Byoki hummed as she skipped across just one of Ikebukuro's many tattered sidewalks. It was a happy song, loving and kind and untouched by the general filth of the area she walked through. The tune was a lullaby, people nearly nodding off as it drifted through vacant buildings and dirty alleyways. Byoki smiled, feeling more satisfied than she had in years. She'd spent the rest of her night seeing all the fancy stores her new town had to offer, trying on as many articles of clothing as she could before getting thrown out for not buying anything. Money wasn't a plentiful thing in her life and spending what minuscule portion of a fortune she had on needless clothing and accessories wouldn't have any sort of positive outcome.
Perhaps she could have sniffed out some bargain in the very back of a secondhand store, but her mind was involved with other things. Her rent, the threatened lawsuit, and the lie she'd tell to her boss about children stealing food, Byoki's worries went on for hours. But there was one particular thought that festered in her head. Shizuo Heiwajima. He was very different from anyone she'd met in the city so far, lacking the stereotypical traits of someone truly angry and brooding. Shizuo was easily infuriated; however, he didn't seem to be an excessively hateful person. He wasn't incapable of feeling or a bad person while still being somewhat of a brute. Byoki wasn't sure why, but she trusted him as a friend.
Byoki let her thoughts carry her away, trying to dissect Shizuo's personality as she walked. The few people she'd met so far were amazingly different. As a normal child in America she'd met odd characters before, but none as free-spirited as the people in Ikebukuro. There were legends and myths swirling around, enchanting tales of The Black Rider and the sickening story of an upcoming murderer called The Slasher. The entire city was connected like a web, networks of people sprawling and spreading like wildfire.
"Well if it isn't little Kokkaku Byoki, how interesting." a youthful, raven haired man swung down from his perch upon a rooftop. The male stretched out, seeming oddly cat-like as he yawned and cracked his knuckles. Byoki took a step back sharply, seeing the silvery pocketknife he twirled about his fingers. He was amazingly nimble, having hopped down from a high area without harming a single hair on his furry, onyx coat.
"How do you know me?" Byoki said, fingering the miniature sword sticking out of her back pocket. The paranoia she knew far too well came crawling back from the recesses of her mind. The anti-anxiety pills she took each morning normally helped pull the worries from her immediate thoughts, but strange, knife toting men coming at her in the middle of the night seemed to reactivate her apprehension.
"I know everyone in this city, Boki-Chan. I'm information broker Izaya Orihara." he sang, grinning widely. Byoki stared at the ground, frowning deeply. Izaya was the one Shizuo had been fighting, right? She'd questioned their dispute at first, but not she understood why. This man reeked of greed and lust. He yearned, not for sex or blood, but for human emotion. To watch life play out like a game and see all it had to offer up to him. Byoki didn't enjoy his presence in the slightest. He blinked at her with eerie, scarlet eyes, surveying the woman intently to take note of all her features. Izaya paused to flick his knife closed, holding it against his chin,
"Why don't you stop by my office tomorrow? We can have a little chat over lunch, I think I have some information you'll find very interesting."
"I... I don't-" Byoki began, stopping abruptly when Izaya pressed the blade of his weapon against her lips.
"Don't say no so quickly, I promise I don't bite very hard~ Come by this address at 2 o'clock tomorrow." he let out a cackle, pushing a wrinkled piece of paper into Byoki's pocket. She looked up a few seconds later to see that Izaya had disappeared without a trace. Byoki hugged her arms about her waist, her paranoia spiraling out of control.
XxXxXxXx
"Byoki! You deliver sushi now!" the very robust Russian man known as Simon came rushing out of the back room. He peered around the restaurant, glancing at the tea spattered tables Byoki was supposed to be waiting on. She happened to be absolutely terrible at her job in a rather pitiful way. Most shops had more than one waitress, but Russian Sushi wasn't a large establishment. Not to mention, Byoki's main issue was spilling things on people. Her second day at work had involved so many follies that, as punishment, the owner was forcing her to place another octopus in their tank. And, at twelve-thirty in the afternoon, Byoki was trying, without much success, to lift a sea creature filled plastic bag above her head. She whipped her head around quickly, opening her mouth to announce that she was about to leave for the day. As little as Byoki wanted to go meet with Izaya, she had the strange sensation that the news he had for her was important.
Seeing as he was an information broker his knowledge would come at a price. And, of she couldn't even afford the cheapest of clothing, how could she honestly afford some tid-bit of truth? There wasn't even any food in the miniature refrigerator she kept in her apartment, her breakfast that morning had been a piece of melon bread stolen from a crushed vending machine. Byoki wasn't sure how it had gotten there but she was thankful for it. As she gave all her issues thought, she didn't realize the small puddle of saltwater that had formed beneath her bare feet.
In one terrible movement Byoki's gnarled appendages slid out from under her, went soaring through the air, and forced her onto her back. The once carefree octopus was sent in a glorious arc, floating straight above her head as if she were in some sort of twisted comedy movie. Her punishment tripled in pain as the helpless animal's bag snapped open, sending an avalanche of tentacles and dirty seawater to rain down on a stunned Byoki.
The customers erupted into laughter, cackling and giggling and chortling in unison to further Byoki's upset. Huge rose bushes of embarrassment bloomed upon her pale cheeks as she struggled to stand back up. Two painstaking slips later, the waitress had shoved her just as terrified underwater friend into it's new home and torn the address from Simon's hands. Byoki hurried out of the main room in hopes that she wouldn't start sobbing in front of people. A few mocking claps echoed from outside as she peeled the sopping wet uniform off her sadly flat chest. Why were people so cruel? If they stopped for one moment to think about the pain Byoki was in, perhaps it wouldn't be so funny. She was still weak from her eating disorder and such a set of falls would cause her back to sprout up in grotesque purple bruises.
Byoki blinked the years from her kind golden eyes and straightened out. No one would ever love someone so wimpy, if she wanted to live out her sister's dream, she'd have to toughen up. Men liked a strong, independent woman, right? Byoki let out a cutesy whimper. Who was she kidding? She knew absolutely nothing about love. The female pulled a parcel of sushi onto her arm, feeling disgruntled and discouraged. Maybe she'd simply skip her meeting with Izaya that day; information could wait for another day. Byoki thought she might simply go home and lay on her stomach with a Batman comic book and a bottle of sake. But, then again, the information broker seemed like the kind of person who would go out looking for her. She hopped on the tattered bicycle Russian Sushi used for deliveries, taking a deep inhale and glancing at the ribbon on her finger with a self-assuring smile.
It has been FAR too long since I updated this! But, I've been on hiatus for a while and I've been in and out of the hospital with a plethora of strange injuries~ Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fifth chapter of Simply Diseased! Don't forget to review, fav, and sub! Thanks for reading~
~KC
