Disclamer: I do not own Durarara! or its characters. Nor do I own any of the alternatives.
Why did I agree to this? After Roppi grabbed his sketchbook, he is walking on the streets with the humans he hates heading to the residence of the violence incarnation with the weirdest human he has ever encountered in his life. Not only did he have to be in this kid's and the rest of the world's presence, but he has to stop and explain all of the city's landmarks and urban legends since the blonde couldn't help but sightsee everything.
"Y-you must know a-a lot if you can e-explain everything s-s-so well Roppi-san," the blonde complemented as the two sat down on a bench near a fountain to take a break. Tsuki smiled as he watches the water spray up in the air and descends back to the pool. Roppi, on the other hand, was mentally stressed, not expecting the blonde to be so eager to learn about his new surroundings. He massaged his temples to help relieve some of his built up stress.
It really is his first time in Ikebukuro. But you'd think he'd do some research on where to go and what to see. And he acts like an excited puppy. Even when I explained some of the downsides to everything, he just ignores it and go on about how cool it is. He is too naive for this messed up town.
"I know a lot because I've lived here most of my life. Any resident would say the same thing."
Now that I think of it, when he basically begged me to take him to Shizuo's he didn't stutter at all. Now he's back to it. What's up with that?
"Tsukishima, mind explaining to me about your stuttering. You weren't doing it not long ago and now you are again." Tsuki gave a shocked expression before hiding into his scarf even further.
"W-W-Well… i-i-it hap-p-pens when I'm n-n-nervous. I-I-I've always b-been like this. I-I-I get s-sc-scared a-a-a lot back home, b-but I c-can't stop it." He leans back a bit to look straight up at the full moon. "But s-sometimes, I get braver a-and more det-t-termined and don't st-stutter at all. I-It helps when I-I'm with s-someone I know." He turns to the raven who was listening with some interest. He pulls down his scarf so that the whole face can be seen, showing a gentle smile. "I soon st-stop st-stuttering all t-together once I get more c-comfortable with whoever I-I am with. You including Roppi-san." Roppi narrowed his eyes.
"We just met not even an hour ago."
"B-But you are k-kind enough to sh-show me around."
"You begged me to."
"You could have said no."
Roppi paused. Tsuki was right; he could have refused. But what force made him agree to it? Perhaps it was his subconsciousness telling him to repay the favor to the blonde for bandaging his self-inflicted cuts and catching him from his fall. Roppi was a person who hated being indebted to someone, financially or morally. So this must be the reason why he guided Tsuki through the disgusting humans he hated so much and to the monster who would try to kill him at the mere sight of him.
"Consider it paying back for your services, nothing more nothing less," he flatly stated and stared at the fountain. Tsuki smiled and continued to watch the fountain with the raven.
"It's j-just in m-m-my nature to help people, s-s-so there's no need for th-thanking me."
This kid is too kind and innocent for this place. Maybe this is why I had a better reason to say yes. He could a human but he's much purer than the others. No that doesn't make sense; all humans are greedy, needy, and gluttonous. Perhaps he is a monster. Yeah, that could be it. Besides, he's a Heiwajima; there has to be something.
"Tsukishima, I assume you know about Shizuo's abnormal strength, yes?" Roppi started and the blonde nodded. "Well, out of curiosity, do you have anything like that?" Tsuki leans back again to looks up to the sky thinking.
"Hmm… I-I'm not sure. I-I mean, I h-have a t-t-tendenc-c-cy to get lost i-in new places and I-I s-st-st-stutter on a daily b-basis, but that's n-nothing like Shizuo-san's strength."
"Is that so…" Roppi was disappointed. He really is human. What a letdown.
"But maybe… I-I just never been i-in a situation t-t-to find out. I-I'm only 19, so s-s-sometimes could happen," Tsuki continued. "So maybe, I s-secretly do." He smiled looked back the raven. "If I do f-f-find out what it is, I-I-I will gladly let you kn-kn-know Roppi-san."
"You hardly even know me and you're willing to tell something like that? I swear something is wrong with you." Roppi is getting annoyed about how trusting this blonde is. From the corner of the raven's eye however, he saw something that was getting way too old. He lets out a sigh and stands up. "Whatever, let's just go already. This place makes me sick."
Tsuki looked confused, but followed the raven anyway. This was one thing that Roppi especially didn't like about humans; how they think he is a criminal. They automatically believe he is guilty just because he fits the description that everyone was gossiping about. Usually he wouldn't care about how others thought of him, but this is unexceptable table He could hear the people whispering, how they try be discrete but failed to. This is slander that he couldn't tolerated. It wasn't even Izaya's doing either… well not initially like other rumors.
"R-Roppi-san? W-What's wrong?" Tsuki asked. Roppi only then noticed that he's ahead and going a little too fast to be called walking. He looked at the blonde just behind and see concern. He looked back ahead and continued in a slower pace.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he calmly responded while hiding his frustration. He took a quick glance at Tsuki, now beside him. The blonde looked sad and concerned, but didn't look like he was going to press the matter anymore.
"Um… O-O-Okay then. S-So, a-are we almost th-there?"
"Yeah."
Their trek continued in silence. Once they got out of the downtown area and closer to the residential area and to Shizuo apartment flat.
"Well, we're here. I'm sure you can find his unit just fine on your own." Roppi waved him off and headed back to his own apartment.
"Roppi-san, I'm s-sure I can give you s-something to drink b-before you go," Tsuki offered.
"I've repaid my debt, so I'm leaving." Roppi once again turned to leave and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Wait-" Before Tsuki could say anymore, Roppi was flung to the side and crashes into the ground. He had been hit with what was what was a nearby vending machine that kept on rolling down the street. It took Tsukishima a seconds to figure out what just happened, but once it registered, he immediately rushed to the raven's aid. "Roppi-san!" Roppi however was unconscious, but still breathing. Tsuki looked back at the direction the machine came from and tensed up at what he saw. "Oh no."
"I-za-ya-kun! Didn't I tell you to get lost!?"
Oh no indeed Tsukishima, looks like older cousin made a misunderstanding. Roppi-san, will you be okay? ... I guess we will find out next time. Also I want to thank everyone following and reviewing this; it makes me very happy. And even if you are not, thank you for reading anyway! You guys are awesome!
SyntheticVision: Thank you for pointing out that I never said how old Tsuki is. Well now we all know, he's 19, so two years younger than Roppi.
Well that's all for now, I'll see you all when I finish chapter four. Bye now and have a good day!