V. JOKER

"Checkmate~" He laughed.

"Game's over already, so why don't you come out?" Without even looking up, he threw his pocket knife behind him. The shape of a man caught the flying knife without so much as a wince.

Sensing that the man has dodged the danger, Izaya straightened up. A glitter climbed into his eyes as he turned to face him. "Well? What brings you here, Shizu-chan?"

The tall blond man stood quietly like a mannequin, his face obscured by the shadows in the room. Night has already fallen, and the darkness ate away any sense of reality.

"Ehh? Did Shizu-chan finally degenerate into a protozoan?" Izaya inched closer to the figure, his smile still playful.

The mannequin did not move. Its mouth twitched. "Where have you been?"

"Oh? What's this?" Izaya stopped in his tracks. "Since when did Shizu-chan become so concerned about me?"

"Tell me where you've been."

"Haha! Trying to track down my whereabouts like that. What are you, an insecure husband? Ah, no, that's not right. I'm not a woman, you know~. So would that make you my wife?" A laugh barely escaped his lips. "Shi. Zu. Chan. Is. My. Wife~."

THUD.

Izaya blinked twice before his vision cleared. He felt a wetness dripping down his neck, and the intense pain radiating from his head told him enough of what just happened. His back was crushed against the wall, almost sinking into the plaster under the force of the hand that was grabbing him by the collar. It was hard to breathe.

Ha. What monstrous strength.

Of course. This is Shizu-chan, after all.

I wonder if my skull's been cracked open from the impact?

Such uncontrollable power, as always.

Always, always.

A smile crossed his lips.

How annoying~.

"You're involved with this, aren't you?" The fist tightened further. "Whenever there is trouble, you're behind it 99% of the time."

"So mean, Shizu-chan. Can't you believe in that 1%?" Izaya sighed. "It's not me this time, you know~. I wouldn't put my beloved humans in danger~. Mah, except Shizu-chan of course, since Shizu-chan is totally not human and I hate you and I really hope that you die now ahaha~."

Shizuo stared at the man in front of him. A tide of silver moonlight washed over them both, and in its wake Izaya's pallid skin glowed a white that melted with the night. As if he were transparent.

"Che."

Shizuo let go and turned away. The strain and fatigue that peeked out from behind Izaya's smile in that instant—did he imagine them?

"You believed me? You're too naïve, Shizu-chan. What if I was lying?" The familiar voice sounded behind him. "But a protozoan wouldn't have thought of something even as simple as that~. So, what if, now, I tell you that I was in this all along? What would you do?"

An anger welled up in Shizuo's chest as he swished around to face his provoker. "Shut uh—!"

Eyes. They're staring at him.

Orihara Izaya's face was no more than an inch from his. Shizuo felt the soothing warmth of the breath on his face, the gentle tickle of the hairs brushing against his forehead. He felt the intensity of the gaze from those beautiful crimson-colored eyes that are alit with amusement, craze, sarcasm, and something else that he couldn't quite name.

What is it?

"…What have you done?"

"False. The question you should ask now is—"

"What are you going to do?"

Haha. "Bingo~."

" —…!"

"…Wow."

"Heiwajima-san, h-how did you…?"

Faced with the two packed suitcases, the three students could do nothing but gawk. Next to them, Kadota suddenly felt the onset of another headache.

"Shizuo, where did you get this stuff?" Kadota's fingers glided across the surface of the shiny metal. Two suitcases full of spade-marked guns. Just fantastic.

"A pest gave them too me." A crooked smile flashed across his lips and disappeared.

"And these are all the guns they have in stock?"

"Should be."

"Then, at least, with this guarded by us, we won't have to worry about getting shot at like last time when we attack." Togusa remarked, rubbing his temples to calm the throbbing. "And Kida-kun also found the map for the Spades' base, along with a detailed battle plan… We're practically being led by the nose. Who would've thought that things would come down to this?"

"Now's the time to back out if you're not ready to commit yourself to this." Kadota announced, his voice firm. He surveyed the people around him, and they returned the look with serious countenances. "Anyone?"

"There's no way that the Yellow Scarves can be left out of this one. To beat up the people under the group like that for absolutely no reason… I will not allow it as their shogun!" A sound declaration.

"DOLLARS will stay with you too. This case involves a lot of civilians as well, and, even for me, this kind of excitement is over the top. It'd be in everyone's best interest to stop this madness as soon as possible." A nervous yet confident affirmation.

"Saika will protect its children." A quiet but unyielding proclamation.

"Well then. What else can we say?" Erika and Walker stood in line with Togusa. "Of course we're in."

Kadota nodded his support, and, finally, turned to the last man. "And, Shizuo?"

"Don't joke with me." The man took off his glasses and clipped them to the pocket on his bartender's uniform. Underneath where the glasses had hidden came a pair of amber eyes, the eyes of a determined beast.

"Let's go."

The forces of Ikebukuro, unite.

"So?" The woman played with her hair. Her free arm circled around the shoulders of the man in the sofa.

"They have reached the south entrance. A smaller group has already taken over the first sector of the western district, and some of our own members seem to be acting by command for them as well, Queen-sama."

"And the Joker?"

"We are still looking for him."

"Keep looking. Report back once you've found him."

"Yes. If you'll excuse me, Queen-sama, I will take my leave."

The door closed, leaving the woman alone with silent man.

"King, it seems that this practical joke has been taken too far." She leaned over him, clasping his face in her hands. His eyelashes flicked slightly under her breath, but still, his eyes remained closed. She nudged his eyelids with the bridge of her nose, softly, lovingly, as if tending to the most precious thing in the world. "But we will get through this together, my King. I will not let anyone hurt you."

"I won't let them get close to you—"

"If they even so much as put a finger on you—"

"I will kill them. I will destroy them—!"

"All those people who had hurt us…those people whom we hate…"

"THEY SHOULD ALL JUST DIE!"

The lashes flicked again. Then, the eyes began to open, slowly. Almost painfully slow.

Two ice-colored pupils stared blankly at her. She smiled back. "Are you sure? There's no need for you to get so serious yourself. But, if you wish—" The woman straightened and, as though by magic, produced a mask. She placed it over his face, secured it behind his ears, and picked away strands of hair that poked out from beneath the white covers.

The man tipped his head to bury his cheek in her caressing hands. As he did so, the black symbol of the spade was revealed on his neck, a marking just like hers.

They are linked. Now let the storm begin.

"Very impressive, Orihara-san."

Hearing the voice, Izaya couldn't help but let loose a laugh. He tore his eyes away from his humans from down below and swirled around in a dance-like step.

"Oh~? So you've figured it out already, Queen-sama?" Izaya said merrily. "How unexpected~"

"Not fast enough, if I may say so." The Queen replied coldly, her voice lined with a sharp edge, as if she was trying to slice Izaya up with her words. "On the other hand, your work is turning out beautifully, Orihara-san. Just look at what you've done."

"Why, thank you~."

Izaya cocked his head woman. His gaze shifted to the masked man next to her and he smiled, ever so innocently, ever so sinfully.

Noises continued to resonate into the room from the window behind Izaya's back. The sound of fighting. The sound of anger. The sound of a sure crumpling of the Spades almighty. The sound of fear and of hatred.

Pleased, Izaya closed his eyes and hummed to this intriguing melody, his mind lost in this wonderland of human emotions.

Everything, EVERYTHING! They're giving it ALL—!

I knew it. Humans are the best creatures in this world!

—!

—.

The laughter in his mind came to a screeching halt as Izaya withdrew his mind from those below and back to himself. The smile he wore began to fade as he slowly opened his eyes again, and his red orbs stared calmly at the masked man and down the pitch black barrel of that spotless gun.

So. What should I do now?

V. STORM end

03009: I've churned up another chapter! But I missed Izaya's birthday by a few minutes even though I really rushed it (hence the bad quality), damn. Happy late birthday, Izaya! And this chapter actually continues the last one without a scene change! (SHOCK.) And Izaya finally showed up, officially! (DOUBLE SHOCK.) As for the 'hint' I mentioned back in Chapter 4, it refers to the dates of the messages. Anyone see it now? Yeah, each message is exactly 14 days apart. (OMAHGAHD.) 14, for the Joker card. The boss card. The wild card that falls into whatever suit that becomes trump—suits Izaya pretty well, don't you think? Dim-witted hidden message. I'll admit that. Yoshi! Two more chapters to go! Please bear with me. I'm quite the irresponsible writer, but I'll try to wrap up the last two chapters with something more touching than the crap I've been producing up till now…