It was an incident that helped her feel that it was okay for her to not have a head and still be allowed to live her life. If the Dollars hadn’t existed, that incident might never have been resolved the way it was. The fact that she was a member of the team, and the truth that she was indeed a part of this city, was helping her find personal salvation.
How can I use this situation to repay that debt? Should I help Mikado or force him to stop what he’s doing…?
She wasn’t sure what the answer was, but her first step toward finding it would be asking Mikado for his thoughts.
“Before we continue, I want to clear something up… What is it that you’re using Aoba and his friends to accomplish?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve only heard the barest details from Aoba. I want to hear this from you. What do you want to do with the Dollars, Mikado?”
“Well, that’s obvious…,” he said, not at all hesitant. Celty awaited his answer, feeling nervous.
Ktok.
A crisp sound echoed off the walls of the husk of an interior, cutting Mikado off. In fact, it was so firm and strong that it erased both Mikado’s voice and the sound of endless rain for an instant.
It was impossible to tell where the echoes were coming from. Everyone, including Celty and the Blue Squares, looked around for the source of the sound.
Eventually, their eyes met on the same point.
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation.”
From the stairs connecting the first and second floors, the spot where Celty had been just a minute earlier, came a man’s clear voice—followed by the man himself, ascending the steps.
“It’s just, from down here, I can’t see what’s written on your phone, or computer, or whatever it is.”
Mikado and Aoba both looked totally nonplussed. They didn’t know this man. The same went for the other Blue Squares, who were at a loss for how to deal with the unexpected visitor.
Only Celty recognized the man, and she exhibited a different reaction from the others.
Wait… What?!
It was so sudden that she wasn’t prepared for it. Shock raced through her.
Wh-wh-why? Why is he here?!
She recognized the man.
“Who would’ve guessed I’d end up in this place multiple times in the span of a year? Coincidence is a scary thing.”
He was a tall man in his thirties, wearing a dazzlingly patterned suit. He was at that age: not young but not entirely middle-aged, either. There was a striking scar on his face that drew the eye.
Resting on his nose was an expensive pair of tinted glasses, and he clutched an ostentatiously designed cane, making him look like he just stepped off a classic movie set.
Despite the cane, he didn’t seem to have difficulty walking. The earlier sound was just him rapping the end of the cane against the concrete walls or floor.
Ah. Aaah. Ah.
“Celty?”
“Do you know him?”
Both Mikado and Aoba noticed that she was acting strangely. But she didn’t have the presence of mind to respond to their concern.
Mr. Akabayashi?!
He was one of Celty’s courier customers, one who often had her deliver goods like fresh crabs.
Of course, she knew he wasn’t really in the seafood business. She also knew that his real line of work made him exactly the kind of person to keep away from Mikado at this very moment.
Why…why here?!
No one heard her silent cry, of course.
Akabayashi graced his sudden entrance with a lazy smile. “I don’t know what y’all were talking about before this, but do you mind filling me in on the conversation?”
“You don’t mind, do you, Mikado Ryuugamine?”
Chat room
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.
.
The chat room is currently empty.
The chat room is currently empty.
The chat room is currently empty.
Chrome has entered the chat.
Chrome: Good evening.
Chrome: Oh, nobody’s here.
Chrome: Normally, it’d be livelier at this hour.
Chrome: Well, it’s midsummer, so I suppose they’re spending time with their families and partners.
Chrome: I had a hot-pot party just a short time ago.
Chrome: It was fun.
Kanra has entered the chat.
Kanra: Goood eeeevening!
Kanra: It’s everyone’s beloved idol, Kanraaa!
Kanra: What’s this? Just Chrome tonight?
Chrome: Good evening.
Kanra: Why, isn’t this so very sad and lonely.
Chrome: Indeed.
Kanra: Hot pots are wonderful, aren’t they? Everyone gathering around it, eating and chatting. It’s so much better than eating alone.
Chrome: Indeed.
Kanra: Oh, but don’t you think the best thing of all is when you’re alone with that special someone, blowing on that hot oden soup to cool it off? Ooh, it’s so romantic! Eeek!
Chrome: Indeed.
Kanra: Are you just blowing off responding to me-ow? I’ll tug on your cheeks until they’re all saggy!
Chrome: Indeed.
Chrome: So, Kanra.
Kanra: Ooh, what is it? Eek!
Chrome: Shouldn’t you be jumping off the roof of a building by now?
Kanra: What?! What do you mean by that?! That makes no sense! Ooh, you meanie!
Chrome: But the fact that you’re angry is proof you do understand.
Sharo has entered the chat.
Sharo: Heya.
Sharo: Man, after the day I had at work, I’m just beat.
Sharo: You guys are like an odd couple.
Chrome: Good evening.
Kanra: Good eve-meow! Sharo, you should change your name to Meowro! That would be cute!
Sharo: Sad.
Sharo: This is really sad, Kanra.
Chrome: I agree.
Chrome: I agree with Sharo.
Kanra: Awww! What’s with you two? A real man wouldn’t pick on a sweet, helpless girl like me!
Chrome: That’s a good point. Or it would be…if you were a sweet, helpless girl.
Sharo: Right, right. And you can consider me a chick if you want.
Kanra: Arrrgh! Why can’t you learn from Kadota’s example?!
Sharo: What’s up? You know Kadota?
Chrome: Did Kadota happen to know any sweet, helpless girls?
Sharo: Huh? Were you acquainted with Kadota, too, Chrome?
Chrome: No. As I said yesterday, I just check the Dollars’ website for information often. But from what I can tell on there, he doesn’t seem to have much feminine companionship.
Sharo: Mmm. Well, like *I* said yesterday, I see him around town a lot. There’s a chick he’s often hanging out with, but she doesn’t seem like his girlfriend, and she definitely ain’t helpless.
Kanra: Oh, you brutes! There you go ignoring this sweet, helpless lady and talking about other women! How rude!
Kanra: Fine, fine! Then I’ll tell you a little piece of information that will make you willow-thin sissies tremble with fright!
Sharo: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m so scared.
Chrome: Isn’t that precious.
Kanra: There might be a war between a motorcycle gang and a color gang in Ikebukuro!
Sharo: Huh?
Sharo: Now where did you get a dingbat idea like that?
Kanra: It’s true! Remember how Kadota got run over by that car? Meow!
Sharo: Shut up with the meowing.
Kanra: Are you aware of the recent rumors about the Yellow Scarves coming back?
Kanra: They’re saying the Yellow Scarves might be preparing to wage war against the Dollars, right meow.
Kanra: That whoever ran over Kadota was with the Yellow Scarves, and it was meant as a declawration of war.
Kanra: But did you know there are other rumors, too?
Sharo: Hey, I thought this was gonna be somethi
ng silly. It sounds like bad news.
Sharo: You oughta be serious when you segue into a topic like this.
Sharo: And enough with the cat shit.
Chrome: What’s this other rumor?
Kanra: There are actually two rumors.
Kanra: One is that the Dollars are having an internal purr-ge.
Kanra: In other words, it was one of the Dollars cat-nibalizing a rival. Scary!
Chrome: Cannibalizing?
Chrome: But Kadota’s a prestigious member of the Dollars. Why would they…?
Kanra: From what I hear, Kadota’s a very chivalrous and upstanding person. Unlike you two!
Kanra: So if anyone was abusing the Dollars’ name for personal gain, Kadota would put them back in line. If anything, Kadota was the one who was meowsing up their plans.
Sharo: Okay, I get it.
Sharo: I guess that makes sense. The Dollars aren’t one of those tight-knit groups where everyone’s on the same page.
Sharo: Technically, I’m one of them, too.
Kanra: The other rumor is…DragonZ.
Sharo: Dragonz?
Sharo: Er, got that mixed up. DragonZ?
Chrome: You mean Dragon Zombie, the motorcycle gang?
Kanra: Ding-dong, ding-dong! Dinga-ding-dong! As your prize for being correct, I give you a meow-meow. Meow!
Chrome: No thanks.
Sharo: Ohhh, you’re talking about that motorcycle gang.
Kanra: Indeed! People wearing the Dragon Zombie jackets were seen loitering around the spot where Kadota’s accident happened.
Sharo: As if they did Kadota?
Kanra: Dragon Zombie doesn’t just ride meowtorcycles. They’ve got cars, too.
Kanra: They could be making their move fur the Dollars’ territory.
Chrome: I see…
Kanra: But the thing is, those two rumors aren’t actually mutually exclusive.
Sharo: Huh? Why’s that?
Kanra: As a matter of fact, people are saying there are Dragon Zombies within the Dollars! Tons of them!
Sharo: Huhhh?
Sharo: Well, anyone can join the Dollars, so I guess it’s totally possible…
Sharo: But wait!
Sharo: Is this what Dragon Zombie’s trying to do, then?
Sharo: Infiltrate the Dollars, take them over from the inside, and create one huge Dragon Zombie?
Chrome: That would certainly seem to fit all the stories.
Kanra has left the chat.
Sharo: Huh?!
Chrome: I wonder what happened.
Sharo: Ah-ha! I bet Kanra got bummed that I spoiled the big surprise and ran off…
Chrome: Perhaps Dragon Zombie already put a hit out.
Sharo: D-don’t scare me like that…
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Izaya’s apartment, Ikebukuro
“Never expected that one of my throwaway accounts would end up being used by an impostor.”
Izaya leaned back, his chair creaking, and wondered who might be using the Kanra name.
At first, he suspected his sisters, but a check of the IP address removed that possibility. Based on the things they were saying, and the fact that they chose to use the name Kanra, the admin of the room, it would seem to be a malicious act by someone who knew that Izaya was Kanra.
“Tsukumoya…? No, I doubt it’s him… Well, I guess it doesn’t matter who it is.”
He imagined whoever it might be behind the false Kanra, posing as him and stirring up trouble, and grinned wickedly.
But then his smile abruptly vanished.
“…I don’t like the cat puns, though. Not at all…”
Chapter 3: Rotten Apples Spoil the Barrel
Outside the hospital, night
“…”
Kadota’s second surgery was successful, and his vital signs were active and stable, much to Anri’s relief. But he was still unconscious, so she checked in on his good friend Karisawa instead.
“I’m going back home to take a shower and clean up,” she said, “so you should do the same, Anri. When Dotachin wakes up, I’ll make sure to tell him that if he’d recovered a bit faster, he could have seen a sexy fallen angel maid with a big rack and glasses!”
She laughed and got up to console Azusa and the rest of her friends. Anri felt she didn’t have a right to intrude on that, so she said good-bye and exited the hospital.
I want to talk to someone, she thought, suddenly very worried, and she pulled out her phone. It felt like a rebound after being in the waiting room with so many people praying for Kadota’s health; the moment she stepped outside, she abruptly felt very, very alone. This never happened before…
Until she’d met Celty in the Saika incident, that loneliness had completely shut off her mind, removing her from reality—“the other side of the painting”—and making her a passive observer of everything that happened.
But now things were different.
The loneliness she felt now was on this side of the painting, a tangible emotion that she didn’t just register but actually felt—and it had a dramatic effect on her state of mind. Alarmed that she could sense herself missing even the endless voices of Saika within her, she decided to reach out to someone to make herself feel better.
She wasn’t ready to talk to Mikado yet, and Masaomi seemed to have a different phone number now, so she couldn’t contact him if she wanted to.
It doesn’t seem fair to only reach out to them when I need something, though…
She decided on a number to call. Someone who had been a friend for a long time, even back when she had been shut off from the world and only had the slightest crack through which to relate to others.
A girl who hadn’t been particularly close recently due to her own relationship but someone who still called Anri a friend: Mika Harima.
But no one was picking up. The ringtone just droned on.
“I wonder if she’s out somewhere…”
Perhaps she was with her boyfriend, Seiji Yagiri. If so, calling her would be an interruption of their private time, so Anri accepted that she would just have to be lonely and headed home.
But at the moment, she was unaware. She had no way of knowing.
As of that very day, Seiji Yagiri and Mika Harima had both vanished from their homes.
Ikebukuro, night
The Special Forces traffic officer Kinnosuke Kuzuhara—he of the infamous white motorcycle—turned off his engine in an alley.
It was the place where the hit-and-run had happened a day earlier. On a light pole nearby was a sign asking for eyewitness accounts, which a woman was reading.
Kuzuhara had finished his patrols for the day and was on his way back to the station to process the tickets he’d written over the course of his shift. But while he was a very talented officer, he wasn’t always strictly by the book, and he’d decided to take a little shortcut. Once he made sure it was legal to stop on this street, he called out to the woman.
“Hey, Maju. Are you off duty today?”
“Oh…Uncle!”
“Apparently, there was a hit-and-run here. It didn’t turn into a whole big thing since there wasn’t a fatality, but it’s caused a lot of talk around the station,” Kinnosuke said to his niece, who was in plainclothes. He glanced around the scene, which still bore minor scars from the incident, and snarled, “Can’t believe people think they can pull this kind of stunt on my beat and get away with it.”
“We’re just lucky we didn’t catch a body. But it seems like things are going to get rough… It was pretty wild at the station today.”
“Yeah, it was a big shot in one of the street gangs that got hit,” Kinnosuke agreed. He’d written tickets for Togusa’s van on multiple occasions, but he didn’t realize that the guy who always sat in the passenger seat was the victim of this incident.
“It’s a very strange, unique gang—one called the Dollars. All the folks over in Juvenile were on edge, saying there might be a war about to break out. I haven’t been into the office today, so I don’t know for sure, but in town everyone’s talking about Shizuo Heiwajima being arrested. I’m sure it’s been crazy over in Community Safety.”
“Shizuo Heiwajima? Oh yeah, I’ve heard of him. I spot that bartender getup every now and then while I’m on patrol.”
In fact, that one Horada shithead was talkin’ up Heiwajima, too.
Not that long ago, a busted-up car with a broken street sign embedded into it ran up alongside Kuzuhara’s motorcycle in traffic. After he’d arrested the occupants, they had wailed something like “It’s not us! It was Shizuo Heiwajima who broke the sign! We only tried to run you over because we thought you were the Black Rider!”
“You may not know this, Uncle, but he’s extremely famous in Ikebukuro. They say he’s got connections to the Dollars, and I’ve even heard stories that suggest he’s friends with the Headless Rider you’re always chasing around.”
“…Oh? That monster?” Kinnosuke Kuzuhara grinned, unaware that monster was a term the Black Rider usually used to refer to him. He asked his niece, “So he’s in booking now?”
“You were the one who was at work today, Uncle. You’d know better than me.”
“That’s a good point. Speaking of which, I’d better get going. Thanks for the update,” he said in closing and then proceeded toward the station. “So even that monster has human relationships, huh?” he grumbled, as the air of the city swallowed him whole.
“In that case…you shouldn’t be riding with such a damn death wish, you idiot.”
Night, Sunshine Street, Ikebukuro
The night Shizuo Heiwajima got arrested, Vorona was in a foul mood.
Her inability to understand and process why she was so irritated only stoked her irritation further. It put her into a spiral of uncomfortable annoyance that she could not escape.
Normally, when she walked around in public, she was the constant target of pickup artists and talent scouts, but they must’ve sensed the fierce look in her eyes from a distance, because nobody bothered her tonight.
Durarara!!, Vol. 10 Page 10