IV. OPERATION

"King, your tea." A woman cast a glance on the porcelain cup on the polished wooden table in front of her. "It's getting cold."

The man she addressed sat still in the sofa across from hers. He did not open his eyes, and the soft rising and falling of his chest suggested that he might have been asleep. She knew he isn't. There is no particular reason why she knows; if one must ask, it's because a bond exists between them, a bond stronger than anything else.

Some rumbles escaped through the opened window. The thunder crackled in the distance. It is horrible weather, yet it is this that she liked best. It strikes irritation and annoyance into the hearts of those who are already restless.

"I'll make some more." She picked up the cup. As she leaned over, the silver tendrils of her hair slipped away from her back in a torrent, revealing on her nape that dark and mysterious symbol of the spade.

Title: Re: Spades

Date: June 14

Stay away from Raira.

-Anonymous

"Did you hear? The Black Spades stroke out again last night."

"No way! Are you serious?"

"It seems to be that way. They found three bodies. I heard all of them were drenched from head to toe with blood. One of them was missing an eyeball, and another had his neck slashed with his head hanging barely by a few strands of skin—"

"—!"

"The only evidence left of the murderer is a large spade symbol, etched into the wall with the victims' own blood."

"That's just sick… It's like something straight out of some ill-humored horror story…"

"Oh yeah? You think it's just a story? Two of the victims this time were those juvenile delinquents who tried to rob you last week."

"…"

"The other one is my neighbor's daughter. They say she might have been cornered by those boys before this happened."

"…"

"And guess what else? This whole thing took place just three blocks away from your house, at that high school down the road. What's it called again?"

"Raira?"

"Yeah, that's it. Raira."

Title: Re: Spades

Date: June 28

S&I Pub. Tonight at 10. Don't go.

"King." The woman eyed him, her hands on a report. "The mission was unsuccessful."

He stirred in his chair, but after a few movements he remained still.

"Our team went into the pub as planned, but it seems that the word got leaked. It was an empty nest by the time we got there." She put down the report, and her arms circled around his neck as she climbed into his lap. "It was so empty…so empty…"

He flinched, though slightly. His hand crept up in a mechanical movement, and his fingers felt cold as they touched the woman's arm.

"What should we do now, King?" She put her face in the nook of his neck, feeling the texture of his skin. It felt rough and scratchy, just the way she likes it. "What should we do to fill that emptiness?"

She did not wait for a reply. Her head moved downwards until it was at his chest, and she listened to his heartbeat, faint but regular, as mechanical as his touch. Her hands followed her head's lead and moved down also. Down, down, down.

"Is that so?" She giggled, as if a small child. "So this is what you want?"

He still did not speak nor open his eyes. That's fine.

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll do anything for you as your Queen, my King." She giggled again, the sound ever so eerie in the silence of the room. "I'll call him out, since it's your command and I love you." She paused. "I love you."

She gradually peeled herself off of him. She turned around with an air of confidence, her expression cold and harsh. The twisted innocence had drained from her being, replaced by the usual formality.

Her attention focused on a figure in the corner of the room. "Call out the Joker." She said.

Title: Re: Spades

Date: July 12

Counterattack. Sunshine 60 Dori. 3 targets.

"So?" Kida.

"Kadota-san went in to stop Erika-san and Walker-san from driving them off the edge." Mikado. "They still haven't talked since we captured them last night, but Kadota-san suspects that those three are close to cracking, especially under that…mental torture." Shudder.

"But don't you wonder about this?" Kida. "All of those messages."

"…Yeah." Mikado.

"Yes." Anri. "The children of Saika couldn't find the source."

"DOLLARS hasn't made much progress on that either." Mikado.

"Isn't it a little too easy? It's like someone is guiding us to exactly where it is most advantageous." Kida. "Yet we know nothing of where all this is coming from." Pause.

"There aren't many people in Japan who can manipulate such a massive amount of underground information so freely…" Mikado.

Silence.

Silence.

"…Che." Shizuo.

Silence.

Title: Re: Spades

Date: July 26

It will be a sunny day tomorrow.

The rainy season is unusually long and persistent this year. Already in late July, but the showers are still continuing. However, today, the weather is nice. It's sunny in Ikebukuro, and things seemed to have gone back to normal. On the surface, at least. But an illusion of normality is better than no illusion at all.

"Mikado, did you see that?" Kida laughed as they walked down the street. "That girl was totally checking me out! Of course, that's no surprise, since I am obviously the most…"

"Masaomi is really energetic today, isn't he?" Mikado turned his head to face Anri and whispered with a chuckle. His eyes met hers, and a blush bloomed on his face as he quickly pulled his gaze elsewhere.

"Ah…" Anri muttered. "Yes."

"Hey! Whatcha guys doing?" Kida, who had finished his long soliloquy and had already gone on ahead, shouted to them as he waved his arm in the air. "If you don't hurry up, they'll sell out at the movie theater!"

"Coming!" Mikado shouted back, and he smiled as he began jogging down the street, his hand wrapped around Anri's.

CRASH.

When Mikado managed to sit up, he only managed to catch a glimpse of the man who ran into him—a bouncy step, a wisp of fur.

"Ack! Are you guys all right?" Kida sprinted up to them.

"Huh? Oh…" Mikado gradually pulled his attention away from the corner around which the man went, uncertain about whether what he saw was just his imagination. "…Yeah."

"Eh? What's this? A package?" Kida picked something dropped next to Mikado on the asphalt. "Was it left by that guy when he was in a hurry?"

"What's in it?" Mikado tensed as a feeling of foreboding rose up his spine.

Kida's face stiffened as he pulled the papers out of the manila envelope.

And so the illusion ends here.

"Mission accomplished~" The man closed the door and slipped off his black jacket lined with white fur.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he laughed as he checked the message. "The operation has been initiated, huh~?"

A chessboard lay on the table next to the couch. He picked up a shogi general with ease and moved it a step

forward.

"The blatant Yellow Scarves as the main force for open combat~"

Another move.

"The colorless DOLLARS as the ambushers."

Another move.

"The invisible Saika to infiltrate the system from within."

His face broke into a smile.

Shogi and othello pieces now surround two lone chessmen, a king and queen atop a poker card. A spade.

"Checkmate~"

IV. OPERATION end

03009: After a putting this off for months, I finally dragged myself up and forcibly finished this (oi oi what do you mean "forcibly"?). Ahh~, I really didn't know how to write this chapter. Reading all those Shizaya fanfics during my respite definitely did not help. Now all I can think of is Izaya dying. Mah, but in the end it's finally here, chapter 4. I suddenly realized I kept switching between present and past tense in the story. Oh well, can't be helped (read as: too lazy to fix it). I also bumped down the rating since I decided to take a different approach than my original plans~. This story was initially meant to be a Shizaya tribute, but it got off course. The next few chapters will start doting on the Shizaya aspect more, but the general focus is on DRRR at large. Oh, and also, does anyone see the secret in the anonymous messages? It's a (very stupid) hint to the next chapter. Now, the only question is when should I start on the next chapter, ne… (And maybe it's finally time for Izaya to show himself publicly, ne…)