Author's Note: Don't worry guys; those light novel characters will get their time to shine in the spotlight. But for now, let's continue following the adventures of our good friend, Kazu-tan.

Chapter 9: The Blue Sky Has Risen

Never thought I'd see the day. Currently, I'm allowing a pair of twins follow me to the hideout of my secret gang in order to let them observe me and the guys kick some ass. Personally…I couldn't ask for more. Albeit this isn't exactly what I'd consider "first date" material, but it's better than some other worse scenarios I've read in manga. At this current point in time, the Orihara twins, Mairu and Kururi, are right behind me as I lead them to the Purple Scorpion Factory. Mairu was babbling about something and Kururi was only giving small land quiet responses every now and again. Eventually, just as the sky was turning orange to black, we arrived. I knocked on the door to the factory. The little peephole made near the top slid to reveal brown eyes glaring at me.

"Password?" he asked.

I reached with my right hand and squeezed his nose from the rectangular hole.

"Your mama, now open the damn door."

I released him and he recoiled for a second before closing the hole. A few mechanisms were moved on the other side of the door, and it slowly opened.

"Sorry boss." The Scorpion member apologized. I walked in first, but Mairu quickly pulled herself and Kururi ahead of me.

"WOW! Look Kururi!"

Mairu began skipping around, taking in this new environment. I won't stop her; mainly because of more renovations. This place is huge enough on its own, but now with most of the useless equipment gone, this place is freaking huge! In the left corner beside the door is a little mini-gym with several pieces of workout equipment and a giant mat for guys to fight own without hitting the concrete floor. I looked right and saw a little barracks area covering from that corner to about halfway toward the other end of the factory. I walked ahead and saw that a couple feet next to the gym was a large entertainment area with a large ass screen TV, several game systems, and even a really long couch with two chairs next to it. I kept walking and saw that next to the barrack area in the right corner of the other side of the factory was a living area with a small reading nook in it. I saw Daisuke over there reading a book. I walked over and let the first question on my mind roll off.

"Where the hell did you get all of this stuff?"

Daisuke put his book down and stood up to face me. "Whatever wasn't found in the trash, was donated by the owner of this factory."

"Who owns it, anyway?"

"Some big time corporation guy. He's old, but he sees this a chance to: 'give the gang youth of today a far more luxurious experience'."

"What's his name?"

"Y. Jin; that's all I know."

"Well whoever this Y. Jin is, we owe him A LOT."

"No kidding. By the way boss," Daisuke point to the middle of the factory where Mairu and Kururi stood. "Who are those two?"

"…Friends."

"Cool. Are they members?"

"No, just passerby's."

"Okay; just keep an eye on them, alright?"

"I'm the boss here. YOU keep an eye on them."

"Well that seems a little unfair."

"So's life."

"…Damn, good point."

At that, Mairu and Kururi jumped one hanged onto my shoulders; Mairu on my left and Kururi on my right.

"This place is AWESOME, Kazu-tan!"

"Fun."

They both jumped down. I turned around to see Mairu smiling happily and Kururi smiling gently.

"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves, but now-."

Before I could finish, I heard the door slam open. I looked passed Mairu and Kururi to see several members walking in with severe bruises. I ran passed the twins to meet them. One of them fell to his knees, so I jumped to the ground onto my knees first and caught him.

"What happened?" I asked. This isn't good. Have we taken casualties? The member I was holding looked up at me, eyes barely half open, and smiled.

"Boss…we were…attacked."

"By who?"

"By…the Blue Squares."

"Are you serious?"

"YEAH!" I looked up to see that was a different member who spoke. "We were just walking down the street and saw some Blue Squares. We know you don't want to start anything with them, so we didn't do nothin. But out of nowhere, they jumped us. We took so hard hits. We barely got away!" he explained.

I looked back down to the injured member in front of me. He had fallend unconscious.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Get yourselves some treatment. There should be a little mini-nurses office in the back of the building near the office areas. Get fixed up."

I stood up to let the other broken members carry the unconscious one with them. I turned around to face the masses.

"Tonight, we get payback. I want at least seven of you on foot, and my lieutenants with me in the van. The seven of you will go to the site of the attack and WAIT. Do not engage under any circumstances. I repeat, DO NOT engage. Me and the others will wait in the van until contact is made. We're going to get revenge, but in MY way. Got it?"

Everyone shouted agreements.

"Alright. Makoto, get the van ready. Daisuke, pick out the seven we need. I'm looking for an intimidation factor in them. Kohta, get my bag and pack the bats. Knives, go with Makoto. Everyone else: keep the twins entertained."

I turned to head toward the shipping bay where the van was parked outside, but Mairu and Kururi jumped in front of me.

"No way!" Mairu declared. "We're going with you! We're not staying here when there's something fun going on out there!"

"I'm not staying either…" Kururi followed up.

"No way." I replied. "I'm not letting you two get into trouble over MY fights. Just stay here and don't get into any fights."

"NO!" Mairu declared. "We're not missing out on this, right Kururi?"

Kururi simply nodded in response.

I face palmed myself. Just how the hell can I get rid of these two? If I had known there was going to be a fight, I would've never let them come! Dammit, I need a plan…

"Don't worry boss." I heard from behind me.

I turned around to see Daisuke standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"As long as they stay in the van, then things should be okay, right?"

"That's beside the point, Daisuke. Anything can go wrong at any point, and I have no safety net for them."

"Yes you do."

"Who?"

Daisuke pointed his thumb toward the entrance to the loading bay. Knives was standing by the door, simply staring at us.

"You good to go, Knives?" Daisuke asked him.

Knives simply nodded. "Budu je chránit." (Czech)

"Knives?" I questioned. "You sure?"

"If Knives can fight off 11 guys while hopping on one foot, I'm sure he can protect a few twins."

Wait, what? Knives did that? I looked back to see him still staring. Just what kinda life does that guy lead? At any rate, I trust Daisuke's judgment. I turned back to see both girls still looking up at me, Mairu pouting and Kururi just staring blankly. Dammit, the power of twins is overwhelming! I finally caved in.

"…Fine! They come along…"

Mairu jumped happily and hugged me.

"Alright, knock it off. Just get in the van."

Mairu let go, grabbed Kururi's hand, and dragged her along to the loading bay. I went into the office area to change into my battle attire. Once finished, I headed for the loading bay. I jumped into the back of the van, where everyone was waiting. Kohta and Knives sat up against the left side while Mairu and Kururi were sitting against the right side. I jumped in, and sat down against the door as I closed it.

"Let's roll." Makoto started the van, and we began driving off.

I thought I could catch a nap, but Mairu didn't allow it.

"So, Kazu-tan, where'd you get that cute pink scarf?" she asked.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was focused on me. I can't blame them. This scarf is a good luck charm for a reason. But, I suppose everyone needs some kinda excuse. Besides, if I don't say it Mairu will just keep talking.

"It was a gift; from the first friend I ever had." Everyone remained dead silent as Makoto kept driving. "When I was young, I wasn't the greatest kid. I had a lot of anger issues and either made people my enemies or made them so afraid of me that they would want absolutely nothing to do with me. I was angry for a lot of reasons, and being alone didn't help at all. But when I was eight, I met someone…different."

They kept staring at me for more details. But…I don't think I'm ready to share them.

"It was a local shrine maiden who blessed it or something like that. She also gave me the little rabbit you see on my beanie; I had my mom sew it on before coming to Ikebukuro. That's the story, alright?"

Everyone looked utterly disappointed. Even Knives's melancholic expression looked more depression. I'd love to tell them about it, but still…I don't think I'm quite ready to share this story yet. The story…of the first girl I ever loved. These memories…I can still picture them clearly in my mind.

Kazuya Narration

It was a summer afternoon, and I was heading home from school. I just got finished fighting some kids who thought I was some kinda demon. Kagegoten was known for its superstition, so it wasn't very surprising people thought I wasn't human. The path home was pass a nearby farming field, which sat across from a local shrine. There were at least three, and this one was out in the more 'country' area of the town. Kagegoten was also known for its size; while not as huge like Ikebukuro, but still quite big. It was known as a 'small town' because the majority of it was farmland and forests. Anyway, I was walking down the dirt road home when I saw a girl about my age sitting on the steps to the shrine. She wore a shrine maiden's outfit, with long, flat, black hair and brown eyes.

She was eating lunch, and was sitting alone. She appeared to be just a little older than me, I think. I stared at her for about a minute before she noticed my presence. I looked away and started marching toward home. She gasped for some reason, and ran down the steps. She approached me, and I saw that she was a tiny bit taller than me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and got close to my face. She looked over my body, noticing the scars from my fight.

"You need some help. Come in!" she said cheerfully with a smile.

She dragged me into the shrine and told me to wait. She returned with some medical stuff and started fixing me up and cleaning off the dirt on my face. When she was finished, she introduced herself to me.

"I'm Shizuka Kasai, what's your name?" she asked me with a cute smile.

"I'm…Kazuya Aragaki." I said nervously.

We talked for a while before I had to go home before the sun set. After that, I started seeing her every day after school. Unfortunately, this would be after my various fights. But no matter how many fights I got in, she always stayed by my side and fixed me up. While she fixed me, she would just talk about her life. I learned her interests, her likes, dislikes, and even a bit of her family. Her father owned the shrine and her mother passed away when she was little. When I finally got the nerve to start actually talking about personal subjects, the first thing out of my mouth was

"What's your age?"

She giggled and answered. "I'm 12, Kazuya. But, I'm sure you couldn't tell because of how tall you are!"

I told her about my life and my anger issues. I even told her about my fights and why I go into them. But no matter how much I talked about them, she just smiled. For the first time in my life, I met someone who wasn't afraid of me. She even wasn't afraid of me after I lifted a small bench near the shrine. In fact, she praised me for it. She said that stronger I got, the more people I could protect with my strength. I could channel it, and use it for good. I started getting into less fights after that, and eventually none at all. But like all good things, that streak ended soon.

When I was 9 and she was 13, I went to see her during the fall. I saw several kids who had fought me previously trying to take what they couldn't out on me, now out on her. I lost it. I was in a complete rage. Everything went white and I couldn't control myself. I accidentally ended up destroying the entire shrine. The kids were all put into full-body casts. What's worse is that I even ended up hurting Shizuka.

I broke her arm by accidently breaking the stilts to roof, which collapsed on her. When I went to see her in the hospital, she was happy to see me. I couldn't comprehend it. Even after I broke her arm, she still saw me as a friend. I got angry. I couldn't understand how she could still even see me as human after destroying the shrine. She simply placed her hand on my cheek, and said with tears in her eyes.

"No matter how much destruction you cause, it's okay. Because not only do you do it for the sake of others, but you never kill. You're like the very spirit of Compassion, Kazuya. You forgive those boys every time they fight you, right?"

"Um…yeah…"

After that, we were friends again. Shizuka's arm was healed in a few weeks, and her family started repairing the shrine. I even helped out to pay off the damages. After it was finished, I kept seeing her after school. I got into fights, but she still stood by my side. Eventually, when I was 13 and she was 16, she had to move. She got into a pretty good high school, and she was leaving. After school was over for me, I ran to the shrine. When I got there, I found that Shizuka hadn't left yet, but the new owners of the shrine were moving in. We talked, and she gave me some things she made in her home-ec class. It was a pink scarf, and a little cute rabbit. After that, she gave me something else: my first kiss.

After a while, she had to leave. A few weeks later, I met Shinji and Taizo. Years passed, and I never saw her again. I've gotten over my first love fairly quickly, but that doesn't mean that I don't look back. She helped me understand that my strength can be used for something good; I just need to work on it.

Present

Back to the present, now. I was sitting in the van with everyone waiting for something to happen. The seven Scorpions Daisuke picked out were moving into position. Mairu's eyes were lit with expectation, while Kururi simply stared.

"Okay boss, we see them." Makoto pointed out.

I stood up and walked over so I could poke my head to the front. I saw across the street were five members of the Blue Squares.

"Okay, I'm stepping out. If anything happens, you know what to do."

"Got it." Daisuke confirmed.

I turned around and sat down to look into my golf bag. I pulled out a wooden bat, with a yellow smiley face on the side of it and the words "Have a Nice Day" right below it. Kohta pulled the handle to open the back door for me. I stepped out, and turned around to face Knives.

"Knives, keep an eye on the twins, got it?"

"Ja, meneer" (Dutch) I looked at said twins.

"Mairu, Kururi; enjoy the show."

I closed the door before they could respond. I walked around the van and headed toward the Squares, who were trying to pick a fight with my Scorpions. I walked over so that I stood in front of my group. The Squares looked at us confused for a moment, but easily switched back to their 'gangsta' mode.

"Look at that punk-bitch!"

"Dude, that scarf sucks!"

"Little punk!"

They were all trying to push my buttons. I walked forward and carried my bat over my shoulder, not wanting to fight…for now. "Listen, I'm not here to fight." I said in my dark, muffled voice.

"I want to speak to your leader…directly. Take me to him, before I decide to bash your heads in." I ordered.

They all started laughing. Well, I warned them. I quickly charged toward and them and slammed the butt of my bat on the nose of one of the Squares. One member on my right tried to punch me, but I ducked it and he hit another member. I jumped back as another member tried to hit me but ended up hitting another member. I then jumped back in and slammed my bat on that Square's foot, and slammed him with a headbutt. One last Square.

"So, you ready to comply?" I asked.

At that, I heard random clapping coming from a nearby alley behind my group.

"Guys, over here. Keep an eye on this guy."

My Scorpions followed my order, and walked over to stand behind me while one of them kept their eyes on the last Square. At least, he was the last Square. Several more came from that alley, and looked ready for a fight. But they didn't go in for an attack. They just stood there. Several of them started moving around, making room for someone to get through. I felt a familiar flare in my spine as this new person approached. Stepping out from the crowd of them was a shirt kid with short light blue hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue shirt, white hoodie, and dark blue jeans. It was a shock at first, but then it vanished quickly.

Quite frankly, it wasn't that much of a surprise. I always thought that this kid was bad news. It was Aoba Kuronuma, first year student at Raira.

"Well good evening, Purple Scorpions." He greeted. "I hope my underlings weren't too rough on yours." He sounds so cocky saying it like that.

I've been wanting to kick this kid's ass for a while. Wait, a minute… "Are you the leader of the Blue Squares?" I asked.

He looked at me questionably at first, but regained his happy composure. "Why yes, I am actually! I suppose this was an odd way for you to find out, but it was inevitable I suppose."

Hang on a tick. "Do you know me…?" I asked.

His grin took a wicked turn. "Yes I do." He took a step forward, obviously not afraid of the bat in my hand. "It took me a while, but I figured it out after a little while. You're Kazuya Aragaki, my newest friend at Raira Academy."

I swung my bat partially, stopping at mere centimeters from the left side of his face. He didn't even flinch, or bat an eye.

"Scary~." He commented.

I took my left hand out of my pocket and tugged my scarf down so I could reveal my face.

"What are you after, Aoba?"

He raised his left hand and lightly guided my bat away from his face. I eventually lowered it of my own will and held it beside me.

"Well, it's a long story but I'll just summarize it. I started the Blue Squares when I was in middle school, but the guys got a little out of hand and half of us ended up being either arrested or beaten out. But now that I'm back, I'm rebuilding the gang from the ground up. But I've been hearing how your Scorpions are trying to clean up the city, and I grew concerned about my group. So, what's your agenda for my group?" He asked me.

This guy…he's got fishy all over him. I read that the leader was arrested by the cops for breaking the leader of the Yellow Scarves' girlfriend's legs. So, why is this kid saying that he's the leader? Unless…a fall guy. That's it! That's why the kid reminds me of Izaya! He's a cunning little bastard! He had someone else in charge of the Squares, let him run wild, and end up getting himself arrested! This Aoba…he's not to trusted for a damn thing. But, I do need to bring the gangs together…damn it!

"I'm looking to unite the gangs of Ikebukuro."

He tilted his head in confusion, but brought it straight back up. "Unite us? Why?"

"Because I met the leader of the Red Fangs. The Red Fangs are going to move from Kyushu and head for here. These guys are NOT to be underestimated Aoba. I need your help. I'm not looking for a permanent merger. I'm just hoping for a temporary union until the Red Fangs come. When the dust settles, we can wipe each other out. Please Aoba, knock off the cunning manipulator routine."

His normally cheerful smile comepletely vanished. He looked serious, pondering my proposal. Then, he raised his hand and waved to his guys. They began walking away. I expect he wants the same from me.

"Guys, get out of here. I'll handle this."

"But boss-."

"I said move it!"

They shuddered at first, but quickly began walking away. Aoba signaled me to follow him. I did, and used my free hand to motion the van to stay put. He led me to a deserted alley, with the only residents being a few ugly looking rats. He leaned up against a wall, and I did the same to the one opposite of him.

"So, a union of the gangs, huh?" He looked up from the ground and stared up at me. "Sounds like what I had planned."

"What do you mean?"

"I was actually planning on something similar. I was originally planning on having my gang merge with the Dollars."

His usually cheery tone was completely absent in that statement. He was basically like a drone.

"Well I may not run the Dollars, but I am planning on forming an alliance with them as well. Where the Scarves and Squares have the muscle, the Dollars have the information and brains. With all three working with my group, which has several other advantages, then we can put up a decent fight."

Aoba simply stared blankly at me. He's not convinced. I can read this little turd's intent easily. He was planning a merger all right, but to boost the Squares' power. Not only that, but this kid is cautious. He was looking to use the Dollars' leader the same as the first guy. So he won't join unless there's a safety net…I got it.

"If you do this, I'll become your fall guy."

His eyes flinched a little from my offer. "What do you mean?"

"I know that the last guy in charge of the Squares was arrested while you got off scott-free. If you form an alliance with me, then I'll serve as your fall guy. If the Squares end up in any kind of trouble with the cops, then tell them to pin the deal on me. I'll be the sacrificial lamb. After that, you can take both gangs after the Red Fangs come in. Does that sound like a deal?"

He remained silent, but shifted his gaze toward the ground. He then looked up, and extended his right hand out.

"Deal."

"Good." I placed my bat so it could lean against the wall, and extended my right hand out. We shook hands, but the trust wasn't there…at all. As we brought our hands back and I grabbed my bat, another thought occurred to me. "And by the way, don't get any information about anything from Izaya Orihara."

At that, his expression actually looked a little…angry. Does he know Izaya? "I know." He answered flatly.

"I don't like the guy any more than you do."

"How so?"

"I suppose we hate each other because we're too similar, but there's one major difference."

"Which is?"

"While Izaya loves humans, I…hate them; with a passion."

I took out a pen and paper, and began writing my cell phone number. I handed it to him. "Here's my number. If anything comes up, at least warn me first."

Aoba took it without thanking me or saying a damn word. He began walking toward one end of the alley, leaving me to take the other.

"I'll see you at school, Kazuya."

"…Sure."

I began walking toward the way we came in while he went down the other end. It was one of those alleys that connect between streets. We didn't exchange any more words after that. We didn't need to. I can't trust him, but I can't let him slip away either. I have him on a VERY thin leash. I just hope I can keep him restrained enough to not do anything stupid. I made my way back to the van, where Mairu and Kururi were standing outside of it waiting for me. Mairu ran over to me while Kururi simply walked.

"Kazu-tan! Was that Aoba?"

"…Yes." I answered.

"What was he doing here?" she asked.

"He's the leader of the Blue Squares, believe it or not. I just established a little alliance with him."

"Really? No way!"

"Is that true, boss?" Daisuke asked from the comfort of his seat in the van.

"Yeah. As of now, the Blue Squares have no beef with the Purple Scorpions. In addition, we do not fight any of them."

The back of the van opened, and I jumped in. Mairu quickly followed with Kururi following. The door closed, and while Mairu and Kururi were sitting on the same side they were on our way here, I also sat in my place as usual.

"Let's go back. We don't have any more business here."

Makoto began driving the van, and I let out a sigh of exhaustion. I closed my eyes, hoping to get a quick nap in. But as I tried to sleep, I heard something moving around in the van. Then out of nowhere, I felt something lean against both my left side and my right. I cracked open my eyes, and to my surprise I found that Mairu and Kururi had moved. Mairu was leaning on my right side while Kururi leaned on my left. I also noted that both of them let their hoods down; Mairu having to adjust and move her braided ponytail so that was placed on her left shoulder.

"So, what are you planning, anyway Kazu-tan?" she asked me without making eye contact.

I looked at to the top ceiling of the van, and a thought occurred to me.

"Well for one, I'm thinking of having a skylight put in the van. You okay with that, Makoto?" I asked.

"I'm cool with it, boss."

Mairu lightly punched my arm.

"Ow." I said flatly.

"I didn't mean that! I mean, what are you doing with Aoba?"

"Well, it turns out that Aoba is the head-hancho of the Blue Squares. I was planning on merging the gangs of Ikebukuro to stop a psychopath I'm sure even you're brother would try to avoid."

"Can he kill Izaya?" Kururi asked flatly.

I thought about it for a moment. "Odds are: probably."

"Good!" Mairu looked at Kururi, who seemed a little more down than usual. "Is something wrong, Kururi?" Mairu asked.

Kururi didn't answer.

Mairu then chirp and scooted over to hug her sister.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure that Aoba kid wasn't even worth our time anyway. Besides…" She looked at me with smile. "We have Kazu-tan! And then with his help, we'll get Yuuhei too! But even then, yo still have me!"

Kururi seemed to perk up a small amount at that promise. Am I just a segway to their own fantasies? Probably; but I'm content with it. Besides, I'm too tired to come up with a comeback anyway. But as I tried to sleep again, Makoto slammed on the brakes, sending me to barrel forward. When I rearranged myself to sit up, I was about to scream at Makoto for stopping. But as I looked out the windshield, I saw someone wounded on the ground in front of us. I opened the back door and ran toward the guy.

When I arrived, he had several severe scars across his body. He was caucasian, and was rather tall. I kneeled down to try to shake him.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" I asked. He only groaned. I think I woke him up.

"What's up, Kazu-tan? Who's that?"

I turned my head to see that Mairu and Kururi were walking toward me.

"You two, just help me get this man into the van. We need to take him somewhere to get healed."

Mairu enthusiastically saluted. "Yes, sir!" she and Kururi walked over and help me lift the guy off the ground.

We carried him over to the back of the van and laid him down. He seemed to be hanging on to whatever consciousness he has…barely.

"Hey, buddy, what happened?" I asked him as Mairu closed the back door.

Makoto started driving, but the guy coughed some blood up as we began moving.

"Do you know…" he started asking "A place called…Russia Sushi…?" he asked.

"Yeah. You want us to take you there?" I asked.

He simply nodded before blacking out again. "Makoto, get us to Russia Sushi. This guy seems to know them there."

"Got it."

Makoto sped up a little as we began heading toward Russia Sushi. After a while drive, we pulled up across the street from it. It was rather late, but I'm sure they're still open.

"Okay guys, let's get this guy in there! Kohta, Daisuke, carry him. I'll go see if they can see this guy."

I ran out of the van and headed for the restaurant quickly. First moment in, I saw only Dennis inside. "Hey, Dennis!" I ran toward the bar. Strangely, there wasn't any customers inside. I guess this is their slow hours.

"Oh, Kazuya, what brings you here?"

"I've got an injured white guy in my van! He says he knows you. He's pretty injured. Do you think you can help him?"

Dennis scratched his chin for a moment. "Alright, bring him in. I'll make room in the back."

"Thanks!"

I ran out and saw the Kohta and Daisuke were carrying the man easily through the crowd of people. Mairu and Kururi were following with overflowing curiosity. Makoto locked the van and started heading over with Knives right behind him.

"Okay, Dennis says to get in the back."

"Got it!" Kohta and Daisuke both answered.

Everyone soon piled in and headed for the back of the place. Dennis had a futon laid out for the man. Kohta and Daisuke let him down easy, and Dennis looked at him curiously. The man opened his eyes again, and kept them focus on Dennis.

"…Igor?" Dennis called him.

"Dennis? Is that…you? So, this is where you've been hiding..." the man called Igor commented.

"What happened to you?" Dennis asked him.

"Some guy…named Sousuke. He's a damn monster…"

Sousuke…that could only be Sousuke Yagami.

"But…" Igor continued. "There was another guy…in the way. A…blonde bartender got in the way…he and Sousuke fought…Sousuke barely won…he said, you could…help…"

Igor slipped out of consciousness again. I threw my phone to Makoto.

"Makoto, I saved Shinra's number on there. Call him and say it's a favor from me; maybe that'll get his ass over here."

"On it!"

Makoto ran out the room and started searching my contacts. I felt a little drowsy over tonight's events, but things are getting odder by the second. I almost fell asleep until I felt Mairu and Kururi use my shoulders for pillows and sleep as well. I good ten minutes passed until I heard someone rush in. I open my eyes to see Shinra was in the process of trying to fix up the man called Igor. He noticed me awakening, and smiled.

"Evening, sleepy head!" he greeted.

"Yo. How much this time?" I asked.

"Well, you did call me straight out of nowhere in the middle of the evening. I'll come up with something to charge you with."

"I'll deal with it later. Just see if you can help him, please?"

"Alright then."

Shinra resumed working. I noticed that the weights on my shoulders were gone. I walked out of the room and saw that Daisuke was waiting for me.

"Come on, boss. We'll take you home. You look a little tired."

"Fine. Just get me home then."

As I passed him, Daisuke gasped a little and bonked his head with his hand. "I almost forgot!"

He started digging into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Mairu and Kururi, Knives took them home by the way, left you this paper. They said it was the info on a little chat room they're a part of on the internet. They said they know some interesting people on it."

I took the paper and kept walking. I'm half asleep right now, so I just don't care at the moment.

"They said they got the info from Izaya's secretary, Namie."

I stopped walking just as I exited the restaurant. Wait, secretary? "Why would Izaya's secretary give Mairu and Kururi the info on a chat room?"

"Apparently, Izaya is a part of it, and the lady saw it as an opportunity-."

"To mess with Izaya. Can't really say I blame her, though."

I kept walking until I practically fell into the van. After several minutes, I was eventually dropped off home. I pretty much fell asleep the moment I closed the door to my apartment. The next morning, I felt groggy as hell.

Classes passed, my only concern being how to deal with everything that's been dropped into my lap. First Aoba and now Sousuke's gone on a rampage? What's next? Around lunch, I headed for the roof. It was pretty much unpopulated, oddly enough. I think people are avoiding this area because I'm here. I have no problem with that. It wasn't until I got up here that I finally noticed that the sky was completely covered in grey clouds. Damn…looks like rain again. As I opened up my zip-bag containing my sandwich, I heard the door to the roof open. Unsurprisingly, it was Mairu and Kururi. But it was who was behind them who surprised me. Aoba, his bored expression on his face.

"Hey twins; Aoba."

"Heya!"

"Hello…"

Aoba didn't reply. While I sat in the corner of the fence, the twins sat on one bench while Aoba simply leaned against the right fence from the corner I sat at.

"I've got some good info, Kazuya." He spoke.

"What?"

"I know who the leader of the Dollars is."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, and I'm working on getting him on our side."

He's what? He did say he was working on it before meeting me. But I don't want him doing something stupid beforehand! I stood up and stepped to my right so I stood in front of him.

"Don't approach him without me. We're not going to make much progress if you try to use intimidation in order to get him on our side. Got it?"

"Of course. I'll be meeting with him and his girlfriend after school today for a little tour around Ikebukuro. To them, I'm just a lost kid who needs to directions. So, would you like to join us?" His sly smile returned to his face.

"…Fine. But you don't go near them unless I am with you." I brought up my sandwich and ate it in a single gulp. "Got it?" I said more than asked.

His smile still on his face. "Sure thing!"

"Tch, I'm heading back to class."

"Seeya, Kazu-tan!" Mairu called out.

I simply waved with my back turned and headed for class. Classes went by, and I immediately headed for the front gate of the school. There, I saw Aoba standing next to two people. It was a guy and a girl. The guy has short black hair, wore a normal boys blue Raira uniform, blue tie, and he looked like a rather meek guy. The girl was similar, in a way. She was a little shorter than him, has short cut black hair, and somewhat red eyes with glasses. I'd mention her rather "full assets", but I'm gonna avoid that "territory" for the moment.

"Ah, there he is!" Aoba pointed out. "We've been waiting for ya!"

I walked over and stood next to Aoba, across from the two. I bowed my head slightly.

"I'm Kazuya Aragaki, second year. I'm Aoba's…" Can't believe I'm about to say this. "…Friend."

The boy returned my bow first. "Um, I'm Mikado Ryūgamine." Okay, that's an awesome name.

The girl followed with a bow as well. "I'm Anri Sonohara." She still sounded a little nervous, but less that the guy.

"Kazuya will be joining us today! He's still a little lost around Ikebukuro, too." Aoba pointed out.

I shot him a sharp glare to shut him up.

"Ooohh~, scary!" he said sarcastically. "Well, where shall we start?" he asked.

To be frank, I zoned out for the most part. We walked around for a while, just seeing the sights. I don't know why, but Mikado and Anri seemed a little hesitant to be around Aoba. Did he already do something to intimidate them? Great, he's already gone and done something stupid. We reached a stopping point and when Anri and Mikado had to be separated from us for a moment. I approached Aoba angrily.

"What the hell did you do?"

" Whatever do you mean?"

"I can smell the uneasiness in the air. You've done something, haven't you?"

"…A little."

"What?"

"Well, this is my second time out with them, and Mikado seemed to not want to come. So, to give him a little push, I just kinda 'flirted' with Ms. Sonohara."

"…You dumbass."

"Hey, I needed him to come along, so I tried an alternative." He said cheerfully.

"Listen you little-!"

Before I could finish, I heard some punks talking trash not too far from us. Mikado and Anri returned at the wrong time. I saw yellow arm bands on the punks across the street, and the idea immediately popped in my head. Four Raira students, one looks meek, one looks like a clown, one a tough guy, and the last one is a girl with huge knockers. I can see the wheels turning in their heads.

"Mikado, Anri…"

"Um, yes?" Mikado replied first.

"Get behind me. We've got company."

Mikado and Anri looked out toward where I was looking. Before I knew it, one of the Yellow Scarves pulled out a pipe.

"Son of a bitch…" I commented.

They started walking over, speaking various forms of trash at us. That was until, I felt something tug on my sleeve. I looked to my left to see that it was Aoba.

"So, you wanna save us at any point?" he asked cheerfully.

"Save us…?" Mikado questioned.

Ah to hell with it. I may not have a bat, but I'm not called mini-Shizuo for nothing. Great, I'm admitting it now. DAMN IT! I went over and grabbed a small guardrail and lifted it from the ground. Within seconds, I lifted it easily.

"Alright, who wants taken out first?" I asked.

Before any of the Scarves could answer, a large bread truck sped but and slammed on its brakes. It stopped, but was in time to slam every Yellow Scarf away from us. Then , another van pulled up that strangely had a cat girl on the left side of it.

Then, I heard something similar to horse neighing in the distance. I looked right from where the bread truck came from and saw Celty coming in with Shizuo riding the back. Okay, hell just broke loose.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, NOW?"

TO BE CONTINUED