A/N; I am so sorry for taking forever to update this. D: I had mid-terms and I lost my creative muse for a bit, but now it's back with this snow day. Fun fact of the day, I write most of my chapters within a day. ;; So excuse any sort of .. rushed feeling they might have, I'm just afraid of losing my muse.

I don't like the feeling of falling. Especially if it's endless. Constantly dropping to whatever meets you at the end, and who knows what that could be? Optimists would think of the end of being pillows to cushion your fall, and pessimists would think of the end of being spikes to penetrate your body and kill you. Since I've never actually classified myself into any of that, I believe it's something of a black hole; there's no end. You're eventually suspended, free-fall, still scared out of your wits.

Dreams that get you to that point are the worst. Along with running dreams. You know, the ones that have you running away from something, and you just can't seem to give it your all to get away. I've heard that these dreams mean you're running away from something in your real life, and I have to say that I fully agree with that.

I say this because I had one of those dreams last night. Now I'm sitting here, it's five in the morning, and I can't go back to sleep because I'm afraid I'll start falling and running again.

Izaya keeps running through my head. It's starting to bug the shit out of me, he shouldn't be on my mind so much, and he shouldn't even matter. Yet, I can't stop thinking about him. I feel like some stupid goddamn love struck high school girl that I used to talk about constantly.

Funny, I'd always assume that girls thought that way about me. Guess things sort of go around in a cycle, those feelings are coming back to me full force.

Time passed slowly, with me slipping in and out of consciousness. I didn't dream (thankfully) but I'd hear things as I woke up and fell asleep. Mostly background noise, things like people murmuring and me not able to hear what they were saying. It was frustrating. I wanted to hear them, but they were too far away, or my surroundings were too loud for me to hear.

Shut up. Just shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up.

BRIIIIINNNNG! BRIIIIINNNNG! BRIIIIINNNNG!

"Jesus…Christ…Shut up." I brought my hand to practically smash my alarm clock. I wondered how long it'd been going; since my dreams consisted of this constant background ringing that annoyed the shit out of me.

It was 8 in the morning. Groaning with frustration, I got up, still wearing the clothes I'd slipped on yesterday. "Goddammit." Quickly, I slipped off my bed, shed the clothes I'd been wearing for a while and stepped into the shower for a quick pick-me-up. My mind went blank for the time being, I suppose it was that I wanted to enter a state of mental rest.

So the next time anything went through my head was when I was walking down the hall, wearing a simple gray v-neck and jeans, yawning. "It's a nice day out today, doesn't look like it'll rain." A small smile spread across my face, the first one in a while, as I leaned against the balcony and sighed. I needed this. A little relaxing time. "I heard it's supposed to be nice for the rest of the week, too. I wonder if I could take a trip down to the beach and look at all the hot girls there~!" I sniggered quietly, the smile widening.

I missed being able to think about pointless things like this. But it was nice. I stared at the ground for a bit, the ground below the balcony, thinking about various memories. Visiting that higher point in Ikebukuro with Mikado and Anri, where we'd all drape ourselves on the balcony and just talk about random, pointless things. I'd try to motivate Mikado to make a move on our spectacled friend while she would just blush.

Thinking about memories made my smile fade, but I didn't feel any negative emotions like usual. Just a big hit of nostalgia. I fumbled my fingers, trying to think of what we'd have to do today. Izaya and I. Wait, where exactly was that monster?

"Hello, Kida-kun!"

Speak of the devil. I intentionally wiped the smile from my face as I looked into the direction I heard his voice come from. He was standing there, surprisingly wearing something similar to what I was wearing. I gave a strange look at him before getting up, shoving my hands into my pockets, staring at him. "Yo."

I watched his eyes travel up and down my body with slight surprise, a smirk appearing on his lips as he did so. "Ne, Kida-kun, we look—"

"—like clones of each other." I stared at him blankly, obviously finishing correctly what he was going to say. He looked at me with a bit of surprise on his face before approaching me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder, pulling me toward the stairs.

"I never thought we'd get so acquainted as to you being able to finish my sentences. Cute~" I rolled my eyes, but didn't make a move to shrug him off. The ice feeling, once again, came from his touches, this time a bit more subtle, but nonetheless it showed itself.

It was quiet until we got down to the boardwalk by the beach. He sat down at a bench, but didn't motion me to sit down next to him, so I just stood, looking off toward the sea. My thoughts went back to the night before.

"With what I'm going to do while I'm here, I won't be paid fully. You'll have to pay it back slowly."

"Ne, ne, impatient! Don't worry; this is very much worth it. For now, I'll take what I want."

So I had to pay him back, but how? I closed my eyes following taking a deep breath, trying to think. Right after he said this, he…kissed me, so am I supposed to assume that he wants more of something like that? It seemed almost on queue that he said, "Tonight, you're going to do another task to pay me back, Kida-kun."

My eyes immediately flickered open and looked over to him in slight surprise, but mostly curiousness. "What the hell do I have to do, then?"

He shrugged, smirking. "Once I think of it, I'll tell you~" I scowled at him saying that before pulling at my hair.

"Idiot, you have to decide, I wanna know what I'm dealing with!"

That bastard obviously was getting a bit from this, his smirk widening as he got up and set a hand on my shoulder, the other circling in the air. "You're so impatient! You'll see, you'll see~ Try to handle your excitement, though. I don't want you jumping off the walls in happiness."

I never knew that the informant was able to manage sarcasm, but apparently, he was. I just quirked a brow at him, but he didn't say anything in addition. This was followed by an almost unbearable awkward silence, until he started off in another direction without any sort of warning.

"You can go do whatever during the day; I need to do some work. Just be ready by seven, alright~? I'll see you later, Kida-kun."

I stared after him, a bit surprised that he was letting me to do whatever, but also a bit relieved. What was he planning for that time, though? Seven o'clock? Something obviously during the night, so I'm assuming…Something…you do only at night?

Yeah, I had no idea. Great. So fucking great.

Free time was always fun, though. And Granny gave me time off to do whatever Izaya wanted me to do, so I technically was free to anything, now.

Guess it's time for me to take advantage of the beach idea, yeah? "How long has it been since I went swimming, I might have forgotten how to in all this time." I felt a laugh trickle out as I headed back for the hotel, which was, thankfully, only about a two minute walk from the beach.

I jogged up to my room to grab my swimming trunks, quickly slipping them on. Before heading out, I paused, trying to think of how to manage my day. Most people wouldn't be there until the afternoon, which was in about four hours. So I had that time to spare, since I didn't want to be there alone.

Standing awkwardly in front of my door in a pair of trunks was a bit strange, but I decided on heading back in and just relaxing, maybe watch some movies, or read or something, things that I never had time to do due to Granny or Izaya keeping me busy.

"I wonder if there's even anything on. Most people would be at work or doing something right now, right? Guess if you keep in mind the high-schoolers who don't have school during the summer. Maybe a nap, I didn't get much sleep last night."

I found myself rambling while bringing some covers up, turning the channel to MTV in hopes of it having something interesting on. It did; some sort of American show. Not sure what to think of it, so I'll keep any comments about it out of context.

I did find myself sleeping, though. Just a little nap, since I woke up about two hours later. I did dream a bit, but it wasn't anything bad. Actually, it…

I was around six or seven years old. I was with Mikado, walking home from our old school. "Heeey, Mikado-kun~!" I ran toward him, tackling him over and hugging him tightly.

"M-Masaomi, hello." I grinned at him as I pulled him up to sit comfortably, since I'd kind of tackled him into the mud. I leaned back, the grin still on my face.

"Ne, can I ask you something?" He looked at me with slight surprise before helping me up. I took that as a sign to continue. "Will we always be friends, Mikado-kun?"

"Of course!" I saw the confusion go across his face at my question, but I guess I'd asked it in pure curiousness at a young age. I didn't think I'd worry about that when I was a child. "I like you too much to not be friends with you, a-and that would be terrible if we were ever apart…"

I giggled and hugged him. "You don't need to take me so seriously! C'mon, let's go home, I bet your mom made something delicious again~"

My eyes flickered open. What Mikado said, it…it kept playing in my head. I knew this was a memory, not a dream. How wrong was he, thinking we'd always be together? I felt a bit of a disheartening break go through me, even so, I pushed myself off the bed and checked the clock. 1 pm. Alright, looks like it's time for me to head down to the beach.

I wanted to clear the dream from my head.

Time passed, I went down to the beach and talked to a lot of girls – got about three numbers – and played around in the ocean. It was my third time in the ocean, so I wasn't particularly used to its effects yet. I took a break in the middle of it to head up to the docks, mostly to watch some people fishing. More for tanning, since yes, I was still an Asian and I wasn't at all tan. Once it hit around five o'clock, I decided to quick run back to the hotel room.

The reason I'm not being so detailed with this is because, in all reality, not much happened. It was for blind enjoyment, there wasn't any drama or anything in particular that I had to worry about, which was pretty nice in terms to how my last few days have been.

I took another shower to get rid of the feeling of salt water, and got some lotion on to help my sunburns that I got over the course of the time. I decided to slip on a short-sleeved jacket over the v-neck that I wore earlier, and then sat down on the bed to wait for Izaya to appear again. It was only six thirty, but I had no interest in doing anything else.

It seemed almost on cue, again, that I heard a knock on the door and a voice ring out. "Heey, Kida-kun~ You better not be sleeping again." I groaned, loud enough for him to hear. "Ooh, obviously not."

I slugged over to the door, opening it quickly to see him about to knock again. "I'm awake, asshole."

He quirked a brow at me but said nothing, just simply grabbed my wrist and started pulling me out of the hotel grounds. "Ne, you're really sour today~"

Of course I'm sour, you piss me off.

Once again, our walk was silent, until we arrived at this strip of restaurants. So wait, he just wanted to go out and eat? I stared at him with an instigating look, hoping that he'd reveal his intentions.

"You're looking me like I have some secret reason for bringing you here. I just want to eat, jeez."

I rolled my eyes, obviously not believing him, but going along with it as much as I could. We stepped inside what looked like an Italian restaurant, getting a table for two. I sat down, looking around before feeling something on my hand. I looked to see his hand gripping mine, which was obviously causing a few looks. I scowled and shook it off, glaring at him.

I watched as a pout slipped across his face, but he said nothing. Because I would never make an attempt to talk to the informant, there wasn't any conversation between us until after we were done eating and everything. Without any words, he quietly slipped me a piece of paper, looking at me expectantly. I stared at him back until finding the courage to open it.

"If this is one of those fucking romantic passing notes thingies, I'm shoving this in your face."

He just gave me a look telling me to open it, so I did.

Dear Masaomi,

It's Mikado. I gave this letter to Izaya-san in hopes that if he ever saw you, he'd deliver it to you. I have something important I need to tell you.

The Yellow Scarves have rebuilt themselves; not only in Ikebukuro, but their forces have traveled to outside Tokyo, all across Japan, and even in parts of America. I have enclosed a list of cities that they have rebuilt themselves in.

Also, I have somehow found myself becoming the general of the Blue Squares. They're still biased from your ruling to be against the Blue Squares, and now they're appearing everywhere as well. You can say that this world is starting to slip into the conflict that was never supposed to leave Ikebukuro.

I'm going to ask you to do something that could put you in danger, but we need it done. I want you to stop the Yellow Scarves, to go out and claim the general position once again, and stop them from doing this. I'll do this as well. People are losing their lives over this, Masaomi. We need to stop this.

This is all in hope that you're still alive, too. If you aren't, then I'll have Izaya-san contact me back with that information.

Please, be careful.

Sincerely, Ryuugamine Mikado.

I looked on the back, to the list. There was the city that we were located in, and underneath it, a note.

"This town is the central hub of gang wars in America. Most if not all of the town is overtaken by it."

I found myself glancing up to the surroundings in the restaurant. Suddenly, things started becoming apparent that I'd shrugged off before.

Yellow.

Blue.

Everyone was wearing one or the other.