[Izaya's POV]

The informant braced himself as he stepped up to his sisters' hotel room once more, hesitating for only a minute before he gave a strong knock on their door. I can do this. I've been through worse, a hell of a lot worse. This is nothing.. She's just another human. Izaya told himself as he waited patiently, putting a smile onto his face when Kururi answered the door for him.

Unlike the first time he'd seen them, he stepped aside when Mairu shot through the door at him, Izaya wrapping his arms around her instead to keep her from planting her face on the floor when she tripped passed him. "Hey guys. Sorry I couldn't come yesterday; there was a lot of work." Izaya greeted, watching as both of them nodded in understanding. Despite all of their energy and the mayhem they brought along with them, the two did understand what it meant to be busy - they weren't strangers to school finals, at this point.

Mairu trotted backwards out of his arms when she righted herself and made a sweeping motion into the room behind them, inviting him in. "Come on in! We got snacks, video-games and free wifi, so don't try to tell us that you need to leave anytime soon!"

"Mom's next door." Kururi announced for him when Izaya started casting glances around the mostly empty room. Guess she wanted to put off meeting up, too.. the informant noted, still smiling at his sisters as they dropped onto one of the beds.

"Alright." Izaya replied, not eager to see the woman who had trapped him in this cage of a job. The twins came over to him and started asking about how he'd been in Tokyo, what it was really like to live here, how the people and schools were lately. They had both been away from the area for so long that it was no wonder they were curious, wanting to see if it had changed, developed or just stayed the same in the last few years of their absence.

With all of the trouble he'd been through during high-school; his forced separation from his sisters and mother, him constantly being on call, the constant fear of him being caught and thrown in jail or killed by some unknown third-party; around his third and last year, his mother had decided to leave him there so he 'wouldn't have distractions' or 'something weighing on his shoulders'. Izaya was given rights to their old apartment while his mom took herself and both of his sisters back to live with their grandparents again, safe in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city and it's dark undergrounds.

Of course, I was born from a coward. Izaya noted to himself, smile still plastered on his face as he made up some easy lies about certain things, claiming he was still single even though the two knew better, avoiding the questions of his work and pass times, letting them know what he thought about the kids in the area lately. When Mairu and Kururi's questions got a little more specific, like what fashion styles were super popular in the area at the time, the informant couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. "Hey, why are you asking me all these questions?" the informant finally asked, the smile falling from his face a little bit as he watched the two stare back at him.

"We're just curious! People say that everyone's kinda the same wherever you go, so we're just seeing if it's true~" Mairu spouted, the calm in her voice and the tilt of her head being the first things to make a red flag go up in Izaya's mind. He stared at her for a moment, silently challenging her to take back her lie, if she was lying, before he turned his gaze over to Kururi. The other twin at least had the decency to look guilty under his gaze, even though she didn't say anything when prompted. Mairu tried to cover for her. "Seriously, we're just curious! It runs in the family or something, you know that! You're always watching people while they do stuff so you can know what they're about; it's the same thing."

Mairu, you're supposed to be the one that's good at lying. Izaya mentally sighed, a bad feeling welling up in his stomach. He glanced at the door connecting their room to adjoined one, the one their mother was most likely staying in, and held in an actual sigh at the sudden need he felt to see her. "Mom's in that room there, right?" he asked, getting a nod from both siblings as he stood up and walked over to it, knocking lightly to gain her attention. After a couple minutes, the lock sounded and the door opened, a woman that looked almost like a copy of him, if not a bit shorter and thicker, standing beyond it. Izaya didn't bother looking her over to see if she had changed much, if she did then it would be a blessing, but if she hadn't - well, he didn't really care to know how much he'd grown into her.

"Ah, Izaya~ It's so good to see you again!" his mother greeted, coming through the door with her arms open for him, waiting for him to return the hug she engaged. He didn't really, just setting a hand on her back heavily enough for her to let it count. He was never one for hugs and if given the choice, he would sooner hug Shizu-chan.

Kyouko pulled away from him, still wearing that smile that she'd been giving him ever since he'd been invited back 'home'. Invited back to the hell he now lived in.

He pushed away his thoughts before he could scowl, his face neutral for now. "Hello, Kyouko. How have you been in the countryside? How are Torakichi and Natsu doing?" the informant suddenly asked, trying to get a conversation rolling so she would invite him into the other room, away from his sister's ears. He had a suspicion of why they were really here, and his sisters could already sense that he knew, but he just had to double check with her.

"Oh, things have been well, not too many bugs in the house or anything." Kyouko replied, faking a small laugh as she acted happy. Izaya could tell she hated being here just about as much as Izaya didn't want to be here. There was no way for her to ever make up to him what she'd done and she knew that, Izaya knew that she knew that, but the woman was persistent on trying to act like they were still a happy family. Not a close one, but a happy one.

After her initial comment, the smile went away just a little, her eyes turning sadder than usual. They were the only thing he cared to look at, so of course he noticed. His mother stood aside just a little bit before gesturing for him to come into the room, which he quickly obliged to. Mairu and Kururi were left back in their room as the door shut, ominously quiet throughout the whole conversation between their brother and mom.

When the door was shut behind them, Kyouko turned to him, the smile melting away. "Your grandparents are actually why we're here, Izaya. They.. they passed away just a while ago. I'm sorry." Kyouko sighed, eyes turning to the floor as silence developed between them.

Chapter 103!

Wow, my rhythm really is back with this.. I'm already starting the next chapter, and I'm not even half way through the school day yet!

This is awesome guys~

I hope you feel the same way, because this probably means sooner updates for a while, hopefully everyday again. I can't wait for it ^^

But what do you guys think? I tried to keep the twins interaction to a minimum this chapter, just there enough for plot purposes; this chapter really was supposed to focus mainly on Izaya's mom though, so that's another reason.

I kinda get what you said about Mairu, Beato, she does need to be a little more hyper - I'm just thinking pretty hard on how to write down such a big personality; I'm not used to it at all. So, I tried to make her a little more outgoing in the beginning and gave myself a break with her lying later on.

The twins are around 12 right now in the story, too, for anyone who's wondering - they still have another two years before they're the masters of trickery we know them to be in the anime, so I'm also keeping that to my advantage. Hope no one minds ^^;

I hope you all liked this chapter! Favorite, follow and review to see more!