Notes and Answers.

I originally planned to publish this on June 12th, a friend's birthday. Belated grats to you on becoming an adult, and you know who you are! It's about 10 days late… And also, belated happy birthday to Kida Masaomi, whose birthday was two days ago!

Answers, ah… right. The prior installment was just a small intro, nothing is meant to be actually acknowledged. Things shall unfold from here on, and this is the actual beginning. Now, some people are wondering why Mikado is so OoC… Well, he's grown up in a harsh environment here, and he'll be more of a 'yandere' on. He's got quite the poker face, if you get what I mean. You should know what he can be capable of, so I have him being Mr. Two-Faced here. Anyways, just comment with questions, and I'll answer them here or PM you as fast as I can.

Also, apologies for the cheesiness of the first chapter. I'll fix it later if I feel like it…

It all starts now. Kadota Kyohei stood at the restroom mirror with a frustrated face, a complex mixture of confusion, anxiety, and slight wonder. He didn't know why he and those crazy otaku had to look out for Heiwajima Shizuo… Orders from a kid eight years younger, sure, that's nothing new, but searching for that man? "Who knows if he's still living in that trashy dump," Kadota thought as he washed his face. "But if the government leaders were looking out for such a man, it must have been for something big, only something the strongest man alive could do." The man brushed his hair back with a now more relaxed and calm expression, though he didn't like this idea at all. He didn't even know Shizuo well, but he did know of what he was capable of since he was eleven. He breathed deeply with a heavy sigh, remembering the scar he had from the incident and how he met the monster. Kadota flicked his eyes over to the door where one of his fellow men, Yumasaki Walker, was flipped upside down while reading a novel, his legs keeping him in a dangling position from the bar. "Let's go." Walker chuckled from behind his book, thin, fox-like eyes mewing out.

"Waaah, Kadota-san is so cool! Let's head out, I bet Erika is waiting for us outside, too." With a curt nod from the older man, Walker swung himself down to the floor, arms spread out like he deserved a medal for a perfect landing. "Say, why do you think we're going to go see Heiwajima-san? Maybe it's because we're getting his autograph? Or maybe he's actually borrowed a demon's strength and now serves him to watch over his actions? I want to see how it works if it is so!" The light brunette grinned as he stepped out the restroom with Kadota sighing behind him. They were soon greeted by a young woman with extremely long, dark brown hair and large, curious eyes.

"What took you two so long? I can finish an entire series of manga, and you two still wouldn't be out by then! Just what were you two doing?" She wiggled her eyebrows in an amused fashion with a giggle, and Walker frowned with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You and your 'Bacon Lettuce', Erika! Can't you just give it a rest…? It's not at all comfortable, you know!" The two stopped when they heard a small cough from behind them, the youngest of the group, Kida Masaomi, their current lead for their mission.

"We should talk about such things on the way, we have things to do. Everyone packed up?" The other three nodded, and Kida seemed relieved that they didn't take long. "Good. Now let's head out." Erika and Walker stayed behind Kida while Kadota casually stepped his place next to Kida on the road outside of the base. No sunlight shone

"Kida…" He murmured quietly enough for just the two of them to hear. "Why are we looking for Shizuo? I thought the government wasn't after people like him." Bright, lemon and copper eyes rolled over back at his dark chocolate ones with a curt response.

"We do as we are told, orders are orders. Now if you don't mind me asking this… Why do those two carry around so much?" They both turned around to look at the couple lagging behind, chatting casually in their uniforms together. The thing that stuck out most, though, was their extremely large, camping bags that seemed to be twice the size of their own height and bodies, smething that seemed to comical to be real. Kadota shrugged his shoulder when Kida turned back to look at him.

"It's part of their specialty."

"Part of the specialty in what, carrying bags twice the height of your own body and seem like it's nothing? That sure will hit up the ladies." Kida laughed, though Kadota remained composed and serious.

"They're recognized for never failing to get information out of people. It just happens to be a coincidence that they're not very high ranking and only do that for fun." Kida's eyes darted back to the couple at the seemingly chilling words, and then back at Kadota and his lips curled into a grin.

"Torture, huh? We've got an interesting crew here, then." Kadota agreed silently with a nod and adjusted his cap before reaching a halt. He didn't remember the actual distance from headquarters to the slums, but time brought them there fast. Kida leaned his shoulders back with a yawn and held his palms up to the back of his head carelessly and took a few steps forward. "Let's get looking, men, lady." It wasn't long before they had at least found traces of Shizuo's destruction-Bodies lying lifelessly on top of each other, hundreds of any possible weapons gouged into the earth, and trails of fresh blood painted onto the gray dirt. Kida whistled, clearly impressed with the beast's usual treatment to any trespassers. "Looks like someone got here before. Let's hope he's calmed down by now~" Kadota peered over to give the couple an anxious glance, who were now digging through the bodies that lay still.

"You guys having fun?" Apparently, they were, since the duo was too busy for his words. Kida beckoned Kadota after him to follow.

"Leave those two up to whatever they're doing. We'll just continue our search." Kida took the lead on the way down the black and gray streets with light steps. It was obvious to even a fool that the place had been abandoned. No one lived here… Save for Heiwajima Shizuo, or possibly a few others who managed to survive here. Kadota looked around as if reminiscing, hazy dark pools dipping down into his memories. "Kadota-san? What's wrong?"

"Nothing… Nothing but bad memories." Kadota shook his head, picking up the pace to walk next to the teenager. "It's just hard to believe this was an actual city where I grew up in." Kida tilted his head at the man, instantly curious.

"You used to live here…? Then you were a survivor of the attack…?" Kadota nodded. The 'attack' was the start of all these wars and split the entire country into small mini-states. Japan was once again in pieces, and unification was sought after again. Kida, as well as his leader, Mikado, were only about two then. It was why children grew up learning of weaponry and strategies, the ones who didn't however, were left to serve as militia. These slums, once a blooming city that grew skyward, are now a graveyard of silence. Not even a rat would live in it.

"I actually… grew up with a few friends… All three whose whereabouts remain unknown."

"Oh, who are they~?" Kida smirked. "Were the girls? Ooh, if they are, you might want to introduce me if we meet, I love an older lady arou-" A fist lightly bumped the blond's head, the very blond looking up to see the man smile. Truly, it must have been rare to see him mean such an expression, since Kida felt as if he needed to hear out the man. It was a half-hearted smile.

"Actually, they were all male." He laughed, eyes cast downward. "Heiwajima Shizuo, Kishitani Shinra, and Orihara Izaya. The three of us would mess around a lot… Shinra's father was a pharmacist and doctor, he was well known for his oddity in the area. Shizuo, he obviously screwed things up without knowing, with his enormous strength. And Izaya…" Kida's focus yearned for more information. He knows them. Kadota knows them, and I need them for Mikado. Tell me more already, damnit. "And Izaya, he was such a troublemaker. He nearly got arrested for the businesses he had, and we usually had to cover for him, even if we didn't need to." Kadota paused to take a breath. "Except Shizuo." Kida's brow arched, enthralled by the words.

"Why didn't he…?" Kadota's eyes widened in surprise, but lowered again with sudden realization.

"You'd probably been too young then. Shizuo and Izaya were well known for their disputes. We were rowdy teenagers, but those two stuck out most. They were like…"

"Lovers?" This made Kadota sputter, losing his balance in the crooked streets.

"Hah, you wish, Kida, you wish…" Kida laughed at Kadota's sensitivity towards the pair being mentioned. However, the tone was dramatically serious in the older's voice. "Those two are monsters. No matter how close we were back then, when we were seventeen…" Kida's face dropped at the moment.

"Seventeen…? You were seventeen when the attack took over…?" Kadota nodded, and Kida remained quiet on. The records say that Izaya should be 21 right now… He was arrested the same year of the attack, too, for dealing secret information from the government to another state… Could it be…? Impossible… how would he know that he'd get arrested? If he stole government files so easily, does that mean he could change such information just as effortlessly? Sure, chances are high, but such a confident man… Orihara Izaya… He truly does need to be locked up for good. Kida's eyes enlarged that he thought. Shit. Shit. Shit. I shouldn't have asked Saki to get him. I shouldn't have even thought of him… Shi-

"Kida, watch out…!" Thoughts fell apart as Kadota lunged towards Kida, pulling him down to the earth just before a large, black mass of some sort raced straight across where they were just standing. A thick black fog followed its tracks, and the two remained silent for a while. Finally, Kadota got up to look at the fresh prints from that thing. "Look. Horseshoe prints… That thing was a horse…" Kida got up much slower, rubbing his head with a painful wince.

"Was there someone riding that crazy thing…? It almost killed us…!" Kadota shrugged, helping Kida up.

"It was way too fast, I just know it was black…" They followed the tracks with their eyes, only to see that the horse had turned back this way, trotting now back to them, and on riding it, came to view, was a person-a woman, despite her dressing in pitch black. This woman had fair, light red hair with exotic emerald eyes that shone in the darkness of the slums. Both Kadota and Kida were amazed and stunned at the same time. The duo stared at the woman for quite some time until her lips moved.

"What business do you have here?" Her stunning eyes glanced at both of them, staring them down head to toe.

"We're looking for someone." Kadota spoke up, leaving Kida to continue staring ahead. "Heiwajima Shizuo. We're here to discuss some things with him." The woman's eyes widened, then returned to their original regal state, though it didn't seem like she trusted them.

"Is it something urgent? He's not exactly… Here at the moment, you dogs of the military." It was hard to tell if she either didn't trust the duo or just wanted to kill them at the moment. All the same, her beautiful eyes were able to somehow see through the dark and recognize their uniforms.

"Shizuo's also an old friend of mine. I need to see him as quickly as possible." The woman stared between the two again, and stroked the neck of her horse.

"Alright. I'll take you to see Shizuo." The horse trotted slowly enough for Kida and Kadota to walk beside it, both who were relieved that the foreign looking woman wasn't as demanding as she could have been. "I am Celty Sturluson. Anything going on in the slums is probably my or Shizuo's doing, there's only about four or five of us living here…" Kadota looked at Kida, thinking of possibly the same thing. "I'll be back in a moment. I want to take a short visit to someone else." Celty hopped off her horse, leaving Kida to run up to the very front of the tall animal, reaching a hand up to it.

"Wow… This is amazing…" Kadota followed him, wondering what Kida could be referring to-Until he saw it. The horse was headless. Rather than a head protruding from its neck, an ominous black gas-like substance was slipping out from it. It made them both seem uneasy, but it was real enough. Kida smiled a Cheshire grin to his companion, his teeth shining enough to penetrate through the walls of any cave. "Hey, you think I can pick up some chicks riding this thing? I can imagine myself riding this baby already…!" Kadota coughed, making the blond turn around to see Celty standing behind him, arms crossed and a brow arched. "Ah, Celty-san, you were fast."

"Of course, I went to get a friend of mine. This is Sonohara Anri, she'll accompany you throughout." Kida peeked behind Celty to see who this Anri girl was, curious to see what kind of girl she was. Breasts. The girl had large breasts and fine curves that even Celty didn't have, silken black hair, and a set of flame colored eyes. Kida was clearly impressed by the girl, though it wasn't enough for him to be completely head over heels. "Anri, these two are…" The redhead looked at the two.

"Kadota Kyohei and Kida Masaomi. We appreciate your help, Celty-san." Kadota nodded. Celty waved a hand in the air, smiling.

"No problem, I hope you get to talk to Shizuo soon. He's in the third last block down the second street in the right." Celty mounted her horse without trouble, face suddenly falling. "… I'd go with you both myself, but I'm still looking for someone. If you know any whereabouts of Kishitani Shinra, please notify me, I live in the abandoned pharmacy in the next block." She pointed into a tall, slate gray building in the distance, and turned her head back to them. "I'll do anything for such information, anything." Kida looked over at Kadota, who he remembered mentioning such a man with that name. So she's after information as well… Should we help her after we get our hands on Orihara…? She looks like a foreigner; perhaps she can somehow get foreign aid… I have to report to Mikado after all this.

"Shinra is a friend of mine. I'll let you know if the government has any leads on him, Celty-san." Celty raised her hand into a salute, and her horse charged off, dark fog following. Kadota and Kida looked at the girl they were left with after: Sonohara Anri, who managed to be quiet throughout. "So, Sonohara-san, please guide us around, will you?" She nodded timidly, pulling the shawl she had tighter around herself.

"Please, follow me this way." She whispered lightly, taking her steps in front of them. The men wondered what the comical duo they had left would say about her-They'd probably find her just as interesting as Kida found Celty a very cool and amazing woman. Hell, even Kadota was impressed by the redhead; it would be hard to believe if she hadn't had an impact on anyone. They continued to walk in silence, and Kida decided to question the quiet girl.

"So, Anri-chan, what are you doing in a place like this…? How do you survive?"

"I was here for a while. My parents died in the attack, and I'm scared of going to the surface with the government." Anri bit her lip for a second, but pressed on. "I'm a fortune teller like my mother, and Celty-san takes care of me." Kida whistled, finally finding an interesting thing to talk about.

"A fortune teller? Was out fate written in the stars, our destined meeting? How romantic!" Anri's frozen face warmed a little with her petite smile and giggle.

"I suppose… But it's kind of a burden…" Anri stopped before a run-down restaurant named Wagnaria and looked at the ground. "Heiwajima-san usually can be found here. Please be careful." Please be careful…? Just then, something was thrown out of one of the windows, breaking the glass into many tiny shards. It was a man, and this man had a yellow scarf tied to his arm. A yellow scarf…? Kida looked at the entrance of the restaurant-A fight was easily seen inside. "I-I'll wait here for you!" Anri crouched beside the porch, clearly showing fear behind her dark bangs.

"ARRRAAUUGGGGHHHH!" A tall figure was carelessly throwing objects at his opponents, who had him outnumbered, but were taken down with no problem, being hurled out the restaurant and being hurled objects at. "TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARDS…!" Finally, the last one was quivering, his yellow scarf masking a part of his fearful face. The enraged figure pulled him up by the collar like a piece of paper, his jaws clenched tightly. "If my name isn't Heiwajima Shizuo, I-" A strike against his head. A four foot long pipe of iron swung straight to the side of the head that belonged to the man who called himself Shizuo, bringing Kida and Kadota to rush in, but they witnessed something they didn't need to. His head, face, and posture was intact. The only thing that was different was the blood dripping through his sunny locks of hair and slightly tanned skin. Shizuo faced the attacker with a near psychotic face, veins popping and eyes near bulging. "YOU REALLY NEEDED TO TRY THAT, EH? YOU REALLY WANTED TO FUCKING KILL ME, DIDN'T 'TCHA? HAH?" Before the attacker could answer, his pipe was suddenly taken from him, and he was thrown in the air. It all seemed as if slow motion had struck the scene, and just as he fell to the same level he was held, Shizuo swung the pipe straight into his ribs, the power blowing him so hard that he'd flown straight out of the roof. Dust had scattered, and Shizuo dropped the pipe, finally noticing his two guests. "Don't tell me you're here to kill me, too…" The man covered in blood walked past the dust to take a good look at the two, and answered himself. "Huh. Different state, I see. At least your uniforms are decent. Now whaddya want?" Shizuo growled, cracking his knuckles. Kadota lightly held Kida's shoulders and pulled him aside so that he may step up to his old friend.

"Shizuo, it's me. Kyohei." Serious pools of clear brown stared at the blond's amber orbs. Shizuo took a step back, only to hold a hand behind his back.

"Kadota… Kyohei?" Shizuo almost glared, but softened his expression, much to Kida and Kadota's relief. The man didn't pull out a weapon, but a pack of cigarettes, as well as a lighter. "Ah, how long's it been…? Fourteen years, right? Make yourselves at home; I'll get you two something to eat." Kida and Kadota shrugged at each other, both wondering if Shizuo had remembered he'd littered the restaurant with bodies. Still, they chose a less messy table to sit at and waited.

"Kadota-san… Shizuo's not as aggressive with friends, huh?"

"It's been this way." Kadota sighed, not liking the sound of rummaging through the kitchen. "No matter how destructive he can seem, he's quite a child…"

"What do you mean?"

"Might not seem like it, but even if he smokes, he hates bitter food as much as he hates violence."

"… I'm sure he loves it…" Kadota leaned his face onto his palm at the confused Kida, not sure what to say.

"You can ask him yourself, no matter what he does, he'll say he hates violence. Also, he likes sweets."

"Kadota-san, you're not making any se-" A pair of dishes of western styled dinner fell before the two into a slight slam on the table, shocking the two equally.

"Eat up, you guys came here from a long way." Shizuo put a hand to his hip, taking a long drag form his cigarette before pulling a chair over to the table. "While you're eating, tell me why you're here." Kida held up his knife and fork to begin cutting the steak while staring at the other blond.

"You can tell we're here from the government, eh, Heiwajima-san? Well, we want you to do a special jpb for us… Doesn't mean you have to align yourself, though." Shizuo blew some smoke at Kida's face, his own face a little confused and twisted into a slight frown.

"And what kind of job would that be…?"

"Breaking someone out." And there was silence. Shizuo leaned back on his chair, nibbling the end of the cigarette. It seemed like he needed to think it out, but he answered quite curtly.

"I'm not doing anything for free. What's in it for me?"

"Hm, we can negotiate that, I suppose… But you'll be rewarded handsomely. The man who you're going to break out is-" Kida sputtered at a sudden kick to his stomach from Kadota, who frowned. Kida winced with a grin, having forgotten Heiwajima Shizuo's relationship with Orihara Izaya.

"The man I'm helping out is…?"

"The man you're going to break out is vital to our victory in this ongoing war." Kida breathed, slowly recovering from the kick. Shizuo leaned forward to prop his arm up on the table.

"You okay? My food isn't that bad, is it?"

"I-It's delicious, Shizuo-san… Just… Bumped into the table too hard on accident…"

"You haven't even taken a bite yet, kid…" Kadota lifted Kida's plate on top of his empty one, his sharp face remaining angular.

"I'll take his portion then, I really want seconds." Shizuo grinned back at the friend, a smile that Kida thought would have been impossible for such a man.

"Heh, I'll bring in the drinks, then. We can discuss this little mission then." Shizuo laughed, and disappeared into the kitchen once more. Kida looked back at Kadota with a slightly pained face form the kick earlier.

"Mission success?" Kadota Kyohei couldn't agree more.

"Let's just hurry up, Sonohara-san is still outside waiting for us..."

Side notes;

'Bacon Lettuce' = Abbreviated as BL = A reference to 'Boys Love'

Age-Confused Izaya = Izaya's files in the government show that he is 21 currently. However, Dotachin says that they were 17 the year of the start of chaos, which was 15 years before this current setting, meaning that they are now about 32, meaning that Izaya had hacked into the government files to change his profile before he was arrested. He's a clever one.

Head-Still-Intact Celty = An Irish maiden with mysterious powers of darkness who calls herself Celty. Of course, you know her as the Black Rider, her infamous nickname, which she is also kind of going to be called later on. She is to lose her head and prove herself a supernatural being sometime soon.

Fortune Teller Anri = This is connected to her powers from Saika, something I just couldn't resist. I'm sure Saika has more powers than just possession, and that can be expressed later. She's hiding from Shizuo for a similar reason connected to Saika, take your own guess.

Wagnaria = The family restaurant and main setting of the anime Working!, where Shizuo's voice actor, Ono Daisuke, voiced for one of the cooks, Satou Jun (who is also known for his smoking habits).

Yellow Scarves = Yellow Scarves of a neighboring state that is currently clashing with "Ikebukuro". They are obviously trying to threaten Shizuo to join them here, but failed. :D

All Star Chef Shizuo = I can't help it. It's another shout out to Working! and Satou Jun, but it's also a reminder that Shizuo's worked as many different things before. I'm sure that from experience, he should be at least able to cook something decent…

Sweet tooth GARtender = In his profile, it says that Shizuo dislikes bitter food and likes mainly dairy products and sweets. This makes Shizuo seem more like a child, which is why Kadota calls him one.

Hopefully, you didn't find all that crap as boring as the first chapter. More action in the next one, see you all around! oTL

Remember, comments and suggestions are loved. Thanks again!