Happy Wonderland

Etsuko

Halo Twenty-One: Etsuko:

-Christmas Night-

Mikado lifted his head when he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"It's only me," Masaomi said outside. His friend calmed himself down and opened the door wide enough to peek out of.

"Hey, man," Masaomi said in a low voice.

"Are you alone?" Mikado whispered.

"Yeah."

"Did you bring it with you?"

"Yes."

Mikado opened the door wider. "Alright." Masaomi followed him into the apartment. The founder of the Dollars' phone sat on his bed with thirteen missed calls.

-Five Days Ago-

Junko cut a frosty glare at Etsuko. She didn't enjoy working with her, but if she had to choose between Etsuko and Aya, the former would be more bearable. Junko tilted her head.

"Why exactly did the boss call you to execute round two?" she asked. Etsuko pushed up her black-framed glasses.

"Because compared to the two of you," she said. "I actually look more competent."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aya asked with her hands on her hips.

"You get obsessed with making Noriko into Ophelia from Hamlet," Junko said with a smirk as she shrugged.

"Hey, it's fitting for the little bride," her colleague said. "And far more productive than your stupid little head games you play with them!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! You know maybe instead of screwing around; you would actually have done the tasks that your branch was assigned!"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to have a little fun with our toys."

"Your games go on too long!"

"Well you get too obsessive with having the bride and groom kill each other!"

"Okay, stop it! Both of you!" Etsuko snapped. Junko and Aya went quiet as Etsuko rubbed her forehead. She glared at their two male coworkers, Daichi and Osamu, laughing in the background.

"What's so funny?" she asked. The men were quick to stop. Etsuko cleared her throat.

"Tell me why you have failed to obtain F," she said. Junko sneered at the condescending tone in her voice.

"I'm working on it," the school nurse said. "I know where all of them are at all times."

"I take it that the spyware you installed on their phones is still working?"

"Of course, I updated this morning." Junko stuck out her tongue at Aya. Their colleague rolled her eyes and gave her the finger.

"What about Chirin?" Daichi asked from the other end of the room.

"I was given orders not to touch him," Junko said, glancing out of the corner of her eye. "The boss wants his little protégée to delight in breaking the news to him in person as a Christmas present for her exams, remember?"

"Ah, that's right," Daichi said.

"And that's fine," Etsuko cut in. "We need to focus on the task at hand."

"And what do you propose?" Aya asked. Etsuko broke into a little smile.

"I think it's time we made them remember what happened to them," she said.