Jokes, Whims, & Coincidences
Chapter Nine, For Realz
Tekichu Sosa: Evaluations of Capture
In the aftermath of my words, the only thing I could think to do was keep my mouth shut. I resolutely held on to that thought, because I had already broken one of my promises, no need to do that to another I had just made. I hadn't done too badly for an improv job—the look on Magenta's face was more than enough to prove that—but I was still only the slightest bit dissatisfied about the whole deal.
Because watching Izaya had been an absolute work of art, beyond anything I could have ever imagined coming from someone else. That was the product of someone who did this sort of thing regularly enough and broke down people instinctively that they could plot out all the moves and words and emotions of their prey to prepare for any situation thrown at them. And when the unexpected happened, they were able to handle it with such skill that it was like they had planned out the entire thing.
Improvisation was the key to handling these sorts of events, because nothing was ever as predictable as it seemed. Izaya could have handled the whole thing if I had let him, but we both had hesitated. That was where my dissatisfaction came from, the fact that I hadn't been able to deal with it immediately. I had been brilliant at improvising ever since high school, but nothing had immediately come to mind when Magenta saw me. And to me that meant I was far out of practice, and particularly way too far for my comfort.
"Well, we've gotta bounce," Izaya remarked, and I snapped out of my inner monologue. I hadn't really been focusing on him at all, so I couldn't even guess at his thoughts on my intervention. Instead I watched as he smoothly launched himself over the railing and continued to address Magenta-chan. "Thanks a lot for proving just how ugly and immature you are; it's been real. And just so you know, I don't really care about your problems. I just wanted to see how you handled yourself. You didn't let me down, though; you were just as boring as I imagined you to be! I knew you never really wanted to kill yourself."
The speech was accompanied by a set of unnecessary acrobatics as Izaya worked his way up the stairs. He opened the door back to the stairwell, gesturing for me to go inside. I did so, tossing a wave over my shoulder in the process. "Thanks again! We had an excellent time, Mazenda-san!" Izaya finished.
The door closed and I dropped the smug expression I hadn't even realized I had been holding on to. The instincts from previous experiences in situations like these must have acted up during my own speech, which meant I wasn't a lost case in terms of handling myself. Even so, I looked back to Izaya, trying to figure out his opinion. Even if he wasn't mad, I still felt like I owed him an apology. "I'm so—"
"Not now, Sosa-chan," he interrupted. "You don't want to waste time and miss the best part, now do you? All you need to do is keep quiet and follow me and we can end this show with an interesting finale, if I do say so myself. We can discuss your performance afterwards, too, but now it's time to focus. Come along now." And without giving me anytime to object, Izaya opened the door, lightly tugged on my arm to get me to follow, and closed it back up, all without making a sound.
I nervously looked back over to Magenta-chan, but she apparently hadn't heard a thing as she was standing in the same exact spot we had left her in, although she was staring off the edge of the building now. I followed Izaya back to the top of the stairwell structure, where he was sitting on the edge. He patted the spot beside him, and I sat down like he wanted me to. I vaguely considered what would happen when Magenta-chan decided to leave and happened to see us watching her like hawks, but my concerns were quickly dismissed.
She let herself fall.
I felt no sadness at that occurrence, though there was a slight tug at my chest that could only be surprise. I had expected her to ultimately go home, maybe go into depression for a little while, but for her to actually go ahead and commit suicide…
Izaya's expression let me know that he had been expecting this from the start, and I supposed it made sense. After everything that she had gone through and been told tonight, jumping off a building wasn't too out there of a reaction. Dealing with both me and Izaya in such a short period of time wasn't exactly an experience for the weak-hearted, either. There was also the chance that she was doing it just to get back at us, to prove that she did have the ability to kill herself.
"Whoa," I whispered, because there was no way I could have seen this coming. It was just so goddamn surreal, one minute she had been falling, the next the shadows had sprung to life to form a net that caught Magenta-chan before she even hit the ground. And a supernatural phenomenon so out of the realms of the basic imagination could only mean one thing.
Celty Sturluson issued a command in the form of a hand gesture, and the shadow net lowered Magenta-chan to the ground before dissipating. We were too high up to hear anything, but the presence of light from Celty's cellphone indicated that there was some sort of dialogue occurring between the two. I was only vaguely curious, as whatever Celty said was enough for Magenta-chan to ultimately pack up and decide to go home.
"Once again, she goes above and beyond…" Izaya commented, taking what looked like an almost rusty nail from his pocket to scratch a line into the concrete. I could see there was already a complete set of tally marks when I looked down, indicating that he had done this multiple times before, not like that was a surprise. "Now, let's talk about your show, shall we?" he proposed, turning to face me.
I turned as well, pulling my legs up from the edge and sitting cross-legged. Since I had been oh-so-rudely interrupted during my last attempt at an apology, I decided to pick that back up. "Yea, I'm sorry about that," I said. "I really didn't mean to screw things up that much. I probably should have let you take care of it, but you weren't saying anything so I just decided to do as much damage control as possible, you know?"
"You're apologizing," Izaya stated, amusement present in his voice. "For some reason, that seems so out of character and yet so you at the same time. So, care to tell me exactly why you feel the need to ask for forgiveness? I don't particularly feel like getting on your bad side, and misconstruing your intentions is the quickest way to get there, right? So go ahead, explain."
I almost wanted to gape, but resisted the urge. Not only didn't he understand, but he also was trying not to make me mad when he had all rights to be pissed off at me, by my standards. Hell, I was expecting retribution, and all he wanted was to talk. "I'm apologizing because I screwed up," I started. "I told you I wasn't going to get in the way and look at what I did. I did something stupid, acted without your permission, without your input, and you're trying to figure out why I'm apologizing. I respect you, dammit, so I shouldn't have done any of those things. Are you honestly telling me that you're not the least bit irritated?"
I had leaned forward a significant amount during my explanation/outburst; I returned back for the sake of space, propping myself up on my arms. Izaya chuckled, earning himself a small glare on my part. "That's exactly what I'm telling you, Sosa-chan," he replied. This time I actually did gape, and he just kept talking. "If I hadn't wanted you to do something, don't you think I would have made a move to stop you? Actually, I quite enjoyed your performance."
There was a pause as he gave me the closest thing to a smile I had seen on his face, though it was still more of a smirk than anything. "You respect me? That's not something I hear every day."
I looked away instinctively, not really wanting to sustain eye contact for what I was about to say. "Come on, Izaya-kun. Did you ever think that there was someone like you out there; someone that you'd ever actually get the chance to meet? The way my brain takes it is that there is someone like that and that they're willing to keep living that way despite all the things in society that tell them they shouldn't. I think that's kind of worthy of respect; don't you?"
I heard movement and redirected my focus to Izaya, only to see him standing up. "No offense, Sosa-chan, but you think too much," he commented, offering out his hand to help me up.
I tried my best not to pout and stood up on my own.
Two days later, I found myself with another day off, and wandered about as usual. I didn't take me too long to notice that the streets were void of the usual clusters of teenagers. Thinking about the date, I came to realize that it was the start of the school term. My next train of thought went to Masaomi-chan and how I hadn't seen him since we had met, so I felt like visiting him again.
This lead to me spending the morning actually trying to locate Raira Academy, though I was much more willing to actually ask for directions this go-round. As such, it didn't take me too long to get there, and just in time. As it turned out, Raira was one of those schools that started and (presumably) ended their trimesters with half-length days, meaning I showed up just when students were beginning to file out of the gates.
I leaned back onto the partial wall on the other side of the street as the entrance, lying in wait. I could see pretty much everyone from this vantage point, plus it would have been hard to miss Masaomi's blonde hair, even in this crowd. Of course, that had been the initial plan, but my eye was caught by something much more interesting first.
"Oi!" I shouted, running across the street without looking for traffic first. I didn't hear any horns, motors running, or curse words aimed in my direction though, so I made it across safe enough. A few kids were staring at me, but that was normal, and I ignored them in favor of relocating my target. Spotting her, I trailed after her at a light sprint. "Hey, hold on; wait up, will ya?!" My hand finally got ahold of the thin shoulder, and she turned her head to face me.
It was my girl from about a week ago, the one who asked questions about being human and ran away from Izaya without any provoking. I totally would have missed her if she hadn't been walking on the far end of the sidewalk, still wearing her ballet slippers. Part of me wanted to call her "Usagi-chan" due to her own White Rabbit reference, but that would have conflicted in my memory with the Usagi-chan that was part of Izaya's chat room. Not that it mattered; I would be learning her real name soon enough.
She wasn't focusing on me, though, instead frantically looking around the area. It took me a moment to realize that she was looking for Izaya, and subconsciously increased my grip on her shoulder in case she decided to bolt again. "Don't worry about it, he's not here, you know," I reassured, causing her head to jerk in my direction. "He's all the way in Shibuya today, so you can relax."
She stared up with me with those yellow eyes of hers, almost discerning if she wanted to believe me or not. Ultimately she gave a small nod, and I grinned, dropping my hand from her shoulder in the process. "I didn't get to introduce myself properly last time. I'm Tekichu Sosa. Whaddya say I treat you to lunch?"
There was a pause, and then I got two soft-spoken words as my answer:
"Susanuma Aiako."
Practically pulling my prize of sheer luck behind me, I wandered my way through the streets on the verge of bouncing. I probably got off track a few times, but Aiako-chan didn't say anything about this, so I kept going. Ultimately I found my intention, the same café that Masaomi-chan had taken me to our first meeting. I had been intending to come here anyway, so I didn't see why that should have changed just because my company did.
I took the liberty of sitting at the same table as last time, too, seeing as it was clear. We both ordered our drinks, and the waiter retreated back into the shop (it wouldn't have surprised me if someone who had been on shift last time I was here was whispering warnings to the poor guy as they passed). Aiako-chan stared intently at the menu, while I chose to watch her instead.
"So, Aiako-chan, have you always gone to school here?" I asked, and she looked up, that cute little deer in the headlights expression on her face. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say not. After all, you were walking home alone, right? I get loners and everything, but you don't strike me as the type. Surely someone in the system would have tried to befriend you already. Some class rep or something, you know. Sure you could have turned them down, but you don't like making waves, huh? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Hell, I didn't make my first real friend 'til I was twenty. So, I'm curious; what's the story?"
Aiako-chan took a moment to process the information and closed her menu. She looked down to her hands in her lap, and I almost thought she wasn't going to say anything at all. But speak she did, voice even quieter than usual, "I went to the same elementary and middle schools, but switched my second year… But since I was planning on going to Raira instead of that place's high school, I tested in and came here instead… There were… a lot of problems in my first school, so my family wanted me to transfer out…"
I nodded in understanding; I wasn't about to pry any deeper than that straight off, since I didn't feel like I had the right as a practical stranger. I had more than enough time to learn things, too, so I wasn't really worried either. "How come you didn't have any friends until you were twenty?" The question caught me off guard; that was for sure. But what was even more disconcerting was the look Aiako-chan was giving me, like she felt sorry for me…
"I've never really been a people person," I stated, resting my chin on my hand. "Hate 'em, really, people. Guess you could say they were my 'friends,'—" air quotes for emphasis "—but I most certainly wasn't one to them. So I never really opened up to anyone 'til college. I didn't really even want to, but he practically made me." I could feel myself smiling slightly, a real one for once, and Aiako-chan seemed a bit fascinated. "He was probably the first person I never hated to some degree, which sure threw me for a loop."
"Was that person Scary Guy-san?" she asked to my confusion, and then I realized she was talking about Izaya. I laughed.
"No, no, I only met him a month ago. Though I guess he's my third friend. The other two are both Americans, since I went to school there. Hell, they're all so different, comparing them is enough to make me wanna laugh for hours. But enough about that, I wanna ask you something, Aiako-chan," I lightly transitioned the topic, and she went to attention. "Have you ever heard about the Dollars?"
Aiako gave a small nod. "People talk about them at work all the time. Some say they're a lot of trouble, but I've actually met people who are members, and they don't seem bad at all. It kind of makes me wanna join, but I don't know how… I'd ask people at work, but it seems kind of rude when you're supposed to be providing them service to go 'Excuse me, would I be able to join the Dollars?'"
"Well, my dear Aiako-chan, today is your lucky day," I remarked, holding my free hand out across the table. "Cell phone, please." I didn't feel like doing the same thing I had done to Masaomi-chan to her. Besides, I wanted to at least eat before causing a scene. Aiako rummaged through her school bag before placing the object in question—a brick red slider—in my hand. It was one with the separate number pad and keyboard, so I slid open to the latter, toying with the web browser. I typed in the all-too familiar Dollars URL and returned the phone to its owner.
"The password's 'baccano,'" I informed. "You know, like the novels. Oh, it is the English spelling, not the katakana. There's no exclamation point either. And don't capitalize it; that bar's case sensitive." I watched as Aiako-chan tapped away at the keys, looking as happy as I had ever seen her. "Your username pulls from your email, but you could change it if you wanted. Also, put a greeting on the main page; you'll make some friends in no time."
It didn't take long for my own phone to go off in my pocket, and I pulled the dark blue device out. I slid it open to make it easier to hold, then opened up the newly arrived text. I was about to read what a quiet girl like Aiako-chan would put as her greeting, but stopped when I saw the username. I re-read it a few times to make sure I got it right, and lo and behold…
"You're Tanuki Usagi-chan?!" I shouted, causing heads to turn our way and the newly arrived waiter to try not to drop the tray that held our drinks. (He had been looking a bit worried beforehand anyway, so I guessed my earlier theory to be true. I decided he deserved a decent tip so I wouldn't ultimately be banned from coming here.) Aiako-chan merely nodded, not knowing how to respond. "Oh my god, this is awesome, you really can be my little Usagi-chan!" I laughed before turning to the now frozen waiter. "Oh, we're ready to order, whenever you are."
I stated my choice and Aiako-chan stuttered her way through hers while looking to the menu for assistance. After that was over, we both took to our drinks, though I did so to wet my throat and Aiako-chan just looked like she wanted to avoid speaking.
"I'm Kakkoii-chan, by the way," I said when she didn't. "That's how I know." I gave a slight smile when she removed the straw from her mouth, but still kept silent. "'Scary Guy-san' is Kanra-chan, for the record. You'd be surprised how much he acts like a girl IRL, too."
Aiako-chan only let out a small "ah" in response, then referred back to utilizing her straw for all it was worth. I considered her, then the conversations involving Tanuki Usagi-chan online. That, and there was still the matter of her past to dig up, which certainly interested me as well. The deciding factor was a thought in the back of my mind, reminding me in such a cliché manner that it was always the quiet ones.
"You know, Aiako-chan, I'm going to be your new best friend."
"Huh?"
And after some time, we're back in business!
A resounding thanks to pinkfyre, Alwaystru, Unnamed Guest, vivvy09, Marronn, sisem3, Siranam, Gentle Kiss, Babygirl117, MariDark, koskaa, unknown1o1, AmIValid, InsaneMilkMatt, Catovia, Glimpse-Of-Life, MeiHikari, Sumikai, Lulu Moon, .Thunder.x, NesTledCatSuGar, Aria 868, Anna the Viking XD, xFallenDemonx, Second Unnamed Guest, Chulips, DreamingInThePast, aliceheartphila, blob80, FasterThanMyBullet, Trickster707, krisdoki, RikkiBlake777, bananza12, Countenance, 2ne1-21, Animefreak1145, missymoo11, rasetsuyukino, x Yandere Senpai, XclosetmonsterX, Third Unnamed Guest, and KiraDaughterofPoseidon for your respective favorites, follows, and reviews! I'm floored there's so many of you, and I'm really grateful for you support! Hope to hear from you guys again soon!
This chapter finally introduces Aiako-chan, which I've really been looking forward to! She is the creation of my dear friend toumeiillusion, who has been kind enough to let me use her. I really, really love the relationship she and Sosa are going to develop, so I hope you're looking forward to that, too!
Life's been personally a bit crazy for me, but I've been doing alright. I actually have a paper to work on at the moment, so I really don't have much to say...cept that it's almost July and that means more Durarara! anime, the next manga volume release in the US, and the debut of the first novel in the US as well! If you guys can, definitely go and purchase these-the more support for DRRR!, the more cool stuff we'll probably end up getting!
Chapter Ten is slated to release on August fifth!
Next time, information is gathered, Sosa's apartment becomes the stage, and details are shared. Please look forward to it!
[POST] 061715
[EDIT] 082415
