A/N: I've been receiving many positive remarks so far, so here's an early update to thank you all. :) Big thanks to guest-chan, Rika, for the nice long review. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, since I tend to miss my own pretty easily. Please leave a review after reading, thanks!

Crossroad of Life

[ . . . 3 . . . ]

[ . . . across the murky river lies the devil . . . ]

"Be not afraid of growing slowly. Be only afraid of standing still."

― Chinese Proverb

Orihara Izaya is a kind, hard-working, down-to-earth honest young man working his way through daily life candidly without any black marks staining his perfect record and without creating a criminal record. He is the type who helps old ladies cross the jam-packed roads, saves cats from trees, feed the homeless with his hard earned money and ―

Just kidding.

The man named Orihara Izaya is anything but nice.

If there was a World Guinness Record for the most sly and shrewd man, Orihara Izaya would have won it without a hitch, hands down. Izaya is a powerful and skilled underground informant with the tendency to give any precious little facts away like unlimited candy or even string lies together to create a certain truth, as long it's for his own amusement and gains.

The informant was on business to Shibuya, since this time, instead of letting the group of pathetic yakuzas find him in Shinjuku, his only base of operations, he decided that it was time for him to make a move.

He wanted to witness the dispute of the two opposing groups, fighting each other like mad dogs with an instinctual "fight or die" motive and the concept of werewolf "pack mates". It amused him endlessly when, in the end, both sides did not realize it was he who planted the seeds of destruction, twisting the rumors into an ugly self-destructing prophecy, waiting for them to unexpectedly fulfill his desire for a "war".

It was just absolutely fun, fun, fun, looking at the silly but lovable humans react the way he wanted to in such a strong way. It just meant that he was right all along and he knew what was going to happen, like someone with the powers to look into all and anyone's past, present and future. It made him all the more pleased when the remaining survivor, a lackey leaning on the wall with a bloody arm and broken legs, had asked the stereotypical question with an equally stereotypical expression of shock and sadness.

"Why?"

"Because it's so much fun!"

Izaya remembers the mad grin he had on his face, sending the lackey into an abyss of terror before taking out a sleek black handgun he had stolen, a Jericho 941 F, and shot him straight into the forehead. The blood spattered behind, creating a big splash of red surrounding the lackey's head like a twisted rendition of holy light shining upon a messiah. He wasn't a sadist or someone who was excited or aroused at the sight of blood, no, but the certain happiness and thrill he had only lasted when he realized everyone died from slaughter and not a single lived to tell the tale.

How boring.

Especially when the thing, the head, inside the trunk of his car that was parked closely to the battlefield (the abandoned warehouse at the edge of the district), had not even given a reaction, not even a single blink or a sign of awareness to its surroundings, only silently breathing and sleeping. That was a sign of how boring and utterly unsatisfactory it was, because the thing was a being that thirsted for blood and battles. This silly child's game wasn't even close to what it needed, wanted.

A wise man once said, "the two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom". That was Izaya's main enemies too and if he couldn't even cause the awakening a single head of a Valkyrie, a heavenly being said to be from the above itself, then it wasn't enough to be a a full-scale war (like he said, just a child's game and a sadly silly one at that). It was true that Izaya loves humans, but wanting to become God more than anything else and ascend into the heavens was enough reason for him to get bored if he couldn't get what he truly wanted.

It just wasn't interesting enough yet for it to awake, so it was time for him to go back to Shinjuku and with the help of his twisted version of chess, he would create a new war. Yagiri Pharmacy will take care of the head he borrowed (sooner or later, it would fall into his hands once he destroys it after it outlives its usefulness) and the car he used. Izaya had no need to attend to trifling matters, so he would leave it to them to deal with it.

Right now, though, he could just envision it ― the prelude will be a war of two color gangs, initiating a Color War between the rising stars of Ikebukuro, the newly made Blue Squares and Yellow Scarves, thanks to a kidnapping made on the leader's most precious one. Of course, would have to send in one of his most "loyal" agents, Saki, to seduce the leader of the Yellow Scarves and it would be pretty easy too, since the leader was just a young boy who knew nothing of of an adult's world; love, treachery and deception, even when you placed it in front of him.

But sometimes, reality would not go the way he wanted, especially when he didn't even pick out the important variables (something to change or disrupt the flow was what he wanted, although not necessarily needed) and setting the pawns yet. So, he would plan this all out. It didn't matter if it took more than a year to complete (even if the kidnapping plan was just only a hors d'oeuvre before the main course; it will be a good one) because he wanted to break the circle of imperfection and unsatisfactory wars. He would lie in wait, like a predator and only striking when the time comes.

Though all of that heavy stuff would have to wait, he decided. Now, he would take a bit of downtime (minus the alcohol people his age were used to, because he hated alcohol and its gross taste) by walking merrily along the road, trying to find a victim to cure his temporary boredom. Maybe he could pretend to be a mass serial killer, a person's stalker, scare them by pretending to be something of the supernatural or even ―

Then there are three flyers, flying in the wind. Curiosity overtook him, abandoning all previous thoughts into putting effort to catching them. He had managed to get two out of three and all he had to do now was to find the owner of the flyers. He looked around, scanning the area disinterestedly until he realized something very mind-boggling.

That one area, which he thought there was nothing, had a person there with a small black trolley case, standing awkwardly, who proceeded to slowly straighten himself after noticing Izaya's eyes on him. In order to hide his shock, Izaya quickly flashed a fake friendly smile to disarm any concerns (at the same time wondering how he had missed the presence of a human being) and walked towards the young man... or was it more appropriate to call him a kid or boy? Izaya just couldn't decide.

"Are these yours?"

Although he didn't do any of what he initially planned ― was it much more interesting than before?

Yes, it was.

. . .

. .

. . .

Izaya was an observant person by nature (a God has to notice each and every thing, be it quirk, habits or characteristics, of His subjects and also His world), so obviously noticed a few things that were off about this particular, intriguing individual in a short span of time being near him.

One, this person has the height befitting of a 3rd year middle schooler. There were all kinds of people and it wasn't like Izaya hasn't met or seen people his age shorter than what their growth was suppose to dictate it to be, but he just looked like he belonged in middle school, that's all. Izaya never did say (be it to himself or out loud) that he was sure this person was in middle school. He didn't look like a runaway either and usually, teenage runaways were less... prepared. He had a glimpse of the flyer and no runaway would try to find a home first and the trolley case was definitely supporting the not runaway theory.

(Orihara Izaya may be an ass all the time, but that didn't mean he discriminates people by how tall they are.)

Secondly, does this person have anime hair syndrome? Who in the hell has natural blue hair? Worse of all, it was a distinct shade of blue that usually belonged to the clearest of skies. It didn't look dyed, or else there would've have been black or brown hair roots and Izaya trusted his gut feeling that it was completely natural. Point is, though, who has hair with a color like that? Or maybe this person did dye his hair because of crazy fashion trends these days or if he does belong in middle school, has chuunibyou and to prove that he was some secret dragon knight that was tasked to fight the darkness in the world (or something equally retarded as that) had dyed his hair to stand out? Plausible as these theories were and made much more sense, Izaya was sure this person did not dye his hair. At all.

Third, as redundant as it was, no Japanese person has bright blue eyes. Dyed hair and chuunibyou theories aside, last Izaya checked, this was reality, not some brainless, predictable shōnen manga concocted by an uncreative manga artist. Even if it was, though, Izaya would definitely break the fourth wall to control everyone and to show that he wasn't the manipulated, but the manipulator.

Maybe he was over-thinking all of this. He could solve it all by asking, not taking time to be frustrated and he could be on his merry way to find a victim. This person wouldn't do as one. It was because Izaya did not desire to have his time wasted on someone he can't even keep track on first glance and being unable to grasp his presence earlier meant that this person was a natural at escaping. Victims he couldn't even find would be a meaningless activity.

"Your hair and eye color... are they natural?" asked Izaya, grinning and relaxing his body posture to lower the other's guard. It would be extremely troublesome beyond measure if he talks to someone who can't trust him. It would be more fun, but antagonizing a stranger with such mediocre ways would be a frivolous activity and very unskillful of him. He could antagonize others with better methods and much more fruitful outcomes.

As expected, Stranger-kun relaxed, just slightly because his eyes were more guarded, and answered. "Yes. I was born this way." His reply was curt and polite.

Izaya blinked owlishly. Izaya was surprised of how... emotionless he sounded. His face, too, was as blank as a new canvas, like it was beckoning someone to just paint it all over with their colors, with their motif and shaping it to their desires, as if he was a blank slate ―

That was it!

His cure to boredom, the missing piece of his chess board, the unplanned variable he needed and his personal weapon of choice. What made it even better was that this person, although he looked so calm and unnerved, had disgust and fear, of him, Orihara Izaya. He could see it in his eyes. What better way to spend his time than to have someone who might (it was a 20% chance, but there was nothing to stop it from increasing) kill him and Izaya could just break him mentally? Especially watching someone break very, very slowly. That would be the best part of it all.

Izaya wanted to be God, yes, but he didn't want to enslave the entire human race. That would be very hard to manage and look after each individual. All he needed was someone who was like a house pet (Izaya preferred crows; he hated cats because they were an obnoxious species and dogs were just too foolish for him), a left-hand man (because Izaya was right-handed, so why would he need a right-hand man?) and his apprentice, all in one package.

The man could see the potential of this person into becoming something so disgusting and feared, not a person that did the disgust and fearing, so he wanted to remove those silly limits called human morals. He wanted to see if this person, this human, could become something like him; twisted, dangerous and incomprehensible. Izaya doesn't believe in anyone becoming his equal, but that didn't mean he disliked anyone who could, possibly, stand at the top where Izaya is and see the same view he's seeing.

It all depended if this person wanted to take it. A leap of faith, is what it's commonly called, but Izaya didn't believe in accepting an intangible or unprovable something.

It was a gamble, a jump full of risks.

Izaya extended his hand.

. . .

. .

. . .

"I'm Orihara Izaya! Would you like to come with me?"

He reached out and ―

. . .

. .

. . .

Some would say he is a God, worshiping the ground he walks on while others whisper in contempt, abhorring the whimsical man's very existence who ruined their lives for the heck of it.

Is he a God, or just a mortal?

The ignorant masses would ask innocently about the monster in human skin, not knowing his true colors. One would even say:

Or is he somewhere in between?

What was this being called Orihara Izaya exactly?

The fear of the unknowing growls and breathes into Kuroko's ear. It murmurs countless of uncertainties to perturb him, slowly letting the words melt away and find its way to a new container to live in. The sharp claws of darkness sinks into Kuroko's flesh, tearing the soft skin apart and entering like a disgusting parasite that is too stubborn to die, settling itself into its new host.

Fear has found its way to Kuroko and he isn't sure if he is able to shake it off.

Oh, he knows; there shall be no trust between him and this man, whose shadow speaks of broken vows, corruption and falsehood. Even if there is no solid evidence that points out that this man is a lying, cunning, scheming demon with multiple masks, Kuroko can definitely feel it with every fiber of his being.

You can never ignore gut feelings, just like how rumors always start out with a grain of truth, gradually twisted into a web of lies.

Right now, at this very moment, Kuroko knew that Izaya would be the one to change his entire world. It didn't matter if this person was a just supposed to be a stranger on the street, an underground drug dealer or even a human trafficker; all because Orihara Izaya was an unknown force of his own to be reckoned with and to follow someone who let you follow them without having emotional attachments meant that this person was very confident that he would escape any backlashes or betrayals.

Kuroko wanted to know what exactly Orihara Izaya was.

. . .

. .

. . .

When the other reached back...

"I am Kuroko."

Izaya smirked.

. . .

. .

. . .

There was a beginning and an end to everything, just like how this was a new beginning for Kuroko and despite how uncertain and dangerous it was...

It made him feel all the more thrilled.

. . .

Timeline:

I've forgot to mention a few things in this fic, which are...

1) I will be following the anime, as I do not read the novel or the manga. (I am also eagerly awaiting season 2 of DRRR, hehehe)

2) The starting of this fic is at least two years (technically 1 year and 1 month, as I've said it's December right now in the fic) before canon (season 1 of DRRR) starts. This means that Izaya is 21-22 (as his age in the anime is 23), Kuroko is 16-17 and Shizuo is 22-23 (anime canon age = 24). Although age might not really be a big matter in this fic, I just needed to point out that it's not heading canon yet and the ages are just a guideline for the timeline.

3) By the time this story heads to canon, Izaya will be 23, Kuroko will be 18 and Shizuo will be 24. The rest of the DRRR cast will be the same (so the Raira trio is younger than Kuroko) and as for the KnB cast (which I will add), they will be 18-20 (depending if they're the first years, second years or third years).

Notes for CH3:

chuunibyou = It's roughly translated as "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome". People with chuunibyou either act like a know-it-all adult and look down on real ones, or believe they have special powers unlike others. There are 3 main types of chuunibyou, but the type Izaya is referring to here is the Evil Eye-Type that admires mystical powers and pretends to have one of their own, to the extent of establishing an alias just for that. Those who watch "Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai!" will understand this type much better.

Izaya noticing a few things "off" about Kuroko = Well, someone had to point out that it isn't normal to have natural blue hair. Hurray for main character syndrome!

Kuroko and Izaya's relationship = How is it going to develop from here on out, as the both of them play a risky, blindfolded Russian Roulette of life for their first meeting? Well, it's going to be unorthodox, that's for sure. After all, Kuroko is already making a big leap of his own and Izaya will push him through to see how it goes.