Hi! New story. Hopefully I'll be able to keep with this one, but you never know. My OP fanfic failed epically. Nevertheless, please enjoy the opening chapter.
CHAPTER ONE: New
This is Ikebukuro.
She can't help but let her mask fall a little, revealing the dark look the hid just beneath the surface. And just like her face, the city dims a little, just a tad, but enough to let her know she's not wrong.
She's never wrong. There's darkness, and pain, and frigid bitterness hiding behind everyone, and everything. She knows that.
He lies his hand on her shoulder. He's much more solid than her, much warmer. Much weaker, in her opinion, but that's why she looks out for him. That's why she stays. To keep him from places like Ikebukuro, from people like her. That's why she hasn't left, or offed herself, or offed someone else.
'Let him believe in the goodness in all of us, just for a little while.'
He's worried. She can tell; could tell when he lied his hand on her. He can tell what she looks like without even seeing her face. "Hey, Haru, are you okay?" he asks, concern laced in his tone. She's convinced he's one of the only people who don't have as much darkness in their heart as others.
Suddenly, everything changes. The city brightens, illuminated by the rising sun, orange rays playing off the skyscrapers. She smooths out her brow and locks her heart away, throwing up the mask that he's seen his whole life.
'But he knows,' she thinks, as she reassures him that she's okay. The black is locked away, within her and within the city, to come back another day.
This is Ikebukuro.
This is her.
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"My name is Itagawa Haru. Please take care of me." She bowed, but not as low as she perhaps could've. She kept her head high and her spine straight, pride evident in her demeanor. Her eyes danced mercurically, as if promising mischief, and her lips never once left their self-righteous smirk (or was it a cheerful smile? They couldn't tell the difference). And that was Itagawa Haru.
"My name is Itagawa Makoto. Please take care of me." His bow bent him almost at a right angle, clammy hands clapped to his sides. He had the same eyes as his sister, but his were the soft, liquid-y sort of warm that could melt the hearts of anyone. He had a nervous, twitchy sort of smile, but he did seem genuinely pleased to be there. And that was Itagawa Makoto.
The twins parted to their seperate indicated desks after Haru ruffled her brother's hair, the girl almost skipping and the boy calmly stepping. Eyes followed both of them, silent questions raised in their minds. 'How can they be so different? They're twins!' their new peers thought. 'The girl looks like she could rip my head off if she wanted to, and the boy looks like he wants to cozy up with a good book!' And that was their class.
For her part, Haru maintained a rather bored air about her during the lectures. She didn't seem to pay much attention to the teacher, instead propping her feet up on the back of her classmate's chair and looking out the window. 'Ryuugamine... Mikoto? No, that's a girl's name. Hmn... Mikado? Yeah. Mikado.' That was his name.
She found herself liking Mikado. He was silent, and had even gave a timid sort of smile when she passed him. It would be a pleasure pestering him. Just the thought of seeing him irritated made her grin.
'I look forward to working with you... Mikado-kun.'
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When the lunch bell rang, Haru went to the roof. She didn't know where Makoto went, and she didn't particularly care, but she did wish she could find him a moment- he had her lunch with him. Haru almost figured he'd be there when she eased open the door to the rooftop, but no luck. There was, however, someone.
"Eh? Who're you?" She flitted to him like a bee to honey, sitting down next to him and playfully nudging his shoulder as if they were old friends.
The boy, a dyed blond delinquent if ever she saw one, smirked. "I'm Kida Masaomi, it's a pleasure to meet you. Might I add that you're very beautiful?" He turned up the charm, leaning closer.
She grinned, and tsked, "Ah, ah, ah!" She prodded his forehead lightly with her finger. "Don't want to act lecherous to the new kids. You might give them the... wrong impression." Kida looked about ready to reply when the door opened again.
A gasping Mikado was in its frame, bent over with his hands braced on his knees. 'I don't blame him. It's like a mosh pit down there.' Her eyes zeroed in on the two lunches clenched in his grip, one of them a dark scarlet and the other a bright blue.
"Oh! how'd you come to acquire my lunch? You aren't a theif, are you, Mikado-kun?" She skipped over and held her hand out silently.
Mikado blinked a few times and awkwardly handed it over. "Your, uhm, brother sorta gave it to me and told me to look for you. He said to look in high places." Mikado finally caught his breath and straightened, looking a bit surprised. "How'd you know my name?"
"Just saw it on the roster, is all..." She sat back down next to Kida, and Mikado sat down on the blond's other end. "Ora? You know know eachother?" 'Interesting...'
The two grinned in unison. "Oh yeah," Kida explained, "Him and me go way back. But enough about us, what about you? Are you one of the twins that transferred here?"
Haru smirked, and, to keep them in suspense, promptly started eating lunch. She made them wait until she was almost halfway done, and by the time he was about to forget about it, she spoke.
"I'm Itagawa Haru, and my brother's Makoto. I sit behind Mika-kun." She nodded her head at the black-haired boy, smirk widening as he blushed at the nickname. "We come here from Shikoku. Without our parents, I'm afraid..."
Haru faked a sigh, though inwardly she was jumping for joy. She hated her parents; much too boring, much too not there to make any difference at all in her life. Ugly people, in her book.
"Awh, that's unfortunate. Do you miss them?" Kida pouted with her, even though she knew immediately he couldn't care less. 'Sigh... it's all boobs and butt with teenagers these days...' She almost giggled. Almost.
"Very much, yes. But we will get through!" Haru grinned and began kicking her feet again. "So... can I walk home with you guys?"
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"Mako-chan, this is Mika-kun, Masa-chan, and Anri-san. Say 'hi'," Haru introduced, smiling good naturedly as she pointed to each new person. Makoto, stationed behind his sister with his arms resting casually on her head (she was 5'2, he was 5'9). Despite his stance, she could feel the tension in his body. 'Makoto always did hate meeting new people, shy little thing.' She almost chuckled.
"It's nice to meet you," he said, bowing. "U-uhm, I don't really know your real names..." Makoto had been with her long enough, Haru figured, that he knew she wouldn't tell him anything.
"I'm Ryuugamine Mikado. Y-yoroshiku." To Haru, it seemed the boy was rather intimidated by her brother. 'That's laughable. Considering I'm always the one watching out for Makoto.'
"I'm Kida Masaomi, nice ta meetcha." The blond grinned cheekily.
"I-I'm Sonohara... Anri. Yoroshiku." The girl bowed, causing Kida's eyes to automatically dart to her chest. Haru casually smashed her heel into his foot, prompting the blond to utter a low groan of pain. "U-uhm, Kida-kun? Are you okay?"
"It's nice...to meet all of you. I'm Itagawa Makoto, but I don't mind any nicknames."
The group began to walk, Kida casually explaining everything there was to know about Ikebukuro. 'Too bad I already know most of this,' she thought, still managing to look interested. Haru'd done a background check on the area about two months back, and she was confident she knew everything she needed to. Anything else would just come along naturally.
"Soooooo. I heard Ikebukuro's got a load of color gangs. Isn't that scary for you guys? Scares me." Haru put on her thin act of 'fear'. Makoto smiled wearily at her out of the corner of her eye.
Kida gave her a serious look for once. "Yeah. Not so much anymore. But there's the Yellow Scarves, and this new group called the Dollars. Stay away from them, okay?"
'Eh? Does Masa-chan have previous experience with this?' she thought curiously.
"And while you're at it, keep away from Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya. They're... pretty dangerous," Kida warned.
She'd definitely heard of those two. Not so much the informant, but of the bartender she knew plenty. "Noted," she remarked, and playfully messed up his hair. "Now. Don't act so glum; there's a lot to see!" Kida hesitated, then smiled with a nod of his head. They continued to walk, his voice just as happy as before.
'But you're not so cheerful in reality, eh, Masa-chan?'
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The way he views it, Ikebukuro can tire someone out without them having to lift a finger.
A place where people stop, go, pause for a second, continue, fall asleep, wake up, and keep the routine going. Where things are built, figuratively and literally, and are destroyed the next day. An endless cycle of never-ending energy that sucks the life out of him every time he thinks of it. A city that doesn't wait for the sun to rise.
He hitches his sister higher up on his back, as she's worn herself out from a day of walking. It's dusk now, the city bathed in a purplish blue light, and he's almost disgusted to see so many still out, still running and shouting and screaming and laughing.
He finds himself hating this city, the city he's never been to in his life besides now. He misses the place he was in before, even though it was pretty damn terrible too.
Too many people.
Too many buildings.
Too many things.
And he hates it. He hates the noise, and the smell, and even the way the air tastes on his tongue. He despises a place he's never been to, and he's almost shocked at himself. He tries to tell himself that he'll get used to it, that all it needs is a little time and he'll melt right in, but still, he can't relax.
Not in a place like this.
And that's it for the first chapter. Sorta short considering the amount I did for my last fic, but I figure it'll keep the time between my updates shorter. Review, please~~