Cruel truth

Mikado was feeling the strain. His spirit was being crushed under the boredom of everyday life. The hours dragged painfully slow. His parents especially his mother tried to placate him with games but it wasn't enough. The loss of technology was a small blow compared to what else he had lost. His parents were accommodating yet he was starving. For the warmth of his lovers and the excitement of the town.

His legs felt useless since the bed was where he stayed unless using the toilet or when his father complained he wasn't spending enough time with his mother. Everything was becoming static, the raven stuck in a tedious routine. There was no need to think about anything. His path was set out before him like a clockwork toy. It wouldn't be long until his mother came to tell him dinner would be ready soon. It would be his favourite again. The same meal set in front of him like it was a loop. The same routine, the same food, the same questions.

"You were the one that wanted to stay." Kanra whispered quietly smothering a yawn. "The longer you stay, the worse things will become."

"No." Mikado disagreed shaking his head. "The door isn't locked any more. My parents are coming to terms with my return." At least that was what he hoped. His counterpart said nothing choosing to ignore him.

x-x-x

Mikado paced his room for the umpteenth time that morning. It was one simple question. One request that wouldn't necessary guarantee his death. All he had to do was ask his parents if he could go home.

Gathering his courage, the raven left his room in search of his mother and father. Both of them were downstairs sitting on the sofa. Taking the steps one at a time, Mikado paused eavesdropping on their conversation.

"You should be going back to work soon. My boss already called. There's only so much time I can take off without getting fired."

"I will. I wanted to make sure everything was okay here first. I'll go back tomorrow."

"Are you going to tell him?" Mikado craned forward trying to listen closer. "They were close."

"Not right now. He'd only want to go running back. This way our son stays safe." Wordlessly Mikado trudged back up the stairs. His parents had no intention of letting him go.

"It sounds like something happened." Kanra helpfully supplied.

"They would tell me if it was anything bad." Mikado uttered quietly. Only moments ago had he just heard his father say that something had happened. To his friends? To Izaya? Shizuo?

"You're sure about that, hm?" Kanra tilted her head, cold humour in her eyes. "Tomorrow there's only your doting mother in the house."

Mikado closed his eyes. He didn't want to cause his parents any more pain. "Let me see if there's any information in the house. If that doesn't work out..."

"Then we do it my way."

"Yeah." He just hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

x-x-x

With his father's absence, Mikado's mother became his shadow following him around, giving him loving looks and genuinely messing up his plan to search the house. Every time he thought she'd left him alone, the woman would pop back up like a phantom. Her tenacity was terrifying.

So much so that an entire day had been wasted trying to avoid suspicion. Another day blind to the world trapped in a prison of his own making. Not that he let his disgruntlement show. No. Like the good, polite boy his parents loved, Mikado played happy families. Maybe if he closed his eyes he could believe this was what he really wanted.

"Ryugamine-san. What's the plan now?" Almost. Kanra was becoming more desperate. His parents knew something was up. It probably wouldn't be long until he was taken to a therapist. She did raise a good point though. Did his parents plan on keeping him in the house indefinitely.

"Mikado? What do you mean? You don't want to go back to that awful place, do you?"

"I didn't mean Ikebukuro." Mikado quickly took over. "I was talking about here in Saitama."

"Oh!" His mother looked pleasantly surprised. "We didn't think that far ahead. Do you think you're ready? Maybe a few more days..."

"Maybe. I just wanted to take my mind off things." Mikado smiled ending the subject. In the back of his mind he knew the good boy act wouldn't work. It was down to Kanra's methods.

x-x-x

"Did I mention I hate your clothes?" Kanra complained looking at his choice.

"Frequently." Mikado whispered. "Be quiet. We don't know if they're asleep."

"Yes we do. Can't you hear the snoring?" Kanra chuckled under her breath. "I'm surprised you got any sleep as a kid."

"They're my parents. Don't insult them!" Mikado tugged off his pyjama pants reaching for the jeans set out. "I don't want them getting hurt."

Kanra shook her head pulling on the white and green hooded sweatshirt. It was a little on the short side leaving her wrists on view. "Too late for that. I'm going back to Ikebukuro."

"Kanra..."

"If you don't like it, stay out of my way!"

Mikado stayed silent wanting no part in what they were about to do. Kanra was already tiptoeing across to his parents' room. The door opened a touch allowing their slim fingers to gently ease the door open enough to get through.

In the darkness they passed across the soft carpet towards the bedside table. Two sets of snoring could be heard on the bed. Slowly they dropped to their knees, crawling at the side of the bed. Mikado didn't utter a sound yet inside he was squirming at the crime they were committing.

In their hands was his mother's handbag. Clutching it tightly they lifted themselves to a crouch, quickening their retreat. Mikado quietly closed the door flopping down on the bed. "What did we just do?" He groaned quietly. "I just stole from my mother!"

"Oh shut up." Kanra hissed back emptying the contents on the bed. "Let's see phone, wallet, keys. There's enough in here for a ticket and maybe a couple of meals."

"I stole from my mother." Mikado repeated. "I'm a horrible son."

"Yeah you are." Kanra grinned taking the phone and the money out of the wallet. Stuffing the contents into the front pocket, they slipped out of the bedroom, tiptoeing down the stairs and out of the front door.

x-x-x

"The number you have dialled is no longer in service." Mikado listened to the same message for the umpteenth time. They had agreed on trying to call Izaya. Surely if it had come from his mother or father's phone then Izaya would pick up.

"Did you get the number wrong?" Kanra asked already typing in the number again.

"I know Izaya's number." Mikado argued. "See it's the same thing."

"So something happened to Izaya-nii?"

"Or he changed his number."

"Which means he didn't want us or my parents contacting him." Kanra concluded. "So we have been abandoned."

"Maybe not." Mikado sighed trying to think of the positives. Kanra was on tenter hooks as it was. Not to mention she was the craftiest out of the two of them.

They would find out soon anyway. The ticket for the train had been purchased, leaving only the waiting. "I'm not getting through. Do you think Shizuo abandoned me?"

"I don't think so." Mikado murmured through chattering teeth. Stuffing the phone back in his pocket, the raven folded his arms wishing he had brought a coat along for the journey. "What time is the train?"

"Last one is in fifteen minutes." Kanra answered. "Your parents shouldn't know we're gone until morning. There is one problem."

"What's that?" Mikado looked around in the darkness of the station.

"You're dead. To everyone in Ikebukuro I mean. It's going to be trouble if you turn up like that."

"I'm not dressing as a girl!"

"Why not? You think I like dressing as a boy? We both have to make sacrifices here or we'll be the sacrifices. I'd hate to think of what the gangs will do if they find you. Maybe another trip to the flames."

Mikado shuddered and not because of the cold. Kanra was right. The only allies he had in Ikebukuro were his lovers and those that were still his friends. His overprotective parents had basically imprisoned him upon knowing he was alive.

"Ah. The train is here." Kanra chirped rubbing their hands together. "At least we get to be warm whilst we wait."

"...yeah."

Apart from the two passengers that got off, Mikado was the sole person on the train. Walking through the empty carriages, he made his way to the front choosing the best seat that would hide him. Just in case his parents did find out he was gone.

"Shouldn't we get rid of the phone?" Kanra tugged the hood over her head. "How do you deal with short hair? It's so boring."

"I'm a boy." Mikado pointed out resting his head against the window.

"So? It feels good when Izaya-nii and Shizuo play with it. Right? You should definitely grow it out."

"I like it short."

"Well I like it long." Kanra sulked. "Do you think Izaya-nii found Shizuo?"

"You already asked me that. I hope so."

"So it's just the two of them together? Like a happily married couple."

Mikado shuddered feeling Kanra's mood drop drastically. "Izaya and Shizuo would never be like a happily married couple. They wouldn't have even got together if not for you."

"That's true. They'd be a mess without me. They'll still have their rough play. Did you know they go out of their way to be gentle with me? Izaya-nii will be so happy to see me."

x-x-x

Mikado sat still, curled up in his seat. The train was moving now. Kanra kept turning around to peer over the seat. The carriages were empty and there was no sign of his parents.

"We made it."

"Not yet. We're not in Ikebukuro yet."

"That's true. Will Izaya-nii really be happy to see us?"

"I don't know Kanra." Mikado was trying to be polite but the girl was irritating with the same questions.

"Boring. No wonder you died."

"I wanted to be extraordinary, not obnoxious." Mikado murmured staring out of the window. There was little to see except for the darkened sky and blurs of trees.

"I'm not obnoxious. I'm happy being me. I'm the opposite to you in every way." Kanra fidgeted sitting cross legged in their seat.

"The only thing we have in common is Izaya and Shizuo." Mikado sighed placing his feet back on the floor. "We're almost there."

x-x-x

Ikebukuro. Mikado stepped off the train minding other people. This time he didn't have any luggage with him. All he had was his mother's phone that didn't connect to the Internet and what was left in his mother's wallet.

"Let's go!" Kanra was excited to be back wanting to run ahead. Mikado was more reserved a dark foreboding stopping him from moving. "Come on! Izaya-nii is waiting."

Lowering his head, his fingers nervously tugged the hood down as far over his face as it would go. It was still dark out and that was when the gangs were most active. All it would take is one glimpse by the wrong person and they were in trouble. Everything he and Izaya worked so hard for would go down the drain.

"Mi-ka-do~! What's taking so long? Not scared are you?"

"We can't be here." Mikado clutched at his chest. "Not me. I can't be seen."

"We won't be seen. Let's call a cab."

"We don't have the money to pay for one."

"No. But Izaya-nii does. We can collect the money after. It's the quickest way home. You do want to go home, right?"

"Yeah." Mikado's eyes flicked from left to right as he slowly straightened up. "I want to see them just as badly."

"Doubtful. I love Izaya-nii and Shizuo the most!" Kanra grinned taking the phone from her pocket. "It's lucky your mother doesn't delete anything. Here we go."

x-x-x

"Why are you out so late?" The driver asked. Mikado sighed leaning back against the seat. "It would have been better to arrive in the morning."

"It was an emergency." Kanra answered. "We didn't even have time to pack. Thanks for still being open."

"Well it's for people like you. The streets are dangerous at night."

"That's true." Kanra grinned. "All the gangs and the nightlife."

"Not to mention the crazy shit that happened last week. You chose a good time to come back."

"Crazy shit? Like what?"

"You didn't hear about it? Where were you? Under a rock? The gangs went at it like it like they had nothing to lose. Half of the members on each side were hospitalised but get this. They say it was all orchestrated by one guy. Must be one hell of a guy to cause that much damage!"

"Hehe." Kanra smiled. "It's Izaya-nii."

"You're here to see your brother?"

"Mmhm. It's just down this road." Kanra instructed. "Third buil-what?"

"What's wrong? Oh that building? There was a fire last week. The apartment at the top was the cause. The windows blew out. The firefighters managed to save the building but it's burnt out. It's scheduled for demolition."

Kanra stared up at the blackened stone. There was nothing left, just a hollowed out shell. "It's not anything to cry about."

Kanra sniffled. "It's my home." The place where she, Izaya and Shizuo had been living.

"Oh. Well they didn't find any bodies or anything so...is there anywhere else you want to go?"

"I don't have enough money." Kanra sobbed.

"That's okay. I can imagine it's a shock for you. Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Kanra shook her head numbly. First Shizuo and now Izaya. Everyone was disappearing.