Arc 1: The American Psycho [II]

Chapter: The Other Kanra.

Sometimes he didn't know his own strength. Perhaps he had swung the chair a bit too hard. The wooden chair had shattered on impact and the man he hit was flung sideways, where he collapsed to the floor and lay there completely lifeless. He could be faking it, he thought. Hikigaya waited, holding one of the broken legs of the chair for the man to get up, but when he didn't, he moved closer to inspect the body. But not before he picked up the silenced pistol and checked how many rounds it had. It was better to be safe than sorry. For all he knew, he could be faking it, waiting for the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on him.

Hikigaya lightly kicked him on the leg. "Hey CJ. Wake up."

No answer.

Not good. Though he didn't feel sorry for what he did - the man broke into his hotel room, tried to kill him multiple times, he was armed to the teeth, had a silenced pistol, a desert eagle and an uzi – he didn't want his death on his conscience. Besides, he had just arrived in Ikebukuro. He didn't want to be saddled with a murder rap just yet. Although, given the circumstance, no court would hold him guilty. He had acted completely in self defense.

Wait. He was over thinking things. He hadn't even made sure whether he was dead or not. Sure, he had hit him in the back of the head, but that didn't mean he had killed him. Not that he wanted to kill him. He was just caught up in the moment and acted on pure adrenaline. Not good. He had to make sure. He moved closer to the body, sat on his heels and checked for a pulse.

He will live.

But he was knocked out cold. Good. Time to get some answers. He started to go through his pockets one by one and what he found made one thing abundantly clear- he was dealing with a full-fledged psycho. He had another gun, a 9mm and a sawn-off shotgun. And a grenade. Hikigaya had no idea why he had a grenade in the first place. Did his plans involve blowing stuff up? How American. Either way, it was better to not leave these things lying around.

"Hurm."

Hikigaya found a white envelope in his jacket pocket. But he didn't open it yet, because he was more interested in the other object he had retrieved. It was a knife, a combat knife to be exact. But it was strange and unlike any knife he had ever seen. He couldn't really explain it. For one thing, the blade was pitch black. It looked sharp but he couldn't really identify the metal. Somehow it looked out of this world, like it was crafted by beings not necessarily human, using skills and abilities not known to man. It also had a small red ruby attached to the bottom of the hilt, so it must be worth a small fortune.

Hikigaya pocketed the knife. He had always been a sucker for a good blade. It might prove useful in the future. From what he had seen so far, it was better to stay armed and ready. Though he wasn't stupid enough to head into battle with just a cool looking knife. If it came down to it and he got involved in a firefight, he would just borrow one of CJ's guns. He had plenty of them.

Now to look for his phone. Thankfully, it had remained completely unscathed during their short battle, tucked away in the confines of his trouser pocket and he wasted no time taking it out. Without thinking too much, he entered a few digits and it turned out to be the correct password. Hikigaya smiled to himself and dialed the last number CJ had called - Kanra. The person on the other side of the phone answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

The person was using a voice modulator. But one thing was clear –

"You are not Kanra."

The person laughed. "I am Kanra. Just not the one you met at Anteiku."

Realization slowly dawned on him. "Izaya Orihara."

"At you service, Hikigaya-kun. Sorry we couldn't meet at Anteiku. I for one have never been a fan of interviews. How do you expect me to hire someone, just by listening to them answer some useless questions? 'Tell me about yourself', 'Why should I hire you?', 'Where do you see yourself in five years?' – What a load of crap. Do you honestly expect to receive a truthful answer to any of these questions? Of course not. In interviews, success or failure is depended on who tells the more convincing lies. But I'm an information broker. I deal with the truth. So, I prefer a different approach, a more practical approach. I like to test things out. It's like buying a new pair of sneakers. Ah, I can be so mean sometimes. I just compared you to a pair of footwear. Please don't take offense, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya decided to be a smartass about it. "I think I am more offended by your attempts to have me killed. Not cool man. I haven't even slept with you sister yet."

It didn't have the desired effect. "What happens between you and my sister is entirely between you and her. I am not interested. Besides, from what I understand there was a slight misunderstanding. Carl was there to send you a message. Didn't I send you a text saying the same thing?"

Hikigaya remembered the text he had received from an unknown number. It simply read – A man named 'CJ' will break into your place to deliver a 'message'. The text was meant to be misinterpreted. He checked CJ's phone and he too had received a text – 'CJ, I want you to send a 'message'. When you are done, leave the envelope on the bed and stick the knife in a pillow.' Hikigaya looked at the upturned bed and the pillows lying on the floor. A couple had bullet holes in them. There were feathers everywhere. This time he didn't blame Carl. From what he understood, both of them got played.

"Was there a point to any of this?" Hikigaya asked. "Or do you just like messing with people for your own sick and twisted amusement. One of us could have been killed."

"Ah, but it wouldn't be you, right? After all, you are incredibly lucky?" He could feel the bastard smile. "It's almost like magic."

Hikigaya fell silent. For a second, he was rooted to the spot where he was standing. The mess in the room reflected his own inner turmoil. But in the next instant, he was moving again, looking around, inspecting the room. He didn't talk, but it didn't deter Izaya the least. He continued in his own vein.

"Magic is a wonderful thing, isn't it? I feel jealous of wizards and mages. They can do all kinds of cool stuff. But I don't think you are a wizard, Hikigaya-kun. Otherwise you would have fought off Carl with magic. Unless you are really into keeping the whole thing a secret. In which case, I'm sorry for uncovering your secret. Well, not really. In fact, I think you kinda cheated. I had my suspicions that you might know a thing or two about brewing potions. Back in Anteiku, you figured out really quickly that you had been dozed with a truth serum. But I had no idea you would be carrying a vial of Liquid Luck with you. Hey, why are you not saying anything? Am I boring you?"

"No. Please continue." He stepped over Carl's body and went to inspect a portrait hanging on the wall. "I consider it an occupational hazard to listen to crazy people talk. Don't mind me. I'm just looking for the bugs and hidden cameras you have installed in this place."

Izaya hummed. "But why though? It would be a total waste of effort. I hired a really good spy to bug your room. Even now when the room is completely messed up and riddled with bullet holes, a few of the listening devices and cameras are working fine. Speaking of which, Carl is about to blow your brains out!"

Hikigaya slowly turned around, CJ's phone pressed to his ear and stared at a completely livid looking Carl who was holding an Uzi to his face.

"Night, night, asshole."

Carl pulled the trigger.

Hikigaya faced death without blinking.

"What the -!"

For some unexplainable reason, the Uzi refused to mow down Hikigaya in a hail of bullets. The submachine gun got jammed. Carl looked bewildered. He pulled back and inspected the weapon, forgetting his would be target, who turned out to be quite a capable man, who could handle himself in a fight, was just standing inches away from him, holding a silenced pistol. Thankfully, Hikigaya was in no mood to continue the fight.

"I'm putting you on speaker." Hikigaya told Izaya. "Please explain the situation to Carl."

"Okay~" Izaya sang.

That should have been his first clue, because as soon as Hikigaya put him on speaker, Izaya ordered. "Carl! Shoot him with your Desert Eagle!"

"You got it homie."

Carl pulled out his Desert Eagle and pointed it at Hikigaya's head.

Hikigaya sighed. It had been a long day. He was tired. He was jetlagged. And he had to talk down a lunatic with a gun using just reason and common sense. Even while under the effect of a potion which made you incredibly lucky, Hikigaya found himself cursing his rotten luck.

"Carl, listen to me. Before our fight I drank a potion which blessed me with incredibly good luck. How else do you think I won our little fight? You are up against magic, Carl. And so far you have been incredibly lucky. The Uzi got jammed. No problem. You are still okay. But if you fire that gun, I guarantee something bad will happen. For all you know, the gun could blow up. Now, it wouldn't kill you, but it will seriously mess up your hand." He gave him a steely eyed look. "Kanra is playing you. He is playing the both of us. Think carefully before making your next move."

Carl kept pointing the gun at Hikigaya's face. He noticed the other man didn't look remotely scared. He had his silenced pistol with him, but he hadn't bothered to raise it and aim it at his direction. That was some next level shit. Turns out this dude was a real gangsta. Just like him.

CJ lowered the gun and offered him a hand to shake. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Name's Carl Johnson."

The young man shook his hand. "Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Ah, would you look at that! You made a new friend." He had completely forgotten about Izaya on the phone. He sounded more chipper than before. "You know that's an important aspect of this job. Making friends. Especially with your enemies. I think this is true about life as well. Who has time for enemies in this world? If you ask me, it's very unproductive. And bad for your health. Take me for example: I love humans! I love them so very much. Don't you love humans, Hikigaya-kun?"

He didn't know where he was going with this, but he decided to humour him.

"Love is a strong word. It's more like I have to tolerate the rest of humanity."

"What's with that answer? You are so weird. CJ, what about you?"

Carl was busy checking his guns, making sure there was nothing wrong with them and the sudden question aimed at him caught him off guard. He had an answer though.

"I love my homies. The rest can go fuck themselves."

Hikigaya found himself nodding along.

However Izaya had a lot to say on the matter.

"I expect nothing else from a former gangbanger. But CJ, you really need to get rid of that ghetto mentality. If I remember correctly, didn't your homies betray you back home? They killed your mom and shot your brother and now he is in prison. And you are no closer to getting him out. Grove Street, the place you called home is finished. It's over. It's in your past. But I guess you can never really run from your past. Sooner or later it shows up like ugly, green graffiti on a brand new wall. You apply a new coat of paint over it and cover it up, but it's no use. There's something wrong with the neighbourhood. A couple of days pass and the same old ugly, green graffiti is back on your wall again. Grove Street 4 Life…" Izaya trailed off, before adding in a completely different, much more colder and cruller voice. "What a joke."

"Motherfucker!" Carl snatched the phone from Hikigaya and threw it against the wall. Just from the sound it made when it hit the wall, he knew that he would need to buy a new phone. This one was beyond repair. But he didn't really care. "Damn, I hate that crazy fool!"

Hikigaya had nothing to contribute to the conversation. Izaya Orihara was bad news. He was a manipulative bastard who liked to play mind games. He liked to play both sides and reveled in the anarchy and chaos he spread in other people's lives. He didn't love humans. He just loved toying with them. In other words, it was better if he didn't get involved with this person in the future.

"Wanna go grab a drink?" CJ asked.

Now here was a guy who knew what was best for him. And to think he was sent here to kill him. "Sure. But you are buying."

Carl chuckled. "For sure."

And just when he thought everything was going to be alright, Hikigaya received a text on his phone:

[Hey! Just a heads up. An assassin is after you! Stay safe - Kanra]