DAY 2
There was a paper stuck to his cheek which was damp with sweat, hair sticking out in almost every direction, and his eyelids felt heavy when he woke up, barely able to make out the numbers written in red on his alarm clock. He couldn't even recall if he'd set an alarm at all or if he accidentally slept through it again. It was already almost afternoon.
"Seems like I had a weird dream," he muttered to himself, remembering bits of what he was 'dreaming' of, where there was a scene in which he was standing in the middle of an abandoned Ikebukuro.
Messy handwriting of possibilities as to what could've drove people away from the city filled the paper that he pulled away from his cheek, reading the first few lines to get a gist of what he'd written last night. It seemed that he still didn't manage to come to a conclusion last night since there was insufficient information— funny thing to say when you're an informant.
"Ah. It wasn't… a dream. Really, you'd think that they'd be back by now."
The first thing he'd done after scouring Ikebukuro for hints (more like breaking into several random offices and houses) was to get home, plug in the charger for the twins' laptop and turning it on. There was nothing useful in any of the folders -most of them contained anime videos and unsurprisingly, porn- but he had more luck checking the internet browser history, as expected. Recent searches were quite interesting, there were things like 'how to get rid of a fever' 'fever is getting worse' 'internal bleeding' and 'the aphledian virus' and the rest were useless ones that mainly consisted of social media sites.
He'd done his research regarding aphledian virus which took hours until he realized that it might not be the cause of people's disappearance (despite it does induce fever and cause the patient to vomit), as infectious as it is, it didn't make sense to assume that it infected everyone in Ikebukuro, or even most people. It wasn't serious enough. The internal bleeding search also didn't correlate with the aphledian virus one, considering he couldn't find any information that it causes internal bleeding.
From what he gathered so far, perhaps Mairu and Kururi (or one of them) had fever and internal bleeding, thus attempted to search for the name of illness they were facing, which would explain the aphledian virus search. They probably heard or saw the name somewhere and decided to look into it, but then came to a conclusion that it was false. What bothered him was that there wasn't any other search after aphledian virus. It'd have made his job easier if the twins had searched for more viruses.
It kind of made him wonder if he should've watched Death Note 3 again.
Frowning, he tossed the paper aside, along with several others which were clattered on his bed, and he shifted to sit at the edge of the bed. The thought of his sisters suffering a dangerous virus didn't seem so inviting as he'd thought before all this took place, the mental image was especially gruesome.
However, some things didn't add up for him to just leave it as 'a virus attack'. It was still odd how the disappearance didn't appear on any news, not even an article on someone's blog. Nothing! It was like no one saw it except him. That couldn't be it, right? He was sure that he wasn't hallucinating. But to go over it again, there was a possibility that those who don't live in Ikebukuro were told to keep their mouths shut by a powerful individual or group. He still didn't know if that sound he heard in Ikebukuro yesterday was made by a human or an animal.
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Orihara Izaya, reborn!
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Orihara Izaya
Do you know what's going on in Ikebukuro?
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Straight to the point. I can see that you're shaken up now that something out of the ordinary has shown itself, something that you can't control.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
But no, I can't disclose such information.
Orihara Izaya
How much do you need?
Tsukumoya Shinichi
I don't need any. I'm not aware of the cause of the disappearance, if I was, I would've given it to you for free.
Orihara Izaya
You must be lying.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Do you have proof? How can I know you didn't awaken that head and destroyed the city?
Orihara Izaya
Forget it. I'll figure it out on my own.
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Orihara Izaya, confirmed dead!
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Tsukumoya Shinichi
You didn't even ask if the entirety of population in Ikebukuro has gone down to zero.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Which I would've replied by saying there is one person left.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
I better clear the chat history before he comes back.
"Are you really certain that there's nothing wrong?"
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The doctor almost dropped the papers when Izaya moved in closer, gazing at his eyes (it was a smart way to check if he was lying, the doctor agreed), and he faltered for a moment under that sharp stare, but immediately regained composure and gestured towards the cotton ball Izaya had pressed against the puncture wound from the blood withdrawal.
Izaya adjusted the cotton as instructed.
"Your test results came through just fine. I've been very thorough with this, so you can be sure that I didn't misdiagnose you."
"I'm offering you more than what they've given you."
"Please do not offer me bribes, Orihara-san. I am not that kind of person."
Izaya didn't seem convinced, though much to the doctor's relief, he didn't insist further.
"Can you do me a favour, then? Send one of your men to test the air and water in Ikebukuro. I'll drop by again soon for the test result as well as another check-up."
"Of course,"
"…if it'll make you feel safer, Orihara-san, I'll have them go do just that tomorrow."
"That's relieving," he tipped his head to the side and shook the doctor's hand, flashing a toothy grin.
It was a shame that he didn't hear anything when he pressed his ear against the examination room's door before he exited the hospital.
Izaya assumed the doctor would sigh in relief, or blurt out that he'd been lying and there was in fact something happening in Ikebukuro.
But there was nothing.
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His phone had been quiet the whole day that Izaya almost thought that he'd accidentally set the profile to be on silent, but clearly, that wasn't the case. He sighed inwardly, staring at the screen with his bottom lip jutting in a pout.
Even the suicide chatroom was void of people.
"I hope they're not dead."
The doctor's behaviour was suspicious, and it bothered him that perhaps there really was someone who had paid him a good amount of money to keep him quiet from giving out any information about the virus (if it was that, of course). But Izaya had been following the doctor around when he went to test the blood, all so he could watch his own eyes— from every procedure that had to be done to every word written on the test results.
He was undoubtedly healthy, though.
Could it be that he was immune to it, like Shizuo?
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"The new volume for Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is out!"
The squeals startled him, had him cringe from the shrill voices (he was immediately reminded of Mairu) that belonged to the two girls not far from him, seemingly excited by the recent release of a famous manga. Really, the only reason Izaya knew of this was because it acted as a shortcut to strengthen the relationships that he wanted to form with certain teenagers.
Before he could think of anything, his feet wandered, and he followed the girls into the bookstore, feeling rather intrigued.
For what reasons, he wasn't sure of, but Izaya trusted his insticts.
The first magazine he picked up was Metropolis magazine— or it was something like that. Izaya wasn't interested enough to know, since he preferred real books or the internet to be his main sources of motivation. Most of the things that are in a magazine would also exist on the internet. And he wouldn't have to pay a cent for the information, unless it was something that was rather private, that he'd have to delve into the deep net and use his money.
He flipped through the pages, eyes scanning the headlines written at the top of every article, to find something, anything that would lead him to the events in Ikebukuro.
When he didn't find any, he merely dropped the magazine back to where it was and picked up another one.
"That… Ah, excuse me, sir."
He averted his gaze from the page to the girl standing next to him— she seemed nervous (was it her first day on the job?), fingers gripping at the hems of her apron as she looked pointedly at the magazine he was holding, as though that'd give him an idea of what she wanted to say.
"You c-can't just read them, you have to buy the magazines first."
"Ayano-chan? That's not how you do it! Let me."
A boy came through, and he was your typical rowdy high-schooler, with scrawny body yet they try so hard to look menacing with their expression. If anything, it only brought a smirk to Izaya's face. It was like a puppy trying to threaten him.
How adorable.
"See, this isn't a library! We have to make profit and I can't just let you do this. If you don't want to buy anything, then get out of-"
"I'll buy them all," Izaya interrupted.
"Eh?"
He only flashed a smile at the puzzled pair.
"How much are they?"
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The night in Ikebukuro was his favourite.
It was when the city was at its best, people passing by as if it was daylight and the bizarre occurrences that often took place when the moon was out—including the Hollywood and Saika attacks which made the colour gangs' roughhousing look like child's play.
Oh, what he'd give to experience that again.
His binoculars lowered to reveal the crimson eyes gazing down at the quiet street below, legs hanging off the edge, and he gave out a sigh before tucking the binoculars into the pocket of his jacket.
"As expected, no one is around."
"Well, if it gets too tedious, I'll just head to bed."
The purple sweatshirt and grey shorts he'd chosen for tonight (along with his trademark jacket, of course) was already good for him to sleep in, if by the end of the night he decides that today was just another day of failure. A failure to get his hands on the information he needed most.
He'd spent the entire evening flipping page after page of the magazines and newspapers that he'd bought at the store, in hopes that the nosy media would report the disappearance— yet he found nothing. You'd think that out of 25 magazines and 10 newspapers, there'd at least be one that'd take interest in it.
Was the affair Miyano and Yamada had that much more interesting?
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"Now,"
"This is what most humans say they'd do if they're the last human on Earth, right?"
There was a skip in his steps as he made his way into the convenience store, hearing that little bell that went off when he pushed the door open. He was surprised to see that the place was still heavily stocked with food and hadn't been raided clean like he expected it to be.
"I'd settle for a much fancy restaurant, but for now, a konbini would have to do!"
"Cookies and cream ice cream with caramel swirls? Sounds like something Shizu-chan would eat," he muttered to himself, despite choosing just that from the freezer and tugging at the wrappers before having a taste.
The ice confection was too sweet for his liking (he preferred bitter things, or at least mildly sweet) but he still bit into it anyway, teeth suffering from the cold and he wondered if Shizuo wouldn't have felt that and just chewed the ice-cream like it didn't faze him at all.
Now that made him think-
Was there even a possibility for Shizuo to freeze to death?
"Where is he, anyway?"
"Yo, Shizu-chan!"
"Shizu-chan, don't you want to have a taste of this?"
Of course, there was nothing, no reply— he didn't receive a vending machine to the head nor a shout of his own name. It felt rather boring to sit there on the floor— legs crossed, in silence with an ice cream in his hand.
"I kind of miss him."
There was a crooked smile on his face as soon as the words left his mouth.
"Of course, this is the part, where, I have to clarify that it's not that I like him, but rather I miss messing with Shizu-chan."
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Calling Shizu-chan …
Beep…
Beep…
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message after the beep.
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"Huh."
"It worked yesterday," his brows knitted in confusion, gaze boring through the screen of his phone, half expecting Shizuo to feel the stare, to come running back to Ikebukuro so he could chase Izaya away. Though, if he was being honest, he didn't think Shizuo had any reason to restrict him from visiting anymore, as Izaya didn't mind to give him 90% of Ikebukuro at a free cost!
Now that there was no life in Ikebukuro, the city was pretty much useless, unless he was in the mood to scavenge and play around as though he was the main character stranded in an abandoned city.
"But Shizu-chan would probably want 100% to be his. Hah! He was always saying that Ikebukuro was his, Ikebukuro was his, and now his wish is finally being granted, albeit not in a very nice way. Haha."
He got up and strolled along the aisles, when something caught his eye.
Izaya couldn't figure out why that specific mentaiko onigiri seemed to appeal so much to him. Sure, he loved seasoned cod roe itself but he also liked tuna mayo. It was strange, almost like a nostalgic feeling, a sense of warmth settling deep in his heart.
He shrugged the feeling away and settled for the curry beef udon next to the onigiri section instead.
"399 yen," Izaya scrutinized the price tag on the plastic that he'd ripped off the container, while he waited for the udon to be ready.
"Well, it's free now."
The microwave dinged just as he tossed the tag away.
The last time he'd eaten this kind of convenience store food was when he was still with Mairu and Kururi, and some days, he didn't feel like cooking so he bought such food as dinner. It was to save budget as well— as it was better for him to try and save money despite getting paid for his side job as an informant as well as allowance from their parents.
Udon was chewy, he thought that it could be better, but the curry and beef were great.
He finished his meal in no time, as he'd forgotten to eat lunch earlier, which was rather disappointing, since it caused him to forget to chew carefully so he'd digest better.
Next, he went for the fried goods.
It tasted delicious. The tenderness, juiciness and crispiness of the fried chicken almost had him moaning in satisfaction if it wasn't for the nagging thought at the back of his mind, reminding him that it was disgusting how he was stuffing himself with such unhealthy food.
"A~hh! It's fine. This way, I'll be able to understand humans more."
Izaya took another big bite of the chicken (he couldn't resist, it was hard for him to bring himself to put it aside) before his hand reached for the chopsticks by the oden cart, and he picked up a daikon radish piece, blowing on it before popping it into his mouth.
Seeing the oden cart only reminded him that winter was coming very, very soon.
The tofu kinchaku was hot, but he still bit into it after only a few seconds after he fished it out of the cart, chewing carefully. His stomach had long ago started to feel full yet he kept on eating. Just like his humans said they'd do.
He didn't bother using the provided bowl, instead opting to scoop the broth with a ladle. The broth was refreshing, especially since the chill of the night was starting to set in, making him glad that he didn't forget to bring his favourite jacket along.
"That's enough."
But of course, Izaya wouldn't allow himself to turn into a glutton.
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"This isn't good. I'm much slower now."
He blamed the fried chicken he had earlier for the decrease in his speed as he ran along the rooftop of an office building, and much to his relief, he made the jump to another building. That was dangerous— but Izaya lived for the thrill. Though, it would've been even better if Shizuo was there behind him, however— as it'd add to the adrenaline rush, unlike now where he didn't feel the need to be fast (or having to dodge anything thrown in his way to make it more challenging).
The height made it easier for him to spot anything out of ordinary, but the downside was he'd have to drop down to search through the dark alleys.
It was a little bothersome but where else should he search for clues when the rest of the options seemed to despise him?
The city itself. Ikebukuro.
"Meow."
"Oh?"
"Have I finally found a friend?"
He smiled, turning around and jumping off to scale the building, one to another, and his fingers reached for the edge of the fire escape stairs.
There was that sound again, similar to what he'd heard the day before, only this time it was a perfect distraction that whoever it was out there, had orchestrated as Izaya lost his footing and the sole of his right shoe grazed the side of the wall before he fell to the ground with his ankle twisted in a painful way.
It wasn't the time to focus on his injury, however, as Izaya was much more interested in the sound.
"You're not an animal, right?"
Izaya glanced back at the cat nearby, before running off the opposite way, where the noise came from. His switchblade was already drawn out the moment he heard another sound, this time it was someone cursing out, which Izaya almost missed if it wasn't for his good hearing.
"There's no way."
There was no more sound that came after that.
He waited for approximately ten minutes (he wanted to go after them, but he didn't know which route to choose), until he had an inkling that that person had yet again escaped.
"I'll respect that decision. We can drag this out longer, but I hope you know that you won't have my downfall that you're waiting for."
"How cowardice," crimson eyes narrowed, the corners of Izaya's lips stretched into a wide grin.
"that's what I like."
It wouldn't be so fun if it was over so fast.
Of course, in the end, he'd manage enough by himself to lure that person out— unless there's a whole group of them.
If a game of cat and mouse chase was what they wanted, Izaya can provide them just that.
A sneeze hit him as he tucked his switchblade away, causing him to frown, sniffling and briefly wondering the truthfulness behind the doctor's words. He'd have to get himself checked out again, but perhaps at a different hospital next time?
There was no one he trusted enough to do such important task.
"I don't even trust my own self, sometimes," he murmured under his breath, bringing a hand up to scratch at the back of his head with a sigh.
"Let's just head back."
"I wonder if Shizu-chan would kill me if he knew I have a second home in Ikebukuro?
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Note: I'm happy to see ppl interested in this i just hope tht i can keep tht up for the rest of the chaps lol. but anyway, thank you so much for reading and to those who left a review as well, bcs it makes me really really happy to read them :-)