DURARARA!! Vol.6 CHAPTER 5, PART II
"…Huh!"
Chikage's face brightened at his opponent's words, laughter escaping his throat involuntarily.
"Awesome. You're just awesome. Old-fashioned but in a good way. You're more like a banchou* than a teamer*."
* Banchou: literally "boss", "banchou" is used to refer to leaders of juvenile delinquent groups in the Showa era. Compared to "teamers", a banchou is considered to have more backbone and principles, especially in that they're not afraid to fight alone. In Durarara!!, a teenage Orihara Izaya comments that Kadota Kyohei is the school's "ura-banchou" (Shadow Boss) and Heiwajima Shizuo the "omote-banchou" (Light Boss).
* Teamer: a term for "gangster" coined in 1992 to refer to gang members who vandalize and harass in groups. It started out as a derogatory term (since lacking the courage to fight alone is considered cowardice in Japanese culture), but gradually acquired a more neutral character.
"We'll be attracting too much attention here. Let's go somewhere else."
Chikage kept smiling as he shook his head at Kadota.
"That won't be necessary."
"What?"
"It's gonna be over in one second."
Before he finished the sentence, Chikage had already sprung off the ground.
It was the same move he had used on Heiwajima Shizuo: he used the guardrail as his springboard to leap forwards.
Only that it was not a drop kick this time, but rather a kick delivered with the blade of his foot as he tilted his body sideways.
The tip of Chikage's right foot went straight for Kadota's temple.
The next second, however, the perfectly-timed kick was met with only thin air when everything seemed to suggest that it was going to hit the target.
Kadota swayed his body to dodge the foot just before it threatened to hit him, stepping back to wait for his opponent to land.
The passers-by stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the young man performing a jump-kick at people. Hastily, they backed off as far away from the duo as possible.
"How many hours are in your 'one second', exactly?"
Kadota muttered. Taking notice of the commotion around them, he made the same proposal to Chikage again:
"Let's go somewhere else."
"…OK."
Chikage, too, had probably realized that Kadota was an experienced fighter from his moves a moment ago.
It seemed like he had given up on acting like a recalcitrant child. Even though Kadota had turned his back to him, Chikage still followed him quietly to find a new place to fight as Kadota had suggested.
- But are there any places close by where we can have a fight undisturbed?
- There's a police station around here somewhere…also a shrine and a park. But when I was here with My Honeys yesterday all of these places were full of people at least in the daytime…
Maybe he'll lead me to a rooftop somewhere? Thought Chikage as he began to walk.
But after they had walked to Tokyu Hands and were just about to turn onto 60-Story Street, Kadota raised his hand at the taxi stop on the crossing.
Without hesitation, Kadota pulled open the door and climbed in.
Turning to a stunned Chikage, he asked as if confused:
"What's wrong? Just hop in."
"We're taking a cab?"
Chikage murmured as if he could think of nothing else to say. Kadota laughed hollowly and replied:
"I'm the one with a job, so I'll pay. Don't you even worry."
♂♀
Back side of the sports gear warehouse, Second Ground, Raira Academy
Situated not far away from the Ikebukuro Station, the Second Ground was a lawned piece of property of Raira Academy.
Though the main campus also had its own sporting grounds, the baseball, soccer and lacrosse clubs used to have a hard time sharing the limited space available. That was why some of the sports clubs now preferred to come to the Second Ground to practice instead.
The Ground seemed to be in use by the Kabaddi club and the girls' soccer club right now. Even in the sports gear warehouse outside the grounds there were voices shouting "Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi…" and girls laughing, sounding strange yet lively.
At one corner of the Second Ground, Chikage opened his mouth, sounding impressed.
"…I never thought there would be this kind of place in the center of Ikebukuro."
Around the warehouse trees have been planted, making it look like a small park. Between the fence and the warehouse there was quite a bit of space, and no one could see what was going on here from the other side of the warehouse.
Kadota stretched his arms in preparation of a fight as Chikage continued to look around.
"They were planning to build a second warehouse here, that's why. But guess after they put the first one to use they realized that a second one wasn't needed after all."
"How come you know this place so well?"
"I'm an alum."
Kadota laughed in slight self-deprecation and continued to speak.
"This was one of the fighting spots back when I was at school. Folks from other high schools used to lie all around this place after they were beaten up by Shizuo. The trees cast a nice shade over your head, too. Wouldn't be a bad place to take a nap."
"So that's why you want me to put you to some good sleep here. I see."
"Thank you, but no. Raira Academy's grown much more peaceful than before. This place is more of a dating spot now for couples who want a quiet place to make out at night."
"That's great to hear. I'll bring My Honeys over to make out sometime."
The duo laughed aloud facing each other.
When the laughter had died down, their faces turned serious at the same time.
"Should we start? Is it OK to not use that weapon you have under your clothes? Isn't that a short wooden katana or something?"
Chikage, upon hearing Kadota's question, reached for that "something" hidden under his shirt and replied:
"Hm? Ah, so you noticed."
"Yeah, I did when you jump-kicked at me. You're already injured. It's only fair that you're at least allowed to use a weapon against me."
"That's what I should be saying to you. Want me to lend you my weapon to equalize the chances, old man?"
"I'm not even 25 yet, kid."
Simple and straightforward provocations were exchanged, until -
Without a sign, the duo charged straight towards each other.
Fists fell like rain and the dull sound of flesh being beaten against flesh was added to the shouts of "Kabaddi" and girls' laughter. But little did they know.
- That Dollars was, literally, everywhere in Ikebukuro.
As for Kadota, he didn't even know that he was indeed considered one of Dollars's "bosses".
That was why they didn't notice.
A message had already been sent from the cell phone of the manager of the girls' soccer club - a Dollars member - to every Dollars member within Ikebukuro.
[ I just saw Dollars's Kadota-san walking to the back side of Raira's Second Ground! The person he was with looked dangerous. I think he might be one of the gangsters who are attacking Dollars members in Ikebukuro right now! If they do start fighting I don't think Kadota-san will lose, but I'm still worried! \(><)/ ]
Attached considerately to the message was a photo of the duo walking shoulder to shoulder.
♂♀
Same time, an abandoned factory in Tokyo
"…Honestly, what a royal nuisance they've been."
Aoba sighed heavily in the abandoned factory after Mikado had left with Celty.
The commotion had died down completely. Around the boy his fellow Blue Square members stood there laughing. Around these people men in tokko-fuku and leather jackets lay motionless on the ground.
Toramaru's men were all lying unconscious. Around them blood-stained steel pipes and broken chunks of logs rolled around in a haphazard fashion.
The delinquents still standing weren't miraculously unhurt, either; they also got their share of the injuries.
Aoba himself had a scratch on his face in addition to the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Aoba looked calm and composed, however, when he talked to the fellow members around him in a voice that sounded as if nothing of value was lost:
"Good, it's great to see you all alive and well. Really, you guys are made of such tough materials that it's kind of a waste."
He sounded completely different now than when he was talking to Mikado a moment ago.
The youths around him replied, laughing, to the boy's appreciation peppered with sarcasm.
"Heheh. Piece of cake. I told ya they were weak."
"Neko, that doesn't sound very convincing when you say it with blood coming out of your head."
"Nah. It's just tomato juice. Heheh."
"But then we're really lucky that Yatsufusa's not here."
"Had he come here he might have been dead."
"Such a sickly one."
"And a midget, too."
"Speaking of which, that Mikado-sempai, isn't he kind of a midget too?"
"That's true. Aoba, I've never seen him before, but are you sure he's really the one who made Dollars?"
"You're not trying to make fools of all of us, are ya, Aoba?"
"If he is, we'll kill him!" "And take his girlfriends!"
"Huh? Aoba's got girlfriends?"
"You don't remember? Those twin sisters."
"…Kill him! Kill him right now!"
"Calm down."
"Aoba tries to look tough, but he's gonna die for real 'cause most of the blows do get him."
"That suits us just fine." "Heheh."
"…It's true that Kururi and Mairu kissed me, but they're not my girlfriends or anything…"
"I remember now! Kill him!"
"They're already on first-name terms!?" "How close are you with them you bastard!?" "Kill him!" "Die!"
Aoba ignored his fellow members as they began to clamor nonsensically. Instead he looked at the youths around him with a cold face.
"If Mikado-sempai is a midget to you, ain't I a midget too?"
Aoba muttered in an emotionless voice. A man in a leather jacket groaned and struggled to get back on his feet. Noticing his moves, Aoba edged closer to the man.
"But then, it's probably because Mikado-sempai has never been in a fight."
Carrying on with his own talk, Aoba kicked the man mercilessly in the face with his knee as the man made a move to get up.
The man fell back into unconsciousness before a cry could escape his throat. Aoba put one foot on the man's back and continued in a flat voice:
"Maybe that's exactly why Sempai was able to make something like Dollars."
"I don't get it." "Forget it, the only one who gets Aoba's disgusting sense is that Yatsufusa."
"But isn't he a perfect match for those crazy twins?" "Kill him!"
"That line gets old, Yoshikiri. Can't you think of a different combo?" "Die, you!" "Ah, a cockroach!" "Catch it!" "Fry it!" "Is the bet still on?" "Can't you think of a different combo?" "Cockroach combo?" "…" "…" "…Urgh!!"
Several delinquents ran out of the factory looking like they needed to puke at the imagination.
Aoba continued to think as his fellow members continued to banter pointlessly.
- How come they found out about this place?
Aoba considered this quietly as he looked down icily at the bousouzoku he had under his foot.
- Should I interrogate him? …But they're not the kind to spit out what they know about their fellow members easily.
- …
- Did Orihara Izaya give them the information…or am I thinking too much into it?
- No. When it comes to things concerning him, it's better to think more than necessary.
Aoba's cell phone rang again indicating a new message as these thoughts took over in his mind.
His fellow members' cell phones also rang at the same time. It looked like another text message had been sent to the Dollars mailing list.
The message was about Kadota, a famous Dollars member, being seen walking to Raira's Second Ground with a strange-looking man.
- If the police ever decides to do something about Dollars, this mailing list will be our Achilles heel.
- …But did Mikado-sempai make this mailing list? When I looked it up it seemed like one of the members had this idea and just went ahead to make this list. If that's the case, they probably won't find out about Mikado-sempai.
Aoba continued to juggle such thoughts on his mind as he clicked on the photo attached to the message.
- Hm? This is…
Aoba "humph"-ed and considered this for a moment as he saw the man next to Kadota on the photo.
- Toramaru's leader.
- Are they talking to each other about making peace? …Doesn't look like it.
"Guys, who'd like to go to Second Ground, hide himself behind the bushes and find out what's going on there?"
Upon hearing Aoba's words a delinquent with his hair dyed light brown replied:
"I'll go."
"Thanks, Gin. We're counting on you."
The boy named Gin walked towards a corner of the factory.
As he approached the motorbike parked there, he mounted it expertly.
"Hang on, don't tell me you're stealing it?"
"Come on. I noticed just a moment before…"
The brown-haired boy named Gin laughed as he began to play around with the motorbike.
Starting the engine in a cheerful spirit, he said:
"It's still got the key in the keyhole, you see?"
Seeing their fellow member racing the engine of the abandoned motorbike, the youths whistled and cheered at their luck.
"Wait…wait a minute. Get off, Gin."
No one had tried to stop him from stealing the motorbike. But Aoba alone seemed to think that it was too reckless an act and ordered him to dismount.
"What the hell, Aoba. You're not the type who goes around telling people stealing is not a good thing to do."
"Aren't you the type who would tell us to pick up whatever's without an owner in such a factory?"
"But then it is illegal to steal." "Ah? Really?" "Of course." "Even if you pick up a bike from a landfill the cops will arrest you. You don't know that?" "For real!?" "Scary! Bikes are scary!"
The conversation carried on without any continuity to speak of. Aoba, meanwhile, was taking his time to examine the motorbike -
And realized that a black thread had been attached to its rear.
- ?
- What is this?
The thread felt different from all kinds of fibers Aoba had known to date.
It was completely black as if it were a shadow that had taken a three-dimensional form. It felt smooth like nylon on his hand, but it reflected none of the light nylon would.
The thread extended from the rear of the motorbike till all the way out of the factory.
- This looks like the rider suit the Black Motorbike wears.
"…Oi, Gin. I'll tell you what. These Toramaru guys should have their motorbikes parked somewhere outside the factory. Go snatch one of those."
"Huh? Why? What's wrong with this one?"
His fellow members looked at him puzzled. Aoba thought back on their encounter with the Black Motorbike and announced his next move.
"I'm going to reel this thread in. I wonder where it's going to take me."
(TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III)