Jokes, Whims, & Coincidences

Chapter Eleven, With Parallels

Tekichu Sosa: Marking God


"Sosa-chan, I'd like to pose a different kind of question, if I may."

Izaya and I walked side by side as we exited my apartment complex, taking to the streets. I felt some form of pride in the fact that, due to the fact of my many trips to Russia Sushi from my apartment in the past, the chances of me getting lost on this particular trip were minimal. Thus I kept the casual pace with Izaya, glad I wouldn't have to trail after him like some duckling following its mother. I gave him a quick glance for his previous statement, along with some consent. "Go for it."

"When you called me earlier, you mentioned something along the lines of Susanuma Aiako-chan being your new protégé," he stated, not bothering to look at me, instead focusing on the street we were about to cross. "I'm quite curious as to what you mean by that, not to mention how you came to such a conclusion in this first place." Deeming the pavement in front of us safe to walk upon, Izaya moved forward after a short pause. Trusting his judgment, I followed, turning the question over in my brain. Although it seemed like a good one to have asked after my last explanation, I couldn't blame him for holding off on it. My own legs were appreciating the actual work after being stoic for quite some time.

"Have you ever looked at someone and seen yourself in them?" I asked, jumping up onto the target sidewalk and spinning around to face Izaya-kun. I took the expression on his face to mean he had just taken the statement in a different way than I had intended. "And I don't mean in terms of hobbies or similar interests, tho those often come into play for people in realizing what I'm talking about. Every person has a core focus, but people in the 'Interesting' category often have much more unique focuses than those in the 'Not Interesting' category.

"Not that that's my point either, 'cause that's something you make for yourself. But underneath that is your genetic predisposition for personality. And while your personality forms on how you were raised and outside influences, you still have these little core ticks that most people don't realize they do. And a lot of times, that's where people get the feeling of 'I could have been like this person if I lived their life.'" I smiled at Izaya-kun, moving ahead and turning around so I could walk backwards while I talked. "Course, you probably knew all that already, or at least something similar."

"So what you're telling me is that you could have been Aiako-chan?" He had that smirk on his lips, though I had never seen it directed to me with such amusement. It was the face he had when we had discussed Magenta-chan, which meant the idea of me with Aiako-chan's past was an appealing concept to him. I decided to ignore that notion and focus.

"Well, not exactly." I folded my arms behind my head and looked to the sky. "I have a slightly differential tick from her, one that made me think in terms of practicality for my situation long before I should have. But without that, I most certainly would have been the little recluse she ended up being, 'cept I probably would have told anyone who tried to reach out to me to go away. But yea, without that, I could have easily been Aiako-chan, given the environment was filled with the same types of people." I pulled my arm down, pointing at Izaya-kun in the process. "And that, right there, is exactly why I wanna make her my protégé."

Izaya-kun gave a chuckle almost immediately after my proclamation, and I couldn't help but smile. There was an air to that laugh that let me know he understood what I was getting at. "Many people think in one direction, even when most ideas work just fine in the opposite," he remarked, and I nodded. I kept my mouth shut, though, just for the sake of hearing him state the idea. "And since you could have been Aiako-chan, it also means that she could have been you."

I grinned. I wasn't fully used to having someone who followed my train of thought, let alone could understand, complete, and even expand upon it. It was almost too good to be true, and I was loving every second of it.

"Exactly!" I chirped. "Aiako-chan has a similar set of ticks to me, but she hasn't picked her focus yet. I'm not exactly going to force her to live a life like mine, or maybe even yours Izaya-kun, but I do intend to give her an opportunity to experience some things other people can't even dream of. And maybe she'll decide to have a similar core to us or one that's the complete opposite. All that matters is that she'll have a core and be all the more interesting for it!" I flashed one last smile to my employer before turning to face the direction I was walking and hopping a bit back so we were beside each other again.

"Well then, it looks like we're both going to benefit from this little venture of yours…" Izaya-kun muttered, almost to himself. "You'll get someone more interesting while I get a better piece to use. Of course, you get a slightly bigger reward in that you're most certainly going to have a large amount of fun doing it, but you're making the bigger investment, so it's only natural…"

"So you're going to use Aiako-chan in whatever your big plan is?" I asked without even thinking. I tried to ignore the fact that there were tiny traces of concern on the edge of my voice. Hoping he wouldn't notice, I chose to make a second comment. "And you're using me so you can use her, too, not to mention the fact that you were gonna use me in the first place…"

"I thought that was part of our agreement from the start, Sosa-chan," he taunted, giving a smirk that actually let the slightest traces of humor into his eyes. I nodded in response. "Besides, what you're doing for me is essentially the equivalent of protecting a pawn on its way to the other side of the chessboard. And while I won't be able to get a queen out of her, I'll most certainly end up with something more useful, like a rook, or maybe even a knight if we're lucky. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

His chess referencing wasn't lost on me, and it made perfect sense with the odd chess/shogi/Othello game he seemed to be playing on the side table I had sat at on my first visit. "Of course not, Izaya-kun." I gave a last scoff for the sake of making him think I was insulted. Not that it was a very effective strategy considering the light tones my voice came out in. "You're letting me use your town and people for the purpose of my own toys. The least I can do is let you play with mine.

"But your analogy seems off. Judging by that board of yours, you already have chess pieces on there, so saying Aiako-chan is a pawn ain't right, since you actually have some use for those. I say she's something that's not even on your board, like a checker, or a Monopoly piece, or maybe even one of those Connect Four chips! Or a Chinese checker even! She'd have some value on the right type of board, but all she can do right now on this one is roll around aimlessly!"

Izaya-kun chuckled at the same time I let out a giggle, and our laughter collectively mingled in the air. "So then you understand, Sosa-chan," he said, hand sweeping in my direction. I almost thought he was going to put his hand on my shoulder, but he bypassed the action completely. Instead his arm came up from behind me when I was least expecting it, and draped itself around my shoulders. "It is your job to work hard for the benefit of us both by turning Susanuma Aiako-chan into a game piece worthy of both our exploits in a timely manner!"

His arm pulled away after that small declaration, and Izaya-kun went on to say a few things to himself that weren't spoken out loud, but enough above a whisper that I could hear without straining myself. "Then again, if I take part in things, I would have a chance to tailor her slightly to my own needs…" I noticed a slight absence of the warmth that had built up between my shoulders and his jacket sleeve in such a short amount of time. Izaya-kun raised his voice back up to normal levels. "Correction: You'll be in charge of said operation, since you found her first and it's your right. But you can guarantee I'll be there to help push things in my favor."

"Ah, but we still don't walk out of here with equal benefit, you know," I pointed out, tapping a finger on my chin. He gave me an almost unnoticeable look that I caught out of the corner of my eye by pure luck. "I mean, I think I get more because I get to see what you're doing to her, too, which'll give me hints at exactly what you're aiming for in this town." I started to shrug, but an idea hit my brain halfway through the motions. I redirected my energies into lightly hitting one of my palms with the opposite fist. "Oh, you think it's 'cause I found her first? Hah, the Universe rewards those who show initiative, I guess."

"Now, now, Sosa-chan," Izaya said with the tone of a parent scolding a child, "don't tell me you believe in something like 'God.'"

I let out a small laugh, because the concept is just so ridiculous. "Not at all!" I declared without the slightest bit of hesitation. "But I won't completely reject the concept, either. An all-powerful entity that has a purpose for everything is bullshit to me, but if things like Natural Selection and the like exist, then that was created by the Chance that let us exist in the first place. And that Chance is what's favoring me right now. It's not a god, it just is what it is. And since it isn't all-powerful and just is, yet still controls our lives in a sense, if only through limitation, then that is the Universe!"

I let the smile fall onto my lips. "Izaya-kun doesn't believe in God either." There was no verbal response, just Izaya temporarily raising his arms in a "guilty-as-charged" manner. "Ah, what I believe in might be pushing it for you, but oh well." I dismissed the thought, since it really didn't matter. I could have been the Pope and Izaya's atheist nature probably still couldn't have bugged me; I liked being around him too much.

"By the way, concerning Aiako-chan, I'm going to have to speed up my plans thanks to your new declaration…"

The next instant left both of us with our mouths partially open: me, about continue my point; Izaya, probably about to inquire and comment on said point. My own focus shifted, and I was pretty sure Izaya's did, too, all because of that one sound.

I had to say that I was probably in love with the sound of Celty's bike by now. It was just so unique when it cut through the air. I could feel a shudder run up my spine at the sound of it, one I hadn't experienced on the rooftop two days ago. Then again, that night I had been waiting for that sound, but now it was completely unexpected and refreshing when it hit my ears.

Neither of us even had to say anything; I diligently followed after Izaya-kun in the direction of that beautiful, ethereal sound, feelings of being a duck aside.

We stopped once we came to a sidewalk, Celty approaching from up the street. There was a bit of traffic, but things were looking pretty slow. Taking a few glances at the cars, Izaya stepped into Celty's direct path, and the dullahan braked to a stop before hitting him as I took a seat on the railing between the road and some bushes.

"So," Izaya commented, sounding as casual as always, "nobody told me you switched positions and became a defender of the innocent." He didn't even look at her, which I guessed wasn't exactly necessary because Celty didn't have a head, and, as such, she didn't have eyes either, but it still was kinda rude. "I didn't expect that. You see, I thought I hired you for your skills as a courier."

I, on the other hand, didn't let my gaze waver too much. There was still a part of that was completely entranced by the fact that Celty was a dullahan, so I didn't miss it when she went to sit up. For a second, I thought she was going to hit Izaya—I mean, he had made her rescue Magenta-chan after intentionally getting her kidnapped and then letting the girl throw herself off a roof—but instead she only typed on her PDA, and I had to lean forward a bit to see the words on the screen.

[Were the others that jumped also your fault?]

Izaya's eyes widened, and he partnered the sentiment with several overdone gestures with his hands inside his pockets. "No way!" he denied. "I'm just Orihara Izaya, the info broker, not some evil villain."

"You sure about that?" I commented. Good and evil wasn't exactly a favorite topic of mine, but I knew for a fact that Izaya wouldn't ever be considered on the "good" team in any story. Besides, he had left those stupid tally marks on the roof. Liar, I thought, keeping it to myself because I didn't want to start some argument. Izaya wasn't the only hungry one here.

If Celty could form an expression, it would have been unimpressed. I guess she could read him better than I had thought.

"But," Izaya continued, "if someone wants to go out like that, who am I to tell them they can't, you know?" This time I followed his gaze, only to realize he was staring at the rooftops. It took everything I had to repress a snort. Really, he was just trying to push Celty's buttons wasn't he? He had even succeeded in some form, too, since she didn't bother to type out a response and just drove off.

Izaya smirked, watching her go. "It was a lot of fun, my talented courier," he said as a means to send her off.

He watched the road for at least a minute, even after Celty's shadow disappeared from sight. Up the road, there was some traffic approaching—slow, since we were in a more residential area, but approaching nonetheless—so I jumped up from my seat.

"Izaya-kun," I almost sang, grabbing onto his sleeve and tugging. He hadn't been shy about dumping his arm around my shoulders earlier, so I guessed physical contact wasn't an issue unless things got a bit too touchy. I had to stifle any urge to puke at the thought. "You're gonna get run over if you just stand there. Now come on, sushi, sushi~!"

Izaya blinked at me then shrugged, taking the few steps necessary to get back on the sidewalk. "I guess you do have a point," he conceded. I pouted. He guessed, huh? At this point, whose idea it was to get sushi wasn't really an issue; the fact of the matter was that we were going out for his sake anyway. "Let's keep going, then."

That was all it took for us to continue down the streets. Since I didn't need Izaya to lead me around this time, we walked side by side. Out of habit, I kept checking in with his expressions out of the corner of my eye. He must have been doing the same thing because our peripheral gazes met up, and Izaya raised an eyebrow.

"What's that grin on your face for?" he asked.

True to his word, I was grinning. I hadn't really realized when it had started, but that didn't matter. He was asking for the reason, and that I knew.

"Just enjoying your little conversation with Celty-chan," I provided. "I mean, I guess I should have figured out what you were really trying to do earlier, but that can't be helped now."

A smirk I was all too used to by now was stretching across Izaya's face. "And what was I really trying to do, then?"

"'There's a whole other half of the game to be played,' huh?" I posed, letting it sink in that I was quoting his own words back at him. In the meantime, I let out a laugh. "I can't believe I got caught up in that. 'Similar intentions,' my ass, you didn't care about what happened to Magenta-chan at all." Allowing a smirk of my own, I raised one finger. "What you really wanted to do was to mess with Celty."

Without any warning, Izaya burst out into his own laughter. For a second, I thought I was wrong. I didn't like the idea. I thought the exchange I had just watched was all the evidence I needed, but maybe I had jumped to conclusions way too fast. Izaya took a long breath—somehow keeping the sound completely to himself—then had the courtesy to look at me properly.

"Very good, Sosa-chan," he congratulated, and I indulged in a small burst of pride. "Of course, I wasn't trying anything big. Just a little bit of ground work is all."

"Ground work?" I parroted before I could stop myself. Sure, I knew Izaya had some big plan cooking up, but I figured he would at least share with me when we worked on it. Then again, I had made the failure of not thinking there could be anything else attached to the Magenta-chan incident, so it was kind of my fault. Since the act of subtlety was out of the question, I went for it. "Ground work for what?"

Izaya waved a ringed finger at me. "Ah, ah, ah," he scolded, making me feel like a child for not the first time this night. "All in due time. Besides, we're out in public now, you know. No sense in letting vital information slip out. We can discuss this in a far more private location."

From the way he stressed private, I knew a booth at Russia Sushi wasn't going to cut it, and my apartment probably wouldn't, either.

Izaya rounded the corner, and Russia Sushi was waiting on the other side. It wasn't all too late, so the lights were still on, even if Semyon wasn't outside doing his normal advertising deal.

"Let's talk about something else important," Izaya said before I could get a word in otherwise. "I have some unofficial business to take care of in Ikebukuro tomorrow afternoon. Since you're scheduled to work then, would you care to join me? Unless you actually enjoy pushing papers in the office all alone."

"Just the afternoon?" I asked as we walked through the doors. Semyon perked up at the sight of us, rambling on about customers and seats and all the wonders of sushi, but I ignored him. "Why don't you come in earlier? I have an idea that could kill some time."

Izaya's eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? And what might that be?"

I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket, grinning. "Come now, Izaya-kun," I teased, in what was definitely some petty form of payback, "if I told you that, it'd spoil all the fun."


Kakkoii_chan [Private Mode]: Hey there, Aiako-usagi-chan, how do you feel about skipping school tomorrow?


[NOTES] But some time, huh? Sorry about that...

Thanks to Niln, uhlikins, ChaoticDiamond, MizukiMeiro, YukimuraShion, yellowfluffyminion, unnamed Guest, TheMaskedMelody, hey (Guest), Millenia-the-wings-of-valmar, FantasyWorld2015, AnimeBestie, Melissa Fairy, bajimmin, The Wind Whispers To Me, ASetsuka, digibladelover1, ToxicArt123, Carolinefdq, and 69AnimeFreak69 for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! With this, we finish up episode two and hopefully allow the story to start going places.

That being said, I am currently in the middle of revising my original novel Twelve Zero Zero, which is taking up a decent chunk of my time. But I have a lot of ideas for this story and x2 (which I like died from happiness several times over), which I would love to write about. I'm also in the middle of my master's program, switching jobs, trying to find my own apartment...There's a lot going on, but I want nothing more than to tell and finish Sosa's story (along with the others I have started). I'm trying to figure out the best way to do all of the above, so please stay patient with me!

For more miscellaneous updates, you guys can find me on twitter ( Plot_K_Bunny), Wordpress (plotbunnyproductions), deviantArt (Aviantei), (plotbunnyproductions), and tumblr (aviantei-plotbunny). I post stuff. It's all there to tickle your social media fancy.

Seriously, though, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I hope to line up some interesting ideas and get to writing JW&C again soon!

[POST] 040616