Chapter 1: Ikebukoro
"Akiba, Kyoko" the petite brunette stood from her seat and bowed to her new teacher. "Hello, my name is Akiba, Kyoko. I hope to get along with everyone and make some friends." She sat down, a few murmers echoed in the otherwise quiet classroom.
The teacher continued calling off students and allowed them to introduce themselves.
This was Kyoko's first year in high school. She glanced around the room and smiled at a few of her friends whom she went to middle school with and already knew pretty well. Her best friend, Yumi was called on and she introduced herself.
"Hatsu, Yumi here!" She said proudly after bowing. "Don't flirt with me too much, boys. I already have a boyfriend!~" she giggled to herself, with her fingertips covering her mouth. She sat down with a curt nod to Kyoko, who rolled her eyes teasingly.
The teacher shook his head, and some girls snickered.
After her best friend, a boy who stuck out like a sore thumb stood up when his name was called.
"Heiwajima, Shizuo"
He stood up and didn't say anything, he bowed and then sat back down. A few more murmers were heard, but the unnatural blonde didn't raise his head, instead choosing to look down at his notebook.
Kyoko didn't pay too much attention to it. After the rest of the class was introduced, the teacher then asked if anyone would like to volunteer to be the class reps. The brunette thought about it for a moment, wondering if she'd have the time to stay after school sometimes.
Then, she raised her hand.
"I would like to be the class rep." She stood from her seat again and walked to the front of the classroom, then asking, "Who else would like to be a class representative with me?"
Some boys looked between each other, before one of them raised their hand. "I'll accompany you." Kyoko looked to the owner of the voice, to see a boy with glasses and brown hair. "Kishitani, Shinra" she said, after looking at the roster. The teacher noted the two students in his ledger and asked them to take their seats.
Then, he started the lesson for the day.
By the time lunch rolled around, both Kyoko and Yumi seemed to slump back in their seats. Some students dispersed, leaving the classroom about half full. The two girls put some desks together and pulled out their homemade lunches. Yumi stretched her arms, "Whew, the first day is always the longest and hardest." They both giggled to themselves and started eating.
Kyoko happened to glance out the window after a while, and noticed a fight seemed to be taking place. She noticed the blonde from her class right away. She poked Yumi, signaling for her to look as she had food in her mouth.
Yumi looked out the window, her food almost falling out of her mouth. "Ish thah the kid from our class!?" She said, swallowing her food.
"It looks like it, he has the same bleached blonde hair." Kyoko resumed eating, occasionally looking outside. Then, she saw him lift a whole bleacher, ripping it from the ground to slam it into a few thug-looking students. Her mouth gaped open for a moment, before she shook her head and closed up her lunch "there's no way he's that strong.. There's gotta be some kind of trick."
Yumi finished her food, "Yeah right. I've heard from a kid that grew up with him that he's actually crazy strong."
Kyoko put her lunch away and cleaned up her mess. Yumi followed suit and a few moments later, their class started to file back into the room and took their seats. Yumi pulled the desk back to its original place and went back to her seat.
When Heiwajima walked back in, she took note of his scratches and fresh bruises. He seemed to be clutching just his arm though. She turned back to her notes before he could notice her staring.
The day droned on, the lessons were over, the students went home and the new class reps stayed behind for a brief meeting.
After the meeting, Kyoko walked out of the school building after switching her shoes. The brunette was surprised to see the same blonde outside the school, angrily glaring at a raven haired boy in a black middle school uniform.
Kyoko started; "Kishitani-" he ran ahead before she could be heard, and grabbed Izaya's shoulder. "Shizuo, this is my friend, Orihara, Izaya."
Moments later, the blonde and raven haired boy were fighting with each other. Shizuo had uprooted another bleacher set, and Kyoko couldn't find any explanation.
He visibly paled for a moment, a soft crunch being heard.
She ran over and yelled at Shinra. "We shouldn't be letting them fight! We're class reps!"
The blonde swung the metal seats toward the middle schooler, who somehow dodged with ease. Almost like he was weightless.
"Hey! Heiwajima-san! You shouldn't be-"
The blonde only turned to see who was trying to tell him what to do, just about to hit the petite student where she stood, wide eyed.
Luckily, the black haired middle schooler jumped in front of her and quickly swooped her up and moved her from the danger.
"Shizu-chan. You can't even control yourself enough from hitting this pretty little class rep. You really are a monster."
The blonde didn't seem to like this and went to throw the bleachers at him, until he realized Izaya was still holding Kyoko.
"Hmph! Hiding behind someone else,"
Izaya let her go, holding up his hands in defense "I'm doing no such thing."
"But, I do bid you farewell." And with that, he dashed away, much to Shizuo's dismay.
Kyoko stood there, shell shocked for a moment before Shizuo's voice broke her temporary paralysis. "Sorry.." She looked up at him, his voice deep and gruff. "Nn-No worries... Are you alright?" She asked, looking at his wounds.
He didn't even seem to notice until he looked down. "I can patch you up, if you wouldn't mind" she said.
The blonde shook his head, "this is nothing. I'll be fine. Thanks."
Kyoko only nodded, not wanting to touch a nerve if she pressed the issue any further.
"Alright, well, I'll be heading home now.." She said, bowing swiftly to say goodbye.
As the brunette walked around the city, she couldn't help but enjoy the lights, smells, and sounds. She wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around her, so she didn't really notice a rider clad in black, whizz past her on the street.
Her walk home was rather peaceful, and she eventually reached the house with her family name on the mailbox.
When she unlocked the front door and stepped inside, she took her shoes off and put her slippers on. "I'm home!~" she called out.
Her mother walked out of the living room and smiled at her, "I didn't know you would be staying so late. We ended up having dinner without you, sweetie."
"Sorry, I volunteered to be a class rep, so we had to stay back for a short meeting. Ill try to let you know when we have them" Kyoko smiled "Besides, I'm not hungry. I'll just head upstairs and start my homework."
Her mother smiled and nodded, quietly returning to her husband to watch their favorite show. Kyoko didn't know much about it, only that it was some kind of game show.
She ascended the stairs and waved to her older brother in his room, her steps catching his attention. He nodded to her, and returned his gaze to his homework. He was in college, and attending some prestigious university so he could study abroad someday. He wants to be a pediatrician.
As she entered her rather plain room, she put her bag on its hook and took out her homework. Rather than start on it right away, she pulled out her cellphone and chatted with some friends through email. Everyone started school, same as her and we're pretty busy, so not long after, she said goodnight and began on her homework.
Meanwhile, in Ikebukuro, Shinra and Shizuo were also walking home.
"That girl from our class, Akiba-chan seems really nice." Shinra said, looking for any change in emotion in his blonde companion.
"She's alright... She didn't seem all that afraid of me though.." He grumbled to himself. "She actually seemed kinda happy..." he thought.
Shinra smiled "I'm glad you caught that too."
A few weeks had gone by, and school was starting to become easier. It was almost the same routine everyday.
Occasionally, Kyoko would witness Shizuo Heiwajima get into another fight, and if she was present, she'd almost always offer to tend to his injuries. Sometimes he'd come back to school with a cast or a sling. This intrigued Kyoko very much.
Usually he would say no when she offered to apply her knowledge of first aid, and go about his business. However, Izaya slashed him across the chest after school; leaving a pretty bad gash. Today, he allowed her to patch him up. Shinra, was too busy gushing over a rider clad in black.
She ushered him to follow her to the nurses office. The nurse already long gone, as was everyone else. "Take a seat while I find the things I need," she ordered softly.
Shizuo didn't argue and sat down on one of the beds in the office. Kyoko dug around for a moment until she found everything she needed. She returned to the blonde and asked him to remove whatever was left of his shirt. To which, he complied silently and looked anywhere but at her.
Kyoko took notice of this, but paid no mind to it. She cleaned his wound, also noting he barely flinched at anything. After she cleaned his wound, she dressed it with some large gauze pads, and then went to wrap it.
She stepped back, and cutely raised her arms above her head. Shizuo cocked an eyebrow at this, then put two and two together. He raised his arms and Kyoko wrapped the dressing around him, having to basically hug him as she did so.
She couldn't help but blush, his skin was surprisingly soft. When she pulled away, she handed him back his shirt and bowed to him. "Thank you for allowing me to care for you, Heiwajima-kun~"
Shizuo was taken aback by the familiar tone, but didn't mind it. "Just call me Shizuo," he attempted to smile at her. "What's your name?" He asked.
She seemed a little surprised, "I'm your class rep and you don't know my name?" She feigned mock hurt before extending her hand to him, "Kyoko, just call me Kyoko,"
He took her hand, gently shaking it before letting go. "Thanks for patching me up, Kyoko-chan."
She smiled, feeling a little blush creep up her cheeks. "Its not a problem, Shizuo." Kyoko put the supplies away and her and the blonde left the room. They walked the empty halls in silence, then changed their shoes and left the building. "It's pretty late, do you want me to walk you home?"
Kyoko thought for a moment, "Sure," She started in the direction she would normally take home, with the blonde in tow. The walk was fairly silent, except for the sounds of the beautiful city around them. Shizuo broke the silence every now and again with a question or two, mostly asking about her knowledge of the city.
Kyoko would respond, and that was their journey. It was pretty awkward to say the least, but the two enjoyed each others company. When the brunette stopped near her gate, she looked up at her classmate. "Well, this is my house. Thank you for walking me home, Shizuo," she bowed to him and offered a kind smile.
He returned with a half smile and shrugged "It was fun, I'll see ya around,"
"See ya, I hope you get home safe too." Kyoko said, before watching the blonde start to walk away.
When she got inside, her mother gushingly teased, "Who was that, Kyoko?~" Her father shook his head, knowing his daughter knew better before she even opened her mouth. "He's a classmate of mine that offered to walk me home since I stayed so late for a meeting."
Meanwhile, Shizuo couldn't help but appreciate the fact that this girl cared enough to say she hoped he got home safe. He shook his head free of the thoughts, his conscious getting the better of him. "There's no way. She was probably just being nice because she's afraid of you."
As weeks turned into months, before anyone knew it, 2 and a half years had gone by. All in their third and final year at Raira, Kyoko and Yumi were still best friends. She had even gotten to know Shizuo a little. She occasionally patched him up, and he sometimes walked her home.
Things were normal, to say the least. Kyoko had been doing great in all of her classes, and remained a class rep just about every year.
Her relationship with Shizuo was neutral, they never really ventured off into anything more than walks home and first-aid.
Shinra and Izaya also knew Kyoko very well, and she didnt really like Izaya. After some mild curiosity, she got to meet Celty, who Shinra talked highly of all the time. Kyoko was astonished by her beauty, and often praised her.
She knew that these people were all much different than what her parents would assume to be good friends for her.
A sometimes pervy Kishitani, a Dulahan with amazing power, a boy with unparalleled strength, a devious raven haired boy who stuck his nose where it didn't belong.
The young brunette smiled to herself upon this realization. She couldnt be happier with these new friends of hers.
"Hello. Earth to Kyoko!" Yumi waved her hand in front of her face, "Huh? Sorry."
The brunette apologized. Yumi laughed and nudged her arm. "It's time to go home, silly,"
Kyoko walked out of the building, following Yumi. "Uh, I have to stop at the store and pick some things up for my computer. So, you go on without me. I'll see you on Monday," Yumi nodded and waved goodbye to her childhood friend. "Okay. Catch ya later."
Kyoko had found the store she was looking for and walked out after paying. It was dark out; she knew she should hurry home.
It was then, that three men decided she was going to be their next victim. The city was bustling, but not a single person knew they had snatched her into the darkness and cornered her in an alleyway... Kyoko couldn't help but laugh at them, unafraid of these lowlife jerks. They looked at her funny.
"Why ain't she scared? This chick is freaky."
Another one of them chimed in, "Oh well, this'll be fun."
They reached for her long brunette hair, but she side stepped him and kneed him in the groin, quickly dodging the punch aimed at her face from the other guy. She took a few steps back, watching as the two collected themselves. She waited to see if the third would strike her. They all charged her at once, and she dodged them all. When they fell to the floor, she ran out of the alley, and headed home.
When she finally got home, her worried mother asked if she was alright. She smiled to her and told her she had a meeting and stopped at the store on her way home. After looking over her daughter, she hugged her and allowed her to go to her room.
Once upstairs, the brunette set up her new equipment and logged on to her computer. She smiled as she read her new emails, quickly attaching some files and her response before sending them out. Kyoko had a part of her life that nobody knew about. She leaned back in her chair a little and looked at the screen with glee as she wondered how her meddling would play out.
She knew a lot about the underground world of Ikebukuro, all because of her computer. She came across a hacker by the alias of Nakura, who she had an idea as to who it could be, and she joined some chat rooms, where she talked with people from all over the world.
Kyoko was content with her life. She liked having this underbelly at her fingertips.
Kyoko chatted with some people who claimed to live in Japan. One of them, privately messaged her, their name was Reo online.
Kyoko chatted for a bit before logging off. She decided to do her homework tomorrow and went to bed.
