A plain stretching to an infinite white, shrouded in endless mist.

No sounds, no voices, no other sceneries in sight—

No humans. No monsters.

He walked — floated, drifted rather — on and on, only to be faced with more and more white, more and more mist.

And then suddenly the world—

—shifted.

At one moment he saw a field of flowers and grass, and a waterfall in the heart of it all.

At the next he saw a bright, shimmering door coated in gold, guarded by a statue.

And then the next he found himself submerged in an ocean of stars and galaxies, feeling rather than seeing his own body flickering like they were twinkling.

A low rumble of malicious, venomous laughter abounded all around him.

"Isn't this what you always wanted?"

His world plunged into darkness immediately after.

April 30, 2013

At an apartment along the Kawagoe Highway

Light burst out and drained away the darkness of pre-dawn with the click of the switch.

"Where do you think you're going at this unearthly hour, Orihara Izaya-san?"

The raven-haired man whose full name had been called slowly turned his head to the right until his half-lidded auburn eyes met with his doctor's, who was leaning against the wall with both hands on his waist with a slightly unimpressed and slightly amused expression on his face, the result of Shinra himself being unable to decide which side of the "professional doctor versus casual friend" spectrum he ought to fall on in such a situation.

"...Shinra," Izaya acknowledged, his voice uncharacteristically quiet — though in Shinra's case, it was more of a side to his friend that he hadn't seen in well over a decade. Izaya averted his gaze and directed it to where the kitchen was. "No, I was just...thinking about getting a glass of water."

Knowing and understanding that he was seeing shades of how Izaya had been like in middle school again so abruptly, at this moment, only made Shinra even less certain how he should be addressing Izaya. Especially after...

'...No, wait, maybe... Because of what we talked about yesterday...'

Shinra kept the possibility in mind as he pushed himself off the wall, and slipped on a bright smile. "Well, you could've at least hollered for me or something. You're in no condition to be walking around without some form of support like that."

One corner of Izaya's lips curled to form a cynical smirk. "Didn't you just say so yourself that the time is 'unearthly'? Be thankful I didn't wake you up and disturb your precious alone time with..."

But before he could finish the sentence and bring up the name of whoever he had intended to say, Izaya let it trail off into a gradual silence as his face fell slightly. However, he broke it himself before Shinra could, his usual smile sliding back in place, "Anyway the kitchen is just a short distance away. I'm not in such a terrible state that I can't manage it myself. Besides, isn't it precisely because I haven't been moving around that I should be getting a little exercise?"

"I didn't say you can't, just that someone should at least be accompanying you in case you fall or bump into something. Especially without the lights on," Shinra clarified, though part of him was certain that Izaya already knew that and was simply trying to change the topic. That same part of him had a nagging feeling that Izaya heading to the kitchen was yet another excuse to cover up his true intention for sneaking around at this time, conveniently after what they had talked about the previous evening.

Izaya shook his head with a soft sigh, still keeping his eyes away from directly meeting with Shinra's. "Stop exaggerating. I can walk and see where I'm going just fine."

"In the apartment, maybe," Shinra replied. "But not outside, and definitely not all the way till Shinjuku."

As expected, Izaya went completely silent at that.

Shinra shrugged. "A glass of water, was it? I'll go grab it for you, so could you take a seat on the sofa and wait?" He didn't wait for Izaya to even reply, let alone agree, to his request before he stepped into the kitchen anyway. After pouring a glass of water and returning to the living room, he found Izaya quietly seated on the sofa as he had asked him to, and his smile couldn't help but widen. "Well, here you go."

"...Thanks," Izaya mumbled as he accepted the glass. With a light frown, he took a sip and then set it down on the table. Shinra simply watched him as he did so, and waited for Izaya to finally turn to him and face him directly. "...So? Was there something you wanted to tell me about so badly that you actually stayed up until now to do so?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Shinra replied, folding his arms across his chest. "And I think it goes without saying."

"Does it now?" Izaya challenged, the corners lips curling.

Shinra stole a glance at the glass of water on the desk. "You're going to make Celty upset."

"Oh, just the Courier? Not the others you've mentioned before, like Souji-kun and Naoto-chan?"

"Especially Celty," Shinra corrected. "And you do realise you've just admitted that you're up to something that might put you in danger."

"Oops. I was actually referring to your tendency to obsess over the Courier and ignore everything else, but you turned it around and made this about me instead." Izaya gave a nonchalant shrug. "Well. Not that it really matters."

"It does when my darling is involved."

Izaya sent him a sideways glance. "So I didn't mishear you earlier. You really are jealous."

Shinra blinked. "Oh come now, Orihara-kun, I was just pretending. I don't have any reason to be jealous, you know? I mean, even without the kind of connection you and Celty are sharing, I can understand her and communicate with her just fine. Besides, my stance on the Head hasn't changed, so it really doesn't bother me at all."

"Really?" Izaya hummed thoughtfully. "Even if, say, the worst case scenario that your beloved Courier had no doubt already informed you about happens, you'll still maintain that sort of position about the Courier's Head?"

"If that happens, then all the more so." Shinra's reply was firm and unhesitant. "As far as I'm concerned, they're pretty much two different individuals, now. Even if they somehow return to how they were originally like, they would never be the same. They've both been in Ikebukuro for far too long, and have been in contact with many different people over the years. That's bound to have a different effect on the both of them. Like how genetically identical twins can grow up very differently depending on their environment."

"Ah," Izaya gave a noncomittal sound as he picked the glass up and gave it a light swirl. "But you seem to be forgetting that the situation with your Courier and her Head is far more complex than that. For you to be using that kind of analogy only proves it all the more. Think about it, Shinra. How did your beloved Courier manage to open the door in the first place?"

Shinra blinked, a quizzical expression on his face. "Door? You mean the one to the Velvet Room?"

"Close enough," Izaya accepted the guess.

"Well... What about it?"

"How do you think she managed to open it?" Izaya repeated his question instead of explaining, but it was enough for Shinra to get what he was driving at and so Shinra deflated slightly.

"...I see what you mean," Shinra mumbled. "But still, it doesn't mean they're still the same entity now."

"Yet," Izaya amended, but Shinra shook his head. Unperturbed and not giving his friend from middle school any opportunity to voice his objection, Izaya continued with his lips curling up slyly, "Ah ah, what was it about denial of your own personal truths or something that seems to be what everyone is talking about recently?"

"As expected of Orihara-kun! Trust you to actually turn other people's words around and pretend you're not doing the same!" Shinra couldn't help but exclaim in a slightly joking yet slightly — genuinely — upset manner. Lately talking to Izaya had been having that kind of effect on him.

"And trust you to make this conversation about me again," Izaya sighed quietly.

"Because it is about you," Shinra retorted. "I stayed up to talk to you, didn't I?"

"When you could have just waited until it was morning or a less unearthly hour instead?"

"Would you still be here for that to happen? I mean, obviously you were planning to slip out tonight."

"Shinra," Izaya spoke, without a hint of amusement in his eyes, "I got up to get a glass of water."

"Before you sneak out, right?"

Izaya gave a wry chuckle. "Seems like someone doesn't believe me."

"Because someone isn't being very honest with me," Shinra huffed. "Especially when that someone is going to put himself in danger — again."

The informant sent him a casual wave of his hand. "I assure you, Shinra, you and your beloved Courier have nothing to worry about."

"You're really that confident about this? We're talking about a supernatural being that just tried to kill you, you know?"

"I'm well aware," Izaya replied tersely. "Which is why I'm not planning on having any direct contact with it, you see. It can't do anything to me that way."

"Oh, but you do plan on contacting him," Shinra caught on easily. "Or to be more precise... You already did, haven't you? That's what you were doing with my phone the other day. You were trying to contact Anonymous-san online."

Izaya shrugged at that. "Well? Who knows? Anyone — or, should I say, anything — can pretend to be whoever they want to be in the realm of the Internet. There's no way to tell if the online handle belongs to your Anonymous-san or not, or whether Anonymous-san even has any online handle at all to begin with. I'm just taking a gamble and seeing if my guess is right."

"With your life as the betting chip, I see."

"You're exaggerating again. Like I said, I don't plan on having any direct contact with it. So even if I turn out to be right, I'm not going to meet up with it or anything like that, so you can tell your Courier to take it easy."

"Orihara-kun," Shinra's tone turned grave, "he can arrange for things to happen. You've experienced this first-hand. And if Celty is right, then..."

"...Hm? Right about what?" Izaya questioned when Shinra didn't elaborate further and fell into a sudden beat of silence instead.

Shinra shook his head. "Never mind, ignore me. I was just thinking that if Anonymous-san found out about the connection you share with Celty, he might drag Celty into this."

"Right. Of course the first person you'd be worried about is your Courier."

"Of course," Shinra echoed hollowly, trying to end that train of line there and then. 'No need for Orihara-kun to find out about that just yet...'

Thankfully, Izaya himself didn't seem keen on continuing that thread. Shinra supposed his answer must've had sufficed, but then the words of the manifestation of his friend's innermost darkness and secrets reverberated in his mind and he quickly supplemented, "But that doesn't mean Celty is the only person I'm worried about, Izaya. After all, you're my friend, and friends care about each other, right?"

His friend spared him a withering look before he rose to his feet. "I'm going back to sleep," was how Izaya chose to end the conversation, but Shinra would not have that.

Would not have this conversation end with yet another misunderstanding on Izaya's part.

"At least acknowledge the fact that we're friends before you go do that?"

The only response he received was the click of the door to Izaya's temporary room as it got closed shut.

In a private room in Russia Sushi, during lunch period

"...Are you serious?"

The one who had broken the silence had been Shizuo, gazing into the calm seas of grey of Souji's eyes, who was seated across him.

"We are," Souji affirmed, giving a curt nod. "And sincere."

"We could really use your help," Rise supplemented.

Shizuo couldn't give an immediate response. Instead, he tilted his head back and pondered, staring at the ceiling as though the answer was carved into it.

How did it get to this? He used that as a starting point and thought back to how this all started.

Ah, that was right. It began when a man in a business suit and wearing glasses approached him while he was on the move with Tom and Vorona to lunch. He had introduced himself as Inoue, the manager of the teen idol Risette — by now, Shizuo had heard the name often enough to remember that it also referred to Rise, that girl who could use a Persona — and he had come with a temporary job offer specially for "someone of Shizuo's talents". It sounded suspicious, and it wasn't like Shizuo was without a job, so he was about to turn him down until Rise herself made an appearance and insisted on treating Shizuo and his colleagues to lunch at Russia Sushi to express their sincerity and to clarify any doubts that Shizuo might have about the temp job offer.

Rise requested for two private rooms, to everyone else's slight confusion, and she had explained that it would make things easier for Inoue to speak with Shizuo and his coworkers — particularly Tom — separately. When Inoue didn't seem convinced, Rise then revealed that she wanted some time alone with Shizuo; she would need to get to know him better and they would need to be comfortable with and trust each other if he was to be her bodyguard, and the quickest way would be to start with this lunch session. It took a while before everyone agreed to such an arrangement, and the moment Rise was certain that Inoue wasn't hovering somewhere near the door and she and Shizuo were truly left alone, she pulled out her phone and said with a smile gracing her lips, "Coast is clear, Senpai~"

It didn't take long before the doors to the room opened and the two youths Shizuo recognised as Souji and Naoto stepped in. Shizuo barely had much time to react when Rise hurried them, saying that they needed to make this quick as they didn't have much time, and so Souji and Naoto very succintly explained the situation to him while ensuring that they had Shizuo's full understanding every now and then.

That was when the true temp job offer — if it could be called that — was presented to him:

"Will you lend us your strength?"

After playing through the events in his head and digesting them, Shizuo let out a quiet sigh and lowered his head until he met Souji's eyes again.

"...You're serious?" he repeated his earlier question. "I haven't tried it since then... I don't even know if I can get as good as you guys are at this."

"You'll be fine," Rise assured with a smile. "I can sense a great deal of power within your Persona. Sure, it's a little bit untamed, but that's normal since you only just obtained it. You'll get used to it after a while."

"And we can teach you," Souji added. "Even if you're not comfortable with helping us, we'd still be more than happy and honoured to teach you on how to use your Persona. It could come in handy in the future."

"Such as what is happening now," Naoto pointed out.

And Shizuo knew that what she was right. This whole thing about Personas and Shadows were supposed to be an entirely new world thrust upon him and the rest of Ikebukuro, but the more he learned about it the more he realised that it had been a part of their lives from the very beginning, way back when they were kids and probably even before that, and it didn't seem like it would be disappearing any time soon; in fact, it looked like the city would only get involved further. And if the kids were right about their theory about Golden Week, then things were about to escalate faster than any of them could predict. With their numbers down, it was no wonder they needed to turn to him for help. Even if they hadn't, Shizuo might've offered it at some point anyway.

In order to protect the city and the people around him...

Even if he had no idea how to use that newfound power of his, he would find out how.

He just hadn't been expecting that his strength would be needed so soon.

Still, his answer was the same.

"Of course I'm willing to help," Shizuo said softly, and then lowered his gaze to the cutlery in front of him. An image of the kids' full team and how they got along with each other flashed across his mind. He couldn't imagine himself in there, beside them. "But..."

Souji shared a look with the other two teammates who were present before redirecting his attention back to Shizuo. "You don't have to join us in order to do that, Heiwajima-san, if that's what you're concerned about."

Shizuo instantly raised his head to meet with Souji's firm gaze and encouraging smile.

"That's not..." Shizuo paused, and then corrected himself, "...Sorry."

"Please don't apologise," Souji replied, his voice full of understanding. "We're more than glad that you're willing to lend us your aid."

"Senpai," Rise cut in with a hushed voice, eyes darting to the screen of her smartphone, "think you and Naoto-kun need to either get going or get ready with a really good excuse in the next five minutes or less."

"Then I guess we'll need to make a move," Naoto spoke, rising to her feet. "It has been a pleasure to meet with you again, Heiwajima-san. Thank you for taking the time to listen, although we would also like to apologise for making this meeting so hasty."

"Ah, no... It's not a problem," was all Shizuo could say.

"We'll arrange a day and time when we can start teaching you on how to use your Persona, and Rise can let you know," Souji said.

"Why not tomorrow?"

Souji and Naoto nearly halted in their movement as they got up from their seats. Instead of turning towards the door, they briefly glanced at each other and then directed their attention back to Shizuo with smiles on their faces.

"I think it shouldn't be too much of a problem," Souji replied. "Though we'll need to ask Shinra-san and Celty-san if it's convenient..."

"You kids can leave that to me," Shizuo said, returning them with a smile of his own. "Now hurry on up. I'll let you guys know when Shinra and Celty reply."

"Alright then. Hope to see you tomorrow, Heiwajima-san."

"Just Shizuo's fine," Shizuo amended, tossing a nod at the present Investigation Team members. Souji and Naoto nodded back and promptly left the room before their presence could be discovered.

At around the same time, on the rooftop of Raira Academy

"...Sonohara-san... I wonder if she's alright."

Murmuring to himself, with an onigiri left unwrapped on his lap while gazing blankly at the porcelain tiles, was a lone boy who normally had lunch together with his friends at this time of the day, at this very rooftop, when the school term was ongoing.

"And Masaomi..."

As the name of his friend rolled off his tongue, the boy's mind drifted back to an earlier memory of a text message he had received early that morning. Then, as if making sure that the message had been real, he set his onigiri aside and brought out his phone.

Sorry Mikado, came down with a bad fever so I won't be able to meet you and go to school together today as we'd promised. I'll probably bounce back in tip-top shape in a couple of days, so don't get all worried, okay? Hope you and Anri get to catch up later on. See ya!

"...How can I not be worried, Masaomi?" Mikado muttered under his breath, his grip on his phone tightening until it started shaking.

'After all, you—'

Mikado was startled out of his thoughts when his phone vibrated continuously in his hand. Loosening his grip slightly, he brought the screen to his view. Upon noticing the identity of the caller, he answered the phone without a moment's hesitation.

"Have you found anything?" was the first thing that left his mouth, his voice low and monotonous.

The person who had contacted him called him out on that in response. "Really? No 'hello' or 'good afternoon' for me today, Mikado-senpai?"

Mikado gave a sheepish chuckle. "O-oh, I didn't realise. I must've been so anxious that it slipped my mind. Sorry about that, Aoba-kun. Oh and good afternoon! Did you have a good lunch?"

"...Well, as good as it could get, considering the work I had to do." Mikado could hear his kouhai's features twisting into a wry grimace in that reply.

"Ahaha, um, sorry for putting you through the trouble," Mikado apologised, before he continued in a less energetic tone, "So? Did you manage to find anything?"

"Of course. That's why I'm calling you directly instead of leaving a text," Aoba responded with a hint of deviance as he addressed his senior. Mikado made no mention of it as Aoba continued, "You were spot-on, Senpai. Anri-senpai had been fighting against Harima-senpai, who had disappeared from the hospital just a few hours before the incident. From what I've gathered, Anri-senpai was only acting in self-defense, but she still had a sword in her possession nonetheless and that was why the police was called in. There wasn't any official statement declaring that she was the Slasher's accomplice, that was all just a rumour that started spinning out of control over the Internet."

Mikado gulped. "...It started with the Dollars website, didn't it?"

"Mikado-senpai, you know that's hard to say for—"

"So what about Masaomi?" Mikado cut him off, leaving the matter concluded on that note. "Did you find out who was behind it?"

He heard Aoba sigh over the phone. "Senpai, I think the answer goes without saying at this point."

"I still want to hear it from you." Mikado's voice lowered as he added, "Please."

Aoba only gave his reply around half a minute later, as though he had spent the time considering how he ought to phrase his answer, steeling himself for what would result from the response he would give Mikado.

"It was the Dollars," Aoba finally said. "Just as you expected."

"...I see. So that's how it is."

"Mikado-senpai...?"

Mikado drew in a deep breath before releasing it in a huge sigh. "Waaah, I'd been hoping that wasn't the case. Because then I'd feel like I need to do something about it, and I can't act on those feelings because I also promised Masaomi and Sonohara-san that I wouldn't even consider something like that again."

"...Senpai, if I may?"

"Hmm? What is it, Aoba-kun?"

"This is just my personal opinion on the matter, and I mean absolutely no disrespect for what I'm about to say." Aoba took pause again. "Senpai. I think you need to start thinking for yourself about what it is that you truly want to do."

Mikado's heart lurched, like it had just skipped a beat. His eyes narrowed slightly, and when he next spoke his tone was firm and icy. "Aoba-kun, are you taunting me?"

"Absolutely not. Please don't get the wrong idea, Senpai." Mikado could hear the smug smile in Aoba's voice, a smile that reminded him of someone else who would wear the same expression while drawing the attention of Ikebukuro's beast and dashing all across Ikebukuro.

"Really," Mikado breathed, disbelieving. "Because it sounded like you were implying it."

"I told you, Senpai, I was just giving my opinion. If it sounded like anything else, then I apologise for causing the misunderstanding."

"...No," Mikado replied, shaking his head while his voice returned to its usual pitch. "No, no, I was...just being oversensitive. I'm sorry for accusing you like that, Aoba-kun."

"It's okay, Senpai, I understand."

Mikado could feel a bubble of laughter rising to his throat, but instead gave a shaky sigh of relief. There was nothing else that needed to be said or asked, and it seemed like that would be a good note to end the conversation on. So when Aoba resumed talking before Mikado could take the initiative to end the call, he recoiled slightly.

"But still, give it some thought." Aoba didn't need to elaborate for Mikado to understand what he was referring to. "After all, Senpai... You've been itching for a chance like this to pop up, haven't you?"

The words sent a chill down Mikado's spine. His skin started tingling, a high-pitched sound started ringing in his ears and his chest felt like it was on fire, a burning sensation snaking its way upwards and eating at his throat.

By the time he returned to his senses, the line on the other end had already been terminated.

A/N: ...I have no excuses /coughgraduationcoughworkcough/. I'm so sorry to have kept everyone waiting! This had been sitting in my drafts for the longest time and I haven't been writing anything for more than a year, so I was worried about inconsistencies in style but I decided to polish it and upload it anyway. Hope it's still worth your time reading it!

Also... It pains me to say this, but I've also currently lost the same degree of interest I had in DRRR and Persona back when I wrote this fic as I'm currently invested in a new obsession. But I did promise that I will finish this fic and also put up the sequel, and I intend to keep that promise, but it'll probably take much longer than I initially hoped it would... So sorry about that! I'll do my best to finish this without rushing it through, because I don't want to end up compromising on any part of the story just to finish it.