A/N: Ah... I'm unhappy with that last chapter, but I'll make due. Well, here's the seventh chapter. Sorry for the long wait!


Penalty Game

Chapter 7:
Really Questionable


"I wonder if it was okay... not telling Izaya about that," a certain underground doctor whispered aloud to himself. He stared long at the monitor in front of him, which appeared to have a file pulled up. Highlighting a certain part, he seemed to have a conflict on what he should do, eyebrows furrowing in thought. Just as he copied the text with a click of the mouse, his screen froze leaving him unable to do anything. Odd. Very, very unusual. "How can this..."

Just then, the door slid open. It made the young doctor stand up with a gasp. "Ah! Celty! How did today's job go?"

-...

It was true that last incident with the voice seemed awfully real. But it bothered him, Izaya couldn't tell if Yoshie was truly scared or not. Never had he tried proving his theory, but... Maybe this opportunity would give him a chance. It wasn't like he expected her to get hurt, but just in case he would send the Headless Rider there. Can't have an perfectly reusable pawn thrown out so easily.

"Yo-shi-kuuun!" the twenty-three year old man chimed with a curious smile, cupping his face in his hands in such a way you knew he was going to ask a favor probably not worth fulfilling- without something in return, or plenty of coercing. The girl gave him a look from her spot on the sofa, something she regretted as soon as she saw that horrific smirk plastered on his face. Yet she didn't show her displeasure, in the end she would somehow end up doing his bidding.

"I was wondering..." he started off very slowly, sugar-coating his words in an impeccable tone that could send shivers up one's back. "Run an errand for me, yes?"

Silence.

"What do I get in return?" Yoshie replied after much thought.

He didn't cease to smile.

It only took that prolonged smile to break her.

"What do you want me to do?" her voice held no hostility, but genuine curiosity. "Is a VIP coming today, or do you expect..."

"Ah, you can tell that much of me from experience now... Maybe I've kept you here too long?" Izaya started derailing from the subject, but caught himself mid way. "Buuut! Yes! Exactly, a very important client of Shimura Co. is coming today and I want your butt out of here. This errand I want you to run isn't especially important that I would go out my way to cancel this one appointment, so take of it for me, will you?"

"You're just not in the mood to run into Heiwajima Shizuo..." she immediately deciphered, staring at him with a deadpan.

"Eh, I don't even want to talk about Shizu-chan. I'm just not in the mood for having a trash can thrown at me when I'm having such a lovely walk down the sidewalk..." the information broker laughed, a stressed, frustrated and bitter laugh. But a laugh. "...so you'll do it?"

Yoshie paused, stared at him for few seconds in that awkward way she did with people. Then... "Maybe."

-...

She frowned, not that she wasn't already, but it was definitely visible and you could tell she was unhappy.

When she said 'maybe', no place in her mind did she actually want to agree to it. But deep inside, she knew it would come to this. Eventually, just Izaya's suave voice would have been enough to convince her. Maybe it was alright like this, giving in quickly so she wouldn't go through his sly negotiating. Yoshie let out a troubled sigh and zipped up her pants, feeling awkward and tight in them. She would be observing, just observing a little act Izaya had put together.

Or at least that's what he told her.

"Just observe... that's good enough," she murmured, remembering the words of the Voice from a long time ago.

It was less nostalgic than sickening. Her air felt thin just thinking about it, making her caress her throat in hopes of soothing the nausea that was beginning to build. For now, the accursed voice in her head was gone ever since that one episode. She was glad about that, but it being gone for good was to unrealistic to be true. No way did it constantly bother her for that lame of a finale, no, there was definitely something bigger that was going to happen. Like it was waiting, and all that was to alert her of something worse coming her way.

Another sigh, accompanied by a sniffle.

There was no doubt Yoshie was scared, she wasn't afraid to admit it. Even her admiration for Izaya couldn't conquer this growing anxiety, it was like everyday she woke up realizing the reality of things. That sudden burst or realization making your heart beat uncontrollably and breathing become short; much like that waking feeling you get just before something amazing or horrible is about to happen, and you know it is.

"Who was I? For this too happen..."

It was another question of hers she knew there was probably no actual answer too. Simple enough, the answer could as well have been: Kokubo Yoshie.

-...

All she needed to do was watch, Yoshie knew that. But what if she had an urge to jump in? What if she couldn't stop herself from wanting a closer look or even taking part in it? Izaya probably already knew the answer to that, and wanted to see the outcome of her almost human urges. Probably wanted to jeer in amusement and feel his ego boost when he found out his prediction was right. It was like everything was predetermined, inevitable. No one can challenge fate (in this case, it seems like Izaya could be trying to play fate itself), but even that seemed possible in Ikebukuro. Because one way or another, somehow even that connected into the chain.

"Black Rider will show up, won't they?" she said aloud, trying to hear her own voice above the wind. "And all I have to do... is see how this plays out..."

-...

Oh, how could he have been so naive. To jump to the conclusion that everything was almost supernatural, really...

Izaya was beginning to doubt Yoshie, rather found her phony. Her act was beginning to slip and recently all he saw was a normal human, but she was still usable. And until he came to a solid compromise, the information broker would keep her as long as he could. Looking back at everything he had gathered about her, he didn't find out much he didn't see the first time. But... There was something about her in the files that left a big gap in the information he needed. But what was it? Before he had tried to pry deeper but found nothing. It wasn't like someone had hid it, or deleted it on purpose. More like it was never there in first place, like it just disappeared from every computer server on earth.

Apparently, she was living quite a normal life until her disappearance.

Normal family with a pet, though some relatives deceased. Moved to Japan from America because she wanted a new change in scenery, was able to attend a University early because of a jump-start she had in Highschool. It didn't seem like anything was out of place. Before her disappearance, apparently she went to consult a counselor about voices she'd hear when she was alone. Of course, they couldn't come up with any clear results before she disappeared. So even that information was unreliable...

Yet there was the hacking of the Dollars' website. Kokubo Yoshie had no experience in computer technology, never had a laptop until middle school and only ever used it to pursue her manga/anime hobby. She could have done individual studying, but hacking of that caliber... and then there was the chatroom trolling. It was much like Saika's case, but it was less frequent. Saika seemed to appear whenever the Slasher struck, but what was it that made Bunko log in?

"She wasn't active in the Dollars, probably didn't even know she was a member... so maybe," Izaya pursed his lips in thought. "Someone else is behind this? Maybe little Miss Kokubo is just a decoy... Then I have the wrong person. I see now, it's actually..."

-...

"He says I'll know when I see it... but that thought seems to scare me," Yoshie mumbled, staring at the road below. Right now she was watching from a rooftop of a building long closed down, which was probably scheduled to be demolished soon. It was probably the most safest place to watch despite that, it meant the chances someone else would go up there so late at night were little to none. At least... she hoped.

Taking her eyes off the street, she took a look around. The area she was in was more of a storage area, but not so far away you could see the lights of a busy Ikebukuro. She watched with sad eyes, it would have been great if she never lost her memory. Maybe she would be roaming the streets like a normal Ikebukuro-ian.

She took out a cellphone, one Izaya leant her. It was pink and an eyesore. "Half past the hour... it's been twenty minutes... I'm starting to-"

Gunshot, followed by a screeching noise- like a car's tires against the cement as it comes to an abrupt stop. Looking down, she noticed she was very spot on with the car guess, but the gunshot she had heard was just the car slamming into a guardrail. Now she was waiting, just waiting for someone to come out. Was this the show? It would have been way too coincidental to not be. Then another bang roared in the air, causing Yoshie to freeze. It was definitely a gun.

How was she sure this time?

The bullet flew right past her and whistled by her ear, the gunshot left her deaf for a few moments and paralyzed. She wasn't sure where it came from, but she knew she was being shot at. The gunner aimed, it wasn't a misfire. What were the chances she would somehow be pulled into a situation like this? How about with Izaya in the equation? Yup, odds are this was definitely going to happen.

Yoshie took a breath and savored it, feeling thankful to be alive for those few seconds of being dazed. She backed up and made her way to the exit, looking around. Scared couldn't even explain how frightened she was at this moment. If she couldn't handle streets full of people she didn't know, how in the world could she handle trying to be killed. Another gunshot, the next one just grazing her leg. "Why..." her vision became shaky in desperation. "How did it become this dangerous just watching...?"

You were never meant to be an observer.

"What's wrong with being an witness?" the girl cried, turning the doorknob on the emergency exit. "Even if it were for him- I would never want to be caught up anymore than I am! Because... 'cause that's the type of person I am!"

It looks like you're back, Yoshie.

Once wide eyes closed, rested between bewilderment and acceptance.

"Ha... so they weren't actually spirits that were bothering me..." Yoshie whispered to herself, clutching at her chest. "I'm connected to..."

At her sudden realization, her expression became unsettling. She took a deep breath, still clutching at chest as if her heart could leap out at any moment. It started to make sense now, but the more it made sense, the more confusing it got. This situation she was in, it felt unreal but that made it even more believable. Just as she opened the door to the exit, a hand from behind grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. It was a moment she knew would happen the further she got wound up into things, but...

"Please... sorry, I'm sorry!" Yoshie stumbled to say as she was forcibly turned around to face the person. "So... please don't..."

... she couldn't help but beg for mercy, because she was only human.

-...

"... a copycat incident."