Exit 1
The ship soared through the starry night sky as it began to touch down in the outskirts of the city with the group heading in by foot.
"So this is Ikebukuro. A pretty busy city here." Yosuke said.
"Heck. This city use to be pretty lawless when all the color gangs were around." Jexi said.
"Color gangs?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah. People would wear a certain color to signify which gang they belonged to. But there was this fight between two big ones: the Yellow Scarves and the Blue Squares. After that, the color gang thing died out pretty quickly." Jexi said.
"So, are we gonna handle this place like Kadic?" Kanji asked.
"Yeah. There's a school here perfect for our younger members. And this place does have some work opportunities." Jexi said before bumping into a large black man in a sushi chef outfit.
"Ah! Mr. Jexi! I not know you come back!" He said.
"Simon! Nice to see you still kicking." Jexi grinned.
"You look thin. Eat sushi! It good for soul." Simon said.
"No thanks. But I'll think about it later." Jexi said as they walked past him.
"Who is that guy?" Natsu asked.
"His name's Simon. He's from Russia. He works for this sushi restaurant called Russia Sushi. His names suppose to be pronounced like Simione but everyone just calls him Simon. Don't piss him off." Jexi said. "So, Teams Lyoko and CHS will attend the school mainly, as well as team Crystal prep."
"And the rest of us?" Luffy asked.
"You can do as you wish around this city. But there are some things you should be careful off." Jexi said before they saw a vending machine flying through the air as well as some shouts of anger. "Like that. Word of advice, steer clear of Shizuo Heiwajima." Jexi said.
"You mean the guy dressed like a bartender?" Robin asked.
"Yeah. Me and my brothers tried to pick a fight with him. Got our asses handed to us in three seconds flat. No joke." Jexi said.
"Ouch. That had to have hurt." Rainbow said.
"Yeah. No kidding. Just don't go messing with him. Guys got a short fuse as it is." Jexi said.
"Okay, now to the school. Tails, could you…" Sunset asked.
"Done. I managed to get you guys fake transfers to Raira Academy here in East Ikebukuro." Tails said.
"Franky and Vector get gym jobs and Robin gets a teaching job, just like at Kadic." Tails said. "Law, youre also in as the doctor."
"Naoto, youre at the police station. Yosuke, I think I saw a Junes, and I am not kidding about that, and I got Mirajane a job working as a waitress at that Russia Sushi place."
"Holy… he did all that in seconds?" Emily said.
"Indeed he did." Simon said appearing behind Mirajane. "You do good waitressing. Pretty girl mean good sushi for customers. Everyone happy." Simon said taking Mirajane.
"Well, guess Teddie and I are working at Junes like old times. Even though I dont know how a chain popped up here." Yosuke said.
"Oh, that reminds me. There's another person you should probably avoid. His name is Izaya Orihara. Stay far away from him." Jexi said.
"Why, does he hate the food at my chain or something?" Yosuke said.
"This isn't a joke. You should steer clear of him all together." Jexi said seriously.
"Got it." Yosuke said.
"Now, you guys can go and enjoy yourselves in this city. Besides the stuff I told you, it can be a pretty fun place." Jexi said.
"Sweet! A new movie's out today. I heard it was the sequel to The Avengers." Chie said.
"Age of Ultron? Didnt that come out like a year ago?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah. But its brand new on this world. We can go see it." Chie said excitedly.
As the group was splitting off, Applejack noticed a girl following some guy into a dark alley. "Now that just spells trouble." She said following the girl, in time to see her get knocked out and thrown into the back of a van.
"Nice man. Teen girls like these get us a 20% bonus." The driver said.
"Yeah. More money for our paychecks." The guy who knocked her out said.
"Sometimes it pays to be a human trafficker." A guy in glasses said.
"Hey, stop!" Applejack said running to them.
"Looks like we just got our next big score." The guy in back said.
"Looks like it." He said tripping Applejack as the guy in back put a wet rag over her mouth. "Nighty night." He grinned as Applejack passed out. When she awoke, she found herself and the girl tied up in the truck as the guys smoked.
"Looks like they're finally awake. Eh, no big deal." The guy in glasses said.
"Now all we gotta do is wait till the dealers get here and we can hand them over." The driver said.
As Applejack was about to call her club, she and the others heard a horses bray before seeing a shadowy figure on a bike nearby.
"Is this our guy?" The driver asked.
"I don't think so. I think they're just screwing with us." The guy in glasses said as the guy who knocked the girls out approached the black bike.
"You think you can mess with us?" He asked before being slammed into the pillar by the front wheel of the bike and knocking him out.
"Oh crap! Get the car ready!" The guy in glasses said as they hurried back to the van.
As the guy in glasses tried to close the trunk, the shadowy figure approached him. "Don't get too close!" He shouted before tazing the figure. "Told you not to get too close." He grinned as he slammed the trunk, but not before the figure got up and grabbed him, slamming him into a wall as the driver sped off with Applejack and the girl. "What was that thing? I did not sign on for this!" The driver said in fear.
"Whatever it was, it had no head. We just found our headless rider." Applejack said.
"You're talking shit! It has a helmet on so it must have a head!" The driver said as he swerved, tripping up the bike. He stopped the truck as he laughed and got out. "Ha! See that! There's no way you could still be alive!" He shouted before seeing the figure actually having no head and pulling a shadowy scythe from its body. "What the hell are you?" He shouted before it cut through him, stunning him but not killing him. The figure then approached the trunk and opened it up. It then typed something in. 'Are you okay?'
"Uh, yeah, we are. You must be the urban legend of this place." Applejack said.
It then typed in something again. 'Not much of legend. Just a transporter. I've been hired to get the girl to her destination.'
Applejack then had a thought. "Have you seen any green on black cell things?"
It then typed 'You ask a lot of weird questions.'
"Just wonderin'. How can ya know what youre lookin' for if someone has been around this city a lot?"
'Fair point. Come on. I'll give you both a ride.' It typed as it untied them.
They drove to an abandoned building as the figure typed something in for the girl. 'Someone is waiting for you on the roof.'
"Really?" She asked.
'My job here is done.' It typed before riding off.
Applejack followed the girl up to the roof where they saw a man in a fur coat with black hair standing on the roof. "Ah. You finally made it. I was worried you might not come after your tragic kidnapping." He said.
"Thanks. But, how did you know I was kidnapped?" She asked.
"Simple. I'm the one who arranged it." The man said.
"So youre that online friend I talked to?" She asked.
"Yes indeed, Rio. I am. Tell me, you feel mad that you found out I kidnapped you but relieved that I arranged a rescue. Emotions and humans are simply wonderful things. I didn't have to save you, but I guess the reason is….I love humans. And I don't just mean you two. I mean all humans." The man said.
Applejack then remembered something else Jexi said. "This Izaya guy, he loves pulling these kinda twisted and evil stunts. And his reply to all of them is that...he loves humans." Jexi said.
"Youre….Izaya Orihara." Applejack said.
"Wow. I see my reputation succeeds me. Yes. I am the info broker Izaya Orihara. And you are Applejack, a member of the Dimensional Heroes and a student at Canterlot High." Izaya said casually.
"Then ya know why were here, right?" Applejack asked.
"To gather Zygardes cells. I already know about them. I was in possession of them before scattering them all across this fair city of ours!" Izaya said laughing. "This shall be a game, Applejack. Who gets them first? Good or evil? It should be very entertaining for someone like me." Izaya grinned.
"And the game starts when you hand out the first clue. How many were there here?"
"Clues? Ah, but that's no fun. I know how smart you and your friends are. So, I won't tell you a single thing." Izaya said.
"Clever guy." Applejack said.
"I will tell you this: throughout life, no one is completely honest. Especially poor Rio here. Know why she came here? For a suicide pact. She found out her father had been seeing another woman and even after telling the mother anonymously, everything is still the same for her. Everyone has secrets, but whether we tell them is only up to us, a majority of the time being not." Izaya said walking on a guardrail.
"Honesty is my element. I can be as honest as I-"
"And while you speak, that is happening." Izaya said pointing to Rio as she walked to the edge.
"Oh no!" Applejack said running to Rio as Izaya ran off.
"This should be very interesting. I can't wait to see how easily I can manipulate the humans of other worlds." Izaya said.
Rio then jumped off the edge and began to fall. But before she hit the ground, the shadows around the alley formed a spider web that caught her. Making the web was the shadowy figure from earlier.
"Whew. She really saved her bacon." Applejack said sliding down.
"But, why did you save me?" Rio asked.
'Because the world isn't as terrible as it seems' it typed before riding off. Rio then walked off and went home as Applejack went on her own way.
"Izaya Orihara. I can see why Jexi wanted us to stay away from him. This guy's pretty bad. He even split the cells so we couldn't get them all in one go. He's clever. But I'm sure we can get them all back." Applejack said as she walked on the streets of Ikebukuro before hearing the bike bray. "Ride on, headless rider. Ride on."