Ikebukuro
It's the same day since Mairu and Kuon leave the hospital together, now the afternoon in Ikebukuro as Mairu and Kuon are getting even closer to Sonohara Hall. They are in a quiet street corner with bystanders around them, literally a few buildings away from Anri's antique store. Kuon is clearly showing his discomfort with Mairu's depressed behavior, Mairu shaking in fear and anxiety still holding on to Kuon's hand as they are strolling.
"Mai, I know you, Kururi were extremely close but I didn't expect for you to get so serious and depressed about it, no offense" Kuon nervously said.
Mairu depressed and still with her eyes looking uncaring and deadpan inside with her brown-hair flowing to the right in the sharp winds of the city.
Mairu sighed at the remark, and she and Kuon.
"Non-taken, I know you mean well," Mairu replied.
They both stopped walking, ceased from holding on to Kuon and Mairu's right hand she clenched her fist.
"But I don't need any pity, especially from my own boyfriend," Mairu exclaimed.
Kuon scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, then Kuon's phone begins to ring lonely through the pocket of his pants.
"Hold on, love, I need to take this," Kuon exclaimed.
Kuon answered the phone call, she didn't hear the person on the end of the call but Mairu thought it sounded vaguely roughly like Aoba or even Kyouhei to her, Mairu beginning to felt confused and left out of what sounds like an urgent situation, then Kuon put his hand on Mairu's shoulder.
"It's something urgent with the Blue Squares, Aoba had to leave the hospital and he needs help involving one of the ex-members of his gang" Kuon gives a reassuring kiss to Mairu on the forehead goodbye for now. "Just listen to Anri and pencil-neck….I mean Mikado they will get your spirits up I have faith in them"
Kuon runs in the opposite direction, leaving Mairu alone in the nearby empty street. Mairu after Kuon was about buildings away from Anri's antique store and walking the rest of the way by herself without her partner.
"Well…it can't hurt to try at this point." Mairu remarked, as her long-hair is flowing to the side in the winds and looks as the sun goes down.
Toranoana
In the center of Ikebukuro, Kyouhei is Inside the passenger seat and Saburo is waiting outside in front of the Van with his arms crossed Toranoana-Ikebukuro #2 chain store for Erika and Walker, who are getting a bunch of yaoi, shōjo and shounen manga but they're both taking too long, they've been in there for an hour Kyouhei now already thinking it's Erika holding things up talking about either Anri or whatever Fujoshi she found with Walker.
"What's taking both of them so long?" Kyouhei exclaimed.
Saburo silently nodded his head while still in front of the comic store.
They both spot Walker coming out of the comic store with a satisfied big grin across his face and Walker opens the back passenger anime itasha-door getting into the van.
"Walker, where's Erika?" Kyouhei asked.
Walker shrugged both of his arms up at the question.
"I don't know the last time I saw she was dealing with the cashier and his rude comments towards or something like that when I was walking out to the Van," Walker replied.
He opened the door of Saburo's Van and he has been a little irritated at Erika's behavior for the past few days. Kyouhei went inside the Store wanting to force Erika out of the comic store without any complaints from her.
He strolled in the store spotting Erika immediately on the spot by her voice as soon as he walked in and hearing Erika's every complaint in front of the cashier-person.
"Erika, come on let's go…." Kyouhei said.
"ERIKA!" Kyouhei yelled.
Kyouhei faced palmed and quickly walked over to Erika, Kyouhei firmly grabbed Erika by her right arm, dragging her away from the cash register. Erika has been acting a lot more brat and abnormal than usual towards Kyouhei and everyone else in the city, except Anri, Erika hasn't shut up about her for a few days.
While Kyouhei was pulling Erika away from the front cash register, trying to drag Erika out of the store, she dropped all of Erika's manga and anime-figurines.
Later outside in front of the apartment-chain store, now near the Saburo's Van with Walker spectating from inside and Kyouhei dragging Erika by her arm while she causes a big scene embarrassing her friends, through trying to bite Kyouhei's hand to release her and screaming literally to let her go while she acts like a little girl in public.
"DOTACHIN GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"
Erika kept on biting like a mad rabid-dog Kyouhei's hand over and over to try to get his hand off of her.
"That…dumb Cashier called me a dirty little dy-" Erika made herself stop from saying the specific word, which she considers a offensive word the cashier called her because she hadn't completely confessed her on true feelings towards Anri without anyone like her friends knowing. "I mean, let me go DOTACHIN!"
Kyouhei goes to the other side of the car, opening the back-sliding door with the anime character on it. Shoving and pulling Erika into the side of Saburo's Van, Kyouhei let go of her arm then Walker immediately out of panic grabbed Erika by her other arm and covered her mouth to shut her up as Erika was causing a ruckus out in the open with confused onlookers looking from the distance and sidewalk, Kyouhei quickly got his front passenger seat, Kyouhei in the car signed as Erika is still making a noises to 'let her go' in the back of the Saburo's Van while Walker is holding on and restraining her in there usual back-seats.
"What's gotten into her lately?" Saburo said, rolling his eyes in embarrassment and then looked towards Kyouhei to see if he was alright.
The face of Kyouhei is a cross between really angry and embarrassed look on him because of Erika still acting out of the ordinary, today even more since Erika hasn't seen Anri and Mikado as well in awhile but it's mostly Anri, Erika has been missing talking with her.
"Just Drive….Saburo…" Kyouhei said.
Saburo drove out of the Toranoana parking-space and headed to Kaztano house where Hashim was hanging out in Ikebukuro.
"Let's see what Kaztano and Hashim are doing. We were supposed to meet up with them today" Kyouhei exclaimed.
While Kyouhei is calming himself down, Erika is starting to get tiring herself and getting tuckered out with Walker is still restraining her in the back seats, Kyouhei's Gang heading to the other side of Ikebukuro.
Sonohara Hall
Later now on the other side of Ikebukuro, Mairu is completely by herself alone again, Kuon leaving to take care of some business of Aoba in the streets of the city with both hands in her hoodie pocket. almost to the Antique store owned by Anri.
She loved her sister; Kururi greatly both like a older twin sibling and more but Mairu's survivors guilt and self-pity is getting to her with her luscious long brown waving to the left side of her face in the hard gusts of wind, as she is getting closer to Sonohara-Antique Store.
"Going to my older brother's derelict abandoned office with Aoba and Kuon was a big mistake"
"Forgive me Kururi, you got targeted because of me" Mairu looked down at her hand.
Mairu began to turn teary eyed a tiny bit once more in her eyes at the mere-suggestion and thought to herself that Kururi is never going to wake up from her coma then wiped the small tears off her to not show weakness for now, to people that might be watching her from the shadows and then
She finally reaches Anri's shop in an empty street, Mairu goes to the front door of the store with the one-way dark tinted glass window door to the shop.
Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock
Mairu could hear a few footsteps and rumblings of antique-items coming from behind the door to the front.
"Coming, right there!" Anri shouted, through the door.
Anri swiftly unlocked the tight-locks on the front entrance door to the store like she was in a hurry with wrangling of the key and the entrance to the store then it opened, Mairu was really surprised to see her again and sees Anri with a entirely new look now she looks much older then she did before even after 6 years.
"MAIRU!" Anri shouted in joy, then she came to bear hug, Mairu with a giant smile from across Anri's face. "I've missed you, Mai"
Mairu scratches the back of her head as Anri
hugging her new-relatively old acquaintance, Mairu being a little embarrassed and flustered as Anri stops her affectionate embrace.
"Come on in, I'm the owner of place and your my friend so you have free rein over some of here"
"Mikado, said to me, he will be here in a few minutes" Anri exclaimed
Mairu entered Anri's store, Mairu strolled inside looks around the shared shop, she was surprisingly very big within despite the small size of the store with in front there's are all sorts of what seems to look like very ancient long lasting Antiques on display like Clothes, Katanas and more items within viewing exhibits.
Mairu something that caught her eye, what looks to be setting in it's own dedicated empty corner all to itself is a strange, Dark Red Colored, Suit of Samurai Battle Plated Body-Armor with a Red Oni Face Mask and Fangs, that seemed to be really least to her; the appearance of the Armor, looks like a fusion between Samurai and Medieval Knight Armor. Mairu began to it feel out of place here to her in the antique shop and made, Mairu actually started to shake in pure fear all of sudden and her heart was beating fast, as she looked at Armor and something compelled her to walk over to the bizarre looking unique empty suit of Samurai Armor and torch it with a the tip one of her fingers on the chest-plate.
All of Sudden Mairu began to shake in undescribable terror all around within her own body and felt her heart beating rapidly, as her eyes turned red, Mairu realizing this the affect that the same demonic-blade Saika that Anri has Inside of her, then she attempted to fought and furiously wrangled this mysterious influence and aura of this antique Armor that compelling her to touch it, Mairu, she just stood there in the same spot still with her finger tip touching the chest part of the Armor.
Mairu gets a tap on her shoulder from Anri directly behind Mairu, she gets immediately out of the trance she was in from the Armor due to Anri's appearing.
"Are you…alright?"
"Mairu, you were standing there in the corner, wide-eyed," Anri confused. looked completely unfazed by Anri but Anri definitely knew what the mysterious armor was.
Mairu became equally as confused more so than Anri, Anri thought Mairu was taking a closer peek at the armor up close to admire it but Mairu was starting to think where did Anri found or bought this strange horrific item from?
"Anri, where did you find this weird armor?" Mairu asked, out of curiosity.
Anri is clearly extremely nervous at Mairu's question to her about the abnormal armor on display in her shop.
"Well that's for another day but, for now I'll I will tell you that Armor is named 'Shinku' it's also refer to as the Great Armor of 'Hardships"
"That's all you need to know, Mairu,"
"The Shinku Armor, item in particular is not for sale, despite it being on display in the corner of the shop" Anri said bluntly.
When Anri answered, Mairu looked at Anri and turned around back to the Shinku Armor again. Her dread is palpable even at the sight of the Samurai Armor by staring at it. Mairu with even more questions raised in her mind but decides not to ask, and keeped her mouth shut for once for her own sanity.
"Anyway besides that, how have you been Anri since I last talked to you and Mikado?" Mairu asked.
Anri looks a little nauseated and tired, when Mairu mentions what she did to her by touching the strange dark red Armor with her own finger.
"I've been alright for the most part but since I've had even more customers due to Mikado's Job and us sharing the Hall together, keeping our business has been kind of rough" Anri replied.
Then, suddenly Anri felt especially more light-headed and so nauseous, she fainted but Mairu managed to catch her just in time, in her arms, carrying Anri up by Mairu's arm.
"Thanks Mai, you know what your nothing like Izaya,"
"I think that's why he loved and hates you both, so much despite all three of you being siblings"
"But I have to ask what Izaya was like when he was younger?" Anri asked out of curiosity.
Mairu was shocked that Anri bluntly-posed this question to her. Anri appeared to really genuinely want to know more about Izaya despite their history together in the past. Mairu is reluctant to tell Anri about her brother then, Anri's face filled with termination and pure passion to learn about Izaya and Siblings living together until Mairu relented, then Anri gave a cheerful smile to Mairu.
"I warned you, Anri"
"You'll be surprised what me, my sister and even Izaya were like when we were younger" Mairu warned.
Both of them, quickly, Anri went to sit on the main register-counter and grabbed a regular wooden chair from the back storage; area of Sonohara Shop, putting it in front of the counter.
"I'm ready, Mai!" Anri said in high spirits.
Mairu begins to scratched head as she attempts to remember a good memory of Izaya with Kururi and herself: before coming to Raira Academy, then snaps one of her hands.
"Brace yourself, Anri"
"It started 10 years ago, in Shinjuku City…" Mairu began to start the tale of their childhood with Izaya and Kururi.
Orihara Family Household
10 Years Ago
The Residential Area of Shinjuku City, Home of the Orihara Family, then teenage thirteen year old Mairu and Kururi, the Orihara Twins are talking together while rolling with dice, placing bets and predictions on notable students they dislike from middle school they are in, both of the Twins are outside on the engawa boarded floor running along outside their own Minka; traditional Japanese house. The Twins by this point already swap their respective personalities to embody all of humankind's positive traits. It was Mairu's turn in this game there playing.
"I bet that the most popular girl in middle school, Tsukiyama Akuno, will by the time of high school in some town somewhere."
"By some boy with a hatred for humanity but a soft spot, then catches Tsukiyama's hand-bag on fire near the lockers,"
"Already Kururi, you turn" Mairu gives the white and black spotted dice over to Kururi for her, now to place a future prediction-bet.
Kururi placed the square dice in one of her hands and turned it into a fist, shaking it in her hand until she dropped it on the floor. Mairu gave a cheerful little smile as always, clearly enjoying the game they were doing together as sisters, and since Izaya asked them, what's the point of living when both live the same? This is why they made and are playing this little game the Orihara Twins made, to bet on other people's shortcomings both for fun and to see the good in a person's life.
Kururi then drops the dice on the wooden porch in front of Mairu and both seeing the dice land on four dots, Kururi is silent but smiling as well enjoying it.
"Um?"
"Someone with a great and grand ambitions will hunt after the both us like sheep becomes of Izaya and family name due to our bloodline sins,"
"And also the world will be great conflicts and incidents especially in a small town"
"What do you think sis?" Kururi asked.
Mairu was both confused and impressed by her older sister's lthe prediction-bet on the future she made, Kururi after hours of playing the game, looked and started to become tired of the game they were undertaking. Kururi began to yawn, and both agreed to stop playing for a while.
Then both saw a shadow of a familiar person and the sliding wooden back door to the courtyard suddenly opened right next to the both of them without warning.
"Mai and Kururi, Mother and Father want you to come inside the house to talk to you both for something" Izaya assertively spoke to the Orihara Twins.
A then seven-teen old. Izaya Orihara, ordered the twins to do. Mairu and Kururi relented.
"Okay, brother" The Twins both said at the same time.
Mairu and Kururi both walked inside their massive home, where they're whole Family pictures of the Orihara's together all around the house, smiling but all except for; Izaya, Kururi and Mairu.
The Orihara Twins, Izaya, went to see their parents in one part of the house, Shirou Orihara and Kyouko Orihara. They all were going to Shirou's study room. Both their Mother and Father wanted to see the siblings to talk to them about something important, that's all Izaya told the Twins as they went to his study.
All three of the Orihara Siblings entered into Shirou's study and as well seeing Kyouko sitting down on the couch within the office room, Shirou is in his chair working. Izaya then went to poke Shirou's shoulder, Shirou turned around with a serious look on him.
"Hmm"
"Yes?"
"Mairu, Izaya and Kururi!" Shirou all of sudden a big smile across him.
Shirou then began to hug all three of the Orihara Siblings, clearly really happy to see his own children. Kyouko got up from laying down on the couch in the study and sat across from the Orihara Siblings while seeing what's going on.
"What do you want to talk about father…mother?" Mairu asked.
Mairu, Kururi had opposite expressions: Mairu was excited and jumping in excitement, expecting to be rewarded for something and Kururi was completely silent as always. Izaya has his arms crossed waiting for this to get over and done with already.
"Yeah, come on let's get this over with please father if this a lecture about something"
"I'm probably going to leave," Izaya complained, wanting to go back to his room.
Shirou grabbed a few Japanese and one American games like Chess, Othello and Shogi and gave it to all three of Orihara Siblings.
"Ummm….Thanks, Father?" The Orihara Siblings awkwardly said at once.
Mairu and Kururi asked themselves in their heads why their father gave some old, boring games to all three of them. Izaya asked the same in his mind, The Twins gave the games over to Izaya not wanting them.
Mairu then said "Here brother, have them…."
Izaya rolled his eyes and dropped all of the games on the floor. He went to leave the room. Shirou staud up from his office-chair and grabbed Izaya by the hand, stopping Izaya in his tracks.
"What's going on, son?"
"Is there somebody at Raijin Academy you started a rivalry with?"
"Izaya, we are family, come on champ…" Shirou pleaded with Izaya.
Izaya's hand was beginning to shake, seemingly in hatred and maybe upset for a certain individual that he met recently in Raijin and what he stands for. Izaya then turn his head to the side glaring at his father, mother and the twins
*Sighs*
Izaya turned around completely, seeing his whole family right in front of him.
"Someone named, Shizuo Heiwajima or what I mockingly call him; Shizu-Chan that's and all you need to know for now, Father" Izaya exclaimed to his family.
Izaya left his Father's Study.
Shirou was beginning to ponder and went out his work-room, bringing along Mairu and Kururi to see their older brother.
Shirou, Mairu and Kururi followed Izaya to the engawa-porch. They saw Izaya sitting down looking up at the stars in the night sky, alone while all of them were peeking behind the wooden sliding door to the porch-courtyard.
"I know you're there" Izaya said somberly
Shirou, and the Twins then all began walking out where Izaya was and then the Orihara Siblings mother walked out of the house as well, gazing upon the night with white Stars above them.
Mairu and Kururi ran to Izaya, sitting right next to him with their parents directly behind the Orihara Sibling. The whole Family, all looking up, spotted a bright red star in the Shinjuku sky.
"Son, you can tell us we're family after all,"
"Especially your little sisters, I know you don't like them but they both need an older brother to look after them" Shirou pleaded with his son.
Izaya proceeded to cry and tear up a little, and stood up from the Engawa.
"I'll try looking after Mairu and Kururi the best I can, mother and father" Izaya promised to his family.
Sonohara Hall
Present Day
Mairu was done with the tale, Anri had a surprised expression on her, Anri never thought Izaya would try to look after anyone except, for himself, selfish and close off nature.
"Huh" Anri mumbled to herself.
Mairu felt equally as surprised as Anri.
"Yeah, my brother was a lot more good hearted and nice back then during those days with my parents when they weren't working all the time overseas"
"Well, the past is the past after all"
"There's taking it back" Mairu said, and saying to herself. "I hope Kururi wakes up, soon"
Anri began to contemplate something for a second.
"Wel-" Anri said before her, what's she going to say getting cut off by a front-door opening.
Mikado rushed inside Sonohara Hall and slammed the door behind him.
"Oh, hey" Mikado looking like his in a panic
Mairu and Anri run to Mikado and both put him in a double embrace.
"I miss you so much, Mika-Boo," Anri teased Mikado in front of Mairu.
While still hugging Mikado, Mairu had a very perplexed look.
"Huh?"
"Mika-Boo?" Mairu stopped embracing Mikado for a minute. "Sounds kinda weird when you say it out loud, don't you Anri"
Anri pouted while continuing to tightly embrace Mikado. "Well the Mika-Boo Nickname, I got it from Erika when we used to hang out together back in the day before I meet you, Mairu"
Mikado proceeds to grow a little uncomfortable and weird it out with Anri still tightly hugging him but Anri won't let go and her wrapping around Mikado's body to his back, almost in a clingy way, made Mairu felt out of place in this type of situation.
Anri rolls her eyes. "Fine I'll stop, for now"
Then she stopped holding onto Mikado for the time being.
"Anyway welcome back, love" Anri awkwardly tried to save the moment.
Mairu and Mikado, both then put their hands on both of Anri's shoulders.
"Now let's continue on to more serious matters?"
Anri pouted once more. "You two are sometimes no fun!"
Then Mikado and Anri started to go to get an old dusty Vintage Sony 1962 Radio from storage. Anri did the honors by connecting to the registered-desk of the shop, As Mairu watches the loving couple. Suddenly, Anri goes behind Mairu.
Anri wraps her arms around Mairu's shoulders.
"Now Let's see what's going on in the world right now!"
Mikado then turns on the radio to Anri's and Mairu's excitement but mostly Anri becomes she's a antique-collector.
Shinjuku
Horada is heading back to his hideout near one of Izaya old-hideouts in the city, as he is strolling, he hears extremely vivid thumps of large-boots around him coming all sides of him in the deserted-empty street. He turns around and sees Izumii behind him.
"What do you want, Boss?" Horada exclaimed.
Izumii just stood there with his arms crossed with a big scheming smile.
"Oh, it's nothing my own Superior who actually wants to help you out but for a price" Izumii offered.
Horada scratched the back of his head….confused.
"Ok, Is this about One of Those Orihara Brats?" Horada remarked.
Izumii shrugs both of his arms. "Something like that"
Izumii then walks up to Horada, giving him a business card and Horada looks down at the card, it doesn't have Izumii's name on it but actually just says: 'Shu Aozaki' and 'Awakusu-Kai' under his name.
"Huh," Horada said as he looked down at the business-card.
Izumii walked next to passed Horada and waved behind him.
"Just something for you to think about old friend" Izumii waved farewell to Horada.
Izumii left Horada in the street by himself with something to think about. Then Horada puts the card in his suit-pocket and runs to his hideout as quickly as possible.
Horada's Safehouse
Minutes Later
Horada ran inside the Izaya's abandoned now occupied-hideout and looked at the door behind him then turn around walking into his side of place; then sitting on the ripped up old couch that Masaomi used to sit on and suddenly Horada hears three individual distinct footsteps walking in front of Horada as he sitting down his makeshift Throne in the Safehouse.
"Hey Boss, what took you so long!?" One of his lieutenants said from the dark side of the Safehouse with a echoey-robot-like voice.
Horada laid down on his couch and put his hands behind his head with no care in the world.
Horada then shrugged his arms while on the couch. "Just saw a old acquaintance of mind from my past when I was in the Blue Squares"
A large individual in a gray cloaked covering all around there body with a Oni Mask on them, walked out of the shadowy dark side of the Hideout with their footsteps sounding like metal thumping against the floor of the Horada's place, the cloaked person crosses their arms in disappointment, revealing their arms to have gauntlet-cybernetic-like enhancements hands up to the elbow but there entire body was still covered up the Cloak and Oni Mask.
"Ah, alright," Horada's mysterious lieutenant said with disappointment in her voice.
Then two other people walk out from the darkness into the light side of Horada's place, both (not) wearing cloaks to hide their identity.
"That's very cowardly, Boss" One of Horada's lieutenants scoffed.
One of the lieutenants under Horada's employ walked in front of Horada. It looked to be a African-American individual, wearing a black loose-flashy business suit with a white undershirt and red tie with black dreadlocks and three face-paint that look like scars around his face.
"I'm not being cowardly, Nile!" Horada reprimanded his subordinate while laying down on the couch still. "I'm just using people whenever I can…"
"Listen here Nile, you want revenge on Shizuo just as much as me!"
"So know your place" Horada reprimanding Nile for speaking out of line.
The last of Horada lieutenants/subordinates, wasn't wearing something to conceal his identity or blended with a crowd of regular citizens, the final one of them, walked right out of the shadowy side of the run-down place; next to Nile and the cloak figure. It's a beautiful-looking woman wearing a skintight suit, exposed bust and short hair with a psychopathic little grin on her and hands on her hip looking unimpressed.
"You should know your place in all of this as well, Boss," Aya remarked.
Horada rolled his eyes; immediately got up from the couch he was laying down relaxing on for the past minute and a half after Aya's little remark.
"Other then what Ms. Aya Tatsugami said"
"It's going to be our time to take over this little City, maybe even the entirety of Toshima Ward itself!"
"My Boss wants us to meet up with him soon after he's done manipulating his fake girlfriend and friend" Horada exclaimed and proclaimed.
Horada's then turned in front of his lieutenants then both of his eyes turned a dark-crimson red as he looks upon his underlings.
"Now, let's raise some hell upon Ikebukuro." Horada said, bluntly to his subordinates.
Sonohara Hall
Mairu standing awkwardly in the front-register counter of Hall, Anri is now completely asleep where she was hearing the radio for too long with a small smile on her, Mairu had lost track of time and briefly fall asleep; Mairu began to feel tired herself but still awake, Mairu then grabbed a blanket from the front of the store and put it on Anri as she was sleeping.
"Thank you, Anri, for the good memory," Mairu said, only to herself.
She looked all around the front and inside of the store to search for Mikado but he looks like he left the store. Mairu thought Mikado went back to his Job and didn't question it at first.
"Oh well, might as well head home now" Mairu planned on doing.
Mairu left Sonohara Hall herself, as she was outside of the place Mairu turned around and gazed upon the Anri's Little Antique Store; Mairu put on a reluctant-content happy grin then walked off heading back to her and Kururi apartment to reminisce some more.
Author Notes: Sorry for being so inactive and not publishing a chapter in a while, I was sick and dealing with personal life stuff.