Delic underestimated how crowded the streets of Ikebukuro were. He was hustling through the city as quick as he could, dragging Tsuki along by a tight grip on his wrist. Yet, he still bumped into a lot of people. Tsuki was panting behind him. Delic gritted his teeth and tried to push through to the best of his ability. He knew that Tsuki was not much of a runner, but they couldn't afford to slow down. They needed to get as far away from that lab as they could.

Tsuki had always been a sweet and sensitive kid. Delic knew he wasn't a fighter. But, he also knew that because of Tsuki's strength he would forced to become a fighter by the people in the lab. He couldn't watch that happen to his brother. Tsuki became distraught when he broke something on accident, he couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if the lab researchers forced Tsuki to cause damage on purpose. Plus, Delic feared what the examiners would do to him once they saw that Tsuki was not much of a fighter.

Delic had to get them out of there. He'd always made sure to look out for his brother.

They needed to find a hotel for at least one night. But first, they had to stop at a store to get a couple of things.

Tsuki felt overwhelmed. He had never been around so many people before. Every time he bumped into someone, he wished he could disappear into his scarf. He closed his eyes and bent his head down, trying to focus on continuing forward with the pull of his older brother's hand. He trusted his brother. He knew Delic would keep them safe.

Suddenly though, he couldn't feel the fingers around his wrist anymore. He tripped forward slightly and looked up.

He couldn't see his brother in front of him in the crowd anymore.

Where was he?

Tsuki looked around frantically, but couldn't see any sign of his brother. He couldn't see any blonde hair from the people surrounding him.

"D-Delic!?"

Apparently, the pull of the crowd had been so strong that they were forced apart and swallowed by the mounds of people.

He continued to look around him, bumping into more people.

Air seemed harder to inhale as panic began to overtake him. His breathing began to speed up faster than it should.

What do I do? Can I even keep running by myself? How do I even go forward without Delic!? He's always the one with the plan. Delic is probably worried. Has he come looking for me? Has he even noticed that we got separated yet? What if something happened to him? What if something happens to me without him here? Has the lab people sent someone after us yet?

Before a full panic attack could overcome him, Tsuki bumped into a sturdy wall-like person, causing Tsuki to fall backwards on his bottom. The hood that had been covering his head fell down from the impact. Tsuki groaned from the harsh landing and winced when he felt the sidewalk crack under his hands.

He shyly looked up to apologize to the other, but gaped at the face he saw.

Shizuo wasn't sure what he was looking at. The kid now on the ground in front of him was like the spitting-image of him when he was a teenager. Even the blonde hair, which isn't common in Japan. The only difference was that the kid's brown eyes had a red tint to them.

What the hell?

Neither one of them seemed to know how to react. They just stared at each other, frozen in shock. It felt as though they stayed like that for a while.

Some of the people bustling around them stopped to see why the infamous "beast" of Ikebukuro was just standing there. Some of them gawked when they noticed the similarities. There were some whisperings and fingers tapping on phones.

That seemed to snap them out of it as the kid blinked and slowly glanced over the people staring at them. He clumsily tried to push himself up with his hands only to immediately fall back again, whimpering from the unnatural landing on his arms.

Shizuo remained in a daze, not quite registering what he was seeing. Yet, he found himself bending over slightly and holding his hand out for the clumsy boy in front of him.

Said boy glanced at his offered hand warily before reaching up to accept the hand. Shizuo pulled him to his feet. He stumbled again even after standing, so Shizuo held his hands against the boy's shoulders to stable him. The boy shyly looked up again and Shizuo removed his hands once the kid was steady.

Shizuo felt a sense of familiarity looking at the kid, even though he was sure that he had never met someone with the same face as him.

The kid opened and closed his mouth a few times as though trying to say something. Before Shizuo could hear what that might be, he heard,

"Tsuki!? TSUKI!"

The boy gasped at the shout, and looked around to see where it came from. When the shouting got closer, he looked over to see the approaching man.

"Tsuki! Thank goodness, you're alright. I knew I should have held on tighter. Are you alright? I'm so glad I found you."

He was wearing a white jacket, with the hoodie practically covering his face while he was facing away from Shizuo. The other man continued to ask the boy questions about his wellness, and fawned over him like a mother would to her child. It couldn't be anything like that though. The guy looked way too young to be the kid's parent. He looked maybe nineteen.

The boy, apparently named Tsuki, wasn't responding to his questions. The man stopped, as though just noticing this.

"Tsuki?"

When Tsuki glanced at Shizuo again, the other man seemed to finally realize that someone else was there. He turned towards him and-

What in the actual-

There stood another guy whose face seemed identical to his own. He could even see the blonde hair under the hood now that the guy was facing him. They were wearing gray sunglasses though, so he wasn't sure if that was where the resemblance ended or not. They of course looked surprised as well.

The other didn't stay frozen like Tsuki had though. He was mouthing something to himself, that looked like it might be the start of the name Heiwajima.

Are these two impersonating me or something? What the heck is going on!?

Shizuo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The other man's eyebrows raised slightly at this. He cleared his throat and grabbed Tsuki's hand without looking away from Shizuo. His body posture stiffened, as though preparing to go on the defense, but he nodded slightly to Shizuo. It seemed like a respectful gesture, although the tightness of the other's face was still clear to Shizuo.

Then, without saying a word, the other man turned around and took off, dragging Tsuki with him.

Shizuo was momentarily bewildered before realizing what just happened. They just took off rudely without saying a word. And, they both looked like him. Yeah, maybe stuff happens, and people just look-alike, but they were acting weird about it. It didn't sit well with him.

Shizuo growled before running after where he saw they went.

"Hey, you two! Get back here!"

The formerly thick crowd immediately made more space when they saw who was running by in a rage.

The older one sped up his pace, practically dragging Tsuki on his feet. The crowd stayed parted, so Shizuo could see them as they grew farther away.

Damn, they're faster than I expected.

The only other person who could outrun him was that damn flea. The thought made him even angrier and he growled louder. He felt tempted to grab something huge and throw it at them. The irritation of being fled from was increasing. But, the younger one kept looking back at him every so often, lip trembling in obvious fear.

Shizuo clenched his jaw tightly along with his fists in restraint.

No, this wasn't the flea. He didn't want to throw heavy objects at them. He just wanted some frickin' answers. Was there anything wrong with that? Yet these two ran away, leaving him with annoying confusion.

He did begin to gain on them, and was almost at talking distance.

He didn't even hear the crowds chattering or the dings of cellphones all around him.

As they moved past the crowd, there were fewer people around them.

"Would you stop running dammit!? I just want to talk!"

For some reason, Shizuo was not thinking about how that sounded ridiculous coming from him. Or the fact that it was likely people would run from him simply because of fear and not do to some conspiracy.

He was getting close enough to almost touch them, to halt them, when they abruptly turned into an alleyway.

He redirected his momentum to follow them into the alley. He was barely covered by the shadows before he felt a knife held up to his neck. Shizuo glared and growled again at the culprit. The older look-alike whose name he had not learned yet. Yet again, he reminded Shizuo of the flea with that knife pointed at him. Izaya was the only other one who usually had the gall to point that at him.

Said man was staring at him viciously, arm protectively up around Tsuki who was behind him. Shizuo was not able to see much of the kid from his angle though.

The older one kept the knife where it was, not moving yet. Shizuo stayed put for a moment, considering what to do with the bastard, knowing this weapon was barely anything against him.

"Look, Heiwajima-san, I know you are confused, but we are not impersonating you so that is all you need to know. I would appreciate it if you were to let my brother and I go. I'm sure you want answers from us, but that is something we don't need to give you. You don't want to know is going on. Just know that we don't want to bother you or anything. That is all that matters. You should appreciate that. After all, there is so much that happens you have no idea about. This won't affect you now if you stay out of it. Just take some friendly advice.

You might be strong, but that is not everything. So, let's stop this chase. Stop causing any more attention, and we go our separate ways. Maybe you'll even forget about this. I hope you'll let us be so everyone can walk away unharmed."

This did not calm him at all. It sounded like a threat.

What the actual-!

They both stayed where they were, waiting to see who would act. He wasn't going to back down just because this little prick had a weapon and a wordy response. Before he could do anything, a familiar horse sound came from nearby. He looked over for a moment, and saw Celty coming over towards him. He turned back to where the others were a moment ago, and nobody was there anymore. He felt his neck where the knife was, but there wasn't even a scratch.

Celty got her phone out and typed a message out for Shizuo.

[ What are you doing in an alleyway all by yourself?"]

Shizuo sighed and ran a hand over his face, not knowing where to start.

"Well, the short version is that I just saw something weird."

She paused for a moment, before typing again.

[Me too, actually.]