I don't own Durarara!

Honestly, this wasn't the first time Mikado had invited me over but I was always surprised to see how shitty his place was. He opened the door to me and I kicked off my shoes by the door, letting out a low whistle at his living conditions.

He gave me a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry, uh, I have to go to the bathroom real quick, but I'll be right back."

Tossing his bag on the floor, he left me alone. I was invited over so that he could help me with a project at school, but really I just wanted to see where he lived. How did he even snag this place? I felt sorry for him, really. The only nice thing in his place was his computer. I set down my bag and pulled the chair out, tapping on the keyboard to awaken the machine. I wondered what Mikado was into and I grinned as I opened up the browser, clicking on the internet history.

I was expecting porn, really. He was a teenage kid and as far as I could tell, had never had a girlfriend in his life. What else was he supposed to do with his hormones besides masturbate it off? It was only sensible, really. I was going to tease him about it and embarrass him, but what I actually found made my blood turn cold. My fingers clenched at the mouse as I scanned through the list. His internet history was almost purely related to the Dollars.

What the hell? I thought I told him to stay away from the Dollars! It was obvious that he had joined them, you probably couldn't access this much of the site without a password. What the hell was he doing?

"Masaomi?"

I whirled around in the chair and faced my childhood friend, furious. I stood up and tossed the chair aside, jabbing my finger at the screen. "What the hell is this, Mikado?"

He froze as he took in the scene in front of him, his internet history exposed and his friend livid with anger. "Masaomi! I can explain!" He looked between the monitor and me, eyes wide with shock.

"What is there to explain? Don't you have something to tell me?" I growled, stepping forward. I wanted to hurt him for being so stupid, really I did. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides and I could feel the anger start to take control of my now trembling body. Mikado also seemed to sense this as he took a step back, looking at me in fear. "What have you done?"

Mikado seemed caught between saying something and another as his mouth worked wordlessly, taking a step back. "I- You-" He blinked incredulously. "What do you know?"

"What does it matter?!" I shoved at him and he yelped as he was pushed against a wall. I placed my hands on either side of his head, not wanting him to be able to escape from this. I wanted answers. "I told you not to get mixed up with them!"

He looked terrified as he was trapped with no way out. "I just wanted to see!"

"Don't LIE to me!" I yelled, hitting the wall with a fist. He looked like he was stuck between two options, but I wasn't going to give him time to think of another lie or excuse. I growled, looking at him with a fierce glare, "Tell me. Now."

I seemed to scare him enough for him to disregard his decision making and he yelped, "I'm sorry! I didn't expect it to turn out like this!" He squirmed, avoiding my eye contact.

"What the hell did you expect, Mikado!? You joined a gang," I sneered condescendingly.

"I didn't-!"

"To hell, you didn't! How do you explain your history? TALK."

"No! It's not like th-"

I reeled my arm back and punched him in the face. He gasped, hands immediately rising to defend, though the damage had already been done. I grabbed his shirt collar and flung him to the floor. "Don't give me an excuse! Don't lie to me!"

He was sprawled onto his back and propped up on one elbow with a hand pressed against his bruising face. By the looks of it, he didn't even think that I had it in me to be this harsh, but I don't really care.

"Okay!" He gasped, looking up at me with hurt eyes. "Just calm down, okay?"

I almost wanted to get mad at him telling me to calm down, but instead I just took a deep breath. Mikado wasn't someone you could for an answer out of; he liked to bounce around the subject, willing to lie to protect himself. If he was going to tell me the truth, I would sit down and listen to him. And so I did. I sat down on his bed and expectantly look down at him.

"I started it. I founded the Dollars."

That was certainly unexpected. It even took me a moment to register. I probably sat there, gaping at him, for a whole minute before I blinked out of my daze and stammered out, "You're the leader of the Dollars?"

He nodded, looking away from me. I suddenly wanted to laugh. Not only was this completely unbelievable, but it was so ironic. Sweet, little, innocent Mikado was a gang leader. Who was I to judge?

He looked up at me with his huge eyes. "Do you believe me?"

This time, I did laugh. Heartily, too. Mikado was the guy I had been looking for this whole time. My best friend was my enemy. I was about to go to Izaya and pay him to tell me who the leader was when the Dollar's leader was under my wing the entire time! It's really a small world. He looked hurt as I laughed and I held up a finger, indicating for him to give me a moment. Finishing up, I wiped my forehead of some sweat building up. His apartment didn't even have air conditioning. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't!" He looked confused, so I decided to break it down for him. Standing, I reached a hand down to him to help him up, reintroducing myself. "I'm Masaomi Kida, leader of the Yellow Scarves. Pleased to meet your acquaintance!"

He didn't accept my hand and I found myself laughing again. He stared up at me with shock, confusion, and slight horror, stuttering out, "M-Masaomi?"

I took back my hand, throwing them both in the air in a very Izaya-way. "It's true! You and me! The two biggest gang leaders in Ikebukuro!" I let out a bark of a laugh. "Next thing we'll know, Anri would be the one behind the slashings! Wouldn't that be ironic?"

Mikado didn't laugh.

"Unless you know who is actually behind the Slasher attacks?" I asked, suddenly gravely serious.

He shook his head. "No. I don't know anything about the Slasher. I would never hurt Anri like that… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it were me who put her in the hospital."

That was a low blow. It made me think of Saki and I turned away from him, though I knew he hadn't said it on purpose, he probably didn't know who Saki even was.

"Did you really send out an order to kill Shizuo Heiwajima?" His voice wavered like he knew that I had sent out the order, but wanted to hear it from me, myself. It sounded like a personal question from him, like Shizuo Heiwajima was actually a friend of his and he was going to defend his honor or something. Did I send the order? No. Would Mikado trust that answer? Probably not. It was a thing that anyone would deny in this situation, but right now, Mikado and I were having a moment of truth and I wouldn't lie to him. I had heard about Heiwajima getting shot, but I didn't know how Mikado knew the guy so well to have such offence taken personally.

Turning back, I looked him right in the eye and spoke with as much confidence as I could, hoping he would believe me. "I didn't."

I expected him to look away or scoff or something, but my best friend let out a sigh of relief, putting trust into me. The poor kid was still so naïve. He shouldn't trust me like that, not after what I had just revealed to him.

I plopped back onto the floor next to Mikado, who was still nursing his face with his hand. I felt kind of bad for hitting him so hard, but he kind of deserved it. The room was silent for a few minutes as we both processed what we both learned about each other.

"The two biggest gang leaders of Ikebukuro…" I repeated incredulously before groaning. "And we still don't have girlfriends! What's up with that?"