II. RISE
I love humans. Love, love, LOVE!
Such fascinating creatures, all of you!
Ma. Except one, maybe.
-TANAKA TARO has entered the chatroom-
SETTON: Hello, Tanaka-san.
SAIKA: Good afternoon.
BAKYURA: Hello~
TANAKA TARO: Good afternoon. Is everyone online?
SETTON: Everyone except Kanra-chan.
TANAKA TARO: Really? Usually she's always here.
SAIKA: She hasn't been on for a long time.
SAIKA: I hope nothing bad happened.
BAKYURA: It would be better if she died.
SETTON: Don't be so heartless. Kanra-chan might be loud, but she's a nice girl.
BAKYURA: Ha!
TANAKA TARO: Someone else I know hasn't shown up in a long time either. I'm kind of worried.
SETTON: Same here. I haven't heard from a colleague in a while.
SAIKA: …
SAIKA: I'm sure
SAIKA: It will all work out.
SAIKA: …
BAKYURA: It's getting depressing in here. Let's talk about something else. Have you heard the news?
SETTON: Usually Kanra-chan brings the news, so no. What is it?
BAKYURA: A new gang is rising in Ikebukuro, according to what I heard on the streets.
SETTON: ?
TAKANA TARO: EHH—? What about DOLLARS and the Yellow Scarves?
BAKYURA: So far it seems the new gang hasn't come in conflict with them, but this group is growing at an alarming rate.
SAIKA: Yes, I've heard that too.
TAKANA TARO: Saika-san has also heard this rumor? What will happen to Ikebukuro?
BAKYURA: At this point, it's hard to say.
SETTON: It would be terrible if they start clashing with DOLLARS, the Yellow Scarves, and Saika.
BAKYURA: I hate to admit this, but…
BAKYURA: It would be very terrible indeed.
Why do humans do what they do?
Blindly pursuing some impossible dream, stopping at nothing to achieve what they want without ever thinking about the details. Seeing only what they think is true, rejecting everything else, denying their existence.
But I love you all. It is simply because you act so foolishly that makes you such amusing creatures.
I give my life to observing you. So won't you love me back?
"The streets of Ikebukuro are so peaceful today, too." Mikado laughed awkwardly as he walked side-by-side with Anri.
"Yes." A soft reply, followed by silence.
An oppressing atmosphere fell over the two students. Mikado complained inwardly as he remembered how Kida made some ridiculous excuse before running off in a hurry.
"What's this?" A group of men caught his attention. "Look—"
Black. A mass of darkly-clothed figures gathered around the street corner, looking as if a gigantic storm cloud that fell from the sky.
A cloud that brings chaos and destruction.
"A crowd…?"
"Who are they? Are they the new gang that everyone is talking about?"
"I don't know." Anri shook her head. "But they weren't around before."
"This doesn't look good. What's the name of the new group?" Mikado frowned at the sight of the congregation.
Please, please don't let this turn into another gang warfare…
"I think they're called—"
"Black Spades." Walker and Erika answered simultaneously.
"Spades, huh?" Kadota trailed off as he stared out the van at the men.
"The most warlike of the four suits." Erika cheerfully added as she peeked out from behind a doujinshi. "Even manga says so."
"It would be bothersome if they were to start messing in Ikebukuro."
"But if they do—"
"—That's where we come in, ne?"
"So we should start preparing the books—"
"—So they can have some fantastic choices!"
Without looking Kadota can feel the malicious aura coming from the two otaku in the backseat. He sighed again as the restless black cloud of men became nothing but a dot in the rearview mirror.
"Here." A woman with long flowing hair offered the man a glass of milk.
"Thank you." The man in a bartender suit calmly accepted the offering.
So, really, why is he sitting in Orihara Izaya's living room drinking milk ? !
Unable to control his anger, Shizuo slammed the cup down onto the table, successfully leaving a crack in the well-polished glass.
He can just imagine that annoying flea complaining about it later.
If he ever shows up again, that is.
"Che." Shizuo growled at the thought, having temporarily forgotten of his situation.
"Are you trying to find Orihara Izaya?" Namie asked emotionlessly, observing Shizuo's actions without any obvious reactions.
"No. I couldn't care less what happened to him."
Yet you still came looking. Namie commented in her mind, but for the sake of her life decided to keep quiet.
"Well," breaking the silence, Namie packed up her papers. "He hasn't come home in over a month and now I'm left with all the work with no time to spend with Seiji. I'd like to know where he is too."
"…"
"My people are still searching for him." She turned toward the door. "I'll let you know if we find anything."
[I don't care to know.]
[Let me know when the flea's dead.]
[What he does has nothing to do with me.]
Unable to bring himself to say something that will severe his tie with Izaya, Shizuo sighed.
"…Thanks."
Namie nodded an acknowledgement and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her, leaving Shizuo in a world where anything and everything has a direct association with Orihara Izaya.
Everything is in perfect order, yet their owner is nowhere to be found.
Where are you hiding, flea?
II. RISE end
03009: Minna-san, hajimemashite! What you see is basically the result of reading too much Shizaya lately. My first fanfic ever coupled with the fact that I haven't written a single fiction story in two years… Mah. I'll try my best! I sincerely hope at least some of you enjoyed it! I don't plan on prolonging this, but meanwhile I would love to hear what you think! To those of you who reviewed the first chapter—thank you so much! And really now...FanFic-san is so picky...Had to reload the second chapter due to formatting issues. Sorry for any confusion.