Disclaimer: I don't own Duarara!
There is more Latin here as well, but thanks to Katsuki/Mistu and Izaya it was translated, and when I say translated I mean what I typed into the handy-dandy translator.
Chapter III
I shook my head, my hair blowing in the breeze; I had my hands stuffed into the pockets of the slightly oversized maroon hoodie I was wearing over my baggy jeans. I had my long ends of my hair tied back in a pony tail and let my shorter layered hair make a mop around my head. The tied hair was under the hoodie, resting on the black t-shirt I was wearing underneath it. I walked to Russia Sushi and was greeted Simon the same way he greeted everyone, Russian accent and all.
"Hello Katsuki! Welcome! Welcome! Heard about Shizuo." He yelled as I paused, looking up at him and smirked, nodding. He was taller than anyone else I knew, and that made him intimidating, even without the accent. This was one of the reasons I used the restaurant, or the park just across the street. It was safe, and other than eavesdroppers I knew I was in no danger.
"Yeah, not fun. Glad to be out again though, did a number on my knee though, had me on bed rest for a while. Have you seen Mikado?" I asked looking around slyly, looking for Hisaro. I kicked out my knee to emphasize my point and showing him which knee was injured.
"Not yet, why? Meeting here?" I nodded and went inside, the man behind the counter lead me to my usual table. The wooden restaurant was a second home to me, it calmed my nerves and smelled like food, being me I was lucky I found time to eat sometimes, yet another reason I used this as my office.
I looked over the menu, sitting sideways, one leg, the one with the cast on it, stretched out and the other bent, acting as my armrest. I hummed to myself as a boy wearing a green and white windbreaker walked in, holding a messenger strap over his chest. His black hair was cut short as he looked down at me. I could tell from his guarded expression he was worried, he had depended on Izaya for a while, but once his best friend almost died he severed his dependency on him. The two friends were close I wouldn't be surprised if he was pulled up in the conversation.
"Mitsu?" he asked. I smiled and nodded, putting my hand on the table and pushing myself up.
"Mitsu Sasaki, nice to meet ya," I said clumsily standing up and shaking his hand. I gestured toward the table and sat back down. Mikado lowered himself onto his knees, looking uptight and unsure about the situation, more so than he was a moment ago. "I can't give you any info if you don't say anything Mikado. Relax, I'm not like Orihara. I don't manipulate people for the enjoyment, most of the time. I give people information so they can stop being his puppets." There was another pause, I ordered a plate of maki sushi, and drank some water as Mikado tried to piece together what he wanted to ask.
"…It's mostly about Masaomi Kida. He's been gone for a while and it's been a month since he logged onto the Dollar's website. I'm just worried, that's all." I tapped my chin and pulled out my phone, the one I used for this line of work, the Samsung and started scrolling through the calendar, every day I was on I noted who else was, and Mikado was right. It had been a month since any activity, not unusual, but Masaomi was slightly protective over his naïve friend, and naturally he checked in on him, make sure he was alive and what-not.
"I see," I mumbled as I closed the calendar. "I haven't heard anything else either. I bet you've tried his phone too haven't you?" he nodded. "And he didn't answer, and he hasn't since he disappeared." I paused and smiled, forced, but I had to do something. "I can call him from my phone and ask him why he hasn't been on, but I think it has something to do with coming back." Mikado's head shot up from looking at his hands in his lap to looking me in my eyes, his dark ones, curious. I held up my phone, letting the teen look at the number I had "found" to be Masaomi's.
"W-will he answer?" he asked. I nodded slowly. I put the phone on the table as my sushi was brought in. I gave my thanks and picked up my chop sticks and took one bite.
"Just don't talk, k?" I pressed call, pausing for a moment and put the phone on speaker. Mikado looked at me, and smiled. I had gained his some trust within this short meeting. Trust was something I didn't take lightly, it was hard to obtain. Respect was easy to get, just show people that you're force to be reckoned with, whether it's because you're nice to people or they're scared shitless at your presence, it didn't matter to me.
"Hello?" asked a tired Masaomi. I knew as a teen he wasn't the earliest riser, and people are easier to work with when they're tired, but I decided, for the sake of gaining the trust of the leader of the ever so mysterious Dollars, I would be nice.
"Hey Kida wassup?" I asked my voice and total demeanor up-beat. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, I hated acting like this. It wasn't me, and I found it minutely obnoxious. It didn't fit my personality at all in my opinion, but I did like the appalled looks I get when I randomly yell out like I am a hyperactive teenager.
"Mitsu?" he asked as I heard a bed squeak in the background. "Why are you calling, it's only 10:30." I looked at Mikado, I had no concept of time, the way I figured it, I wasn't the most pleasant person in the morning and if I was up before noon it was a miracle.
"Sleepy-head. No, uh I just talked to Mikado, and you haven't been on have you? I haven't either, but still….he misses you." I held up a napkin I had written "Hanna" on and drew an arrow pointing to me. Mikado's eyes widened. I held back a chuckle. Not the reaction I was expecting, but entertaining nonetheless.
"Saki and I have been thinking about coming back…but I don't know…will they…hate me?" his voice was dark and unsure, the confident goof-ball mask had cracked. I let my face smile disappear as I sat up the best I could with my knee being the way it was. I turned toward the wall and sighed.
"Short answer, no. Yes keeping secrets was wrong, but it was the three of you, all of you were at fault. But, it's amazing what sitting around and talking does though." There was a roar outside as I heard a bullhorn get turned on. "Shit, I gotta go. Thought I had until noon but apparently I was wrong. Bye Kida." I hung up and looked at the high schooler and forced yet another smile. He helped in the strange process of pulling me to my feet, one knee not able to bend didn't help. "Thanks, hope I got the answer you were looking for." I received a nod.
"Thanks," he mumbled as I limp-ran outside to see a group of people, wearing togas standing in the middle of the street. Seriously togas? I understood the "when in Rome" speech but in the retrospect of things, this first impression was almost comical. A gang known for togas that was as like skipping through a field of flowers, nobody was going to take them seriously until something happened that gave them a reputation. In the middle, standing on a crate was Primus Maximus, or I assumed I was still behind everyone. Mikado walked outside and froze next to me. "This was the other question I was going to ask. This is In Finem, right?"
"This is the gang 'the end'," I replied scratching the back of my head as their leader started speaking in Latin, a language lost on everyone but me, and Izaya if he poked his head out from whatever rock he was hiding under. There was something interesting going on here, and if I was one to talk, the attention wasn't going to be on In Finem for long. I turned to look around the tops of the buildings, pausing as I heard an inhale from the megaphone.
"Fratres nostri Aliquam resurgere!" Maximus yelled. I laughed as everyone looked at me like I was crazy, clearly I was the only one who understood anything that was just spoken, expected. I was surprised that my new project knew Latin, and I found it comical. I cleared my throat as people were giving me looks that they'd give Izaya. I smirked and nudged Mikado, telling him to watch the other people's expressions. I cleared my throat and prepared to yell.
"'Brothers and sisters, it's time for us to rise again'," I translated crossing my arms as he continued, everyone now turning their attention to me, in a positive intrigued manner. They instantly put two and two together when I translated, they figured I was Mitsu. They turned back to Hisaro waiting to see what the blue toga wearer was going to say next, some people showed interest, other's fear. There've been crazy gangs here, but I personally haven't messed with any of them yet.
"Etiam diu sumus quiete expectantes dum aliis bellis circa nos," he continued looking straight at me as I raised an eyebrow and repeated what he said.
"' Too long have we been quietly waiting while other wars waged around us.'" I smirked as I set my phone to record the speech. Izaya poked his head out of an alley and stood next to me and Mikado, his hands in his coat pockets. He chuckled and turned his head as he listened to the next line being said by my "friend".
"Nunc suus tempore ad provocare Dollars! Ubicunque fueris, praeparet bellum."
"' Now it's our time to challenge the Dollars! Wherever you are prepare for war.' My my, Mikado what an unsuspecting turn hmm?" Izaya said translating for me. I straightened my back and faced Maximus. He started at me, clearly not recognizing who I was. I pushed my way through the crowd, yelling random words, like red, and flower, all in Latin, my voice suggesting I was angry or something at the random people in my way, they moved nonetheless. I heard Izaya chuckle behind me as I made my way to the curb, standing making my small figure look threatening.
I looked into the cold emerald green eyes of my hooded opponent. I let felt my stormy eyes give off a challenging stare at him. I was trying to keep my smirk small, if I didn't, well Hisaro was a smart guy if I remember right. If I smirked the way I was wanting too, he'd easily figure out who I was.
I turned back and winked at Mikado, "Stare descendit, vos non sensus quod tu contra. Stand down, you have no clue what you're up against," I yelled confidently as Mikado's eyes widened.
"Now Mitsu-chan this is unexpected, you're the leader of the Dollars?" Izaya said faking a shocked persona. I kicked up a loose piece of cement, about the size of a soccer ball and kicked it toward the informant. My face remained as calm as I forced it too, kicking cement wasn't the best thing for a broken knee.
"Mitsu? You mean Mitsu Sasaki, the informant?" asked Maximus as his followers looked relieved that he was finally speaking in a language they could understand. I smirked and tossed my head to the side, still facing the crouched figure of Izaya. I put my hand in my back pocket, playing with the switchblade hidden in the jean material.
"Hmm, my reputation precedes me, yes I am an informant. It's a shame Izaya gave the trade a negative reputation." I turned my head toward the raven haired person in front of me. He too stepped forward and studied Maximus, saying nothing. "Leave, because knowing this guy he's avoided a certain someone for the past couple of days, and knowing said person he's going to throw something at him." Izaya shrugged.
"Mitsu-chan does nothing get past you? I have been avoiding Shizu-chan, you are oh-so-observant! But you are also clueless," Izaya said, stated in his casual song-like manner ending on a serious note as I took three steps to the right as a light post flew past me, actually hitting the informant.
"Yeah, clueless enough to not get hit," I said as I walked off, pausing and looked back as Shizuo started chasing Izaya. "You have just made a very powerful enemy Primus Maximus." I continued limping as Celty pulled up. I quickly explained what had happened and sat on her motorcycle, sending a text to Mikado. Sorry, it had to be done. It's time the Dollars had a face, or someone to speak for them. I'll take the job, might not look it, but I can handle myself.
I felt Celty look around as I yelled directions in her ear, or where it would be for that matter, it was going to be a long drive, and if I was wrong about her location, well back to the drawing board. I told this to Celty last night over the phone, and she still agreed with my outrageous plan. I fought the Izaya-like urge to throw my head back and laugh, pointing out how desperate she was to find anything out about this Dullahan. I was positive she knew her own desperate demeanor however, so it'd just be salt on the wounds, salt that my "partner" would use. Celty knocked me out of my thoughts as she pulled over, typed something and showed me the text. Are you alright, you've been….quiet.
"Yeah fine, just trying to piece my thoughts together, suppressing Izaya-like comments," I replied dismissively shaking my head and smiling. Celty looked at me and shook her head and typed on the black devise she had in her hands as I pulled out my own and read Mikado's text. Thank-you, I'll take it into consideration. Those words were the only ones I needed to see, eventually the attacks would get worse and Mikado would come to agree with me.
What if your idea of where this Dullahan is, is wrong? You'd be acting more like Izaya won't you Katsuki?I shrugged and walked around Shooter, the motorcycle that was actually Celty's horse. She was right, but I wasn't going to stoop to his manipulative level. The streets were empty, shadows of the alley a little darker than they were in the main part of town, the way the buildings were placed made it seem darker here in the late-morning.
"That may be so, but what do I have to gain if I act like Izaya? The same dirty reputation, I don't think so. We're here, now all we do is wait, and hope we weren't….ah who am I kidding Shizuo threw a light post at him, that bought us thirty minutes," I said sitting on the curb and looked down the street and started singing an Irish folk song, hoping it would attract the Dullahan.
"In my memory I will always see
The town that I have loved so well
Where our school played ball by the gasyard wall
And we laughed through the smoke and smell.
Going home in the rain running up the dark lane
Past the jail and down beside the fountain
Those were happy days in so many many ways
In the town I loved so well."
I grabbed the end of my pony tail as the sound of a horse was heard in the background, I knew Celty at least recognized the song, she had been looking at me the entire time I had been singing. I know that song.Read her phone, I smiled and nodded. To her it was a small memory, a piece of hope that she'd be able to get by without her head. I looked down the street as the other Dullahan rode up, still wearing the black medieval dress, and on a horse, holding her head. I casually turned my head as Celty looked onto her kin in shock.
"It's alright Celty," I whispered as I turned back toward the Dullahan. "What is your name?" I asked slowly, knowing we had to start somewhere, and names were the best point to do so. I was also questioning the probability of her knowing the same language as me and Celty, it wasn't in my odds however, but I also knew a few other languages. The being in front of me was immortal, I was sure that we could find a common language.
"My name is unimportant, mortal. Just hope I don't say yours," snapped the head that was tucked under the cloaked arm of the woman. The voice was ancient, and seemed to carry its own echo. It was a blend of voices, like someone was trying to disguise one's voice over a computer. I swallowed and licked my lips as I knew I had to pull swindling the information from something I didn't know anything about.
"Alright, I see you won't play this the nice so how about you tell me what you're doing in Ikebukuro?" I asked standing up, and dusted the back of my jeans and stuffing my hands into the pockets, my bangs falling into eyes. I read the superiority that the Dullahan felt toward me in her face that was resting on the bridle of the horse.
"That's Dullahan business only, girl. Stay. Out," she hissed. I sighed as this was really starting to get tedious, and this would be the time I would pull a trick from my mind and use it against my target. I didn't know anything about the woman in front of me, other than she hated humans, lovely. I turned toward Celty and walked beside her, she had taken a seat next to me while we waited. I knelt down and whispered my request for her help. I reached out and grabbed her hand and patiently for her to recover from the shock of seeing another one of her kind.
"Celty, I need your help to get the information you need, just trust me," I said, my voice calm, as the Dullahan watched us. Celty looked up at me, slowly, clearly calmer as she turned to the Dullahan whose face looked concerned. The long blond hair of the decapitated head blew in the wind as crystal blue eyes looked at us. It was as if she didn't know Celty was there, that it was as if she thought I was stupid enough to look for her alone.
"My name is Ellie. I gave you my name, clearly you have a tie to my kind." I nodded and helped Celty stand up, I knew she'd be stressed, but a total nervous break-down I thought was reserved for the police, or aliens, or the Slasher attacks when she didn't know who Slasher was.
"I'm Katuki Rin, don't tell anyone that name. If anyone asks I'm Mitsu Sasaki, informant. Most information is free, but this is clearly freaking my friend out. Your secret is safe, don't worry."
"I never asked for your name mortal," she said as she turned to Celty. "Where is your head sister?" I bit my tongue to prevent myself from yelling out that it was still in Izaya's office, but Celty showed Ellie her phone before I my own mouth betrayed me. I looked around me, making sure the flea wasn't anywhere, there was no more crushing coming from the city.
I looked at Ellie, her face was twisted in confusion, I paused and replayed the conversation in my mind, it was in Japanese, but yet the words Celty had on the screen looked Greek to her. I took a step forward, about to offer to read what Celty wanted to say, but something else caught my attention.
I heard a gasp from the Dullahan. "I must go, someone approaches. We will meet again mortal." She jumped on her horse and rode off to who knows where. I smiled and muttered to myself that I'd make sure we'd meet again. I turned toward Celty.
"Are you alright?" I asked knowing she was still stressed. "Come-on let's get you to Shinra." I pulled her toward her bike, and gently laid my hands on Shooter's handle bars, not forgetting that it was a horse. I sat on the seat and looked at Celty. "You need to process this, I'll drive if Shooter let's me." Celty readied her phone to protest, but the bike roared to life. Celty sat behind me and manifested a helmet around my head. I let a small chuckle leave my lips expressing my love of victory.
I pushed on the clutch and revved the engine and turned the bike around, speeding through the streets of Ikebukuro, taking one familiar paths to Shinra's apartment. My hair flew behind me as I watched the speedometer climb in numerical value. I pushed on the break and turned a corner, looking at the blur of buildings as I was looking for the one I knew more than the rest of them, other than my apartment and Izaya's office that was in Shinjuku, far from where we were. I pushed on the break gently, progressively putting more pressure as the black bike came to a stop, in front of the apartment building I was in only three days ago.
I looked at Celty as I got off of the bike and looked at her, "Want me to follow you in, or are you good?"
I'm good, thank you Katsuki. I nodded turned around as my right pocket vibrated. I pulled out my business phone and opened a text from Izaya, Meet me at my office. I scoffed at the text as Shizuo and Tom came walking by.
"What's so funny?" asked Shizuo raising an eyebrow his voice slightly muffled by the cigarette he had in his mouth. I thought about showing him the text, but thought ill of it, if I did…well there goes all the numbers I had of everyone in Ikebukuro.
"The flea wants me to show up at his office, as if," I replied laughing, shaking my head at the ridiculousness. Even Shizuo smirked, he knew me better than everyone in the city. I was happy if anyone knew me so well it was him, he was so blunt that it helped me get through a mind block, and he was honest enough that he kept his word, in this city saying "you have my word" is like saying "No I won't eat the last piece of cake" when that is the only thing in the house.
"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Tom. I shrugged and laced my fingers behind my head and walked in step with the debt collector and his bodyguard. I thought about finding a high building, sitting on the edge and watch people walk by, listening to the rumors that were being spread. That is normal when I think though, and I was almost positive that's where Izaya would look when I didn't show at his office within the hour. I decided against it, knowing he was going to show up.
"Dunno, might just walk around aimlessly, towns a little shaken up by this new gang. Might even pay their leader a visit, who knows? Though it's a little early to freak people out, I normally save that until lunch." Shizuo shook his head and pointed out that I was acting more like the flea day by day. I stopped walking and put my hands on my hip. The two turned and looked at my faked shocked face. I smirked and looked up at the buildings, the making the bright red highlights I had naturally stand out.
"Yes I am, but I hate it. You hate the leech, why do you say that so laid-back?" I asked raising an eyebrow as the one dressed like a bartender clenched his fists tighter than they already were. I bit the inside of my cheek and looked back up at the bond's sunglasses nodding slowly, he didn't say this casually, and he actually hated it when I was in my rare Izaya-like moods. I walked up to him and let my bangs cover my grey eyes completely; everything had a red-tint to it. "We should get out of this part of 'bukuro, Izaya's on the hunt. More specifically he's looking for me. I'll leave if you don't want to deal with him twice in one day."
I looked at him as he just turned around, it wasn't a "go away" but it wasn't a green light to go ahead and stay. I looked around, I didn't have anything to do, but I went ahead and followed, letting the ever pissed off bodyguard calm down, he was having a day, we all had them, his just normally ended it with a stop sign in the middle of the park, or jutting out of a building. I thought nothing of it, I was never scared of him, at first intrigued, but then I figured out what he thought of himself and I came to respect him, and because nobody else would really talk to him I pestered him until we became friends.
"Katsuki," I perked up at my name, the sinking feeling in my stomach, caused by my real name being used, subsiding as I saw Shizuo's head tilted back. "What are you going to do about this new gang?" I paused, and looked around me.
"Right now, figure out why the hell they're here. After that, probably get rid of them. Personally I hate gangs, but without them I wouldn't be here right now. More specifically, if it wasn't for this gang I wouldn't be here right now."
So there's Chapter 3. Tell me what you think of In Finem's impression. I actually don't remember where I got the lyrics to the folk song. I just went to Google and did a search, but it's called "The Town I Loved So Well".
Tell me what you think I don't bite promise.
UPDATE 3/16/12: So I went to take Chapter Four from my main document, but the flashdrive I keep everything on decided to clean itself out. After I had a mini 3- second funeral, I pulled these three chapters and I'm having to re-write 16 1/2 chapters as well as the other stories I kept on the flashdrive. So, I'll try to find time to update, but I rather try to recover what I had, and by recover I mean rewrite.