Shizuo swears. I try to avoid it, but it's still there.
The ending I have isn't the one I had been planning, but at least it's not a cliff hanger or leaves important things unresolved. The entirety of the story doesn't have a strong plot, it's a lot of meandering around doing fun, goofy, exciting things, so breaking off not exactly where I had planned shouldn't be too bad. Of course, if, at the end, anyone wants to see the next twenty-so pages and be left on a complete and total, like, textbook cliffhanger before dropping the story, I'll add it.
A few chapters aren't as well edited as I'd like, but then again, I wrote this a long time ago. It was my first really long fic, and one of my first ten. Considering, I'm impressed by little me. Good job kiddo. It only sorta sucks.
Because of this, it's hardly to the quality my current stuff is, but I thought people would still enjoy it. I rate this teen mainly because of the swearing, but there really isn't all that much more than K+ content. There is hardly anything excessively angsty or hurt/hurt or even really hurt/comfort. It's just fun.
Romance wise, I don't manage to get to a point that anything might have really developed—it was a sort of slooooooooooow burn that I hadn't even made up my mind who she would end up with—so if you care about that, um, prepare yourself…? I don't really know.
Do not get curious about the corporation or reason Taiyo is teleported to Durarara, because that will not be resolved, but in the beginning it's so skimmed over that it shouldn't bother you. Just attribute it to plot contrivance or magic (plot contrivance and magic, mwahaha).
{-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-}
I suppose I should explain how this started and who I was first. I was a 16 year old orphaned otaku girl. Any time I wasn't studying, I was obsessing over fictional worlds and characters. It was during one of those days that my story began.
Scrolling for a new anime to watch on Crunchyroll, I was interrupted by an ad for an anime called "Real World." I clicked on the link for the ad and immediately blacked out.
When I woke up, I was floating in space. Not actual space, but the type you'd see in a shoujo anime, with rainbow sparkles everywhere, bright stars, and blue and purple swishes mixing into the black void. A female voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, instructing me to design my 'character.' And you know when you're dreaming you never question what's going on? No matter how ridiculous it is you just, kind of, roll with it? You don't even act like yourself sometimes? Well, that's what it was like. As a screen materialized in front of me, I did what the voice said and began to 'make' myself. Even in my dream state, however, I noticed that it took a very long and simultaneously short time to 'make' me; time, apparently, didn't flow properly there.
The screen was like a panel for a game, where I could choose my appearance and abilities. I made myself 5 feet tall with 5 foot long fiery red hair and ash gray eyes flecked with orange. For my strong points I choose to be insusceptible to drugs and agile like an Olympic gymnast.
I also got to choose one special magic type ability, but I could only choose from a list of options on the screen. Each power came with a predetermined set of restrictions as well. I picked the power to change my appearance into any animal. There were 3 restrictions for this power; first, I could only transform for twenty minutes straight, then I had to 'recharge' for 5 minutes. Second, I couldn't transform from one thing to another without first changing back to myself. And third, I couldn't change the shape or color of my clothes, I could only change them to fit the form that I would transform into.
The voice said there were a few other rules that I would need to find out on my own once I got there. It then said that I would be transported to the last anime I had watched. Luckily, I hadn't watched anything like Attack on Titan recently; if I had I probably would have gone insane or died. The last thing I had watched was Durarara for the fourth time through; I loved that series so much.
Finally, the voice said that I would be getting a purse that no one else could open and a pet of my choice. Apparently, I was going to be very rich too. If only I had been 'awake,' I'm sure I would have been much more skeptical of the entire thing. I would be attending Raira academy and wake up somewhere in Ikebukuro. Then I was knocked out again.
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I came to on a park bench and thought I had dreamed it. I was really upset at first since I had wanted it to be real, but then I realized how hard my 'bed' was. I immediately sat up to look around, but I felt extremely dizzy and almost fell back over. Thinking about it now, I had heard a horse neighing, but at the time I didn't exactly process the noise. Once I had composed myself a little, I stood up.
"This can't be real. It isn't real," I mumbled to myself, starting toward a nearby fountain, "I must've sleepwalked here or something…. it doesn't make any sense... I mean, why would someone do this? How?"
The fountain ledge seemed abnormally high as I clambered onto it, careful of the slippery wet spots. Then I stared down at the water and saw the stupidly shocked face of a tiny person with red hair staring right back at me. I touched the water and so did the now rippling reflection.
'This… is… real…?' I thought dazedly as I slipped and fell towards the water.
As I fell, something grabbed me from behind and yanked me backwards, away from the ledge. I landed hard on a bench with a thud. Without even thinking about it, I did a twisting flip over the back of the bench and landed behind it silently.
"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to help. I saw you as you fell in the fountain," a lady all in black typed onto a phone, showing me the message.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions it's just, well, today has been kind of, crazy and... downright impossible... you would think..." I mumbled, watching her curiously. She was wearing a yellow helmet with cat ears and a black visor- Celty.
'Okay~ time to look for a psychiatrist since I'm clearly going crazy,' I thought, staggering around the bench, then sitting on it. Shaking my head to clear it, I pinched myself very hard, because being insane and sleeping are totally the same thing. When I didn't wake up or become aware of my insanity, I just gaped for a while. Then I realized with a jolt that I was being strange and probably rude so I looked away quickly.
"Sorry," I mumbled, "I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. Didn't meant to stare." 'Idiot!' I scolded myself, 'You can't fangirl to her face! I need to act like I don't know anything until I have time to think!'
"It's alright. Want to talk about it?" Celty asked. She had a weird reassuring aura about her, almost like familiarity.
"I'd really like to," I said cautiously, "but I don't want to trouble you. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Celty typed, nodding as she sat down next to me.
I did some quick thinking and fabricated the best lie I could in all of 30 seconds. "Well, I'm not really sure what happened myself, so I don't really know where to start," I began hesitantly, trying to find any gaping holes in the lie I was about to tell. "I've lived traveling from Japan to America all my life, but I don't know how I got here today... I was at home in America not 30 minutes ago and I-I got word that my p-parents," I faked a choke/sob, "that I won't, I won't ever see them again. And I just, I blacked out. When I woke up I was here. And I can't go home now; I don't own the house. I don't know what to do. I don't know how I got here, I've lost my family, I don't have any friends, and I-I-" at that point I broke off my falsely distraught monologue. 'If it were true,' I reasoned, 'I probably wouldn't be able to go on.'
"I'm so sorry!" she typed, "That's horrible! And you're so young!"
"Yeah," I sniffed, rubbing my eyes with my sleeve, "but I'm actually 16, so I'm sure I can figure something out." I tried to give her a strained smile. "I do have a lot of money and I can get a job, I just, I just have to figure out a few things. Or, you know, a lot of things."
"But that makes you a teenager. You just lost everything and popped up somewhere you don't recognize. You don't even know how you got here!" Celty typed furiously.
"Well, I-" I started.
"I have an idea. You are coming back to my place." She typed as she stood up and made a fist like in manga when the characters are all like |we can do it!| Like this p(^_^)q
"Are you sure you don't mind?" I kept my voice as calm as possible, but on the inside I was bubbling over with the feels.
'This was the best thing that could have possibly happened!' I thought, suppressing a piercing squeal. 'I'll get to see Shinra and actually live with Celty!'
"Of course. Besides, a tiny, er, small girl, like yourself, shouldn't wander around at night in Ikebukuro, even if you actually are 16. Come on, you can figure out what you'll do tomorrow." She gestured towards the road. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm-," I hesitated. I didn't want to be known as Jessica Meyers in this world; I wanted to leave that name and that life behind me, like Tris had in Divergent. I cast my mind about and recalled a self-insertion fanfiction I had once written and the OC's name. "My, my name is Taiyo Shimo!" I said with a little too much gusto, to which I winced, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment.
When we reached her motorcycle, I decided to take a chance. "Uh, are you, by any chance, the Headless Rider?" I asked casually.
"What? Uh, no! I'm not the headless rider at all!" She typed, looking away. "Why would you think that?"
'She's just as bad at lying as she was in the manga,' I thought. "I won't freak out if you are, you know. I think it's really cool, actually!" I coaxed.
"Ah, fine. I am. But don't ask to see my-" she began, but I interrupted swiftly.
"Can I see under your helmet? Please!" I asked excitedly.
She seemed to sigh as she typed, "Are you sure? Don't scream, alright?"
I nodded. Slowly, she took off her cat ear helmet, revealing something slightly different from the anime. What was depicted as smoke in the story was more like tiny bits of sand that swirled around where her head should have been. There was no glint, it was just pure black, and it floated around until it seemed to dissolve in the sunlight, like a shadow.
"So... so... SO COOL!" I squealed, eyes shining like a true otaku.
"Did you, did you just say, cool?" She asked, apparently taken aback by my statement.
"Yeah! This is awesome! Can I touch it?" I begged her, still staring at the sand-like substance.
"Uh, yeah..." she typed slowly, almost hesitantly.
When my hand touched it, it felt like a cloud of the tiniest particles sifting through my fingers. I swished my hand back and forth, watching the sand swirl silently through the air. "This is so cool! It's so soft! And you don't have a head! How do you see? How do you eat? How do you hear? Wow, this is amazing!" I squealed, the words tumbling in a rush out of my mouth.
"Now you sound like Shinra," Celty typed.
"Who's Shinra-San?" I asked. 'Pretend not to know, pretend not to know,' I told myself over and over.
"He's a doctor and my roommate."
"Oh? Are you sure he isn't, maybe, you know, something more?" I smirked, Speaking the last two words very slowly in a sing-songy voice.
"Time to go!" She typed, and suddenly the particles of black sand wrapped around my head, forming a helmet.
When she brought the bike to life with a roar, I giggled very girlishly. I maniacally laughed once we had started going fast, and when the cops started chasing us I whooped with glee at every sharp turn and dangerous jump. During an especially high jump, I flung my head backward, staring at the sky. Time seemed almost suspended as I thought, elated, 'I'm on a bike with an anime character, who is real, and this world is real, and oh my goodness this is what I've been dreaming about forever. Leaving the "real world" for something better. Something incredible.'
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(ÞϘV Celty)
"Shinra, I'm back. And I brought a visitor," I typed as I entered the apartment.
"Celty! I missed you!" Shinra crowed as he hurdled at me to glomp me, but I just dodged as usual. He shot past me, landing in a heap at the girl's feet. "Oof! You're so mean, Celty! Oh, who's this?" Shinra asked as he got up and brushed off his clothes.
"She's someone I just met and I invited her to stay with us for a couple of nights. She doesn't have a place to stay and she needs a little help." I nodded to say I'd explain more later.
"Well, cool! A new acquaintance. What's your name little girl? How old are you?" He asked, bending down to get on her eye level.
"I know I'm puny but if this becomes some sort of regular thing," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth, looking annoyed. She turned back to Shinra and smiled sweetly. "I'm Taiyo Shimo. I'm actually 16, contrary to my appearance. Nice to meet you, Shinra-San. Thank you for being cool with me staying here tonight."
"You're 16?! I'm sorry, you're just so- so tiny!" Shinra exclaimed, jolting upright.
"Yeah, I know. But I kind of like it this way so don't worry about it," Taiyo giggled happily.
I tapped Shinra's shoulder lightly, showing him the text on my phone. "Shinra, is there any dinner ready?"
"Ugh…. I didn't know there would be a guest so I was planning on having a microwave meal," Shinra groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead.
Taiyo put her hand up awkwardly, "Um, I could make something, if you don't mind me using your kitchen? I'm a decent cook, but I haven't cooked any Japanese dishes in quite a while, so I can't guarantee anything," she offered sheepishly.
"Of course not, you're our guest. How about we go out?" I typed.
"Good idea, Celty! But where should we go?" Shinra asked excitedly.
"Really, I don't want to be such a bother!" Taiyo protested as she waved her hands in front of herself, "I am totally fine with microwave meals!"
"Hmm, fine. But tomorrow I'm going to the store for more options," Shinra said as he brushed past me to the kitchen.
I turned to Taiyo. "So, would you like a bath? And some clean clothes?" I noticed she was wearing a Raira uniform. 'That's odd,' I thought, 'Didn't she say she lived in America?'
"I would really appreciate a shower, actually. And something to sleep in would be nice, too."
I led her down the hallway to the bathroom, got her a towel, and closed the door. I walked back to the living room to find Shinra tapping his foot, clearly waiting for an explanation. I told him what I knew and that I wanted to watch out for Taiyo for a while.
"Well, that mostly makes sense," he said slowly and with a hint of sarcasm, "She was in America when she got news of her parents' death. She passed out, presumably from shock, and then woke up here with nowhere to go home to and no clue as to why or how she got here. Not only that, but you realize she's wearing a Raira uniform? Why would she if she was living in America?"
"She did say that she traveled between Japan and America a lot. Maybe she was traveling here soon and she wanted to try her school outfit on? But, I agree that it's weird. I get an odd feeling from her, not like another mystical being, but not normal either. I can't quite place it."
"Well, I suppose she can stay for a while if you're okay with it. But we should keep a close eye on her. She has a purse, doesn't she?" He added as he held a finger up conspiratorially. I punched him in the side.
"You would snoop into a slightly odd high-school girl's purse? Bad Shinra," I scolded him, "Besides, she took it into the bathroom with her," I added, hearing the shower turn on.
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(ÞϘV Taiyo)
I turned the water on so that they wouldn't be suspicious while I searched through my purse. I knew that once Celty and Shinra were my close friends they were very trustworthy. But, honestly, they weren't the most morally grounded people around; Shinra was an underground doctor.
I set my purse on the counter in front of the mirror and examined it. It was a plain black shoulder purse with a zipper and no compartments on the outside. It had many compartments on the inside and in one pocket I found money and a bank number and in another I found my phone from the 'Real World.' At the bottom of the purse there was a box and I remembered with a jolt that my pet was inside it.
"Oh, dang!" I blurted before I could stop myself.
"Are you alright, Taiyo-kun?" Shinra called from down the hall.
"Yeah! Sorry, I just… well… yeah, I'm fine..." I said, trying to sound upset.
"Okay."
'I hope I convinced him that I was just upset about my parents,' I thought as I stared blankly at my purse, 'I still feel kind of bad for tricking them, though.'
Upon closer inspection of the purse, I noticed a hidden pocket on the exterior. Inside it I found a folded scrap of paper. I opened it and read, {An organization knows about you and wants to kidnap you. Be Careful.} and that was it. I turned the note over but it was blank and I stared, dumbfounded, at the warning.
'I'm at an underground doctor's home,' was my first tense thought, 'but then,' I argued with myself, 'Shinra doesn't kidnap people. At least, he didn't in the show. Ugh, I can't process this right now, I'm still dealing with waking up in a freaking anime. I'll have to think about it later.' As I stepped into the shower I sighed contentedly, relishing the hot water that ran down my back and through my hair. 'Dang, I forgot about my hair. Oh my gosh, it's so long…'
Fortunately, it was in a very thick braid that made it much shorter and I decided not to take it out just yet. I had no idea how to put it back in and I didn't want to deal with it so I ignored it while I showered.
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After my shower, I changed into some oversized clothes that Shinra had given me. By then it was time for dinner. The atmosphere at the table was much more relaxed than I had expected it to be. They avoided talking about my situation and I hoped, but didn't believe, that it was because they thought I wouldn't want to talk about it so soon.
Right after dinner I asked to go to bed and Shinra showed me to the spare bedroom down the hall. I thanked him as I closed the door gently. Across the room was a bed and I plopped down on it, staring absentmindedly at my purse, mulling over all that had happened.
'I don't have any meds for ADD here, do I?' I realized with a little jolt. 'And it wouldn't help if I did, since I'm basically immune to drugs, would it. Damn it. But I'm not going to be reading books or doing math here, so it isn't that important… No,' I thought dryly as I sighed and leaned back onto the bed. 'I'll only be in quick decision, life or death situations with people I didn't even know were real until this evening. Who would need to concentrate?
'But, but maybe, since the way ADD works is that I hyper-focus on things I like and can't focus on something I'm not interested in, I'll focus just fine because I love this world. And I remember learning somewhere that people with ADD handle stressful situations way better than normal people do...'
I sat up, recalling the pet box in the bottom of my purse. I dug it out and set it on the bed, chucking the purse across the room. I wasn't sure what to do to open it or how start it, so I just watched it for a minute, hoping something would happen. Nothing did, so I picked up the box and searched every inch of it for a switch or a button, but couldn't find anything. I tried to pry the box open and promptly dropped it in surprise when a check list appeared on the lid. I looked it over and realized that it was to create my pet.
'This is cool. It's just like when I made me… "made, me"… "made- made"…' I shook my head and started on the list.
I choose to have a pet fox. A girl, and young, she would be soft, small, and have a very fluffy tail. Her fur would be mostly red with the tips of her ears and tail white, and her paws would be a black that faded into red halfway up her legs.
Each pet came with certain traits and a small special ability that I couldn't choose or change. A fox had the ability to tell if a person had bad intentions; if the person did, she would lick my ear. She would also understand my mood and what I wanted her to do, being nice to me only and disliking everyone else.
At the end of the questionnaire, I waited for thirty seconds while a little loading icon spun in circles on the screen. There was a popping sound as the screen vanished and I heard a yip from inside the box. I giggled as I opened it and as soon as the lid was up a tiny little fox leaped into my arms. It was so adorable.
It was more adorable then the cutest thing on earth and I couldn't stop myself from squealing, "Omg, omg, omg! You are so cute! Oh my gosh!" I gasped as I pinched my lips shut tightly. 'Please don't have heard me,' I prayed silently. Unfortunately, they must have, because I heard footsteps coming down the hall and then a loud knock at the door.
"Come in," I tried to sound calm, but I was still fangirling uncontrollably over my new fox.
"I was just wondering what-" Celty started but she froze, gaping at the fox. "What is that? How did it get in here?!" She tried to come closer but tripped on my purse, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Are you okay?!" I asked urgently as I got up to help.
"Celty, what's happening?!" I heard Shinra's panicked voice as hurried footsteps came down the hall. He rushed into the room holding a knife threateningly in front of him.
"I'm fine, but she has a fox now!" Celty pointed at me.
"She- What?" asked Shinra, dumbfounded, lowering the knife.
"Uh, my pet fox was, uh, in my purse, apparently," I stammered, "I have no idea how she got there. I'm really sorry I shouted out, I was just so happy that she was here. She's really precious to me."
"Right..." said Shinra skeptically.
"She's really cute. Can I hold her?" Celty asked and held out her arms for the fox.
"Uh, sure," I placed the fox gently in her outstretched hands, but, quick as a flash, the fox bit her finger.
"Argh! No! Don't do that!" I shouted, yanking the fox away from Celty. "I'm so sorry! I don't-" I was going to say 'I don't know why she bit you,' but I remembered what the fox's temperament was (dislikes everyone but me.) "Er, she doesn't usually like people, but she hasn't bitten anybody for a while... Anyways," I added hurriedly, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just fine. A little surprised is all. So, uh, what's your fox's name?" Celty asked, clearly trying to gloss over the awkward moments.
"Name? Oh, i-it's, uh, Natsu! Her name's Natsu," I stuttered and then mentally slapped myself.
"So, it's a boy?"
"Err, no. She's a girl," I told them. 'I guess I can be a little bit honest…' I thought, 'after all, manga does exist in Durarara.' I giggled sheepishly and said, "Well, you see, I'm a little bit of an Otaku. Natsu is one of my favorite characters, so I named her after him."
"Interesting. Hey, Celty, we should let our guest get some sleep," Shinra said brusquely, giving Celty a meaningful look.
'That's just great,' I thought bitterly as Celty nodded.
"Right. Goodnight, Taiyo. Sleep well," she typed.
"Thanks. You too." I said, trying not to sound weird in any way. Celty and Shinra left the room. 'That…' I thought despondently, 'was terrible… so awkward… and made them even more suspicious of me…'
"Well, Natsu, my old friend, time for bed." I sighed as I fell back heavily onto the bed. Natsu yipped and jumped up next to me, curling into the crook of my neck. This made me giggle again and I immediately cursed.
'Of course I get a girlish, childish giggle!' I thought ruefully, 'This was all too good to be true. Whoever it was that brought me here must have thought to even it out the scale a little. Still, I'd definitely choose this any day, anytime, and anywhere over being back at that place…'
"Wonder what I should do tomorrow? Or we, I guess," I whispered to Natsu. She yipped softly and nuzzled closer to my neck. "Suppose we could explore? That would be fun. See who I can run into... And I need to try out my transforming power," I realized I was speaking aloud and snapped my mouth shut sharply.
'Oops' I thought, 'Hope they didn't hear me, again. They probably didn't, since I was mumbling, but I need to be more careful. They are so suspicious of me already, especially Shinra. What was I thinking about before... oh yeah, my transforming power. But transforming power is such a mouthful, I should name it something. Maybe… shape shifter? That doesn't feel right. Face changer? That's awful. Transformer? But that's a toy car! Oh, I got it! Metamorphmagus, like from Harry Potter! Wait, but that's still a mouthful!' I groaned as I buried my face in between two pillows.
'I wonder if I should be thinking about how I got here, not nicknaming my power. But it wouldn't do much good anyways, since there isn't any way to change it… Not to mention I know next to nothing about what is going on! Like that organization that's after me! Who the hell…?' I shuddered involuntarily and violently, 'I bet its Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. That way I'd be thrown directly into the storyline. I'd meet the main characters and, if I'm lucky, I'll get to learn how to use my power through painful experiments! Yeah, it'll be great!' I punched a pillow vengefully.
'I'm pretty sure I'm safe around Shinra. As long as Celty isn't threatened Shinra doesn't hurt or kidnap people without their permission. And I don't think Celty will be threatened, the organization only knows that I exist, not where I am or what I look like. So then, hopefully, it is safe for me to stay here and for them to know me. But not my situation, yet.'
I turned over and snuggled into the blankets, content with my decision. 'Do I have any other urgent things to figure out? Suppose I should think about what I'll do tomorrow. Hehe, that's an easy one. I already know what I wanna do. Explore Ikebukuro, check out my bank account, and practice, well, test out, I guess, my power. That's perfect.' I grinned and turned over.
I was living in the world of Durarara. I was going to sleep in Shinra and Celty's spare bedroom. I even had powers! I managed to disregard the fact that an evil organization was after me and I lay in bed fangirling quietly -who knew that was possible- until I fell asleep.
{-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-}
Big Events: The portrait painter in the park and meeting Shizuo
{-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-}
I woke up with a groan the next day. "I don't wanna go to school…" I said into the pillow. I could already hear people walking around outside of my room, and I knew that someone would come into to make me get up soon. I stretched -not noticing that my bed was longer than it used to be- but didn't get up.
'I'll sleep in today… I don't care if Miss March gets mad at me…' I thought, snuggling back into the covers.
Yip! Yip, Yip!
I yelped, "Holy flipping- Bloody hell!" and shot up in bed. My hands caught on my hair and I fell sideways, flailing. There were more yips from something as I wrestled with the blankets on the ground. "Tony, you friggin jerk, if you did this you will hugely regret it!" I shouted as the blanket finally let me go. I leapt up, glaring around, and spotting a fox sitting on the bed, whining softly. "What the-? I FOR-FLIPPING-GOT!" I facepalmed. "I can't believe I forgot this. I always thought forgetting was unrealistic in books… Ugh…"
There was a knock at the door. "Taiyo?" Shinra called, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes, please!" I said, hurrying to the door. "Sorry, I think I just shouted. I forgot what happened." I opened the door.
Shinra frowned. "That must be hard for you. Do you know how it happened?" He asked.
"How-? Oh. Oh, right!" I cast my mind about, painfully aware of Shinra's growing doubts. "They, uh, died in, uh, car crash," I lied, mentally slapping myself in the face.
"I'm sorry," said Shinra, still frowning. "By the way, for breakfast, would cereal be good?"
"Yes. Yes, cereal would be great." I walked past him into the hall, then spun back around halfway to the kitchen. "I forgot Natsu. Be right there." I ran back and got her, holding her in my arms.
When I got to the kitchen, they had already started eating. I pulled up a chair with a bowl in front of it, put Natsu on the table near me, and said, "Stay." She sat and I pulled the milk towards me. After a few silent minutes, I said, "I'm going out for the day. I'd like to get some clothes. And check up on what's happening at home," I added with sudden inspiration.
"Sorry to ask, but do you have any plans for a place to stay, uh, long term?" Shinra asked pointedly.
"Yeah I do. I'm hoping to get an apartment or something. I have plenty of money, so I'll be set for a while at least," I assured him, "Should I be back at a certain time today?"
"Well, dinner is at 7 and it's probably not safe for you to be out past 10 or so, but you can do what you like," Celty typed.
"Alright, thank you. I'll try to be back about an hour before dinner," I said.
After breakfast, I went to my room to get my purse. 'I don't think Natsu would like to be in my purse,' I thought. 'Guess I'll just have to carry him on my shoulder. That will be really cute, actually.' And, curse it all, I girly giggled again.
"Natsu, come to my shoulder," I said and held out an arm for her to climb. Natsu yipped happily as she scurried up. I grabbed my purse and walked out the door, waving a final goodbye to Celty and Shinra.
I had a little bit of trouble finding my way to places I knew, but in the end I managed to get to that park area that's always in the show. Nishiguchi Park, or West Gate Park. Or something. When I got there, it gave me a very surreal feeling. Seeing something that had been drawn and fictional for so long, as a real place, it was a strange.
I looked around and saw a little playground. It was the one where Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri had had their chat about Mika. I searched and found their particular seats, too. I sat on one like a little kid and bounced back and forth giggling like mad. Between my shortness, giggles, and sitting on a bouncy chair, I must have looked 8. Ah well, I had chosen to be tiny.
After a few minutes, I saw a group of people getting themselves drawn by an old man. 'Score!' I thought, running over.
"May I be next?" I asked him when I was near enough.
"Unfortunately, I seem to have quite a line today. I'd be glad to draw you in, say, 30 minutes?" He said, looking up at me, away from his current drawing.
"That's fine. May I look at you drawings while I wait?" I asked excitedly, wanting to see his sketches of Celty.
"Sure. Here you go," he agreed and handed me a stack of paper.
"Thank you, Jii-san!" I said sweetly. 'Might as well play up my "innocent young girl" vibe,' I thought, 'Could use it to my advantage. Or at least a few laughs.'
I walked to the nearest bench and looked over all of his drawings. Landscapes and portraits monopolized the pile, but there were a couple ones of animals, too. Then I found Celty. She was beautiful.
"She really doesn't need a head. Shinra's right," I giggled. "I'll make sure to tell the old man that she looks good just like this. Like Shinra did!" I giggled again. I realized I had spoken aloud again and glanced around surreptitiously. One person near me was giving me a weird look but I didn't really care.
"Excuse me? Little girl? I'm ready to draw you," the old man called.
"Coming!" I skipped over to him. "You know, I really like this drawing," I said, holding up Celty's picture.
"Yes, she is very beautiful. I saw her years ago when I was a young man in Ireland," he gestured to a seat in front of him, "by the way," he added, pointing at Natsu, "do you want the fox in the picture?"
"Yes, please. Would you tell me the story? Of the woman in your picture, I mean," I asked as I sat down. I arranged myself and looked up expectantly.
"Smile dear," he instructed as he began to draw. "I was in Ireland and on a road when I heard a clattering. I hid in the bushes and a carriage drawn by a headless horse seemed to fly past me. It was all pitch black and on top of it sat her. She was holding her head under her arm and it was very pretty head too. I was completely stunned. I've tried several times to draw her head but it never looks quite right,"
"I think it looks very nice, even without the head," I assured him.
"You would have wanted to see the head too, little girl," he told me.
"Was it really that pretty?" I asked, adding a giggle for fun. I was resigned to my giggling fate now.
"It was perfect," he nodded, "but don't move, alright, little girl?"
"Sorry!" I murmured out of the corner of my mouth. The old man just laughed.
A few minutes later he told me he was done.
"Show me show me show me!" I squealed. 'I didn't ask for the squealing though!' I thought, frustrated.
"Okay okay. Here you go," he chuckled and handed me the picture.
"Oh my gosh! You made me so cute! Thank you!"
"No problem, I just drew you as you are, little girl," he smiled.
I handed him some yen and said, "I still think that that lady is wonderful even without the head."
"Haha. I suppose she still looks good. Just not as good," he chuckled.
Walking away, I shouted over my shoulder, "By the way, I'm actually 16. My growth is just a little bit stunted!" I heard a crash behind me. Laughing, I decided to look for a secluded area to practice my powers.
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An hour later, I found myself on the second floor of a deserted building, like the one where Mikado and the Blue Scarves had holed up.
"Finally! I don't have to worry about people seeing me here. Ya know, probably. Natsu, if you notice anybody coming, tell me, ok?" Natsu jumped of my shoulder and ran to the stairs. She looked back at me and yipped, apparently asking to go on patrol.
"Yip yip yip!" I told her and grinned as she ran off. "Alright, I have… no idea how to do this. Maybe like Mira in Fairy Tail?" I wondered aloud. "So who should I imagine myself as?"
I immediately thought of Natsu, the wizard not the fox, and I closed my eyes, concentrating on his face. As I opened my eyes, I realized I didn't have a mirror.
"Damn it!" I swore. After a few minutes of searching I located a decently reflective shard of glass. I peered into it and saw the real person version of Natsu. "Success!" I pumped my fist in the air. But I noticed a small problem. My fist was still mine.
It took me a while to be able to change all of my features to match Natsu's. It was particularly hard because if I focused on his arms, his face was wrong, if I focused on his legs, his torso was wrong, and so on. Hours passed and the sun was nearing the top of the sky by the time I could transform every bit of myself to match Natsu.
After my first successful attempt, I flopped to the ground exhausted. I didn't bother to change back to myself as I whistled for Natsu; the fox, not the person. A minute later she jumped on top of my chest and did a weird purr bark combo.
"Nice to see you too, buddy," I laughed.
I lay on the ground for a while, relaxing, but quickly shook myself awake, since I had nearly dozed off. I stood up and stretched.
"I suppose it's time for lunch huh?" I told Natsu as I made my way out of the building. As I headed back to the center of Ikebukuro, I considered eating at Russia Sushi. 'Nah, I'll want to do that with the main group. Maybe just a cafe? Oh I've always wanted to try an anime cafe, but I want to do that kind of stuff particularly with Erika and Walker. Guess I'm just going to deal with a regular cafe.' I thought as I stared at the ground. I noticed a puddle and remembered that I hadn't changed back to me yet. I transformed quickly and started jogging towards the Main Street.
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I ordered a double chocolate hot cocoa with extra whip cream at the first decent cafe I found. I ordered a slice of cake as well, but I finished it quickly and decided to just explore around while I drank the cocoa. I wanted to familiarize myself with the city as quickly as possible.
As I walked down the street I noticed Raira academy on my left. 'I need to remember how to get here; I wonder when classes even start though. Come to think of it I don't even know the date right now' I giggled. I started to take a sip of cocoa, but then I walked right into somebody.
"Wah!" I spilled the rest of my chocolate on the stranger and myself as I fell.
"What the-?!" I heard an angry voice above me.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention," I looked up; this man was tall. "Oh darn, I spilled my cocoa all over you!" There was a large brown stain on his vest. I hurriedly stood up and as I looked at the man's face I realized that it was Shizuo Heiwajima. I felt the blood leave my face.
"It's fine, squirt. Watch where you're going next time," he said casually "You fine?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm uh, just fine," I spluttered.
"What are you doing way out here on your own kid?" Asked a man behind Shizuo. He had dreads and I recognized him as Shizuo's manager.
"I was, uh, just exploring around..." I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Well, where are your parents then?" The man asked.
"They're not here," I mumbled.
"Where are they?"
"They're-" I was about to say dead, but I decided, so as to prolong my life, to act as childish as possible, "not in this world," I ended up muttering.
Shizuo and the man exchanged glances, clearly wondering what to do with me.
"Wanna come with us squirt?" Shizuo offered. Guess they had reached a decision then.
"Can Natsu come too?" I asked gingerly.
"That's your fox, right? Sure. Come here," Shizuo ordered. I walked closer and he swung me up onto his shoulders.
"Who's that?" I asked as I pointed to the man next to Shizuo, even though I already knew.
"That's my manager," Shizuo said.
'Good thing I look ten. If I looked 16 he would have punched me all the way across the city for staining his vest from Kasuka,' I mentally thanked my smallness.
"So squirt, you have any relatives?" Shizuo broke me out of my thoughts a couple minutes later.
"Not in this world. Don't even ask, I don't have friends here either," I deadpanned. "Hey," I added, giggling. "Do you wanna be my friend?"
"But don't you want friends your own age?" He said with a sigh.
"Maybe, but it would be so much more fun to have you as my friend!" I laughed sweetly.
"And why's that? You don't even know me," he sounded very bored.
"Well, it's cuz you're Shizuo Heiwajima and you have incredible strength! Also, your brother is a movie star right?" I said bluntly, hoping to keep his interest. 'I hope I didn't just sign my life away' I thought. 'Well, at least I'll get a laugh before I die...'
He was quiet for a moment, then asked, "How old are you squirt?"
"Oh, I'm six-" I paused for a second and watched a bicycle pass before I finished "-teen."
Shizuo and the man both froze in their tracks. Shizuo slowly reached up and took me off his shoulders. Holding me up, he stared at me for a solid minute.
"You're joking, aren't you?" He said, putting me down.
"Nope. I'm enrolled at Raira Academy and I truly am 16," I assured him.
"But you look so tiny!" Shizuo's manager exclaimed.
"I know I do. My growth is very stunted," I laughed.
"So, you're 16? And you walked into me and spilled hot chocolate on me?" Shizuo said in a low growl.
"Shizuo-" the manager started.
"Onto my vest from Kasuka?" Shizuo interrupted him.
"Shizuo, wait!" His manager warned, but it was no use. Shizuo picked up a vending machine and threw it towards me, but I dodged just in time.
"Smells like shit!" He growled and picked up another vending machine.
"Wait! It was just an accident so you don't need to get so worked up over it!" I screeched and dodged another can.
Shizuo roared and grabbed a sign post this time, ripping it out of the ground like it was a flower. 'Welp, time to run!' I thought as I jumped back to avoid the sign post. I ran as fast as I could as I dashed down an alley, then across a street, through another alley, and up another street.
"COME BACK HERE!" I heard Shizuo scream behind me. I forced myself to go faster.
A couple alleys later I was panting. 'I'm agile, not strong!' I thought, 'I have to find a way to use that instead of trying to outrun him, but how?! I should've practiced or something!' I looked over my shoulder and yelped. Shizuo was only a few feet behind me. As I sprinted out of another alley way I looked forward and rammed right into another person.
"Yowch!" I yelped; I had hit my head against the pavement as I fell. I looked to see who I had run into and saw the only person that could thoroughly ruin or easily help my situation. Izaya Orihara.
"Ow, that wasn't nice," he commented calmly as he looked at me. "What's so wrong that you were running so fast, kiddie?"
"SQUUUUIIIRRRTT!" I heard Shizuo scream behind me. I yelped again and quickly made to get up, but I was lifted up by the collar of my too large shirt before I had moved more than a foot. "Where did you think you were going, squirt?!" Shizuo growled as I tried to escape. Needless to say, I couldn't.
"Shizu-chan?" I heard Izaya say and I glanced up. Izaya had stood up and was looking curiously at me and Shizuo. "I didn't realize you picked on little girls, Shizu-chan," he smirked.
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF IKEBUKURO YOU DAMN FLEA!" Shizuo roared. That gave me an idea.
"Wait, you're Izaya Orihara aren't you?" I asked him as I stopped flailing in Shizuo's grasp.
"How do you know, kid?" He said quizzically.
"Uh, Shizuo, are you going to fight Izaya? Don't you both hate each other?" I looked expectantly at Shizuo.
"I'm dealing with you first, squirt!" He growled menacingly. I yelped.
"Hold on!" I said exasperatedly, "It doesn't make any sense that you would get so mad over something so trivial! I'll clean your suit, but an accident's an accident, right?"
"You should'a looked where you were going!"
"Well, I apologized and I offered to help clean your suit! It's kind of mean to beat someone up like this!" I shouted at him. I didn't care who he was anymore, he was being a jerk.
I heard a snicker and refocused on Izaya.
"You tell him, kid. Not to mention, Shizu-chan, you're picking on a child for spilling? That's low, even for a monster like you," Izaya smirked.
"She's not a kid, you damn flea!" He growled as he dropped me and started towards Izaya.
"Whatever are you getting at, Shizu-chan?" Izaya pulled out a knife from his pocket, "Is she not childish, small, and, not to mention, a girl? Maybe you're just dumb?" He laughed and his grin grew wider.
"Why you-!" Shizuo started but was cut off when someone hit him over the head with a piece of wood. Shocked, I watched as Shizuo looked up, dripping blood from his head.
"I remember this," I muttered. "It was in the first or second episode of the show. That means Mikado, Anri, and Masaomi are here somewhere," I scanned the crowd and found them just as Mikado and Anri took off. 'I think I'll meet them later at school, I've met enough people today. I should probably run before Shizuo remembers me,' I thought and sprinted off.
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I found a bank soon after I escaped Shizuo and withdrew a lot of yen. 'I need to get an apartment soon. I don't know where to start, though. Maybe Celty or Shinra would help me. Actually, it would have to be Celty, Shinra doesn't seem to like me. Did I have anything else I needed to do today?' I thought to myself as I walked down the street.
Natsu was on my shoulder, but she was ignoring me. During all the commotion with Shizuo, I had left her behind somewhere by accident.
"Yip yip?" I coaxed as I tried to pet her, but she hopped off my shoulder to walk by my feet. "Fine, be that way," I grumbled. I had a few hours left till dinner time, so I decided to practice my power more.
After training in my abandoned building, yes it's mine now fight me, I learned that, although I could transform into anything, I could only transform quickly and completely if I had practiced that form before.
"What a pain!" I groaned. "I'm sick of this!" I kicked a loose piece of concrete, then hissed with pain. "I'm done with this for today! I'll practice my agility instead!"
For the next couple hours, I was using the wrecked building as a playground. Then I headed back to Celty and Shinra's apartment with Natsu, who had forgiven me, riding on my head.
"This is ridiculous," I told her, "I know I put 'agile like a gymnast' as one of my strengths, but it didn't even take me a day to get the hang of it!" I laughed and Natsu yipped in agreement. I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. 'Wish I had earbuds' I thought wistfully. Then facepalmed.
With a little help from kind strangers, I found an electronics store. I ran in and did something I'd fantasized about back at the orphanage. I bought the best pair of earbuds they had.
"Thank you!" I waved as I walked out the door. I was trying to open the box when I heard a horse neighing. I looked around and saw a black motorcycle speeding towards me. "Hey! Celty-san!" I called out as I jumped up and down and waved my arms over my head.
"Hey, what's up?" Celty typed once she had parked next to the sidewalk.
"I was hoping for a ride back to your house?" I asked as I shoved the earbuds into my purse.
"Alright, hop on," she typed and, once again, the swirling black sand formed a helmet over my head. Natsu started yipping frantically and I saw that she had gotten a helmet as well.
"It's alright Natsu," I soothed as I stroked her back. Then I plucked her off my head and she yipped indignantly. "We'll be going fast, so I'll have to hold you in my lap, okay?" I hummed as I climbed onto the bike behind Celty.
"Are you ready?" Celty asked.
"In a minute," I told her as I placed Natsu on my lap. That didn't seem like it would work. I searched for a couple minutes where to put her, but couldn't find a suitable place.
"What about your purse?" Celty suggested.
"Oh! You're right. Sorry Natsu, but you'll live," I said guiltily as I put her in my purse. She barked, but didn't try to hop out, so I felt comfortable keeping the purse a little unzipped. "I'm ready, sorry it took so long."
"That's alright. Wouldn't want Natsu to get hurt," she assured me and then sped down the road.
When we got to the apartment, Celty immediately went for a shower and I went to the living room to wait for dinner. Shinra was in the kitchen cooking and I decided to have another go at opening the box that imprisoned my earbuds.
"So, are you going to Raira?" Shinra asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah," I said. 'And the interrogation begins' I thought sarcastically as I gave a particularly hard tug on the plastic.
"But weren't you in America?"
"I was, but I was going to be coming here in a few weeks," I explained; rather, lied.
"So you don't have any relatives then?" he asked.
"No, not in this world," I told him. 'Good default answer to anybody who asks, I guess.'
"I'm sorry to hear it. What were your parents like?" He didn't seem the least bit satisfied with my answers. 'Being an underground doctor makes you very skeptical doesn't it, Shinra?' I thought cynically.
"Well, they were really-," fake a depressed pause, "really nice. Mum loved to cook things. She's the one who taught me. I was terrible at first, but she didn't give up. And dad-dad wasn't really around much, but whenever he was home he played with me. He would always bring me presents too! We were all going to go on a vacation together before-" I swallowed, "Dad even agreed not to bring any work with him. We were going to play together for a whole week," I trailed off, but yelped as my earphone's prison popped open.
'When did I learn to lie?' I thought, staring at my earbuds. 'None of this is true. I'm just an orphan. I feel horrible for lying to them, but what am I supposed to say? "Hi! I'm from a parallel universe where you are all fictional characters. I have special powers, though I didn't before, and now I am being hunted by mad scientists. I really want to be friends with you all!3"?! They would think I'm insane!'
A few minutes later, Shinra ended the interrogation and I didn't try to talk to him anymore. I shoved my earbuds in and dug around in my purse for my phone. I called Natsu to my lap, turned my phone on, went to the music app, and pressed {Play All}.
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After dinner, I remembered that I needed help to get myself set up.
"If you don't mind, would you help me get an apartment?" I asked Celty after clearing my bowl to the sink. "I don't mean money," I added hastily, "I just don't really know where to start."
"Sure. It's too late tonight, but tomorrow I'll help you," Celty typed, "I was actually thinking that we should go shopping tomorrow, since you can't keep wearing over large men's shirts and pants."
"Speaking of, here are some to use as pajamas," Shinra said as he dropped a pair of pants and a shirt on my lap.
"Thank you, Shinra-san. I would really appreciate that, Celty-san," I giggled and went to bed.
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I hope you like this! There is more coming, and, as I said, I've already got an ending, so don't worry. Unless I'm hit by a bus and can't post it-something I don't have much control over-you'll get your next chapter. (Hopefully you want it, but it's coming either way.)
