Everything was quiet.
The air, the streets, even the pedestrians flowed through the avenues in a perfect, harmonic rhythm. The city seemed so calm, almost as if it was sleeping peacefully and the insignificant shifts and movements within it were only necessary to keep it alive.
It doesn't fit. It feels weird. It is even unnatural for the intense city to remain silent. Maybe the city is not sleeping, but actually dying slowly… No, maybe it has died already without anyone noticing it.
"…Hey, Shizuo. Are you listening?"
The blond man turned his gaze towards the voice that had called him. "…I was spacing out. What did you say?" He muttered, wearing a completely blank expression.
The man with the dreadlocks sighed. "That has been happening to you a lot lately, has it not? Anyway, I just mentioned things have been utterly quiet lately."
"…Yeah, I just thought about it." The other man said curtly as he lit up a cigarette and placed it between his lips. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes lightly.
"You seem pretty indifferent about this."
"…"
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
Shizuo exhaled the smoke out of his lungs. "I've got nothing to say about this matter…"
"Seriously? Isn't it the peaceful routine that we've always longed for?"
"…"
Shizuo's lack of responses clarified to Tom that the conversation has ended. He felt that something was troubling Shizuo's mind, though he could not point out exactly what it was. It was one of the moments he was driven by sheer confusion by his unreasonable subordinate. Tom usually understood him better than the majority, yet sometimes, the strongest man alive, one of Ikebukuro's living urban legends, remained a mystery to him.
"Let's get going. We've got another debt to collect."
They got up and started walking silently next to each other. Shizuo looked up and stared at the clouds. His gaze was vague and blur.
Everything worked out perfectly. No gangsters or delinquents were trying to pick fights with them; they never even showed up. Even their ordinary clients did not show any resistance as they usually did when the debt collectors came to charge the money. They paid without trying to avoid it or making excuses. No one bugged them. No one came in their way.
Something is not right. It is impossible for things to be this calm and peaceful. This odd, calm routine has been going for too long. How long has it been, actually?
"We're here."
Tom's voice interrupted Shizuo's thoughts. They had been walking for a while, and now they were standing in front of an old, crumbled, neglected building. Most of their clients were the 'fishy' types, so Shizuo and Tom were used to the fact they lived in dumps which no decent person would consider living in.
They went up the stairs and reached the apartment. Tom knocked on the door. Shizuo put his hands in his pockets, looking slightly annoyed.
A podgy man appeared in front of them. He was around his thirties, unshaved, and he looked like he could really use a good shower. His eyes opened wide as he saw the duo that had been standing behind the door a few moments ago. Tom assumed the man realized who they were and what they came for.
"Who is it?" A cracking, quivering voice shouted from within the apartment.
"Oh, these are the fund-raisers I told you about, mom!" The man yelled back.
"Fund raisers…?" Shizuo mumbled, lifting an eyebrow.
"Oh, for the charity foundation?" The voice answered.
"Y…Yeah! Can you lend me some money?"
The voice sighed. "Sure, take as much as you want."
Shizuo's eyes opened wide.
"Lying shamelessly to his mother… And then taking her money for his personal benefit…?" He mumbled as he felt the blood flowing to his head. Yet Tom had foreseen Shizuo's reaction, and his hand was already gripping the taller man's shoulder.
"I know it's wrong, but there's nothing we can do. We just collect the money, and we've seen worse types than that man. Just let him off the hook."
Shizuo's eyes closed tightly in anger. He knew he was about to snap, so he gripped the corner of the door firmly. He tried to restrain himself as much as he could, but he still felt the rotting substance crumbling under his fingers.
Shizuo knew that man was not even cose to being their worst client. Yet, his attitude reminded him of someone who also used to lie and manipulate the people who trusted him - the person he loathed the most on the planet.
Shizuo bit his lower lip.
"Oh, did you hear?" The old woman's voice was heard, echoing the room and the stairwell.
"What?" The man shouted back, probably still looking for his mother's wallet.
"There was another suicide case last night. A middle aged woman put an end to her life after she had discovered her husband had been cheating on her… How pitiful."
"Huh" the man mattered, clearly uninterested. Yet, the woman continued.
"This is the second one this month… The first was a young man in his twenties; he had such a weird name… Orihara, I think. Very sad…"
Everything's quiet. Everything's peaceful. Everything's calm. Nothing's happening.
Shizuo burst into the apartment. "What did you just say? About the first suicide case?" His voice was relatively high and hasty.
The woman was quite taken aback by Shizuo breaking into her apartment in such an impolite manner, but she answered him in spite of that. "I remember that case since it was so unordinary. The police proclaimed he had committed suicide, but they somehow concluded someone had pushed him into taking his own life. What a sick world, young fellows dying like that…"
Nothing happened in the last month. Nothing occurred.
"Where did you hear about it?"
The flea is dead…? That is impossible. Insects cannot be exterminated. No matter how despicable they are, they exist forever, don't they?
"It was all over the news. Don't you watch television, young man?"
Yet, the lack of happenings… the peaceful days the city has known… and the suicide… they fit perfectly.
"You finally found someone who could listen to these boring stories of yours?" The podgy man was heading down the stairs. "Here's your money." He thrust a few bills into Shizuo's open palm. The latter did not even bother to close it.
Is he really dead? Can I really be sure our fights and chases have ended?
"…You can leave now, you know." The man said, his voice turning irritated.
It's the truth. Orihara Izaya is dead.
"Shizuo, let's get going."
Shizuo followed Tom silently.
"You must be happy… No, happy is not the right world. Relieved perhaps… You got what I am trying to say." Tom said as they headed to their next destination.
"Huh?"
"Who would have thought Izaya would put an end to his life? No wonder the city has been so quiet."
"…Do you seriously believe that?"
"Believe what?"
"That the flea killed himself."
Tom took a deep breath. "Sure, why shouldn't I?"
"Because it doesn't make any fucking sense." Shizuo muttered irritably. "This arrogant bastard loves his damn life too much; he's the last person on Earth who would commit suicide."
"Who knows? The guy had issues; he was never sane. Let's just be glad he's not going to bother us anymore."
They kept walking next to each other in silence. Shizuo's mind was filled to the brim with thoughts that kept swirling inside his brain.
Killing Izaya had been him resolve. He wanted him out of his life ever since they first met. And now his mortal enemy finally disappeared, leaving no trace.
"Geez, what is wrong with you? Are you not delighted?"
"…I am."
I should be. My enemy is out of my life forever.
The duo had a few more debts to collect. None of their clients made significant problems, and charging them went quite smoothly. Yet, Shizuo was growing more and more irritated.
He has always been around, playing with the city of Ikebukuro, and now suddenly he disappears? I don't buy it.
"That's all for today, you can go home now. See you tomorrow." Tom said and turned to the opposite direction.
The old woman might have confused his name with another.
Shizuo started heading home, but he soon found himself strolling around the streets of Ikebukuro aimlessly.
He could have faked his death and disappear. I have any idea why should he do that, but the flea is wicked enough to take such an action.
Shizuo crushed onto a street bench. He lit up another cigarette and stared at the twilight sky with the same vague look.
Why can't I believe he is gone? Why do I try proving he might be alive?
He felt anger building inside of him.
…It's because I don't want to let my guard down.
Shizuo's eyes widened. The burning sunset glittered in them.
This was not the first time Orihara Izaya disappeared. He was out of Shizuo's sight for a short period after they graduated from high school, and Shizuo could not forget what happened when he reappeared again. That time, he was framed for a crime he had never committed.
Shizuo took the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it forcefully to the ground and smashed it with his sole.
He could be hiding, concealing himself behind a one-way glass while examining Ikebukuro through it. Planning something nauseous. Who knows what will he do when he comes back?
Shizuo's heart filled with rage and animosity. He felt that he could no longer restrain himself; he knew he was about to snap.
The flea is not dead. He's just plotting something vicious, pretending to be dead so he could do as he pleased. I won't fall victim for his trap. I will only believe that he's dead when I stamp on his corpse with my own foot.
A hand that lightly touched his shoulder startled him. He turned his head and saw Celty standing behind his bench. His intense feelings started to subside as soon as he realized the hand belonged to his old acquaintance.
[Hey, Shizuo. How do you feel?] Celty sat next to him as she showed Shizuo her PDA.
"Tck, my head hurts." Shizuo answered wearily. "I'm fine though. What are you up to?"
Celty's shoulders dropped in a somewhat frustration. [Just working and doing some arrangements.]
Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "You seem pretty down."
Celty flinched, as if approving his argument.
Shizuo sighed. "Do you feel like telling someone about it? I can listen too sometimes, you know."
Celty seemed to hesitate. After she had been lingering for a while, she started typing again, pressing the PDA's keyboard slowly and deliberating each and every word.
[I am heading to Shinra's apartment to take the package I'm supposed to deliver. Ugh, I wish I never took this job. There's something fishy about it…]
Shizuo gave her a questioning look. "The package you're supposed to deliver is in your place?"
[Yeah. I got it a month ago. The weird thing is, while most of my costumers want their packages to be delivered right away, that one told me to deliver it a month after I had received it.]
'A month'.
[I just find it suspicious. It's as if the sender wanted me to keep it in my place. It's not the first time someone tried to harm us, so I can't help but think there might be a ticking bomb inside that box.]
"Who the hell is this package sender?" Shizuo asked, feeling the blood rushing to his head again. "Making you do something as shady as that… I'll kill him, definitely kill him!"
[Shizuo, relax!] Celty typed hastily before he completely lost his temper. [I have no idea where he is or how to contact him. He left me the package in a deserted ally, so I never actually met him in person.]
"Then deliver it to the damn person who's supposed to receive it!" Shizuo yelled, only getting angrier.
[I tried to contact the addressee, but he just vanished - leaving no tracks. That's the weirdest part – it is so unnatural for Izaya to disappear for such a long period. Usually, he just can't part with the city.]
It took Celty a few seconds to realize, or more accurately, to recall that mentioning the informant's name in front of the strongest man in Ikebukuro could be almost considered as a taboo.
She was angry with herself for getting carried away with her chattering. She had readied herself to witness benches and street signs joining the birds' migration, yet the main in front of her remained utterly quiet.
[I'm sorry, Shizuo.] She wrote. The only thing that seemed right for her to do was apologizing.
Shizuo sighed.
"It's okay, don't mind it." He muttered.
The flea actually disappeared, and he was supposed to get something a month after he was already gone. This is getting weirder and weirder.
Shizuo told himself that he had to stay vigilant. He never looked down on his opponent's abilities.
Had he already planned to vanish for a month? What could that package contain, anyway?
[… Shinra's apartment is nearby, so I will treat you a drink.]
"I told you it's oka-"
[I insist.] She wrote before he could finish the sentence. Celty noticed there was something odd about Shizuo. She felt he would not tell her what was troubling him even if she asked; therefore, she invited him over in order to distract his mind.
She did not know Shizuo never stopped thinking about the matter.
Something stinks. A person who intends to commit suicide isn't supposed to get a package a month after he had already taken his life. But since it was sent a month ago, it could have happened before the flea vanished.
Shizuo tried to recall the last time he saw Izaya.
We fought.
He remembered. Izaya was just about to disappear when he said something to him.
"I will never leave you alone, Shizu-chan. I can guarantee you that being hunted by my hatred would turn your life into an unending nightmare."
Then he jumped over a building and vanished, leaving his echoing laughter as the only trace. Shizuo tried looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
The debt collector gritted his teeth.
He really felt like Izaya was hunting him. His invisible existence started to torture him.
He won't win.
Celty opened the door as they got into the apartment. Shinra set on the sofa inside, watching television.
"Celty, you're back!" He said delightfully. "…Huh, Shizuo? What are you doing here?"
[I invited him over for a drink.]
"Huuuuuuh? You invited another man to our apartment? How cruel, Celty!" He cried, exaggerating as ever.
"…"
[…]
Shinra sighed. "Make yourself at home."
Celty opened the refrigerator and tossed Shizuo a drink. She was about to type something, but her PDA had startled her. She gave it a quick look, and then started to run toward one of the rooms. By the time she got back to the living room, Celty was holding a rather big brown box in her hands.
[I am so sorry, Shizuo! I completely forgot about the time, and I have to deliver the package right away. Stay here, alright? I will give you a ride home when I am back.] She rushed and got out, leaving Shizuo and Shinra sitting next to each other.
"Man, that woman is always busy…" Shinra mumbled as he stretched his arms.
"…Shinra. I need to ask you something…"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Shizuo did not want to do this. The last thing he wanted was to start enquiring about 'the loathsome flea'. Yet, he wanted to get him out of his mind at any cost.
I cannot ignore it. I want to know the damn truth.
"…Do you know what happened to the flea?" He finally asked.
"Oh, so you've finally noticed Izaya's absence?"
That is definitely not the way you talk about someone who had taken his life a month ago.
"I don't know much myself," Shinra continued, "but he told me he had some kind of training to do. He didn't mention for how long."
"The hell…?" Shizuo mumbled, unable to restrain his confusion.
"Yeah, but I'm not very surprised. At least things have been calmer ever since he left."
So Shinra doesn't know about the suicide.
"What kind of training is the scam attending?" He asked; his voice was filled with wrath.
"He never mentioned, he just said 'training'. I didn't ask any further because I didn't really care about what he was doing. Anyway, this is pretty great for you, Shizuo. I bet you were glad he stopped bothering you for a while. He stopped bothering us all, actually. Ugh, if he weren't one of my only friends, I wish he was never back!"
Suicide. Package. Training.
Shizuo pressed his fingers against his temples.
Is there a fucking connection between those?
"I never expected you to ask me about him directly… Well, I guess they say 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', huh?"
"Shut up. The last thing I need is that flea next to me."
"Whatever you say." Shinra said, a smile crossing his face.
Heiwajima Shizuo felt like he was losing his mind.
He had to know what his rival was plotting. Obviously, he could not do so since Orihara Izaya was unreachable.
Get this over with.
Celty arrived about an hour later. She gave him the ride she promised and dropped him nearby his place. Yet, instead of treading toward his apartment, Shizuo stood still and gazed expressionlessly at the night sky. The Black Rider decided to let him be, and vanished in the darkness.
Shizuo's mind was blank. All the thoughts that had been occupying it just a short while ago evaporated.
He started walking. He could not tell how long he had been wandering around when he suddenly noticed he was in Shinjuku, only a few streets afar from Izaya's apartment.
When I see him, I'll give him a punch that'll deliver his rotten soul out of his body.
He hastened his steps, reaching the building's entrance within minutes. The urge to break into his apartment and see whether he was actually there, looking down on him, hit him for a nanosecond. He wanted to see the person he was facing against.
Maybe it's indeed impossible. Maybe Izaya is really dead. Maybe he's actually training for something. Or maybe he was supposed to leave for some time, and then an accident happened to him. He should not be around either way, so why am I wasting my time here?
Shizuo started heading back. He noticed an ally which could be used as a shortcut to the bus station. It passed behind the building Izaya lived in. And just as he was crossing the area beneath Izaya's balcony, he noticed something.
It was a red, big stain on the pavement. He could see it clearly despite of the dim light. He knew exactly what it was immediately.
That's blood. A huge stain remaining of coagulated blood.
The man in the bartender suit fell on his knees.
Just like a mosquito smashed on a hard surface.
Shizuo touched it lightly with his finger. The surface crumbled almost softly beneath it.
"Bastard… " He mattered as he looked at the sickly red tip of his finger. "I was the one who should have taken your damned life, dammit!"
Shizuo lifted his fists up, ready to hit the pavement with all the force he could raise.
That is not his blood.
He stopped. His fists were poised in the chilly air, petrified.
It cannot be.
A sound echoed in the desolate backyard - the sound of a person clapping his hands together.
The flea is…?-!
Shizuo averted his gaze up to the balcony with a sharp head movement. He could see nothing but a flashing bright smile that almost seemed to shine in the darkness, and maybe the margins of fur encircling it.
Just like the Cheshire cat…
"My, my. Just like the day we met ten years ago, huh?"
The clapping stopped. It was replaced by an uproarious laughter. Two eyes appeared above the smile, shining in a malicious crimson which matched the color of the stain Shizuo was crouching by.
Shizuo rose up slowly, never taking off his eyes off from the balcony.
"The only difference between now and then is, that now I am not clapping my hands to show you my amusement driven by your brute actions. I am clapping them in satisfaction of my own actions. You even got here sooner than I had expected… What a bonus!"
For a few seconds, the whole scene was immersed in the darkness. Nothing could be heard, nothing could be seen. Nothing but those glittering eyes.
"Are you wondering why am I here? Shouldn't I be buried a few feet under soil and dust with a knife protruding from my neck? Or at least, shouldn't I be out of town, doing something uncertain? I could be a ghost, of course. In a world where dullahans and even monsters like you exist, such reasoning would not be entirely irrational. But let me tell you something - that is not the case."
Shizuo could feel something soaring above his head. He heard the impact of someone landing on his feet only a short distance afar from his back.
"I'm right here. Orihara Izaya, in the flesh."
Anger.
Shizuo turned around abruptly. He could see him clearly now.
"You see, everything that occurred today and the lack of happenings in the last few weeks were all a part of my plan. I can make things calm down by will just as I can start a ruckus. I can hire actors that would pretend to be your clients and feed lies to you. I can make Celty deliver a package to me, which, by the way, contained nothing but a sand bag. And I can tell Shinra I went for something ambiguous, such as training. Man, I have no idea how did I come up with that! I deserve applause."
Wrath.
Izaya clapped his hands again. Shizuo did not blink.
"Well, at first I wasn't sure you were sharp enough to notice that I committing suicide was out of the boundaries of making sense. That was why I implanted the other hints for the possibility I was still alive."
Rage.
"Ah, you won't believe how easy it is to find someone's location these days." Izaya took his cell phone out of his coat pocket. "Every kid can download a mobile phone tracking program easily. What a twisted world, huh?" He waved his cell phone in front of Shizuo's face.
"This world… It fits me." Izaya smirked again. "I was able to watch you running all over Ikebukuro. That sure was fun."
He was watching the whole time?
"You're used to our chasing games while being able to see me. But how did it feel to chase after someone you could not see? Must have been… an endless nightmare."
Shizuo's eyes widened in jolt.
"I am overjoyed! After all these years, I was finally able to control your actions. Isn't it wonderful?"
Izaya laughed.
"You probably wonder what will I do once I've managed to lure you here, hmm? Rest assured, the fact you bothered yourself to come all the way to my apartment is more than sufficient to me."
So while I was trying to uncover his scams, I was just acting according to his plan?
" That's right. I managed to lure you here after I had been playing with you all day. What a pleasure."
Shizuo growled.
At least, that was what Izaya thought at first.
He was indeed shaking while making a peculiar set of noises, but it was not growling.
It was a puzzling laughter.
Izaya looked at the laughing man somewhat shocked. Laughing was the last thing he expected from the man he thought he had driven to the corner.
"I finally got it." He said, still chuckling.
Shizuo started treading towards Izaya, and without saying any more, he wrapped his arms around his torso.
Izaya stood still for a short moment before embracing the man in front of him in return.
"I thought you never will." Izaya said, pulling him closer.
"Tsk. You didn't have to show it through actions that fit for an obsessed teenage girl, flea."
"They say that the aim sanctifies the means. It doesn't matter how things are accomplished as long as they're achieved."
Ikebukuro's worst adversaries, the ones that were trying to kill each other ever since the day they met, were standing at midnight, holding each other in their arms.
"I missed you."