AN: I'm back, baby! It's been a while, I know, and I'm sorry, but I'm here now! I watched the new episode and got an awesome new review, and I'm all pumped up for this chapter! Hopefully, my absence won't have made the story too difficult to follow. Anyway, I haven't quite decided what's going to happen here, so… let's find out, shall we? Oh, and remember how I said that some characters from other parts of the Naritaverse might show? Yeah. Also, prepare for lots of scene changes.
Two men walked down the street in a small neighborhood in Toshima, somewhere just north of Ikebukuro. To the average eye, these two men were absolutely normal – foreign, and almost certainly tourists, but normal. They spoke quietly in English, not loudly enough to draw attention, but not quietly enough to draw attention.
"This is probably a bad idea," the first man said. "I feel like this kid is up to something."
"Of course she is," the second man said. His English was good, but even an untrained ear could hear the French accent. "But an opportunity such as this is not one to be so quickly overlooked." The other man rolled his eyes.
"Everything's about science with you," he complained. "You never change at all. I thought you'd be happy to meet some of your old buddies." The first man frowned. Even with his lips turned down and his forehead wrinkled, there was no denying his stunning appearance. Had it not been for the obvious lack of cleavage, one might have assumed this man to be a woman. Before the beautiful man could reply, however, another voice cut into the conversation.
"There you are!" a cheerful man with a thick English accent ran towards them. He was followed by a man with glasses, a younger man who couldn't have been older than sixteen, a woman with short red hair, a young child holding her hand, and a rather large man with a grumpy look on his face.
"Where'd your brothers get off to?" the first man asked the large one.
"They're somewhere around here," he replied.
"They're gathering the others," the woman said. The Frenchman looked down at the child.
"It's been a while," he said simply. The boy scowled at him, and did not reply. "I have a son-in-law," the Frenchman continued, barely keeping his smirk off of his face. "I think you'd like him, actually," the boy shuddered, and stepped back behind the woman.
"Stop it, Huey," the man with glasses said quietly. Huey looked at him, and then shrugged. The man with glasses turned towards the first man.
"Ronnie," he said, "would you mind telling us exactly what we're dealing with?"
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The Rotting Man sensed the danger. It wasn't sure what exactly it was feeling, but something in the air of Ikebukuro had changed. Heiwajima Shizuo no longer ranked highest on its "biggest threats" list. That was troubling all by itself – the idea of any kind of creature being on his level, or possibly stronger, was beyond frightening – but there was something else stirring. The Rotting Man could feel it in the air.
Kujiragi Kasane felt it too, and so did Niekawa Haruna, Sonohara Anri, Celty Sturluson, and any creation with less than human origins. It was not Heiwajima Shizuo, it was not the man called Ronnie – it wasn't even the son-in-law Huey had mentioned, who was traveling by boat with his wife to visit his great-grandchildren (although how someone as young as Huey could have great-great-grandchildren was beyond most). It was something else – something higher. In the cold, dark, soundlessness of outer space, something had awoken from its sleep. It moved quickly and smoothly, almost as if it was running, and it seemed to be heading for earth. But that was, of course, impossible.
A black hole cannot run.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The boy named Hiro felt the stir at the same time Celty did. The two of them stood up simultaneously. Mika, who had just walked into the room, stared at them.
"What's with you two?" she asked.
[[I felt something,]] Celty told her. [[Something's wrong.]] There was a sound of breaking glass, and Celty turned just in time to see Hiro vanish out the window.
"You mean aside from the fact that a ten-year-old just jumped out of a window from the second story of an apartment building and is now running down the street like nothing happened?" Mika asked. Celty was already out the door. Mika watched the Dullahan, frowning, and pulled out her cell phone. She almost went to Tsukumoya Shinichi, but something in her gut told her that that wasn't the right thing to do.
"Hello?" she heard from the other end of her phone. "Who is this?"
"This is Harima Mika," Mika said. "Am I speaking with Mikajima Saki?"
"You are. But this isn't the most secure line."
"It doesn't matter," Mika told her. "We need to meet, face-to-face. As soon as possible." There was a silence for a moment.
"When and where?" Saki asked simply.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
Orihara Shirō did not feel the stir, but Orihara Kyōko did. She looked up when she felt it and thought of the things she'd lost – of the friend who ended her own life, of the parents who had raised her, and of the son who was never really all there to begin with. Orihara Kyōko looked the danger in the eyes and smiled at it.
She was not afraid.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The individual people of Ikebukuro did not notice anything, but the city itself did, because the city was alive, in a way, and it understood things in a way people couldn't. It felt the danger coming for it, and the heart of the city pulsed with a mixture of excitement and fear. Fortify the walls, the city said, protect your home and it will protect you.
The citizens of Ikebukuro, without noticing anything at all, began to be more careful, began to look in places they hadn't thought to before, began to see things they otherwise would not have seen. They knew their city, they were its blood and bones and flesh and muscle and the city was the armor that would protect them so long as they pumped oxygen through its veins.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
Kida Masaomi did not enjoy speaking with his mother. He did not like her, and he did not want to talk to her. To him, she was everything that had gone wrong with his life, everything that a mother should not be. But she wasn't a liar, wasn't going to pretend she cared when she didn't. His call hadn't made sense to her, he was sure, but it had given him the courage he needed to make his decision.
The Dollars were on the move.
The Blue Squares were on the move.
Those new guys, the Green Lights, were on the move too.
Saika's army was moving.
And now, the Yellow Scarves were going to take back their city.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
When Heiwajima Shizuo felt… whatever it was, he felt it a bit differently than the others. Despite his physical abnormalities, he was still technically human. Really, he shouldn't have felt anything at all, but all this nonsense with Izaya had made him a tad more aware towards things he didn't usually acknowledge. Glancing at Vorona's tense form, he could tell that she felt it too. Tom very clearly could not feel it, but he still seemed too realize that something wasn't right.
"What's up?" Tom asked. Shizuo and Vorona just shrugged.
"No clue," Shizuo told him.
"There is danger," Vorona said, her eyes darting around the area. "Not an enemy I am familiar with. The thought of a challenge, both exciting and terrifying… but the danger is not immediate."
"That's good, then," Tom decided. He trusted his coworkers' instincts. Even if he didn't know exactly what had been going on recently, he was fully aware that both of them could take care of themselves. "Let me know if you figure out what's wrong."
"Sure thing, Tom-san."
"Affirmative."
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
As Hiro ran, he began to remember. He saw, in his mind's eye, a young boy speaking with his grandmother, who was teaching him her first language, Russian, and the most well known language, English. But something told him that he was not that boy, and that that was not his grandmother. Realizing this brought back other memories – of a girl with pink hair on a flower, of a monster made of blood, of a small, seemingly unimportant watermelon.
Valdred Ivanhoe returned to the form of young, green-haired boy. He didn't know why he was in Japan (or how he had gotten there), but he did know that he needed to go home. The pull of was strong, however, and Val had a feeling there was something he needed to do before he left. He knew that he should know what it was, but he couldn't for the life of him remember.
Fairies, Val thought. Something about fairies…
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The old man and his wife both felt the stir. They weren't even in Japan, but they were close enough to feel it.
"Charon and Claudia are going to be in Ikebukuro, right?" the old man asked. The woman next to him nodded silently, and the old man grinned. "That works out, then. I think our stowaway is headed there too." There was a small gasp from one of the crates aboard the ship, and the old woman reached in and pulled out an odd girl with blonde hair, green eyes, face paint, and a clown-like costume. The Jester grinned nervously at them, and waved. The old woman rolled her eyes, and put the Jester back in the box.
'What a strange girl' she wrote down on a piece of paper. Her husband nodded.
"We've seen weirder, though," he said absently. From inside the box, the Jester sighed, relieved. It seemed that they would allow her to come with them. Crossing the water sucked already, but at least she wasn't going to have to swim. "You planning on tellin' us your name?" the old man asked. The Jester gulped.
"It's Pirie," she replied. "Pirie Mystwalker." The old man grinned again.
"Well, then, Pirie Mystwalker," he said, "Looks like you're comin' with us. I'm Felix, and this is my wife, Chane." The Jester got the feeling that she should've waited for another ship. Swimming was starting to look like a good idea…
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
Saki followed Anri around without a word of complaint, keeping a serene smile on her face the entire time. Anri swallowed nervously.
"Is Mikajima-san enjoying Raira Academy?" she asked. Saki blinked.
"It's nice," she said simply. Anri gave her friend's girlfriend a tight-lipped smile. I really wish Kida-kun and Ryuugamine-kun were here, she thought. And then she stopped dead, Saki bumping into her back. "Is everything okay?" the brunette asked.
"Mikajima-san," Anri began quietly, "have you seen Kida-kun or Ryuugamine-kun recently?" Saki tilted her head to the side.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"When I arrived at school today, Ryuugamine-kun waved at me," she said. "But I haven't seen him in any of my classes except Homeroom." Saki hesitated.
"Do you have him this period?" she questioned.
"Yes," Anri replied. She felt bad about the lie, but…
"Then maybe you just missed him," Saki said cheerfully. When they reached their next class, Mikado was already there. He turned and waved. Anri felt her throat tighten.
"Mikajima-san?" she asked. Saki turned to look at her. "I'm sorry." And then, she drew Saika and sliced the other girl in half.
AN: I know this chapter's relatively short, but… I'm just glad I got it out at all, really. To everyone who reviewed: thank you so much. It's thanks to you guys that I managed to write this chapter. Well, you guys and the new episodes. Anyway, as I'm sure you've noticed, this fic hasn't been updating very quickly. I'm really sorry about that. I'm balancing this story, Acnologia is Not Your Father, Witch's Sin, this writing prompt thing I'm doing on Tumblr (feel free to go check that out, if you like, but it's only for Fairy Tail), and a bunch of other shit. I also have serious motivation issues, so your reviews are hugely helpful. Thanks again, guys. :)
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you: for any Fairy Tail fans out there, I've got this writing challenge prompt thing I'm doing on Tumblr (that I mentioned a sentence or two ago), and you can totally send me something if you like; I use the same name there that I do here. The prompt's a bit specific, but it shouldn't be too hard to find.
Thanks yet again for sticking with me, and I'm sorry to anyone who doesn't like the characters from the rest of the Naritaverse – I tried to avoid bringing them in, but they sort of forced themselves into the story. Sorry.
On another note, Val's connection to Izaya will be revealed soon-ish, but first… how many of you are surprised by that? I did my absolute best to convince you that they were the same person (I may or may not have outright lied a couple times~). I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with Hiro at first, but I never intended for him to be the same person as Izaya. By the way, I lie sometimes. Whoops. Aren't unreliable narrators fun? Mwahahahahaha.
In all seriousness, though, thank you guys so much for everything.