Title: Things that change for better or for worse
Chapter 13: Ripples of Change 1
By: Sissy

Disclaimer: DRRR shall never belong to me otherwise there'd be more yaoi.
Warning: Fangirl Aoba, again. English is "italics inside" normal speak.

"Oh, so that was you, Mikapuu?" Erika laughed but held herself in check so she wouldn't fall backwards.

"That isn't funny, Erika-san. I'm very angry with Izaya-san here. I can't believe he'd do this just because he was bored." Mikado pouted but continued dusting the items in front of him. He had already told the story to Anri so the owner of the store was handling a client in front.

"You don't seem very angry. And I've heard you've had a few mood changes lately too. What's up with that?" Erika decided to ask, loving the conversation with every minute.

"It's a pact I made with someone." Mikado smiled, laughing at a memory inside him.

"It's this someone special to you? Like Shizu-chan special?" Erika seemed interested in the subject but whispered due to the fact that Anri had shown up with the client to charge what he had picked.

"Oh, totally not." Mikado replied with a wide and bright smile. "It's my sponsor. He granted me a wish in return for something I did for him."

"What kind of wish? And what did you do for him?" Erika seemed super interested and seemed to know what kind of questions to ask. But in reality, she was being cautious to not ask too many things at once. Anri had already warned her not to push Mikado too much.

"I did what any decent human being would've done. And in return, he helped me evolve again." Mikado answered truthfully but the truth seemed to confuse Erika. What does he mean by evolve again?

Deciding not to ask, Erika thought of how else to move the conversation to juicy bits when they heard a soft jingle. Anri and Erika looked surprised and turned to Mikado, who let out a soft chuckle. They watched him bring out him phone and read a text message. Lowering another chuckle, Mikado replied to the text and put away his phone.

Erika flapped her lips to ask who that was but the jingle was heard again, this time, more than once. Picking up his phone, Mikado began to move from his current spot. "It's three in the afternoon. I should be the one asking why you're up. Another late night with the program? Wasn't it working last time?" Mikado spoke in English once the other person calmed down.

"Oh, Mikapuu speaks pretty fluent English. Never thought about that part." Erika seemed surprised since she could hear part of the conversation as Mikado had made his way to the front of the store.

"It's the first time I've heard him as well. I don't think anyone's called him either before. Aside from you-know-who and us." Anri was trying to be tactful by not mentioning the name that had normally freaked out Mikado before.

"Alright then. Let's talk another time. You want a picture instead? I think you're becoming more perverted. Your girlfriend's gonna cry again, you know. Bye." Hanging up on the call, Mikado returned to the two girls. "Sorry, that was a long distance call."

"No problem. A friend?" Anri asked cautiously and Mikado nodded with a smile.

"He was a classmate from back in America. That's the sponsor I was talking about, Erika-san." Mikado explained to the now-excited woman, who quickly began thinking up plots in her mind. "Ah, before I end up forgetting. I have something to do Sunday afternoon so I'll be out for a while then."

Slightly confused, Anri asked, "Is it work?"

"No, something personal. Nothing terrible, I assure you Sonohara-san." Mikado simply said and returned to dusting the items he had brought to the counter.

… … …

"Ruka." Kururi lifted the young boy and began to cuddle him tightly. His laughter at the act was an indication that her hug didn't really hurt so Ruri was not worried about him at the time being.

"You both rarely come visit like this. Did something happen?" Ruri asked the younger twin, looking slightly worried about their presence in her apartment. It wasn't the first time they had met alone but it was actually the first time the two came knowing Kasuka would not be there. Usually, they'd be trying to cuddle up to Kasuka.

This time however, they were acting weirder than usual. If that could be possible for the twins. "Aoba-kun is acting weird!" Mairu finally spoke, yelling the words that Ruri thought about her at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Ruri tried to be helpful by asking her question softly. She never knew what set the girls off or their way of thinking, despite the years they knew each other.

"He's going all gaga for something. He barely responds, is making lots of mistakes and just keeps staring at his phone like it's a lover! It's making Kuru-nee depressed!" Mairu pointed to her sister with a pout and Ruri followed her gaze to the older twin. Well, she does seem more attached to Ruka than usual.

As Ruri thought about what she could do for the twins, she remembered something. "Kasuka-san was wondering if you would like to attend the next party as our bodyguards. You like those functions as well, right?" Since they had gotten married, Ruri got used to calling Kasuka that way but it usually irked the twins at times. Today was different though.

Mairu looked to be in thought while Kururi had stopped moving, causing Ruka to pet her and gain her attention. Wondering what she could say to make the twins feel better, Ruri's thoughts were interrupted by Mairu's scream. Ruka had looked startled and Kururi gazed at her younger sister.

"Let's do it this way then, Kuru-nee!" Mairu spoke cryptically. At the very least, Ruri didn't understand her. "Yuuhei-san is our what?"

"Beloved." Kururi immediately answered and Mairu nodded happily.

"And Aoba-kun?" At this, Ruri simply thought that they were trying to ascertain something. But what that was, she didn't know. Kururi had paused and taken a moment to reply to Mairu's question. However, that answer seemed to have surprised Ruri while Mairu simply grinned.

… … …

[Can we talk tomorrow? Are you free then?] His voice was alluring to Aoba. There had been nothing that could excite him like this for the past six years. Well, something came close a few times.

"I'll make time for you even if it kills me, sempai." Aoba replied enthusiastically, silently cheering in his mind. It almost felt like a dream to him so he had already pinched his cheek a few times.

A soft chuckle came from the other side. [I don't want you to die, Aoba-kun. Just talk, is all. Then, that diner near the station. I saw it was still there.]

"Neither rain nor hail will stop me! But I'll be careful to watch out for my safety on the way." Aoba promised and waited until the other had hung up. Even though he knew it wasn't a dream, he still felt like it was. After staring at the new number in his registry, it took him a while to fully realize he should save it. About three hours, actually.

To Be Continued…