Title: Things that change for better or for worse
Chapter 22: Challenging the Change 2
By: Sissy
Disclaimer: DRRR shall never belong to me otherwise there'd be more yaoi.
Warning: More chaos! Courtesy of Ruka-chan!
It was a bloody event six years in the making. Those involved could sense it. In simple terms, it consisted of two forces spinning around each other and a third meddlesome one that wished to simply create chaos. Of course, there were bystanders as well and most of them simply kept their mouths shut while others tried to make sense of the event by interacting with the forces but it all ended for naught. Yet none of that mattered at the moment.
Walking by his lonesome, and without any adult actually noticing him, was Ruka. He was somehow singing a nostalgic song of the otaku pair that had puppy-like lyrics. If they had heard the young child, they definitely would have tried to steal the boy for themselves. Of course, since he was alone, no one managed to notice it.
At the moment he was searching for something. It wasn't the first time he had gone out to look for it, but it was the first time it had been far from him. His mother often tried to keep him from anything that interested him too much; however, this time, he just couldn't help but really love the scent of that. If anyone should be blamed, it was his parents for feeding him.
On the way to where it should be, he saw the lady whose scent seemed scary at times, but peaceful at other moments. It seemed like she was with the father of his bride but none of that was important right now. Even if the man seemed to have heard him, it was impossible for him to locate the boy.
"Gao…" The young Ruka got tired and sat down. If he could wonder how far his sought-for thing was, he would. But Ruka didn't seem to care about such a thing. All he wanted was something to drink.
Suddenly, he heard a crash nearby and got curious. He resembled a puppy or a kitten in curiosity sometimes. It troubled his mother to no end. But, seeing as Ruka was a child, it mattered little to him what his mother felt. All he knew right now was that he found it.
… … …
"Remember, if you manage to catch Ruka-kun, just give me a call. I'll talk to him." Kasuka calmly told his brother and saw him off. Of course, this was a scene from about five minutes ago, and no one but Kyohei had actually listened to him so his words had fallen on the deaf ears of the intended person.
"I seriously wish he wouldn't run this fast!" Masaomi tried to vent out his anger at Kyohei as both men continued after the violence-incarnate man. Kasuka would say his brother's instincts were right, but the moment he heard Chikage talking to Anri, even Masaomi knew something was wrong.
Izaya was usually at the center of anything suspicious. Not that the whole baby shower of that day wasn't suspicious either. Erika had planned on doing something low-key in where nothing was destroyed, possibly even threatening anyone by placing her and her belly in the middle of the destruction. Unfortunately for her, maybe, her husband was much too overprotective of her. So for the moment, Erika decided to give them some backup from the karaoke bar by using the beloved Ikebukuro Community Group; the Dollars.
What no one expected was what did turn up in the middle of the destruction.
"Hey, Shizuo! Go left! Left!" Kyohei tried to catch his attention. Erika had sent him more information about where Izaya had been seen and things did not look good. For some reason, she had told him that the two had begun to fight it out inside some café. How, he didn't know; but he feared that Mikado wouldn't have much of a chance against the informant.
"Heiwajima-san! Damn it! We'll leave you behind if you don't head left, NOW!" Masaomi yelled and Shizuo did as told after almost crashing against the wall of the corner he was turning on. Though Masaomi and Kyohei were glad the man was complying for the moment, they feared he might run too fast and lose them. Well, they weren't exactly expecting help from him but since Izaya was in the middle of this problem, they knew he would try to kill the man yet again.
As they neared the café, they began to hear loud noises. It almost sounded like crashes. And then something did crash; literally through the café window. All three saw that it was Izaya.
"What the hell…?" Masaomi was the first to question the scene.
"Is that all, Izaya-san?" Mikado's voice could be heard and once the sought-for man came out of the café, through the very same broken window, only Kyohei noticed something odd first. "I guess you're getting a bit rusty. I win this challenge then. Is that satisfactory, Ruka-sama?"
"Gao!" Ruka celebrated happily and began to drool. He seemed to be hungry at the moment.
Shizuo glanced at Izaya for a moment and saw him unconscious before he moved his eyes towards Mikado. He noticed the other's glance seemed distant, as if he couldn't even notice anything, despite talking almost normally. Taking one step forward, Shizuo called out to him. "Mikado…"
A twitch noticed only by Ruka. The young child looked up curiously, then at his uncle and finally grinned mischievously. Masaomi and Kyohei noticed his grin and felt a shiver run down their spine. In his mind, Kyohei could hear Kasuka's warning.
"…if you manage to catch Ruka-kun…"
That was a very big IF right now as Mikado ran off without a word to any of them. "Mikado!" Both Shizuo and Masaomi called out for the other but they were ignored.
And then another race began.
… … …
"Aw, come on! Isn't anyone nearby to tell me what's going on?" Erika yelled at the laptop in her hands angrily. For a few minutes now, since one particular post, no one in the forum had answered her call. It was really strange.
"Kururi! Damn it, let me go! I have to save sempai!" Aoba struggled alone as Kururi had him pinned to the sofa. It was the only reason he wasn't able to go with the other three to find Mikado. He hated it so much but Kururi wasn't budging at all.
"Come on, Aoba-kun! They'll be back before you know it with Mikado-san! It's not like Iza-nii can simply kidnap him in broad daylight! Even he's not that dumb! Just wait patiently and eat another cookie!" Mairu said joyfully as she stuffed a cookie in her landlord's mouth. The other replied something, possibly obscene, but wasn't understood because of the cookie. "Aren't they good, Yuuhei-san?"
"They are. But I am a little worried about there being no response from the Dollars. I think Ruka-kun liked the food a lot." Kasuka said something cryptic and felt his wife stir below him. He had rested her head on his lap at the moment.
As Saki turned to ask something of him, they saw Ruri rise upwards without a single sound. She seemed like a newly risen hero after the despair of defeat. "Ruka is playing around? Is that it, Kasuka-san?" The fact that she didn't care about who might be listening was interesting by itself, but no one could say anything. No one but her husband anyways.
"Yes, I believe so. But in all fairness, I believe we are to blame for this blunder." He spoke honestly to her and saw her look at him with a dejected look before finally breathing a sigh.
"I apologize for being so worried about this. I will do something about it now, as his mother." Ruri seemed somewhat hesitant but, at the same time, determined to do what needed to be done.
"No, I should apologize for not being able to do anything either. But please don't scold Ruka-kun too much. I don't wish for him to doubt himself like brother does." It was the one thing Kasuka wished to avoid, which proved how much he cared for his son and why he always doted on him.
"Of course. All I will do is stop him. Mairu-san, will you accompany me?" Ruri asked the bodyguard, who stood up happily only after Kasuka gave her a requesting nod.
"Hey! Take me as well!" Aoba complained to the two but Mairu simply grinned at him as they left the room as well. Erika seemed about to ask something when someone began posting something on the forum. It had ignited a spark in the rest and she found the whole situation interesting enough to leave but both her husband and Kyohei had given specific instructions to Saki to not let the pregnant woman out of her sight. She was dangerous on her own; they knew that much.
To Be Continued…