4 months ago, Somewhere in Italy.
"Maki I got what you're asking for" Seven whispered in her transmitter hiding herself in the dark. "Where's the escape route?"
"The room next door has a hidden passageway leading to the sewers" Mairu responded.
"Got it" She whispered back and quietly ran to the next room. The alarms and shouts of the guards echoed in the hallway, all of them trying to catch the unknown trespasser.
"What is this about Maki? Why do you want this research that badly?" Seven asked the woman while finding the secret passage.
"A research about a dullahan" The woman answered. "Someone will check that room"
"Dullahan?" Seven asked herself and hid in the dark again as a man entered the room.
"Damn that rat, that's the only research that Kishitani guy gave us" the man growled and threw a can-like figure, he left afterwards. She waited for it to explode yet nothing happened. "What the heck was that?"
"I don't know" Seven heard Mairu answer, the woman knows what is happening in the whole building since she hacked the cameras. "Anyway, hurry up in finding the passage"
"This will be easier if you just tell me" The girl complained forgetting about the can earlier but not the statement she overheard.
"This serve as a trial to you too, so I'm not saying where" Seven clicked her tongue, seconds later she started to smell a sweet scent.
"I'm smelling something weird" She reported and pushed a block of wood behind a bookshelf, the wall opened.
"Maybe you're smelling the sewers"
"When did the sewers smelled sweet?" She found another knob in the other side, she pulled it and the wall closed. She ran away quietly and muttered 'Shingen'.
"Tomorrow" the words of Mairu echoed in her head. Her hands twitched. Tomorrow. The word repeated again and again, snapping Seven awake. She slowly sat up on the floor, clutching her throbbing head and letting her eyes study her surroundings. She's still on the same place she collapsed, her head and the floor is tainted by red. Regaining her usual state, she grabbed her phone to check the time.
"I need to call Maki later" Seven sighed after knowing her phone is off, dead battery she guessed. She stood up slowly and saw her medicine untouched, glancing back at the floor; she reached for a glass of water and gulped a pill.
She remembered the incident 4 months ago; Mairu told her that the gas she inhaled is actually contains virus that affects her inside making her cough out blood. Thankfully, Mairu was able to create a medicine to temporarily stop the virus from affecting Seven's immune system. That took her 1 month, creating the real cure is still in process. But that one month took a toll from Seven, severing her internal organs not to mention the family that's after Celty was able to set up a lab in Japan. At least she found out the family's plan in kidnapping Celty.
Seven then looked at the clock and thanked the heavens she's only unconscious for 6 hours, she have three hours to prepare for the assault before going out at six am. She looked back at the floor, acting as if nothing happened she grabbed the mop.
Orihara Izaya ended the call and smiled to himself, he was just updated about the territory of the Corleonaro family. He hid his phone in his pocket and continued to watch the people walking pass him. With the sun shining in their faces, he can see such interesting expressions. The information broker remembered the talk with Seven last night, he remembered how he can't read or predict the reaction of the girl. He just found himself a rare specimen to study on. "Humans really are interesting"
"Isn't this Izaya-kun?" Shizuo's annoyed voice caught the troll's attention.
"Shizu-chan" The troll smiled at the approaching man coated with a deadly aura. "I was about to look for you"
"Oh really?" Shizuo answered his anger multiplying.
"I wanted to ask you about Kirigaya Kenji"Izaya said ignoring the fact that Shizuo is about to punch him "or is it Kishitani Nana?". This question made the blond stop.
"What do you know about her?" Shizuo glared at the man.
"So you do know her" Izaya gave an amused look "I just want to ask about her childhood"
"I won't say anything about her to a flea" Shizuo yelled and punched Izaya but he successfully evaded.
"Come on, help me out Shizu-chan" Izaya laughed as he continued to evade the blond's attacks. Getting more annoyed, Shizuo grabbed the nearest vending machine and forcefully pulled it up.
"It's a simple question"
"Like hell I'll answer you!" He then threw the vending machine at the troll. The crowd around them gave loud gasps as a big black guy stopped the machine before it hit Izaya.
"Fighting is not good, Shizuo" Simon Breshnev calmly said putting the machine down.
"Get out of the way Simon!" Shizuo shouted.
"Then I'll be going first"Izaya smiled and ran away leaving Shizuo and Simon to fight.
Izaya opened the door of his flat and was greeted with the usual quiet atmosphere. He expected Namie to be on the usual place reading but instead Seven is the one on the couch and his secretary is skimming the bookshelves.
"Welcome back"Seven casually greeted, not bothering to look at him "I saw your fight with Heiwajima Shizuo"
"Why do you call him by his full name? You two are close right?" Izaya said coolly "And I didn't break your condition- "
"You're going to say that you showed yourself to gather information or better yet confirm that he knows me, it's not the talk last night". Namie looked at the girl amused by being able to read her boss. Seven still got her eyes glued on the board in front her.
"Right" the information broker confirmed and sat on the couch connected with the one Seven is seating on.
"I know you already have some information," Seven said still not looking at the man.
"Impatient aren't you?" Izaya smirked but started to explain anyway "Their lab is in Nerima. For the past 3 months, they started to recruit gangs, weak or strong and they use them to get what they want. The people they're sending from Italy is for defense and only few men for offense. But right now the people for defense are slowly turning into offense."
"The game will start soon" The girl blankly said moving the white Othello piece near the black king and turning it over revealing black.
"What are you going to do? Those two are still playing a different game" Izaya asked knowing that they got used in a peaceful life " A happy and peaceful game"
"Siamo tutti nella stessa partita, solo diversi livelli. Trattare con lo stesso inferno,"
"Just different devils" Izaya finished.
"solo diversi demoni." She repeated and finally looked at the troll. "I'll tell you what you want to know about me after I'm contented with your service"
"When will that be?"
"After all of this, I guess"
"If you say so" The troll shrugged
"Orihara-san, if ever we meet in public, which I doubt"
She whispered the last part "Call me Kenji, If in private call me whatever you want"
"Then you can call me Izaya" He offered and smiled.
Seven gave a small nod and started to head to the door. "I'll contact you again tomorrow"
"What's the reason you came here? It's not only for the information, right?" Izaya asked with his knowing-tone.
"I only came for the information" Seven turned the knob and left.
"Isn't she an interesting human being?" Izaya grinned and looked at his board then smirked.
15 minutes ago.
"Welcome back" Namie said but was greeted by a different person. "Who are you?"
"Kirien" The girl answered assuming Izaya already told her.
"Ah, right. Kirigaya Seven" Namie remembered and stood up to return some files. "Izaya is out right now but you can wait here if you want. Tea?"
"No thanks" Seven then sat on couch.
"That's the game he play if ever something happen" Namie said noticing that the girl is staring on the board in front of her.
"He consider the people toys"
"'Because I love humans', that's what he said" Namie said by imitating Izaya. She don't know why but Seven is easy to talk to.
"Such a stupid logic, right Namie-san?" Seven smiled at the woman then continued to disarrange the different pieces on the board.
"Are you sure you're going to trust him?" Namie asked and Seven shook her head.
"Not trust, we are using each other, though I don't know what he's planning right now. That's why I'm here to figure out"
"Then are you sure to say this things to me?"
"You'll not tell him anyway, since you hate him"
"Then are you ready to be betrayed by him?"
"His hunger for information makes him already a traitor" Seven tapped the black king. "And in the first place he never picked a side"
"That guy can be scary when he started to act his 'game'"
"I know and I'm ready" Seven nodded but Namie saw a hint of doubt in her smile.
Siamo tutti nella stessa partita, solo diversi livelli. Trattare con lo stesso inferno, solo diversi demoni. - We're all in the same game, just different levels. Dealing with the same hell, just different devils.