The Distance A Raindrop Falls
By: AtomicKokoro
Storyline
Set five years after the end of Durarara. Peace seem to have finally fallen in their lives, but one wrong word brings everyone back together for one last round of war.
…
Before You Read
Waaahhh! Second last chapter! Wooo!
On with the story!
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Chapter 14
Rain On Christmas
Somewhere in Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 9:05 AM
When Anri woke up, the first thing she noticed was that her helmet was missing. She looked around frantically, knowing someone would recognize her soon, until she realized she couldn't move very far. She had been tired up, her arms to her sides, and her legs kicked out in front of her. "Uh, oh," she whispered.
"Damn straight!" Masaomi hissed from somewhere behind her. "They actually captured us! Saki, are you sure that was the operator you dialed?"
"Yes!" Saki gasped. "I swear to you!"
Izaya shook his head. "They wanted us to find them. Shuhan probably connected his cell number to his address so the operators could find him."
"So why didn't he just tell us where he lived?" Kyohei questioned.
"Because he wanted us to think he didn't know we were coming," Izaya sighed.
"Damn it all," Mikado growled from somewhere to her left. "I can't believe this is happening. We're all gonna die for Christmas."
Masaomi shrugged. "Maybe if they're in the Christmas spirit, they'll kill us quickly!" Then he started singing. "It's the most, wonderful time of the year!"
"Shut up, Masaomi!" Mikado snapped. "No one wants to hear that!"
"Screw you!" Masaomi yelled back. "I can do whatever the hell I want! We're going to die, so you better deal with it!"
"You're lucky I can't move! I'd beat the crap out of you-"
"Guys! Guys! That's enough!"
At Kyohei's command, the two young men started settling down. If their backs weren't facing each other, they would probably be tossing glares at each other.
There was a long moment of tension, then sadness. They all knew they were going to die there that night and there was nothing they could do about it. They sat quietly for a very long time. None of them were sure how much time passed. To Masaomi, it felt like an eternity. To Izaya, it felt like mere minutes. To Anri and Saki, it felt like an hour or so. Mikado didn't really care how much time had passed. He just wanted it all to end soon.
Finally, the door opened on the six and Anri blinked when she realized she was the one facing the door. "Look, you are all awake." The voice was well-known. It was Shuhan's voice. "Well, now, should we get down to business?"
There was silence from the group as they studied the man. He was tall, brisk. His hair was a little longer than Izaya's, an ebony black and his eyes a funny shade of green.
Shuhan shook his head. "Really, I expected more from such an enthusiastic group." He smiled. "You came all this way from Ikebukuro, gone through all this trouble, and you won't even try to fight for your freedom? Or maybe it's because you know it's hopeless."
They still remained quiet. Even Izaya was expecting someone to say something but no one piped up or said a word. Maybe it wasn't worth the breath. Maybe it just wasn't worth it in general.
Shuhan laughed. "Wow, you really are pathetic, aren't you?"
There was a silence, then, "Why?" Everyone who could see Mikado turned to him. "Why are you doing this? Why did you start the Evergreens? What did you hope to achieve from this?"
Shuhan lifted an eyebrow at the question. "Why?" he repeated. "Why. Why else? Because I wanted to. Because I was bored. Because I had nothing better to do. That's why."
"You killed numerous people because you were bored!" Masaomi yelled. "What sort of sicko are you?"
Shuhan merely smiled. "Now with the Evergreens and the Dollars under my control, I can do almost anything I want to." He examined his nails. "It's nice."
It was a tone of voice no one had heard from Izaya in a long, long time. In five years, to be exact. It was that knowing, sly voice and that knowing, sly smirk that made everyone hate him. It grew into a Cheshire grin as he spoke; "You weren't bored," he laughed. "You felt pathetic. Weak. You knew you would die in this world if you had no one by your side. You saw the War. You watched those people die. You thought to yourself, 'I don't want to be a pawn like those people. I want to be important. I want to be something...special. The one who lives in the end.'"
Shuhan's smile was suddenly beginning to falter with every word Izaya spoke and with every word Izaya spoke, his own grin grew bigger. It was that Old Emotion. That moment of control and sensibility. That he knew everything and could bend and twist someone's soul into his own will. That he was a dangerous man to become enemies with.
This was Izaya Orihara.
"You were so afraid of becoming someone's pawn that you started a gang. A gang that grew over five years. A gang that you wanted to become so powerful that you could expend anyone you wanted to. Send them into the fire and not care if they get burned because that was what you did NOT want to be."
"Shut up!" Shuhan snapped, whipping a gun from his belt. Masaomi blinked and looked down into his holster. That was his gun Shuhan had. Instantly, Masaomi was regretting on bringing it along. "I will kill you and all your friends. And then what, huh? What will happen to Ikebukuro? To Tokyo? To Japan?"
"You don't have enough guts," Izaya snapped. "You've been weak from the beginning. You've never been in a fight. You've never killed anyone! What makes you think you can kill us now?"
It was a challenge. A challenge Kyohei feared Shuhan would accept. Izaya's words might have gotten killed, especially if a Gang Leader wanted to prove himself. From the Gang Leaders he knew and from experience, he was sure Shuhan would gladly accept the offer.
"Maybe it will turn out like Stardust," Masaomi suggested quietly, probably thinking the same thing. "I think he looks gay enough..."
Everyone who had heard him was glad Shuhan didn't hear that. Izaya's challenge was enough. "Oh, I will," Shuhan growled, put on by the offer. "I'll make sure you die for Christmas."
"Our Father, who art in Heaven..." Masaomi whispered (Saki gave a small glare although she was going through those exact words in her head).
This time, Shuhan heard Masaomi but chose to ignore him. "You have fourteen and a half hours to live," he warned. "Use those hours wisely."
"You don't think you could undo these binds, could you?" Mikado asked, giving a small smile.
"No," Shuhan snapped before slamming the door shut and leaving the six in the dark.
There was some silence, then Mikado sighed. "So much for that idea..."
"Hey, Saki," Masaomi chuckled suggestively. "How's this for bondage?"
"It doesn't work if both of us are tied up," Saki replied with a sigh.
Masaomi just gave a childish, defeated huff and blew his hair out of his face. "Someone just kill me now. Fourteen and a half hours is too long to wait..."
"Masaomi," Kyohei snapped. "Will you shut up?"
Masaomi growled and tilted his head back. There was a long pause. Slowly, Masaomi started singing another Christmas Carol, but nobody stopped him. Instead, a few even joined him. They sung until they rang out of Christmas Carols to sing, then started making up Christmas lyrics to songs they already knew.
Despite their situation, they still laughed and tried to enjoy what little time they had left together.
…
The Streets of Ikebukuro, Toshima
December 24, 2015, 4:56 PM
Aoba finally decided that, instead of sitting around and wondering what to do, he went out to find some Evergreens and borrow their phone to contact Shuhan.
Finding Evergreens wasn't hard; they were everywhere in Ikebukuro now. The Third War would begin soon and he wanted it to start as soon as possible. "Shuhan," he said when Shuhan picked up. "We have to begin soon."
"I know," Shuhan replied. "I know."
…
Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:05 PM
"How much longer do we have to live?" Masaomi asked, shaking his head. "I don't think I can wait much longer..."
"Quiet," Kyohei snapped. "We have a plan."
"W-wait, what? How come I wasn't informed about this?"
There was no reply.
Anri twisted herself a bit and got into her knees so she could stand on her feet. Mikado glanced down and around, realizing he could stand as well. Once he did, everyone else followed suit and rested against the walls.
Everyone watched Anri as she opened her hand and the Saika fell out of her sleeve. She kneeled down, picked it up, and turned to Mikado. "You first," she said. Mikado nodded. Anri used the power in her wrist to cut the ropes, but the Saika's sharpness did most of the work. "There."
Mikado stretched out his arms then continued to untie Anri. From there, they worked until everyone was untied and on their feet. Saki gave Masaomi a tight hug and kissed him briefly. "Let's not die," she suggested.
"How are we going to get out?" Mikado asked.
Kyohei walked up to the door and pressed his ear against it. He listened for a moment then shook his head, his voice quieter than before. "There are people out there. We either have to find another way out or fight our way out."
"Another way out?" Masaomi snapped. "Do you see another way out?"
Izaya turned to his right and pressed his ear against the wall, tapping on it with his knuckle. "That's a hallway..." He looked up and took two side steps away from the wall. "Anri," he said. "There's a vent up there."
Anri nodded, stood where he was, and pulled up the Saika. She stabbed the ceiling and cut along to make a small square. Izaya was right; there was a vent. Anri slipped the Saika back into her hand and jumped up into the vent. Izaya pushed himself off the wall and followed after her. Kyohei simply helped the other ones into the vent and Masaomi helped Kyohei in.
The vent was small and claustrophobic. They crawled along it for a wild, Anri leading them almost blindly (but none of them had any better guesses). Eventually, they made it to the end and Anri looked out through the bars. "Outside," she breathed happily. Slowly, she removed the bars and peered down to see how far the drop was. "Oh, dear..."
"Oh, dear?" Masaomi echoed. "What does that mean?"
"It's quite a drop..."
While Anri contemplated with Izaya about a way down, Kyohei glanced out his left to see the vent had another opening right beside him. He peered out through the bars and his eyes opened wide. "Oh, crap."
There was a loud bang and everyone in the vent ducked and screamed. There were a few more bangs until they realized they were gunshots. "Run!"
Izaya whipped around, pushed Anri out the vent, and jumped out after her. Kyohei thought about kicking opening the duct and jumping out but he decided that would just leave them open to get killed. Masaomi dragged Saki away from the gunfire, heading back where they were before, while Kyohei and Mikado scrambled after them.
Unfortunately, the vent broke and Kyohei and Mikado slid down the vent to the floor below them. "Mikado!" Masaomi gasped and peered down the vent.
The fallen men took no time in getting up and running away from the bullets. Masaomi ducked when two men with guns passed under the vent. They waited for a moment, then Masaomi turned to Saki. "We have to go after them."
Saki didn't object. The blond slid down the vent and Saki followed. Once they were level on the ground, they looked up and down the hall. "C'mon," Masaomi said, grabbing Saki's hand, and running after the men with guns.
…
Just Outside Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:10 PM
Izaya groaned and pushed a flattened cardboard box off of him. He crawled out of the garbage container and fell flat on his back. "Ow," he muttered and leaned up, rubbing the back of his head.
Anri pulled herself out to the edge of a compost bin and glared at Izaya for his stupid actions. He stared back and folded his arms. "Thank me," he growled. "You would be dead by now."
Anri sighed and jumped out of the bin, dusting off a few scraps of food that really blew whatever appetite she just had. She looked up at the vent in the building they just jumped out of. "We have to find a way back in there," she said. "Mikado and the others are still inside."
The black-coated man stood beside her and followed her gaze. "We're going to die for Christmas," he said, defeated.
…
The Fifth Floor of Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:15 PM
Mikado dragged Kyohei behind him. It wasn't like normal. Kyohei could run faster than him, but a stray bullet had gotten Kyohei somewhere (Mikado wasn't too sure where) and he couldn't run as quickly.
We need someplace to hide! It was the only logical move they could make. Mikado glanced around frantically and finally spotted a half-open door. He pulled Kyohei along a little faster, whipped open the door, and pulled both him and Kyohei inside, slamming the door shut behind them.
They both remained on the ground, Kyohei covering his own mouth to stay silent. There was a long pause, footsteps rushing passed, voices wondering where they went, and then silence. Mikado swallowed and turned to Kyohei. "C'mon," he said.
He tried to pull Kyohei to his feet, but Kyohei stopped. "No," he said. "I can't. I have to stay here."
Mikado stared at him then pulled again. "Don't talk like that!" he snapped. "Get up and get moving!"
Kyohei yanked himself out of Mikado's grip and adjusted himself so he wasn't in so much pain. Finally, Mikado saw the wound; it was worse than he thought. "You are the only one who can stop the Third War, Mikado," the thirty-year-old said weakly through shaky breath. "I don't plan on dying before Christmas, so you don't have to worry about me." Mikado watched Kyohei for a long moment before Kyohei gave a weak smile. "Kick Shuhan's ass for me."
Mikado blinked and nodded, giving the most of a smile as he could. "I will." With that, Mikado jumped to his feet and opened the door. He hesitated, looked back, and inhaled as though he was about to say something. But he said nothing and hurried down the corridor, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Kyohei smiled and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. He held one hand against the wound in his stomach and chuckled. "He's a good kid..."
…
Just Outside Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:25 PM
Anri and Izaya found themselves at the front of the Hotel after a few moments of running. When they turned the corner, they gasped at the sight.
Two groups stood; one in green, one without color. The Dollars and the Evergreens. "They can't be fighting again!" Anri gasped. "What the hell are they trying to do? Destroy Tokyo? Kill millions of people?"
"I don't know," Izaya muttered before turning and looking up the building. "but I don't think we have much time. Christmas is in half an hour. Someone needs to stop them."
With that, Izaya burst into the Kanary Hotel but stopped at the sight of the amount of Evergreens that had taken it over. He growled and stepped back as the Evergreens stepped forward. "Oi, how did you get out?" one of them growled.
Izaya paused, then smirked. "Nothing." He stood up straight and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You know, no one really wants to die for Christmas, so why don't we all just take a little break and get back to this later?" he mused, shrugging.
"Forget it!" one of the Evergreens snapped and they all started towards him. "We'll kill you now!"
Izaya smirked and tilted his head back. "The last time I got into a fight was five years ago...I hope I haven't gotten to rusty since."
…
The Fifth Floor of the Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:30 PM
Mikado burst onto the roof as soon as he could. He didn't exactly know why he had the feeling Shuhan was up there (probably because the Hotel had little reception, surprisingly) but he was correct.
Shuhan turned at the sound of the door swinging open, as well as five other Evergreens on the top. Mikado froze and it took all his willpower to not run. His gaze shifted over the five Evergreens that surrounded him and Shuhan before he finally glared at the Leader of the Evergreens. "Stop this," Mikado demanded. "Stop this Third War!"
There was a pause, then a laugh. "You want me to stop? Forget it."
"Why?" Mikado growled. "Why are you doing this?"
Shuhan folded his arms then looked at his fellow Evergreens. Then, he turned to Mikado. "Do you know why?" He rolled his neck and chuckled. "Because I hate people. I hate them all! And what better way to get rid of them by letting them destroy each other?"
"Why?" Mikado yelled, shocked.
"Aoba and I both understand," Shuhan continued. "that Humans are really, really terrible people. If we can make one lemming jump off a cliff, the rest will follow. It's a game of the Heart, Mikado. They watch their friends walk into the War because they follow because their friends are fighting so their friends fight and their friends' friends."
Mikado shook his head. "You can't really be doing this..." he whispered.
"Oh, but I am," Shuhan chuckled. "and the first one to die for Christmas will be you."
…
The Fifth Floor of the Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:37 PM
Masaomi and Saki had been running in circles around the fifth floor of the Kanary Hotel, hoping to find Mikado or at least a few Evergreens to point them the right way but there was no one around in any of the rooms. Eventually, they stopped and looked around. "This can't be happening," Saki breathed. "Where did they all go? Did they just disappear?"
Masaomi shrugged and looked around.
"H-Hey..." The couple looked at each other when the voice spoke, then listened again. "Hey...!"
They turned and looked to find a door that was slightly open. One they didn't check because it was open. They exchanged unsure looks then walked to the door and opened it. Inside laid Kyohei, bleeding from his stomach. "Oh, my God..." Saki whispered and the both looked at each other.
…
The Roof of the Kanary Hotel; Harajuku, Shibuya
December 24, 2015, 11:40 PM
Shuhan stood over the two Gangs who were more than ready to break into a fight. He smirked and put his hands on his hips. "This," he said. "will be a turning point in the lives of the people of Japan. Soon enough, the world will fight. And it will be the end of the human race!"
Mikado struggled against the two men holding his arms behind his back but he didn't break free. "You are crazy!" he snapped.
"I know," Shuhan replied nonchalantly.
There was a long moment of silence. Just as Mikado was beginning to wonder where he was, Masaomi burst onto the scene, yelling, "I object, your honor!"
"Right on time," Mikado breathed.
Masaomi glanced around then paused. "Oh," he said. "There are more of you..."
There wasn't much a time to react. Mikado took the distraction to stomp on the foot of one of the men holding him. The Evergreen jumped back away from the blue-eyed fighter as he whipped around and nailed the second guy in the face with a powerful punch.
Masaomi brought up his fists and came back-to-back with Mikado, who was also ready to fight. "So, we finally fight side-by-side," Masaomi chuckled as they waited for the Evergreens to make their move. "Do you think you're ready for your first real fight?"
"Shut up," Mikado laughed. "This will probably be our last."
"Don't jinx it!" Masaomi warned and the fight began.
It started with one of the Evergreens charging at Mikado, who ducked and let Masaomi get smacked in the back of the head instead. "Sorry!" Mikado laughed as he swiped the Evergreen off his feet.
"Dammit!" Masaomi growled as he used his falling force to tackle one of the enemies to the ground. "Never fighting back-to-back with you again!"
Mikado only hollered as he let his body move on it's own, taking down two of the three guys, leaving the three others to the more experienced fighter.
Masaomi was fluid with his moments, as though he had been a fighter all his life. He made sure to hit them hard on the first try to ensure they wouldn't get back up again. The fight had to be over with soon.
Mikado was having a bit of trouble with the two guys he was fighting, but he finally managed to knock them out. The two men looked at each other and smiled. Finally, they turned to Shuhan. Shuhan hesitated and stepped back only for his heel to hit the protective wall. He cursed lightly then turned back to the men and drew the gun from earlier.
Both boys stopped.
At that moment, Izaya finally made it to the roof, Anri on his trail. There was only three things he saw.
…
*The Three Things Izaya Orihara Saw*
One: A Gun
Two: Best friends.
Three: The same situation from three years ago.
…
Izaya only had enough time to breath in. Masaomi and Mikado whipped around when they realized Izaya was there.
There was a click.
Izaya watched Masaomi's eyes go wide and he instantly knew what was going to happen. "No, Masaomi-"
He was a blur, crashing into Mikado and tackling him to the ground. There was a gunshot. There was some screaming. There was confused murmurs from the crowds down below.
Izaya watched as Mikado and Masaomi both laid on the ground. Mikado was the first to move, leaning up and shaking Masaomi's shoulder. "M-Masaomi...?"
Masaomi lifted his head and his golden eyes were nothing more than pure confusion. Masaomi was fine. They glanced at Anri, then Izaya.
Izaya lifted and eyebrow then his eyes went wide. Slowly, he looked down. Blood soaked his ribs trailing down his stomach. "Ow," he chuckled and then he collapsed backward, Anri catching him before he hit the ground.
Mikado and Masaomi looked at each other than at Shuhan, who dropped his gun. "I-I-" he began but ran out of words.
Mikado pushed Masaomi off of him and stormed up to Shuhan. Masaomi jumped to his feet, fearing Mikado would push Shuhan off the building, or worse, but Mikado only punched Shuhan in the face and grabbed his collar to keep him from falling off the building. With that, he threw Shuhan to the side, who stumbled and fell to his side.
There was confusion, watching Mikado pick up the gun, stand up on the protection wall, and fire it into the air. From six stories in the air, he was praying the people below would hear him. They all stared up, quiet. Shocked.
Saki and Kyohei then appeared on the roof, deciding to follow Izaya and Anri up to the roof where Mikado and Masaomi were. They saw the scene, but they said nothing. They only watched as Mikado began to speak.
Mikado needed to pick a good choice of words to start off with, and he had an idea of what; "Are you all idiots?"
The crowd below looked at each other, confused and baffled.
"Do you think I would want you to fight each other?" he yelled. "Do you think I really issued this order? I didn't!" There were collective gasps from the crowd. "Yeah, I told you guys to fight in the Second War, but that was my mistake. I didn't realize what...what I was doing. I had a plan, and it failed. And it lead to millions of people...dead..."
The crowd was silent, waiting for Mikado to continue. He took a deep breath and continued. "This isn't a War you should be fighting!" he said. "You should be at home right now. You should be with the loved ones. You should be home for Christmas. Not dead. Not in the hospital. Not fighting for your life on this street!" He looked around. "You need to understand orders aren't 'do or die'. They are your choice, if you want to do them or not. That was what the Dollars were all about."
There was a dampened silence. The air was moist. It smelled sweet. "We shouldn't be lead to war for Christmas. The Dollars should have done the smart thing and stayed home. It's not like anyone knew you were in the Dollars, anyway, right? And the Evergreens. Did you really know what was going on, or were you just blindly following orders and trying to survive?
"'A little blind trust goes a long way, but a little blind ignorance can really ruin your day'." Mikado looked back at Izaya, then back at the crowd. "A friend of mine told me that. And he was right. He didn't want me to make the same mistake he did. I could have lost a lot of people close to me if I didn't try to right my wrongs. And, even so, it was too late for me to realize it. I had sent many people to their death two days ago. And, despite that with no results, no change, you still came to fight tonight?
"Life isn't about living for the thrill. Even after the Gang Wars and the fighting and the thrill still subsided, life is still happening. All around us! And with the time and the peace, we could have been helping people who were fighting the silent battles we never see. We could have done something better, but, instead, we chose to fight each other. For no reason.
"The Dollars shouldn't fight. In fact, there will be no more wars for the Dollars. In fact, I declare, from this day forward, the Dollars should only fight if someone is in need. And the Evergreens... Did you know your leader was actually trying to kill you? Did you know that he wanted you all to die tonight? He told me himself. But you can't kill him. No, you can't. I won't let you."
There was a silence. Off in the distance, a church bell rang twelve times. The sign Christmas had come. "That bell," he said. "That bell. Every time you hear a church bell, remember this day. Remember the day you could have died. Remember all those lost in the First and Second War. Remember that war isn't to decide who is right. But, instead, decide all those who are left.
"And I want you, for that moment, to remember you are still alive. That there is still life in you. You are still breathing and that is all you need. Remember all those close to you. Remember all those around you. Remember that you don't need to live for a reason. Just live."
There was a silence. Then, something fell from the sky and landed on his nose. Slowly, Mikado reached up and touched the liquid on his nose. He looked at it and blinked. Again, it fell on his hand, his shoe, in his hair.
And it began to rain.
There was silence as the rain fell from the sky, washing away all the anger and desire to fight. There was calmness, a gentle, quiet tranquility.
Masaomi looked up.
Saki looked up.
Kyohei looked up.
Anri looked up.
Izaya looked up.
Everyone looked up.
Even Mikado.
He looked up, too.
…
After Notes
The last chapter, coming soon! How will everything end? Do you know?
Damn. This is the longest chapter I have written in the history of me writing. Eleven pages. Holy crap! I can't believe I wrote so much! But the last chapter will be very short, too, so it evens itself out.
Love it? Hate it? Wanna read it again? Let me know! The review button is right there!