Durarara!!, Vol. 9

by Ryohgo Narita

  “An evil god, then. Perhaps Loki from the Norse myths?”

  “First Mr. Shiki, now you. Is there a mythology trend these days?” he shot back.

  After a few more similar barbs back and forth, Izaya finished the discussion of work and hung up the call. He walked down the street, recalling what Celty had said as they’d parted:

  “I have to admit, my opinion of you has improved today. You asked me to protect your sister…so I suppose you’re still human enough that you’d worry about your own family members.”

  He couldn’t tell if that was just a bit of flattery to hide her shock at sensing the head or if it was her true opinion. But either way, he had denied the allegation.

  You’re wrong, courier. Absolutely off the mark.

  The only reason I had you protect my sister…is because I didn’t want her ending up at that bar…where Haruna Niekawa was. That’s all.

  As he strolled through Ikebukuro, Izaya let his mind wander.

  To him, his sisters were essentially the same as anyone else, albeit often difficult for him to know how to handle. To Izaya Orihara personally, family members and strangers both essentially occupied the same category as friends.

  But then he remembered his middle school days, when Nakura stabbed Shinra—the very genesis of this entire string of events, in a way.

  Now that I think about it…that might be the one single event that had a clear and undeniable effect on shaping who I am as a person.

  He recalled the jealousy and inferiority he had felt when it happened and wondered if perhaps Shinra Kishitani was less of a friend to him than a rival. And rather than a target of hatred like Shizuo Heiwajima, might he actually be something Izaya should strive to be?

  But then he thought of Shinra today and laughed. “No, of course not.”

  Still, I can’t deny that I was jealous of how firmly, confidently alien he was.

  And now he was betraying that friend of his. A friend by the definition of the rest of the world, not Izaya’s own twisted standards.

  He’ll be pissed if he finds out I brought the head very close to Celty.

  “Ha-ha!” he chuckled, imagining the sight of the one actual friend he had consumed by rage.

  Nothing to be afraid of.

  That was how he’d always lived; he laughed—

  and laughed—

  and laughed—

  and laughed—

  —and clenched his right hand into a fist, then rammed it into a telephone pole.

  The sound was violent, but there was no one else in the alley to hear it.

  Whatever expression he made, whatever reason he clenched his fist, whatever he was thinking—no one in the entire world could know.

  Because…

  “Oh, there he is! Iza! Brother Izaaaa!”

  “…Clan…” [Brother.]

  “Oh? What’s gotten into you two? It’s rare for you to call out first before you attack me.”

  When Izaya spun around at the sound of his sisters’ voices, he wore the same smile he always did.

  “I think better of you after today, Bro! You asked the Headless Rider to protect Kuru from harm?!”

  “…Doubt…” [Is it true?]

  “Oh, don’t be so naive. I was doing something I didn’t want the rider finding out about, so I utilized you to keep her out of my hair,” he revealed.

  But to his surprise, the girls looked at each other, then broke into smiles.

  “That still works for us! Thanks, Iza!”

  “…Gratitude…” [Thank you.]

  “I swear, it’s so difficult to tell what you’re thinking.”

  “That’s because you’re never honest about your emotions.”

  They took sides, escorting Izaya down the road as he grimaced. On the right, Mairu looked up at her brother and commented, “Hey, Iza, you might treat us the way you would treat any other person, but we still think of you as family. So don’t forget that, okay?”

  “What’s this? That’s a very sweet thing to say,” he said, glancing at his sister—she usually just attempted to jump kick him while screaming “Die!!”—but the girls wore the same innocent smiles they always did.

  “So if Shizuo ever kills you, we’ll shed a few tears before we celebrate!”

  “Minuscule…” [Just a few.]

  “…I was a fool for expecting familial love from you.” He chuckled and strode ahead of them.

  Mairu noticed his right hand and wondered, “Iza, is your hand swollen?”

  “…Health?” [Are you all right?]

  He laid his left hand on Kururi’s worried head and lied, “Yeah, I was getting chased around by Shizu. That’s when it happened.”

  “Ohhh. So you earned it.”

  “You girls should stay away from that muscle-bound monster, too. You’ll end up dead.”

  And thus they vanished into the night.

  The city welcomed and accepted everything—such that their words melted into the background thrum, just as if they were having a normal family conversation.

  The next day, Ikebukuro, Russia Sushi

  “It’s been so peaceful lately.”

  Yumasaki was sitting at the counter, waiting for his sushi.

  Next to him was Togusa, who raged, “It hasn’t been peaceful at all! They arrested someone who was trying to set fire to Ruri’s friend’s house… What a terrible world!”

  “Yeah, but they caught ’em. So it’s all right.”

  “They didn’t catch Adabashi, the piece of shit who was behind it all! Dammit… If I just had a headshot to go off, I’d take my van all over the city looking for him so I could feed him to my tires!”

  “Calm down, Togusa,” said Kadota, sipping his hot tea.

  Simon looked up from cleaning the back counter and said, “What this? Karisawa is on vacation? Did she catch sick? You catch sick, you need stamina. You buy sushi souvenir to take her, very good.”

  “No, she’s just having a meeting with some of her cosplay girlfriends today. I’m feeling pretty lonely because I have no one to talk manga with,” Yumasaki lamented.

  “Oh, you sigh, all happiness escape through mouth,” Simon said sagely. “Where is escaped happiness? Rumor says inside salmon roe. You order ikura. Apart from Karisawa, but your hearts together. Stomach is full, heart is full. Three of you eat four portions. Battle to avenge Karisawa.”

  “Avenge her? Listen, Simon,” Kadota started, about to correct his use of language, when the door of the restaurant opened and ushered in a new customer.

  “Welcome to Russ… Oh! Long time no see, boss!” greeted Simon happily. Kadota’s group was shocked, however—and Denis, the head chef, addressed both the new customer and the seated group at the same time.

  “There’s a table open in the tatami area. You want to move back there?”

  The new customer bowed to Kadota and said, “Do you mind?”

  “Kida…”

  “Sorry. I spotted you guys coming in here…and I was hoping we could talk.”

  “Uh, sure, if you want…”

  Two things surprised Kadota. One was that Masaomi Kida was back in town.

  The other was that he was wearing a bright-yellow scarf around his neck.

  Ikebukuro

  By the time Anri Sonohara left the Junkudo bookstore, the sun was descending toward the horizon. She headed back home, bookstore bag stuffed with cookbooks for beginners. She didn’t have any particular goals to achieve during the vacation, but her heart was singing all the same.

  Kida’s back in town. It might only be for the moment…but he seems to be doing well.

  During the recent uproar with the stalker, Masaomi Kida had saved the kitten Anri was cat sitting. She didn’t know why he was there, and ultimately, he ran off without speaking much.

  But still, it made her happy. Mikado would be delighted when he found out, too. He’d been acting strangely in recent days, and perhaps Masaomi’s presence would make him return to normal, she hoped.

  But
there had been no progress since then. Still, Masaomi’s promise that he would come back to them was her bedrock. And there were two things she needed to do to prepare for the inevitable moment that Masaomi returned for good, and the three of them went back to being friends like before.

  One was that she wanted to be able to cook for the two boys.

  And the other was that she wanted absolute control over Saika.

  They were two completely different goals, so she decided to start by buying some beginner cookbooks. As for the other goal, she had no idea how to even begin. At this very moment, like all other times, Saika was whispering words of love under her skin.

  She held the voices at bay, keeping them within the picture frame of her mind as she hiked the path home, when a voice over her shoulder made her stop.

  “Oh! It’s Anri! Heyyy!”

  There were two women standing there. One was unfamiliar, but the other she recognized: Erika Karisawa.

  “Good evening, Karisawa,” she said, her expression and mind softening. Karisawa had seen her when she allowed Saika to surface but still interacted with Anri the same as before, which made her a very precious friend indeed.

  “You were at Junkudo? Ooh, what’d you get? Manga?”

  “No, just some cookbooks… Oh, er…,” she stammered, noticing the other girl suddenly.

  Karisawa laughed and said, “Oh, this is Azusa Tsutsugawa. She’s a cosplay friend of mine. Sometimes she rides around in Togusa’s van, too, so it’s good for you to know her.”

  “Oh, I see! Um, my name is Anri Sonohara. It’s nice to meet you…”

  “Don’t worry—you don’t have to get all stuffy with me,” said the girl, who dressed femme but talked like a tomboy. “I’m Azusa Tsutsugawa. Nice to meetcha!”

  Anri dipped her head again, slightly taken aback, then asked Karisawa, “You aren’t hanging out with Yumasaki and the whole group today?”

  “No, we just had a little meeting for our cosplay group. Actually, this is perfect timing! There was something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Anri.”

  “?”

  Karisawa’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She didn’t realize that what she was about to say would change the fate of the girl she was speaking to.

  “Hey, Anri…do you want to try cosplay? You really should do it!”

  “…Huh?”

  Anri was even more confused by the question than the lead-up, so Karisawa explained.

  “It doesn’t even have to be an anime character! We can start with something easy, like a maid outfit or a miko shrine maiden!”

  Night, West Ikebukuro Park

  With no earthly idea that the girl he once cared for was in danger of being dressed up as a miko, Akabayashi of the Awakusu-kai met with a client.

  It was long after all the children had gone home, so Akabayashi sat in the empty swing and handed an envelope to the information dealer he was with.

  “It’s really no big job. It’s just a bother for a guy like me to go sniffing around the civvies, if you know what I mean.”

  Izaya Orihara took the envelope with the same smile he always wore and said, “I’m a bit surprised. I thought you distrusted me, Mr. Akabayashi.”

  “Oh, I do. About as much as one can. I happen to think you’re probably working with the Asuki-gumi, among others. Am I right?” His posture in the swing was totally still.

  “Would that be a problem? The Asuki-gumi are part of the same Medei syndicate, aren’t they? And the answer is no, I’m not.”

  “Surely you understand that it’s not as simple as that.”

  Izaya grinned at him and pulled a photograph out of the envelope. The instant he saw it, the nature of his smile changed subtly.

  Akabayashi’s left eye didn’t miss that. “You reacted. You know him?”

  “He’s from the school I went to. What did he do?”

  “Well, the daughter of someone who once did me a great favor has been seen walkin’ around town with this kid…and the stories I hear suggest he’s part of one o’ them street gangs. Now, I ain’t the type to interfere in young romance, but I can’t help but be curious if the boy’s got himself involved in something shady,” Akabayashi explained, watching him carefully.

  Izaya’s hackles rose. Akabayashi…an inscrutable man. Is this job meant to measure who I am as a person…?

  On the inside, Izaya wore a confident smile, and on the outside, his usual expression. “All right. If he’s involved in anything strange, I will convince him to stop.”

  “Thanks. I figured that hiring an info broker closer to his age would be a safer bet than a private eye. And the girl’s parents, the folks I owe a great debt, they’re in heaven now. I’d feel terrible to them if anything happened to her,” Akabayashi said in the manner of small talk.

  “Are you sure the father’s in heaven?” Izaya dared to ask.

  “Ha-ha-ha, you really are an info broker. I suppose you’d have to know things like that.”

  He was referring to the fact that the girl Akabayashi mentioned was Anri Sonohara and that her father had been abusive—but Akabayashi’s expression didn’t change. In fact, given how quickly he answered after Izaya’s barb, he’d been expecting the provocation.

  He really is inscrutable. Between him and Shiki, the Awakusu-kai sure have a lot of folks you can’t ever count out, he observed, bowing obsequiously and putting away the envelope.

  “Then I will look into this job for you,” Izaya said.

  “I’ll take a thorough look at the current state of the boy named Mikado Ryuugamine.”

  The boys passed each another, while the adults’ plots twisted and curled.

  A great vortex was building beneath Ikebukuro.

  And not a single person could predict what awaited at its center.

  AFTERWORD

  Hello, it’s nice to see you folks again for the first time in a while—if it has been. I’m Ryohgo Narita.

  This was the ninth volume of the Durarara!! series. We’re almost to two digits, and it’s only thanks to your support that we’ve come this far. Thank you so much, all my readers!

  I often get questions from people who only read the Durarara!! series saying, “Why can’t you write faster?” Well, the fact of the matter is that I’m currently penning five different series for the Dengeki Bunko line at the same time, and in between each Durarara!! volume is a number of other books…so if you’re interested in what else I have to offer, maybe check out Baccano!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, or Hariyama-san at the Center of the World…

  At any rate, it’s been over a year since the airing of the Durarara!! anime, and so much has happened in that time. While much of that has been wonderful, it’s also meant a huge uptick in workload that has knocked me on the ropes. It’s been a strange year in which I’ve somehow slipped into a dimension where I have more work than when I used to put out seven novels a year, but I was able to make it through thanks to the glory of the Durarara!! anime, manga, and related merchandise and the support of everyone still reading!

  This month also marks the release of the final DVD of the series!

  I’m overcome with emotion, but it’s a mixture of both happiness and sadness. The year full of excitement over the Durarara!! anime is over, and now I’m grappling with hope and worry for what comes next.

  The last volume will include Episode 25 as an OVA—but like Episode 12.5, it has my original idea and character dialogue reformatted to work as a script. I came up with a huge amount of dialogue, thinking, There’s no way they can cut this down to thirty minutes, but the work the director and scriptwriter did to distill the best parts is simply breathtaking…

  Not only does it feature essentially every character, it even includes some like Max who hadn’t appeared in the anime, so it should be quite lively. Please do enjoy it, along with the final televised episode!

  I wish to express my incredible gratitude to Director Omori, Mr. Takagi the head writer and his staff, and all the people at Brain’s Base studio for their
fantastic work. But as it happens, another series that Omori, Takagi, and Brain’s Base worked on, Baccano!, is getting a Blu-ray box set!

  As of this writing, I haven’t yet seen the increased quality and fidelity of the Baccano! Blu-ray, but I can tell you it was a tremendous adaptation of my novels, so whether you have or have not seen it already, please do check it out along with the Durarara!! anime!

  Another very exciting development: Suzuhito Yasuda is putting out an art book based around his work on Durarara!! and other series! It’ll be coming out alongside an art book for his manga Yozakura Quartet, serialized in the monthly Shonen Sirius magazine. I’m really happy that Durarara!! gets to be involved in such a major release!

  I’m sure there will be more details and advertisements as it gets closer to release, so please check out the Yasuda world for its involvement with the Durarara!! and Etsusa Bridge series!

  …Hmm, I feel like all I’ve done is plug related products, so let’s discuss Durarara!!, Volume 9 and my recent circumstances.

  This was a story about Izaya. So far I’ve had Izaya suffering some horrible fate at the end of every third volume. Whether or not he broke that jinx this time around will be up to your personal opinion.

  As for me…I’ve been using my PSP to Hunt some Monsters and Ronpa some Dangan.

  …Sorry.

  Now that I’ve finished this book, I’ve been fully enjoying Monster Hunter Portable 3rd at last. But just when I thought I’d be dedicating all my attention to MH, along came the shocking Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. It’s totally driven an ice pick into my brain…

  It’s kind of like a high-speed, white-knuckle psychedelic murder mystery combining action and puzzle solving and packed with totally out-of-this-world characters. It completely knocked me on my ass!

  You should definitely look up Danganronpa if you haven’t heard of it and see if its twisted sense of style suits your taste!

  Wait…am I just plugging unrelated products now?!

  * The following is the usual list of acknowledgments.