Title: Things that change for better or for worse
Chapter 24: Challenging the Change 4
By: Sissy

Disclaimer: DRRR shall never belong to me otherwise there'd be more yaoi.
Warning: Additional players to the game.

Shizuo and Masaomi arrived first. Kyohei was a step behind them. Izaya arrived shortly after them and quickly hid himself from view. Ruri and Mairu came just a few minutes later and joined up with the three men. They were about to separate and look around the area when, from the supermarket in front of them, appeared Mikado with Ruka in one arm and groceries in the other.

"This is anticlimactic." Masaomi was the first to speak the moment Mikado dropped the groceries to the ground. He was clearly looking at Shizuo when that happened, though the young Ruka was staring at his mother in fear. "Wait, what's with all the sweets?" For some reason, Masaomi was more surprised by the contents of the grocery bags.

Ruka's soft whimpering caught Kyohei and Masaomi's attention for the moment. Then, very quickly, Mikado brought Ruka to him and tried to calm him down by whispering softly like a mother would. "Ruka, stop it! That's enough!" Ruri scolded the young boy for no reason that was apparent to the rest.

"Ruka-sama requires something of me. I must do as he says." Mikado spoke softly to Ruri, his face looking slightly pale.

"Ruka, Kasuka-san values your individualism, and so do I, but so help me if you don't stop…" Ruri sounded a bit threatening and Mairu quickly jumped in to try and grab Ruka away from Mikado but the other jumped to the side. Masaomi and Kyohei were surprised as Shizuo took the chance to pin Mikado along with Mairu.

However, before they managed to get close enough, the swish of various knives stopped their tracks. They knew very well who threw them and tried to find where the man was hiding but they weren't able to spot him. By the time they looked back at Mikado, they noticed he had already gotten a head start.

"Oh, come on! Don't you people get tired of running?" Masaomi sounded exhausted as he dashed after the two. Kyohei and Ruri were right behind him, the older male looking slightly surprised that Ruri could keep up with them.

… … …

"Can I, at the very least, see this stupid comment?" Aoba didn't sound very convinced about the words Erika had uttered earlier. Kururi was currently making sure her landlord stayed in her grasp, not letting go of his body at any moment.

Erika shrugged and passed the computer to Saki, who walked over to the prisoner and let him read it for himself. He almost burst out laughing the moment he saw it and so did Kururi. Even Saki had found it as good laughing material but she kept that to herself as she returned the computer to Erika. "Okay, Kururin, I think you can let go of Kurocchi now. Though if he runs, feel free to restrain him again."

Kururi obeyed and let go of Aoba, sitting down right next to him when he had finally sat up straight. There was really nothing he could do now but wait. He hated that. After all, much like everyone else, he had done his fair share of waiting. Six years worth.

"Augh! I can't stand this!" Five seconds later, Aoba had stood up. Kururi was ready to tackle him while the remaining three just stared at him. "Give me that mike! I'll just sing my frustrations away!"

"Nice idea!" Erika commented with a grin and Kasuka nodded in agreement. Saki stood up and looked for the microphone and controller, plus the list of songs. After passing the microphone to Aoba, both began to look in the list for something to sing.

Soon enough, they got a head start on the party.

… … …

"Ryugamine-kun is injured." Anri's eye began to glow in retaliation. Chikage found it interesting but the other two were caught by surprise. There was clear hostility in the woman's voice. And though they didn't know it, Anri was thinking of the many ways in which she could cut up Izaya into tiny pieces. She was really angry.

"We don't know how much though, Anri-chan. So please calm yourself down. If we can't keep a level headed mind, Izaya-san will win." Walker reminded her coolly, though he was ready to kill the man too.

"Anyways, why'd the kid stop here to buy sweets anyways? If he hasn't noticed his injury, he'll soon regret it." Saburou made the observation and Chikage concurred. Though they didn't know how badly Mikado was injured, they knew any injury could worsen the more time it isn't treated.

Anri stood up with the abandoned groceries. It was a miracle no one had stolen them yet but she figured it was probably important for something. "I'll call some of the children. I don't know if there are any nearby where they might be though." Anri explained and extended her call to further boundaries than before. During the time of the head fiasco, Anri had found out just how far she could extend the call. It had nearly covered the whole city that time.

Suddenly, she stopped and retreated the call. Something was wrong. "What happened, Anri-chan?" Walker asked confused when he noticed the surprised face on the other.

"Someone is controlling some of the children. It's not a rogue child. It's something different. And it's only the males." Anri explained and extended her call again, this time calling upon the girls.

None of the three males said anything but, for some reason, Walker could hear a melody in his head. He hadn't realized yet the significance of such a song. And he wouldn't for some while.

… … …

"Russia Sushi! Come! Come Russia Sushi!" Simon merrily called for clients, trying to get them to go into his store. It was the same as always and anyone in the know-how would be surprised he hadn't been following the current hot forum but Simon always preferred advertising his store and never got involved unless it was absolutely necessary.

The low gasps caught his attention, however, and he saw a pale Mikado, limping away through the crowd while carrying a happy child. If anyone had realized, they might've found it odd how the boy didn't notice the injury now pooling on the adult's leg. Simon, however, found it worrisome as Mikado was his friend and long-time customer.

"Mi-ka-do!" He called for the other, enunciating each syllable separately. Mikado had turned to him, not seeming as though he recognized him. Ruka, on the other hand, growled lightly. Simon simply smiled to the boy and tried to pet him but was kept away by Mikado's hand.

"Do not touch Ruka-sama." He whispered, his voice sounding tired and wheezy.

"Ruka! You're hurting him!" Ruri finally caught up to them, with only Mairu and Kyohei in tow. Where Shizuo and Masaomi were, only they knew.

"Simon-san! Grab the boy!" Mairu ordered as she jumped for them as well and saw a group of three men stopping them both. The rest were surprised as the men had red eyes, a sign that clearly meant they were acting on their "mother's" orders. However, they failed to see any reason why Anri would ask for this.

To Be Continued…