Mikado felt very bittersweet when the day of his graduation ceremony came. He had to give a speech as the valedictorian and as he looked over the sea of faces he'd come to recognize over the last four years, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
He could see his parents and friends that had come to the ceremony to congratulate him - smiling, looking happy and proud despite everything. He delivered his speech, looking every bit the perfect student in his suit and glasses.
Mikado received his certificate with a heavy heart because he knew that while graduation signaled the end of school life and the start of adulthood, for him, it was also the end of his life in Ikebukuro. As he left the building and found his parents.
"You're all grown up now, son." His father smiled patting him on the shoulder as his mother cried and hugged him claiming that he was still her baby boy. With the way they were acting, it was like they knew what Mikado was about to do.
"You did it man!" Masaomi grinned while patting him on the back.
"Congratulations." Anri bowed handing him a bouquet of flowers with a small smile and a slight blush on her cheeks. Mikado thanked them all with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes but no one noticed.
"What do you say we all go out to celebrate?" Mikado's dad suggested enthusiastically making Masaomi cheer. "What do you want Mikado?"
"Oh…um, what about barbeque?" the teen replied, trying to think of a place that wouldn't cost his father an arm and a leg. "I mean, my friends and I are all going out for sushi tomorrow, so I don't need anything grand." He told them as they started walking towards the main part of the city.
"It's gonna be so good! Everyone's going to be there!" Masaomi excitedly grinned and Mikado smiled.
"Yeah." Mikado agreed with a forced smile.
Dinner had been fun, Mikado tried to enjoy it as much as possible. He even let his overbearing mother take as many photos as she wanted. This, after all, would be the last time Mikado would ever see them.
When it was over, Mikado walked his parents back to the train station listening to his dad talk about work and their hometown. As they reached their platform, Mikado turned to his parents with a completely honest expression, he had so much to say but couldn't find the words to express how much his parents meant to him but Mikado knew it was his last chance so he tried his hardest.
"I want…I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You raised me, you always made sure I was well fed and clothed. You put me through school and let me move to Ikebukuro. I'm sorry about everything that happened last year, I know it was hard on you. You even let me stay here and finish school despite it all. I really love you guys, you honestly mean the world to me." Mikado could feel tears starting to burn his eyes as he spoke.
"I know I couldn't have asked for better parents, you guys have done so much for me and I'm really grateful." The teen bowed deeply.
"Oh, Mi-chan!" His mother exclaimed in tears, she rushed forward to hug him and he hugged her back tightly. "Of course! We wouldn't do anything less for you! We love you!" she exclaimed tears pouring down her face.
His father smiled and hugged them both. "That's right, we love you, Mikado."
"I love you too." Mikado sniffed as he pulled back to wipe away his tears and his mother did the same.
"You two are so alike." His father laughed good-naturedly, ruffling Mikado's and his mother's inky locks affectionately as the train pulled up on the platform. "I'm sure you'll make us proud Mikado." His father smiled before leading his still crying mother onto the train.
"We miss you already Mi-chan!" she called out as she boarded the train, they stood by the doors and as they started to close Mikado smiled, tears streaming down his face.
"I'll miss you too and I'm sorry…"
The doors closed and the train sped off, his parents waved. Mikado watched it go until it was out of sight, unable to stop his tears from running down his face.
"Goodbye...Mum…Dad…please, forgive me."
The next day Mikado woke up to a rather large package on his doorstep. He took a sharp breath and stared at it for a moment. He knew it was the package. He picked it up surprised that it was actually kind of heavy.
He set it down in the middle of his room and found a kitchen knife to open it with. Taking a deep breath, Mikado opened the box revealing a small navy blue travel suitcase, he pulled it out with a curious expression. There was a handwritten note on the front, that messy, wobbly scroll that he knew now belonged to Izaya.
[OpEN mE]
Mikado took another deep breath to calm himself before opening the suitcase, of course, there was a letter on the top of everything.
He opened the thick envelope, and started reading the first of many pages -
{My dearest Mikado,
Congratulations on graduating high school! I wish I could have been there. I'm sure you looked utterly gorgeous delivering your speech to everyone. I wonder if you wore a suit or a kimono? I know you would look good in both, well actually, I've seen you wear both so I know you look good.
That aside, I hope you've reached a decision. As I've said before this is entirely your decision, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. You, in no way, have to force yourself to come here or stay in Ikebukuro. Please forget everyone and think about what you want.
If you plan on not leaving Ikebukuro, my goodbye for you is on the next page to save you from reading through this entire letter. If you are joining me, this letter continues after that.
[Ryugamine Mikado –
I want to apologise for everything I've done. I don't deserve forgiveness so I won't ask for it but I want to say how truly sorry I am for everything I did to you and your friends. It made sense to me then, I honestly thought I was invincible and things would always go my way without fail and my actions had no consequences but I know now, that karma is real and I shall pay for my crimes every day for the rest of my life.
I love you and if another one of my punishments is to lose you then I will gladly accept that along with the rest of this pain. From the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. You were so bright and full of life, so utterly beautiful. I felt so blessed the first time I held you in my arms, those memories I'll hold dear in my heart until the day I die.
I'll always love you no matter what. I pray for your happiness and will hope that you find someone better than me. Someone who treats like I should have because you are so utterly precious and I cannot express how much you mean to me.
Thank you, for the time that you gave me. I'll never forget it, the time we shared together.
I love you. I'm sorry,
Goodbye Mikado.
Forever yours,
Orihara Izaya.]
If you are going to run away with me then I promise I will devote everything I am to you.
It's frightening that I can't express myself properly in these letters. I was hurting so much when I wrote that goodbye, I poured my heart and soul into it but when I read it back…I hope can feel my emotions in these words.
If you are going to run away with me then I promise I will devote everything I am to you. I cannot promise things will be easy at first, I'm not the same person I used to be. My entire life has completely changed, everything is a struggle even going to the bathroom.
But I'm sure in time, things will get easier. I have a long way to go before I can learn to get around and do things again with struggling. But once I do that, I'm sure we'll find somewhere nice to settle down and live happily.
I can't wait to start a new life with you but I know what I am asking is terrible. I'm sure it must be painful but once the people give up searching or forget about me, you can contact your friends and family once more. I am sorry that you have to say goodbye to them at all just to be with me. If I hadn't been such a terrible monster, we could have lived in Ikebukuro together, surrounded by the people we know but I've done too much, hurt the city too badly, it will never allow me to return.
For now, I can instruct you on how to run away perfectly. One the next page is what you should do if you want to come and find me.
Your train is for 4:15 am on the twenty-first of March from Ikebukuro Station.
I know, it's on your 20th birthday, what a day for new beginnings, right?
-Please pack all the things you will need into the suitcase I've sent you. (Clothes, legal forms, Etc.)
-Pack up your apartment and either destroy your computer or hard drive. I will arrange for someone to dispose of your leftover belongings and cancel your lease once you've left.
-Once at the train station, I want you to send a text message to everyone and say that you're leaving and ask them not to look for you. That way the police can't file you as a missing person.
-Once sent, please destroy or throw away your phone, please note that this will the last time you will be able to speak to anyone for some time.
-Please board the train, there is an envelope with some money in it for you to buy some food or drinks as you will be on the train for quite some time.
-There is a new phone inside this suitcase for you. I will text you the station where you have to get off the train and my address once you come close to my destination.
-I have put a GPS on that phone so I know whether you have decided to come or not.
-You will have to walk from the station to where I am staying, I will also send you a map and my room number.
I hope these instructions are clear enough for you to understand. I tried to make them as easy to understand as possible because I was scared of you getting confused.
I hope you follow these instructions and on the early morning of your birthday, we can start our new life together.
I should stop writing as this as I'm sure this is a lot to take in. Perhaps in a few days, I won't have to type out any more letters and I can actually talk to you face-to-face.
I love you, Mikado.
And I hope to see you soon.
Love always, Orihara Izaya. }
Mikado took a shaky deep breath and nodded. He knew exactly what he had to do now. The teen looked over the contents of the suitcase and carefully picked up the train ticket noting it was a bullet train.
"Izaya…" he murmured his eyes starting to burn
Soon...soon, they would be together again.
Soon, they could start over.