"This was still unnecessary, Nii-san."

"No."

"Yes it was."

"No."

I sighed and looked back at the ground, finding no point in the conversation. I reached for my white scarf and kept my other hand in the pocket of my jacket.

Shizuo and I were walking around Ikebukuro on a particularly sunny afternoon. He had insisted that we go to the store in order to buy me more clothes and such. I told him again that I didn't need anything, but Shizuo's stubbornness hadn't changed at all over the years.

For a moment, I considered that stubbornness annoying. I quickly discarded the thought. I didn't want to think of my brother as annoying. The constant banter of Eri and Mamoru was annoying. Shizuo certainly wasn't.

I remembered that I had wanted to tell Shizuo about everything. I didn't work up the courage to do so last night when he brought me to his small apartment and showed me my room.

Funny.

How I could kill someone without a second glance, but I couldn't steel myself to start a conversation with my brother and tell him about everything.

I suppose it's just because you're bad at socializing overall, Mamoru spoke up.

I second that, Eri said.

My grip on my scarf tightened a bit, but when Shizuo cast a small glance over at me, I loosened my fist.

Even if I was bad at socializing, I felt something else that kept me from speaking to my brother. An unease that rose up whenever I brought up the idea of telling him.

Ah. There it is.

I think it was fear.

Are you scared that he'll reject you because of everything you've done? Eri asked.

…

I think she is, Mamoru said as if I was not listening.

I let out sigh, a bit frustrated from Mamoru and Eri's discussion. I suppose I was afraid of Shizuo rejecting me. But it would make sense. I had taken many lives, but I didn't feel regret. I didn't feel guilt.

"Nii-san."

Shizuo looked over at me. "Yeah?"

The unease rose even higher until it almost became suffocating. I pushed it down.

"There's so-"

Before I could say anything else, a high pitched whinny rang throughout the air. Eri and Mamoru instantly recoiled, recognition coming off of them in waves. I stopped walking and looked to the side at the street.

To my surprise, a dullahan came whisking past me.

I stared at the dullahan as it came speeding by on a motorbike. Clothed in black, it, no, she was wearing a yellow and blue helmet shaped vaguely like a cat's head. No light reflected off of the black motorbike she rode. It was as if everything about the dullahan absorbed light.

Another whinny rang throughout the air as the dullahan sped out of my view. I continued to gaze at where it had disappeared.

A dullahan, Eri said.

I haven't seen one in quiet a while. What is one doing in this city? Mamoru said.

I remembered from Shizuo's letters that he had a friend that was a dullahan. Was that her?

Shizuo followed my gaze. "That was Celty," he said.

Ah. Celty Sturluson. I remember her name now.

"Do you want to meet her?"

I looked over at Shizuo. "Yes. That would be nice."

Shizuo beckoned to me and started walking again. I followed him.

As for Mamoru and Eri, though…

Does interacting with a dullahan count as human interaction? Mamoru asked.

I could almost see Eri's shrug.

That depends on how the dullahan acts, Eri replied.

I felt like scolding the two. The dullahan had a name, after all.

Yes, yes, I know. Celty Sturluson, Mamoru murmured.

I followed Shizuo as he walked through the city. I moved my hand from my scarf into the other pocket of my jacket. My gaze was downcast, and I shouldered the bag with my new belongings.

My thoughts returned to the topic I was going to bring up before the arrival of the dullahan. I wondered if I should bring it up again while we were walking. But we were going to meet someone, and this wasn't the type of conversation to stop midway and return to it later.

Finally, Shizuo stopped in front of a tall apartment building. He cast another glance at me before walking into the building.

Before Shizuo knocked on the door, he looked at me. "Let's hope that Celty is here."

I only gave a small nod.

Shizuo rapped on the door twice. I sensed hurried footsteps head for the door. When it opened, a young man with glasses and a white lab coat popped his head out. His face immediately lit up.

"Shizuo! What a surprise to see you here!" he exclaimed. He looked over at me and tilted his head curiously. "Who is this?"

"My sister. Reido, Shinra. Shinra, Reido. Can we come in?" Shizuo said without batting an eye.

Ah, so this was Kishitani Shinra, the underground doctor Shizuo spoke about.

Shinra-san observed me a little more before stepping back and opened the door for us. I stepped inside, observing the modern apartment.

"Celty, Shizuo's here!" Kishitani-san called out just as Shizuo and I took a seat on the cough. From one of the doorways, the dullahan stepped out.

Up close, I could confirm that the dullahan was definitely female. She wasn't wearing her helmet, which revealed the stump of her neck where a wisp of black substance rose. She was still dressed in black. More specifically, a black bike suit.

Celty-san seemed to startle in surprise at us. Probably not at Shizuo but at me. A PDA appeared in her hand. She typed into it and held it up for us all to see.

Oh. That's right. Japanese characters.

Shizuo only shrugged in response to Celty-san. "Reido was curious. She's new in the city after all."

Shinra-san rubbed the back of his head. "Celty, this is Reido. She's apparently Shizuo's sister."

A scowl flitted across Shizuo's face. "Not apparently. She is my sister."

Celty-san jumped and looked at me. She didn't have a head, but I could tell she had other ways to see. She typed something into her PDA and held it up, this time directed toward me. Shinra-san and Shizuo stared at me, waiting for my to reply to her.

I stared at the PDA.

Japanese characters.

Of course.

Before the silence could drag on any longer, Eri came to the rescue.

She's saying that it's nice to meet you, she said. I felt a spark of irritation emerge from Mamoru. Given how competitive the two tended to be sometimes, I could almost feel the impending headaches from their future arguments.

I bowed my head. "Ah, yes. It's nice to meet you." Before anyone could say anything else, I continued. "Why are you in the city?"

Shinra-san stiffened. "What do you mean by that, Reido-san?"

I burrowed my hands deeper into the pockets of my jacket. "You're a dullahan. Are you looking for your head?"

Shinra-san and Celty-san looked at each other. Shizuo, on the other hand, let out a snicker. A snicker.

"You figured that out quickly, Reido," he said with a smile.

That broke the awkward atmosphere. Shinra-san let out a laugh. "No one's said that to Celty when they first meet her. That's a first."

Celty-san typed something into her PDA. This time, it was Mamoru who spoke up.

You already know about dullahans? he recited.

A flash of annoyance from Eri.

Great.

"Nii-san told me about you," I said quietly. "In his letters."

"Ah, about that!" Shinra-san exclaimed. He pointed at Shizuo. "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a sister!"

Shizuo leaned on the arm of the couch. "It never came up in casual conversation."

Shinra-san balked. "Why didn't you at least say so, then! We talked about your brother once, didn't we?"

Shizuo only shrugged. "Like I said. It never came up." He glanced at me and back at Shinra-san.

Celty-san sat down next to me and held up her PDA for me.

She's saying it's a surprise that Shizuo has another sibling, Eri cut in before Mamoru could speak. I only nodded in response to Celty-san's statement. She held it up again after typing something else.

Oh. She's saying that you two look alike, Mamoru said.

What?

"Really?" I whispered. Even though Shizuo and Shinra-san had moved to another room to banter by themselves, I could feel Shizuo's gaze on my every so often.

Celty-san nodded, typing something else.

She commenting that you're a lot calmer than Shizuo is since Shizuo has anger management issues, Mamoru said again. Eri had attempted to cut him off, but Mamoru only increased his voice in my head to talk over Eri.

"He's like that a lot," I murmured even quieter than before.

Is that so?, Eri quickly translated.

Celty-san continued to type into the PDA.

Apparently, Shizuo's temper earned him an impressive reputation in the city, Mamoru all but snapped. I could feel his temper begin to rise along with Eri's.

"What kind of reputation?" I replied quietly.

This time, Eri and Mamoru began speaking over each other so loudly I felt like wincing.

Quiet down, would you? Take turns if you have to.

Finally, after a second of grudging silence, Eri spoke up.

He has a big one. He's pretty much feared because of his monstrous strength. Wait, strength? Eri said.

I tilted my head very subtly. "Monstrous strength?"

She's surprised you don't know, Mamoru said. At least his temper was beginning to ebb.

Celty-san nodded.

He's actually known as one of the strongest men in Ikebukuro, apparently, Eri said.

"One?" I asked.

Celty-san nodded again and continued to type, but I noticed that her movements were more cautious.

There's a lot of strong people in Ikebukuro. One of them is Orihara Izaya. He and Shizuo are constantly fighting the moment they see each other, Mamoru recited. She says that you should probably stay away from him.

Orihara Izaya?

折原 臨也?

Looking back on it, I hadn't really considered this Orihara person to be of any importance. Maybe I'd look into it out of curiosity of why he and my brother were always fighting.

At that moment, Shinra-san poked his head out of the nearby room. "Reido-san! I'm having company in a few minutes, so unless you're willing to continue your silent discussion on another time-"

He was suddenly cut off by Shizuo jabbing him in the ribs. Shinra-san yelped and clutched at his side.

"Let's go, Reido," Shizuo said. He nodded at both Celty-san and Shinra-san. I did the same and followed Shizuo out of the door.

Dusk had fallen. Time seemed to had passed quickly. I walked alongside Shizuo on the mostly deserted street. The atmosphere between us was quiet, but it wasn't as awkward as before.

"Nii-san?"

Instead of glancing at me, Shizuo turned his head. I could see his very subtle surprise at the questioning tone I had in his voice which I rarely had.

"Yeah?"

I clenched my fist subtly, realizing that the suffocating feeling was only rising and rising.

"Never mind."

Shizuo continued to gaze at me for a while before looking away.

"Alright."

That night, when Shizuo had closed the door to his room and I sitting quietly in my own room, I was holding a device in my hand. Something very similar to Celty-san's PDA. I stared at it, it's light softly illuminating the room.

It buzzed once. Then again.

I stared at the screen, and with a sigh, I pressed a button on the device, stood, and quietly slipped out of the open window.

While I debated on whether or not I should introduce Celty and Shinra later on, I really did not want to write a chapter of meaningless drabble that would make me want to tear my hair out out of sheer frustration.

So, this has Celty and Shinra.

Huijian (Chinese) = pay a visit

Apologies for the next few chapters since it may seem I might be going too fast with this story. But if everything goes according to my outline, this will be fine.

I hope.

So I also hope you enjoyed this new chapter. :)