Jokes, Whims, & Coincidences

Chapter Seven, in Anticipation

Tekichu Sosa: Locating Amusement


We had finally gotten ourselves into April by now, for the record, and it was almost time to start the game up with the lovely little Magenta-chan. Oh, and if inconsistency in names is bugging you, I was opting to refer to her by the English of her email address I had seen on the screen, while Izaya was using the katakana pronunciation. I had simply chosen the English out of habit from all my time in America.

The only problem I had with this whole situation was that things weren't going down until tomorrow night, leaving me desperately looking for time to kill. It shouldn't have been a surprise that I had gone out again, though this time I had the goal of visiting Izaya's intended location to pull off the final stage of operations. It was a nice rooftop of an abandoned building in one of the less frequented areas of Ikebukuro. The only issue I had with the place was its lack of spots for me to hide.

I had been serious when I had told him I only wanted to watch. As said, repeating the same experiment in such close proximity didn't particularly interest me (part of why I wouldn't have made a very good science major, despite my level of understanding), but I did have ulterior motives. I really wanted to see more of how Izaya handled those he was trying to toy with. So it was essentially another experiment, just a different one than what Izaya would be doing.

"I could just hang up here, I guess…" I muttered, standing on top of the small structure that housed the stairway. A light breeze stirred the air, and the wind was actually warm. I looked over the rest of the rooftop, though it wasn't exactly fascinating: a few small sets of stairs leading to the main part of the roof, all concrete, and a guard rail set up as to prevent people from toppling off the edge. "I highly doubt she's going to be looking for people, so even if you can see me, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Besides, if he does this right, she won't even be able to focus enough in the event that she catches a glimpse of me."

Satisfied, I went to leave the rooftop behind. I was still bored, though, and instead wandered aimlessly. I didn't have the focus to try and memorize another chunk of the city, though it would have been better for me if I did. But the truth was that I didn't, but I at least exerted enough effort to not go into territory I didn't know. I just walked, killing time by thinking.

Of course I was thinking about Izaya's plans for Magenta. My brain wouldn't go anywhere else. He had told me the basic outlines of her past: normal, except for the fact that her father was having an affair. Then you got into the fact that when she gave the evidence to her mother, nothing changed. Obviously that affected her mental state to the point of wanting to disappear to show them that they hadn't realized how that had affected her. Sure, Izaya prodded that last thought along, but that was the point.

It was a simple and pathetic reason like that.


Since I looked passive enough, that was apparently some clue that I was hungry. And when Semyon thinks you're hungry, you can guarantee you're going to get an offer to come in to Russia Sushi. And while he really is a nice guy, and seriously means no harm, a lot of times Semyon comes off as scary. Of course, you can't blame people for running away. A seven-foot black man handing out flyers isn't exactly a common sight in Ikebukuro.

Yes, I'm serious. Since I've brought up Russia Sushi before, it only stands to actually go into it now. Semyon Brezhnev was one of the two owners of Russia Sushi, along with another man named Dennis. They were both of Russian decent, though I wasn't sure of exactly why you would move to Japan to set up something like a sushi restaurant, but I wasn't one to judge.

Ah, I guess that's important. Semyon may have been his real name, but most people called him Simon. I just thought Semyon sounded cooler.

So, long story short, my wanderings had led me in front of Russia Sushi, and Semyon had convinced me to come inside. This was just fine with me, because eating lunch was time consuming. So I sat at the bar portion of the restaurant, choosing dishes at random. Considering that the chef held no form of Japanese descent, the dishes were in really excellent quality, if not a little strange.

"For the last time, you two, would you at least hold off on that stuff when we're in a restaurant?" I overheard, even though the voice came from inside one of the private compartments where the door was closed. I leaned back on my stool, gripping on the edges as not to fall off. I waited in anticipation to see if I could figure out exactly what "that stuff" was.

"Aw, come on, Kyohei, we're not even getting into the deep stuff this time!" a second voice protested in response to the first. It was partially nasally in comparison to the deep baritone that had preceded it.

"Kyohei, Kyohei…" I muttered, trying to find the source of yet another name. I figured this would be quite commonplace until I finally took the time to look into and learn the names of all the people Izaya had told me about. "Hey, what kind of argument's goin' on in there?" I stared at the paper door like it would present to me the infinite cosmos, though it obviously didn't.

"Yumachii's right, you know!" another voice chimed in, and this one was decidedly female. "We're only skimming over the surface on this one. You and Togusachii never let us have any fun, Dotachin!" There, I had it. Kadota Kyohei wasn't name that would capture itself in my brain, but something like Dotachin most certainly would.

What was it with Izaya and all his nicknames, anyway? Shizu-chan, Dotachin… Hell, even Celty got treated to being called "Transporter" a good chunk of the time, though that wasn't really anything overly odd. I just wandered what he would do to my name, even though you couldn't do far too much with something that only had two syllables. And if he had really wanted to do something, he probably would have done it already.

This would probably be a good time to mention that I had walked over to the door of the compartment and slid it open, observing the four people inside.

"Ah, so you're the infamous Dotachin," I remarked leaning against the doorway. The small argument (that I still didn't understand what it was about, but whatever) came to a halt as they all turned to look at me. One of the three men stared, before breaking the short lived silence.

"I don't know who you are, or where you heard that name from, but can you please not call me that?" he remarked, his voice that of the first I had heard from my stool. Dotachin himself was a bit more, ah, the word I wanted to use was "manly" than one would have expected from such a nickname (then again, "Shizu-chan" wasn't too accurate either). There was a black knit cap adorning his head, and a relatively dark green jacket housing broad shoulders. I only chuckled, though.

"Sorry, sorry, that's just how I learned it," I half-heartedly apologized. The half part had to do with the fact that "Dotachin" was going to stick in my brain forever, nothing to be done about it. "I'm Tekichu Sosa, by the way, and I'm a…" I paused to consider it. How would you even define the relationship between Izaya and me? Friend didn't seem accurate, though I wasn't exactly happy with the terms employee or associate either. "I've heard of you through Izaya-kun, which is why the name came out that way."

"Oh, so she knows Iza-Iza, that makes sense!" the only female in the room stated, and I focused my intention on her. Her name was Karisawa Erika, based off my memory bank. Her dress was all black with long sleeves, and a small hat was upon her head. But still…

Iza-Iza? Does she honestly mean…?

I laughed at the name, mainly because it was far too ridiculous. Well, at least far too ridiculous to be applied to that man, under any circumstances. Of course that laughing fit just brought about more stares from the group and probably some at my back from the rest of the restaurant.

"He was right, you guys are fun." I flashed a grin at their confused expressions. "Hey, I've been wanted to talk to you since Izaya-kun mentioned all of you a few days ago. Would you mind if I joined you? Just for a little bit?"

"Whoa, Erika, check it out!" one of the other males exclaimed, standing up in his seat. I recognized his voice as the nasally one from earlier, but was suddenly distracted by his close proximity to my face. His dirty blond hair directed his attention to his face, where I felt myself distracted by the fact that he wasn't even bothering to open his eyes. "Check out her eyes! These are some seriously legit contacts!"

Erika was at his side a second later, staring into my eyes with the same enthusiasm. "Whoa, these are awesome!" she said. "I can't even tell they're cosplay! Where'd you buy these?!"

"Um…" I managed, caught off guard by their outbursts. "No, this is my natural eye color…" The pair's jaws dropped in unison, and I wondered if I had broken them or something.

"Really, that's so cool!"

"You think she's an incubator or something? A denizen from a foreign land come to earth to select those that will save the universe through their noble sacrifices! In which case I volunteer!"

"No, no, Yumachii, she has to be a princess in hiding! Trained from birth to defend herself but forced to flee her country once it was betrayed from within! How much you wanna bet these weird accessory things are actually weapons?"

"Ah," I said, deciding to dismiss their chatter and take it as a compliment, "I guess that means you're Yumisaki Walker." I pointed to the blond first. Afterwards I pointed to the last of the group, a man with slightly long brown hair and a red vest. "So by process of elimination that makes you Togasa Saburo."

"How'd you—?" Saburo started.

Walker recoiled in surprise, but I could tell that he was still excited. "Whoa, a beautiful esper that knows my name!" he said. "Is this fate? Destiny? Is it even real? Kyohei, we gotta let her hang out with us so we can figure out if one of us is actually the being that controls the universe!" Walker and Erika looked to Dotachin, like kids asking their parents if they could keep a puppy they found on the street.

So I guess that makes me the puppy?

"Yeah, whatever, just stop making a scene will ya?" Dotachin said. "Sit down and shut the door." I couldn't tell if he was alright with my presence or against it. Before I could comment, Erika and Walker had taken possession of my arms, dragging me into the seat between them. The door slid shut, way more ominous than I had ever thought was possible.

I was bombarded with questions from there on out, but it was an entertaining enough end to the day.


Kanra: I just read that last part. You're moving to Tokyo?
Kanra: Congratulations~!

Kakkoii_chan has entered the room.

Kakkoii_chan: Eh, who's moving?
Kanra: Read the logs yourself.
Kakkoii_chan: But that's just a distraction!
Kakkoii_chan: I wanna focus on what we got goin' on now!
Kanra: As I was saying…
Kanra: Wanna get together in real life?
Tanaka Taro: Yea, let's. That would be fun.
Kanra: Totally~.
Kakkoii_chan: Especially if all three of us do it.
Kakkoii_chan: Tho I dunno if you really wanna meet Kanra-chan in person…
Kakkoii_chan: I'd say knowing her online is enough.
Tanaka Taro: Kakkoii-san, I've been wondering, do you know Kanra-san?
Kakkoii_chan: You mean outside this box?
Kanra: Yea, she does. That's why I introduced her to the room.
Kanra: Oh.
Kanra: That's right.
Kanra: Ever hear of suicide pacts?
Setton: Yea, those were popular for a while.
Setton: People meet online and commit suicide…
Tanaka Taro: Horrible, isn't it?
Tanaka Taro: You don't really hear much about that happening anymore, do you?
Setton: They probably couldn't kill themselves…
Kanra: Maybe there were lots of suicides.
Kanra: Just that no one's found out about them yet~.
Kanra: Like they haven't found the bodies or somethin'…
Kakkoii_chan: Sounds about right…
Tanaka Taro: (;°Д°)…
Setton: Don't be creepy.
Kakkoii_chan: But Kanra-chan can't help but be creepy!
Kakkoii_chan: That's just the way she is!
Kanra: I'm just going to pretend like you didn't say that…
Kanra: You know, a lot of people have been disappearing lately.
Tanaka Taro: ?
Tanaka Taro: You serious?
Kanra: Well…
Kanra: Mostly it's illegal aliens, but not just them.
Kanra: Runaway kids, too.
Kanra: They disappear between Ikebukuro and Shibuya…
Kakkoii_chan: Told ya she can't help but be creepy.
Kakkoii_chan: I betcha you could go around on Halloween without a costume and people would still be afraid of you.
Kanra: You're nothing less than horribly cruel, Kakkoii-chan.
Setton: Can we talk about something besides the disappearances then?
Kanra: Fine.
Kanra: So guess what I saw today~?
Kanra: The Black Bike.
Kakkoii_chan: So you surfaced form your lair and didn't tell me?
Kakkoii_chan: Looks like you're the mean one.
Tanaka Taro: What Black Bike?
Setton: Huh…
Kanra: You haven't heard of it~? (° °)
Kanra: Everyone in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro talks about it.
Kanra: It's this urban legend that's been around for a while. I guess a lot of people have been taking pictures of it lately.
Setton: Yea, I've heard of it.
Setton: it's probably with one of those bike gangs or somethin'.
Setton: Although, I don't think anyone's seen the thing riding around with a gang.
Kakkoii_chan: You just don't see too many bike gangs period, tho.
Kanra: If you're riding one of those things without your lights on, you're an idiot.
Kanra: Unless you're not human…
Tanaka Taro: Wait, what's that supposed to mean?
Kanra: Yea… You see, it's sorta like…
Kanra: A demon, or a monster…
Tanaka Taro: Wait a sec, demon? Monster?
Kanra: Dotachin calls it the grim reaper.
Kakkoii_chan: Does he really?
Tanaka Taro: Dotachin?
Tanaka Taro: Who's Dotachin?
Kanra: Anyway, about the Black Rider…
Tanaka Taro: But who's Dotachin? ('°ω°')
Kakkoii_chan: I love your priorities, Taro-kun.
Kanra: It doesn't have a head…
Kanra: The head's cut clean off, but it's still moving…
Kakkoii_chan: Like somethin' outta Sleepy Hollow, man!

Tanuki Usagi has entered the room.

Tanuki Usagi: Sleepy Hollow? Sleepy Hollow?!
Tanuki Usagi: What's Sleepy Hollow?
Kakkoii_chan: It's this American folktale with a headless horseman.
Tanuki Usagi: You had me at headless~…
Kanra: How do you even know about something like that?
Kakkoii_chan: I didn't tell you? I studied overseas so…
Kakkoii_chan: I know a bunch of useless stuff like that…


It had been kind of surreal, watching Magenta as she waited for Izaya, just because only a week or so ago it had been me standing there. The only difference was that Magenta was more than likely not in our mindset, giving her no special treatment. She would be kidnapped and saved by Celty, and then she would be dropped off at aforementioned building, where Izaya would be waiting to mindfuck her, and I would be waiting to watch.

At least the person acting as Nakura this time around was a better liar than mine had been, since he seemed much more at ease at what he was doing. At least, that's what it seemed like from where I could see them. Izaya and I had taken up surveillance in a café that gave us a nice aerial view of the square below from a few floors up. He had pulled out a small pair of binoculars, while I just nonchalantly sipped at my drink, keeping tabs on things in my peripheral vision.

Next came the stalking part, which definitely seemed odd. Following Izaya as he trailed after Magenta and her Nakura made me realize he had done the same to me, probably with the same grin on his face. What really got to me was that to him, I had seemed like any other person. There was nothing special about me until… Until what? What had made me different in his eyes?

"The coast couldn't be clearer."

"Sorry to trick you like this, doll face. Kidding!" The voices of the traffickers dragged me back into the reality, as the sounds of struggle filled the air. Izaya and I remained hidden behind pillars of a nearby building as it went on. Eventually the van drove away, and we walked out into the alley.

"Ugh, they seriously left the damn cigarette lit?" I asked, noticing the small red burning object on the ground. Izaya essentially skipped his way across the pavement, settling out as he walked forwards. I followed behind, stopping beside him as the cigarette was extinguished beneath his shoe.

"Heh. The coast isn't exactly clear," he stated, smirking all the way. And when he pulled out his cell phone, Izaya's expression transitioned into a grin. He gestured for me to come along with his shoulder when he started walking again, and I did as I was told. I could see the screen as he shifted through his contacts and selected one. I didn't bother to try to listen to the other line since there wasn't any point. He was calling Celty after all.

"Hey, I don't think I need to remind a talented transporter such as yourself how to do their job. Just do what you're told, and nothing more. Throw a scare into them, kick 'em around a bit, and that's all. Okay? Have fun." Izaya hung up and turned the conversation towards me. "So tell me. Are you excited?"

I giggled a little bit, my grin being present for a minute or so by now. "Just a little bit. What was your first clue?" He gave no answer, and we walked through the Ikebukuro streets in silence.

All former considerations of things gone by were gone, and the only thing I wanted was for what was coming up to be nothing less than fun.


And episode two, start! I know everyone's probably watched the anime, but I think recapping things involving Sosa's perspective is important to how this story develops. I'll do my best to make them interesting, though. And I promise this story is going to have more to it than just going over the anime.

A big thank you to Alwaysblu, PhoenixBreaker90, AkazawaIzumi, pokerfacelove, and Kintoki Kin for your reviews and follows! I'm glad to see new people enjoying this story every time I post~.

I'm also sorry for the delay. I intended to post this yesterday and it just didn't happen... But happy just barely early Valentine's day, everyone~.

Fun facts: I really do think Semyon is a fun way to refer to Simon. Also, I love the entire Van Gang, especially Dotachin. And Erika and Walker are extremely fun to write.

I tried making some adjustments to how I formatted the chat system. Better? Worse? Suggestions on how to make it better? Also, can you find the rabbit? Any guesses as to who it is?

It may be some time before the next update happens. I apologize in advance for the wait.

Next time, Sosa and Izaya do what they do best. Please look forward to it!

[POST] 021314

[EDIT] 021414