his head and looked behind him. Shingo pushed his mic to his mouth.

"Listen, I can only help you from my place," he whispered. "If I get near you, I won't be of any use to you. But I will always be nearby. I can't stay on too long. You should be getting a text of coordinates where you're supposed to meet up with her in a few minutes."