Caught Between Enemies
Chapter 1
Rating: M (for language)
Hi, guys! I'm Akona, and this is my very first fanfic for Durarara! So, it's gonna be a little shaky. Locations won't be exact as they are in the anime, as I'm going off rough guesses and where I perceive them to be. Hope you enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own DRRR!, any of its characters, or plot. I only own the OC's (and there's an abundance of them!)
"Yeah, Dad, I just got into Ikebukuro."
"Are you okay? How was the trip? Need me to send some money?"
"I'm fine, Dad. Besides, I plan on staying here for a while so I'll just get money from the ATM if I need to. Or I can get a part-time job if this takes longer than I expect."
"I don't expect you'll be there for that long, but how long do you think it'll take?"
"It could take months."
"You'll find him, sweetheart."
It was almost like her father could read her thoughts. Karuta swallowed the lump that formed in her throat as her father said those words. Two months ago her twin brother had left their home in Kodaira for Ikebukuro in the Toshima ward, promising to call every day he was gone until he returned. She heard from him once, the next day when he arrived in Ikebukuro, and that was it. Every time she tried calling him, she received his voicemail automatically. His phone was either off, or had died.
"Karuta?"
"Yes?"
"Everything will be okay. You will find him. You've always been too smart for your own good. Wherever your brother is, I have no doubts you'll sniff him out. He was never able to hide very long from you when you played hide and seek with your brothers."
Karuta smiled fondly. She was the youngest of five. In addition to her twin, she had three older brothers. She had been lucky that she had been an equal playmate to her brothers instead of a punching bag, though she did get her fair share of cuts and bruises from playing war games in the backyard. If it weren't for growing up with those four brothers, she wouldn't have been the tough person she was today.
"I think finding a missing person is a little different than playing hide and seek, but I get what you mean. I better go. I'll call you every day. Promise," she told her father.
"I know you will. Now be safe, and be careful of those color gangs Taiyo was telling me about. I don't want you getting involved with them," Kira said firmly.
"Don't worry, I won't."
There was a long pause, then, "I won't waste any more of your time. I love you, Karuta."
"Love you too, Dad," she whispered, flipping her phone shut afterwards. She appreciated that her dad worried about her, but at the same time she just wanted him to relax. She was nineteen and perfectly capable of handling herself.
The subway station buzzed with lively activity, people swarming around Karuta on all sides. She watched people brush past her, phones pressed to their ears and briefcases in hand. Many of them looked like they were in a rush, while others stuck to the shadows, seemingly content with slinking around. To her, those people looked like they were trying to hide from someone, but she chose to ignore it at the time.
After a few minutes of milling around, searching for an exit, she finally found a staircase leading aboveground. Tucking her messenger bag – which contained the very few things she had brought with her – close to her side, she began shoving through the thickening crowd, aiming for the stairs. She had left home early that morning to get to Ikebukuro with plenty of time to start her search.
Reaching the stairs, Karuta rushed up them two at a time, heading for the glow of sunlight at the top. She had to get to work right away if she wanted to find her missing brother.
Ikebukuro was a thriving entertainment and commercial district of Tokyo, burning brightly with multi-colored lights and flecked with banners advertising all kinds of companies, television shows, and restaurants. The streets were lined with car after car, the sidewalks alive with massive crowds of harshly speaking businesspeople and shrieking children. Though Karuta was from the city herself – a different part of the same city Ikebukuro was located in – she still felt a little overwhelmed by all the noise and lights.
Keeping in mind that she would probably wind up lost with her luck, Karuta set off down the road to the left of the subway station, hands shoved into her jacket pockets. Her phone was clutched tightly in her left hand, ready to whip it out the second it buzzed. One of her older brothers was supposed to let her know if he could get one of his friends who lived in Ikebukuro to let her live with him for a while. She knew better than to depend on her brother's word and was ready to start searching for a place to stay if she didn't hear from him soon.
It wasn't long before she found herself walking along a quieter backstreet. There were only a few other people, but she could see more coming from farther down the sidewalk, and to her left was a park with a glistening fountain. Karuta swerved to head into the park, noting that it would definitely be safer for her if she stayed put for the time being and waited to hear anything from her brother. Taiyo may not have been the most reliable at times, but he would always come through for his baby sister. Well, he usually did, anyways.
Maybe five minutes had passed after she parked herself on one of the benches that her phone buzzed in her pocketed hand. Whipping it out, she very swiftly confirmed it was Taiyo before answering it.
"So what's the news?" she asked.
"Well, hello to you too, baby sister," Taiyo lilted with heavy sarcasm. "Don't I get a proper hello? I so deserve one since I'm going to be your favorite brother."
"Cut the lame ass banter, Tai. I don't have a lot of time, I want to get started as soon as possible," Karuta snapped. She tapped her foot impatiently on the stone cemented to the ground, listening to the sounds of rustling paper on the opposite end of the line.
"You're so impatient. But that does run in the family, so I don't know why I'm surprised…Anyway, like I said you're going to love me a whole lot more than you already do. I did get you set up with one of my buddies. He said you could crash at his place as long as you needed to since he's not really home much anyways. He lives pretty close to Raira Academy which shouldn't be too hard for you to find. Or I could call him and have him meet you wherever you've wandered off to."
"What makes you think I've wandered?"
"You haven't sat still for more than five minutes since you were born. You sure as hell couldn't stay in one spot in a part of the city you've never been to for even a minute. But that's beside the point. You gonna take my buddy up on his offer or not?"
"Yeah, I will. Who is he?" Karuta said, feeling her excitement getting the better of her. Her luck seemed to be on her side and she couldn't have been more ecstatic about something going right for once.
"His name's Kyohei Kadota. I met him a couple years ago when I took the band through a tour of the city. We went through Ikebukuro and he snuck a couple kids backstage to get autographs from our drummer." Karuta heard the half-disgusted tone in her brother's voice and sighed in preparation for the rant she was about to endure. "It's always gotta be the fucking drummer, doesn't it? Why can't it be the bassist for once? I bust my ass on that stage trying to play the fucked up music our lead singer comes up with! Why can't I-"
"As much as I'd like to hear you rant," Karuta interrupted, "I'd like to get the details sorted out about my living arrangements. My life is slightly more important than that stupid band of yours, right?"
"Yeah, uh-huh, go ahead and tell yourself that, sis."
"You're a dick."
"I know I am."
"Aren't you just a smart ass."
"Haha. You make me laugh till my tummy hurts, baby sister."
"You're annoying me. Can we just get on with this? I'm in a hurry."
"Fine, fine. I'll make it easy on you. Kyohei usually hangs out around the bookstore on South Main. You should be able to find him there with another guy, Saburo Togusa, and a couple kids named Erika and Walker. The kids are obsessed with manga so they shouldn't be too hard to miss, and Saburo flips his shit on anyone who gets within five feet of his car. Kyohei will be the one wearing the bandanna and just kinda sitting there looking bored or pissed. I'll call him and let him know you're on your way to meet him. When you find him, make sure you introduce yourself and make it clear that you're my sister. He'll know what to do from there."
"This conversation makes it sound like you're trying to help me find a drug dealer."
"How'd you know?"
"I'm not gonna ask."
"Or, maybe, there's a plot twist and I'm actually hiring a kidnapper to whisk you away for good so I'll be able to get your inheritance! Muahaha!"
"You suck at the evil laugh, and besides you wouldn't do that in the first place. First, Dad would kill you. Second, Shin and Natsu would kill you. And third, I would kill you when I escaped. So quit with the annoying shit and just call your friend."
As her brother went to say something else, Karuta pulled her phone away from her ear and ended the call. She swiftly stood from the bench, stuffed her phone into her pocket, and left in search of South Main Street.
After asking a very helpful elderly couple out for a mid-morning stroll in the park, Karuta was told that South Main Street was just a couple blocks away. Bidding them thanks and a pleasant goodbye, she set off for the street, clutching her messenger bag to her by the strap as an uneasy feeling tingled down her spine. She brushed it off as nothing, but still kept wary eyes darting back and forth on all sides. One could never be too careful, especially in a place where gangs were prominent and human trafficking was rumored to take place.
A short ten minute walk later, Karuta found herself walking down South Main, scanning each and every building on both sides of the wide, busy street for a bookstore with a van parked in front of it and two enthusiastic teenagers reading manga. It didn't take her long, especially once she heard the screams of a man demanding that people stop kicking up rocks at his van. She saw the two kids Taiyo told her about then, both avidly reading manga on the curb without a care in the world. Leaning against the van was Kyohei, distinguishable by the bandanna tied around his head.
Approaching the ragtag group of four, Karuta noticed Kyohei was watching her with a knowing look in his eyes. "Are you Kyohei Kadota?" she called.
"Depends who's asking, sweetheart," he replied, though Karuta knew it was more out of show than anything. He knew exactly who she was.
"I'm Taiyo's sister, Karuta. He told you I would be coming," she informed, playing along. Her brother had told her to make it clear she was his sister, after all; maybe this was what he meant by that.
"I could have guessed. You look like him," Kyohei said. "So, yeah, I am Kyohei. Taiyo told me you needed a place to stay while you're in Ikebukuro. Mentioned something about doing a little research."
A little relived Taiyo hadn't told him the details of why she was actually there, Karuta smiled and responded with, "Yup, that's it. I hope you don't mind, my brother offered to help find me a place to stay and I really didn't want to go apartment hunting when I don't plan on living here permanently."
"I understand." Kyohei tapped his knuckles on the passenger window of the van. It rolled down, and the man who had been screaming – Saburo – poked his head out.
"What?" he demanded.
"We need to stop by my place. The pretty lady will be staying there for the time being," Kyohei said.
Saburo's face split into a perverse grin. "Whoa, Dotachin, I didn't think you went for that kind of stuff."
Kyohei's face lit up bright red, and he quickly snapped, "She's Taiyo's sister! And it's not like I'm ever home anyways! I'm always running around with you and those two dunderheads!"
"Oh, Taiyo's sister, eh? So she's the one he was talking about the other day online. Didn't think she was ever going to get here," Saburo commented.
"What other sister could he have possibly been talking about?" Karuta deadpanned, assuming these two knew she was Taiyo's only sister. Knowing Taiyo, he would have told them all about his family, like he always did when he made a new friend.
"I don't know, some guys call their close female friends sisters," Saburo said.
"Since when have any guys done that?"
"Hey, it could be a thing!"
Sensing an argument was about to spark between the males, Karuta quickly calmed it. "I really don't have the time to stand around waiting for you guys to settle a troublesome and pointless squabble. I really need to get started on my research, now rather than later."
"Of course. We'll take you to my place right now," Kyohei said. He glanced around her at the two teens, still engrossed in their manga. "Erika, Walker! We're heading out! Let's go!" he shouted.
"Coming!" the girl, Erika, called back. Quickly, she and Walker gathered up all the manga they had piled around them and raced over to the van, giving Karuta no more than a sparing glance before diving into the back through the rear doors.
"There's room back there with them. Sorry we're kinda shoving you back there," Kyohei said as he climbed into the passenger seat.
"It's fine, I grew up with four brothers. I've dealt with worse than riding in the back of van," Karuta reassured him. He offered her a smile before she disappeared around the back of the van to clamber inside.
"So you're Karuta, huh?" the boy, Walker, asked as soon as she had settled down.
"That's me," she told him.
"Are you, like, Dotachin's girlfriend or something?" Erika asked, leaning a little too close to Karuta. She leaned away instinctively, listening as Kyohei spluttered in the front seat and shouted about having just met her.
"Er, no, I'm not. I'm just the sister of one of his friends," Karuta said. "I'm assuming you're the two kids he snuck backstage for a concert a couple years ago?"
"That's us!" Walker confirmed.
"Well, my brother was the bassist in that band. He seems pretty disappointed you guys didn't want his autograph," Karuta told them.
"That was him?" Erika asked. Karuta nodded, and the girl added, "He sucked. He couldn't play a chord to save his life. The drummer was the only one who knew what he was doing, plus he was super cute."
"I've never really paid much attention to my brother's band so I wouldn't know." Karuta had to admit, it didn't surprise her that Taiyo was a terrible bassist. He had never taken any serious lessons when he first took interest in playing the instrument, so of course he wouldn't be any good. It only gave her more reason to consider him an idiot.
The rest of the ride was spent listening to Erika and Walker chatter animatedly about their manga.
I cranked out over 2000 words for this baby! Woohoo! Usually I don't spend this much time on a first chapter, but I got sucked into the DRRR! fandom so deeply that I just had to keep writing! I love the anime so much, it's great and I love Izaya and Shizuo a lot!
Excuse me while I fangirl.
Chapter 2 is coming soon (hopefully)! Review, favorite, follow!