UPDATE: Guys, fellow readers, I'm really sorry I have to do this ... but I'm putting this story on indefinite leave. I just can't work on this at the same time that Japan's facing an actual crisis that's eerily similar. I realize I started this fanfiction long before the tsunami and earthquake, and now nuclear problems, but ... I just can't work on it right now. The stories are just too eerily similar for me and I feel terrible, like writing more might make me seem like I don't care. Once Japan's okay, I'll be able to bring myself to work on this, but for now, I can't. Once again, many apologies, and I'm deeply sorry.

AN: Hello once again, folks. Did you all hear about the earthquake in Japan that happened this yesterday / this morning? I really hope they're all okay … I kinda feel bad writing about this when it happened (on a smaller scale, thankfully). Japan, I hope you know I hope you get back on your feet, and brace yourselves for more! Hoping that nuclear plant doesn't go off, either ...

Thank you for all the reviews last time. Makes me happy and more eager to write (WhiteCrow10, everyone you named is a "no")(And thanks, Sissy, for the corrections).We get a hint of some of the other survivors in this fanfiction, but not all of them. Another thing … as I said, I only had about half of this written when I started posting. I haven't given thought to "pairing up" any of the survivors. I might, I might not. If I do, it'll probably be only one pairing. I will listen to reasoning (though you may want to wait until you hear all the survivors). Please read and review! WE REALLY NEED ONE SHOT SUBMISSIONS! WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE ANY SO YOU HAVE A VERY HIGH CHANCE OF GETTING WHAT YOU WANT!

Special Notice: Whoever submits the best one-shot idea ever (of your own creativity and uniqueness, please nothing insanely cliché) by March 15th, 2011, will receive a one-shot of said idea on March 31st, 2011. This one-shot can be of anything (angst, romance, smut, horror, cuteness, pairing / non-pairing, etc.) so long as it's creative, it's game. Your request to us needs to be thought-out, along with any little "bullet points" you want us to note or write. The one-shot will be pushed into the 7,000 – 10,000 word range, unless the requester wants less. We'll pick the one that appeals to the both of us (if you aren't picked, no worries – we still might ask to do it). We will give partial credit to the requester. Any further questions? Just add them into your request when you message us. Multiple submissions are allowed. We have no submissions as of yet!

Disclaimer: We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

When the World Goes "Boom"

A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy

Chapter Three: Awakening (II)

She remained curled in a fetal position, her arms quivering, teeth chattering, afraid to open her eyes. The sound of screams and the cracking of crumbling buildings that occurred only minutes ago had left her traumatized. She had felt herself fall, but she didn't believe she was dead … no, she wasn't dead. She could feel scratches on her arms from the fall and she could feel them stinging as the blood slowly flowed out. She could feel herself sitting in water, feeling it run past her feet.

Mika decided to open her eyes, but quickly closed them when she noticed she was inside a large dust cloud and felt her eyes sting and water when she opened them. She moved her arm up, covering her mouth and nose to make sure she didn't breathe any of it in. But even then she smelled something odd. A gas leak? She wondered, wanting to look around but knowing that she was still in the dust cloud.

Her lungs suddenly felt like they were on fire; she coughed, trying to get the burning feeling out, but it remained. I have to get out …! I … I have to find Seiji-san! Seiji! Where is he? Is he okay? She moved her free arm to feel around her, but didn't feel anyone next to her. She stood up, trying to open her eyes again. She could see the twilight's sky above her, the dust cloud settling a little. But where she and Seiji had been had completely caved into the ground into the water sewage systems. One of the trees near them in the park had completely uprooted and had fallen top-wise into the sewage system as well; its roots were still propped up against the ground level, however, and Mika recognized that as her way to climb out. I can look for Seiji-san if I can see better …

She walked over to the tree, avoiding the rubble and the glass in the water. Still keeping her mouth covered, she searched for the best way to climb up the tree, and prayed that it wouldn't fall further or roll over as she climbed up it. However, the tree was quite sturdy, and she managed to climb up it and out of the dust cloud. At the top, she took the opportunity to breathe, pulling her arm back, only to realize that her sleeve had blood on it.

Standing frozen and staring wide-eyed at the blood, Mika was afraid to wonder about it. Is … is that mine …? Her lungs still ached. She moved her arm up to wipe her mouth, and when she pulled it back, there was only more blood. To say she felt scared was an understatement.

Her knees started to buckle as she looked at the scene around her. There weren't any buildings standing. Huge dust and debris clouds covered her view of the distance, so she could only assume the destruction was widespread. She could see bodies of other people around her, but she quickly looked away; she didn't like the idea of seeing dead people. Nearly all of the trees had been leveled in the park, and the ground had collapsed into underground systems all along where she and Seiji had been sitting -

Seiji-san! Where is he?

She had to find him; he had to be alive, and somewhere near. I'm alive, so Seiji must have fallen in somewhere too …! She walked along the upper part of the ground aside what had collapsed into the underground systems. She kept peering over, calling out "Seiji!" to see if her loved one would respond. But each time she called, and received no answer, her heart continued to despair further. But she wouldn't allow her heart to sway her. I have to find him …! And I will find him! Yes! This is just like one of those famous love stories, where one of the lover's lives is in danger, only to be saved at the last minute by his or her true love! And then they'll live happily ever after. I will find him! She would find Seiji, wait for him to wake up, and everything would be fine; they'd have each other.

She thought she could see a figure down in the systems; she leaned over, calling to it. "Seiji, is that you?" It didn't respond, but it was definitely someone. "Seiji?" She got too close to the edge, before she knew it, the ground gave way under her feet, and she felt herself plummeting once more. Frightened, she managed to grab onto a part that wasn't falling, but it only delayed her fall. It too soon crumbled and she fell, once more, into the underground systems.

She felt bruised, wet, and sore; she had felt a piece of glass cut deep into her leg. But I'm still okay … she got back up onto her feet, and headed towards the figure she had seen. Seiji … is that you …?

She froze, her heart stopping when she finally saw the figure before her. All her thoughts ceased as her mind was trying to process the shock of what she saw.

She had found Seiji. He was the one lying there. But what had stopped her from running to him, waking him, and being together forever with him, was that fate had impaled an underground pipe in his skull.
*

"Hold the flashlight still," Namie growled, shooting a glare at Mikado.

"R-right," He yelped a little, steadying his hands so the flashlight's beam remained focused. He couldn't help it if he was still shaking. He didn't like the situation he was in, and he didn't like seeing the messed up flesh and bones caught in the beam. I didn't realize Kuronuma-san's leg was this bad …

"Is it going to be okay?" Aoba asked, still feeling a little awkward around people he'd been investigating. The one he didn't know, though – Orihara Izaya if he remembered correctly – was scavenging around the site for who knew what.

"Maybe. It needs to be washed off before it's set." Namie responded. She rubbed her sprained wrist, trying to keep from losing it. She was doing very well, considering the emotional turmoil she was experiencing. "I don't think we're going to find anything clean here, though."

"I have a water bottle in my bag," Mikado said starting to fish around in his bag.

"That'll have to do for now. We'll set it too, but wait until morning to bandage it."

Aoba paled. "Wait, you're going to set it now? In the dark? A-and not wrap it up?"

"If you want your leg to heal properly, it should be set as soon as possible. Or would you like a permanent limp?"

Aoba didn't have the chance to answer, as Mikado pulled out the bottle and handed it to Namie. "Here," Mikado offered.

Namie tched. "You're going to have to do it."

"H-huh?" Mikado's mouth hung open a little.

"My wrist is sprained. I wouldn't be able to set it firmly enough. So set his leg and wash it off." Namie took the flashlight away with her good hand, growing frustrated at the clueless brat before her. "Go on and do it."

"Right," he set the bottle down, but quickly got snapped at.

"Idiot, you wash your hands off first."

"R-right," Mikado snatched the bottle back up, and used some of the water to rub the dirt and grime off from his hands.

She rolled her eyes. She grew ever vexed with each new command. Why was she here, helping this brat that cost her her job, her pharmacy, her relationship with her brother? She should be out now, looking for Seiji. Seiji probably needed her right now; he was probably, lost, confused, and hungry. The more she thought about it, the more desire to look for him started overwhelming her. She shouldn't be here. Not with the manipulator she worked with, not with people she didn't give a damn for. She should be looking for her brother. The only one she chose to love.

"E-eh, what do I do now?"

Namie came out of her thoughts, but her overall bitterness grew exponentially. "You set it."

"I don't know what's supposed to be straightened!" He protested somewhat, visibly wincing at the bloodied flesh when he looked at it again.

"Uuh, Yagiri-san, could you just do it …?" Aoba asked, not liking the fact that he might end up worse than he already was.

"You start with the upper broken joints." She moved over, pushing Mikado down slightly as she moved to Aoba's right and kneeled back down. She gave the flashlight to Aoba, who looked confused for a moment. "Hold it on your wound, boy." She growled, and he complied. Just my luck to be stuck with clueless idiots …

She pressed her good hand down near the top of the wound, causing his face to visibly scrunch and his leg to twitch. She turned her head to Mikado. "Grab the part under it and twist it away from you and upwards. I'll tell you when it's aligned."

Aoba frowned. Twist it? This was going to hurt, wasn't it? He had a total of four fractures, three of those being in his right leg, one in his left (at least, that's what Yagiri told him). The middle and lower ones on his right leg were open wounds, too. The first one was fractured too, but not torn open.

Mikado held his breath as he grasped the lower leg, and gathering up what courage he had, started to twist the bone as Namie had directed. He nearly stopped when Aoba started shouting, but the glare that he received from Namie read: "Stop now, and it'll only be worse." So, he kept going, until she said to stop. Why am I doing this? He vaguely wondered. Things weren't making much sense anymore, were they?

"Alright, set the second fracture." She answered coolly, ignoring the younger's cries of pain. She made sure that the bones had snapped back into place in the first fracture before moving on. Pressing her hand firmly down ahead of the fracture, cutting off some of the circulation as this wound was open, she said: "Turn it towards you this time. Don't push it upwards."

Mikado started to grab the part right under the flesh wounds, but Namie growled. "You're going to have to put your hand in the flesh, boy."

… That's what I was trying to avoid … but he realized that he needed to get this right. Doing his best to ignore the feeling his hand experienced in the flesh, he inhaled deeply and started turning it. His heart nearly stopped when Aoba let out a panicked yell, clearly in pain, and that's when Mikado noticed he could see the leg bone turning in the wound … the flesh was cut down to the bone. The bone. It had avoided the major veins and arteries, somehow, but it was still very deep …

He did his best to keep from being disgusted, and heard the bone snap back into place. He saw the bone snap back into place.

"H-hey, you sure we can't wait to do the rest until tomorrow?" Aoba asked, whimpering a little. He wasn't really enjoying this, even though the people working on him knew what they were doing (sort of).

"We can wait, but the bones will start healing improperly." Namie replied monotonously, clearly other things on her mind. "Set them now, make makeshift splints, and we'll take care of the rest in the morning."

She released the pressure, and started rifling through Mikado's bag, conveniently placed between the two of them. Mikado, puzzled, asked: "What are you doing?"

"Open wounds need to be covered." She answered, pulling out a shirt and started tearing it, regardless of Mikado's minute protest. She set the strips down except for one, dunking some water on it and cleaning out the wound (which too hurt). Then, using the dry strips, she packed one into the flesh hole, and tied the others around to cover it and keep the packed strip in. It wasn't the greatest, but it would help prevent infection until morning, when they could get better supplies and rig a tension system. Although, she was planning on leaving the first chance she got. She had to find Seiji …

They finished up the two other breaks easily enough. At the end, though, Aoba looked petrified from the pain of feeling his bones and nerves reconnect, and was doing his best to keep from moving even just a little. A few involuntary tears had escaped, but he wasn't really crying. He kept his back leaning up against the part of the standing wall, doing his best to keep his mind off the pain. At least they're helping me out … and they were being as gentle as they could be … even though it hurts!

Mikado went and came back in a few minutes, having found a broken metal rod. They used it to straighten the highly fractured leg, using more of Mikado's clothes to fasten it. Namie stood up, satisfied. "Don't move for a while. We'll have to clean it up better later."

"T-thanks, Yagiri-san …" Aoba's voice came out strained.

Hmph. His thanks meant nothing to her. It only worried her that Seiji might be in worse trouble … he could be severely injured. She should be out looking for him … he needed her right now …

"You'll be alright, Kuronuma-san," Mikado feigned a laugh, trying to wipe off the flesh and blood residue on his hand onto the back of his clothes. By now, Mikado had taken back the flashlight, and was trying not to point it in any direction where flesh was present. He was glad they had found shelter of sorts, be it though in what was probably once a small closet room; the lower half of the walls were still standing, and it meant he didn't have to look around and see bodies. Though we'll be able to see them in the morning … he looked up at the sky, frowning. Why haven't any rescue teams come yet? This has to be too massive to handle if we haven't seen anything yet …

A clapping interrupted all of their thoughts, and they all turned their heads to see Izaya hop into the space. "Well now, seems you've gotten all that straightened out! I must thank you, my secretary, for saving one of my beloved humans!"

"Shut up." She growled. She didn't need his "jollies" right now. The stress inside of her was building up to the point she wasn't sure she could handle much more …

"Where were you, Izaya-san?" Mikado inquired. He was curious to know where the informant had gone.

"Around, assessing some of the damage. We should stay here until morning when we can see things better." He shrugged, giving off his eerie grin. Even in the darkness, it could still be seen.

"Did you find anyone else?" Aoba asked.

"Plenty. But it's not wise to go out right now. You might want to turn off the light there, too." He pointed at the flashlight. "It might attract unwanted people. Not that I'd turn away my beloved humans~"

Izaya rambled on for a while longer, making jokes about what was going on and running through some rather insane scenarios, such as what caused this and what they were going to do. Mikado chose to ignore them, knowing that it was probably the informant's way of releasing stress. He sat down against the wall next to Aoba, who had worn out from the stress and pain, and was now sleeping against him. Mikado let him do so, seeing as how Aoba had been injured the most out of all of them. Namie, however, only felt the stress broiling up inside of her even more as each one of Orihara's scenarios passed by.

He's playing this like a game … he doesn't realize how serious this is … how badly hurt my brother and others probably are …!

It was at this point that Yagiri Namie snapped.

"I don't believe this! We should be out there looking for other survivors and people that need help!" Namie hissed at Izaya, standing up straight, sounding like a distressed cobra.

"In sheer darkness?" Izaya replied flatly, still sitting down on the ground across from Aoba and Mikado. "You wouldn't be able to see where you're going. It's not like all the street lights are still up."

"B-but isn't she right, Izaya-san?" Mikado spoke up, but quietly since Aoba was sound asleep next to him. "We should be searching for others to see who's alive. There's probably still a lot of people trapped in places …"

"Probably, but we should wait until we have some daylight."

"Why should we wait?" Namie snapped, anger growing ever more inside of her. "We have a flashlight to help us! Aren't you the one who proclaims he loves humans? You should be for looking for them too!"

Izaya felt free to laugh at Namie; he was amused at this situation. "I do love humans! But I understand that we'd probably save a whole lot more by waiting for morning. Think about it: the destruction seems to be beyond Ikebukuro and its neighbors, otherwise we'd've seen people flooding in and helicopters at this point. And as we can see, there aren't any buildings left standing. It would be better for to stay in one spot in case there are aftershocks. If we went out searching at night, we wouldn't be able to see the electrical wires, glass, gas leaks – even the corpses. We might even trigger an explosion or cause more things to fall down." Izaya explained, a proud little smile on his face; he took the flashlight from the center where Mikado had placed it, and held it up to his chin, turning on and purposefully (distastefully) making a spooky face. "We should wait until we can see what we're doing."

Namie, fed up with Orihara Izaya and his mind games, resisted the urge to pummel him and snatched the flashlight away. She quickly got up and started heading away from the site. "I don't care, I'm going to go look."

"W-wait, Yagiri-san -!" Mikado started, but he was interrupted by Izaya.

"Let us know when you find Seiji-kun, will you?" Izaya called teasingly, waving to her figure before it vanished in the night.

"… Is she really going to be alright?" Mikado asked. "And why did you have to tease her?"

"She'll be fine; she's just a little stupid right now. I doubt she'll get far." Izaya replied, leaning back against the wall behind him. Mikado frowned, a little disturbed by Izaya's attitude and how he always found a way to be rude in any situation. He also didn't like the fact of the group getting smaller … as far as he knew, there were very, very few still alive. And they needed to stick together to survive. Survival instinct was coming to life inside of him, and it was telling him to stick with the group, no matter what the dynamics of the group were.

Izaya shrugged, getting back up, and walking around. "I think I'm going to explore a little myself."

"But we don't have the flashlight anymore …" Mikado muttered, but then he remembered that he had stuffed the matches that he had found in the store into his bag … "Ah, one moment," he started shuffling around again, though being quiet enough to not wake the other. He tossed the box of matches at Izaya, who caught them with skill in the dark. "Thanks, but it's not wise to use these when there's probably gas leaking somewhere." Nonetheless, he kept the matches, and vanished in the darkness.

Mikado frowned, leaning back and looking up at the sky. There was hardly any moonlight, and he was surprised to find that he could see the stars with extreme clarity. It's too peaceful … for what happened.

A few hours passed. He found himself unable to sleep. He was too stressed right now to sleep, and too afraid to sleep without someone awake. He knew stories of people robbing each other blind in disasters, he didn't need that happening to him. He took this time to think, and think about what was going on.

I wonder who's alright … he felt fear start to swell when he realized that a lot of people he knew were probably dead as well. After all, it was highly unlikely that with so few survivors, that any of his friends survived … Masaomi-kun, Sono … no, Anri-san … and Kadota-san and … and …

He pulled out his phone in habit, trying to get it to work. It would turn on, but the calling wouldn't work. Finally, he resorted to texting … and found that that did work.

He bent up some, his surprised expression lit up by the glow of the small screen. Seriously? I'm still getting service? But … how? He wondered, but he pushed that aside. So long as it was working, he had to use it. I should let my parents know I'm alright. I have to do this before my battery runs out.

He started typing buttons, sitting straighter upwards. The shifting caused Aoba to stir, who looked bleary-eyed at the phone.

"Sempai, what are you doing?" Aoba asked, leaning onto Mikado so he could look at what he was writing on the cell phone. "That thing still works?"

"Yes, surprisingly," Mikado admitted, "at least the texting does. My cell phone took a beating though, and calling doesn't seem to work anymore."

"Hmm. So who are you texting?"

"Well … first, my parents. I'm letting them know I'm alright so they don't panic when they wake up and see the news." He allowed himself a small chuckle.

"How come you know they're not panicking right now?"

"They would have flooded my phone with messages by now if they knew. And they weren't caught up in this, I think, because they were on a trip together to Australia … but they'll probably see the news in the morning, and by then my phone'll be dead." He could hear his voice sinking as he said that. That's right. My phone will go dead, and I won't be able to contact anyone and no one will be able to contact me … What if someone needs help? He didn't want to even consider that. To think, what if someone tried to call him for help … the moment his phone went dead?

"Mmm." Aoba was tired; he pressed against Mikado even further, enjoying the warmth since he didn't exactly have a blanket, and couldn't get up to find one with his leg the way it was. "'Kay."

"Do you have parents or family you want to contact? I can try sending them a message," Mikado offered.

"Nah … I'm not exactly close to any of them." He yawned, closing his eyes; he wanted to sleep and forget the pain throbbing in his legs. The sheer darkness around them was almost frightening, but he felt that if he could fall asleep while the cell phone was on, he'd be all right.

Mikado continued typing, sending out messages to those he knew.

First, to his parents. [Mom, Dad, I'm alright. Please don't panic, I'll find a way out of this.] [Right now I'm with some other survivors, we're going to figure out what to do in the morning.] [If you could, please try contacting others here. My phone will die soon and I want to make sure they're okay.] He sent them a long list of numbers – those of his friends here, and people he knew back home in Saitama - and sighed.

Masaomi-kun … yes, he'd been growing distant from him, but he needed to shove that aside right now. Even though their relationship had been straining some, it didn't matter. He needed to know if his friend was alright. Anri, too. Was she alright? Did she need any help? And Kadota, and the rest of that gang? Speaking of gangs, what of the Dollars?

He sent out a message to the Dollars mailing list, surprised a little more by the fact that he could still receive some internet service, too. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but he'd take the chance while he could.

[If anyone needs help, mail out on this list. We're going to find each other and survive.]
*

She woke to the sound of a horn wailing near her. She turned her head, seeing the night sky and its heavenly body above her. She'd been thrown clear of the collapsing building … somehow.

The horn continued its bellow, and she pushed herself upwards, feeling bruised and scratched everywhere. What happened? She vaguely wondered, getting up onto her feet. She nearly fell back; she wasn't used to standing. The horn … it was coming from an overturned car. She didn't want to look inside. She could guess what happened. The twisting buildings from before, the quake … the part in which she couldn't breathe …

Turning back and seeing nothing but ruin, she felt her heart beat faster, and she decided that she had to start off somewhere. Barefoot and feeling weak, she went onward, trying to make sense of the devastation around her as she started to guess what happened to all that she loved in the now ruins of a mega metropolis.