AN: Hello again! Life can be way too busy these days, especially since I JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL! But now I'm back! Sorry for the long wait though and for those who are still waiting for my next chapter of "You Are Loved", I'm barely halfway done… I think.

Just enjoy this chapter for now okay? Don't forget to review!


Chapter 2: Dangerous Tours

For some reason, Ryou went from being shown around the school to being shown around the city.

It was already the next day and those three kids just couldn't get off his back for one minute. The only time he could get a break from them was during classes since he was a third year and the three were first years. However, outside the classroom, they continuously appear everywhere he went and even sat next to him at lunch. Ryou's only guess was this was some kind of welcoming treatment to feel more comfortable with the environment.

It had been almost an hour since school was over as Ryou was given a tour around Ikebukuro by his new 'friends' of Raira Academy. During his time with them, he recently learned that Mikado, the person he ran into at school, also moved here some time ago by the encouragement of Kida, his best friend. Ryou wondered how he must have felt when he moved to a place he was unfamiliar with. Considering his behavior, probably scared senseless. Ryou also noticed that out of the three, Kida seems to be the one who knows most about Ikebukuro since he did most of the talking. Either that or he just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

"So Ryou-san, what city are you from?" asked Mikado.

The question snapped Ryou out of his thoughts and tuned his attention to the male brunette.

"Oh uh… Yokohama," Ryou muttered.

"Wow really? I hear it's a really fun place."

"They only say that because of the amusement park which is fun I guess. I only went there a few times for certain family occasions. Other than that, I don't see anything great about my home town."

"Oh…"

"Well, then what do you think about Ikebukuro so far? Find anything interesting?" Kida was next to ask and he began walking backwards facing Ryou.

"No. Nothing really." 'Except for having my stomach overfilled with sushi.'

Then, Ryou remembered what he saw yesterday morning.

"Well… I did run into two strange people yesterday on my way to school. They were chasing each other. One of them was holding a street sign."

That was when Mikado, Kida, and Anri stopped their tracks. This confused Ryou.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Tell me, was one a bartender and the other in a black fur coat?" asked Mikado.

"Uhh…yeah." Ryou was surprised that he caught on so quickly.

"Well aren't you lucky!" Kida said with a huge grin. "You just met the two most dangerous people of Ikebukuro!"

"Most dangerous?" Well, so much for saying safe.

"Yeah. They're names are Shizuo and Izaya and let me tell you, they hate each other's guts." Mikado explained. "Mostly what makes them so dangerous is the destruction and chaos they leave behind in the city whenever they try to kill each other."

"Are you serious?" Never before has he heard anything so abnormal. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn. Mikado noticed his frustration.

"Don't worry about it so much. As long as you don't get involved you'll be fine."

"He's right so don't fret," added Kida as he continued walking with his hands behind his head. "Although, I would be more cautious with Shizuo if I were you. He has a short temper and almost anything sets him off. Avoid him or at least try to stay on his good side."

"I'll… keep that in mind."

Ryou was about to follow him until something grabbed his arm halting his movement. He turned to see Anri looking up at him.

"There's something you must know."

Ryou was confused but responded. "Sure. What is it?"

Her next words had a serious tone.

"Stay away from Izaya."

"Huh?"

"It's true that Shizuo is dangerous, but Izaya is a completely different story. He's a terrible person and must not be trusted. You must promise me you won't go anywhere near him even if he confronts you."

He was still unsure why she was telling him this, but as he gazed into her eyes, he saw many things. He saw pain, worry, sadness, and anger. It led him to wonder if any of those feelings have to do with Izaya? Ryou wanted to ask but thought it would be rude to dig into her personal life. Instead, he'll just do what she says.

"I promise."

Those words seem to have brought a sense of ease to the girl as she released his arm and smiled. It was a small one but enough for Ryou to relax as well.

"Thank you. I'm sorry if I gave you any trouble."

"No, it's alright."

"Hey! What's holding up back there?"

Both Ryou and Anri tensed up once they realized their conversation held up the tour and faced Kida and Mikado, who were already a great distance ahead of them.

"Sorry. Anri was just telling me something," Ryou said rubbing the back of his head.

Kida did a dramatic gasp with a hand to his chest.

"Could it be? A love confession? My my, I thought that guy was dangerous." He turned to Mikado. "Looks like you got a lot of competition ahead of you my man. Better be sure he doesn't steal her away from you."

"K-Kida-san!" Mikado stammered, blushing madly.

"Would you quit jumping to conclusions like that? It was not a confession!" yelled Ryou, finding himself blushing as well.

"Say what you will but I have my eye on you. Now on with the tour!" Kida said as he marched away.

"How do you deal with that guy?" Ryou said as they followed.

"Hehe. Sometime I wonder myself," answered Mikado, smiling sheepishly.

"He likes to joke around a lot," added Anri. "But we like him that way."

"I see..."

After walking for about three minutes, a huge group of civilians were brought to their attention. They were crowding around the windows of the electronics store where activated televisions were displayed.

"What's happening there?" Ryou asked.

"Not sure," Kida replied, analyzing the crowd. Then, two individuals a few feet away caught his eye. Without warning, he ran to them and the others, wondering what he's doing, had no choice but to follow.

"Hey Erika! Walker!" he called to them. The two said persons stopped what they were doing to face the group heading towards them.

"Kida-kun! Long time no see buddy!" one of them, Walker, called back, smiling. He was a male with sandy brown hair wearing a sky blue hoodie and brown pants. The other, Erika, was a female with brown hair under a black cap wearing a black long sleeved dress.

"Sup guys. Any idea what the commotion is all about?" Kida asked.

The two gasped and gave him shocked expressions as if he said the sky was green.

"You mean you don't know?" Erika spoke. "It's like, all over the news!"

Mikado was next to speak, "What happened?"

"Last night a group of thugs were targeted by the mysterious attacker," said Walker.

'Mysterious attacker?' thought Ryou.

"Here, take a look," Erika said as she turned on the news on her cellphone and held it out for everyone to see.

This just in, a group of gang members were found severely injured in an alleyway last night at Ikebukuro city near the Tokyo Bridge. Their injuries were deep cut wounds found in various areas of their bodies. Doctors say that though they are suffering from a mental trauma, the wounds are not critical and the victims will make a full recovery in the hospital.

Ryou's eyes widened when he saw photos of the wounds from the victims. They were indeed cuts that appeared to be made from a sharp knife.

Investigators are still searching for the person responsible for the massacre. However, witnesses believe that this was done by the same person who attacked previous victims for the last couple of days and that their injuries were exactly the same. Victim's description of the attacker was said to be a blue flamed monster with triple-edged blades.

Now why does that suddenly sound familiar to Ryou.

One of our victims of last night's attack was brave enough to capture a photo of the attacker for it to be used as evidence to track him down. The image of the person cannot be clearly seen, but the image surprisingly fits the description said by the victims.

Once the photo was shown to them, Ryou felt his breath hitch at what he saw.

The image of the person was too dark see because it was night, but the dark image quickly resembles to someone he knows. He could even see the triple-edged blades, the blue flames emanating all around him, but most importantly, he could see one of his unnaturally wide hazel blue eyes that stood out, glowing in the night.

There's no doubt. That was Azure Kite in the picture.

'But…how is that even possible?' Azure Kite is an AI that resides in a game. How could he all of a sudden end up here in Ikebukuro? Heck he's not even real, just data!

Without thinking, Ryou dashed off leaving the others behind.

"Hey! Ryou-san, where are you going?" yelled Mikado.

"Sorry, something important came up!" Ryou shouted as he was slowly out of their view. "I'll see you guys later!"

As he was out of their sight, the rest of the group remained silent in confusion of Ryou's sudden departure.

"Who was that guy?" Walker finally asked Kida.

Kida shrugged. "New guy here. He just moved."

Walker and Erika stared at the direction Ryou disappeared in, then at each other. Wide grins were suddenly plastered onto their faces.

"Interesting guy," said Erika. "I wonder how long he'll last here."

"Only time will tell Erika. Only time will tell," said Walker.

Ryou literally ran all the way back to his apartment building and was practically jumping in the elevator due to lack of patience. When reaching his floor he jammed his keys into the knob and stormed inside.

"There's only one way to confirm this," he thought to himself as he went straight to his computer located in his room.

His heart was racing to the extreme as he sat and turned the machine on and activated the gaming site called The World. His M2D glasses lay right next to the keyboard. Ryou picked them up, put them on, and began logging in. He then began typing his player name.

H-A-S-E-O

As he was taken to his main page, an email icon that said 'URGENT' appeared on the screen. This caught Ryou by surprise but decided to click on it. The message came from Yata, leader of what once was the G.U. Project.

This is an urgent message to all Epitaph Users. Come to the Serpent of Lore immediately. I will explain everything once you arrive.

What could've happened that would make Yata send this message? Oh well, he'll find out soon enough. Whatever is going on might even have something to do with the AI suddenly appearing and attacking people in Ikebukuro.

Ryou came to that thought as he was mentally transported into the game.

Into The World.


AN: Finally, into The World we go! What awaits us with Master Yata? Why is Azure Kite in Ikebukuro too? Why do I not have a life?

All those (except for the last one) will be answered soon! I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review!

I love your reviews. I really do.