The crowded streets of Ikebukuro had always been the same as before. Filled with groups of gangs, friends, and businessmen. But some where hid the typical Eskimo-dressed troll: Orihara Izaya and the strongest man in Ikebukuro: Heiwajima Shizuo.
As usual, Masaomi, Mikado, and Anri were walking from Raira High School. With Masaomi spouting on and on about flirting with older women and bringing up his cheesy, lame jokes. Mikado concerned about whether his best friend was up for the risk. And Anri who quietly laughed along, enjoying both the boys' company. It almost seemed like a normal day for the trio.
"Mi~ka~do~!-since we're on the same page about beautiful women-why don't you ask the lovely Anri out?"Masaomi teased, bringing Mikado into a small brotherly cuddle.
"M-Masaomi! Don't say that so openly! She might think you and me are weirdos!"Mikado complained, squirming to get out of the hug.
"Why, let the beautiful, erotic Anri say whatever she wants! If she calls us weirdos, we both can be weirdos together~ Isn't that right oh so beautiful Anri~?"Masaomi replied, turning to the quiet bespectacled girl.
Anri blinked and chuckled. "Well...I don't know about weirdos."
Mikado turned to Anri and shook his head. "Not you too Anri.."he groaned.
The young female only chuckled again and shrugged. "Ryuugamine-kun, I think it's best to think that Kida-kun wants to be by your side rather than his teasing comments."
The boy nodded and sighed. "I guess...Masaomi! Apologize to Anri now!"
Masaomi dramatically fell on the sidewalk but soon got up to clap his hands together. "I am so very sorry oh so erotic Anri please forgive m-"
Mikado pulled on Masaomi's ear and pouted. "Don't say 'erotic'! Apologize correctly!"
"Ack!-okay okay !"Masaomi cried, shooing away Mikado's hand,"Oh I deeply apologize for my odd play of words miss Sonohara! I hope you can forgive me!"
Anri chuckled quietly and nodded. "O-Of...course. Shall we get going then you two?" She pointed forward as the boys looked at each other.
"O-Oh..uh yeah!"Mikado said, stumbling off into the sidewalk before resuming walking. Of course Masaomi did the same except he didn't stumble like a little kid and fiddle around nervously.
As the trio continued to chat and walk around Ikebukuro, the information broker was watching from a distance, observing the Dollars leader, Ryuugamine Mikado. "...Well well, it looks like no more stalling here. Let's get this interesting show on the road shall we~?"Izaya sighed as a smirk slowly formed on his face. He put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked into the direction of Mikado's small apartment.
Masaomi quickly leaded the way to the usual spot where Kadota, Erika, Walker, and Saburo were hanging around. He quickly dragged Anri as Mikado hesitantly followed. The four turned their attention to the trio and greeted them casually.
Saburo waved at them lazily, his expression filled with dread. Probably from another car blasting a pebble at his precious van. "Hey Masaomi. Mikado." Kadota said with a calm smile. Erika shouted happily, "Whoa~ it's Masaomi and the Ryuugamine guy!" Walker followed up by Erika's surprised statement. "Long time no see huh guys?-What do you guys have there? A girl?"
Erika glanced at Walker and smirked,"Perhaps she is their damsel in distress? No no! Maybe she some kind of secret assassin or some strong girl like Black Matagi! She does have similar hair..."
Walker chuckled and lifted a finger into the air. "Or maybe she's Black Rock Shooter's long lost sister! Yeah! Oh but, what kind of flame would she have and her body seems quite off the balance of most girls her age!"
"Well, what about white? Since the other characters have taken all the colors! Or she can be Meylene's sister! Her bangs are similar!"Erika responded, pointing at Anri's face.
As the two otakus rambled about Anri's appearance, Masaomi introduced her to Kadota and Togusa.
"And so, this is the lovely Sonohara Anri, a friend of ours who goes to school with us!"Masaomi said, trying to drag Mikado into a group hug. "And Mikado apparently likes her~"
Mikado blushed and smacked Masaomi's head. "N-No! And I'm sorry Anri for Masaomi's weird behavior.."
The bespectacled girl blushed faintly and shook her head. "I-It's no problem at all Ryuugamine-kun! I don't mind it though." She didn't know how to follow this conversation. Should she start laughing or just stay quiet?
"B-But um...i-"Mikado was cut off by Masaomi's over exaggerated story of how they met Anri.
"Why yes, we met her on the first day of school and then when she was bullied this one time, I came in and saved her!"the blond said, laughing with a silly smile on his face,"So, Anri, these people are my lovely buddies, Saburo Togusa, Kyohei Kadota, Yumasaki Walker, and the lovely miss Karisawa Erika~"
Anri bowed at them and smiled weakly. "...I-It's nice to meet you all. I am Sonohara Anri, a friend of both Kida-kun and Ryuugamine-kun."
Erika and Walker stopped rambling about Black Rock Shooter references and Kuroshitsuji and politely thanked Anri. "Of course! A friend of those two are our friends as well!"the duo said, making peace signs.
Kadota nodded and smiled. "Just don't get into big trouble. We wouldn't want that, would we?"
Walker pointed dramatically at Kadota and said in a surprised tone,"Ah! Dotachin is suddenly acting like the big brother type! Maybe you should change your name in the chats to that!"
Kadota blushed and shooed away the duo. "W-What?-Ugh, not this again...but anyways, I hope I get to see you guys more often. Lately, it's been so quiet."
Mikado nodded and smiled."...S-Sure! We'll visit whenever we can!"
Anri nodded. "..Yes. I wouldn't mind."
Masaomi hugged the two and gave Kadota's gang a quick thumbs up. "Yup! We'll come by~ Later dudes!"
Of course, the blond had led the way once again. While dragging the others forcefully to the areas he wanted to explore. With the count of probably five different places the trio went to:a karaoke shop, Russia Sushi, two theme parks, a book store, and a gaming store.
At their last destination before the sun began to set down, Anri began to worry of Mikado's health since Masaomi practically zoomed all over Ikebukuro. Anri frowned at the frail boy's condition.
"Um, Ryuugamine-kun, should I buy you a drink? You seem very exhausted from Kida-kun's adventure."she said, walking up to Mikado.
Mikado flinched and stepped back. "O-Oh um! ..No that's okay Anri! I'm fine! I think... if I just rest for a bit... I will be fine..!"
"Are you sure? You seem so out of breath.."Anri sighed, setting down her schoolbag off near a stack of books.
Mikado chuckled and blushed. "...Oh please, don't worry about me.."
Masaomi came back with a few manga books as he headed towards Mikado and Anri's direction.
"Hey uh, guys. It's getting a little late. Wanna call it a day?"he said, quite disappointed that the day had to end so quickly.
The two looked over at Masaomi and then at each other.
The frail boy answered,"...Well, I have to prepare dinner soon now that it's about seven."
Anri blinked and scratched her head, unsure of what to say. "Well, um my family is expecting me to be home by seven-thirty so I believe I must hurry on home now." She didn't even realize how late it was!
"Awww, alright guys! We'll pass Sunshine Street and head on home like always right?"the blond asked, especially if Anri was in a hurry.
"Sure, it's not that far from here anyways."Mikado agreed to his best friend's suggestion.
Anri smiled and nodded as she picked up her schoolbag.
Somewhere at the doorstep of Mikado's apartment home, Izaya was smiling as he threw his switchblade up into the air. He looked down at his phone and then at the beautiful sunset. "...It's almost time for our little Mikado to show up. Maybe I can spice things up with a surprise."the information broker murmured, leaning on the high schooler's door,"...Hmph." In the distance, he heard a soft neighing coming from one of the roads. Immediately, Izaya stopped looking at his phone and a Cheshire Cat smile crept upon his face. "Glad to see you're still working, but I know you won't see this coming.." He continued to wait at Mikado's doorstep. And as he waited, he looked down at his phone. It read:" To: Ryuugamine Mikado , From: Orihara Izaya Subject: A Deal"
The three slowly exited out of the book store and headed for Sunshine Street. "Hey, you guys got any plans for tomorrow? 'Cause I kinda wanted to go to that new hot springs in Saitama." Masaomi asked out of the silence the others gave off.
Mikado smiled and clenched to his bag strap. "Oh yeah, that sounds like fun. Maybe I can get to visit my parents too after the whole thing."
Anri blinked. "Your parents live in Saitama, Ryuugamine-kun?" She didn't even answer Masaomi's question.
Mikado scratched his cheek and shrugged. "...Yeah, I think it would be nice to visit them. I think they'll even enjoy Masaomi too since he would used to come and visit me back in elementary."
Masaomi smiled and turned to them. "Oh yeah! Your parents are so cool! Maybe they'll think Anri is willing to be your girlfriend!"
Mikado and Anri blushed madly, hoping the visit wasn't going to turn into something so personal. "W-Well I'm sure my dad would think something along those lines but my mom understands..! Ugh-Masaomi don't just blurt things out like that!"
Anri covered her mouth for that the boys' conversation was quite funny and very typical of the blond to say that. "...Well, besides that, I think I will enjoy meeting Ryuugamine-kun's parents."
As they finally reached the intersection, the three split and waved to each other.
On the way home, Mikado thought it would be nice to pick up some ingredients for Monday's dinner. "Maybe...Sukiyaki will do. I know I have some mushrooms in the fridge and with some green onions, some beef, onions, and some burdock roots. Oh, I don't have any Shirataki noodles..I can go get some at the local market."
The high schooler stopped by the closest market to pick up some Shirataki noodles and probably a small snack like Konpeito or star candy. As he entered the store, he took notice of the poster out front, displaying a silhouette of a person with a question mark. The poster read:"Japan's report of the mysterious Slasher who walks around the city of Ikebukuro! What drove this Slasher into a state of madness? Can anyone stop this person? Also seeing in sights of a mysterious rider in the region as well! Wha-" The other half of the poster seemed to be ripped off. Mikado winced at the thought of Celty being caught and taken for questioning. He hurried on inside the store and quickly purchased his items.
Mikado scrambled his way to make it to his apartment, terrified at the thought of the Slasher showing up. In fact, the Slasher could probably be anywhere! He wondered if anyone has spotted the murderer in broad daylight. He climbed up the stairs and fished through his pocket for the keys. But at that moment, he felt a presence of someone behind him. He hesitated to even pull out his keys to unlock the door. Perhaps, he jinxed himself! This was the end for him! He was just, too young to die! Before Mikado could open his mouth to speak or look behind him, Izaya crept up to him and smirked. "Why don't you open the door and invite me in, Dollars Leader? I'm sure you're quite busy so I'll just have to invite myself in."he whispered into Mikado's ear. The information broker swiped the keys from Mikado's hands and unlocked the door for the both of them. Mikado tried to process everything in his mind but he was just simply too late since Izaya invited himself inside his apartment. Izaya shut the door and locked it immediately as they were done entering. He flashed up a grin at Mikado and pulled out his phone. "Now, Mikado. I have something I need you to do."the troll said, smirking.
"...W-What is that? Orihara-san?"Mikado said, his voice trembling.
"I want to make a deal."