7:00 AM, Izaya's Apartment
Tsu-chan woke with a start when a blaring alarm went off from somewhere on the other side of Izaya, who she was clinging tightly to. Izaya groaned and turned the alarm off before it dawned on him how uncomfortably close Tsu-chan was. "What, you've never heard an alarm clock before?"
"Were you trying to scare me?" She countered, finally releasing him. and backing off.
"No, no, that's not what it's for. They're meant to wake you up so you don't miss work or... whatever else you might miss. I set it so I can get ready for work and watch the morning commute~" Izaya rolled out of bed and stretched his arms over his head. "Right, I need to take you shopping some time today, too." He remarked, remembering that she was wearing his pajamas. "Well, we can take care of that later. I've got an appointment with someone from Awakusu-kai this afternoon, so that takes priority." He tossed a pair of black jeans and a black v-neck onto the bed beside her, "You can wear those for now, since you seem to fit in my clothes rather nicely." He yawned and made his way into the bathroom with a fresh pair of clothes for himself. He didn't even offer for her to use the shower first. Did tengu shower? It didn't matter. He began his morning ritual and left Tsubataiyou rubbing her eyes on the bed.
"Humans use this torture device on themselves on a regular basis? How strange..." She murmured, looking down at the clothing she'd been offered. Rather than put it on, she began to think out loud. Of course, Izaya wouldn't hear her anyway over the sound of the shower. "Awakusu-kai? I've heard of them before... Aren't they some sort of Yakuza organization? How scary~ Izzy-chan knows all sorts of people." She smiled a bit and dressed herself before wandering into his living area/office. Looking out over the city, she could see cars and pedestrians cramming the streets. Coming or going, it didn't matter. Everyone was headed somewhere.
Izaya joined her shortly after, a damp towel still hanging over his shoulders, "Did I miss anything?" He asked as he gazed out the window with her.
"Nothing much... Well, a kid in a junior high uniform almost got hit by a truck, that was entertaining. He was probably late for school." She smirked and turned away from the window, "But what am I going to do when you're busy with the Awakusu-kai? How boring..."
"You could follow Celty around. Granted, she doesn't usually go out much during the day, so you'd probably be subjected to a one-sided love fest." Izaya offered, chuckling as he thought of her watching Shinra throw himself at Celty.
Tsu-chan considered this, then shook her head, "If it's Celty, then it's no fun... Celty's not exactly human, and I've seen human and youkai one-sided love fests. It's always boring and the human always ends up hurt. Physically."
"That describes it pretty well, actually," Izaya agreed, still smirking, "Well... How much do you know about computers? There's plenty to do online. I could bring you into the chat room. Oh, and the Dollars." With this said, he turned away from the traffic and sat down in his beloved spinny chair. "Here, you can use the laptop." He offered, opening it up and turning it on for her. She dragged the chair usually reserved for clients around to his side of the desk and sat down with the laptop.
"I doubt anyone will be online now except maybe Setton- who's Celty, by the way." He logged in himself and saw that Setton was indeed online. He then leaned over Tsu-chan and entered the web address on the laptop. "Make up a username." He told her before chatting idly with the one called "Setton."
"What's a username?"
"See how when I type something and hit "enter" it says the name "Kanra" before what I typed? That's because my username is Kanra. It's what people will know you as. Like Celty is Setton." He explained, rather bored. Explaining things like this wasn't much fun.
"I see..." She quickly entered a username and made up a password. Once confirming it, she was officially logged in.
-Kouki has entered the chatroom-
Setton: Oh? A new face? How rare!
Kanra: Welcome~
"Seriously? Kouki? That's a guy's name." Izaya chided, rolling his eyes.
"Well you call yourself "Kanra-chan..." I'd say you have no room to talk." Tsu-chan reminded, "Anyway, you're the one that started calling me "Tsubataiyou," I thought Kouki was fitting."
"I've been meaning to ask you about that-"
[PM Mode] Setton: Did you invite Kouki-san?
[PM Mode] Kanra: Something like that~
[PM Mode] Setton: ?
[PM Mode] Kanra: Kouki's sitting right next to me. Try to be entertaining
"What have you been meaning to ask?"
Kouki: Thank you. Kanra-san invited me, but to be honest, I'm pretty new to computers and the internet, so I apologize if I mess anything up.
Kanra: It'd be hard to mess this up unless you were trying.
Setton: Yeah. Hacking or spamming.
Kouki: Hacking? Spamming? I don't understand...
Kanra: Noob.
Kouki: What's that?
Setton: =_=;
"Seriously? You don't even know what a- ah, never mind, it's not important anyway. What I wanted to ask was about that name. You were saying something before about a name being a contract for you or something." Izaya reminded.
"Ah, yes, but what happened last night... Tsubataiyou isn't my real name, if you're concerned that you made a contract with me accidentally. It's a nickname. To be honest, I don't think you could name me if you tried."
Kanra: Well, look at the time. I gotta go, I'll leave you two love birds alone~
Kouki: Lovebirds? What are you getting at?
-Kanra has left the chatroom-
Setton: ... That was cruel, even for Kanra. Oh well, I've nothing better to do. I guess I might as well teach you the basics of the computer and the internet. I was in your shoes once too, after all.
Kouki: Really?! Thank you, Setton-san!
"Why don't you go chat with Setton in my room? Oh, and the Dollars... The password is baccano, you can ask Setton how to get to the site." Izaya tried to shoo her into his room before- too late. He heard a key turn in the lock of the door to his apartment and turned around. "Namie! Just in time to make me some coffe~"
"Oh, hello Izaya's bitch." Tsu-chan greeted, bowing slightly.
Izaya couldn't help but burst into laughter, "She's not my bitch, she's my secretary." He corrected, "Where'd you even get such an idea?"
"She's always here and running errands for you and stuff, so..."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Namie asked harshly, doing her best to remain calm as she told herself that this girl didn't matter, that Seiji was the only important person in her life.
Izaya smirked and replied proudly, "My stalker~ I didn't even know I was being stalked, that's how good she is."
"...Stalker? Who would want to stalk you?" Namie wondered aloud, staring at the strange girl. Come to think of it, weren't those Izaya's clothes?
"Someone just as twisted as me, of course," Izaya replied, patting Tsu-chan, who was still chatting with Celty, on the head. "But never mind her. Coffee!"
Namie rolled her eyes as she began to make her boss some coffee before he threatened to dock her pay. "You know, most people are disturbed and horrified when they find out they have stalkers." She said pointedly. It was true, of course, but Izaya wasn't "most people."
"I don't see it as creepy, seeing as I have to do it fairly often for work, anyway. I see it as more of... a hobby. At least, for me it is. To be stalked by someone can be a blessing or a curse. Either the person is gathering information on you that's only going to hurt you in the long run, or they admire you so much they just can't take their eyes off of you. Isn't that flattering? Stalkers are flattering~ You see, Namie, this means I have fans!"
"Fan. You have a fan." The tengu, who had, in fact, been listening the whole time, said this softly as she brushed Izaya's hand away. "The stupid teenage girls you bend to your will don't count, by the way. You can't count a toy as a fan, even children know that."
Namie raised a brow as she served Izaya his coffee, "Toys? She certainly shares your value of human life."
Tsu-chan shot her a glare and said bluntly, "I love humans, I truly do... But I hate drones that mindlessly obey orders. If I wanted a toy soldier, I'd get a toy soldier." She then turned her attention to Izaya and added, "I don't like her. I'll be in your room. Let me know when something interesting happens." With this said, she stood and left the two in silence.
Namie looked to her boss and told him, "You attract the strangest people."
With a chuckle, Izaya agreed, "It's a curse, really. But I can't say I mind it. Keeps things interesting. At any rate, she'll be staying here for a while, so try to avoid creeping her out with your brother fetish."
"It's not a fetish!" Namie snapped, glaring at the man who was now laughing at her. "It's true love! Not something you could ever understand!"
"It's disturbing, no matter what you want to call it." Izaya stated, "Now get to work. I have an appointment with Shiki in the afternoon and need those files ready by then."
8:18 AM, Izaya's Apartment- Izaya's Room
Kouki: Oh, I see! So that's how private messaging works.
Kouki: Umm, by the way, can I ask you something?
Setton: Sure, what is it?
Kouki: Kanra said I should ask you how to find The Dollars website. I'm not quite sure what he means by that, but it sounded like he thought you would...
Setton: The Dollars? Yeah, I know a little about them. They're sort of like a color gang...
Kouki: Oh, I think I've heard of things like that before. Gangs that wear the same colors and get into fights.
Setton: Sort of
Setton: The Dollars are different. They're almost like an anti-color gang
Setton: Their color is "invisible" and nobody really seems to know who the leader is. From what I've heard, there are no rules and there's no real hierarchy. It's more or less a free-for-all.
Kouki: ... Then what's the point?
Setton: Well, part of it is being accepted. Being a part of something bigger than yourself
Setton: But more importantly, The Dollars have a network of information from people in all walks of life, all over the city.
Kouki: So it's like a gang of spies?
Setton: No, nothing like that. Well, I suppose some people might see it that way. They generally use their network to work together to do "good" things.
Setton: Like when they first came about, it was rumored that they were going around washing off graffiti
Kouki: How peculiar...
Setton: Oh, my partner's calling me. I'm sorry, I have to go. If you need anything, just google it. (Insert giving of site address here, fanfiction will not allow)
Kouki: So I just type my question in?
Setton: And hit enter, yes. I'll talk to you later!
Kouki: Okay, bye Setton!
-Setton has left the chatroom-
-Kouki has left the chatroom-
-There is no one in the chatroom-
-There is no one in the chatroom-
-There is no one in the chatroom-
Tsu-chan looked up the word "Dollars" and was greeted with articles about American money and the American economy. Deciding that this was not at all what Celty and Izaya had meant by "The Dollars," she tried again, this time adding "gang" to the search term. There were many articles about The Dollars, but she ignored those and instead went straight to the site, where she was greeted with a black screen that simply read "Dollars" and asked for a password. "What did Izzy-chan say that was again? Oh, right, baccano." She quickly entered the word and was greeted by the Dollars main page, where she yet again made an account. (Celty had her set up an email account already to make things easier.) It wasn't long before she was going through the message boards and decided to make an introductory post.
Kouki: Hello everyone~ I'm kind of new to the internet, so please be kind to me~ I just recently moved to Ikebukuro, and a friend told me that I should join The Dollars, so here I am!
Sebaschan: Welcome to Ikebukuro!
Fujoshitan: Welcome welcome~
MONTA: A friend told you to join? Did they tell you anything about us?
Kouki: Not really, but I did some research on my own.
Sebaschan: Question! How is one new to the internet in this era?
Fujoshitan: Maybe he's a monk? Or a hermit?
Sebaschan: Who changed his ways because a beautiful woman caught his eye and he fell in love at first sight!
Fujoshitan: I was going to substitute "woman" with "man," but I suppose that works too
Kouki: Umm... What are you guys talking about?
MONTA: Don't mind them. They're both insane, really
Fujoshitan: Hey, MONTAchin, that's mean!
Kouki: MONTAchin? I'm not even going to ask
MONTA: You're usually better off not asking, or totally ignoring, when it comes to those two.
Fujoshitan: MONTAchin, we're sitting right behind you. Want to say that to our faces?
Sebaschan: Yeah, say it to- wait, but... MONTA is...
Kouki: So you three know each other in real life? That's awesome!
Fujoshitan: Yeah, we all joined Dollars together~
Nakura: Welcome to the Dollars~
MONTA: ?! You're the one that invited me!
Nakura: Of course I am, MONTAchin~
MONTA: You too?
Kouki: So confused...
Nakura: Incidentally, I'm the one who invited Kouki as well.
Kouki: Less confused. Aren't you supposed to be working?
Nakura: Aren't you supposed to be talking to Setton?
Kouki: Setton went offline and I got bored. If you're not working, come play with me!
Nakura: Play? What are you, five? Anyway, I have to go. MONTAchin, take good care of Kouki for me, will ya?
MONTA: ...
Sebaschan: ...
Fujoshitan: ... Soooo Nakura is the friend you mentioned earlier?
Kouki: Apparently. I have a feeling I'm going to get confused by all these usernames.
Sebaschan: Hey, isn't our movie starting soon?
Fujoshitan: I totally forgot! It's so easy to get distracted on this site
Kouki: ... Movie?
Sebaschan: Yeah, we're all going to see that new American animated film... Argh, what was the name of it, Fujoshi?
Fujoshitan: Paranorman I think? No, that was last week. This one is Hotel Transylvania. You should come see it with us, Kouki! We can show you around town afterwards!
Sebaschan: Yeah, that'd be fun!
Fujoshitan: We've gotta go get snacks and watch the previews, so if you want to come, meet us at Sunshine Cinema!
MONTA: How is Kouki going to know who you are?
Fujoshitan: MONTAchin doesn't like the previews anyway. Would you mind waiting outside? We'll text you when it starts
Kouki: Umm?
MONTA: We should probably see if Kouki even wants to meet you two weirdos first. Personally, I'd say "they're probably internet perverts" and refuse.
Fujoshitan: MONTAchin, you're being a real meanie today!
MONTA: Sorry, rough week.
Kouki: I'd like to meet you... I've been meaning to get a tour around town, but I just came in late last night, and Nakura's been busy all morning.
MONTA: Alright, I'll wait outside then. I've got a bandanna on my head if you need help finding me. Oh, and you could always use the Dollars Email from your phone.
Kouki: Sorry, I'm still not sure how that works. I'm sure I'll find you~
MONTA: Alright, later then
Fujoshitan: See you soon!
Sebaschan: See ya!
"So you're going out with Dotachin, eh?" A familiar voice spoke from behind her and she nearly jumped.
"Izzy-chan! You startled me! Who's Dotachin?" The tengu asked softly, closing the laptop and walking over to Izaya.
"MONTA. You'll find out soon enough. This should cover you for the day. Just remember to meet me outside Sunshine 60 at 5:00. I should be done with the Awakusu-kai by then." Izaya told her, handing over a small stack of money. She didn't count it, but she could tell there was easily over 8,000 yen.
Looking up at him, she said, "I've been meaning to ask you why you're being so nice to me, Izzy-chan... I'm not even one of our beloved humans..."
Izaya shrugged, "I suppose because we have so much in common. Besides that, I have to treat my number one fan well, don't I?" He playfully mussed her hair and added, "Have fun today. I think you'll like them."
"Thank you... I'll see you later, Izzy-chan." Blushing slightly, Tsu-chan brushed past him and went to meet "MONTA" and his friends, haviing no idea of what the day had in store.
9:57 AM, in front of Sunshine Cinema
Once in front of Sunshine Cinema, it didn't take her long to find who she assumed was "MONTA." The tengu shyly approached him and asked softly, "Um... are you Dotachin?"
"Dotachin" visibly twitched at the sound of his unwanted nickname. Turning to see where the voice had come from, he nearly spat out the soda he had been drinking. "Izaya in drag?!" Indeed, she did look like Izaya dressed as a girl. Her long black hair and calculating crimson eyes matched his own, however there were some distinct differences in facial features and body structure that Kadota had failed to notice in the shock of seeing this Izaya look-alike.
"Umm, I'm Kouki-san." She corrected, bowing slightly, "I'm called Nakatsu Tsubataiyou. My friend- Nakura- told me that MONTAchin was called Dotachin."
"I'd actually rather you not call me that. The name's Kadota Kyohei. Nice to meet you." Kadota corrected gently, though he wondered who had told her such a thing. After the initial shock, he began to notice that there were several differences between her and Izaya, though he couldn't help but wonder... "By any chance, are you related to a bastard named Orihara Izaya?"
The tengu blinked, "Bastard...? No, I'm not related to Izzy-chan. And I don't find him to be a bastard..." She frowned slightly as she thought about this, "Though I can see why you might feel that way."
"Ah. You must have just met him recently, then." Kadota decided, leading her inside, "Try to avoid getting involved with him if at all possible. He's not exactly a good person. He'll chew you up and spit you out- I've seen it happen." He sighed, "That guy is nothing but trouble."
Tsu-chan shrugged, "That's because people are stupid enough to let him. Humans are so funny~" She giggled, brushing some of her now loose hair behind her ear.
Glancing at her sideways, Kadota considered her appearance. The way she was talking about people, he couldn't help but think she sounded like Izaya. And now that he thought about it, although the black v-neck shirt she wore hugged her curves and flaunted her rather shapely chest, it was still just like the ones Izaya wore so often. So were her pants, actually. He didn't question her further, however, as he led her to their seats. "Karisawa and Yumasaki insisted on paying for your ticket. By the end of the day, you'll be wishing they paid for more. The two of them are... Interesting. You'll see what I mean."
Tsu-chan tilted her head and was about to ask what Kadota meant by that when she was suddenly dragged down by a pair of hands that seemed a little bit too good at this sort of thing. Slightly stunned, she opened her mouth to ask what the hell was going on, but felt a finger pressed to her lips, shushing her. "The movie's about to start~" Karisawa chirped in a barely contained whisper.*
11:50 AM, in front of Sunshine Cinema
Surprisingly, the group had made it through the movie without being booted out. Karisawa and Yumasaki had managed to keep their otaku blatherings to a low whisper, possibly because Kadota was next to them, so all that was really heard from them was the occasional giggle. Now, standing in front of the doors where Tsu-chan had first met Kadota, the two were arguing about the love lives of the characters in the film. "I'm telling you, Dracula and that kid were MADE for each other!" Karisawa insisted to Yumasaki, who was shaking his head in disappointment.
"Karisawa-san! It's not like that at all, he was meant for Mavis! THEY ZINGED! Don't you have any appreciation for the romance of love at first sight?" He scolded his fellow otaku with a heavy sigh.
"That's overrated, didn't you see how much fun they were having playing on the tables?" Karisawa swooned, clearly in her own little world.
This time, Kadota had to interject. "Playing? You make everything sound so dirty, Karisawa."
Yumasaki nodded in agreement, "Besides, Dracula was way too old for him."
"So was Mavis!" Karisawa protested.
Finally, Tsu-chan spoke up, "Umm...?"
Suddenly reminded of the new presence, Karisawa and Yumasaki both turned to greet her, only to be taken aback by her appearance. The two stepped back a bit to whisper, all too loudly, "Ne, Yumacchi, doesn't she look just like a female Izayan?" Yumasaki nodded in agreement, though he said nothing, "Do you think he's dressing in drag to mess with Dotachin or something?"
"I keep telling you to stop calling me that," Kadota heaved a sigh, "You two need to learn the definition of "subtlety." We can hear you just fine."
Tsu-chan admitted, "I don't really know what you mean by "dressing in drag," but I'm not Izzy-chan, or his relative... I'm called Nakatsu Tsubataiyou."
"Well then, Tsubacchi, nice to meet you!" Karisawa greeted, "My name is Karisawa Erika, this guy beside me," She gestured to Yumasaki, "Is Yumacchi, and this-"
"I can introduce myself." Togusa cut her off before she called him by the stupid nickname she had come up with for him, "I'm Togusa Saburou, and "Yumacchi" is Yumasaki Walker. Don't mind Karisawa, she has stupid nicknames for everyone."
"She does." Kadota agreed.
Defending herself, Karisawa protested, "Dotachin, you have no room to complain! Iza-Iza came up with your nickname, not me!"
Kadota sighed, "Yeah, don't remind me. Anyway, Yumasaki is Sebaschan and Karisawa here is Fujoshitan."
Tsu-chan nodded, "I kinda figured as much."
Togusa spoke up, "I have to admit, when they said they were going to meet with "Kouki-san," I thought it was going to be a guy. Then you turn up looking just like a girl version of Izaya... It kinda throws me off."
The tengu giggled as Yumasaki and Karisawa returned to their huddled whispering, "Well, I don't mind being compared to him. He's not too bad looking~"
Kadota winced at the thought of anyone finding Izaya attractive as Karisawa murmured to Yumasaki, "Ne, Yumacchi, doesn't she look like the lady from last night?"
"You mean the miko?"
"Yeah, the tengu that flashes her panties and goes piru piru piru~"
"Karisawa-san, why are you so obsessed with that? Is that a fantasy of yours?"
"... Anyway, she looks exactly the same, only now she's dressed in clothes that look like Izayan's..." Karisawa pointed out in a hushed voice.
"Come to think of it, She went into Russia Sushi and when she left, Izaya-san left shortly after..."
Kadota turned to face the two, "What are you two whispering about back there?"
Both of them straightened up, feigning innocence, "The movie!" Yumasaki chirped, all too innocently.
"They were talking about me," The tengu said softy. As her hearing was superior to that of an ordinary human's, she had heard everything they had said. "They said I look like someone they saw last night. And they were probably one-hundred percent correct." With this said, she turned on her heels. She had to be fair to the two otakus. They had figured it out on their own, so she might as well reward them with the truth. Besides which, no one else had heard.
Both of them caught what she meant by "one-hundred percent" and they rushed to either side of her excitedly, "Really, we were right about-"
The tengu pressed a finger to Karisawa's lips, just as the girl had done to her in the theater. "Shh~ The movie's about to start."
*Order in which people were sitting in the theater: Tsu-chan furthest to the left, Karisawa to her right, Yumasaki to the right of Karisawa, Kadota to the right of Yumasaki, Togusa to the right of Kadota.